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IBM® Tivoli® Netcool/OMNIbus Probe for Metrica/NPRVersion 4.0

Reference GuideAugust 26, 2011

SC23-7883-02

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NoteBefore using this information and the product it supports, read the information in “Notices and Trademarks,” on page 9.

Edition notice

This edition (SC23-7883-02) applies to version 4.0 of IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus Probe for Metrica/NPR and toall subsequent releases and modifications until otherwise indicated in new editions.

This edition replaces SC23-7883-01.

© Copyright IBM Corporation 2009, 2011.US Government Users Restricted Rights – Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contractwith IBM Corp.

Contents

About this guide . . . . . . . . . . . vDocument control page . . . . . . . . . . . vConventions used in this guide . . . . . . . . v

IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus Probe forMetrica/NPR . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Installing probes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Data acquisition . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Peer-to-peer failover functionality . . . . . . 3Properties and command line options . . . . . . 4Elements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Error messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6ProbeWatch messages . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Appendix. Notices and Trademarks . . . 9Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Trademarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2009, 2011 iii

iv IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus Probe for Metrica/NPR: Reference Guide

About this guide

The following sections contain important information about using this guide.

Document control pageUse this information to track changes between versions of this guide.

The IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus Probe for Metrica/NPR documentation isprovided in softcopy format only. To obtain the most recent version, visit the IBM®

Tivoli® Information Center:

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/tivihelp/v8r1/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.tivoli.namomnibus.doc/welcome_ptsm.htm

Table 1. Document modification history

Documentversion

Publicationdate

Comments

SC23-7883-01 April 30, 2009 First IBM publication.

SC23-7883-02 August 26,2011

Information about operating system conventions addedin “Conventions used in this guide.”

Installation section replaced by “Installing probes” onpage 2.

Conventions used in this guideAll probe guides use standard conventions for operating system-dependentenvironment variables and directory paths.

Operating system-dependent variables and paths

All probe guides use standard conventions for specifying environment variablesand describing directory paths, depending on what operating systems the probe issupported on.

For probes supported on UNIX and Linux operating systems, probe guides use thestandard UNIX conventions such as $variable for environment variables andforward slashes (/) in directory paths. For example:

$OMNIHOME/probes

For probes supported only on Windows operating systems, probe guides use thestandard Windows conventions such as %variable% for environment variables andbackward slashes (\) in directory paths. For example:

%OMNIHOME%\probes

For probes supported on UNIX, Linux, and Windows operating systems, probeguides use the standard UNIX conventions for specifying environment variablesand describing directory paths. When using the Windows command line with

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2009, 2011 v



these probes, replace the UNIX conventions used in the guide with Windowsconventions. If you are using the bash shell on a Windows system, you can use theUNIX conventions.

Note: The names of environment variables are not always the same in Windowsand UNIX environments. For example, %TEMP% in Windows environments isequivalent to $TMPDIR in UNIX and Linux environments. Where such variables aredescribed in the guide, both the UNIX and Windows conventions will be used.

Operating system-specific directory names

Where Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus files are identified as located within an archdirectory under NCHOME or OMNIHOME, arch is a variable that represents youroperating system directory. For example:

$OMNIHOME/probes/arch

The following table lists the directory names used for each operating systemcurrently supported by Netcool/OMNIbus.

Table 2. Directory names for the arch variable

Operating system Directory name represented by arch

AIX® systems aix5

HP-UX PA-RISC-based systems hpux11

HP-UX Integrity-based systems hpux11hpia

Red Hat Linux and SUSE systems linux2x86

Linux for System z® linux2s390

Solaris systems solaris2

Windows systems win32

vi IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus Probe for Metrica/NPR: Reference Guide

IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus Probe for Metrica/NPR

IBM Metrica/NPR (Network Performance Reporting) is used for performance andtraffic analysis on fixed-line and wireless telecommunication networks.

The IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus Probe for Metrica/NPR is a dual function probethat connects to a TCP/IP socket or a UNIX named pipe (FIFO). It generates eventsby reading output from the Metrica/NPR Performance Alarm Server (PAS).

This guide contains the following sections:v “Summary”v “Installing probes” on page 2v “Data acquisition” on page 3v “Properties and command line options” on page 4v “Elements” on page 5v “Error messages” on page 6v “ProbeWatch messages” on page 8

SummaryEach probe works in a different way to acquire event data from its source, andtherefore has specific features, default values, and changeable properties. Use thissummary information to learn about this probe.

