Administrator Handbook

TOC

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Defining the dynamic aspect of a graphic object

Defining the request attached to the graphic object dynamic aspect

The dynamic aspect tab in the properties of an object allows you to define the background color of clipart and shape and the text of the text object.

In the same window you are able to define events that are forwarded to the Event log of LoriotPro.

The same dialog box allows you to set multiple conditions and actions on a single directory object status or SNMP OID. These expressions are in a list box. They are read sequentially and the first matched action is executed if the condition is satisfied.

When opening the tab Dynamic aspect of object for the first time all fields are empty.

Dynamic aspect configuration window

The fields available in this window are:

Activate Dynamic Aspect - Check this box if you want to turn on the dynamic aspect of your object. By default an object that is dynamic as a grey background in the view.

Example:

Object dynamic aspect

On the left the object is Dynamic but no expression is defined and satisfied. The right one has a satisfied condition that sets the background in green.

Polling interval – The polling interval define the time between to polling. At each polling interval LoriotPro performs the defined request, Get Status or OID and performs the action of the first satisfied condition.

When you select the + button the dialog box Interval Time Picker is displayed, enter your Polling Interval.

Time interval picker

Request – The request list box allows you to choose between the different types of possible requests (see next paragraph).

Get SNMP Value Request Option – If you have choose in the preceding list box the Get SNMP value of a specified host you could use the properties below:

The Counter Type checkbox, if checked, specifies that the value retrieved will be subtracted from the previous one. This is necessary when the SNMP value is of counter type.

The Fill Text Object checkbox, if checked, specifies that the returned value will be displayed in the text object (See Text object for more details).

The No Test IP Source option disables the checking of the source IP address. If the return packet has a different source address of the destination address of the request packet it is normally not accepted. This case if frequent in multihoming server or hot standby and cluster solution with virtual address and routers.

The Fill Name option replace the name of the object by the result of the query.

Setting dynamic aspect and associated action

To define the aspect of an Active view graphic object, follow these steps:

Select the request type. The request type specify the type of request made. You have the choice between:

Get status of directory object	The availability status of a directory object other than a host (organization, network, ...
Get status of directory host	The availability status of a host result of the ping or snmp polling performed by the poller
Get a SNMP value from a host	The value of a single SNMP object (for example the current cpu utilization)
Get an event type counter	Read the counter value of received Traps of a specific type
Get event counter for a host	Read the counter of events that were received by a specific host
Get an event filter counter	Read the counter value of matches of an event filter
Get a trap type counter	Read the counter value of received events of a specific type
Get trap counter for a host	Read the counter of traps that were received by a specific host
Get a trap filter counter	Read the counter value of matches of a Trap filter
Get incoming traffic in %	Get the network interface incoming traffic in percent of total bandwidth
Get outgoing traffic in %	Get the network interface outgoing traffic in percent of total bandwidth

Dynamic aspect based on a directory object status

Get status of a Directory object: The status of a directory object is read in the directory at regular interval. The returned value is used to apply condition and action.

Remark: The returned value reflects the current status of this host in the directory, not the real status of the physical device.

The Get status operation returns the possible values.

Returned value	Color in the Directory	Meaning
0		The host is not managed
1		The host answers to ICMP ping polling
2		The host answers to SNMP ping polling
3		The host starts failing to answer to the polling requests
4		The host do not answer to polling

Dynamic aspect based on a Host status

Get status of a Host Object: The  status of a host object is read in the directory at regular interval. The returned value is used to apply conditions and actions.

Remark: The returned value reflects the current status of this host in the directory, not the real status of the physical device.

The Get status operation returns the possible values.

Returned value	Color in the Directory	Meaning
0		The host is not managed
1		The host answers to ICMP ping polling
2		The host answers to SNMP ping polling
3		The host starts failing to answer to the polling requests
4		The host do not answer to polling

Dynamic aspect based on a SNMP get request

Get SNMP value for a specific host: The value of a SNMP OID will be returned. This selection will trigger SNMP request at regular intervals to the physical device represented by this host.

Selecting Get status of a Directory object opens the question box Wizard mode ?

The wizard helps you to find the object of the directory that will be polled.

When your selection is done, click OK

Select in the Directory picker the container organization, organization unit or a network.

If you do not use the Wizard, a dialog similar to this appears:

If you know the UID of the container object you can change it, else you have the current value of the current selected object in the directory.

After the selection of a directory object a new dialog appears asking you to load an Expression filter template.

If you have define template, select a template from the list else answer no to this question.

