Features on the Tools Tab

The Tools tab offers several administrative tools that you can use to help manage Web site activities or the components that make up your Web site. All tools on this tab are organized into one of the following tool groups: Logs and Statistics, System Monitoring, and Archive and Deploy. Each tool group is outlined in the following sections.

Logs and Statistics tools

The Logs and Statistics tools are designed to help you configure ColdFusion logging settings, view and analyze log file content, and monitor your site performance. These tools include: Logging Settings, Log Files, and Server Reports. A description of each of these features follows.

Logging Settings

Use the Logging Settings page in the ColdFusion Administrator to specify where you want to store your log files and which log file format you prefer to use when viewing your log files. To access the Logging Settings page in the ColdFusion Administrator, click Tools > Logging Settings.

On the Logging Settings page, you can accept the defaults or change them as needed. Each time you make a change, you must apply the change by clicking Submit Change.

By default, log files are stored in the CFusion\log directory and all log files are saved using the ColdFusion 5 format. To learn more about the log settings and the differences between the log file formats, click Help on the Logging Settings page.

Log Files

The Log Files page in ColdFusion Administrator enables you to view a list of all generated log files from a single display. On this page, you can search and filter the content of log files, store log files for future use, and remove log files that are no longer needed. To access the Log Files page in ColdFusion Administrator, click
Tools > Log Files.

You can view single or multiple log files by checking the log files you want to view and clicking View Log Files.

Use the individual controls when you want to search and filter log files, remove log files, store log files for future reference, and/or schedule the storage of log files.

To learn more about the log files and its settings, click Help on the Log Files page.

Server Reports

The Server Reports supplied with ColdFusion Server 5 Enterprise Edition provide instantaneous statistics about the performance of your ColdFusion Server. In addition, some of these reports provide information that you can use to track server configuration changes and view current configuration settings.

To access the Server Reports in the ColdFusion Administrator, click Tools > Server Reports. The following table provides a brief overview of each report type.

Report Type

Description

Server Performance Reports
ColdFusion Administrator offers eight server performance reports that you can use to help measure the performance of your system. All reports offer cumulative averages of server statistics for a given time range. You can choose one of four intervals to report data: monthly, weekly, daily, or hourly.
You can access any of the following eight performance reports on the Server Reports page in the ColdFusion Administrator:

Performance Statistics Summary This report summarizes the behavior reported in all other performance reports. It specifically identifies all performance counters related to CFML requests, database operations, ColdFusion template cache pops, and other counters used for measuring throughput and internal congestion.

Requests Report This report identifies per second the average number of CFM pages requested and the maximum average number of CFM pages requested. Other information provided in this report includes average CPU usage, ColdFusion CPU usage, ColdFusion memory usage, and ColdFusion handle and thread counts.

Database Operations Report This report identifies per second the average number of database operations performed and the maximum average number of database operations performed. Other information provided in this report includes average CPU usage, ColdFusion CPU usage, ColdFusion memory usage, and ColdFusion handle and thread counts.

Performance Reports

Cache Pops Report This report identifies per second the average number of ColdFusion templates that were ejected from cache and the maximum average number of ColdFusion templates that were ejected from cache. Other information provided in this report includes average CPU usage, ColdFusion CPU usage, ColdFusion memory usage, and ColdFusion handle and thread counts

Queued Requests Report This report identifies per second the average number of ColdFusion requests waiting to be processed. Other information provided in this report includes average CPU usage, ColdFusion CPU usage, ColdFusion memory usage, and ColdFusion handle and thread counts.

Requests in Progress Report This report identifies per second the average number of ColdFusion requests that are actively being processed by ColdFusion. Other information provided in this report includes average CPU usage, ColdFusion CPU usage, ColdFusion memory usage, and ColdFusion handle and thread counts.

Time Out requests This report identifies the total number of ColdFusion requests that timed out while waiting to be processed. Other information provided in this report includes average CPU usage, ColdFusion CPU usage, ColdFusion memory usage, and ColdFusion handle and thread counts.

Throughput Report This report identifies per second the average number of bytes received and returned between the ColdFusion Application Server and the Web server. Other information provided in this report includes average CPU usage, ColdFusion CPU usage, ColdFusion memory usage, and ColdFusion handle and thread counts.

Settings Summary Report

The Settings Summary Report shows the status of all ColdFusion configuration settings in one view. From this view, you can print the current configuration settings, or edit them directly by clicking the setting name shown in the report.

Settings Change Report

The Settings Change Report helps you track ColdFusion configuration changes as they occur. This report, generated for a specified time period, summarizes all changes made to the ColdFusion configuration.

