Managing Your Infrastructure

1. In the Infrastructure panel, click Add System/Network Device.

2. Enter a descriptive name for the server in the Display name in Uptime field.
   This name appears in the Uptime Infrastructure Monitor interface. A system can have a different display name than the hostname. For example, you can assign the display name Toronto Mail Server to a system with the host name 10.1.1.6. This way, IP addresses are stored in Uptime Infrastructure Monitor, but a more descriptive or meaningful name is displayed in the Uptime Infrastructure Monitor Web interface.
3. Optionally, enter a description of the system in the Description field.
4. Select the Type of System/Device from the list:
   
   • Agent
   • Net-SNMP v2
   • Net-SNMP v3
   • Network Device
   • Novell NRM
   • pSeries LPAR Server (HMC)
   • pSeries LPAR Server (VIO)
   • Virtual Node
   • VMware ESX
   • VMware vCenter Server
   • WMI Agentless (only present on Monitoring Stations running on Windows)
5. Enter the host name of the system in the Host Name field.
   You can use the actual name or IP address of the machine as the host name.
6. Configure the system- or device-specific settings. The options depends on the system or device type you selected in step 4:

• Agent
  Configure the following:

  • Port
    The port on which the Uptime Infrastructure Monitor Agent is listening.
  • Use SSL
    Select this check box if you want to securely communicate with the Uptime Infrastructure Monitor Agent. 

  Use the Global Credentials Settings page on the Config tab to globally configure the Uptime Infrastructure Monitor Agent information. If this step is complete, and the Use Uptime Agent Global Configuration check box is selected, the agent port and SSL options do not appear. For more information about supported platforms for an agent, see Supported Agent Platforms.

• Net-SNMP v2
  Enter information in the following fields:
  
  • SNMP Port
    The port on which the Net-SNMP instance is listening.
  • Read Community
    A string that acts like a user ID or password, giving you access to the Net-SNMP instance.
    Common read communities are public (enables you to retrieve read-only information from the device) and private (enables you to access all information on the device).
• Net-SNMP v3
  Enter information in the following fields:
  
  • SNMP Port
    The port on which the Net-SNMP instance is listening.
  • Username
    The name that is required to connect to the Net-SNMP instance.
  • Authentication Password
    The password that is required to connect to the Net-SNMP instance.
  • Authentication Method (optional)
    From the list, select one of the following options, which determines how encrypted information traveling between the Net-SNMP instance and Uptime Infrastructure Monitor is authenticated:
    
    • MD5: A widely-used method for creating digital signatures used to authenticate and verify the integrity of data.
    • SHA: A secure method of creating digital signatures. SHA is considered the successor of MD5 and is widely used with network and Internet data transfer protocols.
  • Privacy Password
    The password used to encrypt information traveling between the Net-SNMP instance and Uptime Infrastructure Monitor.
  • Privacy Type (optional)
    From the list, select one of the following options that determines how information traveling between the Net-SNMP instance and Uptime Infrastructure Monitor is encrypted:
    
    • DES: An older method used to encrypt information.
    • AES: The successor to DES, which is used with a variety of software that require encryption including SSL servers.

    You can set both an authentication and password type, only one of them, or neither.

• Network Device (using version 2 of the SNMP protocol)
  By default, the network device's SNMP Version is set to v2; complete the following fields:
  
  • SNMP Port
    The port on which the network device is listening.
  • Read Community
    A string that acts like a user ID or password, giving you access to the network device instance.
    Common read communities are public (enabling you to retrieve read-only information from the device) and private (enabling you to access all information on the device).
  • Is Device Pingable?
    This option specifies whether Uptime Infrastructure Monitor can contact the network device using the ping utility.
    There are scenarios in which you might not want the network device to be pingable (e.g., you have a firewall in place). Before selecting this check box, you should try to contact the network device using the ping utility. If you cannot ping it, ensure the check box is left cleared. Then, change the default host check for the network device. For more information about managing host checks, see Changing Host Checks.

  Use the Global Credentials Settings page on the Config tab to globally configure SNMP details. If these are configured, and the Use Global SNMP Connection Configuration check box is selected, none of these options appear, or need to be configured.

