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Performing CiscoWorks Administration

Performing CiscoWorks Administration

Performing CiscoWorks Administration

This chapter provides detailed information on the CiscoWorks processes in the Process Manager window. Sections in this chapter include:


Viewing CiscoWorks Processes

The Process Manager menu controls the CiscoWorks application processes. There are six CiscoWorks processes managed by the Process Manager including log, polling, event, device monitoring, syslog, and Sybase dataserver daemons.

You can use the Process Manager to start, stop, and shows changes in status (on or off) for the CiscoWorks daemons, or processes.


Process Manager Window

Figure 9-1 illustrates the Process Manager window. Table 9-1 describes the components in this window.

nm062.gif

Figure 9-1 Process Manager Window

Table 9-1 Process Manager Window Components

Component Subcomponent Description
File Print
Version


Quit		 Prints a snapshot of the current window.
Displays the CiscoWorks version information for this application.
Exits the current window.
Security Privileges


Change User		 Displays the current user's security privileges.
Enables you to change your username in order to access this application.
Help
Provides help text on the current window.
Log daemon (nmlogd)
Reads the Log Manager file, formats the messages into fields, and forwards them to the Sybase server daemon.
Polling daemon (nmpolld)
Performs the database polling created with the Device Polling and Polling Summary applications.
Event logger daemon (nmeventd)
Reads SNM event and trap reports and forwards these messages to syslog so they can be stored in Sybase.
Device monitor daemon (nmdevmond)
Polls for device information and forwards this information to SNM.
Syslog daemon (syslogd)
Logs system messages into a set of files described by the /etc/syslog.conf configuration file. The messages can then be queried using the Log Manager. Cannot stop or start syslogd from the Process Manager window.
Sybase server daemon (dataserver)
Stores the formatted log messages in the CiscoWorks database. The messages can then be queried using the Log Manager. Cannot stop or start the dataserver from the Process Manager window.

A description of the processes managed by the Process Manager and how to use them appears later in the chapter.

Note: The Process Manager window always displays the syslog daemon and the Sybase dataserver in a grayed out format. This indicates you cannot start or stop these processes from this window. This is to ensure the syslog daemon or server are not turned off by mistake when the server is in use.

Refer to "Shutting Down the Server" in Chapter 8, "Performing CiscoWorks Administration," for more information on Sybase server administration.


Using the Process Manager

The active CiscoWorks processes can be started or stopped from the Process Manager window, except for the syslogd and Sybase dataserver.

nm970.gif

To invoke the Process Manager, perform the following steps:

Step 1: From the Tools menu, pull down to the Process Mgr application.

The Process Manager window appears.

Step 2: To start a process, click on the On button next to the process in which you are interested.

For example, to start the log manager daemon process, click on the On button next to that field. Click on Yes to start the process.

If the start is successful, the On button will be filled in. If you receive an error message indicating that the process could not be started, check your console window or the centralized log file for messages that may describe the error condition.

Step 3: To stop any of the processes, click on the Stop button next to the appropriate process.

Step 4: To check the status of a processes, check to see if the process is turned on or off.


Process Descriptions

The following process information includes the status of the CiscoWorks processes at system startup and what consequences exist if the status of the process changes (from up to down).


CiscoWorks Log Daemon (nmlogd)

Besides reading the CiscoWorks syslog (nmslog), formatting the messages into fields and forwarding them to the Sybase server daemon, the Log daemon rereads the /etc/syslog.conf file when it receives the SIGHUP signal. A SIGHUP signal is a process signal that you send when you want the Log daemon to reread the /etc/syslog.conf. The Log daemon runs only on the machine on which CiscoWorks is installed. This machine is called the log host. If you want to run applications on another machine and you want to log events, you must customize your /etc/syslog.conf file.

