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BMC Impact Solutions: Event MonitoringOperator’s Guide

Supporting

BMC Impact Manager 7.1BMC Impact Explorer 7.1BMC Impact Portal 7.1BMC Impact Event Adapters 7.1BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows 7.1

October 2007

Contacting BMC Software

You can access the BMC Software website at http://www.bmc.com. From this website, you can obtain information about the company, its products, corporate offices, special events, and career opportunities.

United States and Canada

Address BMC SOFTWARE INC2101 CITYWEST BLVDHOUSTON TX 77042-2827 USA

Telephone 713 918 8800 or800 841 2031

Fax 713 918 8000

Outside United States and Canada

Telephone (01) 713 918 8800 Fax (01) 713 918 8000

© Copyright 2007 BMC Software, Inc.

BMC, BMC Software, and the BMC Software logo are the exclusive properties of BMC Software, Inc., are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and may be registered or pending registration in other countries. All other BMC trademarks, service marks, and logos may be registered or pending registration in the U.S. or in other countries. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group.

BMC Software considers information included in this documentation to be proprietary and confidential. Your use of this information is subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable End User License Agreement for the product and the proprietary and restricted rights notices included in this documentation.

Restricted rights legendU.S. Government Restricted Rights to Computer Software. UNPUBLISHED -- RIGHTS RESERVED UNDER THE COPYRIGHT LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES. Use, duplication, or disclosure of any data and computer software by the U.S. Government is subject to restrictions, as applicable, set forth in FAR Section 52.227-14, DFARS 252.227-7013, DFARS 252.227-7014, DFARS 252.227-7015, and DFARS 252.227-7025, as amended from time to time. Contractor/Manufacturer is BMC SOFTWARE INC, 2101 CITYWEST BLVD, HOUSTON TX 77042-2827, USA. Any contract notices should be sent to this address.

http://www.bmc.com

Customer support

You can obtain technical support by using the BMC Software Customer Support website or by contacting Customer Support by telephone or e-mail. To expedite your inquiry, see “Before contacting BMC.”

Support website

You can obtain technical support from BMC 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at http://www.bmc.com/support_home. From this website, you can

■ read overviews about support services and programs that BMC offers■ find the most current information about BMC products■ search a database for issues similar to yours and possible solutions■ order or download product documentation■ download products and maintenance■ report an issue or ask a question■ subscribe to receive proactive e-mail alerts when new product notices are released■ find worldwide BMC support center locations and contact information, including e-mail addresses, fax numbers, and

telephone numbers

Support by telephone or e-mail

In the United States and Canada, if you need technical support and do not have access to the web, call 800 537 1813 or send an e-mail message to [email protected]. (In the subject line, enter SupID:<yourSupportContractID>, such as SupID:12345). Outside the United States and Canada, contact your local support center for assistance.

Before contacting BMC

Have the following information available so that Customer Support can begin working on your issue immediately:

■ product information

— product name— product version (release number)— license number and password (trial or permanent)

■ operating system and environment information

— machine type— operating system type, version, and service pack or other maintenance level such as PUT or PTF— system hardware configuration— serial numbers— related software (database, application, and communication) including type, version, and service pack or

maintenance level

■ sequence of events leading to the issue

■ commands and options that you used

■ messages received (and the time and date that you received them)

— product error messages— messages from the operating system, such as file system full— messages from related software

3

http://www.bmc.com/support_home

mailto:[email protected]

License key and password information

If you have questions about your license key or password, contact BMC as follows:

■ (USA or Canada) Contact the Order Services Password Team at 800 841 2031, or send an e-mail message to [email protected].

■ (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) Fax your questions to EMEA Contracts Administration at +31 20 354 8702, or send an e-mail message to [email protected].

■ (Asia-Pacific) Contact your BMC sales representative or your local BMC office.

4 BMC Impact Solutions: Event Monitoring Operator’s Guide



ContentsChapter 1 Introduction to BMC Impact Explorer 13

BMC IX Events View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Event collectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15MetaCollectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Event groups and image views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

BMC IX Services View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17BMC IX Administration View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18BMC Impact Event Adapters overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

BMC Impact Event Adapters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Chapter 2 Getting started with the BMC IX console and the BMC Impact Portal 25

Starting BMC IX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Before you begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Starting BMC IX as a stand-alone application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Starting BMC IX from the BMC Impact Portal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Connecting to an authentication server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Changing your password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Chapter 3 Configuring BMC Impact Explorer for event monitoring 31

Customizing the console to access multiple cells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Setting cell connection properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Specifying ports in cell connection properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Connecting to and disconnecting from a cell or group of cells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Using primary and secondary cells for high availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Viewing property and performance data about a cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Chapter 4 Viewing and managing events 43

Accessing the Events view in the console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Understanding elements of the event list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Determining the state of an event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Understanding event status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Understanding event severity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Understanding event priority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Viewing event lists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Selecting the type of event list to view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Viewing event details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Contents 5

Viewing related events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Adjusting column widths in the event list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Refreshing and freezing the event list. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Organizing events in the event list. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Using MetaCollectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Filtering events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Sorting events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Understanding event groups and image views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70Connecting to multiple cells to access additional event groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Getting details for events in an event list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72New Common Event Model slots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Viewing event operations history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75Viewing event relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75Viewing online Help for an event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Copying event information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Printing event information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Performing event operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77Responding to an event with an action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80Responding to multiple events by using a user-defined local action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82Manually setting component status or maintenance mode with a remote action . . . 85

Chapter 5 Using BMC Impact Event Adapters 87

Enabling and disabling BMC Impact Event Adapters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87Starting and stopping the BMC Impact Event Adapters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Starting the engine manager process from the command line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Starting the Adapter processes as services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91Stopping the BMC Impact Event Adapters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91Using instance control to start and stop Adapters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92Restarting an Adapter after modifying the MAP file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Enabling tracing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95Trace files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95Trace levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96Errors and Adapter events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Adapter status events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Chapter 6 Using the SNMP Adapter Configuration Manager 99

Accessing the Web-based GUI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99Publishing MIB files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100Viewing or editing the MAP file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101Unpublishing MIB files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Installing the BAROC files in the Knowledge Base of BMC Impact Manager . . . . . 104

Chapter 7 Using the BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows 107

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107Event class definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108Starting the BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108


Stopping the BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109Testing the BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Chapter 8 Customizing the BMC IX console 113

Customizing general display settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114Using floating panes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116Using quotation marks and string fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Customizing display settings for the Events tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118Defining attributes for the Events view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118Understanding the effect of event status and severity on collectors’ color . . . . 120Understanding the effect of event status on event count for collectors . . . . . . . 121Using deprecated slots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Customizing access to Help for events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123Adding buttons for actions to the toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Appendix A Console interface reference 127

Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128Menu commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130Toolbar buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133Shortcut keys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Index 139

Contents 7

FiguresBMC Impact Explorer Events View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14BMC IX image View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15BMC Impact Explorer Windows event collectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16BMC Impact Explorer Services View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Available Impact Managers list for a user account with administrator

permissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Impact Manager Information dialog box General tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Impact Manager Information dialog box Workload tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Impact Manager Information dialog box Components tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Location of elements in the Events view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Events view navigation pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46How event operations affect event state . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Event Sources selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54MetaCollector addition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Slot quick filter and severity quick filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Edit Event View dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Slot order creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66Single-click sorting indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Multiple column sorting indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Location of elements on the Event Groups tab and image view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Active Explore Event Relationships icon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75Event annotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80Remote action selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Local action selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82Syntax to execute a local actions against multiple events of the same type . . . . . . . . 83Example of an action definition that uses the batchmode parameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83Example celleventdata.xml file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83mcxactrl.pl command syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92Performance Monitor in Chart mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110Global subtab of Edit Configuration dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114Events View subtab of Edit Configuration dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119Severity section of Events View subtab of Edit Configuration dialog box . . . . . . . . 121Event count section of Events View subtab of Edit Configuration dialog box . . . . 122Edit Toolbar Actions dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125Local toolbar action selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125Local action toolbar button order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Figures 9

TablesBMC IEA versus BMC IELA comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Cell connection properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Description of elements in the Events view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Description of elements in the Events view navigation pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Event relations icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Event states resulting from event operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Current operator information in event list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Event status icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Event severity levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Event priority icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Default filters and filter options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Description of elements in the Event Groups tab and image view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72Events View Details pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73New CEM-related slots in BMC IX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74Event operation descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77mcxa command options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89mcxactrl.pl command options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93IP Adapter status events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97BMC Impact Explorer display settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115Events View subtab display settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119Help Info subtab display settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123BMC Impact Explorer icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128BMC Impact Explorer menu commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130BMC Impact Explorer toolbar buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134BMC Impact Explorer shortcut keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Tables 11

C h a p t e r 1
1 Introduction to BMC Impact Explorer
The BMC Impact Explorer (BMC IX) product provides a cross-platform operator and administrator interface for defining and managing events and for viewing service models.

BMC IX Events View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Event collectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15MetaCollectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Event groups and image views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

BMC IX Services View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17BMC IX Administration View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18BMC Impact Event Adapters overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

BMC Impact Event Adapters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

BMC IX Events ViewUsing the Events View, IT operations staff can monitor and manage individual events associated with an IT asset. By managing the infrastructure proactively, IT can prevent problems from occurring. Using built-in functions to monitor thresholds, analyze problems, and perform corrective actions, IT operations personnel can avoid downtime and service-level degradation. Customizable event-level online Help can provide problem resolution instructions or notification information.

Event instances are displayed in an event list. From the event list, operators can perform event operations (such as closing or escalating an event), view event relationships (such as correlation), perform actions on an event, or view business services related to an event.

Figure 1 on page 14 shows an example of the BMC IX Events View.

Chapter 1 Introduction to BMC Impact Explorer 13

BMC IX Events View

Figure 1 BMC Impact Explorer Events View

Events can be grouped and displayed graphically in image views according to the needs of the IT operations staff. For example, an image view could depict equipment in a data center or the geographic location of IT resources. By monitoring events in an image, changes to the status of an IT component are immediately recognized.

Figure 2 on page 15 shows an example of a BMC Impact Explorer image view.


Event collectors

Figure 2 BMC IX image View

Event collectors

Event collectors group events for display in an event list. The administrator creates event collectors to provide operators with meaningful groups of events and to show relationship through the hierarchy of the nodes in the tree. An event collector defines which events should appear in an event list and also specifies which user roles have access to the events in an event list. Operators access the event list for an event collector by clicking the event collector node in the navigation tree.

Event collectors are dynamic or static. Nodes for dynamic event collectors appear in the navigation tree based on whether events are present that meet the event collectors’ criteria. Nodes for static event collectors remain in the navigation tree whether or not events are present.

BMC Impact Manager provides default event collectors for BMC Impact Explorer. Figure 3 on page 16 contains an example of the event collectors view.


MetaCollectors

Figure 3 BMC Impact Explorer Windows event collectors

MetaCollectors

A MetaCollector is a grouping of event collectors. Operators create MetaCollectors to view events from several event lists. Each event list is shown as a tab in the event list pane. The MetaCollector node represents the state of the combined events. MetaCollectors are often used to view event collectors from multiple cells in the network.

Event groups and image views

An event group is another method for showing the relationship of events through the hierarchy of the navigation tree. Administrators define event groups and associate them with one or more event collectors. Each level of the event collector is shown as a node under the event group. An event list is associated with the lowest level nodes of an event group. The parent level of an event group represents all of the events associated with the event collectors.


BMC IX Services View

The parent level of an event group is associated with an image view. An image view is a graphical representation of the event collectors in an event group. The event collectors are represented by objects that can be placed on a background image. The objects can be graphics, such as icons; statistical information, such as the number of events by priority or by severity; or text, such as a label.

Figure 2 on page 15 shows an example of event groups and an image view.

BMC IX Services ViewThe Services View of BMC IX is the view that service managers and IT operations staff use to monitor business services. Service managers can view the service models that represent a company’s business services. Service models are created in the BMC Impact Service Model Editor by organizing service model components into hierarchical relationships that can then be navigated by operators and service managers from the Services View.

In the Services View, a service manager can see whether a service model component consumes the services of another service model component (consumer) or whether it provides service to another component (provider). The status of the provider component impacts the status of the consumer component through the service relationship. The relationships in which a service model component participates are displayed in the Related Components tab of the Services View.

Service managers and IT operations staff can determine the root cause of a problem or the impact that a service model component has on a business service in the BMC Impact Explorer Services View, as shown in Figure 4 on page 18.


BMC IX Administration View

Figure 4 BMC Impact Explorer Services View

From the service model component, IT operations staff can view and manage the underlying events in the BMC Impact Explorer Events View (see Figure 1 on page 14).

For more information about using the Services View to monitor business services, see BMC Impact Solutions: Service Monitoring User Guide.

BMC IX Administration ViewAdministrators use the Administration View interfaces to complete the following tasks:

■ define event management policies with the Event Management Policies Editor■ define dynamic data with the Dynamic Data Editor■ stop, pause, restart, or reconfigure a cell■ monitor and manage BMC event and service management infrastructure

components and relationships

For more information about the Administration View, see BMC Impact Solutions: General Administration.


BMC Impact Event Adapters overview

BMC Impact Event Adapters overviewBMC Impact Manager (the cell) collects source events from IT assets through the use of Event Adapters. Event Adapters prepare the source event data for processing by the BMC Impact Manager event processor so that they can be displayed in the BMC IX Events View.

BMC Impact Manager provides the following Adapters groups:

■ “BMC Impact Event Adapters” on page 20■ “BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows” on page 23

Each Adapter, regardless of type, consists of the following functions:

■ Parser—The parser separates the data stream (source events) into records and fields using regular expressions. The BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows does not use a parser.

■ MAP file—The MAP file designates how the parsed data gets mapped to event slots (fields in an event record). MAP files can also be used to filter out unwanted events and to change or add data in the source event. The BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows does not use a MAP file.

■ Event class definitions—The mapped events must be translated into Basic Recorder of Objects in C (BAROC) language structures. The translated event data becomes a BMC Impact Manager event instance.

■ Configuration—The Adapter configuration defines an instance of an Adapter type, the parser to use, parameters specific to an Adapter type, and the cell to which the Adapter forwards the events.

The Adapters run as background processes and generate self-monitoring events that can be viewed in BMC Impact Explorer.


BMC Impact Event Adapters


The BMC Impact Event Adapters (BMC IEA) can collect source events from the following locations:

■ operating system and application log files■ SNMP type 1 and type 2 traps■ message output from command line interfaces■ the Windows Event Log

The BMC Impact Event Adapters are the LogFile Adapter, the SNMP Adapter, the Perl EventLog Adapter for Windows, and the IP Adapters.

The LogFile Adapter, the SNMP Adapter, and the Perl EventLog Adapter for Windows are preconfigured and include dedicated parsers. The IP Adapters require more extensive configuration, including the option to choose from among a number of different parsers.

The Adapter have predefined instances that also provide collectors for organizing events in the Events View. Administrators can modify the predefined Adapters and event classes, and can implement their own event Adapters.

Common characteristics

■ All regular expressions are managed by the Perl interpreter, and they must be in Perl 5 style.

■ Several instances of the same Adapter type can run at the same time. For example, two SNMP Adapters can be configured to listen on two different ports. Similarly, several LogFile Adapters can monitor several log files with completely different settings.

■ Each instance of an Adapter is related to a MAP file. The MAP file is a text file that manages the translation between a specific event coming from an external source and a BMC Impact Manager event. It consists of a set of statements, conditions, and assignments.

■ All BMC Impact Event Adapters store their configurations in the same configuration file, mcxa.conf. You can specify a different configuration file, if necessary.

■ The mcxa process for the BMC Impact Event Adapters can run as a daemon on UNIX systems and as a service on Windows systems.



User-defined Adapters can be easily integrated into the system in the same manner as the Perl EventLog Adapter for Windows, the LogFile Adapter, and the SNMP Adapter. User-defined Adapters must be Perl packages that inherit from the MA::Engine module and define some functions that collect the desired external data. Use of such an Adapter requires only that its name be entered as the Engine parameter in the configuration file after which the Engine Manager loads it dynamically.

LogFile Adapter

The LogFile Adapter is a file reader that can be used with any text file containing records that can be recognized by Perl regular expressions that describe the record and the record separator.

Although the LogFile Adapter is meant to be a generic Adapter for any text-based log file, special Adapter configurations and MAP files are supplied to monitor the most common UNIX log file produced by the syslog process and Apache log files. The mcxa.conf file includes sample Adapter configurations for each of these different functions.

SNMP Adapter

The SNMP (Trap) Adapter consists of a UDP SNMP server listening for SNMP traps. It includes a tool to convert information from Management Information Base (MIB) files into BMC Impact Manager classes and other data used to format traps into BMC Impact Manager events.

The SNMP Configuration Manager, a component of the BMC Impact Event Adapters, automates the tasks for converting information from MIB files into BMC Impact Manager classes.

The SNMP Configuration Manager has a web-based graphical user interface (GUI) that enables you to perform the following tasks:

■ publish MIB files

This process converts information from MIB files into BMC Impact Manager classes. The SNMP Configuration Manager uses the existing mib2map.pl utility to automate this process.

NOTE On Windows systems, the LogFile Adapter detects that the log file has changed if its size has decreased. This means that the LogFile Adapter will not function properly if the log file is replaced by a larger file. If such a situation occurs, delete the older log file about 30 seconds before replacing it. Another solution is to modify the last modification time of the configuration file.



■ view and edit the MAP file

The MAP file manages the translation between a specific event coming from an external source and a BMC Impact Manager event. Each instance of an adapter is related to a MAP file. To get the name of the MAP file that has to be configured, the SNMP Configuration Manager refers to the MapFile parameter in the first enabled instance of the SNMP Adapter in the mcxa.conf file. The mcxa.conf file is located in the MCELL_HOME\etc directory. MCELL_HOME is the path to the BMC Impact Manager and BMC Impact Event Adapters configuration and executable files.

