Checking the system configuration with the Siebel Environment Verification Tool (EVT)
Now that copying the files that will later enable Siebel CRM functionality into the respective folders is complete, we are ready to set up and configure the system components that constitute the Siebel web architecture.
It is worthwhile to check our future Siebel server machines for full compatibility with the platform requirements as laid out in the document "System Requirements and Supported Platforms" for the version of Siebel CRM we are installing.
In order to provide support for this activity, the installer has placed a small utility named "Environment Verification Tool" (EVT) into the installation folders of the Siebel server software. EVT consists of a command line utility named evt.exe and an accompanying evt.ini file, which holds the configuration information for the program.
The purpose of EVT is to allow frequent checks of the operating system, its settings, and the configuration of Siebel software and third-party software on the various machines that the Siebel infrastructure consists of.
- Version and parameterization of the database server and client software
- Version and environment settings of the operating system and its networking subsystems
- Version and configuration of the web server
- Configuration of the Siebel Gateway Name Server
- Configuration of Siebel Servers and their components
- Configuration of the Siebel Web Server Extension
The evt.ini file comes preconfigured for the most critical checks. It can be modified by an administrator to instruct the evt executable to carry out additional checks.
The Environment Verification Tool can be run from any point in time once at least one component of the Siebel Enterprise Server has been installed. In order to execute EVT with the preconfigured evt.ini, we navigate to the BIN subdirectory of the Siebel software component. In our example, we run the evt.exe from the Siebel Server's siebsrvr\BIN directory. We open a Windows command prompt, navigate to the BIN folder, and enter evt. The following screenshot shows the result of running the evt command on the Windows command line without any additional parameters:
The EVT has executed seven checks defined in the evt.ini for Microsoft Windows operating systems. Two of these checks have been passed, four have resulted in critical failures, and one check has been skipped.
The output on the Windows command line contains information about the critical failures as well as the passed checks. EVT also recommends settings to overcome the critical failures and warnings.
EVT supports a variety of command line arguments that can be listed by entering the following command at the command line:
evt –help
The following table lists the available parameters for EVT and their descriptions:
One example for a useful command line argument is the following:
evt –o HTMLFILE
The –o HTMLFILE argument directs the evt executable to write the information to an HTML file. The file is created in the current directory and the filename is generated automatically using a timestamp to ensure uniqueness of the name.
The following screenshot shows the html file opened in a browser. The same information as on the command line is conveyed. Color coding, formatting, and the ability to automatically generate these files using scheduling tools provide much more flexibility than the command line option.
In conclusion, we should run EVT at least once with the preconfigured evt.ini before we configure the Siebel server components. We should correct all errors that EVT points out in order to properly prepare the Siebel environment. EVT should also be run on a regular basis in order to proactively monitor for changes that might affect the performance or even functionality of the Siebel server software.
Note
On your demonstration machine, open a command prompt, navigate to the BIN subdirectory of the Siebel Server installation folder, and use the EVT as described in this chapter to verify your system is ready for operating Siebel CRM applications.