Creating IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus connections

About IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus connections

• Though a Netcool connection is bidirectional, not all data is synchronized. For example, if you close an alert in IBM Cloud Pak for AIOps, the alert does not get closed on the IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus ObjectServer. The AIOpsState column in the ObjectServer gets updated to closed but the alert continues to stay open on the ObjectServer. The operator must write a trigger on the ObjectServer to close such alerts. However, if an alert is closed on the ObjectServer, the alert does get closed in IBM Cloud Pak for AIOps.

• If you plan to create multiple IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus connections, the set of events from each connection must be unique and not overlap with other connections. For example, if you want to retrieve two separate sets of events, such as odd and even ServerSerial events, then you must use two different connections. The connection filter helps to group events that you want to synchronize. For more information about the connection filter, see Filter clause.

  • If you have multiple ObjectServer pairs, you must create a corresponding Netcool connection for each pair. Each ObjectServer pair requires a separate Netcool connection. Do not reconfigure an existing Netcool connection to access other ObjectServer pair.

    Note: An ObjectServer pair must synchronize with only one IBM Cloud Pak for AIOps instance through one or more Netcool connections. If you want to repoint an ObjectServer pair to a different IBM Cloud Pak for AIOps instance, clear the AIOpsAlertID and AIOpsState columns in the alerts.status table on the ObjectServer before you start the new deployment.

  • Parallel Netcool connections can be useful for distributing event load. However, use such a deployment only if necessary.

Before you begin

To configure a Netcool connection, you need the following information:

• ObjectServer credentials
• Hostname and port for the primary and backup ObjectServers
• Custom ObjectServer column mapping

Creating Netcool connections

To create a Netcool connection for IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus, complete the following steps:

1. Log in to IBM Cloud Pak Automation console.

2. Expand the navigation menu (four horizontal bars), then click Define > Data and tool connections.

3. On the Data and tool connections page, click Add connection.

4. From the list of available connections, find and click the Netcool tile.

   Note: If you do not immediately see the connection that you want to create, you can filter the tiles by type of connection. Click the type of connection that you want in the Category section.

5. On the side-panel, review the instructions and when ready to continue, click Connect.

6. To configure the ObjectServers with IBM Cloud Pak for AIOps columns, complete the following steps under Configure ObjectServer:

   • Open a command line.

   • Connect to the Netcool ObjectServer Host.

   • Save the following SQL commands in a file called add_trigger.sql:

     -- Add IBM Cloud Pak for AIOps required fields ---
     alter table alerts.status add column AIOpsAlertId varchar(64);
     go
     
     alter table alerts.status add column AIOpsState varchar(16);
     go
     
     -- Add the Netcool Connector automation trigger group --
     create or replace trigger group NetcoolConnectorAutomation;
     go
     
     -- Enable the trigger --
     alter trigger group NetcoolConnectorAutomation set enabled true;
     go
     
     -- Add the clear automation trigger --
     create or replace trigger netcool_connector_clear_alerts
     group NetcoolConnectorAutomation
     priority 1
     comment 'Netcool Connector clear alerts that are closed in IBM Cloud Pak for AIOps.'
     every 10 seconds
     when get_prop_value('ActingPrimary')%='TRUE'
     begin
        -- Set Sev to 0  if AIOpsState is closed
        for each row problem in alerts.status where
            problem.Type = 1 and problem.Severity > 0 and problem.AIOpsAlertId != '' and problem.AIOpsState = 'closed'
        begin
            update alerts.status via problem.Identifier set Severity = 0;
        end;
     end;
     go
     

     Note: The ScopeID column is available by default on Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform. However, use the following command for setting it up for on-premises ObjectServer:

     alter table alerts.status add column ScopeID varchar(255);
     go
     

   • Run the following command to install the required columns and trigger by using the add_trigger.sql file:

     $OMNIHOME/bin/nco_sql -server <object_server_name> -username root -password <password> < add_trigger.sql
     

7. Click Next.

8. Enter the following Add connections information:

   • Name: The display name of your connection.

   • Description: An optional description for the connection.

   • Deployment options: Select Local or Remote option.

     Note: If you select local, the deployment is in the same cluster where IBM Cloud Pak for AIOps is installed. If you select remote, the deployment happens wherever you choose, for example, on a different network region, on Saas, or remotely on premises (VM, cluster, or container).

