How do I install, configure and use the billing and usage_metering probes version 2.x
Article ID: 34723
Updated On:
Products
DX Unified Infrastructure Management (Nimsoft / UIM)
Issue/Introduction
How do I install, configure and use the billing and usage_metering probes version 2.x
Environment
Release:
Component: UIMUSM
Component: UIMUSM
Resolution
The advised v2.x installation is to delete the v1.x probe and the directory contents as well prior to updating to v2.x because so many of the files and configuration items have changed between the two versions.
***delete any beta packages from the local archives
*** the GA versions are the only ones referenced during distribution.?
Perform these steps to remove any unknowns that would interfere with the normal execution of the 2.x probes.
Prerequisites and Supported Platforms
For the billing probe to be able to work properly, the following prerequisites must be met:
Usage_metering probe must be running and accessible to the billing probe.
***It is recommended that usage_metering probe should be run on the same hub as the billing probe.***
The data_engine probe must be accessible to the billing probe as well as the usage_metering probe.
The billing probe is dormant until its secret ID has been set. When this ID is set, it will activate the billing calculation monthly and report the results back to my.nimsoft.com.
Requirements
Platform: Windows NT/ 2000/XP / 2003 / 2008 / 2008 R2 / Linux Glibc >= 2.3 / Solaris
For the latest platform support please check the probe support matrix at:
http://support.nimsoft.com/downloads/doc/Platform_Support_Availability_current.pdf
Robot: Robot 5.70 and above (if not at 5.70, please upgrade all Robots to 5.70 for the optimal results.
Other Probes dependency: usage_metering v1.21 and above
java_jre: 1.6.0
Billing probe Help documentation:
http://docs.nimsoft.com/prodhelp/en_US/Probes/Catalog/billing/2.1/index.htm?toc.htm?1912483.html?zoom_highlight=billing+2
If problems persist, attach billing.cfg,billing.log,_billing.log at loglevel 3 and logsize 5000 to the case.
You MUST use the latest usage_metering and billing probe. Both the billing and usage_metering probes should be the SAME VERSION.
If you were not part of the beta program the usage should be for current month or else it?s known bad data from the previous usage_metering and billing probe versions that is causing issues and your account/sales managers will work with you regarding this.
If usage_metering v2 is already installed in the environment and has successfully performed a scan in for example November 2012, then the usage data can be retrieved and billing report generated for that month - even when the current date is in the future, e.g., Jan 10, 2013. If the usage data doesn't exist, then we can't go back in time and have a scan performed so no billing report data can be generated.
Reports can be generated as far back as usage data exists in the usage_metering database.? But, that database will get quite large and could impact performance if not maintained.
Keep in mind that the database cleanup is performed to delete data from the database when it's X number of months old. If the request from billing probe is for data that hasn't yet been deleted by the cleanup thread, then a report can be generated at a later date otherwise it cannot.
Also, make sure that the usage_metering probe is running on the same system as the billing probe.? If not, then the ?usage_metering_probe_address? key needs to be updated to point at the usage metering location (in /domain/hub/robot/usage_metering form).
Note that the usage_metering and billing Guide version 2.0 is attached to this Article.
***You will need to request an offline subscription file if you don't have one.
You will have to get your offline subscription settings for metered usage for your NMS installations and upload/attach the file using the billing probe configuration UI.
Nimsoft Billing Subscription
A billing subscription defines a customer?s billing packs and probes used during billing report generation. The billing probe must be configured with a customer?s billing subscription in order to successfully generate a billing report. A customer-specific offline subscription file should be received via email from Nimsoft Sales Operations.
Upon importing this offline subscription file, the Nimsoft Subscription ID and billing pack information is stored and referenced for future billing calculations.? The billing probes and packs included in the subscription can be viewed for reference purposes through the subscription export capability within the billing probe.
Please contact Nimsoft Sales Operations if an updated subscription file is needed for any reason.
IMPORTANT: make sure your billing subscription file is not out-of-date. You can get the latest from Nimsoft Sales Operations. A customer-specific offline subscription file should be received via email from Nimsoft Sales Operations. (Sales team, or your Account Representative, in order to receive a billing probe subscription file.)
