proactive net user guide v8.5

BMC ProactiveNet User Guide

Supporting

BMC ProactiveNet version 8.5

October 2010

www.bmc.com

Contacting BMC Software

You can access the BMC Software website at http://www.bmc.com. From this website, you can obtaininformation about the company, its products, corporate offices, special events, and career opportunities.

United States and Canada

Address BMC SOFTWARE INC2101 CITYWEST BLVDHOUSTON TX 77042-2827 USA

Telephone 1 713 918 8800or1 800 841 2031

Fax 1 713 918 8000

Outside United States and Canada

Telephone +01 713 918 8800 Fax +01 713 918 8000

© Copyright 2009-2010 BMC Software, Inc.BMC, BMC Software, and the BMC Software logo are the exclusive properties of BMC Software, Inc., areregistered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and may be registered or pending registration inother countries. All other BMC trademarks, service marks, and logos may be registered or pendingregistration in the U.S. or in other countries. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are theproperty of their respective owners.

BladeLogic and the BladeLogic logo are the exclusive properties of BladeLogic, Inc. The BladeLogictrademark is registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and may be registered or pendingregistration in other countries. All other BladeLogic trademarks, service marks, and logos may beregistered or pending registration in the U.S. or in other countries. All other trademarks or registeredtrademarks are the property of their respective owners.

AIX, Current, NetView, Notes, Tivoli, and WebSphere are trademarks or registered trademarks ofInternational Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.

Linux is the registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation.

EJB, JVM, Java, Solaris, Sun, and Sun Java are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems,Inc., in the U.S. and other countries.

UNIX is the registered trademark of The Open Group in the US and other countries.

The information included in this documentation is the proprietary and confidential information of BMCSoftware, Inc., its affiliates, or licensors. Your use of this information is subject to the terms and conditionsof the applicable End User License agreement for the product and to the proprietary and restricted rightsnotices included in the product documentation.

Restricted rights legend

U.S. Government Restricted Rights to Computer Software. UNPUBLISHED—RIGHTS RESERVEDUNDER THE COPYRIGHT LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES. Use, duplication, or disclosure of any dataand computer software by the U.S. Government is subject to restrictions, as applicable, set forth in FARSection 52.227-14, DFARS 252.227-7013, DFARS 252.227-7014, DFARS 252.227-7015, and DFARS252.227-7025, as amended from time to time. Contractor/Manufacturer is BMC SOFTWARE INC, 2101CITYWEST BLVD, HOUSTON TX 77042-2827, USA. Any contract notices should be sent to this address.

http://www.bmc.com

Customer support

Support website

You can obtain technical support from BMC 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at http://www.bmc.com/support. From thiswebsite, you can

■ read overviews about support services and programs that BMC offers

■ find the most current information about BMC products

■ search a database for problems similar to yours and possible solutions

■ order or download product documentation

■ download products and maintenance

■ report a problem or ask a question

■ subscribe to receive proactive e-mail alerts

■ find worldwide BMC support center locations and contact information, including e-mail addresses, fax numbers, andtelephone numbers

Support by telephone or e-mail

In the United States and Canada, if you need technical support and do not have access to the web, call 800 537 1813 orsend an e-mail message to [email protected]. (In the subject line, enter SupID:yourSupportContractID, suchas SupID:12345). Outside the United States and Canada, contact your local support center for assistance.

Before contacting BMC

Have the following information available so that Customer Support can begin working on your issue immediately:

■ product information

― product name― product version (release number)― license number and password (trial or permanent)

■ operating system and environment information

― machine type― operating system type, version, and service pack or other maintenance level such as PUT or PTF― system hardware configuration― serial numbers― related software (database, application, and communication) including type, version, and service pack or

maintenance level

■ sequence of events leading to the problem

■ commands and options that you used

■ messages received (and the time and date that you received them)

― product error messages― messages from the operating system, such as file system full― messages from related software

3

http://www.bmc.com/support

mailto:[email protected]

License key and password information

If you have questions about your license key or password, contact BMC as appropriate for your location:

■ (USA or Canada) Contact the Order Services Password Team at 1 800 841 2031, or send an e-mail message [email protected].

■ (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) Fax your questions to EMEA Contracts Administration at +31 20 354 8702, or sendan e-mail message to [email protected].

■ (Asia-Pacific) Contact your BMC sales representative or your local BMC office.

4 BMC ProactiveNet User Guide



Contents

Chapter 1 Introducing the BMC ProactiveNet Operations Console 13Accessing the Operations Console ...............................................................................13Choosing the console type .............................................................................................15Navigating the Operations Console .............................................................................16

Navigation pane ...................................................................................................17Navigation tree .....................................................................................................23Operations Console views ..................................................................................29Breadcrumbs .........................................................................................................31

Chapter 2 Working with events 33Event views in the Main drawer of the navigation pane ..........................................33Customizing the display of the event list ....................................................................34Viewing the default event list for All Event Collectors .............................................36Viewing further information for a specific event from the Tools Menu ................38

Behavior of popup windows for Tools Menu options ...................................41Viewing the event list for a specific component in the navigation tree ..................41Selecting the type of event list to view ........................................................................43

Intelligent Events Details template ...................................................................44Creating a new template for event list columns .........................................................45Editing a default or user-defined template for event list columns ..........................46Copying an existing template for event list columns ................................................46Deleting a user-defined template for event list columns ..........................................47Applying a default, global, or user-defined template for event list columns ........47Adding a column to an event list .................................................................................48Deleting a column from an event list ...........................................................................48Viewing the event Details Notebook ...........................................................................49Viewing related events ...................................................................................................52Refreshing the event list .................................................................................................52Organizing events in the event list ...............................................................................53

Using event and component folders .................................................................53Filtering events .....................................................................................................64Searching events ...................................................................................................71Sorting events .......................................................................................................72

Creating shortcuts for Tools Menu options ................................................................74Performing event operations .........................................................................................76Exporting and copying event information ..................................................................79

Contents 5

Executing remote actions ...............................................................................................80Ping Event mc_host_address .............................................................................81TraceRoute to Event mc_host_address .............................................................82Send EVENT as SMTP E-mail ............................................................................82Modify Slot Value ................................................................................................82Show Remote Action Environment ...................................................................82Setup Sending SMTP E-Mails - Windows Only ..............................................83Trigger Remedy Incident for Event ...................................................................83BMC Atrium Orchestrator workflows ..............................................................83

Launching an originating BMC ProactiveNet Server ...............................................86Customizing the display of events ..............................................................................86Viewing the event list for remote cells ........................................................................88

Operations possible on the event list for remote cells ....................................91Viewing predictive events .............................................................................................92Viewing all abnormalities ..............................................................................................93

Adding a column to an event list for an abnormality ....................................95Deleting a column from an event list for an abnormality ..............................95Filtering event display for All Abnormalities ..................................................97Viewing further information for an abnormality ............................................99

Viewing events and abnormalities by service ..........................................................100Viewing further information for All Services => Grid View ....................102Viewing monitor and device information under the All Services => GridView ....................................................................................................................103

Viewing services in a hierarchical tree ......................................................................105Controlling the display in the All Services => Tree View ........................106

Viewing events by group .............................................................................................107Default groups ....................................................................................................110Filtering event display for All Groups ............................................................110Viewing further information for All Groups => Grid View ......................111Viewing monitor and device information under the All Groups => GridView ....................................................................................................................112

Viewing events for groups in a hierarchical tree .....................................................114Controlling the display in the Tree View .......................................................115

Viewing events by device ............................................................................................116Filtering event display for All Devices ...........................................................119Viewing further information for All Devices ................................................120

Viewing events for monitored services .....................................................................121Viewing further information for All Monitors ..............................................122

Acknowledging events ................................................................................................122Closing events ...............................................................................................................124Managing configuration changes ...............................................................................125


Managing data collection .............................................................................................126Distinction between new and upgrade users ................................................127Pausing data collection .....................................................................................127Resuming data collection ..................................................................................129Diagnostics ..........................................................................................................129Examining current data (FlashCheck) ............................................................130

About the Canvas view ................................................................................................131Canvas view modes ...........................................................................................131Canvas view details ...........................................................................................131

Setting up and using the Canvas view .....................................................................132Using Edit mode to set up the Canvas view ..................................................133Using View mode to monitor objects in the Canvas view ...........................138

About the Tile view ......................................................................................................140Tile view modes .................................................................................................140Tile attributes ......................................................................................................140Tile preferences and defaults ...........................................................................141Tile view details .................................................................................................142

Setting up and using the Tile View ...........................................................................143Using Edit mode to change preferences in the Tile view .............................143Saving tile preferences as defaults ..................................................................145Using View mode to monitor objects in the Tile view .................................146

About the graph view ..................................................................................................147Graph view modes .............................................................................................148Graph view details .............................................................................................148

Setting up and using the Graph View ......................................................................149Using Edit mode to change preferences in the Graph view ........................150Using View mode to monitor objects in the Graph view .............................152

Viewing the Tile, Canvas, or Graph view Details notebook ..................................154

Chapter 3 Determining the probable cause for an event 159What is probable cause analysis? ...............................................................................159How BMC ProactiveNet performs probable cause analysis on events ................159

Time correlation .................................................................................................162User-defined filters ............................................................................................163Knowledge patterns ..........................................................................................163Service model relationships .............................................................................164Global relationships ...........................................................................................164Data correlation ..................................................................................................165Scoring .................................................................................................................165

Configuring BMC ProactiveNet to perform probable cause analysis ...................165Configure complete monitor coverage ...........................................................165

Contents 7

Assign correct device types ..............................................................................166Create monitors under the correct devices ....................................................166Create service models for interdependent CIs ..............................................166Associate monitors to the proper CI ...............................................................166Set a polling interval of 5 minutes or less .......................................................167Establish a reliable baseline ..............................................................................167Ensure sub-categories are defined for external events .................................168

Viewing probable cause analysis for an event .........................................................168Customizing the display of the Probable Cause Analysis list ...............................170Filtering unrelated events to find probable cause ....................................................172

Changing the time correlation filter ................................................................172Enabling user-defined filters ............................................................................173

Saving recurring conditions as a known probable cause ........................................174Probable cause analysis in a scalable deployment environment ...........................175

Limitations of probable cause analysis in a scalable environment .............176Probable cause analysis in a virtual environment ...................................................177

How probable cause analysis handles VMotion events ..............................177Limitations of probable cause analysis in a virtual environment ...............177

Chapter 4 Event administration 179Overview ........................................................................................................................179

For upgrade users ..............................................................................................179Accessing the event administration options ..................................................180

Understanding event thresholds ................................................................................180Baselines ..............................................................................................................182Auto-baseline ......................................................................................................183How abnormalities are generated ...................................................................183Setting event thresholds ....................................................................................184

Managing event rules ...................................................................................................187Default event rules .............................................................................................188Filtering the event rule list ................................................................................190Event rule types ..................................................................................................191Event rules or event management policies ....................................................192Adding a basic event rule type .......................................................................192Adding an advanced rule type ........................................................................198Editing a basic or an advanced rule ................................................................200Deleting an event rule .......................................................................................201Updating event actions .....................................................................................201Enabling and disabling event rules .................................................................202Supplying arguments to a server command ..................................................202Defining email groups .......................................................................................204


Event actions: managing BMC ProactiveNet events in external environments ................................................................................................................................................205

Managing BMC ProactiveNet events through SNMP traps ........................205Managing BMC ProactiveNet events through Run Command on Server .215Managing BMC ProactiveNet events through Diagnostic Commands on theBMC ProactiveNet Server .................................................................................216Managing the AlarmPoint integration ...........................................................216Managing BMC ProactiveNet events in the Remedy environment ...........218Managing BMC ProactiveNet events in the BEM environment .................229Managing BMC ProactiveNet events BMC Atrium Orchestrator (formerlyknown as BMC Run Book Automation) .........................................................237

Reducing events ............................................................................................................244Customizing event text ................................................................................................245

For upgrade users ..............................................................................................245Integrating BMC ProactiveNet with Service Level Management .........................247

Chapter 5 Customizing graphs 249Creating custom graphs ...............................................................................................249

Limitations ..........................................................................................................250Creating a line or area graph ............................................................................251Creating a x-y graph ..........................................................................................256Creating a Top N graph ....................................................................................257Creating a pie graph ..........................................................................................259Creating a dial gauge graph .............................................................................261

Customizing monitor graphs ......................................................................................264Graph tab ...........................................................................................................265Attributes and indicators tab ...........................................................................266Monitor information tab ..................................................................................268Button options ....................................................................................................268Creating an individual/multiple monitor graphs ........................................270

Additional information for changing graph display ...............................................271Adjusting graph axes .........................................................................................272Exporting graph data to Excel ..........................................................................273Displaying all abnormalities for a graph ........................................................275Mailing the graph page .....................................................................................276Sharing the graph page .....................................................................................276Generating PDF ..................................................................................................277

Chapter 6 Managing Views 279What is a view? .............................................................................................................279

Contents 9

Navigating the Views & Graphs drawer ...................................................................279Managing views ............................................................................................................281

Customizing the basic screen layout on the Views tab ................................287Managing graph thumbnails for a view ....................................................................287Managing view templates ...........................................................................................289

Chapter 7 Generating Reports 293Overview ........................................................................................................................293

Creating or editing a report ..............................................................................294Deleting a report ................................................................................................298Copying an existing report ...............................................................................298Changing email settings in a report ................................................................299

Report types available in BMC ProactiveNet ...........................................................300Asset .....................................................................................................................301

Report Scheduler ...........................................................................................................325Additional options ........................................................................................................326

Deleting instances ..............................................................................................327Disable generation .............................................................................................327Adding comments to a report ..........................................................................328Scheduling ...........................................................................................................329Adding a report to a view .................................................................................329Generating a report ............................................................................................329Exporting to Portable Document Format (PDF) ............................................330Exporting to CSV ...............................................................................................330Mailing a report ..................................................................................................331Managing all reports .........................................................................................331Printing a report .................................................................................................332

Points to Remember .....................................................................................................332

Chapter 8 Managing service levels 335What is an SLO? ............................................................................................................335The SLO Management Console ..................................................................................335

Customizing basic settings for SLO data display .........................................336Managing SLOs .............................................................................................................337

Creating or editing an SLO ...............................................................................338Deleting SLOs .....................................................................................................341Managing SLO types during SLO configuration ..........................................341Managing schedules during SLO configuration ...........................................342Managing range sets during SLO configuration ...........................................344Requesting guidance for setting SLO thresholds ..........................................345Recalculating SLO data for modified time periods ......................................348


Resetting SLO compliance data .......................................................................350Viewing the current status of SLOs ............................................................................351

Customizing the display of SLO status information ....................................352Viewing SLO compliance details and history ..........................................................352

Viewing a summary of details and compliance metrics for an SLO ..........354Viewing violation details for an SLO ..............................................................355Viewing a history graph for an SLO ...............................................................357Viewing a breakdown of SLO metrics for various time periods ................357

Comparing compliance objectives with actual results ............................................358Accessing the Watch List ..................................................................................359Filtering SLO records in the Watch List .........................................................359Drilling down to an individual SLO in the Watch List ................................360

Viewing a graphical history of SLO compliance and violations ...........................360Viewing instance details ...................................................................................361

Viewing SLOs in a hierarchical tree ...........................................................................361Controlling the display in the SLO Tree .........................................................362Accessing further information from the SLO Tree .......................................363

Chapter 9 Controlling BMC ProactiveNet data collection and infrastructure 365Activating and deactivating data collection .............................................................365Scheduling downtime ..................................................................................................366

Usage scenario ...................................................................................................367Adding a downtime schedule ..........................................................................369Edit/Delete downtime schedule .....................................................................371Special notes .......................................................................................................372

Tracking changes to BMC ProactiveNet objects .......................................................373Viewing BMC ProactiveNet and PATROL agent statuses .....................................374

Drill down from the agent status table ...........................................................376Managing attribute sets ...............................................................................................377Managing baselines ......................................................................................................380

Pausing baseline calculation ............................................................................381Resetting a baseline ..........................................................................................383Creating a separate baseline for seasonal or special dates ..........................384

Managing relationships ...............................................................................................397Defining Intelligent Event Suppression relationships ..................................398Overview of the Intelligent Event Suppression screen ................................400Enabling or disabling Intelligent Event Suppression relationships ...........402Adding or editing an Intelligent Event Suppression relationship .............403Deleting a relationship ......................................................................................409

Managing schedules .....................................................................................................410Importing and exporting users ...................................................................................412

Contents 11

Viewing BMC ProactiveNet software information ..................................................415Installation history .............................................................................................415Viewing BMC ProactiveNet performance diagnostics .................................415Viewing BMC ProactiveNet license usage .....................................................417

Downloads tab ..............................................................................................................418

Chapter 10 Integrating with BMC BladeLogic 419Benefits of BMC BladeLogic integration ...................................................................419Setting up the integration between BMC BladeLogic and BMC ProactiveNet ................................................................................................................................................421Additional change information using snapshot job execution ..............................425Installing the BMC ProactiveNet content ..................................................................426Creating new BladeLogic content ..............................................................................428Creating packages to deploy ProactiveNet Agents to BMC BladeLogic managedsystems ...........................................................................................................................430Viewing BMC BladeLogic device history information ...........................................431

Appendix A Event information used in probable cause analysis 435Event classes not used by probable cause analysis ..................................................435Slots used during probable cause analysis ...............................................................438Monitors related to VMware .......................................................................................440


Introducing the BMC ProactiveNetOperations Console

Accessing the Operations ConsoleThe BMC ProactiveNet server is a Web-based application that you can access bylogging on to the BMC ProactiveNet Operations Console using supported Webbrowsers such as Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.

For information about supported browser versions, see the BMC ProactiveNet GettingStarted Guide.

Note Avoid multiple logons using the same browser, user name, and password, andlaunching different tabs within the same browser, as this might result in NO DATAor other unpredictable results. For multiple logons, see “To enable multiple sessionson Firefox version 3.5” on page 14 and “To enable multiple sessions on InternetExplorer version 8” on page 14.

To log on to the BMC ProactiveNet Operations Console

1 Open a Web browser.

2 Enter the host name or IP address of the BMC ProactiveNet server.

3 In the BMC ProactiveNet Logon screen, enter a valid user name and password.

■ To log on for the first time after installation, use the following default values:

—user name: admin

—password: admin

1

Chapter 1 Introducing the BMC ProactiveNet Operations Console 13

Note The default protocol for this connection is HTTP. To log on using a secureHTTPS connection, click the link Switch to Secure Mode on the log on page.If you use HTTPS, BMC ProactiveNet encrypts the information relay fromthe Web interface for additional security. Secure connection mode isindicated by the text You are using a secure connection now.

4 Click Log On.

To change your Operations Console password

1 Click the Options link at the top the Operations Console.

2 In the General tab, under User ID and Password, click Edit.

3 Enter the old password and the new password, and then click Apply.

Related Topics

Choosing the console type on page 15

Navigating the Operations Console on page 16

To enable multiple sessions on Firefox version 3.5

By default, Firefox shares one session across all browser windows that you open.

1 From the command line, execute the command Firefox.exe -P.

2 Create as many profiles that you need from the Profile Manager window.

3 Create a shortcut to Firefox.exe on your desktop or quickbar for each profile youmade.

4 Right-click the icon for each shortcut and open the Properties window.

5 In the Target field specify the profile to use when launching Firefox. For example,"F:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe” -P “ProfileA".

6 Create a new environment variable MOZ_NO_REMOTE with a value 1.

7 Click on each Firefox icon and a separate session for each of your browserwindows will open.

To enable multiple sessions on Internet Explorer version 8

1 Go to File => New Session or

Accessing the Operations Console


2 Add the -nomerge parameter to the end of the target on its properties page tolaunch a new window from a shortcut and double-click the shortcut icon.

A window with a new session will open.

Choosing the console typeThe BMC ProactiveNet Operations Console provides options to navigate through thesystem and view related information. Several console views are available based onassigned access rights.

You can select the appropriate console type from the Change Console list at the topof the Operations Console. Table 1 on page 15 lists the console types available andthe characteristics of each type.

Table 1: Characteristics of console types

Console Type Purpose

Operations Console Displays an integrated view of all the events, abnormalities, services,groups, devices, and monitorsThe Operations Console is the default console displayed when you logon to BMC ProactiveNet. To change this setting, see To set the defaultlogon console on page 15.

SLO Management Console Displays an integrated view of all Service Level Objectives (SLOs)These business views help define, measure, and track SLOs.

To set the default logon console

1 Click the Options link at the top of the Operations Console.

2 In the General tab, under Layout Preferences, select the console type that youwant to set as the default when you log on to BMC ProactiveNet.

3 Click Apply.

Related Topics

Accessing the Operations Console on page 13

Navigating the Operations Console on page 16

Choosing the console type


Navigating the Operations ConsoleUse the navigation pane, navigation drawers within the navigation pane, andnavigation trees within each navigation drawer to group and select the objectsdisplayed in the Operations Console. Use the view pane to view events andinformation related to each object. Use the smart icons in the toolbar in theOperations Console to switch between different views.

“Navigating the Operations Console” on page 16 shows the default view in the BMCProactiveNet Operations Console and the major areas within this console.

Figure 1: BMC ProactiveNet Operations Console

Navigating the Operations Console


Navigation pane

In the navigation pane in the Operations Console is a series of drawers and links thatenable you to navigate through BMC ProactiveNet.

You can select which drawers that you want displayed in the navigation pane bysetting options in the Navigation Pane Options dialog box. For details, see “Changing navigation pane options” on page 18.

Table 2 on page 17 describes the available drawers in the navigation pane anddiscusses their functions.

Table 2: Navigation drawers in the Operations Console

Navigational element Description Further information

Main Provides access to event lists anddisplays event information and status

Viewing the default event list for AllEvent Collectors on page 36

Other cells Lists available remote cells connected tothe BMC ProactiveNet Server andmonitored by BMC ProactiveNet

Reports Enables you to generate and managereports based on data collected by BMCProactiveNet

Generating a report on page 329

Views & Graphs Provides options for the managementof views and graphs in the OperationsConsole

■ “Managing view templates” onpage 289

■ “Managing graph thumbnails for aview” on page 287

Bookmarks Enables you to view, rename, anddelete bookmarks of objects and theirrelated views that you create in thenavigation tree. Only you can view andmanage the bookmarks that you create.

“Creating bookmarks in thenavigation pane” on page 19

Find CI Provides a search mechanism so thatyou can search for CIs that meet thespecified search criteria

“Finding configuration items to view”on page 20

Related Topics

Accessing the Operations Console on page 13

Choosing the console type on page 15

“Hiding the navigation pane” on page 18



Changing navigation pane options

If you have the appropriate permissions, you can select the drawers that you want todisplay in the navigation pane and select the objects that you want to display in thedrawers.

To set navigation pane options

1 In the title bar of the navigation pane, click Navigation Pane Options .

2 In the Navigation Pane Options dialog box, select the drawers that you want todisplay in the navigation pane by clicking the check box next to the name of thedrawer.

3 To make changes to the objects displayed in individual drawers, click on thedrawer name and perform the following additional steps, depending on whichdrawer that you select:

a In the Main drawer, select the folders that you want to display in thenavigation tree.

b In the Other Cells drawer, select the cells that you want to display in the cellnavigation tree.

4 Perform one of the following actions:

■ Click Apply to save your changes and keep the Navigation Pane Optionsdialog box open.

■ Click OK to save your changes and close the Navigation Pane Options dialogbox.

■ Click Cancel to close the Navigation Pane Options dialog box without savingyour changes.

Hiding the navigation pane

By default, the navigation pane is displayed when you log on to the BMCProactiveNet Operations Console. You can adjust the size of the navigation pane orhide the navigation pane

To hide the navigation pane

1 In the title bar of the Navigation pane, click the double left arrows .



The Navigation pane is collapsed and the title bar is displayed vertically on theleft side of the Operations Console.

To redisplay the Navigation pane, click on the title bar.

Creating bookmarks in the navigation pane

You can quickly access objects that you view frequently by creating a bookmark ofthe object and its associated view and viewing that bookmark in the Bookmarksdrawer in the navigation pane.

To create bookmarks

1 In any drawer of the navigation pane, select an object in the navigation tree.

2 In the right pane, select a view for the object that you selected in the navigationtree.

3 From the Navigation Menu at the top of the drawer, choose Bookmark CurrentView

The object and view are bookmarked and saved.

4 Click the Bookmarks drawer in the navigation pane to view the bookmarkedobjects.

You cannot select other views of the object from the bookmark. For example, ifyou bookmarked a device that was displayed in Tile View, only the Tile View isavailable when you view the bookmark. However, if you drill down on the devicetile from the bookmark, other views are available for the objects associated withthe bookmarked device.

Note The bookmark does not show the object's status or the hierarchy in the navigationtree. However, you can organize bookmarks into folders within the Bookmarksdrawer and drag and drop the bookmarks among those folders. See “To add afolder to the Bookmarks drawer” on page 20.

To remove bookmarks

1 In the Bookmarks drawer of the navigation pane, select the object that you wantto remove.

2 From the Navigation Menu at the top of the Bookmarks drawer, choose Delete.



To add a folder to the Bookmarks drawer

1 From the Navigation Menu at the top of the Bookmarks drawer, choose AddFolder.

2 Click on the new folder created in the Bookmarks drawer.

The name of the folder is changed to an editable field.

3 Enter the name for the new folder and press Enter.

You can now drag and drop bookmarks that you create into the new folder.

To rename bookmark folders

1 In the Bookmarks drawer of the navigation pane, select the object that you wantto rename.

2 From the Navigation Menu at the top of the Bookmarks drawer, choose RenameFolder.

The name of the folder is changed to an editable field.

3 Enter the new name for the folder and press Enter.

Finding configuration items to view

Use the Find CI tool to locate a particular configuration item in a BMC ProactiveNetcell and view it in the Graph View of the Operations Console.

A basic search lets you search for a specific CI based on name and class type. Anadvanced search lets you use a filter with defined parameters.

Note If the user account that you are using to log on to the Operations Console has Read-Only permissions, the Find CI drawer is not displayed in the navigation pane.

To perform a basic search for a configuration item

1 In the Navigation pane, click Find CI.

2 In the Basic tab, enter all or part of the name of the component that you want tosearch for.



3 From the Class list, select a component type, such as Computer System,application service, database, and so on. If you select Base Element, all service CIsfor all classes are returned.

Note If you leave Name contains or Class blank, the search could take a long time,depending on the number of CIs. Also, the results list could be very long. Youshould refine the search by specifying values in one or both of these fields.

4 To find only those CIs that propagate their priority to causal components, selectPropagates Priority.

These CIs are considered the important components for your business.

5 Click Find.

All components matching the search criteria appear in the results list at thebottom of the Find CI pane up to a maximum of 500. This number can beconfigured. For details, see the BMC ProactiveNet Administrator Guide.

You can drag and drop a CI from the results list to a static folder that you createin the navigation tree in the Main drawer. For details about creating static folders,see “#unique_19”

To use an existing filter to perform an advanced search for a configuration item


2 In the Find CI drawer, click Advanced.

3 From the Query list, select the filter that you want to use to perform the search.

You can create filters in one of the following ways:

■ By accessing the CI Query Editor in the Find CI drawer. For details, see “Tocreate a new filter to perform an advanced search for a configuration item” onpage 22.

■ In the Add Component Folder dialog box when you create a new componentfolder in the navigation tree in the Main drawer. For details, see “#unique_19”

4 Click Find.

All components matching the search criteria appear in the results list at thebottom of the Find CI pane up to a maximum 500. This number can beconfigured. For details, see the BMC ProactiveNet Administrator Guide.



You can drag and drop a CI from the results list to a static folder that you createin the navigation tree in the Main drawer. For details about creating static folders,see “#unique_19”

To create a new filter to perform an advanced search for a configuration item


2 In the Find CI drawer, click Advanced.


■ To use an existing filter to create a new filter, select the filter from the Query listand click Edit Queries.If you select an existing filter than contains blank entries, the Find CI searchassumes that it is a template and automatically opens the CI Query Editordialog box.

■ To create a new filter, click Edit Queries.

4 In the CI Query Editor dialog box, select Create New Filter.

5 (optional) To make the filter available to all users who log on to the operationsconsole, select Make *Global (all users).

An asterisk is placed next to the name of the query to indicate that it is global.

6 From the Class list, select the type of component that you want to search for.

7 If necessary, expand the query builder options by clicking the plus button next tothe Class list.

8 Begin building the parameters for your query by selecting the attributes for theclass type that you selected.

To display additional attributes, click the plus button next to the attribute name.

Each new attribute that you add narrows and refines the search. The query willsearch for components with all of the attributes that you specify, indicated by theAND before the attribute names.

If you use the same attribute, but specify different values, then the query willsearch for components with any but not all of the values that you specify,indicated by the OR before the attribute names.

9 When you have finished building the filter, perform the following actions:



■ To save the filter, click Save and enter a name for the filter in the Enter QueryName dialog box.

■ To execute the search, click Find.

All components matching the search criteria appear in the results list at thebottom of the Find CI pane and the new filter is displayed in the Query list.

You can drag and drop a CI from the results list to a static folder that you createin the navigation tree in the Main drawer.

You can use the new filter to create a static folder of CI objects or a dynamicfolder in the navigation tree.

For details about creating static and dynamic folders, see “#unique_19” .

Navigation tree

The navigation tree shows an at-a-glance synopsis of the events and views. Eventand component folders are displayed in a hierarchical manner in the navigation tree.

The folders displayed in the navigation tree are divided into the following categories:

■ Global: When you create a folder under this node, all BMC ProactiveNet users canview and access that folder.

■ My Folders: When you create a folder under this node, only you can view andaccess that folder.

To further organize your display, you can add event and component folders,including folders for configuration items (CIs) associated with a service model,beneath these top-level folders, depending on your permissions.

A CI is any component that needs to be managed in order to deliver an IT service.CIs are under the control of change management. CIs typically include hardware,software, buildings, people, and formal documentation, such as processdocumentation and SLAs. For more information about CIs, see the BMC ProactiveNetService Modeling and Publishing Guide.

Also, you can drag and drop components from one folder that you create to anotherfolder that you create within the navigation tree and you can drag and drop tilesfrom the Tile or Canvas view to an existing folder that contains the same type ofcomponent; for example, if the tile represents a device, then that tile can be moved toanother device folder by using drag and drop.



Users traversing the navigation tree can see and perform actions and operations ononly those collectors to which they are granted access, based on different roles inthe .mrl file of the collectors.

However, the collector-based permissions on events do not apply when you view anevent list from the following locations:

■ Drill-downs from All Groups, All Services, All Devices, or All Monitors (GridView and Tree View)

■ All Abnormalities, All Groups, All Services, All Devices, or All Monitors nodesin the navigation tree

■ Parent event and component folders (not individual collectors within or outsidethe parent folders)

In the navigation tree, the severity icons for a collector dynamically changedepending on the severity level of the events for that collector. For example, if thereis a Critical event on one of the devices, then the green icon changes to a red icon,indicating a Critical event. This allows you to see the status of devices on yoursystem immediately.

By default, when you open the navigation tree, all nodes and subnodes are loadedeven if a node is not expanded. If this causes performance issues, you can changehow the navigation tree is loaded. For details, see the BMC ProactiveNet AdministratorGuide.

Event and component folders

Event and component folders enable you to organize cells and collectors to makeevent displays meaningful for operators. For example, you might create an eventfolder for collectors that gather database warning events and allow only operatorsthat are database administrators access to that event folder.

Events and components can be grouped in the following ways:

■ Event folders

■ Event collectors

■ Component folders

Event foldersAn event folder is a grouping of collectors that shows the relationship of events orabnormalities through the hierarchy of the navigation tree. Administrators defineevent folders and associate them with one or more collectors. Each level of thecollector is shown as a node under the event folder. An event list is associated with



the lowest level nodes of an event folder. The parent level of an event folderrepresents all of the events or abnormalities associated with the collectors.

Event collectorsEvent collectors gather events for display in an event list to provide operators withmeaningful groups of events or abnormalities and to show relationship through thehierarchy of the nodes in the navigation tree. To access the event list for a collector,operators click the collector node in the navigation tree.

Event collectors are dynamic or static. Nodes for dynamic collectors appear ordisappear from the navigation tree based on whether or not events are present thatmeet the collectors’ criteria. Nodes for static collectors remain in the navigation treewhether events are present or not.

Component foldersA component folder is a grouping of groups, services, or devices from severaldifferent event lists (collectors) that shows the relationship of groups, services, ordevices through the hierarchy of the navigation tree. Administrators definecomponent folders and associate them with one or more groups, services, or devices.Each level of the component folder is shown as a node under the parent componentfolder. An event list is associated with the lowest level nodes of a component folder.The parent level of a component folder represents all of the events associated withthe groups, services, or devices.

Table 3 on page 25 shows the icons and describes the objects represented in thenavigation tree.

Table 3: Navigation tree objects and definitions

Object icon Name and definition

Navigation tree top-level node (Global); the Global node contains thefollowing default collectors:

■ All Event Collectors: Displays the entire event collector hierarchy

■ All Abnormalities: Displays all the abnormality events

■ All Services: Displays all the services

■ All Groups: Displays all the groups

■ All Devices: Displays all the devices

■ All Monitors: Displays all monitor categories

Based on permissions, users can create event and component folders underthis node to organize the event view.



Object icon Name and definition

Navigation tree top-level node (My Folders); based on permissions, userscan create event and component folders under this node to organize theevent view

Event group collector; an event group subnode of the navigation tree top-level node or another event group node

Child collector node

Child group node

Child service node

dynamic component folder with less than 500 configuration items

Understanding event status

The status of an event provides basic information about the event’s response activity.The BMC ProactiveNet Server assigns a status value to each event, and then you canchange the status by performing event operations or other actions on the event. Also,a rule can change the status of an event automatically.

Table 4 on page 26 lists the icons that are displayed in the event list to representevent status.

Table 4: Event status icons

Icon Event status

Open

Closed

Acknowledged

Assigned

Blackout

The color of the status icon is always the same. However, if you have configured theevent list to use the severity color for the event line, the color of the icon’sbackground varies with the severity of the event.

Understanding event severity

Each event has a severity level associated with it that indicates the seriousness of theevent. In combination with status and priority, the severity level indicates theurgency of the need to take action. For example, a high severity level for an event in



the Closed status is no cause for alarm, but a high severity level for an event in theOpen status and with a priority of 1 indicates an urgent need for action.

Table 5 on page 27 lists the default severity levels and colors for the events thatappear in the navigation tree and event list and shows the icons used in the event list.

Table 5: Event severity levels

Color Icon in Event List Severity level

red Critical

dark orange Major

light orange Minor

yellow Warning

blue Information

green Ok

grey Unknown

red with a blue border Predictive Critical

dark orange with a blue border Predictive Major

light orange with a blue border Predictive Minor

faint grey No event

The event with the highest severity level in an event or component folder determinesthe severity indicator that you see for the event or component folder in thenavigation tree. For example, if one event has a severity of Critical, the event orcomponent folder is displayed in the navigation tree with a Critical (red) severityindicator.

Understanding event priority

In addition to a severity level, each event has a priority level. Distinguishingbetween severity and priority helps you to understand which event requires actionfirst.

Table 6 on page 28 lists the icons that are displayed in the event list to representevent priority.



Table 6: Event priority icons

Icon Event Priority

Priority 1 (highest)

Priority 2

Priority 3

Priority 4

Priority 5 (lowest)

Determination of event states

The event list displays sufficient information for you to recognize an event’s currentstate quickly. Each event’s state depends on multiple factors:

■ Severity, reflected in the severity icon and color of the event line (based on thepreference selected by the user)

■ Priority, reflected in the priority icon

■ The last event operation performed on the event, reflected in the status icon

When you perform an event operation on an event, the state of the event changesaccording to Table 7 on page 28. For information about performing eventoperations, see “Performing event operations” on page 76.

Table 7: Event states resulting from event operations

Event operation performed Resulting state

Acknowledge Event Acknowledged

Take Ownership Assigned

Decline Ownership Acknowledged

Assign To Assigned

Close Event Closed

Unacknowledge Event Open

Black Out Blackout

Figure 2 on page 29 shows how an event in any state is affected by the operationsthat are valid for that current state. The circles represent the event states. Each arrowrepresents an action, with the direction of the arrow indicating the flow of the action.For example, if the event is currently in the Acknowledge Event state, you canperform a Take Ownership, Assign To, Close Event, or Unacknowledge Event



action. Conversely, for that event to be in the Acknowledge Event state, you shouldperform an Acknowledge Event or Decline Ownership action.

Figure 2: How event operations affect event state

Understanding the effect of event status on event countfor collectors

In the navigation tree (except the top-level node), each event collector has two eventcounts. The first count is enclosed in parentheses and represents the number ofunacknowledged (Open) events; this count does not include closed, blackout,assigned, and acknowledged events. This counter decreases whenever the statuschanges from open to closed, blackout, assigned, or acknowledged state. The secondcount indicates the sum of all the events.

For example, if the navigation tree displays Intelligent Events (8) 11, it means thatthe number of open intelligent events is 8 and the total number of intelligent eventsis 11.

Operations Console views

In the Operations Console, you can use the smart icons in the toolbar to select thefollowing views, depending on the object that you have selected in the navigation tree:



■ Event View: displays information about events; events can be organized intodifferent collectors and folders in the navigation tree

■ Tile View: displays a dashboard summary of event activity

■ Canvas View: allows you to create a graphical representation of objects that youare monitoring in your environment

■ Tree View or Graph View: the Tree View displays all service groups in ahyperbolic tree for a user-defined duration, with the option of expanding the treeto display the contents of the service groups and their infrastructure groupsThe Graph View displays a graphical representation of the configuration items(CIs) in a service model. Use the Graph View to monitor events for publishedservice models that represent your business services.The same button is used for both views. The view that is available depends onwhat object that you have selected in the navigation tree. The Graph View isavailable only for CI objects.

■ Grid View: allows you to re-calibrate events in the Event Status chart and displayresults based on groups set up by the BMC ProactiveNet administrator.

The view stays the same until you select a different view. The only exception is if theselected view is not available for a particular object type. In this case, the operationsconsole changes to a view that is defined for that object type.

However, you can enable a configuration option that allows the view to be changedautomatically. When this option is enabled, the operations console automaticallyswitches to the default view defined for the object type that you select in thenavigation tree. The following table lists the default views defined for each object type.

Object type Default view

Event collectors Event View

Event folder Event View

All Groups folder Grid View

Group Grid View

All Device folder Grid View

Device Grid View

All Services folder Tile View

Configuration item (CI) Graph View

Component folder Tile View



Note The view changes only if you select an object of a different type in the navigationtree. The view does not change if you select objects of the same type.

You can continue to use the toolbar buttons to manually change the view with thisoption enabled. For details about how to enable this option, see the BMC ProactiveNetAdministrator Guide.

Breadcrumbs

As you navigate through the operations console, a trail of breadcrumbs is created atthe top of the operations console window, providing a history of the areas that youhave viewed.

A new breadcrumb is created each time you click on a navigation item, such as anavigation pane drawer, folder, or view. The breadcrumb is labeled based on theobject that you selected. You can return to an item by clicking on one of thebreadcrumbs.

By default, five breadcrumbs are shown in the breadcrumb string. If you click morethan five areas, then the first breadcrumb is dropped and the new breadcrumb isadded to the end of the breadcrumb trail. The number of breadcrumbs that aredisplayed can be configured. For instructions, see the BMC ProactiveNetAdministration Guide.



Working with events

Event views in the Main drawer of thenavigation pane

The Main drawer in the navigation pane in the Operations Console presentsinformation about events in various tables and graphics, based on the assignedaccess rights. The event information and statuses are updated every two minutes.

Table 8 on page 33 summarizes the basic characteristics of each type of event view.Each view is displayed as a separate node in the navigation tree in the Main drawer.

Table 8: Views of event information in the Main drawer

View Description Further information

All EventCollectors

Displays a list of events for services and devicesmonitored by BMC ProactiveNet

Viewing the default event listfor All Event Collectors onpage 36

All Abnormalities Displays a list of abnormality type events. Abnormalitytype events are events that are automatically detectedfrom statistically significant abnormal trends.

Viewing all abnormalities onpage 93

All Services Displays a list of events for configuration items (CIs) ina service model

Viewing service modelconfiguration items by service

All Groups Displays a list of events for groups set by the BMCProactiveNet administrator

Viewing events by group onpage 107

All Devices Displays a list of events for devices monitored by BMCProactiveNet

Viewing events by device onpage 116

All Monitors Displays a list of events for monitors created on thedevices monitored by BMC ProactiveNet

Viewing events for monitoredservices on page 121

2

Chapter 2 Working with events 33

Customizing the display of the event listYou can adjust the following aspects of the event list to suit your event monitoringand management preferences:

■ auto refresh

■ number of events to download per page

■ confirmation dialog boxes

■ tooltips

■ row color

■ icons

■ row numbering

To customize display settings for the event lists

1 From the navigation bar, click Preferences .

2 In the Event List Preferences dialog box, use the information in Table 9 on page34 to determine the appropriate settings.

Table 9: Event list preference settings

Field Description

Auto Refresh Enables automatic refresh of the event list after a periodic interval. Thedefault refresh interval is 2 minutes. This can be configured by changingthe pronet.alarmStatusView.refreshRate property in theinstallDirectory\ pw\pronto\conf\pronet.conf file. By default, AutoRefresh is enabled.

Note: The event list pop-up window for configuration items is notrefreshed even if you set a time interval in this field. To view the event listpop-up window, right-click a configuration item under All Services => Graph View, and select View Events.

Number of Events toDownload Per Page

Enables specification of the number of events to be downloaded per page.The recommended setting is 200. The higher the value, the more timerequired to refresh the events.

Customizing the display of the event list


Field Description

Confirmations Enables a notification when a user takes an actionDisplays confirmation for the following options:

■ All event operations

■ Close an event

■ None of the event operations

When selected, a user can enter operation notes using confirmation dialogboxes. By default, confirmations are displayed for All event operations.

Show Internal names of EventAttributes in Tooltips

If selected, tooltips display internal names of event attributes in the headerrow of the event list and labels in the Details Notebook.If cleared, tooltips display the same event attributes as displayed in theheader row of the event list and labels in the Details Notebook.This setting is not applicable to slots related to Baseline and Threshold forIntelligent events, in both, the header row of the event list and labels in theDetails Notebook.

Filling Row with Severity Color Displays the severity color for the following options:

■ Entire event row

■ Only the first column (after the Status, Tools Menu, Priority, andSeverity columns)

■ No severity color in any row

Make Closed and BlackoutEvents Rows White

Displays rows that have events that are closed or blackout in white

Make Acknowledged andAssigned Events Rows White

Displays rows that have events that are acknowledged or assigned in white

Use Icons for the Status, ToolsMenu, Priority, and SeverityColumns

Displays icons instead of text for these columns

Row Numbering Displays the row number in the left-most column

3 Click Update All Views to save the changes and exit the dialog box.

4 In the Event List Preferences dialog box, click OK.

Customizing the display of the event list


Note The preference settings are applied to browser windows for a particular userlogon on the same computer. All pop-up boxes reflect this change with a delay ofa maximum of one minute.

Viewing the default event list for All EventCollectors

The All Event Collectors screen lists all the events for services and devices monitoredby BMC ProactiveNet.

Events on the All Event Collectors screen are displayed in a tabular form assummarized in Table 10 on page 36.

Note The default event list does not display events based on permissions of devices. Itdisplays all events based on the permissions of event collectors.

Table 10: Event information columns on the All Event Collectors screen

Column Description

Row number Displays the row number of the eventThis column appears only if you have selected Row Numbering in the Event ListPreferences dialog box.

Status Provides basic information about the event’s response activity, that is, displays thecurrent status of the event. The status of an event can be one of the following event:

■ Open

■ Assigned

■ Acknowledged

■ Blackout

■ Closed

Viewing the default event list for All Event Collectors


Column Description

Tools Menu For events originating from BMC Impact Manager (cell), this menu enables you toperform operations on an event, execute remote actions/diagnostics, perform probablecause analysis for the event, retrieve BMC BladeLogic device history, and export the event.For events originating from the BMC ProactiveNet Server, this menu enables you toperform all the actions that you can perform on the cell events. Also, you can performdiagnostics, view graphs and parent groups, add a change entry to track the changes inyour environment, set thresholds and manage data collection.For multiple server deployment and BMC Atrium Explorer environments, this menuprovides a launch point.

Priority Determines which event requires action before the other

Severity Indicates the seriousness of the event, as follows:

■ Critical (red)

■ Major (dark orange)

■ Minor (light orange)

■ Warning (yellow)

■ Information (blue)

■ OK (green)

■ Unknown (grey)

■ Major and above

■ Minor and above

■ Warning and above

■ Information and above

■ OK and above

■ Unknown and above

The default severity is Information and above. This can be configured by changing thebmc.proactivenet.defaultSeverity property in the installDirectory\pw\pronto\conf\pronet.conf file.In combination with status and priority, the severity level indicates the urgency of theneed to take action. Severity is based on the comparison of metrics to defined thresholds.

Occurred Displays the date and time when the event occurred

Viewing the default event list for All Event Collectors


Column Description

Message Displays a short description of the reason for the event. It might also display thefollowing icons:

■ Action Result

■ Detailed Diagnostics

■ Notes

■ Related Events

■ Suppressed Events (for upgrade users only)

Host Displays the name of the host on which the event occurred

Note When you navigate from one collector to another using the navigation tree, bydefault, the first event in the list is selected. Occasionally, no event is selected andhighlighted in the event list.

Related Topics

Viewing the event list for remote cells on page 88

Viewing further information for a specificevent from the Tools Menu

The following summarizes the available options for further information about aspecific event from the Tools Menu on the All Events screen.

Table 11: Further information options from the Tools Menu on the All Events screen

Option Description

Operations Enable you to perform event operations such as open, close, and so on.For more information, see Performing event operations on page 76.

Remote Actions/Diagnostics Enable you to execute a remote action on a selected event. For moreinformation, see Executing remote actions on page 80.

Probable Cause Analysis Enables you to perform probable cause analysis on the selected event.For more information, see How BMC ProactiveNet performs probablecause analysis on events on page 159.

Viewing further information for a specific event from the Tools Menu


Option Description

Add Configuration Change Enables you to store and track configuration data. For moreinformation, see Managing configuration changes on page 125.

Export Enables you to export information about all or only visible slots in aBAROC, XML, or CSV file. For more information, see Exporting andcopying event information on page 79.

Additional options for an Intelligent Event

Intelligent Event History Displays event history details. For more information, see Table 12 onpage 40.

Diagnostics Enables you to use pre-configured and user-defined diagnostic tools tohelp monitor your system. For more information, see Diagnostics onpage 129.

Show Graph(s) Displays a graph and provides additional options to modify the graph.For more information, see Customizing monitor graphs on page 264.

Show Parent Groups Displays the parent groups and subgroups, if available

Threshold + Data Collection Enables you to set event thresholds and managed data collection. Formore information, see Understanding event thresholds on page 180, Managing data collection on page 126, and Resetting a baseline onpage 383.

Additional options based on environment

Launch■ BMC Impact Model Designer: Enables you to launch BMC Impact

Model Designer from BMC ProactiveNet and view the selectedconfiguration item (CI) in BMC Impact Model Designer.

■ Originating BMC ProactiveNet Server: Enables you to launch aBMC ProactiveNet Server from which events originated in amultiple BMC ProactiveNet Server deployment environment. Formore information, see Launching an originating BMC ProactiveNetServer on page 86. This option is available only when you have amultiple server deployment environment.

Both these options are available in a multiple server deploymentenvironment where devices are sourced from the CMDB.If you have configured BMC Service Level Management with BMCProactiveNet, you can view BMC Service Level Management optionsfor CMDB-published CIs.Note: The Launch options are available for events associated with theCI and the CI itself, only if the CIs are sourced from the ConfigurationManagement Database (CMDB).



Table 12: Further information on the Intelligent Event Details page

Option Description

Event History The following event history details are displayed:

■ Time when the event got triggered

■ Device information

■ Severity of the event

■ Description of the event

■ Analyze - Click the Probable Cause or Service Impact icon toanalyze the event.

■ Remote Actions/Diagnostics

■ Tools

Event Action History The history of actions (Intelligent or External events) performed on theevent are displayed:

■ Time when the event action began

■ Severity level of the event

■ Event Rule Name—name of an event rule that triggered the action

■ Action Type—type of action initiated (for example: DetailedDiagnostics)

■ Action Details

■ Result

More Information More information on the event are displayed:

■ Time when the event occurs

■ Message

Related Topics

Viewing all abnormalities on page 93

Viewing events by device on page 116



Viewing events by group on page 107

Viewing events for groups in a hierarchical tree on page 114

Acknowledging events on page 122

Viewing events and abnormalities by service on page 100

Viewing services in a hierarchical tree on page 105

Searching events on page 71

Behavior of popup windows for Tools Menu options on page 41

Behavior of popup windows for Tools Menu options

When you navigate through various BMC ProactiveNet screens, you observe thefollowing behavior for various options selected from the Tools Menu:

■ Operations such as Intelligent Event History, Probable Cause Analysis, ShowGraph(s), and Show Parent Groups open in a popup window. All furthernavigation that you perform from this popup window is limited to this popupwindow only.

■ Threshold + Data Collection operations such as Edit Violated Absolute GlobalThreshold, Absolute Instance Threshold, Signature Global Threshold, SignatureInstance Threshold, Reset Baseline, and Manage Data Collection, open in a secondpopup window. These operations do not reuse the popup window opened byoperations listed in the first bullet point.

■ Add Change Entry operation reuses a popup window if one is already opened forthe same operation, otherwise, opens in a new window.

■ Diagnostics operations such as FlashCheck and Top Processes-CPU always openin a new popup window, no matter from where they are launched.

Viewing the event list for a specificcomponent in the navigation tree

The procedures for viewing events for an event collector, a group, a service, a device,and a monitor are almost alike. BMC ProactiveNet displays the events for theselected object in the event list pane.

Viewing the event list for a specific component in the navigation tree


To view the event list for a collector

1 In the navigation tree, click the Global folder .

2 Expand the hierarchy under All Event Collectors to locate the collector whoseevents you want to display.

3 Click the collector.

To view the event list for all abnormalities

1 In the navigation tree, click Global.

2 Click All Abnormalities.

Tip You can also view the event list for abnormalities by performing the following steps:


2 Click All Event Collectors => All Events.

3 Apply one of the following out-of-the box advanced filters:

■ All Abnormalities

■ Active Abnormalities

■ Inactive AbnormalitiesFor more information, see Applying a default, global, or user-definedtemplate for event list columns on page 47.

To view the event list for a group


2 Click All Groups.

3 Expand the hierarchy to locate the group whose events you want to display.

4 Click the group.

To view the event list for a service


Viewing the event list for a specific component in the navigation tree


2 Click All Services.

3 Expand the hierarchy to locate the service whose events you want to display.

4 Click the service.

To view the event list for all devices


2 Click All Devices.

To view the event list for all monitors


2 Click All Monitors.

Selecting the type of event list to viewSlots identify information within an event class. Each event class has defined slots.Some slots are common to all event classes, while others are unique to an event class.The default slots in the event list provide basic information about an event. Bychanging the slots presented in the event list, you can view additional pertinentinformation or change the order in which event data is presented.

The Quick Columns Selector in the toolbar panel allows you to select thecolumns that are displayed in the event list. BMC ProactiveNet provides thefollowing out-of-the-box or default templates.

Table 13: Out-of-the box event list templates

Template Columns displayed in the event list

Abnormality Information Status, tools menu, priority, severity, score, date and time theabnormality occurred, message produced by the abnormality, hostname on which the abnormality occurred, and object (monitor) onwhich the abnormality occurred

Alarm Information Status, tools menu, priority, severity, action count (number ofoccurrences), host name on which the intelligent event occurred, dateand time the intelligent event occurred, message produced by theintelligent event, and IP address of the host on which the intelligentevent occurred

Selecting the type of event list to view


Template Columns displayed in the event list

Basic Information Status, tools menu, priority, severity, date and time the event occurred,message produced by the event, and host name on which the eventoccurred

Event Incident Information Tools menu, incident priority, incident status, incident assignee,incident ID, date time, and message produced by the event

Intelligent Events Information Status, tools menu, priority, severity, date and time the event occurred,message produced by the event, host name on which the eventoccurred, object (monitor) on which the event occurred and its class

Predicted Events Information Status, tools menu, priority, severity, date and time the event occurred,predicted severity, predicted time, message produced by the event,host name on which the event occurred, and object (monitor) on whichthe event occurred

Remote Cell Events Information Status, tools menu, priority, severity, date and time the event occurred,host name on which the event occurred, object (monitor) on which theevent occurred, message produced by the event, ID, internal ID, andpropagations

Supervisor Information Status, tools menu, priority, severity, date and time the event occurred,owner of the event, and message produced by the event

Intelligent Events Details Status, tools menu, priority, severity, tool, date and time the intelligentevent occurred, metric, message, device, and score. For moreinformation, see Intelligent Events Details template on page 44.

Intelligent Events Details template

Administrator and other users cannot edit, delete, or copy the Intelligent EventsDetails (default or out-of the box) template. This template is available from thefollowing drill-down options:

■ Event View => All Abnormalities, All Groups, All Services, All Devices, andAll Monitors

■ Event View => All components folders created by a user under the Global andMy Folders folders

■ Tree View => All Groups and All Services and then right-clicking to select theAll Events or Abnormalities options

■ Grid View => All Abnormalities, All Groups, All Services, All Devices, and AllMonitors, and then clicking the event counts displayed on these pages

Related topics:

Creating a new template for event list columns on page 45

Selecting the type of event list to view


Creating a new template for event list columnsAn administrator can create a customized template so that the event list displaysonly those columns that are present in this newly created template.

To create a new template for event list columns

1 Click Quick Columns Selector.

2 In the Quick Columns Selector dialog box, click Editor.

3 In the Event List Column Editor dialog box, select the Templates tab, and then,on the left, click New Template .

4 Specify a Name for the new template.

5 Select Make Global so that all users can view this template.

Tip A global template is prefixed with an asterisk (*). Only an administrator user candelete a global template. User-defined templates are not prefixed with an asterisk.

6 Select Default for New Event Folders to use this template as a default for newlycreated event folders.

7 Select Show in Quick Columns Selector so that this template appears in theQuick Columns Selector dialog box.

8 Under Available Columns, perform the following steps:

a Click Event Class Selector .

b Select an event class, and then click OK.

c Select a column name.

d Click the right arrow.

e Click the Up or Down arrows to change the order in which the columns will bedisplayed.

9 Click Save.

Related topics:

Creating a new template for event list columns


Editing a default or user-defined template for event list columns on page 46

Copying an existing template for event list columns on page 46

Deleting a user-defined template for event list columns on page 47

Applying a default, global, or user-defined template for event list columns onpage 47

Adding a column to an event list on page 48

Deleting a column from an event list on page 48

Adding a column to an event list for an abnormality on page 95

Deleting a column from an event list for an abnormality on page 95

Editing a default or user-defined template forevent list columns

Administrators can edit default or user-defined templates created by them or otherusers.

To edit a default or user-defined template for event list columns



3 In the Event List Column Editor dialog box, select the Templates tab, and then, onthe left, click a default or user-defined template.

4 Modify the information that you want to edit.

5 Click Save.

Copying an existing template for event listcolumns

Users with appropriate permissions can make a copy of a default template or a user-defined template created by them.

Editing a default or user-defined template for event list columns


To copy a default or user-defined template



3 In the Event List Column Editor dialog box, select the Templates tab, and then, onthe left, click a user-defined or default template.

4 Click Copy .

A template Copy of copiedTemplate appears on the left, under the list ofavailabletemplates.

Deleting a user-defined template for eventlist columns

Administrators and other users can delete user-defined templates created by them.

To delete a user-defined template



3 In the Event List Column Editor dialog box, select the Templates tab, and then, onthe left, click a user-defined template.

4 Click .

Applying a default, global, or user-definedtemplate for event list columns

All users can apply default, global, or user-defined templates to an event list to viewthe columns present in these templates.

To apply a default, global, or user-defined template


Deleting a user-defined template for event list columns



3 In the Event List Column Editor dialog box, select the Templates tab, and then,on the left, click a default, global, or user-defined template.

4 Click .

The event list displays only those columns that are present in the selected template.

Adding a column to an event listAll users can add a single column from any event class to the event list.

To add a column to an event list



3 In the Event List Column Editor dialog box, select the Single Columns Selector tab.

4 Under Available Columns, click Event Class Selector .

5 Select an event class, and then click OK.

6 From the Event List Column Editor dialog box, drag a column name into theheader row of the event list.

The newly added column now appears in the event list and the same is removedfrom the Events List Column Editor dialog box.

Best practice BMC recommends that you add a maximum of 30 columns to the event list tooptimize the performance of refresh.

Deleting a column from an event listAll users can delete a single column from the event list for a specific event class. Thisoperation requires the event list and the Quick Columns Selector dialog box to beopen simultaneously.

Adding a column to an event list


To delete a column from an event list


2 From the event list, drag a column name from the header row of an event list anddrop it into the Event List Column Editor dialog box.

Viewing the event Details NotebookThe Details Notebook pane displayed below the event list provides all of therecorded information about an event.s

The cards or columns of the details notebook pane organize the information asdescribed in the following table:

Table 14: Event Details Notebook pane

Column name Sections in subtab Description of contents

Summary Overview Hyperlinks to launch Probable Cause Analysis, ShowGraph(s), and Detailed DiagnosticsBasic information about the event, such as status, severity,priority, date and time of occurrence, object class, object name,host, owner, message, and detailed message

Event Metric Event metric information such as metric and its value, class,category, monitor category, repeated, and SLOFor an intelligent event, this field includes additionalinformation such as threshold, average value, baseline,baseline type, comparison, duration, minimum samplingwindow, absolute deviation, deviation, score, predict, and autoclose

Logs and Notes Historical Attributes Historical attributes of the event, such as date and time ofoccurrence, repeated, original severity and priority, origintime, reported by source, arrived, received, modified, lastmodifier, time to close, and action count (number ofoccurrences of actions)A user can enter additional information using the notes textarea and click the Notes icon present in the Logs and Notestable to view the notes in a larger window.The Logs and Notes table displays notes added by the user,event notification history, event rule history, history of anyrule or policy applied, and event operation history.

Viewing the event Details Notebook


Column name Sections in subtab Description of contents

Object Object Monitored Hyperlinks to launch Show Graph(s) and Tools MenuInformation about the monitored object, such as its name,class, owner, and URLFor an intelligent event, this field includes additionalinformation about groups.

Host of Object Information about the host of the monitored object, such as itsname, address, class, location, and serviceFor an intelligent event, this field includes additionalinformation, such as VMWare host and ID

Parameter Monitor metric and its value; parameter unit and its threshold

Related Component Device name, component alias, ID, and type

Source Origin Information about the origin of the event, including class, key,and severity

Reporter Information about the adapter or gateway from which theevent originated, including the tool name, tool ID, monitoringtool name, tool suggestion, adapter host, client address, toolclass, rule, tool key, tool severity, tool address, and tool time(time when the event originated)By default, this card is not visible. For more information, see To select the cards to be displayed in the Details Notebookpane on page 51”.

Internals Tracking Tracking information, such as the ID, internal ID, account,timeout, collectors, propagations, history, modification history,Access Control List (ACL), and Common Event Model (CEM)versionAlarm ID is displayed in this section if the event selected is ofALARM type.By default, this card is not visible. For more information, see To select the cards to be displayed in the Details Notebookpane on page 51”.

Relationships Information about events abstracted from this one,abstractions, causes and effects, associations, relation source,and event relations

Undefined Attributes A list of undefined attributes and values

Other dependOnTheSelectedEvent Information in this card changes according to the type of eventselected. The event type is displayed before the slots presentfor that event type, provided the event type has slots that arenot present in the remaining cards.For example, attributes of a core event that are not displayed inother cards, such as ITSM category, company, item, location,manufacturer, model, version, and operation category 1, 2, and3, product name, type, Service Model Component (SMC)impact, and priority might be displayed in this card.



To view and hide the Details Notebook

1 Select an event from the event list.

2 Click the Up arrows to the left of Details to view the Details Notebook.

3 Click the Down arrows to hide the Details Notebook.

To select the cards to be displayed in the Details Notebook pane


2 Click Edit Notebook Preferences .

3 Select the cards to be displayed in the Details Notebook pane.

4 Click Close .

Tip If you select more cards than can be displayed, use the tiny right and left arrowsto the right and left of the Details Notebook to navigate through the cards.

To select the event attributes to be displayed within a card in the DetailsNotebook pane


2 In any of the cards listed in Table 14 on page 49 of the Details Notebook pane,click Edit Preferences .

3 Select the event information that must be displayed in the selected card.

The attributes available for selection depend on the type of event selected. Thepermissions that a user has determine whether the user can perform an action ona hyperlink.

4 Click Close.

Note In the Summary card, when you click Edit Preferences, attributes related toBaseline and Threshold for Intelligent events are not available for selection andhence these attributes cannot be displayed in the default Summary card view.



To view additional information about a card in the Details Notebook pane

1 In any of the cards listed in Table 14 on page 49 of the Details Notebook pane,click More Info .

2 Click Minimize .

To add notes or annotate an event

1 From the event list, select an event.

2 In the Logs and Notes card of the Details Notebook pane, click More Info .

3 Scroll down to the Logs and Notes section and enter the annotated text.

Note Do not include nonprinting characters such as FS (0x1c) and RS (0x1e), andprinting characters such as <, >, ‘, and “in the notes. These characters are notsupported.

4 Click Save.

A Notes icon is displayed in the selected event message.

Viewing related eventsTo view events that are associated with an event, in an event list row, click Related

Event(s) in the Message column or the Tools Menu. Note

You cannot view related events after BMC Impact Manager (cell) purges data.

Refreshing the event listAll of the event sources in the BMC ProactiveNet system can generate thousands ofevents. You can choose whether to view all of those events as they occur. You canconfigure refresh of the event list to occur automatically or manually, and even ifyou use the automatic refresh, you can manually refresh at any time to be sure thatyou have the most recent data. When you manually refresh the event list, the BMCProactiveNet Server is queried for any changes in events. The console updates theevent list if changes are present.

Viewing related events


Note On the Internet browser, the F5 and Refresh buttons are not supported. Also, onsome UI screens, the Back, Forward, and Close buttons are also not supported.

To automatically refresh the event list

1 From the navigation bar, click Preferences .

2 In the Event List Preferences dialog box, select Auto Refresh.

If Auto Refresh is not enabled and an event is modified externally from theconsole, the event is not updated until you manually refresh the event list by

clicking Refresh in the navigation bar.

Note If the BMC ProactiveNet Server is extremely busy, the event list might not berefreshed until the BMC ProactiveNet Server completes the current event-processing load.

Organizing events in the event listYou can use various techniques to organize events and view information about them:

■ Use event and component folders to arrange events from different sources.

■ Filter events to see only the ones of interest.

■ Search events to see only the ones of interest.

■ Change the sorting of the event list.

Using event and component folders

BMC ProactiveNet has an organizational feature that provides event and componentfolders for operators and administrators to use to view and manage numerousevents from different sources in meaningful ways. With these folders, you candisplay events in a single tree node in the navigation tree, grouping events in yourown ways.

Organizing events in the event list


Note Folders are a prerequisite for image views. You must first create an event orcomponent folder to which you can add an image view.

For more information about creating event folders, see “Creating event folders” onpage 54.

For more information about creating component folders, see “Creating componentfolders” on page 56.

For more information about creating remote cell event folders, see “Creating remotecell event folders” on page 61.

Creating event folders

The following procedures explain how to add, delete, and modify event folders, andhow to move them within their hierarchy.

To add an event folder node

1 In the Main drawer of the navigation pane, click Global or My Folders .

2 From the Navigation Menu at the top of the drawer, choose Add Folder => EventFolder.

3 In the Add Event Folder dialog box, enter a name for the new event folder andoptionally enter a description.

4 Under Available Event Collectors, select a collector or subcollector to add to thenew event folder.

5 Click the right arrow to add the selected collector to This Folder’s EventCollectors .

Tip You can also drag a collector or subcollector from Available Event Collectors anddrop it into This Folder’s Event Collectors .

The selected collector appears beneath the new event folder in This Folder’sEvent Collectors .

To remove the selected collector from This Folder’s Event Collectors , click theleft arrow .

6 To add another collector or subcollector, repeat the previous steps.



7 Scroll down on the dialog box and underEvent List View , perform the followingactions:

■ From Event List Columns, select a template to use to determine which columnsto display in event list.

■ From Event List Filter, select how you want to filter the events in the event list.

8 (optional) To add a subfolder, perform the following additional steps:

a Under This Folder’s Event Collectors, select the newly created event folder.

b Click Add Subfolder .

c Specify a name for the newly created event subfolder.

d Repeat the previous steps to add more event subfolder.

e Add event collectors to each subfolder as specified in step 4 through step 6.

9 Click OK.

To delete an event folder node

1 In the Main drawer of the navigation pane, click Global or My Folders.

2 Select a folder in the navigation tree.

3 From the Navigation Menu at the top of the drawer, choose Delete.

4 In the Delete Folder confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

WARNING Deleting a parent event folder deletes the event folder and all its descendants.

To move an event folder subnode within its parent folder node



3 From the Navigation Menu at the top of the drawer, choose Edit Folder.

4 In the Edit Event Folder dialog box, select the event folder subnode or collectorthat you want to move.



5 Click the Move Up or Move Down arrow button to move the event folder orcollector subnode within the parent folder node hierarchy.

