2006-09-28 Sancho Lerena <slerena@artica.es>

* en/images/access_graph_*.jpg: Added.

	* en/images/access_graph_*.jpg: Added.
	
	* en/images/Pandora_*_Diagram.png: Added
	
	* en/pandora_advanced.xml: Added to repository. Talks about
	advanced issues with pandora.

	* en/pandora_userguide.xml: Fixed bad path for Pandora Logo shown
	in cover page.

	* en/pandora_introduction.xml: New section (new feautes), and added
	some text and corrections.

	* en/pandora.xml: Added advanced section as included file.     



git-svn-id: https://svn.code.sf.net/p/pandora/code/trunk@191 c3f86ba8-e40f-0410-aaad-9ba5e7f4b01f
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slerena 2006-09-28 12:38:34 +00:00
parent 59ba2f3de3
commit 993e3d7962
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@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
<!ENTITY pandora "<emphasis>Pandora</emphasis>">
<!ENTITY include_pandora_introduction SYSTEM "pandora_introduction.xml">
<!ENTITY include_pandora_install SYSTEM "pandora_install.xml">
<!ENTITY include_pandora_advanced SYSTEM "pandora_advanced.xml">
<!ENTITY include_fdl SYSTEM "fdl.xml">
<!ENTITY include_gpl SYSTEM "gpl.xml">
]>
@ -55,6 +56,7 @@
&include_pandora_introduction;
&include_pandora_install;
&include_pandora_advanced;
&include_fdl;
&include_gpl;

