Nimsoft Monitor. net_connect Guide. v2.9 series

Transcription

1 Nimsoft Monitor net_connect Guide v2.9 series

2 Legal Notices Copyright 2013, CA. All rights reserved. Warranty The material contained in this document is provided "as is," and is subject to being changed, without notice, in future editions. Further, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Nimsoft LLC disclaims all warranties, either express or implied, with regard to this manual and any information contained herein, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Nimsoft LLC shall not be liable for errors or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, use, or performance of this document or of any information contained herein. Should Nimsoft LLC and the user have a separate written agreement with warranty terms covering the material in this document that conflict with these terms, the warranty terms in the separate agreement shall control. Technology Licenses The hardware and/or software described in this document are furnished under a license and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of such license. No part of this manual may be reproduced in any form or by any means (including electronic storage and retrieval or translation into a foreign language) without prior agreement and written consent from Nimsoft LLC as governed by United States and international copyright laws. Restricted Rights Legend If software is for use in the performance of a U.S. Government prime contract or subcontract, Software is delivered and licensed as "Commercial computer software" as defined in DFAR (June 1995), or as a "commercial item" as defined in FAR 2.101(a) or as "Restricted computer software" as defined in FAR (June 1987) or any equivalent agency regulation or contract clause. Use, duplication or disclosure of Software is subject to Nimsoft LLC s standard commercial license terms, and non-dod Departments and Agencies of the U.S. Government will receive no greater than Restricted Rights as defined in FAR (c)(1-2) (June 1987). U.S. Government users will receive no greater than Limited Rights as defined in FAR (June 1987) or DFAR (b)(2) (November 1995), as applicable in any technical data. Trademarks Nimsoft is a trademark of CA. Adobe, Acrobat, Acrobat Reader, and Acrobat Exchange are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated. Intel and Pentium are U.S. registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. Java(TM) is a U.S. trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. Microsoft and Windows are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Netscape(TM) is a U.S. trademark of Netscape Communications Corporation. Oracle is a U.S. registered trademark of Oracle Corporation, Redwood City, California. UNIX is a registered trademark of the Open Group. ITIL is a Registered Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce in the United Kingdom and other countries. All other trademarks, trade names, service marks and logos referenced herein belong to their respective companies. For information on licensed and public domain software, see the Nimsoft Monitor Third-Party Licenses and Terms of Use document at:

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5 Contents Chapter 1: net_connect net_connect Overview... 7 Chapter 2: net_connect Probe Deployment 9 Supported Platforms... 9 System Requirements... 9 Software Requirements Monitoring System Requirements Probe Deployment Information Quality of Service (QoS) Network Path Monitoring Chapter 3: net_connect Configuration 13 Probe Defaults Probe Configuration Interface Installation Probe GUI Left Pane Right Pane Probe Configuration Probe Setup Launch the Message Pool Manager Set Default Host Parameters Set Default Service Parameters Create New Group Add Host Find Host in List of Profiles Add Service Port scan Status Window Show Traceroute Show Ping Sweep Window Bulk Configuration Contents 5

6 Chapter 4: Hints and Examples 43 Chapter 5: Technical Brief 45 Calculate Jitter and Latency QoS Chapter 6: QoS Threshold Metrics 47 net_connect QoS Metrics net_connect Alert Metrics Default Settings Chapter 7: Troubleshooting and FAQs 49 Config File Unsupported by Java SDK NimConfig net_connect Guide

7 Chapter 1: net_connect 2.9 This description applies to net_connect probe version 2.9. This section contains the following topics: net_connect Overview (see page 7) Documentation Changes (see page 8) net_connect Overview The net_connect probe measures network connectivity that is based on "ping" (ICMP ECHO) and the TCP connections to a list of user-defined services. The service can be NetBIOS, Telnet, FTP, and HTTP. The probe supports the Nimsoft Monitor family of solutions by sending quality of service (QoS) messages. Chapter 1: net_connect 2.9 7

