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Foglight 7.1.0 - Administration and Configuration Guide

Administering and Configuring Foglight Extending Your Monitoring Reach with Foglight Cartridges Administering Foglight Configure Rules and Metric Calculations to Discover Bottlenecks Customizing Your Foglight Environment with Tooling

Agent Properties

Edit primary type-specific properties

There are two basic types of agent properties in Foglight: simple (primary) properties and list-based (secondary) properties. Primary properties are specific to the agent type or an instance of that type.

Use the Agent Properties dashboard to edit type-specific properties. Edit a primary property by specifying the desired value or option.

If you do not change agent properties for an instance, Foglight uses the default properties that come with that agent type.

To edit a primary type-specific property:
1
On the navigation panel, under Dashboards, choose Administration > Agents > Agent Properties.
2
Select an agent type.
On the Agent Properties dashboard, in the Namespace > Type view, ensure the Legacy Agents node is expanded, then select an agent type.
3
On the Agent Properties dashboard, in the Properties view, locate the primary property that you want to edit.
 
* 
NOTE: Use caution when modifying type-specific agent properties, as these settings can apply to multiple agents.
4
Edit the property as required.
 
* 
NOTE: All text boxes on the Agent Properties dashboard have a limit of 64 characters.
The name and value of the edited property appear red on the Properties view to indicate the change. The Save and Cancel buttons in the lower-right corner of the Properties view are also enabled.
5
Click Save.
Clone list properties

Each secondary property can be associated with one or more lists. Cloning a list allows you to create multiple instances of the same list and assign them to different agent instances. This type of configuration can create instance-specific lists, overriding the default behavior of lists in which they are shared amongst agent instances. When you clone a list, its entries remain unchanged. You can alter a cloned list to suit your needs.

To clone a list:
1
On the navigation panel, under Dashboards, choose Administration > Agents > Agent Properties.
2
Select an agent type.
On the Agent Properties dashboard, in the Namespace > Type view, click an agent type.
The Properties view refreshes, showing the agent properties for the selected agent type.
3
On the Agent Properties dashboard, in the Properties view, locate the secondary property that you want to clone.
4
Click the Clone button to the right of the box that contains the property value.
5
In the dialog box that opens, type the name of the cloned list.
6
Click OK.
The dialog box closes and the secondary property refreshes, with its value set to the newly-cloned list. The property name and list name appear red in the Properties view to indicate the change.
7
In the Properties view, in the lower-right corner, click Save.
The Properties view refreshes.
Editing list properties

A list contains one or more rows, with each row containing a name and value pair. Editing a list involves adding, editing or deleting its rows. For example, you can clone a list and edit the cloned version for different agent instances.

 
* 
CAUTION: If a list is shared among multiple agent instances, any changes made to that list affect all of those instances.
To edit a list property:
1
On the navigation panel, under Dashboards, choose Administration > Agents > Agent Properties.
2
Select an agent type.
On the Agent Properties dashboard, in the Namespace > Type view, click an agent type.
The Properties view refreshes, showing the agent properties for the selected agent type.
3
On the Agent Properties dashboard, in the Properties view, locate the secondary property that you want to edit.
4
Click the Edit button to the right of the box that contains the property value.
 
* 
CAUTION: Secondary agent properties can apply to multiple agents. If you want to edit a cloned list that is instance-specific, ensure that you select that list in the property box before clicking the Edit button.
 
* 
TIP: The appearance of the list depends on its complexity and contents.
5
Make your changes by completing any of the following steps.
•
To edit an entry in the list, in the dialog box, double-click the cell containing the entry that you want to change, and type a desired value.
 
* 
NOTE: All text values have a limit of 64 characters.
A red marker appears, indicating a change.
•
To add a row to the list, in the dialog box, click Add Row.
In the dialog box, a new editable row appears. Populate the newly-added row, as required.
•
To delete a row from the list, in the dialog box, select that row and click Delete Selected Row(s).
 
