Configuring Operations Connector for High Availability

Please skip this section if you do not want to use OpsCx for IBM Tivoli in HA mode.

When you run third-party domain managers in high-availability (HA) mode, Operations Connector may need to support high availability to increase resilience against unplanned server outages and to achieve a zero-downtime data integration flow.

You can improve your system availability and reliability using high availability options that combine multiple servers and failover procedures. Implementing a high availability configuration means setting up your Operations Connector servers cluster so that service is continuous despite power outages, machine downtime, and heavy load. Customers who run third-party domain managers in a high-availability mode require the Operations Connector integration framework to support HA as well.

Enabling High Availability

To enable High Availability feature, at least two nodes of Operations Connector systems must be available.

Create HA Cluster with Operations Connector Installed Nodes

To create HA cluster with Operations Connector installed nodes, perform the following:

1. Log on to the OMi web interface.

2. Navigate to Administration > Setup and Maintenance > Connected Servers

3. In the Connected Servers pane, click New... and select Operations Connector.

   The Create Operations Connector Server dialog box opens.

4. In the General tab, enter the cluster name in the Display label field. The values are automatically populated in the Identifier field.

5. In the Server Properties tab, enter the fully qualified domain name of cluster nodes in the Servers field, and click Add to add it to the list of servers.

6. Click Run Test to test the connection for the selected server.

7. In the Event Drilldown tab, click Create.

   The cluster is successfully added to OMi.

8. On the Operations Connector system, run the following commands to check the connectivity with OMi:

   bbcutil -ping https://<FQDN name of OMI GW server>

   bbcutil -ping https://<FQDN name of GW server>/com.hp.ov.opc.msgr/

Deploy Management Template to HA cluster

To deploy management template to a HA cluster, perform the following:

1. Log on to the OMi web interface.
2. Navigate to Administration > Monitoring > Management Templates & Aspects.

3. In the Configuration Folders pane, expand Configuration Folders > Operations Connector > IBM- Tivoli and select IBM Tivoli Management Templates.

4. In the Management Templates & Aspects pane, select Operations Connector for Management Template for IBM Tivoli, and click Assign and Deploy Item.

   The Assign and Deploy dialog box opens.

5. Select the cluster name to which you want to assign the management template or aspect.

6. Click Next, and then click Finish.

   On successful deployment of the management template, the policies are received on the Operations Connector servers. The Operations Connector Zero Downtime component in the cluster network coordinates the activation state of the elements defined in the Operations Connector HA package policies.

IBM Tivoli Aspects consists of policies and IBM Tivoli services. For any changes in policies, modify the IBM Tivoli aspect and deploy it again.

Modifying Policy in a High Availability Environment

To modify a policy, perform the following:

1. Log on to the OMi web interface.
2. Navigate to Administration > Monitoring > Management Templates & Aspects.

3. In the Configuration Folders pane, expand Configuration Folders > Operations Connector > IBM- Tivoli and select IBM Tivoli Aspects.

4. From the Management Templates & Aspects pane, click Operations Connector Aspect for IBM Tivoli.

   The Details pane appears.

5. From the Details pane, click the Attributes tab, and double-click a policy from the list.

6. Click the Policy Templates tab. The Policy Templates list appears, which includes both predefined and custom policy templates.

7. Select a policy from the list, click Edit Item, and then click Edit Policy Template or Edit Policy Template (Raw Mode). The Policy Editor opens.

   Make the required modifications and then click Save and Close to save your changes and exit the wizard.

8. Update Management Templates and Aspects. To update all items in a Management Template on OMi 10.11, perform the following:

   1. Open the Management Templates & Aspects pane:

      On OMi 10.11, click Administration > Monitoring > Management Templates & Aspects.

   2. In the Configuration Folders pane, expand Configuration Folders > Operations Connector > IBM Tivoli and select IBM Tivoli Aspects.

   3. In the Management Templates & Aspects pane, select Operations Connector for Management Template for IBM Tivoli - High Availability, and click Update to Latest.

      The Update to Latest wizard appears.

   4. In the Options tab, click Next.

   5. In the Preview tab, a preview of the update is shown as an expanded tree view of the Aspect. Click Finish to apply the update and close the wizard.

      The assigned item is updated to the specified Aspect version.

   6. In the Configuration Folders pane, expand Configuration Folders > Operations Connector > IBM Tivoli and select IBM Tivoli Management Templates.

   7. In the Management Templates & Aspects pane, select Operations Connector for Management Template for IBM Tivoli, and click Update to Latest.

      The Update to Latest wizard appears.

   8. In the Options tab, click Next.
   9. In the Preview tab, a preview of the update is shown as an expanded tree view of the management template. Click Finish to apply the update and close the wizard.

9. To deploy the Management Template, perform the following:

   1. Log on to the OMi web interface.
   2. Navigate to Administration > Monitoring > Management Templates & Aspects.

   3. In the Configuration Folders pane, expand Configuration Folders > Operations Connector > IBM Tivoli and select IBM Tivoli Management Templates.

   4. In the Management Templates & Aspects pane, select Operations Connector for Management Template for IBM Tivoli, and click Assign and Deploy Item.

      The Assign and Deploy dialog box opens.

   5. Select the cluster name to which you want to assign the management template or aspect.

   6. Click Next, and then click Finish.

      On successful deployment of the management template, the policies are received on the Operations Connector servers.

Configuring HA for Multiple Connectors

To configure HA for multiple connectors, you must configure the ITM Domain Manager and NetCool Domain Manager.

Configuring the ITM Domain Manager

Perform the following steps on the ITM Domain Manager to configure HA for multiple connectors.

1. Open the Command Prompt (command shell).

2. Log on to the ITM Domain Manager by running the following command:

tacmd login {-s|--server} {[PROTOCOL://]HOST[:PORT]}{-u|--username}USERNAME{-p|--password}PASSWORD]

For example, tacmd login -s iwfvm08194.hpeswlab.net:3661 -u sysadmin -p 1iso*help

3. Run the following command to add a new event destination.

tacmd createEventDest{-i|--id| –serverID} ID [{-p|--property|--properties} NAME=VALUE [{-f|--force }] DEFAULT=Y/N

For example, tacmd createeventdest -i 2 -p NAME=DEST2 HOST1=btpvm616.hpeswlab.net:5529 DEFAULT=Y

After you add the servers, make a note of hostname added corresponding to each ID. You can set the DEFAULT value to Y only up to five connectors.

4. Run the following command to view the list of added event destinations.

   tacmd listEventDest

5. Run the following command to delete a host:

tacmd deleteEventDest -i

where i is the ID of the connection

6. Open the Manage Tivoli Enterprise Monitoring Services (MTEMS) UI, right-click on the Tivoli Enterprise Monitoring Server and click on Recycle. This will apply the newly made configuration changes.

Configuring the Netcool Domain Manager

Perform the following steps on the Netcool Domain Manager to configure HA for multiple connectors.

1. Navigate to %OMNIHOME%/gates/tivoli_eif.

2. Open the tivoli_eif_config file in a text editor.
3. Add the additional transport lists for all additional connectors as shown in the below example:

Add the appropriate hostnames for your Operations Connector systems along with the port numbers as configured in the event_configuration.conf file for ci_ServerLocation and ci_Port fields respectively.

4. Save the file.

5. Restart the Netcool/Omnibus EIF Gateway service for the changes to take effect.