How do I configure and troubleshoot IBM i OS monitoring?

Introduction

Prerequisites

Setting up the IBM i utility

Creating a user

Troubleshooting IBM i utility connection issues

Introduction

In Entuity, IBM i OS monitoring requires the IBM i utility to connect to each IBM i OS and server being monitored. The IBM i utility is a p5250 emulator over Telnet on port 23.

Prerequisites

Before you can start monitoring an IBM i OS, you must do the following:

• Ensure that Telnet is installed and enabled on the Entuity server/agent.
• Open port 23 bidirectionally between the targeted IBM i server and the Entuity server/agent.
• Contact Entuity Support to obtain the IBM i utilities.

Setting up the IBM i utility

The IBM i utilities consist of two executable files:

• ibmi_utility
• s3270

For the Windows operating system, these executable files have the (.exe) file extension, while for the Linux operating system, they do not. 

To set up the utility: 

1. Based on the operating system of the Entuity server/agent, place the corresponding utility executable files in either a Windows (.exe files) or Linux directory on the Entuity server.

2. For the Windows operating system, skip this step. Otherwise, for the Linux operating system, set the utility executable file permissions to 777.
   For example:

   chmod 777 ibmi_utility
   
   chmod 777 s3270

3. To ensure that Entuity can find and use the IBM i utility, add the directory paths of each executable file to the PATH variable on the Entuity server.
   • Linux:

     • At the command line, make a softlink from each executable file directory path to /usr/bin.
       For example:

       ln -s [directory_path]/ibmi_utility /usr/bin/ibmi_utility
       ln -s [directory_path]/s3270 /usr/bin/s3270

   • Windows:
     1. In Windows Search, enter env, and select Edit the system environment variables.
     2. On the System Properties window, click Environment Variables.
     3. In the System variables section, click the Path variable, and then click Edit.
     4. Click New, and if not already listed, enter the directory path to each ibmi_utility executable file, without including the file names in the path. 
        For example:
        If the executable files are in C:\Entuity\lib\tools, add this directory path to the Path variable.
     5. Click OK, and then click OK again to close the Environment Variables window.
     6. Click Apply and then click OK on the System Properties window.     
4. Restart Entuity.
   You can now create a user profile for logging into the IBM i OS. 

Creating a user profile

After setting up the IBM i utility, create a user profile to log into the IBM i OS for monitoring:

1. Using port 23, Telnet into the IBM i OS of the targeted IBM i server.
2. At the command line, use the CRTUSRPRF command to enter the Create User Profile menu. 
3. Create a user profile and password, ensuring the user status is set to Enabled and the user class is set to *USER or higher.
   Note, if you want to monitor, start, and stop the IBM i OS subsystems in Entuity, grant the user account the job control (*JOBCTL) special authority.  
4. From Entuity, add the IBM i server as a managed asset, specifying the newly created user name and password in the Credential field.

Troubleshooting IBM i utility connection issues

If there is a connection issue with the IBM i utility, check the proliferate or collection engine server logs on the Entuity server. If the log shows the issue that Entuity can't locate the IBM i utility, test that the utility can be executed from any directory, not just the directory in which the utility is located.
Do this by entering the following command at the command line:

• Linux:

  ./ibmi_utility 

• Windows:

  ibmi_utility.exe