Hosts Inventory
This option displays the list of Hosts monitored by WOCU. In addition to listing the Assets, WOCU also provides information on their Status and allows the user to perform common operation Actions.
Important
Remember that it is possible to filter the Hosts displayed in the inventory by searching for: name, IP address and status information (content of the Status Information column) of the Host.
Host Inventory Fields
The elements of the Hosts Inventory are displayed in a table with different fields that we will see below.
Display/hide Services column
The field contains only one element indicating the possibility to show and hide the Services associated with the Host. By clicking on the icon with the plus sign (Display/hide services) you can access these services:
To retract the Host services click on the icon (now a minus sign) and the listed Services will disappear from view:
Note
In order to make it easier for the user to read data in the inventory, the rows corresponding to a Service shall always have a white background, regardless of its Status while the rows of the Hosts shall vary their background colour depending on their status (see Status field below).
Type field
This field houses an icon that identifies the type of Asset in the Inventory.
Hosts
The (physical) Hosts are identified with the house icon.
Business Process Hosts (BP Hosts)
Business Process Hosts (BP Hosts), i.e. logical hosts, are identified with the icon of the house framed in a circle.
Services
Services are identified by the intersecting arrows icon. You can view the Services of a Host by displaying them through the view options.
Business Process Services (BP Services).
The Business Process Services (BP Services) are identified with the icon of the arrows crossing each other framed in a circle. The Business Process Services of a Host can be viewed by displaying them through the view options identifying those Services defined as such.
Note
Placing the cursor over the icons will display a text reminding the type of element (Host, Service, BP Hosts / BP Service).
Name field
The Host Name differentiates the Host from the rest and is determined by the value of the Display name attribute (this Display name attribute will be described in more detail in the next sections).
By placing the cursor over this field, the IP address of the Host can be queried. Clicking on the name of the Host, Business Process or Service will take you to its corresponding Detailed view of Assets: Hosts and Business Processes and Detailed view of Services associated to a Host.
Attention
Only when the Host has Monitoring Packs associated, the system shall set after the Name, identifying icons (of manufacturers, technologies, operating systems…) referring to these applied packs.
The system will display a maximum of three icons ordered by a predefined weight scale, giving priority to the most representative and relevant (and least generic) icons/packs of the Host’s monitoring profile.
Placing the cursor over a particular icon will bring up a text alluding to the technology represented.
More information can be found at: 1. Display technology identification icons on Assets, Problems and Events pages..
Field of icons of applied actions and graphics on assets
This column contains visual information for the user in the form of icons. The leftmost icons inform about the application of Actions on the corresponding Host in that row.
These icons have a direct correspondence with the icons used in the Actions column which will be described later.
Note
You can easily find out what these icons mean by placing your cursor over them.
Hovering the cursor over any of the comment icons displays a summary view in a pop-up description of the comments added to this item:
The view consists of three fields (from left to right): identifier number, author and comment text.
Note
For more information and options for managing comments, use the Show Comments action described below.
The other option offered by this column is the display of graphs of the desired Asset. To do so, place the cursor on the icon of the graph within the row of the corresponding Asset and the graph for the selected Host will appear. Depending on the type of Host and configuration, the resulting graph may vary.
The graphics display option is also available for the Services associated with the Hosts. To do so, simply scroll down the list of Host Services and place the cursor on the row corresponding to the desired Host Service:
Attention
Clicking on the graph will redirect the user to the section Metrics.
Status field
Through this field WOCU informs about the Host Status. A text UP (green) DOWN (red) indicates the current Host Status. Additionally a visual aid is added: a change in the background colour of the row, pink, for those Hosts in DOWN status.
In the case of Services associated with the hosts, status information is also provided in the form of a text that varies in colour depending on the status (in the case of Services, the background colour of the row is always white, regardless of the status of the host).
Last Check field
This field reports the date of the last verification of the Host Status. In parallel and independently, the same individualised Last Check information is recorded and displayed for each of the Services associated to a Host.
Duration field
The field indicates how long the Host has been active in WOCU, i.e. the time without a crash or total failure. In parallel and independently, the same individualised Duration information is recorded and displayed for each of the Services associated with a Host.
Status Information field
The field collects a message that expands the information about the current status of the Host. The nature of the messages will vary depending on the type of monitored Host and its configuration. In parallel and independently, the same individualised Status Information is recorded and displayed for each of the Services associated with a Host.