6 Click OK.

To edit an event folder node

1 In Main drawer of the navigation pane, click Global or My Folders .



4 In the Edit Event Folder dialog box, perform any of the following actions:

■ Modify the name of the existing event folder

■ Add or modify the description

■ Add, delete, or move event folder subnodes or collectors, if any

■ Change the template for the event list

■ Change the filter for the event list

5 Click OK.

Creating component folders

The following procedures explain how to add, delete, and modify componentfolders, and how to move them within their hierarchy.

To add a component folder node

1 In the Main drawer of the navigation pane, click Global or My Folders.

2 From the Navigation Menu at the top of the drawer, choose Add Folder => Component Folder.

3 In the Add Component Folder dialog box, specify a name for the new componentfolder and optionally enter a description.

4 Under Folder Contents, select one of the following options to determine whatcomponents are displayed in the folder that you are creating:



■ Static List of Objects - search for components and select the components thatyou want to include in the folder from the list returned in the search results.

■ Dynamic- Contents Change - search for components based on the filter criteriathat you specify. The list of components changes over time based on the filtercriteria.

The maximum number of CIs that a static or dynamic folder can hold is 500. Youcan configure this number in the pronet.conf file. For details, see the BMCProactiveNet Administrator Guide.

To avoid performance issues when the navigation tree loads, use the followingguidelines when you create CI folders:

■ Be specific when you enter the search criteria to determine what CIs will beincluded in the folder. High level or general search criteria could return toomany results.When you create a dynamic folder, use Test Filter to verify approximatelyhow many CIs match the search criteria that you enter. If the search results intoo many CIs, enter additional attributes in the search criteria to narrow thesearch.

Continue with the following procedures, depending on what type of folder youare creating.

“To add a static folder node” on page 57

“To add a dynamic folder node” on page 59

To add a static folder node

1 If you selected Static List of Objects, select one of the following types ofcomponents to include in the new folder:

■ Groups and Devices: proceed to step 2.

■ CIs from Service Model: proceed to step 3.

2 If you selected Groups and Devices, perform the following additional steps:

a Under Available Components, select to search for Groups or Devices or All.

b Enter the search criteria for the name of the group or device that you want tosearch for.

The Groups and Devices list is automatically filtered based on the searchcriteria that you entered.



c Select the group or device that you want to include in the folder and click theright arrow to move it into This Folder's Components.

Tip You can also drag a group or device from Available Components and drop itinto This Folder’s Components.

d To add another group, service, or device, repeat these steps.

3 If you selected CIs from Service Model, create a query to search for the CIs thatyou want to include in the folder by performing the following additional steps:

a Select Create New Filter from the Filter list.

b (optional) If you want all users that log on to the BMC ProactiveNet OperationsConsole to access the query that you are creating, select Make *Global (allusers).

An asterisk is placed next to the query name to indicate that it is global and isavailable to all users.

c From the Class list, select the type of component that you want to search for.

d If necessary, expand the query builder options by clicking the plus button next to the Class list.

e Begin building the parameters for your query by selecting the attributes for theclass type that you selected.

To display additional attributes, click the plus button

next to the attribute name.

Each new attribute that you add narrows and refines the search. The query willsearch for components with all of the attributes that you specify, indicated bythe AND before the attribute names.


f When you have finished specifying the query attributes, click Find.

g Under Results, select the CI to add to the new component folder.



h Click the right arrow to add the selected CI to This Folder's CIs.

Tip You can also drag a component or subcomponent from Results and drop itinto This Folder's CIs.

The selected item appears beneath the new component folder in This Folder'sCIs. Click the left arrow to remove the selected item.

Note A device added to a CI folder node or subnode is not visible in the navigationtree but is useful in the Tile view.

i To save the query to use again, click Save, enter the Query Name, and clickOK.

The saved query can also be used to search for CIs in the Find CI drawer in thenavigation pane.


a Under This Folder’s CIs, select the newly created component folder.


c Specify a name for the newly created component subfolder.

d Repeat the previous steps to add more component subfolders.

5 On the Add Component Folder dialog box, click OK.

To add a dynamic folder node

1 If you selected Dynamic - Contents Change, create a query to search for the CIsthat you want to include in the folder by performing the following additionalsteps:

a Select Create New Filter from the Filter list.

b (optional) If you want all users that log on to the BMC ProactiveNet OperationsConsole to access the query that you are creating, select Make *Global (allusers).

An asterisk is placed next to the query name to indicate that it is global and isavailable to all users.



c From the Class list, select the type of component that you want to search for.

d If necessary, expand the query builder options by clicking the plus button next to the Class list.

e Begin building the parameters for your query by selecting the attributes for theclass type that you selected.

To display additional attributes, click the plus button

next to the attribute name.

Each new attribute that you add narrows and refines the search. The query willsearch for components with all of the attributes that you specify, indicated bythe AND before the attribute names.


f When you have finished specifying the query attributes, click Test Filter.

g Under Results, the CIs that match the search criteria are displayed up to amaximum of 500.

h To save the query to use again, click Save, enter the Query Name, and clickOK.

2 On the Add Component Folder dialog box, click OK.

To delete a component folder node





WARNING Deleting a parent component folder deletes the component folder and all itsdescendants.



To move a static component folder subnode within its parent folder node




4 In the Edit Component Folder dialog box, select the component folder subnodethat you want to move.

5 Click the Move Up or Move Down arrow button to move the component folderor collector subnode within the parent folder node hierarchy.

6 Click OK.

Tip You can use this procedure to move a group, service, or device within its parentfolder node.

To edit a component folder node




4 In the Edit Component Folder dialog box, perform any of the following actions:

■ Modify the name of the existing component folder


■ Add, delete, or move component folders, groups, services, or devices, if any

5 To save your changes, click OK.

Creating remote cell event folders

The following procedures explain how to add, delete, and modify remote cell eventfolders, and how to move them within their hierarchy.



To add a remote cell event folder node

1 In the navigation pane, click Other Cells.

2 Select a remote cell for those listed in the Other Cells navigation tree.

3 From the Navigation Menu at the top of the drawer, choose Add EventFolder.

4 In the Add Event Folder dialog box, enter a name for the new event folder andoptionally enter a description.

5 Under Available Event Collectors, select a collector or subcollector to add to thenew event folder.

Note You cannot add the self collector to a remote cell event folder. The self collector isthe top level collector in the Available Event Collectors list and has the samename as the remote cell.

6 Click the right arrow to add the selected collector to This Folder’s EventCollectors .

Tip You can also drag a collector or subcollector from Available Event Collectors anddrop it into This Folder’s Event Collectors .

The selected collector appears beneath the new event folder in This Folder’sEvent Collectors .

To remove the selected collector from This Folder’s Event Collectors , click theleft arrow .

7 To add another collector or subcollector, repeat the previous steps.

8 Scroll down on the dialog box and underEvent List View , perform the followingactions:

■ From Event List Columns, select a template to use to determine which columnsto display in event list.

■ From Event List Filter, select how you want to filter the events in the event list.


a Under This Folder’s Event Collectors, select the newly created event folder.




c Specify a name for the newly created event subfolder.

d Repeat the previous steps to add more event subfolder.

e Add event collectors to each subfolder as specified in step 4 through step 6.

All remote cell event folders are global folders, meaning they can be seen by allusers who access the operations console with the correct permissions. To view aremote cell event folder in the operations console, the user account that is used tolog on to the operations console must belong to a user group that has permissionto view and perform actions on the remote cell for which the folder is created.

10 Click OK.

To delete a remote cell event folder node

1 In the navigation pane, click Other Cells .




WARNING Deleting a parent event folder deletes the event folder and all its descendants.

To move a remote cell event folder subnode within its parent folder node




4 In the Edit Event Folder dialog box, select the event folder subnode or collectorthat you want to move.

5 Click the Move Up or Move Down arrow button to move the event folder orcollector subnode within the parent folder node hierarchy.

6 Click OK.



To edit a remote cell event folder node




4 In the Edit Event Folder dialog box, perform any of the following actions:

■ Modify the name of the existing event folder


■ Add, delete, or move event folder subnodes or collectors, if any

■ Change the template for the event list

■ Change the filter for the event list

5 Click OK.

Filtering events

Using filters available in the filters panel located above the event list, you can narrowthe scope and number of events displayed. By default, the Quick filters panel is

displayed. The Show Filter button in the navigation bar toggles the filters panelon and off. BMC ProactiveNet offers the following filtering methods:

■ quick filters, which show events based on a specific status, severity level, time,event type, device, or groups

■ global filters, which an administrator or user creates and are available to any userlogged on to the server where the global filter was created

Using quick filters

BMC ProactiveNet displays the filters panel below the navigation bar. The QuickFilter in the filters panel provides an easy way to view only those events in anevent or component folder, or an event collector that satisfy a single or multiplecriteria for filtering.

Examples of event folders are:



All Event Collectors and All Abnormalities under the Global folder and user-defined event folders created under the My Folders or Global folder

Examples of component folders are:

All Groups, All Services, All Devices, and All Monitors under the Global folderand user-defined component folders created under the My Folders or Global folder

Examples of event collectors are:

All Events, Intelligent Events, By Status, and so on

To filter events by status

1 From the navigation tree, select an event or component folder, or an eventcollector.

2 In the filters panel, click the down arrow next to the Status list.

■ A list of event statuses is displayed:

—All Open (includes open, assigned, and acknowledged events, but does notinclude closed and blackout events)

—Open (includes open events only)

—Acknowledged

—Assigned

—Blackout

—Closed

3 Select the event status that you want to use to filter the event list.

4 Click Filter.

Note Select No filter from the Status list to return to the default event list view.

To filter events using severity


2 In the filters panel, click the down arrow next to the Severity list.



■ A list of severity levels is displayed:

—Critical

—Major

—Minor

—Warning

—Information

—OK

—Unknown

—Major and above

—Minor and above

—Warning and above

—Information and above

—OK and above

—Unknown and above

By default the Information and above severity filter is applied to all the nodesin the navigation tree.

3 Select the severity level that you want to use to filter the event list.

4 Click Filter.

To filter events by time

1 From the navigation tree, select an event or component folder.

2 In the filters panel, click the Edit Time (calendar) icon next to the Time field.

3 In the Quick Filter Time Selector dialog box, perform either List item. on page 66or List item. on page 67.

4 Select Relative time and proceed with the following substeps:

a Click the down arrow below Relative time.



b From the list, select the number of minutes, hours, days, weeks, or months, andskip to List item. on page 67.

5 Select Absolute time and proceed with the following substeps:

a Select the From date and time.

b Select the To date and time.

6 Click OK.

7 Click Filter.

Note In the Quick Filter Time Selector dialog box, click Clear to return to the defaultevent list view.

To filter events by type


2 In the filters panel, click the down arrow next to the Event Type list.

■ A list of event types is displayed:

—Alarm

—Abnormality

—Predictive

—Configuration Change

3 Select the event type that you want to use to filter the event list.

4 Click Filter.

Note Select No filter from the Event Type list to return to the default event list view.

To filter events by device




2 In the filters panel, enter the device name in the Device field.

3 Click Filter.

To filter events by groups

1 From the navigation tree, select a component folder, such as All Devices or AllMonitors.

2 In the filters panel, click Groups.

3 In the Groups Filter dialog box, perform the following substeps:

a From the list on the left, select the way in which you want to display thegroups by selecting one of the following options:

■ Tree: Displays the parent group nodes, intermediate nodes, and the childnodes in a hierarchy as shown in the navigation tree

■ Flat List: Displays the parent and child group nodes only

b Expand or collapse the groups.

c Select the groups, and then click the right arrow.

d In the box on the right, select the groups that you want to use to filter the eventlist.

Tip Use the Ctrl or Shift key to select multiple groups.

e From the list on the right, select Include or Exclude to include or exclude thegroups in the filter criteria.

f Click Apply.

4 Click Filter.

Using global filters

Administrators and users can create global or advanced filters and make themaccessible to all users who are logged on to the server where the filters were created.

Global or advanced filters are available for the All Event Collectors event folder andall its subnodes. These filters are not available for the All Abnormalities event folder



and all the component folders: All Groups, All Services, All Devices, and AllMonitors and all the drill-downs associated with all the component folders.

By default, the advanced filter selected in the filters panel is applied to the event list.You can use these filters to adjust the view of the event list just as you use the quickfilters.

To create a filter

1 In the filters panel, click Advanced Filters .

2 Click Create New Filter .

3 Click the down arrow next to the Class list.

4 Select an event class, and then click .

5 To filter events according to one or more event attributes, specify the followinginformation for each attribute:

a (optional) Select a left parenthesis or a NOT condition.

b Select an event attribute.

c Select a comparison operator.

d Enter a value against which you want the filter to compare.

e (optional) Select a right parenthesis.

f To add another filter condition (event attribute), click .

Tip

To remove a filter condition, click in the corresponding filter condition row.

g Select a logical operator, AND or OR.

h Repeat List item. on page 69 through List item. on page 69 to add as manyfilter conditions as you want.

6 Click Save.

7 In theEnter Filter Name dialog box, enter a name for the filter, and then click OK.

8 Click OK.



The new filter is displayed in the Name list.

To apply an out-of-the-box-or user-defined filter

1 In the filters panel, click Advanced Filters.

2 Click the down arrow next to the Name list.

3 Select a filter.

4 In the Filter Change Confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

The selected filter is applied to the event list.

To apply a filter without saving changes



3 Select a filter.

4 Modify one or more filter conditions.

5 Click Apply.

Note The conditions that you change in an existing filter are not saved until you clickSave.

To clear a filter



3 Select a filter.

4 Modify one or more filter conditions.

5 To clear a filter condition, click Start Over.

The modified filter conditions are discarded and the original filter is applied tothe event list.



To cancel a filter



3 Select a filter.

4 Click Cancel.

5 In the Cancel Filter Confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

The most recently applied filter is canceled and the previously selected filter isapplied to the event list.

To delete a filter



3 Select a filter.

4 Click Delete.

5 In the Filter Delete Confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

6 Click OK .

The selected filter is removed from the Name list.

Note Administrator and other users can delete user-defined filters they create.However, neither an administrator nor other users can delete default or out-of-the-box filters.

Searching events

Using Find Events , available in the toolbar panel located above the event list, youcan narrow the scope and number of events displayed. The search functionality isavailable for event collectors only. Search is performed only on those slots of aCORE_EVENT class that are visible to you in the event list at that instance. Search is



case sensitive and considers blank spaces. Therefore, you must enter the exact searchcriteria to retrieve results.

WARNING Search is ineffective in the following cases:

■ If the search is based on the date slot

■ If you select a component folderin the navigation tree

■ If you select an event folder (All Event Collectors, All Abnormalities, or any user-defined event folder) in the navigation tree

■ If the search query contains the following characters:

■ Left square parenthesis([)

■ Right square parenthesis (])

■ Backward slash (\)

■ Single quotes (')

■ Single character

To find an event

1 From the navigation tree, select an event collector.

2 In the search box, type a query to search.

3 Click Find Events.

Sorting events

The set of slots presented in the event list is called the slot order. When you changethe slots presented, either by adding or removing slots or by rearranging them, youchange the slot order.

Single-click sorting

You can use single-click sorting by clicking the header of the column that you wantto use as the basis of your event list sort.



Even if a multiple sort order has been established, you can click any column headerthat is not part of the designated multiple sort order to reset sorting. This actionestablishes single-column sorting, and the column on which you clicked isdesignated as the first, and only, column in the new sort order. To reverse the sortorder, re-click the column header. To remove the sort order, press the Ctrl and Shiftkeys, and click the column header.

Figure 3: Single-click sorting indicators

Multiple-column sorting

Designating multiple columns for a sorting order is useful in resolving sort-orderconflicts in the event list.

You can set a multiple-column sort order as shown in Figure 4 on page 73 . Multiple-column sorting is available for the All Event Collectors event folder and all itssubnodes. However, this feature is not available for the All Abnormalities eventfolder and all the component folders: All Groups, All Services, All Devices, and AllMonitors and all the drill-downs associated with all the component folders.

Figure 4: -Multiple-column sorting indicators

In the following procedures, you can select or clear the column headers that youwant to use to sort the contents of the event list.

To add a column to the sort order

1 Click a column header that you want to use as the first criterion to sort the eventlist.

2 Press the Ctrl key and click a second column header.



3 Repeat List item. on page 73 to add more columns to the sort order for the eventlist.

Tip If you have established a multiple sort order in the event list, you can:

■ Click one of the columns to re-sort the event list based on that single column.

■ Press the Ctrl key and click a column header contained in the sort order totoggle that column’s display between ascending and descending order.

■ Press the Ctrl and Shift keys, and click a column header contained in the sortorder to remove that column from the sort order.

Creating shortcuts for Tools Menu optionsUsing Edit Toolbar , available in the toolbar panel located above the event list,you can create shortcuts for performing event operations, executing commands, andactions. By default, the toolbar panel is available to all the users. However, Edit

Toolbar is visible only if a user has permissions to view it. Show Toolbar in thenavigation bar toggles the toolbar panel.

By default, the following shortcuts are available in the toolbar panel right above thethe event list only if a user has permissions for all these operations. If a user does nothave permission for a particular operation, for example, Close, then shortcuts for allthe following operations, except Close are displayed.

■ Acknowledge

■ Close

■ Take Ownership

■ Decline Ownership

■ View Remote Action Results

■ Copy

■ Export

■ Set Priority

■ Intelligent Event History

Creating shortcuts for Tools Menu options


■ Probable Cause Analysis

■ Operations Menu

■ Tools Menu

To create shortcuts for menu buttons, commands, and actions

1 In the Edit Toolbar dialog box, select and drag one icon (not the icon label) at atime from the following list, and then drop it into the toolbar panel right abovethe event list:

■ Menu Buttons: For all event operations, operations available in the ToolsMenu, and remote actions

■ Spacers: For adjusting the space between the shortcut buttons

■ Commands: For individual operations and commands

■ Actions: For individual remote actions

Note The number of buttons that you can select and drag depends on the availablespace in the toolbar panel.

2 Click Close.

■ The shortcuts appear in the toolbar panel; they are context-sensitive. Forexample, if an event is acknowledged, the Acknowledge button in the MenuButtons section is disabled. However, if the event is not acknowledged, theAcknowledge button is enabled.Once a user changes the toolbar buttons, they are saved as user preferences andavailable to that user on the subsequent logon.

To remove shortcuts for menu buttons, commands, and actions

1 In the toolbar panel, click Edit Toolbar.

2 From the toolbar panel, right above the event list, select and drag one icon at atime that you want to remove, and then drop it into the Edit Toolbar dialog box.

3 Click Close.

Creating shortcuts for Tools Menu options


Performing event operationsEvent operations change the status, priority, or ownership of an event. Your userrole determines the event operations that you can use. You can perform theseoperations on a maximum of 500 events.

Tip BMC recommends that you use the toolbar to perform operations on multipleevents. However, if you choose to use the Tools Menu or the Operations Menu inthe Status column, press and hold the Shift key to select multiple continuous events,or the Ctrl key to select multiple non-continuous events, and ensure that you clickthe Tools Menu on the last selected event.

Table 15: Event operation descriptions

Event operation Description

Take Ownership Assigns ownership of an Open orAcknowledged event to self; puts theevent in the Assigned state

Assign To Assigns ownership of an Open,Acknowledged, or Assigned event toself or another person in the sameaccount; puts the event in theAssigned state

Decline Ownership Removes ownership of an event inAssigned event; puts the event backin the Acknowledged state

Acknowledge Event Recognizes the existence of on Openevent; puts the event in theAcknowledged state

Unacknowledge Event Changes a previously Acknowledgedevent back to the Open state

Close Puts an Open, Assigned orAcknowledged event in the Closedstate; ignores the event in calculatingstatus; disables any further eventoperation

Set Priority Assigns a priority level to the event

Reopen Event Changes the state of an event toOpen. This operation is displayedonly for remote event managementcells.

The following topics provide instructions for performing event operations.

Performing event operations


Note Although all the event operations that are available to your user role are availablewhen you select two or more events in the event list, an operation is performed onlyon the selected events whose status makes the operation valid. If the operation is notvalid for some selected events, a message box reports the internal IDs of thoseevents, and the events are not changed.

To take ownership of an event

1 From the event list, select an event of which to take ownership.

2 Click one of the wrench icons, or , (that is available) in the Tools Menucolumn.

3 Click Operations => Take Ownership.

Note If Confirmations in the Event List Preferencesdialog box, is not set for All EventOperations, you do not receive a confirmation when you take ownership of anevent. For more information, see Customizing the display of the event list on page34.

4 In the confirmation dialog box, click OK.

To assign an event to an individual

1 From the event list, select one or more events to assign.

2 Click the wrench icon in the Tools Menu column.

3 Click Operations => Assign To.

4 In the Assign To dialog box, select the person to whom you want to assign theevent, and then click OK.

Note The list of users in the Assign To dialog box contains only those users selected inthe Assign to User List screen. To access this screen, on the Operations Consoleselect the Options link, and then the Administration tab. Under EventAdministration, click Edit next to Assign to User List.

To decline ownership of an event

1 From the event list, select an event that you own.




3 Click Operations => Decline Ownership


To acknowledge an event

1 From the event list, select one or more open events designated with .


3 Click Operations=>Acknowledge Event.


To Unacknowledge an event

1 From the event list, select an event that is acknowledged.


3 Click Operations=>Unacknowledge Event.


To close an event

1 From the event list, select an event that is open, assigned to you, oracknowledged.


3 Click Operations => Close Event.


Note

■ When the Close Event operation is performed on an intelligent event, it maytake some time to close the event. This can cause a discrepancy between thestatus of the event in the Notebook Summary tab and the status of the event inthe Status column until the event closes and the two views of the event becomesynced.

■ The Close Event operation is not available for abnormality events.



To set the priority for an event



3 Click Operations => Set Priority.

4 In the Set Priority dialog box, select the priority level for the event.

5 (optional) Add notes.

6 Click OK.

Note If a user has initiated a status change operation on an event and the status of thatevent is changed due to an event rule or policy before the execution of the statuschange operation from the Operations Console, the operation initiated by the useris not executed.

Exporting and copying event informationYou can export information about all or only visible slots in a BAROC, XML, or CSVfile or copy information about all the slots into the clipboard.

These operations enable you to send the event information to BMC Impact Manager(BMC IM or cell) using CLI commands. You can perform the export and copyoperations on a maximum of 500 events.

To export event information


2 Click the wrench icon in the Tools Menu column, and then click Export.

3 In the Export Events dialog box, select the format in which you want to export theevent column information.

4 Select Visible Slots to export information about the visible slots only or All Slotsto export information about all the slots.

Exporting and copying event information


Note When you export all the slots of an event, the generated BAROC file is not in aformat that can be imported directly using the mposter command.To import the BAROC file, make minor edits to the file. For example, in thoseslots that have a list of strings, change the double-quotes to single quotes.

5 Click Save.

6 Select a location to save the slot information, and click Save.

To copy an event to the clipboard

1 Create a shortcut for Copy Event as explained in To create shortcuts for menubuttons, commands, and actions on page 75.

2 Select one or more events to copy.

3 Click Copy Event.

Tip You can also copy one or more events using the Ctrl and K keys. Copy is the onlyoperation that you can perform using keyboard keys.

4 In the Copy to clipboard dialog box, click OK.

The copied event information is available in BAROC format in the clipboard andcan be pasted into a new text or Microsoft Word document.

Executing remote actionsYou can respond to a selected event by executing a remote action. These remoteactions are created by an administrator as a response to specific events as requiredfor your environment. You can perform remote actions on events that have beenassociated with or mapped to devices through a device alias. The device must beconfigured so that it allows the remote action to be executed on it.

When you use a remote action, it is issued from your local console but executed onthe computer where the BMC Impact Manager (cell) or the BMC ProactiveNet cell isinstalled. The number of remote actions that you can execute depends on the eventtype, core event or intelligent event.

To respond to an event by using a remote action


Executing remote actions


2 Click the blue wrench icon in the Tools Menu column.

3 Click Remote Actions/Diagnostics and then select a remote action.

4 In the Execute Action dialog box, enter the appropriate values required to run theselected remote action.

5 Click Execute.

■ To access the results of the remote action, in the event list row, click ActionResult(s) in the Message column or the Tools Menu.In the Event Remote Action Results dialog box, you can perform the followingoperations:

—Export the information about the remote action to a file by selecting theaction information and clicking Export.

—View the output, errors, and details about the remote action by clicking thecorresponding tab.

Note The remote actions Modify Slot Value, Show Remote Action Environment,and Trigger Remedy Incident for Event do not display an associated ActionResult(s) or Related Events option.

Ping Event mc_host_address

This remote action executes a ping command against the target host defined by themc_host_address slot. An exit code of 0 indicates a successful ping and a workingconnection between the local system and the target host. The output of a successfulping command, available from the Action Result(s) option, consists of ping statistics:Pinging 209.97.50.10 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 209.97.50.10: bytes=32 time=33ms TTL=242Reply from 209.97.50.10: bytes=32 time=34ms TTL=242Reply from 209.97.50.10: bytes=32 time=34ms TTL=242Reply from 209.97.50.10: bytes=32 time=35ms TTL=242Reply from 209.97.50.10: bytes=32 time=35ms TTL=242

Ping statistics for 209.97.50.10: Packets: Sent = 5, Received = 5, Lost = 0 (0% loss),Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds: Minimum = 33ms, Maximum = 35ms, Average = 34ms



TraceRoute to Event mc_host_address

This remote action executes a traceroute command to identify the path of the eventfrom its origin to its destination. The selected event must contain a specified host name.

Send EVENT as SMTP E-mail

This remote action allows you to send a selected event to a designated e-mailrecipient through the msend_email executable.

The event information that is sent includes event severity, class, status, handle Id,and the server cell name.

Modify Slot Value

This remote action allows to change the value of a specified slot for the selectedevent. You can view the change in the Details pane.

Note BMC recommends that you do not change the severity of an intelligent event byexecuting the Modify Slot Value remote action.

Show Remote Action Environment

This feature is designed to display information about the remote action environment.It does not display the action results in the GUI. Instead, the action results arecaptured in an output file in the installDirectory \server\tmp\ cellName path, whereinstallDirectory by default equals Program Files\ProactiveNet\pw or /usr/pw. In thefollowing example, the sample output file installDirectory \server\tmp\ cellName\result.13.out displays remote environment information that includes, but is notlimited to, the following data:This is the Local Action execution environment.ALLUSERSPROFILE=C:\Documents and Settings\All UsersASANY9=C:\Program Files\ProactiveNet\pw\sybaseASANYSH9=C:\Program Files\ProactiveNet\pw\sybase\sharedBMC_PROACTIVENET_HOME=C:\Program Files\ProactiveNet\pwCATALINA_HOME=C:\Program Files\ProactiveNet\pw\tomcatCELLCONFDATAPATH=%MCELL_HOME%\etcClusterLog=C:\WINDOWS\Cluster\cluster.logCommonProgramFiles=C:\Program Files\Common Files....IBRSD_HOME=C:\PROGRA~1\PROACT~1\pw\INTEGR~1\ibrsdJAVA_HOME=C:\Program Files\ProactiveNet\pw\jre



MCELL_HOME=C:\PROGRA~1\PROACT~1\pw\serverNUMBER_OF_PROCESSORS=2OS=Windows_NTPath=C:\Perl\site\bin;C:\Perl\bin;C:\WINDOWS\system32;....RULE_NAME=Show Remote Action EnvironmentREQUESTOR=adminCLASS=EVENT....

Setup Sending SMTP E-Mails - Windows Only

You can use this remote action in conjunction with the Send Event as SMTP E-mailaction. Here, you can define the SMTP server you want to use as the e-mail server forsending events.

Trigger Remedy Incident for Event

This remote action enables to generate BMC Remedy Service Desk incident for theselected event. You specify the destination host to which to send the event. To enablethis action, you must be integrated with the BMC Remedy Service Desk application.

BMC Atrium Orchestrator workflows

These workflow actions are designed to be launched on demand or through remoteaction policies. This topic addresses the on-demand workflow. (Refer to the BMCProactiveNet Administrator Guide for descriptions of the remote action policiesdesigned to launch these workflows automatically.)

Note Before you can launch these workflows, you must perform configuration steps onthe BMC ProactiveNet server side and the BMC Atrium Orchestrator BEM adapteron the BMC Atrium Orchestrator server side. See the BMC ProactiveNet AdministratorGuide for the configuration steps.

Launching a workflow on demand from the Events Console

By default, each workflow applies to all event types. Follow these steps to select andlaunch a workflow from the Events Console:



To launch a workflow on demand from the Events Console

1 Identify the appropriate event for the workflow, and click the Tools icon todisplay the menu.

2 Choose Remote Actions => Atrium Orchestrator Actions to display the list ofworkflows.

Table 16: BMC Atrium Orchestrator workflows

Workflow type Description

Triage and Remediate Disk Full Is used when the operating system disk space reaches or exceeds itscapacity. When launched this workflow uses the corresponding OScommand to check for disk space usage on the system where theconfiguration item resides. After updating related events and incidentswith the disk usage metrics, the workflow undertakes a changemanagement process to generate the change form and associate it withthe incident information. It then launches the remediation task, whichexecutes volume clean-up commands based on the operating system.

Triage Host Down Is used when a monitored host system is down. This workflow uses aseries of ping and traceroute commands to verify whether the hostspecified in the event is actually down. It does not attempt to restart thehost. It only confirms that the host is unreachable.

Note For a complete description of the workflows, see the BMC Software Triage andRemediation Solution Getting Started Guide for BMC ProactiveNet.

3 Select the workflow. An Execute Action dialog box opens containing inputparameters that are specific to your workflow selection.



Table 17: Input parameters for BMC Atrium Orchestrator workflow types

Workflow type Execute Action input parameters

Triage and Remediate Disk Full Create Change RequestBoolean: True or false indicator that shows whether you want to createa change request in BMC Service Desk. If you choose false, the ChangeRequest Type parameter is ignored.Change Request TypeString: Specifies the type of change request (normal or preapproved)Create-Update IncidentBoolean: True or false indicator that shows whether you want to createan incident in the incident management system. If an incident alreadyexists, then workflow updates the existing incident information.RemediateBoolean: True or false indicator that shows whether you want toproceed with the remediation action.

Triage Host Down Create IncidentBoolean: True or false indicator that shows whether you want to createor update an incident in the specified incident management system.

4 Make your selections in the Execute Action dialog box, and click Execute tolaunch the workflow.

An Action Results icon and a Related Events icon are displayed in the event row.An information event is returned indicating the action and the target host.

5 Verify the event notes in the Details pane. The event notes describe the stages ofthe workflow’s execution and indicate whether the workflow has been launchedsuccessfully.

To check the results of the workflow action

1 Click the Action Results icon to display the Event Remote Action Results dialogbox. You can view output, errors, and details associated with the workflowaction. The exit code 0 indicates a successful execution. Otherwise, the exit codedefaults to -1.

To view related events

1 Click the Related Events icon to open the Event List window. You can view,filter, and perform actions on consequent events that are related to the workflowlaunch.



Launching an originating BMC ProactiveNetServer

When monitoring events from a central BMC ProactiveNet Server in a multiple BMCProactiveNet Server deployment environment, you can launch BMC ProactiveNetServers from which events originated.

For details about configuring this kind of deployment, see the Administrator Guide .

To launch an originating BMC ProactiveNet Server


2 Click the blue wrench icon in the Tools Menu column.

3 Choose Launch => Originating BMC ProactiveNet Server.

You might need to enter a user name or password, depending on your systemauthentication policies and procedures. All functionality is available in theOperations Console of the originating BMC ProactiveNet Server (also called achild BMC ProactiveNet Server).

Customizing the display of eventsThrough the Options screen, you can customize the overall layout of the events tosuit your preferences.

To customize the event display

1 In the Operations Console, click the Options link at the top right.

2 Click the Operations tab.

3 Modify the settings described in Table 18 on page 86 under Event DisplayPreferences as necessary.

Table 18: Event Display Preferences for customizing event display

Setting Description

Home page Select the default view to be displayed whenever you access the EventsConsole tab. The default is the All Events view.

Launching an originating BMC ProactiveNet Server


Setting Description

Events Console Groups 3.a Configure the display of groups in the Events Console => All Groups(Events View, Tile View, Canvas View, Tree View, and Grid View).Click Edit and then use the arrow icons to select groups and to set theorder of groups. The Show all groups check box on the top left enablesyou to display all groups dynamically, including all future groups.

Events Console Monitor Categories Configure the display of monitor categories in the Events Console => All Monitors => Grid View. Click Edit and then use the arrow iconsto select monitor categories and to set the order of monitor categories.The Show all monitor categories check box on the top left enables youto display all monitor categories dynamically, including all futuremonitor categories.

Show All Devices with Counts Display events in the Events Console => All Devicesview with theactual numerical count of the events.

Show Devices in Hierarchy Set the hierarchical view as the default view on Events Console => AllDevices view.

Show All Groups with Counts Display events in the All Groups => Grid View with the numericalcount of the events (rather than the default event severity icons).

Show Suppressed Events 3.b View suppressed events in the following locations:

■ Status column in the All Events view

■ Event counts in the All Groups => Grid View and All Devices

■ Status-based border color in graphs

■ Status icons in the navigation tree for All Events, All Devices, andAll Groups => Grid View

Show Predictive Events Display a separate symbol for predictions on the Tile View and CanvasView

a This feature is available only for unrestricted users of groups.

b Available only for upgrade users

4 Click Apply.

To set layout preferences



Customizing the display of events


3 Under Layout Preferences, select the views, described in Table 19 on page 88,that you want to see:

Table 19: Layout Preferences settings

Setting Description

Show Navigation Tree Displays the navigation tree on the left (default)

Show Dashboard View Displays a list of user-defined viewsThese views are displayed in the top right portion of the Grid View and TreeView. This enables the user to get a snapshot of the most important attributesbeing monitored.Note: You can select only graph-based views as dashboard views. You cannotselect folder-based views. The Dashboard is not displayed on the Event View,Tile View, and Canvas View.

Show Home View Displays the selected view as the default view

4 Click Apply.

To set tab preferences



3 Under Tab Preferences, select the tabs that you want to display as navigation tabsin the Operations Console.

4 Click Add Tab.

5 Click Apply.

Related Topics

Customizing the display of the event list on page 34

Viewing the event list for remote cellsYou can view events on a standalone remote cell, or a remote cell in HighAvailability (HA) mode once you configure the remote cell for viewing on theOperations Console. BMC ProactiveNet supports BMC Impact Manager (cell) fromversion 7.1 onwards only as remote cells. BMC recommends that you do not add asecond BMC ProactiveNet cell as a remote cell.

Viewing the event list for remote cells


To configure a standalone remote cell for viewing on the Operations Console

1 Add an entry for the remote cell in the cell_info.list file located atinstallDirectory \pw\pronto\conf\ by entering the following command:

iadmin -acname=remoteCellName:key=mc:primaryHost=hostName:primaryPort=portNumber:environment=Production:usergroups=*

The parameters are defined as follows:

■ name is the name of the remote cell that you want to display as defined in themcell.dir file.

■ key is the encryption key of the cell; the default is mc.

■ primaryHost is the computer where the cell is located. Specify the computername and the domain name.

■ primaryPort is the port on which the remote cell is listening; the default is 1828

■ environment is the type of environment where the cell is used, eitherProduction or Test.

■ usergroups is the name of the user groups that can access the remote cell. Toallow access to all user groups, enter an asterisk (*). To specify only certain usergroups, enter the group names separated by commas. If a user group containsspaces, enclose the entire entry for this parameter with double quotes.

Example iadmin -acname=qa:key=mc:primaryHost=qa.company.com:primaryPort=1828:environment=Production:usergroups="FullAccess, Read Only"

2 Add an entry for the remote cell in the mcell.dir file located at installationDirectory\pw\server\etc\ as follows:

cell cellName mc computerNameWithDomain: portOnWhichCellIsInstalled

Example cell qa mc qa.company.com:1828

To configure a remote cell in HA mode for viewing on the Operations Console

1 Add an entry for the remote cell and its counterpart in HA mode in thecell_info.list file located at installDirectory\pw\pronto\conf\by entering thefollowing command:



iadmin -acname=remoteCellName:key=mc:primaryHost=hostName:primaryPort=portNumber:failoverHost=hostName:failoverPort=portNumber:environment=Production:usergroups=*

The parameters are defined as follows:

■ name is the name of the remote cell that you want to display as defined in themcell.dir file.

■ key is the encryption key of the cell; the default is mc.

■ primaryHost is the computer where the cell is located. Specify the computername and the domain name.

■ primaryPort is the port on which the remote cell is listening; the default is 1828

■ failoverHost is the computer where the failover cell is located. Specifiy thecomputer name and the domain name.

■ failoverPort is the port on which the failover remote cell is listening

■ environment is the type of environment where the cell is used, eitherProduction or Test.

■ usergroups is the name of the user groups that can access the remote cell. Toallow access to all user groups, enter an asterisk (*). To specify only certain usergroups, enter the group names separated by commas. If a user group containsspaces, enclose the entire entry for this parameter with double quotes.

Example iadmin -acname=ha_cell:key=mc:primaryHost=host1.company.com:primaryPort=2344:failoverHost=host2.company.com:failoverPort=2344:environment=Production:usergroups=*

2 Add an entry for the remote cell and its counterpart in HA mode in the mcell.dirfile located at serverInstallationDirectory \server\etc\ as follows:

cell cellName mc computer1NameWithDomain: portOnWhichCellIsInstalledcomputer2NameWithDomain: portOnWhichHACellIsInstalled

Example cell ha_cell mc host1.company.com:2344 host2.company.com:2344

To view the event list for remote cells

1 In the Operations Console, click Navigation Pane Options .



2 In the Navigation Pane Options dialog box, click Other Cells.

3 Select a remote cell from the list and click Apply.

If multiple remote cells are configured, select each cell that you want to display.

4 Click OK to close the Navigation Pane Options dialog box.

5 In the navigation pane, click Other Cells.

6 Select a remote cell from the list.

The event list for the remote cell is displayed in the Event List view of theoperations console.

For details about the actions you can perform on remote cells, see Operationspossible on the event list for remote cells on page 91.

For details about creating a remote cell event folder, see “Creating event folders”on page 54.

Operations possible on the event list for remote cells

You can perform the following operations from the event list for remote cells:

■ All event operations, remote actions, export, and copy operations

■ Quick filters, sort, and search events

■ All the operations (menu buttons, commands, and actions) added as shortcutsfrom the main event lists page to the toolbar panel

■ View the slots included in the Remote Cell Events Information default template orany slots added or removed from this default template from the main event listspage

■ View event list preferences applied from the main event lists page

You cannot perform the following operations from the event list for remote cells:

■ Operations specific to intelligent events

■ Advanced filters

■ Add or remove icons from the toolbar because Edit Toolbar is not available



■ Change the slot order since Quick Columns Selector is not available

■ Change the event list preferences since Preferences is not available

■ View the event details notebook

Viewing predictive eventsIn addition to the normal events generated after a problem arises, BMC ProactiveNetcan also generate predictive events. Predictive events are early warning events thatBMC ProactiveNet generates before an event condition occurs on an existing metric.Such events enable you to identify potential problems before the condition causesimpacts to business services and before the end users notice the problem. The typicalpredictive window is three hours or less, which means most predictive events aregenerated up to three hours before an actual event condition would occur. BMCProactiveNet treats predictive events like normal events and displays them in all thestandard event screens.

Predictive events target persistent anomalies that might go undetected for most ofthe day (during the off-peak periods) but become serious issues at peak load periods.These kinds of problems are typically caused by configuration changes or user loadshifts. For example, if you make a change to a load balancer that accidentallyredirects more end-user transactions to one of the servers in the pool, that servermight now have much more load than the other servers in the pool. However, thiswould not be obvious during low traffic periods. As the peak load periodapproaches, the imbalance would become more serious and the server load issuewould become obvious, eventually causing an event on an end user transaction andperformance or availability issues for all transactions routed through that server. Inthis scenario where BMC ProactiveNet events are used, an abnormality is generatedas soon as the first change in behavior is detected, a predictive event would begenerated two to three hours before any impact or before a real event condition.

Predictive events are enabled through the absolute threshold settings. The predictivealgorithm leverages the hourly baseline in conjunction with the threshold setting todetermine when to create a predictive event.

To view predictive events using quick filters

To view predictive events, on the Operations Console select the Options link, andthen the Operations tab. Under Event Display Preferences, ensure that you selectthe Show Predicted Events check box. You cannot view predictive events from thenavigation tree as no default event collector is available under the Global folder forthem.

1 In the filters panel, click Quick Filters.

Viewing predictive events


2 From the Event Type list, select Predictive.

3 Click Filter.

To view predictive events using advanced filters

1 In the filters panel, click Advanced Filters

2 From the Name list, select one of the following out-of-the box advanced filters:

■ Predicted Events-Active (Not Closed)

■ Predicted Events-All

■ Predicted Events-Inactive

Viewing all abnormalitiesThe All Abnormalities => Events View lists all abnormality events for groups,services, devices, and monitors monitored by BMC ProactiveNet.

Table 20: Columns of event information on the All Abnormalities screen

Column Description

Status Provides basic information about the abnormality’s response activity, that is, displaysthe current status of the abnormality. The status of an event can be one of the following:

■ Open

■ Acknowledged

■ Assigned

■ Blackout

■ Closed

Viewing all abnormalities


Column Description

Tools Menu For events originating from BMC Impact Manger (cell), this menu enables you toperform operations on an event, execute remote actions/diagnostics, perform probablecause analysis for the event, retrieve BladeLogic device history, and export the event.For events originating from the BMC ProactiveNet Server, this menu enables you toperform all the actions that you can perform on the cell events. Also, you can performdiagnostics, view graphs and parent groups, add a change entry to track the changes inyour environment, set thresholds and manage data collection.For multiple server deployment and BMC Atrium Explorer environments, this menuprovides a launch point.

Priority Determines which abnormality requires action first

Severity Indicates the seriousness of the abnormality. In combination with status and priority, theseverity level indicates the urgency of the need to take action. Severity is based on thecomparison of metrics to defined thresholds. The severity of the abnormality event isInfo (blue).

Score Indicates how closely the event relates to the probable cause of the problem

Occurred Displays the date and time when the abnormality occurred

Message Displays a short description of the reason for the abnormality. It might also display thefollowing icons:

■ Action Result

■ Detailed Diagnostics

■ Notes

■ Related Events

Host Displays the name of the host on which the abnormality occurred

Object Displays the name of the object monitoring the abnormality

Note The BMC ProactiveNet administrator can set up specific user-defined rules that canhelp you keep track of frequent events and their causes. For instance, if youcontinually receive an event and you realize that the event is triggered by arecognizable pattern, you can set up rules that replace BMC ProactiveNet probablecause description with specific information related to that event. In other words, youcan override BMC ProactiveNet’s generic probable cause information by attaching arule to a specific abnormality that adds known information and domain knowledgeinto the system.

Related Topics

Adding a column to an event list for an abnormality on page 95




Filtering event display for All Abnormalities on page 97

Viewing further information for an abnormality on page 99

Adding a column to an event list for an abnormality

All users can add a single column from an event class to events of abnormality typefor groups, devices, and monitors by selecting the Event View on the AllAbnormalities screen.

To add a column to an event list for an abnormality


2 In the Quick Columns Selector dialog box, click Edit Columns.

3 In the Event List Column Editor dialog box, under Available Columns, click

Event Class Selector .

4 Select Abnormality as the event class, and then click OK.

5 Drag a column name into the header row of the event list.

The newly added column now appears in the event list and the same is removedfrom the Events List Column Editor dialog box.

Related Topics


Deleting a column from an event list for an abnormality

All users can delete a single column from the event list for an abnormality byselecting the Event View on the All Abnormalities screen. This operation requires theevent list and the Quick Columns Selector dialog box to be open simultaneously.

To delete a column from an event list for an abnormality




2 From the event list, drag a column name from the header row of an event list anddrop it into the Event List Column Editor dialog box.

Tip To view the columns in the default template, in the Event List Column Editordialog box, click Intelligent Event Details.

The All Abnormalities => Grid View has different subtabs that display differentinformation about abnormalities. The Device View tab groups events by devicewith the option of expanding any device for information about its events, and theAll View tab lists all events regardless of their device association. Table 11 onpage 38 summarizes the columns of information available for events on the AllAbnormalities screen.

Note When you search for abnormality based on service name, it also displays directimpact abnormalities.

Table 21: Columns of alarm information on the All Abnormalities >Grid View screen

Column Description

Device View

Select Selection column for further information and analysis

Device Name of the deviceIn the case of an event on Aggregate Monitors (Resource Pool Monitorsand Abnormality Index Monitors), No associated device isdisplayed.

Num Events Total number of events opened for the device

Severity Indicates whether it is a Threshold problem or a Signature problemSignature problems are described as 'Abnormal'. Threshold issues areshown as 'Critical', 'Major', or 'Minor'.

Score Indicates how closely the alarm relates to the probable cause of the problem

All View or event under expanded device

Select Selection column for further information and analysis

Time Opened Date and time when the event took place

Monitor Monitor instance to which this event belongs

Severity Indicates whether it is a Threshold problem or a Signature problemSignature problems are described as 'Abnormal'. Threshold issues areshown as 'Critical', 'Major', or 'Minor'.



Column Description

Description Provides an indication of why the event went offOn Mouse over, the tool tip on the icon displays the abnormality details.The tabular data provides Baseline, Hourly, Daily, and Weekly values.For attributes of Poisson Type, the abnormality details show 10%,median, and 90% values. However, for attributes of Normal Type, theabnormality details show the Min (Minimum), Avg (Average), and Max(Maximum) values.

Analyze The Probable Cause Analysis icon launches the Probable Cause Analysisscreen.

Score Indicates how closely the event relates to the probable cause of the problemEach event listed in the table is given a score between zero and 100percent, indicating the possibility that this event is the cause of theproblem. The percentage is determined by applying a Smart FilterAlgorithm to the event and calculating the score value.

Tools Menu Additional tools for further information about the event and for settingthe event thresholds

Filtering event display for All Abnormalities

Note The BMC ProactiveNet Administrator can set up specific user-defined rules that canhelp you keep track of frequent alarms and their causes. For instance, if youcontinually receive an alarm and you realize that the alarm is triggered by arecognizable pattern, you can set up rules that replace BMC ProactiveNet probablecause description with specific information related to that alarm. In other words, youcan override BMC ProactiveNet’s generic probable cause information by attaching arule to a specific abnormality that adds known information and domain knowledgeinto the system.

You can filter events using the criteria listed in Table 22 on page 97 by selecting theGrid View instead of the default Event View on the All Abnormalities screen. Thesefilters correspond to probable cause analysis only.

Table 22: Filter options on All Abnormalities screen

Filter option Description

Status Choose the status of the events you want to see. The menu lets you to choose eitherall open, open, acknowledged, assigned, blackout, closed, or no filter.




Time Time boundary of the event or event selected for probable cause analysis. This linkdisplays all time-correlated events that occurred during the period.Input the following to specify the period:

■ Minus: Start time of the period; time of the event or event selected for theprobable cause analysis - time selected in minutes.

■ Plus: End time of the period; time of the event or event selected for the probablecause analysis + time selected in minutes.

All events that occurred during this time range are queried for probable cause basedon the Smart Filter check box selection. The Time Filter on probable cause Analysispage does not filter based on the selected time range (even though the filter resultsheading indicates the time range). This is 'as designed'. By default, if you are doingprobable cause analysis on a non-availability (up or down) problem, then events orevents that were opened up to 24 hours ago are included, as long as they are stillopen in the time window the user specified.This is configured in installDirectory /usr/pronto/conf/pinpoint.conffilterRules.TimeFrameForPastOpenEvents=86400.This design accommodates degradation issues resulting from something thathappened several hours earlier. For example, if a process starts using an abnormalamount of memory at 10:00 AM and memory usage continues to grow to the point,that at 4:30 PM, it affects some transactions to that device.

Device Name Specify the device name (already set up) to view corresponding records.

Group Select a group from the list to limit the displayed records to those that are associatedwith the group.

Monitor Category Select a monitor category by which to filter one of the following: user transactions,application, network, system, or database.

Score Indicates how closely the event relates to the probable cause of the problemEach event listed in the table is given a score between zero and 100 percent,indicating the possibility that this event is the cause of the problem. The percentageis determined by applying a Smart Filter Algorithm to the event and calculating thescore value.

Smart Filter Select this option to apply Smart Filters (built-in Probable Cause Analysis algorithmto find out the most probable cause). This filter limits events to a selected set basedon type and other attributes. If you clear the check box, BMC ProactiveNet displaysall events that occurred during the selected period. For details, see To set the filtercriteria on page 99.



Note BMC ProactiveNet supports the following relationships:

■ service to service

■ service to group

■ group to group

■ group to service

■ service to device

■ group to deviceThe service definition is always maintained as the source of the relationships. Forexample, when you search for an abnormality based on service name it alsodisplays direct impact abnormalities in the underlying relationships.

To set the filter criteria

1 Click Edit to set the filtering criteria.

2 Select one of the following options to apply filter criteria:

■ Show all events for each monitor instance

■ Show one event per attribute for each monitor instance

■ Show only top scored event for each monitor instance

3 Select the Save as default option if you want to set current setting as default filtercriteria.

4 Click Apply.

Viewing further information for an abnormality

You can view further information for an abnormality by selecting the Grid Viewinstead of the default Event View on the All Abnormalities screen, expanding the +icon in the Select column, and then clicking the wrench icon in the Tools Menu column.



Table 23: Further information options on the All Abnormalities screen

Option Details

View a statistics graph Choose Tools Menu => Show Graph.BMC ProactiveNet provides additional options to modify the graph.

View the parent group of asubgroup

Choose Tools Menu => Show Parent Groups.

View abnormality details Place your mouse over the i icon in the Description column

View Probable cause Analysis forthe abnormality

Click the Probable Cause Analysis icon in the Analyze column

View graphical representation ofan event record

Select the check box in the Select column and click Show Graph(s).The Graph Display screen provides additional functionality throughicons on the right side of the graph. Use these icons to zoom in ongraphs, add the graph to a view, and perform other functions.

Viewing events and abnormalities by serviceThe All Services => Grid View summarizes events and abnormalities of all servicegroups, and helps you visualize event and abnormality information for services.

To access All Services => Grid View, select the Events Console => All Servicessubtab, and click the Grid View icon.

You can filter the list of services using the fields described in Table 24 on page 100.

Table 24: All Services => Grid View filter fields

Field Description

Status Displays a list of status values such as:

■ Open

■ Acknowledged

■ Assigned

■ Closed

The default value is No Filter.

Viewing events and abnormalities by service


Field Description

Severity Displays a list of severity values such as:

■ Critical

■ Major

■ Minor

■ Warning

■ Information

The default value is No Filter.The severity values Predictive Critical, Predictive Major, and PredictiveMinor are available only if you select the Show Predictive Eventsoption under Options > Operations > Event Display Preferences. Formore information, see Customizing the display of events on page 86.

Absolute Time Range Enables you to restrict the list of services to a specified beginning andending time and date range. By default, this option is unchecked.

Relative Time Displays a list of date and time values that lets you restrict the list ofservices to a time range between the current time and the selected time.The values range from one hour to three months before the currentdate and time. The default value is No Filter.

Service Name Text string, full or partial, that retrieves matching service names. Thedefault value is blank.

After selecting your values, click Filter.

Table 25 on page 101 summarizes the columns of information available for events onthe All Services => Grid View screen.

Table 25: Columns of event information on the All Services > Grid View screen

Column Description

Service information

Name Displays the service nameClick the link to drill down to a list of subservices or a list of monitors anddevices. If an arrow is displayed before the service name it indicatesdependent service.Note: This column expands when there are too many IT groupdependencies.



Column Description

Status Displays the highest severity status of its monitors, devices, and sub-servicesTool tip displays the number of open, assigned, and acknowledged eventsof all severities.

Details Click the icon to view the service details.

IT Group Dependencies

Name Displays the name of the IT group of this service, sub-services, anddependency groupsNote: If there are too many IT group dependencies associated with aservice some part of the All Services > Grid View table goes out of view.You need to scroll horizontally to view the other columns.

Monitor Category

■ User Transactions

■ Application

■ Network

■ System

■ Database

■ Other

Displays the IT group name and event or abnormality status of the ITgroup categorized by monitor type

Tools Additional tools for further information about data collection, changelogs, adding change entry, and for setting event thresholds

Related Topics

Viewing further information for All ServicesGrid View on page 102

Viewing further information for All Services => Grid View

The following table summarizes the available options for further information about aspecific event on the All Services => Grid View screen.



Table 26: Further information options on the All Services => Grid View screen

Options Details

Event History Displays the name, monitor type, source agent, current status, eventcount, and event summary. Clicking an event or abnormality iconopens the event list screen. From the count of events you can drilldown to the event list. For information on tool tips, see Viewing furtherinformation for All GroupsGrid View on page 111.

Event Summary Graph Displays a graphic representation of the services from the last 24 hoursalong with service information

Service Information Displays the service name, service description, IT groups, andrelationships

Limitations

The All Services => Grid View does not support Group to Service and Group toDevice relationships.

The Service Details page does not include information about external events,abnormalities, and predictive events.

If a service has both a dependency and a container relationship with the samesubservice or device, then the container relationship takes precedence over thedependency relationship.

Viewing monitor and device information under the AllServices => Grid View

In the All Services => Grid View screen, you can click the service name to drilldown to a detailed view of the monitors and devices, both of which comprise theservice.

In the Monitors tab, you can view the following information described in Table 27 onpage 103:

Table 27: Monitor details: All Services

Column Description

Monitor Name String description of the monitor

Monitor Type Functional category of monitor

Source Agent Agent to which the monitor belongs

Open The highest severity event



Column Description

Closed Number of closed events

Collect Data Check box that indicates whether data collection for the monitor isturned on

Tools Options are:

■ Show Graph

■ FlashCheck

■ Manage Data Collection

■ Thresholds

■ Show Parent Groups

■ Add Change Entry

■ Reset Baseline

In the Devices tab, you can view the information described in Table 28 on page 104:

Table 28: Device details: All Services

Column Description

Device Name String description of the device

Agent Associated agent name

Type Functional category of device

User Transactions Events under the Web-URL monitor

Application Events under the rate monitor

Network Events under the Ping monitor

System Events under the Windows File System monitor

Database Events under a database monitor

Other Miscellaneous events, such as those from external sources



Column Description

Tools Options are

■ Device at a glance



■ Show Change Log


■ Close Events

■ Diagnostics

Some options are available only when certain events are selected.

Note When you drill-down a service, Monitors, Devices, and Services tabs are displayedonly if the relationships exist.

Viewing services in a hierarchical treeThe All Services => Tree View displays all service groups in a hyperbolic tree for auser-defined time duration, with the option of expanding the tree to display thecontents of the service groups and their infrastructure groups. The All Services => Tree View supports the following probable cause analysis relationships: Service toGroup; Group to Group; Group to Service; Group to Device; and Service to Device.

The following information is displayed in the All Services => Tree View:

■ Categorization of the aggregate event status for each service by category (usertransactions, application, database, network, system, or other)

■ The Predictive icon is displayed next to the category icon. The color of this icon isbased on the severity of the predictive event.

■ Intelligent events and external events that are associated with a device (device-associated events) that have the highest severity are displayed.

■ If there are any events related to a dependent group, a dashed line is shown withits severity color based on a direct impact check.

Viewing services in a hierarchical tree


■ Aggregate abnormality score for each service (as a purple thermometer bar)

■ Dependency events can be propagated by accessing Options > Administration >Advanced > Edit Relationships and selecting the Direct Impact check box.

■ Services containing metrics which belong to SLO (Service Level Objective) arehighlighted with an indication whether the SLO has open violations or no openviolations

Note If BMC_ProactiveNetServer is within the firewall and the Operations Consoleis outside the firewall, then the Group tree might not be displayed properly inFirefox 2.0. This is due to known issues with the browser. To ensure the properdisplay of the Group tree correctly on Firefox 1.5, perform the following onWindows 2000 or XP:

1 In the Windows Control Panel, double-click the Java icon.

2 In the Java Control Panel, click Network Settings, and then change thedefault Use browser settings option to Direct connection.

Related Topics

Controlling the display in the All Services Tree View on page 106

Controlling the display in the All Services => Tree View

This topic summarizes the various actions that you can perform to control thedisplay of information on the All Services => Tree View.

Table 29: Controlling the display in the All Services => Tree View

Objective Instructions

Change the focus point onthe tree

Drag any point on the Tree.Indicators are aggregated at each level and propagated upwards.

Change the data refreshinterval

Data refresh interval (in seconds) for the Group Tree can be specified using theproperty 'pronet.applet.grouptree.refreshRate' in installDirectory/ pw/custom/conf/pronet.conf.

Display or hide the legend Various icons indicate the severity of system objects (application, transactions,database, network, system, and other), the impact on SLOs, the impact onservices, and the abnormality score (it indicates how close the eventabnormality is to failure)For a full list of icons, you can display a legend by clicking Show Legend.

Viewing services in a hierarchical tree



Change the time list The default time is None. Click the list to choose an appropriate time by whichto filter the display.

Filter the displayed services■ All Events


■ Manage data Collection

■ Add Configuration Change

■ Show Configuration Changes

■ Service Details

■ Set As Root

Services are displayed based on the access level and event display preferencesof the user. For example, a user might be restricted to view only a subset ofservices that exist in the system.

Propagate dependencyevents

By default, dependency events are not propagated in the service tree. Toenable dependency event propagation, change the value of thepronet.applet.tree.propagateDependencyEventsBasedOnDirectImpactproperty in the pronet.conf from false to true:pronet.applet.tree.propagateDependencyEventsBasedOnDirectImpact=true

Limitation

If cyclic service-to-service relationships are created, then tree does not behave asexpected. For example, if a relationship is created for Service A to Service B andagain Service B to Service A, then the tree does not behave as expected.

The service tree does not display duplicate services at the same level. Instead, itdisplays the first service that is encounters and ignores the other service with thesame name.

Viewing events by groupOn the All Groups => Grid View screen you can re-calibrate events in the EventStatus chart and display results based on groups set up by the BMC ProactiveNetadministrator. Groups contain selected set of devices or applications, determined byyour operating needs. For example, special monitoring of devices and applications

Viewing events by group


might be setup by building, department, or individual. BMC ProactiveNetadministrator selects the groups available to a user in the corresponding User Profile.

The All Groups table displays only top level groups that is, list of groups which arenot part of any other group. The counts displayed in the Grid View includeintelligent events and external events that are associated with a device (device-associated events). Hierarchical view is the default view only if there are groups inthe system that can be displayed in hierarchy. The number of records for a particularpage displayed at the bottom right corner in this view considers only the parentgroups and will not consider the child groups under it. You can switch betweenhierarchical/flat view. If no virtual solution is configured then flat view is thedefault view

The display on this screen differs, depending on the configuration of display—whether with counts or with severity icons (see Customizing the display of the eventlist on page 34). Table 42 on page 154 summarizes the columns of informationavailable for events on the All Groups => Grid View screen.

Related Topics

Default groups on page 110

Filtering event display for All Groups on page 110

Viewing further information for All GroupsGrid View on page 111

Table 30: Columns of event information on the All Groups >Grid View screen

Column Description

Group Name Information about the associated deviceWhen you bring the mouse over the group name the following details aredisplayed as tool tip:

■ Group Path

■ Group Name

■ Group Description

■ Source is displayed only if it is CMDB auto sync



Column Description

Numbers of events by severity a

■ Critical

■ Major

■ Minor

■ Predictive

■ Warning

■ Information

■ Closed

The severities are displayed asan icon.

The number of events for each severityThe color indicates severity of the events.

Events by type Step 1 on page119


■ Application

■ Network

■ System

■ Database

■ Other

Events of each type.Both the icon and the color represent event severity. When you place yourmouse over this column, the numbers of events of each severity is displayed.

Devices Devices contain monitors that are under a group. These devices aredisplayed.

Tools Additional tools for further information about the event, includingoptions to view graphs, set thresholds, and view diagnostics underDevice at a Glance.

a Events are displayed with either number of events or severity icons, depending on user configuration(see “Viewing all abnormalities” on page 85).



Default groups

The following groups are available in BMC ProactiveNet, by default. The defaultevent rule, DefaultRule-BMC_ProactiveNet, is created for this default group, and theaction type is email notification.

Table 31: Default groups available in BMC ProactiveNet

Group name Description

BMC_ProactiveNet BMC_ProactiveNet is a parent group. This contains two child groupsnamely BMC_ProactiveNetServer and BMC_ProactiveNetAgent.

BMC_ProactiveNetServer System-related default monitors like System, File System and Processmonitors are grouped under BMC_ProactiveNetServer.

BMC_ProactiveNetAgent Default Agent status monitor is grouped underBMC_ProactiveNetAgent.

Filtering event display for All Groups

All Groups => Grid View offers filters to query and view specific records.

Table 32 on page 110 describes the available filter options.

Table 32: Filter options for All Groups => Grid View


Status Choose the status of the events you want to see. The menu lets you to chooseeither open, acknowledged, assigned, closed, or no filter.

Severity Choose the severity level of the events you want to see. The menu lets you tochoose critical, major, minor, warning, information, major and above, predictivecritical, predictive major, predictive minor, i do not see severities marked in red?or no filter

Absolute Time Range Choose the events in the specified time. Time Range option allows the Start andEnd Time selections to reflect either a particular day and hour or a particularduration of time, such as the last four hours. You can change the time and datewhen you want to view resource data for the previous day, week, or hour tocompare measurements.

Relative Time Use this option to show the events in the specified time range. The menu letsyou choose from 1 hour up to 3 months.

Group Name Specify the group name to which the events that you want to view are associated



Viewing further information for All Groups => Grid View

The following table summarizes the available options for further information about aspecific event on the All Groups => Grid View screen.

Table 33: Further information options on the All Groups => Grid View screen

Option Details

Drilling down to monitorsassociated with a group

Click the Group Name link to navigate to the selectedGroupName screen.This screen gives the monitor details for the group. Use the Tools list toget additional information. For information on tool tips, see .

Drilling down to subgroups The All Groups => Grid View table might contain subgroupinformation. Click Sub Groups to view subgroup information.If you select a group, which is made of other groups (subgroup-based),the navigation displays all subgroups under the main group (even ifyou have not selected the individual subgroups).

View devices associated with agroup

Click Devices to view all devices associated with the group.Further drill-down to individual monitors is available from the ShowDevice screen. The Show Device screen is similar to All Devices.However, it only lists devices belonging to the selected group.In case of groups made up of subgroups, the Device drill-downdisplays all devices belonging to the subgroups. However, devices thatare part of more than one subgroup are listed only once.Click Edit Thresholds. For more information, see Setting eventthresholds on page 184.

View group details Choose Tools => Group Details to display a graphic representation ofevents issued for the group over the past 24 hours along with groupinformation and a history of all events from the past 24 hours.Note: The Group Details page does not display external events,abnormalities, or predictive events.Links are available to a drill-down Event List.

Limitation

The Group Details page does not include information about info, warning,abnormality, and predictive events.



Note Tool Tip description for various adapters at instance hierarchy level. The instancehierarchy level is displayed only if there is hierarchy.

■ Tool Tip - Portal: Do a mouse-over at the instance hierarchy level on monitorname the tool tip displays absolute path and hierarchy of the instance.

■ Tool Tip - Native Adapters: Do a mouse-over at the instance hierarchy level onmonitor name the tool tip displays device name, instance name, and host server.

■ Tool Tip - TMART Adapters: Do a mouse-over at the instance hierarchy level onmonitor name the tool tip displays device name, project, location, and monitorname.

■ Tool Tip - VMware Adapters: Do a mouse-over at the instance hierarchy level onmonitor name the tool tip displays the device, and host name.

Viewing monitor and device information under the AllGroups => Grid View

In the All Groups => Grid View screen, you can click the group name to drill downto a detailed view of the monitors and devices, both of which comprise the group.

In the Monitors tab, you can view the following information described in Table 34 onpage 112:

Table 34: Monitor details: All Groups

Column Description

Monitor Name String description of the monitor

Monitor Type Functional category of monitor

Source Agent Agent to which the monitor belongs

Open Displays the highest severity icon and the tool tip displays the severityand status counts separately.

Closed Number of closed events

Collect Data Check box that indicates whether data collection for the monitor isturned on



Column Description

Tools Options are

■ Show Graph

■ FlashCheck


■ Thresholds



■ Reset Baseline

■ View Service Impact Graph

In the Devices tab, you can view the information described in Table 28 on page 104:

Table 35: Device details: All Groups

Column Description

Device Name String description of the device

Agent Associated agent name

Type Functional category of device

UserTransactionsApplicationNetworkSystemDatabaseOther

Events under these categories

Tools Options are

■ Device at a Glance



■ Show Change Log





The functionality is similar to that described for the All Services => Grid Viewscreen under Viewing monitor and device information under the All ServicesGridView on page 103.

Viewing events for groups in a hierarchical treeThe Group Tree provides a real-time, interactive visualization of the event status fora user-defined time duration. The entire group hierarchy and devices are all visibleon a hyperbolic pane mapped to a circular display region.

Information is displayed for Monitors that are not part of the explicitly mentionedmonitor types which are listed under the 'Other' category.

■ Categorization of the aggregate event status for each service by category (usertransactions, application, database, network, system, or other)

■ The Predictive icon is displayed next to the category icon. The color of this icon isbased on the severity of the predictive event.

■ Intelligent events and external events that are associated with a device (device-associated events) that have the highest severity are displayed.

■ Aggregate abnormality score for each service (as a purple thermometer bar)

Note If BMC_ProactiveNetServer is within the firewall and the Operations Consoleis outside the firewall, then the Group tree might not be displayed properly inFirefox 1.5. This is due to known issues with the browser. To ensure the properdisplay of the Group tree correctly on Firefox 1.5, perform the following onWindows 2000 or XP:

1 In the Windows Control Panel, double-click the Java icon.

2 In the Java Control Panel, click Network Settings, and then change thedefault Use browser settings option to Direct connection.