If you have not specified a file name for the MapFile parameter, the SNMP Configuration Manager uses the mcsnmptrapd.map file name by default. This book uses mcsnmptrapd.map to refer to the file that is configured for the MapFile parameter.

■ unpublish MIB files

The process of unpublishing MIB files removes information about the selected MIB files from the mcsnmptrapd.map file.

Before you install the SNMP Configuration Manager, you must install the BMC Impact Event Adapters and enable the SNMP Adapter. These topics are described in the BMC Impact Solutions: Installation Guide.

Perl EventLog Adapter for Windows

The Perl EventLog Adapter for Windows is a Windows-only Adapter written in Perl that runs in the mcxa process. It monitors the system, security, and application events generated by a Windows operating system, translates the events, and forwards the events to a cell. This Adapter is obsolete and is supplied for backward-compatibility only.

BMC Software recommends that you use the BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows instead to monitor the Microsoft Windows Event Log. The BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows is installed separately. It uses a binary application and runs as a separate service. For more information, see “BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows” on page 23.


BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows

IP Adapters

The IP Adapters use the various protocols of the IP protocol suite to establish connections with programs from which you may want to collect BMC Impact Manager event data. The IP Adapters are as follows:

■ TCP Client Adapter■ TCP Server Adapter■ Telnet Adapter■ UDP Client Adapter■ UDP Server Adapter

For more information, see BMC Impact Solutions: General Administration guide.


The BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows (BMC IELA) monitors the system, security, and application events generated by a Windows operating system, translates the events, and forwards the events to a cell. The BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows provides predefined parsing, configuration, event classes, and collectors for organizing events in the Events View.

The BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows offers the same functionality as the Perl EventLog Adapter for Windows without requiring you to install Perl on your computer. The implementation of the BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows differs from that of the other BMC Impact Event Adapters. Table 1 describes these differences.

For more information about the BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows, see Chapter 7, “Using the BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows,” on page 107.

Table 1 BMC IEA versus BMC IELA comparison

Criterion BMC Impact Event Adapters (IEA)BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows (IELA)

Adapters included in package

■ Perl LogFile Adapter for Windows■ LogFile Adapter■ SNMP Adapter■ IP Adapters


Process mcxa.pl process (Engine Manager) binary executable

Platform Windows and UNIX Windows

Windows Service name

BMC Impact Event Adapters BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows

Configuration location mcxa.conf file Windows registry


C h a p t e r 2
2 Getting started with the BMC IX console and the BMC Impact Portal
The BMC Impact Explorer (BMC IX) product provides access to all of the event management and administration functions, as well as to views of services and components.

Starting BMC IX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Before you begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Starting BMC IX as a stand-alone application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Starting BMC IX from the BMC Impact Portal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Connecting to an authentication server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Changing your password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Starting BMC IXBefore you can use BMC IX to view and manage events, you must access it in one of the following ways:

■ as a stand-alone console (classic)

As a stand-alone console, BMC IX can reside on the same host computer as the BMC Portal or it can reside on another host computer. User validation and security can be managed by the BMC Portal server or the BMC Impact Administration Server (IAS) component.


Before you begin

■ as a Java Web Start application from the BMC Impact Portal

As a Java Web Start application, after BMC IX is deployed on your local desktop, you can launch it from

— the local desktop icon— a local startup menu— the Java Web Start Application Manager on your local host computer— from the BMC Portal Configure tab as a task

All user validation and security are managed centrally by the BMC Portal server. To launch BMC IX you need to connect the BMC Portal for user authentication. The BMC Impact Manager cells to which you will connect are configured in the BMC Impact Portal by the administrator.

Before you begin

From the administrator responsible for the BMC Impact Portal or the IAS, obtain

■ a valid user ID for an existing account on the authentication server■ the host name and port number for each BMC Impact Portal or IAS to which you

will connect

Starting BMC IX as a stand-alone application

1 Access the product as follows, depending on your operating system:

■ For Microsoft Windows, choose Start => Programs => BMC Software => BMC Impact Explorer.

■ For UNIX, in the opt/bmc/Impact/console directory, type ./console.sh at the command prompt.

The BMC Impact Explorer splash screen is displayed, and then the Logon dialog box is displayed.

2 In Username, enter your logon ID.

NOTE BMC Software recommends that you have only one account for BMC IX and that all BMC IX users be members of that account.


Starting BMC IX from the BMC Impact Portal

3 In Password, enter your password.

4 From Server, select the authentication server to which you want to connect.

You define additional servers in the Edit Configuration dialog box after you initially sign on to BMC IX.

5 Click OK.

6 Select a cell from the Available Impact Managers list.

7 Select a cell group (the defaults are MyTest, MyProduction, or Infrastructure Management).

For information about defining additional groups, see “Customizing the console to access multiple cells” on page 31.


When you initially download BMC IX from the BMC Impact Portal, the connection information for that BMC Impact Portal is configured automatically. After installation, Java Web Start automatically downloads software updates of BMC IX to the local host computer when they occur.

Before you begin

With Java Web Start, you can create a BMC IX icon on your desktop and an entry in your startup menu. To create a desktop shortcut, you must enable shortcut creation in the Advanced tab of the Java Control Panel.

To initially download BMC IX as a Java Web Start application

1 Type the BMC Portal URL address into your browser’s address box, using the following syntax:

https://portalName.domain.com

Replace portalName.domain with the host name of the BMC Portal server.

Depending on your browser and its configuration, a security certificate warning might appear. Accept the security certificate.

The BMC Portal logon screen is displayed.

2 Type your BMC Portal User Name and your Password, and then click Log On.



3 Click the Configure tab and then click BMC Impact Explorer.

Depending on your browser and its configuration, a security certificate warning might appear. Accept the security certificate.

4 In the BMC Impact Explorer Logon dialog box, type your Username and your Password, and then click OK.

5 Select a cell from the Available Impact Managers list.

6 Select a group (the defaults are MyTest, MyProduction, or Infrastructure Management).

For information about defining additional groups, see “Customizing the console to access multiple cells” on page 31.

For more information about launching BMC Impact Explorer using this method, see the BMC Portal Getting Started guide.

To start BMC IX as a Java Web Start application (after the initial download)

1 Start BMC IX in one of the following ways from your local host computer:

— the local desktop icon (see “Before you begin” on page 27)— a local startup menu— the Java Web Start Application Manager on your local host computer

Java Web Start automatically downloads updated versions of the product. The BMC Impact Explorer splash screen is displayed, and then the Logon dialog box is displayed.

2 In Username, enter your logon ID.

3 In Password, enter your password.

4 Click OK.


Connecting to an authentication server

Connecting to an authentication serverYour administrator can set up BMC IX to connect to multiple BMC Impact Portals or Impact Administration Servers.

The following procedure describes how to add one or more authentication servers (either BMC Impact Portal or IAS) to the BMC IX console configuration. You can then select the server that you want to connect to from the Logon dialog box when you start the BMC IX.

This procedure applies to BMC IX as a stand-alone console or as a Java Web Start application.

To connect to an authentication server

1 From the BMC IX menu bar, choose Edit => Configuration.

The Edit Configuration dialog box is displayed.

2 Click the Login Servers subtab.

3 In Host, enter the name of the computer that hosts the authentication server.

4 In Port, enter the port number for the authentication server.

5 Click Add to include the server in the list of servers to which you want to connect.

6 Click OK to save the changes and exit the dialog box.

NOTE For the BMC Impact Portal, each portal uses a different BMC Atrium Configuration Management Database (CMDB), so if you connect to a different portal, you will be accessing a different service model and all its related data. Using a different BMC Impact Portal as a backup requires that the administrator replicate the entire environment and maintain it as a backup.


Changing your password

Changing your passwordTo keep your password secure, you should change it periodically.

To change your BMC Impact Explorer password

1 From the menu bar, choose the Server => Change Password.

The Change Password dialog box is displayed.

2 In Old Password, enter your current password.

3 In New Password and Confirm New Password, enter a new password.

4 Click OK.

Your password for the BMC IX logon are changed immediately.

NOTE If you forget your password, your administrator must clear the encrypted form of your password from the configuration file. The next time that you log on, you will enter a new password, and you will be prompted to confirm it. This operation sets your new password.


C h a p t e r 3
3 Configuring BMC Impact Explorer for event monitoring
This chapter describes how to configure the BMC Impact Explorer (BMC IX) console to operate to suit your needs.

Customizing the console to access multiple cells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Setting cell connection properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Specifying ports in cell connection properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Connecting to and disconnecting from a cell or group of cells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Using primary and secondary cells for high availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Viewing property and performance data about a cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Customizing the console to access multiple cells

Your access to additional Impact Managers (cells) depends on the access privileges assigned to you by your administrator. You may be able to add cells to your console that are not currently displayed in the navigation pane. You can view the available cells versus the cells already selected for monitoring on the Impact Managers subtab of the Edit Configuration dialog box.

Each cell must belong to a group, so when you add cells to your console, you add them to a group. A group can contain just one cell, or it can contain multiple cells, and you can create as many cell groups as you need. Cell groups enable you to organize cells into manageable units.

By default, three cell groups labeled MyProduction, MyTest and Infrastructure Management are created during the installation process. If your user account has operator only permissions, only MyProduction and MyTest are displayed when you first use the BMC IX console. If your user account has administrator permissions, Infrastructure Management is also displayed. You can edit and delete these cell groups.



You can create cell groups and name them according to your organizational needs. For example, you can create a cell group for each of the office locations in your enterprise. Also, as your environment changes, you might need to change the names of the cell groups that you create.

To create a new cell group

1 From the menu bar, choose Edit => Configuration.


2 Click the Impact Managers subtab.

3 In the Group text box, enter a new group name.

4 Click Add.

The new cell group is added to Selected Impact Managers.

5 Click OK.

The new cell group is displayed in the navigation pane.

To change a cell group name




3 From Selected Impact Managers, select a cell group.

4 In Group, enter a new name for the cell group.

5 Click Edit.

The Change Group Name Confirmation dialog box is displayed.

6 Click Yes to accept the name change.

7 Click OK.



To remove a cell group name




3 From Selected Impact Managers, select the group that you want to remove.

4 Click Remove.

The Delete Group confirmation dialog box is displayed.

5 Click Yes to remove the cell group.

6 Click OK.

To add cells to a cell group




Available Impact Managers lists all BMC Impact Managers (cells) to which you are connected, as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5 Available Impact Managers list for a user account with administrator permissions

3 From Available Impact Managers, select the cell that you want to add to the console.

4 From Selected Impact Managers, select the group to which you want to add the cell.


Setting cell connection properties

5 Click the right arrow to move the selected Impact Manager to the selected Impact Manager group.

6 Click OK.

The cell that you added is displayed in its cell group in the navigation pane of the console.

Setting cell connection propertiesIn addition to the console configuration, each connection between BMC IX and a cell must be configured.

To configure cell connection properties




3 Select a cell or cell group.

4 If necessary, click Advanced to display the Cell Properties section of the dialog box.

TIP You can select multiple cells at one time, as follows:

■ To select adjacent cells, select the first cell, hold down the Shift key, and select the last cell.

■ To select nonadjacent cells, select a cell, hold down the Ctrl key, and select each of the other cells.

TIP You can also select a cell from Available Impact Managers and drag it to the appropriate cell group in Selected Impact Managers.

NOTE If you select a cell group, changes are applied to all the cells contained in the cell group. If you select a single cell, changes are applied only to the individual cell.


Setting cell connection properties

5 Use Table 2 to help you set values for the cell properties.

Table 2 Cell connection properties (part 1 of 2)

Property Description

Name displays the name of the cell whose properties you are changing

Primary Host displays the name of the primary host computer where the cell is installed

Port displays the port number the cell uses to connect to the primary host computer

Secondary Host

displays the name of the secondary host computer if one has been installed and configured to provide failover capabilities for the primary host

Port displays the port number the cell uses to connect to the secondary host computer

Timeout specifies the length of time the console waits to receive data from the cell; default is 30 seconds

Refresh Freq sets the time interval between pollings of the cell; default is 60 seconds

Attempts sets the number of times the console attempts to connect to a cell; default is 10

Connect Freq time interval between connection attempts; default is 5 seconds

Encrypted Mode

enables and disables encryption of data between the console and the cell; default is enabled (selected)

Auto Connect enables and disables automatic connection to the cell at logon; default is disabled (cleared)

Auto Switch enables and disables automatic and continuous switching of the connection from the backup cell to the primary cell after failover, using the value set in Connect Freq as the interval; default is disabled

Use Port Range

enables and disables using a specified range of local ports (on the console) for establishing a connection between the console and a cell

Designating a port range is useful if the console must communicate to a cell through a firewall with only specific ports available for communication. The console scans through the specified port range until a port is connected to the cell or the connection fails because the port range is exhausted.

Min Port No. specifies the lower limit of the port range

This number must be a positive value. If you enter a negative value, then the value will be changed to 1. If you enter 0, then BMC IX assumes that you do not want to use a port range and Use Port Range check box is unchecked when you click Apply or OK in the Impact Manager dialog box.

Max Port No. specifies the upper limit of the port range

This number must be a positive value. If you enter a negative value, then the value will be changed to 1. If you enter a value that is less than the minimum port number, the number will be changed to minimum port number value.


Specifying ports in cell connection properties


Specifying ports in cell connection properties

The following circumstances require you to provide more specific information about communications between the console and the cell:

■ the presence of a network interface card (NIC) between the console and the cell■ the presence of a firewall between the console and the cell■ using a multihomed computer for the console

In these circumstances, you must select Use Port Range and specify the limits of the port range and then select either Auto Bind or a particular IP address.

The Auto Bind option configures the console to connect to an NIC before it can connect to a cell. If you specify no particular NIC, the console automatically attempts to connect to the first NIC it encounters.

On a multihomed computer, you can specify the NIC by selecting the IP address that the card is using from the IP Address list box. If Auto Bind is not enabled, you must specify a port range for the network card to which the console binds.

Auto Bind enables and disables the automatic connection attempt of the console to the first network card it encounters

Clear this option to bind to a specific IP address.

If only one network card exists, ensure that Auto Bind is selected. See “Specifying ports in cell connection properties” for additional information.

IP Address specifies the IP address assigned to the local network card to which the console connects; available only if Auto Bind is cleared

TIP To set cell connection properties, you can also right-click a cell in the navigation pane and choose Edit Properties from the menu.

NOTE If the console is running on a computer that is acting as a gateway between multiple subnets, the network card that you bind to must be on the same subnet as the cell to which the console connects.

Table 2 Cell connection properties (part 2 of 2)

Property Description


Connecting to and disconnecting from a cell or group of cells


After you have added a cell to the BMC IX console and before you can configure or manipulate that cell or access the event or service data for it, you must connect the console to it. Both unconnected and connected cells are displayed in the navigation pane. Cells that are not connected display in their cell icon in the console.

A cell might appear to be disconnected from the console for many reasons, including the following:

■ The cell might be down.■ The computer hosting the cell might be down.■ The BMC Impact Portal component might contain an invalid name or port number.■ The cell might have been disconnected.■ The cell might have been added to the console but not yet connected.

To connect to an individual cell

In the navigation pane, right-click a cell and choose Connect from the menu.

The red X disappears from the cell icon when you connect to the cell.

To connect to all cells contained in a cell group

In the navigation pane, right-click a cell group and choose Connect All from the menu.

The red X disappears from the cell group icon when you connect to all the cells contained in the cell group.

NOTE If you enable the Manager Group Status option on the Global subtab of the Edit Configuration dialog box, the cell group icon indicates that at least one cell is disconnected by showing a red X on its lower left portion, which makes the icon look the same as if the entire cell group is disconnected.

NOTE An administrator can configure a primary cell in a high availability pair to automatically switch to a secondary cell if it becomes unavailable. For additional information, see “Using primary and secondary cells for high availability” on page 39.



To disconnect from an individual cell

If you no longer want to receive event data for a cell, you can disconnect the console from the cell.

In the navigation pane, right-click a cell and choose Disconnect from the menu.

A red X is displayed in the cell icon to indicate that the cell is disconnected.

To disconnect from a cell group

In the navigation pane, right-click a cell group and choose Disconnect All from the menu.

A red X is displayed in the cell group icon, indicating that all the cells contained in the cell group are disconnected.

NOTE If Auto Connect is enabled for a cell, the next time you start the console, a connection to the cell is automatically re-established. For additional information about Auto Connect, see “Setting cell connection properties” on page 34.

NOTE If you enable the Manager Group Status option on the Global subtab of the Edit Configuration dialog box, the icon for the disconnected cell group looks the same as the icon for a cell group in which only some of the cells are disconnected.


Using primary and secondary cells for high availability

Using primary and secondary cells for high availability

Your administrator might have installed and configured a primary cell and a secondary cell to provide redundant access to the event repository should the primary cell become unavailable.

The primary cell copies event data to the secondary cell. When the primary cell is in active mode, the secondary cell is in standby mode. By default, if the primary cell becomes unavailable, the BMC IX automatically connects to the designated secondary cell server. The secondary cell then changes to active mode and performs the same functions as the primary cell. When the primary cell becomes available again, the secondary cell changes back to standby mode.

During the time in which the active cell is down and the secondary cell is still in standby mode, the cell continues to collect event; however, you cannot perform any actions on those events. You will see the following changes in the Events view of BMC IX:

■ In the Events list, the following message is displayed:Event List frozen xx:yy:zz time – primary server for cell is down

■ Tabs associated with the cell are highlighted in yellow ■ In the navigation pane, cells, cell groups, collectors, MetaCollectors, and

subcollectors are highlighted in yellow ■ Local and remote actions are disabled■ The following Edit menu commands are disabled:

— Event Operations — Execute — MetaCollectors — Edit Event Group

By default, the cells are configured for automatic failover. If your administrator changes this configuration, you can manually change the status of the primary or secondary cells by performing the following procedures.

