The agent has few configuration options. It only needs to know about a few simple things, such as how to contact the SysOrb Server. The real configuration of what checks to perform, when to check in and so on is configured on the SysOrb Server, and migrated to the agent on demand.
The agent configuration is stored in the file /etc/sysorb/agent.conf on all Unix-like systems. On Microsoft Windows systems this information is stored in the system registry, and is made accessible through the SysOrb Config program installed with the SysOrb Agent.
The agent must be restarted in order to reread the configuration. However, reconfiguration of the agent options is almost never needed after the agent is set up the first time.
On Unix systems a hangup signal (SIGHUP) can be sent to the agent to re-open the log file. This is used by the logrotate script on Linux, and can be employed similarly on FreeBSD and Solaris. On Windows the log-rotation is handled by the agent.
Most of the options in the SysOrb Agent configuration are specific to the site where the SysOrb runs and, as such, no appropriate default values can be given. When installing the SysOrb Agent remember to check that the configuration options matches the environment in which the SysOrb Agent works.
The first three options need to be changed on almost all new installations.
name (hostname)This is the name the agent will use to identify itself to the server. This must be the exact same name as a host created on the SysOrb Server.
domain (domain-identifier)This is the domain the agent uses to identify itself to the server with. This must be the exact same domain as the agent was configured with in the server.
The following options rarely needs to be changed:
server_port (integer)The port number on which the SysOrb Server will be listening for incoming connections. This number should not be changed, unless there is some special reason for using another port.
Default value: 3241
logfile (filename)This is the name of the logfile the agent will use to write informational messages and errors in. You should keep the default setting unless you want to place the logfile somewhere else.
Default value (Unix): /var/log/sysorb/agent.log
Default value (Windows): install-dir\Config\agent.log
variable_file (filename, Unix
only)This is the name of the variable file, which the agent uses to store non-critical values. The sysorb user must have write access to this file.
Windows note: This option does not exist for Windows, because all the information is stored in the registry.
Default value (Unix): /var/lib/sysorb/variables.agent
log_level (0-3)This is the logging level to be used by the agent. The higher
the number, the less the agent will log. The default is
1, where most uncommon messages are
logged, as well as all errors. For troubleshooting purposes, you
may wish to set the log level to 0,
where the agent will log a lot of routine events.
Default value: 1
log_days (integer)This option tells the agent how many days should pass before it changes logfile. The old logfile will be renamed to logfile.X, where X is increasing as the files get older, and logfile is the value specified in the logfile parameter. If set to 0, the logfile is never changed by the agent.
Unix note: Many Unixes have a build in tool, which handles the change of logfiles. If your Unix does not have such a tool, you should enable log_days
Default value (Windows): 7
Default value (Unix): 0
max_log_files (integer)This option determines how many changed logfiles will be kept.
Default value (Windows): 5
Default value (Unix): 0
allow_autoupgrade (boolean)The agent will only attempt to download and install a new version of itself if this flag is set to true. See Chapter 4 for further explanation.
Default value: true
use_psapi (boolean, Windows
only)Choose which way the SysOrb Agent retrieves the list of running
processes. The default false uses the
same way as the Windows Task Manager, and should work on all
machines. However if you experience trouble with the process
reporting, try switching this on.
Warning: Changing this option will change the name of some of the running processes, since the two different way, also uses different naming. So when changing this option, the agent must be rescanned and it should be made certain that all the process presence checks still work.
Default value (Windows): false
perf_cnt_level (string, Windows
only)This option changes the detail level of the performance counters
reported to the SysOrb Server. There are four different levels:
Novice, Advanced, Expert
and Wizard. Changing this from the
default of Advanced will change the
number of performance counters that can be checked. The
Novice level will return the lowest
number of performance counters, and the Wizard-level will return the highest.
Note: After this option has been changed, the agent must be rescanned from the Web-interface in order for the new performance counters to show up.
Default value (Windows): Advanced
max_data_retention_days
(integer)If the agent is unable to contact the server, it will still generate monitoring data and save it. If the server is unavailable for a longer time, the agent can end up using large amounts of memory. Use this option to set how many days should pass without server connection before the agent starts discarding the monitoring data. Set to 0 or negative value to disable discarding of monitoring data.
Default value: 7
custom_chk_conf (filename)If this option is set, the agent will try to read the custom check configuration file specified by the option. For information about the custom check file format, see Section 8.3.
Default value: (none)
actions_conf (filename)If this option is set, the agent will try to read the custom AgentAction configuration file specified by the option. For information about the custom AgentAction file format, see Section 8.4.
Default value: (none)
log_chk_conf (filename)If this option is set, the agent will try to read the log check configuration file specified by the option. For information about the log check file format, see Section 8.6.
Default value: (none)