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<title>CMS Features</title> |
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CMS Features |
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<div id="contents"> |
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<h1 class="top">CMS Features</h1> |
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<h2>Problem Specification</h2> |
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|
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<h3>Original Problem</h3> |
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|
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<p> |
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This is the original specification given to us when we |
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started the project. The i-scream central monitoring |
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system meets this specification, and aims to extend it |
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further. This is, however, where it all began. |
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</p> |
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|
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<h3>Centralised Machine Monitoring</h3> |
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|
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<p> |
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The Computer Science department has a number of different machines |
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running a variety of different operating systems. One of the tasks |
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of the systems administrators is to make sure that the machines |
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don't run out of resources. This involves watching processor loads, |
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< |
available disk space, swap space, etc. |
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< |
</p> |
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|
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<p> |
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It isn't practicle to monitor a large number of machines by logging |
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< |
on and running commands such as 'uptime' on the unix machines, or |
| 41 |
< |
by using performance monitor for NT servers. Thus this project is |
| 42 |
< |
to write monitoring software for each platform supported which |
| 43 |
< |
reports resource usage back to one centralized location. System |
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< |
Administrators would then be able to monitor all machines from this |
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< |
centralised location. |
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</p> |
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< |
|
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< |
<p> |
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Once this basic functionality is implemented it could usefully be |
| 50 |
< |
expanded to include logging of resource usage to identify longterm |
| 51 |
< |
trends/problems, alerter services which can directly contact |
| 52 |
< |
sysadmins (or even the general public) to bring attention to problem |
| 53 |
< |
areas. Ideally it should be possible to run multiple instances of |
| 54 |
< |
the reporting tool (with all instances being updated in realtime) |
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< |
and to to be able to run the reporting tool as both as stand alone |
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< |
application and embeded in a web page. |
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</p> |
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|
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<p> |
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This project will require you to write code for the unix and Win32 |
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< |
APIs using C and knowledge of how the underlying operating systems |
| 62 |
< |
manage resources. It will also require some network/distributed |
| 63 |
< |
systems code and a GUI front end for the reporting tool. It is |
| 64 |
< |
important for students undertaking this project to understand the |
| 65 |
< |
importance of writing efficient and small code as the end product |
| 66 |
< |
will really be most useful when machines start run out of processing |
| 67 |
< |
power/memory/disk. |
| 68 |
< |
</p> |
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< |
|
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<p> |
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John Cinnamond (email jc) whose idea this is, will provide technical |
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< |
support for the project. |
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</p> |
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|
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<h2>Features</h2> |
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|
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<h3>Key Features of The System</h3> |
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|
