PATROL Console: Getting Started Guide Volume 1-Understanding The Basics of PATROL

PATROL Console
Getting Started Guide Volume 1Understanding the Basics of PATROL

for Microsoft Windows
Supporting
PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows 3.5
May 2011
www.bmc.com
Contacting BMC Software

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Address BMC SOFTWARE INC 2101 CITYWEST BLVD HOUSTON TX 77042-2827 USA Telephone 713 918 8800 or 800 841 2031 Fax 713 918 8000
Outside United States and Canada

Telephone (01) 713 918 8800 Fax (01) 713 918 8000
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U.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 UNPUBLISHED -- RIGHTS RESERVED UNDER THE COPYRIGHT LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES.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.
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. From this website, you can
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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 customer_support@bmc.com. (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:
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product information product name product version (release number) license number and password (trial or permanent)
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License key and password information

If you have questions about your license key or password, use one of the following methods to get assistance:
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PATROL Console Getting Started Guide for Microsoft Windows
Contents
About This Book Who Should Read This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How This Book Is Organized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Online and Printed Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Online Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Release Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 1 Overview of PATROL 13 13 14 14 15 15 16 19 20 21 21 21 27 28 28 29 30 30 30 33 34 37 45 45 48 50 53 54 55 56 58 58 59 59 59 61
5
Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What PATROL Is . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What PATROL Does . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Components of PATROL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How PATROL Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How the PATROL Console Fits into PATROL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Overview of the PATROL Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Console to Agent Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What the PATROL Console Looks Like . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Components of the PATROL Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Object Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Object Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Knowledge Modules and Your PATROL Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What Happens When You Start PATROL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PATROL Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Loaded PATROL KMs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How Application Discovery Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What the PATROL Console Allows You to Do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Support for IPv6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 2 Console and Desktop Organization
Console Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Files That Affect What You See in the PatrolMainMap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How Session and Desktop Files Are Alike and Different . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . About Configuration Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . About Desktop Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . About Session Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Files Used at Startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Contents
Methods for Organizing Your Desktop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Ways to Customize How Windows Look . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Objects for Organizing Your Desktop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 User Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 PATROL Console Application Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Icon Library. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Chapter 3 PATROL Startup 67
Determining the Instructions You Need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Required Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Optional Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 PATROL Developer Console Users. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 PATROL Operator Console Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 PATROL Secure Plug-In Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Starting a PATROL Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Background Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Starting the PATROL Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Starting a PATROL Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Command Line Arguments for the PATROL Console. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 PATROL license information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 PATROL license information for versions earlier than 3.5.80 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Starting a PATROL Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Potential Offline Host Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Where to Go from Here. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Loading KMs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Operating System KMs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Application KMs and Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Conditions That Can Affect KM Loading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 PATROL Consoles, KM Versions, and the PATROL Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Tasks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Loading a KM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Reloading a KM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Activities for Loaded KM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Where to Go from Here. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Adding a Host Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Background Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Console Settings and Computer Instances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Tasks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Discovering Agent Hosts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Adding a Host Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Solving Possible Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Where to Go from Here. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Connecting and Disconnecting from Hosts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Multiple Host Connections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Multiple Host Disconnections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Customizing User Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 About the Default Logon Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
6 PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideUnderstanding the Basics of PATROL
Preferences to Change. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Changing User Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Saving User Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Setting Up a Desktop File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Creating and Saving a Desktop File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Inserting a Desktop File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Using a Desktop Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Creating and Saving a Desktop Template File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Inserting a Computer Desktop Template. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Stopping the PATROL Agent service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Changing Properties for a Computer Instance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Property Tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Tasks for Changing Properties for a Computer Instance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Related Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Chapter 4 Online Help and Utilities 119 120 120 121 122 122 123 127 128 128 130 131 131 132 132 133 133 134 135 135 135 137 141
Online Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PATROL Console Help Topics List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . KM Help Topics List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PATROL Console Dialog Box Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . KM Parameter Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PATROL Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 5 Troubleshooting Console Problems
If a Host Computer (Computer Instance) Is Offline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Recommended Actions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What You Can Try Next . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . If Applications or Application Instances Are Not Discovered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Recommended Actions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . If an Application or Application Instance Is Offline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Recommended Actions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . If the PATROL Agent Stops Running . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Recommended Actions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What You Can Try Next . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . If You Cannot Start the PATROL Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Recommended Actions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What You Can Try Next . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix A Appendix B PATROL Environment Variables PATROL License Updating
Using the PATROL Console to Update Your License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Entering License Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Using an ASCII File to Update Your License. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Contents 7
Updating License Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Glossary Index 145 167
PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideUnderstanding the Basics of PATROL
Figures
How PATROL Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Typical PATROL System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Windows and Interface Elements in the Console (Part 1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Windows and Interface Elements in the Console (Part 2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Windows and Interface Elements in the Console (Part 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 PATROL Object Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 PATROL Object Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Knowledge Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Knowledge Hierarchy as Displayed by the KM Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Examples of Global and Local Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Computer Classes and Instances on the PATROL KM Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Application Classes and Instances on the PATROL KM Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 PATROL Discovery Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Example of IPPreference Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 PATROL Agent Manager Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Example of Using a Command Line Argument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 PATROL License Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 PATROL Console Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Load KMs Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 PATROL Agent Discovery Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Add Host Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Console Window with Computer Instances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Console Window with IPv6 Computer Instance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 User Preferences Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Configuration Tab on User Preferences Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Miscellaneous Tab on User Preferences Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 State Change Actions Tab on User Preferences Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Event Manager Tab on User Preferences Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Default Account Tab on User Preferences Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 System Output Tab on User Preferences Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 KMDS Tab on User Preferences Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Select a Desktop File Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 The Select a Desktop Template File to Export Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Select a Desktop Template File to Import Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 PATROL Agent Manager Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Customize Properties Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Connection Setup Tab on the Customize Properties Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Security Tab on the Customize Properties Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Application Filters Tab on Customize Properties Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 PATROL Console Help Topics List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Figures 9
KM Help Topics List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 PATROL Console Dialog Box Help Topic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Parameter Help Topic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
10
Tables
Prerequisites for Monitoring and Managing Your Enterprise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Components of PATROL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Object Manipulation Within and Across Object Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Folders for Computer Classes and Instances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Folders for Application Classes and Instances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Attributes Available to Classes and Instances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 PATROL KM Version Arbitration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Discovery Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 More Information About the PATROL Console Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 PATROL Agent and Classic Console Support for IPv6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Console Directories and Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Detailed Information About Configuration Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Contents of Session Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Tasks and Methods for Customizing Console Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 PATROL Objects You Can Use to Organize Your Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Required Tasks for Starting Up PATROL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Where to Find Instructions for Optional Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Command Line Arguments for the PATROL Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Conditions That Can Affect KM Loading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 PATROL Agent Discovery Dialog Box Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Add Host Dialog Box Property Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Changing User Preferences with the Property Tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 User Preferences Configuration Tab Property Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 User Preferences Miscellaneous Property Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 User Preferences State Change Actions Property Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 User Preferences Event Manager Tab Property Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 User Preferences Default Account Tab Property Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 User Preferences System Output Tab Property Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Determining Computer Instance Properties to Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Customize Connection Setup Tab Property Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Customize Security Property Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Application Filters Tab Property Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Tasks Related to Starting Up PATROL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Recommended Actions When a Host Computer Is Offline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Recommended Actions for Application Discovery Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Recommended Actions for Offline Application Instances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Recommended Actions When the Agent Stops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Recommended Actions for Starting the Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 PATROL Environment Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Tables
11
12
About This Book

Volume 1 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideUnderstanding the Basics of PATROL describes PATROL components and architecture, the information provided by PATROL, and the object and knowledge hierarchy. This volume also explains how to load PATROL Knowledge Modules (KMs) and discover applications, and how to personalize your PATROL desktop. This book is Volume 1 of a 3-volume series. The PATROL Console for UNIX (Operator and Developer) is a UNIX application that runs on UNIX machines. For information about the PATROL Console for UNIX, refer to the PATROL Console for UNIX User Guide.
NOTE
This book assumes that you are familiar with your host operating system. You should know how to perform basic actions in a window environment, such as choosing menu commands and dragging and dropping icons.
Who Should Read This Book

The PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideUnderstanding the Basics of PATROL, is intended for database administrators, system administrators, and anyone who monitors an open systems environment using the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows. Whether you are responsible for setting up PATROL or for using PATROL after it has been set up, you should read this volume for basic, introductory information. This book assumes that you are familiar with your host operating system. You should know how to perform basic actions in a window environment, including
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choosing menu items moving and resizing windows opening and closing icon windows and folders dragging and dropping icons using mouse controls for your system
About This Book 13
How This Book Is Organized
How This Book Is Organized

This book is organized as follows:
Chapter 1 Title Overview of PATROL Purpose Provides an overview of PATROL components, the PATROL hierarchy, and the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows interface. Contains information about the PATROL Console files, their contents, and the user-defined preferences stored in the console files. It provides information for you to organize your PATROL Console and desktop according to your needs. Provides step-by-step instructions for starting a PATROL Agent and a PATROL Console, and for setting up the PATROL Console to monitor your computing environment. Provides instructions for using online Help for PATROL and accessing utilities for PATROL. Provides recommended actions to take if you have startup problems with PATROL. Contains environment variables that are defined during PATROL installation. Provides instructions for updating your PATROL license when it expires. Contains terms and definitions for the PATROL Console. Lists index entries for Volume 1.
Console and Desktop Organization
PATROL Startup
Online Help and Utilities
5 Appendix A Appendix B Glossary Index
Troubleshooting Console Problems PATROL Environment Variables PATROL License Updating Glossary Index
Online and Printed Books

The books that accompany BMC Software products are available in online format and printed format. You can view online books with Acrobat Reader from Adobe Systems. The reader is provided at no cost, as explained in Access Online Books. You can also obtain additional printed books from BMC Software, as explained in Request Additional Printed Books.
14
Online Help
Access Online Books
Online books are formatted as Portable Document Format (PDF) files. You can view them, print them, or copy them to your computer by using Acrobat Reader 3.0 or later.You can access online books from the documentation compact disc (CD) that accompanies your product or from the World Wide Web. In some cases, installation of Acrobat Reader and downloading the online books is an optional part of the product-installation process. For information about downloading the free reader from the Web, go to the Adobe Systems site at http://www.adobe.com. To view any online book that BMC Software offers, visit the support page of the BMC Software Web site at http://www.bmc.com/support.html. Log on and select a product to access the related documentation. (To log on, first-time users can request a user name and password by registering at the support page or by contacting a BMC Software sales representative.)
Request Additional Printed Books
BMC Software provides a core set of printed books with your product order. To request additional books, go to http://www.bmc.com/support.html.
Online Help
You can access Help for a product through the products Help menu. The online Help provides information about the products graphical user interface (GUI) and provides instructions for completing tasks.
Release Notes
Printed release notes accompany each BMC Software product. Release notes provide up-to-date information such as
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updates to the installation instructions last-minute product information
The latest versions of the release notes are also available on the Web at http://www.bmc.com/support.
About This Book
15
Conventions
Conventions
The following conventions are used in this book:
NOTE
Notes provide additional information about the current subject.
WARNING
Warnings alert you to situations that can cause problems, such as loss of data, if you do not follow instructions carefully.
EXAMPLE
An example clarifies a concept discussed in text.
TIP
A tip provides useful information that may improve product performance or make procedures easier to follow.
All syntax, operating system terms, and literal examples are presented in this typeface. In instructions, boldface type highlights information that you enter. File names, directories, and Web addresses also appear in boldface type. The symbol => connects items in a menu sequence. For example, Actions => Create Test instructs you to choose the Create Test command from the Actions menu. The symbol denotes one-step instructions. In syntax, path names, or system messages, italic text represents a variable, as shown in the following examples: The table table_name is not available.
system/instance/file_name
16
Conventions
In syntax, the following additional conventions apply: A vertical bar ( | ) separating items indicates that you must choose one item. In the following example, you would choose a, b, or c: a | b | c An ellipsis ( . . . ) indicates that you can repeat the preceding item or items as many times as necessary. Square brackets ( [ ] ) around an item indicate that the item is optional.
The following table shows equivalent mouse buttons for Unix users and Microsoft Windows users:
Windows Button left mouse button Description Click this button on an icon or menu command to select that icon or command. Click MB1 on a command button to initiate action. Double-click an icon to open its container. Click this button on an icon to display the InfoBox for the icon. To simulate MB2 on a two-button mouse, simultaneously press the two buttons (MB1 and MB3). Click this button on an icon to display its pop-up menu.
Unix Button MB1
MB2
not applicable
MB3
right mouse button
NOTE
If you have a one-button mouse (such as an Apple Macintosh mouse), assign MB1 to that button. You should also define a user-selectable combination of option and arrow keys to simulate MB2 and MB3. For details, refer to the documentation for your emulation software.
About This Book
17
Conventions
18
Chapter
1
20 21 21 21 27 28 28 29 30 30 30 33 34 37 45 45 48 50 53 54
Overview of PATROL
This chapter provides an overview of PATROL components, the PATROL hierarchy, and the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows interface. The following topics are discussed: Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What PATROL Is . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What PATROL Does . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Components of PATROL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How PATROL Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How the PATROL Console Fits into PATROL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Overview of the PATROL Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Console to Agent Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What the PATROL Console Looks Like . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Components of the PATROL Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Object Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Object Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Knowledge Modules and Your PATROL Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What Happens When You Start PATROL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PATROL Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Loaded PATROL KMs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How Application Discovery Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What the PATROL Console Allows You to Do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Support for IPv6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 1
Overview of PATROL
19
Prerequisites
Prerequisites
Before you can use PATROL to monitor and manage your enterprise, you must meet the prerequisites listed in Table 1. Table 1
Step 1 2 3 4
Prerequisites for Monitoring and Managing Your Enterprise

Prerequisite The PATROL Console is installed on your PC. Where to Find More Information PATROL Console Release Notes
You know whether your role with PATROL Components of PATROL on page 21 is as an operator or developer. You know your logon ID and password for The sections in this chapter and Chapter 3, the PATROL Console. PATROL Startup You know the port number of the PATROL Chapter 3, PATROL Startup Agent on each computer you want to monitor. The PATROL Agent is installed and running on each computer you want to monitor. Chapter 3, PATROL Startup
PATROL Agent Reference Manual You have the correct permissions in the access control list of the PATROL Agent on each computer you want to monitor. The appropriate KMs are available to both the PATROL Agents and the PATROL Consoles. Loaded PATROL KMs on page 48 and Chapter 3, PATROL Startup
20
What PATROL Is
What PATROL Is
PATROL is a systems, applications, and event management tool for database and system administrators. It provides an object-oriented graphical workspace where you can view the status of every vital resource in the distributed environment you are managing.
What PATROL Does

Using PATROL, you can monitor the status of the computers and applications you use to conduct your business. PATROL represents these resources and indicates their current states with object icons. If PATROL detects a problem with a monitored computer or application, it attempts to fix (if configured accordingly) the problem by performing any stored recovery actions. If the problem escalates or requires your attention, PATROL displays the affected resources in a warning or an alarm state. The PATROL Console interacts with the PATROL Agent on each remote machine through an event-driven dialog. Messages are sent to the PATROL Console when a specific event causes a state change on the monitored computer. Alternately, you can use PATROL Event Manager (PEM) to access recent stored events. Events are stored by the PATROL Agent in an event repository that is on the PATROL Agents host computer.
Components of PATROL
PATROL is made up of several components that work together to help you monitor and manage your enterprise. The main components of PATROL are described in Table 2 on page 22.
Chapter 1
Overview of PATROL
21
Table 2
Component
Components of PATROL (part 1 of 5)

Purpose The graphical workspace from which you issue commands and manage the distributed environment monitored by PATROL. The PATROL Console displays all of the monitored computers and applications as icons. With the PATROL Operator Console you can perform these tasks:
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Dependent on These Components

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PATROL Operator Console
PATROL Agent PATROL KM
define which applications you want PATROL to monitor monitor and manage computers and applications through the PATROL Agent and PATROL KMs monitor the PATROL Agents use of resources run predefined or user-defined commands and tasks against monitored machines run commands on the PATROL Console machine when a state change occurs on a monitored computer monitor any managed computer retrieve historical data stored by the PATROL Agent
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22
Table 2
Component

Purpose Dependent on These Components
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PATROL Developer With the PATROL Developer Console, you can do everything Console you can do with the PATROL Operator Console, plus the following actions:
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PATROL Agent PATROL KM PATROL Knowledge Module Deployment Server
build new KMs customize menu commands and application parameters edit or replace Knowledge Module files send an additional Knowledge Module file to an agent machine start and stop PATROL Agents remotely modify agent knowledge in memory start the PATROL Agent configuration utility transfer knowledge to an agent specify which changes the agent should commit (save) delete historical data stored by the PATROL Agent start and stop PATROL Agents remotely
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The repository for base PATROL KMs and changes that a PATROL Knowledge Module PATROL Developer Console makes to them. Deployment Server Using the PATROL KMDS to distribute PATROL KM changes is (KMDS) optional in PATROL. For information about enabling the KMDS, see Chapter 3, How to Plan a Customized PATROL Environment for Your Enterprise, in Volume 3 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User Guide Customizing PATROL. The PATROL KMDS allows you to
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PATROL KM Package PATROL KMDS Manager
preserve each version of a new or modified PATROL KM save a migrated PATROL KM without overwriting your old PATROL KM customizations
Chapter 1
Overview of PATROL
23
Table 2
Component

Purpose The interface for the PATROL KMDS. You can use the KMDS Manager to perform configuration and deployment tasks such as
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Dependent on These Components

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PATROL KMDS Manager
PATROL KMDS PATROL Agent PATROL Developer Console PATROL KM Package PATROL Agent PATROL KM PATROL KM PATROL Knowledge Module Deployment Server
setting up permissions to use the PATROL KMDS Manager managing PATROL KM packages by grouping them before deployment deploying PATROL KMs to PATROL Agents and Consoles in production
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PATROLVIEW
With the PATROLVIEW products, you can monitor PATROL Agent objects and events on Network Management Consoles. The core piece of the PATROL architecture which is used for monitoring and managing host computers. The Agent performs these tasks:
s
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Agent
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Loads specified Knowledge Modules at startup, runs menu commands, and updates InfoBox displays on the PATROL Console.
Runs commands to collect system or application information. PATROL KM The information is collected according to parameters and applications defined in Knowledge Modules. Stores information locally for retrieval by the PATROL Console or a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) manager console. Acts as a service provider for event management.
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PATROL KM
A set of files from which a PATROL Agent receives information about all of the resources, such as databases and file systems, running on a monitored computer. The KMs provide information to the Agent about
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how to identify objects which commands to run to obtain resource information (parameters) actions to take when border or alarm thresholds are breached
24
Table 2
Component

Purpose A file containing a list of all the files that comprise a PATROL KM. You can use the PATROL KMDS Manager to distribute PATROL KM packages to PATROL Agent and consoles. The PATROL architecture supports three types of packages: agent packages, console packages, and application class packages. Agent packages contain PATROL KM files needed only by the PATROL Agent, console packages contain files needed only by the PATROL Console, and application classes packages contain files needed by both the agent and console. Dependent on These Components
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PATROL KM Package
PATROL KMDS Manager PATROL KMDS
PATROL Event Manager Agent Query
PATROL Event Manager (PEM) provides an interface for working with events generated by the PATROL Agent. The PEM can be accessed from the PATROL Console for Windows. You can view information about monitored objects through Agent Query. Using this function, you can work with objects viewing their names in a tabular or table format. Results of queries appear in the Query Results window. You can save queries, then load and reissue them when needed.
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PATROL Agent PATROL KM PATROL Agent PATROL KM PATROL Console
PATROL Script Language (PSL)
PATROL Agent Included as part of the PATROL Developer Console is the PATROL Script Language (PSL) that you can use to write parameters, commands, tasks, recovery actions, and discovery procedures for the PATROL Agents. PSL is a fourth-generation language similar to programming languages such as C, csh, Perl, and awk. The KMs are written in PSL. PSL includes
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PSL functions Built-in commands Built-in macro variables

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PSL Compiler
You can use the PSL Compiler to check the syntax of PSL that you write.
PATROL Agent PATROL Console
Chapter 1
Overview of PATROL
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Table 2
Component

Purpose You can use the PSL Debugger to debug the PSL scripts that you write. Dependent on These Components
s s
PSL Debugger
PATROL Agent PATROL Developer Console PATROL Agent PATROL KM PATROL Console
PATROL Command Line Interface
The PATROL Command Line Interface (CLI) is a program for retrieving object and event information from a PATROL Agent. CLI is designed to connect to a PATROL Agent in instances when a GUI interface is unavailable or when the user is logged onto a host using a terminal emulator (that is, without a TCP/IP stack). CLI has both interactive and non-interactive modes. You can start CLI from a command line and manually submit commands to CLI. You can also call the CLI within a script and have it execute commands that you provide on the command line or in additional CLI script files.
s s s
26
How PATROL Works
How PATROL Works

Figure 1 illustrates how PATROL works. Figure 1 How PATROL Works
The Agent runs operating system or PATROL Script Language (PSL) commands contained in the parameters of a KM to return values and compare them to values defined as alarms execute specified recovery actions when a border or alarm threshold is breached trigger an event PATROL KMs for operating systems organize commands (parameters) by computer type. PATROL KMs for applications organize commands (parameters) by application type.
The PATROL Agent sends messages to the PATROL Console when a specific event causes a state change on the monitored computer.
The PATROL Console organizes computers and applications in hierarchical structure runs operating system commands to perform an action when a parameter changes state displays warnings and alarms generated by PATROL Agents and KMs lists events received from all monitored computers
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Overview of PATROL
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How the PATROL Console Fits into PATROL
How the PATROL Console Fits into PATROL

Information in this section demonstrates the PATROL Console interaction with other PATROL components.
Overview of the PATROL Architecture

Figure 2 shows the relationship between the PATROL Console and other PATROL and non-PATROL components. This figure also describes the PATROL Consoles interactions with these components. Figure 2 Typical PATROL System
Local computer with an agent and KM monitoring its operating system and applications and connecting to the PATROL Console and, optionally, to an SNMP Console. The Agent and Knowledge Modules on the remote system are monitoring the operating system and an application and are connected to the PATROL Console on the local system.
Local Computer PATROL
Operating System Knowledge Module Application Knowledge Module
Operating System
PATROL Agent Application

PATROL SNMP
User Interface SNMP Console
Master Agent
PATROL Console
Remote Computer
Remote computer with PATROL monitoring the operating system and an application. The Agent communicates with the PATROL Console on the remote system.
Operating System Knowledge Module Application Knowledge Module
Operating System PATROL Agent User Interface
PATROL
Application
28
Console to Agent Communication
Console to Agent Communication

