eG Administration 
 

Add a new user to the eG Enterprise system

This page enables an administrator to add a new user to the eG Enterprise system. To access this page, click on the Add User option in the Users menu.

  • First, select the Create New option from the How would you like to add a user? drop-down list.

  • To clone an existing user, select the Clone Existing option from the How would you like to add a user? drop-down list.

  • To add a new user, an administrator has to select the role to be assigned to the user from the User role list box.

  • The eG administrative interface provides administrators with a wide variety of options to manage user information. Be it user creation, modification, deletion, or simply viewing user information, any type of user-related activity can be performed quickly and easily using the eG administrative console. Typically, when an eG user logs into the eG Enterprise system, the login is validated by the eG database, which stores the user information. However, in large IT environments that span multiple domains, the Active Directory server functions as the central repository for information related to users spread across domains, and also authenticates domain user logins. To avoid the confusion that might arise when using both the eG manager and the AD server for user authentication in such multi-domain environments, administrators might want the eG manager to integrate with AD; this ensures that the eG manager serves as the single, central, secure console for automatically authenticating logins by eG users, regardless of the size of the environment or the domain to which the user belongs. The first step towards implementing this integration is the creation of the domains and sub-domains. Use the Users -> Configure Domains menu sequence to configure the domains. For a detailed domain creation procedure, refer to The eG User Manual. Subsequent to domain creation, if you attempt to create a new user using this page, you will be prompted to indicate the User authentication mode that applies to the new user. If you are creating a domain user/group, whose login requests are to be authenticated by the Active Directory, then select the Domain option. If you are creating a user who is local to the eG Enterprise system, and whose login requests are to be authenticated by the eG database, select the Local option. Upon choosing the Domain option, you will have to indicate what you want to create - whether a domain User or a domain user Group - by picking the relevant option from the Operation section. To create a domain User, do the following:

    • Set the Operation flag to User.
    • Next, select the Domain to which the new user belongs. The domains that you created using the Users -> Configure Domains menu sequence will be listed in the Domain list.
    • Then, specify the ID of the new user in the User ID text box, and click the Validate button. When this is done, the eG manager immediately connects to the Active Directory server and verifies whether the user is a valid domain user or not. If the user is not a valid user, then an error message to that effect appears. On the other hand, if the user is indeed a valid domain user, then the eG manager allows you to proceed with the user creation. However, you cannot provide a password for the domain user. This is because, the credentials of the domain user are configured in and maintained by the Active Directory server; eG Enterprise therefore, will neither reveal nor allow you to modify the password of the domain user, thus ensuring data integrity. Moreover, subsequently, when you log into the eG management console as a domain user, you will have to make sure that you prefix the user name with the domain name in the format: <<domainName>>/<<Username>> (or <<domainName>>\<<Username>>). Every time a domain user logs into the eG Enterprise system, the login will be authenticated by the Active Directory server that manages the users in that domain.

    Apart from individual domain users, you can also create domain user groups using the USER PROFILE page. To create a domain user group, then, do the following:

    • Set the Operation flag in the ADD USER page to Group.
    • Next, select the Domain to which the group belongs. The domains that you created using the Users -> Configure Domains menu sequence will be listed in the Domain list.
    • Soon after a Domain is chosen, the Group Name list will be automatically populated with all the user groups that are pre-configured in the selected Domain. Pick the Group Name that is to be registered with the eG Enterprise system. All users who are part of this AD group will now be allowed access to the eG Enterprise system. The rights and privileges (eg., role, expiry date, email/SMS alert settings, alarm acknowledgement/deletion rights, etc.) defined for the chosen group will govern all users who belong to that group. This saves administrators the trouble of defining separate profiles for each domain user in a group.

      Note that the group is not associated with any ‘password’. This implies that while a group itself cannot login to the eG management console, a user who belongs to the group can login using the credentials defined for him/her in the AD server. At the time of login, the group user should provide his/her name in the format: <DomainName>\<UserName>. Everytime a group user logs into the eG management console, the solution automatically connects to the AD server to validate the login.

