IBM Tivoli Software

IBM Tivoli Service Request Manager and IBM

Netcool Omnibus Integration.
Configuration and Troubleshooting
By: Stuart Bowden & Tracey McWilliams
Support Technical Exchange Web site
http://www-306.ibm.com/software/sysmgmt/products/support/supp_tech_exch.html

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Introduction
Abstract:

This Tivoli Support Technical Exchange web seminar

will provide details of our experience in supporting the
configuration of TSRM and the Omnibus Gateway for
TSRM in order to Create and Update Incidents /
Service Requests in TSRM V 7.x

Objectives
1. Experiences of Configuring the Omnibus Gateway for
TSRM
2. TSRM / Maximo Integration Framework concepts and
configuration
3. Use, troubleshooting and tuning tips.
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Agenda:

Overview

Omnibus Gateway for TSRM configuration

Maximo Integration Framework concepts

Maximo Integration Framework configuration

Performance Tuning Tips

Common problems

Future Enhancements

Questions

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Overview

Facilitates 2-way communication from Omnibus to
TSRM/Maximo

Creating, Updating Tickets from Omnibus into
TSRM

Updates Omnibus with changes made to these
Tickets in TSRM

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Overview

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Gateway Configuration

Listed below are the TSRM specific Properties from the GAT_TSRM.Props
file:
Gate.TSRM.TicketObjectName
Gate.TSRM.TicketObjectType
Gate.TSRM.WorkLogObjectName
Gate.TSRM.URLList

: 'MXINCIDENT
: 'INCIDENT
: 'WORKLOG
: http://tsrm_server/meaweb/os/MXINCIDENT

Gate.TSRM.ThreadPoolSz

: 15

Gate.TSRM.NonApplicationErrorTitles

: '.*500 Internal Server Error.*'

Gate.TSRM.NonApplicationErrorTitles
user.*'

: '(?s).*Record has been updated by another

Gate.TSRM.ErrorCodeFieldName

: 'TSRMErrorCode'

Gate.TAL.NBScriptFileName

: '$OMNIHOME/gates/tsrm/NBScriptFile'

Gate.Java.Arguments
: '-Xmx2048m' (example for debugging: 'Xmx2048m -Xrunhprof:heap=sites,file=/log/hprof.log')

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Gateway Package Dependency

Ensure that all the latest GA fix packs are applied

Netcool/OMNIbus Version 7.2 + Fix Pack 5

Netcool/OMNIbus Version 7.2.1 + Fix Pack 3

Netcool/OMNIbus Version 7.3 and 7.3.1 base install

Netcool/OMNIbus Gateway Ticketing Abstraction Layer
gateway-libtal

This patch contains the java infrastructure for java gateways
gateway-libngjava

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Gateway Installation and Configuration

Please refer to the Installation guide for Installing
and configuring the Gateway. This can be found
here:

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/tivihelp/v
8r1/topic/com.ibm.netcool_OMNIbus.doc/tsrmgwpdf.pdf

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Maximo Integration Framework Concepts used by the

Gateway

Object Structures

Synchronous Integration

Operations

Call and Response Schemas

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Object Structures

Common Data Layer for all Inbound and Outbound
processing

Consists of One or more Business objects

Contains a Java definition class for outbound or
inbound processing outside of the standard
operations / actions.

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Object Structures

INCIDENT
WORKLOG

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Object Structures

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Synchronous Integration

Maximo/TSRM supports both Synchronous and
Asynchronous Transactions

Synchronous Transactions are done via Web
Services or directly to the Object Structure HTTP
Servelet

Asynchronous Transactions use a variety of
methods to place messages on a JMS Queue

Once a Synchronous Transaction is processed a
Response is sent to the External System

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Operations

Incoming Transactions can have any of the
following operations:
Create
Delete
Invoke
Query
Sync
Update

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Operations

The following Operations are used by the Gateway
Create: This will create a record and will fail if a
matching record already exists
Update: This will updated a pre-existing record and fail
if there is no matching record
Query: Will return a response based on a SQL where
clause in the incoming message

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Call and Response Schemas

Each Operation has an associated Message and Response
schema

Defines what attributes can be included in the Incoming
message and what will be sent as a response

The Response to a Create message will send the TICKETID
back to the Gateway

The Response to an Update message will tell the Gateway it
has been successful no further data is sent

The Response to a Query message will send all attributes
included in the response schema back to the Gateway for
each matching ticket

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Call and Response Schemas cont.

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Integration Framework Configuration

Please refer to the Gateway installation guide for
the TSRM configuration needed.

Furthermore please see this link for the Maximo
Integration Framework Guide

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/tivihelp/v
3r1/topic/com.ibm.mam.doc_7.1/pdf/mam71_integr
ation_guide.pdf

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Updates From TSRM to the Gateway

Currently the Gateway is responsible for
managing the updates from TSRM

To get updates from TSRM i.e. When the status
of a Ticket has changed. The Gateway sends a
Query Message to TSRM asking for the details of
all Tickets currently in the GW cache.

