1 Introduction to the Connector

The Hewlett-Packard OpenView Operations Connector (version 1.1.4.1.0) integrates Oracle Enterprise Manager with HP OpenView Operations Unix, or OVOU, (version 8.0) through web services, enabling you to exchange event information between the two applications.

Connector Features

The Oracle Management Connector for HP OpenView Operations (OVOU) enables customers who manage their data centers using HP OpenView Operations to integrate with Oracle Enterprise Manager by enabling end-to-end event and alert sharing. The connector allows administrators to automatically forward OVOU events to Oracle Enterprise Manager as well as forward Oracle Enterprise Manager alerts to OVOU.

Additionally, the connector monitors all of the events forwarded from OVOU and automatically updates alert information in the Oracle Enterprise Manager console anytime changes occur in OVOU. A similar synchronization of alerts sent from Oracle Enterprise Manager occurs in OVOU. This ensures that the two systems are always synchronized, providing administrators with current information about their entire data center.

The connector supports the following features:

  • Synchronization of the alert life cycle on both ends

  • Customization of alert mappings during the alert information exchange

  • Bi-directional flow of alert information

    The state change of the event/alert in the originating system is reflected in the other system but not vice versa. For example, if an alert is forwarded from Oracle Enterprise Manager to HP OpenView Operations, all the state changes in Enterprise Manager are reflected in HP OpenView Operations. However, if you change the state of the alert in HP OpenView Operations, the change is not reflected in Enterprise Manager because the alert originated in Enterprise Manager. This is also the case for the other direction.

The following sections explain how the connector handles OVOU messages and polls the OVOU web service.

Oracle Enterprise Manager Alerts Transmitted to OVOU Messages

Conceptually, alerts in Oracle Enterprise Manager are equivalent to messages in OVOU. In OVOU, a message is information generated for the operator whenever an event occurs. In OVOU, the term acknowledge has a different meaning than it does for most applications. Acknowledging a message in OVOU means that an alert has been resolved and the message is closed.

Whenever an alert is triggered in Oracle Enterprise Manager, the OVOU Connector can automatically open or update a message in OVOU. You can use Notification Rules to specify the set of alerts for which messages must be opened, and the alert severity for which this should happen.

After the connector opens an event message in OVOU, any subsequent change of the alert severity is propagated to HP OpenView Operations. When the severity of the alert changes to Clear in Oracle Enterprise Manager, the corresponding message is acknowledged; that is, closed, in OVOU.

Figure 1–1 shows an example of an Oracle Enterprise Manager alert message.

Figure 1-1 Oracle Enterprise Manager Alert Message

Shows an example of an alert message on the UI.

Figure 1–2 shows an example of an HP OVOU message.

Figure 1-2 HP OVOU Message

Shows msg text on Message Properties page of HP OVOU.

Oracle Enterprise Manager Event Polling to OVOU

After installation and configuration, the event connector automatically polls the OVOU web service for events to exchange alerts and messages with Oracle Enterprise Manager. The poll cycle is configurable, where the duration is specified in minutes with a minimum possible duration of 5 minutes.

Every poll cycle, the event connector polls for up to 200 new or updated events in OVOU. The Oracle Enterprise Manager connector framework processes and acknowledges all of the events provided in the poll response.

Versions Supported

This connector supports the following versions of Oracle Enterprise Manager and HP OpenView Operations:

  • Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control:

    • 10g Release 4 with one-off patch 6884527

    • 10g Release 5

    • 11g Release 1

  • HP OpenView Operations 8

You can install the HP OpenView Operations Agent, which is part of the connector bundle, on the following platforms:

  • HP-UX on Itanium architecture with OS version 8 and above

  • Solaris on SPARC architecture with OS version 10 and above

The base Enterprise Manager version number for HP OpenView Operations Release 10 (1.1.4.1.0) is Enterprise Manager 10g Release 4.

Prerequisites

Before using HP OpenView Operations Connector, ensure that you meet the following prerequisites:

  • Oracle one-off patch 6884527 for 10g Release 4 is installed.

    1. Download patch # 6884527 from:

      http://metalink.oracle.com/

    2. Follow the instructions included with the download in the README.txt file.

    Note:

    No patches are required for 10g Release 5 or 11g Release 1.

  • The gunzip utility is available on the system hosting HP OpenView Operations.

  • An HP OpenView Operations user account must be set up that the HP OpenView Operations Agent can use. The account must have administrative privileges.

If you want Oracle Enterprise Manager to forward alerts to HP OVOU, you need to do the following:

  • Create a message group named OracleEnterpriseManager at the HP OpenView Operations server. The HP OpenView Operations account mentioned above must have access to this message group and must be able to create and update messages in this message group.

  • Create a node named OracleEnterpriseManager at the HP OpenView Operations server. This node must be a Message Allowed type and must not have an associated IP address. Messages inserted by Enterprise Manager are assigned to this node.