2010 11 10 AVKS OMNIBus Core Overview

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview
Venkat M. Surath
vsurath@us.ibm.com
2009 IBM Corporation
Agenda
What is Netcool/OMNIbus
Basic Architecture/Components
Object Server
Probs
Gateways
Administrator GUI Tool
Event List (Desktop)
Web GUI
Basic Failover
SQL Interface
Import/Export Utility
Process Agent (PA)
Server Editor
Proxy Server
Deployment Steps
Supported Platforms
Basic Failover
Multi-tiered Architecture
OMNIbus Automations
Triggers
Procedures
ObjectServer SQL
Troubleshooting
OMNIbus Probe Architecture
OMNIbus Gateways Architecture
Additional Information/References
Questions
Product Overview - What is Netcool/OMNIbus

It is a SLM system that collects enterprise-wide event information from a
wide variety of IT and network resources in real time.
Presents a consolidated view of this information to operators and
administrators for monitoring and management.
Tracks alerts/events in a high-performance, in-memory database, and
presents information of interest to specific users via filters and views.
Provides automation functions that can perform intelligent processing of
alerts.
Alerts (Events) information can then be:
Assigned to operators
Passed to helpdesk systems
Logged in a database
Replicated to remote OMNIbus system for consolidation/failover/HA
Used to trigger automatic responses to certain events
Netcool/OMNIbus - Basic Architecture
Netcool/OMNIbus - Components
ObjectServer
Probes
Gateways
Desktop Event List
Administration tools
The Web GUI Server
Gateway Target(s)
RDBMS
HelpDesk/CRM/Etc.
Netcool/OMNIbus Object Server

Provides the in-memory
database which is the core
Event information is forwarded to
the ObjectServer from
Probes, Gateways, etc.
Event information is stored and
managed in database tables
Events are displayed in Desktop
Event Lists
or Active Event List (AEL) in
the Web GUI
Provides Automations
Netcool/OMNIbus Probes
Probes connect to an event
source and
Detects/Acquires event data
Forwards the data to ObjectServer as
events/alerts
Probes use the logic specified in

a rules file
to map event elements to OS
fields/columns of alerts.status
Each probe is uniquely designed

to acquire event data from a specific
source
Probes can acquire data from

Sources like Network Devices,
Databases, Log Files
Netcool/OMNIbus - Gateways
Gateways enable exchange of events
between ObjectServer to
Applications, Databases,
Helpdesk, etc.
ObjectServer Gateways to replicate
events with
backup ObjectServer for failover
Application gateways integrate
business functions.
Eg. Reporting/Archiving, Auto
Trouble Ticketing, etc.
Transfer of events once configured is
transparent to operators
Netcool/OMNIbus Administrator GUI Tool

OMNIbus Administrator is a
graphical tool
OMNIbus Administrator can be
used to
Configure and Manage
ObjectServers
Configure process control
(PAs)
Started via
$OMNIHOME/bin/nco_config
Netcool Suite > Administrator
Netcool/OMNIbus - Administrator GUI Tool

Use Administrator to configure the
following ObjectServer objects:
Users, groups, roles, and restriction filters

Event list menus, Tools and prompts
Trigger groups/triggers/Procedures
User-defined signals
Event list alert severity colors
Conversions, Classes, Column Visuals
ObjectServer DB, Files, and properties
Channels for AEN
Note most of the functions are available via

CLI or SQL interface
10
Netcool/OMNIbus Event List (Desktop)

The desktop is an integrated
suite of graphical tools used to
View and manage events
Configure how event
information is presented
Event information is delivered in
a format that you can use to
Quickly determine the
availability of IT
resources/Services
Most of the features of the
desktop are also available in the
Web GUI component
11
Netcool/OMNIbus Event List (Desktop)
12
Netcool/OMNIbus Web GUI

The Web GUI is a Web-based application
that
Processes network events from one
or more data sources
Presents the event data to users in
various graphical formats
The Web GUI contains most features of
the /OMNIbus native desktop environment.
The Web GUI uses a client-server
architecture.
The Web GUI server runs inside Tivoli
Integrated Portal (TIP)
Clients connect to TIP to access the Web
GUI.
The Web GUI can be configured for
integrations with other Tivoli products.
13
Web GUI main components:

Active Event List (AEL)
A Java applet functionally similar to native
desktop
Lightweight Event List (LEL)

