| |
ConnectView provides access to each managed server's alerts file and audit trail file and displays data in report format. In addition, ConnectView allows you to customize the data fields that appear in the reports. The alerts file contains a history of a server's events. The audit trail file contains a record of remote access service access and usage. These files are stored and maintained in the SYS:SYSTEM\CSLIB directories on the remote access servers on your network. Before accessing the log files, ensure that the BSPXCOM.NLM file is loaded on the managed servers and that the BREQUEST.EXE program file is running on the ConnectView workstation.
IMPORTANT: The audit trail file and/or archived files must be available to display trend analysis, accounting, audit trail, and alert data. To enable the audit trail, choose Server > Configure Audit Trail. If a large audit trail file or archived files are used, obtaining audit trail or alerts data might require a substantial period of time.
This section covers the following topics:
Audit trail records in the current audit trail file or archived files are required for trend analysis and accounting and for viewing alerts and audit trail logs. ConnectView enables you to dynamically turn on and off remote access audit trail recording and set audit trail options for archiving files. By default, remote access audit trail recording is enabled; the archive hour is set to 3:00 a.m.; the archive interval is set to 1 day; the number of archived files retained is set to 7.
NOTE: To change the audit trail options, you need the SNMP ControlCommunity (SET) access rights. Refer to Support for SNMP and ConnectView for more information about setting community strings.
To toggle the remote access audit trail recording and change other audit trail options, select the desired server and choose Server > Configure Audit Trail. ConnectView opens the Audit Trail Configuration dialog box.
To enable remote access audit trail recording, click the Enable Audit Trail check box. Use the spin controls to set the desired archive hour, archive interval, and the number of archived files retained. To disable audit trail recording, clear the Enable Audit Trail check box.
NOTE: Enabling and disabling audit trail recording affects the recording of only remote access and NetWare ConnectTM 2.0 records. However, changes to the archive options affect the server's archive files.
To apply the changes and close the Audit Trail Configuration dialog box, click OK. To close this dialog box without applying the changes, click Cancel.
Alerts files contain information about network events detected by the remote access software. Alerts files contain a chronological record of information---such as severity, time the event occurred, port name, and service---based on the current audit trail file. You can use the display options to view the alerts data from the archived files. Data for alerts can be displayed in tabular and report format.
ConnectView provides access to the alerts files of the servers you are managing to enable you to obtain a chronological list of server events and assess server performance.
To access an alerts file, complete the following steps:
Ensure that the desired server is selected.
If the desired server is not selected, either select the server icon in the View All window or a View window or select the server name in the Server drop-down combo box located in the left corner of the Tool Bar.
Either click the Alerts icon in the Tool Bar or choose Server > View Alerts.
ConnectView prompts you for start and end dates. Enter the desired dates and click OK. ConnectView opens an Alerts window.
You can further limit the displayed alert data by choosing View > Display Options (F4) and specifying the dates within the specified start and end dates.
IMPORTANT: Due to table tool limitations, up to 8,000 alert records may be displayed at one time.
ConnectView enables you to limit the display of alerts by entry time, severity level, port name, and service.
To limit the data displayed in the Alerts window, choose View > Display Options (F4). ConnectView opens the Alerts Display Options dialog box.
Click the Filter radio button and click the check boxes for the desired options.
To display the alerts data for the specified settings, click OK. To close the Display Options dialog box without changing the current settings, click Cancel.
To return to full display, click the Show All radio button and OK.
Alert data is not updated automatically. However, ConnectView enables you to refresh the data whenever it is necessary.
To force an immediate update of the data in the Alerts window, choose View > Update (F5). ConnectView replaces the current data with the most up-to-date data available from the current audit trail file.
ConnectView enables you to generate daily and summary alert data in report format. The report format allows you to view and print formatted data for server summaries or daily alert activities. Also, by using the Alerts Display Options dialog box to limit the data in the Alerts window, you can limit the content of the report to a specified time period, severity level, port, and service.
