Configuration Variables advanced

PATROL Agent Initialization Process

As the PATROL Agent initialization process begins, the agent first checks if the ASCII $PATROL HOME/lib/config.default file has changed since the last time the agent was started. If this file was not changed and the binary configuration file exists in the $PATROL HOME/config directory, the binary configuration file is read and the agent proceeds with the rest of the start-up procedure.

If the binary configuration file does not exist, or config.default was changed, the PATROL Agent process reads the ASCII config.default file and creates/loads it into the binary configuration file.

Text Config file Format

When you edit the configuration change file, you must observe the following guidelines:

• The PATROL CONFIG command must appear at the top of the file.
• A comma must end every entry except the last one.
• The change entries can appear in any order and are applied in the order of appearance.
• White space is ignored except within double quotation marks.
• Comment lines begin with an exclamation point ⚠️.

When defining changes or adding new variable to this file, you must be aware of some constraints:

• Variable path - You can use any path to define the variable in a configuration file. The path length is limited to 1024 characters.
• Predefined variables - Depending on certain endings of a variable name, the agent will give the variables a special meaning. For example, defaultAccount.

Config File Actions

The following sections describe the syntax and actions you can take on a config file.

 Variable Syntax

"<VAR1>" = { <ACTION> = "value1[,val2,...]"}

• Any path is allowed; for example, /X/Y/Z/MYVAR
• Special path - /AgentSetup
  • Agent configuration variables
  • Account information
  • Filter lists
  • Tuning variables

 Action Syntax

"<VAR1>" = { <ACTION> = "value1[,val2,...]"}

• REPLACE = "<val>" replace existing values with <val>
• DELETE = "<val>" delete <val> from list of values
• APPEND = "<val>" unconditionally add <val> to list
• MERGE = "<val>" add <val> if non-existent in list

 Value Syntax

"<VAR1>" = { <ACTION> = "value1[,val2,...]"}

• Comma-separated list
• Beware of \characters (also \n! = lists)

Actions on the configuration file

There are three phases while modifying the binary configuration file:

• Modify Binary Config File Phase I
• Modify Binary Config File Phase II
• Modify Binary Config File Phase III

Useful Configuration Variables for Development

/AgentSetup/

• [<APPL>.[<INST>.]]defaultAccount
  • Sets account information
• <APPL>.filterList
  • Instance will never be created
  • Create() statement will fail
• <APPL>.filterType

Security Settings in the Agent

The following sections describe various security settings for the agent.

defaultAccount

The agent uses the <APPL>[.<INST>].defaultAccount user to run parameters, recovery actions, and application discovery procedures if an account is not specified for these commands. The default is patrol. If a hard-coded default other than PATROL is used, the agent issues a warning unless a valid encrypted password is provided for the account; for example, "user1/encrypted password>."

 OSdefaultAccount

The agent uses the <APPL>[.<INST>].OSdefaultAccount user to run parameters and recovery actions for this application or application instances unless an account is specified for these commands. The default is NULL (use PatrolAgent's defaultAccount).

  OSdefaultAccountAppliesToCmds

If the flag is set to "yes," then menu commands that run against instances of this application will run as user specified by either:

• <APPL>.<INST>.OSdefaultAccount
• <APPL>.OSdefaultAccount

Otherwise, menu commands will run as the user that the console logs into the agent unless a explicit account is specified for the command. The default is "no" (don't run as *.OSdefaultAccount).

Determining Security Context (for %{username} and %{password})

The agent will search the inheritance tree looking for security settings on the following:

• Parameter
• Instance
• Application

If an agent configuration variable exists on each of the levels, the agent will use that configuration setting. Otherwise, the agent will check if configuration was set in the property sheet before proceeding to the next level.

If no security is defined, then the empty string will be returned ("").