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HP OpenVMS Systems Documentation

HP Availability Manager User's Guide

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7.6.2 Entering a User Action

Note

OpenVMS and Windows execute the User Action procedure somewhat differently, as explained in the following paragraphs.

The following notes pertain to writing and executing User Action commands or command procedures. These notes apply to User Actions on both OpenVMS and Windows systems.

The procedure that you specify as the User Action will be executed in the following manner:
- It will be issued to the operating system that is running the Availability Manager Data Analyzer.
- It will be issued as a process separate from the one running the Availability Manager to avoid affecting its operation.
- It will be run under the same account as the one running the Availability Manager Data Analyzer.
User Actions are intended to execute procedures that do not require interactive displays or user input.
You can enter User Actions for events on either a systemwide basis or a per-node basis:
- On a systemwide basis, the User Action is issued for an event that occurs on any node.
- On a per-node basis, the User Action is issued for an event that occurs only on a specific node.

If event logging is enabled, the Availability Manager writes events to the event log file (called AnalyzerEvents.log by default on OpenVMS systems and AvailManEvents.log by default on Windows systems). A status line matching the original line indicates whether the User Action was successfully issued. For example:

AMGR/KOINE -- 13-Apr-2001 15:33:02.531 --<0,CFGDON>KOINE configuration done
AMGR/KOINE -- 13-Apr-2001 15:33:02.531 --<0,CFGDON>KOINE configuration done
(User Action issued for this event on the client O/S)

Other events might appear between the first logging and the status line. The log file does not indicate whether the User Action executed successfully. You must obtain the execution status from the operating system, for example, the OpenVMS batch procedure log.

The User Action functionality might be enhanced in a future release of the Availability Manager, but backward compatibility is not guaranteed for the format of User Action procedure strings or for the method of executing the procedures on a particular operating system.

7.6.2.1 Executing a Procedure on an OpenVMS System

The User Action procedure and arguments are passed as string values to the DCL command interpreter as follows:

SUBMIT/NOPRINTER/LOG user_action_procedure arg_1 arg_2 arg_3 arg_4

where:

The first command is the DCL command SUBMIT with associated qualifiers.
user_action_procedure is a valid OpenVMS file name.
Enter the name of the procedure you want OpenVMS to execute using the following format:
disk:[directory]filename.COM
where:
- disk is the name of the disk where the procedure resides.
- directory is the name of the directory where the procedure resides.
- filename.COM is the file name of the command procedure you want OpenVMS to execute. The file name must follow OpenVMS file-naming conventions.
The file you submit must contain one or more DCL command statements that form a valid OpenVMS command procedure.

The arguments correspond to the following data:

Argument	Description
arg_1	Node name of the node that generated the event.
arg_2	Date and time that the event was generated.
arg_3	Name of the event.
arg_4	Description of the event.

The Availability Manager does not interpret the string contents. You can supply any content in the User Action procedure that DCL accepts in the OpenVMS environment for the user account running the Data Analyzer. However, if you include arguments in the User Action procedure, they might displace or overwrite arguments supplied by the Availability Manager.

A suitable batch queue must be available on the Data Analyzer computer to be the target of the SUBMIT command. See the HP OpenVMS DCL Dictionary for the SUBMIT, INITIALIZE/QUEUE, and START/QUEUE commands for use of batch queues and the queue manager.

The following is an example of a DCL command procedure:

$ if (p3.eqs."DSKOFF").and.(p1.eqs."PAYROL")
$ then
$   mail/subject="''p2' ''p3' ''p4'" urgent_instructions.txt
call_center,finance,adams
$ else
$   mail/subject="''p2' ''p3' ''p4'" instructions.txt call_center
$ endif

The pn numbers in the DCL procedure correspond in type, number, and position to the arguments in the preceding table.

You might use a procedure like this one to notify several groups if the payroll disk goes off line, or to notify the call center if any other event occurs.