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@ -0,0 +1,168 @@
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<chapter>
<title>Pandora. Advanced section</title>
<sect1><title>Pandora High availabilty features</title>
<para>
You may setup Pandora for use HA in several scenarios:
<itemizedlist mark='bullet'>
<listitem>
<para>
<emphasis>Database Clustering for HA</emphasis>. You need to
setup a MySQL5 Cluster. In support forums / wiki are
information to make this, you only need to convert DB schama
in a MySQL Cluster compatible tables. This scenario has been
tested and works fine, but you need some advanced knowledgue
for MySQL Clustering administration.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
<emphasis>Multiple Pandora Console</emphasis>. It's easy,
you only need to setup another one. No locking problems or
incompatibility has been detected in several Pandora
deployments.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
<emphasis>Multiple Pandora Data Servers for HA
</emphasis>. This is the more complex scenario, because you
dont need to know nothing special about Pandora Server
setup, and you need to use of another tool to implement
Network HA, like VRRP or Keepalive. For Pandora Data server
you need to setup two identical machines, with the same
public keys for all agents connecting to server (and
duplicate server SSH host key). And setup Network HA to
point one of them. If one fails, VRRP or Keepalive "promote"
the other server up, and Pandora Agents, will connect it for
the next data packets. There is no need to change anything
in each of Pandora Data server, only need to be sure that
Pandora Server name is the same on both machines (in pandora
server setup, not in the system hostname).
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
<emphasis>Multiple Pandora Network Servers for HA
</emphasis>. This is more easy. You need to setup multiple
network servers in several machines across your network (or
all of them in the same segment), and assign modules to the
same server. If this servers fails, and there ara other
Network Servers active, marked as "primary" server,
automatically, the first network server available marked as
"Primary" launch the network module query. If you have many
servers marked as "primary", any of them could launch query.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
<emphasis>Multiple Pandora Network Servers for load
balancing. </emphasis>. You need to setup multiple network
servers in several machines across your network (or all of
them in the same segment), and assign agent/modules to
different servers, balancing yourself load between all
servers available.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
</sect1>
<sect1><title>Pandora virtual servers</title>
<para>
An special case for implement more processing power in servers
could be to implement "virtual" servers. Using virtual servers
(another instance of the same server in the same machine) is used
when Pandora Server cannot process all information without delay
too much. Pandora 1.2 it's using a limited number of threads to
process information (this will change in future versions), so you
can install another instance of Pandora Network or Pandora Data
server (with another data_in directory!), to be able to process
more information with the same machine.
</para>
</sect1>
<sect1><title>Pandora Database design (and redesign from 1.1)</title>
<para>
First Pandora versions, from 0.83 until 1.1 was based on a simple
idea: ona data, one database insertion. This was very easy to
develop and allow to program easily searches, insertions and other
operations.
</para>
<para>
This had many advantages and a great problem: the
scalability. This system has a limit defined in maximum number of
modules that could support in a "easy" way, from that number of
modules the management was too slow.
</para>
<para>
Solutions based on MySQL cluster was difficult and comes with some
problems and they did not offer either a solution in the long
term.
</para>
<para>
Data compression based on interpolation and data purge, makes a
smaller database, but this was not enought. Production systems has
a limit based on 100 agents, with about ten modules each one. This
was not a high limit for huge enviroments.
</para>
<para>
This problem was very important for Pandora future, so we are
changed the way Pandora store its pada. New data management system
store only "new" data. If a duplicate value enter the system, it
doesnt be stored in database. It's very useful to keep database
small. This works for all pandora data modules: numerical,
incremental, boolean and string.
</para>
<para>
This solves part of scalability problem reducing considerably
database usage, in about 40%-70%. We also have another solution
for scalability problems: total segregation of components in
Pandora and a built-in method to implement High Availability
solutions on Pandora components. You may have many Pandora
servers (network, data or SNMP), Pandora Consoles, and Pandora
Database (in a MySQL5 Cluster setup).
</para>
<para>
Changes come with some different ways to reading data. With new
version, if an agent cannot communicate with Pandora, and Pandora
Server doesnt receive data from agent, this "no data" cannot have
a graphical representation, for module graph there will be no
changes. You will have a graph with a perfect horizontal
line. Pandora, if doesnt receive new values, thinks that is no new
values, and everything seems to be equal that in the last
notification.
</para>
<para>
This graph, for example, show changes for each data, received each
180 seconds.
<graphic fileref="images/module_graph_full.jpg" scale="60" align="center"/>
This would be the equivalent graph for the same data, excepting a
conexión failure, from 05:55 to 15:29 aproximately.
<graphic fileref="images/module_graph_peak.jpg" scale="60" align="center"/>
</para>
<para>
In Pandora 1.2 we introduce a new general agent graph for show
connectivity. It reflects access from modules to this agent. This
graph complements all other graphs showing when agent has activity
and it's receiving data. This is an example of an agent connecting
regulary to server:
<graphic fileref="images/access_graph_full.jpg" scale="65" align="center"/>
If you have low leaks in this graph, you could have experiencing
some problems or slow connections in Pandora Agent connectivity
with Pandora Server. This graph with previous example could have
an aspect similar to this:
<graphic fileref="images/access_graph_peak.jpg" scale="65" align="center"/>
</para>
</sect1>
<sect1><title>Programmers guide to Pandora architecture</title>
<para>
<graphic fileref="images/Pandora_NetworkServer_Diagram.png" scale="65" align="center"/>
<graphic fileref="images/Pandora_DataServer_Diagram.png" scale="65" align="center"/>
<graphic fileref="images/Pandora_SNMP_Diagram.png" scale="55" align="center"/>
</para>
</sect1>
</chapter>

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@ -150,7 +150,7 @@
<listitem>
<para>
- <emphasis>Normal mode:</emphasis> The modules in this mode
must be configured manually. The self – definition of the
must be configured manually. The self definition of the
modules is not allowed in this mode.
</para>
</listitem>
@ -842,4 +842,4 @@
<para></para>
</sect2>
</sect1>
</chapter>
</chapter>

