Spotlight on Unix 7

Getting Started Guide


2009 Quest Software, Inc.
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Spotlight on Unix
Getting Started Guide
Updated September 2009

Table of Contents
Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................... 5
Welcome to Spotlight on Unix ........................................................................................................................... 7
An overview of Spotlight on Unix ............................................................................................................................. 7
Features of Spotlight ................................................................................................................................................ 9

Getting started with Spotlight on Unix ........................................................................................................... 11

Installing Spotlight .................................................................................................................................................. 11
Starting Spotlight .................................................................................................................................................... 14
Creating a Unix connection .................................................................................................................................... 15
Connecting to a Unix system ................................................................................................................................. 17

Using Spotlight on Unix.................................................................................................................................... 19

The Spotlight on Unix home page .......................................................................................................................... 19
Spotlight on Unix alarms ........................................................................................................................................ 25
Spotlight on Unix drilldowns ................................................................................................................................... 28

Troubleshooting ................................................................................................................................................ 31
Use tracing to add details to support bundle .......................................................................................................... 31
Product authorization errors ................................................................................................................................... 32
Connection problems ............................................................................................................................................. 32
iostat not installed on Linux system ...................................................................................................................... 33
Drilldown problems ................................................................................................................................................. 33
High Spotlight load on database server ................................................................................................................. 34

Appendix: Contact Quest ................................................................................................................................. 37

Contacting Quest Support ...................................................................................................................................... 37

Spotlight on Unix
Getting Started Guide
Contacting Spotlight support .................................................................................................................................. 37
Contacting Quest Software ..................................................................................................................................... 38
About Quest Software, Inc ...................................................................................................................................... 38

Index ................................................................................................................................................................... 39

Introduction
ThisguideprovidesthebasicinformationyouneedtostartusingSpotlightonUnix
todiagnosetheperformanceofyourUnixhosts.Youwillreadabout:

HowSpotlightdisplaysinformationaboutyourUnixsystems.

HowtoinstallandstartSpotlightonUnix.

HowtomakeaSpotlightonUnixconnectiontoahost.

HowtousethatSpotlightconnection.

HowtoresolvesomecommonSpotlightproblems.

HowtocontactQuestSoftwareforfurtherassistance.

Welcome to Spotlight on Unix

SpotlightonUnixisQuestSoftwarespowerfuldiagnosticandproblemresolution
toolforUnixandLinuxoperatingsystems.Itsuniqueuserinterfaceprovidesyou
withanintuitive,visualrepresentationoftheactivityonyourhostmachine.
ThischapterexplainsthemainfeaturesofSpotlightonUnix.

An overview of Spotlight on Unix

SpotlightonUnixisaSpotlightthatisdesignedtopresentafulldiagnosticviewofa
Unixenvironment.

Home page
TheSpotlightonUnixhomepageprovidesanoverviewofthehost'sUnix
environment.
Thehomepagehelpsyoulocatesystembottlenecksquickly.Relatedoperating
systemstatisticsaregroupedtogetheronpanelsthatareconnectedbyaseriesof
graphicalflowsandicons.Spotlightupdatestheseflowsinrealtimesothatyoucan
seehowquicklydataismovingthroughthesystem.Theiconschangecoloras
Spotlightalarmsareraised,upgraded,downgradedandcanceled.
TheSpotlightonUnixhomepagebelowhassixmainpanels.
Thepanelsare:
TheSystempanel.
TheNetworkpanel.

Spotlight on Unix
Getting Started Guide
TheCPUpanel.
TheMemorypanel.
TheSwapSpacepanel.
TheDiskActivitypanel.

FormoreinformationonthepanelsintheSpotlighthomepage,andonusingthem
todiagnoseaspecifiedUnixsystem,seePanelsonpage20.

Alarms
MoredetailedinformationonsituationswherethediagnosedUnixsystemexceeds
acceptableperformancethresholdscanbeviewedinthealarmsthatSpotlight
raises.
FormoreinformationonSpotlightalarms,seeSpotlightonUnixalarmsonpage25.

Chapter 2
Welcome to Spotlight on Unix

Drilldowns
MoredetailedinformationontheperformanceoftheUnixsystemisavailablein
thechartsandtablesofthevariousdrilldownpagesthatcanbeaccessedfromthe
Spotlighthomepage.
FormoreinformationonSpotlightdrilldowns,andonusingthemtoviewthe
detailedperformanceofaspecifiedUnixsystem,seeSpotlightonUnixdrilldowns
onpage26.

Features of Spotlight
Spotlightisdesignedforeaseofinstallationanduse,andoffersarangeoftoolsfor
problemdiagnosis.
Easyinstallation.
Thedisplayofrealtimedata.
Comprehensiveinformationinchartsandtables.
Visible,audibleandconfigurablealarms.
Contextsensitivehelp.
Calibration.
Recordingandplaybackofhistoricaldata.
FordetailedinformationonSpotlightfeatures,seetheSpotlightonlinehelpunder
ConceptsandFeatures.

