Tibco EMS Activity Test

This test provides a snapshot of the level of activity on the server by reporting the number of sessions on and applications connecting to the server. Besides revealing how busy the server is, this test helps isolate idle connections to the server so that such connections can be promptly removed.

Target of the test : A Tibco EMS Server

Agent deploying the test : An internal agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for the Tibco EMS server being monitored.

Configurable parameters for the test
Parameter	Description
Test Period	How often should the test be executed.
Host	The IP address of the host for which this test is to be configured.
Port	Refers to the port at which the specified host listens to.
CommandPath	Prior to monitoring the Tibco EMS server, you will have to build a .bat or .sh file (depending upon the operating system on which Tibco EMS is functioning) bundled with the commands that the eG agent needs to execute on the Tibco EMS server for collecting the required metrics. The commands to be invoked by the .bat or .sh file are provided in How does eG Enterprise Monitor Tibco EMS?. The .bat/.sh file so created can be saved to any location on the Tibco EMS host. Then, while configuring this test, make sure you provide the full path to this .bat or .sh file in the CommandPath text box so that, the agent can execute the file, invoke the commands bundled into it, and extract the desired metrics from the server.

Measurements made by the test
Measurement	Description	Measurement Unit	Interpretation
Used connections	Indicates the number of virtual connections to the server that are actively used.	Number	A Connection object encapsulates a virtual connection with the server. A connection typically represents a communication link between the application and the messaging server. A connection is a fairly heavyweight object, and therefore most clients will use one connection for all messaging. You may create multiple connections, if needed by your application. The value of this measure therefore will indicate whether any applications require multiple connections to the EMS server.
Connections used percent	Indicates the percentage of total connections to the server that are in use.	Percent	Ideally, this value should be high. A low ratio of used connections indicates that too many connections to the server are currently unused - i.e., are idle. Unused open connections are eventually closed, but they do consume resources that could be used for other applications. Too many idle connections therefore can accelerate the resource drain on the EMS server, thereby compelling other applications to contend for limited resources. A low value for this measure is hence a cause for concern.
Sessions	Indicates the number of sessions on the server.	Number	A session represents a single-threaded context for sending and receiving messages. A session is single-threaded so that messages are serialized, meaning that messages are received one-by-one in the order sent. The benefit of a session is that it supports transactions. If the user selects transaction support, the session context holds a group of messages until the transaction is committed, then delivers the messages. Before committing the transaction, the user can cancel the messages using a rollback operation. A session allows users to create message producers to send messages, and message consumers to receive messages. This measure is generally an indicator of how busy the EMS server is.
Producers	Indicates the number of producers communicating with the server.	Number	Messages are structured data that one application sends to another. The creator of a message is known as a producer. Using the value reported by this measure, you can accurately figure out how many applications are sending messages to the queues on the server.
Consumers	Indicates the number of consumers communicating with the server.	Number	Messages are structured data that one application sends to another. The receiver of messages is known as a consumer. Using the value reported by this measure, you can accurately figure out how many applications are retrieving messages from the queues on the server.
Durables	Indicates the number of messages for the durable subscriptions.	Number	Each message consumer subscribes to a topic. When a message is published to that topic, all subscribed consumers receive the message. By default, subscribers only receive messages when they are active. If the messages are delivered when the subscriber is not available, the subscriber does not receive these messages. Java Message Service( JMS) specifies a way to remove the part of timing dependency by allowing subscribers to create durable subscriptions. Messages for durable subscriptions are stored on the server until the message expires or the storage limit is reached. Subscribers can receive messages from a durable subscription even if the subscriber was not available when the message was originally delivered.