When deciding whether to generate charts or reports and which tools to use for data analysis, consider how you intend to use the data. You can use the data you collect from QDBs to accomplish the following objectives:
Troubleshoot specific problems
The Charts tab is the best option for analyzing data you collect to diagnose a specific occurrence of a problem. For example, a virtual machine is experiencing memory problems and you want to determine which processes are using the most memory. Run the NT_TopMemoryProcs Knowledge Script with a high resolution (for example, every five minutes) and configure the job to collect data. The job generates a data stream for memory utilization, and data collection returns the process name, ID, and memory utilization for each data point. The Charts tab provides quick access to a graphical representation of the data stream and allows you to view detailed information about data points of interest.
For more information about using the Charts tab, see Section 11.3, Working with the Charts Tab.
Monitor key performance indicators
The Chart Console is the best option for monitoring performance indicators because it allows you to create charts from specific data streams and add them to chart groups from which you can quickly assess overall performance. If necessary, you can obtain detailed information about areas of concern. For example, you want to monitor your IIS, Websphere, and SQL Servers for trends that indicate potential problems and be able to obtain information about specific servers for troubleshooting purposes. Run the IIS_HealthCheck, WebSphereAppSrvUNIX_HealthCheck, and SQL_Connectivity Knowledge Scripts and configure the jobs to collect data. In the Chart Console, create charts from the data streams for the servers you want to monitor and create a group that contains only those charts. You can scan the chart snapshots as a group to quickly identify areas of concern, then select individual charts to obtain detailed information for troubleshooting purposes.
For more information about using the Chart Console, see Section 11.4, Working with the Chart Console.
Identify trends based on historical information
Reports are the best option for obtaining historical data on a schedule to identify trends.
The application-specific and generic reports AppManager provides are the best option for obtaining short-term, static data. For more information about basic AppManager reports, see Section 10.0, Running Reports.
NetIQ Analysis Center is the best option for obtaining long-term data. For more information about using Analysis Center, see the Analysis Center product documentation.