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Launch IPSentry Network Monitoring Suite on the desktop

The Active Display Console (ADC) is the starting point of the IPSentry application.  The ADC provides a continuous display of current monitoring activity, as it occurs, in real time.

While the display configuration can be modified to your own desired view, the default display format is designed specifically to contrast with the red failure information data being displayed whenever there is a failure or problem to which you should be aware. 

All of the information displayed in the ADC can be logged to a history file for later review.  The HI*.BUF files are split into hourly files rather than daily as these files can become exceptionally large (huge) when monitoring a large number of items.  The buffer files are stored as: HIyymmdd_hh.BUF

The ADC is not a 'terminal' and there are no text commands or other input requirements.  The only actions you can perform at the console are the actions available in the menu options - these are outlined below.

IPSentry Active Display Console

IPSentry Console - Action menu options

Console Menu - Action

IPSentry Console Toolbar

Edit Devices
Select this menu option to bring up the IPSentry Device Editor allowing you to add, modify, remove, and re-organize your device monitoring configuration.

System Options
Select this option to bring up the IPSentry System Options Editor and modify system preferences and configuration information.

Pause Checking
You may either select this option or press Ctrl+K to pause monitoring.  You will be prompted for the amount of time in Hours:Minutes (entered as HH:MM) that you wish to suspend monitoring.  After the amount of time specified, monitoring will resume without user interaction.

If IPSentry is currently paused, this option will have a checkmark to the left and selecting this option or pressing Ctrl+K will resume monitoring.

Check Now
You may either select this option or press Ctrl+N to bypass the intra-cycle pause and initiate a monitoring cycle immediately.

Check (Ignore Schedule)
You may either select this option or press Ctr+G to bypass the intra-cycle pause and initiate a monitoring cycle.  This option specifically causes the polling system to ignore any down-time schedules that are in effect.

Check (Ignore Poll Frequency)
You may either select this option or press Ctr+P to bypass the polling frequency definitions on the entries.  When this option is selected, an immediate poll will be initiated and the poll frequency of entries will be ignored.

Check Specific Entry
You may either select this option or press Ctr+S to select a specific entry to test for a live cycle.  This allows you to perform a live test on a single entry.  This option will ignore down time schedules, and poll frequency for the selected item and perform a live test.

Skip Remainder of Cycle
In most cases, the menu will be unavailable while polling is taking place, so you should press CTRL+C or ESC to skip the current monitoring cycle.  The menu option is there for reference, selection from the system tray, and is only enabled during a monitoring cycle.

Restart IPSentry
Select this option to shutdown and restart IPSentry.  You should use this if you change any of the monitoring daemons such as Backup Port, Remote View, and DASH Server configurations.

Exit
Selecting this option will terminate this instance of IPSentry.  Remember, when you click on the close box (X), IPSentry does not terminate - rather, it minimizes itself to the system tray and is accessible by double-clicking on the IPSentry system tray icon. IPSentry System Tray Icon

IPSentry Console Edit Menu

Copy to Clipboard
This option will be enabled if you have selected (highlighted) text within the active display console. 
The process of selecting text is beyond the scope of this documentation (or beneath it, depending on how complex the act of selecting text in a document seems to be.)

IPSentry Conole View Menu 

Color Display
If this option is checked, then color attributes are applied to the ADC.  If unchecked, the ADC will be displayed in foreground/background mode with no color attributes recognized.

Short Display
If this option is checked, the output of monitored items will consist primarily of single line information.  Critical error data will still appear.   If unchecked, various aspects of monitoring tasks and configuration information will be displayed on multiple lines with detail information regarding the results regardless of the monitoring result of each item.

Console Display Settings
Select this menu option to access the Console Display Settings editor.  Use this editor to change the Date/Time format and color settings for visual output.

IPSetnry Console View Menu

Statistics
Select this menu option to access the Statistics view submenu.
                

Default Auto Build
Selecting this option initiates a standard Statistics Auto Output report and brings up the primary output report in your browser.  This report is the report that is built automatically if you have turned on Auto-Output Statistics in the system settings configuration.

Force Full Statistics
Selecting this option initiates a full statistics report build.  This ignores report exclusions and creates a report of all devices.