The default communication between the PATROL Agent and the PATROL Console relies on a modified UDP packet with TCP/IP transport. You may modify the communication to use a TCP/IP socket-level connection. The PATROL Agent uses the following methods to update the PATROL Console:
s s
PATROL protocol Event notification API
PATROL Protocol
The PATROL protocol is a highly optimized communication mechanism that allows the PATROL Agent to communicate efficiently with the PATROL Console. Messages are sent to the PATROL Console when a specific event causes a state change on the monitored computer. Because the PATROL Agent resides on the monitored computer and autonomously performs all of its work on that computer, the PATROL Console communicates with the PATROL Agent only when you want to perform a function such a viewing a parameter graph or gauge, viewing parameter history, or executing a menu command.
Event Notification API

A subset of the PATROL protocol is available as a public domain API that you can use to create your own console functions. The API is the basis for event notification that takes place between the PATROL Agent and the PATROL Event Manager. The PEM (as well as all other registered event managers) receives event notifications sent by PATROL Agents. Event information is entered into the PEMs event cache.
SNMP Traps
The PATROL Agent can automatically generate SNMP traps that are directed to SNMP network manager consoles (MIB browsers) on your network.
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Overview of PATROL
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What the PATROL Console Looks Like
What the PATROL Console Looks Like

Information in this section provides an illustration of the PATROL Console and an explanation of its components.
Components of the PATROL Console

The PATROL Console comprises three major components:
s s s
desktop object hierarchy knowledge hierarchy
The Desktop
The desktop shows which PATROL KMs you have loaded, which computers you are connected to, and your user preferences. Figure 3 Windows and Interface Elements in the Console (Part 1)
The PATROL Console window is the main window that contains views of objects and their statuses, the object hierarchy, and the knowledge hierarchy.
The PATROL tree is a hierarchical list of folders. There are two different views for the tree: Desktop KM
30
The Desktop
Figure 4
Windows and Interface Elements in the Console (Part 2)

Each object has its own window display of the next level down in the object hierarchy. Open an objects window by double-clicking the object either from the object window or the tree of folders.
The PATROL Desktop window (PatrolMainMap) contains computer icons. Display the PATROL Desktop window by double-clicking the PatrolMainMap folder from the Desktop tree.
The Desktop tree displays the object hierarchy.
Toggle between the two views by clicking the Desktop or KM tab on the tree. The message window displays command output from the PATROL Console and messages from the KMDS and the Event Manager. The message window has a context menu (accessed with the right mouse button) that allows you to manage the window and its contents.
The PATROL Console task button displays with other task buttons on the Windows taskbar. When a monitored object is in a warning or alarm state, the PATROL Console task button flashes.
The status icon in the system tray indicates whether monitored objects are in an OK, a warning, or an alarm state.
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Overview of PATROL
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The Desktop
Figure 5
)
Windows and Interface Elements in the Console (Part 3
The PATROL Console toolbar allows you to perform activities without accessing the menu bar.
The menu bar across the top of the PATROL Console window allows you to perform functions on a group of monitored objects or to access other PATROL components and utilities.
The KM tree displays the knowledge hierarchy. With a PATROL Operator Console, you can view KM properties and attributes and delete (unload) computer classes and application classes (KMs). With a PATROL Developer Console, you can view and change KM properties and attributes.
Each PATROL object has a shortcut menu that allows you to perform certain activities. To display an objects shortcut menu, right-click the object icon.
The PATROL icon in the system tray displays a shortcut menu that allows you to perform activities without accessing the PATROL Console window.
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Object Hierarchy
Object Hierarchy
PATROL uses four object types:
s s s s
computer instances application folders application instances parameters
The PATROL object hierarchy dictates the way windows and objects are categorized within the PATROL Console. The object hierarchy defines the relationships of these objects. Figure 6
A computer instance (also called a host) represents a monitored computer (one with a resident PATROL Agent).
PATROL Object Hierarchy

An application instance is the actual monitored object (a file system, server, or database) that the PATROL Agent discovers on a monitored computer. Within each instance are any number of parameters. A parameter is a method for obtaining a measurement or data about an instance. When you load a KM, you load the KMs parameters.
An application folder represents a KM you have loaded in your PATROL enterprise.
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Overview of PATROL
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Object Windows
Object Windows
In addition to the tree view, each object has its own window display of the next level down in the object hierarchy. Figure 7
The Desktop tree displays the object hierarchy in a tree view.
PATROL Object Windows
Open an objects window by double-clicking the object, either from the object window or the Desktop tree.
Double-click an application instance in an object window to open an object window and view its parameters.
An object window for a computer instance shows the KMs in use.
NOTE
When closing the PATROL Console, all windows and objects retain the state and orientation they are left in. Therefore, when the console is restarted, all windows and objects appear as they were when the console was shut down. For more information on customizing user preferences, see Chapter 3, Customizing User Preferences.
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Object Windows
Table 3 lists several methods of manipulating objects within and across PATROL object windows. Table 3
Object Task move
Object Manipulation Within and Across Object Windows (part 1 of 2)

Action Choose one of the following options:
s
Limitations
s
Requirements selection window and destination window must be visible and accessible in current view
Multiple selection is not available in tree window. Drag-and-drop actions that are not allowed are indicated by the not allowed symbol ( ). When dragging and dropping multiple objects onto target, only objects allowed are dropped into the target and a message box displays if some objects are not dropped. Multiple selection is not available in tree window. Objects selected with Copy command can only be pasted as shortcuts.
Click on applicable object and drag to desired window or to desktop tree. Use the Cut and Paste or Copy and Paste Shortcut commands.
copy
Choose one of the following options:

s
none
Click once on object and choose Edit => Copy. Click once on object and click the Copy toolbar button. Right-click object and select Copy from menu.
cut
Choose one of the following options:

s
Multiple selection is not available in tree window. You can only paste (move) object. You cannot paste as shortcut.
none
Click once on object and choose Edit => Cut. Click once on object and click the Cut toolbar button. Right-click object and select Cut from menu.
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Overview of PATROL
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Object Windows
Table 3
Object Task paste
Object Manipulation Within and Across Object Windows (part 2 of 2)

Action With object cut, choose one of the following options:
s
Limitations
s
Requirements Object must be selected with Cut command.
Multiple selection is not available in tree window. You can only select object with Cut command.
Click in destination window and choose Edit => Paste. Click once on object and click the Paste toolbar button. Right-click in destination window and select Paste from menu.
paste shortcut
With object copied, choose one of the following options:

s
Multiple selection is not available in tree window. You can only select object with Copy command.
Object must be selected with Copy command.
Click in destination window and choose Edit => Paste Shortcut. Click once on object and click the Paste Shortcut toolbar button. Right-click in destination window and select Paste Shortcut from menu.
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Knowledge Modules and Your PATROL Environment

Knowledge modules in PATROL contain PATROL Script Language (PSL) commands and scripts that define the attributes for
s s s s s
computer classes computer instances application classes application instances parameters
The knowledge hierarchy defines the relationships of these items. Figure 8 Knowledge Hierarchy
corepubs
lsuardint
Chapter 1
Overview of PATROL
37
Figure 9
Knowledge Hierarchy as Displayed by the KM Tree
Computer Classes
Application Classes
The KM tree displays the knowledge hierarchy. With a PATROL Operator Console, you can view KM properties and attributes and delete (unload) computer classes and application classes (KMs). With a PATROL Developer Console, you can view and change KM properties and attributes.
38
Global and Local Folders on the PATROL KM Tree

Global and local folders for object classes on the PATROL KM tree show you where definitions reside and show the inheritance among objects in the PATROL knowledge hierarchy, from class to instance. (Customized instances do not have global or local folders.) For example, an application class has a Global folder containing its attributes, but each customized instance of the application resides in a Local folder. Figure 10
The object class
Examples of Global and Local Folders
An object classs \Global folder contains attributes that all instances of the class can inherit.
The customized instance
All customized instances of a class are in the classs \Local folder. In this example, the instance inherits all parameters defined in the \Global folder. However, the properties of one parameter have been changed for the instance.
With an objects global folder, you can

s
expand the attribute folders to see the attributes that are defined for the class see the attributes that PATROL automatically assigns to all instances of the class
By looking at a local folder, you can see

s s
names of all customized instances of the class whether attributes were added or changed for an instance
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Overview of PATROL
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Whats the difference between Global and Local Definitions?

The division among sets of global and local folders on the PATROL KM tree helps you see the differences in whats defined for an object class compared to its customized instances.
s
Global sets of folders on the PATROL KM tree contain definitions for computer and application classes. Customized instances for each computer and application class are in local sets of folders for their respective class.
Computer Classes
A computer class is a grouping of computers that PATROL can monitor. At the top of the knowledge hierarchy is the ALL_COMPUTERS computer class. All other computer classes are a subset of ALL_COMPUTERS (for example, NT, HP or DEC OSF/1). The PATROL KM tree divides Computer Classes into three parts:
s s
ALL_COMPUTERS Computer classes (which inherit properties and attributes from ALL_COMPUTERS) Customized computer instances (which inherit properties and attributes from ALL_COMPUTERS and their corresponding computer class)
Each part of computer classes has its own set of folders. Table 4 describes the Global and Local folders. Table 4 Folders for Computer Classes and Instances
Folder ALL_COMPUTERS\Global ALL_COMPUTERS\Local ALL_COMPUTERS\Local\ <computer class>\Global ALL_COMPUTERS\Local\ <computer class>\Local ALL_COMPUTERS\Local\ <computer class>\Local\ <computer instance> Description contains attribute folders for use by all computer classes and instances lists the computer classes already defined by PATROL contains attribute folders for the computer class lists the customized computer instances for the class contains attribute folders for the computer instance; no global or local folders exist for the instance
40
Figure 11
Computer Classes and Instances on the PATROL KM Tree

The \Global folder has attributes for all computers. The \Local folder for ALL_COMPUTERS has definitions for computer classes.
The \Global folder for the computer class contains its attribute definitions.
The \Local folder under a computer class contains customized computer instances. Attribute folders appear under the computer instance.
To change properties for ALL_COMPUTERS or a computer class, right-click the corresponding folder icon and choose Properties from the shortcut menu.
NOTE
Any PATROL Console can customize limited properties for a computer instance by accessing its properties dialog box from the computer instances shortcut menu.
Application Classes or Applications

Within each computer are any number of application classes or applications. An application is a logical grouping of individual instances (for example, file systems, or databases). An application class is another logical grouping of like applications (for example, servers or databases of a particular version). Sometimes the additional grouping of like applications is not necessary, and when that occurs, the application and the application class serve the same purpose. The PATROL KM tree divides application classes into two parts:
s
application classes customized application instances (which inherit properties and attributes from their corresponding application class)
Chapter 1
Overview of PATROL
41
Each part of application classes has its own set of folders. Table 5 describes the \Global and \Local folders. Table 5 Folders for Application Classes and Instances
Folder <application class> \Global <application class> \Local <application class> \Local \<application instance> Description contains attribute folders for use by all instances of the application class lists the customized application instances for the class contains attribute folders for the application instance; no global or local folders exist for the instance.
NOTE
After PATROL discovers application instances, their icons display on the desktop. By contrast, icons for computers display when you add a host from the main console window.
Figure 12
Application Classes and Instances on the PATROL KM Tree
The Global folder for the application class contains attributes that can be inherited by instances.
The Local folder for the application class lists each customized instance. Attribute folders appear under the instance.
To change properties for an application class, right-click the corresponding folder icon and choose Properties from the shortcut menu.
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Attributes
Using menus on the PATROL KM tree, you can
s s s
change properties for attributes add and delete attributes assign attributes to other object classes or instances
Each object class and instance has attributes, but not all attributes are available for all objects. Table 6 lists the attributes that are available to PATROL object classes and instances. Table 6 Attributes Available to Classes and Instances
Attribute Parameters Menu commands InfoBox commands Setup commands Command Types State change actions Event catalogs and classes Environment variables Computer Class yes yes yes yes yes yes no yes Computer Instance yes yes yes yes no yes no yes Application Class yes yes yes no yes yes yes yes Application Instance yes yes yes no no yes no yes
Command Types
Command types are logical groupings of commands that describe how the commands are executed; for example, what happens when an error occurs and how a command terminates. PATROL provides a number of predefined command types, depending on your computing environment and the KMs that you use:
s s s
operating system (OS) PSL commands that a KM uses for its environment (for example, ORA_SQL)
Menu Commands
Predefined menu commands and one-time user commands can be executed across multiple computers and applications or for an individual computer, application, and instance. You must use a PATROL Developer Console to create or change predefined menu commands.
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Overview of PATROL
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InfoBox Commands
InfoBox commands return values to the PATROL Console and are run by the PATROL Agent when an InfoBox is displayed. Unlike parameters, InfoBox commands are not scheduled by the PATROL Agents run queue.
Parameters
A parameter is an object that obtains a measurement or data about an instance.
NOTE
Parameter history retention level and number of days collected are part of the properties of parameters and other objects and do not display an icon in the KM tree. Access parameter history information using user preferences, a parameter Properties dialog box, a host connection properties dialog box, or an agent configuration utility such as wpconfig.
PATROL Agent Setup Commands

Setup commands are run by the PATROL Agent when the PATROL Console connects or reconnects to the PATROL Agent.
State Change Actions

State change actions are run on the PATROL Console when the computer or an application changes from one state to another on a host computer. State change actions differ from parameter recovery actions, which try to fix problems and are stored with the PATROL Agent. State change actions can be used to alert a PATROL Console operator when a situation requires attention. You must use a PATROL Developer Console to add or modify state change actions. However, any PATROL Console can disable the execution of state change actions using user preferences.
Environment Variables
Environment variables specify settings for the environment in which you run the PATROL Agent. For example, environment variables can specify the PATROL HOME directory where the executable file resides and the location of temporary directories for storing temporary work files.
44
What Happens When You Start PATROL
Event Classes and Catalogs

Used with PATROL Event Manager (PEM), event classes specify certain attributes about a type of event. For example, an event class can specify that certain events for an application be notarized with a certain severity level and categorized with the severity level in the event log. An event class can also specify that commands be executed after a certain escalation period or whenever a specific event is triggered (notification). An event catalog is a grouping of event classes. PATROL provides a standard event catalog containing predefined standard event classes. An optional, custom event class can be generated for any PATROL KM.
What Happens When You Start PATROL

Information in this section explains essential concepts regarding what happens when you start PATROL. The following table lists the major startup actions and where the actions are described.
Step 1 2 3 Description starting up PATROL loading PATROL KMs discovering applications For more information, see PATROL Accounts on page 45 Loaded PATROL KMs on page 48 How Application Discovery Works on page 50
PATROL Accounts
PATROL uses three kinds of accounts to run all commands and tasks on monitored computers and applications. The permissions and security granted to each account are in effect for the commands and tasks run from PATROL.
Three Kinds of PATROL Accounts

PATROL uses three kinds of accounts:
s
OS (default) accountan account that is set up for the PATROL Agent at installation and that is used by (or can be changed in) an agent configuration utility. All OS commands executed by the PATROL Agent use this account, except Menu commands and Info Box commands.
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PATROL Accounts
Application accountan account you define at PATROL KM setup that is used by (or can be changed for) an application class or instance. An application account is commonly used to connect to an RDBMS on a server where the database resides, or to run RDBMS commands, such as SQL commands. Account you use to start the PATROL Consolean account you use to start the PATROL Console that is defined at installation. Commands that run on the console use this account.
Ability to Customize Operating System Accounts

You can use many different operating system accounts. You can use a different operating system account to set security for
s s s s s s
the PATROL Agent computer instances application classes application instances individual commands or tasks parameters
Search Order for Operating System Accounts

The operating system account in effect for commands and tasks run by PATROL depends on which operating system accounts you have specified. PATROL searches for the operating system accounts and overrides them in a particular order. PATROL uses the following order to search for and override operating system accounts:
1 individual parameter 2 individual command or task 3 application instance 4 application class 5 computer instance 6 default account used by the PATROL Agent 7 account used to start the PATROL Agent
46
PATROL Accounts
Ability to Customize Application Accounts

You can use different application accounts for
s s
application classes application instances
Search Order for Application Accounts

The application account in effect for commands and tasks run by PATROL depends on which application accounts you have specified. PATROL searches for the application accounts and overrides them in a particular order. PATROL uses the following order to search for and override application accounts:
1 application instance 2 application class 3 application account specified at KM setup
Account You Use to Start the PATROL Console

Commands and tasks run on the PATROL Console use the same account as the one used to start the PATROL Console.
For More Information about Customizing PATROL Accounts

More information about customizing PATROL accounts can be found in Volume 3 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideCustomizing PATROL.
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Loaded PATROL KMs
Loaded PATROL KMs

A PATROL Operator Console and a PATROL Developer Console both permit you to specify which PATROL KMs are loaded on your Console. If the PATROL Agent has another version of a PATROL KM loaded, the PATROL Console uses its own version. The process through which the PATROL Console and PATROL Agent determine which version of a PATROL KM to load is called version arbitration.
Conditions When the PATROL Agent Will Not Monitor Applications

There are three conditions under which a PATROL Agent will not monitor applications that you have loaded from the PATROL Console:
s
The PATROL Agent does not have a PATROL KM that you load from a PATROL Operator Console. The application class is included in the PATROL Agents knowledge module disabled list. (The PATROL KM is disabled.) The application class definition specifies that the applications are invalid for the PATROL Agent version and/or computer class.
Version Arbitration
The process through which the PATROL Console and PATROL Agent determine which version of a KM to load is called version arbitration. Table 7 on page 49 shows what version of a KM is loaded by the PATROL Agent under different conditions.
48
Loaded PATROL KMs
Table 7
PATROL KM Version Arbitration

KM in the Disabled List for the PATROL Agent no yes no no yes No Yes No No Yes KM Installed in \knowledge Directory of the PATROL Agent KM Preloaded on the PATROL Agent
Type of PATROL Console That Loads PATROL KM PATROL Operator Console
Result PATROL Agent loads into memory the local version of the KM. PATROL Agent ignores the PATROL Operator Consoles request to load the KM. PATROL Agent allows the PATROL Operator Console to use the KM. Agent does not collect information for the KM. PATROL Agent ignores the PATROL Operator Consoles request to load the KM.
yes yes yes no no
no no yes no N/A
Note: If PATROL KM versions differ, the PATROL Operator Console and the PATROL Agent will each use their own version of the PATROL KM. PATROL Developer Console Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes N/A PATROL Agent loads into memory the KM from the PATROL Developer Console. PATROL Agent ignores the PATROL Developer Consoles request to load the KM. PATROL Agent loads into memory the KM from the PATROL Developer Console. PATROL Agent loads into memory the KM from the PATROL Developer Console. (If the KM has dependencies on external files and/or PSL libraries, the KM will not function.) PATROL Agent ignores the PATROL Developer Consoles request to load the KM.
No
N/A
NOTE
The above criteria apply when a Developer Console is connected to an agent with a developer connection (not an operator connection), as defined in the Connection Setup tab of the agent properties. When a Developer Console is connected to an agent with an operator connection, the Developer Console functions as an Operator Console with that agent.
For more information about KM version arbitration, see Volume 3 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideCustomizing PATROL. For information about how to load a KM, see Chapter 3, PATROL Startup.
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How Application Discovery Works

PATROL identifies the applications on each monitored computer through a process called application discovery. The PATROL Agent performs application discovery on each monitored computer using a number of methods, which include
s
finding a match for one or more names of processes and files checking environment variables getting the contents of a file and using the values to determine whether the application exists and what state it is in checking the output of commands and using the values to determine whether the application exists and what state it is in
When the PATROL Agent Performs Application Discovery

The PATROL Agent performs application discovery on a monitored computer when
s
A PATROL KM is initially loaded. You define an application class or modify an existing one. The preset time interval stored in the APPL_CHECK_CYCLE built-in macro is reached. This interval is known as the application discovery check cycle. The preset time interval stored in the GET_PROCS_CYCLE built-in macro is reached. This interval is known as the process cache refresh cycle. The process cache is manually refreshed (this action doesnt happen immediately, but forces a full discovery on the next discovery cycle)
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Discovery Cycle
Figure 13 shows the PATROL discovery cycle. Figure 13 PATROL Discovery Cycle
The PATROL Agent searches for applications on a monitored computer at a preset interval called the application discovery check cycle. The built-in macro variable APPL_CHECK_CYCLE governs how often this check is performed. Application discovery uses the information in the PATROL Agent Discovery Cache rather than accessing the system directly.
The PATROL Agent takes a snapshot of the systems process table and stores the process IDs of all the applications in the PATROL Agent Discovery Cache. The PATROL Agent periodically checks that these processes are still running.
The built-in macro variable GET_PROCS_CYCLE governs the rate at which the PATROL Agent Discovery Cache is refreshed. Each time the PATROL Agent Discovery Cache is refreshed, application discovery is triggered. Any new applications and state changes are then displayed.
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Discovery Methods
There are two methods for performing application discovery. Table 8 lists and describes those methods. Table 8 Discovery Methods
Description A discovery method called PSL discovery is used when the discovery of more complex application instances is required, for example, an application that requires many processes and files. For PSL discovery, you use PSL to write scripts that are run by the PATROL Agent to discover the applications. simple discovery Applications are usually discovered using simple pattern matching for identifying the files and processes associated with the application. This discovery method, called simple discovery, can be used to discover many applications running on a computer. Simple discovery is very basic and provides limited application features. Notes PSL discovery is the recommended method of discovery for users who want a robust, feature-rich application.
Type of Discovery PSL discovery
For more information about discovery methods, see Volume 3 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideCustomizing PATROL.
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What the PATROL Console Allows You to Do
What the PATROL Console Allows You to Do

The PATROL Console allows you to have a single point of control for
s s s s s s
monitoring and managing your enterprise organizing your desktop customizing your desktop customizing how windows look and act developing PATROL KMs customizing PATROL KMs
Table 9 lists the tasks the PATROL Console allows you to perform and tells you where to find more information: Table 9 More Information About the PATROL Console Actions
Then see... Chapter 2, Console and Desktop Organization Chapter 2, Console and Desktop Organization Volume 3 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideCustomizing PATROL Chapter 2, Console and Desktop Organization Volume 2 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideMonitoring and Managing with PATROL Volume 2 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideMonitoring and Managing with PATROL Chapter 4, Online Help and Utilities Chapter 4, Online Help and Utilities Chapter 4, Online Help and Utilities Chapter 3, PATROL Startup Volume 2 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideMonitoring and Managing with PATROL
If you want information on... customizing your desktop customizing how windows look and act customizing PATROL KMs organizing your desktop monitoring and managing your enterprise initiating a state change action accessing Online Help accessing other PATROL components initiating PATROL utilities logging on to another computer running commands from menus or from the System Output Window
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Support for IPv6
Support for IPv6

