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┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ The Administrator's Apprentice │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ System Management by E-Mail - An MHS-based NLM │ │ │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Contents Introduction Requirements Installation Creating Accounts Loading the NLM Configuration File Commands accepted by E-Mail The CRC32 Utility Program Planned enhancements Revision History Ordering Information Copyright (C) 1994 PH Consulting A-3704 Grosswetzdorf 1 AUSTRIA ┌──────────────┐ │ Introduction │ └──────────────┘ Administrator's Apprentice is an NLM for use on NetWare 3.x and 4.x. It interfaces with MHS (SMF-70 or SMF-71, i.e. MHS 1.5, Global MHS or Infinite Technologies' Connect²) to receive commands from and send alerts to the administrator (supervisor). Functions include: - NetWare broadcast message to Mail conversion NetWare broadcast messages to a specified user (the type of message normally displayed in the bottom line of a user's screen by the NetWare shell) are not buffered, so they are easy to miss. This NLM traps such messages and sends the administrator an E-mail message instead. Benign messages may be filtered. - Remote File Server Console Status Upon receiving a command to do so, the NLM will take a "snapshot" of the server console's virtual screens and return them to the administrator. - Execute console commands Batches of console commands can be executed. Execution can be delayed for a specific time, or until an NLM is loaded/unloaded. - Print attached files to a specified queue Automatically print orders, invoices or anything else to a printer queue residing on the local file server. - List directory or calculate file CRC remotely Want to check which versions of a program a remote site is running? Send a one-line E-mail message. The (multithreaded) NLM runs completely in the background and causes no noticeable server load when idle. It only polls the server in regular intervals. When executing a command, utmost care is taken to minimize load on the server's CPU. The commands execute fast enough to prevent any noticeable server performance degradation. This NLM is particularly useful for monitoring remote sites that do not have an on-line (WAN) connection to the main LAN, but can be reached through E-mail. ┌──────────────┐ │ Requirements │ └──────────────┘ ADMINAPP runs on NetWare 3.11, 3.12, 4.00, 4.01 and 4.02. Note that ADMINAPP requires CLIB 3.12f or later on NetWare 3.x. If you are running Netware 3.11, don't be alarmed - you can also upgrade to CLIB 3.12x. As of this writing, the most current version is 3.12g, which is found in the file LIBUP3 or LIBUP4 (available in the NOVLIB forum on CompuServe or from ftp.novell.com on Internet). Novell does acknowledge a problem with CLIB 3.12g and GMHS 2.0, and recommends using CLIB 3.12f in this configuration. If you are for some reason unable to upgrade to CLIB 3.12f+, please contact PH Consulting (addresses at the end of this document) for a separate Backward Compatibility Module. ┌──────────────┐ │ Installation │ └──────────────┘ To install Administrator's Apprentice, copy ADMINAPP.NLM, ADMINAPP.CFG and either ADAPP30D.NLM (for a 30-day trial) or ADAPPINS.NLM (for the retail version) to SYS:SYSTEM. At the file server console, enter LOAD ADAPP30D to start the 30 day trial period or LOAD ADAPPINS to install the retail product. Note that Administrator's Apprentice is licensed by NetWare File Server, independent of NetWare user count or MHS licensing. Next, edit the configuration file. You may use the command LOAD EDIT SYS:SYSTEM/ADMINAPP.CFG at the file server console or any text editor from an attached station. Follow the comments in the sample ADMINAPP.CFG to fill in the proper parameters for your configuration. You should enter an MHS mail address and a local NetWare user name (see description below). ┌───────────────────┐ │ Creating Accounts │ └───────────────────┘ If you have not already done so (or used an existing account), use SYSCON or NETADMIN to create the user account the the NLM will use to log in to the file server. This account need not have any special rights to the file system; it is only used to receive broadcast messages. Make sure that this user account is specified in the appropriate places in other programs (such as backup utilities) and/or is a member of the proper user groups to receive all the broadcast messages that you want. Note that you may restrict this account's login address to (file server internal net: node 1) if you want to make sure it is not used by someone trying to obtain undue access to the server over the network. Also, if the MHS mail account specified above does not exist yet, create it now. IMPORTANT: Make sure that MHS is the preferred application defined for this account. Verify that you can log in to the server from a workstation using the username and password specified in the ADMINAPP.CFG file as [BROADCASTS] NetWareUserName = AdminApp NetWarePassword = AdminAppPassword ┌─────────────────┐ │ Loading the NLM │ └─────────────────┘ At the file server console, enter LOAD ADMINAPP ┌────────────────────┐ │ Configuration File │ └────────────────────┘ The configuration is read from the file SYS:SYSTEM/ADMINAPP.CFG. This file follows the Windows conventions of INI files, i.e. it is divided into sections (indicated by section names in []), which hold a number of assignments of the form Parameter = Value Blanks around the equals sign are ignored if present. Comments can be entered on blank lines by prefixing them with a semicolon. Upper/lowercase is ignored for the parameter names. Path values must be entered in NetWare format: Volume:Dir1\Dir2\Dir3 The volume name must be specified. A forward slash may be used instead of a back slash. Volumes must be on the local server; this NLM does not support logging in to other servers. ┌─────────────────────────────┐ │ Commands accepted by E-Mail │ └─────────────────────────────┘ Administrator's Apprentice reads E-mail messages addressed to it and processes the command specified on the "Subject:" line of the message. The following commands are defined: PRINT Queuename Enters attached file(s) as job(s) in the specified print queue. STATUS [G][V][C][N][S][T][*] Returns a status report to the sender of the message. Contents: G = General, V = Volumes, C = Connections, N = NLMs, S = Screens, B = Bindery, P = Bindery + Properties Any or all of the optional report types may be specified. An Asterisk may be specified in place of the options to get all of the reports. If no options are specified, a "Vols/Conns/Screens" report is returned. IGNORE Ignores this message completely. CONSOLE ConsolePassword Interprets the lines of the message body. The console password must match the one specified in ADMINAPP.CFG for the message to be processed. The following keywords are recognized: COMMAND ConsoleCommandLine The console command line is passed to NetWare. STATUS MHS-Address;[G][V][C][S][T] Sends a status report to the address specified (in this case it can be different from the sender's address). The address must be present and is separated from the options by a semicolon. DELAY NumberOfSeconds Delays for the specified number of seconds. Note that polling for broadcast messages is not affected because this continues to run in another thread. (CONSOLE sub-commands continued on next page) (continued: CONSOLE sub-commands) WAITFOR NLMLOAD NLMName [Timeout] WAITFOR NLMUNLOAD NLMName [Timeout] Waits for the specified NLM to be loaded/unloaded. Note that the name is the internal name of the NLM, which is not necessarily identical to the file name. If in doubt, consult the information obtained with STATUS N. Note that only the base name is used for this command - the file extension (.NLM, .LAN etc.) is ignored. If the NLM is not loaded/unloaded within the specified timeout (in seconds), the command continues nonetheless. The default timeout is 30 seconds. Example: WAITFOR NLMUNLOAD NGM 600 CLOSE ScreenName Switches to the specified virtual screen and "presses the ENTER key" there. Used to close screens displaying the message "Press any key to close screen". MESSAGE MHS-Address;Subject Sends an MHS Message with the specified subject to the specified address. Address and Subject are separated by a semicolon. CRC FilePath Calculates the CRC32 (CCITT) of the specified file. This CRC is the same as it is used by popular archiving programs such as PKZIP or ARJ. Used to compare file versions with known references. See also the description of the enclosed CRC32 utility program for DOS. DIR FilePath [/S] Lists the directory. Note that you have to specify a file wildcard, such as in DIR SYS:SYSTEM/*.* Option /S will cause subdirectories to be listed as well. Note that the result is sent as the body of a message. Therefore, if its length exceeds 64K and Global MHS has to "downgrade" the message, i.e. convert from SMF-71 to SMF-70, the message will be rejected by GMHS because GMHS insists that an SMF-64 message cannot be longer than 64K. Such a limit does not exist if the format stays at SMF-71 or if the message is handled by MHS 1.5 or Connect². FETCH FilePath Attaches the specified file to a reply message. Example usage of the CONSOLE command to control the backup of a NetWare SQL database: To start backup, send the following message to AdminApp: Subject: CONSOLE !You#will#never#guess! COMMAND Load NSUTIL -StartBU DatabaseName DELAY 20 STATUS Operator@Company;S CLOSE NSUTIL MESSAGE Backup@Company;BACKUP MyServer This places the database in continuous-operation (backup) mode, sends a status message to the administrator and closes NSUTIL's screen. Then it sends a message to a backup gateway. This gateway (example shown next page) (ab)uses the MHS server to perform a backup procedure. Upon completion of that procedure, it sends the following message to AdminApp: Subject: CONSOLE !You#will#never#guess! COMMAND Load NSUTIL -EndBU DatabaseName DELAY 20 STATUS Operator@Company;S CLOSE NSUTIL MESSAGE Operator@Company;Database backup completed Example RUNIT.BAT for Infinite Technologies' Connect² MHS compatible message router which can directly run batch files as gateways: (Note: Specify parameters for SENDIT on a single line!) @echo off cls echo. echo. RUNIT Gateway to control Backup echo. echo. Processing message from %gwfrom% ... echo. rem delete old log file, if present if exist backup.log del result rem Parameter n is n-th Word on Subject line rem we're using Parameter 1 as a keyword rem rem Command 1: BACKUP rem if not [%1]==[BACKUP] goto nobackup BackupProgram Script=%2 Logfile=BACKUP.LOG if errorlevel 1 goto backuperr sendit /t%gwfrom% /f%GWNAME%@%GWNAME%(Backup) /sBackup completed. /b /q goto cont1 :backuperr sendit /t%Operator@Company /f%GWNAME%@%GWNAME%(Backup) /sBackup FAILED! /bBACKUP.LOG /q :cont sendit /tAdminapp@Company /f%GWNAME%@%GWNAME%(Backup) /sCONSOLE !You#will#never#guess! /bENDBU.MSG sendit /t%Operator@Company /f%GWNAME%@%GWNAME%(Backup) /sBackup completed. /bBACKUP.LOG /q goto cont2 rem rem Example command 2: rem if not [%1]==[LIST] goto cont2 BackupProgram List=%2 Logfile=BACKUP.LOG sendit /t%Operator@Company /f%GWNAME%@%GWNAME%(Backup) /sRequested List /bBACKUP.LOG /q :cont2 rem More commands can be implemented the same way rem rem Delete already-processed message (C² doesn't) del %GWDIR%OUT\%GWMSG% echo - Done! (STARTBU.MSG/ENDBU.MSG contain the text of the previously shown mail messages). Please refer to the documentation of Connect² as well. For sites running Global MHS or MHS 1.5, Infinite Technologies offers a gateway called RunIt! that offers this functionality for these environments. ┌───────────────────────────┐ │ The CRC32 Utility Program │ └───────────────────────────┘ The CRC32 program is a DOS-based utility to calculate the 32bit CRC (cyclic redundancy check) checksum as defined by ANSI X3.66, FIPS PUB 71, FED-STD-1003 or CCITT/ITU-T X.25. This is the same CRC method as implemented in popular compression or archiving programs such as PKZIP(tm), ARJ(tm) and others. Note to those who want to know it all: The polynomial being used is X^32+X^26+X^23+X^22+X^16+X^12+X^11+X^10+X^8+X^7+X^5+X^4+X^2+X^1+X^0. Using the program ───────────────── crc32 filespec { filespec } Filespecs may use the wildcard characters * and ? as common in DOS. The option /X<ext>{,<ext>} excludes files with extension <ext> for the rest of the command line or up to the next /X option. Progress of the CRC calculation is indicated by a spinning line. The program's output may still be redirected by DOS. Example ─────── crc32 /XSYS SYS:SYSTEM/*.* /X SYS:PUBLIC/*.* Hints ───── The same file may be specified multiple times on the command line to test disk/LAN integrity, e.g. crc32 test.dat test.dat test.dat test.dat test.dat test.dat The program should of course calculate the same CRC value every time. To quickly tell if two files are equal, use (for example) crc32 SYS:SYSTEM/CLIB.NLM SYS:SYSTEM/CLIB.OLD The advantage to comparing files with a program like DIFF or FC is that using ADMINAPP, the CRC32 value can be computed and sent quickly for a remote file, even if it is several megabytes in size. FC would require the whole file to be transferred for the comparison. Alternatively, the CRC can bee transferred by even lower-tech methods, such as reading over the phone. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Planned enhancements to AdminApp for upcoming releases │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ - Monitoring NetWare internal events such as Volume mount/dismount, user login/logout, bindery security change etc., configurable through the INI file and/or E-mail commands - Monitoring log files for error messages - Conditional execution & labels in CONSOLE subcommand-blocks, e.g. depending on the result of WAITFOR NLMLOAD - Exploit the diagnostics capabilities built into NetWare 4 to return information about memory utilization etc. Any other suggestions are cordially welcomed! ┌──────────────────┐ │ Revision History │ └──────────────────┘ V1.00 94/10/23 Initial Beta Release. V1.00A 94/10/30 Added NLM Info, WAITFOR NLMLOAD, WAITFOR NLMLOAD commands. V1.10 94/11/07 Added NetWare 3.x support for NLM Info/WAIT commands. Cleaned up UNLOAD code. Beta Rel. 2. V1.20 94/12/27 Release candidate V1.20A 94/12/30 Fixed NW 3.11 NLM list garbage. First production release. V1.20B 95/01/11 Moved ConsolePassword= setting to [Settings] section. Added MailPollDelay= setting. Clarified documentation. ┌──────────────────────┐ │ Ordering Information │ └──────────────────────┘ Administrator's Apprentice is supplied as a 30-day evaluation version. You are welcome to try out the program during that period. After this period, the evaluation version will cease to run. You may install a purchased license at any time without any change in configuration. You are also welcome to give copies of this evaluation package to whomever you wish, provided that you pass the original archive in its entirety. The price of the licensed version is US $280 per server in the U.S., or ATS 3000 in Europe and elsewhere, including E-mail delivery, but excluding mail or courier S/H. E-mail if you want to negotiate site or corporate licenses. Resellers please inquire about terms. To order the licensed version, contact Peter Holzleitner Consulting A-3704 Grosswetzdorf 1 Austria, Europe by E-mail as MHS: Peter@PHConslt (via LEND-ING, CSERVE, NHUB) Internet: pholzl@ping.at From CompuServe, you may enter MHS:Peter@PHCONSLT (preferred as it is faster for me) or 100427,234