HP OpenView Smart Plug-in for BEA WebLogic Server

for HP OpenView Operations for Windows

Release Notes

Software version: 04.10.000/ June 2006

This document provides an overview of the changes made to HP OpenView Smart Plug-in for BEA WebLogic Server (WLS SPI) for HP OpenView Operations for Windows 7.5. This release notes contains important information not included in the manuals or in online help.

In This Version
Documentation Updates
Installation Notes
Enhancements and Fixes
Known Problems, Limitations, and Workarounds
Documentation Errata
Support
Legal Notices

In This Version

WLS-SPI is a full-featured SPI that allows you to manage BEA WebLogic Servers from an HP OpenView Operations console.

The following are the new features included in this version:

Documentation Updates

The first page of this release notes document contains the following identifying information:

To check for recent updates or to verify that you are using the most recent edition, visit the following URL:

http://ovweb.external.hp.com/lpe/doc_serv/

  1. In the Product list, click the product name.
  2. In the Version list, click the version number.
  3. In the OS list, click the OS type.
  4. In the document list, click the document title.
  5. To retrieve the document, click Open or Download.

NOTE: To view files in PDF format (*.pdf), Adobe Acrobat Reader must be installed on your system. To download Adobe Acrobat Reader, go to the following URL:

http://www.adobe.com/

Installation Notes

Installation instructions for the WLS-SPI are documented in the HP OpenView Smart Plug-in for BEA WebLogic Server Configuration Guide provided in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format. The document file is included on the product's CD media as:

\Documentation\SPI Guides\WebLogic_AppServer_Config.pdf

Software and Hardware Requirements

Before installing the WLS SPI, make sure that your system meets the following minimum requirements:

The managed node OS and version and its supported WebLogic Application Server versions are listed below:

WebLogic Server Version Managed Node OS and Version
WebLogic Application Server 6.1 sp1+ HP-UX 11.00, 11.11
HP Tru64 5.1A, 5.1B, 5.2
Solaris 2.6, 7
Windows 2000
WebLogic Application Server 7.0 HP-UX 11.00, 11.11
HP Tru64 5.1A, 5.1B, 5.2
Solaris 7, 8, 9, 10
Windows 2000, 2003 IA64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS/ES 2.1
WebLogic Application Server 8.1 sp1+ HP-UX 11.00, 11.11, 11.23 IA64
HP Tru64 5.1A, 5.1B, 5.2
Solaris 8, 9, 10
Windows 2000, 2003 IA64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS/ES 2.1 (32 bit), 3.0 (32 bit), 4.0 (32 bit)
SuSe Linux ES 8.0 (32 bit), 9.0 (32 bit)
AIX 5.1, 5.2, 5.3
WebLogic Application Server 9.0, 9.1

HP-UX 11.11, 11.23, 11.23 (Itanuim)
HP Tru64 5.1A, 5.1B, 5.2
Solaris 8, 9, 10
Windows 2000, 2003 IA64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS/ES 3.0 (32 bit), 4.0 (32 bit)
SuSe Linux ES 8.0 (32 bit), 9.0 (32 bit)

Enhancements and Fixes

The following items (identified by error tracking number) are fixed in the current software release. To display details about each software fix, click the error tracking number.

Defect Fixes

QXCR1000135486: WebLogic and WebSphere collector runs are resource intensive, need to improve.
QXCR1000283795: Don't log error if metric ID or version is missing.
QXCR1000239027: Disallow user to configure both GRAPH_SERVER and GRAPH_URL.
QXCR1000238523: Eliminate RMID stop/start browser message.
QXCR1000232925: [WLSSPI] doc enhancement is needed for upgrade step.
QXCR1000281274: doc enhancement for Monitoring Remote Nodes.
QXCR1000208609: Some WLSSPI reports reference "reporter.dbo".

