IBM Tivoli Monitoring > Version 6.3 Fix Pack 2 > Installation Guides > Agent Installation Guides > Windows Agent Installation Guide
IBM Tivoli Monitoring, Version 6.3 Fix Pack 2
Overview of the agent
The Monitoring Agent for Windows OS provides you with the capability to monitor and perform basic actions on Windows-based operating systems. IBM Tivoli Monitoring is the base software for the Monitoring Agent for Windows OS.
IBM Tivoli Monitoring overview
IBM Tivoli Monitoring provides a way to monitor the availability and performance of all the systems in the enterprise from one or several designated workstations. It also provides useful historical data that you can use to track trends and to troubleshoot system problems.
You can use IBM Tivoli Monitoring to achieve the following tasks:
- Monitor for alerts on the systems that you are managing by using predefined situations or custom situations.
- Establish your own performance thresholds.
- Trace the causes leading to an alert.
- Gather comprehensive data about system conditions.
- Use policies to perform actions, schedule work, and automate manual tasks.
The Tivoli Enterprise Portal is the interface for IBM Tivoli Monitoring products. You can use the consolidated view of your environment as seen in the Tivoli Enterprise Portal to monitor and resolve performance issues throughout the enterprise.
Features of the Monitoring Agent for Windows OS
The Monitoring Agent for Windows OS offers a central point of management for your Microsoft Windows server environment. It provides a comprehensive means for gathering exactly the information you need to detect problems early and to prevent them. Information is standardized across the enterprise. The Monitoring Agent for Windows OS lets you collect and analyze server-specific information such as the following:
- Operating system and CPU performance
- Disk information and performance analysis
- Process status analysis
- Internet session data
- Monitored logs information
- Internet server statistics
- Message queuing statistics
- Printer and job status data
- Remote Access Services statistics
- Services information
The Monitoring Agent for Windows OS provides the following benefits:
- Increases knowledge with extensive reporting capabilities that provide real-time access to reliable, up-to-the-minute data. Thus, you can make faster, better-informed operating decisions.
- Enhances system performance by letting you integrate, monitor, and manage your system, environment, console, and mission-critical applications. For example, the monitoring agent can alert you when conditions in your environment meet or exceed the thresholds you set. These alerts notify your system administrator to limit and control system traffic.
- Simplifies application and system management by managing applications, platforms, and resources across your system.
- New in this release
For version 6.3 Fix Pack 2 of the monitoring agent, enhancements include:
- Components of the monitoring agent
After you install and set up the Monitoring Agent for Windows OS (product code knt or nt), you have an environment with a client, server, and monitoring agent implementation for IBM Tivoli Monitoring.
- Agent Management Services
Two watchdog monitors run as part of the Monitoring Agent for Windows. One monitor runs as part of the OS Monitoring Agent process, which is referred to as the Agent Watchdog. The other watchdog monitor runs as a separate process named 'kcawd' (kcawd.exe on Windows). The kcawd process is also called the Agent Management Services Watchdog. This watchdog watches the OS Agent. It does this out-of-the-box, so as long as its Availability Status is showing 'Running' in the Agents' Runtime Status view of the Agent Management Services workspace. No setup or configuration is required.
- User interface options
Installation of the base IBM Tivoli Monitoring software and other integrated applications provides a variety of interfaces that you can use to work with your resources and data.