ERPUG Newsletter

Winter/Spring 2003

WELCOME

Eastern Regional PATROL Users Group

 

www.kirkpatrickconsulting.com->EPRUG

Board of Directors:

Brenda Kirkpatrick, President

 Dave Voegele, Vice President

 

                       

 

 

Eastern Regional PATROL® Users Group Meeting (EPRUG)

Wednesday, January, 15th

 Maggiano’s – Tysons Corner Mall II, Tysons Corner, VA

A G E N D A

 

 8:30 – 9:00      Registration (Continental Breakfast Provided)                            1:00 – 1:45   PATROL Enterprise Management (PEM)

 9:00 – 9:45      Cool Features of PATROL                                                           2:00 – 2:45   PATROL 7 What’s New

10:00 – 10:45   Change Spring                                                                              3:00 – 3:45   PATROL 7 Installation and Upgrades

11:00 - 12:00    Event Spring                                                                                 4:00 – 4:30  Open Discussions

12:00  - 1:00        Lunch (provided)

 

 

 

 

 

Cool Features of PATROL®                                        Presented by Brenda Kirkpatrick, Kirkpatrick Consulting, Inc.

PATROL is a completely cool management tool!  Well, I think so.  Who am I?  I am the President and Founder of the very first PATROL Users Group.  I have been working with PATROL since PATROL 3.0 beta version, which is about 7 years, and I love PATROL.  My goal, it’s simple, I’d love for you to love PATROL the way that I do.  I think my goal is a simple one.  Join us for our first session of the day and learn features, tricks, and techniques that will show you just how cool PATROL is!  This presentation is for novice and experts alike.  Bring your hard questions; this is the place to get answers from me, BMC Software, one of our many ERPUG members and PATROL experts!

 

 

Change Spring

Event Spring                                                                       Presented by Marc Jarjour, Advantis Management Solutions, Inc.

Marc Jarjour is one of the top Event Spring and Change Spring service providers in the US today!  He teaches classes on Event Spring and Change Spring and we are very lucky to have his words of wisdom and in-depth insight into these 2 great BMC product enhancements.  Marc has an extensive background in IT and computer engineering.   He is a technical guru when it comes to the Event and Change Spring products and he wants to mentor us.  Bring your technical questions because, after speaking with Marc for a few minutes, I can tell, he is able to answer even the hardest Event and Change Spring questions.

 

 

PATROL Enterprise Management (PEM)                                                       Presented by BMC Software

If you haven’t seen the PATROL Enterprise Management (PEM) Console lately then you are really missing out!  It’s even better than before and it was awesome before.  With all the new features and bells and whistles it is definitely one of the easiest to use, exciting, productive consoles on the market.  Come on see this technological marvel in action!

 

 

PATROL 7 – What’s New                                                                Presented by Chris Olson, BMC Software

Chris Olson will reveal awesome new features of the newest release of PATROL, PATROL 7, to us!  Chris has been one of our highest rated speakers for the ERPUG.  We welcome Chris back and thank him for his dedication to the group.  Chris is a programmer at heart this provides us with a level of technical expertise that is unparalleled.  We want to invite Chris back, we know he will wow us again with his educational value, technical insights, and great speaking ability.  Come and hear this very insightful presentation from Chris.  If you miss this one, you will be months trying to catch up!

 

 

PATROL 7 – Installations and Upgrades                                       Presented by Chris Olsen, BMC Software

PATROL has continued to evolve and change into the best systems management and monitoring tool on the market!  BMC is undeniably the most responsive software company focusing on the users needs and user requirements.  When it comes to listening and responding to user BMC is, without a doubt, the best company around.  The new installation and upgrade procedures available through PATROL 7 demonstrations BMC commitment to the PATROL user community.  Chris will show us the down and detailed version of getting PATROL 7 rolled out for new as well as existing PATROL customers.  Once again thanks Chris Olson for all you hard work and dedication to our group.

 

 

Open Discussions

We created the Eastern Regional PATROL Users Group in order to provide a forum to exchange ideas and talk about woes and successes. I am hoping that you come to the meeting with questions or success stories in mind.  BMC representatives, knowledgeable members of the ERPUG, and myself will be available during this 30-minute session to try and answers any questions you may have about PATROL.

