Installing and managing the Windows MSI connector

Install or upgrade the Windows MSI connector to collect data from Windows-based application log files and Windows events.

The Windows MSI connector simplifies connector deployment on Windows, supports silent and UI-based installation, and improves the service registration and uninstallation processes.

Before you begin

To download the connector

1. Log in to BMC Helix Log Analytics.
2. From the Collection menu, select Connectors.
3. On the Connectors page, click Create.
4. In the Connector Name field, enter a unique connector name.
5. From the Select Connector Type list, select Windows MSI Connector.
6. In the Description field, enter the connector description.
7. In the Download Connector step, click Download.
   The connector is downloaded in a .msi file with the name tdc-connector-winmsi-<build_number>.msi.
8. In the Tags step, add tags (in the form of key-value pairs) to identify the connector; for example, name-windows, location-Pune, and so on.
9. Click + to add the tag.

   Important
   Even if you are adding only one tag, make sure that you click +.

10. In the Download Install Script step, click Download.
    The format of the .bat file name is install-connector-<connector name>.bat. For example, if you entered the connector name as my-bmc, the .bat filename is install-connector-my-bmc.bat

    Important
    Install only one connector for a Windows server to avoid port conflicts. If you have installed the Windows connector, you must uninstall it before you install the Windows MSI connector.

To install the connector by using the user interface

1. Ensure that the install script that you downloaded and the MSI package are present in the same directory, and the directory name does not contain spaces. 
2. On the Windows server where the logs will be collected, create a folder and copy the downloaded .msi and .bat files.
   Make sure that the folder name does not contain any spaces.
3. Double-click the MSI package to launch the installer.
4. Click Next.
5. In the Enter Hostname field, add the hostname. You can use a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) for the hostname.
6. Click Next and then click Finish to install the MSI connector.

To install the connector by using the command-line interface

1. Open the command prompt with administrator privileges and navigate to the directory where you have downloaded .msi and .bat files.
2. Run the following command:
   start /wait msiexec /i tdc-connector-winmsi-<random_number>.msi /qn HOSTNAME='<server_hostname>' /l*v install.log
   In this command, instead of <server_hostname>, use the hostname of the computer where you want to install the connector.
   When you run the command, the install.log file is created. You can use this file to troubleshoot any installation failures.

To communicate with the connector through a proxy

The connector can communicate with the proxy over the HTTP protocol only.

1. Go to System Properties > Environment Variables.
2. In the System variable section, click New.
3. Enter Variable name as HTTP_PROXY and Variable value as http://<proxy-host>:<proxy-port> (example: http://proxyserver:8080).
4. Save the variable and restart the connector service.

   Important
   The connector communicates with the proxy only over the HTTP protocol.

To verify the connector installation

To verify the connector installation, go to the Collection menu and click Connectors, and look for the installed connector on the page. Connectors will be available in one of the following status:

• Created: The connector was installed successfully, but has not started sending heartbeats.
• Active: The connector is sending heartbeats.
• Suspended: The connector has not sent heartbeats for a preconfigured time. You can delete a connector only in this status.

To start a connector service

1. From the service console:
   1. Go to the Task Manager.
   2. Click the Services tab.
   3. Search and select the connector name that you entered.
   4. Click Start.
2. From the command prompt:
   1. Open the command prompt. 
   2. Run the following command:
      sc start <service_name>

The following details apply to the Windows MSI connector service:

• Name: BHLAConnector
• Display name: BMC Helix Log Analytics connector

To stop a connector service

Stop a connector service by using one of the following options:

1. From the service console:
   1. Go to the Task Manager.
   2. Click the Services tab.
   3. Search and select the connector name that you entered.
   4. Click Stop.
2. From the command prompt:
   1. Open the command prompt. 
   2. Run the following command:
      sc stop <service_name>

After you stop the connector, it might take up to 10 minutes to change the connector status to Suspended.

To upgrade a connector by using the user interface

1. Log in to BMC Helix Log Analytics.
2. From the Collection menu, select Connectors.
3. Click the Action  menu of the Windows connector that you want to upgrade and click Upgrade.
4. (Optional) In the Description field, enter the connector description.
5. In the Download Connector field, click Download.
   The connector is downloaded in a .msi file with the name tdc-connector-winmsi-<build_number>.msi.
6. (Optional) In the Tags field, add tags to identify the connector.
   Click + to add more tags.
7. In the Download Install Script field, click Download.
   The script is downloaded as a .bat file with the name upgrade-msiconnector-<connector_name>.bat.
8. Click Save.
9. Place the .bat file in the existing connector installation folder.
   Make sure to have only one .bat file present in the folder.
10. Double-click the MSI package to launch the installer.
11. Click Next and follow the wizard instructions.
12. Click Next and then click Finish to install the MSI connector.

To upgrade a connector by using the command-line interface

1. Log in to BMC Helix Log Analytics.
2. From the Collection menu, select Connectors.
3. Click the Action  menu of the Windows connector that you want to upgrade and click Upgrade.
4. (Optional) In the Description field, enter the connector description.
5. In the Download Connector field, click Download.
   The connector is downloaded in a .msi file with the name tdc-connector-winmsi-<build_number>.msi.
6. (Optional) In the Tags field, add tags to identify the connector.
   Click + to add more tags.
7. In the Download Install Script field, click Download.
   The script is downloaded as a .bat file with the name upgrade-connector-<connector name>.bat.
8. Click Save.
9. Place the .bat file in the existing connector installation folder.
   Make sure to have only one .bat file present in the folder.
10. Open the command prompt with administrator privileges and navigate to the directory where you have downloaded .msi and .bat files.
11. Run the following command:
    start /wait msiexec /i tdc-connector-winmsi-<random_number>.msi /qn HOSTNAME='<server_hostname>' /l*v install.log
    In this command, replace the <server_hostname> with the host name of the computer where you want to install the connector.
    Running the command creates the upgrade.log file that helps troubleshoot upgrade failures.

To uninstall a connector service

1. Make sure that the connector is not associated with a collection policy.
2. Stop the connector service.
3. Delete the connector service by running the following command:
   sc delete <service_name>
4. To verify that  the connector service is deleted:
   sc query <service_name>
5. Delete the folder where you unzipped the downloaded connector file.

To uninstall the connector by using the Control Panel

1. On the computer where the connector is installed, open the Control Panel.
2. Right-click BMC Helix Log Analytics Connector and click Uninstall.
3. Accept the confirmation messages to uninstall the connector.

To uninstall the connector by using the MSI package

1. On the computer where the connector is installed, start the MSI package.
2. Click Next.
3. Select Remove and click Next.
4. Select the checkbox if you want to delete the installation folder and files in the BMC-DevTools folder.
5. Click Remove to uninstall the connector and delete the installation folder and files.

To uninstall the connector by using the command-line interface

1. Open the command prompt with administrator privileges and navigate to the directory where you have downloaded .zip and .bat files.
2. Execute the following command:
   start /wait msiexec /x tdc-connector-winmsi-<random_number>.msi /qn DELETE_BMC_DEVTOOLS=1 /l*v uninstall.log
   In this command, instead of server_hostname>, use the host name of the computer where you have installed the connector.
   When you run the command, t​he uninstall.log file is created. You can use this file to troubleshoot any installation failures.

To delete the connector

1. Make sure that the connector is not associated with a collection policy.
2. Stop the connector and wait for 5 minutes.
   When you stop the connector, its status changes to Suspended.
3. On the Connector page, for the required connector, click the Actions menu and select Delete.
4. Confirm deletion by clicking Yes. 

Where to go from here

Creating a parsing rule