Manual Chapter : 3-DNS Administrator Guide v1.0.6: Web Administration

Applies To:

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3-DNS Controller versions 1.x - 4.x

  • 1.0.6
Manual Chapter


6

Web Administration



Starting 3DNS administration

The 3DNS Controller comes with a Web Administration tool. This tool gives you a snapshot of your 3DNS Controller network at any given time. With this tool, you can view current information about your network's BIG/ip Controllers, other host machines, virtual servers, paths, and wide IPs. This tool is primarily designed to assist in troubleshooting.

You can start 3DNS Controller administration in either of the following ways:

  • From the 3DNS Maintenance Menu, select Start 3DNS Administration.
  • Type the following command from /usr/contrib/bin:

    3dns_admin_start

    The Web Administration tool is divided into two areas:

  • Statistics
    Presents current statistics for your network.
  • Administration
    Provides a method of viewing and changing your current configuration.

Setting user access privileges for administration and statistics

You can control user access to the statistics and administration areas using the Change/Add Users for 3DNS Web Administration command on the 3DNS Maintenance menu. This menu item opens a script that prompts you to define a user name and password, and also prompts to choose which area(s) the user can access. You can specify that the user has access only to the statistics area, or you can specify the user has access to both the statistics and the administration areas.

Statistics

With the 3DNS Controller administration tool, you can immediately view information about BIG/ip Controllers, other host machines, virtual servers, paths, and wide IPs on your network.

The 3DNS Controller installation includes an HTTP server called thttpd, which is used in the Web Administration tool's display of data. It runs transparently and requires no action on your part. However, if you'd like to change the port to something other than the default of 4999, or make other changes to thttpd, see thttpd on page D - 17.

BIG/ip Controller statistics

Click BIG/ip Controllers to view the following information about each BIG/ip Controller in your network. The administration tool generates a separate table for each BIG/ip Controller. Each table provides the following information:

Item Description
Data Center The IP address or name of the BIG/ip Controller. This address links to a page that displays the bigip statement associated with the selected BIG/ip Controller.
OK The current status of the specified BIG/ip Controller. A green light indicates that the specified BIG/ip Controller is up; red indicates that it is down; blue indicates that the BIG/ip Controller is new to the 3DNS Controller and that the 3DNS Controller has not yet collected metrics from it.
TTL The remaining time to live (ttl) before the BIG/ip Controller's data needs to be refreshed.
Seq No. The number of iQuery packets sent between the specified BIG/ip Controller and the 3DNS Controller.
Packets Out The total number of IP packets sent by the specified BIG/ip Controller.
Packets In The total number of IP packets received by the specified BIG/ip Controller.
Packet Rate The number of packets per second in and out of the BIG/ip Controller during the last sample period.
VS Count The number of virtual servers managed by the specified BIG/ip Controller.
VS Picks The number of times a virtual server managed by the BIG/ip Controller received a resolution request from the 3DNS Controller.
Refreshes The number of times this data was refreshed using the iQuery protocol.
Uptime The number of days, hours, minutes, and seconds that the specified BIG/ip Controller has been active.
Last Reply The date and time of the last contact with the specified BIG/ip Controller.

Host statistics

Click Hosts to view the following information about the generic host machines in your network. The administration tool generates a separate row for each host machine. The host machine's IP address appears in the third column of each row; the rest of the row provides the following information for that host machine:

Item Description
OK The current status of the specified host machine. A green light indicates that the specified host is up; red indicates that it is down; blue indicates that the host is new to the 3DNS Controller and that the 3DNS Controller has not yet collected metrics from it.
TTL The remaining time to live (ttl) before a host's metrics data needs to be refreshed.
Interface Address The IP address associated with the interface that accepts incoming connections for the host. This address links to a page that displays the host statement associated with the selected host.
Probe Port The port that the 3DNS Controller uses to verify whether the virtual server is available.
VS Count The number of virtual servers managed by the specified host machine.
Prober The IP address of the machine owning the currently running BIG/3d process.
Protocol The protocol used for this connection.
Picks The number of times this host machine was chosen by a wide IP for load balancing.
Refreshes The number of times this data was refreshed.
Last Refresh The last time the 3DNS Controller received data about the specified host.