* 
TIP: To select multiple entries, press the CTRL key while clicking rows.
The list refreshes, no longer showing the newly-deleted rows.
6
Click Save Changes and close the dialog box.
Remove cloned lists from secondary properties

You can only remove cloned lists. Any lists that are included with Foglight cannot be deleted.

To remove a cloned list:
1
On the navigation panel, under Dashboards, choose Administration > Agents > Agent Properties.
2
Select an agent type.
On the Agent Properties dashboard, in the Namespace > Type view, click an agent type.
The Properties view refreshes, showing the agent properties for the selected agent type.
3
On the Agent Properties dashboard, in the Properties view, locate the list that you want to delete.
4
Click Delete.
 
* 
CAUTION: Secondary agent properties can apply to multiple agents. If you want to edit a cloned list that is instance-specific, ensure that you select that list in the property box before clicking the Edit button.
A message box opens, asking you to confirm the delete operation.
5
Click Yes in the message box.
6
In the Properties view, in the lower-right corner, click Save.
View the FglAMAdapter agent properties

The FglAMAdapter agent comes with Foglight Agent Manager. It includes a set of default agent properties that can be viewed on the Agent Properties dashboard. These settings control how often the Foglight Agent Manager instructs downstream hosts and agents to connect and poll for messages. The more hosts that are connected to the server, the less often they are instructed to poll. Changing these settings is only recommended when instructed to do so by Quest Support. Most instances of the FglAMAdapter agent do not need to change these settings.

To view the properties of the FglAMAdapter agent:
1
On the navigation panel, under Dashboards, choose Administration > Agents > Agent Properties.
2
On the Agent Properties dashboard that appears in the display area, in the Namespace > Type view, expand the FglAM node and click FglAMAdapter.
3
In the Properties pane, view the FglAMAdapter properties. These properties control the FglAMAdapter polling rates.
•
Minimum Polling Interval: The minimum polling interval, in seconds.
•
Maximum Number of Polls (per minute): The maximum number of polls per minute. Client polling intervals are adjusted to adhere to this.
•
Polling Max Delay Factor: The multiplier for the maximum delay, based on the computed minimum delay.
•
Polling Min Timeout: The minimum length of time in seconds before FglAMAdapter checks to see if a host is considered disconnected.
•
Core Thread Pool Size: The size of the core thread pool.
•
Maximum Thread Pool Size: The maximum size of the adapter thread pool.
Run the Agent Properties Report

Some Foglight dashboards have reports associated with them. This allows you to run a report based on the current dashboard. You can generate the report using the Reports menu in the top-right corner.

The Agent Properties dashboard is associated with the Agent Properties Report. Run this report by choosing Agent Properties Report from the Reports menu, and specifying the input parameters in the report wizard.

Figure 5. The Agent Properties dashboard, with the Reports menu selected.

The report wizard provides more information about the Agent Properties Report and instructions on how to set the input values. For more information about reports in Foglight, see the Foglight User Help.

Disconnected Agent Managers

View the disconnected agent managers
To view the disconnected agent manager:
1
On the navigation panel, under Dashboards, choose Administration > Agents > Agent Managers.
The Agent Managers dashboard appears.
2
In the Agent Manager dashboard, click Disconnected Agent Managers.
The Disconnected Agent Manager(s) dialog box appears.
To delete one or more disconnected agent manger(s):
1
In the Disconnected Agent Manager(s) dialog box, select the disconnected agent manager(s) that you want to remove.
2
Click Delete Agent Manager(s).
The Delete Agent Manager Process dialog box appears, and the selected agent manager(s) are removed from the Disconnected Agent Manager(s) table.

To edit tags for the disconnected agent manager(s), see Edit agent tags .

Agent Adapters

View the agent adapters

Use the Agent Adapters dashboard to view information about the existing agent adapters that your Foglight agents use to communicate with the Foglight Management Server.

