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HPjmeter 4.1 User's Guide

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  HPjmeter 4.1 User's Guide > Chapter 7 Using the Console   

Using the Main Window Functions

The console, which is the main control area, contains a data pane, a tool bar, and menus. The console is where monitoring is initiated and controlled and where data files of all types can be opened for display in visualizers (standalone or within a tabbed viewer). See Using Visualizer Functions for the descriptions of how visualizers behave and the options they provide for manipulating the data view.

Figure 7-1 The Main Console Window

The Main Console Window

Data Representation

The console main window pane displays session information in a tree format.

Figure 7-2 Main Pane with Several File Types Loaded and an Open Session

Main Pane with Several File Types Loaded and an Open Session

When monitoring a running application, double-click on a JVM entry to open a session. You can display multiple node agents and sessions in the data tree.

When analyzing collected data, Open a saved file, or click on the representation that appears in the console pane (in this case a cached monitoring session). You can load multiple data sets into the console for easy access.

When viewing activity in the JMX server, double-click on the Summary to see the data collection options used for this session, or while monitoring, change management bean attributes and observe resulting changes in the data.

To quickly access alert visualizers or the Alert Controller, double-click on the alert entries in the tree.

Status messages appear briefly in this area.

To view console memory usage, mouse over the bar to see current percentage use of memory allocated to the console.

Icons and Their Meaning

Icons and descriptions that appear in the console main window represent:

Node Agent

A node agent is a top-level entry in the data tree. It represents a connection to a node agent on a managed node.

Table 7-1 Node Agent Connection Status Icons

Connected node agent
The node agent is connected to a server and is running.
Securely connected node
agent
The node agent is connected and running through a Secure Shell (SSH) tunnel.
JMX server detected
A JMX server is detected and HPjmeter is collecting data from it.
Icon for pending node
agent
The connection is waiting for a response from the node agent. If this state exists for a long time, verify that you specified the correct node name and port number.
Icon for node agent alert
The connection with the node agent is broken or cannot be established. Make sure that the node agent is running on the specified host and double-click on the node agent to re-establish the connection.
Icon for unconnected
node agent
The connection with the node agent is broken or cannot be established. Make sure that the node agent is running on the specified host and double-click on the node agent to re-establish the connection.

 

JVM Agent

Java Virtual Machine (JVM) entries represent JVM agent-monitored JVMs on the host represented by the corresponding node agent. The entry displays the corresponding process ID, the application name, and its running time. The application is not monitored by HPjmeter. To open a monitoring session with the application, double-click on the JVM entry.

Table 7-2 JVM Agent Connection Icons

JVM with HPjmeter JVM
agent loaded icon
A running JVM is identified, and has loaded the HPjmeter JVM agent; ready to open session connection.
JVM without HPjmeter
JVM agent loaded icon
A running JVM is identified, but has not yet loaded the HPjmeter JVM agent; ready to connect dynamically and open session.
Session unavailable icon
The JVM agent is not ready to open a session. Another console has already opened a session with it, the JVM agent is running in batch mode, or the JVM agent is incompatible.
JVM agent unresponsive
icon
The JVM agent is unresponsive, that is, the node agent lost contact with it. The JVM might be down, or it might be overloaded. Verify that the JVM is running and wait until it becomes responsive again before opening a monitoring session with it.

 

Open and Cached Sessions

Session entries represent applications monitored by HPjmeter on the system. Many sessions can exist for each node agent. Session entries display the system name and the port number of the node agent connection if the connection is nonstandard. 

An entry displays a process ID for the connection, the name of the application being run and state information for the connection.

An entry marked Cached Application Data is a cached session. The data in a cached session is available for analysis, but it is no longer connected to a running JVM and is no longer collecting additional data. A cached session is created when a JVM in session terminates on its own, or when you close an active session.

Table 7-3 Session State Icons

Session active icon icon
The session is running and working correctly, or the session is closed but the data for the session is available for analysis.
Application warning icon
The session is malfunctioning. Close the session and try to reopen it.
Application stopped icon
The session is unresponsive, that is, the node agent lost contact with it. The JVM might be down, or it might be overloaded.

 

Time Slice Entries

Time slice entries represent the life span of the current monitoring session for an application. You can view data throughout the life span of a time slice. 

Table 7-4 Time Slice Icons

Time slice life span
This entry displays the life span of the time slice. Click to activate the Monitor metric visualizers.
Warning icon
Alert entries represent current alerts. Double-click to open the visualizer that displays the data that triggered the alert. (To see the alert history, check the alert log file accessible from the Alert Controller.)

 

You cannot store more than one time slice in the hierarchy below a JVM session. Closed sessions accumulate at the bottom of the data tree.

Saving Data

 

Table 7-5 Saved Data Icon

Saved data
The data represented has been saved from a previous run of the application or from a monitoring session. Metric and alert information are available, but interactions that require connection to the live node agent are not.

