dynaTrace Upgrades Its APM Solution for Microsoft Business-App Frameworks

dynaTrace software, a provider of application performance management (APM) solutions, has released dynaTrace 3.2, the latest version of its flagship APM solution. The vendor has focused this release specifically on improving transaction-level performance monitoring of the Microsoft enterprise application stack--including .NET Framework, SharePoint Server, BizTalk Server, SQL Server, Dynamics CRM, and Microsoft IIS. Improvements and new features in version 3.2 are intended to improve visibility into application performance for both administrators and developers/architects.

"As .NET has been maturing as a platform, with frameworks like SharePoint, Dynamics CRM, and BizTalk coming up, we are seeing more of our customers doing enterprise stuff with Microsoft [products]," said Eric Senunas, senior director, marketing and communications for dynaTrace. "We wanted to build out-of-box solutions for these Microsoft frameworks." As a result, the 3.2 release contains features oriented toward APM in Microsoft-centric enterprise environments.

dynaTrace 3.2 extends the solution's PurePath transaction-tracing technology, which enables developers and administrators to examine Java and .NET applications in depth (e.g., application dependencies, APIs, transactions), to support Microsoft enterprise applications. Another highlight of the release are new and enhanced dynaTrace Deployment FastPacks, which let enterprises rapidly deploy the APM system to start capture and viewing of detailed performance information.

"We're offering fast configuration with the FastPacks," said Andreas (Andi) Grabner, a technology strategist for dynaTrace. "You apply the FastPack to your installation out of the box." The FastPacks include sensor packs that show details about transactions in .NET applications. "They give you visibility—for example, showing the CPU time [a task took to execute]," said Grabner.

Another important aspect of the new release is the integration of dynaTrace with Microsoft application lifecycle management (ALM) tools, such as Visual Studio 2010 and Systems Center Operations Manager. dynaTrace is providing a new plug-in for the soon-to-be-released Visual Studio Ultimate 2010 that enables testers and developers to eliminate multiple test runs by rapidly isolating and diagnosing performance issues at code level. "When you run a load test, now the tester can have Visual Studio 2010 running, and the plug-in captures all transactions that Visual Studio generates," said Senunas. This capability enables testers to provide more detailed and accurate data about issues to developers. "They can see the exact transaction in the code that caused the issue," Senunas said. Load-testing data can be displayed in various formats, such as graphs, summary report, and summary table.

dynaTrace 3.2 is available immediately for dynaTrace customers, and qualified prospects can see it in their own environment during a dynaTrace proof of concept (basically a one- to two-day trial period in your live environment). For more information, visit http://www.dynatrace.com/en/net-performance-management.aspx.