Netprobe setup

Overview Copied

After a Netprobe is installed and running on a machine, the next step is to set it up to connect to a Gateway. Depending on the mode that the Netprobe is running in, as well as its relationship with a Gateway, you can set up a Netprobe by itself or from the Gateway.

Gateway setup settings Copied

For normal, floating, and virtual Netprobes, various properties related to the Netprobe need to be configured in the Gateway. These settings determine the relationship of Gateway with the Netprobe. Some of these properties are also downloaded to the Netprobe when it connects to the Gateway. For information on Netprobe configuration settings in the Gateway Setup File, see Probes.

Floating Netprobes do not rely entirely on the Gateway setup, and have some limited setup options available. For more information, see Floating settings.

For Self-Announcing Netprobes, the Netprobe itself does not need to be configured in the Gateway. However, there are settings which still need to be set in the Gateway setup file. These settings control the Gateway’s behaviour with respect to Self-Announcing Netprobes. For example, the Gateway can control whether it accepts Self-Announcing Netprobes at all and, if so, which ones. For more information on the Gateway Setup File settings which relate to Self-Announcing Netprobes, see Self-Announcing Netprobes.

Once a connection is established, the Gateway can determine the state of a Netprobe as follows:

Down — the machine is up, but no active port is detected.
Unreachable — the host is unreachable; alternatively, there is a detected Netprobe process, but it is unresponsive or has a port issue.

For more information about probe connection status, see Gateway-probeData in Gateway.

Netprobe setup file Copied

The Netprobe setup file is an XML document that follows the XML 1.0 specification. It is used primarily to enable the Netprobe to run in floating and self-announcing modes.

The contents of a valid XML document can be described by a set of rules called the schema. This schema is distributed with the Netprobe and can be used by any schema-aware XML editor to ensure that the setup file is well-formed and that the contents are valid.

For guidance in setting up a Netprobe running in normal mode, see How to create and configure a new standard probe in Probes.

Netprobe setup file contents Copied

The Netprobe setup file has a single top-level netprobe element under which it can have either a selfAnnounce or floatingProbe element.

Self-announce settings Copied

In addition, the Netprobe setup file can specify zero or more Managed Entity Attribute name-value pairs. These can be used by Active Console for searching and sorting purposes. Attributes are typically used with the logical mode of the Active Console State Tree.

Netprobe Setup File can also set user-defined variables on the created Managed Entity. The variables section is not parsed by the probe; it is passed to the Gateway to be checked. All variable types that can be entered on in the Gateway setup are accepted, except for any types of passwords.

Consider the following setup file for a Self-Announcing Netprobe:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
 <netprobe>
  <selfAnnounce>
   <enabled>true</enabled>
   <retryInterval>60</retryInterval>
   <requireReverseConnection>false</requireReverseConnection>
   <probeName>myProbe</probeName>
   <managedEntities>
    <managedEntity>
     <name>myEntity</name>
     <attributes>
      <attribute name="COUNTRY">USA</attribute>
      <attribute name="CITY">CHICAGO</attribute>
      <attribute name="ENVIRONMENT">PROD</attribute>
     </attributes>
     <variables>
      <var name="var_string">
       <string>selfProbe</string>
      </var>
      <var name="var_double">
       <double>10.1</double>
      </var>
      <var name="var_ActiveTime">
       <activeTime>
        <activeTime ref="SomeActiveTime"/>
       </activeTime>
      </var>
     </variables>
     <types>
      <type>Linux</type>
      <type>Fidessa</type>
      <type>ProdShare</type>
     </types>
    </managedEntity>
   </managedEntities>
   <gateways>
    <gateway>
     <hostname>gateway1</hostname>
     <port>17101</port>
     <secure>true</secure>
    </gateway>
    <gateway>
     <hostname>gateway2</hostname>
     <port>17102</port>
    </gateway>
    <gateway>
     <hostname>gateway3</hostname>
     <port>17103</port>
     <secure>false</secure>
    </gateway>
   </gateways>
  </selfAnnounce>
 </netprobe>