Getting started with

Spotlight on Unix
ThischapterdescribeswhatyouneedtodotostartusingSpotlightonUnix.It
explains:
HowtoinstallSpotlight.
HowtostartSpotlight.
HowtocreateaSpotlightonUnixconnection.
HowtoconnecttoaUnixsystem.

Installing Spotlight
ToinstallSpotlightonUnix,completethefollowingsteps.Closeallother
applicationsbeforeloadingtheCDintoyourPCor(ifyouhavedownloaded
SpotlightfromtheQuestWebsite)executingthedownloadedQuestinstaller.
YoucancanceltheinstallationatanytimebypressingtheEsckeyorbyclickingthe
Cancelbutton.

Before installing and running Spotlight

BeforeyouinstallandrunSpotlight,youshouldensurethattheSpotlightinstaller
anddesktopuserhavetheappropriateclientpermissionsontheSpotlightclient
machine.

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Note:

The Spotlight application can be installed only on a supported Windows system where
the current user has Administrator privileges.

At installation
Duringinstallation,Spotlightrequireswriteaccesstothefollowingfolders:
TheSpotlightinstallationfolder(bydefault,ProgramFiles\Quest
Software\Spotlight)
ProgramFiles\CommonFiles\QuestShared
DocumentsandSettings\AllUsers\ApplicationData\Quest
Software\Spotlight
DocumentsandSettings\<currentuser>\ApplicationData\Quest
Software\Spotlight
andtothefollowingWindowsregistrykeysandsubkeys:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\QuestSoftware\Products
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\QuestSoftware\Spotlight
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
Inmanycases,theSpotlightinstallerwillrunatelevatedprivilegesinorderto
performtherequiredactions.Theseprivilegescanspecificallybeallowedor
disallowedbysystemadministratorsbymeansofstandardMicrosoftInstaller(MSI)
policysettings.

When running Spotlight

Duringoperation,Spotlightrequireswriteaccesstothefollowingfilelocations
undertheDocumentsandSettingsfolder:
<currentuser>\ApplicationData\QuestSoftware\Shared
<currentuser>\ApplicationData\QuestSoftware\Spotlight

When authenticating a Spotlight license

WhenyouinstallanewSpotlightapplicationorupdatelicensedetailsonanexisting
application,Spotlightrequires:
AdministratoraccesstotheWindowsregistry
WriteaccesstotheConsole\LicensessubfolderoftheSpotlightinstallation
folder.

Chapter 3
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13

To install Spotlight on Unix

QuestSpotlightinstallerscanbedeliveredonCDorasdownloadedexecutablefiles.
IfinstallingSpotlightfromaCD:
1 InserttheSpotlightInstallerCDintoyourCDROMdrive.
Dependingonyoursystem'sconfiguration,theinstallationprogrammaystart
automatically.Ifthishappens,followtheinstructionsonthescreentocompletethe
installation.
2 Iftheinstallationprogramdoesnotstart,selectRunfromtheWindows
Startmenuandtyped:\SoU.vvv.exe(whered:istheCDROMidentifier,
andvvvistheversion),andclickOK.
3 IfyouhavedownloadedtheQuestSpotlightinstallerfromtheQuestWeb
site,executethedownloadedinstaller.
4 Followtheinstructionsdisplayedonthescreen.
Bydefault,SpotlightonUnixisinstalledintothefollowingdirectory,thoughyoucan
chooseadifferentinstallationpath.

C:\ProgramFiles\QuestSoftware\Spotlight

Multiple installations of Spotlight on Unix

AlthoughmanySpotlightapplicationscanrunwithinasingleSpotlightinstallation,
therearealsoadvancedSpotlightinstallersthatallowyoutoinstallandseparately
upgrademultiplecopiesofSpotlightonyourcomputer.
ContactQuestSoftwareformoreinformationoninstallingmultipleSpotlight
consoles.

To authorize Spotlight on Unix

IfyouareanewuserofSpotlightonUnix,youwillbesuppliedwithatrialor
permanentkeyinordertotesttheproduct.Whenatrialkeyexpires,contactyour
QuestSoftwarerepresentativetoobtainaregisteredkey.
ToviewormodifytheSpotlightlicenseafteryouhaveinstalledSpotlightonUnix:
1 SelectAboutSpotlightfromtheHelpmenu.(TheInstalledProductspage
containslicensedetailsforallinstalledSpotlightproducts.)

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2 SelectView/ChangeProductLicenseundertheSpotlightonUnixentryin
thelistofinstalledproducts.
Formoreinformation,seeProductAuthorizationErrorsonpage32.
Note:

Spotlight on Unix may be installed automatically during the installation of other Spotlight
products such as Spotlight on Oracle (Professional Edition), Spotlight on Sybase, or
Spotlight on DB2. In these cases, Spotlight on Unix shares the authorization of those
products.

To uninstall Spotlight on Unix

TouninstallSpotlightonUnix,usetheAdd/RemoveProgramsoptioninthe
WindowsControlPanelintheStartmenuthatappearswhenyouclicktheStart
button.

Starting Spotlight
InordertosuccessfullyconnecttoaUnixsystem,thefollowingstepsmustbe
completed:
1 StarttheSpotlightapplication.
2 CreateaUnixconnectionforSpotlight.
3 ConnecttotheUnixsystem.

