Integration with Topaz

SiteScope can be configured to be an agent reporting to Mercury Interactive's Topaz suite. With this feature you can easily integrate SiteScope's system level availability monitoring with the performance monitoring and analysis capabilities of Topaz. Go to the Mercury Interactive Web site to find out more about Topaz. SiteScope also includes features for monitoring the availability of Topaz servers known as the Topaz Watchdog. You use the Topaz Preferences page to register SiteScope to report data to a Topaz server and to access Topaz Watchdog settings.

This section describes:

Registering SiteScope to a Topaz Server
Setting UP the Topaz Watchdog Group
Using SSL for SiteScope-Topaz Communication
Troubleshooting Data Reporting to Topaz
Accessing Topaz Watchdog

Registering SiteScope to a Topaz Server

To enable logging of SiteScope monitor data to Topaz you need to configure SiteScope as an agent reporting to Topaz. You use the Topaz Server Registration form to register the SiteScope server as an agent reporting to a Topaz server.

The Topaz registration process involves two steps:

Specifying connection parameters to the Topaz server. Note: If the Topaz Admin Server to which you are connecting is on a different machine than the Topaz Agent Server that SiteScope is to report to, you need to provide connection information for both servers under the Optional Settings section.
Selecting the Topaz profile in which you want to save SiteScope data

Note: Monitors created in SiteScope before registration to Topaz have their Topaz logging option set to Do not report to Topaz. After you configure SiteScope as an agent reporting to Topaz, the default state for new monitors created in SiteScope is to log their monitoring data to Topaz. To change Topaz logging options use either the Topaz Logging Options function on the Manage Monitors/Groups page or edit a specific monitor and check the Stop Logging to Topaz check box in the Add/Edit monitor screen. See the Manage Monitors and Groups page for more information about enabling and disabling logging to Topaz.

The following describes the sections and options on the Topaz Server Registration page.

Part 1 - Specifying Connection Parameters to Topaz Servers

Complete the form as indicated below, and then click the Register button to complete the action.

After registration you may control SiteScope logging to Topaz with the following buttons:

Update Topaz Settings: Change any of the Required or Optional settings.
Disable/Enable: Stop SiteScope from logging to Topaz. This state can be toggled at any time.
Re-Synchronize: Force SiteScope to resend all its configuration data. This data consists of all the Group and Monitor definitions.
Reset: This will delete all Topaz related settings. Note that Topaz will not allow the selection of a previously used profile.

Required Settings

Topaz server machine name/IP address: Enter the name or IP address of the Topaz server machine to which you want this SiteScope to connect.
SiteScope agent machine location: Enter the location of the SiteScope server or agent that you are connecting to Topaz. You can specify any value that helps you identify the location of this specific SiteScope server.
Topaz user name: Enter the user name of a Topaz administrator-level user.
Topaz user password: Enter the password for the user specified above.

Optional Settings

Topaz Server

Authentication username and Authentication password: If the Topaz server is configured to use basic authentication, specify the username and password required to access the Topaz server.
Use SSL (HTTPS protocol): Check this box if the Topaz server is configured to use the HTTPS protocol.

Topaz Agent Server

Note: Set these values only if the Topaz Agent Server is installed on a different machine than the Topaz Admin Server.

Server name/IP address: Enter the name of the Topaz agent server to which you want this SiteScope to connect.
Authentication username and Authentication password: If the Topaz agent server is configured to use basic authentication, specify the username and password required to access the Topaz agent server.
Use SSL (HTTPS protocol): Check this box if the Topaz agent server is configured to use the HTTPS protocol.

Proxy Server

Set these values only if access to Topaz requires the use of a proxy server.

Proxy Address: If applicable, enter the proxy server address.
Proxy Username: Enter the username for the proxy server.
Proxy Password: Enter the password for the specified user.
Disable Topaz connection: Check this box to disable the SiteScope-Topaz connection. You can restore communication with Topaz by clearing the check box and clicking the reRegister button.

Part 2 - Selecting the Topaz Profile

Select the SiteScope profile in which Topaz will store the data collected by SiteScope (the SiteScope profile must have been previously defined in the Topaz Admin Center). Then click the Submit button.

