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is Hobbit ready for 2007 DST?

17 messages in this thread

list Jerry Yu · Tue, 6 Mar 2007 11:29:35 -0500 ·
I didn't find any question asked about 2007 DST readiness for Hobbit on the
list. Should it be assumed it won't be problem at all? For one thing, the
scheduled downtime and such would be specific to local time.  Assume the
underlying operating system has been patched and is ready to accomodate 2007
DST changes in North America.
list Gary Baluha · Tue, 6 Mar 2007 11:43:26 -0500 ·
Hobbit itself doesn't really have anything that is time-specific.  As long
as the OS is patched, logging should be correct.  The only thing I'm not
sure about is if RRD needs any patching; I would imagine it is the same
thing, as long as the OS is patched.
quoted from Jerry Yu

On 3/6/07, Jerry Yu <user-764c1f364fe0@xymon.invalid> wrote:
I didn't find any question asked about 2007 DST readiness for Hobbit on
the list. Should it be assumed it won't be problem at all? For one thing,
the scheduled downtime and such would be specific to local time.  Assume the
underlying operating system has been patched and is ready to accomodate 2007
DST changes in North America.
list Henrik Størner · Tue, 6 Mar 2007 21:51:19 +0100 ·
quoted from Jerry Yu
On Tue, Mar 06, 2007 at 11:29:35AM -0500, Jerry Yu wrote:
I didn't find any question asked about 2007 DST readiness for Hobbit on the
list. Should it be assumed it won't be problem at all? For one thing, the
scheduled downtime and such would be specific to local time.  Assume the
underlying operating system has been patched and is ready to accomodate 2007
DST changes in North America.
All time recorded in Hobbit uses either the Unix timestamp - which is
unaffected by DST changes - or the local time of some event which has
occurred (for history logging).

So I cannot see that there should be any problems, assuming your OS has
been updated to handle the new DST changes (usually, an update to your
timezone definition files).


Regards,
Henrik
list Jerry Yu · Tue, 6 Mar 2007 16:17:36 -0500 ·
if it is UNIX time then it won't be a problem.
If local time is stored then used to calculate, it'd be a problem. If it is
only for display or history, it'd probably be ok.
Possible problem scenarios

   - duration for alerts could be wrong, if the event timestamp was
   recorded in local time.
   - ignore for a given number of hours when acknowledging an event, if
   the acknowledgment timestamp was stored in local time.
quoted from Henrik Størner


On 3/6/07, Henrik Stoerner <user-ce4a2c883f75@xymon.invalid> wrote:
On Tue, Mar 06, 2007 at 11:29:35AM -0500, Jerry Yu wrote:
I didn't find any question asked about 2007 DST readiness for Hobbit on
the
list. Should it be assumed it won't be problem at all? For one thing,
the
scheduled downtime and such would be specific to local time.  Assume the

underlying operating system has been patched and is ready to accommodate
quoted from Henrik Størner
2007
DST changes in North America.
All time recorded in Hobbit uses either the Unix timestamp - which is
unaffected by DST changes - or the local time of some event which has
occurred (for history logging).

So I cannot see that there should be any problems, assuming your OS has
been updated to handle the new DST changes (usually, an update to your
timezone definition files).


Regards,
Henrik

list Michael A. Price · Tue, 06 Mar 2007 16:53:08 -0500 ·

I currently use hobbit and devmon and love them both...

But the management I work for doesnt like the idea of opensource monitoring everything, they dont understand.
So they are pushing me towards BB4 instead... I have never used BB4 and dont want to...

I heard they are both the same...

So I figured I would ask my fellow users, why is hobbit better??? I need to make a god argument for this...

thanks, michael
list Henrik Størner · Tue, 6 Mar 2007 23:00:59 +0100 ·
quoted from Jerry Yu
On Tue, Mar 06, 2007 at 04:17:36PM -0500, Jerry Yu wrote:
if it is UNIX time then it won't be a problem.
If local time is stored then used to calculate, it'd be a problem. 
Local time is never used for calculations. It is just much easier 
to do all time work using Unix Epoch time, and leave the "show local 
time" stuff to the C library (which uses your zoneinfo files).

