# Chapter 18: Activity Monitors

To manage activity on your Helix Universal Server, you'll want to know which clips are popular, what the stream load is, and whether viewers are being turned away. Helix Universal Server includes a Java-based Server Monitor and, for Windows NT users, an NT Performance Monitor that help make system management easier.

| For More Information: To generate reports of historical activity, see Chapter 16, "Access and Error Logs" or Chapter 17, "Custom Logging".

# Using the Server Monitor

The Server Monitor is a configurable graph that displays real-time information about the number of connected clients, the resources used, and the clips being streamed. It shows who is using Helix Universal Server, when it is most used, and which files are the most requested. Start Server Monitor by clicking Logging & Monitoring>Server Monitor

Server Monitor uses a Helix Universal Server port that you can change, as described in "Defining Communications Ports". It uses the password you selected for Helix Administrator during installation. It does not prompt for the password, though, if you are already logged into Helix Administrator.

| Note: The Server Monitor password is stored in the `MonitorPassword` variable of the configuration file, and can be changed by modifying the configuration file. For more information about the configuration file, see Appendix A.

| Tip: You can also create other external Server Monitors to track more than one Helix Universal Server. A monitoring message displays along the bottom of each window, telling you which Helix Universal Server is being monitored.

## Selecting Server Monitor Modes

The Server Monitor can run as an applet or application. Running it as an applet though Helix Administrator is the most common approach. But you may also want to run it as a Java application.

### Running Server Monitor as an Applet

When you select New Window from the Options menu, the new Server Monitor runs as an applet. This mode has the following features and limitations:

- Can be run from inside a Web browser.

- Can be run from any remote machine with a Java-enabled browser.

- Settings may not be saved when you switch among the Helix Administrator's Web pages.

- Developers can use a scripting language and the parameters below to customize the Server Monitor applet to their specifications.

  Applet Parameters
  Parameter | Possible Values | Default Value
  --- | --- | ---
  `dragZoom` | `enabled, disabled` | `enabled`
  `viewPanel` | `keyPanel, resourcePanel, clientPanel, filePanel, minimized, disabled` | `keyPanel`
  `StatusBar` | `enabled, disabled` | `enabled`
  `PlayerCount` | `enabled, disabled` | `enabled`
  `FileCount` | `enabled, disabled` | `enabled`
  `EncoderCount` | `enabled, disabled` | `enabled`
  `MonitorCount` | `enabled, disabled` | `enabled`
  `SplitterCount` | `enabled, disabled` | `disabled`

### Running Server Monitor as an Application

You can also run Server Monitor as an application, which offers the following features and requirements:

- No Web browser needed.

- Can switch among different servers without spawning new windows.

- Java class files, available for free download from Sun, must be installed on the local machine. They are described below.

| To run Server Monitor in application mode:

1. Download and install version 1.1 of the Java Development Kit, available as a free download from Sun's Web site at http://java.sun.com/j2se/. Follow the installation instructions on the Web site to install the Java Development Kit on your system.

2. In a command prompt, navigate to the directory where the newly installed Java class files are located. Change to the `Bin` subdirectory.

3. At a system prompt, type the following:

    jre -cp Monitor.jar Monitor

4. In the logon screen, enter the following items:

- Helix Universal Server name—use the IP address or host name of the machine on which Helix Universal Server is installed.

- Monitor Port—you can find this number by clicking Server Setup> Ports in Helix Administrator.

- Monitor Password

5. Click OK.

6. Server Monitor starts.

## Server Monitor Used with Other Features

Server Monitor displays all on-demand and live presentations that are currently being streamed or broadcast. It does not differentiate among the delivery methods—whether streaming, unicasting, splitting, or multicasting.

Server Monitor used with Other Features
Other Feature | Notes
--- | ---
Live Archiving | Server Monitor does not indicate whether live files are being archived.
SLTA | Server Monitor does not distinguish the source of a clip; thus it never shows whether a broadcast is coming from an event in progress or SLTA.
Splitting | On the transmitter, no connections are displayed in Server Monitor. On the receiver, the split connection will appear under the Connections tab as an encoder.
Multicasting | Server Monitor can show clients that are receiving back-channel multicasts, just as it shows clients receiving any other type of broadcast or stream. However, it will not show the number of clients receiving scalable multicasts.

# Displaying Server Monitor Information

There are several ways you can control what Server Monitor displays. This section describes the commands present on the Server Monitor display area and their functions.

