Impact 40 Ug

Netcool/Impact
Version 4.0
IBM
User Guide
frontmatter.fm December 1, 2006
Note Before using this information and the product it supports, read the information in Appendix C. "Notices" on page 301.
First Edition (December 1, 2006) This edition applies to version 4.0 of Netcool/Impact and to all subsequent releases and modifications until otherwise indicated in new editions. Copyright International Business Machines Corporation, 2006. All rights reserved. US Government Users Restricted Rights - Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contract with IBM Corp.
Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
About this guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii Typographical notation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix Note, Tip, and Warning information . . . . . . . . x Syntax and Sample subheadings. . . . . . . . . . . . x Associated publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi Netcool/Impact Administration Guide . . . . . xi Netcool/Impact Solutions Guide . . . . . . . . . . xi Netcool/Impact Policy Reference Guide . . . .xii Netcool/Impact Online Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . .xii Netcool/Impact Release Notes . . . . . . . . . . . .xii Operating system considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . .xii How to send your comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xii Editing and Deleting Items in Projects and the Global Repository . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Service Status Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Monitoring Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Configuring a Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Services Status Panel Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Service Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Main Work Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Navigation Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Chapter 3. Working with Projects . . 19

About Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Viewing Project Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Projects Tab Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Creating a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Adding and Removing Project Members . . . . . . 23 Editing a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Deleting a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Using the Automated Project Deployment Feature 24 Creating New Policies, Data, and Services for a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Chapter 1. Logging into and Logging out of the GUI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Browser Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Internationalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Requirements for Using SJIS or EUC Japanese Character Encoding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Logging into the GUI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Encountering an Error Message During Log In 4 Changing You Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Logging out of the GUI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Chapter 4. Working with the Global Repository . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

About the Global Repository. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Global Tab Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Viewing the Global Repository Data . . . . . . . . . . 29 Adding an Item to the Global Repository . . . . . . 30 Editing an Item in the Global Repository . . . . . . 31 Deleting an Item from the Global Repository. . . 31 Clearing Version Control File Locking . . . . . . . . 31
Chapter 2. Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

About the Netcool/Impact Graphical User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Navigation Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Projects Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Global Repository . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
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Chapter 5. Working with Data Sources 33

About Data Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 About Data Source Failover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Working with Data Sources Using the GUI . 35 Viewing Data Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Data Source Task Pane Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Working with SQL Data Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Creating a DB2 Data Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Creating a Flat File Data Source . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Creating an Informix Data Source . . . . . . . . . 42 Creating a MS-SQL Server Data Source . . . . 45 Creating a MySQL Data Source . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Creating an ObjectServer Data Source. . . . . . 51 Creating an ODBC Data Source . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Creating an Oracle Data Source . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Creating a PostgreSQL Data Source. . . . . . . . 59 Creating a Sybase Data Source . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Working with LDAP Data Sources . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Working with Mediator DSA Data Sources . . . . 67 Creating a CORBAMediator DSA Data Source 67 Creating a DirectMediator DSA Data Source 69 Creating an SNMPDirectMediator Data Source 69 Editing a Data Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Deleting a Data Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Testing a Data Source Connection. . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Configuring SQL Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Configuring an LDAP External Data Type . 101 Working with Mediator DSA Data Types . . . . 105 Viewing a Mediator DSA Data Type . . . . . . 105 Working with SNMP Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . 106 About Packed OID Data Types. . . . . . . . . . . 106 About Table Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Creating SNMP Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Editing a Data Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Deleting a Data Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Viewing Data Type Performance Statistics . . . 113
Chapter 7. Working with Pre-Defined Data Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

About Pre-Defined Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Working with Time Range Groups and Schedules 118 Time Range Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 Working with Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Working with the LinkType Data Type . . . . . . 128 Viewing LinkType Data Items . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Creating a New LinkType Data Item. . . . . . 130 Working with Documents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Adding a Field to the Doc Data Type . . . . . 132 Viewing Doc Data Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Adding a New Doc Data Item. . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Working with the FailedEvent Data Type . . . . 133 Viewing FailedEvent Data Items . . . . . . . . . 134 Deleting FailedEvent Data Items . . . . . . . . . 135 The Hibernation Data Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Editing and Deleting Pre-Defined Data Items . 136 Adding and Viewing Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Chapter 6. Working with Data Types . . 77

About Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Viewing Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Data Types Task Pane Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Configuring Internal Data Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Internal Data Type Custom Fields Tab - General Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Custom Fields Tab - Additional Fields . . . . . 85 Dynamic Links Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Configuring External Data Types . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
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Chapter 8. Working with Data Items. . . 137

About Data Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 Viewing Data Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 Data Items Editor Tool Bar Buttons . . . . . . . 138
Adding a New Data Item. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Navigating Between Pages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 Filtering the View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Editing Data Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Deleting Data Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
About Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185 Service Status Panel Elements . . . . . . . . . . . .186 Configuring Internal Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188 CommandExecutionManager . . . . . . . . . . . .188 CommandLineManager Service . . . . . . . . . .189 CORBA Name Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .190 Database Listener Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .191 Default Email Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .195 Default EvIent Reader. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .195 Default Jabber Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .195 Default Policy Activator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196 Email Sender Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196 EventProcessor Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196 Hibernating Policy Activator Service . . . . . .198 Jabber Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .200 Adding an AIM Transport. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .203 Adding an MSN Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205 Adding a Yahoo Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .206 Adding an ICQ Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .207 Policy Logger Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .208 Precision Event Listener Service . . . . . . . . . .210 Self Monitoring Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212 Working with Services in the Service Status Panel 214 Starting a Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .214 Stopping a Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .214 Displaying the Service Log. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215 Working with User-Defined Services in the Navigation Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .216 Email Reader Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .216 Event Listener Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .218 Event Reader Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .219 Generic Event Reader Service . . . . . . . . . . . .229 JMS Message Listener . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .236 Jabber Reader Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .240 Policy Activator Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .242 Editing a User-Defined Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . .243 Deleting a User-Defined Service . . . . . . . . . .244
Chapter 9. Working with Links . . . . 143

About Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Dynamic Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Static Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Working with Dynamic Links. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Creating Dynamic Links. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Editing Dynamic Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Deleting Dynamic Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Working with Static Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Creating a Static Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 Removing a Static Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 Browsing Dynamic Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Chapter 10. Working with the Policy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

About the Policy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 Viewing Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Policy Task Pane Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Developing Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 Selecting a Custom Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 Selecting a Policy Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 Using the Policy Wizards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 Using the Policy Editor Tool Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 Tool Bar Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 Tool Bar Function Selection Lists . . . . . . . . . 172 Editing a Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 Saving a Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 Deleting a Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 Uploading and Converting Policies . . . . . . . . . . 180 Uploading a Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 Understanding Pre-Defined Policies . . . . . . . . . 182
Chapter 11. Working with Services 185
Chapter 12. Working with the Operator
View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
About the Operator View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245 Configuring an Operator View . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 Specifying the Operator View Name and Layout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247 Configuring an Action Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . 250 Adding an Information Group Panel. . . . . . 250 Editing an Operator View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253 Deleting an Operator View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253 Configuring an Operator View as a IBM Tivoli OMNIbus Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253 URL Parameters for UNIX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254 URL Parameters for Windows . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Viewing the Action Efficiency Report. . . . . . . . 259 Viewing the Action Error Report. . . . . . . . . . . . 262 Viewing the Impact Profile Report . . . . . . . . . . 265 Viewing The Impact ROI Efficiency Report . . . 271 Viewing the Node Efficiency Report. . . . . . . . . 277 Viewing the Operator Efficiency Report . . . . . 280 Viewing the Policy Efficiency Report . . . . . . . . 282 Viewing the Policy Error Report . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Appendix A. Configuration Documenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

What is the Configuration Documenter? . . . . . 291 Opening the Configuration Documenter . . 291 Viewing Data Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292 Viewing Data Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292 Viewing Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293 Viewing Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Chapter 13. Working with the Reporting Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

About the Reporting Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257 Action Efficiency Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257 Action Error Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258 Impact Profile Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258 Impact Return on Investment (ROI) Report 258 Node Efficiency Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258 Operator Efficiency Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258 Policy Efficiency Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258 Policy Error Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258 Viewing the Reporting Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Appendix B. Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295

Glossary of Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Appendix C. Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301 Trademarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
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Netcool/Impact Version 4.0 User Guide
preface.fm December 1, 2006
Preface
The preface contains information about this guide and about the Netcool/Impact documentation. It contains the following sections: "About this guide" on page vii "Audience" on page viii "Typographical notation" on page ix "Associated publications" on page xi "Operating system considerations" on page xii "How to send your comments" on page xii
About this guide

This guide contains the following chapters: Chapter 1. "Logging into and Logging out of the GUI" on page 1 This chapter shows you how to log into and log off from the Netcool/Impact application. Chapter 2. "Getting Started" on page 7 This chapter introduces you to the Netcool/Impact Graphical User Interface, briefly describing the functions of each panel. Chapter 3. "Working with Projects" on page 19 This chapter defines the concept of projects, including how to create and edit them. Chapter 4. "Working with the Global Repository" on page 27 This chapter explains Netcool/Impact global storage and how to work with the Global tab. Chapter 5. "Working with Data Sources" on page 33 This chapter provides an overview of the data sources supported by Netcool/Impact and explains how to create and edit them. Chapter 6. "Working with Data Types" on page 77 This chapter explains the four types of Netcool/Impact data types and describes how to configure and edit them.
Preface
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Chapter 7. "Working with Pre-Defined Data Types" on page 117 This chapter describes the Netcool/Impact pre-defined data types and explains how to view and create data items for each type.
Chapter 8. "Working with Data Items" on page 137 This chapter describes the data item concept and explains how to view, add, edit and delete them.
Chapter 9. "Working with Links" on page 143 This chapter explains dynamic and static links. Chapter 10. "Working with the Policy Editor" on page 157 This chapter explains how to work with Netcool/Impact Policy editor Chapter 11. "Working with Services" on page 185 This chapter describes the Netcool/Impact services and describes how to configure them. It also explains how to create the user-defined services for use with specific policies.
Chapter 12. "Working with the Operator View" on page 245 This chapter explains the Netcool/Impact Operator View and how to add and edit event and information panels and action buttons.
Chapter 13. "Working with the Reporting Tools" on page 257 This chapter explains how to view and use the Netcool/Impact reporting tools. Appendix A. "Configuration Documenter" on page 291 This appendix explains how to access and use the Configuration Documenter tool. Glossary This section defines the terms that are specific to Netcool/Impact Version 4.0.
Audience
This guide contains information on running Netcool/Impact and its related software components. It is intended for Netcool/Impact administrators and for other users who are responsible for using and managing this product.
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Typographical notation
Table 1 shows the typographical notation and conventions used to describe commands, SQL syntax, and graphical user interface (GUI) features. This notation is used throughout this book and other Netcool publications.
Table 1. Typographical Notation and Conventions (1 of 2) Example Monospac e Description The following are described in a monospace font: Commands and command line options Screen representations Source code Object names Program names SQL syntax elements File, path, and directory names Italicized monospace text indicates a variable that the user must populate. For example, -password password. Bold The following application characteristics are described in a bold font style: Buttons Frames Text fields Menu entries A bold arrow symbol indicates a menu entry selection. For example, FileSave. Italic The following are described in an italic font style: An application window name; for example, the Login window Information that the user must enter The introduction of a new term or definition Emphasized text [1] Code or command examples are occasionally prefixed with a line number in square brackets. For example: [1] First command... [2] Second command... [3] Third command... { a | b } [ ] | In SQL syntax notation, curly brackets enclose two or more required alternative choices, separated by vertical bars. In SQL syntax notation, square brackets indicate an optional element or clause. Multiple elements or clauses are separated by vertical bars. In SQL syntax notation, vertical bars separate two or more alternative syntax elements.
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Table 1. Typographical Notation and Conventions (2 of 2) Example ... ,... Description In SQL syntax notation, ellipses indicate that the preceding element can be repeated. The repetition is unlimited unless otherwise indicated. In SQL syntax notation, ellipses preceded by a comma indicate that the preceding element can be repeated, with each repeated element separated from the last by a comma. The repetition is unlimited unless otherwise indicated. In SQL syntax notation, an underlined element indicates a default option. In SQL syntax notation, parentheses appearing within the statement syntax are part of the syntax and should be typed as shown unless otherwise indicated.
a ( )
Many Netcool commands have one or more command line options that can be specified following a hyphen (-). Command line options can be string, integer, or BOOLEAN types: A string can contain alphanumeric characters. If the string has spaces in it, enclose it in quotation (") marks. An integer must contain a positive whole number or zero (0). A BOOLEAN must be set to TRUE or FALSE.
SQL keywords are not case-sensitive, and may appear in uppercase, lowercase, or mixed case. Names of ObjectServer objects and identifiers are case-sensitive.
Note, Tip, and Warning information

The following types of information are used in the documentation: Note: Note is used for extra information about the feature or operation that is being described. Essentially, this is for extra data that is important but not vital to the user. Tip: Tip is used for additional information that might be useful for the user. For example, when describing an installation process, there might be a shortcut that could be used instead of following the standard installation instructions.
Attention: Attention is used for highlighting vital instructions, cautions, or critical information. Pay close attention to this information, as it is vital to the successful use of IBMs products.
Syntax and Sample subheadings

The following types of constrained subheading are used in the documentation:
Syntax:
Syntax subheadings contain examples of ObjectServer SQL syntax commands and their usage. For example:
CREATE DATABASE database_name;
Sample:
Sample subheadings describe typical or generic scenarios, or samples of code. For example:
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] <body> <img src="ChartView?template=barchart&format=PNG &request=image&chart=quote&width=800&height=400" border="0" height="400" width="800" alt="Events by Severity" > </body>
Associated publications
Netcool/Impact Version 4.0 provides the following additional documentation: Netcool/Impact Administration Guide Netcool/Impact Solutions Guide Netcool/Impact Policy Reference Guide Netcool/Impact Online Help Netcool/Impact Release Notes
Netcool/Impact Administration Guide

This guide contains information on installing, configuring and running Netcool/Impact and its related software components. It is intended for Netcool/Impact administrators and for other users who are responsible for setting up and managing Netcool/Impact.
Netcool/Impact Solutions Guide

This guide contains information on implementing Netcool/Impact solutions in your environment. It contains information on setting up a data model, working with services and developing policies. This guide is intended for Netcool/Impact administrators and for other users who are responsible for implementing Netcool/Impact.
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Netcool/Impact Policy Reference Guide

This guide contains reference information about the Netcool/Impact Policy Language (IPL). It contains complete information about policy language syntax, data types, operators and functions. It is intended for users who are responsible for writing and running Netcool/Impact policies.
Netcool/Impact Online Help

This online help system provides step-by-step instructions on using the Netcool/Impact user interface. It also provides a complete policy language reference. This help system is intended for all Netcool/Impact users.
Netcool/Impact Release Notes

This guide provides information about known issues in this version of Netcool/Impact.
Operating system considerations

All command line formats and examples are for the standard UNIX shell. UNIX is case-sensitive. You must type commands in the case shown in the book. Unless otherwise specified, command files are located in the $NCHOME/impact/bin directory, where $NCHOME is the UNIX environment variable that contains the path to the Netcool home directory. On Microsoft Windows platforms, replace $NCHOME with %NCHOME% and the forward slash (/) with a backward slash (\).
How to send your comments

Your feedback is important in helping to provide the most accurate and highest quality information. If you have any comments about this book or any other IBM Tivoli documentation: Go to the Tivoli Support home page at http://www.tivoli.com/support. There you will find the feedback page where you can enter and submit comments. Send your comments by e-mail to pubs@tivoli.com. Be sure to include the name of the book, the part number of the book, the version the product, and, if applicable, the specific location of the text you are commenting on (for example, a page number or table number).
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NCI_31_UG_Logging.fm December 1, 2006
Chapter 1. Logging into and Logging out of the GUI

This chapter describes browers requirements for the Netcool/Impact Graphi al User Interface how to log into and log out of the Netcool/Impact application. It contains the following sections: "Browser Requirements" on page 1 "Logging into the GUI" on page 2 "Logging out of the GUI" on page 5
Browser Requirements
Netcool/Impact Version 4.0 supports the following browsers: Internet Explorer 6.0 and later on Windows Netscape 7.0, and later on Windows, Linux and Solaris Mozilla 1.6 and later Firefox 1.0 and later
Internationalization
Netcool/Impact Version 4.0 supports Unicode names for databases, tables, schemas and columns in foreign language data sources.
Requirements for Using SJIS or EUC Japanese Character Encoding

If you want to use international characters in a policy, you must make sure that you are running a 1.4.x version of the Java plug-in for your web browser.
You can input, display and process Japanese characters in a policy by changing the encode option to Unicode in your browser. Use the following procedure to change the encode option on your browser. 1. 2. Open your browser. Select ViewCharacter Coding.
Figure 1. Character Coding Menu
3.
Select Unicode (UTF-8).
Logging into the GUI

To log in to Netcool/Impact, you need to have the following information: The Netcool/Impact IP address and port number Your user name Your password The name of the Netcool/Impact server the interface should connect to One of the supported browsers (see "Browser Requirements" on page 1)
Follow the instructions below to log in to Netcool/Impact: 1. Open your browser window and enter either the Netcool/Impact GUI server IP address or hostname, the port number in the following format:
http://hostname|IP_address:port/nci
where | means enter either the hostname or IP address. The default port number is 8080.
The IBM Netcool Login window opens.
Figure 2. Netcool/Impact Login Page
2. 3. 4.
Enter your Username. Enter your Password. Click the Log In button. If you have entered valid information, the Netcool/Impact Graphical User Interface displays, as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3. Netcool/Impact Graphical User Interface
5.
Select an application or a configured server instance from the selection list at the top of the page.
Figure 4. Server Instance/Application Selection List
The GUI will log you out automatically after you are idle for a certain amount of time. The timeout period is set when you configure the authentication domain using the Security Manager GUI. For information on setting the timeout period, see the Netcool Security Manager Administration Guide. For an overview of the Netcool/Impact Version 4.0 GUI, see Chapter 2. "Getting Started" on page 7.
Encountering an Error Message During Log In

If an error message displays when you log in, one of the following situations has occurred: You entered an incorrect username. You entered an incorrect password The Netcool Security Manager server was inaccessible.
If you continue to encounter a problem, follow the steps below to find the source of the problem. 1. 2. Check the netcool.log file located in the $NCHOME/log directory to check whether Netcool/Impact accessed the Netcool Security Manager. If the log shows that the Netcool/Security Manager was not accessed, check the Security Manager log file to find out why the problem occurred.
$NCSM_HOME/log
Changing You Password

You can change your Netcool/Impact password at any time.
Note: Do not change your password if your environment allows shared user IDs. 1. To change your password, click the Logged in as: link at the top center of the user interface.
Figure 5. Change Password Link
The Change Password window opens.
Figure 6. Change Password Window
2. 3.
Enter and confirm your new password. Click OK to close the window.
Logging out of the GUI

To log out of Netcool/Impact, click the Logout button at the top right side of the user interface (see Figure 3 on page 3).
NCI_31_UG_MnWin.fm December 1, 2006
Chapter 2. Getting Started

This chapter introduces you to the Netcool/Impact Graphical User Interface, briefly describing the functions of each panel. It contains the following sections: "About the Netcool/Impact Graphical User Interface" on page 7 "Navigation Panel" on page 8 "Editing and Deleting Items in Projects and the Global Repository" on page 11 "Service Status Panel" on page 12 "Main Work Panel" on page 15 "Navigation Bar" on page 17
About the Netcool/Impact Graphical User Interface

The Netcool/Impact GUI consists of three panels: Navigation Service Status Main Work
The Netcool/Impact GUI provides you with immediate access to all Netcool/Impact policies, reports, data types, and services. All functions are listed in the Navigation panel on the left. When you click on a link in the Navigation panel, one of two things will happen: An editor opens in the right panel, called the Main Work panel. You can have as many editors open at one time as you need to, and you can access each one quickly by clicking on the appropriate tab at the top of the editor. A window opens for simple data entry.
These panels and their related windows and editors are described in the following sections. To the right of the Navigation panel, you can see a Navigation Bar. See "Navigation Bar" on page 17 for a description of how it works.
Navigation Panel
The Navigation panel, on the left, contains two tabs: Projects Global
The following sections describe the two tabs.
Projects Tab
The Projects tab is always selected by default. Each project in the Projects tab shows a subset of the data that is stored in the Netcool/Impact Global Repository. A project can consist of related: Policies Data sources set up for project data types Data types associated with the policies Operator views related to the policies Reports User-defined services
Projects allow you to manage your policies and their associated elements easily and efficiently. They help you to remember which data types and services relate to each policy and how the policies relate to each other. They help you to determine whether a policy, or its associated data types or services, is still in use or should be deleted from the project. Also, you can find policies and their associated data and services more easily when they are organized by project. You can add any previously created policies, data types, and services to as many projects as you like. You can also delete them when they are no longer needed. In the Projects tab you can create a project and add project members, or select an existing project and its related policies, data sources, data types, reports, operator views, and services for viewing, editing, or deleting. You can also delete projects and edit the project information in the Edit Project window.
A sample Projects tab is shown in Figure 7.
Figure 7. Projects Tab
Table 1 describes the Projects tab elements.

Table 1. Projects Tab Elements (1 of 2) Projects Tab Element Project: Element Type Selection List Edit button Description Selection list of user-defined project names. Clicking this button allows you to edit the selected project. You can change its name or add project members that are stored in the Global repository or remove members from the project. Clicking this button allows you to delete the project view. The project members remain in the Global Repository and in any other projects that they have been added to. Clicking this button allows you to create a new project.
Delete button
New button
Project member list
Expandable task panes
The major portion of the Projects tab is divided into collapsible task panes that list everything that you can include in a project: Data Sources Data Types Operator Views Policies Reports Services Wizards (for creating policies)
Table 1. Projects Tab Elements (2 of 2) Projects Tab Element Element Type Expand Button Description Click to open a task pane.
Collapse Button
Click to close a task pane.
How to work with projects is described in Chapter 3. "Working with Projects" on page 19.
Global Repository
The Global Repository is the storage area for all the Netcool/Impact policies, data types, data sources, operator views, reports, and services for the server that you are connected to. In the Global tab, you can view all the items in the Global Repository. It looks identical to the Projects tab, except that there is no Project list. Figure 11 shows an example of the Global tab.
Figure 8. Global Tab
Just as you can in the Projects tab, in the Global tab, you can work with: Policies Data types Data sources Operator views User-defined services Wizards (for creating policies)
You can add the items you create in the Global tab to projects at any time.
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Table 2 describes the Global tab elements.

Table 2. Global Tab buttons Global Tab Element Element Type Expand Button Description Click to open a task pane, for example, the Policy or Data Type task pane. Click to close a task pane.
Collapse Button Unlock All Button
Click to unlock all locked files. See "Clearing Version Control File Locking" on page 31 for more information.
Editing and Deleting Items in Projects and the Global Repository

Make sure that you are aware of the following when editing and deleting items in projects and the global repository : Editing a policy or data or service changes it in everywhere. Deleting a policy, data type, or service deletes it permanently from the server, the Global Repository and from every project it is attached to. Therefore you must be very careful to delete only items that you want to delete globally.
The only safe way to remove an item from a project is from the Edit Project window. See "Adding and Removing Project Members" on page 23.
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Service Status Panel

The Service Status panel is situated below the Navigation panel. It contains a list of the Netcool/Impact services. Services are subcomponents of the Netcool/Impact server that perform specialized tasks during runtime operation.
Figure 9. Services Panel
Monitoring Services
The traffic lights to the left of each service name, shown in Table 2, are the status indicator icons for each service. The status can be running, or stopped. Table 2 describes the status indicator icons.
Table 3. Service Status Indicators Status Indicator Green light Red light Description The service is running. The service is stopped.
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Configuring a Service
To configure a service, click on the service name. Figure 10 shows the configuration window for the DefaultEMailReader Service. See Chapter 11. "Working with Services" on page 185 for more detail.
Figure 10. DefaultEMailReader Service Configuration Window
Services Status Panel Buttons

By clicking the buttons to the right of the service name, you can access the log for the service, start the service, or stop the service. Table 4 describes the buttons:
Table 4. Service Status Panel Buttons Service Status Panel Button Button Title Unlock Service Service Log Start Function Click to unlock a service. This button is only visible when the service is locked. See "Clearing Version Control File Locking" on page 31 for more information. Click to access the log for the service.
Click to start a service.
Stop
Click to stop a service. Stopped services are pale gray.
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Service Types
There are two types of service: User-defined Services that you define per project for use in specific policies Internal services are defined by Netcool/Impact to control the applications standard processes.
User-Defined Services
The following services are defined by you:
Table 5. User- Defined Services Service Email Reader EventListener Description Reads incoming e-mail and runs policies based on the contents of the e-mail. If your DSA requires you to have an Event Listener service, the steps required to configure it will be explained in the DSA documentation for that DSA. Monitors IBM Tivoli OMNIbus for new, updated and/or deleted alerts and then runs policies when the alert information matches filter conditions that you define. Polls external Netcool/Impact-supported SQL data sources at regular intervals to get business events in real time. Runs a policy in response to incoming messages sent by external JMS message providers. Is the instant message listener and is dependent on the Jabber Service (see Table 6 for a description of the Jabber Listener. Runs policies at startup or at intervals that you specify.
EventReader
GenericEventRead er JMSMessageListen er JabberReader PolicyActivator
Internal Services
Table 6 describes the services that run internal processes:
Table 6. Internal Services (1 of 2) Service CommandExecutionMan ager CommandLineManager CORBANameService Description A queue of JRExec commands specified in policies awaiting execution. Allows access to the Netcool/Impact server from the command line to manage data, trigger policies, and start and stop services. Manages the CORBA interface used by some Mediator DSAs. You specify the port where the CORBA name service is running and startup options.
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Table 6. Internal Services (2 of 2) Service DatabaseListener DefaultEmailReader DefaultEventReader DefaultJabberReader DefaultPolicyActivator EmailSender EventProcessor HibernatingPolicyActiva tor JabberService PolicyLogger PrecisionEventListener SelfMonitoring Description Monitors an Oracle event source for new, updated and/or deleted events. A default user-defined service that you can use instead of creating your own, or in addition to creating your own. A default user-defined service that you can use instead of creating your own, or in addition to creating your own. A user-defined service that you can use instead of creating your own, or in addition to creating your own. A user-defined service that you can use instead of creating your own, or in addition to creating your own. Sends e-mails defined in policies. Defines the settings for the event queue that contains events from the Event Reader. Reactivates hibernating policies waiting to be activated at a specific period or absolute time that you have defined. You specify the interval that this service runs. Acts as a Jabber client. Is responsible for logging on to the external Instant Messaging services and sending instant messages Specifies an error handling policy to be accessed when an error occurs in executing a policy. Listens for events sent from Netcool/Precision. Enables Netcool/Impact to send messages about its internal state to an ObjectServer.
For more information on Netcool/Impact services, see Chapter 11. "Working with Services" on page 185.
Main Work Panel

When you open an editor to create or edit a data type, data item, or policy, the editor appears in the Main Work panel. Each open editor appears as a tab in the bar at the top of the panel. There is no limit to the number of editors that you can have open at one time. Simply click on the tab to change the editor displayed in the Main Work panel. You can close a tab by clicking the small X button located within the tab.
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The Main Work panel, as shown in Figure 11, shows two open editor tabs.
Figure 11. Main Work Panel Showing Internal Data Type Editor
The tool bar for each editor contains tools appropriate to that editor. In Figure 11 the only buttons displayed are the Save and Help buttons. Many of the editors that open in the Main Work panel contain several tabs for various configuration tasks. As you can see in Figure 11, the current editor contains three tabs: Table Description Dynamic Links Cache Settings
The tabs contained in the editors are explained in the applicable chapters.
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Navigation Bar
The Navigation Bar, the gray-blue bar situated to the right of the Navigation panel, is a toggle that allows you to hide the Navigation and Service Status panels so that you can expand the editors that display in the Main Work panel to a full screen.
Figure 12. Navigation Bar
1.
To hide the panels, click the Navigation Bar.
Figure 13. Full Screen Editor with Panels Hidden
2.
To restore the panels, click the Navigation Bar, which you will now see to the right of the Navigation panel.
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NCI_31_UG_Projects.fm December 1, 2006
Chapter 3. Working with Projects

This chapter explains how to create and edit projects. It contains the following sections: "About Projects" on page 19 "Viewing Project Members" on page 20 "Creating a Project" on page 21 "Adding and Removing Project Members" on page 23 "Editing a Project" on page 24 "Deleting a Project" on page 24 "Using the Automated Project Deployment Feature" on page 24 "Creating New Policies, Data, and Services for a Project" on page 26
About Projects
Projects are a feature of Netcool/Impact that allow you to organize and manage related: Data sources Data types Operator Views Policies Services Wizards
When you create a project, you are creating a view of a subset of the elements stored in the Global Repository (see "Working with the Global Repository" on page 27). They are not actually stored in the project. When you delete a project, the project members are still available in the Global Repository and remain as members in any other projects. When you create a project, you give it a name and save it. You can add to it any already existing applicable policies, data, documents, schedules, and so on. You can view all the project members in the Projects tab. Netcool/Impact provides a default project that you can use to get started if you want to. It works just like any project, and you can rename it, edit it, or delete it.
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You use the GUI to do the following: View projects and project members Create projects Edit projects Add and delete project members Delete projects Copy the data sources, data types, policies and services in a project between two running server clusters on a network
Viewing Project Members

When you select a project, only the data sources, data types, policies, and services, that belong to the project are listed under each task pane in the Navigation panel. 1. 2. Select the Projects tab if it is not already selected. Select a project from the Project list.
Figure 14. Project List
If you have not as yet created any projects, the Default project will be the only one listed and the task pane will be empty. 3. Open the task panes (Data Source, Data Type, Policies, and so on) to view the project members.
Projects Tab Buttons

Table 7 describes the buttons that appear in the Projects tab.
Table 7. Projects Tab Buttons (1 of 2) Projects Tab Buttons Button Title Edit Description Select a project from the selection list and click this button to access the Edit Project Name window.
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Table 7. Projects Tab Buttons (2 of 2) Projects Tab Buttons Button Title Delete Description Select a project from the selection list and click this button to delete it.
New
Click this button to add a new project.
Creating a Project
Use the following procedure to create a new project. 1. Click the Projects tab in the Navigation panel if it is not already selected. Figure 15 shows the Projects tab.
Figure 15. Projects Tab
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2.
Click the New button. The Netcool/Impact New Project window opens.
Figure 16. New Project Window
In this window, you can add project members that are stored in the Global Repository to your project. If you have not as yet created any policies, data, or services on your Netcool/Impact server, only predefined items will be listed in the Global Repository pane. If you do not want to add any existing items to this project, you can save the project name and continue on to other tasks. In the General Settings section of the window, a default name for the project, determined by the order in which the project was created, appears in the Project Name field, but you can change it. 3. Enter a unique descriptive name in the Project Name field, or accept the default name. If you are ready to add project members, see "Adding and Removing Project Members" on page 23. Click OK to save the project. Click Close to close the window.
4. 5.
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Adding and Removing Project Members

To add project members to the project, enter the information in the New Project or Edit Project window, using Table 8 as your guide.
Table 8. New Project Window Window Element Member Selection List By Section Element Type Description
In this section you add and/or remove policies and their associated data and services to/from your project. Selection list Contains a list of Netcool/Impact Navigation panel task panes (policies, operator views, services and so on). When you select one of the task panes, for example, Data Types, all the data types that you have previously created, if any, plus the pre-defined data types will be listed in the Global Repository pane. Select the task pane that you want to view.
Global Repository
List
If you have selected Data Types, for example, from the List By selection list, select one of the data types that appear in the Global Repository window (To select more than one data type at a time, press the Shift key and then highlight the data types you want.) Then click the Add button. You can then select another task pane from the List by task pane list, for example, Data Sources, and then add data sources from the Global Repository to your project.
Project Members
List
You can add any of the members from the Global Repository list to your new project by moving them to the Project Members pane. Click to add selected members in the Global Repository list to the Project. Use this button to remove selected members from the project and return them to the Global Repository.
Add Remove
Button Button
Note: The only safe way to delete an item from a project is to remove it from the New or Edit Project window. Deleting it from a list in the Navigation panel removes it permanently from the Netcool/Impact database, which also removes it from all projects it is a member of and from the Global Repository.
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Editing a Project
Use the following procedure to edit an existing project. 1. 2. 3. 4. In the Netcool/Impact Navigation panel, click the Projects tab if it is not already selected. Select a project from the Project selection list. Click the Edit button. The Netcool/Impact Edit Project window opens. You can add or remove project members, as described in Table 8 on page 23. You cannot change the name of an existing project in the edit window. The only way to rename a project once it has been saved is to delete the project and create a new one with the new name.
Deleting a Project
You can delete a project view without deleting its members, which remain in the Global Repository. If you have added the data and services to any of your other projects, they will not be removed from those projects when you delete the current project. Use the following procedure to delete an existing project. 1. 2. 3. In the Netcool/Impact Navigation panel, click the Projects tab if it is not already selected. Select the project you want to delete from the Project selection list. Click the Delete button.
Using the Automated Project Deployment Feature

You can copy the data sources, data types, policies and services in a project between two running server clusters on a network using the automated project deployment feature. You can use this feature when moving projects from test environments into real-world production scenarios. Note: Automated project deployment requires both server clusters to use the same Netcool/Impact nameserver. When you copy data sources and types, policies, and services between clusters, you have the option of specifying a version control checkpoint label for the revisions of the items that you copy to the target server cluster. Netcool/Impact uses two checkpoint labels for this process. The first is the label that you specify, which is applied to the copied versions of the project components. The second is the specified label with the string _AFTER_DEPLOYMENT appended. This label is applied to subsequent changes to the project components made using the Netcool/Impact GUI or CLI.
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Revision checkpointing is supported only if you are using CVS as the version control system for Netcool/Impact. If you are using ClearCase or RCS, you can manually apply checkpoint labels to the revisions using the Netcool/Impact version control script or the tools provided by those applications. To perform automated deployment, do one of the following: Run the built-in DeployProject policy using the Netcool/Impact GUI Create and run a custom deployment policy that uses the new Deploy function in the Netcool/Impact policy language (IPL). See the Netcool/Impact Policy Reference Guide for more information.
Running the DeployProject Policy

