Description

It is important to monitor the replication to make sure it works properly and does not have inconsistency in the data. Monitoring replication assumes that:

• files are coming through to/from a site
• files are being imported/exported
• errors, if any, are logged to a log file

The Replicator service has an automatic monitoring alerting mechanism that can be configured. Such a mechanism sends alerts by e-mail.

Here are the messages you can choose to receive/send for monitoring purposes:

• Status report. It is intended for the cases when Replicator stops or hangs and you may not notice it as the application cannot send any alerts. To handle that, you can choose to receive a status report at a defined interval. If you don't receive the status report at the scheduled interval, that might mean there are some issues either in the replicator service or the mail transfer.
• Warning. You can choose to send a warning if you have not received any replication files within a given period. If you have received a status report, but failed to receive any files at a defined period, it may indicate some difficulties at the remote site.
• Reports on errors. If an error occurs while executing a replication task, it is recommended to send an error report to our dedicated support team.

There are several ways you can use to check the replication status:

• In Replicator Manager. For more information, see Monitor in Replicator Manager.
• In Adonis Personnel Manager. For more information, see Monitor in APM.
• On the Main site for all the satellites. For more information, see Monitor on Main Site.

Monitor in Replicator Manager

To monitor the replication status, first, run Adonis Replicator Manager. Within the application, select the service to which you got connected and navigate to Status > Adonis Replication:

In the Replication Status workspace, click Start to initiate the replication. Once the replication process is triggered, the progress can be viewed on the screen:

Additionally, the advancement of a progress bar is directly proportional to the amount of work that has been completed.

Right above the progress bar, you can see the tasks being covered: Receive Files, Import, Export, Send Files. By default, all the tasks are pre-selected. In case you want to skip a task, simply clear the corresponding checkbox. Tasks are considered successful in case bullets next to them remain green-colored. Failed operations are marked with red bullets:

You can get detailed information on the occurred error by clicking the Show Error Details button.

To get to know how to resolve the issue, see Replication Surveillance#Fix Replication Errors.

Besides, you can set the schedule for monitoring the replication status at a specific time in the future on a regular basis. To do this, select the service to which you got connected and navigate to Scheduler > Adonis Replication:

In the Schedule of Adonis Replication workspace, select Use built-in scheduler to enable the schedule settings:

• Run Replicator on. Define the weekdays when the task becomes due. By default, all the weekdays are pre-selected. If you want to skip a weekday, clear the corresponding checkbox. 
• Start at, Repeat every, Until. In these options, define the frequency interval when the task is due.
• Replication tasks to be executed. The following replication tasks are available: Receive Files, Import, Export, Send Files. By default, all the tasks are pre-selected. If you want to skip executing a task, clear the corresponding checkbox.

When completed, click Save to confirm the changes or Cancel to revert the changes.

For monitoring purposes, Replicator provides you with the possibility to send/receive such messages:

• Reports on errors. If an error occurs, it is recommended to send an error report to our dedicated support team.
• Warning messages. Set up the warning message to be received in case no CAB/RPL files have been received for a certain period.
• Status reports. Set up the status reports to be received as a replication summary over a certain time period.

To enables sending/receiving messages, first, on the left-hand side pane of Replicator Manager, select the service which you got connected to and go to Settings. When the Rel Settings workspace appears, click Run Settings Wizard. Clicking the command opens the Replicator Settings Wizard dialog. Navigate through the wizard pages, until you reach the dialog where you can set up sending emails with reports and warnings:

Select Send emails with reports and warnings to enable the notification service settings and configure the settings:

• Server Name. Enter the server name to which to connect.
• Port. Specify the port number for communication between mail servers.
• Server requires authentication. Select the checkbox if the connection to the server requires authentication.
• Use SSL. Select the option to create an encrypted transmission channel.
• User Name. Enter a username.
• Password. Enter a password.
• Sender Email. Enter the sender's email address.
• Receiver email list. Enter the email address(es) to which the data is to be sent. To do this, click the Add email button and type an email address. To remove an email address from the list, click Delete email.
• Send reports on errors. Select the checkbox to send error reports.
• Send Status Reports. Select the checkbox to send status reports. On selecting, set the interval for sending reports.
• Send warnings if no cab/rpl files have been received recently. Select the checkbox to send warnings. On selecting, define the interval at which Replicator checks whether no files have been received.

While installing/updating Replicator, you are suggested to install the RPL Viewer utility that can open CAB/RPL files and view the content of DAT files:

To monitor the DAT files in Adonis RPL Viewer, first, run the viewer:

Within the application window, click Open File. Clicking the command opens the Open dialog where you can select the DAT file to be monitored:

Click Open to open the selected file in RPL Viewer:

Now, select a file and click Show Details to view the detailed information on the file:

Monitor in APM

Check Communication Channels

Each site tracks and stores data on import/export, specifically the time when the recent import/export on incoming/outgoing channels was performed. Therefore, this data can be easily monitored.

