Chapter 12: Monitoring Activity

To manage current activity on your RealServer, you'll want to track things such as which clips are most popular, what the stream load is, whether viewers are being turned away. RealServer includes the following methods for monitoring real-time activity: G2 Java Monitor and NT Performance Monitor (for Windows NT users). To generate reports of historical activity, see Chapter 13: Reporting.

G2 Java Monitor

Included with RealSystem Administrator is a configurable graph that displays real-time information about the number of clients connected to RealServer, resources used, and which files are being streamed.

RealSystem Administrator includes a real-time Java Monitor to show activity on one or more RealServers, making server management easy. It shows how the server is being used, who is using it, when it is most used, and which files are the most requested.

Use feedback from G2 Java Monitor to:

Respond to customer demand
Manage content and change the server configuration remotely
Make more informed business decisions

You can also create other external G2 Java Monitors to track more than one server, monitoring multiple RealServers side by side. A brief status message displays along the bottom of each window, telling you which server is being monitored.

Using G2 Java Monitor

There are several ways you can control what G2 Java Monitor displays. This section describes the commands present on the G2 Java Monitor display area and their functions.

To start G2 Java Monitor:

In RealSystem Administrator, click Monitor. G2 Java Monitor appears.

Options Menu

Select the drop-down Options menu in the upper left hand corner of G2 Java Monitor to configure the Monitor's features or spawn an external Monitor which runs outside the browser.

Options Menu Commands
Command	Effect
New Window	Create a new, external monitor. You can then minimize the browser and resize the new monitor.
Pause	Freezes the graph. G2 Java Monitor continues to receive data, but the graphical display of data does not change. Click Unpause from Options to resume the graphing.
Reset	Clears the graph and resets all peak data.
Configure	Displays the configuration screen. Specify the update frequency in seconds, the time scale in minutes, and select which statistics to monitor.
Autofit	Rescales the graph so that it fits within the viewable area. Note: Whenever you zoom, the Autofit feature is disabled. Select AutoFit from the Options menu to re-enable AutoFit.
Zoom In	Zoom in on the graph. Use the mouse to select a range over the graph to zoom in for a closer view. Tip: Hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard, and click the mouse to Autofit the graph.
Zoom Out	Zoom out from the graph.

Tabs

The Key, Performance, Connections, and Files tabs each have a specific focus, providing you with an overall picture of server performance.

Tip
Clicking the active tab will expand collapse the tab information and show only the tab name, leaving more room for the monitor. To show the contents of the tabs again, click the tab name again.

	Tip
Clicking the active tab will expand collapse the tab information and show only the tab name, leaving more room for the monitor. To show the contents of the tabs again, click the tab name again.

Key Tab

The Key tab shows how RealServer information is graphed. By clicking different options in the Line column, you can control what colors and line widths are used to display RealServer information (see instructions below the table).

Key Tab Columns
Column	Purpose
Line	Controls line display: width, color, and order.
Name	Type of item being monitored: Players, Monitors, Encoders, Files, and Splitters.
Current	Shows the number of the current connections.
Peak	Shows the peak numbers of files monitored, and time and date.

To control line width:

In the row that contains the information whose line width you want to modify, click within the line box itself to toggle among three possible line widths.

To change line color:

Click the up and down arrows within the line box, to cycle among the 16 possible colors for the line.

To change line display order:

Click on the left hand arrow within the line box, to change the drawing order of the lines, which will move the line and name of item being monitored up one row.

Performance Tab

The Performance tab provides statistics on RealServer performance.

Performance Tab Columns
Column	Purpose
CPU Usage	Displays current central processor unit (CPU) usage (as percentage of overall CPU usage).
Memory Usage	Displays system's Memory Usage (in kilobytes).
Bandwidth	Displays the amount of data being sent (in kilobits per second).
Players Connected	Displays the number of RealPlayers connected.
File Usage	Displays the number of files being served.

Connections Tab

This tab provides background on connected clients and the files they are accessing.

Connections Tab Columns
Column	Purpose
IP Address	RealPlayer's host Internet Protocol (IP) address.
Type	Type of browser or RealPlayer.
Duration	Amount of time the client has been connected.
Filename	Name of the file being served.

