UNIX or Linux log file

Article
04/18/2024

Important

This version of Operations Manager has reached the end of support. We recommend you to upgrade to Operations Manager 2022.

The UNIX/Linux Log File Monitoring template lets you create an alert when a particular text is detected in a log file.

Scenarios

Use the UNIX/Linux Log File Monitoring template for any application that writes to a log file when a particular error occurs. You provide the path to the log file and the text that indicates an error, and an alert is created for you anytime that text is detected.

Monitoring Performed by the UNIX/Linux Log File Monitoring Template

The following table shows the monitoring activity that the UNIX/Linux Log FileMonitoring template performs.

Type	Description	When Enabled
Rule	Creates an alert when a specified text is detected.	Enabled

Wizard options

When you run the UNIX/Linux Log File Monitoring template, you have to provide values for the options in the following tables. Each table represents a single page in the wizard.

General options

The following options are available on the General Options page of the wizard.

Option	Description
Name	The name used for the template. This name is displayed in the Operations console.
Description	Optional description of the template.
Management Pack	Management pack file to store the rule that the template creates. For more information about management packs, see Selecting a Management Pack File.

Log File Details

The following options are available on the Log File Details page of the wizard.

Option	Description
Computer	If you want to monitor a single computer, enter the name of the agent-managed UNIX or Linux computer with the log file to monitor. Select the Select a Computer button to select one of the agent-managed UNIX or Linux computers that are installed in your management group.
Computer group name	If you're going to monitor a group of computers, enter the name of the group of agent-managed UNIX or Linux computers with the log file to monitor. Select the Computer Group button to select from the group in your management group.
Log file path	Complete path and name of the log file.
Expression	Regular expression of the text to detect. If you want to detect a simple string of characters, enter the string of characters.

Creating and modifying UNIX/Linux log file templates

To create a UNIX/Linux log file template

If you want to monitor the log file on a group of computers, determine the target group for the monitor by using the following logic:
- If you want to monitor the log file on all UNIX and Linux computers in the management group, you don't have to create a group. You can use the existing group UNIX/Linux Computer Group.
- If you only want the log file to be monitored on a certain group of computers, either ensure that an appropriate group exists or create a new computer group by using the procedure in How to Create Groups in Operations Manager.
Start the Add Monitoring wizard.
On the Select Monitoring Type page, select UNIX/Linux Log File Monitoring , and select Next.
On the General Properties page, in the Name and Description boxes, enter a name and description for this new template.
Select a management pack in which you want to save the template or select New to create a new management pack. For more information, see Selecting a Management Pack File.
If you want to monitor the log file on a single computer, do the following:
- Click the Select a Computer button next to the Computer name box.
- Select the computer to monitor, and select OK.
If you want to monitor the log file on a group of computers, do the following:
- Click the Select a Group button next to the Computer group name box.
- Select the computer to monitor, and select OK.
In the Log file path box, enter the path and name of the log file to monitor.
In the Expression box, enter the text to watch for, such as error. You can enter a regular expression for more complex logic.
Optionally, select Test to open a new dialog to test Regular expression matching against sample text that you input.
Select a Run As Profile to use. The account associated with the target computer in this profile will be used to read the log file.
Select an Alert Severity.
Select Next.
Verify the summary information for the template, and select Create.

To modify an existing UNIX/Linux Log File template

Open the Operations console with a user account that has Author credentials.
Open the Authoring workspace.
In the Authoring navigation pane, expand Management Pack Templates , and then select UNIX/Linux Log File.
In the UNIX/Linux Log File Monitoring pane, locate the template to change.
Right-click the template, and then select Properties.
Enter the changes that you want, and select OK.

View UNIX/Linux log file data

There's no monitor or collected data for the UNIX/Linux Log File Monitoring template. If a match is found in the specified log file, an alert is generated. You can view this alert in the Active Alerts view with the other alerts.