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From the Active Display Console, select Action / System Options

The System Options, General tab contains the configuration items reflecting general global parameters for the execution of IPSentry along with a few default configuration options.

IPSentry System Options - General

Pause between cycle
Set this value to the number of minutes or seconds that you want to allow IPSentry to pause between monitoring cycles.  IPSentry will perform a monitoring cycle and then pause for this amount of time before starting the entire cycle all over again.  A lower value is not always a better value.

Default action timeout
This option is no longer used and is provided to handle legacy configurations during conversion and preliminary configuration.  The default timeout values are now retrieved from the {DEFAULT} monitoring entry configuration.

Default ping retry count
By default, IPSentry ping tests make 4 attempts to attain a response within the specified timeout.  Depending on your requirements for ping attempts, you may want to increase or decrease this value.  The lower the number of retries, the more likely you are to be alerted to an issue.  Setting this value to 1 is not recommended as the first ICMP packet of a series tends to be a bit higher than the following ping attempts.
 

Background Ping
Select this option if you have a substantial number of simple ICMP-Ping type entries.  IPSentry will process these entries in the background during processing of other monitors and can substantially reduce the monitoring cycle time especially on slower WAN ping tests.

Ignore poll frequency counter for failed devices
Set this option to enabled if you are configuring the Poll Frequency value on monitored devices to a value other than '1'.  With this selection enabled, the poll frequency value of all devices in a CRITICAL state will be ignored.  Thus, if the entry would be checked based on all other factors, the poll frequency setting will be ignored.

This is useful in obtaining more immediate Recovery Alerts.

Reference Parent Poll Frequency
By default, each entry maintains an individual poll frequency for simplicity of calculating how often a device will be polled.   If you select this option however, then the polling counter will only be incremented each time the parent is at a point to poll.

For example, if I have parentA set at a poll frequency of 2 and a dependent child set at a frequency of 2, then IPSentry must actually cycle 4 times in order for the child to be monitored.

The intent of this option was to allow setting all of the devices at a poll frequency of 1 and control them with their parent group.   

Application Startup Options
The following options designate the application startup options that are available for IPSentry.

Launch at Startup
Selecting this option will set IPSentry to start when you logon to the system by placing IPSentry in the startup area of the registry for the current user.
The registry Key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
The value is an SZSTRING named: IPSentry
The value is the IPSentry.EXE application with the command option " /RUNSTARTUP"
Example:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run: IPSentry = C:\Path\IPSentry.Exe /RUNSTARTUP

Start Minimized
Select this option to have IPSentry minimize itself to the system tray icon at startup.  When you launch IPSentry, you will not be presented with the standard ADC.  Either double-click the system tray icon or right-click and select Open to bring access the IPSentry ADC.

Retain Counters
By default, IPSentry clears it's internal failure sequence values and assumes all device as being in their current state for the first time during the next cycle.  Thus, if you have an alert schedule set to 2, then it will take 2 failures to trigger that alert.  However, if you enable this value, then the failure sequence will be retained between IPSentry launches.
We recommend enabling this option.

Startup Delay
Set this value to the number of minutes that IPSentry would wait before starting the first poll cycle after it has started.

This value is more critical to the startup of IPSentry as a system service.  Depending on the startup speed of your system and the items being monitored, it is possible that other applications and services may not be initialized by the time the IPSentry monitoring starts.  Set this value to have IPSentry wait the number of minutes specified before it automatically begins the first polling cycle.

For example:  If you have an application or process that takes 10 seconds to initialize and you have IPSentry monitoring some aspect of that process, it would be possible for IPSentry to attempt a check before the process has had a chance to initialize thus generating a CRITICAL alert.

Another advantage setting this value to 1 or more is that it provides a pause time allowing access to the configuration menu options without canceling a polling cycle after startup.

Run as Service
Click on the Run as Service button to install/uninstall/configure IPSentry as a system service.  You will be presented with the IPSentry Service Configuration.

