#Response Times

#Concepts

Response times denote the time it takes to serve a web request or a EJB method call. Unlike the numerical metrics, this is most of the time an array of data in the sense that the one metric you enable brings you  min/avg/max data for all methods of a Session Bean or all URLs of a web application.

Please refer to the Monitoring section for an overview of monitoring in JON.

#Enabling Response Time measurement

Before response times can be gathered or displayed, they first need to be enabled

#EJB call times

In order to gather EJB call times you need to go to the configure section of the Monitor tab and enable the collection of the call times:

Please refer to the Collection Schedules section on the general Monitoring page for more information about collection schedules and defaults.

#Response Times

#Concepts

Response times denote the time it takes to serve a web request or a EJB method call. Unlike the numerical metrics, this is most of the time an array of data in the sense that the one metric you enable brings you  min/avg/max data for all methods of a Session Bean or all URLs of a web application.

Please refer to the Monitoring section for an overview of monitoring in JON.

#Enabling Response Time measurement

Before response times can be gathered or displayed, they first need to be enabled

#EJB call times

In order to gather EJB call times you need to go to the configure section of the Monitor tab and enable the collection of the call times:

Please refer to the Collection Schedules section on the general Monitoring page for more information about collection schedules and defaults.

#Web application response times

In order to gather response times from web applications, you need to instrument the servlet container. This process is described on the Response Time Filter page.

Note: the JBossON server is already instrumented.

After the filter is installed, you need to open the inventory tab of the web application and specify the full path to the logfile:

There are two more properties that you can set:

• URL Excludes: Specifies URLs that should not be taken into account for the response time metrics. Examples are e.g. static files like CSS files or images. Entries are regular expressions separated by spaces. For example to exclude gif, jpg, and png files, use:

  (?i)\.(jpg|gif)$

• URL Transforms: If a page is called with a different parameter, you may decide to show them as separate URLs or as one URL only. The transform allows you to rewrite URLs to e.g. strip off those parameters. Entries are substitution expressions separated by spaces. A substitution expression has the syntax:

  |<regular expression>|<replacement text>|

  For example, to remove all query strings, use:

  |(.*)\?.*|$1|

  
  For WARs, the functioning of URL transforms depends on the settings of the Response Time Filter; particularly the chopQueryString parameter.

After this is done, you need to open the configure section of the Monitor tab and enable the collection of the response times:

Please refer to the c. Monitoring#Collection schedules section for more information.

#Monitor Tab

For resources that can collect response times, you will see another subtab on the monitor tab named "Response time":

When you select it you will see two sections

• on the left the raw data table with the resource, number of calls and times

• on the right the call times visualized as bar diagrams

#JON Server Installation Guide - Version 2.0.1

It is recommended that you also read the JON Server section for more information about the JON Server.

#Upgrading

If you are upgrading from an earlier JON 2.x GA release, you must follow the JON Server upgrade instructions, so that your inventory and metric data will be migrated from the previous installation.

Upgrading from JON 1.x or the JON 2.0 Beta or CR releases is not supported.

#Preparation

#OS, Java and Database Prerequisites

Before running the installer, you first must have a JDK 5 installed as well as an external database.  For instructions on how to install JDK 5, please read the Prerequisites section.

Once you have an installed database, determine the JDBC URL needed to connect to that database and make a note of it - you will need to specify the JDBC URL, database username and password in the installer.

#Synchronize Machine Clocks

You must ensure that all platforms to be imported into your environment have their clocks in sync with each other and with the JBoss ON Server. If the times are not in syncg, measurements, availabilities and graphs will be skewed and problems will occur when you attempt to import resources into your inventory.  Please refer to NTP if you are unfamiliar with how you can ensure your clocks are in sync.

#Monitoring the JON Server itself

You must decide if you want the JBoss ON server to monitor itself.  If you intend to have the JBoss ON server to monitor itself, you need to install a JON Agent on the same machine where your JON Server is installed.

The following options are available:

• install a standalone agent like you would on any other machine in your network.
• use the embedded agent that will run inside the JON Server.

Using the embedded agent frees you from having to install and maintain a separate, standalone agent.  The embedded agent starts when the JON Server starts and will remain running as long as the JON Server is running. If you wish to use the embedded agent, you need to indicate in the installer that you want to start it along with the JON Server itself (see Embedded JON Agent).