To access the Agent Adapters dashboard:
•
On the navigation panel, under Dashboards, choose Administration > Agents > Agent Adapters.
The list shows the agent adapters that exist in your monitoring environment, including the FglAM and XML-HTTP adapters.
Activate or deactivate agent adapters

Activating an agent adapter starts the agent adapter process on the Management Server while deactivating an agent adapter stops that process.

If it is requested by Quest Support, you can activate and deactivate agent adapters. The Status column indicates if an adapter is active or not.

Figure 6. The agent adapter status is indicated by an icon.

To activate an agent adapter:
1
On the navigation panel, under Dashboards, click Administration > Agents > Agent Adapters.
2
On the Agent Adapters dashboard, select the row containing an inactive agent adapter that you want to activate.
 
* 
TIP: To select multiple agent adapters, press the SHIFT key while selecting the rows containing the adapters that you want to activate.
3
Click Activate.
The Agent Adapters dashboard refreshes, showing the Active icon in the Status column.
To deactivate an agent adapter:
1
On the navigation panel, under Dashboards, choose Administration > Agents > Agent Adapters.
2
On the Agent Adapters dashboard, select the row containing an active agent adapter that you want to deactivate.
 
* 
TIP: To select multiple agent adapters, press the SHIFT key while selecting the rows containing the adapters that you want to activate.
3
Click Deactivate.
The Agent Adapters dashboard refreshes, showing the Deactivated icon in the Status column.

Manage Lockboxes

Explore the Manage Lockboxes dashboard

This dashboard is a starting point when creating credentials. Credentials are stored in lockboxes. Ensure that you have the appropriate lockboxes in place before creating credentials. The dashboard displays a list of all lockboxes that are defined on the server, in addition to the System lockbox that is included with the Management Server. This lockbox is not password-protected. Its contents are accessible to all clients in your system. The System lockbox is only intended for use with some agent types, and it is always available for selection in the flow for adding credentials initiated from the Manage Credentials dashboard. For that reason, any purpose-specific wizards included with cartridges whose agents do not support the System lockbox do not provide this lockbox as an option when creating credentials.

•
Default: This lockbox is password-protected. The default password is foglight. Consider changing this password after the installation to protect its contents.

Use the Manage Lockboxes dashboard to view a list of lockboxes that exist in your system, to create and delete lockboxes, to change their password, and to release them to credential clients.

By default, the following columns are displayed:

•
Selection column: Check boxes for selecting lockboxes. A selected lockbox can be removed by clicking the Delete button.
•
Alarms: The total counts of outstanding credential alarms, broken down by alarm types (Fatal, Critical, and Warning).
•
Name: The lockbox name.
•
Credential Count: The number of credentials contained in the lockbox.
•
Credential Clients: Lists the clients to which this lockbox is released. This column is populated only if the check box Show lockboxes currently assigned to each client is selected on the View Clients dashboard. For more information, see Explore the View Clients dashboard.
•
Actions
•
Add or Remove Password:
Click to add a password to a lockbox that is not password-protected.
Click to remove a password associated with a password-protected lockbox.
•
Change Password: Click to change the lockbox’s password. For more information, see Change the password for a lockbox.
•
Release to Credential Clients: Click to release the lockbox. For more information, see Release lockboxes to credential clients.

Use the Add button to add a lockbox to the existing collection.

To delete a lockbox, In the left-most column in the list, select the check boxes for one or more lockboxes, then click Delete.

For more information, see Add or delete lockboxes.

Add or delete lockboxes

A lockbox contains one or more credentials, can be password-protected, and can be released to credential clients. If a lockbox is password-protected, you must know the password in order to release the lockbox to a client.

Typically you need one lockbox per client. In case your business scenario requires different encryption keys for different credentials, or managing user access through password control, it is possible to define multiple lockboxes for an individual client.

Delete lockboxes that are no longer needed. Deleting a lockbox deletes all credentials contained in the lockbox. It causes the clients using these credentials to receive a delete notification and stop using those credentials for authentication.

