Halcyon PrimeAlert (R) Agent for Linux
Version 5.2.3
For use with Sun Management Center
README
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Included Components
===================
This distribution includes the following PrimeAlert products:
PrimeAlert Agent for Linux
PrimeAlert SystemMonitor for Linux
PrimeAlert MIB-II System
PrimeAlert AgentHealth
The three PrimeAlert modules bundled with the PrimeAlert Agent for
Linux provide the agent with a basic level of functionality.
Nomenclature
============
Halcyon has developed 'PrimeAlert Agents' for a number of platforms
(Windows, HP-UX, and Linux) that allow non-Solaris hosts to be monitored
by Sun Management Center (Sun MC).
Supported Platforms
===================
The following table summarizes the platform support for the various
components contained within this distribution:
Operating Base Agent Server Console
System Product Layer Layer Layer
---------------------------------- ------------------- ----- ------ -------
Red Hat Linux 7.2 - 9.0 PrimeAlert Agent x
Sun Java Desktop System 1.0 PrimeAlert Agent x
Red Hat Linux Enterprise 2.1 - 3.0 PrimeAlert Agent x
(32-bit and 64-bit)
SUSE Linux Enterprise 8.0 PrimeAlert Agent x
(32-bit and 64-bit)
SUSE Linux Professional 9.0 PrimeAlert Agent x
(32-bit and 64-bit)
Solaris 2.8 - 2.10 Sun MC 3.5 - 4.0 x x
Windows 2000/XP Sun MC 3.5 Update 1 x
Informational Files
===================
A number of useful informational text files are included with this
distribution:
- README
- README.install
- TroubleShooting
- ReleaseNotes
- LICENSE
- COPYRIGHT
These files are located in the base directory of the distribution
tarball, and after installation, in the directory:
After installation on a Solaris host:
/var/opt/SUNWsymon/install/HALLinuxAgent
After installation on a Linux host:
/var/opt/PrimeAlert/install/HALLinuxAgent
After installation on a Windows host:
<install-dir>\docs\HALLinuxAgent
Where <install-dir> is a user-selected dir.
Release Notes
=============
For information about bug fixes, enhancements, known problems, and
upgrade strategy for the current release, refer to the file
ReleaseNotes.
Installation and Uninstallation Instructions
============================================
For installation or uninstallation instructions, refer to the file
README.install.
Troubleshooting
===============
For troubleshooting information, refer to the TroubleShooting file.
HTML Help Documentation
=======================
To view the Help documentation for the three modules bundled with
the PrimeAlert Agent for Linux, see the following files in the
"doc" subdirectory of the HALLinuxAgent_5.2.3 directory in the tar file
HALLinuxAgent_5.2.3.tar:
./doc/AgentHealth/HALAgentStatistics-h.html
./doc/LinuxSystemMonitor/HALLinuxSystemAlert-h.html
./doc/MIB-II/HALMIBII-h.html
This documentation is also available by selecting "Help" from each
module's pop-up menu in the console's Details window.
License
=======
Please read the license agreement in the file LICENSE located in this
directory.
If you wish to purchase PrimeAlert Modules, please contact us at:
Web: http://www.HalcyonInc.com
Email: info@HalcyonInc.com
Tel: 416-932-4647
Fax: 416-932-4711
Overview
========
The PrimeAlert Agent for Linux monitors the health and statistics of
a host running Linux. The PrimeAlert Agent for Linux seamlessly integrates
with Sun Management Center, such that Linux hosts running this agent
can be managed and viewed from a Sun Management Center console.
The following modules are provided with this release:
- PrimeAlert SystemMonitor for Linux
- PrimeAlert MIB-II System
- PrimeAlert AgentHealth
These three modules are loaded by default when the PrimeAlert Agent
for Linux is first started. Documentation for a particular installed
module can be found in the on-line help that is available from the
module's context sensitive menus in the Sun Management Center console.
Using the PrimeAlert Agent for Linux
====================================
Starting the Agent
------------------
The PrimeAlert Agent for Linux is controlled by the pa script that
is located in /opt/PrimeAlert/bin after installation. The controlling
commands are:
- pa start agent: starts the PrimeAlert Agent
- pa stop agent: stops the PrimeAlert Agent
- pa restart agent: restarts the PrimeAlert Agent (stop and start)
- pa status agent: returns status information about the
PrimeAlert Agent (agent up/down)
Configuration
-------------
Typically, configuration of the PrimeAlert Agent for Linux is done
during installation. If you want to specify different settings after
installation, login to the Linux agent host and edit the text file
/var/opt/PrimeAlert/cfg/domain-config.x. The following lines can be
specified in domain-config.x:
# Agent Configuration
agent = {
# Agent Port
snmpPort = <port number>
# Agent Server
# This is the hostname or IP address of the agent host
# which correspond to the NIC and IP address through which communication
# with the Sun MC Server occurs. The Sun MC server must be able to resolve
# the IP from hostname and vice versa. Failure to properly specify this
# entry may result in unauthenticated communication between the server and
# the agent. The default value is the output of the command 'hostname' and
# it is set by the installation script during configuration.
agentServer = <Agent Hostname or IP Address>
# Enabled logging channels
# channels can be: error warning info debug status history syslog
activeChannels = <channel1 channel2 ...>
}
# Server Configuration
# <component> is either trap or event
<component> = {
# Server Component Port
snmpPort = <port number>
# Server Component Server Name
<component>Server = <server name>
# Enabled logging channels
activeChannels = <channels ...>
}
If host names or port numbers are changed, the Linux agent must be
reseeded. On the Linux agent host, do the following in a Unix shell
as root:
# /opt/PrimeAlert/bin/pa usm-seed -s <seed> [ -u <userlist> ]
[ -p <public-passwd> ] agent
where:
<seed> is the seed you used for your Sun Management Center
server layer installation
<public-passwd> is to set the SNMPv2u espublic user's password,
not the SNMPv1 public community string.