• Network Device (using version 3 of the SNMP protocol)
  If your network device uses version 3 of the SNMP protocol, complete the following fields:
  
  • SNMP Version
    Change this to v3 to reveal configuration options relevant to version 3 of the SNMP protocol.
  • SNMP Port
    The port on which the network device is listening.
  • Username
    The name that is required to connect to the network device.
  • Authentication Password
    The password that is required to connect to the network device.
  • Authentication Method (optional)
    From the list, select an option that determines how encrypted information traveling between the network device and Uptime Infrastructure Monitor is authenticated:
    
    • MD5: A widely-used method for creating digital signatures used to authenticate and verify the integrity of data.
    • SHA: A secure method of creating digital signatures. SHA is considered the successor of MD5 and is widely used with network and Internet data transfer protocols.
  • Privacy Password
    The password that is used to encrypt information traveling between the network device and Uptime Infrastructure Monitor.
  • Privacy Type (optional)
    From the list, select an option that determines how information traveling between the network device and Uptime Infrastructure Monitor is encrypted:
    
    • DES: An older method used to encrypt information.
    • AES: The successor to DES, which is used with a variety of software that require encryption including SSL servers.

    You can set both an authentication and password type, only one of them, or neither.

  • Is Node Pingable?
    This option specifies whether Uptime Infrastructure Monitor can contact the network device using the ping utility.
    There are scenarios in which you might not want the network device to be pingable (e.g., you have a firewall in place). Before selecting this check box, you should try to contact the network device using the ping utility. If you cannot ping it, ensure the check box is left cleared. Then, change the default host check for the network device. For more information about managing host checks, see Changing Host Checks.

  Use the Global Credentials Settings page on the Config tab to globally configure SNMP details. If these are configured, and the Use Global SNMP Connection Configuration check box is selected, none of these options appears, or need to be configured.

• Novell NRM
  Complete the following fields:
  
  • Port
    The port on which the NRM is listening. By default, the non-SSL port is 8008, and when SSL is used, the port is 8009.
  • Use SSL
    Select this check box if you want to securely communicate with the NRM.
  • Username
    The user name that is required to access the Novell NRM Web interface.
  • Password
    The password that is required to access the Novell Web interface.

• pSeries LPAR Server (HMC)
  If you are adding a pSeries server that is managed by a Hardware Management Console, complete the following fields:

  Although you can manually add HMC-managed pSeries servers, we recommend using the Auto Discovery process as this adds all the pSeries servers managed by the HMC, and automatically populates the respective managed server names. For more information about managing pSeries servers, see Auto Discovery for HMC-Managed pSeries Servers.

   

  • HMC Host Name
    The host name of the Hardware Management Console that is managing the pSeries server.

  • Managed Server
    The HMC's unique identifier for the pSeries server. This information can be retrieved from the HMC itself (e.g., by running  lssyscfg -r sys -F name ).

    For HMC-managed pSeries servers, the above two fields are used in conjunction with the Host Name field. The pSeries Host Name and Managed Server name identify the p frame on the network, and within the HMC cluster, respectively. The HMC Host Name is required to identify the Hardware Management Console in order to retrieve some configuration and workload information about the pSeries server.

  • Username
    The username required to log in to the HMC.
  • Password
    The password used to access the HMC.
• pSeries LPAR Server (VIO)
  If you are adding a pSeries server that is not managed by an HMC, but instead communicates with the Uptime Infrastructure Monitor Agent on a Virtual I/O server that's using IVM (Integrated Virtual Manager), configure the following:
  
  • Port
    The port on which the Uptime Infrastructure Monitor Agent is listening.
  • Use SSL
    Select this check box if you want to securely communicate with the Uptime Infrastructure Monitor Agent.

  Use the Global Credentials Settings page on the Config tab to globally configure information for the Uptime Infrastructure Monitor Agent on the Virtual I/O server. If this is done, and the Use Uptime Agent Global Configuration check box is selected, the agent port and SSL options do not appear.

