Understanding the GWIA


The NetWare-based GWIA console is particularly helpful when troubleshooting the GWIA. Generally, the GWIAs on the Linux and the Windows platform run without a user interface. The best way to monitor this version of the GWIA is with HTTP monitoring, which is explained later in this chapter.

Figure 10.17 shows the GWIA console on a NetWare 6.5 server.

Figure 10.17. The GWIA console allows you to view and troubleshoot the GWIA


From the GWIA console, there are only five keystroke commands:

  • F6Restart: This feature causes the GWIA to reload, and reread its GWIA.CFG and other special-purpose GWIA configuration files, such as FRGNAMES.CFG, GWAUTH.CFG, MIMETYPE.CFG, ROUTE.CFG, and XSPAM.CFG. The purpose of these *.CFG files is explained later in this chapter.

  • F7Exit: This option presents you with the following prompt: Terminate Agent (Yes/No). Pressing Y unloads the GWIA module.

  • F8Info: This option reports the settings from GWIA.CFG, the GWIA configuration file, into the current log file. This is helpful for determining which settings the GWIA is currently observing.

  • F9Browse Log File: This option allows you to search the current log file that the GWIA is logging to.

  • F10Options: This option brings you into the GWIA Options menu, where you have the following choices:

    • F1Exit Options: This option exits the Options menu, taking you back to the main screen.

    • F2Log Level: This option toggles the log level through the various settings: Low, Normal, Verbose, and Diagnostic.

    • F6Colors: This option changes the color scheme of the GWIA console. None of the color schemes is especially attractive, but if you get tired of the white-on-blue, this at least gives you some options.

    • F8Zero Stats: This option resets to zero all the statistics that the GWIA has been keeping. This is useful if you want to note current traffic levels. This command clears the statistics only from the Message Statistics screen. It does not reset the SMTP, POP, IMAP, or LDAP statistics.

    • F9Stats: This option cycles the upper-right pane of the GWIA console between each of the five statistical panes: Message Statistics, SMTP Service Statistics, POP3 Service Statistics, LDAP Service Statistics, and IMAP4 Service Statistics.

The balance of this section looks at these five statistics a little more closely:

  • Message Statistics: These are general statistics that have to do with mail messages that are converted by the gateway process. Each statistic is reported in two ways: the total time that the GWIA has been loaded and the total messages processed for the preceding 10 minutes. These are the possibilities:

    • Normal: The number of mail messages that the gateway has processed.

    • Status: The number of status messages that the gateway has processed. These are typically transferred statuses sent back to users on this GroupWise system.

    • Passthrough: This feature is no longer valid. Pass-through messaging happens at the MTA level now, and is explained in Chapter 34, "Creating a GroupWise-to-GroupWise Communication Solution Across the Internet."

    • Conv Errors: The number of errors the gateway has encountered while attempting to convert messages from GroupWise format to other formats, and vice versa.

    • Comm Errors: The number of communication errors the gateway has encountered while attempting to communicate with other hosts.

    • Total Bytes: The number of bytes transferred through the GWIA.

  • SMTP Service Statistics: These statistics pertain to the SMTP services provided by the GWIA. Some of these statistics are incorporated into the general message statistics described earlier, but for the real story, you want to be looking at this screen. Values here are the following:

    • Messages Sent: The number of messages sent to sendmail (SMTP or MIME) hosts on the Internet.

    • Send Threads: The number of server processes actively processing SMTP/MIME send operations. The number to the left of the colon is the number of threads currently being used. The number to the right of the colon is the maximum number of threads allocated for sending messages. The maximum number of Send Threads correlates to the Number of SMTP Send Threads setting on the GWIA's SMTP/MIME Settings page.

    • MX Lookup Errs: The number of errors the GWIA has encountered when looking up DNS mail exchange (MX) records. Before the GWIA can send to an Internet host, it must first find that host's MX record in DNS. An example of an MX lookup error is 450 MX lookup failure.

    • TCP/IP Read Errs: The number of errors the GWIA has encountered attempting to read from a TCP socket. Errors here can indicate problems with internetworking segments that carry Internet traffic, or they can be indicative of network problems within your organization.

    • Hosts Down: If the GWIA finds a hosts MX record but cannot contact the host, that host is down, and this number will be incremented by one.

    • Message Size Denied: This number indicates the number of messages, to be sent or to be received, that were discarded because they exceeded size limitations set on your GWIA. Message sizes are configured under Access Control, and most likely configured under any one of the Classes of Server, most likely the Default Class of service.

    • Messages Received: The number of SMTP/MIME messages received by the GWIA from hosts on the Internet.

    • Receive Threads: The number of server processes actively processing SMTP/MIME receive operations. The number to the left of the colon is the number of threads being used. The number to the right of the colon is the maximum number of threads allocated for receiving messages. The maximum number of receive threads correlates to the Number of SMTP Receive Threads setting on the GWIA's SMTP/MIME Settings page.

    • Unknown Hosts: The number of SMTP hosts the GWIA cannot resolve to a DNS address in order to send to the host.

    • TCP/IP Write Errs: The number of errors that the GWIA has encountered attempting to write data to a TCP socket. Errors here can indicate a problem local to you, or a problem somewhere out on the Internet.

