alert adapter for remedy ars user's guide...

User’s GuideAlert Adapter™ for Remedy ARS

Version 200

GC32-9150-00

July 1999

Candle Corporation201 North Douglas Street

El Segundo, California 90245

2 Alert Adapter™ for Remedy ARSUser’s Guide, V200

Registered trademarks and service marks of Candle Corporation: AF/OPERATOR, AF/PERFORMER, AF/REMOTE, Availability Command Center, Candle Command Center, Candle Electronic Customer Support, Candle logo, Candle Management Server, Candle Management Workstation, Candle Technologies, CL/CONFERENCE, CL/SUPERSESSION, CT, CT/Data Server, CT/DS, DB Logo, DB/QUICKCHANGE, DELTAMON, ETEWatch, IntelliWatch, MQSecure, MQView, OMEGACENTER, OMEGAMON, OMEGAMON/e, OMEGAMON II, OMEGAMON Monitoring Agent, OMEGAVIEW, OMEGAVIEW II, Solutions for Networked Businesses, and Transplex.Trademarks and service marks of Candle Corporation: Alert Adapter, Alert Adapter Plus, Alert Emitter, AMS, Amsys, AUTOMATED FACILITIES, Availability Management Systems, Candle Business Partner Logo, Candle Direct Logo, CandleLight, CCC, CECS, CICAT, CL/ENGINE, CL/GATEWAY, CL/TECHNOLOGY, CMS, CMW, Command & Control, CommandWatch, Connect-Two, CSA ANALYZER, CT/ALS, CT/Application Logic Services, CT/DCS, CT/Distributed Computing Services, CT/Engine, CT/Implementation Services, CT/IX, CT/Workbench, CT/Workstation Server, CT/WS, DB/DASD, DB/EXPLAIN, DB/MIGRATOR, DB/QUICKCOMPARE, DB/SMU, DB/Tools, DB/WORKBENCH, Design Network, DEXAN, eBA*ServiceMonitor, End-to-End, Enterprise Candle Command Center, Enterprise Candle Management Workstation, EPILOG, ERPNet, ESRA, ETEWatch, HostBridge, IntelliWatch Pinnacle, Lava Console, Messaging Mastered, MQADMIN, MQEdit, MQEXPERT, MQMON, NBX, OMA, OMC Gateway, OMC Status Manager, OMEGACENTER Bridge, OMEGACENTER Gateway, OMEGACENTER Status Manager, OMEGAMON Management Center, OSM, PC COMPANION, Performance Pac, PowerQ, PQConfiguration, PQEdit, PQScope, Response Time Network, Roma, Roma Broker, Roma BSP, Roma Connector, Roma Developer, Roma FS/A, Roma FS/Access, Roma Network, Roma Systems Manager, RTA, RTN, SentinelManager, Solutions for Networked Applications, Status Monitor, Tracer, Unified Directory Services, and Volcano.Trademarks and registered trademarks of other companies: AIX, DB2, and MQSeries are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. SAP is a registered trademark and R/3 is a trademark of SAP AG. UNIX is a registered trademark in the U.S. and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company Ltd. HP-UX SunOS is a trademark of Hewlett-Packard Company. SunOS is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. All other company and product names used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Copyright © 1999, Candle Corporation, a California corporation. All rights reserved. International rights secured.

Threaded Environment for AS/400, Patent No. 5,504,898; Data Server with Data Probes Employing Predicate Tests in Rule Statements (Event Driven Sampling), Patent No. 5,615,359; MVS/ESA Message Transport System Using the XCF Coupling Facility, Patent No. 5,754,856; Intelligent Remote Agent for Computer Performance Monitoring, Patent No. 5,781,703; Data Server with Event Driven Sampling, Patent No. 5,809,238; Threaded Environment for Computer Systems Without Native Threading Support, Patent No. 5,835,763; Object Procedure Messaging Facility, Patent No. 5,848,234; Communications on a Network, Patent Pending; End-to-End Response Time Measurement for Computer Programs, Patent Pending; Improved Message Queuing Based Network Computing Architecture, Patent Pending; User Interface for System Management Applications, Patent Pending.

NOTICE: This documentation is provided with RESTRICTED RIGHTS. Use, duplication, or disclosure by the Government is subject to restrictions set forth in the applicable license agreement and/or the applicable government rights clause.This documentation contains confidential, proprietary information of Candle Corporation that is licensed for your internal use only. Any unauthorized use, duplication, or disclosure is unlawful.

3

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7About This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Documentation Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Adobe Portable Document Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Chapter 1. Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13Introducing the Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Importing the Candle Schema. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Rerouting Candle Trouble Tickets to Your Schema . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Starting and Stopping the Alert Adapter on UNIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Starting and Stopping the Alert Adapter on Windows NT . . . . . . . . . 23

Chapter 2. Creating Trouble Tickets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Creating Trouble Tickets on the CMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Creating Trouble Tickets Automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Creating Trouble Tickets Manually. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Chapter 3. Viewing and Updating Trouble Tickets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41Using the Remedy ARS Ticket Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Viewing Candle-Generated Tickets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Updating Tickets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Chapter 4. Monitoring ARS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Using the Remedy ARS Log Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50ARS_Log Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Appendix A. Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Appendix B. Customer Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Contents

4 Alert Adapter™ for Remedy ARS User’s Guide

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67

List of Tables 5

Table 1. Chapters in This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Table 2. Documentation Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Table 3. Values For Parameters in the Run Process Filter Action Window . . . . 20Table 4. Causes for Failing to Connect to a Remedy ARS Server . . . . . . . . . . 58Table 5. Causes For Being Unable to Create Tickets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Table 6. Causes for Empty Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

List of Tables

List of Tables

6 Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS User’s Guide, V200

7

Preface

Welcome . . .. . . to the User’s Guide for the Alert Adapter™ for Remedy ARS. This guide provides detailed information for using the Candle Management Workstation™ to create trouble tickets in the Remedy Action Request System (ARS) for problems detected by Candle monitoring agents. It also presents information on using the Alert Adapter to monitor the status of ARS servers.