The DeployProject policy is a built-in policy that copies all of the data sources, data types, policies and services in a project between two running server clusters. To run the DeployProject Policy: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Log into the Netcool/Impact GUI. Choose the server cluster from which you want to copy data from the main toolbar. Click the Global tab in the Navigation Panel. Open the Policies tab and select DeployProject from the list of policies. The Policy Editor opens and displays the contents of the DeployProject policy. Click the Trigger Policy button. The Policy Runtime Parameters window displays.
Figure 17. Policy Runtime Parameters Window
6. 7. 8.
Enter the name of the destination server cluster in the Target Cluster field. Enter a valid Netcool Security Manager username and password in the Username and Password fields. Enter the name of the project to copy in the Project field.
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9.
If you are using CVS as the version control system for Netcool/Impact, you can enter a checkpoint label in the Checkpoint ID field. This label will be applied to all project components when checked into the version control system for the target cluster. If you are not using CVS or you do not want to use a checkpoint label, accept the default value for this field, which is NULL. After you run the DeployProject policy, you can check the contents of the policy log for the results of the project deployment.
10. Click OK.
Creating New Policies, Data, and Services for a Project

For information on creating the policies, data, and services for a new project, see the following chapters: Chapter 5. "Working with Data Sources" on page 33 Chapter 6. "Working with Data Types" on page 77 Chapter 10. "Working with the Policy Editor" on page 157 Chapter 11. "Working with Services" on page 185 Chapter 12. "Working with the Operator View" on page 245
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NCI_31_UG_GlobStor.fm December 1, 2006
Chapter 4. Working with the Global Repository

This chapter explains the Global Repository and the Global tab. It contains the following sections: "About the Global Repository" on page 27 "Viewing the Global Repository Data" on page 29 "Adding an Item to the Global Repository" on page 30 "Editing an Item in the Global Repository" on page 31 "Deleting an Item from the Global Repository" on page 31 "Clearing Version Control File Locking" on page 31
About the Global Repository

The Global Repository is the storage area for all the Netcool/Impact policies, data, and services, and so on, for the server that you are connected to. You can view the data in the Global Repository in the Global tab. It looks similar to the Projects tab, except that there is no Project selection list. There is also a gray task bar at the top of the tab that allows you to clear all Version Control file locking (see "Clearing Version Control File Locking" on page 31). Figure 18 shows an example of the Global tab. See Chapter 3. "Working with Projects" on page 19 for more information on the Projects tab.
Figure 18. Global Tab
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In the Global tab, you can add new policies and their associated data and services, just as you can in the Projects tab, although they will exist independently of any projects. You can attach added items to projects as project members at any time.
Attention: Just as it does in the Projects tab, editing a policy, data or service changes it in every project it is attached to. Therefore, you should only edit items that you want to change globally. Similarly, deleting a policy, data or service deletes it from the Global Repository and every project it is attached to. Therefore you must be very careful to delete only items that you want to delete globally. Netcool/Impact provides a version control interface which allows you to save data as revisions in a version control archive. When you delete an item from the Global Repository (or from a project), you delete all versions of it. You use the GUI to do the following: View items in the Global Repository Add items to the Global Repository Edit items in the Global Repository Delete items from the Global Repository Clear Version Control File Locking
Global Tab Buttons

The Global tab has the following buttons:
Table 9. Global Tab Buttons Global Tab Element Button Title Expand Description Click to open a task pane, for example, the Policy or Data Type task pane. Click to close a task pane.
Collapse
Unlock All
Click to unlock all locked files. See "Clearing Version Control File Locking" on page 31 for more information.
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Viewing the Global Repository Data

When you select the Global tab, all the data sources, data types, policies, and so on, that are stored on the Netcool/Impact server are listed under each task pane in the Navigation panel. 1. 2. Select the Global tab if it is not already selected See Figure 18 on page 27 for an example of the Global tab. Open the task panes (Data Source, Data Type, Policies, and so on) to view the data. If you have not as yet created any data, some of the task panes will be empty, but some of them will contain default data: Data Sources (see Chapter 5. "Working with Data Sources" on page 33) defaultobjectserver ReportsPGSQL Precision (used by the Precision DSA) Data Types (see "Working with Pre-Defined Data Types" on page 117) Doc FailedEvent Filter FTEST_Java (all used by the XML DSA sample policies) Hibernation Precision (used by the Precision DSA) Reports Schedule TimeRangeGroup XML (all used by the XML DSA sample policies) Standard Netcool/Impact reports (see "Working with the Reporting Tools" on page 257): Action Efficiency Action Error Impact Profile Impact ROI Efficiency Node Efficiency Operator Efficiency
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Policy Efficiency Policy Error These data types facilitate collecting the data necessary to run these reports. You may need to configure some of them, depending on the reports you are interested in. For example, when you configure the Impact ROI Efficiency Report, you will need to add business processes as data items of this data type. You add these data items in the report editor. Policies (see "Understanding Pre-Defined Policies" on page 182): AddPolicyProcessMapping DefaultExceptionHandler DeployProject Export Import ReprocessFailedEvent
Adding an Item to the Global Repository

You can add a policy, data, and service, and so on, to the Global Repository without attaching it to a project. Once the item is created, you can add it to as many projects as needed. To add an item, use the following procedure. 1. 2. 3. Open the appropriate task pane (Policy, Data Type, Service, and so on). Click the New button. For information on these task panes, see the appropriate chapter: "Working with Data Sources" on page 33 "Working with Data Types" on page 77 "Working with the Operator View" on page 245 "Working with the Policy Editor" on page 157 "Working with the Reporting Tools" on page 257 "Working with Services" on page 185
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Editing an Item in the Global Repository

You can edit all the items, data types, policies, and so on, stored in the Global Repository, but remember that the edits will be applied globally. 1. 2. To edit an item, click on the items name to open either a window or editor in the Main Work panel. Save your changes by: In an editor, clicking the Save button in the tool bar. In a window, clicking the OK button.
Deleting an Item from the Global Repository

To delete an Item from the Global Repository, do the following: Attention: When you delete a policy, data source, data type or service that is stored in the Global Repository, it is deleted from the Netcool/Impact database and every project it is a member of. 1. 2. Open the appropriate task pane and find the item you want to delete. Click the Delete button next to the item. The item is deleted from the Netcool/Impact Global Repository.
Clearing Version Control File Locking

Netcool/Impact is installed with a version control interface that allows you to save data as revisions in a version control archive. When you create a new policy, data source, data type, or service, Netcool/Impact creates a corresponding element in the version control system. When you open one of these items for viewing or editing, it is checked out of the version control system and other users are prevented from editing it while you are making your changes. When you save it, it is checked back in and available to other users. For more information on the Version Control interface, see the Netcool/Impact Administration Guide. If for some reason, the system goes down, for example, you can unlock files in the Global tab. To unlock all the locked files, click the Unlock All button located on the Clear All Source Control File Locking bar, as shown in Figure 18 on page 27. The Unlock All button only unlocks items that have been checked out by you. It will not unlock any item that was previously checked out by another user.
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If you try to open a file that another user has open, you will get a message similar to the following:
Figure 19. Locked File Message
After you click the OK button, the file opens in Read-Only mode (the entry fields are greyed out):
Figure 20. Example Window in Read-Only Mode
The Unlock button only unlocks items that have been checked out by you. It will not unlock any item that was previously checked out by another user. If you attempt to unlock an item that has been checked out by another user, you will get a message to that affect. Click the button to unlock the item.
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NCI_31_UG_DataSources.fm December 1, 2006
Chapter 5. Working with Data Sources

This chapter provides an overview of data sources and explains how to create and edit them. It contains the following sections: "About Data Sources" on page 33 "Viewing Data Sources" on page 35 "Working with SQL Data Sources" on page 37 "Working with LDAP Data Sources" on page 65 "Working with Mediator DSA Data Sources" on page 67 "Editing a Data Source" on page 72 "Deleting a Data Source" on page 72 "Testing a Data Source Connection" on page 73
About Data Sources

Netcool/Impact data sources are elements of a Netcool/Impact data model that represent physical sources of data in your environment. These sources of data include third-party SQL databases, LDAP directory servers, or other applications such as messaging systems and network inventory applications. Netcool/Impact data sources contain the information that you need to connect to the external data. You must create a data source for each physical source of data that you want to use in your Netcool/Impact solution. When you create an SQL database, LDAP, or Mediator data type, you associate it with the data source that you created. When you create a data type, you simply select the data source it should use. For more information on Data Types, see Chapter 6. "Working with Data Types" on page 77. Netcool/Impact provides the following default data sources:
Table 10. Netcool/Impact Default Data Sources (1 of 2) Data Source defaultobjectserver Precision ReportsPGSQL Description The defaultobjectserver data source is configured when you create a new instance of the Netcool/Impact server. For use with Netcool/Precision and the Precision DSA. ReportsPGSQL represents the database where the reporting data is stored.
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Table 10. Netcool/Impact Default Data Sources (2 of 2) Data Source SocketMediatorDataSo urce XmlDsaMediatorDataS ource Description For use with the Socket DSA. For use with the XML DSA.
About Data Source Failover

You can use the Netcool/Impact GUI to configure failover. When failover is configured for an SQL data source, the data source automatically connects to a secondary database server (or other data source) when the primary server becomes unavailable. This feature ensures that Netcool/Impact can continue to operate despite problems with one or the other server instances. You can use the GUI to configure failover separately for each Netcool/Impact data source that connects to a database using an SQL DSA. The following SQL database DSAs support the failover feature: DB2 Informix MySQL ObjectServer ODBC Oracle PostgresSQL SQL Server Sybase
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SQL database DSAs support the following failover configurations:

Table 11. Netcool/ImpactSQL Database DSA Failover Configurations Failover Configuration Standard Description The SQL database DSA switches to a secondary database server when the primary server becomes unavailable and then continues to use the secondary until Netcool/Impact is restarted. If the secondary server becomes unavailable, the SQL database DSA will attempt to resume connections to the original primary server. The SQL database DSA switches to a secondary database server when the primary server becomes unavailable and then tries to reconnect to the primary at intervals to determine whether it has been restarted. If the primary server has not become available, the DSA will continue to use the secondary server. In a failback configuration, the SQL database DSA will always attempt to re-connect to the primary server before it connects to the secondary server. You can disable failover entirely for an SQL database DSA. In this configuration, the DSA reports an error to Netcool/Impact when the database is unavailable and does not attempt to connect to a secondary server.
Failback
Disabled Failover
For more information on failover configuration, see the Netcool DSA Reference Guide.
Working with Data Sources Using the GUI

You can use the GUI to do the following: View data sources Create data sources Edit data sources Delete data sources
Viewing Data Sources

Use the following procedure to view data sources. 1. 2. In the Navigation panel, select the Projects tab if is not already selected. Select a project from the selection list. See Chapter 3. "Working with Projects" on page 19 for more information on projects.
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3.
Open the Data Source task pane for that project. Before you have created a data source, you will see only the Data Source selection list, shown in Figure 21.
Figure 21. Data Source Selection List
After you have defined some data sources, they appear in the task pane, as shown in Figure 22.
Figure 22. Data Source Task Pane
Note: When you open a data source window to edit it, Netcool/Impact checks it out of the version control system and locks it to prevent other users from editing it while you have it checked out. Users will see the Unlock button next to the data source in the Data Source task pane. When you save it, it is checked back in and available to other users. The Unlock button only unlocks items that have been checked out by you. It will not unlock any item that was previously checked out by another user. If you attempt to unlock an item that has been checked out by another user, you will get a message to that affect.
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Data Source Task Pane Buttons

Table 12 describes the buttons in the Data Source task pane:
Table 12. Data Source Buttons Button Source: Button Title Selection List New Description Select the Data Source type. Click this button to open the New Data Source window to configure a new data source. Click this button to test the connection to the data source.
Test Connection
Clear Source Control Locking
Clear the source control locking for the data source. The Unlock button only unlocks items that have been checked out by you. It will not unlock any item that was previously checked out by another user. If you attempt to unlock an item that has been checked out by another user, you will get a message to that affect. Click this button to delete a data source from the server.
Delete
Working with SQL Data Sources

This section explains how to create each type of SQL data source.
Creating a DB2 Data Source

The New DB2 Data Source window requests the following information: Data source name Username to access the database Password to access the database Maximum SQL connection Database Failure policy Fail Over Fail Back Disable Backup Use JDBC Type 4 Driver Primary and backup host names (backups are optional) Primary and backup port numbers (backups are optional)
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Primary and backup database names (backups are optional) A Test Connection button that allows you to test the primary and backup connections before you create the data source to ensure that you have entered the correct information. If the host is not available at the time you create the data source, you can test it later, using the Test Connection button that appears next to the data source name in the Navigation panel.
Use the following procedure to create a DB2 data source. 1. 2. Select DB2 from the Data Source selection list. Click the New button. The New DB2 Data Source window opens.
Figure 23. New DB2 Data Source Window
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3.
Enter the information in the window using Table 13 as your guide:

Table 13. New DB2 Data Source Window (1 of 2) Window Element General Settings Data Source Name Required text field Enter a unique name to identify the data source. Note: Note: Only letters, numbers, and the underscore character should be used in data source names. Username Password Required text field Required text field. Enter a user name that will allow you access to the database. Enter a password that will allow you access to the database. As you type, the characters are replaced with asterisks (*). Limiting the number of concurrent connections manages performance. Enter the maximum number of connections allowed to the database at one time. That number has to be greater than or equal to the number of threads running in the Event Processor. See "EventProcessor Service" on page 196. The default value is 5. Database Failover Policy Fail over Fail back Disable Backup Use JDBC Type 4 Driver Radio button Radio button Radio button Checkbox Select to use the standard failover option. See Table 11 on page 35. Select to use the failback option. See Table 11 on page 35. Select to disable failover. See Table 11 on page 35. Select to use a JDBC Type 4 driver. If you want to use Type 3, leave the checkbox blank. Element Type Description
Maximum SQL Connection
Required integer spin field
Primary Source Host Name Port Database Required text field Required integer spin field Required text field Enter the host name. Default value is localhost. Select a port number. The default number is 6789. Enter the name of the database to connect to.
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Table 13. New DB2 Data Source Window (2 of 2) Window Element Test Connection Element Type Optional button Description Click to test the connection to the host. Success or failure is reported in a message box.
Backup Source Host Name Port Database Test Connection Optional text field Optional integer spin field Optional text field Optional Button Enter the host name. The default value is localhost. Select a port number. The default value is 6789. Enter the name of the database to connect to. Click to test the connection to the host. Success or failure is reported in a message box.
Creating a Flat File Data Source

The New Flat File Data Source window requests the following information: Data source name File path Data delimiters
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To create a new Flat File data source, use the following procedure. 1. 2. Select Flat File from the Data Source selection list. Click the New button. The New Flat File Data Source window opens.
Figure 24. New Flat File Data Source Window
3.

Table 14. New Flat File Source Window Window Element General Settings Data Source Name Required text field Enter a unique name to identify the flat file. Note: Note: Only letters, numbers, and the underscore character should be used in data source names. Source Directory Delimiters Required text field Required text field Enter the directory path to the flat file. Enter the characters that separate the information tokens in the flat file. The characters should be enclosed in single quotation marks, for example: ',;-+/'. Type Description
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Creating an Informix Data Source

The New Informix Data Source window requests the following information: Data source name User name to access the database Password to access the database Maximum SQL connection Database Failure policy Fail Over Fail Back Disable Backup Primary and backup host name (backups are optional) Primary and backup port numbers (backups are optional) Primary and backup server name (backups are optional) Primary and backup database name (backups are optional) A Test Connection button that allows you to test the primary and backup connections before you create the data source to ensure that you have entered the correct information. If the host is not available at the time you create the data source, you can test it later, using the Test Connection button that appears next to the data source name in the Navigation panel.
Use the following procedure to create a new Informix data source. 1. 2. Select Informix from the Data Source selection list. Click the New button.
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The New Informix Data Source window opens.
Figure 25. New Informix Data Source Window
3.

Table 15. New Informix Data Source Window (1 of 3) Window Element General Settings Data Source Name Required text field Enter a unique name to identify the data source. Note: Note: Only letters, numbers, and the underscore character should be used in data source names. Username Required text field Enter a user name that will allow you access to the database. Type Description
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Table 15. New Informix Data Source Window (2 of 3) Window Element Password Type Required text field. Description Enter a password that will allow you access to the database. As you type, the characters are replaced with asterisks (*). Limiting the number of concurrent connections manages performance. Enter the maximum number of connections allowed to the database at one time. That number has to be greater than or equal to the number of threads running in the Event Processor. See "EventProcessor Service" on page 196. The default value is 5. Database Failover Policy Fail over Fail back Disable Backup Primary Source Host Name Port Server Database Test Connection Required text field Required integer spin field Required text field Required text field Optional button Enter the host name. Default value is localhost. Select a port number. The default number is 1526. Enter the name of the server where the database resides. Enter the name of the database to connect to. Click to test the connection to the host. Success or failure is reported in a message box. Radio button Radio button Radio button Select to use the standard failover option. See Table 11 on page 35. Select to use the failback option. See Table 11 on page 35. Select to disable failover. See Table 11 on page 35.
Backup Source Host Name Port Optional text field Optional integer spin field Enter the host name. The default value is localhost. Select a port number. The default value is 1526.
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Table 15. New Informix Data Source Window (3 of 3) Window Element Server Database Test Connection Type Optional text field Optional text field Optional button Description Enter the name of the server where the database resides. Enter the name of the database to connect to. Click to test the connection to the host. Success or failure is reported in a message box.
Creating a MS-SQL Server Data Source

The New MS-SQL Server Data Source requests the following information: Data source name User name to access the database Password to access the database Maximum SQL connection Database Failure Policy selection: Fail over Fail back Disable Backup Primary and backup host name (backups are optional) Primary and backup port numbers (backups are optional) Primary and backup database name (backups are optional) A Test Connection button that allows you to test the primary and backup connections before you create the data source to ensure that you have entered the correct information. If the host is not available at the time you create the data source, you can test it later, using the Test Connection button that appears next to the data source name in the Navigation panel.
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Use the following procedure to create a a new MS_SQL Server data source. 1. 2. Select MS-SQL Server from the New Data Source selection list. Click the New button. The New MS-SQL Server Data Source window opens.
Figure 26. New MS-SQL Server Data Source Window
3.

Table 16. New MS-SQL Server Data Source Window (1 of 3) Window Element General Settings Type Description
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Table 16. New MS-SQL Server Data Source Window (2 of 3) Window Element Data Source Name Type Required text field Description Enter a unique name to identify the data source. Note: Only letters, numbers, and the underscore character should be used in data source names. Username Password Required text field Required text field. Enter a user name that will allow you access to the database. Enter a password that will allow you access to the database. As you type, the characters are replaced with asterisks (*). Limiting the number of concurrent connections manages performance. Enter the maximum number of connections allowed to the database at one time. That number has to be greater than or equal to the number of threads running in the Event Processor. See "EventProcessor Service" on page 196. The default value is 5. Database Failover Policy Fail over Fail back Disable Backup Primary Source Host Name Port Database Test Connection Required text field Required integer spin field Required text field Button (optional) Enter the host name. The default value is localhost. Select a port number. The default number is 1433. Enter the name of the database to connect to. Click to test the connection to the host. Success or failure is reported in a message box. Radio button Radio button Radio button Select to use the standard failover option. See Table 11 on page 35. Select to use the failback option. See Table 11 on page 35. Select to disable failover. See Table 11 on page 35.
Backup Source Host Name Optional text field Enter the host name. The default value is localhost.
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Table 16. New MS-SQL Server Data Source Window (3 of 3) Window Element Port Database Test Connection Type Optional integer spin field Optional text field Button (optional) Description Select a port number. The default value is 1433. Enter the name of the database to connect to. Click to test the connection to the host. Success or failure is reported in a message box.
Creating a MySQL Data Source

The New MySQL Data Source window requests the following information: Data source name User name to access the database Password to access the database Maximum SQL connection Database failure policy Fail over Fail back Disable Backup Primary and backup host name (backups are optional) Primary and backup port numbers (backups are optional) Primary and backup database name (backups are optional) A Test Connection button that allows you to test the primary and backup connections before you create the data source to ensure that you have entered the correct information. If the host is not available at the time you create the data source, you can test it later, using the Test Connection button that appears next to the data source name in the Navigation panel.
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Use the following procedure to create a new MySQL data source. 1. 2. Select MySQL from the Data Source selection list. Click the New button. The New MySQL Data Source window opens.
Figure 27. New MySQL Data Source Window
3.

Table 17. New MySQL Data Source Window (1 of 2) Window Element General Settings Data Source Name Required text field Enter a unique name to identify the data source. Note: Only letters, numbers, and the underscore character should be used in data source names. Username Required text field Enter a user name that will allow you access to the database. Type Description
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Table 17. New MySQL Data Source Window (2 of 2) Window Element Password Type Required text field. Required integer spin field Description Enter a password that will allow you access to the database. As you type, the characters are replaced with asterisks (*). Limiting the number of concurrent connections manages performance. Enter the maximum number of connections allowed to the database at one time. That number has to be greater than or equal to the number of threads running in the Event Processor. See "EventProcessor Service" on page 196. The default value is 5. Database Failover Policy Fail over Fail back Disable Backup Primary Source Host Name Port Database Test Connection Required text field Required integer spin field Required text field Button (optional) Enter the host name. The default value is localhost. Select a port number. The default number is 3306. Enter the name of the database to connect to. Click to test the connection to the host. Success or failure is reported in a message box. Radio button Radio button Radio button Select to use the standard failover option. See Table 11 on page 35. Select to use the failback option. See Table 11 on page 35. Select to disable failover. See Table 11 on page 35.
Backup Source Host Name Port Database Test Connection Optional text field Optional integer spin field Optional text field Button (optional) Enter the host name. The default value is localhost. Select a port number. The default value is 3306. Enter the name of the database to connect to. Click to test the connection to the host. Success or failure is reported in a message box.
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Creating an ObjectServer Data Source

The New ObjectServer Data Source window requests the following information: Data source name User name to access the database Password to access the database Maximum SQL connection Database Failover Policy Fail over Fail back Disable Backup Primary and backup host name (backups are optional) Primary and backup port numbers (backups are optional) SSL Mode Connection A Test Connection button that allows you to test the primary and backup connections before you create the data source to ensure that you have entered the correct information. If the host is not available at the time you create the data source, you can test it later, using the Test Connection button that appears next to the data source name in the Navigation panel.
Use the following procedure to create a new ObjectServer data source. 1. 2. Select ObjectServer from the Data Source selection list. Click the New button.
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The New ObjectServer Data Source window opens.
Figure 28. New ObjectServer Data Source Window
3.

Table 18. New ObjectServer Data Source Window (1 of 2) Window Element General Settings Data Source Name Required text field Enter a unique name to identify the data source. Note: Only letters, numbers, and the underscore character should be used in data source names. Username Required text field Enter a user name that will allow you access to the database. Type Description
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Table 18. New ObjectServer Data Source Window (2 of 2) Window Element Password Type Required text field. Description Enter a password that will allow you access to the database. As you type, the characters are replaced with asterisks (*). Limiting the number of concurrent connections manages performance. Enter the maximum number of connections allowed to the database at one time. That number has to be greater than or equal to the number of threads running in the Event Processor. See "EventProcessor Service" on page 196. The default value is 5. Database Failover Policy Fail over Fail back Disable Backup Primary Source Host Name Port Select SSL Mode: Enable Test Connection Required text field Required integer spin field Checkbox Optional button Enter the host name. The default value is localhost. Select a port number. The default number is 4100. Select if this data source connects to the ObjectServer through SSL. Click to test the connection to the host. Success or failure is reported in a message box. Radio button Radio button Radio button Select to use the standard failover option. See Table 11 on page 35. Select to use the failback option. See Table 11 on page 35. Select to disable failover. See Table 11 on page 35.
Backup Source Host Name Port Select SSL Mode: Enable Test Connection Optional text field Optional integer spin field Optional Ceckbox Optional button Enter the host name. The default value is localhost. Select a port number. The default number is 4100. Select if this data source connects to the ObjectServer through SSL. Click to test the connection to the host. Success or failure is reported in a message box.
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Creating an ODBC Data Source

The New ODBC Data Source window requests the following information: Data source name User name to access the database Password to access the database Maximum SQL connection Database Failure Policy Fail over Fail back Disable Backup Primary and backup ODBC name (backups are optional) A Test Connection button that allows you to test the primary and backup connections before you create the data source to ensure that you have entered the correct information. If the host is not available at the time you create the data source, you can test it later, using the Test Connection button that appears next to the data source name in the Navigation panel.
Use the following procedure to create a new ODBC data source. 1. 2. Select ODBC from the Data Source selection list. Click the New button.
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The New ODBC Data Source window opens.
Figure 29. New ODBC Data Source Window
3.

Table 19. New ODBC Data Source Window (1 of 2) Window Element General Settings Data Source Name Required text field Enter a unique name to identify the data source. Note: Only letters, numbers, and the underscore character should be used in data source names. Username Password Required text field Required text field. Enter a user name that will allow you access to the database. Enter a password that will allow you access to the database. As you type, the characters are replaced with asterisks (*). Type Description
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Table 19. New ODBC Data Source Window (2 of 2) Window Element Maximum SQL Connection Type Required integer spin field Description Limiting the number of concurrent connections manages performance. Enter the maximum number of connections allowed to the database at one time. That number has to be greater than or equal to the number of threads running in the Event Processor. See "EventProcessor Service" on page 196. The default value is 5. Database Failover Policy Fail over Fail back Disable Backup Primary Source ODBC Name Test Connection Required text field Optional Button Enter the ODBC name. Click to test the connection to the host. Success or failure is reported in a message box. Radio button Radio button Radio button Select to use the standard failover option. See Table 11 on page 35. Select to use the failback option. See Table 11 on page 35. Select to disable failover. See Table 11 on page 35.
Backup Source ODBC Name Test Connection Optional text field Optional Button Enter the backup ODBC name. Click to test the connection to the host. Success or failure is reported in a message box.
Creating an Oracle Data Source

The New Oracle Data Source window requests the following information: Data source name User name to access the database Password to access the database Maximum SQL connection Database Failure Policy Fail over Fail back Disable Backup
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Primary and backup host name (backups are optional) Primary and backup port numbers (backups are optional) Primary and backup SID (backups are optional) A Test Connection button that allows you to test the primary and backup connections before you create the data source to ensure that you have entered the correct information. If the host is not available at the time you create the data source, you can test it later, using the Test Connection button that appears next to the data source name in the Navigation panel.
Use the following procedure to create a new Oracle data source. 1. 2. Select Oracle from the Data Source selection list. Click the New button. The New Oracle Data Source window opens.
Figure 30. New Oracle Data Source Window
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3.

Table 20. New Oracle Data Source Window (1 of 2) Window Element General Settings Data Source Name Required text field Enter a unique name to identify the data source. Note: Only letters, numbers, and the underscore character should be used in data source names. Username Password Required text field Required text field. Required integer spin field Enter a user name that will allow you access to the database. Enter a password that will allow you access to the database. As you type, the characters are replaced with asterisks (*). Limiting the number of concurrent connections manages performance. Enter the maximum number of connections allowed to the database at one time. That number has to be greater than or equal to the number of threads running in the Event Processor. See "EventProcessor Service" on page 196. The default value is 5. Database Failover Policy Fail over Fail back Disable Backup Primary Source Host Name Port SID Required text field Required integer spin field Required text field Enter the a host name. The default value is localhost. Select a port number. The default value is set to a common port number: 1521. Enter an Oracle service identifier. The default value is ORCL. For more information, see your Oracle documentation. Click to test the connection to the host. Success or failure is reported in a message box. Radio button Radio button Radio button Select to use the standard failover option. See Table 11 on page 35. Select to use the failback option. See Table 11 on page 35. Select to disable failover. See Table 11 on page 35. Type Description
Test Connection
Optional button
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Table 20. New Oracle Data Source Window (2 of 2) Window Element Backup Source Host Name Port SID Optional text field Optional integer spin field Optional text field Enter the host name. The default value is localhost. Select a port number. The default value is set to a common port number: 1521. Enter a server ID. The default value is ORCL. For more information, see your Oracle documentation. Click to test the connection to the host. Success or failure is reported in a message box. This button is disabled when the backup source information is left blank. Type Description
Test Connection
Optional button
Creating a PostgreSQL Data Source

The New PostgreSQL Data Source window requests the following information: Data source name User name to access the database Password to access the database Maximum SQL connection Database Failure Policy Fail over Fail back Disable backup Primary and backup host name (backups are optional) Primary and backup port numbers (backups are optional) Primary and backup database name (backups are optional) A Test Connection button that allows you to test the primary and backup connections before you create the data source to ensure that you have entered the correct information. If the host is not available at the time you create the data source, you can test it later, using the Test Connection button that appears next to the data source name in the Navigation panel.
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Use the following procedure to create a new PostgreSQL data source. 1. 2. Select PostgreSQL from the Data Source selection list. Click the New button. The New PostgreSQL Data Source window opens.
Figure 31. New PostgreSQL Data Source Window
3.

Table 21. New PostgreSQL Data Source Window (1 of 3) Window Element General Settings Data Source Name Required text field Enter a unique name to identify the data source. Note: Only letters, numbers, and the underscore character should be used in data source names. Type Description
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Table 21. New PostgreSQL Data Source Window (2 of 3) Window Element Username Password Type Required text field Required text field. Description Enter a user name that will allow you access to the database. Enter a password that will allow you access to the database. As you type, the characters are replaced with asterisks (*). Limiting the number of concurrent connections manages performance. Enter the maximum number of connections allowed to the database at one time. That number has to be greater than or equal to the number of threads running in the Event Processor. See "EventProcessor Service" on page 196. The default value is 5. Database Failover Policy Fail over Fail back Disable Backup Primary Source Host Name Port Database Test Connection Required text field Required integer spin field Required text field Optional Button Enter the host name. The default value is localhost. Select a port number. The default number is 5432. Enter the name of the database to connect to. Click to test the connection to the host. Success or failure is reported in a message box. Radio button Radio button Radio button Select to use the standard failover option. See Table 11 on page 35. Select to use the failback option. See Table 11 on page 35. Select to disable failover. See Table 11 on page 35.
Backup Source Host Name Port Database Optional text field Optional integer spin field Optional text field Enter the host name. The default value is localhost. Select a port number. The default value is 5432. Enter the name of the database to connect to.
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Table 21. New PostgreSQL Data Source Window (3 of 3) Window Element Test Connection Type Optional Button Description Click to test the connection to the host. Success or failure is reported in a message box.
Creating a Sybase Data Source

The New Sybase Data Source window requests the following information: Data source name User name to access the database Password to access the database Maximum SQL connection Database Failure Policy Fail over Fail back Disable Backup Primary and backup host name (backups are optional) Primary and backup port numbers (backups are optional) A Test Connection button that allows you to test the primary and backup connections before you create the data source to ensure that you have entered the correct information. If the host is not available at the time you create the data source, you can test it later, using the Test Connection button that appears next to the data source name in the Navigation panel.
Use the following procedure to create a new Sybase data source. 1. 2. Select Sybase from the Data Source selection list. Click the New button.
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The New Sybase Data Source window opens.
Figure 32. New Sybase Data Source Window
3.

Table 22. New Sybase Data Source Window (1 of 2) Window Element General Settings Data Source Name Required text field Enter a unique name to identify the data source. Note: Only letters, numbers, and the underscore character should be used in data source names. Username Password Required text field Required text field. Enter a user name that will allow you access to the database. Enter a unique password. As you type, the characters are replaced with asterisks (*). Type Description
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Table 22. New Sybase Data Source Window (2 of 2) Window Element Maximum SQL Connection Type Required integer spin field Description Limiting the number of concurrent connections manages performance. Enter the maximum number of connections allowed to the database at one time. That number has to be greater than or equal to the number of threads running in the Event Processor. See "EventProcessor Service" on page 196. The default value is 5. Database Failover Policy Fail over Fail back Disable Backup Primary Source Host Name Port Test Connection Required text field Required integer spin field Button (optional) Enter the host name. The default value is localhost. Select a port number. The default number is 5000. Click to test the connection to the host. Success or failure is reported in a message box. Radio button Radio button Radio button Select to use the standard failover option. See Table 11 on page 35. Select to use the failback option. See Table 11 on page 35. Select to disable failover. See Table 11 on page 35.
Backup Source Host Name Port Test Connection Optional text field Optional integer spin field Button (optional) Enter the host name. The default value is localhost. Select a port number. The default value is 5000. Click to test the connection to the host. Success or failure is reported in a message box.
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Working with LDAP Data Sources

The LDAP Data Source window requests the following information: Data source name LDAP server name Port number Security Protocol Service Provider Authentication profile: Authentication Mechanism User Name Password Note: The LDAP DSA supports only non-authenticating data sources. You can make them authenticating, however, using the Netcool/Impact properties file. For information on authenticating LDAP data sources, see the Netcool DSA Reference Guide. 1. 2. Select LDAP from the Data Source selection list. Click the New button. The New LDAP Data Source window opens.
Figure 33. New LDAP Data Source Window
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3.

