How to install Traverse on SUSE 11

Last month working with Zyrion and their flagship product Traverse and contributing to its technical support i realized that there is no Suse specific install guides or howtos . So i wrote one for your convenience. Please write back to me for any comment or query.

Traverse is an excellent product in the network monitoring area. I hope this helps to install quickly a fully functional running  Traverse system. It is one of the best software, easy to deploy datacentre top of the notch network monitoring tool with reasonable scalability options and remarkably well performance with least intervention needed.

MyHost (Test Bed)

Open Suse 11.0 with default install.

sanjaya@docker:~> uname -a
Linux docker 2.6.27.7-9-default #1 SMP 2008-12-04 18:10:04 +0100 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux

STEPS

1. Download traverse

There are couple of options here but for this purpose of writing i installed Traverse Express. It has got some limitations like 30 days license and number of device you can monitor and number of DGEs , the list could be found here http://zyrion.com/products/comparison.php

But other than them  its pretty much fully functional copy.There is a submit trial request form.

http://zyrion.com/download/traverse.php

2. Unpack the software

Once you have got the download link and the software is downloaded unpack it in the /tmp directory of your suse box.

3. Locate the install.sh script and run it

This is the master install script that would do most stuffs needed to  install the necessary components to their respective directories create the initialization

script at /etc/init.d/ and start the services. In my  installation it was  under traverse-5.0 directory.

Dependencies

Traverse comes with all the necessary pieces of software within it but there are few dependencies with respect to SUSE 11. It has some dependency on compat libraries and i needed to install them manually on top of my vanilla OpenSuse 11.0 box

Please check them yourself , i had got  an error like the following in the install process right after you complete the answers asked by the script.

ERROR: libstdc++-libc6.2-2.so.3 is needed but not found
ERROR: Please install the missing packages from OS installation CD first

To avoid check yourself,

docker:/tmp/traverse-5.0 # rpm -qa |grep compat
cdrkit-cdrtools-compat-1.1.8-3.31
java-1_5_0-gcj-compat-devel-1.5.0.0-56.61
avahi-compat-mDNSResponder-devel-0.6.23-8.3
pulseaudio-esound-compat-0.9.12-9.6
java-1_5_0-gcj-compat-1.5.0.0-56.61

I have made my life easier by installing Zypper on my suse box. Save yourself from the hassle and install that piece. Saves a lot of time on depedency resolution.

docker:/tmp/traverse-5.0 # zypper install compat*
Loading repository data…
Reading installed packages…
Resolving package dependencies…

The following NEW packages are going to be installed:
compat compat-dapl compat-dapl-debuginfo compat-dapl-debugsource compat-dapl-devel
compat-neon024 compat-neon024-debuginfo compat-neon024-debugsource
compat-openssl097g compat-openssl097g-debuginfo compat-openssl097g-debugsource
compat-readline4 compat-readline4-debuginfo compat-readline4-debugsource
libibverbs libibverbs-devel librdmacm librdmacm-devel