Related Topics

Controlling the display in the Tree View on page 115

Viewing events for groups in a hierarchical tree


Note Group to group dependent relationships are not represented in hierarchical fashion.Container relationships between groups are supported and depicted by connectingbold lines. Dependent relationships are indicated by dotted lines. Only IT dependentrelationships are permitted between services and groups.

Controlling the display in the Tree View

This topic summarizes the various actions that you can perform to control thedisplay of information in the Tree View.

Table 36: Controlling the display on the Tree View


Change the focus point on the tree Drag any point on the treeIndicators are aggregated at each level and propagated upwards.

Change the data refresh interval Data refresh interval (in seconds) for the Tree View can be specifiedusing the property 'pronet.applet.grouptree.refreshRate' ininstallDirectory/ pw/custom/conf/pronet.conf

Display or hide the legend Various icons indicate the severity of system objects (application,transactions, database, network, system, and other), the impact onSLOs, the impact on services, and the abnormality score (indicates howclose the event is to failure)For a full list of icons, you can display a legend by clicking Show Legend.

Filter the displayed groups■ All Events




■ Show Change Log

■ Group Details

■ Set As Root


Groups are displayed based on the access level and event displaypreferences of the user. For example, a user may be restricted to viewonly a subset of groups that exist in the system.

Viewing events for groups in a hierarchical tree



Filter the displayed devices■ All Events


■ Device at a Glance



■ Show Change Log


■ Diagnostics

Filter the displayed monitors■ All Events


■ Show Graph

■ Flash Check


■ Thresholds



■ Reset Baseline

■ Diagnostics

Viewing events by deviceWhen BMC ProactiveNet discovers a problem with a device, the monitor setup forthat device activates an event triggered by the specific conditions set up for thatdevice (sometimes also called the Monitored Resource). A monitored resource doesnot generate an event unless the event conditions are specified in the Event Profile.

Viewing events by device


The Event Profile consists of Event Thresholds (to generate an event) and EventRules (to send event notifications). The BMC ProactiveNet administrator sets eventprofiles. Default settings are also available in BMC ProactiveNet for automaticconfiguration. For more information on event profiles, see, the BMC ProactiveNetAdministrator Guide.

The All Devices screen, the out-of-box default screen displayed on the EventsConsole tab, displays information about the events that were issued for all devicesthat BMC ProactiveNet is monitoring, providing a quick view of the overall health ofthe system. The display on this screen differs, depending on the configuration ofdisplay—whether with counts or with severity icons (see Customizing the display ofthe event list on page 34). Table 37 on page 117 summarizes the available options onthe All Devices screen.

The counts displayed in the Grid View include intelligent events and external eventsthat are associated with a device (device-associated events).

All Devices screen under the Events Console tab, you can view the device hierarchyon clicking Show Hierarchy. You can expand the physical host node to see thevirtual computers running in the system.

Hierarchical view is the default view only if there are devices in the system that canbe displayed in hierarchy. The number of records for a particular page displayed atthe bottom right corner in this view considers only the parent devices and will notconsider the child devices under it. You can switch between hierarchical or flat view.If no virtual solution is configured then flat view is the default view.

Table 37: Columns of event information on the All Devices screen

Column Description

Device Name Information about the associated device.When you bring the mouse over the device name the following details aredisplayed as tool tip:

■ Device Name

■ IP address

■ Device Description or OS Name.

■ Device is marked for deletion (displayed for devices that are marked fordeletion). The icon displays a cross mark next to the Device Name.

■ Multiple IP address (displayed only for CMDB devices that have multipleIP addresses)



Column Description

Agent Displays the status of the agent attached to the device, either connected ordisconnected. A green Plugged icon indicates that the agent is connected, anda red Unplugged icon indicates the agent is disconnected.When you bring the mouse over the agent icon the following details aredisplayed as tool tip:

■ Status

■ OS Name

Type Displays the type of device (for example, server or web server).

Numbers of events by severitya

■ Critical

■ Major

■ Minor

■ Predictive

■ Warning

■ Information

■ Abnormal

■ Closed

The severities are displayedas an icon.

The number of events for each severityThe color indicates the severity of the events.

Events by type Step 1 onpage 119


■ Application

■ Network

■ System

■ Database

■ Other

Events of each type. Both icon and color represent event severity. When youplace your mouse over this column, the numbers of events of each severity isdisplayed.



Column Description

Tools Additional tools for further information about the event, including options toview graphs, set thresholds, and view diagnostics under Device at a Glance.

a Events are displayed with either number of events or severity icons, depending on user configuration(see “Viewing all abnormalities” on page 85).

Filtering event display for All Devices

You can filter the listed events using the criteria listed in the following table.

Table 38: Filter options for All Devices


Status Choose the status of the events you want to see. The menu lets you to chooseeither open, acknowledged, assigned, closed or no filter.

Severity Choose the severity level of the events you want to see. The menu lets you tochoose critical, major and above, major, minor, warning, information,predictive critical, predictive major, predictive minor, or no filter.

Absolute Time Range Choose the events in the specified time. Time Range option allows the Startand End Time selections to reflect either a particular day and hour or aparticular duration of time, such as the last four hours. You can change thetime and date when you want to view resource data for the previous day,week, or hour to compare measurements.

Relative Time Use this option to show the events in the specified time range. The menu letsyou choose from 1 hour up to 3 months.

Group/Services You can include or exclude the groups to view the events that are associated toit. Select No Filter option to consider all the events of the available groups.

Device Name Specify the name of a device to limit the display to events associated with aspecific device. Parent and child devices are displayed to make the hierarchycomplete.If the filter criteria is not matching then the parent is displayed in italics.

To include or exclude a group

1 Click the link corresponding to group to open the Group Filter window.

Available groups are displayed either as Hierarchy or as Flat. Use hierarchy on oroff to switch over to the corresponding view type.

2 Expand or collapse the groups. Select the groups. Use the arrows to move theselected groups.



3 Select No Filter, Include Selected Groups, or Exclude Selected Groups.

■ No Filter: To consider all the groups.

■ Include Selected Groups: To include the selected groups.

■ Exclude Selected Groups: To exclude the selected groups.Selected groups will be displayed in the All Events screen. Included groupswill be displayed with (+) sign and excluded groups will be displayed with (-)sign.

4 Click Apply.

Viewing further information for All Devices

The following table summarizes the available options for further information about aspecific event on the All Devices screen.

Table 39: Further information options on the All Devices screen

Option Details

Drilling down to monitorsassociated with a device

Click the Device Name link to navigate to Show Monitors: All Eventsscreen. Show Monitors screen gives the monitor details for the device.Use the Tools list to get additional information.For details, see the BMC ProactiveNet User Guide.

Drilling down to an event list for adevice

The middle columns indicate triggered events (if any) on the Device.Click the Severity icon (or the Count) link to view open events.From the Event List screen, you can click Status, Analyze, and Toolslinks to get additional information.If Status selected is Closed, then Closed Time will be displayed for allclosed events.If Status selected is No Filter, all closed events will have Open Timeand Closed Time and open events will have only Open Time.No time value is displayed in the Closed Time Column if the event is inopen condition.

View event history and graphs fora device

This opens the Event History screen and Graph Display, which you canmodify as required.

Analyze probable cause The probable cause link on the Event List opens the Probable causeAnalysis screen for selected events and indicates the open eventsassociated with the event. From this screen, you can show graphs andcreate rules.



Option Details

Device at a Glance Device at a Glance allows easy navigation from the graph to otherrelated attributes graphed below without having to re-implementgraph selections. When generated, the Device At a Glance page showsa stacked line graph for all monitors on the device. Choose Tools => Device at a Glance.This option can also be accessed from the Graph Display page.


Choose Tools => Show Parent Groups.

Viewing devices that areassociated to a CI

Choose Tools => View Service Impact Graph.

Viewing events for monitored servicesAll Monitors displays information about services monitored by BMC ProactiveNet,the open event status, and number of closed events for each service. When youaccess All Monitors, BMC ProactiveNet filters and re-calibrates the displayed eventsbased on the monitored services.

Table 40 on page 121 summarizes the columns of information available for events onthe All Monitors screen.

Table 40: Columns of event information on the All Monitors screen

Column Description

Monitor Category Application, network, system, database, user transactions, other

Current Status Displays the severity of the open events. The severity icon can be critical,major or minor. Open events with highest severity are displayed. Clickthe severity icon to drill-down to Event List screen. If there are no openevents green icon is displayed.

Numbers of events by severity

■ Critical

■ Major

■ Minor

■ Predictive

■ Closed

The severities are displayed asan icon.

The number of events for each severityThe color indicates the severity of the events.

Viewing events for monitored services


Column Description

Monitor Types Click the link to view all monitors in that category. From here, click theMonitors link to view the list of monitors by type. Monitor names aredisplayed hierarchically based on the relationship between the parent andchild monitor instances for the selected monitor type. This column iscollapsed by default. You can choose to either expand or collapse all themonitor names. You cannot drill-down from the instances that do nothave stats attributes. Instances that satisfy the filter criteria are shownnormally and those that do not satisfy the filter criteria are also displayedin italics to complete the hierarchy.

Viewing further information for All Monitors

The following table summarizes the available options for further information about aspecific event on the All Monitors screen.

Table 41: Further information options on the All Monitors screen

Option Details

Drilling down to view Monitortypes

Click the link to view Monitor Types under the particular service. Forinformation on tool tips, see Viewing further information for AllGroupsGrid View on page 111.

To view monitors in a specificcategory

Click the link to view all monitors in that category. From here, click theMonitors link to view the list of monitors by type.An ellipsis (three-dot) icon displayed along with the monitor nameindicates that the monitor is an Aggregate Monitor.

View a statistics graph Choose Tools => Show Graph(s)BMC ProactiveNet provides additional options to modify the graph.


Choose Tools => Show Parent Groups.

Viewing monitors that areassociated to a CI

Choose Tools => View Service Impact Graph. This options isavailable only if the monitor has a valid CI.

Acknowledging eventsBMC ProactiveNet provides the option of acknowledging events and add messagesto those events. This feature is helpful when you want to know who has addressedthe event or who is responsible for the event.

Acknowledging an event triggers the associated event rules. If acknowledging iscleared, the associated event rules are not triggered.

Acknowledging events


To limit the display of events to events that have not yet been acknowledged, see Viewing all abnormalities on page 93.

Related Topics

To acknowledge a specific event on page 123

To set the acknowledgement message on page 123

To view operations history on page 124

To acknowledge a specific event

Note

To acknowledge events, you must be assigned “Allow Acknowledge Event”privileges by the BMC ProactiveNet administrator.

1 From the All Events tab go to Tools Menu => Operations => AcknowledgeEvent.

2 In the Acknowledge Event Confirmation box, add a note and click Yes if you aresure you want to acknowledge the event.

BMC ProactiveNet updates the event status screen advising others on the eventacknowledgment. Summary views set to show counts do not displayAcknowledged events. Acknowledged events are available only to the personacknowledging the event.

Acknowledgment is applied only to event instances of the same severity (minor,major, or critical) as at the time of acknowledgement, and is not valid when theseverity status of the event changes.

To set the acknowledgement message

1 On the All Events tab, choose Tools => Intelligent Event History .

2 On the Intelligent Event Details page, select Tools => Acknowledge Event.

3 If you want to assign the event to yourself, select the Acknowledge check box.

4 Enter the acknowledgement message text (up to 128 characters) in the Message box.

5 Click Submit.

Your message is displayed together with the event on the Intelligent EventHistory screen.

Acknowledging events


To view operations history

1 On the All Events tab, choose Tools => Intelligent Event History .

2 On the Intelligent Event Details page, select Tools => Operation History.

The Operation History for selected Event window contains all operations ormessages associated with an event, along with timestamp details.

Closing eventsThe Close Event feature allows you to close events manually. This feature is useful ifthe Auto Close option for automatically closing events (set through the EventThresholds Setting screen) was not selected or could not be selected for lack ofappropriate authorizations. When you close an event it can be viewed in the systemfor a week, but after a week it is removed from the system.

Related Topics

To close an event or a group of object events on page 124

To close multiple events on page 125

To close an event or a group of object events

1 From the appropriate display of events, choose Tools => Close Event on the rowof the relevant object:

■ Service on the All Services => Grid View tab. When closing events from theservice object, the system considers only container events. Dependency eventsare not closed.

■ All Devices => Grid View: do a mouse over on Tools and select Close Event(s) from the tool tip

■ All Groups => Grid View: do a mouse over on Tools and select Close Event(s) from the tool tip

■ Specific event on the All Events tab, the Event Details screen, or the Probablecause analysis screen

2 Click OK on the confirmation message.

Closing events


To close multiple events

1 On the All Events tab, select the relevant events through the appropriate checkbox in the Select column.

2 Click Close Event above the list of events.

3 Click OK on the confirmation message.

Managing configuration changesAdd Configuration Change screen stores and tracks configuration data, andprovides information on the possible impact to your Web environment. This optionis available on all event screens.

Note Add Configuration Change can also be accessed through Options => Administration tab.

Related Topics

To add a configuration change entry on page 125

To view and manage all configuration changes that have been submitted on page126

To add a configuration change entry

1 From the appropriate display of events, choose Tools => Add ConfigurationChange on the row of the relevant object:

■ Event on the All Events tab

■ Abnormality on the All Abnormalities tab (All View)

■ Service on the All Services => Graph View tab

■ Group on the All Groups => Grid View tab

■ Device on the All Devices => Grid Viewtab

■ Monitor on the Show Monitors screen accessed from the All Monitors tab

■ CI on the All Services => Tile View or All Services => Graph View.

Managing configuration changes


2 Enter the specifications of the configuration change event: user, date and time,name of contact person, summary, and long description.

3 Click Apply.

To view and manage all configuration changes that have been submitted

From the appropriate display of events, choose Tools => Show Change Log on therow of the relevant object:

1 device on the All Devices => Grid View

2 group on the All Groups => Grid View

3 service on the All Services => Tile View or All Services => Graph View.

On the Configuration Change screen, you can filter the change entries by date andtime, device, and group or service.

To view the configuration change event, select Show External Events option fromthe Custom Graphs while generating the graph. In the graph, when you place thecursor on the Configuration Change Event icon the tooltip displays the following:

■ Configuration Change Event

■ The date when the event was generated.

■ The time when the event was generated.

■ The description given while generating the event.

Note Change entry events (Configuration Change Events) which were generated duringthe previous releases does not get migrated to the current version.

Managing data collectionThe Manage Data Collection function gives you the flexibility to pause and resumedata collection by a device, group, monitor, or service. This feature enables you tostop data collection by entities immediately during unforeseen situations, such as anurgent server maintenance task that must be carried out.

Users with Allow Collect Data Management privileges can use the Manage DataCollection feature to start or stop data collection for a monitor, device, or groups ofmonitors.

Managing data collection


Note

■ Schedules set using the Schedule Device Downtime feature of the AdministrationConsole cannot be modified using the Operations Console.

■ The following configurable properties that control the Manage Data Collectionfunction are listed in the pronet.conf file (located in installDirectory/ pw/pronto/conf):

■ pronet.server.pausepollperiod denotes the time interval that the schedulerlooks for pause or resume requests. The minimum and default value is 60seconds.

■ pronet.pause.minutes.defaultVal indicates the default pause duration thatwill be displayed in the Operations Console.

Distinction between new and upgrade users

Just as in the Scheduled Down Time feature, new and upgrade users have differentoptions available to them.

New users can pause or resume Data Collection only from the Manage DataCollection dialog.

In the Manage Data Collection dialog box, upgrade users have the ability to pause orresume the following options:

■ Event Generation

■ EventRule Action or Notification

■ Calculate Baseline

■ Data Collection

Pausing data collection

The Pause feature allows you to specify a time range during which a selected device,monitor, or group of monitors will be temporarily inactive. You can choose to stopevent generation, event notification, or data collection by the entity during this latentphase. The Pause period that you define and assign is a one-time setting and notrecurring. The current time is the start time of the Pause period.



The Pause feature can be configured with restrictions when maximum values aredefined in the pronet.conf file. If configured without restrictions, you can pause anentity for any duration without any predefined values, except for other runtimeparameters such as polling interval of the scheduler thread and any upcomingdowntime schedules defined using the Schedule Device Downtime function(Administration Console). A pause period that you define from the OperationsConsole cannot overlap an upcoming downtime schedule set from theAdministration Console.

BMC ProactiveNet scheduler processes pause schedules prior to schedules definedfrom the Administration Console.

To pause data collection

1 From the appropriate display of events, choose Tools => Manage DataCollection on the row of the relevant object:

■ device on the All Devices => Grid View tab

■ group on the All Groups => Grid View tab

■ service on the All Services => Grid View tab

■ abnormality on the All Abnormalities tab (All View)

■ event on the All Events tab

■ monitor on the Show Monitors screen accessed from the All Monitors tab

2 On the Manage Data Collection screen, specify the duration for which the objectmust be paused, and choose when to start pausing (either immediately or after adelay that you specify).

3 If you want to pause data collection, choose Data Collection. (This is the onlyselection available to new users.)

Note For upgrade users. Event or Event Generation, Event Rule Action or Notification,and Calculate BaseLine are available for selection (that is, for setting to On or Off)only if you select to keep data collection on.

4 If you want to stop only certain instances of the Device or Group or Service, clickthe displayed link to see the status of the individual instances and manage theactivity of specific instances.

■ If you want to stop only certain instances of the object, click the displayed linkto see the status of the instances and manage the activity of specific instances.



5 Click Apply.

Resuming data collection

The Resume feature enables you to activate an entity currently in the Pause state,without having to wait for the Pause period to complete. You can only resumeentities that are currently paused. You cannot resume a device or group whosedowntime schedule has been defined from the Administration Console.

To resume data collection

1 From the appropriate display of events, choose Tools => Manage DataCollection on the row of the relevant object:

■ device on the All Devices => Grid View tab

■ group on the All Groups => Grid View tab

■ service on the All Services => Grid View tab

■ abnormality on the All Abnormalities tab (All View)

■ event on the All Events tab

■ monitor on the Show Monitors screen accessed from the All Monitors tab

2 On the Manage Data Collection screen, select the schedules to be resumed.

3 Click Resume.

Diagnostics

BMC ProactiveNet offers both pre-configured and user-defined diagnostic tools tohelp monitor your system.

See Diagnostics Wizard section of the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Guide fordetailed instructions on using these commands.

All event-related data is archived at the end of seven days. The Diagnostics option isnot available on the Event Details page for any event that is open for more thanseven days.

The Get URL option is available for Web or Web Transaction monitors. This optionperforms a full download of the Web page (for Web monitors) or Web pages (for



Web Transaction monitors), and shows the breakdown of all objects in those pagesand their download times. Selecting this option displays results in a separatebrowser window. Get URL is also an integral part of Diagnostics tool.

Examining current data (FlashCheck)

With FlashCheck, you can quickly examine current data values from a selectedmonitor. FlashCheck triggers an instant poll from the agent running on the selectedmonitor, and displays the results in a separate browser window. You typically useFlashCheck to determine whether a previously detected condition still exists.

By triggering a poll, you can also use FlashCheck to close resolved issues for anevent before the next scheduled poll, and to update data for newly added or editedmonitors.

To examine the current data values of a monitor

1 In the Operations Console, select an event in the Event View or Grid View.

2 Run FlashCheck according to the current view:

■ (Event View) Choose Tools => Diagnostics => FlashCheck.

■ (Grid View) Choose Tools => FlashCheck.

A separate browser window opens with the current parameter values for theselected monitor.

During FlashCheck, monitors do not retry polling.

Note FlashCheck for the BMC TM ART adapter monitors has the following differencesfrom other BMC ProactiveNet monitors:

■ FlashCheck can only be run for active synthetic transactions.

■ FlashCheck triggers the Run Now feature in BMC TM ART Central, whichexecutes the monitor immediately. Results might take several minutes toappear in the FlashCheck window. If FlashCheck exceeds the timeout periodbefore data is displayed, wait a few moments and run FlashCheck again.FlashCheck does not influence the statistics collected in BMC TM ART Central.

■ FlashCheck does not update BMC TM ART data in BMC ProactiveNet. Data isupdated with the next scheduled poll.



About the Canvas view

The Canvas view in the Operations Console lets you create a graphicalrepresentation of the components that are being monitored in your environment.The components are represented by objects that can be placed on a backgroundimage. The objects can be graphics, such as images or connectors, or metricsinformation, represented in a tile.

You can create and display a Canvas view for any event collector, group, device, orservice that you select in the navigation tree by clicking the Canvas View button in the toolbar in the right pane view of the Operations Console.

Canvas view modes

The Canvas view has the following modes:

■ View mode: Use this mode to monitor the objects that you select to display in theCanvas view.

■ Edit mode: Use this mode to create the view by selecting a background, addingobjects, and selecting the display options for those objects.

Canvas view details

You can view event details for the objects in the Canvas view in the Details notebookpane that is displayed at the bottom of the Canvas view window. The Details panedisplays the following cards:

■ Latest 10 Events: displays the event list for the first 10 events that you select in theCanvas view

■ Summary: displays a summary of the object attributes

■ KPIs: displays violations of parameters set for Key Performance Indicatorsassociated with the Group or Device that you select in the Canvas view

■ Prediction: displays a prediction graph that shows the future status trends for theobject that you select in the Canvas view

If the object displayed in the tile is a CI, the following additional cards are displayedin the Details notebook and the KPIs and Prediction cards are not displayed:

About the Canvas view


■ Status: Displays the applicable status levels of the selected object

■ Priority and Cost: Displays the schedule status, impact priority, and impact costfor the selected object

■ Related CIs: Displays information on status causes, possible problems, providers,and consumers of the selected object

■ Schedule: displays the times when the selected component is in service

■ Advanced: displays information on identification, creation and modification time,and read/write permissions for groups for the selected object

■ SLM: if BMC Service Level Management is installed, shows information about theservice level agreement associated with the component

To expand a card to view more information, click the More Info button .

Related topics:

Setting up and using the Canvas view on page 132

Viewing the Tile, Canvas, or Graph view Details notebook on page 154

Setting up and using the Canvas viewUse the Canvas view to create a graphical representation of objects that you aremonitoring in your environment. You can create a Canvas view for event collectors,groups, devices, and services. You can create a Canvas view for static and eventfolders but not dynamic folders.

When you access the Canvas view initially, the page is in View mode and no objectsare displayed. To create objects in the Canvas view, you must first change to Editmode, set up the objects that you want displayed in the view, and then after youhave set up the objects, return to View mode to monitor the object status.

To switch to Edit mode

1 Click the Preferences button in the toolbar.

The view is changed to Edit mode, and the Canvas View Preferences dialog box isdisplayed in the Canvas view pane.

Setting up and using the Canvas view


Where to go from here

To return to View mode, close the Canvas View Preferences dialog box.

For more information about setting up the Canvas view, see “Using Edit mode to setup the Canvas view” on page 133 .

For more information about using the Canvas view to monitor objects, see “UsingView mode to monitor objects in the Canvas view” on page 138

Using Edit mode to set up the Canvas view

When the Canvas view is in Edit mode, you use the options in the Canvas ViewPreferences dialog box to determine how you want the Canvas view to look, and tochoose which objects that you want to display and how you want to display them.

Before you begin

In the navigation tree, select the object for which you want to create a canvas viewand then click the Canvas View button in the Events Console toolbar.

To create the Canvas View background

1 Click the Preferences button to change the Canvas view to Edit mode.

2 In the Background pane in the Canvas View Preferences dialog box, perform oneor both of the following actions:

■ Select the Color option and then use the palette to select the color that you wantto display.

■ Select the Image option and then use the list to select the background imagethat you want to display.

To add objects to the Canvas view

1 In the Canvas View Preferences dialog box, click Monitored Objects.

2 Drag and drop an object from the list to where you want that object displayed onthe background image.

To sort objects in the Monitored Objects pane, click Name in the title bar. Theobjects are sorted in alphabetical order. To reverse the sort order, click thenumber 1 that appears in the title bar after the objects are sorted the first time.



After you drag and drop the object onto the Canvas view background, a tile iscreated for that object.

To change object attributes in the Canvas view

1 Select an object in the Canvas view.

2 In the Canvas View Preferences dialog box, click Properties of Selected Object.

3 Select one of the following object types.

■ Editing options are displayed, depending on the object type that you select.

—Connector: shows a relationship between two objects in the Canvas view.The color of the connector shows the current status of that object, forexample, if the object is in OK status, then the color of the connector is green.Continue with List item. on page 134.

—Canvas: displays a tile view of the object that is being monitored. You canresize the tile and change the attributes in the tile display. Continue with Listitem. on page 134.

—Icon with severity background: displays an image of the object type on acolored background that represents the object’s current severity. Continuewith List item. on page 135.

4 If you selected Connector as the object type, select the connector order and styleas follows:

■ Bring the image to the front of the view or send it to the back of the view.

■ Select the number of arrowheads:

—None for no arrows

—One for one arrow that by default points to the right

—Two for an arrow on each end of the connector

■ To change the size of the connector, click the lower right corner of theboundary box and drag it until the connector is the size that you want.To rotate the connector, click the circle to the right of the boundary box andmove it until the connector is pointing in the direction that you want.Continue with List item. on page 136.

5 If you selected Canvas as the object type, edit the tile attributes as follows:



■ Tile order: Use the Bring to Front and Send to Back buttons to layer the orderof tiles in the Canvas view. For example, selecting a tile and clicking Bring toFront displays the selected tile in the front of the other tiles in the Canvas view.

■ Resize Tile: use the slider bar to make the tile smaller so that you can fit moretiles onto the view. At the smallest size, the tile is shown as an icon of theobject’s current status. To see the tile details, place the mouse pointer over thetile.

■ Object Type Icon: select to include an icon of the object type in the title bar ofthe tile. For example, if the object that you are monitoring is a server, a servericon is displayed before the object name.

■ Not Being Worked on: indicates that an event has not been assigned and iscurrently not being addressed.

Continue with List item. on page 135.

6 Select the attributes that you want to display on the tile by clicking the attributeand dragging and dropping it onto the tile area.

The attributes that you can select to display depend on the object type that isdisplayed in the tile. For example, devices have a broader list of attributes toselect than services.

If you select a KPI attribute, the Attribute Selection for Information Capsuledialog box is displayed. Perform the following additional steps:

a Click the item at the end of the row until a list of attributes is displayed.

b Select the attribute that you want to display in the tile, and click ApplySelection.


7 If you selected Icon with severity background as the object style, select the iconimage and order as follows:

■ Select the image icon that you want to display:

—Application

—Application Server

—Database

—Database Server

—Firewall



—Mail Server

—Network

—Other

—Remote Agent

—Router

—Server

—Switch

—System

—User Transaction

—Web Server

—Arrow

—Box

—Line


To change the size of the image, click the lower right corner of the boundary boxand drag it until the image is the size that you want.


8 Repeat List item. on page 134 through List item. on page 135 for each object thatyou add to the Canvas view.

9 Close the Canvas View Preferences dialog box to save your changes.

The Canvas view is returned to View mode.

10 Click Refresh to display data for the new metrics.

To add labels and additional icons to the Canvas view

1 To add a label to the object that you are monitoring, in the Background pane inthe Canvas View Preferences dialog box, drag and drop the Label icon onto theCanvas view and position it near the object that you want to label.



2 Click Properties of Selected Object.

3 In the Properties of Selected Object pane, enter the text that you want to display inthe Label Options text box and use the additional formatting options to select thetext font, size, and style.

4 Click Apply.

5 To add an additional icon near a tile object that you are monitoring, in theBackground pane, drag and drop the Clip Art Image icon onto the Canvas viewand position it near the tile object that you want it to represent.

6 Click Properties of Selected Object and select the icon image and order asfollows:

■ Select the image icon that you want to display:

—Application

—Application Server

—Database

—Database Server

—Firewall

—Mail Server

—Network

—Other

—Remote Agent

—Router

—Server

—Switch

—System

—User Transaction

—Web Server

—Arrow



—Box

—Line


To change the size of the image, click the lower right corner of the boundary boxand drag it until the image is the size that you want.


The Canvas view is returned to View mode.

To remove an object from the Canvas view

1 If you are in View mode, click the Preferences button to change to Edit mode.

2 Click an object and drag the object to the Thrash Can icon at the bottom of theCanvas view pane.

You can also remove metrics from tile objects by clicking on the metric anddragging it to the trash can icon.


To adjust the height and width of a tile


2 Click the tile and then drag the lower right corner to adjust the height and width.


Using View mode to monitor objects in the Canvas view

When the Canvas view is in View mode, you can monitor the event status of theobjects and perform actions on those objects.

To turn on predict mode

1 Click Predict on the toolbar.



A graph, divided into increments, is displayed at the top of each tile, showingwhat the potential status of the object will be and at what point in time that statuswill be achieved.

2 Select Show Predictive Events in the Operations tab of the Options window todisplay the Predict button on the Canvas view.

For details about setting this option, see Customizing the display of events onpage 86.

The prediction severity is displayed only if that severity is higher than the object’scurrent severity. For example, if the object’s severity is Minor, the predictionseverity is displayed if it is predicted to change to Major. If the object’s severity isCritical, the prediction severity is not displayed if it is predicted to change to Minor.

To filter tiles

1 Click the down arrow next to the filter option in the toolbar.

2 Select to filter the tiles based on event severity type: Critical, Major, Minor,Warning, Informational, and OK.

The tiles that have the severity that you select and higher are displayed in theCanvas view.

Example If you select Warning, all tiles with a status of Warning, Major, Minor, andCritical are displayed and all tiles with a status of Informational and OK are notdisplayed.

To drill down on a tile in the Canvas view

To drill down on a tile object in the Canvas view, you must create Canvas views forall objects that have dependency relationships with that tile object.

1 In the tile title bar, click the right arrow .

The objects that have dependency relationships with the parent object aredisplayed in the Canvas view.

2 Click the right arrow in the tile title bar to drill down further.

Related topics:

About the Canvas view on page 131




About the Tile view

The Tile view in the Operations Console displays an encapsulated view of eventmetrics for the components that are being monitored in your environment. Use theTile view to get a dashboard summary of event activity.

You can display a Tile view for any event collector, group, device, or service that you

select in the navigation tree by clicking the Tile View button in the toolbar inthe right pane view of the Operations Console.

Tile view modes

The Tile view has the following modes:

■ View mode: Use this mode to monitor the objects that are displayed in the tiles inthe Tile view.

■ Edit mode: Use this mode to customize various aspects of the tile display, such asthe background image and attributes displayed in the tiles, and optionally, to saveyour customizations as defaults.

Tile attributes

By default, the tiles in the Tile view display the following attributes:

■ Name of the component

■ Icon and type of component

■ Current severity

■ Events severity counters (number of events of a specific severity) color coded asfollows:

— Red - Critical

— Dark Orange - Major

— Light Orange - Minor

— Yellow - Warning

About the Tile view


■ Event priority counters (number of events of a specific priority)

■ Current status

■ Event severity by monitor category

■ Abnormality score (how close the event is to failure)

■ IP Address

Optionally, you can display key performance indicators (KPIs), which are theprimary metrics defined to show the health of business services, and predictivestatus and trend, which show where the component status might be in the future.

By default, tiles that represent configuration items display the following attributes:

■ Name of the component

■ Icon and type of component

■ Current status

■ CI indicators

■ Event severity by monitor category indicators

■ Owner and owner contact information

■ Not being worked on flag

CI tiles also include a Tools Menu that is displayed in the title bar when you selectthe tile. The Tools Menu lets you view additional information about the CI andperform certain task, such as setting manual status or maintenance mode. For moreinformation on the CI Tools Menu, see “Viewing further information for a CI fromthe Tools Menu”.

Tile preferences and defaults

In Tile view Edit mode, you can select and change tile preferences. You can displaydifferent metrics for each tile, or you can choose to display the same metrics for alltiles. Preferences remain persistent until you change them again.

After you set the tile preferences and metrics, you can optionally save thosepreferences and apply them to all tiles that do not have any customizations or, if youhave administrative privileges, to all tiles for all users, even for those tiles that havecustomizations.

About the Tile view


Tile view details

You can view event details for the objects in the Tile view in the Details notebookpane that is displayed at the bottom of the Tile view window. The Details panedisplays the following cards:

■ Latest 10 Events: displays the event list for the first 10 events that you select in theTile view


■ KPIs: displays violations of parameters set for Key Performance Indicatorsassociated with the Group or Device that you select in the Tile view

■ Prediction: displays a prediction graph that shows the future status trends for theobject that you select in the Tile view

If the object displayed in the tile is a CI, the following additional cards are displayedin the Details notebook and the KPIs and Prediction cards are not displayed:







To expand a card to view more information, click the More Info button.

Related topics:

“Setting up and using the Tile View ” on page 143


About the Tile view


Setting up and using the Tile ViewUse the Tile View in the Operations Console to display a dashboard summary ofevent activity for event collectors, groups, services, and devices.

By default, tiles are created for each node that your administrator or you create inGlobal or My Folders in the navigation tree. You can select the attributes that youwant to display in each tile or use the default attributes.

When you access the Tile view, the page is in View mode and tiles are displayed forthe object that you select in the navigation tree. To edit the objects in the Tile view,you must first change to Edit mode, change tile preferences and metrics, and thenafter you have made your changes, return to View mode to monitor the object status.


1 Click the Preferences button in the toolbar.

The view is changed to Edit mode, and the Tile View Preferences dialog box isdisplayed in the Tile view pane.


If you are logged on to the BMC ProactiveNet Operations Console with a useraccount that has Administrator privileges, you can optionally save the changes thatyou make to the Tile view preferences as default values that can be applied either toall Tiles that do not have customized settings, or to all tiles for all users regardless ofcustomized settings.

For more information about setting up the Tile view, see “Using Edit mode tochange preferences in the Tile view” on page 143.

For more information about saving tile preferences as defaults, see “Saving tilepreferences as defaults” on page 145.

For more information about using the Tile view to monitor objects, see “Using Viewmode to monitor objects in the Tile view” on page 146.

Using Edit mode to change preferences in the Tile view

When the Tile view is in Edit mode, you use the options in the Tile View Preferencesdialog box to determine how you want the tiles to look, and to choose which metricsthat you want to display in the individual tiles.

Setting up and using the Tile View


Before you begin

In the navigation tree, select the folder that contains the object that you want todisplay in the Tile view and then click the Tile View button in the OperationsConsole toolbar.

To change tile attributes and preferences


2 In the Background pane in the Tile View Preferences dialog box, perform one orboth of the following actions:

■ Select the Color option and then use the palette to select the color that you wantto display.

■ Select the Image option and then use the list to select the background imagethat you want to display.

3 To change the tile metrics, click a tile, and then click Metric Selection in the TileView Preferences dialog box.

4 In Metric Selection, click the attribute that you want to add and then drag anddrop that attribute from the Tile View Preferences dialog box to the tile that youselected.

■ The attributes that you can select to display depend on the object type that isdisplayed in the tile. For example, devices have a broader list of attributes toselect than services.If you select a KPI attribute, the Attribute Selection for Information Capsuledialog box is displayed. Perform the following additional steps:

a Click the item at the end of the row until a list of attributes is displayed.

b Select the attribute that you want to display in the tile, and click ApplySelection.

5 Close the Preferences dialog box to save your changes.

■ The Tile view is returned to View mode.

6 Click Refresh to display data for the new attributes.



Saving tile preferences as defaults

You can apply the changes that you make in the Tile View Preferences dialog box toall tiles in your tile view that use default values. Optionally, if you are logged on tothe BMC ProactiveNet Operations Console with an account that has Administratorprivileges, you can apply those changes for all users who have access to the BMCProactiveNet Operations Console.

To save tile preferences as defaults

1 In the Tile View Preferences dialog box, click Defaults Selection.

2 To save preferences for your tile views only, in the My Tile Views section of theBackground and Images tab, perform one of the following actions:

■ To save the changes as the default values for all tiles that are using defaultvalues (no customized settings), select Only Change Views That Are UsingDefaults, and click Apply.

■ To save the changes for all tiles including those that have settings other thanthe default values (customized settings), select Change ALL Views, and clickApply.

Optionally, if you are an administrator, you can save tile preferences as thedefault values for all users. In the All Users Tile Views section of the Backgroundand Images tab, perform the one of the following actions:

■ To save the changes as the default values for all tiles that are using defaultvalues (no customized settings), select Only Change Views That Are UsingDefaults, and click Apply.

■ To save the changes for all tiles including those that have settings other thanthe default values (customized settings), select Change ALL Views, and clickApply.

To save tile metrics as defaults

1 In the Tile View Preferences dialog box, click Defaults Selection.

2 In the Tile Metrics tab, perform one of the following actions:

■ To save the changes as the default values for all tiles in your tile views that areusing default values (no customized settings), in My Tile Views, click Apply.

■ If you are an administrator and you want to apply the changes as the defaultvalues for all tiles that are using default values (no customized settings) and forall users who log on to the BMC ProactiveNet Operations Console, in All UsersTile Views, click Apply.



Using View mode to monitor objects in the Tile view

When the Tile view is in View mode, you can monitor the event status of the objectsand perform actions on those objects.

To turn on predict mode

1 Click Predict on the toolbar.

A graph, divided into increments, is displayed at the top of each tile, showingwhat the potential severity of the object will be and at what point in time thatseverity will be reached.

2 Select Show Predictive Events in the Operations tab of the Options window todisplay the Predict button on the Tile view.

For details about setting this option, see Customizing the display of events onpage 86.

The prediction severity is displayed only if that severity is higher than the object’scurrent severity. For example, if the object’s severity is Minor, the predictionseverity is displayed if it is predicted to change to Major. If the object’s severity isCritical, the prediction severity is not displayed if it is predicted to change to Minor.

To size tiles

1 Move the slider control in the toolbar to the left and right.

At the smallest size, only icons of the object severity are displayed in the Tile view.

Place the mouse pointer over the tile icons to display a pop up window thatshows the tile details.

To drill down on the tile

1 In the tile title bar, click the right arrow .

To search for tiles

1 In the text box in the toolbar, enter the letters or numbers that you want to searchon.

To sort tiles

1 Click the down arrow next to the sort option in the toolbar.



2 Select to sort the tiles based on the name of the monitored objects, the currentseverity, or the type of object that is being monitored.

To filter tiles

1 Click the down arrow next to the filter option in the toolbar.

2 Select to filter the tiles based on event severity type: Critical, Major, Minor,Warning, Informational, and OK.

The tiles that are have the severity that you select and higher are displayed in theTile view.

Example If you select Warning, all tiles with a status of Warning, Major, Minor, andCritical are displayed and all tiles with a status of Informational and OK are notdisplayed.

Related topics:

About the Tile view on page 140


To access the Tools Menu for CIs

If the component that is displayed in the Tile view is a CI, the tile displays the CITools Menu that you can use to access additional information about the CI andperform tasks.

1 Select a CI tile.

2 Click the Tools Menu icon in the tile title bar.

For information about the CI Tools Menu, see “Viewing further information for aCI from the Tools Menu”

About the graph view

The graph view in the Operations Console displays a graphical representation of theconfiguration items (CIs) in a service model and shows how those CIs relate to eachother. Use the graph view to monitor events for published service models thatrepresent your business services.



You can display the graph view for any service that you select in the navigation tree

by clicking the Graph View icon in the toolbar in the right pane view of theOperations Console.

Graph view modes

The Graph view has the following modes:

■ View mode: Use this mode to monitor the CI objects that you select to display inthe Graph view.

■ Edit mode: Use this mode to customize various aspects of the service modeldisplay in the Graph view.

Graph view details

You can view event details for the objects in the Graph view in the Details notebookpane that is displayed at the bottom of the Graph view window. The Details panedisplays the following cards:

■ Latest 10 Events: displays the event list for the first 10 events that you select in theGraph view








To expand a card to view more information, click the More Info icon .

Related topics:



“Setting up and using the Graph View ” on page 149


Setting up and using the Graph ViewUse the Graph View in the Operations Console to display a configuration item (CI)and its relationships in a graphical service model that represents your importantbusiness services.

By default, service model objects are created for each CI that is displayed in theGlobal or My Folders nodes in the navigation tree. You select how you want todisplay the service model objects and the relationships between those objects in theGraph View.

When you access the Graph view, the page is in View mode and CI objects aredisplayed for the object that you select in the navigation tree. To edit the objects inthe Graph view, you must first change to Edit mode, change service modelpreferences and metrics, and then after you have made your changes, return to Viewmode to monitor the CI object status.


1 Click the Preferences button in the Graph View toolbar.

The view is changed to Edit mode, and the Graph View Preferences dialog box isdisplayed in the Graph view pane.

To return to View mode, close the Graph View Preferences dialog box.


For more information about setting up the Graph view, see “Using Edit mode tochange preferences in the Graph view” on page 150

For more information about using the Graph View to monitor objects, see “UsingView mode to monitor objects in the Graph view” on page 152"

Setting up and using the Graph View


Using Edit mode to change preferences in the Graph view

When the Graph View is in Edit mode, you use the options in the Graph ViewPreferences dialog box to determine how you want the configuration item (CI)objects in the service model to look.

Before you begin

In the Services node in the navigation tree, select the CI object that you want todisplay in the Graph View and then click the Graph View button in the OperationsConsole toolbar.

To change CI attributes and preferences


2 In the Layout Options pane of the Graph View Preferences dialog box, set thefollowing options:

a Select one of the following layout formats as the default when the Graph Viewis opened:

■ Circular: Groups related CIs in circles to help you visualize how the groupsare related.

■ Organic: Groups CIs according to their relationships with each other, withspace between groups.

■ Hierarchic: Arranges CIs according to their hierarchy in the service model.

■ Orthogonal: Arranges CIs in a more compact design with providercomponents shown perpendicular to their consumer components.

Optionally select the orientation of the service model, Top to Bottom, Bottomto Top, Right to Left, or Left to Right.

b Select how you want the label of the object to be determined, either by theobject's name or its short description.

c Select the thickness of the lines that indicate relationships between componentsfor both lines that indicate consumer and provider relationships (RegularLines), and lines that indicate a component's impact on another component(Impacted Lines).

d Select to show numbers for the lines that indicate a component's impact onanother component. This number indicates the impact percentage on the graphbetween the two components.



e Select if you want to use the status color of the component for the lines thatindicate relationships between the components. If this option is not selected,the color of the lines is black.

f Select the how many levels you want to show in the service model by selectingthe number of consumer CIs and provider CIs that you want displayed whenthe Graph View is opened. You can select a specific number for bothconsumers and providers or have no limits on the number of levels displayed.The default for Consumers is 1, and the default for Providers is 2.

3 Click Indicator Icons Options and select the icons and indicators that you want todisplay for each component in the service model:

■ Spotlight: Displays a highlighted circle behind the CI icon. You can set thefollowing options for the spotlight:

Color select what you want the color of the spotlight to indicate, eitherthe status or the priority of the CI based on the most recentevent. The darker the color, the more severe is the status or themore important is the priority.

Size select what you want the size of the spotlight to indicate:

—Priority: the impact priority of the CIbased on either on its own priority or onthe priority of another impacted CI whichpropagates its priority to it

—SLA: the status of the the worst SLAdefined for the CI

—Not Being Worked On: the CI has eventsthat have not been assigned

—Direct Events: the CI has events directlyassociated with it, not propagated fromother CIs

Brightness: select what you want the brightness of the color associated withthe CI to indicate:

—Direct Events: the CI has events directlyassociated with it, not propagated fromother CIs



—Not Being Worked On: the CI has eventsthat have not been assigned

■ Status icon: the CI's current status

■ Priority Icon: the impact priority of the CI based on either on its own priority oron the priority of another impacted CI which propagates its priority to it

■ Not being worked on: the CI has events that have not been assigned

■ Direct Events From Component are Present: the CI has events directlyassociated with it, not propagated from other CIs

■ SLAs - Status of Worst Targeted SLA: the status of the the worst SLA definedfor the CI

■ Prediction Event is Present: the CI has an event that predicts that its futurestatus will become worse than its current status

■ Substatus: the worst status propagated up from any provider CIs


■ Click Apply to save your changes and keep the Graph View Preference dialogbox open.

■ Click OK to save your changes and close the Graph View Preferences dialog box.

■ Click Cancel to close the Graph View Preferences dialog box without savingyour changes.

5 Click Refresh .

Using View mode to monitor objects in the Graph view

When the Graph view is in View mode, you can monitor the status of the CI objectsin the service model.

To set the Graph view layout

1 At the top of the display pane, select one of the following layouts:

■ Circular: Groups related CIs in circles to help you visualize how the groups arerelated.



■ Organic: Groups CIs according to their relationships with each other, withspace between groups.

■ Hierarchic: Arranges CIs according to their hierarchy in the service model.Select a Top to Bottom, Bottom to Top, Left to Right, or Right to Left layout.

■ Orthogonal: Arranges CIs in a more compact design with providercomponents shown perpendicular to their consumer components.

To size the CI objects in the Graph view

1 Use the zoom bar on the left side of the Graph view to resize the CI objects in theservice model as follows:

■ Use the Zoom Out button to make the objects appear smaller, and theZoom In button to make the objects appear larger.Alternatively, drag the slider between the Zoom Out and Zoom In buttons, oruse the scroll wheel on a mouse.

■ Use the Zoom Fit button to resize the service model so that all CIs and theirrelationships fit in the viewable area of the display pane.

■ Use the Show Overview button to display an overview of the entire contentsof the display pane in a box next to the zoom bar. Any changes you make toinstances in the display pane are immediately reflected in this box. The ShowOverview button lets you view the effect of your changes on all the instances inthe display pane.

To view details on CI objects


■ Click the Details icon in the CI object tile

■ Open the Details notebook at the bottom of the Graph view window

To turn the spotlight on and off

1 Click the Show Spotlight button on the Graph View toolbar .

A highlight is displayed behind the CI objects displayed in the Graph View. Youcan select the properties of the spotlight in the Graph View Preferences dialogbox. For details, see “Using Edit mode to change preferences in the Graph view”on page 150



To turn indicator icons on and off

1 Click the Display All Indicators button on the Graph View toolbar .

The following indicator icons are displayed around the CI objects displayed in theGraph View:

■ Status

■ Priority

■ Not Being Worked On

■ Direct Events From Component are Present

■ Substatus

To expand and collapse the CI hierarchy

1 Click the plus or minus buttons at the top and bottom of the CI objects.

Viewing the Tile, Canvas, or Graph viewDetails notebook

The Details notebook pane displayed below the Tile, Canvas, and Graph viewsprovides all of the recorded information about the events associated with the objectsthat are displayed in the tiles in these views.

The cards of the Details notebook pane organize the information, as described in Table 42 on page 154.

Table 42: Cards displayed in the Tile, Canvas, or Graph view Details notebook pane for all objects

Card name Description

Latest 10 Events Lists the most recent 10 events for the object (tile) selected in the view.The Details notebook event list shows the same information that isdisplayed in the Events List view, and provides toolbar options so thatyou can search and take actions on these events.

Viewing the Tile, Canvas, or Graph view Details notebook


Card name Description

Summary Displays basic information about the object (tile) that you have selectedin the Tile or Canvas view, such as object name, short description,description, object type icon, current event severity status, any actionstaken on the last known event, prediction status, if applicable, andobject description.Also includes hyperlinks to launch the Tools Menu. The menucommands that are available depend on what object is displayed in theselected tile as follows:

■ Services: Operations (Set Manual Status, Clear Manual Status, SetMaintenance Mode, Clear Maintenance Mode), View Events (All,Changes, Direct, Impacting, and Predictions), View Service ImpactGraph

■ Groups: Monitors+Devices, Tree View, and Group Details commands

■ Devices: Add Configuration Changes, Device at a Glance, ManageData Collection, Show Configuration Changes, Show Monitors, ShowParent Groups, View Events (All, Changes, Direct, Impacting, andPredictions), View Serivce Impact Graph, and BladeLogic DeviceHistory

■ Monitors associated with Devices: Show Parent Groups, Flash Check,and where applicable Remote Actions/Diagnostics commands

KPIs Displays violations of the parameters set for Key Performance Indicators(KPIs) if the object that you select in the navigation tree is a Group orDevice

Prediction Displays a graph that shows what the object’s status will be and at whattime that status will be reached. The prediction severity is displayedonly if that severity is higher than the object’s current severity. Forexample, if the object’s severity is Minor, the prediction severity isdisplayed if it is predicted to change to Major. If the object’s severity isCritical, the prediction severity is not displayed if it is predicted tochange to Minor.

If you select a CI object, additional cards are displayed as described in Table 43 onpage 156.The Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Prediction cards are notdisplayed for CIs.



Table 43: Additional cards displayed in the Tile, Canvas, or Graph view Details notebook pane for CIobjects

Card name Sections in card Description

Status■ Summary

■ Status Details

■ Status Computation

Displays the applicable status levels of the component:Service Level Agreement, manual status, maintenancemode, and computation statuses.

Priority and Cost■ Summary

■ Priority Details

■ Time-VariableProperties

Displays the schedule status, impact priority, andimpact cost.

Related CIs Displays information on status causes, possibleproblems, providers, and consumers of the selectedcomponent type.This subtab also lets you view other components thathave relationships with the selected component.

Schedule Displays the times when the selected component is inservice

Advanced■ Identification

■ Time Stamps

■ Permission Groups

Displays information on identification, creation andmodification time, and read/write permissions forgroups for the selected object.

SLM Shows information about the service level agreementassociated with the componentNote: This tab is visible only when BMC Service LevelManagement is installed.

To view the Details notebook

By default, the Details notebook is not displayed when you open the Tile, Canvas, orGraph view. To display the Details notebook, perform the following steps.

1 Select an object in the Tile, Canvas, or Graph view.

2 In the Details notebook title bar, click the Up arrows .



To hide the Details notebook

1 In the Details notebook title bar, click the Down arrows .

To select the cards to be displayed in the Details notebook pane

1 Select an object in the Tile, Canvas, or Graph view.

2 Click Edit Notebook Preferences .

3 In the Preferences dialog box, select the cards to be displayed in the Detailsnotebook pane.

4 Click Close .

Tip If you select more cards than can be displayed, use the tiny right and left arrowsto the right and left of the Details notebook to navigate through the cards.

To view additional information in a card in the Details notebook pane

1 In any of the cards listed in Table 42 on page 154 or Table 43 on page 156of theDetails notebook, click More Info .



Determining the probable causefor an event

What is probable cause analysis?By gathering data from different sources and applying filters to rule out unrelatedevents, BMC ProactiveNet can determine the most-likely causes for an event, such asan attribute that is outside the desired range. This process of gathering and filteringdata to determine the cause for an event is called probable cause analysis.

The probable cause analysis process analyzes data and displays the relevant eventsautomatically. You can increase the accuracy of probable cause analysis by providingrelationships between devices and monitors. The more data that is provided aboutan event, the more accurate probable cause analysis will be. For more information,see Configuring BMC ProactiveNet to perform probable cause analysis on page 165.

How BMC ProactiveNet performs probablecause analysis on events

Probable cause analysis focuses on events that are able to impact other events inunexpected ways. Therefore, the following events are not considered duringprobable cause analysis:

■ administrative events—Administrative events include all events that belong tospecific event classes within the MC_CELL_EVENT class. These event classes arelisted in Event information used in probable cause analysis on page 435

■ VMware-related VMotion events — Events related to use of a virtual machine arehandled differently from other events. For more information see, Probable causeanalysis in a virtual environment on page 177.

3

Chapter 3 Determining the probable cause for an event 159

■ predictive events—Predictive events are early warning events that BMCProactiveNet generates before a severe event occurs on an existing metric.

■ blackout events—Blackout events include all events that occur during a definedblackout period for an adapter.

The Root Cause Analysis(RCA) in SIEM computation is useful in finding the rootcauses for the up or down issues. The Service model is well defined and thresholdsare on all the metrics that represent the health of all the CIs that are present in themodel.

The Probable Cause Analysis(PCA) in BMC ProactiveNet computation is useful introuble shooting performance related issues.

■ The Service Model is present, but the thresholds are not set on all the metrics. Inthis case, PCA can be very effective by looking at relevant abnormalities, externalevents, and configuration change events.

■ The Service Model is present in a detailed or high level, but lot of many events areshown as impacting events. In this case, PCA can be used to sort the events byscore computation and by looking at various factors like data correlation, timecorrelation, severity, and so on.

■ The Service model is not present.

■ Impact computation is available only for open events. PCA is used for finding theroot causes after the occurrence of the event.

■ When trouble shooting system resource related issues in virtual environments andBMC adapter for VMware is used for data collection.

Probable cause analysis can be performed on internal events and external events. Aninternal event is an event that is generated by the BMC ProactiveNet Server. Internalevents also are referred to as intelligent events or data events because these eventsinclude a large and rich amount of data. For a list of slots used by probable causeanalysis to analyze events, see “Event information used in probable cause analysis”on page 435

External events are events that are received from an external source such as a remotecell or an event adapter. Because these events come from a source that is external toBMC ProactiveNet, these events do not have the data associated with them that aninternal event does.

Because internal and external events vary in the amount and type of data that theysupply, internal and external events are handled differently during the probablecause analysis process.

How BMC ProactiveNet performs probable cause analysis on events


Because internal events are rich in data, these events go through more analysis stepsthan external events. When BMC ProactiveNet is analyzing an internal event todetermine if it could be a probable cause for another event, it applies a series offilters to the internal event, in the order shown in Figure 5 on page 161.

Figure 5: Probable cause analysis process for an intelligent event

Because external events do not contain data as internal events do, probable causeanalysis for external events uses fewer filters, as illustrated in Figure 6 on page 161.

Figure 6: Probable cause analysis process for an external event



Time correlation

The first measure used to determine if an internal or external event might be thecause of another event is whether the event being analyzed as the probable causeoccurred during a logical timeframe, which might make it the cause of the resultevent. In general, the longer the period of time between the probable cause eventand the result event, the less likely it is that the probable cause event is the cause ofthe result event.



If the probable cause event occurs within the time specified by the time correlationfilter, then the probable cause event is assessed against the user-defined filters.

For instructions on modifying the time specified by the time correlation filter, see Changing the time correlation filter on page 172.

User-defined filters

Once the event has passed the time correlation filter, you can filter probable causeevents based on a collection of filters that you define.

These following user-defined filters are applied depending on whether the event isinternal or external:

■ Device Name—filters all internal events and external events that are associatedwith a device that exists within BMC ProactiveNet

■ Group—filters all internal events and external events if the external event isassociated with a BMC ProactiveNet device and that device is part of the specifiedgroup

■ Event level - Filters based on the non-KPI metrics, service model, using globalrelationships and less scoring events. Also filters external events that are notassociated with a computer system and displays event outside the model, butwith lower scores.

For instructions on configuring these filters, see Enabling user-defined filters onpage 173.

If an internal event passes through the user-defined filters that have been applied,that internal event is then compared against any saved knowledge patterns. Formore information about knowledge patterns, see Knowledge patterns on page 163.

If an external event passes through the user-defined filters, BMC ProactiveNetexamines the user-defined relationships for the external event to determine if theexternal event might be a probable cause event. For information about the user-defined relationships filter, see Service model relationships on page 164.

Knowledge patterns

If you have determined that a certain set of criteria usually results in the sameprobable cause event, then you can create a knowledge pattern of that criteria so thatBMC ProactiveNet can compare internal events against that criteria to quicklyidentify whether or not that internal event is a probable cause event.



If an internal event is compared to a knowledge pattern and matches, then that eventis displayed immediately as the probable cause event.

If an internal event does not match any of the saved knowledge patterns, BMCProactiveNet examines the CI relationships for the internal event to determine if theevent might be a probable cause event.

For information about defining knowledge patterns, see Saving recurring conditionsas a known probable cause on page 174.

Service model relationships

The relationships between configuration items (CIs) identify potential probablecause events. Service model relationships capture relationships between CIs. Becausethese relationships are unique to your environment, you must set them yourself.Service model relationships are analyzed for all internal events and for externalevents if the relationship is based on a CI and the external event is associated withthat CI.

For more information about service model relationships, see the BMC ProactiveNetAdministration Guide.

BMC ProactiveNet examines the relationships of the CI for the potential probablecause event. If the event belongs to any CI instance relationships, then thoserelationship filters are applied.

If the event instance does not belong to any instance relationship, BMC ProactiveNetanalyzes the event based on global relationship rules.

Global relationships

Global relationships are pre-defined, out-of-the-box domain knowledge provided forexisting BMC ProactiveNet monitors. This domain knowledge cannot be modified.Global relationships are analyzed for all internal events and all external events thathave a sub-category specified in the mc_event_subcategory slot.

For more information about the mc_event_subcategory slot, see the BMC KnowledgeBase Development Reference Guide.



Data correlation

Data correlation is computed using the data collected for the result event and theprobable cause event. Data correlation is applicable only to internal events.

Scoring

Scoring of probable cause analysis events is based on a combination of factorscomputed by BMC ProactiveNet that determine the likelihood that the event is aprobable cause event.

Configuring BMC ProactiveNet to performprobable cause analysis

To maximize the capabilities of BMC ProactiveNet probable cause analysis, youshould configure your BMC ProactiveNet system as recommended by these guidelines.

Configure complete monitor coverage

You must configure complete monitor coverage for your entire infrastructure.

Complete monitor coverage is key for probable cause pinpointing to work correctly.This includes monitors at the system level, application level, and network level. Ifthere is not enough coverage, then probable cause will show that no events arecorrelated. If monitors are not covering all dependencies in your infrastructure, thenit is virtually impossible to get to the granular cause of a problem.

For example, if you have a Web site in your environment, you must make sure tocreate a monitor for it using the Web URL or Web Transaction monitor, but you alsoneed to create a monitor for all resource dependencies that support it, such as WebServer monitors, Application Server monitors, Database monitors, as well as allSystem Resource monitors for each of the computers these run on, such as TCPmonitors, System monitors, Disk monitors, Ping monitors, Process monitors, Log Filemonitors, Interface monitors, and DNS monitors.

Configuring BMC ProactiveNet to perform probable cause analysis


Assign correct device types

You must ensure that the correct device types are assigned to all devices in yourinfrastructure.

BMC ProactiveNet system uses device type information to isolate and relateproblems across different computers. A device type is assigned to each device bydefault; however, you should verify that this device type is correct. If the device typeis set incorrectly, probable cause analysis can incorrectly eliminate an event as aprobable cause event because it is eliminating all events of a certain device type.Conversely, if events that are unrelated to the result event may be pinpointed asprobable cause events because that event has an incorrect device type.

Create monitors under the correct devices

Each monitor in the BMC ProactiveNet system is located under a specific device inthe Administration Console. This device should be the target computer where theapplication being monitored is running - either virtually or physically. Whencreating a monitor, ensure that the monitor is created under the correct device in theAdministration Console. This information is important for the probable causeanalysis process to draw conclusions about the relationship of monitors with respectto one another.

Probable cause analysis can use the device as a way of filtering out unrelated events.If the monitor assignment is not correct, there is a chance that an event that iscorrelated to the result event will not be displayed or, conversely, unrelated eventsmay appear.

Create service models for interdependent CIs

You must create service models for CIs that have dependencies on one another.

You can create service models using the Administration Console or BMC ImpactModel Designer. For information see the BMC ProactiveNet Administrator Guide andthe BMC ProactiveNet Service Modeling and Publishing Guide.

Associate monitors to the proper CI

When you create a service model by using the Associate Monitor feature in theAdministration Console, ensure that you associate the montior to the proper CI.



For information on associating the montior to the proper CI, see the BMCProactiveNet Administrator Guide.

Set a polling interval of 5 minutes or less

BMC ProactiveNet recommends using the default polling frequency. However, ifyou decide to change the polling frequency, keep in mind that polling frequencyaffects probable cause analysis.

Probable cause analysis will not display events that are outside the specifiedtimeframe before or after the result event. For example, if the default time correlationfilter of one hour before the event and 30 minutes after the event is being appliedand the polling frequency is 45 minutes, then too few data points are will beavailable within the default period to reliably pinpoint probable cause.

A greater number of data points increases the likelihood that the probable causeanalysis process will be successful. Therefore, it is best to configure the smallestpolling interval that does not affect the performance of the device.

Establish a reliable baseline

To ensure a reliable baseline for a monitor, the monitor should be collecting dataconsistently for at least a week. The longer the monitor has been collecting data, themore reliable the probable cause analysis process becomes.

The following types of threshold settings impact the probable cause analysis process:

■ Absolute/Signature Event Thresholds—the duration of these thresholds is criticalfor correlating events that occur closely in time to the original event. An event isnot generated until the condition exists for the duration specified in the thresholddefinition. If this duration period is too long and if you are trying to find theprobable cause analysis as soon as the problem event is created, this event mightnot be displayed.For example, you create a threshold that creates a CRITICAL event when serverCPU USED is above 90% (condition) for 1 hour (duration). At 10:00 AM the CPUUSED is higher than 90%. However, an event will be generated only at 11:00 AMif the CPU USED percentage stays above 90% until 11:00 AM.If there is another event created at 10:15 AM because of this high CPUconsumption and you are trying to perform probable cause analysis on the eventthat occurred at 10:15AM, the CPU usage problem will not be displayed as aprobable cause event because the duration for this event has not yet passed.



■ Abnormality Event Thresholds—BMC Software recommends that you keep thedefault settings for these thresholds.

Ensure sub-categories are defined for external events

For external events to be analyzed based on global relationships, themc_event_subcategory slot must be set for each external event.

For information about the mc_event_subcategory slot, see the BMC Knowledge BaseDevelopment Reference Guide.

Viewing probable cause analysis for an eventThe probable cause analysis information for an event is displayed in the ProbableCause Analysis For Selected Event screen in the Operations console. This screendisplays the probable cause events that remain after all the relevant filters have beenapplied.

To view probable cause analysis for an event

You can view the probable cause analysis from the Tools menu or by clicking on the

icon.

1 From the event list, select the event for which you want to determine probablecause.

2 You can launch into the probable cause analysis page from the

■ Tools menu icon ( or ) in the Object column of the event Details area andchoose Probable Cause Analysis

■ Probable Cause Analysis icon located in one of the following locations:

a above the event list

b in the Summary column of the event Details area

c to the right of any monitor graph display

Viewing probable cause analysis for an event


Event Being Analyzed section

This section of the Probable Cause Analysis For Selected Event screen displaysinformation about the event for which you are trying to find the probable cause (alsocalled the primary event). This section includes:

1 Severity level

2 Time at which the event occurred

Probable Cause Events section

This section enables you to set the user-defined filters. For instructions on enablingthese filters, see “Customizing the display of the Probable Cause Analysis list” onpage 170.

From the Probable Cause Analysis For Selected Event screen, you can view:

1 A graph of the raw data for the selected event.

2 The attributes and indicators for the selected event.

3 Monitor information for the selected event.

If you determine that particular conditions for a particular instance alwaysindicate probable cause, you can set up a knowledge pattern that saves andrecognizes those particular conditions. When that pattern is encountered again,BMC ProactiveNet will instantly identify those conditions as the probable causefor the event. For information about defining a knowledge pattern, see Savingrecurring conditions as a known probable cause on page 174.

Secondary events pane

The bottom pane of the Probable Cause Analysis page contains the list of probablecause events that are determined for the primary event after all the event filters havebeen applied. There are two tabs in this pane, the By Score and the By Device tabs.

1 By Score: This tab sorts the probable cause events based on the highest score.

2 Click on the Detailed Diagnostics icon to view detailed diagnostics for the event.The tools menu also is available for this event from the Probable Cause AnalysisFor Selected Event screen.

3 By Device: This tab sorts the probable cause events by device.

If the device for this event includes BladeLogic job which has run before 24 hoursbefore and 30 minutes after the primary event the icon for the job type isdisplayed in the Most Recent BladeLogic Job Type column. The BladeLogic icon

Viewing probable cause analysis for an event


depends on the latest job that is executed. The tooltip displays the time of the lastrun BladeLogic job with respect to the primary event. Click the Tools menu iconfor the event and choose BladeLogic Device History to view BladeLogic devicehistory page. For more information about integration with BMC BladeLogic, see Integrating with BMC BladeLogic on page 419.

Customizing the display of the ProbableCause Analysis list

You can customize the following aspects to suit your probable cause event monitoring:

■ view

■ time

■ events filter

■ analysis

■ event filter levels

■ number of devices and events displayed

To customize display settings for the PCA lists

1 In the Probable Cause Analysis page, click Preferences .

2 In the Probable Cause Analysis Preferences page, use the information in thefollowing table to determine the appropriate settings.

Table 44: Probable cause analysis preferences settings

Field Description

General

View Displays the events sorted by score or by device. The default view is ByScore.

■ By Score: displays the events sorted on the score.

■ By Device: displays the events sorted by devices of the events.

Time Enables the time specification based on the secondary event time outinterval. The default time interval is -1 and +30.

Customizing the display of the Probable Cause Analysis list


Field Description

Events Filter Enables the levels of event filter for the following options:

■ Level 1

■ Level 2

■ Level 3

■ Level 4

By default, level1 is displayed.

Analysis Enables you to correlate information in the following ways:

■ Time Correlation - enables you to display the secondary events in thesame timeframe as the primary event.

■ Data Correlation - enables the computation of data using the datacollected for the resulting event and the probable cause event. Datacorrelation is applicable only to internal events.

■ Correlate metric data within time window - co-relates the metric dataof the primary event against the metric data of each candidate event.Only the metric data within the analysis window is analyzed.

For example, if you select - 1 hour and + 1 hour in the time windowslider, then up to 2 hours of data are analyzed.

■ Correlate metric data during previous abnormalities on event's metric- co-relates data between the metric of the primary event against othermetrics for the time periods at which the primary metric was abnormalin the past. (subject to data retention limits).