To start Spotlight on Unix

TostartSpotlightonUnix,clicktheSpotlightdesktopiconor
1 OntheWindowstaskbar,clickStart.
2 FromtheProgramsmenu,chooseQuestSoftwareSpotlightSpotlight.

Chapter 3
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15

Creating a Unix connection

To create a Unix connection
1 FromtheFilemenuchooseConnect...
2 DoubleclicktheNewConnectionicon.
3 EnterthefollowinginformationandclickOKwhenyouarefinished.
SelectConnectiontype

SelectSpotlightonUnix.

NewConnectionname

Enterthenamefortheconnection.

4 ClickOKtoopenaPropertieswindowforthenewconnection.TheDetails
pageofthePropertieswindowforthenewconnectionhasthesesections:
Serverconnectiondetails.
SSHKeyAuthentication.
5 EnterthefollowinginformationintheDetailspageoftheProperties
window:

Address

Entertheconnectionstring(hostnameorIP
address)usedtolinktothetargetUnix
machine.

User

Entertheusernameyouusewhenlogging
ontotheUnixmachine.(Therootuser
nameisnotpermitted.)

Password

Enterthepasswordyouusewhenlogging
ontotheUnixmachine.(Notusedwhen
youchoosetheSSHPublic/PrivateKeys
option.SeeStep6below.)

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ConnectionType

ChoosethetypeofSpotlightconnectionto
maketothemachineREXECorSSH.(First
makesurethattherelevantSSHorREXEC
daemonisrunningontheUnixmachine,
andisconfiguredtoreceiveremote
connections.)IfyouchooseSSH,Spotlight
displaysthePortNumberboxandtheUse
SSHPublic/PrivateKeysoption.

PortNumber

EntertheportnumberthatSpotlightwill
useforitsSSH(secureshell)connectionto
theUnixmachine.Thedefaultvalueis22.

Note:

On Linux systems, Spotlight on Unix works with full functionality only when the iostat
command is installed on the Unix machine under diagnosis. For more information, see
iostat not installed on page 33.

6 WhenyouconnectviaSSH,selectUseSSHPublic/PrivateKeystoconnectto
theUnixhostviaaPublic/Privatekey[SSH2only].Ifyouchoosetodoso,
enterthefollowing:
SSHKeyType

Choosethetypeofkeytousewhenmaking
theSpotlightconnection.
Public-key encryption is supported under SSH2
only The current options are RSA and DSA. For
more information, see Public/Private keypairs in
the online help.

SSHPrivateKeyFilename

Typethelocationofthefilethatcontains
theprivatekeyfortheSpotlightconnection,
orclickthe"..."buttontolocateit.

SSHPassphrase

Typethepassphraseusedtodecryptthe
privatekey.

7 ClicktheSavepasswordboxtosaveallthepassworddetailsthathavebeen
entered.
8 ClickOKtofinish.Aconnectioniconwiththenameyouspecifiediscreated.

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17

Connecting to a Unix system

Notes: Before creating the connection, ensure that you have created a connection to the Unix
machine that you want to diagnose (see page 15).

To connect to a Unix system

1 FromtheFilemenuchooseConnect...
2 Doubleclicktheconnectioniconthatrepresentstheconnectionthatyou
wanttoopen.
Note:

If you encounter problems when connecting, see Connection problems on page 32 for
more information.

4
Using Spotlight on Unix
WhenyouuseSpotlightonUnixtodiagnoseaUnixoperatingsystem,youcan:
Viewthestatusoftheconnectedsysteminthepanelsanddataflowsofthe
Spotlighthomepage.
ViewthealarmsthatSpotlighthasraisedfortheconnectedsystem.
ViewthedetailedperformanceoftheconnectedUnixsysteminthevarious
Spotlightdrilldowns.

The Spotlight on Unix home page

TheSpotlighthomepageshowsanoverviewoftheactivityonaUnixhost.Thisview
showstheflowofinformationandcommandsbetweenvarioussubcomponentsas
wellasthesizeandstatusofinternalresourcessuchasprocesses,diskfilesand
memorystructures.

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Panels
Apanelisavisualfeaturethatgroupsrelatedinformationandcomponentsonthe
Spotlighthomepage.Componentschangecolorasalarmsareraisedforthemetrics
theycontain.
TherearesixmainpanelsonthehomepageforSpotlightonUnix.Theyare:
TheSystempanel,whichshowsoperatingsysteminformation(forexample,
uptimeandOSversion)forthemachinethatyouareconnectedto.
TheNetworkpanel,whichshowsinformationonthelogins,connections
andthemovementofdataonthesystem.
TheCPUpanel,whichshowsprocessorandloadinformationforthehost
machine.
TheMemorypanel,whichshowsdetailedinformationaboutthephysical
andvirtualmemoryontheUnixsystem.