P

About This Guide

8 Alert Adapter™ for Remedy ARS User’s Guide, v200

About This Guide

PurposeThis guide is intended to provide the information necessary to use the CMW to create trouble tickets in ARS for problems that occur on systems, subsystems, networks, or applications monitored by Candle products. While it provides step-by-step instructions for many tasks, this guide is designed to complement the online help provided with the Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS.

Intended audienceThis guide is designed for system administrators, programmers, and operators. It assumes basic knowledge of the AIX operating system, ARS, and the CMW.

Chapters in this guideThe table below describes the organization and content of the chapters in this guide. Use this table to locate instructions and information on a particular topic.

Table 1. Chapters in This Guide

Chapter Content

“Getting Started” on page 15 Provides an overview of the features of the Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS. It also contains the prerequisites for using the Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS and the procedure that you need import the Candle schema.

“Creating Trouble Tickets” on page 27 Explains how to use the CMW to create trouble tickets in the ARS for problems on Candle monitored systems.

9

About This Guide

“Viewing and Updating Trouble Tickets” on page 43

Provides instructions for viewing and updating trouble tickets opened in ARS for problems on Candle managed systems.

“Monitoring ARS Servers” on page 51 Discusses the Remedy ARS Log report, which enables you to monitor the status of ARS servers and provides descriptions of the attributes you can use to create situations that alert you to problems with the servers.

“Glossary” on page 65 Provides definitions of terms used in this guide.

Table 1. Chapters in This Guide (continued)

Chapter Content

Documentation Set


Documentation Set

IntroductionCandle provides a complete set of documentation for the Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS. Each manual in this documentation set contains a specific type of information to help you use the product.

Table 2. Documentation Set

Document Number Title Description

NT51-5814 Installing Candle Products on Windows and OS/2

Provides instructions for planning and installing your Candle Command Center on the Windows and OS/2 operating system platforms.

UX51-5821 Installing Candle Products on UNIX

Provides instructions for planning and installing your Candle Command Center on the UNIX operating system platform.

MW53-5717 Candle Command Center® Administrator’s Guide, Version 300

Introduces you to the Candle Command Center and provides detailed instructions for using the Candle Management Workstation® to monitor your enterprise

MW54-5718 Candle Command Center® User’s Guide, Version 300

Describes how to use the Candle Management Workstation® to monitor your enterprise and includes several scenarios of typical activities you can perform using the Candle Command Center

11

Documentation Set

Candle welcomes your comments and suggestions for changes or additions to the documentation set. A user comment form, located at the back of each manual, provides simple instructions for communicating with the Candle Information Development department.

Ordering additional product documentationTo order additional product manuals, contact your Candle Support Services representative.

MW99-5720 Candle Command Center® Quick Reference Guide, Version 300

Provides basic instructions for registering users and setting up the CMW to implement event-based monitoring

MA54-5383 Alert Adapter™ for Remedy ARS User’s Guide, Version 200

Provides detailed information for using the CMW to create trouble tickets in the Remedy Action Request System for problems detected by Candle monitoring agents. Also describes the Remedy ARS Log report and the ARS_Log attributes.

Table 2. Documentation Set (continued)

Document Number Title Description

Adobe Portable Document Format


Adobe Portable Document FormatCandle supplies documentation in the Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). The Adobe Acrobat Reader will print PDF documents with the fonts, formatting, and graphics in the original document. To print a Candle document, do the following.

1. Specify the print options for your system. From the Acrobat Reader Menu bar, select File > Print Setup… and make your selections. A setting of 300 dpi is highly recommended as is duplex printing if your printer supports this option.

2. To start printing, select File > Print on the Acrobat Reader Menu bar.

3. On the Print pop-up, select one of the Print Range options forn a single pagen a range of pagesn all the document

4. (Optional). Select the Shrink to Fit option if you need to fit oversize pages to the paper size currently loaded on your printer.

Printing problems?The print quality of your output is ultimately determined by your printer. Sometimes printing problems can occur. If you experience printing problems, potential areas to check are:n settings for your printer and printer driver. (The dpi settings for both your

driver and printer should be the same. A setting of 300 dpi is recommended.)

n the printer driver you are using. (You may need a different printer driver or the Universal Printer driver from Adobe. This free printer driver is available at www.adobe.com.)

n the halftone/graphics color adjustment for printing color on black and white printers (check the printer properties under Start > Settings > Printer). For more information, see the online help for the Acrobat Reader.

n the amount of available memory in your printer. (Insufficient memory can cause a document or graphics to fail to print.)

For additional information on printing problems, refer to the documentation for your printer or contact your printer manufacturer.

Getting Started 13

Getting Started

IntroductionThis chapter provides an overview of the features of the Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS. It also covers the prerequisites for using the Alert Adapter and the procedure you need to import the Candle schema to Remedy ARS.

Chapter ContentsIntroducing the Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Importing the Candle Schema . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Rerouting Candle Trouble Tickets to Your Schema . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Starting and Stopping the Alert Adapter on UNIX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Starting and Stopping the Alert Adapter on Windows NT . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

1

Introducing the Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS



OverviewThe Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS provides integration between Candle system management products and the Remedy Action Request System (ARS). With the Alert Adapter, you can:

n create trouble tickets manually or automatically in response to events reported by Candle products

n review and update trouble tickets—even change ticket assignments and trigger events on ARS—without leaving the Candle Management Workstation (CMW)

n monitor the health of the ServiceCenter server using criteria-based alerts

n create policies that take actions in response to problems on the server

Remedy ARS Ticket reportThe Remedy ARS Ticket report lets you view, update, and create tickets for events on Candle monitored systems. Just click on a ticket to view its details, change its status or assignment, or read a description of the reported problem. You can modify the report to show only the tickets you are interested in for a given session, even create custom reports.