The Log daemon is on when you reboot your system after installation. If you turn off the Log daemon or it goes down, the records in the nmslog are not placed in the database. When the Log daemon is started again, it will start logging messages to Sybase where it left off. The Log daemon application also changes status in the Process Manager window. The Log daemon buttons are active and therefore, you can start or stop log manager daemon from the Process Manager window.


CiscoWorks Polling Daemon (nmpolld)

The Polling daemon performs the database queries created with the Device Polling application.

The Polling daemon is on when you reboot your system after installation. If the Polling daemon goes down, any background polling which was in progress stops and a message is placed in the centralized log. A log message is also sent to the Sun Console (not the SNM Console). The Polling daemon also changes status from the Process Manager window. The Polling daemon buttons are active and therefore, you can start or stop the Polling daemon from the Process Manager window.


CiscoWorks Event Logger Daemon (nmeventd)

The Event Logger daemon reads SNM event and trap reports and forwards these messages to syslog so they can be stored in Sybase. The Event Logger daemon only uses Sybase to read the device filter list generated using nmdevmon.

The Event Logger daemon is on when you reboot your system after installation. If Sybase causes the Event Logger daemon to go down, the Event Logger daemon automatically attempts to reconnect itself to Sybase. The Event Logger daemon application also changes status in the Process Manager window. The Event Logger daemon buttons are active; therefore, you can start or stop the Event Logger daemon from the Process Manager window.


CiscoWorks Device Monitor Daemon (nmdevmond)

The Device Monitor daemon polls for device status and environmental information and forwards this information to SNM.

The Device Monitor daemon is on when you reboot your system after installation. If the Device Monitor daemon goes down, your device monitoring stops and a message is placed in the centralized log. The Device Monitor daemon also changes status in the Process Manager window. The Device Monitor daemon buttons are active and therefore, you can start or stop the Device Monitor daemon from the Process Manager window.


Syslog Daemon (syslogd)

The syslog daemon logs system messages into a set of files described by the /etc/syslog.conf configuration file.The messages can be queried in the Log Manager.

The syslog daemon status cannot be changed from the Process Manager window. The syslog daemon buttons are inactive and therefore, you cannot start or stop the syslog daemon from the Process Manager window.


Sybase Server Daemon (dataserver)

The Sybase server daemon (dataserver) stores the formatted log messages in the CiscoWorks database. The messages can then be queried in the Log Manager. The Sybase dataserver should remain on at all times.

If the Sybase dataserver goes down, background CiscoWorks processes (for example, the Polling daemon) will log a message to the Sun Console indicating that they can no longer communicate with the Sybase dataserver.

The Sybase dataserver cannot be changed from the Process Manager window. The Sybase dataserver buttons are inactive and therefore, you cannot start or stop the Sybase dataserver from the Process Manager window.

Note: The syslog daemon and Sybase dataserver buttons are inactive. The buttons indicate whether the processes are running or not, but you cannot start or stop the processes using the Process Manager. This protection exists so starting or stoppingthe syslog daemon or the Sybase dataserver can be supervised by the database administrator. Since the database is central to the operation of CiscoWorks, it is imperative that Sybase has this type of protection.


Shutting Down the CiscoWorks Daemons

If you are unable to shut down the CiscoWorks daemons (including nmpolld, nmlogd, nmeventd, or nmdevmond) by clicking on the Off button in the Process Manager window, perform the following steps as a superuser. Do not attempt to turn off the Sybase dataserver.

Step 1: At the UNIX prompt (#), enter the ps command to identity the process identification number (PID) for nmpolld: 
# ps vax | grep nmpolld

The PID for nmpolld displays.

Step 2: Enter the following command to remove the process 
# kill         process-id-number

You may have to wait several minutes for the Polling daemon to shutdown.

Step 3: At the UNIX prompt (#), enter the ps command to ensure that the displayed processes do not include the process you just removed. 
# ps vax | grep nmpolld

Step 4: If the process is still running, remove the nmpolld daemon: 
hostname# kill -9         process-id-number

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