Element	Sub-element	Sub-element	Description
selfAnnounce			Setup values for Self-Announcing Netprobe mode. Mandatory: No
selfAnnounce >	enabled		When set to `true`, enables the Self-Announcing Netprobe mode. If set to `false` after previously running a Self-Announcing Netprobe, the Netprobe reverts to the normal mode. Mandatory: Yes
selfAnnounce >	retryInterval		Specifies the time in seconds that the Netprobe waits after failing to find a suitable Gateway to announce to, or after the master connection drops, before restarting the polling process. Mandatory: No Default value: `60`
selfAnnounce >	requireReverseConnection		When set to `true`, indicates that the Netprobe can only make a Netprobe-to-Gateway connection. This is useful when, for example, the Netprobe is behind a firewall. By default, Self-Announcing Netprobes make Netprobe-to-Gateway connections where both components support it. This setting ensures that the Netprobe will not select a Gateway that does not support reverse connections, and will prevent the Gateway from publishing the `disableSelfAnnouncing` command for the Netprobe. The default value for this depends upon whether the Netprobeis configured to connect to a secure Gateway. If any of the Gateway connections have the secure flag set to `true`, then the default value for this setting is `true` and it cannot be overridden. This is because Gateway-to-Netprobeare not supported secure Self-Announcing Netprobe connections. If all the Gateways connected to are insecure, then the default value of this setting is `false`, but it can be set to `true` to ensure that all connections are Netprobe-to-Gateway. Mandatory: No Default: Dependent on other settings
selfAnnounce >	probeName		The name of the probe to create on the Gateway. This name must not already be in use in the Gateway configuration, or be used by other . Additionally, names of the form `<gateway_name>:Info` are reserved for Gateway self monitoring. The probe name can be composed of any number of data elements containing raw text and special macro elements that resolve to installation-specific strings, such as `hostname` . This allows a single Setup File to be used for Self-Announcing Netprobes on many different servers. The following macro elements are supported: `hostname` — the server host name. Dots in the hostname are replaced with underscores. For example, if the hostname is `server.name.com`, then it becomes `server_name_com` . `probeHostname` — the server host name. Unlike the `hostname` macro, this macro retains the original format of the hostname and does not replace the dots. `port` — the Netprobe listen port. To create a probe name in the format `hostname port` , where the correct values are automatically inserted for host name and port, the following should be specified in the XML: <probeName><hostname/><data>_</data><port/></probeName> Mandatory: Yes
selfAnnounce >	probeName >	data > hostname	Host name element of probe name. Mandatory: No
selfAnnounce >	probeName >	data > port	Netprobe's listen port element of probe name. Mandatory: No
selfAnnounce >	restApiHttpPort		Insecure port where content is ingested by the REST API plug-in. This port is used by all REST API samplers running on the probe. By default, the REST API plug-in listens only on this port. If you create a REST API sampler without configuring any listening port, then this default behaviour applies. If you configure both insecure and secure ports, then the REST API sampler listens on both ports concurrently. Caution: If you set the same value for both HTTP and HTTPS ports, then the Netprobe only starts the REST API HTTPS server. If the SSL certificate or key is invalid for the server, then the Netprobe does not start the HTTP server. Note: Updating the port causes all REST API samplers on the probe to reload. If you do not configure this setting, but there exists a REST API sampler under the type specified in selfAnnounce > managedEntities > managedEntity > types, then the Self Announcing Netprobe starts a REST API HTTP server with the default port `7136`. Mandatory: No Default: `7136`
