A service can comprise of just one or more independent components offering an end-user service (eg., a web service offered by a web server). Alternatively, a service can be a number of components working in conjunction. For example, a mobile payment service could involve a user accessing the service via an SMS gateway, which in turn hands of the request to a middleware application server. The application server could use a database for data storage / verification and rely on an external payment gateway. The collection of components and their interdependencies constitutes a service. Different business processes of an organization could be represented as a service. Note that a single segment topology can support multiple services and a single service may involve a subset of the components in a segment.

A service that can be associated only with a web server or a web application server is a web site. eG agents have the capability to monitor the performance of specific business functions supported by a web site. Such business functions are called “transactions in the eG Enterprise system.

This page is obtained by clicking the Add New Service button in the LIST OF SERVICES page that appears upon following the menu sequence: Infrastructure -> Services -> Topology. This page allows users to specify the details pertaining to a new service. 

• First, the name of the service has to be provided in the Name of the service text box. 

• Like a segment, a service can also be associated with a zone. From the Associated to the zone, select the zone with which the service being created is to be associated. If no zone is to be associated with the service, leave the Zone List with its default None option.

• Then, from the Is this service a web site list box, select Yes if the specified service is a web site, or else, select No. If you decide to add the new service as a web site, then care should be taken to see that the site name (provided in the Name of the service text box) does not contain any "/" or letters in upper case. Also, special characters that are not allowed while naming any website should be avoided. The maximum length of a site name can be 64 characters. E.g., when accessing a URL of the form http://www.abc.com/, the site name should be provided as www.abc.com.

• Typically, if more than one web server is involved in delivering a web site service, the eG Enterprise system will report site-related and transaction-related metrics separately for each web server mapped to that site - this way, the eG Enterprise system accurately reveals how each of the web servers mapped to a site handles the requests to it, and thus points you to the ‘unhealthy’ web servers (if any). Sometimes however, service managers may require a consolidated view of performance of a web site across all the web servers that it overlays. This view enables administrators to determine the total request load on the site and the total number (and nature) of errors encountered by the site, regardless of which web server is processing the requests. With the help of this view, administrators can focus on the performance of the web site alone without being distracted by the web servers, periodically check web site usage and fine-tune the site to improve usage, accurately measure the user experience with the web site, and promptly detect its spoilers! To provide this consolidated web site view, the eG administrative interface allows the creation and maintenance of aggregated web sites. An aggregated web site is typically delivered by an aggregate web server, which has Site Support enabled - in other words, when adding an aggregate web server component, you need to set the Site Support flag to Yes, if you intend to create an aggregated web site later using that component. Also, before attempting to create an aggregated web site, you need to make sure that at least one ‘non-aggregated web site’ pre-exists in the eG Enterprise system; this is because, web site aggregation aggregates the measures captured from live transactions to a ‘stand-alone’ (i.e., non-aggregate) web site only.

  In short, an aggregate web site cannot be created if the following conditions are not fulfilled:

  1. If you do not have any aggregate web server components with Site Support enabled;
  2. If not even a single ‘non-aggregate’ web site service pre-exists in the environment

  If the above conditions are fullfilled, then an Is this an aggregate website flag will appear in this page. Set the flag as Yes to create an Aggregate website; if not, set the flag to No.

• Finally, click the Update button to register the changes.

If the new service is a non-aggregated web site, then, specify the following details:

• The name that you had given to the site will appear in the Name of the site text box. You can change this if required. Care should be taken to see that the site name does not contain any "/" or letters in upper case. Also, special characters that are not allowed while naming any website should be avoided. The maximum length of a site name can be 64 characters. E.g., when accessing a URL of the form http://www.abc.com/, the site name should be provided as www.abc.com.

• A single site can be addressed by various other names in the environment> (eg., www.abc.com may also be accessed as www.abc.com:80, abc.com, us.abc.com, 172.169.10.20 etc.). These names (or IP address:port combinations) can be specified in the Alias name(s) for the site text box. This input field is optional. To ensure that all requests to a website are captured, it is essential to ensure that all the alias names for a site are specified accurately. The administrators can specify a maximum of six alias names, each of which should be comma separated. While multiple alias names can be specified for a site, in the monitor interface, all the statistics pertaining to this web site will be reported using its site name that is specified in the Name of the site text box.

• In case of a service not associated with a zone, the Segment list box contains the list of fully configured segments in the target environment containing atleast a single web or application server, or containing a component group with one/more web or application servers. The site can be associated with any of these segments. The Independent_servers option in this list box enables the administrator to associate a site to a single web or application server that does not form a part of the component topology. Choosing the Independent_servers option also enables an administrator to associate a site with an entire component group containing one/more web or application servers, provided the group does not form part of any segment.

• However, in case of a service that is associated with a zone, the Segment list box will display only those segments (containing at least a single web or application server or a component containing one/more web or application servers), which are available in the chosen zone. Similarly, the Independent_servers option in this list box enables the administrator to associate a site to a single independent web or application server (or an entire component group that contains one/more web or application servers), which belongs to the chosen zone.