This can produce more accurate data correlation results at the cost ofincreased processing time. However, the results may take up to 3 timeslonger to return.

Event Filter Levels

Filter levels on non-KPI metrics Select this option to filter by non-Key Performance Indicators (KPI).

Show only highest scoringevent per metric

Select this option to display only the event with the highest score. For agiven metric there could be multiple abnormalities and threshold events.

Filter using service model Select this option to filter events based on the impact relationships definedfor the CI associated with the primary event.

Displays event outside themodel, but lower scores

Select this option to show the events that are not associated with theimpacting CI's based on the model identified above.

Customizing the display of the Probable Cause Analysis list


Field Description

Filter using global relationships Select this option to control whether the built-in global relationships areused to determine probable cause.

Filter events not associatedwith a computer system or CI

Select this option to filter an event that is not associated with a device or aCI

Filter events scoring less than Select this option to filter events with a score lower than that entered inthis field. After the probable cause analysis identifies the probable causeevents, each event is scored and only the events whose score is above thespecified limit are shown as root cause in the probable cause analysis page.

Advanced

By Score - Max Number ofEvents to Display

Enables you to determine the maximum number of events to display in thePCA results window based on the score of the events.

By Device - Max Number ofDevices to Display

Enables you to determine the maximum number of devices to display inthe PCA results window.

By Device - Max Number ofEvents per Device to Display

Enables you to determine the maximum number of events per device todisplay in the PCA results window.

Filtering unrelated events to find probablecause

There are many ways to filter unrelated events to find the probable cause of anevent. The following topics explain how to configure these filters.

Changing the time correlation filter

The timeframe during which a probable cause event and a result event is most likelyto occur is specified in a time correlation filter. By default, BMC ProactiveNet onlyconsiders events that have occurred one hour before or 30 minutes after the primaryevent. If you want to increase or decrease the time correlation between the primaryand the second event, you must change the time correlation filter.

To change the time correlation filter

1 Access the probable cause analysis for the selected event.

Filtering unrelated events to find probable cause


2 From the Sliding bar, drag the sliding pointer to set the time window before orafter the timestamp of the primary event. This enables you to filter out theunrelated events.

Enabling user-defined filters

User-defined filters limit the events to be considered as probable cause events basedon criteria that you define.

These user-defined filters can be configured in the Probable Cause Analysis Eventssection. You may enable one or more of these filters at the same time.

To filter by device name

1 In the Device field enter the name of the device to see the associated events.

This filter removes all events from the probable cause event list that are notassociated with the device that you specify. If no name is specified in the Devicefield, then events for all devices will be displayed.

To filter by group

1 Click No Filter next to the Group field.

2 From the Group Filter dialog box,

■ Select Tree from the drop-down list to display the hierarchical group view.

■ Select Flat List from the drop-down list to list all the available groups.

3 Click Apply.

This filter adds all the events that are associated with the group that you specifyand click Filter on the Probable Cause Events section.

■ To edit the group filter, click on the filter displayed, select the group and clickApply. Click Filter on the Probable Cause Events section.

■ To remove the group filter, click on X next to the enabled group filter.

To filter by events

1 In the Events Filter list, select the desired level for the events that you want tofilter and display.

Filtering unrelated events to find probable cause


This filter adds all events of the specified level from the probable cause event listthat are associated with the level that you specify. The levels can be modified inthe preference page.

Saving recurring conditions as a knownprobable cause

When you run a probable cause analysis on an event and find a pattern which youwant to reuse in future, capture it by creating a knowledge pattern.

Once a knowledge pattern is available, BMC ProactiveNet immediately applies thispattern to similar conditions and does not run probable cause analysis.

To create a knowledge pattern

1 Access the Probable Cause Analysis For Selected Event dialog box.

2 In the Event list, select the event that you want to use for your knowledge pattern.

3 Click Create Knowledge Pattern.

■ The Create Knowledge Pattern screen is displayed.

4 Select the instance or instances for which you want the knowledge pattern to apply:

■ all instances in group — allows you to define the knowledge pattern for allinstances of a selected group

■ only instance monitor_name —allows you to define the knowledge pattern forthe selected instance of the selected monitor

■ all instances of monitor_name —allows you to define the knowledge pattern forall instances of the selected monitor

5 If required, select the check box or check boxes to add further conditions to theknowledge pattern. The available conditions will change based on the event thatyou have selected.

6 In the Name field, enter the text that you want displayed in the Probable CauseAnalysis for Selected Event dialog box when these conditions occur for theinstances that you have selected.

■ For example, if you created a knowledge pattern for a scenario where there isan event on Application Availability and Ping Availability to the same device

Saving recurring conditions as a known probable cause


where the application is running you might name it Application Server NotAvailable.

7 In the Description field, enter details for the probable cause knowledge pattern.

■ Continuing the example from List item. on page 174, you could enter the actionthat an operator should take if this knowledge pattern is encountered, such asReboot server.This text would appear on the screen when the server is not responding to pingrequests and probable cause analysis is initiated for the PING AVAILABILITYevent.

8 Click Save.

Knowledge patterns are saved in the database. After you have created one ormore knowledge patterns, you can access an edit or delete dialog box formodifying or deleting your knowledge patterns.

Probable cause analysis in a scalabledeployment environment

In a scalable deployment environment events are propagated from the local BMCProactiveNet servers to a central BMC ProactiveNet Server. If you want to performprobable cause analysis on all the events in the environment, probable cause analysismust be performed on the central BMC ProactiveNet Server.

Probable cause analysis in a scalable deployment environment


Figure 7 on page 176 illustrates how events are propagated in a scalable environment.

Figure 7: Event propagation in a scalable environment

Limitations of probable cause analysis in a scalableenvironment

Data for the intelligent events on the local servers is not propagated to the masterBMC ProactiveNet Server. This causes the propagated intelligent events to be treatedas external events. This data loss causes probable cause analysis on the master BMCProactiveNet Server to lose accuracy because no data correlation is available on themaster BMC ProactiveNet Server.

Probable cause analysis in a scalable deployment environment


Probable cause analysis in a virtualenvironment

BMC Proactivenet handles probable cause analysis differently for system resourceissues on VMware ESX hosts or virtual machines. When probable cause analysis isrequested for a system resource-related event on an ESX host or a virtual machine,BMC ProactiveNet takes into account the issues with all the virtual machinesrunning on that host, as well as issues with the ESX host server itself.

How probable cause analysis handles VMotion events

In addition to considering system resource events, probable cause analysis alsodisplays relevant virtual machine migration events for the host of the event forwhich probable cause analysis is requested, if that event is on the virtual machine orESX host.

When probable cause analysis is requested for a VMotion event, BMC ProactiveNetdisplays all the system resource issues on the VMWare ESX Host from where theVM is moved.

Limitations of probable cause analysis in a virtual environment

By default, probable cause analysis in a virtual environment is confined to VMWaremetrics.

ESX host and VM relationships imported from the BMC Atrium CMDB cannot beused in probable cause analysis unless monitors of the type that are included inVirtualSystem Attribute set are added to these devices. If you add monitor instancesof the type that are part of the VirtualSystem Attribute Set to the devices importedfrom he BMC Atrium CMDB, probable cause analysis will leverage the ESX host and/or the virtual machine relationship between these devices.

For a list of monitors related to VMware, see Event information used in probablecause analysis on page 435

Probable cause analysis in a virtual environment


Probable cause analysis in a virtual environment


Event administration

OverviewEvent administration includes the following tasks:

■ Defining threshold values that determine when events are generated

■ Filtering the event rule list

■ Defining and updating basic, advanced, and other event types

■ Eliminating duplicate events and limiting the number of events that are generatedand sent

■ Using variables to compose and customize event text to be incorporated intoemail messages

For upgrade users

The BMC ProactiveNet event escalation feature has been deprecated in this release.If you have created an event rule with an associated escalation action, then after youupgrade, the escalation actions are removed from the event rule and consequentlyare not triggered by the event.

Instead of the BMC ProactiveNet escalation feature, you can use the eventmanagement escalation policy available through the BMC ProactiveNetAdministration Console (see the BMC Software ProactiveNet Administrator Guide forinformation on the event management policies). An escalation policy raises or lowersthe priority level of an event after a specified period of time. A specified number ofevent recurrences can also trigger escalation of an event. Along with the escalationpolicy, you can create a notification policy to alert users of changes to an event’sseverity level. You can also use an AlarmPoint integration to handle event

4

Chapter 4 Event administration 179

escalations. See Managing the AlarmPoint integration on page 216 for generalguidelines.

Paging capability is no longer supported.

Support for the TelAlert product is discontinued.

Accessing the event administration options

Access the event administration options through the BMC ProactiveNet Operationsconsole by selecting Options => Administration from the top menu bar to displaythe Administration tab. The features are listed on the Administration tab under theEvent Administration heading. Choose the corresponding Edit button to accessdetailed information about each option.

Understanding event thresholdsEvents are generated when Event Threshold values are exceeded.

The approach BMC ProactiveNet takes to detect abnormal behavior is different fromthe traditional threshold approach. The traditional approach requires the definitionof hard thresholds that need to be customized for each instance. This requires preciseknowledge of the environment and is not very scalable in terms of administration. Table 45 on page 180 describes the types of event thresholds that BMC ProactiveNetoffers.

Table 45: Types of event thresholds

Threshold type Description

Absolute threshold Absolute thresholds represent an absolute value above or below which anevent is generated. In general, an absolute threshold is specified forattributes that have common accepted values beyond which performance isknown to degrade. Absolute thresholds are better suited for attributes thatchange status. For example, if the total CPU utilization of Solaris System isabove 80%, it may result in performance issues. In this case, you can specifyan Absolute threshold of 80% for this attribute.

Understanding event thresholds



Signature threshold Signature thresholds are dynamic thresholds that use the baseline as thethreshold. Users do NOT need to set a threshold value, as the baseline is auto-generated. Because of this, it is a much more scalable approach in managingthresholdsSignature thresholds focus on performance metrics such as response time,utilization, errors for network devices, LANs, WANs, servers, and networkapplication services, reporting readings above or below the baseline.Signature thresholds allow you to control the number of events generated bya monitor. It is used to set the minimum deviation from the high and lowbaseline established by BMC ProactiveNet for a monitor whose overallbaseline is considered too low. Signature thresholds are better suited forattributes that degrade over time. In case no signature threshold is enabledby the user, BMC ProactiveNet uses the default values to generate events.

Abnormality Event threshold BMC ProactiveNet Abnormality thresholds operate in the same way thatSignature thresholds work. However, they generate abnormality eventsutilized by Probable cause Analysis correlation rather than generate events.Abnormality thresholds are automatically set (out of the box) on all metrics.This is important because users do “not” need to do anything in order tostart seeing the value of the abnormalities in context of Probable causeanalysis correlation. Abnormalities are used in Probable cause analysis,generally do not generate events, and are automatically closed when thegenerating condition no longer exists.

■ Predefined Abnormality Event thresholds cannot be removed or clearedfor any of the attributes.

■ If the abnormality threshold is suppressed for any of the attributes,baselines are not generated and events are not triggered for those attributes.

■ To disable the abnormality threshold select Suppress event and clickApply in Advanced option.




Intelligent threshold Signature and Absolute Thresholds can be combined to create an IntelligentThreshold that will generate events when a metric value falls outside itsbaseline and it is above its Absolute Threshold. These help to alleviate issueswith Absolute values that are set too low for the normal operatingenvironment.Intelligent thresholds provide the following benefits:

■ They reduce the aggravation to manually set and maintain hundreds ofabsolute thresholds.

■ They reduce false events to a large extent, by guessing what the thresholdshould be for each attribute and device at any time or day of week. Thiseliminates the problem of over, or under, alerting.

■ They facilitate faster detection of potential problems. This allows you tofix problems proactively.

Related Topics

Setting event thresholds on page 184

Baselines

The baseline is the expected normal operating range for a metric or attribute of amonitor.

The baseline is calculated by collecting the values for a monitor’s attributes andmetrics over a specified time period and establishing a low baseline value (consistingof the 10th percentile of all the values for a given time period) and a high baselinevalue (consisting of the 90th percentile of all the values for a given time period),taking a weighted average of these values over time. A higher weight is given to thelatest data being factored into the baseline average. The accuracy of the baselineimproves over time.

To track the anomalies in behavior for different attribute types different patterns arerequired. For example, for attributes that change frequently, a pattern captured athourly intervals may be best. Hourly interval ranges represent a smaller number ofdata points and will have a tighter range, which is best suited for capturing frequentchanges.

BMC ProactiveNet captures the following baseline patterns:

■ Hourly baseline - Each hour of the day has a high or low value that is tracked.This tracks the pattern for that metric on an hourly basis, and is repeated for each



day. An hourly baseline is initialized after the monitor instance is created and 24hours of data collection has occurred.

■ Daily baseline - A high or low value is derived from the moving average of eachconsecutive day. This high or low range is taken from a larger number of datavalues and consequently will be a wider range than the hourly. A daily baseline isinitialized after the monitor instance is created and 24 hours of data collection hasoccurred.

■ Weekday Pattern - Baseline is calculated daily from Monday to Friday. All thesedays share the same 24-hour baseline. A weekly baseline is initialized after themonitor instance is created and 168 hours of data collection has occurred.

■ Weekend Pattern - Baseline is calculated separately for the weekend - Saturdayand Sunday. These two days share the same 24-hour baseline.

■ Seasonal baseline - Baseline is calculated separately for pre-determined dayswhen your business experiences out of the ordinary workloads or other specialbehavior. These days, if calculated into the baseline, artificially will raise or lowerthe baseline, causing unnecessary abnormalities.

Auto-baseline

Out of the box thresholds are set to use Hourly, Daily, Weekly, or All baselines, thisworks well in majority of the cases, but it might be more appropriate to use onespecific baseline type in order to catch the exceptional behavior.

Auto-baseline analysis engine automatically detects abnormality in any monitorinstance attribute and determines the best baseline to be used depending on thebehavior of the monitor instance.

By default auto-baseline feature is enabled for new customers, out of the boxthresholds will have auto-baseline option set.

For upgrade users the Auto-baseline feature is enabled, but the user has to setthreshold with auto-baseline option manually.

How abnormalities are generated

Abnormalities are generated when the data values from a monitor fall outside of thenormal baseline range for a statistically significant number of points within thesample window specified in the signature threshold.



The abnormalities generated have a severity field, which records which baseline wasexceeded for a significant number of points (helping determine the severity of theabnormality). Generally, abnormalities that exceed Weekly baseline are more seriousin nature than ones that exceed Daily baseline, and abnormalities that exceed Dailybaseline are more serious in nature than ones that exceed Hourly baseline.

By default, if no signature threshold is set, abnormalities are still generated. Aminimum of five data points are required. If the sample window is set too small(sample window is set in time duration), the algorithm will still automatically waitfor five data points to come in. For example, if you set a sample window to 10minutes on a specific monitor attribute but the polling rate of that monitor is 5minutes, 25 minutes must pass before an abnormality is generated. For this reason, itis better to use lower polling rates for monitors.

Abnormalities are closed when the number of data points exceeded in the lastwindow sample size is not considered significant. For example, if six out of sevendata points out of range are statistically significant, then as soon as the last exceededpoints drop to five out of seven points, the abnormality will be closed.

By default, even if no explicit global or instance signature threshold is set, BMCProactiveNet will generate abnormalities for above baseline conditions.

Setting event thresholds

Use the following procedure to set event thresholds, according to the type ofthreshold that you want to define.

To set event thresholds

1 On the Event Summary tab, select any one of the following tabs:

■ Group Matrix

■ Device Matrix

2 Click the Device link of the device name to view the list of monitors under thedevice.

3 From the Tools list, select the threshold to create based on the type of threshold(absolute, signature, or abnormality) and the level of coverage (either global for allinstances or for a particular monitor instance or event).



Note Alternatively, you can reach the threshold setting through the Options => Administration tab. Click the Edit link beside Intelligent Event Thresholds andthen click Edit for the relevant monitor type and threshold type.To set Abnormality Event thresholds, click Edit link beside Abnormality Events.

4 Set threshold values for the relevant attributes using the parameters displayed onthe Edit Thresholds screen, as summarized in Table 46 on page 185.

Table 46: Parameters for thresholds

Item Description

Enabled Allows you to select an attribute to set its threshold value

KPI Parameter value represents a key performance indicator for the application class.Most application classes have 1–2 parameters that are KPIs for the application.

Attribute Name of the monitored attribute to which the threshold setting applies.

Severity Severity of the event created—Minor, Major, or Critical (not relevant forAbnormality thresholds)

Duration The duration (in minutes) of delay from when the threshold is violated towhen an event is generated. The same duration is required to close an event,starting with the first data point where threshold is no longer violated.

Parameters specific to absolute thresholds

Comparison This is a reference point for comparison of the actual measurements with thedefined threshold values. The supported operators for comparison are >, <,==, >= or <=. This is available only for the Absolute Global and InstanceThresholds. For example, if you select the >= operator for an attribute and setthe threshold value to 90%, events are generated when the threshold value isgreater than or equal to 90%.

Threshold The range of values for which events are triggered. This range does notinclude the threshold. For example:

■ Above checked - An event is generated if data is continually greater thanthe threshold for the specified duration.

■ Below checked - An event is generated if data is continually lesser than thethreshold for the specified duration.



Item Description

Outside Baseline The baseline to associate with the threshold. This helps to reduce false eventsassociated with latest trends.For example, response time may be higher during peak time. In this case,associating the response time with appropriate baseline will cover any falseevent. If you select Auto-baseline on page 183 an event is generatedaccordingly. Other options are Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Hourly and Daily andAll Baselines.

Predict Select this option to generate predictive events. For more information, see Viewing predictive events on page 92.

Auto Close Clear this option if you do not want BMC ProactiveNet to automatically closethe triggered event, when it returns to normal state. This is useful for eventsthat have a very short duration.

Parameters for signature or abnormality thresholds

Above or Below Reference point for the following parameters:

■ Above High - Above the High baseline

■ Below Low - Below the Low baseline

■ Auto-baseline - an event is generated accordingly. Other options areHourly, Daily, Weekly, Hourly and Daily and All Baselines. For moreinformation see Auto-baseline on page 183.

Minimum SamplingWindowStep 4.a on page187

Define minimum window of time to keep raw data points that will beconsidered for intelligent threshold computation. Data points outside thisrange are usually discarded.

ThresholdStep 4.b on page187

The threshold field is used as an additional constraint, which must be met forthe Signature Event to be generated. Usually, a signature event is generated ifthe data values go outside the baseline range. When the threshold field is set,it additionally requires the data to be above or below the threshold value. Thisis useful to filter out insignificant abnormalities.

Absolute DeviationStep 4.bon page 187

Deviation is a way of introducing tolerance into the baseline values. If there isa small change in baseline that is not significant for reporting purposes,deviation can be set to ignore this small change. For example, if baseline lowvalue is 40, baseline high value is 100, and deviation is set to 2, then asignature event will be generated when the average of all data values insidethe threshold duration goes above 102 or below 38. The deviation value isadditive (not multiplicative) and is given in the same units being measured bythe particular monitor attribute (that is #,%, bytes, milliseconds, and so on).The default value for Absolute deviation is 5 units.



Item Description

Percentage DeviationStep4.b on page 187

Percent Deviation has the same meaning as the existing deviation field, exceptthat the actual value of the deviation is expressed in terms of a percent of thebaseline value (rather than an absolute value).The default value for percentagedeviation is 5%.

Suppress Event Step 4.a onpage 187

(Abnormality events only) If suppress event is enabled baselines projection andabnormality detection will not happen for that specific attribute.

1 Advanced parameter

2 Threshold, Absolute Deviation, and Percentage Deviation are additional filters for triggering events. Allset values must be exceeded to trigger an event. No event is generated if a single value is exceeded.

Note Click the Advanced link to set thresholds with minimum sampling window,threshold, absolute deviation, and percentage deviation. This option is applicableonly for Signature and Abnormality Event thresholds.

5 Select the Enabled check boxes for all relevant attributes, and then click Apply.

Related Topics

Understanding event thresholds on page 180

Managing event rulesEvent rules define the set of actions that can be performed when an event occurs. Todefine event rules, you must be assigned Allow Event Rule Management privilegesby the BMC ProactiveNet administrator.

You perform event rule management from the Event Rule Administration page. Todisplay the Event Rule Administration page, choose Edit next to the Event Rulesentry under the Event Administration heading on the Administration tab.

The Event Rule Administration page displays the list of event rules. Depending onyour privileges, you can see your event rules or, as an administrator, you can viewall event rules.

Managing event rules


Default event rules

A group of default event rules are provided out-of-the-box. The default event rulesall apply to the 00:00 hours to 00:00 hours of day range and include all days of theweek. When any one of the threshold values are exceeded, an event is triggered.

Table 47: Attributes of default event rules

Event rule Default event rule

JVM Monitor

Included Attributes JVM/Thread Count, Process CPU time

Selected Action(s) Diagnostics/Remote Actions: JVM Detail Diagnostics

Linux - Top Processes by CPU

Included Monitors Linux System

Included Attributes Total CPU Utilization

Selected Action(s) DD_Command: Top Processes-CPU(Linux)

Linux - Top Processes by Memory

Included Monitors Linux System

Included Attributes Swap Space Used

Selected Action(s) DD_Command: Top Processes-Mem(Linux)

Oracle - Top SQL Statements

Included Monitors Oracle Intelliscope, Oracle Query

Included Attributes CPU Usage by Sessions, Database Free Space, Response Time

Selected Action(s) DD_Command: Top SQL-DiskReads(Oracle)

Solaris - Top IPs by Traffic

Included Monitors SolarisTM TCP

Included Attributes Bytes Received, Bytes Sent

Selected Action(s) DD_Command: Top IP Traffic

Solaris - Top Processes by CPU

Included Monitors Solaris System

Included Attributes Total CPU Utilization

Selected Action(s) DD_Command: Top Processes-CPU(Solaris)

Solaris - Top Processes by Memory

Included Monitors Solaris System

Included Attributes Swap Space Used




Selected Action(s) DD_Command: Top Processes-Mem(Solaris)

WebLogic - Active Info

Included Monitors WebLogic Server 6.1, 7.0, or 8.1

Included Attributes JVM Memory Used, Execute Queue Usage

Selected Action(s) DD_Command: ActiveInfo-WebLogic

WebSphere - Top EJBs

Included Monitors WebSphere

Included Attributes Thread Pool Maxed, EJB Activates, EJB Avg Method Response Time, EJBPassivates, EJB Total Method Calls, Web App Response Time

Selected Action(s) DD_Command: TopEJBs-WebSphere

WebSphere - Top Servlets

Included Monitors WebSphere

Included Attributes Thread Pool Maxed, EJB Activates, EJB Avg Method Response Time, EJBPassivates, EJB Total Method Calls, Web App Response Time

Selected Action(s) DD_Command: TopServlet(WebSphere)

Web URL - Get Page

Included Monitors Web URL

Included Attributes Total Response Time

Selected Action(s) DD_Command: Get URL

Windows - Top IPs by Traffic

Included Monitors Windows TCP

Included Attributes Total Segments

Selected Action(s) DD_Command: Top IP Traffic

Windows - Top Processes by CPU

Included Monitors Windows System

Included Attributes System CPU Utilization, Total CPU Utilization, User CPU Utilization

Selected Action(s) DD_Command: Top Processes-CPU(Windows)

Windows - Top Processes by Memory

Included Monitors Windows System

Included Attributes Swap space used

Selected Action(s) DD_Command: Top Processes-Mem(Windows)




a The default event rule will not be created if the administrator E-Mail ID is not provided during serverinstallation.

Filtering the event rule list

The Action Type, Rule Type, and Status lists display the No Filter value by default.The remaining filtering fields are left blank. Consequently all event rules that youhave permission to view are displayed.

To focus on specific categories of event rules, you can filter the list according to thevarious criteria for managing event rules.

To perform the filtering action

1 On the Event Rule Administration page, choose values from among the followingfilter criteria described in Table 48 on page 190. You can specify one or more filtercriteria.

Table 48: Event rule filtering criteria

Fields Options

Action Type List containing values indicating the actions that you can associate with an event.These actions include:

■ No Filter

■ E-Mail

■ SNMP Trap

■ Run Server Command

■ Remote Actions/Diagnostics

■ E-Mail Group

■ RSD Incident

■ BEM event

■ AO event



Fields Options

Groups/Services Lists the available groups and/or services that you associate with the event. ClickNo Filter to open the Groups/Services Filter dialog box. You can choose to includeor exclude selected groups or services. After making your selection, click Apply.

Rule Name Text box where you can enter a full or partial string to retrieve matching event names

Rule Type List that contains the available rule types. Valid values are

■ No Filter

■ Basic

■ Advanced

Status List of the event status values:

■ No Filter

■ Enable

■ Disable

Note Email groups associated with event rules cannot be filtered.

Event rule types

Event rules are designated by one of the following types described in the followingtable.

Table 49: Event rule types

Type Description

Basic This rule type is used to trigger the full range of actions for BMC ProactiveNet intelligentevents, for external device-associated events, and for external events triggered by eventadapters. It is often used to trigger email notifications.When distinguishing a basic event rule type, you can choose to select an intelligent eventtype, an external event type, or both (the default). If you select an intelligent event type only,you can specify the full range of monitor type, event, and abnormality, and predictive eventfilter options. If you select an external event, then you can specify only the severity level andevent state (open, close, acknowledged, and/or assigned) filter.



Type Description

Advanced This rule type is used to trigger the full range of actions for ProactiveNet intelligent events,not external events. It is often used to trigger diagnostic and remote actions.When distinguishing an advanced rule type, you can specify monitor types and instances,together with their attributes; an event state filter notification for the event statuses open,close, acknowledge, and assigned; and an abnormality event filter.

Event rules or event management policies

Event rules can trigger actions that overlap with actions that event managementpolicies can also trigger. (See BMC ProactiveNet Administrator Guide for a discussionof event management policies which you can access from the Event ManagementPolicies tab of the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console.) For example, anevent rule can trigger an email notification in much the same way as an eventmanagement notification policy can. Generally speaking, event rules are easier toconfigure and execute than event management policies.

Nevertheless, if you are building an advanced rule type that uses multiple event slotvalues, using an event management notification policy with detailed event selectorcriteria might be the preferred choice.

Adding a basic event rule type

Add a basic event rule type to trigger email notifications for monitored events andexternal events on systems on which a BMC ProactiveNet device has been defined.

To add a basic event rule

1 On the Administration tab, click Edit next to the Event Rules entry to display theEvent Rule Administration page.

2 Click Add to display the Add Event Rule (Page 1/3) window.

3 On the Add Event Rule (Page 1/3) screen, complete or modify the text boxes andselections listed in the following table:

Table 50: Fields on the Add Event Rule (Page 1/3) window

Item Description

Event Rule Name Required. Alphanumeric string that describes the name of the event

Description Description of the event



Item Description

Time Range/Schedule You can select either the Time Range or the Schedule option.Time Range:

■ Time of Day Range - Select the time range in days. To include 24hours, select “00:00”-”00:00”.

■ Days of Week - Select this option to include the day of the week.

Schedule:Click New to create a new schedule or Edit to edit an existing schedulefrom the list. For detailed steps, see Managing schedules on page 410

Temporarily disable Event Rule Disables the event from being applied immediately

Event Rule Type Click Basic Event Rule.

Groups Filter

■ No Filter/Include SelectedGroups/Exclude SelectedGroups

■ No Filter: Applies event rule to all included monitors irrespective ofthe group they belong to.

■ Include Selected Groups: Applies the event rule to the selected group

■ Exclude Selected Groups: Does not apply the event rule to theselected group.

I f you choose either the Include Selected Groups or Exclude SelectedGroups option, then only device-associated events trigger the event rule.If you choose No Filter, then both device-associated and nondevice-associated events can trigger the event rule.Use an event management policy to trigger nondevice-associatedevents exclusively. See the Event Policy tab of the BMC ProactiveNetAdministration Console.

■ Available Groups

■ Selected Groups

Expand or collapse the groups. Use the arrows to move the selectedgroups.

Hierarchy Use hierarchy on or off to switch over to the corresponding view type.

4 Click Next to display the Add Event Rule (Page 2/3): Select Event/Monitor/Severity Information page. Complete the options listed in the following table:



Table 51: Event, monitor, and severity options of event rules on the Add Event Rule (Page 2/3):Select Event/Monitor/Severity Information window

Options Description

Event Type Filter

■ Intelligent Events

■ External Events

■ Intelligent Events: These are internal events: BMC ProactiveNetevents that are generated when you have data collection andmonitoring enabled on the BMC ProactiveNet system.

BMC ProactiveNet Operations Manager (POM) users do not seeIntelligent Events.

■ External Events: External events refer to device-associated eventsand events received from external event adapters.

By default, both options are selected. You can select one or bothoptions. When you select both Intelligent Events and External Eventsoptions, then you enable the filter options that apply to both options:

■ Event severity filter (but not the relationship direction Any, Up, orDown)

■ Event states Open, Close, Acknowledge, and Assigned

Upon selecting both Intelligent Events and External Events options, thefollowing filters are disabled:

■ Monitor Type filter options

■ Relationship direction Any, Up, or Down options of the eventseverity level

■ Abnormality and Predictive event filters

For External Events, remote actions apply only to device-associatedevents. Run Agent Diagnostic actions, however, apply only toIntelligent Events.Note for upgrade users: If you have an existing basic event rulewithout external events, then the event rule is upgraded and mappedto a basic event rule with the Intelligent Events option selected and theExternal Events option unchecked.If you have an existing basic event rule with external events, then theevent rule is upgraded and mapped to a basic event rule with theExternal Events option selected and the Intelligent Events unchecked.

Monitor Type Filter



Options Description

No Monitor Type Filter/SelectMonitor Types ■ Select No Monitor Type Filter, if no specific monitors are needed. By

default, this will enable all available monitors.

■ Select Monitor Type to assign the type of filter by choosing from theAvailable Monitor Types pane and moving them to the SelectedMonitor Types pane.

Severity/State Filter

Event tab

Any Triggers event rule for any severity level that matches the specifiedseverity.The event severity levels are:

■ Info

■ Warning

■ Minor

■ Major

■ Critical

■ Info-Warning

■ Minor-Major

■ Major-Critical

■ Info-Warning-Minor

■ Warning-Minor-Major

■ Minor-Major-Critical

■ Info-Warning-Minor-Major-Critical

Up Triggers event rule every time the new severity is higher than the oldseverity

Down Triggers event rule every time the new severity is lower than the oldseverity

Open Triggers event rule every time a new event is opened

Close Triggers event rule every time an event is closed



Options Description

Acknowledge Triggers event rule every time an event is acknowledged

Assigned Triggers the event rule each time an event is assigned

Abnormality tab

Open Triggers event rule every time when a new abnormality is opened.

Close Triggers event rule every time when an abnormality is closed.

Abnormality Score >= Use this option to filter abnormal events that have abnormality scorefrom the list.

Predictive tab

Select Predicted Severity Specifies the severity level of the predicted event. Valid values are

■ Minor

■ Major

■ Critical

■ Minor-Major

■ Major-Critical

■ Minor-Major-Critical

Open Triggers an event rule each time a predicted event is opened

Close Triggers an event rule each time a predicted event is closed

Acknowledge Triggers an event rule each time a predicted event is acknowledged

Assigned Triggers an event rule each time a predicted event is assigned

5 Click Next to display the Add Event Rule (Page 3/3): Action Information forEvent Rule complete the options listed in the following table:

Table 52: Action options of event rules on the Add Event Rule (Page 3/3): Action Information forEvent Rule window

Options Description

Actions to Perform Lists the actions that you have associated with the event after clickingthe Add button corresponding to the action

Send Email action

From Your e-mail address.



Options Description

To Recipient e-mail address.

Message Format Select one of the following:

■ Full Page ASCII

■ One-line Summary ASCII

■ Full Page HTML/GIF

E-Mail Group Option to create E-mail groups. For detailed steps, see To create or editan E-Mail Group on page 205

Event Text Customization Customizes the settings for all email alerts.For more information, see Customizing event text on page 245.Click Add to include a Send Email action.

Send SNMP Trap action

SNMP Host (Name/IP) To send events to a management system that accepts standard SNMPtraps, enter the SNMP host name or IP address, and click Add. Fordetailed information see, Managing BMC ProactiveNet events throughSNMP traps on page 205.

Run Command on Proactive Server action

Path Include the file path where you wish to run specified executables orscripts and execute an application or script when an event occurs. Thenclick Add.Note: To add an AlarmPoint notification for a data-onlyimplementation, create an event rule using the AlarmPoint command.Enter the pw_AlarmPoint - u userName in the Path field. If you do notenter the user name, the event is sent to the default user. E-mail will besent to the configured user. See also Managing the AlarmPointintegration on page 216.For detailed information on the run command, see Managing BMCProactiveNet events through Run Command on Server on page 215.

Run Agent Diagnostics For systems running BMC ProactiveNet agents, add a preconfiguredcommand to an event rule using the Agent Diagnostics Command.Then choose the process to inquire about from the list, and click Add.See also Managing BMC ProactiveNet events through DiagnosticCommands on the BMC ProactiveNet Server on page 216.Run Agent Diagnostic actions apply to intelligent events.



Options Description

Run Remote Actions/Diagnostics For systems without BMC ProactiveNet agents, create and register a user-defined command to associate with the event rule. Then choose theprocess to inquire about from the list, and click Add. See also Managing BMC ProactiveNet events through Diagnostic Commandson the BMC ProactiveNet Server on page 216.Remote actions are triggered by device-associated events, where thedevice is the target system on which the remote action is executed. Theevent must be mapped to the device through a device alias. The devicemust have its authentication credentials defined so that the remoteaction can access the device.

Integrate with BMC Remedy Service Desk, BMC Event Manager and BMC Atrium Orchestrator actions

Create incident in BMC RemedyService Desk

Creates an AR system request in BMC Remedy Service Desk (BRSD).For detailed information see, Integration configuration for eventactions (Remedy Service Desk) on page 218.

Send event to BMC Event Manager Sends an event to BMC Event Manager (BEM). For more informationsee,Integration configuration for event actions (BEM) on page 229.

Send event to BMC AtriumOrchestrator

Sends an event to BMC Atrium Orchestrator. For more information see, Managing BMC ProactiveNet events BMC Atrium Orchestrator(formerly known as BMC Run Book Automation) on page 237.

Integrate with BladeLogic

Execute Blade Action Runs the snapshot on BladeLogic automatically. Do not use this actionfor any other event rule apart from DefaultRule-BladeEvent. For moreinformation see “Integrating with BMC BladeLogic” on page 419.

6 After adding actions to the event, click Done to save the event rule type and itsattributes.

■ The newly created event rule is displayed in the event rule list of the EventRule Administration page.

Note The triggering of action happens on any specified event when the event rule issatisfied even when the other slots or information are changed.

Adding an advanced rule type

Add an advanced event rule type to trigger actions, including remote and diagnosticactions, on monitored, attribute-level events. Advanced rule types apply only tointelligent events.



To add an advanced rule

1 Complete steps 1 through 3 as described under To add a basic event rule on page192. Be sure to select the Advanced Rule option under Event Rule Types.

2 Click Next to display the Add Advanced Rule (Page 2/3): Select AttributeInformation page.

The Attribute, Instance, or Severity Filter selections are based on the filter optionsyou chose to include or exclude on Page 1/3.

3 To include all instances of a particular monitor type, select Monitor Type andAttribute under Attribute/Instance/Severity Filter, and click Add to display the Monitor Type Filter dialog box.

a In the Monitor Type Filter dialog box, select the monitor type or types. Thecorresponding attributes are displayed.

b Select one or more of the corresponding attributes, and click Add.

The attributes are displayed in the Selected Attributes table.

4 Alternatively, to include specific instances of a monitor, select Monitor Instanceand Attribute and click Add to display the Instance Selector window.

a Select one or more monitor types, and click Next. The monitor instances andrespective attributes are displayed.

b Select one or more instances and attributes, and then click Apply.

The instances and attributes are displayed in the Selected Attributes table.

Note You can select and add monitor types and attributes together with monitorinstances and attributes.

5 In the Selected Attributes table, specify a severity level for each attribute. Thedefault is abnormality. You can choose from the following severity levels:

■ Abnormality

■ Predictive Minor

■ Predictive Major

■ Predictive Critical



■ Minor

■ Major

■ Critical

6 Indicate whether you want to include severity levels greater than the selected oneby selecting the and higher option.

7 Select which attributes you wish to associate with the event. (You can click Deleteto remove selected attributes.)

Note The selections that you make in the Selected Attributes table are based on thecurrent filter selection. If you modify the filter selection later, the selectedattributes remain the same because they are based on the original filter selection.

8 Under Event State Filter, select one or more of the following options:

■ Open to trigger the event rule every time a new event or event is opened

■ Close to trigger the event rule every time an event or event is closed

■ Acknowledge to trigger this event rule every time an event is acknowledged

■ Assigned to trigger this event rule every time an event is assigned

9 To set a filter for abnormality events, specify a value, or no filter underAbnormality Score Filter.

10 Click Next to display the Add Event Rule (Page 3/3): Action Information

11 Complete the options listed in Table 52 on page 196.

12 Click Done to save the event rule type and its attributes.

Editing a basic or an advanced rule

To edit any of the rule types, click Edit next to the corresponding rule in the eventrule list of the Event Rule Administration page.

In the Event Rule wizard, you can edit any field except for the event rule type. Theprocedures are the same as for adding an event rule.



WARNING When editing an existing basic event rule, you need to determine the impact that theselection of an external event type, intelligent event type, or of both types wouldhave on actions that are already assigned to the event rule. For example, if you edit arule that originally applied to both external and intelligent event types so that now itapplies to external events only, then any Run Agent Diagnostic actions, which applyto intelligent events only, would be removed from the event rule definition.

Deleting an event rule

The deletion action removes the event rule and its related actions from the BMCProactiveNet server.

To delete an event rule

1 On the Event Rule Administration screen, select the corresponding check boxunder the Select column to delete an event rule.

2 Click the Delete tab.

3 Click OK in the confirmation screen.

BMC ProactiveNet deletes the event rule and refreshes the Event RuleAdministration window.

Updating event actions

Through the Update Action tab, you can add, modify or delete any actions of theevent rule. By default, the Update Action tab is disabled.

Any updates to an event automatically trigger corresponding notification events.

To update event action

1 On the Event Rule Administration window, select the event rule which requireschanges. To select all the event rules click Select All.

2 Click Update Action. The Update Action screen appears.

3 Select the desired Action Type to update action.

4 Click Apply to update the action.



Enabling and disabling event rules

Event rules are associated with different actions such as sending an email, runscripts on remote target, send events to BEM and so on. You can suppress theseactions by disabling the entire event rule. Enabling event rule would re-instantiateall the actions.

To enable or disable an existing event rule

1 On the Event Rule Administration screen, select the corresponding check boxunder the Select column to enable or disable the event rule.

2 Click the relevant option:

■ To enable an event rule, click Enable.

■ To disable an event rule, click Disable.


The status of the selected event rule gets changed.

Supplying arguments to a server command

By default, the server passes nine arguments to the script or program that isexecuted as a result of an event action launch. They are as follows:

■ <rule_name>: Name of the event rule

■ <time_stamp>: Time when the event occurred

■ <Device_Name>: Name of the device hosting the monitor from where the eventoriginated

■ <Severity>: Severity associated with the event

■ <Status>: Current status of the event

■ <Description> - Description of the event

■ <Event ID>: Unique ID of the event associated with the event. Event ID isdifferent for each new event that affects the state of the event. For example, if anevent transitions from high to critical, that is a new event, accompanied by it'sown event ID. When the event closes, that is also a new event.



■ < Intelligent Event ID>: Unique ID of the intelligent event. Intelligent Event IDremains constant for the duration of the intelligent event, i.e., until it closes.

■ <Device IP>: IP address of the device hosting the monitor from where the eventoriginated. Device IP is a string denoting the 4 octets of the device IP address.

■ <Source Agent IP>: IP address of the device hosting the BMC ProactiveNet Agent.For event actions triggered by SNMP based monitors, the source agent willalways be the IP Address of machine hosting the BMC ProactiveNet Server.

Here’s an example of a script that was launched with only the default arguments:

/usr/pw/pronto/usr_apps/bin/notify.csh rule_name time_stampdevice_name severity status description eventId AlarmId DeviceID Source_AgentIP

Additional user arguments can be passed into the event scripts by appending themto the script name. Here’s an example of passing 'value1' and 'value2' into the eventscript. Note the use of the 'flags' parameter:

/usr/pw/pronto/usr_apps/bin/notifycce.csh&flags=value1&flags=value2

Note Separating the values using the ampersand and the term flags (&flags) is optional.

When additional user arguments are specified, they are passed into the script beforethe default arguments. Here’s an example:

/usr/pw/pronto/usr_apps/bin/notify.csh value1 value2 rule_nametime_stamp device_name severity status description eventId AlarmId

Note Default arguments are passed into the script, regardless of whether the event scriptsintend to use them or not. The scripts can simply ignore these arguments if they arenot needed.User-defined arguments are passed first to the server, followed by the defaultarguments.The default arguments are passed in the order given above.

For an example of a script that uses these parameters, see /usr/pw/pronto/bin/generic_script.pl.



Note While passing arguments to command on server, do not pass “+” character as anargument. The character “+” is used as a keyword internally by the BMCProactiveNet Server. For example, if the Command on Server is specified as 'chmod+x abc.sh', ProactiveNet Server will execute the command ‘chmod x abc.sh’. Thismay lead to unexpected results. The workaround is to write the command in a scriptfile and execute the script using Command On Server Action.

Defining email groups

An email group is a group of email addresses by which event rule actions, can besent to an email group. The group consisting of email addresses is notified.

You can add, modify or delete any e-mail group by accessing the E-Mail GroupAdministration dialog through the E-Mail Group Administration button on theEvent Rule Administration page. When setting up event rules, you must determinethe way in which event notifications will be sent.

BMC ProactiveNet can send event notifications through e-mail when an event isgenerated. event e-mails contain the same information as the events viewed from theevent Summary page. E-mails can be sent in HTML format.

E-mail notification, which includes the event listing, is similar to how it would beviewed from the BMC ProactiveNet Operations console. If your e-mail clientsupports HTML format, relevant graphs can be viewed.

Details of the SMTP Server to be used for email alerts are stored in pronet.confunder installDirectory /pw/custom/conf:

pronet.api.emailer.smtp.host=mail.bmc.compronet.api.emailer.smtp.port=25

These entries are dynamically generated. Please refrain from editing these withoutprior impact assessment. Any changes to these entries will impact all mail relatedBMC ProactiveNet actions (event notification/reports/alerts).

HTML event notifications contain partial GIFs of the event summary detail, alongwith the event graph. It is important that your ISP, e-mail client, and networksupport HTML e-mails. HTML format is preferred if your e-mail client supports it.HTML provides for enhanced report layout and inclusion of graphs.

Similarly, subject and body of a particular Email Alert can also be customized usingEvent Text Customization for Individual Event Rules.



Note Some ISPs do not allow or only allow an image of a certain size to be mailed. Filesize is often limited to 2MB. Check with your administrator. In case of notificationthrough HTML e-mail, timestamp included in the subject refers to the time when thethreshold was first crossed. The actual time of event generation could be much later,depending on threshold duration and polling interval.

To create or edit an E-Mail Group

1 On the Event Rule Administration page, click the E-Mail Group Administrationtab.

2 On the E-Mail Group Administration page, click Add

3 Type the name of the group and list of e-mail address.

4 Select the preferred E-mail type from the list.

5 Click Add to add the E-mail group.

6 Click Done to save the E-mail group options.

Event actions: managing BMC ProactiveNetevents in external environments

Through the action options of event rules on the Add Event Rule (Page 3/3): ActionInformation for Event Rule window, you can manage all events in the externalenvironment monitored by BMC ProactiveNet. This external environment also refersto integrations with the following BMC products: BMC Remedy Service Desk, BMCEvent Management, and BMC Atrium Orchestrator.

Managing BMC ProactiveNet events through SNMP traps

In the BMC ProactiveNet Administration console, select the appropraite option tospecify event notification by SNMP traps.

Table 53: SNMP trap options

Option Description

Standard Works with any management system that accepts standard SNMP traps

Event actions: managing BMC ProactiveNet events in external environments


Option Description

HP OpenView Integrates with HP OpenView traps

Tivoli Integrates with TEC and NetView traps

CA Unicenter NSM Integrates with Computer Associates Unicenter NSM traps

BMC ProactiveNet SNMP trap details

The BMC ProactiveNet Enterprise OID is 1.3.6.1.4.1.3287.2.2.

Variable bindings that are sent as part of the BMC ProactiveNet trap are:

Table 54: BMC ProactiveNet Trap Variable Bindings

OID Description

1.3.6.1.4.1.3287.2.1.1.1.1 event ID

1.3.6.1.4.1.3287.2.1.1.1.3 Time when the event was generated

1.3.6.1.4.1.3287.2.1.1.1.4 Path of the monitor instance that generated the event

1.3.6.1.4.1.3287.2.1.1.1.5 IP address of the trap-sending BMC ProactiveNet Server

1.3.6.1.4.1.3287.2.1.1.1.6 IP address of the device that generated the event

1.3.6.1.4.1.3287.2.1.1.1.7 ifNum of interface. By default, the value is set to 100.

1.3.6.1.4.1.3287.2.1.1.1.8 ifType of Interface. By default, this OID is sent blank.

1.3.6.1.4.1.3287.2.1.1.1.9 Severity of the event. Values are 4 (CRITICAL), 3 (MAJOR), 2(MINOR), 1 (ABNORMAL)

1.3.6.1.4.1.3287.2.1.1.1.10 Status of the event. Can either be OPEN or CLOSED

1.3.6.1.4.1.3287.2.1.1.1.11 event description

1.3.6.1.4.1.3287.2.1.1.1.12 Device types to which this event is related are AppServer, DBServer,FireWall, Other, Mail Server, Remote Agent, Router, Server, Switch,WebServer.

1.3.6.1.4.1.3287.2.1.1.1.13 Threshold type that is whether it was Absolute, Signature, Change-Event or Imported Event. Threshold Type is an integer defined as156: Crossed absolute threshold. Applicable to all instances ofspecified monitor type157: Crossed signature threshold. Applicableto all instances of specified monitor type158: External events that areimported using pw user event or using SNMP trap receivermonitor159: Change Event.161: Crossed absolute threshold.Applicable to a specific monitor instance162: Crossed signaturethreshold. Applicable to a specific monitor instance

1.3.6.1.4.1.3287.2.1.1.1.14 event rule name.

1.3.6.1.4.1.3287.2.1.1.1.15 Abnormality score. This indicates how closely the event relates to theprobable cause of the problem.



OID Description

1.3.6.1.4.1.3287.2.1.1.1.16 The URL of the page on BMC ProactiveNet web server wheredetailed information of the event can be found.

1.3.6.1.4.1.3287.2.1.1.1.17 Escalation information.

1.3.6.1.4.1.3287.2.1.1.1.18 event suppression. If set to true, the event suppresses other BMCProactiveNet events.

1.3.6.1.4.1.3287.2.1.1.1.19 Device name.

1.3.6.1.4.1.3287.2.1.1.1.20 Monitor type.

1.3.6.1.4.1.3287.2.1.1.1.21 Instance name.

1.3.6.1.4.1.3287.2.1.1.1.22 More Info is an important piece of information for determining thereason for event.

1.3.6.1.4.1.3287.2.1.1.1.23 Device description.

HP OpenView integration

You can use HP OpenView in conjunction with the BMC ProactiveNet Server andProactive Remote Agent (UNIX). HP OpenView integrates BMC ProactiveNet trapsinto Network Node Manager (NNM). The traps are correctly formatted anddisplayed in the Event Console. All BMC ProactiveNet traps are seen under thePronto Proactive Events category. It also allows you to launch BMC ProactiveNetfrom the pop-up menu as well as the menu bar. MIB for the BMC ProactiveNetServer is also loaded so that you can use the MIB Browser and navigate down BMCProactiveNet Server MIB.

Note See the BMC ProactiveNet Release Notes for compatible versions of HP OpenViewNetwork Node Manager.

Integration (for version 6.41 and later)

In addition to the integration package, BMC ProactiveNet provides an enhancedintegration package for HP OpenView.

The enhancements include:

■ A link to the Event Details page for individual BMC ProactiveNet events

■ The severity of the event displays on the HP Open Views map

■ Device Level Event Matrix from the node is displayed on the HP OpenView Console



Prerequisites

■ The correct version of HP OpenView Network Node Manager must be installedon a supported version of HP-UX. For supported versions, see the BMCProactiveNet Release Notes.

■ For a status change to be reflected when a BMC ProactiveNet event is received, aread-write enabled Open View Map must be opened on the computer where theBMC ProactiveNet Integration package has been installed. For installation and un-installation, it is not necessary that Open View Map be open.

To install the new integration package

1 Source the Open View environment. This can be done by sourcing ov.envvars.shor ov.envvars.csh. The default path for ov.envvars.sh under UNIX is /opt/OV/bin.

2 Untar the ovproactivenet.tar file. The ovproactivenet directory is created.

3 Change directory to ovproactivenet.

4 Run the following command:

■ ./instl-proactivenet-ov.shA welcome note displays, details of the installation log and its availability. Aconfirmation message to install the package appears.Click y (yes)The installer tries to determine the path to the browser executable. If theexecutable is not found in the default path, a message is displayed to supplythe complete path to the browser.Once the browser path is determined, the installer installs the requiredregistration, executable, symbol, and icon files in the appropriate directory.

5 After the installation is complete, restart the Open View User Interface (ovw) toactivate the BMC ProactiveNet package.

To uninstall the new integration package

1 Source the Open View environment. This can be done by sourcing ov.envvars.shor ov.envvars.csh.

■ The default path for ov.envvars.sh under UNIX is /opt/OV/bin.

2 Change directory to ovproactivenet.

3 Execute ./uninstall to uninstall BMC ProactiveNet Package for HP Open View.



4 Restart Open View User Interface (ovw).

5 Remove BMC ProactiveNet Events category manually.

To delete BMC ProactiveNet events from the event browser:

1 On NNM Event Configuration Window, choose Options => EventConfiguration.

2 On the Event Categories Window, choose Edit => Configure => EventCategories.

3 Delete the BMC ProactiveNet Events category.

4 Close Event Categories Window.

5 On the NNM Event Configuration window, choose File => Save. This deletes theBMC ProactiveNet Events category.

Viewing BMC ProactiveNet events on event browserAfter installing BMC ProactiveNet Integration package, configure the required BMCProactiveNet Server to forward BMC ProactiveNet events as SNMP traps to thecomputer where HP OpenView Integration package has been installed. To sendSNMP Traps for events, create an event notification rule on the BMC ProactiveNetServer.

All BMC ProactiveNet events forwarded to HP OpenView can be viewed under aseparate event category called BMC ProactiveNet events in the Event Categorieswindow of NNM.

Click Status corresponding to BMC ProactiveNet events to open the Event Browserfor BMC ProactiveNet events.

Each event message is shown in the following format:

date trapSendingAgent trapMessage

The options are listed in Table 55 on page 209.

Table 55: event message options

Option Description

Date Time when BMC ProactiveNet trap was received. Time of the computer whereHP OpenView is installed.

Trap Sending Agent BMC ProactiveNet Remote Agent that raised the event because of which thetrap was generated.



Option Description

Trap Message event received on ProactiveNetAgentHostname Description:ProactiveNetEventDescription event URL: URLToOpenProactiveNet EventDetailsPage

To view the event details page,

1 Select a BMC ProactiveNet event.

2 Select Actions => Additional Actions.

3 On the Additional Actions for BMC ProactiveNet Events screen, select OpenProactiveNet Event Page and click OK.

4 Select the Selected events check box.

5 Click OK to open the corresponding event details page.

If no browser instance is open currently, then a new browser instance is opened.In this case, the user is required to log on to the BMC ProactiveNet Server.

Tivoli

Tivoli integration requires you to untar the file provided on your BMC ProactiveNetServer, and then run the installation as follows. Use the instructions in the Tivolimanual for installing the Tivoli Module. The necessary file appears as part of theBMC ProactiveNet Server or BMC ProactiveNet Agent (UNIX) installation.

The SNMP adapter by itself cannot receive and understand all SNMP traps comingin on that computer, but must be customized so it can understand and listen to BMCProactiveNet traps. To accomplish this, modify the tecad_snmp.cds andtecad_snmp.oid files. The content of these files must be appended with the EventClass definitions. There are four event classes for four different event types. Thesefiles also contain information, such as in which event source will each event go. Also,mapping of the event severity for the incoming event is done through this file. Theevent severity must be mapped because the TEC server understands only theseseverities: Fatal, Critical, Minor, Warning, Harmless, and Unknown. The severity ofthe incoming event must be mapped to one of these. The event severities aremapped as follows:

■ Critical => Fatal

■ Major => Critical



■ Minor => Minor

■ Abnormal => Harmless

Once done, the TEC server must be customized so that it understands the trapsreceived by the adapter, which in turn are forwarded to the TEC server.pw_plus.baroc file defines the new event class, which is inherited from the baseSNMP Class. The four new event classes defined in tecad_snmp.cds are inheritedfrom the main event class defined in this BAROC file.

BMC ProactiveNet Plus moduleThere are two operational tasks in this Plus module:

■ Set up TEC Event server for BMC ProactiveNet

■ Set up Event adapter for TEC

To install the plus module

1 Start the Tivoli desktop.

2 From the menu bar, select Desktop => Install => Install Product.

3 Choose Select Media and select the path to the ProactivePlus.image/Cfgdirectory.

4 Choose Set Media&Close. The product name, ProactivePlus Module for Tivoli,Version 1.1.x listed in the Install Product window is displayed.

5 Select the node name that is installed and then click Install and close.

6 Once the Plus module is installed successfully, click the TivoliPlus icon on theTivoli Desktop. Then click ProactivePlus for Tivoli. On successful installation thetwo icons for the Operational Task are displayed.

7 Right-click the Setup Event Adapter for TEC icon and click Modify Job. In thiswindow, select the endpoint/managed node where SNMP adapter is runningfrom the Available Task endpoints frame. Click the arrow so that it shows up inthe Selected Task endpoints frame. Remove all the other node names from thisframe. Then click Change and close.

■ Double-click Setup Event Adapter for TEC or right-click the icon and clickRun job to run the task. This task should always be executed before runningSetup TEC Event Server for BMC ProactiveNet.

8 Before running the Setup TEC Event Server for BMC ProactiveNet task, ensurethat the rule base ProactivePlus does not exist. This rule_base might exist if thistask was executed in a previous installation.



■ To delete this rule base, right-click the Event Server icon and select rule bases.Select ProactivePlus and then select Edit => Delete from the menu.

9 Double-click Setup TEC Event Server for ProactiveNet. The system prompts youfor the rule_base to clone. Select default values in this case.

10 Once these two tasks are executed correctly, the TEC console opens from theTivoli Desktop. One of the event sources is BMC ProactiveNet. Double-click theicon. The BMC ProactiveNet events is displayed.

■ The Tivoli setup is now complete. From the BMC ProactiveNet Server, selectthe SNMP option and enter the TEC console location in the entry field provided.

To uninstall the Plus module:

1 If Framework 3.6 is installed, run

■ BINDIR/../generic_unix/TME/PLUS/LINK/PLUSuninstall.sh d $BINDIR/../generic_unix/TME/PLUS/Proactive/PLUSproduct-info.shOtherwise, skip this step.

2 Run the removepw.sh script that was provided in the original tar file. Remove allcomponents from within the Plus module.

3 Go to the Tivoli desktop and choose Desktop => TMR Connections => TopLevel Policy Regions from the menu bar.

4 Double-click Tivoli Plus, then double-click ProactivePlus for Tivoli.

5 Delete all the listed components. Ensure that all these individual componentshave all the icons under them deleted before actually deleting the main icon.

6 Once this is done, go to /tivoli/tec_rules and delete the directory ProactivePlus.

Tivoli TEC 3.8 / 3.9 integrationTo integrate Tivoli TEC 3.8 and 3.9 on the BMC ProactiveNet Server, run the TivoliTEC 3.8/3.9 install script. The install scripts are part of the BMC ProactiveNet Serverinstallation, and are available under

usr/pw/apps3rdparty/tivoli/3.8/ProactiveNetPLUS directory



BMC ProactiveNet sends events to Tivoli as SNMP Traps. The Tivoli TECAD SNMPadapter receives these traps and forwards them to the TEC Server for display on theEvent Console of Tivoli.

To achieve this coordination with TECAD SNMP adapter, BMC ProactiveNet PLUSinstaller performs the following configuration changes:

■ Modifies tecad_snmp.cds and tecad_snmp.oid files with entries regarding BMCProactiveNet SNMP Traps.

■ Appends tecad_snmp.cds and tecad_snmp.oid files with Event Class definitions.There are four event classes for four different event types.

tecad_snmp.cds and tecad_snmp.oid also contain information, such as event sourcemapping, event severity (Fatal, Critical, Minor, Warning, Harmless, and Unknown)mapping for incoming event. The severity of incoming event is mapped to thedefault mapping listed in Table 56 on page 213.

Table 56: Default mapping

BMC ProactiveNet Severity Tivoli TEC Severity

Critical Fatal

Major Critical

Minor Minor

Abnormal Harmless

The BMC ProactiveNet PLUS installer configures the TEC server by adding thepw_plus.baroc file to the Rule base. This file contains new event classes inheritedfrom the base SNMP Class.

Installing the plus module (for TEC 3.8/3.9)Ensure that there are no spaces in the path specified while installing TEC Server onWindows. If there are spaces in the path, BMC ProactiveNet PLUS moduleinstallation will fail.

Related topics:

To install BMC ProactiveNet Plus module, on page 214

To delete an existing BMC ProactiveNet rulebase on page 214

To setup TEC Event server for BMC ProactiveNet on page 214

To uninstall the ProactiveNetPlus module (for TEC 3.8/3.9): on page 215



To install BMC ProactiveNet Plus module,

1 Start Tivoli Desktop.

2 Run the ProactiveNetPLUSinstall.sh script.

3 On the Tivoli desktop, click TivoliPlus.

4 On the new window, click ProactiveNetPlus for Tivoli.

■ The following icons are displayed under the Operational Tasks:

—Setup SNMP Adapter for ProactiveNet

—Setup TEC Event Server for ProactiveNet

5 Under Operational Task, right-click Setup SNMP Adapter for BMC ProactiveNetand choose Modify Job.

6 On the Modify Job screen, select the endpoint/managed node using arrow keyswhere TECAD SNMP adapter is running and make the required selections.

7 Click Change and close.

8 On the Operational Tasks window, double-click Setup SNMP Adapter forProactiveNet. Alternatively, right-click and choose Run job.

Note

■ Execute this task before running Setup TEC event server for BMC ProactiveNet.

■ Delete any rulebase from previous installations.

To delete an existing BMC ProactiveNet rulebase

1 Right-click Event Server and select rule bases.

2 Select ProactiveNet and delete using the Edit menu.

To setup TEC Event server for BMC ProactiveNet

1 Run TEC Event Server.

2 Double-click Setup TEC Event Server for ProactiveNet. Alternatively, right-clickand choose Run job.



3 Select default values for the Rulebase to clone prompt.

■ After successful execution of the two tasks, open the TEC console to view BMCProactiveNet events.

To uninstall the ProactiveNetPlus module (for TEC 3.8/3.9):

1 Navigate to installDirectory /usr/pw/apps3rdparty/tivoli/3.8/ProactiveNetPLUS /plusmoduleremove

2 Run the script by using the following commands

■ paremove.shThis script uninstalls all BMC ProactiveNet PLUS components. After BMCProactiveNet PLUS module has been removed,

—Delete the BMC ProactiveNet rule base from /tivoli/tec_rules.

—Specify another rulebase for Tivoli Event Server.

Managing BMC ProactiveNet events through Run Commandon Server

Server commands run specified executables or scripts and execute an application orscript when an event occurs.

You run the executables or scripts through the Run Command on Server

You can run an application or script when an event occurs. Such applications orscripts can be used for escalation management, as well as event integration withother notification systems, such as AlarmPoint. They can also be used to send eventsdirectly to ticket systems such as BMC Remedy Service Desk.

BMC ProactiveNet Administrator will choose the application or create the script anddecide whether to run the application or script, on the server or on the agent systemwhere the event occurred.

■ Path: Enter the script you want to execute when an event occurs.The installDirectory /pw/pronto/bin/generic_script.pl script, which is provided asa model, shows how arguments can be passed to the script. The script can bemodified and moved to the installDirectory /pw/pronto/usr_apps/bin directory.



Note While entering arguments to send server commands, do not enter the “+”character as an argument. The “+” character is used as a keyword internally byProactive Server. For example, if the command on Server is specified as chmod+x abc.sh, Proactive Server will execute the chmod x abc.sh command. Thismay lead to unexpected results. The workaround is to write the command in ascript file and execute the script using Command On Server Action.

Limitation: The BMC ProactiveNet Server executes the commands on a differentthread to prevent it from terminating unexpectedly. So the event action history willrecord Run Server commands successfully. Any exception that occurs whileexecuting the command will be recorded in the ProactiveNet.log file in theinstallDirectory /pw/pronto/logs directory. If the BMC ProactiveNet Server stopsresponding, this log file can be checked for errors.

Managing BMC ProactiveNet events through DiagnosticCommands on the BMC ProactiveNet Server

You can define two types of diagnostics commands to execute on remote systems:

■ Run Agent Diagnostics, when a BMC ProactiveNet agent is installed and runningon the system

■ Run Agent-less Diagnostic/Remote Actions, when the target system does nothave an installed and running agent

Both diagnostic commands are used to gather information about the top systemprocesses on the target system. The Run Agent Diagnostics commands arepredefined. You can select one to execute it. If the target system does not have anagent, you must define and register the remote action command and use theappropriate remote login protocol to retrieve the process information.

See the BMC ProactiveNet Administrator Guide for information about diagnosticcommands.

Managing the AlarmPoint integration

The AlarmPoint integration for BMC ProactiveNet provides the ability to notifyAlarmPoint users who are monitoring a device about BMC ProactiveNet events thatmeet specified escalation criteria.



BMC ProactiveNet 8.0 is compatible with AlarmPoint for BMC Event and ImpactManagement (Advanced Edition), v. 2.1.0, and AlarmPoint Server 4. You can findthe compatible AlarmPoint products at http://www.alarmpoint.com.

The AlarmPoint integration can satisfy an event-only and a data-onlyimplementation. Both implementations leverage the same AlarmPoint products.

Follow the installation and configuration directions in the AlarmPointdocumentation. Be sure to install the AlarmPoint client on the system where theBMC ProactiveNet cell server resides.

For the data-only implementation, perform the additional configuration stepdescribed in the Remote Actions/Diagnostics chapter of the BMC ProactiveNetAdministrator Guide.

Event-only implementation

In the event-only implementation, the AlarmPoint user goes through the BMCProactiveNet Administration Console to create a notification event managementpolicy specifically for AlarmPoint users. The AlarmPoint users are identifiedthrough a specially defined event criteria formula. When an incoming event matchesthe event criteria formula, it triggers the notification policy. The notification policyforwards the event to the AlarmPoint client, which forwards it to the AlarmPointserver and to the designated AlarmPoint users of the configured device—whether itbe SMS, e-mail, or phone messages.

In the event-only implementation, the AlarmPoint user can perform managementactions on the event, such as acknowledge, assign, close, and so forth. These actionsare processed by the BMC ProactiveNet cell server. The notifications are thendisplayed in the Event List.

Data-only implementation

To prepare the data-only implementation, you must configure the installDirectory /custom/conf/pronet.conf file to enable AlarmPoint to communicate with the ProductShort Server. See the Remote Actions/Diagnostics chapter of the BMC ProactiveNetAdministrator Guide .

You can create an event rule for AlarmPoint. In page 3/3 of the event rule wizard,you use the Run Command on Proactive Server action to define the action. Enter theBMC ProactiveNet CLI pw_AlarmPoint -u userName in the Path field. When theevent matches the event rule criteria, the event is escalated and the AlarmPoint useris notified.

The data-only implementation is unidirectional. The AlarmPoint user cannot reply tothe event with an action such as acknowledge.



http://www.alarmpoint.com

In either implementation, if an event notification fails, you can enable the debugoption of the BMC ProactiveNet server and check for exception errors.

Managing BMC ProactiveNet events in the Remedyenvironment

An event generated in BMC ProactiveNet creates an AR system request in BMCRemedy Service Desk, if the Create Incident in BMC Remedy Service Desk optionis selected in the Add Event Rule (Page 3/3): Action Information for Event Rulescreen. BMC ProactiveNet events based on Abnormalities also create AR SystemRequests. The severity of predictive events is changed to Warning before the ARSystem Request is changed. The description for the ARS Requests created out ofBMC ProactiveNet events based on Abnormalities and Predictive events are prefixedwith the word Abnormal: and Predictive: respectively to distinguish it from theother BMC ProactiveNet events. When the event is closed in BMC ProactiveNet, thestatus of the AR system request gets changed accordingly as per the IBRSD setting.Ensure that Integration to BMC Remedy Service Desk (IBRSD) is installed tointegrate BMC ProactiveNet and BMC Remedy Service Desk 7.0, 7.1, or 7.5.

Integration configuration for event actions (RemedyService Desk)

■ Select Create incident in BMC Remedy Service Desk in the Add Event Rule(Page3/3): Action Information for Event Rule window to add/edit an AR SystemRequest:

■ Click the relevant option:

— For a new RSD Configuration, click New. The Add RSD Configuration Detailswindow opens.