I've done a search of the Hobbit sourcefiles, and the only usage of
local time are

1) the routine which calculate whether a time is within e.g. a
   DOWNTIME specification;
2) the routine which checks SSL certificate expiry time;
3) routines which display timestamps in log files or on web pages.

All of these use the standard C library routine "localtime()" to do
the conversion between Unix Epoch time and local time. This uses
the system's zoneinfo definitions, so it will work without problems - 
provided your OS has been updated with new zoneinfo files.

Besides, DST changes in the US have *always* been different from what
is used in Europe (and still are, even with the new DST start date in
the US). So if there had been any hardcoded "this is when DST starts" 
code in Hobbit, it would have been spotted several years ago.


Regards,
Henrik
list Trent Melcher · Tue, 6 Mar 2007 16:22:19 -0600 ·
I switched from using BB to Hobbit.  
The functionality of the 2 "look" the same but that is where it ends.
Search for and old post that Henrik put out as to how Hobbit actually
works.  Basically Hobbit is mostly all done server(hobbit) side and is
mostly all compiled code( runs fast) and BB in mostly client based where
most of the test run as scripts on the clients.

Trent 
Trent Melcher
Unix/Linux Systems Administrator
Securities America Financial Corporation
(XXX) XXX-XXXX x2774
user-a7d23e07dd5c@xymon.invalid 
Securities America, Inc., a Registered Broker/Dealer, Member NASD/SIPC.
Advisory services offered through Securities America Advisors, Inc., an
SEC Registered Investment Advisory

The text of this communication is confidential, and use by any person
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Your cooperation is appreciated.
quoted from Michael A. Price

 
-----Original Message-----
From: Michael A. Price [mailto:user-2a9e3c790857@xymon.invalid] Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2007 3:53 PM
To: user-ae9b8668bcde@xymon.invalid
Subject: [hobbit] Hobbit -vs- BB4


I currently use hobbit and devmon and love them both...

But the management I work for doesnt like the idea of opensource monitoring everything, they dont understand.
So they are pushing me towards BB4 instead... I have never used BB4 and dont want to...

I heard they are both the same...

So I figured I would ask my fellow users, why is hobbit better??? I need to make a god argument for this...

thanks, michael

list Greg L Hubbard · Tue, 6 Mar 2007 16:35:18 -0600 ·
When I switched from BB to Hobbit to monitor a few tool servers, the CPU
usage on the monitoring server dropped significantly for the same
workload.  But for my money, one of the biggest wins in Hobbit is the
integration of RRD graphics throughout, and the ease of which you can
add your own tests with their own trend graphs.  Unless BB has played a
thorough game of catch-up, your management is planning to pay more to
get less, just so they can hold some vendor "accountable".

Just my own opinion, of course -- I speak for no one else.

GLH
quoted from Michael A. Price

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael A. Price [mailto:user-2a9e3c790857@xymon.invalid] 
Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2007 3:53 PM
To: user-ae9b8668bcde@xymon.invalid
Subject: [hobbit] Hobbit -vs- BB4


I currently use hobbit and devmon and love them both...

But the management I work for doesnt like the idea of opensource
monitoring everything, they dont understand.
So they are pushing me towards BB4 instead... I have never used BB4 and
dont want to...

I heard they are both the same...

So I figured I would ask my fellow users, why is hobbit better??? I need
to make a god argument for this...

thanks, michael
list Jeffrey Chandler · Wed, 7 Mar 2007 08:42:50 -0500 ·
Has anyone used the professional version of Big Brother?  I switched from
the Open Source version of BB to Hobbit and haven't looked back.