8 net_connect Overview Documentation Changes This table describes the version history for this document. Version Date What's New? 2.9 October 2013 Added support for cfg having large(25000) profiles. Reduced time of load for large profiles. 2.9 December 2012 Revamped probe for scalability. The issue of failing to execute in scheduled time interval has been fixed. The higher CPU issue fixed. Revamped the probe for scalability for False Alarms, that is probe reporting +ve ping as -ve. ping due to time out at higher number of profiles. Revamped the probe scalability for failing to execute profile at scheduled time interval. Revamped the probe scalability and resolved some issues relating to crash of the probe. Also changed the config parameters default value, that is max_socket = 100 (global level) and timeout = 10 Sec. (at profile level). 2.8 August 2012 Thread model changed for profile execution. Sorting technique embed in IPv4 and IPv6. Added support for Debian and Ubuntu platforms. 2.7 April 2012 Updated for IPv6 compatibility. Related Documentation Documentation for other versions of the net_connect probe The Release Notes for the net_connect probe Monitor Metrics Reference Information for CA Nimsoft Probes ( 8 net_connect Guide

9 Chapter 2: net_connect Probe Deployment This section contains the prerequisites, system requirements and deployment information for the net_connect probe. This section contains the following topics: Supported Platforms (see page 9) System Requirements (see page 9) Software Requirements (see page 10) Monitoring System Requirements (see page 10) Probe Deployment Information (see page 10) Quality of Service (QoS) (see page 10) Network Path Monitoring (see page 11) Supported Platforms The net_connect probe supports the same set of operating systems and databases as supported by the Nimsoft Server solution. Please refer to the Nimsoft Compatibility Support Matrix for the latest information on supported platforms. See also the Support Matrix for Nimsoft Probes, for additional specific information on the net_connect probe. System Requirements The net_connect probe should be installed on systems with the following minimum resources: Memory: 2-4 GB of RAM. Probe's OOB configuration requires 256 MB of RAM. CPU: 3GHz dual-core processor, 32-bit or 64-bit. Chapter 2: net_connect Probe Deployment 9

10 Software Requirements Software Requirements The net_connect probe requires the following software environment: Nimsoft Monitor Server or later Nimsoft robot version 5.23 or later Java Virtual Machine version 1.6 or later (deployed as part of the probe package) Note: For SOC functionality, NM Server 5.6 or later and UMP or later is required. Monitoring System Requirements The net_connect probe is monitoring if a particular device is pinging or not. It is also monitoring the services, which are in this probe. Probe Deployment Information There are three ways to distribute archive packages. You can distribute the package within the web-based Admin Console (for supported probes), from within Infrastructure Manager, or use the standalone Nimsoft Distribution application.see Probe Deployment for more information on deploying probes. Quality of Service (QoS) The probe is capable of delivering QoS on a per service basis. This means that you can specify whether you want to generate a QoS for host connectivity using ping and/or specific TCP services. The QoS target is specified by the QoS identification method. 10 net_connect Guide

11 Network Path Monitoring Network Path Monitoring A typical network monitoring scenario is to monitoring a network destination e.g. a public web service (to ensure connectivity to internet). The simplest way to set up this is to add your web service as a top-level profile. Your peer-to-peer connection is routed through a number of network devices on its way to the final destination (your web service) and you cannot directly pinpoint where the breakage is located. Create a network path to pinpoint where the breakage is by adding a chain of hosts reflecting the actual network path. This will not only help you in finding the problem, but it will also cut down on the amount of "alarms" that traditionally was generated based on the connectivity failure to your destination. Note: Use the Traceroute tool to generate a network path. Chapter 2: net_connect Probe Deployment 11

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13 Chapter 3: net_connect Configuration The net_connect probe uses the same mechanism as the ping command (ICMP ECHO) to verify that there is network connectivity between the host where the probe resides and the targeted remote system. In addition to performing a series of pings, you can configure the probe and connect to a selection of TCP based services, such as telnet, and http. It is possible to define a chain of hosts. For example, to simulate the network route to a destination network. This feature is especially useful when the connection path is separated by network devices, such as routers, switches, and hubs. It is possible to adjust your configuration to monitor "the wire" on a higher frequency for specific nodes. The Network connectivity (net_connect) probe verifies network connectivity of other nodes and services in the network. Net_connect is configured by double-clicking the line representing the probe in the Infrastructure Manager. This brings up the configuration tool for the probe. The configuration tool also contains the following tool buttons: Probe Setup Message Pool Manager Set Default Host Parameters Set Default Service Manager Chapter 3: net_connect Configuration 13

