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    BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management 10.7

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    You can define the monitoring criteria in policies and then apply them to the PATROL Agents. When you modify a policy, all the changes are automatically pushed to the PATROL Agents on which the policy is already applied. 

    Ensure that you have the required permissions to define and manage monitoring policies. For details, see Configuring Infrastructure Management to monitor and manage your infrastructure systems.

    When a monitoring policy is applied to a PATROL Agent, the device or server that hosts the Agent is automatically added to the list of monitored devices.

    Related topics

    Managing policies

    Administering Integration Service clusters

    Policy management

    Other policy types

    Defining a staging policy

    Defining a blackout policy

    Viewing assistance

    To toggle full-screen mode for this topic (recommended), type f. To hide the navigation tree on the left, type [.

    To create a monitoring policy

    1. Log on to the TrueSight console.
    2. In the navigation pane, expand Configuration and select Infrastructure Policies.
    3. In the Infrastructure Policies page, ensure that the Monitoring tab is selected and click Create Policy.

    4. In the Create Monitoring Policy page, specify the monitoring policy properties:

       

      1. Define the general properties.

         Click here for details


        Property

        		Description
        Name

        Name for the policy. The policy names must be unique. In an environment with tenants, the policy names must be unique for a single tenant. It is a mandatory field. 

        For more information, see Policy naming guidelines.

        Description(Optional) A brief description about the policy
        Associated User Group

        Name of the user group that is associated with the PATROL Agents as defined in the Authorization Profile or in the PATROL Agent ACLs. The policy is applicable to these PATROL Agents.

        Note: The list of user groups that is displayed includes the user groups that the logged on user belongs to. For monitoring and blackout policies, this property determines the monitoring solutions and configuration options that you have. For more information about granting or restricting access, see Specifying objects in an authorization profile .

        This property can be viewed in READ-ONLY mode by other users of the user group. Only the owner of the policy can modify this property.

        Share with User Group

        Specify whether this policy is to be shared with the users across the associated user group or not. This property can be viewed in READ-ONLY mode by other users of the associated user group. Only the owner of the policy can modify this property.

        Precedence

        Priority of the policy. Based on the precedence number that you configure, the configuration is applied to the PATROL Agents and the Infrastructure Management servers.

        The precedence number ranges from 0 to 999. A lower number indicates a higher precedence. The default value is 900.

        The configuration from a policy with a higher precedence overrides the configuration from a policy with a lower precedence. If two policies have the same precedence number, then the configuration from the latest created policy takes priority. 

        Enable PolicyIndicates whether the policy is enabled or disabled. By default, the policy is enabled. If you disable a policy when you create it, the policy configurations are not applied to the PATROL Agents and the Infrastructure Management Servers. If you disable any existing policy, the policy configurations are removed from the PATROL Agents and the Infrastructure Management servers, where the policy was applied.

        best-practice Best Practices

        • Organize and define policies according to the monitored technology that the policies apply to. For example, create separate policies for monitoring Microsoft Windows operating systems, UNIX operating systems, Linux operating systems, Oracle databases, SQL Server databases, Apache, and so on.
        • Use meaningful names for policies and put information with the maximum impact at the beginning of the policy name. Define and follow a standard for doing this. The following table shows a list of sample policy names:

        Policy name

        Policy purpose

        WinBasicOS

        Basic monitoring for Microsoft Windows operating systems that apply to all Microsoft Windows servers

        RHELBasicOS

        Basic monitoring for Red Hat operating systems that apply to all Red Hat Enterprise Linux servers

        OracleDBstd

        Monitoring for Oracle databases that apply to all Oracle databases

        SQLServerDBstd

        Monitoring for SQL Server databases that apply to all SQL Server databases

        Apachestd

        Monitoring for Apache that apply to all Apache instances

        WebLogicstd

        Monitoring for WebLogic that apply to all WebLogic instances

        WinDNSstd

        Windows DSN Server monitoring

        WinDHCPstd

        Windows DHCP Server monitoring

        • Enable policies only after they have been tested and validated for production.

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      2. Select PATROL Agents.

         Click here for details

        Define conditions to select the PATROL Agents on which you want to apply the policy. 

        PropertyDescription
        Agent Host Name

        Host name of the computer on which the PATROL Agent is installed.

        Note: The value for the matches property must be a strict regular expression. Some examples of regular expressions that can be used:

        • virtual_machine -- To select Agents that match the exact string "virtual_machine" 
        • .*?virtual_machine.* -- To select Agents that match the sub-string "virtual_machine"
        • ^((?!clm-pun).)*$  -- To select Agents that do not match the sub-string  "clm-pun"
        Agent Port

        Port number through which the PATROL Agent listens for incoming connections from the PATROL console.

