The VmAccessTest periodically checks whether each LPAR is available over the network.

The default parameters associated with this test are as follows:

• The TEST PERIOD list box helps the user to decide how often this test needs to be executed.

• In the HOST text box, the host name of the server for which the test is to be configured has to be specified.

• Specify the PORT at which the above-mentioned HOST listens. By default, this is NULL.

• Specify the name of the pSeries server in the REAL SERVERNAME text box. If the target pSeries server has been auto-discovered using HMC, the server name will be set automatically in the REAL SERVERNAME text box. However, while configuring this test for a pSeries server that has been manually added, you have to explicitly provide the server name in the REAL SERVERNAME text box.

  Note:
  To obtain the real server name, a user can login to the target pSeries server as a valid pSeries user, go to the shell prompt of the server, and execute the following command: lssyscfg - r sys -F name

• By selecting an option from the IS MANAGED BY list, indicate whether the target pSeries server is managed using an HMC server or an IVM (Integrated Virtual Manager) server. If the target server has been auto-discovered via an HMC server, the HMC option will be automatically chosen from this list.

• This test connects to an HMC/IVM server to perform LPAR discovery and to collect host-level and “outside view” metrics from the pSeries server. To enable this communication, first, provide the IP address/host name of the HMC/IVM server in the MANAGEMENT SERVER text box. If the eG manager had automatically discovered the target pSeries server by connecting to an HMC server in the environment, then, the IP address/host name and user credentials pertaining to that HMC server will be automatically displayed in the MANAGEMENT SERVER, MANAGEMENT USER, and MANAGEMENT PASSWORD text boxes.

  However, if the pSeries server being monitored was manually added to the eG Enterprise system (and not auto-discovered via the HMC server), then, you will have to explicitly indicate whether the target pSeries server is managed by an HMC server or an IVM server by selecting an option from the IS MANAGED BY list. If the HMC option is chosen, then, you will have to provide the IP address of the HMC server that manages the target pSeries server in the MANAGEMENT SERVER text box. In such a case, in the MANAGEMENT USER and MANAGEMENT PASSWORD text boxes, you will have to provide the credentials of an HMC user who is assigned the hmcviewer role.

  On the other hand, if the IVM option is chosen from the IS MANAGED BY list, it implies that the IP address/host name and user credentials pertaining to that IVM server has to be explicitly provided in the MANAGEMENT SERVER, MANAGEMENT USER, and MANAGEMENT PASSWORD text boxes.

  Confirm the password by retyping it in the CONFIRM PASSWORD textbox.

• By default, the HMC/IVM server (as the case may be) is not SSL-enabled. Accordingly, the SSL flag is set to No by default. This indicates that the eG agent will communicate with the corresponding MANAGEMENT SERVER via HTTP by default.

• Administrators of some high security LPAR environments might not have permissions to internally monitor one/more LPARs. The eG agent can be configured to ignore such ‘inaccessible’ LPARs using the IGNORE VMS parameter. Against this parameter, you can provide a comma-separated list of LPAR names, or LPAR name patterns, for which the inside view need not be obtained. For instance, your IGNORE VMS specification can be: *lp,aixlp*,lin*. Here, the * (asterisk) is used to denote leading and trailing spaces (as the case may be). By default, this parameter is set to none indicating that the eG agent obtains the inside view of all LPARs on a pSeries server by default.

  Note:

  While performing LPAR discovery, the eG agent will not discover the operating system of the LPARs configured in the IGNORE VMS text box.

• The size of packets used for the test has to be specified in the PACKETSIZE text box.

• Number of packets to be transmitted during the test has to be given in the PACKETCOUNT text box.

• The TIMEOUT text box defines the maximum time (in seconds) that the test waits for the response to a transmitted packet. A response  received after the TIMEOUT period is ignored by the test.

• The PACKETINTERVAL text box represents the interval (in milliseconds) between successive packet transmissions during the execution of the NetworkTest for a specific target. 

• By default, the REPORTUNAVAILABILITY flag is set to No. This implies that, by default, the test will not report the unavailability of network connection to any LPAR. In other words, if the Network availability of VM measure of this test registers the value 0 for any LPAR, then, by default, this test will not report any measure for that LPAR; under such circumstances, the corresponding LPAR name will not appear as a descriptor of this test. You can set this flag to Yes, if you want the test to report and alert you to the unavailability of the network connection to an LPAR.

If multiple components of the same component type are awaiting configuration, then an APPLY TO OTHER COMPONENTS check box will appear in this page. Clicking on this check box will allow you to apply the configuration to all/selected components of that type.

• Once the necessary values have been provided, clicking on the Update button will register the changes made.

When changing the configuration for specific servers, a “*” beside the text box corresponding to the parameter signifies that these values have to be manually configured by the user. The parameter values that require to be configured will typically be prefixed with a “$” or contain a series of “*”. A value of "none" in the parameter value indicates that the corresponding parameter value can be changed if required.