Profound Infotech will be using a tool for monitoring the Mifos application, MySQL database as well as the whole server. The tool is Availability and Performance Management Solution that proactively monitors Business Applications and help enterprises ensures that their web applications meet end user expectations. The features of the tool are as follows:

Key Benefits

Integrated Application and Server Management Solution

Agentless Monitoring Solution

Business Service Management - Meet Service Level Agreements (SLAs)

Increase service availability and efficiency

Have a holistic view of your business application

Optimize resources by gaining more visibility

Empower yourself with Business Views integrated with Google Maps

Application Server management

Monitor Microsoft .NET, Oracle Application Server, WebLogic, WebLogic Integration, WebSphere, JBoss, and Tomcat servers.

Monitor over 100 critical parameters.

Monitor end to end J2EE Web Transactions, Java Runtime.

Availability and response time of Application servers.

JVM and Thread Statistics.

Keep track of usage and hit rates of EJBs, Servlets, and JSPs

Empower yourself with Business Views integrated with Google Maps

Servers & Network Services

Monitor availability and health of servers.

Monitor Windows, Linux, IBM AIX, HP-UX, Tru64-Unix, Solaris, FreeBSD servers, Mac OS servers.

Monitor SOAP Web Services, Exchange Server, Apache, IIS, PHP.

Monitor CPU, Memory, and Disk utilization statistics.

Custom Scripts and QEngine Script Monitoring.

Windows Event Log, Windows Performance Counters.

Web Site Monitoring

Monitor web page performance.

Record and playback web transactions.

Ensure web sites run 24 X 7

Custom Application Management

Manage JMX and SNMP based resources.

Monitor your Java/J2EE applications using JMX.

Monitor your network devices and applications using SNMP. It constantly keeps track of resource availability and performance so that end-users are not affected due to poor quality of service. IT operators and administrators can view the critical status of resources and be notified of any alerts in real time.

Database Management

Monitor Oracle, MySQL, MS SQL, Sybase and IBM DB2.

Monitor database performance and database usage.

Monitor TableSpace, SGA, and Datafile details of Oracle.

Notify & Resolve Problems

Intelligent alert correlation and color-coded alerts.

Get notified through e-mail, SMS, send traps, execute programs and MBean Operations.

Take corrective actions by executing custom scripts.

In-depth root cause analysis on critical alerts.

Acknowledge and add operator notes.

Integrate with third-party Management Systems.

Reports and Graphs

Out-of-the-box reports and custom reports.

Intuitive graphs for trend analysis and planning.

Reports on business application performance.

Reports on critical alerts.

3. INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING / NEEDS

4. UPGRADING SERVER HARDWARE & SOFTWARE

Plan your upgrade

The first task in every upgrade process is planning for the upgrade and ordering what we need. Planning is very important, and the time invested in planning will make the upgrade process as easy as it can be. Completing this task may require up to six weeks, depending on the complexity of the environment.

Replace hardware features

You may need to replace or eliminate hardware features that will not work in your target environment. You may need to replace or eliminate hardware features before we upgrade to the new model, or both. This hardware must be replaced and new hardware features added as necessary before we upgrade the server. Replacing hardware features can typically be accomplished in a weekend.

Activate all standby processors

If you are upgrading from a server that is enabled for Capacity on Demand and you have standby processors that have not been activated, you must activate all of these processors before upgrading your software or server. Activating standby processors can be accomplished in minutes provided that you have the required POD activation code.
Another task in the upgrade process is installing the new version of the operating system. Installing new OS version on a server that is not preloaded requires at least one hour.

Complete the server upgrade

The final task in the upgrade process is to upgrade the server. The actual upgrade is performed by a service representative, but preparing for the upgrade and returning the server to production are your responsibility. Upgrading from one server to another server requires up to three days.
Your unique upgrade may include some or all of the stages of a complete upgrade process. To accurately determine which upgrade activities you need to perform, be sure to use the information in the upgrade-planning topic. Once your planning is complete, you can use the interview in the Upgrades topic to build an upgrade task list customized to your unique environment. The interview is only available in the online version of the Information Center.