14 Probe Defaults Add Group Add Host Find host in list of profiles Add Service Port Scan Show Status Window Show Traceroute Window Show Ping Sweep Bulk configuration The window consists of two panes: left and right. This section describes the configuration concepts and procedures for setting up the net_connect probe. This section contains the following topics: Probe Defaults (see page 14) Probe Configuration Interface Installation (see page 14) Probe GUI (see page 14) Probe Configuration (see page 16) Probe Defaults At the time of deploying a probe for the first time on robot, some default configuration will get deployed automatically. These probe defaults could be Alarms, QoS, Profiles and so on which save time to configure the default settings. These probe defaults will be seen on a fresh install, that is no instance of that probe is already available on that robot in activated or deactivated state. Probe Configuration Interface Installation The probe configuration interface is automatically downloaded and installed by the Nimsoft Infrastructure Manager when the probe is deployed on a robot. Probe GUI This section contains the basic GUI information for the net_connect probe. 14 net_connect Guide

15 Probe GUI Left Pane The left-pane shows the various groups and all hosts belonging to a group. Right-clicking in the pane gives you the following possibilities: New: Opens the Host profile dialog, which allows you to define a new host to be monitored. Edit: Allows you to edit the properties for the selected host. Delete: Allows you to delete the selected group or host from the list of monitored devices. Rename: Allows you to rename the selected group or host. Dragging and dropping one host on another host in the left pane creates a network path/chain. Note: If errors occur in a network path/chain, an alarm message will indicate an error on the node where the error occurred. This node will also have a red indicator (failed) in the Status window. Child-nodes (placed after the node failing in the network chain) will have a yellow indicator (warning) in the Status window. Selecting a path/chain activates the following right-click options: Expand All: Expands/opens the chain/path to show all associated hosts. Collapse All: Collapses/closes the chain/path to hide all associated hosts. User as Default Host Parameters: Uses the properties for the selected host and use as default host parameters. These parameters will automatically appear in the hosts dialog when adding new hosts to be monitored. Note: These settings will overwrite the settings defined using the Set Default Parameters button in the Toolbar. Right Pane The right-pane is multi-functional and displays the following: Hosts when a group is selected in the left-pane. Services when a host is selected in the left-pane. Right-clicking in the pane gives you the following possibilities: New: Enables you to create a new host or service. Edit: Enables you to edit the properties for the selected host or service. Delete: Deletes the selected host or service. Chapter 3: net_connect Configuration 15

16 View: Lets you select a between a simple view of the list (simple) or a more detailed view. List: The list will contain only the names of the hosts or services. Details: The list will now in addition to the service/host names contain configuration details. Probe Configuration This section contains specific configuration for the probe. Probe Setup Clicking the Probe Setup button opens the General Setup dialog, which enables you to set the general setup properties for the probe. 16 net_connect Guide

17 The Setup Properties dialog has two tabs: General and Advanced. The fields in the above dialog are explained below: General QoS interval Specifies the interval for when the probe delivers Quality of Service. Bind to network interface All network operations will be bound to the controller s IP address. Force Service Check Log-file Select this option if you want to monitor the services even if ICMP connectivity fails. The file where the probe logs information about its internal activity. Log-level Sets the level of details written to the log-file. Log as little as possible during normal operation to minimize disk consumption, and increase the amount of detail when debugging. Chapter 3: net_connect Configuration 17

