Designing and Managing Behavior Models - Using Other Data Sources - HP OpenView IT/Operations - Defining an OpC Mask -
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Defining an OpC Mask

This section outlines the procedure for creating an OpC mask.

 
  To define a new OpC mask:

1. From the client's Admin menu, choose OpC Mask List.

   NerveCenter displays the OpC Mask List window.

   OpC Mask List Window

   

   Click the thumbnail above to view full-sized image.

2. Select the New button.

   The OpC Mask Definition window appears.

   OpC Mask Definition Window

   

   Click the thumbnail above to view full-sized image.

3. In the Name text field, type a unique name for the OpC mask.

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   Note    The maximum length for OpC mask names is 255 characters.

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   All of the window's input areas are enabled.

4. In the Application text field, enter the application that the message relates to, or leave this field blank.

   For example, if a message concerns an unsuccessful attempt to switch users, the associated application is su.

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   Note    If you leave this field empty, your OpC mask will not look for a message with an empty Application field, but will disregard the contents of the Application field when making its comparisons. An analogous thing happens if you leave the Group, Type, Object, or Severity field blank.

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   If you're not sure what to enter in the Application field, send the message you're interested in to IT/Operations, and look at it in the Message Details window. The value you use in your mask should correspond to the contents of the Application field in this window. (You can use the same technique to obtain the values for the Group, Type, Object, and Severity fields.)

5. In the Group text field, enter the message group to which a message belongs, or leave this field blank.

   Message groups are a mechanism used to classify messages. For example, the default message group Backup can be used to identify messages generated by applications that are used for backing up data or by devices that are part of a backup system. Operators are assigned groups of messages to deal with.

   The default message groups are Backup, Database, ITO, OS, Output, Performance, Security, Job, Network, SNMP, and Misc.

6. In the Type text field, enter the message's message type, or leave this field blank.

   Message types, like message groups, are used to classify messages. However, whereas message groups are used to group messages that a single operator should work with, message types are used to label messages so that they can be easily identified by an event-correlation engine.

7. In the Object text field, enter the object that caused, detected, or was affected by the condition that the message describes, or leave this field blank.

   For example, an object can be an operator, an application, or a node.

8. In the Severity text field, enter the severity of the condition described in the IT/Operations message, or leave this field blank.

   The possible severities are Unknown, Normal, Warning, Minor, Major, and Critical.

9. Select one of the following Trigger Type radio buttons:
   • OpC Simple Trigger -- your OpC mask can determine what trigger it wants to fire solely by reading a message's application, message-group, message-type, object, and severity fields. When the OpC mask sees a message that meets its requirements, it will fire a trigger with the name specified in the Simple Trigger field.
   • OpC Trigger Function -- your OpC mask must test the contents of one or more fields before determining which trigger to fire.

     If you select the OpC Simple Trigger radio button, the Simple Trigger list box is enabled.

10. In step 9, if you selected:
    • OpC Simple Trigger -- enter in the Simple Trigger text field the name of the trigger you want the OpC mask to fire if it finds a message that matches its requirements. You can either type in the name of a new trigger or choose a trigger from the list of existing triggers.
    • OpC Trigger Function -- select the OpC Trigger Function tab, and enter a trigger function on the OpC Trigger Function page.

      This trigger function is a Perl subroutine that you can use to check the information in the message and to fire appropriate triggers. For complete information on writing trigger functions, see the section Writing an OpC Trigger Function.

11. Select the Save button at the bottom of the OpC Mask Definition window to save your mask.

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    Tip    Remember that you must enable the trap mask (by setting Enabled to On) before using it in a behavior model. While the OpC mask is disabled, it is not used in the examination of any incoming IT/O messages. This means that any behavior models that use this mask as the sole source of triggers are also disabled.

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