To get started, log into APM and navigate to the Setup ribbon tab > Adonis Replicator > Views 2, the Communication Channels tab:

In the grid, there are several columns intended for monitoring purposes. They are: Last File Nr, Last Export, Last Import. The data in these columns is updated only after the replication has been successfully performed.

Following the defined schedule, verify that the replication runs correctly. To do this, simply compare the dates in the Communication Channels tab with the scheduled intervals of your replication setup. In case the dates coincide, the replication is running correctly, if they do not coincide, it is recommended to check the error log file.

Set up warnings 

You can set up the warnings to be displayed in case an import/export fails. 

For this, within the APM application, navigate to the Setup ribbon tab > Global Options > Modules > Replicator:

Within the dialogue, proceed with the following steps:

1. Define the path to the Replicator INI file:
   • Click the Browse button to display the Open dialogue.
   • In the dialogue, select the directory where the INI file is located and click Open.
2. Define Surveillance Options by selecting/clearing the options:

• Don't check the Existence of log files.
• Don't check Last Export Time.
• Don't check Last Import Time.

When launching the application upon logging in, the system proceeds in different ways, based on the selection made. In case the options are not selected, the system checks for any errors that may have occurred when attempting to export/import data. If there are any errors in IN/OUT folder, the system displays a warning:

Click Yes to confirm sending the log file to the system administrator.

Monitor on Main Site

You can monitor the replication activity of all the satellites on the main site. It is the most time-saving monitoring method.

To get started, simply, add new connections to satellites (vessel sites) on the main site.

To add connections, follow the steps below:

1. Run Replicator Manager.
2. On the left-hand pane, right-click Services and Connections. This opens the menu:
   
3. In the menu, select Add New Connection... The Connect to Replicator Service dialog then appears:
   
4. Within the dialog, you can define the connection and authentication properties:
   • Protocol. Select TCP/IP to get connected to another computer.
   • Server Name. Enter the IP address of the computer to which you want to get connected to.
   • Port. Enter the port number required to connect to the server. Usually, the same port number is used for all connections inside one client and may be found in the ReplManager.ini file.
   • Username. Enter the username you have defined while installing the application. The username is available in the ReplManager.ini file.
   • Password. Enter the password you have defined while installing the application. The password is available in the ReplManager.ini file.
5. When done, click Connect.

Android Replicator Monitoring

The Android Replicator Monitoring Service allows monitoring the Replicator performance in real-time from your android device. The Android application ensures to:

• show status of last replications on clients’ sites
• send out alerts when the last replication on a site contains errors or when no new replication status has been received from the site for a long time
• receive the status of replication on main sites in real-time

Functionality

The Adonis Monitoring Service sends out notifications to the application in the following cases:

• If no data have been received for a long time from a site (the time that has elapsed since the last time when some data was received from the site exceeds the replication schedule interval).
• If the last replication on a site contains errors.

Let us see the example of the client’s site list with the time and status of the last replication:

The possible values of a replication status:

• Success (no errors, no warnings)
• Warnings (ignored errors)
• Errors

Now, tap the site to see the replication details, i.e. the replication start time and status:

In the list, tap any of the replication statuses to see the stages with their duration, status and error or ignored error details:

Housekeeping

This section will walk you through the installation and configuration procedures.

Install Service

To install the service follow the steps described below:

Step 1

To start the installation, go to your FTP area by following the link below and download the latest version of the service:

http://download.adonis.no/files/upgrade/Replicator/2018.4/internal/2018.4 with Monitoring

Once the download is complete, go to the downloaded path and double-click the installation file to launch a setup wizard. This makes the Welcome dialog appears on the screen:

Click Next to continue.

Step 2

Select the directory where the monitoring database will be located. By default, the directory is set to Program_Data. To indicate a different destination folder, click Browse… and set the path:

To proceed, click Next.

Step 3

Specify the monitoring service ports for communicating with the Android applications and the Replicator services as well as for administrating the monitoring service via a web browser:

On completing, click Next.

Step 4

Define the administrator password to be used for accessing and setting up the monitoring service in a web browser:

Click Next.

Step 5

Choose the folder where you want to install the service. To do this, click Browse… and indicate the path to the destination folder.

Click Install to initiate the installation process.

Now, you can see the installation in progress:

When completed, click Next.

 Step 6

The installation is successfully completed:

Click Finish to close the setup wizard.

Set Up Service

On installing the Android Replicator Monitoring Service, you can now perform a one-time setup of the service.

Run Service from Browser 

To run the service, open your web browser and enter the following URL:

http://<webserver hostname>:<port number>/

For example:

http://localhost:5002

http://109.85.12.57:3456

The login page then appears on the screen.

On the page, proceed as described below:

1. Enter your credentials: 'admin' as your username and the password you have defined on Step 4 of the service installation procedure (see Replication Surveillance#Install Service).
2. Select Remember me if you want the browser to remember your login credentials.
3. Click Login to log into the service.

