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By Amy Oldham
March 24, 2014
TeleLink plays a key role in your revenue protection and optimization efforts by providing critical mediation and usage analytic functions; therefore, it’s important that system operations occur as expected. For this very reason, TeleLink provides several resources for monitoring the system’s overall performance and activity.
First, TeleLink includes multiple different types of alerts, ranging from an error in an input file to file inactivity notices. You designate which users receive the alerts as well as the timing/frequency of notifications. For the application’s primary owner, who is responsible for monitoring the overall health of TeleLink, it is recommended that you are configured (in Enterprise Manager) to receive notifications for the system/network alerts listed in this chart. You may also designate members of your information technology staff to receive these alerts if they share responsibility for system monitoring. Second, TeleLink includes Source History and Target History views in Enterprise Manager. These views are an essential monitoring aide for personnel responsible for keeping the system up and running. It is recommended that the application’s owner review this data daily.
| Resource | Information Provided | Recommendations | Steps to Take |
|---|---|---|---|
| I'm Alive | This standard alert is included in all TeleLink installs and is typically configured during the initial system training. This alert provides the date/time of the last communication between various threads in TeleLink and the primary application service. This alert lets you keep an eye on the active processes (primary threads), ensuring they are running as expected (current or close to the current time). It also is a good benchmark for determining patterns/trends of expected connections over time so that you can more quickly identify an issue. The “I’m Alive” notification is designed to increase your comfort level by advising you automatically and regularly that TeleLink is running properly. |
Equinox recommends you enable this alert for notification once per day at the beginning of the day rather than hourly. Hourly alerts can be overlooked in the daily deluge of email. This alert is configured at initial install. If you change the details of this alert, please coordinate with Equinox support, as this is one of the primary alerts Equinox uses daily to gauge overall system health. | In Enterprise Manager, go to Configuration|Settings|Status Notifications and turn this alert on and enter the desired notification time. Next, go to the Security| Users|Email tab and configure the settings for your account so you will receive this alert. Finally, go to the Security|Users|Alert dialog. Locate the I’m Alive alert and set the E-mail value to Always. The following day, you should start receiving the daily I’m Alive alert. If you do not receive this alert, open the Controller utility and look at the status of the Equinox CommServer and Equinox Application Server services. If they are not running, follow the steps in the Restarting Services topic in the Controller Bulletin. If system function is not restored, contact Equinox Customer Support. |
| File Inactivity | This standard alert is included in all TeleLink installs and is typically configured during the initial system training. This alert is configured per data source and indicates that data source file latency has been exceeded. The metric used for this alert is whether TeleLink has processed a usage record from this data source within the expected interval. Because there are no records to process in a zero byte file, these types of files trigger this alert so long as the inactivity interval threshold is exceeded. | Enable this alert for every data source. Ensure that the interval for this alert is set appropriate to the file delivery time (has a buffer) to avoid false alarms. For example, if you receive files once an hour you might have TeleLink wait 75 minutes before waiting to report inactivity. | In Enterprise Manager, go to Configuration|Data Sources| Inactivity to enable the alert and set the inactivity interval. From the Security|Users|Email tab of your account, enter your email settings so you will receive this alert. Finally, on the Security|Users|Alerts dialog, locate the File Inactivity alert and set the E-mail value to Always. Any subsequent alert conditions are emailed to you. If you receive this alert, check the delivery method and follow up appropriately. The way in which you receive files (pushed to a directory, pulled from FTP, etc.) determines how you verify successful file delivery. If you are unsure of the file delivery method for a TeleLink data source, contact Equinox Customer Support. |
| Source History | TeleLink maintains a list of all usage files it has processed and presents this information in the Enterprise Manager under the Monitoring|Source History node. This view displays details, by date/time, for each file processed from all of your switches in one comprehensive view. This view lists the following data points for each file processed: source name, file name, system date, import start and end times, file size (bytes), first/last call dates, number of calls, minutes, duplicates, ignored records, in bytes, out bytes, control records, OSR records, and other records. This view is a great aide in researching potential issues. | Adjust the way data is displayed in the grid, as well as the amount of data displayed at one time. All columns in the grid support sorting and filtering, so you can limit the list to a single data source. You can rearrange columns and control which ones display on the grid. By default, the Source History view displays information for the current day’s files, but you can use the View|Data menu option to see the Last 7 days or Last 30 days. | Look at the data presented in the Source History view to determine when the last file was processed by TeleLink. You may also compare what you see here to the File Inactivity settings to determine the threshold set there. If a particular source is potentially behind, then go to that data source file location and determine whether there is a newer file to be processed. The steps you take to follow up at this point are based on the delivery method (files pushed to a directory, pulled from FTP, etc). If you are unsure of the file delivery method for your TeleLink data sources, contact Equinox Customer Support for help. |
| Target History | TeleLink maintains a list of all data it has sent to each target, including what was sent, when it was sent, and how many bytes were sent. This historical information is presented in Enterprise Manager under the Monitoring|Target History node. This view is a great aide in researching potential data delivery issues. | Adjust the way data is displayed in the grid, as well as the amount of data displayed at one time. You can sort data in any column and also limit the list to a single target using the column header controls. By default, the Target History view displays the current day’s files, but you can use the View|Data menu option to see Last 7 days or Last 30 days. | Look at the data presented in the Target History view to determine when files were last sent to each target. If it seems that a particular target is behind or the bytes total is lower than normal, first refer to the Source History view for that target and confirm that TeleLink is receiving and processing data that should be going to that target. If the expected data is coming in, then check to see that the target location is available to receive new data. The steps you take to follow up at this point are based on the type of target and the delivery method for that target location. If you are unsure of the target delivery method or locations, contact Equinox Customer Support for help. |
For descriptions of all available alerts, as well as field references for all the options used to configure the alerts covered in the preceding chart, refer to the TeleLink Enterprise Manager Reference Guide. That same document also contains illustrations and further information about the Source History and Target History views. For other questions or help regarding the resources for monitoring TeleLink, contact Equinox Customer Support. You can reach them at Equinox Customer Support or by phone at (615) 612-1225.
About the Author: Amy Oldham is in Corporate Communications at Equinox Information Systems, where she creates and maintains the company’s technical documentation as well as all other customer-facing publications. As part of her efforts on the Sales & Marketing team, Amy is responsible for the company’s newsletter, email campaigns, press releases, and social media presence. When not writing, Amy enjoys swimming, running, and spending time with her family. To learn more about Equinox, its products, and staff, visit www.equinoxis.com or call (615) 612-1200.
