Testimonial

Ricard chooses Sysload solutions to provide
close monitoring of its servers

As part of its project to deploy a new JD Edwards ERP application, the wine and spirits company Ricard chose the Sysload solution to provide real-time monitoring and preventive management of its servers, which are distributed across multiple sites

A lightweight, perfectly optimized solution It became necessary to constantly supervise the installed architecture, consisting of around fifty machines running a mix of Novell, Windows and Unix operating systems, with tools capable of proactively anticipating incidents, measuring performance, and logging and archiving the activity of these heterogeneous systems. Another aim of this project was to implement a reliable means of assessing resource utilization levels and anticipating future expansion needs in terms of memory capacity or number of processors, for example.

Deploying the Sysload Software solution across Ricard's IT infrastructure was a natural choice, as this software solution has a well-deserved reputation for effectively and easily optimizing IT system performance.

"We needed a reasonably priced product with measurement and analysis capabilities compatible with multiple operating systems. Having previously run successful trials of Sysload applications, I knew that the product was the answer to our problem, and we did not see any need to issue a call for bids!" stresses Nicolas Bertoncini, Systems and Networks Manager with Ricard
Nicolas Bertoncini
Systems and Networks Manager

Monitoring the ERP and databases was a priority, so Ricard deployed Sysload collection modules to monitor all resources involved. The Sysload Observer console is used at all times, making it possible to monitor the system in real time and produce accurate trend charts relating to the activity and usage of the production servers and applications within this scope. Each workstation used by IT personnel now has a Sysload console with an audible alert system to provide real-time monitoring.

Sysload also offers full-featured, real-time and long-term productivity enhancement solutions. Powerful surveillance and analysis functions provide comprehensive resource monitoring, ensure that any incidents are detected and analyze the context in which they occur.

Sysload Observer gives operators instant, easy access to the detailed historical data stored in the Sysload measurement and analysis modules for all servers and applications. "Thanks to this historical data, we were recently able to identify which recurrent external event was responsible for an incident that occurred at fixed times during the weekend. A production PLC running batches on servers was preventing operational processes from being executed properly. Instead of running in the background, this one PLC was consuming all of the server's resources" explains Nicolas Bertoncini. The source of an incident can be traced thank to the solution's automatic diagnostic capabilities, which allow it to accurately identify the technical cause of a malfunction. It is then possible to program what information is displayed and how it is displayed, based on standard activity or operating profiles.

ROI in terms of enhanced service for users

IT personnel at Ricard now work preventively, rather than dealing with emergencies caused by unforeseen incidents.

"Because we receive real-time alerts we are able to proactively address malfunctions even before the hotline team are notified by internal users" notes Robert Guinti, IT Operations Manager with Ricard. Ricard values the various benefits of the Sysload solution primarily in terms of quality of service delivered to users.

The deployed Sysload solution is transparent and effective, ensuring that servers remain stable and providing an excellent level of control. "Whenever a new server or application goes live, we include it in our surveillance scope by installing new Sysload collection modules" notes Robert Guinti.

Currently, Ricard is studying the implementation of version 5.0 of the Sysload software offer, which features a new architecture for enhanced security, and centralized management of installed Sysload modules and configurations.