BMC ProactiveNet

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BMC ProactiveNet

Administrator Guide

Supporting

BMC ProactiveNet version 8.6.01

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Contacting BMC Software

You can access the BMC Software website at http://www.bmc.com. From this website, you can obtain information about the company, its products, corporate offices, special events, and career opportunities.

United States and Canada

Address BMC SOFTWARE INC 2101 CITYWEST BLVD HOUSTON TX 77042-2827 USA Telephone 1 713 918 8800 or 1 800 841 2031 Fax 1 713 918 8000

Outside United States and Canada

Telephone +01 713 918 8800 Fax +01 713 918 8000

BMC, BMC Software, and the BMC Software logo are the exclusive properties of BMC Software, Inc., are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and may be registered or pending registration in other countries. All other BMC trademarks, service marks, and logos may be registered or pending registration in the U.S. or in other countries. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

BladeLogic and the BladeLogic logo are the exclusive properties of BladeLogic, Inc. The BladeLogic trademark is registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and may be registered or pending registration in other countries. All other BladeLogic trademarks, service marks, and logos may be registered or pending registration in the U.S. or in other countries. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

AIX, Current, IBM, Informix, Notes, and Tivoli are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.

Linux is the registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Crystal Reports is a trademark or registered trademark of SAP AG in Germany and in several other countries. UNIX is the registered trademark of The Open Group in the US and other countries.

The information included in this documentation is the proprietary and confidential information of BMC Software, Inc., its affiliates, or licensors. Your use of this information is subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable End User License agreement for the product and to the proprietary and restricted rights notices included in the product documentation.

Restricted rights legend

U.S. Government Restricted Rights to Computer Software. UNPUBLISHED—RIGHTS RESERVED UNDER THE COPYRIGHT LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES. Use, duplication, or disclosure of any data

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Customer support

Support website

You can obtain technical support from BMC 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at http://www.bmc.com/support. From this website, you can

■ read overviews about support services and programs that BMC offers ■ find the most current information about BMC products

■ search a database for problems similar to yours and possible solutions ■ order or download product documentation

■ download products and maintenance ■ report a problem or ask a question ■ subscribe to receive proactive e-mail alerts

■ find worldwide BMC support center locations and contact information, including e-mail addresses, fax numbers, and telephone numbers

Support by telephone or e-mail

In the United States and Canada, if you need technical support and do not have access to the web, call 800 537 1813 or send an e-mail message to [email protected]. (In the subject line, enter SupID:yourSupportContractID, such as SupID:12345). Outside the United States and Canada, contact your local support center for assistance.

Before contacting BMC

Have the following information available so that Customer Support can begin working on your issue immediately: ■ product information

― product name

― product version (release number)

― license number and password (trial or permanent) ■ operating system and environment information

― machine type

― operating system type, version, and service pack or other maintenance level such as PUT or PTF ― system hardware configuration

― serial numbers

― related software (database, application, and communication) including type, version, and service pack or maintenance level

■ sequence of events leading to the problem ■ commands and options that you used

■ messages received (and the time and date that you received them) ― product error messages

― messages from the operating system, such as file system full ― messages from related software

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License key and password information

If you have questions about your license key or password, contact BMC as appropriate for your location:

■ (USA or Canada) Contact the Order Services Password Team at 1 800 841 2031, or send an e-mail message to

[email protected].

■ (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) Fax your questions to EMEA Contracts Administration at +31 20 354 8702, or send

an e-mail message to [email protected].

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Getting started with the BMC

ProactiveNet Administration

Console

Accessing the BMC ProactiveNet

Administration Console

You can access BMC ProactiveNet Administrative functions in the following ways: ■ the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console

■ the Command Line Interface (CLI); for details, see the BMC ProactiveNet Command Line Interface Reference Manual

These administrative functions allow you to modify and manage the BMC

ProactiveNet Server and the BMC ProactiveNet Agent network management areas, such as adding or deleting users, groups, monitored devices, applications, and services, or changing event notifications and thresholds. All operational procedures in this guide (unless explicitly mentioned) use the BMC ProactiveNet

Administration Console interface. For details about using the CLI commands, see the BMC ProactiveNet Command Line Interface Reference Manual.

Some administrative options are also available through the BMC ProactiveNet Operations Console. For details, see the BMC ProactiveNet User Guide.

Before you begin

Ensure that you have successfully installed the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console on the computer that is hosting the BMC ProactiveNet Server. For

installation instructions, see the BMC ProactiveNet Getting Started Guide.

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Connection protocols used to access the BMC ProactiveNet

Server

The BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console can connect to the BMC ProactiveNet Server using one of the following methods:

■ Direct: Use this connection protocol when BMC ProactiveNet components are installed on computers that reside on the same side of the firewall. All

functionality in the Administration tab (General Administration, Event

Management Policies, Dynamic Data Editor, and Infrastructure Management) and the Services Editor tab in the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console is

accessible through this connection protocol.

