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ComponentsEngine
Availability2014.1 or later

Overview

Read-only SSH monitoring explained

Common AIX Measurements

Typical AIX health measurements

KPIs

Key AIX performance indicators

Troubleshooting

Resolve AIX monitoring issues
IBM AIX Observability

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Overview

GermainUX monitors the availability, performance, capacity, processes, and logs of IBM AIX systems. A GermainUX Engine connects to the monitored AIX host through SSH and executes approved, read-only commands on a configured schedule. The returned data is parsed into KPIs that can be displayed on dashboards, analyzed, reported, and used to trigger alerts. Monitoring can cover:
  • Host availability and uptime
  • CPU and processor utilization
  • Physical and virtual memory
  • Paging space
  • Filesystems and disk activity
  • Network interfaces and connections
  • Processes
  • System errors and logs
  • Application-specific commands and files

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Architecture

The GermainUX Engine does not need to run directly on AIX. It can monitor one or more AIX hosts remotely through SSH. The Engine must have:
  • Network access to the AIX SSH service
  • A dedicated monitoring account
  • Permission to execute the configured commands
  • Access to required logs and files
  • Network access to the GermainUX environment
Use synchronized system clocks on the GermainUX Engine and monitored AIX hosts.

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Prerequisites

Before configuring monitoring:
1

Deploy and register a GermainUX Engine

2

Confirm that SSH is enabled on the AIX host

3

Create a dedicated least-privilege monitoring account

4

Configure SSH key authentication or an approved credential

5

Restrict the account to the required read-only commands and files

6

Verify that the Engine can resolve and reach the AIX hostname

7

Identify the metrics, processes, services, filesystems, and logs to monitor

Do not use the root account for routine monitoring.

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Configure AIX Monitoring

1

Go to Workspace > Automation > SSH

2

Create an SSH configuration for the AIX host

3

Select the GermainUX Engine that will execute the commands

4

Enter the hostname, SSH port, and approved credentials

5

Add the commands required to collect each measurement

6

Configure output parsing and the corresponding KPI

7

Define the execution schedule and timeout

8

Test each command

9

Save and enable the configuration

10

Confirm that the resulting data appears in GermainUX

Each command can be configured independently with its own schedule, parsing rules, KPI, and alert conditions.

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Common AIX Measurements

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Host availability

Monitor whether the Engine can establish an SSH connection and execute a lightweight command. Useful measurements include:
  • Host availability
  • SSH availability
  • Command response time
  • System uptime
  • Last successful collection

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CPU

Monitor:
  • Overall CPU utilization
  • User and system CPU
  • Idle and wait time
  • Logical processor activity
  • Run queue
  • Load and processor contention
  • LPAR capacity and entitlement, where applicable
Example commands include:
The precise options and output depend on the AIX release and system configuration.

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Memory and paging

Monitor:
  • Physical memory usage
  • Available memory
  • Virtual memory
  • Paging activity
  • Paging-space utilization
  • Memory pressure
Example commands include:
AIX memory values should be interpreted according to AIX memory-management behavior. High memory utilization alone does not necessarily indicate a problem; paging activity and sustained memory pressure provide additional context.

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Filesystems and storage

Monitor:
  • Filesystem utilization
  • Available space
  • Inode usage, where available
  • Disk throughput
  • Disk busy time
  • I/O wait
  • Disk queues and service time
Example commands include:
Configure alerts for critical filesystems before they reach full capacity.

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Network

Monitor available network information such as:
  • Interface state
  • Network errors
  • Connection counts
  • Packet activity
  • Listening ports
  • Failed or unavailable endpoints
Example commands include:
Additional interface statistics can be collected using approved AIX tools when required.

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Processes

Monitor:
  • Required process availability
  • Process count
  • CPU and memory consumption
  • Process start time
  • Unexpected process termination
  • Duplicate or excessive processes
Example:
Define filters for the specific application, database, integration, or middleware processes that must remain available.

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System errors and logs

GermainUX can collect or analyze accessible AIX diagnostics and text logs, including:
  • System errors
  • Application errors
  • Security events
  • Service startup and shutdown
  • Resource failures
  • Filesystem warnings
  • Network errors
For example, approved errpt output can be collected and categorized when access is permitted. Log and command output parsing must be configured for the formats used by the monitored environment.

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Application Monitoring

In addition to operating-system telemetry, GermainUX can monitor applications hosted on AIX through:
  • Process checks
  • Port and endpoint checks
  • Application logs
  • File monitoring
  • HTTP or API transactions
  • Database queries
  • Application-specific read-only commands
  • Synthetic business transactions
Application-specific commands should be separately authorized, tested, and configured with appropriate timeouts.

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KPIs

Common AIX KPIs include:

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Alerts and Reports

Configure alerts for conditions such as:
  • Host or SSH unavailable
  • Required process stopped
  • Sustained high CPU utilization
  • CPU or I/O contention
  • Excessive paging
  • Paging space approaching capacity
  • Filesystem approaching capacity
  • Disk or network errors
  • New critical system errors
  • Monitoring command failure
  • Missing data
Scheduled reports can summarize availability, capacity, performance trends, recurring errors, SLA violations, and changes compared with the previous period. Use sustained-duration and repeated-occurrence conditions where appropriate to avoid alerts from brief, harmless spikes.

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Automation

When an issue is detected, GermainUX can initiate approved actions through the Engine, including:
  • Sending an alert
  • Creating or updating a ticket
  • Executing a diagnostic command
  • Collecting additional system evidence
  • Calling an HTTP endpoint
  • Running an authorized script
  • Restarting an approved application process or service
  • Validating recovery
Corrective commands must be explicitly authorized and tested. Commands that stop processes, restart services, modify files, or change system configuration can affect production and should have appropriate safeguards and approvals.

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Security

Apply the following controls:
  • Use a dedicated monitoring account.
  • Grant only the permissions required for configured commands.
  • Prefer SSH key authentication.
  • Protect private keys and credentials.
  • Restrict SSH access by source host and network policy.
  • Allowlist executable commands where possible.
  • Avoid collecting passwords, tokens, or sensitive command output.
  • Record and review automated administrative actions.
  • Rotate credentials according to organizational policy.

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Validation

After enabling monitoring:
1

Confirm that the Engine can connect through SSH

2

Run each configured command from GermainUX

3

Verify that output is parsed correctly

4

Compare selected values with the AIX command output

5

Confirm that the correct host and environment are assigned

6

Test an alert condition safely

7

Verify alert delivery

8

Confirm that credentials and sensitive output are protected

9

Review collection duration and system overhead

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Troubleshooting

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SSH connection fails

Verify:
  • Hostname and port
  • Network and firewall rules
  • SSH service availability
  • Credentials or SSH keys
  • Account restrictions
  • Host-key configuration
  • Supported authentication methods

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A command fails

Confirm that:
  • The command exists on the monitored AIX version.
  • The monitoring account has permission to run it.
  • The executable is available in the account’s path.
  • Required privileges are configured.
  • The command completes within the configured timeout.
Use explicit executable paths where necessary.

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Metrics are missing or incorrect

Check:
  • Command output for the installed AIX version
  • Locale and number formats
  • Parsing rules
  • KPI mapping
  • Collection schedule
  • Command timeout
  • Host and environment filters

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Get Help

Contact GermainUX Support

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The content of this document is proprietary to GERMAIN SOFTWARE.