An adapter is a collection
of SAS IT Resource Management processes that start with raw IT data
sources and end with sets of reports that deliver the domain intelligence
about the resource from which that raw IT data was generated.
Raw data about an IT
resource is represented using measures and formats that are specific
to the software that collected it. In order for the data to be processed
into statistics about an enterprise's IT resources, the raw data must
be read, interpreted, and possibly converted into a more standard
form. It can then be loaded into staged tables in preparation for
subsequent aggregation and reporting. The raw data about an IT resource
is generated by the logging mechanism of that resource or by a system
management utility that works with that data.
For those sources of
data that are not natively supported by SAS IT Resource Management,
a User-Written Adapter capability is provided. User-written adapters
support the creation of processes to manage those sources by fully
leveraging the staging, aggregation, information map, and reporting
capabilities that are delivered with the solution.