Set Clients

After logging in, you can set clients which replication activity you want to monitor:

To set a client, follow the steps below:

1. On the left-hand side Repl Monitor pane, make sure to be on the Clients tab.
2. Click the New Client button at the top of the working area. This opens the New Client dialog:
   
3. Fill in the following fields:
   • Client Name is a client name used by the Android applications to identify the group of replication sites. The defined name is available in the client list and in the notifications.
   • Short Name (maximum of 6 characters) is a client short name that is used as a column header in the list of logins in the Android users section (see Replication Surveillance#Set Android Users).
   • Repl Login is a login used by the replicator service to connect to the monitoring service on behalf of the client. All the replicator services of a certain client must use the same credentials.
   • Repl Password is a password used by the replicator service to connect to the monitoring service on behalf of the client.

   • Confirm Password enables re-entering the repl password.

     A unique login must be provided for each client.

4. Click Add Client to create a new client.

As a result, a new client appears in the list of clients:

Use Basic Commands

On adding a new client, the following actions become available to you: edit records, change a password and remove records.

To access them, first, select the client and click the More button located in the last column:

Change password

To change a defined password, select Change password in the menu. The following dialog then appears:

Enter a new password and confirm it in the respective fields. When done, click Save.

Edit name

To change a defined client name, select Edit... in the menu. This opens the Edit Client Name dialog:

Make the appropriate changes to the client name and/or its short name and click Save.

Remove record

To permanently remove a client record from the system, select Remove in the menu. Selecting the option opens the Client Delete Confirmation dialog:

Within the dialog, click Remove to confirm the deletion.

 Set Android Users

You can define Android users who will monitor the replication activity. For this, on the left-hand side panel Repl Monitor, switch to the Android Users tab:

Now, click the New User button at the top of the working area. Clicking the button makes the New Android Login dialog appears:

In the dialog, fill in the fields:

• Login. Specify the login to be used to connect to the monitoring server from your mobile device. 
• Password. Specify the password to be used to connect to the monitoring server from your mobile device. 
• Confirm Password. Re-enter the password to confirm it.

• Access to everyone. Select the checkbox to grant a user access to future clients.

  A unique user login must be provided for each device.

As a result, a new user then appears in the list of Android users:

Use Basic Commands

On adding a new Android user, the following actions become available to you: change a password and remove a record.

To access them, first, select the user and click the More button located in the last column:

Change password

To change a defined password, select Change Android Login/Password in the menu. The following dialog then appears:

Enter a new password and confirm it in the respective fields. When done, click Save.

Remove record

To permanently remove a client record from the system, select Remove in the menu. Selecting the option opens the Android Login Delete confirmation dialog:

Within the dialogue, click Delete to confirm the deletion.

Set Up Replicator Service

You can set up the Replicator service by following the steps below:

1. Run Adonis Replicator Manager and switch to Settings in the tree-view left-hand side pane.
2. At the top of the Repl Settings workspace, click Run Settings Wizard. 
3. When the Replicator Settings Wizard appears, navigate to the page where you can define the way of delivering replication events to the Monitoring Service:

 The following options are available:

• Connect to the monitoring server and send events. Select the option to establish a direct TCP connection between the replicator and the monitoring service for sending events.
• Send heartbeat files to the main site. Select the option to primarily send events to the main site (preferable for satellites). After that, Replicator of the main site re-sends the received heartbeat files to the monitoring server through its direct connection.
• Do not send events. Select the option to forbid sending events.
  

Selecting the Connect to the monitoring server and send events option enables you to configure the following monitoring server settings:

• Server name or IP Address. Specify the server name or IP address of your monitoring server.
• Port. Enter the port number that you have defined as the Replicator port when installing the monitoring service.
• User Name. Enter the Repl Login that you defined for the current client when setting up the monitoring service.
• Password. Enter the password that you have defined for the current client when setting up the monitoring service. 
  

When completed, click Test connection to make sure the connection has been successfully established.

Set Up Android Application

Now it is time to download and install the Android application on your device. To do this, go to your FTP area and download and install the latest version of the application with the APK file extension:

http://download.adonis.no/files/upgrade/Replicator/2018.4/internal/2018.4 with Monitoring

When running the application for the first time, it will ask you to enter:

• IP address of the server where the Adonis Monitoring Service 
• Port number that you specified for Android client connections when installing the monitoring service.
  

When done, tap OK to proceed.

After that, enter the login and password that you have specified in the Set Android Users section in the web interface of the Adonis Monitoring Service. Tap OK to proceed.

When successfully connected, the list of available clients will be shown:

For each of these clients, you will be able to see its sites, the list of the recent replications and receive notifications.

Fix Replication Errors

If an error occurs when exporting or importing files import, Replicator creates an error log file in the IN or OUT folder. The file name indicates the site causing the error. For example, an error occurred while importing data from site 10, then the file named 10_err.txt appears in the IN log folder 

In the grid below, you can find typical errors that may occur when replicating files.