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iPlanet Application Server 6.0 Administration Guide |
Chapter 2 Monitoring Server Activity
This chapter describes the monitoring service provided by iPlanet Application Server Administrator. This service allows you to chart various attributes of the Executive, Java, C++ and Bridge server processes.The following topics are included in this chapter:
Monitoring iPlanet Application Server
Monitoring iPlanet Application Server
iPlanet Application Server (iAS) Administration Tool provides a monitoring service that lets you chart the activity of the Executive, Java, C++ and Bridge servers that make up iAS. You can also log the information to a file. By graphically representing this server activity or recording the data in a file, you can track and review the performance of an application server or group of servers and make adjustments to improve performance. For example, if you add more memory to the application server or deploy a new application, you may want to monitor the performance of the application server to see the impact of these changes.iPlanet Application Server's monitoring service polls the application server at designated intervals. This saves server resources because the server updates the information being monitored at the interval instead of updating it continuously. You can specify this time interval in the Monitoring window. For information about setting the interval time, see .
The monitoring window "pops out" from the Administration Tool when you click a process to monitor. This detached window enables you to monitor server activity in a separate window while continuing to perform other administrative tasks using the Administration Tool.
Monitoring Process Attributes
The server activity, or attributes, you can chart varies according to which server, or process, you are monitoring.The Executive Server (KXS) process is responsible for managing and hosting the system-level services, such as the load-balancing service, and for delegating requests to one of the application processes, either the Java server, or C++ server depending on the language in which the application component is written.
You can chart the following attributes of the Executive Server process:
The Java Server (KJS) and C++ Server (KCS) processes are responsible for hosting application elements, depending on the language in which the element is written. The Java Server hosts application components written in Java, and the C++ Server hosts components written in C++. In addition, the Corba Executive Server (CXS) or Bridge process allows for independent Java clients (Rich Clients) to communicate directly to Enterprise JavaBeans hosted on a Java Server. For more information about the Rich Client, see the Programmer's Guide (Java).
You can chart the following attributes of the Java, C++ and Bridge Server processes:
For each process, you can chart one or more attributes. You can also simultaneously chart the attributes of several application servers, if you have a multiple-server enterprise.
To monitor process attributes, perform the following steps:
On the iAS Administration Tool toolbar, click the Monitor button to open the Monitor window.
In the left pane of the Monitor window, click the process whose attributes you want to chart.
In the right pane of the monitoring window in iAS Administration Tool, click the Add Plot button located at the bottom of the window.
In the Attribute drop-down list, select the attribute to chart from the Attribute drop-down list.
From the Scale drop-down list, choose the ratio (scale) at which to plot the attribute from the Scale drop-down list.
From the Color drop-down list, choose a color to represent the process attribute on the chart from the Color drop-down list.
- Values range from 10:1 to 1:1,000,000. A scale of 10 to 1 (10:1) indicates that 10 units will be plotted on the Process Monitor window for each attribute count.
Repeat steps 2 through 6 for each process or attribute you want to chart.
At the bottom of the Monitor window, specify how often you want to update the Monitor Plot window.
- This setting applies to all process attributes displayed in the Monitor window.
Logging Process Data to a File
Once you begin monitoring a process attribute, you can send data collected by the monitoring service to a file.To log process data to a file, perform the following steps:
On the iAS Administration Tool toolbar, click the Monitor button to open the Monitor window.
Click the process whose data you want to log as shown in the following figure:
Click the Options button at the bottom of the window.
Click the Log to File checkbox to enable the logging service.
In the File Name text field, enter the name of the file where data is written.
Changing a Process Data Plot
Once an attribute data plot is specified for a process (KCS, KJS, and KXS), you can adjust the plot using the Attribute, Color, and Scale drop-down boxes.To change the way a process attribute is plotted, perform the following steps:
On the iAS Administration Tool toolbar, click the Monitor button to open the Monitor window.
Locate a row where you want to change the plot.
To change an attribute, click the Attribute column and choose a new attribute to plot from the drop-down list.
