Chapter 8 Monitoring System Activity

You can monitor activity on the N1 Grid Service Provisioning System in several ways. This chapter discusses the following topics.

• Configuring Email Notification

• Viewing Logs

• Viewing the Run History of a Plan or Comparison

Configuring Email Notification

You can specify that the provisioning system send email notification when any system, administrative, or custom event occurs. The criteria that you specify is saved in the provisioning system as a notification rule. You can define a notification rule to apply to a single host or a host set, to an event that generates a particular message, or to an event of a specified severity level.

When you create a notification rule, you tell the provisioning system which events you are interested in. When an event occurs that matches your criteria, the provisioning system sends a message to the email address that is specified in the notification rule.

You might want to create notification rules in the following scenarios.

• You need to know when an error has occurred or a plan has failed to run.

• You want real-time feedback about who is logged in to the provisioning system.

• You want to know about anything that happens on a particular host set.

When you set up a notification rule, you specify the email addresses to which the notification will be sent.

When you installed the provisioning software, you specified the following information.

• The email address from which the provisioning software sends notifications

• The subject line that should appear in the header of notification email messages

  The default subject line text is N1 Service Provisioning System Notification. To change the notification message's subject line, go to the Master Server's config.properties file and update the note.notificationSubject parameter with the desired subject line message. Once you have updated the file, restart the Master Server for the change to take affect.

How to Set Up Notification Rules

If you plan to create a new notification rule by using an existing rule as a template, see How to Edit Notification Rules.

This procedure describes how to create notification rules by using the browser interface. You can also perform this task by using the following command.

• rule.add – Creates a new notification rule.

Before You Begin

To create a notification rule, you must belong to a user group that has write permissions on notification rules.

Steps

1. In the navigation menu, click Notification Rules.

   The Notification Rules page is displayed. It lists the notifications that are already saved in the database.

2. In the top row of the Notification Rules table, type a name and a brief description for the rule you plan to create and click Create.

   The Details page for the notification rule is displayed.

   The notification rules Details page allows you to perform the following tasks.

   • Specify the event or events that will trigger the notification

   • Specify the email address to which the notification should be sent

3. Specify the criteria for the new notification rule.

   There are four ways to specify which events will trigger an email notification.

   • Event Type. If you know the type of event that you want to monitor, select the event type from the drop-down list.

   • Severity Level. If you want to monitor events of a particular severity level, select the severity level from the drop-down list.

     When you specify the event's severity level, you can specify whether you want a notification email to be triggered when an event of that severity or higher occurs. To determine what the severity of a particular type of event is, refer to Table 8–1.

   • Event Message. If you want to select events based on the messages they automatically generate, you can specify part or all of an event text message in the event text contains field.

     To determine the generated message of the event you want to monitor, set up a notification rule that will trigger a notification email. When you receive a notification email that was triggered by the event you want to monitor, place the message contents in the Event Text Contains field. You can also use an asterisk (*) to match any number of characters.

   • Host or Host Type. If you want to monitor a specific host or host set, type the name of the hosts in the host field or select a host set from the drop-down list.

     To specify multiple hosts by name, lists the names in the On Host field and separate them with spaces, semicolons, or commas.

4. In the Email a Notification To field, type an email address for the recipient of the notification messages.

   Separate multiple addresses with spaces, semicolons, or commas.

5. When you have finished setting up the notification rule, click Save.

   The notification rule is added to the Notification Rules page.

How to View Notification Rules

Viewing notification rules allows you to evaluate if the correct people are receiving the correct amount of system information.

You might want to view notification rules in the following situations.

• You need to determine if the correct people are receiving system messages.

• You need to determine why you are receiving email notifications.

• You need to determine why you are not receiving expected email notifications.

• You want to remove yourself from a notification rule's mailing list.

This procedure describes how to view notification rules by using the browser interface. You can also perform this task by using the following commands.

• rule.la – Displays all notification rules.

• rule.lo – Displays detailed information about a specific rule.

Steps

1. From the navigation menu, choose Notification Rules.

   The Notification Rules page is displayed.

2. (Optional) To view details for a specific notification rule, find the row that lists the rule that you want to view and click Details.

How to Edit Notification Rules

Editing notification rules allows you to adjust existing rules to further meet your needs. You also have the option of creating new notification rules based on existing rules.

This procedure describes how to edit notification rules by using the browser interface. You can also perform this task by using the following command.

• rule.mod— Modifies a notification rule.

Before You Begin

To edit a notification rule, you must belong to a user group that has write permissions on notification rules.

Steps

1. From the navigation menu, choose Notification Rules.

   The browser interface displays the notifications page, which lists the notifications that are already saved in the database.

2. Select the notification rule that you plan to edit and click Details.

   ---

   Note –

   If you plan to create a new notification rule based on an existing rule, select an existing rule that is similar to the new rule you plan to create.

   ---

   The browser interface displays the notification rule's Details page.

3. Specify the criteria for the new notification rule.

   There are four ways to specify which events will trigger an email notification.

   • Event Type. If you know the type of event that you want to monitor, select the event type from the drop-down list.

   • Severity Level. If you want to monitor events of a particular severity level, select the severity level from the drop-down list.

     When you specify the event's severity level, you can specify whether you want a notification email to be triggered when an event of that severity or higher occurs. To determine what the severity of a particular type of event is, refer to Table 8–1.

   • Event Message. If you want to select events based on the messages they automatically generate, you can specify part or all of an event text message in the event text contains field.

     To determine the generated message of the event you want to monitor, set up a notification rule that will trigger a notification email. When you receive a notification email that was triggered by the event you want to monitor, place the message contents in the Event Text Contains field. You can also use an asterisk (*) to match any number of characters.

