What Is a Management Group?

The basic management unit of MOM is the MOM management group, illustrated in Figure 3.1. A management group is a MOM installation that includes one MOM database, one or more MOM management servers, and MOM agents installed on monitored systems. You can optionally install a Report server, Reporting database server, and/or additional management console(s). MOM can also manage a limited number of computers using an agentless monitoring technique.

Figure 3.1. The MOM management group.

Management Group Names A management group is identified by a unique alphanumeric name, which is specified when you install a management server. The management group name cannot be modified after the management server is built; changing the name requires removing all MOM components and reinstalling them. The group name is up to you, although it is often advantageous to base them on geographical locations, organizational departments, or administrative needs.

The management group provides the features and benefits discussed in Chapter 1, “Operations Management Basics,” namely:

• Event-based monitoring

• Easily deployed and scalable infrastructure

• Effective system availability and performance tracking

There are quite a few MOM components, all of which are ultimately bound into a management group. A functional management group contains the following components:

• Operations database

• Management Server

• Data Access Service (DAS)

• Agents

• Administrator console

• Operator console

There are optional components, including:

• Reporting database

• Reporting console

• Web console

In the next section we look at these components and how they interoperate.