Attention
If the text is too large for the space available on your screen, WOCU will truncate the text. To read the full text, simply place the cursor over the message.
Field of Services (Services %/OK/Total)
Provides a summary of the Status of the Services associated with the Host. The text of the percentage varies in colour depending on the greater or lesser availability of the Services (green with all Services in OK Status, red with all Services in Critical Status and yellow if at least one Service has a Status other than OK). Numerical data indicates to the user the percentage of Services in correct operation (OK Status) and in brackets the specific number of services in OK Status out of the total number of Services.
Actions field
Through this field, the user can make annotations, queries and even modify some of WOCU’s operating parameters. To access the commands, simply click on the actions icon, a drop-down menu will appear showing the options.
This screenshot shows such a drop-down menu for a Host:
Like the Hosts, it is possible to perform operations on the Services thanks to the Actions menu. In this case the menu will vary in the descriptive texts of the actions but not in the actions, which will be practically the same.
Note
The Actions are divided into two types: the first two (only the first one in the case of Services), of mere consultation, and the rest, which have active effects in WOCU. These options can vary the information contained by WOCU, the display of Alarms and Statuses and even the tool’s own status verification system.
Because of their significance, the Actions are detailed one by one in the following section.
Actions on inventoried hosts
Show Host Events
The system shall display the Show hosts events action in the first position (Show hosts events).
In fact, whether the action is applied on the Host or on one of its Services, the result will be a view of events of the Host itself, collected over the last twenty-four hours.
This view is explained in detail in Events, as it provides the user with information similar to that provided in the above referenced section.
Attention
The Show Host Events action performs a simple event query without affecting the operation and display of Problems.
Apply accepted or recognised status
The Apply acknowledged to Host option will set the acknowledgement label to the Host in question. Once this action is applied, the Host will show the thumbs-up icon in the column of icons and graphics discussed above. This will make it easier to know in advance which Problems have already been handled and which have not.
To apply the acknowledgement (ACK) the action must be selected from the menu. After the selection a small window will appear with a form where the user can register in more detail the operation to be completed, as well as modify the treatment of the Problems in future occurrences.
The Apply Accepted or Recognised Status window has the following fields:
Realm name: Field automatically filled in by the system indicating the Realm to which the Host or Service corresponds.
Host name: Field automatically filled in by the system indicating the name of the Host in WOCU.
Service name: Field automatically filled in by the system indicating the name of the Service in WOCU (this field will only appear when performing the recognition action in Services).
Set Acknowledge (Sticky Ack): This selectable option configures WOCU to re-acknowledge Alarms on future occurrences in the Asset until the option is disabled. The option will prevent constant acknowledgement of an alarm in the system in case of repetitive known problems.
Send Notification: This selectable option configures WOCU to send the notification pre-set in your configuration (email, SMS, etc.). The option will prevent the constant sending of messages for an Alarm on the selected Asset in case of repetitive known problems.
Persistent Comment: This selectable option configures WOCU to permanently retain the comment entered until it is manually deleted. This prevents the message from being deleted by a system reboot.
Author your name: This is the space where the user must enter their name or identifier so that it is recorded in the system who has acknowledged the Alarm in the Asset.
Comment: This is the space in which the user acknowledging the Alarm in the Asset must enter a text explaining, generally, the reasons for the acknowledgement action. Normally this space will be used to write down the number of the incident generated, if working with a ticketing tool (incident log) or any other information considered appropriate to keep the other users of the monitoring tool informed.
Once you have completed (at least) the required fields, those marked with asterisks, by clicking on Apply ACK the acknowledgement will be applied to the Host or Service.
Note
Acknowledgement is a common task in the daily operation of alarm handling in monitoring tools and WOCU integrates this function through this Action.
To undo the acknowledgement, select the Remove Acknowledged option. A window will ask the user to confirm the Action (Are you sure you want to remove the acknowledgement?). Clicking the OK button will apply the change.
Whether you reconnoitre or remove it from a Host or Service, the system will display the following notification:
(“The requested action has been successfully processed. The updated information will be available soon.”)
Disable Active Checks
The Disable active checks for host and/or all services / Disable active checks for service option suspends the active monitoring tasks that WOCU is performing on the Host or Service to which it is applied.
