Test 927: IBM Certified Administrator – Netcool/Proviso V4.4.1

Section 1: Concepts

1. Given a Proviso report, analyze the data flow so that root cause of the problem is determined. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Identify the reporter ID.
2. Identify the metric IDs used in that report.
3. Identify a resource for which there already was data in that report.
4. Identify the channel and subchannel this resource belongs to.
5. Validate the DataLoad is collecting data for that metric.
6. Validate the CME receives the data for that metric.
7. Identify a resource for which CME has received data for that metric.
8. Validate this resource is in the correct group.
9. Validate there is a calendar and time zone applied to the reporting group.
10. Verify that CME is not discarding data for this resource and metric pair.
11. Verify LDR receives the data for this metric and resource ID pair.
12. Verify LDR picks up the load set.
13. Verify metric data has been stored in the database using Proviso tools.


2. Given the failure of Proviso inventory to discover an interface, analyze the metadata flow so that the root cause of the failure is determined. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Examine the inventory profile to determine the SNMP read community string required to talk to the target device.
2. Execute snmpGet to determine if Proviso can talk to the target device using the supplied community string(s).
3. Verify the Interface exists on the target device through SNMP.
4. Analyze proviso.log to determine if discovery finished successfully.
5. Analyze proviso.log to determine if DISC server was unable to talk to the target device
6. Analyze proviso.log to determine if DISC server was able to find the given Interface on the target device.
7. Analyze inventory_subelements.txt to determine if correct discovery formulae are used with the inventory profile.


3. Given a Proviso architecture, create and configure datachannels so that Data Channel has been created and binary has been distributed. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Identify the DataLoad source and nature.
2. Identify where every module will be located.
3. Identify where the firewall is located and which port should be used.
4. Identify which FTP would be used.
5. Identify if database backup and HAM are selected.
6. Identify data flow and which DC modules are required.
7. Identify module location based on directory space.
8. Provide the correct value for disk quota and disk low limit parameters.
9. Identify where main daemons (CNS, CMGR, …) are located.
10. Locate setup script and run it.


4. Given that Proviso had been installed and the reporting group has been established, create and manage the user accounts so that the user can log in to the Proviso Web interface and see the reports. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Start SilverStream Management Console (SMC).
2. Log in using administrative account.
3. Navigate to the Security – Users & Groups Menu.
4. Add Report User in SMC.
5. Add Group in SMC.
6. Assign User to Group.
7. Start SilverJRunner DVUserEditor.
8. Add Group in DVUserEditor.
9. Add User in DVUserEditor.
10. Associate User in DVUserEditor with user in SilverStream.
11. Add Reporting Group to User.
12. Enrich Web user properties using the Resource Manager.
13. Test User Login.


5. Given a Proviso setup, add a time zone so that a new time zone is available. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Source datamart.env.
2. Use the appropriate datamart tool to create an additional time zone.
3. Log in as root.
4. Launch the installation tool to create the additional table space on each existing datachannel.
5. Use the datamart CLI to attach the new time zone and calendar on an existing reporting group.


6. Given proper creation of data collection through use of time zones, calendars and groups, create baseline thresholds for a group of resources so that both warning and critical baseline thresholds are generated. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Open Resource Editor.
2. Go to Threshold Tab.
3. Right click and select Add.
4. Browse and select appropriate metric to configure threshold against.
5. Drag necessary reporting group into “Group” box.
6. Select Baseline Tab.

-Configure Max # of Days for how maximum number of days used to create baseline.
-Configure Min # of Days for minimum number of days to create baseline.
-Select Calculation to either Previous Same Days or Previous Days.
-Set the Threshold Sensitivity for both Upper and Lower.
-Set the Time permitted outside baseline in minutes.
-Decide if the threshold should generate events by selecting Event Generation to either yes or no.
-Select if the Mode is over or under or band.
7. Press OK to save and apply the threshold.
8. Wait for a duration of time (approximately 15-30 minutes) and look in the reports to verify thresholds are present.
9. If Event Generation was selected, look in event window to verify that traps are being received.


7. Given that Proviso had been installed and a new UNIX account has been created, create and manage the datamart user accounts so that the user can log in to UNIX and use the datamart. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Log in to datamart host as user with admin privilege.
2. Source the datamart environment variable if it has not been set in the profile.
3. Start pvm and navigate to User Configuration in the Configuration tab or start the screen using userconf command.
4. Create Group.
5. Assign permissions to Group.
6. Create Users.
7. Assign User to Group.
8. Check UNIX Group permissions on Proviso binary.