9. Fill the ObjectServer pair fields. For more information about the fields and values to be entered, see Table 1.

10. Click Test Connection. If successful, a Test succeeded message is displayed. If it fails, one of the following reasons appears:

• Filter is not valid
• Unable to connect to ObjectServer
• IBM Cloud Pak for AIOps fields not present

Note: If the test connection fails, check:

• if the TLS certificate is correct.
• if the NetworkPolicy is created with the correct ports and in the correct namespace.
• if the ExternalName service is created with correct service name, ports, and in the correct namespace.

For more information about TLS certificate, NetworkPolicy, and ExternalName service, see TLS-enabled connection.

11. Click Next.

12. Enter the following Collect event data information to define how active IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus events are collected.

    • Enable data collection: This toggle is set to on by default. It starts to collect event data from IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus immediately on creation of the connection.

• Mapping: This field provides mapping for standard IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus event columns that use Jsonata syntax. You can add your own custom ObjectServer columns to this mapping. If they have custom alert columns in your ObjectServer, you must add them to the Jsonata mapping provided in the Mapping textbox.

  Note: To customizing the mapping, copy the text out of the mapping textbox and into your preferred text editor. Then, add the mapping for those custom columns there and check the code syntax. When done, copy the Jsonata code back into the mapping textbox. If successful, a Valid Jsonata configuration message is displayed.

13. Click Done.

You have created a Netcool connection in your instance, and a message appears on the connections page that states Connection completed. IBM Cloud Pak for AIOps has successfully processed your request.

After you integrate with IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus, use IBM Cloud Pak for AIOps and the IBM Cloud Pak for AIOps UI for AI and visualization features. Use IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus and the associated UI tools for obtaining and sending data to IBM Cloud Pak for AIOps.

Notes:

• If you are integrated and are not yet ready, or able, to move to using IBM Cloud Pak for AIOps and the IBM Cloud Pak for AIOps UI fully. You can continue to use the IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus DASH custom dashboards and Web GUI event viewer as you transition to IBM Cloud Pak for AIOps. If you need to continue to use IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus tools, you can configure launch-in-context links from the Web GUI to the IBM Cloud Pak for AIOps UI to help users access and use IBM Cloud Pak for AIOps UI. For more information, see Configuring launch-in-context from Netcool
• If you plan to connect with an IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus deployment in an environment that is enabled to support Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS), you need to configure your connection to also enable the support. For more information, see Enabling support for Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS).

Editing Netcool connections

After you create your connection, you can edit it. To edit a connection, complete the following steps:

1. Log in to IBM Cloud Pak Automation console.

2. Expand the navigation menu (four horizontal bars), then click Define > Data and tool connections.

3. Click the Netcool connection type on the Manage connections tab of the Data and tool connections page.

4. On the Netcool connections page, click the name of the connection that you want to edit. Alternatively, you can click the options menu (three vertical dots) for the connection and click Edit. The connection configuration opens.

5. Edit your connection.

   Note: While you can modify all other fields, you cannot alter the actual connection name at this stage, as it is already created and thus shows as read-only.

6. Click Save when you are done editing.

Your connection is edited. If you did not previously enable or disable your application, you can enable or disable the connection directly from the console. For more information about deleting a connection, see Deleting Netcool connections.

Deleting Netcool connections

If you no longer need your Netcool connection and want to not only disable it, but delete it entirely, you can delete the connection from the console.

Note: You must disable data collection before deleting your connection.

To delete a connection, complete the following steps:

1. Log in to IBM Cloud Pak Automation console.

2. Expand the navigation menu (four horizontal bars), then click Define > Data and tool connections.

3. Click the Netcool connection type on the Manage connections tab of the Data and tool connections page.

4. On the Netcool connections page, click the options menu (three vertical dots) for the connection that you want to delete and click Delete.

5. Enter the name of the connection to confirm that you want to delete your connection. Then, click Delete.

Your connection is deleted.

If you want to remove columns and automation triggers from Netcool ObjectServer, complete the following steps:

1. Open a terminal.

2. Connect to the Netcool ObjectServer host.

3. Save the following SQL commands into a file called remove_trigger.sql:

   alter trigger group NetcoolConnectorAutomation set enabled false;
   go
   
   drop trigger netcool_connector_clear_alerts;
   go
   
   drop trigger group NetcoolConnectorAutomation;
   go
   
   alter table alerts.status drop column AIOpsAlertId;
   go
   
   alter table alerts.status drop column AIOpsState;
   go
   

4. Run the following command to install the required columns and trigger by using the remove_trigger.sql file:

   $OMNIHOME/bin/nco_sql -server <object_server_name> -username root -password <password> < remove_trigger.sql