      • Note:

      • eG Enterprise can be integrated with Active Directory only if the eG manager is installed using JDK 1.5 or higher. If not, you will not find any of the above-mentioned options in the eG administrative interface.
      • If a domain user group is registered with the eG Enterprise system, and a profile is later created in eG for a particular domain user in that group, then, when that user logs into the eG management console, the user-level settings will override the group-level settings.
      • If a domain user belongs to more than one AD group that is created in the eG Enterprise system, then, when that user logs in, the solution provides him/her with a list of domain groups to choose from. Selecting a group from the list enables the user to automatically inherit the access rights and monitoring scope defined for that group.

    Upon choosing the Local option, on the other hand, you will be prompted to specify the following:

    • Specify a unique User ID.
    • Provide a Password for the new user, and then, confirm the password by retyping it in the Retype password text box. This is because, in case of users who are local to the eG Enterprise system, it is the eG database which maintains the user information, and not the Active Directory. Therefore, whenever a local user is created using this page, a password has to be explicitly provided, so that both the user name and password of the local user credentials are stored in the eG database. Moreover, when a local user logs into the eG management console, his/her Username need not be pre-fixed by the domain name. The Username and Password that the local user provides while logging in will be validated by the eG database that manages the local users.

  • The rest of the user creation steps are common to both the authentication modes - domain and local - and to both domain users and domain user groups. The next step in user creation is to provide an Expiry date for the new user. One more added feature of the eG Enterprise suite is that it checks the validity of the user. A user is granted permission to monitor the services associated with him/her only for a stipulated period of time. Clicking on the Calendar button next to the Expiry date label will result in the display of a calendar from which the administrator can choose the validity date for a new user. Beyond this date, the user is regarded as an invalid user. Optionally, you can click on the No Expiry check box, if a new user has to remain valid for an indefinite period of time.

  • The eG manager is capable of alerting users as and when problems occur. The alarms are classified into critical, major, and minor. By choosing one or more of the check boxes corresponding to the Alarms by mail /SMS field, a user can indicate his/her preference in terms of the priority of problems for which he/she wishes critical priority alarms alone and not the other types. If no alarm priority is chosen, then the user will not receive alerts by email / SMS. For instance, if the user chooses Critical, he or she would receive eG Enterprise system automatically assumes that email/SMS alerts need not be sent to the user being created. In such a case therefore, the other related fields, such as Mail sender, Mail ID/Mobile number, Escalation mail ID, Type of notification, Message mode, Include measure details in mail alerts, Include detailed diagnosis in mail alerts, and Time Zone will no longer appear in this page.

  • By default, eG Enterprise sends email alerts from the Admin mail ID configured in the MAIL/SMS SETTINGS page in the eG administrative interface. In MSP environments typically, different support groups are created to address performance issues relating to different customers. These support groups might prefer to receive problem intimation from customer-specific mail IDs instead of the global admin mail ID, so that they can instantly identify the customer environment that is experiencing problems currently. Moreover, this way, every support group will be enabled to send status updates on reported issues directly to the concerned customer, instead of overloading the admin mailbox. To facilitate this, the MAIL/SMS SETTINGS page allows the administrator to configure multiple Mail sender IDs - normally, one each for every customer in case of an MSP environment. Moreover, while creating a new user, the administrator can select one of these configured sender IDs from the Mail sender list and assign it to the new user, so that all email alerts received by the user are generated by the chosen ID only. Moreover, the Admin mail ID specified in the MAIL/SMS SETTINGS page will also be added to the the Mail sender list in this page, and will be the default selection.

  • If the user selects one/more of the alarm priorities against Alarms by mail / SMS, a Mail ID/Mobile number field and Escalation mail ID field will appear. The Mail ID/Mobile number section allows a mail account(s) / mobile number(s) to be associated with a user. When multiple mail IDs are specified, an administrator can specify which mail address(es) need to be in the To: field of the mail alarm and which ones should be in the Cc: and Bcc: fields. In the same way, you can even provide mobile numbers in the To:, Cc:, and Bcc: fields.

    If a mobile number(s) is specified then a compact alarm report that is ideal for a mobile phone console is generated. The first line of this report comprises of the following information, separated by slash (/).

