Configure Parameters screen

The Configure Parameters screen is accessed by clicking on the Messages > Config tab, and then selecting Parms. From that location, the operator can view and edit various system global parameters that affect the appearance and performance of the system. A depiction of this screen is shown as follows:

The Parms screen is a standard BMC Defender Server dialog. To edit parameter entries, you click Edit option, modifies the parameter, and then clicks Commit option on the edit screen. You can restore the preset default configuration by clicking on Default option on the edit screen. If Default option is accidentally clicked, you can inspect the previous settings by clicking Back option of the browser. Data is stored in the ./config/slparms.cnf file of the system.

The following parameters are supported:

• Default Message Encoding—This setting is adjustable only on the international versions of the program, and permits you to specify the message type of incoming messages, such as GB2312 (for Chinese systems) or other supported languages. On English versions of the program, this value is always Western. 

• De-Duplicate Msg Seconds—This setting is used to prevent duplicate messages from flooding the BMC Defender Server system. If a duplicate message is received by the system in the specified number of seconds, then it is rejected. Before the message can be received again, there must be the specified number of seconds wait time. 

  Note

  The message is entered into the Messages > Aux catalog for further review.

• Max Non-Indexed Search—This setting controls the maximum number of messages that are scanned if you search for a keyword or phrase that does not contain a keyword, such as when you search for a number on the Messages > Search screen. Also, when searching in catalog screens, this is the maximum number of records that are searched. Setting this value too high can substantially slow down the search process.
• Msg Keyword Links—This setting controls the behavior of the system when you click on a keyword in a message display, controlling whether you can search for a keyword by clicking a keyword link. The values are Disabled might disable any search (that is the behavior prior to the 5-6-X series program; Search-All searches all message data for the specified keyword; Search-Context searches the current message catalog for the specified keyword.
• Self-Limit Span Times—This setting affects the behavior of certain dashboard gadgets (such as the Parse-Thread gadget) by permitting you to disable the self-limit span time behavior. Setting the value to Disabled can degrade dashboard rendering times. 
• Last Message Repeated—This setting is used to specifically support Unix style Last Message Repeated events. When set to auto, if a Unix box generates this event, BMC Defender Server is automatically repeat the last message received from the box. This assists in correlation functions. 
• Keep Online Days—This is an integer value representing the number of days to keep active on the system as an indexed part of the search engine. Any data that is older than this number of days is moved to the ./archive directory of the system. The CO-maint.exe program performs the task nightly, at midnight. The setting provides a way to limit the amount of files and disk space required to support the program.
• Keep Archived Days—This is an integer value representing the number of days to keep archived files, in Gzip format, within the ./archive directory of the system. Any archived data that is older than this number of days is deleted. The CO-maint.exe program performs the data archiving nightly, at midnight. 
• Archive Filtered Data—This setting controls whether filtered data is automatically archived each night along with non-filtered data. The filtered data is preserved in the ./archive/filt directory in Gzip format.  For information about the Messages > Aux screen, see Messages > AUX.

• Catalog Directory Path—This is the path to the directory folder that contains Catalog files, by default the path ../catalogs within the BMC Defender Server root directory. The value is useful if there is an expanse of catalog data that fits more conveniently on a different disk and folder (such as the F:/Catalog disk.) An absolute path should be specified, or a pathname relative to the s-cgi directory. 
  

  Note

  This value is normally read-only, hence it can only be changed with the help of program support.

• Syslog Directory Path—This is the path to the directory folder that contains syslog files, by default the path ../logs within the BMC Defender Server root directory. The value is useful if there is an expanse of syslog data that fits more conveniently on a different disk (such as the F:/Syslog disk.) An absolute path should be specified, or a pathname relative to the s-cgi directory.
• Archive Data Path—This is the path to the directory folder that contains compressed archive files and message digests, by default the path ../archive within the BMC Defender Server root directory. The value is useful if there is an expanse of archive data that fits more conveniently on a different disk and folder (such as the F:/Archive disk.) An absolute path should be specified, or a pathname relative to the s-cgi directory. 
• External Data Path—This is the path to a directory of files that is used by the Reports > Query tool, when searching external files. The value can be any windows pathname. By default, the value is set to the ../external directory, that permits you to search for files in the BMC Defender Server\external folder as a standard Query function. (See the Reports > Query screen for more information.) 
• SNMP Utility Path—This value (and the following value) works strictly with the Device Information screen. If the net-snmp or equivalent software resides on the disk, then SNMP requests are made using that software to acquire the device system description, uptime, and other values. This assists you in identifying the device that sent a message. If the path is invalid, or does not contain an snmpget.bat file, then no SNMP capability is enabled. (See the Device Information Screen, discussed further in this section.) 
• SNMP Read Community—This value (and the previously discussed value) works strictly with the Device Information screen. You can specify the SNMP read community to work with the previous SNMP Utility Path, useful in identifying the type of device on the system that sent a message. If SNMP is not enabled, this field can be left blank. See previous notes. 
• Require Standard IP Addresses—This switch can be used to bypass the display and checking of IP addresses to accommodate textual names and Ipv6 values. By default, the system requires that addresses be in Ipv4 (dot) notation. This switch must be set to Yes in order to use the advanced features of the Address Overrides screen, discussed previously. (This menu option is also available on the Messages > Overrides > Address > Advanced screen.) When this value is set, the system can display hostnames or other values in place of the normal IP address for the device.
• Auto-Override Agent Addresses—This switch overrides addresses with the Location: keyword value generated by the BMC Defender Server Agent programs, useful for operating in a DHCP environment. By default, the Location value of the agent is set in the agent Message Prefix, and is the value of the %COMPUTERNAME% environmental variable on the host platform. When this value is set to Yes, IP addresses are automatically replaced by this value for BMC Defender Server Agent programs, making the message independent of the IP address. See the Messages > Overrides > Address > Advanced screen for additional notes on this feature. This value has no affect unless the Require Standard IP Addresses switch is set to No. 
• Auto-Override Addresses Externally—This switch overrides addresses with an external DLL, supplied by the vendor. This value is generally set only with the advice of vendor support and  professional services. See the Messages > Address > Advanced screen for additional notes on this feature. 
• Auto-Mask User Names—This switch masks user names appearing anywhere in the system, or in reports and notifications, useful for implementing user privacy and removing operator bias from the system. This value affects only the display, and does not affect message reception or logged content. See the Messages > Overrides > Text > Advanced screen for additional notes on this feature.
• Auto-Lookup SID Values—This switch directs the program to automatically lookup SID values encountered in Windows messages, replacing these values with the user name. This value can be set to Yes if a Windows agent program other than BMC Defender Agent for Windows is being used. (The agent programs that come with BMC Defender Server automatically lookup the SID values, hence this setting should normally be set to No when using these particular Windows agents.)
  This setting is also found on the Messages > Config > Overrides > Text > Advanced screen, for convenience.

At the top of the display are controls that allow you to edit the list or refresh the display. The operator clicks Edit to modify the parameter values. The operator clicks Commit option on the edit screen, that saves the data, and displays the modifications on the top-level screen. 

A Default option is provided on the Edit screen, that restores the installation default parameters. If the operator clicks on Default option, the defaults are immediately restored. If this occurs accidentally, then the administrator needs to click back, inspect the previous settings before clicking Default, and re-edit the parameters using the desired values. 

Configure Parameters screen, special notes 

The Require Standard IP Address, Auto-Override Agent Addresses and Auto-Mask User Names settings are all available on other screens. The parameter screen herein provides an alternate method of setting and auditing these values from a central location. Refer to the Messages > Overrides > Address and Messages > Overrides > Text screens for more information on the functions controlled by these three parameters.

As with the other Configure screens, the changes are applied to the central operating agents of the system. Hence, caution should be exercised when making these changes so as not to affect other users that might depend upon this data.

This might cause some confusion to users, causing them to initially look in the wrong location for a parameter setting. As a general rule, any parameter that affects message delivery or any of the Messages or Correlation screens is available here.