Jeff
quoted from Greg L Hubbard

On 3/6/07, Hubbard, Greg L <user-d970b5e56ec9@xymon.invalid> wrote:
When I switched from BB to Hobbit to monitor a few tool servers, the CPU
usage on the monitoring server dropped significantly for the same
workload.  But for my money, one of the biggest wins in Hobbit is the
integration of RRD graphics throughout, and the ease of which you can
add your own tests with their own trend graphs.  Unless BB has played a
thorough game of catch-up, your management is planning to pay more to
get less, just so they can hold some vendor "accountable".

Just my own opinion, of course -- I speak for no one else.

GLH

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael A. Price [mailto:user-2a9e3c790857@xymon.invalid]
Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2007 3:53 PM
To: user-ae9b8668bcde@xymon.invalid
Subject: [hobbit] Hobbit -vs- BB4


I currently use hobbit and devmon and love them both...

But the management I work for doesnt like the idea of opensource
monitoring everything, they dont understand.
So they are pushing me towards BB4 instead... I have never used BB4 and
dont want to...

I heard they are both the same...

So I figured I would ask my fellow users, why is hobbit better??? I need
to make a god argument for this...

thanks, michael

list Jason Altrincham Jones · Wed, 7 Mar 2007 13:52:18 -0000 ·
Henrik have you had your meeting with the phbs about this yet?

Jason.
quoted from Jeffrey Chandler

 
From: Jeffrey Chandler [mailto:user-3bdabb0d5953@xymon.invalid] 
Sent: 07 March 2007 13:43
To: user-ae9b8668bcde@xymon.invalid
Subject: Re: [hobbit] Hobbit -vs- BB4

 
Has anyone used the professional version of Big Brother?  I switched
from the Open Source version of BB to Hobbit and haven't looked back.  

Jeff

On 3/6/07, Hubbard, Greg L <user-d970b5e56ec9@xymon.invalid> wrote:

When I switched from BB to Hobbit to monitor a few tool servers, the CPU
usage on the monitoring server dropped significantly for the same
workload.  But for my money, one of the biggest wins in Hobbit is the
integration of RRD graphics throughout, and the ease of which you can 
add your own tests with their own trend graphs.  Unless BB has played a
thorough game of catch-up, your management is planning to pay more to
get less, just so they can hold some vendor "accountable".

Just my own opinion, of course -- I speak for no one else.

GLH

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael A. Price [mailto:user-2a9e3c790857@xymon.invalid]
Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2007 3:53 PM 
To: user-ae9b8668bcde@xymon.invalid
Subject: [hobbit] Hobbit -vs- BB4


I currently use hobbit and devmon and love them both...

But the management I work for doesnt like the idea of opensource 
monitoring everything, they dont understand.
So they are pushing me towards BB4 instead... I have never used BB4 and
dont want to...

I heard they are both the same...

So I figured I would ask my fellow users, why is hobbit better??? I need

to make a god argument for this...

thanks, michael
list Jerry Yu · Wed, 7 Mar 2007 08:54:47 -0500 ·
Thanks for double-checking, Henrik.  Yeah, UNIX time is much easier to do
math with. wonder if we'd have to come out of retirement in 2037 or 2038 to
fix the 32-bit problem...
Good point on existing DST on other continents.  Assurance is good.
Verification is even better.
quoted from Henrik Størner

On 3/6/07, Henrik Stoerner <user-ce4a2c883f75@xymon.invalid> wrote:
On Tue, Mar 06, 2007 at 04:17:36PM -0500, Jerry Yu wrote:
if it is UNIX time then it won't be a problem.
If local time is stored then used to calculate, it'd be a problem.
Local time is never used for calculations. It is just much easier
to do all time work using Unix Epoch time, and leave the "show local
time" stuff to the C library (which uses your zoneinfo files).

I've done a search of the Hobbit sourcefiles, and the only usage of
local time are

1) the routine which calculate whether a time is within e.g. a
   DOWNTIME specification;
2) the routine which checks SSL certificate expiry time;
3) routines which display timestamps in log files or on web pages.

