Updated 14 July 2006

© 2006  LogiQwest, Inc. All rights reserved.

q-Status Logo

Solaris Logo


Index

Introduction

Installation

Custom Setup

Apache Server

SSH Xfer

FTP Xfer

NFS Xfer

Group Management

Complex Servers

Sun Fire Config

Baseline Comparison

Golden Comparison

Customization

Configuring q-status™ to Collect Server Data

Introduction

Before configuring q-status™ for client data, complete the following steps:

  • Establish a Web Server that supports executable Perl cgi-bin scripts
  • Place the q-status™ directory and files under the htdocs file system of your Web Server for viewing

See q-status™ Installation for information on these first two steps if not already completed.

q-Status™ is delivered with ownership and group of www - both assigned as the attribute of 70.

owner group
/etc/passwd /etc/group
www:x:70:70: www::70:

To customize q-status™ for collecting server data, complete the following three steps:

  • Establish the data collection method. Use either SSH, FTP or NFS or a combination of each:
    1. Utilize a SSH process to transfer data with a script provided. A pkgadd file is provide with the q-status™ program to support both SSH and FTP data collection. The program is called LQWq-Status.pkg and is located in the main q-Status/Goodies directory. See "SSH Data Collection".
    2. Utilize a FTP process to transfer data with a script provided. A pkgadd file is provide with the q-status™ program to support both SSH and FTP data collection. The program is called LQWq-Status.pkg and is located in the q-Status/Goodies directory. See "FTP Data Collection".
    3. Establish a NFS mount directory accessible from the systems being monitored on the web server to write the data to be collected. See "NFS Data Collection".
  • The recommended and most secure method is to use SSH processes is to transfer the server data files collected by the scripts. The easiest and least secure method to use is NFS shared mounts where data is written by each server.
  • In the q-Status/bin directory, make sure the scripts are executable, and configure the CFGDIR file, if required, to define install location of the scripts.

Note: If using SSH or FTP, the pkgadd modules configures the CFGDIR file automatically.

Note: If using NFS and/or collecting configuration data from the q-status™ Web Server, configure the q-Status/bin directory. If using NFS, set up the NFS shared file system to share the q-Status™ directory.

  • Add crontab entries to servers to be monitored.

q-status™ can monitor configurations of any Solaris system. q-status™ supports both Veritas and DiskSuite/Sun Volume Managers. The GUI for q-status™ is started from the index.html in the q-Status/ directory. This html web page inturn calls the Main q-status™ icon set (e.g. qStatusGUI.cgi) from which all q-status™ functionality can be accessed. This is a context sensitive interface and will display options only if the data is present for the functionality (e.g. Star Cat, Sun Fire's Multi-domain Servers, baseline, golden compare, Veritas Volume Manager, etc.).

Configuring CGI Param File

The qStatus.conf file is configured with q-status™ to run with the default directories It is not recommended that default directory assignments be changed.

Note: Administrative Menus are disabled to write data to. Enable Administrative Menus by editing the qStatus.conf file and setting "admin|TRUE" from "FALSE".

The only change that needs to be made to the qStatus.conf file is to enable the Administrative Menus to write date by setting "admin|TRUE" from "FALSE" in the file:

From To
admin|FALSE admin|TRUE

Each CGI script file located in the CGI/ directory is controlled by a qStatus.conf file also located in conf/ directory. This file assigns a predefined configuration when the scripts are executed. Its structure consists of:

data_dir|../data/
image_dir|../Images/
server_image_dir|../Images_servers/
css_file|qStatus.css
js_file|qconfig.js
threshold|80
admin|FALSE
baseline_dir|../data_baseline/
golden_dir|../data_golden/
sysrunbk_dir|../../SystemRunBooks/
appsrunbk_dir|../../Applications/

Note: The directory names for the qStatus.conf file end in a slash (/).

Parameters are defined via key words as described below:

  • data_dir - the directory where the data/ is located and collected from the crontab scripts. In each cgi script, data_dir assigns a local directory where the data generated from the crontab system scrip can be read. CGI script references are by local directories. For example:

/var/apache/htdocs/q-Status/data/

Not an NFS shared file reference as with the Unix shell scripts in bin/.