8. Given a running Proviso system, modify an existing Request so that the polling behavior is altered. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Set the dataMart.env environment file.
2. Launch the Request Editor from the Configuration Tab.
3. Locate the request to be modified.
4. Select the request for editing.
5. Change a parameter of the selected request.
6. Select Save.


9. Given the name of a report and a report group add the report to the group so that it will be shown in the reports portal. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Log in to the DataMart server.
2. Source the DataMart environment (dataMart.env).
3. Launch the PVM GUI.
4. Launch the Resource Editor GUI.
5. Select the Report tab.
6. Highlight the Report to be deployed and press ctrl + c (to copy).
7. Select the SE report group tab.
8. Navigate to the report group (or rule) against which the report should be deployed and press ctrl + v (to paste).
9. Where a report is deployed against a rule instead of a static group, run report grouping to deploy the report against every dynamic group created by the rule.


10. Given the name of a report and a report group, remove the report from the group so that it will no longer be shown in the reports portal. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Log in to the DataMart server.
2. Source the DataMart environment (dataMart.env).
3. Launch the PVM GUI.
4. Launch the Resource Editor GUI.
5. Select the SE report group tab.
6. Navigate to the report group (or rule) for which the report should be removed.
7. Highlight the report to be removed and press delete.
8. Where the report was deployed against a rule instead of a static group, run report grouping to remove the report from every dynamic group created by the rule.


11. Given the name of a report group and report user add the group to the user so that it can be seen in the reports portal. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Launch the DVUserEditor tool.
2. Select a user to add a report group to.
3. Select a report group to add to that user account.


12. Given the name of a report group and report user, remove the group from the user so that it will be removed from the reports portal. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Launch the DVUserEditor tool.
2. Select a user to remove a report group from.
3. Select a report group to delete from that user account.


13. Given proper creation of data collection through use of time zones, calendars and groups, create burst thresholds for a group of resources so that both warning and critical burst thresholds are generated. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Open Resource Editor.
2. Go to Threshold Tab.
3. Right click and select Add.
4. Browse and select appropriate metric to configure threshold against.
5. Drag necessary reporting group into Group box.
6. Under Static tab select Effective Date to today, Mode is over and Statistic Mode is raw.
7. Use Only Burst Tab and enable threshold.

-Type in desired Warning Level and Warning Time.
-Type in desired Critical Level and Critical Time.
-Enable Event Generation if trap is desired.
8. Press OK to save and apply the threshold.
9. Wait for a duration of time (approximately 15-30 minutes) and look in the reports to verify thresholds are present.
10. If Event Generation was selected look in event window to verify that traps are being received.


14. Given proper creation of data collection through use of time zones, calendars and groups, create period thresholds for a group of resources so that both warning and critical period thresholds are generated. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Open Resource Editor.
2. Go to Threshold Tab.
3. Right click and select Add.
4. Browse and select appropriate metric to configure threshold against.
5. Drag necessary reporting group into “Group” box.
6. Under Static tab select Effective Date to today, Mode is over and Statistic Mode is raw.

-Using Only “Period” Tab and enable threshold.
-Type in desired Warning Level and Warning Time.
-Type in desired Critical Level and Critical Time.
-Enable Event Generation if trap is desired.
7. Press OK to save and apply the threshold.
8. Wait for a duration of time (approximately 15-30 minutes) and look in the reports to verify thresholds are present.
9. If Event Generation was selected look in event window to verify that traps are being received.


15. Given the proviso datamart module, run dbMgr with the appropriate parameters so that a log file containing Proviso versions is produced. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Log in to the datamart server.
2. Source the datamart environment file dataMart.env.
3. Run dbMgr with the appropriate parameters to output version information.
4. On the database server locate the detailed version report form.
5. Inspect the log file for proviso module versions.


16. Given access to the PVM GUI tool of a working Proviso system, run report grouping so that all reports deployed against dynamic report groups are updated. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Log in to the DataMart server.
2. Source the DataMart environment (dataMart.env).
3. Launch the PVM GUI.
4. Launch the Resource Editor GUI.
5. Select the SE report group tab.
6. Right click the group panel and select .auto grouping.