• VMware ESX
  Complete the following fields:
  
  • Username
    The user name required to log into the VMware ESX server.
  • Password
    The password required to log into the VMware ESX server.
• VMware vCenter Server
  Complete the following fields:
  
  • Web Services Port
    The port that the VMware vCenter Web Service uses to communicate with Uptime Infrastructure Monitor.
  • Username
    The name of the VMware vCenter administrator account.
  • Password
    The password for the VMware vCenter account.
  • In the vSync Settings - Virtual Machines section, indicate whether you would like Uptime Infrastructure Monitor to Collect Virtual Machine data.
    If you choose to ignore VMs in the VMware vCenter inventory by clearing this check box, skip to the next configuration point; otherwise, configure how Uptime Infrastructure Monitor's vSync works with a vCenter's inventory of VMs.
    
    • Select the Collect Uptime Agent data or Collect WMI Agentless data (if you are using data collection via WMI) to enable additional monitoring for VMs that are using the Uptime Infrastructure Monitor Agent or WMI. For more information about managing VM monitoring, see Standalone Monitoring for vCenter VMs. If you have defined global Agent or WMI settings in the Uptime Infrastructure Monitor Config panel, you can select the Use Uptime Agent Global Configuration or Use WMI Global Configuration check box accordingly; otherwise, configure the appropriate fields: 
      
      • For the Uptime Infrastructure Monitor Agent, indicate the Port on which it is listening, and whether it uses SSL to communicate securely with Uptime Infrastructure Monitor.
      • For data collection via WMI, indicate the Window Domain on which WMI is implemented, and the Username and Password required for access.
    • Indicate whether Uptime Infrastructure Monitor should Notify on newly discovered VMs, then select the desired Alert Profile and Action Profile.
      If enabled, Uptime Infrastructure Monitor can send notifications about, or perform scripted actions in response to, new VMs discovered in the VMware vCenter inventory during a vSync operation. For more information about vSync, see Managing vSync.
  • vSync Settings - vSphere ESX Hosts section, indicate whether Uptime Infrastructure Monitor should Notify on new discovered hosts, and then select the desired Alert Profile and Action Profile.
    If enabled, Uptime Infrastructure Monitor can send notifications about, or perform scripted actions in response to, new ESX hosts discovered in the VMware vCenter inventory during a vSync operation. For more information about vSync, see Managing vSync.
• WMI Agentless
  Complete the following fields:
  
  • Windows Domain
    The Windows domain in which WMI is implemented.
  • Username
    The name of the account with access to WMI on the Windows domain.

  • Password
    The password for the account with access to WMI on the windows domain.

  WMI information can be globally configured in the Global Credentials Settings page on the Config tab. If this is done, and the Use WMI Global Credentials check box is selected, none of these options appears, or needs to be configured.

7. If you want to associate this system with a group, select the name of the group from the Group dropdown list. For more information about defining groups, see Working with Groups.
8. If you want to associate this system with a service group, select the name of the group from the Service Group dropdown list. For more information about defining service groups, see Service Groups.
9. Click Save.
   A window listing general information about the system you have added appears.
10. If you want to add another system or network device, click Add Another. Then, repeat the previous steps in this section. Otherwise, click Close.
11. Click Save.

Net-SNMP

The Uptime Infrastructure Monitor SNMP monitor also supports Net-SNMP, which is a suite of command line and graphical applications that do the following:

• request information from SNMP agents
• set information on SNMP agents
• generate and handle SNMP traps

To take advantage of the Net-SNMP features, you must:

• Install and configure the Net-SNMP application suite on your server. Visit http://net-snmp.sourceforge.net for more information:
• Have a Net-SNMP agent already installed on the host or hosts that you want to monitor. The Net-SNMP HOST-RESOURCES-MIB (used to gather performance statistics from a host) must also be enabled. See the Net-SNMP documentation for details.
• Add a Net-SNMP Element to Uptime Infrastructure Monitor. For more information, see Adding Systems or Network Devices.

Supported Versions of SNMP

The Uptime Infrastructure Monitor SNMP monitor works with the following versions of SNMP:

• v2

The second implementation of the SNMP protocol, which contains additional protocol operations as well as improved security and data authentication.

• v3

The latest implementation of the SNMP protocol, which adds security and privacy features that are missing in versions 1 and 2 of the protocol.

See SNMP Poller and Network Device Port Monitor for more information.