To manually activate a primary or secondary cell

1 Open a command prompt.

2 Enter the following command:

mcontrol -n cellName#number start

The variable cellName is the name of either the primary or secondary cell and the variable number is either 1, for the primary cell, or 2 for the secondary cell.


Viewing property and performance data about a cell

To manually change the status of the secondary cell from active to standby

1 Open a command prompt.


mcontrol -n cellName#2 pause

The variable cellName is the name of the secondary cell.

For details about high availability, see the BMC Impact Solutions: General Administration guide.


Property and performance information for a cell is maintained in the Impact Manager Info dialog box. You can access this information by right-clicking a cell in the navigation pane and choosing View Manager Info from the menu. Cell property data is presented on the General subtab, including the cell name, description, IP address and port number for the primary cell server, IP address and port number for the secondary cell server (if applicable), release and build versions, service address, port number, and platform information.

The Workload subtab presents performance statistics for the cell, including how much data the cell has received, the number of errors, and how much data has been stored, removed, and propagated. The service performance data presented on the Components tab pertains specifically to the number of service model components associated with the cell, such as the type of components and the relationships.

Figure 6 on page 41, Figure 7 on page 41, and Figure 8 on page 42 show examples of property and performance data presented on the tabs of the dialog box.



Figure 6 Impact Manager Information dialog box General tab

Figure 7 Impact Manager Information dialog box Workload tab



Figure 8 Impact Manager Information dialog box Components tab

NOTE To refresh the contents of the Impact Manager Information dialog box, click Refresh .


C h a p t e r 4
4 Viewing and managing events
This chapter provides information about the tasks you can perform on event data from the Events tab.

Accessing the Events view in the console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Understanding elements of the event list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Determining the state of an event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Understanding event status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Understanding event severity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Understanding event priority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Viewing event lists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Selecting the type of event list to view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Viewing event details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Viewing related events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Adjusting column widths in the event list. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Refreshing and freezing the event list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Organizing events in the event list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Using MetaCollectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Filtering events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Sorting events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Understanding event groups and image views. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70Connecting to multiple cells to access additional event groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Getting details for events in an event list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72New Common Event Model slots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Viewing event operations history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75Viewing event relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75Viewing online Help for an event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Copying event information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Printing event information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Performing event operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77Responding to an event with an action. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80Responding to multiple events by using a user-defined local action. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82Manually setting component status or maintenance mode with a remote action . . . 85


Accessing the Events view in the console

Accessing the Events view in the consoleTo access the Events view in the BMC Impact Explorer (BMC IX) console, click the Events tab. The Events view contains a toolbar, a navigation pane, the event list, and subtabs containing various types of details about the events that are displayed in the events list. You can view events for a cell, a collector, a MetaCollector, or an event group.

Figure 9 identifies and Table 3 describes the main areas of the Events view.

Figure 9 Location of elements in the Events view

Table 3 Description of elements in the Events view (part 1 of 2)

# Name Description

1 Information Display Selection tabs

provide access to the available categories of event information such as cells, cell groups, collectors, MetaCollectors, and event groups

2 navigation pane displays cells, cell groups, collectors, MetaCollectors, and event groups in a hierarchical relationship tree

3 View Selection tabs provide access to the Events, Services, and Administration Views

1

2

3

4

7

8

5

6



Using the navigation pane on the Events tab, you can view cells, cell groups, collectors, and MetaCollectors in a hierarchical tree, as shown in Figure 10 on page 46 and described in Table 4 on page 47.

4 Event Sources list provides access to the default filters, which provide variations of the event list:

■ list all events

■ limit the event list to active, new, closed, or blackout events in the following categories:

— Basic Information: displays the default slots of the class EVENT

— Supervisor Information: displays the same slots as Basic Information, except that action count is replaced by current owner

— SMC Information: displays information from the collector MC_SMC_EVENT that collects all events in which the mc_smc_id slot contains information

■ list service model component events in the following categories:

— impact events— status history events

For more information, see “Using the default filters” on page 59.

5 Slots columns that display the status, priority, severity, action count (Occurrences), event relation, receipt date (Occurred), and message for events

6 event list displays the contents of a cell or collector as a list of events with slot information and filters.

Each line of the list represents one event.

7 Pending Events indicator

displays the number of events in the current list and the number of events pending

In Figure 9 on page 44, Pending Events shows that 98 events are in the current event list and no events are pending.

8 details pane displays details about the currently selected event in each subtab

For descriptions of each subtab, see Table 13 on page 73.

Table 3 Description of elements in the Events view (part 2 of 2)

# Name Description



Figure 10 Events view navigation pane

4

5

6

7

9

1

10

8

2

3



Table 4 Description of elements in the Events view navigation pane

# Name Icon Description

1 Collectors subtab

displays the cells, cell groups, and collectors available for viewing

2 MetaCollectors subtab

displays the MetaCollectors available for viewing

3 Event Groups subtab

displays the event groups available for viewing

4 cell group icon identifies a cell group

5 cell icon identifies a cell

6 hierarchy indicator

indicates existence of a hierarchy below the monitored cell, cell group, or collector

7 collector icon identifies a collector

8 severity level indicator

identifies by color the highest severity level of the events contained in the collector (for the configured statuses).

For more information about the severity levels for events, see Table 9 on page 52.

For more information, see “Understanding the effect of event status and severity on collectors’ color” on page 120.

9 event count none displays the number of events contained in the collector and the number of events that you selected to count.

For more information, see “Understanding the effect of event status on event count for collectors” on page 121.

10 View Selection tabs

none access the Events, Services, or Administration Views


Understanding elements of the event list

Understanding elements of the event list

From the event list, you can access the event data collected for the cells contained in your BMC Impact Manager (BMC IM) environment. Also, you can

■ select a different view for the event list of a cell or collector■ access the specific details collected for an event■ perform operations on an event, such as take or decline ownership or reopen■ annotate individual or multiple events ■ explore event relationships■ copy and print event data

The event list displays selected event details, including operational status. Each row in the table shows information for one event. The columns are determined by the type of information that you select in Event Sources and the slots (event attributes) selected for display. For example, if you select All Events and Basic Information from the Event Sources list, the default event list displays the following columns:

■ status■ priority■ severity■ action count (number of remote actions applied to the event)■ event relations■ receipt date of the event■ message associated with the event

The set of slots (columns) presented in the event list is called the slot order. Depending on your role and access privileges, you can select different slots to see other event information (and therefore other columns in the event list). When you change the slots presented, either by adding or removing slots or by rearranging them, you are changing the slot order. To use a new slot order, you must associate it with a filter. For instructions, see “Sorting events” on page 66.

You can click a column heading in the event list to switch between ascending and descending sort order according to that column. For example, you could display the events sorted by date, either earliest to latest (ascending order) or newest to oldest (descending order). You could also display the events sorted by their messages, which would display them in alphabetical order (ascending order) or reverse alphabetical order (descending order).

If the event has related events, one of the icons shown in Table 5 on page 49 is displayed in the event relations column.


Determining the state of an event

You can also customize the display of the event list, as described in “Customizing display settings for the Events tab” on page 118.


The event list displays sufficient information for you to recognize an event’s current state quickly. Each event’s state depends on multiple factors:

■ severity, reflected in the severity icon and color of the event line■ priority, reflected in the priority icon■ the last event operation performed on the event, reflected in the status icon

When you perform an event operation on an event, the state of the event changes according to Table 6.

Figure 11 on page 50 shows how an event in any state is affected by the operations that are valid for that current state. The circles represent the event states. Each arrow represents an action, with the direction of the arrow indicating the flow of the action. For example, if the event is currently in the Acknowledged Event state, you can perform a Reopen Event, Close Event, Take Ownership, or Assign To action. Conversely, for that event to be in the Acknowledged Event state, an Acknowledge Event or Decline Ownership action must have been taken against it.

Table 5 Event relations icons

Icon Event relation

Generic

Notification

Incident

iBRSD-related incident errors

Table 6 Event states resulting from event operations

Event operation performed Resulting state

Acknowledge Event Acknowledged

Take Ownership Assigned

Decline Ownership Acknowledged

Assign To Assigned

Close Event Closed

Reopen Event Open

Black Out Blacked Out



Figure 11 How event operations affect event state

A user with a supervisory role (Full Access is the only default supervisory role) can select Supervisor Information from the secondary menu of the Event Sources list to see current operator information based on the last event operation applied. This information is displayed in the mc_owner column in the event list, according to Table 7.

Other factors can also affect the information displayed, such as whether an event has been propagated, abstracted, correlated, or recycled.

Table 7 Current operator information in event list

Last event operation action Current operator information displayed in mc_owner

Take Ownership logon user ID of the user who took ownership

Assign To logon user ID of the user to whom the event is assigned

Decline Ownership none

Close none

Acknowledge none

Reopen none; this operation clears previous information from the event list

Set Priority no change to displayed information


Understanding event status

Understanding event status

The status of an event provides basic information about the event’s response activity. The cell assigns a status value to each event, and then you can change the status by performing event operations or other actions on the event. Also, the status of the event can be changed automatically by a rule.

Table 8 lists the icons that are displayed in the event list to represent event status.

The color of the status icon is always the same. However, if you have configured the Events View to use the severity color for the event line, the color of the icon’s background varies with the severity of the event.

Understanding event severity

Each event has a severity level associated with it that indicates the seriousness of the event. In combination with status and priority, the severity level indicates the urgency of the need to take action. For example, a high severity level for an event in the Closed status is no cause for alarm, but a high severity level for an event in the Open status and with a priority of 1 indicates an urgent need for action.

The color of each line (row) in the event list table is determined by settings in the Events View subtab in the Edit Configuration dialog box and by the severity of the event depicted in the line, as follows:

■ If you selected Line Color Severity in the configuration, the line shows the color associated with the severity level of the event.

For events that have no severity (statuses Closed and Blackout have no severity level associated with them), the line has no color (is displayed as white).

■ If you did not select Line Color Severity, the line has no color (is displayed as white).

Table 8 Event status icons

Icon Event status

Open

Closed

Acknowledged (ACK)

Assigned

Blackout


Understanding event priority

Table 9 lists the default severity levels and colors for the events that appear in the navigation pane and event list and shows the icons used in the event list.

The event with the highest severity level in an event group on the Event Group tab determines the severity indicator that you see for the event group in the navigation tree. For example, if one event has a severity of Critical, the event group is displayed in the navigation tree with a Critical (red) severity indicator.

Understanding event priority

In addition to a severity level, each event has a priority level. Distinguishing between severity and priority helps you to understand which event requires action first. Table 10 lists the icons that are displayed in the event list to represent event priority.

Table 9 Event severity levels

Color Icon in Event List Severity level

red CRITICAL

dark orange MAJOR

light orange MINOR

yellow WARNING

blue INFO

green OK

gray UNKNOWN

Table 10 Event priority icons

Icon Event Priority

Priority 1 (highest)

Priority 2

Priority 3

Priority 4

Priority 5 (lowest)


Viewing event lists

Viewing event listsThe procedures for viewing events for a cell, a collector, a MetaCollector, and an event group are similar. They differ in the tab or the tree icon that you select. BMC Impact Explorer (BMC IX) displays the events for the selected object in the event list pane.

To view the event list for a cell

1 At the top of the Events navigation pane, click the Collectors tab .

2 Expand the hierarchy to locate the cell whose events you want to display.

3 Click the cell.

To view the event list for a collector

1 At the top of the Events navigation pane, click the Collectors tab .

2 Expand the hierarchy to locate the collector whose events you want to display.

3 Click the collector.

To view the event list for a MetaCollector

1 At the top of the Events navigation pane, click the MetaCollectors tab .

2 Expand the hierarchy to locate the MetaCollector whose events you want to display.

3 Click the MetaCollector.

To view the event list for an event group

1 At the top of the Events navigation pane, click the Event Groups tab .

2 Expand the hierarchy to locate the event group whose events you want to display.

3 Click the event group.


Selecting the type of event list to view

Selecting the type of event list to view

From the Event Sources list box, you can select different views of the event list, including events that match specific criteria or the results from a filter, as shown in Figure 12.

Figure 12 Event Sources selection

For more information about filtering, see “Filtering events” on page 58.

Viewing event details

From the Events View, you can access various kinds of data for an event. The details pane provides tabs that categorize the data, as described in Table 20 on page 119. If you hide the details pane, you can access the same information by double-clicking the event in the event list or by selecting the event and choosing View => Event Details from the menu bar.

Viewing related events

An event in the event list displays one or more icons when that event has another event associated with it. The icon that is displayed depends on the type of event to which it is associated. For example, if the related event is about trouble ticket information, an icon that represents a trouble ticket is displayed.

You can view related events in the following ways:

■ from the events list■ from the main menu

Available event list viewsEvent Sources list box


Adjusting column widths in the event list

To view related events from the events list

1 From the events list, right-click a row.

2 From the menu, choose Views => Related Events.

A list of related events is displayed.

3 Perform one of the following actions:

■ To view one type of related event, select a type.

An event list of the selected type, as denoted by its title, is displayed.

■ To view all related events, select Show all related events.

All related events are displayed.

To view related events from the main menu

1 From the main menu, choose View => Related events.

2 Perform one of the following actions:

■ To view one type of related event, select a type.

An event list of the selected event, as denoted by its title, is displayed.

■ To view all related events, select Show all related events.

All related events are displayed.

Adjusting column widths in the event list

If you need to see more or less information in the event list columns, you can use the cursor to modify the column widths. In the event list, move the cursor to the end of the column heading until it changes to a bidirectional arrow.

NOTE If you move the cursor over an event relations icon, a summary of the number of related events by category is displayed briefly.


Refreshing and freezing the event list

Refreshing and freezing the event list

All of the event sources in the BMC Impact Manager system can generate thousands of events. You can choose whether to view all of those events as they occur. You can configure refresh of the event list to occur automatically or manually, and even if you use the automatic refresh, you can manually refresh at any time to be sure that you have the most recent data. When you manually refresh the event list, the cell is queried for any changes in events. The console updates the event list if changes are present.

Using manual refresh gives you the ability to freeze the event list at an instant. Freezing the event list can be useful for troubleshooting, in that it prevents the events of interest from being displaced in the view by new events at each refresh interval. Instead of being displayed in the event list, new events increment the Pending Events indicator at the lower right of the event list pane.

To automatically refresh the event list

1 In the Events View, choose Edit => Configuration.

2 In the Edit Configuration dialog box, configure the function and the refresh interval, as follows:

A On the Global subtab, select Auto Refresh active by default.

B On the Impact Managers subtab, in the advanced option, specify a value in Refresh Freq (in seconds).

3 On the event list, ensure that Auto Refresh is active.

If Auto Refresh is not enabled and active when an event is modified externally from the console, the event is not updated until you manually refresh the event list.

To manually refresh the event list

Use any of the following methods:

■ From the menu bar, choose View => Refresh.■ On the toolbar, click Refresh .■ Press F5.

NOTE If the cell is extremely busy, the event list may not be refreshed until the cell completes the current event processing load.


Organizing events in the event list

To freeze the event list

In the upper-left corner of the event list, click Auto Refresh .

The auto refresh activity stops. The list updates only when you click Auto Refresh or Refresh again.

Organizing events in the event listYou can use various techniques to organize events and view information about them:

■ Use MetaCollectors to arrange events from different sources.■ Filter events to see only the ones of interest.■ Change the sorting of the event list.■ Change the columns displayed in the event list.

Using MetaCollectors

BMC IX has an organizational tool, called a MetaCollector, that both operators and administrators can use to view and manage numerous events from different sources in meaningful ways. With MetaCollectors, you can display events from multiple, connected cells in a single tree node in the navigation pane, grouping events in your own customized ways. MetaCollectors are displayed in the navigation pane in their own tab.

To create a MetaCollector

1 At the top of the navigation pane of the Events View, select the MetaCollectors tab .

2 From the menu bar, choose Edit => MetaCollectors.

The Edit MetaCollector dialog box is displayed.

3 On the dialog box toolbar, click the New button .

The MetaCollector Naming dialog box is displayed.

4 Enter a name for the MetaCollector and click OK.

The new MetaCollector is displayed in the right pane of the dialog box.


Filtering events

5 Select the new MetaCollector.

6 Select a cell or collector from the left pane that you want to include in the new MetaCollector.

7 Click the right arrow button to move the cell or collector to the MetaCollector, as shown in Figure 13.

Figure 13 MetaCollector addition

8 When you have finished adding collectors to the MetaCollector, click OK.

9 Click the MetaCollectors tab in the navigation pane to view the new MetaCollector.

Filtering events

Using filters, you can narrow the scope and number of events displayed. BMC IX offers the following filtering methods:

■ default filters, provided in the Event Sources list, which filter events based on status, time, or affiliation with the service model and provide global event views

■ quick filters, provided in the Slot Quick Filter and Severity Quick Filter lists, which show events based on a specific slot value or severity level

■ local filters, which you create and which are unique to your logon user name

■ global filters, which an administrator creates and which are available to any user logged on to the server where the global filter was created

TIP You can also drag the cell or collector to the right pane to add it to the MetaCollector.

The cell is added to the MetaCollector


Filtering events

Using the default filters

The default filters provide an easy way to see only the events that are active, new, closed, or those that are related to the service model. To use a default filter, click the down arrow next to Event Sources and choose the default filter that you want to use.

Table 11 summarizes the default filters and their options.