Overall download size: 5.4 M. After the operation, additional 34.7 M will be used.
Continue? [YES/no]:
Retrieving package libibverbs-1.1.2-6.8.i586 (1/18), 65.0 K (202.0 K unpacked)
Retrieving: libibverbs-1.1.2-6.8.i586.rpm [done]
Installing: libibverbs-1.1.2-6.8 [done]
Retrieving package compat-readline4-4.3-137.10.i586 (2/18), 86.0 K (227.0 K unpacked)
Retrieving: compat-readline4-4.3-137.10.i586.rpm [done]
Installing: compat-readline4-4.3-137.10 [done]
Retrieving package compat-neon024-0.24.7-37.91.i586 (3/18), 55.0 K (123.0 K unpacked)
Retrieving: compat-neon024-0.24.7-37.91.i586.rpm [done]
Installing: compat-neon024-0.24.7-37.91 [done]
Retrieving package compat-2008.10.27-1.12.i586 (4/18), 341.0 K (2.3 M unpacked)
Retrieving: compat-2008.10.27-1.12.i586.rpm [done]
Installing: compat-2008.10.27-1.12 [done]
Retrieving package compat-openssl097g-0.9.7g-146.9.1.i586 (5/18), 657.0 K (1.7 M unpacked)
Retrieving: compat-openssl097g-0.9.7g-146.9.1.i586.rpm [done (158.3 K/s)]
Installing: compat-openssl097g-0.9.7g-146.9.1 [done]
Retrieving package librdmacm-1.0.8-7.7.i586 (6/18), 35.0 K (90.0 K unpacked)
Retrieving: librdmacm-1.0.8-7.7.i586.rpm [done]
Installing: librdmacm-1.0.8-7.7 [done]
Retrieving package libibverbs-devel-1.1.2-6.8.i586 (7/18), 65.0 K (120.0 K unpacked)
Retrieving: libibverbs-devel-1.1.2-6.8.i586.rpm [done (25.9 K/s)]
Installing: libibverbs-devel-1.1.2-6.8 [done]
Retrieving package librdmacm-devel-1.0.8-7.7.i586 (8/18), 32.0 K (44.0 K unpacked)
Retrieving: librdmacm-devel-1.0.8-7.7.i586.rpm [done]
Installing: librdmacm-devel-1.0.8-7.7 [done]
Retrieving package compat-dapl-1.2.11-3.7.i586 (9/18), 144.0 K (452.0 K unpacked)
Retrieving: compat-dapl-1.2.11-3.7.i586.rpm [done]
Installing: compat-dapl-1.2.11-3.7 [done]
Retrieving package compat-dapl-devel-1.2.11-3.7.i586 (10/18), 1.2 M (12.1 M unpacked)
Retrieving: compat-dapl-devel-1.2.11-3.7.i586.rpm [done (386.9 K/s)]
Installing: compat-dapl-devel-1.2.11-3.7 [done]
Retrieving package compat-readline4-debuginfo-4.3-137.10.i586 (11/18), 111.0 K (349.0 K unpacked)
Retrieving: compat-readline4-debuginfo-4.3-137.10.i586.rpm [done (27.4 K/s)]
Installing: compat-readline4-debuginfo-4.3-137.10 [done]
Retrieving package compat-openssl097g-debuginfo-0.9.7g-146.1.i586 (12/18), 843.0 K (3.7 M unpacked)
Retrieving: compat-openssl097g-debuginfo-0.9.7g-146.1.i586.rpm [done (160.9 K/s)]
Installing: compat-openssl097g-debuginfo-0.9.7g-146.1 [done]
Retrieving package compat-neon024-debuginfo-0.24.7-37.91.i586 (13/18), 94.0 K (250.0 K unpacked)
Retrieving: compat-neon024-debuginfo-0.24.7-37.91.i586.rpm [done (43.7 K/s)]
Installing: compat-neon024-debuginfo-0.24.7-37.91 [done]
Retrieving package compat-dapl-debuginfo-1.2.11-3.7.i586 (14/18), 493.0 K (5.3 M unpacked)
Retrieving: compat-dapl-debuginfo-1.2.11-3.7.i586.rpm [done (114.9 K/s)]
Installing: compat-dapl-debuginfo-1.2.11-3.7 [done]
Retrieving package compat-readline4-debugsource-4.3-137.10.i586 (15/18), 136.0 K (653.0 K unpacked)
Retrieving: compat-readline4-debugsource-4.3-137.10.i586.rpm [done (39.5 K/s)]
Installing: compat-readline4-debugsource-4.3-137.10 [done]
Retrieving package compat-openssl097g-debugsource-0.9.7g-146.1.i586 (16/18), 817.0 K (5.3 M unpacked)
Retrieving: compat-openssl097g-debugsource-0.9.7g-146.1.i586.rpm [done (143.3 K/s)]
Installing: compat-openssl097g-debugsource-0.9.7g-146.1 [done]
Retrieving package compat-neon024-debugsource-0.24.7-37.91.i586 (17/18), 95.0 K (368.0 K unpacked)
Retrieving: compat-neon024-debugsource-0.24.7-37.91.i586.rpm [done (11.9 K/s)]
Installing: compat-neon024-debugsource-0.24.7-37.91 [done]
Retrieving package compat-dapl-debugsource-1.2.11-3.7.i586 (18/18), 252.0 K (1.6 M unpacked)
Retrieving: compat-dapl-debugsource-1.2.11-3.7.i586.rpm [done (54.1 K/s)]
Installing: compat-dapl-debugsource-1.2.11-3.7 [done]
docker:/tmp/traverse-5.0 # rpm -qa |grep compat-gcc

Install Options

The install script does asks a few questions to decide the software configuration. Will explain them in here .

Start Installing

docker:/tmp/traverse-5.0 #
docker:/tmp/traverse-5.0 # ./install.sh

========================================================================
ZYRION TRAVERSE – End User License Agreement (EULA)
==========================================

NOTICE TO ALL USERS: PLEASE READ THIS CONTRACT CAREFULLY.