The following table provides a summary of the IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbusProbe for Metrica/NPR.

Table 3. Summary

Probe target IBM Metrica/NPR

Probe executable name nco_p_metrica

Package version 4.0

Probe supported on For details of supported operating systems, see thefollowing Release Notice on the IBM Software Supportwebsite:

https://www-304.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21414866

Properties file $OMNIHOME/probes/arch/metrica.props

Rules file $OMNIHOME/probes/arch/metrica.rules

Requirements A currently supported version of IBM TivoliNetcool/OMNIbus.

Connection method Socket or named pipe (FIFO)

Remote connectivity Available

Licensing Electronic licensing was deprecated with the release ofIBM Tivoli Netcool V7.2.0. All IBM Tivoli NetcoolV7.2.0 (and later) products use the IBM softwarelicensing process.

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2009, 2011 1



Table 3. Summary (continued)

Multicultural support Available

For information about configuring multiculturalsupport, including language options, see the IBM TivoliNetcool/OMNIbus Installation and Deployment Guide(SC14-7604-00).

Peer-to-peer failover functionality Available

IP environment IPv4 and IPv6

Federal Information ProcessingStandards (FIPS)

IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus V7.2.1, 7.3.0 and 7.3.1use the FIPS 140-2 approved cryptographic provider:IBM Crypto for C (ICC) certificate 384 for cryptography.This certificate is listed on the NIST website athttp://csrc.nist.gov/groups/STM/cmvp/documents/140-1/1401val2004.htm For details about configuringNetcool/OMNIbus for FIPS 140-2 mode, see IBM TivoliNetcool/OMNIbus Installation and Deployment Guide(SC14-7604).

Installing probesAll probes are installed in a similar way. The process involves downloading theappropriate installation package for your operating system, installing theappropriate files for the version of Netcool/OMNIbus that you are running, andconfiguring the probe to suit your environment.

The installation process consists of the following steps:1. Downloading the installation package for the probe from the Passport

Advantage Online website.Each probe has a single installation package for each operating systemsupported. For details about how to locate and download the installationpackage for your operating system, visit the following page on the IBM TivoliInformation Center:http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/tivihelp/v8r1/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.netcool_OMNIbus.doc/probes/install/wip/out-html/reference/install_download_intro.html

2. Installing the probe using the installation package.The installation package contains the appropriate files for all supportedversions of Netcool/OMNIbus. For details about how to install the probe torun with your version of Netcool/OMNIbus, visit the following page on theIBM Tivoli Information Center:http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/tivihelp/v8r1/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.netcool_OMNIbus.doc/probes/install/wip/out-html/reference/install_install_intro.html

3. Configuring the probe.This guide contains details of the essential configuration required to run thisprobe. It combines topics that are common to all probes and topics that arepeculiar to this probe. For details about additional configuration that iscommon to all probes, see the IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus Probe and GatewayGuide IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus Probe and Gateway Guide (SC14-7608).

2 IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus Probe for Metrica/NPR: Reference Guide

http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/STM/cmvp/documents/140-1/1401val2004.htm

http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/STM/cmvp/documents/140-1/1401val2004.htm

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/tivihelp/v8r1/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.netcool_OMNIbus.doc/probes/install/wip/out-html/reference/install_download_intro.html



http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/tivihelp/v8r1/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.netcool_OMNIbus.doc/probes/install/wip/out-html/reference/install_install_intro.html



Data acquisitionEach probe uses a different method to acquire data. Which method the probe usesdepends on the target system from which it receives data.

The Probe for Metrica/NPR can gather events remotely by connecting to a socketor locally by reading a named pipe (FIFO). By default, the probe connects to aspecified socket.

The probe reads each alarm until a new line is encountered. The alarms are parsedaccording to the event type that is output by the Metrica/NPR PAS. The alarmtypes produced by the Metrica/NPR PAS are as follows:v Event Type 1 - name-value pairs.v Event Type 2 - semi-colon delimited.

Note: If the probe encounters a partial write of an alarm when reading from asocket, the alarm is discarded.

Peer-to-peer failover functionalityThe probe supports failover configurations where two probes run simultaneously.One probe acts as the master probe, sending events to the ObjectServer; the otheracts as the slave probe on standby. If the master probe fails, the slave probeactivates.

