Sun Java System Message Queue 4.1 Administration Guide

Introduction to Monitoring Tools

There are four monitoring interfaces for Message Queue information: log files, interactive monitoring commands, the Sun Java^TM Enterprise System Monitoring Framework (JESMF), and a client API that can obtain metrics. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, as follows:

Log files provide a long-term record of metrics data, but cannot easily be parsed.
Interactive monitoring commands enable you to quickly sample information tailored to your needs, but do not enable you to look at historical information or manipulate the data programmatically.
The Sun Java Enterprise System Monitoring Framework (JESMF) offers a common, Web-based graphical interface shared with other JES components, but can monitor only a subset of all Sun Java System entities and operations.
The client API lets you extract information, process it, manipulate the data, present graphs, or send alerts. However, to use it, you must write a custom application to capture and analyze the data.

Table 10–1 compares the different tools.

Table 10–1 Benefits and Limitations of Metrics Monitoring Tools


Metrics Monitoring Tool	Benefits	Limitations
Log files	Regular sampling Creates a historical record	Local monitoring only Data format difficult to read; no parsing tools Need to configure broker properties; must shut down and restart broker to take effect Broker metrics only; no destination or connection service metrics No flexibility in selection of data Same reporting interval for all metrics data; cannot be changed on the fly Possible performance penalty if interval set too short
Interactive monitoring commands	Remote monitoring Convenient for spot-checking Data presented in easy-to-read tabular format Easy to select specific data of interest Reporting interval set in command option; can be changed on the fly	Difficult to analyze data programmatically No single command gets all data No historical record; difficult to see historical trends
JES Monitoring Framework	Web-based graphical interface Data presented in easy-to-read format Common interface shared with other JES components No performance penalty; pulls data from broker’s existing data monitoring infrastructure	Limited subset of data available Data cannot be analyzed programmatically No historical record; difficult to see historical trends
Client API	Remote monitoring Data can be analyzed programmatically and presented in any format Easy to select specific data of interest	Need to write your own monitoring client Need to configure broker properties; must shut down and restart broker to take effect Same reporting interval for all metrics data; cannot be changed on the fly

In addition to the differences shown in the table, each tool gathers a somewhat different subset of the metrics information generated by the broker. For information on which metrics data is gathered by each monitoring tool, see Chapter 18, Metrics Reference.