Monitoring Checklist

To review, here are the steps involved in designing and implementing a monitoring strategy for your directory service:

• Understand the monitoring tools at hand. Do you have, or do you plan to run, a full-fledged network management system? Or do you plan to develop your own standalone monitoring tools? Does your directory server software support SNMP?

• Make sure that any custom-built monitoring tools simulate actual directory operations.

• Decide what will be considered a failure of the directory. Set acceptable performance levels, taking into account any service-level agreements that may be in place.

• Implement log file analysis.

• Implement OS performance data analysis.

• Implement indirect monitoring.

• Decide on a notification strategy, implement notification methods , and develop a test plan for them.

• When an incident occurs, keep detailed records and use the knowledge gained while resolving the problem to improve the quality of your directory service.

• Analyzing usage and performance data collected from your directory server and operating system can provide you valuable insight into how your directory is being used, and how it is performing.