FlowPro APM Administration

Getting Started

Using an SSH Client, ssh to the FlowPro APM and log in as the flowpro user using the password configured during the installation process.

[root@VA_DC_5 ~]# ssh [email protected]
Password:
Last login: Mon May  4 12:25:11 2015 from 10.1.10.65
FlowPro Application Performance Monitor (TM) v15.4.30.277
[2015-04-30 16:01:05 -0400 (Thu, 30 Apr 2015)]
Copyright (C) 2012 - 2015 Plixer
All rights reserved. Plixer
Need an IPFIX Collector? Download Scrutinizer at http://www.plixer.com
           Machine ID  : xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-xxxxxxxxx
      Licensed Version : 15.8
         Licensed Type : valid
           Expiration  : Tue Apr 12 2016
License expires in 343 day(s)

FLOWPRO>

The FLOWPRO> prompt indicates the FlowPro APM is ready for commands. If the initial steps are done correctly, the FlowPro APM is already processing traffic and sending feedback to the IPFIX collector specified.

Server Maintenance

Hardware Failure

If any hardware malfunctions occur, contact technical support for assistance.

Applying Security Patches

Although efforts are made to minimize the risk for security breaches on the appliance, updates to core OS components may be applied.

It is recommended that updates are not installed unless technical support advises or assists. For more information, contact technical support.

Upgrades

Customers are entitled to upgrades provided that maintenance is active. For further instructions, contact technical support.

Backing up the FlowPro APM

The FlowPro APM stores all its details in the plixer.ini file. From the FLOWPRO> prompt, type edit plixer.ini and copy the file contents to a safe location.

Restoring a FlowPro APM from Backup

To restore the FlowPro APM backup, use ssh to log into the appliance. From the FLOWPRO> prompt, type edit plixer.ini and hit enter. Overwrite the contents of the file with the backed up plixer.ini content. Save the changes. FlowPro APM will rebuild the appropriate files and begin operations.

If a new server is being used or server configurations have changed, a new license key may need to be applied.

Commands

At any time running the command help, help <command>, <command> ?, or ? will display help in the interface.

disable

The disable command is used to stop collection of the specified interface.

FLOWPRO> disable mgmt

edit

The edit command is used to modify system files used in the day to day operations of FlowPro APM. The plixer.ini file is the main configuration file for FlowPro APM. It contains settings used by FlowPro to configure licensing, IPFIX collector, and more.

FLOWPRO> edit plixer.ini

enable

The enable command can be used to enable metrics collection on the specified interface.

FLOWPRO> enable <interface_name> <voip|latency|both>

A list of interfaces is available by using the show command. The modes available to FlowPro APM are latency, VoIP, or both.

FLOWPRO> enable mgmt latency

The above example enables latency monitoring on the mgmt interface.

license

The license command is used to manage the FlowPro APM license key. To generate a license key, Plixer or the reseller will need the FlowPro APM’s unique machine ID. The machine ID is displayed when issuing the license check command.

The following command can be used to show licensing details:

license <check|status>

FLOWPRO> license check
        Machine ID : 5YZ6XEPV66C766369W8DBN2A-XSAAAAASSSWW
  Licensed Version : 15.8
     Licensed Type : valid
        Expiration : Thu Jul 28 2016
License expires in 730 day(s)

The license key can be configured on the FlowPro APM using the license set command.

license <set|update>

FLOWPRO> license set

When applying the license key, it must be one continuous string without any line feeds or carriage returns on the same line as the license=.

[flowpro] collector=10.1.4.94:2055
trackProcessMetrics=0
apmMode=mgmt-latency;
license=Nb7RuIh35R1Uv9uOWTWhBUuLX4mLNtYCxfqlL0j3IEV2r//
hkHhl3EnTTFdZZPK+0jprzFIlW10dmIN7sZOiwlCcA+L5g6HTzQJ/
b8l6hLeLEsoHiYXgj0SsWkKeCu2IBb6Alpv3msIf1k+ps2cbf8abUR/
kdLVkwOwAwozq2kY7/RzTwvj7$

In the new window, beside license= paste in the license key and Press CTRL+X to save. Issuing the license check or license status will verify the key is properly installed.

Contact technical support to acquire a new license key

password

The password command will change the password used for the flowpro username.

FLOWPRO> password
(current) UNIX password:
New password:
Retype new password:

Successful password changes will be applied to the next log in. This password is used when logging in remotely or on the server directly.

service

The service command can be used to manually start, stop, or restart the FlowPro APM service/

service <service_name> <start|stop|restart>

FLOWPRO> service flowpro restart

set

The set command is used to set certain system parameters� At this time, it is used to set the IPFIX Collector. It is primarily an alias to the command edit plixer.ini.

FLOWPRO> set collector

Future versions of FlowPro APM may allow users to utilize the set command without modifying the full configuration.

show

The show command is used to display state or list details available for modification and customization by the user.

The show interfaces command lists the available network interfaces that the FlowPro can utilizes for its operations.

FLOWPRO> show interfaces
 mgmt
 mon1
2 interface(s) available

The show status command displays all running components of the FlowPro APM system, the state of those services, and the current license details.

FLOWPRO> show status
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| (mgmt) Latency             ACTIVE
| FlowPro Process Monitor    ACTIVE
| FlowPro License            License expires in 343 day(s)
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

snoop

The snoop command can be used to verify that packets are being received by or sent from the FlowPro APM for a certain IP address or interface.

snoop ip <ip_address> Snoop interfaces <interface_name>

FLOWPRO> snoop ip 10.1.1.1
FLOWPRO> snoop interfaces mgmt

Press CTRL+C to exit the snoop command.

system

The system command is used to change state of the FlowPro APM. The directive change is used to change the host name or IP address.

system <change|restart|shutdown>

FLOWPRO> system change
FLOWPRO> system restart
FLOWPRO> system shutdown