Geneos

Start Up Settings

Overview

There are a number of start up flags and settings that you can define which modify the behaviour and configuration of the Active Console while it is running. These settings are configured by modifying the ActiveConsole.gci file that resides in the same directory as the ActiveConsole.exe. This file is a text file which can be edited in any text editor.

In addition, there is a default directory information in the Active Console for config.xml and logs folder that can be used to troubleshoot common errors, such as when the Gateway keeps disconnecting, or when the Active Console keeps crashing. The hidden directory where you can open these files vary depending on the operating system platform:

  • Windows — \User\[username]\AppData\Roaming\ActiveConsole
  • Linux (Ubuntu) — \home\[username]\.activeconsole\ or in ~\.activeconsole
  • macOS — ~\Library\Application Support\ActiveConsole

Settings

This is similar to the file that is shipped within the Active Console:

############################################################
#### The java class that has 'main'
############################################################
-mainclass
com.itrsgroup.activeconsole.ActiveConsole

############################################################
#### The JVM to use and arguments
############################################################
-jvm
.\JRE\bin\client\jvm.dll
-jvmargs
Xmx128M
Ddocking.floatingContainerType=frame

############################################################
#### For the legacy ActiveConsole (Setup editor)
############################################################
-legacyjarargs
Xms123M
Xmx456M
-legacyjavaexe
.\JRE\bin\javaw.exe

############################################################
#### For the Gateway Setup Editor (GW2)
############################################################
-schema
.\schema\gateway.xsd
-gsedir
.\gse
-alwayssavable

############################################################
#### For the Active Console (AC)
############################################################
-EMF2ListentPort ****
Allows you to change the listening port through the .gci file					

############################################################
#### Misc
############################################################
-logexceptions

The file is new line delimited and each flag starts with a hyphen. Any arguments for a given flag are separated by a new line. Any lines that begin with a # or are empty, are ignored.

#comment1
-<Flag1><Flag1Arg>…#comment2
-<Flag2><Flag2Arg>…

Debug mode

When you run the Active Console in debug mode, you can monitor the memory status and use other debug options for diagnostic purposes:

  • Database queries.
  • Evaluate XPaths.
  • List of all running commands.
  • List of all event commands.
  • List metadata.
  • Active Path model that includes options such as Dump, Summary, Refresh, Running, and Set EmfModel filters.

To put the Active Console in the debug mode:

  1. Close all running Active Console applications.
  2. Locate the ActiveConsole.gci in your installation directory.
  3. Edit the file in a text editor to add the -debug flag at the bottom of the file.
  4. Save the file and open the Active Console.

When debug mode is enabled, the Debug option appears on the menu bar.

In addition, you might get the You are running low on Java memory. Percentage used xx.xxx message when in debug mode. This means that the x% of the virtual memory has been used in the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), and that the JVM has not run the garbage collect yet.

Note: This message only appears when the Active Console is in debug mode.

ActiveConsole.exe flags

All of the arguments are passed to the Active ConsoleJava application. However, there are some special arguments that are used by the ActiveConsole.exe application.

Flag Arguments Description Example
mainclass Java class Tells the launcher which class to look for a 'main' function. -mainclass com.itrsgroup.activeconsole.ActiveConsole
jvm Path to the jvm library Specifies the jvm to use. If this flag is not specified, launcher will attempt to discover this from the system. -jvm C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.4.2\bin\client\jvm.dll
jvmargs See java documentation

Arguments that are passed to the jvm. For more information, run java.exe -? from the command line.

The arguments should not include a hyphen.
-jvmargs
Xms64m
Xmx128m
Dmy.sys.prop=foo
Dfile.encoding=UTF-8
classpath Any number of classpath entries

These arguments will be combined with the CLASSPATH environment variable, and any file with a .jar extension in the 'jars' directory,

and passed to the jvm using the -Djava.class.path system property.

