Integrating with BMC Stackify

BMC Stackify is an application performance monitoring tool that helps you retrace what your code is doing and to quickly find bugs and performance problems.

The BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations BMC Stackify connector collects metrics data from BMC Stackify.

BMC Helix application	Type of data collected or viewed	Benefits
BMC Helix Operations Management	Metrics	Use alarm and variate policies to detect anomalies and eliminate false positives for more accurate results while monitoring the health of your system. For more information, see Detecting anomalies by using static and dynamic thresholds.

Supported versions

BMC Helix Intelligent Integrationssupports the following versions of BMC Stackify Agent for data collection:

Windows Agent 4.35.31
Linux Agent 2.33.9

Task 1: To plan for the connection

Review the following prerequisites to help you plan and configure a connection with BMC Stackify.

BMC Stackify prerequisite

Before you start configuring a connection with BMC Stackify to collect metrics, prepare the metrics JSLT mapping.

Sample metrics JSLT mapping

Sample code

[
   {
       "labels" : {
               "metricName" : .name,
               "hostname" : .extras.hostname,
               "entityId" : join(["Stackify", ":", .extras.hostname, ":",.extras.entityTypeId, ":", .extras.entityName], ""),
               "entityTypeId" : . extras.entityTypeId,
               "device_id" : .extras.hostname,
               "instanceName" : .extras.entityName,
               "entityName" : .extras.entityName,
               "hostType" : "Server",
               "isKpi" : true,
               "unit" : .unit,
               "source" : "Stackify",
               "external_id" : .ciExternalId
       },
       "samples" : [
           {
               "value" : number(.value),
               "timestamp" : number(.originTimestamp)
           }
        ]
   }
]

BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations prerequisites

Depending on the location of the third-party product (SaaS, on-premises), choose one or more BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations deployment modes and review the corresponding port requirements. For information about various deployment modes and port requirements, see Deployment-scenarios.
Based on the deployment mode, use the BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations SaaS deployment or the BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations on-premises gateway or both. For more information about the gateway, see Deploying-the-BMC-Helix-Intelligent-Integrations-on-premises-gateway.

Make sure that the on-premises gateway is able to reach the third-party product on the required port (default is 443).

In the preceding list, third-party product refers to BMC Stackify.

Task 2: To configure the connection with BMC Stackify

Depending on the deployment mode, perform one of the following steps to access BMC Helix Intelligent
Integrations:
- BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations SaaS – Log on to BMC Helix Portal, and click Launch on BMC Helix
  Intelligent Integrations.
- BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations on-premises gateway – Use the following URL to access BMC Helix
  Intelligent Integrations: https://<hostName>:<portNumber>/swpui
On the CONNECTORS tab, clickin the SOURCES panel.
Click the Stackify Metrics tile.
Specify the following details for the source connection:
1. Specify a unique instance name.
  Important
  We recommend that you specify the instance name in the following format:
  <sourceType>_<sourceControllerServerName>{_<InstanceQualifier>}
  The instance qualifier helps you to distinguish the multiple instances configured from the same source server. For example, you can name your instances as Stackify_Host_PROD and Stackify_Host_TEST.
2. Specify the BMC Stackify metrics host (default value is api.stackify.com).
3. Specify the port number (default value is 443).
4. Select the HTTPS option to use an https connection to the BMC Stackifyhost.
5. Specify the number of maximum concurrent REST API requests that should be executed during a collection schedule (default value is 20).
6. Specify the X-Stackify-Key.
  X-Stackify-Key is the Activation Key which is automatically generated when you create a BMC Stackify account. You can find your Activation Key from your Account Info page. For more information, see the BMC Stackify Documentation.
7. Click Proxy and specify whether you want to configure a proxy server.
  If yes, specify the host name and port number (default value is 8888).
Click VALIDATE AND CREATE.
The specified connection details are validated and the corresponding source connection is created in the Source Connection list.
Verify that the source connection you created is selected.
Important
The destination host connection is created and configured automatically for each tenant when the source connection is created.
Make sure that the options for the datatypes for which you want to collect data are selected.

