======================================================================
Halcyon Neruon Agent for Solaris
Version 3.4.0
Release Notes
======================================================================
Copyright (c) 1998-2011 Halcyon Monitoring Solutions, Inc.
Note: For the latest information on this product, go to the
web site at http://www.HalcyonInc.com
Refer to the README file(s) for all other information.
Versions Documented Below: 3.4.0 3.3.0 3.2.1 3.2.0 3.1.0 3.0.0
2.0.0 1.1.0 1.0.0 0.9
======================================================================
VERSION/DATE: 3.4.0/2011-06-29
ENHANCEMENTS
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Added support for IPV6 network interfaces.
- Numerical data pulled in by ScriptRunner via sub-pattern matches
can be stored and graphed by Reporter.
( see http://www.halcyoninc.com/products/NeuronAgent/help/Common/HALScriptRunner/HALScriptRunner-neuron-numericDataAlarming-h.html )
- Updated detection of NIC failures and failovers in HardwareMonitor.
BUG FIXES
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Prevents erroneous events from appearing on the Network Statistics
Tables.
- Prevent an irrational when ZFS is enabled but not used or when the
ZFS ARC Cache is disabled.
UPGRADE STRATEGY
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- This release is compatible with the prior version.
For upgrades from other older versions, please read the
successive Upgrade Strategies in sequence.
- This release obsoletes the following patches, which
must be uninstalled during the upgrade:
Patch_4271_NeuronSolaris_SystemMonitor_ARC
Patch_20110526_NeuronSolaris_SystemMonitor
- To upgrade Neuron in either a global or whole root zone,
please perform the following steps:
1) stop the Neuron agent
# /opt/Neuron/bin/na stop agent
2) If applicable, uninstall the obsoleted patches.
Refer to the documentation that came with the patches.
3) run the Neuron agent installer, which will upgrade
the necessary portions of the product.
You may skip the setup steps, as you have already
completed setup with the prior version.
# HALNeuronSolaris-install.sh
4) restart the agent
# /opt/Neuron/bin/na start agent
- To upgrade Neuron in sparse root zones, please perform the
following steps:
1) stop the Neuron agent in the sparse root zones
# /opt/Neuron/bin/na stop agent
2) If applicable, uninstall the obsoleted patches.
Refer to the documentation that came with the patches.
3) upgrade Neuron agent in the global zone according
to the global zone instructions.
4) upgrade Neuron agent in the sparse root zones
# $PAROOT/sbin/HALZoneConfig.sh
5) restart the agent in the sparse root zones
# /opt/Neuron/bin/na start agent
KNOWN PROBLEMS
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- The default installation directory of /opt/Neuron must be used
in the global zone for use of the Neuron Agent in sparse zones.
- Benign EventTarget warning messages may appear in the agent log if no
SNMP or XML targets are configured.
- Answering "Whole Root Zone" when running the install in a Sparse
Root Zone will result in errors and warnings during the installation
of product packages. Either choose an PAROOT/install directory
that is not shared, or follow the "Adding Sparse Root Zone Support"
instructions in the README.install.
- The PrimeAlert SystemMonitor module can not collect IPC Facilities data.
In some cases an irrational (pink) warning will appear, in other cases
the data fields will either be empty or contain "-1".
======================================================================
VERSION/DATE: 3.3.0/2011-01-07
ENHANCEMENTS
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Neuron agent can now run as either root or a non-root user.
- ZFS Statistics monitoring has been added. This includes ZFS Pool
usage, IO statistics, and ARC Statistics.
- Zone CPU Cap and Pool statistics have been added to the Zone
Utilization table.
- Added additional power supply failure, cpu panic, and fan failure
patterns to HardwareMonitor.
- Reporter now collects ZFS and VXFS performance data automatically
at startup.
- Memory usage and performance of the event integration with the
Halcyon Neuron Management Suite has been greatly reduced.
BUG FIXES
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- 'System Monitor (Default)' entries can now be manually removed from
Reporter.
- Event History table and the 'Module Explorer' hierarchy are now
both updated when events are either acknowledged or unacknowledged.
- Neuron agents installed in sparse root zones can now be upgraded.
UPGRADE STRATEGY
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- This release is compatible with the prior version. For
upgrades from any other older versions, please read the
successive Upgrade Strategies in sequence.
