Creating a new monitor

Creating a new monitor is a process that begins at the New Monitor window. In System i® Navigator, expand Management Central, expand Monitors, right-click the type of monitor you want to create (for example, Job), and then click New Monitor.

After you have given your new monitor a name, the next step is to specify what you want to monitor. If you are creating a job monitor, you will select which jobs you want to monitor. Be careful to monitor the smallest number of jobs that will give you the information you need. Monitoring a large number of jobs may have a performance affect on your system.

You can specify the jobs to monitor in these ways:
Jobs to monitor
You can specify jobs by their job name, job user, job type and subsystem. When specifying job name, job user and subsystem, you can use an asterisk (*) as a wildcard to represent one or more characters.
Servers to monitor
You can specify jobs by their server names. Select from the list of Available servers on the Servers to monitor tab. You can also specify a custom server by clicking the Add custom server button on the New Monitor or Monitor Properties - General page under the Servers to monitor tab. To create a custom server, use the Change Job (QWTCHGJB) API

When multiple job selection criteria are specified, all jobs matching any of the criteria are monitored.

  1. Selecting the metrics
    For each type of monitor, Management Central offers several measurements, known as metrics, to help you pinpoint different aspects of system activity. A metric is a measurement of a particular characteristic of a system resource or the performance of a program or a system.
  2. Specifying the threshold values
    Setting a threshold for a metric that is being collected by a monitor allows you to be notified and, optionally, to specify actions to be taken when a certain value (called the trigger value) is reached. You can also specify actions to be taken when a second value (called the reset value) is reached.
  3. Specifying the collection interval
    When you are setting thresholds for the metrics you have selected to monitor, you should consider how often you want the data to be collected.
  4. Specifying threshold run commands
    A threshold is a setting for a metric that is being collected by a monitor. Threshold commands run automatically on your endpoint system when threshold events occur. Threshold commands are different from any threshold actions you may have set. Threshold actions happen on your PC or central system, while threshold commands run on your endpoint systems.
  5. Specifying event logging and actions
    When you have specified the threshold values for your monitor, you can click the Actions tab to select event logging and the PC actions to be taken when a threshold is triggered or reset.
  6. Applying thresholds and actions for a monitor
    When you have specified your threshold values and chosen to log events, you can select whether to always apply these thresholds and actions, or to apply them only on the days and times you choose.
Parent topic: Working with Management Central monitors