Classic Console supports monitoring PATROL Agent installed on both IPv4 and IPv6 servers. Table 10 PATROL Agent and Classic Console Support for IPv6
IPVv6 Yes Yes Yes Dual Stack Yes Yes Yes
PATROL Agent Client/Server services IPv4 IPv4 IPv6 Dual-Stack Yes
The ippreference configuration variable has been introduced in the patrol.conf file, found at <Installation_Dir>\common\patrol.d.ippreference enables you to configure the IP protocol connection preference, the values are as follows:
s s s
IPv4: Connect only with IPv4 PATROL Agents IPv6: Connect only with IPv6 PATROL Agents IPv4,IPv6: Preferably connect to IPv4 PATROL Agent, If conection fails connect to an IPv6 PATROL Agent IPv6,IPv4: Preferably connect to IPv6 PATROL Agent, If conection fails connect to an IPv4 PATROL Agent Example of IPPreference Usage
Figure 14
CONSOLE] define consolerights allconsole allowcommit=true allowdeveloper=true allowolddt=true end define connectionrights allconnect allowdeveloper=true allowsysoutputexec=true allowoverrideparameter=false end console *,allconsole connection *,*,allconnect clientsetting port = ippreference = IPv6,IPv4 end
For details of IPv6 support, see relevant chapter of the PATROL Agent Reference Manual.
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Chapter
2
56 58 58 59 59 59 61 61 61 63 64 65 65

This chapter contains information about the PATROL Console files, their contents, and the user-defined preferences stored in the console files. It provides information for you to organize you PATROL Console and desktop according to your needs. Console Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Files That Affect What You See in the PatrolMainMap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How Session and Desktop Files Are Alike and Different . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . About Configuration Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . About Desktop Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . About Session Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Files Used at Startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Methods for Organizing Your Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ways to Customize How Windows Look . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Objects for Organizing Your Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . User Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PATROL Console Application Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Icon Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 2
55
Console Files
Console Files
Console files consist of
s s s s s s
configuration files desktop files query files for Agent Query users KM files (customized or not) and the files associated with KMs, such as .psl files. Package files (if using KMDS) Session files (including user preferences)
Table 11 lists and describes the console files, shows when the files are created or updated, and shows the type of file. Table 11 Console Directories and Files (part 1 of 3)
Type of File Configuration
Desktop
Directory Names %HOMEDRIVE% %HOMEPATH% \patrol
Description of Files Stores the *.dat and *.ucb files that control the physical layout of your desktop. These are known as configuration files. Stores *.ctf and *.res files for multiline graphs (charts) that you create. Stores a profile of the desktop in *.dt files and desktop template files (*.dtm).
When Updated File => Save Configuration from the PatrolMainMap window File => Save Chart from the Chart window File => Desktop => Save from the PatrolMainMap window
%HOMEDRIVE% %HOMEPATH% \patrol\chart %HOMEDRIVE% %HOMEPATH% \patrol \desktop
56
Session
Query
KM
Console Files
Table 11
Console Directories and Files (part 2 of 3)

Desktop
Directory Names %HOMEDRIVE% %HOMEPATH% \patrol \knowledge
Description of Files Stores the following files: The session-<id>.km file that contains a list of the KMs loaded at your console. This file tells the console which KMs to load from lib\knowledge on the PATROL Agent machine during startup. Other session-<id>.km files created for other users or session IDs. Working changes to your consoles loaded KM files. Stores the following files: The session-<id>.prefs for saved user preferences. Other session-<id>.prefs files created for other users or session IDs. Stores the *.ctg files for customized event catalogs.
When Updated automatically
File => Save Configuration from the PatrolMainMap window
%PATROL_HOME% \archives
Stores the KM packages Automatically upon (*.pkg) containing all files that package checkout or comprise a KM. package deployment (KMDS only) Stores PSL and other scripts that you create (*.psl). File => Save KM (if you specified that the changes are stored in a separate file and not in the KM) File => Save
%HOMEDRIVE% %HOMEPATH% \patrol\psl
%HOMEDRIVE% %HOMEPATH% \patrol\query
Stores structured PATROL Agent queries that you create (*.qry).
Chapter 2
Session 57
Query
KM
Files That Affect What You See in the PatrolMainMap
Table 11
Console Directories and Files (part 3 of 3)

Desktop
Directory Names %HOMEDRIVE% %HOMEPATH% \patrol\tmp %HOMEDRIVE% %HOMEPATH%\ lib\migration
Description of Files Stores error logs (*.errs).
When Updated
Stores data required for migrating KMs from previous versions of PATROL to the current version of PATROL.
upon installation of a KM with an associated merge map file
Files That Affect What You See in the PatrolMainMap

What you see in the PatrolMainMap window is determined by these types of files:
s s s
configuration desktop session
How Session and Desktop Files Are Alike and Different

Session and desktop files are similar in many respects. However, they do have important differences. Session-<id>.km and desktop files (*.dt) have these characteristics:
s
s s
The list of KMs you have loaded for your console are in both the session-<id>.km file and the *.dt desktop file. If no session-<id>.km exists when you start a PATROL session, PATROL automatically creates it in the %HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%\patrol\knowledge directory. PATROL does not automatically create the *.dt file. A *.dt file is created only when you choose File => Desktop => Save from the PATROL Console window. Each time you save changes to a KM, PATROL updates your session-<id>.km file. PATROL does not automatically update the *.dt file when you save changes to a KM.
58
Session
Query
KM
About Configuration Files
User preference (session-<id>.prefs) files have these characteristics:

s s s
You cannot create more than one preference file for each user ID. PATROL does not save preferences as part of the desktop file. Each user preference file is unique and does not get overwritten if another person logs onto the same PATROL Console. PATROL does not update the session-<id>.prefs file when you save KM changes.
About Configuration Files

Table 12 provides detailed information about the contents of the configuration files. Table 12
File computer-<id>.dat
Detailed Information About Configuration Files

Contents contains descriptions of each computer in the object hierarchy and the characteristics of windows for each computer also contains any application filters for each computer contains descriptions of each object in the object hierarchy and the characteristics of windows for each object
disc-<id>.dat
About Desktop Files

Desktop files, *.dt, contain descriptions of objects in the object hierarchy and a list of KMs to load at PATROL Console startup.
About Session Files

Table 13 on page 60 provides detailed information about the contents of the session files.
Chapter 2
59
About Session Files
Table 13
File
Contents of Session Files

Contents lists the KMs to load at PATROL Console startup contains user preferences such as:
s
session-<x>.km session-<x>.prefs
User preference (session-1.prefs) files have these characteristics:

s
Whether to:
s
alarm when a connection breaks that isnt broken manually

s
You cannot create more than one preference file for each user ID. PATROL does not save preferences as part of the desktop file. Each user preference file is unique and does not get overwritten if another person logs onto the same PATROL Console. PATROL does not update the session-<x>.prefs file when you save KM changes.
open all windows that were open when you last exited the PATROL Console display the Message window when new messages are received disable the commit menu to prevent the PATROL Developer Console from committing changes to KMs prevent a PATROL Developer Console from downloading KMs to the PATROL Agent direct all system output messages to a file
marker to use for annotated data points in charts default terminal emulator for Unix internationalization information (date/time format, and language) whether to enable state change actions startup and shutdown actions for the PATROL Console location and size of the event cache default account for host computers (remote account); for security, you can choose not to save the default account as part of user preferences enable the KMDS
s s
s s
60
Files Used at Startup
Files Used at Startup

At startup, the PATROL Console looks for session-1.km, session-1.prefs, and patrol.conf files. However, you can specify other file names at the command line by
s
using the -id option to specify another session-<x>.km file. using the -load option to specify a *.dt file. using the -km option to specify other KMs to load at startup (these KMs will load in addition to those that are in your session-<x>.km file)
Methods for Organizing Your Desktop

This section contains instructions for customizing and organizing your desktop to suit your needs.
Ways to Customize How Windows Look

You can perform a standard set of tasks to manipulate the windows in the PATROL Console. Table 14 on page 62 lists the tasks, provides you with a method for accomplishing the tasks, and shows the windows where you can perform the tasks.
Chapter 2
61
Ways to Customize How Windows Look
Table 14
Tasks and Methods for Customizing Console Windows

PATROL Desktop Window (PatrolMainMap) PATROL Console Window
Task You Want to Perform Arrange the icons in a window according to one of these criteria:
s s s s
Method to Use Choose View => Arrange Icons => <Criteria>. yes
yes
yes
N/A
Name State Type Auto Arrange 1. Right-click the window. 2. Add check to Detached View menu pick. N/A yes yes no
Detach the window from the PATROL Console window
Allow the window to be docked.
1. Right-click in the message N/A window and remove the check from Allow Docking. Remove the check from View => Message View. N/A yes
N/A
N/A
yes
Hide the Message window.
N/A yes
N/A yes
yes N/A
View the icons in a window in one Perform one of the following of these representations: actions:
s s s
Large icons Small icons List View
With the applicable window active, choose <Representation>. Right-click in the applicable window and choose the desired representation. Use the applicable toolbar button.
62
Message Window
Object Windows
Objects for Organizing Your Desktop
Objects for Organizing Your Desktop

Table 15 describes the objects in the PATROL object hierarchy that you can use to organize your desktop. Table 15 PATROL Objects You Can Use to Organize Your Desktop
Object Custom Containers (Folders) Description PATROL allows you to create your own containers (folders) for any of the objects in the hierarchy. A container need not have any relation to the actual configuration of an environment. This feature allows you to change the way you view the hierarchy without changing the hierarchy itself. You can drag and drop an object icon into and out of any container icon at any time. A PATROL Operator Console and a PATROL Developer Console can create custom containers. For information about how to create custom containers, see Volume 2 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideMonitoring and Managing with PATROL. Shortcuts PATROL allows you to create shortcuts (aliases) for any of the objects in the hierarchy, so that you can view an object in the hierarchy in more than one location. You can create a shortcut for any object at any time. For information about how to create shortcuts, see Chapter 3, PATROL Startup. Tasks Many KM menu commands, parameter alarms, and recovery actions run tasks. A task has its own icon while it is executing. For more information about tasks, see Volume 2 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideMonitoring and Managing with PATROL. Like containers (folders), you can set up multigraph charts and graphs that contain copies of parameter objects. Unlike containers, these charts and graphs plot all of the parameters placed in them, rather than just display their icons. You can drag and drop a parameter icon into and out of any chart or graph container at any time. A PATROL Operator Console and a PATROL Developer Console can create charts and graphs. For information about how to create multigraph charts and graphs, see Volume 2 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideMonitoring and Managing with PATROL.
Multigraph Charts
Chapter 2
63
User Preferences
User Preferences
Both the PATROL Developer Console and the PATROL Operator Console can set certain user preferences. These preferences include
s
s s s s s s
s s s
s s
whether your computers go into alarm status when the connection is not manually broken (for example, a network failure or a PATROL Agent timeout) whether your PATROL Console will restore open folders when you restart it whether a hidden message window will reopen when it receives output the marker that represents an annotated data point the date and time format whether state change actions are enabled whether startup and shutdown commands are executed on the PATROL Agent machine when the PATROL Console shuts down or is restarted the directory and file where the event history is stored the event cache disk size and the event cache memory size the default account to use when adding new host computers (For security, you can choose not to save the default account as part of user preferences.) where system output messages are written whether to enable or disable the KMDS for the console
User preferences are stored in the %HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%\patrol\knowledge\ session-1.prefs file. For information about changing your user preferences, see Chapter 3, PATROL Startup.
64
PATROL Console Application Filters
PATROL Console Application Filters

As part of the desktop, you can temporarily filter certain applications for PATROL Console viewing without affecting the PATROL Agents collection of application statistics. You can specify applications to show or to hide. Application filters are stored in the %HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%\patrol\computer-1.dat file. For information about filtering applications, see Chapter 3, PATROL Startup.
Icon Library
The PATROL icon library contains icons for each supported computer class, application class, and parameter. Each object has two icons to represent it: an OK and a Not OK icon. The OK icon represents the object in an offline and OK state. The Not OK icon represents the object in a warning or an alarm state. The difference between the two icons is usually just the shape of the icon base; OK icons have a round base, and Not OK icons have a square base. Icons are stored in %HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%\patrol\lib\images and are in bitmap format (*.bmp).
NOTE
The PATROL Console for Unix uses icons in *.xpm format. You cannot use the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows to view *.xpm icons; you must have the *.bmp version.
The library does not contain an icon specifically for custom folders (containers). You can choose the icons you want to represent a folder from the library, or you can design your own. When you create a folder, you must specify the bitmaps to use for the OK and Not OK icons. The icon library also contains the default PATROL background picture, which you can change.
Chapter 2
65
Icon Library
66
Chapter
3
69 69 69 70 71 71 71 72 72 72 73 74 75 75 76 76 78 79 79 80 80 80 81 81 81 83 84 85 86 86 86 86
67
PATROL Startup
This chapter provides step-by-step instructions for starting a PATROL Agent and a PATROL Console, and for configuring the PATROL Console to monitor your computing environment. It covers the following topics: Determining the Instructions You Need. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Required Tasks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Optional Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PATROL Developer Console Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PATROL Operator Console Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PATROL Secure Plug-In Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Starting a PATROL Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Background Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Starting the PATROL Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Starting a PATROL Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Command Line Arguments for the PATROL Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PATROL license information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PATROL license information for versions earlier than 3.5.80. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Starting a PATROL Console. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Potential Offline Host Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Where to Go from Here . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Loading KMs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Operating System KMs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Application KMs and Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Conditions That Can Affect KM Loading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PATROL Consoles, KM Versions, and the PATROL Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Loading a KM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reloading a KM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Activities for Loaded KM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Where to Go from Here . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adding a Host Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Background Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Console Settings and Computer Instances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 3 PATROL Startup
Discovering Agent Hosts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Adding a Host Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Solving Possible Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Where to Go from Here. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Connecting and Disconnecting from Hosts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Multiple Host Connections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Multiple Host Disconnections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Customizing User Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 About the Default Logon Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Preferences to Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Tasks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Changing User Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Saving User Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Setting Up a Desktop File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Tasks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Creating and Saving a Desktop File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Inserting a Desktop File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Using a Desktop Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Tasks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Creating and Saving a Desktop Template File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Inserting a Computer Desktop Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Stopping the PATROL Agent service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Changing Properties for a Computer Instance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Property Tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Tasks for Changing Properties for a Computer Instance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Related Tasks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
68
Determining the Instructions You Need
Determining the Instructions You Need

This section provides guidelines about the instructions you may need based on required and optional activities for starting up PATROL. Information in this section applies to both PATROL Operator and Developer Consoles.
Required Tasks
Table 16 lists the tasks that all PATROL users must perform and explains when to conduct each activity. Table 16
Task starting the PATROL Agent starting the PATROL Console adding hosts (monitored computers)
Required Tasks for Starting Up PATROL

When You Should Perform the Task after installation and PATROL Agent configuration after you start the PATROL Agent after you start the PATROL Console
Optional Tasks
After you perform all the required tasks for starting up PATROL, these tasks are optional:
s s s s s
changing user preferences setting up a desktop file using a desktop template changing properties for a computer instance enabling the KMDS
You can decide how to set up your logon account and customize your console. Table 17 on page 70 lists many often-performed optional tasks and refers you to the section in this chapter for step-by-step instructions.
Chapter 3
PATROL Startup
69
PATROL Developer Console Users
Table 17
Where to Find Instructions for Optional Tasks

See Customizing User Preferencespage 94 Customizing User Preferencespage 94 Changing Properties for a Computer Instancepage 113 Setting Up a Desktop Filepage 106 Using a Desktop Templatepage 109 Customizing User Preferencespage 94
If you want to set up a default PATROL logon account for each host (computer instance) you monitor specify a PATROL logon account for your current session change your logon account for a computer instance set up a customized desktop for yourself or other users create a desktop template for one host computer prohibit developer mode connections to host computers that are loaded from a desktop file
prevent a developer console from downloading its Customizing User Preferencespage 94 version of KMs to the PATROL Agent machine at connection disable the Commit process for a Developers Console disable or enable KM loading according to the PATROL Agent platform or version save PATROL system messages to a disk file enable the KMDS for deployment of KMs Customizing User Preferencespage 94 Customizing User Preferencespage 94 Customizing User Preferences on page 94 Customizing User Preferencespage 94
PATROL Developer Console Users

If you use a PATROL Developer Console, you may be responsible for setting up user preferences, desktops, and so on for other PATROL users. In this case, you will perform the necessary tasks for setting up your own console plus setting up consoles for others. (This is referred to as creating customized consoles; and for developers, it usually includes customizing KMs.) Instructions in Volume 3 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideCustomizing PATROL tell you
s s s s s
how to customize KMs more about creating customized consoles for other users how to distribute customized console files and KMs to other users how to set up or change account security for applications or application instances how to check out and check in KM packages
70
PATROL Operator Console Users
PATROL Operator Console Users

With a PATROL Operator Console, you can perform the required and optional tasks for setting up and customizing your console. However, steps in tasks may vary if a developer creates customized consoles for you. Instructions in this section indicate when steps vary for PATROL Operator Consoles. The ability to perform certain functions with an Operator Console is controlled by the patrol.conf file. For information on enabling or disabling operator console functions, see Appendix A, Setting Up User Roles, in Volume 3 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideCustomizing PATROL.
PATROL Secure Plug-In Users

The PATROL Secure Plug-In provides secure PATROL connections by encrypting the communications between the PATROL Consoles or utilities and PATROL Agents. The PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows implements the Extended Security Interface (ESI) for the PATROL Agent. For more information about the ESI, see the PATROL API Reference Manual.
Starting a PATROL Agent

This section contains information about how to start a PATROL Agent. For information about how to start a PATROL Agent for other supported operating systems, see the PATROL Agent Reference Manual.
NOTE
You will not have to start a PATROL Agent if a PATROL administrator has already started it. In addition, if another user set up the agent to start automatically during PATROL setup or installation, you will not have to start the agent.
When a PATROL Console is connected (or if a KM is preloaded on the agent), the PATROL Agent continuously monitors resources on hosts (computer instances) in your environment. If you set up the PATROL Agent to run as an operating system service, the agent runs continuously until a PATROL user stops it or until the computer on which it executes stops running.
Chapter 3
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Background Information
Review the PATROL Agent Reference Manual for detailed instructions on how to
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use command line arguments for the PATROL Agent set up KM types to allow or restrict KM loading for each console use configuration variables use the access control list
Your ability to perform any of the tasks listed above depends on the access permissions you have that were set up by your system administrator.
Task
This section describes how to start the PATROL Agent on a UNIX host.
Starting the PATROL Agent

In this task, you will start a PATROL Agent.
Before You Begin

Before you start the PATROL Agent for UNIX, perform the following actions:
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Be sure you are logged in to the UNIX host where you want to start the PATROL Agent. Be sure you know the port number of the host computer on which you will start the PATROL Agent. Verify that there is no PATROL Agent already running on the port of the UNIX host where you plan to start the PATROL Agent.
To Start the PATROL Agent for UNIX 1 From the UNIX desktop, click the Start button. 2 Choose Programs => BMC PATROL => Agent Manager.
The PATROL Agent Manager dialog box appears.
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Starting a PATROL Console
Figure 15
PATROL Agent Manager Dialog Box
3 Click the check box for the PATROL Agent startup mode you want to use. 4 Accept or change the port number. 5 Click OK to start the PATROL Agent.
The PATROL Agent begins to run on the specified port.

The PATROL Agent monitors your resources even when a PATROL Console is not active. However, you must use an active PATROL Console to view the resources or objects that PATROL is monitoring. When you start a PATROL Console, you can connect to a number of PATROL Agents on host machines. These guidelines apply to the use of each console:
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If you are using a PATROL Developer Console, you can connect to some PATROL Agents as a PATROL Developer Console and to other Agents as a PATROL Operator Console, depending on the PATROL Agent setup. PATROL allows one PATROL Developer Console connection per Agent. If you are using a PATROL Operator Console, you must connect to all PATROL Agents as an Operator. You cannot switch from one connection mode to another. In addition, a PATROL Developer Console may have supplied license information and set up your desktop with the computers and resources you will monitor before you start your console.
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Command Line Arguments for the PATROL Console
Command Line Arguments for the PATROL Console

Before you start the PATROL Console, you may want to set up special settings for your console. Table 18 lists the command line arguments you can use:
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at the command prompt when you are creating a shortcut to PATROL on your UNIX desktop Command Line Arguments for the PATROL Console
Description Start a PATROL Developer Console. Display the list of command line arguments for the console. Start the PATROL session using the specified ID number. If you do not specify an ID number, the default ID is 1. The ID number will be part of the file name for your session files (session-1.km or session-<x>.km). Load the specified KM at startup. Load the specified desktop file (*.dt) at startup. Bind the specified port number to sockets created by wpconfig when the console connects to PATROL Agents. Specify the local port number for console-to-KMDS communications through a firewall. Prevent icons from blinking when they are in the Alarm state. Disable the internal object swapping mechanism. By default, the console moves objects that are not being displayed out of memory to a swap file. Object swapping reduces memory usage, but if a large number of host computers are defined in the console, the frequent disk access and memory swapping can reduce console performance. Use the specified port as the default for host computers that you add. Use the specified port as the default for host computers that you add. Display version information about the console.
Table 18
Argument -dev -help
-id <number>
-km -load <filename> -lp <port> -lkp <port> -no_blink -noswap
-p <number> -port <number> -v
For example, if you want to use 22 as a unique ID number, the command line will look similar to Figure 16 on page 75.
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PATROL license information
Figure 16
Example of Using a Command Line Argument
c:\PATROL3-4\bin\Patrol.exe -id 22 space argument space ID number
PATROL license information

In PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows 3.5.80 and PATROL Console for UNIX 3.5.80 products, BMC no longer requires that you enter a license key and password or update a license file. You are bound by your license agreement to use only the licensed capacity that you purchased.
PATROL license information for versions earlier than 3.5.80

The first time you start the PATROL Console, the License dialog box may display. If so, you must supply your licensing information. BMC Software supplies two types of licenses:
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demonstration permanent product
With a demonstration license, you can try the PATROL product for a certain time (typically 30 days). When you agree to try the PATROL product, you receive a letter from BMC Software containing demonstration licensing information. When you agree to purchase a permanent PATROL license, BMC Software Contracts Administration provides permanent license information to you by telephone. The license information you must provide is the same for each type of license, either demonstration or permanent product.
NOTE
If you are using a PATROL Operator Console, a PATROL Developer Console may supply license information for you. Therefore, you may not see the License dialog box nor have to provide license information the first time you start your console.
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Task
Task
This section describes how to start a PATROL Operator or Developer Console.