■ HTTP Tunnel: Use this connection protocol when the BMC ProactiveNet Server and the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console are installed on computers that reside on different sides of the firewall. Only the General Administration functionality in the Administration tab is accessible through this connection protocol. The Event Management Policies, Dynamic Data Editor, Infrastructure Management, and Services Editor tabs will be grayed out.

In an HTTPS environment, BMC ProactiveNet encrypts the information relay from the Web interface. The Administration Console uses Secured Socket Layer (SSL) connections and encryption to connect to the BMC ProactiveNet Server.

For more information on Secure Login, see the BMC ProactiveNet Troubleshooting Guide.

Launching the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console on

Windows computers

Perform the following procedure to start the administration console on Windows computers.

To launch the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console on Windows computers

1 On the computer where the BMC ProactiveNet Server is installed, go to Start =>

Programs => BMC ProactiveNet Server => BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console.

2 In the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console Logon screen, specify the following information:

■ Name or IP Address of the BMC ProactiveNet Server that you want to connect

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■ User name with access rights to the BMC ProactiveNet Server. The default is admin.

■ Password corresponding to the user name. The default is admin.

■ The type of connection to use to connect to the BMC ProactiveNet Server, either Direct or HTTP Tunnel.

For details about the connection types, see “Accessing the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console ” on page 17.

3 Click OK.

The BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console is displayed as shown in the following figure.

Multiple Administration Consoles on Windows computers

You can have multiple BMC ProactiveNet Administration Consoles open on the same system. Any new installation of the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console will be a fresh installation. If a previous version of the Administration Console already exists on a system and you try to install the Administration Console again, the following message is displayed:

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“ProactiveNet Admin is already installed in the system. This installation will be a fresh installation and will not upgrade previous Admin.”

For troubleshooting information, see the BMC ProactiveNet Troubleshooting Guide.

Launching the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console on

Solaris computers

Perform the following procedure to start the administration console on Solaris computers.

To launch the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console on Solaris computers

1 On the Solaris computer where the BMC ProactiveNet Server is installed, from a command line, enter the following command:

■ pw admin

Note

For remote utilization of BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console, source the profile using the .tmcsh script located in the /usr/pw/pronto/bin directory before entering the pw admin command.

2 Specify the following information:

■ Name or IP Address of the BMC ProactiveNet Server that you want to connect to.

■ User name with access rights to the BMC ProactiveNet Server. The default is admin.

■ Password corresponding to the user name. The default is admin.

■ The type of connection to use to connect to the BMC ProactiveNet Server, either Direct or HTTP Tunnel.

For details about the connection types, see “Accessing the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console ” on page 17.

3 Click OK.

■ The BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console is displayed as shown in the following figure.

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Using the Search function in the BMC ProactiveNet

Administration Console

The Search function provides a method for finding BMC ProactiveNet resources and enables you to search for monitors by applying various filters. This is useful in cases where you want to change all monitors on an existing agent or change all monitors in a certain group. The monitors listed in the search result can be edited. Also, you can select multiple monitors in the search result and edit common control attributes among them.

You access the Search function from the Edit menu in the Administration =>

General Administration view. For details about how to perform a search, see “To use the search function in the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console” on page 23.

The following filters can be applied to the search:

■ Search for Monitors using the Group filter: When the user selects the Group filter to search for monitors, the remaining search filters are disabled and the user is presented with a list of groups to select from. After the user selects a group and clicks the Search option, the search result displays the list of all monitors that belong to the selected group.

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■ Search for Monitors using the Source Agent filter: When the user selects the Source Agent filter to search for monitors, the remaining search filters are disabled and the user is presented with a list of Agents associated with BMC ProactiveNet Server. After the user selects an Agent and clicks the Search option, the search result displays the list of all monitors that have the selected Agent as the Source Agent.

■ Search for Monitors using the Target Device filter: When the user selects the Target Device filter to search for monitors, the remaining search filters are disabled and the user is presented with a list of devices associated with BMC ProactiveNet Server. After the user selects a device and clicks the Search option, the search result displays the list of monitors on the selected device.

■ Search for Monitors using the Monitor Type filter: When the user selects the Monitor Type filter to search for monitors, the remaining filters are disabled and the user is presented with a list of Monitor types for the available monitors. Monitor type option 'ALL' is also allowed.

Note

Previously, the list of Managed object types was presented to the user. Now, the list of Monitor Types is displayed. Managed object types like 'Device' are eliminated from the list now.

When the user selects a Monitor type, the user can refine the search criteria using Attribute Name-value conditions. The Attribute Name-value conditions has the following:

—List of configuration and control attributes for the selected Monitor type —List of operators (Contains, Does not contain, Starts with, Equals, Does not

Equal, Less than, Greater than) —Field to specify attribute value

The user can select an attribute from the list, specify the attribute value, and select the operator to be applied to the selected attribute and its value. For example, if a user selects an attribute 'Statistics Poll Interval', specifies the attribute value as '20 min' and selects the operator as 'Equals', it implies that the search result should display those monitors whose attribute 'Statistics Poll Interval' equals '20 min'. The user can specify multiple Attribute Name-value conditions, by using the 'MORE' option.