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<ul> |
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<li>A centrally stored, dynamically reloaded, system wide configuration system</li> |
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< |
<li>A totally extendable monitoring system, nothing except the Host (which |
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< |
generates the data) and the Clients (which view it) know any details about |
| 83 |
< |
the data being sent, allowing data to be modified without changes to the |
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< |
server architecture.</li> |
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<li>Central server and reporting tools all Java based for multi-platform portability</li> |
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< |
<li>Distribution of core server components over CORBA to allow appropriate components |
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< |
to run independently and to allow new components to be written to conform with the |
| 88 |
< |
CORBA interfaces.</li> |
| 89 |
< |
<li>Use of CORBA to create a hierarchical set of data entry points to the system |
| 90 |
< |
allowing the system to handle event storms and remote office locations.</li> |
| 91 |
< |
<li>One location for all system messages, despite being distributed.</li> |
| 92 |
< |
<li>XML data protocol used to make data processing and analysing easily extendable</li> |
| 93 |
< |
<li>A stateless server which can be moved and restarted at will, while Hosts, |
| 94 |
< |
Clients, and reporting tools are unaffected and simply reconnect when the |
| 95 |
< |
server is available again.</li> |
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< |
<li>Simple and open end protocols to allow easy extension and platform porting of Hosts |
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< |
and Clients.</li> |
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<li>Self monitoring, as all data queues within the system can be monitored and raise |
| 99 |
< |
alerts to warn of event storms and impending failures (should any occur).</li> |
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< |
<li>A variety of web based information displays based on Java/SQL reporting and |
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< |
PHP on-the-fly page generation to show the latest alerts and data</li> |
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<li>Large overhead monitor Helpdesk style displays for latest Alerting information</li> |
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</ul> |
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|
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<h3>An Overview of the i-scream Central Monitoring System</h3> |
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< |
|
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<p> |
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< |
The i-scream system monitors status and performance information |
| 109 |
< |
obtained from machines feeding data into it and then displays |
| 110 |
< |
this information in a variety of ways. |
| 111 |
< |
</p> |
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< |
|
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<p> |
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This data is obtained through the running of small applications |
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< |
on the reporting machines. These applications are known as |
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< |
"Hosts". The i-scream system provides a range of hosts which are |
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< |
designed to be small and lightweight in their configuration and |
| 118 |
< |
operation. See the website and appropriate documentation to |
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< |
locate currently available Host applications. These hosts are |
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< |
simply told where to contact the server at which point they are |
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< |
totally autonomous. They are able to obtain configuration from |
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< |
the server, detect changes in their configuration, send data |
| 123 |
< |
packets (via UDP) containing monitoring information, and send |
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< |
so called "Heartbeat" packets (via TCP) periodically to indicate |
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< |
to the server that they are still alive. |
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< |
</p> |
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|
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<p> |
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It is then fed into the i-scream server. The server then splits |
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< |
the data two ways. First it places the data in a database system, |
| 131 |
< |
typically MySQL based, for later extraction and processing by the |
| 132 |
< |
i-scream report generation tools. It then passes it onto to |
| 133 |
< |
real-time "Clients" which handle the data as it enters the system. |
| 134 |
< |