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21

TheSwapSpacepanel,whichshowsthetotalandusedamountof
configuredswapspaceontheUnixsystem.
TheDiskActivitypanel,whichshowsinformationondiskusageonthe
system.
Thepanels,andtheinformationtheydisplay,aredescribedinmoredetailbelow.
Forafulldiscussionofthepanels,seetheSpotlightonlinehelp.
Note:

To view a tool tip for a specific component in a panel, hover the mouse pointer over the
component.

System panel
TheSystempanelindicatesthestatusoftheoperating
systemofthemachineyouareconnectedto.Information
displayedhereincludes:

Theoperatingsystemonwhichthemachineisrunning.

Howlongthemachinehasbeenrunningsinceitwaslast
booted.

Thesystemdateofthelatestdatacollection.

Thesystemtimeofthelatestdatacollection.

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Network panel
TheNetworkpanelshowsinformationonthelogins,
connectionsandthemovementofdataontheUnixsystem,
suchas:

Thenumberofuserscurrentlyloggedontothemachine
youarediagnosing.

Thenumberofexternalprogramswithwhichthe
machineiscurrentlycommunicating.Thethreetypesof
connectionsshownareEstablished,Time_Wait,and
Close_Wait.

HowfastdataismovingthroughtheNICs(network
interfacecards)onthismachine.Themetricsshown
refertotherateatwhichnetworkpacketsanderrors
arebeingreceivedandsentthroughtheNICs.

TheflowsbetweentheNetworkpanelandtheCPUpanelto
itsrightrepresenttherateofdatatransferbetweentheUnix
hostandtheconnectednetwork.Formoreinformation,see
CPUPanel.

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23

CPU panel
TheCPUpanelshowsinformationabouttheprocessorsin,
andloadon,theUnixsystem.Itdisplaysinformationsuchas:

ThenumberofCPUsinthemachineyouarediagnosing.

TheCPUload(asapercentage)acrossallCPUsonthe
machine.

ThepercentageoftimetheCPUisintheUserstate,
acrossallCPUs.

ThepercentageoftimetheCPUisintheSystemstate,
acrossallCPUs.

ThepercentageoftimetheCPUisintheWaitstate,
acrossallCPUs.Waitiswherethemachinecanonly
waitforI/O,orsomethingsimilar,tocomplete.

Thelengthoftherunqueueinwhichprocessesare
waitingtobeexecuted.Processesinthisqueuewillbe
runwhentheCPUbecomesavailable.

Thetotalnumberofprocessesthatarerunningonthe
machineyouarediagnosing.

Thenumberof"zombie"processes:childprocesses
whoseterminationhasnotbeenacknowledgedbytheir
parentprocess.

Thenumberofprocesseswaitingforsomeeventor
conditionbeforetheycancontinueexecution.

TheflowsbetweentheCPUpanelandtheNetworkpaneltoitsleftrepresentthe
rateofdatatransferbetweentheUnixhostandtheconnectednetwork.
TheflowsincludetheincomingandoutgoingratesofdatatoandfromtheUnix
host,andtheratesatwhichbadpacketsarereceivedfrom,orsentto,thenetwork.
TheflowsbetweentheCPUpanelandtheMemorypaneltoitsrightrepresent
paginginformationbetweentheCPUandmemoryontheUnixhost.Theflows
includethenumberofmemorypageswrittenouttomemorypersecond,andthe
numberofmemorypagesreadinpersecond.

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Memory panel
TheMemorypaneldisplaysdetailedinformationaboutthe
memoryontheUnixsystem.Itshowsstatisticssuchas:

ThetotalamountofphysicalmemoryinRAM.

Theamountofphysicalmemorythatisfree.

Thetotalamountofvirtualmemoryforthesystem.

Theamountofvirtualmemorythatisfreeorunused.

Theamountofvirtualmemoryconsumed,expressedas
apercentageofitsmaximumsize.

Whereapplicable,thenumberofprocesseswhose
pageshaveallbeenmovedintoswapspace.

TheflowsbetweentheMemorypanelandtheCPUpanelto
itsleftrepresentpaginginformationbetweentheCPUand
memoryontheUnixhost.Formoreinformation,seeCPU
Panel.
TheflowsbetweentheMemorypanelandtheSwapSpace
paneltoitsrightrepresenttherateatwhichprocessesare
beingswappedouttodisk,andtherateatwhichprocesses
arebeingswappedinfromdisk.

Swap Space panel

TheSwapSpacepanelshowsdetailsoftheconfiguredswap
spaceontheUnixsystem,suchas:

Thetotalamountofconfiguredswapspaceonthe
machineyouarediagnosing.

Theamountofswapspacecurrentlyinuse.

TheassociateddataflowsbetweentheSwapSpaceandthe
Memorypaneltoitsleftrepresentthe"swapout"and
"swapin"ratesfortheUnixsystem.Formoreinformation,
seeMemorypanel.