If there are multiple Attribute Name-value conditions, users can also indicate whether all the attribute Name-value conditions should be matched or any one of the specified attribute Name-value conditions can be matched.

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Note

When Monitor type option 'ALL' is selected, only the control attributes

(PollRate, PollTimeout, DataCollect) and Source Agent attributes are allowed to be used.

The search results show a list of all monitors fulfilling the search criteria. When the search result is displayed, the user can do one of the following:

■ Select one of the monitors and edit/delete the selected monitor ■ Select multiple or all monitors and edit common control attributes ■ Select multiple or all monitors and delete them

To use the search function in the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console

1 From the menu bar in the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console, choose

Edit => Search.

2 In the Search for Monitors window, select the required filter option (select the radio button on left), and its associated value from the list.

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■ If you select Monitor Type, you can further refine your search by using the Attribute, Operator, and Attribute Value fields.

Figure 1 on page 24 shows the Search for Monitors window with the Monitor Type search criteria selected.

Figure 1: Search for Monitors with Monitor Type refining

3 Click OK.

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4 The results of the search are displayed in the Search Results window as shown in

Figure 2 on page 25.

Figure 2: Example of Search Results

5 In the Search Results window, perform the following actions:

■ To edit a monitor, select the required monitor from the list and click Edit. ■ To edit common control attributes of all monitors retrieved by the Search

function, click Edit All.

■ To delete a monitor, select the required monitor from the list and click Delete. ■ Click Cancel to close the Search Results window.

Configuring cell connection properties to the

BMC ProactiveNet Server

The first Impact Manager (cell) that you install is connected automatically to the BMC ProactiveNet Server. If you create additional cells, the connection between BMC ProactiveNet Server and each additional cell must be configured.

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To configure cell connection properties to the server and Impact Manager (cell)

1 From the menu bar, choose Edit => Configure => Administration Settings.

2 In the Configure Administration Settings dialog box, click the Impact Managers tab.

3 Select a cell or cell group.

4 If necessary, click Advanced to display the Cell Properties section of the dialog box.

Note

If you select a cell group, changes are applied to all the cells contained in the cell group. If you select a single cell, changes are applied only to the individual cell.

5 Use Table 1 on page 26 to set cell connection properties as required.

Table 1: Cell connection properties

Property Description

Name displays the name of the cell whose properties you are changing Host displays the name of the host computer where the cell is installed Port displays the port number the cell uses to connect to the host computer

Timeout specifies the length of time the console waits to receive data from the cell; default is 30 seconds

BMC ProactiveNet saves any negative Timeout values that you type as positive values. Refresh Freq sets the time interval between polls of the cell; default is 60 seconds

BMC ProactiveNet saves any negative Refresh Freq values that you type as positive values. Attempts sets the number of times the console attempts to connect to a cell; default is 10

BMC ProactiveNet saves any negative Attempts values that you type as positive values. Connect Freq time interval between connection attempts; default is 5 seconds

BMC ProactiveNet saves any negative Connect Freq values that you type as positive values. Encrypted Mode enables and disables encryption of data between the console and the cell; default is

enabled (selected)

Auto Connect enables and disables automatic connection to the cell at logon; default is disabled (cleared) Auto Switch enables and disables automatic and continuous switching of the connection from the

backup cell to the primary cell after failover, using the value set in Connect Freq as the interval; default is disabled

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Property Description

Use Port Range enables and disables using a specified range of local ports (on the console) for establishing a connection between the console and a cell.

Designating a port range is useful if the console must communicate to a cell through a firewall with only specific ports available for communication. The console scans through the specified port range until a port is connected to the cell or the connection fails because the port range is exhausted.

■ For using port range, once you select the Use Port Range check box, BMC

ProactiveNet automatically changes the Min Port No. and Max Port No. values to 1. ■ You must have at least four open ports within the port range, including the Min Port

No. and the Max Port No.

Min Port No. specifies the lower limit of the port range Max Port No. specifies the upper limit of the port range

Auto Bind enables and disables the automatic connection attempt of the console to the first network card it encounters. Clear this option to bind to a specific IP address.

If only one network card exists, ensure that Auto Bind is selected. See Specifying ports in cell connection properties on page 28 for additional information.

IP Address specifies the IP address assigned to the local network card to which the console connects; available only if Auto Bind is cleared

To configure cell connection properties in the jserver

This feature enables you to configure the cell connection properties directly in the jserver. You need to log in as an admin user to perform this operation. To configure the server cell settings, follow these steps:

1 From the menu bar, choose Edit => Configure => Server Impact Manager

Properties.

■ Or, from the Event Management Policies tab, right-click on the cell and choose

Edit => Server Impact Manager Properties.

■ Or, from the Dynamic Data Editor tab, right-click on the cell and choose Edit

=> Server Impact Manager Properties.

2 In the Edit Server Cell Settings dialog box, select a cell to edit.

3 Use Table 1 on page 26 to set cell connection properties as required.

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Note

You can configure cell connection properties only on individual cells, and not on cell groups.

