CCMS – Installation & Configuration

Introduction:

The monitoring architecture provides an infrastructure for monitoring the entire IT

environment and its components. Monitoring data is stored in the shared memory of
every server with a running SAP instance or a running agent. CCMS can be configured in
a Central Monitoring System (CEN) and the various agents are required to be installed
and configured in the various monitored systems so that the systems can be monitored
directly from the CEN. A CCMS agent communicates with the central monitoring system
(CEN) using RFC.

Read and write access from the central monitoring system is possible in two different
ways:

• Using a defined ABAP interface, in the case of an SAP instance

• Using the CCMS agent, in the case of any server on which the agent is installed
and active

CCMS agents are independent processes with an interface through RFC to a central
monitoring system and an interface to the shared memory. CCMS agents allow us to:

• Include SAP components that do not have an ABAP interface, such as the J2EE
Engine or the Internet Transaction Server (ITS)
• Include components that are not part of the SAP environment
• Make available an alternative connection route to a shared memory segment
• Optimize performance when reading and writing monitoring attributes and alerts,
by using the push technology
• Connect to a shared memory segment without requiring a free work process

Agents also make entirely new monitoring functions possible within the monitoring
architecture, like:

• Monitor any log files.

• Monitor processes at operating system level. The actual monitoring is performed
using the operating system collector SAPOSCOL.
• Create central auto-reactions in which an auto-reaction method is started in the
central monitoring system as a reaction to an alert in a monitored system.
• Monitor network data, including configuration of the network environment, such
as an interface or Domain Name System (DNS) and Network metrics, such as the
length of time taken for a DNS address resolution

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Various CCMS agents:

1. SAPCCMSR

This agent monitors components on which there is no active SAP instance (such
as log files, TREX, stand-alone databases, or operating system components).
SAPCCMSR is closely connected with the monitoring central monitoring system.
After its installation, the CCMS agent SAPCCMSR attempts to attach itself to a
monitoring segment in shared memory when it is started. If this segment does not
yet exist, the agent creates it. SAPCCMSR always works in a shared memory
segment that is independent of running SAP systems. The central monitoring
system must have a release status of at least SAP Basis 4.6B.

2. SAPCCMSR with Option j2ee

SAPCCMSR CCMS agent monitors a J2EE Engine. In a case of this type, it must
be possible that the monitoring segment of the SAPCCMSR agent does not
belong to the central monitoring system. This is achieved by extending the system
term to include Java components (such as J2EE Cluster). The SAPCCMSR agent
with the -j2ee option exists for this purpose.

To use SAPCCMSR with option j2ee, we need a central monitoring system as of

SAP Web AS 6.40 Support Package 1. The monitored J2EE Instance requires at
least SAP Web AS 6.30 Support Package 4.

3. SAPCCM4X

This agent improves the monitoring of ABAP instances with SAP Basis 4.X or
higher. The central monitoring system must have a release status of at least SAP
Basis 4.6C. This agent provides an alternative connection route to the monitoring
information in the shared memory of an ABAP instance. As this alternative
connection method does not require a free work process, the access method is
independent of error states of the SAP instance and is therefore more robust.
Systems as of SAP Basis 4.0 have their own CCMS monitoring architecture
runtime environment. This means that they have their own monitoring segment in
the shared memory area of the running system. After its installation, the
SAPCCM4X agent attempts to attach itself to and to work with this monitoring
segment in shared memory when it is started. The central monitoring system
automatically first attempts to read data from the monitored system through the
RFC destination of the CCMS agent.

4. SAPCCM3X

This agent allows the monitoring of SAP instances with SAP Basis 3.X through
the CCMS monitoring architecture. These systems do not have their own CCMS

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 monitoring architecture runtime environment. SAPCM3X therefore works always
works with a monitoring segment that it creates in its main memory.

All possible Central Monitoring Scenarios with CCMS agents

Current GAIL Scenario:

CCMS agents are a part of the Kernel, hence all the servers in GAIL have SAPCCM4X
agent installed by default. All the systems are monitored individually using RZ20 default
templates. There is no Central Monitoring System in GAIL Landscape to monitor all the
systems centrally. Moreover, external systems like ITS, TREX, J2EE engine etc are being
monitored through external method and not through RZ20.