        Use port numbers from 1025 to 65535.

        Agent VersionVersion of the PATROL Agent.
        Agent Operating SystemOperating system of the computer on which the PATROL Agent is installed.
        Agent IP AddressIP address of the computer on which the PATROL Agent is installed. If you select the Agent IP Address in the range condition, only IPv4 range is supported.
        Agent TagTag applied on the PATROL Agent.
        Integration ServicePATROL Agents connected to the selected Integration Service.
        Infrastructure Management ServerPATROL Agents connected to the selected Infrastructure Management Server.
        Monitoring Solution Name1PATROL Agents on which the selected monitoring solution is installed.
        Monitoring Solution Version1PATROL Agents on which monitoring solutions of the specified version are installed.
        Tenant NameName of the tenant to which the PATROL Agent are associated via the Integration Service.

        1 - The Monitoring Solution Name property is only applicable to PATROL Agent version 10.0 and later.


        You can set multiple conditions and also group the conditions to identify the agents.

        Note: The values that you enter for the properties are not case-sensitive.

        Steps to select Agents:


        1. Select a property.
        2. Select an operator to create the condition. The available operators depend on the property that you select.
        3. Specify a value for the selected property.
        4. (Optional) To add more than one condition, click the button, and perform the earlier steps.
        5. (Optional) To group the conditions, use the following parentheses and Boolean operators from their corresponding lists:
          • (
          • ((
          • (((
          • )
          • ))
          • )))
          • AND
          • OR
        6. (Optional) To remove any existing condition, click the  button.

        To view the list of PATROL Agents that are selected based on the specified criteria, click Preview.

        The Preview button is enabled only after you specify values for the selected conditions.

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    c. Specify values in at least one of the configuration tabs and click Save.

     Click here to know the supported configurations per tab..

    Each tab provides options for a specific configuration. Depending on what you want to monitor, you must specify values in the respective tabs.
    The following table lists the tabs and the configurations that you can do in them:

    TabSupported Configuration
    MonitoringTo add and configure monitor types for the compatible PATROL monitoring solutions that are located in the deployable packages.
    FilteringTo control the data and events that are sent to the Infrastructure Management server from the PATROL Agents.
    Polling IntervalsTo configure the time interval between two consecutive data polls.
    Agent ThresholdsTo configure intelligent thresholds for attributes of a monitor type on the PATROL Agents.
    Server ThresholdsTo configure thresholds for the monitor instances on the Infrastructure Management server.
    AgentTo configure the properties of a PATROL Agent and specify the actions that the Agent must perform when the policy is applied.
    ServerTo specify actions to be performed on the Infrastructure Management server when the policy that is created, is applied
    Configuration VariablesTo control the PATROL Agent configuration by defining values for the Agent's configuration variables. 

     

    Add and configure monitor types to a monitoring solution

    You can add and configure monitor types for the compatible PATROL monitoring solutions that are located in the Deployable Package Repository. For a list of monitoring solutions and monitor types that you can configure, see List of Monitoring Solutions and KMs in Operations Management. To configure custom monitoring solutions, ensure the solution is structured correctly; for details, see  Developing a PATROL Knowledge Module .

    1. Ensure that the Monitoring tab is selected. By default, this tab is selected. If not, click it.

    2. Click New Monitor Configuration.

    3. In the Add Monitoring Configuration dialog box, configure the following properties:

      Property Description
      Monitoring Solution Name of the monitoring solution. A solution can have many Knowledge Modules (KMs) under it.
      Version Version of the selected monitoring solution
      Monitor Profile Name of the monitor profile to which the monitor types that you want to enable are associated.

      Each solution contains multiple monitoring profiles that help to reduce unnecessary monitoring. Each monitoring profile is associated with a group of monitor types. If a profile has monitor types that require you to enter information, they are listed in the Monitor type list, and you can configure them. If the profile has no monitor types that require input, all the monitor types are enabled by default and the Monitor Type list is disabled. To view all the monitor types that belong to a selected profile, click the Click to view Monitor Types option.

      The monitor types that belong to a profile are pre-determined. You cannot add or remove them from a profile.
      Monitor Type

      Name of the monitor type that you want to configure. You can select one from the list:

      • All - All the monitor types will have default values.

      • Monitor type other than All - You must configure the monitor type. The configuration options vary depending on the monitor type that you select.

      To know the list of monitor types that are loaded on the Agent, click the Information icon .

      Tip: For documentation or more information about a monitor profile or monitor type, click the Help icon next to the list. The online documentation for that monitor type is displayed.
      Other configuration options Specify values for additional configuration options. These options vary depending on the monitoring solution, monitor profile, and monitor type that you selected. Tip: For information about an option, move the mouse over the option to view the tooltip.