17. Given that the inventory profile had been created, create a cron job to run the inventory profile, so that the inventories are updated periodically. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Log in to datamart host as user with admin privilege.
2. Start the crontab editor.
3. Ensure there is a crontab entry for periodic grouping of bulk profiles.
4. Verify the syntax in crontab for invocation of inventory profile is correct and uses all necessary switches and logging redirection.
5. Ensure a crontab entry for report grouping.
6. Verify the inventory ran.


18. Given that the data channel had been installed, verify a cron job to start the watchdog processes, so that the datachannel administrative processes can be executed. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Log in to data channel host as user with admin privilege.
2. Start the crontab editor.
3. Verify that the data channel administrative watchdog entries exist and are enabled with the proper crontab syntax.
4. Verify that the data channel administrative processes are running.


19. Given a Proviso setup, configure time zones and calendars so that the reports work correctly. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Verify that an aggregation set has been installed.
2. Verify that a time zone is configured by using the CLI.
3. Verify that a calendar is defined in the system.
4. Use the CLI to apply the time zone and calendar to the reporting group.




20. Given that the data collector has been configured and the resources have been discovered, run the collection formula, so that the collection formula returns the desired results and can collect data from the resources. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Log in to datamart host as user with admin privilege.
2. Source the datamart environment variable if it has not been set in the profile.
3. Start the Formula Editor either through pvm or formedit. (C, K)
4. Load an existing collection formula from Specific ~ SNMP.
5. Select Test Tab, and Specify the Resource, consult the resource editor for the resource if necessary.
6. Specify the Community String and the select the SNMP Collector, the required Trace Level, and click the test Button to start the test.
7. Verify the output of the test.


21. Given that the collector has been configured, run the discovery formula, so that the discovery formula is active and can discover the resources. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Log in to datamart host as user with admin privilege.
2. Source the datamart environment variable if it has not been set in the profile.
3. Start the Formula Editor either through pvm or formedit.
4. Load an existing discovery formula from Alias Instance and Label Inventory.
5. Select Test Tab, and Specify the Resource, Community String and the select the SNMP Collector.
6. Select the required Trace Level, and click the test Button to start the test.
7. Verify the output of the test.

Section 2: Daily Operations

1. Given a running Datachannel System, examine the proviso.log so that the Datachannel component abnormalities are monitored. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Log onto the DataChannel Channel Manager System.
2. Change directory to $DC_HOME/log.
3. Examine the proviso.log and search for selected modules.


2. Given a datamart module, use appropriate tools so that datamart bulk log files can be monitored for conditions. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Log in to a server with datamart installed.
2. Change directory to where the logs are stored.
3. Open the appropriate log file/s for monitoring.
4. Interpret the output provided.


3. Given a dataload module, use appropriate tools so that the files are inspected for error conditions. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Log in to a server with dataload installed.
2. Change directory to where the logs are stored.
3. Open log files for monitoring.
4. Interpret the output provided.
5. Monitor conditions such as Overflow, Formula failures, SNMP Autocheck issues and Calculation Errors.


4. Given that the DISC Server and the collectors have been configured and are running, use the Proviso.log, so that the DISC Server is monitored. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Log in to datachannel logging host as user with admin privilege.
2. Verify the LOG.FILTER in dc.cfg. This will determine the log level in the proviso.log.
3. Go through the proviso.log through UNIX utility to find any of the following information: performance summary of the DISC Server; Informational entries such as MEM_STATS, (note the timestamp between MEM_STATS); successful discovery process such as DISCSUCCESS, DISCOVERED; problems with the discovery such as CLIENTERR; lack of any DISC messages.
4. Take necessary action depending on the finding from the proviso.log.


5. Given the datachannel module, run dccmd with the appropriate parameters so that the state of the discovery server is determined. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Log in to a server with datachannel installed.
2. Source the datachannel environment file dataChannel.env.
3. Run the dccmd command to determine the status of the discovery server.
4. Interpret the output provided.


6. Given a running Proviso system, verify the Dataload process and response so that the Dataload is available. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Log in to every DataLoad workstation as the main DataLoad user.
2. Verify the main daemon is running.
3. Identify the DataLoad listener port.
4. Verify the watchdog process is running.
5. Issue a CLI command using SNMPGet and StagGet to ensure proper answer.


7. Given a running Proviso system, verify the DataChannel process so that the DataChannel is available. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Log in to every DataChannel workstation as the main DataChannel user.
2. Verify the main administrative daemon is running.
3. Identify the DataChannel port.
4. Verify all sub-channel module processes are running.
5. Kill one of them to ensure proper restart (one main daemon, one sub-component).