Your are back to you initial window with a request type and an object to poll but the list of Action is still empty.

Next steps consist of adding actions to the list.

Dynamic aspect based on the event type counter

The Get an event type counter request reads the counter of received events of a specific type.

Dynamic aspect based on the event counter for a host

The Get event counter for a host request reads the counter of events that were received by a specific host .

Dynamic aspect based on event filter counter

The Get an event filter counter request reads the counter value of matches of an event filter.

Dynamic aspect based on a Trap type counter

The Get a trap type counter request reads the counter value of received traps of a specific type.

Dynamic aspect based on the trap counter for a host

The Get trap counter for a host request reads the counter of traps that were received by a specific host.

Dynamic aspect based on trap filter counter

The Get a trap filter counter request reads the counter value of matches of a Trap filter.

Dynamic aspect based on network incoming traffic

The Get incoming traffic in % request gets the network interface incoming traffic in percent of total bandwidth

Dynamic aspect based on network outgoing traffic

The Get outgoing traffic in % request gets the network interface outgoing traffic in percent of total bandwidth

Adding action to an Action List

The action list is a set of action ordered in a list. At each polling interval, each action is sequentially analyzed from the top to the bottom of the list until one condition is satisfied then the corresponding actions are executed (the object is colored and an event can be sent). The subsequent expressions are not analyzed. (First match mode)

To add action to action list you dispose of the following button:

	This button inserts a new action in the list under the current selected one
	This button inserts a new action upper the current selected action
	This button inserts an action at the top of the list
	This button inserts an action a the bottom of the list
	This button moves one line up the current selected line
	This button moves one line down the current selected line
	This button moves the selected line(s) to the trash

The column of an action

Condition	The condition defines the type of comparison that will be made on the returned value. The returned value could be a string or an integer regarding the type of polled object.
Value	The value to which the returned value is compared
Set color	The action (background color of the Active View Object)
Set Event	The event number under which an event is generated. Zero is used if no event defined.
Set Threshold	The number of occurrences that this condition should satisfied before sending an event. This avoid to generated event on an eavesdropping situation.
IP reference	The IP reference used in the event
IP mask	The IP mask used in the event
Event message	The text message  of the event
Level	The level of the message a value that change the color of the event in the event manager. Message of level 0 Message of level 1 Message of level 2 Message of level 3 Message of level 4 Message of level 5 Message of level 6 Message of level 7 Message of level 8

How to proceed?

Click on the insert action button

Click on the condition cell and select a condition. If you test for example the status condition you can choose equal.

Click next on the cell in the Value column, the following dialog box appears:

Enter the value to which the returned value (the current status) will be compared. We choose 2 to test if the host is answering to SNMP polling.

Click next on the cell of the Set color column.

We set the background color of the host to green with the color picker dialog.

Click next on the cell of the Set Event column. The Event wizard opens.

From there either select an existing event from the list or define a new event. The event number will be set automatically here.

We define here a new event number. First enter a number and enter a text for this event message, finally register this event.

Warning: If you define a new event, the number used must be higher than 10000, previous values are reserved to LoriotPro usage.

It will be added in the event list and could be reused in other action.

The IP address and mask could be specified if needed. Remember that in the event log the IP address and mask are displayed. The IP address and event number could be used later on by the Event Browser plug-in to realize filtering or a search on key words.

Using SNMP OID value in expression

Instead of creating an expression based on the status of a directory object, it is possible to collect a SNMP value for a specific host and a specific OID. This option will trigger SNMP requests at regular intervals to the physical device represented by this host.

Warning: The default time out used by the Active View thread for the polling is 4 seconds. If the polled host does not answer to SNMP requests and if you have defined for example 10 SNMP requests on this host, the process will use 40 seconds before jumping to the next View object in the list. A complete polling cycle of all the objects in a view can take a while. The two thread strategy explains earlier in this document reduces the polling cycle time when Active View object are not responding. Keep in mind this behavior when defining object in a view.

If you select this option the usual Directory object picker wizard will allow you to select an object in the directory and just after the MIB object picker will allow you to pick an OID in the MIB tree.

The following screen displays the MIB object picker.

Using this wizard is somehow difficult. You should know beforehand what you want to collect. If the object is located in a SNMP table you have also to select the index of the object.

As an example we want to collect the number of bytes received on a network interface. The interfaces statistics are located under the interfaces branch of the mib2.

When selecting the ifinoctets OID the wizard displays a new window with the choice to scan all the interface table.