Virtual server statistics

Click Virtual Servers to view the following information about each configured virtual server on your network. The administration tool generates a separate row for each virtual server:

Item Description
OK Whether the specified virtual server is taken into consideration for load balancing. A green light indicates that the specified virtual server is up; red indicates that it is down; yellow indicates that it is unavailable; blue indicates that the virtual is new to the 3DNS Controller and that the 3DNS Controller has not yet collected metrics from it. See Virtual server decision criteria , next.
TTL The remaining time to live (ttl) before a virtual server's metrics data needs to be refreshed.
Type Whether the specified virtual server is managed by a BIG/ip Controller (VSb) or other host machine (VSh).
Virtual Address The IP address of the specified virtual server.
Virtual Port The port number of the specified virtual server.
Ratio The weighting value for the specified virtual server.
Connections The number of current connections to the specified virtual server.
Conn Limit Whether the connection limit for this virtual server has been reached. Open indicates that the connection limit has not been reached and Full indicates that it has.
Nodes Up The number of nodes currently servicing the specified virtual server.
Enabled Whether the specified virtual server is available.
Picks The number of times this virtual server was chosen by a wide IP for load balancing.
Refreshes The number of times this data was refreshed.
Last Refresh The last time the 3DNS Controller received data about the specified virtual server.

Virtual server decision criteria

A virtual server is available to be used in a load balancing decision if the following conditions are met:

  • The BIG/ip Controller or host machine that governs the virtual server is available.
  • The virtual server is enabled.
  • The virtual server's connection limit is not exceeded.
  • The number of nodes servicing the virtual server is greater than 0.
  • The data was refreshed within the specified TTL (the TTL is specified with the globals sub-statement vs_ttl).

Path statistics

Click Paths to view the following path information for your network. Paths are dynamically created by the 3DNS Controller for each name resolution request. The administration tool generates a separate row for each BIG/ip Controller-to-local DNS path. The total number of paths is shown at the bottom of the table.

Item Description
TTL The remaining time to live (ttl) before a path's metrics data needs to be refreshed.
Local DNS The IP address of the local DNS associated with this path.
BIG/ip The IP address of the BIG/ip Controller associated with this path.
RTT The average round trip time (in microseconds) for transactions between the specified BIG/ip Controller and local DNS.
Delta RTT The difference (in microseconds) between the current known round trip time and the average round trip time.
Completion Rate The percentage of completed packets versus lost packets, multiplied by 100.
Picks The number of times the specified path was chosen by a wide IP for load balancing.
Accesses The number of times the specified path was evaluated to be chosen.
Refreshes The number of data refreshes for each path.

Local DNS statistics

Click Local DNS to view the following information about each configured local DNS on your network. The administration tool generates a separate row for each local DNS.

Item Description
Rank A measure of how often this local DNS made resolution requests. 1 indicates the local DNS that was used most often, and 2 indicates the next most popular, and so on.
Local DNS The IP address of the local DNS.
3DNS Requests The number of times the 3DNS Controller received a resolution request from this local DNS.
Probe Protocol The protocol (either TCP or ICMP) used in communicating with the selected local DNS.
Port The port number used in communicating with the local DNS.
State Path probing and path discovery state information. The states are:

· Needs Probe: The target has never been probed or scanned.

· Idle: Target was successfully probed and is waiting for next probe.

· In Probe: Target is currently being probed.

· Needs Discovery: Target failed a probe, and now needs to be scanned.

· In Discovery: Target is currently being scanned.

· Suspended: Target failed the scan and is no longer eligible for probing or scanning.

Wide IP statistics

Click Wide IPs to view the following information about each configured wide IP on your network. The administration tool generates a separate row for each wide IP.

Item Description
Domain Name The domain name for the specified wide IP. This name links to a page that displays the wideip statement associated with the selected domain.
TTL The ttl value specified in the wideip statement that is passed back to the local DNS with the A record.
DNS Address The A record for the specified domain.
Service The port or service used by the specified wide IP. If the service is a WKS (well-known service), the service name is shown. Otherwise, the port number is shown.
VSb Ratio The weighting value for the virtual servers owned by BIG/ip Controllers.
VSh Ratio The weighting value for the virtual servers owned by other host machines.
VSb LB Mode The load balancing mode in use for the pool of virtual servers owned by a BIG/ip Controller.
VSh LB Mode The load balancing mode in use for the pool of virtual servers owned by a host machine.
VSb Count The number of virtual servers owned by a BIG/ip Controller which are used to load balance the specified wide IP.
VSh Count The number of virtual servers owned by a host machine which are used to load balance the specified wide IP.
Preferred The number of times a resolution request was resolved using the preferred load balancing method specified in the wideip statement.
Alternate The number of times a resolution request was resolved using the alternate load balancing method specified in the wideip statement.
Fallbacks The number of times a resolution request was resolved using the fallback load balancing method specified in the wideip statement.
Returned to DNS The number of name resolution requests that 3DNS Controller could not resolve. These requests are returned to DNS.
Last Resolution The last time this name was resolved.