   • Host or Host Type. If you want to monitor a specific host or host set, type the name of the hosts in the host field or select a host set from the drop-down list.

     To specify multiple hosts by name, lists the names in the On Host field and separate them with spaces, semicolons, or commas.

4. Save the notification rule.

   • To save the modified notification rule, click Save.

   • To use an existing notification rule as a template for a new rule, click Save As.

     1. Type a new, unique name for the notification rule.

     2. Click Continue to Save.

     The new rule displays in the Notification Rules table.

How to Delete Notification Rules

You might want to delete a notification rule when it is no longer being used or you no longer want to receive email about a particular event.

You can delete notification rules at the following times.

• When you view the Notification Rules table

• When you view the notification rule's Details page

This procedure describes how to delete notification rules by using the browser interface. You can also perform this task by using the following command.

• rule.del— Deletes a notification rule.

Before You Begin

To delete a notification rule, you must belong to a user group that has write permissions on notification rules.

Steps

1. Go to the Notification Rules page.

   For the procedure about how to navigate to the Notification Rules page, see How to View Notification Rules.

2. Select each notification rule that you plan to delete.

   You can delete more than one notification rule at a time.

3. In the last row of the Notification Rules table, click Delete.

   Another page is displayed that provides the option to cancel the deletion.

4. Verify that you are deleting the correct notification rule and click Continue to Delete.

   The notification rule that you deleted is no longer listed in the table on the Notification Rules page.

Event Severities

The following table defines the severity of each event description.

Table 8–1 Event Severities

Severity	Event Description
ERROR	System Error
ERROR	Comparison Failed
ERROR	Plan/Preflight Failed
ERROR	Step Failed
WARNING	System Warning
WARNING	Difference Found
INFO	System Information
INFO	Component Installed
INFO	Component Uninstalled
INFO	Component Control Service Executed
INFO	Resource Installed
INFO	Resource Uninstalled
INFO	Comparison Canceled
INFO	Comparison Cancellation Requested
INFO	Comparison Completed
INFO	Comparison Started
INFO	Node Started
INFO	Node Stopped
INFO	Preflight Completed
INFO	Plan/Preflight Canceled
INFO	Plan/Preflight Cancellation Requested
INFO	Plan/Preflight Completed
INFO	Plan/Preflight Started
INFO	Custom Event Sent
INFO	Step Completed
INFO	Step Started
INFO	User Logged In
INFO	User Failed to Log In
INFO	User Logged Out

Viewing Logs

The provisioning system uses four different log files to capture system information.

• Master Server log file at N1SPS-MasterServer-home/server/bin/cr_server.out

• Remote Agent log file at N1SPS-RemoteAgent-home/agent/bin/cr_agent.out

• Local Distributor log file at N1SPS-LocalDistributor-home/ld/bin/cr_ld.out

Remote Agent and Local Distributor logs can be viewed by logging into the physical host or through the browser interface. The Master Server log file is only accessible by logging into the physical host.

Some of the information in the log files might repeat errors that appear on the screen, such as Master Server deployment errors. The log files typically contain more detailed information that is not available through the browser interface's error messages. This more detailed information can help you to troubleshoot errors more effectively.

How to View Remote Agent and Local Distributor Log Files

Viewing the Remote Agent or Local Distributor log files through the browser interface is convenient. You only need to log in to the browser interface and not to each of the Remote Agents or Local Distributors that you want to view.

Steps

1. From the host's Details page in the browser interface, click the View Connection & Configuration & Log button.

   A window appears and indicates whether the Master Server could connect to the host.

2. If the host responded normally, view the contents of the host's log.

   • To view the most recent lines of the host's log, click the Log button.

     The window displays the most recent lines of the host's log.

   • To view the complete log, click Download Log.

     Another window displays the complete contents of the host's log.

Viewing the Run History of a Plan or Comparison

The provisioning system keeps a record of each plan and comparison that is run. The record is started when a plan or comparison is started, and it allows you to view the progress of plans as they are run.

You might want to use the Run History option in the following scenarios.

• To view the progress of a running plan

• To view the progress of a running comparison

• To audit what is happening within the provisioning system

How to View Run Histories

This procedure describes how to view the run history of plans and comparisons in the provisioning system by using the browser interface. You can also perform this procedure by using the following commands.

• pe.p.la – Displays running and completed plans.

• pe.p.lo – Displays the progress of a running or completed plan.

• pe.pi.lo – Lists the parameters used to run a plan.

• cmp.dj.la – Lists running and completed comparisons.

• cmp.dj.lo – Displays status of a particular comparison.

For a detailed description of these commands, see Chapter 5, cmp: CLI Commands for Running Comparisons, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual or Chapter 10, pe: CLI Commands for Running Plans, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

Steps

1. In the navigation menu, expand the Application Deployment category and click Run History.

   A list of recently run plans and comparisons displays.

2. (Optional) View more information about a plan or comparison.

   • To view information about how many times or by whom a plan or comparison was run, click History.

   • To view the details of a plan or comparison that was run, click Results.

How to Delete Run Histories

This procedure describes how to view the run history of plans and comparisons in the provisioning system by using the browser interface. You can also perform this procedure by using the following commands.

• pe.p.del – Deletes history of completed plan run.

• cmp.ds.del – Deletes history of completed comparisons.

For a detailed description of these commands, see Chapter 5, cmp: CLI Commands for Running Comparisons, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual or Chapter 10, pe: CLI Commands for Running Plans, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

Before You Begin

To delete a run history, you must belong to a user group that has write permissions on comparisons.

Steps

1. Go to the Run History page.

2. Select the plan or comparison history that you want to delete and click Results.

   The run history's Details page displays.

3. Click Delete.