All of the default filters have the following options to differentiate the event information that is displayed:

■ Basic Information displays

■ Supervisor Information displays

■ SMC Information displays

Table 11 Default filters and filter options

Filter name Primary options Secondary options

All Events ■ Basic Information■ Supervisor Information■ SMC Information

none

Active Events

New Events

Closed Events

Blackout Alerts

SMC Events ■ SMC Impact Events■ SMC Status History Events

■ Basic Information■ Supervisor Information■ SMC Information

Incident Events ■ CI Incidents ■ CI Incident Information

■ Event Incidents ■ Event Incident Information

— status— severity— priority

— number of operation actions performed on the event— date and time the event was received— message produced by the event

— status— severity— priority

— date and time the event was received— owner of the event— message produced by the event

— status— severity— priority— receipt date and time— class

— impact — type of service model component— component ID— causes— effects


Filtering events

The SMC Events filter also has the following intermediate options to differentiate between the types of service model component events that can be displayed:

■ SMC Impact Events■ SMC Status History Events

Using the quick filters

The quick filters provide an easy way to specify a single criterion for comparison and filtering. You can specify a single slot, a value, and an appropriate comparison operator (such as equal to, not equal to, contains, and so forth), or a minimum severity level and view only the events that match that criterion.

To filter events by using slot names

1 From the event list, click the down arrow next to Slot Quick Filter, as shown in Figure 14.

Figure 14 Slot quick filter and severity quick filter

The Slot Quick Filter dialog box is displayed.

2 In Slot, select the slot that you want to use as a filter.

3 In Operator, select a comparison operator.

4 In Value, enter a value against which you want the filter to compare.

5 Click OK.

NOTE To toggle the filter, click Slot Quick Filter (which turns on the filter) or the filter specification (which turns off the filter). When the filter specification is displayed instead of the Slot Quick Filter icon, the events that are displayed are filtered.

Slot Quick Filter

Severity Quick Filter


Filtering events

To filter events using severity

1 From the event list, click the down arrow next to Severity Quick Filter as displayed in Figure 14 on page 60.

A list of severity levels is displayed.

2 Select the minimum severity level that you want to use to filter the event list.

The Severity Quick Filter filters out any events that have a severity level below the severity level that you selected. For example, if you select a severity status of Critical, only events of status major and lower would appear.

Using global and local filters

Administrators can create filters and make them accessible to all users who are logged on to the server where the filters were created; these filters are global filters. Any user can create filters that are unique to the logon user name and only that user can access; these filters are local filters. You can use the filters that are available to you to adjust the view of the events list just as you use the quick filters or default filters.

To create a filter

1 From the menu bar, choose Edit => Event Views.

The Edit Event View dialog box is displayed.

2 On the toolbar, click Edit Filters , as indicated in Figure 15 on page 62.

NOTE To toggle the filter on and off, click Severity Quick Filter (which turns on the filter) or the filter specification (which turns off the filter). When the filter specification is displayed instead of the Severity Quick Filter icon, the events that are displayed are filtered.


Filtering events

Figure 15 Edit Event View dialog box

The Edit Filter dialog box is displayed.

3 On the toolbar, click New Basic Filter .

A new filter is displayed in the Filters pane.

4 In Filter Name, enter the name for the filter.

5 In Event Class, click Browse .

6 In the Class Chooser dialog box, specify the following items:

■ In Impact Managers, select the cell for which you are creating the filter.

■ In Search for, specify the event class.

7 (optional) To filter events by age, select Age Limit and specify a number of minutes.

8 (optional) To filter events according to one or more slots, specify the following information for each slot:

A In Slot, select the slot name.

B In Operator, select a comparison operator.

C In Value, enter a value against which you want the filter to compare.

TIP An administrator can create a global filter by selecting Global Filter Group and clicking New Basic Filter. An operator can create only a local filter; Global Filter Group is not available for selection.

Edit Filters

Filters pane


Filtering events

D If you want to add another filter condition (slot), select a logical operator of And or Or and then click Add.

9 Click OK.

The Edit Filter dialog box closes and the new filter is displayed in the Filters pane of the Edit Event View dialog box.

10 In the Edit Event View dialog box, select the new filter in the left pane.

11 In the right pane, select the options that you want to use for displaying the results of the new filter (referred to as slot orders), and then click the left arrow between the panes.

The slot orders are added to the filter hierarchy in the left pane.

12 Click OK to return to the main console window.

Your new filter is ready for use. You can access it in Event Sources.

To edit a filter



2 On the toolbar, click Edit Filters .


3 From the Filters pane, select the filter that you want to modify.

4 Edit the settings for the filter (see steps 4 through 8 on page 62 for guidance).

5 Click OK.

6 Click OK to return to the console.

TIP To remove a filter condition, select the condition you want to delete and click Remove.

NOTE If you want to create or edit a filter using more complex logic, you can click Promote to Advanced and use the editing tool to add and remove logic, change operators, and so forth.


Filtering events

To delete a filter



2 On the toolbar, click Edit Filters .

The Edit Filters dialog box is displayed.

3 From the Filters pane, select the filter that you want to delete, and click Delete on the toolbar.

4 Click OK.


Organizing local filters into groups

You may have enough local filters to warrant organizing them into groups. Using local filter groups can make finding a particular filter easier.

To create a filter group



2 On the toolbar, click Edit Filters.


3 On the toolbar, click New Filter Group.

In the Filters pane, a new filter group is displayed.

4 In Filter Group Name, enter a name for the filter group.

NOTE A filter group labeled Global Filter Group is created during the installation process and is displayed in the Filters hierarchy in the Edit Event Views dialog box. An administrator can add filters to this group to make them available to other users. Otherwise, access is restricted to the user who created the filter.


Filtering events

5 Click OK.


To rename a filter group


The Edit Event Views dialog box is displayed.



3 From the Filters pane, select the filter group whose name you want to change.

4 In Filter Group Name, enter a new name for the filter group.

5 Click OK.


To delete a filter group




The Edit Filters dialog box is displayed.

3 From the Filters pane, select the filter group you want to delete and click Delete on the toolbar.

4 Click OK.



Sorting events

Sorting events

Slots identify information within an event class. Each event class has defined slots. Some slots are common to all event classes, while others are unique to one event class. The default slots in the event list provide basic information about an event. By changing the slots presented in the event list, you can view additional pertinent information or change the order in which event data is presented.

The set of slots presented in the event list is called the slot order. When you change the slots presented, either by adding or removing slots or by rearranging them, you are changing the slot order. To use a new slot order, you must associate it with a filter.

To create a new slot order



2 On the toolbar, click Edit Slot Orders, as indicated in Figure 16.

Figure 16 Slot order creation

The Edit Slot Order dialog box is displayed.

3 On the toolbar, click New Slot Order .

TIP You can also access the Edit Slot Order dialog box by double-clicking a slot listed in the Slot orders pane.

Slot orders paneEdit Slot Orders


Sorting events

4 In Slot Order Name, enter the name for the new slot order.

5 In Event Class, click Browse .

6 In the Class Chooser dialog box, specify the following items:

■ In Impact Manager, select the cell for which you are creating the slot order.■ In Search for, specify the event class.

7 Use the left and right arrow buttons to move slots between Available Slots and Selected Slots.

The slots listed in Available Slots depend on the level within the event class hierarchy of the specified class. The higher the class is in the hierarchy, the more slots are available.

8 (optional) Use the up and down arrow buttons to move a slot up or down in the Selected Slots list.

9 Click OK.

The Edit Event View dialog box is displayed, listing the new slot order in the Slots pane.


To modify an existing slot order



2 Click the Edit Slot Orders button on the toolbar.

The Edit Slot Order dialog box is displayed.

TIP An administrator can create a global slot order (available to all consoles connected to the BMC IX) by selecting Global Slot Order.

NOTE You must associate the new slot order with a filter before you can use it. For more information, see “To associate a slot order with a filter” on page 68.


Sorting events

3 From the Slot orders pane, select the slot order to edit.

4 Edit the settings.

5 Click OK.


To associate a slot order with a filter



2 From the Slots orders pane, select a slot order.

3 From the Filters pane, select a filter or filter group.

4 Click the left arrow button, located between the Slots orders and Filters panes.

5 Expand the filter’s hierarchy indicator to display the new relationship with the slot order.

6 Click OK.

Single-click sorting

You can use single-click sorting by clicking the header of the column that you want to use as the basis of your event list sort, as shown in Figure 17 on page 69. Even if a multiple sort order has been established, you can click any column heading that is not part of the designated multiple sort order to reset sorting. This action establishes single-column sorting, and the column on which you clicked is designated as the first, and only, column in the new sort order.

NOTE You can associate only a global slot order with a global filter.


Sorting events

Figure 17 Single-click sorting indicators

Multiple column sorting

Designating multiple columns for a sorting order is useful in resolving sort order conflicts in the event list. You can set a multiple column sort order for a maximum of three columns, as shown in Figure 18.

Figure 18 Multiple column sorting indicators

In the following procedures, you can select or deselect the column headings that you want to use to sort the contents of the event list.

Before you begin

Following are multiple column sorting considerations:

■ Sorting is resolved by the second sort column only if the first sort column has a sorting conflict.

■ Sorting extends to the third sort column only if the second sort column has a sorting conflict.

Indicates that the event list is being sorted in an ascending order.

Indicates that the message subject listed in the message column is being used to sort the event list.

The event list is first sorted using the priority column in descending order.

The status column is being selected to use as the second criteria for sorting the event list.

The Message column is used as the third criteria to sort the event list.


Understanding event groups and image views

To add a column to the sort order

Use one of the following methods:

■ Right-click a column heading and choose a position order from the Slot Order Indicator menu. Repeat this step to add a second or third column to the sort order for the event list.

■ Press the Ctrl key and click a column heading. Repeat this step to add a second or third column to the sort order for the event list.

To remove a column from the sort order

Use one of the following methods:

■ Right-click a column heading and choose None from the Slot Order Indicator menu. ■ Press the Ctrl key and click a column heading contained in the sort order.

Understanding event groups and image viewsWhile operators can create MetaCollectors to view events from several event lists, administrators can create event groups with associated image views to graphically depict groups of events associated with a collector. The navigation pane presents the hierarchy of the event groups and their associated collectors, with each level of the collector shown as a node underneath the event group tree node.

An event list is associated with the lowest level nodes of an event group. The parent level of an event group represents all of the events associated with the collectors. The parent level of an event group is associated with an image view. An image view is a graphical representation of the collectors in an event group. The collectors are represented by objects, called widgets, that can be placed on a background image. The widgets can be graphics, such as icons, or statistical information, such as the number of events by priority or severity. The background color of the widgets reflects the severity level for the event group, and each widget can also show the priority level as an icon within the widget.

NOTE If you have established a multiple sort order in the event list, clicking one of the sort order columns toggles that column’s display between ascending and descending order.


Understanding event groups and image views

One of the attributes that the administrator assigns to an event group at creation identifies the event group as a production event group or one that is in development. Production event groups can be viewed by all user roles, but event groups in development can be viewed only by supervisory user roles. (Full Access is the only default supervisory role.)

Figure 19 shows a sample of event groups and an image view.

For more information about creating and editing event groups, see BMC Impact Solutions: General Administration.

Figure 19 Location of elements on the Event Groups tab and image view

Table 12 on page 72 describes the information shown in Figure 19.

1

2

3

4

5

6

8

7


Connecting to multiple cells to access additional event groups

To view an image view

1 In the Events View, click the Event Groups tab at the top of the navigation pane.

2 In the navigation pane, select an event group or a collector that has subcollectors.

The image view associated with the selected event group or collector is displayed in the image view pane (top right pane). The event lists associated with the event group are displayed as subtabs in the bottom right pane, one subtab for each cell involved in the event group.

Connecting to multiple cells to access additional event groups

You can view event groups that involve collectors of multiple cells. If BMC IX is not connected to all of the cells involved, you are prompted to connect to the ones that are not connected. If you choose not to connect to the cells, the event group shows the collectors of the unconnected cells in the Unknown state.

Getting details for events in an event listThe event details pane provides all of the recorded information about an event. The subtabs of the details pane organize the information, as shown in Table 13 on page 73.

Table 12 Description of elements in the Event Groups tab and image view

# Name Description

1 Event Groups tab displays available event groups

2 event group tree node identifies production and in-development event groups

3 event group identifies individual event groups

4 collector with hidden subcollectors identifies a collector that has subcollectors that you cannot view; its subcollectors are hidden in the event view

5 subcollector identifies a subcollector

6 widgets in image view identify collectors or subcollectors in the image view

7 severity or priority icon indicates either the highest severity or highest priority of events in the collector or subcollector; selectable in image view edit

8 event list displays the events associated with the selection


Getting details for events in an event list

Table 13 Events View Details pane

Subtab name Sections in subtab Description of contents

Summary Workflow Status status, priority, and owner of the event

Event Information basic information about the event, such as date and time of occurrence, severity, any associated message, and the event class

Actions a list of actions against the event and the number of occurrences of actions

Object Monitored information about the host of the monitored object, such as its name and location and the object class

Service Model the component type and ID and any impact the event has on the component

Notes none a text box in which users can submit annotations about the event

History Time Stamps time and date for event occurrence, arrival, receipt, and modifications

Original Settings severity and priority of the event when it originated

Operations Log time and date of each event operation performed on the event, logon ID of user who performed the operation, and type of operation

Notification Log logon ID of the user to whom notification is sent if an event operation is a notification

Source Adapter/Gateway information about the adapter or gateway from which the event came, including name, class, and IP address

Origin information about the origin of the event, including class and encryption key

Details classes and subclasses

Internals Tracking tracking information, such as the tracking ID, event handle, collectors, and propagations

Relationships information about events abstracted from this one, abstractions, causes and effects, and associations

Undefined Attributes a list of undefined attributes and values

Deprecated none a list of slots that are no longer used; for more information, see “Using deprecated slots” on page 122


New Common Event Model slots

New Common Event Model slots

The use of the BMC Atrium Common Event Model (CEM) results in the addition of nine new slots that you can view in the BMC IX Events view details pane. All of these slots belong to the BMC_BaseEvent.

Table 14 describes these slots.

Table 14 New CEM-related slots in BMC IX

Slot label in IX GUI CEM name BAROC name

Data type Description

Reported ReportTime mc_incident_report_time

integer indicates the date and time when the event was reported. Displayed in the format mm/dd/yyyy hh:mm

Tool Address ComponentHostAddress mc_tool_address string specifies the network address of the reporter

Tool Time EventTime mc_tool_time integer indicates when the reporter received the event. It translates reporter time into epoch time.

Tool Suggestion EventSuggestion mc_tool_suggestion

string suggests a solution for the situation defined by the reporter

Object Owner ComponentOwner mc_object_owner string string data type that identifies the owner of the source component

Parameter Unit MetricValueUnit mc_parameter_unit

string specifies the unit of measure of the metric

Parameter Threshold

MetricThreshold mc_parameter_threshold

string defines the threshold value that, when exceeded, results in the generation of an event

Account Account mc_account string identifies the account associated with the event

CEM version EventModelVersion mc_event_model_version

string specifies the version number of the data model


Viewing event operations history

Viewing event operations historyBMC IX maintains a list of the event operations performed on an event. You can view this information in the History subtab in the details pane in the Events View. The Operations Log box in the History subtab shows the date and time of the event operation, the logon ID of the user who performed the operation, and the type of operation. The History subtab also displays the original severity and priority settings for the event, the time stamps for the event’s occurrence, reception, arrival, and any modification, and the time elapsed until the event was closed.

Viewing event relationshipsBMC IX provides high-level descriptions of problems to help control the number of events that you must view at one time. You can learn more about the details and origin of a particular event by using the Explore Event Relationships function from the Events tab, as described in the following procedure.

To view relationships between events

1 From the event list, select an abstracted, correlated, or propagated event.

The Explore Event Relationships icon on the toolbar becomes active, as shown in Figure 20.

Figure 20 Active Explore Event Relationships icon

2 Click the Explore Event Relationships icon.

NOTE You can explore event relationships only for events that have been abstracted, correlated, or propagated.

Active Explore Event Relationships icon


Viewing online Help for an event

The relationships pane is displayed, in which you can explore the hierarchy of additional events that contributed to the original event’s correlation, abstraction, or propagation.

The following actions and more are available from the relationships window:

■ reopen an event■ execute actions against an event■ open a service impact view for an event■ display event details

Viewing online Help for an eventIf online Help has been set up and if your console has been configured to display it, you can view Help for an event by selecting the event and choosing View => Help from the menu bar. For information about configuring BMC IX to display online Help, see “Customizing access to Help for events” on page 123.

Copying event informationYou can copy the detailed data collected for an event to the clipboard and then paste that data into another program, such as a spreadsheet or a text editor.

To copy event information

1 From the event list, select one or more events and choose Edit => Copy Events.

2 Paste the copied information into Notepad, Microsoft Word, or another program.

Printing event informationYou can print the detailed data collected for an event to your local printer.

To print event information

1 From the event list, select one or more events and choose File => Print.

2 In the Print dialog box, change the settings for the printer, print range, and number of copies, if necessary, and click OK.


Performing event operations

The details for the selected events are printed. These details can require 40 or more pages to print.

Performing event operationsEvent operations change the status, priority, or ownership of an event. Your user role determines which of the event operations that you can use. Table 15 describes each operation.

You can also annotate an event to provide additional information. The following sections provide instructions for performing the event operations and annotating events.

To acknowledge an event

1 From the event list, select one or more open events designated with .

2 From the menu bar, choose Edit => Event Operations => Acknowledge Event.

A confirmation dialog box is displayed.

Table 15 Event operation descriptions

Event operation Description

Acknowledge recognizes the existence of the event; leaves it in the Open state

Take Ownership assigns ownership of the event to yourself; puts it in the Assigned state

Assign to assigns ownership to another person in the same account; puts the event in the Assigned state

Decline Ownership removes your ownership; puts the event back in the Acknowledged state

Close puts the event in the Closed state; ignores the event in calculating status

Reopen changes a previously Closed event back to Open

Set Priority assigns a priority level to the event

NOTE Although all the event operations that are available to your user role are available when you have selected two or more events in the event list, an operation is performed only on the selected events whose status makes the operation valid. If the operation is not valid for some selected events, a message box reports the mc_ueid slot values for those events, and the events are not changed.