Table 23. New LDAP Data Source Window (1 of 2) Window Element General Settings Data Source Name Required text field Enter a unique name to identify the data source. Note: Only letters, numbers, and the underscore character should be used in data source names. Source LDAP Server Required test field Enter the server name where the LDAP database resides. The default is localhost. Select a port number. The default value is set to a common port number: 389. Enter the security profile to use when connecting to the LDAP server. Supported security profiles are ssl and sasl. Enter the security provider to use when connecting to the LDAP server. To use the default java LDAP provider, do not specify any value for this property. If you do not want to use the default java LDAP provider, enter the fully qualified package and class name of the initial context factory class for the LDAP provider you want to use. Type Description
Port Security Profile
Required integer spin field Optional text field
Security Provider
Optional text field
Authentication Authentication Mechanism Optional text field Enter the authentication type to use when connecting to the LDAP server. Basic authentication types are none, anonymous and simple. Netcool/Impact also supports other types of authentication as described in the LDAP v2 and v3 specifications. For more information on authentication types, see the documentation provided by the LDAP server. For simple authentication, enter the fully qualified LDAP username. For authentications none and anonymous, leave this field blank.
Authentication User name
Optional text field
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Table 23. New LDAP Data Source Window (2 of 2) Window Element Authentication Password Type Optional text field Description For simple authentication, enter a valid LDAP password. For authentication types of none and anonymous, leave this field bland.
Note: Do not specify authentication parameters for the LDAP data source unless the underlying LDAP server is configured to require them. If you specify authentication parameters and they are not required by the LDAP server, Netcool/Impact will fail to connect to the data source.
Working with Mediator DSA Data Sources

Usually Mediator DSA data sources and their data types will be installed when you install a Mediator DSA, and therefore you will not have to create the data source. The data sources are available for viewing and, if necessary, for creating or editing.
Creating a CORBAMediator DSA Data Source

The New CORBAMediator Data Source window requests the following information: Data source name Name service host Name service port Name service context Name service object name IOR File location
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Note: Either the Name Service fields are filled in or the IOR File Location field, but not both. 1. 2. Select CORBAMediator from the New Data Source selection list. Click the New button. The New CORBAMediator Data Source window opens.
Figure 34. New CORBAMediator Data Source Window
You can edit the information if necessary. 3. Click the OK button to save the information and close the window.
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Creating a DirectMediator DSA Data Source

The DirectMediator Data Source window requests a data source name and a Mediator Class Name. 1. 2. Select DirectMediator from the New Data Source selection list. Click the New button. The New DirectMediator Data Source window opens.
Figure 35. Edit DirectMediator Data Source Window
You can edit the information if necessary. Note: Only letters, numbers, and the underscore character should be used in data source names. 3. Click the OK button to save the information and close the window.
Creating an SNMPDirectMediator Data Source

When you have an SNMP DSA installed, you need to create any required SNMP data sources. You can either create one data source for each SNMP agent that you want to access using the DSA, or you can create a single data source and use it to access all agents. If you plan to use the standard data-handling functions AddDataItem and GetByFilter to access SNMP data, you must create a separate data source for each agent. For more information configuring this DSA, its data sources and data types, see the Netcool DSA Reference Guide. The New SNMPDirectMediator Data Source window requests the following information: Data source name Mediator Class Name Host Name Read Community Write Community Timout period
Port Version (of SNMP) If you select Version 3, you need to complete the SNMP V3 settings: User Authentication Protocol Authentication Password Privacy Protocol Privacy Password Context ID Context Name
Creating SNMPDirectMediator v1 or v2 data sources

To configure SNMP v1 or SNMP v2 data sources: 1. 2. Select SNMPDirectMediator from the New Data Source selection list. Click the New button. The New SNMPDirectMediator Data Source window opens.
Figure 36. Edit DirectMediator Data Source Configuration Window
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3.
Enter the information using Table 24 as your guide.

Table 24. SNMPDirectMediator Data Source Configuration Window Window Element Data Source Name Element Type Required text field Description Enter a unique name for the data source. Note: Only letters, numbers, and the underscore character should be used in data source names.
Data Source Settings Mediator Class Name Required text field The following class name should appear in this field: com.micromuse.dsa.snmpdsa.Snmp SNMP Agent Settings Host Name Required Text Field If you are creating this data source for use with the standard data-handling functions AddDataItem and GetByFilter, enter the host name or IP address. If you are creating this data source for use with the new SNMP functions, accept the default value. Read Community Write Community Timeout Required Text Field Required Text Field Required spin field Enter the name of the SNMP read community. The default is public. Enter the name of the SNMP write community. The default is public Enter a timeout value in seconds. When the DSA connects to an agent associated with this data source, it waits for the specified timeout period before returning an error to Netcool/Impact. If you are creating this data source for use with the standard data-handling functions AddDataItem and GetByFilter, select or enter the port number. If you are creating this data source for use with the new SNMP functions, accept the default value. Version Selection list Select the correct version, 1 or 2.
Port
Spin field
4.
Click the OK button to save the information and close the window.
Creating SNMPDirect Mediator v3 Data Sources

To create a data source with SNMP v3 authentication, you specify the properties described in Table 24 and then enter the information for the agent to authenticate the DSA as an SNMP user. The authentication parameters can be overridden by calls to the SNMP functions in the Netcool/Impact policy language.
To create an SNMP v3 data source: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Select SNMPDirectMediator from the New Data Source selection list. Click the New button. The New SNMPDirectMediator Data Source window opens. Enter the information described in Table 24, except, select 3 from the Version selection list. Enter the name of an SNMP v3 authentication user in the required User field. Select a protocol from the Authentication Protocol list. The default is MD5. Enter the password for the authentication user in the Password field. Select a protocol from the Privacy protocol list. Enter a privacy password in the Privacy Password field. Enter a contact name in the Context Name field
10. Click OK.
Editing a Data Source

Use the following procedure to edit a data source. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. In the Navigation panel, select the Projects tab if it is not already selected. Select a project. Open the Data Source task pane for that project. Click the name of the data source that you want to edit. The selected Edit Data Source window opens. Make any changes you need to and click the OK button to save your changes and close the window.
Deleting a Data Source

Use the following procedure to delete a previously defined data source. Attention: When you delete a data source from within project, it is also deleted from any other projects that use it and the Global Repository. To remove a data source from one project, use the Remove button in the Edit Project window for that project. See "Adding and Removing Project Members" on page 23. 1. 2. 3. Open the Data Source task pane. Locate the data source name that you want to delete. Click the Delete button next to it.
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Testing a Data Source Connection

You can test the data source connection at any time. 1. 2. 3. 4. Select a project that uses the data source or locate it in the Global repository. Open the Data Source task pane. Locate the data source you want to test. Click the Test Connection button next to the data source you want to test. A popup message reports the success or failure of the connection. Note: If you have defined a backup data source, both the Primary and Backup data source connections are tested when you use the Test Connection button in the task pane. If the test succeeds for the primary connection, you will get a message to that effect. If the test fails for the primary source, the backup source is then tested. If the backup succeeds, you will get a message that the connection was successful. It is only when both the primary and backup tests fail that you will receive a "Connection could not be made" message.
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NCI_31_UG_DataTypes.fm December 1, 2006
Chapter 6. Working with Data Types

This chapter explains data types and describes how to configure them. It contains the following sections: "About Data Types" on page 77 "Viewing Data Types" on page 79 "Configuring Internal Data Types" on page 81 "Configuring External Data Types" on page 88 "Working with Mediator DSA Data Types" on page 105 "Working with SNMP Data Types" on page 106 "Editing a Data Type" on page 113 "Deleting a Data Type" on page 113 "Viewing Data Type Performance Statistics" on page 113
About Data Types

Data types are elements of a Netcool/Impact data model that represent sets of data stored in a data source. Data types describe the content and structure of the data in the data source table and summarize this information so that it can be accessed during the execution of a policy. In order to use a data source in policies, you must create data types for it.
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Netcool/Impact has four kinds of data type, as described in Table 25:

Table 25. Netcool/Impact Data Types Data Type External "Configuring External Data Types" on page 88l Description External data types use an external data source to access information in third party databases. Netcool/Impact supports both SQL and LDAP databases, as well as DSAs. An external data type contains all the data (data items) in its data source that meet its lookup criteria. Before you configure an external data type, you must first configure the data source connection information. See Chapter 5. "Working with Data Sources" on page 33 for more information. Internal "Configuring Internal Data Types" on page 81 You can store data directly in a Netcool/Impact data repository and use it as a data source. You define internal data types to create and access this data. You use internal stored data types to model data that does not exist, or cannot be easily created, in external databases. This includes working data used by policies, which can contain copies of external data or intermediate values of data. IBM recommends that you only use Internal data types for prototyping and demonstrating Netcool/Impact. Predefined Data Types Chapter 7. "Working with Pre-Defined Data Types" on page 117 These data types are stored in the Global Repository and are accessible from the Global tab. Pre-defined data types are special data types that are stored in Netcool/Impact. Some are not editable. The non-editable pre-defined data types are: TimeRangeGroup LinkType Filter Hibernation The following pre-defined data types can be edited to add new fields: Schedule Document FailedEvent Precision You cannot edit or delete existing fields. None of the pre-defined data types can be deleted. Reports Chapter 7. "Working with Pre-Defined Data Types" on page 117 These data types are stored in the Global Repository and listed in the Global tab. These data types are used internally by the Netcool/Impact Reporting tools and should not be edited or deleted.
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Note: There are additional system data types that do not appear in the GUI. You can manage these data types using the Command Line Interface (CLI). For more information on the CLI, see the Netcool/Impact Administration Guide. You can use the GUI for: "Viewing Data Types" on page 79 "Configuring Internal Data Types" on page 81 "Configuring External Data Types" on page 88 "Editing a Data Type" on page 113 "Deleting a Data Type" on page 113 "Viewing Data Type Performance Statistics" on page 113
Viewing Data Types

To view data types, do the following: 1. 2. In the Navigation panel, select the Projects tab if it not already selected. Select a project.
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3.
Open the Data Types task pane.
Figure 37. Data Type Task Pane
Before you have created any data types, you will see only the Data Source selection box and the New Data Type button. Each time you create a new data type, you first select the data source it will connect to, either Internal or a previously created External data source. Figure 38 shows a list of previously created data sources.
Figure 38. Sample Data Source Selection List for New Data Type
After you have defined some data types, they are listed in the Data Types task pane with their associated icons, as shown in Figure 39.
Figure 39. List of Configured Data Types
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Data Types Task Pane Buttons

Table 26 describes the buttons that appear in the Data Types task pane:
Table 26. Data Type Task Pane Buttons Button Button Title New Description Select the data source for the data type that you want to add and click this button to open the New Data Type editor to define a new data type. Click this button to view the data items for the data type. Clear the source control locking for the data type. The Unlock button only unlocks items that have been checked out by you. It will not unlock any item that was previously checked out by another user. If you attempt to unlock an item that has been checked out by another user, you will get a message to that affect. Click this button to review a performance report for the data type. See "Viewing Data Type Performance Statistics" on page 113. Click this button next to a data type to delete it permanently from the Netcool/Impact database. To safely remove a data type from only one project and not from the database, use the Edit Project window. See "Adding and Removing Project Members" on page 23.
View Data Items
View Performance Report Delete
Configuring Internal Data Types

The following procedure uses an Administrator internal data type as an example. To define the data type for Administrator, you would specify the attributes (fields) that you want listed for every administrator, perhaps a name, a pager number, and an e-mail address. Then you create data items: the names, pager numbers and e-mail addresses) of the administrators. For Internal data types, these attributes are the actual data items for the data type. Note: IBM recommends that you use Internal data types only for prototyping and demonstrating Netcool/Impact. 1. 2. Open the Projects tab and select a project. Open the Data Types task pane. Since internal data is stored in Netcool/Impact, it is not necessary to first configure a data source connection.
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3.
Select Internal from the list of data sources, as shown in Figure 40, and click the New button.
Figure 40. Example Data Type Selection List
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The Internal Data Type editor opens in the Main Work panel.
Figure 41. New Internal Data Type Editor
Table 27 describes the Internal Data Type editor tool bar buttons.
Table 27. Data Type Editor Toolbar Buttons Button Description Click to save the data type.
Click to access help for the Internal Data Type editor.
The New Internal Data Type editor contains two tabs, which are described in Table 28:
Table 28. Internal Data Type Editor Tabs Tab Custom Fields Dynamic Links Description In this tab you can add any number of fields to form a database table. In this tab you can create links to other data types, both external and internal, to establish connections between information. Links between individual data items can represent any relationship between the items that policies need to be able to look up. For example, a node linked to an operator allows a policy to look up the operator responsible for the node.
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Internal Data Type Custom Fields Tab - General Settings

Use the following procedures to create an Internal data type. 1. Enter the information in the Custom Fields tab - General Settings section using Table 29 as your guide.
Table 29. New Internal Data Type Editor Custom Fields Tab - General Settings Section Editor Element Data Type Name Element Type Required text field Description Enter a unique name that identifies the data type. Data type names must be unique globally - not just within a project. If you receive an error message when saving a data type, check the Global tab for a complete list of data type names for the server. If you find the name you have tried to save, you need to change it. Note: Note: Only letters, numbers, and the underscore character should be used in data type names. Display Icon (Browse) Button Click to display an icon selection window. The icon you select associates it with the data type and all its related data items throughout the GUI. Click over an icon to select it and close the window. Click Close to close the window without choosing an icon. State: Persistent Checkbox (checked by default) Leave the box checked as Persistent (permanent) to permanently store the data items created for this data type. When the server is restarted, the data is loaded. If the box is unchecked, the data is held in memory, but only while the server is running. When the server restarts, the data will be lost because it wasnt backed up in a file. This feature is useful if you need data only on a temporary basis and then want to discard it. To make data temporary, remove the check from the checkbox. Persistent data types are always written to file. Therefore making internal data types temporary should be faster.
2.
Click the Save button in the tool bar to save the data type.
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Custom Fields Tab - Additional Fields

Use the following procedure to add additional fields to the data type. 1. In the Additional Fields section of the Custom Fields tab, click the New button to add fields to the table. The New Field window opens.
Figure 42. New Field Window
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2.
Enter the information in the window, using Table 30 as your guide.

Table 30. New Field Window Window Element ID Field Name Element Type Required text field Optional text field Description Enter a unique ID for the field. Enter the actual field name. This can be the same as the ID. You can reference both the ID field and the Field Name field in policies. If you do not enter a Display Name (see below), Netcool/Impact uses the ID field name by default. Format Display Name: Selection list Optional text field Select a format for the field from the Format selection list: Enter a display name for the columns in this table. The display name is the name that appears for the field when you view the data items in the Data Manager. If you do not enter a display name, Netcool/Impact uses the ID field name by default. Description Optional text field Enter some text that describes the field.
Once you have entered the field names, you will have a table that looks similar to the one displayed in Figure 43:
Figure 43. Internal Data Type Table Example
3. 4.
Continue to add fields to the table as appropriate. From the Display Name Field selection list situated under the Additional Fields table, you can select a field name that you want to use to name a data item elsewhere in the GUI.
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Moving a Table Row

You can change the order of the fields in the table by using the Up and Down arrows in the Move column. 1. 2. To move a row up in the table, click the Up arrow in the Move column of the row you want to move. To move a row down in the table, click the Down arrow in the Move column of the row you want to move.
Editing Field Properties

Use the following procedure to edit a fields properties. 1. 2. 3. Click the Edit button in the Edit column of the field you want to edit. The Edit Field window opens (see Figure 42 on page 85. Make any necessary changes. Click OK to save the changes and close the window.
Deleting a Table Row

Use the following procedure to delete a table row. 1. To delete a row, check the box next to the fields name in the Select column. The row is highlighted. If you want to delete all the data items in the table, click the All link. Checkmarks are placed in every checkbox in the Select: column and the data items are highlighted. You can deselect individual data items if you decide you do not want to delete all of them.
Figure 44. Deleting a Field
2.
Click the Delete link at the bottom of the Select column.
Dynamic Links Tab

See Chapter 9. "Working with Links" on page 143.
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Configuring External Data Types

This section explains how to configure SQL and LDAP external data types. It also explains the DSA Mediator data types (Corba and Direct). The definition of an external data type is the lookup method used to find data from the external data source. The data items for an external data type always include all the fields in its data source that meet the lookup criteria. When the database is accessed, the fields from the database schema are assigned to the data type. You can also add additional fields to the type, if, for example, a field was added to the data source after you created the data type. You can delete fields that you do not need to have as part of your data type. Creating data types from external data sources is similar to creating internal data types (see "Configuring Internal Data Types" on page 81), except that the External Data Type editor has a Table Description tab instead of a Custom Fields tab and an additional Data Caching tab to regulate the flow of data between Netcool/Impact and the external data source. The fields in the Table Description tab are not custom fields that you create. These fields identify the required data from the external data source. Note: All data types must belong to a data source. Before you create an external data type, you must specify which type of data source to use (see Chapter 5. "Working with Data Sources" on page 33).
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Configuring SQL Data Types

SQL data types define real-time dynamic access to data in tables in a specified SQL database. When the database is accessed, the fields from the database schema are assigned to the data type. Some of the SQL data sources automatically discover the fields in the table. The following data sources support automatic table discovery. DB2 Informix MYSQL Oracle Sybase
Some of the data sources do not support automatic table discovery. For these, you must enter the table name to initiate discovery. They are: Flat File Microsoft SQL Server ODBC ObjectServer PostgreSQL
Use the following procedure to configure an SQL data type. 1. Open the Projects tab and select a project. Note: You can also create the data type in the Global Repository if you do not want to attach it to a project at the current time. 2. Open the Data Types task pane.
Figure 45. Data Type Task Pane
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3.
Select one of the SQL data sources from the data source selection list and click the New button. The SQL Data Type editor opens in the Main Work panel.
Figure 46. Sample SQL Data Type Editor - Table Description Tab
The External Data Type editor has the following tool bar buttons:
Table 31. External Data Type Editor Tool Bar Buttons Butto n Description Click to save the data type.
Click to access help for the Data Type Editor.
The editor contains three tabs:

Table 32. External Data Type Editor Tabs (1 of 2) Tab Table Description Description In this tab you name the data type, change the data source, if necessary, and add any number of fields from the data source to form a database table.
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Table 32. External Data Type Editor Tabs (2 of 2) Tab Dynamic Links Description In this tab you can create links to other data types, both external and internal, to establish connections between information. Links between individual data items can represent any relationship between the items that policies need to be able to look up. For example, a node linked to an operator allows a policy to look up the operator responsible for the node. See "Dynamic Links Tab" on page 104. Cache Settings In this tab you can set up caching parameters to regulate the flow of data between Netcool/Impact and the external data source. See "Cache Settings Tab" on page 98.
4.
Enter the information in the three tabs, as explained in the following sections.
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Table Description Tab

Use the following procedure to create an SQL data type. 1. Enter the information in the Table Description tab using Table 33 as your guide.
Table 33. New External Data Type Editor - Table Description Tab (1 of 3) Editor Element General Settings Data Type Name: Required text field Enter a unique name that identifies the data type. Data type names must be unique globally - not just within a project. If you receive an error message when saving a data type, check in the Global tab for a complete list of data type names for the server. If you find the name you have tried to save, you need to change it. Note: Note: Only letters, numbers, and the underscore character should be used in data type names. Data Source: Name Selection list This field is automatically populated, based on your data source selection in the Data Types task pane of the Navigation panel. However, if you have other SQL data sources configured to use with Netcool/Impact, you can change it to any of the SQL data sources in the selection list, if necessary. If you enter a new name, a message window asks you to confirm your change. Click OK to confirm the change. If you change your mind about selecting a different data source, click Cancel. Display Icon: Browse Button Click to display an icon selection window. The one you select associates it with the data type and all its related data items throughout the GUI. Click over an icon to select it and close the window. Click Close to close the window without choosing an icon. State: Enabled Table Description Checkbox (checked by default) Activate the data type so that it will be available for use in policies. Element Type Description
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Table 33. New External Data Type Editor - Table Description Tab(Continued) (2 of 3) Editor Element Base Table Element Type Selection list or text box, depending on the SQL type. Description If necessary, select or enter a Base Table name. The first list contains the databases in the data source. The second list contains the tables in the selected database. Click the Refresh button to populate the table. The table columns are displayed as fields in a table. To make database access as efficient as possible, delete any fields that will not be used in policies. New Field Button You can add new fields from the data source database (see "Adding a Field to the Table" on page 94). Any new fields added to this table are not added to the data source table. You cannot add fields to the database table in this way. Key Field Table column You must specify a key field by clicking the checkbox in the appropriate row in the Key Field column. You can add multiple key fields. Key fields are used when you retrieve data from the data type in a policy using the GetByKey function and when you define a GetByKey dynamic link. See "Action Functions" on page 172 and "Adding a New Link by Key" on page 148. Whether or not you plan to use the GetByKey functionality, you must define a key field. If you do not, Netcool/Impact will not function properly. Display Name Field Optional selection list Select a field to be the display name for data items created from rows in this table. This is the field that is displayed when you click the View Data Items button in the Data Types task pane (see "Viewing Data Items" on page 138). Choose the field that is most meaningful for a typical user, for example, ID. Data Filtering and Ordering
Refresh
Button
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Table 33. New External Data Type Editor - Table Description Tab(Continued) (3 of 3) Editor Element Filter Element Type Optional text field Description Enter a restriction clause to limit the types of data items seen for the data type. For example, to limit the rows in a field called Country to US, you would enter: Country = US If you want to limit the rows to the US or the UK, you would enter: Country = "US OR Country = UK" You can use any sql Where clause syntax. Order by Field Optional selection List Select a field by which to sort the data types data items. For example, if you select a field called Name, the data is ordered based on the entries in the Name column. The order settings are used when you retrieve data items and when you browse data items using the GUI.
2.
Adding a Field to the Table

You may want to add a new field to the table from the data source database; for example, in the case where the field was added to the database after you created the data type. If you need to add a field, you can do so using the New field window. Note: Make sure that the field name you add has the same name as the field name in the data source.
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Note: Any new fields added to this table are not added to the data source table. You cannot add fields to the database table in this way. 1. To add a field to a table, click the New Field button in the Table Description tab. The New Field window opens, as shown in Figure 47.
Figure 47. New Field Window
2.
Enter the information in the window using as your guide.

Table 34. External Data Type Editor - New Field Window (1 of 3) Window Element ID Element Type Required text field Description By default, the field ID is the same as the column name in the database. You can change it to any other unique name. For example, if the underlying column names in the data source are not user friendly, you can use the ID field to provide an easier alias for the field. Enter a name that can be used in policies. It represents the name in the SQL column. It must be identical to how it appears in the data source; otherwise, Netcool/Impact will report an error when trying to access the data type.
Field Name
Required text field
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Table 34. External Data Type Editor - New Field Window (2 of 3) Window Element Format Element Type Optional selection list Description For SQL database data types, Netcool/Impact auto-discovers the columns in the underlying table and automatically deduces the data format for each field when you set up the data type. For other data types, you must manually specify the format for each field that you create. For more information on Formats, see the Working with Data Types chapter in the Netcool/Impact Solutions Guide. Select a format from the following list: STRING LONG_STRING iNTEGER PASSWORD_STRING LONG FLOAT DOUBLE DATE BOOLEAN CLOB Display Name Optional text field Enter a display name. The display name is the name that appears for the field when you view the data items in the Data Manager. If you do not enter a display name, Netcool/Impact uses the ID field name by default. Enter some text that describes the field. This description is only visible when you edit the data type using the GUI. Enter a default expression for the field. It can be any value of the specified format (see Format row above) or it can be a database-specific identifier such as an Oracle pseudonym; for example, sequence.NEXTVAL. When you select the Exclude this Field option, Netcool/Impact does not set the value for the field when inserting a new data item into the database. You MUST set this option when you map a field to an Identity field or a field with a default value in a Sybase database. Otherwise, Netcool/Impact will overwrite the field on insert with the specified value or with a space character (if no value is specified). Note that this field is used for insert statements only, not for select statements.
Description
Optional text field
Default Value
Optional text box
Insert Statements: Exclude this field
Optional checkbox (unchecked by default)
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Table 34. External Data Type Editor - New Field Window (3 of 3) Window Element Type Checking: Strict Element Type Optional text box Description Check to enable strict type checking. When you enable strict type checking on the field, Netcool/Impact checks the format of the fields value on insert or update to ensure that it is of the same format as the corresponding field in the data source. If it is not the same, Netcool/Impact does not perform the insert or update and a message to that effect is displayed in the server log. If you do not enable strict type checking, all type checking and format conversions are done at the data source level.
Moving a Table Row for an External Data Type

You can change the order of the fields in the table by using the Up and Down arrows in the Move column. 1. 2. To move a row up in the table, click the Up arrow in the Move column of the row you want to move. To move a row down in the table, click the Down arrow in the Move column of the row you want to move.
Editing Field Properties

Use the following procedure to edit a fields properties. 1. To edit a fields properties, click the Edit button in the Edit column of the field you want to edit. The Edit Field window opens. 2. 3. Make any necessary changes. Click OK to save the changes and close the window.
Deleting a Field for an External Data Type

You can use the Delete function to limit which fields are updated/inserted/selected from the data source. Using a subset of the database fields can speed performance of the data type. Note: When you delete a field from the data type, it is NOT deleted from the data source.
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Use the following procedure to delete a field from a table. 1. To delete a table row(s), check the box next to the fields name in the Select:(all) column. The row is highlighted. If you want to delete all the data items in the table, click the Select: (all) link. Checkmarks are placed in every checkbox in the Select:(all) column and the data items are highlighted. You can deselect individual data items if you do not want to delete all of them. 2. Click the Delete link at the bottom of the Select:(all) column to delete the row(s).
Dynamic Links Tab

See "Working with Links" on page 143.
Cache Settings Tab

Caching helps you to decrease the load on the external databases used by Netcool/Impact. It also increases system performance. Using caching can make looking up data quicker for Netcool/Impact. Caching works best for static data sources and for data sources where the data does not change often. Caching works when Netcool/Impact retrieves data during the processing of a policy. When you view data items in the GUI, Netcool/Impact retrieves cached data rather than data directly from the data source. You can specify caching for external data types to control the number of data items temporarily stored while policies are processing data. A large number of data items in the cache uses a lot of memory but can save bandwidth and time if the same data is referenced frequently. When caching is not specified for the data type, each data item is reloaded from the external data source every time it is accessed. You can use caching to reduce performance load on data sources when the underlying data does not change often, or to reduce the total number of queries that Netcool/Impact makes against a data source for performance or other reasons. Three types of data type caching are listed in the Caching tab in the External Data Type editor. Data When a policy uses the GetByKey function, data caching defines the number of records that can be held in the cache. You can configure both the maximum number of data items to cache and the expiration time for data items in the cache. See the Netcool/Impact Policy Reference Guide for more information on the GetByKey function. You have to set data caching in order for query caching to work.
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Query When a policy uses the GetByfilter function, query caching defines the number of completed queries allowed in the cache (not the number of data items). See the Netcool/Impact Policy Reference Guide for more information on the GetByfilter function.
Count Do not set count caching - this type of caching is for backward compatibility only.
The fourth option in the Caching tab, Performances Measurements Intervals, allows you to set the reporting parameters for measuring how fast queries against a data type are executed. (See "Viewing Data Type Performance Statistics" on page 113. To configure caching for a data type, use the following procedure. 1. Click the Cache Settings tab. The Cache Settings editor opens in the Main Work panel, as shown in Figure 48.
Figure 48. External Data Type Editor Cache Settings Tab - Top
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You can configure data and query caching, as shown in Table 35, plus the parameters for the performance report for the data type.
Table 35. External Data Type Cache Settings Tab - Caching Types Cache Type Enable Data Caching Maximum number of data items Invalidate Cached Data Items After Editor Element Type Checkbox Integer Spin Box Description This checkbox toggles data caching on and off. Set the total number of data items to be stored in the cache during the execution of the policy. Set to invalidate the cached items after the time periods selected.
Integer Spin Boxes for: Days Hours Minutes Seconds
Enable Query Caching Maximum number of queries Invalidate Cached Queries After
Checkbox Integer Spin Box Integer Spin Boxes for: Days Hours Minutes Seconds
This checkbox toggles query caching on and off. Set the maximum number of database queries to be stored in the cache. Set to invalidate the cached items after the time periods selected.
Performance Measurements Intervals Polling Interval
Use the fields below to set parameters for viewing performance statistics for the data type. See "Viewing Data Type Performance Statistics" on page 113. Integer Spin Box Select a polling interval for measuring performance statistics for the data type. Select the query interval for the performance check.
Query Interval
Integer Spin Box
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Configuring an LDAP External Data Type

An LDAP data type represents a set of entities in an LDAP directory tree. The LDAP DSA determines which entities are part of this set in real time by dynamically searching the LDAP tree for those that match a specified LDAP filter within a certain scope. The DSA performs this search in relation to a location in the tree known as the base context. You create LDAP data types using the Netcool/Impact GUI. You must create one LDAP data type for each set of entities that you want to access using Netcool/Impact. Note: The LDAP data type is a read-only data type. Therefore you cannot edit or delete LDAP data items from within the GUI. See Chapter 8: Working with Data Items on page 175 for more information on data items. Use the following procedure to configure an LDAP data type. 1. Open the Projects tab and select a project. Note: You can also create the data type in the Global Repository if you do not want to attach it to a project at the current time. 2. 3. Open the Data Types task pane. Select an LDAP data source from the list of data sources and click the New button.
Figure 49. Sample Data Type Selection List
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The LDAP Data Type editor opens in the Main Work panel.
Figure 50. LDAP Data Type Editor
The LDAP Data Type editor contains three tabs:

Table 36. LDAP Data Type Editor Tabs Tab LDAP Info Dynamic Links Description In this tab you configure the attributes of the data type. In this tab you can create links to other data types, both external and internal, to establish connections between information. Links between individual data items can represent any relationship between the items that policies need to be able to look up. For example, a node linked to an operator allows a policy to look up the operator responsible for the node. Cache Settings In this tab you can set up caching parameters to regulate the flow of data between Netcool/Impact and the external data source.
The information required for the three tabs is explained in the following sections.
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LDAP Info Tab

Use the following procedure to add information to the LDAP Info tab. 1. Enter the information in the LDAP Info tab using Table 37 as your guide.
Table 37. LDAP Data Type Editor - LDAP Info Tab (1 of 2) Editor Element General Settings Data Type Name Required text field Enter a unique name that identifies the data type. Note: Note: Only letters, numbers, and the underscore character should be used in data type names. Display Icon: Browse Button Click to display an icon selection window. The one you select associates it with the data type and all its related data items throughout the GUI. Click over an icon to select it and close the window. Click Close to close the window without choosing an icon. State: Enabled LDAP Info Data Source Name Selection list This field is automatically populated, based on your data source selection in the Data Types task pane of the Navigation panel. However, if you have more than one LDAP data source configured for use with Netcool/Impact, you can select any LDAP data source in the selection list, if necessary. If you enter a new name, a message window asks you to confirm your change. Search scope Selection list Select the search scope: OBJECT_SCOPE ONLEVEL_SCOPE SUBTREE_SCOPE Base Context Required text Enter the base context that you want Netcool/Impact to use when searching for LDAP entities. Enter the name of a key field, for example, dn. Checkbox Leave checked to enable the data type so that it can be used in policies. Element Type Description
Key Search Field
Optional text field
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Table 37. LDAP Data Type Editor - LDAP Info Tab(Continued) (2 of 2) Editor Element Display Name Field Element Type Optional text field Description Enter a display name. The value of the display name field appears in the Data Manager when you view items of the data type. Enter a restriction filter. The restriction filter is an LDAP search filter as defined in Internet RFC 2254. This filter consists of one or more boolean expressions, with logical operators prefixed to the expression list. For more information, see "LDAP Filter Syntax" in the Netcool/Impact Policy Reference Guide.
Restriction Filter:
Optional text field
Attribute Configuration New Field Button For each field that you want to add to the data type, click the New button. Then follow the instructions in "Custom Fields Tab - Additional Fields" on page 85.
2.
Dynamic Links Tab

See "Working with Dynamic Links" on page 144.
Cache Settings Tab

See "Cache Settings Tab" on page 98.
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Working with Mediator DSA Data Types

Usually, Mediator DSA data types (and their associated data sources) will be installed when you install the Mediator DSA, and therefore you will not have to create them. The installed data types are available for viewing and, if necessary, for editing.
Viewing a Mediator DSA Data Type

Use the following procedure to view, or if necessary, to edit, a Mediator DSA Data Type. 1. 2. 3. Open the Projects tab and select a project. Open the Data Types task pane. Select a CORBAMediator or DirectMediator data source from the list of data sources and click the New button. The DSA Data Type editor opens in the Main Work panel.
Figure 51. Mediator DSA Data Type Editor
The DSA Data Type editor contains three tabs:

Table 38. DSA Data Type Editor Tabs (1 of 2) Tab DSA Mediator Description This tab contains the attributes of the data type. See your DSA documentation for more information.
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Table 38. DSA Data Type Editor Tabs (2 of 2) Tab Dynamic Links Description In this tab you can create links to other data types, both external and internal, to establish connections between information. Links between individual data items can represent any relationship between the items that policies need to be able to look up. For example, a node linked to an operator allows a policy to look up the operator responsible for the node. See "Dynamic Links Tab" on page 98. Cache Settings In this tab you can set up caching parameters to regulate the flow of data between Netcool/Impact and the external data source. See "Cache Settings Tab" on page 98.
Working with SNMP Data Types

If you are using an SNMP DSA, once you have created an SNMP data source, (see "Creating an SNMPDirectMediator Data Source" on page 69) you can use the GUI to create SNMP data types. If you plan to use the standard data-handling functions AddDataItem and GetByFilter to access SNMP data, you must create a separate data type for each set of variables (packed OID data types) or each set of tables (table data types) that you want to access. If you plan to use the SNMP functions provided with the DSA, you can create a single data type for each data source and use it to access all the variables and tables associated with the agent. For more detailed information about SNMP data types, see the Netcool DSA Reference Guide.
About Packed OID Data Types

