Middleware Management

Desktop Support

As most users access IT services using desktop or laptop computers, it is key that these are supported to ensure the agreed levels of availability and performance of services.

Desktop Support will have overall responsibility for all of the organization’s desktop and laptop computer hardware, software and peripherals. Specific responsibilities will include:

• Desktop policies and procedures, for example licensing policies, use of laptops or desktops for personal purposes, USB lockdown, etc.
• Designing and agreeing standard desktop images
• Desktop service maintenance including deployment of releases, upgrades, patches and hot-fixes (in conjunction with Release Management (see Service Transition publication for further details)
• Design and implementation of desktop archiving/rebuild policy (including policy relating to cookies, favourites, templates, personal data, etc.)
• Third-level support of desktop-related incidents, including desk-side visits where necessary
• Support for connectivity issues (in conjunction with Network Management) to home-workers, mobile staff, etc.
• Configuration control and audit of all desktop equipment (in conjunction with Configuration Management and IT Audit).

Middleware is software that connects or integrates software components across distributed or disparate applications and systems. Middleware enables the effective transfer of data between applications, and is therefore key to services that are dependent on multiple applications or data sources.

A variety of technologies are currently used to support program-to-program communication, such as object request brokers, message-oriented middleware, remote procedure calls and point-to-point web services. Newer technologies are emerging all the time, for example Enterprise Service Bus (ESB), which enables programs, systems and services to communicate with each other regardless of the architecture and origin of the applications. This is especially being used in the context of deploying Service Oriented Architectures (SOAs).

Middleware Management can be performed as part of an Application Management function (where it is dedicated to a specific application) or as part of a Technical Management function (where it is viewed as an extension to the Operating System of a specific platform).

Functionality provided by middleware includes:

• Providing transfer mechanisms for data from various applications or data sources
• Sending work to another application or procedure for processing
• Transmitting data or information to other systems, such as sourcing data for publication on websites (e.g. publishing Incident status information)
• Releasing updated software modules across distributed environments
• Collation and distribution of system messages and instructions, for example Events or operational scripts that need to be run on remote devices
• Multicast setup with networks. Multicast is the delivery of information to a group of destinations simultaneously using the most efficient delivery route
• Managing queue sizes.

Middleware Management is the set of activities that are used to manage middleware. These include:

• Working as part of Service Design and Transition to ensure that the appropriate middleware solutions are chosen and that they can perform optimally when they are deployed
• Ensuring the correct operation of middleware through monitoring and control
• Detecting and resolving Incidents related to middleware
• Maintaining and updating middleware, including licensing, and installing new versions
• Defining and maintaining information about how applications are linked through Middleware. This should be part of the CMS (see Service Transition publication).

5.11 Internet/Web Management

Many organizations conduct much of their business through the Internet and are therefore heavily dependent upon the availability and performance of their websites. In such cases a separate Internet/Web Support team or department will be desirable and justified.

The responsibilities of such a team or department incorporate both Intranet and Internet and are likely to include:

• Defining architectures for Internet and web services
• The specification of standards for development and management of web-based applications, content, websites and web pages. This will typically be done during Service Design
• Design, testing, implementation and maintenance of websites. This will include the architecture of websites and the mapping of content to be made available
• In many organizations, web management will include the editing of content to be posted onto the web
• Maintenance of all web development and management applications
• Liaison and advice to web-content teams within the business. Content may reside in applications or storage devices, which implies close liaison with Application Management and other Technical Management teams
• Liaison with and supplier management of ISPs, hosts, third-party monitoring or virtualization organizations etc. In many organizations the ISPs are managed as part of Network Management
• Third-level support for Internet-/web-related incidents
• Support for interfaces with back-end and legacy systems. This will often mean working with members of the Application Development and Management teams to ensure secure access and consistency of functionality
• Monitoring and management of website performance and including: heartbeat testing, user experience simulation, benchmarking, on-demand load balancing, virtualization
• Website availability, resilience and security. This will form part of the overall Information Security Management of the organization

Дата добавления: 2014-12-23