WMI Requirements

In order to monitor agentless systems through WMI in a secure environment (e.g., through a firewall), you need to create an exception for WMI on the host end. Consult the Microsoft documentation or developer resources for information on connecting to WMI on a remote computer. For more information about supported platforms when using agentless monitoring, see Supported Platforms via Agentless Monitoring.

Adding a WMI System to Uptime Infrastructure Monitor

To add an agentless WMI system to Uptime Infrastructure Monitor, do the following:

1. On the Uptime Infrastructure Monitor tool bar, click Infrastructure, then click Add System/Network Device.
2. Complete the Display name in Uptime and Description fields.
   See Adding Systems or Network Devices for more information.
3. Select WMI Agentless from the Type of System/Device dropdown list.
4. In the Host Name field, enter the actual name or IP address of the machine that Uptime Infrastructure Monitor is monitoring.
5. Select the Use WMI Global Credentials check box if they are configured, and you would like to use them (see Configuring Global WMI Credentials for more information); otherwise complete the following fields:
   If you want to associate this system with a group, select its name from the Group dropdown list.
   • Windows Domain
     The Windows domain in which WMI is implemented.
   • Username
     The name of the account with access to WMI on the Windows domain.
   • Password
     The password for the account with access to WMI on the windows domain.
6. If you want to associate this system with a Service Group, select its name in the Service Group dropdown list.
7. Click Save.

Switching an Element to WMI Data Collection

To change the data collection source for an individual Windows Element from the Uptime Infrastructure Monitor Agent to WMI, do the following:

Switching an Element to Agent-Based Data Collection

To change the data collection source for an individual Windows Element from WMI to the Uptime Infrastructure Monitor Agent, do the following:

Converting Multiple Elements to WMI Data Collection

To change multiple agent-based Elements to use WMI for data collection, do the following

Converting Multiple Elements to Agent-Based Data Collection

To change multiple WMI Elements to use the Uptime Infrastructure Monitor Agent for data collection, do the following

1. Ensure a global Uptime Infrastructure Monitor Agent configuration exists (see Configuring a Global Uptime Infrastructure Monitor Agent Configuration for more information).
2. On the Uptime Infrastructure Monitor tool bar, click Config.
3. In the tree panel, click Bulk Element Conversion.
4. In the WMI Elements section, select the check boxes that correspond to the WMI Elements whose data collection method is to be changed to the Uptime Infrastructure Monitor Agent.
5. Click Convert to Agent.
   When the conversion is complete, the lists of agent-based and WMI Elements is refreshed to reflect the changes.

Adding a Novell NRM System to Uptime Infrastructure Monitor

To add a Novell NRM version 6.5 system to Uptime Infrastructure Monitor, do the following:

1. On the Uptime Infrastructure Monitor tool bar, click Infrastructure and then click the Add System/Network Device tab.
2. Complete the Display name in Uptime and Description fields.
   See Adding Systems or Network Devices for more information.
3. Select Novell NRM from the Type of System/Device dropdown list.
4. Complete the following fields:
   
   • Host name
     The actual name or IP address of the machine that Uptime Infrastructure Monitor should monitor.
   • Port
     The port on which the NRM is listening. The default is 8008 for a port that is not using SSL. The default for a port that is using SSL is 8009.
   • Username
     The NRM administrator account name. This field is mandatory.

   • Password
     The NRM administrator password. This field is mandatory.

     The password is encrypted and stored in the Uptime Infrastructure Monitor DataStore.

5. If you want to associate this system with a group, select its name from the Group dropdown list.
6. If you want to associate this system with a Service Group, select its name Service Group dropdown list.
7. Click Save.

NRM Statistics Captured by Uptime Infrastructure Monitor

Uptime Infrastructure Monitor captures the following Novell NRM system (version 6.5) statistics:

Each statistic returns one of the following statuses:

• Good

The statistic is well within the threshold suspect value.

• Suspect

The statistic is between the threshold good and critical values.

• Bad

The statistic is greater than the threshold critical value.

Hosts File Name-Value Pairs

The following table explains the properties you can include in a host file to describe Elements. The properties required to add a system or network device depends on the type of Element you want. For example, to add an Agent-based system, you only need to provide information for Host Name, Type, and Port. (For more information, see Working with Elements for a summary of Element types, and Adding Systems or Network Devices for configuration information by Element type.)