• Any number of sites can be associated with the same segment. Also, a single site can map to any number of segments. Once a site is associated with a segment, the user interface lists the web and application servers that form a part of the selected segment in the EXISTING COMPONENTS list box. Similarly, a site can also operate on an entire group of web/web application servers. If such groups exist within a segment, then once that segment is chosen from the Segment list, the component groups within will also be listed in the EXISTING COMPONENTS list box.

• To map a site to a particular component/group, first select the component/group from the EXISTING COMPONENTS list box, and then click the Add >> button. The component/group selected moves over to the COMPONENTS UNDER THIS SITE list. Thus a logical dependency between the website and the component/group is established. Likewise, the << Remove button enables the user to remove an associated component/group from the website. 

As always, the Update button enables the user to register the changes. 

If the new service is not a web site, then the following details will have to be specified in this page:

• The name that you had given to the service in the ADD NEW SERVICE page, will appear in the Name of the service text box. You can change this if required. 

• In case of a service not associated with a zone, the Segment List box lists the fully configured segments in the target environment. The service can be associated with any of these segments. The Independent_servers option in this list box enables the administrator to associate a service to a single component/component group that does not form a part of the component topology. Choosing the Independent_servers option also enables an administrator to associate a service with an entire component group, provided the group does not form part of any segment.

  However, in case of a service that is associated with a zone, the Segment list box will display only those fully configured segments, which are available in the chosen zone. Similarly, the Independent_servers option in this list box enables the administrator to associate a service to an independent component/group that belongs to the chosen zone.

• Any number of services can be associated with the same segment. Also, a single service can map to any number of segments. Once a service is associated with a segment, the user interface lists the components/groups that form a part of the selected segment in the EXISTING COMPONENTS list box.

• To map a service to a particular component/group, first select the component/group and then click the Add >> button. The component/group selected moves over to the COMPONENTS UNDER THIS SERVICE list box. Thus a logical dependency between the service and the component/group is established. Likewise, the << Remove button enables the user to remove an associated component from the service. 

As always, the Update button enables the user to register the changes.

If the new service is an Aggregated Web Site, then specify the following details:

• The name that you had given to the site will appear in the Name of the site text box. You can change this if required. Care should be taken to see that the site name does not contain any "/" or letters in upper case. Also, special characters that are not allowed while naming any website should be avoided. The maximum length of a site name can be 64 characters. E.g., when accessing a URL of the form http://www.abc.com/, the site name should be provided as www.abc.com.

• You can associate the aggregate web site being created with an aggregate web server component. For this, first indicate whether the aggregate web server component of interest to you is part of a segment or is an independent component. In case of the latter, select the Independent Component option from the Segment list. All independent aggregate web server components will then appear in the EXISTING COMPONENTS list. In case of the former, select the corresponding segment from the Segment list. All the aggregate web server components that are part of the chosen segment will then populate the EXISTING COMPONENTS list. From this list, select the aggregate web server component(s) you want to associate with the web site. Then, click the << Add button. This will transfer the selection to the COMPONENTS UNDER NEW SITE list. Similarly, you can disassociate components from the site by selecting them from the COMPONENTS UNDER NEW SITE list and clicking the Remove >> button.
• Next, from the Select a site to map to this aggregate site list, select a ‘non-aggregate’ web site that is to be mapped to the aggregate site being configured.

Note:

For best results, it is recommended that the aggregate web server component you attach to an aggregate web site includes at least two of the web servers that have been associated with the ‘non-aggregate’ site mapped to that ‘aggregate web site’. For instance, if an ‘aggregate web server’ named ‘iiswebagg’ is assigned to aggregate web site, ‘www.abc.com’, then, ‘iiswebagg’ should include at least two of the web servers that are mapped to the web site, ‘www.xyz.com’, for best results.

• Finally, click the Update button.
• Once this is done, then all the web transactons that have been configured for the ‘non-aggregate’ site will be automatically available for the aggregate site as well. Additional transactions cannot be configured for the aggregate site. For the aggregate web site therefore, the eG Enterprise system will aggregate the metrics collected per transaction across all the web servers that fulfill both the conditions discussed below:
  1. The web servers that are associated with the ‘non-aggregate’ web site mapped to the ‘aggregate web site’
  2. The web servers that are included as part of the aggregate web server component that is associated with the aggregate web site

You can preview the topology in the SERVICE TOPOLOGY PREVIEW section of this page.

If the service is associated with multiple segments, then you can view the detailed topology of an associated segment by just clicking on the corresponding segment representation in the preview.

In case of a service associated with a zone, a few additional options are provided in this page. A View hyperlink is available, using which you can temporarily halt service configuration, immediately switch to the configuration page of the chosen zone, make modifications to the zone composition, and return to this page to resume service configuration. This is useful in situations where a component/segment required for building the service is not available in the associated zone. Under such circumstances, you can use the View hyperlink to add the desired component/segment to the zone, and then proceed to include the element in the service. This hyperlink thus saves administrators the time and trouble of manually shuttling between the service and zone configuration pages.