Report Type	Description
Server Performance Reports	ColdFusion Administrator offers eight server performance reports that you can use to help measure the performance of your system. All reports offer cumulative averages of server statistics for a given time range. You can choose one of four intervals to report data: monthly, weekly, daily, or hourly. You can access any of the following eight performance reports on the Server Reports page in the ColdFusion Administrator:
	Performance Statistics Summary This report summarizes the behavior reported in all other performance reports. It specifically identifies all performance counters related to CFML requests, database operations, ColdFusion template cache pops, and other counters used for measuring throughput and internal congestion.
	Requests Report This report identifies per second the average number of CFM pages requested and the maximum average number of CFM pages requested. Other information provided in this report includes average CPU usage, ColdFusion CPU usage, ColdFusion memory usage, and ColdFusion handle and thread counts.
	Database Operations Report This report identifies per second the average number of database operations performed and the maximum average number of database operations performed. Other information provided in this report includes average CPU usage, ColdFusion CPU usage, ColdFusion memory usage, and ColdFusion handle and thread counts.
Performance Reports	Cache Pops Report This report identifies per second the average number of ColdFusion templates that were ejected from cache and the maximum average number of ColdFusion templates that were ejected from cache. Other information provided in this report includes average CPU usage, ColdFusion CPU usage, ColdFusion memory usage, and ColdFusion handle and thread counts
	Queued Requests Report This report identifies per second the average number of ColdFusion requests waiting to be processed. Other information provided in this report includes average CPU usage, ColdFusion CPU usage, ColdFusion memory usage, and ColdFusion handle and thread counts.
	Requests in Progress Report This report identifies per second the average number of ColdFusion requests that are actively being processed by ColdFusion. Other information provided in this report includes average CPU usage, ColdFusion CPU usage, ColdFusion memory usage, and ColdFusion handle and thread counts.
	Time Out requests This report identifies the total number of ColdFusion requests that timed out while waiting to be processed. Other information provided in this report includes average CPU usage, ColdFusion CPU usage, ColdFusion memory usage, and ColdFusion handle and thread counts.
	Throughput Report This report identifies per second the average number of bytes received and returned between the ColdFusion Application Server and the Web server. Other information provided in this report includes average CPU usage, ColdFusion CPU usage, ColdFusion memory usage, and ColdFusion handle and thread counts.
Settings Summary Report	The Settings Summary Report shows the status of all ColdFusion configuration settings in one view. From this view, you can print the current configuration settings, or edit them directly by clicking the setting name shown in the report.
Settings Change Report	The Settings Change Report helps you track ColdFusion configuration changes as they occur. This report, generated for a specified time period, summarizes all changes made to the ColdFusion configuration.

For additional information about the Server Reports, click Help on the Server Reports page.

System Monitoring tools

The System Monitoring tools, supplied with ColdFusion Server 5 Enterprise Edition, offer various features to help you monitor and manage your Web site. These features include an easy-to-read site management configuration page, Web application monitors (probes), load management capabilities, alarm notifications, and the ability to integrate ColdFusion with a third-party load-balancing device. The following sections provide a brief overview of each of the System Monitoring tools that appear in the ColdFusion Administrator.

Note

If ClusterCATS is installed on your machine, all ColdFusion System Monitoring features appear in the ClusterCATS application and do not appear in the ColdFusion Administrator. To learn how to use the System Monitoring features in ClusterCATS, see the sections later in this book.

Web Server Monitoring

The Web Server Configuration page in the ColdFusion Administrator enables you to easily determine the operating status of your Web servers and configured monitoring device(s). Use this page to monitor the operating status of each monitoring device, view and manage incoming server traffic, and to place a Web server in maintenance mode for necessary repairs. To access this page in the ColdFusion Administrator, click Tools > Web Servers.

The easy-to-read tabular form on the Server Configuration page lists the names and status of the Web servers configured on your local system along with the status of each threshold setting and monitoring device configured. To learn more about the information and management controls provided on this page, click Help on the Server Configuration page.

Note

A monitoring device in ColdFusion can include Server Probes and/or a third-party hardware load balancing device. The status for these monitoring devices only appears on the Server Management page after each device is configured in ColdFusion using the Server Probes page or Hardware Integration page. For more information about the configuration options required for these monitoring devices and their benefits, see the sections in this chapter on Server Probes and Hardware Integration.

Server Probes

The Server Probes tool in the ColdFusion Administrator enables you to actively test the health and operation of your local Web sites. Specifically, ColdFusion offers two probes for monitoring your Web site environment:

Default probes The default probes let you test the availability of the ColdFusion Server or a specific URL.
Custom probes The custom probes let you specify a test program to run as a probe. Depending on the program executable that you specify, you can use a custom probe to verify the availability of almost any part of your Web site such as a database.

