Configuring Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus settings on Windows

You can configure properties and server communication information for Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus on Windows, in a single task.

1. Click Start > Programs > Netcool Suite > System Utilities > OMNIbus Settings. The Netcool/OMNIbus Settings window opens.
   Tip: If you make any changes to one of the tabs and then try to access another tab without saving your changes, you are prompted to save or cancel your changes. At any point in time, you can also click the OK button to save all of your changes and close the window, or click the Cancel button to close the window without saving your changes. If you want to save the changes made to any tab without closing the window, click the Apply button.
2. Use the Overview tab to view information about the location and properties of the Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus server components.
3. From the Servers tab, create and modify communication details for the server components, test server activity, and add backup (or failover) servers and listeners. Complete this tab as follows:

   Server list

   The server list shows existing server components and their settings:

   Server

   This column displays the name of each server that is defined for this workstation. The default server names are:

   • NCOMS: The default name for ObjectServers
   • NCO_PROXY: The default name for proxy servers
   • NCO_GATE: The default name for gateways
   • NCO_PA: The default name for process agents

   The host workstation for the server must have a listener entry, and the host workstation and any other workstation that connects to that server must have a client entry.

   Backup ObjectServers appear below the primary ObjectServer in the Server Editor. To hide the list of backup ObjectServers, double-click the primary ObjectServer name or server icon. The backup ObjectServers are hidden and the letter C appears in the server icon. Double-click again to display the backup ObjectServers. The server icon returns to normal.

   Host

   This column displays the host name or IP address of the workstation on which the server component is installed. The default is the host name.

   Port

   This column displays the port on which the server component listens for unencrypted connections.

   SSL

   This column displays the word yes for encrypted connections. The same port number is used for both encrypted and unencrypted connections.

   Server entry fields

   Use the server entry fields to enter or edit the details of each server component. If you are editing the details of an existing server component, you must first select the relevant row in the server list, so that the details are shown within the server entry fields.

   Name

   Type the name of a new server component or edit the name of an existing component. You can also use the drop-down list to select a name. Use the following suffixes when naming components: _PROXY for proxy servers, _GATE for gateways, and _PA for process control agents.

   Note: The name of a server entry must consist of 29 or fewer uppercase letters and cannot begin with an integer.

   Host

   Type or edit the host name or IP address of the workstation on which the server component is installed.

   If you type an IP address, you can specify an IPv4 or IPv6 address. For example:

   • 192.168.0.1
   • 2094:82a:2a6e:123:503:badd:fe43:f552

   Port

   Type a valid, unused port number.

   Listener

   Select this check box if this is a listener entry on the host workstation for the server. Clear the Listener check box if this is a client entry.

   SSL

   Select this check box to indicate that the port accepts encrypted connections from clients that use SSL. The same port number is used for encrypted and unencrypted connections.

   Add

   Click this button to add new (and unique) server details to the server list.

   Remove/Update

   This button changes based on whether you have made any changes to the server component that is currently selected. Click Remove if you want to remove the server component that is currently selected from the server list. Click Update to refresh the server list with updated details of an existing server component.

   Test

   Click this button to test that you can connect to the server that is selected in the server list. The Server Editor attempts to contact the server on the specified host and port. A window shows the result of the test command.

   Priority

   The server priority fields enable you to raise or lower the priority of server components that are configured as failover systems. For example, suppose an ObjectServer called NCOMS_PRI is configured with a backup called NCOMS_BAK. Using the Raise or Lower buttons, you can raise the priority of NCOMS_BAK to be the primary ObjectServer and NCOMS_PRI to be the backup.

   Raise

   Click this button to raise the priority of the selected server component by one level.

   Lower

   Click this button to lower the priority of the selected server component by one level.

   Show Groups

   Select this check box to group each server by name within the server list, with backup servers and listeners identified following the client entry.

4. From the Properties tab, edit the information contained in the properties files for each ObjectServer, proxy server, process agent, probe, and gateway. Complete this tab as follows:

   Type

   Select any of the following options:

   • Select ObjectServer to edit the properties files of components such as ObjectServers and proxy servers. The Name drop-down list becomes populated with these files. These files are typically stored in the %NCHOME%\omnibus\etc directory.
   • Select Probe to edit probe properties files. The Name drop-down list becomes populated with these files. These files are typically stored in the %NCHOME%\omnibus\probes\win32 directory.
   • Select Server to add a new properties file. These files are saved to the %NCHOME%\omnibus\ini directory. The Name drop-down list becomes populated with the text <New File>.

   Name

   Select the properties file that you want to edit from this drop-down list. This list is populated based on your selection from the Type drop-down list. The default values are:

   • nco_dbinit: Properties file to be read when database initialization starts (You run nco_dbinit to initialize the database.)
   • NCO_PROXY: Proxy server properties file (A proxy server can be used to reduce the number of probe connections to an ObjectServer.)
   • nco_confpack: Confpack properties file (nco_confpack is used for importing and exporting ObjectServer configurations.)
   • nco_config: Netcool/OMNIbus Administrator properties file
   • NCOMS: ObjectServer properties file

   Note that the .props file extension is not shown, and the property list is automatically populated with the available properties when you select a file in the Name list.

   Property list

   This matrix shows details of any properties that you have added to the properties file. You can select a property in this list if you want to change it. There is a default set of properties that are already defined for probe properties files and these cannot be removed. These properties are shown in gray in the property list.

   Name

   This field shows the name of the property that you have selected for editing from the property list. You cannot change the name of existing properties. You can also use the drop-down list to select the property to edit.

   If you want to add a new property to the selected properties file, type the name of the property here.

   If you selected Server from the Type list in order to create a new properties file, type the name of a new property here.

   Value

   If you are working with an existing, selected properties file, edit the value of the selected property, or type the value for the new property that you are adding.

   If you selected Server from the Type list in order to create a new properties file, type the value of a new property.

   Add/Update

   This button changes depending on whether you are adding or editing an existing property. If you enter a new property name and value, click Add to add the value to the property list. If you change the value of a property that is selected in the property list, click Update to update the value in the property list.

   If you selected Server from the Type list in order to create a new properties file, click Add to add the new property.

   Remove

   Click this button to remove the selected property from the properties file. The button is unavailable if you select a default property.

   Save

   Click this button to save the changes to the properties file.

   If you selected Sever from the Type list in order to create a new properties file, click Save after adding a new property to the property list. From the Save New Properties window, type a name for the properties file, but omit the .props extension; this will be automatically added for you. Click Save to save the file to the %NCHOME%\omnibus\ini directory. The properties file name is shown in the Name field that is adjacent to the Type field, and you can continue to add properties to this file. Note that you will be required to edit this file in order to add quotation marks to string values that you specify for the properties.