Alignment Software Releases Version 1.5 of AppAssure and Adds SNMP Support; New Version Improves Usability and Automation.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SUPERIOR, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 28, 2003

Alignment(TM) Software, makers of the only deep, light and easy performance management software for n-tier application infrastructures, has released Version 1.5 of the company's AppAssure software.

The new version improves and further automates the product's implementation, configuration and user interface. The company is also releasing an SNMP adapter.

"AppAssure's rapid install, agentless technology and the new Version 1.5 features allow users to deploy a powerful management tool quickly, even in large-scale and distributed application environments. Through sound engineering and an aggressive pricing model, AppAssure can easily keep pace with a firm's growth, whether organic or through acquisitions, eliminating the need for forklift upgrades," says Martha Young, President and CEO of Nova-Amber research and consulting group.

New features in AppAssure Version 1.5 include:

-- Enhanced auto-discovery -- AppAssure automatically finds all the application components such as web servers, application servers and database servers. This improvement saves time for operations staff who may not know all the implementation details related to an application.

-- UML-based auto-dependency diagram generation -- Users can record a few sample transactions, and then AppAssure automatically does the rest. It sets up the dependency rules for root-cause analysis and status propagation, and provides a user-customizable list of all the system resources to be monitored. In addition, it builds a UML application model, giving the user a graphical view of the application.

-- Management from the UML-based dependency diagram -- Users can manage the applications right from AppAssure's graphical model of the application, just by clicking on the elements of the application diagram.

-- Replication of management parameters -- Users can define parameters for one component and apply them automatically to a group of similar components. Management parameters include performance status thresholds, alerts and responses, and selection of which attributes or metrics to monitor.

-- Individual EJB management -- The user can see the performance of individual EJBs, classes and methods within minutes of completing the installation.

AppAssure Version 1.5 continues Alignment Software's close relationship with JBoss. According to Marc Fleury, President of JBoss: "AppAssure delivers an affordable, compelling set of features: dynamic, tunable instrumentation; auto-discovery of all JBoss components; one-click root-cause analysis; transaction recording and playback; the ability to monitor EJBs, classes, methods, servlets and system-level components; automated thresholds and responses; and the ability to see JBoss applications in detail end-to-end and top-to-bottom. This is powerful stuff!"

AppAssure can monitor applications that include one or more Apache, Tomcat, JBoss, BEA WebLogic, Oracle 8i, MySQL, or SNMP components. It also monitors applications running in Sun Solaris, Microsoft Windows, and Red Hat Linux environments. Adapters are added continually to support additional technologies.

"This new version of AppAssure brings the same scale of productivity improvement to implementation and configuration that we have delivered in industry-breakthough install times," said Rich Schmelzer, CEO of Alignment Software. "Users can begin in-depth monitoring of complex applications within minutes of downloading AppAssure."

AppAssure Version 1.5 is available to download for a free 30-day evaluation at http://www.alignmentsoftware.com. The evaluation copy is fully functional and also includes a bundled evaluation copy of the MySQL database, which can be used throughout the 30-day trial period.

About Alignment Software

Alignment Software, Inc.'s mission is to provide deep application performance management software for complex, distributed-application infrastructures that is low-overhead, competitively priced, and easy to use in any operations environment. Since Alignment released its first product late in 2002, over 5,000 people have downloaded the company's AppAssure software. Alignment Software is headquartered in Superior, Colorado. For more information, visit the company's website: www.alignmentsoftware.com.