Smarts is the modeling-based network management technology, used throughout much of the telco industry, which EMC acquired just over two years ago.
While most network monitoring frameworks rely on rules, Smarts uses behavior models based on the idea that no systems administrator can keep pace with all the changes that are made to networks. It is similar to technology recently developed by ClearApp, founded by several alumni of CA’s Wily Technologies.
Under the deal announced at the Microsoft Management Summit this week in San Diego, Microsoft is making a one-time payment for an unlimited license network discovery and health monitoring technology.
Initially, it involves a two-way connector developed by EMC for Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007, which will be available in May. The interface will allow Smarts to share network discovery, topology and root-cause events with Operations Manager and for Operations Manager to synchronize alert status and resolution back to EMC Smarts.
Beyond the adapter, EMC and Microsoft will work to embed the Smarts discovery and alerting technology into the next version of Microsoft System Center Operations Manager, which is tentatively set for late 2008 release.
Customers can get a functionally equivalent technology today, claimed Chris Gahagan, senior vice president of EMC’s Resource Management Group, referring to the APIs that will be available in a few weeks.
Microsoft is not getting the full Smarts offering, however. The root cause and data management packs will still be sold separately by EMC.
The other part of the announcement is that EMC, Microsoft, and Cisco are collaborating as part of a larger effort involving most of the major systems management vendors in developing definitions for SysML.
