Round Robin Database (RRD) is an Open Source, high-performance data logging system for time-series data. Many IT departments use RRD to log time-stamped information concerning the status of enterprise applications. The resulting data is often used to debug, determine alert conditions, and analyze performance management and capacity planning.
This section includes:
§ “Round Robin Database (RRD) Requirements and Setup” on page 614
§ “Attach to RRD Data” on page 614
§ “Application Options - Round Robin Database” on page 618
§ “RTView Deployment - RRD” on page 619
§ “Round Robin Database Demos” on page 619
§ “RRD Data Source Command Line Options” on page 621
Round Robin Database (RRD) Requirements and Setup
In addition to basic “System Requirements”, the RRD data source requires that you have RRDTool and a Round Robin Database installed. RRDTool is an open source application that you can download from http://oss.oetiker.ch/rrdtool. RTView supports RRDTool on Windows and Linux. See the README_sysreq.txt file in your installation’s home directory for the current version(s) supported.
In the Display Viewer Applet, attachments to RRD data require the use of the Data Server.
Note: The Round Robin Database data source may not be licensed in your RTView installation.
The Attach to RRD Data dialog, which can be accessed from the Object Properties window, is used to construct an RRDTool command to query your Round Robin Database. An object will receive continuous updates once it has been attached to your database.
When an object property is attached to data, the Property Name and Value in the Object Properties window will be displayed in green. This indicates that editing this value from the Object Properties window is no longer possible. To remove the data attachment and resume editing capabilities in the Object Properties window, right-click on the Property Name and select Detach from Data. You will recognize that an object property has been detached from the database when the Property Name and Value are no longer green.
Right-click on the Property Name from the Object Properties window and select Attach to Data>RRD to display the Attach to RRD Data dialog. The Attach to RRD Data dialog provides drop down menus and an optional filter field that allow you to specify information that will be used to create a query for your RRDTool in the following format:
rrdtool xport --start <Start Time> --end <End Time> <RRD Definition>
To specify a step, add this as a command line argument in the RRDTool Executable Name in the Application Options tab. See “Application Options - Round Robin Database” for more information.
Field Name |
Description |
RRD Definition |
An RRDTool definition that returns one or more columns. These columns can either be values from the database or calculated values. Refer to the rrdxport section of the RRDTool documentation for information on syntax. The definition text is not validated. See the rrdcreate section of the RRDTool documentation for information on creating data in your Round Robin Database. |
Query Mode |
Specifies the type of data to be retrieved. Select one of the three query options: Note: In all query modes, if a date is left blank the current date is used. For example, if the end date is left blank in a Historical Data query, data will be returned from the start date to the present. Because the query is for historical data only, the data is retrieved only once. To cause the data to update as new values are added, specify a Historical and Current Data query mode instead. Historical Data -- Only historical data is returned, from the start date to the end date. Historical and Current Data -- Historical data from the start date to the present is returned, and new data is returned as it is added to the database. The end date is ignored for this query mode. Current Data -- The most current value for the point is returned from the Round Robin database. New values are returned as data is added to the database. Both the start and end dates are ignored for this query mode. |
Start Time |
Enter the start time for the query. Use either a formatted time string or a Unix standard time argument in seconds. The Unix standard time argument is the number of seconds since midnight January 1, 1970. |
End Time |
Enter the end time for the query. Use either a formatted time string or a Unix standard time argument in seconds. The Unix standard time argument is the number of seconds since midnight January 1, 1970. |
Column(s) |
Select which column(s) to display. |
Filter |
Check box to indicate whether or not to filter RRD data. See “Row Filtering” for more information. |
Filter Column |
Name of the column to use as a filter. Multiple column names should be entered as a semicolon (;) delimited list (i.e. col1;col2;col 3). If your column name contains a space or a semicolon, then the entire name must be enclosed in single quotes. |
Filter Value |