    • IP address and port of the problem component
    • The component type

    The second line of this report would consist of the following information (separated by slash):

    • The name of the test that generated the problem measure(s)
    • The name of the problematic measure
    • The name of the descriptor; this would be NONE if no descriptor exists
    • The name of the service; this would be NONE if the problem component does not host any service

    Given below is a sample report transmitted via SMS:

    192.168.10.8:7077/Web_server
    ProcessTest/Num_procs_running/HTTPD/NONE

    In the above example:

    192.168.10.8:7077, represents the IP address and port of the component which has encountered a problem
    Web_server is the type of component
    ProcessTest is the name of the test that generated the problem measures
    Num_procs_running is the name of the problematic measure
    HTTPD is the name of the descriptor
    NONE denotes that the web server does not host any service

    Note:

    eG alarms will be forwarded to a mobile phone only if an eG SMS Manager has been installed in the network, and the eG manager has been configured to work with the SMS manager.

  • Like email IDs / mobile numbers, you can associate one/more custom scripts with users to the eG Enterprise system. Whenever alarms are raised/modified/closed for a specific user, the associated custom script will automatically execute, so that the details of the alarms are routed to third-party customer relationship management systems or TT systems, and trouble tickets automatically created (or closed, as the case may be) for the corresponding user. The custom scripts thus provide a mechanism by means of which eG alerts are integrated into CRM/TT systems. These custom scripts can be configured in addition to or instead of email / SMS alerts. To associate the command that executes the custom script with a specific user's profile, specify the command in the Command to be executed for alerts text box.

    Note:

    The Command to be executed for alerts text box will appear only if the Enable Command Execution flag in the COMMAND EXECUTION section of the MANAGER SETTINGS page (Configure -> Manager Settings) is set to Yes.

  • To ensure the continuous availability of mission-critical IT services, it is essential that problems be detected at the earliest and remedial action be initiated immediately. Naturally, the performance of an IT operations team is assessed by its ability to proactively isolate problems and by the speed with which the identified issues are fixed. As most IT operations teams are required to support strict service level guarantees, problems that remain unnoticed or unresolved for long periods of time could result in service level violations, warrant severe penalties, and ultimately even impact the reputation of the service provider.

    The eG Enterprise suite, with its patented correlation technology and its multi-modal (email/SMS/pager/console) problem alerting capability accurately identifies potential issues in the monitored environment, and intimates the concerned IT operators before any irredeemable damage is done. To enable IT managers to proactively track the performance of their operations teams, eG Enterprise also includes a time-based alarm escalation capability. With this capability, when a problem remains unresolved for a long time period, the eG Enterprise manager automatically escalates the alarm to one or more levels of IT managers. The alarm escalation is based on a pre-defined escalation period which is configured by the administrator of eG Enterprise.

    The escalations are personalized for each user - i.e., each user in the eG Enterprise system is associated with multiple levels of managers. When an alert that has been sent to a user is not resolved within the escalation period, the alert is forwarded to the first level of management. If the problem remains unresolved for another escalation period, the second level of management is informed, and so on. By hierarchically escalating problems to IT managers, eG Enterprise ensures that the management staff stays informed of the state of the mission-critical IT services they control, and that they can intervene in a timely manner to ensure quick and effective resolution to key problems.

    Note:

    Alarm escalation will work only if the following are configured:

    • The duration beyond which the eG Enterprise system needs to escalate a problem to the next level
    • The alarm priorities to be escalated

    Both these parameters can be configured using the ALARM ESCALATION section in the ADVANCED OPTIONS page that appears when the Advanced Settings button in the MAIL/SMS SETTINGS page is clicked.

  • Type of notification: By choosing the New option, an administrator can indicate to eG Enterprise that when alerting a user via email/SMS, the system should send the details of newly added alarms only. On the other hand, if the Complete option is chosen, the user will receive a complete list of current alarms every time a mail/SMS message is generated.

  • Message mode: This option governs the format in which an alarm is reported in an email message. If the HTML option is chosen, the alarm details are formatted as HTML text whereas the Text option formats the alarm details as plain text.

    Note:

    If HTML is chosen as the Message mode, then alarms sent by mail will carry a hyperlink named HOME at the right top corner. The destination of the hyperlink can be configured using the eg_services.ini file in the <EG_INSTALL_DIR>\manager\config directory. The [MISC_ARGS] section of the eg_services.ini file contains a MailHomeURL parameter that is left blank by default. In this case, clicking on the HOME link will connect you to the eG manager and open the login screen. By providing a specific URL against MailHomeURL, you can ensure that monitor users are lead to the specified URL upon clicking the HOME hyperlink.