In this task, you will start a PATROL Operator or Developer Console.
Before You Begin

To successfully complete this task, consider the following issues.
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If you are logged on only to your local machine and will start a PATROL Developer Console: confirm that your system administrator has created a local group named patrldev or ptrldev (both must be all lower case) and confirm that you are a member of the group (This measure is optional, but provides OS-level security for your console by restricting access to a Developer Console.) confirm that you have been granted permissions to establish a developer connection in the patrol.conf user roles file
If you are logged on to a UNIX domain and will start a PATROL Developer Console: confirm that your system administrator has created a global group named patrldev or ptrldev (both must be all lower case) under the domain to which you are logged on and confirm that you are a member of the group (This measure is optional, but provides OS-level security for your console by restricting access to a Developer Console.) confirm that you have been granted permissions to establish a developer connection in the patrol.conf user roles file
If you start a PATROL Operator Console, the PATROL main console window may contain hosts that a developer has added for your desktop. If the PATROL demonstration license has expired, you will have to provide permanent product license information. If you plan to use command line arguments, enter them before you start the console.
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To Start a PATROL Console 1 From the UNIX desktop, click the Start button. 2 Perform the action that applies to your console:
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Choose Programs => BMC PATROL => PATROL Developer Console. Choose Programs => BMC PATROL => PATROL Operator Console.
If you must supply license information, the PATROL License dialog box appears. For PATROL license information for version 3.5.80 and later, refer to PATROL license information on page 75 Figure 17 PATROL License Dialog Box
3 If you have to supply license information, use the table below to determine what to
enter for either a demonstration or permanent license.
Information Licensee Expiration Date [dd-mmm-yyyy] Description Type your company name. For a demonstration license, type the expiration date stated in the PATROL demonstration license letter. For a permanent license, leave the text box blank. Number of Console Licenses Type the number of PATROL Console licenses.
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Potential Offline Host Problems
Information Number of Agent Licenses Password
Description Type the number of PATROL Agent licenses. Type the password supplied with your license.
4 Click OK.
The PATROL Console Window appears. Figure 18 PATROL Console Window
5 Check to see that the desktop tree displays and that the PATROL desktop opens by
performing one or both of the following actions:
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To display the desktop tree, click the Desktop button on the tree view. To open the PATROL desktop, double-click PatrolMainMap.
Remember that if you use an operator console and a developer has customized your console for you, you may see icons for host computers and application KMs when you open the desktop window.
Potential Offline Host Problems

If you are using an PATROL Operator Console with a desktop that was set up for you and one or more hosts are offline after the console starts up, you may need to establish a connection to a computer.
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Where to Go from Here
Click Update Connection from a computer shortcut menu to establish your connection. You can also use the properties dialog for the computer to check the port number, logon name, and password for offline computers. Click Properties from a computer shortcut menu, then click the Connection Setup tab to check the port number or the Security tab for the logon name (username) and password. (If either of these is incorrect, you can change them.)

Before you can begin monitoring a PATROL Agent host machine, OS KMs must be loaded on your console. By default, the PATROL Console automatically loads OS KMs, so you may need to load only application KMs. Review the instructions in the next section, Loading KMsbefore connecting to an agent.
Loading KMs
KMs are the data collection instructions that allow you to monitor an operating system, a database, or an application on one or more computers. Operating system (OS) KMs consist of the appropriate computer class KMs for the operating system. Because OS KMs must be loaded on the console before you can add host computers, PATROL loads them automatically by default. There are no restrictions about when application KMs must be loaded. You can load these KMs before or after you add host computers. However, the KMs will not run until you add host computers. PATROL saves a list of the KMs you load for each session in your session-1.km file in the %PATROL_CACHE%\knowledge directory (if defined) or %HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%\patrol\knowledge directory. At the beginning of each subsequent PATROL Console session, the PATROL Console communicates with the PATROL Agent to load the KMs from the session-1.km file. You can load an individual KM file (identified by the .km extension), a list of KM files (identified by a .kml extension), or a KM package file (identified by a .pkg extension). When you load a *.kml file or a .pkg file (developer console only), PATROL loads all of the KMs in the list or in the package.
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Operating System KMs
NOTE
You can find a list of available KMs and manuals with your distribution media and in the PATROL release notes. You can also contact your BMC Software sales representative for information.
Operating System KMs

Each OS KM always includes the PATROL AGENT and the PATROL applications. All other applications that may be part of the OS KM represent a unique set of applications for that OS KM.
Application KMs and Security

A PATROL Developer Console can set up security for an application or application instance. If security is not set up for an application, it will use the default account for the console. If you do set up security for an application (commonly done to allow PATROL to access database applications that require a username and password), other PATROL users may not be able to monitor the application or application instance.
Conditions That Can Affect KM Loading

Many conditions can affect whether you can load some KMs. Table 19 lists these conditions and where you can find more information. Table 19
Condition The PATROL Agent has been configured to restrict a consoles ability to load KMs.
Conditions That Can Affect KM Loading

Where to Go for More Information For detailed information about using the agent configuration utility to set up preloaded, static, and disabled KMs, see the PATROL Agent Reference Manual. Volume 3 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideCustomizing PATROL contains instructions for Developers to customize application classes. For instructions on how to finish the task, see Customizing User Preferences on page 94.
The application has been customized to enable or disable KM loading according to agent platform or version.
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PATROL Consoles, KM Versions, and the PATROL Agent
PATROL Consoles, KM Versions, and the PATROL Agent

The way the PATROL Agent handles different KM versions when operator or developer consoles connect at startup is called version arbitration. The following is a summary of how it works: If you are using a PATROL Developer Console and the versions of the KMs loaded for your console differ from the versions of the KMs loaded on the PATROL Agent machine, the KM versions on your console will download to the PATROL Agent machines memory. However, you can prevent your KM versions from downloading to the agent upon initial connection to the agent (see Customizing User Preferences on page 94). However, if you edit a PATROL KM, the modified PATROL KM will be downloaded to the agent. If you are using a PATROL Operator Console, you
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can use the KMs loaded on the console machine that match the KM versions loaded on the agent machine cannot use the KMs loaded on the Agent machine if they are not loaded on the console machine
Tasks
This section provides instructions for
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loading a KM for the first time reloading an updated version of a KM
Loading a KM
This task describes how to load KMs for the first time.
To load a KM or KM package 1 Choose one of the following methods to open the Load KMs dialog box:
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From the PATROL Console menu bar choose File => Load KMs. In the KM tree, and from the shortcut menu, right-click the Knowledge Module icon, and choose Load KMs.
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Loading a KM
Figure 19 shows an example of the Load KMs dialog box. Figure 19 Load KMs Dialog Box
By default, the KM files with the .kml extension in the lib\knowledge directory on the PATROL Agent machine appear in the Files of type list.
2 To display other file types, including single KM files (.km extension) or package
files (.pkg extension, developer console only after checking out a package), or to look in other directories or other servers, use the Files of type list or the Look In list, respectively.
3 From the list, select the KMs or packages to load or type the file name in the File
Name text box. Be sure to load the appropriate OS KMs for the host computers you plan to add.
4 Click Open.
PATROL loads the selected KMs for your console.
5 Check to see that the KMs you loaded display in the KM tree under the Computer
Classes or Application Classes folders.
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Reloading a KM
Reloading a KM
You can reload a revised or updated version of a KM as soon as it is installed on your system. When you reload a KM that is already loaded for your console, you can merge the two KMs by overwriting matching rules.
To reload a KM or KM package 1 Choose one of the following methods to open the Load KMs dialog box:
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from the PATROL Console menu bar, choose File => Load KMs. right-click the Knowledge Module icon in the KM tree, and from the shortcut menu, choose Load KMs.
By default, the KM files with the .kml extension in the bin\knowledge directory on the PATROL Agent machine appear in the Files of type list.
2 To display other file types, including single KM files (.km extension) or package
files (.pkg extension), or to look in other directories on other servers for KMs to load, use the Files of type list or the Look In list, respectively. KM package files (.pkg) reside in the %PATROL_CACHE%\archives directory (if defined) or the %HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%\archives directory.
3 Select the KMs or packages to load from the list or type the file name in the File
Name text box. Be sure to load the appropriate OS KMs for the host computers you plan to add.
4 Click Open.
If you are working in a KMDS environment, PATROL loads the new version of the KM previously downloaded from the KMDS. If you are not working in a KMDS environment, PATROL displays a message informing you that the KMs have already been defined and asks you whether you want to merge the different KM definitions.
5 Respond to the message:

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To merge KM definitions, click Merge or Merge All.
If you are loading a .kml file and click Merge, PATROL will merge the first KM in the list. If you are loading a .kml file and click Merge All, PATROL will merge all KMs in the list.
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Activities for Loaded KM
To keep KM definitions separate, click Skip or Skip All.
If you are loading a .kml file and click Skip, PATROL will skip the first KM in the list. If you are loading a .kml file and click Skip All, PATROL will skip all KMs in the list.
Activities for Loaded KM

After you load a KM, review each KM manual for detailed information about
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whether you must perform setup activities for the KM how the discovery process works for the KM
This section summarizes each of these activities.
Setting Up KMs
Setting up a KM can include running one or more setup scripts that create configuration files and install PATROL objects on the monitored hosts, databases, or applications. User guides for each KM tell you if you need to perform additional steps to set up the KM. Setup scripts usually ask you to provide information about the monitored objects, as well as directories and file structures. Setup scripts also allow you to enter the logon information for an application class or instance, instead of using the host computers logon account as the default. After you provide this information, PATROL discovers monitored objects and displays those objects in the PATROL desktop. Each KM has its own setup requirements and options. The process can have these variations:
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Most KMs can run all setup scripts using one or more menu items from an application shortcut menu. However, some KMs may require that you run part of the scripts or commands from the operating system prompt. Some KMs require that you run setup scripts using a Discovery application. The Discovery applications icon has menu commands that start the setup scripts. Some KMs allow you to add and discover new objects from an instances shortcut menu rather than having to rerun KM setup scripts. For example, you may be able to add a new database with commands from a computer instances shortcut menu.
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Discovery Process
After you load and set up your KMs, PATROL discovers application instances automatically. Discovery can take several minutes, depending on the discovery cycle of PATROL. When PATROL discovers application instances, the instances use the host computers logon account, the account for the application class, or the application the Developer specified during KM setup. Each KM user guide contains detailed information about application discovery and how you can expect icons for discovered application KMs to appear on your desktop.

Go to Adding a Host Computer on page 86 for the steps to perform this task. If you have already loaded all the KMs you want to use and added host computers, review the instructions for optional tasks in any of the following sections:
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Customizing User Preferences on page 94 Setting Up a Desktop File on page 106 Using a Desktop Template on page 109 Changing Properties for a Computer Instance on page 113
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Adding a Host Computer

When you start a PATROL Console for the first time, it does not automatically connect to PATROL Agents on host computers in its access control list. Adding host computers
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allows your console to connect to PATROL Agents tells PATROL which computers to monitor enables KMs to run
Remember that operating system (OS) KMs should be loaded before you add host computers. When you add a host computer, PATROL tries to automatically load the appropriate computer class KM (computer class KMs are part of the operating system KM) on your Console. If PATROL cannot find the computer class KM, the connection is broken between the PATROL Console and the host computer. The computer icon remains in the desktop in a void state.
Console Settings and Computer Instances

Many console settings in user preferences affect host computers or computer instances. A computer instance inherits security (the logon account), as well as connection setup and history span information from the PATROL Console. After you add a computer instance, you can
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modify settings in User Preferences to make changes for all computer instances change properties for the individual computer instance
Tasks
This section describes how to find and add to your console a host computer on which a PATROL Agent resides. A host computer is also called a computer instance or a monitored host.
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Discovering Agent Hosts
Discovering Agent Hosts

This task describes how to locate PATROL Agents available for monitoring with your console.
To Discover Agent Hosts 1 From the PATROL Console menu bar, Choose Hosts => Discovery.
The PATROL Agent Discovery dialog box displays. Figure 20 PATROL Agent Discovery Dialog Box
2 Change the default values of the dialog box elements.

Table 20 describes the elements of the Discovery tab of the PATROL Agent Discovery dialog box. Table 21 on page 90 describes the elements of the Connection tab of the PATROL Discovery dialog box. Table 20
Element Check Port Range
PATROL Agent Discovery Dialog Box Elements (part 1 of 2)

Default From: 3181 To: 3181 Description Specifies the range of ports to ping during Agent discovery. Setting the From and To ports to the same value pings only that port. The greater the range of values entered, the greater the length of time necessary for Agent Discovery. Specifies the host computer to ping during Agent Discovery. Check to ping all computers on the subnet of the machine specified in the host text box.
Host Discover the subnet of Enabled the Host
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Table 20
Element
PATROL Agent Discovery Dialog Box Elements (part 2 of 2)

Default Description Starts the Agent Discovery process. Any Agents discovered on the host or subnet in the specified port range are displayed in the Discovered PATROL Agents list while the search continues. The greater the specified port range, the longer the Agent Discovery process will take. Click Stop to halt the Agent Discovery process. Lists the port number and host computer name of the discovered PATROL Agents. You can select host computers from the list to add to your console. To make multiple selections, hold down the Ctrl key while clicking list entries. Click Add Selected to add the host computers selected in the Discovered PATROL Agents list to your console. PATROL adds host computers to your console using the settings on the Connection Setup tab. If you have specified a Default Account under the User Preferences, PATROL uses your default user name and password for the new host connections; otherwise, you will have to manually set the user name and password. Click Reset to clear the Discovered PATROL Agents list.
Discover button
Stop button Discovered PATROL Agents
Add Selected button
Reset button
3 Click Discover.
PATROL displays the port number and host name of available PATROL Agents.
4 Select the agents to monitor with your PATROL Console. Hold the Ctrl key while
clicking agents to select multiple agents for monitoring.
5 Click Add Selected to add the selected hosts to the list of agents to monitor with
your console.
6 Click Close to close the PATROL Agent Discovery dialog box.

This task describes how to add a host computer using the Add Host Dialog Box.
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Before You Begin

To add a host computer, you must know
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the PATROL Agent machines port number your operating system logon name and password
To Add a Host Computer 1 From the PATROL Console menu bar, Choose Host => Add.
The Add Host dialog box appears. The product populates the fields Computer Class, Connection Mode, Protocol, and Port by default. You have to enter default account values in Host Name, Username, Password, and Verify Password fields.)
Figure 21
Add Host Dialog Box
2 In the Host Name text box, type the computer name. NOTE
After a host is added to the PATROL Console, it cannot be renamed. For example, sometimes it is necessary to add a host using the IP address, but you may want to rename the host with a more meaningful label. Before you add the host, edit the hosts file (usually etc/hosts) on the console computer, and assign the IP address of the host to the name you want to use in the console. Then add the host using the new name instead of the IP address.
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3 In the Username text box, type the user name. 4 In the Password and Verify Password text boxes, type the password. NOTE
To add a host, you must fill in the Username, Password, and Verify Password text boxes. PATROL will not allow you to add a host without filling in these text boxes.
5 To have this host use the attributes of the global persistent filter, check the Copy
Global Persistent Filter box.
6 Change any of the default properties, if applicable. Table 21 lists the property
elements and default values for the Add Host dialog box.
NOTE
The PATROL console supports only TCP for communication with the PATROL Agent.
Table 21
Element Host Name
Add Host Dialog Box Property Elements (part 1 of 2)

Default None ALL_COMPUTERS Description Type the host name. You can leave the generic ALL_COMPUTERS class, or you can select a specific computer class from the list. If you leave the generic ALL_COMPUTERS class, the PATROL Console automatically receives the correct class from the computer when the connection is established. With a PATROL Developer Console, you can change the mode from operator to developer and back to operator at any time.* With a PATROL Operator Console, the mode will always be operator and you cannot change it. Only one PATROL Developer Console can be connected to a PATROL Agent at a time. Any number of PATROL Operator Consoles can be connected to a PATROL Agent at the same time.
Computer Class
Connection Mode
connection mode (developer or operator) that you used when starting the PATROL Console
Protocol Port
TCP 3181
Select TCP (UDP is not supported). Type the appropriate port number.
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Table 21
Element Username
Add Host Dialog Box Property Elements (part 2 of 2)

Default logon name when you started the PATROL Console Description Type the appropriate logon name. If you do not enter a username, PATROL uses the username on the console default account. The default account must be able to log on locally to the agent machine, and if a domain account is used, enter a user name in the following format: <DOMAIN>\<user_name>
Password
password when you started Type the appropriate logon password. If you do not the PATROL Console (the enter a password, PATROL uses the password on the password is not displayed) console default account. password when you started Retype the appropriate logon password. Do not copy the PATROL Console and paste it from the Password text box. If you do not enter a password, PATROL uses the password on the console default account. If selected, this option applies the attributes of the global persistent filter.
Verify Password
Copy Global Persistent not selected Filter
* You must have the appropriate user role as specified in the patrol.conf file. For more information, see Appendix A, PATROL Environment Variables. Additionally, if you have implemented console security through the ptrldev or patroldev Windows group, you must be a member of the appropriate group. For more information, see Starting a PATROL Console on page 76.
7 Click OK. 8 To be sure the computer icon displays in the desktop tree and in the opened
PATROL desktop, perform the following actions:
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To display the desktop tree, click the Desktop button on the tree hierarchy. To open the PATROL desktop, double-click PatrolMainMap.
Figure 22 shows an example of an open PATROL desktop window with computer instance icons.
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Figure 22
Console Window with Computer Instances
Figure 23
Console Window with IPv6 Computer Instance
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Solving Possible Problems
Developer Connections in a PATROL KMDS Environment

BMC Software recommends that you set up a development or test PATROL Agent that is separate from your production environment where developer consoles can work on KM changes.
Solving Possible Problems

If you add a host computer and cannot connect to it, perform the following actions:
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Check that the ALL_COMPUTERS KM is loaded by double-clicking Computer Classes on the KM tree. Check that the computer class KM for your computer type is loaded by double-clicking Computer Classes on the KM tree.
Next, perform the step that applies to you:

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If one or more of these KMs is missing, load the appropriate KMs. If the problem persists, go to Chapter 5, Troubleshooting Console Problems.

If you have finished all required tasks, go to the section for the optional task you want to perform:
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Customizing User Preferences on page 94 Setting Up a Desktop File on page 106 Using a Desktop Template on page 109 Changing Properties for a Computer Instance on page 113
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Connecting and Disconnecting from Hosts
Connecting and Disconnecting from Hosts

If you are working with an extensive PATROL network, it is possible that your installation includes many agents. You can connect to or disconnect from multiple agents quickly using the Hosts menu on the developer and operator console.
Multiple Host Connections

Connecting to multiple PATROL Agent host machines allows you to monitor each agent running the same KMs loaded on the console. Connecting to multiple agents with a developer console downloads active console KMs to all the agents. To connect to multiple hosts, choose Hosts => Connect All from the console menu bar. PATROL indicates connected agents in the desktop tree of the console.
Multiple Host Disconnections

Disconnecting from multiple PATROL Agent host machines breaks contact between the console and agents. Though the agent is still running and collecting data on the host machine, the information collected is not available to a disconnected console. To disconnect from multiple hosts, choose Hosts => Disconnect All from the console menu bar. PATROL indicates the disconnected agents in the desktop tree of the console.
Customizing User Preferences

By customizing your user preferences, you can control many settings for your PATROL Console, such as those for parameter history retention and the event cache. PATROL stores preferences for your console in %PATROL_CACHE%\knowledge (if defined) or the default location %HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%patrol\knowledge\ session-1.prefs. At startup, PATROL uses the session-1.prefs file to load your preferences for the session.
NOTE
The PATROL Console always looks for session-1.prefs at startup. You can use the -id command line argument to specify a preferences file for a customized session ID (session-<id>.prefs).
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About the Default Logon Account
About the Default Logon Account

When you specify a default account as part of user preferences, you can choose
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to save the default account as part of user preferences to simply use the default for the current session
If you do not save the default account as part of user preferences, you cannot access that account using the session-1.prefs file from the command line.
NOTE
Changes to the Default Account preferences have no affect on existing host connections. These hosts continue to connect with the previously specified credentials unless you override the settings on the agents Connection Properties dialog.
Preferences to Change
Table 22 lists the property tabs for user preferences. Determine the property tab to use according to what you want to change. Table 22 Changing User Preferences with the Property Tabs (part 1 of 2)
Use Default Account property tab Default Account property tab Configuration property tab Configuration property tab
If you want to set up a default PATROL logon account for each host (computer instance) you monitor specify a PATROL logon account for your current session only prohibit developer mode connections to host computers that are loaded from a desktop file prevent developer consoles from downloading their versions of KMs to the PATROL Agent machine at connection disable the Commit process for a developers console disable or enable KM loading according to the PATROL Agent platform or version set the size of the event cache, its file name, and directory
Configuration property tab Configuration property tab Event Manager property tab
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Tasks
Table 22
Changing User Preferences with the Property Tabs (part 2 of 2)

Use Configuration property tab (developer consoles only) State Change Actions tab Miscellaneous tab System Output tab KMDS tab
If you want to establish parameter history retention for the hosts you will add and for all parameters on all computers enable state change actions for your console use menu commands that require a terminal emulator for the PATROL Agent collect system output messages for storage in a disk file enable the KMDS for the developer console
enter startup or shutdown actions for your console State Change Actions tab
Tasks
This section provides steps for
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changing user preferences saving user preferences
Changing User Preferences

This task describes how to customize your user preferences.
To Access the User Preferences Dialog 1 From the PATROL Console menu bar, choose Options => Preferences.
The User Preferences dialog box appears.
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Figure 24
User Preferences Dialog Box
2 Change user preferences by clicking the appropriate tab:

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Configuration Miscellaneous State Change Actions Event Manager Default Account
To Change Configuration Properties

Figure 25 shows the Configuration tab. Figure 25 Configuration Tab on User Preferences Dialog
1 Change the appropriate property elements.

