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Server Agent Guide

Chapter 1 - Planning for the Server Agent Option

Overview

Components of the Server Agent Architecture

Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) service
History Collector Service (HCS)
Event Management Service (EVS)

Simple Network Management Protocol Service

Figure 1-1. SNMP Master Agent - Sub-Agent Architecture

History Collector Service

Note: To view and use HCS data, you need to have a suitable management application installed. For information on how to use a management application to view and use HCS data, see the documentation for the application.

Figure 1-2. History Collector Service (HCS)

Event Management Service

Figure 1-3. Flow of Events

An SNMP management application requests statistics or other information from the SNMP master agent. The master agent routes the request to the appropriate SNMP sub-agent on the server. The sub-agent provides the information requested by the master agent. The master agent responds to the SNMP management application request.
A management application requests trend analysis data from HCS. HCS retrieves the data from its local history database and provides the data to the application.
An SNMP management application issues set requests to the SNMP master agent. A set request asks the master agent to perform a certain operation, such as setting a configuration parameter or a threshold value. The set request is sent to the appropriate sub-agent to perform the action.
A service initiates an event in the network and sends it to EVS. EVS stores the event in the database and processes the event based on configured filters. When required by the filter criteria, a trap is generated and sent to the SNMP management application.

Figure 1-4. DeMarc Server Agent Architecture

Management Information Bases

1.3.6.1.4.1.130.1.3.1.9.0

1.3.6.1.4.1.130

Table 1-1A. MIBs Supported with DeMarc Server Agent Option

Table 1-1B. MIBs Supported with DeMarc Server Agent Option

Communication and Network Management

Note: The proxy approach, in which an SNMP agent acts as a proxy for servers with no SNMP software installed, is not supported by the DeMarc Server Agent.

Figure 1-5. SNMP Management Applications and Master Agents Communicating Directly

Communicate directly with the SNMP management application
Route TCP/IP traffic, including tunneling TCP/IP traffic through the Banyan network

Administrative Tasks

Identify SNMP management applications.
Verify the SNMP management application configuration.
Verify your network configuration.
Plan for adding the enterprise management services (SNMP and HCS).
Determine configuration settings for the enterprise management services (SNMP, HCS, and EVS).

Identifying SNMP Management Applications

Master agent location
SNMPv1 communities or SNMPv2 parties

Verifying Your Network Configuration

TCP/IP connected
VINES IP connected

TCP/IP Networks

The IP addresses of the agent's TCP/IP interfaces. An interface gives your server access to a physical medium, such as an Ethernet LAN, or a logical network such as a VINES network. An interface is associated with a LAN card or with a VINES network.
The IP address of the default gateway. In these cases, the SNMP master agent uses the default gateway to reach all TCP/IP destinations that are not directly connected to it.

The IP address of the IP gateway through which a destination is reached. A gateway typically forwards IP traffic, such as SNMP statistics, to destinations, switching the traffic from one physical connection to another in the process. For example, an IP gateway may receive SNMP traffic on one LAN and switch the traffic to another LAN for delivery to its destination.
The interface that connects your server to the IP gateway.
The IP address of the destination. The destination can be an IP network, subnetwork, or individual TCP/IP host, such as a UNIX workstation that runs the SNMP management application.

Figure 1-6. Tunneling SNMP Traffic Through VINES

VINES Protocols

Planning for Adding Enterprise Management Services

SNMP service, which handles communications with SNMP management applications. This service includes the SNMP master agent.
HCS service, which maintains a local database of network management information.

1. Decide on a StreetTalk name for the particular service.

2. Add the service name to the StreetTalk database.

3. Start the service.

Deciding on a Name

item@group@organization

SNMP@servername@Servers

HCS@servername@Servers

EVS@servername@Servers

Adding the Name

Starting the Service

Determining SNMP Service Configuration Settings

Party table attribute - Specifies initial party table information for parties associated with the SNMP master agent
View table attribute - Specifies MIB view information for SNMPv1 community strings and SNMPv2 parties
Context table attribute - Specifies context information for SNMPv1 community strings and SNMPv2 parties
ACL table attribute - Specifies access control privileges (ACLs) SNMPv1 community strings and SNMPv2 parties
SNMP agent attribute - Initializes system variables and defines authentication-failure traps

1. FTP to ftp.internic.net.

2. CD to the RFC directory. The RFC directory contains the Internet RFCs.

Tips for SNMP Service Configuration

Default SNMPv1 Configuration Settings

partyName - Although party names do not apply to SNMPv1 interactions, the partyName is a required parameter. The value represents a unique entry into the party table.
TDomain - The value indicates that the entry is an SNMPv1 entry defining a community string.
partyIndex - The value is a unique index used to define the ACL and view for this community string.
AuthPrivateSecret - The value is the ASCII representation of the community string.

Figure 1-7. Default Party Table Entry

Figure 1-8. Default ACL Table Entry

Figure 1-9. Default View Table Entry

Figure 1-10. Default Context Table Entry

Figure 1-11. Default SNMPv1 Party

Modifying Default Settings

1. Increment the index value of the PartyName argument to a unique value.

2. Match the partyIndex value in the party table to the Target and Subject values in an ACL table entry.

3. Modify the AuthPrivateSecret value to a represent the secrets string for authentication protocol (see Figure 1-12).

Figure 1-12. Modifying the Party Table Entry

4. Match the Resources value in one or more entries in the ACL table to the contextIndex value in a context table entry.

5. Modify the Privileges value in the ACL table entry to represent the set of allowed management operations for the party (see Figure 1-13).

Figure 1-13. Modifying the ACL Table Entry

6. Match the contextViewIndex value in one or more entries in the context table to a viewIndex value in a view table (see Figure 1-14).

Figure 1-14. Modifying the Context Table Entry

7. Modify the view table arguments to specifies the subtree families to be included or excluded from the party's MIB view (see Figure 1-15).

Figure 1-15. Modifying the View Table Entry

1. Stop the SNMP service that contains incorrect configuration values.

2. Use the MATTR program to delete the configuration attributes. The section, "Configuring the Services," in Chapter 3 describes how to use the MATTR program.

3. Restart the SNMP service to allow the service to write its system default settings to the configuration file.

Default SNMPv2 Configuration Settings

Special Configuration with Multiple Instances of a Service

SNMPv1 Requests

public@printer1@sales@WCTUS

SNMPv2 Requests

printer1@sales@WCTUS

Determining HCS Service Configuration Settings

Note: Some management applications configure HCS for you. For information on how to use a management application to configure HCS, see the documentation for the application.

Name of the server that maintains the HCS service.
StreetTalk name of the HCS service.
Name of the table of information.
Time, in days, to maintain the data.
Frequency, in minutes, to sample for data.

Community string required to retrieve the data:

Is the target SNMP entity a single service or one of multiple instances of a Banyan service?

- If the target entity is a single instance of a service, specify the C: keyword with the CommunityString argument, identifying the community name required for the data to be collected from the target entity.

- If the target entity is one of multiple instances of a Banyan service, specify the C: keyword with the CommunityString argument. Append the StreetTalk name of the particular service you want to target to the C: CommunityString argument.

Transport type and address to which HCS will make SNMP requests:

Is the target SNMP entity located on the server where the HCS service resides? Is it a single service or one of multiple instances of a Banyan service?

- If the target entity is a local entity and is a single instance of the service, specify an Address argument with the value local (A: local). Omit the Transport argument.

- If the target entity is a local entity and is one of multiple instances of a Banyan service, specify the communication protocol suites (such VINES IP or TCP/IP) that the HCS service uses to communicate with the target SNMP entity. Specify the network location, which is either an IP address for TCP/IP or a server name for VINES IP.

- If the target entity is a remote entity, specify the communication protocol suites (such VINES IP or TCP/IP) that the HCS service uses to communicate with the target SNMP entity. Specify the network location, which is either an IP address for TCP/IP or a server name for VINES IP.

Object identifiers (OIDs) representing the data to collect, in ASN.1 format.

HCS Table Attribute

Syntax

GETDEFAULT: value

TABLE: tablename

K: KeepTime

S: SampleTime

C: CommunityString

A: Transport Address

O: OID

current time - KeepTime value

c: public@"color printer@sales@WCTUS"

T instructs HCS to make SNMP requests over TCP/IP.
V instructs HCS to make SNMP requests over VINES IP.