  • Include measure details in alerts: By default, the No option is chosen from the Include measure details in alerts list, indicating that the email alerts to a user will not include any measure details. However, if you want the email alerts to a user to include a time-of-day graph of the problem measure plotted for the last 1 hour (by default), then, pick the Graph option from this list. If you want the email alerts to a user to include the data plotted in a 1-hour measure graph, then, pick the Data option from this list.

  • Include detailed diagnosis: By default, this flag is set to No. This implies that, by default, the detailed diagnosis (if available) of the problem measure will not be sent along with the email alerts to users. If you want the email alerts to a specific user to include detailed diagnosis information as well, then, set the Include detailed dignosis flag to Yes. This information will enable users to move closer to the root-cause of the problem condition.

  • Time Zone: By default, all alerts generated by the eG Enterprise system are based on the eG manager's time settings. However, in an infrastructure that spans multiple geographies, users who are responsible for the proper functioning of servers in a particular geography (or time zone) may want to receive email alerts pertaining to those servers in their local time zone. To ensure this, you now have the option of configuring a time zone for a new user. The Time Zone list displays a wide variety of time zones to choose from. By default, the manager's time zone is displayed here, indicating that, by default, email alerts are generated based on the manager's time settings. However, in case of target environments that are spread across multiple time zones, you may want to associate a different Time Zone with every user, so that email alerts sent to a user report problems based on that user's time settings, and not the manager's. In such a case, select the required Time Zone from the list. Once such a user is created, all subsequent email alerts that the user receives will report problems based on that user's Time Zone settings only.

    Note:

    While configuring a time zone, remember the following:

    • The Time zone specification applies only to email alerts and not SMS alerts.
    • When normal mails are generated by the eG manager, the Start Time displayed in such mails will also be based on the Time zone setting for the corresponding user.
    • If a user is configured to use multiple email IDs (i.e., a comma-separated list of mail IDs has been provided in the TO, CC, and/or BCC columns), then the Time zone specification for that user applies to all the configured email IDs. In other words, every user can have a separate Time zone, but every mail ID configured for a user cannot have a separate Time zone.
    • When mail alerts are being escalated, the time zone settings will be derived from the user account that the alarms pertain to. In other words, each escalation level will NOT have a separate time zone - the time zone setting for the user account will apply to escalated mails as well.
    • Any alerts generated by the eG manager to report an unusual situation with the eG manager itself (e.g., database not working, agent not running, etc.) will not be affected by this time zone settings. All such alerts will be generated in the eG manager's local time zone setting.
    • Time zone changes made on the primary manager will be reflected on the secondary manager as well.

  • Email alerts only during shift periods: Some environments - especially the ones that span geographies - could have operators working in shifts; for instance, an MSP environment could comprise of one/more user groups, which might work only in the nights, in order to provide help-desk services to the customers in a particular geographic region. These users naturally, would want to receive email alerts of issues only during their working hours; during the rest of day, they may prefer to be alerted via SMS. To facilitate this, eG Enterprise allows you to configure shift periods for individual users. Separate shift periods can be configured for receiving email alerts, SMS alerts, and escalation mails.

    For instance, if you want to indicate on which days and at what times a user needs to receive email alerts of issues, then he/she should first enable the Email alerts only during shift periods flag, by setting it to Yes.

    Note:

    By default, the Email alerts only during shift periods flag will appear in the ADD USER page. However, in environments where shifts are not relevant, such a flag is meaningless. You can therefore ensure that this flag does not appear in the ADD USER page by following the steps given below:

    • Open the MAIL/SETTINGS page by following the menu sequence: Configure -> Mail Settings.
    • Click on the Advanced Settings button therein to open the ADVANCED SETTINGS page.
    • In the SHIFT PERIOD CONFIGURATION section of the ADVANCED SETTINGS page, set the Allow shift period configuration flag to No. By default, this flag is set to Yes.
    • Finally, register the changes by clicking the Update button in the ADVANCED SETTINGS page.

    Upon setting the flag to Yes, you will be required to specify the Days on which the user should receive email alerts; also, in the Shifts field alongside, you need to mention at what times on the chosen Days the user should receive email alerts.