18 Advanced Send burst of Defines the number of ICMP ECHOs that is sent for each 'ping'. In busy networks, adjust the number to a higher value. Timeout after Defines the ICMP timeout value in seconds. Note: You can use a comma to indicate milliseconds. For example, 0,102 means 102 milliseconds. Packet size The size (in bytes) of the packages sent. Performance Properties Concurrently Execute Profiles Allows you to select the number of profiles simultaneously executed. See also the wait column in the Status window. If the probe spends too much time in a wait state, you should reconfigure the Performance Properties to a lower number. Setting this number to higher value may also result in excessive CPU usage. Enterprise Console Integration Enables you to drag profiles from the status window and drop onto an Enterprise Console dashboard (if in design mode). You may choose between many different icons and select if you also want to include a caption. Radio buttons let you select the caption to be the either the IP address or the Hostname. Services definitions Manage the services definitions that you may monitor. Launch the Message Pool Manager The Message Pool Manager can be opened by clicking the Message Pool Manager button in the Tool bar. 18 net_connect Guide

19 The alarm messages for each alarm situation are stored in the Message Manager. Right-clicking in the list allows you to customize an alarm text and you can also create your own or delete messages. Note: On typing a $ in the Alarm text field, a dialog pops up offering a set of variables that can be selected. Set Default Host Parameters Clicking Set Default Host Parameters button opens the Host Properties dialog allowing you to set the default parameters to be used when adding a new host. These settings are overwritten if you right-click a host in the left pane and select Set as Default Parameters. For a description of the different parameters, see Add Host (see page 20). Chapter 3: net_connect Configuration 19

20 Set Default Service Parameters Clicking Set Default Service Parameters button opens the Service Properties - Default Service dialog allowing you to set the default service parameters to be used when adding a new host. For a description of the different parameters, see Add Service (see page 26). Create New Group You can create a new folder/group by selecting the Add Group icon in the menu-bar and giving the new group a name. These groups can be used to organize the hosts to be monitored. While defining new hosts to be monitored, you can select the group where you want to put them. You can also drag and drop existing hosts in a group. Note: This probe only supports single level grouping. Add Host Clicking the Add Host button opens Host Properties dialog. 20 net_connect Guide

21 Using this dialog, you can add destination hosts. You can also do the following in this dialog: Add Nimsoft components by dragging elements (Robots/Hubs) from the Infrastructure Manager into the left-hand control (navigation pane) of the net_connect window. Import data from a /etc/hosts file by dragging the selection into the navigation pane. The import format must be on the form "ip-address hostname". Use the Ping Sweep tool to generate and test target hosts. Use the Traceroute tool. Each profile can be tested by clicking the PING button. Chapter 3: net_connect Configuration 21

22 By default, the hosts will be assigned to the properties specified as the default host properties. The fields in the above dialog are explained below: 22 net_connect Guide

23 Hostname The name of the monitored network device. IP Address Specifies the IP address of the monitored device. If the field is empty then a name lookup is performed on the provided Hostname. Check Interval Active Group Specifies how often the probe executes the profile. Only top-level profiles may specify the interval. Note: If Packets to send = 10 and delay between packets = ms then time taken to send all the packets including delay time = 5min (30000 ms * 10 = ms = 300 sec = 5min). In this case, if check interval is set to less than expected time (say 5 mins), then jitter, packet loss, and latency won t be calculated. In order to calculate jitter, packet loss, and latency QoS, the time interval should be set as per the values set in fields Packets to send and Delay between packets. Specifies if the profile should be executed or not. Monitored hosts can be organized in different groups in the left pane. Clicking the Add Group button in the Tool bar lets you add new groups. Select which group you want the host to belong to from the pull-down list. Contact info Text (e.g. the name of a contact person responsible for the host) that can be used as a variable in alarm messages. Monitor ICMP connectivity (ping) Probe performs ICMP ECHO bursts to the destination. Generate alarm/qos based on the response times. Packet size The size (in bytes) of the packages sent. Retries in interval Number of retries before giving up and reporting an error condition. Enable Packet Loss Monitoring Activates QoS on packet loss. Packets to Send Defines the number of packets to send on each interval. Chapter 3: net_connect Configuration 23

