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Alyvix Server

Overview​

Alyvix is an open source APM software tool for visual monitoring.

Build end-user bots visually interacting with any Windows application like ERPs or your favourite browser. Measure end-user experiences: Alyvix records the click-to-appearance responsiveness of each transaction. Report IT service quality to support technical and business actions.

The Centreon Monitoring Connector Alyvix Server aims to collect the execution status and duration of the Alyvix's testcases and their transactions by requesting the dedicated built-in RestAPI.

The Alyvix Server Monitoring Connector can not be used with the Open-Source free version of Alyvix, as the Rest API feature is only available in the commercial version. Get in touch with your Centreon Sales representative to get a quote!

Monitoring Connector assets​

Monitored objects​

  • Testcases and transactions details of Alyvix Server

Discovery rules​

Rule nameDescription
App-Monitoring-Alyvix-Restapi-Testcase-NameDiscover all the testcases handled by Alyvix Server

Monitored metrics​

  • Global (for each testcase)
Metric nameDescriptionUnit
testcase_alias#testcase-stateStatus of the case job execution
testcase_alias#testcase-durationTotal time of the case job executionms
testcase_alias#testcase-freshnessLast execution time of the case jobs
  • Per testcase (for each transaction)
Metric nameDescriptionUnit
testcase_alias~transaction_alias#transaction-stateStatus of the the transaction job execution
testcase_alias~transaction_alias#transaction-durationTotal time of the transaction job executionms

Prerequisites​

The Alyvix Server must be installed and configured on a dedicated Windows Server machine. The Centreon Pollers must as well be able to reach the Alyvix Rest API on the TCP/80 or TCP/443 port(s).

More information about how to configure Alyvix and set up testcases can be found in the official documentation: https://www.alyvix.com/learn/.

Setup​

  1. Install the Centreon package on every Centreon poller expected to monitor Alyvix Server ressources:
yum install centreon-plugin-Applications-Monitoring-Alyvix-Restapi
  1. On the Centreon Web interface, install the Alyvix Server Centreon Monitoring Connector on the Configuration > Monitoring Connector Manager page

Configuration​

  • Log into Centreon and add a new Host through "Configuration > Hosts".
  • Fill the "Name", "Alias" & "IP Address / DNS" fields according to your Alyvix Server settings
  • Select the App-Monitoring-Alyvix-Restapi-custom.

If needed, configure the following Host Macros:

MandatoryNameDescription
XALYVIXAPIPORTRestAPI port of the Alyvix Server (Default: '80')
XALYVIXAPIPROTOCOLProtocol used to reach the Alyvix Server (Default: 'http')
XALYVIXAPIURLPATHURL path of the API (Default: '/v0/')
ALYVIXAPIUSERNAMEUsername to authenticate against the API (not available yet)
ALYVIXAPIPASSWORDPassword to authenticate against the API (not available yet)
EXTRAOPTIONSAny extra option you may want to add to every command_line (eg. a --verbose flag)

This template will deploy one "Global" Service that will monitor all the testcases. Use the Service Discovery feature if you wish to get one Service per testcase.

FAQ​

How to check in the CLI that the configuration is OK and what are the main options for ?​

Once the plugin installed, log into your Centreon Poller CLI using the centreon-engine user account and test the Plugin by running the following command (some of the parameters such as --proxyurl have to be adjusted):

/usr/lib/centreon/plugins/centreon_monitoring_alyvix_restapi.pl \
    --plugin=apps::monitoring::alyvix::restapi::plugin \
    --mode=testcases \
    --hostname='10.0.0.1' \
    --proto='http' \
    --port='80' \
    --proxyurl='http://myproxy.mycompany.org:8080' \
    --filter-testcase='case_app1|case_app2' \
    --critical-testcase-state='%{state} eq "FAILED"' \
    --critical-transaction-state='%{state} eq "FAILED"' \
    --warning-testcase-duration='40000' \
    --critical-testcase-duration='60000' \
    --critical-testcase-freshness='600' \
    --verbose

Expected command output is shown below: 

OK: All test cases are ok | 'case_app1#testcase.duration.milliseconds'=3883ms;;;0; 'case_app1~1_openapp1#transaction.duration.milliseconds'=77ms;;;0;
'case_app2#testcase.duration.milliseconds'=30658ms;;;0; 'case_app2~1_open_app1#transaction.duration.milliseconds'=3ms;;;0;
'case_app2~2_open_app2#transaction.duration.milliseconds'=4ms;;;0; 'case_app2~3_delay#transaction.duration.milliseconds'=76ms;;;0;
'case_app2~4_open_app1_explorer#transaction.duration.milliseconds'=0ms;;;0; 'case_app2~5_open_file#transaction.duration.milliseconds'=10000ms;;;0;
'case_app2~6_close_app1#transaction.duration.milliseconds'=104ms;;;0; 'case_app2~7_close_app2#transaction.duration.milliseconds'=0ms;;;0;
'case_app2~8_check_picture#transaction.duration.milliseconds'=0ms;;;0;
checking test case 'case_app1'
    duration: 3883 ms, state: OK, last execution: 2020-12-11T15:22:40 (1m 16s ago)
    transaction '1_openapp1' state: OK, duration: 77 ms
checking test case 'case_app2'
    duration: 30658 ms, state: OK, last execution: 2020-12-11T15:20:39 (3m 18s ago)
    transaction '1_open_app1' state: OK, duration: 3 ms
    transaction '2_open_app2' state: OK, duration: 4 ms
    transaction '3_delay' state: OK, duration: 76 ms
    transaction '4_open_app1_explorer' state: OK, duration: 0 ms
    transaction '5_open_file' state: OK, duration: 10000 ms
    transaction '6_close_app1' state: OK, duration: 104 ms
    transaction '7_close_app2' state: OK, duration: 0 ms
    transaction '8_check_picture' state: OK, duration: 0ms

In this example, the Plugin gets the execution status and duration of Alyvix Server testcases (--plugin=apps::monitoring::alyvix::restapi::plugin --mode=testcases) by requesting the Alyvix RestAPI at http://10.0.0.1:80 (--hostname='10.0.0.1' --proto='http' --port='80'). Only the testcases named case_app1 & case_app2 will be displayed (--filter-testcase='case_app1|case_app2').

This command would trigger a WARNING alarm if the execution duration of one of the testcases is greater than 40s -40000ms- --warning-testcase-duration='40000').

A CRITICAL alarm would however be triggered in the following cases:

  • the execution duration of one of the testcases is greater than 60s -60000ms- (--critical-testcase-duration='60000')
  • the reported status of a testcase is "FAILED" (--critical-testcase-state='%{state} eq "FAILED"')
  • the reported status of at least one of a testcase's transaction is "FAILED" (--critical-transaction-state='%{state} eq "FAILED"')

All the filters that can be used as well as all the available thresholds parameters can be displayed by adding the --help parameter to the command:

/usr/lib/centreon/plugins/centreon_monitoring_alyvix_restapi.pl \
    --plugin=apps::monitoring::alyvix::restapi::plugin \
    --mode=testcases \
    --help

Why do I get the following message: UNKNOWN: 500 Can't connect to 10.0.0.1:80 |​

This error message means that the Centreon Plugin couldn't successfully connect to the Alyvix Server RestAPI. Check that no third party device (such as a firewall) is blocking the request. A proxy connection may also be necessary to connect to the API. This can be done by using this option in the command: --proxyurl='http://proxy.mycompany:8080'.

UNKNOWN: 501 Protocol scheme 'connect' is not supported |​

When using a proxy to connect to the Alyvix Server RestAPI, this error message means that the Centreon Plugin library does not support the proxy connection protocol.

In order to prevent this issue, use the curl HTTP backend by adding the following option to the command: --http-backend='curl'.