4 Click OK to save changes and close the dialog box.

To apply IP address, encrypted mode, and maximum and minumum port cell

connection properties to connections to the jserver

By default, when you use the Administration Console to configure connections to a remote cell, those changes are not applied to connections opened by the jserver to the remote cell. To extend the connection properties to the connections opened by the jserver, follow these steps:

1 In a text editor, open the pw/admin/etc/ix.properties file.

2 Set pronet.admin.applyCellConnectionPropertiesInJserver=true.

3 Save and close the file.

4 Restart the Administration Console.

Specifying ports in cell connection properties

The following circumstances require that you provide more specific information about communications between the console and the cell:

■ the presence of a network interface card (NIC) between the console and the cell ■ the presence of a firewall between the console and the cell

■ using a multi-homed computer for the console

In these circumstances, you must select Use Port Range and specify the limits of the port range and then select either Auto Bind or a particular IP address.

The Auto Bind option configures the console to connect to an NIC before it can connect to a cell. If you specify no particular NIC, the console automatically attempts to connect to the first NIC it encounters.

On a multi-homed computer, you can specify the NIC by selecting the IP address that the card is using from the IP Address list box. If Auto Bind is not enabled, you must specify a port range for the network card to which the console binds.

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Note

If the console is running on a computer that is acting as a gateway between multiple subnets, the network card that you bind to must be on the same subnet as the cell to which the console connects.

Setting BMC ProactiveNet Server connection

properties

In addition to adding and deleting connections in the console configuration, you must configure the connections themselves, as described in this section.

To configure a BMC ProactiveNet Server

1 From the menu bar of the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console, choose

Edit => Configure => Administration Settings.

2 In the Configure Administration Settings dialog box, click the Login Servers tab.

3 Modify any of the BMC ProactiveNet Server configuration parameters listed in

Table 2 on page 29, as needed:

Table 2: BMC ProactiveNet Server Configuration Parameters

Field Description

Heartbeat Rate specifies the frequency, in minutes, at which the console sends a signal to the connected BMC IAS to determine whether the BMC IAS is functioning. The default heartbeat rate is 1.

Enable Port Range specifies the maximum and minimum port number for the console to use in establishing a connection to a BMC IAS

Designating a port range is useful if the console must communicate to a cell through a firewall with only specific ports available for communication. The console scans through the ports in the specified range until a port, local to the console, is connected to the cell or fails because the port range is exhausted.

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Field Description

Auto Reconnect enables and disables automatic attempts to reconnect to the BMC ProactiveNet Server when the connection has been dropped

The Administration Console will attempt to reconnect to the server at the

Frequency and for the Number of Retries that you specify. If, after the final try the server is still not reconnected, an error message is displayed stating that the server is down, and you must manually restart the server and log back on to the

Administration Console.

A status message is displayed in the status area of the Administration Console showing the number of reconnection attempts.

4 Click Apply to save the changes, or click OK to save and exit the dialog box.

Logging out of and into the BMC ProactiveNet

Server from the BMC ProactiveNet

Administration Console

You can log out of the BMC ProactiveNet Server and log in from the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console interface without closing the console.

To log out of the BMC ProactiveNet Server from the Administration Console

Server => Logout.

2 In the Logout Confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

To log on to the BMC ProactiveNet Server from the Administration Console

Server => Login.

2 In the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console Logon screen, specify the following information, enter the password for the user name that you are using to log on to the BMC ProactiveNet Server and click OK.

■ The default password is admin.

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Changing your BMC ProactiveNet

Administration Console password

To keep your password secure, you should change it periodically.

To change the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console password

1 From the menu bar, choose Server => Change Password.

2 In the Change Password dialog box, in the Old Password box, enter your current password.

3 In the New Password and Confirm New Password boxes, enter a new password.

4 Click OK.

Your password for the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console logon is changed immediately.

Note

If you forget your password, your administrator must clear the encrypted form of your password from the configuration file. The next time that you log on, you will enter a new password, and you will be prompted to confirm it. This operation sets your new password.

In a setup where LDAP authentication is used, administrators must change password from the LDAP server and not within the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console.

BMC ProactiveNet profiles

BMC ProactiveNet acknowledges the following two types of profiles when logging into the product:

■ Admin ■ User

BMC ProactiveNet Administrator manages profiles (and access rights) for individual users.

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Admin profile

Administrators have unlimited access to BMC ProactiveNet. They can configure the environment, define individual user profiles, and perform full administrative functions.

User profile

The BMC ProactiveNet administrator creates user profiles, and can restrict users’ access to BMC ProactiveNet features. The user profile (as set by the administrator) governs the functionality available to each user in the BMC ProactiveNet Operations Console.

BMC ProactiveNet enables the administrator to assign access rights at both micro and macro levels.

Accessing online Help

Choose Help => Online Help to access online versions of the BMC ProactiveNet documentation. Context sensitive Help is provided through Help buttons on the various dialog boxes and windows within the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console.

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Managing BMC ProactiveNet

Agents

Adding Agents

Use the Add Agent option to add an agent after a device has already been set up. To set up the device and the agent simultaneously, see About Remote Agents on page 35.

