what to monitor
Just as its larger counterparts, a SMB (Small Medium Business) need to manage availability by systematically monitoring their information systems infrastructure: invidual components as well as functional systems:
- the intranet portal
- the email server. Be it MS Exchange, sendmail, or Lotus Notes
- the HR or AP application server
- the Cisco core router linked to the Internet or satellite office locations
- the corporate web server
- the application servers serving external customers
The unique challenge results from the fact that a SMB usually has much less resources to cover it all, and has more reasons to cover all the bases, since its business depends more on the customer satisfaction and superior service than pricing. Maybe, by the same token, that’s exactly why some large enterprises fail to have decent system monitoring in place. They rely on “end-user monitors” to phone in. Large ISPs can make up one such category on their own.
