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CMS Features

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Problem Specification

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Original Problem

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+ This is the original specification given to us when we + started the project. The i-scream central monitoring + system meets this specification, and aims to extend it + further. This is, however, where it all began. +

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Key Features of The System

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Centralised Machine Monitoring

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+ The Computer Science department has a number of different machines + running a variety of different operating systems. One of the tasks + of the systems administrators is to make sure that the machines + don't run out of resources. This involves watching processor loads, + available disk space, swap space, etc. +

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+ It isn't practicle to monitor a large number of machines by logging + on and running commands such as 'uptime' on the unix machines, or + by using performance monitor for NT servers. Thus this project is + to write monitoring software for each platform supported which + reports resource usage back to one centralized location. System + Administrators would then be able to monitor all machines from this + centralised location. +

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+ Once this basic functionality is implemented it could usefully be + expanded to include logging of resource usage to identify longterm + trends/problems, alerter services which can directly contact + sysadmins (or even the general public) to bring attention to problem + areas. Ideally it should be possible to run multiple instances of + the reporting tool (with all instances being updated in realtime) + and to to be able to run the reporting tool as both as stand alone + application and embeded in a web page. +

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+ This project will require you to write code for the unix and Win32 + APIs using C and knowledge of how the underlying operating systems + manage resources. It will also require some network/distributed + systems code and a GUI front end for the reporting tool. It is + important for students undertaking this project to understand the + importance of writing efficient and small code as the end product + will really be most useful when machines start run out of processing + power/memory/disk. +

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+ John Cinnamond (email jc) whose idea this is, will provide technical + support for the project. +

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Features

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Key Features of The System

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  • A centrally stored, dynamically reloaded, system wide configuration system
  • A totally extendable monitoring system, nothing except the Host (which @@ -59,15 +105,15 @@
  • Large overhead monitor Helpdesk style displays for latest Alerting information
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An Overview of the i-scream Central Monitoring System

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An Overview of the i-scream Central Monitoring System

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The i-scream system monitors status and performance information obtained from machines feeding data into it and then displays this information in a variety of ways.

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This data is obtained through the running of small applications on the reporting machines. These applications are known as "Hosts". The i-scream system provides a range of hosts which are @@ -82,7 +128,7 @@ to the server that they are still alive.

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It is then fed into the i-scream server. The server then splits the data two ways. First it places the data in a database system, typically MySQL based, for later extraction and processing by the @@ -99,7 +145,7 @@ as it flows through the system.

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The final section of the system links the Local Client Monitors to an alerting system. These Monitors can be configured to detect changes in the data past threshold levels. When a threshold is @@ -109,16 +155,15 @@ when a certain level is reached, certain alerting mechanisms fire through whatever medium they are configured to send.

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