3 Click Yes.

To take ownership of an event

1 From the event list, select one or more events of which to take ownership.

2 From the menu bar, choose Edit => Event Operations => Take Ownership.


3 Click Yes.

To assign an event to an individual

1 From the event list, select one or more events to assign.

2 From the menu bar, choose Edit => Event Operations => Assign to.

3 In the Assign To dialog box, select the person to whom you want to assign the event, and then click OK.

To decline ownership of an event

1 From the event list, select one or more events that have been assigned to you.

2 From the menu bar, choose Edit => Event Operations => Decline Ownership.


3 Click Yes.

NOTE If Ack/Close Event Confirmation is not selected on the Events View subtab of the Edit Configuration dialog box, you do not receive a confirmation dialog box when you acknowledge an event. For more information, see “Customizing display settings for the Events tab” on page 118.

NOTE The list of users in the Assign To dialog box contains only users who are in the same account as the logged-on user. BMC Software recommends that all BMC Impact Explorer users be in the same account.



To close an event

1 From the event list, select one or more events to close.

2 From the menu bar, choose Edit => Event Operations => Close Event.


3 Click Yes.

To reopen an event

To reopen a closed event, you must have either an MC_SuperAdmins or MC_Admins role ID established.

1 From the event list, select an event that has a status of Closed.

2 From the menu bar, choose Edit => Event Operations => Reopen Event.


3 Click Yes.

To set the priority for an event

1 From the event list, select an event.

2 From the menu bar, choose Edit => Event Operations => Set Priority.

3 In the Set Priority dialog box, select the priority level for the event, and then click OK.

NOTE If Ack/Close Event Confirmation is not selected on the Events View subtab of the Edit Configuration dialog box, you do not receive a confirmation dialog box when you close an event. For more information, see “Customizing display settings for the Events tab” on page 118.

NOTE If Ack/Close Event Confirmation is not selected on the Events View subtab of the Edit Configuration dialog box, you do not receive a confirmation dialog box when you reopen an event. For more information, see “Customizing display settings for the Events tab” on page 118.


Responding to an event with an action

To annotate one or more events

1 Access the Notes subtab on the details pane.

2 From the event list, select one or more events.

3 On the details pane, select the Notes subtab.

4 Enter the annotated text in the text box, as shown in Figure 21, and click Submit to annotate a single event or Submit to All to annotate multiple events with the same text.

Figure 21 Event annotation

Responding to an event with an actionYou can respond to a selected event by choosing to execute either a remote or a local action. These local and remote actions are created by an administrator as a response to specific events as required for your environment.

When you use a remote action, it is issued from your local console but executed on the computer where the cell is installed. When you use a local action, the action runs on the computer on which the console is installed.

To respond to an event by using a remote action

1 From the event list, select one or more events and choose Edit => Execute.

The Execute Remote Action dialog box is displayed.

2 Expand the Remote Actions folder and select a remote action, as shown in Figure 22 on page 81.

Selected event

Annotation area


Responding to an event with an action

Figure 22 Remote action selection

3 Enter the appropriate settings required to run the selected remote action.

4 Click Execute.

5 To access the results of the remote action, right-click the event or events you ran the remote action for and choose Actions => Remote Action Results from the menu.

To respond to an event by using a local action

1 From the event list, select one or more events and Edit => Actions => Execute.

The Actions dialog box is displayed.

NOTE If you select Set Status as the remote action, you must enter a comment that explains the reason for changing the status.

TIP You can export the information about the remote action to a file by highlighting the action information in the Remote Action Results dialog box and clicking Export.


Responding to multiple events by using a user-defined local action

2 Expand the Local Actions folder and select a local action, as shown in Figure 23.

Figure 23 Local action selection

3 Direct the results of the local action to the results dialog box or to a file:

■ To view the results in a dialog box, clear the Suppress Feedback check box.

■ To disable the display of results and send the output to an external file, select Suppress Feedback and enter the location for the output file in Log output to file or click the Browse button to specify the directory in which to place the output file.

4 Enter the appropriate settings to run the selected local action.

5 Click Execute.

Either the Local Action Results dialog box is displayed, containing the results of the local action, or those results are sent to the specified file.


The mc_actions.xml file allows you to define your own local actions. By default, each action is taken only on the first event that matches the criteria in the action definition. If you want the action to be taken on all events that match the action definition criteria, you must enable batch mode. When you enable batch mode, the

NOTE The Batch Mode check box in the Local Action dialog box will not be editable unless the batchmode=true parameter is enabled. For more information about the batchmode parameter, see “To create a user-defined local action to respond to multiple events” on page 83.



celleventdata.xml file is created in the same directory where the mc_actions.xml file is located. You could use this file to execute a script that could parse all of the slots that are in the file and possibly change or take whatever action you want. For instance you could add a comment, change a slot value, or update a table using SQL.

To create a user-defined local action to respond to multiple events

1 Using a text editor, open the mc_actions.xml file.

The file is located in one of the following directories, depending on your operating system:

■ Windows: C:\Program Files\BMC Software\console\etc\event_op

■ UNIX: opt/bmc/Impact/console/etc/event_op

2 In the mc_actions.xml file, add the batchmode=true parameter to the action that you want to execute against multiple events, as shown in Figure 24:

For example, Figure 25 illustrates how you can enable the batchmode parameter to ping each system from which a specified event originates:

The resulting celleventdata.xml file might look similar to Figure 26:

Figure 24 Syntax to execute a local actions against multiple events of the same type

<Actions><ActionDef id="" type="executable" target="" batchmode=true>

</Actions>

Figure 25 Example of an action definition that uses the batchmode parameter

<ActionDef id="mc_ping" label="Ping EVENT origin" type="executable" target="mc_ping" batchmode="true">

Figure 26 Example celleventdata.xml file (part 1 of 3)

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?> - <BMC_Impact_Manager version="1.0">- <IMPACT_EVENT>- <TST_EV> <event_handle>315</event_handle> <mc_ueid>mc.ci-70.4198e3d.1</mc_ueid> <mc_client_address>192.168.2.2</mc_client_address> <adapter_host /> <mc_location>adprod.bmc.com</mc_location> <mc_service /> <mc_host_class /> <mc_host>HostNameWouldBeHere</mc_host> <mc_host_address>IPWouldBeHere</mc_host_address> <mc_object_class />



<mc_object /> <mc_tool_class /> <mc_tool /> <mc_tool_rule /> <mc_tool_key /> <mc_tool_sev /> <mc_origin_class /> <mc_origin>IPWouldBeHere</mc_origin> <mc_origin_key /> <mc_origin_sev /> <mc_parameter /> <mc_parameter_value /> <mc_event_category>OPERATIONAL</mc_event_category> <mc_incident_time>0</mc_incident_time> <mc_arrival_time>1142525501</mc_arrival_time> <mc_local_reception_time>1142525501</mc_local_reception_time> <date_reception>1142525501</date_reception> <date>20060316081141.000000-480</date> <status>OPEN</status> <severity>WARNING</severity> <mc_original_severity>WARNING</mc_original_severity> <mc_priority>PRIORITY_5</mc_priority> <mc_original_priority>PRIORITY_5</mc_original_priority> <mc_owner /> <msg>test modify for administrator</msg> <duration>0</duration> <mc_timeout>0</mc_timeout> <repeat_count>0</repeat_count> <mc_action_count>0</mc_action_count> <administrator><unknown>@hostnameWouldBeHere</administrator> <mc_acl /> <mc_date_modification>1142525501</mc_date_modification> <mc_notes /> <mc_operations /> <mc_notification_history /> <mc_bad_slot_names /> <mc_bad_slot_values /> <mc_history /> - <mc_modhist> <LI>ci-70</LI> </mc_modhist> <mc_propagations /> - <mc_collectors> <LI>1.1</LI> <LI>2.2.1</LI> <LI>6</LI> </mc_collectors> <mc_abstraction /> <mc_abstracted /> <mc_associations /> <mc_cause>0</mc_cause>



Manually setting component status or maintenance mode with a remote action

You can parse the resulting celleventdata.xml file.


Similar to responding to an event with a remote action, you can set the status of a service component manually by using a remote action. You can also put a component in maintenance mode by using this feature. When you use the manual status feature, you must enter a comment that explains why the status was changed. To remove the manually set status or to return a component to operation, you must use another remote action to clear the manually set status. For instructions, see “Responding to an event with an action” on page 80.

<mc_effects /> <mc_event_relations /> <mc_relation_source /> <mc_smc_id /> <mc_smc_alias /> <mc_smc_impact>0</mc_smc_impact> <mc_smc_type /> <mc_smc_causes /> <mc_smc_effects /> <in_state>one</in_state> <out_state>unknown</out_state> <restrict>not_two</restrict> </TST_EV>



C h a p t e r 5
5 Using BMC Impact Event Adapters
This chapter discusses the following topics:

Enabling and disabling BMC Impact Event Adapters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87Starting and stopping the BMC Impact Event Adapters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Starting the engine manager process from the command line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Starting the Adapter processes as services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91Stopping the BMC Impact Event Adapters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91Using instance control to start and stop Adapters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92Restarting an Adapter after modifying the MAP file. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Enabling tracing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95Trace files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95Trace levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96Errors and Adapter events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Adapter status events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Enabling and disabling BMC Impact Event Adapters

Before you can start the various BMC Impact Event Adapters (either by starting them as services or starting the engine manager process), you must define and enable the Adapter that you want to run in the mcxa.conf file.

TIP You can enable or disable an Adapter instance at any time. If you want enable or disable an Adapter instance during run-time, see the BMC Impact Solutions: General Administration guide.


Enabling and disabling BMC Impact Event Adapters

To enable an Adapter instance

1 In a text editor, open the mcxa.conf file.

This file is located in one of the following directories, depending on your operating system:

■ Windows: MCELL_HOME\etc\

■ UNIX: MCELL_HOME/etc/

2 In the mcxa.conf file, navigate to the definition of the Adapter instance that you want to enable.

3 Remove or comment out the word DISABLE from the Adapter definition.

4 Repeat step 3 for each Adapter instance that you want to enable.

5 Save and close the file.

Adapter statuses will change within a minute or two.

To disable an Adapter instance

1 In a text editor, open the mcxa.conf file.

This file is located in one of the following directories, depending on your operating system:

■ Windows: MCELL_HOME\etc\

■ UNIX: MCELL_HOME/etc/

2 In the mcxa.conf file, navigate to the definition of the Adapter instance that you want to disable.

3 Add the word DISABLE to the Adapter definition or if DISABLE was commented out, remove the comment character (#).

4 Repeat step 3 for each Adapter instance that must be disabled.

5 Save and close the file.

Adapter statuses will change within a minute or two.


Starting and stopping the BMC Impact Event Adapters

Starting and stopping the BMC Impact Event Adapters

You can use the following methods to start the various BMC Impact Event Adapters:

■ The Adapters that use the engine manager (LogFile Adapter, SNMP Adapter, and Perl Eventlog Adapter for Windows) can be started as follows:

— On Microsoft Windows computers, you start the engine manager (mxca process) from the command line or from the Services window.

— On UNIX computers, you start the engine manager (mxca) process from the command line.

For instructions, see “Starting the engine manager process from the command line” and “Starting the Adapter processes as services” on page 91.

■ The IP Adapters (on Windows and UNIX) can be started and stopped individually after the primary engine manager process is running. For more information, see “Using instance control to start and stop Adapters” on page 92. When running on Microsoft Windows computers, all Adapters that use the engine manager can be started from the command line or from the Services window.

Starting the engine manager process from the command line

At a command prompt, run the mcxa.cmd (Windows) or mcxa.sh (UNIX) executable to start the engine manager (mcxa) process.

On Windows, the mcxa.cmd command starts the appropriate services. The services were created during product installation.

Table 16 lists the command options.

Table 16 mcxa command options (part 1 of 2)

Option Description

-c alternate configuration file

Default: MCELL_HOME\etc\mcxa.conf

-d Debug (prevents daemonization), available only on UNIX platforms

-h help


Starting the engine manager process from the command line

-n Send all events to a specific cell

Use this option to specify the cell to which you want to connect. Use one of the following option formats:

■ Designate a cell name by specifying –n cellname.

This format option maps the specified cellname to the host, port, and encryption key by looking the values up in the mcell.dir file.

■ Designate a host, port, and encryption key by using –n @host:port#key.

The variable host represents either a host name or an IP address value; port represents the port number value, and key represents the encryption key value.

You can specify the designation to accept –n @host:port or -@host and accept the default values for key(0) and port (1818).

This format uses the specified host, port, and encryption key to connect to the cell without looking up information in the mcell.dir.

-t Specifies trace file and/or level, such as 1–6

Use -T for long headers.

You can make minor changes to the command syntax to modify how debug output is displayed or stored.

■ Use a single colon (:) in the command to send output to the default trace file, MCELL_HOME\tmp\Adapters\mcxa.trace.

Example:

mcxa.cmd -t:6

■ Use a double colon (::) in the command to display output on-screen (stdout).■ Use a single colon (:) in the command to send output to the specified trace file.

Example:

mcxa.cmd -t /tmp/mytracefile.txt:6

will start the engine manager at trace level 6 and use tmp/mytracefile.txt trace file.

-z displays the Adapter version

Table 16 mcxa command options (part 2 of 2)

Option Description


Starting the Adapter processes as services

Starting the Adapter processes as services

1 Choose Start => Settings => Control Panel => Administrative Tools => Services.

2 From the list of services, select BMC Impact Event Adapters.

3 From the menu bar, choose Action => Start.

The Adapters are running when the Status column of the Services window displays Started for the Adapters.

Stopping the BMC Impact Event Adapters

You can stop the Adapters by using one of the following methods:

■ On Windows, stop the BMC Impact Event Adapters service from the Services window.

This method sends an MC_ADAPTER_STOP event before the Adapters stop.

■ On UNIX, stop the Adapters by using either the kill command or a shell script, such as the mcxa script located in etc\init.d.

This method sends an MC_ADAPTER_STOP event before the Adapters stop.

■ On UNIX or Windows, create a file called mcxa.stop and add it to the MCELL_HOME\etc\ directory.

When this file is added to the MCELL_HOME\etc\ directory, the Adapters stop.

NOTE Command line interface options take priority over options in the mcxa.conf file.

NOTE Do not use the kill -9 command to stop the Adapters unless they are in an infinite loop. Use the regular kill command, instead.


Using instance control to start and stop Adapters

The contents of the mcxa.stop file are not important. When the Adapter detects the presence of the file, normally within five seconds, it deletes the file and then stops. This method sends an MC_ADAPTER_STOP event before the Adapters stop.

If you used the -c option with the mcxa.sh command or mcxa.cmd command to specify a configuration file other than mcxa.conf, the stop file must have the same primary name as that configuration file, using the .stop extension. For example, if your Adapters configuration file is adap.conf, name the stop file adap.stop.


The mcxactrl.pl instance control command enables you to perform various operations on Adapter instances, including starting and stopping specific Adapter instances. The mcxactrl.pl command communicates with the engine manager using a control port opened by the engine manager. The port accepts only local host connections.

.

Figure 27 shows the syntax of the mcxactrl.pl command.

NOTE If you stop and start the BMC Impact Event Adapters service in quick succession, or use the restart option in the service manager, you might see the following error messages in the BMC IX console:

Couldn't be an UDP server on port 16

MA: EngineMgr: Couldn’t be an UDP server on port 162

If you see these messages, wait a short time until the expected stop messages appear before restarting the Adapters. For example, with an SNMP Adapter enabled, wait until the messages BMC Impact Event Adapter stopped and Adapter Snmp (Engine: ‘MA:ESnmpTrap’) stopped by ‘mcxa’ appear before restarting the BMC Impact Event Adapters service.

WARNING Use the CtrlPort Adapter with caution. It is safe to use only on computers where logons are restricted to personnel who are authorized to control mcxa.

CtrlPort refuses connections from any address other than 127.0.0.1 (localhost), but this is not adequate security for computers that allow people who are not authorized to control the mcxa process to log on.

Figure 27 mcxactrl.pl command syntax

mcxactrl.pl [ --debug ] [ --mgr managername ] --port number [--help | -h | --list | --start name | --stop name | --stopmgr ]



Table 17 lists the options that you can with the mcxactrl.pl command. You can specify only one option each time the command is run.

NOTE Double hyphens must precede the options of the mxcactrl.pl command.

Table 17 mcxactrl.pl command options

Parameter Description

--debug activates debugging of the procedure that is specified (starting, stopping, listing, and so on).

Optional.

For more information, contact BMC Software support.

--mgr engine manager affected by the command.

Optional.

Default: mcxa, the default specified in the mcxa.conf file

--port control port on which the engine manager listens.

Required - if the port number has been changed from 1998 (in mcxa.conf).

--help prints usage information and exits.

Optional.

--list lists all Adapters and their current status.

Optional.

--start instancename

starts the specified Adapter instance. For more information, see “Using the mxcactrl.pl command to start and stop an Adapter” on page 94.

Optional.

--stop instancename

stops the specified Adapter instance. For more information, see “Using the mxcactrl.pl command to start and stop an Adapter” on page 94.

Optional.

--stopmgr stops the engine manager specified with --mgr



Using the mxcactrl.pl command to start and stop an Adapter

You can use the mxcactrl.pl command to start or stop an individual enabled Adapter without stopping the engine manager on which it is running or other Adapters running on that engine manager. To stop an Adapter, the Adapter must be enabled, and the engine manager must already be running.

The mcxactrl.pl command can only be performed locally.

To start or stop an Adapter by using the mcxactrl.pl command

1 Using a text editor, open the mcxa.conf file.

2 Navigate to the CtrlPort Adapter definition and complete the following steps:

A (optional) If you intend to use a non-default port value in the mcxactrl.pl command, replace the default LocalPort value with the required port number.