    To select one/more Days, do the following:

    • First, click on the Calendar control ( ) next to the Days field.
    • From the DAYS list that pops out, which lists the days of the week, select the days on which email alerts need to be sent to the user.
    • To choose more than one day from the list, select a day by clicking on the left mouse button, and then, with the Ctrl button on your keyboard pressed, click on another day to select it. Similarly, multiple days can be selected. To add your selection to the Days field, click the Add button in the DAYS list. You will thus return to the ADD USER page where the selected days will be listed against the Days field.

    Next, using the Shifts field, provide the specific time periods at which email alerts should be sent out to the user on the chosen days. For that, do the following:

    • First, click on the Calendar control next to the Shifts field. Doing so invokes the SHIFTS window, wherein you can specify a From time and To time for your shift. Ensure that the shift timings correspond to the Time zone chosen for the user.
    • To provide an additional time slot, click on the circled '+' button at the end of the first row. Another row then comes up wherein you can provide one more time period. In this way, you can associate a maximum of 5 shift periods with the chosen Days.
    • To remove a shift period from the SHIFTS window, simply click on the circled '-' button against the corresponding specification. Finally, to add these time periods to the Shifts field, click on the Add button in the SHIFTS window. You will thus return to the ADD USER page, where you can find the time period(s) that you specified appear against the Shifts field. With that, one Day-Shift specification is complete.
    • To add another Day-Shift specification, just click on the circled '+' button at the end of the first row in this page. Another row will then appear, where you can specify a few more Days and Shifts. This way, a number of Day-Shift specifications can be associated with a user. This number is configurable, and can be any number between or equal to 1 and 10. To configure this number, go to the ADVANCED SETTINGS page that appears when you click on the Advanced Settings button in the MAIL/SMS SETTINGS page (Configure -> Mail Settings menu sequence). In the SHIFT PERIOD CONFIGURATION section of this page, select the Maximum number of Day-Shift combinations. To delete a particular Day-Shift specification from this page, simply click on the circled '-' button.

  • SMS alerts only during shift periods: Similar to email alerts, SMS alerts can also be configured to be sent out only during specified time periods on specific days of the week. The first step towards this is to enable the SMS alerts only during shift periods flag by selecting the Yes option in this page. Using the Days and Shifts fields that appear subsequently, you can configure one/more Day-Shift combinations in the same manner as discussed for email alerts.

    Note:

    By default, the SMS alerts only during shift periods flag will appear in the ADD USER page. However, in environments where shifts are not relevant, such a flag is meaningless. You can therefore ensure that this flag does not appear in the ADD USER page by following the steps given below:

    • Open the MAIL/SETTINGS page by following the menu sequence: Configure -> Mail Settings.
    • Click on the Advanced Settings button therein to open the ADVANCED SETTINGS page.
    • In the SHIFT PERIOD CONFIGURATION section of the ADVANCED SETTINGS page, set the Allow shift period configuration flag to No. By default, this flag is set to Yes.
    • Finally, register the changes by clicking the Update button in the ADVANCED SETTINGS page.

  • Escalation alerts only during shift periods: Like email and SMS alerts, the eG manager can be configured to send escalation mails/SMS' also at pre-defined days and time slots. To enable this capability, first, turn on the Escalation alerts only during shift periods flag by selecting the Yes option in this page. As before, this will bring up the Days and Shifts fields, using which you can configure the days on which and the times at which alerts are to be escalated to the specified individuals. The procedure for configuring the Day-Shift combinations is the same as that for email and SMS alerts.

    Note:

    By default, the flag Escalation alerts only during shift periods - will appear in the ADD USER page. However, in environments where shifts are not relevant, such flags are meaningless. You can therefore ensure that these three flags do not appear in this page by following the steps given below:

    • Open the MAIL/SETTINGS page by following the menu sequence: Configure -> Mail Settings.
    • Click on the Advanced Settings button therein to open the ADVANCED SETTINGS page.
    • In the SHIFT PERIOD CONFIGURATION section of the ADVANCED SETTINGS page, set the Allow shift period configuration flag to No. By default, this flag is set to Yes.
    • Finally, register the changes by clicking the Update button in the ADVANCED SETTINGS page.

  • Alarm display: By selecting one or more options provided against the Alarm display field, you can associate specific alarm priorities with the user being created. When this user later logs into the eG monitor interface, alarms of the chosen priorities alone will be displayed in the current CURRENT ALARMS window of the monitor interface.

