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UNIX/Linux Shell Command Alerts

 

Updated: May 13, 2016

Applies To: System Center 2012 R2 Operations Manager, System Center 2012 - Operations Manager, System Center 2012 SP1 - Operations Manager

UNIX/Linux shell commands can be used to detect events and generate alerts. When the rule is run, the provided command is executed on the agent, and if the output matches the provided filter, the alert is generated.

Target

Rules and monitors run on the agent computer of each instance of the target class, and they usually access data on the local computer. The target must be a UNIX and Linux computer type, such as UNIX/Linux Computer, Linux Computer, etc.

UNIX/Linux Shell Command (Alert) Wizard Options

When you run a UNIX/Linux Shell Command rule wizard, you will need to provide values for options in the following tables. Each table represents a single page in the wizard.

Rule Type

The Rule Type page includes basic settings for the rule including its type and the management pack file to store it in.

Option

Description

Select the type of rule to create

To create an alert-generating rule based on the execution of an UNIX/Linux shell command, select UNIX/Linux Shell Command (Alert).

Management Pack

Management pack file to store the rule or monitor.For more information on management packs, see Selecting a Management Pack File.

General

The General page includes general settings for the rule including its name, category, target, and the management pack file to store it in.

Option

Description

Name

The name used for the rule. The name appears in the Rules view in the Authoring pane. When you create a view or report, you can select this name to use the data collected by it.

Description

Optional description of the rule.

Rule Category

The category for the rule. For a performance collection rule, this should be Performance Collection. For an alerting rule, this should be Alert.

Rule Target

The class to use for the target of the rule. For more information on targets, see Understanding Classes and Objects.

Rule is enabled

If checked, the rule is enabled and the shell command will run according to the schedule. If unchecked, the rule is not enabled and the script will not run. The rule can be enabled for a group of target objects by creating an override to enable the rule.

Schedule

The following options are available on the Schedule page of the wizard.

Option

Description

Run every

Frequency that the script should be run. This should typically not be less than 5 minutes.

Synchronize at

If enabled, the schedule will be synchronized to occur at the specified time.

UNIX/Linux Shell Command

The following options are available on the Shell Command Details page of the wizard.

Option

Description

Command

The shell command to execute. This can be the full path to a program or script, a command, or a one-line sequence of multiple commands (using pipeline operators).

Run As Profile

Either the “UNIX/Linux Action Account” or “UNIX/Linux Privileged Account” profile. Select the profile that associates the required account credentials with the task target. The associated account will be used to execute the command.

Timeout (seconds)

The number of seconds that the command can run before the agent stops it. This prevents problem commands from running continuously and putting excess overhead on the agent computer.

Filter Expression

The Filter Expression page allows you to filter for output to generate an alert. The alert is generated only if the output of the shell command matches the filter expression.

Property Name

Description

Filter one or more events

An expression that filters output of the shell command. For more information on building expressions see Expressions The Parameter Name syntax for command execution output is: StdOut: //*[local-name()="StdOut"]StdErr: //*[local-name()="StdErr"]Return Code: //*[local-name()="ReturnCode"]

Configure Alerts

The Configure Alerts page is used to define alert properties for the rule. Its options are explained in Alerts.

Creating UNIX/Linux Shell Command (Alert) Rules

The following procedure shows how to create an UNIX/Linux shell command alerting rule in Operations Manager with the following details:

  1. Runs on all UNIX/Linux Computers every 15 minutes

  2. Generates an alert if the file “/tmp/error” exists

To create a UNIX/Linux shell command alerting rule

  1. If you don’t have a management pack for the application that you are monitoring, create one using the process in Selecting a Management Pack File.

  2. In the Operations console, select the Authoring workspace, and then select Rules.

  3. Right-click Rules and select Create a new rule.

  4. On the Rule Type page, do the following:

    1. Expand Alert Generating Rules, expand Event Based, and then click UNIX/Linux Shell Command (Alert).

    2. Select the management pack from step 1.

    3. Click Next.

  5. On the General page, do the following:

    1. In the Rule Name box, type Alert on Error File Exists.

    2. In the Rule Category box, select Alert.

    3. Next to Rule Target click Select and then select UNIX/Linux Computer.

    4. Leave Rule is enabled selected.

    5. Click Next.

  6. On the Schedule page, do the following:

    1. In the Run Every boxes, input 15 and Minutes.

    2. Click Next.

  7. On the Shell Command Details page, do the following:

    1. In the Command box, type ls /tmp/error | wc –l. This command sequence will return a 1 if the file “/tmp/error” exists, and a 0 if it does not.

    2. In the Run As Profile box, select the UNIX/Linux Action Account profile.

    3. In the Timeout (Seconds) box, input 120.

    4. Click Next.

  8. On the Filter Expression page, do the following:

    1. Configure an And expression with the entries:

      1. //*[local-name()=”StdOut”] equals 1

      2. //*[local-name()=”ReturnCode”] equals 0

    2. This will trigger an alert whenever the value of the shell command output is 1, and the command executed successfully.

  9. On the Configure Alerts page, do the following:

    1. In the Alert name box, type Error File Found.

    2. In the Alert description box, type The file /tmp/error was found on the computer:

    3. Click the […] button.

    4. Click Target and select Network Name.

    5. Click OK.

    6. Click Create.