The system itself has an internal real-time client called the "Local |
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< |
Client" which has a series of Monitors running which can analyse the |
| 136 |
< |
data. One of these Monitors also feeds the data off to a file |
| 137 |
< |
repository, which is updated as new data comes in for each machine, |
| 138 |
< |
this data is then read and displayed by the i-scream web services |
| 139 |
< |
to provide a web interface to the data. The system also allows TCP |
| 140 |
< |
connections by non-local clients (such as the i-scream supplied |
| 141 |
< |
Conient), these applications provide a real-time view of the data |
| 142 |
< |
as it flows through the system. |
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< |
</p> |
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< |
|
| 145 |
< |
<p> |
| 146 |
< |
The final section of the system links the Local Client Monitors to |
| 147 |
< |
an alerting system. These Monitors can be configured to detect |
| 148 |
< |
changes in the data past threshold levels. When a threshold is |
| 149 |
< |
breached an alert is raised. This alert is then escalated as the |
| 150 |
< |
alert persists through four live levels, NOTICE, WARNING, CAUTION |
| 151 |
< |
and CRITICAL. The alerting system keeps an eye on the level and |
| 152 |
< |
when a certain level is reached, certain alerting mechanisms fire |
| 153 |
< |
through whatever medium they are configured to send. |
| 154 |
< |
</p> |
| 155 |
< |
</div> |
| 156 |
< |
|
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> |
<div id="contents"> |
| 13 |
> |
<h1 class="top"> |
| 14 |
> |
CMS Features |
| 15 |
> |
</h1> |
| 16 |
> |
<h2> |
| 17 |
> |
Problem Specification |
| 18 |
> |
</h2> |
| 19 |
> |
<h3> |
| 20 |
> |
Original Problem |
| 21 |
> |
</h3> |
| 22 |
> |
<p> |
| 23 |
> |
This is the original specification given to us when we |
| 24 |
> |
started the project. The i-scream central monitoring system |
| 25 |
> |
meets this specification, and aims to extend it further. |
| 26 |
> |
This is, however, where it all began. |
| 27 |
> |
</p> |
| 28 |
> |
<h3> |
| 29 |
> |
Centralised Machine Monitoring |
| 30 |
> |
</h3> |
| 31 |
> |
<p> |
| 32 |
> |
The Computer Science department has a number of different |
| 33 |
> |
machines running a variety of different operating systems. |
| 34 |
> |
One of the tasks of the systems administrators is to make |
| 35 |
> |
sure that the machines don't run out of resources. This |
| 36 |
> |
involves watching processor loads, available disk space, |
| 37 |
> |
swap space, etc. |
| 38 |
> |
</p> |
| 39 |
> |
<p> |
| 40 |
> |
It isn't practicle to monitor a large number of machines by |
| 41 |
> |
logging on and running commands such as 'uptime' on the |
| 42 |
> |
unix machines, or by using performance monitor for NT |
| 43 |
> |
servers. Thus this project is to write monitoring software |
| 44 |
> |
for each platform supported which reports resource usage |
| 45 |
> |
back to one centralised location. System Administrators |
| 46 |
> |
would then be able to monitor all machines from this |
| 47 |
> |
centralised location. |
| 48 |
> |
</p> |
| 49 |
> |
<p> |
| 50 |
> |
Once this basic functionality is implemented it could |
| 51 |
> |
usefully be expanded to include logging of resource usage |
| 52 |
> |
to identify longterm trends/problems, alerter services |
| 53 |
> |
which can directly contact sysadmins (or even the general |
| 54 |
> |
public) to bring attention to problem areas. Ideally it |
| 55 |
> |
should be possible to run multiple instances of the |
| 56 |
> |
reporting tool (with all instances being updated in |
| 57 |
> |
realtime) and to to be able to run the reporting tool as |
| 58 |
> |
both as stand alone application and embeded in a web page. |
| 59 |
> |
</p> |
| 60 |
> |
<p> |
| 61 |
> |
This project will require you to write code for the unix |
| 62 |
> |
and Win32 APIs using C and knowledge of how the underlying |
| 63 |
> |
operating systems manage resources. It will also require |
| 64 |
> |
some network/distributed systems code and a GUI front end |
| 65 |
> |
for the reporting tool. It is important for students |
| 66 |
> |
undertaking this project to understand the importance of |
| 67 |
> |
writing efficient and small code as the end product will |
| 68 |
> |
really be most useful when machines start run out of |
| 69 |
> |
processing power/memory/disk. |
| 70 |
> |
</p> |
| 71 |
> |
<p> |
| 72 |
> |
John Cinnamond (email jc) whose idea this is, will provide |
| 73 |
> |
technical support for the project. |
| 74 |
> |
</p> |
| 75 |
> |
<h2> |
| 76 |
> |
Features |
| 77 |
> |
</h2> |
| 78 |
> |
<h3> |
| 79 |
> |
Key Features of The System |
| 80 |
> |
</h3> |
| 81 |
> |
<ul> |
| 82 |
> |
<li>A centrally stored, dynamically reloaded, system wide |
| 83 |
> |
configuration system |
| 84 |
> |
</li> |
| 85 |
> |
<li>A totally extendable monitoring system, nothing except |
| 86 |
> |
the Host (which generates the data) and the Clients (which |
| 87 |
> |
view it) know any details about the data being sent, |
| 88 |
> |
allowing data to be modified without changes to the server |
| 89 |
> |
architecture. |
| 90 |
> |
</li> |
| 91 |
> |
<li>Central server and reporting tools all Java based for |
| 92 |
> |
multi-platform portability |
| 93 |