Remedy ARS Log ReportThe Remedy ARS Log report lets you monitor the status and availability of ARS servers. The report provides the text, date, and origin of messages logged by the servers.

Automatic trouble ticket creationThe Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS has the ability to create new trouble tickets automatically in response to events reported by the Candle Command Center (CCC). You use the Policy editor on the CMW to create policies that use the data provided by Candle agents to open tickets on ARS.

Getting Started 15


Manual trouble ticket creationYou can manually create trouble tickets directly from the Remedy ARS Ticket report or from the Events view of managed objects. When you create trouble tickets from the Events view, the CMW uses the data from the event.

Event alerts You can use the categories in the server Log report to create situations you want to monitor. You can even create complex situations that combine server situation with situations you monitor with other Candle monitoring agents, so the CMW can alert you to conditions that threaten availability or performance of the server.

AutomationYou can automate responses to critical events on the server using either simple system commands or policies and activities. For example, you can restart the Remedy ARS server automatically if it goes down, or send a message to notify the operator.

Prerequisites


Prerequisites

Software requirementsRefer to the Candle installation guide for your platform for software requirements.

User IDs, passwords, and permissionsTo create, modify, and view trouble tickets in ARS from the CMW, you must have the user IDs, passwords, and authorities indicated below.

ARSn user ID

n password

n permission to create and modify action requests

The first time in any CMW session that you attempt to modify or create a ticket, you are prompted for an ARS user ID and password. These do not need to be the same as the ID and password you use when you start the agent.

Your ARS administrator must define these user IDs and passwords on the ARS system. Refer to the ARS administrator’s guide for instructions on defining users and granting permission for creating and viewing action requests.

Getting Started 17

Prerequisites

CMWn user ID

n password

n Create User authority or any or all of the following:

– To create or modify ARS tickets on the CMW, you must have Create Trouble Ticket authority.

– To view ARS tickets on the CMW, you must have Create Trouble Ticket or View Trouble Ticket authority.

– To create an automation policy, you must have Create Policy authority.

A CMW administrator or someone with Create User authority can grant user authority. Refer to the Candle Command Center Administrator’s Guide for instructions on creating User Objects and assigning authority to users.

Environment variablesBefore you can start the Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS, you must supply the following environment variables:

n the hostname of the Remedy ARS server

n the ARS user ID to be used by the CMW when it creates tickets automatically

n the ARS password to be used with the user ID

n the port number of the Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS agent

If you installed the Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS on Windows NT, you were prompted for these values when you configured the agent. If you installed Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS on UNIX, you must enter the appropriate values in the ma.cfg file located in the candlehome/config directory. If you do not supply these values, the Alert Adapter will not start.

To enter the environment variables:

1. Change to the candlehome/config directory:cd candlehome/config

Prerequisites


where candlehome is the name of the directory where you installed the Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS.

2. Use a text editor to enter the appropriate values in the ma.cfg file and remove the comment markers (#) from the relevant entries. The unmodified entries look like the following:

#KMA_SERVER=

#KMA_UID=

#KMA_PWD=

#KTT_SERVER_PORT=

Getting Started 19

Importing the Candle Schema

Importing the Candle Schema

OverviewTrouble tickets created on a CMW are entered into the Candle schema on ARS. You must import the Candle schema before you can create action requests on ARS.

To import the Candle schemaThe Candle schema is contained in the file CANDLE.DEF located in candlehome/config, where candlehome is the name of the directory where you installed the Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS agent. For instructions on importing this schema, refer to the chapters on importing and exporting definitions and using the import tool in your ARS administrator’s guide.

You must have ARS administrator authority to import the Candle schema.

Rerouting Candle Trouble Tickets to Your Schema



OverviewThe Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS provides a utility, kmautil, which enables you to automatically reroute tickets from the Candle schema to your preferred schema. This is an optional procedure.

IMPORTANT: When you reroute a ticket from the Candle schema, a new ticket is created, with a new number. You cannot view or modify this new ticket from the CMW.

Rerouting ticketsYou use the ARS Filter option to reroute tickets to your schema. For instructions on using the Filter option, refer to the section on defining the Run Process Filter Action in the chapter on defining filters in your ARS administrator’s guide.

Use the values indicated in the table below to enter parameters on the command line of the Run Process Filter Action window. You must enter the parameters in the order in which they appear in the table.

Table 3. Values For Parameters in the Run Process Filter Action Window

For Use

program name the fully qualified name of the Candle utility:

candlehome/arch/ma/bin/kmautil on UNIXcandlehome\cma\bin\kmautil.exe on NT

where candle is the name of the directory where you installed the Candle product.

action request number ‘$Entry-Id$’

server name ‘$SERVER$’

Getting Started 21


schema name the name of the schema to which you want to route the information in the Candle schema

user ID the user ID under which you want the CMW to create the new ticket

user password the password for the user ID you entered above

field ID the name of the field in your schema in which you want to display the information from the Long Description field of the Candle schema

field ID the name of the field in your schema in which you want to display the information from the Source field of the Candle schema

Table 3. Values For Parameters in the Run Process Filter Action Window

For Use

Starting and Stopping the Alert Adapter on UNIX


Starting and Stopping the Alert Adapter on UNIX

OverviewThis section provides the commands for starting and stopping the Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS agent on UNIX.

Starting the Alert AdapterTo start the Alert Adapter agent:

1. Change to the Candlehome directory:cd Candlehome

where Candlehome is the directory where you installed the Alert Adapter.