Active monitoring in WOCU consists of a set of checks performed to assess the connectivity to the Hosts and the operational status of the Services associated with the Hosts.
Once this action has been applied, the Host or Service will show the icon of the prohibition signal in the column of icons and graphics mentioned above. This will make it easier to know in advance which Hosts or Services have the active monitoring option disabled.
To apply the disabling of active monitoring on a Host or Service, the action must be selected from the menu.
In the case of a Host, a window will appear with a configuration form like the one below:
The Disable Active Checks window for the Host and/or its services has the following fields:
Apply to the host: The checkbox allows to apply the disablement only to the selected Host.
Apply to all services: The checkbox allows the disabling to be applied to all Services of the selected Host.
Realm name: Field automatically filled in by the system indicating the Realm to which the Host or Service corresponds.
Host name: Field automatically filled in by the system indicating the name of the Host in WOCU.
Clicking on the Disable Active Checks button will interrupt active monitoring on the Host and/or Host Services.
To re-enable active monitoring on the Hosts, or to make changes to the monitoring configuration, select the Enable active checks for host and/or all services option. A window will appear, with the same fields as above.
By selecting the options, Apply to Host or Apply to all Services, it is possible to enable/disable WOCU checks on the selected Host and/or its Services. Once the desired configuration is obtained, save the changes by clicking on the Enable Active Checks button.
Attention
This action may be useful in the analysis, evaluation or debugging of overloaded monitored Hosts, network problems or congestion etc.
Whether you disable or re-enable active monitoring of a Host or Service the system will display the following notification:
(“The requested action has been successfully processed. The updated information will be available soon.”)
Add/Show comments
The Add comment option, Add comment to host for Hosts and Add comment to service for Services, allows reflecting information as a note associated to a Host or Service.
Once this action has been applied the Host or Service will display the speech bubble icon in the icons and graphics column discussed above. This will make it easier to know in advance which Hosts or Services have notes or comments.
Attention
This option can be used to record an important fact or circumstance related to a host or service. It is a very useful tool for transmitting and sharing information through work teams that share the use of the tool. It is also useful as a reminder.
Once the option has been selected, a small window will appear with a form where the user can register the note he/she wishes to add to the Asset.
The Add Comment window has the following fields:
Realm name: Field automatically filled in by the system indicating the Realm to which the Host or Service corresponds.
Host name: Field automatically filled in by the system indicating the name of the Host in WOCU.
Service name: Field automatically filled in by the system indicating the name of the Service in WOCU (this field will only appear when performing the recognition action in Services).
Persistent Comment: This selectable option configures WOCU to permanently retain the comment entered until it is manually deleted. This prevents the message from being deleted by a system reboot.
Author your name: This is the space where the user must enter his or her name or identifier so that the system records who the author of the comment is.
Comment: This is the space in which the user must enter the text of their note or comment. Normally this space will be used to write down any relevant information about the Asset that the user considers important to share with the rest of the users of the tool.
Once you have completed (at least) the required fields, those marked with asterisks, by clicking on Add Comment the comment will be registered in the Host or Service.
If there is already a comment associated to a Host or Service, WOCU-Monitoring will show in the list of Actions the option Show comments. Through this option it is possible to visualise the comments associated to this element, as well as to add new comments or delete previously registered comments.
Once you have selected the Show comments option, a small window will appear allowing you to view and manage comments on an item as shown below:
The Comments window displays in successive rows the different comments entered in relation to an item monitored in WOCU (Host or Service). The comments are numbered sequentially: Comment 1, Comment 2 … (Comment 1, Comment 2 …) with the information recorded for each comment appearing in three fields:
Id: Numerical identifier of the comment, preceded by the hash symbol (#) to the left of the other elements.
Entry type: Displays and defines the comment through three elements that adjectivise the comment. These three elements that make up the Entry Type are juxtaposed, i.e. the Entry Type always consists of three terms plus an identifying icon that precedes them. The three terms correspond to the Comment Type, the Comment Source and the Asset Type. These three terms are defined in more detail below:
Type of Comment
Depending on the Comment Type, the first of the terms can take on four values:
Type
Description
User
Identifies comments manually entered by the user through the Add Comment action in this Asset.