Use of the embedded agent is meant for monitoring the JBoss ON Server itself. If you have another JBoss Application Server instance that you would like to monitor on the same machine as the JON Server then you should select the standalone agent option.

#Running The Installer

Unlike JBoss ON 1.x, there is no longer a standalone installer.  You should have a JON Server distribution file (jon-server-2.X.zip).

1. Unzip the Server distribution to the directory within which it will be executed from, e.g.:

   cd /opt
   unzip jon-server-2.0.1.GA.zip

   The directory structure within the zipfile will ensure the Server has a version-specific installation directory name (e.g. the above commands will create a directory named /opt/jon-server-2.0.1.GA).

   Windows Installation On Windows, do not install the JON Server into a directory with a path longer than 19 characters (e.g. use C:\Program Files\ rather than C:\Documents and Settings\myusername\ ), as this will cause errors during execution of the server.

2. ( Version 2.0.0 Only) If you are running Linux/Unix you need to make the start scripts executable. Execute the following command from the directory into which you unpacked the server ZIP file:

   chmod +x bin/*.sh jbossas/bin/*.sh

3. Run the JON Server:
   For UNIX, execute the following from the command line:

   bin/rhq-server.sh start

   For Windows, execute the following from the command line:

   bin\rhq-server-console.bat start

4. Point your browser to http://localhost:7080/ – This will display the JON Server Installer web application.
5. Click the "Click here to continue the installation" link
   
6. Database Installation     
   1. Set your database connection properties.
      Update the default values as necessary.
   2. If necessary, create a new database.
      If you have installed your database server but not yet created the necessary database or role for use with JON, click on the "Create Database" button. Do not perform this step if you have already created the RHQ database and rhqadmin role.            
      • On Oracle, if you select the 'overwrite tables' option but there is nothing to overwrite (Because this is a first-time installation), you may see some message in your server log.  These can be safely ignored: ERROR [DBSetup] {DBSetup.dropped-table-error}Failed to drop table [SOME_RHQ_TABLE] or one of its sequences. Cause: ErrorCode=[2289]; SQLState=[42000]; Message=[ORA-02289: sequence does not exist]; Type=[java.sql.SQLException]
   3. Test your database connection:
      Click the "Test Connection" button. If this test fails check your connection properties for mistakes and/or ensure your database server is running.
   4. Existing Database options
      If an existing JON Server schema is discovered (e.g. from a previous JON installation) the installer will give you the choice of either upgrading it to the latest schema version or overwriting it and losing all existing data. Please select the upgrade option unless you are sure that you want to lose all previous JON data. If any errors occur during the DB schema installation, please open the logs directory and check the logs.  

      The JBoss ON 1.x database schema is incompatible with the JBoss ON 2.0 schema and you cannot upgrade a 1.x schema to a 2.0 schema.

7. Server Settings
   You have the choice of using the basic installer or showing advanced settings.     
   1. Basic Installation
      Basic installation presents the settings typically needed to install JON.  Default values are usually appropriate for most basic and all advanced settings. If necessary, any server setting can be modified at a later time by editing the <jon-server-home>/bin/rhq-server.properties file.  

      If you bind the server to an address other than 0.0.0.0 you must also edit the <jon-server-home>/bin/rhq-server.properties file. Enable the java.rmi.server.hostname property, setting it to the same address to which the server is bound.

      SMTP settings must be set correctly to enable e-mail notification of alerts. You can update these settings if your SMTP server is not on the same machine as the JON server. ( Version 2.0.0), You must check the "Show Advanced Settings" checkbox to view these settings. ( Version 2.0.1), These are now basic settings.

      Embedded Agent Enabled : "No" if not monitoring the JON Server or if using the standalone agent; "Yes" otherwise (see Embedded JON Agent)

   2. Advanced Installation
      To use the Advanced Installation, check the "Show Advanced Settings" checkbox.
      All the settings listed in the Advanced Installation are explained in detail on the Startup Properties page.

Keep in mind that if any startup properties that indicate 'a restart is required' are changed, the server will not correctly function until it is restarted. It is recommended to restart immediately after the installation is completed to work with the server.

After you have clicked "Install JON Server" you will see an intermediate screen.  Once the installation has completed the message "Starting up, please wait..." will be displayed.  Once done, click the "Done! Click here to get started." link to begin using your JON server.

Some browsers - most notably Safari and Opera - will not display the login page, but show the last page. If this happens, press the refresh button of your browser and click on the link again.

