Manual Chapter : Monitors Tasks

Applies To:

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BIG-IP DNS

  • 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.4, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0, 15.1.9, 15.1.8, 15.1.7, 15.1.6, 15.1.5, 15.1.4, 15.1.3, 15.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.0, 15.0.1, 15.0.0, 14.1.5, 14.1.4, 14.1.3, 14.1.2, 14.1.0, 14.0.1, 14.0.0
Manual Chapter

Monitors Tasks

Creating an SNMP monitor

Create an SNMP monitor to monitor a third-party server running SNMP.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Monitors
    .
    The Monitors List screen opens.
  2. On the Main tab, click
    DNS
    GSLB
    Monitors
    .
    The Monitor List screen opens.
  3. Click
    Create
    .
    The New Monitor screen opens.
  4. Type a name for the monitor.
    Monitor names are limited to 63 characters.
  5. From the
    Type
    list, select one of these options:
    SNMP DCA
    Use this monitor to specify new values for CPU, memory, and disk metrics.
    SNMP DCA Base
    Use this monitor to specify values for metrics other than CPU, memory, and disk usage.
  6. From the
    Type
    list, select
    SNMP
    .
  7. Click
    Finished
    .

Creating a custom monitor

Before creating a custom monitor, you must decide on a monitor type.
You can create a custom monitor when the values defined in a pre-configured monitor do not meet your needs, or no pre-configured monitor exists for the type of monitor you are creating.
When defining values for custom monitors, make sure you avoid using any values that are on the list of reserved keywords.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Monitors
    .
    The Monitors List screen opens.
  2. Click
    Create
    .
    The New Monitor screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
    field, type a name for the monitor.
  4. From the
    Type
    list, select the type of monitor.
    The screen refreshes, and displays the configuration options for the monitor type.
  5. From the
    Import Monitor
    list, select an existing monitor.
    The new monitor inherits initial configuration values from the existing monitor.
  6. From the
    Configuration
    list, select
    Advanced
    .
    This selection makes it possible for you to modify additional default settings.
  7. Configure all settings shown.
  8. Click
    Finished
    .

Displaying a monitor

You can display a monitor and view the settings and values.
You can manage only those monitors that you have permission to manage, based on your user role and partition access assignment.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    DNS
    GSLB
    Monitors
    .
    The Monitor List screen opens.
  2. On the Main tab, click
    Link Controller
    Monitors
    .
    The Monitor List screen opens.
  3. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Monitors
    .
    The Monitors List screen opens.
  4. Click a monitor name in the list.
    The monitor's properties screen opens, showing the monitor's settings and values.
You can view the settings and values for the monitor.

Deleting a monitor

Prior to deleting a monitor, you must remove all existing monitor associations.
You can delete obsolete or unused monitors.
You can manage only those monitors that you have permission to manage, based on your user role and partition access assignment.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    DNS
    GSLB
    Monitors
    .
    The Monitor List screen opens.
  2. On the Main tab, click
    Link Controller
    Monitors
    .
    The Monitor List screen opens.
  3. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Monitors
    .
    The Monitors List screen opens.
  4. Select the
    Select
    check box for the monitor that you want to delete.
  5. Click
    Delete
    .
    A confirmation message appears.
  6. Click
    Delete
    .
The monitor is deleted.

