RFC 3729 (rfc3729) - Page 2 of 61

Application Performance Measurement MIB

RFC 3729                        APM MIB                       March 2004


   6.  Author's Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
   7.  Full Copyright Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

1.  The Internet-Standard Management Framework

   For a detailed overview of the documents that describe the current
   Internet-Standard Management Framework, please refer to section 7 of
   RFC 3410 [8].

   Managed objects are accessed via a virtual information store, termed
   the Management Information Base or MIB.  MIB objects are generally
   accessed through the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).
   Objects in the MIB are defined using the mechanisms defined in the
   Structure of Management Information (SMI).  This memo specifies a MIB
   module that is compliant to the SMIv2, which is described in STD 58,
   RFC 2578 [1], STD 58, RFC 2579 [2] and STD 58, RFC 2580 [3].

2.  Overview

   This document continues the architecture created in the RMON MIB [7]
   by providing analysis of application performance as experienced by
   end-users.

   Application performance measurement measures the quality of service
   delivered to end-users by applications.  With this perspective, a
   true end-to-end view of the IT infrastructure results, combining the
   performance of the application, desktop, network, and server, as well
   as any positive or negative interactions between these components.

   Despite all the technically sophisticated ways in which networking
   and system resources can be measured, human end-users perceive only
   two things about an application: availability and responsiveness.

      Availability - The percentage of the time that the application is
      ready to give a user service.

      Responsiveness - The speed at which the application delivers the
      requested service.

   A transaction is an action initiated by a user that starts and
   completes a distributed processing function.  A transaction begins
   when a user initiates a request for service (i.e., pushing a submit
   button) and ends when the work is completed (i.e., information is
   provided or a confirmation is delivered).  A transaction is the
   fundamental item measured by the APM MIB.






Waldbusser                  Standards Track