2. Enter the following command:CandleAgent start ma

Consult Installing Candle Systems for startup options.

Stopping the Alert AdapterTo stop the Alert Adapter agent:

1. Change to the Candlehome directory:cd Candlehome

where Candlehome is the directory where you installed the Alert Adapter.

2. Enter the following command:CandleAgent stop ma

Getting Started 23

Starting and Stopping the Alert Adapter on Windows NT


OverviewOn Windows NT, the Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS is installed as an NT Service which starts when the host is started. However, you can also start and stop the agent separately. You can manage the Alert Adapter from the NT Services window or from the Manage Candle Agents facility.

Starting and stopping the Alert Adapter from Manage Candle AgentsTo manage the Alert Adapter using Manage Candle Agents:

1. From the Start menu, select Programs > Candle Command Center > Manage Candle Agents

2. Select Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS, then click Start or Stop.

Starting and stopping the Alert Adapter from NT ServicesTo manage the Alert Adapter from NT Services:

1. From the Control Panel, open Services.

2. Select Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS, then click Start or Stop.

Creating Trouble Tickets 25

Creating Trouble Tickets

IntroductionThis chapter explains how to use the Candle Management Workstation (CMW) to create trouble tickets for problems on Candle monitored systems in Remedy ARS.

Chapter ContentsCreating Trouble Tickets on the CMW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Creating Trouble Tickets Automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Creating Trouble Tickets Manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

2

Creating Trouble Tickets on the CMW


Creating Trouble Tickets on the CMW

OverviewThe Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS offers two methods of creating trouble tickets for problems on Candle managed systems from the Candle Management Workstation (CMW):

n automatically—You can open tickets automatically by creating policies that open tickets when specified conditions are met.

n manually—You can create tickets manually either from the Event tree of a managed object or from the Remedy ARS Ticket report.

Required authorityTo create trouble tickets, you need Create Trouble Ticket authority on the CMW. If you want to create policies, you also need Change Policy authority.

Note: If you have Create User authority, by default you have Create Trouble Ticket and Change Policy authority.


Creating Trouble Tickets Automatically


OverviewYou create trouble tickets automatically by creating policies that contain the situation or situations you want to monitor and the Remedy_Ticket activity program. When the conditions described in the situations in the policies become true, the CMW automatically opens tickets using the situation data.

The name of the policy that triggers the creation of a ticket is entered in the Short Description field of the ticket. The situation description and information about other attributes in the same group at the time the situation occurred are recorded in the Description field of the ticket.

A reminder about required authorityYou must have Change Policy authority to create policies in the Policy editor. Only a CMW administrator or someone with Create User authority can grant user authority. Consult the Candle Command Center Administrator’s Guide for instructions on assigning authority to users.

Accessing the Policy folderYou access the Policy editor from the Policies folder in the Administration folder. To access the Policy editor:

1. In the CMW Main window, double-click the Administration icon .

2. In the Administration window, double-click the Policies icon .The Policies window opens.



Creating a policy that opens a ticketTo create a new policy, follow the procedure below.

Note: This procedure contains the steps for creating a simple policy. For instructions on creating more complex policies and information about policies in general, consult the Candle Command Center Administrator’s Guide or the CMW online help.

1. In the Policies window, from the Edit menu select Create New . . . . The Policies - Create New window appears.



2. In the Policies - Create New window:a. For Object Name, type a name for the policy.b. For Description, type a description of the policy.c. For Type of System to Manage, select the type of managed system

appropriate to the situation you intend to monitor. (Since this example policy uses a UNIX situation, the UNIX managed system type is selected.)

d. Click Create.The Policy editor appears.

3. From the toolbar, select the Wait for Situation Event object , then move the cursor onto the work area and click to place the object. (If the Correlate Policies by Platform box is checked on the Policies - Create New window, this step is done automatically.)The PolicyName - Select a Situation window appears.

4. Select or create the situation from which you want to generate a ticket, then click OK.

5. From the toolbar, select the Activity Program object , then move the cursor to the right of the situation object on the work area and click to place the activity object. The Select Activity Program window appears.



6. Select Remedy_Ticket and click OK. The Program Parameters window appears.



7. Complete the Program Parameters window by selecting the name of the the Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS agent you want to create the ticket as the Value, then click OK. If the list is empty, the Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS agent has never connected to a CMS.

8. Select the Connector object , click on the situation, then drag the connector to the activity object. When you release the mouse button, the PolicyName - Select an End Code window appears.

9. Select the appropriate end code, then click OK. Your policy should look something like the following:



10. Distribute the policy to the managed systems you want to monitor:a. From the Policy menu, select Open as Settings.b. If necessary, select the Distribution tab.c. In Available lists, select the managed systems where the situation

embedded in the policy is running.

Note: If the Available list box is empty, or a particular managed system does not appear, the agents on those systems are not at CCC 98 level.

d. click <<ADD.e. Click OK to save the setting and close the notebook.

Saving the policyTo save the new policy:

1. Double-click on the system menu icon in the upper left corner of the Policy editor to close the window. A prompt asking if you want to save the policy appears.

2. Click Yes. A prompt asking if you want to restart the policy on all managed systems appears.

3. Click Yes. The Policy editor closes and the CMW returns to the Policies window.

Example of a complex policyThe following graphic illustrates a more complex policy, containing a Wait on Situation object, a User Choice object, a system command, and two Remedy_Ticket activity programs.

This policy does the following: When an OMEGAMON Monitoring Agent for UNIX reports a disk more than 95% full, the CMW operator is given a choice between sending a message to the user or creating a ticket to be assigned to the UNIX system administrator. If no action is taken within the specified time, a ticket is created by default.



FIGURE 1. Complex Policy


Creating Trouble Tickets Manually


OverviewIt is not always possible to know in advance what problems should be reported in a trouble ticket system. For this reason, the Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS lets you create tickets “on the fly.”

