CNT5605 - 2011 Fall
Group Assignment 2
Journals Due Friday, September 23, at the beginning of class.

Assignment: Tracing, Debugging, and Monitoring




Your objectives are

  1. Install appropriate system tracing and debugging tools.
  2. Install monitoring tools.

Please note that you need to leave your computers on; please do not turn off any of your machines once they are installed and running.

Part 1: System tracing and debugging tools

If you haven't done updated your system, it might be a good idea to do so before starting on this assignment.

For system-level tracing and debugging, at a minimum you will want to have strace and tcpdump. You want to also consider packages such as wireshark. Use your favorite package tool (suggestions are synaptic, aptitude, or apt-get, but feel free to use any that you like — look here for a discussion of the various options) to install these packages.

Part 2: Monitoring tools

First install ssh — make sure that you install the server and do a service --status-all to verify that it's running; also try using ssh 192.168.10.N*10 to verify that it works.

Next, install apache2 — and, again, make sure that it's running. Try visiting "http://localhost".

Finally, install mon. Configure it (in /etc/mon/mon.cf) using a hostgroup named "Group N Servers" "MYGROUP" to monitor all 10 of your ip numbers with (1) fping.monitor and (2) tcp.monitor looking at port 22 (the standard sshd location.) Verify that http://192.168.10.N*10/cgi-bin/mon.cgi is displaying information about your servers. (And, yes, you can also monitor any and all of the other groups' ip numbers, but please use largish intervals for this, say a test every 30 minutes or so.)

We will visit each of your monitoring pages in class on Friday, so please make sure that everything is up and running for the demonstration.



A journal is due for this assignment. Make sure that you document in your journal all of the steps that you went through, following the guidelines on the class home page. Please share the workload so that all team members get experience with all aspects of the work. Don't forget to assign your work percentages to yourself and your other teammates in your journal.

Please turn in a printed copy of this assignment at the beginning of class on Friday, September 23.