IPSentry Service Configuration
The IPSentry Service Configuration allows you to Install/Uninstall/Modify Configuration options for running IPSentry as a system service.

IPSentry itself is not installed as a service.  Rather, the service named SRVIPSEN (IPSentry Service Manager) is installed.  This process simply insures that at least one instance of IPSentry is running at all times.  If you launch IPSentry on the desktop, the service instance will terminate.  When you exist IPSentry or logoff, the service manager will detect that no IPSentry instances are running and will then initiate a startup of IPSentry in the current service context.

So, when looking at services, you won't find "IPSentry" or "IPSentry.EXE" as a service.  Instead, you will see SRVIPSEN or IPSentry Service Manager in the computer services list.   You should however see IPSentry.EXE in the process list.

It is very important that you configure the service to run under the same account that you are using to configure and test your settings in order to avoid security credential limitations that might be imposed by another account.

For example, if you configure your monitoring tasks under account USERA, then the results of these tests are based on the capabilities and security restrictions of the USERA account.  If you configure the service to run as USERB, then the results may not be the same since the USERB account may have a restriction somewhere within the user policy or one of it's group membership that restricts it from performing a given task.   What happens?  You start getting failures due to access being denied. 

One of the most common support questions we receive regards this issue.  The IPSentry service is set to run under the Local System (or a restricted user account) and alerts are generated for everything trying to access remote systems.  When launched on the desktop, everything seems fine...  well, Local System is exactly that - LOCAL SYSTEM and has built-in security restrictions on remote system access.  As above, USERB may have a policy restriction on access the \\SOMECOMPUTER\SOMESHARE, and all of the sudden, your drive space monitor is failing...

*** Always run IPSentry network monitor under the same account to avoid security variations and unknown restrictions!!

IPSentry System Options - General - Service

Startup Type
Select the service start mode for the IPSentry Service Manager.  Select Automatic if you want IPSentry to start when the system starts.  Select Automatic if you want to start/stop the service manually or via other method after system startup.

Log On As
This area is VERY CRITICAL.  Per our recommendation, always configure the account under which the service manage will run to the account used to configure IPSentry unless you know 100%, no exceptions, that the accounts are identical and have tested your configuration under both accounts.

When installing the service manager, IPSentry will attempt to give "Logon as Service" rights to the specified account.  Depending on the account security, this may or may not be successful.  You should go into the account settings and make sure that the assigned account does in fact have "Logon as Service" rights.

Account Name
This is the username under which IPSentry will run.  If you are configuring as MYDOMAIN\Username, then you should set the account to MYDOMAIN\Username. 

Password
Enter the password required to logon as the selected user.  This information is not stored by and is only used to install the service configuration.

Verify Password
Verify the password you entered above.

Restart if no activity for...
As IPSentry monitors items or user interaction occurs within IPSentry, a heartbeat file in the application path is updated.  The service monitor will check the information within this file to make sure that IPSentry is either monitoring or somebody is actively configuring IPSentry.   If no updates to the heartbeat file have been made within the time specified in this field, IPSentry will be terminated and instantiated at a service.

If you set this value to low, you may be editing a system - walk away for 10 minutes - come back and see IPSentry has been shut down.  Well, it wasn't monitoring and no user activity was taking place so the service manager took over...

We recommend a value of 60 minutes or more.  This way, if you are editing an item in IPSentry and need to take a break, look up some information, do a quick and unexpected meeting, resolve some crisis , and return back to IPSentry, you have some time before service manager decides somebody forgot they were in the editor and monitoring is more important...

Stop Server / Start Service
If the service is running, you can stop the service by clicking this button.
If the service is not running (but installed), you can start the service by clicking this button.

Install Service / Uninstall Service
If the service is installed, click this button will remove the service manager.  You will need to uninstall the service in order to make changes to the service startup configuration through IPSentry.

If the service is not installed, click this button to install the service manager with the configuration settings that you have entered.

Finish
Click to close the window... at this point, only the heartbeat value is stored.

 

 




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