ELM Enterprise Manager’s user interface is built utilizing the Microsoft Management Console or MMC for short. While this interface is very common and familiar it does pose some challenges for creating easy to find navigation and links to functionality. It’s there, it’s just not always easy to find.
In this month’s technical article we’ll cover a selection of the most useful right-click shortcuts and where to find them. While these may not be considered “Easter Eggs” like you (used to) find secretly built into and buried in some software, it is the season for this kind of thing!
To start with we’ll take a look at the top of the left pane in the ELM Console:
Right-Clicking the ELM Server
Save Configuration – The ELM Server stores the majority of its configuration data in the ELM installation directory. Prior to backing up the files in this directory it is a good idea to save the configuration. The ELM Server is notified internally when its configuration changes. If no more changes occur for a fifteen second period, then the ELM Server writes the changes to its current configuration in the .dat file. The configuration can also be manually written by right clicking on the ELM Server and selecting Save Configuration.
Database Settings – this will launch the Database Settings dialog, showing the settings for Primary, Failover, and optional Archive Databases, as well as the settings for your data retention and rollover strategy.
Security – ELM integrates with Windows security to provide item-level security on objects and items within the ELM Console. This enables you to selectively set security on the individual objects and containers, including:
- ELM Server
- Agents
- Agent Categories
- Monitor Items
- Event Filters
- Notification Methods
- Event Views
- Performance Data container
- Performance Counters
Remove – disconnects the ELM Server snap-in from the MMC Console.
Check for Updates – Pings the TNT Software website with your current version of ELM and reports back to verify whether you are running the latest version of ELM available.
Right-Clicking an Individual Agent
Test Agent – This shortcut tests communication from the ELM Server to the Agent. This is a one-way test only.
Security – See above.
Disable – Temporarily disables the Agent’s collection and monitoring of data on this system.
Tools – Ping this system, launch the Event Generator for this system, launch the native Windows Event Viewer and connect to this system, launch the Windows Service Manager and connect to this system, start the ELM Tracing tool or the Verify Evt File tool.
All Tasks
Update Agent configuration – There are 2 copies of a Service Agent’s configuration, one in the ELM Server and one in the Agent. If the two do not match, the copy in the ELM Server is considered the authority. During normal operation, the ELM Server will automatically send configuration updates to Service Agents within about 3 minutes, depending on system activity, network latency, number of Agents needing updates, etc. The Update Agent Configuration operation allows an ELM administrator to manually refresh the configuration without waiting the default 3 minutes.
This operation applies only to Service Agents.
Replace Agent configuration – This operation will replace the TNTAgent.dat configuration file on the service agent. It will rename the previous TNTAgent.dat file to TNTAgent.dat.sav and will only keep one saved copy.
This operation applies only to Service Agents.
Reset Agent Aliases – This operation will refresh the SV_Aliases property for an Agent using the name resolution mechanism of the OS hosting the ELM Server. The SV_Aliases list is the primary source of Agent identity for the ELM Server and includes the IP address(es), and the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) for an Agent. A reset is occasionally needed when an IP address or FQDN is assigned to the wrong agent.
Resolution for an agent is based on the following order:
- The ELM Server first checks to see what was last successful, this could be the agent name or the IP address.
- If resolution fails, it then checks the agent name.
- If that fails, it then checks the FQDN in the aliases list.
- If that fails, it then checks the IP address in the aliases list.
This operation applies to Service Agents and Virtual Agents.
Right-Clicking a Monitor Item
Security – See above.
Disable – Temporarily “turn off” the monitor item without deleting or removing it.
All Tasks
Run Monitor Now – Runs the Monitor Item to perform it’s functions “now” as opposed to its normal, defined schedule.
Create Event View – A quick shortcut to create a new custom Event View based on the Monitor Item’s filtering properties. (For example: a new Event View based on a Performance Alarm’s properties, and then you can assign a Notification Method while you’re at it!)
Right-Clicking an Event View
Security – See above.
Create Editor Report – Choose Create Editor Report to get an ELM Editor Report based upon the query that makes up the Event View. The ELM Editor Report will retain the Event View display mode and Event View Settings that have been configured.
Right-Click an Event
Exclude this Event from this View – Creates an Exclude Filter for this Event View and populates it with the details from this event.
Do not Collect this Event from Any Event logs – Creates an Exclude Filter at the Monitor Item level so this event is not collected or ignored at the individual system level.
Create Event Filter – Create a new Event Filter (include or exclude) based on the properties of this event.
Create Event View – Create a new Event View complete with an Include Filter based on the properties of this event.
Right-Clicking Performance Data
Show Active – Shows only Active Performance Data; those performance counters with collected data.
Show All – Expands the Performance Data sub-container to show all performance objects the ELM Server is aware of. When Showing All, ELM will now specify if a performance object does not have data by tagging the end of the container name with [No data].
Add Performance Counter Definitions – Before performance data can be collected you have to define the performance counters in the ELM Server. This shortcut will launch a dialog that you can point to any Windows 2000/2003/2008, Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 computer, and load the published performance counters.
Right-Clicking the Results Container
Connect Archive Database – This shortcut allows you to connect the ELM Console to any Archive Databases available. If there isn’t an Archive database available that ELM knows about, you can select the Unmanaged Database… button in the dialog, connect to your SQL Server, and point ELM to the unmanaged database to connect to. Event Views, Performance Data, and Reporting for this archived data will now be available in ELM.
Right-Clicking an ELM Editor Report
Schedule Report – This shortcut opens the dialog for scheduling the selected report to run at regular intervals as well as the method for delivering the report
Export Editor Report – Allows you to export report to an XML file.
Right-Clicking in an ELM Editor Report Heading
Edit > Properties – launches a dialog that allows you to edit that section of the report including the style (table, chart, etc), including the SQL query for number of events and timeframe displayed.
Edit > Add Section – Add another section to the report to display the data in another format, or additional data to round out the report. Report sections can also be copied and pasted within the same report. (Ex: Copy a chart section, paste it underneath, then modify the style to show a data table of the chart above).
We hope that you found this article on Time Saving Right-Click Shortcuts Throughout ELM informative and useful and wish you continued success with ELM.