Availability means a device's ability to accept connections and data from the network. During polling, a device has two possible availability values:

By default, the method SL1 uses to monitor availability of the device is determined by the first method of discovery:

If a device or interface becomes unavailable multiple times in a specified time frame, SL1 can generate an "availability flapping" event. By default, SL1 generates an event if a device becomes unavailable three times in an hour, or if an interface becomes unavailable three times in twenty-four hours.

To generate availability reports, SL1 must be configured to collect availability and latency data from devices. The following section describes how to configure SL1 to collect this data.

NOTE : Unlike for hardware-based devices, SL1 does not use ICMP, TCP, or UDP to monitor availability for component devices. Component Devices use a Dynamic Application collection object to measure availability. SL1 polls component devices for availability at the frequency defined in the Dynamic Application .

SL1 uses ports to monitor a device's availability. You specify which ports to use for device availability in the Device Properties page.

SL1 allows you to define global Availability Thresholds that apply to all devices and device-specific Availability Thresholds that apply to a selected device. When a device fails to meet the availability threshold (that is, is not available as specified in the threshold), SL1 generates an event about the device.

Dynamic Applications that create component devices have the Component Mapping checkbox selected in the Dynamic Applications Properties Editor page and also include the Component Identifiers field.

In the Component Identifiers field, you map the value of a collection object to the Device Name identifier and Unique Identifier identifier, so SL1 can create one or more component devices.

In the Component Identifiers field, you can also map a collection object to the Availability identifier. For hardware-based devices, SL1 monitors an ICMP, TCP, or UDP port to determine availability. Because component devices might not include ICMP, TCP, or UDP ports, you must use a Component Identifier to determine availability.

To configure SL1 to monitor availability for a component device:

Find the Dynamic Application that creates and monitors the component devices you are interested in. Click its wrench icon( ).

In the list of Collection Objects in the Collection Object Registry pane, determine which collection object will always be available if the component device is available. Click on the wrench icon ( ) for that collection object.

Critical Ping is a tool that allows you to monitor a device as frequently as every five seconds. If the device does not respond, SL1 creates an event. You can enable or disable critical ping for a device from its Device Properties page ( Registry > Devices > wrench icon ).

SL1 does not use critical ping to create device-availability reports. SL1 will continue to collect device-availability data only every five minutes, as specified in the process "Data Collection:Availability" in the Process Manager page ( System > Settings > Admin Processes ).

Critical Ping uses the following global default values:

To adjust these global values or to allow Critical Ping to inherit the per-device values for ICMP Availability Thresholds defined in the in the Device Thresholds page ( Registry > Devices > Device Manager > wrench icon > Thresholds ), contact ScienceLogic Customer Support.

To define critical ping for a device:

In the Device Manager page, find the device for which you want to configure availability monitoring. Click its wrench icon ( ). The Device Properties page displays.

NOTE : SL1 does not use this ping data to create device-availability reports. SL1 will continue to collect device availability data only every five minutes, as specified in the process "Data Collection:Availability" in the Process Manager page ( System > Settings > Admin Processes ).

NOTE : Because high-frequency data pull occurs every 15 seconds, you might experience up to 15 seconds of latency between an unavailable alert and that alert appearing in the Database Server if you set Critical Ping to 5 seconds .

TIP : You might experience some performance issues if you have a large number of devices using critical ping on a short polling interval. If you have a large number of devices and are experiencing a delay in events being generated for a critical ping outage, try increasing the interval time.

Latency means the amount of time it takes SL1 to communicate with a device. Specifically, latency refers to the amount of time between when SL1 initiates communication with a device and when the device responds and allows communication. Latency is expressed in milliseconds (ms).

SL1 uses ports to monitor a device's latency. You specify which ports to use for device latency on the Settings tab of the Device Investigator page (or the Device Properties page in the classic SL1 user interface).

SL1 uses ports to monitor a device's latency. You specify which ports to use for device latency in the Device Properties page.

To configure latency monitoring for a device:

In the Device Manager page, find the device for which you want to configure latency monitoring. Select its wrench icon ( ).

SL1 allows you to define global Latency Thresholds that apply to all devices and device-specific Latency Thresholds that apply only to a specific device. When a device fails to meet the latency threshold (that is, takes longer than the specified time-span to respond), SL1 generates an event about the device. For example, if the latency threshold is "100 ms", when a device does not respond to a poll within 100 ms, SL1 will generate an event about that device.

To disable the latency threshold for a single device, set the threshold to 0% (zero percent). When you disable a threshold, SL1 does not generate an event for the threshold.