SAP WAS Process Status Test

A Java instance is a unit in the AS Java cluster which is identified by its instance number. 

A Java Instance consists of:

  • Internet Communication Manager (ICM)
  • One or several server processes

The ICM is an element of the Java instance which handles requests coming from clients and dispatches them to the available server processes. The server processes of AS Java actually execute the Java application. They are responsible for processing incoming requests which are assigned to them by the ICM. Each server process is multi-threaded, and can therefore process a large number of requests simultaneously.

The proper functioning of a Java instance therefore depends upon the availability and error-free functioning of the ICM and server processes. If the ICM or any of the server processes experience errors or reboot often, then the Java instance may not be able to process requests from clients. To ensure the smooth transaction of business, administrators should periodically run the SAP WAS Process Status test on the target Java instance, check on the health state (whether Critical, Normal, Offline, or Online) and operational state (whether running or not running) of the ICM and each of the server processes in that instance, and capture process failures before they impact the critical business operations.

Target of the test : A SAP NetWeaver Application Server

Agent deploying the test : An internal/remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for the ICM and each of the server processes in a target Java instance.

Configurable parameters for the test
Parameter Description

Test period

How often should the test be executed

Host

Specify the server for which the test is to be configured.

Port

The port number at which the specified server listens.

WSDL Port

This test uses the SAPControl web service to pull metrics on application and service status. To enable the test to communicate with the web service, you need to configure the test with the port number of the web service. Therefore, specify the port number of the SAPControl web service against WSDL Port. To determine the exact port number of the SAPControl web service, you can look up the etc/services file on the SAP WAS being monitored. If the port number is not declared in the etc/services file, you can specify the default port number of the web service against WSDL Port. If the web service is not SSL-enabled, then the default port number of the web service will be: 5<NR>13. Similarly, if the web service is SSL-enabled, then the default port number of the web service will be: 5<NR>14. <NR> in the port number refers to the system number of the SAP server being monitored. The system number is an indicator of the TCP/IP port at which the SAP server listens. For example, for a server that listens at port 3200, the system number will be ‘00’. Similarly, if the SAP server port is 3201, the system number will have to be specified as ‘01’. Accordingly, the default port number of an SSL-enabled SAPControl web service will be 50014 , if the system number is 00, or 50114, if the system number is 01.

OS Username and OS Password

To enable the test to access the SAPControl web service and determine component state, you need to configure the OS Username and OS Password parameters of the test with the credentials (i.e., name and password) of an OS user, who fulfills one of the following conditions:

  • The name of the OS user should be declared using the service\admin_users profile parameter; (OR)
  • The name of the user group to which the OS user belongs should be declared using the service\admin_groups profile parameter; (OR)
  • The OS user should have the permission to execute the sapstartsrv executable

Confirm Password

Confirm the OS Password by retyping it here.

SSL

Set this flag to Yes, if the SAPControl web service is SSL-enabled. Set this flag to No, if the SAPControl web service is not SSL-enabled.

DD Frequency

Refers to the frequency with which detailed diagnosis measures are to be generated for this test. The default is 1:1. This indicates that, by default, detailed measures will be generated every time this test runs, and also every time the test detects a problem. You can modify this frequency, if you so desire. Also, if you intend to disable the detailed diagnosis capability for this test, you can do so by specifying none against DD Frequency. 

Detailed Diagnosis

To make diagnosis more efficient and accurate, the eG Enterprise embeds an optional detailed diagnostic capability. With this capability, the eG agents can be configured to run detailed, more elaborate tests as and when specific problems are detected. To enable the detailed diagnosis capability of this test for a particular server, choose the On option. To disable the capability, click on the Off option.

The option to selectively enable/disable the detailed diagnosis capability will be available only if the following conditions are fulfilled:

  • The eG manager license should allow the detailed diagnosis capability
  • Both the normal and abnormal frequencies configured for the detailed diagnosis measures should not be 0.
Measurements made by the test
Measurement Description Measurement Unit Interpretation

Status

Indicates the current health state of this process.

 

The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are discussed in the table below:

Measure Value Numeric Value
Normal 1
Critical 2
Error 3
Offline 4

Note:

By default, the test reports the Measure Values in the table above to indicate process state. In the graph of this measure however, the same is represented using the numeric equivalents only.

If the value of this measure is Critical, Error, or Offline, you can use the detailed diagnosis of the measure to determine the probable cause of the abnormal process status. The detailed diagnosis will also reveal when the process was started and the elapsed time of the process. From this information, you can figure out when the problem could have occurred and how long the problem may have persisted.  

Has restarted?

Indicates whether/not the process was restarted in the last measurement period.

 

The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are discussed in the table below:

Measure Value Numeric Value
No 1
Yes 2

Note:

By default, the test reports the Measure Values in the table above to indicate whether a process was restarted or not. In the graph of this measure however, the same is represented using the numeric equivalents only.

CPU utilization

Indicates the percentage of CPU that is currently utilized by this process.

Percent

A value close to 100% is a cause of concern which requires further investigation.

Errors

Indicates the number errors encountered by this process.

Number

The value of this measure should be zero. A non-zero value for this measure is a cause of concern.