Tivoli Netcool Supports

Guide to
IBM CORBA Probes
by
Jim Hutchinson
Document release: 3.1
 Supports Guide to IBM CORBA probes

Table of Contents
1Introduction...................................................................................................................................3
1.1Overview......................................................................................................................................3
1.2Extra debugging..........................................................................................................................4
1.2.1CORBA Framework probe........................................................................................................4
1.2.2Visibroker probe.......................................................................................................................4
1.3UNIX file overview.......................................................................................................................5
1.4Connection Overview..................................................................................................................6
1.5Connection Example...................................................................................................................7
2Patch considerations...................................................................................................................8
2.1Java runtime environment...........................................................................................................8
2.2Non-native probe.........................................................................................................................9
2.3CORBA Framework...................................................................................................................10
2.3.1dumpns tool............................................................................................................................10
2.4SDK Java...................................................................................................................................10
3Common Properties...................................................................................................................11
3.1Non-Native Probe......................................................................................................................11
3.1.1FlushBufferInterval.................................................................................................................11
3.1.2NetworkTimeout Property.......................................................................................................11
3.2Probe framework.......................................................................................................................12
3.2.1Command port properties.......................................................................................................12
3.2.2Recovering lost connections...................................................................................................12
3.2.3Event Synchronisation............................................................................................................12
3.2.4Internal event queue...............................................................................................................12
3.3Additional probe specific properties..........................................................................................13
3.3.1Resynchronisation properties.................................................................................................13
3.3.2Stream capture properties......................................................................................................13
4IOR (Interoperable Object Reference) files..............................................................................14
4.1IOR Parser Tool.........................................................................................................................14
5Examples.....................................................................................................................................15
5.1Huawei T2000 probe.................................................................................................................15
5.1.1IOR files..................................................................................................................................15
5.1.2Host, Port, Object ...............................................................................................................15
5.2Generic TMF814 Probe.............................................................................................................16
5.2.1Basic settings.........................................................................................................................16
5.2.2IOR file properties...................................................................................................................16
5.2.3Host, Port, Object properties..................................................................................................16
5.2.4The ReleaseTMF814 property................................................................................................17
5.2.5Successful Connection...........................................................................................................17
5.2.6Types of log file messages:....................................................................................................18
5.3Huawei U2000 CORBA probe...................................................................................................19
5.4The Nokia NetAct v6 probe.......................................................................................................20
5.5Ericsson OSS-RC probe............................................................................................................21
5.5.1Default object naming.............................................................................................................21
5.5.2Typical settings.......................................................................................................................22
6Additional Logging.....................................................................................................................23
6.1IBM CORBA debug logging.......................................................................................................23
6.2Non-native debug logging..........................................................................................................23
6.3SSL debug logging....................................................................................................................23
6.4CLASSPATH debugging...........................................................................................................23
7The HTTP Command Line Interface..........................................................................................24

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7.1Common Commands.................................................................................................................24
8Probe port considerations.........................................................................................................25
8.1Checking ports...........................................................................................................................26
8.1.1Netstat....................................................................................................................................26
8.1.2Telnet......................................................................................................................................26
9Property considerations............................................................................................................27
9.1Best Practice Property settings.................................................................................................27
9.2Other Property settings..............................................................................................................27

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1 Introduction
1.1 Overview
The IBM CORBA probes have gone through a few transitions since Micromuse was acquired by IBM. Initially the
probes use the Visibroker CORBA broker, and the IBM CORBA broker. The latest CORBA probes use the JACORB
CORBA framework.

To determine if a probe uses CORBA review the Summary section of the probes manual and confirm the
connection method is defined as CORBA:-

Connection Method : CORBA

To determine which of the CORBA packages the probe uses, check the supporting packages or the jar files in the
probes CLASSPATH.

IBM CORBA probes use these related packages:

 IBM Object Request Broker (IBM ORB, supplied with Netcool/OMNIbus)
 probe-corba-framework
 probe-sdk-java

Visibroker CORBA probes uses the Visibroker JAR files in the probes CLASSPATH:
• vbjorb.jar
• vbsec.jar

Examples of the new CORBA framework probes:

• nco_p_generic_3gpp
• nco_p_generic_tmf814
• nco_p_huawei_u2000_3gpp_corba
• nco_p_huawei_u2000_corba

Examples of the old CORBA probes are:

• nco_p_alcatel_5620_sam_3gpp_v8
• nco_p_cisco_ctm_corba_v9
• nco_p_alcatel_wnms
• nco_p_lucent_snms
• nco_p_huawei_M2000_corba
• nco_p_huawei_N2000_corba
• nco_p_huawei_T2000_corba
• nco_p_nokia_netact_3gpp_v6
• nco_p_siemens_tnms_TMF814
• nco_p_zte_e300
• nco_p_zte_corba_wcdma
• nco_p_zten31_fixednms_corba
• nco_p_spectrum_corba_v9
• nco_p_eci_lightsoft_tmf814
• nco_p_siemens_corba_v2

Currently only the Spectrum probe uses Visisbroker, whose RTU user license comes from the Spectrum server.

