Not sure about 1 and 2.

3 - When you issue bb host "drop host files" you drop the historical data of the host:files. As it is reappearing it shows that it is still being updated, via bb-hosts (or since it is files) from a client. The files test is done by the client and reported to the Hobbit server.

Josh

On Thu, May 22, 2008 at 12:49 PM, Linder, Doug (SABIC Innovative Plastics, consultant) <Doug.Linder at sabic-ip.com> wrote:

Hi Everyone, I'm relatively new to Hobbit. I like it a lot, but I do have a few random questions. I've been reading the documentation a lot and haven't found the answers, so I hope the answers don't turn out to be "see the man page". :)

I have to say I really like the documentation to Hobbit. At first glance it seems a bit short, but on reading it I find that it manages to be packed with information which is written in a nice concise, efficient, jargon-free, and human-readable way. The comments in the config files are also excellent, although sometimes the information in there is slightly different from what's in the documentation page for that file - sometimes there's info in one place that isn't in the other. I wish more documentation in the IT field were written like this. My only suggestion is that it would be helpful for us new folks to have some kind of general overview that describes (or better yet, shows in a flowchart) how data flows between client, server, the various tests, the web server, how the various config files fit in, and so on. The information is currently in there but it takes a good bit of reading and experimenting before you really start to "get it".

Questions:

1. In the hobbit-clients.cfg file, I this is in the comments:

Defaults: MEMPHYS warnlevel=100 paniclevel=101 (i.e. it will

never go red)

MEMSWAP warnlevel=50 paniclevel=80

MEMACT warnlevel=90 paniclevel=97

Note: The words "PHYS", "ACT" and "SWAP" are also recognized.

And then later on, there is this bit:

These are the built-in defaults.

SWAP 20 40

MEMSWAP 50 80

Is there a difference between MEMSWAP and SWAP? If not, why is it listed twice in the defaults? If so, what is the difference?

2. In the documentation page for hobbit-clients.cfg, there is this statement:

"CLASS=classname - Rule match by the client class-name. You specify the class-name for a host when starting the client through the "--class=NAME" option to the runclient.sh script. If no class is specified, the host by default goes into a class named by the operating system."

Unfortunately I can't find any details about what the default names of the "classes named by the operating system" are, so I don't know which strings to put after "CLASS=" in my hobbit-clients.cfg file. Is there a list somewhere?

3. There are a couple columns in the default configuration that I don't want, like "files". On the page in question, the status icon for every system is "clear" (white). I want to use the "drop" option to the bb command to do this. I issued this command for every host on the page in question:

bb localhost "drop <hostname> files"

That works for a minute or two. On the next page refresh, almost all of the hosts have the column empty (just a dash), but a few of them are back to "clear" already. After one or two refreshes, all the systems are back at clear status. How can I get hobbit to drop the column forever, permanently, completely, without leaving old history files around and stuff?

Thanks for any tips!

---

Doug Linder UNIX Systems Administrator CompuCom Systems, Inc.

SABIC Innovative Plastics T: 413 448 7563 D: *838 7563 E: doug.linder at sabic-ip.com <doug.linderrdoug.linder at sabic-ip.com>

-- Josh Luthman Office: 937-552-2340 Direct: 937-552-2343 1100 Wayne St Suite 1337 Troy, OH 45373

Those who don't understand UNIX are condemned to reinvent it, poorly. --- Henry Spencer

On Thu, May 22, 2008 at 18:49 CEST, "Linder, Doug (SABIC Innovative Plastics, consultant)" <Doug.Linder at sabic-ip.com> wrote:

Is there a difference between MEMSWAP and SWAP? If not, why is it listed twice in the defaults? If so, what is the difference?

As far as I have read the documentation you can use either keyword. SWAP is just three letters shorter than MEMSWAP (according to documentation you can use either MEMPHYS, PHYS, MEMACT, ACT, MEMSWAP and SWAP).

Unfortunately I can't find any details about what the default names of the "classes named by the operating system" are, so I don't know which strings to put after "CLASS=" in my hobbit-clients.cfg file. Is there a list somewhere?

CLASS is up to you to define. You could use it to classify and group togehter simlar systems in i.e. hobbit-clients.cfg (the most practical place to use this flag).

On the clients define CLASS=webfront and in your hobbit-clients.cfg write this:

CLASS=webfront PROC java PROC httpd 10

You could achive the same thing using regexp, like:

HOST=%web(1-9).mydomain.com PROC java PROC httpd 10

Which soultion you use depends more on what you feels are the most practiacal solution.

3. There are a couple columns in the default configuration that I don't want, like "files". On the page in question, the status icon for every system is "clear" (white). I want to use the "drop" option to the bb command to do this. I issued this command for every host on the page in question:

You've got many suggestions already, but I have one more solution: update your clientdata channel, this is what my channel looks like:

[clientdata] ENVFILE /home/hobbitd/server/etc/hobbitserver.cfg NEEDS hobbitd CMD hobbitd_channel --channel=client --log=$BBSERVERLOGS/clientdata.log hobbitd_client --no-clear-msgs --no-clear-files --no-clear-ports

This tells hobbitd_client to not generate CLEAR status if no test data is defined for MSGS, FILES or PORTS.

All of the above implies that you use central configuration.

-- +-----------------------------------------------------------+ | Johan Björklund <the at whero.net> http://whero.net/ | +-----------------------------------------------------------+ | I AM DEATH, NOT TAXES. I TURN UP ONLY ONCE. | (Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchet) +-------------------------------- ------ ----- ---- --- -- -