For example, while viewing the CMW event tree for a managed object you might notice an event for which a ticket should be created, but for which no policy exists. You can easily open a ticket by clicking on the event and selecting Create Trouble Ticket from the popup menu—the CMW fills in the situation data for you. You can also create tickets from the Remedy ARS Ticket report.

Creating a ticket from the Events viewTo create a ticket for an event in the Event tree:

1. In the Events view of a managed object, right-click on the event for which you want to create a ticket. A popup menu appears.

2. Select Create Trouble Ticket.



3. If this is the first time in this CMW session that you have created or viewed a ticket, the CMW asks you for your ARS user ID and password. Enter the information, then click OK. If the ticket is successfully created, the CMW displays the ticket number.If you have more than one Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS agent installed, or more than one type of trouble ticket alert adapter, the CMW asks you which server you want the ticket created on.

The CMW uses the event data to fill out the ticket. The name of the situation that triggered the event is entered in the Short Description field of the ticket; the value of the attribute that caused the situation to raise and information about other attributes in the same group at the time the situation occurred are recorded in the Description field of the ticket.

Creating a ticket from the Remedy ARS Ticket reportTo create a trouble ticket for a problem you observe on any Candle managed system from the Remedy ARS Ticket report, follow the steps below.

(For instructions on accessing the Remedy ARS Report window, refer to “Accessing the Remedy ARS Ticket report” on page 44.)

1. In the Remedy ARS Ticket report window, select Create Trouble Ticket from the Edit menu. A Settings window appears.



2. Type the appropriate information in the Assigned to and Short Description fields in the Summary section. The CMW fills out the rest of the fields automatically from information it already has or receives from ARS.

3. Click the Details tab.

n In the Source field, type the name of the system on which the problem occurred.

n In the Description field, type a description of the problem.

4. Click Apply to create the ticket or OK to create the ticket and close the Create Trouble Ticket window.



5. The CMW asks you whether you want to save the ticket information. n Click Yes to save the information and close the window.

n Click No to discard the information and close the window. n Click Cancel to dismiss the prompt and return to the Create Trouble

Ticket window.

If the ticket is successfully created, the CMW presents a message giving you the ticket number.

Viewing and Updating Trouble Tickets 41

Viewing and UpdatingTrouble Tickets

IntroductionThis chapter provides instructions for viewing and updating trouble tickets opened in Remedy ARS for problems on Candle-managed systems.

Chapter ContentsUsing the Remedy ARS Ticket Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Viewing Candle-Generated Tickets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Updating Tickets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

3

Using the Remedy ARS Ticket Report



OverviewThe Remedy ARS Ticket report enables you to manage trouble tickets for Candle managed systems without leaving the Candle Management Workstation (CMW). From the report you can browse all tickets generated automatically or manually from the CMW. You can also update tickets and create new ones.

The report presents a list of tickets with their entry IDs and short descriptions. You double-click a ticket to display its contents for viewing or updating.

Required authorityTo view tickets, you must have either View Trouble Ticket or Create Trouble Ticket authority on the CMW. If you have Create User authority, by default you have Create Trouble Ticket and View Trouble Ticket authority.

ARS user ID and passwordThe first time you open a report during a CMW session, the CMW asks you for the ARS user ID and password you want to use when you create or modify tickets.

Customizing reportsBy default, a Remedy ARS Ticket report displays a list of all the tickets for Candle managed systems opened on an ARS server. This may provide more information than you require and can be quite costly in time, CPU, and network overhead.

Candle recommends that you use the CMW Custom Report feature to generate reports which contain only the tickets you are interested in. You can create custom reports to use for a single session or save them to be used for other sessions.

You can generate custom reports on the basis of any field in the Candle ticket schema. For example, you might want to review all tickets that have not yet been assigned by filtering for tickets with a Status of New. If you want to



review the tickets assigned to a particular person or department, you can generate a report based on the contents of the Assigned to field.

Consult the Candle Command Center Administrator’s Guide or the CMW online help for complete instructions for customizing reports.

Exporting report dataYou can save the data in a Remedy ARS Ticket report as a flat file using the Export option on the Report menu. You can then import the data into a third-party program for data manipulation and reporting. Consult the CMW online help for more information.

Viewing Candle-Generated Tickets



OverviewYou view trouble tickets generated for problems on Candle managed systems in the Remedy ARS Ticket report. Initially, the report shows a list giving the entry ID and short description of the tickets. You double-click an entry to view its details.

Reminder about required authorityYou must have either View Trouble Ticket or Create Trouble Ticket authority on the CMW to view entries in the Remedy ARS Ticket report. Your Candle Command Center (CCC) administrator or someone with Create User authority can grant this authority.

Accessing the Remedy ARS Ticket reportThe Remedy ARS Ticket report is located in the Reports folder. To access the report:

1. In the CMW Main window, double-click the Reports icon. The Reports window opens.

2. Double-click the Remedy ARS Ticket report icon. The Managed System Selection window opens.

3. Double-click the name of the Alert Adapter agent on the ARS server for which you want to view tickets. If this is the first time you have opened the report in this CMW session, the CMW prompts you for an ARS user ID and password to use when creating or updating tickets.

4. Enter the user ID and password you want to use, then click OK. The Remedy ARS Ticket report opens.



Displaying the contents of a ticketTo view the details of a ticket:

ã Double-click the entry-id.

A Settings window with two tabs appears. The fields on the Summary page are shown in the following graphic:

To view the long description and the name of the system (Source) on which the problem occurred:

ã Click the Details tab.

For tickets created automatically or tickets created manually from the Events view, the Description field shows the definition of the situation that caused



the ticket to be created and the values of other attributes in the same group at the time the situation became true. For tickets created manually from the Tickets report, the Description contains the information entered by the person who opened the ticket.

