Using the IBM Hybrid Gateway to view a mix of V6 and V8 agents.

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If you want to view a mix of V6 and V8 monitoring agents that communicate with your APM server, then you can install and use the IBM Hybrid Gateway server.    The Hybrid Gateway sits between your TEPS and the APM server, either in the SaaS Cloud or on-Prem. and is used to view a mix of V6 and V8 agents on the same APM UI console   Some advantages of using the IBM Hybrid Gateway are:

• easy to setup and install
• can be installed on the TEPS if using RHEL6 or RHEL7.  However, a separate server is preferred.
• easy to configure and manage
• offers views of your mixed environment of V6 and V8 agents on the same console
• can be installed in a SaaS or on-Prem environment
• small install footprint - no database requirements, its installed in a regular WebSphere Liberty server profile itself
• capability of displaying large number of nodes
• support for z/OS Omegamon agents also included
• configuration easily done by TEPS and APM UI consoles
• use of the same APM UI console to view mixed/hybrid agent data

The Install of the Hybrid Gateway is easy and quick, usually done in less then 30 minutes.  The only supported OS is RHEL6.2 (or higher) or RHEL7.  It can be installed on the TEPS itself or on another RHEL6.2 (or higher) or RHEL7 server.  You will install using the root userid itself.  Basically, you will configure the Hybrid Gateway images with the connection information of the APM server and use the 'install.sh' script to install the Hybrid Gateway.   For complete details on the installation process, please see this link.

Configuration of the IBM Hybrid Gateway is done in two places:  First on the TEPS side where you will create a Managed System List (MSL) group using the Object Editor.  Next on the APM UI console in the Advanced Configuration panel.  Once the configuration is done, a connection is established from the Hybrid Gateway server to the TEPS and the managed system group are discovered.  The polling is done every 5 minutes if you make changes to the group.   For complete configuration details, please see this link.

Note: Not all V6 agents are supported.  To see a list of all supported agents that will work with the Hybrid Gateway, please see this link.

Debugging of the Hybrid Gateway is usually done via the messages.log file in the WebSphere Liberty profile/server directory.  Since the Hybrid Gateway is the only server installed in the WLP, you can see the standard messages.log log file for any errors or connection messages.  If an agent is not supported and its used in your MSL on the TEPS, you will likely see a not supported or an error message in here.  Also, if you are using the Hybrid Gateway, make sure you use the latest FP (at this time) which is 8.1.3.0-IBM-IPM-GATEWAY-IF0005 available here.

The maximum number of managed systems, including subnodes, that you can view from your Tivoli Monitoring domain is 200. That limit can be extended to 400 by increasing the value of the Tivoli Enterprise Portal Server KFW_REPORT_NODE_LIMIT environment variable.   If the managed system group goes beyond 400, performance degrades.

For some video demonstrations on the Hybrid Gateway, please see these external links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXmTYhy1reE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGznaQPH4tU

Good luck. :-)

Noel Lewis

ITCAM / APM / ICAM L2 Support team

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