Integrating with Entuity via API


Entuity is a network monitoring software designed to monitor, visualize, and manage the networks by proactively generating alerts about service impacts. As a tenant administrator, it's important that you can monitor the connected systems and quickly identify and resolve any issues. The BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations Entuity connector collects metrics, and topology data from Entuity.

You can view the collected data in various BMC Helix applications and derive the following benefits:

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.

BMC Helix Discovery

Topology

Collect all CIs from Entuity in BMC Helix Discovery. 

Collect services from Entuity in BMC Helix Discovery in a format that can be consumed by BMC Helix AIOps  

For more information, see Managing your IT infrastructure.

BMC Helix Dashboards

Metrics

Create dashboards to get a consolidated view of data collected from third-party products across your environment. 

Improve the efficiency of your system by monitoring the key performance metrics and respond to issues quickly to minimize the down time.

For more information, see Creating custom dashboards.

BMC Helix AIOps

Services (created from topology)

Monitor the overall health of a service.  When the service gets impacted by any factor, view the events generated because of the impact, analyze the causes of the impact, and quickly remediate those events to restore the health of the impacted service.

For more information, see Monitoring services.

As a tenant administrator, perform the following steps to configure a connection with Entuity, verify the connection, and view the collected data in various BMC Helix applications.

ConnectorSteps.png

Supported versions

The Entuity connector supports the following versions of Entuity for data collection.

  • 22.x
  • 20.x

Task 1: To plan for the connection

  • 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.
  • Plan to configure a separate connection for each third-party instance. For example, if you have three Entuity instances that discover various subnets in your environment and a fourth Entuity aggregator instance that shows the aggregated data from the three instances, we recommend that you configure individual connectors for these three instances. You do not need to configure any connector separately for the aggregator instance.

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

Task 2: To configure a connection with Entuity for collecting metrics and topology data

  1. Depending on the deployment mode, perform one of the following steps to access BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations:
    1. BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations SaaS – Log on to BMC Helix Portal, and click Launch on BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations.
    2. BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations on-premises gateway – Use the following URL to access BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations: https://<hostName>:<portNumber>/swpui
  2. On the CONNECTORS tab, click add_icon.pngin the SOURCES panel.
  3. Click the Entuity Metrics & Topology tile.
  4. Specify the following details for the source connection:
    1. Specify a unique instance name.

      Best practice

      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 Entuity_Host_PROD and Entuity_Host_TEST.

    2. Specify the Entuity host name.
    3. Specify the Entuity HTTP or HTTPS port number depending on the connection protocol (default port number is 443).
    4. Select the HTTPS option to use an https connection to the Entuity host.
    5. Specify the number of maximum concurrent REST API requests that should be executed during a collection schedule (default value is 5).
    6. Enter the user name and password for the Entuity host.
    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).
  5. Click VALIDATE AND CREATE.
    The specified connection details are validated, and the corresponding source connection is created in the Source Connection list.
  6. Select the source connection that you created from the list if it is not selected already.

    Important

    The destination host connection is created and configured automatically for each tenant when the source connection is created.

  7. Ensure that the options for the datatypes for which you want to collect data are selected.
  8. Configure the collectors for the selected data types by clicking the respective data type in the Collectors section and specifying the parameters for the selected data type, as explained in the following table:

    The ✅️ symbol indicates that this field applies to the data type.

    Parameter name

    Description

    Data Type

    Entuity Metrics

    Entuity Topology

    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 Collection Window

    Specify the historical time period (in minutes) from the current time for which the data should be collected.

    Default: 5 minutes

    Example:

    Collection Schedule is set to 5 mins.
     Data Collection Window is set to 5 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, 00:25 - 00:30, and next at 00:35 for the interval, 00:30 - 00:35, and so on.

    For more information about how this parameter affects data collection, see Data collection window.

    ✅️
     

    ❌️

    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.

    ✅️

     

    ❌️

    Views

    Select one or more views from the list. 

    By default, the All Objects option is selected and data for all the objects (assets) is extracted.

    This list is automatically updated from Entuity.

    ✅️

    ✅️

    Collect metrics including entity hierarchy

    Select this option to collect and view Entuity entity data in a hierarchical manner.
    If you select this option, each device associated with a server is displayed as an individual monitor in BMC Helix Operations Management. Otherwise, each device is displayed as an individual server.

    Important:

    • Before using this option, raise a request with BMC Support for device cleanup in BMC Helix Operations Management.
    • After you upgrade to version 25.1.01, the existing connection instances in BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations and devices in BMC Helix Operations Management are not updated with this option automatically. You need to either create a new connection instance or stop the existing data stream and create a new data stream.

    ✅️

    ❌️

  9. Click CREATE COLLECTORS to create the required collector streams for the selected data types.
  10. Configure the distributors for the selected data types by clicking the respective data type in the Distributors section and specifying the parameters for the selected data type, as explained in the following table:

    Parameter name

    Description

    Entuity MetricsEntuity Topology

    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 and processing a batch.

    Default: 3 seconds 

    ✅️✅️

    Base Retry Delay

    Specify the initial time (in seconds) for which to wait before retrying to build and process a batch.
    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, ... 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,... 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... 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, recovery should take less than the value of the Max Retry Duration parameter to be completed.

    ✅️✅️

    Attributes To Be Dropped When Updating Events

    Specify the event attributes that you do not want to be updated in BMC Helix Operations Management when events are updated. For example, if you do not want an event's severity, source address, source category, and subcategory to be updated in BMC Helix Operations Management, you need to specify those attributes in a comma-separated format: severity,source_address,source_category,source_subcategory.

    Important: You can obtain the event attribute names in BMC Helix Operations Management, by exporting any event data in JSON, BAROC, XML, or CSV format. The exported file contains all attributes of the event data, and from there you can identify the attributes to be dropped. 

    ✅️✅️
    Device Filters and Metrics filtersDevice and Metrics filters help remove unwanted data and send only the required data to BMC Helix applications. The data are filtered using the regex provided for device name, monitor name, monitor type, and metrics, and are sent to BMC Helix applications. 
    Device Name RegexSpecify the regular expression for the device name. Metrics for the devices whose names match the regular expression 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 regular expressions, make sure that the regular expressions are not conflicting.
    For example, do not enter .*Linux.* and ^(?!.*Linux).* together. The former expression sends metrics for the devices whose names contain the string Linux, while the latter expression sends metrics for the devices whose names do not contain the string Linux
    ✅️❌️
    Monitor Name RegexSpecify the regular expression for the monitor name. Metrics for the monitors whose names match the regular expression 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 the monitors that contain system in their name, specify the regex as ^(?!.*system).*.
    • To send the data for the monitors whose names start with the string system, specify the regex as ^system.*.
    Important:
    If you are using multiple regular expressions, make sure that the regular expressions are not conflicting.
    For example, do not enter .*system.* and ^(?!.*system).* together. The former expression sends metrics for the monitors whose names contain the string system, while the latter expression sends metrics for the monitors whose names do not contain the string system
    ✅️❌️
    Monitor Type RegexSpecify the regular expression for the monitor type. Metrics are sent to BMC Helix applications for the monitor type that matches the regular expression.
    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 regular expressions, make sure that the regular expressions are not conflicting.
    For example, do not enter, ^health.* and ^(?!.*health).* together. The former expression collects metrics for the monitor type whose names contain the string health, while the latter expression collects data for the monitor types whose names do not contain the string health
    ✅️❌️
    Metrics RegexSpecify the regular expression for the metrics. Metrics are sent to BMC Helix applications whose names match the regular expression.
    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 regular expressions, make sure that the regular expressions are not conflicting.
    For example, do not enter, .*avg.* and ^(?!.*avg).* together. The former expression sends metrics whose name contains the string avg, while the latter expression sends metrics whose name does not contain the string avg
    ✅️❌️
  11. Click CREATE DISTRIBUTORS to create the required distributor streams for the selected data types.
  12. Click one of the following buttons:

    • SAVE STREAM: Click this button if you want to edit the connector details before creating the instance. After you save the stream, the connector that you just created is listed on the SOURCES panel. Move the slider to the right to start the data stream later.
    • SAVE AND START STREAM: Click this button if you want to save the connector 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 the data streams, see Starting-or-stopping-data-streams

Task 3: To verify the connection

From BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations, on the SOURCES panel, confirm that the data streams for the connection you created are running. Data streaming is indicated by different colored moving arrows.

Entuity_Metrics_Topology_stream.png

  • A moving red arrow (StreamMetrics_Icon.png) indicates that the metrics stream is running. Metric data is pushed according to the configured Collection Schedule interval.
  • A moving light blue arrow ( TopologyStream_Icon.png) indicates that the topology stream is running. Topology data is pushed according to the configured Collection Schedule interval.

To view data in BMC Helix applications

View data collected from Entuity in multiple BMC Helix applications.

To view metrics in BMC Helix Operations Management

  1. In BMC Helix Operations Management, select Monitoring > Devices.
  2. Click the link for the required device.
  3. On the Monitors tab, expand the hierarchy to see the metrics for the required monitor.
    Entuity_Hierarchy_25101.png
  4. Click the metrics name.
    The Performance Overview tab shows the metrics graph.
    Entuity_Metric_25101.png
    For information about metrics, see Viewing collected data.

To view topology in BMC Helix Discovery

  1. In BMC Helix Discovery, select Explore > Data.
  2. Click the folder link corresponding to the entity for which you have collected data from Entuity
    For example, if you have collected topology for a network device, click the <count> Network Devices link.
    The <entity> List page shows the list of entity names and its other attributes received from Entuity. For information about entities in the infrastructure, see Managing your IT infrastructure..

    Important

    As of version 23.2.02, the Entuity connector collects data for the following asset categories:

    • Network device
      • Autonomous WAP
      • Router
      • Ethernet Switch
      • Firewall
      • Managed Host
      • Wireless controller
    • VM Platform
    • Server
  3. Click the entity name to view its topology.

The following figures show the topology for the NYC-Cisco-NEXUS9000-SWITCH device in the Entuity UI and in the BMC Helix DiscoveryUI:

EntuityinTopology_23101.png

TopologyinDiscovery.png

To view services in BMC Helix AIOps

Before you view a service in BMC Helix AIOps, create a service model (for example, BackEnd_Model) for the NYC-Cisco-NEXUS9000-SWITCH topology collected in BMC Helix Discovery . For instructions, see Service and application modeling.

To view services in BMC Helix AIOps

  1. In BMC Helix AIOps, go to the Services page.
    This page shows the business service for the BackEnd_Model business service model.
    CAUIM_ServiceinAIOps.png
     
  2. To view the impact on the service, hover over the service.
    The impact score in percentage and the Situations, events, incidents, or configuration items (CIs) associated with a service are displayed.  
  3. Click the service to view the health summary, causal analysis, health insights, and other key metrics of interest.

For more information about services, see Monitoring services.

 

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