Troubleshooting Data Collector

The purpose of this guide is to help diagnose and, in some cases, fix problems that may arise when running the Data Collector.

The sections below answer the most frequently asked questions about the on-premise installation of the Data Collector.

Is the Collection Manager logged in to ITRS API? Copied

1. On the machine where the Data Collector is installed, start the Collection Manager by typing Capacity Planner Data Collector into the start bar in Windows .
2. Check the bottom-left corner of the status bar to make sure the Collection Manager is logged in to the ITRS API. It should show the following:
   
   instead of one of the following:
   
   
3. If the Collection Manager is not logged in, click the status bar and log on to the API. For more information, see Log in to the ITRS API.

The collection task fails to log into your data provider Copied

Each collection task needs to be able to log in to the application providing data about the system. This may be vCenter, Geneos , Dynatrace, or a similar type of system.

If the credentials for the data provider have changed, they also need to be changed in the Data Collector task.

1. On the machine where the Data Collector is installed, start the Collection Manager.
2. In the list of available tasks, highlight the failing task and click Edit Selected.
3. Check and correct the connection details for the task on the right side of the screen.
4. Reenter the username and password in the Windows Task Setup section of the form.
5. Click Save to save your changes.

The collection task does not repeat Copied

If the task was set up as an ad-hoc task, then it can only be run manually, rather than repeating on a regular basis.

To change the frequency of the task, follow the steps:

1. On the machine where the Data Collector is installed, start the Collection Manager.
2. In the list of tasks, check whether the Repeat Every column is set to 6 hours or 12 hours, as required.
   
3. If the Repeat Every setting is incorrect, then select the task in the list and click Edit Selected.
   
4. In the task editor, verify that the Create scheduled task checkbox is selected, and that suitable parameters for Start at and Repeat Every have been entered.
5. Reenter the username and password for the Windows task user, and any credentials for the data provider.
6. Click Save to save your changes.

Does a corresponding task exist in the Windows Task Scheduler? Copied

1. On the machine where the Data Collector is installed, open the Windows Task Scheduler.
2. Expand the Active Tasks panel at the bottom of the screen.
3. Locate the collection task in the list by the task name. You can either scroll through the list of active tasks, or type the first three letters of the task name.
   
4. Double-click the task to check its settings.
5. On the General tab, make sure Run whether user is logged on or not is checked.
6. On the Triggers tab, check that there is a daily trigger, and that the start and repeat settings are as expected.
7. In the Action tab, make sure that the details specify to start the RunCollection.exe command with the task name of the selected task as the only parameter. For example, in the screenshot below, the collection task name is Geneos-Prj335-at_13_0.
   
8. In the History tab, check whether there are any error messages, and send screenshots to your ITRS representative if there are.

Does the user running the scheduled task have sufficient permissions to run it? Copied

The username supplied for running the scheduled task should have sufficient permissions to allow a scheduled task to be run, even when the user is logged out.

The user needs the following permissions:

• Log on as a batch job
• Log on as a service
• Folder access to execute from ...\Program Files\ITRS\Capacity Planner Data Collector.

To set up or verify user permissions, follow these steps:

1. Open the local security policy window from the Windows start menu by typing:

secpol.msc

2. From the Security Settings menu, select Local Policies > User Rights Assignment.
3. Double click the Log on as a batch job policy in the right-hand list.
4. Click Add User or Group to open theSelect User, Computers, Service Accounts or Groups dialog box.
5. Click the Locations button and select the local machine from the list.
6. Enter the new user name as the object name and click Check Names to add it.
7. Click OK and close other windows.
8. Repeat the steps for the Log on as a service policy.
   

Are any files waiting to be uploaded? Copied

When collection tasks have completed, they store the data to be uploaded in the following folder: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Temp\ITRS\UploadQueue\Data.

• If the task has been run manually from the Collection Manager, then the username is the currently logged-in user.
• If the task has been run as a scheduled task then the username is the user that runs the scheduled task.

When scheduled tasks have been run, the results are zipped into a subfolder with the same name as the task name. These files are automatically removed once they have been uploaded to the ITRS API.

If files are present in the upload queue, then it indicates that the collection task has run successfully, and that there is a problem with the API upload.

Zip file names include the start and end dates, and times of the collection, in the following format: YearMonthDay_HourMinuteSecond.

Example: A zip file Geneos_ITRSScotland (20200218_092717 to 20200219_092717).zip was generated for the task Geneos_ITRSScotland that ran from 09:27 on 18th Feb 2020 to 09:27 on 19th Feb 2020.

Where can I find Data Collector error logs? Copied

The Data Collector writes error logs to the following folder: C:\Program Files\ITRS\Capacity Planner Data Collector\Logs.

These are normally uploaded to the ITRS remote website in order to help with fault diagnosis. However, if the Data Collector is unable to connect to the ITRS API, then collector logs must be sent by an alternative route.

The log file folder can be reached either from Windows Explorer, or by clicking the View Logs button on the Collection Manager screen.

API certification issues Copied

If SSL certification is not correctly configured for the ITRS API, then the Data Collector will not log in and upload data.

A problem with SSL is indicated by the following line appearing in the Data Collector error logs:

ERROR WebException raised during login: TrustFailure: The underlying connection was closed: Could not establish trust relationship for the SSL/TLS secure channel.

To verify, open Internet Explorer and enter the API URL https://icp-api.itrsgroup.com/

If the site is untrusted, then the background of the address bar will change to pink, and an untrusted certificate error may appear:

The Sumerian API requires an SSL certificate to be installed to ensure secure delivery of collected data. Consult with your IT department before installing any certificates.

Install a certificate Copied

If you are authorized to install a certificate, follow the steps:

1. Click the error message in the address bar and click View Certificates.
   Alternatively, right click on the web page and select Properties, and then click Certificates in the bottom right hand corner.
   
2. Select the option to Install the Certificate, and then close and reopen the browser.
3. Return to the https://icp-api.itrsgroup.com/ site to verify that the certificate error is gone
4. Restart the Data Collector and attempt to log in again.

SSL over proxy connections Copied

If you are accessing the API using a proxy connection, you may need to install the certificate on the proxy server as well. To do so, remote desktop onto the proxy server and repeat the steps in Install a certificate.

If the proxy server is also using an SSL certificate, ensure that the server running the Data Collector has the proxy server SSL certificate installed as well.

Additional SSL issues Copied

The Trusted Root Certification Authority for the Sumerian API is Comodo. For the API SSL certificate to be recognised, the server on which the Data Collector runs must have the Comodo root certificate in its trusted root certificate store.

1. Run certmgr.msc from the task bar on the Windows machine in question.
2. When the manager opens, expand the Trusted Root Certification Authority > Certificates folder, and check that there is an entry for COMODO RSA Certification Authority in the list.
3. Check that the expiration date is correct.
4. If there are any discrepancies, contact your IT department.

The SSL certificate only works on connections using TLS versions higher than 1.0. To verify that, follow the steps:

1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. Navigate to https://icp-api.itrsgroup.com/.
3. Right click anywhere on the page and select properties.
4. Check that the TLS version in the Connection field is higher than 1.0.
   If this is not the case then contact your IT department.