While the slave probe receives heartbeats from the master probe, it does notforward events to the ObjectServer. If the master shuts down, the slave probe stopsreceiving heartbeats from the master and any events it receives thereafter areforwarded to the ObjectServer on behalf of the master probe. When the master isrunning again, the slave continues to receive events, but no longer sends them tothe ObjectServer.

Example property file settings for peer-to-peer failover

You set the peer-to-peer failover mode in the properties files of the master andslave probes. The settings differ for a master probe and slave probe.

The following example shows the peer-to-peer settings from the properties file of amaster probe:Server : "NCOMS"RulesFile : "master_rules_file"MessageLog : "master_log_file"PeerHost : "slave_hostname"PeerPort : 5555 # [communication port between master and slave probe]Mode : "master"

The following example shows the peer-to-peer settings from the properties file ofthe corresponding slave probe:Server : "NCOMS"RulesFile : "slave_rules_file"MessageLog : "slave_log_file"PeerHost : "master_hostname"PeerPort : 5555 # [communication port between master and slave probe]Mode : "slave"

IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus Probe for Metrica/NPR 3

Properties and command line optionsYou use properties to specify how the probe interacts with the device. You canoverride the default values by using the properties file or the command lineoptions.

The following table describes the properties and command line options specific tothis probe. For information about default properties and command line options, seethe IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus Probe and Gateway Guide (SC14-7608).

Table 4. Properties and command line options

Property name Command line option Description

Host string -host string Use this property to specify thename of the host to which toconnect.

The default is localhost.

FifoName string -fifo string Use this property to specify thepath and name of the FIFO.

The default is /tmp/probefifo.

ReadFifo boolean -readfifo boolean Use this property to specifywhether the probe reads eventsfrom a socket or from a FIFO. Thisproperty takes the followingvalues:

0: The probe reads the events fromsocket.

1: The probe reads the events froma FIFO.

The default is 0.

Port string -port string Use this property to specify theport number on which the probelistens for events.

The default is 0.

Note: This is only required whenthe ReadFifo property is set to 0.

StreamCapture boolean -streamcapture boolean Use this property to specifywhether the probe uses streamcapture. This property takes thefollowing values:

1: The probe uses stream capture.

0: The probe does not use streamcapture.

The default is 0.


Table 4. Properties and command line options (continued)

Property name Command line option Description

StreamCaptureFilenamestring

-streamcapturefilenamestring

Use this property to specify thefile name to use for streamcapture.

The default is$OMNIHOME/var/metrica.stream.

Timeout integer -timeout integer Use this property to specify thenumber of seconds the probewaits for an event beforedisconnecting.

The default is 180.

ElementsThe probe breaks event data down into tokens and parses them into elements.Elements are used to assign values to ObjectServer fields; the field values containthe event details in a form that the ObjectServer understands.

The following table describes the elements that the IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbusProbe for Metrica/NPR generates. Not all the elements described are generated foreach event; the elements that the probe generates depends upon the event type.

Table 5. Elements

Element name Element description

$ObjectClass This element contains the class name of themanaged object on which the alarm is raised.This could be any entity on which statistics aregathered, for example, switch, route, and pbx.

$ObjectName This element contains the instance name of themanaged object on which the alarm is raised, forexample, switch name, route name and pbxname.

$Type This element displays the type of alarm, forexample, qualityOfService.

$Time This element displays the time and date eventoccurred or was detected.

$Cause This element displays the probable cause of theevent, for example, thresholdCrossed.

$Problem This element displays the specific problemdetected. This field is the alarm name thatuniquely defines the alarm.

$Severity This element displays the perceived severity ofthe alarm:

v critical

v major

v minor

v warning

v clearance

v indeterminate


Table 5. Elements (continued)

Element name Element description

$trendIndication This element displays an indication of whetherthe underlying condition is improving ordegrading:

v moreSevere

v lessSevere

v noChange

v notKnown

$thresholdInfo This element displays the predicate or thresholdinformation that caused the alarm to begenerated.

$notificationId This element contains the identifier of the alarm.

$correlatedNotifications This element displays a list of up to 10 alarmidentifiers that are correlated to the alarm, eitherbecause this is a clearance alarm, or because thereis a change in the severity of the alarm.

$monitoredAttribute This element contains the attribute or expressionthat is being monitored with the alarm.

$monitoredAttributeValue This element contains the value of the monitoredattribute.