Creating an HTTP monitor

Before creating a monitor, you must decide on a monitor type.
A custom HTTP monitor enables you to send a command to a server and examine that server's response, thus ensuring that it is serving appropriate content.
An HTTP monitor can monitor Outlook Web Access (OWA) in Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and MicrosoftSharePoint 2007 web sites that require NT LAN Manager (NTLM) authentication. NTLM authentication requires a send string that complies with HTTP/1.1, a user name, and a password.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    DNS
    GSLB
    Monitors
    .
    The Monitor List screen opens.
  2. On the Main tab, click
    Link Controller
    Monitors
    .
    The Monitor List screen opens.
  3. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Monitors
    .
    The Monitors List screen opens.
  4. In the
    Name
    field, type a name for the monitor.
  5. From the
    Type
    list, select
    HTTP
    .
    The screen refreshes, and displays the configuration options for the
    HTTP
    monitor type.
  6. From the
    Parent Monitor
    list, select
    http
    .
    The new monitor inherits initial configuration values from the existing monitor.
  7. From the
    Configuration
    list, select
    Advanced
    .
    This selection makes it possible for you to modify additional default settings.
  8. In the
    Interval
    field, type a number that indicates, in seconds, how frequently the system issues the monitor check. The default is
    30
    seconds.
    The frequency of a monitor check must be greater than the value of the global-level
    Heartbeat Interval
    setting. Otherwise, the monitor can acquire out-of-date data.
  9. In the
    Timeout
    field, type a number that indicates, in seconds, how much time the target has to respond to the monitor check. The default is
    120
    seconds.
    If the target responds within the allotted time period, it is considered up. If the target does not respond within the time period, it is considered down.
  10. In the
    Probe Timeout
    field, type a number that indicates the number of seconds after which the system times out the probe request to the system. The default is
    5
    seconds.
  11. For the
    Ignore Down Response
    setting, do one of the following:
    • Accept the
      No
      default option.
    • Select the
      Yes
      option to specify that the monitor accepts more than one probe attempt per interval.
  12. In the
    Send String
    field, type a text string that the monitor sends to the target resource.
    The default string is
    GET /
    . This string retrieves a default file from the web site.
    Type a fully qualified path name, for example,
    GET /www/example/index.html
    , if you want to retrieve a specific web site page.
  13. In the
    Interval
    field type a number that indicates, in seconds, how frequently the system issues the monitor check. The default is
    5
    seconds.
    The frequency of a monitor check must be greater than the value of the global-level
    Heartbeat Interval
    setting. Otherwise, the monitor can acquire out-of-date data.
  14. For the
    Up Interval
    setting, specify whether to use the up interval:
    • If you do not want to use the up interval, retain the default,
      Disabled
      .
    • To use the up interval, select
      Enabled
      , and specify how often you want the system to verify the health of a resource that is up.
  15. In the
    Time Until Up
    field, type a number that indicates the number of seconds to wait after a resource first responds correctly to the monitor before setting the resource to up.
    The default value is
    0
    (zero), which disables this option.
  16. In the
    Timeout
    field, type a number that indicates, in seconds, how much time the target has to respond to the monitor check. The default is
    30
    seconds.
    If the target responds within the allotted time period, it is considered up. If the target does not respond within the time period, it is considered down.
  17. For
    Manual Resume
    , specify whether the system automatically enables the monitored resource when the monitor check is successful.