You can easily configure a default or custom probe from the Server Probes page in the ColdFusion Administrator. To access this page, click Tools > System Probes.

The tabular form on the Server Probes page identifies the names and status of each probe configured in ColdFusion along with the name of the Web server that the probe is monitoring. The probe management controls let you suspend the operation of a configured probe and/or create, edit, and remove probe configurations.

The Server Probe Setup page lets you configure the settings required to set up a default or custom probe in ColdFusion. Use the Type drop-down list box to select the type of probe you want to configure. For more information about how to configure a default or custom probe in ColdFusion, click Help on the Server Probe Setup page.

Alarms

The Alarm Email Notification page in ColdFusion Administrator lets you set up alarm notifications in the event that one or more critical events fail in your Web site. You can choose to notify yourself or others when one of the following events occur: Web server failure, Web server busy, load balancing device is unreachable, or a system probe failed.

To access the Alarm Email Notification page in ColdFusion Administrator, click Tools > Alarms.

On the Alarms Email Notification page you can choose to set up alarm notifications for one or all events. To notify someone of an event, enter their e-mail address in the Notification Recipient field. To learn more about how to configure alarm notifications in ColdFusion, click Help on the Alarm Email Notification page.

Load Balancing Integration

The Load Balancing Integration page in the ColdFusion Administrator lets you configure ColdFusion with the Cisco Local Director. The Cisco Local Director is a network device with a secure, real-time, embedded operating system that intelligently load balances IP traffic across multiple servers. You can configure ColdFusion to provide availability and load information to the Local Director using the Cisco Dynamic Feedback Protocol (DFP). The Local Director then actively manages HTTP traffic across the servers based on the load information provided to it by ColdFusion.

To use Cisco Local Director with ColdFusion, you must configure the Cisco load balancing device on the Setting Up Load-Balancing Hardware page in the ColdFusion Administrator. To access this page in the ColdFusion Administrator, click Tools > Hardware Integration.

To configure ColdFusion to work with Cisco Local Director, you must specify the DNS name and IP address of the Local Director box and the DFP Port that the ColdFusion Server uses to communicate with the Local Director box. For more information about configuring Cisco Local Director with ColdFusion, click Help on the Setting Up Load Balancing Hardware page.

Archive and Deploy tools

The Archive and Deploy tools supplied with ColdFusion Server 5 Enterprise Edition let you archive and deploy Web site configuration information, files, and/or applications. Use these features to deploy your Web site applications to another location or to back up your files quickly and easily. Additionally, you can use these features to securely deploy and receive any ColdFusion archive file electronically.

The Archive and Deploy tools group in the ColdFusion Administrator includes the following features: Archive Settings, Create Archive, Deploy Archive, and Archive Security. A description of each of these features follows.

Archive Settings

The Archive Settings page in the ColdFusion Administrator lets you configure various archive system settings that apply to all archive and deploy operations. To access the Archive Settings page in ColdFusion Administrator, click Tools > Archive Settings.

The following table provides a brief description of the features presented on the Archive Settings and Variable Definition page:

Feature

Description

Archive working directory
The archive working directory text box lets you specify the directory where all archive and restore temporary files and log files are written.
By default the archive temporary files and log files are written to Cfusion\cfam\car\temp directory.

Save log files
The save log file controls let you specify when ColdFusion writes archive events to a log file.
ColdFusion, by default, logs events to the archive log file each time you create or restore an archive.

Controls for defining archive variables
The archive variable controls let you add, edit, and view archive variables in ColdFusion. Archive variables define locations that you commonly archive and restore on your system. The variable acts as an alias, saving you time from typing long paths to files you want to archive or restore.
The tabular form on the Archive Settings page identifies all the archive variables supplied with ColdFusion plus all the user-defined archive variables. You can click Add Variables to define new variables or click a variable name shown in the tabular form to edit the definition of an existing variable.
All variable definitions in the ColdFusion Administrator are defined and edited using the Variable Definition page. In the Variable Definition page you must provide a name for the variable definition and a full path to the file(s) that you often archive and restore.

Default settings
You can use the default settings provided on the Archive Settings page or change them as needed. Each time you make a change on the Archive Settings page, you need to apply that change by clicking Submit Changes.