$additionalText This element contains additional free format textthat describes to an operator the alarm condition.

$currentTime This element displays the current time, that is,when the alarm was dispatched.

Error messagesError messages provide information about problems that occur while running theprobe. You can use the information that they contain to resolve such problems.

The following table describes the error messages specific to this probe. Forinformation about generic error messages, see the IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbusProbe and Gateway Guide (SC14-7608).

Table 6. Error messages

Error Description Action

Failed to open FIFOFifoName

The properties or commandline options for the FIFO fileare pointing to a file whichcannot be opened or does notexist.

Check the command lineoptions or properties and setthem to refer to the correctFIFO file that has beencreated.

Memory Allocation Error There is not enough memoryavailable.

Make more memory available.

Connection Unsuccessful

Connection Lost

There is a problem with thenetwork.

Check that you can access thetarget port from the hostrunning the probe.


Table 6. Error messages (continued)

Error Description Action

Connection Timed Out There is a problem with yournetwork, Metrica® or theprobe configuration.

Check that you did not setthe Timeout property too low.Check that there are noproblems with your networkand that you configured thecorrect port number in theprobe properties.

Failed to open socket

Failed to open socket.Invalid Port Number!

There is a problem with yourmachine, the network or theprobe configuration.

Check that there are noproblems with your networkand that you configured thecorrect port number in theprobe properties.

Timed Out trying to opensocket


Check that you did not setthe Timeout property too low.Check that there are noproblems with your networkand that you configured thecorrect port number in theprobe properties.

Failed to open FIFOFifoName

Failed to re-open FIFOFifoName

The named pipe specified bythe FifoName property couldnot be opened.

Adjust FifoName property ifnecessary and check filepermissions.

SendAlert failed Number The probe was unable to sendan alert to the ObjectServer.

Check that the ObjectServer isavailable.

Unable to open file The probe was unable to openthe hosts file.

Check the hosts file.

Unable to write to filefilename

The probe was unable towrite to the alarm log file.

Check that there is sufficientdisk space and that thepermissions are correct.

Error reading from socket The probe had successfullylogged into the target host,but something interrupted theconnection.

Check that the target host isworking correctly.

Socket error when waitingto read alarm

The probe had successfullylogged into the target host,but something interrupted theconnection whilst the probewas waiting to read thealarm.

Check that the target host isworking correctly.

Only managed to writenumber out of numbercharacters

The probe was unable towrite to the alarm log file.

Check that there is sufficientdisk space and that thepermissions are correct.

Failed to InitialiseProbe

There are internal errors. Make a note of the messageand contact IBM SoftwareSupport.


ProbeWatch messagesDuring normal operations, the probe generates ProbeWatch messages and sendsthem to the ObjectServer. These messages tell the ObjectServer how the probe isrunning.

The following table describes the raw ProbeWatch error messages that the probegenerates. For information about generic ProbeWatch messages, see the IBM TivoliNetcool/OMNIbus Probe and Gateway Guide (SC14-7608).

Table 7. ProbeWatch messages

ProbeWatch message Description Triggers/causes

Socket error waiting forconnection

An error has occurred causingthe probe to lose the socketconnection.


Connection Lost The socket connection hasbeen closed at the server side.

There might be a problemwith the network.

Check that you can access thetarget port from the hostrunning the probe.

Connection Timed Out The connection has beenclosed because the timeoutperiod elapsed without anydata being received.

There is a problem with yournetwork or the probeconfiguration.

The value for the timeoutproperty might be too low.


Appendix. Notices and Trademarks

This appendix contains the following sections:v Noticesv Trademarks

NoticesThis information was developed for products and services offered in the U.S.A.

IBM may not offer the products, services, or features discussed in this document inother countries. Consult your local IBM representative for information on theproducts and services currently available in your area. Any reference to an IBMproduct, program, or service is not intended to state or imply that only that IBMproduct, program, or service may be used. Any functionally equivalent product,program, or service that does not infringe any IBM intellectual property right maybe used instead. However, it is the user's responsibility to evaluate and verify theoperation of any non-IBM product, program, or service.

IBM may have patents or pending patent applications covering subject matterdescribed in this document. The furnishing of this document does not grant youany license to these patents. You can send license inquiries, in writing, to:

IBM Director of LicensingIBM CorporationNorth Castle DriveArmonk, NY 10504-1785U.S.A.

