Monitoring Connect:Direct File Agent

The FileAgentService, which runs only in the CEP, is responsible for handling monitoring of Connect:Direct File Agents associated with monitored Connect:Direct servers. Monitoring of File Agents is achieved in the FileAgentService by processing the SNMP traps they send that contain their status and activity details.

The following engine properties were introduced in v6.1.2.1 and are used by FileAgentService to manage and process SNMP traps :
  • FILEAGENT_MONITOR_RATE

    It dictates the number of seconds between checks the IBM® Sterling Control Center Monitor FileAgentService performs to ensure all monitored Connect:Direct File Agents have sent traps within their specified heart beat interval, which let IBM Sterling Control Center Monitor know they are still running. Default value is 60.

    The larger the value for FILEAGENT_MONITOR_RATE is, the less time the FileAgentService spends checking to ensure traps were received on-time from File Agents, leaving more time for other IBM Sterling Control Center Monitor processes and threads, thus making IBM Sterling Control Center Monitor more efficient. On the other hand, the larger the value for FILEAGENT_MONITOR_RATE is, the longer it will take for IBM Sterling Control Center Monitor to determine a Connect:Direct File Agent has stopped running.

  • MAX_TIME_TO_BEGIN_TRAP_PROCESSING_WITHOUT_WARNING
    Number of milliseconds with a default of 30000, tells IBM Sterling Control Center Monitor to generate a warning message in the log files if the time at which an SNMP trap received from a monitored Connect:Direct File Agent, and the time at which the IBM Sterling Control Center Monitor FileAgentService begins processing that trap, is exceeded. These warnings contain the following text:
    FileAgentService took an inordinate amount of time to begin processing of trap
- <delay> ms Trap: <trap data>

    The existence of these messages in the EP log files indicates performance problems are occurring within IBM Sterling Control Center Monitor and you may need to increase the heartbeat interval your Connect:Direct File Agents are configured with, as well as increase the IBM Sterling Control Center Monitor engine property value for FILEAGENT_MONITOR_RATE, to avoid them.