  • Remote control: Using the Remote control option, you can indicate whether the remote control capabilities are to be switched on for the new user. This capability, when enabled, allows monitor users to remotely manage and control servers from a web browser itself. By default, this capability will be Disabled for a new user. To enable this capability for a particular user, select the Enable option. Doing so invokes a Remote command execution list, using which you need to indicate whether the new user is authorized to execute any command remotely, or is only allowed to choose from a pre-configured list of commands.

  • Allow alarm deletion: To allow the new user to delete alarms from the CURRENT ALARMS window in the eG monitor interface, select the Yes option from the Allow alarm deletion section.

  • Allow alarm deletion: Optionally, specific users can be configured to acknowledge an alarm displayed in the eG monitor interface. By acknowledging an alarm, a user can indicate to other users that the issue raised by an alarm is being attended to. In fact, if need be, the user can even propose a course of action using this interface. In such a case, a user with Admin or Supermonitor privileges (roles) can edit the acknowledgement by providing their own comments/suggestions on the proposed action. The acknowledgement thus works in three ways:

    • Ensures that multiple members of the administrative staff do not unnecessarily invest their time and effort in resolving a single issue;
    • Serves as a healthy forum for discussing and identifying permanent cures for persistent performance ills;
    • Indicates to other users the status of an alarm

    To enable the alarm acknowledgement capability for the new user, select the Yes option from the Allow alarm acknowledgement section in this page.

  • Monitor Home Page: By default, the Monitor Dashboard appears as the home page of the eG monitoring console - i.e., as soon as a user logs into the monitoring console, the Monitor Dashboard appears as the first page by default. eG Enterprise however, allows administrators to set any page they deem fit as the Monitor Home Page for individual users to the eG monitoring console. This way, every user, upon logging into the eG monitor interface, is enabled to view straight up the information that interests him/her the most, thereby saving time and minimizing the mouse clicks that may be required to navigate to that information!

    The home page preference is typically driven by the monitoring needs of specific users and the roles assigned to them. For instance, a service manager, who is responsible for minimizing/eliminating service outages, would want to know on login how all the critical services in the environment are performing currently, and which services are in an abnormal state. For this purpose, administrators may want to set the Service List as the home page of such users.

  • Auto-associate segments/services/components/zones to other users: eG Enterprise allows administrators to assign specific segments/services/components/zones to a new user for monitoring. If one/more other existing users share the same assignment, then you can automatically associate all the infrastructure elements chosen for one user with other users to the eG Enterprise system. To achieve this, first select the Auto-associate segments/services/components/zones to other users check box. Doing so invokes an Available users list from which you can select the users to whom the same set of segments/services/components/zones need to be assigned.

    Note:

    The Auto-associate segments/services/components/zones to other users option will appear only when the User role chosen allows access to Limited components in the monitored environment. If the role chosen allows Complete components access, this option will not appear.

  • Maximum timeline for reports: Typically, eG Enterprise permits multiple users to simultaneously access the eG Reporter console and generate a wide variety of reports spanning any timeline of their choice. While this imparted tremendous flexibility in report generation, when concurrent users generated reports for broad time periods, it significantly deteriorated the performance of the eG backend, thus slowing down report generation. In order to avoid this, administrators can set the maximum timeline for which each user can generate reports, by selecting an option from the Maximum Timeline for Reports list in this page. By default, 1 month will be selected here. This implies that the user being created can generate reports for a maximum timeline of 1 month only, by default. The other options in this list are as follows: 1 day, 2 days, 3 days, 4 days, 5 days, 6 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, and 4 weeks. Besides ensuring that unauthorized users are denied access to more historical information than necessary, this timeline restriction also greatly reduces the strain on the eG database.

    Note:

    The default users - admin and supermonitor - are not governed by this maximum timeline setting; these two users therefore can generate reports for any timeline.

    • To pick the segments/services/service groups/components/zones to be associated with the new user, click the Next button in this page. If you do not want a user to receive email/SMS alerts any longer, then simply click the Clear button in this page. This will clear the values provided in the Mail ID/Mobile number section, and all email alert-related fields.

    If you do not want a user to receive email/SMS alerts any longer, then simply click the Clear button in this page. This will clear the values provided in the Mail ID/Mobile number section, and all email alert-related fields.