selfAnnounce >	restApiHttpsPort		Secure port where content is ingested by the REST API plug-in. This port is used by all REST API samplers running on the probe. This setting requires an SSL certificate and SSL certificate key. If you configure this port without configuring the insecure port, then the REST API sampler listens only on the secure port. If you configure both insecure and secure ports, then the REST API sampler listens on both ports concurrently. Caution: If you set the same value for both HTTP and HTTPS ports, then the Netprobe only starts the REST API HTTPS server. If the SSL certificate or key is invalid for the server, then the Netprobe does not start the HTTP server. When you use HTTPS for the REST API plug-in, follow these guidelines: The common name must be the REST API server host name associated with the SSL certificate. As a best practice, use the same certificate authority (CA) as is used for other Netprobe certificates. The certificate created is used by the REST API plug-in as well as the Netprobe to communicate with the . The Netprobe only uses the certificate if it is in secure mode. Note: Updating the port causes all REST API samplers on the probe to reload. Note: If this option is set, then the REST API plug-in uses the SSL certificate and SSL certificate key as specified in the `-ssl-certificate` and `-ssl-certificate-key` command-line parameters, respectively. For more information, see Netprobe Command-line Options. If you do not configure this setting, but there exists a REST API sampler under the type specified in selfAnnounce > managedEntities > managedEntity > types, then the Self Announcing Netprobe starts a REST API HTTP server with the default port `7136`. Mandatory: No
selfAnnounce >	dynamicEntities		List of Dynamic Entities options. You can start the Collection Agent by adding the following configuration in the `selfAnnounce` settings in the Netprobe setup file: <dynamicEntities> <collectionAgentParameters>CollectionAgentParams</collectionAgentParameters> <mappingType>DynamicEntitiesMapping</mappingType> </dynamicEntities> Mandatory: No
selfAnnounce >	dynamicEntities >	collectionAgentParameters	Specifies the parameters used to connect to a Collection Agent. The value of this parameter should be the same as the name of the configured Collection Agent parameters setting in the Gateway Setup Editor. Note: Beginning Geneos 6.0.0, the Collection Agent parameters are now configured under the Dynamic Entities section. For more information, see Collection Agent parameters in Dynamic Entities. Mandatory: No
selfAnnounce >	dynamicEntities >	mappingType	Specifies the mapping type used to generate Dynamic Managed Entities for this probe. The value of this parameter should be the same as the name of the configured Mapping type setting in the Gateway Setup Editor A Self-Announcing Netprobe version 5.1.2 or later, that is configured with a Dynamic Entities Mapping type, will not connect to a Gateway version 5.0.x or earlier. A failed connection will be recorded in the Netprobe log, with a warning that the Gateway version is too old. For more information, see Mapping type in Dynamic Entities. Mandatory: No
selfAnnounce >	managedEntities		List of `managedEntity` sections. You can have multiple Managed Entities on the setup file.
selfAnnounce >	managedEntities >	managedEntity	Specifies the configuration details for the Managed Entity to be created on the Gateway. Mandatory: This field is only mandatory if the `dynamicEntities` section is not configured. If the `dynamicEntities` section is configured, then this section is optional.
selfAnnounce >	managedEntities >	managedEntity > name	The name of the Managed Entity to create on the Gateway. This name must not already be in use in the Gateway configuration or be used for other Self-Announcing Netprobes. The Managed Entity name is case sensitive. The name of the Managed Entity can be composed of any number of data elements containing raw text and special macro elements that resolve to installation-specific strings, such as `hostname` . This allows a single Setup File to be used for Self-Announcing Netprobes on many different servers. The following macro elements are supported: `hostname` — the server host name. Dots in the hostname are replaced with underscores. For example, if the hostname is `server.name.com`, then it becomes `server_name_com` . `probeHostname` — the server host name. Unlike the `hostname` macro, this macro retains the original format of the hostname and does not replace the dots. `port` — the Netprobe listen port. Mandatory: This field is only mandatory if the `dynamicEntities` section is not configured. If the `dynamicEntities` section is configured, then this section is optional.