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Proper installation and configuration of CCMS agents and a Central monitoring system
would allow GAIL to monitor all the systems in the landscape centrally from a single
system.

Prerequisites for installation and registration of CCMS:

A separate system must be identified to be a Central Monitoring System (CEN) for

monitoring and system management. A production system must not be used to avoid
unnecessary load on the system. The separate system should have highest release and
latest support package status to benefit from the latest development in the areas of
monitoring and system management.

• Create the CSMREG user in CEN. CSMREG is a service user that is

recommended for use by CCMS agent programs for reporting data to the
monitoring architecture and the alert monitor (transaction RZ20). CSMREG
should be created in all systems at which we wish to register CCMS agents, for
example, in our central monitoring system. Please note the password so that we
can use it when we register agents. The user is created as follows:

In CEN, call transaction RZ21 and choose Technical Infrastructure →

Create CSMREG User.
Enter and reenter any password for this user, and confirm our entries by
choosing (Create CSMREG).
• During the registration of the agent, we require the connection data from the agent
to CEN. It is recommended that this data generated in a CSMCONF file in CEN
before the registration. To do this, proceed as follows:

In CEN, call transaction RZ21, and choose Technical Infrastructure →

Generate Configuration file for Agents.
Save the file at a location that is centrally available, since we require the
file for all agent registrations.

Installation:

CCMS agents can be installed for all of the following components:

 ABAP Instance
 Java Instance (Java Standalone System)
 SAP Web AS 6.20 Java Instance/Other Hosts

It may be noted here that if we need to monitor a system with CCMS agents, we need an
agent for every instance of the system (central as well as potential dialog instances).

Installing an agent on an ABAP Instance:

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To monitor an ABAP instance of an SAP system, CCMS agent SAPCCM4X is used.
This agent creates an alternative connection route between the monitored instance and
CEN. Since this alternative connection route no longer requires a free work process, the
access route is independent of error states of the ABAP instance and therefore more
robust.

Procedure:

1. Log on to the host of the ABAP instance as <SID>adm (UNIX), to ensure that
the agent can access the shared memory.
2. Copy the start file CSMCONF to the working directory of SAPCCM4X. This is in
the location: /usr/sap/<SysID>/<instance directory>/log/sapccm4x. If the
directory does not exist, create it.
3. Copy the executable SAPCCM4X to the directory:
/usr/sap/<SysID>/SYS/exe/run. If there is already an executable SAPCCM4X in
this directory, use the command sapccm4x –v to check which of the executables
has the more current status, and use that one.
4. In the directory of the executable, enter the command sapccm4x –R pf=<profile
path>. <profile path> specifies the instance profile of the monitored instance. By
default, this is: /usr/sap/<SysID>/SYS/profile/<SysID>_<Name of the instance
directory>_<Host>
5. During the registration, the system displays specifications from the CSMCONF to
us again for confirmation. Confirm the specifications by pressing the ENTER key
in each case. We only need to enter two parameters ourself:
• The password for the administration user in CEN, under which we created
the CSMCONF file.
• The password for the CSMREG user

6. Under UNIX, we must ensure werself that SAPCCM4X is automatically started

again when the host is restarted. To do this, enter the following command in the
inittab (/etc/inittab): /usr/sap/<SysID>/SYS/exe/run/sapccm4x -DCCMS
pf=<profile path>

An additional connection route between the monitored ABAP instance and CEN using
the CCMS agent SAPCCM4X has been created.

Installing an agent on a Java Instance (Java Standalone System):

The monitoring data for the J2EE Engine is transferred to CEN using the CCMS agent
SAPCCMSR. The agent is part of the installation package of the Engine; it is only needed
to register the agent once for each Java system with CEN and to start the agent.

