Enabling the device counter extension

The device counter extension provides a utility to automatically track the number of unique end points from which Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus receives events. The utility helps count unique devices by class, which can help identify the size of your managed environment, for example, to compare entitlement.

About this task

Based on the unique values of the @Node fields, the utility counts the events and writes an entry to the device counter log file, for example, $OMNIHOME/log/AGG_P_device_counter.log1. The log file details the number of end points it has received events from, for example:

Wed May 20 15:58:57 2015: Network devices: 18817, Server devices: 0, Client devices: 0

End points that the ObjectServer does not receive at least one event from in more than 1 year are removed from the count and are not counted in the log file. The log file is updated once a day.

Each monitored end point can be categorized as one of the following types based on their class:

Type 0: Network device
Type 1: Server device
Type 2: Client device
Type 9: Exempt device

The default type for all classes is Network device (0). However, this can be modified in the master.device_types table.

To enable the device counter extension:

Procedure

Import the extension first into the primary and then the backup Collection ObjectServer as follows:
- $OMNIHOME/bin/nco_sql -server Primary Collection ObjectServer -user root -password password < $OMNIHOME/extensions/devicecounter/device_counter_collection.sql
- $OMNIHOME/bin/nco_sql -server Backup Collection ObjectServer -user root -password password < $OMNIHOME/extensions/devicecounter/device_counter_collection.sql
- "%OMNIHOME%\bin\isql" -S Primary Collection ObjectServer -U root -i %OMNIHOME%\extensions\eventgrouping\device_counter_collection.sql
- "%OMNIHOME%\bin\isql" -S Backup Collection ObjectServer -U root -i %OMNIHOME%\extensions\eventgrouping\device_counter_collection.sql
For example:
```
$OMNIHOME/bin/nco_sql -server COL_P_1 -user root -password netcool < $OMNIHOME/extensions/devicecounter/device_counter_collection.sql
$OMNIHOME/bin/nco_sql -server COL_B_1 -user root -password netcool < $OMNIHOME/extensions/devicecounter/device_counter_collection.sql
```
Import the extension first into the primary and then the backup Aggregation ObjectServer as follows:
- $OMNIHOME/bin/nco_sql -server Primary Aggregation ObjectServer -user root -password password < $OMNIHOME/extensions/devicecounter/device_counter_aggregation.sql
- $OMNIHOME/bin/nco_sql -server Backup Aggregation ObjectServer -user root -password password < $OMNIHOME/extensions/devicecounter/device_counter_aggregation.sql
- "%OMNIHOME%\bin\isql" -S Primary Aggregation ObjectServer -U root -i %OMNIHOME%\extensions\eventgrouping\device_counter_aggregation.sql
- "%OMNIHOME%\bin\isql" -S Backup Aggregation ObjectServer -U root -i %OMNIHOME%\extensions\eventgrouping\device_counter_aggregation.sql
For example:
```
$OMNIHOME/bin/nco_sql -server AGG_P -user root -password netcool < $OMNIHOME/extensions/devicecounter/device_counter_aggregation.sql
$OMNIHOME/bin/nco_sql -server AGG_B -user root -password netcool < $OMNIHOME/extensions/devicecounter/device_counter_aggregation.sql
```
When an event is received at the Collection layer, the device counter stores the corresponding end point name and its class. The device counter then sends this information, once every 5 minutes, up to the Aggregation layer ObjectServer. The information is embedded within a synthetic event using the Name Value Pair (NVP) functions in the ObjectServer. A table called master.device_types is created and maintains a mapping between classes and end point types. Any custom classes added are automatically written to the master.device_types table. The device counter at the Aggregation layer is responsible for periodically processing the synthetic device counter events from the Collection layer ObjectServers. The Aggregation layer combines this information with the device counter statistics that are obtained from events inserted directly into the Aggregation layer ObjectServer. The Aggregation layer then produces the required reports. If no Collection layer ObjectServers are in use, the SQL files for the Aggregation layer are sufficient.

Note: You can turn off the device counter utility using the same procedure and running the $OMNIHOME/extensions/devicecounter/device_counter_aggregation_remove.sql and the $OMNIHOME/extensions/devicecounter/device_counter_collection_remove.sql scripts.