Table 23 on page 98 lists the property elements and default values for the Configuration tab.
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Table 23
Element
User Preferences Configuration Tab Property Elements (part 1 of 2)

Default 0 (zero) Description Only developer consoles can set up history retention. History retention accomplishes two things:
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History Retention Period
sets the default history retention period for newly added computers sets the history retention period for all parameters on all monitored computers (This number can be overridden for a particular parameter, for all parameters of a computer instance, or for all parameters of an application class or application instance.)
Volume 3 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideCustomizing PATROL contains instructions for developers to change the parameter history retention for PATROL objects. Text window buffer size Set Computer to Alarm When Connection Not Manually Broken Restore Desktop 64K Enabled Select the size of the buffer for the text window, from 5K to 500K. Select this check box to set the computer to alarm when the connection is not manually broken (for example, network failure, PATROL Agent shutdown, or PATROL Agent timeout). Select this check box to have PATROL automatically restore open and expanded folders when the PATROL Console stops or restarts. If you have hidden the message window, select this check box to prevent PATROL from automatically reopening the message window when new messages are received from monitored computers. When you enable this property element, you can load KMs that do not have Allow On, Deny To, or Agent Version information entered in properties for the application class KM. If you disable this property element, you can load KMs for your console that have either Allow On, Deny To, or Agent Version information entered in application class properties. Volume 3 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideCustomizing PATROL contains more information about application class KM properties. Disable commit menu Disabled When this property element is checked (enabled), a PATROL Developer Console cannot commit KM changes to the PATROL Agent machine.
Disabled
Suppress Popping Up Main-Map on New Messages Register interest in KMs that have no platform/version information
Disabled
Enabled
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Table 23
Element
User Preferences Configuration Tab Property Elements (part 2 of 2)

Default Disabled Description When this property element is checked (enabled), the console connection mode for any computer connections that are loaded from a desktop file will automatically be set to Operator. When this property element is checked (enabled), a KM version loaded for a PATROL Developer Console will not download to the PATROL Agent machine. For more information about PATROL Operator and Developer Console connections to the PATROL Agent, see Volume 3 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideCustomizing PATROL.
Prevent developer connections when loading desktop Prevent downloading knowledge on developer connection
Disabled
2 Perform one of the following actions:

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If you are finished working with user preferences, click OK. If you want to continue working with user preferences, click Apply.
To Change Miscellaneous Properties

Figure 26 shows the Miscellaneous tab. Figure 26 Miscellaneous Tab on User Preferences Dialog Box

Table 24 on page 100 describes the property elements for the Miscellaneous tab.
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Table 24
Element
User Preferences Miscellaneous Property Elements

Default * (asterisk) Description Type the character that will represent an annotated data point on a parameter graph. If you are using an x-terminal and your KMs include menu commands that require the PATROL Agent to use a terminal emulator, type the path and name of the terminal emulator that is on the PATROL Agent machine. To run the menu commands and view their output, an x-server application must be running on your PATROL Console machine.
Annotation Marker
Default Terminal Emulator usr/bin/X11/xterm
Internationalization Date/Time Format Internationalization Language
US English
Click US, Europe, or Japan. Click English, French, German, Italian, or Russian.

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To Change State Change Actions Properties

Figure 27 shows the State Change Actions tab. Figure 27 State Change Actions Tab on User Preferences Dialog Box
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Table 25 describes the property elements for the State Change Actions tab. Table 25
Element Enable State Change Actions
User Preferences State Change Actions Property Elements

Default Enabled Description Click to clear this check box if you want to disable any state change actions that have already been defined by a PATROL Developer Console and that are run by a PATROL Agent on a monitored computer. Type a startup action to run on the PATROL Agent machine when the PATROL Console is restarted. Type a shutdown action to run on the PATROL Agent machine when the PATROL Console is stopped.
Startup Action Shutdown Action
None None

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To Change Event Manager Properties

Figure 28 shows the Event Manager tab. Figure 28 Event Manager Tab on User Preferences Dialog Box

Table 26 on page 102 describes the property elements for the Event Manager tab.
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Table 26
Element
User Preferences Event Manager Tab Property Elements

Default File %PATROL_HOME%e vcache Description You must store events in a file. Enter the directory path and name where events are stored on all monitored computers. Enter the name of the history file in the event directory where events are stored on all monitored computers. Sets the maximum size of the event cache in bytes on all monitored computers. This number takes precedence over the PATROL Agent default event cache disk configuration variable that has already been set for each monitored computer. Sets the maximum size of the event cache in number of events on all monitored computers. This value takes precedence over the PATROL Agents default event cache memory configuration variable that has already been set for each monitored computer.
Event Manager Storage Type Event Manager Storage Directory
Event Manager Storage File evcache_ hostname_1.log Event Cache Disk Size 250K
Event Cache Memory Size
1,000

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To Change Default Account Properties

The default account is the account used to automatically discover PATROL Agents. Figure 29 shows the Default Account tab. Figure 29 Default Account Tab on User Preferences Dialog Box

Table 27 on page 103 describes the property elements for the Default Account tab.
102 PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideUnderstanding the Basics of PATROL
Table 27
Element
User Preferences Default Account Tab Property Elements

Default Description Type the account name you will use to connect to the host computers that you add to your console. Type a default logon password for added host computers that you will add. Retype the default logon password for added host computers that you will add. Click this check box to save the default logon account information with user preferences.
Default Account Username None Default Account Password None Default Account Verify Password Save as part of persistent preferences None Disabled

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To Change System Output Properties

Figure 30 shows the System Output tab. Figure 30 System Output Tab on User Preferences Dialog Box

Table 28 describes the property elements for the System Output tab. Table 28
Element Output to File Suppress Time Stamps
User Preferences System Output Tab Property Elements (part 1 of 2)

Default Disabled Disabled Description Check this box if you want PATROL to store system output messages in a file on disk. Check this box if you do not want PATROL to place a time and date stamp on each system output message.
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Table 28
Element Directory File
User Preferences System Output Tab Property Elements (part 2 of 2)

Default None None 1 Megabyte Description Enter the directory path where system output messages are stored on all monitored computers. Enter the name of the file in which system output messages are stored. Sets the maximum size of the file used to store system output messages. When PATROL reaches the maximum file size, the file is closed and renamed with a .BAK extension. PATROL then creates a new system output file using the original path and file name information.
Maximum File Size

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To Enable the PATROL KMDS (Developer Console Only)

With the PATROL KMDS enabled, the PATROL Developer Console can check out and check in KM Packages to the KMDS. Figure 31 shows the KMDS properties tab. Figure 31 KMDS Tab on User Preferences Dialog Box
1 Check Enable to activate the KMDS for this PATROL Console. 2 In the Name box, enter the name of the machine hosting the KMDS. 3 In the Port box, enter the port number for the KMDS.
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Saving User Preferences
4 In the Heartbeat box, enter the number of seconds for the PATROL Console to wait
before checking KMDS status. Higher numbers reduce network traffic, but alert you less quickly that the KMDS has stopped.
5 UDP only. In the Message Time Out box, enter the number of seconds for the
PATROL console to wait for a response message from the KMDS. If the KMDS is running on a very busy machine, increase Message Time Out to prevent the console from interpreting a slow response as a stopped KMDS.
6 UDP only. In the Message Retries box, enter the number of times for the PATROL
console to wait for a message from the KMDS. Increase Message Retries to allow the KMDS additional attempts to communicate with the console before the console decides that the KMDS has stopped.

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For more information on using the KMDS Manager with PATROL, see Volume 3 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideCustomizing PATROL and the PATROL Knowledge Module Deployment Server Manager User Guide.
Saving User Preferences

This task describes how to save your user preferences in the session-1.prefs file.
1 From the PATROL Console menu bar, choose Options => Preferences. 2 When you finish changing properties for preferences, click OK on the User
Preferences dialog box. PATROL stores your changes to user preferences in the session-1.prefs file in your %PATROL_CACHE%\knowledge directory (if defined) or %HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%patrol\knowledge directory.
NOTE
You can also save your user preferences by clicking File => Save Configuration from the PATROL Console menu bar.
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Setting Up a Desktop File
Setting Up a Desktop File

You can create a desktop file for your console that stores your desktop layout, the computers you monitor, the KMs you load, and your PATROL Console user accounts for monitored objects. If you are using a PATROL Developer Console, you may be responsible for setting up customized desktops and distributing desktop files (*.dt) to other users. You can use this file
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to set up a common desktop for many users as a backup when you need to restore or roll back your desktop as an alternative to the session-1.km file that PATROL automatically reads at startup by using the -load switch at the command line
You can save the desktop file with the default file extension *.dt, but PATROL also allows you to specify another name. The file is a text-only version of the data stored in your consoles configuration files. When you save a desktop file, you have a snapshot of your desktop window. At the time you save the file, you can have as much or as little set-up for your desktop as you wish. For example, you may decide to save your desktop after you create shortcuts or customized folders. By contrast, you can elect to save your desktop immediately after adding hosts and loading KMs. When you insert or merge a desktop file, you can expect these results:
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If the other desktop includes some of your objects and others that your desktop does not include, merging the two desktops will show all the objects from both desktops. If an object is duplicated in both desktops, the objects properties from your current desktop will overwrite the properties from the other desktop.
Tasks
Information in this section provides steps for
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creating and saving a desktop file inserting or merging a desktop file
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Creating and Saving a Desktop File
Creating and Saving a Desktop File

In this task, you will save a desktop file (*.dt) after you set up your desktop.
Before You Begin

You must decide whether to save your desktop before or after you finish performing tasks such as creating shortcuts or customized folders.
To Create and Save a Desktop File 1 Set up the desktop to include all the necessary host computers, KMs, and so on for
yourself or other users.
2 From the PATROL Console menu bar, perform one of these steps:
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Choose File => Desktop => Save as to name the file and save it for the first time. You can also save the file with another extension or in another directory. Choose File => Desktop => Save to save a snapshot of your desktop to an existing *.dt file in your local \desktop directory. The desktop file is saved to the console ID that was used when starting the console, with .dt appended to the file name.
NOTE
If you load a desktop file, then exit the console without saving the desktop, the console will start the next time with the recently loaded desktop configuration. If you want to revert to the point at which you were before loading the new desktop file, you must load your console ID desktop file. Console IDs are 1 by default, unless otherwise specified on the command line another console number
NOTE
You can also save the user preferences and the desktop files by clicking File => Save Configuration from the PATROL Console menu bar.
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Inserting a Desktop File
Inserting a Desktop File

This task describes how to insert or merge another desktop with your current PATROL desktop window.
1 Choose File => Desktop => Insert from the PATROL Console menu bar.
The Select a Desktop File dialog box appears. Figure 32 Select a Desktop File Dialog Box
By default, the desktop files with the .dt extension in your %PATROL_CACHE%\knowledge directory (if defined) or the default location %HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%patrol\desktop directory appear in the Files of type list.
NOTE
You are only allowed to insert .dt and .dtm files in this dialog box.
2 To display other file types or look in other directories on other servers for desktops
to load, use the Files of Type list or the Look In list, respectively.
3 Select the desktop file to load from the desktop list or type the desktop file in the
File Name text box.
4 Click Open.
PATROL inserts or merges the desktop file with these results:
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If the other desktop has some of your objects as well as others you do not have, you will see objects from both desktops. If an object is duplicated in both desktops, the objects properties from your current desktop overwrite the properties from the other desktop.
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Using a Desktop Template
Using a Desktop Template

PATROL allows you to create desktop template files that other PATROL Consoles can use. Unlike desktop files, the purpose of desktop template files is to set up a common desktop for one host or computer instance. In a desktop template file, the host name is a variable for a monitored computer. Otherwise, it contains the same information as a desktop file. After you create a desktop template file, other users who are monitoring the same computer can apply the template. You can also apply the template to other monitored computers.
NOTE
When you export a desktop template, you are only saving a file of information specific to the desktop layout of that host. The desktop template does not include the PATROL KM information.
Tasks
This section provides the steps for
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creating and saving a computer desktop template (*.dtm) file inserting a computer desktop template
Creating and Saving a Desktop Template File

In this task, you will create a desktop template file (*.dtm) for one host computer after you set up the desktop for that computer instance.
Before You Begin

You must decide whether to save your desktop template before or after you finish performing tasks such as creating shortcuts or customized folders.
To Create and Save a Desktop Template File 1 Be sure your desktop for the host computer is set up with the desktop elements
you want to use.
2 Right-click the icon for the computer instance whose desktop setup is to be shared
among users or other computers.
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Inserting a Computer Desktop Template
3 Choose Options => Export Desktop Template from the computer instances
shortcut menu. The Select a Desktop Template File dialog box appears. Figure 33 The Select a Desktop Template File to Export Dialog Box
4 Type a file name. 5 Click Save.

PATROL stores the *.dtm file in your local \desktop directory.

This task describes how to insert or merge another desktop template with your current computer desktop.
1 Right-click the icon for the host computer or computer instance that will use the
desktop template.
2 Choose Options => Import Desktop Template from the computer instances
shortcut menu. The Select a Desktop Template File dialog box appears.
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Figure 34
Select a Desktop Template File to Import Dialog Box
By default, the desktop template files with a .dtm extension in your %PATROL_CACHE%\knowledge directory (if defined) or %HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%patrol\desktop directory appear in the Files of Type list.
3 To display other file types or look in other directories on other servers for desktop
templates to load, use the Files of Type list or the Look In list, respectively.
4 Select the desktop template to load from the desktop list or type the file name in
the File Name text box.
5 Click Open.
PATROL applies the desktop template file to the selected computer instance. The message window for the console contains messages that explain the results of applying the template.
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Stopping the PATROL Agent service
Stopping the PATROL Agent service

This section describes how to use the PATROL Agent Manager to stop the PATROL Agent after exiting the console.
1 Open Agent Manager by using agentm.exe file located at C:\Program Files\BMC

Software\Patrol3\bin.
The PATROL Agent Manager dialog box displays. Figure 35 PATROL Agent Manager Dialog Box
2 Select the Remove PATROL Agent service check box. 3 Click OK.
The PATROL Agent service is removed.
NOTE
For additional methods of shutting down the PATROL Agent, see the PATROL Agent Reference Manual.
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Changing Properties for a Computer Instance
Changing Properties for a Computer Instance

You can change properties for any host computer or computer instance after you add it.
Property Tabs
Table 29 lists the property tabs for computer instances. Determine the property tab to use according to which settings you want to change. Table 29 Determining Computer Instance Properties to Change
Use
If you want to
set the account that the PATROL Console allows to Security tab connect to the computer instance and override the default account setting in User Preferences change from developer mode to operator mode or Connection Setup tab from operator mode to developer mode (developer console only), or use a different port number for the host computer show or hide applications for your console set parameter history span for the computer instance and override the parameter history retention setting in User Preferences Application Filters tab History Span tab
Instructions for developers about changing this setting are found in Only developer consoles can set a history span for Volume 3 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User a computer instance. GuideCustomizing PATROL.
Tasks for Changing Properties for a Computer Instance

This task describes how to change properties from a computer instances shortcut menu.
To Access the Properties Dialog 1 Right-click the icon for the computer instance whose properties you want to
change.
2 Choose Properties from the shortcut menu.

The Customize Properties dialog box appears.
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Figure 36
Customize Properties Dialog Box
3 Change computer instance properties by clicking the appropriate tab:

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Connection Setup Security Application Filters
To Change Connection Setup Properties

Figure 37 shows the Connection Setup tab. Figure 37 Connection Setup Tab on the Customize Properties Dialog Box

Table 30 on page 115 displays the property elements and default values for the Connection Setup tab.
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Table 30
Element
Customize Connection Setup Tab Property Elements

Default connection mode (developer or operator) that you want to use Description/Instructions
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Connection Mode
A PATROL Developer Console can change modes from operator to developer and back to operator at any time.* A PATROL Operator Console cannot change modes. Only one PATROL Developer Console can be connected to a PATROL Agent at the same time. Any number of PATROL Operator Consoles can be connected to a PATROL Agent at the same time.
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Protocol Port Heartbeat
protocol specified on the Select UDP or TCP. Add Host dialog box port specified on the Add Host dialog box 300 Type the appropriate port number. Type the time interval (in seconds) that the PATROL Console checks to see if the PATROL Agent is still running. The longer the interval, the lower the network traffic. However, you may not immediately know if the PATROL Agent stops. Type the time interval (in seconds) that must elapse before the PATROL Console will try to reconnect to a PATROL Agent that has stopped. The longer the interval, the lower the network traffic.
Reconnect Polling
600
* You must have the appropriate user role as specified in the patrol.conf file. For more information, see Appendix A, PATROL Environment Variables. Additionally, if you have implemented console security through the ptrldev or patroldev Windows group, you must be a member of the appropriate group. For more information, see Starting a PATROL Console on page 76. Message Timeout 3 For UDP protocol only. Enter the time interval (in seconds) that the PATROL Console will give the PATROL Agent to respond. If you increase the message timeout time, the PATROL Console will give the PATROL Agent more time to respond before deciding that the Agent connection is down. If the PATROL Agent is running on a very busy machine, you may need to increase the message timeout time. If not, a slow response by the PATROL Agent could be misinterpreted by the PATROL Console as a stopped Agent. For UDP protocol only. Enter the number of times that the PATROL Console will wait for another message from the PATROL Agent. If you increase the message retries, the PATROL Console will give the PATROL Agent more time to respond before deciding that the Agent connection is down.
Message Retries
115

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If you are finished working with computer instance properties, click OK. If you want to continue working with computer instance properties, click Apply.
To Change Security Properties

Figure 38 shows the Security property tab. Figure 38 Security Tab on the Customize Properties Dialog Box

Table 31 displays the property elements and default values for the Security tab. Table 31
Element Username Password
Customize Security Property Elements

Default Description/Instructions logon name when you started Type the appropriate logon name for the computer the PATROL Console instance. password when you started the PATROL Console (the password is not displayed) password when you started the PATROL Console Type the appropriate logon password for the computer instance. Retype the appropriate logon password. Do not copy and paste from the Password box.
Verify Password

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To Change Application Filters Properties

Figure 39 shows the Application Filters tab. Figure 39 Application Filters Tab on Customize Properties Dialog Box

Table 32 displays the property elements and default values for the Application Filters tab. Table 32
Element Hide/Show <application name>
Application Filters Tab Property Elements

Default Hide Description/Instructions To temporarily hide an application class or an application instance from the PATROL Console
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Be sure Hide is selected. Type the name of the application in the text box.
To hide more than one application class or application, separate each class name with a comma. To show an application that was previously hidden from the PATROL Console
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Be sure Show is selected. Click the application name in the text box list.
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Related Tasks

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Related Tasks
Use Table 33 to determine where to go for information about tasks related to starting PATROL. Table 33 Tasks Related to Starting Up PATROL
See Volume 2 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideMonitoring and Managing with PATROL Volume 2 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideMonitoring and Managing with PATROL Volume 2 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideMonitoring and Managing with PATROL Volume 3 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideCustomizing PATROL
To find information on creating shortcuts
creating charts and graphs for parameter information
creating customized folders
customizing KMs (developer consoles only)

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to change properties for PATROL objects and attributes to create customized computer or application instances to add or delete attributes to set up security by designating user accounts and passwords for applications, parameters, or commands
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creating and distributing customized consoles (developer consoles only)
Volume 3 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideCustomizing PATROL
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Chapter
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120 120 121 122 122 123
Online Help and Utilities

This chapter provides instructions for using Online Help for PATROL and accessing utilities for PATROL. It covers the following topics: Online Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PATROL Console Help Topics List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . KM Help Topics List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PATROL Console Dialog Box Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . KM Parameter Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PATROL Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 4 Online Help and Utilities
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Online Help
Online Help
Online help describes the function of
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PATROL Console KM and its applications Active PATROL Console dialog box KM parameters
PATROL Console Help Topics List

To display a list of the topics in the PATROL Console online Help system
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Choose Help => Help Topics from the PATROL Console menu bar. Open the PATROL Console Help topic list by double-clicking PATROL Console for Unix. Choose Help Topics from a PATROL Console topic window.
Figure 40 shows the PATROL Console Help topics list. Figure 40 PATROL Console Help Topics List
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KM Help Topics List
KM Help Topics List

To display a list of KM online Help topics
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Choose Help => Help Topics from the PATROL Console menu bar, then double-click PATROL Knowledge Modules. Open the topics list for a KM by double-clicking the name of the KM. Choose Help Topics from a KM Help topic window.
Figure 41 shows a KM Help topics list. Figure 41 KM Help Topics List
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PATROL Console Dialog Box Help
PATROL Console Dialog Box Help

Display online Help for a PATROL Console dialog box by clicking the Help button in the dialog box. Figure 42 shows a PATROL Console dialog box Help topic. Figure 42 PATROL Console Dialog Box Help Topic
KM Parameter Help
There are several ways to display KM parameter online Help:
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Choose Help On from a parameter pop-up menu. Click Help from a gauge or text parameter window. Click ? on a graph parameter window toolbar. Click Show Help from a parameters Help properties dialog box.
Figure 43 on page 123 shows a parameter Help topic.
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PATROL Utilities
Figure 43
Parameter Help Topic
PATROL Utilities
There are a number of PATROL utilities and interface applications available to you:
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command text editor PATROL History Loader KM PSL Compiler PSL Debugger wpconfig pconfig
Command Text Editor

The standalone command text editor provides basic editing functions when you create multiline commands. These editing functions include copying and pasting commands, searching for keywords, saving commands as a script file on a local file system so that you can use them again or distribute them to other PATROL Consoles, and loading another script file. The command text editor is accessed from the Command toolbar on any dialog box where you enter multiline commands, such as menu commands, InfoBox commands, parameter commands, and parameter recovery action commands. For information about the command text editor, see online Help for PATROL for Unix.
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PATROL Utilities
PATROL History Loader KM