All of these use the standard C library routine "localtime()" to do
the conversion between Unix Epoch time and local time. This uses
the system's zoneinfo definitions, so it will work without problems -
provided your OS has been updated with new zoneinfo files.

Besides, DST changes in the US have *always* been different from what
is used in Europe (and still are, even with the new DST start date in
the US). So if there had been any hardcoded "this is when DST starts"
code in Hobbit, it would have been spotted several years ago.


Regards,
Henrik

list Michael A. Price · Wed, 07 Mar 2007 10:23:03 -0500 ·
I agree, thanks, michael

Michael A. Price
SGT, Inc. www.sgt-inc.com
NASA/GSFC Code 440.8/LMB
Greenbelt, Maryland 20770
            Phone:  XXX-XXX-XXXX
            Cell:   XXX-XXX-XXXX
            e-mail: user-d7d653acf808@xymon.invalid
	    e-mail: user-2a9e3c790857@xymon.invalid
quoted from Jason Altrincham Jones


Hubbard, Greg L wrote:
When I switched from BB to Hobbit to monitor a few tool servers, the CPU
usage on the monitoring server dropped significantly for the same
workload.  But for my money, one of the biggest wins in Hobbit is the
integration of RRD graphics throughout, and the ease of which you can
add your own tests with their own trend graphs.  Unless BB has played a
thorough game of catch-up, your management is planning to pay more to
get less, just so they can hold some vendor "accountable".

Just my own opinion, of course -- I speak for no one else.

GLH

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael A. Price [mailto:user-2a9e3c790857@xymon.invalid] 
Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2007 3:53 PM
To: user-ae9b8668bcde@xymon.invalid
Subject: [hobbit] Hobbit -vs- BB4


I currently use hobbit and devmon and love them both...

But the management I work for doesnt like the idea of opensource
monitoring everything, they dont understand.
So they are pushing me towards BB4 instead... I have never used BB4 and
dont want to...

I heard they are both the same...

So I figured I would ask my fellow users, why is hobbit better??? I need
to make a god argument for this...

thanks, michael

list Gary Baluha · Wed, 7 Mar 2007 10:24:01 -0500 ·
Also, check the archives for a relatively recent thread titled
"*Hobbit versus Unicenter/TNG*".

It could basically be retitled "Arguments for management why Hobbit is a
good monitoring tool", or something to that effect.
quoted from Michael A. Price

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael A. Price [mailto:user-2a9e3c790857@xymon.invalid]
Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2007 3:53 PM
To: user-ae9b8668bcde@xymon.invalid
Subject: [hobbit] Hobbit -vs- BB4


I currently use hobbit and devmon and love them both...

But the management I work for doesnt like the idea of opensource
monitoring everything, they dont understand.
So they are pushing me towards BB4 instead... I have never used BB4 and
dont want to...

I heard they are both the same...

So I figured I would ask my fellow users, why is hobbit better??? I need
to make a god argument for this...

thanks, michael

list Ralph Mitchell · Wed, 7 Mar 2007 09:56:52 -0600 ·
quoted from Gary Baluha
On 3/7/07, Gary Baluha <user-ae3e15c22de1@xymon.invalid> wrote:
Also, check the archives for a relatively recent thread titled
"Hobbit versus Unicenter/TNG".

It could basically be retitled "Arguments for management why Hobbit is a
good monitoring tool", or something to that effect.

I just got told off yesterday for using Hobbit/BB for web monitoring -
"it's not a company approved tool".  Never mind that there *isn't* a
company approved tool capable of doing what I need...  Apparently the
Next Big Thing to replace "CA WMO" for web monitoring is going to be
"CA Wile", but I can't even find that in the CA web page, so for now
I'll stick with my scripts and use Hobbit

Ralph Mitchell
list Henrik Størner · Wed, 7 Mar 2007 22:06:11 +0100 ·
quoted from Jason Altrincham Jones
On Wed, Mar 07, 2007 at 01:52:18PM -0000, Jones, Jason (Altrincham) wrote:
Henrik have you had your meeting with the phbs about this yet?
I have, but nothing has been decided yet.