selfAnnounce >	managedEntities >	managedEntity > attributes	A list of user defined attributes that will be applied to the created Managed Entity. Managed Entities can contain any number of attributes. Each attribute is specified as a name-value pair containing a textual value. These attributes can then be used for searching and sorting in ActiveConsole. A special `GeneosDisplayName` attribute is used to identify entities in the Active Console state tree and everywhere the display name is used. However, the name and path of each entity is unchanged. For more information, see Managed Entity Configuration in Managed Entities and Managed Entity Groups. Mandatory: No
selfAnnounce >	managedEntities >	managedEntity > variables	A list of user defined variables that will be set on the created Managed Entity. Each Managed Entity section can contain any number of variables, but not password variables. Variable definitions are checked by the Gateway and may be rejected, with errors reported in both the Netprobe and Gateway logs. For more information, see Managed entity variables in Rejection reasons. To avoid syntax errors, you can copy Variables settings from the XML format of Gateway > ManagedEntity > Advanced tab > Var in Gateway Setup Editor, or from the Gateway setup file. Mandatory: No
selfAnnounce >	managedEntities >	managedEntity > types	A list of referenced types that will be applied to the created Managed Entity. These types refer to the named types in the Gateway configuration. These types (and the associated samplers) will be loaded into the created Managed Entity when the Netprobe connects to a Gateway. Duplicate types will be ignored. Mandatory: No
selfAnnounce >	gateways		A list of candidate Gateways that the Netprobesattempts to connect to. The order of the list determines which Gateway the Netprobe connects to if there is a tie. For more information, see Load balancing in Self Announcing Netprobes. Mandatory: Yes, at least one Gateway
selfAnnounce >	gateways	gateway > hostname	The hostname of a candidate Gateway, to which the Netprobe will connect. Mandatory: Yes
selfAnnounce >	gateways	gateway > port	The listen port of a candidate Gateway to which the Netprobe will connect. Default: `7039` Mandatory: No
selfAnnounce >	gateways	gateway > secure	Flag to indicate if the probe should use a secure or an insecure protocol when connecting to the Gateway. Mandatory: No Default: False
selfAnnounce >	encodedPassword		A password encoded using the Unix crypt command-line utility, which is then requested when you attempt to execute a Netprobe command. When defined, this setting takes precedence over passwords defined through environment variables. For more information, see Types of password offered by the Gateway and how to generate them in Secure Passwords.
selfAnnounce >	cyberArkApplicationID		Name used to identify the CyberArk permissions for the Self-Announcing Netprobe. This determines which passwords can be requested, and must be configured in the CyberArk web interface. This setting is used for the CyberArk Local Credential Provider. If not defined, then the value defaults to `ITRS-Geneos`.
selfAnnounce >	cyberArkSdkPath		Path to the Application Password SDK installed on the Netprobe host. The path must be fully specified and cannot embed any references to environment variables. This setting is used for the CyberArk Local Credential Provider. If not defined, then the value defaults to the following: `%ProgramFiles(x86)%\CyberArk\ApplicationPasswordSdk\clipasswordsdk` for Windows. `/opt/CARKaim/sdk/clipasswordsdk` for Linux and other platforms.
selfAnnounce >	userAssignmentAndSnoozeFilenamePrefix		Specifies the prefix that will be used in the filenames for user assignment and snooze files created by Netprobe. If specified, the format of the files will be `<userAssignmentAndSnoozeFilenamePrefix>.user_assignment` and `<userAssignmentAndSnoozeFilenamePrefix>.snooze`. If not specified, the format of the files will be `<probename>.user_assignment` and `<probename>.snooze`, where `<probename>` is the name of the Self-Announcing Netprobe configured in the Netprobe setup file. Mandatory: No

