Managing the Gateway Server agent list

A Gateway Server agent list is the list of servers or nodes from which you want to collect data for analyzing the capacity. The Gateway Server agent list enables you to automate the following tasks for a Gateway Server:

  • Create and manage a list of servers.
  • Create policy files and manager runs.
  • Manage the manager runs and policy files that are manually or automatically created.
Recommendations
  • Always use the Gateway Server agent list for configuring and managing a Gateway Server.
  • If you were manually creating manager runs, use the Gateway Server agent list after you upgrade to the latest version of the Gateway Server.

When you create a Gateway Server agent list, the new list is automatically scheduled for manager run according to the configuration defined.

This topic contains the following sections:


Prerequisites

Ensure that the required Gateway Server is registered with BMC Helix Capacity Optimization. For more information, see Adding a gateway server.

Viewing a Gateway Server agent list

  1. Log in to the Helix Capacity Optimization Console.
  2. Select Administration > GATEWAY MANAGER > Gateway Servers.
    The Gateway Servers page is displayed.

    list_servers.png

  3. Click the name of the required Gateway Server.

    gws_agent_lists.png

    The page shows the following details:
    • Name of the Gateway Server agent list
    • Number of nodes that are configured per manager run
    • Number of nodes that are defined per policy
    • The date when the Gateway Server agent list was created
    • The path where the Gateway Server agent list is available

Creating and adding a Gateway Server agent list

You can create or update an Agent list by one of the following methods:

To use the Gateway Manager UI, do the following:

  1. Create a text file and manually add the names of required servers in the text file. For multiple servers, you can add comma-separated or line-separated entries in the text file.

  2. (For Windows Gateway Server) Ensure that a default manager run script is created. When you add the list to the Gateway Server, the configuration defined in the default manager run script is used. For more information, see Create New Run.
    To modify the default manager run configuration, update the manager run script before adding the list to the Gateway Server.

    Note

    For Windows Gateway Server, if the default manager run script is not created, the new agent list cannot be added to the Gateway Server.

    This step is optional for a Linux Gateway Server as it has a default manager run.

  3. Add the list to the Gateway Server. 

    1. Log in to the BMC Helix Capacity Optimization console.
    2. Select Administration > GATEWAY MANAGER > Gateway Servers.
      The Gateway Servers page is displayed.
    3. Click the name of the required Gateway Server.
      The Gateway Server details page is displayed.
    4. Click Add.
      The BMC Helix Capacity Optimization wizard is displayed.
    5. Click Next.

    6. Specify the following details for the agent list file, and click Next:

      Field

      Description

      Name

      Type the required name for the Gateway Server agent list. This name is displayed in the View Scheduled Runs page.

      Local file

      Click Browse and select the file containing the details of agent nodes.

      Location on gateway server

      Click ellipses_hrzntl.png to select the required location on the Gateway Server to save the file or type the complete location path. The default location:

      • (Windows) <installation_directory>\BMC Software\Patrol3\BEST1\NTC\local\workarea
      • (Linux) /usr/adm/best1_workspace/automation

      <installation_directory> is the directory where the Gateway Server is installed.

    7. Specify the following details for configuring data collection, and click Next:

      agent_list_configuration.png

      Field

      Description

      Target gateway server

      Displays the name of the selected gateway server where you are adding the agent list.

      Agent List

      Displays the name defined for the agent list.

      GWS data repository

      Select or type a location to save data collected by the Agents. The default location:

      • (Windows) <installation_directory>\BMC Software\Patrol3\BEST1\NTC\local\workarea
      • (Linux) /usr/adm/best1_workspace/repository

      <installation_directory> is the directory where the Gateway Server is installed.

      GWS output folder

      Select or type a location to save the output of manager runs. The default location:

      • (Windows) <installation_directory>\BMC Software\Patrol3\BEST1\NTC\local\workarea
      • (Linux) /usr/adm/best1_workspace/results

      <installation_directory> is the directory where the Gateway Server is installed.

      GWS processing summarization interval

      Specify a frequency at which the Gateway Server must summarize the processed data. The default frequency is 60 minutes.