 

 

A Message from ERPUG President…                          Brenda Kirkpatrick

We are moving…Change your most “FAVORITE” browser link from:

           Snmp4u~/midmaine.com to kirkpatrickconsulting.com->EPRUG

 

Yes, we are moving our ERPUG Web pages.  We no longer want to pay to maintain the site that was originally created while I was living in Maine.  Change your favorite browser link from snmp4u~/midmaine.com to kirkpatrickconsulting.com->EPRUG.  We are anticipating the cut over to be March 2002 so change it soon!

We would like to include PATROL-related articles in the newsletter.  Please send articles to erpug@kirkpatrickconsulting.com.  Articles will, for the most part, be printed unedited; therefore, they should be copy-ready.  If you need any help with writing an article, just ask. We extend the PATROL umbrella to include integrated products such as Remedy, Network Node Manager, Spectrum, Netcool, PeopleSoft, SAP R/3, HP/ITO, so articles on these products are equally as welcome.

 

Keep in mind that the presentation agendas are strictly based on comments from members like you.  It’s a democracy.  We count the number of requests for each topic and create the agenda based on the requests.  If you want to see a presentation on a particular topic then vote either at the meeting, via email, via US mail or by calling the ERPUG. Please send questions for our "Dear ERPUG" column. Responses will be both e-mailed to you and included in the ERPUG Newsletter. If you have an answer for a commonly asked question, please send both question and answer to “Dear ERPUG”.

 

If you have any ideas for regular columns, please send ideas and/or columns to me. If you have an idea, but don't wish to author a column, or vice versa, please contact me at (703) 968-8844 and maybe, together, we can find a solution.  The ERPUG Newsletter is picture-friendly. I encourage any picture submission, from pictures of authors to spectacular consoles. Pictures in .tif format are best for me, but we'll use anything from electronic to hard copy.

 

ERPUG dates, meeting agendas, previous meeting agendas, newsletters, and much more can be found on our web site:

www.kirkpatrickconsulting.com->EPRUG

 

You can also get to the ERPUG web pages by going to www.bmc.com/Events/UsersGroups/Eastern Regional PATROL Users Group.

 

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AT OUR NEXT EXCITING MEETING!

 

 “Dear ERPUG”                       Brenda Kirkpatrick,  Kirkpatrick Consulting, Inc.
 
Q:  How can I pull data about multiple parameters in just the click of a button?

A:  You can use the Agent Query Tool.  It is located under View features on a native PATROL Console.

Q:  How to I get Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) traps into PATROL? 

A:  BMC moved from a simple PATROL Agent architecture to a PATROL Master/Slave Agent technology a few years back.  This means that the PATROL Master Agent can act as a Manager of Manager (MOM) Console. 

Q:  How to I get Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) traps out of PATROL? 

A:  Set the pconfig variable piV1m_list to all Mid-level 1 manager consoles, i.e., the PEM, OpenView, Tivoli, etc., that you want the traps sent to.  Make sure you have the firewall open for the port you want the traps sent to and set the agent configuration variables, via pconfig, for trap_port, trapConfTable, and trapMibTable. 

Q:  How to I view and/or change the agent configuration variables?

A:  You can use the pconfig executable directly or run Agent Configuration from a native PATROL Console.  Also, you can run xpconfig or pconfig at a UNIX command like and wpconfig at an NT or 2000 command line.

Q:  I have heard that you can compile a psl routine.  Why would I want to compile a psl routine?  Also, how do I compile a psl routine?

A:  One reason to compile psl code is to optimize the code so it runs faster at run time.  However, the code will have to be installed on each of the agents and the console due to the nature of the psl compiled code.  To compile psl use the <PSL> command.  An example of compiling a TruCluster discovery script and creating a TruCluster discovery binary (compiled code) is as follows:     psl CMPQ_clusterdiscovery.psl –o CMPQ_clusterdiscovery.bin.  This compiles or interprets the CMPQ_clusterdiscovery.psl and stores the result in the CMPQ_clusterdiscovery.bin file.

Well there are so many good questions that I’m afraid I will have to wait until the next newsletter to answer them all.   I apologize to anyone who was hoping for an answer to his or her question in this newsletter.   Please feel free to call.