Downtime
Identifies the comments automatically entered by WOCU when the user executes a Schedule downtime action on this Asset.
State alternation (Flap)
Identifies comments automatically entered by WOCU when there is a rapid alternation of state changes (flapping) in this Asset (the comment is automatically deleted when this phenomenon ceases).
Acknowledgement
Identifies comments automatically entered by WOCU when the user executes an Apply Acknwoledged action on this Asset.
Origin of the Commentary
Depending on the Origin of Comment the second of the terms can take two values:
Type
Description
Internal
It identifies comments entered by WOCU autonomously as part of its internal functioning.
External
Identifies comments entered as such by the user, and as such, external to WOCU’s mechanics.
Type of Asset
Depending on the Type of Asset to which the comment refers, the third of the terms can take two values:
Type
Description
Host
Identifies those comments associated with a WOCU Asset that is a Host.
Service
Identifies those comments associated with a WOCU Asset that is a Service associated with a Host.
Attention
To illustrate this explanation with an example, the Entry Type “Downtime Internal Host“ indicates that the Comment Type is a Downtime, which was generated by WOCU automatically (Internal) when the user executes the Schedule downtime action on an Asset of type Host. The Input Type “User External Host“ indicates that the Comment Type comes from the execution by the user of the Add Comment action, therefore of external origin (external) to the WOCU engine, on an Asset of type Host.
Entry time: Shows the date and time when the comment was created.
Author: Displays the information entered in the Author field when the comment was created. This will normally identify the user who registered the comment.
Message: Displays the information entered in the Comment field when the comment was created. Normally here you will note some relevant information associated with the Asset, and that you want to share with all users of the tool.
By clicking on the red bin icon button to the right of each comment it is possible to remove individual comments. To remove all comments associated with this Asset click on the red Remove All button.
When creating or deleting a comment/s the following message will appear:
(“The requested action has been successfully processed. The updated information will be available soon.”)
If you want to add new comments click on the white button Add Comment. After selecting the action the window with the Add Comment form shown above will appear. The process for entering a comment is the same as described above.
Comment management overview
Having selected several Hosts for the simultaneous display of their comments (via the selector Massive actions on inventoried hosts), the system will present the following management view:
In this space there are different modalities for the definitive deletion of comments:
1. Deletion of an individual comment:
The comment with Id 710 associated with Router_2 Host is removed.
2. Deletion of all comments associated with a particular Host:
Comments with Id 708 and 712 associated with Router_5 Host are removed.
3. Mass deletion of comments associated with the Hosts previously selected in the inventory:
All comments associated with Router_2, Router_3 and Router_5 Hosts are removed.
Program drop time
The Schedule downtime option, Schedule downtime for hosts and/or all services for Hosts and Schedule downtime to service for Services, allows you to inhibit for a certain period of time the warnings and alarms of an Asset that is going to suffer a downtime or other known and/or planned event that will affect the status of the Asset.
Once this action has been applied, the Host or Service will show the calendar icon in the column of icons and graphics mentioned above. In this way it will be easier to know in advance which Hosts or Services have programmed the temporary inhibition of Alarms in WOCU.
Note
This tool is very useful in case of interventions or scheduled maintenance in which the generation of Alarms in a Host or Services is foreseen. In this way, the user present in front of the WOCU Alarms console when the intervention or event takes place will be spared the processing and study of these Alarms.
Once the Schedule downtime option has been selected, a small window will appear with a form where the user can set the Alarm disabling period. The following is the window for programming the downtime of a Host:
The Schedule Drop Time window has the following fields:
Apply to the host: The checkbox allows the programming to be applied only to the selected Host.
Apply to all services: The checkbox allows the scheduling to be applied only to all Services of the selected Host.
Realm name: Field automatically filled in by the system indicating the Realm to which the Host corresponds.
Host name: Field automatically filled in by the system indicating the name of the Host in WOCU.
Start date (Start time): Field in which the programming start date and time must be entered. From this moment on, the Host Alarms and/or its services will not be displayed (according to the previously established configuration).
End time: Field in which the date and time of the end of the programming must be entered. From this moment on, the Host Alarms and/or its services will be displayed again (according to the previously established configuration).