Note the following:

Only SiteScope profiles not in use by any other SiteScope or Topaz agent appear in the list.
When viewing reports in Topaz, you select this profile to see the SiteScope data.
It is recommended that you use the word "SiteScope" in the profile name to more easily identify SiteScope profiles in the Topaz Web site.

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Setting Up the Topaz Watchdog Group

Note: You must register SiteScope with Topaz for the Topaz Watchdog group to work correctly. You can subsequently disable the connection, if you do not want SiteScope to report to Topaz.

To set up the Topaz Watchdog group:

Select the Enable Topaz Watchdog check box.
SiteScope displays a link to the Topaz Watchdog Settings page. Click this link, edit the Watchdog Settings on the next page, and click Save Settings.
For the rest of the procedure to set up Topaz Watchdog, see the Topaz Watchdog help page.

Click the Edit Topaz Watchdog Settings link to make changes to an existing Topaz Watchdog set up.

Using SSL for SiteScope-Topaz Communication

You can use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to transmit data from SiteScope to the Topaz server. If you have installed a certificate signed by a root Certificate Authority on the Topaz server, no additional setup is required on the SiteScope server. If you are using a self-signed certificate on the Topaz server and want to use that certificate for secure communication with SiteScope, you need to do the following:

Add three entries to the master.config file on the SiteScope server as described below
Import the certificate from the Topaz server to the keystore on the SiteScope server

Note: You only need to specify these settings for the case that the certificate installed on the Topaz machine is not signed by a root Certificate Authority (CA). For example, if you are using a certificate signed by a Certificate Authority like Verisign, you do not need to change these settings.

Note: You can import the self-signed certificate into the same keystore file used for other SiteScope monitors but that is not required. You can create a separate keystore for the Topaz server certificate.

To enable secure communication between SiteScope and Topaz using a self-signed certificate

Obtain a copy of the self-signed certificate from the Topaz server saved in a DER-encoded binary X.509 format. Normally, the certificate file has an extension of *.cer
Import the into a keystore on the SiteScope server using the procedures described in Accessing SiteScope via HTTPS.
Note: It will not be necessary to create the certificate request file since you already have a certificate.
Edit the master.config file in the <SiteScope_root>\groups using a text editor. Add the following three entries with the data indicated:
_sslTrustedCertKeyStoreFile=<path>\<filename> _sslTrustedCertKeyStorePassword=<keystorepassword> _sslAcceptAllUntrustedCerts=<boolean>

For example, the entries added to the master.config file might be as follows:

_sslTrustedCertKeyStoreFile=c:\keystores\topaz.keystore _sslTrustedCertKeyStorePassword=sUp3rS3cr3tP@ssw0RD _sslAcceptAllUntrustedCerts=false
Save the changes to the file
Restart the SiteScope server

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Troubleshooting Data Reporting to Topaz

Due to the complexity of some monitoring deployments and network communications, there may be some time when SiteScope is temporarily unable to communicate with the Topaz server. SiteScope Health monitoring includes several monitors for watching connectivity and data transfers to the Topaz server.

If SiteScope is unable to connect to the Topaz Agent Server, SiteScope continues to record and store monitor data files locally. Once the number of data files exceeds a specified threshold, SiteScope saves the data files in a a cache folder with the syntax <SiteScope_root>\cache\persistent\topaz\data<index>.old.

Note: By default, the threshold number of data files is set to 1,000 files. This setting is configurable in the master.config file by modifying the _topazMaxPersistenceDirSize property.

After the connection between SiteScope and the Agent Server is restored, you must manually copy the files from these folders to the <SiteScope_root>\cache\persistent\topaz\data folder. It is recommended that you only copy these files when the data folder is empty to avoid overloading the system with large amounts of data to upload. When the number of data.old folders exceeds a specified threshold, by default 10 folders, the oldest folders will be deleted.

Note: The number of data.old folders to keep is configurable in the master.config file by modifying the _topazMaxOldDirs property.

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Accessing Topaz Watchdog

At the bottom of the Topaz Preferences page is the Topaz Watchdog Settings section. This section is used to configure the SiteScope server to serve as a Topaz Watchdog. The set up is automated to configure the necessary monitors for the Topaz deployment. See the following section on Monitoring the Topaz System Using the Topaz Watchdog Group for more information about this functionality.