8. Given a running Proviso system, verify the DataView process so that it is determined that the DataView workstation is available. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Log in to the main DataView/Silverstream workstation as the main DataView/Silverstream user.
2. Verify the main daemon is running.
3. Identify the DataView/Silverstream port.
4. Verify the watch dog is running.
5. Issue a Web query through the browser to ensure valid page login.


9. Given a running Proviso system, verify the database process so that the database is responding. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Log in to the Oracle Server as the main oracle user.
2. Verify listener is running and handling the Proviso Instance.
3. Identify Oracle listener port .
4. Verify Oracle Server processes are running.
5. Verify SQL query can be issued using oracle user lt;DB_USER_ROOTgt;_ADMIN, such as: select username, machine, program from v$session order by username, machine, program.


10. Given access to a DataView server, perform checks so that the status of the DataView Service can be determined. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Log in to the DataView server.
2. Check that the SilverStream server is running.
3. Check the performance of the system using an appropriate system tool.
4. Launch the SMC (SilverStream Management Console) GUI and log in to the server.
5. Examine the configuration and performance of the SilverStream server using the SMC GUI.
6. Examine the SilverStream log for any common errors.
7. Open a Web browser and log in to the reports portal and navigate to a report to confirm that the server is functioning correctly.


11. Given a running Proviso system, verify the datamart process so that the datamart process is available. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Log in to the DataMart Server as the main Proviso DataMart user.
2. Check if main daemon are running.


12. Given access to a DataMart server, perform checks so that the status of individual components can be determined. With emphasis on performing the following steps:s:
1. Log in to the DataMart server and launch the PVM GUI.
2. Launch the Collector Information Tool and check the status of each SNMP collector in turn.
3. Launch the Proviso Info Tool and check the status of the Database.
4. Launch the DataMart locks tool and check for any invalid locks.

Section 3: Performance

1. Given an active Proviso Oracle instance, execute a search on the alert log so that live database activity is captured. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Log in to the Datamart server
2. Use the Database Information Tool to locate the bdump directory.
3. Log on to a Proviso database system as the Oracle user.
4. Change directory to the location of the alert file.
5. Run the UNIX command to monitor the alert file.


2. Given an active Datachannel system, execute a search on the proviso.log so that individual component File System stats are captured. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Log on to a Datachannel system (Channel Manager System)
2. Change directory to DC_HOME/log.
3. Run the UNIX command to search for flow control states.


3. Given an active Dataload, execute the statGet command so that the load volume is identified. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Log on to a Dataload or Datamart system.
2. Set the environment by sourcing dataLoad.env or dataMart.env file.
3. Run the statGet command.

Section 4: Troubleshooting

1. Given a Proviso report, analyze the content so that any problems are identified. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Identify the reporter ID.
2. Determine whether the report has data for all columns and values for all properties.
3. Identify the metric IDs used in that report.
4. Export to CSV the report contents for the current and previous day, and compare the number of lines.
5. Determine whether the missing resources, if any, are still switched on.
6. Determine whether the SNMP DL still has the tasks for the missing resources, if any.


2. Given the Proviso CLI guide, use Resource Manager commands so that basic troubleshooting can be performed. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Log in to the DataMart.
2. Source the DataMart environment file.
3. Identify the Proviso resmgr object to be used for the given task from the CLI guide.
4. Run resmgr command to export data for a given task.
5. Modify the resmgr command to add filters, if any, to narrow down the exported output.
6. Run resmgr command to import data for a given task.


3. Given the large amount of data collection and storage, verify the database partitions have been deleted so that control of the systems growth is maintained. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Log in to the datamart system
2. Locate the lt;SIDgt;_purge partition log
3. Analyze the lt;SIDgt;_partition_purge_log


4. Given properly running Proviso components continuously loading data into the database, use the Proviso Database Information Tool so that the Proviso file system and nonextendable tablespaces can be monitored. With emphasis on performing the following steps:
1. Open the Database Information Tool GUI from within Proviso.
2. Verify in the lower left corner that Database Connection Status is green.
3. If the Database Status is any color other than green, look at the tabs above and see if any of those are colored.
4. If the tab is colored, then click that tab and find the tablespace with issues.
5. Determine if that tablespace is auto-extendable or not.
6. Upon identification of the table that is at fault, take appropriate steps through the DBA to correct it.
7. After correction, force the update of the Database Information Tool and repeat steps.