Chapter 4
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25

Disk Activity panel

TheDiskActivitypanelshowsinformationondiskusageon
theUnixsystem,suchas:
Activitygaugesthatdisplaythepercentageactivityofthe
disksorpartitionswiththehighestandsecondhighest
read/writerates.
Thenameofthemountpointofthediskwiththeleast
amountoffreespacethatisnotalready100%full.(You
canusetheSpotlightonUnixOptionswindowto
configurethiscontroltodisplaythetotalandusedspace
onANYavailablediskonthesystem.Formore
information,seetheonlinehelpforSpotlightonUnix.)
Thetotalsizeofthisdisk.
Theamountandpercentageofdiskspacethatis
currentlybeingusedbythisdisk..
TheflowsbetweentheDiskActivitypanelandtheMemory
paneltoitsleftrepresentthenumberofwritesthatthe
systemmakestothediskspersecond,andthenumberof
readsthatthesystemmakesfromthediskspersecond.

Spotlight on Unix alarms

Spotlightalertsyoutoproblemswithyourdatabasebyissuinganalarm.Whenan
alarmistriggered,Spotlightperformsoneormoreofthefollowingactions:
Changesincolororintensityforrelevantcomponents.
Audiblewarnings.
Emailnotifications.
WithSpotlightalarmsyoucan:
Viewdetailsofthemetric(s)thatcausedthealarminarelevantdrilldown
page.(Formoreinformationondrilldowns,seeSpotlightonUnix
drilldownsonpage28.)
Viewthehelpassociatedwitheachalarm.

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Spotlight on Unix
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ViewdetailsofthealarmitselfintheAlarmLogdrilldown.
Changetheactionsthatfollowtheraisingofalarms.
Enable,disable,orsnoozealarms.
Filteralarms.
Changethethresholdsandseveritiesthatdefinealarms.
Changealarmnotifications.
Savealarmdetails.
Note:

Detailed information on all these actions can be found in the Spotlight online help.

Thefollowingarebriefdescriptionsofthealarmsspecificallyassociatedwith
SpotlightonUnix.Forpossiblesolutionsfortheproblemsindicatedbythesealarms,
orforinformationonhowtodiagnoseproblemsfurther,seeSpotlightonUnix
alarmsintheonlinehelp.

Blocked Processes alarm

Blockedprocessesareprocessesthatarewaitingoninformationtobecome
availableinmemory,orthatarewaitingforasharedresource,orforthe
completionofdiskI/OornetworkI/O.Ahighlevelofblockedprocessesmay
indicateanunderconfiguredmachine.

Input Error Packets Flow alarm

TheInputErrorflowrepresentsthenumberoferroneousnetworkpacketscoming
intothemachinepersecond.TheInputErrorPacketsFlowalarmmaywarrant
investigationasevenalowerrorratecanindicatenetworkproblems.

Output Error Packets Flow alarm

TheOutputErrorflowrepresentsthenumberoferroneousnetworkpacketssentby
themachinepersecond.TheOutputErrorPacketsFlowalarmmaywarrant
investigationasevenalowerrorratecanindicatenetworkproblems.

Page In alarm
Alargenumberofpageinsmaybeasymptomofalargenumberofrecentpage
outs(seePageOutalarmbelow).Tofindoutwhatprocessisreadingthesepages
in,checktheresidentsizeoftheprocessesyouarerunning,andseewhichonesare
increasinginsize.Alternatively,alargenumberofpageinsmayoccurwhenalarge
processhasjuststopped,andthekerneldecidestofillthatspacewithmemory

Chapter 4
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27

pagesownedbyotherprocesses.Checkifanimportantprocesshasended
unexpectedly.

Page Out alarm

Ifanactiveprocessasksthekernelformorememorythanthereisimmediately
available,thekernelwillwriteoldmemorypagesouttoswapspace.Thisisknown
aspaging.Tostoppaging,makesurethatthereisenoughRAMavailabletosupport
thesizeoftheprocessesyouwanttorun.

Percentage Busy alarm

TheMostActiveDiskgaugeshowsthediskwiththehighestread/writerates.The
PercentageBusyalarmistriggeredwhentheread/writerateofthemostactivedisk
exceedsaspecifiedthreshold.Thetypeofalarmthatisactivatedisdeterminedby
thepercentageofread/writeactivityexperiencedbythedisk.

Swap Space alarm

IfthetotalamountofswapspaceallocatedtoaUnixhostbecomesfull,the
machinemayhaltallprocesses,orcriticalactionsmaybepreventedfromoccurring.
TheSwapSpacealarmmayindicatearunawayprocessoranunderconfigured
machine.

Swap In Flow alarm

TheSwapInflowrepresentsthenumberofprocessesswappedfromdiskper
second.TheSwapInFlowalarmmayindicateamachinethatisunderconfigured
foritsworkload.

Swap Out Flow alarm

TheSwapOutflowrepresentsthenumberofprocessesswappedtodiskper
second.TheSwapOutFlowalarmmayindicateamachinethatisunderconfigured
foritsworkload.

Used Percentage alarm

TheLeastSpace/DiskSpacecontainerdisplaysthepercentageofuseddiskspace
foraspecifiedfilesystem.TheUsedPercentagealarmindicatesthatthespecified
filesystemisfullorfillingup.Ifthefilesystemfillsupcompletely,nomoredatacan
bewrittentoit.