  • image_dir - directory where all images are located. This includes not only the q-status™ logo image, but also the color bars used in the disk configuration program, the interface boards system (rotated text) used in the E10K system configuration program and any system images. This directory comes configured as "../Images/" and should not be changed.
  • css_file - name of the Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) file enabled with the web pages.
  • js_file - name of the Javascript library file.
  • admin - Enables or disables the Administrative Menus to write data. Administrative menus are used to create and remove baselines, assign serial numbers to servers, enables and assign Group associates to servers, create, modify, and archive Golden Parmeter files.
  • threshold - the percentage threshold value at which the disk configuration will display red instead of blue (Default is 80).
  • baseline_dir - name and location of the baseline directory when baseline files are retained.
  • golden_dir - name and location of the directory where the golden parmeter files are retained.

Testing Data Creation

To test the system, run the file list_configs in the bin/ directory. Executing this script across the network should generate data in the data/ directory. Run q-status™ from its web page modules to verify that it is working (e.g. qStatusGUI.cgi).

Note: In certain versions of Solaris, when new configuration data is first written, protecting against overwrite is prevented (owned by "nobody"). Therefore, once initial data has been created, go into the data/ directory and make all files writable by anyone (e.g. chmod a=rw *). If you move the existing data/ directory to data_orig/ and create a new data/ directory, you can easily see if data is created.

# pwd 
/var/apache/htdocs/q-Status
# mv data data_orig
# mkdir data
# chmod 777 data

The script list_configs is not executable for the Perl Telnet SC extract programs used for the mid-range Sun Fire (F3800, F4800, F4900, F6800 and F6900) servers or T3 storage devices. To enable these functions, you will need to configure their appropriate scripts and execute them. See q-status™ Sun Fire Telnet Module Setup.

Both Star Cat (SF 12000/15000/20000/25000) Sun Fire Mid Range Server's Board layouts are defined by a parameter file, by the program and by artwork. If a board is not know to the q-status™ program, it will appear as a blank card. If such an occurrence takes place, please contact support@Logiqwest.com, and a new version will be sent to you to which will display the missing card(s).

Security Issues

It is probably a good idea to password protect the AdministrativeMenus/ directory which allows creation of baseline data and updates for serial numbers and E10000 cross references. A method for doing this is described in "Basic Directory Authentication for Apache Web Server".

Goodies Directory

The q-Status/Goodies directory contains several supported and unsupported modules.
  • FTPobtainXREF - A script file to obtain the SunSolve patchdiag.xref patch cross reference file. Simply add your valid email address to use. This file can be executed from crontab entry (recommended once a month).
  • LQWq-Status.pkg - A package add utility that uses pkgadd to install the bin, data and patchdiag directories for collection of q-status™ data to be transferred by FTP or SSH to the q-status™ processing web server.
  • q-StatusStandaloneExtraction.tar.gz - This tar-gzip file contains a standalone extraction module is the same q-status™ software installed by the pkgadd module without using pkgadd. This standalone extraction module can be used to:
    • extract q-status™ data on a one times bases for processing at some remote location or
    • to setup normally q-status™ data update through crontab.

    This module does not require pkgadd to be installed.

    There is also an execute file in this module in the /var/q-Status/ directory called extract_q-Status that will execute the bin/list_configs script called and create a tar-gzip file by the hostname of the data/ directory called <hostname.data.gz>.

    After this file is transported, the /var/q-Status directory can then be removed from the system for one time extractions.

  • serial2xref.pl - Perl script which reads the content of the data/serialGroup.xref file and creates the new <hostname>.xref files out of it. The serialGroup file is no longer necessary after successful execution of this script.

    Use this Module to convert a q-status™ (≤ 2.02) database to the 2.03 database format.

  • pkg_WorkArea - is a directory which contains a shell, parameter files and directories to create a new version of LQWq-Status.pkg and/or the q-StatusStandaloneExtraction.tar.gz program. It is intended for clients who wish to add their own additions to q-Status™ bin directory. Any additions or changes made to the q-Status/bin will be added to the new LQWq-Status.pkg.
  • SamplecrontabEnties - Some sample crontab entries for both client servers and q-status™ web server.