## Choosing Display Options

Select the pull-down Options menu in the upper-left corner of Server Monitor to configure the Monitor's features, or spawn an external Server Monitor that runs outside of the browser

Options Menu Commands
Command | Action
--- | ---
New Window | Create a new, external monitor. You can then minimize the browser and resize the new monitor.
Pause | Freeze the graph. Server Monitor continues to receive data, but the graphical display of data does not change. Click Resume from Options to resume the graphing.
Reset | Clear the graph and reset all peak data.
Configure | Display the configuration screen. Here, you can specify the update frequency in seconds and the time scale for server activity in minutes. You can also select which statistics to monitor.
Autofit | Rescale the graph so that it fits within the viewable area. Note that whenever you zoom, the autofit feature is disabled. Select AutoFit again to re-enable the feature.
Zoom In | Zoom in on the graph. Use the mouse to select a range over the graph to zoom in for a closer view. Hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard, and click the mouse to Autofit the graph.
Zoom Out | Zoom out from the graph.

## Monitoring Activity

The Key, Performance, Connections, and Files tabs each have a specific focus, providing you with an overall picture of server performance. Clicking the active tab expands or collapse the tab information and show only the tab name, leaving more room for the monitor.

### Key Tab

Through the Key tab, you can control how Helix Universal Server information is graphed. By clicking different options in the Line column, you can control what colors and line widths are used to display Helix Universal Server information

Key Tab Columns
Column | Purpose
--- | ---
Line | Controls the order, width, and color of monitoring lines in the graph. Click the left-most up arrow to move a row up. Click the line graphic to change the line width, and click the arrows at the right to choose one of 16 possible colors for the line.
Name | Indicates the item being monitored: Players, Monitors, Encoders, Files, and Receivers.
Current | Shows the number of the current connections.
Peak | Shows the peak number of files monitored, along with the time and date.

### Performance Tab

The Performance tab provides statistics on Helix Universal Server performance

Performance Tab Columns
Column | Purpose
--- | ---
CPU Usage | Shows current CPU usage.
Memory Usage | Indicates Helix Universal Server memory usage in Kilobytes.
Bandwidth | Displays the amount of data being sent in Kilobits per second.
Players Connected | Lists the numbers of clients connected.
File Usage | Lists the number of files being served.

### Connections Tab

This tab provides background on connected clients and the files they are accessing.

Connections Tab Columns
Column | Purpose
--- | ---
IP Address | Gives the client software's host Internet Protocol (IP) address.
Type | Indicates the type of browser or client software.
Duration | Shows the amount of time the client has been connected.
Filename | Provides the name of the file being served.

### Files Tab

The files tab provides statistics on all files being served.

File Tab Column
Column | Purpose
--- | ---
Filename | Provides the name of the file being served.
Current | Indicates the number of clients currently connected.
Total | Shows how many times the file was served during this monitoring session.
Peak | Shows the peak number of files monitored, along with time and date.

# Windows Performance Monitor

Helix Universal Server is designed to work with the Windows Performance Monitor to show activity on one or more Helix Universal Servers. This option is available if you are running Helix Universal Server on Windows NT/2000/XP, and are viewing it from that same computer. Performance Monitor files containing the Helix Universal Server statistics, `rmserver.pmc` and `rmserver.msc`, are supplied.

You can also configure the Performance Monitor to show Helix Universal Server status from any computer on your network. The Performance Monitor can show the types of information listed in the following table.

Windows Performance Monitor Information
Information | Indicates
--- | ---
Clients and protocol | The number of active clients. Also shown are the protocols used by the clients to receive streams.
Connection type | The number and type of connections, whether TCP or UDP.
Multicast connections | The number of active multicast connections.
Total bandwidth | The number of bits per second being consumed.
Percent of processor | How much processor time Helix Universal Server is using.
Connections | How many encoders, monitors, and receivers are connected.
Incoming bandwidth | Bandwidth of streams arriving from encoders.
Files playing | Number of files playing, including all the files in a SMIL presentation. Live files are also shown.
Files archiving | Number of live files being saved.

Using the Performance Monitor, you can display any combination of this information in any of the following formats:

- A chart that graphs activity over time.

- Alerts that notify the administrator through e-mail, or run programs based on criteria.

- Log files that list activity on Helix Universal Server.

- Reports based on activity information.

| For More Information: For information on configuring these formats, see the online help in the Performance Monitor.

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