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1.2 Extra debugging

With the new versions of the non-native probe script, it is possible to add debug lines to the probes environment
script so that the probes CLASSPATH is echoed to standard output, which allows the CORBA type to be
determined.
e.g.
cd $NCHOME/omnibus/probes/java
vi nco_p_generic_tmf814.env

echo "*** DEBUGGING ***"

echo "FILE : " `basename $0`
echo "CLASSPATH= " $CLASSPATH
echo $CLASSPATH | awk -F\: '{for(i=1;i<=NF;i++)print $i}' | while read jarfile
do
echo $jarfile
done
echo "*** DEBUGGING ***"
#EOF

1.2.1 CORBA Framework probe

*** DEBUGGING ***
FILE : nco_p_generic_3gpp
/opt/tivoli/netcool/omnibus/probes/java/corba/jacorb-3.3/lib/jacorb.jar
/opt/tivoli/netcool/omnibus/probes/java/corba/jacorb-3.3/lib/slf4j-api-1.6.4.jar
/opt/tivoli/netcool/omnibus/probes/java/corba/jacorb-3.3/lib/slf4j-jdk14-1.6.4.jar
/opt/tivoli/netcool/omnibus/probes/java/corba/corba_v2.0.jar
/opt/tivoli/netcool/omnibus/probes/java/corba/CorbaFrameworkBase.jar
/opt/tivoli/netcool/omnibus/probes/java/corba/CorbaFramework3GPP.jar
*** DEBUGGING ***

1.2.2 Visibroker probe

*** DEBUGGING ***
FILE : nco_p_ca_spectrum_corba
/opt//tivoli/netcool/omnibus/probes/java/nco_p_ca_spectrum_corba/vbsec.jar
/opt//tivoli/netcool/omnibus/probes/java/nco_p_ca_spectrum_corba/vbjorb.jar
/opt//tivoli/netcool/omnibus/probes/java/nco_p_ca_spectrum_corba/vbhelpherxx.jar
/opt//tivoli/netcool/omnibus/probes/java/nco_p_ca_spectrum_corba/utilxx.jar
/opt//tivoli/netcool/omnibus/probes/java/nco_p_ca_spectrum_corba/utilsrvxx.jar
/opt//tivoli/netcool/omnibus/probes/java/nco_p_ca_spectrum_corba/utilnetxx.jar
/opt//tivoli/netcool/omnibus/probes/java/nco_p_ca_spectrum_corba/utilappxx.jar
/opt//tivoli/netcool/omnibus/probes/java/nco_p_ca_spectrum_corba/ssortbutilxx.jar
/opt//tivoli/netcool/omnibus/probes/java/nco_p_ca_spectrum_corba/ssorbxx.jar
/opt//tivoli/netcool/omnibus/probes/java/nco_p_ca_spectrum_corba/sanct6.jar
/opt//tivoli/netcool/omnibus/probes/java/nco_p_ca_spectrum_corba/lm.jar
/opt//tivoli/netcool/omnibus/probes/java/nco_p_ca_spectrum_corba/globalxx.jar
/opt//tivoli/netcool/omnibus/probes/java/nco_p_ca_spectrum_corba/cryptoJFIPS.jar
/opt//tivoli/netcool/omnibus/java/jars/jconn3.jar
/opt//tivoli/netcool/omnibus/probes/java/CommandPort.jar
*** DEBUGGING ***

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1.3 UNIX file overview

The IBM CORBA probes install a link to the generic non-native probe patch. The non-native probe handles the
connection to the Object Server and initiates the correct PROGRAM JAR file, used to connect to the specific
Element Management System (ems).

e.g.

nco_p_huawei_M2000_corba -> nco_jprobe

Not all probes that use the Non-native probe patch are IBM CORBA probes, but all IBM CORBA probes use the
Non-native probe patch.

JAR files used by the Huawei M2000 probe:

JAR file Product

nco_p_huawei_M2000_corba.jar Probe specific patch
NSProbe.jar Non-native probe patch
IntegrationsSupport.jar IBM CORBA Integrations Support
jlog.jar Java logging

JAR files used by the Generic TMF814 probe [IBM CORBA probe]:

JAR file Product

nco_p_generic_tmf814.jar Probe specific patch
ProbeServices.jar Non-native probe additional features
NSHeadServices.jar Non-native probe ObjectServer features
framework.jar Non-native probe base
TestServices.jar Service availability support
JSON4J_Apache.jar Apache JSON support
corba_v2.0.jar Version specific CORBA framework
CorbaFrameworkBase.jar CORBA framework base
CorbaFrameworkTMF814.jar TMF814 CORBA framework

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1.4 Connection Overview

The IBM CORBA probes use the CORBA interface to collect data from various Element Management Systems
(ems). The connection methods are common, using host, port, object connections, however the design of each
Element Management Systems varies.

IOR files can be used to define the host, port, object to be connected to. The IOR files are provided by the Element
Management System. The port numbers used by the ems may be dynamic, and it is important to ensure that the
customer is aware of this, especially if the CORBA probe is installed remote from the ems.

