IBM System Dashboard for Enterprise Content Management, Version 5.0.0.1

Listener configuration parameters

In the PchConfig.properties configuration file, you can specify values for the configuration parameters by using the syntax property=value. The following table describes the customizable configuration parameters and the default values assigned by System Dashboard for Enterprise Content Management:

Property Default Description
port_number 32775 The primary TCP port number on which the first instantiated Listener (called the primary Listener) listens for connections from Managers. When a Manager connects to the primary Listener, it is informed about which other ports are bound to other (secondary) Listeners. (Managers normally choose to connect to both the primary and secondary Listeners).
Tip: Specify a different port number only if another service is already using this port locally.
secondary_port OS defined When this parameter is defined, secondary Listeners attempt to bind to the specified port number, then that number plus 1, plus 2, and so on, until they successfully bind to a port. After a secondary Listener binds to a port, it contacts the primary Listener and informs it of the port number it selects. Multiple Listeners on the same computer automatically arbitrate the use of the TCP port number by using the secondary_port parameter, such that there is always one Listener listening on the primary port.
Tip: By default, secondary Listeners allow the operating system to choose the port to which they bind. However, some situations exist where this binding method can cause connectivity problems, such as the presence of firewalls. In this case, use of this parameter would necessitate only the opening of a small range of ports on the firewall to achieve the Listener bindings.
output_interval 900 (15 minutes) Specifies the aggregation interval in seconds; values of less than 1 second are ignored. The aggregation interval is the length of time over which each summary block of performance data is accumulated by the Listener. At the end of each aggregation interval, the Listener computes a summary block (basically, a snapshot of the current counter values), sends the summary to any Managers that request automatic updates, and then resets the minimum and maximum values that are associated with the Accumulators. The summary block is also added to a running history maintained by the Listener, which allows newly connecting Managers to request information about recent application activity.

For more information about the aggregation interval, see Configuring the Aggregation Interval.

output_count 96 Specifies the maximum number of summary blocks that are written to the summary log file before it is closed and a new log is opened. The default configuration provides for 24 hours worth of data to be written to a single file. Therefore, 24 - 48 hours of performance history is available at any time.

Multiple Listeners on the same computer automatically arbitrate the use of the TCP port number, by using the secondary_port parameter. The arbitration ensures that there is always one Listener listening on the primary port to which Managers can connect.

When you configure parameters in an application server environment, ensure that the application has the appropriate privileges to listen for connections on these TCP ports. On Windows systems, the WinPerfMon.dll file must be installed in the appropriate search path in order for the Listener to obtain system performance information. On UNIX systems, the application must have the privilege to exchange UDP packets with rstatd.

A Listener does not provide an option to use SSL, as most of the information it provides is not sensitive. Details on the information that is provided by the Listeners are available in the documentation directory that is created when you install the Dashboard software. Sites that want to protect the information available through the Listener can use techniques such as VPN tunnels, SSH tunnels, network or host firewalls, or tcpwrappers.



Last updated: October 2015
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