-
+ Original Problem
+
+
+ This is the original specification given to us when we
+ started the project. The i-scream central monitoring
+ system meets this specification, and aims to extend it
+ further. This is, however, where it all began.
+
- Key Features of The System
+ Centralised Machine Monitoring
+
+
+ The Computer Science department has a number of different machines
+ running a variety of different operating systems. One of the tasks
+ of the systems administrators is to make sure that the machines
+ don't run out of resources. This involves watching processor loads,
+ available disk space, swap space, etc.
+
+
+
+ It isn't practicle to monitor a large number of machines by logging
+ on and running commands such as 'uptime' on the unix machines, or
+ by using performance monitor for NT servers. Thus this project is
+ to write monitoring software for each platform supported which
+ reports resource usage back to one centralized location. System
+ Administrators would then be able to monitor all machines from this
+ centralised location.
+
+
+
+ Once this basic functionality is implemented it could usefully be
+ expanded to include logging of resource usage to identify longterm
+ trends/problems, alerter services which can directly contact
+ sysadmins (or even the general public) to bring attention to problem
+ areas. Ideally it should be possible to run multiple instances of
+ the reporting tool (with all instances being updated in realtime)
+ and to to be able to run the reporting tool as both as stand alone
+ application and embeded in a web page.
+
+
+
+ This project will require you to write code for the unix and Win32
+ APIs using C and knowledge of how the underlying operating systems
+ manage resources. It will also require some network/distributed
+ systems code and a GUI front end for the reporting tool. It is
+ important for students undertaking this project to understand the
+ importance of writing efficient and small code as the end product
+ will really be most useful when machines start run out of processing
+ power/memory/disk.
+
+
+
+ John Cinnamond (email jc) whose idea this is, will provide technical
+ support for the project.
+
+
+ Features
+
+ Key Features of The System
- A centrally stored, dynamically reloaded, system wide configuration system
@@ -58,15 +108,15 @@
- Large overhead monitor Helpdesk style displays for latest Alerting information
- An Overview of the i-scream Central Monitoring System
+ An Overview of the i-scream Central Monitoring System
-
+
The i-scream system monitors status and performance information
obtained from machines feeding data into it and then displays
this information in a variety of ways.
-
+
This data is obtained through the running of small applications
on the reporting machines. These applications are known as
"Hosts". The i-scream system provides a range of hosts which are
@@ -81,7 +131,7 @@
to the server that they are still alive.
-
+
It is then fed into the i-scream server. The server then splits
the data two ways. First it places the data in a database system,
typically MySQL based, for later extraction and processing by the
@@ -98,7 +148,7 @@
as it flows through the system.
-
+
The final section of the system links the Local Client Monitors to
an alerting system. These Monitors can be configured to detect
changes in the data past threshold levels. When a threshold is
@@ -108,16 +158,15 @@
when a certain level is reached, certain alerting mechanisms fire
through whatever medium they are configured to send.
-
- |
-