Adding a server

To monitor a server with IBM® Sterling Control Center Monitor, you begin by adding the server.

Except for dynamically discovered servers, such as IBM Global High Availability Mailbox, you must add a server before you can monitor it. To add a server to IBM Sterling Control Center Monitor:
  1. From IBM Control Center Monitor web console, go to Servers > Add Server.
  2. Type the server name or alias and an optional description. Click Next.
  3. Select the server type:
    • Sterling Connect:Direct® with TCP/IP API:
      • Sterling Connect:Direct for HP NonStop
      • Sterling Connect:Direct for UNIX
      • Sterling Connect:Direct for Microsoft Windows
      • Sterling Connect:Direct for z/OS®
    • Sterling Connect:Direct for i5/OS
    • Sterling Connect:Enterprise® for z/OS
    • Sterling B2B Integrator (SI)
    • Sterling Connect:Express for z/OS
    • Sterling Connect:Express for UNIX or Microsoft Windows
    • Sterling Secure Proxy
    • IBM MQ Managed File Transfer
    • File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Server – z/OS or WS_FTP
    • File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Server – xferlog
    • File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Server – IIS
    • File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Server – W3C
    Attention: You can configure IBM Sterling Control Center Monitor to monitor a Sterling Connect:Direct File Agent that is associated with Sterling Connect:Direct servers. You do not need to add file agents like you would add a server. You do, however, need to configure IBM Sterling Control Center Monitor to monitor file agents by specifying the address and port where the file agent nodes send their SNMP traps.
  4. Use the information that you collected to complete either the Connection page or the OS Type and SNMP Connection pages of the Add Server wizard, depending on the server type.
    • If you want to enable certificate authentication for a Sterling Connect:Direct for Microsoft Windows or Sterling Connect:Direct for UNIX server, see Authenticating IBM Control Center to IBM Sterling Connect:Direct with a certificate.
    • For Sterling Connect:Direct servers, click Test Connection to validate the connection information.
      Important: For Sterling Connect:Express for z/OS, IBM MQ Managed File Transfer, and Sterling Secure Proxy servers, Test Connection checks if the IBM Sterling Control Center Monitor event processor can establish a connection to the message queue. Until a message on the message queue is received from the monitored server, the server icon is displayed, which indicates that the message queue cannot be contacted.
    • For FTP servers that use an xferlog or IIS log format, click Advanced on the Connection page and verify the log file format. After you are finished, click Update to continue.
  5. Optional: Modify the following information on the Settings Settings section of Add Server wizard:
    • Heartbeat interval (Sterling Connect:Direct for Microsoft Windows, Sterling Connect:Direct for UNIX, Sterling Connect:Express for z/OS, IBM MQ Managed File Transfer, and Sterling Secure Proxy only)
    • Source port numbers (Sterling Connect:Direct with TCP/IP API, FTP Server, and Sterling Connect:Enterprise for UNIX)
    • Monitor rest time
    • Time zone
    • Use the time zone and ignore server-provided UTC offset
  6. To specify advanced server settings, click Advanced Settings on the Add Server wizard and specify values for the following fields:
    • Graphical activity monitor expected maximum processes
    • Metadata rule handling
    • Max completed processes
    • Monitored business processes (Sterling B2B Integrator only)
    • Monitored Sterling File Gateway activity (Sterling B2B Integrator only)
    • Connection timeout
    • Tracing
      Attention: Do not select Tracing Enabled unless instructed by IBM customer support personnel. Tracing significantly impacts performance.
    • Configuration changes (Sterling Connect:Direct with TCP/IP API servers)
    • Minimum number of versions (Sterling Connect:Direct with TCP/IP API servers)
    • Minimum age of versions (Sterling Connect:Direct with TCP/IP API servers)
    Then, click Next.
  7. Optional: Specify server metadata in any of the 10 Metadata fields, then, click Next.
    The metadata fields are unrestricted and can be defined in whatever way makes sense for your operation. You can use the metadata fields in reporting and filtering.
  8. Optional: Add the server to a server group by selecting a group name in Server Groups and clicking the arrow to move it to Selected Groups.
  9. Supply contact information for the server:
    • Name
    • Phone
    • Email
    • Comments
  10. After entering all the details, you can verify those in Summary section. If you wish to go back to a section, all the data in the subsequent sections will be removed. Once done, click Submit. The server is added to IBM Sterling Control Center Monitor.
    Newly added server appears in the Server List.
  • If the server icon is overlaid with a question mark (?), check for one of the following errors:
    • The server is not available and IBM Sterling Control Center Monitor does not allow it to be managed.
    • You made a data entry error in the Add Server wizard, such as typing an incorrect IP address.
  • If the server icon is overlaid with a universal no symbol, check your login information.
  • If the server name is printed in red or the server down icon is displayed before the server name, the server is down. Review the CCEngine log to investigate the problem. Use Servers > Server List > > overflow menu icon (Overflow menu icon displays a list of actions) > Update for the server whose details you want to update.
You can group servers together to meet the needs of your organization.