Isis v2 uses actions to trigger events in the system that is being monitored. For example if it has been detected that a system has shutdown, then a Isis action could be created to reboot the system automatically.

While Isis is provided with a number of standard actions out of the box, it also provides the ability to create new actions if you need to.

Actions are created in the /actions directory underneath the directory that Isis was installed in to. Each action is implemented as a Windows Command (.cmd) file and can take up to eight parameters as input. When Isis detects that it needs to fire an action, then the appropriate action file is called and the parameters are passed from the Isis console to the action. Isis then waits for the action to complete before continuing.

It is important to note in fact that the Isis console will not continue it's normal operations until the action has completed, so if your action is going to take a very long time to run, it may be best to look and alternative mechanism, such as using the Windows start command in your action file, to start the application in the background and allow Isis to continue with normal operations.

The Isis action file should return a value of 0 if successful or a value of 1 if unsuccessful, these values can be set by calling the Exit command before exiting the action file.

The following is an example of a standard Isis action;

@echo off
REM ================================================
REM ISIS ACTION FILE REM (c) Integral Technology Solutions - 2003
REM
REM NOTE: THIS FILE IS CRITICAL TO THE OPERATION OF REM THE ISIS SYSTEM. PLEASE DO NOT MODIFY THIS FILE REM IF YOU ARE NOT CERTAIN OF THE IMPLICATIONS.
REM
REM Author: Cameron Tuesley REM Version: 1.0
REM Created: 12/03/2004
REM
REM PURPOSE: Update a log file that NetIQ can interact with
REM
REM PARAMETERS: 1 - Log Directory
REM 2 - WebLogic Server IP Address
REM 3 - WebLogic Server Application Name
REM 4 - ErrorLevel of the Error
REM 5 - Message REM REM KNOWN ISSUES: None
REM
REM NOTES: None
REM ================================================
REM Check that we have five parameters

IF ()==(%1) Goto ErrorOccured
IF ()==(%2) Goto ErrorOccured
IF ()==(%3) Goto ErrorOccured
IF ()==(%4) Goto ErrorOccured
IF ()==(%5) Goto ErrorOccured

If Not Exist %1 MkDir %1

REM If this is not an IBPERROR then remove the file
If Not %4 == "5" Del %1\%3-%2-Error.txt

REM If this is an IBPERROR then create or update the file
If %4 == "5" Echo %5 > %1\%3-%2-Error.txt

Exit 0

:ErrorOccured

ECHO You must pass no more or less than five parameters in order for this action to run.
ECHO The parameters are;
ECHO PARAMETERS: 1 - Log Directory
ECHO 2 - WebLogic Server IP Address
ECHO 3 - WebLogic Server Application Name
ECHO 4 - ErrorLevel of the Error
ECHO 5 - Message

Exit 1

Once the action file has been created then you need to define the action in the IBPActionTypes.ini file, which can be found in the /ini directory under where Isis has been installed.

Please note that IBPActionTypes.ini is a core part of the Isis system and as such it is important to take care to ensure that it is not corrupted in any way by the changes made to it. We would therefore strongly suggest that you take a backup of the file before doing any work on it and if there are any issues, return to the backup.

The IBPActionTypes file consists of a number of INI sections that define an available action to Isis. To add a new action to the file, create a new section in the INI file and give your action a name surrounded by square brackets, for example [Restart our system]. Next you need to define information about the action and the parameters that it can take, the example below shows the IBPActionTypes.ini file definition for the action file shown above.

[Update NetIQ Log File]
ActionName=Update NetIQ Log File
CommandFile=update_netiq_log.cmd
Description=Updates the contents (or may even remove the contents) of a file that Net IQ can track
NumberParameters=5
Parameter1=Directory to put the log file
Parameter1Default=C:\temp
Parameter2=IP Address (or machine name) of the WebLogic server which is running the application
Parameter2Default=[APP:ADDRESS]@READONLY@
Parameter3=Application name
Parameter3Default=[APP:ID]@READONLY@
Parameter4=Error Level
Parameter4Default=[RULING:ERRORLEVEL]@READONLY@
Parameter5=Message
Parameter5Default=[RULING:MESSAGE]

Note the key parameters above

ActionName		Defines the name of the action. This value must match the name provided in the square brackets. Note that this parameter is case sensitive.
CommandFile		The command file that will be run in order to execute the action.
Description		A short description of the action that can be shown to the user.
NumberParameters		The number of parameters that the action file expects to receive.
Parameter(X)		A description of the parameter that will be displayed to the user.
Parameter(X)Default		The default value of this parameter, note that by putting the @READONLY@ tag on this line will indicate that the parameter can be displayed but not modified by the user when the rule is being configured in the Isis console. Note also the use of tags in this file for example [APP:ID], for more information on tags please click here.

Once your action file is created and you have update the IBPActionTypes.ini file, you will need to restart the Isis console in order to pick up these changes. Your action should now appear in the list of available actions when you configure a Isis rule.

top of page