The RG Solutions® Enterprise Platform is a multi-tiered information environment that supports both agent collected native data along with user supplied Companion Data. The basis of all processing is a Resource Catalog that defines the computing resources present for the business solution.
Once a resource is defined, the product supplies the appropriate processing to ensure that data is formed based on the requirements of the model (tiers) and that of the business. The resulting analytics will depend on the Companion Data supplied and the type of processing that is being performed.
Each tier of the platform is based on a computing engine performing a unique function for the tier. Some of the incoming information will be native to the computing engine while other information will be based on the application processing. The following are the types of incoming data used within the data model of the platform:
- Native Performance (Blue Database – All Tiers): The agent collected performance information provided by the computing engine. All systems (open and proprietary) have this type of information available.
- Application Centric (Single Color Input – All Tiers): The user collected statistical information related to the application processing. In some cases, the information (SQL Server, Exchange, etc.) is provided by a supplied agent. The information is supplied to the product by using the Companion Data interface.
- Manifest (Multiple Color Input – Web Services and Business Processes only): The information provided by RG Solutions® processing and/or the user that determines how a resource is shared. The manifest profiles the web services or business processes provided in the processing.
- Human (Individuals Input – Business Processes only): The information that is provided as part of the human interface. This information can contain expended labor amounts, activity counts (i.e. claims processed) or other human related information. The information is supplied to the product by using the Companion Data interface.
Metering Methodology
The RG Solutions® platform uses an integrated metering methodology allowing for the measurement of heterogeneous systems. One of the biggest problems of sharing resources in an IT group is that most of the systems are of differing power or architecture. In some cases, a single application may be moved around to different Virtual Appliances (of differing power). In this case, a single processor second may not be the same as the next processor second for the same application processing.
The metering methodology provides the ability to measure the system processing in both native (based on the platform) and standard measures. The standard measure is based on a “least common unit” concept for its calculation, and allows for the comparison, forecasting, and costing of a system in terms that will be consistent over time. The metering methodology is used throughout the product and extends down to the workload or program level.
With a metering methodology, it is possible to evaluate the effects of processing in both the standard and native measures of the system. For a Chargeback or Showback system, this means that it is possible to charge for MIPs used or by some other power measure.
Platform Collections
The Enterprise Platform includes ‘Collections’ of directed processing that forms data for a particular platform. The collections will form both native and business centric data based on the business requirements.
For each of these collections, an agent collecting program is available that will gather the native performance information from a physical system. The available agents include both proprietary and open systems. Some of the platforms included in this list are: Windows, AIX, and Solaris.
Also included in the collections is processing that is specific to a major application (such as SQL Server, Exchange, etc.). For other applications, it is possible to customize an existing agent to collect information that can be included using the Companion Data interface.
Software Oriented Architecture
RG Solutions® platform processing is based on a Software Oriented Architecture (SOA). SOA relies heavily on the ability of the overall processing to use shared resources. One of the major shortcomings of other products is the inability to define shared resource usage in a manner other than on a simplistic allocation basis.
The platform understands the relationships of shared resources and uses manifests for determining activity based allocations. Manifests define sharing requirements and will vary based on time-of-day, day-of-week, etc. The platform processing dynamically updates the manifests as the processing requirements change.
Software Oriented Architecture is a robust model that includes IT processing ranging from simple to complex. In almost all cases, the processing requires the sharing of resources. The ability to identify sharing (service and activity) ensures accurate cost allocation and effective cost measurement of all IT resources.
Heterogeneous Systems
One of the major complications of an effective Chargeback or Showback process is the handling of heterogeneous systems within the data formation process. As long as the processing remains on a single system for a single user, the process is simple. Introducing different systems and/or platforms along with inter/intra resource sharing forces a more complex measurement system.
By using a metering methodology for all system processing within the Enterprise Platform, RG Solutions® elimiates issues associated with heterogeneous systems. The product understands metered usage and converts the native measures into native usage and standard usage forms. The native usage form is familiar to the IT practitioners while the standard usage form is used for consolidation, comparison, forecasting, Chargeback, Showback, or any other situation that requires a common measure among heterogeneous systems.
