Monitoring Transactions through IBM’s DataPower Appliance with HP TransactionVision

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Back in March 2011, we released version 9.02 of HP TransactionVision (TV).  There were a number of impressive features that came out in this release.  I’d like to spend some time describing one feature in particular – the ability to monitor transactions that traverse through IBM WebSphere DataPower Appliances in SOA environments

TV Support of IBM WebSphere DataPower Appliances

What is it?

IBM WebSphere DataPower SOA Appliances are a family of purpose-built network devices that simplify, help secure, and accelerate XML and Web Services deployments while extending SOA infrastructure.  These hardware devices are becoming very popular because they can easily integrate SOA interfaces with other applications (like SOA HTTP based interfaces to WebSphere MQ interfaces of other applications).  Because DataPower helps businesses deliver applications faster by reducing the time it takes for information to move from the data center across the Internet to users on the public Internet, this device is becoming a strategic technology for many companies.

The Monitoring Issue

However, as organizations deploy this appliance, there is a need to monitor its performance…especially the transactions that it supports.  DataPower is like a “black box” when placed in the middle of an end-to-end transaction flow.  IT operators need to know and have visibility into:

• Operational Metrics – How many transactions? How long are they taking? Are they working?
• Troubleshooting and Failure Notification
• Business Metrics or Event Monitoring

Solution with TransactionVision

TransactionVision 9.02 is now able to monitor transactions that flow through DataPower.  This feature is especially useful when DataPower integrates to other components via WebSphere MQ.  When there is an issue with a transaction, it is tough to know what is going wrong.  Is it an issue in DataPower or some other component in the transaction flow?  TransactionVision helps by providing that detailed visibility.

The screen shot below shows the component topology (of which DataPower is a part) from TransactionVision…

TransactionVision also captures the full SOAP details and WebSphere MQ events.  The screen shot below shows the event detail for a DataPower event seen in TransactionVision…

 

And this screenshot shows the event detail for a WebSphere MQ event seen in TransactionVision…

 

More complex SOA flows can also be tracked with TransactionVision.  The screenshot below shows component topology with both DataPower events and related servlet events in J2EE App servers…

 

Wrap-Up

So, what’s the big takeaway here?  As companies implement IBM DataPower to quickly deploy their web services, they can feel confident in knowing they can track the transactions that traverse through that infrastructure.  You’ll be able to see both the path and the payload of that transaction as it flows through the front end all the way to the backend.  Having this level of visibility into your business transactions will enable to you to track important transactions every step of the way, ensuring they get to where they need to go, as fast as possible. 

To learn more about TransactionVision, please see the new TransactionVision Data Sheet, or visit www.hp.com/go/transactionvision.