- To upgrade Neuron in either a global or whole root zone, please
perform the following steps:
1) stop the Neuron agent
# /opt/Neuron/bin/na stop agent
2) upgrade Neuron agent
# HALNeuronSolaris-install.sh
3) restart the agent
# /opt/Neuron/bin/na start agent
- To upgrade Neuron in a sparse root zone, please perform the following
steps:
1) stop the Neuron agent in the sparse root zone
# /opt/Neuron/bin/na stop agent
2) upgrade Neuron agent in the global zone
# HALNeuronSolaris-install.sh
3) upgrade Neuron agent in the sparse root zone
# $PAROOT/sbin/HALZoneConfig.sh
4) restart the agent in the sparse root zone
# /opt/Neuron/bin/na start agent
KNOWN PROBLEMS
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- The default installation directory of /opt/Neuron must be used
in the global zone for use of the Neuron Agent in sparse zones.
- Benign EventTarget warning messages may appear in the agent log if no
SNMP or XML targets are configured.
- Answering "Whole Root Zone" when running the install in a Sparse
Root Zone will result in errors and warnings during the installation
of product packages. Either choose an PAROOT/install directory
that is not shared, or follow the "Adding Sparse Root Zone Support"
instructions in the README.install.
- The PrimeAlert SystemMonitor module can not collect IPC Facilities data.
======================================================================
VERSION/DATE: 3.2.1/2010-07-26
BUG FIXES
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Fixed PrimeAlert SystemMonitor agent exit issue when used with
Solaris Patch Cluster 6/29/2010 and newer (and expected with
future full releases of Solaris 10).
- When the number of CPUs in a system or zone are changed, the
CPU Usage values in Solaris SystemMonitor will be accurate and
not show occasional errors.
UPGRADE STRATEGY
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- This release is compatible with the prior version. For
upgrades from any other older versions, please read the
successive Upgrade Strategies in sequence.
KNOWN PROBLEMS
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Benign EventTarget warning messages may appear in the agent log if no
SNMP or XML targets are configured.
- Answering "Whole Root Zone" when running the install in a Sparse
Root Zone will result in errors and warnings during the installation
of product packages. Either choose an PAROOT/install directory
that is not shared, or follow the "Adding Sparse Root Zone Support"
instructions in the README.install.
- The PrimeAlert SystemMonitor module can not collect IPC Facilities
statistics on Solaris 10 systems.
======================================================================
VERSION/DATE: 3.2.0/2010-05-05
ENHANCEMENTS
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Solaris zones can now be monitored using the Solaris SystemMonitor
module. Please note that the HTML help was not updated for this
release.
- "Disabled" module events can now be forwarded to Neuron Management
Suite as "Warning" events.
- "Down" module events can now be forwarded to Neuron Management
Suite as "Critical" events.
- The Reporter module now uses one binary for monitoring all
versions of sparc Solaris and one binary for monitoring all
versions of x86 Solaris.
- The Reporter module can now monitor 64 bit Solaris processes.
- 32 bit Reporter process database files are now upgraded to 64 bit
when Reporter is upgraded to version 3.2.0 and up.
BUG FIXES
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Fixed occasional resending of events by PrimeAlert EventTarget.
- Occasional problems sending e-mail notifications have been fixed.
- When a module is disabled then enabled, repeating "Log" events
are no longer being forwarded to Neuron Management Suite.
- Fixed occasional irrational alarm appearing in PrimeAlert AgentHealth
module.
- Fixed default thresholds not working in Network Statistics table of
PrimeAlert SystemMonitor module.
- Fixed link under Neuron banner which now forwards user to the correct
version of Neuron agent help page.
- Reporter module made more resilient to unexpected core dumps.
- Reporter's default http path is now set correctly.
- Resolved an occasional installation issue in sparse zones.
- Added additional power supply failure patterns to HardwareMonitor.
UPGRADE STRATEGY
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Uninstall the following patch file before upgrading:
PADIR/cfg/base-sendmail.tcl
..where PADIR is typically /var/opt/Neuron/.
- This release is compatible with the prior version. For
upgrades from any other older versions, please read the
successive Upgrade Strategies in sequence.
KNOWN PROBLEMS
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Benign EventTarget warning messages may appear in the agent log if no
SNMP or XML targets are configured.
- Answering "Whole Root Zone" when running the install in a Sparse
Root Zone will result in errors and warnings during the installation
of product packages. Either choose an PAROOT/install directory
that is not shared, or follow the "Adding Sparse Root Zone Support"
instructions in the README.install.
