Agents Administration - Tests
 

Configuration of WLLogReqTest

The WLLogReqTest monitors a web server access log and reports measures such as the total number of requests that have been logged, the number of successful responses, the number of failed responses etc., for every pattern that is being configured. 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 server listens in the PORT text box.

  • In the ABSOLUTEFILENAME text box, specify the full path to the log file to be monitored.

  • The records in the log file that need to be considered for monitoring will have to be provided in the RECORDPATTERN text box. The pattern configuration should be in the following format: {f0}sep1{f1}sep2{f2}, where {f0}, {f1}, and {f2} represent the indexes of the first, second, and third fields (respectively) of the records logged in the log file, and sep1 and sep2 are the separators after {f0} and {f1} respectively. A separator can be a combination of any number of characters.

    For example, take the case of a log file with the following entry:

    192.168.10.7 - - [12/Nov/1998:09:40:40 -0500] "POST /soap/servlet/helloworld HTTP/1.1" 200 3834

    To ensure that the above record is considered for monitoring, the record pattern will have to be specified as follows: {f0}- -{f1}"{f2}"{f3} {f4}, where {f0} represents the first field of the record, which is followed by the separator '- -', and so on.

  • Of the records that match the configured RECORDPATTERN, eG will search for and monitor only those records which match the string patterns specified in the SEARCHPATTERN text box. To help you understand how to configure a SEARCHPATTERN, let us take the example of the following search pattern: IP1:ALL,F0:192.168.10.7*,F3:200*,COUNT(*),AVG(F4).

    • Here, IP1 is just a display name that will be displayed in the eG monitor interface as a descriptor of this test.
    • The term ALL instructs the eG system to consider only those records that fulfill all the conditions that follow. Alternatively, the key word Any can be used, which implies that the eG system, while monitoring, will consider even those records that fullfill either of the conditions that follow. The conditions are:
      • F0:192.168.10.7* indicates that for a record to be considered for monitoring, the first field (i.e. the field with index 0) of the record should begin with the IP 192.168.10.7. Alternatively, the condition can be configured as F0:192.168.10.7*+192.168.10.8*+192.168.10.9*, where '+' denotes an 'OR' operator. This configuration indicates that for a record to be considered for monitoring, the first field of the record should begin with any of the three values configured - i.e. 192.168.10.7, 192.168.10.8, or 192.168.10.9.
      • F3:200* indicates that for a record to be considered for monitoring, the fourth field (i.e. the field with index 3) of the record should begin with the number 200. Alternatively, the condition can be configured as F3:200*+300*+400*, where '+' denotes an 'OR' operator. This configuration indicates that for a record to be considered for monitoring, the fourth field of the record should begin with any of the three values configured - i.e. 200, 300, or 400.
    • COUNT(*) returns the number of records that fulfill the configured criteria.
    • AVG(F4) returns the average of the values of all the fields with index 4 (i.e. the fifth field), in the records that match the configured criteria.

    According to this specification, the eG system, while taking a count and while calculating the average, will consider only those records where the first field starts with '192.168.10.1' and the fourth field starts with '200'.The number '200' indicates a successful response. Therefore, this specification will report the metrics pertaining to only the successful responses for the IP patterns defined within the descriptor IP1 (i.e. 192.168.10.7*).

    However, the WLLogReqTest's configuration becomes complete only if the failure statistics are also extracted for IP1. Therefore, you will have to provide another search pattern for the descriptor IP1, so that the failure information is collected. The format of this pattern should be: IP1_FAIL: ALL,f0:192.168.10.7*,!f3:200*,COUNT(*),AVG(f4). Note that the descriptor names are the same, but the one meant for monitoring the failure cases, has been tagged as _FAIL. The specification !f3:200 indicates that the records with the number '200' (in the fourth field) should NOT be considered for monitoring. '!' is a NOT operator. Since '200' represents a success state, !200 ensures that only the failed responses for IP1 are considered for monitoring.

    The complete SEARCHPATTERN will hence be: IP1:ALL,f0:192.168.10.7*,f3:200*,COUNT(*),AVG(f4)#&IP1_FAIL:ALL,f0:192.168.10.7*,!f3:200*,COUNT(*),AVG(f4), where #& is the separator.

    In the monitor interface however, the descriptor IP1 alone will appear, but when clicked, will display both the success and failure statistics for the pattern 192.168.10.7*. Therefore, it is imperative that the WLLogReqTest be configured in such a way that it tracks both the success and failure cases for every IP pattern configured for monitoring. Otherwise, the test will not function as desired. This implies that if an IP pattern IP2 is configured for monitoring successful responses, then an IP2_FAIL should follow to monitor the failed responses. Similarly, multiple patterns can be configured for monitoring, separated by '#&'.

  • 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.