7.6.2.2 Executing a Procedure on a Windows System

The user action procedure and arguments are passed as string values to the Windows command interpreter as follows:

"AT time CMD/C user_action_procedure arg_1 arg_2 arg_3 arg_4"

where:

AT is the Windows command that schedules commands and programs at a specified time and date.
The time substring is a short period of time--- aproximately 2 minutes---in the future so that the AT utility processes the user action procedure today rather than tomorrow. This is necessary because the AT utility cannot execute a procedure "now" rather than at an explicitly stated time.

user_action_procedure is a Windows command or valid file name. The file must contain one or more Windows command statements to form a valid command procedure. (See the example in this section.)
Enter the name of the procedure you want Windows to execute using the following format:
device:\(directory\filename.BAT
where:

device is the disk on which the procedure is located.
directory is the folder in which the procedure is located.

filename.BAT is the name of the command file to be executed.

Notes

The file name must follow Windows file-naming conventions. However, due to the processing of spaces in the Java JRE, HP recommends that you do not use spaces in a path or file name.
HP recommends that you use a batch file to process and call procedures and applications.

The arguments are listed in the table in Section 7.6.2.1.

The Availability Manager does not interpret the string contents. You can supply any content in the string that the Windows command-line interpreter accepts for the user account running the Data Analyzer. However, if you include arguments in the User Action procedure, they might displace or overwrite arguments supplied by the Availability Manager.

You cannot specify positional command-line switches or arguments to the AT command, although you can include switches in the User Action procedure substring as qualifiers to the user-supplied command. This is a limitation of both the Windows command-line interpreter and the way the entire string is passed from the Availability Manager to Windows.

The Schedule service must be running on the Data Analyzer computer in order to use the AT command. However, the Schedule service does not run by default. To start the Schedule service, see the Windows documentation for instructions in the use of the CONTROL PANEL->SERVICES->SCHEDULE->[startup button].

Windows Example

To set up a user action, follow these steps:

Select an event on the Events Customization page, for example, HIBIOR (see Figure 7-17).
Change the Event escalation action to User.
Enter the name of the program to run, for example:
c:\send_message.bat

Figure 7-17 User Action Example

The command line parameters are automatically added when Availability Manager passes the command to the command processor.

The contents of "send_message.bat" are the following:

    net send affc17 "P4:system event: %1 %2 %3 %4"

On the target node, AFFC17, a message similar to the following is displayed:

You can now apply the User Action to one node, all nodes, or a group of nodes, as explained in Section 7.6.2.

7.7 Customizing Security Features

The following sections explain how to change these security features:

Data Analyzer passwords for OpenVMS and Windows Data Collector nodes
OpenVMS Data Collector security triplets
A Windows Data Collector password

Note

OpenVMS Data Collector nodes can have more than one password: each password is part of a security triplet. (Windows nodes allow you to have only one password per node.)

7.7.1 Changing Data Analyzer Passwords

You can change the passwords that the Windows Data Analyzer uses for OpenVMS Data Collector nodes and for Windows Data Collector nodes. The following sections explain how to perform both actions.

7.7.1.1 Changing a Data Analyzer Password for an OpenVMS Data Collector Node

When you click Customize OpenVMS... on the Customize menu of the Application window, the Availability Manager displays a default customization page. On it is a tab marked Security, which, if you select it, displays the OpenVMS Security Customization page shown in Figure 7-18.

Figure 7-18 OpenVMS Security Customization Page

To change the default password for the Data Analyzer to use to access OpenVMS Data Collector nodes, enter a password of exactly 8 uppercase alphanumeric characters. The Availability Manager will use this password to access OpenVMS Data Collector nodes. This password must match the password that is part of the OpenVMS Data Collector security triplet (see Section 7.7.2).

When you are satisfied with your password, click OK. Exit the Availability Manager, and restart the application for the password to take effect.

7.7.1.2 Changing a Data Analyzer Password for a Windows Data Collector Node

When you click Customize Windows NT... on the Customize menu of the Application window, the Availability Manager displays a Windows Security Customization page (Figure 7-19).

Figure 7-19 Windows Security Customization Page

To change the default password for the Data Analyzer to use to access Windows Data Collector nodes, enter a password of exactly 8 alphanumeric characters. Note that this password is case sensitive; any time you type it, you must use the original capitalization.

This password must also match the password for the Windows Data Collector node that you want to access. (See Section 7.7.3 for instructions for changing that password.)

