Client: Opsware Inc. / Hewlett-Packard
Project: Visual Application Manager (VAM)
Launched: Version 1 in Dec 2006 and presently supported as HP Service Automation Visualizer
Opsware Inc. was a technology start-up whose purpose was to provide automation tools which allow datacenter administrators to better manage large numbers of devices. The primary purpose of a datacenter is to support business service applications, and since Opsware's automation tools had detailed information about the servers, storage and network communication, they decided to build an application that could visualize the connective nature of all the devices.
Some of the interesting features of the Opsware VAM user interface were:
- Multiple perspectives on the topological view of devices and application tiers
- Tools to collect abstract processes into logical application tiers
- Tools to compare differences in application connectivity over time
The result of this effort was that customers were able to have a more detailed view into all the devices that are required to support an application. This was found to be useful for understanding dependencies for the application as well as understanding the security implications for where data is being transfered. The innovative aspects of this application contributed to Opsware being recognized as the undisputed market leader in datacenter automation products, and eventually being sold to HP in 2007 for $1.6 billion. The Server Automation System lives on today, but has since been rebranded as HP Service Automation Visualizer.