      Agent summarization interval

      Specify a frequency at which the Agents must summarize the collected data. The default frequency is 15 minutes.

      Edit advanced settings

      Select this check box to configure the advanced settings, such as custom workload characterization.

    8. (advanced settings) On the advanced configuration page, specify the following details and click Next:

      agent_list_adv_configuration.png

      Field

      Description

      Nodes per policy

      Specify the number of nodes per policy file. For optimum performance and throughput, the default value is set to 25. If the number of nodes in the agent list file is more than the number of nodes per policy, multiple policies are automatically created.

      Nodes per manager run

      Type the required number of nodes per manager run. For optimum performance and throughput, the default value is set to 100. If the number of nodes in the agent list file is more than the number of nodes per manager run, multiple manager runs are automatically created.

      Use custom workload characterization

      Specify whether you want to use custom workloads for processing the collected data. If you do not use custom workloads, the Gateway Server will create a single default workload that includes all the processes running on the server.

      Custom workload characterization file

      Shows the path where the custom workload characterization file is located. If you want to use your own characterization file, select the Use custom workload characterization check box and specify the file path.

      GWS data processing time zone

      Select the Gateway Server or any region-specific time zone for processing data. If you do not select any option, data will be processed based on the time zone of the server from where data was collected.

      Collect agent data based on selected time zone

      Specify whether you want to collect data according to the selected time zone. By default, data is collected according to the time zone of the managed system.

      Compress data older than

      Specify a period in days up to which you want to keep data uncompressed. After this period, data is stored in the compressed form. The default period is three days.

      Enable data deletion

      Clear this check box if you want to retain old data. The default selection indicates that old data is removed after the default period.

      Delete data older than

      Specify a period in days up to which you want to retain data before deletion. After this period, data is deleted. The default period is seven days.

  2.  On the Summary page, click Finish.
    The new agent list is registered, policy files and manager runs are created and scheduled in the Gateway Server. Single or multiple manager runs are created based on the size of the agent list and the value specified in the Nodes per manager run option. For multiple manager runs, the first created run is tagged as the master. To view the newly created manager runs, see Viewing-scheduled-Manager-runs.

Uploading or downloading a Gateway Server agent list

  1. Log in to the BMC Helix Capacity Optimization console.
  2. Select Administration > GATEWAY MANAGER > Gateway Servers.
  3. The Gateway Servers page is displayed.
  4. Click the name of the required gateway server.
    The Gateway Server agent lists page is displayed.
  5. Click upload_icon.png to upload and overwrite the corresponding Gateway Server agent list.
    OR
    Click CL_download_logs.png to download the corresponding gateway server agent list.

Updating an existing Gateway Server agent list

You can edit an existing agent list for a Gateway Server to add or remove nodes from which you want to collect data.

  1. Log in to the BMC Helix Capacity Optimization console.
  2. Select Administration > GATEWAY MANAGER > Gateway Servers.
    The Gateway Servers page is displayed.
  3. Click the name of the required Gateway Server for which you want to update the agent list.
    The Gateway Server agent lists page is displayed.
  4. ClickCL_download_logs.png to download the agent list for the Gateway Server.
  5. Open the downloaded agent list in an editor, add or remove nodes, and save the updates.
  6. Click upload_icon.pngto upload the updated agent list.

The changes to the agent list does not affect the data that is already being collected. These changes affect the next scheduled runs. It usually takes a day or two before data is collected according to the updated agent list.

Removing a Gateway Server agent list

  1. Log in to the BMC Helix Capacity Optimization console.
  2. Select Administration > GATEWAY MANAGER > Gateway Servers.
  3. The Gateway Servers page is displayed.
  4. Click the name of the required gateway server.
    The Gateway Server agent lists page is displayed.
  5. Click ETL_delete.png corresponding to the required Gateway Server agent list to delete it.
    OR
    Select the check box corresponding to the required Gateway Server agent list and select Actions > Delete gateway server agent lists.

Related topic

Viewing-scheduled-Manager-runs

 

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