When you are satisfied with your password, click OK. Exit and restart the Availability Manager for the password to take effect. affc

7.7.2 Changing Security Triplets on OpenVMS Data Collector Nodes

To change security triplets on an OpenVMS Data Collector node, you must edit the AMDS$DRIVER_ACCESS.DAT file, which is installed on all Data Collector nodes. The following sections explain what a security triplet is, how the Availability Manager uses it, and how to change it.

7.7.2.1 Understanding OpenVMS Security Triplets

A security triplet determines which nodes can access system data from an OpenVMS Data Collector node. The AMDS$DRIVER_ACCESS.DAT file on OpenVMS Data Collector nodes lists security triplets.

On OpenVMS Data Collector nodes, the AMDS$AM_CONFIG logical translates to the location of the default security file, AMDS$DRIVER_ACCESS.DAT. This file is installed on all OpenVMS Data Collector nodes.

A security triplet is a three-part record whose fields are separated by backslashes (\). A triplet consists of the following fields:

A network address (hardware address or wildcard character)
An 8-character alphanumeric password
The password is not case sensitive (so the passwords "testtest" and "TESTTEST" are considered to be the same).
A read, write, or control (R, W, or C) access verification code

The exclamation point (!) is a comment delimiter; any characters to the right of the comment delimiter are ignored.

Example

All Data Collector nodes in group FINANCE have the following AMDS$DRIVER_ACCESS.DAT file:

*\FINGROUP\R   ! Let anyone with FINGROUP password read
               !
2.1\DEVGROUP\W ! Let only DECnet node 2.1 with
               ! DEVGROUP password perform fixes (writes)

7.7.2.2 How to Change a Security Triplet

Note

The configuration files for DECamds and the Availability Manager are separate; only one set is used, depending on which startup command procedure you use to start the driver.

See Installing the Availability Manager on OpenVMS Alpha Systems and Running DECamds and the Availability Manager Concurrently for a further explanation of the configuration file setup for both DECamds and the Availability Manager.

On each Data Collector node on which you want to change security, you must edit the AMDS$DRIVER_ACCESS.DAT file. The data in the AMDS$DRIVER_ACCESS.DAT file is set up as follows:

      Network address\password\access

Use a backslash character (\) to separate the three fields.

To edit the AMDS$DRIVER_ACCESS.DAT file, follow these steps:

Edit the network address.
The network address can be either of the following:
- Hardware address
  The hardware address field is the physical hardware address in the LAN device chip. It is used if you have multiple LAN devices or are running the HP DECnet-Plus for OpenVMS networking software on the system (not the HP DECnet Phase IV for OpenVMS networking software).
  For devices provided by HP, the hardware address is in the form 08-00-2B-xx-xx-xx, where the 08-00-2B portion is HP's valid range of LAN addresses as defined by the IEEE 802 standards, and the xx-xx-xx portion is chip specific.
  To determine the value of the hardware address on a node, use the OpenVMS System Dump Analyzer (SDA) as follows:
  $ ANALYZE/SYSTEM SDA> SHOW LAN
  These commands display a list of available devices. Choose the template device of the LAN device you will be using, and then enter the following command:
  SDA> SHOW LAN/DEVICE=xxA0
- Wildcard address
  The wildcard character (*) allows any incoming triplet with a matching password field to access the Data Collector node. Use the wildcard character to allow read access and to run the console application from any node in your network.
  Because the Data Analyzer does not use this field, use the wildcard character in this field in the AMDS$CONSOLE_ACCESS.DAT file.
  Caution: Use of the wildcard character for write-access security triplets enables any person using that node to perform system-altering fixes.
Edit the password field.
The password field must be an 8-byte alphanumeric field. The Availability Manager forces upper-case on the password, so "aaaaaaaa" and "AAAAAAAA" are essentially the same password to the Data Collector.
The password field gives you a second level of protection when you want to use the wildcard address denotation to allow multiple modes of access to your monitored system.
Enter R, W, or C as an access code:
- R means READONLY access to the Data Analyzer.
- W means READ/WRITE access to the Data Analyzer. (WRITE implies READ.)
- C means CONTROL access to the Data Analyzer. CONTROL allows you to manipulate objects from which data are derived. (CONTROL implies both WRITE and READ.)