- The PrimeAlert SystemMonitor module could not collect IPC Facilities
statistics on a Solaris 10 system.
======================================================================
VERSION/DATE: 3.1.0/2009-08-18
ENHANCEMENTS
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- The Neuron Agent's performance data as gathered by Reporter can
now be extracted by Halcyon's Neuron Core.
- If the Neuron Agent's EventTarget is configurated to send Neuron
Agent events/alarms to Halcyon's Neuron Core, the Neuron Core
will keep track of the Agent as an asset. By doing this, all
such agents can be accessed from a single central Agent Viewer
from within Halcyon's Neuron Management Portal (part of the
Halcyon Neuron Core).
Please note that the term "Neuron" no longer refers just to this
Agent product.
UPGRADE STRATEGY
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- All prior Neuron Agent patches have been integrated into
this version, and thus must be uninstalled. Please read the
uninstallation instructions that came with each patch.
For your convenience a utility can be found in the product
tarball's "util" subdirectory which will remove the latest
patches. Its output indicates which patches it is looking
for and whether it has found them.
- Any product customizations provided by Halcyon (not to be
confused with user alarm scripts or actions) may need to
be updated. Please contact Halcyon Support if you have
any such customizations.
For your convenience, a utility to discover customizations
can be found in the product tarball's "util" subdirectory.
- This release is compatible with the prior version. For
upgrades from any other older versions, please read the
successive Upgrade Strategies in sequence.
KNOWN PROBLEMS:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Benign EventTarget warning messages may appear in the agent log if no
SNMP or XML targets are configured.
- Answering "Whole Root Zone" when running the install in a Sparse
Root Zone will result in errors and warnings during the installation
of product packages. Either choose an PAROOT/install directory
that is not shared, or follow the "Adding Sparse Root Zone Support"
instructions in the README.install.
- The PrimeAlert SystemMonitor module could not collect IPC Facilities
statistics on a Solaris 10 system.
======================================================================
VERSION/DATE: 3.0.0/2009-05-15
ENHANCEMENTS
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Added the Neuron Portal, a module that can centrally track the
availability and status of other Neuron Agents, monitored objects,
and pingable hosts.
- The Neuron Agent's EventTarget now has the ability to send Neuron
Agent events/alarms to Halcyon's Neuron Core. This enables events
to be viewed and managed centrally, and easily allows forwarding
and filtering to 3rd party Enterprise Management Frameworks using
the Halcyon Neuron Integration product.
Please note that the term "Neuron" no longer refers just to this
Agent product.
- Solaris 10 zone support now includes both sparse and whole root zones.
BUG FIXES
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Fixed swap statistics of SystemMonitor to report correct values.
- Fixed the problem where disabling and enabling of Hardware Alert
module was causing errors.
- Fixed the problem where multi-line patterns in Hardware Alert would
not persist across agent restart.
- Fixed an occasional Neuron agent memory growth condition.
- Fixed occasional problems with the text of the alarm close event
traps sent from Neuron.
- Fixed occasional event message translation failures that result in
dropped notifications.
- A problem was fixed where file scanning operations would miss lines
written to a logfile when the log was being written to at a
very high rate. Note that this problem did not affect PrimeAlert
LogFileMonitor, only certain other modules or features that used
the specific affected subsystem. This includes PrimeAlert Hardware
Monitor and PrimeAlert EventGateway (used to receive traps from
other devices or systems).
- Fixed the problem where long module instance names would affect the
functionality of certain modules.
- Agent startup is now more resilient to errors in circular logfiles.
UPGRADE STRATEGY
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- All prior Neuron Agent patches have been integrated into
this version, and thus must be uninstalled. Please read the
uninstallation instructions that came with each patch.
For your convenience a utility can be found in the product
tarball's "util" subdirectory which will remove the latest
patches. Its output indicates which patches it is looking
for and whether it has found them.
- Any product customizations provided by Halcyon (not to be
confused with user alarm scripts or actions) may need to
be updated. Please contact Halcyon Support if you have
any such customizations.
For your convenience, a utility to discover customizations
can be found in the product tarball's "util" subdirectory.
- This release is compatible with the prior version. For
upgrades from any other older versions, please read the
successive Upgrade Strategies in sequence.
