CHARON Log Monitor and Dispatcher

General Description

The Log Monitor & Dispatcher is a special program which monitors a guest LOG file produced by CHARON and executes a customizable script when it detects removal of a license.

It runs in the background (as a program or as a service) and periodically scans a specified LOG file. When it detects a message with the code 0000002A or 00000351 ("Detected removal of a license") it submits the NOLICENSE.BAT procedure (this BAT file must be created manually).

The Log Monitor & Dispatcher service is installed as EmulatorLogMonitor. By default it is installed in such a way that requires explicit actions to be started (either through a command line interface or using the standard ways of service management). For unattended execution, change the service’s configuration so that Windows starts the service automatically.

The tool requires a specific file "NOLICENSE.BAT" containing some specific instructions to be taken in situation of license absence. It is recommended you create this file in the folder (presumably) containing the LOG file.

When it is invoked by the “Log Monitor & Dispatcher”, the current directory of the batch process is set to the same folder from which the “Log Monitor & Dispatcher” was previously installed as a service or from which it was started as a background process. This means that the user action file may, in principle, operate with relative paths and relocate (as part of the whole configuration, i.e. together with accompanying LOG file).

The user action file will not invoke interactive applications as it may run in an environment where interactive services do not work, for example: when “Log Monitor & Dispatcher” is installed as a service.

Starting in background mode

In order to start the Log Monitor & Dispatcher as a background application:

Open "cmd.exe" from the "Start" menu.
Change current directory to the folder (presumably) containing the CHARON configuration file.
Start the Log Monitor & Dispatcher using the following command line as an example:

For single log file:

...> “C:\Program Files\CHARON\Build_XXX\x64\logmond” C:\my_charon.log

For rotating log file:

...> “C:\Program Files\CHARON\Build_XXX\x64\logmond” -l <log-directory> -p <log-prefix>

where:

<log-directory> is the directory where the rotating log files are stored
<log-prefix> is the same as the "configuration_name" value in corresponding CHARON configuration file (or "hw_model", if "configuration_name" is not specified).

Example:

...> “C:\Program Files\CHARON\Build_XXX\x64\logmond” -l "C:\My CHARON logs" -p "MY_VAX"

To stop the Log Monitor & Dispatcher application, open the Task Manager, find the “logmond.exe” process and terminate it.

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Installing as a service

In order to install the Log Monitor & Dispatcher as a background application:

Open "cmd.exe" from the "Start" menu in "Run as Administrator" mode.
Install Log Monitor & Dispatcher service using the following command line as an example:

...> “C:\Program Files\CHARON\Build_XXX\x64\logmond” -r
...> “C:\Program Files\CHARON\Build_XXX\x64\logmond” -i

As result the "logmond" service has "Manual" service start type. Use Windows service management tools to change this mode to "Automatic" if it is required.

There will have one logmond father process that will scan the virtual machines services and one logmond process per log monitored.
The EmulatorLogMonitor service running the logmond processes will discover already installed CHARON virtual machines services. If a new virtual machine service is added, it's log file will be automatically discovered and monitored.
The nolicense.bat file has to be placed in the virtual machine "Home directory". This directory corresponds to the configuration file folder when the service is installed, however it will not change if the configuration file is relocated and the service is updated. To find this "Home directory", open the "CHARON Service Manager" utility, right click on the corresponding service and select "View configuration"

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Starting the Log Monitor and Dispatcher service

In order to start the Log Monitor & Dispatcher as a background application:

Open "cmd.exe" from the "Start" menu in "Run as Administrator" mode.
Start the Log Monitor & Dispatcher service using the following command line as an example:

...> “C:\Program Files\CHARON\Build_XXX\x64\logmond” -u

It is also possible to use Windows service management tools to start up the service.

As soon as "logmond" service is installed this way, and started, it monitors all CHARON instances (provided that these are installed as services).

It does NOT monitor emulator instances started from Launcher or manually from command line prompt, these cases can still be monitored with "logmond" invoked from command line prompt with name of the log file as an argument (see above).

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Stopping the Log Monitor and Dispatcher service

In order to stop the Log Monitor & Dispatcher as a background application:

Open "cmd.exe" from the "Start" menu in "Run as Administrator" mode.
Stop the Log Monitor & Dispatcher service using the following command line as an example

...> “C:\Program Files\CHARON\Build_XXX\x64\logmond” -d

It is also possible to use Windows service management tools to stop the service.

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Uninstalling the Log Monitor and Dispatcher service

In order to uninstall the Log Monitor & Dispatcher as a background application:

Open "cmd.exe" from the "Start" menu in "Run as Administrator" mode.
Uninstall the Log Monitor & Dispatcher service using the following command line as an example

...> “C:\Program Files\CHARON\Build_XXX\x64\logmond” -r

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Log Monitor and Dispatcher best practice

Refer to this article in the Appendixes for proper configuration of the "nolicense.bat" file to establish needed actions on the dongle removal.

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