Example IOR string [blanked to preserve security]:

IOR:000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000000000

This string defines the type of service, as well as the host, port and object;

e.g.
Name: com/ericsson/nms/cif/service/NMSNAConsumer
Type: IDL:3gppsa5.org/NotificationIRPSystem/NotificationIRPOperations:1.0
Host: 192.168.226.54
Port: 31488

Most probes allow IOR or host/port/object name definition in the probes properties files. These properties are
mutually exclusive.

The connection method at this level is over TCP/IP using the IBM CORBA software to create the probes ORB
(Object Requesting Broker).

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1.5 Connection Example

The IBM CORBA probes are varied and it is not possible to provide a definitive example for all probes. The diagram
below illustrates the possible number of connections for the current probe portfolio and how the connection from the
IBM CORBA probe to the Element Management System is tiered through a number of components.

When firewalls exist between the IBM CORBA probe and Element Management System, it becomes necessary to
define the port numbers being used by both the probe and Element Management System.

The probes connectivity can be defined using ORBLocalHost and ORBLocalPort, where these properties are
available. If they are not available, a request for enhancement must be raised.

Firewall

EMS Probe

Connect
NamingService NSProbe

Synchronisation Non-Native probe

AlarmIRP
Subscribe
Java Probe SDK

CORBA Framework
Notification
NotificationIRP
EMS Specific Probe jar

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2 Patch considerations
2.1 Java runtime environment
Ensure that the correct version of java is available as defined in the probes readme file or in the probes
documentation;

You can set the correct version of java using the NCO_PROBE_JRE variable in the $PROGRAM.env file where
PROGRAM is the probes script name.

e.g.
cd $NCHOME/omnibus/probes/java
vi nco_p_huawei_M2000_corba.env
#! /bin/sh

# Commented out SET IBM JAVA

#. $OMNIHOME/probes/java/set_ibm_jre.sh

# Specified java directory explicitly

NCO_PROBE_JRE=$NCHOME/platform/solaris2/jre_1.6.7/jre
#EOF

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2.2 Non-native probe

The Non-native probe is used to allow java based probe integrations to communicate with the Object Server. The
probe package may be upgraded independently of the EMS specific probe package, and it is advised that the latest
non-native probe patch is installed following an installation of the EMS specific probe package, unless advised
otherwise by the probes README file or online documentation. Enhancements to the non-native probe patch
include performance improvements, the FlushBufferInterval property and probe specific environment configuration.

Overview of Non-native probe communications

stderr

EMS Specific stdin Non-Native

Probe Probe ObjectServer
Process process
stdout

Related files:

$NCHOME/omnibus/probes/<platform>/nco_p_nonnative

$NCHOME/omnibus/probes/java:
• NSProbe.jar

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2.3 CORBA Framework

The CORBA framework was created to replace the Visibroker software used in earlier probes. It makes use of the
IBM CORBA features included with IBM Java, as well as Apache JACORB. The dumpns command is provided as a
supported replacement for the earlier Visibroker based DumpNameServices utility.

The following JAR files are included in the CORBA framework:

$NCHOME/omnibus/probes/java/corba:
• corba_v2.0.jar
• CorbaFrameworkBase.jar
• CorbaFrameworkTMF814.jar

$NCHOME/omnibus/probes/java/corba/jacorb-3.3/lib:
• jacorb.jar
• slf4j-api-1.6.4.jar
• slf4j-jdk14-1.6.4.jar

2.3.1 dumpns tool

The dumpns tool is provided with the CORBA Framework version 3 and above, and allows the contents of the
Naming Service to be output to the commend line. It uses the Apache JACORB support jar to connect to the
naming service, which is provided with the latest CORBA framework package.

Example:
cd $NCHOME/omnibus/probes/java/corba
./dumpns nshost nsport

Where
nshost is the IP Address or FQDN for the Naming Service host
nsport is the port number for the Naming Service

With the output from dumpns containing:

INFO: ClientConnectionManager: found ClientGIOPConnection to nshost:nsport

NotificationService
AlarmIRP
NotificationIRP

2.4 SDK Java

The SDK Java package provides the supporting JAR files for common Java probe features.

$NCHOME/omnibus/probes/java:
• framework.jar
• IntegrationsSupport.jar
• JSON4J_Apache.jar
• NSHeadServices.jar
• ProbeServices.jar
• TestServices.jar

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3 Common Properties

3.1 Non-Native Probe

3.1.1 FlushBufferInterval
The FlushBufferInterval property allows a maximum time to be set for which events are held in the non-native
probes buffer, when Buffering is enabled;
e.g. if the probe rate is around 10 events per second [EPS]

Buffering : 1
BufferSize : 100
FlushBufferInterval : 11

BufferSize =~ EPS * FlushBufferInterval

Where EPS is the events per second, and the interval is set to the nearest prime or odd number to the required
value.
The buffer can be filled during the FlushBufferInterval, with events being sent to the object server, but the
FlushBufferInterval should be set to a required maximum amount of time that is acceptable for events to be delayed
at the probe level.