PATROL History Loader KM is a utility that allows you to convert PATROL history data into an ASCII data file so that it can be imported into certain relational database management systems.
PSL Compiler
If you are creating commands with PSL and are using a PATROL Operator Console or a PATROL Developer Console, you have access to the PSL Compiler utility that checks your PSL syntax. The PSL compiler is accessed from the Command toolbar on any dialog box where you enter multiline commands, such as menu commands, InfoBox commands, parameter commands, and parameter recovery action commands. For information about the PSL compiler, see online Help for PATROL for Unix.
PSL Debugger
If you are creating commands with PSL and are using a PATROL Developer Console, you have access to a PSL Debugger graphical user interface tool that debugs PSL, parameters, scripts, and processes. The PSL Debugger is accessed from a computer instance shortcut menu from the PATROL Console. For summary information about the PSL Debugger, see Volume 3 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideCustomizing PATROL. For detailed information about how to use the PSL Debugger, see the PATROL Script Language Debugger Reference Manual.
Wpconfig
The wpconfig utility provides a graphical user interface for configuring a PATROL Agent from a PATROL Console on Unix. A PATROL Agent configuration is controlled by the values contained in variables. The variables are contained in configuration files. From wpconfig, you can create a new configuration for a particular PATROL Agent, or you can retrieve and save an existing configuration from another PATROL Agent. To access the wpconfig utility, choose Agent Configuration... from the Development menu under a computer instance shortcut menu in a PATROL Developer Console.
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PATROL Utilities
For the Classic Consoles version 7.7.50 and later, the wpconfig tool allows you to connect to secure the PATROL Agents version 3.7.10. For more information, refer to Agent secure feature,
Agent secure feature

The Wpconfig and Xpconfig tools allow you to connect to secure PATROL Agents version 3.7.10. The security tool provided by Wpconfig and Xpconfig allows you to set security credentials for secure PATROL Agents.
To set or change security credentials by using Wpconfig 1 Open Wpconfig and click Tools => Security.
The Security dialog box is displayed.
2 Click Add to add the required PATROL Agents in the Hosts list. If the required host
exists, the host gets selected in the Hosts list.
3 Type the new credentials in the username and password boxes for the selected
PATROL Agents.
4 Click OK.
You can specify the default credentials by using the security tool of Wpconfig. If the default credentials are set, Wpconfig uses the default credentials when no host-specific credentials exist.
To specify the default security credentials by using Wpconfig 1 Open Wpconfig and click Tools => Security.
2 Enter <Default> as the host and specify the default credentials in the Security
dialog box.
NOTE
If you remove all entries from the Host name list, Wpconfig retains the last used host entry.
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PATROL Utilities
To set or change security credentials by using Xpconfig 1 From the Host Name list, select the required host. 2 Click Security. 3 Type the new credentials in the username and password boxes. 4 Click OK. To specify default security credentials by using Xpconfig 1 Open Xpconfig and click Options => Default security.
2 Type the new credentials in the user name and password boxes. 3 Click OK.
If the security credentials for secure PATROL Agents are incorrect or are not set, operations on PATROL Agents, such as Purge, Get, or Reinitialize, fail and an error message is displayed.
WARNING
Before performing any operations on a secure PATROL Agent, BMC recommends that you set valid credentials for all hosts by using the security tool of Wpconfig or Xpconfig.
For summary information about wpconfig, see Volume 3 of the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideCustomizing PATROL. For detailed information about how to use wpconfig, see the PATROL Agent Reference Manual.
Pconfig
The pconfig utility is used to configure a PATROL Agent from the command line.
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Chapter
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128 128 130 131 131 132 132 133 135 135
Troubleshooting Console Problems

This chapter provides recommended actions to take if you have startup problems with PATROL. It covers the following topics: If a Host Computer (Computer Instance) Is Offline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Recommended Actions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What You Can Try Next . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . If Applications or Application Instances Are Not Discovered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Recommended Actions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . If an Application or Application Instance Is Offline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Recommended Actions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . If the PATROL Agent Stops Running . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Recommended Actions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What You Can Try Next . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 5 Troubleshooting Console Problems
127
If a Host Computer (Computer Instance) Is Offline
If a Host Computer (Computer Instance) Is Offline

A host computer or computer instance is offline when the base of its icon is gray, indicating the offline state, and the computers object window is empty when you open it.
Recommended Actions
Table 34 describes the recommended actions you can take when a host computer is offline. Table 34 Recommended Actions When a Host Computer Is Offline (part 1 of 3)
Steps Right-click the computer icon, then choose InfoBox from the computer shortcut menu. Right-click the computer icon, then choose Update Connection from the computer shortcut menu. 1. Right-click the computer icon, then choose Properties from the computer shortcut menu. 2. Click the Connection Setup tab and check the value for the Port property element. 3. Click the Security tab and check the values for username and password. 4. Make sure you can log in to the account. 5. If necessary, change values for Connection Setup and Security property elements, then click OK. 6. Double-click the computer instance icon to reconnect to the PATROL Agent. Be sure there are no other developer consoles connected to the PATROL Agent (if you are using a developer console). 1. Right-click the computer icon, then choose System Output Window from the computer shortcut menu. 2. Review the messages to determine if another developer console is connected to the Agent.
Recommended Action Check the status of the computer connection. Update the connection to the host computer. Be sure you are using the correct username, password, and port number.
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Recommended Actions
Table 34
Recommended Actions When a Host Computer Is Offline (part 2 of 3)

Steps 1. Right-click the computer icon, then choose System Output Window from the computer shortcut menu. 2. If messages in the window indicate that there is a problem connecting to the Agent, access the Connection Setup property tab for the computer instance and adjust the Message Time Out and Message Retries properties. 3. Click OK and try to reconnect to the Agent.
Recommended Action Review the messages in the system output window to determine if there are problems connecting to the PATROL Agent.
Be sure the host is available on the network.
At the operating system prompt, type ping <host name> to determine if the host is available on the network. 1. Right-click the computer icon, then choose Properties from the computer shortcut menu. 2. Click the Connection Setup tab and verify or change the port number in the Port field. 3. Click OK and try to reconnect to the Agent.
Be sure that the port number for the host is correct.
Verify that you can log on to the host outside of PATROL.
1. If the host is available on the network, try to log onto the computer outside of PATROL. For example, you could try to log on using telnet. 2. If you cannot log on outside of PATROL, contact your system or network administrator.
Use the Internet Protocol (IP) address for the host name.
1. Delete the computer instance from your desktop. 2. From the PATROL Console menu bar, choose Hosts => Add. 3. In the Add Host dialog, type the IP address of the computer in the Host Name text box. 4. Click OK and try to connect to the host computer. 5. If you cannot connect to the host computer, contact your system or network administrator.
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What You Can Try Next
Table 34
Recommended Actions When a Host Computer Is Offline (part 3 of 3)

Steps 1. Right-click the computer instance icon, then choose Remove from the computer shortcut menu. The Remove Computer dialog box appears. 2. Click Yes. The computer icon disappears from your desktop. 3. Add the host computer again, using the correct host name.
Recommended Action Correct the host name.
Load the correct OS KM. (It contains the appropriate computer class KMs for the types of computers you have.)
1. From the PATROL Console menu bar, choose File => Load KMs. 2. From the KMs listed in the Load KMs dialog box, select the appropriate OS KM. 3. Click Open. KMs for the computer classes supported by the operating system will load on your console machine, along with OS application KMs, such as CPU or Filesystem. 4. Check to see that the appropriate computer class KMs are listed under Computer Classes on the KM tree. 5. Double-click the icon for the host computer to reconnect to the Agent.

If problems persist, you can
s
Contact your system or network administrator. Perform the recommended actions in If the PATROL Agent Stops Running on page 133. Perform the recommended actions in If the PATROL Agent Stops Running on page 133.
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If Applications or Application Instances Are Not Discovered
If Applications or Application Instances Are Not Discovered

Application discovery problems exist when a KM for an application class is loaded and listed on the KM tree, but no icons for the application or application instances appear on your desktop.
Recommended Actions
Table 35 describes the recommended actions you can take when there are problems with application discovery. Table 35 Recommended Actions for Application Discovery Problems (part 1 of 2)
Steps 1. Right-click the computer instance icon and choose Show System Output Window. 2. Review the messages in the window to determine if the agent version of the KM is disabled. Use one of two utilities to determine if a KM is disabled on an agent machine:
s
Recommended Action Determine whether the KM is disabled on the PATROL Agent machine.
With a developer console, use the wpconfig utility to view the list of disabled KMs in the AgentSetup folder. With either an operator or developer console, use the pconfig operating system utility. If the KM is disabled, you will not be able to use the KM until it is changed to preloaded or static.
Details for using the wpconfig and pconfig utilities can be found in the PATROL Agent Reference Manual. Determine whether the application class KM is hidden to the computer instance. 1. Right-click a computer instance icon, then choose Properties from the shortcut menu. 2. Click the Application Filters property tab. 3. Change the setting for the application class KM from Hide to Show.
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If an Application or Application Instance Is Offline
Table 35
Recommended Actions for Application Discovery Problems (part 2 of 2)

Steps 1. Right-click the icon for the PATROL Agent application. 2. From the PATROL Agent shortcut menu, choose KM Commands => Trigger Agent Activities => Perform Application Discovery. Discovery takes place immediately.
Recommended Action Force or accelerate application discovery.
Determine whether the installation process for Review the KM discovery debugging or installation reports the KM was performed correctly. in the appropriate KM user guide.
If an Application or Application Instance Is Offline

When the base of an icon for an application or application instance is gray, it is in the offline state.
Recommended Actions
Table 36 describes the recommended actions you can take when an application or application instance is offline. Table 36 Recommended Actions for Offline Application Instances
Steps Right-click the icon for the application or application instance, then choose InfoBox from the shortcut menu. The InfoBox displays the objects state. Restart the application or application instance. 1. Determine if there is a menu command on the objects shortcut menu that allows you to restart the application or application instance. 2. Click the command. Check the agent error log file for error messages about invalid username and/or password. Go to the PatrolAgent<hostname>-<portnumber>.errs file in the PATROL3-4\log directory and check this file for errors.
Recommended Action Verify the state of the application or application instance.
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If the PATROL Agent Stops Running
Table 36
Recommended Actions for Offline Application Instances

Steps Ask a PATROL Developer or system administrator to confirm the appropriate username and password to run the application or application instance. Right-click a computer instance icon, then choose KM Commands => Refresh Parameters from the shortcut menu. Within one application discovery cycle (approximately 40 seconds), all discovered instances should change to the online state.
Recommended Action Be sure you are using the correct account to run the application or application instance. Try to force the application or application instance out of the offline state.
If the PATROL Agent Stops Running

A combination of the following three symptoms can indicate that the PATROL Agent is not running:
s
You cannot connect to the host computer or computer instance on which the agent resides. The computer instance on which the agent resides is offline. The system output window for the computer instance displays the message PatrolAgent: cannot bind to port <number>.
Recommended Actions
Table 37 on page 134 describes the recommended actions you can take when the PATROL Agent stops running.
133
Table 37
Recommended Actions When the Agent Stops

Steps 1. Perform one of the following actions:
s s
Recommended Action Verify that each PATROL Agent has a unique port number.
Find PatrolAgent.exe in the Unix Task Manager list. Type netstat -a at the DOS prompt to list the TCP/UDP ports in use. Use TLIST from the Unix Resource Kit.
2. If there are duplicate port numbers, start the PATROL Agent Manager and specify another port. Restart the PATROL Agent. Right-click the icon for the computer instance, then choose KM Commands => Utilities => Patrol => Reinitialize Agent from the shortcut menu. 1. At the operating system command line, access the Patrol3-4\bin directory. 2. At the operating system prompt, type: patrolagent -debug -p<port number> This command causes all messages that have been sent from the PATROL Agent to the OS command window to display, including verification of a valid license. 3. If the license for the PATROL Agent is not valid, contact your BMC sales representative.
Determine whether your PATROL Agent license is valid.

If problems persist, try the recommended actions in If a Host Computer (Computer Instance) Is Offline on page 128.
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If You Cannot Start the PATROL Console
If You Cannot Start the PATROL Console

If you cannot start the PATROL Console, the source of the problem could be
s s s
an expired license omissions in the patroldev group (if you are using a PATROL Developer Console) incorrect environment variable definitions
Recommended Actions
Table 38 describes the recommended actions you can take when you cannot start a PATROL Console. Table 38 Recommended Actions for Starting the Console
Steps 1. From the PATROL Console menu bar, choose Options => License. 2. Read the PATROL License dialog box to determine the number of licenses you have available for your console. (Remember that with demonstration licenses, the number of available licenses will be zero.) 3. If you need to renew your license, contact your BMC sales representative. If you are using a PATROL Developer Console, Contact your system administrator. be sure your system administrator has included you in the patroldev (or ptrldev) group. Check your Path environment variable to be sure it points to the appropriate location for PATROL. 1. Open the System program group for Unix and check the definition for the Path environment variable. 2. If necessary, change the environment variable and restart the PATROL Console. Consider that you may have a system resources problem. 1. Restart your computer. 2. Restart the PATROL Console.
Recommended Action Check the number of console and agent licenses you have available for your console.

If logon problems persist, try the recommended actions in If the PATROL Agent Stops Running on page 133.
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136
Appendix
PATROL Environment Variables

PATROL recognizes the environment variables listed in Table 39. PATROL does not assign initial values to many of these variables, so they are not displayed by Windows. Use the Windows System Properties dialog box (accessible from the Control Panel) to set the PATROL environment variables listed below.
Table 39
PATROL Environment Variables (part 1 of 3)

Defined for the Console? No Defined for the Agent? No
Environment Variable PATROL_KMDS_HOME
How Variable Is Used Points to the directory for all KMDS-related files and directories. Required only for the KMDS and KMDS Manager. Defines the user name that owns the files and directories for the PATROL Agent. Default value is guest. Defines the location of binary files for PATROL on the Console and the PATROL Agent. Default value is %PATROL_HOME%\bin. Defines the directory for Console-created files.
PATROL_ADMIN
No
Yes
PATROL_BIN
Yes
Yes
PATROL_CACHE
Yes
No
PATROL_CACHE can be set to use a UNC (uniform naming convention) network path. PATROL_CFG Points to the directory in which wpconfig saves ASCII configuration data files. Default value is %PATROL_CACHE%\config. Points to the \desktop directory for the Console. Default value is %PATROL_CACHE%\desktop. Points to the directories where .km and .psl files are stored on the PATROL Agent and the PATROL Console. Overrides the default of %PATROL_HOME%\lib. Yes No
PATROL_DESKTOP
Yes
No
PATROL_GLOBAL_LIB
Yes
Yes
Appendix A PATROL Environment Variables
137
Table 39

Defined for the Console? Yes Defined for the Agent? No
Environment Variable PATROL_HELP
How Variable Is Used Points to location of Help files for application classes on the console. Default value is %PATROL_HOME%\help. Points to the location of the PATROL executable files on the PATROL Console and the PATROL Agent. Points to the directory used for .km files after installation in %PATROL_HOME%\ lib\knowledge on the PATROL Agent and the PATROL Console. Overrides the default value of %PATROL_GLOBAL_ LIB%\knowledge. Points to the language (locale) subdirectory under &PATROL_GLOBAL_LIB%\lib\nls where the PATROL message catalogs are stored. Default value is C. Points to the directory for Chart Utility preferences. Default value is %PATROL_CACHE%\chart. Points to the /knowledge directory for the Console. Default value is %PATROL_CACHE%\knowledge. Points to the \psl directory for the console. Default value is %PATROL_CACHE%\psl. Points to the \log directory for the PATROL Agent. Default value is %PATROL_HOME%\log. Points to .psl files on the PATROL Console. Default value is %PATROL_GLOBAL_LIB%\psl. Points to the \query directory for the Console. Default value is %PATROL_CACHE%\query. Defines the default destination directory for files sent from remote Agents. Default value is %PATROL_HOME%\remote. Prevents console from freezing while trying to connect to an agent that is disabled. Default value is 5 seconds. Points to the directory for PATROL sound files. Default value is %PATROL_GLOBAL_LIB%sounds
PATROL_HOME
Yes
Yes
PATROL_KM
Yes
Yes
PATROL_LANG
Yes
Yes
PATROL_LOCAL_CHART
Yes
No
PATROL_LOCAL_KM
Yes
No
PATROL_LOCAL_ PSL_APPS PATROL_LOG
Yes No
No Yes
PATROL_PSL_APPS
Yes
Yes
PATROL_QRY
Yes
No
PATROL_REMOTE
No
Yes
PATROL_SOCKTIMEOUT
Yes
No
PATROL_SOUNDS
Yes
No
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Table 39

Defined for the Console? Yes Yes Defined for the Agent? No Yes
Environment Variable PATROL_TMP TMP_PATROL
How Variable Is Used Points to the directory for console log files. Default value is %PATROL_CACHE%\tmp. Defines location of the lock file for the event manager engine of the PATROL Agent. This variable must be defined if the C: drive is not writable. Default value is C:\temp. Points to directory for image files used by the PATROL Agent. Default value is %PATROL_HOME%\images.
XBMLANGPATH
Yes
No
Appendix A PATROL Environment Variables
139
140
Appendix
B
142 142 143 143
PATROL License Updating

Use the instructions in this appendix when your PATROL license expires. The appendix covers the following topics: Using the PATROL Console to Update Your License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Entering License Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using an ASCII File to Update Your License. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Updating License Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Appendix B
PATROL License Updating
141
Using the PATROL Console to Update Your License
Using the PATROL Console to Update Your License

If you want to use the PATROL Console to enter your license information, review the instructions in this section.
Entering License Information

In this task, you will update an expired PATROL license using the console menu bar.
Before you begin

Contact your BMC Software sales representative for your updated licenses.
To Enter the License Information with a 1 Start a PATROL Developer Console. 2 If the PATROL License dialog box does not appear, click Options => License. 3 Enter the PATROL Developer Console license information and click OK.
The PATROL License dialog box closes.
4 Click Options => License. 5 Enter the PATROL Operator Console license information and click OK.
6 Click Options => License. 7 Enter the PATROL Agent license information and click OK.
8 Start the PATROL Agent. 9 Perform one of the following actions to ensure the licensing information gets
updated on remote agents:
142
Using an ASCII File to Update Your License
Use operating system commands such as ftp to distribute the license file to remote Agents. Be sure to copy the file to the %PATROL_HOME%\lib directory. Use the wpconfig agent configuration utility to update the license information on remote agents.
10 Rename the license file as necessary.
Using an ASCII File to Update Your License

If you want to use an ASCII file to update your license information, review the instructions in this section.
Updating License Information

In this task, you will update an expired PATROL license by placing license information in an ASCII file.
Before you begin

Contact your BMC Software sales representative for your updated licenses. Ask the sales representative to use e-mail to send your license information to your site.
To Update License Information 1 Use any text editor to create an ASCII-format file. 2 Append each separate set of licensing information from the e-mail file to your
ASCII file. Be sure the data starts in column 1.
3 Name the new file license and copy the it to the %PATROL_HOME%\lib
directory.
4 Start the PATROL Agent. 5 Use operating system commands such as ftp to copy the license file to remote
agents.
6 Rename the license file as necessary. 7 Restart the PATROL Console.

