Nimsoft Monitor. exchange_response Guide. v2.5 series

Nimsoft Monitor exchange_response Guide v2.5 series

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Contents Chapter 1: exchange_response 2.5 7 exchange_response Installation notes... 9 exchange_response Configuration... 10 The Setup Tab... 11 The Status Tab... 13 The Messages Tab... 21 Chapter 2: exchange_response Metrics 23 Troubleshooting and FAQs... 23 CreateProcessAsUser(pchVar): A required privilege is not held by the client... 23 Contents 5

Chapter 1: exchange_response 2.5 This description applies to exchange_response version 2.5. Important! The exchange_response probe has been replaced by the ews_response probe. The Exchange Client Response probe performs a performance test of your Microsoft Exchange server connection. It performs an actual logon and logoff session, sends and receives test e-mails, therefore reflecting the actual end-user experience of the Exchange server. The probe can also return mail from another instance of the probe. This enables end-to-end monitoring. Probe features: Measures real end-user client response-time for logon and logoff on Exchange servers. Measures e-mail round-trip for internal and external e-mail accounts. Generates QoS data that can be used by the Service Level Manager. Generates Alarms if threshold values are broken and when unknown mails are detected in the mailbox. Alarm messages can be generated on mail roundtrip time and on error situations. Quality of Service messages directed towards the SLA (Service Level Agreement) family can be generated on the mail roundtrip time. Erasing messages When the probe has sent a message, it will scan the mailbox with the configured interval ('Check every...'). When it finds the message there, it is removed. We have not seen the need to optionally leave the messages there - doing this might potentially create problems as the inbox of the test user then will fill up with messages over time. You can increase the 'Check every...' interval. Please note that when the test user sends to him/her self, quite often the message appears in the mailbox immediately and is removed on the first scan. Chapter 1: exchange_response 2.5 7

exchange_response Installation notes This section contains the following topics: Documentation Changes (see page 9) exchange_response Installation notes (see page 9) exchange_response Configuration (see page 10) exchange_response Metrics (see page 23) Troubleshooting and FAQs (see page 23) 8 exchange_response Guide

exchange_response Installation notes Documentation Changes This table describes the version history for this document. Version Date What's New? 2.5 March 2011 Added support for reading alarm tokens from configuration and support for configuring pre-configured MAPI profiles. 2.4 May 2010 Added NIS(TNT2) changes; added support for Windows Vista and Windows 7; added support Exchange Server 2010; added support for configuring hidden mailbox user in profiles; and added support for forcefully disabling tcp fallback in case of RPC Over HTTP profile configurations Related Documentation Documentation for other versions of the exchange_response probe The Release Notes for the exchange_response probe Monitor Metrics Reference Information for CA Nimsoft Probes (http://docs.nimsoft.com/prodhelp/en_us/probes/probereference/index.htm) exchange_response Installation notes When installing the exchange_response probe, a wizard will assist you through the initial probe configuration. When creating monitoring profiles, please note that the probe assumes that the test mail sent will end up in the test users' mailbox. This can be done in several ways, for instance: Send to the test user directly. Send to a non-existing user on a mail server that will issue an 'Unknown user' return mail. Send to another test user whose mailbox is being monitored by another instance of this probe. Below is a step-by-step description of how to enable and run this probe. To enable and run the probe: Create a test user in Exchange. Documentation Changes 9

If messages are to be bounced between instances of the probe, make sure that test users are present in the others' address books. On the computer where you want to run the probe, check that Outlook is installed and selected as the default mail client. Drop the package on the Robot. Configure the probe. (On the Status tab: Create a user, password and the name of the Exchange Server. Create and enable at least one monitoring profile.) Activate the probe. The probe will automatically: Create a local user with the same name and password as the Exchange user. Give the local user access read and write access to the <Nimsoft>\probes\application\exchange_response directory by adding the user to the local Administrators group. Create a MAPI profile for the local user that points to the Exchange Server. Remove the user and windows profile on termination if these were created during program execution. At probe-start-up, the probe logs on the server exchange server(s) defined, using the user credentials defined. A MAPI user on the format Nimsoft_exchange_mailx (where x is a number in the range 1,2,3,4 etc., representing the different users) is created for each user. These MAPI profiles are ALWAYS removed when the probe is stopped/deactivated. exchange_response Configuration The exchange_response probe is configured by double-clicking the line representing the probe in the Infrastructure Manager. This brings up the configuration user-interface for the probe. The configuration user-interface shows the following tabs: Setup This tab defines the general properties for the probe. Status All monitoring profiles configured are listed here. Normally you have one entry for each mail user you want to send to. 10 exchange_response Guide