If you answer yes the table containing the OID and the index is displayed.

Select the interface you want to supervise and click OK. The OID and its index is collected generates the following expression.

If you do not know what index has your interface, check in the same table if you could have a description of your interfaces, open it with the wizard index box. When the index is identified come back to the selection of you oid.

Example: A first display of the ifdescr objet located in the interface table give you description for each index of the interface type.

This will get the OID ifinoctets index 1 on the default IP address (the host under which this active view is running).

It is now possible to define action like define in the previous paragraph.

Working with Expression template

The action list could be saved in file called expression template. The template allows you to apply the same set of action on multiple objects without having to redefine all the conditions.

When you create a request the system asks you to load an expression filter. You can choose a predefined template

To create a template simply creates a set of action in the list and save it under a name of your choice.

To save a template click on the button

To open a template click on the button

Select your template from the list.

Example of template:

This template called ObjectStatus.cte could be used to apply the standard coloring rules to an Active View Object. The status is collected with the Get Status request.

If the returned value is not one of the 6 first possibilities, the last action line is applied and the object is green colored.

Defining the double click action

The Mouse Action tab allows you to define an object contextual menu (next paragraph) and the action executed when you do a mouse left double click on the object.

The action executed with a mouse double click on an Active View object could be user defined. The choices are available in a list box:

Table of available actions

Option	Description
None	No action performed
Show Directory Active View or Plug-in	Show another active view or a Plug-in. This option is useful if you want to chain the Active View navigation
Exec Program	Execute a program
Link (URL)	Open the default navigator with a specified resource (URL)
Plug-In (IP)	Call a Plug-in on a specified IP address
Table (MIB xxxxEntry)	Open a MIB table
Report (.Rep)	Open a Report
MIB Object List (.sci)	Execute a script that collects SNMP objects values
Locate Directory Object	Find an Object in the directory
Set SNMP OID	Modify the value of an SNMP object within a device
Load active view in new windows	Open a nodal Active View in a new window. A nodal window has to be closed before any other action.

Show Directory Active View or Plug-in

The Show Directory Active view or Plug-in option opens an active view or a Plug-in.

If you select the Load Active View option the Open File dialog box appears. The Active View Directory contents is displayed, you have to select an Active View file.

Select YES open the directory picker.

Select the Active View or the Plug-in that you want to open and click OK.

The parameters field is automatically filled. The number is the UID of the object. Each object of the directory has a unique UID allowing the software to locate and call them.

You can close the window or complete the configuration with other menu option.

Load Active View in new window

This option has the same goal of the previous one. But the Active View is not an Active View of the Directory and is opened in a New Window. The one from where the call is made stay open in background.

This window has to be closed before doing anything else (nodal).

Execute Program

The Exec Program option allows you to start any program with optional command line parameter.

You can for example start a Telnet session like this

Link URL

The Link URL option allows you to specify a valid URL.

Plug-In

The Plug-In option allows to start a Direct Plug-In. A Direct Plug-in is a LoriotPro additional program that performs a task related to management.

When you select Plug-In the Plug-in loader appears allowing you to choose a Plug-In.

The Plug-in tools are:

Whois requester - This program performs a WHO IS on an IP address.

Syslog Collector Message Browser – This program browses log files generated by the Syslog Collector agent.

HTTP User Name Manager – This tool is used to create users and assign them access rights to the LoriotPro WEB remote console.

HTTP Report Manager – This tool is used to assign level to reports in order to control who is able to read it.

Host Properties – Open the Host Properties dialog box.

Event Browser – Allow you to search event of the specified host and do further filtering.

CISCO ISDN stats – Perform accounting on ISDN calls collected on CISCO devices.

Cisco IOS configuration requester – Get configuration from Cisco Devices

Active View Box – Open a predefined Active View of a device.

……

Table MIB

Open a MIB Table in a dedicated screen. When selecting this option the MIB Table picker is displayed. Choose a MIB Table here and click OK

When done the Wizard asks you to keep the Default IP address or to choose one with the Directory Picker Wizard

When done you should get a similar entry:

Remark: the DEFIP address is replaced by the dedicated Active view IP address defined during the Active View initial creation or later on in the menu option. This option is used to define Active View templates that could be applied to devices having the same behavior (supporting the same set of MIB). Templates are standard set of requests that are attached to a host with a single difference, the IP address. This IP address should be imperatively in the LoriotPro directory and the host should well behave to SNMP requests.

If you jump to the process mode of your Active View and do a Double click on the object you should have a new windows with the selected table displayed.

