Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about FiveRuns’ Rails developer and monitoring products, how they work and how much they cost.

Requirements

What are the minimum requirements to use RM-Manage?

In order to use the FiveRuns RM-Manage monitoring application you will need a modern, javascript-enabled web browser such as Mozilla Firefox, Safari, or Microsoft Internet Explorer 6. In order to view your systems and subsystems from within the RM-Manage application, these systems must have the FiveRuns Smart Client software installed. The Smart Client can be downloaded from your RM-Manage site.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.x is not supported and improved support for Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 is in the process of being added.

How it Works

How is RM-Manage different?
Most management and monitoring software is bloated with features no one can use and is nearly impossible to roll out and maintain. We believe in a philosophy that allows us to deliver the most important, relevant information in the clearest way possible – allowing developers and administrators to spend less time troubleshooting.
How will you monitor my systems?
We won’t! You will. FiveRuns RM-Manage monitoring removes the complexity, risk and cost normally associated with systems management solutions, leaving you in control of monitoring and managing your systems. You simply choose what to monitor, we handle the collection, analysis and reporting.
Why a hosted solution?
A hosted solution provides you with a number of benefits:
  1. you won’t need any new hardware
  2. you don’t have to worry about maintaining the offering
  3. new functionality can be introduced more rapidly without the hassle normally associated with software upgrades

FiveRuns RM-Manage monitoring is virtually maintenance-free, significantly different than most management products. That is the beauty of software as a service (SaaS).

What can you monitor?
Linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS X, Sun Solaris, Apache, Tomcat, JBoss, MySQL, Oracle and more. Don’t see what you’re looking for here? Then contact Customer Care as we have a growing list of supported platforms, subsystems, and applications with several in beta testing.
Can I monitor servers that are in different physical locations?
Absolutely. You can view all of your systems from anywhere, making RM-Manage ideal for monitoring co-located and remote systems together.

About the FiveRuns Smart Client

Is there any software to install?
A simple Smart Client is installed on each system you want to monitor. It can be installed directly onto each system you want to monitor or you can create an installable image for distribution to remote systems.
Doesn’t that mean I will have to maintain this software and keep it up-to-date?
No, the Smart Client has been designed to self-configure to your environment and upgrade without any user intervention whenever FiveRuns introduces new functionality or updates.

Connectivity and Networking

We don’t allow outside hosts to contact our systems, how can this work?
Our systems never directly contact any of your systems. All communication between your company and RM-Manage is initiated by you.
Do all my systems require Internet access?
Only one Smart Client per location requires access to the Internet, acting as a proxy for all the other installed Smart Clients, sending the data back to the RM-Manage host.
Do I need a dedicated system to act as a proxy?
No. The Smart Client has been architected to only consume the absolute minimum of system resources and can easily forward messages from other Smart Clients without experiencing undue load.
Doesn’t the proxy become a single point of failure?
The proxy is never a single point of failure. Any number of Smart Clients can be configured to act as proxies, providing high availability failover.
How frequently does the Smart Client communicate with the host?
It all depends on the types of systems that you are monitoring, but the shortest interval is every 5 minutes, and the longest is once every time the system is rebooted.
How big is this pushed information?
Typically the data that is pushed to the RM-Manage host is no bigger than a typical web page, like the one you are viewing right now.
Won’t it be a nightmare to change the configuration of my Firewall?
You won’t need to change the configuration of your firewall. Although the Smart Client uses a highly secure encryption mechanism to protect your data, it uses HTTP to transport it to the RM-Manage host. In most cases, this means you will have to make no changes to your existing network infrastructure to use the RM-Manage service.

Security and Data Storage

How secure are the communications?
The Smart Client initiates all communications between itself and the RM-Manage host and utilizes highly secure RSA public/private key encryption combined with AES encryption, ensuring it can only be viewed by the RM-Manage host. The Smart Client will only accept updates from a RM-Manage host that has been validated for integrity using SHA1 message digests. No client or host communications are ever sent in the clear.
Where is my data stored?
All of your data is stored in its own database, separate from other customers. Your data can only be accessed by you and your nominated co-workers.
How long is my data stored?
RM-Manage stores 35 days of detailed data for every system you are monitoring. After that time, it is rolled up into summaries for performance and availability trend analysis.

Trial Accounts and Pricing

How is your service priced and how much does it cost?
We have a simple pricing structure based on the number of servers being monitored. We don’t charge based on the number of CPUs, monitored subsystems, or users. Our prices are substantially lower than system management alternatives, while delivering comprehensive functionality and an entirely new, simple, and intuitive user experience.
How do I get a demo?
You can sign up right now to see FiveRuns RM-Manage in action, or contact us at to schedule a time to walk through it together.