AMS

AMS displays Syslog messages in colour and in real-time via a standalone Java client or in a browser.
New with version 2.0 is the alert manager which allows configured alerts to be sent via Pager, SMS or Email.

If you reached this page looking for information about syslog please see the Syslog FAQ

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Summary of AMS Features

Applet mode GUI
allows the monitoring of syslog messages via a familar browser interface. Unlike many similar products AMS displays messages in real-time - immediately they are received by syslog. Requires browser to support Java 1.1 (most do). See below for a detailed list of GUI features.
Standalone GUI
Provides the same display and user interface in a Java application for those who prefer not to use a browser. The main window can be resized dynamically, something not possible in an applet.
Alert manager
Sends configured alerts to operators via Pager, SMS or Email. Alerts are configured on one or more of severity code, facility code, and regular expression. More details

Position your mouse over areas of the panel to see an explanation of each item
optional animation indicates connection status and rate of messages received. Counters and UI Controls
Facility code Messages are smooth scrolled
This screenshot is of the HTML page included in the tarball. This shows the default layout (#0) with counters, animation icon(coffee pot), and message panel.

GUI Features

The facility code for every message displayed to the left of the main message. Strings can be customised in the server, thereby allowing site specific uses of the local* facility codes.

The message panel displays incoming syslog records as they arrive in a colour scheme that is determined by the severity code - colours fully customisable via applet parameters. Scrolling is "smoothed" on a pixel-by-pixel basis, thus enhancing readability.

An optional animation panel serves two purposes. The animation halts should contact be lost with the server, thus providing a quick visual clue that there is some connection problem. Additionally the speed of animation is geared to the number of records received per minute, up to a maximum at which point the image frame turns red. The images that make up the animation sequence are configurable via applet parameters and configuration file. The illustrated animation sequence is not shipped with the product but is downloadable via the website.

Counters show the number of messages received at each severity level. Icons provide an easily followed colour legend, the colours of which are automatically matched with the configured severity foreground and background colours.

Buttons allow the top portion of the panel to be flipped between counter and status mode. The status panel features a severity filter selection, allowing user to change which messages should be displayed given the current situation;


The status panel

Once configured, a third button becomes visible - Database...

Database

Using the database window one can search for messages archived in an SQL database. Please note that AMS does not currently include a database archiver, this is under development and will be shipped FOC to license holders still under support.

AMS Database search window

Overview of operation

The Java based front end, of which there can be multiple instances, communicates with a (Perl) server which receives messages from syslog. Generic syslog implementations generally do not pass the severity code, thus we recommend installing syslog-ng which pass the whole syslog record unmodified. The Perl server (source supplied) copes with both generic and syslog-ng type records, albeit with no highlighting or counters with the former.

The front-end is written in Java 1.1. The absence of Java2/Swing or J2EE features mean that AMS should work in any current browser, though it has only been extensively tested with Netscape 4.5 and IE5. There remain some minor atheistic differences between different browsers (button/scrollbar colours) which will not be fixed.

The server is currently running in production environments on both Solaris(sparc) and Linux(Intel) platforms.

Throughput performance has been tested up to 5000 lines a minutes using a elderly Sun Ultra as a server and a PII/300 running Windows 98/Netscape4.51. If you're getting more than that then you've got some serious issues...

An installation guide, and full list of applet parameters is available for your perusal

Important Notes:
  • Java/Browser security means that the applet code ( a single jar file ) must be loaded from same host that the syslog server is running on.

Obtaining it, Licensing etc.

This shareware version of AMS is a code-freeze of an early version of a network/system monitoring system developed jointly by myself and Jon Marshall.

AMS is not a free. The fee for this shareware version is 9000 THB/Thai Baht. That's about 

A 3 month trial version is available upon application.

Please read the full license.

Purchase

Should you which to purchase AMS direct please contact me direct
for a quotation. Please include in your email;

  • Your Fullname
  • Email address
  • Organisation name
  • Telephone number ( including International Dial code )
  • IP address of your proposed AMS server.
We will deliver your software by email within 2 working days (Monday-Friday) of receipt of payment. If you require a CD-ROM please mention this in your message - an additional charge is payable.


Please read the full license.

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