However, I am now certain that some deity has been busy working in
my favour. 5 minutes before the meeting ended, cell phones started
beeping around the meeting room - and this turned out to be the 
beginning of the biggest disruption of service our datacenter has 
ever had. Several events conspired against us, but the result was
a near 100% loss of all network connectivity on our core backbone
network, and to our Internet connectivity.

So I had lots of time to demonstrate - also to the PHB's - that
monitoring with a simple webpage works, even when you access it
over a 56 kbit dialup connection through a cell phone. I had 
quite an audience throughout the afternoon, evening and night.

So I think the odds are in my favour right now.


Regards,
Henrik
list Rich Smrcina · Wed, 07 Mar 2007 15:15:09 -0600 ·
One might call that serendipity.
quoted from Henrik Størner

Henrik Stoerner wrote:
On Wed, Mar 07, 2007 at 01:52:18PM -0000, Jones, Jason (Altrincham) wrote:
Henrik have you had your meeting with the phbs about this yet?
I have, but nothing has been decided yet.

However, I am now certain that some deity has been busy working in
my favour. 5 minutes before the meeting ended, cell phones started
beeping around the meeting room - and this turned out to be the beginning of the biggest disruption of service our datacenter has ever had. Several events conspired against us, but the result was
a near 100% loss of all network connectivity on our core backbone
network, and to our Internet connectivity.

So I had lots of time to demonstrate - also to the PHB's - that
monitoring with a simple webpage works, even when you access it
over a 56 kbit dialup connection through a cell phone. I had quite an audience throughout the afternoon, evening and night.

So I think the odds are in my favour right now.


Regards,
Henrik

-- 

Rich Smrcina
VM Assist, Inc.
Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Ans Service:  XXX-XXX-XXXX
user-61add9955ef9@xymon.invalid

Catch the WAVV!  http://www.wavv.org
WAVV 2007 - Green Bay, WI - May 18-22, 2007
list Jason Altrincham Jones · Thu, 8 Mar 2007 09:37:59 -0000 ·
I wonder how long Unicenter or whatever it's called would have taken to
even load the status page over a 56k.  But ye very good time for it to
happen, as far as a complete network failure can be called a good time.

Have they told you when they plan to make their decision on this issue?
Jason.
quoted from Rich Smrcina

-----Original Message-----
From: Rich Smrcina [mailto:user-cf452ff334e0@xymon.invalid] Sent: 07 March 2007 21:15
To: user-ae9b8668bcde@xymon.invalid
Subject: Re: [hobbit] Hobbit -vs- BB4

One might call that serendipity.

Henrik Stoerner wrote:
On Wed, Mar 07, 2007 at 01:52:18PM -0000, Jones, Jason (Altrincham)
wrote:
Henrik have you had your meeting with the phbs about this yet?
I have, but nothing has been decided yet.

However, I am now certain that some deity has been busy working in
my favour. 5 minutes before the meeting ended, cell phones started
beeping around the meeting room - and this turned out to be the beginning of the biggest disruption of service our datacenter has ever had. Several events conspired against us, but the result was
a near 100% loss of all network connectivity on our core backbone
network, and to our Internet connectivity.

So I had lots of time to demonstrate - also to the PHB's - that
monitoring with a simple webpage works, even when you access it
over a 56 kbit dialup connection through a cell phone. I had quite an audience throughout the afternoon, evening and night.

So I think the odds are in my favour right now.


Regards,
Henrik

-- 
Rich Smrcina
VM Assist, Inc.
Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Ans Service:  XXX-XXX-XXXX
user-61add9955ef9@xymon.invalid

Catch the WAVV!  http://www.wavv.org
WAVV 2007 - Green Bay, WI - May 18-22, 2007