A dynamic HTML event list that provides the
data filtering, data sorting, and information drilldown capabilities of the AEL without the event
management tools
Table View
A static HTML event list in the form of a table
showing a defined set of alerts.
Event Dashboard
Presents the alert information as a series of
monitor boxes, from which you can open AELs.
Maps
Administrators can use maps to design visual
representations of a network and to create
interactive graphical views network
performance.
Chart rendering component

Administrators can create charts that present
high-level information to users in a number of
graphical formats including bar charts and pie
charts.
14
15
Netcool/OMNIbus SQL Interface

SQL interactive interface
Connect to an ObjectServer, and
use you to
SQL cmds. for defining and
manipulating database objects.
SQL cmds. to interact with, and
control, the objectServer
Enables tasks such as creating a
new database table or stopping
the ObjectServer
Available via Admin. GUI or CLI
Use nco_sql on UNIX, isql on

Windows or nco_config
16
Netcool/OMNIbus Import/Export Utility

Utility or Tool (nco_confpack):
Export and Import
configurations to deploy
duplicate systems
Extract a subset of
configuration items from
ObjectServers and import
them into other
ObjectServers
Save ObjectServer
configuration data for
backup/restore purposes
17
Netcool/OMNIbus Process Agent (PA)

PA performs two primary tasks:
It runs external procedures that are
specified in automations.
It manages local and remote
processes.
PA is used to configure remote processes
in order to simplify the management of
OMNIbus components
ObjectServers, probes, and
gateways.
The process control system consists of:
Process agents installed on each host
for managing processes
A set of command-line utilities that
provide an interface to process
management
18
Netcool/OMNIbus Server Editor

Server Editor used to
maintain communication
information for the OMINbus
components
Interfaces files
The desktop client and client
components connects to the
ObjectServer using the port
defined by the interfaces file
for communications.
19
Netcool/OMNIbus Server Editor

Use the Server Editor to
Create and modify
communication details
(interfaces file)
Test server activity (nco_ping)
Configure virtual server for
failover pair (primary/backkup)
To start the Server Editor
On Windows Click Start
Programs Netcool Suite
System Utilities Servers Editor
$NCHOME/omnibus/bin/nco_xig
en at Unix cmd. prompt
20
Netcool/OMNIbus Proxy Server

Usually alerts are forwarded
directly to the ObjectServer.
When a large number of probes
and desktops connects directly to
the ObjectServer, there can be a
negative impact on performance.
Proxy server can reduce the
number of probe connections
Multiple probe connections
made to the proxy server are
multiplexed and forwarded
through a single connection
to the ObjectServer.
21
Netcool/OMNIbus - Deployment Steps

Step 1: Access software and Product
documentation
From Passport Advantage, XL, etc.
Step 2: Evaluate H/W and S/W system

required
See Planning information
Step 3: Review the base architecture

Step 4: Install the non-Web components of
Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus
Step 5: Create an ObjectServer database
for use
Step 6: Install the probe and gateway
components
Download and install the required
probe and gateway components
22
Netcool/OMNIbus - Deployment Steps

Step 7: Set up the connections between
server components
Define and generate the interface file
using the Server Editor
Step 8: Install and configure the Web GUI
component (optoinal)
Before installing the Web GUI
component, start the ObjectServer.
Step 9: Configure process agents
(optional) to manage processes
Step 10: Install additional desktop clients
(optional)
On additional user workstations, if
required.
23
Netcool/OMNIbus Supported Platforms

Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus is supported
on various versions of UNIX, Linux,
and Windows.
aix5 - AIX systems
hpux11 - HP-UX PA-RISC-based
systems
hpux11hpia - HP-UX Integritybased systems
linux2x86 - Red Hat Linux and
SUSE systems
linux2s390 - Linux for System z
solaris2 - Solaris systems

win32 - Windows systems
24
Netcool/OMNIbus Starting/Stopping ObjectServer

To start an ObjectServer as a
process, enter the following
command:
nco_pa_start -process ObjectServer
Use the nco_objserv command

to start the ObjectServer
manually.
$NCHOME/omnibus/bin/nco_objserv
[ -name servername ]
To stop an ObjectServer as a
process, enter the following
command:
nco_pa_stop -process ObjectServer
Use the SQL interactive interface

connects to ObjectServer. When
the SQL prompt is displayed,
enter the following commands:
1> alter system shutdown;
2> go
25
Netcool/OMNIbus Basic Failover