Value that the Filter Column must equal. Multiple filter values should be entered as a nested list, where values for a given column are separated by commas within a semicolon (;) delimited list (i.e. val1,val2;val3,val4;val5,val6). If your filter value contains a space or a semicolon, then the entire value must be enclosed in single quotes. When * is entered as a filter field value, data for all values in the specified filter column will be used to update the object property. When "*" is entered, only the literal comparative value will be used. These are only allowed for objects which display tabular data. |
Data Server |
Select to read data through your configured Data Server and not directly from the RRD data source. Default - Select the default Data Server you configured in Application Options>“Data Server Tab”. None - Bypass data being redirected through the specified data server(s) for this attachment and instead attach directly to the data source. Named Data Servers - Select a Named Data Server that you configured in Application Options>“Data Server Tab”. Multi-Server Attachment - To configure multiple data servers, enter a semicolon (;) delimited list containing two or more Named Data Servers (e.g. ds101;ds102). Each name specified must correspond with a Named Data Server that you configured in Application Options>“Data Server Tab”. It is also possible to specify __default and __none (e.g. __default;ds101;ds102). Note: The values __default and __none begin with two underscore characters. Alternatively, a value of * can be entered to specify all data servers, including __default and __none. When multiple data servers are specified, the data attachment will be directed to each data server in the list. For tabular data attachments, a column named DataServerName will be added as the first column of the table and contain the name of the server from which the data was received. |
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A multi-server attachment will receive data independently from each of the servers it specifies, so in most cases it will be necessary to combine the tables received into a single table. This can be accomplished in two ways: 1. The multi-server attachment can be applied to a local cache that has the DataServerName column specified as an index column. The current table of that cache will contain the combination of the tables received from all servers. Note: It may also be necessary to configure cache row expiration settings to remove defunct rows. 2. The multi-server attachment can be applied as the Table argument of the RTView function named Combine Multi-Server Tables. |
Substitutions allow you to build open-ended displays in which data attachments depend on values defined at the time the display is run. For example generic values, such as $start and $end, are used instead of specific values. Later when the display is running, these generic values are defined by the actual values, such as January 1, 2007. In this way, a single display can be reused to show data from a number of different queries. For more information on creating displays using substitution values, see “Substitutions”.
From the Attach to RRD Data dialog, you can specify which table columns to display and in what order they will appear. In order to populate the listing of available columns, you must first select a valid database and table.
To bring up the Select Columns dialog, click on the ellipsis button in the Column(s) field (or right-click in the Column(s) field and click on Select Columns). The dialog should contain a list of Available Columns that you can add to your table.
To add a column, select an item from the Available Columns list and click on the Add button. If the item you require is not listed, type your selection into the Enter Column Name field. Click the Remove button to delete an item previously added to the Selected Columns list. You can control the order of columns in a table by arranging the items in the Selected Columns list with the Move Up and Move Down buttons.
Validation colors indicate whether selected columns are valid. However, if even one column selected is invalid the Column(s) field in the Attach to RRD Data dialog will register as an invalid entry.
Note: Invalid columns will not update.
The following describes the Attach to RRD Data dialog commands:
Command |
Description |
OK |
Applies values and closes the dialog. |
Apply |
Applies values without closing the dialog. |
Reset |
Resets all fields to last values applied. |
Clear |
Clears all fields. Detaches object from database (once Apply or OK is selected). |
Cancel |
Closes the dialog with last values applied. |
Application Options - Round Robin Database
Select Tools>Options in the Display Builder to access the Application Options dialog.
Options specified in the RRD Options tab can be saved in an initialization file (RRDOPTIONS.ini). On startup, the initialization file is read by the Display Builder, Display Viewer, Display Server, Data Server and Historian to set initial values. If no directory has been specified for your initialization files and RRDOPTIONS.ini is not found in the directory where you started the application, then RTView will search under lib in your installation directory. See “RTV_JAVAOPTS” for more information.