The BMC ProactiveNet local agent (BMC ProactiveNet Agent) resides on the

computer where the BMC ProactiveNet Server is installed. Remote agents are agents that reside on computers outside of the BMC ProactiveNet Server.

To add an agent after the device is set up

1 If not already done, install the agent software on the system where you want to add the agent.

For information about installing the agent software, see the BMC ProactiveNet Getting Started Guide.

2 In the Administration Console, in the Administration => General

Administration tab, expand the Devices folder.

a Drill down to the Instance level.

b Right-click the instance where you want to add the agent and click Agent =>

Add Agent.

3 In the Add Agent window, enter data in the required fields and select a Connection option.

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■ Control Port - The default control port (TCP connection port) is 12124. Change the port if 12124 is forbidden by a firewall or if it is being used by an existing application.

To change the port, click Close, and then see Changing the default BMC ProactiveNet Agent TCP control port on page 196.

■ Agent Name - BMC ProactiveNet inserts the device name that you specified. ■ Agent IP Address - BMC ProactiveNet inserts the IP Address (or name of the

Agent if using DNS) that you specified in the IP Address field when you created the device.

■ Associated Device - BMC ProactiveNet lists devices with the same IP address. By default, the one created on the previous screen is selected.

■ Connection Options.

—Direct Access using TCP/IP - Select if the remote agent uses TCP/IP.

—Direct Access using SSL TCP/IP - Select if the remote agent uses SSL TCP/IP. —HTTP Tunnel Proxy - Select if the remote agent uses an HTTP Tunnel. For

installation and configuration of the remote agent, see “Installing tunnel agents on page 44.

—TCP Proxy - Select if the remote agent uses TCP Proxy. For further details, see TCP Proxy Agent on page 70.

4 Click Next to create the agent.

■ When the agent is created, a second Add Agent window is displayed, in which you can choose the monitor for the device

5 Choose the monitor.

6 Follow the procedure in Choosing monitors for the device on page 99.

To view the new agent, expand (or close and expand) the Agents folder. To view the monitor, expand (or close and expand) the Monitors folder.

If a problem occurs while you are adding an agent, BMC ProactiveNet displays an error message. For more information, see SSL server certificate for Apache server on page 171.

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Editing an agent

You can edit the properties of the BMC ProactiveNet Agent by using the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console.

To edit agent properties

1 In the Administration Console in the Administration => General

Administration tab, open the Advanced Options folder.

2 Expand the Agent folder and locate the agent from the list.

3 Right-click the agent and select Edit.

4 In the Edit Remote Agent dialog box, change the values as necessary and click

OK.

About Remote Agents

The BMC ProactiveNet Agent is responsible for spawning the creation of monitors, collecting data, and delivering data to BMC ProactiveNet Server for storage in the database.

Remote Agents are those agents that reside on computers outside BMC ProactiveNet Server. The Local Agent (aka BMC ProactiveNet Server Agent) resides on BMC ProactiveNet Server.

Figure 3 on page 36 shows how to associate any number of BMC ProactiveNet Agents with a BMC ProactiveNet Server. BMC ProactiveNet Agent cannot be

connected to more than one server simultaneously. Once a BMC ProactiveNet Server is disconnected from a BMC ProactiveNet Agent, the BMC ProactiveNet Agent becomes available to be connected to any another BMC ProactiveNet Server.

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Note

If BMC ProactiveNet Server or BMC ProactiveNet Agent is rebooted or shut down for any reason, or if the network goes down, everything reconnects automatically on restart.

Figure 3: Connecting Server and Agents

Local Agents vs. Remote Agents

Generally, all monitors that require direct access to the device’s local resource will require an agent to be on that same computer. For example, to parse a log file, the agent will need to reside on the device where the log file exists in order to access it. An easy way to know if an agent is required on the device for which you want to add a monitor is by noting the configuration parameters for the monitor. If 'Source Agent' is one of the configuration parameters, then you have the ability to run the monitor from any BMC ProactiveNet Agent. Two exceptions apply:

■ Windows monitors - These system monitors have a Source Agent configuration parameter, but can monitor systems without an agent.

■ Agent’s status monitors must always be done from BMC ProactiveNet Server source agent.

Note

BMC ProactiveNet Agent residing on the BMC ProactiveNet Server must always be labeled BMC ProactiveNet Server for this monitor to work correctly.

Adding remote agents

Use this procedure to add new BMC ProactiveNet Agents to the computer where the BMC ProactiveNet Server is installed.

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To add agents

Administration tab, expand the Advanced Options folder, right-click the Agent folder and select Add Remote Agent.

The Add Device and Agent window is displayed.

2 In the Add Device and Agent window, enter the following required information and click Next.

■ Device Type - Select a device type from the list.

■ Device Name - Enter a descriptive name for the device.

■ IP Address - Enter the IP address (or name of the Agent if using DNS) you are adding to the BMC ProactiveNet system. Example: 208.176.147.83.

3 Specify Control attributes on Control tab.

4 Click Next.

5 Specify Group Membership on the Groups Tab.

6 Click Next to open the Remote Diagnostics tab.

■ Protocol Types – rexec, rlogin, rsh, ssh, and telnet. Select a Protocol Type from the list.

