Tools overview
On the Tool Creation page, you can create and change tools that can run from event lists. Users execute tools from menus in the event lists. Some tools can include prompts for typing more information or menus from which to select information.
You can define access criteria for tools. These criteria are based on user groups and event classes. By default, no access criteria are defined, so tools are displayed for all users for all event classes. If access criteria are defined for groups and classes, both must be satisfied for the tool to be displayed for an event and user. If multiple events are selected, the tool can be accessed only if all access criteria are satisfied. Changes in access criteria take effect when the event list is reloaded, without the need to restart the server.
Types of tools
The following table describes the types of tools that you can run and which event lists you can run the tools from.
| Type of tool | The tool type can be run from these event lists | Description |
|---|---|---|
| CGI | Event Viewer and AEL | For processing ObjectServer data and returning
data to the client browser. For example, the CGI script nco_ping that
is provided in the product sends specially marked packets from the
local computer to a remote device to determine whether the remote
computer is available. The script uses the IP address that is in
the Node field of the selected alert or alerts as the target. CGI tools do not have to run CGI scripts. CGI tools can be used to open a local or remote web page. A remote script or page that contains SmartPage commands cannot be presented correctly in the Web GUI. Pages that contain SmartPage commands must be hosted on the local Web GUI server. CGI scripts can use different kinds of variables, including HTTP variables, ObjectServer fields, and browser cookie values. |
| SQL | Event Viewer and AEL | For running SQL commands against the alerts.status and alerts.journal tables. To run an SQL tool, you must be a read/write user authenticated with the ObjectServer against which the tool is run. In a Dual-Server Desktop environment, SQL tools run simultaneously against the master ObjectServer and the display server. The same is true of journal actions. |
| Command-tools | Event Viewer and AEL | For running actions on the client system. Typically,
these tools instruct the client system to open a command prompt and
pass field data to an application. The client operating system is
automatically determined, and the appropriate command-line instruction
is sent, if one is available for that operating system. By default
command tools do not appear on the tools menu in Event Viewer. Warning: IBM cannot guarantee that command-line tools are beneficial
to your system. IBM does not accept responsibility for the consequences
of any actions that are performed through the execution of a command-line
tool.
|
| Script | Event Viewer and AEL | For passing contextual data from events to JavaScript methods, for inter-widget actions through the Dashboard Application Services Hub actions framework, for customizing dynamic content by using JavaScript. Script tool syntax follows JavaScript rules. The command text might also contain variables that are evaluated when the script tool is executed. |