It’s recommended to set the FlushBufferInterval property to values greater than 10 seconds, however, if the probe
connects to a dedicated collection layer object server, the FlushBufferInterval property can be set to 1 to ensure
event delivery is not delayed due to buffering.

From a performance perspective, sending events in large blocks should be more efficient than sending events one
at a time or in smaller blocks. However, there is a point whereby the loading of the object server with event blocks
reaches a levelling point; this point is different for every system.

3.1.2 NetworkTimeout Property

The NetworkTimeout is set to zero by default, and can result in the probe being unable to notice when an
ObjectServer connection is lost, due to network problems. It is therefore best practice to set NetworkTimeout to
some value even when the probe does not connect a backup ObjectServer. When setting NetworkTimeout always
set PollServer as this is set to 0 as well. PollServer should always be larger than NetworkTimeout.

e.g.
NetworkTimeout : 15
PollServer : 30

Default setting:
NetworkTimeout : 0
PollServer : 0

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3.2 Probe framework

3.2.1 Command port properties

NOTE : The command port was replaced by the HTTPD interface as the probes command line interface

The command port should be set to any available port on the system. If the probe is being used within a firewall
environment, the firewall administrator must allocate a port or be notified of the allocated port. If a number of custom
user tools are being used, the the CommandPortLimit may need to be increased along with the number of
connections setting for the nco_pad process.
e.g.

nco_pad -connections 128

To check the port is available on UNIX use:

netstat -na | grep 6970

Default:
CommandPort : 6970
CommandPortLimit : 10

3.2.2 Recovering lost connections

The probe includes a number of features to ensure that the connection to the EMS is maintained and is
recoverable. By default the probe does not exit due to inactivity or retry the connection. The probe checks the EMS
connection periodically every 60 seconds by default.

Example settings:
RetryCount : 3
RetryInterval : 11
HeartbeatInterval : 60
Inactivity : 3600

Default:
RetryCount : 0
RetryInterval : 0
HeartbeatInterval : 60
Inactivity : 0

3.2.3 Event Synchronisation

By default the probe does not attempt to synchronise the events in the EMS.

Default:
InitialResync : 'false'
ResyncInterval : 0

3.2.4 Internal event queue

The internal event queue, which is the number of events allowed to be held between the EMS specific probe jar and
the non-native probe jar, is set to 10,000 by default. If the probe logs NSProbe messages regarding the queue
being full, it is best to examine why the probe is unable to process the event volumes, as it is an indication that
there is a performance problem at the ObjectServer or possibly the probe server.
Default:
MaxEventQueueSize : 10000

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3.3 Additional probe specific properties

Probes have specific properties that can be set to improve performance and gather data.

For example the Generic TMF814 probe:

3.3.1 Resynchronisation properties

The size of the batches collected from the EMS can affect performance, and the probes Buffering settings should
be adjusted according to the batch size, so as to ensure that data is processed efficiently. The Generic TMF814
probe allows basic filtering, with the filtering being exclusion filters.

For example, to exclude cleared, indeterminates and minor alarms use:

ResyncSeverityFilter : 'PS_CLEARED;PS_INDETERMINATE;PS_MINOR'

Default settings:
ResyncBatchSize : 100
ResyncProbableCauseFilter : ''
ResyncSeverityFilter : ''

3.3.2 Stream capture properties

The Stream capture files can be used to check what data arrives via the CORBA interface and is useful for in depth
analysis of the event data. It is not a feature that is useful in a production environment.

Default settings:
StreamCapture : 0
StreamCaptureFilePath : ''

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4 IOR (Interoperable Object Reference) files

IOR (Interoperable Object Reference) files are used by CORBA (Common Object Requesting Broker Architecture)
to define objects. CORBA is a standard defined by the Object Management Group (OMG) that enables software
components written in multiple computer languages and running on multiple computers to work together.

CORBA uses an interface definition language (IDL) to specify the interfaces that CORBA objects present to the
outside world. CORBA implementation are usually written in C++ or Java.

The IOR files are provided by the ems (Element Management System) the probe connects to, when using the
CORBA interface. Some IOR files are dynamic, and are subject to change, usually when the ems is restarted, and
may need to be updated.

Most CORBA probes allow IOR files to be replaced by the host, port, object instead. The definition of each CORBA
service (host/port/object) is usually provided by the ems, or else the current IOR files can be gathered manually by
the ems administrator.

Example:-

Huawei M2000 probe

EntryPointIrpFtpCommand : “ftp://netcool:password@192.168.22.31/"
EntryPointIrpFile : “/opt/m2000/etc/entry.ior”
FtpPassword : “ECEDBJAGFKDIGD”

4.1 IOR Parser Tool

IOR File Parser allows the host/port/object name to be confirmed;

http://www2.parc.com/istl/projects/ILU/parseIOR/

e.g.