■ PortNo – Enter the port number where the remote service is running. Initially, the default PortNo of the selected Protocol Type is displayed.

■ Local User Name – Mandatory when using the rsh and rlogin Protocol Type. The user name on the local system from where the DD is fired. Enter the Local User Name.

■ Remote User Name – Mandatory for all Protocol Types. Enter the Remote User Name.

■ Remote User Password – Mandatory for rexec, rlogin, telnet, and ssh Protocol Types. Enter the Remote User Password. Confirm the Remote User Password. ■ Remote System Prompt – Mandatory when using rlogin and telnet Protocol

Types.

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Note

■ The user should give a complete remote system prompt while using rlogin and telnet protocols. For example, if the remote system prompt is

[root@kadamba root]#, then the user should enter correctly in the remote system prompt field. If the user uses partial system prompt, i.e. # instead of [root@kadamba root]#, then the system is prevented from logging into the remote device. The maximum number of characters supported for remote system prompt is 512 characters.

■ The rhosts file works only on the rhosts authentication. There is no password-based authentication. It is users responsibility to set the proper rhosts

authentication before using the rhost protocol.

■ For details about protocol types, see Diagnostics wizard on page 151.

7 Click Next to open the Baseline tab.

8 If required, select the device from which baseline values of existing monitors must be copied to new monitors being created on the new device.

9 Click Next.

10 In the window that seeks server connection details, fill in the required fields. ■ Control Port - The default Control Port (TCP connection port) is 12124. Change

the Control Port when 12124 is forbidden by a Firewall, or because it is being used by an existing application.

To change, click Close, then see: TCP Control Ports. For a Windows Agent, see: Changing BMC ProactiveNet Agent (NT/2000/2003) Control Port. Otherwise, accept the default 12124 and continue with the next step.

■ Agent Name - The default value is the Device Name specified on the previous screen.

■ Agent IP Address - The default value is the IP Address (or name of the Agent if using DNS) entered in the IP Address field.

■ Associated Device - The lists devices with the same IP address are listed. By default, the one created on the previous screen is selected.

11 In the window that seeks server connection details, select a Connection option. ■ Select Direct Access using TCP/IP option if the remote agent uses TCP/IP. ■ Select Direct Access using SSL TCP/IP option if the remote agent uses SSL TCP/

IP. For more information, see SSL TCP/IP Agent on page 57.

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■ Select HTTP Tunnel Proxy option if the remote agent uses an HTTP Tunnel. Refer Tunnel Agent topic for information on installation and configuration of the remote agent.

■ Select TCP Proxy option if the remote agent is to be proxied behind another TCP Remote Agent. TCP Proxy Agent on page 70.

12 Click Next to create the agent and add monitors.

When the agent is created, the second Add Agent window is displayed to allow selection of monitors for the device.

a Choose the monitor.

b Follow the procedure detailed in Choosing monitors for the device on page 99.

To view the new agent, expand (or close/expand) the Agents folder. To view the monitor, expand (or close/expand) the Monitors folder.

For information, see SSL server certificate for Apache server on page 171.

To view the new agent, expand (or close/expand) the Agents folder. To view the monitor, expand (or close/expand) the Monitors folder.

13 Select the monitors to be created on the Agent.

14 Click Finish.

■ BMC ProactiveNet registers the new agent and creates the specified monitors. The status of each action is listed on the screen.

15 Click OK to complete the procedure.

Editing remote agents

When the system date/time has been changed on an Agent computer, then the Agent must be restarted to resume data collection. You can also use the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console to edit remote agent properties.

To edit remote agent properties

1 In the Administration Console, expand the Advanced Options and Agents folders.

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2 Right-click the Agent to be edited and select Edit. The Edit Remote Agent window is displayed.

3 Choose from the following:

■ Control Port - The default Control Port (TCP connection port) is 12124. You change the Control Port when 12124 is forbidden by a Firewall, or because it is used by an existing application.

To change, click Close, then see: About TCP Control Ports. For a Windows Agent, see: Changing BMC ProactiveNet Agent (NT/2000/2003) Control Port. Otherwise, accept the default 12124 and continue with the next step.

■ Agent Name - Edit or rename the agent. (You cannot edit or rename 'BMC ProactiveNet Server').

■ Agent IP Address - Change the agent IP address. ■ Associated Device - Device associated with this agent.

4 Click OK. Note

If you have changed any values, click OK before doing a reconnect. If you do not click OK, changes made will not be saved.

Connecting, disconnecting, and restarting agents

Use the Administration Console to connect, disconnect, and restart local and remote agents.

To connect, disconnect, and restart agents

Administration tab, expand the Advanced Options folder and then the Agent folder.

2 Right-click the Agent to be connected, disconnected, or restarted.

■ Connect Agent - Select to connect the Agent to this BMC ProactiveNet Server. If dimmed, the agent is already connected.

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■ Disconnect Agent - Select to disconnect the Agent from this BMC ProactiveNet Server. If dimmed, this agent is already disconnected.