For license inquiries regarding double-byte (DBCS) information, contact the IBMIntellectual Property Department in your country or send inquiries, in writing, to:

IBM World Trade Asia CorporationLicensing 2-31 Roppongi 3-chome, Minato-kuTokyo 106-0032, Japan

The following paragraph does not apply to the United Kingdom or any othercountry where such provisions are inconsistent with local law:INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION PROVIDES THISPUBLICATION “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHEREXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIEDWARRANTIES OF NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESSFOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Some states do not allow disclaimer of express orimplied warranties in certain transactions, therefore, this statement may not applyto you.

This information could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors.Changes are periodically made to the information herein; these changes will beincorporated in new editions of the publication. IBM may make improvementsand/or changes in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in thispublication at any time without notice.

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2009, 2011 9

Any references in this information to non-IBM Web sites are provided forconvenience only and do not in any manner serve as an endorsement of those Websites. The materials at those Web sites are not part of the materials for this IBMproduct and use of those Web sites is at your own risk.

IBM may use or distribute any of the information you supply in any way itbelieves appropriate without incurring any obligation to you.

Licensees of this program who wish to have information about it for the purposeof enabling: (i) the exchange of information between independently createdprograms and other programs (including this one) and (ii) the mutual use of theinformation which has been exchanged, should contact:

IBM CorporationSoftware Interoperability Coordinator, Department 49XA3605 Highway 52 NRochester, MN 55901U.S.A.

Such information may be available, subject to appropriate terms and conditions,including in some cases, payment of a fee.

The licensed program described in this information and all licensed materialavailable for it are provided by IBM under terms of the IBM Customer Agreement,IBM International Program License Agreement, or any equivalent agreementbetween us.

Any performance data contained herein was determined in a controlledenvironment. Therefore, the results obtained in other operating environments mayvary significantly. Some measurements may have been made on development-levelsystems and there is no guarantee that these measurements will be the same ongenerally available systems. Furthermore, some measurements may have beenestimated through extrapolation. Actual results may vary. Users of this documentshould verify the applicable data for their specific environment.

Information concerning non-IBM products was obtained from the suppliers ofthose products, their published announcements or other publicly available sources.IBM has not tested those products and cannot confirm the accuracy ofperformance, compatibility or any other claims related to non-IBM products.Questions on the capabilities of non-IBM products should be addressed to thesuppliers of those products.

All statements regarding IBM's future direction or intent are subject to change orwithdrawal without notice, and represent goals and objectives only.

All IBM prices shown are IBM's suggested retail prices, are current and are subjectto change without notice. Dealer prices may vary.

This information is for planning purposes only. The information herein is subject tochange before the products described become available.

This information contains examples of data and reports used in daily businessoperations. To illustrate them as completely as possible, the examples include thenames of individuals, companies, brands, and products. All of these names arefictitious and any similarity to the names and addresses used by an actual businessenterprise is entirely coincidental.


COPYRIGHT LICENSE:

This information contains sample application programs in source language, whichillustrate programming techniques on various operating platforms. You may copy,modify, and distribute these sample programs in any form without payment toIBM, for the purposes of developing, using, marketing or distributing applicationprograms conforming to the application programming interface for the operatingplatform for which the sample programs are written. These examples have notbeen thoroughly tested under all conditions. IBM, therefore, cannot guarantee orimply reliability, serviceability, or function of these programs.

Each copy or any portion of these sample programs or any derivative work, mustinclude a copyright notice as follows:

© (your company name) (year). Portions of this code are derived from IBM Corp.Sample Programs. © Copyright IBM Corp. _enter the year or years_. All rightsreserved.

If you are viewing this information softcopy, the photographs and colorillustrations may not appear.

TrademarksIBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com®, AIX, Tivoli, zSeries®, and Netcool® are trademarks ofInternational Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries,or both.

Adobe, Acrobat, Portable Document Format (PDF), PostScript, and all Adobe-basedtrademarks are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe SystemsIncorporated in the United States, other countries, or both.

Intel, Intel Inside (logos), MMX, and Pentium are trademarks of Intel Corporationin the United States, other countries, or both.

Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT, and the Windows logo are trademarks ofMicrosoft Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.

Java and all Java-based trademarks are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in theUnited States, other countries, or both.

Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States, other countries, orboth.

UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the United States and othercountries.

Other company, product, or service names may be trademarks or service marks ofothers.

Appendix. Notices and Trademarks 11

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