Install errors on Postgres There have been some cases where the installation of PostgreSQL failed with an error "Relation RHQ_Principal" does not exist. Please refer to the Postgres Preparation page for a workaround.

#Installing as a Boot-Time Service

You can install the JON Server to run when your computer boots up. On Windows, this means installing the JON Server to start as a Windows Service.  On UNIX, it means installing the JON Server startup script as an init.d startup script.

To install as a boot-time service on either Windows or UNIX, please read the instructions found here: Running the JON Server.

#Upgrading the JON Server - Version 2.0.1

Upgrading from JON 1.x, the JON 2.0 Beta or CR releases is not supported.

Loss of Data Loss of minimal monitoring data is inevitable given the down-time involved in shutting down instances of the Agents during the upgrade process. If you have a Resource in inventory corresponding to the JON Server itself, upgrading JON will entail the loss of all monitoring data for that Resource.

Please follow the steps outlined below to upgrade your JON Server:

#1. Remove Obsolete Alert Definitions

Before upgrading JON you must remove alert definitions with conditions for obsolete metrics. Please remove alert definitions, including alert templates, for the following metrics:

The alert definitions are not easy to remove after the upgrade.

#2. Remove no longer wanted platforms from the inventory

If you plan to put platforms that are in the inventory out of service, do this before upgrading.

#3. Stop the Server and all Agents.

Stop all of the JON Agents and then the JON Server. Do not stop the JON Database.

The JON Server must be upgraded before any Agents are upgraded. Please shut down all agents and wait until all agents show red availability in the GUI before shutting down the server.

#4. Unzip the new version of the JON Server.

Unzip the new Server distribution to the directory within which it will be executed from, e.g.:

cd /opt
unzip jon-server-2.0.1.GA.zip

Note, the directory structure within the zipfile will ensure the new Server has a version-specific installation directory name (e.g. the above commands will create a directory named /opt/jon-server-2.0.1.GA). The new Server installation should not be copied on top of the original Server installation.

If you have made modifications to your original Server's Startup Properties (e.g. enabling SSL, SMTP), either when first installing or through the ./bin/rhq-server.properties file, merge these changes into the new Server's rhq-server.properties file.

Merging Startup Properties If you prefer not to edit the new Server's ./bin/rhq-server.properties file, you can merge your changed values during installation via the "advanced installation" checkbox.

If you are running the Server on Windows and installed the original Server as a Windows service, uninstall the Windows service:

cd <old-server-install-dir>/bin
./rhq-server.bat remove

Then install a Windows service for the new Server:

cd <new-server-install-dir>/bin
./rhq-server.bat install

#5. Setup the JON Server.

Backup Your Database You should consider backing up your database prior to proceeding. In case problems arise during the database upgrade, having a backup will allow you to restore to your previous state.

Locate Your License You will need to register your license with the new version of JON. Your existing license file is located in <old-server-install-dir>/jbossas/server/default/deploy/rhq.ear/license/license.xml.  If necessary copy this to a safe location and re-use it during the upgrade process.

Follow the JON Server installation instructions to install the Server. Once you've entered your database connection info, the installer should detect that there is an existing JON database and display the following prompt:

"A database schema already exists. What do you want to do?"

Choose "Keep and, if necessary, upgrade it". Do not choose "Overwrite it (and lose existing data)", otherwise all of the existing inventory, metric, and history data from your original JON installation will be lost.

During the upgrade you may see error messages similar to the following in the console. These error messages are harmless. 14:19:36,540 ERROR [ClientCommandSenderTask] {ClientCommandSenderTask.send-failed}Failed to send command [Command: type=[remotepojo]; cmd-in-response=[false]; config=[{rhq.timeout=1000, rhq.send-throttle=true}]; params=[{targetInterfaceName=org.rhq.enterprise.communications.Ping, invocation=NameBasedInvocation[ping]}]]. Cause: org.jboss.remoting.CannotConnectException:[.....]

#6. Install the new version of the JON Agent to each Agent machine.

Follow the Agent upgrade instructions.

#7. Start up the new Server and Agents.

#8. Open the JON GUI.

1. If a JON JBossAS Server Resource corresponding to your old Server installation is in the inventory, please remove it from the inventory.
2. (optional) If desired, import the new JON JBossAS Server Resource into the inventory. If you do import it, its metric schedules and alert definitions will need to be configured.