remotewatch(1M) — Series 300/400/700

NAME

RemoteWatch - subsystem of HP Support Watch. System administration tool which watches HP 9000 Series 300, 400, and 700 systems to report configuration changes and potential problems.

SYNOPSIS

/usr/bin/X11/xsw
/usr/remwatch/bin/rw /usr/remwatch/bin/configure
/usr/remwatch/bin/<module>/collect [ -v ]
/usr/remwatch/bin/security/filesyschk
/usr/remwatch/bin/fmon/checkcore [ -d ]
/usr/remwatch/bin/fmon/checklogs
/usr/remwatch/bin/unconfigure
/usr/remwatch/bin/removeall

DESCRIPTION

RemoteWatch consists of a set of programs and scripts in the /usr/remwatch/bin directory. RemoteWatch is made up of a group of separate modules which monitor system functions. Each module collects and analyzes a particular type of data: diskless, disks, dmesg output, file system monitoring, kernel, lan, lpstat, device files, security, and spu. When configured on a system, RemoteWatch automatically runs all of these modules nightly, saving the output in report files and mailing messages about configuration changes and possible system errors to the system administrator. RemoteWatch is a subsystem of the HP Support Watch product. RemoteWatch assumes that the system, if it is a cluster server, has an /etc/hosts.equiv or /.rhosts file with entries allowing the root user to remotely log in to all cluster clients (see hosts.equiv(4)). These entries should be automatically created by SAM (System Administration Manager) when the client is added. If the system does not have an /.rhosts file due to security considerations, you should refer to the HP Support Watch User’s Guide for information on how to use RemoteWatch in that environment. /usr/bin/X11/xsw provides an OSF/Motif based graphical interface between the user and RemoteWatch data and programs. It is used to view configuration reports, view archived e-mail messages, collect current configuration data on HP-UX clusters or standalone HP-UX workstations, display LAN and disk statistics, display security reports, display log file monitoring reports, display core file check reports, display boot messages, obtain on-line message help text, and customize the operation of RemoteWatch. To start xsw from any node in a cluster or from a standalone system, type "/usr/bin/X11/xsw" in an hpterm window. /usr/remwatch/bin/rw is a character mode interface that permits the user to interact with the system by entering choices in response to on-screen menu selections. Using rw, the user can view configuration reports, view archived e-mail messages, obtain on-line message help, and customize the operation of RemoteWatch. /usr/remwatch/bin/configure is run after installation of the RemoteWatch files in order to configure RemoteWatch to run on a standalone system or a cluster. When configured, RemoteWatch is scheduled to run once a night to collect data from all of its modules. /usr/remwatch/bin/<module>/collect [ -v ] are data collection programs for the various modules of RemoteWatch. <module> is the name of the module of RemoteWatch for which data is to be collected and displayed. Valid choices are "diskless", "disks", "kernel", "lan", "lpstat", "slashdev", and "spu". The dmesg, fmon, and security modules do not have collect programs. The -v option specifies verbose mode. The modes available are concise, which is the default mode of operation, and verbose. Verbose mode provides additional headings and data which are not included in concise mode. You can run the collect programs for any module to get a snapshot of the system’s current configuration. diskless module
The collection program of RemoteWatch’s diskless module reports the following data:
- For each running node in the cluster: name, operating system, release, and family and model (additional fields in verbose mode only)
- Names of client nodes not running at the present time. If a client node is added to the server, this module will automatically configure RemoteWatch on that node. disks module
The collection program of RemoteWatch’s disks module reports the following data:
-Mounted file systems: Name, mount point, and mount date
-Swap devices: Driver name, minor number, size, file system, and status
-CS80 devices: Product ID, disk type, unformatted size, and bytes per sector (same as output of diskinfo(1M) command)
-SCSI devices: Vendor, product id, type, size, and bytes per sector (same as output of diskinfo(1M) command)
-Whether the disk space usage on any filesystem has exceeded the configured warning threshold (threshold can be changed via the customize function of rw or xsw). dmesg module
The dmesg module has no separate collection program. Instead, a dmesg(1M) command is executed every fifteen minutes, accumulating the results into a file. By default, the file is included in the RemoteWatch archives, but is suppressed from the nightly e-mail message. The dmesg(1M) output is scanned for possible serious errors at the time it is collected. If any are found, an alarm message is mailed immediately to the configured destination (which may be different from the destination for the nightly e-mail messages). Alarm messages are not sent repeatedly if they reoccur during the same day. kernel module
The collection program of the kernel module reports the following data:
-Date and time at which the kernel was last generated
-Date and time at which the system was last rebooted
-dfile modifications as listed in the kernel
-Optional drivers that are installed
-Optional drivers that are not installed (verbose mode only)
-Required drivers that are installed
-Tunable kernel parameter values lan module
The collection program of the lan module reports the following data:
- For each LAN card: device file name, select code, state, and interface address. If in verbose mode, LAN card statistics values (from the landiag(1M) command) are also displayed.
- Whether any LAN statistic value exceeds the limit set for that statistic via the customize function of rw or xsw. (Note: all statistics are reset to zero during the nightly run; they are not reset when the lan module’s collection program is run interactively.) lpstat module
The collection program of the lpstat module reports the following data:
- Scheduler status (running or not)
- Acceptance status of each lp destination (accepting or not)
- Printer status of each lp destination (enabled or disabled) slashdev module
The collection program of the slashdev module reports the following data:
- For each subdirectory in the /dev directory: Mode, user id, group id, and name.
-For character device files in /dev which are console files or getty arguments: Number of links, major number, minor number, and name.
-For other character device files and block device files in /dev: Mode, number of links, user id, group id, major number, minor number, and name.
-Whether the system has correct combinations of device files, logical drivers, cards, and interface drivers (verbose mode only). Exception: tty and pty files (major number 16 or 17) and the contents of /dev/diag and /dev/screen are not reported. spu module
The collection program of RemoteWatch’s spu module reports the following data:
-System node name
-Family/model
-Processor
-Boot ROM revision
-Bytes of RAM
-Type of internal display
-Location of system console
-Floating point coprocessor if present
-DMA card if present
-Floating point accelerator card if present
-DOS coprocessor card if present
-List of select codes and cards found there
-HIL devices /usr/remwatch/bin/security/filesyschk runs the security module. RemoteWatch’s security module reports on the file system security status. It checks your file system for passwords, ownerships and permissions, and global system access. The user can customize the run time and frequency of this module via the customize function rw or xsw. The output of this module is stored in the file /usr/remwatch/data/security/fs_report. /usr/remwatch/bin/fmon/checkcore [ -d ] checks all hfs mounted file systems, including hidden directories, for the presence of core files. Depending upon the size of the system, run time can be between 2 and 20 minutes. Only one copy of the program can be run at any one time; if someone is running the program already, an error message will indicate the program can not be run at this time.

