An administrator configures the watchdog in the watchdog.xml file. The watchdog executes actions to check the watched applications and executes further actions depending on the check results. The watched applications, the actions and the mapping from actions to actions are described by XML elements. The mapping from actions to actions is defined by <Edge/> tags.

The general XML file structure is as follows:

<Watchdog> 
    <Component> 
      <AnActionElement/> 
      <Edge/> 
    </Component> 
    <Component> 
      <AnActionElement/> 
      <Edge/> 
    </Component> 
  </Watchdog> 

<AnActionElement> is a placeholder for one of several possible action elements. <Component>, <AnActionElement/> and <Edge/> can occur multiple times.

In the configuration file, applications are linked with actions. In Section 4.9.3.4, “Example Configuration of a Watchdog” you will find a description of a watchdog file.