24 Delay between Packets (in ms) Packet Loss QoS Defines the delay between successive packets. Note: If Packets to send = 10 and delay between packets = ms then time taken to send all the packets including delay time = 5min (30000 ms * 10 = ms = 300 sec = 5min). In this case, if check interval is set to less than expected time (say 5 mins), then jitter, packet loss, and latency won t be calculated. In order to calculate jitter, packet loss, and latency QoS, the time interval should be set as per the values set in fields Packets to send and Delay between packets. Packet Loss QoS, Jitter QoS, and Latency QoS. Publish QoS messages Publishes QoS (Quality of Services) messages. Identification method Enables you to define a QoS target. Override Global QoS interval Generate Alarm Overrides the global settings for QoS interval, selected on the Setup Properties > General tab. QoS are generated only if check interval and delay between the packets are properly configured as given in respective sessions. Generate alarms based on the response time, threshold or packet loss. Note: If selecting the Default message in the message fields described below, this message is hard-coded (you will not find it in the Message pool). Connectivity Message OK Select which message to be sent when status is OK. Message Fail Timeout Select which message to be sent when errors occur. Maximum wait-period for the ICMP reply. Failed intervals Number of consecutive runs that can fail before generating an alarm. 24 net_connect Guide

25 Threshold Identification method Enables you to define an alarm source. Activates threshold monitoring. Using threshold monitoring, you can set a threshold value. If the probe must wait longer than the threshold specified for a response from the host, an alarm will be issued. Response time Defines for how long the probe waits for a response from the host before a threshold alarm is issued. Message OK Select which message to be sent when status is OK. Message fail Packet Loss Select which message to be sent when the threshold is exceeded. Max lost packets Defines the maximum number of lost packets on each interval before an alarm is issued. Max Jitter Defines the maximum number of Jitter on each interval. Message OK Select which message to be sent when status is OK. Message Fail Select which message to be sent when errors occur. Ping (button) Each profile can be tested by clicking the PING button. Chapter 3: net_connect Configuration 25

26 Find Host in List of Profiles You can easily search and find one of your monitored hosts on selecting this option. This is convenient if you have many hosts and groups. A small dialog pops up, which enables you to specify a host name or an IP address. On clicking the OK button, the host will be found that is highlighted in the left pane and the properties dialog for the host opens. Add Service Follow these steps: 1. Selecting a host in the left pane and clicking the Add Service button. Available Services dialog appears. 2. Select services to monitor on the selected/current host. 26 net_connect Guide

27 3. Make your selection and click the OK button. Chapter 3: net_connect Configuration 27

28 The service(s) selected will then be listed in the right pane. You can also edit monitoring properties for a service by double-clicking the service. The properties dialog will be displayed. 28 net_connect Guide

29 The fields in the above dialog are explained below: Handshake Settings Send on connect In the Send on connect field, enter a string that will identify the local machine to host for SSL purposes. Note: The same identification string should be added in the Service properties tab of the Bulk Configuration dialog. Alarm properties Modify the service properties. Otherwise, the properties below are grayed out and cannot be modified. Reply (in sec.) Defines for how long (in seconds) the probe waits for a response from the service(s) before an alarm will be issued. Message OK Select which message to be sent when status is OK. Note: If selecting the Default message in the message field, this message is hard-coded (you will not find it in the Message pool). Message Fail Select which message to be sent when the response from the service(s) exceeds the threshold specified. Note: If selecting the Default message in the message field, this message is hard-coded (you will not find it in the Message pool). Publish QoS Quality of Service messages will be sent on response time from service(s). Test Connect Clicking this button, the probe will attempt to connect to the service. Green indicator means that the connection is OK; red light indicates that the probe did not succeed to connect to the service. Challenge Response Settings - Timeout (ms) Checking this option lets you add a set of commands and expected responses to be executed on the service. Only commands supported by the service will work. Note: The response check boxes should be ticked and some text specified in the fields in order to see the responses. Timeout Specifies for how long the probe will wait for a response on the command(s) before sending an alarm message. Test Response Chapter 3: net_connect Configuration 29

30 Checks that your command/response settings work. Click this button to verify the specified responses. If successful, the command and response can be seen in a notepad file, which will be displayed when you click the button. Port scan Clicking the Port scan button opens the Port scan dialog. Use this option to scan selected ports on the selected host. All services defined (see the Setup properties dialog) will be listed, but none of them is yet selected. Existing services (already selected to be monitored on the host) are marked with a blue color and "new" (currently not monitored) services are black. 30 net_connect Guide