      The following figure shows the Add Monitoring Configuration dialog box with sample data. Also, you can see the tooltip that provides helpful information about the Exclude Criteria option.
       

    4. Click any of the following:
      • OK and Close to exit the dialog box. The configured monitor type is added as a new row in the Monitoring tab. The selected monitor type is updated if it already exists in the Monitoring configuration.
      • OK to stay on the dialog box and configure another monitor type. The configured monitor types are added or updated in the Monitoring configuration.
      • Cancel to exit the dialog box without saving the changes.
    5. To modify the monitoring configuration, click the action menu for that configuration and select Edit. Modify the configuration and click OK. The edit option is not displayed if the Monitor Type is All.
    6. To delete a monitoring configuration, click the action menu for that configuration and select Delete. After you save the policy, the deleted monitor type configuration is removed from the selected PATROL Agents.

    After you save or update a policy, the monitor type configurations are pushed to the selected PATROL Agents

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    Configure filters to include or exclude data and events

    After you configure the monitor types in the PATROL Agents, they send the collected data and the generated events to the Infrastructure Management server. You can configure filters to restrict or allow data and events to be sent to the Infrastructure Management server. Unlike in blackout policies, when you apply filters in a monitoring policy, the data collection and event generation continues on the PATROL Agent.

    You can configure the following types of filters:

    • Attribute-level filter - When you apply this filter, only the instance information is sent to the TrueSight Infrastructure Management server. Information about the attributes of the instance is not sent to the TrueSight Infrastructure Management server.

    • Instance-level filter - When you apply this filter, information about both attributes and instances is not sent to the TrueSight Infrastructure Management server. If you have instances in a parent-child hierarchy, you must configure instance-level filters separately for each sub-node of the parent and child.

      Note

      The instance-level filter is available for the PATROL Agent version 10.7 or later. The instance filtering policies are ignored on any earlier version of the PATROL Agent.

    A PATROL Agent applies a filtering policy during the next scheduled discovery or collection of a PATROL object (monitor type or attribute). That is, filtering is applied when the first collection occurs on the PATROL object after filtering rules are applied. Due to this behavior, there might be a delay in the deployment of the filtering rules on the PATROL object.

     

    Best Practice

    • BMC does not recommend that you send both performance data and events for the same parameter to the Infrastructure Management server. If you are sending performance data for a parameter, configure thresholds in the Infrastructure Management server for that parameter and let the Infrastructure Management sever generate events for it.
    • Certain types of parameters must have only performance data sent to the Infrastructure Management server from the PATROL Agents; they must not have events sent. Other types of parameters must only have events sent to the Infrastructure Management server from the PATROL Agents, with no performance data sent.
      Based on parameter usage, ensure that you store data for and configure the following parameters in the Infrastructure Management server database:
      • KPI parameters
      • Parameters required in performance reporting
      • Parameters requiring “duration” thresholds. For example, you do not want an event unless the parameter has breached a threshold for 15 minutes. (PATROL Agent does not support this capability.)
      • Parameters requiring “time of day” type thresholds. (This is accomplished using baselines.)
      • Parameters for which predictive event generation and abnormality detection are required. This generally applies to all KPIs, which can be extended.
    • BMC recommends that you apply the instance filtering policy before applying any other policy on the PATROL agent.

    Complete the following steps to configure filters:

    1. Click the Filtering tab.
    2. Select one of the following options:
      • Agent Level: Filters data and events from the PATROL Agent. Select an appropriate filtering option from the list.
      • Monitor Type Level: Filters information from a specific monitor type. To specify the monitor type:
        1. Click Add Monitor Type.
        2. In the Add Monitor Type dialog box, select a solution and its version.
        3. Select a related monitor type from the list.
        4. In Scope, select one of the following options:
          • If you want to specifically filter data and events from an attribute, select Attribute, and then select an attribute from the Monitor Attribute list. The default value is All.

          • If you want to specifically filter data and events from an instance on the PATROL agent, select Instance, and then enter the instance name in the Instance SID field.

            Tip

            The instance SID is not the monitoring instance name that is displayed in the Truesight console.

              Click here to know the steps to determine the SID of a monitoring instance...

            1. Log on to BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Operator console.

            2. In the navigation pane, select Devices > Grid View.

            3. Click any device.

            4. The Show Monitors page is displayed.

            5. Hover the mouse over the specific monitor instance, and the tool tip displays the SID for the instance.

            6. Note down the SID. You can use the SID value when you configure the agent threshold.


            For the Instance SID field, you can also use a regular expression.
            If you want to use a regular expression, select the Is a Regular Expression check box.