■ Restart Agent - Select to restart the Agent. (This works only if the agent status is 'Connection Active').

Deleting a remote agent

When you delete an Agent from the Advanced folder, the device corresponding to the Agent remains in the Devices folder, but all monitors which relied upon the Agent are deleted (i.e., system monitors of the Agent or monitors using the Agent as source IP).

Note

On deleting an Agent, the Administration Console displays the message 'all monitors associated with Agent will be deleted'. This can be construed as that the device will also be deleted, which is not always the case. To remove the device, which contained the Agent, you need to delete it from the Devices folder using the Administration Console. However, if you create a new device/agent pair, a certain number of default monitors are automatically added (i.e., Agent Status, Node Ping, System, and so on).

When the agent is deleted, these default monitors also get deleted. If there are no other monitors tied to the device at this point, the device also gets deleted. If you wish to permanently remove the Agent, you need to use the un-install function.

To delete an agent

1 From the Administration Console in the Administration => General

Administration tab, expand the Advanced Options folder and then the Agent folder.

2 Right-click the Agent to delete, and select Delete.

■ If the Remote Agent is currently monitoring applications, a Warning message is displayed.

Note

Do not delete BMC ProactiveNet Server! It must always appear in the Agent folder. The Confirm Deletion window is displayed.

3 Click OK.

To confirm that the agent has been deleted, close and expand the Agents folder.

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Tech tip

To permanently remove the Agent, you must uninstall it. For UNIX or Linux Agents, you can uninstall the agent whether the Administration Console is open or not. For Windows Agents, however, you must close the Administration Console first. For instructions for uninstalling the agent, see the BMC ProactiveNet Getting Started Guide.

How do Tunnel Agents work?

When BMC ProactiveNet Server is outside the firewall, and BMC ProactiveNet Agent is inside, using an HTTP tunnel aids in BMC ProactiveNet Agent deployment without any changes to the Firewall configuration.

Note

In case BMC ProactiveNet Server is inside the firewall and BMC ProactiveNet Agent is outside, this type of tunneling will not work. In such cases, it is best to open the Firewall for outgoing connections on port 12124 and use normal TCP/IP Agents. Alternatively, you could open the Firewall to incoming connections on port 80 and make agents Tunneled Agents. However, this results in additional load on the CPU.

Most Firewall configurations allow outgoing connections on port 80. HTTP tunnel acts as a virtual socket connecting BMC ProactiveNet Agent (inside the Firewall) to BMC ProactiveNet Server (outside the Firewall). BMC ProactiveNet HTTP proxies send and receive messages on behalf of the Agent Controller and Agent.

The Agent side of the HTTP Proxy acts as the HTTP client which sends POST to Apache Web servlet on BMC ProactiveNet Server. From the Agent and Agent Controller point of view, a simple socket connection is being used (which just happens to be over a tunnel).

Figure 4: Tunneled Agent Connections - Proxy Embedded in Agent

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BMC ProactiveNet Server identifies proxies using the tunnel ID assigned to the Agent during installation. The Tunnel ID is stored in the Agent’s pronet.conf file. If the assigned tunnel ID does not match the actual tunnel ID set in pronet.conf file, the Agent will not connect. The pronet.conf file also tells the Agent proxy which URL to connect to. As shown in the figure 'Tunneled Agent Connections - Proxy Embedded in Agent', the URL should point to the Apache Web servlet on BMC ProactiveNet Server.

Note

The Agent Tunnel always uses port 12124. To change the port number because of a conflict, you must open the pronet.conf file and change it there. You cannot change the port number via the console.

Supported modes

Tunnel Agents run in both the HTTP and HTTPS modes, but, it is advised to not use secure tunneling.

Limitations

■ Tunnel Agents put additional load on CPU usage and I/O of the host computer due to embedded HTTP proxy. The impact is proportional to the amount of data being collected by the Agent. Generally, it is an additional 1-5 percent on CPU usage. ■ Tunnel Agent connection is virtual, and requires Agent proxy to connect before

data transfer. Adding/editing monitors to Tunnel Agents requires more time. Tunnel Agent does not perform as well as standard BMC ProactiveNet Agents. Although there is no limit on how much data can be collected with a tunnel Agent, in general, poll frequencies and number of instances supported will not be as high as regular BMC ProactiveNet Agents.

■ AIX agents cannot be connected in secure tunnel mode.

■ The .jre file used in Red Hat Linux versions 7.1 and 9 is 1.3.1, and .jre on BMC ProactiveNet Server is 1.4.2. Due to this mismatch in the .jre files, BMC ProactiveNet Agent cannot connect in the Tunnel mode.

■ Windows Server will not perform the desired number of retries as mentioned by the pronet.conf entry "pronet.apps.agent.pollperiod.allowednoreplies.tcp=2" when an agent is unreachable. The agent will be set as “AgentUnreachable” immediately.

Note

The process 'tunnelproxy', which shows up under 'pw process list', is the one that takes care of tunnel connections on the server side. However, this does not affect the way tunnel agents are configured.