The GW then processes the Response from TSRM

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Gateway Triggers

In order to pick up the TTState changes a FILTER WITH:
LogTicket=1 and TTState=1' will need to be set.
This is different to the default one of LogTicket=1.
This is not the Default setting as TTState was originally meant for the
Resync Functionality, it now has additional use preventing unneccessary
updates being sent to TSRM.
By default we set the TTState to 1 when any operation occurs on the alert.
AFTER IDUC we set TTState=0 - this means we have seen the update.
So if in the next IDUC no one changes the Alert we will not process it given
the above filter

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Tailoring the Triggers in order to stop sending unrequired

changes to TSRM

create or replace trigger tt_state_change_status_reins_tbl
group tal_gateway_grp
priority 1
comment 'Trouble Ticket State change processing for ALERTS.STATUS'
before reinsert on alerts.status
for each row
begin
if ( %user.is_gateway = false)
then
set old.TTState = 1;
elseif (%user.description <> 'failover_gate' and %user.description <>
'ticket_gate')
then
set old.TTState = 1;
end if;
end;
go

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Tailoring the Triggers cont.

create or replace trigger tt_state_change_status_reins_tbl
group tal_gateway_grp
priority 1
comment 'Trouble Ticket State change processing for ALERTS.STATUS'
before reinsert on alerts.status
for each row
begin
if ((old.Severity != new.Severity or new.TTNumber='') and new.LogTicket=1)
then
if ( %user.is_gateway = false)
then
set old.TTState = 1;
elseif (%user.description <> 'failover_gate' and %user.description <> 'ticket_gate')
then
set old.TTState = 1;
end if;
end if;
end;
go

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Limitations

This solution does not cover a situation where the following
severity changes have occurred 3->4->3 in a single iduc cycle.
In this case the gateway will assume the alert has changed and
send it over to TSRM.
Therefore the intermediate updates are of no interest. In that case
we can check if the ticket number is not populated in order to
create the ticket and check that the severity is 0 in order to send
the clear update. This could reduce the load on TSRM. So in this
case we would have the following if clause in the trigger:
if ((new.Severity=0 or new.TTNumber='') and new.LogTicket=1)

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Integration Framework Performance Tuning

It is strongly recommended that a dedicated Application
Server / JVM / Cluster is used for all Incoming Integration
Framework transactions

Out of the Box the Object Structure used by the Gateway has
approximately 115 attributes. This could be significantly
higher if other add-on products are installed

When a Query is sent to TSRM to check the status of Active
Tickets created by the Gateway. A message with All
Attributes for All Active Tickets will be returned

The Gateway will need to Parse a lot of information it does
not need

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Integration Framework Performance Tuning

These are the TSRM Attributes the Gateway needs to operate

INCIDENT.CLASS
INCIDENT.CHANGEDATE
INCIDENT.DESCRIPTION
INCIDENT.REPORTEDBY
INCIDENT.REPORTEDPRIORITY
INCIDENT.EXTERNALRECID
INCIDENT.EXTERNALSYSTEM_TICKETID
INCIDENT.STATUS
WORKLOG.CLASS*
WORKLOG.CREATEDATE*
WORKLOG.DESCRIPTION*
WORKLOG.DESCRIPTION_LONGDESCRIPTION*

* Note: This are only needed if you are implementing Journaling.

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Integration Framework Performance Tuning

We recommend that a new Object Structure is created which
would include only the Attributes the Gateway needs

Create Object Structure OMNIIncident
Add the Incident and Work Log Objects
In the Select Actions menu, Include Exclude Fields option use
this dialog to Exclude All Attributes except those mentioned in
the last slide.
Now do Select Actions, Generate Schema to create the new
schemas.
Configure the GW Props file with the new URL for the HTTP
Servelet

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Gateway Performance Tuning

https://www304.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21460
308

This contains information on:
Database Tuning
Gateway JVM Tuning
Tuning the Triggers/Filters to control Event Forwarding
Among others!

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Troubleshooting

Logging in TSRM

In the Logging Application set the following two
loggers
log4j.logger.maximo.sql to INFO
log4j.logger.maximo.integration to DEBUG
If possible set these to log to a separate File Appender

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Common Problems

Multiple Tickets created in TSRM for a single Alert
in the Gateway.

This would suggest that the Gateway has not
received or processed the Response from TSRM
when the Create Message was received. Potential
causes if SSL is used in TSRM but has not been
configured on the Gateway then the response
could not be interpreted.

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Future Enhancements - Disclaimer

Information regarding potential future products is
intended to outline our general product direction and it
should not be relied on in making a purchasing
decision. The information mentioned regarding
potential future products is not a commitment,
promise, or legal obligation to deliver any material,
code or functionality. Information about potential future
products may not be incorporated into any contract.
The development, release, and timing of any future
features or functionality described for our products
remains at our sole discretion.

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Future Enhancements

TSRM is able to send outbound messages when an Event
occurs on a given record.

The Gateway will in a future release be able to receive
updates from TSRM when a change to a Ticket it owns has
been done by a user.

Publish Channels in TSRM are used to configure and control
these outbound messages.

Rules can be configured to only send data to the Gateway
regarding Tickets created By the Gateway.

Also only certain updates on this Tickets could be sent i.e.
only send a message to the GW when the Status of the
Ticket changes.

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Thanks and . . . . .

Any Questions?

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