 

 

EventSpring to the Rescue               Advantis Management Solutions, Inc.

 

QUESTION:

 

The PATROL product allows the use of recovery actions to execute a specific set of instructions whenever a particular alarm condition is triggered. These instructions are stored in the KM file, along with the rest of the knowledge and instructions.  One drawback of this method is that a change to the recovery action script requires updating the KM and re-deploying it throughout the environment to maintain version consistency. Another drawback is the lack of flexibility imposed by the fact that recovery actions can only be created at the parameter level.

 

SOLUTION:

 

To overcome these drawbacks, the EventSpring product allows recovery action scripts to be created at the Application Class, Instance or Parameter level, which are stored in the Patrol Agent's pconfig database. This means that making a change to a recovery action script is as simple as changing one variable definition and deploying the change with the pconfig utility.  The version of the KM remains the same, and the recovery action need only be deployed to the hosts that will make use of it.

 

 

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS:

 

You can use either OS commands or PSL scripts.  In general, PSL recovery actions (RAs) stored with the arsCommand config variable are the easiest to deploy and manage.

 

However, other factors can help decide which type of RA command to use, such as:

 

1) Requirements to interact with the agent. For example, if you need to collect agent information such as parameter annotations then using PSL RAs is likely the best choice.

 

2) Pre-existing OS scripts that need to be integrated.

 

OS COMMANDS

 

1) Recovery scripts should make no assumptions about a pre-existing environment (e.g., environment variables such as PATH, ORACLE_HOME, etc). The environment inherited by the PATROL agent is that which existed prior

to starting the agent. If there are special environment variables needed by recovery or notification scripts then they must be set BEFORE starting the agent so that they are part of the agent's environment (to check the environment of a Unix agent: print(system("env")); or for NT: print(system("set"));)

 

2) Scripts that take a long time to finish executing should be run in the background.

 

PSL SCRIPTS

 

1) If the PSL RA script calls an OS command then follow the above guidance.

 

2) Watch PSL script size if running on a preV3.5 agent and saving the PSL script code within the value of the arsCommand rule.

 

3) These 3 rules can be attached to any object level (host, app class, instance or parameter) and can be set differently for ALARMs, WARNings and INFORMATION/OK alerts:

 

arsAction - Determines if EventSpring should check for a configured recovery action.

 

arsCmdType - Specifies the type of RA command, e.g., PSL, OS, custom. This rule is optional in many cases. EventSpring will assume the value to be 'OS' by default. If the arsCommand has a '.PSL' extension the 'PSL' will

be assumed.

 

arsCommand - The actual OS command, PSL code or PSL script file to be executed.

 

EXAMPLES:

 

PSL RA SAMPLE

 

This ruleset will send the annotation of the CPUprcrProcessorTimePercent parameter to the Notifcation Server. The annotation data will be available in the USERDEFINED variable. Note the arsAction is set to 6, which instructs the agent to perform notification (4) and run recovery actions (2).

 

PATROL_CONFIG

"/AS/EVENTSPRING/NT_CPU/CPU__Total/CPUprcrProcessorTimePercent/arsAction" = { REPLACE = "6" },

"/AS/EVENTSPRING/NT_CPU/CPU__Total/CPUprcrProcessorTimePercent/arsCmdType" = { REPLACE = "PSL" },

"/AS/EVENTSPRING/NT_CPU/CPU__Total/CPUprcrProcessorTimePercent/arsCommand" = { REPLACE = "__udefvar__=annotate_get(\"/\".__appl_class__.\"/\".__instance__.\"/\".__param__);" }

 

OS RA SAMPLE

This ruleset will run the script '/usr/scripts/clean_tmp.sh' when the /tmp filesystem is near capacity. It will only run when the tmp.FSCapacity parameter is in ALARM.  Any output generated by the script will be automatically displayed to connected consoles and save to the notification file identified by the AS_NOTIFICATION_FILE environment variable that is set prior to script execution.

