Default Parameters for AWSEc2ConnTest

This test attempts to connect to the default region in the cloud; in the process, the test reports whether the configured AWS user account is able to access the cloud-based infrastructure or not, and if so, how quickly the connection with the infrastructure was established.

If a user is denied access to a server instance on a cloud, or if a user experiences a significant delay in connecting to his/her instances, you can use this test to validate the user credentials and to figure out whether any connectivity issues exist.

This page depicts the default parameters that need to be configured for the AWSEc2ConnTest.

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

• To monitor an AWS EC2, the eG agent has to be configured with the "access key" of a user with a valid AWS account. To obtain the access key, follow the steps given below:

  • Sign up for a new AWS account from the http://aws.amazon.com/ec2/ page.
  • Provide the details of the user for whom you wish to create the AWS account.
  • Based on the AWS EC2 Regions, you will be requested to choose the pricing for an instance to be deployed in the AWS EC2.
  • Once the payment is made, the user will automatically be signed in to the AWS account.
  • From the newly created AWS account, you can request for an "access key". You will be provided with an "access key" and a corresponding "secret key".

  Provide the access key in the AWS ACCESS KEY text box which will enable the eG agent to collect the required metrics from the AWS EC2 by communicating with the AWS API.

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

• In the AWS SECRET KEY text box, provide the secret key corresponding to the access key that you had obtained through your AWS account.

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

• This flag applies to the AWSEc2VmPerfTest and AWSAggregatedTest tests only. These tests report critical metrics pertaining to the resource usage of the server instances launched in the cloud. If you want these tests to report resource usage metrics very frequently - say, once every minute or lesser - you will have to configure the tests to use the AWS CloudWatch service. This is a paid web service that enables you to monitor, manage, and publish various metrics, as well as configure alarm actions based on data from metrics. To enable the above-mentioned tests to use this service, set the CLOUDWATCH ENABLED flag to true. On the other hand, to report resource usage metrics less frequently - say, once in 5 minutes or more - these tests do not require the AWS CloudWatch service; in this case therefore, set the CLOUDWATCH ENABLED flag to false. Note that for enabling CloudWatch, you will have to pay CloudWatch fees. For the fee details, refer to the AWS EC2 web site.

• The EXCLUDE INSTANCE parameter applies only to AWSEc2VmConnTest, AWSEc2VmPerfTest , AWSEc2VmUptimeTest, and AWSEc2VmDeployTest tests. In the EXCLUDE INSTANCE text box, provide a comma-separated list of instance names or instance name patterns that you do not wish to monitor. For example: i-b0c3e*,*7dbe56d. By default, this parameter is set to none.

• In some environments, all communication with the AWS EC2 cloud and its regions could be routed through a proxy server. In such environments, you should make sure that the eG agent connects to the cloud via the proxy server and collects metrics. To enable metrics collection via a proxy, specify the IP address of the proxy server and the port at which the server listens against the PROXY HOST and PROXY PORT parameters. By default, these parameters are set to none, indicating that the eG agent is not configured to communicate via a proxy, by default.

• If the proxy server requires authentication, then, specify a valid proxy user name and password in the PROXY USER NAME and PROXY PASSWORD parameters, respectively. By default, these parameters are set to none, indicating that the proxy sever does not require authentication by default.

• If a Windows NTLM proxy is to be configured for use, then additionally, you will have to configure the Windows domain name and the Windows workstation name required for the same against the PROXY DOMAIN and PROXY WORKSTATION parameters. If the environment does not support a Windows NTLM proxy, set these parameters to none.

• 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.