             

            Note

             The value for the matches property must be a strict regular expression. Some examples of regular expressions that can be used:

            • CPU_0 -- To select Agents that match the exact string "CPU_0"
            • .*?CPU_0.* -- To select Agents that match the sub-string "CPU_0"
            • ^((?!clm-pun).)*$ -- To select Agents that do not match the sub-string "clm-pun"

        5. Select a filtering option according to the following table:

          Options for filtering attributes Options for filtering instances
          • No Filter (Send all data and all events.)
          • Filter out data (Send all events, but no data.)
          • Filter out events (Send all data, but no events.)
          • Filter out data and events (Send no data and no events.)
          • No filter (Create instances, send events, send data)
          • Filter out instances (Suppress instances, send events, no data)
          • Filter out events (Create instances, no events, send data)
          • Filter out instances, data, and events (Suppress instances, no events, no data)

        6. Click any of the following:

          • OK and Close to exit the dialog box. The monitor type with selected attribute and filter option is added or updated to the table in the Filtering configuration.
          • OK to stay on the dialog box and configure filter option for another monitor attribute.
          • Cancel to exit the dialog box without saving the changes.
    3. To modify the properties of an existing filter level for Monitor Type Level option, click the action menu for that filter and click Edit.
    4. To delete a configured monitor type level for Monitor Type Level option, click the action menu for that level and click Delete.

     

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    Configure polling intervals

    Specify the time interval between two consecutive data polls. You need to specify a separate poll interval for every parameter. 

    1. Click the Polling Intervals tab. 
    2. Add a polling interval:
      1. Click Add Polling Interval.

      2. Select values for the following options:

        - Monitoring Solution 

        - Version

        - Monitor Type

        - Parameter

        - Parameter Polling Interval

      3. Click any of the following:
        • OK and Close to exit the dialog box. The monitor type with selected parameter and polling interval is added or updated to the table in the Polling Interval tab.
        • OK to stay on the dialog box and configure polling interval for another monitor parameter.
        • Cancel to exit the dialog box without saving the changes.
    3. To modify the properties of a polling interval: Click the action menu associated with that polling interval, and select Edit.
    4. To delete a polling interval: Click the action menu associated with that polling interval and select Delete.

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    Define thresholds on PATROL Agents

    Configure range-based thresholds for attributes of a monitor type on the PATROL Agents. You can specify whether the thresholds apply to a monitor type or to an instance of a monitor type.

    Best Practice

    Define and specify global thresholds for KPIs and performance parameters in the Infrastructure Management server  before you define server and Agent thresholds in the monitoring policies.   
    1. Click the Agent Threshold tab.

    Click Add Agent Threshold.  

    Specify values for the following properties:

    Property Description
    Monitoring Solution Monitoring solution
    Version Version of the monitoring solution
    Monitor Type Monitor type
    Scope Scope of the threshold. Select one of the following options:
    • Type: The threshold applies to all instances of the monitor type.

    • Instance: The threshold applies to specific instances of the monitor type. To identify the instance, specify the instance ID in the Instance SID box.

        Click here to know the steps to determine the SID of a monitoring instance

      1. Log on to BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Operator console.
      2. In the navigation pane, select Devices > Grid View.
      3. Click any device.
        The Show Monitors page is displayed. 
      4. Hover the mouse over the specific monitor instance, and the tool tip displays the SID for the instance.
      5. Note down the SID. You can use the SID value when you configure the agent threshold.

      If you want to specify multiple SIDs, you can use regular expressions to search for multiple matching instance SIDs. If you use regular expressions to search for the matching instance SIDs, ensure that you have selected Is a Regular Expression.

        Click here to view the supported characters for regular expressions


      Character Expression Description
      ^ Beginning of line Only finds the search term if the term is at the beginning of a line
      $ End of line Only finds the search term if the term is at the end of a line
      . Any character Matches any single character except a line break
      * Zero or more Matches zero or more occurrences of the preceding expression, making all possible matches
      [] Any one character in the set Matches any one of the characters within the []. To specify a range of characters, list the starting and ending characters, separated by a dash (-), as in [a-z].
      [^] Any one character not in the set Matches any character not in the set of characters following the ^
      \< Beginning of word Matches only when a word begins at this point in the text
      \> End of word Matches only when a word ends at this point in the text

       
    Monitor Attribute Monitoring attribute

    Threshold Ranges: Configure border and threshold ranges for the selected monitor attribute.
    For Border Threshold, Threshold 1, and Threshold 2:
    Enable Select this check box for the type of threshold that you want to configure.
    Min, Max
    Minimum and maximum values for the range.

