FAQs on CCMS Monitoring Infrastructure

What is the CCMS Monitoring Infrastructure?

The CCMS Monitoring Infrastructure locally monitors a component using data collectors and stores the monitoring data in the main memory of the component. A central monitoring system can request this data over the network and therefore provide you with a central overview of your system landscape.

With the CCMS Monitoring Infrastructure, you can also set alerts to be triggered when certain threshold value conditions are met. You can set an auto-reaction to notify you as a result of the alert.

The CCMS monitoring infrastructure is used as a data platform by:

• Transaction RZ22
• The CCMS Alert Monitor
• The Solution Manager
• Various system management partner products

Which of my SAP systems should I use as the central CCMS monitoring system?

The central monitoring system should fulfill the following criteria:

• It should have as high a release status for SAP Basis as possible. As the agent SAPCCM4X is only available as of a central system release status of SAP Basis 4.6C, monitoring larger system landscapes is only possible as of this release.
• It should have as high an availability as possible. You will find central monitoring of limited use if the system is not constantly available, you must fall back on the local administration functions, and the notification from the central system if errors occur is also not functioning.

In large system landscapes, it can be useful to set up a separate, purely SAP Basis system for central monitoring. You could also use this system for other central tasks (such as the Solution Manager, Central User Administration, Transport Domain Controller, and so on). For the central monitoring system, a status of SAP Web Application Server 6.10 or 6.20 is ideal.

How much workload is caused on the central system by central monitoring?

The central monitoring system does not usually start any data collection of the component systems. The central monitoring system simply requests the monitoring data that the components have collected about themselves, using RFC. This workload is negligible.

How much workload is caused on the local component by central monitoring?

With the exception of the data transfer to the central monitoring system, no additional workload is caused on the local component, as the collection of monitoring data is activated by default.

How much workload is caused in general by monitoring?

The complete collection of performance values (for example, using the CCMS Monitoring Infrastructure, the operating system collector SAPOsCol or using the ST transactions) costs a maximum of 10% of the total performance.

Is there a limit on the number of components that I can display centrally in a monitor?

There is no restriction on the number of components that can be registered with the central monitoring system.

However, if you want to display a large number of components in a monitor, this monitor should have acceptable response time behavior for updating the data. The response time of the central monitor is influenced by the following factors:

• How many components are displayed in the monitor?
• How much data is requested from the respective components?
• What is the current performance of the components?
• What is the performance of the network connection between the components?

To improve the response time of the central monitor, you can take the following steps:

• Connect components using CCMS agents. In this way, you can avoid possible performance bottlenecks at the level of the SAP work processes of the component.
• Display as little data for the components as possible. Monitoring data are transferred using the RFC protocol. The more data you want to view, the longer the transfer process takes.
• Ensure that you have the network connection between the components and the central system is as good as possible.
• Use a central system with SAP Web Application Server 6.20. In this case, the CCMS agents automatically send their performance data to a data cache in the central system. Updating the monitor then takes only seconds, from the data cache.

Which components of the mySAP.com landscape can I monitor centrally?

You can centrally monitor an ever-increasing number of components of the mySAP.com landscape. To do this, the components must be instrumented in the CCMS Monitoring Infrastructure. SAP Note 420213, which is constantly updated, provides a current overview.

What is the CCMS Alert Monitor?

The CCMS Alert Monitor is transaction RZ20. This transaction allows you to create your own views of your system landscape, meaning that you can, for example, see the availability of all components at a glance.

How do I know what threshold values to set?

The CCMS Monitoring Infrastructure is delivered with predefined threshold values. You should check whether these threshold values are appropriate for your particular environment. Note that:

• If the threshold values are too low, alerts are constantly triggered.
• f the threshold values are too high, no alerts are triggered, even in critical situations.

You can either have your threshold values customized by an experienced consultant, or use the performance transactions provided by SAP to investigate the behavior of your SAP system in normal operation.

Example: You want to know what dialog response time would be measured for your system.

Use transaction ST03 or ST03N and analyze a typical working week. This performance transaction can provide you with a time profile of your response time behavior. You can then set a threshold value at an appropriate level above the average response time that you have calculated.

What is an auto-reaction?

If a threshold value condition is met, an alarm is triggered. You can an automatic action (such as a notification) as a result of this alarm. The action is known as an auto-reaction.

What is an analysis method?

SAP has defined a helpful analysis activity for every alert. This is the analysis method. You can start these directly from the CCMS Alert Monitor.

Example: The Internet Transaction Server has crashed. An alert is triggered in the CCMS Monitoring Infrastructure. The analysis method starts the browser directly with the appropriate URL for the ITS administration tool, with which you can restart the ITS.

Can I create my own methods?

You can configure and assign auto-reaction and analysis methods as you require.

What are the CCMS agents?

CCMS agents are additional programs that help you to centrally monitor your mySAP.com landscape more effectively.

There are three CCMS agents:

• SAPCM3X: For connection SAP systems with SAP Basis 3.X to a central monitoring system.
• SAPCCM4X: To optimize the connection of SAP systems with SAP Basis 4.X and SAP Web Application Server 6.X to a central monitoring system.
• SAPCCMSR: To connect SAP components with no SAP Basis (such as the Internet Transaction Server) to a central monitoring system.

Is there special training for the CCMS Alert Monitor?

Find out about the customer training course ADM106. This two day course teaches you all you need to know about the CCMS Monitoring Infrastructure and the CCMS Alert Monitor. For more information about training courses, see this document this document .

How do the CCMS and the Solution Manager fit together? Are they not competing products?

No! Both transactions use the data of the CCMS Monitoring Infrastructure. The data is simply displayed differently.

In the medium term, SAP will provide a central starting point for monitoring your system landscape.