19.1 GroupWise Monitor Overview

Overview information for GroupWise Monitor is included in the sections below.

19.1.1 GroupWise Monitor Functionality

GroupWise Monitor is a monitoring and management tool that allows you to monitor GroupWise agents from any location where you are connected to the Internet and have access to a web browser. Some agent administration can also be performed from your web browser. Monitor provides more detail than is provided on the System page in the GroupWise Admin console.

You can install Monitor on either Linux or Windows. Either version can monitor agents on both Linux and Windows. Depending on the installation platform, two or three different monitoring environments are available:

  • Monitor Web Console: The Monitor Web console, provided by the Monitor Application, takes advantage of your web server’s capabilities to make agent status information available to you when you are outside your firewall.

  • Monitor Agent Console: The Monitor Agent console, provided by the Monitor Agent itself, can be used only behind your firewall, but it provides capabilities that are not available in the main Monitor Web console. This section focuses on using the full-featured Monitor Agent console.

    NOTE:The Monitor Web console and the Monitor Agent console are available on both Linux and Windows because they are browser based.

  • Windows Monitor Agent Server Console: The Windows Monitor Agent server console is available only on the Windows server where the Windows Monitor Agent runs and only if you run the Monitor Agent as an application, rather than as a Windows service. All agent configuration tasks can be performed at the Windows Monitor Agent server console, but some reports are not available.

Specific differences in functionality between the three Monitor consoles are summarized in Comparing the Monitor Consoles in the GroupWise 18 Administration Guide.

19.1.2 GroupWise Monitor Components

GroupWise Monitor consists of two components: the Monitor Agent and the Monitor Application.

GroupWise Monitor Components

  • Monitor Agent: The Monitor Agent continuously polls the POA, MTA, and GWIA; gathers status information from them; and displays the status information in the Monitor Agent console. The Monitor Agent also services requests for agent status information from the Monitor Application, which displays the Monitor Web console.

  • Monitor Application: The Monitor Application extends the capability of your web server so that agent status information can be displayed in your web browser in the Monitor Web console.

19.1.3 One Monitor Server versus Two

The Monitor Agent and the Monitor Application can run together on a Linux server or a Windows server. The server where they run together must be a web server because the Monitor Application is installed into the web server.

The Monitor Agent and the Monitor Application can also run on different servers. The security issues discussed in Monitor Security Requirements might determine whether you run the Monitor Agent on the same server with the web server and the Monitor Application.

19.1.4 Monitor Security Requirements

GroupWise Monitor can be configured to support the level of security you have established for your Internet/intranet communication.

If you are not concerned about security issues (for example, you plan to use Monitor only on a secured intranet), you can install the Monitor components to any servers that provide access for your GroupWise administrators and that meet the requirements listed in GroupWise Monitor System Requirements.

If you plan to use Monitor to provide GroupWise administrators with access to your GroupWise system from anywhere on the Internet (rather than simply within a secured intranet), and you already have a firewall in place to provide security, you have the following options for configuring Monitor:

Configuring Monitor with a Proxy Service

If your firewall includes a proxy service, you can install the Monitor Application to a web server inside your firewall, and the Monitor Agent to another server inside the firewall.

In this configuration, only the firewall server with the proxy service is located outside the firewall, as shown in the following illustration.

Monitor Installed inside the Firewall

If desired, the Monitor Agent can also be installed to the web server rather than to a separate server, as described in One Monitor Server versus Two.

Configuring Monitor without a Proxy Service

If your firewall does not provide a proxy service, you need to install the Monitor Application to a web server that is outside the firewall. However, the Monitor Agent requires direct access to a GroupWise domain folder, so it needs to be installed to a server that is located within the firewall. It should be installed to the same server where a domain folder is located.

In this configuration, both the web server and the firewall server are located outside the firewall, as shown in the following illustration.

Monitor Installed outside the Firewall

The firewall must allow inbound IP packets to be sent from the web server to the IP address and port number of the Monitor Agent (for example, 172.16.5.18:8200).

In addition, the firewall must allow outbound IP packets to be sent from the Monitor Agent to the web server. This requires all high ports (above 1023) to be open to outbound IP packets.

19.1.5 Monitor and the GroupWise High Availability Service on Linux

The Monitor Agent can be used with the GroupWise High Availability service (gwha), which runs on Linux, to automatically restart GroupWise agents when they stop unexpectedly. For setup instructions, see Automatically Restarting the Linux GroupWise Agents with the GroupWise High Availability Service.

There is no GroupWise High Availability service on Windows. Windows includes a mechanism for restarting services automatically when they stop unexpectedly. For more information, see Setting up a GroupWise Cluster in the GroupWise 18 Interoperability Guide.