The virtual ObjectServer is
configured using
Primary/Backup failover pair
Desktops, gateways, and probes
are connected to the failover pair
If the primary object server fails,
Clients switch to the backup
automatically
When the primary object server
is available again,
Clients reconnect
automatically to it (Fallback)
26
Netcool/OMNIbus Multi-tiered Architecture

The standard multitiered
architecture ( 3-Tire )
Collection
Aggregation
Display
ObjectServers and associated
ObjectServer Gateways
27
Netcool/OMNIbus - Automations
Processes alerts without
requiring an operator to take
action
For example,
Generic_Clear Trigger
Deduplication Trigger
Netcool/OMNIbus includes a
number of standard
automations
Include Triggers, Signals, and
External Procedures
28
Netcool/OMNIbus - Automations
Triggers automatically perform a trigger
action or fire
when the ObjectServer detects an
incident (DB change) associated with
a trigger
Triggers can can run in response to
changes
SQL commands
Call procedures
Signals are also part of the automation
subsystem
Signals can have triggers attached
ObjectServer can automatically
respond to signals are raised
Procedures are executable programs that
are created to perform common operations
29
Netcool/OMNIbus Automations - Triggers

Trigger Types
Database triggers
Pre/Post database action
Delete/Insert/Reinsert/Update
Signal triggers
Signal triggers fire when a
system or user-defined signal
is raised
Temporal triggers
Temporal triggers fire based
on a specified frequency
For example, delete_clear
30
Netcool/OMNIbus Automations - Procedures

A procedure is an executable object that
can be called to perform common
operations.
The types of procedures are as follows:
SQL procedures, which manipulate
data in an ObjectServer database
For example, SQL procedure that
generates a report on the total number
of alerts received (and deduplicated) for
a given node
External procedures, which run an

executable file on a local or remote
system
For example, external procedure calls a
program called nco_mail, which sends
e-mail about unacknowledged critical
alerts.
31
Netcool/OMNIbus - ObjectServer SQL

ObjectServer SQL commands include:
DDL cmds. to create, alter, and drop DB
objects
DML cmds. to query and manipulate data in
existing database objects
System cmds. to alter the configuration of
an ObjectServer
SQL interactive interface to connects to an

ObjectServer and run SQL commands.
UNIX nco_sql -server servername user username; Windows isql -S
servername -U username
nco_sql -server OS1 -username
myuser -password mypass
1> select * from alerts.status;
2> go
32
Netcool/OMNIbus - ObjectServer Troubleshooting

Check Environment variables
$NCHOME, and $OMNIHOME
Check nco process
PA, ps eaf | grep nco
Check Port Usage
netstat -na | grep 4100
Check the interface file
Servers Editor (nco_xigen)
Check DEBUG logs
MessageLevel DEBUG
Check DB Size (number of events)
select count(*) from alerts.status;
Check ObjectServer profile
Enable Profiling
33
Additional Information/References
IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus
documentation
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocent
er/tivihelp/v8r1/index.jsp
IBM Redbooks
Certification Guide Series: IBM Tivoli
Netcool/Webtop V2.0 Implementation
Best Practices for IBM Tivoli Enterprise
Console to Netcool/OMNIbus Upgrade
Integration Guide for IBM Tivoli
Netcool/OMNIbus, IBM Tivoli Network
Manager, and IBM Tivoli Netcool
Configuration Manager
34
Netcool/OMNIbus - Probe Architecture
35
The function of a probe is to acquire

information from an event source and
forward it to the ObjectServer.
Probes use tokens and elements, and

apply rules, to transform event source
data into a format that the ObjectServer
can recognize.
1.
Event data is generated by the probe

target.
2.
The probe acquires the event data and

processes it based on a rules file. The
probe then forwards the processed data
to the ObjectServer as an alert.
3.
The ObjectServer stores and manages

alerts, which can be displayed in the
event list, and optionally forwarded to one
or more gateways.
Netcool/OMNIbus - Probe Architecture

1. The probe breaks the raw event data into
tokens.
2. The probe then parses these tokens into
elements and processes the elements
according to the rules in the rules file.
Elements are identified in the rules
file by the $ symbol. For example,
$Node.
3. Elements are used to assign values to
ObjectServer fields.
Elements are indicated by the @
symbol.
4. Fields make up the alerts that are
forwarded to the ObjectServer, and are
stored/managed in the alerts.status table.
5. The Identifier field is derived or generated
by the rules file and is used for
deduplication.
36
Netcool/OMNIbus - Probes
Universal Probes, for
example,
SNMP probe - nco_p_mttrapd
Log File Probe - nco_p_glf
ODBC Probe - nco_p_odbc
Specific Probes, fore

example,
Tivoli EIF Probe nco_p_tivoli_eif
Cisco PIX Probe - nco_p_pix
Microsoft SCOM Probe -nco-p-scom2007
37
Netcool/OMNIbus - Probe Types