Feature	Description
Archive working directory	The archive working directory text box lets you specify the directory where all archive and restore temporary files and log files are written. By default the archive temporary files and log files are written to Cfusion\cfam\car\temp directory.
Save log files	The save log file controls let you specify when ColdFusion writes archive events to a log file. ColdFusion, by default, logs events to the archive log file each time you create or restore an archive.
Controls for defining archive variables	The archive variable controls let you add, edit, and view archive variables in ColdFusion. Archive variables define locations that you commonly archive and restore on your system. The variable acts as an alias, saving you time from typing long paths to files you want to archive or restore. The tabular form on the Archive Settings page identifies all the archive variables supplied with ColdFusion plus all the user-defined archive variables. You can click Add Variables to define new variables or click a variable name shown in the tabular form to edit the definition of an existing variable. All variable definitions in the ColdFusion Administrator are defined and edited using the Variable Definition page. In the Variable Definition page you must provide a name for the variable definition and a full path to the file(s) that you often archive and restore.
Default settings	You can use the default settings provided on the Archive Settings page or change them as needed. Each time you make a change on the Archive Settings page, you need to apply that change by clicking Submit Changes.

To learn more about the archive settings and archive variables in ColdFusion, click Help.

Create Archive

The Create Archive page in ColdFusion Administrator lets you create and edit archive definitions and build archive files. To access the Create Archive page in ColdFusion, click Tools > Create Archive.

Use the controls on the Create ColdFusion Archive page to add, edit, and view archive definitions. The tabular form on the this page identifies all user-defined archive definitions in ColdFusion. You can click Create Archive Definition to define new archive definitions or click any definition name shown in the tabular form to view and edit the settings of an existing definition.

All archive definitions are defined and edited using the Archive Definition page. Use the navigation bar on the Archive Definition page to define the items you want to archive and restore. Each time you make a change in the Archive Definition page you must click Apply. You can remove items in the archive definition by clicking Delete.

After you create your archive definition, you can click Build Archive on the Create ColdFusion Archive page. The Build Archive control creates a compressed archive file (.car file extension) of your definition.

To learn more about creating archive files in ColdFusion, click Help on the Create ColdFusion Archive page or the Archive Definition page.

Note

After you build an archive file (car), you can deploy that archive file on your system or securely send it electronically to another system. For more information about how to deploy an archive file or securely send an archive file electronically, see the following sections in this chapter on Deploy Archive and Archive Security.

Deploy Archive

The Deploy Archive page in ColdFusion lets you to restore an existing archive file (car file) to either a location on your system or to a mapped network location.

To access the Deploy Archive page in ColdFusion Administrator, click Tools > Deploy Archive.

The archive file retrieval control lets you specify the retrieval method required to obtain the archive file (car file) you want to deploy. You can select one of three controls: local, http, or ftp. Use local when the archive file is on your system or on a mapped network drive. Use http if the archive file is posted on a Web site. Use ftp if the archive file is posted on an FTP site. Alternatively, if you specified local as the retrieval method you can click Browse Server to specify the archive file's location on your system. After you specified the retrieval method and location of the archive file you can then click Next on this page to specify the location to restore the file.

To learn more about how to deploy archive files in ColdFusion, click Help on the Archive Deploy page.

Archive Security

The Archive Security page lets you digitally sign and/or encrypt your ColdFusion archive files. With these features you can securely send and receive archive files electronically.

By signing an archive file, you notify the recipient of the archive file that the file actually came from you and has not been forged or tampered with. By encrypting an archive file, you can help protect the contents of the archive file from intruders.

After you sign or encrypt an archive file in ColdFusion, you can then securely exchange this file electronically by using any of the following transport methods:

E-mail program Use an e-mail program, such as Microsoft Outlook, to exchange secure archive files.
FTP site Exchange secure archive files by posting the secure file on an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) site.
Web site Exchange secure archive files by posting the secure file on an on a Web site.
Shared file system Exchange secure archive files by posting the secure file to a shared local or remote network location.

To sign or encrypt files in ColdFusion Administrator use the Archive Security page. To access this page, click Tools > Archive Security.

Click the names of the settings in the navigation bar to import a security certificate, sign an archive file, verify the signature of an archive file, encrypt an archive file, or decrypt an archive file.

Note

Certificates are required to digitally sign a ColdFusion archive file or to verify the signature of an archive file. You can obtain a certificate from a Certificate Authority such as VeriSign, Inc., or you can generate a certificate using the Key Tool utility provided with the Sun Microsystem JDK 1.3.

For details on how to import a certificate, sign an archive file, verify the signature of an archive file, or encrypt and decrypt an archive file, click Help on the Archive Security page in the ColdFusion Administrator.

Advanced ColdFusion Administration
Administrator Tools