-classpath
C:\MyProject.jar
C:\JDBCMyJDBC.jar
libpath Any number of directory entries These arguments will be combined with the 'lib' directory and passed to the jvm using -Djava.library.path.
-libpath
C:\MyLibs
Z:\ThirdPartyLibs
path Any number of path entries These arguments will be combined with the 'lib' directory and the PATH environment variable and used to set the PATH environment variable for the ActiveConsole process.
-path
C:\MyPath
C:\Another\Path\On\Disk
jarscan Any number of directories Every directory specified will be scanned for files with a .jar extension. Any files found will be added to the classpath.
-jarscan
C:\MyJavaClasses
Z:\ThirdPartyLibsJava
putenv Any number of name value pairs This will set environment variables for the ActiveConsole process.
-putenv
DEBUG_MSG_FILTER=record
PATH=C:\
nolog None Prevents the ActiveConsole from writing to a log. -nolog
gsedir A directory Specifies the resource directory of the Gateway 2 Setup Editor where images, sounds and property files are stored.
-gsedir
.\gse
gse-wsp Full path to the working directory of the GSE

Specifies the location of the working directory of the Gateway Setup Editor. This is where log files, cached schema, and auto-save files are stored.

If this flag is not set, the GSE working directory defaults to %APPDATA%/GatewaySetupEditor.
-gse-wsp
C:\gseWorkingDir
logexceptions None If present any uncaught exceptions thrown by Java will be logged to a file exception<date>.log. -logexceptions
licwarning Number of days Specifies the number of days for a warning about a gateway licence expiry. Defaults to 30.
-licwarning
50
nonotifier None

Turns off notifications. This flag is only provided for AC users in a Citrix environment.

 -nonotifier
dialogStartLocation A fully qualified directory

This determines the location that the first save or open dialog you use in a session will appear.

After the first, it always remembers the last directory you arein.
-dialogStartLocation
C:/exampledir
repeatlicwarning None If specified, the ActiveConsole repeats any licence warnings every 24 hours. -repeatlicwarning
wsp Full path to the working directory of the console This tells the Active Console where to locate the AC User Directory in order to write its configuration and temp files.
-wsp
C:\ac2userDir\
ws A full path to the selected aws file

This specifies the workspace to load without using the workspace selector.

The Active Console ignores the workspaces included in the configuration.xml file located in the AC User Directory.
-ws
C:\aaa.awx

wsurl

A URL to a selected AWS file

This specifies the workspace to load from a URL without using the workspace selector.

The Active Console ignores the workspaces included in the .xml file located in the AC User Directory.

Note: If both this flag and the ws flag are used, then the ws flag takes precedence.
-wsurl
newWorkspaceLocation Path to a directory New workspaces created through the Active Console are created in this directory.
-newWorkspaceLocation
c:/test
showgw1editoroutput None If specified, the Active Consoleshows the output of the legacy Gateway editor in the output window. -showgw1editoroutput
legacyjarargs Any number of arguments If specified, this passes on the specified flags to the JRE used to launch the legacy Gateway Setup Editor.
-legacyjarargs
Xms512M
Xmx1024M
legacyjavaexe A path to the javaw.exe to use for launching the legacy gateway set-up editor If specified, this uses the path defined after it.
-legacyjavaexe
.\JRE\bin\javaw.exe
maxlogsize Size in megabytes The maximum size of the log file before rolling the file. The default is 10MB.
-maxlogsize
100
autoAcceptLicense Name of licence (ADB for dashboard licence) Auto accepts the licence without offering the user a trial period.
-autoAcceptLicense
ADB
fastDVActivation None Makes the loading of dashboard significantly faster, but will only work for dashboards created after the GA2009.1 081222 build of the AC. -fastDVActivation
doNotValidatePathsOnStartUp None

Stops the Active Console from validating the user defined XPaths on startup, by default it will.

Turning this on will increase the speed of startup.

 -doNotValidatePathsOnStartUp
showlocalcommands None Shows the command and its arguments passed to the shell for any local commands. -showlocalcommands
rolllogwithdatetime None When if this flag is set when maxlogsize is reached, the current log will be copied to <logfile>.<datetime>. Otherwise it will be copied to <logfile>.old. -rolllogwithdatetime
maximumDatabaseConnections Number of database connections

The Active Console database connection pool uses this flag to change maximum number of simultaneous database connections.