    • Connections Denied: When a sendmail host sends to the GWIA, but that host does not identify itself correctly or its identity cannot be determined via a reverse-DNS lookup, this number is incremented. Mail from unknown hosts will be rejected if you configure the GWIA to do so. This setting is found on the SMTP/MIME Settings property page, using the Security button. The setting is Reject Mail If Sender's Identity Cannot Be Verified. Connections that have been denied because the host has been added to a blacklist are also listed here. Finally, if you have defined a host under Access Control that you do not want to receive mail from, that will also increment this number.

    • Relaying Denied: If your GWIA is configured to not allow message relaying, and someone attempts to relay a message off of your GWIA, this number will increment each time. Relaying is a common practice for POP3 and IMAP4 clients that need to send mail.

  • POP3 Service Statistics: These statistics pertain to the GWIA's POP3 service and can help you gauge the amount of traffic your organization is generating by accessing user mailboxes via POP3. These are the values shown here:

    • Total Sessions: The number of POP3 mailbox sessions since the GWIA was loaded. A POP3 session is defined as a download of POP3 mail. If a user keeps his or her POP3 mailer open all day, and downloads GroupWise email three times, that user will increment this count by three.

    • Active Sessions: The number of POP3 currently active mailbox sessions.

    • Sessions Avail: The number of server processes available to service POP3 mailbox connections. The active and avail numbers should add up to the number of POP3 threads you specified under the GWIA POP3/IMAP4 Settings property page.

    • Store Login Errs: The number of errors that the GWIA has encountered attempting to connect to post office information stores. If you see this number incrementing, it's time to look at the GWIA's Post Office Links property page. From there, make sure that the links to your post offices are correct and that the POA is available.

    • Unknown Users: The number of errors in which the username furnished was invalid. A high number here might be indicative of a hacker attempting to guess mailbox IDs.

    • TCP/IP Read Errs: The number of errors that the GWIA has encountered attempting to read data from a TCP socket.

    • Messages Sent: The number of messages downloaded to users' POP3 mailers and uploaded to their master mailboxes.

    • Retrieval Errs: The number of errors encountered retrieving messages from post office information stores.

    • Conversion Errs: The number of errors encountered converting messages from GroupWise format to clear text format for POP3 download.

    • Pass Auth Errors: The number of errors that the GWIA has encountered due to users entering invalid passwords. A high number here can be indicative of a hacker with a correct username attempting to guess at the mailbox password.

    • Denied Access Cnt: The number of times that the GWIA has denied mailbox access to a user attempting to authenticate. A high number here can indicate hackers guessing at mailbox IDs and passwords.

    • TCP/IP Write Errs: The number of errors that the GWIA has encountered attempting to write data to a TCP socket.

  • LDAP Service Statistics: The statistics here pertain to the GWIA's LDAP service, as detailed here:

    • Public Sessions: The number of LDAP sessions that the GWIA has opened for users who were not authenticated.

    • Auth Sessions: The number of LDAP sessions that the GWIA has performed for authenticated users.

    • Sessions Active: The number of LDAP sessions currently active. Each active session requires its own LDAP thread.

    • Sessions Avail: The number of LDAP threads available to service LDAP sessions. The Active and Avail numbers should add up to the number of LDAP threads that you specified from the GWIA's LDAP Settings property page.

    • Search Requests: The number of search requests that the GWIA has processed.

    • Entries Returned: The number of address entries that the GWIA has provided via LDAP.

  • IMAP4 Service Statistics: The statistics here are very similar to those seen under the POP3 Service Statistics screen, but of course these are specific to IMAP4 service. The statistics in this section are as listed here:

    • Total Sessions: The number of IMAP4 mailbox sessions since the GWIA was loaded. If a user keeps his or her IMAP4 mailer open and connected all day, this number will increment only by one. (Remember that these stats are reset to zero with the F8 key; the IMAP4 stats are not reset, however.)

    • Active Sessions: The number of IMAP4 currently active mailbox sessions.

    • Sessions Avail: The number of server processes available to service IMAP4 mailbox connections. The active and avail numbers should add up to the number of IMAP4 threads that you specified on the GWIA POP3/IMAP4 Settings property page.

    • Store Login Errs: The number of errors that the GWIA has encountered attempting to connect to post office information stores. If you see this number incrementing, it's time to look at the GWIA's Post Office Links property page. From there, make sure that the links to your post offices are correct.

    • Unknown Users: The number of errors in which the username furnished was invalid. A high number here can be indicative of a hacker attempting to guess mailbox IDs.

    • TCP/IP Read Errs: The number of errors that the GWIA has encountered attempting to read data from a TCP socket.

    • Messages Sent: The number of messages downloaded to users' IMAP4 mailers and uploaded to their master mailboxes.

    • Retrieval Errs: The number of errors encountered retrieving messages from post office information stores.

    • Conversion Errs: The number of errors encountered converting messages from GroupWise format to clear text format for IMAP4 download.

    • Pass Auth Errors: The number of errors that the GWIA has encountered due to users entering invalid passwords. A high number here can be indicative of a hacker with a correct username attempting to guess at the mailbox password.

    • Denied Access Cnt: The number of times that the GWIA has denied mailbox access to a user attempting to authenticate. A high number here can indicate hackers guessing at mailbox IDs and passwords.

    • TCP/IP Write Errs: The number of errors that the GWIA has encountered attempting to write data to a TCP socket.

The next tool you will use to troubleshoot the GWIA is the GWIA's log file.



NOVELL GroupWise 7 Administrator Solutions Guide
Novell GroupWise 7 Administrator Solutions Guide
ISBN: 0672327880
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 320
Authors: Tay Kratzer

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