IMPORTANT: If you have Create Trouble Ticket authority, some of the fields in the Settings view of a ticket are modifiable. If you inadvertantly make changes while viewing a ticket that you do not want to keep, click Reset or close the window by clicking Cancel.


Updating Tickets

Updating Tickets

OverviewIn the Remedy ARS Ticket report you can update the status, assignment, and short and long descriptions of an existing ticket.

Reminder about required authorityYou must have Create Ticket authority in order to modify tickets. Your Candle Command Center administrator or someone with Create User authority can grant this authority.

Modifying fieldsWhen you open a ticket in its Settings view, you can change the contents of the following fields:

n Statusn Assigned ton Short description

n Sourcen Description

To change the status of a ticket:

ã Click on the arrow beside the Status field and select the appropriate status from the dropdown menu.

To change the contents of other fields:

1. Set your cursor in the field or select the contents of the field, as appropriate.

2. Type the information you want to enter.

3. Click Apply or OK to apply the changes and close the window. Click Reset to reset the fields to their original values. Click Cancel to void the changes and close the window.

Updating Tickets


Monitoring ARS Servers 49

Monitoring ARS Servers

IntroductionThis chapter discusses the Remedy ARS Log report, which enables you to monitor the status of ARS servers. It also provides descriptions of the attributes you can use to create situations that alert you to problems with the servers.

Chapter ContentsUsing the Remedy ARS Log Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50ARS_Log Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

4

Using the Remedy ARS Log Report



OverviewThe Remedy ARS Log report displays status information from ARS servers monitored by the Alert Adapter. The information in the report includes:

n date and time at which messages were logged

n identity of affected nodes

n text of logged messages

Use the report to monitor the health and availability of ARS servers from the Candle Management Workstation (CMW).

Starting the log monitorThe Remedy ARS Log report gets its data from a Java client, which monitors the server log and sends the data to the Alert Adapter. For data to appear in the report, the log monitor must be started and it must have access to the ARS server. That is, the log monitor must be on the same host as the server log or on the same network file system (NFS).

The Alert Adapter does not have to be running when you start the monitor. You can start and stop the monitor and the Alert Adapter in any order. If the agent goes down, the monitor attempts to reconnect indefinitely.

Starting the log monitor on NT

To start the log monitor on Windows NT:

1. On the machine where the log monitor is installed, change to candlehome\cma:

cd candlehome\cma

where candlehome is the directory in which the monitor is installed.

2. From a command prompt, enter:kmajava host_name port_number log_name

where



n host_name is the name of the machine on which the Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS agent is installed.

n port_number is the port number assigned to the Alert Adapter agent when it starts

n log_name is the name of the ServiceCenter log that the agent should monitor

Use the Task Manager to terminate the log monitor.

Starting the log monitor on UNIX

To start the log monitor on UNIX:

1. On the machine where the log monitor is installed, change to candlehome/arch/cma/ma/bin:

cd candlehome/arch/ma/bin

where candlehome is the directory where the Candle product was installed and arch is the architecture-specific directory appropriate to the system you are running on.

2. Enter the following command:kmajava.sh

The script prompts you for the following parameters:

n the jdk directory (the Java runtime directory)

Use the complete path to specify the directory. For example:

/usr/jdk1.1.5

n the hostname of Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS

n the port number of the Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS

n the location of the ARS log

Use Ctrl-C to terminate the log monitor.



Accessing the Log reportTo access the Log report:

1. In the CMW Reports window, double-click the Remedy ARS report icon. The Managed System Selection window appears. Each row in the window corresponds to a system on which you have installed an Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS.

2. Right-click on the Alert Adapter that monitors the server for which you want a report.

3. From the popup menu, select Log report.



Customizing the reportYou can customize the Remedy ARS Log report in several ways:

n Use the Custom Report settings page to create reports with specific content (for example, a report containing only those log entries whose text contains the word “Critical”).

n Use the Sort settings page to organize information based on the value of a specified parameter.

n Use the Include settings page to include or exclude information in a particular range.

n Use the Columns settings page to include or exclude columns in the report.

Click the Help button on each settings page for instructions.

Exporting report dataUse the Export feature to save the data in the report as a flat file. You can then import the data into a database or spreadsheet for manipulation or formal reporting.

ARS_Log Attributes


ARS_Log Attributes

OverviewThe columns in the Remedy ARS Tickets Log report correspond to attributes you can use to create situations on the CMW. These attributes belong to the group ARS_Log. You can use them to create situations that:

n alert you to problems with an ARS server

n trigger automated responses (for example, notifying an operator or restarting a server)

The server log monitor must be running for ARS_log situations to trip. See “Starting the log monitor on NT” on page 50 and “Starting the log monitor on UNIX” on page 51 for instructions on starting the monitor.

Using the ARS_Log attributesARS_Log attributes enable you to create situations that identify particular problems or statuses you want the CMW to notify you about. You can identify most problems with a single attribute or with a combination of alert attributes. For maximum performance, your definitions should be specific. For example, they might contain both the name of a particular host and the message text you are interested in.

Alert adapters monitor events as they occur, rather than polling for them at intervals, so you do not set a monitor interval for situations you create with Event_log attributes.

Because alert adapter events are "pure" rather than polled, the CMW does not reset them automatically. You must either reset them manually or use the UNTIL predicate in the situation to define the conditions under which the CMW should reset them.


ARS_Log Attributes

Message_DateThe date on the local host when the messaged was logged.

Value Format n simple text string

n up to 30 characters

Usage

Use this attribute to monitor for problems logged on a particular date. Enter the date as it appears in the Remedy ARS Log report. You can use either the Value or String Scan function.

