Agents Administration - Tests
 

Configuration of AsAbapRfcDnTest

Remote Function Call (RFC) is an SAP procedure for calling function modules in remote systems. The information about the target system of an RFC call is stored in the RFC destination. If an RFC destination is not reachable or is not available, then the information of the RFC call stored in the RFC destination cannot be accessed. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor each RFC destination regularly and ensure that the RFC destinations are available round the clock. The RFC destinations test helps administrators in this regard!

By closely monitoring RFC destinations in the target environment, administrators can figure out the RFC destinations that are not reachable for a long duration. The detailed diagnosis helps administrators figure out the reason for why the RFC destination is not reachable.

The default parameters associated with this test are as follows:

  • The TEST PERIOD list box helps the user to decide how often this test needs to be executed.

  • Specify the HOST name of the server for which the test is to be configured.

  • Specify the PORT to which the specified host listens.

  • Specify the time duration (in seconds) in the TIMEOUT text box, for which this test should wait for a response from the SAP ABAP instance. By default, this is set to 120 seconds.

  • Typically, to connect to a SAP ABAP instance and run tests, the eG agent requires the permissions of a SAP USER who has been assigned the following authorization objects: S_RFC, S_TABU_DIS, S_XMI_PROD, S_TOOLS_EX, S_RZL_ADM. Ideally, you will have to create a new user role on the SAP ABAP instance for this purpose, associate the above-mentioned authorization objects with that role, and assign the new role to an existing SAP user. The procedure for the same has been provided in Creating a New User Role for Monitoring and Assigning it to a SAP USER. Once the new role is assigned to a SAP user, specify the name of this user against SAPUSER text box.

  • Specify the PASSWORD that corresponds to the above-mentioned SAPUSER.

  • Confirm the PASSWORD by retyping it in the CONFIRM PASSWORD text box.

  • The SYSNO parameter appears only if the USE SAPCONTROL flag is set to No - i.e., if the test uses SAPJCO to collect measures. An indicator of the TCP/IP port at which the SAP server listens. For example, for a server that listens at port 3200, the SysNo will be ‘00’. Similarly, if the SAP server port is 3201, the SYSNO will have to be specified as ‘01’. Therefore, in the SYSNO text box, specify the system number of the SAP server with which the specified client communicates. To know the system number for the ABAP server being monitored, follow the procedure detailed in Identifying the SAP Router String and System Number.

  • Specify the ID of the client system as what the eG agent will be connecting to the SAP ABAP instance in CLIENT NAME text box. To know how to determine the client ID to use, follow the instructions provided in Determining the Client ID/Name for the eG Agent to Connect to the SAP ABAP Instance.

  • The ROUTER parameter appears only if the USE SAPCONTROL flag is set to No - i.e., if the test uses SAPJCO to collect measures. If the SAP client with the specified CLIENT NAME exists in a network external to the SAP server, then a router will be used to enable the server-client communication. In such a case, specify the router string of the router in the Router text box. If both the client and the server exist in the same network, then specify ‘none’ against the ROUTER text box. To know what is the SAP Router string for the ABAP server being monitored, follow the procedure detailed in Identifying the SAP Router String and System Number.

  • The eG agent uses the SAP JCO library to connect to the SAP ABAP system and pull out metrics. To enable the eG agent to make this connection and query the metrics, you need to specify the version of the SAP JCO library that the agent needs to use. For instance, to instruct the eG agent to use JCO v2.1.19, it would suffice if you specify the ‘major version number’ alone against JCO Version - in the case of this example, this will be 2.x. Note that if you have downloaded the SAP JCO CONNECTOR files for SAP JCO version 3 from the SAP market place (as instructed by Downloading the SAP JCO Connector files Required for Monitoring), then the JCO VERSION configuration should be 3.x.

  • The INSTANCE NAME parameter appears only if the USE SAPCONTROL flag is set to No - i.e., if the test uses SAPJCO to collect measures. This is set to none by default. This implies that the eG agent automatically discovers the instance name at run time.

