Getting Started
- -Getting Started with the i-scream Central Monitoring System
- -1. Installing the corba services (pre-requisite for the server)
-The server requires a CORBA Naming Service to run. It may be that you already -have such a system running, in which case you can use that. Simply edit the -jacorb.properties file to point to your Naming service. If you don't have a -naming service running you could just set up your own manually, but if like us -you want the easy approach, install our corba services program.
-This program runs the naming service and provides a builtin webserver to -serve requests to the server application. The documentation details how to get -this running. It should simply be a case of extracting and running.
-1. Installing the server
-The first stage is to download and install the server application. The -latest versions of all i-scream applications can be found at the following -URL:
-http://www.i-scream.org/downloads
-Once downloaded, the archive should be extracted to a directory of your -choice. The server will run on most Java enabled platforms (including -Windows, Linux and FreeBSD).
-The archive consists of only a few files and directories. The main file is -the iscream-server.jar archive which contains all the binary code for the -server. The lib directory contains other JAR archives which the server -requires to run. The etc directory contains (or will contain) -configuration for most of the i-scream central monitoring system. The next -step is to configure the server to suit your requirements.
-2. Configuring the server
-The configuration is split into two main files. The first, -default.properties can be considered a bootstrap configuration. This means -that it provides basic configuration to get the server started, after -which point the main configuration system takes over. This file should be -checked through, and is pretty well explained by comments.
-The rest of the server configuration is based on system.conf. This can -hold the entire system configuration, including hosts. It may also specify -other configuration files to be included in the main configuration. This -file is also commented extensively.
-This step may well take some time to get right, and you can come back to -it at any point. Lots of the configuration can be changed "on the fly" -as well.
-For fuller and complete details of the configuration system, and the -server in general, please see the Server User Guide in the documentation -section of the website.
-2a. Setting up the database
-The i-scream central monitoring system can make use of a database for -generating historical reports. The documentation explains how you would -configure the system to do this. You will need to create a single basic -table yourself, this is also explained in the documentation.
-3. Starting the server
-Starting up the server is a trivial task. Usually you can just get away -with running the run script provided. This will boot the server up -displaying some basic information to the console. If something goes wrong, -the error message should point to the cause.
-4. Setting up hosts
-Hosts can be run on either Unix (tested with Solaris, FreeBSD and some -Linux distributions) or Windows. Both are equally easy to setup.
-Firstly, the Unix host is called "ihost". This can be downloaded from the -i-scream website. Once extracted it just needs to be started up. You need two -pieces of information to do this: the filtermanager (part of the server) host -and port number. If you haven't changed much in terms of configuration this will -be the machine the server is running on, and port 4567. To start ihost you -simply type:
- -ihost.pl server.domain.com port- -
ihost will then contact the server to obtain it's configuration and start -sending information.
-The windows host, winhost, is very similar. All you need to do is install it -using the provided installer in the download, and then edit the ini file to -provide the two bits of information above. Running the application starts up -communication with the server and data sending commences.
-Full details of both of these hosts can be found in the relevant -documentation on the website.
-5. Using Conient
-Conient allows you to view, in real time, the data being sent by the -hosts. This is a perfect way to test that all the above steps have -successfully been completed.
-At present Conient is simply another archive which can be extracted and -run. However, in the near future we hope to have an installer to make life -easier. Conient is a Java application and will run on most Java enabled -platforms.
-After extracting, the run script can be used to start Conient, or in some -cases the JAR file can be executed manually. The GUI will then load. The -configuration section requires you to enter a host and port for the -server. By default this will be the machine on which the server is running -and port 4510. Conient will then connect upon request and start displaying -information.
-Assuming data is displayed you have successfully setup the i-scream -central monitoring system. Well done!
-This is explained in much more detail in the Conient documentation.
-6. Setting up DBReporter
-If you are making use of a database you can setup the DBReporter to -generate web-based reports of the information collected. This is just a -case of extracting the archive to a suitable location, configuring it, and -setting it to run on a regular basis (we suggest daily). DBReporter will -also ensure the database is kept relatively clean.
-Full instructions are available in the DBReporter documentation.
-7. Setting up the Web Interface
-The Web interface allows you to view various aspects of the i-scream -central monitoring system's output. These include realtime viewing of data -(much like Conient), links to the DBReporter above, and full displaying of -the alerts that can be generated by the server.
-The archive contains a series of PHP scripts which should be placed on -your PHP enabled web server. The configuration files allow you to tailor -the setup to suit your needs.
-Full instructions are available in the relevant documentation.
-8. Further
-You may decide to expand your setup to cover a larger network. For example, a -distributed filter arrangement could cut down on the amount of traffic -being sent around the network. The server itself can be distributed to suit your -needs. You may wish to run the database section of the server on the same -machine as the database, while running the rest on another machine.
-Some discussion about this is available in the server documentation.
-If you have any questions about any of the above, please don't hesitate to -contact us at dev@i-scream.org. If you find we've missed something out, -again, please let us know.
-Finally, we'd like to thank you for trying this i-scream product. We realise -that it's still at an early stage, and we therefore appreciate you taking -the time to try it out.
-The i-scream team.
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