Our RCA Story – Configuration Changes, Functioal Enhancement of Root Cause Analysis (RCA) In Solution Manager 7.1 SP06

We just finished the upgrade of solution manager 7.1 SP04 to SP06, thought of implementing RCA in the new environment. As the initial planning, I started gathering the requirement in Solution manager 7.1 with respect to the RCA scenario, after analysed well , we started and successfully implemented RCA on our new Solution Manager 7.1 SP06.

Through this blog, I would like to share what are the new enhancement, configuration differences, changes for RCA implementation in Solution Manager 7.1 SP06.

Configuration Changes

In 7.1 onwards no more separate diagnostics agent administration /smd. Now all the needed steps are integrated into initial,basic and managed system configuration.

Prepare Outside Discovery

Through this step we are actually preparing the managed system connection to the solution manager, all the agents are installed. The name outside discovery is nothing but a way to send the database, host details to the solution manager diagnostics agent.

Check some details on outside discovery here, http://scn.sap.com/community/it-management/alm/solution-manager/blog/2012/03/08/outside-discovery-on-solution-manager-71.

Now let us look deep in to the step 5.5,

Install Diagnostic agent

If you are going for fresh solman instalation, the diagnostics agent version 7.3 should be installed, if you are planning for solution manager upgrade, it is not necessary to upgrade your diagnostics agent, you can go ahead with the existing diagnostics agent version .Below the agent version mapping table.

For connecting diagnostics agent as usual two options provided, direct connect and connect via sld. It is part of  step 5.6. There is no additional technical difference in installing diagnostics agent.

More details for diganostics agent here in wiki, http://wiki.sdn.sap.com/wiki/display/SMSETUP/Diagnostics+Agents,

And dont forget to review the new diagnostics agent installation strategy on SAP Note Note 1365123 – Installation of Diagnostics Agents

Install/Update Host agent

In 7.0 SAP host agent is optional, but in 7.1 you must always have sap host agent running in your host. You need to have atleast patch level 55 of SAP host agent 7.20. Refer the sap note 1031096 for fresh installation, Refer the sap note 1473974 for automatic update of host agent.

For Trouble shooting check out here, http://wiki.sdn.sap.com/wiki/display/SMSETUP/SAP+Host+Agent, no additional difference found in this setup.

Establish Trusted connection

Please dont skip this step, this is very important. With this only host agent can connect to diagnostics agent and send the host information to LMDB.

Initially we skipped this, and end up with the below error.

And corrected with the steps in wiki,  http://wiki.sdn.sap.com/wiki/display/SMSETUP/Establish+trusted+connection. For more error correction regarding this outside discovery please check out the SAP Note 1611483 – SolutionManager7.1 – Outside Discovery common error messages.

Setup Wily

This is the other important step for RCA, it is under basic configuration

Installation guides are available here,  http://service.sap.com/instguides -> Installation & Upgrade Guides -> SAP Components -> SAP Solution Manager -> Release 7.0 EHP 1 -> Installation -> Wily Introscope Setup Guide 8.0

With wily release, didnt face any issue and didnt notice any technical difference in installlation. But in 7.0 we are need to do more settings from managed system side, now all are integrated in managed system configuration.Lets look at the some of the steps we need to do it for managed sytem configuration.

Activation of Introscope host adaptor in SMD

This task now done automatically in managed system configuration. this help to collect the CPU metrices for java system along with saposcol, this went without any issues.

Byte code agent installation

This is nothing but your deploy ISAGENT activity in solution manager 7.0, Now this is done automatically by SMD agents and manual deployment also posible.

Initially this step went fine, but we had some issue with this step after our Java update,

It is from the installation guide,we get it confimed that change of JVM needs to create the auto probe connector again,As per the wily release 8 Inst guide (Page number 25)we create the autoprobe connector manually,

Ohter than that we noticed more changes on these areas, Exspecailly after changeing VM parameters also,you need to perform the wily setup again. Hence please double check the installation guide and wily release notes for more activity. And also please read these SAP Note 797147 – Wily Introscope Installation for SAP Customer

BI extractor activation

All are now part of initial setup and some of them with basis configuration.

Changes on RCA functionalities

Since All the functional enhancement are reported detail by SAP , not going to write deep in. You can refer the SAP guide here.

https://websmp109.sap-ag.de/~sapidb/011000358700000409072011E

but one thing which my boss was admired that the clear view of the overview screen and also unlike 7.0, the heavy templates not loaded automatically in 7.1, you can load the templates whichever you required.

Other Interesting Things

As you all already know there are couple of mobile applications available ( System Monitoring, End User Experience Monitoring) in SM 7.1 SP06.

Apart from that the solman can be used for monitoring mobile applications, this was shared last week in SAP TechEd las Vegas

The session replay is avaialble here

http://www.sapvirtualevents.com/teched/sessiondetails.aspx?sId=3414

The conclusion

We felt that in RCA implementation is quite simple in 7.1 and lots of steps are automated.  The functional perspective of RCA is enhanced lot and also more efficient .

Please share your RCA implementation experience here.