Gateway FAQs

What significant improvements I can see after upgrading the gateway?

The upgraded version of the gateway maintains compatibility with SaaS upgrades. Few elements have in-depth monitoring templates.

What if the upgrade is not successful?

The platform is tested end-to-end for gateway upgrades. However, in case of failure, upgrades are rolled back.

What are the steps involved in upgrading the gateway?

1. The gateway downloads the latest firmware from the cloud.
2. the gateway installs the firmware. When the install is in progress, monitoring is stopped for two to three minutes. The tunnel is re-connected.
3. The gateway is updated across all clients. The update requires less than five to 10 minutes per gateway.

Which disruptions are possible during the upgrade process?

During the upgrading process, when a gateway is updated, it is re-connected to the tunnel. For failures associated with connecting the gateway to the cloud, contact Support for assistance.

How long is each gateway down during an upgrade from start to finish?

The gateway upgrade consists of two phases: (1) Firmware download and (2) Firmware upgrade.

Phase 1: Firmware download

• Each gateway downloads its new firmware from the cloud.
• The gateway continues to run while the firmware is downloaded from the Cloud.
• The download time depends on the available network bandwidth – downloads are typically in the size range of 200-300 MB.

Phase 2: Firmware upgrade

• With this upgrade, the firmware is actually applied to the gateway.
• This process takes five minutes to complete.
• The gateway shuts down during this five-minute interval and does not monitor your devices.
• The gateway restarts itself after the firmware upgrade is complete.

While a gateway is being upgraded, which type of alerts are seen in the alert browser?

During the firmware upgrade, the cloud detects that the gateway is down and generates an alert with the subject Gateway is offline. This alert heals itself when the gateway is available again.

Which network ports are required for the gateway

Check the following list for network ports.

Can I install or update the software/packages on the gateway?

You should not install, update, or remove gateway software/packages. Doing so can lead to a gateway malfunction and OpsRamp is not responsible for fixing the problem. Also, you are not permitted to change any gateway configurations.

How to view the agent-installed resources connected via a gateway?

To view the agent installed resources connected via a gateway (proxy agent), follow the below steps:

1. Navigate to Setup > Account > Collector Profile in the OpsRamp portal.
2. Click on the Name of the collector profile. The collector profile details page will appears.
3. Click on the Agent Count to view the list of agents connecting through the gateway.

   

4. Alternatively, navigate to Infrastructure > Search and click the search icon next to the home button in the top left corner. Here, you can use an OpsQL query to filter and view the same resources using the relevant agent attributes as listed here.

   

Attenuated Alert

Attenuated alerts are a mechanism designed to prevent a flood of alerts from a single source, such as a device or a specific metric, within a short timeframe. This helps to reduce alert noise and improve the signal-to-noise ratio.

key Benefits of Attenuated Alerts

• Reducing Alert Fatigue: Attenuated alerts help prevent an overwhelming number of alerts from a single source, making it easier for operations teams to focus on critical issues.
• Improving Alert Signal-to-Noise Ratio: By suppressing repetitive alerts, attenuated alerts help to highlight truly important events and reduce the number of false positives.
• Preventing Gateway Overload: Limiting the number of alerts sent to the cloud helps to prevent the gateway from being overloaded and ensures that critical alerts are always delivered.

How the Attenuated Alerts Work?
The following are the current behaviors of Attenuated Alerts, which apply only to the gateway:

• Throttling Limit: The gateway has a default limit of 4 alerts per 10 minutes that are sent to the OpsRamp Cloud. Any alerts beyond the 4th are held back and not sent until the 10-minute reset period ends. This applies to all alert severities, including Critical, Warning, or OK.
• Resumption: After the 10-minute reset period, the gateway resumes sending last saved alerts with the subject prefixed as “Attenuated Alert:” to indicate that the alert was previously suppressed.

Configuration
The alert throttling behavior can be configured in the vprobe.conf file:

• Alert.throttling.reset.freq: Specifies the reset interval (default: 10 minutes).
• Alert.throttling.limit: Specifies the maximum number of alerts allowed within the reset interval (default: 4 alerts).

After adjusting these parameters, you need to restart the vprobe service to optimize the alert throttling behavior according to your specific monitoring requirements.