By monitoring the Messaging Agent, you can determine whether its current configuration is meeting the needs of your Messenger users. You have a variety of tools to help you monitor the operation of the Messaging Agent:
The Messaging Agent Web Console enables you to monitor and control the Messaging Agent from any location where you have access to a browser and the Internet. This provides substantially more flexible access than the Messaging Agent console, which can only be accessed from the server where the Messaging Agent is running.
In the GroupWise Admin console, navigate to Messenger > MessengerService > Messaging Agents. Then, select the Messaging Agent and select Agent Settings.
Fill in the following fields in the HTTP section:
HTTP User Name: If you want to restrict access to the Messaging Agent Web Console, specify a user name for the Messaging Agent to prompt for before allowing access to the Web Console.
HTTP Password/Confirm Password: Specify the password for the Messaging Agent to prompt for before allowing access to the Web Console.
Port: Specify the port number for the Messaging Agent to listen on for service requests from your browser; for example, 8313.
SSL Select this option if you want the Messaging Agent to use SSL encryption when communicating with your browser.
In order to use SSL encryption for the Web Console, you must properly configure the Messaging Agent, as described in Configuring the Messaging Agent with SSL Encryption.
Click Save.
Restart the Messaging Agent to put the HTTP settings into effect.
Corresponding Startup Switches: You can also use the /httpport, /httpuser, /httppassword, and /httpssl startup switches in the Messaging Agent startup file to enable and secure the Messaging Agent Web Console.
To monitor the Messaging Agent from your browser, view the following URL:
http://Messenger_server:agent_port
where Messenger_server represents the IP address or hostname of the server where the Messaging Agent is running and agent_port represents the port number you specified in Setting Up the Messaging Agent Web Console. For example:
http://172.16.5.18:8313
The Messaging Agent Web Console provides several pages of information to help you monitor the performance of the Messaging Agent. The bar at the top of the Messaging Agent Web Console displays the name of the agent. Below this bar appears the Web Console menu that lists the pages of information available in the Messaging Agent Web Console.
When you first access the Messaging Agent Web Console, the Status page is displayed.
Click Current Users to display a list of current Messenger users and their IP addresses. Click the User ID, and then click Disconnect User to disconnect the user.
Click C/S Handler Threads to display the Messaging Agent client/server threads, the number of requests each thread has handled, and each thread's current activity.
Click Chat Rooms to display a list of current chat rooms and their CN names, owners, and number of active participants. Click Re-initialize Chat List to re-initialize the chat room process. By re-initializing the chat room process, chat rooms that are added in the GroupWise Admin console are added to the list of chat rooms. Users can also use the GroupWise Admin console to access the chat rooms after they have been added.
On the Messaging Agent Web Console menu, click Configuration to display Messaging Agent configuration information.
On the Messaging Agent Web Console menu, click Environment to display information about the operating system where the Messaging Agent is running.
On the Messaging Agent Web console menu, click Log Files to display and search Messaging Agent log files.
To view a particular log file, select the log file, and then click View Events.
To search all log files for a particular string, type the string in the Events Containing field, select Select All, and then click View Events. You can also manually select multiple log files to search. The results of the search are displayed on a separate page, which can be printed.
To start a new log file, click Cycle Log.
To view your log settings for the current Messaging Agent session, click Event Log Settings to display the Configuration page. To change your log settings for the current Message Agent session, click Event Log on the Configuration page.
If you use GroupWise Monitor to monitor your GroupWise agents, you can add the Messaging Agent to the list of monitored agents. Continue with Using GroupWise Monitor.
Error messages and other information about Messaging Agent functioning are written to log files as well as displaying on the Messaging Agent console. Log files can provide a wealth of information for resolving problems with Messaging Agent functioning.
In the GroupWise Admin console, navigate to Messenger > MessengerService > Messaging Agents. Then, select the Messaging Agent and select Agent Settings.
Fill in the following fields:
Log Level: Controls the amount of information logged by the Messaging Agent. Logged information is displayed in the log message box and written to the Messaging Agent log file during the current agent session. The default is Normal, which displays only the essential information suitable for a smoothly running Messaging Agent. Use Verbose to display the essential information, plus additional information helpful for troubleshooting. Use Diagnostic where very detailed, code-specific information is required.
Enable disk logging: Select this option so that the information displayed in the message log box at the Messaging Agent console is also saved to disk in log files.
