Using the Alerting and Monitoring Service
The RightFax Alerting and Monitoring service lets you monitor a set of server statistics that you define in Enterprise Fax Manager and receive alerts relating to those statistics. To use the RightFax Alerting and Monitoring service, you must first install and configure the service, and then define the statistics to monitor and their alert thresholds.
Installing the Alerting and Monitoring Service
There are two ways to install the RIghtFax Alerting service:During initial RightFax setup, select a custom installation and check the box for Alerting Module under RightFax Server Modules. If you do not manually check the Alerting Module box, the service will not be installed.
After RightFax installation, use the Windows Control Panel to modify the RightFax product suite and select the Alerting Module under the Server Modules Section.
For more details about RightFax Installation procedures, see the RightFax Installation Guide.
Because the RightFax Alerting service is designed to provide information about and send alerts relating to the RightFax server, you may choose to run the Alerting service on a computer other
than the RightFax server. When the Alerting service is installed on a remote computer, it will continue to operate and send alerts even if the RightFax server shuts down or experiences other problems. When the Alerting service is installed on a remote computer, all of the configuration for the service and the individual alerts is
managed on the RightFax server that the service will be monitoring. No additional configuration on the remote computer is required.
Configuring the RightFax Alerting Service
To configure the Alerting and Monitoring service, open Windows Control Panel and double-click RightFax Alerting Monitoring. The
Alerting & Monitoring Configuration dialog box opens.
The rest of this section describes the options on each of the tabs on this dialog box.
The Alerting and Monitoring Configuration General Tab
Figure 18.1 The Alerting & Monitoring Configuration General tab
Event log level Specify the level of information logged in the Application Event Log under the service name “RightFax Alerting Module.” You can select the following options:
None. No information is saved.
Terse. Records critical errors only.
Normal. Records errors and major events only.
Verbose. Records all significant events and is most useful for tracking and resolving problems.
Caution If you leave this value set to “Verbose” for long periods of time, the Event Log can become full which may prevent new events from being logged.
Refresh delay Specify the frequency, in minutes, that the Alerting service will poll the RightFax server for statistics.
Repeat delay Specify the frequency, in minutes, that alerts will be sent when statistic thresholds are met.
Remote alerting service This option indicates that the Alerting service will operate on a computer separate from the RightFax server. If you select this option, the Alerting service will not be started automatically by the Server module.
Select service account The RightFax Alerting service logs on to the network by default using the local system account. Click this button to optionally specify a different Windows user account for the service to use. If you want the Alerting service to authenticate to the RightFax server using NT authentication, you must select a Windows user account that has a corresponding RightFax user with NT authentication enabled.
When you select this option, the Select service account dialog box opens. For information on how to complete the options on this dialog box, see “Selecting a Service Account” on page 42.
The Alerting and Monitoring Configuration Launch
Program Tab
Figure 18.2 The Alerting & Monitoring Configuration Launch Program tab
The RightFax Alerting service lets you optionally run a program (such as a batch file or other process) when thresholds for monitored statistics are reached. The options on this tab let you configure how these programs will be launched by the Alerting service.
Log on as Programs launched by the Alerting service require a Windows user account in order to access the network. Select one of the following options:
Same credentials as alerting service account. Programs launched by the Alerting service will use the same user account information as the Alerting service.
This account. Specify a Windows user account other than that used by the Alerting service. If you select this option, you must also enter the password for the specified user account in the NT password box.
Allow program to interact with desktop Specifies whether the program launched will be accessible from the Windows desktop and usable by whomever is logged on when the service is started.
The Alerting and Monitoring Configuration SMTP Tab
Figure 18.3 The Alerting & Monitoring Configuration SMTP tab
The RightFax Alerting service lets you optionally deliver alerts as email messages via SMTP when thresholds for monitored statistics are reached. In the SMTP Server box, enter the name of the SMTP server that will transport these alerts. The email addresses to which alerts will be sent are configured for each individual alert in
Defining the Statistics to Monitor and
their Alert Thresholds
To create, edit, or delete individual alerts, run Enterprise Fax Manager (see “Starting Enterprise Fax Manager” on page 93) and click Alerts & Monitors under the desired RightFax server in the Fax Server Tree.
Figure 18.4 The Alerts and Monitors List
The alerts and monitors that you create are displayed when you click Alerts & Monitors in Enterprise Fax Manager. Each monitor is preceded by a colored icon to indicate its current status. These icons are:
Yellow. Indicates an error retrieving the value of the statistic.
Blue. Indicates that the statistic is being monitored but no alert has been set.
Green. Indicates that the statistic that has an associated alert condition, but the condition has not been met.
Red. Indicates that the statistic that has an associated alert condition, and the condition has been met.
The current value for the statistic you are monitoring is displayed in the Value column. Not all monitored statistics can be configured to deliver an alert. Monitored statistics that are configured to deliver alerts are indicated by a green icon in the ID column. Statistics that cannot be configured to deliver an alert are indicated by a blue icon. Statistics that cannot be determined due to failure of the monitored service or other problems are indicated by a yellow icon.
Adding new alerts
To create a new alert, press INSERT or select New from the Edit
menu. The Alert Properties dialog box opens. For information on completing each of the options on each tab see “Editing Alert Properties” on page 171.
Deleting alerts
To delete an alert, select the alert to delete and press DELETE or select Delete from the Edit menu. You will be prompted for confirmation that you want to delete the alert.
Copying alerts from one server to another
In Enterprise Fax Manager, you can copy one or more alerts from one RightFax server to another. Select the alerts you want to copy, and then drag the selection to another server in the Fax Server Tree.