To add a lockbox:
1
On the Manage Lockboxes dashboard, click Add.
2
In the New Lockbox dialog box, in the Name box, type a unique name for the lockbox. For example, My Production Server Access.
3
Secure the lockbox with a password. Lockboxes that are secured with a password can only be released to clients or have their passwords changed by those users who know the password.
a
Select the Secure using a password check box.
b
In the Password and Confirm Password boxes, type the lockbox password.
4
Click Add.
The New Lockbox dialog box closes and the Manage Lockboxes dashboard refreshes, showing the newly created lockbox in the list.
To delete a lockbox:
1
On the Manage Lockboxes dashboard, select the check box in the row containing the lockbox that you want to delete.
2
Click Delete.
3
In the Confirm Deleting Lockboxes dialog box, click Confirm.
The Confirm Deleting Lockboxes dialog box closes.
4
Observe the Manage Lockboxes dashboard. The newly deleted lockbox no longer appears in the list.
Add or remove lockbox passwords

Lockboxes can be password-protected. Associating passwords with lockboxes enforces access control, allowing only authorized users to release lockboxes to credential clients. Removing a lockbox password enables any user to access the credentials stored in the lockbox.

To add a password to a lockbox that is not secured:
1
On the Manage Lockboxes dashboard, in the row containing the lockbox that you want to secure with a password, click .
2
In the Add Password To Lockbox dialog box, type the new password in the New Password and Confirm New Password boxes.
3
Click Confirm.
The Add Password To Lockbox dialog box closes and the Manage Lockboxes dashboard refreshes, showing the button in the Add or Remove Password column, indicating that a lockbox password is added and can be removed.
To remove a password from a secured lockbox:
1
On the Manage Lockboxes dashboard, in the row containing the lockbox whose password you want to remove, click .
2
In the Remove Password of Lockbox dialog box, type the existing lockbox password in the Lockbox Password box.
3
Click Confirm.
The Remove Password of Lockbox dialog box closes and the Manage Lockboxes dashboard refreshes, showing the button in the Add or Remove Password column, indicating that a lockbox password no longer exists and can be added.
Change the password for a lockbox

Lockboxes can be password-protected. Associating passwords with lockboxes enforces access control, allowing only authorized users to release lockboxes to respective credential clients.

To change a lockbox password:
1
On the Manage Lockboxes dashboard, in the row containing the lockbox whose password you want to change, click .
2
In the Change Password of Lockbox dialog box, type the current password in the Old Password box, and the new password in the New Password and Confirm New Password boxes.
3
Click Confirm.
The Change Password of Lockbox dialog box closes, indicating success.
Release lockboxes to credential clients

A lockbox contains a set of credentials and keys for their encryption and decryption. Credentials are released to credential clients unencrypted. When a lockbox is released to a credential client, the client passes the credential information to its agents. The agents use this information to establish connection with target resources.

 
* 
CAUTION: Any agents that have access to a credential client with a released lockbox can potentially query and obtain credential information stored within that lockbox.
To release a lockbox to a credential client:
1
On the Manage Lockboxes dashboard, in the row containing the lockbox that you want to release to a credential client, click .
The Release Lockbox to Credential Clients dialog box opens.
2
If the lockbox is password-protected, in the Release Lockbox to Credential Clients dialog box, type the lockbox password and select one or more credential clients for lockbox release.
 
* 
NOTE: The password box appears only if the selected lockbox is password-protected.
3
Click Release.
The Release Lockbox to Credential Clients dialog box closes, indicating success.
4
Optional — Ensure the Credential Clients column is populated.
a
Using the breadcrumb trail, return to the Credentials home page, and navigate to the View Clients dashboard.
b
On the View Clients dashboard, ensure that the Show lockboxes currently assigned to each client check box is selected.
c
Return to the Credentials home page.
d
Return to the Manage Lockboxes dashboard.
e
Refresh the web browser.
f
On the Manage Lockboxes dashboard, observe the Credential Clients column of the newly released lockbox entry. The column lists the credential clients to which the lockbox is assigned.
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