IOR:000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000000000

Might return:-
Name: com/ericsson/nms/cif/service/NMSNAConsumer
Type: IDL:3gppsa5.org/NotificationIRPSystem/NotificationIRPOperations:1.0
Host: 192.168.226.54
Port: 31488

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5 Examples

5.1 Huawei T2000 probe

The Huawei T2000 probe uses the Visibroker software to connect to the EMS.

Example configuration of the Huawei T2000 probe;

Loading IOR file
</opt/CiscoTransportManagerServer/openfusion/domains/OpenFusion/localhost/NameService/NameSingleton/NameSingleto
n.ior>
Attempting to decode Naming Service IOR
Failed to parse IOR
Converting string IOR to reference
Narrowing reference to NamingContext
Narrowed reference.
Dumping contents of Naming Service
(Format is ContextName.ContextKind/ContextName2.ContextKind2/ObjectName.ObjectKind)
Name: TMF_MTNM.Class/Cisco Systems.Vendor/
CiscoTransportManager.EMSInstance/7_0.Version/CTM.EMS/SessionFactory.EmsSessionFactory
Type: IDL:mtnm.tmforum.org/emsSessionFactory/EmsSessionFactory_I:1.0
Host: 192.168.1.6
Port: 61696
IOR:000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000
Name: TMF_MTNM.Class/Cisco Systems.Vendor/Cisco Transport
Manager.EMSInstance/7_0.Version/CTM.EMS/NotificationChannel
Type: IDL:omg.org/CosNotifyChannelAdmin/EventChannel:1.0
Host: 192.168.1.6
Port: 9472
IOR:000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000
Name: services/NotificationService
Type: IDL:omg.org/CosNotifyChannelAdmin/EventChannelFactory:1.0
Host: 192.168.1.6
Port: 9472
IOR:000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000
End of Naming Service Dump

5.1.1 IOR files

Property file example:
IORFile : "/opt/netcool/omnibus/var/EmsSessionFactory.ior"
NamingContextIORFile : "/opt/netcool/omnibus/var/NameSingleton.ior"

5.1.2 Host, Port, Object

Property file example:

ORBInitialHost : "192.168.1.6"
ORBInitialPort : 32805
NamingContextPath : "TMF_MTNM.Class/Cisco Systems.Vendor/Cisco
TransportManager.EMSInstance/7_0.Version/CTM.EMS/SessionFactory.EmsSessionFactory"

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5.2 Generic TMF814 Probe

The Generic TMF814 probes uses the CORBA Framework.

The EMS connection can be checked using the dumpns tool if the EMS administrator is unable to confirm details or
when the EMS connectivity needs to be confirmed.
e.g.
./dumpns emsserver.company.com 56468
…
INFO: ClientConnectionManager: found ClientGIOPConnection to <IP-ADDRESS>:56468 (c4ef1)
NotificationService
AlarmIRP
NotificationIRP
EMSSessionFactory
...

5.2.1 Basic settings

Ensure that the correct version and character encodings are set.
It is good practice to set the ORBLocalHost and ORBLocalPort event when there is no firewall between the EMS
and the probe, as it ensures that the local port is known.
e.g.
# EMS Version details
ReleaseTMF814 : 'V3.0'
# Character encoding
ORBCharEncoding : 'ISO8859_1'
ORBWCharDefault : 'UTF16'
#
ORBLocalHost : 'probeserver.company.com'
ORBLocalPort : 9876

5.2.2 IOR file properties

The IOR files from the EMS can used to test probe connectivity:

e.g.
NamingServiceIORFile : '/opt/IBM/tivoli/netcool/omnibus/var/ns.ior'
IORFile : '/opt/IBM/tivoli/netcool/omnibus/var/emssessionfactory.ior'

5.2.3 Host, Port, Object properties

It is recommended that the host, port, and object name are used to define the EMS connection as this will ensure
that probe can connect, even when the IOR files are updated, usually following an EMS restart.

e.g.
NamingServiceHost : 'emsserver.company.com'
NamingServicePort : 56468
NamingContextPath : 'EMSSessionFactory'

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5.2.4 The ReleaseTMF814 property

The ReleaseTMF814 property can be worked out via the NamingContextPath obtained from the dumpns tool.

NamingContextPath = tmfClass/tmfVendor/tmfEmsInstance/tmfVersion/tmfEntity

Example NamingContextPaths:

ReleaseTMF814 : '2.0'
TMF_MTNM.Class/LSN.Vendor/LSN:EMS_XDM_nn.EmsInstance/2_0.version/LSN:EMS_XDM_nn.EmsSessio
nFactory_I

ReleaseTMF814 : '3.0'
TMF_MTNM.Class/HUAWEI.Vendor/Huawei\/U2000.EmsInstance/3\.0.Version/Huawei.EmsSessionFact
ory_I

ReleaseTMF814 : '3.5'
TMF_MTNM.Class/Networks.Vendor/Networks:EmsInstance/3_5.Version/Networks:EmsSessionFactor
y_I

If the ReleaseTMF814 value is not apparent, try using all of the allowed ReleaseTMF814 values, or else check with
the EMS administrator which version is used.