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@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
</para>
</sect1>
<sect1>
<title>Pandora detailed introduction.</title>
<title>Introducing Pandora.</title>
<para>
&pandora; is a monitoring tool that allows a system
administrator to visually analise the status and efficiency of
@ -300,10 +300,48 @@
</sect2>
<sect2><title>Pandora servers</title>
<para>
Pandora Server is a Perl script that processes the information
sent by the agents. The agents send the XML data file via SSH and
the server periodically verifies if it has new data files waiting
to be processed.
With Pandora 1.2 version, you have three different types of servers:
<itemizedlist mark='bullet'>
<listitem>
<para>
<emphasis>Pandora Data Server</emphasis>. This is a PERL
application that that processes the information sent by the
agents. The agents send the XML data file via SSH and the
server periodically verifies if it has new data files
waiting to be processed. You can setup different data
servers in different systems or in the same host (that will
be different virtual servers).
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
<emphasis>Pandora Network Server</emphasis>. This is a PERL
application that execute network tasks like sending pings,
TCP requests, SNMP requests and UDP request. When you assign
an agent to a server, you are assigning to a network server,
not a data server, so, this is very important that machines
running network servers have "network visibility" to hosts
assigned in network modules.
</para>
<para>
For example, if you create a module to make a ping check to
192.168.1.1 and assign this agent/module to a server in a
192.168.2.0/24 network without access to 192.168.1.0/24
module always report DOWN.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
<emphasis>Pandora SNMP Server</emphasis>. This is a PERL
application that parse output from standard snmptradp (we
provide one binary for snmptrapd, but its possible you need
to replace it with a binary that runs better in your
system). This daemon receives SNMP traps, and Pandora SNMP
Server stores in database and fire alerts assigned in
Pandora SNMP Console.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
<para>
Data are extracted from the data file, identifying origin, type
@ -397,14 +435,66 @@
</sect3>
</sect2>
</sect1>
<sect1>
<title>Pandora 1.2 new features</title>
<para>
<emphasis>Alert system</emphasis>. Now its possible to define a
"minimun" and "maximum" limit to fire an alert, just to delete
"noisy" data that fires false positives.
</para>
<para>
<emphasis>Network Subsystem</emphasis>. Now its possible to
monitor and analyze data using remote network tools, without using
agents, from the new Pandora Network Server component. All
management are made from Pandora Console, and now you will be able
to make ICMP checks (Ping), size network latency, get all types of
SNMP values (including scanning MIB), and makes TCP/UDP
connections to check ports, and test text applications, sending
texts and waiting for a specific response.
</para>
<para>
<emphasis>Module groups.</emphasis>Modules now could be grouped
using a new "module groups".
</para>
<para>
<emphasis>Network data refresh on demand.</emphasis> Could
be for each module or using a "global group refresh", forcing
Pandora Network Servers to refresh all network modules inside a
group.
</para>
<para>
<emphasis>Online contextual help</emphasis>, for Pandora WEB Console.
</para>
<para>
<emphasis>New Pandora server infraestructure.</emphasis>
</para>
<para>
<emphasis>New SNMP trap console</emphasis> to receive SNMP traps
and assigning alerts.
</para>
<para>
<emphasis>Internal messaging system</emphasis>, to notify events
to Pandora users.
</para>
<para>
<emphasis>Agent detail view autorefresh</emphasis>
</para>
<para>
<emphasis>New main agent group view</emphasis>
</para>
<para>
<emphasis>Improved database management system</emphasis>, that
allows to manage much more data.
</para>
</sect1>
<sect1>
<title>About Pandora
</title>
<para>
Pandora is a project initiated and mainly developed by Sancho
Lerena, at present other people is working on it: Raúl Mateos,
David Villanueva, Esteban Sánchez, Jose Navarro and Jonathan
Lerena, at present other people is working on it: Raul Mateos,
David Villanueva, Esteban Sanchez, Jose Navarro and Jonathan
Barajas. We want to give thanks for many other people who help us
with translation, graphic design, bugs reporting and interesting
ideas.

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@ -19,11 +19,11 @@
<book lang="en">
<bookinfo>
<title>&pandora; &pandora_version;</title>
<graphic fileref="./img/pandora_logo.jpg" valign="bottom" align="center"/>
<graphic fileref="./images/pandora_logo.jpg" valign="bottom" align="center"/>
<copyright>
<year>2006</year>
<holder>
Ártica Soluciones Tecnológicas S.L, Sancho Lerena, Esteban Sánchez y otros.
Artica Soluciones Tecnologicas S.L, Sancho Lerena, Esteban Sanchez y otros.
</holder>
</copyright>
<date>11/09/2006</date>
@ -70,4 +70,4 @@
&include_fdl;
&include_gpl;
</book>
</book>