The very latest subscription file needs to be installed into the billing probe which can result in a change in the billing packs in some cases. You will receive an email with the latest offline subscription file attached. You MUST configure the billing probe with this LATEST subscription file.
After successful installation, all subsequent reports will use this new billing subscription file. Please note that the old reports will not reflect the billing subscription change because the report contents are static after being generated during the calculation run.
Then after installing the latest subscription file run a new billing calculation for the month of interest.
You will run your report and email it to [email protected] at the beginning of the last week of every month.
Please refer to the attached Guide for more details.
If your hub is behind a firewall and the billing probe is deployed there, note that the url it is trying to access is:
http://my.nimsoft.com/billing/services
So you may have to adjust your FW rules accordingly.
Troubleshooting Notes:
Please check that you are NOT trying to communicate with a v1.x usage_metering probe from a billing v2.x probe or vice versa. Verify that you are communicating to v2.x of usage_metering/billing probes.
Check and confirm that the 'usage_metering_probe_address' value specified in the billing probe is correct. Verify this is pointing at the expected v2.x usage_metering probe.
Also, make sure that the billing probe can communicate with the usage_metering probe (and that no firewalls/Anti-Virus filters are blocking, etc.).
1 usage metering probe and 1 billing probe need to be on the primary/core hub. If there is connectivity to all remote hubs, then you only need those probes.
If you do not have connectivity to the nodes you're trying to meter then you have to add usage_metering probe for that network segment.
Also you only ever need ONE billing probe.
Usage Metering Deployment scenarios:
http://docs.nimsoft.com/prodhelp/en_US/Probes/Catalog/usage_metering/2.1/index.htm?toc.htm?2157154.html?zoom_highlight=usage_metering
This section in the Usage Metering Help doc describes the situation where you may need multiple UM probes.
Note also that with no current subscription file, billing quietly fails. If you delete the billing.h2.db file and recreate with a restart, you must re-apply your subscription.
Note on sending reports to CA Nimsoft Sales
When Sales, e.g., a Sales associate asks you for the usage metering report in HTML, you only have to send them the billing report that is exprted as an HTML file. The GUI asks where you?d like to save the HTML report and you can reference it there. There is no report file generated in HTML b ythe usage_metering probe.
***delete any beta packages from the local archives
*** the GA versions are the only ones referenced during distribution.?
Perform these steps to remove any unknowns that would interfere with the normal execution of the 2.x probes.
Prerequisites and Supported Platforms
For the billing probe to be able to work properly, the following prerequisites must be met:
Usage_metering probe must be running and accessible to the billing probe.
***It is recommended that usage_metering probe should be run on the same hub as the billing probe.***
The data_engine probe must be accessible to the billing probe as well as the usage_metering probe.
The billing probe is dormant until its secret ID has been set. When this ID is set, it will activate the billing calculation monthly and report the results back to my.nimsoft.com.
Requirements
Platform: Windows NT/ 2000/XP / 2003 / 2008 / 2008 R2 / Linux Glibc >= 2.3 / Solaris
For the latest platform support please check the probe support matrix at:
http://support.nimsoft.com/downloads/doc/Platform_Support_Availability_current.pdf
Robot: Robot 5.70 and above (if not at 5.70, please upgrade all Robots to 5.70 for the optimal results.
Other Probes dependency: usage_metering v1.21 and above
java_jre: 1.6.0
Billing probe Help documentation:
http://docs.nimsoft.com/prodhelp/en_US/Probes/Catalog/billing/2.1/index.htm?toc.htm?1912483.html?zoom_highlight=billing+2
If problems persist, attach billing.cfg,billing.log,_billing.log at loglevel 3 and logsize 5000 to the case.
You MUST use the latest usage_metering and billing probe. Both the billing and usage_metering probes should be the SAME VERSION.
If you were not part of the beta program the usage should be for current month or else it?s known bad data from the previous usage_metering and billing probe versions that is causing issues and your account/sales managers will work with you regarding this.
