6.1 AgentHealthProxy

Run this Knowledge Script on an AppManager 7.0 or later UNIX agent to monitor the health of one more remote AppManager 7.0 or later UNIX agents.

When you drag this Knowledge Script to a computer in the TreeView, the Knowledge Script runs on that machine and tries to communicate with each of the remote computers in the machine list. This Knowledge Script:

  • Checks the availability of a managed UNIX computer by first sending an ICMP Echo request to the managed UNIX computer. If the remote computer does not respond, this Knowledge Script sends an ICMP Echo request to the managed UNIX computer’s default router and an event is raised.

  • Monitors the health of the UNIX agent by checking a timestamp value created by the UNIX agent. Normally, the UNIX agent creates a timestamp value every 90 seconds. If the age of the timestamp value exceeds the threshold, an event is raised and the UNIX agent is restarted.

  • This Knowledge Script enables self-monitoring of the UNIX agent health by raising appropriate events. You can use these events to correct unhealthy agents by restarting etc. This feature also enables you to restart unhealthy agents automatically without any manual intervention.

Use this Knowledge Script to remotely validate the health of the UNIX agent on a scheduled basis or for diagnostic purposes (for example, if there are gaps in data collection). This Knowledge Script is useful because it can detect a problem with a remote agent and reliably notify the AppManager administrator.

The proxy UNIX agent that runs the Knowledge Script must be configured to run as the root user account.

The remote UNIX agents you want to monitor, and the proxy UNIX agent that runs the Knowledge Script, must be Version 7.0 or later. The remote UNIX agents must be accessible through the network from the computer where the proxy UNIX agent is installed. If you attempt to use this Knowledge Script to monitor a UNIX agent that is earlier than version 7.0, an event is raised that indicates “the timestamp is not found.”

Do not use this Knowledge Script to monitor the health of the UNIX agent that runs the Knowledge Script. To successfully monitor the health of the proxy UNIX agent, run this Knowledge Script on another proxy UNIX agent.

To use this Knowledge Script to monitor more than one remote managed UNIX computer, all of the computers you want must be accessible using the same root user account information.

NOTE:Ensure that the nqmdaemon config file in the remote managed UNIX computers are not renamed to effectively monitor them.

This Knowledge Script can use either the Secure Shell (SSH) program with root password authentication or Telnet to make a secure connection to the remote UNIX or Linux computer. By default, SSH is used, but you can select Telnet/FTP from the Connection Transport list to use Telnet instead. If you choose to use Telnet, you must supply a non-root user account name and password.

NOTE:Telnet and FTP send your username, password, and other information across the network in cleartext, making it easy for others to see this data.

If you are using Telnet to monitor the remote managed UNIX computer, ensure that su permission are given in the remote managed UNIX computer for that username.

6.1.1 Resource Objects

A managed UNIX computer where the NetIQ UNIX Agent 7.5 is installed. The UNIX agent must be configured to run as the root user account.

6.1.2 Default Schedule

The default interval for this script is Every 10 minutes.

To avoid raising false events, do not configure this Knowledge Script to run more frequently than the interval that the UNIX agent updates its timestamp. Ideally, the default interval should be more than 4 minutes.

6.1.3 Setting Parameter Values

Set the following parameters as needed:

Description

How to Set It

Event Notification

Use the following parameters to raise events and set the severity level.

Raise event if age of timestamp exceeds threshold?

Select Yes to raise an event when the age of the timestamp exceeds the maximum threshold you set. The default is Yes.

Threshold -- Maximum age of timestamp

Enter the maximum age of timestamp before an event is raised. The minimum threshold is 3 minutes and the maximum threshold is 99999 minutes. The default is 9 minutes.

Event severity when age of timestamp exceeds threshold

If the age of the UNIX agent’s timestamp value exceeds the specified threshold, set the event severity level, from 1 through 40, to indicate the importance of this event condition. The default severity is 8.

Remote Host Connection

UNIX computers to monitor (comma-separated)

Enter the IP addresses of the remote UNIX computers you want to monitor, separated by commas and no spaces.

Password for root user account

Enter the root user account password that the proxy agent must use to connect to the remote UNIX computer. This is a mandatory field.

Connection Transport

Specify the connection mode between the proxy agent and the monitored UNIX computer:

  • Telnet/FTP to connect using Telnet.

  • SSH/FTP to connect using SSH.

Telnet non-root user account

Enter the Telnet non-root user account if you are using Telnet to connect to the monitored computer.

Telnet non-root user password

Enter the Telnet non-root user password if you are using Telnet to connect to the monitored computer. Leave this parameter value blank if you are using SSH to connect to the monitored computer.

Restart UNIX agent if age of timestamp exceeds threshold?

Select Yes to restart the UNIX agent if the age of the timestamp exceeds the maximum age you set. The default is Yes.

Event severity for internal failure

Set the event severity level, from 1 to 40, to indicate the importance of an event if the maximum pool threshold is exceeded. The default is 5.

NOTE:When running the AMADMINUNIX_AgentHealthProxy Knowledge Script with Secure Shell (SSH) as the connection method to the remote UNIX or Linux computer, if you specify an incorrect password for the root account, the Knowledge Script raises an event that incorrectly states that the login attempt was successful. If you see an event message similar to the event message below, you must update the job properties to specify the correct root password and start the job:

Output: Permission denied at /usr/netiq/AM/bin/UnixAgentHealthProxy.pl
More Info:
"SSH login OK to <machine> with root Using SSH/SFTP combination."