     

    Note

    • For threshold 1 range: The minimum value of the border range must be less than or equal to the minimum value of the threshold 1 range.
    • For threshold 2 range: The maximum value of the border range must be greater than or equal to the maximum value of the threshold 2 range.
    • If the minimum and maximum values of threshold 1 are equal to those of the border threshold values, then threshold 2 is not used because threshold 1 uses the entire range of border threshold.
    Select Event Severity

    Severity type to be associated with the event. Select one of the following options:

    • OK
    • Warning
    • Critical

    When the configured threshold is violated, the triggered event is of the selected severity.
    Trigger an Event Condition to trigger an event. Select one of the following options:
    • Immediately on threshold violation: Triggers an event immediately after a threshold violation.
    • After threshold violation occurs N times: Triggers an event after the threshold is violated after the specified (N) number of times. Ensure that you specify a value greater than 0 in the N box.
    • After all auto-recovery actions fail: Triggers an event after the recovery actions that are configured at the PATROL Agent fail.

     

    1. Click any of the following:
      • OK and Close to exit the dialog box. The monitor type with selected attribute and threshold options is added or updated to the table in the Agent Threshold tab.
      • OK to stay on the dialog box and configure thresholds for another monitor attribute.
      • Cancel to exit the dialog box without saving the changes.

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    Create server-level instance thresholds

    You can create thresholds for the monitor instances on the Infrastructure Management server. For information about the types of thresholds, see Server thresholds, KPIs, and baselines.

    Best Practice

    • Ensure that you complete the monitoring configuration before you configure the Infrastructure Management server thresholds because thresholds cannot be applied to monitors that are not configured.
    • Define global thresholds for KPIs and performance parameters in the Infrastructure Management server before you define the server and agent thresholds.  Server thresholds override global thresholds.
    • Use server thresholds for instance-level thresholds.  

    To configure the server thresholds:

    1. Click the Server Threshold tab.
    2. Click Add Server Threshold.    

    Specify values for the following properties:


    Option Description
    Monitoring Solution Name of the monitoring solution. A solution can have many Knowledge Modules (KMs) under it.
    Version Version of the monitoring solution.
    Monitor Type A list of monitor types for the selected solution.
    Monitor Instance Name

    Name of the monitor instance. Depending on your requirement, specify the monitor instance information in one of the following formats:

    • Name of the monitor instance.

      Note

       If the Monitor Instance Name has a space as a leading character, you must use backslash (\) as an escape character before the space. For example, use '\ CPU - Linux CPU' for ' CPU - Linux CPU'.

    • A regular expression that can match multiple instances.
      Click here to view the supported characters for regular expressions


    Character Expression Description
    ^ Beginning of line Only finds the search term if the term is at the beginning of a line
    $ End of line Only finds the search term if the term is at the end of a line
    . Any character Matches any single character except a line break
    .* One or more Matches one or more occurrences of the preceding expression, making all possible matches
    [] Any one character in the set Matches any one of the characters within the []. To specify a range of characters, list the starting and ending characters, separated by a dash (-), as in [a-z].
    [^] Any one character not in the set Matches any character not in the set of characters following the ^
    \< Beginning of word Matches only when a word begins at this point in the text
    \> End of word Matches only when a word ends at this point in the text

     

    • Name of a monitor instance with the associated device in the following format: deviceName/instanceName. Also, select the Associate with a Device check box.
      By selecting the Associate with a Device check box, you can add a server threshold to a specific instance on a specific device. This prevents the threshold from being applied on all instances that might have the same names on different devices.
    Monitor Attribute
    Monitor attribute

     

    Some monitoring attributes are designated as key performance indicators (KPIs). Depending on the monitored environment and version, the list of KPIs might appear differently in the operator console.

    Threshold: Configure the threshold parameters for the threshold type that you have selected. You can select either of the following types: Absolute, Signature, and Abnormality.
    Threshold types Parameter Description
    Absolute, Signature Severity

    Severity type to be associated with the event. Select one of the following options:

    • Minor
    • Major
    • Critical

    When the configured threshold is breached, the triggered event is of the selected severity.
    Absolute, Signature, Abnormality Duration The length of time, in minutes, that the data values must breach the threshold, before an event is generated.
    For example, you could specify that the attribute data value must remain above the baseline for 10 minutes before an event is generated. By specifying this parameter, you can reduce the number of events generated by an absolute threshold.
    Threshold Value
    		 An absolute value that is above and beyond the baseline value. If you set a threshold, an abnormality will be generated only when it violates both the set baseline and the threshold value.
    Outside Baseline Type Type of baseline. Select one of the following options:
    Not Enabled
    Auto
    Hourly
    Daily
    Weekly
    Hourly and Daily
    All