Packed OID data types are data types that reference the OIDs of one or more variables managed by a single agent. You use this category of data type when you want to access single variables or sets of related variables. When you create a packed OID data type, you specify the name of the associated data source, the OID for each variable and options that determine the behavior of the DSA when connecting to the agent.
About Table Data Types

Table data types are data types that reference the OIDs of one or more tables managed by a single agent. You use this category of data type when you want to access SNMP tables. When you create a table data type, you specify the name of the associated data source, the OID for each table and options that determine the behavior of the DSA when connecting to the agent.
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Creating SNMP Data Types

Use the following procedure to configure an SNMP Mediator DSA Data Type. 1. 2. 3. Open the Projects tab and select a project. Open the Data Types task pane. Select an SNMP data source from the list of data sources and click the New button. The SNMPDirectMediator data type editor opens in the Main Work panel.
Figure 52. Mediator DSA Data Type Editor
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The SNMP Direct Mediator Data Type editor contains three tabs:
Table 39. DSA Data Type Editor Tabs Tab DSA Mediator Dynamic Links Description This tab contains the attributes of the data type. See your DSA documentation for more information. In this tab you can create links to other data types, both external and internal, to establish connections between information. Links between individual data items can represent any relationship between the items that policies need to be able to look up. For example, a node linked to an operator allows a policy to look up the operator responsible for the node. See "Dynamic Links Tab" on page 98. Cache Settings In this tab you can set up caching parameters to regulate the flow of data between Netcool/Impact and the external data source. See "Cache Settings Tab" on page 98.
The information required for the three tabs is explained in the following sections.
Creating Packed OID SNMP Direct Mediator Data Types

Packed OID data types reference the OIDs of one or more variables managed by a single agent. You use this category of data type when you want to access single variables or sets of related variables.
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Use the following procedure to create a Packed OID SNMP Direct Mediator data type. 1. 2. Select the DSA Mediator tab. Enter the information, using the information in as your guide.
Table 40. SNMP Direct Mediator Data Type Editor - DSA Mediator Tab (1 of 2) Editor Element General Settings Data Type Name Required text field Enter a unique name that identifies the data type. Note: Note: Only letters, numbers, and the underscore character should be used in data type names. Data Source Name Selection list This field is automatically populated, based on your data source selection in the Data Types task pane of the Navigation panel. However, if you have other SQL data sources configured to use with Netcool/Impact, you can change it to any of the SQL data sources in the selection list, if necessary. If you enter a new name, a message window asks you to confirm your change. Click OK to confirm the change. If you change your mind about selecting a different data source, click Cancel. Display Icon: Browse Button Click to display an icon selection window. The one you select associates it with the data type and all its related data items throughout the GUI. Click over an icon to select it and close the window. Click Close to close the window without choosing an icon. SNMP Settings Oid Configuration Selection list Select Packed OID .data types from the Oid Configuration list. Element Type Description
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Table 40. SNMP Direct Mediator Data Type Editor - DSA Mediator Tab (2 of 2) Editor Element New Attribute Element Type Button Description If you are creating this data type for use with the standard data-handling functions AddDataItem and GetByFilter, you must create a new attribute on the data type for each variable you want to access. To create an attribute, click the New Attribute button and specify an attribute name and the OID for the variable. If you are creating this data source for use with the new SNMP functions, you do not need to explicitly create attributes for each variable. In this scenario, you pass the variable OIDs when you make each function call in the Netcool/Impact policy. Get Bulk: Enabled Max Repetitions Nonrepeaters Checkbox Spin field Spin field N/A N/A N/A
3.
Click Save.
Creating Table Data Types

Packed OID data types reference the OIDs of one or more variables managed by a single agent. You use this category of data type when you want to access single variables or sets of related variables.
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Use the following procedure to create a Packed OID SNMP Direct Mediator data type. 1. 2. Select the DSA Mediator tab. Enter the information, using the information in as your guide.
Table 41. SNMP Direct Mediator Data Type Editor - DSA Mediator Tab (1 of 2) Editor Element General Settings Data Type Name Required text field Enter a unique name that identifies the data type. Note: Note: Only letters, numbers, and the underscore character should be used in data type names. Data Source Name Selection list This field is automatically populated, based on your data source selection in the Data Types task pane of the Navigation panel. However, if you have other SQL data sources configured to use with Netcool/Impact, you can change it to any of the SQL data sources in the selection list, if necessary. If you enter a new name, a message window asks you to confirm your change. Click OK to confirm the change. If you change your mind about selecting a different data source, click Cancel. Display Icon: Browse Button Click to display an icon selection window. The one you select associates it with the data type and all its related data items throughout the GUI. Click over an icon to select it and close the window. Click Close to close the window without choosing an icon. SNMP Settings Oid Configuration Selection list Select Table data types from the Oid Configuration list. Element Type Description
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Table 41. SNMP Direct Mediator Data Type Editor - DSA Mediator Tab (2 of 2) Editor Element New Attribute Element Type Button Description If you are creating this data type for use with the standard data-handling functions AddDataItem and GetByFilter, you must create a new attribute on the data type for each variable you want to access. To create an attribute, click the New Attribute button and specify an attribute name and the OID for the variable. If you are creating this data source for use with the new SNMP functions, you do not need to explicitly create attributes for each variable. In this scenario, you pass the variable OIDs when you make each function call in the Netcool/Impact policy. Get Bulk: Enabled Checkbox If you want the DSA to retrieve table data from the agent using the SNMP GETBULK command instead of an SNMP GET, select Get Bulk. The GETBULK command retrieves table data using a continuous GETNEXT command. This option is suitable for retrieving data from very large tables. When you have select Get Bulk, you can control the number of variables in the table for which the GETNEXT operation is performed using the specified Non-Repeaters and Max Repetitions values. Max Repetitions Spin field Max Repetitions specifies the number of repetitions for each of the remaining variables in the operation. The Non-Repeaters value specifies the first number of non-repeating variables.
Nonrepeaters
Spin field
3.
Click Save.
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Editing a Data Type

You can edit information for the data type that you have entered previously. 1. 2. 3. 4. To edit a data type, open the Data Type task pane in the Navigation panel. Click on the name of the data type. The Edit Data Type editor opens in the Main Work panel. Make any necessary changes. Note: Only letters, numbers, and the underscore character should be used in data type names. 5. 6. Click the Save button to save your changes. Click the X on the Data Type tab to close the editor.
Deleting a Data Type

Use the following procedure to delete a data type that you no longer need. Attention: When you delete a data type from within project or the Global Repository, it is also deleted from any other projects that use it. To remove a data type from one project, use the Remove button in the Edit Project window for that project. See "Adding and Removing Project Members" on page 23. 1. 2. 3. To delete a data type, open the Data Type task pane in the Navigation panel. Locate the name of the data type. Click the Delete button next to the data type name.
Viewing Data Type Performance Statistics

The Performance Statistics Report allows you to determine whether the caching enabled for the data type is working efficiently. Note: In order to collect the data for this report, you must set the Performance Measurements Settings in the data types Caching tab. See "Cache Settings Tab" on page 98. 1. 2. In the Navigation panel, select a project. Open the Data Types task pane and locate the data type you want to view.
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3.
To view performance statistics, click the View Performance Statistics button next to the data type. The Performance Statistics window opens.
Figure 53. Performance Statistics Window
Table 42 explains the statistics reported in the window.

Table 42. Performance Statistics (1 of 2) Statistic Type Performance Averages Number of Queries Number of Inserts Number of Updates Number of Rows Average number of queries calculated over the time interval (seconds). Average number of inserts calculated over the time interval (seconds). Average number of updates calculated over the time interval (seconds). Average number of rows retrieved (either from the cache or from the database) by the number of queries over the query interval. Average time it took to execute each query calculated over the query interval. Description
Time to Execute Each Query
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Table 42. Performance Statistics (2 of 2) Statistic Type Time to Read Results of Each Query Averages are calculated over time interval Cache Status Number of Queries (% of total) Actual number of queries and the percentage of queries retrieved from the query cache per query interval. Actual number of data items and the percentage of data items loaded from the data cache per query interval. The number of data items loaded from the data cache referred by queries in the query cache. The time it took to clear the cache. Query interval. Description Average time it took to read the results of each query over the query interval.) The time interval.
Number of Data Items (% of total)
Number of Data Items in Use
Time Spent Clearing the Cache Percentages are calculated over query interval
4. 5.
Click Close to close the window. If you determine that caching needs to be reworked, see "Cache Settings Tab" on page 98.
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Chapter 7. Working with Pre-Defined Data Types

This chapter describes the Netcool/Impact pre-defined data types and explains how to view and create data items for each type. It contains the following sections: "About Pre-Defined Data Types" on page 117 "Working with Time Range Groups and Schedules" on page 118 "Working with Filters" on page 128 "Working with the LinkType Data Type" on page 128 "Working with Documents" on page 132 "Working with the FailedEvent Data Type" on page 133 "The Hibernation Data Type" on page 136 "Editing and Deleting Pre-Defined Data Items" on page 136 "Adding and Viewing Links" on page 136
About Pre-Defined Data Types

Pre-defined data types are special data types that are stored in the Netcool/Impact Global Repository and are accessible from the Global tab. Some of them have a dedicated GUI for creating and editing data items. Some of the pre-defined data types cannot be edited: Time Range Group LinkType Filter Hibernation
You can use the Netcool/Impact GUI to view, edit and delete their data items. The following three pre-defined data types can be edited to add additional fields: Schedule Doc FailedEvent
You can use the Netcool/Impact GUI to view, edit and delete their data items.
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Note: Only the FailedEvent pre-defined data type can be deleted.
Working with Time Range Groups and Schedules

The Schedule and Time Range Group data types have special data items that are similar to internal data items, but they are used specifically for defining scheduling information. Schedules and Time Range Groups are normally used by policies to look up the availability of another item, for example, whether an administrator is on call at the time the policy is run. Schedules contain time ranges associated with data items. You can group time ranges so that you can easily re-use them and do not have to enter the information each time.
Time Range Groups

A Time Range Group consists of any number of time ranges. There are three types of time ranges, as described in Table 43.
Table 43. Time Range Specifications Time Range Type Positive Negative Override Description The time range is active when the current time is within the time range, unless it is overlapped by a Negative or an Override. The time range is inactive for the specified range. This time range is useful, for example, to exclude a lunch hour from a Positive time range. The time range is always active within the range, regardless of any negative ranges.
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You can specify any combination of the time ranges described in Table 44.
Table 44. Time Range Combinations Time Range Daily Weekly Absolute Description A time range between a starting time and an ending time for every day of the week, for example, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. A range between a starting time on a specified day and ending on a specified day every week, for example Monday 9 a.m. to Friday 5 p.m. A range of time between two specific dates, for example, March 3, 2004 to March 4, 2004. One way this time range is useful is for server maintenance. If a server is due to be down for maintenance on a specific day and you do not want it to show up as an alarm, you could define an Absolute range and use it in an Event Suppression policy.
Viewing Time Range Group Data Items

Use the following procedure to view Time Range Group Data Items. 1. 2. Click the Global tab and open the Data Type task pane. Locate the Time Range Group data type in the list and click the View Data Items button. The Time Range Group viewer opens in the Main Work Panel.
Figure 54. Time Range Group Editor
In the example, five time range groups have been defined.
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Creating a New Time Range Group

Use the following procedure to create a new time range group. 1. In the Time Range Group Viewer, to create a new time range group click the Create New Time Range Group button. The Edit Time Range Group window opens.
Figure 55. Time Range Group Window
2.
Use the information in Table 45 to define a new group.

Table 45. Time Range Group Window Window Element Group Name Available Element Type Required text field Selection list Button Description Enter a unique name to describe the group. Select the type of range you want to define (Daily, Weekly, Absolute). Click to open the selected Time Range window. See the following sections for defining Daily, Weekly and Absolute Time Ranges. Groups Selection list Button Select from the list of existing groups to add to this time range. Click to add the selected group as a new time range.
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Adding a Daily Time Range

In the Time Range Group Viewer, after you select Daily, click the New button to open the following window.
Figure 56. Daily Time Range Window

Table 46. Daily Time Range Window Window Element Starting Time: hour/min Ending Time: hour/min Time Zone Effect Positive Negative Override Element Type Integer Spin field Integer Spin field Button Radio buttons Description Using the 24-hour clock, enter the starting time, hour, and minute. Using the 24-hour clock, enter the ending time, hour, and minute. Select the appropriate time zone. See Table 44 on page 119.
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Adding a Weekly Time Range

In the Time Range Group Viewer, after you select Weekly, click the New button to open the following window.
Figure 57. Weekly Time Range Window

Table 47. Weekly Time Range Window Window Element Start hour/min End hour/min Time Zone Effect Positive Negative Override Element Type Required selection list Integer spin field Required selection list Integer spin field Selection list Radio buttons Description Select the day of the week to indicate the beginning day of the time range. Select the time of day to start the time range. Select the day of the week to indicate the end of the time range. Select the time of day to end the time range. Select the appropriate time zone. See Table 44 on page 119.
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Adding an Absolute Time Range

In the Time Range Group Viewer, after you select Absolute, click the New button to open the following window.
Figure 58. Absolute Time Range Window

Table 48. Absolute Time Range Window Window Element Start Date Element Type Entry field Button Description Start Date field. Click the Calendar button to open a calendar. Select a date to start the time range and click OK. End Date Entry field Button End Date field. Click the Calendar button to open a calendar. Select a date to end the time range and click OK. Time Zone Effect Positive Negative Override Selection list Radio buttons Select the appropriate time zone. See Table 43 on page 118.
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Schedules
A Schedule defines a list of data items associated with specific time ranges, or Time Range Groups, that already exist. You can use links between Schedule data items and other data items to schedule any items, for example the hours when a departmental node is business critical or to identify who is currently on call when an alert occurs.
Adding a Schedule
You can define multiple schedules. To add a schedule, use the following procedure. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Open the Data Type task pane. Select the Schedule data source from the selection list. Click the New button. The Schedule editor opens in the Main Work panel. Enter a unique name for the schedule in the Data Type Name field. Follow the procedures below to define the schedule.
Adding a Field to the Schedule Data Type

You can add a new field to the Schedule data type just as you would to an Internal data type. See "Configuring Internal Data Types" on page 81 for more information.
Viewing Schedule Data Items

Use the following procedure to view Schedule data items. 1. 2. Click the Global tab and open the Data Type task pane. Locate the Schedule data type in the list and click the View Data Items button. The Schedule viewer opens in the Main Work panel.
Figure 59. Schedule Viewer
In the example, one schedule has been defined. See Chapter 8. "Working with Data Items" on page 137 for more details on data items.
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Creating a New Schedule

Use the following procedure to create a new schedule. 1. To create a new schedule, from the Schedule Viewer, click the Create New Schedule button. The Schedule Editor window opens.
Figure 60. Schedule Editor Window
2.
Enter the information in the window using Table 49 as your guide.

Table 49. Schedule Editor Window Window Element General Settings Schedule Name Description Required text field Optional text field Enter a unique name for the schedule. Enter a description for the schedule. Element Type Description
Members and Time Ranges Schedule Members Entry window Members appear in this window after selecting the data type and adding members using the instructions below. Select a data type. See Step 3.
Edit Members by Type Edit
Selection list Button
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3.
After selecting a data type, click the Edit button to open the Select Schedule Members window, as shown in Figure 61.
Figure 61. Select Schedule Members Window
4.
Enter information in the Select Schedule Members window using Table 50 as your guide.
Table 50. Select Schedule Members Window Window Element Filter Filter Member Candidates Add Members Remove Element Type Text field Button Selection list Button Selection list Button Description Enter a filter to limit the number of displayed member candidates. Click to apply the filter to the member candidates. Highlight a candidate from the list. Click to add the candidate to the Members list. Highlight a candidate from the list. Click to remove the candidate from the Members list and return the name to the Member Candidates list.
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5.
After you have selected the data type and added members to the schedule, the Time Ranges for Schedule Member pane opens on the right side of the window, as shown in Figure 62.
Figure 62. Time Ranges for Schedule Members
6.
Highlight a member in the Schedule Members pane. The name you selected appears at the top of the Time Ranges for Schedule Member pane. (In Figure 62 the name Cherry Arms is used as an example.)
7.
Enter time ranges for the candidate using the instructions in "Creating a New Time Range Group" on page 120. When you have finished, the new time ranges are listed in the table, as shown in Figure 63.
Figure 63. Time Ranges Entered for the First Schedule Member
Note that the On Call Status for the current member shows that the administrator is on call. The traffic light would be red if the administrator was not on call. 8. Repeat for each schedule member.
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9.
Click OK to save the schedule and close the window. The new schedule data item is listed as a row in the table.
Figure 64. New Schedule Data Item
For information on editing and deleting data items, see Chapter 8. "Working with Data Items" on page 137.
Working with Filters

The Filter data type is obsolete. Filters remain in Netcool/Impact 3.x for backward compatibility. In previous releases, they were used in a Director policy to trigger multiple policies from a single Event Broker. In Netcool/Impact 3.x, this functionality is provided in the Event Reader Service. See "Event Reader Service" on page 219.
Working with the LinkType Data Type

The LinkType data type provides a way of defining named and hierarchical dynamic links (see "Dynamic Links" on page 143). In order to reference links directly from a policy, you can specify the linktype directly instead of the target data type name. You can create hierarchies between data types, for example, using the source as a parent to multiple target children (for example, one customer to multiple servers). Linktype data items are useful when you want to create several dynamic links between the same target and source data type for use in several policies. For example, in one policy you may want to filter the severity level for events for the target data type. In another policy you may want to filter the server names for the target data type. You would create a LinkType data item for each scenario and select the appropriate one when creating the link. See "Working with Dynamic Links" on page 144 for more information.
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Viewing LinkType Data Items

Use the following procedure to view LinkType data items. 1. 2. Click the Global tab and open the Data Type task pane. Locate the LinkType data type in the list and click the View Data Items button. The Linktype viewer opens in the Main Work panel.
Figure 65. View Linktype Data Items Editor
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Creating a New LinkType Data Item

Use the following procedure to create a new LinkType data item. 1. To create a new LinkType data item, click the Create New LinkType Data Item button (see Figure 65 on page 129.) The Create LinkType Data Item window opens.
Figure 66. Create LinkType Data Items Window
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2.
Select the source and target data types for the new linktype using Table 51 as your guide.
Table 51. Create LinkType Data Item Window Window Element General Settings Link Name Sources Available Data Types Add Selected Data Types Remove Targets Available Data Types Add Selected Data Types Remove Button Selection window Button Highlight to select a data type. Click to move the data type to the Selected Data Types window as a target for the linktype. Highlight to select a data type. Click to move the data type back to the Available Data Types window. Selection window Button Selection window Button Highlight to select a data type. Click to move the data type to the Selected Data Types window as a source for the linktype. Highlight to select a data type. Click to move the data type back to the Available Data Types window. Required text field Enter a name for the linktype to describe a link that goes forward from Source to Target in a policy. Element Type Description
The new data item appears in the Available LinkType Data Items table, as shown in Figure 67.
Figure 67. Newly Created LinkType Data Item
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When you create dynamic links, this LinkType data type will be available for selection. See "Working with Dynamic Links" on page 144 for more information.
Working with Documents

Custom URL Document data types are derived from the predefined Doc data type. You can add additional fields to the predefined Doc type and you can add data items. You cannot modify or delete the built-in fields in a custom URL Doc data type.
Adding a Field to the Doc Data Type

You can add a new field to the Doc data type just as you would to an Internal data type. See "Configuring Internal Data Types" on page 81 for more information.
Viewing Doc Data Items

Use the following procedure to view Doc data items. 1. 2. Click the Global tab and open the Data Type task pane. Locate the Doc data type in the list and click the View Data Items button. The Doc Data Items viewer opens in the Main Work panel.
Figure 68. Doc Data Items Viewer
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Adding a New Doc Data Item

Use the following procedure to add a new Doc data item. 1. 2. To create a new Doc data item, click the Create a New Doc Data Item button (see Figure 68 on page 132). The Create Doc Data Item window opens.
Figure 69. Create Doc Data Item Window
3. 4. 5. 6.
Enter a Document name. Enter a description for the document. Enter the documents Internet address. Click OK to save the data item and close the window. The new Doc data item appears in the table.
Figure 70. New Doc Data Item
Working with the FailedEvent Data Type

The FailedEvent data type, together with the ReprocessedFailedEvents policy, provides you with a way to deal with failed events that are passed from the ObjectServer. Both the FailedEvent data type and the ReprocessedFailedEvents policy are predefined and are stored in the Global Repository.
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When an event fails to be processed successfully, the DefaultExceptionHandler inserts the event container into the FailedEvent data type as a data item. For more information on data items, see "Working with Data Items" on page 137. For example, if a there is a communication problem with a DSA data source during the execution of a policys GetByFilter function, it results in an error. The failed event is stored in the FailedEvent data type as a data item. After the communication is solved, you can use the ReprocessFailedEvent policy to trigger the original event again. If you feel that there is no need to trigger the event again, you can delete it from the FailedEvent Data Item viewer. Note: The best practice to deal with failed events is for a PolicyActivatorService to run it at regular intervals.
Viewing FailedEvent Data Items

Use the following procedure to view failed events. 1. 2. Open the Global tab. Open the Data Type task pane.
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3.
Locate the FailedEvent data type and select the View Data Items button. The FailedEvent viewer opens in the Main Work panel.
Figure 71. FailedEvent Data Item Viewer
Each FailedEvent data item row includes the following fields: Key EventContainerString Policy Name EventReader name
You can use this information to recreate the EventContainer and send it back to the original policy that caused the error.
Deleting FailedEvent Data Items

For information on deleting FailedEvent data items, see "Deleting Data Items" on page 142.
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The Hibernation Data Type

When you call the Hibernate function in a policy, it causes Netcool/Impact to store the policy as a Hibernation data item for a certain number of seconds. You typically do not need to create or modify Hibernation data items using the GUI. However, you can delete stored hibernations if an error condition occurs and the hibernations are not woken up by the policy activator or another policy. See the Netcool/Impact Solutions Guide for more information on handling hibernations.
Editing and Deleting Pre-Defined Data Items

For information on editing and deleting data items, see "Editing Data Items" on page 141 and "Deleting Data Items" on page 142.
Adding and Viewing Links

For information on how to view linked items and create linked data items, see Chapter 9. "Working with Links" on page 143.
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Chapter 8. Working with Data Items

This chapter describes the data item concept and explains how to view, edit and delete them. It contains the following sections: "About Data Items" on page 137 "Viewing Data Items" on page 138 "Adding a New Data Item" on page 139 "Editing Data Items" on page 141 "Deleting Data Items" on page 142
About Data Items

Data items are elements of a Netcool/Impact data model that represent a single unit of data as defined by a data type. You create internal data items individually in the Data Item viewer. External data items are created automatically when a policy references the data type to which they belong, by a lookup in the external database. Note: The LDAP data type, which uses the LDAP DSA, is a read-only data type. Therefore you cannot edit or delete LDAP data items from within the GUI. See "Configuring an LDAP External Data Type" on page 101 for more information on LDAP data types. You can use the GUI to do the following: View data items Create data items Edit data items Delete data items
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Viewing Data Items

To view the data items for a data type, use the following procedure. 1. 2. Open the Data Types task pane in the Navigation Panel. Locate the data type.
Figure 72. Data Types Listed in Task Pane
3.
Click the View Data Items button next to the data type. The Data Items editor opens in the Main Work panel.
Figure 73. View Data Items Editor
Data Items Editor Tool Bar Buttons

Table 52 describes the Data Items editor tool bar buttons.
Table 52. Data Items Editor Tool Bar buttons (1 of 2) Butto n Description Click to add a new data item.
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Table 52. Data Items Editor Tool Bar buttons (2 of 2) Butto n Description Click to refresh the data items view after entering a filter (see "Filtering the View" on page 141). Click to access help for the editor.
In addition to the buttons, the tool bar contains a Filter field that allows you to filter the data to limit the number of displayed items.
Adding a New Data Item

Use the following procedure to add a new data item. 1. To add a new data item to the table, click the New Data Item button in the tool bar. The New Data Item window opens. The window you see will depend on the data type configuration. The window in Figure 74 is for a data type called User.
Figure 74. New Data Item Editor Example
2.
Enter the information in the window.
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3.
Click OK to save the data item and close the window. The new data item is listed in the table.
Figure 75. Sample Data Item Table Showing New Item
Navigating Between Pages

If a large number of rows match the data types lookup criteria, the table of data items may be longer than a page. The table then splits between multiple pages. You can navigate between these pages by clicking Prev and Next or by clicking the page number that you want to view, as shown in Figure 76.
Figure 76. Data Items Editor - Page 2 of 3 pages 140 Netcool/Impact Version 4.0 User Guide
Filtering the View

You can limit the number of data items shown by entering a search string in the Filter field. The filter syntax depends on the type of data type. For information on entering filter syntaxes, see the Netcool/Impact Administration Guide.
Editing Data Items

Use the following procedure to edit a data item. 1. To edit a data item, click the Edit button to the right of the data item in the table. The Edit Data Item editor opens. The window you see depends on the data type configuration.
Figure 77. Edit Data Item Window
2. 3.
Change the information as necessary. Click OK to save the changes and close the window.
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Deleting Data Items

Use the following procedure to delete a data item. 1. In the Select: column, select the data item(s) that you want to delete. Checkmarks are placed in the checkboxes next to the selected data items and the data items are highlighted, as shown in Figure 78.
Figure 78. Sample Data Item Table with Items Selected for Deletion
If you want to delete all the data items in the table, click the All link. Checkmarks are placed in every checkbox in the Select: column and the data items are highlighted. You can deselect individual data items if you decide you do not want to delete all of them. 2. Click the Delete link to delete the selected data item(s).
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Chapter 9. Working with Links

This chapter explains dynamic and static links. It contains the following sections: "About Links" on page 143 "Working with Dynamic Links" on page 144 "Working with Static Links" on page 151 "Browsing Dynamic Links" on page 154
About Links
Links are elements of a Netcool/Impact data model that specify relationships between data. Static links define relationships between data items and dynamic links define relationships between data types.
Dynamic Links
The relationships between data types are resolved dynamically at run time when you traverse the link in a policy or when you browse links between data items. They are dynamically created and maintained from the data in the database. The links concept is similar to the JOIN function in an SQL database. For example, there may be a Table 1, containing customer information (name, phone number, address, and so on) with a unique Customer ID key. There may also be a Table 2 containing a list of servers. In this table, the Customer ID of the customer that owns the server is included. Even if these data items were kept in different databases, Netcool/Impact permits the creation of a link between Table 1 and Table 2 through the Customer ID field, thus letting you see all the servers owned by a particular customer. You can use dynamic links only at the database level. (When relationships do not exist at the database level, you will need to create static links.) You can create dynamic links for all types of data types (internal, external and predefined). See "Working with Data Types" on page 77 for information on the three kinds of data type. Dynamic links are unidirectional links, configured from the source to the target data type.
Static Links
With static links, the relationship between data items is static and never changes after they have been created. You can traverse static links in a policy or in the GUI when you browse the linked data items. Static links are bi-directional.
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A static link is manually created between two data items when relationships do not exist at the database level. Static links are supported for internal data types only. See "Working with Data Types" on page 77 for information on internal data types.
Working with Dynamic Links

Dynamic links use a specified method to link data item(s) of the source data type to the data items of a target data type. The linking methods are described in Table 53.
Table 53. Linking Methods Link By: Key Filter Policy Description This method evaluates an expression from one data type and matches this to the Key field of the target data type. This method uses a filter expression to describe the link between any field(s) in the source type to any field(s) of the target data type. This method runs a specified policy to look up data items in the target and link all the retrieved data items to data items of the source type.
You can use the GUI to do the following: Create dynamic links Edit dynamic links Delete dynamic links Browse linked data items
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Creating Dynamic Links

You can create the following types of dynamic links: 1. 2. Link By Filter (see "Adding a New Link by Filter" on page 146) Link By Key (see "Adding a New Link by Key" on page 148) Link By Policy (see "New Link by Policy" on page 149) To open the Data Type editor, select a data type. Select the Dynamic Links tab.
Figure 79. Dynamic Links Tab
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Adding a New Link by Filter

Use the procedure below to add a new Link by Filter. 1. Click the New Link by Filter button. The New Link By Filter window opens.
Figure 80. LInk By Filter Window
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2.

Table 54. New Link by Filter Window Window Element Target Data Type Filter Element Type Selection list Text box Description Select the target data type from the list. A filter is an expression that specifies which fields in the source and target types have to match in order for a link to exist. It can be either a simple expression (source name = target name) or a complex expression defined by a boolean operator that indicates the order of the operation: (Custname = %customer%) AND (device_num = %DeviceNumber%) Exposed Link Name Optional selection list Select a link to follow from the list. The target data type name (in other words the exposed link) and the link type data items that match this source and target. See "Working with the LinkType Data Type" on page 128.
The link appears in the New Link By Filter table in the Dynamic Links tab, as shown in Figure 81.
Figure 81. Table in Dynamic Links Tab Showing a New LInk By Filter
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Adding a New Link by Key

When you define a Link by Key dynamic link, you specify a field in the source and target data types that contains a matching value. 1. Click the New Link by Key button. The New Link By Key window opens, as shown in Figure 82.
Figure 82. New Link By Key Window
2.

Table 55. New Link by Key Window Window Element Target Data Type Exposed Link Name Element Type Selection List Optional Selection List Description Select the target data type from the list. Select a link to follow from the list. The target data type name (in other words the exposed link) and the link type data items that match this source and target. See Entering Foreign Key Expressions, which follows.
Foreign Key Expression
Text box
The new link appears as a row in the New Link By Key table in the Dynamic Links tab.
Figure 83. Table in Dynamic Links Tab Showing a New Link by Key 148 Netcool/Impact Version 4.0 User Guide
Entering Foreign Key Expressions

Enter a field or combination of fields in the source type that match the Key field in the target type. You can build the expression from one or more fields. For example, if you want the key into the source type to be a field called NodeName, you enter NodeName. You can enter more than one field by entering the characters +' '+ to join them. For example, if the source type has a First Name field and a Last Name field and the target Key field is Name, you can create the link by entering the following expression:
FirstName + ' ' + LastName
The above expression is applied to the following field value pairs, for example, if in the source the fields are:
FirstName = John LastName = Doe
The resulting value for the target Key field (Name in this case) is:
Name = John Doe
this matches to:

John + ' ' + Doe = John Doe
New Link by Policy

Use the following procedure to add a new link by policy. 1. Click the New Link by Policy button. The New Link By Policy window opens.
Figure 84. Internal Data Type - New Link By Policy Window
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2.

