The SysAid Newsletter- issue 14
Practical tips, stories and advice for SysAid users
Dear SysAiders,
Do you really know the status of your system servers and even your workstations?
System crash might await you around the corner. Do you have the means to avoid it in advance?
With this thought in mind, we've developed SysAid Monitoring Module, which constantly polls your system to get an accurate picture of your hardware and software status. The Monitoring Module not only provides you with an overview of your system, it also notifies and alerts of potential problems.
In this issue, we highlight the Monitoring Module:
A special item features the usage possibilities and how you can improve your IT capabilities and level of service.
Sarah Lahav, the Head of Customer Service and Support has shared a great tip for how to utilize it to detect performance problems on your workstations.
And for the next two weeks, we offer a special 25% discount on the SysAid Monitoring module Click here to get the Monitoring Module special offer.
More in this April issue: The second part of the introduction to CMDB, which explains the advantages of the CMDB.
Sincerely,
Israel Lifshitz,
CEO.
You are receiving this newsletter since you have downloaded SysAid and subscribed to our support and updates service. If you wish to no longer receive this newsletter and the updates, please click the 'unsubscribe' button at the bottom of this page.
In this issue:
A spot on SysAid Monitoring Module: usage, advantages and special offer
Tip: How to detect a workstation with performance issues
The advantages of CMDB
IT Joke: Yummy Cleaner
A spot on SysAid Monitoring Module
One of the most annoying scenarios you may encounter as an IT professional is that morning when you come to your office only to find a server down. Service requests are piling up, end users are furious, and you seriously consider a career change. It doesn't have to be this way.
Be proactive!
SysAid Monitoring Module significantly reduces the probability of such occasions.
SysAid monitors all your servers and workstations, and constantly tests that they perform within their normal range.
You can configure SysAid to send warnings and alerts to the administrators before a failure occurs.
It's very easy to track the system health: the results are aggregated on daily, weekly, monthly and annual graphs.
SysAid Monitoring Module is highly flexible and easy to deploy: You can define different
sets of tests for different groups of assets.
The Monitoring Module tests the following:
 Memory usage
Hard disk usage
Vital OS services and processes
Network services
Software updates
Hardware updates
Alerts and error notification will be sent to you when something is wrong. This can be done by opening an automatic service request, notifying you by email,
or even sending you a mobile text message.
Don't have a Monitoring Module yet?
Order the Monitoring Module now and enjoy a 25% discount available only until April 16, 2008.
How to detect a workstation with performance issues
A Tip from Sarah Lahav, the Head of SysAid Customer Service and Support Team
The ability to identify faults in any of your network workstations is one of SysAid's unique strengths.
SysAid can actually monitor not only your servers, but also send updates and alerts for each and every workstation. This feature provides you with all the necessary information about your workstations at all times.
The different test types available in the SysAid Monitoring Module for workstations are:
 Performance
Software/hardware updates
Operating System Services
Operating System Processes
When you click the New icon:  in the Workstation Configuration List, you will reach a page called Monitoring Configurations.
->Workstations
Workstation Configuration List
->New
->Monitoring Configurations New
To check the performance of a workstation, click the Performance tab.
Under this tab you can configure four different monitoring tests: hard disk (HD) usage, Central Processing Unit (CPU) usage, memory usage, and memory in use/RAM ratio.
All these tests are meant to make sure the workstation is not overusing its resources. An overuse may result in a breach in the performance of the computer, so all its actions will be slower than the optimal pace.
How to configure the performance monitoring tests?
- Choose the test you wish to configure for this asset from the Description dropdown menu.
- Fill in the values for the warning and the error thresholds.
The thresholds you are asked to choose refer to the highest value a certain test result can reach before a warning and before an error will be determined.
The values for the threshold fields are calculated in percentages. In case the test result exceeds the threshold value you have entered, a warning or an error will appear for the computer in question.
For example, if you choose the 'Memory in use' warning threshold to be 60%, when the workstation uses more than 60% of its memory, a warning will appear. To determine this threshold, simply type '60' in the 'Warning threshold' box.
Similarly, you can also decide that an error should appear when this workstation uses more than 80% of its memory. Simply insert '80' into the "Error Threshold" box.
- In case of a warning or an error, a notification can be sent as well, according to your choice. If you wish to send warning and error notifications, select an appropriate notification from the 'Warning Notification' and the 'Error Notification' dropdown menus. Such appropriate notifications will be available in the dropdown menus only if you have previously composed them.
- Click Add.
- Only once you have completed determining the entire monitoring configurations for this asset in all the tabs click OK or Apply to save the configurations.
Editing monitoring configurations for a workstation
ITIL Best Practice Tip
What are the advantages of CMDB?
It's common knowledge that proper functioning of your IT network assets (such as PCs, printers, servers, software programs etc.) is one of the most fundamental aspects of your organization. It's no secret that the value of these elements for your business is much greater than their actual price.
Here is how Configuration Management can help you maximize your IT network:
- Accurate information about your network assets.
- Enables to analyze your configurations from a business impact perspective.
- control over your network assets according to their level of significance.
- Verifies licenses, subscriptions and other payments for hardware and software items are taken care of, continuously.
- Information that helps planning your financial expenses. You can know when and how much you will spend on renewal of licenses, maintenance contracts, new software and hardware
- Helps keeping track of changes in software (which are not as visible as changes in hardware). This will allow you to protect data, manage licenses, and know exactly what different departments in your organization require.
- Preparing for possible emergency. The CMDB can automatically restore of IT services in case of emergency or malfunction.
- CMDB also supports your release management
- Improves the security of your IT network, because it enables you to know if there are any accidental changes in your assets.
- Helps making sure no unauthorized or illegal software is being used in your organization.
- Reduces the risks in comprehensive changes that should take place in your IT network. The CMDB allows you to make an impact analysis, so you will be able to know when and in what steps the major changes should be handled best.
- Provides useful information about tendencies of problems and their affect in your organization. For instance, you will be able to realize that a particular type of PCs is liable to a certain type of failure. This will allow you to prevent the crisis before it takes place.
IT Joke
Five cannibals get appointed as programmers in an IT company.
During the welcoming ceremony the boss says: "You're all part of our team now. You can earn good money here, and you can go to the company canteen for something to eat. So don't trouble the other employees".
The cannibals promise not to trouble the other employees. Four weeks later the boss returns and says: "You're all working very hard, and I'm very satisfied with all of you. One of our cleaners has disappeared however. Do any of you know what happened to her?" The cannibals disavow all knowledge of the missing cleaner.
After the boss has left, the leader of the cannibals says to the others: "Which of you idiots ate the cleaner?" One of the cannibals raises his hand hesitantly, to which the leader of the cannibals says: "You FOOL! For four weeks we've been eating team leaders, managers, and project managers and no-one has noticed anything, and now YOU have to go and eat the cleaner!"
Is your organization involved in exciting and unusual projects?
Do you use SysAid innovatively and can inspire others?
If so, please contact us, so we could share your story with
our more than 40,000 readers!
What do you think about this Newsletter? Are there any more issues or questions you would like us to address
on the next issue of the SysAid Newsletter?
Please let us know. We are looking forward to your feedback!
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- Learn about the benefits of SysAid full version here!
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