— To edit an existing RSD Configuration, click Edit. The Edit RSD ConfigurationDetails window opens.

— To delete an RSD Configuration, click Edit and then click Delete.

To add a new RSD Configuration

1 Click New to display the Add RSD Configuration Details window.

2 Choose the gateway entry from the IBRSD Gateway list.



The gateway entries are populated from the mcell.dir file of the BMCProactiveNet implementation that points to the IBRSD server.

Note By default the Event Class is Event and Status is Active.

3 Click Done, and then click Close to return to the Add Event Rule (Page3/3):Action Information for Event Rule window.

4 After specifying the action for the event rule, click Add .

■ The added action is displayed under Actions To Perform.

To remove a selected action

1 Select the action from Actions To Perform.

2 Click Remove. Specify all the actions for the event rule.

3 Click Done.

BMC ProactiveNet returns to the Event Rule Administration screen. The updatedevent rule list is displayed.

For upgrade users of the BMC Remedy Service Deskintegration

You can upgrade your previous integration with BMC Remedy Service Desk byfollowing these steps:

To upgrade the integration with BMC Remedy Service Desk

1 Manually copy the IBRSD entries of the mcell.dir of the BMC Impact IntegrationWeb Services Server that is used by the BMC Remedy Service Desk installation tothe mcell.dir file of the BMC ProactiveNet server cell.cell cellName mchostIPaddress:3115

Note The default path of the mcell.dir for the Web Services Server is C:\Program Files\BMC Software\Impact\webServices\mcell. The default path of the mcell.dirfor the BMC ProactiveNet server is C:\Program Files\ProactiveNet\pw\server\etc.



2 Rename the cell entry to the gateway entry gateway.ibrsd.gateway.ibrsd gatewayName mchostIPaddress:3115

3 Restart the BMC ProactiveNet server using the following command:pw sys start

Note In the integration with BMC Remedy Service Desk, before an abnormality event issent to the target application, its severity level is set to warning.



How the BMC ProactiveNet integration works with the ARSystem

The following block diagram explains the BMC ProactiveNet integration with ARSystem using IBRSD.Figure 8: BMC ProactiveNet integration with AR system using IBRSD

■ When an event is generated in BMC ProactiveNet, an AR System Request iscreated simultaneously. When the event is closed in BMC ProactiveNet, the statusof the AR request is changed in accordance with the IBRSD configuration.

■ The PN Event Sender reads the configuration file PN-ARS-Integration.xml (theXML configuration file under the installDirectory/ pw/pronto/conf folder) todetermine the cell name pointing to IBRSD.

■ Transforms the event data to proper format and send the event data to IBRSD.

■ IBRSD communicates with the IBRSD module installed in the AR Server andcreates an AR System Request on the AR Server.



Related topics:

Configuration file details on page 222

Configuration file details

The configuration file details are as follows:

■ IBRSD Gateway Name

■ AR System Field Default Values (if required)

■ BMC ProactiveNet Event Details

■ BMC ProactiveNet Event Fields to IBRSD Event Slot Mapping

Note Create individual ARS requests for each unique BMC ProactiveNet event. If theevent Id is the same for multiple BMC ProactiveNet events, the same ARSRequest is updated at the AR System. In this case, only the status fields getupdated. This is the business rule for Intelligent Incidents. If details, other thanthe status fields are to get updated in the AR System Request, the workflow atthe AR System needs to be changed. The event data available at the time ofevent generation from BMC ProactiveNet, are sent to AR System. If you changethe AR System Intelligent Incident business rule, the other details also getupdated in the AR System Request.

Related topics:

External dependency on page 222

Setting up intelligent incident mappings on page 222

Limitation on page 224

Troubleshooting on page 224

High level flow chart on page 225

Event slots to AR system form field mapping on page 226

External dependency

■ BMC Remedy Service Desk 7.0, 7.1, 7.5, or 7.6

Setting up intelligent incident mappingsNavigate to Quick Links on the Home Page of the BMC Remedy User application.



To set up intelligent incident mappings

1 Click the Custom Configuration tab.Figure 9: BMC Remedy Home Page

Figure 10: Custom configuration tab

2 Expand Integration for BMC Remedy Service Desk.

3 Expand Integration Configuration.



4 Select BMC Event Manager Incident Integration Setup.Figure 11: Incident integration setup

5 Add the contact information. Map each income severity to the appropriateseverity in the AR system. Similarly for each incoming priority, map it to theappropriate priority in the AR System. Mention the status of the request when theevent is closed.

Limitation

■ Once an AR System Request is closed in the Incident Management form, it cannotbe re-opened.

TroubleshootingHere are some points to be noted while setting up:

■ Once the AR System with Remedy Service Desk and ITSM Patch-4 are installed,use the AR System User Interface to check whether the Incident Management andProblem Management Applications are enabled.



■ Once the IBRSD configuration is complete, use the msend CLI to test theinstallation. Send one event data point to IBRSD. Use the following syntax:msend -a EVENT -r CRITICAL -m "TestMessage" -b "mc_priority=PRIORITY_1;mc_ueid=UID_001;status=OPEN” –n @<IBRSDServer>:<IBRSDPort>#mc

This should create an entry in the Incident form. If there is a failure in sending thedata, the event data will be logged into the UnsentEvent log of the IBRSD.

■ Check whether the data exists in the Staging Form.

■ Check the UnsentEvent log file in the IBRSD server.If the data exists in the Staging Form and not in Incident Form, then the data pointwould have violated some of the workflow rules.

High level flow chartThis flow chart explains the functions of a PN Event Sender module.



The following flow chart explains the workflow in the AR System.

Event slots to AR system form field mappingTo map the Event Slots to AR System:

■ Edit DefaultMapping.map in the IBRSD server conf directory.

■ Change the event slot names to AR System Form Field mapping.

■ Use BEMUseCase maps for the changes.

Note You do not need to edit the DefaultMapping.map file if you have installed theIBRSD component that is part of the ProactiveNet server 8.0 installation package.

The following event slot names are used to create the event data.



Table 57: Event slot details

Event Slot Name AR System Form Field Event Data

mc_ueid Mc_ueid eventId

msg Event_Message eventDescription

mc_priority Event_Priority In the BMC ProactiveNet event there is no concept ofpriority. Hence CRITICAL will be mapped toPRIORITY_1, MAJOR will be mapped toPRIORITY_2, and Minor will be mapped toPRIORITY_3

severity Event_Severity Severity [CRITICAL,MAJOR,MINOR, WARNING]

status Status_Event Status [OPEN,CLOSED]

submitter Event_Requester,Submitter

BMC ProactiveNet

device_info Notes DeviceInfo

event_url Notes eventURL

pn_server_ip Notes PNServerIP

event_time Notes eventTime

event_rule Notes eventRule

monitor_instance Notes MonitorInstance

pn_server_name Notes PNServerName

monitor_type Notes MonitorType

pn_event_score Notes EventScore

pn_event_has_diagnostics Notes HasDD

pn_event_ack_status Notes eventAckStatus

pn_event_ack_message Notes eventAckMessage

mc_smc_id Notes BPMReconId. Host level Reconciliation ID stored inPN. In the case of BPM Adapter Monitor theReconciliation ID is at the instance level. If theinstance level Reconciliation ID is not blank, send it.Otherwise send the device level Reconciliation ID.When the event is created and if the Reconciliation IDis not blank, send that; if the Reconciliation ID isblank, don’t send it. When the event is modified,Reconciliation ID is not sent.

mc_parameter Notes eventAttribute

mc_parameter_value Notes AttrValueCausedEvent

mc_parameter_unit Notes AttrValueUnit



Event Slot Name AR System Form Field Event Data

mc_smc_alias Notes ComponentAlias

The mapping between BMC ProactiveNet event fields and event slots is done in thePN-ARS-Integration.xml file under the installDirectory /pw/pronto/conf directoryin the BMC ProactiveNet server. The Event Slot to AR System field mapping is donein the IBRSD DefaultMapping.map mapping file located in the conf directory of theIBRSD server.

Note The BMC ProactiveNet event fields given in the diagram are fields that are availablefor use and they are case sensitive.

Ensure that the following code is present in the DefaultMapping.map file in theIBRSD installation’s conf directory.

Short_Description=slot.msg $if(slot.product_tier1 != "")Product_Categorization_Tier_1=slot.product_tier1Product_Categorization_Tier_2=slot.product_tier2Product_Categorization_Tier_3=slot.product_tier3 $endifEvent_Message=slot.msgEvent_Priority=slot.mc_priorityEvent_Severity=slot.severityStatus_Event=slot.status Mc_ueid=$Format("%s_%s",slot.mc_ueid,slot.pn_server_ip);Event_Requester=slot.submitterEvent_Type="NEW"Keyword="BEM"z1D_FirstName="BEM"z1D_LastName="User"Application_Version="ITSM 7.0"Submitter=slot.submitterz1D_CellName=slot.cell_nameNotes=$Format"event Id: %s\nevent Rule: %s\nevent Time: %s\nDevice: %s\nMonitor Type: %s\nMonitor Instance: %s\nevent URL: %s\nPNSever IP: %s\nPNSever Name: %s\nEvent Score: %s\nevent Rule Has DD: %s\nevent Acknowledged: %s\nevent Ack Message: %s\nReconciliationId: %s\nComponent Alias: %s\nevent Attribute: %s\nAttr Value Caused event: %s\nAttr Value Unit: %s\nMoreInfo: \n%s",slot.mc_ueid,slot.event_rule,slot.event_time,slot.device_info,slot.monitor_type,slot.monitor_instance,slot.event_url,slot.pn_server_ip,slot.pn_server_name,slot.pn_event_score,slot.pn_event_has_dd,slot.pn_event_ack_status,slot.pn_event_ack_message,slot.mc_smc_id,slot.mc_smc_alias,slot.mc_parameter,slot.mc_parameter_value,slot.mc_parameter_unit,slot.more_info);

The above mapping is for the new events. Follow the same mapping to modify theevents.

Note The Work Info History list box in the Work Info Tab of BMC Remedy Service Desk’sIncident Management form captures the following details when a BMC ProactiveNetevent is generated and if the AR System Request is created:



■ Priority

■ Severity

■ Status

■ Source

■ Time and Date

The Work Info History list captures the above details for all the events, if multipleevents are coming with the same mc_ueid.

Note When multiple events are generated with the same event id (correlated events) butdifferent severities, the ARS Request will have the severity of the latest event.

Managing BMC ProactiveNet events in the BEM environment

An event generated in BMC ProactiveNet creates an event in BMC Event Manager, ifthe Send event to BMC Event Manager option is selected in the Add event Rule(Page3/3): Action Information for Event Rule screen. BMC ProactiveNet eventsbased on Abnormalities also create BEM events. The severity of predictive events ischanged to WARNING before the system creates the BEM Event. The description forthe BEM Events created out of BMC ProactiveNet events based on Abnormalitiesand Predictive events are prefixed with the word Abnormal: and Predictive:respectively to distinguish it from the other BMC ProactiveNet events. When theevent is closed in BMC ProactiveNet, the corresponding BEM Event also gets closed.Ensure that BMC Impact Solution is installed to integrate BMC ProactiveNet andBMC Event Manager.

Note The Send event to BMC Event Manager option is addressed to BMC ProactiveNetupgrade users who are sending events to a BMC Event Manager instance and whowish to retain their current settings. New users should use the BMC ProactiveNetevent processing mechanisms.

Integration configuration for event actions (BEM)

■ Select Send Event to BMC Event Manager in the Add Event Rule (Page 3/3):Action Information for Event Rule screen to add/edit a BEM Event:




— For a new BEM event, click New. The Add BEM Configuration Details windowopens.

— To edit an existing BEM event, click Edit. The Edit Configuration Detailswindow opens.

— To delete an BEM event, click Delete.

To add new BEM configuration details

1 Click New to open the Add BEM Configuration Details window.

2 Select the BEM cell from the BEM Cell name list.

■ The cell name entries are populated from the mcell.dir file of the ProactiveNetimplementation that points to the BEM cell. By default the Event Class isPROACTIVE_INTELLIGENT_EVENT and the status is ACTIVE.

WARNING Do not select the local ProactiveNet server cell. Ensure that the cell you doselect does not contain a propagation rule or policy that propagates events backto the local ProactiveNet server cell. Selecting the local ProactiveNet server cellor selecting a cell that propagates events back to the local ProactiveNet servercell can result in unpredictable application behavior.

3 Click Done, and then click Close to return to the Add Event Rule (Page 3/3):Action Information for Event Rule window.

4 After specifying the action for the event rule, click Add.

The added action is displayed under Actions To Perform.

To remove a selected action,



3 Click Done.




For upgrade users of the BMC Event Managementintegration

You can upgrade a previous BMC Event Management integration by following thesesteps:

To upgrade a previous BMC Event Management integration

1 Manually copy the BEM entries of the mcell.dir of the BMC Impact IntegrationWeb Services Server that is used by the BMC Event Management installation tothe mcell.dir file of the BMC ProactiveNet server cell.cell cellName mchostIPaddress:1828

Note The default path of the mcell.dir for the Web Services Server is C:\Program Files\BMC Software\Impact\webServices\mcell. The default path of the mcell.dirfor the BMC ProactiveNet server is C:\Program Files\ProactiveNet\pw\server\etc.


Note In the integration with BMC Event Management, before an abnormality event issent to the target application, its severity level is set to warning.

How the BMC ProactiveNet integration works with theBEM environment

The following block diagram explains the BMC ProactiveNet integration with BEMEvent.



■ When an event is generated in BMC ProactiveNet, a BEM Event is createdsimultaneously. When the event is closed in BMC ProactiveNet, thecorresponding BEM Event is also closed.

■ The PN Event Sender reads the configuration file PN-BEM-Integration.xml (theXML configuration file placed in the installDirectory /pw/pronto/conf) todetermine the cell name pointing to BEM.

■ Transforms the event data to proper format and sends the event data to BEM.

Related topics:

Configuration file details on page 232

Configuration file details

The configuration file details are as follows:

■ Cell Name



■ BEM Event Default Values (if required)

■ BMC ProactiveNet Event Details

■ BMC ProactiveNet Event Fields to BEM Event Slot Mapping

Related topics:

High level flow chart on page 233

BMC ProactiveNet – BEM Event mapping on page 235

External dependencyInstall a supported version of BMC Impact Solutions. For information on supportedversions of BMC Impact Solutions, see the BMC ProactiveNet Release Notes .

High level flow chartThis flow chart explains the functions of a BEM Integrator module.



The following flow chart explains the workflow at the BEM System.



BMC ProactiveNet – BEM Event mappingThe mapping between BMC ProactiveNet event Fields and CEM complaint Slots isdone in PN-BEM-Integration.xml file. This is located in the installDirectory /pw/pronto/conf directory in the BMC ProactiveNet server.

To create an event in BEM, make the entries in the PN-BEM-Integration.xml fileusing the following mapping details:

Table 58: Mapping details

PN Event Data Event Slot Comments

AlarmId_PNServer IP mc_ueid Combination of eventId & PN Server IP. This isrequired if multiple PN servers are sending events tothe same BEM

AlarmDescription msg String description of the event




no equivalentmapping field. Thevalue is calculatedinstead.

mc_priority In the BMC ProactiveNet event there is no concept ofpriority. Hence CRITICAL will be mapped toPRIORITY_1, MAJOR will be mapped to PRIORITY_2,and Minor will be mapped to PRIORITY_3. Severitydetermines how bad the technical problem is (device isup, down, somewhere in between); priority describesthe business urgency (high, low, in between).Something that is “down” may have low urgency (forexample if it happens on a Sunday). Data collectionlayer (PN, PATROL, and so on) can usually not assesspriority.

Severity Severity [CRITICAL,MAJOR,MINOR, WARNING]

AlarmStatus Status [OPEN, CLOSED]

Submitter mc_origin BMC ProactiveNet

DeviceIP mc_host_address Device IP Address

PNServerIP adapter_host For backward compatibility

PNServerIP mc_tool_address PN Server IP Address

PNServerName mc_tool PN Server Name

DeviceName mc_host Device Name

AlarmURL mc_tool_uri Cross launch is implemented in the BMC IX Consolefor the field mc_tool_uri in the post 7.1 release of BMCImpact Solutions. We send the eventURL to themc_tool_uri slot.

AlarmId_PNServer IP mc_tool_key Combination of eventId & PN Server IP. This isrequired if multiple PN servers are sending events toBEM

AlarmRule mc_tool_rule event Rule

MoreInfo mc_tool_suggestion More Info

MonitorInstance mc_object Monitor Instance Name

MonitorType mc_object_class Monitor Type

EventScore pn_event_score The pn_event_score is defined as a slot in the eventclass for the PN Events

HasDD pn_event_has_diagnostics The pn_event_has_dd is defined as a slot in the eventclass for the PN Events

AlarmAckStatus pn_event_ack_status event Acknowledgement status. Thepn_event_ack_status is defined as a slot in the eventclass for the PN Events

AlarmAckMessage pn_event_ack_message event Acknowledgement message. Thepn_event_ack_message is defined as a slot in the eventclass for the PN Events




BPMReconId mc_smc_id Host level Reconciliation ID stored in PN. In the caseof BPM Adapter Monitor the Reconciliation ID is at theinstance level. If the instance level Reconciliation ID isnot blank, send it. Otherwise send the device levelReconciliation ID. When the event is created and if theReconciliation ID is not blank, send that; if theReconciliation ID is blank, don’t send it. When theevent is modified, Reconciliation ID is not sent.

AlarmAttribute mc_parameter The attribute that caused the event. In the case ofexternal events this will not be present

AttrValueCausedEvent

mc_parameter_value The attribute value that caused the event

AttrValueUnit mc_parameter_unit The unit of the attribute value

ComponentAlias mc_smc_alias ComponentAlias coming from the BMC TM ARTadapter monitor.

Note The History tab of the event in the BMC Impact Explorer captures only LastModifier Cell and the last update time.When multiple events are generated with the same event id (correlated events) butdifferent severities, the BEM Event will have the severity of the latest event.

Managing BMC ProactiveNet events BMC AtriumOrchestrator (formerly known as BMC Run Book Automation)

When a BMC ProactiveNet event is generated the event action Send Event to BMCAtrium Orchestrator sends event data to the BMC Run Book Automationenvironment. The active RBA Rules processes the event or event data, and after thesuccessful rule validation an appropriate RBA Workflow is triggered depending onthe specified logic.

Note Please refer to the appropriate version of the BMC Atrium Orchestrator DevelopmentStudio User Guide for developing RBA Rules and RBA Workflow.All subsequent references to RBA in the User Guide would collectively mean BMCRun Book Automation and BMC Atrium Orchestrator.

BMC ProactiveNet only supports unidirectional integration with RBA 3.0.06.

BMC ProactiveNet also supports unidirectional integration with BMC AtriumOrchestrator 7.5.00.



Integration configuration for event actions (BMC AtriumOrchestrator)

■ Select Send Event to BMC Atrium Orchestrator in the Add Event Rule (Page3/3):Action Information for Event Rule screen to add or edit a BMC Run BookAutomation event.


— For a new BMC Run Book Automation event, click New. The Add AOConfiguration Details window opens.

— To edit an existing AO event, click Edit. The Edit Configuration Detailswindow opens.

— To delete an AO event, click Delete.

To add new AO configuration details

1 Click New to open the Add AO Configuration Details window.

2 Select the IMCOMM gateway from the AO Gateway Cell list.

The IMCOMM entries pointing to the BEM-RBA gateways are populated from themcell.dir file of the BMC ProactiveNet implementation that points to the BMCAtrium Orchestrator server.

Note By default the Event Class is PROACTIVE_INTELLIGENT_EVENT and the statusis ACTIVE.

3 Click Done, and then click Close to return to the Add Event Rule (Page3/3):Action Information for Event Rule window.

4 After specifying the action for the event rule, click Add.

The added action is displayed under Actions To Perform.

To remove a selected action



3 Click Done.




For upgrade users of the BMC Atrium Orchestratorintegration

You can upgrade your previous integration with BMC Atrium Orchestrator byfollowing upgrading the mcell.dir file of the BMC ProactiveNet server and byupdating existing event rules that apply to the BMC Atrium Orchestrator integration.

To upgrade BMC Atrium Orchestrator integration

1 Add the gateway entry gateway.imcomm to the mcell.dir file of the BMCProactiveNet server:gateway.imcomm ao mchostIPaddress:1859


3 Next, you edit existing event rules that apply to the BMC Atrium Orchestratorintegration.

To update existing event rules that apply to the BMC Atrium Orchestratorintegration

1 Open the BMC ProactiveNet Operations Console, and choose Options => Administration => Event Administration => Event Rules => Edit to open theEvent Rule Administration page.

2 Select the event rule from the list, and click Edit to open the Edit Event Rulewizard.

3 Go to page 3/3 of the wizard, and click New next to the Send Event to BMCAtrium Orchestrator list under the Integration with BMC Remedy Service Desk,BMC Event Manager, and BMC Atrium Orchestrator title.

4 In the Add AO Configuration Details window, choose the gateway entry you’veadded to the mcell.dir file from the AO Gateway Name list.

5 Click Done to close the Add AO Configuration Details window.

6 Click Add next to the Send Event to BMC Atrium Orchestrator list to post thenew action to the Actions to Perform list.

7 Select previously existing actions that were used by the BMC Atrium Orchestratorinstallation, and click Remove.



8 Click Done to save your changes and close the wizard.

Note In the integration with BMC Atrium Orchestrator, before an abnormality event issent to the target application, its severity level is set to warning.



How BMC ProactiveNet integration works with BMCAtrium Orchestrator

The following block diagram explains BMC ProactiveNet integration with BMCAtrium Orchestrator.Figure 12: How BMC ProactiveNet integrates with BMC Atrium Orchestrator

■ The BEM-RBA monitor adapter receives event or event data from BMC ProactiveNet

■ The BEM-RBA monitor adapter formats the input and sends it to active RBA rules

■ The event is evaluated against active RBA Rules. If the rule validation succeeds,the appropriate RBA Workflow is triggered

A list of integration features follows:



■ Creating RBA events - RBA events are created when the BMC ProactiveNet eventis opened, acknowledged, or closed based on the action set for the event. RBAEvents can be created for BMC ProactiveNet abnormalities as well. The BMCProactiveNet abnormality event description is prefixed with the word Abnormalto distinguish it from the other BMC ProactiveNet events before the RBA event iscreated. RBA events can be created for BMC ProactiveNet predictive events. Thepredictive event description is prefixed with the word Predictive to distinguish itfrom the other BMC ProactiveNet events, and the severity of the predictive eventis changed to warning an RBA event is created.

Mapping BMC ProactiveNet event fields for RBA Event slotsThe following table lists Product Short event fields for the Event Slots of RBA events.

Table 59: Mapping details


AlarmId_PNServer IP mc_ueid Combination of event Id & PN Server IP is requiredwhen multiple PN servers are sending events to thesame RBA. For DHCP enabled systems, it is acombination of event Id and host name of the PNServer.

AlarmDescription Msg string description of the event

no equivalent mappingfield. The value iscalculated instead.

mc_priority In BMC ProactiveNet event there is no concept ofpriority. Hence CRITICAL is mapped toPRIORITY_1, MAJOR is mapped to PRIORITY_2,and Minor is be mapped to PRIORITY_3. Severitydetermines how bad the technical problem is(device is up, down, or in between); prioritydescribes the business urgency (high, low, or inbetween). Something that is “down” may have lowurgency (for example if it happens on a Sunday).Data collection layer (PN, PATROL, etc.) can usuallynot assess priority.

Severity Severity (CRITICAL,MAJOR,MINOR, WARNING)

AlarmStatus Status (OPEN, CLOSED)

Submitter mc_origin BMC ProactiveNet

DeviceIP mc_host_address Device IP Address

PNServerIP adapter_host For backward compatibility

PNServerIP mc_tool_address PN Server IP Address

PNServerName mc_tool PN Server Name

DeviceName mc_host Device Name




AlarmURL mc_tool_uri Cross launch is implemented in the BMC IX Consolefor the field mc_tool_uri in the post 7.1 release ofBMC Impact Solutions. Sends the eventURL to themc_tool_uri slot.

AlarmId_PNServer IP mc_tool_key Combination of eventId and PN Server IP. This isrequired when multiple PN servers send events toRBA.

AlarmRule mc_tool_rule Event Rule

MoreInfo mc_tool_suggestion More Information

MonitorInstance mc_object Monitor Instance Name

MonitorType mc_object_class Monitor type

EventScore pn_event_score The pn_event_score is defined as a slot in the eventclass for the PN Events.

HasDD pn_event_has_diagnostics The pn_event_has_diagnostics is defined as a slot inthe event class for the PN Events.

AlarmAckStatus pn_event_ack_status Event Acknowledgement status

AlarmAckMessage pn_event_ack_message Event Acknowledgement messageThe pn_event_ack_message is defined as a slot inthe event class for the PN Events.

BPMReconId mc_smc_id Host level Reconciliation ID stored in PNIn the case of BPM Adapter Monitor theReconciliation ID is at the instance level. If theinstance level Reconciliation ID is not blank, send it.Otherwise send the device level Reconciliation ID.

AlarmAttribute mc_parameter Attribute that causes the eventIt is not present for external events.

AttrValueCausedEvent mc_parameter_value Attribute value that caused the event

AttrValueUnit mc_parameter_unit Unit of the attribute value

ComponentAlias mc_smc_alias ComponentAlias from the BMC TM ART adaptermonitor

External setup

For external setup the following installation and configuration is required:

■ RBA or Atrium Orchestrator must be installed. See the Release Notes for thesupported versions of these products.

■ Configure the BEM-RBA monitor adapter used for the BEM-RBA integration toaccept events from BMC ProactiveNet.



Reducing events

BMC ProactiveNet allows you to limit the flow of events.

To configure intelligent events

1 Click Options on the top right of the BMC ProactiveNet Operations console.

2 Choose the Administration tab.

3 In the Event Administration area, click the Edit link to the right of IntelligentEvent Reduction.

The Event Reduction screen is displayed.

4 On the Event Reduction screen, clear the Enable Intelligent Events check box tomap absolute threshold to the baselines. The outside baseline column can be set toNot Enabled, Hourly Baseline, Daily Baseline, Auto, or Weekly Baseline. Eachthreshold with Outside Baseline enabled activates when the data exceeds thespecified baseline and absolute threshold. For full information on settingthresholds, see “Setting event thresholds” on page 184.

This creates a new outside baseline column in the Event threshold administrationscreen.

5 Click Apply.

To suppress events

Note The event suppression option is available only if you are upgrading to the currentversion of BMC ProactiveNet and you used the relationship administration or eventsuppression functionality in a previous version of the product. For moreinformation, see “Defining Intelligent Event Suppression relationships” on page 398.The event suppression rule defines a relationship between the application and hostsystem. For example, availability events related to application A are suppressed bythe availability events on system B. If the system is offline, this causes the applicationto be unavailable. However, because the relationship is defined, BMC ProactiveNetdoes not send an alert for the application availability; but an alert is sent only forsystem availability.

1 On Event Reduction screen, clear the Enable Event suppression check box todisable the suppression rules.

Reducing events


2 Click Configure Event Suppression link, the Relationship Administrator screenopens and you can define the relationships.

To enable or disable non KPI metrics

1 On Event Reduction screen, clear the Enable Abnormality Detection andBaseline Generation for non-KPI metrics check box to stop further baselineprojection and abnormality detection for non-KPI attributes.

Note By default, for fresh installations, the Enable Abnormality Detection andBaseline Generation for non-KPI metrics check box is disabled. However, forupgrade customers, this check box maintains the same non-KPI status that it hadbefore the upgrade. For example, if the check box was enabled before theupgrade, it remains enabled.

2 Click Apply.

Customizing event textEvent text customization enables you to insert event text for all email alerts.

Certain event text customization variables are only available for ProactiveNetintelligent events. They are:

■ $EVENTID

■ $MC_LONG_MSG

■ $INSTANCE_NAME

■ $ABNORMALITY

When applied to external events, these variables will have blank values.

For upgrade users

BMC ProactiveNet 8.0 provides additional out-of-the-box variables, such as $Status,$MC_HOST, and $MC_PRIORITY, for event text customization.

See the table below for a complete list. Upgrade users cannot immediately selectthese additional variables. They have to add them manually. Upgrade users canenter the new variables that they need directly in the wizard.

Customizing event text


To customize event text

1 Click the Options tab at the top right of the BMC ProactiveNet Operations Console.

2 On the Administration tab, choose Event Text Customization Edit link.

3 On the Global Event Text Customization screen, customize the subject and bodyof the Email Alerts.

You can choose from among the following variables listed in in the table below.

Table 60: Variables for customizing event text

Variable ($VAR) Description

$ABNORMALITY abnormality used in pinpointing

$ACK acknowledgement status

$ACK_MSG 3.a Acknowledgement message

$ALARMRULE_NAME name of event rule that applies to this event

$ATTR_NAME attribute name such as “availability”

$DEVICE name of the device under which the monitor instance is shown

$DEVICE_DESCR Description about the device under which the monitor instance is shown

$EVENTID BMC ProactiveNet Intelligent Event ID

$FTIME_ASC First Time Threshold was exceeded in ASCII

$FULL_PATH Full path to the Monitor

$INSTANCE_NAME Name of the Monitor instance

$LAST Last value when Event was generated

$LTIME_UTC Last Time data was collected in UTC seconds

$LTIME_ASC Last Time data was collected in ASCII

$MC_HOST Fully-qualified name of the host on which the problem occurred

$MC_HOST_ADDRESS Network address of the host on which the problem occurred

$MC_LOCATION Location at which the managed object resides

$MC_LONG_MSG More info of a BMC ProactiveNet Intelligent Event

$MC_NOTES List of free text annotations added to the event

$MC_OBJECT Subcomponent of the host to which the event is related

$MC_OBJECT_CLASS Identifies the class of an object

Customizing event text


Variable ($VAR) Description

$MC_ORIGIN Event management systems that is closest to the source of the event as possible

$MC_ORIGIN_CLASS Identifies the event management system type

$MC_OWNER Current user assigned to the event

$MC_PRIORITY Priority of an event with respect to their impact on the SIM model

$MC_TOOL Represents whether the event is coming from within a mc_tool_class value

$MC_TOOL_CLASS User-defined categorization of the tool reporting the event

$MC_UEID Universal identifier of the event

$MO_TYPE Managed Object Type such as, Network Ping

$MSG Text description of the event

$SEVERITY Severity of the event

$STATUS Status of the event

$SCRIP The IPAddress of Remote Agent where Monitor Instance is actually created

$TIME Event Time formatted as "MM dd HH:mm"

$UNITS Units in which Threshold value is measured

$CLASS Class name of the event.

$URL_INSTANCE_NAME Name of the Monitor instance, encoded for safe use in URLs

a ACK_MSG retains the latest operations message.

4 Select Include MoreInfo in E-Mail Body to receive the detailed information in anemail.

5 Click Apply.

Integrating BMC ProactiveNet with ServiceLevel Management

This section provides information on integration of BMC ProactiveNet with ServiceLevel Management.

Managing BMC ProactiveNet with Service Level Management (SLM) - Performancedata collected by BMC ProactiveNet is exposed in Service Level Management to beutilized in Performance Based Service Targets. The metrics can be from BMCProactiveNet Monitors that are packaged with the product as well as from adapters

Integrating BMC ProactiveNet with Service Level Management


to other enterprise performance monitoring solutions. Probable cause analysis fromBMC ProactiveNet is shown in SLM as a link so that an impacted SVT can be linkedto the reason behind the impact.

Note BMC ProactiveNet only supports unidirectional integration with SLM.

For more information on using the BMC ProactiveNet integration with SLM, see theBMC Service Level Management User’s Guide and the BMC Service Level ManagementConfiguration Guide.

Integrating BMC ProactiveNet with Service Level Management


Customizing graphs

Creating custom graphsThe Custom Graphs feature is used to generate individual and multiple graphsbased on resources monitored by BMC ProactiveNet. Using this feature, you canselect a combination of monitors and attributes, and correlate data effectively. Thisfeature gives you more control over information than the Show Graph option on theTools menu.

Customizing graphs helps you to:

■ choose the type of graphing format that works best for you.

■ create graphs that show data from an individual monitor type or multiple attributes.

■ create graphs for multiple monitors showing a single attribute but view thestatistics from multiple sites.

Custom Graphs that focus on an individual monitor enable you to chart thresholdsand other indicators, such as Baseline, Peak, and so on. For more information, see Creating an individual/multiple monitor graphs on page 270.

Multiple data type graphs enable you to compare data across sites, but do not allowyou to chart thresholds or indicators, as they only relate to a single attribute. Formore information, see Creating an individual/multiple monitor graphs on page 270.

You can choose the type of graphing format that works best for you. Click theCustom Graphs icon in the Views & Graphs drawer in the navigation pane tochoose from the following options before creating your graph:

■ Line Graph

■ Area Graph

■ X-Y Graph

5

Chapter 5 Customizing graphs 249

■ Top N Graph

■ Pie Graph

■ Dial Gauge Graph

Related Topics

Limitations on page 250

Creating a line or area graph on page 251

Creating a x-y graph on page 256

Creating a Top N graph on page 257

Creating a pie graph on page 259

Creating a dial gauge graph on page 261

Limitations

When creating graphs, keep the following limitations in mind:

■ No more than twelve attributes can be displayed on a graph.

■ No more than two measurement types can be displayed on a graph.

■ For example, if two statistics are measured in percentage and two in units, then allfour appear in the graph because Y1 or Y2 allows a graph to have two like-measurements each.

■ However, if you have three statistics, one being measured in percentage, onebeing measured in units, and the other being measured in time, an error messageappears (as shown below) and the graph does not display.

■ When choosing any Indicator, only one Attribute can be selected because theIndicator cannot relate to more than one measurement.

■ Currently there is a problem that Custom Graph settings are not preserved whenadding graphs. This problem happens mostly when adding a graph to a view andseems to occur only when using Internet Explorer 6.0 with updates Q321232 andQ323759. This problem is being addressed.

■ Graph displays NO_DATA image when there are no data available for the totalgraph period.

Creating custom graphs


Creating a line or area graph

Line graphs are the most common type of graphs that plot linear relationships.

Area graphs are specialized line graphs. However, they can plot only single instanceand single attribute selections, and indicators are not applicable to Area Graphs. Toview parent and child instances for the selected monitor instance see, To show theparent instance for the selected monitor instance on page 255 and To show the childinstances for the selected monitor instance on page 255

To create a line or area graph

1 In the navigation pane in the Operations Console, click Views & Graphs.

2 In the Views & Graphs drawer, click the Custom Graphs icon .

3 In the Custom Graphs screen, select the Line Graph or Area Graph option

.

4 Select a Group Filter.

Select the desired group. Choosing a filter limits your graph choices to theselected group and provides a means of organizing your data. Choosing No Filterlets you generate a graph from all resources in the system, regardless of whetherthey are in a group or not.

5 Select a Monitor Type.

For an Individual Graph, choose only one Monitor Type. For Multiple MonitorGraphs, choose more than one Monitor Type.

6 Click Next to open the Monitor Instance area. A list of resource instancesavailable under the Monitor Type you selected is displayed.

7 Select the resource instances to monitor, and click Apply.

The Custom Graph screen is displayed. In the Custom Graphs screen, select graphoptions for the graphs.

8 Select appropriate values in the Filter Area.

■ Show Graph for the last - Choose the amount of time you want to show on thegraph. The list lets you choose from 1 hour up to 3 months.



■ Time Range - Time Range option allows the Start and End Time selections toreflect either a particular day and hour or a particular duration of time, such asthe last four hours. You can change the time and date when you want to viewresource data for the previous day, week, or hour to compare measurements.

9 Select appropriate options in the Attributes area.

The Attributes Area lets you dynamically change statistical data displayed in thegraph you are viewing. The statistics selections (attributes) vary based on themonitored entity. A colored box around an attribute indicates there is at least oneopen event of the severity indicated by the color of the box.

You can select device or application-dependent elements for viewing. Choose theattributes you want to graph for each instance. The attributes available varydepending on the monitor chosen. You can chart up to 12 attributes per graph,however you are limited to 2 units of measure (that is, # and ms). For moreinformation on attribute statistics and their function, see the BMC ProactiveNetMonitor Guide.

Figure 13: Attributes Area

10 Select appropriate options in the Indicators area.

■ Indicators provide options for dynamically changing the charting of data.When choosing any indicator, only one statistic (attribute) is viewable at a timebecause the Indicator cannot relate to more than one measurement. Thesevalues can be used only if multiple attributes have not been selected.Thresholds and a Config attribute may also be graphed.

—Hourly Baseline, Daily Baseline, Weekly Baseline, or Hourly & DailyBaseline: There are two baselines: Baseline High and Baseline Low. BaselineHigh represents the point at which 95% of the weighted average of thehistorical values fall below this value for that hour, day, or week. BaselineLow represents the point at which 90% of the weighted average of historicalvalues for that hour, day, or week fall above this line. Baseline indicators



always use the current week as baseline data. The baseline indicator isrecalibrated for each hourly point per week.

—All Baselines: Select this option to show condensed Baseline High andBaseline Low for hourly, daily, and weekly baseline values.

—Hourly Max: Highest values of data found for the specified graph period.Peak indicator can be selected only when viewing data older than 24 hours.

—Hourly Min: Lowest values of data found for the specified graph period.Low indicator can be selected only when viewing data older than 24 hours.

—Minor, Major, Critical Absolute Thresholds: If thresholds have been set forthe data type you are viewing, check boxes are displayed. These indicatorsshow you what the event settings are relative to the performance of the datayou are viewing.

—Minor Signature Threshold: Composite values of signature minorthreshold, baseline associated to threshold, and applied PAD factor.

—Major Signature Threshold: Composite values of signature major threshold,baseline associated to threshold, and applied PAD factor.

—Critical Signature Threshold: Composite values of signature criticalthreshold, baseline associated to threshold, and applied PAD factor.

—Abnormality Threshold: Composite values of abnormality threshold,baseline, which is associated to threshold, and applied PAD factor.

—Scheduled Downtime: To view the scheduled downtime for the monitor onthe graph. Due to the lag in start of a scheduled downtime event, a few datapoints may appear inside the shaded downtime. Similarly, in case ofoverlapping scheduled downtime, the shading may use a color differentfrom that shown in the legend.In case the Scheduled downtime is created after the start time and before theend time for the day, the graph will show the data points already collected.

—Show Intelligent Events: If there are any intelligent events on the selectedattributes and for the selected duration, same will be displayed as an icon.There will be two different icons for open and closed intelligent events.

—Show Abnormality: If there are any events on the selected attributes and forthe selected duration, same will be displayed as an icon.

—Show External Events: If there are any events raised by change entry, SNMPtrap, or external events, the same will be displayed as an icon.



—Show Violations: If there are any violations on the selected attributes andfor the selected duration, same will be displayed as an icon. There will betwo different icons for open and closed violations.

—Period Max: Displays highest attribute value on Y-axis.

—Period Min: Displays lowest attribute value on Y-axis.

—Period Avg: Displays average attribute value of all points of Period Min andPeriod Max attribute values.

—Shaded Baseline: Select this option to highlight the area corresponding tothe previous baseline selection.

—Config Attributes: These attributes are displayed only if configurationattributes are available on the monitor. For complete definition ofconfiguration attributes and their functionality, see the BMC ProactiveNetMonitor Guide.

Note SLO indicator will only be available for upgrade setups with existing views.

11 (optional) Select Schedule from the list. However, this is not available ifScheduled Downtime indicator is selected.

■ Click New to define a new schedule.

■ Click Edit to change the selected schedule.

12 Select an appropriate Graph Option.

■ Show all attributes on a single graph - All attributes you choose are charted onone graph.

■ Show each monitor instance on a separate graph - If you chose more than oneinstance, each instance is charted on a separate graph.

■ Show each attribute on a separate graph - If you select more than oneattribute, each is charted separately on separate graphs.

■ Show selected attributes on the corresponding graph – This will preserve theexisting graph settings. If you select some more attributes for the existinggraph, the new attributes will also be added to the same graph.

13 Select Device Name, Instance Name or Attribute Name, to show the same in thelegend.

14 Select the Data Type to be used.



Note When raw data is selected and if raw data is not available for the entire timerange, rate data will be used.

15 Select Auto Scale if you need auto-scaling for the graph. Unless this option isunchecked, all graphs will be automatically scaled.

16 Select Refresh this page for every “n” minutes to refresh the page for thespecified time. This option can be selected only if relative time range option isselected from the filter area.

17 Click Generate Graph.

The individual or multiple monitor graph displays attributes selected.

You can change the parameters on the displayed screen, or use the icons locatedon the side of the graph to perform other functions. For more information, see Additional information for changing graph display on page 271 for informationabout these icons.

To show the parent instance for the selected monitor instance

1 Click Show Parent in the graph display screen to display the immediate parentinstances or the complete hierarchy of parent instances.

If this instance does not have stats attributes, the Show Parent link displays thesuper parent which has stats attributes.

To show the child instances for the selected monitor instance

1 Click Show Children in the graph display screen to display a menu of all thechild instances of the selected monitor instance.

2 Select any child instance to create a graph for that instance. A submenu of thechild instances is displayed with all the instances that have stats attributes. You



can also choose to display the first 50 child instances using the All option. Thisoption displays only the instances that have stats attributes.Figure 14: Show children

Creating a x-y graph

X-Y graphs are used to show a correlated view of two metrics. This graphing isespecially useful for related metrics where the dependency is not very clearlyknown. Displaying this graph over a period of time can give you a visualrepresentation of the relationship. A good example for online stores may be tocorrelate a business metric (like $s per hour) with Web server performance. Thisallows IT groups to justify performance improvements on IT hardware or software.

All such scenarios, where the relationship between two metrics needs to be qualified,are appropriate for X-Y graphs.

To create a x-y graph



3 In the Custom Graphs screen, select the X-Y Graph option .


5 Select Monitor Types.

6 Click Next.

The system populates the corresponding monitor instances in the MonitorInstance area.



7 Select Monitor Instances for X and Y axis.

8 Click Apply.

On the Custom Graphs (X-Y Graph) screen,

9 Select appropriate values in the Filter Area.

■ Show Graph for the last: Choose the time period you want to show on thegraph. The list lets you choose from 1 hour up to 3 months.

■ Time Range: Time Range option allows the Start and End Time selections toreflect either a particular day and hour or a particular duration of time, such asthe last four hours. You can change the time and date when you want to viewresource data for the previous day, week, or hour to compare measurements.

10 Select attribute for X and Y axis.

11 Select the Schedule.



12 Click Generate Graph(s).

You can change the parameters on Graph Display screen, or use the icons locatedon the side of the graph to perform other functions. For more information, see Additional information for changing graph display on page 271 for informationon these icons.

Creating a Top N graph

Top N Graph is a Pareto bar graph comparing Top N resources. You can createeither a Top N or a Bottom N graph.

Top N graphs compare monitored resources based on a common measurement. ThePareto bar chart includes resources with the highest average (based on the commonmeasurement). BMC ProactiveNet administrator sets the number of bars in thegraph. The number of bars (N) is limited to 15 items per thumbnail.

Top N graphs can be created from both the Operations Console and theAdministration Console.



Computation of Top N graphs provides an order to the individual elements withineach graph. Example, in the Top 10 Interface in Utilization graph, the number onegraph shows the highest average for all interfaces.

To create a Top N graph


2 In the Views & Graphs drawer, click the Custom Graphs icon.

3 In the Custom Graphs screen, select the Top N Graph option .

4 Select the Group Filter.

5 Select the Monitor Type. You can select only one monitor type here.

6 Click Next.

The system populates the corresponding attributes in the lower pane of the screen.

7 Select an Attribute.

8 Click Apply.

9 On the Customs Graphs screen, select the Graph Type: Top N or Bottom N.

10 Select the number of bars from the list.

11 Specify the duration, and select the units (Days or Hours) from the adjacent list.

12 Select the Values to be displayed: Average and High or Average and Low.

13 Select the Graph Preference: 2 Dimensional or 3 Dimensional

14 Select the Schedule.



Note The 3 Dimensional option is available only through the Operations Console.However, 3-dimensional graphs configured through the Operations Consoleretain the option during editing through the Administration Console.




Note The Forward and Backward buttons that help you view graphs corresponding tothe succeeding and preceding time ranges, respectively are not available for TopN Graphs.

The Description table located below the graph lists data resources of the Top Ngraph. The Num column provides a link to open the Individual graph for theresource. To modify the statistics, see Creating a line or area graph on page 251.

To view a stacked graph for any of the listed instances

1 Select the check box corresponding to the monitor instance.

2 Click Generate graph.

Listing all button

Most monitored categories, such as Availability and Utilization, contain numerousdevices, interfaces, and services. Clicking List All at the bottom of the Top N tableexpands the table to list all resources that comprise the selected category. A list ofsources used to compile the chart is displayed. The List All feature allows you togenerate a maximum number of 100 items per page. You can also generateIndividual graphs from each of these items.

Creating a pie graph

Pie graphs show the distribution of points for specified time ranges in individual pieslices and show the distribution of values over time.

Pie graphs are best suited for getting a high-level overview of the performance of aspecific attribute, since only a single instance and attribute selection is plotted.Indicators are not applicable to Pie graphs. Description of slices is available in a filefor each threshold or SLO at the following path: installDirectory /usr/pw/pronto/conf/piebuckets.xml. Different slices are available for Major, Minor, and Critical thresholds.

Pie graphs are available only on attributes that have set thresholds. If the selectedthreshold does not exist for the attribute to graph, the system prompts you to createor choose another threshold. If the threshold is unavailable after graph creation, aNO Data image appears for the pie chart even if there is data in the database. Reasonbeing, data is reported based on the context of a specific threshold and the breakdown of data points into 5 different discreet ranges is determined by the thresholdvalue.



Pie graphs offer a 3D option (available only through the Operations Console), andcan be added to a view.

Pie graphs allow users to see compliance to threshold over a period, andsimultaneously see the percentage time where data is falling into each range ofvalues. This kind of graph makes most sense in a view that updates automatically(on a daily basis).

To create a pie graph


2 In the Views & Graphs drawer, click the Custom Graphs icon.

3 In the Custom Graphs screen, select Pie Graph option .

4 Select the Group Filter.

5 Select the Monitor Type. You cannot select more than one monitor type here.

6 Click Next.

The system populates the corresponding attributes in the lower pane.

7 Select a single Attribute, and click Apply.

8 Make your selections on the Custom Graph screen.


You can change the parameters here, or use the icons located on the side of thegraph to perform other functions. For more information see Additionalinformation for changing graph display on page 271 for information on these icons.

Note

■ The Forward and Backward buttons that help you view graphs correspondingto the succeeding and preceding time range respectively are not available forPie Graphs.

■ Although the breakdown is described in terms of % ranges, values in the graphwill be shown in terms of the unit that it is collected.



Creating a dial gauge graph

The Dial Gauge feature enables you to see monitor data graphically in a semi-circular gauge with a dynamic needle that fluctuates between the last three data pollvalues for the specified attribute. Dial Gauges are used to show a real-time feed ofthe latest data points, which is best suited for very important attributes that requireclose attention.

Views containing Dial Gauges do not update every two minutes like other views.The gauge fluctuates between the last three data poll values, simulating real-timemovement. Displayed color zones are as per threshold settings of the specifiedmonitor and show red for critical, orange for major, yellow for minor thresholds, andgreen for normal behavior.

Like other graph options, when you click the thumbnail, the Graph Display screenappears and you can modify the graph as needed.

The dial gauge applet polls the server for data according to the predefined pollinterval (this can be configured). The gauge displays the current value at the bottom.The needle pauses for a longer duration at the CURRENT data point highlighting themost current value. If there is No Response or No Data from the monitor, the needlepoints to zero and the system displays an appropriate message at the bottom.

Note

■ This feature requires the Java plug-in.

■ The latest Sun Java VM must be installed on the computer that hosts the BMCProactiveNet Server.

To create a dial gauge graph



3 In the Custom Graphs screen, select the Dial Gauge option .


5 Select a Monitor Type, and click Next.

The system populates the corresponding instances in the lower pane.

6 Select a Monitor Instance, and click Apply.



7 On the Custom Graphs screen, choose a Single Attribute.

8 Under Display Options, select the display options from the list.

You can choose to show either Intelligent Event or SLO threshold zones on thegauge. The dial gauge will display major, minor, critical, or SLO thresholds andshow the actual value of the attribute on the gauge.

9 In the Add this Graph to View section (Dial Gauges can only be configured to beseen from a View), specify the Graph Name (name for the Dial Gauge).

10 Choose to create a new view or add the graph to an existing view.

11 Click Add to View.

For add to new view selection, specify the View name. For add to existing viewselection, the graph is available under the selected View. Any other graph youadd to the View will also be visible. From here, you can Add, Edit, and Delete theview by choosing the corresponding buttons.

Note Fast poll frequency is not available for the dial gauge. For below type thresholds,the colors displayed will show in the opposite direction as compared to abovethresholds. Although the gauge appears to update every second, it is important torealize that the data feed is still only as quick as the monitor that is polling for thedata.

The gauge repeats the last 3 values over and over again until a new data point isreceived from the monitor, at which point the oldest data point in the gauge isdiscarded. That is, every time the needle changes position on the Gauge, it doesnot mean the gauge is displaying a new data point. The latest 3 data values forthat attribute, which gives an indication of the latest trend and most up to datevalues are displayed. The last data value is always shown for the longest periodto make it clear that it is the most current value.

Tip Adding too many dial gauges to a single view may take a long time to load. Theideal number of dial gauges in a view is 4 or less. However, we suggest that ifmore gauges must be added to a view, do not exceed 12.

Limitations of dial gauge graphs

■ Dial Gauges can ONLY be added to a view.

■ Dial Gauge administration can be done only through the Operations Console.



■ Dial Gauge display requires a supported version of Java Plug-in. If the plug-in isnot available, then a grey box is displayed. For information on supported Java Plug-in versions, see the BMC ProactiveNet Release Notes.

■ For instance or attribute where thresholds are defined both above and below,example, yahoo response time minor > 100ms and major < 50 ms (this should nothappen but in case its configured this way), the below type threshold is ignored.

■ It is assumed that thresholds are defined in an increasing order (for above typethresholds) i.e. minor < major < critical, if this is not so, then the larger zoneoverlaps the smaller one.

■ Initial loading of the applet takes some time. So, when the user accesses the pagefor the first time, the delay is more compared to subsequent accesses.

■ Due to the increased loading time for applets, too many dial gauges in a singleview have performance implications. It is recommended that a maximum of 12dial gauges be used in a single view.

■ If threshold is not defined, the system displays a normal gauge (i.e., full green).

■ Tool tip is not displayed for dial gauges on the View page. However, tool tip isavailable for the link below.

■ If the difference between threshold values is very less, the user may not be able tonotice the color defined for the zone in the dial gauge.

■ Dial gauge displays zero for negative data values.

■ Very large numbers (11 or more digits) may not appear clearly on the gauge.However, there is no implication on the accuracy of data displayed below the gauge.

■ For large values, the value may overlap with the zone separator line.

■ For very small values i.e. values below 0.001, the needle will be displayed veryclose to zero.

■ If the proxy server used requires authentication, the user is prompted for the username and password while accessing a view containing dial gauges.

■ Exceptions on the plug-in console do not interfere with the functioning of thegauge and can be ignored.

The following exceptions may be seen in the plug-in console:

■ On some Internet Explorer versions, if the dash board contains a dial gauge in thesecond row, some times the dial gauge in the second row appears as overlappedwith the All Events page below. Scrolling the dashboard will clear this.



■ Exceptions that may be observed in plug-in console:java.lang.ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException: 0 >= 0at java.util.Vector.elementAt(Unknown Source) at com.elegantj.gauges.dial.Circle.calValueAngle(Circle) at com.elegantj.gauges.dial.Circle.drawNeedle(Circle) at com.elegantj.gauges.dial.Dial.renderDial(Dial) at com.elegantj.gauges.dial.Dial.paint(Dial) at com.elegantj.gauges.dial.Dial.update(Dial) at sun.awt.RepaintArea.paint(Unknown Source) at sun.awt.windows.WComponentPeer.handleEvent(Unknown Source) at java.awt.Component.dispatchEventImpl(Unknown Source) at java.awt.Container.dispatchEventImpl(Unknown Source) at java.awt.Component.dispatchEvent(Unknown Source) at java.awt.EventQueue.dispatchEvent(Unknown Source) at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpOneEventForHierarchy(Unknown Source) at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEventsForHierarchy(Unknown Source) at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEvents(Unknown Source) at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEvents(Unknown Source) at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.run(Unknown Source) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- java.lang.NullPointerException at com.elegantj.gauges.dial.Circle.totalDiv1(Circle) at com.elegantj.gauges.dial.Circle.drawZone(Circle) at com.elegantj.gauges.dial.Dial.renderDial(Dial) at com.elegantj.gauges.dial.Dial.paint(Dial) at com.elegantj.gauges.dial.Dial.update(Dial) at sun.awt.RepaintArea.paint(Unknown Source) at sun.awt.windows.WComponentPeer.handleEvent(Unknown Source) at java.awt.Component.dispatchEventImpl(Unknown Source) at java.awt.Container.dispatchEventImpl(Unknown Source) at java.awt.Component.dispatchEvent(Unknown Source) at java.awt.EventQueue.dispatchEvent(Unknown Source) at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpOneEventForHierarchy(Unknown Source) at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEventsForHierarchy(Unknown Source) at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEvents(Unknown Source) at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEvents(Unknown Source) at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.run(Unknown Source)

Customizing monitor graphsAn Individual Graph is a line graph giving a real-time view of the data collected on aspecific item. When you click an Individual graph thumbnail, its full-scale versionopens in the Graph Display window, along with dialog boxes. You can globallychange the line sizes in your graphs by changing the property inpronet.graphs.indGraph.lineWidth=<2>. This does not affect images already created.

Related Topics

Graph tab on page 265

Attributes and indicators tab on page 266

Monitor information tab on page 268

Button options on page 268

Customizing monitor graphs


Creating an individual/multiple monitor graphs on page 270

Graph tab

Once the larger graph appears in the Graph Display window, there are three tabswhere you can interact with and customize the graph. This enables you to changethe data view in any particular instance by changing the attributes, indicators, or thestart and end time of the current graph. These options allow viewing of data that isnot currently part of the display or allows one to focus on a specific type of data toanalyze and isolate a problem. Data is available for the last 90 days.

The Graph tab shows the larger graph seen as a thumbnail in the View area.Additional options are available on the right side of the graph. The available iconschange depending on the type and status of the graph. For details on availableoptions, see Additional information for changing graph display on page 271.

Figure 15: Graph Tab



Attributes and indicators tab

The Attributes and Indicators tab lets you dynamically change statistical datadisplayed in the graph you are viewing. The statistics selections (attributes) varybased on the monitored entity. A colored box around an attribute indicates there is atleast one open event of the severity indicated by the color of the box.

You can select device or application-dependent elements for viewing. Choose theattributes you want to graph for each instance. The attributes available varydepending on the monitor chosen. You can chart up to 12 attributes per graph,



however you are limited to 2 units of measure (i.e., # and ms). For more informationon attribute statistics and their function, see the BMC ProactiveNet Monitor Guide.

Figure 16: Attributes and Indicators tab

For more details on Attributes and Indicators Tab, see Creating a line or area graphon page 251.



Monitor information tab

The Description table is located at the top of the Monitor Information tab. The tablecontains the item targeted for the graph and information collected from the SNMPdata where applicable as well as specific monitored items such as disk location, Website URL, and instance name. The table does not have default headings but listspertinent information for the selected resource.

Figure 17: Description Table

Button options

There are four button options from which to choose:

■ Generate Graph(s) - Generates graphs once you have defined your choices.

■ Add Graph - Adds another graph to the set of graphs already plotted.



■ Add All to View - Adds all graphs to the view.Figure 18: Add this graph(s) to View – for single graph

If there is more than one graph, you can select the graph to set the graph asthumbnail.Figure 19: Add graph(s) to View – for multiple graphs

Use the Set thumbnail graph list to set the graph as thumbnail.

■ Printer Friendly - Provides a view of graphs and their description tables withoutprinting the additional options available on the screen.



Creating an individual/multiple monitor graphs

You can dynamically change the attributes or indicators using the graphing optionsavailable below the graph or use the icons located on the right side of the graph toperform other graphing functions.

For more information, see Additional information for changing graph display onpage 271

Generating a multi-monitor graph:

■ Provides the same options available for an Individual graph.

■ Allows you to select the option for Show instance names in legend for multi-instance graphs to include instance names in the graph legend.

■ If two monitor instances with different raw retention periods are plotted in asingle graph, where one instance graphs rate data and the other instance graphsraw data, then the Condensed data string is not displayed on the y-axis of thegraph. If both instances use rate data for plotting the graph, then this string isdisplayed.

■ Due to the difference in the raw retention periods, one monitor may fetch ratedata and the other may fetch raw data, for the same time range selected. In thiscase, the Condensed data string is not displayed.

■ Multi-graphs can be added to a view. This is useful if you want to always see thisset of graphs together but still want to add it into a view. After a multi-graph isadded to a view, the thumbnail displays a small MG icon next to it

If an intelligent event is active for a given attribute or indicator on the graph, theoutline is highlighted with the intelligent event color.

■ Red - Critical

■ Orange - Major

■ Yellow - Minor

You can globally change the line sizes in your graphs by changing the property inpronet.graphs.indGraph.lineWidth=<2>. This does not affect images already created.



Additional information for changing graphdisplay

When a graph is generated, you will notice a series of icons located to the right of thegraph. These are additional options you can choose from:

■ Zoom In or Out

■ Export to Excel

■ Add New Monitors to this Graph

■ More Info

■ Add this Graph to View


■ Device At A Glance

■ Delete

■ Resource Pool

■ Go to Probable Cause

■ MAIL this Page

■ Share this Page

■ PDF

In addition to these functions, the exact value at any point in the graph is alsoavailable. To check the exact value at any point on the graph, place the mousepointer on the point.

BMC ProactiveNet displays the value as tool tip.

Related Topics

Adjusting graph axes on page 272

Exporting graph data to Excel on page 273

Adding new monitors to a graph on page 273

Obtaining more information on page 273

Additional information for changing graph display


Adding a graph to a view on page 273

Displaying all abnormalities for a graph on page 275

Navigating the graph page on page 275

Deleting a graph from a multi-graph view on page 275

Displaying graphs for a resource pool on page 275

Analyzing probable cause on page 276

Mailing the graph page on page 276

Sharing the graph page on page 276

Generating PDF on page 277

Adjusting graph axes

Use the Zoom function to adjust the vertical axis of the graph for viewing data moreclosely or from a higher level. The left axis is Y1 and the right axis is Y2.

To adjust the graph

1 Click the Zoom icon to display a separate window.

2 Based on the values used to plot the graph, enter the maximum and minimumvalues to be used to zoom the graph and by default the graphs are auto-scaled.

3 Click the Zoom icon to view results.

You can only view one axis change at a time and this option does notpermanently change the graph.

The browser instance may, at times, cache the zoomed view of a graph. Using thebrowser navigation buttons may result in display of the cached pages. To avoidthis, use the navigation options provided within the Operations Console.



Exporting graph data to Excel

Use the Export to Excel icon to export all data to a excel file for viewing outsideBMC ProactiveNet. This icon launches the excel application and displays all data inthe .csv file.

Adding new monitors to a graph

Use the Add New Monitors to this Graph icon to add new monitors to a graph.

When you click this icon, the Custom Graph screen appears. Follow the sameprocedure as creating a Custom Graph.

Obtaining more information

When a monitor has more information attached, you can use the More Info icon to find out if errors have occurred, and to display other pertinent information suchas matched patterns being monitored by a Log File monitor or the reason behind aWeb URL not responding.

This icon launches the More Info for Graph table, which provides information aboutthe graph and the possible error. If there are more than 25, click Next to bring upadditional items. The More Info feature is available for Applications only; it is notavailable for SNMP information, such as interface or DLCI details.

Adding a graph to a view

Use the Add this Graph to View icon to add a particular graph to a viewcategory.

This icon launches the Add This Monitor to View pop-up window.

1 Specify the graph name, duration, and name of the view to which you want toadd the graph.

2 Click Add to View to activate this graph in the View.

Once a graph is added to a view, its parameters no longer need to be determinedeach time you want to view data in that manner. Simply click the named graph in itsView group. The Domain Knowledge field is displayed whenever you add a graphto a view. In the Domain Knowledge field, you can enter specific domain knowledgethat other users may benefit from when looking at the graph. This information is alsoused by the Event Details page when events are generated against the same monitor



- links to the Domain Knowledge graph is automatically provided to aid users introubleshooting.

Domain knowledge

Domain Knowledge information can be added whenever you add a graph to a view.The Domain Knowledge field is displayed on the Add this graph(s) to View page.

Use this field to enter specific domain knowledge that other users may benefit fromby looking at the graph. This information is also used by the Event Details pagewhen events are generated against the same monitor - links to the DomainKnowledge graph are automatically provided to aid users in troubleshooting.

Domain Knowledge information acts as a repository of graph information. Forinstance, if the relationship between an event and an event is recorded as domainknowledge, users can easily trace the event the next time a similar event occurs.

Figure 20: Domain Knowledge field

To edit the Domain Knowledge information from the Graph Display page

1 Click Edit next to the Domain Knowledge field.

■ The Change Domain Knowledge screen is displayed.

2 Make changes to the information displayed, as required.

3 Click Update.



A message indicating that the information has been updated is displayed.

4 In the Graph Description window, click Close.

Displaying all abnormalities for a graph

The All Abnormalities icon is displayed as an additional graphing function onlyfor graphs plotted using attributes of the same Abnormality Index monitor instance.Click the icon to access the All Abnormalities page that displays abnormalities for:

■ The same group on which the Abnormality Index Monitor is based

■ The same duration for which the graph has been plotted

This icon is available for Line, Area, X-Y, and Pie graphs.

The All Abnormalities icon is not displayed if a graph is plotted using attributes ofmultiple monitor types.

Navigating the graph page

The Device at a Glance icon allows easy navigation from the graph to otherrelated attributes graphed below without having to re-implement graph selections.When generated, the Device At a Glance page shows a stacked line graph for allmonitors on the device.

This option is available only for graphs with a single monitor instance and can alsobe accessed from the Tools menu on the Device Matrix page and from the Graphpage. When displayed from the Device Matrix page, the graph displays the last fourhours.

Deleting a graph from a multi-graph view

The Delete icon is tied to the Multi-graph feature and is displayed only whenthere are two or more graphs. Use this icon to delete a graph from a multi-graph view.

Displaying graphs for a resource pool

The Resource Pool icon launches the Graph Display page displaying graphs foreach of the individual monitor instances forming the Resource Pool.



Analyzing probable cause

Click the Go to Probable Cause icon to access the Event History page.

Mailing the graph page

To send the graph via e-mail

1 Click the Mail this Page icon .

2 Specify the From and E-mail Address in the displayed window.

3 A brief description can be sent via e-mail either in HTML or plain text format.

4 Select HTML or Plain text to send the description in plain text format and clickSend.

Sharing the graph page

To share the page

1 Right-click the Share link.

2 Click Copy Shortcut in IE, Copy Link Location in Mozilla Firefox. This link can besent to others via E-Mail or can be pasted in a shared location, so that it can beused by others.

To view this graph:

1 Copy and paste the link in the browser address location and click Enter. Thisopens the BMC ProactiveNet Login screen if you have not logged in.

2 Enter the User Name and Password and click Log On.BMC ProactiveNetnavigates to the specified screen.

This link is available in the following locations:

■ Custom Graph (all the graph formats)

■ Drill-Downs from Views

■ Drill-Downs from RCA



■ Drill-Downs from Event Details


■ DD outputs

Generating PDF

Click the PDF icon to view the graphs and the configuration attributes table, inPDF format without the additional options available on the screen.



Managing Views

What is a view?A view is a placeholder for graphs that allows you to view the graph at any timewith the new data value plotted. A view enables you to store graphs and reports. Tocreate views, a BMC ProactiveNet administrator must assign appropriate viewmanagement privileges.

View management privileges allow you to manage the following views:

■ Graph-based views that include graphs

■ Report-based views that include associated reports

■ Folder views that include other views

Navigating the Views & Graphs drawer

Use the Views & Graphs drawer in the navigation pane in the Operations Console tocreate and edit views, and display graphs based on the assigned access rights.

6

Chapter 6 Managing Views 279

Figure 21 on page 280 displays a single view and identifies the major areas withinthe Views screen.

Figure 21: Views

■ The title bar contains icons for customizing the display and managing views.

■ View details displays the owner, update frequency, and the date and time theview was last updated above the graph thumbnail. By default, the View detailsare not displayed. You must select the Show View details at top of the pageoption when creating a view to display the details.

■ View display shows the graph thumbnails. Using the graph thumbnails, you canenlarge the view, rename, or delete the graph. These options are available only forthe graph-based view. Thumbnails provide a high-level view of all graphs thatexist in the view.

Note Thumbnails display data from the last update, and may not always representthe most current data.

The graph border colors act as visual notifications when data collection pertaining tothat graph is in an alarming condition. The highlight color indicates the event severity.

■ Critical = Red

■ Major = Orange

■ Minor = Yellow

When an event is closed, the highlight color returns to blue.

The graph labels are based on monitored attributes, data source, and the date andtime the graph was generated. The source of the monitored data always appearswithin the description column of the graph tables.

Navigating the Views & Graphs drawer


An inverted triangle symbol is used as a placeholder and is displayed in thefollowing conditions:

■ Data for the entire period is not available for creating a graph

■ Rate data computation for the hour is not complete for the top 10 graphs.Generally, this happens with newly created instances.Figure 22: Inverted triangle symbol

The thumbnail appears blank if the monitored resource provides a minimumamount of data during the polling period.

