checking the system

[Jeff Hagstrom]

I'm not a system admin, I'm just a programmer, but I've been given the responsibilty of looking after our 2-HPK9000 and 1 RP7410. They are running hpux 11.00. Is there some daily logs that should be looked at everyday? Are there some utilities out there that will give you a snap shot of the performance of the machines? Also, I don't know if the machine needs any updates, but is there a method of checking for updates and loading them?

[Steve Steel · Accepted solution]

Hi

1)http://h20331.www2.hp.com/Hpsub/cache/286022-0-0-225-121.html


2)/var/adm/syslog/syslog.log and the command dmesg

3)As of 31/12/06 the 11.00 operating system is obsolete and no longer supported officially

4)www.docs.hp.com for all documents


Steve Steel

[Peter Godron]

Jeff,
seems you have been around a while (Oct 2000).

Get yourself on a training course,as:
1. Your OS is no longer supported !!:
http://www.hp.com/softwarereleases/releases-media2/history/slide2.html
2. It is not fair on you to expect you to maintain machines without some training.

To help you with your questions:
Check /var/adm/syslog/syslog.log
Use SAM to set up auditing
Use glance as a performance tool
Download the patch manager from HP

[MarkSyder]

Daily logs:

/var/adm/btmp - bad logins. Check for attempted security breaches
/var/adm/sulog - switch user log. Check for size (if too large, trim).
/var/adm/wtmp - users who have logged in since the file was last nulled. Check for size.
/var/adm/cron/log - check for size.
/var/adm/lp/log - check for size.
/var/adm/syslog/mail.log - as above
/var/adm/syslog/syslog.log - check for errors and/or warnings.

Status of system:

sar 2 5 (system activity report, two second intervals, total of five readings - adjust numbers as required).
top - shows which processes are taking up processor time.
swapinfo -tam - shows how much (if any) swap space is being used.

Mark Syder (like the drink but spelt different)

[Jaime Bolanos Rojas.]

Jeff,

Same answer, most important point, 11.00 is out of support, if you are new to hp-ux, then you will sure want the support on it, you will look good to management :-).

Most important log is syslog.log.

Performance is a big an complicated topic in hp-ux, but been a beginner I would ask the users to see and then start asking related questions.

Probably the machine will need a lot of updates in patches, but since it's out of support it's more complicated to get all of them, even though if you know what you want to get specifically, HP will be able to provided it to you.

Regards,

Jaime.

[Coolmar]

Hi Jeff;

Keep an eye on your syslog, that will let you know if there are any issues. I installed "logcheck" on my systems and I am emailed if there are any entries that aren't "normal". YOu can get it here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/logcheck/

I also run "dmesg" from time to time.

Check your rc.log after a system starts up to ensure everything that is supposed to start up, starts up.

"glance" will give you an excellent snapshot of your system resources.

There are also many scripts that you can find on here that will help you monitor your system. IE: there are many scripts that will monitor disk, cpu, memory, swap, etc and when thresholds are met; you will be emailed. Here are a couple of good links for them:
http://www.shelldorado.com/

https://forums1.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?threadId=123030&admit=-682735245+1167837364515+28353475

[siva0123]

Jeff,

In addition to the above suggestions ,also u can have a look at /var/opt/resmon/log/event.log for any hardware issues or events.


Thanks,
Siva

[Coolmar]

Sorry Jeff, I forgot to mention that you should go here : http://www1.itrc.hp.com/service/patch/mainPage.do and run a "Patch Assessment". The instructions are fairly simple and you will get a list of recommended patches for your system to ensure it is all up to date. It is great for the short term but I would strongly suggest that you upgrade your OS.