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Manual Chapter : Monitors Tasks

Applies To:

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BIG-IP LTM

  • 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.5, 16.1.4, 16.1.3, 16.1.2, 16.1.1, 16.1.0, 16.0.1, 16.0.0
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. Click
    Create
    .
    The New Monitor screen opens.
  3. Type a name for the monitor.
    Monitor names are limited to 63 characters.
  4. 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.
  5. 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
    .

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
    Local Traffic
    Monitors
    .
    The Monitors List screen opens.
  2. Select the
    Select
     check box for the monitor that you want to delete.
  3. Click
    Delete
    .
    A confirmation message appears.
  4. Click
    Delete
    .
The monitor is deleted.

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
    Local Traffic
    Monitors
    .
    The Monitors List screen opens.
  2. 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.

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
    Local Traffic
    Monitors
    .
    The Monitors List screen opens.
  2. In the
    Name
     field, type a name for the monitor.
  3. From the
    Type
     list, select
    HTTP
    .
    The screen refreshes, and displays the configuration options for the
    HTTP
     monitor type.
  4. From the
    Parent Monitor
     list, select
    http
    .
    The new monitor inherits initial configuration values from the existing monitor.
  5. From the
    Configuration
     list, select
    Advanced
    .
    This selection makes it possible for you to modify additional default settings.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  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
    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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. Type a name in the
    User Name
     field.
  15. Type a password in the
    Password
     field.
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
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.

Creating an HTTP2 monitor

A custom HTTP2 monitor enables you to verify the HTTP/2 service by attempting to receive specific content from a web page.
  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
    HTTP2
    .
    The screen refreshes, and displays the configuration options for the
    HTTP2
     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.
    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 a profile from the list of available Server SSL profiles on the BIG-IP system.
    The default SSL profile is the profile named
    serverssl-secure
    .
  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.
  22. In the
    IP DSCP
     field, retain the value of
    0
     or type a different value.
    The IP Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) value in a received packet is used by a router to classify the packet, mapping the packet to a per-hop behavior (PHB) group. The intent is to define a set of network policies and rules for a network domain.
The HTTP2 monitor is configured to monitor HTTP/2 traffic.
When you are done, associate the HTTP2 monitor with a server, pool, pool member, or node.

Configuring a monitor for adaptive response time monitoring

Determine the type of monitor you want to create, and for which custom monitor you want to enable adaptive response time monitoring.
Enable adaptive response time monitoring when you want the BIG-IP system to update the state of a resource based on the deviation of the latency of the monitor probe from the mean latency of a monitor probe for that service.
  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
    Parent Monitor
     list, select an existing monitor.
    The new monitor inherits initial configuration values from the existing monitor.
  6. Select the
    Adaptive
     check box.
    Additional settings display.
  7. From the
    Allowed Divergence
     list, select one of these options:
    Absolute
    Type the number of milliseconds that the latency of a monitor probe can exceed the mean latency for the service being probed.
    Relative
    Type the percentage deviation that the latency of a monitor probe can exceed the mean latency for the service being probed.
  8. In the
    Adaptive Limit
     field, type the maximum length of a monitor probe (in milliseconds), regardless of the calculated mean for the service being monitored.
  9. In the
    Sampling Timespan
     field, type the length (in seconds) of the probe history span that the system uses to calculate the mean latency and standard deviation of a monitor probe.
  10. Click
    Finished
    .

Importing a file for an external monitor

Using the BIG-IP Configuration utility, you can import a file from another system to use for creating an external monitor.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    System
    File Management
    External Monitor File List
    Import
    .
  2. For the
    File Name
     setting, click
    Browse
    .
    The system opens a browse window so that you can locate the file that you want to import to the BIG-IP system.
  3. For the
    Name
     setting, do one of the following:
    • Select the
      Create New
       option, and type a unique name in the field.
    • Select the
      Overwrite Existing
       option, and select a file name from the list.
  4. Click the
    Import
     button.
After importing a file onto the system, you must create a local traffic external monitor, specifying the file that you imported.

Configure an SASP monitor

You configure a Server/Application State Protocol (SASP) monitor to verify the availability of resources when your network employs the IBM Enterprise Workload Manager (EWLM, formerly Group Workload Manager).
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Monitors
    .
    The Monitors List screen opens.
  2. Click
    Create
    .
    The New Monitor screen opens.
  3. Type a name for the monitor.
    Monitor names are limited to 63 characters.
  4. From the
    Type
     list, select
    SASP
    .
    The screen refreshes, and displays the configuration options for the SASP monitor type.
  5. In the Configuration area, from the
    GWM Interval
     list, select one of these options:
    Automatic
     (default)
    The system uses the interval setting recommended by the Group Workload Manager (GWM).
    Specify
    Specifies the interval the system uses to query the GWM. Type a number between 10 and 600 seconds.
  6. From the
    Mode
     list, select one of the following:
    Push
     (default)
    The Group Workload Manager (GWM) decides on the interval to send Get Weights requests and the SASP monitor listens for messages.
    Pull
    The SASP monitor uses the GWM interval value to send the Get Weights requests to the workload manager.
  7. For the
    GWM Primary Address
     setting, type the IP address of the Enterprise Workload Manager (formerly Gateway Workload Manager).
  8. For the
    GWM Secondary Address
     setting, type the IP address of the backup Enterprise Workload Manager server (assuming there is a backup server).
  9. For the
    GWM Service Port
     setting, type the number of the port through which the SASP monitor communicates with the Enterprise Workload Manager. The default is
    3860
    .
  10. From the
    GWM Protocol
     list, select the communications protocol the SASP monitor uses. The default is
    TCP
    .
  11. Click
    Finished
    .

Associate an SASP monitor with a pool

Before you start, make sure you have an IBM Enterprise Workload Manager in your enterprise.
You associate a Server/Application State Protocol (SASP) monitor with a pool when configuring a load balancer.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Pools
    .
    The Pool List screen displays.
  2. Select the name of a pool to add to an SASP monitor.
  3. In the Configuration area, for the
    Health Monitors
    setting, move the name of an SASP monitor from the
    Available
     list to the
    Active
     list.
  4. Click
    Update
    .
    When a monitor is initially added, before it receives an initial health check from the Enterprise Workload Manager (formerly Gateway Workload Manager), on the Members tab, in the General Properties area, the
    Availability
     setting is Offline. If the health check is complete, in the Current Members area, the Ratio column displays values set by the workload manager for the pool members.

Testing a monitor

Before you can test a monitor, you must save a monitor configuration. Monitor testing will not work if the monitor has already been assigned to a pool, pool member, or node.
You can test a monitor to verify a monitor configuration, before applying it to a pool, a pool member, or a node.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Monitors
    .
    The Monitors List screen opens.
  2. Click a monitor name in the list.
    The monitor's properties screen opens, showing the monitor's settings and values.
  3. On the menu bar, click
    Test
    .
    The monitor's test settings display as available for configuring, and the screen shows the results of the last test of the monitor, if any.
    The results persist until either you restart the BIG-IP system, or a new test is run.
  4. Type the address and port of the monitor configuration you want to test in the
    Address
     fields.
    If either the address or port are already configured for the health monitor itself, the
    Address
     field will be pre-populated with these parameters and you cannot configure them. The
    Address
     field parameters cannot match an existing node or pool member that is already running the monitor being tested.
    Once the required
    Address
     field parameters are provided, the
    Test
     button is available to click to start a test.
  5. Click the
    Test
     button.
    When the test is running, if you want to cancel, click the
    Cancel
     button.
    Test results display in the
    Results
     field.
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