When executing the mcxactrl.pl command in step 4, the port number you specify must match the LocalPort value recorded in the CtrlPort Adapter definition in the mcxa.conf file. The default port number recorded in the CtrlPort Adapter definition in the mcxa.conf file is 1998.

B Enable the CtrlPort Adapter by removing or commenting out the word DISABLE from its definition.

3 Save and close the mcxa.conf file.

4 On the command line, enter the following mxcactrl.pl instance control command:

mcxactrl.pl --mgr managername --port number { --start | --stop } Adaptername

NOTE After the CtrlPort Adapter is enabled, you can run the mcxactrl.pl command without re-enabling the CtrlPort Adapter.

NOTE Double hyphens, not single hyphens, must precede the arguments in the mxcactrl.pl start and stop commands.

For information about additional command line options, see Table 17 on page 93.


Restarting an Adapter after modifying the MAP file

Restarting an Adapter after modifying the MAP file

If you modify the contents of a MAP file, you must stop and restart any Adapters that are using that MAP file to apply the changes.

Enabling tracingYou can enable tracing in one of the following ways:

■ by defining the TraceFile, TraceLevel, and TraceFileCount global parameters in the mcxa.conf file

Additional global parameters also affect tracing. For more information, see the BMC Impact Solutions: General Administration guide.

■ by using the mcxa.cmd or mcxa.sh commands.

Table 16 on page 89 lists the command line options that you can use to enable tracing with the mcxa.cmd or mcxa.sh commands.

Trace files

By default, the mcxa process trace file is MCELL_HOME\tmp\Adapters\mcxa.trace. Each time the Adapter is started, a new trace file is created and old logs are rotated.

You control the number of old log files through the TraceFileCount parameter setting in the mcxa.conf file. A value of 0 (zero) removes all old trace files. For more information and default values, see the header of the mcxa.conf file.

You can specify a different trace file in a different location by using the mcxa.cmd or mcxa.sh commands. For more information about command line options, see Table 16 on page 89.

EXAMPLE mcxa.trace is rotated to mcxa0.tracemcxa<n>.trace is rotated to mcxa<n+1>.trace


Trace levels

Trace levels

Use the TraceLevel global parameter in the mcxa.conf file to specify the trace level that you want to use. This setting will apply to all Adapters running in the Adapter framework. You can specify the following trace levels:

■ 0 – disables all traces■ 1 – header messages■ 2 – fatal messages■ 3 – major errors■ 4 – minor errors■ 5 – normal output■ 6 – verbose output

Errors and Adapter events

In addition to logging errors to a log file, Adapters send the cell error messages and notifications in the form of events in the following situations:

■ When an Adapter starts, it sends an MC_ADAPTER_START event.

■ When an Adapter stops, it sends an MC_ADAPTER_STOP event.

■ When the Adapter encounters a major or fatal error in the configuration file, the Adapter reports the error in the trace file according to the trace level. When the error does not come from the configuration file, the Adapter reports the error to the cell whose name corresponds to the ServerName parameter of the [default] (unnamed) section of the configuration file. The event class is MC_ADAPTER_ERROR.

Error and message events sent by the IP Adapters are described in “Adapter status events” on page 97.

NOTE TraceLevel=6 produces very large trace files and is recommended only for debugging.


Adapter status events

Adapter status eventsWhen an Adapter instance experiences a change in status, the instance sends a status report to the cell, formatted as an event. You can view these events in the Adapters collector in the BMC Impact Explorer events view. Table 18 describes the status events.

Table 18 IP Adapter status events (part 1 of 2)

Status event Slots Description

MC_ADAPTER_START ■ msg = "Incoming connection from ipaddress:port (host)"

■ mc_object = "ipaddress:port"■ mc_object_class = "CLIENT"

sent when a command from mcxactrl.pl starts an Adapter instance

MC_ADAPTER_STOP ■ msg = "Removing connection from ipaddress:port (host)"


sent when a command from mcxactrl.pl stops an Adapter instance

MC_ADAPTER_STOP ■ msg = "Client hungup: destroying connection from ipaddress:port (host)"


sent when mcxactrl.pl terminates a control connection

MC_ADAPTER_START ■ msg = "Adapter 'Adapter' (Engine: 'engine') started by 'module'"

■ mc_origin = "Adapter"■ mc_origin_class = "engine"■ mc_object = "Adapter"■ mc_object_class = "engine"■ mc_parameter = "STATUS"■ mc_parameter_value = "STARTED"

sent when an Adapter instance starts

MC_ADAPTER_STOP ■ msg = "Adapter 'Adapter' (Engine: 'engine') stopped by 'module'"

■ mc_origin = "Adapter"■ mc_origin_class = "engine"■ mc_object = "Adapter"■ mc_object_class = "engine"■ mc_parameter = "STATUS"■ mc_parameter_value = "STOPPED"

sent when an Adapter instance stops

MC_ADAPTER_ERROR ■ msg = "last_error_discovered"■ severity = "CRITICAL"■ mc_origin = "origin"■ mc_origin_class = "origin_class"■ mc_object = "object"■ mc_object_class = "object_class"■ mc_parameter = "STATUS"■ mc_parameter_value = "ERROR"

sent when an IP Adapter experiences a critical error


Adapter status events

MC_ADAPTER_START msg = "BMC Impact Event Adapter started"

sent when an engine manager initializes

MC_ADAPTER_STOP msg = "BMC Impact Event Adapter stopped"

sent when an engine manager exits

Table 18 IP Adapter status events (part 2 of 2)

Status event Slots Description


C h a p t e r 6
6 Using the SNMP Adapter Configuration Manager
This chapter describes the procedures related to using the SNMP Adapter Configuration Manager product and installing the BAROC files in the Knowledge Base of the BMC Impact Manager product.

Accessing the Web-based GUI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99Publishing MIB files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100Viewing or editing the MAP file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101Unpublishing MIB files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Installing the BAROC files in the Knowledge Base of BMC Impact Manager . . . . . 104

Accessing the Web-based GUITo access the Web-based GUI of the SNMP Adapter Configuration Manager, go to http://hostname:port/snmpadapter or http://ipaddress:port/snmpadapter.

■ hostname is the computer where you have installed the BMC Impact Event Adapters and the SNMP Adapter Configuration Manager.

■ ipaddress is the IP address of the computer where you have installed the BMC Impact Event Adapters and the SNMP Adapter Configuration Manager.

■ port is the port you have configured for the SNMP Adapter Configuration Manager.

NOTE The first time that you access the Web-based GUI of the SNMP Adapter Configuration Manager on a Windows 2003 computer, you could get a security dialog box indicating that the content from http://hostname has been blocked. To access the web-based GUI of the SNMP Adapter Configuration Manager, you have to first add http://hostname to the list of trusted sites.


Publishing MIB files

The GUI displays the following links in the navigation bar:

■ Publish MIBs

■ View / Edit MAP

■ Unpublish MIBs

Publishing MIB files

Publishing MIB files is the process of converting information from the MIB files into BMC Impact Manager classes.

To publish MIB files

1 Click Publish MIBs in the navigation bar.

2 Click Browse to select a MIB file that is accessible from your local computer. You must specify at least one MIB file.

You can use the Add and Remove buttons to create a list of MIB files to be sent for publishing. The add and remove actions do not affect the files saved in the net-snmp directory on the BMC Impact Event Adapters.

■ To publish more than one MIB file at a time, click Add.

A new row is added below the existing row.

You can simultaneously publish a maximum of 10 MIB files.

■ To remove a MIB file from the list, select the check box next to that file, and then click Remove.

3 To publish the MIB files, click Publish MIBs.

You are prompted to restart the BMC Impact Event Adapters.

4 Click Yes to restart the BMC Impact Event Adapters.

The BMC Impact Event Adapters will start receiving events from the devices whose MIB files you have published only after you restart the BMC Impact Event Adapters. Click No if you do not want to restart the BMC Impact Event Adapters at this point.


Viewing or editing the MAP file

You can view the status of the publish MIBs process in the Publishing Messages area. The message MIB File: mibFileName is not proper might be displayed in the Publishing Messages area. mibFileName is the name of the MIB file that is not proper. To identify the exact reason for this message, you must check the output of the mib2map.pl utility, which is also displayed in the Publishing Messages area.

The message MIB File: mibFileName is not proper is displayed due to one of the following reasons:

■ The MIB file is not valid.

■ The MIB file is dependent on another MIB file that does not exist in the Net-SNMP directory.

■ The MIB file contains dependencies that do not correspond to the information that is available in the parent MIB file.

For more information about the steps involved in the publish MIBs process, see the BMC Impact Solutions: General Administration guide.


You can use the View / Edit MAP link in the navigation bar to browse individual event classes in the mcsnmptrapd.map file. The event classes are displayed in a tree structure. You can select an event class, and then add new variables, or edit and remove existing variables from that event class. The modifications that you make in the mcsnmptrapd.map file are not reflected in the corresponding MIB file.

NOTE If one or more of the selected MIB files already exist in the Net-SNMP directory, you are prompted to overwrite the MIB files.

■ If you choose to overwrite the MIB files, the existing MIB files in the Net-SNMP directory are replaced with the new MIB files.

■ If you choose not to overwrite the MIB files, only the MIB files that do not already exist in the Net-SNMP directory are published.

NOTE Each time you edit the MAP file, a backup of the previous version is saved in the MCELL_HOME\tmp\adapters\snmpadapter\map directory. The naming convention for the backup files is mcsnmptrapd_mmMonth_ddDay_yyyyYear_hhHrs_mmMins_ssSecs.map.



You can add, edit, or remove the following variables from the mcsnmptrapd.map file:

■ msg■ mc_tool_class■ mc_tool■ mc_host_address■ mc_location■ severity

The values for this variable are UNKNOWN, OK, INFO, WARNING, MINOR, MAJOR, CRITICAL, and DOWN.

■ mc_priorityThe values for this variable are PRIORITY_5, PRIORITY_4, PRIORITY_3, PRIORITY_2, and PRIORITY_1.

To edit event classes

1 Click View / Edit MAP in the navigation bar.

2 Select the event class you want to edit.

3 Perform the following actions.

■ To add a variable, click Add New. In the Add New Variable dialog box, select the variable, and enter or select the value for that variable.

■ To edit a variable, click the value of that variable. In the Update Value dialog box, modify the value.

■ To remove a variable, select the check box next to that variable, and click Remove.

4 To save the changes, click Save.

The changes made to the event class are saved on your local computer. You can edit more than one event class before you save the changes on the server.

WARNING When you click View / Edit MAP in the navigation bar, the data for the event classes is copied from the server to your local computer. You can then modify the data for the event classes on your local computer. However, the changes are saved on the server only when you click Update MAP File.

When you retrieve the event classes data from the server, the mcsnmptrapd.map file is not locked. While you are modifying the mcsnmptrapd.map file, if the file is modified in another instance and the changes are saved on the server, you will not be able to save the changes you have made to the mcsnmptrapd.map file.


Unpublishing MIB files

5 To save your changes on the server, click Update Map File.

You are prompted to restart the BMC Impact Event Adapters.


The modifications made to the event classes in the mcsnmptrapd.map file are reflected only when you restart the BMC Impact Event Adapters.

Unpublishing MIB files

Unpublishing MIB files is the process of removing MIB file entries from the mcsnmptrapd.map file.

To unpublish MIB files

1 Click Unpublish MIBs in the navigation bar.

2 Select the MIB file you want to unpublish. The MIB files are listed in an alphabetical order.

Press the Shift or Ctrl key to select multiple files.

The Unpublish button is enabled only when you select at least one MIB file.

3 To unpublish the MIB files, click Unpublish. You are prompted to restart the BMC Impact Event Adapters.


NOTE When you modify the variables for an event class, an asterisk (*) is displayed next to that event class in the tree structure view. The asterisk indicates that the mcsnmptrapd.map file has been modified on your local computer.

WARNING You cannot unpublish a MIB file if other MIB files in the Net-SNMP directory are dependent on it. To unpublish the parent MIB file, you have to first unpublish all the dependent MIB files. However, if you select the parent MIB file and all its dependent MIB files, you can unpublish them simultaneously.


Installing the BAROC files in the Knowledge Base of BMC Impact Manager

The BMC Impact Event Adapters will stop receiving events from the devices whose MIB files have been unpublished only after you restart the BMC Impact Event Adapters. Click No if you do not want to restart the BMC Impact Event Adapters at this point.

You can view the status of the unpublish MIBs process in the Unpublishing Messages area.

For more information about the steps involved in the unpublish MIBs process, see the BMC Impact Solutions: General Administration guide.


BMC Impact Manager can start receiving events from the devices whose MIB files you have published only after you install the BAROC files created by the mib2map.pl utility in the Knowledge Base of BMC Impact Manager.

You have to install the mcsnmptrapdmib.baroc and mcsnmptrapdmibe.baroc files created by the mib2map.pl utility in the MCELL_HOME\etc\CellName\kb\classes directory on each BMC Impact Manager that can receive corresponding events.

■ If you have installed SNMP Adapter Configuration Manager on the BMC Impact Event Adapters 3.2/3.5, you must copy the BAROC files to BMC Impact Manager 3.5.

■ If you have installed SNMP Adapter Configuration Manager on the BMC Impact Event Adapters 4.1, you must copy the BAROC files to BMC Impact Manager 4.1.







To install the BAROC files in the Knowledge Base of BMC Impact Manager

1 Navigate to the MCELL_HOME\bin directory on the BMC Impact Event Adapters.

2 Select the mcsnmptrapdmib.baroc and mcsnmptrapdmibe.baroc files, right-click and select Copy.

3 Install the files in the MCELL_HOME\etc\CellName\kb\classes directory on the BMC Impact Manager that can receive corresponding events.

4 Ensure that the read-write permission has been set for the .load file.

5 Update the .load file to include the mcsnmptrapdmib and mcsnmptrapdmibe files, if they are not already listed.

Though the entries do not have to be listed consecutively in the .load file, it is important that mcsnmptrapdmibe is listed before mcsnmptrapdmib.

6 Compile the mcsnmptrapdmib.baroc and mcsnmptrapdmibe.baroc files.

7 Restart BMC Impact Manager.

8 Repeat step 3 through step 7 for each BMC Impact Manager that can receive corresponding events.


C h a p t e r 7
7 Using the BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows
The BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows (BMC IELA) is installed separately from the other BMC Impact Event Adapters and does not use the engine manager process, the mcxa.conf file, or the mceventlog.map file. Instead, it runs as a service. BMC Software recommends that you use this Adapter process for monitoring the Windows Event Log instead of the Perl Event Log Adapter for Windows.

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107Event class definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108Starting the BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108Stopping the BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109Testing the BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Overview

The BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows runs as a service. It reads events generated on Microsoft Windows operating systems, formats them into the BAROC language, and forwards the events to the cell.

Event gathering occurs from three basic event logs maintained by the Microsoft Event Log service: system, application, and security. The Windows 2000 platform provides three additional event logs: DNS Server, File Replication Service, and Directory Service. The Adapter can automatically discover these event logs, so if new event logs are defined, basic events are produced.


Event class definitions

Event class definitionsAdapter BAROC classes are defined in the mcxa.baroc file. This file also contains classes for standard events sent by the msend CLI. This file should be copied into the destination cell when the BMC IELA is installed.

The BMC IELA generates events in the following classes:

■ WIN_EVENTLOG ■ WIN_EL_APPLICATION ■ WIN_EL_SECURITY ■ WIN_EL_SYSTEM ■ WIN_EL_DNS_SERVER ■ WIN_EL_DIRECTORY_SERVICE

■ WIN_EL_FILE_REPLICATION_SERVICE

User name, domain, and type information are automatically looked up in the Windows registry using the user SID field in the event log records.

WIN_EVENTLOG is the basic class. If the read event does not belong to any of the other classes listed above, it belongs to WIN_EVENTLOG.

Starting the BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows

You can start the Adapter by either using the Services window or using the net start command.

To start the Adapter as a service

1 Choose Start => Settings => Control Panel => Administrative Tools => Services.

2 Select BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows from the list.

3 Click Start.


Stopping the BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows

To start the Adapter with net start

1 Choose the Start => Programs => Accessories => Command Prompt.


net start “BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows”

Stopping the BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows

You can stop the BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows without stopping the cell.

To stop the Adapter service

1 Choose Start => Settings => Control Panel => Administrative Tools=> Services.

2 Select BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows from the list.

3 Click Stop.

To stop the Adapter with net stop

1 Choose Start => Programs => Command Prompt.


net stop “BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows”

Testing the BMC Impact Event Log Adapter for Windows

Confirm that the Adapter is functioning properly by using the Windows Performance monitor to generate and send test events to the cell. Use the BMC Impact Manager console to view the test events.



To use the Performance Monitor generate test events

1 Choose the Start => Programs => Administrative Tools (Common) => Performance.

The Performance window is displayed in the Chart display mode, as shown in Figure 28.

Figure 28 Performance Monitor in Chart mode

2 Select the Performance Logs and Alerts folder in the left pane.

The Alerts icon and available logs icons appear in the right pane.

3 Right-click the Alerts icon and select New Alerts Setting.

4 In the New Alerts Settings dialog box, enter the name of the new alert and click OK.

The setting window for the new alert is displayed.

5 On the General tab, click Add.

6 Select Processor from the Performance objects option.

NOTE The method for starting the Performance Monitor may vary depending on the version of Microsoft Windows that you are using.



7 Enable the Select counters from list option.

8 Select % Processor Time under Select counters from list.

9 Enable the Select instances from list option.

10 Click Add.

The alert is added to the Performance Monitor and the Event Log.

11 Click Close.

The Alert window displays the values you selected.

12 In the Alert when the value is drop-down list, select Over.

13 In the Limit text field, enter 10.

You may have to lower this value if 10% does not generate any test events on your system.