 

PATROL_CONFIG

"/AS/EVENTSPRING/FILESYSTEM/tmp/FSCapacity/arsActionALARM" = { REPLACE = "6" },

"/AS/EVENTSPRING/FILESYSTEM/tmp/FSCapacity/arsCmdTypeALARM" = { REPLACE = "OS" },

"/AS/EVENTSPRING/FILESYSTEM/tmp/FSCapacity/arsCommandALARM" = { REPLACE = "/usr/scripts/clean_tmp.sh" }

 

LIMITATIONS:

 

1) Only one recovery action can be defined per object. PATROL KMs allow specifying multiple RAs that would be executed in order at the end of each polling cycle/parameter value update, as long as the alert is outstanding.

 

The only work-around for this currently is to put more logic within the initial RA.

 

2) EventSpring does not support the option to 'ALARM only after ALL RAs failed'.  If the parameter does not go into ALARM/WARN, the EventSpring RA will not run.  The RA could be coded to prevent notification unless the RA

failed. In this scenario, the parameter would visually go into ALARM but a NOTIFY_EVENT would not get generated unless the RA decided that it should.

 

3) EventSpring does not currently support RAs for OK/INFO alerts.

 

4) PSL RAs can be limited in size (characters) when the RA code is stored as the value of the arsCommand rule/pconfig variable. This limitation is based on the pconfig value limit (e.g., pre 3.5 this is 1024 characters). Large PSL RAs can be run if stored in an external file.  Version 3.5.x of PATROL does not have this size limitation.

 

 

Platform Management Compaq OpenVMS

 

Optimize the management of OpenVMS in your shop.

BMC Software has been a strategic partner with Compaq for years. This relationship is based on BMC Software's ability to support all Compaq platforms, including OpenVMS, and provide comprehensive solutions for application availability and enterprise systems management.

Recently, BMC Software and Compaq signed an agreement to work closer together to enhance the management support for OpenVMS.

BMC Software offers advanced management capabilities specific to the OpenVMS platform in the areas of: application management, performance management and capacity planning, database management, security management, middleware management, business integrated scheduling, and business information management.

BMC Software's OpenVMS solutions are designed to assure availability optimize performance and increase productivity. Solutions for OpenVMS will help customers manage the OpenVMS environment more easily and cost-effectively.

OpenVMS Solutions

·          PATROL® for OpenVMS is an availability solution that proactively monitors and manages OpenVMS systems and related resources.

·          PATROL® for OpenVMS Perform & Predict is a performance solution that combines OpenVMS-based data analysis and prediction with Microsoft Windows — based data storage and graphical display.

·          PATROL® for Oracle and PATROL® for Rdb enable you to quickly determine the status of your database and navigate smoothly through statistics and graphs with an easy-to-understand interface.

·          PATROL® for MQ - Administrator provides a fully integrated, best-in-class solution that allows you to easily control the complexities of MQSeries administration.

·          PATROL® for MQ - Operator offers fully integrated functionality, managing all aspects of MQSeries availability from a single, central point of control.

·          CONTROL-D® for Distributed Systems offers a cost-effective solution for dynamic automation of output management.

·          CONTROL-M® for Distributed Systems supplies production and scheduling control across multiple platforms and applications from a single console.

·          CONTROL-SA® provides a unified management umbrella that enables automated, simplified management of all enterprise security systems from a central point of control.

 

BMC Software Named as 2003 Company to Watch

 

Company Recognized as Leader in Contributing to the Development of 'Intelligent' Enterprises

 

HOUSTON, TX - December 11, 2002 - BMC Software, Inc., [NYSE: BMC], a leader in enterprise management, announced today that CMP Media's Intelligent Enterprise magazine has selected BMC Software as one of its "48 Companies to Watch" as strong contributors to the development of intelligent enterprises. BMC Software was chosen a leader because of its ability to provide IT solutions that help organizations achieve competitive advantage by gathering, analyzing, sharing, and acting upon intelligence.

"Increasing productivity, reducing costs and maximizing existing infrastructure investments is key to any company looking to compete in today's competitive business environment," said Justin Kestelyn, editor-in-chief of Intelligent Enterprise. "We chose BMC Software as a 2003 Company to Watch because of its strong solutions and proactive ability to identify problems before they impact critical business applications."