NOTE: To limit the content of the report to a specified time period, severity, port, and service, use the display options in the Alerts window before accessing the report. Due to table tool limitations, up to 8,000 alert records may be displayed at one time.
To display alert data in report format, ensure that the desired server is selected, and from any window choose File > Generate Report > Alerts. ConnectView opens the Alerts Report window and displays the alert data in report format. The Alerts window is also opened in the background.
NOTE: Closing the Alerts window also closes the Alerts Report window.
ConnectView allows you to specify which information appears in the Alert Report window and in what order the data columns appear.
To customize the data display in the Alert Report window, choose File > Report Preferences and click the Alert tab button. The Report Preferences dialog box appears with the options for the Alert Report window.
By default, the Alert Report includes summary and detailed information. Detailed information appears in the following order:
Clear the check boxes for the data you do not want to appear in the report.
To change the order of the detailed information, select the desired field and click the Up or Down button.
To save your changes, click OK. The changes take effect the next time the Alert Report window is opened and remain in effect until these options are changed. To close this dialog box without applying the changes, click the Cancel button.
ConnectView allows you to print or copy report data.
To print alert report data, open an Alerts Report window and choose File > Print. ConnectView prints the displayed report.
To copy the alert report data, open an Alerts Report window and choose Edit > Copy. ConnectView copies the displayed report to the Windows clipboard.
An audit trail file is integral to network security and management. This file provides information that identifies who used which remote access ports and services, when the ports and services were used, and for how long. When the Audit Trail window is first opened, the data is based on the current audit trail file. You can use the display options to view the audit trail data from the archived files. This data enhances system security and enables efficient planning and resource allocation.
To access a server's current audit trail file, complete the following steps:
Ensure that the desired server is selected.
If the desired server is not selected, either select a server icon in the View All window or a View window or select a server name in the Server drop-down combo box located in the left corner of the Tool Bar.
Either click the Audit Trail icon in the Tool Bar or choose Server > View Audit Trail.
ConnectView prompts you for start and end dates. Enter the desired dates and click OK. ConnectView opens an Audit Trail window.
You can further limit the displayed audit trail data by choosing View > Display Options (F4) and entering dates within the specified start and end dates.
IMPORTANT: Due to table tool limitations, up to 8,000 audit trail records may be displayed at one time.
ConnectView enables you to limit the data displayed by entry time, user ID, port, port status, and service.
To display audit trail information by any of the display options, choose View > Display Options (F4). ConnectView opens the Audit Trail Display Options dialog box for the Audit Trail window.
Click the Filter radio button and click the check boxes for the desired options.
To display the audit trail data for the specified options, click OK. To close the Display Options dialog box without changing the current settings, click Cancel.
To return to full display, click the Show All radio button and OK.
ConnectView enables you to update the information displayed in the Audit Trail window so that it reflects the server's most recent audit trail information. This data is not updated automatically.
To refresh the data in the Audit Trail window, choose View > Update (F5). ConnectView replaces the data displayed in the Audit Trail window with the most up-to-date data from the current audit trail file.
ConnectView enables you to generate audit trail reports with server and daily totals. These reports allow you to easily view and output formatted server and daily summaries of remote access service access and use.
NOTE: To limit the content of the report to a specified time period, user ID, port, port status, and service use the display options in the Audit Trail window before accessing the report. Due to table tool limitations, up to 8,000 audit trail records may be displayed at one time.
To generate an audit trail report, ensure that the desired server is selected and from any window choose File > Generate Report > Audit Trail. ConnectView opens an Audit Trail Report window with the report data. The Audit Trail window is also opened in the background.
NOTE: Closing the Audit Trail window also closes the Audit Trail Report window.
ConnectView allows you to specify which information appears in the Audit Trail Report window and in what order the data columns appear.
To customize the data display in the Audit Trail Report window, choose File > Report Preferences and click the Audit Trail tab button. The Report Preferences dialog box appears with the options for the Audit Trail Report window.
