Practical Service Level Management: Delivering High-Quality Web-Based Services

Policy-Based Management

Automation is a key attribute of an effective Service Level Management (SLM) system. Stringent SLA compliance criteria reduce the time cushion that administrators might have had. One of the compliance criteria mentioned in Chapter 2, “Service Level Management,” is a demand for higher availability. If management staff members are left to deal with high rates of change and growing complexity, the resolution times are unacceptable. Automated management tasks are the only way to add speed and to deal with complexity.

Note, however, that automated tasks are also of concern to administrators because they are taking actions and making changes at a faster rate than humans can maintain. A policy-based management system is an attempt ...