If usage_metering v2 is already installed in the environment and has successfully performed a scan in for example November 2012, then the usage data can be retrieved and billing report generated for that month - even when the current date is in the future, e.g., Jan 10, 2013. If the usage data doesn't exist, then we can't go back in time and have a scan performed so no billing report data can be generated.
Reports can be generated as far back as usage data exists in the usage_metering database.? But, that database will get quite large and could impact performance if not maintained.
Keep in mind that the database cleanup is performed to delete data from the database when it's X number of months old. If the request from billing probe is for data that hasn't yet been deleted by the cleanup thread, then a report can be generated at a later date otherwise it cannot.
Also, make sure that the usage_metering probe is running on the same system as the billing probe.? If not, then the ?usage_metering_probe_address? key needs to be updated to point at the usage metering location (in /domain/hub/robot/usage_metering form).
Note that the usage_metering and billing Guide version 2.0 is attached to this Article.
***You will need to request an offline subscription file if you don't have one.
You will have to get your offline subscription settings for metered usage for your NMS installations and upload/attach the file using the billing probe configuration UI.
Nimsoft Billing Subscription
A billing subscription defines a customer?s billing packs and probes used during billing report generation. The billing probe must be configured with a customer?s billing subscription in order to successfully generate a billing report. A customer-specific offline subscription file should be received via email from Nimsoft Sales Operations.
Upon importing this offline subscription file, the Nimsoft Subscription ID and billing pack information is stored and referenced for future billing calculations.? The billing probes and packs included in the subscription can be viewed for reference purposes through the subscription export capability within the billing probe.
Please contact Nimsoft Sales Operations if an updated subscription file is needed for any reason.
IMPORTANT: make sure your billing subscription file is not out-of-date. You can get the latest from Nimsoft Sales Operations. A customer-specific offline subscription file should be received via email from Nimsoft Sales Operations. (Sales team, or your Account Representative, in order to receive a billing probe subscription file.)
The very latest subscription file needs to be installed into the billing probe which can result in a change in the billing packs in some cases. You will receive an email with the latest offline subscription file attached. You MUST configure the billing probe with this LATEST subscription file.
After successful installation, all subsequent reports will use this new billing subscription file. Please note that the old reports will not reflect the billing subscription change because the report contents are static after being generated during the calculation run.
Then after installing the latest subscription file run a new billing calculation for the month of interest.
You will run your report and email it to [email protected] at the beginning of the last week of every month.
Please refer to the attached Guide for more details.
If your hub is behind a firewall and the billing probe is deployed there, note that the url it is trying to access is:
http://my.nimsoft.com/billing/services
So you may have to adjust your FW rules accordingly.
Troubleshooting Notes:
Please check that you are NOT trying to communicate with a v1.x usage_metering probe from a billing v2.x probe or vice versa. Verify that you are communicating to v2.x of usage_metering/billing probes.
Check and confirm that the 'usage_metering_probe_address' value specified in the billing probe is correct. Verify this is pointing at the expected v2.x usage_metering probe.
Also, make sure that the billing probe can communicate with the usage_metering probe (and that no firewalls/Anti-Virus filters are blocking, etc.).
1 usage metering probe and 1 billing probe need to be on the primary/core hub. If there is connectivity to all remote hubs, then you only need those probes.
If you do not have connectivity to the nodes you're trying to meter then you have to add usage_metering probe for that network segment.
Also you only ever need ONE billing probe.
Usage Metering Deployment scenarios:
http://docs.nimsoft.com/prodhelp/en_US/Probes/Catalog/usage_metering/2.1/index.htm?toc.htm?2157154.html?zoom_highlight=usage_metering
This section in the Usage Metering Help doc describes the situation where you may need multiple UM probes.
Note also that with no current subscription file, billing quietly fails. If you delete the billing.h2.db file and recreate with a restart, you must re-apply your subscription.
Note on sending reports to CA Nimsoft Sales
When Sales, e.g., a Sales associate asks you for the usage metering report in HTML, you only have to send them the billing report that is exprted as an HTML file. The GUI asks where you?d like to save the HTML report and you can reference it there. There is no report file generated in HTML b ythe usage_metering probe.
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