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Zombie Processes alarm

TheZombiebuttonintheCPUpanelshowsthenumberofterminatedchild
processesthathavenotbeenacknowledgedbytheirparentprocess.TheZombie
Processesalarmmayindicatethepresenceofaninferiorprogram,oranentryin
/etc/inittab(orequivalent)thatpreventsinitfromcompletingitsstartupsequence.

Spotlight on Unix drilldowns

SpotlightonUnixmakesitpossibleforyoutoviewyoursystematdifferentlevelsof
detail.
Atitshighestlevel,whichistheSpotlighthomepage,Spotlightdisplaysavisual
representationofthestatusofthemajorcomponentsinthecurrentsystem.The
detailatthislevelisdesignedtohelpyoulocateandidentifybottlenecksquickly.
Whenyouhaveisolatedaproblem,youcandisplayadrilldownpage,whosecharts
andtablesprovideadetailedbreakdownoftheunderlyingstatistics.

To open a Spotlight drilldown

ClicktherelevantdrilldownbuttonontheSpotlighttoolbarOR
ChoosetherelevantdrilldownfromtheViewGoTomenuOR
RightclickonacomponentontheSpotlighthomepage,andchooseanitem
fromtheshortcutmenu'sShowDetailssubmenuOR
ClickonacomponentontheSpotlighthomepageOR
Useakeyboardshortcut.

List of drilldowns in Spotlight on Unix

SpotlightonUnixcontainsthefollowingdrilldowns.

Drilldown

Description

Processesand
Services

ThepagesintheProcessesandServicesdrilldownlist
alltheprocessesrunningontheUnixmachine
(including"zombie"processes),andalltheservices
foundinthe/etc/servicesfile(runningornot).Useful

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Drilldown

29

Description
featuresinthisdrilldowninclude:
Processespage:Useashortcut(rightclick)menu
optiontoviewtheprocessesinastandardtable,or
inatreestructurewheresecondaryprocessesare
shownas"children"oftheprocessesthatrunthem.
Zombiespage:Viewchildprocesseswhose
terminationhasnotbeenacknowledgedbytheir
parentprocess.
Servicespage:Useashortcutmenuoptiontotest
whetheraspecifiedserviceisavailable.

ActivitySummary

ThepagesintheActivitySummarydrilldown
Activity,Disk,Memory,CPU,Network,andLogins
showdetailsofthedifferenttypesofactivityonthe
targetUnixmachine.

Filesystems

TheFilesystemsdrilldowndisplaysdetailedinformation
aboutthefilesystemsonaUnixsystem.Useashortcut
(rightclick)menuoptiontoviewthisinformationin
chartortableform.

AlarmLog

TheAlarmLogdrilldowndisplaysinformationonthe
alarmsassociatedwiththecurrentSpotlight
connection.

5
Troubleshooting
ThischaptersuggestssolutionstoproblemsthatmayoccuronopeningSpotlight
andmakingaconnection.

Use tracing to add details to support bundle

WhenyoucontactQuestsupporttoseekassistanceonaSpotlightissue(see
page31),youcanuseSpotlighttracingtoincludeadditionalinformationinthe
supportbundlethatyousendtoQuest.

To use Spotlight tracing

1 CloseallopenSpotlightonUnixconnections.
2 OntheView/Optionsmenu,clickSpotlightonUnix...
3 IntheSpotlightonUnixOptionswindow,opentheOtherpage.
4 SelectTurntracingon.
5 ClickOK.
6 Opentheconnectionwhoseperformanceyouwanttotrace.
Withtracingturnedon,Spotlightcancollectadditionalinformation(suchasthe
outputfromoperatingsystemcommands)fortherestofthecurrentsession.
Whenyoucreateasupportbundlewithtracingturnedon,thesupportbundle
containstheadditionalinformationthatQuestcanusetoinvestigateyoursupport
issue.

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Product authorization errors

Thefollowingarestepsthatyoucantakeshouldyouencounteranauthorization
problemwithSpotlight.Whenfirstinstalled,Spotlightcanbeusedwithfull
functionalityforaspecifiedtrialperiod.

To enter a new authorization key

YoucanenteranewauthorizationkeyfromSpotlightonUnix.
1 FromtheHelpmenu,selectAboutSpotlight.(TheInstalledProductspage
containslicensedetailsforallinstalledSpotlightproducts.)
2 SelectView/ChangeProductLicenseundertheSpotlightonUnixentryin
thelistofinstalledproducts.
3 IntheLicenseViewer,clicktheChangethislicenselink.
4 EnterthenewAuthorizationkeyandSitemessageandthenclickOK.

Invalid authorization key

Ifyouentertheauthorizationkeyincorrectly,thefollowingmessageisdisplayed:
Invalid authorization key

MakesurethatyouentertheauthorizationkeyexactlyasstatedonyourProduct
AuthorizationsheetorasprovidedbyyourQuestSoftwaredistributor.

Connection problems
Thefollowingareproblemsthatmaybeencounteredonconnection.Followthe
indicatedsolutionstoresolvethoseproblems.