The user can customize the run time and frequency of this module via the customize function of rw or xsw. The output of this module is stored in the file /usr/remwatch/data/fmon/coremon.out. The report shows the size of the core files in kilobytes and the absolute path names to their locations. The -d option displays the report generated from the last run of the program; it does not run the program when this option is specified. /usr/remwatch/bin/fmon/checklogs runs the log file monitor program. It displays a list of user-selected log files that have been monitored, their user-selected thresholds in kilobytes, and notification of those files which exceed their thresholds. The program runs only on servers and standalone systems, although it automatically checks CDFs. The log file monitor program keeps no reports. The default list of files for monitoring can be used as is or can be changed to suit the needs of the user. The list can be customized via rw or xsw. /usr/remwatch/bin/unconfigure is RemoteWatch’s unconfigure script, which is used to "undo" the configuration of RemoteWatch on a system, returning it back to a just-installed state. It should be run only if an error occurs during initial configuration. If you wish to remove RemoteWatch from the system, use the removeall program instead. To run unconfigure, log on as root to the server or standalone system, change to the /usr/remwatch/bin directory, and type "./unconfigure". Reply "yes" to the prompt asking whether you want to continue with unconfiguration. Progress messages will be displayed on the screen. /usr/remwatch/bin/removeall is a script which is provided to remove HP Support Watch and its RemoteWatch subsystem entirely from a system. It should be used if you wish to permanently remove HP Support Watch and all of its files from a system. (If you wish to stop running RemoteWatch for only a few days, RemoteWatch may be temporarily disabled via the customize function of rw or xsw.) To run removeall, log on as root to the server or standalone system, change to the /usr/remwatch/bin directory, and type "./removeall". Reply "yes" to the prompt asking whether you want to continue with the removal. Progress messages will be displayed on the screen.

DIAGNOSTICS

RemoteWatch has three main types of messages. These messages are numbered, and their meaning and corrective action required, if any, can be viewed on-screen using the Message Help features provided in xsw and rw. Also, the messages can be looked up in the HP Support Watch User’s Guide. INFORMATIONAL:
Messages indicating conditions of possible interest to the system administrator. Among these are configuration changes detected by RemoteWatch, which are found by comparing the output reports from the current and previous nightly runs. WARNING:
Messages indicating possible system errors found by RemoteWatch. ERROR:
Messages indicating either incorrect usage of RemoteWatch or internal problems with RemoteWatch’s operation. The HP-UX commands and system calls used by RemoteWatch may also generate error messages. These messages begin with the name of the command or system call; they are not numbered and are not listed in the manual.

FILES

/usr/remwatch/data/archives/*
Stored text of RemoteWatch’s nightly e-mail message to the system administrator, named for the date on which it was created (for example, 92-02-19). The number of days to store these e-mail message archives can be controlled via the customize function of rw or xsw. These files are not normally read by the user directly, but accessed via the character-mode or graphical interfaces described earlier. /usr/remwatch/data/<module>/reports/*
Stored output of the collect program for the given module produced during RemoteWatch’s daily run. The files are named for the date on which they were created (for example, 92-02-18). The number of days to store these configuration reports can be controlled via the customize function of rw or xsw. A report file will be empty if it would be a duplicate of a later file. These files are not normally read by the user directly, but accessed via the character-mode or graphical interfaces described earlier. /usr/remwatch/data/<module>/reports/current
Most current configuration known to RemoteWatch for the given module (output of the module’s collect program). /usr/remwatch/data/<module>/reports/prev
Configuration immediately previous to the current configuration of the given module, that is, what the current configuration was changed from (output of the module’s collect program). /usr/remwatch/data/config.out
/usr/remwatch/data/config.err
Configuration report and configuration error messages generated by the configure script when RemoteWatch is first configured on a system. The config.out file contains the configuration data collected by RemoteWatch’s collection programs, run in verbose mode. The config.err file contains the information or warning messages generated by the collection programs. These two files should be reviewed after RemoteWatch’s configure script has completed, and any messages looked up in the HP Support Watch User’s Guide. /usr/remwatch/data/dmesg/bootmsgs
This file normally contains the boot messages which were displayed at the time the system was last rebooted (output of the dmesg(1M) command). /usr/remwatch/data/security/fs_report
/usr/remwatch/data/security/OLDfs_report
These files contain the output of RemoteWatch’s security module. They may be read only by the root user.

AUTHOR

HP Support Watch and RemoteWatch were developed by the Hewlett-Packard Company.

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