    This setting applies only when the monitored resource has failed to respond to a monitor check.
    Yes
    The system does nothing when the monitor check succeeds, and you must manually enable the monitored resource.
    No
    The system automatically re-enables the monitored resource after the next successful monitor check.
  18. In the
    Send String
    field, type a text string that the monitor sends to the target resource.
    The default string is
    GET /\r\n
    . This string retrieves a default file from the web site.
    Send string syntax depends upon the HTTP version. Please observe the following conventions.
    Version
    Convention
    HTTP 0.9
    "GET /\n"
    or
    "GET /\r\n"
    .
    HTTP 1.0
    "GET / HTTP/1.0\r\n\r\n"
    or
    "GET / HTTP/1.0\n\n"
    HTTP 1.1
    "GET / HTTP/1.1\r\nHost: server.com\r\n\r\n"
    or
    "GET / HTTP/1.1\r\nHost: server.com\r\nConnection: close\r\n\r\n"
    HTTP/2
    "GET /\r\n"
    Type a fully qualified path name, for example,
    "GET /www/example/index.html\r\n"
    , if you want to retrieve a specific web site page.
  19. In the
    Receive String
    field, type a regular expression that represents the text string that the monitor looks for in the returned resource.
    The most common receive expressions contain a text string that is included in an HTML file on your site. The text string can be regular text, HTML tags, or image names.
    If you do not specify both a send string and a receive string, the monitor performs a simple service check and connect only.
  20. In the
    Receive Disable String
    field, type a regular expression that represents the text string that the monitor looks for in the returned resource.
    Use a
    Receive String
    value together with a
    Receive Disable String
    value to match the value of a response from the origin web server and create one of three states for a pool member or node:
    Up (Enabled)
    , when only
    Receive String
    matches the response, or when both
    Receive String
    and
    Receive Disable String
    match the response;
    Up (Disabled)
    , when only
    Receive Disable String
    matches the response; or
    Down
    , when neither
    Receive String
    nor
    Receive Disable String
    matches the response.
    If you choose to set the
    Reverse
    setting to
    Yes
    , the monitor marks the pool, pool member, or node
    Down
    when the test is successful.
  21. Type a name in the
    User Name
    field.
  22. Type a password in the
    Password
    field.
  23. For the
    Reverse
    setting, specify whether you want the system to work in reverse mode:
    • If you want the system to work normally, retain the
      No
      default option.
    • If you want the system to mark the pool, pool member, or node
      Down
      when the test is successful, select the
      Yes
      option.
  24. For the
    Transparent
    setting, specify whether you want the monitor to operate in transparent mode:
    • If not, accept the
      No
      default option.
    • To use a path through the associated pool members or nodes to monitor the aliased destination, select the
      Yes
      option.
  25. For the
    Alias Address
    setting, specify an alias IP address:
    • Retain the
      *All Addresses
      default option.
    • Type an alias IP address for the monitor to verify, on behalf of the pools or pool members with which the monitor is associated.
    If the health check for the alias address is successful, the system marks all associated objects
    up
    . If the health check for the alias address is not successful, then the system marks all associated objects
    down
    .
  26. For the
    Alias Service Port
    setting, specify an alias port or service for the monitor to check:
    • Accept the
      *All Ports
      default option.
    • Select an alias port or service for the monitor to check, on behalf of the pools or pool members with which the monitor is associated.
    If the health check for the alias port or service is successful, the system marks all associated objects up. If the health check for the alias port or service is not successful, then the system marks all associated objects down.
The HTTP monitor is configured to monitor HTTP traffic.

