7.4. Monitoring Solutions

For each of the four subsystems just discussed, a modern operating system offers its own specific tools that you can use to get information about the subsystem’s status. These tools are largely standalone applications that do not correlate (at least directly) with the other tools. As you will see in the next sections, the tools are powerful in their own right, but it requires a fair amount of effort to record and analyze all of the data they produce.

Fortunately, a number of third-party monitoring solutions are available for most operating and database systems. The following are a few of the more notable offerings. It is often best to contact your systems providers for recommendations on the best solution to meet your needs and maintain compatibility with your infrastructure. Most vendors offer system monitoring tools as an option.