Installing the Netcool/Impact add-on for Runbook Automation

Configure IBM® Tivoli® Netcool®/Impact 7.1.0.32 or later to integrate IBM Runbook Automation and map runbooks to events.

1. Import the database schema and Runbook Automation project.

   Run the following command by using the same user account that was used to install Netcool/Impact.

   On Linux® systems:

   $IMPACT_HOME/install/cfg_addons/rba/install_rba.sh <derby_password>

   On Windows systems:

   <IMPACT_INSTALL_LOCATION>/install/cfg_addons/rba/install_rba.bat <derby_password>

2. Update the ObjectServer.

   Runbook Automation requires extra fields in the alert.status events table. For Runbook and ImpactFlag field-mapping information, see step 6 in Configuring the RBA_EventReader with an ObjectServer pair.

   If you have a high availability ObjectServer setup, you must run the command for both the primary and backup server. Copy the following file to the ObjectServer:

   $IMPACT_HOME/add-ons/rba/db/rba_objectserver_fields_update.sql

   Then run the following command:

   $OMNIHOME/bin/nco_sql -server <objectserver-name> -username <username> -password <password> < rba_objectserver_fields_update.sql

   <username> is a placeholder for ObjectServer username and <password> for ObjectServer password.

   Note: The < operator is used to pipe the file to the ObjectServer to create the new fields.

   Warning: There is a limit for the maximum row size of the alerts.status table, as documented in the Netcool/OMNIbus documentation: Specifying data types for columns. If the nco_sql command fails, then check whether that limit has been reached. If necessary, consider dropping one or more columns from the alerts.status table, or resizing the RunbookParameters column (which must exist, even though its role for launch-in-context has been taken over by the RunbookParametersB64 column) from VARCHAR(2048) to VARCHAR(64). Then, reattempt to add the columns that were not added in the initial attempt.

   If you have installed IBM Tivoli Netcool/Impact with a version earlier than version 7.1.0.27, then after you upgrade your installation to version 7.1.0.27 or later, you can use an SQL script to resize several Runbook Automation related columns, including the RunbookParameters column mentioned previously. You can find this script at $IMPACT_HOME/add-ons/rba/db/rba_objectserver_fields_resize.sql. If you have installed IBM Tivoli Netcool/Impact 7.1.0.27 or later right away, then the script $IMPACT_HOME/add-ons/rba/db/rba_objectserver_fields_update.sql already contains these changes.

   If you choose to configure a primary/backup pair of ObjectServers, then you must also follow the instructions in Configuring the RBA_EventReader with an ObjectServer pair.
3. Configure and test the RBA_ObjectServer data source connection.
   1. Log in to Netcool/Impact.
   2. Switch to the RunbookAutomation project from the menu.
   3. Click the Data Model tab.
   4. Right-click the RBA_ObjectServer datasource option and click Edit.
   5. Enter the access information for your Netcool/OMNIbus ObjectServer.
   6. Test the connection.
   7. Save the changes and close the editor.
   8. Expand the RBA_ObjectServer data source in the tree view.
   9. Right-click RBA_Status data type and click Edit.
   10. In the Table Description area, click Refresh Fields for the alerts.status base table.
   11. Ensure that the table row for the Serial item has a value of Yes in the Key Field column. If the value displayed is No, double-click this table entry to enter edit mode, and select the checkbox that appears in edit mode.
   12. Ensure that Identifier is selected in the drop-down box for the Display Name Field.
   13. Save the changes and close the editor.
   14. Right-click RBA_Status data type and click View Data Items.
   15. Verify that some events from Netcool/OMNIbus are listed.
   16. Close the Data Items: RBA_Status view.
4. Configure and test RBA_Derby data source connection.
   1. Log in to Netcool/Impact.
   2. Switch to the RunbookAutomation project from the drop-down menu.
   3. Click the Data Model tab.
   4. Right-click RBA_Derby datasource and click Edit.
   5. Test the connection to ensure you can communicate successfully with your Derby database.
      Note: If you cannot communicate with the Derby database, ensure that the username, password, host, and port are correctly set up in the data source.
   6. Save the changes and close the editor.
5. Verify RBA_EventReader service configuration.
   1. Log in to Netcool/Impact.
   2. Click the Services tab.
   3. Right-click the RBA_EventReader service and click Edit.
   4. Switch to the Event Mapping tab.
   5. Ensure that in the Event Matching area, the radio button for Stop testing after first match is selected. This value is expected to be the default value, and must not be changed to a different value.
   6. If any change is required to RBA_EventReader, it can only be changed after the trigger has been created.
   7. If you start the RBA_EventReader manually and you do not have Runbook Automation triggers defined, you will see the following error message in the event reader log:

      01 Oct 2021 20:22:15,098 ERROR [AbstractEventReader] Error Initializing the Service
      com.micromuse.response.event.EventException: Configuration Error. Cannot start the Service with no Event Filters

      You can ignore these messages. After you create a trigger for the RBA_ObjectServer event source, the RBA_EventReader is started automatically.

      Note: Do not manually change the autostartup option or manually stop or start the RBA_EventReader service when there is at least one trigger, even during the time of the Netcool/Impact upgrade. It should be handled by Netcool/Impact automatically.
6. Configuring a secondary Netcool/Impact server.

   If there are any secondary Impact servers that are installed, perform the following steps on the secondary Impact servers:

   1. RBA_Derby Database Failure Policy must be set to FailOver.
   2. Ensure that the following property is set in the primary: NCI1_server.props:

      Add the following property to the $IMPACT_HOME/etc/<ServerName>_server.props file on the primary impact server:

      impact.server.preferredprimary=true

      When these steps are completed, start the secondary Impact servers. The replication in derby copies across the Runbook Automation configuration to the secondary servers. The impact server logs can be monitored to confirm that the configuration is copied to the secondary servers.
   Note: The following steps are executed on the primary server only:

   1. Import the database schema and Runbook Automation project.
   2. Configure and test the RBA_ObjectServer data source connection..
   3. Configure and test RBA_Derby data source connection..