Monitoring appliance hangs up

mzanferrarimzanferrari
Hello,

I have a monitoring appliance running the latest version of the software.

It works fine for 4/5 days then it suddenly hangs up becoming unreachable both from the web page and remote desktop.

The only way to recover is power-off/power-on.

But after 4/5 days i'm again in the same situation.

I have defined about 25 monitors (TEMPERATURE and HUMIDITY) so not even close to the limit, but both CPU and MEM are always heavily used.



Any suggestion?



Thank you

Marco

Comments

  • AdministratorAdministrator
    Did you change the virtual memory size as per user manual instructions?
  • mzanferrarimzanferrari
    yes the virtual memory is set as per manual instructions
  • AdministratorAdministrator
    Is it accessible via keyboard and screen attached to it?
  • mzanferrarimzanferrari
    No, it is installed on a rack but not connected to any KVM or keyboard and screen
  • AdministratorAdministrator
    Can you connect it so that it is possible to see what the error message is?
  • mzanferrarimzanferrari
    i'll connect it today

    Then wait till the problem happens again
  • mzanferrarimzanferrari
    I just tried to connect the keyboard and the screen but it's not working, nothing is displayed on the screen.

    I tried to restart the appliance with the screen connected but i can only see the first message and then the screen turns black and a NO SIGNAL message comes up.

    We had exactly the same problem when we got the appliance.

    We gave it back to our local vendor and we had it back one month (or more) after, it was working.

    Now we are facing the same problem again.

    At this point I think they didn't issue an RMA but just tried to fix the appliance.

    I'll get back to the vendor again and push to have a new HW!!
  • AdministratorAdministrator
    Hello,



    I was able to replicate this here and the root cause was a stuck windows update and it would throw errors in the Event Viewer. I manually installed the update in question and then ran windows update and have not had the issue since. Can you check your event viewer and see if you are having the same problem?
  • mzanferrarimzanferrari
    Hello,

    thank you for the update.

    Actually after the last reboot (22 May) the appliance is working fine.

    No hung up happened since last reboot.

    Anyway, I've disabled the automatic updates to avoid to run into the same issue you ran into.



    Being a customized version of Windows installed on the appliance is it safe to regularly apply the official windows updates?
  • mzanferrarimzanferrari
    Hello,

    unfortunately after running smoothly for about a month, the appliance hung up again.

    As told before no output comes out from the video out!

    So even having a screen connected can't help in discover the issue.



    I have two questions:

    - we ran into the video output issue since the first day, it had been fixed by the vendor but now it's back. The local vendor told us we don't have a support contract with them. Can servescheck help us in case of an HW malfunction?



    - can you let me know if I can install the windows updates from Microsoft on the monitoring appliance?



    Thank you

    Best,

    Marco
  • AdministratorAdministrator
    If the unit is till under warranty then yes. If not then a replacement unit purchase would be the best option
  • mzanferrarimzanferrari
    Hello,

    the unit is still hanging :(

    I've installed the windows update but it didn't solve the probelm.



    How can I understand if the unit is still under warranty?



    Can I install the monitoring software on a windows machine and use the license i have for the appliance so i can get rid of it?



    Is there a way to export the configuration from the appliance and import it to a software version running on a windows machine?



    I would really appreciate if this issue could be treated as urgent, thank you.

    Marco
  • AdministratorAdministrator
    You can move it to a different system provided a license is not running concurrently. Also you need to have an active support and license agreement to do so. You can check your status on http://www.serverscheck.com/orders



    The wiki has an article on moving a configuration
  • arthurarthur
    I am having the exact same problem.

    Did you get a new appliance mzanferrari?

    How did you resolve the problem?


  • mzanferrarimzanferrari
    Being in Doha doesn't help dealing with shipment so because we had a spare Dell server I've downloaded and installed the software on a Windows 2008 installation.

    You can find the steps on how to move the config and the database from a server to another on the wiki website under the section Tips and Tricks.

    The appliance have been powered off for ever, I think.

    You can use a Virtual Machine if you want; we used a physical server because of the USB GSM modem.

    It would have been time-wasting to ask for a replacement.

    And BTW the appliances was always running at the limit of CPU and Memory even with only 3 items to monitor.

    I think installing the software version on a windows server (Phy or Vir) it'a a better solution.



    Good luck

    Marco
  • AdministratorAdministrator
    You can try loading the new image for the monitoring appliance that comes preloaded with the latest release of the monitoring appliance.



    http://wiki.serverscheck.com/index.php/Appliance_Reset
  • arthurarthur
    Thanks for your quick reply.

    That's a shame, because we payed quite some $ on the appliance. I will try to trade it in for a new one.



    I also find that the appliance is quite slow, maybe because the hardware is not performing at his best or Windows XP is the bottleneck...



    Did you have the same experience?
  • mzanferrarimzanferrari
    The appliances is a bit slow if you access the OS but this is due to the fact that the CPU spikes to 99% util every minute or something like that, at least in my experience.

    The web interface is not too bad, though.



    We spent money on the appliance too, but as I told we didn't go for the replacement way just because it takes months to have something delivered here in Doha.



    If you think the appliance is a good solution try to have it replaced, or trade it with some extra sensors ;)



    Best,

    Marco
This discussion has been closed.