Ask the Expert: EMC M&R GUI and Smarts SolutionPack Installation and Configuration

Hi,

This Ask the Expert discussion is now open for questions. We look forward to a lively and interactive discussion.

To get things started, here is a KB article related to this topic:

EMC M&R: How to configure Smarts SolutionPack; What is the workflow for setting up EMC M&R Smarts SolutionPack?

Kind Regards,

Paul

Hello,

I would like to have more information about how the M&R GUI gets live notifications from SAM

That's a great question.  

Here's a general explanation as to how this happens.   The EMC M&R event processor subscribes to event notifications from the SAM server using the web interface or EDAA.   These events are processed by the EMC M&R event processor where they are placed either in the MySQL DB or the Property Store.  

The GUI will retrieve the events from these data sources and display them on the screen.  You can filter events by device, device type, location, etc. 

Events can be modified using EMC M&R filters like the Property Tagging Filter to add additional information such as customer, etc. 

Are you having a specific issue with the notifications or do have additional questions on manipulation of the notifications? 

I was looking at that exact report with a customer the other day.   From what I can see on that report, it does not get data from the Smarts event database, so it may not be applicable to Smarts network devices, but other network devices in M&R (i.e. SAN / Fiber switches).  

Let me check into that a bit and get back to you on that one.

With respect to the 2nd part of your question, could you be more specific in what you are looking for?   Are you looking for the specifics within the rabbitmq on how subscriptions are handled?

Hello,

Thank you for the information. Yes, I am having issues with the live notifications. The report All>>Operations>>Network>>Notifications does not display any notification  while I can see events in the report All>>Report Library>>EMC Smarts>>Overview>>All Events.

Also, I would like to know how the data flow (live notifications) from the presentation SAM to the M&R GUI taking into account rabbitmq.

Thanks.

Jean-Marc.

Here is another KB article worth a read:

EMC M&R: How to automate the Update of EMC M&R SolutionPacks? How do we push new SolutionPacks to remote servers in a multi-server environment?

Salut Jean-Marc,

The network dashboard actually gets that data from the Presentation SAM.

The data flow is basically EMC M&R UI <-> Tomcat <-> EDAA (EMC Data Access API) <-> Rabbit MQ (Notification Exchange) <-> SAM pres.

Have you reviewed the Workflow for setting up SAM section in How To Set Up SAM, EMC® M&R, and Smarts® SolutionPack

A few other useful docs that are available on support.emc.com

!Installation Guide for SAM, IP, ESM, MPLS, VoIP, and NPM Managers P/N 302-001-042

EMC® Smarts® Server Manager User and Configuration Guide P/N 302-001-052

Cordialement / Regards,

Isaka

KB article on the licensing details for EMC M&R and Solution Packs:

EMC M&R/ViPR SRM: How to install permanent licensing; How to add a new license file for a particular SolutionPack; How to delete a license already added to EMC M&R; How to verify expiration status of licenses already added to EMC M&R platform

Hello Isaka,

Thank you for your answer. Yes I have reviewed the workflow for setting up SAM section in How to set up SAM, M&R and solutionpack. There could be a problem in my setup then. I checked the RabbitMQ management console and I did not see lots of messages.

Thank you.

Jean-Marc.

Hello,

I would like to know if EMC M&R retrieves the audit logs of the SAM notifications and stores them in the DATASTORE or MySQL DB. If not, is it possible to do it and if so how can one go about doing it?

Thank you.

Jean-Marc.

Hi Jean-Marc,

Can you please step through the troubleshoot guide attached for the EMC M&R and Smarts Solution Pack?

All parts of the deployment are covered, including elasticsearch, Tomcat, RabbitMQ and the EDAA.

Please let me know if you require any further help after reviewing this document.

Thanks,

Kind Regards,

Paul O'Rourke

Hi Jean-Marc,

The SAM Notifications can be stored in the M&R databases for historical reporting as per the Events block of the Smarts SolutionPack. The currently active notifications get stored in the events_live table in MySQL. The inactive (cleared) events then get stored in the events_archive table which can be in either the Datastore or in MySQL.

The audit logs themeselves are not retrieved by EMC M&R, they remain in the Smarts SAM installation.

I hope this clarifies your understanding.

Regards,

Hugh

Hello Hugh,

Thank you for your answer. Actually, we currently have the Watch4net Datastore solution deployed in our environment. We bought that solution before Watch4net was part of EMC. I know how it works, but I was hoping that M&R that integrates that solution would go a little bit further than what we currently have. Our NOC uses the audit logs extensively and we are looking for ways (well good ones) to store those audit logs so the historical notifications could be bound easily to those logs.

Thank you.

Jean-Marc.

Hello,

My question is also about Smarts notifications and M&R.

How M&R works when there are lots notifications to show? (more than 10.000)

Thanks

Gabriel

Hi Gabriel,

The notification will be presented over multiple pages, the UI also allows to you to sort and filter notification in order to reduce the number elements being displayed.

Regards,

Isaka