About Status

Contents

This page reviews the GroundWork Monitor Status application.

1.0 Viewing Monitoring Status

With the Status interface, users have access to various critical views into their company's IT infrastructure including high level status of all servers, applications, networks, and services as they near or breach thresholds.

The majority of the Status application relies on GroundWork-developed technology that extracts, normalizes and stores monitoring status data in a separate embedded database and makes the data available via an application programming interface (API). The interface itself is written using PHP, a widely used open source scripting language, resulting in much higher performance than is possible with the Nagios current interface built using Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripts. Also, Status utilizes AJAX-based dynamic inter-activity which allows data updates to occur regularly without reloading the entire page.

2.0 Status Screen Layout

Let's start with an overview of the Status application's screen layout. Basically, this page has two main parts, the Tree View portlet on the left side and various monitoring data portlets located on the right. Additionally, above the portlets are tabs for easy access to previously viewed pages.

Figure: Status screen layout

2.1 Navigating Using Tree View

The Tree View portlet provides the tabs; Hosts, Services, and Search. The host and services tabs display lists of monitored host groups and service groups, and the search tab enables quick access to specified monitoring objects based on the entered host, service, alias, and IP address criteria. The listed host and service groups are expandable so you can view detailed host and service status quickly. Each object is preceded by a color-coded status indicator, which is referred to as the bubble up feature, and indicates the most critical state of an underlying object.

When a specific component level is selected the corresponding monitoring data is then displayed within portlets on the right side of the screen. These portlets display status information in various formats including summaries, charts, performance graphs, and events, and allows drilling-down to detailed data. You can apply and execute commands such as scheduling downtime or other actions. The specific portlets that are displayed and the actions that are available vary depending on the component that is selected.

Additionally, when using the Search tab, the search results provide status indicators, mouse over summaries, and drill-down capability to go directly to that components monitoring data. Search results can also be sorted by Host, Host Group, Service, Service Group, and alphabetically.

In our example below, you can see that the host group Linux Services, has a status indicator of UP due to the bubbling up status information of the underlying host localhost that has several OK services. Along with the quick bubble up feature, the Tree View portlet offers quick mouse over object level information where you can mouse over an elements name to view its summary. In our example, we mouse over the host group Linux Servers to display the information, Alias: Linux Servers Summary, Hosts: 2, Troubled Hosts: 0, and Troubled Services: 0.

Figure: Tree view portlet

2.2 Host and Service States

The table below summarizes the icons which represent host group/host, and service group/service states. Host icons are square and service are round. The parent node shows the most critical state,(e.g. a Host Group will be displayed as Down if any of the underlying Hosts are in a Down state).

Hosts Host Groups Down Unscheduled - A host is in a non-OK state and it has been rechecked the number of times specified by the max_check_attempts option in the host definition. Down Scheduled - A host is in a non-OK state and it has been rechecked the number of times specified by the max_check_attempts option in the host definition. Hosts are scheduled for downtime. Warning - Host or host group that eventually need attention. Unreachable - A host is unreachable or is in a non-OK state. This directive is specified by the notification_options argument in the host definition. Pending - Usually temporary and means that the state has not yet been determined. Up - A host is in an OK state and fully operating.

Service Service Groups Critical Unscheduled - Services for a host or host group is unavailable or down and needs immediate attention. Critical Scheduled - Services for a host or host group is unavailable or down and needs immediate attention. Services are scheduled for downtime. Warning - Services for a host or host group that eventually need attention. Unknown - Services for a host or host group that is unrecognized and cannot be categorized in one of the other states. Pending - Services for all hosts and host groups that have not yet been determined. Pending status usually does not stay for a long period of time. OK - Number of services for all hosts and host groups where the monitor is OK or correctly functioning.

3.0 Status Views

3.1 Entire Network Level

Upon launching Status you will see a page showing the first level of monitored components; Entire Network, which displays a one page high-level summary of your IT infrastructure status. It provides a quick summary of aggregated monitoring information including breaches, warnings, and OK summaries for the entire network.

Portlet views

This screen displays the Filters portlet, and the various Status Summary portlets, along with a Nagios Monitor Statistics table for the entire network.

• Filters portlet - This portlet allows specific host and or service states to be filtered and displayed. Selections made in these drop-downs affect the displayed contents of all other portlets on the Status page.
• Status Summary portlets - These portlets show monitoring statistics at the Entire Network, Host and Service Groups, and Host levels with drill-down capability for viewing detailed data. The graphs provide an at-a-glance filtered view of your overall host and service status representing segments of host states and service states. The displayed values indicate the number of filtered and total hosts and services in a specific state (e.g. Down, Up). The total columns indicate the total number of monitored hosts or services. By selecting a status summary link you will be presented with a popup window listing associated objects of the selected status. You can then continue to drill-down into one of the listed components for additional detail and you can directly acknowledge a host or service problem.

Nagios monitor statistics table

This table shows the number of services and hosts that have a monitoring feature setting that is enabled or disabled, in this case for the entire network. The corresponding numerical values are displayed in the host and service status summaries mentioned above. The color-coded indicators show the global state of the feature. Feature settings include Active Checks, Passive Checks, Notifications, Flap Detection, and Event Handlers for host and services (described in the table below). This portlet is also viewable at the host group level.