5.2.5 Successful Connection

When the probe successfully connects with defined ORBLocalHost and ORBLocalPort the following ports should be
seen:
tcp6 0 0 <ORBLocalHost>:<ORBLocalPort> :::* LISTEN
tcp6 0 0 <ORBLocalHost>:<ORBLocalPort> <NamingServiceHost>:<RANDOM_PORT> ESTABLISHED

tcp6 0 0 <ORBLocalHost>:<RANDOM_PORT> <NamingServiceHost>:<NamingServicePort> ESTABLISHED

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5.2.6 Types of log file messages:

• Invalid port:
Error: E-JPR-000-000: Failed to get IOR Object : org.omg.CORBA.ORBPackage.InvalidName:
NameService:org.omg.CORBA.TRANSIENT: java.net.ConnectException: Connection refused:host=<IP>,port=5646 vmcid:
IBM minor code: E02 completed: No

• Invalid listening port:

Resolving initial references to NamingService
com.ibm.tivoli.netcool.omnibus.probe.services.impl.SimpleCommandService$BidiThread.run
ENTERING
com.ibm.tivoli.netcool.omnibus.probe.services.impl.SimpleCommandService$BidiThread.run
EXITING
…
timeout

• Valid host/port, invalid object name:

Successfully narrowed reference
Resolving System reference
Failed to get the System reference from the naming service! :
IDL:omg.org/CosNaming/NamingContext/NotFound:1.0
Failed to resolved to Naming Context :org.omg.CosNaming.NamingContextPackage.NotFound:
IDL:omg.org/CosNaming/NamingContext/NotFound:1.0

• Incorrect object name:

Resolving System reference
Retrieveing EMS Session via IOR object...
Failed to get IOR Object : initial and forwarded IOR inaccessible
Failed to connect: org.omg.CORBA.TRANSIENT: initial and forwarded IOR inaccessible
vmcid: IBM minor code: E07 completed: No

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5.3 Huawei U2000 CORBA probe

The Huawei U2000 CORBA probe uses the CORBA Framework.

Given just the naming server host and port:

cd $NCHOME/omnibus/probes/java/corba
./dumpns 192.168.20.21 34634
…
TMF_MTNM.Class/HUAWEI.Vendor/Huawei\/U2000.EmsInstance/2\.0.Version/Huawei\/U2000.EmsSess
ionFactory_I

Note: If only the Naming Server IOR is given use the IOR parser to get the host/port from the IOR string:

http://www2.parc.com/istl/projects/ILU/parseIOR

Given the results, the probes properties can be set as:

# Object Server
Server : 'COL_P'
NetworkTimeout : 30
PollServer : 60
# Huawei U2000
# reachable with IIOP 1.2 at host "192.168.20.21", port 34634
NamingServiceHost : '192.168.20.21'
NamingServicePort : 34634
NamingContextPath :
'TMF_MTNM.Class/HUAWEI\.Vendor/Huawei\\/U2000.EmsInstance/2\\.0.Version/Huawei\\/U2000\.EmsSessionFactory_I'
# Local ORB settings
ORBLocalHost : '192.168.60.60'
ORBLocalPort : 6060
#EOF

Where 192.168.60.60 is the probe servers ip address and the port 6060 is a free port.
The NamingContextPath escapes the '\' symbols using '\' in this case.

Make sure:
File: $OMNIHOME/probes/java/corba/jacorb-3.3/etc/jacorb.properties
jacorb.dns.enable=off

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5.4 The Nokia NetAct v6 probe

The Noka NetAct v6 probe is an example of an IBM CORBA probe.

Given just the naming server host and port:

cd $NCHOME/omnibus/probes/java/corba
./dumpns 192.168.20.30 57848
NotificationService
EPIRP
NOTIFICATIONIRP
ALARMIRP

Note: If only the Naming Server IOR is given use the IOR parser to get the host/port from the IOR string:

http://www2.parc.com/istl/projects/ILU/parseIOR

Given the results, the probes properties can be set as:

# Object Server connection
Server : 'AGG_P'
NetworkTimeout : 15
PollServer : 20
# Naming Service
NamingServiceHost : "192.168.20.30"
NamingServicePort : '57848'
NotificationIrpName : 'NOTIFICATIONIRP'
AlarmIrpName : 'ALARMIRP'
# Make sure the subscription times out
TimeTick : 11
Timeout : 600
#EOF

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5.5 Ericsson OSS-RC probe

You can try to use the Generic 3GPP probe to connect to the Ericsson OSS-RC server, however, some events may
be missed as the server uses a vendor specific event queue as well as the standard 3GPP objects.

The Generic 3GPP probe is based on 3GPP Standards:

The '1z1' events are stateless events and specific to the EMS Vendor. The Generic 3GPP
probe doesn't support and will not connect to the Event IRP channel, because of the
vendor specific event types.

What if the '1z1' events are sent through the Alarm IRP channel; the Generic 3GPP probe
does not support this configuration. Only the Generic 3GPP event types are supported and
processed by the Generic 3GPP probe.

