Practical Service Level Management: Delivering High-Quality Web-Based Services

John McConnell, Eric Siegel9781587050794, 158705079X

Measure, manage, and improve the speed and reliability of web services * Complete reference for creating relevant, effective Service Level Agreements * Detailed discussions of both technical and business performance metrics and their statistical treatment * Performance and management implications of various web services delivery infrastructures, including caching and load distribution * Discussion of the transport infrastructure, including quality of service (QoS) technology and traffic shaping * Instrumentation system design * Measurement collection, aggregation, correlation, and use for real-time service level control and reporting * Quick problem detection, “triage” problem diagnosis, and root-cause analysis * Automated, policy-based system management * Load testing, modeling, and capacity planning for web systems * Calculation of return on investment for web infrastructure improvements * Structured plan for implementation of SLM techniquesThe web has become a major vehicle for transforming business processes, but ineffective management of web-based services can result in high costs and user dissatisfaction. Service Level Management (SLM) is therefore a competitive weapon in the web marketplace, providing the tools needed to improve performance and reliability of web services while simultaneously controlling costs.