Note: If you copy alerts from one RightFax server version to a different server version, you will lose any configuration data that is not supported by the second server. For example, RightFax 10 generates fax board information with DocTransport, but RightFax 9.3 uses BoardServer for similar information. If you copy a DocTransport alert to a 9.3 server, it will not trigger because the older server can’t monitor the newer service. If you copy a 9.3 BoardServer alert to a RightFax 10, it will not
Editing Alert Properties
To edit the properties of an existing alert, run Enterprise Fax Manager, select the alert to edit and press ENTER, or select Edit
from the Edit menu. You can also double-click the alert. The Alert Properties dialog box opens.
Figure 18.5 The Alert Properties Monitor Tab
Some of the statistics that you configure in this dialog box do not support alerts. These statistics can be configured entirely on the
Monitor tab. If you select a statistic for which an alert can be configured, two additional tabs, Actions and Message, will appear on this dialog box. These tabs are described later in this section. Name This is the name of the alert that will appear under the ID
column in Enterprise Fax Manager.
Description This is the alert description that will appear under the Description column in Enterprise Fax Manager.
Category Alerts are divided into several categories. The statistics that you can monitor (selected in the Statistics to monitor box) will differ depending on the category you select. Select from the following options:
Fax Server. Statistics related to activity and events on the RightFax server.
Database. Statistics related to the RightFax database.
Workserver. Statistics related to WorkServers and the processes they control.
Gateway. Statistics related to email gateways.
Local BoardServer. Statistics related to the BoardServer service on the RightFax server.
All BoardServers. Statistics related to the local BoardServer and any remote BoardServer services.
RPC Server. Statistics related to the RPC server which coordinates communication between the RightFax server and other resources on the network.
Paging Server. Statistics related to the paging server used to send notifications via SMS and pages.
Statistic to monitor Select the statistic you want to monitor. The statistics that you can monitor will differ depending on the category you select. For a description of each statistic in this list, see Appendix D, “Alerting and Monitoring Statistics”. Depending on the statistic you select, additional options may appear below the
completed in order to correctly define the statistic. For a definition of these options, click the [?] icon in the title bar and then click on the option to define.
Caution Alerting statistics that allow you to specify a fax channel number require that you start numbering from 1. This differs from the BoardServer configuration which starts numbering channels with 0 (zero). If you want to monitor the first fax channel, you must specify channel 1, even though it is numbered as channel 0 in the BoardServer. If you specify channel 0 in the alerting statistics to monitor, it will be changed automatically to channel 1.
The Actions tab
When you select a statistic on the Monitor tab for which an alert can be generated, two additional tabs will appear on the Alert Properties dialog box: Actions and Message. See Appendix D, “Alerting and Monitoring Statistics” for a list of statistics that support alerts. You must complete the options on both of these tabs in order to generate an alert.
The options on the Actions tab let you define the conditions and thresholds under which an alert will be generated, as well as the alert action to take when a statistic’s threshold is met.
Figure 18.6 The Alerting Properties Actions tab
Condition Select the operator by which the threshold value will be evaluated.
Threshold Specify a threshold value. An alert will be generated only if the condition you select meets this threshold value.
Alert on error If this option is selected, an alert will be
generated if the value for the statistic cannot be generated due to errors or other problems with the RightFax service being polled. Actions The options in this group box let you create, edit, and delete alert actions that will be taken when the statistic threshold is met. You can configure multiple actions for each alert. Follow these steps to create a new alert action:
To create a new alert action
1. Click the New Action button in the Actions group box. This opens the Action tab of the Edit Action dialog box.
Figure 18.7 The Edit Action dialog box Action tab
2. In the Name box, type a name for the alert to create.
3. In the Action box, select the type of alert to send. Alerts can be sent using these methods:
Program. The RightFax Alerting service lets you optionally run a program (such as a batch file or other process) when thresholds for monitored statistics are reached. A specified program will be launched.
SMS. A message will be sent to an SMS-capable device such as a cell phone or PDA.
SMTP. An email message will be sent to a specified user via an SMTP server.
Note: The Network Broadcast Action is no longer functional in any of the currently supported Windows operating systems.
Depending on the type of alert action you select, additional options will appear below the Action box. These additional options must be completed for the alert to successfully send. For a definition of each of these options, click the [?] icon in the title bar and then click on the option to define.
4. When all of the options on the Action tab have been completed, click the Time of Use tab.
Figure 18.8 The Edit Action Time of Use tab
5. To limit the alert to occur only on specific days, select the active days under Days of the week to use this alert.
6. If you want to limit the alert to occur only at specific times, select the Limit use to the specified time option, and then select a start and end time.
Note The Start time must be earlier than the End time within a single day; the Start and End times cannot span days. To create an overnight alert, create one alert that ends at 11:59 PM and another one that begins at 12:00 AM.
7. Click OK to save the alert. The new alert will appear in the list of alerts on the Actions tab of the Alert Properties dialog box. 8. To enable the alert, click the check box next to the alert name in
the list of alerts.
The Message tab
The Message tab on the Alert Properties dialog box only appears if a statistic you select in the Statistic to monitor box supports alerts. See Appendix D, “Alerting and Monitoring Statistics” for a list of statistics that support alerts. The options on this tab let you define the message text of the alert that will be sent.
Figure 18.9 The Alerting Properties Message tab
Message Enter the message text of the alert. You can use any combination of text and macros from the Macros list. An example of the alert message will be displayed in the box below this option. Macros This is a list of macros that can be included in your message text. To add a macro to the message, place the cursor in the Message box where you want the macro text to appear and then double-click the macro in this list.