Resource Monitoring Tool Server Configuration

This topic describes the Resource Monitoring Tool Server (RMT Server) configuration options you can set using the web interface.

Post install setup configurations

You can update the configurations you specified during the setup.

Following are the two recommended ways to make configuration changes:

  • To do this using the web interface: On the machine where RMT Server is installed, go to: http://<hostname>/setup/server.

  • To do this using command line, use rmtadmin master-setup command with the --skip-admin-creation option to make sure you are not prompted to create the admin user post installation. For more information, see rmtadmin master-setup.

Note: Configuration values are saved in the configuration file. Changes can be made directly to this file, but it is advised to leverage the configuration options in the UI and through the rmtadmin command line utility. Changes to the config file will require a restart to be applied.

Here are some examples of the type of updates you might want to do after the initial setup.

  • Changing SSL Configuration: The default configuration is set to false. You can change this configuration to require HTTPS. Use the rmtadmin master-setup command to update this setting.

  • SSL Certificate Updates: You might have completed your initial RMT Server setup using the default certification mode for secure communications, and want to update the certification with your own certificate.

  • Changes Ports: Sometimes you will need to use different port numbers than the default based on your network requirements. To learn more about ports and communications between the various components of Resource Monitoring Tool, see Tableau Resource Monitoring Tool Communication Ports.

  • Update session expiration: If the user does not access the session for the set timeout period then the session will expire and they will need to log in again. By default, this is set to 240 minutes. You can also enable the Sliding Expiration option to reset the time out period when a session is accessed within the time out period.

Note: Adding or removing a Tableau Server node: If you add a new node to the Tableau Server Cluster that you are monitoring using Resource Monitoring Tool, you will need to install and register this node. For more information, see Tableau Server Topology Changes.

To do this through command line, use rmtadmin-master-setup command. For more information, see rmtadmin Command Line Utility .

You can configure Resource Monitoring Tool by clicking on “Configuration” under the Admin menu. Configuration sections are divided by tabs. To do this using a configuration file, see RMT Server Configuration File.

Notifications

Notifications can be set at a global level and at the environment level.

You can choose how you want to receive your notifications- through email or Slack, or through both email and Slack.

The following applies to both email and Slack notfications:

Both email and Slack notifications can be set at a global level and at the environment level. To send any notifications, global configurations must be enabled, not just at the environment level. You can also configure different minimum severity levels at which to send notifications - they can be different for email and slack, they can also be different at global and environment levels.

Global configurations are applied to existing environments or any new environments created unless the environment is using custom thresholds.

Slack notification settings

Slack notifications were introduced in Resource Monitoring Tool version 2022.1.

Before you set up Slack notifications in Resource Monitoring Tool, there is some initial setup you need to do in Slack. The full details are described in this Slack article, but here are the main things you will need to do:

  1. Create a new or use an existing Slack workspace or app and make sure it is enabled to receive incoming webhooks.

  2. Authorize a channel where the notifications should be posted.

  3. Copy the Webhook URL that is generated for your workspace.

To set up Slack notification in the Resource Monitoring Tool:

  1. From the Admin menu, select Global Configuration.

  2. Under the Notifications tab, in the Slack section, use the toggle button at the top of the section to enable Slack notifications.

  3. Configure the following settings:

    1. Minimum Severity: The minimum severity level at which you want to receive Slack notifications.

    2. Webhook URL: URL of the incoming webhooks for your Slack workspace. This URL is automatically generated when you enable incoming webhooks for your Slack workspace.

  4. Test it using the Send a Test Message button to make sure your settings are valid and they work.

To specify the notifications for each environment:

  1. From the Admin menu, select the environment that you want to modify and choose Edit Environment.

  2. In the Notifications tab, choose Custom for configuration type to override the global settings.

  3. Set the minimum severity and the Webhook URL.

  4. Test it using the Send a Test Message button to make sure your settings are valid and they work.

Email notifications

To set up email notification, start by configuring SMTP server settings at the global level. The SMTP server settings configured at the global level are applied automatically to all environments. You can customize certain settings like the minimum severity level and the sender and recipient emails for each environment.

Here are some technical details about how the TLS configuration works:

  • RMT Server uses the STARTTLS SMTP option, which upgrades the SMTP connection to TLS after it has been initiated but before the mail content is sent. RMT does not support the REQUIRETLS SMTP option.

  • RMT Server uses STARTTLS to encrypt mail in transit to the SMTP server. Whether or not the SMTP server stores the mail encrypted at rest is subject to the SMTP server configuration.

Before you can configure email notifications in the Resource Monitoring Tool, you must have an SMTP server set up and have the following pieces of information:

  • Name of the SMTP server.

  • If you are planning to use encrypted communications, make a note of the TLS version that the SMTP server accepts. Currently, TLS 1.2 is required by Resource Monitoring Tooland TLS 1.3 is supported.

  • The certificate thumbprint (optional).

  • Port number for the SMTP server.

  • Username and password (optional). Needed only if the SMTP server is configured to authenticate using a username and password.

  • Sender and recipient email addresses that will be used to send and receive notifications.