    By selecting a baseline type to combine with the absolute threshold, you can ensure that an event is not generated unless the data value breaches both the threshold value AND the selected baseline (Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Daily and Hourly, or All baselines). Thereby, you can reduce the number of events generated by an absolute threshold.
    Absolute Comparison
    		 A comparison operator to specify when a breach occurs. You can specify when the data value is greater than, less than, greater than or equal to, less than or equal to, or equal to the specified threshold value.
    Absolute Generate Predictive Event Select the check box if you want an early-warning predictive event to be generated 2-3 hours before the absolute threshold is breached. This enables you to get some lead time to take an action, if required.
    Absolute Auto Close Events
    		 Select the check box to specify that the events generated by a breach of the threshold be automatically closed if the data values that are collected are not breaching the threshold anymore. If you do not select this option, you can manually close such events in the TrueSight console.
    Signature, Abnormality Above/Below Threshold Select Above or Below depending on whether the collected data values must be above or below a threshold before an event is generated.
    Minimum Sampling Window The number of data points that must be collected or the amount of time that must pass (depending on the attribute) before an event is generated. At least five data points are required before an event is generated for any threshold type. If your minimum sampling window is set too small to allow at least 5 data points, then Infrastructure Management will wait until five data points have been collected before generating the event, regardless of the value entered into the sampling window.
    Example for abnormality threshold:
    If you set a minimum sampling window to 10 minutes on a specific monitor attribute but the polling rate of that monitor is 5 minutes, 25 minutes must pass before an abnormality is generated. For this reason, BMC recommends to use lower polling rates for monitors.
    Absolute Deviation (%)
    		 An absolute number above or below a baseline that the collected data values must reach before an event is generated.
    Example for abnormality threshold:
    For example, if you set a daily abnormality threshold for the Total Number of Disk I/O Request attribute for the VMware Disk Performance monitor type, and you set the absolute deviation to 3, then an abnormality event would not be generated until the Daily baseline for the total number of VMware disk I/O requests plus three additional requests had been made. If the Daily baseline for VMware disk I/O requests was 45, then an abnormality event would be generated when 48 VMware disk I/O requests were made.
    Percent Deviation (%) The percent of the baseline above or below the baseline that the collected data values must reach before an event is generated.
    Example for abnormality threshold:
    If you set a hourly abnormality threshold for for the Average Disk Throughput attribute for the VMware Disk Performance monitor type, and you set the percentage deviation to 10, then an abnormality event would not be generated until the value of the data collected reached the Hourly baseline for the average VMware disk throughput plus an additional 10 percent of the baseline value. If the Hourly baseline for average VMware disk throughput was 2500 KB per second, then an abnormality event would be generated when the VMware disk throughput became 2750 KB per second

     

    1. Click any of the following:
      • OK and Close to exit the dialog box. The monitor type with selected attribute and threshold options for a given instance is added or updated to the table in the Server Threshold tab.
      • OK to stay on the dialog box and configure thresholds for another monitor attribute or instance.
      • Cancel to exit the dialog box without saving the changes.
    2. To modify parameters of a threshold, click the action menu for that threshold and select Edit.
    3. To remove a threshold, click the action menu for that threshold and select Delete. After you save the policy, the deleted threshold configurations are removed from the selected PATROL Agents.
      After you save or update a policy, the new threshold configurations are pushed to the selected PATROL Agents.

    Back to top

    Configure PATROL Agents

    You can configure the properties of a PATROL Agent and specify the action that the Agent must perform when the policy is applied.

    For more information, see Specifying objects in an authorization profile .

    1. Click the Agent tab.

    2. Specify the following properties:

    Property Description
    Agent Default Account
    User Name

    The user name that you want to use to run the PATROL Agent. The user name must have access permissions to the PATROL Agent directory.


    Note: You need to provide an Agent user name and password only if they are different from what was previously configured.
    Password Password for the specified user name
    Confirm Password Password for the specified user name
    Restart Agent

    Select this check box if you want to restart the PATROL Agent after the policy is applied.

    Note

    You must select this check box if you want the user name change to take effect.


    While editing a policy, if you select Restart Agent and provide the same default account information as what was provided while creating the policy, the PATROL Agent is not restarted. To restart the PATROL Agent, use the Query Agent screen. For more information, see Performing actions on a PATROL Agent.
     