Attention
The date format is as follows: yyyyy-mm-dd hh:mm (yyyy-mm-dd-hh:mm) with
yyyyyybeing the four digits of the year,mmthe two digits of the month,ddthe two digits of the day,hhthe two digits of the hour andmmthe two digits of the minutes. Between each of the date elements (year, month and day) enter a hyphen (-) as a separator character, then a space and then the time, separating hours and minutes with a colon (:). If any of the elements has only one digit, fill the other digit with a zero to the left.Example for 3 February 2021 at half past one in the morning:
2021-02-03 01:30.Fixed: This checkbox (checked by default) disables the following field Duration Minutes and preserves the time interval set in the parameters Start time and End time, i.e. the exact duration of the scheduled drop.
Duration Minutes: If the previous option is unchecked, you can configure the time expressed in minutes that the planned downtime for the Host (and/or Services) will last from the Start time. By configuring the downtime in this way, it shall not be necessary to indicate the End time. From the set start time, WOCU shall activate the fall time as soon as the Host or Service changes State.
Triggered by id: By entering the id of another programmed downtime (Id of another downtime), the present downtime is programmed according to a previously existing downtime. When that one is activated, this one shall also be activated.
Author your name: This is the space in which the user must enter his or her name or identifier so that the system records who is the author of the programming.
Comment: This is the space in which the user must enter a comment relating to the established schedule. Normally this space will be used to note the circumstances that could cause the Alarms and for which the programming is established.
Once you have completed (at least) the required fields, those marked with asterisks, by pressing Add Downtime the scheduling will be activated in WOCU, disabling the Alarms in the set period.
In the case of programming on one of the services of a Host, the window will vary in some fields:
The options in the checkboxes will not appear, as the programming cannot be applied from here to the Host, nor to the other Services.
Service name: Field automatically filled in by the system indicating the name of the Service in WOCU (this field will only appear when performing the recognition action in Services).
For the rest of the fields follow the same instructions as described in the case of programming the drop time of a Host.
If there is already a scheduled downtime associated with a Host or Service, WOCU will display the Show scheduled downtime option in the Actions list. Through this option it is possible to visualise the scheduled downtimes associated to this element, as well as to add new scheduled downtimes or to delete the previously registered scheduled downtimes.
Once you have selected the Show scheduled drop time option, a small window will appear allowing you to view and manage the scheduled drop times on an element as shown below:
The drop times window displays in successive rows the different programmed drop times entered in relation to an element monitored in WOCU (Host or Service). The comments are numbered sequentially: Downtime 1, Downtime 2…. with the information recorded for each comment appearing in three fields:
ID: Numerical identifier of the time of fall.
Author: Displays the information entered in the Author field when the comment was created. This will normally identify the user who registered the comment.
Message: Displays the information entered in the Comment field when the scheduled downtime was created. Normally here you will write down some relevant information associated with the Asset, and that you want to share with all the users of the tool.
By clicking on the red bin icon button to the right of each comment, it is possible to delete the individually programmed drop times.
The following message will appear when entering or deleting a fall time schedule:
(“The requested action has been successfully processed. The updated information will be available soon.”)
To add new scheduled downtimes click on the white Add Downtime button. After selecting the action the Add Scheduled Downtime form shown above will appear. The process for entering a scheduled downtime is the same as described above.
Disable notifications
WOCU offers a configurable notification service through different communication channels (email, SMS…). To disable notifications for Alarms in a Host, select in the Actions the option Disable notifications for hosts and/or all services or Disable notifications for service.
Once this action has been applied, the Host or Service will show the icon of a red prohibition sign containing an envelope in the column of icons and graphics mentioned above. In this way it will be easier to know in advance which Hosts or Services have programmed the interruption of sending messages by Alarms in WOCU.
Important
The type of notification, the medium and the recipients depend on the notification settings made by your Administrator.
Note
This option is very interesting for a wide variety of situations where it is not desirable to alert the recipients of the notifications, either because of a known problem being resolved, scheduled maintenance or any other event that is best ignored.
Selecting the option in the case of a Host Host, a small window will appear with a form where the user can establish the disabling of Alarms. The following is the window for disabling notifications for a Host:
Apply to the host: The checkbox allows to apply the disablement only to the selected Host.
Apply to all services: The checkbox allows to apply the disablement only to all Services of the selected Host.
Realm name: Field automatically filled in by the system indicating the Realm to which the Host or Service corresponds.