Similarly, click the Color and Scale columns to change how the attribute will be plotted.
Removing a Process Data Plot
If you no longer want to plot an attribute for a process, you can remove it from the plot.To remove a process plot, perform the following steps:
Click the Monitor button on the iAS Administration Tool toolbar to open the Monitor window.
Select the attribute for a process you want to remove.
- The attribute is removed from the Monitor window and is no longer plotted.
Receiving Event Notification
Event notification is useful when you cannot actively monitor an iPlanet Application Server (iAS) machine. This passive monitoring system is activated only in critical circumstances, such as when a process has failed.You can set the system to alert one or more concerned parties via email when a critical situation arises by supplying the email address(es) of those you want to alert. In addition, you can specify a script that will run automatically when certain events occur.
About Events
You can specify an individual to notify or a script to run for the following critical events:
What Do I Do When a Server Goes Down?
If one or more of the Executive Server, Java Server, or C++ Server processes go down, the Administrative Server attempts to restart each process. If the process cannot be restarted by the Administrative Server process, the application stops running and can result in lost transactions.Recurring failures are usually attributed to problems within the application code, but other failures can also happen. Regardless of what causes a process to fail, it is useful to be notified immediately.
If the process restarts, investigate the cause of the failure to determine whether adjustments can be made to prevent future failures. If the process does not restart, look at the log to find the cause of the failure.
What Do I Do When Restarts Are Exceeded?
You can also be notified when the Administrative Server has exceeded the number of times it has been set to restart a process. The maximum engine restarts value is set on the Server tab of the General window.Increase the Administrative Server restart option, if it is low, and determine the cause of the process failure.
What Do I Do When an Abnormal Cluster is Detected?
You can also be notified when an abnormal cluster condition has been detected. Within a normal operating cluster there is one sync primary iAS that is the primary data store, with which all other cluster members communicate for the latest distributed data information. An abnormal cluster is where a dual-primary or a no-primary condition has been detected.Enable the "Restart in case of abnormal cluster" checkbox on the Cluster tab of the General window. iAS will re-start an appropriate process so that one (and only one) sync primary is present in the cluster. For more information about clusters, see Chapter 13 "Managing Distributed Data Synchronization."
Configuring Email Notification for an Event
To send an email notification for an event, perform the following steps:
On the iAS Administration Tool toolbar, click the Events button to open the Events window.
From the left pane of the Events window, select the server for which you want to configure events.
From the right pane of the Events window, select the event or events for which you want to be notified by clicking the corresponding checkbox as shown in the following figure:
In the Email Addresses field, specify the email address or addresses of the persons you want to send notification. Use the following format:
betsy@doghouse.com;arland@meow.org
In the Mail Server field, specify the mail server through which the notification is sent. Use the following format:
To see the most recent events that might have been sent out for this server, click Poll for Events.
Click Apply Changes to save your changes to your application server.
- The Poll for Event dialog box appears displaying a list of the recent events for the selected server.
- Note that when you click the Poll for Events button, events are consumed (that is, the events that you see are no longer included in the next set of events that are displayed).
Specifying an Event-Invoked Script
You can configure the event notification service to run a script. The script might page the system administrator, bringing the problem to the administrator's attention, or perform any other automated task that will help keep the system running smoothly when faced with a critical event.When a script runs, it passes an argument to indicate what type of event has occurred. For instance, the following command indicates that a Java Server (KJS) process has crashed:
To configure the event notification service to run a script in response to an event, perform the following steps:
On the iAS Administration Tool toolbar, click the Events button to open the Events window.
From the left pane of the Events window, select the server for which you want to configure events.
In the right pane of the Events window, click the checkbox for the events you want to invoke a script.
In the Script field, specify the path of the script to run. For example:
Click Apply Changes to save your changes to the application server.
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Copyright © 2000 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Some preexisting portions Copyright © 2000 Netscape Communications Corp. All rights reserved.
Last Updated September 05, 2000