14 On the Action tab, enable the Log an entry in the application eventlog option.

15 Click OK.

You use the Performance Monitor to create test events, perform a few small operations, such as opening an application, maximizing and minimizing an application window, or moving the mouse vigorously.

Allow the Performance Monitor to generate alerts during the test. Events display in the Event Viewer window.

To view events in the BMC Impact Manager console

1 Start the BMC Impact Manager Console and connect to the cell.

2 Select the cell and click the View Event List button.

The Event Display window displays the test events generated by the BMC Impact Manager Event Log Adapter.


C h a p t e r 8
8 Customizing the BMC IX console
This chapter describes how to customize the BMC Impact Explorer (BMC IX) console to operate to suit your needs.

Customizing general display settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114Using floating panes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116Using quotation marks and string fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Customizing display settings for the Events tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118Defining attributes for the Events view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118Understanding the effect of event status and severity on collectors’ color . . . . 120Understanding the effect of event status on event count for collectors . . . . . . . 121Using deprecated slots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Customizing access to Help for events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123Adding buttons for actions to the toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124


Customizing general display settings

Customizing general display settingsYou can control certain aspects of the appearance of all of the main tabs (Events, Services, and Administration) in the console. The Edit Configuration dialog box provides access to these overall settings.

To customize general display settings


2 In the Edit Configuration dialog box, click the Global subtab.

Figure 29 Global subtab of Edit Configuration dialog box

NOTE Depending on the level of access that has been set up for your logon ID, you may or may not be able to see the Administration tab. For more information about levels of access, see your system administrator and BMC Impact Solutions: Administration.


Customizing general display settings

3 Use the information in Table 19 to determine the appropriate settings.

4 Click OK to save the change and exit the dialog box.

Table 19 BMC Impact Explorer display settings

Field Description

String Limit specifies the maximum number of characters that can be retrieved from a list per event or data instance slot.

This limit applies to values in an event or data list, not to the values listed in the Event or Data Details dialog boxes

Query size limits the number of rows retrieved from the BMC Impact Manager instance or collector in the Events tab or from a data list in the Administration tab of the console

The size of the rows retrieved and presented for viewing remains the same for any query. If you scroll beyond the query limit for the data presented, the next set of data is retrieved and presented for viewing.

Auto Refresh Active by Default

enables and disables automatic refresh of the contents of the console, such as the event list, relationships pane, data list, and image view.

For more information about refreshing, see “Refreshing and freezing the event list” on page 56.

Row Numbering

enables and disables the numbering for the lists of events, service model components, and data instances for the view selected in the console

Show Internal Names as Tool Tips

enables the internal system names as opposed to the assigned logical names, to be shown as tool tips.

Manager Group Status

enables and disables a special cell group icon that shows whether all BMC Impact Manager instances in a cell group are connected or not connected.

Allow float enables the event list, relationships pane, data list, and image view to appear in a separate window when you choose Float from the context menu of the selected pane, or disables that feature.

For more information about floating panes, see “Using floating panes” on page 116.

Auto dock enables a floated window, when closed, to reappear in the console; available only when Allow float is selected

Auto float enables the event list, relationships pane, data list, and image view to appear by default in a separate window; available only when Allow float is selected

When this option is selected and you close the floated window, it will not reappear in the console window.

Time Zone specifies the time zone to use for the console

Style specifies a style (Long, Medium, or Short) for displaying date and time data


Using floating panes

Using floating panes

In the main tabs in the console, you can float the upper-right pane in a window separate from the main console window. You can configure the pane to float by default or on command. The floating pane has a different name in each tab:

■ Events tab: event list■ Services tab: relationships pane■ Administration tab: data list

To customize a pane to float


2 In the Edit Configuration dialog box, click the Global subtab.

3 In the Float section of the dialog box, select Allow float and then select one of the following options:

■ Auto dock: Select this option if you want to float the window on command and if you want the contents of the floated pane to reappear in the main console window after you close the floated pane.

■ Auto float: Select this option if you want the pane to automatically appear in a separate window and do not want its contents to reappear in the main console window when you close the floated pane.

When you use Auto float, to redisplay the contents of the pane, click the object again in the navigation pane.

To float or dock the pane

■ To float the pane, in the clear area of the toolbar of the pane, right-click and choose Float from the menu.

■ To dock the floated pane, click the X in the upper right corner of the floated window to close it. The pane reappears in the main Events View if you have selected Auto Dock in the Global subtab of the Edit Configuration dialog box.

You can have a maximum of ten event lists, service model component relationships panes, and data lists open at one time.

NOTE You cannot float an image view.


Using quotation marks and string fields

A floating pane and the console from which it has been floated are effectively equivalent to hiding the right two panes of the console so that only the navigation pane remains. If you have enabled Auto Float in the Edit Configuration dialog box and then hide the right two panes, you can use the navigation pane to work with the floating event list, service model component relationships pane, or data list pane at one time.

Using quotation marks and string fields

You can use quotation marks in editable fields for the following dialog boxes and sections of the console:

■ Slot Quick Filter dialog box ■ Notes subtab on the details pane■ Edit subtab on the Administration tab■ New subtab on the Administration tab

You must enclose string fields and string lists in quotation marks under the following circumstances:

■ if a value starts with a single (‘) or double (“) quotation mark■ if the list includes a comma (,) or a bracket (]), because the console uses these

characters to determine the end of the string list

In this example, the first quotation mark indicates that a quoted value is being entered, and it is a double quotation mark because it encloses characters inside a quoted string value. You do not need to use enclosing quotation marks for a string value that contains a single quotation mark within it, only if the value starts with a quotation mark.

NOTE BMC Software recommends that you use only unquoted values. However, if you do use quotation marks, be sure to use them according to the rules presented in this section.

EXAMPLE To obtain the value 'this is a test', type '''this is a test'''.


Customizing display settings for the Events tab

Customizing display settings for the Events tab

Besides the general display settings that affect all of the main tabs of the console, you can customize additional display settings that affect the Events tab.

Defining attributes for the Events view

In the Events view, you can define the following attributes to help you monitor and manage events:

■ color■ confirmation dialog boxes■ icons■ counters

To customize display settings for the events tab


2 In the Edit Configuration dialog box, click the Events View subtab, if necessary.

The Events View subtab is displayed, as shown in Figure 30 on page 119.


Defining attributes for the Events view

Figure 30 Events View subtab of Edit Configuration dialog box


Table 20 Events View subtab display settings (part 1 of 2)

Field Description

Line Color Severity enables and disables the display of the severity color for the entire event line.

If cleared, the line displays the severity color only in the severity column and the rest of the line has no color.

Keep Severity Color on Close

leaves the severity color unchanged when an event is closed

Event Operation Confirmation

enables a notification when a user takes ownership of an event

Use icons for the status, priority, and severity columns

enables and disables the display of icons instead of text for the status, priority, and severity columns


Understanding the effect of event status and severity on collectors’ color


Understanding the effect of event status and severity on collectors’ color

You can affect the color of a collector by your selection of event statuses in the Events View subtab of the Edit Configuration dialog box. The collector color that you see in the tree is determined by the severity color of the highest severity event that also has a status selected from the list under Severity/Priority/Counter, as shown in Figure 31 on page 121.

Severity/Priority/Counter determines the color displayed for the collector in the tree:

■ OPEN: selects events with status Open■ ACKNOWLEDGED: selects events with status

Acknowledged■ ASSIGNED: selects events with status Assigned■ CLOSED: selects events with status Closed■ BLACKOUT: selects events with status Blackout

For more information, see “Understanding the effect of event status and severity on collectors’ color.”

Second Event Count determines which statuses contribute to the event count:

■ OPEN: selects events with status Open■ ACKNOWLEDGED: selects events with status

Acknowledged■ ASSIGNED: selects events with status Assigned■ CLOSED: selects events with status Closed■ BLACKOUT: selects events with status Blackout

For more information, see “Understanding the effect of event status on event count for collectors” on page 121.

Table 20 Events View subtab display settings (part 2 of 2)

Field Description


Understanding the effect of event status on event count for collectors

Figure 31 Severity section of Events View subtab of Edit Configuration dialog box

For example, if you select all of the statuses and one of the closed events has a severity of Critical, the relevant collector will be displayed in red, even though no open event has a Critical severity. That severity color will be propagated up through the hierarchy of collectors in that branch of the tree, so you will see a red severity indicator for each hierarchical level.

Understanding the effect of event status on event count for collectors

In the navigation pane of the Events View, two counters are displayed beside each node in the tree. The first counter is enclosed in parentheses and represents the number of unacknowledged (Open) events. This counter decreases whenever the status changes from open to some other state. Also, this counter is always present for all nodes except the top-level node.

The second counter represents the number of events that match the statuses that you selected to count. You can affect the event count of a collector by your selection of event statuses in the Second Event Count section of the Events View subtab of the Edit Configuration dialog box (see Figure 32 on page 122).

NOTE No status is available for the top-level node in an event tree.


Using deprecated slots

Figure 32 Event count section of Events View subtab of Edit Configuration dialog box

In the Second Event Count section of the Events View subtab, all status types are selected by default, but you may select one status or any combination of statuses.

For example, if you select only the Open status, the event count will not include events of other statuses. Not even the event count for the All Events collector will include events of any status other than Open.

To customize the second counter


2 In the Edit Configuration dialog box, click the Events View subtab, if necessary.

3 In the Events View subtab, under Second Event Count, activate the status that you want to count for the event.

4 Click Apply to save the changes, or click OK to save and exit the dialog box.

Using deprecated slots

Deprecated slots are obsolete in the product and may not be available in a future release. They were retained for a limited time for backward compatibility with earlier releases. If you are using slots that have been deprecated and want to continue to use them, define them and enable them. The definitions for deprecated slots are located in mc_root_redef.baroc. You can enable this file in the .load file, or you can define the individual slots that you need.

If you enable deprecated slots, their values are displayed in the Deprecated subtab of the details pane in the Events View. Administrators can access the Deprecated subtab, and they can grant access to other user roles.


Customizing access to Help for events

Customizing access to Help for eventsProvided that your administrator has set up online event Help, you can use the Help Info subtab in the Edit Configuration dialog box to select options for displaying that additional event information. See your administrator for details about using static or dynamic Help.

Static Help is based on classes and is created by the console with a combination of the Help Info URL, the class name of the event, and the HTML suffix. An .html or .htm file must already exist for each class used in your enterprise environment. These files must be available to your browser.

Dynamic Help is based on slot information for the selected event. When you access dynamic Help, a script creates a web page from a combination of the Help Info URL, the slot names, and the slot values of the selected event.

Before you begin

Before you enable either static or dynamic Help, you must obtain the following information:

■ whether you have static or dynamic Help■ the URL of the backup web server you will use■ the local path to the directory location of the Help HTML files■ the location of the directory for dynamic Help

To customize access to event Help


2 In the Edit Configuration dialog box, click the Help Info subtab.


Table 21 Help Info subtab display settings (part 1 of 2)

Field Description

Enable dynamic CGI lookups for Help Info check box(required for dynamic Help only)

enables or disables dynamic Help

Help Info URL box specifies the URL for the web server from which the online Help information is obtained

Backup Info URL box specifies the URL for a secondary web server that will be accessed if the Help Info URL cannot be accessed


Adding buttons for actions to the toolbar


After this configuration, you can click to see Help information for an event.

Adding buttons for actions to the toolbarYou can modify your toolbar to provide appropriate buttons for local actions that you need. You can add up to 16 custom toolbar buttons for local actions. Also, you can change the order in which the buttons are displayed, and you can remove buttons. Each button is associated with only one action, which is platform independent.

You can specify a GIF image to be used as the icon for the additional toolbar buttons. The images must be available on the local computer where the console is installed, but they are not stored by the console. You must maintain the availability of these images. When the specified image is not available, the console displays a generic image.

To add a local action button to the toolbar

1 From the menu bar, choose Edit => Toolbar Actions.

The Edit Toolbar Actions dialog box is displayed, but it is empty except for a toolbar, as shown in Figure 33 on page 125.

HTML Suffix box(required for static Help only)

specifies the type of HTML suffix (.html or .htm)

Preferred Web Browser box specifies the web browser to use on this console; provides a Browse function for locating the correct browser file

NOTE If you have not configured a default web browser for the console, you will be prompted to select the Web browser the first time that you access the Help.

NOTE You can create custom toolbar buttons for local actions only on the Events tab. This functionality is not available on either the Services or Administration tab.

Table 21 Help Info subtab display settings (part 2 of 2)

Field Description



Figure 33 Edit Toolbar Actions dialog box

2 Click Create a new toolbar action.

The Edit Toolbar Actions dialog box is updated to display the Action Parameters box.

3 Provide information about your new button in the Action Parameters box:

A In the Name box, enter the name of the new toolbar button.

B In Local Action, select an action from the list, as shown in Figure 34.

Figure 34 Local toolbar action selection

C At Icon Search, , click the ellipsis (. . .) to locate an icon to use on the button.

D In Tool Tip, enter the text that you want to display when the mouse cursor is placed over the button.

E Click OK.

The new button is displayed on the console toolbar at the far right.

Delete a toolbar action

Create a new toolbar action



To reorder local action toolbar buttons

As you create more local action toolbar buttons, you might want to change the order in which they are displayed (for example, to group some of them together).


The Edit Toolbar Actions dialog box is displayed with the local toolbar actions listed in the left pane in the same order that their buttons appear in the toolbar.

2 Click an action in the list, and then click a directional arrow on the toolbar to move that action up or down one position in the list box, as shown in Figure 35.

Figure 35 Local action toolbar button order

3 Click OK to save the changes.

To delete a local action button from the toolbar


The Edit Toolbar Actions dialog box is displayed.

2 Select the action that you want to delete from the list of actions.

3 On the dialog box toolbar, click Delete a toolbar action.

The action is deleted from the list of actions, and its corresponding button is deleted from the toolbar.

4 Click OK.

Directional Arrows

Toolbar Actions


A p p e n d i x A
A Console interface reference
This appendix contains the following information:

Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128Menu commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130Toolbar buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133Shortcut keys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136


Icons

IconsTable 22 lists the icons contained on the BMC Impact Explorer Events, Services, and Administration tabs.

Table 22 BMC Impact Explorer icons (part 1 of 3)

Icon Name

Events tab (collectors, MetaCollectors, and event groups)

cell

disconnected cell

secondary cell in standby mode

MetaCollector

MetaCollector with secondary cell in standby mode

cell group

disconnected cell group

disconnected cell group with secondary server in standby mode

collector

collector with secondary cell in standby mode

severity indicator

event group tree node

event group

event group with secondary cell in standby mode

collector with visible subcollectors (in event group)

collector with visible subcollectors (in event group) and secondary cell in standby mode


Icons

collector with hidden subcollectors (in event group)

subcollector (in event group)

subcollector (in event group) and secondary cell in standby mode

Services tab

Global Services

My Services

My Services subgroup

Administration tab (event management policies, Dynamic Data Editor, Infrastructure Management)

Event Management Policies

policy group folder

policy selector group

policy

policy selector

event class

policy group

Dynamic Data Editor

cell group

cell


Icon Name


Menu commands

Menu commandsTable 23 lists all the menu commands contained on the BMC Impact Explorer Events, Services, and Administration tabs.

data class

infrastructure management

Table 23 BMC Impact Explorer menu commands (part 1 of 4)

Command Description

Events tab menu commands

File => Export export the events selected from the event list to an external file

File => Page Setup set up the page properties for printing

File => Print print the events selected from the event list

File => Exit exit the console

Edit => Event Operations => Take Ownership

assign one or more events to yourself

Edit => Event Operations => Assign To

assign one or more events to a person for action

Edit => Event Operations => Decline Ownership

decline to act on one or more events that have been assigned to you

Edit => Event Operations => Set Priority

set a level of urgency for one or more open events

Edit => Event Operations => Acknowledge Event

acknowledge one or more events

Edit => Event Operations => Close Event

close one or more events

Edit => Event Operations => Reopen Event

reopen one or more closed events

Edit => Execute run either a local or remote action in response to an event

Edit => Copy Events copy events selected from the event list to the Copy/Paste buffer


Icon Name


Menu commands

Edit => Send Manual Events in a test environment, send a test event to the cell to check the cell’s status

Use this command instead of using the msend command from a command line.

Note: The account that you are using to log on to Impact Explorer must have Full Access, Service Administrator, or Service Manager - Senior permissions to access this command. For more details, see the BMC Impact Solutions: General Administration guide.

Edit => Delete Events delete events from a cell that match a specified criteria

Note: The account that you are using to log in to Impact Explorer must have Full Access, Service Administrator, or Service Manager - Senior permissions to access this command. For more details, see the BMC Impact Solutions: General Administration guide.

Edit => Event Views create, modify, reorganize, or delete a filter or slot

Edit => Toolbar Actions add an action to the console toolbar

Edit => MetaCollectors edit MetaCollector properties; accessed from the MetaCollectors subtab

Edit => Edit Image View create a custom image view for objects in event groups; accessed from the Event Groups subtab

Edit => Add Event Group create a new event group; accessed from the Event Groups subtab

Edit => Edit Event Group edit an existing event group; accessed from the Event Groups subtab

Edit => Delete Event Group delete an event group; accessed from the Event Groups subtab.