Appendix B PATROL License Updating 143
Updating License Information
144
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
Glossary
access control list A list that is set up by a PATROL Agent configuration variable and used to restrict PATROL Console access to a PATROL Agent. A PATROL Console can be assigned access rights to perform PATROL Developer Console, PATROL Agent configuration, PATROL Operator Console, or PATROL Event Manager activities. Agent namespace See PATROL Agent namespace. Agent Query A PATROL Console feature that constructs SQL statements to query PATROL Agents connected to the console. Agent Query produces a tabular report that contains information about requested objects and can be used to perform object management activities, such as disconnecting and reconnecting computers. Queries can be saved, reissued, added, or changed. PATROL offers built-in queries in the Quick Query item on the Tools menu from the PATROL Console main menu bar. See also Quick Query. alarm An indication that a parameter for an object has returned a value within the alarm range or that application discovery has discovered a missing file or process since the last application check. The alarm state of the object is indicated by a red, flashing icon. See also warning. alert range A range of values that serve as thresholds for a warning state or an alarm state. Alert range values cannot fall outside of set border range values. See also border action, border range, and recovery action. ALL_ COMPUTERS class The highest-level computer class in PATROL. Attributes assigned to this class will be inherited by all computer classes known to PATROL. See also class and computer class. annotated data point A specially marked point on a parameter graph that provides detailed information about a parameter at a particular moment. The associated data is accessed by double-clicking the data point, which is represented by a user-specified character (the default is an asterisk). See also parameter.
Glossary
145
application account An account that you define at KM setup and that you can change for an application class or instance. An application account is commonly used to connect to an RDBMS on a server where the database resides or to run SQL commands. application check cycle The interval at which application discovery occurs. The PATROL Agent process cache (as opposed to the system process cache) is checked to ensure that all application instances and files previously discovered still exist there. See also application discovery, application discovery rules, prediscovery, process cache refresh, PSL discovery, and simple discovery. application class The object class to which an application instance belongs; also, the representation of the class as a container (Unix) or folder (Microsoft Windows) on the PATROL Console. You can use a PATROL Developer Console to add or change application classes. See also class. application discovery A PATROL Agent procedure carried out at preset intervals on each monitored computer to discover application instances. When an instance is discovered, an icon appears on your desktop. The application class includes rules for discovering processes and files by using simple process and file matching or PSL commands. Application definition information is checked against the information in the PATROL Agent process cache, which is periodically updated. Each time the PATROL Agent process cache is refreshed, application discovery is triggered. See also application check cycle, application discovery rules, PATROL Agent process cache, prediscovery, simple discovery, and PSL discovery. application discovery rules A set of rules stored by the PATROL Agent and periodically evaluated to find out whether a specific instance of an application class exists in the monitored environment. The rules describe how a PATROL Agent can detect instances of the application on a machine. There are two types of application discovery: simple and PSL; PSL discovery can include prediscovery rules as well as discovery rules. See also application check cycle, application discovery, simple discovery, prediscovery, and PSL discovery. application filter A feature used from the PATROL Console to hide all instances of selected application classes for a particular computer. The PATROL Agent continues to monitor the application instances by running parameter commands and recovery actions. See also unload a KM. application instance A system resource that is discovered by PATROL and that contains the information and attributes of the application class that it belongs to. See also application class and instance. application state The condition of an application class or an application instance. The most common application states are OK, warning, and alarm. An application class or instance icon can also show an offline condition. See also computer state and parameter state.
146
attribute A characteristic that is assigned to a PATROL object (computer class, computer instance, application class, or application instance) and that you can use to monitor and manage that object. An attribute can be a command type, parameter, menu command, InfoBox command, PATROL setup command, state change action, or environment variable. An attribute can be defined globally for all instances of a class or locally for a particular computer or application instance. An instance inherits attributes from a class; however, an attribute defined at the instance level overrides inherited attributes. See also global level and local level. border action A command or recovery action associated with a parameter border range and initiated when that range has been breached. Border actions can be initiated immediately when the parameter returns a value outside the border range, after a warning or alarm has occurred a specified number of times, or after all other recovery actions have failed. See also border range. border range A range of values that serve as thresholds for a third-level alert condition when it is possible for a parameter to return a value outside of the alarm range limits. When a border range is breached, border actions can be initiated. See also border action. built-in command An internal command available from the PATROL Agent that monitors and manages functions such as resetting the state of an object, refreshing parameters, and echoing text. The command is identified by the naming convention%command_name. See also built-in macro variable. built-in macro variable An internal variable created and maintained by PATROL for use in built-in commands and PSL. The variable is identified by the naming convention%{variable_name}. See also built-in command. chart A plot of parameter data values made by the PATROL Console Charting Server. See multigraph container and PATROL Console Charting Server. charting server See PATROL Console Charting Server. class The object classification in PATROL where global attributes can be defined; the attributes are then inherited by instances of the class. An instance belongs to a computer class or an application class. See also application class, computer class, and event class. collector parameter A type of parameter that contains instructions for gathering values for consumer parameters to display. A collector parameter does not display any value, issue alarms, or launch recovery
Glossary
147
actions. (A standard parameter can have collector properties.) See also consumer parameter, parameter, and standard parameter. command line argument An option for starting a PATROL Agent or a PATROL Console at the operating system command line. PATROL Agent arguments include names of KMs to load and port numbers for agent-console connection. PATROL Console arguments include connection mode (developer or operator), user ID to start the PATROL Console, names of KMs to load, and names of the desktop files to use. command line interface See PATROL Command Line Interface (CLI). command text editor The component that provides basic text editing functions for a PATROL Developer Console. It is commonly used to add or change commands (menu commands, parameter data collection and recovery actions, InfoBox commands, setup commands, and state change actions). command type The designation assigned to a command according to its manner of execution. This attribute must be defined for a parameter command, a parameter recovery action, a menu command, an InfoBox command, a setup command, or a state change action. The PATROL Console provides two command types: operating system and PSL. PATROL KMs provide additional command types. Only a PATROL Developer Console can be used to add or change command types. commit The process of saving to PATROL Agent machines the changes that have been made to a KM by a PATROL Developer Console. A PATROL user can disable a PATROL Consoles ability to commit KM changes. computer class The basic object class to which computer instances of the same type belong. Examples include Solaris, OSF1, HP, and RS6000. PATROL provides computer classes for all supported machines and operating systems; a PATROL Developer Console can add or change computer classes. computer instance A computer running in a PATROL-managed environment and represented by an icon on the PATROL Desktop. A computer instance contains the information and attributes of the computer class that it belongs to. See also instance. computer state The condition of a computer. The main computer states are OK, warning, and alarm. A computer icon can show additional conditions that include no output messages pending, output messages pending, void because a connection cannot be established, and void because a connection was previously established but now is broken. See also state.
148
configuration file, KM See KM configuration file. configuration file, PATROL Agent See PATROL Agent configuration file. connection mode The mode in which the PATROL Console is connected to the PATROL Agent. The mode can be developer or operator and is a property of the Add Host dialog box. See also PATROL Developer Console and PATROL Operator Console. consumer parameter A type of parameter that displays a value that was gathered by a collector parameter or a standard parameter with collector properties. A consumer parameter never issues commands and is not scheduled for execution; however, it has alarm definitions and can run recovery actions. See also collector parameter, parameter, and standard parameter. container A custom object that you can create to hold any other objects that you selectsuch as computers, applications, and parametersin a distributed environment. In Microsoft Windows, a container is referred to as a folder. You can drag and drop an object into and out of any container icon at any time. Once a container is defined, the object hierarchy applies at each level of the container. That is, a container icon found within a container icon assumes the variable settings of the container in which it is displayed. See also object hierarchy and PATROL Console Charting Server. customize KM To modify properties or attributes locally or globally. See also global level and local level. deactivate a parameter To stop running a parameter for selected computer or application instances. In the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows, deactivating a parameter stops parameter commands and recovery actions and deletes the parameter icon from the application instance window without deleting the parameter definition in the KM tree. A deactivated parameter can be reactivated at any time. See also snooze an alarm and suspend a parameter. deactivate an application class To stop monitoring an application class and all of its instances on selected computer instances. In the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows, deactivating an application class deletes the application class and all of its instance icons from the computer window without deleting the application class or definition in the KM tree. A deactivated application class can be reactivated at any time. See also application filter and deactivate a parameter. desktop file A file that stores your desktop layout, the computers you monitor, the KMs you loaded, and your PATROL Console user accounts for monitored objects. You can create multiple desktop
Glossary
149
files for any number of PATROL Consoles. By default, desktop files always have a.dt extension. See also desktop template file. desktop template file A file that stores information about the desktop setup of one computer. You can create multiple desktop template files for any number of PATROL Consoles. Each PATROL Console user can apply a template to selected computers on the desktop. By default, desktop template files always have a.dtm extension. See also desktop file. Desktop tree A feature of PATROL for Microsoft Windows only. One of the two views of folders available with PATROL for Microsoft Windows, the Desktop tree displays the object hierarchy. See also KM tree. Developer Console See PATROL Developer Console. disable an application, disable a KM To temporarily or permanently block an application or KM from loading and to block the PATROL Agent from using that KM. When a KM is disabled (added to the disabled list) in the Agent configuration file, the KM files are not deleted from the PATROL Agent machines, but the PATROL Agent stops using the KM to collect parameter data and run recovery actions. The default is that no KMs are disabled. Most KMs are composed of individual application files with a.km extension. See also preloaded KM, static KM, and unload a KM. discovery See application discovery. distribution CD or tape A CD or tape that contains a copy of one or more BMC Software products and includes software and documentation (user guides and online help systems). environment variable A variable used to specify settings, such as directories, for the environment in which PATROL runs. You can set environment variables for computer classes, computer instances, application classes, application instances, and parameters. event The occurrence of a change, such as the appearance of a task icon, the launch of a recovery action, the connection of a console to an agent, or a state change in a monitored object (computer class, computer instance, application class, application instance, or parameter). Events are captured by the PATROL Agent, stored in an event repository file, and forwarded to an event manager (PEM) if an event manager is connected. The types of events forwarded by the agent are governed by a persistent filter for each event manager connected to a PATROL Agent.
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event acknowledgment command A command that is triggered by the PATROL Agent when an event is acknowledged in an event manager (PEM). See also event escalation command and event notification command. event catalog A collection of event classes associated with a particular application. PATROL provides a Standard Event Catalog that contains predefined Standard Event Classes for all computer classes and application classes. You can add, customize, and delete an application event catalog only from a PATROL Developer Console. See also event class and Standard Event Catalog. event class A category of events that you can create according to how you want the events to be handled by an event manager and what actions you want to be taken when the event occurs. Event classes are stored in event catalogs and can be added, modified, or deleted only from a PATROL Developer Console. PATROL provides a number of event classes in the Standard Event Catalog, such as worst application and registered application. See also event catalog and Standard Event Catalog. event class command A command that is run by the PATROL Agent when certain events occur and that is used in conjunction with an event manager (PEM). The commands are specified for the event class that the event is associated with. A command can be one of three types: escalation, notification, or acknowledgment. See also event acknowledgment command, event escalation command, and event notification command. Event Diary The part of an event manager (PEM) where you can store or change comments about any event in the event log. You can enter commands at any time from the PATROL Event Manager Details window. event escalation command A command that is triggered by the PATROL Agent when an event is not acknowledged, closed, or deleted within an event manager (PEM) by the end of the escalation period. See also event acknowledgment command, event escalation period, and event notification command. event escalation period A period during which an increase in the severity of an event occurs as the result of its persistence. Escalation actions are defined as part of escalation command definitions for event classes and can be triggered only by the PATROL Agent. See also event escalation command. event history repository A circular file where events are stored by the PATROL Agent and accessed by an event manager, such as the PEM. The file resides on the PATROL Agent machine and retains a limited number of events. When the maximum number of events is reached and a new event is stored, the oldest event is removed in a cyclical fashion. See also parameter history repository.
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event manager A graphical user interface for monitoring and managing events. The event manager can be used with or without the PATROL Console. See also PATROL Event Manager (PEM). event notification command A command that is triggered by the PATROL Agent when an event is logged into an event manager (PEM). See also event acknowledgment command and event escalation command. event type The PATROL-provided category for an event according to a filtering mechanism in an event manager. Event types include information, state change, error, warning, alarm, and response. event view filter See view filter. event-driven scheduling A kind of scheduling that starts a parameter when certain conditions are met. See also periodic scheduling. expert advice Comments about or instructions for dealing with PATROL events as reported by the agent. Expert advice is defined in the Event Properties dialog box in the PATROL Developer Console. PATROL Operator Consoles view expert advice in the PATROL Event Manager. filter, application See application filter. filter, event view See view filter. filter, persistent See persistent filter. global channel A single dedicated connection through which PATROL monitors and manages a specific program or operating system. The PATROL Agent maintains this connection to minimize the consumption of program or operating system resources. global level In PATROL hierarchy, the level at which object properties and attributes are defined for all instances of an object or class. An object at the local level inherits characteristics (properties) and attributes from the global level. See also local level. heartbeat The interval (in seconds) at which the PATROL Console checks to see if the PATROL Agent is still running. The longer the interval, the lower the network traffic. See also message retries, message time-out, and reconnect polling.
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history Parameter and event values that are collected and stored on each monitored computer. Parameter values are stored in compressed binary files for a specified period of time; events are stored in circular log files until the maximum size is reached. The size and location of parameter history files are specified through either the PATROL Console or the PATROL Agent; size and location of event history files are specified through an event manager, such as the PEM, or the PATROL Agent. history repository A compressed binary file in which parameter values (except those that are displayed as text) are stored by the PATROL Agent and accessed by the PATROL Console for a specified number of days (the default is one day). When the number of storage days is reached, those values are removed in a cyclical fashion. history retention level The specified level (global or local) where the parameter history retention period for an object is set. The period can be inherited from the next higher level in the object hierarchy or set at the local level. If the history retention level is local, the number of days that history is stored (retention period) must be set. See also history retention period. history retention period The number of days that parameter values are stored in the history database before they are automatically purged by PATROL. The period can be specified at the class (global) or instance (local) level. History retention can be set for all parameters of a computer class, a computer instance, an application class, or an application instance. History for an individual parameter on an application instance can be manually cleared at any time by a PATROL Console. See also history retention level. history span The combined settings for a parameter history retention level and period. See also history retention level and history retention period. InfoBox A dialog box that contains static fields and displays current information about an object, such as the version number of an RDBMS and whether the object is online or offline. Commands are run when the InfoBox is opened. Information can be manually updated if the InfoBox remains open for a period of time. PATROL provides a number of commands for obtaining and displaying object information in an InfoBox. Only a PATROL Developer Console can be used to add or change commands. information event Any event that is not a state change or an error. Typical information events occur when a parameter is activated or deactivated, a parameter is suspended or resumed, or application discovery is run. The default setting for PATROL is to prevent this type of event from being stored in the event repository. To store and display this type of event, you must modify the persistent filter setting in the PATROL Agent configuration file.
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instance A computer or discovered application that is running in the PATROL-managed environment. An instance has all the attributes of the class that it belongs to. A computer instance is a monitored computer that has been added to the PATROL Console. An application instance is discovered by PATROL. See application discovery, application instance, and computer instance. KM See Knowledge Module (KM). KM configuration file A file in which the characteristics of a KM are defined through KM menu commands during KM installation and setup (if setup is required). See also Knowledge Module (KM) and PATROL Agent configuration file. KM list A list of KMs to be loaded by a PATROL Agent. See also Knowledge Module (KM). KM Migrator See PATROL KM Migrator and Knowledge Module (KM). KM package See Knowledge Module Package. KM tree A feature of PATROL for Microsoft Windows only. One of two views of folders available in Microsoft Windows. The KM tree displays computer classes, application classes, and their customized instances in the knowledge hierarchy and also displays the Standard Event Catalog. A PATROL Operator Console can only view the KM tree; only the PATROL Developer Console can change KM properties and attributes. See also Desktop tree and Knowledge Module (KM). knowledge hierarchy The rules by which objects inherit or are assigned attributes. (In the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows, classes of objects are represented in the Computer Classes and Application Classes sets of folders on the KM tree.) Properties and attributes of a customized instance override those defined for the class to which the instance belongs. Knowledge Module (KM) A set of files from which a PATROL Agent receives information about resources running on a monitored computer. A KM file can contain the actual instructions for monitoring objects or simply a list of KMs to load. KMs are loaded by a PATROL Agent and a PATROL Console. KMs provide information for the way monitored computers are represented on the PATROL Desktop, for the discovery of application instances and the way they are represented, for parameters that are run under those applications, and for the options available on object pop-up menus. A PATROL Developer Console can change KM knowledge for its current session, save knowledge for all of its future sessions, and commit KM changes to specified PATROL Agent
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computers. See also commit, KM configuration file, KM list, KM Migrator, KM tree, load KMs, and version arbitration. Knowledge Module package A package of PATROL KM files that can be distributed by an installation program or stored in and distributed by the PATROL KMDS. The package file has a.pkg file extension. KM packages are created in a PATROL Developer Console. See also Knowledge Module (KM), PATROL Developer Console, PATROL Knowledge Module Deployment Server (PATROL KMDS), and PATROL Knowledge Module Deployment Server Manager (PATROL KMDS Manager). load applications Same as load KMs. Most KMs are composed of application files with a.km extension. load KMs To place KM files into memory for execution. After configuration and during startup, the PATROL Agent loads the KM files that are listed in its configuration file and that reside on the PATROL Agent machine. When a PATROL Console connects to the PATROL Agent, the KM versions that the agent executes depend on whether the console is an operator console or a developer console. See also Knowledge Module (KM) and version arbitration. local history The history (stored parameter values) for an object or instance. See also global level and local level. local history retention period The length of time set by the user during which stored parameter values for an object or instance are retained. local level In PATROL hierarchy, the level of a computer instance or an application instance. An object (instance) at the local level inherits properties and attributes that are defined globally. When properties and attributes are customized locally for an individual instance, they override inherited attributes. See also global level. master agent See PATROL SNMP Master Agent. message retries A feature of UDP only. The number of times that the PATROL Console will resent a message to the PATROL Agent. The greater the number of message retries, the more time the PATROL Console will give the PATROL Agent to respond before deciding that the agent connection is down and timing out. The number of message retries multiplied by message time-out (in seconds) is the approximate time allowed for a connection verification. See also heartbeat, message time-out, and reconnect polling.
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message time-out A feature of UDP only. The time interval (in seconds) that the PATROL Console will give the PATROL Agent to respond to a connection verification before deciding that the Agent connection is down. The number of message retries multiplied by message time-out is the approximate time allowed for a connection verification. See also heartbeat, message retries, and reconnect polling. message window A window that displays command output and error messages from the PATROL Console graphical user interface. See also response window, system output window, and task output window. multigraph container A custom object into which you can drop parameter objects to be plotted as charts. See also PATROL Console Charting Server. object A computer class, computer instance, application class, application instance, parameter, or container (folder) in the PATROL-managed environment. Objects have properties and are assigned attributes (command types, parameters, menu commands, InfoBox commands, setup commands, state change actions, and environment variables). Parameter objects have commands and values that are assigned to classes and instances. See also object class, object hierarchy, object icon, and object window. object class A computer class or application class. See also class, object, and object hierarchy. object hierarchy The structure of object levels in PATROL. On the PATROL Desktop, computers contain application folders (containers) representing a loaded KM, application folders contain one or more application instances, and application instances contain parameters. object icon A graphic that represents a computer instance, application class, application instance, parameter, or container (folder) in the PATROL-managed environment. See also object, object hierarchy, and object window. object window An open object container (folder) that may contain application class icons, application instance icons, parameter icons, custom containers (folders), and shortcuts. The object window is displayed when you double-click the object icon. See also application instance, computer instance, object, and object icon. OK and Not OK icons Icons that show the state of a PATROL object. An OK icon represents an object in an OK state; a Not OK icon represents an object in a warning or an alarm state. Warning and alarm states are
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indicated by not flashing and flashing respectively and by the color of the Not OK icon. See also instance, object, and state. Operator Console See PATROL Operator Console. operating system account An account that is set up for the PATROL Agent at installation and that is used or can be changed in a configuration utility. Operating system commands executed by the PATROL Agent use this account. override a parameter To disable or change the behavior of a local PATROL application parameter. The changes to the parameter are local to the host running the parameter and are stored in the agent configuration database. You must be granted specific permissions by a PATROL Administrator through the PATROL User Roles file in order to override parameters. See also PATROL roles. parameter The monitoring component of PATROL. Parameters are run by the PATROL Agent; they periodically use data collection commands to obtain data on a system resource and then parse, process, and store that data on the computer that is running the PATROL Agent. Parameter data can be accessed from a PATROL Console, PATROLVIEW, or an SNMP console. Parameters have thresholds and can trigger warnings and alarms. If the value returned by the parameter triggers a warning or an alarm, the PATROL Agent notifies the PATROL Console and runs any recovery actions associated with the parameter. See also parameter history repository and parameter state. parameter cache The memory location where current parameter data is kept. In the PATROL Agent's configuration file, you can set the size of the cache, the maximum number of data points that can be stored, and the interval (in seconds) for emptying the cache. parameter history repository Also known as parameter history file. See history repository. parameter override See override parameter. parameter state The condition of a parameter. The most common parameter states are OK, warning, and alarm. A parameter icon can show additional conditions that include no history, offline, snoozed, and suspended. A parameter can also be deactivated; when a parameter is deactivated, no icon is displayed. See also state. PATROL Agent The core component of PATROL architecture. The agent is used to monitor and manage host computers and can communicate with the PATROL Console, a stand-alone event manager
Glossary
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(PEM), PATROLVIEW, and SNMP consoles. From the command line, the PATROL Agent is configured by the pconfig utility; from a graphical user interface, it is configured by the xpconfig utility for Unix or the wpconfig utility for Microsoft Windows. See also PATROL SNMP Master Agent. PATROL Agent configuration file A file in which you can define the characteristics of the PATROL Agent by setting PATROL Agent configuration variables. You can edit the configuration file by using the pconfig utility, the wpconfig utility, or the xpconfig utility. See also KM configuration file, PATROL Agent configuration variable, pconfig, wpconfig, and xpconfig. PATROL Agent configuration variable The means by which the characteristics of a PATROL Agent are defined. PATROL provides default variable values that can be customized. Configuration variables determine such characteristics as how errors are handled, which KMs are loaded and how, how SNMP support is configured, and how events trigger SNMP traps. See also PATROL Agent configuration file. PATROL Agent Manager A feature of PATROL for Microsoft Windows only. The graphical user interface used to install and run the PATROL Agent. PATROL Agent namespace A memory array that contains an internal representation of the PATROL object hierarchy. Values in the agent namespace are available to PSL scripts, eliminating the need to develop code to collect this data. PATROL Agent process cache A copy of the process cache of the operating system on a monitored computer. The agent process cache is updated periodically. PATROL Agent process cache refresh A periodic process of the PATROL Agent that issues a platform-dependent system query to obtain a list of the active processes. This data is used to update the PATROL Agent process cache. PATROL Agent run queue The order of poll times at which the PATROL Agent executes parameters. See also PSL run queue. PATROL Command Line Interface (CLI) An interface program that you can access from the command line of a monitored computer and through which you can run some PATROL products and utilities. With the CLI, you can monitor the state of PATROL Agents remotely, execute PSL functions, and query and control events. The CLI is used in place of the PATROL Console when memory and performance constraints exist.
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PATROL Console The graphical user interface from which you launch commands and manage the distributed environment monitored by PATROL. The PATROL Console displays all of the monitored computer instances and application instances as icons. It also interacts with the PATROL Agent and runs commands and tasks on each monitored computer. The dialog is event-driven so that messages reach the PATROL Console only when a specific event causes a state change on the monitored computer. See also PATROL Developer Console and PATROL Operator Console. PATROL Console Charting Server A PATROL function that creates charts and graphs of actual values returned by more than one parameter. Charts and graphs are created by dragging and dropping various parameters into a multigraph container (folder) and plotting the results into a chart. Parameter data is plotted either in real time or from history sets and can be presented in a number of chart styles, including line graphs, pie charts, 3-D bar charts, and area plots. Charts can be viewed through the PATROL Console and printed to a local printer or postscript file. PATROL Developer Console The graphical interface to PATROL that administrators can use to monitor and manage computer instances and application instances and to customize, create, and delete locally loaded Knowledge Modules and commit these changes to selected PATROL Agent machines. PATROL Event Manager (PEM) The PATROL event manager that you can use to view and manage events that occur on monitored system resources and that are sent by PATROL Agents. You can access the PEM from the PATROL Console or use it as a stand-alone facility. It works with the PATROL Agent and user-specified filters to provide a customized view of events. See also event manager. PATROL History Loader KM A PATROL utility used to convert PATROL history data into an ASCII data file or to store history data directly into a particular relational database management system. PATROLVIEW Formerly PATROLVIEW or PATROLINK. Products that can be used to view events and to monitor and display all the parameters provided by the PATROL Agents and KMs in a network or enterprise management console. PATROL KMDS See PATROL Knowledge Module Deployment Server (PATROL KMDS). PATROL KMDS Manager See PATROL Knowledge Module Deployment Server Manager (PATROL KMDS Manager). PATROL KM Migrator A PATROL utility used to propagate KM user customizations to newly released versions of PATROL Knowledge Modules.
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PATROL Knowledge Module Deployment Server (PATROL KMDS) The change and version control tool for KMs. A repository for storage of PATROL KMs and changes to those KMs. PATROL Knowledge Module Deployment Server Manager (PATROL KMDS Manager) The graphical interface for the PATROL KMDS that can be used to manage and deploy or distribute KM changes in the production environment. PATROL Operator Console The graphical interface to PATROL that operators can use to monitor and manage computer instances and application instances but not to customize or create KMs, commands, and parameters. PATROL roles A set of permissions that grant or remove the ability of a PATROL Console to perform certain functions. PATROL roles are defined in the PATROL User Roles file, which is read when the console starts. PATROL Script Language (PSL) The interpreted and compiled programming language for writing application discovery procedures, parameters, recovery actions, commands, and tasks for monitored computers within the PATROL environment. PATROL SNMP Master Agent The agent through which a PATROL Agent interacts with an SNMP agent and SNMP manager. The PATROL Master Agent configuration file contains the community name and port number for all agents in such a multiple-agent architecture. patroldev A domain group that can be set up by a Microsoft Windows system administrator to restrict user access to a PATROL Developer Console. When a user tries to start a PATROL Developer Console, PATROL checks whether the user is in the patroldev group. If the user is not in the group, a PATROL Operator Console is started instead. See also ptrldev. pconfig The command line utility for setting PATROL Agent configuration variables. See also PATROL Agent configuration file, PATROL Agent configuration variable, wpconfig, and xpconfig. PEM See PATROL Event Manager (PEM). periodic scheduling A kind of scheduling that starts a parameter at a certain time and reruns the parameter at certain intervals. See also event-driven scheduling.
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persistent filter A filter maintained by the PATROL Agent for each PATROL Console or event manager that connects to it. The filter is used to minimize network traffic by limiting the number and types of events that are forwarded from a PATROL Agent to a PATROL Console or an event manager (PEM). polling cycle The schedule on which a parameter starts running and the intervals at which it reruns; the cycle is expressed in seconds. See also event-driven scheduling and periodic scheduling. pop-up menu The menu of commands for a monitored object; the menu is accessed by right-clicking the object. prediscovery A quick one-time test written in PSL to determine whether a resource that you want to monitor is installed or running on a monitored computer. If the results are affirmative, the PATROL Agent runs the discovery script. Prediscovery helps reduce PATROL Agent processing requirements. preloaded KM A KM that is loaded by the PATROL Agent at startup and run as long as the Agent runs. See also disable a KM and static KM. process cache refresh See PATROL Agent process cache refresh. property A dialog that contains commands and scripts that define attributes and other characteristics such as icons. PSL See PATROL Script Language (PSL). PSL Compiler A PATROL utility that checks PSL syntax in PATROL commands and tasks. The PSL Compiler is accessed through the dialog boxes for InfoBox commands, menu commands, parameter commands, parameter recovery actions, PATROL setup commands, and state change actions. The compiler can also be run as a command line utility. PSL Debugger A PATROL Console utility that is used to debug PSL scripts. The PSL debugger is accessed through a computer's pop-up menu. PSL discovery A type of application discovery in which the discovery rules are defined by using PSL. PSL discovery can consist of prediscovery and discovery PSL scripts.
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PSL Profiler A PATROL Console utility that is used to tune the CPU usage and minimize child processes or file operations of a newly created KM. When the PSL Profiler is enabled, the PATROL Agent starts accumulating and recording profile statistics. PSL run queue A list of the currently executing PSL processes. ptrldev A form of patroldev that can be used in environments that support domain names no larger than eight characters. See patroldev. Quick Query An item on the Tools menu from the PATROL Console main menu bar that contains built-in predefined commands that you can use to query the agent for frequently needed information. For example, you can query the agent regularly about all computer instances, application instances, and parameters that are in a warning or alarm state. See also Agent Query. reconnect polling The time interval (in seconds) at which the PATROL Console will try to reconnect to a PATROL Agent that has dropped the previous connection. The longer the interval, the lower the network traffic. See also heartbeat, message retries, message time-out. recovery action A procedure that fixes a problem that caused a warning or alarm condition. A recovery action is defined within a parameter by a user or by PATROL and triggered when the returned parameter value falls within a defined alarm range. refresh parameter An action that forces the PATROL Agent to run one or more parameters immediately, regardless of their polling cycle. Refreshing does not reset the polling cycle but gathers a new data point between polling cycles. reporting filter The filter used by the PATROL Agent when transmitting events to consoles (event cache) from the event repository (located at the agent) for statistical reports. response window An input and output display for many KM menu items that provides a customizable layout of the information (for example, the sort method for outputting system process IDs). See also system output window and task output window. run queue See PATROL Agent run queue.
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self-polling parameter A standard parameter that starts a process that runs indefinitely; the parameter regularly polls itself to check whether the started process is still running. A self-polling parameter differs from most other parameters that run scripts for a short time and then terminate until the next poll time. Data collection commands for a self-polling parameter must be written in PSL. session file Any of the files that are saved when changes are made and saved during the current PATROL Console session. A session file includes the session-1.km file, which contains changes to KMs loaded on your console, and the session-1.prefs file, which contains user preferences. setup command A command that is initiated by the PATROL Console and run by the PATROL Agent when the PATROL Console connects or reconnects to the agent. For example, a setup command can initialize an application log file to prepare it for monitoring. PATROL provides some setup commands for computer classes. Only a PATROL Developer Console can add or change setup commands. shortcut An alias or copy of an object icon in the PATROL hierarchy. simple discovery A type of application discovery that uses simple pattern matching for identifying and monitoring files and processes. SNMP Simple Network Management Protocol. The communications protocol that is supported in the PATROL Agent and PSL and that is designed for network management systems running on TCP/IP networks. The messages are typically very short and can be just code numbers that the recipient is expected to translate into the desired action. SNMP trap A condition which, when satisfied, results in an SNMP agent issuing a trap message to other SNMP agents and clients. Within PATROL, all PATROL event class commands can be enabled as SNMP traps. snooze an alarm To temporarily suspend an alarm so that a parameter does not exhibit an alarm state. During the user-set snooze period, the parameter continues to run commands and recovery actions, and the parameter icon appears to be in an OK state. See also deactivate a parameter and suspend a parameter. Standard Event Catalog A PATROL-provided collection of predefined event classes for all computer classes and application classes. To add, modify, or delete event classes and commands in the Standard Event Catalog, you must use a PATROL Developer Console. See also event catalog and event class.
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standard parameter A type of parameter that collects and displays data as numeric values or text. Standard parameters can also execute commands and gather data for consumer parameters to display. See also collector parameter, consumer parameter, and parameter. startup command See setup command. state The condition of a PATROL-monitored object (computer instance, application instance, or parameter). The most common states are OK, warning, and alarm. Object icons can show additional conditions. See also application state, computer state, parameter state, and state change action. state Boolean A parameter output style that represents the on or yes state of a monitored object as a check mark and the off or no state as the letter x. Parameters with this output style can have alerts (warning and alarm) and recovery actions. Numeric data output for the monitored object can be displayed as a graph. See also stoplight. state change action An action that is stored, maintained, and initiated by the PATROL Console when the console is notified by the PATROL Agent that a monitored object has changed state. static KM A KM that is not loaded by the PATROL Agent until a PATROL Console with a loaded KM of the same name connects to the Agent. If all PATROL Consoles with a registered interest disconnect from the PATROL Agent, the KMs continue to execute as long as the Agent runs. If the PATROL Agent stops, those static KMs will not be reloaded. See also disable a KM and preloaded KM. stoplight A parameter output style that displays OK, warning, and alarm states as green, yellow, and red lights, respectively, on a traffic light. Parameters with this output style can have alerts (warning and alarm) and recovery actions. Numeric data output for the monitored object can be displayed as a graph. See also state Boolean. suspend a parameter To stop running a parameter for selected computers or application instances. Suspending a parameter stops parameter commands and recovery actions but does not delete the parameter icon from the application instance window and does not delete the parameter definition from the KM tree in the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows. A suspended parameter can be resumed at any time. You can suspend a parameter from its pop-up menu. See also deactivate a parameter and snooze an alarm.
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system output window A message window that displays the output of operating system (OS) and PSL commands and tasks that the PATROL Console and the PATROL Agent submit to a particular computer. When there are unread messages in the system output window, PATROL displays a yellow triangle for Microsoft Windows; for Unix, it displays a blue screen with white text. You can enter OS and PSL commands in the bottom part of the window. task A command or group of commands that can execute on one object or several objects simultaneously. A task runs in the background and is not part of the PATROL Agent run queue; a task icon is displayed for each running task. task output window A window that contains command output generated by a task (for example, a KM menu command or a parameter warning or alarm). While executing, each task has its own icon, which usually appears in the PATROL Desktop or main window but may appear in an appropriate object window. threshold A point or points that define a range of values, outside of which a parameter is considered to be in a warning or alarm range. unload a KM To delete a KM from a PATROL Console session in order to stop monitoring the KM-defined objects on all computers. The KM files are not deleted from the directories on the PATROL Console or the PATROL Agent machines, and the PATROL Agent may continue to collect parameter data and run recovery actions. To prevent the PATROL Agent machine from collecting parameter data and running recovery actions for a KM, disable the KM. See also disable a KM, preloaded KM, and static KM. User Datagram Protocol (UDP) A protocol selection for the Connection Setup portion of the Customize Properties dialog box for computer instances. user preferences The PATROL Console settings that designate the account you want to use to connect to monitored hosts, prevent a developer console from downloading its version of a KM to a PATROL Agent upon connection, disable the commit process for a developer console, determine certain window and icon display characteristics, specify the event cache size, and indicate whether startup and shutdown commands are enabled. Both a developer and an operator console can change user preferences. version arbitration The KM version comparison that PATROL makes when a PATROL Console connects to a PATROL Agent. By default, PATROL Developer Console KM versions are loaded rather than PATROL Agent KM versions, and PATROL Agent KM versions are loaded rather than PATROL Operator Console KM versions.
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view filter A filter that can be created in an event manager (PEM) and that screens events forwarded from PATROL Agents. Views can be created, stored, and reapplied to host computers. warning An indication that a parameter has returned a value that falls within the warning range. See also alarm. wpconfig A feature of PATROL for Microsoft Windows only. The graphical user interface utility for setting PATROL Agent configuration variables. The wpconfig utility can be accessed from a computer pop-up menu on a PATROL Agent machine or a PATROL Developer Console machine. See also PATROL Agent configuration file and PATROL Agent configuration variable. xpconfig A feature of PATROL for Unix only. The graphical user interface utility for setting PATROL Agent configuration variables. You can access the xpconfig utility from an xterm session command line on a PATROL Agent machine or from a pop-up menu or on an xterm session command line on a PATROL Developer Console. See also PATROL Agent configuration file and PATROL Agent configuration variable.
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Index
Symbols
*.ctg files 57 *.dt files 56, 58, 106 *.dtm files 56, 109 *.errs files 58 *.kml files 79, 82, 83 *.psl files 57 *.qry files 57 discovery problems 131 graphical depiction 41 in knowledge hierarchy 37 in object hierarchy 33 in offline state 132 attributes of instance 43 of object class 43
A
account 88 account used to start PATROL Console 47 account you use to start the PATROL Console 46 Add Host dialog box 89 adding host ALL_COMPUTERS and troubleshooting 93 Agent packages 25 Agent Query 25 Agent startup commands 44 alarms 27 ALL_COMPUTERS 40 annotated data point marker 64, 100 application account customizing 47 description 46 search order for 47 application class packages 25 application classes description 41 in knowledge hierarchy 37 set of folders for 42 application discovery and PATROL Agent 50 APPL_CHECK_CYCLE 50, 51 description 50 discovery cycle 51, 85 GET_PROCS_CYCLE 50, 51 PATROL Agent Discovery Cache 51 PSL discovery 52 simple discovery 52 application filters 65 application instances customized 41 discovering 42, 85
B
BMC Software, contacting 2 built-in macro variables APPL_CHECK_CYCLE 51 GET_PROCS_CYCLE 51
C
Check 87 command line arguments and PATROL Console startup 94 and PATROL startup 61 example of 74 for PATROL Console 74 specifying file names in 61 Command Line Interface (CLI) 26 command text editor 123 command types 43 commands function of 27 predefined 22 running 24 user-defined 22 commit process 23 computer classes and adding host computer 90 description 40 description of 90 in knowledge hierarchy 37 set of folders for 40 computer instance properties application filters 117 connection setup 114 history span 113
Index
167
security 116 computer instances changing properties 113 customized 40 in knowledge hierarchy 37 in offline state 128 recommended actions when offline 128 configuration files 56, 59 connecting to a PATROL Agent PATROL Agent connecting 94 connection mode and Add Host dialog box 90 customizing setup 115 console files 56 console packages 25 container (folder) 63 conventions, document 16 customer support 2 customized application instances 41 customized computer instances 40 customized consoles 70 customizing user preferences 95, 96 Developer Console in KMDS environment 91 disconnecting from PATROL Agent 94 discovering applications 85 discovery. See application discovery document conventions 16
E
environment variables %HOMEDRIVE% 56, 65, 94, 108, 111 %HOMEPATH% 65, 94, 108, 111 %PATROL_ADMIN% 137 %PATROL_BIN% 137 %PATROL_CACHE% 137 %PATROL_CFG% 137 %PATROL_DESKTOP% 137 %PATROL_GLOBAL_LIB% 137 %PATROL_HELP% 138 %PATROL_HOME% 138 %PATROL_KM% 138 %PATROL_KMDS_HOME% 137 %PATROL_LANG% 138 %PATROL_LOCAL_ PSL_APPS% 138 %PATROL_LOCAL_CHART% 138 %PATROL_LOCAL_KM% 138 %PATROL_LOG% 138 %PATROL_PSL_APPS% 138 %PATROL_QRY% 138 %PATROL_REMOTE% 138 %PATROL_SOUNDS% 138 %PATROL_TMP% 139 %TMP_PATROL% 139 %XBMLANGPATH% 139 as attribute to classes and instances 43 defined during PATROL installation 137 description of 44 error logs 58 event cache 64, 102 disk size 102 memory size 102 event catalog files 57 event catalogs 45 as attribute to classes and instances 43 description 45 event classes as attribute to classes and instances 43 description of 45 with PATROL Event Manager 45 event log 45 Event Manager storage directory 102 storage type 102 event notification API 29
D
default account 88 default logon account 95 and user preferences 64 property elements for menu tab 103 desktop customizing windows on 61 graphical depiction 30 organizing objects in 63 restoring 98 template files 56 desktop files and session files 58 as console files 56 creating 107 description 59 inserting or merging another desktop 106, 108 loading 108 purpose of 106 saving 107 setting up 106 desktop template files inserting or merging another desktop template 110 purpose of 109 saving 110 desktop tree and adding host computer 91 display instructions 78 graphical depiction 30, 31, 34 desktop window 31
168
events cache size 64 history file 64, 102 Extended Security Interface (ESI) and the PATROL Secure Plug-in 71 merging PATROL KMs 83 message retries 115 message time out 115 message window suppressing popup 64, 98 multigraph chart description 63
F
filtering applications 65 folder (container) 63
N
Network Management Consoles 24
G
GET_PROCS_CYCLE 51
O
object hierarchy 33 object icon 65 object window 31, 34 offline state application instance 132 computer instance 128 online documentation 15 online help 120 for parameters 120, 122 for PATROL Console dialog boxes 120, 122 for PATROL KMs 120, 121 for the PATROL Console 120 topics list 121 operating system (OS) account customizing 46 search orders 46 operating system (OS) KMs 79, 80
H
heartbeat 88, 115 historical data stored by PATROL Agent 23 history retention 44, 98 in user preferences 44 host computers adding 86, 88 connecting and disconnecting 94 problems with adding 93 using the Add Host dialog box 89
I
icon library 65 InfoBox 24 InfoBox commands as attribute to classes and instances 43 description of 44
P
package and PATROL functions 23 contents of 56 parameters as attributes to classes and instances 43 customizing 23 defining attributes for 37 description of 33, 44 displaying online help 122 functions of 24, 27 history retention 44, 98 in knowledge hierarchy 37 online help 120 password in Add Host dialog box 91 in Default Account Preferences 103 in security properties 116 PATROL account management 45 architecture 28 components of 21
K
KM. See PATROL KMs KMDS 23 enabling and disabling 64 specifying port number 74 knowledge hierarchy 37, 38, 39 Knowledge Module. See PATROL KMs
M
menu commands as attribute to classes and instances 43 customizing 23 running 24 merge map file 58
Index
169
description of 21 desktop 30 event notification API 29 functions of 21, 27 knowledge hierarchy 30 protocol 29 PATROL Agent 25, 88 and application discovery 50 and PATROL KMs loaded at startup 24 and PSL 25 communication with PATROL Console 29 conditions not monitored 48 configuration utility 123, 124 connecting/disconnecting 94 description 21, 24 discovery cache 51 function of 27, 28 pconfig 123 port number 73, 87, 90, 115 purpose 24 Query 25 shutting down 112 starting 71, 72 startup and shutdown in user preferences 64, 101 startup mode in Agent Manager 73 troubleshooting 133 wpconfig 123, 124 PATROL Agent configuration utility 23 PATROL Agent Manager shutting down agent 112 PATROL Console and loading PATROL KMs 79 and the object hierarchy 33 components of 30 connection problems to offline computers 78 default logon account 64, 103 description of 21 features 53 files used at startup 61 functions of 27, 28 icon in system tray 31 license 77 menu bar of 32 menu from system tray 32 message window of 31 online help 120 starting 73, 76 startup and shutdown in user preferences 64, 101 state change actions of 44 status icon of 31 task bar button 31 toolbar of 32 troubleshooting startup 135 using Update Connection 79 PATROL Developer Console 76 and KM security 80 and patroldev group 76 and state change actions 44 and the patroldev group 76 description 23 description of 23 functions of 23 responsibilities 70 sending PATROL KM files to an Agent 23 starting 73, 76 user preferences 98 PATROL Event Manager (PEM) 21 and event classes and catalogs 45 description of 25 function of 25 PATROL hierarchy object types application folders. 33 application instances 33 computer instances 33 parameters 33 PATROL History Loader KM 123 PATROL KM 22 files 56, 82, 83 package 23, 25, 79, 83 setup 84 PATROL KM tree and application classes 41 and computer classes 40 functions 38, 39, 43 global and local definitions 40 graphical depiction 30 purpose 32 PATROL KMDS Manager 25 functions of 23 PATROL KMs 37, 38 and parameter definitions 24 building 23 conditions that affect loading 80 configuration files 84 deploying 24 description 24 graphical depiction 28 knowledge hierarchy 38 loading 24, 81 merging 83 migration from earlier version 58 modifying 23 online help 120 online help topics list 121 overview 28 reloading 83 setup requirements 84 setup script 84 PATROL Knowledge Module Deployment Server 23 PATROL license 75 demonstration 75, 77 dialog box 77 permanent 75, 77 updating an expired PATROL license 142, 143
170
updating from the Console 142 updating with an ASCII file 143 PATROL object hierarchy 33 PATROL Operator Console and PATROL license 75 capabilities 71 connection problems 78 description of 22 functions of 22 starting 73, 76 tasks 22 PATROL protocol and Add Host dialog box 90 and customized properties 115 PATROL Script Language (PSL) function of 25 PATROL Secure Plug-In and Extended Security Interface (ESI) 71 PATROL utilities 123 patrol.conf 61, 71, 76, 91 PatrolMainMap 31, 58 pconfig 123 port number and Add Host dialog box 90 for PATROL Agent 87, 90, 115 product support 2 PSL Compiler 25, 123, 124 PSL Debugger 26, 123, 124 PSL discovery. See application discovery PSL. See PATROL Script Language ptrldev 91 contents of 59 session-1.km 57, 58, 61, 106 session-1.prefs 57, 59, 61, 64, 94 vs. desktop files 58 setting up PATROL KMs 84 setup commands 43 shortcut menu 32 shortcuts (aliases) aliases (shortcuts) 63 shutdown actions enabling 101 simple discovery. See application discovery SNMP and PATROL Console 28 and the PATROL Agent 24 traps 29 traps description 29 standard event catalog 45 starting and stopping the PATROL Agent 23 starting PATROL 69 startup actions 101 state change actions as attribute of classes and instances 43 enabling 64 enabling/disabling 101 functions of 44 support, customer 2 system output 64
T
task 63 tasks of the PATROL Operator Console 22 TCP/IP 29 technical support 2 template files creating 109 types of commands 43
Q
query files 56, 57 Query Results window 25
R
reconnect polling 115 related documentation 15 release notes 15 resources, monitoring use of 22 restoring a desktop 98
U
UDP 29 user account 88 user preferences 60, 64 and computer instances 86 and history retention 44 and state change actions 100, 101 changing 64 configuration 97 customizing 94, 95, 96 default account 102 event manager 101 miscellaneous 99 properties for 97
S
security and PATROL KM loading 80 ptrldev 91 security properties changing 116 See also computer instances session files as console files 56
Index
171
saving in session-1.prefs file 105 system output 103, 104 username 116 and Add Host dialog box 91
V
variables built-in 51 version arbitration 48, 81 and PATROL Developer Console actions 49 and PATROL KMs 49 and PATROL Operator Console actions 49
W
warnings 27 wpconfig description of 124
172
Notes
*208865* *208865* *208865* *208865*

