Collecting output received by executing a script locally

To collect output received by executing a script locally, you need to create the Monitor Script Output on Collection Agent data collector.

If you have data stored in a database or another product repository and this data is unavailable via log files, you can collect data by using this data collector.

This data collector cannot be used 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

Collecting-output-received-by-executing-a-script-over-an-SSH-connection

Setting-up-data-collection

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)

    Type or select the collection host depending on whether you want to use the Collection Station or the Collection Agent to perform data collection.

    The collection host is the computer on which the Collection Station or the Collection Agent is located.

    By default, the Collection Station is already selected. You can either retain the default selection or select the Collection Agent.

    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 (").

    Additional information: If you specify a Microsoft Windows script that sets the data and time dynamically, the product uses the date and time format used by the associated service. The date and time format used by the service might be different from the user's local date and time format. In such a case, you must change the date and time format for all users in the registry. For more information, see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/241671.

    Example of a script that sets the date and time dynamically:

    @echo off

    set mydate=%DATE:~0,4%/%DATE:
    ~5,2%/%DATE:~8,2%

    echo [%mydate% %time%] [WARNING] [TID:0000003056]
    : CommitCache
    echo [%mydate% %time%] [WARNING] [TID: 0000003056]
    : ModifyWithoutLongWait
    echo [%mydate% %time%] [WARNING] [TID: 0000003056]
    : LongWait

    Time Zone

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    Data Pattern

    Pattern

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    Date Format

    Date Locale

    (Optional) You can use this setting to enable reading the date and time string based on the language selected. Note that this setting only applies to those portions of the date and time string that consist letters (digits are not considered).

    By default, this value is set to English.

    You can manually select a language to override the default locale. For a list of languages supported, see Language-information.

    File Encoding

    If your data file uses a character set encoding other than UTF-8 (default), then do one of the following:

    • Filter the relevant character set encodings that match the file.
      To do this, click Filter relevant charset encoding filter icon.jpgnext to this field.
    • Manually scan through the list available and select an appropriate option.
    • Allow TrueSight IT Data Analytics to use a relevant character set encoding for your file by manually select the AUTO option.

    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.

    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.

    The [expand] macro is a standalone macro and it cannot be used inline. Click on this message for details.

    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: 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-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: You can access data retrieved by this data collector based on the following conditions.

    • If user groups are not selected and data access control is enabled: Only the creator of the data collector can access data retrieved by this data collector.
    • If user groups are not selected and if data access control is not enabled: 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.

    For more information, see Managing-user-groups-in-IT-Data-Analytics.

  5. Click Create to save your changes.

    Note

    Ensure the following:

    -If you are running the Agent service, you must have the permissions to execute the scripts on the computer where the Collection Agent is installed.

    -Commands and files that are not to be exposed to the TrueSight IT Data Analytics Admin user for data collection or script execution, should not be accessible by the user running the Agent service.


(Optional) You can use this setting to enable reading the date and time string based on the language selected. Note that this setting only applies to those portions of the date and time string that consist letters (digits are not considered).

By default, this value is set to English.

You can manually select a language to override the default locale. For a list of languages supported, see Language-information.