31 Select the ports/service(s) you want to add and click the Start port scan button. The selected ports will be scanned. When the port scanning is finished, the services found ok will be marked with a green indicator and status 'ok' and the ones not responding will be marked red and status error. The Blue color refers that the port was not scanned. Select the services you want to monitor and click the Add to Host button. Status Window Clicking the Show Status Window button displays the Status dialog. The net_connect probe, in a repetitive manner attempt to connect to all hosts defined by active profiles. The status will be reflected by a green (ok) indicator, a yellow indicator (warning) if the node s parent in the network chain is down, or a red (failed) indicator. Note: Click F5 to update the data in this list. Chapter 3: net_connect Configuration 31

32 Right Click on List Selecting and right-clicking a service in the list enables you to test the connectivity (response) of the selected service and refresh the list as well. EC Integration You may select host(s) (multi-select supported) from the list and drag and drop on a dashboard in the Enterprise Console (if in design-mode). The node will be presented with the icon selected under Enterprise Integration on the Setup Properties > Advanced tab. Show Traceroute Clicking the Show Traceroute Window button opens the Traceroute window. In the Traceroute window, you can select (or specify) a destination and then trace the network path to this selected destination. Note: You can mark and drag objects (or a trace route) from the traceroute-list into the profile list to create new profiles. The hosts will by default be assigned the properties specified as the default host properties. 32 net_connect Guide

33 The network path will automatically be presented as a structure in the left pane. If one or more nodes on the route are "down", an alarm will report the first dead node in the route. Note: The network path is seen from your client and not from the computer hosting the probe. Show Ping Sweep Window Clicking the Show Ping Sweep Window button displays the Ping Sweep dialog. Chapter 3: net_connect Configuration 33

34 This dialog enables you to create a range of hosts to be monitored. Enter a starting address of the IP range and the number of hosts in the range and click the Generate button. The range specified is listed in the window and Duplicate IP addresses are ignored. You can generate multiple ranges prior to clicking the Start button. Clicking the Start button, the probe will attempt to ping the hosts in the range to check the status. Note: It is not a requirement to test the connections. If ticking the Resolve IP-address option, the names of the hosts responding will be found and entered in the Hosts column of the list. 34 net_connect Guide

35 The State column indicates the state of the Hosts in the specified range: Red: Error means that the host did not respond on the ping. Green: Means OK. You can now drag one or more (multi-select) of the hosts found and drop into one of the groups in the left pane or to the root level. The hosts will by default be assigned the properties specified as the default host properties. Chapter 3: net_connect Configuration 35

36 Bulk Configuration Clicking the Bulk configuration button displays the Bulk Configuration dialog. The Bulk Configuration dialog allows you to distribute a set of monitoring parameters to selected hosts and services. 36 net_connect Guide

37 The fields in the above dialog are as follows: Select Hosts The properties specified on the Host properties tab (see below) will be assigned to the hosts specified here. All hosts The configuration parameters will be distributed to your monitored hosts. Only active hosts The configuration parameters will be distributed to all active hosts. All hosts matching The configuration parameters will be distributed to all hosts matching your input in this field (pattern matching). For Example: *nim: Will search for all hosts with names ending with nim. nim*: Will search for all hosts with names starting with nim. *nim*: Will search for all hosts containing nim in their names. All hosts in the group The configuration parameters will be distributed to all hosts in the selected group. Selected host(s) Select Services The host(s) selected from in the main GUI before you clicked the Bulk configuration button. You select hosts in the main GUI by selecting a group in the left pane and then selecting one or more of the hosts listed in the right pane. The selected hosts will be listed. The properties specified on the Service properties tab (see below) will be assigned to the hosts specified. Add services if not existing Adds services to be monitored on the hosts if not already specified. All services Applies to all existing services on your monitored hosts. Only active services Applies to all active services on your monitored hosts. Chapter 3: net_connect Configuration 37