The Companies to Watch are divided into four foundation categories that are fundamental to complete IT solutions - intelligence, integration, infrastructure, and collaborative commerce. The Intelligent Enterprise editorial team selected the 48 companies based on their relevance to and potential impact on the strategic IT sector in which they are categorized. BMC Software was chosen as a leader in the Infrastructure Management category for its ability to provide proactive and centralized management of infrastructure components.

"This announcement is further acknowledgement of BMC Software's leadership in infrastructure management," said Calvin Guidry, vice president and general manager, Enterprise Systems Management, BMC Software. "BMC understands that proactive management of the IT infrastructure is fundamental to the success of IT driven businesses. BMC's leading systems management solutions, PATROL® and MAINVIEW®, ensure that all components - from PC to midrange to mainframe - of the customer's enterprise deliver quality service to users and are available 24x7 and performing at optimal levels. With BMC's infrastructure management solutions, customers are able to identify and respond to problems before they impact critical business applications."

The award's selection process involved a tremendous amount of research and assessment of the past year's coverage and reader feedback by the Intelligent Enterprise editorial staff. Criteria that BMC Software was judged on included technology leadership, customer innovation and satisfaction, and sheer influence in areas key to the development of data-rich, value-generating IT solutions.

The Companies to Watch selection coincides with the 2002 Intelligent Enterprise Dozen announcement, which designates the 12 IT solution providers most strongly enabling the development of 'intelligent' enterprises. In-depth features about the 48 Companies to Watch and the Intelligent Enterprise 2003 Dozen announcement will appear in the January 1, 2003 edition of Intelligent Enterprise, as well as on the Web at www.IntelligentEnterprise.com.

 

About Intelligent Enterprise
Published 18 times annually, Intelligent Enterprise is the only magazine dedicated to the strategic business applications that turn information into intelligence. It serves an exclusive audience of 100,000 business and IT professionals who plan and deploy the strategic applications their companies depend on to improve decision making, enhance business performance, and maximize the value of customer relationships. Offering in-depth analyses and tutorials, Intelligent Enterprise serves as a technology guidebook and thought leader. It provides both the context and the technical detail needed to take strategic business applications from concept to deployment, covering such interlocking technology categories as: application development, business intelligence and data warehousing, data management, enterprise application integration, enterprise/e-business applications, CRM and customer analytics, knowledge management, scalable server hardware, enterprise storage, and systems and applications management.

About CMP Media
CMP Media LLC (www.cmp.com) is a leading high-tech media company providing essential information and marketing services to the entire technology spectrum-the builders, sellers and users of technology worldwide. Capitalizing on its editorial strength, CMP is uniquely positioned to offer marketers comprehensive, integrated media solutions tailored to meet their individual needs. Its diverse products and services include newspapers, magazines, Internet products, research, direct marketing services, education and training, trade shows and conferences and custom publishing.

About BMC Software
BMC Software, Inc. [NYSE:BMC], is a leader in enterprise management. The company focuses on Assuring Business Availability® for its customers by helping them proactively improve service, reduce costs and increase value to their business. BMC Software solutions span enterprise systems, applications and databases. Founded in 1980, BMC Software has offices worldwide and is a member of the S&P 500, with fiscal year 2002 revenues of approximately $1.3 billion. Visit www.bmc.com to learn more.

 

Public Relations Contacts:
Linda McDowell
BMC Software Public Relations
713-918-3518
linda_mcdowell@bmc.com

Julie Redard
Porter Novelli
617-450-4234
julie.redard@porternovelli.com

BMC Software, the BMC Software logos, and all other BMC Software product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of BMC Software, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks belong to their respective companies. © 2002, BMC Software, Inc. All rights reserved.

 

 

Membership Enrollment                                                           

 

An annual membership fee of $75.00 includes (4) quarterly meetings, a membership gift, and a lot of education, placement on the ERPUG mailing list, membership voting rights, and access to any promotional materials available through the organization. In lieu of "corporate" memberships, we offer any member the opportunity to send a substitute to any meeting. We ask only that substitution information be provided when pre-registering.  All members are requested to pre-register for meetings by emailing the ERPUG President at erpug@kirkpatrickconsulting.com or sending the form, provided below, via US mail. If you have any questions, please call Brenda Kirkpatrick at (703) 968-8844.

 

 

SEE YOU ON January 15th!!