Agents Administration - Tests
 

Configuration of SPBackupTest

This test monitors each configured backup directory (local and/or remote), tracks the backups job and restores from every directory, and reports the count of backup and restore jobs that succeeded and/or failed on that directory.

The default parameters associated with this test are:

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

  • Specify the host for which the test is to be configured in the HOST text box.

  • Specify the port used by the HOST in the PORT text box.

  • Typically, farm-level metrics - eg., metrics on farm status, site collections, usage analytics - will not vary from one SharePoint server in the farm to another. If these metrics are collected and stored in the eG database for each monitored server in the SharePoint farm, it is bound to unnecessarily consume space in the database and increase processing overheads. To avoid this, farm-level metrics collection is by default switched off for the member servers in the SharePoint farm, and enabled only if the server being monitored is provisioned as the Central Administration site. Accordingly, the FETCH FARM MEASURES is set to If Central Administration by default. This default setting ensures that farm-level metrics are collected from and stored in the database for only a single SharePoint server in the farm.  

    If you want to completely switch-off farm-level metrics collection for a SharePoint farm, then set this parameter to No.

    Some high-security environments may not allow an eG agent to be deployed on the Central Administration site. Administrators of such environments may however require farm-level insights into status and performance. To provide these insights for such environments, you can optionally enable farm-level metrics collection from any monitored member server in the farm, even if that server is not provisioned as the Central Administration site. For this, set this parameter to Yes when configuring this test for that member server. 

  • When monitoring a SharePoint 2010 server, this test has to be configured with the credentials of a domain user with the following privileges:

    • The user should be part of the SharePoint Farm Administrators group. To know how to add a user to this group, click here.

    • The user should have shell admin access to all databases in SharePoint. To know how to grant this privilege to a user, click here.

    • The user should be part of the following groups on the eG agent host:

      • Administrators

      • WSS_ADMIN_WPG

      • IIS_USRS

      • Performance Monitor Users

      • WSS_WPG

      • Users

      To know how to add a user to one of these groups, click here.

    • The user should have full control access to each web application that needs to be monitored on the Sharepoint server. To know how to grant this level of access to a user, click here.

    • The user should have read and execute access to the eG agent install directory. To know how to grant this level of access to a user, click here.

    It is recommended that you create a special user for this purpose and assign the aforesaid privileges to him/her. Once such a user is created, specify the domain to which that user belongs in the Domain text box, and then, enter the credentials of the user in the DOMAIN USER and PASSWORD text boxes. To confirm the password, retype it in the CONFIRM PASSWORD text box.

  • Provide the full path to the backup and/or restore directory to be monitored in the DIR PATH text box. Multiple paths can be provided as a comma-separated list. For example - C:\BackupSite,C:\RestoreSite,D:\BackupDir. Your specification can include both local and remote directories. For example - C:\BackupSite,C:\RestoreSite,\\192.168.9.70\backup\250216. However, bear the following points in mind when including remote directory paths in your specifications:

    • While specifying the path of a remote directory, make sure that your specification begins with \\ (two forward slashes) followed by the IP/hostname of the remote server in which the directory resides. This should be followed by the full path of the remote directory to be monitored. For example - \\192.168.9.70\backup\250216.

    • Your DIR PATH specification can include the path to multiple remote directories. Each of these directories can be in a different remote server. However, all these remote servers should operate in the same domain.

    • A single user in the remote domain should have access to all the remote directories configured against DIR PATH.

  • The REMOTE SERVER DOMAIN parameter is applicable only if the DIR PATH specification includes one/more remote directories. In this case, against REMOTE SERVER DOMAIN, specify the domain to which the servers hosting the remote directories belong. If your DIR PATH specification does not include any remote directories, set REMOTE SERVER DOMAIN to none.

    Note:

    • Only a single domain name can be specified against REMOTE SERVER DOMAIN.

    • For proper results, all the servers that host the remote directories configured against DIR PATH should belong to the REMOTE SERVER DOMAIN you specify.

  • The REMOTE SERVER USER NAME and REMOTE SERVER PASSWORD parameters are applicable only if the DIR PATH specification includes one/more remote directories. In such a case, against these parameters, specify the credentials of a user who fulfills the following conditions:

    • Should be a valid user in the REMOTE SERVER DOMAIN that you have configured;

    • Should be a user who has at least read-only access to all the remote directories configured for monitoring against the DIR PATH parameter.

    However, if the DIR PATH specification does not include any remote directories, then you can set both REMOTE SERVER USER NAME and REMOTE SERVER PASSWORD to none.

  • Confirm the REMOTE SERVER PASSWORD by retyping it in the CONFIRM PASSWORD text box. This parameter again is applicable only if the DIR PATH specification includes one/more remote directories.

  • To make diagnosis more efficient and accurate, the eG Enterprise suite embeds an optional detailed diagnostic capability. With this capability, the eG agents can be configured to run detailed, more elaborate tests as and when specific problems are detected. To enable the DETAILED DIAGNOSIS capability of this test for a particular server, choose the On option. To disable the capability, click on the Off option.

    The option to selectively enable/disable the detailed diagnosis capability will be available only if the following conditions are fulfilled:

    • The eG manager license should allow the detailed diagnosis capability

    • Both the normal and abnormal frequencies configured for the detailed diagnosis measures should not be 0.

  • 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.