Figure: Entire network view

3.2 Host Group Status Level

Portlet views

In this section we'll drill-down into the next level, Host Groups (e.g. ESX:morges.groundwork.groundworkopesource.com). Also note in our example below, you can see that this host is part of two custom groups; VE-VMWare and ESX-CORP, where ESX:morges.groundwork.groundworkopesource.com is the host group with its status displayed. A [Custom Groups] is a collection of host group or service group objects at the user interface level which allows for more freedom to group business functions, locations or infrastructure setup (e.g. workstations, servers, services) and make them more user accessible.

• Host Group Health portlet - This portlet provides quick status for the selected host groups host and service availability. A color coded status indicator shows the host group's, as a parent node, most critical state, (e.g. a Host Group will be displayed as Down if any of the underlying Hosts are in a Down state).
• Filters portlet - As in the Entire Network level outlined above, the host group level also provides a filters portlet to allow specific host and or service states to be filtered and displayed. Selections made in these drop-downs affect the displayed contents of all other portlets on the Status page.
• The Status Summary portlets - These portlets show monitoring statistics with drill-down capability for viewing detailed data.
• Events, Nagios Statistics, Host List - At the bottom of the page you can expand the view to display Events, Nagios Monitoring Statistics for the selected host group, and a Host List of all hosts that are part of the selected host group being displayed. The Events portlet is an embedded Event Console application which provides an event list for the entire network along with the capability of applying actions (e.g. Accept Log Message, Notify Log Message, Nagios Acknowledge), sorting, and pausing incoming events. The Host List portlet provides a listing and status of the host group's hosts. Each device name (Host Name) can be selected to drill-down into more detail, and each host problem can be directly acknowledged.
  
  Figure: Host group level status
  

3.3 Host Status Level

Portlet views

Here we take a look at the Host level (e.g. cent-6-64-template). The host level provides the portlet views;

• Actions portlet - At the host level the Actions portlet provides the command categories; Acknowledge, Downtime, Notifications, Settings, Event Handlers, Check Results and Connections. These settings are reflected in various portlets on this page. The available commands throughout the Status application depends on the current status of the object in question. For example, if a Host is not in a Down state you will not see the action category Acknowledge, or if Event Handlers are already disabled for a host, the Disable Event Handler command for this host will not be listed; however, the Enable Event Handler will be.
• Host Health portlet - The Host Health portlet provides quick status and information for the selected host. A color-coded status indicator shows the host as a parent node in the most critical state,(e.g. a Host will be displayed as Down if any of the underlying services are in a Down state). In addition, the time the host has been in the current state, and the number of Groups and Parents for this host are conveniently listed. The listed Groups and Parents can be selected to show a popup window with status information and further drill-down capability.
• Filters portlet - The Filters portlet, mentioned in an earlier section, allows specific service states to be filtered and displayed in all other portlets on the Status page.
• Status Information portlet - The host level also provides a host Status Information portlet showing detailed status and check information. Here you can directly schedule downtime or disable notifications, and schedule or disable checks.
• Monitoring Statistics portlet - The Monitoring Statistics for host services portlet shows monitoring statistics with drill-down capability for viewing associated detailed data. In this case, service status for the selected host group.

Host Availability & Performance Measurement, Service List, and Events

At the bottom of this host status screen you can expand the view to display Host Availability, Performance Measurement, the host Service List,  and Events;

• Host Availability and Performance Measurement - The Recent State Changes (Host Availability) portlet shows the total number of host services and shows dynamic state changes for any of the host's services for an indicated time (e.g. Today, Last 24 Hours). Also provides RRD graphs for the various host services. These graphs are arranged in the same order of the Host Availability portlet above and aligned too by their timelines. The integrated performance graphs display time-series data such as; network bandwidth, CPU utilization, machine-room temperature, transaction response times, and server load averages. Note, graphs may not be available for a service unless configured by your System Administrator using the Configuration>Performance feature in GroundWork Monitor. See the Performance reference section for more information on configuring performance graphs.
• The Service List portlet lists the hosts services and their status. Each Service Name can be selected to drill-down for more detail, and each service problem can be directly acknowledged.
• The Events portlet displays an integrated console, in this level the console provides an event list for the selected host along with the capability of applying actions.
  
  Figure: Host level status
  

3.4 Service Status Level

The bottom level is Service status (e.g. syn.vm.cpu.cpuToMax.used). The service level provides the portlet views;

Portlet views

• Service Health portlet - As in the previously reviewed Host Health portlet, the Service Health portlet provides quick status and information for the selected service. A color-coded status indicator shows the service state along with the time the host has been in the current state. Listed are associated hosts and number of groups for this service, both of which you can drill-down into for more detailed information.
• Status Information portlet - As we viewed in the host level, similarly the service level provides a service Status Information portlet showing detailed status and check information for the selected service. Here you can directly schedule downtime or disable notifications, and schedule or disable checks.
• Service Availability & Performance Measurement - Provide host service state changes and performance measurement RRD graphs for the selected service and events. 

• The Events portlet displays an integrated console, in this level the console provides an event list for the selected host along with the capability of applying actions.
  
  Figure: Service level status
  

4.0 Command Descriptions

4.1 Host Group Commands

4.2 Host Commands

4.3 Service Group Commands

4.4 Service Commands