Procedure:

1. Log on to the host of a J2EE Engine of the system as <SID>adm.

2. Copy the start file CSMCONF to the following directory:

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 UNIX: /usr/sap/ccms/<SysID>_<Inst. No.>/sapccmsr
3. Start the Visual Administrator by calling the start script go (UNIX), and log on
with our user as the J2EE Engine administrator.
4. In the navigation bar, choose Cluster → <SysID> → Dispatcher → Services →
Monitoring, and choose the CCMS Agent Configuration tab page.
5. If we want to monitor multiple systems with the same system ID, select the Long
SID indicator, and enter in this input field an identifier for the system that is
unique in our monitored system landscape. This “long system ID” must fulfill the
following conditions:
The first three characters must be the system ID.
The name can be a maximum of eight characters long.
The name must not contain an underscore (_).
6. The access data for the two required users in CEN is determined from the start file
and displayed in the relevant fields. If necessary, we can change the user name or
the client.
7. In the Password column, enter the passwords for the CEN Administration User
and the CEN CSMREG User. The CEN Administration User is the user with
administrator authorization with which we created the CSMCONF start file.
8. Choose the Register button. The registration log is displayed; errors are
highlighted in red.
9. Under UNIX, the agent is automatically started by the startsap script when we
start the J2EE Engine. Under Microsoft Windows, the agent is entered as a
service during the registration, and is automatically started during a restart of the
host.

The J2EE Engine is now registered with CEN; we can see the corresponding
monitoring data in the Alert Monitor in CEN.

Installing an agent on a Java Instance (Double Stack System):

The monitoring data for the J2EE Engine is transferred to CEN using the SAPCCMSR
CCMS agent. The agent is part of the installation package of the Engine; we only need to
register the agent for the relevant agent with CEN and to start the agent. This procedure
describes the registration of a CCMS agent that is to monitor a J2EE Engine that is part
of a double-stack system of ABAP and Java instances.

In the case of a double-stack system, the agent must be registered with two systems:
primarily with the local ABAP system, and secondarily with CEN. We only need to
register and start the agent once for each system.

Procedure:

1. Log on to the host of a J2EE Engine in the system as <SID>adm .

2. Copy the CSMCONF start file to the following directory:
UNIX: /usr/sap/ccms/<SysID>_<Inst. No.>/sapccmsr

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 We can also save the start file to any directory that we can access from our local
host. In this case, however, we need to specify where we have saved the file
during the registration of the agent. To do this, in the Monitoring service of the
Visual Administrator (see below), choose the Change …button, and specify the
path of the start file. The file is then automatically copied to the above directory.

3. Start the Visual Administrator, by calling the start script go (UNIX), and log on
with our user as a J2EE Engine administrator.
4. In the navigation bar, choose Cluster → <SysID> → Dispatcher → Services →
Monitoring, and choose the CCMS Agent Configuration tab page.
5. If we want to monitor multiple systems with the same system ID, select the Long
SID indicator, and enter an ID for the system in the associated field that is unique
in our monitored system landscape. This “long system ID” must fulfill the
following conditions:
The first three characters need to be the system ID.
The name must have a maximum of eight characters.
The name must not contain any underscores (_).
6. Since we want to register the agent with two systems, we need the access data for
two users for each of these systems: one administration user and one CSMREG
communication user in each system.
7. Specify the access data for these users for the local ABAP system by making all
of the entries for Local Administration User and Local CSMREG User in the
relevant rows. If necessary, we can overwrite the predefined values.
8. Enter the access data for these users for CEN by making all of the entries for CEN
Administration User and CEN CSMREG User in the relevant rows. If necessary,
we can overwrite the predefined values. The CEN Administration User is the user
with administrator authorization with which we created the CSMCONF start file.
9. Choose the Register button. The registration log appears; errors are highlighted in
red.
10. Under UNIX, the agent is automatically started by the startsap script when we
start the J2EE Engine. Under Microsoft Windows, the agent is entered as a
service during the registration, and is automatically started during a restart of the
host.

The J2EE Engine is now registered with the local ABAP system and with CEN; we can
see the corresponding monitoring data in the Alert Monitors of the two systems.

Starting the Agent:

Under Microsoft Windows NT the CCMS agent is automatically started, as the system
starts the associated service. If the CCMS agent has been registered under UNIX, the
agent has not yet been started. Start it using the appropriate command:

Agent Start Command

SAPCCMSR sapccmsr –DCCMS [pf=<profile path>]
SAPCCM4X sapccm4x –DCCMS pf=<profile path>

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SAPCM3X sapcm3x –DCCMS [pf=<profile path>]

Under UNIX, it must also be ensured that the CCMS agent is automatically started after a
restart of the server (for example, by entering the start command in INITTAB).