REXEC or SSH protocols for Unix commands

SpotlightcanusetheREXECorSSHprotocolstosubmitvariousUnixcommands(for
example,netstat,vmstat,iostat,sar)toobservesystemactivity.Thesecommands
mustbeaccessibletoREXECorSSHsessionsforSpotlighttobeabletoobserveUnix
activity.IfthesecommandsarenotlocatedinthesearchpathforREXECorSSH
sessions,Spotlightwilldisplayanerror.

Chapter 5
Troubleshooting

33

Failure of remote commands

WhenSpotlightismonitoringaUnixoperatingsystemviaREXECwithavaliduserID
andpassword,remotecommandsmaynotworkontheUnixhostunlessthatuser
IDisaddedtothe/etc/hosts.equivfileonthehost.

Login as "root" disallowed

WhenusingSpotlighttoconnecttoaUnixoperatingsystem,youneedtodoso
fromalogonotherthan"root".Remoteloginas"root"hasbeendisallowedfor
securityreasons.

Password authentication for SSH connections

ToallowSpotlighttomakeSSHconnectionstoanyUnixorLinuxhoststhatpermit
SSHconnections,youmayneedtoalterthePasswordAuthenticationconfiguration
iteminthesshd_configfile.SetthevalueofPasswordAuthenticationtoyes.

iostat not installed on Linux system

WhilediagnosingaLinuxinstallation,Spotlightworkswithfullfunctionalityonly
whentheiostatcommandisinstalledonthetargetmachine.ThiswillNOTbetrue
forallLinuxsystems.

Drilldown problems
Thefollowingareproblemsthatmaybeencountered.Followtheindicated
solutionstoresolvethoseproblems.

Alarm help displayed instead of the drilldown

Thisoccurswhencomponentthatisinalarmstatus;thealarmhelpisdisplayed
insteadofthedrilldown.

34

Spotlight on Unix
Getting Started Guide

To display the drilldown

1 FromtheViewmenuchooseOptionsandSpotlightConsole.
2 ClickHelpandselectAlwaysjumpdirectlytotherelateddrilldown.

The OS Details drilldown contains errors

TheOperatingSystemdrilldownmaycontainerrorsifithaslostaccesstotheUnix
machine.InUnix,SpotlightcanuseoneoftheREXECorSSHprotocolstosubmit
variousUnixcommands(forexample,netstat,vmstat,iostat,sar)tomonitor
systemactivity.ThesecommandsmustbeaccessibletoanREXECorSSHsessionfor
SpotlighttobeabletomonitorUnixactivity.Ifthesecommandsarenotlocatedin
thestandardsearchpathavailabletothesession,Spotlightdisplaysanerror.

High Spotlight load on database server

ThequeriesthatSpotlightusestocollectdatafromadiagnosedsystemcanplace
anadditionalloadonthesystemunderdiagnosis.
MostSpotlightqueriesconsumeameasurablebutnotsignificantamountofsystem
resources.However,queriesthatarecomplexorcollectlargeamountsofdatamay
putasignificantloadonthesystem.
IfyoufindthattheloadthatSpotlightplacesonyourserveristoohigh,youcan
adjustcollectionratesfordifferentcategoriesofSpotlightdata,andsolimitthe
loadthatSpotlightplacesonthesystemunderanalysis.
YoucanchooseastandardSpotlightsetting,oryoucancreateyourownCustom
settings.
1 CloseandreopenSpotlightonUnix.
2 FromtheFilemenuchooseConnect...
3 InthelistofSpotlightonUnixconnections,rightclicktheconnectionwhose
loadyouwanttochange.
4 SelectPropertiesfromtheshortcutmenu.
5 ClicktheOverheadtab.
6 UsetheOverheadManagementslidertoadjusttheoverallSpotlightloadfor
theconnection.(Alternatively,clickCustomtoadjustspecificload
categories.)

Chapter 5
Troubleshooting
7 OpentheSpotlightconnection.
TheprocedureforadjustingtheSpotlightloadiscoveredinmoredetailinthe
onlinehelp.

35

APPENDIX

Appendix: Contact Quest

Contacting Quest Support
QuestSupportisavailabletocustomerswhohaveatrialversionofaQuestproduct
orwhohavepurchasedacommercialversionandhaveavalidmaintenance
contract.QuestSupportprovidesaroundtheclockcoveragewithSupportLink,our
Webselfservice.VisitSupportLinkathttp://support.quest.com.
FromSupportLink,youcandothefollowing:
y Quicklyfindthousandsofsolutions(Knowledgebasearticles/documents).
y Downloadpatchesandupgrades.
y SeekhelpfromaSupportengineer.
y Logandupdateyourcase,andcheckitsstatus.
ViewtheGlobalSupportGuideforadetailedexplanationofsupportprograms,
onlineservices,contactinformation,andpolicyandprocedures.Theguideis
availableat:http://support.quest.com/pdfs/GlobalSupportGuide.pdf.
Note

This document is available only in English.

Contacting Spotlight support

WheneveryouhaveaquestionaboutSpotlight,clickSupportBundleorContact
SupportontheHelpmenu.Thiscreatesafilecalledspotlightsupport.zipinoneof
thefollowingfolders:
WindowsXP

InasubfolderundertheDocumentsandSettingsfolder.

Vista

InasubfolderundertheUsersfolder.