5.5.1 Default object naming

For Ericsson OSS-RC version 2.x:

Alarm IRP : com.ericsson.nms.fm.ALARM_IRP_CIRPAgent1
Notification IRP : com.ericsson.nms.fm.cif.service.NAConsumer

For Ericsson OSS-RC version 3.x and later:

Alarm IRP : com.ericsson.nms.fm_cirpagent.AlarmIRP
Notification IRP : com.ericsson.nms.cif.service.NMSNAConsumer

For Ericsson RANOS:

Alarm IRP : com.ericsson.nms.umts.ranos.AlarmService_R1 to
Notification IRP : com.ericsson.umts.ranos.NotificationService_R1

For Ericsson CN-OSS:

Alarm IRP : com.ericsson.nms.fm.ALARM_IRP_CIRPAgent1
Notification IRP : com.ericsson.nms.fm.cif.service.NMSNAConsumer

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5.5.2 Typical settings

Given this dumpns output:

com/
ericsson/
nms/
fm_cirpagent/
EventIRP
AlarmIRP
cif/
service/
NMSNAConsumer

Property file would be:

Server : "COL_P"
ServerBackup : "COL_B"
NetworkTimeout : 15
PollServer : 30
Manager : 'ericsson_ossrc_generic_3gpp'
MessageLog : '$OMNIHOME/log/ericsson_ossrc_generic_3gpp.log'
# Connection to EMS
NamingServiceHost : '<naming service host>'
NamingServicePort : <naming service port>
# 3GPP Version specific settings
Release3GPP: "V3.2"
IDLAttrMapFile :
'/opt/IBM/tivoli/netcool/omnibus/probes/includes/generic_3gpp_v3_2_RuleElementMap.xml'
# Determine if slash or dot notation is required using dumpns
# Slash notation:
AlarmIRPName : 'com/ericsson/nms/fm_cirpagent/AlarmIRP'
NotificationIRPName : 'com/ericsson/nms/cif/service/NMSNAConsumer'
# Dot notation:
#AlarmIRPName : 'com.ericsson.nms.fm_cirpagent.AlarmIRP'
#NotificationIRPName : 'com.ericsson.nms.cif.service.NMSNAConsumer'
# Debugging if required
#ORBDebug : 'true'
#ORBDebugFile :
'$OMNIHOME/log/ericsson_ossrc_generic_3gpp_orb_debug.log'
# Local ORB details
ORBLocalHost : '<probe server>'
ORBLocalPort : <free port on probe server>
# Locale settings
ORBCharEncoding : "ISO8859_1"
ORBWCharDefault : "UTF16"
#EOF

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6 Additional Logging
6.1 IBM CORBA debug logging
Edit probes environment script and add the following:

vi $NCHOME/omnibus/probes/java/nco_p_<probe>.env
# IBM CORBE Debug logging
NCO_JPROBE_JAVA_FLAGS="-Dcom.ibm.CORBA.Debug=true -Dcom.ibm.CORBA.CommTrace=true
-Dcom.ibm.CORBA.Debug.Output=$OMNIHOME/log/ibm_orb_trace.log $NCO_JPROBE_JAVA_FLAGS"
#EOF
:wq

6.2 Non-native debug logging

Edit probes environment script and add the following:

vi $NCHOME/omnibus/probes/java/nco_p_<probe>.env

# ENABLE NON-NATIVE PROBE DEBUG LOGGING

NDE_DEFAULT_LOG_LEVEL=debug
NDE_FORCE_LOG_MODULE=$OMNIHOME/log/nonnative_forced.log
NCO_P_NONNATIVE_TRANSCRIPT=$OMNIHOME/log/nonnative_debug.log
export NDE_DEFAULT_LOG_LEVEL NDE_FORCE_LOG_MODULE NCO_P_NONNATIVE_TRANSCRIPT
#EOF
:wq

6.3 SSL debug logging

Edit probes environment script and add the following:

vi $NCHOME/omnibus/probes/java/nco_p_<probe>.env
# SSL debug logging
NCO_JPROBE_JAVA_FLAGS="-Djavax.net.debug=ssl:handshake:verbose $NCO_JPROBE_JAVA_FLAGS"
#EOF

6.4 CLASSPATH debugging

It may be necessary to examine the CLASSPATH at the point the probe is exec'ed.
If this is required, then the non-native probe script must be edited, rather than the probe specific environment script.
e.g.
cd $NCHOME/omnibus/probes
mv nco_p_generic_tmf814 nco_p_generic_tmf814.ga
cp nco_p_generic_tmf814.ga nco_p_generic_tmf814
vi nco_p_generic_tmf814
# Added CLASSPATH listing before exec block to debug
echo "** CLASSPATH:"
echo $CLASSPATH | awk -F: '{for(i=1;i<=NF;i++)print $i}'
echo "**"
:wq

After troubleshooting, remember to revert back to the original GA script to prevent patching problems.