38 Choose services Activates the Services button. Clicking this button lets you select services from a list popping up. The services selected will be listed in the dialog, next to the Services button. Selected service(s) Host properties Applies to services manually selected in the list. If you select one or more services in the probe GUI and then click the Bulk Configuration button, the bulk configuration applies to the selected services. The ones selected will be listed. Modify host properties Activates the tab enabling you to define different host properties. If NOT selected, the options on the tab are grayed out. Use default host values The default host parameters will be used (these parameters are set by clicking the Set Default Host Parameters button and entering the values you want. If this option is selected, the options below will be grayed out. Specify host values Defines own set of parameters for this bulk configuration, rather than using the default parameters (see above). Interval Select the interval value from the drop down list. The default interval value is 5min. The other values are: 2min, 10min, 10min30sec, and 1h. Note: If Packets to send = 10 and delay between packets = ms then time taken to send all the packets including delay time = 5min (30000 ms * 10 = ms = 300 sec = 5min). In this case, if check interval is set to less than expected time (say 5 mins), then jitter, packet loss, and latency won t be calculated. In order to calculate jitter, packet loss, and latency QoS, the time interval should be set as per the values set in fields Packets to send and Delay between packets. Contact Info Contact information of the user creating the bulk configuration. Monitor ICMP connectivity (ping) Generates alarm/qos based on the response times.the probe will perform ICMP ECHO bursts to the destination. 38 net_connect Guide

39 QoS Packet size The size (in bytes) of the packages sent. Retries in interval Number of retries before giving up and reporting an error condition. Publish QoS (Quality of Service) messages Publishes QoS messages. Enable packet loss monitoring Activates packet loss monitoring. Using this you can set packet loss monitoring values. Packets to send Defines the number of packets to be sent on each interval. Delay between Packets (ms) Enter the value in milliseconds for the delay between packets. Note: If Packets to send = 10 and delay between packets = ms then time taken to send all the packets including delay time = 5min (30000 ms * 10 = ms = 300 sec = 5min). In this case, if check interval is set to less than expected time (say 5 mins), then jitter, packet loss, and latency won t be calculated. In order to calculate jitter, packet loss, and latency QoS, the time interval should be set as per the values set in fields Packets to send and Delay between packets. QoS on packet loss Selects this box to set QoS on the packet loss. This enables QoS messages and alarms to be issued on the percentage of packet loss. Jitter QoS Select this option to calculate Jitter QoS. This field is enabled only if there is Delay between Packets. Note: Jitter calculation is accurate on high latency network. Latency QoS Selects this option to calculate Latency QoS. This field is enabled only if there is Delay between Packets. Chapter 3: net_connect Configuration 39

40 Alarm Generate alarm Generates alarms based on the response time. Message OK Selects the message to be sent when status is OK. Message fail Selects the message to be sent when errors occur. Timeout (sec) Maximum wait period for the ICMP reply. Note: Recommended settings for Timeout should be set as 10 seconds for effective scalability. Failed intervals Threshold Number of consecutive runs that can fail before generating an alarm. Enable threshold monitoring Activates threshold monitoring. Using this you can set a threshold value. If the probe must wait longer than the threshold specified for a response from the host, an alarm will be issued. Response time The response time threshold. Defines for how long the probe waits for a response from the host before a threshold alarm is issued. Message OK Selects the message to be sent when status is OK. Message fail Packet Loss Selects the message to be sent when the threshold is exceeded. Max lost packets Enter the value that will keep check on maximum lost packets. Max Jitter Maximum Jitter value after which alarm should be generated. Message OK Selects the message to be sent when status is OK. 40 net_connect Guide

41 Message Fail Selects the message to be sent when the threshold is exceeded. Configuration for QoS and Alarm QoS Alarm Identification method Defines a QoS target. QoS Source Defines a QoS source. Override Global QoS interval Overrides the global settings for QoS interval, selected on the Setup Properties > General tab. QOS are generated only if check interval and delay between the packets are properly configured as given in respective sessions. Identification method Defines an alarm source. Chapter 3: net_connect Configuration 41

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43 Chapter 4: Hints and Examples Some useful hints are provided below to ease the use of the net_connect probe: Use the chaining feature to "test" network access. Quickly add NimBUS Hubs/Robots by dragging the objects from the NimBUS Manager. Use the Test button to resolve a hostname/ip address. Chapter 4: Hints and Examples 43