Bug Fixes

QXCR1000212122: Missing PASSWORD causes NullPointerException.
QXCR1000214217: Add all available $OPTION() variables to reference manual .
QXCR1000208609: Some WLSSPI reports reference "reporter.dbo."
QXCR1000216967: Intermittent collector hangs on hpux 11.00.
QXCR1000210784: TransformationException running servlet ascii reports (240,242,245).
QXCR1000210300: WebLogic SPI does not load graph in browser when use OVPM 5.0.
QXCR1000158547: Host name problem in service map.
QXCR1000226129: JMX errors if consecutive collections span an app server restart.
QXCR1000236641: Collector trace broken on windows.
QXCR1000238519: Metrics - Server status value for reporting should not be 1.
QXCR1000244041: AttributeFilter include types should be OR'd.
QXCR1000283927: Bug in wasspi_wls_discovery.pl cause Service Creation not to work.
QXCR1000282418: WLSSPI A.03.50 - wls.log growing very fast, causing filesystem full.
QXCR1000236250: Metric 270 has the wrong algorithm.
QXCR1000280751: Discovery not working if the domains is in a different directory.
QXCR1000282761: 'C:\PROGRA~1\HP ' is not recognized as an internal or external command.
QXCR1000281146: Trailing whitespace chars in server name breaks ascii reporting.
QXCR1000298097: WebLogic Application Servers embedded in PeopleSoft Not Discovered.
QXCR1000237420: collector cmd-line cannot handle argvs with spaces.
QXCR1000281719: -S' arg not needed in wasspi_xxx_DiscReg.txt.
QXCR1000291523: JMX ASCII reports formats all numbers as floats.
QXCR1000299107: Update SPI error message WASSPI-18 in docs.
QXCR1000224237: Document rmid related properties.
QXCR1000285945: Need to workaround multiple registry Sun bug.
QXCR1000288197: Default templates collect from JMX Connector servers.
QXCR1000296585: Problem viewing OVPM graphs if there are spaces or special characters in the URL.
QXCR1000205496: UDM guide corrections.
QXCR1000243792: UDM graph disable is broken.
QXCR1000282756: Configure and Discovery Fails when Windows Short Path Name Creation is disabled.
QXCR1000247470: Collector not closing errorlog following write.
QXCR1000237949: Discovery fails to update local SiteConfig if multiple srv have same name.
QXCR1000206584: UDM Graph Enable fails to create datasource on OVPA 4.0.
QXCR1000316160: wasspi_wls_ca -r messes up the SERVER numbers in SiteConfig.
QXCR1000318056: Perl command "use lib" not effective.
QXCR1000320341: Tracing not working on WLS.
QXCR1000318561: Discovery not working for T3S and servers created in non-default directories.

Known Problems, Limitations, and Workarounds

The following problems are known in the current software release. To display details about each problem (including workaround information), click the problem text. To hide details, click again.

Discovery, Discover WebLogic, and/or Configure WLSSPI hang
Problem: The Discovery policy, the Discover WebLogic tool, and/or the Configure WLSSPI tool hang.
Cause: When you run any of these components the configuration file is locked so that the file cannot be overwritten. If you select STOP in the Console Status window or these components are stopped while running because of any other reason (for example, a failover), the lock is not removed from the configuration file. When you start any of these components again, the component waits for the lock to be removed before it can continue.
Workaround: Remove the lock directory on the management server: <OvOWShareInstallDir>\SPI-Share\wasspi\wls\conf\SiteConfig.lock

where <OvOWShareInstallDir> is typically <drive>:\Program Files\HP OpenView\Data\shared\

The locking mechanism automatically deletes the lock directory after two hours.