*208865*

PATROL Console: Getting Started Guide Volume 1-Understanding The Basics of PATROL

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PATROL Console

Getting Started Guide Volume 1Understanding the Basics of PATROL

Contacting BMC Software

United States and Canada

Outside United States and Canada

Restricted rights legend

Support by telephone or e-mail

Before contacting BMC

License key and password information

PATROL Console Getting Started Guide for Microsoft Windows

Updating License Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Glossary Index 145 167

About This Book

Who Should Read This Book

How This Book Is Organized

How This Book Is Organized

Console and Desktop Organization

Online Help and Utilities

5 Appendix A Appendix B Glossary Index

Online and Printed Books

Access Online Books

updates to the installation instructions last-minute product information

About This Book

Unix Button MB1

right mouse button

About This Book

Prerequisites for Monitoring and Managing Your Enterprise

What PATROL Does

Components of PATROL (part 1 of 5)

Dependent on These Components

PATROL Operator Console

PATROL Agent PATROL KM

Components of PATROL (part 2 of 5)

PATROL Agent PATROL KM PATROL Knowledge Module Deployment Server

PATROL Agent PATROL KM

PATROL KM Package PATROL KMDS Manager

Components of PATROL (part 3 of 5)

Dependent on These Components

PATROL KMDS Manager

PATROL Agent PATROL KM

Components of PATROL (part 4 of 5)

PATROL KMDS Manager PATROL KMDS

PATROL Event Manager Agent Query

PATROL Agent PATROL KM PATROL Agent PATROL KM PATROL Console

PATROL Script Language (PSL)

PSL functions Built-in commands Built-in macro variables

PATROL Agent PATROL Console

Components of PATROL (part 5 of 5)

PATROL Command Line Interface

How PATROL Works

How PATROL Works

How the PATROL Console Fits into PATROL

How the PATROL Console Fits into PATROL

Overview of the PATROL Architecture

Local Computer PATROL

Operating System Knowledge Module Application Knowledge Module

PATROL Agent Application

User Interface SNMP Console

Operating System Knowledge Module Application Knowledge Module

Operating System PATROL Agent User Interface

Console to Agent Communication

Console to Agent Communication

PATROL protocol Event notification API

Event Notification API