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<title>Overview and Features</title> |
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<meta name="description" content="The i-scream Project is a central monitoring system for Unix, Linux and NT servers."> |
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<meta name="keywords" content="i-scream, project, central monitoring system, unix, linux, nt, server, alert"> |
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<!--#include virtual="title.inc" --> |
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<table border="0" width="500"> |
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<td> |
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<font size="2" face="arial,sans-serif"> |
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<center><h3>Key Features of The System</h3></center> |
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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 |
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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 |
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CORBA interfaces.</li> |
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<li>Use of CORBA to create a hierarchical set of data entry points to the system |
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allowing the system to handle event storms and remote office locations.</li> |
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<li>One location for all system messages, despite being distributed.</li> |
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<li>XML data protocol used to make data processing and analysing easily extendable</li> |
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<li>A stateless server which can be moved and restarted at will, while Hosts, |
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Clients, and reporting tools are unaffected and simply reconnect when the |
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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 |
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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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<center><h3>An Overview of the i-scream Central Monitoring System</h3></center> |
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<p align="left"> |
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The i-scream system monitors status and performance information |
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obtained from machines feeding data into it and then displays |
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this information in a variety of ways. |
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</p> |
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|
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<p align="left"> |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 align="left"> |
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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, |
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typically MySQL based, for later extraction and processing by the |
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i-scream report generation tools. It then passes it onto to |
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real-time "Clients" which handle the data as it enters the system. |
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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 |
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data. One of these Monitors also feeds the data off to a file |
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repository, which is updated as new data comes in for each machine, |
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this data is then read and displayed by the i-scream web services |
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to provide a web interface to the data. The system also allows TCP |
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connections by non-local clients (such as the i-scream supplied |
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Conient), these applications provide a real-time view of the data |
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as it flows through the system. |
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</p> |
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|
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<p align="left"> |
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The final section of the system links the Local Client Monitors to |
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an alerting system. These Monitors can be configured to detect |
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changes in the data past threshold levels. When a threshold is |
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breached an alert is raised. This alert is then escalated as the |
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alert persists through four live levels, NOTICE, WARNING, CAUTION |
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and CRITICAL. The alerting system keeps an eye on the level and |
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when a certain level is reached, certain alerting mechanisms fire |
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through whatever medium they are configured to send. |
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</p> |
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</font> |
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</tr> |
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</body> |
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<!--#include virtual="/doctype.inc" --> |
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<head> |
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<title> |
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CMS Features |
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</title> |
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<!--#include virtual="/style.inc" --> |
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</head> |
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<body> |
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<div id="container"> |
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<div id="main"> |
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<!--#include virtual="/header.inc" --> |
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<div id="contents"> |
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<h1 class="top"> |
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CMS Features |
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</h1> |
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<h2> |
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Problem Specification |
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</h2> |
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<h3> |
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Original Problem |
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</h3> |
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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 system |
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meets this specification, and aims to extend it further. |
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This is, however, where it all began. |
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</p> |
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<h3> |
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Centralised Machine Monitoring |
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</h3> |
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<p> |
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The Computer Science department has a number of different |
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machines running a variety of different operating systems. |
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One of the tasks of the systems administrators is to make |
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sure that the machines don't run out of resources. This |
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involves watching processor loads, available disk space, |
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swap space, etc. |
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</p> |
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<p> |
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It isn't practicle to monitor a large number of machines by |
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logging on and running commands such as 'uptime' on the |
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unix machines, or by using performance monitor for NT |
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servers. Thus this project is to write monitoring software |
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for each platform supported which reports resource usage |
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back to one centralized location. System Administrators |
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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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<p> |
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Once this basic functionality is implemented it could |
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usefully be expanded to include logging of resource usage |
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to identify longterm trends/problems, alerter services |
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which can directly contact sysadmins (or even the general |
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public) to bring attention to problem areas. Ideally it |
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should be possible to run multiple instances of the |
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reporting tool (with all instances being updated in |
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realtime) and to to be able to run the reporting tool as |
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both as stand alone application and embeded in a web page. |
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</p> |
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<p> |
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This project will require you to write code for the unix |
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and Win32 APIs using C and knowledge of how the underlying |
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operating systems manage resources. It will also require |
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some network/distributed systems code and a GUI front end |
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for the reporting tool. It is important for students |
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undertaking this project to understand the importance of |
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writing efficient and small code as the end product will |
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really be most useful when machines start run out of |
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processing power/memory/disk. |
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</p> |
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<p> |
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John Cinnamond (email jc) whose idea this is, will provide |
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technical support for the project. |
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</p> |
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<h2> |
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Features |
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</h2> |
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<h3> |
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Key Features of The System |
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> |
</h3> |
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> |
<ul> |
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> |
<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. |
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> |
</li> |
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> |
<li>Central server and reporting tools all Java based for |
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> |
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> |
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> |
<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> |
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> |
<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> |
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> |
</ul> |
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> |
<h3> |
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> |
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> |
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> |
<p> |
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> |
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. |
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> |
</p> |
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> |
<p> |
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> |
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> |
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> |
</div> |
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> |
<!--#include virtual="/footer.inc" --> |
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</div> |
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<!--#include virtual="/menu.inc" --> |
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</div> |
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</body> |
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</html> |