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Installing tunnel agents

This section provides procedures for how to install tunnel agents based on your operating system.

To install tunnel agents

1 Log on to the Agent computer as 'root' (Solaris, AIX, Linux, and HP-UX) or with Administrative privileges (Windows).

2 Insert the BMC ProactiveNet CD.

3 Follow the appropriate instructions given below based on the operating system of the Agent computer.

To install a Solaris Agent as a tunnel agent

1 Open Command prompt.

2 Go to CD (Disc 2) => BMC ProactiveNet Agent => Solaris folder.

3 Execute setupagent.sh specifying Tunnel as additional parameter. The actual command is as follows:

■ ./setupagent.sh tunnel

4 On the prompt, specify the installation path. For example: /datadisk/tunnelagent

5 Accept the Terms and other prompts.

6 On the prompt, specify the unique Tunnel ID. For example: MyTunnel33. The Tunnel ID is an alphanumeric string (maximum length 32 characters). Special characters and spaces are not supported.

7 This Tunnel ID is stored in pronet.conf file on the Agent computer. installDirectory /pw/pronto/custom/conf/pronet.conf

8 Enter 'true' when prompted to 'Allow Secure Tunneling'. This is optional. Secure mode includes Authenticated, Encrypted, and Compressed methods for sending information through the Tunnel.

9 Specify BMC ProactiveNet Server location on the following prompt:

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■ Enter the server name/IP address that you want to connect to:

Location is the name or IP Address of the host. For non-DNS environments, include the computer and domain name (server.mycompany.com).

In case BMC ProactiveNet Server is using a port other than 80, you need to append that server port number to the IP address. For BMC ProactiveNet Server using port 8080, specify Server IP as xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:8080.

10 The installation program records the information, and completes the installation. ■ On completion of the process, the message 'Proactive Agent Installation

Completed' is displayed.

To install an AIX Agent as a tunnel agent

1 Open Command prompt.

2 Go to CD (Disc 2) => BMC ProactiveNet Agent => AIX folder.

3 Execute setupagent.sh specifying Tunnel as additional parameter. The actual command is as follows:

■ ./setupagent.sh tunnel

4 On the prompt, specify the installation path. For example: /datadisk/tunnelagent.

5 Accept the Terms and other prompts.

6 On the prompt, specify the unique Tunnel ID. For example: MyTunnel33. The Tunnel ID is an alphanumeric string (maximum length 32 characters). Special characters and spaces are not supported.

■ This Tunnel ID is stored in pronet.conf file on the Agent computer. <installedpath>/pw/pronto/custom/conf/pronet.conf

7 Enter 'false' when prompted to 'Allow Secure Tunneling'. AIX agents cannot be configured in secure mode

8 Specify BMC ProactiveNet Server location on the following prompt: ■ Enter the server name/IP address that you want to connect to:

Location is the name or IP Address of the host. For non-DNS environments, include the computer and domain name (server.mycompany.com).

In case BMC ProactiveNet Server is using a port other than 80, you need to append that server port number to the IP address. For example: for BMC

BMC ProactiveNet

BMC ProactiveNet

Administrator Guide

Supporting

BMC ProactiveNet version 8.6.01

Contacting BMC Software

Restricted rights legend

Customer support

License key and password information

Contents

Getting started with the BMC

ProactiveNet Administration

Console

Accessing the BMC ProactiveNet

Administration Console

Before you begin

Connection protocols used to access the BMC ProactiveNet

Server

Launching the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console on

Windows computers

To launch the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console on Windows computers

Multiple Administration Consoles on Windows computers

Launching the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console on

Solaris computers

To launch the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console on Solaris computers

Using the Search function in the BMC ProactiveNet

Administration Console

To use the search function in the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console

Configuring cell connection properties to the

BMC ProactiveNet Server

To configure cell connection properties to the server and Impact Manager (cell)

To configure cell connection properties in the jserver

To apply IP address, encrypted mode, and maximum and minumum port cell

connection properties to connections to the jserver

Specifying ports in cell connection properties

Setting BMC ProactiveNet Server connection

properties

To configure a BMC ProactiveNet Server

Logging out of and into the BMC ProactiveNet

Server from the BMC ProactiveNet

Administration Console

To log out of the BMC ProactiveNet Server from the Administration Console

To log on to the BMC ProactiveNet Server from the Administration Console

Changing your BMC ProactiveNet

Administration Console password

To change the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console password

BMC ProactiveNet profiles

Admin profile

User profile

Accessing online Help

Managing BMC ProactiveNet

Agents

Adding Agents

To add an agent after the device is set up

Editing an agent

To edit agent properties

About Remote Agents

Local Agents vs. Remote Agents

Adding remote agents

To add agents

Editing remote agents

To edit remote agent properties

Connecting, disconnecting, and restarting agents

To connect, disconnect, and restart agents

Deleting a remote agent

To delete an agent

Tech tip

How do Tunnel Agents work?

Supported modes

Limitations

Installing tunnel agents

To install tunnel agents

To install a Solaris Agent as a tunnel agent

To install an AIX Agent as a tunnel agent