5. APPLICATION ADMINISTRATION

After installing Mifos application, the job of the administrator is to add new offices, new system users and any new roles required, verify the permissions on the initial roles (if present), and assign users to roles. The main activities of administrator are the following:

Creating office hierarchy	This process involves in creating new offices of the Institution. For example HO, divisional offices, regional offices, area offices, and branch Offices.
Creating system users	This process involves in creating new system users in the particular branches. The system users are classified into two types, Loan officer and Non Loan Officers.
Creating roles and permissions	This process involves in creating new roles and permissions to system users. Default role is Admin. Admin can perform all types of activities. We can create new roles and permissions as well like Branch managers, Cashiers etc.
Defining fees	This process involves in creating new fees. Fees can be collected from customers for providing services by the financial institution. For example Membership Fee, Loan Processing Fee, Loan Protection Fund etc.
Defining product categories (if applicable)	This process involves in creating Categories. This is basically the category of loans issued by the financial institution. For example Business Loans, Petty Loans. Consumer Durable Loans etc.
Defining loan products	This process involves in creating new loan products. This involves mainly defining attributes like Loan Max Limit and Loan Min Limit, Min No of Installments, Max No of Installments, Service Charge, Type of Category, Principal GL Code, Service Charge Gl Code etc.
Defining savings products (if applicable)	The savings product is used to define various savings packages for MFI clients. For example, the MFI can have a weekly saving product that is mandatory and requires clients to save once every week; and can have a saving product that optionally requires clients to save every week. The MFI uses the defined products to create savings accounts for individual centers, groups or individual clients. The following steps will guide you how to define a savings product.
Defining checklists (if applicable)	Checklists are used to communicate the internal processes (as a reminder of guidelines) required before certain state movements of accounts or customer records can proceed. Each time a user attempts changing the state of an account or customer record, the Checklist defined for that state change is shown to the user. The user can read through the checklist and make sure all the requirements are met. These checklists will be associated with all workflows for accounts and client records but are not automated.
Creating Centers	A center is formed by collection of groups. Centers can be created in the branches.
Creating Groups	A group is formed by collection of clients. Groups can be associated to centers or branches, depending on the MFI hierarchy and inherit the meeting schedule and Loan Officer from the centers/branches.
The point of role-based access control is make administration more intuitive and manageable. Once the roles are established, the administrative focus is primarily managing memberships within the roles, so it is very important that you verify each role's permissions. Generally, it is safer to grant each role only those permissions that are required and then add permissions as needed, rather than granting too many permissions and then removing unneeded permissions later.
Types of Roles Supported	The default role of the Mifos application is Admin. Admin can create other roles and permissions if required.

6. DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN

Emergencies and disasters can happen at any moment - and, they usually occur without warning. When an emergency strikes, our immediate safety and prompt recovery will depend on the existing levels of preparedness. This document describes the steps to take after any kind of disaster.

Goals

· Provide methods to recover from Loss of data.

· Inform the MFI about the downtime period and let them know when they can start using the application again.

· Define steps needed to keep the system up-to-date and running again.

ServerBeach Policy

In case of a disaster, ServerBeach provides an alternate server with in 4 hours of the disaster. 4 hours includes OS installation, Anti-Virus installation and whatever it takes to make the server up and running. ServerBeach provides a feature where in a script is scheduled to run everyday to take the database backups and store it in a secured FTP site.

Steps to follow after a disaster:

1. Inform ServerBeach about the disaster and request for an alternate server.

2. Inform the MFI about the downtime period.

3. Install the required Mifos software, related software on the alternate server and restore the latest database from the backups. The installation process is as follows:

3.1. Java Installation:
	3.1.1.	Install Java software after downloading from the link, http://www.java.com/en/download/index.jsp.

3.2. JBoss Installation:
	3.2.1.	Download Jboss software(Freely available on the net) from the following link: http://sourceforge.net/project/downloading.php?group_id=22866&use_mirror=jaist&filename=jboss-4.0.3SP1.zip&87601661.
	3.2.2.	JBoss Installation Steps.

3.3. MySql Installation:
	3.3.1.	Download MySql software(Freely available on the net) from the link, http://dev.mysql.com/get/Downloads/MySQL-5.0/mysql-5.0.45-win32.zip/from/pick#mirrors.
	3.3.2.	MYSql Installation Steps.

4. Test the applications performance.

7. MIFOS UPGRADES AND BUG FIXES

As per discussions with Grameen Foundation, a new version 1.1 of Mifos will be released in April 2008. The Mifos application needs to be upgraded to version 1.1 as and when its available. Once Mifos v 1.1 is released, Profound team tests the functional part of the application and report bugs/issues, if any.

8. DETERMINING FUTURE NEEDS IN MIFOS PRODUCT

Any functional requests from the MFI are simultaneously forwarded to Grameen Foundation team for their suggestions.

9. COMMUNICATING BUG FIX NEEDS TO MIFOS COMMUNITY

The Grameen Foundation team had suggested us to log any bugs/issues related to Mifos at https://mifos.dev.java.net/ and assign those bugs/issues to Amy.

Profound Infotech (P) Ltd, Regd. Off: Flat No: 101 Bharani Residency, Green Hamlet, Kondapur, Hyderabad - 500 081, India.

last modified 2008-04-04 12:56

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