Edit => Edit Event Group Properties

change the name, description, status, and permissions of an existing event group; accessed from the Event Groups subtab

Edit => Reload Event Group Data

accessed from the Event Groups subtab

Edit => Configuration access the Edit Configuration dialog box to configure the console

View => Refresh refresh the contents of the event list

View => Event Details access detailed information for an event

View => Related Events display a list of associated events

View => Service Impacts open an Impacts view for a selected component in the Services View

View => Event Relationships display the relationships window, in which you can to explore the details of abstracted, correlated, or propagated event relationships

View => Information access dynamic Help for an event

View => Remote Action Results access the results from a remote action

View => Local Action Results access the results from a local action

Server => Login log on to an authentication server, either BMC Impact Portal or BMC Impact Administration Server

Server => Logout log off of an authentication server, either BMC Impact Portal or BMC Impact Administration Server

Server => Change Password change the current password for an authentication server connection

Help => Contents access the console Help


Command Description


Menu commands

Help => About display version information

Services tab menu commands


Edit => Edit Relationship edit the relationship between components in the service model

Edit => Edit Component edit properties of a component in the service model

Edit => Create Component add a component to the service model

Edit => Delete Component delete logical groupings and registered components from the service model


View => Refresh refresh the contents of the Services tab

Server =>Login log on to an authentication server, either BMC Impact Portal or BMC Impact Administration Server




Help => About display version information

Administration tab menu commands

File => Export export the event data selected from the data list to an external file

File => Page Setup set up the page properties for printing

File => Print print the data selected from the data list


Edit => Selectors => New Selector

create a new event selector to specify selection criteria for an event management policy; accessed from the Event Management Policies subtab

Edit => Selectors => New Selector Copy

create a new event selector by copying an existing event selector; accessed from the Event Management Policies subtab

Edit => Selectors => Edit Selector

edit properties of an event selector; accessed from the Event Management Policies subtab

Edit => Selectors => Delete Selector

delete an event selector; accessed from the Event Management Policies subtab

Edit => New Policy create a new data instance; accessed from the Event Management Policies subtab

Edit => New Policy Copy create a new data instance that is copied from an existing data instance; accessed from the Event Management Policies subtab

Edit => Edit Policy edit the slot data for a selected data instance; accessed from the Event Management Policies subtab

Edit => Delete Policy delete a data instance from the data list; accessed from the Event Management Policies subtab

Edit => New create a new dynamic data instance; accessed from the Dynamic Data Editor subtab


Command Description


Toolbar buttons

Toolbar buttonsTable 24 on page 134 displays all the toolbar buttons contained on the BMC Impact Explorer Events, Services, and Administration tabs.

Edit => New Copy create a new dynamic data instance by copying an existing instance; accessed from the Dynamic Data Editor subtab

Edit => Edit edit a dynamic data instance; accessed from the Dynamic Data Editor subtab

Edit => Delete delete a dynamic data instance; accessed from the Dynamic Data Editor subtab

Edit => Copy copy a data instance to the clipboard

Edit => Paste paste the contents of the clipboard into a new location

Edit => Timeframe Editor access the Time Frame dialog box to set up new or modify existing time frames for application of policies; access from the Event Management Policies subtab

Edit => Edit Component edit the properties of a component in the infrastructure management service model; accessed from the Infrastructure Management subtab

For more details, see the BMC Impact Solutions: General Administration guide.

Edit => Edit Relationship edit the relationships between the objects in the infrastructure management service model; accessed from the Infrastructure Management subtab

Edit => Create Component create logical components in the infrastructure management service model; accessed from the Infrastructure Management subtab

Edit => Delete Component delete logical groupings and registered components from the infrastructure management service model; accessed from the Infrastructure Management subtab


View => Refresh refresh the contents of the data list

Server => Login log on to an authentication server, either BMC Impact Portal or BMC Impact Administration Server




Help => About display version information for BMC Impact Explorer


Command Description


Toolbar buttons

Table 24 BMC Impact Explorer toolbar buttons (part 1 of 3)

Button Name

Events tab

Edit Event Views

Edit MetaCollectors

Refresh Current Event List

Acknowledge Event

Take Ownership

Decline Ownership

Close Event

Event Details

Impact Service View

Explore Event Relationships

Event Dynamic Information

Copy Selected Event

Export Event Details

Print Event Details

Execute Remote and Local Actions

View Remote Action Results

View Local Action Results


Toolbar buttons

Services tab

Refresh View

Hide/Show Find

Create Component

Edit Component

Delete Component

Administration tab

View/Update Timeframes

Refresh Current Policy List

Add Event Selector

Copy and Add Event Selector

Update Event Selector

Delete Event Selector

Add Event Policy

Copy and Add Event Policy

Update Event Policy

Delete Event Policies

Copy Event Policies

Paste Event Policies


Button Name


Shortcut keys

Shortcut keysTable 25 lists all the shortcut keys available in BMC Impact Explorer.

Export Event Policies

Print Event Policies

Table 25 BMC Impact Explorer shortcut keys

Action Shortcut key

Acknowledge Event Ctrl + Shift + A

Change Focus F9

Close Event Ctrl + Shift + C

Copy Events Ctrl + C

New Policy Copy Ctrl + Insert

Delete Policy Delete

Edit Policy Ctrl + E

Event Details Ctrl + D

Event Relationships Ctrl + Shift + R

Execute Ctrl + Shift + X

Information Ctrl + l

Local Action Results Ctrl + L

Move through event or data list

PgUp, PgDn, and the Up and Down arrow keys

New Policy Insert

Paste (system) Ctrl + V

Print Ctrl + P

Refresh F5

Remote Action Results Ctrl + R

Reopen Event Ctrl + Shift + O

Service Impacts Ctrl + M

Set Priority Ctrl + Shift + P

Decline Ownership Ctrl + Shift + D

Assign To Ctrl + Shift + N

Take Ownership Ctrl + Shift + T


Button Name


Shortcut keys

Timeframe Editor Alt +.(period)

New Selector Ctrl + N

New Selector Copy Ctrl + I

Edit Selector Ctrl + O

Delete Selector Ctrl + U

Table 25 BMC Impact Explorer shortcut keys

Action Shortcut key


Shortcut keys


A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Index

AAcknowledge

event icon 77event operation 77

Acknowledged (ACK) event status icon 51actions

adding buttons to toolbar 124deleting 126reorder action buttons in toolbar 126responding to an event 80

adaptersconfiguration file 20configuration file, described 19EventLog 107integration of user-defined 21multiple instances of same type 20SNMP (trap) 21starting 89stopping 91tracing 95

addingbuttons to local action toolbar 124cell to MetaCollector 58

Administration tabicons 129menu commands 132

Administration View, overview 18Allow float field (Edit Configuration dialog box) 115annotating events 80Assign To (event operation) 77, 78Assigned event status icon 51Attempts cell connection property 35Auto Bind cell connection property 36Auto Connect cell connection property 35Auto dock field (Edit Configuration dialog box) 115Auto float field (Edit Configuration dialog box) 115Auto Switch cell connection property 35automatic refresh 56, 115

Bbackup cell

specifying 39Basic Information option of default filters 59

Blackoutevent status icon 51

BMC Impact Explorerconsoles, types of 25starting 25

BMC Impact Explorer consoleJava Web Start, described 26standalone, described 25starting Java Web Start application 28starting standalone console on UNIX 26starting standalone console on Windows 26

BMC Impact Portalconnecting BMC IX 29starting BMC Impact Explorer from 27

BMC IX. See BMC Impact ExplorerBMC Software, contacting 2

Ccell groups

adding 32adding cells 33creating 32disconnected cell group icon 128disconnected cell group with secondary cell in

standby mode icon 128disconnecting from 37editing name 32, 33icon 47, 128Infrastructure Management 31MyProduction 31MyTest 31removing 33

cellsadding to cell group 33connecting to 37connection properties 34designating a backup 39disconnected cell icon 128icon 47, 128multiple cells in event groups 72secondary cell in standby mode icon 128viewing event list 53

changing passwords 30Class Chooser dialog box 62, 67

Index 139


Close eventicon 79operation 77, 79

Closed event status icon 51collectors

color affected by status and severity 120event count affected by status 121icon 47, 128setting color in navigation tree 120subcollectors with secondary cell in standby mode,

icon (event group) 129subcollectors, icon (event group) 129viewing event list 53with hidden subcollectors, icon 129with secondary cell in standby mode icon 128with visible subcollectors and secondary cell in

standby mode, icon 128with visible subcollectors, icon 128

Collectors tab (Events View navigation) 47color

affected by event severity 51affected by status and severity 120event status icon 51severity for event group 70

commandskill 91

complex logic in creating filters 63component service

setting maintenance model manually 85setting status manually with remote action 85

Componentssubtab (Impact Manager Info dialog box) 40

configuration filesadapters 20Engine parameter 21

configuringaccess to multiple cells 31event Help 123Events tab display settings 118general display settings 114

Connect Freq cell connection property 35connecting

BMC IX to BMC Impact Portal 29multiple cells in event groups 72properties 34to a cell or cell group 37

consoleadding action buttons to toolbar 124adding cell groups 32BMC Impact Explorer, types of 25docking panes 116editing cell group names 32, 33floating panes 116Help, viewing 124icons 128menu commands 130removing cell groups 33

140 BMC Impact Solutions: Event Monitoring Operato

settings, default configuration 40, 114starting BMC Impact Explorer from BMC Impact

Portal 27toolbar

reorder actions 126console toolbar

adding local action buttons 124copying event information 76creating

a cell group 32filter groups 64local filter 61

customer support 3customizing

access to multiple cells 31event Help 123Events tab display settings 118general display settings 114

Ddata class

icon 130Decline Ownership

event operation 77, 78icon 78

default filtersBasic Information option 59in Event Sources list 45, 58SMC Impact Events option 60SMC Information option 59SMC Status History Events option 60Supervisor Information option 59

deletinga filter 64actions 126filter group 65

deprecated slots 122details pane (Events View) 45disconnecting from a cell or cell group 37docking a pane 116downloading Java Web Start application 27Dynamic Data Editor

tab 129dynamic Help 123

EEdit Configuration dialog box

event count 122Events View subtab 119Global subtab 37, 114Help Info subtab 123Impact Managers subtab 31, 56severity 121

r’s Guide


Edit Event View dialog box 62Edit Filters icon 61Edit Toolbar Actions dialog box 124editing

cell group names 32, 33local filter 63slot orders 67

Encrypted Mode cell connection property 35Engine parameter

configuration file 21error events 96event class

icon (event management policy) 129event classes

definition for adapters 19event collector, described 15event count

affected by status 121in Events View navigation 47

Event Count field 120Event Details window 54event groups

collector with hidden subcollectors, icon 129collector with visible subcollectors and secondary cell

in standby mode, icon 128collector with visible subcollectors, icon 128described 16icon 128icon for tree node 128multiple cells 72subcollector with secondary cell in standby mode,

icon 129subcollector, icon 129understanding 70viewing event list 53with secondary cell in standby mode icon 128

Event Groups tab 47, 71event management

policies icon 129Event Operation Confirmation check box 119event operations, performing 77event priority

icons 52setting 79shown in image-view widget 70understanding 52

event relationsicons 49

event relationships, exploring 75event severity

icons 52levels 52

Event Sources listeffect on event list 48location in Events View 45using 54

event state 49See also event status

event statusicons 51understanding 51

EventLog adapter 107events

acknowledging 77annotating 75, 80assigning to an individual 78closing 79copying event data 76copying event information 76declining ownership 78error 96event details 54MC_ADAPTER_ERROR 96MC_ADAPTER_START 96MC_ADAPTER_STOP 96performing operations 77printing event information 76reopening 79reopening in event list 79responding with an action 80setting the priority 79sorting 66sorting fields 68taking ownership 78viewing details 54

events listadjusting column widths 55current operator information 50default columns 48elements 48location in Events View 45organizing 57refreshing 56selecting the type to view 54slot orders, editing 67viewing 53

Events tabicons 128menu commands 130

Events Viewconfiguring display settings 118customizing display settings 118described 44illustrated 14, 44location of elements 44navigation pane 46overview 13subtab (Edit Configuration dialog box) 119

Explore Event Relationships icon 75exploring relationships 75

Index 141


Ffilter groups

creating 64deleting 65renaming 65

filteringevents, by severity 61events, by slot name 60events, overview 58

filtersassociating a slot order 68creating global 62, 67creating local 61default 45, 59deleting 64editing 63filter groups 64global 58local 61organizing 64severity quick filter 61slot quick filter 60using complex logic 63

firewall 36floating a pane 116

GGeneral subtab (Impact Manager Info dialog box) 40global filters 62, 67Global Services

icon 129Global subtab (Edit Configuration dialog box) 37, 114

HHelp

for events, configuration 123for events, customizing 123icon for event Help 124viewing 124viewing online 76

Help Info subtab 123

Iicons

Acknowledge Event 77cell 47, 128cell group 47, 128Close event 79collector 47, 128collector with hidden subcollectors (event group) 129


collector with secondary cell in standby mode 128collector with visible subcollectors (event group) 128collector with visible subcollectors (event group) and

secondary cell in standby mode 128Collectors tab 47data class 130Decline Ownership 78disconnected cell 128disconnected cell group 128disconnected cell group with secondary cell in

standby mode 128Dynamic Data Editor tab 129Edit Filters 61event class (event management policy) 129event group 128event group tree node 128event group with secondary cell in standby mode 128Event Groups tab 47event Help 124Event Management Policies tab 129event priority 52event relations 49event severity 52event status 51Explore Event Relationships 75Global Services 129Icon Search for locating file for new action button 125MetaCollector 128MetaCollector with secondary cell in standby mode

128MetaCollectors tab 47My Services 129My Services subgroup 129New Basic Filter 62New Slot Order 66policy 129policy group 129policy group folder 129policy selector 129policy selector group 129Refresh 42Reopen Event 79secondary cell in standby mode 128Set Priority 79severity indicator 128severity level indicator 47severity quick filter 58slot quick filter 58subcollector in event group 129subcollector in event group and secondary cell in

standby mode 129Take Ownership 78

icons versus text for columns in event list 119image views

illustrated 15, 71understanding 70viewing 72

r’s Guide


Impact Manager Info dialog boxComponents subtab 40General subtab 40Workload subtab 40

Impact Managers subtab (Edit Configuration dialog box) 31

Information Display Selection tabs (Events View) 44Infrastructure Management cell group 31instance control 92IP adapters

instance control 92IP Address cell connection property 36

JJava Web Start application

downloading 27starting BMC Impact Explorer console 28

Java Web Start application, BMC Impact Explorer 26

KKeep Severity Color on Close check box 119keyboard shortcuts for accessibility, BMC Impact Explorer

136kill command 91

LLine Color Severity check box 51, 119local actions

accessing results of 82adding toolbar buttons for 124responding to an event 81, 83

local filters 58, 61

MManager Group Status field (Edit Configuration dialog

box) 115manually refresh event list 56map files

contents of 20described 19

MC_ADAPTER_ERROR event 96MC_ADAPTER_START event 96MC_ADAPTER_STOP event. 96mcxactrl.pl command

description 92menu commands 130MetaCollectors

adding a cell 58creating 57described 16

icon 128viewing event list 53with secondary cell in standby mode icon 128

MetaCollectors tab (Events View navigation) 47modifying

slot orders 67multihomed computer as the console 36My Services icon 129MyProduction cell group 31MyTest cell group 31

NNetwork Interface Card, connecting the console to 36New Basic Filter icon 62New Slot Order icon 66

Oonline Help 124Open event status icon 51operations. See event operations, performingorganizing

events in the event list 57filters 64

Pparameters

TraceFile 95TraceFileCount 95TraceLevel 95

parsing engine, described 19passwords, changing 30Pending Events indicator (Events View) 45Perl interpreter, regular expression 20policy icons

group folder 129policy 129policy group 129selector 129selector group 129

printing event information 76priority. See event priorityproduct support 3properties

cell connection 34

Index 143


QQuery size field (Edit Configuration dialog box) 115quick filters

severity 58severity quick filter 61slot quick filter 58, 60

quotation marks 117

RRefresh Freq cell connection property 35Refresh icon 42refreshing the event list

automatically 56manually 56

Regular expressions,Perl interpreter 20relations, event

icons 49remote actions

accessing results of 81responding to event 80

removingactions 126filter group 65

renaming a filter group 65Reopen Event

icon 79operation 77, 79

reopening events 79results

of a local action 82of a remote action 81

Sservice component

maintenance mode, setting manually with a remote action 85

status, setting manually with a remote action 85Services tab

icons 129menu commands 132

Services Viewillustrated 18overview 17

Set Priorityevent operation 77, 79icon 79

severityeffect on color of collector 120effect on event status icon 51indicator 128keeping color on close 119level indicator (Events View navigation) 47, 52


quick filter 58setting color in collector tree 120setting color in event list 119

shortcut keys 136slot orders

associating with a filter 68creating 66described 48editing 67

slot quick filter 58, 60SMC

Impact Events option of SMC Events filter 60Information option of default filters 59Status History Events option of SMC Events filter 60

SNMP(trap) adapter 21

sorting eventscreating new slot order 66multiple columns 69single column 68

standalone BMC Impact Explorer consoledescribed 25starting on UNIX 26starting on Windows 26

startingadapters 89BMC Impact Explorer as Java Web Start application

28BMC Impact Explorer from BMC Impact Portal 27BMC Impact Explorer standalone console on UNIX 26BMC Impact Explorer standalone console on

Windows 26starting Adapters

using mcxactrl.pl 94static Help 123status

affects color of collector 120affects event count for collector 121contribution to event count 120event icons 51of cell group 115service component, setting manually with remote

action 85stopping adapters 91string fields 117String Limit field (Edit Configuration dialog box) 115subgroups in My Services 129Supervisor Information option of default filters 59support, customer 3

TTake Ownership

event operation 77, 78icon 78

technical support 3

r’s Guide


Timeout cell connection property 35toolbar

adding action buttons to 124deleting an action 126reordering actions 126

TraceFile parameter 95TraceFileCount parameter 95TraceLevel parameter 95tracing 95

Uuser-defined adapters 21using mcxactrl.pl 94

VView Manager Info menu command 40View Selection tabs

Events View 44Events View navigation 47

viewingcell performance data 40cell properties 40event details 54event list 53Help for a console window or dialog box 124Help in console 124image view 72online Help 76types of event lists 54

WWeb Start application, BMC Impact Explorer 26widgets 70Workload subtab (Impact Manager Info dialog box) 40

Index 145


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bmc impact solutions: event monitoring operator's guide · 2020-06-05 · bmc impact...

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