Monitor script output on Collection Agent

You can create a data collector for monitoring data that is generated as a result of running a script on the remote computer.

You cannot use this data collector to collect data that is generated as a result of running the binary files (or executable files). For example, .exe files on the Windows platform.

Recommendation

BMC recommends that you do not use scripts with infinite loops and provide a timeout duration so that you do not face issues with data collection.

Related topics

Where to find more information

Managing-data-collectors

Known and corrected issues

To locally collect output received by executing a script

  1. Navigate to Administration > Data Collectors > Add Data Collector Plus icon.jpg.
  2. In the Name box, provide a unique name to identify this data collector.
  3. From the Type list, select Monitor Script Output on Collection Agent.

  4. Provide the following information, as appropriate:

    Field

    Description

    Target/Collection Host

    Collection Host (Agent)

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    Note: For this type of data collector, the target host and collection host are expected to have same values.

    Collector Inputs

    Script Path

    Provide the complete path to the script that you want to execute on the remote computer for retrieving data.

    You can also pass parameters dynamically while executing the script.

    For example, you can execute the following script that takes the input parameter as your name and prints "Hello."

     

    Script example
    #!/bin/bash
    echo "Hello $1"

    In this case, you must enter script.sh MyName in this field.

    where:

    script.sh is the name of the file in which you saved the preceding script.

    MyName refers to the name that you want to pass as the input parameter.

    Note: If there is a space character in your script path, then you must enclose the script path with double quotes (").

    Time Zone

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    Data Pattern

    Pattern

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    Date Format

    When you select a data pattern, the matching date format is automatically updated. However, you can specifically find date formats matching the timestamp in your data file.

    Use one of the following methods to specify a date format:

    • Filter the relevant data formats: Click Auto-Detect to find automatically find a list of matching data patterns and date formats. If no matching data patterns are found, a list of matching date formats is displayed. You can click each of the date formats displayed on the left, to see a preview of the sample records.
    • Manually select a date format: Manually scan through the list available, and select one of the date formats available. Click Preview to see the sample records parsed.
      Alternatively, from the Pattern list, select Free Text with Timestamp and click Preview to find the relevant data formats that match the file.
    • Create a new date format: If you are not satisfied with the results arising out of the date formats available, you can create a new date format. To do this, select the Create new Date Format option and manually enter the date format depending on the timestamp that you want to capture. For example, if your data file contains the timestamp, "28 Apr 2014 10:58:28", then your date format must be dd MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss.

    Notes:

    • If you select both – a pattern and a date format, then the date format specified takes precedence over the date format from the pattern that you selected. So the timestamp is indexed as per the specified date format, and the rest of the data is indexed as per the pattern.
    • If you select only a date format, then the date format is used for indexing the timestamp, while the rest of the data is displayed in a raw format in your search results.

    Script Time Out (mins)

    Specify the time duration (in minutes) after which the script must time out. By default, this value is set to 1.

    Poll Interval (mins)

    Specify the interval (in minutes) after which the script must be executed and the script output data must be collected. By default, this value is set to 1.

    If you want to execute the script only once and collect the output data, then specify the value of this field as 0.

    The value of this field is passed as the last argument to the script.

    Start/Stop Collection

    (Optional) Select this check box if you want to start the data collection immediately.

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    Tags
    Inherit Host Level Tags From Target Host
    (Optional) Select this check box to inherit your tag selections associated with the target host that you selected earlier. This option is not applicable if you did not select a target host. Note that after selecting this check box, you can further manually select additional user groups. When you manually select additional user groups, both the inherited permissions as well as the manually assigned permissions are applied. To remove the inherited permissions, clear this check box.
    Select Tag name and corresponding value
    (Optional) Select a tag name and specify the corresponding value by which you want to categorize the data collected. Later while searching data, you can use these tags to narrow down your search results.Example: If your are collecting data from hosts located at Houston, you can select a tag name for "Location" and in the value specify "Houston". While searching the data, you can use the tag, Location="Houston" to filter data and see results associated with the Houston location.To be able to see tag names, you need to first add them by navigating to Administration > System Settings.To specify tag names and corresponding values, in the left box select a tag name and then type the corresponding tag value in the right box. While you type the value, you might see type-ahead suggestions based on values specified in the past. If you want to use one of the suggestions, click the suggestion. Click Add Plus icon.jpgto add the tag name and corresponding value to the list of added tags that follow. Click Remove Tag Delete icon.jpgto remove a tag.The tags saved while creating the data collector are displayed on the Search tab, under the Filters panel, and in the Tags section.Note: At a time, you can specify only one value for a tag name. To specify multiple values for the same tag name, each time you need to select the tag name, specify the corresponding value, and click Add.For more information about tags, see Understanding-fields-and-tags.

    Group Access

    Inherit Host Level Access Groups From Target Host

    (Optional) Select this check box to inherit your group access configurations associated with the target host that you selected earlier. This option is not applicable if you did not select a target host.

    Note:     After selecting this check box, you can further manually select additional user groups. When you manually select additional user groups, both the inherited permissions as well as the manually assigned permissions are applied. To remove the inherited permissions, clear this check box.

    Select All Groups

    (Optional) Select this option if you want to select all user groups. You can also manually select multiple user groups.

    Notes:

    • If you do not select any user groups and data access control is not enabled, then all users can access data retrieved by this data collector. You can restrict access permissions by selecting the relevant user groups that must be given access permissions. To enable data access control, navigate to Administration > System Settings.
    • If you do not select any user group and data access control is enabled, then only the creator of the data collector has access to data retrieved by this data collector.

    For more information, see Managing-user-groups.

  5. Click Create to save your changes.

 

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