Appendix F - Resource Kit Software Tools

The Microsoft Application Center 2000 Resource Kit CD contains a selection of third-party software and programs that were developed in-house, which can be used for working with Microsoft Application Center 2000 (Application Center) clusters. The default installation path is:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Application Center 2000 Resource Kit

Each tool gets its own subdirectory under this root.

Note There might be additions to, or deletions from, this collection since the time this book went to press. Check the Readme files on the Resource Kit companion CD to obtain the most current information about these tools.

On This Page

ACSystemTray
Advanced Configuration Editor
Application Exporter
Cluster Monitor
Command-Line Scripts
DumpHM
Pre-Flight Manual
Scanner
SQL Partitioner
SQL Event Logger
Uptime

ACSystemTray

The ACSystemTray application monitors a cluster and detects members being set offline/online, as well as synchronization of cluster content. It provides real-time event information by using colored icons that are displayed in the Microsoft Windows taskbar.

Requirements

The tool requires Application Center on the targets that you want to monitor.

Installation

Run Setup.exe to install this application.

Usage Instructions

After installing this application, start ACSystemTray by clicking the program name (click the Windows Start button, point to Application Center System Tray Monitor, and then click ACSystemTray).

When this application starts, it is not connected to a member. Click Connect to open the Connect dialog box. Enter membername, without preceding backslashes (\\), if required, clear the Connect using current credentials check box, and then provide authentication information.

See the ACSystemTray Readme.txt file for more information about the ACSystemTray menus and how to use them.

Advanced Configuration Editor

The Advanced Configuration Editor enables you to configure advanced Application Center settings. These settings are not exposed via the Application Center user interface and are meant for advanced users only. The editor provides the ability to configure both local and remote Application Center clusters.

Requirements

This tool requires the Application Center (Administrative client or Full server) to be installed on the computer where you're running the Advanced Configuration Editor. An Application Center cluster must already exist on the target that you want to connect to.

Installation

Run Setup.exe to install this editor.

Usage Instructions

Use the Connect option (on the Configuration menu) to connect to the Application Center cluster that you want to configure. You should always make configuration changes on the cluster controller.

Any modifications that you make to the Application Center cluster configuration take place immediately. As soon as the property being modified loses focus, the editor applies the change. However, some settings might require that Application Center services are restarted before the change is reflected.

Warning The advanced Application Center configuration options provided by this editor are meant for advanced users only and could result in a misconfigured cluster. Ensure that you fully understand the ramifications of changing a particular setting before making that change.

Application Exporter

The Application Exporter enables you to generate command-line scripts that re-create Application Center applications on other Application Center clusters. This tool enumerates the applications—and their resources—on a source cluster that is used to create a batch file, which you can run against a target cluster.

Requirements

The tool requires Application Center 2000 on both the source and target and can only be run on the cluster controller.

Installation

No installation is necessary; the tool is a stand-alone, command-line utility.

Usage Instructions

Run this tool from the command line and redirect its output to a text file with the .cmd file extension. For example, the following command exports its output to a file called Myapps.cmd:

myapps.cmd: acappexp > myapps.cmd.

This generated batch file uses the Application Center command-line tool, AC.EXE, and can be run on any server that has Application Center installed.

After you generate the command batch file, you can run it (Myapps.cmd) on the target and re-create the applications.

The batch file performs rudimentary error checking and cancels the script when the AC.EXE command-line tool reports any failure.

Command Syntax

See the documentation for Application Exporter on the Resource Kit companion CD.

Cluster Monitor

The Cluster Monitor supports remote monitoring of the state of an Application Center cluster.

Requirements

This tool requires Application Center (Administrative client or Full server) installed on the server where you're running the monitor. An Application Center cluster must exist on the target that you want to connect to.

Installation

Run Setup.exe to install this tool.

Usage Instructions

Use the Connect option to connect to the cluster that you want to monitor. Cluster Monitor will automatically locate the cluster controller.

The Configure option allows you to set the refresh interval (in milliseconds) for the cluster status, as well as turn off auto-fit.

Command-Line Scripts

More than a dozen scripts are provided that represent a cross-section of cluster-related activities, such as enumerating classes, instances, and namespaces, providing protocol binding information, and backing up/restoring the metabase.

DumpHM

DumpHM creates a subset of the Microsoft Health Monitor 2.1 configuration in MOF file format. The .mof that's generated can be used to reproduce the original configuration on another server, or it can be retained as a backup of the Health Monitor configuration.

Requirements

Application Center and Health Monitor must be installed on the source and target—assuming that you want to re-create this configuration on another server.

Installation

No installation is required; copy DumpHM.exe to a convenient location.

Usage Instructions

To generate the Health Monitor configuration .mof, in Windows 2000, open a command prompt, and then type

DumpHM.exe 

To install the Health Monitor configuration contained within the DumpHM-generated .mof, you must compile this file on the target by using Mofcomp.exe.

Command Syntax

See the documentation for DumpHM on the Resource Kit companion CD.