Host name: Field automatically filled in by the system indicating the name of the Host in WOCU.
Clicking on the Disable Notifications button will stop sending messages for Host Alarms and/or Host Services.
To re-enable notifications by Alarms in a Host, or to make changes to the configuration of the same, select in the Actions the option Enable notifications for hosts and/or all services. A window will appear, with the same fields as described above for disabling:
By selecting the options, Apply to Host or Apply to all Services, it is possible to enable/disable the sending of notifications and messages by WOCU for Alarms on the selected Host and/or its Services. Once the desired configuration has been obtained, save the changes by clicking on the Enable Notifications button.
To disable notifications in individual Services simply select a particular service and apply the Action Disable notifications for service. The following message will appear on your screen:
Clicking OK will apply the change and stop sending Alarm notifications on that Service.
To re-enable the sending of notifications in a disabled service, select the Enable notifications for service option in the service you wish to re-enable. It will appear on your screen:
Clicking OK will apply the change and resume sending Alarm notifications on that Service.
After applying any of the notification disabling/enabling changes, the following message will appear:
(“The requested action has been successfully processed. The updated information will be available soon.”)
Reschedule next check
With this action (Reschedule Next Check for this Host/Service) the user can force WOCU to perform a check for either a Host or a Service.
To reschedule the next check, this action must be selected from the menu. Once selected, a window will appear with a form in which the user can configure when the next check will be carried out in WOCU for the selected Host or Service. This Reschedule next check window for a Host is shown below.
Realm name: Field automatically filled in by the system indicating the Realm to which the Host corresponds.
Host name: Field automatically filled in by the system indicating the name of the Host in WOCU.
Start time: Field in which the start date and time of the reprogramming must be entered. At this precise moment the Host Status check will be carried out. By default, the set date will be the current date by adding one minute to the system time. Logically, WOCU does not allow to enter a date for the next check that is older than the current date, in which case the following error message will be displayed: “Start time cannot be older than current time“.
Important
The date format is as follows: yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm (yyyy-mm-dd- hh:mm) with yyyy being the four digits of the year, mm the two digits of the month, dd the two digits of the day, hh the two digits of the hour and mm the two digits of the minutes. Between each of the date elements (year, month and day) enter a hyphen (-) as a separator character, then a space and then the time, separating hours and minutes with a colon (:). If any of the elements has only one digit (e.g. 3 February), fill in the other digit with a zero to the left. Example for 3 February 2017 at half past one in the morning: “2017-02-03 01:30“.
Force Check: The checkbox allows you to force the system to run the check at the time set in the user’s manual reprogramming even when automatic programming is already nearby.
Clicking on the Reschedule Next Check button will proceed to perform the check on the Host at the set date and time.
The following message shall appear after applying the Reschedule Next Check action:
(The requested action has been successfully processed. Updated information will be available soon.)
In the case of a Reschedule Next Check in one of the services of a Host, the window will change in some fields:
Service name: Field automatically filled in by the system indicating the name of the Service in WOCU.
For the other fields follow the same instructions as described in the case of the Reprogramming Next Check for a Host.
Send results of passive checks
With this action (Submit passive check result for this Host/Service) the user can manually submit to WOCU the result of a check, either for a Host or for a Service.
To send the result of a check manually, select this action from the menu. Once selected, a window will appear with a form in which the user can configure the check that will be sent to WOCU. This window for sending passive test results for a Host is shown below.
The Send passive check results window has the following fields:
Realm Name: Field automatically filled in by the system indicating the Realm to which the Host corresponds.
Host Name: Field automatically filled in by the system indicating the name of the Host in WOCU.
Check Result: Field in which one of the options from the list corresponding to one of the WOCU States for an Asset shall be selected.
Check output: Field containing the message associated with the Check Status and describing the nature of the check. In the case of automated checks, the check output would be the message returned by the system after executing a particular check command. Typical examples of such messages would be: “PING OK“, “PING DOWN; 100% packets loss“, “70% memory free“, etc. Since this is a manual sending, the user will be free to choose the text of the message associated with the status, which is also manually determined by the Check Result field.
