Article
05/19/2016

UNIX/Linux Shell Command Performance Collection Rules

Updated: May 13, 2016

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

To define a collection rule in Operations Manager based on the output of an UNIX/Linux shell command, the command execution details, object name and counter name of the performance counter must be defined with a frequency that specifies how frequently to sample the data.

UNIX/Linux Shell Command Performance Collection Wizard Options

When you run the UNIX/Linux shell command performance collection 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 a performance collection rule based on the execution of an UNIX/Linux shell command, select UNIX/Linux Shell Command (Performance).
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
Rule Name	The name used for the rule. This 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.
Management Pack	Management pack to store the rule. For more information on management packs, see Selecting a Management Pack File.
Rule Category	The category for the rule. For a performance collection rule, this should be Performance Collection.
Rule Target	The class to use for the target of the rule. The rule will be run on any agent that has at least one instance of this class. 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

Shell commands used in performance collection rules must return only a single numeric value, or errors will be encountered when collecting the performance value. The Filter Expression page allows you to filter the command output to ensure that the command output is acceptable. It is recommended that the default expression filter is used to only collect performance data when the value is numeric and the command executed successfully.

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"] The default expression filters that the StdOut value is numeric, and that the script executed successfully, with the expression definition of: //[local-name()=”StdOut”] Matches Regular Expression ^[-+]?\d[0-9](\.[0-9]+)?[Ee]?[-+]?[0-9]$ //[local-name()=”ReturnCode”] Equals 0**

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"] The default expression filters that the StdOut value is numeric, and that the script executed successfully, with the expression definition of: //*[local-name()=”StdOut”] Matches Regular Expression ^[-+]?\d*[0-9]*(\.[0-9]+)?[Ee]?[-+]?[0-9]*$ //*[local-name()=”ReturnCode”] Equals 0

Performance Mapper

The Performance Mapper page defines the mapping of the command output to a performance counter.

Option	Description
Object	Text for the Object name. This is required. You can type in the name of the object or select a property from the target.
Counter	Name of the performance counter.
Instance	Text for the Instance name. This only required if the performance counter has multiple instances. You can type in the name of the instance or select a property from the target.
Value	The variable that defines the value collected as a performance counter value. To collect the value returned by the command as StdOut, use *$Data///[local-name()=”StdOut”]$. To collect the value returned by the command as ReturnCode, use $Data///[local-name()=”ReturnCode”]$*

Creating UNIX/Linux Shell Command Performance Collection Rules

Use the following procedures to create a Windows performance collection rule in Operations Manager with the following details:

Runs on all UNIX/Linux Computers, every 15 minutes
Collects the count of files in the /tmp path as a performance counter

To create an UNIX/Linux shell command performance collection rule in Operations Manager

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.
In the Operations console, select the Authoring workspace, and then select Rules.
Right-click Rules and select Create a new rule.
On the Rule Type page, do the following:
1. Expand Collection Rules, expand Probe Based, and then click UNIX/Linux Shell Command (Performance).
2. Select the management pack from step 1.
3. Click Next.
On the General page, do the following:
1. In the Rule name box, type /tmp File Count.
2. In the Rule Category box, select Performance Collection.
3. Next to Rule Target, click Select and then select UNIX/Linux Computers.
4. Leave Rule is enabled selected.
5. Click Next.
On the Schedule page, do the following:
1. In the Run Every boxes, input 15 and Minutes.
2. Click Next.
On the Shell Command Details page, do the following:
1. In the Command box, type ls /tmp | wc –l. This command sequence will return the count of the files in /tmp.
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.
On the Filter Expression page, do the following:
1. Click Next (to use the default expression filter that validates StdOut is a numeric value, and the command executed successfully).
On the Performance Mapper page, do the following:
1. On the Object line, click […].
2. Click Target and select Network Name.
3. Click OK.
4. In the Counter box, type File Count.
5. In the Instance box, type /tmp.
6. In the Value box, type $Data///*[local-name()=’StdOut’]$
7. Click Create.