Messages This tab contains the list of defined alarm messages. The messages can be referred to in specific profiles. The following conditions are required for successful probe configuration: Run the robot under System account of the host. Note: By default, the Nimsoft services run under system account. Exchange Response probe is configured to run with a user with the following privileges: AD account The same credentials on the Exchange Server Local administrator on the host. Note: This privilege is not mandatory as the probe itself adds the user as a local administrator. Note: Any deviation from the conditions leads to incorrect functioning of the probe. The Setup Tab Field Log properties Description The log level determines the detail level of messages being logged. This functionality is used for internal checking of the probe. Documentation Changes 11

Field Inbox / Check every... Inbox / Bounce Nimsoft Test mail from other sources back to sender Inbox / Send alarm on unexpected mail: Description Specifies how often the inbox is read. By default, this value is set to 15 seconds. Selecting this option enables the probe to return incoming test mail to the sender. When enabled, the probe will read the inbox at regular intervals. Otherwise the inbox will only be read when there are outstanding test mail messages. If the test user is an active user, there might also be other mail messages in the inbox. As the probe is only interested in finding its own recently sent mail messages, alarms can be generated if other mail messages appear. Advanced / Stop reading inbox when... mails other than Nimsoft mails have been found Default: 30 If the test user is an active user, there might be a lot of mail messages in the inbox. As the probe is only interested in finding its own recently sent mail messages, it does not need to scan all the messages. With this parameter set, the probe will scan only the given number of messages (last first). Note: If the user gets 'bursts' of mail exceeding this number, the probe might be unable to find its own last message and consider it lost. Advanced / Stay logged on Administrators group Default: on This option determines if the probe should completely log off between each time the users mailbox is read. You should normally leave this option on, because each logon/logoff seems to trigger a leakage of 2 handles. Default: Administrators This option is implemented to support other language versions of Windows and also to support sites where the administrative group has been renamed. 12 exchange_response Guide

The Status Tab This tab lists all users defined. The probe needs one or more users, each defining a valid user name and password, and the name of the Exchange server to log on. For each of these users, one or more monitoring profiles should be defined. These monitoring profiles define how the test mail message is sent and returned, and also specify the alarm and QoS properties. Right-clicking in the list lets you add, edit or delete user profiles. Documentation Changes 13

The properties dialog for the user profile: Active Lets you activate/deactivate the user. Deactivating a user, all profiles defined for the user will also be deactivated. Pre-configured profile Choose this option if you wish to use a pre-configured Outlook MAPI profile. 14 exchange_response Guide

Profile Name Enter the name of the pre-configured Outlook MAPI profile. Note: This profile should have already been created and configured in Outlook prior to entering the name here. User Name Enter a valid user name for the Exchange user. Password Enter a valid password for the above user. User and Server Name Specify the user name, password and Exchange server to be used. On start-up, the probe simulates a local login as this user. Local user, user profile and Outlook profile are created as necessary. See also the Installation notes section of this document. Specify the username for the Exchange Server. Password Enter the password for the username specified above. Server name Enter the name of the Exchange Server to be used. Optional mailbox name The name of the user's mailbox, in case the name lookup does not succeed. For hidden mailboxes (mailboxes which are not displayed in the Global Address List), use the attribute legacyexchangedn. For Exchange 2010: In the Mail To field of Profile properties dialog, you need to configure a user that is NOT a hidden user (a user that is not hidden to the Global Address List). See the Profile Properties (see page 19) section. RPC Over HTTP Select this checkbox to enable the RPC Over HTTP settings for connecting to the exchange server mailbox over https. This open the RPC Over HTTP setting for configuration. Message Encryption Select this checkbox to enable encryption of message for Exchange Server configured for message encryption. Documentation Changes 15

The Profiles Tab The Advanced Tab RPC Over HTTP Settings The Profiles tab lists all monitoring profiles defined for the user. Right-clicking in the list lets you add, edit or delete profiles. Note: The Active checkbox in User properties dialog should be enabled for the context menu to appear. These monitoring profiles define how the test mail message is sent and returned, and also specify the alarm and QoS properties. See the Profiles Properties (see page 19) section for more information. The Setup tab of the probe GUI defines the global Inbox and Advanced settings for the probe. By default, these will be used by all user defined. The Advanced tab on the User Properties dialog allows you to override these settings for a single user. See The Setup Tab for a description of the parameters. The RPC over HTTP settings dialog is useful for connecting to the exchange server mailbox over https. The Exchange Response probe supports only single domain users to connect using RPC Over HTTP. Prerequisites: Before configuring a RPC profile perform the following checks: 1. Check whether you can directly access the front-end exchange server by entering the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) in the web browser. For example, https://rpc.nimsoft.com/rpc/rpcproxy.dll. 2. Check whether the web page opens without asking the user credentials. If the configurations are correct, a blank page is displayed. 3. If the web page requires the user credentials, check the security settings in the browser. The ideal security settings should be "automatically logon with current username and password". 4. To check the security settings: a. Open the Internet Explorer. b. Select Tools Internet Options the Security tab. c. Click the Custom Level button. d. The Security Settings tab opens. e. Go to Security User Authentication Logon. f. Select the Automatically logon with current username and password option. 16 exchange_response Guide

