IBM has announced new software that helps developers and solution providers build self-healing capabilities into their applications - features that could save IT staff up to 80 percent of time previously spent resolving issues manually. Created through the collaboration of IBM research and development laboratories in India, Japan, Toronto and the United States, the software helps recognize warning signs to head off system crashes and performance bottlenecks.
The new software, which is based on open industry standards, helps developers capture and pinpoint the root cause of problems - allowing them to create a customized catalog of problem symptoms so they can be fixed based on historical knowledge. This symptoms catalog is essentially an automated "cheat-sheet" that operations staff can use if these problems come up when deploying and running the application, saving time and money. Additional symptoms and solutions can be added as new knowledge on the causes of problems is learned, continuously making the catalog more far-reaching and useful. The software is part of IBM's cross-industry autonomic computing initiative, which has worked over the past five years to radically simplify IT management, and the underlying infrastructure, by automating processes and building intelligence into systems themselves, helping to move businesses toward environments that are self-managing.
The toolkit is based on the OASIS Web Services Distributed Management Event Format (WSDM WEF) industry standard. In addition to making technology easier to manage, WSDM helps companies build out service oriented architecture, or SOA, which is a way of reusing a company's existing technology to more closely align with business goals, resulting in greater efficiencies, cost savings and productivity.
IBM's Autonomic Computing Technology Center in Yamato, Japan helped pioneer the development of the Build to Manage Toolkit for Problem Determination. Opened in July 2005, the Yamato center was created to address the overwhelming interest from Japanese customers and partners to make technology self-managing. The center employs 50 engineers who are dedicated to IBM's autonomic computing initiative, delivering services including the development of autonomic components and tools, support for IBM clients, business partners and education institutions and progress for standardization.
The Yamato center is part of IBM's globally integrated approach to innovation -- a network of 55 Software Development and Research Labs worldwide that develop, test and support a wide range of emerging and established technologies that span software and services. IBM labs in India, Toronto and the United States contributed to the toolkit as well.
Earlier this year, IBM introduced the Build to Manage Toolkit for Java Instrumentation, to help developers apply open management standards for response time measurement, management and event creation.
The IBM Build to Manage Toolkit for Problem Determination will be available in the fourth quarter of 2006.