Tracing stops or the collector hangs when tracing is on
Problem: If tracing is enabled, when the first 20 MB trace file limit is reached, tracing either stops or the collector hangs and stops monitoring the web application servers.
Workaround: Enable tracing for a short duration of time (for example, 5-6 hours) because the 20 MB limit of the trace file is reached in approximately 7 hours.
GRAPH_SERVER and GRAPH_URL properties can be set
Problem: The GRAPH_SERVER and GRAPH_URL properties can be set but they are not necessary.
Workaround: Do not set the GRAPH_SERVER and GRAPH_URL properties.
QXCM1000304720: Growing wls.log file
Problem: The wls.log file grows very large.
Workaround:

Limit the size of the data saved to the log file each time the logfile encapsulator is run. In the SPIConfig file (located in /var/opt/OV/wasspi/wls/conf/ or /var/opt/OV/conf/wls/ on UNIX platforms and /usr/OV/wasspi/wls/conf/ on Windows platforms), add the following:
# maximum number of lines to save to the log file / run LOG_LINE_LIMIT=16667
# maximum number of characters to save from each log file / run LOG_SIZE_PER_FILE_LIMIT=600000

Discover/Configure application may misplace the SPI configuration file on a managed node
Problem: If multiple managed nodes are selected when running the Discover WebLogic or Configure WebLogic tools, or if the Discover WebLogic and Configure WebLogic tools are run at the same time, the SPI may report errors for one or more selected managed nodes because the SPI configuration file (SiteConfig) for one or more managed nodes are misplaced.
Workaround: Run the Configure WebLogic tool for each managed node that is reporting errors (run the application on each managed node one at a time).
getAttributes returns a null value on WebLogic 6.1
Problem: When using WebLogic Server 6.1, getAttributes returns a null value.
Workaround: Install WebLogic Server 6.1 sp7 (service pack 7).
Error messages appear when WebLogic Server is started
Problem: When the WebLogic Server is started, multiple WLSSPI-0011.1: % of execute threads used (<value>%) too high messages are displayed in the message browser.
Workaround: These messages can be safely ignored when the WebLogic Server is being started.
The output file created by Self-Healing Info tool is hidden
Problem: When the Self-Healing Info application is run on a Windows managed node, the output file
may be hidden.
Workaround:

If you do not see the file, do the following on the managed node:

  1. Open Windows Explorer.
  2. From the Tools menu, select Folder Options.
  3. Click on the View tab.
  4. Under Hidden files and folders, select Show hidden files and folders.
On a Solaris managed node, the ddflog and dsilog processes hang
Problem: On a Solaris managed node, the ddflog and dsilog processes hang. The error message
WASSPI-1: Unable to create the lock file /var/opt/OV/wasspi/wls/datalog/ddflog.lck. File already exists. is reported and running the command ps –l shows that the ddflog_coda and ddflog or dsilog processes are hung.
Workaround:

On each Solaris managed node on which the problem occurs, do the following:

  1. In the /var/opt/OV/wasspi/wls/conf/SPIConfig file, set the DATA_LOGGING_EXECUTABLE_NAME
    property after the “#--------- Dynamic definitions -----------“ entry. DATA_LOGGING_EXECUTABLE_NAME explicitly sets the data logging program that is used (normally, the collector automatically determines the data logging program to use).

    2. If you are running OVPA, set the property to the following value:
    DATA_LOGGING_EXECUTABLE_NAME=/opt/perf/bin/dsilog

    If you are running CODA, set the property to the following value:
    DATA_LOGGING_EXECUTABLE_NAME=/opt/OV/bin/OpC/monitor/ddflog_coda

  2. Kill the hung ddflog_coda and ddflog or dsilog processes. Example excerpt from the SPIConfig file after setting the property:

    UDM_GRAPH_CAPACITY=50000
    UDM_PERF_CAPACITY=50000
    #--------- Dynamic definitions -----------
    DATA_LOGGING_ENABLED=TRUE
    DATA_LOGGING_EXECUTABLE_NAME=/opt/perf/bin/dsilog
SPI's configuration log on a managed node grows without being managed for size
Problem: Information is appended to …/wls/log/config.log file whenever the SPI's configuration is run (either manually or when the discovery process finds a change that requires configure to run such as a WebLogic server being added or removed). Unless there are frequent changes to the environment requiring reconfiguration, this should not be a problem.
Workaround: Manually delete the file if it gets too large.
If WebLogic Server is not started from the Home directory, WLS SPI cannot locate and monitor WebLogic log file.
Problem: WebLogic Server SPI cannot locate and therefore is unable to monitor the WebLogic log file when WebLogic Server is not started from the HOME directory. This problem occurs only in WebLogic Server 6.0 and 6.1.
The location and name of the WebLogic Server log file is specified in the WebLogic Administration Console in the "Logging" tab on the server configuration page. If this log file is specified with a relative path, this path is relative to the directory in which the WebLogic Server is started. The default is the WebLogic home (WL_HOME) directory specified when the WebLogic SPI is configured. The startup scripts installed by BEA start WebLogic Server from its home directory.
No means currently exists for querying the server for its startup directory. So, if the WebLogic Server is started up in a directory other than WL_HOME and the log file is specified as a relative path, the WLSSPI may not be able to locate and monitor the WebLogic Server log file.
Workaround:

Choose one of the following workarounds:

Option A:
Configure the LAUNCH_DIR variable in the WebLogic Server SPI configuration file to define the location of the WebLogic Server startup directory. Please see Chapter 2 of the User’s Guide for details.

Option B:
Ensure that WebLogic Server is started from the WL_HOME directory, which is the default if you use the startup scripts provided by BEA. Also, note that the WLSSPI will not recognize a fully qualified path name for the log file. You must use a relative path for the WebLogic Server log file in order for it to be located and monitored by the WLSSPI.

Option C:
In the WLS-SPI configuration file, include the fully qualified name of the WebLogic Server logfiles you want to monitor. For multiple logfile entries, separate each logfile name with a comma. To edit the file:

  1. Run Tools for WebLogic Server SPI Admin Configure WLSSPI to edit the file.
  2. Insert an additional line beginning with keyword SERVER<n>_LOGFILE as shown below, followed by the fully qualified file name: SERVER<n>_LOGFILE = <path>/<file_name_1>,<path>/file_name_2>
  3. Save the file and deploy to the node.

NOTE: This workaround is an enhancement to the syntax as documented in the HP OpenView Smart Plug-in for BEA WebLogic Server Configuration Guide.
Error message appears for managed nodes running Red Hat Linux 4
Problem:

For a managed node running Red Hat Linux 4 or SuSe Linux 9.1or 9.2, both discovery and metric threshold monitor alarming or one of them is not functioning and the following error message is found in the SPI error log:
*** glibc detected *** double free or corruption: 0x0937d008 ***
Workaround: On the OVO agent, set the MALLOC_CHECK_ environment variable to 0 (zero) and restart the agent.
View weblogic log tool does not display correct content in cmd windows
Problem: The View WebLogic Log tool does not display non-English content which is present in the WebLogic log files.
Workaround: N/A

Documentation Errata

There are no known errors in the BEA WebLogic Server SPI documentation.

Support

Please visit the HP OpenView support web site at:

http://www.hp.com/managementsoftware/support

This web site provides contact information and details about the products, services, and support that HP OpenView offers.

HP OpenView online software support provides customer self-solve capabilities. It provides a fast and efficient way to access interactive technical support tools needed to manage your business. As a valued support customer, you can benefit by being able to:

NOTE: Most of the support areas require that you register as an HP Passport user and sign in. Many also require an active support contract. To find more information about support access levels, go to the following URL:

http://www.hp.com/managementsoftware/access_level

To register for an HP Passport ID, go to the following URL:

http://www.managementsoftware.hp.com/passport-registration.html

Legal Notices

©Copyright 2006 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.

Confidential computer software. Valid license from HP required for possession, use or copying. Consistent with FAR 12.211 and 12.212, Commercial Computer Software, Computer Software Documentation, and Technical Data for Commercial Items are licensed to the U.S. Government under vendor's standard commercial license.

The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.