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Data Collection

How Longitude Collects Data

After installation, the Longitude Management Console must be configured to collect data for the devices and applications in your environment. After the data has been collected, it is analyzed for performance problems, and archived for use in reports. The sequence of events for monitoring an application is:

  1. Select an Application to monitor (e.g. Unix, SQL2014, Ping Transaction).
  2. Select a Remote Agent, if needed. If no agent is selected, data will be collected by the Longitude Management Console.
  3. Select the Computer or Network device to be monitored.
  4. Click on the Monitor button to begin monitoring.
  5. Scheduled data collections will be done either by the Management Console or the Remote Agent.
  6. After the data has been collected, it will be written to the database on the Management Console computer and will be available for reports.
  7. New records in the database are checked against application rules. If any problems are found (e.g. CPU usage is too high, disk space is too low), an Event will be created in the Longitude Dashboard.
  8. If Actions have been configured for the Event, they will be run. For example, sending email or an SMS message.

 

Configuring Data Collections

Data collection for any application can be configured manually, or data collection for Windows, Unix or Network Devices can be configured using the Discovery wizard to browse your network.

The following components in Longitude’s Web UI are used to configure data collections:

 

Discover Devices

The initial steps to set up data collection can be automated through Discovery. Using the Discover Wizard, Longitude can scan a specified subnet for Windows or Unix servers, or Network Devices. The Discover button in the upper left of the Monitoring tab will launch the Wizard.

  1. Select the application to be monitored (Windows, Unix or Network Device).
  2. Select IP Address to start scan
  3. Select IP Address to end scan (note: you can only scan one class C subnet at a time)
  4. Provide requested application properties:
    • Windows:
      No additional properties are needed for Windows. The permissions for the Windows account specified during install will be used to collect data.
    • Unix/Linux:
      Enter a Username and Password that can connect to the servers via SSH. Root access is not required. The default SSH port is 22 and may be modified.
    • Network Device:Enter an SNMP V1 community string – only read access is required. The default SNMP port is 161 and may be modified.
      Please note: Network device discovery uses SNMP V1. For SNMP V2 network monitoring, see details for the Network Device application.
  5. Click Next
  6. When Longitude has finished scanning the requested IP range, you will be presented with a list of computers or network devices that can be monitored with the selected application:
    Discovery2
    Select the devices you would like to monitor. You will be able to monitor devices up to the number of license units you have available.
  7. Click Next
  8. The final discovery step will display the monitoring
    results, including any monitoring errors:
    Discovery3
    If there are any errors reported, you can click on the error link to determine the cause of the monitoring error and how to remedy the problem.
  9. After you click Done, you will see the additional computers you are monitoring:
    Monitoring

 

Monitor Devices

 

  1. Click the Monitor button in the upper left of the Web UI to open the Monitor an Application Window
  2. Select the application to monitor from the drop down list.
    Select application from drop down list
  3. When you select an application, the configuration screen may display an Application Properties section which will contain fields for additional information needed to monitor the application.
    • Further details on specific information needed for each application can be found in the Application help section.
    • Fields marked with a red asterisk (*) are required.
    • Hovering over the information icon to the right of a property field will display details about the property configuration.

    Monitor VMware

  4. Either manually enter the computer to monitor in the Computers field, or select the button to the right of the Computers button to display of list of computers you are already monitoring.
    Computer selection
  5. Click on the Monitor button. Longitude will test data collection for the application using the supplied Application Properties, and a result window will display either that the collections succeeded, or list any errors that were found.
    Monitoring results

 

Remote Agents

Data collection from the Longitude Management Console may have the following limitations:

  • WMI collections have one specific set of credentials, which may not work in all Windows domains
  • Firewalls may block ports needed for data collection
  • Slow links may cause collection requests to timeout
  • Connectivity may need to be tested over a different network route
  • For large networks, it may be more efficient to spread the load of data collection over multiple agents.

A Longitude Remote Agent can be used to collect data from a different network location, or with a different set of Windows credentials. The Remote Agent does not install the database or web server components used for the Management Console, and does not require a dedicated server.

The recommended operating system and hardware for an agent is:

  • Server OS:
    • Windows 2008 Server
    • Windows 2012 Server
    • Windows 2016 Server
    • Windows 2019 Server
  • 2+ GHz processor
  • 4 GB memory
  • 60 – 95 MB free disk space, depending on installed collectors

 

Longitude Remote Agent installation kits are available for download. Please email Heroix Support for download instructions.

