kcweb

kcweb

At the time of this writing kcweb is a stand-alone tool that is downloaded from www.software.hp.com. Future plans are for kcweb to be included with HP-UX distributions and for additional Web-based management to be part of HP-UX. At this time the tool is simple to download and install.

In this section we are able to perform a variety of functions through the Web-based interface. In this section we'll perform the following in kcweb :

• View kernel parameters

• Get details on a specific kernel parameter in the bottom of the kcweb page and the man page.

• Modify a dynamic kernel parameter and apply the new value.

• Set an alarm to inform us when a kernel parameter exceeds the specified value.

At the time of this writing, kcweb is invoked at the command line with kcweb . On my system this opens the browser window shown in Figure 4-2. Figure 3-2 shows kcweb with several kernel parameters.

Figure 4-2. kcweb Showing a Variety of Parameters

The upper left of Figure 4-2 shows that kcweb has parameters, alarms, and modules functions. We'll cover an example of working with parameters and alarms in this section. There aren't too many dynamically loadable kernel modules at this time but the technique for working with dynamically loadable modules is similar to that of dynamically tunable parameters so the examples will give you a good idea of the way in which you work with kcweb .

Notice in the bottom left of the figure that there is a legend that includes descriptions of the symbols that are used in kcweb . Those parameters with a heart next to them are dynamically tunable parameters. If you select the heart on the bar across the top of the kernel parameters, then only dynamically tunable parameters will be shown. The "not equal to" sign indicates parameters that are not set to their default value. There are several other entries in the legend as well. This makes for viewing groups of icons easy and the legend helps identify the status of icons.

The bottom of the screen provides information about the kernel parameter selected: in this case maxuprc. There is a graph in the bottom right showing the usage of this parameter over time. For system-wide parameters the graph will show usage on a system basis. For user -specific or process-specific parameters, such as maxuprc , the graph includes the top five consumers of the parameter.

You can get detailed information about a kernel parameter by selecting the man page... button as shown in Figure 4-3:

Figure 4-3. kcweb Showing man page ... For maxuprc

You can also modify one of the parameters by highlighting the parameter and then selecting the modify <parameter name > as we've done for the maxuprc parameter as we've done in Figure 4-4:

Figure 4-4. kcweb Showing modify maxuprc

We've chosen to increase maxuprc from 75 to 150 in Figure 4-4. To implement the change we unselect the defer until next reboot box and select ok . The change is then implemented as you can see in Figure 4-5:

Figure 4-5. kcweb Showing maxuprc planned Change

This is a parameter that can be modified dynamically, so it is updated immediately. If this were not a dynamic parameter, we could rebuild kernel to update the kernel with the desired change.

Now that we have modified maxuprc we can set an alarm to inform us when the parameter reaches a specified threshold. Figure 4-6 shows setting up this alarm:

Figure 4-6. kcweb Showing maxuprc Alarm

We get to the kcweb:alarms page by selecting create new alarm... in the window shown earlier. All of the parameters related to the alarm are shown in Figure 4-6. The setup of the alarm specifies a threshold of 90 . All of the options for notification are shown. In this case we've selected email to [e-mail] and specified a comment to appear in the email address.

We can also work with kernel modules in the same way that we work with kernel parameters. Those that are dynamic can be loaded on-the-fly , and those that are not dynamic can be built into the kernel with a rebuild.

This was a quick overview of kcweb that included some of the most commonly performed tasks . Since this is a Web-based interface, it is easy to use and most of the screens and information are self explanatory. More Web based management tools will be included in HP-UX over time.