Example

If you want to monitor messages logged on Tuesday, May 12, 1998, create the following situation:

*VALUE ARS_Log.Message_Date *EQ Tues May 12 1998

Message_NodeThe local host name of the machine where a message originates.

Value Format n simple text string


Usage

Use this attribute to specify or exclude a particular host.

Example

If you want to monitor messages originating from a host named Mercury, create the following situation:

*VALUE ARS_Log.Message_Node *EQ Mercury

ARS_Log Attributes


Message_TimeThe time at which a problem was logged.

Value Format

The format is HH:MM:SS, where:

Usage

Use this attribute to monitor messages logged at a specified time. You can use either the Value or the String Scan function.

Example

If you want to monitor messages logged at 2:30 p.m., create the following situation:

*VALUE ARS_Log.Message_Node *EQ 14:30:00

Message_TextSpecifies the text of an error message.

Value Formatn simple text string


UsageUse this attribute to specify or exclude specific messages or parts of messages for your situation. For best results, specify key elements of the message and use the substring function *SCAN to search the message text for those elements.

ExampleIf you want to monitor for messages containing the word “Critical”, create the following situation:

*SCAN ARS_Log.Message_Text *EQ Critical

HH = Hour, in 24-hour time (00-23)

MM = Minute

SS = Second

57

Troubleshooting

IntroductionThis appendix contains troubleshooting tips for problems frequently encountered by new users.

A

Troubleshooting


Troubleshooting

OverviewThis section lists several problems encountered by new users. It suggests reasons that this problems may be occurring and provides information for resolving the problem.

The agent cannot connect to the Remedy ARS ServerThere are several reasons that an Alert Adapter for Remedy ARS agent is not able to connect to the ARS server. The possible causes and the recommended actions are given in the table.

Table 4. Causes for Failing to Connect to a Remedy ARS Server

Cause Suggested Action

The environment variable KMA_SERVER has not been set to the host of theARS server.

Verify the host name specified for KMA_SERVER in the ma.cfg file. If the host name is incorrect, set the variable to the correct host name.

The ARS server is down. Verify that the server is running. If not, start the server.

TCP/IP is down or is not installed. Verify that TCP/IP is installed. If it is installed, verify that it is running and, if not, start it.

59

Troubleshooting

You are not able to create tickets There are several reasons that you may not be able to create a ticket. The possible causes and the recommended actions are given in the table.

Table 5. Causes For Being Unable to Create Tickets


The ARS server, user ID, or password provided to the CMW are invalid.

Verify the correct server, ID, and password, then:n if the ID and password are supplied

automatically, check that the environment variables KMA_SERVER, KMA_UID, and KMA_PWD in ma.cfg are set correctly

n if you supplied the ID and password manually, enter the correct values when prompted.

You do not have CMW Create Trouble Ticket authority.

Check the Authority Settings page for your User Object. If you do not have correct authority, contact your CCC administrator.

The Alert Adapter agent is not running.

Verfiy that the agent is running. If not, start the agent.

The ARS server is not running. Verify that the server is running. If not, start the server.

Troubleshooting


The Remedy ARS reports are emptyThere are several reasons that the reports might be empty. The possible causes and the recommended actions are given in the table.

Table 6. Causes for Empty Reports


The ARS server is down. Verify that the server is running. If not, start the server.

The ARS server, user ID, or password supplied to the CMW are invalid.

Verify the correct server, ID, and password, then:n if the server, ID, and password are

supplied automatically, check that the environment variables KMA_SERVER, KMA_UID, and KMA_PWD in ma.cfg are set correctly

n if you supplied the server, ID, and password manually, enter the correct values when prompted.

No tickets have been created. Log into ARS as a client and do a query on the Candle schema to see if any tickets have been created.

You do not have CMW Create Trouble Ticket or View Trouble Ticket authority.

Check the Authority Settings page for your User Object. If you do not have correct authority, contact your CCC administrator.

The variable KTT_SERVER_PORT has not been set and or does not agree with the port value used by kmalogmn.

Check the KTT_SERVER_PORT to see if it contains the proper value.

The kmalogmn program is not running.

Start the program (refer to “Starting the log monitor” on page 50).

61

Troubleshooting

There are no managed systems in the Available list when you attempt to distribute a policy

You can only distribute policies to managed systems with agents running at the CCC 98 level. If the managed system does not appear in the list, the agent is not a CCC 98 agent.

Troubleshooting


Customer Support 63

Customer Support

IntroductionThis appendix contains information on contacting Candle Customer Support.

B

Candle Support Services

64 BookTitle


IntroductionCandle provides electronic support and telephone support to assist you when you have questions about Candle products. Customer support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Electronic supportCandle Electronic Customer Support® (CECSSM) enables you to search for existing questions, answers, problems, and fixes; review preventive service planning (PSP) information; and open incidents for Candle products. CECS is available through the Advantis™ network and by direct PC dial-up. For registration information, call your nearest Candle Support Services office.

Internet supportWe invite you to visit the Candle Corporation Internet site home page at http://www.candle.com. Our Internet site provides you with

n helpful information about all Candle products and servicesn tips on how to optimize the efficiency of your networks using Candle

productsn information about Candle technical support

Customer Support 65


Telephone supportIf you have an urgent problem or need to talk to a Candle Support Services representative, contact the Customer Support office nearest you.

