eG Administration 
 

Configuring Measures for an Sql Query Test

Many applications store critical statistics in a database. To simplify the writing of tests, the Integration Console includes an SQL Query test type that allows a user to include a new test by simply executing a sql query / stored procedure on the database, instead of writing elaborate java code for a test.

The major step in incorporating a new Sql Query test into the eG system is to inform the eG system about the number and types of measurements that will be made by the test. This page will enable the administrator to configure the new test and will appear when the Configure button against the test in the list of tests page, is clicked. The details of the new measurements have to be provided in this page.

  • The Measure index determines the order in which the measures are to be displayed in the monitor console. For example, if you select 1 as the Measure index then the corresponding measure will appear first in the list of measures displayed in the monitor console. Note that the same Measure index should not be assigned to two different measures of a particular test.

  • The Measure name field indicates the name of the measurement (this will be displayed in the eG monitor interface).

  • The Database column size field indicates the size of each database record corresponding to a measurement value. For example, Number(7,4) indicates that the output of the measurement will be a number in the range 0 to 100, with the fractional value being limited to four decimal places.

  • The Unit (whether %, seconds, requests/sec, etc.) specifies the unit in which the measurement's value is reported. The required unit can be selected from the options available in the list box.

  • In addition to the above, this test type requests the specification of a Process method. By selecting an option from the Process method list box, you can indicate the processing that must be performed on the SQL query's output before passing the results to the eG agent. The options offered by this list box are:

Option

Information
UNALTERED

Selecting this option will ensure that no additional information is displayed along with the specified measure in the monitor console. In other words, the Current Value of the measure is displayed.
PERCENT_INCREASE

Selecting this option will display the percentage by which the current value of the measure exceeds its previous value (i.e. the value of the measure during the previous test execution). While an increase displays a positive value, a decrease will display a negative value. The formula used is:

[(Current Value − Previous Value) / Previous Value] * 100

PERCENT_DECREASE

This option will display the percentage by which the current value of the measure falls below its previous value. While a decrease displays a positive value, an increase will display a negative value.

[(Previous Value − Current Value) / Previous Value] * 100

PERCENT_CHANGE

This displays the percentage change between the current value and the previous value.

ABS[(Current Value − Previous Value) / Previous Value] * 100

RATIO

This displays the ratio of the current value of the measure over its previous value.

(Current Value / Previous Value)

RATE

This displays the result of the following formula:

(Current Value − Previous Value) / Time since the last measurement

DIFFERENCE

This displays the absolute value of the difference between the current value and the previous value.

ABS(Current Value − Previous Value)

  • By default, UNALTERED is selected as the Process method.

  • Sometimes, administrators may want to convert the unit of measurement of a performance metric before displaying the same in the eG monitoring console. For instance, a duration value originally available in ‘milliseconds’ may have to be changed to ‘Secs’ before it is displayed in the console. If you want the unit of the measure being added to be so converted at test run time, then select a Conversion Factor from the list. For example, if a value in ‘milliseconds’ needs to be converted to ‘seconds’, then select /1000 as the conversion factor. By default, 1 is chosen as the Conversion Factor; this implies that, by default, unit conversion does not take place for a new measure at test run time.

    • Note:

    The Conversion Factor list comes with a default set of conversion factors. You can however, override this list by adding more conversion factors. For instance, the default Conversion Factor list does not provide the option to convert Bytes to MB at run time. To include this option in the list, follow the steps below:

    • Edit the eg_ui.ini file in the <EG_INSTALL_DIR>\manager\config directory.
    • To include a new conversion factor, you will have to append an entry of the following format to the [CONVERSION_FACTORS] section of the file:
      DisplayName=Value
    • For instance, to support ‘Bytes to MB’ conversion, append the following entry to the [CONVERSION_FACTORS] section:
      /1048576 (Bytes to MB)=0.00000095367431640625
    • In this case, the DisplayName, /1048576 (Bytes to MB), will be displayed as an option in the Conversion Factor drop-down list. If this option is chosen, then, at test run time, the conversion value of 0.00000095367431640625 will be multiplied with the actual measure value that is reported in Bytes to convert it into MB. Care should be taken while specifying the conversion value, as incorrect values will result in wrong measures being reported by the test.
    • Once the new entry is appended to the [CONVERSION_FACTORS] section, save the file.
    • Finally, restart the manager.

    Once this is done, you will find the string /1048576 (Bytes to MB) appear as an option in the Conversion Factor list.

  • The alarm window in the eG monitor interface displays all the currently outstanding alarms. Along with each alarm, the list of tests corresponding to the alarms and a brief description of the problem are displayed. For example, a disk space alarm indicates that the test reporting the problem is DiskTest and the problem description is “High disk utilization {C:}”. The problem description corresponds to the measure - Pct_disk_util- that has violated its thresholds. In this example, the Alarm display string corresponding to the Pct_disk_util measurement is “High disk utilization”. The alarm display string rather than the measurement name is displayed in the alarm window so as to make it easier for IT infrastructure operators to understand and use the eG product suite. When configuring a measurement for a custom test, specify the text string that must be displayed in the eG alarm window when the corresponding measurement violates its threshold.

  • By clicking on the Add button, the measurements of the test can be added.

  • When the measurement is successfully added, a response page indicating the measurement and its details will appear. Previously added measurements can be deleted using the Delete button that would appear beside every measurement being added. Such measurements can also be modified by clicking the Modify button beside the measure name. 

    • Note:

    Except the Measure index, all the other details of a measure can be modified.

    The Back button enables the administrator to go back to the previous screen.