For detailed information on thumbnails, see Managing graph thumbnails for a viewon page 287.

Related topics:

Managing graph thumbnails for a view on page 287

“Customizing graphs” on page 249

Managing view templates on page 289

Managing viewsThrough the Views tab you can create, edit, or delete any number of views. Viewsettings that are configured when creating or editing a view differ for different typesof views.

Views can also be created using view templates. For more information see Managingview templates on page 289.

Table 61 on page 281 lists the icons available on the View screen.

Table 61: Icons on View screen

Icon Icon name Description

View TemplateAdministration

Creates a view using a view template and dynamicallyupdates the view

Managing views


Icon Icon name Description

None Displays the names of the available views

Show/Hide ViewDetails

Displays hides the view details

Add View Adds a view

Edit View Edits a view

Update View Refreshes the graphs and displays updated thumbnails

Delete View Deletes a view

To create or edit a graph-based view

1 In the View Display screen, click Add View.

2 In the Add View screen, provide the necessary information to create a view andadd a graph to the view as described in Table 62 on page 282.

Note The Operations Console does not support special characters such as \, ', ", \, <,and > in the view name. Any view name containing special characters isdisplayed in hexadecimal format on the Operations Console.

Table 62: Inputs for the Graph-based Add View screen

Fields Description

Add View

View Title Specifies the view name

View Type 2.a Indicates the type of view; select Graph Based to create a graph-basedview

Layout Type Sets the preferences of the thumbnail. The layout type can be one of thefollowing:

■ Four columns: Displays a small size view, with fewer options

■ Two columns: Displays a medium size view, with all options

■ One column: Displays a large size view, with all options

Managing views


Fields Description

Update Sets the update frequency of the view as follows:

■ Daily

■ Hourly

■ Manually

Update the View for every xxminutes

Updates the view for a time specified in minutes

Show View details at top of the page Displays the details in the View screen. By default, the details are notdisplayed. You can toggle the display of view details using the Show/Hide View icon.

View Create Option Indicates how the view is created:

■ Manual: Creates a view manually

■ Template: Enables selection and application of a view template to aview

Graphs in View

Add Graph Adds a graph to the view. For detailed instructions, see Creatingcustom graphs on page 249.

a You cannot configure the view type when editing an existing view.

3 Specify a name for the graph.


5 Click Finish.

Tip To edit an existing view, click Edit View on the View screen and follow the stepslisted in To create or edit a graph-based view on page 282.

To create or edit a report-based view

1 In the View screen, click Add View.

2 In the Add View screen, provide the necessary information to create a view andadd a report to the view as described in Table 63 on page 284.

Managing views


Note

■ Users with access to a view have unrestricted access to all the reports.

■ The Order button sets the order of graphs or reports in the view. This option isavailable when you create multiple graphs or reports.

Table 63: Inputs for the Report-based Add View screen

Fields Description


View Type Indicates the type of view; select Report Based to create a report-basedview

Add Report as Thumbnail orComplete Report as Entire View

Sets the preferences of the thumbnail. The thumbnail can be set usingthe following choices:

■ Add Report as Thumbnail: Sets the report as a thumbnail

■ Select Complete Report as Entire View: Displays a single largereport on the View screen






Reports in View 2.a

Add Reports 2.b Adds a report to the view. For detailed instructions, see Creating orediting a report on page 294.

a By default, generated reports are added to the view if they are not generated.

b For Capacity Trend Reports, the bar graph thumbnail may not display all the indices in Y-axis.

3 In the Reports screen, select the default report(s) to add to the view, and then clickAdd To View.

Managing views


4 Click Finish.

Tip To edit an existing view, click Edit View on the View screen and follow the stepslisted in To show the child instances for the selected monitor instance on page 255.

Related topics:

To show the child instances for the selected monitor instance on page 255

To create or edit a folder view on page 285

To delete a view on page 286


To create or edit a folder view

1 In the View screen, click Add View.

2 In the Add View screen, provide the necessary information to create a view andadd a folder to the view as described in Table 64 on page 285.

Note

■ Folder view administration is available from the Operations Console only.

■ When adding a folder, the Available Top Level Views shows only top levelviews. Access rights to folder view applies to all child views in the folder.

■ Individual views cannot be moved from one folder to another, without movingthe view to the top level first.

■ If a folder view is deleted, the children in the folder are not deleted. Instead, allthe immediate children are moved to the top level.

■ A view can be a child of only one folder view. This is different in Groupbehavior, where one group can be a sub-group of many other groups.

Table 64: Inputs for the Folder-based Add View screen

Fields Description


View Type Indicates the type of view; select Folder to create a folder-based view

Managing views


Fields Description


Default Sort Sorts the selected child views in an ascending by default

Select Child View

Available Top Level Views/Selected Child Views

Select the view to add to the folder from Available Top Level Views,and move it using the arrow key to Selected Child Views

3 Click Finish.

Tip To edit an existing view, click Edit View on the View screen and follow the stepslisted in To create or edit a folder view on page 285.

Related topics

To create or edit a graph-based view on page 282

To show the child instances for the selected monitor instance on page 255

To delete a view on page 286


To delete a view

1 Select the view that you wish to delete.

2 Click Delete View.

3 In the Confirmation dialog box, click OK.

Related topics

Customizing monitor graphs on page 264

Creating or editing a report on page 294

Managing views


Customizing the basic screen layout on the Views tab

To customize the View display

1 In the top right of the Operations Console, click Options.

2 In the Operations tab, under Layout Preferences, modify the following settings,as necessary.

Table 65: Basic configuration for View display

Setting Description

Show Dashboard View Enables selection of the dashboard view that must be displayed as athumbnail whenever you access the Views drawer in the navigation pane.You can only set graph-based views as dashboard views. You cannot set folder-based views as dashboards.

Show Home View Enables selection of a view that must be displayed as the default wheneveryou access the Views tab.

3 Click Apply.

Managing graph thumbnails for a view

To switch to large view

1 In the Views & Graphs drawer in the navigation pane, select a view from thenavigation tree.

Thumbnails of any graphs associated with the view are displayed in the rightview pane.

2 Right-click a graph thumbnail, and then click Large View.

Note You cannot view the large view for a single layout type of graph.

To rename a thumbnail




Thumbnails of any graphs associated with the view are displayed in the rightview pane.

2 Right-click a graph thumbnail, and then click Rename.

3 In the Rename Graph dialog box, enter a name for the graph, and then clickApply.

To delete a thumbnail


2 Right-click a graph thumbnail, and then click Delete.


Note You cannot delete or rename a graph that is created using a view template.However, you can view a large view for the same.

To add graph(s) to a new or exiting view


2 Double-click a graph thumbnail to be added to an existing view.

3 In the Custom Graphs screen, click Add this Graph to View .

4 In the Add this graph(s) to Viewscreen, provide the necessary information asdescribed in Table 66 on page 288.

Table 66: Fields in the Add this graph(s) to View screen

Field Procedure

Graph Name Enter the graph name

Graph Duration Select the time duration for which to generate the graph

Add to View Select the view to which you want to add the graph or create a newview to add the graph

Domain Knowledge Type the domain information




■ For detailed instructions, see To create or edit a graph-based view on page 282.

Note The Add to View screen does not consider views created using a view template.

Related topics:

“Customizing graphs” on page 249


Managing view templatesView templates are reusable components that are place holders for details such asgraph type, monitor type, attributes, and indicators.

You can apply a view template to groups or services to create a view. A view that iscreated using a view template is automatically updated when a new instance isadded or removed from the group.

When you add a graph to a view template all the associated views are updated.Similarly, if a view is deleted from the view template, associated views are also deleted.

To create a view template


2 In the right view pane, click the View Template Administration button.

3 In the View Template Administration screen, click Add.

4 In the Create View Template screen, enter a name for the view template.

5 Click Add Graph.

6 In the Custom Graphs screen, select the graph type.

7 Select the Group filter, and then the applicable monitor type(s).

8 Click Next.

9 Select the attributes applicable to the graph, and then click Finish.

Managing view templates


Note

■ In manual view creation, you can choose monitor instances, but in viewtemplate creation, only monitor types are considered.

■ Based on the selected graph type the corresponding screen opens. For furtherinformation, see Creating custom graphs on page 249.

■ View template supports and displays the count only for Graph based view.Creating views for Report or Folder based views does not display the count inthe view template wizard.

10 In the Create View Template screen, click Finish.

■ The View Template Administration screen displays the newly created template.

Tip In the View Template Administration screen, when you mouse over on theviews count, all the views created from that template are listed.

To edit a view template

When you edit a view template, you can add, delete, or edit the graph in that template.

1 In the View Template Administration screen, under the Edit column, click Edit inthe view template row that you wish to edit.

2 Make the necessary modifications.

3 Click Finish.

Note The Order button is used to set the order of graphs in the View Template. Thisoption is available when multiple graphs are added.

To delete a view template

On deletion of a view template, the views created using the template become normal(manual) views, and therefore, no dynamic updates to the monitor instances take place.

1 In the View Template Administration screen, under the Select column, select theview template that you wish to delete.

2 Click Delete Selected.




To create a view using a view template

1 In the View Template Administration screen, under the Add View column, clickthe Add View button in the row for the view template that you want to use.

2 In the Add View screen, provide the necessary information to create a view usinga view template as described in Table 67 on page 291.

Table 67: Inputs for the Add View screen using a view template

Fields Description

Add View


View Type Indicates the type of view; select Graph Based to create a graph-basedview.





Update Sets the update frequency of the view as follows:

■ Daily

■ Hourly

■ Manually

Update the View for every xxminutes

Updates the view for a time specified in minutes


View Create Option Indicates how the view is created; select Template to create a viewusing a view template.

Select View Template Displays a list of available view templates that you can apply to a view

Template Details

Groups Provides a link to the Groups Filter dialog box that allows you tospecify the groups to which this view template must be applied



3 Click Finish.

Note There is a configurable entry in pronet.conf(pronet.viewTemplates.maxMonitorInsCount = 50) that defines themaximum number of monitor instances that can be plotted in a view createdusing a view template. The Update View operation for such views is restricted toexisting monitor instances in that view in case the number of monitor instances inthe selected group exceeds the above mentioned maximum count.In such views, if the number of thumbnails exceed 200, it may take more than aminute to create the view. Under such circumstances a message is displayed.



Generating Reports

OverviewThe Reports tab in the Operations Console presents extensive information aboutcreating, editing, deleting, copying, and changing the email based on the assignedaccess privileges for various report types. You can query the reports using filteroptions to view the applicable reports. Some of the report types also have defaultreports.

In the initial display on the Reports tab, the defined reports are listed in tabularform. Table 68 on page 293 lists the columns of report attributes that appear for eachreport.

Table 68: Views of report information on the Report tab

View Description

Report Type Reports are generated based on the selected report type, for example, Administrative,General, or SLO

Frequency Displays a list of report generation frequencies; Daily, Weekly, and Monthly at which thereport is generated

Schedule Displays a list of schedules; Business Hours and 24x7 based on which the report isgenerated. For example, schedule 24x7 considers data collected throughout the day forthe entire week (including Saturday and Sunday). The schedule displayed in the reportlisting depends on the individual schedules of the components that make up the report.For example, if a report based on Service Level Objectives (SLOs) is made up of morethan one SLO, the schedule is displayed as Mixed. Each SLO can have a differentschedule. When the schedule is not applicable, a hyphen is shown.

Owner Name of the report owner

Report Title Title of the report

Category Report category

Related Topics

Creating or editing a report on page 294

7

Chapter 7 Generating Reports 293

Deleting a report on page 298

Copying an existing report on page 298

Changing email settings in a report on page 299

Creating or editing a report

This section consists of common steps and attributes required for report creation.

1 On the Reports screen, click Add for a new report or select a report and click Editto edit an existing report.

2 On the Add Step (1 of 3) - Enter Report Details screen specify the following basicreport attributes listed in Table 69 on page 294. If you are editing a report, youneed not specify attributes, simply make changes to the attributes.

Table 69: Report detail attributes

Field Description

Name Enter a unique report name

Contact Information Enter report owner’s phone number

Report Type Select a report type from the list. You cannot change the report typewhen editing an existing report.

Enable Report Generation Select this check box to enable report generation for the report. Bydefault, this check box is selected.

3 Click Next.

4 On the Add (Step 2 of 3) - Enter Report Details screen, set the attributes andcontents for the specific report type. The settings at this point differ, depending onthe report type. For a list of all the available report types and a complete list of report-specific settings for each report type, see Report types available in BMCProactiveNet on page 300. Table 70 on page 295 lists the attributes common to allreport types.

Overview


Table 70: Common report attributes

Attributes Description

Select Group By default the No Filter option is displayed. Use the default option toconsider all available monitors.To add a filter, click the No Filters link. On the Select Group screen,select a group and click Apply. Use this filter to limit the report to onlythose instances that are present in the selected group.

Select Device Select a device from the list. Use the No Filter option to consider allavailable devices.

Search for Enter a device name to search a specific device

Generate Report to Select the appropriate option to show configuration or monitor details

Monitor Type Click the Agent Status link. When the Select Monitor Type screenopens, select a monitor type and click Apply.

Sub Report Title Enter the title for Sub Report.

Delete Sub Report Select a sub report in the Added Sub Report Section, and click DeleteSub Report to delete the selected sub report.

Single Attribute Use this filter to report only those events associated to the attributebeing considered. Click the attribute link. When the Select MonitorType screen opens, select a monitor type and click Apply.Select an attribute from the list.Use this filter to limit the report to a single attribute of a monitor type.

Attribute Set Select an attribute set from the list to limit the report to those attributespresent in the attribute set. The attribute set is a collection of attributesthat are used for generating a report.To define a new attribute set, click New. When the Add Attributescreen opens. Select one or more monitor types and click Next.Attributes associated to the monitor types are displayed. Select one ormore attributes and click Next. When the Add Attribute Set screenopens, enter a name for the new attribute and select attribute(s) andclick Finish. A successful completion message is displayed.To edit an attribute select an attribute from the list and click Edit. Whenthe Edit Attribute Set screen opens, select the attribute set type from thelist and select the monitor types, click Finish. A successful completionmessage is displayed.

Overview



Schedule The period corresponding to which the data will be considered forReport generation. For example, schedule 24x7 will consider datacollected through out the day for the entire week (including Saturdayand Sunday). The schedule displayed in the Report listing depends onthe individual schedules of the components that make up the report.For example, if a report based on Service Level Objectives (SLOs) ismade up of more than one SLO, the schedule is displayed as Mixed.Each SLO can have a different schedule. When the schedule is notapplicable, a hyphen is shown.

Do not consider data duringSchedule DownTime

Select this option to reject misleading events and notifications during ascheduled down time. During a scheduled down time BMCProactiveNet performs the following actions depending on theconfiguration:

■ Stops data collection

■ Stops Event or Event Generation

■ Stops Event related Notification or Actions

■ Calculate Baseline

Add Sub Report Select attributes in Selected Attributes and click Add Sub Report toappend sub reports to the Added Sub Report section.To add multiple attributes Press Shift and select the attributes.

Data to be used for calculation Select one of the following options:

■ Condensed Data - Select this option to calculate data on hourlybases for faster calculation. By default, Condensed data is selected.Avg, High, or Low rate values can be calculated and applicable foronly condensed data.

■ Raw Data - Select this option to calculate granular data for reports.

Note To edit sub-report, select a sub report in Added Sub Report Section, and clickEdit Sub Report. Follow similar steps to delete a sub-report and click DeleteSub Report.

5 Click Next.

6 On the Add (Step 3 of 3) - Enter Report Details screen set the report detailssummarized in Table 71 on page 297, and then click Finish to generate the report.

Overview


Note This step is common to all the report types. Based on these settings report isdisplayed. Some of the display attributes are common to all the reports.

Table 71: Report display options

Options Description

Graph Type The graph type. The available options differ based on the report type.

No. of rows per page (applicablefor tables)

The number of rows to be displayed on a single page.

Show Device name with MonitorInformation

Display the device name with the monitor information. By default theMonitor Information column is displayed even if you have not selectedthe Device name with Monitor Information check box.

Show Source Agent with MonitorInformation

Display the source agent with the monitor information. By default theMonitor Information column is displayed even if you have not selectedthe Show Source Agent with Monitor Information check box.

Show report details at Display the report details. Also, specify the location (top or bottom ofthe page) to display the report details.

Show comments at Select this check box to view Global comments and Report InstanceComments on the report. Also, specify the location (top or bottom ofthe page) to display comments. If you add text to the Global Commentsfield, this option is selected automatically. If you do not select thisoption while creating a report but specify comments for a reportinstance, then the selections made on the Report Instance Commentswindow are automatically applied here.

Global Comments Information or other content that you want to associate with the report.If you select the Show Comments at option, comments that you enterhere are displayed on all instances of the report. Global commentsalways precede report instance comments.Choose the font size for display of comments. Click URL Tag to encloseURLs, which are part of comments, in tags. This creates hyperlinks forURLs in report comments. Example for Global comments: Consider anElement Distribution Summary report created to denote availability ofSolaris processes on a server. Global comments can be added toindicate that instances of this report are to be generated daily and theserver is considered to be in good state if the availability is >=99.99%.

E-mail Options

Enter E-mail Address E-mail used to send the report by email. Also, select the format (inwhich the report needs to be sent) from the list.

Overview


Options Description

Add Insert the email id and format into the email Address box. Allapplicable email IDs and the associated formats are listed in the emailAddresses box. Repeat the procedure to add more email IDs andpreferences.

Delete Remove the email ID from the Email Addresses list.

Schedule Options

Scheduled Save the report in the system and generate it based on the frequency.

On Demand Generate report based on the inputs.

Schedule For more information see, Table 70 on page 295.

Report Period Number of days selected from the list to be included in the report. Thisoption is not available for SLO Capacity Trends, Asset, Threshold, SLOCompliance Matrix and Capacity Trends report types. Report periodsfor Event History, SLO Application Compliance and SLO ComplianceHistory are listed based on the granularity selected for these reports.

Report Frequency Sets the report generation frequency to Daily, Weekly, or Monthly.

Sharing Sets report sharing parameters with everybody, group, or not to share.

Generate this report immediatelyafter adding to the schedule

Select the check box if required.

Deleting a report

Perform the following steps to delete a report:

To delete a report

1 Click the Reports tab.

2 In the Select column of the Report screen, select the check box corresponding tothe report.

3 Click Delete. A confirmation dialog box opens, click OK to delete.

Copying an existing report

To quickly create similar reports, the copy option can be used. Use the copy optionto replicate an existing report's properties and create new reports. Then edit the newreport to make specific changes if required.

Overview


To copy an existing report



3 Click Copy. A confirmation dialog box opens, click OK to copy.

Changing email settings in a report

Use this option to add, modify, or delete email for the selected reports. Perform thefollowing steps.

To change email settings in a report



3 Click Change Email.

To add a new email ID

1 On the Change Email page, select Add option to add email IDs for all the selectedreports. If the email ID exists then the newly entered email ID is appended to theexisting list of Email IDs.

2 Enter the email ID to be added to the selected reports.

3 Select Email Type from the list.

4 Click Apply.

5 On the Change Email Summary page, click Done.

To modify an existing email ID

1 On the Change Email Summary page, select Modify.

2 Enter the existing email.

3 Enter the email ID to be replaced with the new or modified email ID.

Overview


Note When modifying the email ID, you cannot modify the email Type.

4 Click Apply to replace the existing email ID with a new email ID.

To delete a new email ID

1 On the Change Email page, select Delete option to delete the existing email IDfrom the selected reports.

2 Click Apply.

3 On the Change Email Summary page, click Done.

Report types available in BMC ProactiveNetBMC ProactiveNet reports are divided into three categories—Administrative,General, and Service Level Objective (SLO). Table 7 presents the types of reports ineach category and points you to further information about each report type.

Table 72: Report types available in BMC ProactiveNet

Category Report types Further information, see

Administrative Asset Asset on page 301

Threshold Threshold on page 302

User User on page 303

General Aggregate Performance Aggregate Performance on page 303

Availability Summary Availability Summary on page 305

Capacity Trends Capacity Trends on page 307

Custom Graph Custom Graph on page 309

Element DistributionSummary

Element Distribution Summary on page 310

Event Event on page 312

Health Summary Health Summary on page 315

Top/Bottom Performers Top Bottom Performers on page 317

Virtual Inventory Virtual Inventory on page 318

Report types available in BMC ProactiveNet


Category Report types Further information, see

SLO SLO Application Compliance SLO Application Compliance Report on page 319

SLO Capacity Trends SLO Capacity Trends Report on page 320

SLO Compliance History SLO Compliance History on page 321

SLO Compliance Matrix SLO Compliance Matrix on page 321

SLO Executive Summary SLO Executive Summary on page 323

SLO Health Summary SLO Health Summary on page 324

Note BMC Software recommends users to disable those default reports that are notapplicable. The default reports of BMC ProactiveNet do not have filters andtherefore may consume more resources on loaded setups.

Asset

The Asset report displays all monitor instances of a particular monitor type in aspecific group, for the selected configuration parameters, over a specified time period.

Table 73 on page 301 lists attributes specific to Asset reports that need to be enteredalong with the common attributes.

Table 73: Asset report attributes


Select Group For further information see, Table 70 on page 295

Select Device For further information see, Table 70 on page 295

Generate Report To■ The Show Config Details option displays the configuration attribute

details of monitor instances for the selected monitor type.

■ The Show Monitor Details option displays the details of variousmonitor instances of the selected group and device.

Monitor Type For further information see, Table 70 on page 295

Include Control attributes Include control attributes in the Available Config Attributes list.

Available Config Attributes Displays configuration attributes corresponding to the selected monitortype. This option is displayed only if you have selected Show ConfigDetails.

Sort Key Select a sort key from the list.




Show Config DD Select this option to view configuration DD.

Sub Report Title For further information see, Table 70 on page 295

Add Sub Report For further information see, Table 70 on page 295

Threshold

The Threshold report allows you to quickly view the threshold values configured.This report is an administrative type of report. Report thresholds are not consideredfor the Threshold report.

Table 74 on page 302 lists the default Threshold report types.

Table 74: Configured Instance and Global Thresholds organized by Monitor Type

Default Threshold Report Type Description

Report Type Threshold

Report Frequency Weekly

Sub-Reports Included 1) Absolute Event Thresholds (Global Only) organized by Monitor Type.2) Absolute Event Thresholds (Instance Only) organized by Monitor Type.3) Signature Absolute Event Thresholds (Global Only) organized by MonitorType.4) Signature Event Thresholds (Instance Only) organized by Monitor Type.

Table 75 on page 302 lists attributes specific to Threshold reports that need to beentered along with common attributes.

Table 75: Threshold report attributes


Consider Select the threshold type based on which to generate the report. Also indicatewhether instance or global thresholds or both instance and global thresholdsmust be considered to generate the report.

Organize By Select the criterion on which the threshold values must be organized in thereport. The threshold values can be sorted by group, device, or monitor type.Select Flat List to lists all monitor types in a table.

Monitor Type Select the monitor type based on which the report must be generated. Toconsider all monitor types, select No Filter.

Threshold Type

Default Sort Column Select the columns for the report. From the Default Sort Column list, choose thecolumn that must be displayed first in the report.




Add Sub Report See Table 70 on page 295.

UserThe User report filters user group, user class, and user status. This report displaysthe user details in a tabular format and the frequency of the report period is monthly.

Table 76: User default report types

Default User Report Type Description

Report Type User

Report Frequency Monthly

Table 77 on page 303 lists attributes specific to User reports that need to be enteredalong with common attributes.

Table 77: User report attributes


Name Specify partial or full login name of the user to be reported.

User Group Choose No Filter option to list all the user groups or choose the appropriate usergroup to be reported. For more information, see User Management of BMCProactiveNet Administrator Guide.

User Class Choose appropriate user class to be reported.

User Status Choose No Filter option to list all the user states (Active or Inactive) or appropriateuser status to be reported.

Select Attributes Select the attributes to be reported.

Sub Report Title See Table 70 on page 295.


Aggregate PerformanceThe Aggregate Performance report runs an aggregation function on selectedattributes of monitor instances belonging to the specified group, over a specifiedtime period. The aggregation function can be Average, Sum, Maximum, Minimum,Median, Percentile, and Standard Deviation. The result of aggregation is displayedas multiple summary line graphs (stacked line graphs). Each graph reflects theaggregation result of attributes having same unit of measurement.

If Table Display is enabled, the report is displayed in tab format where the first tabconsists of all the line graphs and the second tab shows a complete list of allinstances of the selected group in table format along with the minimum, average,and maximum values for the specified attribute. Drill down from any of theinstances to view the corresponding independent line graph for that instance.



Individual graphs for each instance or attribute are displayed (for the selected reportperiod) when the Show graphs for each Instance or Attribute option is selected. Thesummary graph will be larger than the individual graphs.

Aggregate Performance report can be made using multiple sub-reports, where eachsub-report is a combination of different group-attribute-set and aggregate function.If Show detail table option is enabled for such reports, the first tab displays graphscorresponding to each sub-report, and the second tab displays different tablescorresponding to each graph.

The following default reports of the Aggregate Performance type are provided out-of-the-box by BMC ProactiveNet:

■ Web Transaction Availability and Response Time - a weekly aggregation of datawith the following sub-reports:

— Transaction Availability

— Transaction Response Time

■ Server Capacity - a weekly aggregation of data with the following sub-reports:

— Server CPU Capacity (includes sub-reports).

— Server Memory Capacity

Table 78 on page 304 lists attributes specific to Aggregate Performance report thatneeds to entered along with common attributes.

Table 78: Aggregate Performance report attributes


Select Group See Table 70 on page 295.

Select Attributes Select Attributes (to be part of the sub report) from Available attributesand transfer to Selected Attributes. Use Ctrl and Shift keys to makemultiple selections. Alternatively, use the search box to locate a specificattribute.




Select Aggregate Function■ Avg - (Average) Sum of all data points for each instance-attribute

and divided by the total number of instances.

■ Sum - all data points for each instance-attribute.

■ Min - (Minimum) Sort the data points from the various instancesand take the lowest value.

■ Max - (Maximum) - Sort the data points from the various instancesand take the highest value.

■ Median - Sort the data points from the various instances and takethe middle value.

■ Percentile - Value that X% of the monitors and below are reporting.(0 – being the min, 100 – being the max, 50 – being the median) Ifpercentile is selected, then the Weightage combo box is enabled forthe user to select the appropriate nth weightage factor.

■ Standard Deviation - It is the standard deviation across all theunderlying instances.


See Table 70 on page 295.


Graph Title Enter title for graph.


Show Tables in separate Tab Select this option to view tables in separate tabs.

Hide Attribute Column Name Select this option to hide the attribute column from being displayedin the report. This option is enabled only when the Show Tables inseparate Tab option is selected.

Show Graphs for each Instance/Attribute

Select this option to display individual graphs for each instance orattribute for the selected report period.

Note The report display can get distorted in the following scenarios:

■ When report is viewed using IE 5.5

■ When the report has too much data.

Availability SummaryThe Availability Summary report displays Availability of a monitored element in theform of a pie graph. The report also displays information such as Total Downtime. It



is assumed that attributes displayed will be of type “Availability”, so Attribute Setsthat have the string “Availability” in them are only considered by the report.

The Availability Summary report can consist of multiple sub-reports, where each sub-report may be a combination of different group-attributes, device type, range sets,and MTTR information.

You can select or define the range set for the availability distribution. The report alsocan include information about Mean Time To Recovery (MTTR), for which you canselect a predefined range set or can define a new one. If the MTTR option is selected,the report displays an additional pie graph that shows the MTTR distribution foreach sub-report.

Note If the report period is greater than the instance creation time, the availabilityattribute does not show the accurate value. This is taken care when the report isgenerated again.

Table 79 on page 306 lists the default report type for Availability Summary.

Table 79: Availability Summary default report type

Default Availability Summary ReportType

Description

Web Transaction Availability■ Report Type: Availability Summary

■ Report Frequency: Weekly

■ Report Duration: Week

■ Sub-Reports Included: Transaction Availability

Table 80 on page 306 lists attributes specific to Availability Summary report thatneeds to entered along with common attributes.

Table 80: Availability Summary report attributes


Select Group Click the list to select a group or no filter option to consider all themonitors.

Select Device Type See Table 70 on page 295.

Attribute Set See Table 70 on page 295.

Consider Sub Transactions if any Select this option for the report to be generated considering dynamicattributes associated with the monitors of the Attribute set.




Available attributes Select the attributes (to be part of the sub report) and transfer toSelected Attributes. Use Ctrl and Shift keys to make multipleselections. Alternatively, use the search box to locate a specific attribute.

Availability Range Set■ Select the Availability Distribution range to use a pre-defined range

set. Range sets define the Maximum-Minimum value of the stack inthe graph.

■ Select the Availability Custom Range Set option to specify anddefine the distribution range dynamically. Data collected isvalidated against the custom range specified here.

Include Mean Time RecoveryInformation

Select the Include MTTR information option to display the Mean Timeto Recovery information in the report. When the option is selected, twoadditional options are displayed. Select MTTR Distribution range set touse a pre-defined range set to calculate the Mean time to recovery.Alternatively, select MTTR Custom Range set to define and assignvalues to the custom range set.

Show Table containing the list ofInstances

Select this option to view related tables.

Schedule See Table 70 on page 295.




Report Options See Table 70 on page 295.

Capacity TrendsThe Capacity Trends report lists all monitor instances–attribute pairs that arepredicted to violate event thresholds in the specified time period. The reportcontains a bar graph at the top that shows each instance–attribute pair predicted toviolate event threshold in the specified time period. The maximum number of barscan be specified during report creation.

The report displays Bar graph as follows:

■ The instance-attribute pair is displayed on the Y axis.

■ The duration to violation (in days) is displayed on X axis.

■ The table is sorted with instances, which are predicted to violate earliest (in anyviolated instance are present, they would appear first).

■ Drill down on the monitor instance in the table displays a line graph for theselected attribute along with the threshold line.

The report displays Line graph as follows:



■ The line graph is projected using a dotted line from the last data point to thethreshold line and the intersection point is at the predicted violation time.

■ A dotted line from the intersection point to the X axis will also be present.

Table 81 on page 308 lists Capacity Trend default report.

Table 81: Capacity Trend default report

Default Capacity Report Type Description

Infrastructure Capacity Trends■ Report Type: Capacity Trends

■ Report Frequency; Weekly

■ Duration: One Month

Table 82 on page 308 lists attributes specific to Capacity Trend sub-reports andreport attributes that needs to be entered along with common attributes.

Table 82: Capacity Trend report attributes

Report Type Descriptions

Sub-report section

No Filter Select this option to consider all the instances in the system

Selected Groups Select this option to select the attribute groups from the AvailableGroups box and transfer to Selected Groups box

Report Attributes

Single Attribute See Table 70 on page 295

Attribute Set See Table 70 on page 295

Consider Sub Transactions if any Select this option for the report to be generated considering dynamicattributes associated with the monitors of the Attribute set

Hide Attribute name Column Select this option for the attribute column not to be listed with the report

Use Event Thresholds as CapacityLimit

Select this option to use Event capacity as thresholds. Highest Severity,Critical, Major, Minor, or All event thresholds can be selected.When All or highest severity threshold type is selected, then severitycolumn is displayed and a table title is added displaying severity ofeach instance.When Critical, Major, or Minor event thresholds are selected, thenseverity column is hidden and a table title is added displaying severitytype of each instance.


Enter a value to assign downtime.



Report Type Descriptions

Use Custom Group Threshold Select this option to set custom group thresholds. This can be used onlywhen the Groups/Services filter is selected. Choose the respectivegroups and click New to set new thresholds. Custom group thresholdscan be set for either a single attribute or group or multiple attributes orgroups.



Report Options■ Data to be used – Specifies whether Condensed (Rate) or Raw

(Granular) data is to be used. By default, Condensed data isselected. Avg, High, or Low rate values can be calculated andapplicable for only condensed data.

■ Show instance which will violate in the next - This is the forecastperiod. Any instance that is predicted to violate event thresholds inthis time period appears in the report. Any violations outside thisforecast period will not be considered. Default is 7 days.

■ Use Data for the last - This option governs the data points to be usedfor forecasting. Default value is 14 days.

■ Maximum number of bars in graph – Specifies the maximumnumber of bars to be displayed in the bar graph. Maximum numberof bars cannot exceed 20. Default value is 20.

Custom GraphThe Graph-based report provides an option to create a report equivalent to thecurrent custom graph generator. The graph types supported are Line, X – Ycorrelation, Pie, and Area. The inputs for Graph-based reports are collected througha reports input wizard.

Table 83 on page 309 lists attributes specific to Custom Graph report that need to beentered along with the common attributes.

Table 83: Custom Graph report attributes


Graph Type See Table 70 on page 295.

Add Attributes Click Add. The Select Instances for Line Graph screen opens. Select a Group Filter,and Monitor Type, click Next. The Monitor Instance to be graphed option opens.Select an instance and click Apply.

Selected Attributes Selected attributes are displayed in Selected Attributes.Click Clear to discard the selected attribute.





Show More Info Select this option to display more information on the graph.

Data to be used See Table 70 on page 295.



Element Distribution SummaryThe Element Distribution Summary report displays either the actual (with respect tocustom ranges) or percentage (with respect to specified event thresholds)distribution of instance-attribute values in the form of stacked bar graphs.

Default ranges for percentage distribution in the stacked bar can be specified in theconfiguration file. Custom ranges can be defined in the Create (Step 2 of 3) - EnterElement Distribution Details screen.

Drill down on any bar in the stacked bar graph displays a table based on thedistribution ranges. This table is a list of all the elements for that distribution rangesorted on their average values. Further drill down on each of the elements in thetable leads to the individual graph for that element for the specified time period.

Table 84 on page 310 lists Element Distribution Summary default report.

Table 84: Application Infrastructure Element Summary default report

Default Element Distribution Summary Report Type Description

Application Infrastructure Element Summary■ Report Type: Element Distribution Summary

■ Report Frequency: Weekly

■ Duration: Week

Table 85 on page 310 lists attributes specific to Element Distribution Summaryreport that needs to be entered along with common attributes.

Table 85: Element Distribution Summary report attributes



Single Attribute See Table 70 on page 295.


Consider Sub Transaction ifany

Select this option to generate reports considering dynamic attributesassociated with monitors of the Attribute set.




Hide Attribute Name andColumn

Select this option to hide attribute name and column during report display.

Distribution range based onThreshold

Select this option to consider specified event thresholds with percentagedistribution of instance attribute values. On selecting this option distributionrange is displayed and you can select the range from the list. It defines themaximum and minimum values of the stacks in the graph.

Threshold Severity Select this option to generate report for a specific event severity. This optionis displayed only if the distribution range is based on thresholds.

Custom Distribution Range Select this option to dynamically define the distribution range. Data isvalidated against the specified custom range. Report displays instanceattribute values for the specified custom range in the form of multiplestacked bar graphs.Select one of the following custom ranges:

■ Bad

■ Poor

■ Fair

■ Good

■ Excellent

Distribution Details Select this option to set the graph display either as 2D or 3D. The availableoptions differ based on the report type.

Show data broken down by Select this option to break down the report display.Select one of the following options:

■ Hour

■ Day

■ Week

■ Month

■ Quarter

Do not consider data duringschedule down time




Data to be used for calculation See Table 70 on page 295.



EventEvents are of two types, External and Intelligent events. External events are thosethat are received from third party device and Intelligent events are those that aregenerated from the BMC ProactiveNet server. External events coming from a deviceknown to the BMC ProactiveNet server will be automatically associated to that device.

The Event Report shows events that occurred during a specified time period. Thereport consists of a stacked bar graph indicating the number of events on the Y-axisand time period on the X-axis based on the inputs. The graph lists all eventsconsolidated, irrespective of their multiple occurrences in the bars of the graph. Drill-down from the bars of the graph shows events in that time interval block. Drill-down from a multiple options bar graph shows the list of events of the respectiveoptions. To see the severity and status history when you drill-down from the status,see Acknowledging events on page 122.

Note The Event Report is available only if you are a BMC ProactiveNet user upgradingfrom version 8.0 or 8.1 of BMC ProactiveNet to version 8.5. If you are a new BMCProactiveNet version 8.5 user, BMC recommends that you use BMC ProactiveNetPerformance Management Reporting Studio to generate Event Reports.

Table 86: Event default report types

Default Event Report Types Description

Critical Events for Previous Day■ Report Type: Event

■ Report Frequency Daily

■ Duration: Day

Critical Events for Previous Week■ Report Type: Event

■ Report Frequency Weekly

■ Duration: Week

Table 87 on page 313 lists attributes specific to Event report that should be specifiedalong with the common attributes.



Table 87: Event report attributes


Event Selection■ All Events: Lists both BMC ProactiveNet and external events. External events refer to

device-associated events and events received from external event adapters.

■ Intelligent Events: Lists the BMC ProactiveNet events only.

Filter Options■ Intelligent Events

■ All Events

— Events Associated with Device—includes only events associated with a deviceknown to BMC ProactiveNet server

— Events Not Associated with a Device—includes events that are not associatedwith a device which are generated from a third party

■ No Filter—includes all events during generation of the report

■ Groups/Services—see Table 70 on page 295.

■ Devices—see Table 70 on page 295.

Attributes toreport on ■ No Filter—includes all the events on all monitored instances during generation of the

report

■ Single Attribute—see Table 70 on page 295.

■ Attribute Set—see Table 70 on page 295.

■ Consider Dynamic Attributes if any (applicable only to select monitors)—includesevents on all Dynamic attributes for the selected monitors

■ Priority—includes the events with the selected priority

■ Consider Events with Duration Greater Than:—includes all the events that are openfor more than the time duration specified




Display Options■ Status

— Open: Lists only the events which are not closed

— Assigned: Lists only the events that are assigned

— Acknowledged: Lists only those events that are acknowledged

— Closed: Lists only those events that are closed

— Blackout: Lists only those events that are blackout

■ Severity—determines the severity level of the report. Select any of the followingseverities to be considered for the report:

— Critical

— Major

— Minor

— Warning

— Information

— OK

■ Graph Options

— Show only Graph—only displays the graph

— Show only Table—only displays the table

■ Granularity—controls the number of time intervals that the report is divided into

— By Hour—one bar of the graph will represent the number of events that occurwithin an hour

— By Day—one bar of the graph will represent the number of events that occurwithin a day

Note The PDF option for event reports is disabled. Hence, the PDF option in E-mailOptions (page 3 of 3) while creating or editing a report will not work.



Health SummaryThe Health Summary report shows all monitor instances for a specified group (inorder of worst at the top to least worst at the bottom) in terms of violation ofthreshold over a specified time period. Performance is based on the total violationtime for that instance.

The Health Summary report consists of multiple sub-reports (if multiple groups –attribute sets – severity combinations have been specified). In this case, a summarybar graph at the top (if selected for display) of the Top N violator is available foreach sub report.

Table 88 on page 315 lists Health Summary default report types.

Table 88: Health Summary default report types

Default Health SummaryReport Types

Description

ApplicationInfrastructure Health ■ Report type—Health Summary

■ Report frequency—Weekly

■ Duration—Week

■ Sub-reports (apply to all instances)

— Health Summary for End User Availability

— Health Summary for End User Response Time

— Health Summary for Application Infrastructure Availability

— Health Summary for Application Infrastructure Response Time

— Health Summary for Application Infrastructure Performance

— Health Summary for Infrastructure Availability

— Health Summary for Infrastructure Performance



Default Health SummaryReport Types

Description

ApplicationInfrastructure Hot Spots ■ Report type—Health Summary

■ Report frequency—Daily

■ Duration—Day

■ Sub-reports

— Health Summary for End User Availability (Critical and Above)

— Health Summary for End User Response Time (Minor and Above)

— Health Summary for Application Infrastructure Availability (Critical andAbove)

— Health Summary for Application Infrastructure Response Time (Minorand Above)

— Health Summary for Application Infrastructure Performance (Minor andAbove)

— Health Summary for Infrastructure Availability (Critical and Above)

— Health Summary for Infrastructure Performance (Minor and Above)

Table 89 on page 316 lists attributes specific to Health Summary report that needs tobe entered along with common attributes.

Table 89: Health Summary report attributes



Single Attribute See Table 70 on page 295.


Consider Dynamic Attributes only Select this option to include dynamic attributes.

Intelligent Event Threshold Select this option to restrict report generation to a specific severity level.When All severity threshold type is selected the severity column isdisplayed and a table title is added displaying severity of each instance.

Custom Threshold Select this option to restrict instance violation.

Show All Instances Select this option to view all instances matching the input criteria. If thecheck box is not selected, then only violated instances are displayed.




Show Graph along with the Table Select this option to indicate the presence of a summary bar graph inthe sub-section of the report.



Select columns for the table Select the column options to be displayed in the table.




Show only rows with durationgreater than

Select this option to filter and view violations that meet the criterion interms of absolute time or percentage of report period time violated.This option is applicable only for sub reports added without selectingthe Show all instances option.

Flag rows with duration greaterthan

Select this option to flag rows corresponding to violations that meet thecriterion in terms of absolute time or percentage of report period timeviolated.

Maximum number of entries to bedisplayed in the table

Select this option to filter the maximum number (top N) of rows in thetable.

Top Bottom PerformersThe Top/Bottom Performers report displays all attribute or monitor instances of aspecific monitor type of a group, in terms of the average value over a specified timeperiod, as a bar graph.

Table 90 on page 317 lists attributes specific to Top Bottom Performers report thatneed to be entered along with common attributes.

Table 90: Top Bottom Performers report attributes



Attributes to Report on See Table 70 on page 295.

Graph Type See Table 70 on page 295.

No of Bars Select the number of bars from the list to be displayed on the graph.

Values to be Displayed Select one of the values to be displayed on the graph.

Show Table containing the list ofinstances

Select this option to view a list of related tables.







Virtual InventoryThe BMC adapter for VMWare remotely monitors the Virtual Center (VC) or ESXserver (host) using web services and discovers the VMWare entities such as ESXservers, Virtual Machines (VMs), clusters, resource pools and their relationships, ona periodic basis.

The Virtual Inventory Report lists the virtual entities such as ESX Hosts or VMs,Clusters or ESX Hosts and ResourcePools/VMs, along with their performanceattributes. This report also lists the various configuration attributes and supportsdrill down to individual line graph.

Note If an ESX Host exists without VMs underneath it, the sub report generated with thatoption will be empty.

The report will list

■ ESX Hosts and VMs belonging to the Hosts for a given VC(s) group and willdisplay the physical view of the devices.

■ Resource Pool and VMs for a given VC(s) group and will display the logical viewof the devices.

■ Cluster and ESX Hosts for a given VC(s) group and will show the logical view ofthe devices. The ESX in clusters have a drill down to the VMS underneath it.

Table 91 on page 319 lists attributes specific to Virtual Inventory report that shouldbe specified along with the common attributes.



Table 91: Virtual Inventory report attributes


Sub Report Selection■ Available Groups—shows a list of all groups. However auto-created groups

by VMware group has the type of group listed in parenthesis against eachgroup. Select the group that will be considered to generate the report.

■ Show Virtual Entities—displays the entities you select. The commonattributes for a given pair of entities change when you specify a different entity.

■ ESX Hosts/VMs

■ Resource Pools/VMs

■ Clusters/ESX Hosts

■ Select Attributes—add or delete attributes to be included in the report. Youcan search for the available attributes in the Search for field. The Attribute setis depends on the entity pair selected for the Virtual Inventory report (ESXHosts/VMs or Resource Pools/VMs or Clusters/ESX Hosts). By defaultcommon attributes for the entities selected are in the Selected Attributes boxand the Available Attributes box lists all the uncommon attributes of theentity pair.

■ Sub Report Title—specify the title for the sub report


Report Options See Table 70 on page 295.

Consider Baseline The baseline data is used for computation. Select either Hourly, Daily or Weeklybaselines for generating the report.

SLO Application Compliance ReportThe SLO Application Compliance Report displays SLO Compliance information ofan application. This report displays the following for each SLO type selected:

■ Pie Graph, which shows the compliance distribution of the SLO Instances over thereport period.

■ Bar Graph, which shows the compliance distribution of the SLO Instances for thegranularity selected.

Each SLO Type for the SLO is displayed in a sub section. Drill down on the piegraph displays a summary table based on the distribution ranges over the entirereport period. This table is a list of all the SLO instances for that distribution rangesorted on their compliance values over the entire report period. Drill down on anybar in the stacked bar graph displays a table based on the distribution ranges overthe granularity. This table is a list of all the SLO instances for that distribution rangesorted on their compliance values.



Table 92: SLO Application Compliance attributes


Select SLO Select an SLO from the list or select All to consider the entire SLO.Specify the SLOs to be considered while generating the report. A singleSLO name or multiple SLO names can be selected.For All SLOs, use SLO Type filter to select the SLO Types. This filter isavailable only when All SLOs are being considered for the report.

Available SLO Select the SLO to be considered from the Available SLOs box andtransfer to the Selected SLOs box. Use Ctrl and Shift keys to makemultiple selections. Alternatively, use the Search For box to locate aspecific SLO.



Delete Sub Report See Table 70 on page 295.

Show data broken down Specify the granularity for bars displayed in the graph.

SLO Capacity Trends ReportSLO Capacity Trends report lists all monitor instance–attribute pairs that arepredicted to violate the SLO threshold in the specified time period. The reportcontains a bar graph. Each instance–attribute pair predicted to violate the SLOThreshold in the specified time period are displayed as a bar on the Y axis. The Xaxis shows the duration to violation (in days). A table which shows the time wheneach attribute (in the selected SLO Type) for each monitor instance will violate SLOThreshold along with other details appears below the bar graph.

Attribute that are not expected to violate the SLO Threshold will not appear in thebar graph or the table.

The table is sorted with instances, which are predicted to violate earliest (in anyviolated instance are present, they would appear first). Drill down on the monitorinstance in the table displays a line graph for the selected attribute along with thethreshold line. The line graph is projected using a dotted line from the last data pointto the threshold line and the intersection point is at the predicted violation time. Adotted line from the intersection point to the X axis will also be present. Enterattributes list in Table 93 on page 320.

Table 93: SLO Capacity Trends attributes







Hide Resource Column Select this option if you do not want the Resource column to displayedin the report.


For further information see, Administrator Guide. (Link will beprovided at the time of document collation).

Show instance which will violatein next

This is the forecast period. Any instance predicted to violate SLOThreshold in this time period appears in the report. Any violationsoutside this forecast period are not considered.

Use Data for the last Specify the time period for which data points are to be used forforecasting.

Maximum number of bars in graph Specify the maximum number of bars that are to be displayed in thebar graph.

SLO Compliance HistorySLO Compliance History report lists compliance values for specified set of SLOs forthe specified time period. The report contain multiple, ordered bar graphs, one foreach SLO, which will show the SLO compliance values corresponding to a particularday, week, month, or quarter within the specified time period for a particular SLO.

The graph also displays a line corresponding to the compliance objective of the SLO.Drill-down to SLO Health Summary report for the corresponding time period isavailable for from each bar in the bar graph.

Enter the attributes listed in Table 94 on page 321.

Table 94: SLO Compliance History attributes


Select SLO Select an SLO from the list or select All to consider the entire SLO.Specify the SLOs to be considered while generating the report. A single SLOname or multiple SLO names can be selected.For All SLOs, use SLO Type filter to select the SLO Types. This filter isavailable only when All SLOs are being considered for the report.

Available SLO Select the SLO to be considered from the Available SLOs box and transfer tothe Selected SLOs box. Use Ctrl and Shift keys to make multiple selections.Alternatively, use the Search For box to locate a specific SLO.

Show data broken down Specify the granularity for bars displayed in the graph.

SLO Compliance MatrixThe SLO Compliance Matrix report displays the compliance summary of selectedSLOs. The report mainly displays SLO details and the recorded compliance levels fordifferent periods chosen. At least one time period must be selected to generate thisreport.



The report also displays compliance details of instances of the SLOs listed. Only theSLO compliance details summary table is displayed in the report page. Clicking theSLO name in the summary table displays its instance compliance details in aseparate page.

Web transactions have dynamic or array-type attributes and sub transactions. So,SLO instances having array-type attributes are displayed in separate tables (a tablefor each instance) with the instance name displayed as the table title.

Clicking the History column in the report displays the SLO Compliance Historyreport for the SLO. Clicking the Graph column displays the line graph for the SLO.

Click the Show Compliance Matrix Report icon on the Compliance Matrix pageto view the Compliance Matrix report.


Table 95: SLO Compliance Matrix attributes




Hide SLO Type Column Select this option if you do not want the SLO Type column to be listedin the report.

Show icons instead of numbers forthe SLO Compliance values

Select this option to display icons instead of numbers to depict SLOcompliance values.




Select history periods to bedisplayed in the table ■ Previous Day - Select this option to create the report based on SLO

compliance values of the previous day.

■ Previous Week - Select this option to create the report based on SLOcompliance values of the previous week.

■ Previous Month - Select this option to create the report based onSLO compliance values of the previous month.

■ Week to Date - Select this option to create the report based SLOcompliance values of the last seven days, excluding the current day.

■ Month to Date - Select this option to create the report based on SLOcompliance values collected over the past thirty days, excluding thecurrent day.

■ Quarter to Date - Select this option to create the report based onSLO compliance values of the past three months, excluding thecurrent day.

■ Year to Date - Select this option to create the report based on datacollected over the past one year.

■ Previous Quarter - Select this option to create the report based ondata collected during the previous quarter.

■ Previous Year - Select this option to create the report based on datacollected during the previous year.

SLO Executive SummarySLO Executive Summary report lists all SLOs (or the selected set of SLOs) sortedbased on their performance for the specified time period. Performance is based onthe absolute percentage compliance or the delta from desired percentagecompliance. The sort order and the performance criterion can be specified duringreport creation.

The report contains a graph which shows each SLO's percentage compliance andcompliance objective. The SLO names are present in the report instance details keyedto the serial number that appears in the X-axis of the graph. Drill-down to get moredetails in terms of a breakdown over the specified time period (see the SLOCompliance History report).

Table 96 on page 324 lists SLO executive summary default report type WorstPerforming SLOs.



Table 96: Worst Performing SLOs default report type

Default Worst Performing SLO Report Types Description

Report Type SLO Executive Summary

Report Frequency Weekly

Duration Week


Table 97: SLO Executive Summary attributes


Select SLO Select an SLO from the list or select All to consider the entire SLO.Specify the SLOs to be considered while generating the report. A single SLO nameor multiple SLO names can be selected.For All SLOs, use SLO Type filter to select the SLO Types. This filter is availableonly when All SLOs are being considered for the report.

Available SLO Select the SLO to be considered from the Available SLOs box and transfer to theSelected SLOs box. Use Ctrl and Shift keys to make multiple selections.Alternatively, use the Search For box to locate a specific SLO.

Sort Criterion Specify the sort (top or bottom) criteria. Based on this selection, either the topperforming SLOs or the bottom performing SLOs (among the selected SLOs) will begraphed from left to right.

Sort Based On Specify the sort criterion (absolute or delta) to be used when calculating the SLOperformance. Absolute implies that the actual compliance values for the SLO overthe specified time period will be used for reporting. Delta implies that thedifference between the compliance objective and the compliance value for the SLOover the specified time period will be used for reporting.

Max No of SLOs This is the maximum number of SLOs that will be displayed in the graph.Maximum supported number is 20.

Show all SLOs in thetable

Select or clear the check box to enable or disable the option to show all SLOs in thetable. If the check box is clear, then only details of SLOs present in the graph aredisplayed in the table.

SLO Health SummaryThe SLO Health Summary report shows all SLO instances (in order of worst at theleft to least worst at the right) in terms of violation over a specified time period (withrespect to SLO Thresholds).

The SLO Health Summary report consists of multiple sub-reports (if multiple SLOshave been specified), each of which may contain a summary bar graph at the top (ifselected for display) which shows the top N violators. A table below shows acomplete list of all violated instances or a partial list of certain violated instances (iffilters have been specified to limit the entries).

This is a consolidated list per instance–attribute and not a list of individual violationsfor every instance–attribute pair. This table may have selected instances highlighted



flagged based on input criteria. The table has a limited list of entries based on theinput criteria. You can drill-down from any of the entries to the independent linegraph. Enter the attributes listed in Table 98 on page 325.

Table 98: SLO Health Summary attributes


Select SLO Select an SLO from the list to be considered while generating the report.

Show all instances Select this option to include all instances.

Show Graph along with the Table Select this option to specify the presence of a summary bar graph inthis sub-section of the report.

Select Do not consider data duringSchedule DownTime

For further information see, Administrator Guide. (Link will beprovided at the time of document collation).

Select the column for the Table Select the columns to be displayed in the report.

Hide Attribute Column Name Select this option if you do not want the Attribute column to be listedin the report.



Select Data to be used forcalculation

Based on the selection, Raw data or Condensed (Rate) data is used forcalculating the output values.

Show only rows with violationtime greater than.

Use this filter to view only those violations greater than the specifiedtime period. This option is applicable only for sub reports addedwithout selecting the Show all instances option.

Flag rows with violation timegreater than

Use this filter to flag rows in the generated report table based on thespecified criteria.

Maximum number of entries to bedisplayed in the table

Specify the maximum number of instances to be displayed in the table.

Report SchedulerThe Report Scheduler is responsible for triggering report generation at pre-set timeintervals (Daily, Weekly, or Monthly).

The following properties need to be set in the pronet.conf file for the schedulermodule to work:

■ pronet.report.daily.minute – The minutes of the hour (defined above) that theDaily Report should triggered. Default is 30.

■ pronet.report.daily.hour – The hour of the day that the Daily Report should betriggered. Default is 4.

Report Scheduler


■ pronet.report.weekly.minute - The minutes of the hour (defined above) that theWeekly Report should be triggered. Default is 45

■ pronet.report.weekly.hour - The hour of the day (the day is defined above) thatthe Weekly Report should be triggered. Default is 4.

■ pronet.report.weekly.day - The day of the week (values from 1-7) that the WeeklyReport should be triggered. Default is 1.

■ pronet.report.monthly.minute - The minutes of the hour (defined above) that theMonthly Report should be triggered. Default is 0.

■ pronet.report.monthly.hour - The hour of the day (the day is defined above) thatthe Monthly Report should be triggered. Default is 5.

■ pronet.report.monthly.day - The day of the month that the Monthly Reportshould be triggered (valid number or a keyword ‘last’ for end of month). Defaultis 1.

Additional optionsBMC ProactiveNet displays a series of icons on the header of each report.Availability of these additional options are based on the report type (ScheduledReport and Preview Report, refer to Report Creation).

Related Topics

Show/Hide report header on page 327

Date drop-down on page 327

Deleting instances on page 327

Disable generation on page 327

Adding comments to a report on page 328

Scheduling on page 329

Adding a report to a view on page 329

Generating a report on page 329

Editing a report on page 330

Exporting to Portable Document Format (PDF) on page 330

Additional options


Exporting to CSV on page 330

Mailing a report on page 331

Printing a report on page 332

Show/Hide report header

Use the Show/Hide Report header icons to view or hide the header display.

Date drop-down

Select the Report period from the list.

Deleting instances

This option is used to delete report instances. Earlier to 7.1 version, there was anoption to delete a report but not its instances individually. This is taken care in thisrelease, by the Delete Instances option in the Reports screen.

To delete Report Instances

1 Select the Date.

2 Click Delete Instances icon .

3 Select one of the following options:

■ Delete the selected report instance

■ Delete all previous occurrences for the report

Note In case the report has only one instance, the second option is not displayed.

4 Click OK.

5 On the Confirm dialog, click OK.

Disable generation

Use the Disable Generation icon to disable the generation of reports.

Additional options


Adding comments to a report

Use the Add Comment icon to access the Report Instance Comments window. Addcomments you want to associate with the report instance generated. You can enterspecific information that other users may benefit from by looking at that particularinstance of the report. Report Instance comments are always displayed after Globalcomments of the report.

For example, consider an Element Distribution Summary report created to denoteAvailability of Solaris Processes on a server. Report instances are to be generatedDaily and the server is considered to be in Good state if the Availability is >=99.99%.

On a particular day, due to power outage Availability falls below 99% and the serveris considered to be in Bad state.

Use the Report Instance Comments window to indicate to other users that theoverall health of the server is good and due to an unforeseen condition the server'scondition was Bad for a day.

To add a comment

1 Click the Add Comment icon .

The Report Instance Comments window is displayed.

2 Type in your comments and click OK.

If required, change the font size. Click URL Tag to enclose URLs, which are partof comments, in tags. This creates hyperlinks for URLs in report comments.

A message, indicating that the comment has been updated successfully, isdisplayed.

3 Click OK.

If the Show Comments at option was not selected for a report, then the ReportInstance Comments window displays the option. If you select the option here andspecify the location of comments, the same is updated for the report and the ShowComments at option is not displayed for the report instance.

Additional options


Scheduling

Click the Schedule icon to schedule the report. Make changes as required in theReport Creation page. This icon is only available for reports where the On Demandoption is selected during report creation.

Adding a report to a view

Use the Add to View icon to add a report to a view. You can add the report to anexisting view or a new view.

To add a report to a view

1 Click the icon to launch the Add this Report to View pop-up window.

2 Specify the view to which you want to add the report.

3 Select Show Detailed Report, to show the report as a single large report.

4 Select the Layout Type. This is disabled when you select Show Detailed Report.


Once a report is added to a view, its parameters no longer need to be determinedeach time you want to view data in that manner. Simply click the report in itsView group.

Generating a report

Use the Generate Report icon to generate a report. Note

If the event life cycle (opened, acknowledged, assigned, and closed) is containedwithin the report generation period, all these statuses show up in the selected Statuscolumn.For example, an event that is currently closed appears as open in the Status columnof the generated because the event was open during the report generation period.Similarly, if the event is acknowledged and assigned before being closed during thereport generation period, the Status column displays corresponding entries for theopen, acknowledged, assigned, and closed statuses.

Additional options


Editing a report

Use the Edit Report icon to edit the report. For operational steps to edit report,refer to the Report Administration topic.

Exporting to Portable Document Format (PDF)

Use the PDF icon to save the report in PDF.

To save report in PDF

1 Click PDF icon.

2 Save the report with the.pdf extension for further action.

Note

■ Sometimes the Export to PDF function may not work properly on a systemrunning Windows 2000 Service Pack 4. BMC Software recommends Windows2000 Service Pack 3 and Adobe Reader 6.0 to use the Export to PDF functioneffectively.

■ In Event reports, the PDF option is available only for upgrade customers and isdisabled for new customers.

Exporting to CSV

Use the CSV icon to export report data to a excel sheet.

To export report to CSV

1 Click the CSV icon.

2 On the message screen, click Open to view the report in CSV format.

3 Click Save to save the report in CSV format.

4 Click Cancel to abort action.

If reports with instance names containing commas are exported to CSV, thevalues are shifted to the next column.

Additional options


Mailing a report

To mail a report

1 Click the Mail this Page icon to display the Mail Details for Snapshot window.

2 From: The report sender's e-mail address.

3 Subject: The subject line of the email. By default, reportType reportName isdisplayed as the subject of the email.

4 Email address: The receivers' email address.

5 Message: A brief message description sent via mail either in HTML or Plain textformat.

Note Change the following settings for Outlook 2003 and 2007 only if the report is notproperly displayed in the mail.

■ In Outlook 2003 to view a report in email, click Tools => Options => Securityand click Change Automatic Download Settings. The Automatic DownloadSettings screen is displayed. Deselect Don’t download pictures or othercontent automatically in HTML email.

■ In Outlook 2007 double-click the message, and on the menu click OtherActions. Select View in browser option to view the mail in Internet Explorer inHTML format.

■ If the mail size is too large the mail will not be delivered. This is a Microsoftlimitation.

Managing all reports

The Administrator/Admin class users can now manage all the available reports(including private reports) that is, enable, disable and delete these reports. TheManage All tab is visible only when the conf entry in the pronet.conf file is enabled.Copy the pronet.report.manageAllReports.option=false property from the Pw\pronto\conf\pronet.conf file to pw\custom\conf\pronet.conf and set the valueto "true". By default the value is set to "false" .

To manage a report

1 Click the Manage All tab to display the Manage all Reports window. All reports(except SLA reports if the license is not valid) are displayed.

Additional options


2 Select the check boxes against the reports to enable, disable or delete the reports.

Note There will be no hyperlinks for the reports, hence the Admin user will not be ableto navigate through the reports.

Printing a report

To print the report, click the Print icon .

Pruning a report

The prune period for reports is as follows:

■ 1 month: for daily reports

■ 6 months: for weekly reports

■ 2 years: for monthly reportsThe prune period for events is set to 7 days by default. To retain a report for morethan 7 days, change the prune period using pw commands. See the BMCProactiveNet Administrator Guide for more information about CLI commands.

Points to Remember

■ Default reports cannot be restored once deleted. BMC ProactiveNet recommendsthat default reports should not deleted from the system.

■ BMC ProactiveNet 7.0 uses stacked bars for displaying objective and value. Lineand Scatter plot is not used for displaying objective and values. The options willonly be for 2d and 3d bar. For Upgrades, all line and scatter plots will bedisplayed as 3D bars.

■ Asset Reports do not track changes made to the Monitor Wizard based monitors.In case attributes associated with a monitor created through Monitor Wizard arechanged after Asset Report creation, Asset report continues to report on theoriginal attributes.

■ The old attribute references from a VAM monitor type added to Asset report willstill be valid when the attribute was modified in the VAM monitor type.

Points to Remember


■ RAW data is archived after 8 days. To generate reports based RAW data forlonger periods, change the archive settings using pw commands (pw log period).Please note, increasing the archive period has performance impacts, and is notrecommended. BMC ProactiveNet recommends using RATE data for generatingreports for longer periods.

■ BMC ProactiveNet does not support use of special characters for sub-transactionnames. In case, any of the report includes web transaction monitors with specialcharacters in the sub-transaction names, report is not generated.

For non-restricted users, the Operations Console displays the following reports inthe Reports list page:

■ All public reports (irrespective of who created the report)

■ All reports that are shared with the user group (irrespective of who created thereport)

■ Any private reports created by this user.

Points to Remember


Points to Remember


Managing service levels

What is an SLO?A service level objective (SLO) is a key component used to evaluate, monitor, andmaintain acceptable service levels and compliance with service level agreements(SLAs). SLOs measure the performance of the service provider and are outlined toavert disputes between the two parties on misunderstanding.

BMC ProactiveNet enables you to define SLOs in the BMC ProactiveNet system.BMC ProactiveNet monitors and reports on the various aspects of SLOs. SLOadministration is the first step in integrating the SLO with the BMC ProactiveNetsystem.

The SLO Management ConsoleThe SLO Management Console provides an integrated view of all SLOs. SLO viewscomplement existing infrastructure-centric application management solutions. SLObusiness views help define, measure, and track SLOs. With new business views,business structures are available in a top-down hierarchical view that delivers nearreal-time service level views of application and service metrics. This view providesvaluable information on performance status from an end users’ perspective for eachbusiness unit and SLO compliance.

SLO views also represent application performance levels and service levelscommitted to within the organization. The views represent application performancemetrics in a way that relates the IT and line of business teams as a close working uniton which the company depends.

Predefined and custom-defined indicators (SLO types, grouping of requiredattributes and metrics) present a relational view of objectives and the actual status ofSLO compliance. Service level view enables you to take a proactive approach tomeeting SLOs. Seamless integration with Violation Summary and Probable Cause

8

Chapter 8 Managing service levels 335

Analysis within SLO views help extend the IT capability to troubleshoot andpinpoint problems quickly as SLO violations occur.

Product Short computes SLO compliance at the end of each day. For example,computation of compliance for September 10, 2009 is available only on September 11,2009. For more information, see To recalculate an SLO on page 349.

Table 99 on page 336 presents the default tabs that are available in the SLOManagement Console and additional tabs that you can define, and discusses theirfunctions.

Table 99: Navigation tabs in the SLO Management Console

Navigation tab Description Further information

Current Status Provides the latest view of theperformance of various SLOsconfigured in the system

Viewing the current status of SLOs onpage 351

Tree Provides a hierarchical treepresentation of SLOs for a user-definedtime duration

Viewing SLOs in a hierarchical tree onpage 361

SLO Administration Provides various options for theadministration of SLOs in BMCProactiveNet

Managing SLOs on page 337

Compliance Matrix Summarizes details for all top-levelSLOs created in the system

Viewing SLO compliance details andhistory on page 352

Also, you can add the following pages as tabs

Reports Enables you to view the reports for anindividual SLO

Viewing a graphical history of SLOcompliance and violations on page360

Violation Details Enables you to view the details of SLOviolations

Viewing violation details for an SLOon page 355

Watch List Displays SLO records with computeddelta values (difference between thecompliance objective and its value forthe time unit)

Comparing compliance objectiveswith actual results on page 358

Also, there is a provision to select a Dashboard View from Options in the SLO Mgmtconsole.

Customizing basic settings for SLO data display

Using the Options screen, you can customize various aspects of SLO data display.

The SLO Management Console


To customize SLO data display

1 Click the Options link at the top right of the Operation Console.

2 In the SLO Mgmt tab, under Display Preferences, modify the settings asnecessary. Table 100 on page 337 summarizes the available settings.

Table 100: Basic configuration for SLO data display

Setting Description

Show Device name with Monitor To view device names on all Service Management screens

Show icons instead of numbers for theSLO Compliance Values

To view a compliance icon instead of percentage in numbers

3 Under Tab Selection, perform the following substeps to add, move, and deletethe items to be displayed as tabs in the SLO Mgmt console.

a Select an item from the General, SLO Details, or Views box.

b Click Add Tab.