IPSentry Console Tools Menu

Service Settings
Select this option to configure, start, or stop the IPSentry Service.
See: IPSentry Service Configuration

Clear alert Schedule Counters
This option clears the internal counters for alert schedules.  IPSentry keeps track of the current failure sequence for each alert in order to adhere to the defined Alert Schedule.  Selecting this option clears this counter and sets the counters to zero.  Basically, this places the alerting schedules in a state as if no failures or recoveries have occurred.  This does NOT clear the up-time statistics information.

Clear Up-Time Counters
This option clears the counters that are used to keep track of Attempts, Failures and calculate the Up-Time ratio for the machines.  Use this option to reset the up time ratio.  Note that the "Last Cleared" date will be also be changed to the current date and time.

Clear Poll Counters
If you are using Poll Frequencies, this resets the current poll count for all devices to zero.  Thus, if you have a poll frequency of 10 for all devices and they are on poll 9 of 10, they will now be on 0 of 10 and start the poll counting from this point.

Clear Escalation Levels (pagers)
For pager/cell/SMS alerting, IPSentry keeps track of the last alert point in order to escalate paging.  Selecting this option will reset the schedule information and pager/SMS messaging will act as if no notifications have been sent (e.g. it will start it's next alert on the first entry in the list.)

Clear All
Clears All counters noted above for all entries.

Add-Ins
IPSentry Console Tools Addions Menu

Add-In Manager
This option will bring up the IPSentry Add-In Manager which allows Loading / Unloading / Licensing of add-in components. See Add-In Manager for more information.

IPSentry License Manager
This entry is a menu add-in and provides access to the IPSentry License Manager from IPSentry.  This feature is also available on the start menu under the IPSentry section.

Other factory installed add-in may appear in the add-in menu and you may install your own menu items using the Add-In Manager and creating menu-style add-in entries to launch commonly used applications from this location.

Click here for more on the IPSentry License Manager

IPSentry Console Menu - Tools

Service Settings
Select the Service Settings to Install, Uninstall, Start, or Stop the IPSentry Service Manager which maintains IPSentry running as a system service. 
See: IPSentry Service Configuration

Backup Configuration
Select this option to perform a named backup of your current configuration data.  The IPSentry backup performs a basic configuration backup into a zip compatible file with the .IPZ extension.   This file can be read using standard zip viewing tools and the files extracted or added as desired.

IPSentry Configuration Backup

You specify the destination location and file to which you will backup your configuration data in the "Backup to File" field.

Restore Configuration
Select this option to perform restoration of your data from a previously backed up state. This option should only be used if you do not have a current backup of your data using other backup means since the data contained in the backup reflects only basic configuration information and will overwrite any existing statistical data, configuration settings.  The backup does not contain cache and state information for many add-in components.  Also, if you are referencing files outside of the IPSentry folder, these are not contained within the backup - only the references to the files as they exist in the configuration data.

IPSentry Restore Configuration Data
***The Backup/Restore option is NOT a substitution for proper system backup procedures.

Compact Detail Database
Select this option to perform a database cleanup (compact) on the detail graphing statistics database.  During normal processing, IPSentry will remove outdated data - however, the size of the database may not shrink.  Selecting this option allows recovery of space used by deleted data.

IPSentry - Compact Detail Database

Query Timeout
The query timeout is appropriate for most installations and need not be adjusted unless you receive a query timeout error during the compact.

Close window when finished
Select this option if you do not plan on returning to the system.  This will close out the window upon completion and resume monitoring.

Remove Deleted Device Data
During normal processing, deleted device data is purged based on your graphing data retention settings.  Once all of the data is removed for a device, the device entry will be removed from the database.  If you have deleted entries that you wish to be forced out of the reporting options, you can select this option.  Note that this is a slow process.

IPSentry Help Menu

Help Topics
Launches the IPSentry help topics.

License Agreement
This option displays the IPSentry End User License Agreement for review.

About IPSentry
Select this option to display current version and license information about the currently running instance of IPSentry

Order Online (web)
Selecting this option will launch your browser to our site so you can order IPSentry software and products.  Watch the startup page closely if you are running an evaluation as it will tell you how long you have until it expires and you will want to receive your license codes before this date.  Select this option to order license codes.

Enter Registration
Select this option to add or modify the current license code for IPSentry. 

IPSentry Online (web)
Select this option to launch your browser and head to https://ipsentry.com to look for updates, upgrades, help, and more.

Check for Updates
Select this option to launch your browser to our current version download page.

 



     If you require additional assistance, please visit our on-line support forum at http://forum.ipsentry.com.
 
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