Performance data: Field containing some value, manually entered by the user, that WOCU can post-process. Such values, usually obtained automatically, are used and stored in the metrics. For example, after executing a check command, an automatic Check output is obtained like this: “70% memory free“. Once this output is obtained, this output and its value will be stored in the WOCU metrics with this format: “mem_free=70“. This data is taken by the same WOCU check command and post-processed. In this way, through the Performance data field, the user is provided with the possibility of entering data in the WOCU metrics manually.
After completing (at least) the required fields, those marked with asterisks, by clicking on Submit Passive Check Result the result entered manually by the user will be sent to the WOCU monitoring engine and will be processed in the same way as if the check had been performed automatically by the system itself.
In the case of sending results of passive checks in one of the services of a Host, the window will vary in some fields:
Service name: Field automatically filled in by the system indicating the name of the Service in WOCU (this field will only appear when performing the recognition action in Services).
For the other fields follow the same instructions as described in the case of Sending passive test results for a Host.
Important
It should be noted that the selectable options available in the Check result field will vary depending on the type of Asset: Host or Service (Service). Thus, Hosts will have the status options Up, Down, Unreacheable, while Services will have the status options OK, Warning, Critical and Unknown.
Note
This action is useful when you want to simulate crashes or other events in WOCU. It is also useful if you want to test or simulate certain conditions and have certain data displayed. You can also use this option to manually force the status of an Asset for which you have previously applied the Disable Active checks action.
Export all the metrics related to this Host
Through this action (Export all metrics about this host), the user can obtain a report that includes the set of metrics of the selected host.
After executing the action and generating the report, a new window will emerge with a preview of the report, which contains all the graphs whose metrics have been recorded during the selected time period:
Last day
Last week
Last month
As can be observed, there will be a graph for each of the metrics defined in WOCU-Monitoring for the Host in question. If the number of graphs is very large, they will extend across multiple pages.
The following example shows the detail of one of the graphs:
Host Inventory operational options
WOCU-Monitoring has a series of very useful options that facilitate the handling of monitored devices. The combined use of filters and actions allows for a more organized management of assets in complex environments.
By default, all filtering options are hidden, leaving a larger and clearer space for viewing and reading data. Simply click on the arrow icon pointing to the ends and the available filters will be displayed.
The actions and filters applicable on inventory items are described below:
Massive actions on inventoried hosts
This functionality allows applying the previous actions presented on several hosts, being able to perform massive tasks. By selecting at least two hosts from the inventory, this tab will display a set of actions that will be applied on the set of selected elements.
Mass actions enable a more organized management of large amounts of data in vast and complex environments.
Element management is carried out through the following dropdowns:
Select an option
Clicking on this dropdown displays all the options for selecting items from the list. These are:
Select one of the available options (Select an option). This option will be pre-selected by default.
Do not select any item (Select none): to toggle the previously chosen selection.
Select All
Select only the current page from the list (Select Current Page). This option can be used in a concatenated manner, meaning, select multiple current pages and aggregate the items they contain.
It is also possible to manually select items from the list by clicking on each of them. To select multiple items, hold down the CTRL key while clicking on each item you want to choose. To toggle the action, click again on the item to remove it from the selection.
Selection of the bulk action
Clicking on this dropdown lists the possible actions to apply to the selected set of elements. These correspond to those described in Actions on inventoried hosts.
Filter by Host Group
The Filter by HostGroup selector modifies the display of the overall inventory, showing only the devices belonging to the chosen Host Group selected by the operator.
To deselect the filter by Host Group and show all hosts, simply choose the first option in the drop-down list (–Filter by HostGroup–).
Attention
The applied filter will be taken into account during the export (in CSV or JSON) of the displayed inventory.
Filter by Monitoring Packs
This drop-down lists the Monitoring Packs that are being applied on the Hosts that are part of the Realm.
By selecting one of them, the table will be filtered by showing only the Hosts that make use of the chosen pack, as shown in the following image:
Host filtering by status type
These filtering options modify the display of hosts according to their current status. With this filter, it is easy to select elements that are in a specific monitoring state.
For easy understanding and selection, the boxes use the same colours already associated with the different types of statuses. However, by placing the cursor over the box, a reminder of the status to be selected will be displayed. More information on statuses and associated colours can be found in: Statements of Assets in WOCU.
By default, all checkboxes/states are marked, indicating that the inventory is displaying all devices without filtering by any specific state. Its operation is very simple; clicking on a checkbox toggles the filtering option. Note that once a checkbox is marked, it will display a checkmark inside (✓).