Advanced settings Copied

You can also use some of the advanced settings of a standard Netprobe to configure a Self-Announcing Netprobe. To apply the advanced settings for Self-Announcing Netprobes, you can add them to the start-up script or set them as environment variables:

setenv <variable name> <value>

export <variable name>=<value>

Advanced setting	Variable name
Max log file size	maxLogFileSize
Wide process list command	wideProcessListCommand
Cache process names	cacheProcessNames
Max database connections	maxDatabaseConnections
Case insensitive filenames (Unix based OS)	caseInsensitiveFilename
Command time out	commandTimeOut
Fkm lock file path	fkmLockFilePath
Max toolkit processes	maxToolkitProcesses

For more information about these settings, see Probe settings - Advanced tab.

Floating settings Copied

In floating mode, a Netprobe and Managed Entity are configured on the Gateway, but without connection details.

On starting, the Netprobe informs the Gateway of its host name and listen port. In turn, the Gateway connects to the Netprobe. This allows a Netprobe to automatically follow an application that migrates between servers.

Consider the following setup file for a floating Netprobe:


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<netprobe>
        <floatingProbe>
                <enabled>true</enabled>
                <retryInterval>60</retryInterval>
                <requireReverseConnection>false</requireReverseConnection>
                <probeName>myFloatingProbe</probeName>
                <gateways>
                        <gateway>
                                <hostname>gateway1</hostname>
                                <port>17101</port>
                                <secure>false</secure>
                        </gateway>
                </gateways>
        </floatingProbe>
</netprobe>

Element	Sub-element	Sub-element	Description
floatingProbe			Setup values for the Floating Netprobe mode. Mandatory: No
floatingProbe >	enabled		Enables or disables the Floating Netprobe mode. Mandatory: Yes
floatingProbe >	retryInterval		Time in seconds that the Netprobe waits after failing to announce itself to a Gateway, or after the master connection is dropped, before restarting the announcing process. Mandatory: No Default value: `60`
floatingProbe >	requireReverseConnection		When set to `true`, indicates that the Netprobe can only make a Netprobe-to-Gateway connection. This is useful when, for example, the Netprobe is behind a firewall. By default, floating Netprobes make Netprobe-to-Gateway connections where both components support it. This setting ensures that theNetprobe will not select a Gateway that does not support reverse connections. The default value for this depends upon whether the Netprobeis configured to connect to a secure Gateway. If any of the Gateway connections have the secure flag set to `true`, then the default value for this setting is `true`, and it cannot be overridden. If all the Gateways connected to are insecure, then the default value of this setting is `false`, but it can be set to `true` to ensure that all connections are Netprobe-to-Gateway. Mandatory: No Default: Dependent on other settings
floatingProbe >	probeName		Specifies the name of this Netprobe. The probe must already have been configured as a `floatingProbe` on the Gateway being contacted. Mandatory: Yes
floatingProbe >	gateways		The Gateway or Gateways to which the floating Netprobe should connect. Up to two Gateways are allowed. If two are set then they must be a hot-standby pair. Mandatory: Yes, at least one Gateway must be configured.
floatingProbe >	gateways	gateway > hostname	The host name of the Gateway to which the Netprobe should connect. Mandatory: Yes
floatingProbe >	gateways	gateway > port	The listen port of the Gateway to which the Netprobe should connect. Default: `7039` Mandatory: No
floatingProbe >	gateways	gateway > secure	Flag to indicate if the probe should use a secure or an insecure protocol when connecting to the Gateway. Mandatory: No Default: false

OS environment variables Copied

Beginning Geneos 5.3.x, the Netprobe setup file supports using macros to access environment variables available to the host platform.

The syntax for the new macro is [[$env:VARIABLE_NAME]].

The Netprobe evaluates environment variables only once during its lifecycle. That is, during a Netprobe process startup and restart.

If an environment variable cannot be determined, then the macro remains unresolved.

Environment variables abide by OS-specific rules, precedence, and profiles.

Linux environment variables Copied

On Linux, you can use any available environment variables. For example, if the value of $SHELL in the Linux environment is /bin/bash, then [[$env:SHELL]] resolves to /bin/bash in the Netprobe setup file.

Linux variables are case-sensitive.

Windows environment variables Copied

On Windows, you can use any user environment variable defined under Environment Variables in System Properties.

Windows environment variables are case-insensitive.

If the Netprobe is run as a Windows service, then it evaluates the environment variable macros using the environment values defined at startup.

Reload Netprobe configurations Copied

Netprobe configuration files can be reloaded using a USR1 signal. For example:

kill -USR1 <pid>