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7 The HTTP Command Line Interface

Allowing localhost usage only:

NHttpd.EnableHTTP : TRUE
NHttpd.ListeningHostname : 'localhost'
NHttpd.ListeningPort : 5555
NHttpd.AccessLog : "$OMNIHOME/log/myprobe.nhttpd.access.log"

Send a reload rules file signal:

nco_probereloadrules -host localhost -port 5555

7.1 Common Commands

help:

$OMNIHOME/bin/nco_http -uri http://localhost:5555/probes/generic_3gpp

-datatype application/JSON -method POST -data '{"command":"help","params":[]}'

Results:
Information: I-UNK-104-002: {"response":"Available commands: acknowledge_alarm(alarm_id
String), resynch_all(), resynch_filter(resync_filter String),
unacknowledge_alarm(alarm_id String), userid_acknowledge_alarm(ack_user_id
String,alarm_id String), userid_clear_alarm(clear_user_id String,alarm_id String),
userid_unacknowledge_alarm(ack_user_id String,alarm_id String), clear_alarm(alarm_id
String), version() ","status":"200"}

resynch_all:

$OMNIHOME/bin/nco_http -uri http://localhost:5555/probes/generic_3gpp -datatype

application/JSON
-method POST -data '{"command":"resynch_all","params":[]}'

Results:
Information: I-UNK-104-002: {"response":["COMMAND END: resynch_all successfully
completed. Resynchronization OK"],"status":"200"}

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8 Probe port considerations

The CORBA probes typically have only three ports, two for connectivity to the EMS and one for the command line. It
is generally easier to use the Naming Service to connect to the EMS as this ensures that the EMS is configured
correctly. However, not all servers enable the Naming Service by default, and if enabled, they are not always
configured correctly. IOR files can be used to connect to the EMS, but these are typically transient and may not
contain the correct IOR string after the EMS is restarted. The other issue, is that the hostname and IP Address are
not obvious from looking in the probe properties, which makes troubleshooting difficult.

It is recommended that the ORBLocalHost and ORBLocalPort are set, when available, and that the ORBLocalHost
is set to an IP Address. The ORBLocalHost and ORBLocalPort need to be accessible from the EMS, and it
generally best to have two connectivity enabled in the firewall, as some firewalls block communications over a
certain size, coming from the unopened direction.

The Command Port is provided using the Nhttpd.* properties in the supported Netcool/OMNIbus versions. However,
the older CommandPort property settings are still used in older probes, such as the Nokia NetAct probe.

When the probe is running successfully both the ORBLocalPort and Nhttpd.ListeningPort should be visible as
listening:

tcp6 0 0 :::4040 :::* LISTEN

tcp6 0 0 :::5050 :::* LISTEN

EMS Probe
NamingServicePort
NamingService

AlarmIRP

ORBLocalPort
NotificationIRP

NHttpd.ListeningPort

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8.1 Checking ports

8.1.1 Netstat
You can check that the ORBLocalPort is set and running using netstat.
e.g.
netstat -nl | grep <ORBLocalPort>
tcp6 0 0 :::<ORBLocalPort> :::* LISTEN

You can also check the EMS server for listening ports used by the probe, if access is allowed.

If there are notification events being sent the EMS will connect to the probes ORBLocalPort
e.g.
netstat -nl | grep <ORBLocalPort>
tcp6 0 0 :::<ORBLocalPort> :::* LISTEN
tcp6 0 0 <ORBLocalHost>:<ORBLocalPort> <EMSServer>:<RandomPort> ESTABLISHED

Note: Before setting the probes port properties and starting the probe, make sure the ports to be used are free.

8.1.2 Telnet
The telnet command can be used to check that the ports are accessible through firewalls.
For example for the ORBLocalPort, the port can be checked from the EMS using telnet as:

telnet <ORBLocalHost> <ORBLocalPort>

Access to the EMS ports can also be checked, although the use of the dumpns tool is best to use when using the
Naming Service in the probes properties.

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9 Property considerations
9.1 Best Practice Property settings
It is best practice to set the ORBLocalHost and ORBLocalPort so that these settings are known and can be
checked. Additionally it is best practice to define timeout values for NetworkTimeout and PollServer, where
PollServer value is greater than the NetworkTimeout value. By default both properties have a setting of 0.

NetworkTimeout: 15
PollServer: 30
ORBLocalHost: "<PROBE_SERVER_IP>"
ORBLocalPort: 5050

With the ORBLocalPort set the 'netstat' command can be used to check it is listening, and to check any ORB debug
logs.

9.2 Other Property settings

The following properties can affect the notification channel events [default values are bold].

Character encoding:
EncodingStandard: "ISO-8859-1"
EncodingStandard: "UTF-8"

JVM Native character encoding:

ORBCharEncoding: "ISO8859_1"
ORBCharEncoding: "UTF8"

JVM Native Wide character encoding:

ORBWCharDefault: "UTF16"
ORBWCharDefault: "UCS2"

Notification types:
NotificationClientType: SEQUENCE_EVENT"
NotificationClientType: "STRUCTURED_EVENT"

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