Matching an Initialization Message for an MCP System

Requirements

The Operations Sentinel Interface, running on the MCP system you want to monitor, requires that SP-AMS send a valid usercode and password before the interface software begins sending data to the Operations Sentinel server. This usercode and password can be specified in a PASSWORD action in the active SP-AMS database and are sent to the Operations Sentinel Interface in response to matching the automation initialization message for the system. Matching this message is necessary to validate that the device connected to the interface software port is an authorized Operations Sentinel server.

The Unisys supplied sample SP-AMS database MCPMon.bld includes patterns that match the automation initialization message. These patterns include a PASSWORD action that contains the default usercode and password, SPO/SPO. If SPO/SPO is registered with the correct privileges to match the Operations Sentinel configuration file on the MCP system, the Operations Sentinel Interface begins to send data. In this default case, you do not need to make changes to the sample database to get started. See the Operations Sentinel Interface for ClearPath MCP Installation and Configuration Guide for more information about this sample database.

Usercode Security

For security reasons, the usercode and password usually have privileged status and system user status. You can set a flag in the configuration file for Operations Sentinel Interface for ClearPath MCP that specifies whether the usercode is required to be privileged status and system user status. The default setting for this flag requires that the usercode have privileged status and system user status, but it can be changed to allow an Operations Sentinel server connection not requiring this security status. See the Operations Sentinel Interface for ClearPath MCP Installation and Configuration Guide for more information about this flag.

Automating Several MCP Systems

If you are automating several MCP systems, the usercode and password can be different for each system. In this case, you must either create a unique pattern and PASSWORD action for each system you want to monitor or use conditional logic within a single pattern to supply the correct PASSWORD action for each system. You can use the variable _HOSTID within conditional logic to identify the host, so that the database can supply the correct PASSWORD action. See the MCPMon.bld sample database for an example using conditional logic.

You can use the TOKEN HOSTID command in a pattern to match a message from a specific system. See Section 2.

Diagnostic Messages

The sample database supplied with Operations Sentinel contains actions to raise an alert for each of the following diagnostic messages. The message text appears in the Alerts window of Operations Sentinel Console and help text is included with the detail information for that alert.

If the usercode and password specified in a PASSWORD action in a matched pattern do not pass system validation, and they are the default usercode and password (SPO/SPO), the following message is returned to SP-AMS and displayed on the ODT. The MCPMon sample database supplied with Operations Sentinel includes patterns to match these messages. If the database MCPMon is active, SP-AMS alerts the Operations Sentinel Console operator when one of these usercode failures occurs.

DEFAULT USERCODE/PASSWORD SPECIFIED 
IN SP-AMS DATABASE IS NOT VALID

If the usercode and password do not pass system validation, and they are not the default (SPO/SPO), the following message is returned to SP-AMS and displayed on the ODT:

INVALID USERCODE/PASSWORD SPECIFIED IN SP-AMS DATABASE

If no SP-AMS database is active or the automation initialization pattern is not matched, the following message is returned to SP-AMS and displayed on the ODT:

TIMEOUT WAITING FOR SP-AMS USERCODE/PASSWORD

Examples

Automation of all MCP systems requires that a pattern similar to the one in the following example be included in the active SP-AMS database. This is needed to comply with the MCP security requirement for a usercode and password. You must include a similar pattern for each MCP system that is managed by Operations Sentinel.

A host-id token is used in this example to match the message from a specific system. The usercode and password are stored in the autoaction database in unreadable form. The leading % character tells the interface agent to completely hide the usercode and password.

DEFINE "C2"
   MESSAGE "SINGLE POINT AMS AUTOMATION STARTED USING DATABASE "\
      "db FOR SYSTEM hostid."
   TOKEN KEYWORD  4 "AUTOMATION"
   TOKEN FIXED    3 "AMS"
   TOKEN FIXED    5 "STARTED"
   TOKEN HOSTID     "SYS1"
   ACTION PASSWORD "%SPO/SPO"
END