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SANscape Alert
What is SANscape
Alert?
How SANscape
Alert Operates
Setting Up SANscape
Alert Configuration
Setting
Up and Using the Report Tool
Setting Up and
Using the Mail Receiver Tool
Instead of keeping the SANscape
Console program running in the foreground, you can use SANscape Alert
as a companion utility of SANscape Console running as a background service
that sends messages from the hosts and arrays to specified email addresses.
Using SANscape Alert, you can:
- Define the types of message
traps sent
- Define the timing of messages
sent
- Send encrypted messages
- Receive messages and decrypt
encrypted messages on the Mail Receiver Tool (which functions as an
email viewing program if you do not have a program such as Microsoft
Outlook on the receiving computer)
To use SANscape Alert throughout
the storage data network, install it as a service on each computer that
has a controlling SANscape Agent (a controlling agent is the only agent
that talks to a specific array).
One major benefit of installing
SANscape Alert on all host computers is that it can be configured to ping
each computer periodically, and will send a single-point-of-failure message
from a SANscape Agent to the specified email addresses when a host fails.
SANscape Alert is composed
of the following components:
- SANscape Alert Agent (daemon)
operates in background mode continuously on the computer where
it is installed. The daemon can be installed and used on any computer
where SANscape is running.
- SANscape Alert Config Tool
(UI) a utility that configures the types of message traps that
are sent to the SANscape Agent and that are sent to a specific email
address as an alert or for informational purposes. Also known as the
UI (user interface).
- SANscape Alert Mail Receiver
Tool displays the messages that are collected. Also known as
the POP3 Mail Receiver.
After connecting to a SANscape
Agent, SANscape Alert receives any event from the agent; if the event
is assigned a TRAP condition, then SANscape Alert emails the event to
the user-specified email address.
If SANscape Alert cannot connect
to any agent or the agent is offline, then it tries to discover the agent
every five minutes. This prevents SANscape Alert from being disconnected
from the agent when network traffic is congested.
In the typical setup shown
in the following figure, the array hosts (computers #1, #2, and #3) are
used with the array devices (#A, #B, and #C respectively). Each host contains
a SANscape Agent and a SANscape Alert daemon. Each SANscape Alert daemon
can be configured by the Config Tool to send event messages to any email
address (shown as computer #5, which uses the Mail Receiver Tool to download
the messages).
The SANscape Alert Config Tool
and the SANscape Console program can be located on any computer on the
network and are located on one computer (#4) for convenience only.
Setting Up the SANscape Alert
Configuration
Only one instance of the SANscape
Alert Config utility can be open at a time. The configuration information
is saved in a file named ssalert_cfg.xml.
Note: To implement any
configuration change to a SANscape Alert service, you must be connected
to a SANscape Alert server and you must click Save Configuration after
you have completed the changes.
To Set Up the Configuration:
- Start SANscape Alert.
On a Solaris/Linux/AIX
operating environment, type
ssalertd
On a Windows operating
system, choose Start > Programs > SANscapeAlert > SANscape Alert
Config Tool.
If you have previously
configured and connected to one SANscape Alert daemon, the Config
Tool automatically connects to the server that you last used.
- For the first-time installation,
you must first set up a connection between the Config Tool and a server
where a SANscape Alert daemon is running.
To create a server connection,
select Servers > Server List Setup.
In the Server List Configuration
dialog box, click Add and enter the SANscape Alert daemon server
name and IP address.
Keep the default port number
(which is displayed automatically and is used by the SANscape Alert
Config Tool (UI) to communicate with the SANscape Alert daemon).
Type the ssconfig login password
for the server. This is the same login password that was set when you
installed SANscape. If this password has not already been set, you must
set it before continuing. Refer to the SANscape Users Guide
for details.
- Click Apply.
The SANscape Alert server
Name and IP Address appear in the Server List. The SANscape Alert Config
Tool can access multiple servers, but can only connect to one server
and one SANscape Alert service at a time.
If you do not specify a password
for each server, you are asked for a password each time you reconnect
to a server.
- Click Close.
- To connect to a SANscape
Alert server, select Servers > Connect Servers and then select
the desired server from the list that is displayed.
- Click the Basic Information
tab to enter information used for the email server and event messages.
- System ID and Location
descriptive fields for the server where the SANscape Alert service
resides.
- Customer and Contact
Information provides information to be attached to the event
emails, which is helpful when the event messages are sent to multiple
email locations.
- SMTP Server the
IP address or domain name for the server that SANscape Alert uses
to send email. If you enter an incorrect address (or domain name),
SANscape Alert cannot find it and mail messages are not sent. If the
SMTP server needs authorization, you must enter the necessary information
to log in to the SMTP server.
- Configure the From
field using the following format name@domain
.
- To specify the trap messages
to be reported, select the Trap Information tab and click Add. In the
Add Trap dialog box, select the desired parameters.
As a minimum, select a trap
event, enter the minimum interval between mails, and enter one email
address. To enter multiple email addresses, separate each address with
a space, comma, or semicolon. To receive email immediately when an event
occurs, enter an * in the minimum interval between mails field.
- SANscape Alert can connect
to multiple SANscape Agents at the same time. To connect to one or more
SANscape Agents, click the SANscape Agent Information tab and click
Add.
- For each SANscape Agent,
specify the Agent Name, Agent IP Address, Port and Password for the
ssconfig user accessing that agent.
- Agent Name
name that is included in emails. You can use the real machine host
name or an alias.
- IP Address
Type the IP Address for the agent.
- Port the SANscape
Agent listener port number. Keep the default value 1270 (other valid
values are 1271, 1272, and 1273). If you cannot connect to the agent,
change the value and try again.
- Password the
password for the ssconfig user. Before the SANscape Alert daemon
can connect to the SANscape Agent, the Service must provide the
correct password for the ssconfig user.
- After you have entered the
agent parameters, click Apply to save the configuration, or click
Discard to cancel changes. Each agent listed in the agent sends
the specified event messages to the SANscape Alert Service where this
configuration has been saved.
- After you create or edit
any configuration, click Save Configuration in the main window
to save the configuration to SANscape Alert. The SANscape Alert Service
restarts to read the configuration file again.
- To see the current status
of each agent at a specific moment, click Probe SANscape Agent
in the main window. In the Agent Information window, the colored
status buttons indicate if the SANscape Alert Service is active with
the SANscape Agent on each agent server.
- Red SANscape Alert cannot
connect to the SANscape Agent.
- Yellow SANscape Alert
is seeking the SANscape Agent.
- Green SANscape Alert
is connected to the SANscape Agent.
- None The SANscape Agent
information has not been saved.
The color and text of this button can change every 20 seconds.
Setting Up the Mail
Receiver
The Mail Receiver Tool
is optional and can be used in place of your regular email application.
It can be used to receive and forward unencrypted and encrypted
email.
To Set Up and Use the
Mail Receiver Tool on a Solaris/Linux operating system:
Start the Mail Receiver
Tool and type ssalertpop.
To Set Up and Use the
Mail Receiver Tool on a Windows 2000 operating system
- Select Start >
Programs > SANscapeAlert > SANscape Alert Mail Receiver Tool.
- In the POP3 Mail
Client for SANscape Alert window, identify the UserName, Password,
and email server IP address (POP3 Server) where the event messages
will be sent. If needed, specify the appropriate SMTP information.
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