Creating an HTTPS monitor

Before creating a monitor, you must decide on a monitor type.
A custom HTTPS monitor enables you to verify the Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) service by attempting to receive specific content from a web page protected by Secure Socket Layer (SSL) security.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Monitors
    .
    The Monitors List screen opens.
  2. Click
    Create
    .
    The New Monitor screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
    field, type a name for the monitor.
  4. From the
    Type
    list, select
    HTTPS
    .
    The screen refreshes, and displays the configuration options for the
    HTTPS
    monitor type.
  5. From the
    Parent Monitor
    list, select an existing monitor.
    The new monitor inherits initial configuration values from the existing monitor.
  6. From the
    Configuration
    list, select
    Advanced
    .
    This selection makes it possible for you to modify additional default settings.
  7. In the
    Interval
    field type a number that indicates, in seconds, how frequently the system issues the monitor check. The default is
    5
    seconds.
    The frequency of a monitor check must be greater than the value of the global-level
    Heartbeat Interval
    setting. Otherwise, the monitor can acquire out-of-date data.
  8. For the
    Up Interval
    setting, specify whether to use the up interval:
    • If you do not want to use the up interval, retain the default,
      Disabled
      .
    • To use the up interval, select
      Enabled
      , and specify how often you want the system to verify the health of a resource that is up.
  9. In the
    Time Until Up
    field, type a number that indicates the number of seconds to wait after a resource first responds correctly to the monitor before setting the resource to up.
    The default value is
    0
    (zero), which disables this option.
  10. In the
    Timeout
    field, type a number that indicates, in seconds, how much time the target has to respond to the monitor check. The default is
    16
    seconds.
    If the target responds within the allotted time period, it is considered up. If the target does not respond within the time period, it is considered down.
  11. For
    Manual Resume
    , specify whether the system automatically enables the monitored resource when the monitor check is successful.
    This setting applies only when the monitored resource has failed to respond to a monitor check.
    Yes
    The system does nothing when the monitor check succeeds, and you must manually enable the monitored resource.
    No
    The system automatically re-enables the monitored resource after the next successful monitor check.
  12. In the
    Send String
    field, type a text string that the monitor sends to the target resource.
    The default string is
    GET /\r\n
    . This string retrieves a default file from the web site.
    Send string syntax depends upon the HTTP version. Please observe the following conventions.
    Version
    Convention
    HTTP 0.9
    "GET /\n"
    or
    "GET /\r\n"
    .
    HTTP 1.0
    "GET / HTTP/1.0\r\n\r\n"
    or
    "GET / HTTP/1.0\n\n"
    HTTP 1.1
    "GET / HTTP/1.1\r\nHost: server.com\r\n\r\n"
    or
    "GET / HTTP/1.1\r\nHost: server.com\r\nConnection: close\r\n\r\n"
    HTTP/2
    "GET /\r\n"
    Type a fully qualified path name, for example,
    "GET /www/example/index.html\r\n"
    , if you want to retrieve a specific web site page.
  13. In the
    Receive String
    field, type a regular expression that represents the text string that the monitor looks for in the returned resource.
    The most common receive expressions contain a text string that is included in an HTML file on your site. The text string can be regular text, HTML tags, or image names.
    If you do not specify both a send string and a receive string, the monitor performs a simple service check and connect only.
  14. In the
    Receive Disable String
    field, type a regular expression that represents the text string that the monitor looks for in the returned resource.
    Use a
    Receive String
    value together with a
    Receive Disable String
    value to match the value of a response from the origin web server and create one of three states for a pool member or node:
    Up (Enabled)
    , when only
    Receive String
    matches the response, or when both
    Receive String
    and
    Receive Disable String
    match the response;
    Up (Disabled)
    , when only
    Receive Disable String
    matches the response; or
    Down
    , when neither
    Receive String
    nor
    Receive Disable String
    matches the response.
    If you choose to set the
    Reverse
    setting to
    Yes
    , the monitor marks the pool, pool member, or node
    Down
    when the test is successful.
  15. From the
    SSL Profile
    list, select an option for the profile:
    • To specify no SSL profile, accept the default,
      None
      .
    • To use a profile, select an SSL Profile from the list of the available
      serverssl
      profiles in the BIG-IP system.
  16. Type a name in the
    User Name
    field.
  17. Type a password in the
    Password
    field.
  18. For the
    Reverse
    setting, specify whether you want the system to work in reverse mode:
    • If you want the system to work normally, retain the
      No
      default option.
    • If you want the system to mark the pool, pool member, or node
      Down
      when the test is successful, select the
      Yes
      option.
  19. For the
    Transparent
    setting, specify whether you want the monitor to operate in transparent mode:
    • If not, accept the
      No
      default option.
    • To use a path through the associated pool members or nodes to monitor the aliased destination, select the
      Yes
      option.
  20. For the
    Alias Address
    setting, specify an alias IP address:
    • Retain the
      *All Addresses
      default option.
    • Type an alias IP address for the monitor to verify, on behalf of the pools or pool members with which the monitor is associated.
    If the health check for the alias address is successful, the system marks all associated objects
    up
    . If the health check for the alias address is not successful, then the system marks all associated objects
    down
    .
  21. For the
    Alias Service Port
    setting, specify an alias port or service for the monitor to check:
    • Accept the
      *All Ports
      default option.
    • Select an alias port or service for the monitor to check, on behalf of the pools or pool members with which the monitor is associated.
    If the health check for the alias port or service is successful, the system marks all associated objects up. If the health check for the alias port or service is not successful, then the system marks all associated objects down.
The HTTPS monitor is configured to monitor HTTPS traffic.
When you are done, associate the HTTPS monitor with a server, pool, pool member, or node.