Finally, once the filters have been configured, the changes must be saved by clicking on the blue Filter button, in order to reload the inventory with the new data request.
Advanced Filters
The application provides another advanced filtering system for monitoring the inventory, making it easier to choose and view items that fall within certain categories or operational situations.
Possible actions are:
BP Host: filtered by asset type, specifically, by Business Processes.
Disabled Checks: filtering of assets where the user has applied the Disable active checks for services action.
Acknowledged: filtering of assets where the user has applied the action Apply acknowledged to service.
Downtime: filtering of assets where the user has applied the action Schedule downtime to service.
The operation in this mode allows the concatenation of filters, offering various combinations to the operator for the direct visualization of data of interest. This is possible because each filter can assume 3 states summarized in the following table.
Icon |
Value |
Description |
|---|---|---|
ー |
Off |
The filter is not enabled. The table displays all items by default. |
✔ |
True |
Filter enabled. The table is updated to display items that meet the filter condition. |
✖ |
False |
Filter enabled. The table is updated to hide items that meet the filter condition. |
Note
Simply mark the filtering box repeatedly to cycle through the different undefined states.
Let’s illustrate this explanation with an example:
The inventory will exclusively display BP Hosts that have the Acknowledged option enabled in their configuration and do not have disabled checks (Disabled check). In this scenario, the existence of scheduled downtimes (Downtime) will not be taken into account.
The use and combination of filters allow for a more organized management of vast and complex systems.
Filter button
To consolidate the desired filter configuration, it will be necessary to activate the Filter action beforehand, to reload the inventory with the new data request launched.
Button for clearing applied filters (Clear Filter)
When the intention is to clear the applied filters, you can click the Clear filter button, and the configuration will be immediately restored, except for the search conducted in the Search bar.
Show Applied Filters Button
The Show Selected Hosts button acts as a manager for selected assets within the devices list, displaying the items that have recently been marked by the user.
This button will be disabled when there are no selected assets, appearing in a subdued blue color.
Clicking on the functionality will open a new window where it is possible to edit the set of chosen assets.
This management view consists of the following elements:
Selection of entries to display and search bar.
Selection table: the following columns are distinguished:
Type: This field hosts an identifying icon for the type of host according to its nature. The possible options are:
Independent devices identified with the icon of a house.
Business Process (BP Host) devices: identified with the icon of a house framed in a circle.
Host: Selected Device.
Realm: Realm to which it belongs.
Deselect Action: by clicking on the cross icon (X), the corresponding Service will be removed from the table and automatically deselected from the inventory.
Quick action for deselecting all items in the table.
Exportation of Host Inventory Data
Although WOCU-Monitoring provides a multitude of functions for data management, metrics, graphics, etc., at some point, the use of other external tools may be required to handle such information. To address this, the export function is integrated, which facilitates downloading inventory data to a file on the hard disk for processing or later use.
The two buttons next to the Search bar, CSV and JSON, facilitate the export of data in both formats:
CSV
Clicking on the respective button will open a new modal for the selection and marking of parameters to export based on the user’s criteria. The available options are:
Host Name (Mandatory)
Host Display Name (Mandatory)
Address (Mandatory)
Realm Name (Mandatory)
Groups
Type
State
Last Check
Duration
Last Hard State change
Status Information
Services Ok percentage
Once the selection is confirmed, the download of a file in CSV (Comma Separated Value) format begins. This format is very simple, organizing columns with a separator (semicolon ‘;’) and rows with a line break.
JSON
This option follows the same process as the previous case but initiates the download of a file in JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) format. JSON is a lightweight data interchange format that can be read by any programming language, making it suitable for exchanging information between different technologies.
In both options, the system will provide the option to select the directory to download and store the generated inventory file and assign an alternative name to it. By default, the system assigns the following name:
assets_hosts_[nombre del reino]_00h-00min_dd-mm-aaaa y la extensión ``.csv`` o ``.json`` según la opción escogida.
Attention
If an option to filter by Device Group (Filter by HostGroup) is enabled, only the assets belonging to the specified device group (HostGroup) will be included in the export file. In other words, the same filter applied on the screen will be applied to this export. To obtain the export of all assets, the user must ensure that the option for this filter is disabled.