Table 56. Internal Data Type - New Link by Policy Window Window Element Target Data Type Exposed Link Type Element Type Selection List Selection List Description Select the target data type from the list. Select a link to follow from the list. The target data type name (in other words the exposed link) and the link type data items that match this source and target. Select a policy from the list of available policies.
Policy to execute to find links
Selection List
The new link appears as a row in the table in the Dynamic Links tab, as shown in Figure 85.
Figure 85. Table in Dynamic Links Tab Showing a New LInk By Policy
Editing Dynamic Links

Use the following procedure to edit a dynamic link. 1. 2. 3. To edit a link, click the Edit button in the row of the link you want to edit. Make any necessary changes (See Working with Dynamic Links sections for Filter, Key and Policy). Click OK to save the changes and close the window.
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Deleting Dynamic Links

Use the following procedure to delete a dynamic link. 1. In the Select: column, select the link(s) that you want to delete. Check marks are placed in the checkboxes next to the selected links and the links are highlighted, as shown in Figure 86.
Figure 86. Deleting Links
If you want to delete all the links in the table, click the All link. Checkmarks are placed in every checkbox in the Select: column and the data items are highlighted. You can deselect individual data items if you decide you do not want to delete them. 2. Click the Delete link to delete the selected link(s).
Working with Static Links

You can view static links and create a static link between the data items of internal data types.
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Creating a Static Link

To create a static link for an internal data type, use the following procedure. 1. Locate the source internal data type (internal data types are easy to spot because they lack the middle button, the View Performance Statistics button. See "Configuring Internal Data Types" on page 81.)
Figure 87. Data Type Task Pane Showing Internal Data Types Listed
2.
Click the View Data Items button next to the data type. The Data Item editor opens in the Main Work panel. In this example, an administrator is linked to a schedule.
Figure 88. Example Internal Data Item Editor
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3.
Click the Links button in the Links column next to one of the data item rows. The Link Editor window opens.
Figure 89. Static Link Editor Page - Source (Administrator) to Target (Schedule)
4. 5.
Select Target Type of Linked Items from the selection list. Only Internal and Predefined data types appear in the list. Highlight the data items you want that are listed in the Unlinked Data Items list and click the Add button. The items move to the Linked Data Items and LinkTypes list. Click OK to save the information and close the window.
6.
Removing a Static Link

Use the following procedure to remove a static link. 1. 2. 3. To remove a link, highlight the data items that you want to removed from the Linked Data Items list. Click the Remove button. The data items are returned to the Unlinked Data Items list. Click OK to save the information and close the window.
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Browsing Dynamic Links

You can browse dynamic links by using the Dynamic Links Tree Viewer. To browse links for internal, external and pre-defined data types, use the following procedure. 1. 2. 3. Open the Data Type task pane. Locate the data type you want. Click the View Data Items button next to the data type to open the Data Items Editor in the Main Work panel.
Figure 90. Data Items Editor
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4.
Locate the data item you want to see links for and click the View Linked Data Items Browser button. The browser opens.
Figure 91. Dynamic Links Tree Viewer
5.
Click the plus sign next to the top level links to view child links.
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6.
Click a data item to see more detailed information about the event.
Figure 92. Dynamic Links Tree Viewer Showing Data Item Detail
7.
Click the X button to close the browser.
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NCI_31_UG_Policies.fm December 1, 2006
Chapter 10. Working with the Policy Editor

This chapter explains how to work with Netcool/Impact Policy editor. It contains the following sections: "About the Policy Editor" on page 157 "Viewing Policies" on page 158 "Developing Policies" on page 159 "Using the Policy Editor Tool Bar" on page 162 "Editing a Policy" on page 179 "Saving a Policy" on page 179 "Deleting a Policy" on page 180 "Uploading and Converting Policies" on page 180 "Understanding Pre-Defined Policies" on page 182
About the Policy Editor

Policies consist of a series of function calls that manipulate events and data from your supported data sources. A policy is a script that contains a set of instructions to automate alert management tasks, for example, defining the conditions for sending an e-mail to an administrator, or sending instructions to the ObjectServer to clear an event. You can create new policies using the Policy editor from scratch, or use a policy template or use a Policy wizard. Policy templates give you examples of commonly used policies that you can adapt to your own needs. Policy wizards present a series of windows that help you through the policy creation process. This chapter explains how to use the Netcool/Impact User Interface to: View policies Create a custom policy Select a policy template Access a wizard Use the Policy editor tool bar to help you create, manipulate, save, delete and edit policies Edit a policy Delete a policy
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Viewing Policies
Use the following procedure to view policies. 1. 2. In the Navigation panel, select the Projects tab if it is not already selected. Select a project from the Project selection list. Note: If you want to display a list of all your policies, not just those associated with a particular project, you can access the entire list in the Global Repository. You can also create a new policy in the Global Repository if you do not want to add it to a project at the current time. It can be added to a project later. See "Working with the Global Repository" on page 27. 3. Open the Policies task pane for that project. Before you have created any policies for a project, you will see only the New Policy selection box.
Figure 93. New Policy Selection List
Policy Task Pane Buttons

Table 57 describes the buttons in the Policy task pane:
Table 57. Policy Task Pane Buttons Button Button Title New Description After selecting a policy type (custom or one of the templates, click this button to open the Policy editor to create a new policy. Clear the source control locking for the policy. The Unlock button only unlocks items that have been checked out by you. It will not unlock any item that was previously checked out by another user. If you attempt to unlock an item that has been checked out by another user, you will get a message to that affect. Delete the policy from the Netcool/Impact database.
Delete
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Developing Policies
There are three ways to develop policies in the Netcool/Impact Policy editor: You can develop them from scratch using the Custom option (see "Selecting a Custom Policy" on page 159). You can choose one of the templates for commonly created Netcool/Impact policies (see "Selecting a Policy Template" on page 160): Aggregation Event Enrichment X Events in Y Minutes You can use a Policy Wizard (see "Using the Policy Wizards" on page 161)
For more information on developing policies see the Netcool/Impact Policy Reference Guide. Note: In some browsers, turning on the Auto Refresh option, which allows you to refresh the services status lights automatically, will cause you to lose focus when you are creating or editing a policy. If you encounter this type of problem, deselect the Auto Refresh box in the Service Status panel.
Selecting a Custom Policy

To develop a policy from scratch, select Custom from the New policy selection list and click the New button.
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An empty editor opens in the Main Work panel.
Figure 94. Editor for a Custom Policy
For more information on creating custom policies, see the Netcool/Impact Policy Reference Guide.
Selecting a Policy Template

Select one of the three templates from the Template selection list and click the New button.
Figure 95. Select Policy Template
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Figure 96 shows a sample template for an Aggregation policy.
Figure 96. Aggregation Policy Template
Using the Policy Wizards

Policy Wizards allow you to create simple policies without having to manually create data types and add functions. The five policy wizards are: Event Enrichment Event Enrichment policies add information about events from external data sources. Event Notification Event Notification policies notify someone that an event has occurred. Event Relocation Event Relocation policies allow you to send an event from one central ObjectServer to another ObjectServer. Event Suppression Event Suppression policies set a flag in a Netcool/Impact event in response to a database query. This flag can then be used in a filter to prevent the event from appearing in the Event List.
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X events in Y minutes X Events in Y Seconds policies suppress Netcool/Impact events until a certain number of identifiable events occur within a specified period of time.
The wizards consist of a series of windows that guide you through the policy creation process. At the end of the process, you can run the policy immediately without any further modification. However, if you want to modify the policy at any time, you can do so using the Policy editor. Note: Before you use the wizards, you must make sure that the EventReader service is running. Note: Before you can use the EventNotification policy wizard, you must configure the EmailSender service. 1. To use a wizard, open the Wizards task pane at the bottom of the Navigation panel.
Figure 97. Wizard Task Pane
2. 3. 4.
Click on the wizard name to open the first window. Follow the on-screen instructions and click Next. At the final window, click Finish to create the policy.
Using the Policy Editor Tool Bar

The Policy editor tool bar provides you with a set of buttons and two function selection lists to help you with the policy creation process.
Tool Bar Buttons

Table 58 describes the Policy editor tool bar options.
Table 58. Policy Editor Tool Bar Buttons (1 of 2) Button Button Title Save Description Saves the policy.
Undo
Restores your work to its state before your last action (add text, move, delete, and so on). This is only a one-level Undo function.
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Table 58. Policy Editor Tool Bar Buttons(Continued) (2 of 2) Button Button Title Redo Description Restores your work to its state before you selected the Undo action.
Cut
Cuts highlighted text.
Copy
Copies highlighted text.
Paste
Inserts copied or cut text.
Find
Finds a text string.
Find and Replace Go to Line
Finds text and replaces it with text you specify.
Places the cursor at a line number that you select.
Check Syntax
Checks the policy for syntax errors. The Error message locates the error by the line number. If there are no errors, a message to that effect is displayed. Checks the policy and makes suggestions for improvements where necessary. After removing all syntax errors, you can execute the policy to insure it produces the result you wanted. Click to set the runtime parameters for a policy.
Optimize It
Trigger Policy
Set Runtime Parameters Graphical View Help
Click to see a graphical view of the policy.
Click to access help for using the Policy editor.
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Using the Find Option

When you select the Find button, the following window opens:
Figure 98. Policy Editor Find Window
Table 59 explains the window elements.

Table 59. Policy Editor Find Window Window Element Find What Match Whole words only Checkbox If you select this box, the system does not find a string if it is contained in a longer word. For example, if your search criteria is Data, it would not find the word DisplayDataItems. Select to distinguish between upper case and lower case letters in a search. Choose the direction of the search. Element Type Required text field Description Enter the text that you want to find.
Case Direction: Up/Down
Checkbox Radio button
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Using the Find and Replace Option

When you select the Find and Replace button, the following window opens:
Figure 99. Policy Editor Find and Replace Window
Table 60 explains the window elements.

Table 60. Policy Editor Find and Replace Window Window Element Find What Replace With Match Whole words only Checkbox If you select this box, the system does not find a string contained in a longer word. For example, if your search criteria is Data, it would not find the word DisplayDataItems. Select to consider case. Choose the direction of the search. Search only the highlighted text. Click to replace the text at the first occurrence. Click to replace all occurrences of the text string. Click to close the window. Element Type Required text field Required text field Description Enter the text that you want to replace. Enter the new text.
Case Direction: Up/Down Selection Replace Replace All Close
Checkbox Radio button Radio button Button Button Button
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Using the Undo, Redo, Cut, Copy, and Paste Options

This section explains how to use the Undo, Redo, Cut, and Paste options
Undo
To restore your work to the state it was in before your last action, for example, adding text, deleting text, replacing text, and so on, click the Undo button. This is a one-level Undo only.
Redo
To restore your work to the state it was in before an Undo, for example, adding text, deleting text, replacing text, and so on, click the Redo button. This is a one-level Redo only.
Cut
To cut text that you want to either delete or move to a new location, highlight the text and click the Cut button.
Copy
To copy text so that you can place it in an additional location without retyping it, click the Copy button.
Paste
To paste cut or copied text to a new location, place your cursor where you want it to start and click the Paste button.
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Using the Goto Line Option

You move your curser immediately to a line in a policy. 1. Select the Goto Line button to access the Goto Line window:
Figure 100. Goto Line Window
2. 3.
Click the Spin Field arrows to find the appropriate line number, or type in the number that you want. Click the Go button. To close the window without searching for a line number, click the Close button.
Checking the Policy Syntax

While you are creating your policy, you can check to insure that the syntax is correct. When you select the Check Syntax button, the system displays a list of errors at the bottom of the Policy editor. If there are no errors in the policy, the following message is displayed:
Syntax checking successful. No error found.
If the checker finds errors, you will see a table similar to the one shown in Figure 101 at the bottom of the editor:
Figure 101. Syntax Checker Table Showing Error
The Type column contains an error indicator, either Warning or Error. The Line column contains the line number where the error occurred. To find the error, click on the line number. The editor will scroll to that line in the script.
Optimizing Your Policy

After you have written, named, and saved your policy, you can check to see whether there is a way to improve it by selecting the Optimize button
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To optimize your policy, do the following: 1. Click the Optimize button. A message box opens either with suggestions or a message that no improvements are necessary. Figure 102 shows a message that contains some suggestions.
Figure 102. Sanity Checking Window - With Suggestions
Triggering the Policy

To trigger a policy, do the following: 1. Click the Policy Trigger button to the open the Policy Trigger window. What fields you see in the window depends on whether you have specified any runtime parameters for the policy and what the runtime parameters were set to (see "Setting the Runtime Parameters" on page 169).
Figure 103. Sample Policy Trigger Window Showing Node and Action Runtime Parameters
2. 3.
Click Execute to trigger the policy. Then check the Policy Logger Service to see the results (see "Policy Logger Service" on page 208).
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Setting the Runtime Parameters

To set the runtime parameters when executing a policy, do the following: 1. Click the Set Runtime Parameters button. The Policy Runtime Parameter Editor window opens.
Figure 104. Policy Runtime Parameter Editor Window
2.
Click the New Runtime Parameter button. The Create a New Policy Runtime Parameter window opens.
Figure 105. Create a New Policy Runtime Parameter Window
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3.

Table 61. Create a New Policy Runtime Parameter Window Window Element Name Label Format Default Value Description OK Element Type Required text field Optional text field Selection list Optional text field Optional text field Button Description Enter a name to describe the parameter. Enter a label that will appear in the Policy Trigger window. Choose a format. Enter a default value that will always display in the Policy Trigger window, to avoid entering it each time. Enter some text to describe the parameter. Click to save the parameter and close the window.
4.
The runtime parameter is listed in the table.
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Displaying the Graphical View

Click the Display Graphical View button to open a graphical view of the policy in a window, as shown in Figure 106.
Figure 106. Display Graphical Review of Policy Window
1.
Remove the check mark in the Show: Assignments checkbox to remove assignments from the view.
Figure 107. Policy Graphical View - Assignments Removed
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2.
Enter a checkmark in the Logging checkbox to show logging details.
Figure 108. Policy Graphical View Showing Logging Information
Tool Bar Function Selection Lists

The tool bar selection lists provide you with a set of Action and Parser functions.
Action Functions
Action Functions specify the type of action that you want Netcool/Impact to perform when it executes a policy. Netcool/Impact provides a library of predefined action functions that allow a policy to perform such tasks as: Insert, update, and delete alerts in the ObjectServer database Insert, update, and delete data in internal and external data sources Send e-mail Activate other policies Manage hibernating policies Execute external commands, scripts, and applications
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Figure 109 shows the Action functions selection list.
Figure 109. Action Function Selection List
This table describes the action functions for Netcool/Impact.

Table 62. Action Functions (1 of 3) Name Activate ActivateHibernatio n AddDataItem AddEvent Batch Delete BatchUpdate CallDBFunction CallStoredProcedu re CommandRespons e DeleteDataItem Description Transfers control to another policy. Transfers control to a hibernating policy. Adds a new data item to a data type. Adds a new event to an event source. Works with ObjectServer event sources. Deletes multiple data items from a data type. Updates multiple data items in a data type. Works with internal and SQL database data types. Calls a database function. Works with SQL database data sources. Calls a database stored procedure. Executes commands on a remote system using telnet. Deletes a data item from a data type.
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Table 62. Action Functions(Continued) (2 of 3) Name Deploy Description The Deploy function copies data sources, data types, policies and/or services between server clusters. You can use this function to write automated deployment policies that copy Netcool/Impact server data between test and production environments. Runs a query against an SQL database data source. The format of the query is determined by the underlying database. Displays data items in an Operator View. Retrieves data items from the Filter data type that match the specified event. Retrieves data items from a data type using a filter as the query condition. Works with internal, SQL database, LDAP, and some Mediator data types. Retrieves data items from a data type using a key expression as the query condition. Retrieves data items that are linked other data items. Retrieves data items from the Hibernation data type using action key matching. Queries the Netcool Common License Server to determine whether a specified license for a feature or component is available. You can use this function to determine whether licenses are available for a particular data source, for example, before you attempt to access it in the policy. Retrieves data items from a data type using a schedule. Causes a policy to hibernate. Executes a command using the JRExec server. Retrieves a message using the Java Message System (JMS). Deletes a data item from the Hibernation data type. Inserts, updates or deletes an event from an event source. Sends an e-mail. Sends an instant message using the Jabber service. Sends a message using the Java message System (JMS). The SnmpGetAction function retrieves a set of SNMP variables from the specified agent and stores the values in a Netcool/Impact variable named ValueList and any error messages in a variable named ErrorString. This function sends an SNMP GET command to the specified agent.
DirectSQL DisplayDataItems FindFilters GetByFilter GetByKey GetByLinks GetHibernatingPol icies Get License
GetScheduleMemb er Hibernate JRExecAction ReceiveJMSMessag e RemoveHibernatio n ReturnEvent SendEmail SendInstantMessa ge SendJMSMessage SnmpPGetAction
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Table 62. Action Functions(Continued) (3 of 3) Name SnmpGetNextActi on Description The SnmpGetNextAction function retrieves the next SNMP variables in the variable tree from the specified agent. It stores the resulting OIDs in a Netcool/Impact variable named VarIdList, the resulting values in a Netcool/Impact variable named ValueList, and any error messages in a variable named The SnmpSetAction function sets variable values on the specified SNMP agent. If the attempt to set variable fails, it stores the resulting error message in a Netcool/Impact variable named ErrorString. This function operates by sending an SNMP SET command to the specified agent. The SnmpTrapAction function sends a trap (for SNMP v1) or a notification (for SNMP v2) to an SNMP manager. Sending traps or notifications is not supported for SNMP v3. The UpdateEventQueue function updates or deletes events in the event reader event queue.
SnmpSetAction
SnmpTrapAction
UpdateQueue
When you select one of the action functions and click the Insert Action function button, a window opens requesting the details of the action. Figure 110 shows the window for the BatchUpdate action function.
Figure 110. BatchUpdate Action Window
To help you complete the function call, enter the required parameters and click the OK button. Note: When entering a string, make sure that all string literals are enclosed in quotation marks ("string "), to distinguish them from variable names, which do not take quotation marks. For more information on Action Functions, see the Netcool/Impact Policy Reference Guide.
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Parser Functions
Parser functions are a set of general purpose utilities that help you manipulate the data in your policies. This table shows the parser functions for Netcool/Impact.
Table 63. Parser Functions (1 of 2) Name ClassOf CurrentContext Decrypt Distinct Encrypt Eval EvalArray Exit Extract Float FormatDuration GetDate Int Keys Length LocalTime Log Merge NewEvent NewObject ParseDate Random Replace RExtract Description Returns the data type of a variable. Returns the current policy context. Decrypts an encrypted string. Returns an array of distinct elements from another array. Encrypts a string. Evaluates an expression using the given context. Evaluates an expression using the given array. Causes a policy to stop running. You can use the Exit function anywhere in a policy where you want to terminate processing. Extracts a word from a string. Converts an integer, string, or boolean expression to a floating point number. Converts a duration in seconds into a formatted date/time string. Returns the date/time as the number of seconds expired since the start of the UNIX epoch. Converts a float, string, or boolean expression to an integer. Returns an array of strings that contain the field names in the data item. Returns the number of elements in an array. Returns the given number of seconds as a formatted date/time string. Prints a message to the policy log. Adds the member variables in the source context to the target context. Creates a new EventContainer. Creates a new context. Converts a formatted time/date string to the time in seconds. Returns a random integer between zero and the given upper bound. Uses regular expressions to replace a substring of a given string. Uses regular expressions to extract a substring from a string.
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Table 63. Parser Functions(Continued) (2 of 2) Name RExtractAll Split String Strip Substring ToLower ToUpper Trim WSInvoke WSNewArray Description Uses regular expression matching to extract all instances of a substring from a string. Returns an array of substrings from a string using the given delimiters. Converts an integer, float or boolean expression to a string. Strips all occurrences of a substring from a string. Returns a substring from a given string using character index positions. Converts a string to lower case characters. Converts a string to upper case characters. Trims leading and trailing white space from a string Sends a message to a target web service. This function only works with the Web Services DSA. Creates a new array of complex data type objects or primitive values, as defined in the WSDL file for the web service. You use this function in cases where you are required to pass an array of complex objects or primitives to a web service as a message parameter. This function only works with the Web Services DSA. Creates a new object of a complex data type as defined in the WSDL file for the web service. You use this function in cases where you are required to pass data of a complex type to a web service as a message parameter. This function only works with the Web Services DSA. Sets the default package used by WSNewObject and WSNewArray. This function only works with the Web Services DSA.
WSNewObject
WSSetDefaultPKGNa me
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Figure 111 shows the Parser functions selection list.
Figure 111. Parser Functions Selection List
When you select one of the parser functions, a window opens requesting the details of the action. Figure 112 shows the window for the ClassOf parser function. To open the window, click the Insert Parser Function button.
Figure 112. Class of Parser Function Window
For more information on using the parser functions, see the Netcool/Impact Policy Reference Guide.
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Editing a Policy
Use the following procedure to edit a policy. 1. To open a policy for editing, click on the policy name. The Policy editor opens in the Main Work panel.
Figure 113. Edit Policy Editor
You can edit the policy as required in the same way you created it: entering new text, new action and parser functions, checking the syntax and optimizing the policy. 2. When you are finished, click the Save button.
Saving a Policy
You can save a policy that is open in the Policy editor by clicking the Save button in the Policy editor tool bar.
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Deleting a Policy
When you delete a policy from a project, it is removed from any other projects that use it and also from the Global Repository.
Attention: To remove a policy from one project, use the Remove button in the Edit Project window for that project. In the Navigation panel, open the appropriate project. 1. 2. Locate the policy you want to remove. Click the Delete button next to the policy.
Uploading and Converting Policies

You can create policies using the Netcool/Impact GUI, or you can write policies in an editor of your choice and then upload them into Netcool/Impact. Once they are uploaded, you can edit them and check the syntax using the GUI Policy editor. The button used to accomplish this task can be found by opening the Policy task pane in the Navigation panel and scrolling to the bottom of the task pane.
Figure 114. Policy Upload and Convert Buttons
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Uploading a Policy
Use the following procedure to upload a policy. 1. To upload a policy, click the Policy Uploader button. The Policy Uploader window opens.
Figure 115. Policy Uploader Window
2.
Enter the path and policy file name, or click the Browse button to locate and select the policy. Note: Although all file types are browsable, you can only upload files that are in the .ipl file format.
3.
To upload a separate file containing user parameters, select the Upload policy userparameter file checkbox and either enter the file name, or select Browse to find the file. Click Upload. To view the policies in the policy list, you may have to click your browser Refresh button.
4. 5.
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Understanding Pre-Defined Policies

Netcool/Impact provides five predefined policies that are stored in the Global tab in the Policy task pane. These policies are described in Table 64.
Table 64. Predefined Policies Policy AddPolicyProcessMapping Description Netcool/Impact uses this policy in reports. It is recommended that you do not change this policy. DefaultExceptionHandler Netcool/Impact uses this policy to handle failed events. You can write your own policy if you need to. If you do not write your own, Netcool/Impact uses the provided policy by default. When errors occur during the execution of a policy, the PolicyLogger service executes the appropriate error handling policy, and temporarily stores the events as data items in a pre-defined data type called FailedEvent. See "Working with the FailedEvent Data Type" on page 133 for more information. DeployProject You can use this policy to copy the data sources, data types, policies and services in a project between two running server clusters on a network You can use this feature when moving projects from test environments into real-world production scenarios. For more information, see "Using the Automated Project Deployment Feature" on page 24. Netcool/Impact nci_export uses this policy during the export of the Netcool/Impact configuration to another server. It is recommended that you do not change this policy. Import Netcool/Impact nci_import uses this policy during the import of the Netcool/Impact configuration from another server. It is recommended that you do not change this policy. ReprocessfailedEvent Netcool/Impact uses this policy to reprocess failed events. See "Working with the FailedEvent Data Type" on page 133 for more information.
Export
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No configuration is required for pre-defined policies.
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Chapter 11. Working with Services

This chapter describes the Netcool/Impact services and describes how to configure them. It also explains how to create the user-defined services for use with specific policies. It contains the following sections: "About Services" on page 185 "Configuring Internal Services" on page 188 "Working with Services in the Service Status Panel" on page 214 "Working with User-Defined Services in the Navigation Panel" on page 216 "Editing a User-Defined Service" on page 243
About Services
Services are runnable components of the Netcool/Impact server that you start and stop using the GUI and the CLI. Internal services (see "Configuring Internal Services" on page 188) coordinate the tasks that Netcool/Impact performs, for example: Receiving events from the ObjectServer and other external databases Executing policies Responding to and prioritizing alerts Sending and receiving e-mail and instant messages Handling errors
User-defined services (see "Working with User-Defined Services in the Navigation Panel" on page 216) are services that you can create for use with a specific policy: Email Reader EventListener EventReader GenericEventReader JMSMessageListener JabberReader Policy Activator
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You can create user-defined services by using the defaults that are stored in the Global Repository or select them from a list in the Services task pane in the Navigation panel. You can add these services to projects as project members. Four of these services also have defaults that are listed in the Service Status panel: DefaultEmailReader DefaultEventReader DefaultJabberReader DefaultPolicyActivator
You enable these defaults rather than configuring your own services, or in addition to creating your own. Once you have defined them, the user-defined services are listed in the Service Status panel where you can start them and stop them, just as you do the Internal services.
Service Status Panel Elements

The Service Status panel is shown in Figure 116.
Figure 116. Service Status Panel
You can monitor the status and access the logs of all services from this panel without having to switch projects. This allows you to monitor other projects services while you make modifications to the current project. The user-defined services for the current project are also listed together in the Projects panel so that you can view all project elements in one place. This allows you to edit project elements efficiently and to access them easily while you are developing policies for a project.
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Service Status Panel Indicators

The green and red traffic lights that appear in the Services panel to the left of each service name are the status indicators for each service. Table 65 explains the status indicators.
Table 65. Service Status Indicators Description Status Indicator Icon Green traffic light Red Traffic light Description The service is running. The service is stopped.
Auto Refresh Option

Auto Refresh checkbox (see Figure 116 on page 186) allows you to turn off Auto Refresh when you do not want the status lights to refresh automatically. In some browsers, if Auto Refresh is not turned off, you will lose focus when you are creating or editing a policy in the Policy editor.
Service Status Panel Buttons

Table 66 describes the buttons to the right of the service names for each service.
Table 66. Service Status Panel Buttons Button Image Button Name Unlock Service Button Description Click this button to clear the source control locking for this service. Click this button to view the log for the service. When the service is stopped, this button is active. Click it to start the service. The button will change to inactive. When the service is running, this button is active. Click it to stop the service. The button will change to inactive.
View Log for the specified service Start the specified service
Stop the specified service
What Is Covered in this Chapter

The remaining sections in this chapter provide the following information for each service: Configuring internal services Creating user-defined services
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Editing services Deleting services Viewing the service log Starting services Stopping services
Configuring Internal Services

Internal services are defined by Netcool/Impact. This section describes the internal services and explains how you can configure them. For some of the basic services, it is only necessary to specify whether to write the service log to a file. For other services, you need to add information such as the port, host, and startup data. The services covered in this section are: "CommandExecutionManager" on page 188 "CommandLineManager Service" on page 189 "CORBA Name Service" on page 190 "Database Listener Service" on page 191 "Default Email Reader" on page 195 "Default EvIent Reader" on page 195 "Default Jabber Reader" on page 195 "Default Policy Activator" on page 196 "Email Sender Service" on page 196 "EventProcessor Service" on page 196 "Hibernating Policy Activator Service" on page 198 "Jabber Service" on page 200 "JMS Message Listener" on page 236 "Policy Logger Service" on page 208 "Precision Event Listener Service" on page 210 "Self Monitoring Service" on page 212
CommandExecutionManager
The CommandExecutionManager service queues JRExecAction function calls to execute external commands.
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To enable the log file for the CommandExecutionManager service, do the following: 1. In the Service Status panel, select the CommandExecutionManager service. The Command Execution Manager Configuration window opens.
Figure 117. Command Execution Manager Window
2. 3.
If you want to write the service log to a file, click the checkbox. Click OK to save the configuration and close the window.
CommandLineManager Service
The CommandLineManager service allows you to access the Netcool/Impact server from the command line to configure services parameters as well as start and stop services. When you configure this service, you specify the port to which you connect when you use the command line. You can also specify whether you want the service to start automatically when the Netcool/Impact server starts. To configure the CommandLineManager service, do the following: 1. In the Service Status panel, click on the CommandLineManager service. The Command Line Manager Configuration window opens.
Figure 118. Command Line Service Configuration Window
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2.

Table 67. Command Line Service Configuration Window Window Element Port Startup Service Log Element Type Required Spin Field Optional checkbox Optional checkbox Description Select a port number from the list or enter the number. The default is 2000. Select to automatically start the service when the Netcool/Impact server starts. Select to write the service log to a file.
3.
Click OK.
CORBA Name Service

The CORBA Name service is used by the CORBA Mediator DSAs to allow communication between Netcool/Impact and the external application. When you configure this service, you specify the port for the service and whether it should start when the Netcool/Impact server starts. To configure the CORBA Name service, do the following: 1. In the Service Status panel, click on the CORBA Name service. The CORBA Name Service window opens.
Figure 119. CORBA Name Service Window
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2.
Enter the information in the window Table 68 using as your guide.

Table 68. CORBA Name Service Window Window Element Name Service Port Startup: Automatically when server starts Element type Integer spin field Checkbox Description Select or enter a port number. The default is 4500. Select to automatically start the service when Netcool/Impact starts.
Click OK. Not all DSAs require this service. Refer to your DSA documentation for more information.
Database Listener Service

The Database Listener service monitors an Oracle event source for new, updated and/or deleted events.When the service receives the data, it evaluates the event against filters and policies specified for the service and sends the event to the matching policies. In the DatabaseListener Configuration window, you set events to trigger policies when they match a filter. You create each filter by entering the filter SQL and assigning a policy to it. The filter instructs the policy to run whenever an event matches the filter. In this window you can do the following: Set the event matching criteria Add a new filter and assign a policy to it (see "Adding an Event Filter" on page 194) Edit an existing filter Delete an existing filter Change the order of the filter list
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To configure the DatabaseListener service, do the following: 1. 2. In the Service Status panel, click on the DatabaseListener service. The DatabaseListener Service window opens.
Figure 120. DatabaseListener Service Configuration Window
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3.

Table 69. DatabaseListener Service Configuration Window Window Element Event Matching Test events with all filters Radio button Select this button if, when an event matches more than one filter, you want to trigger all policies that match the filtering criteria. Select this button if you want to trigger only the first matching policy. Click this button to create a new event filter. See "Adding an Event Filter" on page 194 for more information. Select to automatically start the service when Netcool/Impact starts. Select to write the service log to a file. Element type Description
Stop testing after first match
Radio button
New Mapping
New button
Startup: Automatically when server starts Service Log
Checkbox
Optional checkbox
4.
Click OK.
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Adding an Event Filter

To create a new filter: 1. Click the New Mapping button to open the Create a New Event Filter window.
Figure 121. Create a New Event Filter Window
2.
Use the information in Table 70 to create the filter.

Table 70. Create New Event Filter Window Window Element Filter Expression Element type Text field Description Enter a filter expression. For example, you have created a policy to run when Netcool/Impact receives an event from an Oracle database with a Department table. You want the policy to run when the entry in the department location field (DepLoc) is London. You would enter: DepLoc = London Policy to run Active Selection list Checkbox Select the policy to assign to the filter. Select to activate the filter.
3.
Click OK to save the filter and close the window. The DatabaseListener Service Configuration window redisplays with the new filter showing in the table.
Editing a Filter
To edit a filter, use the following procedure. 1. 2. Locate the filter in the table and click the Edit button to open the Edit Event Filter window. Edit the filter text and select a policy to run, as necessary.
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3.
Click OK to save the information and close the window. The filter in the table in the Event Mapping tab shows your edits.
Deleting a Filter
Use the following procedure to delete a filter. 1. 2. In the Select: column, select the filter(s) that you want to delete. (Click the All link to select all the filters in the table.) Click the Delete link.
Changing the Order of the Filter List

Whether the order of the filters is important depends on which Event Matching option you select: When you select the Stop testing after first successful match option (see the description of this field in Table 86 on page 223), Netcool/Impact checks an incoming event against the filters in the order they are listed in the table until it gets a single match. It does not continue checking after it finds the first match. When you select Test event with all filters, the order is not important.
Follow the instructions below to change the order of the filter list. 1. 2. 3. 4. Locate the filter that you want to move. In the Move column in that filters row, click either the Down Arrow or the Up Arrow until the filter is in the correct position. Continue moving the filters using the Up and Down arrows until they are ordered correctly. Click OK to save the information.
Default Email Reader

This is a default service that you can use instead of creating your own, or in addition to creating your own. See "Email Reader Service" on page 216 for more information.
Default EvIent Reader

This is a default service that you can use instead of creating your own, or in addition to creating your own. See "Event Reader Service" on page 219 for more information.
Default Jabber Reader

This is a default service that you can use instead of creating your own, or in addition to creating your own. See "Jabber Reader Service" on page 240 for more information.
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Default Policy Activator

This is a default service that you can use instead of creating your own, or in addition to creating your own. See "Policy Activator Service" on page 242 for more information.
Email Sender Service

The EmailSender service allows you to configure the local Netcool/Impact e-mail address information so that you can send e-mail notification to users and to other installations of Netcool/Impact. To configure the service, you provide the address for the local host and the originating e-mail address. To configure the EmailSender service, do the following: 1. In the Service Status panel, click on the EmailSender service. The EmailSender Service Configuration window opens.
Figure 122. Email Sender Service Configuration Window
2.

Table 71. E-Mail Sender Service Window Window Element SMTP Host From Address Service Log Type Required text field Optional Text field Checkbox Description Enter the host name. Default is localhost. Enter the From address. Default value is Impact. Select to write the service log to a file.
EventProcessor Service
The EventProcessor service handles the processing of events that it fetches from one or more event readers (see "Event Reader Service" on page 219).
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To configure the EventProcessor service, do the following: 1. In the Service Status panel, click the EventProcessor service. The EventProcessor Configuration Service window opens.
Figure 123. Event Processor Settings Window
2.

Table 72. Event Processor Window (1 of 2) Window Element Number of Simultaneous Threads Element Type Required Integer Spin Field Description Select the number of processing threads that can execute policies at one time. See "Selecting the Number of Simultaneous Threads" on page 198. Set the size of the block of events that the EventProcessor service fetches from an EventReader. The default is 10.
Number of Events per Query
Required Integer Spin Field
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Table 72. Event Processor Window(Continued) (2 of 2) Window Element Event Fetch Rate Element Type Required Integer Spin Field Description The Event Fetch Rate determines how often the EventProcessor service will fetch events from the EventReader. The default value is 3000 milliseconds, which means that the EventProcessor will ask for events from the EventReader every 3000 milliseconds. If there are no events available, then the EventProcessor will wait the set Event Fetch rate seconds before asking for the next batch. Once the EventProcessor receives a block of events, it will process the events and then it will ask for the next block of events, rather than the value specified in the Event Fetch Rate field. Clear Queue Button Click this button to enable the EventProcessor to delete unprocessed events that it has fetched from one or more event readers. Select to write the service log to a file.
Service Log: Write to File
Checkbox
Selecting the Number of Simultaneous Threads

You can configure an Event Processor to run as a multi-threaded service. Each thread is capable of processing a single alert at one time. The default number of threads is 2. If you set this field to 1, one thread executes one policy at one time. If there is more than one policy set up in the DefaultEventReader service, then, depending on which filter criteria the event matches, the event is sent to that policy. If you set this field to more than one, see Table 86 "Event Reader Service Window - Event Mapping Tab" on page 223 for ways to limit the conflict that may result when more than one policy executes in parallel and they attempt to process one event at the same time.
Hibernating Policy Activator Service

The Hibernating Policy Activator service monitors hibernating policies and awakens them at specified intervals. When you configure this service, you specify how often the service will check the policies to see whether they are due to be woken up.
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To configure the Hibernating Policy Activator service, do the following: 1. In the Service Status panel, click on the Hibernating Policy Activator service. The Hibernating Policy Activator Service window opens.
Figure 124. Hibernating Policy Activator Service Configuration Window
2.