g. Click OK. Following table explains fields of the RPC Over HTTP settings dialog. http:// or https:// Enter the SSL URL or FQDN of the front-end exchange server. The probe uses the URL/FQDN for connecting to the exchange server. Principal Name The principal name for front-end exchange server is the common name appearing in the SSL certificate, which is used to access the front-end exchange server from outside your organization. Enter the Principal Name preceded by the string msstd: For fast network If you select this checkbox, the probe connects to the exchange server using HTTP first and then connects using TCP/IP. For slow network If you select this checkbox, the probe connects to the exchange server using HTTP first and then connects using TCP/IP. Documentation Changes 17

Fallback Option The Fallback option section in the User Properties dialog is only enabled if you select RPC Over HTTP checkbox. Disable TCP fallback Select this checkbox to disable the the TCP fallback for RPC Over HTTP configurations. Outlook client From the drop-down menu, select the required Microsoft Outlook client. Available options are Outlook 2003, Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2010. There is no default selection. 18 exchange_response Guide

Profiles Properties The profile properties describe to whom the test mail should be sent, the interval between each test message, and also the alarm- and QoS properties. The mail messages can be sent to: Own mailbox <self> To a user whose mailbox is monitored by another instance of the probe, with 'bounce' enabled (on the Setup tab). To an unknown user on a known mail server (unknown@myserver.xxx mailto:(unknown@myserver.xxx), which will return the mail message. Send to a user for whom you have created another way of returning the mail messages to the mailbox being monitored. Name The name of the profile Documentation Changes 19

Active Check this box if you want the probe to run this profile. General Parameters Mail to The target (e-mail address) to which test mail will be directed. An address book lookup is done on this value. <self> means own mailbox Send using SMTP Server If this option is checked, the probe posts mails via a SMTP server. Specify the name of the SMTP server, the SMTP port number and the return address (the address from which the test message was sent). Send mail every Specifies how often a test mail is sent. Note that if the previously sent mail is not received at this time, it is considered lost. Quality of Service messages on Mail send time When this option is checked, a QoS message is generated on each mail sent. This is the time taken to connect to the server and execute the send command. Mail roundtrip time When this option is checked, a QoS message is generated on each sent mail that is received. This is the time from the testmail is sent until it is returned and read from the senders mailbox. Alarm messages Send alarm Alarm messages are only issued if mail roundtrip time exceeds the specified threshold (seconds), and if the send alarm option is selected. Using alarm message The alarm message to be used when the mail roundtrip time exceeds the threshold specified above. Mail error message The alarm message to be used when unable to send mail to the specified user. Consider Mail lost after The time (in seconds) before the mail is considered as lost. 20 exchange_response Guide

Lost mail message The alarm message to be used when the mail is not returned. The Messages Tab This tab contains the list of alarm messages defined. These messages can be selected to be sent on error conditions (when defined thresholds are breached) in specific profiles. The following commands are available when you right-click in the message list: Add message Presents you with the Message properties window described below, enabling you to creates a new message. Message properties Presents you with the Message properties window described below, enabling you to edit the selected Message. Remove message Delete the selected Message. You will be asked to confirm the deletion. Message Properties Name Each message must be given a unique name. This name is used to refer to the message from the profiles. Alarm situation The message can be made the default message for a particular alarm situation. You must leave this field empty if another message is to be the default. Documentation Changes 21

Text Level The alarm message text. Variable expansion is supported, and the following variables are available: Profile The name of the profile that sent the test mail. Mail_to The recipient of the test mail. Used The mail roundtrip time measured. Threshold The alarm threshold for the profile. Diff The difference between the alarm threshold defined and the mail roundtrip time measured. The severity level assigned to alarm message. Subsystem The subsystem_id of alarms generated by this watcher. A string or an id managed by the NAS (Alarm Server). 22 exchange_response Guide

Chapter 2: exchange_response Metrics The following table describes the checkpoint metrics that can be configured using the exchange_response probe. Monitor Name Units Description QOS_EXCHANGE_MAIL_ROUNDTRIP Seconds Exchange Mail Roundtrip QOS_EXCHANGE_MAIL_SEND Milliseconds Exchange Mail Send Troubleshooting and FAQs This section contains the troubleshooting information for the exchange_response probe. CreateProcessAsUser(pchVar): A required privilege is not held by the client Error Solution CreateProcessAsUser(pchVar): A required privilege is not held by the client. A super user service account that has access to both mailboxes can be configured in the probe. Chapter 2: exchange_response Metrics 23