MOM tends to Windows servers' needs

The complexity is multiplied by the fact that ground-up installations, such as my test scenario, require familiarity not only with the MOM 2005 Deployment Guide, but with the MOM 2005 Security Guide as well — especially for installations involving monitoring in remote locations. Bottom line: There's a lot to learn before taking MOM 2005's discs out of shrink wrap.

Free IT resource Hear how top CIOs turn change into a competitive advantage. Sponsored by HP Free IT resource Attend the SOA Executive Forum: Breaking SOA Bottlenecks SOAExecForum.com/may2007 Sponsored by InfoWorld Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 Microsoft, microsoft.com Very Good  7.4 criteria score weight Management 8 25% Monitoring 8 25% Ease-of-use 6 15% Reporting 8 15% Setup 6 10% Value 7 10% Cost: $795 per server Platforms: Windows Server 2003 Bottom Line: Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 is a significant departure from its MOM 2000 predecessor, with powerful new features and added complexity. Although the new features and training time are a tradeoff, MOM’s continued devotion to the Windows server line limits its usefulness in heterogeneous environments. About our Reviews and Scoring Methodology

MOM 2005 sports an entirely new Operator Console and completely renovated Administrator and Reporting Console. The Operator Console in particular proves a real boon for everyday MOM 2005 users. It directly addresses access and data security issues and allows for granular staff assignments or global health monitoring, depending on the needs of the particular operator.

The Operator Console's only weakness is its lack of support for non-Windows server platforms. Microsoft provides a Unix-capable plug-in for managing Unix servers with MOM 2005, but it doesn't compare to the wealth of tools offered for Windows-centric servers. Administrators with many non-Windows servers will be better off using third-party EMS (enterprise management system) tools such as those from Computer Associates or IBM instead of — or at least in addition to — MOM 2005.

The DSI Effect

Another new development is MOM 2005's inclusion in Microsoft's infant DSI (Dynamic Systems Initiative). DSI is designed to more tightly fuse application development tools and systems management tools within the Microsoft product sphere. We're five to ten years out from total DSI fusion according to Microsoft, but it's important to get familiar with the concept today, as future iterations of most Microsoft management tools will have their roots in DSI.

One DSI side effect is that MOM 2005 needs additional software products to reach full functionality. A prime example of this is Microsoft Visio, which is required to access MOM's new graphical depictions of system health and monitoring data. Frankly, although I accessed these maps easily using an installed copy of Visio 2003, the straight log view provided in the core MOM offering proved more useful in day-to-day operations.

So far, the additional software features from apps outside MOM are nice to have, but the core MOM offering is still more than enough to manage most Windows enterprises.

Once the user gets familiar with the new consoles, MOM 2005 really starts to prove its worth. Problem resolution is far speedier than in MOM 2000, and it's easier to locate a problem and initiate resolutions. Assigning priorities or staff assignments is accomplished with a few mouse clicks.

Managers will be impressed with the new State view, which consolidates all outstanding events into a quick global snapshot so higher-up managers can make fast decisions on problem resolution and staff deployment.

New application support, reporting capabilities, and much tighter security features are other items on MOM 2005's new feature menu. The only thing that has really carried over from MOM 2000 is its fanatical devotion to all things Windows.

That means MOM is at best a fairly expensive add-on tool in enterprises with large numbers of heterogeneous servers. For Windows-centered infrastructures, however, MOM 2005 is a powerful management tool that caters as much to CIO-level management as it does to front-line systems management firemen.