If nothing is supplied, then default value is 5.
-maximumDatabaseConnections
10
patheditorconfig Path to the Path Editor Configuration   -patheditorconfig ./resources/configuration
userResourcesDirectory Path to the user resources directory   -userResourcesDirectory ./UserResources
ApmEmfModelFilter     -ApmEmfModelFilter DataItemUpdateFilter(Property=SampleTime)
fastShutdown     -fastShutdown
bdosync A list of subscription modes for a bdo This setting enables the subscription mode for syncing the bdos (example, based on severity). -bdosync DataView,BDOSyncType_Level,DV1_SyncLevel_RedAmberCells
splash     -splash gse-splashscreen.png
connections Different settings Settings for the connections.
-connections
show
enabled
locking    
-locking
enabled
includes    
-includes
enabled
appname The application name The application name.
-appname
GatewaySetupEditor
appdisplayname The application display name The application display name.
-appdisplayname
Gateway Setup Editor
quickcreate    
-quickcreate
probes.probe
managedEntities.managedEntity
samplers.sampler
schemaroot    
-schemaroot
gateway
helpjars List of jars used for loading GSE help List of jars used for loading GSE help.
-helpjars
gse.help.jar
gateway.help.jar
plugins.help.jar
autosave The time interval The time intervals when the Gateway Setup Editor is automatically saving the setup file. -autosave
disableautosave None Prevents GSE from automatically saving setup file at regular intervals. -disableautosave
disablehistory None Disables logging history of setup files. -disablehistory
loadIncludesWithMain None Loads all include files and the main Gateway setup file when loaded.

-loadIncludesWithMain
enabled
connect

Primary host

Primary port

Logon method

Secondary host

Secondary port

Secure

URL-encoded SSO Agent URL

This setting enables Gateway connection details to be passed to the Gateway Setup Editor.

The arguments must be declared in the following format:

-connect "<primary host>:<primary port>:<logon method>:<secondary host>:<secondary port>:<secure>:<URL-encoded SSO agent URL>"

For example:

-connect "192.168.1.110:10090:Ask once::0:SECURE:http%3A%2F%2Fserver.example.itrs%3A8083"
-connect "192.168.1.110:10070:Use system:192.168.1.210:10080:INSECURE"

This setting is only in effect if the GSE is run standalone. If the GSE is launched from the Active Console as a separate process, the Active Console provides this argument to the GSE process.

On Windows, the GSE uses a single GatewaySetupEditor.gci regardless of whether the GSE is opened from the Active Console, or as a standalone application.

On macOS, the GSE uses two separate GatewaySetupEditor.gci files:

  • If opened from the Active Console, the GSE uses the GatewaySetupEditor.gci from the Active Console directory.
  • If opened as a standalone application, the GSEuses the GatewaySetupEditor.gci from the Gateway Setup Editor directory.

Note: This information overrides the -SSOAgentURL flag in the GatewaySetupEditor.gci file (if present) when the GSE is launched as external process from the Active Console.

 -connect
answers A list of x=y   -answers
advancedSearch None Makes GSE search dialog field available. -advancedSearch
nonamedlists     -nonamedlists
debug     -debug
noconfirm None Prevents GSE the Confirm Save dialog from displaying. -noconfirm
alwayssavable     -alwayssavable
novalidateonsave None Prevents GSE from doing setup validation on save. -novalidateonsave
keepschemaxml     -keepschemaxml
newdoc   TBD. This setting is ignored if the Gateway Setup Editor is not run standalone. -newdoc
open   TBD. This setting is ignored if the Gateway Setup Editor is not run standalone. -open
autoSort ascending | descending | none

Sorts items with sections of the setup. Sorts in the order given by argument.

None is the default.
-autoSort
ascending
descending
none

dashboardDisplayFont

 A valid system font This will be the font used to display charts and gauge headers and will also be the default selected font for newly created dashboard object with Text Layout Settings.
-dashboardDisplayFont
Arial Unicode MS
enableApproxDataviewSorting None A gci flag that is used to turn on optimised sorting for dataviews.
-enableApproxDataviewSorting
true (Set the flag parameter to true)
cshHost Path to documentation Path that the GSE uses for the context sensitive help. -cshHost https://docs.itrsgroup.com/docs/geneos

Automatic classpath and librarypath

In addition to the values specified in the classpath and libpath arguments, these paths are added automatically:

  • Full path to the lib directory is added to the java.library.path system property.
  • Any file with .jar extension inside the jars directory is added to the java.class.path system property.