Note You can add multiple tabs only for Current Status. However, you must specifya different name for each tab.

c Optionally, to change the order of tabs in the console, use the arrows to theright of the Selected Tabs box.

d Optionally, to delete a tab, select the tab in the Selected Tabs box, and thenclick Delete Tab(s).

4 Click Apply.

Managing SLOsThrough the SLO Administration tab on the SLO Management console, you canmanage all the SLOs monitored by BMC ProactiveNet.

Related Topics

Creating or editing an SLO on page 338

Deleting SLOs on page 341

Managing SLOs


Managing SLO types during SLO configuration on page 341

Managing schedules during SLO configuration on page 342

Managing range sets during SLO configuration on page 344

Requesting guidance for setting SLO thresholds on page 345

Recalculating SLO data for modified time periods on page 348

Resetting SLO compliance data on page 350

Creating or editing an SLO

A special wizard on the SLO Administration tab guides you through the task ofdefining a new SLO or editing an existing SLO.

To create or edit an SLO

1 On the SLO Management console, click the SLO Administration tab.


■ For a new SLO, click Add.

■ To edit an existing SLO, click Edit.

3 On the first screen (Step 1) of the SLO wizard, specify or modify the SLOattributes summarized in Table 71 on page 297, and then click Next.

Note Only the fields indicated by a red asterisk are mandatory. For all other SLOattributes, you can accept the default settings.

Table 101: Attributes for defining an SLO

SLO attribute Description

Name A unique name for the SLO

Owner Name of the user who owns the SLO

Contact Information Phone number or email address of the SLO owner

Managing SLOs


SLO attribute Description

SLO Contents Type of objects that comprise the SLO, SLOs or Instances

■ SLOs based on instances form base-level SLOs

■ SLOs based on SLOs provide a consolidated view of related SLOs.The grouping can include SLOs based on instances and other nestedSLOs.

If you choose SLOs, you can create an SLO only for classification byselecting the Use this SLO for grouping only, and not to calculateAggregate Compliance values option.

Copy from Services/Groups Check this option and select between services or groups to copy from theexisting services or groups. This option is static and acts as a filter.

SLO Type The type of SLO based on the groups to which it is associatedBasic SLO types are Availability, Response Time, and SystemPerformance. You can add other types or edit the attributes of the SLOtypes at this point. See Managing SLO types during SLO configurationon page 341.

Create corresponding ResponseTime SLO

Select this check box if you chose Availability as the SLO type and wanta corresponding Response Time SLO created, or if you chose ResponseTime as the SLO type and want a corresponding Availability SLO created.

Schedule Select the schedule to apply to SLO monitoring.If required, you can select multiple schedules. This allows you to setthreshold values for different time periods. For example, Response timethreshold values may not be the same during business and non-businesshours.Basic schedules are 24X7 and Business Hours. You can add otherschedules or edit the attributes of the schedules at this point. See Managing schedules during SLO configuration on page 342.

SLO Compliance - Objective Percentage of compliance or non-compliance (as indicated and based onthe SLO type) that the SLO must obtain

SLO Compliance - Range Set You can add other range sets or edit the settings of the user-definedranges at this point. See Managing range sets during SLO configurationon page 344.

4 On the second screen (Step 2) of the SLO wizard, select one or more Group Filterand at least one Monitor Type to associate with the SLO, and then click Next.

5 Select the Monitor Instances to add to the SLO, and then click Next.

6 On the third screen (Step 3) of the SLO wizard, you can modify any of the SLOvalues summarized in Table 71 on page 297.

Managing SLOs


■ To modify a specific SLO, enter values directly in the displayed table.

■ To modify multiple SLOs, enter values in the fields below the table as describedin Table 102 on page 340 and then click Apply.

Tip For guidance on setting values based on compliance values recommended byProduct Short for the selected monitor instances, click SLO Guidance. Formore information, see Requesting guidance for setting SLO thresholds on page345.

Table 102: Configurable SLO values

Setting Description

Service Level Objective: Condition Condition using which SLOs are compared with actual measurements,either Greater than or equal or Less than or equal

Service Level Objective: Value SLO value (a percentage) for the instance or attribute

Minimum Duration Time period for validating the SLO violation. Only after the SLO valuehas continued to stay in the violation range for a period greater thanthe minimum duration it is reported as a violation.

Weight Weight associated with the SLO attribute, a whole number greater thanzeroAssociated Weights define the relative importance of an attributewithin the SLO (for computation requirements). For example, ifAttributes A, B, and C have associated weights of 5, 10, and 15(respectively), then Attribute C is thrice as important as A, and B istwice as important as A.To ignore SLO violations during computation, specify a weight of zero.

Financial Impact Amount of financial loss (per hour) caused if the SLO condition is notmet

7 If you want intelligent event thresholds created for all the listed SLO, select theSet corresponding Instance Intelligent Event Threshold option, and then specifythe severity and duration for the event.

8 If you are defining Transaction Monitors, such as a Web Transaction, you cannow add (and subsequently delete) sub-transactions on the displayed list.

9 To add a sub-transaction, click Add Sub-Transactions, select sub-transactionsfrom the displayed list and click Apply.

10 To delete sub-transactions, select the relevant sub-transactions and click DeleteSub-Transactions, and then click OK in the confirmation message.

Managing SLOs


11 Click Finish.

The new SLO is created and displayed in the SLO list on the SLO Administrationscreen.

Deleting SLOs

To delete a SLO

1 Select the check box under the Select column corresponding to the SLO that youwish to delete.

2 Click Delete.


Managing SLO types during SLO configuration

An SLO Type is a grouping of related attributes across different monitor typesregistered with Product Short. An SLO Type defines the attributes to include incompliance calculations. Each SLO has one associated SLO Type.

BMC ProactiveNet provides three default SLO Types: Availability, Response Time,and System Performance. You can create new SLO Types during the configuration ofan SLO as described in Creating or editing an SLO on page 3383. You can also editexisting SLO Types, that is, add new monitor types and attributes to any existingSLO Type.

To define a new SLO Type

1 On the first screen (Step 1) of the SLO wizard during SLO configuration, clickNew beside the SLO Type field.

2 Select the Monitor Type(s) to associate with the SLO Type, and then click Next.

3 From the list of attributes corresponding to the selected Monitor Type(s), selectthe attributes to associate with the SLO Type, and then click Next.

4 Specify a name for the attribute set.

5 Click Finish.


Managing SLOs


To edit an existing SLO type

1 On the first screen (Step 1) of the SLO wizard during SLO configuration, selectthe SLO Type from the list, and then click Edit.

2 In the Edit AttributeSet screen, perform the following substeps to add attributes:

a Click Add Attributes to add new attributes to the selected SLO Type.

b Select the Monitor Type(s) to associate with the SLO Type, and then click Next.

c From the list of attributes corresponding to the selected Monitor Type(s), selectthe attributes to associate with the SLO Type, and then click Next.

d Click Finish.

e Click OK.

3 Optionally, in the Edit AttributeSet screen, perform the following substeps todelete attributes associated with the selected SLO Type:

a Select all relevant attributes.

b Click Delete.

c In the confirmation dialog box, click OK.

d Click Finish.

e Click OK.

Managing schedules during SLO configuration

A schedule is a defined period of time used by BMC ProactiveNet to considerrecorded monitored attribute values for SLO computations. For example, an SLOwith the 24x7 schedule will consider all recorded monitored attribute values for SLOcomputation. However, another SLO with a schedule of 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. for 5 days aweek (Monday to Friday) will consider the monitored attribute values recordedbetween 9 A.M. and 5 P.M., Monday to Friday only. Schedules help put SLOcompliance computation in the right perspective without distorting the values byincluding invalid periods.

A schedule can include multiple time periods for inclusion or exclusion.

Managing SLOs


BMC ProactiveNet provides two default schedules: 24x7 and Business Hours. Youcan create new schedules or edit existing schedules during the configuration of anSLO as described in Creating or editing an SLO on page 338.

To define a new schedule or edit an existing schedule

1 On the first screen (Step 1) of the SLO wizard during SLO configuration, selectthe relevant option:

■ To create a new schedule, click New beside the Schedule field.

■ To edit an existing schedule, select the schedule in the list, and then click Edit.

2 Specify (or modify) a name for the schedule.

3 Perform the following substeps to define time periods for inclusion or exclusion:

a For inclusion, define the start time and end time of the period during one ormore days of the week.

b Optionally, for exclusion, define either a one-time exclusion time period byspecifying the start date and time and end date and time, or a monthlyrecurrence of days and times to be excluded.

Note Exclusion periods take precedence over inclusion periods.

c Click Add to add the period to the list of time periods within the schedule.

d After adding all relevant time periods, click Done.

e Click Close.

Tip To delete a time period included in the schedule, select it in the list and clickDelete.

To delete a schedule

1 On the first screen (Step 1) of the SLO wizard during SLO configuration, select aschedule that you wish to delete from the list, and then click Edit.

2 Click Delete Schedule.

3 In the confirmation box, click OK.

4 Click OK.

Managing SLOs


Managing range sets during SLO configuration

You can create new range sets or edit existing range sets during the configuration ofan SLO.

See Creating or editing an SLO on page 338.

To create a new range set or edit an existing range set

1 On the first screen (Step 1) of the SLO wizard during SLO configuration, selectthe relevant option:

■ To create a new range set, click New beside the Range Set field.

■ To edit an existing range set, select the range set in the list, and then click Edit.

2 Specify (or modify) a name for the range set.

3 Select the severity and specify the upper limit of the range in the To Range field.The From Range field is auto-populated.

4 Click Add Compliance Range to add the range to the list of defined complianceranges on the right.

Note To delete a range from the list of defined compliance ranges (starting with the lastdefined range), click Remove Compliance Range.

5 Repeat List item. on page 287 and List item. on page 287 for all other relevantranges in the range set.

6 Click Done.

To delete a range set

1 On the first screen (Step 1) of the SLO wizard during SLO configuration, selectthe range set in the list, and then click Edit.

2 Click Delete Range Set.


Managing SLOs


Requesting guidance for setting SLO thresholds

During SLO configuration, you can request guidance from in setting thresholds anddefining compliance objectives based on past performance.

You can choose between the following options:

■ Obtain automatic suggestions for SLO thresholds based on past performance andthe overall SLO objective

■ Preview past compliance values for all instances

■ Display performance graphs for all instances

To obtain automatic suggestions for thresholds

1 On the third screen (Step 3) of the SLO wizard during SLO configuration, clickSLO Guidance.

2 Select the Suggest Thresholds for SLOs option, and then click OK.

A list of suggested thresholds is displayed for the relevant monitor instances andattributes. Threshold values are recommended based on raw data points collectedfor each monitor instance (by default, from the last eight days).

3 Select the thresholds that you want to apply to your SLO, and then click Apply.

The thresholds that you chose to apply are highlighted in green. If a thresholdwas not suggested, the value is highlighted in red. If the suggested value isinaccurate due to NO_RESPONSE data points, the value is highlighted in yellow.

Managing SLOs


Note

■ Threshold values cannot be suggested for instances without any past data points.

■ Suggested threshold values may not be accurate if data points are repeated.

■ Since data points of the Availability attribute are either 0 or 100%, therecommended SLO value for the attribute is always 100%.

■ Changes in SLO compliance or threshold do not affect previously calculatedvalues, but only new calculations. The new values are displayed throughoutthe product even though the calculations are based on older values.

■ BMC ProactiveNet considers NO_DATA and NO_RESPONSE data pointswhen calculating the SLO compliance.

■ By default, the pronet.businessview.skipND property is set to true and SLOignores NO_DATA points. If you set pronet.businessview.skipND to false,SLO treats NO_DATA points as violations.

To preview past compliance values


2 Select the Preview Past Compliance option, and then click OK.

3 Click Close.

Compliance values are displayed for each monitor instance and the SLO as awhole. By default, raw data points collected for the monitor over the past eightdays are considered. All compliance values are as of the end of the previous day.

To display graphs of past performance


2 Select the Show Past Performance option, and then click OK.

3 Click Close.

Individual graphs are displayed in the Graph Display window for each monitorinstance based on data collected over the last eight days. For more information,see Creating custom graphs on page 249.

Managing SLOs


Key SLO Computation

■ Retention for stats data should be at least two days. As generation or computationhappens the next day, Product Short requires the raw data of all the 24 hours foraccurate calculation. Calculation begins on the next day after SLO addition.

■ If an SLO is added in the middle of the month, month-to-date complianceconsiders the days for which the SLO has been calculated only.

■ Irrespective of the exact time of creation of the SLO, Product Short considers alldata points for the day during computation. However, violation records (if any)are available immediately on SLO creation.

■ Any change in Service Level Threshold values may result in a mismatch betweenthe number of violated points in calculation and the number of violated points inviolation details.

■ In case of server restart, the number of violated points in violation details may notbe accurate and may not match the number of violated points in calculation.

■ Problem not resolved only considers violation records corresponding to thecurrent date.

■ If the SLO uses any schedule other than a full day schedule, the number ofviolated points from calculation may not match the number of violated points inviolations details.

■ Any change to the start of week or quarter configuration after SLO creation mayresult in abnormal values for the current week or quarter. This abnormality iscorrected from the subsequent week or quarter.

■ When calculating Quarter to Date compliance and Week to Date compliance, thestarting month of the quarter and the starting day of the week is configured in thepronet.conf file.

■ All old compliance values are invalidated if the start of the week or quarter ischanged.

■ The corresponding default pronet.conf entries are as follows:pronet.businessview.firstmonthofquarter=0

The above entry represents the first month of the quarter; valid entries are 0 to 11(Jan to Dec).

■ Columns displayed in the Compliance Matrix are configured in the pronet.conf file.

Managing SLOs


■ The corresponding default pronet.conf entries are as follows:pronet.businessview.showperiods=PD,WTD,MTD,QTD,YTD

The above entry represents the periods to be displayed in the compliance matrixpage on the Operations Console. Valid entries are:

— Previous Day: PD

— Previous Week: PW

— Previous Month: PM

— Previous Quarter: P

— Previous Year: PY

— Month to Date: MTD

— Year to Date: YTD

— Week to Date: WTD

— Quarter to Date: QTD

■ Previous Quarter and Previous Year computations are started afresh from thedate of upgrade to BMC ProactiveNet 7.1.

Recalculating SLO data for modified time periods

Use the Recalculate SLO option to:

■ Remove or add data collected during specific periods to SLOs

■ Calculate SLO values anew for multiple SLOs

Note

■ SLO violation details are not regenerated after SLO recalculation.

■ When you recalculate a parent SLO, all its child SLOs are also recalculated.Similarly, if a child SLO is recalculated, its compliance values are reflected inthe parent SLO also.

■ If you change the pronet.businessview.firstdayofweek entry to beginthe week on any other day (by default, Sunday is the first day of the week),do not recalculate SLOs for the week, starting from the day when youchanged the entry.

Managing SLOs


To recalculate an SLO

1 On the SLO Administration screen, select the SLOs that you want to recalculate.

2 Click Recalculate.

Tip In the SLO Recalculation screen, SLOs that you selected on the SLOAdministration screen are displayed in the Selected SLOs field. When you mouseover the selected SLO, the tool tip displays the SLO type and associated schedule.

3 In the SLO Recalculation screen, select the days for which you want to recalculatethe SLO values.

■ BMC ProactiveNet allows you to recalculate data for a period of eight days.

4 If you want to include or exclude certain time ranges during the specified timeperiod, perform the following substeps:

a Select either Inclusion or Exclusion.

b Set one of the following type of time ranges:

■ One-time Setting: A time range applicable for a period of days

■ Every Day: A time range applied to the individual days

c Click Add to add the time range that you specified.

Note If you click Recalculate without defining any external time ranges, the SLO isrecalculated based on the existing schedule associated with it. When youdefine a time range and apply it while recalculating an SLO, compliance valuesare recalculated using the external time range and the associated schedule. Theexternal time range overrides the associated schedule of the SLO.For example, if the associated schedule is to include data collected from 9 AMto 5 PM, and the external time range is to exclude data collected from 10 AM to2 PM, the data exclusion clause overrides the inclusion clause. The SLO willreport data collected from 9 AM to 10 AM and 2 PM to 5 PM. Similarly, for thesame associated schedule, if the external time range is to include data collectedfrom 4 PM to 8 PM, the SLO will report data collected between 9 AM and 8 PM.

5 Click Recalculate.

Managing SLOs


Example 'Chk Availability' is an SLO defined to check the availability of a server. Theserver is expected to be available (Compliance: >= 90%) during business hours(Schedule: 8 A.M. to 5 P.M.). Compliance values of the server between May 9,2005 and May 13, 2005 are as follow:05.09.2005: 94%05.10.2005: 93%05.11.2005: 75%05.12.2005: 76%05.13.2005: 95%The server was made unavailable on May 11 and May 12 between 12 P.M. and 3P.M. for some unscheduled maintenance tasks, and server compliance values fellbelow 90 on both days.To exclude the server downtime and recalculate the SLO compliance values anewfor the week, the following values are used:

■ Select Days: From May 11, 2005 to May 12, 2005

■ Select External Inclusion or Exclusion Time Ranges: Exclusion, Every Day,Start Time 12 P.M. and End Time 3 P.M.

To delete a time range

1 In the SLO Recalculation screen, select the time range that you want to delete.

2 Click Delete.

Resetting SLO compliance data

Resetting an SLO clears all the compliance history that has been collected for theSLO since it was created.

WARNING On resetting SLO(s), all compliance values are lost. This action is irreversible.

To reset the existing SLO(s)

1 On the SLO Administration screen, select the relevant SLOs in the table.

2 Click Reset SLO.

Managing SLOs


Note

■ Reset SLO is not applicable to an SLO that is created for grouping alone. Youcan select one SLO at a time or all the SLOs configured in the system. If youhave selected more than one SLO, you are prompted to reset the child SLOattached to the parent SLO.

■ If you try to reset an SLO, which is referred by other SLO(s), you are promptedto reset all the references. On clicking Cancel, the selected SLO is reset and notits referenced SLO(s). On clicking Continue, all the SLO(s) are reset.


Viewing the current status of SLOsThe Current Status tab on the SLO Management console provides the latest view ofthe performance of various SLOs configured in the system. Based on the user accesslevel, you can create multiple versions of the SLO current status page. Each versionshows up as a separate tab in the SLO Management console (based on selection).

By default, the current status screen displays all the SLOs (configurable) in thesystem against the SLO Name, Availability, and Response Time. You can use the SetCurrent Status Preferences option to customize the contents of the current statusscreen. See Customizing the display of SLO status information on page 352.

SLO status details are displayed in a table with several columns of information, assummarized in Table 103 on page 351.

Table 103: Columns of SLO status information on the Current Status tab

Column Description

Name Provides a link to the SLO Details page. You can expand a nested SLO to viewits associated SLOs. Each SLO can be expanded further to view the instanceslinked to them. At an attribute level, click the hyperlink to view the InstanceDetails page.For more information, see Viewing a graphical history of SLO compliance andviolations on page 360.

Availability and Response Time for each SLO

Current Status Displays the current violation status for the SLO. In case of an existingviolation, click the icon to view the violation details.

Problem Not Resolved Represents graphically the longest open violation (if any).

Viewing the current status of SLOs


Column Description

Previous WeekCompliance

Previous week compliance of the SLO. It can be configured to display any oneof the following: Previous month, Previous week, Week to date, Month to date,Quarter to date, and Year to date. Depending on the Global setting, thecompliance is displayed as an icon or a number.

Customizing the display of SLO status information

The Preference screen helps in configuring the current status display. This option isat a user level and differs for each version of SLO current status.

To customize the display of SLO status information

1 Click the Set Current Status Preferences icon.

2 Select the SLOs for which you want to display status information.

3 Select the SLO Types for which you want to display status information.

4 In the Time Period box, select the time periods for which to display statusinformation.

5 In the Other Options box, choose from the following options:

■ Show Trend for SLO Compliance: Displays trend analysis

■ Show Financial Impact: Includes a financial impact for measurement

6 Click Apply.

Viewing SLO compliance details and history

The Compliance Matrix tab on the SLO Management Console presents a summary ofSLO data for all top-level SLOs created in the system, including SLO details, status,and the recorded compliance levels.

The Compliance Matrix tab summarizes SLO details in a tabular format as describedin Table 104 on page 353.



Note Compliance values for time periods do not include the data from the current date.All compliance values below the compliance objective are treated as a bad range andthe cell is highlighted in red. Colors and ranges are configurable from the first screen(Step 1) of the SLO wizard during SLO configuration.

Table 104: Columns of SLO information on the Compliance Matrix tab

Column Description

SLO Displays the name assigned to the SLO. Provides a link to the ComplianceMatrix screen that lists the components of that SLO.

Type Displays the SLO Type associated with the SLO. The SLO Type is a grouping ofrelated attributes across Monitor Types. This column does not apply to NestedSLOs (SLO based on SLOs).

Details Provides a link to the SLO Details screen that gives complete information aboutthe individual SLO, and graphical representations of the compliance levelsacross different periods (depending on data collected to date) and the SLOViolation history

Current Status Displays the current status of SLO compliance. It reflects the real-time ServiceLevel Threshold violations at any level. Valid Statuses are: open (red icon) andclosed (green dot). Provides a link to the Violation Details screen in case of anopen violation.

History Provides a link to the SLO Compliance History Report screen. The icons on thetop right of this screen let you view the report header, schedule a report, savethe page as a PDF or CSV, send an email, or print the page.

Objective Displays the compliance objective associated with the SLO. The systemcompares the actual compliance value against this value.

Displays the SLO compliance for the previous day

Week to Date Displays the SLO compliance for the previous week

Month to Date Displays the SLO compliance for the previous month

Quarter to Date Displays the SLO compliance for the current month

Year to Date Displays the SLO compliance for the current year

Tip

■ To generate a printer-friendly version of the Compliance Matrix screen, click .

■ To save the contents of this screen in CSV format, click .

■ To view the Compliance Matrix report, click .

Related Topics



Viewing a summary of details and compliance metrics for an SLO on page 354

Viewing violation details for an SLO on page 355

Viewing a history graph for an SLO on page 357

Viewing a breakdown of SLO metrics for various time periods on page 357

Viewing a summary of details and compliance metrics for anSLO

From the Compliance Matrix tab > SLO column, you can click an individual SLOlink to display a detailed matrix corresponding to that SLO. The matrix lists child-level SLO instances, and corresponding attributes depending on the type of the SLO.

Table 105 on page 354 summarizes the columns that are displayed on drilling downinto an individual SLO.

Table 105: Columns of SLO information after drilling down into an individual SLO

Column Description

SLO Instance Displays the SLO instance name

Attribute Displays the monitored attribute name

Details Provides a link to the Instance Details screen that provides completeinformation about the individual instance, a graphic representation of thecompliance levels across different periods (depending on data collected todate), and violations.

■ SLO Details tab provides complete information about the individual SLO,and a graphic representation of the compliance levels across differentperiods (depending on data collected to date).

■ Instance Details tab provides complete information about the individualinstance, and a graphic representation of the compliance levels acrossdifferent periods (depending on data collected to date). Instance Details Tabis only available in the case of drill-down from instance level.

For more information, see Viewing a graphical history of SLO compliance andviolations on page 360.



Column Description

Current Status Displays the current status of SLO compliance. It reflects the real-time ServiceLevel Threshold violations at any level. Valid Statuses are: open (red icon) andclosed (green dot). Provides a link to the Violation Details screen in case of anopen violation. Colors can be set for compliance values only and not for thecurrent status. Icon display depends on the compliance value of the instance.Icons are tied to compliance values during range set definition, and the icondisplay in all the subsections depends on the corresponding range set definitions.

Graph Provides a link to the Graph Display page, which in turn has a Custom GraphGenerator link

Weight Lists the weights associated with the attribute

Previous Day Displays the SLO compliance for the previous day

Week to Date Displays the SLO compliance for the current week

Month to Date Displays the SLO compliance for the current month

Quarter to Date Displays the SLO compliance for the current quarter

Year to Date Displays the SLO compliance for the current year

Viewing violation details for an SLO

From the Compliance Matrix tab Current Status column, you can click an individualSLO link to display the Violations Details page corresponding to that SLO.

The Violation Details page provides the Service Level Threshold violation summaryand allows the user to sort columns. By default, this screen lists all the violations inthe last 24 hours.

The Violation Details screen links the SLO with Probable cause Analysis (PCA) andassociates Service Level Violation Events and Infrastructure Events. Service LevelThreshold violation records are purged at regular intervals. The default value is 31days.

Table 106 on page 355 summarizes the columns that are displayed on drilling downinto the current status of an individual SLO.

Table 106: Columns of Violation Details current status information after drilling down into anindividual SLO

Column Description

Time Date and time when the violation was recorded

SLO Name Name of the SLO

SLO Type Name of the SLO type



Column Description

SLO Details This column provides a link to the SLO Details screen that provides completeinformation about the individual instance, a graphic representation of thecompliance levels across different periods (depending on data collected todate), and violations.SLO Details tab provides complete information about the individual SLO, and agraphic representation of the compliance levels across different periods(depending on data collected to date).

■ Instance Details tab provides complete information about the individualinstance, and a graphic representation of the compliance levels acrossdifferent periods (depending on data collected to date). Instance Details Tabis only available in the case of drill-down from instance level.


Device Information Details of the instance from which the violation is generated

Status Current status of the violation

Duration Duration for which the violation was open

Violated Points Number of violated points for closed violations. Violated points are notdisplayed for open violations.

SLO ViolationDescription

Description of the violation

Analyze The icon in this column provides a link to the Probable Cause Analysis page

Filtering violations

By default, the Violations Details page lists all the violations recorded in the last 24hours. You can use the query fields to filter the list by various criteria.

To filter the list of violations

1 In the query fields above the list of violations, set the filtering criteria for theviolation from the following criteria:

■ Selected SLO

■ Duration of the violation: the maximum amount of time for which the violationhas been open; Min.: 15 minutes, Max: 1 day

■ Status of the violation record: either Open or Closed; the default is Open

■ Time period: either a predefined interval or a custom time range defined by theFrom and To times



2 Click Apply.

The list of violations is refreshed according to the specified criteria.

Viewing a history graph for an SLO

From the Compliance Matrix tab > History column, you can click the graph icon foran individual SLO to display a graphical representation of the SLO compliance overa specified duration.

The screen provides options to generate the graph for different predefined time ranges.

Viewing a breakdown of SLO metrics for various time periods

From the Compliance Matrix tab > time period columns (Previous Day, Week toDate, Month to Date, Quarter to Date, and Year to Date), you can click the timeperiod for an individual SLO to display a detailed view of the various data pointscollected for the time period.

Table 86 on page 312 summarizes the columns that are displayed on drilling downinto the time period of an individual SLO.

Table 107: Columns of SLO metrics for a defined time period

Column Description

SLO Instance Name of the SLO Instance

Attribute Name of the associated attribute

Details This column provides a link to the SLO and Instance Details.SLO Details tab provides complete information about the individual SLO, anda graphic representation of the compliance levels across different periods(depending on data collected to date).

■ Instance Details tab provides complete information about the individualinstance, and a graphic representation of the compliance levels acrossdifferent periods (depending on data collected to date). Instance Details Tabis only available in case of drill-down from the instance level.


Graph This column provides a link to the Graph Displays page, which providesoptions to generate a graph for different predefined time ranges

Weight Associated weight



Column Description

Violated/Total Points Number of violated points based on the Service Level Threshold for theinstance or attribute and the total number of data points recorded for the timerange. Calculation of total points and violated points is based on the scheduleof the SLO

Compliance Objective SLO’s compliance objective

Compliance Value Instance level compliance

Comparing compliance objectives with actualresults

The Watch List screen displays SLO records and computed delta values, which is thedifference between the compliance objective and its value for the time unit. You cansort by any column. For example, you can sort the compliance percent value for theMonth To Date column from worst to best. If the same SLO is displayed in two ormore multi-tier SLOs, only one of them is displayed. This screen also provides filtersto view specific records.

Table 108 on page 358 summarizes the columns that are displayed on the Watch Listscreen.

Table 108: Columns of information on the Watch List screen

Column Description

SLO Name assigned to the SLO. Link on the name listing directs to the Watch listpage specific to that individual SLO

Type SLO Type associated with the SLO. The SLO Type is a grouping of relatedattributes across Monitor Types. Default SLO Types are Availability andPerformance.

Details This column provides a link to the SLO Details page, which providescomplete information about the individual SLO, and a graphic representationof the compliance levels across different periods (depending on data collectedto date).For more information, see Viewing a graphical history of SLO compliance andviolations on page 360.

Compliance Objective The compliance value associated with the SLO. The system compares theactual compliance value against this objective.

Month to Date SLO compliance for the current month. The compliance computation does notconsider the current date.

Delta The difference between the compliance value and objective for the specifiedtime period. The compliance computation does not consider the current date.

Comparing compliance objectives with actual results


Related Topics

Accessing the Watch List on page 359

Filtering SLO records in the Watch List on page 359

Drilling down to an individual SLO in the Watch List on page 360

Accessing the Watch List

Note To access the watch list, you must have the Watch List tab added on the OperationsConsole.

To view the Watch List

1 From the Options => SLO Mgmt tab, under Tab Selection, select Watch List.

2 Click the Watch List tab.

The Watch List screen has two sections:

■ Filters

■ Watch List table

Filtering SLO records in the Watch List

The default display includes all top-level SLOs with a compliance below 100% set forthe Month to Date time period. You can use the query fields to filter the list.

To filter SLOs in the Watch List

1 Use any combination of the following query fields to set the filter criteria:

■ Time Period: Select the time period from the list to view correspondingcompliances for that period.

The available values are: Previous Day, Week to Date, Previous Week, PreviousMonth, Month to Date, Quarter to Date, and Year to Date.

■ Show the following SLOs: Select the SLO grouping to view.

Comparing compliance objectives with actual results


The available values are: All SLOs, SLOs with compliance below 100%, and SLOswhich violate their compliance goals.

■ Show Top level SLOs Only: Select this check box if you want to include onlytop level SLOs in the listing.

2 Click Apply.

Drilling down to an individual SLO in the Watch List

The drill-down from the SLO column displays details of the particular SLO.

Table 109: Columns of information on the Watch List

Column Description

SLO Name SLO name. A link on the SLO name directs you to the Watch List page specificto that individual SLO.

SLO Type SLO type associated with the SLO. The SLO Type is a grouping of relatedattributes across monitor types. Default SLO types are Availability andPerformance.

SLO Details The icon in this column provides a link to the Instance Details page. thatprovides complete information about the individual SLO, a graphicrepresentation of the compliance levels across different periods (dependingon data collected to date), and SLO violations.For more information, see Viewing a graphical history of SLO compliance andviolations on page 360.

Device Info Details of the instance from where the violation is generated

Attribute Attribute for which the Service Level threshold has been set

Compliance Objective Compliance value associated with the SLO. The system compares the actualcompliance value against this objective.

Month to Date Compliance SLO compliance for the selected time period. The compliance computationdoes not consider the current date.

Delta Difference between the compliance value and objective for the specified timeperiod. The compliance computation does not consider the current date.

Weight Associated weight for the attribute

Viewing a graphical history of SLOcompliance and violations

Viewing a graphical history of SLO compliance and violations


From the Compliance Matrix tab, Watch List tab, and Violation Details tab, you canclick the SLO Details icon for an individual SLO to view information about an SLO.The SLO Details page displays the following information:

■ SLO Information: Displays general information about the SLO.

■ Compliance Summary: Displays a graphical representation of the compliancelevels within the last 24 hours.

■ SLO Violation History: Displays the various SLO instances with a description ofthe threshold condition, a weight, a graphical indication of the current status, anda graphical representation of the violation history.

Tip On the Current Status tab, click the link in the Name column to view agraphical representation of an individual SLO.

From the SLO Details screen, you can perform the following tasks:

■ In SLO Information, click Edit to add comments.

■ To add this SLO Details page as a tab in the Service Management Console, clickPromote as Tab on the top right of this page.

■ To generate an SLO Health Summary report, click Generate SLO HealthSummary Report .

For more information on the health report, see Health Summary on page 315.

Viewing instance details

To access the Instance Details screen, click the link in the Thresholds Conditionscolumn on the SLO Details screen.

The Instance Details screen provides complete information about an individualinstance, displays a line graph (default) and violations (if any) for the selectedinstance based on data collected over the last 24 hours.

Viewing SLOs in a hierarchical treeThe Tree tab in the SLO Management Console provides a real-time, interactivevisualization of the SLO violation status. The SLO hierarchy and IT Groups arevisible on a hyperbolic plane mapped to a circular display region.

Viewing SLOs in a hierarchical tree


SLOs displayed are based on the Access Control level of the user. For example, auser may be restricted to view only a subset of SLOs that exist in the system.

If the BMC ProactiveNet Server is within the firewall and the Operations Console isoutside the firewall, the tree might not be displayed properly in Firefox 1.5. Toensure proper display of the tree, perform the following steps on Windows 2000 or XP:

To ensure proper display of the tree on Firefox 1.5 browser

1 In the Control Panel, double-click the Java icon.

2 In the Java Control Panel, click Network Settings, and then change the defaultoption, Use browser settings to Direct connection.

Related Topics

Controlling the display in the SLO Tree on page 362

Accessing further information from the SLO Tree on page 363

Controlling the display in the SLO Tree

The following tasks guide you through the various actions that you can perform tocontrol the display of information in the SLO Tree.

To control the display on the tree, you can perform the following tasks:

■ To change the focus point on the tree, drag any point on the tree.

■ To focus on the SLO, right-click the SLO icon and choose Set As Root to set theselected SLO as root.Only the selected SLO and its child nodes are displayed.

■ To display or hide the legend, click Show Legend or Hide Legend.

■ To filter SLOs by maximum violation duration, select the time from the Time list.The SLO tree is refreshed to display only those SLOs for which violationsoccurred within the selected time duration.

■ To promote the page as an independent tab, click Promote as Tab, specify a namefor the new tab, and then click Apply.



To change the data refresh interval

1 Data refresh interval (in seconds) for the SLO Tree can be specified using thepronet.applet.slatree.refreshRate property in the installDirectory/usr/pw/custom/conf /pronet.conf file.

Accessing further information from the SLO Tree

From the SLO tree, you can access various screens to view further information aboutthe SLO or the SLO instance.

■ On the SLO level, you can perform the following operations:

— Access the SLO Details page, by right-clicking the SLO, and then choosing SLODetails.


■ Access the Compliance Matrix page, by right-clicking the SLO, and then choosingCompliance Matrix.For more information, see Viewing SLO compliance details and history on page352.

— On the SLO instance level, you can perform the following operations:

■ Access the SLO Instance Details page, by right-clicking the SLO instance, and thenchoosing SLO Instance Details.For more information, see Viewing instance details on page 361.

■ Access the Probable Cause Analysis page, by right-clicking the SLO instance, andthen choosing Probable Cause.For more information, see Determining the probable cause for an event on page159.



Controlling BMC ProactiveNetdata collection and infrastructure

Activating and deactivating data collectionYou can use the Data Collection Administration option to start or stop datacollection for a monitor or groups of monitors. To use this option the BMCProactiveNet administrator assigns the 'Allow Collect Data Management' privileges.

To change data collection settings

1 Click the Options link at the top right of the console.

2 On the Administration tab, under the Data Collection heading. Click Edit link ofData Collection.

3 Select the View Type (By Device, By Monitor Type, and By Group) for display onthe Data Collection Administration screen.

4 Click the Device Name, Monitor Type, or Group Name to view associatedmonitors.

5 Perform the following actions at individual monitor level or at the Group, Device,or Monitor Type level:

a Select the check box corresponding to the monitors to alter their datacollection.

b Select On/Off option from the list corresponding to the monitors.

6 Click Apply.

Related Topics

9

Chapter 9 Controlling BMC ProactiveNet data collection and infrastructure 365

Scheduling downtime on page 366

Tracking changes to BMC ProactiveNet objects on page 373

Viewing BMC ProactiveNet and PATROL agent statuses on page 374

Managing attribute sets on page 377

Managing baselines on page 380

Knowledge patterns on page 163

Managing relationships on page 397

Managing schedules on page 410

Importing and exporting users on page 412

Viewing BMC ProactiveNet software information on page 415

Downloads tab on page 418

Scheduling downtimeThe Scheduled Down Time feature for devices, monitors, and groups allows BMCProactiveNet administrators to specify a time range during which the monitor,device, or group stops collecting data.

The Scheduled Down Time feature supports multiple schedules with different timeranges.

You can schedule down time for the following frequencies:

■ One-time

■ Daily

■ Weekly

■ Monthly

The scheduler polls the database periodically for downtime events. By default, thisperiod is five minutes; therefore, down-time events cannot be scheduled with finergranularity than five minutes. In addition, if a large number of devices is scheduled,

Scheduling downtime


it may take some time for the scheduler to turn off data collection for the scheduleddevices.

To avoid the possibility of false events at the beginning of the maintenance window,BMC ProactiveNet recommends that the downtime event be scheduled 15-20minutes ahead of the actual maintenance period.

Note While scheduling downtime, allow fair time for the device, monitor, or group to stopdata collection. The time taken to stop data collection and then resume datacollection depends on the server load, number of agents, and number of monitorsscheduled for down time.In Windows Day and Time Properties, select Automatically adjust clock for daylightsaving changes. This should always be selected to show the appropriate default timezone.

Note for upgrade users

New and upgrade users have different options available to them in this feature.Upgrade users can still access the Alarm/Event Generation, AlarmRule Action/Notification, and Calculate Baseline options from the Add Device for ScheduledDown Time dialog. For example, upgrade users can:

■ Stop alarm or event generation

■ Stop alarm-related notifications or actions

■ Calculate baseline parameters

If an upgrade user turns on the Data Collection option, then the Calculate Baselineoption is enabled. Upgrade users have the option to turn baseline calculation off oron when Data Collection is on. (When Data Collection is off, the Calculate Baselineoption is disabled because there is no data to calculate.)

Usage scenario

This topic depicts a typical data sample that can consists of the following test data.

■ Load on BMC ProactiveNet Server: Moderate (system load <1.5)

■ Number of agents scheduled down: 4

■ Number of monitors scheduled down: 1200

■ Scheduled down duration: 45 minutes

Scheduling downtime


■ Time taken to stop data collection: 10 - 15 minutes

■ Time taken to resume data collection: 1 - 5 minutesTo understand the usage of the Scheduled Down Time feature, let us look at thefollowing example:Assumptions:

— BMC ProactiveNet is monitoring a web server for availability and response time.

— The web server is brought down on Sunday between 4 A.M. and 8 A.M. formaintenance.

Operations:

— During regular monitoring, BMC ProactiveNet will poll for the monitoredattributes and report.

— During downtime, both availability and response time will not return data andalarms may be generated.

— These alarms will automatically close after the web server is online again.

To schedule the web server downtime

1 Select the web server.

2 Select the Downtime option. Data collection is on. Alarm/Event generation is on.AlarmRule Action/Notification is off.

3 Frequency is Weekly.

4 Specify the Time and Date as applicable.

5 Add Time Range.

Application: In the above case, BMC ProactiveNet will monitor the Web server foravailability and response time even during the device downtime and generateevent or alarm. However, any event or alarm generated during this period willnot be notified.

The advantage of this setup is that, BMC ProactiveNet console will display theevents. Once the device is up again, the events will close. Thus the administratorcan check the system and ensure that the web server is working as expectedbefore the time to get it online.

However, in case of SLOs defined for availability of this device, data collectioncan be switched off to avoid inconsistent SLO compliance calculation.

Scheduling downtime


Adding a downtime schedule

To add a downtime schedule

1 In the BMC ProactiveNet Operations Console, launch the Scheduled Down TimeAdministration window. Choose Options => Administration => DataCollection => Scheduled Down Time => Edit.

In the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console, select Tools => ScheduleDevice Downtime.

The Scheduled Downtime Administration window is displayed.

All devices or groups that are currently down are highlighted in Red.

The exact display of time (for each entry in the Devices Already Scheduled forDown Time section) may vary depending on the Administration Console(Windows and Solaris).

2 Choose a Filter.

You can choose to filter the list by Device or by Group.

If you choose to filter by Device, and are monitoring numerous devices, the listcan be quite extensive. You can narrow your device search if Groups have beenset up for your devices.

3 Click Add to open the Scheduler.

Next, you specify the duration of the down time. You have the following options:

■ One-time setting

■ Daily

■ Weekly

■ Monthly

To specify the duration of the down time

On the Add Device for Scheduled Down Time screen,

1 Select the Device to be scheduled. New users can skip to step 3.

2 Upgrade users only. Select the Downtime option. These settings govern BMCProactiveNet behavior during the scheduled downtime.

Scheduling downtime


■ Data Collection: Select On or Off to continue collecting data or stop datacollection respectively.

In case data collection is On,

■ Alarm/Event Generation: Specify if BMC ProactiveNet should generate Events/Alarms against the data collected.

In case Alarm/Event Generation is On,

■ Alarm Rule Action/Notification: Specify if BMC ProactiveNet should sendalarm notification for the alarms generated during this period.

In case Calculate Baseline is Off,

Calculate Baseline is a scheduled downtime for baseline calculations. During thisperiod, previously calculated baseline is used. The baseline stays unaffected bynew data. Hourly baseline is not recalculated and previous values are used. Dailyand weekly baseline values are recalculated based on the hourly baseline. At thetime of baseline calculation, BMC ProactiveNet checks for the pause periodcorresponding to the current time. During the pause period, only old values areused. Outside the pause period baseline calculation is performed using current data.

3 Select the Frequency:

Frequency Description

One Time Setting The downtime is scheduled to run once. It is not a recurring setting.

Daily The downtime is scheduled run daily at the specified time.

Weekly The downtime is scheduled weekly at the specified day and time.

Monthly The downtime is scheduled to occur monthly on the specified day and time.

4 Under Time Pattern field, select the Start and End Date.

Manually specify the dates in mm/dd/yyyy format. Alternatively click thecalendar link and select from the pop-up calendar.

5 Select the Start Time and End Time. By default, the server time is displayed here.

6 From the list, select the Time Zone. By default, the server time zone is displayedhere. When you change the time zone, the Start Time and End Time changeaccordingly. If you change the Time Zone and the corresponding time falls eitherin the previous day or the next day, the Start Date changes accordingly.

Scheduling downtime


Note The Time Zone field displays GMT + Time Zone difference in hours, togetherwith location.

From 7.1, Time Zone for Indiana-Starke displays GMT – 05:00 US/Indiana-Starkeinstead of GMT – 5:00 as in 7.0.

7 Click Add Time Range .

8 Click Yes to confirm.

■ To change the specified time and date combinations,

—Select the entry under Time Range Entry.

—Click Remove Time Range.

After specifying the required time and date combination,

9 Click Add.

The system presents various alerts or confirmatory messages. On confirmation,BMC ProactiveNet adds the schedule to the device.

10 Click Yes to confirm the schedule.

11 In the Added Successfully dialog box, click OK .

12 After defining the required Device Downtime, click Close.

Edit/Delete downtime schedule

Once a schedule is set, you can view and edit it by following the procedure given below:

To edit/delete downtime schedule

1 If the Scheduler is closed, open it from Tools menu on the Administration Console.

■ The Scheduler presents the Devices Scheduled selection. Selection is displayedin red if opened during its own scheduled time.

2 Highlight the device whose schedule you want to change and click Edit. (If youwant to delete the schedule, click Delete.)

3 Modify the schedule as required, and click OK.

Scheduling downtime


Note BMC ProactiveNet does not allow editing of multiple schedules at a time.

To delete a schedule, select the schedule from the list and click Delete.

Special notes

■ Do not perform any operations (monitor creation, flash check, etc) on devicesduring their scheduled downtime. This can result in unexpected behavior anddisplay of invalid data.

■ If the devices data collection is off, schedule downtime has no affect on the devicedata collection.

■ From Release 6.5, editing multiple schedules is not allowed.

■ A schedule cannot be edited while it is active (during downtime).

■ In case of overlapping downtime, data collection resumes after the higherschedule is completed.Example: Consider the following schedules:Weekly: down at 9:00 A.M. - up at 10:30 A.M.Daily: down at 9:30 A.M. - up at 10:00 A.M.In this case, data collection resumes only after 10:30 A.M. (though the dailydowntime is from 9:30 A.M. to 10:00 A.M., we have an overlapping weeklydowntime from 9 A.M. to 10:30 A.M.).

■ In 7.1, Day Light Savings settings have been taken care of. Time settings for thepreviously scheduled downtime might get effected.

Related Topics

Activating and deactivating data collection on page 365






Scheduling downtime







Tracking changes to BMC ProactiveNet objectsIn production environments, software and hardware requirements changeconstantly and need modification on the fly. This regular change necessitates a highdegree of change management.

BMC ProactiveNet can store and track configuration data, and provide informationon the possible impact to your Web environment.

To track changes in your environment

1 Go to Options => Administration => Configuration Changes => Add/View.

2 Set the Time Filter. Default is the current time

3 Select the Device from the list. List includes all devices in the system.

■ The screen displays all the available entries related to the selected device.

To add a new entry

1 Click Add.

This displays the Add Configuration Change Event screen. This feature is alsoaccessible from the following flows:

■ All Devices (Grid View) => Tools.

■ All Devices (Grid View) => Monitor list => Tools.

■ All Groups (Grid View) => Tools.

2 Inputs for Add Change Entry screen.

■ User: Name of the user. By default, the login name of the current user is displayed.

Tracking changes to BMC ProactiveNet objects


■ Day: Day of change

■ Device: List of all devices in the system

■ Hour: Hour of change

■ Group: List of all groups in the System

■ Contact: Contact details (Text field limited to 50 chars)

■ Summary: Summary of the action (Text field limited to 120 chars)

■ Long Description: Comprehensive description of the Configuration ChangeEvent (Text area limited to 1024 chars)

3 Click Apply to add a new entry.

Related Topics

“Controlling the display in the All Services Tree View ” on page 106

“Managing configuration changes” on page 125

“Viewing further information for a specific event from the Tools Menu” on page38

Viewing BMC ProactiveNet and PATROL agentstatuses

The BMC ProactiveNet agent controls all service monitors (non-SNMP monitors)and is responsible for spawning the creation of monitors, collecting their data, anddelivering the data to the BMC ProactiveNet server for storage in the database.Remote agents are those agents that reside on machines outside the BMCProactiveNet server. The local agent or BMC ProactiveNet server agent resides onthe BMC ProactiveNet server.

PATROL Agents are connected to the BMC ProactiveNet server through PATROLProxy Server(s) which are hosted on PATROL Proxy Agents.

The Agent Status screen lists the current operating status of both the BMCProactiveNet and PATROL agents. The BMC ProactiveNet Agent Status screen alsodisplays an event summary of the agent’s monitors.

Go to Options => Administration => Agent Status.

Viewing BMC ProactiveNet and PATROL agent statuses


The BMC ProactiveNet agent status columns are listed in Table 110 on page 375.

Table 110: Options for BMC ProactiveNet agents

Agent Status Description

The Agent column indicates if there is an agent attached to the device, and theconnection status of the agent (connected or disconnected). Green plugged iconindicates the agent is connected, and the red unplugged icon indicates the agent isdisconnected.

Agent Name This column lists the name of the Agent as defined by BMC ProactiveNet administrator.

Agent Version This column lists BMC ProactiveNet version and build number of the agent.

IP Address This column lists the IP Address of the system hosting the BMC ProactiveNet agent.

OS Name This column lists the Name and version of the operating system on the system hostingthe BMC ProactiveNet agent.

Last Connected This column lists the latest date and time when the agent connected to BMCProactiveNet server.

Running Since This column lists the date and time from which the agent is running.

Tunnel ID This column lists the Tunnel ID in the case of TunnelAgent.

Connection Type This column lists the type of connection in use by the BMC ProactiveNet agent.

Agent Status This column displays the current operating status of the agent. Valid states are:

■ Connection Active, indicated by the green plugged icon

■ Agent Unreachable, indicated by the red unplugged icon

■ No Agent, indicated by N/A.

Monitors Provides access to all the monitors on that device or resource.

Drill-down Use the Monitors hyperlink to view event summary by Monitor Type (of all themonitors associated with a specific device). This screen displays events and providestools for managing them.

The BMC PATROL agent status columns are listed in Table 111 on page 375.

Table 111: Options for BMC PATROL agents


Connection status of the PATROL agent is displayed. This will be shown as twodifferent icons in three different scenarios as explained in “PATROL agent status iconand tooltip” on page 376. There will be a tooltip on the PATROL agent status iconwhich displays the connection status of PATROL agent as well as PATROL Proxy Agent.

Name This column lists the name of the PATROL agent as defined by BMC ProactiveNetadministrator. This column is sorted by default.




Port This column lists the port number on which the PATROL agent is running.

Proxy AgentHostname/IP

This column lists the hostname or IP address of the PATROL Proxy agent(ProactiveNet Agent) on which the PATROL agent is configured.

Proxy Agent Port Lists the port number on which the PATROL Proxy agent is running.

Status This column displays the current operating status of the agent.

You can filter the agents on the PATROL agent name, Proxy agent name, andPATROL agent status when you select the Patrol Agents tab.

Note

■ If the same PATROL agent is configured on multiple PATROL Proxy servers, theAgent Status screen displays such PATROL agents on multiple rows, that is, onefor each PATROL Proxy server.

■ The Patrol Agents tab is available only if at least one PATROL adapter exists inthe machine.

PATROL agent status icon and tooltip

The agent status icons and the tooltip are displayed as follows in three differentscenarios.

Table 112: PATROL agent status icon and tooltip

Scenario Status icon Tooltip

PATROL and PATROL Proxyagent are up and running.

Patrol Agent - Connection Active

PATROL and PATROL Proxyagent are down or disconnected.

Patrol Agent - DisconnectedPatrol Proxy Agent - Disconnected

PATROL agent is down, butPATROL Proxy agent is up andrunning.

Patrol Agent - DisconnectedPatrol Proxy Agent - ConnectionActive

Drill down from the agent status table

To drill down from the agent status table

1 Click Monitors under the Monitors column.



■ BMC ProactiveNet displays all Monitors associated with the Agent.

2 Click the Severity Event icon to view Event List screen.

■ The Event List screen displays all open events corresponding to the monitor.

Drill down from the event list screen

Click the Probable Cause icon (under Analyze column) to view all abnormalities.

Use the Tools menu to access other functions.

Related Topics












Managing attribute setsAn Attribute Set is a list of related performance attributes (metrics) that, takentogether, represent a more abstract functional grouping of those individual attributes.

Custom Attribute Sets are required for creating advanced relationships. Once thesefunctional groupings are established, they can be used to leverage relationshipsbetween various elements in the infrastructure. The product is delivered with a

Managing attribute sets


group of out-of-the-box attribute sets. These include, for example, to create arelationship between Web Servers and CPU usage, you can create an Attribute Setfor all CPU usage performance attributes across all platforms. In this case, you cancreate an Attribute Set containing Windows System CPU usage, Solaris System CPUusage, AIX System CPU usage, etc.

By creating an attribute set as discussed in the above example, we can do away withcreating different relationships for each system monitor type. It is conceptuallysimilar to how many monitor instances can be put together in a 'Group' andrelationships are then defined in terms of the 'Group' rather than from the individualmonitor instance.

This feature is recommended only for advanced users who are trained and familiarwith the Probable Cause capabilities of BMC ProactiveNet.

BMC ProactiveNet recommends not editing default Attribute Sets (with theexception of adding new custom monitors). During upgrade, the system only carriesforward the new attributes (added), and does not check for deletions.

See, Managing relationships on page 397 for more information on how AttributeGroups can be used.

To create or edit a new attribute set from the Operations Console

1 Go to Options => Administration => Attribute Sets => Edit.


■ For a new attribute, click Add on the AttributeSet Administration screen.

■ To edit an existing attribute, click Edit. Click Add Attributes to add moreattributes.

3 On the Add Attribute Set screen, select the Attribute Set Type from the list.Options are Global, Relationship, Report, and SLO type.

4 Select the Monitor Type. Select all monitors types corresponding to the attributesto be grouped.

■ Use the Shift and Ctrl keys to make multiple selections. To locate a specificmonitor, use the Search For field.

5 Click Next.

6 Select the Attributes to be grouped from under each of the Monitor Types in theAttributes section.



■ Use the Shift and Ctrl keys to make multiple selections. To locate a specificattribute, use the Search For box.

7 Click Next.

8 Specify a name for the Attribute Set.

9 Select the Attributes to be included by selecting the corresponding check boxesunder the Select column.

10 Click Finish.

■ The new Attribute Set is available for use.

To delete an attribute set

1 Open the Attribute Set Administration screen.

2 Select the check box under Select corresponding to the Attribute Set to delete.

3 Click Delete.


■ BMC ProactiveNet confirms and deletes the Attribute Set.

5 Click OK to return to Attribute Set Administration screen.

■ Default Attribute Sets cannot be deleted.

Related Topics














Managing baselines

The baseline is the expected normal operating range for a metric or attribute of amonitor.

The baseline is calculated by collecting the values for a monitor’s attributes andmetrics over a specified time period and establishing a low baseline value (consistingof the 10th percentile of all the values for a given time period) and a high baselinevalue (consisting of the 90th percentile of all the values for a given time period),taking a weighted average of these values over time. A higher weight is given to thelatest data being factored into the baseline average. The accuracy of the baselineimproves over time.

To track the anomalies in behavior for different attribute types, different patterns arerequired. For example, for attributes that change frequently, a pattern captured athourly intervals may be best. Hourly interval ranges represent a smaller number ofdata points and will have a tighter range, which is best suited for capturing frequentchanges.

BMC ProactiveNet captures the following baseline patterns:

■ Hourly baseline - Each hour of the day has a high or low value that is tracked.This tracks the pattern for that metric on an hourly basis, and is repeated for eachday. An hourly baseline is initialized after the monitor instance is created and 24hours of data collection has occurred.

■ Daily baseline - A high or low value is derived from the moving average of eachconsecutive day. This high or low range is taken from a larger number of datavalues and consequently will be a wider range than the hourly. A daily baseline isinitialized after the monitor instance is created and 24 hours of data collection hasoccurred.

■ Weekday Pattern - Baseline is calculated daily from Monday to Friday. All thesedays share the same 24-hour baseline. A weekly baseline is initialized after themonitor instance is created and 168 hours of data collection has occurred.

■ Weekend Pattern - Baseline is calculated separately for the weekend - Saturdayand Sunday. These two days share the same 24-hour baseline.

Managing baselines


■ Seasonal baseline - Baseline is calculated separately for pre-determined dayswhen your business experiences out of the ordinary workloads or other specialbehavior. These days, if calculated into the baseline, artificially will raise or lowerthe baseline, causing unnecessary abnormalities.

Baseline Administration provides a better control over baseline calculations. Forexample, you can specify freeze points to discard values corresponding to specificperiod. Similarly, if the baseline is not correct, it can be easily reset. You can alsocreate baselines for special or seasonal dates.

Requirements for baseline generation

For baselines to be generated for an attribute, that attribute must have an activeabnormality threshold. An active abnormality threshold means that the thresholdexists and is not suppressed.

Additionally, if the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) mode is active, only thoseattributes that have an active abnormality threshold and are also KPI attributes willhave baselines generated for them.

Absolute thresholds (with "outside baseline") or signature thresholds do not satisfythese requirements.

Pausing baseline calculation

Pausing baseline calculation allows you to schedule downtime for baselinecalculations. During this period, the previously calculated baseline is used. Thebaseline stays unaffected by new data.

For example, you might want to set a pause period for the holiday season when Webtraffic is expected to peak. Because this is an isolated case and not a regular pattern,you might want to discard this data for the overall baseline.

Hourly baseline is not recalculated and previous values are used. Daily and weeklybaseline values are recalculated based on the hourly baseline.

At the time of baseline calculation, BMC ProactiveNet checks for the pause periodcorresponding to the current time. During the pause period, only old values areused. Outside the pause period baseline calculation is performed using current data.

Through the Options screen you can add new baseline calculation periods, as well asedit or delete previously defined baseline calculation periods.

Managing baselines


To define or edit a Pause Baseline Calculation Period

Note When a Pause Baseline Calculation Period is edited for the first time, subsequentoperations performed (such as create, edit, or delete) on Baseline Pause Periods arenot effective until the Rate process is restarted.

1 Go to Options => Administration => Advanced => Baseline => Edit.

2 Click the relevant options:

■ For a new Pause Baseline Calculation Period, click Add under Pause BaselineCalculation.

■ To edit an existing Pause Baseline Calculation Period, click Edit. After makingthe required changes, click Update. The system updates the Pause BaselineCalculation Period and returns to the Baseline Freeze Point Administrationscreen.

3 In the Pause Baseline Calculation Period screen, Select the Monitor Instance.

■ Group - Select Group to include all the instances in the group.

■ SLO - Select SLO Group to include all instances from the SLO group.

■ Device - Select Device to include all the instances associated with the device.

■ Monitor Type - Select the Monitor Type to include all instances of the monitortype.

■ Monitor Instance - Select the monitor instance to add a single monitor instance.

4 Specify the Pause Baseline period.

a From time - Specify the start time for the pause period.

b To time - Specify the end time for the pause period. Select Indefinite to stop aparticular baseline calculation.

5 Click Add.

To delete a Pause Baseline Calculation Period

1 Go to => Options => Administration tab.

2 Click Edit corresponding to Baseline Administration.

Managing baselines


On the Pause Baseline Calculation screen, select the check box (corresponding tothe Pause Period to delete) under Select column.

3 Click Delete.


The system deletes the Baseline Pause Period and returns to Administrationscreen. Confirmation is displayed on the Administration screen.

Resetting a baseline

Baseline can be reset to re-compute the baseline. On Reset, the baseline data is re-initialized based on previous data generated from the same instances.

All historic baseline information is deleted and the new baseline is initially just anestimate (based on the performance of the old data in the specified period).

Baseline values are refined over time as the pattern is relearned.

To reset a baseline

1 Click Reset Baseline on the baseline Administration screen.

2 Select the Monitor Instances.

■ Group - Select the Group to include all the instances in the group.

■ SLO - Select SLO to include all instances from the SLO.

■ Device - Select the Device to include all the instances associated with the device.

■ Monitor Type - Select the Monitor Type to include all instances of the monitortype.

■ Monitor Instance - Select the Monitor Instance to include the single monitorinstance.

3 Specify the period for calculating the new baseline using one of the followingoptions:

■ From Time and To Time - Specify the start and end time of the period forconsidering data for baseline calculations.

■ Number of days for considering data.

Managing baselines


4 Select the baseline types to be reset. Specify at least one of available baseline types(hourly, daily, or weekly).

5 Click Reset.

Note

■ Baseline reset at the attribute level does not change historic values. It modifiesonly baseline values computed for future use.

■ If you select All Attributes as the Monitor Attribute Selector, then all baselinevalues of the current day are reset. If you select a single attribute, then theattribute baseline value of the current hour is reset.

Creating a separate baseline for seasonal or special dates

In your organization, there may be pre-determined days when your businessexperiences out of the ordinary workloads or other special behavior. These days, ifcalculated into the baseline, artificially will raise or lower the baseline, causingunnecessary abnormalities. You can use the baseline seasonality functionality tocalculate specialized baselines for these unusual days that are separate from thebaseline for normal business days. The seasonal baseline can be applied to all groupsand services or to specified groups and services.

There are two types of dates that you can account for using the baseline seasonalityfunctionality:

■ specific seasonality dates—planned, single days with exceptional behavior, suchas special sales and holidays

■ recurring seasonality dates—events that repeat on a regular basis with exactfrequency, such as weekly or monthly payroll and backups

In the Operations console, you control the baseline seasonality feature using theBaseline Seasonality Administration page.

To access the Baseline Seasonality Administration page

1 From the Operations Console, choose Options.

2 On the Options page, choose the Administration tab.

3 In the Advanced area of the Administration page, next to Baseline, click Edit.

■ The Baseline Administration page is displayed.

Managing baselines


4 On the Baseline Administration page, click the Baseline Seasonality link.

■ The Baseline Seasonality Administration page is displayed.

Use the Baseline Seasonality Administration page for

■ Creating a baseline seasonality instance on page 385

■ Editing or deleting a baseline seasonality instance on page 389

Creating a baseline seasonality instance

Before you begin

■ Ensure that your system is configured to have a long enough data retentionperiod to accommodate the baseline seasonality schedule that you select. The dataretention period for the device should be at least as long as the baselineseasonality schedule. If the retention period is insufficient, a warning message isdisplayed on the Baseline Seasonality Administration page.For example, if the default retention period for a device is 90 days and youschedule a baseline seasonality schedule for every six months, the data retentionperiod is too short and the Baseline Seasonality Administration page will displaya warning message that there insufficient data retention.For baseline seasonality to work, the rate and baseline data must cover the longestspan of time between seasonality days that is in any seasonality schedule. Forexample, if the seasonality schedule is one year apart, then the longest span oftime between days in the schedule is one year. In that case, the rate and baselinetables must be able to hold data for one year.For information about listing and setting the data retention period, see the pw logperiod CLI section in the BMC ProactiveNet Administration Guide.

Managing baselines


■ Plan your baseline seasonality schedules so that there are no duplicate schedulesfor any instance, group, or all instances.If there are duplicate schedules, a specific group will take precedence over aglobal instance. If both schedules are for specific groups, precedence isdetermined alphabetically by the baseline seasonality name, not the group name.For example, if seasonality A is for group Z and seasonality B is for all instances,seasonality A takes precedence. If seasonality A is for group Z and seasonality B isfor group Y, then A still takes precedence.If duplicate schedules are created, a warning message is displayed on the BaselineSeasonality Administration page.Related Topics:To create a seasonality baseline for single, specific seasonality dates on page 386To create a seasonality baseline for events that occur on a regular basis on page387

To create a seasonality baseline for single, specific seasonality dates

1 Access the Baseline Administration page as described in To access the BaselineSeasonality Administration page on page 384.

2 On the Baseline Seasonality Administration page, click Add.

3 In the Baseline Seasonality Name field, enter a general name to identify thespecific dates that you will be entering. For example, Sale Days.

4 In the Monitor Instance Selector area, choose the monitor instances that will beaffected by these special dates.

■ If the special dates will affect all of your systems and services, choose AllInstances.

■ If the special dates only affect one or more of your systems and services, chooseGroup and follow these steps:

a Click the linked text next to Group.

■ The Select/Group dialog box is displayed.

b From the Select/Group dialog box, choose the group that will be affected bythe dates you are adding.

c Click Apply to accept your selection and close the dialog box.

5 Choose the Set Specific Seasonality Dates radio button.

Managing baselines


6 In the Pick Date field, select the month, day, and year of the special date forwhich you want to create a seasonality baseline.

7 Click Add Date. The date is displayed in the Included Dates list.

8 [Optional] Repeat List item. on page 387 and List item. on page 387 to addadditional dates.

9 When you have finished adding dates, click Add.

The date or group of dates that you added appears in the list of dates on theBaseline Seasonality Administration page.

To create a seasonality baseline for events that occur on a regular basis



3 In the Baseline Seasonality Name field, enter a general name to identify thespecific dates that you will be entering. For example, Weekly Backups.

4 In the Monitor Instance Selector area, choose the monitor instances that will beaffected by these special dates.

■ If the special dates will affect all of your systems and services, choose AllInstances.

■ If the special dates only affect one or more of your systems and services, chooseGroup and follow these steps:

a Click the linked text next to Group.

The Select/Group dialog box is displayed.

b From the Select/Group dialog box, choose the group that will be affected bythe dates you are adding.Click Apply to accept your selection and close thedialog box.

5 Choose the Set Seasonality Recurrence Pattern radio button.

6 In the Start From field, choose the date from you want to start the first occurrenceof the seasonality baseline. The start date can be a past, current, or future date.

You can either select the month, day, and year from the drop lists or you can clickthe calendar icon and double-click the desired date.

Managing baselines


7 Specify the occurrence frequency of the special event that you are adding:

■ If the special event occurs every week or every few weeks, such as a weekly ortwice per week backup procedure, follow these steps:

—Choose the Weekly radio button.

—Enter the number of weeks between occurrences of the special event in theRecur every __ weeks on field.

—Select the check box for the day of the week on which the event occurs.

Example If your organization has a backup procedure every two weeks, enter 2 in theRecur every __ weeks on field. If the backup procedure occurs every week, youwould enter 1 in the Recur every __ weeks on field.

Example If the backup procedure always takes place on Sunday, select the Sunday check box.

■ If the special event occurs each month or every few months, such as payroll orinventory, follow these steps:

—Choose the Monthly radio button.

—Specify the monthly frequency of the special event:

If the special event occurs on the same day each month or every few months,choose the Day __ of every __ month(s) radio button and enter the day of themonth and the monthly frequency for the special event.

Example If the special event always occurs on the 30th day of the month, you wouldenter Day _ 30 _ of every _ 1 _ month(s).

If the special event occurs on the same day of the week at the same frequencyeach month, choose the The __ __ of every __ month(s) radio button and selectthe monthly occurrence of the day of the week, the day of the week, and themonthly frequency for the special event.

Example If the special event occurs on the last Friday of every third month, you wouldenter The _ Last _ _ Friday _ of every _ 3 _ month(s).

8 Click Add.

Managing baselines


The recurrence pattern that you added appears in the list of dates on the BaselineSeasonality Administration page.

Editing or deleting a baseline seasonality instance

Once you have created a baseline seasonality instance, you can edit or delete it. Ifyou delete a baseline seasonality instance that you have created, the data for that theperiod that the seasonality baseline existed will remain and the normal baseline willbe applied in the future during the time period that was previously specified by thebaseline seasonality instance.

To edit an existing baseline seasonality instance


2 On the Baseline Seasonality Administration page, click Edit to the right of thebaseline seasonality instance that you want to edit.

■ The Edit Baseline Seasonality dialog box is displayed.