<userlist> is to add additional community strings
that the agent should recognize through SNMPv1.
After reseeding the agent, restart the PrimeAlert Agent for Linux.
Then wait 5-10 minutes for the server layer and the agent to
authenticate before attempting to navigate down to the agent
in the console.
Logging
-------
The PrimeAlert Agent for Linux creates several log files that can be
used for debugging purposes. These log files use a special format
called clog. Clog files are circular log files that remain at a fixed
size. The following tools can be used to view the log files:
/opt/PrimeAlert/bin/ctail: This is similar to the Unix command tail.
It displays the last few lines of a file. New lines are displayed as
they are added to the file.
/opt/PrimeAlert/bin/ccat: This is similar to the Unix command cat. It
prints the whole file on standard output.
The following log files are created by the agent --
/var/opt/PrimeAlert/log/agent.log:
This log file contains runtime information about the PrimeAlert Agent
for Linux. Lines containing critical error messages begin with "error".
/var/opt/PrimeAlert/log/agentStatus.log:
This log file contains events generated by the PrimeAlert Agent for
Linux.
/var/opt/PrimeAlert/log/history.log:
This log file contains information about monitored items for which the
history function has been enabled. This can be done in the Sun
Management Center console by using the History tab of the Attribute
Editor.
Monitoring the Linux Host with a Sun Management Center Console
==============================================================
This section provides instructions on how to configure your Sun
Management Center console to monitor hosts running the PrimeAlert Agent
for Linux.
In the following examples, it is assumed that you are logged into a Sun
Management Center console and an administrative domain is available.
Creating a Linux Node
---------------------
Before you can monitor the PrimeAlert Agent, you need to create a Linux
node in the Sun Management Center topology.
Using the Sun Management Center console, do the following:
1. In the main console window, select "Edit" from the menu bar and then
"Create Object...".
2. Select the "Node" tab in the resulting dialog box.
3. Select "SNMP Ping" from the "Monitor Via" picklist.
4. Enter a label in the "Node Label" field, e.g.
Caspian (Linux)
5. Enter a description in the "Description" field, e.g.
Linux Host on 4th floor, main building
6. Enter the hostname in the "Hostname" field, e.g.
caspian
7. Optionally, enter the IP address in the "IP Address" field, e.g.
192.1.4.5
8. Enter the port number in the "Port" field. This is the port number
you provided during installation of the PrimeAlert Agent for Linux.
The default is 161.
161
Note: If it was necessary to install the PrimeAlert Agent for Linux
on another port (e.g. because there was already an agent using
UDP port 161), then specify the port you used.
9. Click "OK". A new node is inserted into the topology window.
10. For Sun MC 3.x server layer, the following additional steps are required:
- In the main console window, select (click on) the PrimeAlert agent
host that was just added to the current domain.
- Select "Edit" from the menu bar and then "Modify...".
- Select the "Node" tab in the resulting dialog box.
- Select "Sun Management Center Agent - Host" from the "Monitor Via"
picklist.
- Click "OK".
Monitor the Linux Host
----------------------
After you have created the Linux node, you can monitor the host.
Using the Sun Management Center console, do the following:
1. Select the Linux node in the topology window.
2. Right-click on the selected Linux node and choose "Details" from the
pop-up menu.
Or:
1. Double-click on the Linux node.
A new details window is displayed that contains information about the
Linux host. By default, the three modules bundled with the PrimeAlert
Agent for Linux are loaded; they appear in the 'Operating System' and
'Local Applications' groups.
Documentation for a particular installed module can be found in the
on-line help that is available from the module's context sensitive
menus in the Sun Management Center console.
Module Features
===============
PrimeAlert AgentHealth
----------------------
This module monitors statistics about the internal state of the agent
and of the agent process.
Note: If the Memory Usage and Virtual Memory Size values exceed the
Critical alarm thresholds (default is set to 70000 Kb for Virtual
Memory Usage), the agent will exit automatically.
PrimeAlert SystemMonitor for Linux
----------------------------------
The PrimeAlert SystemMonitor for Linux provides information about the
operating system and its components. The following sub-folders are
available:
1. User Statistics: Displays information about the current console
user, the number of current users and sessions, and the primary
user of the system.
2. Process Statistics: Displays information about current processes
on your Linux system grouped by their state. It also shows the
total number of processes and the process capacity as well as
the process limit. Probe commands provide a detailed view of
processes in different states and ordered by several criteria.
3. System Load: Provides information about the current system load
(1 min, 5 min and 15 min load averages).
4. CPU Usage: Provides information about the current usage of the
CPU. Shown are idle time, busy time, system time, user time, and
the average CPU usage.
5. Swap Usage: Displays information about the total and available swap
space and the current usage of swap memory. A probe command provides
detailed information about allocated swap space.
6. Filesystem Usage: Displays information about mounted filesystems.
For each filesystem the total size, available space, used space,
and the change rate of used space are shown.
7. Network Interfaces: Lists installed network interfaces and reports
input/output packet errors and collisions. Probe commands can be
used to obtain information about route tables and protocols.
8. TCP Connections: Provides information about existing TCP
connections. Probe commands generate a detailed view of network
statistics for several protocols (e.g. Inet, TCP, UDP).
9. IPC Facilities: Displays information about IPC message queues,
shared memory, and semaphores.
PrimeAlert MIB-II System
------------------------
The PrimeAlert MIB-II System module provides information about the MIB
used by the PrimeAlert Agent for Linux. This module cannot be unloaded
by the user.
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