1.3.6.1.4.1.130.1.3.1.22.6.1.0

Syntax Rules

Example 1 HCS service's default table

getdefault: on

table: hcsdef
k: 7
s: 15
c: public
a: local
o: 1.3.6.1.4.1.130.1.3.1.22.6.1.0
o: 1.3.6.1.4.1.130.1.3.1.22.6.4.0

Example 2 Table Targeting a Remote Entity

getdefault: on
table: evs1
k: 1
s: 15
c: public
a: t 131.100.22.21
o: 1.3.6.1.4.1.130.1.3.1.1.5.7.0

Example 3 Tables Targeting Multiple Banyan Services on a Server

tablename: print1
k: 5
s: 60
c: public@"print 1@sales@WCTUS"
a: v serverx
o: 1.3.6.1.4.1.130.1.3.1.7.6.5.0
o: 1.3.6.1.4.1.130.1.3.1.7.6.6.0
tablename: print2
k: 5
s: 60
c: public@"print 2@sales@WCTUS"
a: v serverx
o: 1.3.6.1.4.1.130.1.3.1.7.6.5.0
o: 1.3.6.1.4.1.130.1.3.1.7.6.6.0

Example 4 Table Targeting MIB II variables

table: ipstat
k: 1
s: 15
c: public
a: t 131.100.10.111
o: 1.3.6.1.2.1.4.3.0
o: 1.3.6.1.2.1.4.10.0

Retrieving HCS Data

VnsRetrieveHistory - Retrieves a table of data from an HCS service for a specified time period.
VnsRetrieveTableList - Retrieves a list of tables currently configured in an HCS service's configuration database.

Estimating Disk Space Usage

Number of samples in the table (OIDs)

225 bytes per database sample

KeepTime value, in days

1440 minutes per day

Example Estimating Disk Usage of HCS's default table

Number of OIDs in the table = 2

225 bytes per database sample

KeepTime value = 7 days

1440 minutes per day

SampleTime value = 15 minutes

(2 samples * 225 bytes/sample * 7 days * 1440 min/day) / 15 min

Configuring HCS Through the HCS MIB

Configure disk space usage of the HCS databases
Retrieve HCS statistics

Note: You must configure filters through EVS to receive notification that the threshold and maximum disk usage sizes have been reached.

Determining EVS Service Configuration Settings

SNMP management applications
System administrators

EVS Filter Attribute

Syntax

EVID: EventID

EVSVC: Service-name

EVTYPE: EventType

Specify an action to take on the events using the following syntax:

ACTION: BLEEP Recipient Language

ACTION: MAIL Recipient Language

ACTION: TRAPV1_IP CommunityString Address

ACTION: TRAPV1_VIP CommunityString Port

ACTION: TRAPV2 PartyOID

Events

alarm - Processes alarm events. An alarm is an event that needs immediate attention, such as a service shutting down due to errors, a communication problem such as a lost session or failure to communicate with another service, or other critical problem.
warning - Processes warning events. A warning is an event that conveys information about service performance or function, such as a threshold level being reached, or a recoverable error with a service.
audit - Processes audit events. An audit event is an event that indicates security or accounting information, such as a login or logout, or a session with a service becoming active.

Action

StreetTalk name of a user or a list. If you specify a list, it cannot contain any other lists.
StreetTalk pattern, such as *@MIS@WTCUS. The pattern cannot contain other patterns.

StreetTalk name of a user or a list. If you specify a list, it cannot contain any other lists.
StreetTalk pattern, such as *@MIS@WTCUS. The pattern cannot contain other patterns.

Example 1 Filter for a Particular Event

evid: 1.24t
action: bleep "Pat Stone@MIS@WTCUK" usa

Example 2 Filter for All Auditing Events for a Service

evtype: audit evsvc: ms@server8@servers
action: trapv1_ip public 131.100.105.8

Example 3 Filter for All Events for a Server

evtype: alarm
action: mail "Ed Monsoon@MIS@WTCUK" usa
evtype: warning
action: mail "Ed Monsoon@MIS@WTCUK" usa
evtype: audit
action: mail "Ed Monsoon@MIS@WTCUK" usa

Event Structure

Event ID - A unique identifier for the event.
Service-name - The StreetTalk name of the service that generated the event.
Time stamp - The date and time at which the event occurred.
Event type - The type of information that the event represents. Events are classified as either alarm, warning, audit, information, or debug events. However, the only event types sent to EVS are alarm, warning, and audit events.
Server name - The name of the server that generated the event.

Retrieving EVS Data

Configuring EVS Through the EVS MIB

Set up filters to receive real-time notification of events
Configure the event database
Retrieve EVS statistics

Note: You must configure filters to receive notification that the threshold and maximum file sizes have been reached.

The Next Step

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