3 In the Edit Baseline Seasonality dialog box, make the required changes to thebaseline seasonality instance.

4 Click Update.

To delete a baseline seasonality instance


2 On the Baseline Seasonality Administration page, select the check box of theseasonality baseline instance that you want to delete.

3 Click Delete.


Example: Configuring seasonality baselines for a retailorganization

Your retail organization has planned special sales for the following dates this year:

■ May 31 ■ November 29

Managing baselines


■ July 4 ■ December 22

■ September 7 ■ December 23

■ November 27 ■ December 26

■ November 28 ■ December 27

The increased business on these special sale days increases the load on your systems,so you need to create a seasonality baseline for these sale days to avoid triggeringabnormalities due to the increased load on these days.

Your organization is closed on Sundays and on the following holidays:

■ New Year’s Day, January 1

■ Groundhog Day, February 2

■ International Earth Day, March 20

■ International Tuba Day, May 8

■ International Picnic Day, June 18

■ International Talk Like a Pirate Day, September 19

■ World Teachers’ Day, October 5

■ World Peace Day, November 17

When your organization is closed, the load on your systems and services dropsconsiderably, so you need to create a seasonality baseline to avoid triggeringabnormalities due to the decreased load on the days that your organization is closedfor business.

Your organization pays its employees every two weeks on Fridays and performsinventory quarterly.

Based on these facts, your organization should set seasonality baselines as follows.

Managing baselines


To create a seasonality baseline for days on which your store has special sales:



3 In the Baseline Seasonality Name field, enter Sale Days.

4 Because these sales increase the load on all your systems and services, in theMonitor Instance Selector area, choose All Instances.


6 In the Pick Date field, select May 31 of the current year.


8 Repeat List item. on page 387 and List item. on page 387 to add the additional saledates.

Managing baselines


■ Figure 24 on page 393 shows the Add Baseline Seasonality page after the datahas been entered.Figure 23: Baseline Seasonality for Sales Days

9 Click Add.

The group of special sale dates that you added appears in the list of dates on theBaseline Seasonality Administration page.

To create a seasonality baseline for Sundays (the day of the week that yourbusiness is closed):



3 In the Baseline Seasonality Name field, enter Sundays.

4 Because your business is closed, this decreases the load on all your systems andservices. Therefore, in the Monitor Instance Selector area, choose All Instances.

Managing baselines



6 In the Start From field, choose the first Sunday in January.

7 Choose the Weekly radio button.

8 In the Recur every __ weeks on field, enter 1.

9 Select the Sunday check box.

■ Figure 24 on page 393 shows the Add Baseline Seasonality page after the datahas been entered.Figure 24: Baseline Seasonality for Sundays

10 Click Add.

Managing baselines


Every Sunday is added as a recurring pattern for a new seasonality baseline onthe Baseline Seasonality Administration page.

To create a seasonality baseline for holidays on which your business is closed:



3 In the Baseline Seasonality Name field, enter Holidays.

4 Because these holidays decrease the load on all your systems and services, in theMonitor Instance Selector area, choose All Instances.


6 In the Pick Date field, select January 1 of the current year.


8 Repeat List item. on page 387 and List item. on page 387 to add the additionalholiday dates.

9 Click Add.

The group of holidays on which your business is closed appears in the list ofdates on the Baseline Seasonality Administration page.

To create a seasonality baseline for payroll days:



3 In the Baseline Seasonality Name field, enter Payroll Activity.

4 Because payroll activities increase the load only on the server used by youraccounting department, in the Monitor Instance Selector area, choose Group.

5 Click the linked blue text to the right of the Group radio button (This text reflectsthe Group that currently is selected).

■ The Select Group dialog box is displayed.

Managing baselines


6 In the Select Group dialog box, browse to the group that you have defined thatrepresents your accounting department. For example, it might be a service namedAccounting.

7 Select the check box for the group that represents your accounting departmentand click Apply.

■ The Select Group dialog box closes and the group that you selected is displayedto the right of the Group radio button.


9 In the Start From field, choose the first Thursday in January of the current year.(Although your employees receive their checks every two weeks on Friday, thebulk of payroll activity occurs on the Thursday before the checks are received.)

10 Choose the Weekly radio button.

11 In the Recur every __ weeks on field, enter 2.

12 Select the Thursday check box.

■ Figure 25 on page 395 shows the Add Baseline Seasonality page after the datahas been entered.Figure 25: Baseline Seasonality for Payroll activity

13 Click Add.

Every other Thursday is added as a recurring pattern for a new seasonalitybaseline on the Baseline Seasonality Administration page.

Managing baselines


To create a seasonality baseline for quarterly inventory:



3 In the Baseline Seasonality Name field, enter Quarterly Inventory.

4 Because quarterly inventory increases the load on your database, in the MonitorInstance Selector area, choose in the Monitor Instance Selector area, chooseGroup.

5 Click the linked blue text to the right of the Group radio button (This text reflectsthe Group that currently is selected).

■ The Select Group dialog box is displayed.

6 In the Select Group dialog box, browse to the group that you have defined thatrepresents your inventory database. For example, it might be a service namedInventory.

7 Select the check box for the group that represents your inventory database andclick Apply.

■ The Select Group dialog box closes and the group that you selected is displayedto the right of the Group radio button.


9 In the Pick Date field, select March 31of the current year.


11 Repeat List item. on page 387 and List item. on page 387 to add the inventorydates for each quarter (June 30, September 30, and December 31).

12 Click Add.

The group of days on which your business conducts quarterly inventory appearsin the list of dates on the Baseline Seasonality Administration page.

Managing baselines


Managing relationshipsRelationships allow you to specify how elements within the infrastructure arerelated. Relationships define dependencies between various monitored elements inthe system and are used for Probable Cause Analysis, impact prediction, and eventsuppression.

For example, we can monitor an application and the host system. By defining arelationship between application and the host system, available events related tosystem A are suppressed by available events of System B. Now, if the system goesoffline, both the system and the application will not be available. However, due tothe defined relationship, BMC ProactiveNet will not send out an alert for theapplication availability. Only the system availability alert will be sent out.

As explained in the above example, relationships go a along way in customizingBMC ProactiveNet behavior. By managing relationships, higher level of validity canbe achieved for both Probable Cause Analysis and events.

Probable Cause Analysis Relationships are static relationships (in the probable causesmart filter) based on static rules. Probable cause and Business Impact features usethis information to filter out events and violations, not related to the queried event.

Instead of leveraging 'out-of-the-box' knowledge about how various monitorinstances relate to one another, the Probable Cause algorithm can leverage veryspecific user domain knowledge - an important factor for maximizing the powerbehind the Probable Cause feature.

Static Relationships relate different monitor types (not specific to any instances), andguide Probable Cause and Business Impact algorithms.

Intelligent Event Suppression Relationships are NOT static relationships. For detailsabout defining Intelligent Event Suppression Relationships, see “Adding or editingan Intelligent Event Suppression relationship” on page 403.

Relationships for both probable cause and Intelligent Event Suppression are calledCommon relationships. Although common relationships (applicable to both IntelligentEvent Suppression and Probable Cause Analysis) can be created, BMC ProactiveNetrecommends using separate relationships for event suppression and probable causeanalysis.

User-defined relationships work together with static relationships to filter events.Generally, algorithms first check to see if the event instance belongs to any instancerelationships. If it does, then the algorithm applies those relationship filters. If theevent instance does NOT belong to any instance relationship, it uses the staticrelationship rules.

BMC ProactiveNet recommends use of group-level relationships. Such relationshipsare easy to manage and all instances added to the group will inherit the relationship.

Managing relationships


This preserves all built in rules even in environments where the instances areconstantly being changed.

Defining Intelligent Event Suppression relationships

Because of changes to the service model, relationship administration was deprecatedstarting with BMC ProactiveNet version 8.5.00. However, if you upgraded from aversion of BMC ProactiveNet older than 8.5, this functionality has been preserved asIntelligent Event Suppression. If this is your first installation of BMC ProactiveNet,or you did not use the relationship administration feature in previous releases, youwill not see the Intelligent Event Suppression functionality. This functionality hasbeen absorbed into the changes made to the service model in BMC ProactiveNetversion 8.5.

Best practices for defining Intelligent Event Suppressionrelationships

Before you begin defining Intelligent Event Suppression relationships, consider thesebest practices:

1 Define broad rather than narrow relationships.Relationships are used to ascertain the potential probable causes and related events.Narrow relationships may inadvertently filter out potential abnormalities byforcing BMC ProactiveNet to give them lower scores. BMC ProactiveNetrecommends defining the broader relationships first. If more granularrelationships are needed, you can always define additional relationships.

2 Think through the relationships before creating them.Plan the relationships well. Generally a scalable and well thought-out plan ofrelated groups works best. Think of elements in your infrastructure in abstractgroupings and create relationships based on these groupings as opposed to usingthe device or instance level.

3 BMC ProactiveNet includes default, Global relationships. Take advantage of thisout-of-the-box functionality. Focus on creating relationships that are specific toyour infrastructure.



Relationship example

Assumptions

Before attempting to establish relationships, a monitor for each relevant element inthe Web infrastructure has already been created. This is a required, essential stepsince all relationships are defined in terms of monitor instances.

Scenario

Consider that you have an online store that sells widgets A, B, and C. Each type ofwidget is served by distinct WebServer pools, as well as by different Applicationservers and/or databases behind the Webservers.

1 Online Store A consists of one pool of Web servers (WebServer Pool A) dedicatedto selling widget A items, but also depends on a pool of Application servers(Appserver Pool A) and on database A.

2 Online Store B consists of another pool of Web servers (Webserver Pool B)dedicated to selling widget B items, but also depends on a pool of Applicationservers (Appserver Pool B) and on database B.

3 Online Store C consists of a similar third configuration set up for selling widget Citems.

In this scenario, you want to convey the above information into the BMCProactiveNet system so it can be leveraged by Probable Cause Analysis algorithms.Using the Relationships folder located in the Administration Console, you can inputthis relationship information into the system so that it can be used whenever aproblem crops up with a transaction on any of the three online stores. Thisinformation is known as domain knowledge.

Once these relationships are established, if there is a problem with any of theseonline stores and an event is triggered, as you drill down on the event through theProbable Cause pages, BMC ProactiveNet will guide you to the most accurateProbable Cause event that is related to the event, thus taking advantage of thedomain knowledge injected into the system via the relationship mechanism. Withoutthis information, the Probable Cause algorithm must rely strictly on out-of-the-boxrelationships, thus limiting the conclusions it can draw about the potential causes ofan event.

Establishing relationships

The following shows how you would want to create relationships that represent thespecific scenario described earlier in this example:

WebTranxMonitors A => WebServerPool A => AppServerPool A => Database A



WebTranxMonitors B => WebServerPool B => AppServerPool B => Database B

WebTranxMonitors C => WebServerPool C => AppServerPool C => Database C

Each of the 'pools' above can be represented by creating a standard 'Group' in theBMC ProactiveNet Administration Console.

After these Groups are established, relationships can easily be formed by creating aRelationship for each of these Groups. The four pools for online store A would formone relationship tree; the four pools for online store B would form anotherrelationship, and the same for online store C.

Each relationship has a unidirectional dependency.

Related topics


Adding or editing an Intelligent Event Suppression relationship on page 403

Overview of the Intelligent Event Suppression screen

From the Intelligent Event Suppression screen, you can enable, disable, and deleteIntelligent Event Suppression rules, as well as access the dialog box that allows youto create Intelligent Event Suppression rules. The Intelligent Event Suppression



Administration screen is accessed by selecting Options=>Administration and in theAdvanced area, clicking the Edit link to the right of Intelligent Event Suppression.Figure 26: Intelligent Event Suppression screen

The Select column allows you to select the check box of the Intelligent EventSuppression relationship that you want to delete.

The Name column displays the name of the Intelligent Event Suppressionrelationship. Relationship names are formed from the primary group, device, ormonitor (the event that suppresses the events from the secondary event) and thesecondary group, device or monitor separated by an arrow to indicate the directionof the relationship.

Default Global relationships are shipped with BMC ProactiveNet and areimmediately visible when you access the Intelligent Event Suppression screen. These

out-of-the-box relationships are not editable. This is indicated by the lock icon .

in the Edit column for each of the default relationships. Only the Ping/Availability=>Device SameDevice;SameSourceAgent relationship is enabled bydefault.

You can obtain more information about the relationship by hovering your cursor

over the more information icon .



The information displayed by the more information icon is provided by theDescription box available when you create an Intelligent Event Suppressionrelationship. For more information about providing a description, see “Adding orediting an Intelligent Event Suppression relationship” on page 403.

The Precedence column displays the order in which the relationships are processedif multiple primary events exist for the same secondary event. 1 is the highestprecedence. Events are suppressed by the primary event that passes the rule whichhas highest precedence. If there is a tie with rule precedence, the primary event withthe highest severity is processed.

The Enabled column allows you to enable and disable relationships. If a relationshipis enabled, the Enabled check box for that relationship is selected. For moreinformation see, “Enabling or disabling Intelligent Event Suppression relationships”on page 402.

The Edit column allows you to edit the scope and other attributes of the associatedrelationship. For more information, see “Adding or editing an Intelligent EventSuppression relationship” on page 403.

The Add button allows you to add a new Intelligent Event Suppression relationship.For more information, see “Adding or editing an Intelligent Event Suppressionrelationship” on page 403.

The Delete button allows you to delete any Intelligent Event Suppressionrelationship that is selected in the Select column.

Enabling or disabling Intelligent Event Suppressionrelationships

Use the following procedure to enable or disable Intelligent Event Suppressionrelationships.

To enable/disable an Intelligent Event Suppression relationship

1 Click the Options menu at the top right of the console.


3 In the Advanced area, to the right of Intelligent Event Suppression, click Edit.

4 On the Intelligent Event Suppression screen, in the Enabled column for the theIntelligent Event Suppression relationship rule that you want to enable or disable,perform one of the following actions:

■ To enable the Intelligent Event Suppression relationship, select the checkbox.



■ To disable the Intelligent Event Suppression relationship, deselect the checkbox.

5 Click Apply.

The status of the relationship is displayed in the Enable column.

Adding or editing an Intelligent Event Suppression relationship

Note Intelligent Event Suppression relationships are only supported for users who areupgrading from versions of BMC ProactiveNet older than version 8.0. If you haveinstalled BMC ProactiveNet for the first time, this functionality is not supported.

All relationships are defined in terms of monitor instances. Before attempting toestablish any relationships, ensure that a monitor for each relevant element in yourinfrastructure has already been created.

Tip Before you add Intelligent Event Suppression relationships, you should:

1 Define a monitor for each element in your environment.To define any relationship between elements in your infrastructure, first define amonitor for each element, and then use the actual monitor to define the relationship.

2 Define groups for any set of related instances:For example, create groups for any pools of servers, applications, Web servers,and so on.Using a group to define a relationship makes it more practical to maintainrelationships.

Intelligent Event Suppression relationships can be either applied globally or to aspecific monitor or monitors that you specify.

You can create any of the following types of Intelligent Event Suppressionrelationships:

■ Global - the Intelligent Event Suppression relationship is applied to all monitors

■ Group, device, or monitor-based - the Intelligent Event Suppression relationshipis applied to the monitors within a group or device, or to a specific monitor ormonitors that you specify



Access the Add Intelligent Event Suppression Relationship dialog box and thenfollow the procedure appropriate for the type of Intelligent Event Suppressionrelationship that you want to create.

Accessing the Add Intelligent Event Suppression Relationship dialog box

To define any type of Intelligent Event Suppression relationship, you must firstaccess the Add Intelligent Event Suppression Relationship dialog box.



3 In the Advanced area, to the right of Intelligent Event Suppression, click Edit.

4 On the Intelligent Event Suppression screen, click Add.

The Add Intelligent Event Suppression Relationship dialog box is displayed.

To add a Global Intelligent Event Suppression relationship

1 Access the Add Intelligent Event Suppression Relationship dialog box.

2 In the Scope area, choose Global.

3 In the Global Scope: Qualifiers area, use the check boxes to select whether theprimary and secondary monitor instances in the relationship must reside on thesame device, on the same source Agent, or both.

4 In the Primary Attribute Selector area, choose the attributes of the primarymonitor that will trigger suppression for the selected attributes on the secondarymonitor. Choose from the following:

■ All Attributes - an event on any attribute of the primary monitor will suppressevents on the secondary monitor

■ Single Attribute - an event on a single attribute for a specified monitor typewill suppress events on the secondary monitor. To specify a single attribute:

a Choose the Single Attribute option.

b Click the link to the right of the Single Attribute option. (By default, the firstmonitor type in the monitor type list is selected.)

The Select Monitor Type dialog box is displayed.

c Choose the monitor type for the attribute and click Apply.



The Select Monitor Type dialog box closes and the name of the monitor youselected is displayed to the right of the Single Attribute option.

d From the drop list beneath the name of the monitor you selected, select theattribute for that monitor that will trigger events to be suppressed on thesecondary monitor. The list of attributes available depends on the monitor typeyou selected.

■ Attribute Set - an event on any attribute in the selected attribute set willsuppress events on the secondary monitor. To specify an attribute set:

a Choose the Attribute Set option.

b From the drop list, choose the attribute set to which you want to apply therelationship.

5 In the Secondary Attribute Selector area, choose the attributes for which eventswill be suppressed when the specified events occur on the primary monitor.Choose from the following:

■ All Attributes - an event on the selected attributes of the primary monitor willsuppress events on all attributes for the secondary monitor

■ Single Attribute - an event on the selected attributes of the primary monitorwill suppress events for a single attribute for a specified monitor type on thesecondary monitor

■ Attribute Set - an event on the selected attributes of the primary monitor willsuppress events on any attribute in the selected attribute set on the secondarymonitor

6 (Optional.) In the Description text box, enter a description of the relationship.HTML is supported; however, the <html>, <head>, and <body> tags are notsupported.

This description is displayed when you hover your cursor over the moreinformation icon next to a relationship on the Intelligent Event Suppression screen.

7 (Optional.)In the Notification Wait Time field enter the time in seconds for BMCProactiveNet to wait for an event on the primary monitor to occur beforeprocessing the event that has occurred on the secondary monitor.

The default wait time is 120 seconds. The shorter the notification wait time, theless likely it is that BMC ProactiveNet will suppress the events on the secondarymonitor. Notification wait time affects secondary monitor event suppression asfollows:



■ If there is no event on the primary monitor at the end of the notification waittime, BMC ProactiveNet sends notification for the event on the secondarymonitor event as per the notification setting.

■ If there is an event on the primary monitor at the end of the notification waittime, BMC ProactiveNet suppresses the event on the secondary monitor andsends the notification for the event on the primary monitor.

8 After completing the add relationship screen, Click Add.

The system returns to Intelligent Event Suppression screen. The new relationshipis enabled and listed.

To add a group, device, or monitor-based Intelligent Event Suppressionrelationship

1 In the Scope area, choose Specific Monitors.

2 In the Primary Monitor Instance Selector area, perform one of the followingactions:

Define arelationshipbased on asingle groupor device:

1 From the drop list, choose Group or Deviceas the primary monitor instance.

2 From the drop list under the Group orDevice selection, choose the group or deviceto be the primary monitor instance for therelationship.

You can filter the list of groups or devices by entering searchcriteria in the Search for text box and pressing Enter. Theresulting list will be based on your search criteria, making iteasier for you to find the desired group or device in a large list.

Define arelationshipbased onmultiple

1 From the drop list, choose Group or Deviceas the primary monitor instance.

2 From the drop list to the right of the Groupselection, choose Regexp.

3 In the text box beneath the Regexp selection,use regular expressions to type a pattern forthe groups or devices that you want to beprimary monitor instances for therelationship.

4 Press the Enter key.



groups ordevices

BMC ProactiveNet searches for groups or devices based on thepattern you entered and displays the number of matches found.Click the number of matches found link to review the resultinglist to verify that this list is composed of the groups or devicesthat you want to be the primary monitor instances for therelationship. All matches in the list will be primary monitorinstances in the relationship.

Define arelationshipbased on asingle monitor

1 From the drop list, choose Monitor as theprimary monitor instance.

2 From the drop list under the Monitorselection, choose the monitor that you wantto be the primary monitor instance for therelationship.

The drop list below the selected monitor displays the list ofdevices that have that monitor. The primary monitor instance inthe relationship will be based on the selected monitor for all thelisted devices. If the selected monitor is added to other devices,those devices will be included as the primary monitor instance.

Define arelationshipbased onmultiplemonitors

1 From the drop list, choose Monitor as theprimary monitor instance.

2 From the drop list to the right of the Monitorselection, choose Regexp.

3 In the text box beneath the Regexp selection,use regular expressions to type a pattern forthe monitors that you want to be primarymonitor instances for the relationship. Forexample, Agent*.

4 Press the Enter key.

BMC ProactiveNet searches for groups or devices based on thepattern you entered and displays the number of matches found.Click the number of matches found link to review the resultinglist to verify that this list is composed of the monitors that youwant to be the primary monitor instances for the relationship.All matches in the list will be primary monitor instances in therelationship.



3 In the Primary Attribute Selector area, choose the attributes of the primarymonitor that will trigger suppression for the selected attributes on the secondarymonitor. Choose from the following:

■ All Attributes - an event on any attribute of the primary monitor will suppressevents on the secondary monitor

■ Single Attribute - an event on a single attribute for a specified monitor typewill suppress events on the secondary monitor. To specify a single attribute:

a Choose the Single Attribute option.

b Click the link to the right of the Single Attribute option. (By default, the firstmonitor type in the monitor type list is selected.)

The Select Monitor Type dialog box is displayed.

c Choose the monitor type for the attribute and click Apply.

The Select Monitor Type dialog box closes and the name of the monitor youselected is displayed to the right of the Single Attribute option.

d From the drop list beneath the name of the monitor you selected, select theattribute for that monitor that will trigger events to be suppressed on thesecondary monitor. The list of attributes available depends on the monitor typeyou selected.

■ Attribute Set - an event on any attribute in the selected attribute set willsuppress events on the secondary monitor. To specify an attribute set:

a Choose the Attribute Set option.

b From the drop list, choose the attribute set to which you want to apply therelationship.

4 In the Secondary Monitor Instance Selector area, select Group, Device, orMonitor as the secondary monitor instance.

5 Using the same steps that you used for defining the primary monitor instance,select group(s), device(s), or monitor(s) to be the secondary monitor instance

6 (Optional.) In the Description text box, enter a description of the relationship.HTML is supported; however, the <html>, <head>, and <body> tags are notsupported.

This description is displayed when you hover your cursor over the moreinformation icon next to a relationship on the Intelligent Event Suppression screen.



7 (Optional.)In the Notification Wait Time field enter the time in seconds for BMCProactiveNet to wait for an event on the primary monitor to occur beforeprocessing the event that has occurred on the secondary monitor.

The default wait time is 120 seconds. The shorter the notification wait time, theless likely it is that BMC ProactiveNet will suppress the events on the secondarymonitor. Notification wait time affects secondary monitor event suppression asfollows:

■ If there is no event on the primary monitor at the end of the notification waittime, BMC ProactiveNet sends notification for the event on the secondarymonitor event as per the notification setting.

■ If there is an event on the primary monitor at the end of the notification waittime, BMC ProactiveNet suppresses the event on the secondary monitor andsends the notification for the event on the primary monitor.

8 After completing the add relationship screen, click Add.

The system returns to Intelligent Event Suppression screen. The new relationshipis enabled and listed.

To edit an existing Intelligent Event Suppression relationship

1 On the Intelligent Event Suppression screen, click the Edit link for the relationshipthat you want to edit.

The Add Intelligent Event Suppression Relationship dialog box is displayed.

2 Make the desired changes to the relationship.

3 Click Add.

The system returns to Intelligent Event Suppression screen. The relationship isenabled and updated.

Deleting a relationship

To delete a relationship



3 In the Advanced area, to the left of Intelligent Event Suppression, click Edit.



4 On the Intelligent Event Suppression screen, select the check box next to therelationship that you want to delete.

5 Click Delete.

6 Click OK to confirm that you want to delete the relationship.

The system deletes the relationship definition and returns to Intelligent EventSuppression screen.

■ Related topicsManaging relationships on page 397Adding or editing an Intelligent Event Suppression relationship on page 403

Managing schedulesA schedule is a defined period which includes hours of the day, days of the week,and so forth. BMC ProactiveNet uses schedules to consider recorded monitoredattribute values for SLO computations. Example, SLO with schedule 24x7 willconsider all recorded monitored attribute values for SLO computation. However,another SLO with schedule of 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. for 5 days a week (Monday to Friday)will only consider monitored attribute values recorded between 9 A.M. and 5 P.M.,Monday to Friday.

Schedules help put SLO compliance computation in the right perspective withoutdistorting the values by including invalid periods.

Through the option screen, you can define new schedules, as well as edit or deletepreviously defined schedules.

To add or edit a schedule

1 Navigate to Add SLO (Step 1 of 4) screen.


■ For a new schedule, against the Schedule field, click New. The Add NewSchedule screen opens.

■ To edit an existing schedule, click Edit. The Edit Schedule screen opens. To addmore days to the existing schedule, change the values in the Days, Start Time,and End Time fields and click Add.

3 Specify a Name for the schedule.

Managing schedules


4 Choose an applicable Time zone from the list of time zones provided. The BMCProactiveNet Server’s time zone is selected by default. Use the list to change thetime zone.

■ To define time range for a single day,

a Select the check box against the Day to include.

b Select the Start Time and End Time from the list.

c Click Add.

■ The system updates the new time range in the table below.

■ To define same time range for multiple days,

d Select check boxes against the Days to include.

e Select the Start Time and End Time from the list. Start and End time relate tothe each of the days.

f Click Add.

■ The system updates the new time range in the table below.Specify both inclusion and exclusion period. Exclusion period takesprecedence over inclusion period.

5 After adding the computation timings for all days to be part of the Schedule, clickDone.

■ The system displays a confirmatory message.

6 Click Close.

■ The system updates the database and returns to the SLO Creation Wizardscreen 4 of 4. The new schedule is available in the list.

To delete a schedule

1 Click Delete Schedule.

2 After making the required changes, click Done.

The system updates the entries and returns to the Create SLO Wizard screen 1 of 4.

Managing schedules


Importing and exporting usersUsers (Export or Import) enables to export and import the users from one BMCProactiveNet Server to the other, to maintain the user accounts across all the BMCProactiveNet server’s Enterprise environment. Using this option, user accounts fromtesting environment can be exported and imported to the production setup.

Note

■ First export the users and then import them.

■ Ensure that the users you import are the same as you export.

■ Do not open the exported XML file before importing it on another machine. Usetext editor if you want to open the exported XML file. If you want to view theexported XML file in a browser copy the file to <PN_PATH>\pw\pronto\webon the BMC ProactiveNet server to locate the DTD.- There is no need for the user to open the exported XML file before importing ona different machine- Use text editor, If user want to open the exported XML file for any security reasons.

The following scenarios help you understand the steps you will need to performwhile importing users, user groups, and roles.

Table 113: Scenarios while importing users

Import User(s) Exists UserGroup(s)Exists

Procedure

Only user Yes - Do not create the user as the user with this name alreadyexists in the system.

Only user No All Create users and map to all the existing user groups.

Only user No Some Create users and map only to the user groups which alreadyexists.

Importing and exporting users


Import User(s) Exists UserGroup(s)Exists

Procedure

Only user No None If Read Only user group exists

1 Create a user and assign it to the Read Only user group.

Else

1 Create a Read Only role if it does not exist.

2 Create a Read Only user group and assign the Read Onlyrole.

3 Create a user and assign the Read Only group created above.

Users, UserGroups, andRoles

Yes - Skip


No All Create user and map it to all the existing user groups.


No Some1 Create user groups which do not exist from the XML file (if

required, create roles if the roles on which this user groupsare dependent do not exist).

2 Create a user and map it to all the user groups (newlycreated as well as existing).


No None1 Create all user groups present in the XML file (if required

create roles if the roles on which these user groups aredependent on do not exist).

2 Create a user and assign it to all the above newly createduser groups.

To export users

1 Click Options => Administration => Advanced => Users .

2 Click Export link corresponding to Users, to open Export User Data screen.

3 Use the Filter options to select the users; users can be selected based on thefollowing options:



■ User Class

■ Status

■ User Name

■ User Group or Role

4 Specify a User Name and User Group or Role.

5 Select the User form the table, select Select All to export all the users.

6 Click Export, to open File Download window. Select Export User Groups andRoles if you want to also export user groups as well as the roles associated withthe users.

7 Click Save in the File Download window, to open Save As window. The defaultfile name is userdata.xml, and the default location is desktop.

8 Click Save in the Save As window, to open Download Complete window.

9 Click Close in the Download Complete window.

10 Click Back to Administration link to return to Administration Tab.

To import users

1 Click Options => Administration => Advanced => Users.

2 Click Import link corresponding to the Users, to open the Import User(s) screen.

3 Specify the Import File name or use the Browse option to locate the file. SelectImport User Groups and Roles if you want to import the user(s) along with theuser groups and roles. This will import all the user groups and roles and associatethem to the appropriate users.

4 Click Import, to display the User Import Summary screen. This screen gives thestatus of the import and the user details table.

5 Click Cancel in the Import User(s) screen to return to Administration Tabwithout importing the user.



Viewing BMC ProactiveNet softwareinformation

This section provides links to view installation history, performance diagnostics andlicense usage information.

Installation history

The Installation history provides an audit trail of BMC ProactiveNet installation. Itprovides information of various patches, and hotfixes applied on BMC ProactiveNetServer.

To view installation history

1 Click the Options link at the top right of the console. The Options screen opens.

2 On the Administration tab, under the BMC ProactiveNet heading. Click Viewlink of Installation Rules.

3 The View History File screen opens.

4 Use the filter to search for specific information.

Viewing BMC ProactiveNet performance diagnostics

BMC ProactiveNet offers both pre-configured and user-defined diagnostic tools tohelp monitor your system.

To view performance diagnostic details

1 On the Administration tab, under the BMC ProactiveNet heading. Click Viewlink of Performance Diagnostics.

2 The BMC ProactiveNet Server Performance screen displays the optionsPerformance Graphs, and Performance Diagnostic Details.

3 Click View link of Details to view performance diagnostic details.

4 The Performance Diagnostics Details screen displays the following details asdescribed in Table 114 on page 416.

Viewing BMC ProactiveNet software information


Table 114: Diagnostic details

Performancediagnostic types

Description

General Details displays the server sizing details.

Cell metrics describes the cell-based event activity and lists the event classes that are sending theevents

Remote Agent displays the type of operating system on which BMC ProactiveNet is installed andAgent counts.

Device displays the device type and count.

Monitor instance displays if monitor instances are turned off by the device flag or device instance flag,number of active poll period in seconds, and custom API instances per second.

Monitor type displays the monitor type, poll period in second, number of instances, and instancesper second.

Attribute displays the monitor type, number of attributes per monitor type, monitor instancescount, total number of attributes, and total instance attributes.

User User detail screen is categorized in to two types namely: configured users and loggedin users.

Data details displays the minimum and maximum value of raw data retention period in hours,and minimum and maximum value of rate data retention period in hours.

Graph displays a list of all graphs including those that were not created by you.

View displays a list of all views including those that were not created by you.

Report displays a list of all reports including those that were not created by you. Reportdetails can either be hidden using the Show or Hide options.

SLO displays SLO details.

Event displays the following event details:

■ Signature Events - This give the number of open and closed signature events.

■ Absolute events - This gives the number of open and closed absolute events. Thisalso gives the details about the monitor type, attribute id and total number ofevents. These details can be displayed or hidden using the Show and Hide option.

■ External events - This gives the number of open and closed external events, bothdevice-associated and non-device-associated. However, you are restricted to viewonly those events that are created by you.

Click View next to Performance Diagnostic Details to see a list of detailed statistics.Scroll down to the Event Details heading to see the number of open and closed eventsof all types.



Performancediagnostic types

Description

System specific displays the system specific details of the server. It can vary depending on theoperating system of the server.

System information displays details about the physical system: its name, OS, processor, BIOS, physicalmemory, and so forth

Routing displays routing details.

TCP connection displays the TCP connection details.

Note Performance Diagnostic page takes much longer duration to load (6 minutes) onWIndows.

Viewing BMC ProactiveNet license usage

BMC ProactiveNet License Usage screen displays information on the licensedfeatures of BMC ProactiveNet, exact number of licenses available for each BMCProactiveNet feature or monitor, number of licenses being used, and number oflicenses available at present.

To view license usage details

1 On the Administration tab, under the BMC ProactiveNet heading, click Viewlink of License Usage.

2 The License Usage screen displays the license details.

3 Click Show Details to view details of default monitors.

To send and view mails

1 On the License Usage screen at the right hand corner, click the mail icon.

The Email Details Snapshot screen opens.

2 Enter the required email information.

3 Click Send.



Downloads tabLinks to various files required for installing the BMC ProactiveNet Agent and BMCProactiveNet Administration Console are available here.

See the BMC ProactiveNet Getting Started Guide for exact steps to install BMCProactiveNet Agent and BMC ProactiveNet Administration Console.

Downloads tab


Integrating with BMC BladeLogicThis chapter provides details on how to import BMC BladeLogic information intoBMC ProactiveNet so that you can factor BladeLogic job history into probable causeanalysis.

Benefits of BMC BladeLogic integrationA BladeLogic job might make a configuration change to a device which causes itsbehavior to change. Integrating BMC ProactiveNet with BMC BladeLogic providesBladeLogic job history information to probable cause analysis, so that when youinvoke probable cause analysis for an event, the probable cause analysis results pageflags devices which have had BladeLogic jobs execute in the same time frame as theevent that you are trouble-shooting. In addition, certain events that are generated onBMC ProactiveNet will trigger the execution of a pre-defined snapshot job on BMCBladeLogic. This snapshot job will be able to detect better the configuration changesmade to the device.

When you access probable cause analysis for a service degradation event, theprobable cause analysis filters and ranks the events from most probable cause toleast. The probable cause analysis results page indicates if there has been aBladeLogic job executed on the device before 24 hours and after 30 minutes from thecurrent time stamp of the primary event. If a BladeLogic job has been executed onthe device, the job name, job type, and start and end time of the job is displayed nextto the device. For more information about probable cause analysis, see Determiningthe probable cause for an event on page 159

The following BMC BladeLogic job types are considered during probable causeanalysis:

■ Deploy Job (30)

■ Deploy Job Attempt (205)

■ File Deploy Job (40)

10

Chapter 10 Integrating with BMC BladeLogic 419

■ Network Shell Script Job (111)

■ Sync Job (190)

■ Deploy Apply Job (203)

■ Deploy Undo Job (204)

■ Snapshot Job

Note Snapshot job executions are listed in the probable cause analysis device historyonly if the snapshot job detects any changes. These changes will be displayed.Batch jobs also are not listed in the probable cause analysis device history,unless the batch job contains any of the supported job types, such as a deployjob or an Network Shell Script job.

The following job types are not supported or displayed in probable cause analysisdevice history:

■ ACL Push Job (1009)

■ Batch Job (200)

■ Atrium Import Job (5190)

■ Audit Job (31)

■ Compliance Job (5106)

■ Component Discovery Job (405)

■ Patch Analysis Job (45)

■ Provision Job (5029)

■ Update Service Properties Job (1017)

■ Patch Subscription (220)

■ Download Job (46)

Benefits of BMC BladeLogic integration


Setting up the integration between BMCBladeLogic and BMC ProactiveNet

To integrate BMC BladeLogic with BMC ProactiveNet you must

■ install and license the BMC BladeLogic Agent on the BMC ProactiveNet Server(for instructions, see the BMC BladeLogic documentation). This is required onlyfor pw blade create packages command.

■ create a dedicated user account for the BMC BladeLogic Application Server toserve as the BladeLogic administrator account

■ enable Web services on the BMC BladeLogic Application server

■ set up the credentials on the BMC ProactiveNet Server for accessing BMCBladeLogic from BMC ProactiveNet

■ test the credentials on the BMC ProactiveNet Server that you have set up toensure that a connection is being made

To create a dedicated BladeLogic administrator user account for the BMCBladeLogic Application Server

1 Create a new user for the BMC BladeLogic Application Server.

2 Assign that user the single role of BLAdmins. No other roles should be assignedto this user.

To enable Web services on the BMC BladeLogic Application Server

1 Log in to the BMC BladeLogic Application Server, using the BLAdmins account.

2 Start the BMC BladeLogic Application Server Administration utility asappropriate for your operating system:

■ For Windows, choose Start => Programs => BMC SoftwareBladeLogic => Utilities => Application Server Administration.

■ For UNIX, access the /opt/bmc/BladeLogic/8.1/NSH/br directory. From thecommand line, enter blasadmin.

3 From the BMC BladeLogic Application Server Administration utility, run thefollowing command:

set AppServer EnableTomcatService true

Setting up the integration between BMC BladeLogic and BMC ProactiveNet


4 [optional] To configure the registration of web services in the BMC Atrium UDDIServer, enter the following commands:

■ set WebServices RegistryServer registryServerHostNameset WebServices RegistryServerPort registryServerPortset WebServices RegistryServerUserName registryServerUserNameset WebServices RegistryServerPassword registryServerPasswordThe default Registry Server port is 8080.

5 Restart the BMC BladeLogic Application Server.

The Blade Logic Application Server log indicates if the web services registrationwas successful for LoginService, AssumeRoleService, and CLITunnelService.

WARNING

■ You must create a dedicated user account with only a BLAdmins role. No otherroles should be associated with this user account or the integration will fail.

■ You can remove the web services registration in the BMC Atrium UDDI Serverby giving the following commands:

—set WebServices RegistryServer ""

—set WebServices RegistryServerPort ""

—set WebServices RegistryServerUserName ""

—set WebServices RegistryServerPassword ""

The web services registered in the BMC Atrium UDDI server will be removedwhen the BladeLogic server is shutdown. These will be registered with thespecified web services properties when you start the BladeLogic server.

To set up credentials with the UDDI registry on the BMC ProactiveNet Serverfor accessing BMC BladeLogic from BMC ProactiveNet

1 Log in to the BMC ProactiveNet Server as administrator.

2 Access a command line and enter:

pw blade setup -use_uddi -uddiuser uddiUserName -uddipass uddiPassword -host hostName [-port portNumber] -user userName -pass password



Table 115: pw blade setup with UDDI registry command option descriptions

Option Description

-use_uddi specifies to use the UDDI registry to obtain BMC BladeLogic web serviceshost and port information

-uddiuser uddiUserName user name to connect to UDDI server

-uddipass uddiPassword password to connect to UDDI server

-host hostName host name or IP address of the UDDI server

-port portNumber port number of the UDDI server

-user userName user name to connect to the BladeLogic Application ServerNote: This should be the user account created for the BLAdmins role.

-pass password password to connect to BladeLogic Application Server

For example, pw blade setup –use_uddi -uddiuser udaman -uddipassuopensesame –host server.domain.com –port 8080 –user pronet –passopensesame

If the connection is successful, a message Info: Connection to BladeLogicserver succeeded. is displayed.

3 Follow the appropriate instructions based on the return code that you receive:

■ If the command returns 0, the credentials were created successfully. You cannow To change the time correlation filter on page 172.

■ If the command returns 1, there is a syntax error. Re-enter the pw blade setupcommand correctly.

■ If the command returns a number other than 0 or 1, an execution error hasoccurred. An error message is displayed indicating which error occurred.

To set up credentials without the UDDI registry on the BMC ProactiveNetServer for accessing BMC BladeLogic from BMC ProactiveNet



pw blade setup -host hostName [-port portNumber] -user userName -passpassword



Table 116: pw blade setup without UDDI registry command option descriptions

Option Description

-host hostName host name or IP address of BladeLogic Web Services

-port portNumber port number of BladeLogic Web Services

-user userName user name to connect to the BladeLogic Application ServerNote: This should be the user account created for the BLAdmins role.

-pass password password to connect to BladeLogic Application Server

For example, pw blade setup –host server.domain.com –port 9843 –user pronet –pass opensesame



■ If the command returns 0, the credentials were created successfully. You cannow To change the time correlation filter on page 172.

■ If the command returns 1, there is a syntax error. Re-enter the pw blade setupconnection command correctly.


To test your credentials on the BMC ProactiveNet Server for accessing BMCBladeLogic


2 Access a command line and enter the command pw blade test.


If the connection is unsuccessful a message, Error: BladeLogic connectioninformation has not been setup. is displayed.


■ If the command returns 0, then the credentials that you set up are workingcorrectly. If desired, you can now To install the BMC ProactiveNet providedcontent on BMC BladeLogic on page 427.



■ If the command returns 1, there is a syntax error. Re-enter the pw blade testconnection command correctly.

■ If the command returns a number other than 0 or 1, an execution error hasoccurred. An error message is displayed indicating which error occurred.Depending on the error message displayed, you may need to To clear theconnection to BMC BladeLogic that you created on the BMC ProactiveNetServer on page 425 and To set up credentials with the UDDI registry on theBMC ProactiveNet Server for accessing BMC BladeLogic from BMCProactiveNet on page 422 again.

To clear the connection to BMC BladeLogic that you created on the BMCProactiveNet Server



pw blade clear connection


If the connection is unsuccessful a message, Warning: BladeLogic connectioninformation has not been setup. Warning: Clearing of BladeLogicconnection information failed. is displayed.


■ If the command returns 0, the credentials that you set up are no longeravailable. If desired, you can To set up credentials with the UDDI registry onthe BMC ProactiveNet Server for accessing BMC BladeLogic from BMCProactiveNet on page 422 from a different user.

■ If the command returns 1, there is a syntax error. Re-enter the pw blade clearconnection command correctly.


Additional change information usingsnapshot job execution

Additional change information using snapshot job execution


A BladeLogic job might make a configuration change to a device which causes itsbehavior to change. Integrating BMC ProactiveNet with BMC BladeLogic providesBladeLogic job history information to probable cause analysis, so that when youinvoke probable cause analysis for an event, the probable cause analysis results pageflags devices which have had BladeLogic jobs execute in the same time frame as theevent that you are trouble-shooting. In addition, certain events that are generated onBMC ProactiveNet will trigger the execution of a pre-defined snapshot job on BMCBladeLogic for that device (provided the BMC ProactiveNet pre-defined content hasbeen installed on BMC BladeLogic). This snapshot job will be able to better detect theconfiguration changes made to that device.

Certain events (critical or major events that are associated with devices that have aBMC ProactiveNet agent installed) generated/received on BMC ProactiveNet cancause a BMC ProactiveNet provided snapshot job to be executed on the BMCBladeLogic server. This snapshot job captures change information on the deviceassociated with the generated/received event provided a BMC BladeLogic RSCDagent is also running on that device. This information can be viewed from the BMCBladeLogic Device History results screen. For more information, see “Viewing BMCBladeLogic device history information” on page 431.

When events matching the criteria mentioned above are received/generated, amapping file called <<install_dir>/pronto/conf/supportedDeviceTypesAndOSForBlade.conf> is looked up to check whichsnapshot job to run on BMC BladeLogic. If a match is found, the snapshot job isexecuted.

Limitations

■ BMC BladeLogic can run only a single instance of a snapshot job at a time. Hence,if a particular snapshot job is triggered on BMC BladeLogic, the snapshot job mustfinish execution before it can run again. Also, a default throttling logic time periodof 10 minutes(can be altered in pronet.conf) needs to elapse before the samesnapshot job is executed again. This may lead to some events on BMCProactiveNet not triggering snapshot jobs on BMC BladeLogic (since earliersnapshot jobs may not have completed).

■ The BMC ProactiveNet agent is required on the target machine for BladeLogicintegration to work.

Installing the BMC ProactiveNet contentBMC ProactiveNet provides pre-defined content by means of a content installer thathelps load BMC ProactiveNet content into the BladeLogic server. You can createcontent that is more tuned to your environment by customizing the BMCProactiveNet provided content or by creating new content. This content helps collectrelevant configuration change information which helps probable cause analysis.

Installing the BMC ProactiveNet content


BMC ProactiveNet provided content consists of three component templates, threeassociated snapshot jobs and three associated component discovery jobs. BMCProactiveNet provides content that is appropriate for capturing configuration changefor Solaris OS, Apache Web server on Solaris OS and for WebLogic applicationserver on Solaris OS.

To install the BMC ProactiveNet provided content on BMC BladeLogic

1 Download the BMC ProactiveNet content installer from https://webapps.bmc.com/epd/faces/licensedProd.jsp. The filenames of the contentinstaller for BladeLogic server are as follows:

OS Filename

Windows PPM-8_1-nnn.exe

Solaris PPM-solaris-8_1-nnn.bin

Linux PPM-linux-8_1-nnn.bin

2 Copy the content installer to the machine where BMC BladeLogic server isinstalled.

3 Run the content installer which will import the BMC ProactiveNet providedcontent into the BMC BladeLogic server.

4 Edit all three component discovery jobs (PPM-SolarisOS-ComponentDiscovery,PPM-ApacheSolaris-ComponentDiscovery, PPM-WeblogicComponentDiscovery)to assign the proper targets and create an appropriate schedule for the componentdiscovery jobs. Run all three component discovery jobs once. This step ismandatory.

The component discovery job must run at least once on all targets so thatcomponents, if any, can be discovered. Snapshot jobs run on the same targets willnot work unless components have been discovered.

5 Edit all three snapshot jobs (PPM-SolarisOS-Snapshot, PPM-ApacheSolaris-Snapshot, PPM-WeblogicSolaris-Snapshot) to assign the proper targets and createan appropriate schedule for the snapshot jobs. Run all three snapshot jobs once.This step is mandatory.

Installing the BMC ProactiveNet content


Creating new BladeLogic contentYou can create content that is more tuned to your environment. The followingprocedure gives an example of how to create content for Apache on Linux which isnot a pre-defined sample starter content given by BMC ProactiveNet.

To create new content

1 Create component template PPM-ApacheLinux-Template on BladeLogic server.

a Log into BladeLogic Server Automation Console.

b Under the Folders tab, expand the Component Templates folder.

c If PPM folder does not exist, select the Component Template folder and right-click to get the context menu.

Select New => Component Template Folder to create a new folder called PPM.

d Select the PPM folder and right-click.

From the context menu select New => Component Template to create acomponent template and provide the template name as PPM-ApacheLinux-Template.

e Select Discover, Browse and Snapshot from the Allowed Operations sectionand click Next three times.

Click Finish to create the bare bones component template.

f Select this newly created component template from the Folder and right-clickto select the Open option. The component template will open in edit mode.

g Select the Parts, Discover, Browse, Snapshot and Local Properties tab to editsection.

h In the Parts tab, add the parts that make up this component by clicking on the+ sign which shows the Select Parts dialog.

Click Add New button to display the New Component Template Part dialog.

Select the type of the part with the first drop down (File, Directory, etc.) andthen add the name. You can parameterize the name using properties (bothlocal properties and global properties). Properties can be entered in the form ??APACHE_CONF_DIR??.

Click Ok twice to create the part. Add more parts if necessary.

Creating new BladeLogic content


i To add a Rule Definition, click on the Show the Test Signature Screen buttonin the Discover tab. Local properties and global properties can be used.

The discovery rule is used by the component discovery job to discovercomponents on specified targets.

2 Create corresponding component discovery job PPM-ApacheLinux-ComponentDiscovery on BladeLogic server and specify the PPM-ApacheLinux-Template as the template. Assign proper targets and create a schedule for thecomponent discovery job.

The component discovery job must run at least once on all targets so thatcomponents, if any, can be discovered. Snapshot jobs will not run on targetsunless components have been discovered.

3 Create a corresponding snapshot job PPM-ApacheLinux-Snapshot on BladeLogicserver and specify the PPM-ApacheLinux-Template as the template. Assignproper targets and create a schedule for the snapshot job.

4 To map the snapshot jobs created on BladeLogic server (PPM-ApacheLinux-Snapshot) onto the BMC ProactiveNet configuration file, add an entry to <installdirectory> /pw/pronto/conf/supportedDeviceTypesAndOSForBlade.conf.

For example, add a new entry "WebServer,Linux,/PPM, PPM-ApacheLinux-Snapshot, PPM-ApacheLinux-Template ".

The map file is in a CSV format with one line per device type. The format in theCSV file isDeviceType,OS,SnapShotPath,SnapshotJobName,ComponentTemplateName

■ DeviceType - The fields are BMC ProactiveNet Device type (for example,Server, WebServer).

■ OS - Operating System type.

■ SnapShotPath - Group name where BMC ProactiveNet provided snapshot jobis present.

■ SnapShotJobName - Name of the snapshot job that should be triggered.

■ ComponentTemplateName - Name of the component template that isassociated with the snapshot job.

Creating new BladeLogic content


Creating packages to deploy ProactiveNetAgents to BMC BladeLogic managed systems

After you have set up and tested the credentials necessary to connect theProactiveServer to the BMC BladeLogic managed system, you can create packages sothat BladeLogic can deploy ProactiveNet Agents to BladeLogic managed systems.

Before you begin

■ You must have Administrator privileges to create these packages.

■ A BMC BladeLogic Agent must be installed on the BMC ProactiveNet Server andit must be running.

■ The machine on which the BMC ProactiveNet Server is installed must bereachable from the machine where BMC BladeLogic Server is installed.

To create packages to deploy BMC ProactiveNet Agents from the BMCProactiveNet Server to BMC BladeLogic managed systems



pw blade create packages

If the command succeeds the following message is displayed.

Creating BladeLogic packages for ProactiveNet agentsThis may take a long time...Info: Creation of BladeLogic packages for ProactiveNet agents succeeded.


■ If the command returns 0, execution was successful.

■ If the command returns 1, there is a syntax error. Re-enter the pw blade createpackages command correctly.


The ProactiveNet Agent software is loaded into the BladeLogic depot in the /Software/BMC/ProactiveNet directory as BMC_PN_Agent version_build_platform.

Creating packages to deploy ProactiveNet Agents to BMC BladeLogic managed systems


The packages are created in the BladeLogic depot in the /Packages/BMC/ProactiveNet directory as BMC_PN_Agent_ platform.

Once the packages are created, use BMC BladeLogic to create and run adeployment job to deploy the packages to BMC BladeLogic managed systems.

Note

■ BMC recommends that the BMC BladeLogic server and the BMC ProactiveNetServer are in the same LAN. Creating packages across a slow WAN is notrecommended because the pw blade create packagescommand may time outwhile copying the agent packages from the BMC ProactiveNet Server to theBMC BladeLogic server.

■ Before executing the pw blade create packages command you should deletethe existing software and packages on the BMC BladeLogic Server. Go to theBladeLogic depot and delete the software BMC_PN_Agentversion_build_platform in the directory /Software/BMC/ProactiveNet. Also,delete the packages BMC_PN_Agent_ platform in the directory /Packages/BMC/ProactiveNet.

Viewing BMC BladeLogic device historyinformation

BMC BladeLogic device history information is available from the Tools menu in theOperations Console or from the Probable Cause Analysis dialog box.

Viewing BMC BladeLogic device history information


Figure 27 on page 432 shows the BMC BladeLogic Device History results screen.

Figure 27: BMC BladeLogic Device History screen

The Time filter displays 24 hours before and 30 minutes after the timestamp of theevent.

The Edit Time option allows you to edit the Relative and Absolute time. Setting theRelative time filters the events that occurred during the specified time until thesystem time. For example, if you specify 5 minutes and the system time is 10:00A.M., the events that occurred from 09:55 to 10:00 A.M. are displayed. Absolute timeallows you to specify the time range for displaying the events that occurred duringthe specified time period.

History Filters allows you to filter out the BladeLogic jobs from the BladeLogicDevice History page, if you do not want to view them from the current page as wellas from all the BladeLogic pages. To add history filters, refer to “To add historyfilters” on page 434.

Table 117 on page 432 lists the columns in the BMC BLadeLogic Device Historyresults screen and describes the information that is contained in each column.

Table 117: Description of BladeLogic Device History screen

Column Description

Host Name of the device for which BladeLogic changes have occurred

Name Name of the BladeLogic job that contributed the change



Column Description

Type Icon representing the type of job:

■ : Deploy jobs

■: Nsh jobs or scripts

■: Snapshot jobs

Start Timestamp for when the job began

End Timestamp for when the job ended

Status End result of the job

User User name of the account who ran the job

Template Part Changed Details the changes to BladeLogic templates captured by snapshot jobs

To view BMC BladeLogic device history from the Tools menu

1 From the Events Console, select an event which occurred 24 hours before and 30minutes after the event's timestamp for which you want to obtain BMCBladeLogic device history.

By default, BMC BladeLogic device history is displayed for 24 hours before and30 minutes after the event's timestamp. For example, to see the BladeLogic historyfor the previous 24 hours up until 10:30AM on the current day, select an eventthat occurred on the device with a timestamp on or near 10:30AM on the currentdate.

2 Click the Tools menu icon for that event.

3 From the Tools menu, select BladeLogic Device History.

The BladeLogic Device History screen displays the BMC BladeLogic devicehistory for 24 hours before and 30 minutes after the timestamp of the event thatyou selected.

To view BMC BladeLogic device history from the Probable Cause Analysisresults page

1 From the Events Console, select the event for which you want to obtain BMCBladeLogic device history.

2 Click the probable cause analysis icon .



A summary of the BMC BladeLogic device history is included in the BladeLogicHistory column in the probable cause analysis results page for the selected event.This column includes the icon for the job type, as well as the time of the lastchange. For more detailed BladeLogic device history, click the Tools menu iconfor the event and choose BladeLogic Device History. The BMC BladeLogicDevice History screen will be displayed.

For more information about probable cause analysis, see Determining theprobable cause for an event on page 159 For more detailed information aboutBMC BladeLogic, see the BMC BladeLogic documentation.

To add history filters

1 Click on the link against History Filters to edit the filter.

2 Click on Add Exclusion Filter from the Device History Exclusion Filters screenthat is displayed.

3 Select the job type from the drop down list.

4 Specify a pattern match in the Job Name contains field and click OK. The jobsthat match the pattern name are excluded from the current page.

Note To delete a filter, click the delete filter icon next to the filter you have defined.Restore Defaults option will remove all the specified filters.

5 Click on the Preferences icon to specify the filter for all BladeLogic pages.



Event information used inprobable cause analysis

Event classes not used by probable causeanalysis

Administrative events include all events within the following event classes whichare children of the EVENT class.

Table 118: Event classes not considered during probable cause analysis

■ MC_CELL_UNDEFINED_CLASS ■ MC_CELL_PARSE_ERROR

■ MC_SMC_EVENT ■ MC_CELL_PROCESS_ERROR

■ MC_SM_SHADOW_REQUEST ■ MC_SM_IMPACTS_REPORT

■ MC_SM_SHADOW_REQUEST_ERROR ■ MC_SM_SHADOW_UPDATE

■ MC_SM_SHADOW_DELETE ■ MC_SM_LOOP_DETECTED

■ SIM_NOTIFICATION_EVENT ■ SIM_COMPONENT_OVERWRITE

■ SIM_COMPONENT_CHANGE ■ SIM_COMPONENT_DELETE

A

Appendix A Event information used in probable cause analysis 435

■ SIM_RELATIONSHIP_CHANGE ■ SIM_RELATIONSHIP_DELETE

■ SMC_MAINTENANCE ■ MC_SLM_EVENT

■ MC_SLM_ASSOCIATE ■ MC_SLM_STATUS_UPDATE

■ MC_SLM_REMOVE_SLA_FREQUENCY ■ MC_SLM_DELETE_SLA

■ MC_UPDATE_EVENT ■ ADMIN_EVENT

■ ADMIN_CONFIG_INFO ■ ADMIN_UNREGISTER

■ ADMIN_UNREGISTER_PRODUCT ■ ADMIN_CLEAR_BLOCK

■ ADMIN_ACTIVITY_STATE ■ ADMIN_SECONDARY_INFO

■ IAS_STOP IAS_SYNC_EVENT ■ IAS_EVENT IAS_START

■ IAS_SYNC_BACKUP IAS_REINIT ■ IAS_SYNC_PRIMARY

■ IAS_LOGIN IAS_ERROR ■ BIP_EVENT BIP_START

■ BIP_STOP IPS_EVENT ■ IPS_CONTROL IPS_START

■ IPS_CONFIG IPS_STOP ■ IPS_CNX IPS_CONNECT

■ IPS_IM_CONNECT IPS_ERROR ■ IPS_REQUEST IPS_PUBLISH

■ IPS_CELL_PUBLISH ■ IPS_CLASSINFO IPS_ENV

■ IPS_CLASSINFO IPS_ENV ■ IBRSD_ADMIN_EVENT

Event classes not used by probable cause analysis


■ IBRSD_START IBRSD_STOP ■ MC_CLIENT_BASE

■ MC_CLIENT_CONTROL ■ MC_CLIENT_START

■ MC_CLIENT_STOP ■ MC_CLIENT_PAUSE

■ MC_CLIENT_UNPAUSE ■ MC_CLIENT_HEARTBEAT

■ MC_CLIENT_ERROR ■ MC_ADAPTER_BASE

■ MC_ADAPTER_CONTROL ■ MC_ADAPTER_ERROR

■ MC_ADAPTER_START ■ MC_ADAPTER_STOP

■ PORTAL_PARAMETER_STATE_CHANGE ■ PORTAL_RSM_STATE_CHANGE

■ SMC_STATE_CHANGE ■ IBRSD_ERROR

■ IBRSD_RETRY_EVENT ■ IBRSD_EVENT

■ IBRSD_SM_INCIDENT ■ IBRSD_REMOTE_ACTION

■ IBRSD_SM_INCIDENT ■ IBRSD_REMOTE_ACTION

■ IBRSD_SM_INCIDENT_CLOSE ■ CI_INCIDENT_INFO

■ MC_CELL_CONTROL ■ MC_CELL_START

■ MC_CELL_STOP ■ MC_CELL_TICK

■ MC_CELL_STATBLD_START ■ MC_CELL_STATBLD_STOP

Event classes not used by probable cause analysis


■ MC_CELL_ACTIVITY_CHANGED ■ MC_CELL_DB_CLEANUP

■ MC_CELL_LOG_CHANGED ■ MC_CELL_LOG_MSG

■ MC_CELL_CONNECT ■ MC_CELL_CONNECT_RESOURCES_EXPANDED

■ MC_CELL_CONNECT_SUSPENDED ■ MC_CELL_CONNECT_RESUMED

■ MC_CELL_CLIENT ■ MC_CELL_UNALLOWED_CONNECT

■ MC_CELL_ALLOWED_CONNECT ■ MC_CELL_DISCONNECT

■ MC_CELL_MODIFIED_EVENT ■ MC_CELL_DESTINATION_UNREACHABLE

■ MC_CELL_HEARTBEAT_EVT ■ MC_CELL_HEARTBEAT_ON

■ MC_CELL_HEARTBEAT_FAILURE ■ MC_CELL_DUPLICATE_EVT

■ MC_CELL_DUPLICATE_ON ■ MC_CELL_DUPLICATE_FAILURE

■ MC_CELL_RESOURCE ■ MC_CELL_RESOURCE_OVERFLOW

■ MC_CELL_RESOURCE_EXPANSION ■ MC_CELL_RESOURCE_REDUCTION

■ MC_CELL_ACTION_RESULT ■ MC_CELL_PUBLISH_RESULT

Slots used during probable cause analysisThe following core event slots provide data that is used during probable cause analysis:

Slots used during probable cause analysis


■ eventclass ■ date_reception ■ status

■ msg ■ severity ■ mc_ueid

■ mc_priority ■ mc_smc_id ■ mc_date_modification

■ mc_incident_time ■ mc_location ■ mc_host

■ mc_host_address ■ mc_parameter_value ■ mc_parameter_unit

■ mc_event_category ■ mc_incident_time ■ mc_object_class

■ mc_object ■ mc_tool_key ■ mc_host_id

■ mc_host ■ mc_tool_key ■ mc_long_msg

More data is provided by the following slots from the ALARM and ABNORMALITYevent classes:

■ pn_parameter_id ■ pn_last_time ■ pn_group_ids

■ pn_thresh_id ■ pn_thresh_type ■ pn_alarm_id

■ pn_vm_host_id ■ pn_highest_severity ■ pn_end_time

■ pn_detail_diag ■ pn_detail_diag_count ■ pn_suppress_type

■ pn_suppress_mode ■ pn_suppress_notified ■ pn_suppress_rule_id

■ pn_thresh_above ■ pn_baseline_type ■ pn_baseline_hourly_low

Slots used during probable cause analysis


■ pn_baseline_daily_low ■ pn_baseline_weekly_low ■ pn_baseline_hourly_high

■ pn_baseline_daily_high ■ pn_baseline_weekly_high ■ pn_thresh_duration

■ pn_pts_exceeded ■ pn_pts_total ■ pn_extremeness

■ pn_predict_to_occur_time ■ pn_object_class_id

The following extended slots from the DEVICE_UPDATE_EV event class provideadditional data:

■ new_parent_device_unique_name

■ parent_device_unique_name

Monitors related to VMwareThe following monitors are related to VMware:

■ BMCVMwareResourcePool ■ BMCVMwareCPU ■ BMCVMwareVM

■ BMCVMwareVMCPU ■ BMCVMwareMemory_V2 ■ BMCVMwareCPU_Total

■ BMCVMwareHostMon ■ BMCVMwareDatastoreMon ■ BMCVMwareDiskPerfMon

■ BMCVMwareVCMon ■ BMCVMwareVnetPerfMon ■ VMwareVMSysMon

■ VMwareVMMemMon ■ VMwareHostBusAdapterMon ■ VMwareVCSysMon

■ VMwareHostSysMon ■ VMwareHostMemMon ■ VMwareVMNetMon

■ VMwareVMCPUMon ■ VMwareHostCPUMon ■ VMwareHostNetMon

Monitors related to VMware


■ VMwareRPSysMon ■ VMwareHostDiskMon ■ VMwareVMCPUTotMon

■ VMwareVMDiskTotMon ■ VMwareVMNetTotMon ■ VMwareHostCPUTotMon

■ VMwareHostDiskTotMon ■ VMwareHostNetTotMon ■ VMwareHostDSMon

■ VMwareMon ■ VMwareHostDatastorePathMon



Index

AAcknowledge

event icon 76event operation 76

Acknowledged (ACK) event status icon 26actions

responding to an event 80area graph, creating 251Assign To (event operation) 76Assigned event status icon 26Auto-baseline 183

BBMC Impact Explorer

Event Groups, described 25bookmarks, creating 19

CCanvas View, changing preferences 133Canvas View, setting up and using 132central ProactiveNet Server 86child ProactiveNet Server 86Close event

icon 76operation 76

Closed event status icon 26collectors

event count affected by status 29color

event status icon 26configuration items, finding 20configuring

Events tab display settings 86creating

local filter 68current data 130Custom Graphs 249

Custom graphs, creating a dial gauge graph 261custom graphs, creating a line or area graph 251Custom graphs, creating a pie graph 259Custom graphs, creating a top N graph 257Custom graphs, creating X-Y graphs 256customizing

Events tab display settings 86Customizing_the_display_of_events 86

DDecline Ownership

event operation 76icon 76

dial gauge graphs, creating 261

Eevent collectors

described 25event count

affected by status 29event list folder, creating for remote cells 61event operations, performing 76event priority

icons 27setting 76understanding 27

event severityicons 27levels 27

event statusicons 26understanding 26

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Index 443

eventsacknowledging 76assigning to an individual 76closing 76declining ownership 76performing operations 76responding with an action 80setting the priority 76sorting 72sorting fields 73taking ownership 76

events listorganizing 53refreshing 52

Events Viewconfiguring display settings 86customizing display settings 86

Ffiltering

events, by severity 64events, by slot name 64events, overview 64, 159SLO records in the Watch List 359SLO violations 356

filterscreating local 68global 64severity quick filter 64slot quick filter 64

FlashCheck 130

GGraph View, changing preferences 150Graph View, setting up and using 149graphs, custom 249

Iicons

Acknowledge Event 76Close event 76Decline Ownership 76event priority 27event severity 27event status 26Set Priority 76Take Ownership 76

Index Term 31, 54, 56instant poll 130

Integrate BMC ProactiveNet alarmsBMC Run Book Automation 237

Integrating with SLM 247

Llaunching originating ProactiveNet Server 86line graphs, creating 251

Mmultiple ProactiveNet Server deployment 86

OOpen event status icon 26operations console, changing user preferences in

the Canvas View 133operations console, changing user preferences in

the Graph View 150operations console, changing user preferences in

the Tile View 143operations console, setting up and using the

Canvas view 132operations console, setting up and using the

Canvas View 132operations console, setting up and using the Graph

View 149operations console, setting up and using the Tile

View 143operations. See event operations, performing 76organizing

events in the event list 53

Ppie graphs, creating 259priority. See event priority 27

Qqueries, creating filters when searching for

configuration items 20querying

SLO records in the Watch List 359SLO violations 356

quick filtersseverity 64severity quick filter 64slot quick filter 64



Rrefreshing the event list

automatically 52remote actions

accessing results of 81responding to event 80

remote cells, creating event list folder 61Reopen Event

event operation 76results

of a remote action 81

SSet Priority


severityeffect on event status icon 26level indicator (Events View navigation) 27quick filter 64

slot quick filter 64sorting events

multiple columns 73single column 73

statusaffects event count for collector 29event icons 26

TTake Ownership


Tile View, changing preferences 143Tile View, setting up and using 143top N graphs, creating 257

UUnacknowledge Event

event operation 76user console, changing user preferences in the

Canvas View 133user console, changing user preferences in the

Graph View 150user console, changing user preferences in the Tile

View 143user console, setting up and using the Graph View

149user console, setting up and using the Tile View

143user preferences, changing for the Canvas View 133user preferences, changing for the Graph View 150user preferences, changing for the Tile View 143

XX-Y graphs, creating 256


Index 445

49532*166654*