Distributed Applications Node in Essentials
Applies To: System Center Essentials 2010
The Distributed Application Designer in System Center Essentials 2010 enables you to define the components that constitute your distributed application so that it can create the necessary monitors, rules, views, and reports to monitor the application.
Creating and then configuring a distributed application service includes the following steps:
In the Create New Distributed Application dialog box, you define the basic settings of the distributed application, including the name, description, template, and the Management Pack to which the monitoring objects for the distributed application are saved.
In the Distributed Application Designer, which becomes available when you complete the preceding step, you can identify and group the individual components included in your distributed application.
Available Templates
Distributed application templates are included in Management Packs. When Essentials 2010 first installs, the following templates are included as part of the Management Packs that install automatically:
Line of Business Web Application template
Messaging template
Blank template
The purpose of a template is to select the object types, which your distributed application service contains. For example, the Messaging template automatically includes object types for a mail store, DNS components, and directory service components. Before choosing a template, ensure that it includes all of the object types that are in your distributed application. For example, the Line of Business Web Application template does not include the Operating System object type. If you want to monitor an operating system as part of your distributed application, you should not choose the Line of Business Web Application template, because no operating system objects will display in the Distributed Application Designer. If your distributed application contains object types that are not included in an available template, you should use the Blank template.
Distributed Application Designer Toolbar
The toolbar displays automatically in the Distributed Application Designer. The following table describes each button on the toolbar and its purpose.
| Button | Description |
|---|---|
Save |
Saves changes to the distributed application monitoring object. |
Objects |
Toggles the Objects pane between hidden and displaying. |
Details |
Toggles the details pane between hidden and displaying. |
Add Component |
Opens the Create New Component Group dialog box. |
Create Relationship |
Toggles between on and off. When toggled to on, use your cursor to draw a relationship between components of your distributed application in the results pane. |
Remove |
Removes the selected object from the distributed application monitoring object. |
Reset |
Discards all changes made after the distributed application was last saved. |
Properties |
Opens the Component Group Properties dialog box for the selected object. You can add or remove components |
Org Chart (Type) |
Opens a drop-down list that lets you the change the layout of the objects in the results pane. |
Relayout |
Enables Distributed Application Designer to choose the layout of the components of the distributed application. Use this button after you have added a number of components and defined the relationships between them. Distributed Application Designer then attempts to find a suitable layout for the components. |
Zoom in/Zoom out |
Increases/decreases the display size of the objects in the results pane. |
Component Groups
A component group consists of objects that have a single purpose in your distributed application. Some component groups are created from the template chosen when your first created your distributed application monitoring object. You can add or remove object types from existing component groups in the properties of the component group, or you can create a new component group using the Add Component button on the toolbar.
Diagram Pane
The Diagram pane displays the components groups of your distributed application.
Objects Pane
Use the Objects pane to define the objects on your network that are components in your distributed application. Each object type that is defined in the template you choose in the Create New Distributed Application page has a button on the bottom of the Objects pane. You can remove any of these object types by using Organize Object Types.
By default, only the object types that are components of your distributed application are defined in a template. After Distributed Application Designer starts, you need to click each object type button, find the objects that are components of your distributed application, and then add each object to the appropriate component group.
Details Pane
The details pane contains information about the component group that is selected in the Diagram pane. From the details pane, you can click links to the views that are defined as part of your distributed application monitoring object.