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45 Chapter 5: Technical Brief This section contains the following topics: Calculate Jitter and Latency QoS (see page 45) Calculate Jitter and Latency QoS The parameters are: icmp_packet_count = 10 icmp_inter_packet_timeout = 30 seconds sample_point_compute_interval = icmp_packet_count * icmp_inter_packet_timeout = 300 seconds icmp_timeout = icmp_inter_packet_timeout/2 = 15 seconds Sample Point computation for a destination IP address from Nimsoft VM (VM) connected to that customer VPN: 1. Every icmp_inter_packet_timeout interval one 32-byte ICMP ECHO packet is sent to the destination IP from the VM connected to the customer VPN. 2. VM will wait for icmp_timeout and no ICMP ECHO REPLY comes back, the packet is considered lost. Otherwise, it will record the round_trip_latency 3. At the end of icmp_packet_count transmissions, VM will have icmp_packet_count data points. Of that some of them may be lost, call that icmp_lost_count. For all others, you will have round_trip_latency. Compute sample point as follows: loss = icmp_lost_count/icmp_packet_count latency = average(round_trip_latency); if icmp_lost_count is icmp_packet_count, then latency is NaN. ( Nan NULL QoS) jitter = stardard_deviation(round_trip_latency); if icmp_lost_count is icmp_packet_count, the jitter is 0. Chapter 5: Technical Brief 45

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47 Chapter 6: QoS Threshold Metrics Many Nimsoft Monitor probes are shipped with the default alarm threshold values. These default values provide an idea about the information to be entered in the fields. These values are not necessarily recommended best practice values. To aid in tuning thresholds and reducing false-positive alarms, this section describes the QoS metrics and provides the default alarm thresholds. This section contains the following topics: net_connect QoS Metrics (see page 47) net_connect Alert Metrics Default Settings (see page 48) net_connect QoS Metrics The following table describes the checkpoint metrics that can be configured using the net_connect probe. Monitor Name Units Description Network Protocol ICMP QOS_NET_CONNECT QOS_NET_CONNECT_PACKETLOS S QOS_NET_CONNECT_PACKET_LA TENCY QOS_NET_CONNECT_PACKET_JIT TER Network Protocol TCP QOS_NET_CONNECT QOS_NET_CONNECT_PACKETLOS S Millisecon ds Percent Millisecon ds Millisecon ds Millisecon ds Percent Network Connectivity Response Network Connectivity Response Packet Loss Network Connectivity Response Packet Latency Network Connectivity Response Packet Jitter Network Connectivity Response Network Connectivity Response Packet Loss Chapter 6: QoS Threshold Metrics 47

48 net_connect Alert Metrics Default Settings net_connect Alert Metrics Default Settings This section contains the QoS metric default settings for the net_connect probe. QoS Metric Error Threshold Error Severity Description Host ICMP Protocol Response Time - Major Alarm to be issued when connection to host failed. Host Execution Time - Major Alarm to be issued when host failed to execute in scheduled time interval. TCP Protocol Response Time 1000 ms Major Alarm to be issued when Ping response is above threshold limit. TCP Protocol Packet Loss 2 Major Alarm to be issued when Packet Loss is above threshold limit. ICMP Protocol Jitter - Major Alarm to be issued when Jitter is above threshold limit. Service ICMP Protocol Response Time - Major Alarm to be issued when connection to Service failed. 48 net_connect Guide

49 Chapter 7: Troubleshooting and FAQs This section contains troubleshooting information for the net_connect probe. This section contains the following topics: Config File Unsupported by Java SDK NimConfig (see page 49) Config File Unsupported by Java SDK NimConfig NimException occurred when retrieving or parsing nimconfig for '/{domain}/{hub}/{robot}/net_connect'. exception_msg: Section already in use as a key profiles/{device}, exception_stack: (90) Configuration error, Section already in use as a key profiles/{device} The resolution for this issue is to upgrade the net_connect probe to at least v2.81, open the configuration, make some small change that will force a rewrite, and re-save back again using the Apply and OK buttons. Then, the configuration file is updated appropriately to support usage_metering. Chapter 7: Troubleshooting and FAQs 49