Table 73. Hibernating Policy Activator Service Configuration Window Window Element Polling Interval Element Type Required Integer Spin Field Description Select a polling time interval (in seconds) to establish how often you want the service to check hibernating policies to see whether they are due to be woken up. The default value is 3 seconds. Select to run the policy immediately after wakeup. Select to automatically start the service when Netcool/Impact starts. Select to write the service log to a file. Should it become necessary, click to clear all hibernating policies from the Netcool/Impact server.
Process Wakeups Immediately Startup: Automatically when server starts Service Log Clear All Hibernations
Checkbox Checkbox
Checkbox Optional button
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Jabber Service
Netcool/Impact uses the Jabber service to send instant messages. A user-defined service, Jabber Reader, is used to receive instant messages (see "Jabber Reader Service" on page 240). Jabber is a set of protocols and technologies that provides the means for two software entities to exchange streaming data over a network. This service allows you to use Instant Messaging systems to notify administrators, operators and other users when certain events occur in your environment. Messages are sent during the execution of a policy when Netcool/Impact encounters a call to the SendInstantMessage function (see "Action Functions" on page 172). When the system processes the call, it passes the message text and the recipient to the Jabber service, where it is routed to the specified recipient. In order to send and receive instant messages, you must first set up the Jabber service and then the Jabber Reader service. A default Jabber Reader service is available in the Service Status panel if you want to configure it rather than (or in addition to) creating your own. Note: You must create a policy that uses instant messaging for this service to work. For more information on the Netcool/Impact Instant Messaging process, see the Netcool/Impact Solutions guide.
Adding Resources to the Jabber ID

The Jabber service architecture allows a single Netcool/Impact user to log on to a Jabber server (both public and private) multiple times simultaneously. To enable the Jabber components to distinguish between multiple connections, Netcool/Impact uses resources that are appended to the Jabber ID. Each resource must be unique for the user. Since you can configure only one Jabber service per Netcool/Impact server, you can have only one user name and one appended resource per server. The following example shows three separate IM addresses set up for one user.
Sample:
The user name is hamlet and the three resource names are castle, gate and courtyard.
hamlet@jabber.denmark.org/castle hamlet@jabber.denmark.org/gate hamlet@jabber.denmark.org/courtyard
In a policy that uses the InstantMessage function, you could pass either: hamlet@jabber.denmark.org in the TO field, or add a resource name: hamlet@jabber.denmark.org/castle, (see "Action Functions" on page 172). The following section describes how to set up the Jabber service and how to add resources.
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Configuring the Jabber Service

When configuring the Jabber service, you can use either a private or public Jabber server. If you want to use a public server, you must enter the hostname in the Jabber Server field. For a private server you can enter either the hostname or the IP address. Netcool/Impacts Jabber service will attempt to create an account at the time you configure the service if it does not already exist. If you have not already registered the user names and password, you can enter them in the Username and Password fields. In most cases, they will be registered automatically. To create the Jabber account, do the following: 1. In the Service Status panel, select JabberService. The JabberService Configuration window opens. The Jabber tab is displayed by default. The four additional tabs enable you to set up your required transport account information (see "Setting Up Transport Accounts" on page 202.
Figure 125. Jabber Service Configuration Window Table 74. Jabber Service Configuration Window (1 of 2) Window Element Jabber Server Element Type Required text field Description Enter the name of a private server (hostname or IP address) or select a public server hostname by clicking on the link located under this field.
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Table 74. Jabber Service Configuration Window (2 of 2) Window Element Jabber Port Username Element Type Required spin field Required text field Description Enter the port number for the Jabber server. The default is 5222. Enter a unique username. The username should be unique for use within Netcool/Impact only. The same username can be used across Netcool/Impact servers. See "Adding Resources to the Jabber ID" on page 200. Enter a unique password for the impact user. If you are using more than one user name for the same user on separate Netcool/Impact servers, or for a separate Jabber client, enter the resource name(s). The default resource name is Impact. See "Adding Resources to the Jabber ID" on page 200. Enter a nickname for this user. The default is Impact. Select to use an encrypted connection. Select to automatically start the Jabber service when the Netcool/Impact server starts. Select to write the service log to a file.
Password Resource
Required text field Optional text field
Nickname SSL Startup: Automatically when server starts Service Log
Optional text field Checkbox Checkbox
Checkbox
Setting Up Transport Accounts

The Jabber service provides the ability to use transports. Transports are extensions to the Jabber service that allow connections to other supported instant messaging services: AIM MSN Yahoo ICQ
You cannot use a transport without a configured Jabber service. After you configure the Jabber server information, you can set up transports if you need them. To use a transport, you need to set up an account for its use before you add it to the Jabber service. Although Netcool/Impacts Jabber service will attempt to create a Jabber account at the time you configure the service, it will NOT attempt to create a transport account if it does not already exist. You can go to the transports website to create the account, or you can download a client from the service provider and use that to create the account.
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The Jabber service requires a dedicated service for each transport. For example, if you already have an AIM account with your personal sign-in name that you use to communicate with the standard AIM client, you should not use that account with the Jabber service. Note: Before you use the Jabber service, you must sign off your personal accounts everywhere they are active. The Jabber service may attempt to sign you off from your client, but if it should fail in the attempt, you will not be able to sign on to the Jabber service transport. You should not attempt to use the same transport account with more than one running session of the Jabber service. For example, if you have two Netcool/Impact servers running the Jabber service and both use the AIM transport, create a separate transport account for each running session. The only time separate accounts are NOT required is when the Jabber services are running at separate times or when you are running different transports.
Adding an AIM Transport

To set up an AIM Transport, use the following procedure: 1. At the JabberService Configuration window, select the AIM tab.
Figure 126. Jabber Service Configuration AIM Tab
Attention: Netcool/Impact will select a Service ID based on your entry in the Jabber Server field in the Jabber tab. Be sure to verify that the entry is correct so that your Jabber Service is usable.
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2.

Table 75. Jabber Service AIM Window Window Element Service ID Screen Name Password Element Type Text field Text field Text field Description Change the Service ID for the AIM service if the system- selected name is not correct. Enter the AIM screen name. Enter the AIM password.
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Adding an MSN Transport

To set up an MSN Transport, use the following procedure: Attention: Netcool/Impact will select a Service ID based on your entry in the Jabber Server field in the Jabber tab. Be sure to verify that the entry is correct so that your Jabber Service is usable. 1. At the JabberService Configuration window, select the MSN tab.
Figure 127. Jabber Service Configuration MSN Tab
2.

Table 76. Jabber Service MSN Window Window Element Service ID UserName Element Type Text field Text field Description Change the Service ID for the MSN service, if the system-selected ID is not correct. Enter the Hotmail, Passport or MDN password. It must be in the format username@hotmail.com, username@passport.com or username@ msn.com, depending on where you created the account. Enter the Hotmail, Passport or MSN password.
Password
Text field
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Adding a Yahoo Transport

To set up a Yahoo Transport, use the following procedure: Attention: Netcool/Impact will select a Service ID based on your entry in the Jabber Server field in the Jabber tab. Be sure to verify that the entry is correct so that your Jabber Service is usable. 1. At the JabberService Configuration window, select the Yahoo tab.
Figure 128. Jabber Service Configuration Yahoo Tab
2.

Table 77. Jabber Service Yahoo Window Window Element Service ID Username Password Element Type Text field Text field Text field Description Change the Service ID for the Yahoo service if the system-selected name is not correct. Enter the Yahoo screen name. Enter the Yahoo password.
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Adding an ICQ Transport

To set up an ICQ Transport, use the following procedure: Attention: Netcool/Impact will select a Service ID based on your entry in the Jabber Server field in the Jabber tab. Be sure to verify that the entry is correct so that your Jabber Service is usable. 1. At the JabberService Configuration window, select the ICQ tab.
Figure 129. Jabber Service Configuration ICQ Tab
2.

Table 78. Jabber Service ICQ Window Window Element Service ID UIN Password Element Type Text field Text field Text field Description Change the Service ID for the ICQ service if the system- selected name is not correct. Enter the ICQ user identity number. Enter the ICQ password.
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Policy Logger Service

The Policy Logger Service is responsible for managing the policy log. The log is a text stream used to record messages generated during the runtime of a policy. The log contains both Netcool/Impact system messages and messages that you create when you write a policy. The Policy Logger Service specifies an error-handling policy to activate when an error occurs during the execution of a policy. It also specifies the logging levels for debugging policies and which items should be logged. When you configure this service, you select a policy that will handle the errors as they occur. To configure the Policy Logger service, do the following: 1. In the Service Status panel, select the Policy Logger service. The Policy Logger Service Configuration window opens.
Figure 130. Policy Logger Service Configuration Window
2.

Table 79. Policy Logger Service Configuration Window (1 of 2) Window Element Error Handler Policy Element Type Required Selection List Description Select the error handling policy that should be run when an error occurs during the execution of a policy.
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Table 79. Policy Logger Service Configuration Window (2 of 2) Window Element Highest Log Level Element Type Required Integer Spin Field Description When Netcool/Impact processes a log()statement in a policy, it evaluates the specified log level against the number that you select for this field. If the level specified in this field is greater than or equal to that specified in the policy log() statement, the message is recorded in the policy log. Select the information that you want to appear in the service log. Click to log all SQL statements. Click to include Pre-execution parameters in the log. Click to include Post-execution parameters in the log. Checkbox Select to enable policy profiling. Policy profiling allows you to view performance data about policies. You can use this feature to see how long it takes Netcool/Impact to process variable assignments and functions. You can also see how long it takes Netcool/Impact to process an entire function and the entire policy. Service Log: Write to file Append Thread Name to Log File Name Append Policy Name to Log File Name Collect Reports: Enable Checkbox Checkbox Checkbox Checkbox See "Creating Multiple Policy Log Files" on page 209. See "Creating Multiple Policy Log Files" on page 209. See "Creating Multiple Policy Log Files" on page 209. Select to enable data collection for the Policy Reports (see Working with the Reporting Tools).
Log what All SQL Statements Pre-execution parameters Post-execution parameters Policy Profiling: Enable
Checkboxes
Creating Multiple Policy Log Files

You can use policy log files to provide a record of actions performed by Netcool/Impact during the execution of a policy.
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Netcool/Impact can create multiple log files as follows: One log file for each policy One log file for each thread in the event processor One log file for each policy for each thread
By default, Netcool/Impact creates a single policy log file. To enable multiple policy log files: 1. 2. In the PolicyLogger Service Configuration window, select the Service Log: Write to File option. Select either the Append Thread Name to Log File Name or the Append Policy Name to Log file option, or both.
Netcool/Impact names each log file by appending the name of the policy or the name of the thread to the default log file name. For example: If you were to run a policy named POLICY_01 and you selected to create log files on a per policy basis, the resulting log file would be named:
servername_Policy_01_policylogger.log
If you selected to create log files on a per-thread basis, a possible log file name might be:
servername_Policy_02HttpProcessor [5104] [2]_policylogger.log
Where HttpProcessor[5104] [2] is the name of the event processor thread where the policy is running on a Red Hat Linux system. If you selected to create log files on a per policy per thread basis, the log file name might be:
servername_Policy_02HttpProcessor [5104] [2]_policylogger.log
Precision Event Listener Service

The Precsion Event Listener service listens for events sent from Netcool/Precision. Once you have installed the Precision DSA, you can optionally set up a Precsion Event Listener service. You only need to set up the listener service if you want to listen for events asynchronously from Netcool/Precision. For more information on IBM Tivoli Precision TN or IBM Tivoli Precision IP, see the guides for those products. For more information on the Precision DSA, see the Netcool DSA Reference guide.
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To set up the Precision Event Listener service, do the following: 1. In the Service Status panel, select the PrecisionEventListener service. The PrecisionEventListener Configuration window opens.
Figure 131. PrecisionEventListener Service Configuration Window
2.
Enter the configuration information using as your guide.

Table 80. PrecisionEventListener Service Configuration (1 of 2) Table Element Listener Filter Policy to execute Element Type Text field Selection list Description Leave this field blank. Select the policy to execute when an event is received from the Netcool/Precision application. You can use the PrecisionSampleListenerPolicy that was installed when you installed Netcool/Impact to help you understand the event listener functionality. N/A N/A N/A N/A
Name Service Host Name Service Port Name Service Context Name Service Object Name
Text field Spin field Text field Text field
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Table 80. PrecisionEventListener Service Configuration (2 of 2) Table Element Direct Mode Class Name Element Type Text field Description Set this to: con.micromuse.dsa.precisiondsa.Precis ionEventFeedSource Note: Note: Make sure that you copy this class name exactly as it is written here, with no extra spaces. Direct Mode Source Name Startup:Automaticall y when server starts Text field Checkbox Enter a unique name that identifies the data source, for example, PrecisionServer. Select to automatically start the service when Netcool/Impact starts.
3. 4.
Click OK to save the configuration. Before you start the event listener service, you must first stop all Netcool/Precision and rvd processes and enter the command:
$PRECISION_HOME/bin/rvd -flavor 116
5. 6.
Restart Netcool/Precision. Start the Precision Event Listener service so that you can receive events from Netcool/Precision.
Self Monitoring Service

The Self Monitoring service allows Netcool/Impact to send messages about its internal state to an ObjectServer. The service checks memory conditions in the system at selected intervals and inserts that information into an event in the ObjectServer. Events warn users by severity level of conditions such as an OutOfMemory condition. At intervals, Netcool/Impact checks to see if it is approaching the maximum amount of available memory or if the queue size is growing at a rate that exceeds a certain number. If so, Netcool/Impact determines the severity of the condition and sends a corresponding event to the ObjectServer. You can configure self monitoring to deduplicate the Netcool/Impact events, or send a new event to the ObjectServer every time a low memory or growing queue size condition occurs. If the EventReader is running, the Self Monitoring service also sends the status information regarding the EventReaders queue. For more information on the Self Monitoring service, see the Netcool/Impact Administration Guide.
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To configure the SelfMonitoring service, do the following: 1. In the Service Status panel, select the SelfMonitoring service. The SelfMonitoring Configuration window opens.
Figure 132. SelfMonitoring Service Window
2.

Table 81. SelfMonitoring Service Window (1 of 2) Window Element ObjectServer Data Source Memory Status: Enable Element Type Selection list Checkbox Description Select the ObjectServer that you want to use to send Netcool/Impact events. Select to send status events regarding queue conditions of the event readers that are currently running. Select or enter how often the service should send status events to the ObjectServer. Deduplication is enabled by default. See the Netcool/OMNIbus library for information about deduplication of events. Select to enable the service to send events about the status of the event reader(s) currently running. Select or enter (in seconds) how often the service should send queue status events.
Interval Deduplication
Spin Field Checkbox
Queue Status: Enable Interval
Checkbox Spin Field
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Table 81. SelfMonitoring Service Window (2 of 2) Window Element Deduplication Element Type Checkbox Description Deduplication is enabled by default. See the Netcool/OMNIbus library for information about deduplication of events. Select to enable the service to send events about the status of the cluster to which it belongs. It will send events when: A Netcool/Impact server is started and joins the cluster A server is stopped and removed from the cluster A primary server is down and a secondary server becomes the new primary Data Source Status: Enable Checkbox Select to enable the service to send the status when certain conditions occur with a data source. For example, the service will send a status message when a user tests a connection to a data source or when Netcool/Impact fails to establish a connection. For more information see the Netcool/Impact Administration Guide. Startup:Automatically when server starts Service Log: Write to file Checkbox Checkbox Select to automatically start the service when Netcool/Impact starts. Select to write the service log to a file.
Cluster Status: Enable
Checkbox
Working with Services in the Service Status Panel

In the Service Status panel, you can start or stop a service and view the service log at any time. By clicking the buttons to the right of the service name, you can access the log for the service, start the service, or stop the service.
Starting a Service
To start a stopped service (it has a red indicator next to it), click the Start button. If the service starts successfully, the indicator will turn from red to green. If an error occurs, you will get a message to that effect.
Stopping a Service
To stop a service that is running (it has a green indicator next to it), click the Stop button.
214 Netcool/Impact Version 4.0 User Guide
If the service stops successfully, the indicator will turn from green to red. If an error occurs, you will get a message to that effect.
Displaying the Service Log

To display the service log for a service, click the Service Log button. The log opens in the Main Work panel, a sample of which is shown in Figure 133.
Figure 133. Sample Service Log - E-Mail Reader
Using the Service Log Tool Bar

The logs for all the services have identical tool bar buttons. They are explained in Table 82.
Table 82. Service Log Buttons Butto n Button Title Start Service Description Click to start the service. The button is disabled if the service is already running. Click to stop the service. The button is disabled if the service is not running. Click to stop the message stream. Click it again to restart the stream. Click to access help for the Service Logger.
Stop Service
Freeze Display - Toggle button Help
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Working with User-Defined Services in the Navigation Panel

The user-defined services are services that you can create for use with a specific policy: The services covered in this section are: "Email Reader Service" on page 216 "Event Listener Service" on page 218 "Event Reader Service" on page 219 "Generic Event Reader Service" on page 229 "JMS Message Listener" on page 236 "Jabber Reader Service" on page 240 "Policy Activator Service" on page 242
You create these services by using the defaults that are stored in the Global tab and available for selection in the Projects tab. The services can be added to a project as project members. Once you create these services, you can view them in the Project view. They are also listed in the Service Status panel where you can start them and stop them, just as you do the Internal services.
Email Reader Service

The Email Reader service polls a specified POP host for e-mail messages. It reads e-mails from a mailbox at intervals that you define when you create a new Email Reader service. This service is commonly used in escalation and notification policies to look for responses to e-mail notifications sent out by Netcool/Impact. To configure the Email Reader service, do the following: 1. 2. 3. From the Project selection list, select the project for which you want to create the service. Open the Services task pane. Select the EmailReader service from the Type: selection list.
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4.
Select New to open the E-Mail Reader Service window. The New EMail Reader Service Configuration window opens, as shown in Figure 134.
Figure 134. Create New Email Reader Service Window
5.

Table 83. Create New Email Reader Service Configuration Window (1 of 2) Window Element Service Name POP Host Login As Element Type Required text field Required text field Required text field Description Enter a unique name for the service. Enter the mail host name. Enter a login name. The default value is the one you use to log into Netcool/Impact. Enter your password. The letters you type will be replaced with asterisks. Select how often (in seconds) the service should poll the POP host for new e-mail messages. Select a policy to execute for this event.
Password
Required text field
Polling Interval
Policy
Selection list
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Table 83. Create New Email Reader Service Configuration Window(Continued) (2 of 2) Window Element Startup: automatically when server starts Service Log: Write to file Element Type Check box. Description Select to automatically start the service when Netcool/Impact starts. Select to write the log to a file.
Checkbox
Event Listener Service

Event listeners monitor non-ObjectServer event source events. Event listener services typically work with DSAs that allow bi-directional communication with a data source. For more detailed information on setting up DSAs and Event Listener services, see the Netcool DSA Reference Guide. To set up the EventListener service, do the following: 1. In the Service Status panel, select the PrecisionEventListener service. The EventListener Configuration window opens.
Figure 135. EventListener Service Configuration Window
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2.

Table 84. EventListener Service Configuration Table Element ObjectServer Data Source Listener Filter Policy to execute Name Service Host Name Service Port Name Service Context Name Service Object Name Direct Mode Class Name Direct Mode Source Name Startup:Automaticall y when server starts Element Type Selection list Text field Selection list Text field Spin field Text field Text field Text field Text field Checkbox Description Enter an ObjectServer data source. Leave this field blank. Select the policy to execute when an event is received from the database. N/A N/A N/A N/A Enter the direct mode class name. Enter a unique name that identifies the data source. Select to automatically start the service when Netcool/Impact starts.
3.
Click OK to save the configuration.
Event Reader Service

The Event Reader service uses the host and port information of a specified ObjectServer data source so that it can connect to an Objectserver to poll for new and updated events and store them in a queue. The Event Processor service requests events from the Event Reader. You configure this service by defining a number of restriction filters that match the incoming events, and passing the matching events to the appropriate policies. The service can contain multiple restriction filters, each one triggering a different policy from the same event stream, or it can trigger a single policy. You can configure an event reader service to chain multiple policies together to be run sequentially when triggered by an event from the event reader. Note: Before you can create a new Event Reader service, you must create the ObjectServer data source that the Event Reader will connect to in order to poll for new and updated events.
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To create a new Event Reader service, do the following: 1. 2. 3. From the Project selection list, select the project for which you want to create the service. Open the Services list. Select the EventReader from the Type list. The Event Reader Configuration window opens. The Event Reader Configuration window has two tabs, General Settings and Event Mapping. When the window opens, the General Settings tab is displayed, as shown in Figure 136.
Figure 136. Event Reader Configuration Window - General Settings Tab
Event Reader Configuration - General Settings Tab

Enter the information in the General Settings tab, using Table 85 as your guide.
Table 85. Event Reader Service Window - General Settings Tab (1 of 2) Window Element Service Name ObjectServer Data Source Element Type Text field Required selection list Description Enter a unique name for the service. Select an ObjectServer data source.
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Table 85. Event Reader Service Window - General Settings Tab(Continued) (2 of 2) Window Element Polling Interval Element Type Required Integer Spin Field Fields button Description Select or enter a polling time interval to establish how often you want the service to poll the events in the event source. The polling time selections are in milliseconds and the default value is 3000 milliseconds Click the Fields button to access a selection list with all the fields that are available from the selected ObjectServer data source. You can reduce the size of the query by selecting only the fields that you need to access in your policy. Startup: Automatically when the server starts Service Log Collect Reports: enable Clear State Checkbox Select to start the service automatically when the Netcool/Impact server is started. Select to write the service log to a file. Select to enable data collection for the Policy Reports (see "Working with the Reporting Tools" on page 257). When you click the Clear State button, Netcool/Impact resets the Serial and StateChange information stored for the event reader to 0. This causes the event reader to retrieve all events in the ObjectServer at startup and place them in the event queue for processing. If the event reader is configured to get updated events, it queries the ObjectServer for all events where StateChange >= 0. Otherwise, it queries the ObjectServer for events where Serial > 0. You can only use the Clear State button to clear the event reader state when the service is stopped. Clicking the button while the service is running does not change the state of the event reader.
Restrict fields
Checkbox Checkbox Button
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Event Reader Configuration - Event Mapping Tab

In the EventReader - Event Mapping tab you set events to trigger policies when they match a filter.
Figure 137. Event Reader Service Window - Event Mapping Tab
You create each filter by entering the filter SQL and assigning a policy to it. The filter instructs the policy to run whenever an event matches the filter. In this tab the following tasks are available: You can create a new filter and assign a policy to it (see "Configuring a Filter" on page 228). You can edit an existing filter (see "Editing a Filter" on page 229). You can delete an existing filter (see "Deleting a Filter" on page 229). You can change the order of the filter list (see "Changing the Order of the Filter List" on page 229). You can select policies to chain so that they run sequentially when triggered by an event reader service. See the Netcool/Impact Policy Reference Guide for more information.
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Another important feature that you can set in this tab is Event Locking. Table 86 describes the Event Mapping tab elements. Filtering and Event Locking are described in Table 86 and in subsequent subsections.
Table 86. Event Reader Service Window - Event Mapping Tab (1 of 4) Window Element Event Mapping Event Matching Test event with all filters Radio button If an event matches more than one filter, trigger all policies that match the filtering criteria. Or select to trigger only the first matching policy. Element Type Description
Contains a list of defined policy triggers that map events to policies by named restriction filters.
Stop testing after first match Actions Get updated events
Radio button
Checkbox
Select to receive events that have been updated (All new events are automatically sent). See also the description of the Order By field below for more information. Select to receive the status events that the Self Monitoring service inserts into the ObjectServer. Select to run the policy when events are cleared in the ObjectServer. Select a policy to run when events are cleared from the ObjectServer.
Get status events
Checkbox
Run policy on deletes Policy
Checkbox Selection list
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Table 86. Event Reader Service Window - Event Mapping Tab(Continued) (2 of 4) Window Element Event Locking: enable Element Type Checkbox Description Select to enable event locking. Event locking is a feature that allows a multi-threaded event processor (see "EventProcessor Service" on page 196) to categorize incoming alerts based on the values of specified alert fields and then to process them within a category one at a time. With event locking enabled, if more than one event exists with a certain lock value, then these events are not processed at the same time. These events are processed in a specific order in the queue. You use event locking in situations where you want to prevent a multi-threaded event processor from attempting to access a single resource from more than one instance of a policy running simultaneously. See "Event Locking Examples" on page 227 for examples of what event locking can do. Expression Text field The locking expression consists of one or more alert field names. To lock on a single field, specify the field name, for example: Node To lock more than one field, concatenate them with the + sign, for example: Node+Severity If the value of that field is the same in both events, then one event will be locked and the second thread will have to wait until the first one is finished. New Mapping Button Click to add a new filter (see "Configuring a Filter" on page 228).
Policy/Event Mapping Table Select: (all|none) Link When you place your mouse over the words all or none, the words become underlined as links. Click all to select all the rows of filters. You can then click the Delete button at the bottom of the list to delete all the previously defined filters. Click none to deselect all the rows of filters
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Table 86. Event Reader Service Window - Event Mapping Tab(Continued) (3 of 4) Window Element Restriction Filter Policy Name Active Chain Element Type Table column Table column Checkbox Select Description Contains the filter. Contains the name of the policy that triggers when the event matches the restriction filter. Selected to activate the filter or de-selected to deactivate the filter. When chaining policies, you must select the Chain option for each event mapping that associates a restriction filter with a policy name. See the Netcool/Impact Policy Reference Guide for more information. Use the arrows to change the position of the filters in the table. The order of the filters is only important when you select to stop testing after the first match. See "Changing the Order of the Filter List" on page 229.
Move
Directional arrows
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Table 86. Event Reader Service Window - Event Mapping Tab(Continued) (4 of 4) Window Element Edit Order by Element Type Button Optional text field Description To edit a filter, click the Edit button next to it. To sort the incoming events retrieved from the ObjectServer, specify a field or a comma-separated list of fields by which the event reader sorts incoming events. This field or list of fields is identical to the contents of an ORDER BY clause in an SQL statement. If you specify a single field, the event broker sorts incoming events by the specified field value. If you specify multiple fields, the events are grouped by the contents of the first field and then sorted within each group by the contents of the second field, and so on. For example, to sort incoming fields by the contents of the Node field, enter the following: Node To sort events first by the contents of the Node field and then by the contents of the Summary field, enter the following: Node, Summary You can also specify that the sort order is ascending or descending using the ASC or DESC key words. For example, to sort incoming events by the contents of the Node field in ascending order, enter the following: Node ASC Note that all events retrieved from the ObjectServer are initially sorted by either the Serial or StateChange field before any additional sorting operations are performed. If you select the Get updated events option (see the Actions checkboxes in the Event Mapping section of the window), the events are sorted by the StateChange field. If this option is not specified, incoming events are sorted by the Serial field.
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Event Locking Examples

The EventProcessing service receives events in blocks from the EventReader service and places them in a queue. These events are picked up as threads sequentially and sent to the respective policies for processing. The following examples explain how Event Locking works.
Sample: 1 - Event Locking on Single Field

In this example, Event Locking is enabled with the Event Locking expression set to Severity and the configured with four threads. With Event Locking set on Severity, only one event with the same value of Severity can be processed at any instant. The EventProcessor receives from the EventReader events with the following Severities:
3 4 3 5 4 4 start start: Start of the queue end: End of the queue 2 3 5 end
Since the EventProcessor has four threads configured, the first thread receives the first event with Severity=3 from the queue and sends it to a policy for processing. The second thread receives the event with Severity=4 and sends it to a policy for processing. Although two remaining threads are available for processing, the next event Severity=3 cannot be processed because an event with Severity=3 is already being processed (the first event in the queue). Until the processing of the first event is complete, the other threads cannot proceed, since they would violate the locking criteria. If the thread that picked the second event in the queue (with Severity=4) finishes processing before the first event, it will wait along with the other two threads until the first event has finished processing. When the thread that picked up the first event in the queue is finished, three threads will pick up the third, fourth, and fifth events from the queue, since they have different Severity values (3, 5, 4). At this point, the remaining thread cannot pick up the next event (sixth in the queue) from the queue because an event with the same Severity level (4) is already processing (fifth in the queue).
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Sample: 2 Event Locking on Multiple Fields

In the example above, locking is on a single field, Severity. You can also lock on more than one field by concatenating them with the plus (+) operator. If you lock, for example, on the Node and Severity fields, the Event Locking expression can be either:
Node+Severity
or:
Severity+Node
Event Locking on multiple fields works in the same way that locking on a single field except that in this instance, two events with the same combination of fields cannot be processed at the same instant. In other words, if two events have the values for Node as abc and xyz and both have the value for Severity as 5, then they can be processed simultaneously. The only case when the two events cannot be processed together is when the combination of Node and Severity is the same for the events. In other words, if there are two events with the Node as abc and Severity as 5, then they cannot be processed together.
Configuring a Filter
To configure a new filter, use the following procedure. 1. In the Event Mapping tab, click the New Mapping button to open the Create Event Filter window.
Figure 138. Create Event Filter Window
2. 3. 4. 5.
Enter the filter text in the Filter expression field. Select the policy to run. Click the Active checkbox to activate the filter. When chaining policies, you must select the Chain option for each event mapping that associates a restriction filter with a policy name. See the Netcool/Impact Policy Reference Guide for more information. Click OK to save the information and close the window. The new filter displays in the table in the Event Mapping tab.
6.
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Editing a Filter
To edit a filter, use the following procedure. 1. 2. 3. Locate the filter in the table and click the Edit button to open the Edit Event Filter window. Edit the filter text and select a policy to run, as necessary. Click OK to save the information and close the window. The filter in the table in the Event Mapping tab shows your edits.
Deleting a Filter

Generic Event Reader Service

The Generic Event Reader service polls an SQL data source at intervals and retrieves rows from a table. It then converts each row to event format and passes them to Netcool/Impact for processing. The data source can be any of the SQL data sources supported by Netcool/Impact. Conceptually, it is similar to the existing EventReader service which polls the ObjectServer to get network fault events.
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The data source must have a field that is guaranteed to be incremented every time a new record is added to avoid re-reading the entire table every time the data source is accessed. If you want to use the GetUpdates function in a policy for this data source, the table also needs to have a time stamp field which automatically gets populated when an insert or update occurs. To create a new Generic Event Reader service, do the following: 1. 2. 3. From the Project selection list, select the project for which you want to create the service. Open the Services list. Select the GenericEvent Reader from the Type list. The GenericEventReader Configuration window opens. The GenericEven Reader Configuration window has two tabs, General Settings and Event Mapping. When the window opens, the General Settings tab is displayed, as shown in Figure 136.
Figure 139. Generic EventReader Configuration Window - General Settings Tab
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GenericEventReader Configuration Window - General Settings Tab

Enter the information in the General Settings tab, using Table 87 as your guide.
Table 87. GenericEvent Reader Configuration Window - General Settings Tab (1 of 2) Window Element Service Name Data Source Data Type Element Type Text field Required selection list Selection List Description Enter a unique name for the service. Select an external data source. Select a data source table to map to. Once you select a data source, the system populates the data type field with a list of the tables available in the data source from which it can read events. Select or enter a polling time interval to establish how often you want the service to poll the events in the event source. The polling time selections are in milliseconds and the default value is 3000 milliseconds Click the Fields button to access a selection list with all the fields that are available from the selected data source. You can reduce the size of the query by selecting only the fields that you need to access in your policy. Startup: Automatically when the server starts Checkbox Select to start the service automatically when the Netcool/Impact server is started.
Polling Interval
Required Integer Spin Field Fields button
Restrict fields
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Table 87. GenericEvent Reader Configuration Window - General Settings Tab(Continued) (2 of 2) Window Element Service Log Clear State Element Type Checkbox Button Description Select to write the service log to a file. When you click the Clear State button, Netcool/Impact resets the internally stored value for the Key field and Timestamp field to 0. This causes the event reader to retrieve all events in the data source at startup and place them in the event queue for processing. If the event reader is configured to get updated events, it requires the Timestamp field along with the Key field. The Timestamp field must point to a column in the table which is automatically populated with a timestamp when an insert or update occurs. The Key field should point to a column which uniquely identifies a row (it does not have to be an automatically incremented field). However, when GetUpdates is not configured, you do not have to configure the Timestamp field, but the Key field MUST in this case be an automatically-incremented numeric field. You can only use the Clear State button to clear the event reader state when the service is stopped. Clicking the button while the service is running does not change the state of the event reader.
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Generic Event Reader Configuration - Event Mapping Tab

In the Generic Event Reader Event Mapping tab you set events to trigger policies when they match a filter.
Figure 140. Event Reader Service Window - Event Mapping Tab
You create each filter by entering the filter SQL and assigning a policy to it. The filter instructs the policy to run whenever an event matches the filter. In this tab the following tasks are available: You can create a new filter and assign a policy to it (see "Configuring a Filter" on page 228). You can edit an existing filter (see "Editing a Filter" on page 229). You can delete an existing filter (see "Deleting a Filter" on page 229). You can change the order of the filter list (see "Changing the Order of the Filter List" on page 229). You can select policies to chain so that they run sequentially when triggered by an event reader service. See the Netcool/Impact Policy Reference Guide for more information.
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Another important feature that you can set in this tab is Event Locking. Table 88 describes the Event Mapping tab elements.
Table 88. Generic Event Reader Service Window - Event Mapping Tab (1 of 2) Window Element Event Mapping: Event Matching Test event with all filters Radio button If an event matches more than one filter, trigger all policies that match the filtering criteria. Or select to trigger only the first matching policy. Element Type Description
Contains a list of defined policy triggers that map events to policies by named restriction filters.
Stop testing after first match Action: Get updated events
Radio button
Checkbox
Select to receive events that have been updated (All new events are automatically sent). See description of the Clear State field in Table 87 "GenericEvent Reader Configuration Window - General Settings Tab" on page 231. See description of the Clear State field in Table 87 "GenericEvent Reader Configuration Window - General Settings Tab" on page 231. Click to add a new filter (see "Configuring a Filter" on page 228).
TimeStamp Field
Selection list
Key Field
Selection list
New Mapping
Button
Policy/Event Mapping Table Select: (all|none) Link When you place your mouse over the words all or none, the words become underlined as links. Click all to select all the rows of filters. You can then click the Delete button at the bottom of the list to delete all the previously defined filters. Click none to deselect all the rows of filters Restriction Filter Policy Name Active Table column Table column Checkbox Contains the filter. Contains the name of the policy that triggers when the event matches the restriction filter. Selected to activate the filter or de-selected to deactivate the filter.
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Table 88. Generic Event Reader Service Window - Event Mapping Tab(Continued) (2 of 2) Window Element Chain Element Type Select Description When chaining policies, you must select the Chain option for each event mapping that associates a restriction filter with a policy name. See the Netcool/Impact Policy Reference Guide for more information. Use the arrows to change the position of the filters in the table. The order of the filters is only important when you select to stop testing after the first match. See "Changing the Order of the Filter List" on page 229. Edit Button To edit a filter, click the Edit button next to it.
Move
Directional arrows
Configuring a Filter
To configure a new filter, use the following procedure. 1. In the Event Mapping tab, click the New Mapping button to open the Create Event Filter window.
Figure 141. Create Event Filter Window
2. 3. 4. 5.
Enter the filter text in the Filter expression field. Select the policy to run. Click the Active checkbox to activate the filter. When chaining policies, you must select the Chain option for each event mapping that associates a restriction filter with a policy name. See the Netcool/Impact Policy Reference Guide for more information. Click OK to save the information and close the window. The new filter displays in the table in the Event Mapping tab.
6.
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Editing a Filter
To edit a filter, use the following procedure. 1. 2. 3. Locate the filter in the table and click the Edit button to open the Edit Event Filter window. Edit the filter text and select a policy to run, as necessary. Click OK to save the information and close the window. The filter in the table in the Event Mapping tab shows your edits.
Deleting a Filter

JMS Message Listener

The JMS message listener service is a Netcool/Impact service that runs a policy in response to incoming messages sent by external JMS message providers. The message provider can be any other system or application that is capable of sending JMS messages. Each JMS message listener listens to a single JMS topic or queue. Netcool/Impact has one default JMS message listener named JMSMessageListener. You can create as many listener services as you need, each of which will listen to a different topic or queue. For information on the JMS DSA, see the Netcool DSA Reference Guide.
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To create a new JMS Message Listener service, do the following: 1. 2. 3. From the Project selection list, select the project for which you want to create the service. Open the Services list. Select JMSMessageListener from the Type list. The JMSMessageLIstener Configuration window opens.
Figure 142. JMSMessageListener Configuration Window
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4.