38

Spotlight on Unix
Getting Started Guide
ThisfilecontainsasnapshotofyourSpotlightinstallation.Sendthisfileandyour
requestforassistancetoQuestSoftware(support@quest.com).
Notes:
y Support bundles contain information for the active instance only. If you are using Spotlight to
diagnose multiple instances ensure that the correct instance is displayed before creating the
support bundle.
y Support bundles cannot be created when the History Browser is open. For further information
on the History Browser, see the Spotlight online help under Concepts and Features.

Contacting Quest Software

Email

info@quest.com

Mail

QuestSoftware,Inc.
WorldHeadquarters
5PolarisWay
AlisoViejo,CA92656
USA

Website

www.quest.com

RefertoourWebsiteforregionalandinternationalofficeinformation.

About Quest Software, Inc

QuestSoftware,Inc.,aleadingenterprisesystemsmanagementvendor,delivers
innovativeproductsthathelporganizationsgetmoreperformanceandproductivity
fromtheirapplications,databases,Windowsinfrastructureandvirtual
environments.ThroughadeepexpertiseinIToperationsandacontinuedfocuson
whatworksbest,Questhelpsmorethan100,000customersworldwidemeethigher
expectationsforenterpriseIT.QuestSoftwarehelpsorganizationsdeliver,manage
andcontrolcomplexdatabaseenvironmentsthroughawardwinningproductsfor
Oracle,SQLServer,IBMDB2,SybaseandMySQL.QuestSoftwarecanbefoundin
officesaroundtheglobeandatwww.quest.com.

INDEX

Index
A
ActivitySummarydrilldown........................29
AlarmLogdrilldown....................................29
Alarms.....................................................8,25
BlockedProcesses...................................26
InputErrorPacketsFlow.........................26
OutputErrorPacketsFlow......................26
PageIn....................................................26
PageOut.................................................27
PercentageBusy.....................................27
SwapInFlow...........................................27
SwapOutFlow........................................27
SwapSpace.............................................27
UsedPercentage.....................................27
ZombieProcesses...................................28
Authentication............................................33
B
Benefits.........................................................7
BlockedProcessesalarm............................26
C
Cannotconnect...........................................32
Charts............................................................9
Clientpermissions......................................11
Connecting
toaUnixsystem.....................................17
troubleshooting......................................32
Connectionproblems
loginasroot............................................33

passwordauthentication........................33
remotecommands..................................33
REXEC......................................................33
SSH..........................................................33
Connections..........................................15,17
CPUpanel....................................................23
CreatingaUnixconnection.........................15
D
DiskActivitypanel.......................................25
Drilldownproblems.....................................34
Drilldowns...............................................9,28
ActivitySummary....................................29
AlarmLog................................................29
Filesystems..............................................29
ProcessesandServices............................28
Services...................................................28
troubleshooting.......................................34
E
Errors
operatingsystemdrilldown....................34
F
Features........................................................7
SpotlightonUnix.......................................9
Filesystemsdrilldown..................................29
H
History...........................................................9
Homepage..............................................7,19

40

Spotlight on Unix
Getting Started Guide

I
InputErrorPacketsFlowalarm..................26
Install..........................................................11
InstallingSpotlight......................................11
iostat...........................................................33

Q
QuestSoftware
about.......................................................38
contacting...............................................38
contactingSupport..................................37

L
Load............................................................34
Loginasroot...............................................33

R
Remotecommands.....................................33
REXECprotocol............................................33

M
MainSpotlightwindow...........................7,19
Memorypanel............................................24
Multipleinstallations..................................13

S
Serverload..................................................34
Servicesdrilldown.......................................28
Spotlight
alarms..................................................8,25
connections.......................................15,17
drilldowns............................................9,28
homepage..........................................7,19
installing..................................................11
starting....................................................14
SpotlightonUnix
Multipleinstallations..............................13
using........................................................19
SSHprotocol................................................33
Starting........................................................11
StartingSpotlight........................................14
supportbundle............................................31
Supportbundle...........................................31
SupportBundle...........................................37
SwapInFlowalarm.....................................27
SwapOutFlowalarm..................................27
SwapSpacealarm.......................................27
SwapSpacepanel........................................24
sysstat.........................................................33
Systempanel...............................................21

N
Networkpanel............................................22
O
OperatingSystemdrilldown
errors......................................................34
OutputErrorPacketsFlowalarm...............26
P
PageInalarm..............................................26
PageOutalarm...........................................27
Panels
CPU.........................................................23
DiskActivity............................................25
Memory..................................................24
Network..................................................22
overview.................................................20
SwapSpace.............................................24
System....................................................21
Passwordauthentication............................33
PercentageBusyalarm...............................27
Permissions.................................................11
Problems
authorization..........................................32
ProcessesandServicesdrilldown...............28

T
Tables............................................................9
Tracing.........................................................31
Troubleshooting..........................................31
connectionproblems..............................32

41
Index
drilldownproblems.................................34
serverload..............................................34
U
Unix

Z
ZombieProcessesalarm.............................28

cannotconnect.......................................32
UsedPercentagealarm...............................27