Log Files Path: Specify the directory where the Messaging Agent stores its log files. The default location is /var/opt/novell/log/messenger/ma.
Typically, you find multiple log files in the specified directory. The first four characters represent the date. The next three identify the agent. A three-digit extension allows for multiple log files created on the same day. For example, a log file named 0518nma.001 indicates that it is a Messaging Agent log file, created on May 18. If you restarted the Messaging Agent on the same day, a new log file started, named 0518nma.002.
Log Maximum Age: Specify how many days to keep Messaging Agent log files on disk. The default is 14 days.
Log Maximum Size: Specify the maximum amount of disk space for all Messaging Agent log files. When the specified disk space is consumed, the Messaging Agent deletes existing log files, starting with the oldest. The default is 128 MB.
Click Save.
Restart the Messaging Agent to put the new log settings into effect.
GroupWise Monitor can be configured to monitor the Messaging Agent as well as the GroupWise Agents (Post Office Agent, Message Transfer Agent, Internet Agent, and GroupWise Web. For background information about GroupWise Monitor, see Monitor
in the GroupWise Administration Guide.
Enable the Messaging Agent Web Console, as described in Setting Up the Messaging Agent Web Console.
At the Windows Monitor Agent console, click Configuration > Add GroupWise Messenger System.
Fill in the following fields:
GroupWise Messenger System Object: Browse to and select the MessengerService object.
User Name: Browse to and select a User object that has sufficient rights to enable the Monitor Agent to access Messenger agent object properties in eDirectory.
Password: Specify the eDirectory password associated with the selected User object.
Provide the same directory access information as you provided during installation:
Click OK to save the information about your Messenger system.
The Messaging Agent appears in the root agent group, along with the Archive Agent. You might want to create an agent group specifically for the Messenger agents. See Creating and Managing Agent Groups
in the GroupWise Administration Guide.
You can monitor the Messaging Agent from the Management and Monitoring component of any SNMP management and monitoring program. When properly configured, the Messaging Agent sends SNMP traps to network management consoles for display along with other SNMP monitored programs. It also responds to requests for configuration and status information from SNMP management and monitoring programs.
Although the Messaging Agent is SNMP-enabled by default, the server where the Messaging Agent is installed must be properly configured to support SNMP, and the Messaging Agent object in eDirectory must be properly configured as well. To set up SNMP services for your Messenger server, complete the following tasks:
Select the instructions for the platform where the Messaging Agent runs:
The Messaging Agent is compatible with NET-SNMP. An older version of SNMP called UCD-SNMP cannot be used with the Messaging Agent. NET-SNMP comes with the versions of Red Hat Linux supported for Messenger 1.0 for Linux, but it does not come with the supported versions of SUSE Linux. If you are using SUSE Linux, you must update to NET-SNMP in order to use SNMP to monitor the Messaging Agent.
Ensure you are logged in as root.
If NET-SNMP is not already set up on your Linux server, use the following command to configure SNMP:
snmpconf -g basic_setup
The snmpconf command creates the snmpd.conf file in one of the following directories, depending on your version of Linux:
/usr/share/snmp ~
/usr/local/share/snmp
/.snmp
Locate the snmpd.conf file on your Linux server.
In a text editor, add the following line to the snmpd.conf file:
dlmod Nmweb /opt/novell/messenger/lib/libnmsnmp.so.1
Restart the SNMP daemon (snmpd) to put the changes into effect.
In a text editor, make the following changes to the nmsnmp.conf file in the /etc/opt/novell/messenger directory:
Set /daemonPort to a unique port number for the Messaging Agent to listen on; for example, 8305.
If you have not already configured the Messaging Agent Web Console, as described in Setting Up the Messaging Agent Web Console, assign an HTTP port for the Messaging Agent.
In the GroupWise Admin console, navigate to Messenger > MessengerService > Objects > Messaging Agents. Then, select the Messaging Agent > General > Enable SNMP.
Restart the Messaging Agent.
Continue with Copying and Compiling the Messaging Agent MIB File.
An SNMP-enabled Messaging Agent returns information contained in a Management Information Base (MIB). The MIB is an ASCII data structure that defines the information gathered. It also defines the properties that can be monitored and managed on the SNMP-enabled Messaging Agent.
Before you can monitor an SNMP-enabled Messaging Agent, you must compile the nmma.mib file by using your SNMP management program. The Messenger MIBs are located in the /etc/opt/novell/messenger/mibs directory after installation.