Report

The Report option opens your default WEB Navigator with a selected report. Reports are files generated by LoriotPro and using a Proprietary scripting language including LoriotPro HTML proprietary tag. These tags are embedded SNMP request.

When selecting Report the Open File is displayed, only .rep file are selectable.

When done the Wizard ask you to keep the Default IP address or to choose one with the Directory Picker Wizard

When done you should get a similar entry:

If you jump to the process mode of your Active View and do a Double click on the object you should see the Report Manager Plug-in shortly appearing ( depending of the script job ) and then the report in your WEB browser.

Here is an example of report done on a MIB file.

MIB Object List (.sci)

The MIB Object List option performs a request on a list of SNMP OID. The results are displayed in a dedicated windows.

A list is defined in file with the SCI extension. When selecting MIB Object List the Open File is displayed, only .sci file are selectable.

When done the Wizard asks you to keep the Default IP address or to choose one with the Directory Picker Wizard

When done you should get a similar entry:

If you jump to the process mode of your Active View and do a Double click on the object you should see the results of the SNMP request on these OID in a list.

It is possible to use a list of indexed SNMP object and pick an index to select a whole line of a table. The file bin/config/sci/ifentry.sci used by the Active View Box Plug-in is a good example of such usage of object index. To add an index, you simply add it at the end of an SNMP object. There is not wizard for doing it, therefore you should answer No to the Wizard question box and enter the index value manually.

Follow this example:

Locate Directory Object

This option allows you to select the current selected object of the Directory.

When selecting this option, the Directory Picker helps you to select an Object in the Directory.

In the directory picker, if you double click on an object it becomes the default object. This option does no work in the child window of a View.

Remarks: The UID of the object is displayed in the Parameters filed and not its name.

Set SNMP OID

The Set SNMP OID is used to modify a SNMP object (OID) value. This is one of the powerful features of the Active View. With this option you can really define action on your device and manage you information system directly from the Active View.

When selecting this object you are first prompted to either select the default IP address or to select a Host with the Directory Picker Wizard.

Then you have to select an OID in the MIB object Picker.

Remark: The object should be a READWRITE SNMP object. You should have the right community for writing SNMP object in the device.

In the upper example we choose the ifadminstatus object that controls the administrative status of a network interface.

After having a selected OID LoriotPro asks you to specify if you want to use the named format or the Numerical format. This is not a big matter, both will work.

Warning: If you use an OID from a dynamically loaded MIB and not save in the MIB database you must use the numerical format. Else at the next LoriotPro startup the nominal OID will not be resolved and the Active View will not be able to use it. Refer to the MIB compiler documentation for understanding MIB object concepts.

When done you should get a similar entry:

Next verify that your Set command works. Jump to the process mode of your Active View and double click on the object.

The Set OID Value dialog box appears:

Choose a value or use the drop down list.

Do a SET when finish.

Defining the Object Contextual menu

The object contextual menu offers the same feature and action available with the mouse double click. When you are in process mode if you right click on an object a contextual menu is displayed. This menu has two options by default. The number of options could be extended at will.

In the menu you could define as many options as you want and create straight forward management action.

 

The upper example shows an Active View of a Cisco router and its contextual menu. A left click anywhere on the front panel opens the contextual menu. Three action are define, one call a Cisco configuration Plug-in, the second one calls the WEB access and the third do a telnet.

A contextual menu could be defined on each object.

In the following example a right click on the serial interface opens a menu with an access to a plug-in that calls the event browser with a filtered list of events for this interface.

To add option to the menu go back to the Object properties under the Mouse Action tab. From there you could add option to the contextual menu list.

At this step you could display the contextual menu with the left mouse button to see the result of your built.

To add options in your menu use the buttons:

	This button insert a new option in the menu under the current selected one
	This button insert a new option in the menu upper the current selected
	This button insert a new option at the top of the menu
	This button insert a new option at the bottom of the menu
	This button move one line up the current selected option
	This button move one line down the current selected option
	This button move the selected options(s) to the trash

To change an option value, click in the cell.

The Menu item define the name of the option

The action type defines the action of the menu option. The action are explain in the preceding paragraph

The parameters are the value to add to the type of action, example the url link, the plug-in name and IP address and so on.

Remark: AN active view as a default IP address that is the host address to which the Active View is attached in the directory. The defip value in the parameter is automatically replace by the default IP address.

Like when defining Double click action, the usual Wizards will help you to select Directory Object, MIB object, Event, etc …