Round Robin Database Data Source

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

System Requirements

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.

Attach to RRD Data

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.

Substitutions

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”.

Select Table Columns

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:

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.

RTView Deployment - RRD

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.

System Requirements and Setup

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:

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.

Round Robin Database Demos

Except where noted, all demos can be run in three ways, as an application, or via rich or thin client in a browser.

Before You Begin

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 

Data Source Demo

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").