> |
</li> |
| 94 |
> |
<li>Distribution of core server components over CORBA to |
| 95 |
> |
allow appropriate components to run independently and to |
| 96 |
> |
allow new components to be written to conform with the |
| 97 |
> |
CORBA interfaces. |
| 98 |
> |
</li> |
| 99 |
> |
<li>Use of CORBA to create a hierarchical set of data entry |
| 100 |
> |
points to the system allowing the system to handle event |
| 101 |
> |
storms and remote office locations. |
| 102 |
> |
</li> |
| 103 |
> |
<li>One location for all system messages, despite being |
| 104 |
> |
distributed. |
| 105 |
> |
</li> |
| 106 |
> |
<li>XML data protocol used to make data processing and |
| 107 |
> |
analysing easily extendable |
| 108 |
> |
</li> |
| 109 |
> |
<li>A stateless server which can be moved and restarted at |
| 110 |
> |
will, while Hosts, Clients, and reporting tools are |
| 111 |
> |
unaffected and simply reconnect when the server is |
| 112 |
> |
available again. |
| 113 |
> |
</li> |
| 114 |
> |
<li>Simple and open end protocols to allow easy extension |
| 115 |
> |
and platform porting of Hosts and Clients. |
| 116 |
> |
</li> |
| 117 |
> |
<li>Self monitoring, as all data queues within the system |
| 118 |
> |
can be monitored and raise alerts to warn of event storms |
| 119 |
> |
and impending failures (should any occur). |
| 120 |
> |
</li> |
| 121 |
> |
<li>A variety of web based information displays based on |
| 122 |
> |
Java/SQL reporting and PHP on-the-fly page generation to |
| 123 |
> |
show the latest alerts and data |
| 124 |
> |
</li> |
| 125 |
> |
<li>Large overhead monitor Helpdesk style displays for |
| 126 |
> |
latest Alerting information |
| 127 |
> |
</li> |
| 128 |
> |
</ul> |
| 129 |
> |
<h3> |
| 130 |
> |
An Overview of the i-scream Central Monitoring System |
| 131 |
> |
</h3> |
| 132 |
> |
<p> |
| 133 |
> |
The i-scream system monitors status and performance |
| 134 |
> |
information obtained from machines feeding data into it and |
| 135 |
> |
then displays this information in a variety of ways. |
| 136 |
> |
</p> |
| 137 |
> |
<p> |
| 138 |
> |
This data is obtained through the running of small |
| 139 |
> |
applications on the reporting machines. These applications |
| 140 |
> |
are known as "Hosts". The i-scream system provides a range |
| 141 |
> |
of hosts which are designed to be small and lightweight in |
| 142 |
> |
their configuration and operation. See the website and |
| 143 |
> |
appropriate documentation to locate currently available |
| 144 |
> |
Host applications. These hosts are simply told where to |
| 145 |
> |
contact the server at which point they are totally |
| 146 |
> |
autonomous. They are able to obtain configuration from the |
| 147 |
> |
server, detect changes in their configuration, send data |
| 148 |
> |
packets (via UDP) containing monitoring information, and |
| 149 |
> |
send so called "Heartbeat" packets (via TCP) periodically |
| 150 |
> |
to indicate to the server that they are still alive. |
| 151 |
> |
</p> |
| 152 |
> |
<p> |
| 153 |
> |
It is then fed into the i-scream server. The server then |
| 154 |
> |
splits the data two ways. First it places the data in a |
| 155 |
> |
database system, typically MySQL based, for later |
| 156 |
> |
extraction and processing by the i-scream report generation |
| 157 |
> |
tools. It then passes it onto to real-time "Clients" which |
| 158 |
> |
handle the data as it enters the system. The system itself |
| 159 |
> |
has an internal real-time client called the "Local Client" |
| 160 |
> |
which has a series of Monitors running which can analyse |
| 161 |
> |
the data. One of these Monitors also feeds the data off to |
| 162 |
> |
a file repository, which is updated as new data comes in |
| 163 |
> |
for each machine, this data is then read and displayed by |
| 164 |
> |
the i-scream web services to provide a web interface to the |
| 165 |
> |
data. The system also allows TCP connections by non-local |
| 166 |
> |
clients (such as the i-scream supplied Conient), these |
| 167 |
> |
applications provide a real-time view of the data as it |
| 168 |
> |
flows through the system. |
| 169 |
> |
</p> |
| 170 |
> |
<p> |
| 171 |
> |
The final section of the system links the Local Client |
| 172 |
> |
Monitors to an alerting system. These Monitors can be |
| 173 |
> |
configured to detect changes in the data past threshold |
| 174 |
> |
levels. When a threshold is breached an alert is raised. |
| 175 |
> |
This alert is then escalated as the alert persists through |
| 176 |
> |
four live levels, NOTICE, WARNING, CAUTION and CRITICAL. |
| 177 |
> |
The alerting system keeps an eye on the level and when a |
| 178 |
> |
certain level is reached, certain alerting mechanisms fire |
| 179 |
> |
through whatever medium they are configured to send. |
| 180 |
> |
</p> |
| 181 |
> |
</div> |
| 182 |
|
<!--#include virtual="/footer.inc" --> |
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</div> |
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</div> |
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</div> |
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</body> |
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</div> |
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</body> |
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</html> |
