Systems TermsSystems Terms
Some terms that are critical for understanding Systems are listed below.
System
A System is a computer defined primarily by its address and operating system (Windows, Linux, or Solaris). You specify a name for the system. Other attributes of a system are connection method, login, password, and profile and description. Within a system are groups of metrics.
Group
In the Systems module, there are two types of groups:
(1) standard system performance metrics which includes: CPU, Memory, and Disk (Windows) or File System (Linux and Solaris).
(2) user defined tests which include: Files, Applications, and Processes.
The key attribute of a group is check frequency. You give the metric group a name and specify a profile for it. You may also enter a description.
Metric
Metrics are pre-defined, you do not create them. The Metric level is used to further organize instances (monitoring tests) you setup in Systems.
For example, under a "disk" group you will find metric names of "pctusedspace" and "usedspace" (representing percent used space and used space, respectively). Under the metric name you see each of the disks listed (e.g. C: and D:).
Instance
Instances are the lowest level in the tree view, on the Systems home page. There are two categories of SystemWatch instances:
(1) standard performance instances which includes: CPU, Memory, and disk (Windows) or file system (Linux & Solaris). Monitoring of these performance metrics produces data regarding usage of available capacity.
(2) user defined instances which includes: file size, process count, and application. A file is tested (monitored) for file size. Application and process instances are similar; both test for a specified number of processes matching a specified description. The application instance is intended to monitor all of the process of a particular application. The process instance is intended to monitor a single process.
