[Xymon] Xymon WinPSClient - questions and comments

[SebA]

Hi,
 
1. Xymon WinPSClient - can it send custom status messages like BBNT and
BBWin?
 
In BBNT, we use the Saved Logs Location together with the Logs Timer to send
custom status messages to the Xymon server.  This is defined with different
language in the readme file:
 
PluginTimer: Waiting period between plugins status files loading
  Default is 60 seconds
  This means that BBNT waits XXX seconds before checking if any
   status files were written to the plugin directory
   (the ExternalPath variable) by plugin programs
 
In BBWin, this also works with the:
 <setting name="logstimer" value="60s" />
Although you have to set the tmppath in the BBWin registry folder.
 
BBNT more info:
 
ExternalPath: Directory where external programs can save BB status messages
  to be sent by BBNT.  This key is set with the value
  entered in the "Saved Log Location" field using the
  bbntcfg utility.  This acts as a plugin facility where
  external program create their own status messages.
  Files that have no extensions (the file name should be the
  service name) are sent to BB.  So first create your file
  with an extension and when it's ready to be sent over then
  rename it to the service name only. After processing, the
  status file is removed. ...  The full description is in the attached
readme file.
 
Is there an equivalent in the XymonPSClient?  Note that the client does not
need to run anything, just look in a given folder for files (without
extensions) and send any it finds to the Xymon server (preferably with an
interval that is configurable separately to the normal interval).
 
 
2. Also some points about making the installation process clearer and
easier...
 
In the README.txt, in the 'Installing as service' and 'Client configuration'
it is not clear if those commands should be run from a Command Prompt,
Elevated Command Prompt, PowerShell prompt or elevated PowerShell prompt.
This is much clearer (for installation anyway) in the XymonPSClient.doc
file.  Maybe the README.txt should say that fuller and more up to date
instructions will be kept in the XymonPSClient.doc file?  A note specifying
that XymonPSClient.exe is actually ABC_SrvAny.exe and not used anymore might
be helpful too.
 
Also, I was originally trying to install this on a 32-bit version of
Windows.  So the instructions didn't work as only a 64-bit version of
nssm.exe was provided.  This wasted a lot of our time when we first tried
this.  Either a note about this, or putting both 32-bit and 64-bit versions
in subversion would be helpful here.
 
I think it was also necessary to unblock some files.  When you download
files in Windows, they start off blocked and you need to go into their file
properties and unblock them.  A note about this would be helpful.
 
 
3. Xymon WinPSClient - can it monitor services like BBNT and BBWin?
 
The documentation has 'servicecheck:SERVICENAME:DURATION', but it only talks
about restarting the service.  I don't want services restarted
automatically, I just want a red or yellow alarm.  (And for some Windows
services, they can't be monitored using procs.)  In BBNT and BBWin it was
much more configurable.  In BBWin:
 
name	 value	
alarmcolor	 You can set the default alarm color for the svcs rules. It
should be set to red or yellow. Default is yellow. 	
alwaysgreen	 Possible values are "true" or "false". If true, it will
always send green status. Default is false. 	
autoreset	 Possible values are "true" or "false". If true, it will try
to restart each service in automatic startup state which would be stopped. A
report with the default alarm color is sent when it try to restart one of
these service. Default is false 	
comment	 A simple string which appear in the report to add a small
information about the services monitored if its name is not easy to
understand. This parameter is optionnal 	
delay	 Svcs agent will wait the period defined in the delay setting before
doing monitoring if the computer has restarted recently. (It may be useful
for services which would start later than BBWin or for services which take a
lot of time to start). You can specify a unit after the numeric value : "m"
for minutes, "h" for hours, "d" for days. Default is 5 minutes 	
testname	 You can set the testname that will be sent to the
monitoring server (column name in the bbdisplay) Default is "svcs" 	
 
The BBNT config is like this (so it is more similar to PS and more succinct,
but the extra BBWin parameters are also helpful):  Terminal
Services:R:R:N;Automatic Updates:R:R:N - documentation in attached readme
file.
 
Thanks for all your hard work!  It would be really nice if all the
functionality of BBWin is replicated in XymonPSClient as then the decision
over which to go with is almost a no-brainer!

Kind regards,

SebA
 
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