By default, the Audit Trail Report includes summary and detailed information. Detailed information appears in the following order:
Clear the check boxes for the data you do not wish to appear in the report.
To change the order of the detailed information, select the desired field and click the Up or Down button.
To save your changes, click OK. The changes take effect the next time the Audit Trail Report window is opened and remain in effect until these options are changed. To close this dialog box without applying the changes, click the Cancel button.
ConnectView allows you to print or copy report data.
To print the audit trail report data, open an Audit Trail Report window and choose File > Print. ConnectView prints the displayed report.
To copy the audit trail report data, open an Audit Trail Report window and choose Edit > Copy. ConnectView copies the displayed report to the Windows clipboard.
The remote access software provides the following three basic services:
NCS provides PC and Mac* users dial-in capability with third-party access products and remote control technology. NCS also allows users to dial-out to host resources.
ARAS provides Mac users dial-in capability with remote node technology.
PPPRNS provides Unix® and DOS users dial-in capability with remote node technology or ISDN connections.
ConnectView enables you to dynamically load and unload the available services on the current server.
NOTE: To load and unload services, you need ControlCommunity (SET) access rights. Refer to Support for SNMP and ConnectView for more information about setting community strings.
To load or unload a service, expand the server to display the desired service, select the desired service, and choose Server > Load Service or Server > Unload Service. ConnectView loads or unloads the selected service.
ConnectView provides several application preferences to enable you to customize the application for your environment. ConnectView preferences include
NOTE: SNMP options are available only when ConnectView is run in standalone mode.
To change a ConnectView preference, choose File > Preferences. ConnectView opens the Preferences dialog box. Click the tab button for the desired option and specify the desired settings.
The polling interval determines how often your network is polled for data. ConnectView displays data according to the server polling interval in the View All, View, Port Connections, and NCS Sessions windows. By default, the server polling interval is set to 5 minutes for each managed server. You can also force an immediate update of data by opening the desired window and then choosing View > Update (F5).
NOTE: Data in the Port Status dialog box is updated every 2 seconds, independent of the server polling interval.
To change the polling intervals, click the Server Information tab in the Preferences dialog box. The polling options appear. Click the check box in the Polling? column for the desired servers, then enter the desired polling intervals in minutes in the Polling Interval column. Acceptable values include 1 to 60 minutes.
IMPORTANT: If you plan to manage many servers or servers over slow networks, consider using a high polling interval to reduce network traffic and improve network performance. In this case, you can always use the Update command (F5) to force an immediate update of the data as needed.
Either click another tab button to make additional changes or click OK to apply the changes and close the Preferences dialog box.
Click Cancel to close this dialog box without applying the changes.
ConnectView enables you to specify a minimum connection duration so that connections lasting less than the minimum duration are not used to calculate accounting and trend analysis data. By default, ConnectView sets the minimum connection duration at 30 seconds for each service.
To change the minimum connection duration, click the Grace Period tab button. The grace period options appear. Use the spin controls to set the desired grace period for each service. Valid settings include 0 to 999 seconds (approximately 17 minutes).
To make additional changes, click another tab button. To apply the changes and close the Preferences dialog box, click OK.
To close this dialog box without applying the changes, click Cancel.
ConnectView enables you to set workstation community strings for individual servers, SNMP time-out values, and SNMP retry values. By default, community strings on the ConnectView workstation are set for public access (monitor=public control=public). For SNMP GET and SET requests to be successful, the workstation community strings must match the community strings set on the managed server.
IMPORTANT: By default, SNMP.NLM on the server side sets the server's MonitorCommunity to public but disables access to the ControlCommunity.
To change the SNMP options, click the SNMP Options tab button in the Preferences dialog box. The SNMP options appear.
To make additional changes, click another tab button. To apply the changes and close the Preferences dialog box, click OK.
To close this dialog box without applying the changes, click Cancel.
| |