 

The steps to configure data collection with an agent are:

  1. Install the Longitude Remote Agent software on the target computer.
  2. If a firewall is in place between the Longitude Management Console and the Remote agent, verify that TCP ports 7220 and 7229 are open from the Management Console to the Remote agent.
  3. Click the Monitor button in the upper left of the Web UI to open the Monitor an Application Window.
  4. Click on the New Remote Agent button in the lower left of the Application Monitoring window.
    Create New Remote Agent
  5. Enter the name or IP address of the Remote Agent in the blank New Agent field, and click the Test Remote Agent button to verify that the Longitude Management Console can connect to the Remote Agent.
  6. Enter in the remaining application monitoring details for the collection.
  7. Click Apply.
  8. After a Remote Agent has been entered, a new Agent field will be listed in the Application Monitoring Window – this will allow you to select the agent to be used for data collection.
    Multiple agent display
  9. The status screen will list which agent is collecting data for which computer. Only one agent can be assigned to a computer at a time. To change agents for a computer, remove all monitoring for that computer, and then re-add the monitoring using the new agent.
    Multiple collection agents
  10. After a Remote Agent has been added, the Discovery wizard will add an Agent selection field which will allow you to discover servers using the Remote Agent.
    Discovery using agent

 

Collection Status

When you monitor an application on a computer or device, one or more collections are performed. The status of these collections is displayed on the Monitoring tab. The Computers tab displays an alphabetical list of all devices being monitored, the Applications tab groups collections by Application monitored, and the Groups tab displays devices in user defined groups.

Collection Status

The color of the icons in the tree indicates the collection status:

Green All collections are successful
Yellow Some non-critical collections have failed
Red Some or all collections have failed

If an icon in the status display is red or yellow, you can drill down to the specific collection that is failing, and use the details in the Messages field to diagnose the problem. When the condition causing the collection error is fixed and Longitude is able to successfully run a scheduled collection, the status icon’s color will be set to green. The Test/Retry buttons can be used to update the status icons manually, or to refresh the text in the Messages field.

 

Display Monitored Applications

Monitored Applications Display

Display Monitored Applications will open an Enterprise level view of all monitored applications over all devices. This option is available by clicking on Monitoring >> Computers, Applications, or Groups >> Enterprise . The display can viewed ‘By computer’ or ‘By application’ or Transactions only. There is also an option to view this information in a Text View so it can be copied and imported into a spreadsheet.

Monitored Applications Display

 

User Defined Groups

The Computers and Applications tabs are automatically populated based on the applications Longitude has been configured to monitor. The Groups tab can be used to organize computers and other managed devices into user defined Computer Groups with the following features:

  • Computer Groups may be used to do the following:
    • Monitoring – Groups: View collection status by group
    • Dashboard – Status: Configure status dashboards by group
    • Dashboard – Events: View Events by computer group
    • Dashboard – Configure >> select Rule >> Actions:
      Configure alert actions by group
    • Dashboard – Configure >> select Rule >> Suppression:
      Suppress events by group
    • Dashboard – Configure >> select Rule >> Thresholds:
      Change rule thresholds by group
    • Reports – Groups: View reports by group
    • Reports – Scheduler: Schedule reports by group
  • Dashboards, actions, suppressions and scheduled reports will be dynamically updated if the computers in a group are changed. Thresholds will not be updated if the membership of a group changes.
  • Computer group definitions are user account specific. Administrators can copy their groups to other users which will overwrite that user’s existing groups.
  • All computers start in the Default group. The Default group cannot be deleted. Computers will return to the default group if they have been removed from all the the existing groups.
  • Computers can belong to multiple groups. Please note: Computers could only be assigned to one group in previous Longitude versions.
  • Groups can be configured in the Monitoring – Groups and Dashboard – Events – Groups tabs:
    • Right-click on an existing group, or on the Enterprise icon at the top of the group list. The Group Management menu will provide options to Create a new group, Manage this group, or Remove this group.Manage Group Options
    • Selecting Create a new group… opens a form with a field for the new group name, an alphabetized list of all computers in the left pane, and a list of computers in the group in the right pane. Mark the box next to the computers to be moved and then click on the Add>> or <<Remove buttons to update the list of computers in the new group.
      Manage Group Options
    • Selecting Manage this group… opens a form that will allow you to add or remove servers from the group for which the option was selected. Mark the box next to the computers to be moved and then click on the Add>> or <<Remove buttons to update the list of computers in the selected group.
      Manage Group Options
    • Selecting the Remove this group… option will delete the group. If a computer is a member of only one group and that group is deleted, then that computer will be moved back in to the Default group
    • To copy groups to other users, right-click on the Enterprise icon at the top of the Groups list in the Monitoring – Groups or Dashboard – Events – Groups tabs and select Copy groups to other users:

      First step copy groups

    • Select the users who will receive a copy of your groups. Please note that all your groups will be copied and will overwrite all existing groups for the target users.

      Second step copy groups

 

Collection Management

Collection management provides the ability to modify application properties, to remove applications from computers, or to suspend or resume monitoring for all applications on a computer.

 

Modify Application Properties

Some Longitude applications require that Application Properties be configured in order to collect data. For example, the Username and Password or SSHKey information
for Unix based collections, or the Database Instance for MS SQL Server collections. These properties may be modified for existing collections using the Modify Properties of this application in this computer menu item, available by clicking on an application listed under a computer in the Monitoring >> Computers tab,

Modify properties by computer tab

or by clicking on a computer listed under an application in the Monitoring >> Applications tab.

Modify properties by application tab

Modify Properties of this application in this computer will only modify the properties for one application on one computer. To modify all the properties for an application across multiple computers use Monitor Devices to reconfigure monitoring.

Please note that data collection for an application will be re-tested after the application’s properties are updated. If the data collection fails, application monitoring will be removed.

 

Remove Applications

Please note that you will be asked to confirm that you want to remove monitoring before the change is applied since removing monitoring for an application will delete all historical data for the application on the selected computer.

Application monitoring may be removed for all applications on a computer, for an individual application on a computer, or for all instances of an application across all computers.

  • Clicking on a computer in the Monitoring >> Computers or Monitoring >> Groups tab provides the option to Remove monitoring of all applications from this computer.
    Remove all applications on a computer
  • If you expand the monitored application list under a computer and click on an application, you can select to Remove monitoring of this application from this computer.
    Remove one application on a computer
  • If you select an application that supports instances (e.g. Transactions or Database applications), clicking on the application will provide the option to Remove monitoring of all instances of this application for this computer.
    Remove all instances of an application
  • Expanding the list of instances under an application provides the option to Remove monitoring of this application instance from this computer.
    Remove all instances of an application
  • Clicking on an application in the Monitoring >> Applications tab provides the option to Remove monitoring of this application from all computers.
    Remove all applications on a computer
  • Expanding the list of computers under an application provides the option to Remove monitoring of this application from this computers.
    Remove one application on a computer

 

Suspend or Resume Monitoring

If a computer is temporarily unavailable, all the collections for that computer should be suspended to prevent false alerts and to prevent data collection timeouts from using excess resources. Suspending collections will temporarily halt data collection for all applications on a computer, but will not delete previously collected data for the computer. Collections can be resumed when the computer is available again without the need to
reconfigure any properties or groups for the computer.

In Monitoring computers that are suspended will be displayed with a blue icon, and computers that are being monitored will have green, yellow or red icons:

Suspended computer Suspended
Monitored computer Monitored – no collection failures
Collection non-critical failures Monitored – non-critical collection failures
Collection critical failures Monitored – critical collection failures

To suspend or resume monitoring on an individual computer, click on the computer in the Monitor >> Computers or Groups tab.

  • To suspend monitoring on a computer on a computer with a green, yellow, or red icon, select Suspend monitoring of applications on this computer.

    suspend monitoring for one computer

  • To resume monitoring on a suspended computer, select Resume monitoring of applications on this computer.

    Resume monitoring for individual computer

  • To suspend or resume monitoring for multiple computers, click on the Enterprise icon in any of the Monitoring tabs and select Suspend or Resume Multiple Computers. Please note all computer icons in this option are blue and do not reflect the computer’s monitoring status.

    suspend monitoring for multiple computers

    • In the Group tab, computer groups may be used to select computers to suspend or resume.
      suspend monitoring by group
    • In the Computer or Applications tabs, computers may be selected individually to suspend or resume.
      suspend monitoring for one computer

 


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