Synthetic Transaction Modules

This chapter discusses the following topics:

• Synthetic Transaction Module Overview
• Using Synthetic Transaction Modules

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Synthetic Transaction Module Overview

Synthetic Transaction modules can monitor and measure the availability of services remotely. The modules use synthetic (dummy) transactions to simulate use of the service. These modules send service requests to the services periodically, according to defined settings, and simulate usage to monitor the service. Examples of response times that can be reported are connect time and total transaction time. All response times are reported in milliseconds. You can set alarm thresholds on response times. All Synthetic Transaction modules are multi-instance modules.

The following ten Synthetic Transaction modules are available:

• HTTP: This module determines web server service availability and web page retrieval time using HTTP protocol.
• FTP: This module determines the FTP service availability and the ability to transfer files to and from the FTP servers. FtpGet gets a file that you define from the FTP server. FtpPut puts a file on the server.
• Telnet: This module determines the availability of the TELNET service.
• DNS: This module determines the availability of the DNS Service and the ability of the DNS daemon to resolve a host name.
• NIS: This module determines the NIS service availability and the ability of the NIS daemon to resolve a name in a NIS domain. The supported name resolution types are user name, host name, group name, and mail alias.
• LDAP: This module determines the LDAP service availability and the ability of the LDAP daemon to resolve a name.
• SMTP: This module measures the availability of SMTP mail service and performance of sending mail. You must create at least one dummy email account on the target server for sending the test email. Remember to periodically delete the test email to ensure that the mailbox does not fill up.
• POP3: This module measures the availability of POP3 mail service and performance of retrieving mail.
• IMAP4: This module measures the availability of IMAP4 mail service and performance of retrieving mail.
• Calendar: This module measures the availability of Solaris calendar service and ability to retrieve calendar appointments from it.

Using Synthetic Transaction Modules

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Note - The IMAP and POP modules each require a dummy user name and password. The password is passed in clear text during the synthetic transactions and is therefore not secure. Be certain that such a user has no privileges.

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Prior to loading a module, certain configuration parameters must be specified. For example, the service host name might be requested. For more detail about the configuration parameters, see Appendix A.

Once a module is loaded, the state of the service is confirmed in the Server Details table. A service status is indicated in the Server Details table as one of three possible states:

• Available (up): The service is running.
• Unavailable (down): The service is unavailable. The reason for this result will vary depending on the circumstances. For example, the host name can not be resolved, or the destination is unreachable, or the service is not running. A critical alarm is generated.
• Degraded: The service is running, but the performance is not as expected. The module is able to run test transactions but the response times of the transactions exceeds the alarm thresholds specified. When the availability is degraded, an alarm is generated. The alarm severity is the highest severity of all alarms that is set on the response times of the transaction.

To Load a Synthetic Transaction Module

1. Load the module.

For detailed information on loading modules, refer to the Sun Management Center 3.0 User's Guide .

2. Enter the required configuration parameters in the Load Module dialog for each module loaded.

A complete list of the Synthetic Transaction modules is available at the beginning of this chapter.

Each module requires that specific parameter requirements be defined. Once the parameters are completed, the module will be loaded in Sun Management Center under the Remote Systems category.

To Access the Synthetic Transaction Modules

1. Click the Browser tab in the Sun Management Center 3.0 console.

2. Double-click Remote Systems to expand this category.

3. Double-click the Synthetic Transaction if it is loaded. To load it, see To Load a Synthetic Transaction Module.

Once loaded, Service Manager displays the applicable folders.

4. Double-click the applicable folder.

Service Manager can display the following tables as they relate to the module:

• Server Details Table: provides the details about the services monitored on the server.
• Service Measurement Table: provides the details about the synthetic transactions.

To Activate a Transaction

1. In the Service Measurement Table, right-click a table row.

A pop-up menu opens.

2. Select Add Row ...

The Add Row dialog opens.

3. Enter the applicable parameters to add the row.

For additional information about parameter requirements, see Appendix A.

4. Click OK.

To Delete or Edit a Synthetic Transaction

1. In the Service Measurement Table, right-click the desired row.

2. Select the Delete Row or Edit Row option, as appropriate.

3. Complete the edits, as appropriate.

To Edit the Server Details Table

Edit the applicable parameters in the Server Details table using the Edit Module feature. See the Sun Management Center 3.0 User's Guide for detailed information.