Table 89. JMSMessageListener Configuration Window (1 of 3) Window Element Service Name PolicyToExecute Element Type Required text field Text field Description Enter a unique service name for the service. Select the policy you created to run in response to incoming messages from the JMS service. This property specifies the name of the initial context factory object supplied by the JNDI provider. The JNDI provider is the component that manages the connections and destinations (topics and queues) for JMS. OpenJMS, BEA WebLogic and Sun Java Application Server distribute a JNDI provider as part of the JMS implementation. The required value for this property varies depending on the JMS implementation. For OpenJMS, the value of this property is org.exolab.jms.jndi.Initial ContextFactory. For other JMS implementations, see the related product documentation. JNDI Provider URL Text field This property specifies the URL where the JNDI provider is located. The required value for this property varies depending on the JMS implementation. For OpenJMS, the default value of this property is tcp://hostname:3035, where hostname is the name of the system where OpenJMS is running. Note that the network protocol (TCP, RMI, etc.) must be specified in the URL string. For other JMS implementations, see the related product documentation.
JNDI Factory Initial
Text field
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Table 89. JMSMessageListener Configuration Window (2 of 3) Window Element JNDI URL Packages Element Type Text field Description This property specifies the Java package prefix for the JNDI context factory class. The default value for this property is com.sun.enterprise.naming. For most JMS implementations, you do not have to set this property in this service configuration. TBD TBD The message selector is a filter string that defines which messages cause Netcool/Impact to run the policy specified in the service configuration. This string must be specified using the JMS message selector syntax. Message selector strings are similar in syntax to the contents of an SQL WHERE clause, where message properties replace the field names that you might use in an SQL statement. The content of the message selector is completely dependent on the types and content of messages that you anticipate receiving with the JMS message listener. For more information on message selectors, see the JMS specification or the documentation distributed with your JMS implementation. The message selector is an optional property. This property specifies an authentication username (if required by the JMS connection factory). Authentication settings are specified in the JMS system configuration. The connection username is an optional property.
JMS Connection Factory Name JMS Destination Name Message Selector
Required text field Required text field Text field
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Table 89. JMSMessageListener Configuration Window (3 of 3) Window Element JMS Connection User Name Element Type Text field Description This property specifies an authentication username (if required by the JMS connection factory). Authentication settings are specified in the JMS system configuration. The connection username is an optional property. JMS Connection Password Text field This property specifies an authentication password (if required by the JMS connection factory). Select to start the service automatically when the server starts.
Startup: Automatically when server starts
Checkbox
5.
Click OK to save the configuration information.
Jabber Reader Service

The Jabber Reader service is the instant message listener service. Jabber is a set of protocols and technologies that provide the means for two software entities to exchange streaming data over a network. The Jabber Reader service listens for new messages from Instant Messaging accounts. When it receives a message, it creates a new EventContainer and populates it with the contents of the message. It then starts the policy specified in its configuration settings and passes the EventContainer to it. Netcool/Impact then processes the policy. For more information on the Netcool/Impact Instant Messaging process, see the Netcool/Impact Solutions Guide. You can create multiple readers that will all be associated with the single Jabber service. The Jabber Readers need the Jabber service to be running. This interdependency between the Jabber service and the Jabber Reader is automated by selecting the Startup Automatically when JabberService starts checkbox when configuring the reader. See Table 90 "Create New JabberReader Service Window" on page 241. A default Jabber Reader service is available in the Service Status panel if you want to configure it rather than (or in addition to) creating your own. To create a Jabber Reader service, do the following: 1. 2. 3. From the Project selection list, select the project for which you want to create the service. Open the Services task pane in the Navigation panel. Select the JabberReader service from the Type selection list.
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4.
Select the New button. The Create New JabberReader Service window opens.
Figure 143. Create New JabberReader Service Window
5.

Table 90. Create New JabberReader Service Window (1 of 2) Window Element Service Name Allow specified users to activate policy Element Type Required field Radio button Description Enter a name that describes the reader service. If you want to create a list of users that are permitted to activate the policy selected in the Policy field, select this button. If you want to create a list of users that are blocked from activating the policy selected in the Policy field, select this button. Click the New button to open a window to create a list of users that will either be blocked or allowed, depending on your radio button selection.
Prevent specified users from activating policy
Radio button
Add User to list
New User button
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Table 90. Create New JabberReader Service Window (2 of 2) Window Element Users Element Type Window box Description Enter the IM address of the user you want to add to the list and click Apply. Repeat for every user that you want to add to the list. Tell blocked users that they are blocked Checkbox If you have created a blocked or allowed list, select this option to notify the non-allowed users. This notification is sent when the Jabber Reader receives a message from either type of prevented user. Policy Selection list The policy selected here is activated by the JabberReader whenever an instant message event occurs. You must create a policy to use with the JabberReader service. Startup: Automatically Service Log: Write to file Checkbox Checkbox Select to start the service automatically when the Jabber service starts. Select to write the service log to a file.
Policy Activator Service

The Policy Activator service activates policies at intervals that you specify for each policy selected. To create a Policy Activator service, do the following: 1. 2. 3. From the Project selection list, select the project for which you want to create the service. Open the Services task pane. Select the Policy Activator service from the Type selection list.
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4.
Select the New button. The Create New Policy Activator Service window opens.
Figure 144. Create New Policy Activator Service Window
5.

Table 91. Create New Policy Activator Service Window Window Element Service Name Element Type Required Text Field Description Enter a name that describes the activation service. This name will be listed in the Services tab in the Navigation panel and in the Service Status panel. Select how often (in seconds) the service should activate the policy. The minimum value is 0; the default value is 10. Select the policy you want to activate. Select to start the service automatically when the server starts. Select to write the service log to a file.
Activation Interval
Required Integer Spin Field Selection Menu Checkbox Checkbox
Policy Startup: Automatically Service Log: Write to file
Editing a User-Defined Service

To edit a user-defined service, use the following procedure. 1. 2. To edit a service, click on the service name. The configuration window for the service you selected displays. Edit the information as necessary and click the OK button to save your edits and close the window. See the Configuration sections in this chapter for each service for more information.
Chapter 11. Working with Services 243
Deleting a User-Defined Service

The new services that you define you can delete. Attention: Do not delete the default services. If you delete one, you will not be able to create new services of the type you delete. Attention: Deleting a user defined service from the Services task pane, deletes it permanently from the Netcool/Impact database. If you want to remove it from a project, but retain it in the database, use the Remove tool in the Edit Project window. 1. 2. 3. 4. In the Projects tab, select the appropriate project. Open the Services task pane. Find the service you want to delete. Click the Delete button to the right of the service.
! !
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NCI_31_UG_OperatorVw.fm December 1, 2006
Chapter 12. Working with the Operator View

This chapter explains the Netcool/Impact Operator View and how to add and edit event and information panels and action buttons. It contains the following sections: "About the Operator View" on page 245 "Configuring an Operator View" on page 246 "Editing an Operator View" on page 253 "Deleting an Operator View" on page 253 "Configuring an Operator View as a IBM Tivoli OMNIbus Tool" on page 253
About the Operator View

The operator view is a tool that allows end users in a network operations environment to run a policy from within the IBM Tivoli OMNIbus event list and then view output from the policy. The Operator View allows users of IBM Tivoli OMNIbus to view additional information stored in Netcool/Impact relating to the event selected in the Event List. The views may contain: The event that generated the view Action buttons to execute policies that perform tasks such as launching other related applications, testing a device or raising a trouble ticket Information panels containing information gathered and processed by Netcool/Impact policies drawn from internal and external data sources.
Typically, the operator view allows users of the IBM Tivoli OMNIbus Event List to answer questions such as: What should I do? Who is currently on call? How should I contact them? Are there similar events? Is there any documentation that relate to the events (for example, WORD documents, URLs)?
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Configuring an Operator View

To configure an operator view, use the following procedure. 1. 2. Select a project. Open the Operator Views task pane.
Figure 145. Operator View task pane
3. 4.
Click the New Operator View button. The Operator View editor opens in the Main Work panel. It contains three tabs: Name and Layout Action Panel Information Groups
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Specifying the Operator View Name and Layout

In this tab, you name the operator view and specify the layout the operator will see. 1. Click the Name & Layout tab.
Figure 146. Operator View Editor - Name and Layout Tab
2.
Enter the information in the tab using Table 92 as your guide.

Table 92. Operator View Editor - Name and Layout Tab (1 of 4) Editor Element General Properties Operator View Name Layout Options Required text box Enter a name for the operator view. Element Type Description
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Table 92. Operator View Editor - Name and Layout Tab (2 of 4) Editor Element Event Panel Element Type Optional selection list Description You can change the layout of the Operator View by changing the position of the Event Panel. There are three options. Top is the default. Select Bottom to move the Event Panel to the bottom of the view. A preview of the change appears in the Preview
section. Or you can select Off to remove the Event
Panel.
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Table 92. Operator View Editor - Name and Layout Tab (3 of 4) Editor Element Action Panel Element Type Optional selection list Description You can change the layout of the Operator View by changing the position of the Action Panel. There are 5 options. Top is the default. Select Bottom to move the Action Panel to the bottom of the view. A preview of the change appears in the Preview
section. Select Left to change the view so that the Action Panel appears on the
left: Or select Right to move it to the
right:
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Table 92. Operator View Editor - Name and Layout Tab (4 of 4) Editor Element Element Type Description Select Off to remove it from the Operator
View.
Configuring an Action Panel

In the Action Panel tab, you select the policies that you want to appear as action buttons in the Operator View. 1. Click the Action Panel tab.
Figure 147. Operator View Editor - Action Panel Tab
2. 3.
In the Available Policies list, highlight the applicable policies and click the Add button to move them to the Action Panel Policies list and add them as action buttons. If you decide you do not want to add one of the selected policies as an action button, remove it from the Action Panel Policies list by highlighting it and clicking the Remove button.
Adding an Information Group Panel

In this Information Groups tab, you can create GetBy queries that return information to display in the Operator View.
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The GetbyFilter and GetbyKey options are Policy Action functions. They will perform lookups of data in a data type. Each information group will appear as a table or tab-set in the Operator View. Each row is a tab displaying the data item values. 1. Click the Information Groups tab.
Figure 148. Operator View Editor- Information Groups Tab
2.
To add a new information group, select By Filter or By Key from the selection list.
Figure 149. New Information Group Selection List (Filter and Key)
Adding a New Information Group by Filter

To add a new information group by filter, use the following procedure. 1. Select By Filter from the selection list. The Information New Group window opens.
Figure 150. Information New Group - by Filter Window
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2.

Table 93. New Information Group by Filter Window Window Element Group Name Element Type Required text field Selection list Text field Selection List Description Enter a unique name for the Information Group. It will appear as the title of the table or tab-set in the Operator View. Select a data type from the list to do the Lookup into. See the Netcool/Impact Policy Reference Guide. Select a display style for the information group.
Data Type Filter Style
Adding a New Information Group by Key

To add a new information group by key, use the following procedure. 1. Select By Key from the selection list. The Information New Group window opens.
Figure 151. Information New Group - by Key Window
2.

Table 94. New Information Group by Filter Window Window Element Group Name Data Type: Key Style Element Type Required text field Selection list Text field Selection List Description Enter a unique name for the Information Group. Select a data type from the list. See the Netcool/Impact Policy Reference Guide. Select a display style for the information group.
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Editing an Operator View

Use the following procedure to edit an operator view. 1. 2. 3. 4. To edit an operator view, locate it in the Operator View task pane of a project or in the Global Repository. Click on the Operator View name to open the Operator View Editor. Make the necessary changes (see "Configuring an Operator View" on page 246 for more information). Click the Save button to save the changes.
Deleting an Operator View

You can delete operator views that are no longer in use. Attention: When you delete an operator view from within project, it is also deleted from any other projects that use it. To remove an operator view from one project, use the Remove button in the Edit Project window for that project. 1. 2. To delete an Operator View from a project, open the project and the Operator View task pane. Locate the Operator View and click the Delete button. The Operator View is deleted from the Operator View list.
Configuring an Operator View as a IBM Tivoli OMNIbus Tool

This section describes the parameters used to configure an Operator View as a IBM Tivoli OMNIbus tool. Note: Before you launch an Operator View from an IBM Tivoli OMNIbus Event List, you must configure the Operator View as a tool in a IBM Tivoli OMNIbus Event List. See the IBM Tivoli OMNIbus Administration Guide for more information. In order to launch the Operator View from the IBM Tivoli OMNIbus Event List, enter the URL using the parameters described in the sections that follow.
Attention: If you want to display multiple fields in the Events panel of the Operator View, you must enclose the entire URL in double quotes in both UNIX and Windows environments.
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URL Parameters for UNIX

Use the following parameters to launch an Operator View from a UNIX version of IBM Tivoli OMNIbus using Netscape as the browser:
URL="http://host:port/opview_path/CLUSTERNAME-operator_view_name.html?Fiel d1=@Field1&Field2=@Field2export URLnetscape ${URL}
Table 95 on page 254 describes the URL parameters.
URL Parameters for Windows

Use the following parameters to launch an Operator View from a Windows version of IBM Tivoli OMNIbus using Internet Explorer as the browser:
"C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.exehttp://host:port/opview_path/CLUSTERNAME-operator_v iew_name.html?Field1=@Field1&Field2=@Field2"
Use the following parameters to launch an Operator View from a Windows version of IBM Tivoli OMNIbus using Netscape as the browser:
"C:\Program Files\Netscape\Netscape\Netscp.exehttp://host:port/opview_path/CLUSTERNA ME-operator_view_name.html?Field1=@Field1&Field2=@Field2"
Table 95 describes the URL parameters.

Table 95. Operator View URL Parameters Parameter host port opview_path clustername Description Netcool/Impact server host. Netcool/Impact server port The directory where the operator views are stored. The default is $NCHOME/opview/displays. The name of the Netcool/Impact cluster. This value is set with the impact.cluster.name parameter in the $NCHOME/etc/servername_server.props file, where servername is the name of the server instance. The file name of your Operator View with an .html suffix. Field name and value pairs for the IBM Tivoli OMNIbus fields you want to display in the operator view. For example, if you need to display the values for Node, Summary, and AlertKey fields in the Events panel, enter: Node=@Node&Summary=@Summary&AlertKey=@AlertKey
operator_view_name.htm l Field1=@Field1&Field2=@ Feld2
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Examples
These examples use the following URL parameter values: Host = Impact1 Port = 9088 Opview_path = opview/displays Clustername = cluster1 operator_view_name = nodeview1.html Field name value pairs = Node, Summary and AlertKey
UNIX
URL="http://Impact1:9088/opview/displays-cluster1/nodeview1.html?Node=@Nod e&Summary=@Summary&AlertKey=@AlertKeyexport URLnetscape ${URL}
WINDOWS
"C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.exeURL="http://Impact1:9088/opview/displays/cluster1-no deview1.html?Node=@Node&Summary=@Summary&AlertKey=@AlertKey"
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NCI_31_UG_ReportingTools.fm December 1, 2006
Chapter 13. Working with the Reporting Tools

This chapter explains how to use the Netcool/Impact reporting tools. It contains the following sections: "About the Reporting Tools" on page 257 "Viewing the Reporting Tools" on page 259 "Viewing the Action Efficiency Report" on page 259 "Viewing the Action Error Report" on page 262 "Viewing the Impact Profile Report" on page 265 "Viewing The Impact ROI Efficiency Report" on page 271 "Viewing the Node Efficiency Report" on page 277 "Viewing the Operator Efficiency Report" on page 280 "Viewing the Policy Efficiency Report" on page 282 "Viewing the Policy Error Report" on page 286
About the Reporting Tools

Netcool/Impact includes eight reporting tools: Two reports provide information about your network and network operators: Node Efficiency Report Operator Efficiency Report
Six reports help you to assess the efficiency of your Netcool/Impact configuration: Action Efficiency Report Action Error Report Impact Profile Report Impact Return on Investment (ROI) Report Policy Efficiency Report Policy Error Report
Action Efficiency Report

The Action Efficiency Report shows the total number of actions that have been processed over a time range that you select.
Chapter 13. Working with the Reporting Tools 257
Action Error Report

The Action Error Report shows how many action errors have occurred in Netcool/Impact over a time period that you select.
Impact Profile Report

The Impact Profile Report provides information about the efficiency of your Netcool/Impact configuration.
Impact Return on Investment (ROI) Report

The Impact Return on Investment (ROI) Report shows operator time saved by Netcool/Impact to solve problems compared with the time it would take an operator to solve the identical problem manually. The manual times are calculated from industry statistics for common tasks. You associate the relevant policies with these calculations before you turn on report data collection in the Policy Logger service.
Node Efficiency Report

The Node Efficiency Report records information on the number of alerts generated by a node.
Operator Efficiency Report

The Operator Efficiency Report records how quickly operators respond to events that enter Netcool/Impact. It reports on the time between when the event occurs, and when the operator owns it and acknowledges it.
Policy Efficiency Report

The Policy Efficiency Report records historical information on the performance of all your policies. Each time a policy executes, the time taken to execute is recorded.
Policy Error Report

The policy Error Report records historical information about how many errors have occurred in a policy over a time range that you select. Note: Make sure that your Netcool/Impact database is running before you view the reports.
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Viewing the Reporting Tools

The following procedure explains how to view a report. 1. Open the Reports task pane. The eight reports are listed.
Figure 152. Reports Task Pane
2.
Click on the report you want. The report editor you selected displays in the Main Work panel.
Figure 153. Sample Report Configuration Editor - Action Efficiency Report
The following sections describe how to generate the reports.
Viewing the Action Efficiency Report

This report shows how many actions were performed for the Netcool/Impact server and which actions you are using the most. Note: Before you configure this report, you must enable reporting in the Policy Logger Service Configuration window. See "Policy Logger Service" on page 208.
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Use the following procedure to configure the report. 1. 2. Open the Reports task pane. Click on the Action Efficiency Report. The Action Efficiency Report editor opens in the Main Work panel.
Figure 154. Action Efficiency Report Editor - Graphical View
The Action Efficiency Report contains two tabs, the Chart View and the Tabular View. The Chart View shows how many times each action has been performed for the Netcool/Impact server. The legend on the left shows the color code for each action. The descending order in the legend reflects the order from left to right in the chart. In the Chart View of the report shown in Figure 154 the AddDataItem action ran 25 times, the GetByFilter action ran 21 times and the GeByKey action ran 5 times.
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Table 96 shows the tool bar buttons for this report.

Table 96. Report Editor Buttons Butto n Button Title Calendar Description You can change the report parameters by selecting a date range. The default parameters are one month, with the last day being the current day. Click the button next to the Start field to access a calendar to select the start date for the report data. Click the button next to the End field to access a calendar to select the end date for the report data. Refresh Report After changing the report parameters, click this button to refresh the report data. Click this button to access a Help window for the Report editor.
Help
The Tabular View contains a table that shows how many times an action was run and the average time it took to process the action. 3. Click the Tabular View tab.
Figure 155. Action Efficiency Report Editor - Tabular View
In Figure 155 the average time it took for the AddDataItem action to be performed is 0.02 seconds and 22 such actions have been performed for the time period selected. You can drill down for more detail for any of the actions by clicking the View button in the View column in the row you want the detail for.
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4.
Click the View button in the row for which you want detail
Figure 156. Action Efficiency Report - Detail View
The Detail View shows the action name, the name of the policy executed, the time it took to process the action in seconds, and the time it was processed. Multi-page reports have Previous and Next links so that you can move from page to page. You can also click the individual page numbers to move to specific pages. Click the Back button to return to the previous page. At page 1, clicking the Back button returns you to the Chart View tab.
Viewing the Action Error Report

The Action Error Report shows you the actions that generated errors each time a policy executed. Note: Before you configure this report, you must enable reporting in the Policy Logger Service Configuration window. See "Policy Logger Service" on page 208.
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Use the following procedure to generate the report. 1. 2. Open the Reports task pane. Click on the Action Error Report. The Action Error Report editor opens in the Main Work panel.
Figure 157. Action Error Report Configuration Editor
The Action Error Report contains two tabs, the Chart View and the Tabular View. The Chart View reports how many times each action failed. The legend on the left shows the color code for each action. The descending order in the legend reflects the order from left to right in the chart. In the Chart View of the report shown in Figure 157, the AddDataItem action failed 21 times, the GetByFilter action failed 25 times, the GetByLinks action failed 24 times and the JRExecAction action failed 12 times.
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Table 97. Action Error Report Editor Buttons Butto n Button Title Calendar Description You can change the report parameters by selecting a date range. The default parameters are one month, with the last day being the current day. Click the button next to the start field to access a calendar to select the start date for the report data. Click the button next to the stop field to access a calendar to select the end date for the report data. Refresh Report Click this button to refresh the report data.
Help
Click this button to access a Help window for the Report editor.
3.
Click the Tabular View tab. The Tabular View contains a table that shows the number or errors for each action.
Figure 158. Action Error Report - Tabular View
You can drill down to see the policies where the errors occurred, the time the errors occurred and the error messages that resulted.
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4.
Click the View button in the View column to open the detail view for an action.
Figure 159. Action Error Report - Tabular View - Detail
The detail view shows: Type of action Policy it belongs to Time the policy executed Error message it generated. Multi-page reports have Previous and Next links so that you can move from page to page. You can also click the individual page numbers to move to specific pages. Click the Back button to return to the previous page. At page 1, clicking the Back button returns you to the Chart View tab.
Viewing the Impact Profile Report

The Impact Profile Report provides information about the efficiency of your Netcool/Impact server.
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Use the following procedure to configure and generate the Impact Profile Report. 1. Open the Reports task pane and select the Impact Profile Report. The Impact Profile Report editor opens in the Main Work panel.
Figure 160. Impact Profile Report
The tool bar buttons available for this report are explained in Table 98.
Table 98. Impact Profile Report Tool Bar Buttons Button Button Title Refresh Description Refreshes the report data after the parameters have changed. Opens a window that allows you to change the report parameters. Clears all Impact Profile Report data.
Configure Impact Profile
Clear Report Data
Enable Impact Profile
Clicking this button turns on Impact Profile Report Reporting data collection. Clicking this report stops Netcool/Impact from collecting data for this report. Clicking this button takes you to online help for this report.
Disable Impact Profile
Help
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Table 99 explains the information that is displayed in the report.

Table 99. Impact Profile Report Parameters Row Queries sent to same data source by same policy more than n times in n seconds Queries done > n times in n seconds that are taking more than n milliseconds Queries made > n times in n seconds that return > n rows Inserts into any types > n times in n seconds that are taking > n milliseconds. Internal types written more than n times in n seconds Same identifier updated by ReturnEvent > n in n seconds Same identifier inserted into the same Objectserver that impact reads events from. JRExec calls done more than n times in n seconds that are taking > n seconds Hibernations built up in memory > n (true/false) Description The number of "hotspot" queries sent to the same data source by the same policy in more than a specified number of seconds. Measures the number of queries made in a specified number of seconds that take more than a specified amount of milliseconds. Counts the number of queries made in a specified number of seconds that return more than a specified number of rows. Measures the number of SQL inserts into any type of data type in a specified time window that take more than a specified number of milliseconds. Measures the number of internal data types that are accessed more than a specified number of times in a specified number of seconds. Measures the number of return events that update events using the same identifier as the source event. Measures the number of new events that Netcool/Impact sent to the Objectserver that use the same identifier that they read the event from. Measures the number of "troublesome" JRExec calls in more than a specified number of times in a specified time period. Measures whether the number of hibernations that have built up in memory is more than a specified number over the lifetime of the server.
2.
Click the Enable Impact Profile button to turn on reporting for this report for the current session. To disable reporting for the current session, click the Disable Impact Profile button.
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3.
To change the parameters for this report, click the Configure Report button. The Impact Profile Rules Editor window opens.
Figure 161. Impact Profile Rules Editor
Use the information in Table 100 to configure the parameters for this report.
Table 100. Impact Profile Rules Editor Window (1 of 3) Field SQL Query XinY Rules Description Set Rules for report line: Queries sent to same data source by same policy more than n times in n seconds. Count Threshold Count Time Window Set the numbers of SQL queries to be executed. Set the time window that the measurement is to be based on.
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Table 100. Impact Profile Rules Editor Window (2 of 3) Field SQL Hotspot Rules Description Set rules for report lines: Queries done > n times in n seconds that are taking more than n milliseconds Queries made > n times in n seconds that return > n rows Inserts into any types > n times in n seconds that are taking > n milliseconds. Insert Execution Time Threshold Query Execution Time Threshold Query Return Row Threshold Count Threshold Time Window JREXecAction Rules Set the time threshold for the SQL inserts. Set the time threshold for query execution. Set the threshold for the number of queries to be retrieved. Set the threshold for the number of SQL statements to be executed. Set the length of the time that the measurement is based on. Set rules for report line: JRExec calls done more than n times in n seconds that are taking > n seconds Count Threshold Execution Time Threshold Time Window Internal type Rules Set the threshold for the number of JREXecActions to be executed. Set the threshold for how long the JREex actions should take. Set the length of time the measurement is based on. Set rules for report line: Internal types written more than n times in n seconds Count Threshold Time Window ReturnEvent Rules Set the count threshold for how many times internal data types are written to. Set the length of time the profile is based on. Set rules for report lines: Same identifier updated by ReturnEvent > n in n seconds Same identifier inserted into the same Objectserver that Netcool/Impact reads events from. Count Threshold Time Window Set the count threshold for the number of returned events. Set the length of time the profile is based on.
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Table 100. Impact Profile Rules Editor Window (3 of 3) Field Hibernation Rules Description Set rules for report line: Hibernations built up in memory > n (true/false) Hibernation in Memory Threshold Set the number of hibernations to be held in memory.
4. 5. 6.
Click OK to accept the parameter changes. Click the Refresh Report button to update the parameters in the Impact Profile Report editor. To view the details for the report data, click the View button to the right of the row you are interested in.
Figure 162. Impact Profile Report - Detail
The details displayed are: SQL query Policy that issued this query Type of action Data source queried Metric
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Viewing The Impact ROI Efficiency Report

The Impact ROI Efficiency Report compares the time that Netcool/Impact takes to solve a problem with the time it would take for an operator to solve the same problem manually. The manual times provided with the Netcool/Impact installation are calculated from industry statistics for common tasks. The saved time is based on how many times the corresponding policies are executed against the manual process time of the ROI business process during a specified period When you open this tool, you associate relevant policies with the calculations. In order for each calculation to work, you must associate at least one policy with it. Once this is done, you turn on Impact ROI Efficiency Reporting. Use the following procedure to configure and generate this report.
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Note: Before you configure this report, you must enable reporting in the Policy Logger Service Configuration window. See "Policy Logger Service" on page 208. 1. 2. Open the Reports task pane. Select the Impact ROI Efficiency Report. The Impact ROI Efficiency Report editor opens in the Main Work panel.
Figure 163. Impact ROI Efficiency Report Editor
The tool bar buttons available for this report are explained in Table 101.
Table 101. Impact ROI Efficiency Report Tool Bar Buttons Button Button Title Calendar Description You can change the report parameters by selecting a date range. The default parameters are one month, with the last day being the current day. Click the button next to the start field to access a calendar to select the start date for the report data. Click the button next to the stop field to access a calendar to select the end date for the report data. Refresh Refreshes the report data after the parameters have changed. Opens an window where you can define a new business process for a policy. You must add the process before you configure Policy and Report Mapping. Opens a window where you associate the business processes (see row directly above) with a policy. Clicking this button takes you to online help for this report.
Configure Business Process Configure Policy and Report Mapping Help
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To configure this report, you need to associate the relevant policies and business processes. This report is installed with three defined business processes. You can add more processes if you need to. 3. Click the Configure Business Process button to add a new business process.
Figure 164. Report ROIProcess Editor
The business processes are data items of the pre-defined data type REPORT_ROIProcess that is stored in the Global Repository (see "Viewing the Global Repository Data" on page 29 for more information on the pre-defined report data types). 4. Click the New Data Item button in the editor tool bar. The Add Business Process data item editor opens.
Figure 165. Add Business Process Data Item Editor
5. 6. 7.
Enter or select an ID for the data item. Enter a name for the business process. Enter the manual time for this process.
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8.
Click OK and repeat for each new process you want to add. Figure 166 shows a sample business process data item that has been added to the data type.
Figure 166. Impact ROI Efficiency Report Tabular View with New Business Process Added
You now need to associate the processes with a policy. 9. Click the Configure Policy and Report Mapping button. The Policy to ROI Process Mappings Editor Window opens showing the business processes.
Figure 167. Policy to ROI Policy Mappings Editor Window
10. Select the policy that you want associate with a process(es). 11. Select the process(es) you want to map to from the Available Processes list. 12. Click the Add button to move them to the Assigned Processes List. If you decide you do not want to associate a process to this policy, select it and click the Remove button to move it back to the Available Processes list. 13. Click Apply. 14. Click Close to close the window.
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15. Click the Refresh Report button. The configured report displays in the editor.
Figure 168. Configured Impact ROI Efficiency Report
The legend on the left shows the color code for each process. The descending order of the legend reflects the order from left to right in the chart. The numbers displayed above each process show you the total time in seconds that Netcool/Impact automations saved you by not having an operator solve the same problem manually. The new business process saved an operator 231 seconds.
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16. Click the Tabular View.
Figure 169. Impact ROI Efficiency Report - Tabular View
Multi-page reports have Previous and Next links so that you can move from page to page. You can also click the individual page numbers to move to specific pages. Click the Back button to return to the previous page. At page 1, clicking the Back button returns you to the Chart View tab. The Tabular View shows: The process time The time it would take an operator to perform the task manually The time saved in seconds by automating the process using Netcool/Impact.
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Viewing the Node Efficiency Report

The Node Efficiency Report records the number of alerts generated by a node. Use the following procedure to generate this report. Note: Before you configure this report, you must enable reporting in the Event Reader Service Configuration window. See "Event Reader Service" on page 219 1. 2. Open the Reports task pane. Click on the Node Efficiency Report. The Node Efficiency Report editor opens.
Figure 170. Node Efficiency Report - Chart View
The Node Efficiency Report contains two tabs, the Chart View and the Tabular View. The legend on the left shows the color code for each node. The descending order of the legend reflects the order from left to right in the chart. The Chart View shows the unique event count for each node.
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Table 102 on page 278 describes the tool bar buttons for this report. The legend on the left shows the color code for each node. The numbers above each node in the chart shows the number of events for the node.
Table 102. Node Efficiency Report Editor Buttons Butto n Button Title Calendar Description You can change the report parameters by selecting a date range. The default parameters are one month, with the last day being the current day. Click the button next to the start field to access a calendar to select the start date for the report data. Click the button next to the stop field to access a calendar to select the end date for the report data. Refresh Report Click this button to refresh the report data.
Help
3.
Click the Tabular View tab. The Tabular View shows the node name and the unique event count.
Figure 171. Node Efficiency Report - Tabular View
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4.
To view the details for a node, click the View button in the View column.
Figure 172. Node Efficiency Report - Detail View
The detail view shows the following for each node: Node name Severity level Information recorded in the Objectserver Summary field Location of the node Whether the event has been acknowledged Unique Event Name Multi-page reports have Previous and Next links so that you can move from page to page. You can also click the individual page numbers to move to specific pages. Click the Back button to return to the previous page. At page 1, clicking the Back button returns you to the Chart View tab.
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Viewing the Operator Efficiency Report

