We are pleased to announce the release of jKoolOnline Beta --- a web based service that lets users monitor their j2ee transactions and applications from any location. The process is easy, 1) obtain a jkool account 2) download and install the jKool Probe 3) register it with jKoolOnline service jKoolOnline supports JBoss, WebLogic and WebSphere. jKool probe has been tested with SpecJ on all supported application servers. We are looking for your feeback on new features, services and usability. Free accounts are limited per user by a daily quota (based on transaction volume). All the details can be found on: http://www.jkoolonline.com

I would be very wary of installing this on a production server. Even if it contains "No Spyware, Adware or Popups", sending random bits of data to the cloud does not appeal to me. What happens when: * the volume of transactions goes up? How much additional bandwidth do I need? * what's the overhead of this solution (CPU, memory, network) * what if the remote service is down/not accessible? For development and test, this is perfect. For production not so. ________ MessAdmin, Java EE administration made easy (perfect for production too!)

These are valid concerns. Let me address them: 1) jKool probe sends data periodically regardless of the transaction volume -- usually once a minute, depending on the probe configuration. Web sessions are reported when a session ends or expires. 2) The overhead can range from < 5% to over 10% depending on what is monitored -- java filters, memory tracking on/off etc. Our SpecJ test showed a range between 5 and 30% depending on the granularity of monitoring. I recommend that people do their own tests before using it in production. Memory tracking is the most expensive level of monitoring. 3) If the service is down, the data gets archived locally and then sent out when the service is reestablished. I hope this helps.

Just to add to my previous note, jKool probe only sends data that is chosen by the user via java, jms, jdbc filters.