Click a data type and specify the configuration parameters in the Collectors section as described in the following table:

Parameter name	Description	Data Type
Parameter name	Description	Stackify Metrics
Collection Schedule	Select one of the following options to specify the data collection frequency: Duration: When you select this option, data collection happens constantly. Specify the schedule in minutes, hours, or day. Default: 5 minutes Example: Collection Schedule is set to 5 mins. Current time is 00:30. If you run the collector just after 00:30, data is collected every 5 mins, first at 00:30 and next at 00:35, and so on. Cron schedule: When you select this option, data collection happens periodically. Specify the schedule by using a cron expression. A cron expression is a string consisting of five subexpressions (fields) that describe individual details of the schedule. These fields, separated by blank spaces, can contain any of the allowed values with various combinations of the allowed characters for that field. Default: /5 * * * (evaluates to 5 minutes) Format: Minutes *Hours (24-hour format)* Day of Month Month Day of Week** Example: If you specify 10 15 3 7 * , data is collected at 15:10 hours every third day in the month of July. For more information about how this parameter affects data collection, see Data collection schedule.	✅️
Data Latency	Specify the time (in minutes) by which the data time window should be shifted back on the timeline. This parameter is useful in delayed data availability situations. Default: 0 minutes Example: Collection Schedule is set to 5 mins. Data Collection Window is set to 10 mins. Data Latency is set to 2 mins. Current time is 00:30. If you run the collector just after 00:30, data is collected first at 00:30 for the interval 00:18 to 00:28 and next at 00:35 for the interval 0:23 to 00:33, and so on. For more information about how this parameter affects data collection, see Data latency.	✅️
Device Regex	Specify the regular expression for the device name. Metrics are collected for the devices whose names match the regular expression. Examples: To collect metrics for the devices whose names start with stackify, specify the regex as stackify-.* . To collect metrics for the devices whose names have stackify in them, specify the reges as *.stackify.*. To collect metrics for the devices whose names end with stackify, specify the regex as .stackify$. To collect metrics for all devices, specify the regex as .. Important: You can specify multiple regular expressions, separating them by using a pipe (\|). If you are specifying multiple expressions, make sure that regular expressions are not conflicting. For example, do not enter, *stackify-.\|^stackify.*. The former expression collects metrics for the devices whose names do not start with stackify, while the latter expression collects metrics for the devices whose names start with stackify**.	✅️

Click CREATE COLLECTORS to create the required collector streams for the selected data type.

Click a data type and specify the configuration parameters in the Distributors section as described in the following table:

Parameter name	Description
Max Batching Size	Specify the maximum number of data items to send in a single POST request to the destination API. The batch size depends on the destination’s ability to buffer the incoming data. Default: 250
Max Batching Delay	Specify the maximum time (in seconds) to wait before building a batch and processing. Default: 3 seconds
Base Retry Delay	Specify the initial time (in seconds) for which to wait before retrying to build a batch and processing. The waiting time increases in the following sequence: n¹, n², n³, and so on, where n indicates the number of seconds. Default: 2 seconds Example: Base Retry Delay is set to 2 seconds. Retry is performed after 2, 4, 8, 16, and so on seconds.
Max Intra-Retry Delay	Specify the maximum limit for the base retry delay. Default: 60 seconds Example: Max Intra-Retry Delay is set to 60 seconds. Base Retry Delay is set to 2 seconds. Retries are performed 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and so on seconds later.
Max Retry Duration	Specify the total time for retrying a delivery. For REST destinations, a delivery is a batch of data items in one POST request. Default: 5 minutes Example: Max Retry Duration is set to 8 hours. Base Retry Delay is set to 2 seconds. Requests are sent for 2+4+8+16+32+64+132, and so on until 8 hours in total duration is reached. After that, no subsequent attempts are made to retry the delivery. The assumption here is that if there is an outage or other issue with the destination tool, the recovery time should be less than the value of the Max Retry Duration parameter.
JSLT mapping	BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations receives information in JSON format from BMC Stackifyand applies JSLT mapping to transform the incoming information into BMC Helix Operations Management understandable metrics data, in JSON format. Replace the existing JSLT with the JSLT that you have prepared according to sample shown in the BMC Stackify prerequisites
Device Filters and Metrics filtersDevice and Metrics filters help remove unwanted data and send only the required data to BMC Helix applications. The data is filtered by using the regular expression (regex) provided for device name, monitor name, monitor type, and metrics, and is sent to BMC Helix applications.
Device Name Regex	Specify the regex for the device name. Metrics for devices whose names match the regex are sent to BMC Helix applications. Examples: To send data for the devices that contain the string Linux in their names, specify the regex as *.Linux.**. To send data for the devices that contain the string Cisco* and Linux, specify the regex as *(?=.Cisco)(?=.Linux).*. To send the data for the devices whose names start with the string Linux, specify the regex as ^Linux.. Important: If you are using multiple regex, make sure that the regex do not conflict. For example, do not enter .Linux. and ^(?!.Linux).** together. The former regex sends metrics for the devices whose names contain the string Linux, while the latter regex sends metrics for the devices whose names do not contain the string Linux.
Monitor Name Regex	Specify the regex for the monitor name. Metrics for the monitors whose names match the regex are sent to BMC Helix applications. Examples: To send data for the monitors that contain the string system in their names, specify the regex as *.system.**. To filter out the data for monitors that contain system* in their name, specify the regex as *^(?!.system).**. To send the data for monitors whose names start with the string system, specify the regex as ^system.. Important: If you are using multiple regex, make sure that the regex do not conflict. For example, do not enter .system. and ^(?!.system).** together. The former regex sends metrics for the monitors whose names contain the string system, while the latter regex sends metrics for the monitors whose names do not contain the string system.
Monitor Type Regex	Specify the regex for the monitor type. Metrics are sent to BMC Helix applications for the monitor type that matches the regex. Examples: To send data for the monitor type that contains the string health, specify the regex as *.health.**. To send data for the monitor type that starts with the string health, specify the regex as ^health.*. To filter out the monitor type that contains the string health, specify the regex as ^(?!.health).*. Important: If you are using multiple regex, make sure that the regex do not conflict. For example, do not enter, ^health.* and ^(?!.health).** together. The former regex collects metrics for the monitor type whose names contain the string health, while the latter regex collects data for the monitor types whose names do not contain the string health.
Metrics Regex	Specify the regex for the metrics. Metrics are sent to BMC Helix applications whose names match the regex. Examples: To send metrics that contain the string avg in their names, specify the regex as *.avg.**. To filter out the metrics that contain the string avg, specify the regex as ^(?!.avg).**. To send metrics whose names start with the string avg, specify the regex as ^avg.. Important: If you are using multiple regex, make sure that the regex do not conflict. For example, do not enter, .avg. and ^(?!.avg).** together. The former regex sends metrics whose name contains the string avg, while the latter regex sends metrics whose name does not contain the string avg.

Click CREATE DISTRIBUTORS to create the required distributor streams for the selected data type.
Click one of the following buttons:
- SAVE STREAM: Click this button if you want to edit the integration details before creating the instance. After you save the stream, the connector that you just created is listed in the SOURCES panel. Move the slider to the right to start the data stream.
- SAVE AND START STREAM: Click this button if you want to save the integration details and start receiving data immediately.
Important
For a data stream, the Run Latency (max/avg), Items (Avg per Run), and Last Run Status columns on the Streams page might show the status as No Runs during the data collection process. After completion of the process, these columns are updated with an appropriate status.
For more information about data streams, see Starting-or-stopping-data-streams.

Task 3: To verify the connection

In BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations, on the SOURCES panel, confirm that the metric data stream for the integration you created is running. Data streaming is indicated by the moving, colored arrow.

A moving red arrow () indicates that the metric stream is running. Metric data is pushed according to the configured Collection Schedule interval.

To view metrics in BMC Helix Operations Management

In BMC Helix Operations Management, select Monitoring > Devices.
Click the links for the required device.
On the Monitors tab, click the required monitor.
The Performance Overview tab shows the metrics graph.

For information about metrics, see Viewing collected data.