“Help! My EMS is overloaded!”

Does this sound familiar? When your NonStop gets very busy, your EMS also gets very busy. In fact, sometimes you may find that EMS processing consumes a lot of your CPU resources just for processing the flood of error messages. Why are there so many messages in EMS?

Does this remind you of your EMS?

• It becomes difficult to find the error messages

• It consumes a lot of CPU resource for EMS to file the messages

• Operation tends to start ignoring messages in EMS console because they are too overwhelming

There is a better way –LogWatch

Instead of clogging up EMS, use LogWatch to monitor the different log files and work in conjunction with EMS.

LogWatch can monitor different files including:

• Guardian files

• OSS logs

• VHS logs

• Pathway logs

• Third party logs, etc.

Lighten up the EMS load

Here is quick way to reduce EMS load: instead of routing your application errors to EMS, write them to disk logs.

• Use LogWatch to monitor these application log files for errors.

• LogWatch is scalable – you can have different instances of LogWatch monitoring different things.

• LogWatch is easy to set up – you can set one up in minutes, and it won’t interfere with other instances.

• Have LogWatch route only the errors to EMS.

Perfect companion to Prognosis or MOMI

If you are using a performance monitoring tool like Prognosis or MOMI, you will find LogWatch will work with it very effectively.

• Use LogWatch to monitor disk log files for errors.

• Configure LogWatch to route a message to EMS with specific Message ID or text pattern.

• Enable Prognosis or MOMI to pick up these specific messages from EMS to take corrective actions.

More than many other IT folks, NonStop users understand and appreciate the importance of availability, the cornerstone of the platform. But applications do encounter errors, which could lead to stoppage. When that happens, it is important to recover from the failure as quickly as possible. Any extended down time due to an unavailable application translates to loss of revenue and users’ confidence. With some advanced planning and a good implementation plan for log monitoring, problems can be detected early and remedied promptly.

• Analyze your logs – Where are the logs? What is written to the application logs? Take a look at some of the old logs and see what is going on in the environment.

• Plan ahead – What are some of the log messages that require specific actions? What actions? Who should be responsible for actions?

• Execute the plan – Start implementing a plan to monitor the key log files, and automate the log monitoring process with a tool like LogWatch.

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Phil Ly is the president of TIC Software, a leading provider of software and services for the NonStop community focused on NonStop application modernization. Under Phil's guidance, TIC Software has a proven track record of helping clients seamlessly integrate NonStop with next-generation technologies. A recognized technical leader, Phil is passionate about empowering organizations to unlock the full potential and longevity of their NonStop platform through innovative solutions.