Configuration of PoaTest

The PoaTest measures the health of the Groupwise Post Office Agent (POA).

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.

• The port at which the server exposes its SNMP MIB should be provided in the SNMPPORT textbox. The default value is 161.

• By default, the eG agent supports SNMP version 1. Accordingly, the default selection in the SNMPVERSION list is v1. However, if a different SNMP framework is in use in your environment, say SNMP v2 or v3, then select the corresponding option from this list.

• Provide the SNMP community name that the test uses to communicate with the Groupwise Post Office - Win system in the SNMPCOMMUNITY text box. This parameter is specific to SNMP v1 and v2 only. Therefore, if the snmpversion chosen is v3, then this parameter will not appear.

• The USERNAME parameter appears only when v3 is selected as the SNMPVERSION. SNMP version 3 (SNMPv3) is an extensible SNMP Framework which supplements the SNMPv2 Framework, by additionally supporting message security, access control, and remote SNMP configuration capabilities. To extract performance statistics from the MIB using the highly secure SNMP v3 protocol, the eG agent has to be configured with the required access privileges - in other words, the eG agent should connect to the MIB using the credentials of a user with access permissions to be MIB. Therefore, specify the name of such a user against the USERNAME parameter.

• The CONTEXT parameter appears only when v3 is selected as the SNMPVERSION. An SNMP context is a collection of management information accessible by an SNMP entity. An item of management information may exist in more than one context and an SNMP entity potentially has access to many contexts. A context is identified by the SNMPEngineID value of the entity hosting the management information (also called a contextEngineID) and a context name that identifies the specific context (also called a contextName). If the USERNAME provided is associated with a context name, then the eG agent will be able to poll the MIB and collect metrics only if it is configured with the context name as well. In such cases therefore, specify the context name of the USERNAME in the CONTEXT text box.  By default, this parameter is set to none.

• Specify the password that corresponds to the above-mentioned USERNAME in the AUTHPASS text box. This parameter once again appears only if the SNMPVERSION selected is v3.

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

• The AUTHTYPE parameter too appears only if v3 is selected as the SNMPVERSION. From the AUTHTYPE list box, choose the authentication algorithm using which SNMP v3 converts the specified USERNAME and PASSWORD into a 32-bit format to ensure security of SNMP transactions. You can choose between the following options:

  • MD5 - Message Digest Algorithm

  • SHA - Secure Hash Algorithm

• The ENCRYPTFLAG appears only when v3 is selected as the SNMPVERSION. By default, the eG agent does not encrypt SNMP requests. Accordingly, the ENCRYPTFLAG is set to NO by default. To ensure that SNMP requests sent by the eG agent are encrypted, select the YES option.

• If the ENCRYPTFLAG is set to YES, then you will have to mention the encryption type by selecting an option from the ENCRYPTTYPE list. SNMP v3 supports the following encryption types:

  • DES - Data Encryption Standard

  • AES - Advanced Encryption Standard

• Specify the encryption password in the ENCRYPTPASSWORD text box.

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

• Specify the maximum duration (in seconds) for which the test will wait for a response from the network interface in the TIMEOUT text box.

• By default, in an IT environment, all data transmission occurs over UDP. Some environments however, may be specifically configured to offload a fraction of the data traffic - for instance, certain types of data traffic or traffic pertaining to specific components - to other protocols like TCP, so as to prevent UDP overloads. In such environments, you can instruct the eG agent to conduct the SNMP data traffic related to the monitored target over TCP (and not UDP). For this, set the DATA OVER TCP flag to Yes. By default, this flag is set to No.

• In the POANAME text box, specify the distinguished name of the POA. To know the distinguished name of a POA, first, execute Novell's ConsoleOne utility. This utility allows you to manage eDirectory objects, rights, and schema, and Netware file system resources. Upon logging into the console, you will find a tree-structure in the left pane that hosts an NDS container. Expanding this container will reveal the eDirectory trees that you are currently logged into. Expand the eDirectory that hosts the POA application to be monitored. Next, click on the context within the eDirectory, which houses the POA application. The complete list of objects within the selected context will be available to you in the right pane. From this list, select the POA application to be monitored, right-click on it, and select Properties. Click on the Groupwise tab to open the Identification tab page. In this page, look for the distinguished name of the POA application.

• 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.