About BMC
BMC Software helps customers run and reinvent their businesses with open, scalable, and modular solutions to complex IT problems.
From core to cloud to edge, BMC delivers the software and services that enable over 10,000 global customers, including 84% of the Forbes Global 100, to thrive in their ongoing evolution to an Autonomous Digital Enterprise.
Main takeaways
- Built a new feature based on OpenSearch with Opster
- Optimized for massive amounts of data in real-time
- Reviewed and improved sharding strategy, node configuration & more
Operating a brand new feature together with Opster
One of BMC’s many successful products is Control-M, a leading application and data workflow orchestration platform that is already installed for many companies around the world.
BMC engaged with Opster to build a brand new feature for Control-M, one that would add valuable analytics for their users and assist in identifying and assessing issues. This project entailed very challenging requirements: the system needed to be able to store large amounts of data and metrics in real-time, as well as provide blazing fast dashboards on top of large collections of historical data.
The two teams worked together to build “Control-M Workflow Insights”, a new reporting tool entirely based on OpenSearch, from scratch.
The new feature includes dashboards that provide the in-depth application and data workflow observability IT teams need to continuously monitor and improve performance. Users get easy-to-understand reports with insights into how changes impact the delivery of business services over time.
Control-M Workflow Insights is based on large amounts of data coming into OpenSearch in real-time. “It was a complex project to build, which is why we were so glad we had Opster’s technology and support,” said Nathan Amichay, BMC’s Product Development Architect. “We started with nothing, but had to incorporate the feature into a product that is already in use by many customers who would be affected. This also meant that the scale and performance required from day one of implementation were far beyond the usual level for a new feature.”
Building & Operating Control-M Workflow Insights Using Opster AutoOps
BMC connected their clusters to Opster’s AutoOps platform which enabled review of sharding strategy, node configuration, potential bottlenecks and more. AutoOps also allowed BMC to detect and resolve any errors that occurred.
After the important decisions were made, the two teams began functional testing. BMC connected their clusters to Opster’s AutoOps platform which enabled review of sharding strategy, node configuration, potential bottlenecks and more. AutoOps also allowed BMC to detect and resolve any errors that occurred.
Once the clusters were stabilized, the teams began running performance and benchmark tests to tune and optimize performance. “This also allowed for long duration capacity planning, as one of the requirements of the project was to plan multiple years ahead and implement a scaling strategy that would function for hundreds or thousands of different deployments in the field,” Amichay said.
The benchmark tests allowed for the identification of all important issues before ever deploying on customers’ premises, simulating a more mature and data-rich system. This enabled both teams to use AutoOps to optimize and adjust for production environments before the first real installation in the field.
The enterprise subscription included training the BMC team on everything there is to know about OpenSearch and AutoOps. “These sessions were fascinating and so beneficial to the team,” said Amichay.
“Control-M Workflow Insights” successfully launched to customers
BMC successfully launched Control-M Workflow Insights to customers in October 2021 and continues to operate it with the help of Opster AutoOps. The joint efforts of Opster and BMC allowed for smooth deployment, thanks to the meticulous planning and development of every last detail.
“Opster’s products and services were the key in delivering a successful feature to our customers.”
“Thanks to Opster, our new feature rolled out smoothly and successfully,” said Nathan Amichay. “Their products and services were key components in delivering a successful feature to our customers.”
Opster and BMC are working closely together on the next joint venture to plan and deploy additional new features, including advancing Control-M Workflow Insights, to continue to provide new solutions for BMC’s customers.