Table 7. Telephone Support Table

Office Telephone FAX

North America

Santa Monica (800) 328-1811 (310) 829-5844

(310) 582-4204

Europe

Antwerp (32) 3 272-3606 (32) 3 272-3607

Breda (31) 76 520.19.09 (31) 76 520.19.19

Manchester (44) 161 437 5224 (44) 161 437 5225

Munich (49) 89 54 5540 (49) 89 54 5541-19

Paris (33) (1) 5361 60 60 (33) (1) 5361 06 16

Sollentuna (46) 8 623 1235 (46) 8 623 1855

Asia Pacific

Hong Kong (852) 2528 6289 (852) 2865 0770

Kuala Lumpur (603) 230 9930 (603) 230 9932

Singapore (65) 220 50 92 (65) 226 35 79

Sydney (61) 2 9954 1500 (61) 2 9954 1818

Tokyo (81) 3 5562-6991 (81) 3 5562-6995


66 BookTitle

International customersWhen your local support office is unavailable, you may contact Candle’s North America support center. If USADirect™ service is available in your country, use the 800 telephone number. If USADirect service is not available, ask your international operator for assistance in calling Candle's local (310) number.

Incident informationA Candle support representative may request the following information when you call to report a problem:

n your Candle personal ID (PID) numbern the release level of the Candle productn the release level of IBM® or other vendor softwaren identifying information and dates of recently applied maintenance to the

Candle productn a detailed description of the problem (including the error message) and

what led up to the failure n a description of any unusual events that occurred before the problem

Incident documentationYou may be asked to send incident documentation to Candle Support Services. On the outside of the package, please write the incident number given to you by the Candle Support Services representative.

Send tapes containing the incident information to the following address, unless directed otherwise by your Candle Customer Support representative:

Candle Customer SupportCandle Support Center, Incident number2425 Olympic BoulevardSanta Monica, California 90404

Send all other documentation, for example, diskettes or paper documention, such as screen prints, to the address that will be given to you by your Candle Support Services representative.

65

Glossary

agent An executable file that gathers and distributes information about system parameters. There is always one agent per managed system.

Candle Command Center (CCC) A client-server implementation whose environment includes:n a server known as the Candle

Management Server (CMS)

n a client, which can be:

– a Candle Management Workstation (CMW) running on a workstation for CCC products

– an OMEGAMON II product using a 3270 terminal session

n agents that collect and distribute data to a CMS

Candle Management Server (CMS) The host data management component of the CCC. The CMS runs on the hub machine, sends out requests to, and receives data from, managed systems having an OMEGAMON monitoring agent or alert adapter

installed, and sends the information it receives to the CMW.

Candle Management Workstation (CMW) The workstation component of a CCC. The CMW provides a programmable workstation-based graphical user interface for CCC, and allows users to define and control all the monitoring and automation that CCC products provide. The CMW uses symbol and color changes to reflect the status changes of every object you are monitoring.

Connector tool A Graphic view tool that enables you to connect objects in order to establish the logic path.

end code A return code that indicates the result of the activity processing. Successor activities act on the basis of the endcode of their predecessor or predecessors.

event A change in the status of a situation you are monitoring.

Events view A view option that shows an expanded tree diagram of events

G


branching off managed objects. For any event, the Events view displays the name of the situation that generated the event, the name of the managed system where the event originated, and a time stamp of the event.

Export A CMW feature that allows you to save report data to a file format that can be imported to database and spreadsheet programs.

managed object A visual representation, typically an icon, of one or more situations being monitored on one or more managed systems. As the status of a situation changes, the appearance of a managed object icon on your workstation changes.

managed system Any system, such as UNIX, Windows NT, or MVS, that a Candle Command Center is monitoring. When a new instance of a type of managed system comes online for the first time, information about it is placed automatically in the Managed Systems icon in the CMW main window.

policy A collection of activities that provides the capability of automating responses to events or routine operator tasks.

situation A logical expression involving one or more system conditions (attributes) that are of the form

If - system condition - compared to - value - is true

An example of a situation is

IF - CPU usage - GT - 90% - TRUE

IF and TRUE appear in every situation. The expression “CPU usage GT 90%” is the situation predicate.

trouble ticket A entry created in a problem tracking application to record and track a problem and its status.

67

Index

AAdobe portable document format 12ARS_Log attributes 54–56

Message_Date 55Message_Node 55Message_Text 56Message_Time 56overview 54using 54

attributes, ARS_Log 54–56

CCandle schema, importing 19cannot connect to the Remedy Server 58complex policy, example 33configuring the alert adapter 17create ticket policy, example 32creating policy to open ticket 28creating trouble tickets

automatically 14, 27–34from the Events view 35from the Remedy ARS Tickets report 36–

39manually 15, 35–39overview 26required authority 26

customizing reports 42

Ddistributing policies 33documentation set 10documentation, ordering 11

Eediting trouble tickets, see updating trouble

ticketsempty reports

causes for 60environment variables 17

entering on UNIX 17–18required 17

Event_log attributesMessage_Text 56

Events view, creating tickets in 35examples

complex policy 33simple policy 32

exporting report data 43

Kkmajava command 50kmajava.sh command 51kmautil 20

Llog monitor 50–51

starting on NT 50

I


starting on UNIX 51

Mma.cfg file 18Message_Date attribute 55Message_Node attribute 55Message_Text attribute 56Message_Time attribute 56modifying fields 47modifying trouble tickets, see updating

trouble ticketsmonitoring the ARS server 49–56

Oordering documentation 11

Ppasswords 16

ARS 16CMW 17

permissions 16ARS 16CMW 17

policy, saving 33prerequisites

environment variables 17passwords 16permissions 16software 16

printing problems 12

RRemedy ARS Log report 50–53

accessing 52customizing 53

Remedy ARS Tickets report 14, 42–47accessing 44displaying ticket contents 45overview 42required authority 42

Remedy_Ticket activity program 27

rerouting ticketsparameter values 20procedure 20

Sschema, see Candle schema, importingstarting agent 22stopping agent 22

Ttroubleshooting 58

Uupdating trouble tickets 47user IDs

ARS 16CMW 17

alert adapter for remedy ars user's guide...

Documents