KNOWN PROBLEMS:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Benign EventTarget warning messages may appear in the agent log if no
SNMP or XML targets are configured.
- Answering "Whole Root Zone" when running the install in a Sparse
Root Zone will result in errors and warnings during the installation
of product packages. Either choose an PAROOT/install directory
that is not shared, or follow the "Adding Sparse Root Zone Support"
instructions in the README.install.
- The PrimeAlert SystemMonitor module could not collect IPC Facilities
statistics on a Solaris 10 system.
======================================================================
VERSION/DATE: 2.0.0/2006-03-28
ENHANCEMENTS
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Added capability to sort tables based on alarm severity, field
name and field values.
- The interface will automatically update after a management operation
has been performed.
- Single button to update the navigation and details frames.
- Color coded links for more clarity.
- User interface improvements:
1) Default size of Attribute Editor window is larger
2) Hierarchy frame is resizable
3) Hierarchy content does not wrap making it easier to identify
navigation folders
4) Multiple graphs can be viewed at the same time from separate
windows.
5) Improved color scheme for clarity.
- Added Solaris 10 zone support.
- Added capability to monitor dynamic filenames that change over time
using PrimeAlert FileSizeMonitor.
- Added capability to specify the alarm severity within PrimeAlert
FileSizeMonitor for a file that does not exist.
- The data file for a module will not be removed when a module is
unloaded.
- Added the capability to specify custom messages and custom data
for use with Agent Based Alarm Actions. See the Agent Based Alarm
Actions section of the html documentation for more details.
- Users may specify action script overrides in $PADIR/bin.
- Added automatic reporting for the following properties:
1) 5 Minute Load Avg
2) Percent Disk Used
3) CPU - Percent Average Usage
4) Percent Swap Used
5) Percent Physical Memory Used
- Enhanced security so that action commands can only be executed
from $PADIR/bin. In addition, these commands must be owned and
executable by root and not contain any special characters that
may be interpreted by the shell. An error will be written to
the agent.log if an action does not meet the required criteria.
- Added capability to configure email notification during install.
NOTES
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- The default HTTP and SNMP ports have been changed to 6680 and 6681
respectively.
- Changed PAROOT and PADIR to /opt/Neuron and /var/opt/Neuron
respectively.
- The start script has been renamed from 'pa' to 'na'.
BUG FIXES
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Fixed the LD_LIBRARY_PATH for the scripts supplied with the
ScriptRunner ScriptPack.
- The status message and correct alarm severity will be included in
all transition states of an alarm.
- The open time for an alarm has been corrected.
- The timestamps for alarms will be reported using the timezone of
the agent rather than GMT.
- Module load parameters containing dashes will be presented properly
in the web interface.
UPGRADE STRATEGY
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- This release is NOT compatible with the previous version. To
perform a proper upgrade, please take the following steps:
1) Stop the previous version of Neuron
# /opt/PrimeAlert/bin/pa stop agent
2) Uninstall the previous version of Neuron
# cd /var/opt/PrimeAlert/uninstall
# ./HALUninstall.sh
3) Copy the previous configuration to the new directory
# mv /var/opt/PrimeAlert /var/opt/Neuron
4) Install the current version of Neuron. See the README.install
file for more details.
======================================================================
VERSION/DATE: 1.1.0/2005-11-07
ENHANCEMENTS
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Added capability to specify custom alarm messages.
- Added Solaris 10 support.
- Documentation enhancements.
- Added support for ScriptRunner ScriptPack which allows you to monitor
web services.
BUG FIXES
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Fixed broken links in the documentation.
- Miscellaneous bug fixes.
UPGRADE STRATEGY
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- None. This release is compatible with the previous version.
======================================================================
VERSION/DATE: 1.0.0/2004-10-28
BUG FIXES:
- SNMP engine security fix.
- Probe command security fix.
- Minor fixes to internationalization key translation.
ENHANCEMENTS:
- Overhaul of user interface. Managed objects are now displayed in
a hierarchical fashion.
- Web interface can be launched with context by adding an SNMP URL
parameter to the browser URL.
KNOWN PROBLEMS:
- Benign EventTarget warning messages may appear in the agent log if no
SNMP or XML targets are configured.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
VERSION/DATE: 0.9/2003-09-05
BUG FIXES:
None.
ENHANCEMENTS:
None.
KNOWN PROBLEMS:
None.
---//---