Agents Administration - Tests
 

Default Parameters for SpecificSrcTest

For each source that is explicitly configured for monitoring, this test reports the traffic flowing out and into every source via each interface. Additionally, the test also reports the bandwidth used by the data handled by every source. In the process, the test promptly alerts administrators to any abnormal increase in traffic volume on critical sources and sudden/consistent rise in bandwidth usage by a source.

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

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

  • The REPORT TOP N FLOWS parameter is not applicable to the SpecificSrcTest test.

  • By default, this test will report detailed diagnostics for only the top-5 sources in terms of the volume of traffic they handle. If required, you can increase or decrease the value of the SHOW DD FOR TOP N FLOWS parameter to view detailed metrics for more or less (as the case may be) number of top sources.

  • Provide a comma-separated list of sources you want to monitor in the INCLUDE SOURCES text box. For example, your specification can be, 192.168.10.45, 192.168.10.71,192.168.10.220. You can even provide patterns of source IP addresses as a comma-separated list - for instance, 192.168.10.*,192.168.8.1*1, *.168.9.45. Alternatively, you can provide a range of source IP addresses. For example, 192.168.10.32-192.168.10.45.

    Note:

    Sources can be represented using IP addresses only and not host names.

  • Provide a comma-separated list of interfaces that you want excluded from monitoring in the EXCLUDE INTERFACES text box. For example, your specification can be, FastEtherNet0/0, FastEthernet0/1,FastEtherNet0/2. You can even provide patterns of interfaces as a comma-separated list - for instance, *ethernet*,Fast*.

  • This test captures statistics on traffic that originates from source hosts, where each host is by default represented by its IP address in the eG monitoring console. Accordingly, the SHOW HOST NAMES flag is set to No by default. You can set this flag to Yes so that the names of the individual hosts are displayed in the eG monitoring console instead of their IP addresses.

  • Network latencies and processing bottlenecks can sometimes cause netflow records to be transmitted slowly to the NetFlow collector. In such a situation, you can instruct the collector to either process or ignore the delayed NetFlow records. If you want the metrics reported to pertain to current NetFlow records only, then you may choose to ignore the delayed records. In this case, set the PROCESS TAINTED PACKETS flag to No. If you want old NetFlow records to also be considered when identifying top sources and reporting their traffic statistics, then set this flag to Yes. Typically, any NetFlow record that takes 10 minutes or over to reach the NetFlow collector is deemed a tainted/delayed record.

  • By default, NetFlow is designed to process all IP packets on an interface. This is why, the SAMPLING flag is set to No by default. In some environments however, e.g. on Internet backbones, processing all IP packets can be too costly, due to the extra processing required for each packet and large number of simultaneous flows. This is where sampling is useful. In such environments, set the SAMPLING flag to Yes.

    Once this is done, then each interface will process only 1 packet out of a configured number of packets. Specify the number of packets from which this 1 packet should be picked in the SAMPLING RATE text box. For instance, to pick 1 out of 1000 packets for sampling, set the SAMPLING RATE to 1000. Where Sampling is enabled, all NetFlow metrics - particularly, metrics on traffic volume - will be adjusted based on the SAMPLING RATE you specify.

  • The port at which the monitored target exposes its SNMP MIB; 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.

  • The SNMP community name that the test uses to communicate with the switch. The SNMPCOMMUNITY 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 this 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 duration (in seconds) within which the SNMP query executed by this test should time out in the TIMEOUT text box. The default is 10 seconds.

  • 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.

  • The DD FREQUENCY refers to the frequency with which detailed diagnosis measures are to be generated for this test. The default is 1:1. 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 none against DD FREQUENCY.

  • Once the above values are provided, click on the UPDATE button to 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.