Notes

The Health Monitor configuration is composed of Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) instances representing data groups, data collectors, thresholds, and actions. Data groups, data collectors, and thresholds are organized in a tree-shaped hierarchy. A single action can be associated with more than one threshold, and all actions are grouped under the computername folder. DumpHM will extract only actions that are associated with an existing threshold in the hierarchy.

Pre-Flight Manual

The Pre-Flight Manual contains the Pre-Flight Check application that is used in Chapter 8, "Creating Clusters and Deploying Applications." This application consists of HTML pages, Active Server Pages (ASP), and COM+ applications. Additionally, the Web Application Stress script that is used for stress testing a cluster is included.

Requirements

Application Center (Full server) must be installed on the server where you want to install the Pre-Flight Check application.

Installation

On the controller's C: partition, create a folder named ACPF. (You can create this folder on a different partition, but the installation batch files that are included will have to be edited to reflect a different partition.) Extract the contents of Acpf.zip to this folder.

Use the batch files that are in Acpf.zip to install the Pre-Flight Check application on the controller.

Scanner

Scanner reads a specified directory, collecting file information, such as dates, size, version, and cyclical redundancy check (CRC), and saves this information to a text file. The same process can be repeated on another computer with the same set of directories.

The two directory reports can then be used as input to the Scanner tool so that it can compare the scan results. Then, Scanner generates a report, noting the differences between the directories.

Requirements

Microsoft Windows 2000.

Installation

No installation is required; copy the Scanner.exe file to a convenient location.

Usage Instructions

Run Scanner with the snapshot command (scanner snapshot) to collect version information, size, dates, and CRC of all files and subdirectories in a given directory on the first computer. Repeat this process on the second computer.

Run Scanner with the analyze command (scanner analyze), and provide the two snapshots so that Scanner can create a differences report.

Command Syntax

See the documentation for Scanner on the Resource Kit companion CD.

SQL Partitioner

The SQL Partitioner automates the process of scaling out your data tier. It enables you to create and maintain partitioned databases and distributed partitioned views. With its wizard-based graphical user interface you can:

• Set up query nodes or distributed partition views. 

• Set up constraints on data nodes. 

• Set up linked servers between nodes. 

• Write all views and triggers, based on your partitioning requirements. 

• Partition data from an original—nonpartitioned—source data node. 

Requirements

Microsoft SQL Server 2000.

Installation

Install the SQL Partitioner by running Setup.exe from the SQL Partitioner directory on the Resource Kit companion CD. You can run Setup on either a client or a server. The computer on which you install the SQL Partitioner must have SQL connectivity and must be running SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Manager.

Note It is very important to do an in-depth analysis of your current database before partitioning the database. See the following section.

Usage Instructions

See the documentation for the SQL Partitioner on the Resource Kit companion CD.

SQL Event Logger

The SQL Event Logger allows you to log events to a SQL server database on an another computer from multiple servers that are running Application Center. You can configure the SQL Event Logger to log events found in a particular WMI namespace and of a particular severity. The SQL Event Logger supports hot enabling or hot disabling of logging.

Requirements

The computer hosting the SQL Server database must have:

• Microsoft Windows 2000 with Service Pack 1 (SP) and SP2 hotfixes. 

• Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 or later. 

Note If you are doing a remote installation of the SQL database, you must be running under an Administrators account on the SQL server in order for the SQL database Setup program to work properly.

The computers running the SQL Event Logger must have:

• Microsoft Windows 2000 with SP1 and SP2 hotfixes. 

• Microsoft Application Center 2000 1.0. 

Installation

There are four steps to installing the SQL Event Logger:

1. Install the SQL database—run Createdb.cmd. 

2. Install the SQL Event Logger—run Loggersetup.cmd. 

3. Install the replication application—run Create.cmd. 

4. Configure the SQL Event Logger. 

Note 

• See the Readme.txt file for detailed installation instructions. 

• All programs must be installed from the command line. 

Uptime

Uptime analyzes a single server by processing the event log to determine reliability, availability, and current system uptime. The target can be either a local or remote computer.

In its most basic form, Uptime displays the current system uptime—that is, the length of time since the last restart. An advanced option allows you to access more detailed information, such as shutdowns, restarts, operating system failures, and Service Pack installation.

Note Many factors affect these calculations, and the results displayed by Uptime should be considered estimates.

Requirements

Uptime availability calculations require:

• Windows 2000 or Microsoft Windows NT version 4.0 with SP4 or later to be installed. 

• The system heartbeat to be active. (See the documentation for Uptime on the Resource Kit companion CD.) 

• Dr. Watson (a Windows 2000 diagnostic utility) to be enabled. 

  Application Failure event detection depends on Dr. Watson. 

• Stop error detection to be enabled. (See the documentation for Uptime on the Resource Kit companion CD.) 

Installation

No installation is required; copy the Uptime.exe file to a convenient location.

Usage Instructions

Although no special privileges are required for basic operation, it is best to run the tool under an Administrators account because more information is available to calculate system uptime and availability.

Note See "Potential Sources of Error" on the Resource Kit companion CD.

Command Syntax

See the documentation for Uptime on the Resource Kit companion CD.