Summary statistics

Click Summary to view the following information about your network. The administration tool generates a summary table for each aspect of your network.

General

Item Description
3DNS Version The version number of the 3DNS Controller in use.
Max Datasize The maximum amount of memory that is available for the 3DNS Controller to use.
Start Time The date and time that the system was booted.
Current Time The current date and time.
Last Reload The date and time of the last HUP signal. Corresponds to ndc reload.
Last Dump The date and time of the last INT signal. Corresponds to ndc dumpdb.
Total Requests The number of requests made.
Seconds Up The number of seconds elapsed since the last reboot.
Average Requests Per Second Since Start Time The average number of requests per second since the system was booted. Depending on your site's traffic, 3DNS Controller may be capable of handling a greater number of requests per second.
Average Requests Per Second Since Last Dump The average number of requests per second since the last refresh of summary statistics. Depending on your site's traffic, 3DNS Controller may be capable of handling a greater number of requests per second.

Primary 3DNS

This table is displayed if the current 3DNS Controller is configured as a data collector. Each 3DNS Controller is a data collector until you designate it a data copier with the globals sub-statement primary_ip in the wideip.conf file.

Item Description
Sync DB Interval The value for sync_db_interval as specified in the 3DNS machine's wideip.conf file.
Last Dump The date and time of the last time the data collector's data was successfully sent to a dump file.
Dump File The name of the file to which the data was sent.
Total Dumps The number of times that the data collector successfully dumped its data to a file.
Total Dump Errors The number of times that the data collector was unsuccessful in dumping its data to a file.

Secondary 3DNS

This table is displayed if the current 3DNS Controller is configured as a data copier. A 3DNS Controller is a data copier if its wideip.conf file contains the globals sub-statement primary_ip.

Item Description
Sync DB Interval The value for sync_db_interval as specified in the 3DNS machine's wideip.conf file.
Last Sync The date and time of the last time the data copier successfully copied the data collector's data (the dump file).
Sync Primary IP The IP address of the data collector from which this data copier copies data. It is the value for primary_ip as specified in the 3DNS machine's wideip.conf file.
Total Syncs The number of times the data copier successfully copied the data collector's dump file.
Total Sync Errors The number of times the data copier was unsuccessful in copying the data collector's dump file.

BIG/ip

Item Description
Total Servers The number of BIG/ip Controllers controlled by the 3DNS Controller.
Unknown The number of BIG/ip Controllers for which the status is not known.
Up The number of BIG/ip Controllers controlled by the 3DNS Controller currently marked up.
Down The number of BIG/ip Controllers controlled by the 3DNS Controller currently marked down.
Waiting The number of BIG/ip Controllers controlled by the 3DNS Controller currently in waiting mode.
Alert The number of BIG/ip Controllers controlled by the 3DNS Controller currently in alert mode.
Panic The number of BIG/ip Controllers controlled by the 3DNS Controller currently in panic mode.
Average Packet Rate The average number of packets per second in and out of the BIG/ip Controller.
Average Connections The average number of connections from the start time to the current time.
Average Nodes The number of total nodes up divided by the number of BIG/ip Controllers.

Host

Item Description
Total Hosts The number of other host machines controlled by the 3DNS Controller.
Up The number of other host machines controlled by the 3DNS Controller currently marked up.
Down The number of other host machines controlled by the 3DNS Controller currently marked down.

Virtual Servers

Item Description
Total Virtual Servers The total number of virtual servers.
Total BIG/ip Virtual Servers The number of virtual servers managed by BIG/ip Controllers.
--Up The number of BIG/ip virtual servers that are up.
--Down The number of BIG/ip virtual servers that are down.
Total Host Virtual Servers The number of virtual servers managed by a host machine.
--Up The number of host virtual servers that are up.
--Down The number of host virtual servers that are down.

Wide IP

Item Description
Total Wide IPs The number of defined wide IPs.
Total Requests The number of name resolution requests sent to the 3DNS Controller.
Total Non-Wide IP Requests The number of regular DNS request not intended to be load balanced.
Total Wide IP Requests The number of requests sent to a wide IP for resolution and load balancing.
Total Resolved The number of successful name resolutions.
--By Preferred The number of resolutions made using the preferred load balancing method.
--By Alternate The number of resolutions made using the alternate load balancing method.
--By Fallback The number of resolutions made using the fallback load balancing method.
Total Returned to DNS The number of name resolution requests that are returned to DNS.