Once a service is fully configured, a Disassociate hyperlink also appears in this page, in case of services associated with zones. Clicking on this hyperlink disassociates the service from the zone in question. If “automatic association” has been enabled for the zone, then the segments and components that are part of the disassociated service will also be removed from the zone, automatically. On the contrary, if “automatic association” is disabled, only the disassociated service will be removed from the zone, and not the related segments and segment components.

Note:

This page is obtained by clicking the Modify button beside the service to be modified in the LIST OF SERVICES page. This page helps the users to make changes if required to the logical topology. That is, the logical dependencies between the service and the components can be altered. The details pertaining to the selected service are displayed here. 

If the service to be modified is a site, then the following details will be displayed in this page:

• The name of the site is displayed. 

• A single site can be addressed by various other names in the environment (e.g., www.abc.com may also be accessed as www.abc.com:80, abc.com, us.abc.com, 172.169.10.20 etc.). These names (or IP address:port combinations) can be specified in the Alias name(s) for the site text box. This input field is optional. To ensure that all requests to a website are captured, it is essential to ensure that all the alias names for a site are specified accurately. The administrators can specify a maximum of six alias names, each of which should be comma separated. While multiple alias names can be specified for a site, in the monitor interface, all the statistics pertaining to this web site will be reported using its site name that is specified in the Name of the site text box. In order to view the multiple alias names clearly and append more names to the list (if required), you can click on the View button next to the Alias name(s) for the site text box. A popup will appear displaying the alias names. You can also modify the existing alias list or add to it using the popup. Finally, save the changes to the list by clicking the Apply button.

• In the Segment(s) associated section, you will find a comma-separated list of segments associated with the service. You can, if you so desire, modify the configuration of an associated segment by just clicking on the segment name here. This will lead you to the CONFIGURE SEGMENT page of that segment, where you can make modifications to the segment configuration. To return to the service configuration page, simply click on the service name in the ASSOCIATION section at the bottom of the segment configuration page.

• In case of a service not associated with a zone, the Segment list box contains the list of fully configured segments in the target environment containing atleast a single web or application server, or containing a component group with one/more web or application servers. The site can be associated with any of these segments. The Independent_servers option in this list box enables the administrator to associate a site to a single web or application server that does not form a part of the component topology. Choosing the Independent_servers option also enables an administrator to associate a site with an entire component group containing one/more web or application servers, provided the group does not form part of any segment.

  However, in case of a service that is associated with a zone, the Segment list box will display only those segments (containing at least a single web or application server or a component containing one/more web or application servers), which are available in the chosen zone. Similarly, the Independent_servers option in this list box enables the administrator to associate a site to a single independent web or application server (or an entire component group that contains one/more web or application servers), which belongs to the chosen zone.

• Any number of sites can be associated with the same segment. Also, a single site can map to any number of segments. Once a site is associated with a segment, the user interface lists the web and application servers that form a part of the selected segment in the EXISTING COMPONENTS list box. Similarly, a site can also operate on an entire group of web/web application servers. If such groups exist within a segment, then once that segment is chosen from the Segment list, the component groups within will also be listed in the EXISTING COMPONENTS list box.

• To map a site to a particular component/group, first select the component/group and then click the Add >> button. The component/group selected moves over to the COMPONENTS UNDER THIS SITE list box. Likewise, the <<Remove button enables the user to disassociate a component/group from the website. 

As always, the Update button enables the user to register the changes.

If the service to be modified is not a site, then the following details will be displayed in this page:

• The name of the service is displayed.  

• In case of a service not associated with a zone, the Segment list box contains the list of fully configured segments in the target environment containing atleast a single web or application server, or containing a component group with one/more web or application servers. The site can be associated with any of these segments. The Independent_servers option in this list box enables the administrator to associate a site to a single web or application server that does not form a part of the component topology. Choosing the Independent_servers option also enables an administrator to associate a site with an entire component group containing one/more web or application servers, provided the group does not form part of any segment.

  However, in case of a service that is associated with a zone, the Segment list box will display only those segments (containing at least a single web or application server or a component containing one/more web or application servers), which are available in the chosen zone. Similarly, the Independent_servers option in this list box enables the administrator to associate a site to a single independent web or application server (or an entire component group that contains one/more web or application servers), which belongs to the chosen zone.

• Any number of services can be associated with the same segment. Also, a single service can map to any number of segments. Once a service is associated with a segment, the user interface lists the components/group that form a part of the selected segment in the EXISTING COMPONENTS list box.

• To map a service to a particular component/group, first select the component and then click the Add >> button. The component selected moves over to the COMPONENTS UNDER THIS SERVICE list box. Thus a logical dependency between the service and the component/group is established. Likewise, the << Remove button enables the user to remove an associated component/group from the service. 

As always, the Update button enables the user to register the changes.

Note:

• In the Modify mode too, the View and Disassociate hyperlinks are available for services associated with a zone.

• If you change the port number or the SID of a component (using the Add/Modify option) associated with a service, then update your service configuration with the changes by following the broad steps given below:

  1. Disassociate the original component from the service

  2. Alter the topology of the segment associated with the service (this step is unnecessary, if an independent component is associated with the service)

  3. Finally, re-associate the new component with the service.