  • Specify a comma-separated list of destination patterns that need to be included for monitoring, by default, in the INCLUDE DESTINATION PATERNS text box. Pattern search is not supported.

  • Specify a comma-separated list of destination patterns that need to be excluded from the scope of monitoring, in the EXCLUDE DESTINATION PATERNS text box. Pattern search is not supported.

  • By default, while administrators configure an RFC destination, they indicate the system connection type in the Connection Type field. When Type 3 is specified as the connection type, it indicates RFC connections to ABAP systems. By default, these Type 3 connection types are monitored by eG Enterprise and therefore, the MONITOR ABAP CONNECTIONS is set to Yes, by default. If administrators do not wish to monitor Type 3 connection types, then, they can set the MONITOR ABAP CONNECTIONS flag to No.

  • When Type I is specified as the connection type, it indicates an RFC connection between the ABAP systems connected to the same database as the current system. By default, these Type I connection types are monitored by eG Enterprise and therefore, the MONITOR INTERNAL CONNECTIONS flag is set to Yes, by default. If administrators do not wish to monitor Type I connection types, then, they can set the MONITOR INTERNAL CONNECTIONS flag to No.

  • When Type L is specified as the connection type, it indicates an RFC connection to a physical destination. By default, these Type L connection types are monitored by eG Enterprise and therefore, the MONITOR LOGICAL CONNECTIONS flag is set to Yes, by default. If administrators do not wish to monitor Type L connection types, then, they can set the MONITOR LOGICAL CONNECTIONS flag to No.

  • When Type S is specified as the connection type, it indicates an RFC connection that uses IBM's System Network Architecture (SNA) as its destination. By default, these Type L connection types are monitored by eG Enterprise and therefore, the MONITOR SNA/CPI-C CONNECTIONS flag is set to Yes, by default. If administrators do not wish to monitor Type S connection types, then, they can set the MONITOR SNA/CPI-C CONNECTIONS flag to No.

  • Type T destinations are connections to external programs that use the RFC library to receive RFCs. By default, these Type T connection types are monitored by eG Enterprise and therefore, the MONITOR TCPIP CONNECTIONS flag is set to Yes, by default. If administrators do not wish to monitor Type T connection types, then, they can set the MONITOR TCPIP CONNECTIONS flag to No.

  • Type X entries indicate systems where device drivers in ABAP have been specially installed. By default, these Type X connection types are monitored by eG Enterprise and therefore, the MONITOR ABAP DRIVER CONNECTIONS flag is set to Yes, by default. If administrators do not wish to monitor Type X connection types, then, they can set the MONITOR ABAP DRIVER CONNECTIONS flag to No.

  • DD FREQUENCY refers to the frequency with which detailed diagnosis measures are to be generated for this test. The default is 1:1. This indicates that, by default, detailed measures will be generated everytime this test runs, and also every time the test detects a problem. You can modify this frequency, if you so desire. Also, if you intend to disable the detailed diagnosis capability for this test, you can do so by specifying none against DD FREQUENCY.

  • To make diagnosis more efficient and accurate, the eG Enterprise suite embeds an optional detailed diagnostic capability. With this capability, the eG agents can be configured to run detailed, more elaborate tests as and when specific problems are detected. To enable the detailed diagnosis capability of this test for a particular server, choose the On option. To disable the capability, click on the Off option. The option to selectively enable/disable the detailed diagnosis capability will be available only if the following conditions are fulfilled:

    • The eG manager license should allow the detailed diagnosis capability

    • Both the normal and abnormal frequencies configured for the detailed diagnosis measures should not be 0.

  • Once the necessary values have been provided, clicking on the UPDATE button will register the changes made.

When changing the configuration for specific servers, a “*” beside the text box corresponding to the parameter signifies that these values have to be manually configured by the user. The parameter values that require to be configured will typically be prefixed with a “$” or contain a series of “*”. A value of “none” in the parameter value indicates that the corresponding parameter value can be changed if required.