To access Sentinel server, you have to create a connection to it from your Server Studio client. Once you connect to running Sentinel server, you are able to manage it, change its properties as well as create monitor and alert definitions, access Sentinel performance repository, define jobs, and perform any other Sentinel related functions.
NOTE
The Server Studio full installation always includes the Sentinel
server installation. The installation process automatically creates a connection to this Sentinel Server (localhost). All required parameters are set to
default values so that you do not have to configure it if you run the
test environment.
Sentinel Configuration dialog box consists of four tabs:
When you create a new Sentinel server connection or when selected Sentinel server connection is not established only Connection Panel is enabled. Other panels are enabled only when connection to Sentinel server is established. In addition, Administration Panel is enabled only when you connected to the Sentinel server using Sentinel Administrator login credentials.
Host - or IP address of workstation on which Sentinel server runs
Port - port number on which Sentinel server runs. Default port number for Sentinel is 10556 but it can be changed using sentinel.cfg file that is located in <SENTINEL_ROOT>\sentinel\config subdirectory. After Sentinel port number is changed Sentinel server has to be restarted for a change to take effect. In this dialog box should enter a value that corresponds to Sentinel port of already running server.
Status – this ‘display only’ field shows the status of Sentinel server after connection to it from Server Studio client has been established. It displays N/A if Sentinel connection is not established.
Auto Connect – check this checkbox if you want Server Studio client automatically establish connection to this Sentinel server, when Server Studio application starts. Otherwise, you will have to manually connect to this Sentinel server node from Sentinel Explorer tree (Sentinel-Automation tab in Explorer panel)
Sentinel Server Login Credentials – by default Sentinel Server has a single user that has Administrator role:
After you login to a Sentinel server for a first time as Administrator, you can change this login credentials as well as create additional Sentinel users using Administration tab of Sentinel Configuration Dialog box. The Sentinel login credentials are required because multiple users/DBAs can connect to Sentinel over the TCP/IP network and you might want to allow access only to authorized users and limit ability to change Sentinel server configuration parameters, such as path of repository database or SMPT mail server information to selected group of users.
Once you login as Administrator, you can change this default administrator login by selecting it in a list of Sentinel accounts and pressing Edit button.
To add a non-administrator Sentinel user, press button. Then enter user name and password and optionally check ‘Allow this user to change Sentinel configuration settings’. If this checkbox is checked, this user will be able to change location of Sentinel repository, SMPT settings and other Sentinel options. But this user will not be able to change or create other user’s accounts.
Administrator account is also allowed to edit monitors and jobs created by different Sentinel users. Other Sentinel users can edit only their own monitors and jobs.
This box allows you create Informix database servers ‘master
logins’. Sentinel server runs monitors and jobs created by users using its own
JDBC and Telnet/SSH connection. Because multiple users can create monitors,
alerts and job definitions you might want to force these processed to use
‘master login’ instead of Informix logins supplied by users who create Sentinel
monitors.
By default, when DBAs create a Sentinel monitor, they have to enter the
Informix IDS login to run this monitor. Because Sentinel monitors usually run
24x7 in ‘unattended’ mode and monitor login information is stored on Sentinel server
as part of monitor definition, you might want to avoid using personal DBAs full
privileged logins just for monitor running purposes. In this case, you can
create a special Informix login – master login that has limited Informix
privileges - just for running monitors and use this login for all newly created
monitors and jobs. Sentinel Administrator creates a ‘master login’ that only
Sentinel Administrator knows but other Sentinel users just ‘blindly’ use when
creating new monitor or job definition instead of their own personal Informix
login.
To create ‘master login’, press New button.
NOTE
Master Logins
are forced only when ‘Require the use of master database server login
credentials for creation of new monitors’ checkbox is checked. Otherwise,
Sentinel monitors use login credentials of Server Studio users that create a
monitor or job.
Master Login Identifier – enter the logical name for this database credential set. For example, ‘sentinel_runner’. Sentinel users will see this name in the list when selecting login credentials during monitor or job creation process.
Database Server Connection – specify the server name and host name for Informix IDS server, for which you create this master login.
Database Server Login Credentials – specify the Informix user name and password that this master login will use to connect to IDS server.
OS Host Login Credentials – specify OS host login name and authorization method for your host access protocol (telnet or SSH). These parameters are needed only if Sentinel users will create monitors that include OS Host level metrics, such as OS CPU Busy, or IDS Checkpoint Duration parameter. This is also required if Sentinel users will create Sentinel jobs defined as OS scripts. For example, if some job, such as IDs Backup, is scheduled to run periodically, Sentinel server will at specified scheduled time establish connection to IDS host using the provided OS master login and run the specified database backup script.
Repository_Type – by default Sentinel server uses embedded Cloudscape database as a repository for performance data. Optionally you can use external Informix database as a repository instead of embedded Cloudscape database. In this case, the database size is limited by available space in Informix dbspace in which you create a repository database.
Database path – path to a repository directory
Maximum Database Size – specify the size in Mb which you want to use as a limit for a repository. It allows you to prevent excessive growth of repository database on disk.
Connection – your Server Studio connection that points to Informix server that will store the Sentinel repository. Press “…” button to create a connection if you do not have it yet.
Create in DB Space – choose DB Space where the ‘sentinel’ repository database will be created.
Table Extent Size - choose extent size for repository tables. If you expect that repository will be large choose higher extent size.
Server Process Memory - the maximum amount of virtual memory allowed for the Sentinel server process. You can increase this parameter if your workstation has enough physical RAM to increase performance and data capacity of the server process. It might be required when you work with a large number of monitored instances or monitor large number of individual objects, such as tables or chunks. It also has to be increased if your Sentinel repository database growth fast. You can change this parameter from the Server Studio UI or directly edit this setting in the sentinel.cfg file in the <AGS>\sentinel subdirectory. The change takes effect only after you restart the Sentinel server.
Press the Add button to add a new blackout period for an Informix server or a group of servers. The Maintenance Blackout Definition dialog box will open. Enter a description of the maintenance blackout period in the Description dialog box. The description is used to identify a maintenance period in the list. Choose the interval type in the Occurs groupbox: Daily, Weekly or Once. For Daily and Weekly interval types, choose additional parameters, such as days of week on which the blackout interval happens. In the Duration groupbox, choose duration for a specified interval type. The Duration field specifies how long the blackout interval will be in effect. For Daily and Weekly interval types, you must also choose Start Date, End Date and Start Time parameters.
Use 'Apply to the following servers' grid to select Informix servers to which this maintenance period applies. NOTE: If new Informix servers, to which the same blackout period applies, are added after the blackout period is created, you will be able to edit this list at later time.
Press OK button to close Maintenance Blackout Definition dialog box and add the new maintenance period to the list.
To edit an existing blackout period, select a blackout period in the list and press Edit button to open Maintenance Blackout Definition dialog box.
Check 'Send Blackout Activation Alerts to Administrator Email' checkbox if you want to receive notifications after blackout periods begin and end. Otherwise, you can view those notifications in the Server Studio's Alerts Events panel in Sentinel-Automation tab. Administration's email address is set in the Options tab of the same dialog box.