    Tag Tags that you want to assign to the PATROL Agent. The format of each tag is tagName:tagDescription. If the tag description contains spaces, enclose the description within double quotes. You can also provide multiple tags, separated by commas.
    For example, tag1:"Brief Description",tag2:"Description".
    Integration Service An Integration Service or an Integration Service cluster that you want to set as the PATROL Agent phone home. The supported values are as follows:
    • Single Integration Service
    • Integration Service Cluster
    Event Configuration Properties
    Event Forwarding Destination Destination where the events that are generated by the PATROL Agents must be sent to. The supported destinations are as follows:
    • Integration Service Settings: Enables you to use the settings on the Integration Service to which the PATROL Agent is connected
    • Cells: Enables to send the events to one or more cells. In the Event Cell List box, specify the cells to which you want to send the events, separated by commas. The format of each cell is cellHostName/cellPort, where cellHostName is the name of the host where the cell is installed and the cellPort is the port number through which the Agent communicates with the cell. For example, host1/3181,host2/3182
      Also, in the Event Cell Shared Key box, specify the shared key which is used for encryption. The default shared key is mc. 
    • Do not send events: Stops sending the events
    Event Format Container String to append to the name of the events that are generated by the PATROL Agents. The default string is BiiP3.

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    Configure actions performed by Infrastructure Management server

    Specify actions to be performed on the Infrastructure Management server when the policy is applied. The actions apply to all devices that are associated with the PATROL Agent and all the monitor instances that the Agent monitors.

    Best Practice

    • Do not use the automated group creation functionality excessively. Plan the groups that you need and configure accordingly.
    • Use the copy baseline feature only when you know the existing baseline is appropriate for a new Agent or device. For example, if you are adding an additional server to an Apache web server farm behind a load balancer where the new server has exactly the same configuration as the other servers in the farm (OS version, machine sizing and type, Apache version, Apache configuration) and the new Apache web server processes exactly the same types of transactions for the same application. If you are not certain, do not use the copy baseline feature.
    1. Click the Server tab.
    2. Specify values for the following properties:
    Property Description
    Add Agent Monitors to Group Name of a group on the Infrastructure Management server under which you want to add the monitors that are created as a result of this policy.

    You can provide multiple group names, separated by commas. If a group does not exist, a new group is created. Use a forward slash (/) to specify a group in a hierarchy. For example, server/device1/myGroup.

    If more than one group exists with the same name and a distinct hierarchy is not specified, monitor instances are not added to the group. The g    roup names are case sensitive.
    Add Associated Devices to Group

    Select the check box to add all devices associated with the Agent monitors to the group specified in the Add Agent Monitors to Group field. If multiple groups are specified in the Add Agent Monitors to Group field, all the associated devices are added automatically to all the groups.

    Note

    This field is applicable and is functional only when you have a TrueSight Infrastructure Manager Server 10.5 or later in your environment. The devices from TrueSight Infrastructure Manager Server 10.1 and 10.0 are not added to the group even if this flag is selected.
    Copy Baseline from Device

    Display name of the device from which you want to copy the baseline.

    Baseline for the monitor instances that are created on the child servers as a result of the policy are copied from the baseline of the corresponding monitor instances on the specified device. Baseline can be copied from the specified device only if the device is available on the child server.

    The device names are case sensitive.

    Associate Authorization Profiles with Devices

    Name of the authorization profile to associate with the devices that are created as a result of the policy.

    Authorization profiles provide role-based access control by associating users who belong to one or more user groups with specific roles and objects. The default authorization profiles are created during the installation of the TrueSight Presentation Server component.

    Devices are associated with the specified authorization profile only if the authorization profile is available on the Presentation Server.

    You can provide multiple authorization profile names, separated by commas. The authorization profile names are case sensitive.

    If you want to disassociate the devices from the authorization profiles after a policy is disabled or deleted, use the Authorization Profiles page in the TrueSight console and remove each device from the authorization profile..

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    Enables you to manually create Agent configuration rules such as Agent history retention, Agent run queue schedule settings, disabled Knowledge Modules, and so on.

     

    Define and manage configuration variables

    You can define individual configuration variables or import them from a ruleset file (.cfg).

    The PATROL Agent configuration is saved in a set of configuration variables that are stored in the Agent's configuration database. You can control the PATROL Agent configuration by changing the values of these configuration variables.

    Also, you can define a configuration variable, and the definitions are set on PATROL Agent when the policy is applied. Configuration variables that are defined on PATROL agents are retained even after disabling the policy. To delete the configuration variables, you must purge the PATROL Agent by using the following command:

    pconfig +PURGE -p <port> -host <hostname>

    By using this command, the configuration variable values of the PATROL Agent are restored to the default state, and the PATROL agent does not retain the previous configuration after an installation or an upgrade.

    You can also remove the variables by using the Add Configuration Variable dialog box.

    Note

    To view the configuration variables that are available in the previous PATROL Agent versions, use the Query Agent functionality.

    If you are modifying the default Agent configuration, you must restart the PATROL Agent to reflect the changes.

    Best Practice

    • Avoid creating a policy with both monitoring configuration and a configuration variable. You can create separate policies for monitoring configuration and configuration variables.
    • To keep the PATROL Agent in sync with the policy configuration, change an existing configuration variable's operation to DELVAR, instead of deleting it. After a configuration variable is deleted from the policy, you cannot perform any actions on it.