Files Tab

The files tab provides statistics on all files being served..

File Tab Column
Column	Purpose
Filename	Name of the file being served.
Current	Number of current clients connected.
Total	Total number of times a file was served during this monitoring session.
Peak	Shows the peak numbers of files monitored, and time and date.

G2 Java Monitor Modes

The G2 Java Monitor can run as an applet or application. When you select New Window from the Options menu, the new G2 Java Monitor runs as an applet. Another method is available for running G2 Java Monitor as a separate application.

Review the considerations below before choosing which mode you want the G2 Java Monitor to use.

Applet Mode Considerations

Can be run from inside a web browser.
Can be run from any remote machine with a Java-enabled browser.
Settings may not be saved when you switch among the RealSystem Administrator's Web pages.

Developers can use a scripting language and the parameters below to customize the G2 Java Monitor applet to their specifications.

Applet Parameters
Parameter	Possible Values	Default Value
`dragZoom`	`enabled, disabled`	`enabled`
`viewPanel`	`keyPanel, resourcePanel, clientPanel, filePanel, minimized, disabled`	`keyPanel`
`StatusBar`	`enabled, disabled`	`enabled`
`PlayerCount`	`enabled, disabled`	`enabled`
`FileCount`	`enabled, disabled`	`enabled`
`EncoderCount`	`enabled, disabled`	`enabled`
`MonitorCount`	`enabled, disabled`	`enabled`
`SplitterCount`	`enabled, disabled`	`disabled`

Application Mode Considerations

No web browser needed.
Can switch among different servers without spawning new windows.
Java class files, available for free download from Sun, must be installed on the local machine. They are described below.

To run G2 Java Monitor in applet mode:

Applet mode is the default method for G2 Java Monitor when you click New Window from the Options menu.

To run G2 Java Monitor in application mode:

Download and install version 1.1 of the Java Development Kit, available as a free download from Sun's Web site: http://java.sun.com/products/jdk/.
Follow the installation instructions on the Web site.
Once you have installed the Java Development Kit on your system, change to the directory where the newly installed Java class files are located.
At a system prompt, type the following:
```
Java Monitor
```
The Monitor and a logon screen appear.
In the logon screen, type the RealServer name, port number, and password. Click OK.
G2 Java Monitor starts.

Configuring G2 Java Monitor Settings

G2 Java Monitor uses just two variables from RealServer.

To change G2 Java Monitor Settings:

Indicate which port G2 Java Monitor should use in connecting to RealServer by setting the MonitorPort variable. The default value for MonitorPort is 9090.

The password which G2 Java Monitor uses to connect to RealServer is stored in the MonitorPassword variable. This value is set during installation, but you can change it at any time.

These values must be changed by directly modifying the configuration file. See Appendix B: Configuration File Contents for instructions.

Using Windows NT Performance Monitor

RealServer is designed to work with the Windows NT Performance Monitor to show activity on one or more RealServers. This option is available if you are running the RealServer on Windows NT and are viewing it from that same computer. A Performance Monitor file containing the RealServer statistics, rmserver.pmc, is supplied.

You can also configure the Performance Monitor to show RealServer status from any computer on your network. The Performance Monitor can show the following types of information:

Clients and protocol-The number of active clients. Also shown are the protocols used by the clients to receive streams.
Connection type-The number and type of connections, whether TCP or UDP.
Multicast connections-The number of active multicast connections.
Total bandwidth-The number of bits per second being consumed.
Percent of processor-How much processor time RealServer is using.
Connections-How many encoders, monitors, and splitters are connected.
Incoming bandwidth-Bandwidth of streams arriving from encoders.
Files playing-Number of files playing, including all the files in a SMIL presentation. Live files are also shown.
Files archiving-Number of live files are being saved.

Using the NT Performance Monitor, any combination of this information can be displayed in any of the following formats:

A chart that graphs activity over time
Alerts that notify the administrator via e-mail or run programs based on criteria
Log files that list activity on RealServer
Reports based on activity information

For information on configuring these formats, see the online help in Performance Monitor.