Local DNS

Item Description
Total Local DNS The number of local DNS systems accessed by the 3DNS Controller.
Probed by ICMP The number of local DNS systems accessed by the 3DNS Controller that are probed by ICMP.
Probed by TCP The number of local DNS systems accessed by the 3DNS Controller that are probed by TCP.
Probed by UDP The number of local DNS systems accessed by the 3DNS Controller that are probed by UDP. Not implemented for this release.
--Needs Probe The number of local DNS systems that have not been probed.
--Idle The number of local DNS systems that were successfully probed and are waiting for the next probe.
--In Probe The number of local DNS systems that are currently being probed.
--Needs Discovery The number of local DNS systems that failed a probe.
--In Discovery The number of local DNS systems that are currently being scanned.
--Suspended The number of local DNS systems that failed the scan and are no longer eligible for probing or scanning.
Ports Discovered The number of local DNS systems whose ports have been discovered.

Path

Item Description
Total Paths The number of paths used by the 3DNS Controller.
Paths Probed Successfully The number of paths that were successfully probed.
Fresh Paths The number of new paths.
Current Average RTT The average of current RTT metrics for all paths.
Overall Average RTT The overall average round trip time for all paths. By comparing current versus overall averages, you can tell whether, on average, the current RTTs are higher or lower than the accumulative average.
Current Average Completion Rate The average of current metrics for the percentage of completed packets versus lost packets.
Overall Average Completion Rate The overall percentage of completed packets versus lost packets. By comparing current versus overall averages, you can tell whether, on average, the current completion rate is higher or lower than the accumulative average.
Total Picks The number of times (for all paths) where the path's data resulted in the corresponding BIG/ip Controller's virtual server being chosen for a connection.
Total Accesses The number of times all paths were considered when performing dynamic load balancing.
Average Outstanding Requests The number of iQuery requests made by the 3DNS Controller to a particular BIG/ip Controller that were dropped or not serviced within the timer_get_data timeframe.

Global variable statistics

Click Globals to view information about the current and default values for each globals sub-statement, and to find out if any changes you made require that you restart named.

Documentation

For more information on 3DNS Controllers and utilities, click Man Pages, Users Guide, or Release Notes. Note that opening the online Users Guide takes a few moments. The file is rather large, and the viewing software (Adobe Reader) must be started.

Administration

From the Administration area, you can view and edit the wideip.conf file, change global variable settings, update the current statistics and configuration settings in the wideip.conf file, start and stop metrics collection on paths, and reset all statistics.

Commands

You can perform the following tasks using the buttons under Commands in the left frame:

Item Description
Reset Statistics Sets all statistics values to zero and begins collecting new statistical data.
Start Metrics Collection Activates the process of collecting statistical data.
Stop Metrics Collection Deactivates the process of collecting statistical data.

Configuration

In addition to viewing collected information about your network, you can use the 3DNS Controller administration tool to view and change your configuration file.

View wideip.conf

Displays the contents of your wideip.conf file.

Edit wideip.conf

Opens the wideip.conf file in an edit window. Once you are finished making changes, click Update.

There are three limitations to editing your wideip.conf file with this tool:

  • You cannot edit a wideip.conf file that is larger than 64 Kb.
  • You can only change or add items in a wideip.conf file; you cannot remove items from the file.
  • If you use incorrect syntax in the wideip.conf file, the file fails parsing, and the erroneous text is displayed for review.

Edit Globals

Lets you view and edit individual variables in your globals statement without loading the wideip.conf file.

To edit global variables in this window

  1. Click the variable name.
  2. Make your edits.
  3. Click Update.

The Change Requires Restart column indicates whether you must restart named for changes to take effect.

Update Database

Creates two files:

  • /var/3dns/etc/wideip.conf.dynamic
    This file stores the wide IP definitions, path data, and local DNS data.
  • /var/3dns/etc/wideip.conf.static
    This file contains only the globals, bigip statements, hosts statements, and wideip statements.

    For information on dynamic and static wideip.conf files, see Working with static and dynamic wideip.conf files, on page C-2 .

Restart

Restarts the named process. This is equivalent to issuing the ndc restart command.

If you change your configuration file, click Restart for the changes to take effect. When the 3DNS Controller restarts, it re-reads the configuration information.