To specify the SMTP server settings in theResource Monitoring Tool:

  1. From the Admin menu, select Global Configuration.

  2. In the Notifications tab in the Email section, select the toggle button at the top of the sections to enable email notifications.

    1. Configure the following SMTP server settings:

      1. Server: Provide the fully qualified DNS name of the SMTP server.

      2. Encryption: Specify whether you want the communications between RMT Server and the SMTP server encrypted. The option you choose will depend on the SMTP server configuration for encryption and your preference for using encrypted communications between RTM Server and the SMTP server.

        1. Required: Use this when your SMTP server is enabled to use encrypted communications and you want to make sure communications are always encrypted. When set to required, the connection will always be attempted using encryption. If the SMTP server is not enabled to use encryption, the RMT server will be unable to communicate with the SMTP server.

        2. Preferred: Use this if you are not sure about the encryption settings of your SMTP server, but prefer that encrypted communications be used when possible. If the SMTP server is not enabled to use encryption, in this case, non-encrypted communication is used.

        3. Disabled: Use this if your SMTP is not enabled to use encrypted communications. Communications between RMT Server and the SMTP server are not encrypted.

          Note: If the SMTP server requires encryption, the connection will fail. If the SMTP server is enabled for encryption but does not require it, the connection will succeed.

        4. Options: This determines how the SMTP server will be verified. You have the following options:

          1. Check Server identity: RMT will verify if the name of the certificate used matches the SMTP server name. If there is no match, the connection will fail.

          2. Trust all hosts: All certificate errors are ignored and overrides the Check Server identity. This should be used only if you are confident that the certificate that the RMT server using is from your server.

        5. TLS version: The version of TLS that is supported by your SMTP server. There is a default version already selected, but you can select other versions. If multiple TLS versions are selected, the RMT server will use the most secure version compatible with RMT and the SMTP server. TLS version 1.3 requires Open SSL 1.1.1f. If you are planning to use TLS 1.3, make sure the machine where RMT Server is installed has Open SSL 1.1.1f.

        6. Certificate Thumbprint: This is optional. The SHA1 certificate is used when provided and it must be valid and one that the SMTP server uses. A valid thumbprint will override other certificate errors like expiration dates and Server name mismatches.

        7. Port: Port setting for the email server.

        8. Username: Optional. The name of the account used to authenticate to the email server, if the SMTP server is configured with a username and password for authentication.

        9. Password: Optional. The password for the account used to authenticate to the email server, if the SMTP server is configured with username and password for authentication.

        10. Minimum Severity: The minimum severity level at which you want to receive email notifications. This will be applied to all environments unless modified at the environment level.

        11. Sender email: The email address that is used to send the notifications. This will be applied to all environments unless modified at the environment level.

        12. Recipient email(s): Email addresses of the people who should receive these notifications. This will be applied to all environments unless modified at the environment level.

        13. Test it using the Send a Test Message button to ensure your settings are valid and can be used to successfully send an email notification.

To customize the settings for an environment:

  1. From the Admin menu, select the environment that you want to modify and choose Edit Environment.
  2. In the Notifications tab, choose Custom for configuration type to override the global settings.

  3. Set the severity level, and sender and recipient email information.
  4. Test it using the Send a Test Message button to make sure your settings are valid and you are able to send an email notification.

Troubleshoot connection failures

Connection failures can happen due to various reasons, but here are some that could be caused due to configuration issues:

  • Encryption setting errors: Happens if there is a mismatch of encryption settings between the RMT Server and the SMTP server. For example, if the RMT server is set to require encryption, but the SMTP server is not configured to use encryption. The reverse is also true. If the SMTP server requires encrypted communication and RMT Server is set to disable encryption, the connection will fail.

  • Certificate errors: When using encrypted communications, things like certificate authority and match between certificate name and the SMTP server are considered unless you choose to explicitly Trust all hosts under Options.
  • TLS errors: TLS version support is dependent on the Operating System (OS) on which the RMT Server is installed. Check to see if the version of TLS you selected is supported by the OS. TLS 1.2 is required, but TSL 1.3 is also supported. TLS 1.3 requires Open SSL 1.1.1f or greater. Make sure you have Open SSL 1.1.1f on the machine where RMT Server is installed.

Incident thresholds

Configure the global incident notification settings. These global thresholds apply to all environments by default unless overridden by the individual environments.

See Incidents for information on what incident options are available and how to configure them.

Security

Configure the security settings for Resource Monitoring Tool user accounts.

Data

By default, Resource Monitoring Tool stores two weeks of detailed activity data and ten years of aggregated reporting data.

Data Retention: Detailed activity data from your Tableau Server powers the dashboards and incidents for diagnosis of recent performance incidents. Due to the associated storage and processing requirements, this data is only stored for two weeks by default.

Reporting Data: Aggregated activity data from your Tableau Server is stored for reporting purposes (e.g., the Chargeback report). This data is compact and can easily be stored for many years of historical reporting.

Advanced

Allows configuration of the Resource Monitoring Tool diagnostic logging levels.

See the Log Files for more information about logging.

Who can do this

Resource Monitoring ToolAdministrator or a Resource Monitoring Tool user with Server/Environment Management role.

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