Specifying search criteria

Search criteria identify expressions that Fathom can use to obtain specific information about the contents of log files. You can use either a text literal or a Perl 5 regular expression, which you select or create as one of the rule properties, as an individual search criterion. When you specify search criteria, Fathom searches the log file for strings and tries to match the search criteria you specify.

Fathom provides some default search criteria; you can also create your own search criteria.This section presents each type of search criteria in detail.

Accessing search criteria

You access existing search criteria from the Fathom Component Library.

To access either Fathom- or user-defined search criteria:

  1. Select Library from the menu bar. The existing Library objects display in the list frame.
  2. As necessary, click Type as the Sort by option, and expand the Search Criteria category. These predefined categories appear: AppServerBroker, AppServerServer, Database, Miscellaneous, NameServer, WebSpeedBroker, and WebSpeedServer.
  3. Note: If you upgraded Fathom Management and you had defined search criteria or log file rule sets in a previous version, these rules will now be redefined in the Upgraded category in the list frame.

  4. Click the category from which you want to select a predefined search. From the expanded sublist, select the specific search you want to access. The Search Criterion Monitor properties summary page displays in the detail frame:
  5. Review, edit, copy, or delete the search, as needed. Keep the following points in mind if you elect to change or delete any existing search criteria:
    • If you change any values associated with a search criterion that is currently associated with log file monitors, those changes will propagate through all existing instances of the log file monitors that use that specific search criteria.
    • If you attempt to delete a search criterion that is the last one currently defined in a given category, a message displays asking if you would like to delete the category at the same time.
    • If you attempt to delete a search criterion that is associated with any log file monitor, Fathom displays a warning message. This message appears regardless of the log file monitor being enabled or disabled:
Using Fathom-supplied search criteria

You define, store, and access all search criteria from the Fathom library, which is a collection of sharable components.

To see the Fathom-provided search criteria:

  1. Click Library on the menu bar. The following categories appear in the list frame: Actions, Search Criteria, Rule Sets, and Schedules.
  2. Expand the Search Criteria category. The following criteria categories appear: AppServer Broker, AppServer Server, Database, Miscellaneous, NameServer, WebSpeed Broker, and WebSpeed Server.
  3. Each of these categories has predefined search criteria specifically designed to build rules for each of these products. These predefined elements are intended to address some of the more common search criteria you might use to examine log file data.

  4. To see the predefined search criteria in a category, expand it. For example, if you expand the AppServer Server category, the criteria appear in a list:
  5. Note: Keep in mind that you can add to, modify, or remove search criteria categories, so the list of categories you see in your own management console might not match the list shown in Step 3.

You can store any search criteria that you define in these categories according to the type of log file with which the criteria is associated. You can also use the Miscellaneous category to store other search criteria.


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