Agents Administration - Tests
 

Default Parameters for XenUptimeTest

The XenUptimeTest monitors the uptime of the XenServer. This page depicts the default parameters that need to be configured for the XenUptimeTest. These parameters are as follows:

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

  • To enable the eG agent to connect to the XenServer API for collecting statistics of interest, this test should login to the XenServer as a root user. Provide the name of the root user in the XEN USER text box. Root user privileges are mandatory when monitoring a XenServer 5.5 (or lesser). However, if you are monitoring XenServer 5.6 (or above) and you prefer not to expose the credentials of the root user, then, you have the option of configuring a user with pool-admin privileges as the XEN USER.

  • The password of the specified XEN USER needs to be mentioned in the XEN PASSWORD text box.

  • Confirm the password by retyping it in the CONFIRM PASSWORD text box.

  • By default, the Xen Server is not SSL-enabled. This indicates that by default, the eG agent communicates with the XenServer using HTTP. Accordingly, the SSL flag is set to No by default. If you configure the XenServer to use SSL, then make sure that the SSL flag is set to Yes, so that the eG agent communicates with the XenServer using HTTPS. Note that a default SSL certificate comes bundled with every XenServer installation. If you want the eG agent to use this default certificate for communicating with an SSL-enabled XenServer, then no additional configuration is required. However, if you do not want to use the default certificate, then you can generate a self-signed certificate for use by the XenServer. In such a case, you need to explicitly follow the broad steps given below to enable the eG agent to communicate with the XenServer via HTTPS:

    1. Obtain the server-certificate for the XenServer
    2. Import the server-certificate into the local certificate store of the eG agent

    For an elaborate discussion on each of the above-mentioned steps, refer to the Troubleshooting section in the Monitoring XenServers document.

  • By default, in most virtualized environments, the XenServer listens on port 80 (if not SSL-enabled) or on port 443 (if SSL-enabled). This implies that while monitoring an SSL-enabled XenServer, the eG agent, by default, connects to port 443 of the server to pull out metrics, and while monitoring a non-SSL-enabled XenServer, the eG agent connects to port 80. Accordingly, the WEBPORT parameter is set to 80 or 443 depending upon the status of the SSL flag. In some environments however, the default ports 80 or 443 might not apply. In such a case, against the WEBPORT parameter, you can specify the exact port at which the XenServer in your environment listens so that the eG agent communicates with that port.

  • The DD FREQUENCY refers to the frequency with which detailed diagnosis measures are to be generated for this test. Specify the default value 1:1 in the DD FREQUENCY text box. This indicates that, by default, detailed measures will be generated every time this test runs, and also every time the test detects a problem. You can modify this frequency, if you so desire. Also, if you intend to disable the detailed diagnosis capability for this test, you can do so by specifying nonein this text box.

  • The REPORTMANAGERTIME flag governs the shutdown and reboot times shown in the detailed diagnosis of this test. If this value is set to Yes, the shutdown and reboot times are displayed in the manager's time zone. If this value is set to No, the shutdown and reboot times are displayed in the time zone of the system where the agent is running (i.e., the system being managed for agent-based monitoring, and the system on which the remote agent is running - for agentless monitoring).

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

When changing default configurations of tests, the values with "$" indicate variables that will be replaced by the eG system according to the specific server being managed - for instance, $hostName is the host/nickname of the target host, $port is the port number of the server being monitored. E.g., for a server xyz:80, $hostName will be changed automatically by the eG manager to "xyz" and $port will be changed to "80" when configuring a test.