Note: Options specified using command line arguments will override values set in initialization files. See “RRD Data Source Command Line Options” for more information.
Field Name |
Description |
Path to RRDTool Directory |
The path to the directory containing the RRDTool executable. If not specified, c:\rrdtool will be used on windows and /usr/bin/rrdtool will be used on Unix. |
RRDTool Executable Name |
The name of the RRDTool executable. This allows the use of customized and renamed RRDTool executables. In addition to specifying the executable name, RRDTool command line options can also be specified. If not specified, rrdtool xport --step 300 will be used. |
This section contains details about the deployment process that are specific to your data source. Please go to the Deployment section of this documentation for instructions on how to implement your RTView deployment option. Return to this page whenever you are instructed to refer to deployment information that is specific to your data source.
The RRD data source has additional System Requirements and Setup. See “Round Robin Database (RRD) Requirements and Setup” for more information.
Data Source Configuration File
RTView saves general application settings as well as data source configuration options in initialization files that are read at startup. If no directory has been specified for your initialization files and files are not found in the directory where you started the application, then RTView will search under lib in your installation directory. See “Application Options”, “Application Options - Round Robin Database”, and “RTV_JAVAOPTS” for more information.
Include the following initialization file when you deploy RTView with this data source:
File Name |
Description |
RRDOPTIONS.ini |
Contains data source options for RRD. |
Note: Options specified using command line and applet parameters override values set in these initialization files.
Rich Client Browser Deployment Setup for Direct Data Connection
This deployment is not supported by your data source. Use the Data Server to supply data to displays with RRD data attachments. See “Rich Client Browser with Served Data” for more information.
Except where noted, all demos can be run in three ways, as an application, or via rich or thin client in a browser.
Start the Demo Server
Rich Client and Thin Client Demos only.
There are rich and thin client demos already installed on the “RTView Demo Server”.
In an initialized command window (see “Initializing a Command Prompt or Terminal Window”):
Type run_startup_demoserver
The Data Source Demo is designed to illustrate each data source.
1. Setup the Sample Database:
Round Robin Databases are platform specific, so a sample database is provided for Windows and Linux i386 only. See the Round Robin Database documentation for information on how to port this database to another platform. On Windows, rename demos\dstutorial\network_win.rrd to network.rrd. On Linux i386, renamed demos/dstutorial/network_rhel5.rrd to network.rrd.
2. Run Demos - Application, Rich Client Browser, or Thin Client Browser
Application Demo
1. In an initialized command window (see “Initializing a Command Prompt or Terminal Window”), go to the demos/dstutorial directory.
2. To view the demo, type:
run_viewer
3. To edit the demo, type:
run_builder
Rich Client Browser Demo
“Start the Demo Server” if it is not running.
1. In an initialized command window (see “Initializing a Command Prompt or Terminal Window”), go to the demos/dstutorial directory.
2. Start the Data Server by typing:
run_dataserver -socket
3. In the Data Server dialog, select:
Start Serving Data
4. Open a browser and navigate to http://localhost:8068/dstutorial_applet.
Thin Client Browser Demo
“Start the Demo Server” if it is not running.
1. In an initialized command window (see “Initializing a Command Prompt or Terminal Window”), go to the demos/dstutorial directory.
2. Start the Display Server by typing:
run_displayserver
3. Open a browser and navigate to http://localhost:8068/dstutorial.
RRD Data Source Command Line Options
In addition to General Options, the following command line arguments are enabled with the RRD data source when you run RTView applications from a Windows Command Prompt or UNIX terminal window.
Note: If a command line argument contains a space or a semicolon, then the entire argument must be enclosed in quotes (e.g.: "-sub:$data:my Data").
Name |
Description |
-RRDds.rsh:(host) |
Specify a Windows machine (host) on which to run the RRD data source remotely from Unix. Note: The host must have RRDTool installed and an rshd running. Example: -RRDds.rsh:myrrdserver |