• – END OF EULA —

2008/10/01

Do you agree? [y/n]: y

Detecting operating system dependencies …

REQUIRED INFORMATION
This installation tool will ask some questions, and based on the answers
install and configure the appropriate Traverse components. Please make
sure that you have the following information availble before proceeding
with the installation:

• An appropriate license key for Traverse 5.0
• Destination directory where Traverse should be installed
• Which components you wish to install on this particular host
• IP address assigned to the (Fast)Ethernet interface of this host
• Fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of your local SMTP relay host
• Location of various system tools (tar, perl, sed, ps, awk, gunzip)
• Email address of an administrator who will be managing Traverse

Do you wish to continue with installation [y]: y

SYSTEM TOOLS
This install script will need several system tools to perform the
installation. Please locate the following tools (if not found):

TAR command found       : /bin/tar
GUNZIP command found    : /usr/bin/gunzip
PS command found        : /bin/ps
SED command found       : /usr/bin/sed
AWK command found       : /usr/bin/awk
PERL command found      : /usr/bin/perl

SET INSTALLATION DIRECTORY
Please indicate the absolute path where Traverse should be installed.  If
you wish to perform a fresh installation, make sure that the directory
specified does not already exist. If you are upgrading an existing
installation, specify the location of where the older version is installed

Enter top level directory [/usr/local/traverse]:

COMPONENT SELECTION
Traverse has several main components (please refer to the User Guide for
detailed explanation of each component) which can either run independently
on different servers, or on the same host. For first time installation,
it is recommended that you run all components on a single host.

Will this server run the provisioning database [y]:
Will this server run the web application [y]:
TCP port for standard (non-secure) Web Application? [80]
TCP port for SSL enabled (secure) Web Application? [443]
Will this server run the monitors (DGE) [y]:

WMI BASED MONITORING
Traverse can monitor Windows (2000, XP) hosts using Windows Management
Instrumentation (WMI) instead of using SNMP. In order to monitor system
and application metrics from this DGE, you will need to install a remote
query tool on * ONE * of the Windows hosts in your network. Please refer
to the WMI Monitor section in the User Guide for complete details

Do you wish to monitor Windows hosts using WMI from this DGE? [n]: y
IP address where WMI Query Daemon is (will be) running? [127.0.0.1]: 192.168.1.6

ADMINISTRATIVE ALERTS
Traverse sends administrative email messages when it encounters problems
with proper operation (eg. directory permissions, missing process). These
emails are ** NOT ** the same as email notifications sent by Traverse
monitors. It is advised to create a “traverse-admin” email alias in your
mail system.

Where is your MAIL program located? [/bin/mail]:
Where should the admin email go? [traverse-admin@docker]:
What is the fqdn of your mail (smtp/relay) server? [mail]:
What address should these emails be sent as? [traverse@docker]:
Should Traverse be started automatically when server reboots? [y]:
========================================================================

All required information has been collected
Will start Traverse automatically at server reboot

Ready to begin installation … press <enter> to start

Creating installation directory /usr/local/traverse …

Saving installation parameters for subsequent updates …
Creating backup of configurations from previous version …
Copying supporting packages into /usr/local/traverse/apps …
(this may take a while depending on your disk drive speed)
Current directory: activemq …
Current directory: jetty …
Current directory: jre …
Current directory: license …
Current directory: mysql …
Current directory: poet …
Current directory: silk …
Current directory: tomcat …
Copying main package to /usr/local/traverse …

Creating environment and startup scripts …
Creating various configuration files …
Updating file and directory permissions …
Loading the default configuration database …
Updating stored procedures in RTM database …
Updating stored procedures in CSE database …
Updating stored procedures in DGE database …

Adding links into /etc/init.d for automatic startup
Validating Perl installation …
Optimizing intelligent test discovery configuration …
Validating operating system configuation …

DONE
Traverse installation has been completed. Please make sure to carefully
read the Traverse documentation and make any necessary configuration file
changes before starting the application. The documentation is available
under ‘webapp/docs/’ in HTML format. In order to start using the system:

• Install /usr/local/traverse/etc/emerald.crontab into root’s crontab
• Update passwords in /usr/local/traverse/etc/dge.xml (if necessary)
• Start Traverse using ‘/usr/local/traverse/etc/traverse.init start’
• Use your web browser to connect to ‘http://127.0.0.1:80/&#8217;
• Log in with userid ‘zyrion’ and password ‘zyrion’
• Set a secure password via Administration -> Preferences
• Proceed to create new devices, tests, containers, etc.

Once you see this screen you are almost done. Remember that the default trial is of 30 days. Enjoy your new monitoring system.