    To import existing configuration variables

    1. In the Configuration Variable page, click the common action menu in the table and select Import.
    2. Browse for and select the configuration file (.cfg) to be imported.
    3. Click Open. The variables from the file are added to the table.

    Note

    The import operation supports only REPLACE, DELETE, and DELVAR operators. If the .cfg file contains the MERGE or APPEND operators, the file cannot be imported. You must delete these operators before importing the file.

     

    To add new configuration variables

    1. Click Add Configuration Variable.

    2. In the Add Configuration Variable dialog box, specify values for the following properties and click OK:

      Property Description
      Variable Name for the configuration variable.
      Important: The variable names are case sensitive and must start with slash (/). You must enter the complete path for the variable, not just the name. If the intermediate variables do not exist, the variables are created.
      Operation Operation that you want to perform on the configuration variable. The supported operations are as follows:

      • REPLACE: Replaces the current value of the variable on the PATROL Agent if the variable already exists. Otherwise, a new variable is created with the specified value.

      • DELVAR: Deletes the variable from the PATROL Agent.

      • DELETE: Deletes the value of the variable, and the variable remains empty.
      Value Value that you want to configure for the variable and click OK. The configuration variable is added as a new row in the Configuration Variables table.

    3. Click any of the following:

      • OK and Close to exit the dialog box. The variable is added to the table on the Configuration Variables tab.
      • OK to stay on the dialog box and add multiple variables.
      • Cancel to exit the dialog box without saving the changes.

      Notes      : For the defaultAccount configuration variable, specify the value in the userName/password format. Note that the password can be a plain text or a PATROL Agent-encrypted string.

      Examples:

      patrol/patAdm1n
      patrol/FA4E70ECEAE09E75A744B52D2593C19F

      For the SecureStore configuration variable, specify the value in the context/data format. Note that the context and data can be a plain text or a PATROL Agent-encrypted string.

      Examples:

      MY_KM1;MY_KM2;MY_KM3/mysecretdata

      “EDC10278901F8CB04CF927C82828595B62D25EC355D0AF38589CE4235A246F8C63F24575073E4ECD”

      where “EDC10278901F8CB04CF927C82828595B62D25EC355D0AF38589CE4235A246F8C63F24575073E4ECD” is the encrypted form of "MY_KM1;MY_KM2;MY_KM3/mysecretdata"

    4. To modify any value in a variable, click the action menu for the variable and select Edit.
      In the Edit Configuration Variable dialog box,  modify the properties and click OK.
    5. To remove a variable, click the action menu for the variable and select Delete.

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    Where to go from here

    Monitoring devices from the TrueSight console


    8 Comments

    1. Patrick Mischler

      How do I disable a server threshold? 

       

      Use case: For the majority of the system a global server threshold is applied. But this threshold should not apply for a distinct group of servers. How can the global server threshold be disabled in a monitoring policy?

      1. Harihara Subramanian

        Hi Patrick Mischler,

        Thanks for your comment. 

        Kartik Peyyeti, can you please respond to Patrick Mischler's use case?

        Thanks,

        Hari

    2. Jeff Wenzbauer

      This page states "Note: The values that you enter for the properties are not case-sensitive." in the section titled "To create a monitoring policy."


      I find that this is not true. When creating a policy, in my 'Agent Selection Criteria' if I use 'Agent Host Name' matches .*test.*, this will not match an agent with a hostname of MYTEST but it will match an agent with a hostname of mytest.  Is there a way to ignore case when using the 'matches' operator?


      1. Harihara Subramanian

        Hello Jeff Wenzbauer,

        We are working on this comment to validate before updating the doc. Thanks for your observations.

        Thanks,

        Hari

      2. Priyanka Nanwani

        Hi Jeff,

        Thank you for reporting this issue. The values that you enter for the properties are in fact case sensitive. The note is now corrected.

        To ignore the case, you can use a regular expression with the matches operator. 

        For example, suppose, you want to select Agents with the following names:

        • BMCAgent
        • bmcAgent

        In this scenario, you can provide the following agent selection criteria:

        Agent Host Name  matches  [BMC,bmc].*

        Hope this helps,

        Priyanka

    3. Jeff Wenzbauer

      You can also use (?i) to indicate a case-insensitive search.

      For example, (using your same example) suppose, you want to select Agents with the following names:

      • BMCAgent
      • bmcAgent

      In this scenario, you can provide the following agent selection criteria:

      Agent Host Name  matches  (?i)bmcagent

      1. Harihara Subramanian

         

        1. Priyanka Nanwani

           

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