Setup Monitoring of External Systems

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SAP Dashboard Generator

This section describes the procedure to enable metrics collection and reporting for specific non-ABAP systems using SNP CrystalBridge® Monitoring.

Prerequisites

SNP CrystalBridge® Monitoring is installed on a SAP ABAP system, which will collect the metrics.

Monitoring of a remote system only needs to be set up on a single SAP ABAP system.
Full SNP CrystalBridge® Monitoring license installed on the SAP ABAP system.

The license key needs to include additional servers to cover the number of application servers of the SAP ABAP systems and the number of servers of all monitored external systems.
HTTP SDK installed and running on the SAP ABAP system (on any server).
If HTTP SDK cannot be used, Machine Agent with enabled HTTP Listener can be used instead.
- Use the Machine Agent instance running on the external system to automatically associate custom metrics and custom application events with corresponding AppDynamics Application, Tier and Node.
- When the external system is not associated with any AppDynamics application (tier and node) use the Independent Machine Agent Install Scenario parameters.

Perform System Specific Steps

Part of this setup depends on the type of external monitored system:

To monitor a PI/PO system, see Monitor SAP PI Java Systems.
To monitor a Native HANA database, see Monitor Native HANA Database.
To monitor a SAP Web Dispatcher instance, see Monitor SAP Web Dispatcher.
To monitor a SAP Business Objects instance, see Monitor SAP Business Objects.
To monitor a SAP Cloud Connector instance, see Monitor SAP Cloud Connector.

Replicate Metrics to External System

When SNP CrystalBridge® Monitoring collector jobs are running, they are processing the remote system performance metrics locally on the SAP ABAP system. To replicate these metrics to the correct tier on the AppDynamics controller, SNP CrystalBridge® Monitoring connector needs to be configured to route the metrics through the corresponding HTTP SDK or Machine Agent instance.

This allows the metrics and events to be published on the Controller.

To set up the external system metric replication routing, perform the following steps:

Start the /DVD/APPD_CC transaction.
Go to SNP CrystalBridge® Monitoring Connector Mapping - Edit Mode.
On the toolbar, press CB Monitoring Systems Mapping.
Add a new row to the list.
Enter the system ID of the external system (use F4 help).
Set metrics API to SDK if you want to use an existing HTTP SDK instance, or MA (or leave empty) if you want to use Machine Agent with enabled HTTP listener instead.
1. If metrics API is set to SDK, use one of the following setup options:
  1. Default HTTP SDK: leave the host and port empty. Custom metrics and custom events will be reported via HTTP SDK instance associated with the central SAP application server of the SAP ABAP system where monitoring jobs are running.
  2. HTTP SDK on specific internal SAP server: enter a valid name of an internal SAP application server name that belongs to the current SAP ABAP system and leave the port empty. Custom metrics and custom events will be reported via HTTP SDK instance associated with the specified SAP application server.
  3. External HTTP SDK: enter hostname and port of any active HTTP SDK instance. Custom metrics and custom events will be reported under Application, Tier, and Node associated with the used HTTP SDK instance.
    
    When using this option, make sure that the HTTP SDK instance is always running. Make sure that the port belongs to an HTTP SDK instance, not to SDK Manager.
2. If metrics API is set to MA, enter the hostname of the Machine Agent installed on the external system and the HTTP listener port.
  
  Custom metrics and custom events from external systems replicated through Machine Agent will be visible on the Controller under Application, Tier, and Node that is associated with the used Machine Agent instance.
Custom path is only used when SDK metrics API is used. When Metrics API is set to SDK and this field is left empty, it is automatically populated with the default value 'Remote SAP <SID>'. The <SID> placeholder is automatically replaced with the external system ID value.
Click Save.

Monitor Connection Status

You can monitor and troubleshoot the connection status of used HTTP SDK instances or remote Machine Agent HTTP Listeners running on the external systems using t-code /DVD/APPD_STATUS.

The list of external monitored systems consists of all records maintained in CB Monitoring Systems Mapping through t-code /DVD/APPD_CC. Each row shows if the system mapping is active and if the SAP ABAP system is able to successfully connect to the corresponding HTTP SDK instance or Machine Agent HTTP listener (based on the used Metrics API).

When connection status is not 'Connected', no collected metrics and events can be routed to the controller. Click on the 'Not connected' text to show full error protocol.

Dashboards

It is possible to upload dashboards for externally monitored systems. Navigate to t-code /DVD/APPD_DASHBOARD and select one of the supported remote system types.

System ID - ID of remotely monitored system registered in SNP CrystalBridge® Monitoring. This is the same value that is defined in the CB Monitoring Systems Mapping table.

Application Name and Tier must correspond with application and tier where the used HTTP SDK or Machine Agent instance (based on used metrics API) is registered. These values are used in absolute custom metric paths and if incorrect values are entered, the generated dashboards will be empty.

Nodes are currently not used in dashboards for externally monitored systems.

Examples:

External PI system PI1 is monitored from the AB1 ABAP system. Metrics API is set to SDK and default HTTP SDK is used (host and port in the mapping table are initial) - use application and tier of system AB1. These values can be found via t-code /DVD/APPD_CUST. See Set Up SAP ABAP Agent.
External PI system PI1 is monitored from the AB1 ABAP system. Metrics API is set to SDK and external HTTP SDK is used (host and port values are set in mapping table) - use application name and tier of the remote HTTP SDK instance. These values can be found in startup.log of the HTTP SDK instance or in Controller UI.
External PI system PI1 is monitored from the AB1 ABAP system. Metrics API is set to MA and Machine Agent with enabled HTTP listener is used (host and port values are set) - use application name and tier where the used Machine Agent is correlated. This correlation link can be found via Controller UI settings → AppDynamics Agents → Machine Agents tab. Use the Unique Host ID to locate the corresponding App Server Agent where the application and tier info will be available.

Generated or uploaded dashboards will be available in the Controller UI under the application and tier specified in Dashboard Parameters.

See SAP Dashboard Generator for more details about the dashboard upload process.

Troubleshoot Connection Issues

Ensure that the host and port set in CB Monitoring Systems Mapping are correct.
Ensure that the HTTP SDK instance is running, or the Machine Agent is running on the external system / server (based on used metrics API).
Ensure that the SAP ABAP system can reach the remote host and port without being blocked by a firewall. If previous requirements are met, but 'error status 404' is still shown:
- (HTTP SDK) ensure that HTTP SDK managed to start (logs may be found in "logs" folder)
- (Machine Agent) ensure that the HTTP listener is correctly configured and active for the Machine Agent instance.
Try to telnet the HTTP SDK or Machine Agent host and port from the application server of the SAP system.