The following security triplets are all valid; an explanation follows the exclamation point (!).

*\1decamds\r   ! Anyone with password "1decamds" can monitor
*\1decamds\w   ! Anyone with password "1decamds" can monitor or write
2.1\1decamds\r ! Only node 2.1 with password "1decamds" can monitor
2.1\1decamds\w ! Only node 2.1 with password "1decamds" can monitor and write
08-00-2b-03-23-cd\1decamds\w ! Allows a particular hardware address to write
08-00-2b-03-23-cd\1decamds\r ! Allows a particular hardware address to read node

OpenVMS Data Collector nodes accept more than one password. Therefore, you might have several security triplets in an AMDS$DRIVER_ACCESS.DAT file for one Data Collector node. For example:

*\1DECAMDS\R
*\KOINECLS\R
*\KOINEFIX\W
*\AVAILMAN\C

In this example, Data Analyzer nodes with the passwords 1DECAMDS and KOINECLS would be able to see the Data Collector data, but only the Data Analyzer node with the KOINEFIX password would be able to write or change information, including performing fixes, on the Data Collector node. The Data Analyzer node with the AVAILMAN password would be able to perform switched LAN fixes.

If you want, you can set up your AMDS$DRIVER_ACCESS.DAT file to allow anyone in the world to read from your system but allow only certain nodes to write or change process or device characteristics on your system.

Note

After editing the AMDS$DRIVER_ACCESS.DAT file, you must stop and then restart the Data Collector. This action loads the new data into the driver.

7.7.2.3 How the Availability Manager Ensures Security

The Availability Manager performs these steps when using security triplets to ensure security among Data Analyzer and Data Collector nodes:

A message is broadcast at regular intervals to all nodes within the LAN indicating the availability of a Data Collector node to communicate with a Data Analyzer node.
The node running the Data Analyzer receives the availability message and returns a security triplet that identifies it to the Data Collector, and requests system data from the Data Collector.
The Data Collector examines the security triplet to determine whether the Data Analyzer is listed in the AMDS$DRIVER_ACCESS.DAT file to permit access to the system.
- If the AMDS$DRIVER_ACCESS.DAT file lists Data Analyzer access information, then the Data Provider and the Data Analyzer can exchange information.
- If the Data Analyzer is not listed in the AMDS$DRIVER_ACCESS.DAT file or does not have appropriate access information, then access is denied and a message is logged to OPCOM. The Data Analyzer receives a message stating that access to that node is not permitted.

Table 7-4 describes how the Data Collector node interprets a security triplet match.

**Table 7-4 Security Triplet Verification**
Security Triplet	Interpretation
08-00-2B-12-34-56\HOMETOWN\W	The Data Analyzer has write access to the node only when the Data Analyzer is run from a node with this hardware address (multiadapter or DECnet-Plus system) and with the password HOMETOWN.
2.1\HOMETOWN\R	The Data Analyzer has read access to the node when run from a node with DECnet for OpenVMS Phase IV address 2.1 and the password HOMETOWN.
*\HOMETOWN\R	Any Data Analyzer with the password HOMETOWN has read access to the node.

7.7.3 Changing a Password on a Windows Data Collector

To change the Data Collector password in the Registry, follow these steps:

Click the Windows Start button. On the menu displayed, first click Programs, then Accessories, and then Command Prompt.
Type regedit after the angle prompt (>).
The system displays a screen for the Registry Editor, with a list of entries under My Computer.
On the list displayed, expand the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE entry.
Double-click SYSTEM.
Click CurrentControlSet.
Click Services.
Click damdrvr.
Click Parameters.
Double-click Read Password. Then type a new 8-character alphanumeric password, and click OK to make the change.
To store the new password, click Exit under File on the main menu bar.
On the Control Panel, click Services and then Stop for "PerfServ."
Again on the Control Panel, click Devices and then Stop for "damdrvr."
First restart damdrvr under "Devices" and then restart PerfServ under "Services."
This step completes the change of your Data Collector password.

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