The Operator Efficiency reporting tool records how quickly operators respond to events that enter Netcool/Impact. The report records for each operator the following information: Operator name The average time between when the event first occurs and the operator acknowledgement of the event
Use the following procedure to configure and generate this report. 1. 2. Open the Reports task pane. Click on the Operator Efficiency Report. The Operator Efficiency Report editor opens in the Main Work panel.
Figure 173. Operator Efficiency Report - Chart View
The Operator Efficiency Report contains two tabs, the Chart View and the Tabular View. The graph displays the average acknowledgement time for each operator. The Chart View legend on the left shows the color code for each operator. The descending order in the legend matches the order from left to right in the chart.
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Table 103. Operator Efficiency Report Editor Buttons Butto n Button Title Calendar Description You can change the report parameters by selecting a date range. The default parameters are one month, with the last day being the current day. Click the button next to the start field to access a calendar to select the start date for the report data. Click the button next to the stop field to access a calendar to select the end date for the report data. Refresh Report Click this button to refresh the report data.
Help
3.
Click the Tabular View tab.
Figure 174. Operator Efficiency Report - Tabular View
The Tabular View shows the following: Operator name Average event Acknowledgement time in seconds
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Acknowledgement count You can view the details for each operator by clicking the View button in the View column.
Figure 175. Operator Efficiency Report - Detail View
The detail view shows the following for each operator: The operators name Each unique event The entry in the event list Summary field Acknowledgement count The severity level assigned to the event. Multi-page reports have Previous and Next links so that you can move from page to page. You can also click the individual page numbers to move to specific pages. Click the Back button to return to the previous page. At page 1, clicking the Back button returns you to the Chart View tab.
Viewing the Policy Efficiency Report

The Impact Policy Efficiency Report records historical information on the performance of all your policies. Each time a policy executes, the time taken to execute is recorded. When reporting is switched on, you can see a table of all policies and the average execution time and count for each one. Use the following procedure to configure and generate this report.
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Note: Before you configure this report, you must enable reporting in the Policy Logger Service Configuration window. See "Policy Logger Service" on page 208 1. 2. Open the Reports task pane. Click on the Policy Efficiency Report. The Policy Efficiency Report editor opens in the Main Work panel.
Figure 176. Policy Efficiency Report - chart View
The Policy Efficiency Report contains two tabs, the Chart View and the Tabular View. The Chart View shows the average time in seconds each policy took to execute. The legend on the left shows the color code for each policy. The descending order in the legend reflects the order from left to right in the chart.
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Table 104. Policy Efficiency Report Editor Buttons Butto n Button Title Calendar Description You can change the report parameters by selecting a date range. The default parameters are one month, with the last day being the current day. Click the button next to the Start field to access a calendar to select the start date for the report data. Click the button next to the End field to access a calendar to select the end date for the report data. Refresh Report After changing the report parameters, click this button to refresh the report data. Click this button to access a Help window for the Report editor.
Help
The Tabular View contains a table that shows the average time in seconds it took for each policy to execute and the number of times it executed for the specified date range.
284
3.
Click the Tabular View.
Figure 177. Policy Efficiency Report - Tabular View
The Tabular View tab shows the policy name, the average time it took in seconds to execute and how many times it ran. You can see more detail about each policy by clicking the View button next to the policy you want in the View column.
Figure 178. Policy Efficiency Report - Tabular View - Detail
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The detail view shows: The name of the policy The policy run time The time the policy ran Multi-page reports have Previous and Next links so that you can move from page to page. You can also click the individual page numbers to move to specific pages. Click the Back button to return to the previous page. At page 1, clicking the Back button returns you to the Chart View tab.
Viewing the Policy Error Report

The Policy Error Report gives you a list of the policies that generated errors along with how many times each policy was executed. Note: Before you configure this report, you must enable reporting in the Policy Logger Service Configuration window. See "Policy Logger Service" on page 208
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The procedure below shows you how to generate this report. 1. 2. Open the Reports task pane. Select the Policy Error Report. The Policy Error Report editor opens in the Main Work panel.
Figure 179. Policy Error Report - Chart View
The Policy Error Report contains two tabs, the Chart View and the Tabular View. The Chart View shows the error count for each policy. The legend on the left shows the color code for each policy. The descending order of the legend reflects the order from left to right in the chart. Table 105 shows the tool bar buttons for this report.
Table 105. Report Editor Buttons (1 of 2) Butto n Button Title Calendar Description You can change the report parameters by selecting a date range. The default parameters are one month, with the last day being the current day. Click the button next to the Start field to access a calendar to select the start date for the report data. Click the button next to the End field to access a calendar to select the end date for the report data. Refresh Report After changing the report parameters, click this button to refresh the report data.
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Table 105. Report Editor Buttons (2 of 2) Butto n Button Title Help Description Click this button to access a Help window for the Report editor.
3.
Click the Tabular View. The Tabular View contains a table that shows the failure count for each policy within the specified date range.
Figure 180. Policy Error Report - Tabular View
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4.
Click the View button in the View column for the policy you want the detail for.
Figure 181. Policy Error Report - Tabular View - Detail
The detail view shows: The policy name The times the policy executed The error message generated. Multi-page reports have Previous and Next links so that you can move from page to page. You can also click the individual page numbers to move to specific pages. Click the Back button to return to the previous page. At page 1, clicking the Back button returns you to the Chart View tab.
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AppendixA.fm December 1, 2006
Appendix A. Configuration Documenter

This appendix explains how to use the web-based Configuration Documenter. "What is the Configuration Documenter?" on page 291 "Viewing Data Sources" on page 292 "Viewing Data Types" on page 292 "Viewing Policies" on page 293 "Viewing Services" on page 293
What is the Configuration Documenter?

The Netcool/Impact Configuration Documenter is a web-based tool that you can use to view the configuration of a Netcool/Impact installation. With this tool, you can view details about the following: Data sources Data types Policies Services
The Configuration Documenter is available automatically when you start the Netcool/Impact server. You do not need to perform any additional steps to enable this tool.
Opening the Configuration Documenter

To open the Documenter: 1. 2. Start a web browser. Open the following URL:
http://hostname:port/documenter
where hostname is the name of the host where you are running Netcool/Impact and port is the port of the Netcool/Impact HTTP service (8080 is the default). 3. Choose Impact Configuration Documenter in the page that opens. You will see a Table of Contents that allows you to view your data sources, data types, policies and services.
291
Viewing Data Sources

You can use the Configuration Documenter to view the details for each defined data source. To view the data source details, do the following. 1. 2. Open the Configuration Documenter. Choose Data Sources in the Table of Contents. A list of defined data sources displays showing the data source names and data source types. 3. Choose the data source you want to view. The data source details list displays showing host, port and database information.
Viewing Data Types

You can use the Configuration Documenter to view the details for all types of Netcool/Impact data types: Predefined data types such as Doc, Schedule and LinkType User-defined internal and external data types Report data types
You can view the following details about a data type: Field Name Display Name Data source name (for external data types). By clicking on the data source name, you can display the connection information. Configuration information for each of the fields in the data type, including the Field Name, Display Name, Key field, Alias, Default Expression, and Choices. Dynamic links associated with the data type
To view data type details: 1. 2. 3. Open the Configuration Documenter. Choose Data Types from the Table of Contents. Choose a data type from the data type list.
To see the connection information for an external data type, click on the data source name.
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Viewing Policies
You can use the Configuration Documenter to view the following information about a policy: Name The policy
To view policy details: 1. 2. 3. Open the configuration docmenter. Choose Policies from the Table of Contents. Choose a policy from the Policy list.
Viewing Services
You can use the Configuration Documenter to view the following information about a service: Name Class Name Run status (running or not running) Auto start configuration Logging configuration Configuration properties
To view service details: 1. 2. 3. Open the Configuration Documenter. Choose Services from the Table of Contents. Choose the service you want to view from the Services list.
Select the associated policy link to see it displayed in the Documenter.
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Appendix B. Glossary
This appendix contains the following section: "Glossary of Terms" on page 295
Glossary of Terms
Action function: An action function is a built-in IPL function that performs a high-level task such as retrieving data from a data source or sending e-mail. Action functions are pre-defined by the IPL and cannot be modified or extended when you write a policy. Assignment operator: The assignment operator is a built-in IPL function that assigns a value to a variable. The assignment operator is =. Boolean operator: A boolean operator is a built-in IPL function that specifies a logical operation of AND, OR or NOT when Netcool/Impact evaluates sets of operations. The boolean operators are &&, || and !. Command execution manager: The command execution manager is the Netcool/Impact service that manages remote command execution via the CommandResponse function in the IPL Command line manager: The command line manager is the service that manages the Netcool/Impact command line interface. Comparison operator: A comparison operator is a built-in IPL function that Netcool/Impact uses to compare two values. The comparison operators are ==, !=, <, >, <= and >=. Control structure: A control structure is a statement block in the IPL that is executed when the terms of the control condition are satisfied. The IPL supports If ... Then ... Else and When control structures. CORBA name service: The CORBA name service is the Netcool/Impact service that provides CORBA naming functionality for mediator DSAs. Data item: A data item is an element of a Netcool/Impact data model that represents an actual unit of data stored in a data source (for example, a row in relational database table). Data model: A data model is an abstract representation of the business data and meta data used in a Netcool/Impact installation. A data model contains data sources, data types, links and event sources. Data source: A data source is an element of a Netcool/Impact data model that represents an external source of data (for example, a relational database).
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Data source adaptor: A data source adaptor (DSA) is a component of Netcool/Impact that allows the application to access data stored in an external source of data. Data type: A data type is an element of a Netcool/Impact data model that represents a set of data stored in a data source (for example, a table or view in a relational database). Database listener: A database listener is a Netcool/Impact service that listens for incoming messages from an SQL database data source and then triggers policies based on the incoming message data. DSA: See data source adaptor. Dynamic link: A dynamic link is an element of a Netcool/Impact data model that represents a dynamic relationship between data items in data types. E-mail reader: An e-mail reader is a Netcool/Impact service that polls a POP mail server at intervals for incoming e-mail and then triggers policies based on the incoming e-mail data. E-mail sender: An e-mail sender is a Netcool/Impact service that sends e-mail via an SMTP mail server. Event: An event is a set of data that represents a status condition or an activity that has occurred in your environment. Most commonly, events originate with Netcool probes and monitors and are stored in the Netcool/OMNIbus ObjectServer database. Event processor: The event processor is the service responsible for managing events coming into Netcool/Impact via event reader, event listener and e-mail reader services. The event processor manages the incoming event queue and is responsible for sending queued events to the policy engine for processing. Event reader: An event reader is a Netcool/Impact service that monitors an event source for new, updated and/or deleted events and triggers policies based on the event data. See standard event reader and generic event reader. Event source: An event source is a data source that stores and manages events. Most commonly, the event source used by Netcool/Impact is the ObjectServer database. Exception: An exception an occurrence during runtime that changes the normal flow of policy execution. Field: A field is a single named unit of data in a Netcool/Impact event or data item. Filter: A filter is an expression that Netcool/Impact uses to select data (for example, data items in a data type) from a larger set of data. See SQL filter, LDAP filter and Mediator filter. Function: A function is a named set of instructions in the IPL that accepts certain pre-defined input parameters and optionally returns a value or set of values. See action function, parser function and user-defined function. Generic event listener: A generic event listener is a Netcool/Impact service that listens to an external data source for incoming events and triggers policies based on the event data.
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Generic event reader: A generic event reader is an event reader that monitors an SQL database event source for new and/or modified events and triggers policies based on the event information. GUI server: See Netcool/Impact GUI server. Hibernating policy activator: The hibernating policy activator is the Netcool/Impact service that is responsible for waking hibernating policies. IPL: See Netcool/Impact policy language. Jabber reader: A Jabber reader is a Netcool/Impact service that listens to external instant messaging servers for messages and triggers policies based on the incoming message data. Jabber service: The Jabber service is a Netcool/Impact service that sends instant messages to instant messaging clients like AOL Instant Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger via a Jabber server. JRExec server: See Netcool/Impact JRExec server. JMS DSA: The JMS DSA is a data source adaptor that allows Netcool/Impact to send and receive Java Message System (JMS) messages. Key field: A key field is a field that uniquely identifies a data item in a data type. Key expression: A key expression is an expression specify the value that one or more key fields in a data item must have in order to be retrieved by the GetByKey function in the IPL. LDAP DSA: The LDAP DSA is a data source adaptor that allows Netcool/Impact to read directory data managed by an LDAP server. LDAP filter: An LDAP filter is an expression that Netcool/Impact uses to select data elements located at a location in an LDAP directory tree. The syntax for LDAP filters is specified in Internet RFC 2254. Link: A link is an element of a Netcool/Impact data model that defines a relationship between data types and/or data items. See dynamic link and static link. Mathematic operator: A mathematic operator is a built-in IPL function that performs a mathematic operation on two values. The mathematic operators are +, -, *, / and %. Mediator DSAs: Mediator DSAs are a type of data source adaptor that allows Netcool/Impact to access data provided by third-party systems, devices and applications. The Cramer Dimension DSA is an example of a mediator DSA. NCHOME: NCHOME is an operating system environment variable that identifies the location of Netcool product installations on your file system. The default value for this variable is /opt/ibm/netcool. This variable is referenced as $NCHOME on UNIX platforms and %NCHOME% on Windows platforms. Netcool/Impact database: The Netcool/Impact database is a PostgreSQL database named Impact that is managed by the Netcool database server. This database stores reporting information used by the Netcool/Impact server. See Netcool database server.
297
Netcool database server. The Netcool database server is a specially configured version of PostgreSQL that has been prepared for use with Netcool/Impact and other Netcool products. See Netcool/Impact database. Netcool/Impact GUI server: The Netcool/Impact GUI server is the component of Netcool/Impact that serves the web-based graphical user interface to users web browsers via HTTP. Netcool/Impact JRExec server: The Netcool/Impact JRExec server is the component of Netcool/Impact that executes commands, scripts and applications triggered by the JRExecAction function in the IPL. Netcool/Precision DSA. The Netcool/Precision DSA is a data source adaptor that allows Netcool/Impact to access data managed by the Netcool/Precision application. Netcool/Impact Security Manager: The Netcool Security Manager is the component of the Netcool suite that is responsible for authenticating user logins. Netcool/Impact server: The Netcool/Impact server is the primary component of Netcool/Impact. This component is responsible for maintaining the data model, managing services and running policies. Netcool/Impact policy language: The Netcool/Impact policy language (IPL) is the programming language that you use to write policies. Operator: An operator is a built-in IPL function that assigns a value to a variable, performs an operation on a value or specifies how two values are to be compared in a policy. See assignment operator, mathematic operators, comparison operators, boolean operators and string operators. Parser function: A parser function is a built-in IPL function that performs a low-level task such as converting numeric and date formats or extracting a substring from a string. Parser functions are pre-defined by the IPL and cannot be modified or extended when you write a policy. Policy: A policy is a set of rules and actions that Netcool/Impact is required to perform when certain events or status conditions occur in your environment. Policies are implemented using the IPL. Policy activator: A policy activator is a Netcool/Impact service that runs a specified policy at intervals that you define. Policy logger: The policy logger is the Netcool/Impact services that writes messages to the policy log. Precision DSA: See Netcool/Precision DSA. Precision event listener: The Precision event listener is a Netcool/Impact service that listens to the Netcool/Precision application for incoming messages and triggers policies based on the message data. Security Manager: See Netcool/Impact Security Manager.
298
Self-monitoring service: The self-monitoring service is a Netcool/Impact service that monitors Netcool/Impact for memory and other status conditions and reports them to the Netcool/OMNIbus ObjectServer as events. Service: A service is a runnable sub-component of Netcool/Impact that you control from within the Netcool/Impact GUI. SNMP DSA: The SNMP DSA is a data source adaptor that allows Netcool/Impact to set and retrieve management information stored by SNMP agents. It also allows Netcool/Impact to send SNMP traps and notifications to SNMP managers. Socket DSA: The Socket DSA is a data source adaptor that allows Netcool/Impact to exchange information with external applications using a socket server as the brokering agent. SQL database DSAs: SQL database DSAs are data source adaptors that allow Netcool/Impact to retrieve information from relational databases and other data sources that provide a public interface via JDBC (Java Database Connectivity). SQL database DSAs also allow Netcool/Impact to add, modify and delete information stored in these data sources. SQL filter: An SQL filter is an expression that Netcool/Impact uses to select rows in a database table. The syntax for the filter is similar to the contents of an SQL WHERE clause. Standard event reader: A standard event reader is a Netcool/Impact service that monitors a Netcool/OMNIbus ObjectServer database for new, updated and/or deleted events and triggers policies based on the event data. Static link: A static link is an element of a Netcool/Impact data model that defines a static relationship between data items in internal data types. String operator: A string operator is a built-in IPL function that performs an operation on two strings. Netcool/Impact supports one string operator that you can use for string concatenation. The string concatenation operator is +. User-defined function: A user-defined function is a custom function that you use to organize code in a Netcool/Impact policy. Variable: A variable is an IPL keyword that represents a value or a set of values. WASCE (WebSphere Application Server Community Edition): IBM WASCE is a lightweight Java application server built using Apache Geronimo technology. The Netcool/Impact server and GUI server run as application instances inside a WASCE container by default. Web services DSA: The web services DSA is a data source adapter that allows Netcool/Impact to exchange information with external applications that provide a web services API. XML DSA: The XML DSA is a data source adapter that allows Netcool/Impact to read XML data from strings and files and to read XML data from web servers over HTTP.
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appnotices.fm December 1, 2006
Appendix C. Notices
This appendix contains the following: "Notices" on page 301 "Trademarks" on page 303
Notices
This information was developed for products and services offered in the U.S.A. IBM may not offer the products, services, or features discussed in this document in other countries. Consult your local IBM representative for information on the products and services currently available in your area. Any reference to an IBM product, program, or service is not intended to state or imply that only that IBM product, program, or service may be used. Any functionally equivalent product, program, or service that does not infringe any IBM intellectual property right may be used instead. However, it is the user's responsibility to evaluate and verify the operation of any non-IBM product, program, or service. IBM may have patents or pending patent applications covering subject matter described in this document. The furnishing of this document does not grant you any license to these patents. You can send license inquiries, in writing, to: IBM Director of Licensing IBM Corporation North Castle Drive Armonk, NY 10504-1785 U.S.A. For license inquiries regarding double-byte (DBCS) information, contact the IBM Intellectual Property Department in your country or send inquiries, in writing, to: IBM World Trade Asia Corporation Licensing 2-31 Roppongi 3-chome, Minato-ku Tokyo 106-0032, Japan The following paragraph does not apply to the United Kingdom or any other country where such provisions are inconsistent with local law: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION PROVIDES THIS PUBLICATION "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
301
LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Some states do not allow disclaimer of express or implied warranties in certain transactions, therefore, this statement may not apply to you. This information could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically made to the information herein; these changes will be incorporated in new editions of the publication. IBM may make improvements and/or changes in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this publication at any time without notice. Any references in this information to non-IBM Web sites are provided for convenience only and do not in any manner serve as an endorsement of those Web sites. The materials at those Web sites are not part of the materials for this IBM product and use of those Web sites is at your own risk. IBM may use or distribute any of the information you supply in any way it believes appropriate without incurring any obligation to you. Licensees of this program who wish to have information about it for the purpose of enabling: (i) the exchange of information between independently created programs and other programs (including this one) and (ii) the mutual use of the information which has been exchanged, should contact: IBM Corporation 958/NH04 IBM Centre, St Leonards 601 Pacific Hwy St Leonards, NSW, 2069 Australia IBM Corporation 896471/H128B 76 Upper Ground London SE1 9PZ United Kingdom IBM Corporation JBFA/SOM1 294 Route 100 Somers, NY, 10589-0100 United States of America Such information may be available, subject to appropriate terms and conditions, including in some cases, payment of a fee. The licensed program described in this document and all licensed material available for it are provided by IBM under terms of the IBM Customer Agreement, IBM International Program License Agreement or any equivalent agreement between us.
302
Any performance data contained herein was determined in a controlled environment. Therefore, the results obtained in other operating environments may vary significantly. Some measurements may have been made on development-level systems and there is no guarantee that these measurements will be the same on generally available systems. Furthermore, some measurements may have been estimated through extrapolation. Actual results may vary. Users of this document should verify the applicable data for their specific environment. Information concerning non-IBM products was obtained from the suppliers of those products, their published announcements or other publicly available sources. IBM has not tested those products and cannot confirm the accuracy of performance, compatibility or any other claims related to non-IBM products. Questions on the capabilities of non-IBM products should be addressed to the suppliers of those products. All statements regarding IBM's future direction or intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice, and represent goals and objectives only. This information contains examples of data and reports used in daily business operations. To illustrate them as completely as possible, the examples include the names of individuals, companies, brands, and products. All of these names are fictitious and any similarity to the names and addresses used by an actual business enterprise is entirely coincidental.
Trademarks
The following terms are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both: AIX AIX 5L Netcool Intel, Intel Inside (logos), MMX, and Pentium are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT, and the Windows logo are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. Java and all Java-based trademarks are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States, other countries, or both. Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States, other countries, or both. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the United States and other countries. Other company, product, or service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.
Appendix C. Notices
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Index
NCI_31_UGIX.fm December 1, 2006 2:19 pm
Index
A
Action Efficiency report 259 dependency 259 Action Error report 262 dependency 262 Action functions 172 AIM transport 203 Auto Refresh option 187 automated project deployment 24 Available LinkType Data Items table 131 Generic Event Reader service 235 create new policy runtime parameters 169 Custom Fields tab Additional Fields window 85 Internal Data Type editor 84 Custom policy create 159 Cut option, Policy editor 166
D
data caching 98 Data Items about 137 add a new 139 delete 142 edit 141 view 138 Data Items editor filter the view 141 navigate between pages 140 toolbar buttons 138 Data Sources about 33 DB2 37 delete 72 edit 72 failover 34 Flat File 40 Informix 42 LDAP 65 Mediator DSA 67, 69 MS_SQL 45 MYSQL 48 ObjectServer 51 ODBC 54
B
browser requirements, for Netcool/Impact 1
C
Cache Settings tab External Data Types editor 98 change your password 4 clear version control file locking 31 Command Execution Manager service 188 Command Line Manager service 189 Configuration Documenter 291 configure a filter Event Reader service 228 Generice Event Reader service 235 configure SQL data types 89 Copy option, Policy editor 166 CORBA Mediator DSA data sources 67 CORBA Name Service 190 count caching 99 Create Event Filter window Event Reader service 228
305
Index
Oracle 56 PostgreSQL 59 SNMPDirectMediator 69 SQL 37 Sybase 62 test connection to 73 view 35 data type caching 98 Data Type editor toolbar buttons 83 Data Types 77 about 77 delete 113 edit 113 External, configure 88 Internal, configure 81 LDAP, configure 101 Mediator DSA 105 SQL, configure 89 task pane buttons 81 view 79 view performance statistics 113 Database Listener service 191 DB2 Data Source 37 Default Email Reader service 195 Default Event Reader service 195 Default Jabber Reader service 195 Default Policy Activator service 196 delete a table row Internal Data Type editor 87 delete policy 180 deploy projects 24 Direct Mediator DSA data sources 69 Doc Data Items add a new 133 view 132 Doc Data Type add a field 132 Dynamic Links 143 create 145
delete 151 edit 150 link by filter 146 link by key 148 link by policy 149 tab 98
E
edit a policy 179 edit field properties Internal Data Type editor 87 EMail Reader service 216 Email Sender service 196 error message, during log in 4 EUC Japanese character encoding requirements 1 Event Enrichment policy wizard 161 Event Listener service 218 event locking configure a filter 227 Event Reader service configuration 223, 234 examples 227 on multiple fields 227 on single field 227 Event Notification policy wizard 161 Event Processor service 196 simultaneous threads 198 Event Reader configuration event locking 223, 234 event mapping 222, 233 Event Mapping tab 233 General Settings tab 220, 231 Event Relocation policy wizard 161 Event Suppresssion policy wizard 161 External Data Type editor 97 add a field 94 Cache Settings tab 98 delete a table row 98 Dynamic Links tab 98 edit the field properties 97
306
Index
move a table row 97 Table Description tab 92 tabs description 90 toolbar buttons 90 External Data Types LDAP 101 Mediator DSA 105 SQL 89
G
Generic Event Reader service 229 Global Repository about 27 add an item to 30 clear version control locking 31 default data 29 delete an item from 31 edit an item in 31 overview 10 view data 29 Global tab 27 buttons 28 glossary 295 GoTo Line option, Policy editor 167 Graphical User Interface 3 about 7 graphical view, of policies 171
F
FailedEvent data items delete 135 view 134 FailedEvent data type 133 failover data source 34 Filter add Database Listener service 194 Event Reader service 220 Generic Event Reader service 230 change order of list Database Listener service 195 Event Reader service 229 Generic Event Reader 236 delete Database Listener service 195 Event Reader service 229 Generic Event Reader service 236 edit Database Listener service 194 Event Reader service 229 Generic Event Reader service 236 Filter Data Type 128 Find and Replace option, Policy editor 165 Find option. Policy editor 164 foreign key expressions, for link by key 149 functions, in policies 172
H
Hibernating Policy Activator service 198 Hibernation data type 136
I
ICU transport account 207 Impact Profile report 265 Impact ROI Efficiency report 271 configure business process 273 configure policy and report mapping 274 dependency 272 Information Group by Filter add 251 Information Group by Key add 252 Informix data source create 42 Insert Parser Function button, Policy editor 178 Instant messaging, set up for use in policies 208, 240
307
Index
Internal Data Type editor add a new field 85 Custom Fields tab 84 delete a table row 87 move a table row 87 Internal Services 188 Command Execution Manager 188 Command Line Manager Service 189 CORBA Name 190 Database Listener 191 Default Email Reader 195 Default Event Reader 195 Default Jabber Reader 195 Default Policy Activator 196 Email Sender 196 Event Processor 196 Hibernating Policy Activator 198 Jabber 200 overview 14 Policy Logger 208 Precision Event Listener 210 international characters, use of 1
Cache Settings tab 104 Dynamic Links tab 104 Link by Filter 146 Link by Key 148 Link by Policy 149 Link Editor 153 Links 143 about 143 add 136 browse 154 dynamic 143 enter foreign key expressions 149 static 143, 151 view 136 Links button Data Items editor 153 LinkType Data Items create 130 view 129 LinkType Data Type 128 Log into Netcool/Impact 2 Log off Netcool/Impact 5
J
Jabber Reader service 240 Jabber service 200 add resources to the Jabber ID 200 configure 201 set up transport accounts 202 Japanese character encoding requirements 1 Japanese characters in policies, using 2 JMS Message Listener service 236
login error message 4
M
Main Work panel 15 Mediator DSA Data Sources 67 CORBA 67 Direct Mediator 69 Mediator DSA Data Types 105 monitoring services 12 move a table row External Data Type editor 97 Internal Data Type editor 87 MSM transport 205 MS-SQL Server data source create a 45 MySQL Data Source create a 48
L
LDAP data source create a 65 LDAP External Data Type editor LDAP Info tab 103 LDAP External Data Types 101
308
Index
N
navigating between pages Data Items editor 140 Navigation bar 17 Navigation panel Global tab 10 overview 8 Projects tab 8 negative time range groups 118 Node Efficiency report dependency 277
Paste option, Policy editor 166 Performance Statistics Report for data types 113 Policies about 157 chaining 219, 225 delete 180 develop custom 159 edit 179 graphical view of 171 optimizing 167 pre-defined 182 save 179 task pane buttons 158 upload 181 use a templete 159 use a wizard 161 view 158 Policy editor about 157 action functions 172 Copy option 166 create a New Policy Runtime Parameter 169 Cut option 166 display the graphical view 171 Find and Replace option 165 Find option 164 functions 172 GoTo Line option 167 optimizing 167 parser functions 176 Paste option 166 Redo option 166 setting the runtime paramters 169 syntax checking 167 toolbar buttons, description 162 trigger a policy 168 Undo option 166 Policy Efficiency report 282 dependency 283 Policy Error report 286 dependency 286 create a 51
O
ObjectServer Data Source ODBC Data Source create a 54 Operator Efficiency report 280 Operator View about 245 add an Information group by filter 251 add an information group by key 252 add information group panel 250 configure action panel 250 configure as an OMNIbus tool URL parameters for UNIX 253 URL parameters for Windows 254 delete 253 edit 253 specify name and layout 247 optimizing a policy 167 Oracle Data Source create a 56 override time range goup 118
P
Parser functions 176 password, change 4
309
Index
Policy templates 160 Policy wizards 161 positive time range groups 118 PostgreSQL data source 59 Precsion Event Listener service 210 Pre-defined Data Items delete 136 Pre-defined Data Types about 117 Doc 132 FailedEvent 133 filters 128 Hibernation 136 Linktype 128 Schedule 124 Time Range Groups 118 Pre-defined policies 182 Projects about 19 add project members 23 automated project deployment 24 create 21 delete 24 edit 24 remove project members 23 view members 20 Projects tab buttons 20 overview 8
Impact Profile 265 Impact ROI Efficiency 271 Node Efficiency 277 Operator Efficiency 280 Policy Efficiency 282 Policy Error 286 view the reports 259
S
sanity checking, of policies 168 save a policy 179 Schedules 124 add 124 add a field to the Schedule data type 124 create new 125 Select Schedule Members window 126 view data items 124 Self Monitoring service 212 Service Log display the 215 tool bar 215 service status indicators 12 Service Status Panel Auto Refresh option 187 task pane buttons 13 Services about 185 Command Execution Manager 188 Command Line Manager 189 Configure Internal 188 CORBA Name 190 Database Listener 191 Default Email Reader 195 Default Event Reader 195 Default Jabber Reader 195 Default Policy Activator 196 display the service log 215 Email Reader 216 Email Sender 196 Event Listener 218
Q
query caching 99
R
Redo option, Policy editor 166 reporting tools about 257 Action Efficiency 259 Action Error 262
310
Index
Event Reader 219 Generic Event Reader 229 Jabber 200 JMS Message Listener 236 Policy Activator 242 Policy Logger 208 Precision Event Listener 210 SelfMonitoring (Impact) 212 start 214 stop 214 user-defined 216 set runtime parameters for a policy 169 simultaneous threads set number for Event Processor 198 SJIS Japanese character encode requirements 1 SQL Data Sources DB2 37 Flat File 40 Informix 42 MS-SQL Server 45 MySQL 48 ObjectServer 51 ODBC 54 Oracle 56 PostgreSQL 59 Sybase 62 SQL data types 89 start a service 214 Static Links 152 create for an Internal Data Type 152 Link editor 153 remove 153 stop a service 214 Sybase Data Source create a 62 syntax checking, Policy editor 167 system data types, manage using command line interface 79
External Data Type editor 92 templates, policy 160 test data source connection 73 Time Range Groups absolute, add 123 create 120 daily, add 121 pre-defined Data Types 118 view data items 119 weekly, add 122 trigger policy 168
U
Undo option, Policy editor 166 unlock locked files 31 upload policy 181 User-defined Services about 216 delete 244 edit 243 EMail Reader 216 Event Listener 218 Event Reader 219 Generic Event Reader 229 Jabber Reader 240 JMS Message Listener 236 overview 14 Policy Activator Service 242
V
version control file locking 31 find more information 31 View Linked Data Items Browser button 155 view LinkType data items 129 view policies 158 view project members 20
T
Table Description tab
view the data type performance statistics report 113
311
Index
W
wizards, policy 161
X
X Events in Y Seconds policy wizard 162
Y
Yahoo transport account 206
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backmatter.fm December 1, 2006 15-11-2006-Ice.5-IBM
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Netcool/Impact

frontmatter.fm December 1, 2006

Chapter 3. Working with Projects . . 19

Chapter 1. Logging into and Logging out of the GUI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Chapter 4. Working with the Global Repository . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Chapter 2. Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Chapter 5. Working with Data Sources 33

Chapter 7. Working with Pre-Defined Data Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Chapter 6. Working with Data Types . . 77

Chapter 8. Working with Data Items. . . 137

Chapter 9. Working with Links . . . . 143

Chapter 10. Working with the Policy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Chapter 11. Working with Services 185

Chapter 12. Working with the Operator

Appendix A. Configuration Documenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Chapter 13. Working with the Reporting Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Appendix B. Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295

Appendix C. Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

Netcool/Impact Version 4.0 User Guide

preface.fm December 1, 2006

About this guide

Netcool/Impact Version 4.0 User Guide

Note, Tip, and Warning information

Syntax and Sample subheadings

Netcool/Impact Version 4.0 User Guide

Netcool/Impact Administration Guide

Netcool/Impact Solutions Guide

Netcool/Impact Policy Reference Guide

Netcool/Impact Online Help

Netcool/Impact Release Notes

Operating system considerations

How to send your comments

Netcool/Impact Version 4.0 User Guide

NCI_31_UG_Logging.fm December 1, 2006

Chapter 1. Logging into and Logging out of the GUI

Requirements for Using SJIS or EUC Japanese Character Encoding

Chapter 1. Logging into and Logging out of the GUI

Figure 1. Character Coding Menu

Select Unicode (UTF-8).

Logging into the GUI

Netcool/Impact Version 4.0 User Guide

The IBM Netcool Login window opens.

Figure 2. Netcool/Impact Login Page

Figure 3. Netcool/Impact Graphical User Interface

Chapter 1. Logging into and Logging out of the GUI

Figure 4. Server Instance/Application Selection List

Encountering an Error Message During Log In

Changing You Password

Netcool/Impact Version 4.0 User Guide

Figure 5. Change Password Link

The Change Password window opens.

Figure 6. Change Password Window

Logging out of the GUI

Chapter 1. Logging into and Logging out of the GUI

Netcool/Impact Version 4.0 User Guide

NCI_31_UG_MnWin.fm December 1, 2006

Chapter 2. Getting Started

About the Netcool/Impact Graphical User Interface

Chapter 2. Getting Started

The following sections describe the two tabs.

Netcool/Impact Version 4.0 User Guide

A sample Projects tab is shown in Figure 7.