Resume

I have 9+ years of overall experience in systems administration, integration and management. During the past 4 years I have been working as a consultant focusing on specific areas of business process and working as lead IT consultant in the scope of system administration/ engineering with business analysis as a side responsibility in IT Infrastructure Verticle. I am familiar with industry standards like CMM, ISO, Six Sigma, ITIL etc.

Easy Virtualization using Xen Hypervisor and Cent OS

I was responsible to build a high availability virtual server setup with Xen (Open Source version from Xen.org) here at my clients location for a redundant high availability business application. The base OS running on the host systems –Dell’s quad-socket dual-core Xeon PowerEdge 6800 and 6850 servers 160 x 4 gigs of disk and 4 x 4 gigs of memory.  The operating system is Cent OS 5.0

 

http://www.xen.org/download/dl_32rhel5.html

This is the packages we use here, I simply modified some of the source and added/removed some items to apply to the environment here

Xen install
##new

yum install gcc glibc gcc-common glibc-devel automake bison dev86.x86_64
yum install flex db4.x86_64 db4-devel.x86_64 db4-utils.x86_64 tftp
yum install python-devel zlib zlib-devel xorg-x11-proto-devel.x86_64
yum install openssl-devel.x86_64 libX11-devel ncurses-devel bridge-utils cvs
yum install libtool gettext-devel.x86_64 libxml2-devel.x86_64 cyrus-sasl cyrus-sasl-devel

download xen sources from: http://www.xen.org/download/
*** kernel sources MUST be downloaded from another server using hg, then transferred over to xen machine
*** into save dir that xen-3.2.0 untarred. eg: /opt

download iproute2 from: http://devresources.linux-foundation.org/dev/iproute2/download/iproute2-2.6.22-070710.tar.gz
download mercurial(hg) from: http://www.selenic.com/mercurial-stable-snapshot.tar.gz

scp the files to host’s /tmp dir
mv /tmp/xen-3.2.0.tar.gz .
mv /tmp/linux-2.6.18-xen-3.2.0.tar.gz .

untar files
tar -xzvf xen-3.2.0.tar.gz
tar -xzvf linux-2.6.18-xen-3.2.0.tar.gz
mkdir /tmp/iproute2
mv iproute2…. /tmp/iproute2
tar -xzvf iproute2-2.6.22-070710.tar.gz
tar -xzvf mercurial-stable-snapshot.tar.gz

iproute2:
./configure
make
make install

mercurial:
make tests
python setup.py install

cd into xen source
make prep-kernels
make all
make world
make install
cd tools/
make
make install

cd /lib/modules
/sbin/depmod 2.6.18.8-xen
/sbin/mkinitrd /boot/initrd-2.6.18.8-xen.img 2.6.18.8-xen
/sbin/chkconfig –add xend

paste into /boot/grub/grub.conf:

1. # Note that you do not have to rerun grub after making changes to this file

2. NOTICE: You have a /boot partition. This means that
3. all kernel and initrd paths are relative to /boot/, eg.
4. root (hd0,0)
5. kernel /vmlinuz-version ro root=/dev/sysvg/root
6. initrd /initrd-version.img

#boot=/dev/sda
default=0
timeout=5
splashimage=(hd0,0)/grub/splash.xpm.gz
hiddenmenu
title CentOS-Xen (2.6.18-8)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /xen-3.2.0.gz ro root=/dev/sysvg/root
module /vmlinuz-2.6.18.8-xen
module /initrd-2.6.18.8-xen.img

**** put old kernel info here

reboot into new xen kernel
cd /opt/xen-3.2.0/tools/pygrub
python setup.py install

Case Study: Network performance in a small enterprise(startup) scenario

Load balancing with Cisco 1721

 

It may sound funny in the beginning as to how load balance possible with a entry level router like cisco1721.
It may be easier to do such a thing with cisco 3600 series or above however in startup companies you are with limited resources.

In my earlier tenure with a prominent startup company i had been asked to slove the network performance issue. As a newly appointed system administrator i had several issue which i had very few answers because the situation was messy and there were infrastructure issue and there were people issue on top of it management had little or no technical knowledge. To make the situation worse the one admin guy i am teaming with had by means of his lack of integrity and technical acumen had poor choices made on the infrastructure decisions takeing the network back to stone age.

I want to share here the one decision that saved my life as well as created a scope to build a high performance network with redundant network links making the internet gateway immune ISP failures.

 

Scenario:

 

Problem areas:

 

Infrastructure issues:

People issues:

Process problem:

Remedies suggested:

Load balancing internet links with cisco 1721

 

Steps taken:

 

Remarks: