Macintosh WATCHER 4.1

Testing Devices

Once you have created a list of devices, you can use WATCHER to test them. You can test individual devices, groups of devices or all the devices on the network. Testing is transparent to your network devices; it doesnít interfere with the normal operation of those devices.

WATCHER tests for the presence of the device and whether or not the device can respond to a broadcast message. If it cannot, its status is shown as Down.

WATCHER allows advanced device-specific testing of a number of AppleTalk devices. WATCHER can identify paper jams on laser printers, problems on QuickMail servers, and full hard drives on Macintoshes. In addition to the Up and Down indicators, device-specific testing presents you with information about why the device may be down.

WATCHER also allows advanced testing of SNMP devices. You can read a variety of device information and a number of performance indicators, and attach notifications to those indicators. For more information, see the chapter Network Performance with SNMP.

There are many ways to streamline and customize the testing performed by WATCHER so we recommend that you read through this chapter before you begin network testing.

Testing

Once you have begun testing, it will continue until you click Stop Test, or press the Command key and the period simultaneously.

1. To test the entire device list in the main test list, click Test All or select Test All from the Device menu.

WATCHER starts testing with the first device in the list. To begin testing at any other device in the list, select the device where testing should start then hold down the Option key and click Test All.

Devices that are on hold will not be tested, so you may want to put a device on hold to exempt it from testing. For more information see Test Options later in this chapter.

2. To test a specific device or group of devices, select the devices in the main test list and select Test Selection from the Device menu. This function runs the test for the selected devices only, while Test All initiates continuous testing on all devices in the main test list.

3. To stop the testing, click Stop Test in the main test list or press the z key and the period simultaneously.

Note: While WATCHER is testing, you cannot perform any other WATCHER functions.

Monitoring Tests

Testing can run entirely in the background. If your Macintosh is running MultiFinder or System 7, you can switch to another application after you start testing.

You can monitor testing by watching the status indicators and Condition field the main test list. You can also to see more detailed information about the results of the ongoing test in the Test Status window.

Test Status Window

While testing, select Show Test Status from the Window menu. The Test Status window that appears provides information about the overall results of device and zone testing, as the testing progresses. See Figure 9-1.



Figure 9-1 Test Status window

The Test Status window shows the number of devices in the main test list device list, the number of zones in the zones list, and the number of devices and zones that are down. It also shows the number of new zones detected.

To stop testing while in the Test Status window, click Stop Test. To hide the Test Status window during testing, click the window's close box.

Main Test List

The panel of four state indicators on the right of the main test list flash for the device currently being tested. The possible states are:

DN = Down

OH = On Hold

UP = Up

NT = Not Tested

All new devices start off in the "not tested" state. Any entry in the device list for a device that is down will be italicized on a black and white monitor, or will be red on a color monitor.



Figure 9-2 Test progress on main test list

Hiding the Main Test List

You can hide the main test list from view during testing without putting WATCHER in the background. Select Hide Main test list from the Window menu, or click the main test list's close box.

Altering Device States

You can manually set a device to an "On Hold" (OH) or a "Not Tested" (NT) state.

WATCHER tests all devices, except those in the On Hold state, and then loops through the device list again. You may want to put a device on hold if you are about to take it out of service.

You may want to reset a device to Not Tested in order to reset its testing data, found in the Get Info dialog box (described in the chapter Device Reporting).

To set a device's state, select the device in the main test list. Select Reset Selection... from the Device menu and drag through to either Not Tested or On Hold.

Testing Options

There are a number of options that let you streamline how WATCHER tests devices. The testing options you can choose are described here:

Test Options dialog box

You can specify how you want WATCHER to perform its testing using the Test Options dialog box. Select Settings from the File menu and drag through to Options.... A dialog box appears. Select Test Options from the pop-up menu at the top of the dialog box. A new dialog box like the one shown in Figure 9-3 appears.



Figure 9-3 Test Options dialog box

The options you can change here apply to all testing, though you can override them for specific devices using the Device Test Options function described later in this chapter.

Start Testing when Double-Click on Document

Enable this field if you want testing to start as soon as you open the WATCHER file. Note that this will only work when you double-click on the document icon to open it.

You can use this option to start testing automatically when your Macintosh starts up. Select Start testing when double-click on document. Click OK. Go to the Finder and make an alias of your WATCHER document. Place the alias in the Startup Folder, inside your System Folder.

Scroll Device List while Testing

When testing, WATCHER scrolls through the main test list's device list, if necessary, to keep the device currently being tested visible. This field lets you disable the scrolling.

You can also temporarily halt scrolling during testing by holding down the Option key. Scrolling resumes 15 seconds after you release the key, or after you have finished scrolling manually.

Prompt for Log File

If you want to be prompted to turn on the log feature at the beginning of a test, select Prompt for Log File. More information on log files is found later in this chapter.

Auto-Save Test Results

This option saves the test results to disk automatically every ten minutes. Test results are part of the WATCHER document. This is the same as selecting Save in the File menu.

Delay Between Devices

This field determines the wait time between finishing a test on one device and beginning a test on the next one in the list.

Delay Between Loops

This field determines the wait time between finishing one complete test loop through the list (or specified devices) and beginning another.

Test Devices Once Every

This field determines the priority of testing. Select the frequency with which testing takes place.

OK and Cancel

Click OK to save changes to the testing options or Cancel if you choose not to make any.

Testing Calendar

You can specify times of day and days of the week when testing is to take place on your network using the Testing Calendar dialog box. Select Settings from the File menu and drag through to Testing Calendar. The dialog box shown in Figure 9-4 appears.



Figure 9-4 Testing Calendar dialog box

Default Week

The default calendar defines the testing window as 00:00 to 24:00 Monday through Sunday. This applies to every week of the year. You can add and remove hours of operation in one hour blocks by clicking in the default week. Active hours are shaded.

Month

You can view different months using the pop-up menu above the calendar. You can toggle through the three states of individual days: default work hours, special work hours and day off, by clicking on a day.

Work days in the monthly calendar are shaded, to indicate that they have the same schedule as the default week. Days with special work hours are shown as solid on a black and white monitor, or red on a color monitor. Off work days are blank (white background).

Reset

This button lets you remove any special settings you've made for Special Days and return to the default hours.

Special...

This button displays a Default Special Days calendar for one day so that you can create a default special day schedule.

OK and Cancel

Click OK to save changes to the calendars and close the dialog box. Click Cancel to close the dialog box without saving any changes.

Note: The testing calendar uses the current date and time from your Macintosh. Make sure that your system's clock is accurate.

Changing the Default Testing Calendar

1. Select Settings from the File menu and drag through to Testing Calendar.... A calendar similar to the one in Figure 9-4 appears.

2. To change the default schedule so that the change applies to each week of the year, add or remove on-duty hours in the Default Week calendar. Click on the time blocks. Each block represents one hour. Active hours are shaded.

3. To create a default schedule for a special day, click Special.... This displays a Default Special Days calendar, as shown in Figure 9-5. Click there to add or remove work hours.



Figure 9-5 Default special days calendar

Create a default special day if there is a regularly occurring special schedule, such as a shorter day every second Friday.

To apply that special schedule to a specific day, toggle the day in the monthly calendar until it is solid (or red on a color monitor).

4. To create a unique schedule for a day, toggle the day in the monthly calendar until it becomes a special day (solid). Double-click on the same day and the daily calendar appears (similar to Figure 9-3 above). Click on the hours to add or remove them.

5. To designate a specific day of the month as off work, toggle the day in the monthly calendar until it is blank (white background).

6. Click OK to save the changes to the calendars.

AppleTalk Test Options

You can specify how you want WATCHER to test AppleTalk devices using the AppleTalk Test Options dialog box. Select Settings from the File menu and drag through to Options.... A dialog box appears. Select AppleTalk Test Options from the pop-up menu at the top of the dialog box. A new dialog box like the one shown in Figure 9-6 appears.



Figure 9-6 AppleTalk Test Options dialog box

The options configurable here apply to all AppleTalk testing, though you can override them for specific devices using the Device Test Options function described later in this chapter.

Intervals (Sec.)

Enter the number of seconds you want WATCHER to wait for a response from AppleTalk devices.

Count

Enter the number of times you want WATCHER to try an AppleTalk device before indicating it as Down.

Device testing

When disabled, this field directs WATCHER to perform non-standard testing. This will allow devices that are not fully compliant with AppleTalk Name Binding Protocol (NBP) to be tested.

AppleTalk Device-specific Testing

When enabled, this field lets WATCHER perform specialized testing of AppleTalk devices using its installed test modules.

Internet Test Options

You can specify how you want WATCHER to test Internet devices using the Internet Test Options dialog box. Select Settings from the File menu and drag through to Options.... A dialog box appears. Select Internet Test Options from the pop-up menu at the top of the dialog box. A new dialog box like the one shown in Figure 9-7 appears.



Figure 9-7 Internet Test Options dialog box

The options configurable here apply to all Internet testing, though you can override them for specific devices using the Device Test Options function described later in this chapter.

Intervals (Sec.)

Enter the number of seconds you want WATCHER to wait for a response from an Internet device.

Count

Enter the number of times you want WATCHER to try each Internet device before indicating it as Down.

DECnet Test Options

You can specify how you want WATCHER to test DECnet devices using the DECnet Test Options dialog box. Select Settings from the File menu and drag through to Options.... A dialog box appears. Select DECnet Test Options from the pop-up menu at the top of the dialog box. A new dialog box like the one shown in Figure 9-8 appears.



Figure 9-8 DECnet Test Options dialog box

The options configurable here apply to all DECnet testing, though you can override them for specific devices using the Device Test Options function described later in this chapter.

Intervals (Sec.)

Enter the number of seconds you want WATCHER to wait for a response from DECnet devices.

Count

Enter the number of times you want WATCHER to try a DECnet device before indicating it as Down.

Novell IPX Test Options

You can specify how you want WATCHER to test Novell IPX devices using the Novell IPX Test Options dialog box. Select Settings from the File menu and drag through to Options.... A dialog box appears. Select Novell IPX Test Options from the pop-up menu at the top of the dialog box. A new dialog box like the one shown in Figure 9-9 appears.



Figure 9-9 Novell IPX Test Options dialog box

The options configurable here apply to all Novell IPX testing, though you can override them for specific devices using the Device Test Options function described later in this chapter.

Novell IPX Retry Count

This field sets the maximum number of attempts that WATCHER makes to locate the selected device before completing the search.

Test using service advertising protocol

Select this option to use the Novell IPX service advertising protocol as a testing method. If this option is not selected, SPX testing takes place.

SNMP Test Options

You can specify how you want WATCHER to test SNMP devices using the SNMP Test Options dialog box. Select Settings from the File menu and drag through to Options.... A dialog box appears. Select SNMP Test Options from the pop-up menu at the top of the dialog box. A new dialog box like the one shown in Figure 9-10 appears.



Figure 9-10 SNMP Test Options dialog box

The options configurable here apply to all SNMP testing, though you can override them for specific devices using the Device Test Options function described later in this chapter. Testing proceeds according to the AppleTalk or Internet options (depending on device type).

Test device before reading MIB data

Select this option if you want WATCHER to see if an SNMP device is in service before trying to read MIB information from it.

DDP Checksum for local zone

Select this option to use data diagram protocol (DDP) checksum verification while communicating with SNMP agents in the same zone as WATCHER. (This option applies only to some AppleTalk SNMP devices.)

AppleTalk Device-specific Test Modules

WATCHER's device-specific test modules provide you with enhanced reporting of status for many AppleTalk devices. These modules, when installed, may display specific information about device problems in the Condition column of the WATCHER main test list.

To use device-specific testing, you need to install modules to support each type of AppleTalk device for which you want detailed status reports. You can find these modules in the Test Modules folder, inside the WATCHER v4.1 folder on your Macintosh hard drive.

Note: To use test modules, you must add entries to the main test list using the Add AppleTalk Device dialog box. For example, you must add a ServerSpace entry to the main test list to monitor a Macintosh using the ServerSpace test module.

LaserWriter

Provides reporting of LaserWriter status. It can identify the following conditions:

ï paper jam

ï out of paper

ï no paper tray

QuickMail Server

Conducts tests on QuickMail servers and reports on their status. It tries to establish a session with each server to make sure it's still operating. If the server is operating normally, nothing appears in the Condition field in the main test list.

Server Space

Reports on the free disk space of any network Macintosh that has the Space Probe control panel installed. WATCHER can notify you when disk space becomes unacceptably low. (The threshold for this notification is set in the Space Probe control panel on the monitored Macintosh.)

FastPath

Reports the status of FastPath 4/5 routers. It can notify you when a new image needs to be downloaded to the router. It can also indicate if K-Star is running on FastPath 5 routers.

Installing Test Modules

To install a test module from the Test Modules folder, launch WATCHER. Perform the following steps:

1. Select Settings from the File menu and drag through to AppleTalk Test Modules. A dialog box like the one in Figure 9-11 appears.



Figure 9-11 Test Module Mover dialog box

2. Click Open and double-click on the file containing the test module you want to import. All test modules provided with your copy of WATCHER are kept in the Test Modules folder, inside the WATCHER v4.1 folder.

The All Modules file provides all the test modules in one place.

3. Select the required modules from the External Test Module list and click Add.

4. Click Done to close the dialog box.

WATCHER Responder Testing

To use WATCHER Responder testing, you must first install the WATCHER Responder on any Macintoshes you want to monitor. See the chapter Installation.

The following kinds of information are available through WATCHER Responder testing:

ï system version

ï AppleTalk version

ï presence of an FPU

ï presence of color QuickDraw

ï disk space

ï free disk space

ï memory size

You can specify how you want WATCHER to read WATCHER Responder configuration information using the WATCHER Responder dialog box. Select Settings from the File menu and drag through to Options.... A dialog box appears. Select WATCHER Responder from the pop-up menu at the top of the dialog box. A new dialog box like the one shown in Figure 9-12 appears.



Figure 9-12 WATCHER Responder dialog box

This dialog box provides the following options:

Read WATCHER Responders data

Select this option to read information from WATCHER Responders installed on Macintoshes in your network.

Read Responders Every

Enter the number of hours WATCHER is to wait before re-reading Responder information.

Choosing Individual Device Test Options

You can specify testing options on a device by device basis. This can help you tailor WATCHER to your particular environment, avoid unnecessary delays in the test loop, and prevent nuisance alarms.

To view or change testing options for specific devices, highlight the devices in the main test list and select Device Test Options from the Device menu. A dialog box like the one in Figure 9-13 appears.



Figure 9-13 Device Test Options dialog box

If you select a group of devices with different protocols, you can use the radio buttons at the top of the dialog box to select which settings you want to adjust. Refer to the following pages for information on testing options for each device type.

Each dialog box contains the following buttons:

OK and Cancel

Click OK to save changes to the testing options or Cancel if you choose not to make any.

Use Default

This button reverts the settings to the default values.

Test devices Once Every

Use this pop-up menu to specify the testing priority (interval) for the selected devices.

Calendar

Click Calendar to select the times at which devices are tested.

AppleTalk Device Test Options

The AppleTalk Device Testing Options dialog box (shown in Figure 9-13) provides the following special buttons and options:

Intervals (Sec.)

Enter the number of seconds you want WATCHER to wait for a response from the selected device.

Count

Enter the number of times you want WATCHER to try the selected device before indicating it as Down.

Device testing

When disabled, this field directs WATCHER to perform non-standard testing. This will allow devices that are not fully compliant with AppleTalk Name Binding Protocol (NBP) to be tested.

AppleTalk Device-specific Testing

When enabled, this field lets WATCHER perform specialized testing of AppleTalk devices using its installed test modules.



Figure 9-14 Internet Device Test Options dialog box

Internet Device Test Options

The Internet Device Testing Options dialog box (shown in Figure 9-14) provides the following special buttons and options:

Intervals (Sec.)

Enter the number of seconds you want WATCHER to wait for a response from the selected device.

Count

Enter the number of times you want WATCHER to try the selected device before indicating it as Down.



Figure 9-15 DECnet Device Test Options dialog box

DECnet Device Test Options

The DECnet Device Testing Options dialog box (shown in Figure 9-15) provides the following special buttons and options:

Intervals (Sec.)

Enter the number of seconds you want WATCHER to wait for a response from the selected device.

Count

Enter the number of times you want WATCHER to try the selected device before indicating it as Down.



Figure 9-16 Novell IPX Device Test Options dialog box

Novell IPX Device Test Options

The Novell IPX Device Testing Options dialog box (shown in Figure 9-16) provides the following special buttons and options:

Novell IPX Retry Count

This field sets the maximum number of attempts that WATCHER makes to locate the selected device before completing the search.

Test Using Service Advertising Protocol

Select this option to use the Novell IPX service advertising protocol as a testing method. If this option is not selected, SPX testing takes place.



Figure 9-17 SNMP Device Testing Options dialog box

SNMP Device Test Options

The SNMP Device Testing Options dialog box (shown in Figure 9-17) provides the following special buttons and options:

Test device before reading MIB data

Select this option if you want WATCHER to see if an SNMP device is in service before trying to read MIB information from it.

DDP Checksum for Local Zone

Select this option to use DDP checksum verification while communicating with SNMP agents in the same zone as WATCHER. (This option applies only to some AppleTalk SNMP devices.)

Using Log Files

You can record the progress of testing for future reference through the log file function, which labels each test action with a time stamp. Log files are created as TeachText documents.



Figure 9-18 Sample log file

1. Select Log File... from the File menu. Type in a name for the log file when prompted to do so and click Save. To turn the log file off, select Stop Log from the File menu. An example of a log file is shown in Figure 9-18.

2. If you don't want to record every test session, you may choose instead to be prompted to open the log file each time you initiate testing. You can then decide whether or not to enable the log file.

To do this, select Prompt for Log File on the Testing Options dialog box, described earlier in this chapter.

3. If you want to generate a log while using the Start testing when double-click on document option in the Test Options dialog box, select Prompt for Log File. A log will be opened upon startup with the date and time appended to the log file name for reference (for example, Watcher Log 04/12/96@11.45). The date and time sequence depends on your systemís date/time formatting.