Probes can be categorized based on how
they acquire events. The types of probes
are:
Device
Log file
Database
API
CORBA
Miscellaneous
The probe type is determined by the

method in which the probe detects events.
For example,
Probe for Agile ATM Switch Management
detects events produced by a device, but it
gets events from a log file, not directly from
the switch. So, it is considered as a log file
probe and not a device probe.
Probe for Oracle obtains event data from a
database table, and is a database probe.
38
Netcool/OMNIbus Probe Components

Netcool/OMNIbus probe usually
consists of the following primary
components:
an executable file, a properties file,

a rules file, and Optional additional probe specific
components.
The executable file is the core of a

probe. It connects to the event source,
processes events, and forwards the
events to the ObjectServer as alerts.
The executable file for the Simnet Probe that runs on

Linux is:
$OMNIHOME/probes/linux2x86/nco_p_simnet
To start Simnet Probe on UNIX, run the

wrapper script :
$OMNIHOME/probes/nco_p_simnet
When the probe starts, it gets the
configuration information from event
definition, properties, and rules file
39
simnet.def, simnet.props, simnet.rules
Netcool/OMNIbus Gateways
40
41
The preceding figure illustrates how to use

gateways for a variety of purposes:
1. Probes send alerts to the local
ObjectServer.
2. The ObjectServer Gateway replicates
alerts between ObjectServers in a
failover configuration.
3. The Helpdesk gateway integrates the
Network Operations Center (NOC)
and the helpdesk by converting
trouble tickets to alerts, and alerts to
trouble tickets.
4. The RDBMS gateway stores critical
alerts in a relational database
management system (RDBMS) so
that you can analyze network
performance.
Gateways can send alerts to
a variety of targets:
Another ObjectServer (Uni
& Bi Gateway)
A database (ODBC
Gateway)
A helpdesk application
(Remedy Gateway)
Other applications or
devices (Flat File
Gateway)
42
A unidirectional ObjectServer
Gateway
allows alerts to flow from a
source ObjectServer to a
destination ObjectServer
A bidirectional ObjectServer
Gateway
allows alerts to flow from
both source/destination
ObjectServer
43
Gateways have reader and
writer components.
Readers extract alerts from
the ObjectServer.
Writers forward alerts to

another ObjectServer or to
other applications.
44
45
Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus gateways
Gateway for Clarify
Flat File Writer Gateway
Gateway for HP ServiceCenter
ObjectServer Gateway Guide for V7.3.0
ObjectServer Gateway Guide for V7.2.1
ObjectServer Gateway Guide for V7.2
ODBC Gateway
Gateway for Oracle
Gateway for Remedy ARS
Gateway for Siebel
SNMP Writer Gateway
Socket Writer Gateway
TCP Echo Utility Gateway
Gateway for Tivoli EIF
Gateway for TSRM
Message Bus Integration
Integration with TSRM
Questions
46

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Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

2009 IBM Corporation

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

OMNIbus Probe Architecture

OMNIbus Gateways Architecture

2009 IBM Corporation

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

Product Overview - What is Netcool/OMNIbus

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

2009 IBM Corporation

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

Netcool/OMNIbus - Basic Architecture

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

2009 IBM Corporation

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

2009 IBM Corporation

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

Netcool/OMNIbus Object Server

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

2009 IBM Corporation

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

Probes use the logic specified in

Each probe is uniquely designed

Probes can acquire data from

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

2009 IBM Corporation

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

2009 IBM Corporation

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

Netcool/OMNIbus Administrator GUI Tool

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

2009 IBM Corporation

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

Netcool/OMNIbus - Administrator GUI Tool

Users, groups, roles, and restriction filters

Note most of the functions are available via

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

2009 IBM Corporation

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

Netcool/OMNIbus Event List (Desktop)

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

2009 IBM Corporation

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

Netcool/OMNIbus Event List (Desktop)

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

2009 IBM Corporation

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

Netcool/OMNIbus Web GUI

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

2009 IBM Corporation

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

Netcool/OMNIbus Web GUI

Web GUI main components:

Lightweight Event List (LEL)

Chart rendering component

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview

2009 IBM Corporation

Netcool/OMNIBus Core Overview