 

A saved data file will appear as the top-level entry in the data tree.

Data from monitoring a session is saved by clicking an open session, which activates the Save as option on the File menu and the Save to Snapshot File button.

Data from a session is saved by using the appropriate options on the command line when you start your application.

Console Tool Bar Buttons

Open File Open File

Select a previously saved monitor batch file, a snapshot file, or a profile data file to view.

After opening a saved file, you can review data using the menu metrics appropriate for the data file type.

Connect to Server Connect to Server

Launches the Connect To Server dialog so that you can specify the name of the host and optional port of the target that you want to monitor. You must specify a port number if the node agent was started on a nonstandard port. See Connect to the Node Agent from the Console for an example of the Connect to Server dialog box. You can also refer to Connecting to the HPjmeter Node Agent.

Save to snapshot file Save to Snapshot File

Allows you to save monitoring data from a live or cached session to a snapshot file. You can then analyze the session data later or send the data file to others for further analysis.

Launch session preferences window Open Session Preferences

Launches the Session Preferences window so that you can change settings at the beginning of, or during (requires Java 6), a monitoring session. To activate the Session Preferences icon, first select an Open Session counter row in the console data tree.

Launch alert controller Open Alert Controller

Launches the Alert Controller so that you can change thresholds and time sustained for available alert settings. You can also set options for e-mail notification when alerts occur. To activate the Alert Controller icon, first select an Alerts counter row or click a specific alert listed in the console data tree.

Close file or connection Close

Closes a selected monitoring session, deletes a connection with a selected node agent, or removes a selected saved data file entry from the data tree.

Console Menu Choices

The console menu bar contains these choices:

  • File -- Contains selections corresponding to the buttons in the tool bar, plus Exit the HPjmeter application.

  • Edit -- Contains these commands:

    • Look and Feel Preferences

      Graphical user interface look-and-feel selections

    • Window Preferences

      • Remember Last Input File Directory on Exit

        Click the menu item to toggle whether HPjmeter remembers the directory of the last input file upon exit/restart of the console window. With this menu item enabled, when you restart the console and do an Open File, it looks in the directory where it looked the last time. With this menu item disabled, the console looks in the current directory. This menu selection is enabled by default.

      • Remember Main Window Location

        Click the menu item to toggle whether HPjmeter places the console window in the same location when you restart.

      • Cascade Metric Windows

        Click the menu item to have HPjmeter open new metric windows position so you can see the windows beneath the newly opened window.

      • Show Console Guide

        The Console Guide is enabled by default and appears in a pane below the main console data pane. Use this menu selection to hide or reveal the guide pane.

      • Confirm Save When Closing the Main Window

        On exiting, HPjmeter will check that all new data collections or sessions have been saved. If they have not been saved, HPjmeter will provide an opportunity to save cached data. This selection is on by default.

    • Standard Preferences

      Allows you to import, export, delete, or reset preference settings.

      • Import Preferences from File

        You can import HPjmeter_preferences.xml to populate the preference data of a new installation by placing this file in your home directory and selecting this choice.

      • Export Preferences to File

        You can save the contents of the backing store by exporting it to a file named HPjmeter_preferences.xml in your home directory.

      • Delete Preference Backing Store

        Use this selection to delete the contents of the backing store. The backing store automatically collects the settings that you choose each time you run HPjmeter.

      • Reset Default Color Preferences

        Resets all color changes made to visualizer displays back to the default settings.

  • Monitor — Contains these categorical submenus and their associated monitoring metrics:

  • Help — Provides links to the HPjmeter User's Guide, getting started material, and demonstration instructions.

The Monitor Menu

The Monitor menu provides a summary of JVM information plus four submenus that give access to the lists of specific available metrics. When you select a time slice (live or from a saved file), the appropriate metrics for the Monitor menu become active so you can display the session data in standalone visualizers. For details about specific monitoring metrics, see Using Monitoring Displays.

Menus for selecting general profile data metrics are accessible within the profiling data viewer. See Using Profile Displays.

NOTE: Some metrics may appear grayed out when you select a menu category. These metrics may have been disabled in the session preferences or by specifying a JVM agent option. To re-enable these metrics, you may need to close the current session and start a new session, enabling the desired metrics in the Session Preferences window; or restart the application with different JVM options; or both.

See Setting Monitoring Session Preferences .

Console Guide

To aid in starting your use of HPjmeter, the console can display a beginning guide containing hints for getting started. The guide provides hints appropriate to the object highlighted in the main console pane.

Figure 7-3 Console Guide Location and First Screen

console guide location and first
screen

To enable or disable the console guide, click Edit-> Window Preferences and toggle to the desired option.

Status Bar

The Status Bar in the lower bottom and right corner of the console provides standard notifications including:

  • status and error messages

  • warning icon when an alert is presentWarning icon

  • memory use by the console (mousing over the horizontal bar reveals percent memory use of total allocated MB)