Adding Multiple Systems to Uptime Infrastructure Monitor

To add multiple systems to Uptime Infrastructure Monitor, do the following:

1. Copy the hosts file to the directory in which you installed the Uptime Infrastructure Monitor Monitoring Station.
2. At the command line, navigate to the scripts folder.
   For example, if you installed the Monitoring Station in the default location on a Windows system, navigate to the following folder:
   C:\Program Files\uptime software\uptime\scripts\
3. Enter the following command:
   addsystem <path_and_filename>
   Where <path_and_filename> is the name of, and full path to, the text file that contains the list of systems that you want to add to Uptime Infrastructure Monitor.
   The systems listed in the file are added to Uptime Infrastructure Monitor, unless one of the following occurs:
   
   • Uptime Infrastructure Monitor cannot connect to the system
   • the system does not exist in your environment
   • the system is already added to Uptime Infrastructure Monitor

   If you have deployed Uptime Infrastructure Monitor UI instances, ensure you always run command-line scripts such as addsystem on the primary Monitoring Station that is actually performing data collection.

1. In the Infrastructure panel, click Add Application.
2. In the Add Application window, enter a descriptive name in the Name of Application field.
   This name appears in both the Infrastructure panel and Global Scan dashboard.
3. Optionally, enter a description in the Description of Application field.
4. Optionally, select the group of systems in your Uptime Infrastructure Monitor environment with which this system is associated from the Parent Group dropdown list.
   By default, the Application is added to the Infrastructure group. For more information on groups, see Working with Groups.
5. In the Application Status section, define how many master service monitors must be in a warning- or critical-level state to affect the Application as a whole.
   You can include a defined number, a percentage or all master service monitors in this condition.
6. Select one of the following options from the dropdown list above the Available Master Service Monitors list:
   
   • the name of a specific system, which displays all its service monitors
   • All, which displays all service monitors for every system in your environment
7. Select one or more of the service monitors from the Available Master Service Monitors list, and then click Add.
8. Select one of the following options from the dropdown list above the Available Regular Service Monitors list:
   
   • the name of a specific system, which displays all its service monitors
   • All, which displays all service monitors for every system in your environment
9. Select one or more of the service monitors from the Available Regular Service Monitors list and then click Add.
10. Click Save.
    After closing the Add Application window, the name of the newly created Application appears in the Infrastructure panel as a link that can be clicked to view the Application’s details.
11. If required, associate Alert Profiles with the Application by clicking Edit Alert Profiles when viewing the Application’s details.
12. In the Alert Profile Selector pop-up window, select one or more of the Available Alert Profiles from the list, then click Save.
13. If required, associate Action Profiles with the Application by clicking Edit Action Profiles when viewing the Application’s details.
14. In the Action Profile Selector pop-up window, select one or more of the Available Action Profiles from the list, then click Save.

Editing Applications

To edit an Application, do the following:

1. In the Infrastructure panel, click the gear icon beside the Application you want to modify, then click Edit.
   The Edit Application window appears.
2. Edit the Application setting as described in Adding Applications.

To add a nested group, do the following:

1. In the Infrastructure panel, click Add Group.
2. Enter a descriptive name for the group in the Group Name field.
3. Optionally, enter a description of the group in the Group Description field.
4. Select the group with which the new group becomes associated from the Parent Group dropdown list.
5. To give this nested group its own subgroups, select one or more entries from the Available Groups list, then click Add.
6. Select the Elements that you want to add to this group from the Available Elements list, and then click Add.
7. Select one or more sets of users who can view this group from the Available User Groups list, and then click Add.
8. Click Save.

Adding a Nested View

To add a nested view, do the following:

1. In the Infrastructure panel, click Add View.
2. In the Add View window, enter a descriptive name in the View Name field.
   This name appears when listing views in the Infrastructure panel.
3. Optionally, enter a description in View Description field.
4. In the Parent View dropdown list, select the view to which this nested view is subordinate.
5. To give this nested view its own child views, select one or more entries from the Available Element Views list, then click Add.
6. Select one or more users who can view this group from the Available Users list, then click Add.
7. To add previously defined groups of users, select one or more entries from the Available User Groups list, then click Add.
8. Click Save.