IBM Systems
IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
Version 6.3
IBM Systems
IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
Version 6.3
Note
Before using this information and the product it supports, read the information in “Notices” on
page 697.
© Copyright IBM Corporation 1999, 2013.
US Government Users Restricted Rights – Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contract
with IBM Corp.
Contents
About this publication . . . . . . . . ix
Conventions and terminology . . . . . . .
Publications and related information . . . . .
Web resources. . . . . . . . . . . . .
How to send your comments . . . . . . . .
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Terminology changes . . . . . . . . xv
Chapter 1. Overview of IBM Systems
Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Accessibility . . . . . . . . . .
License information . . . . . . . .
IBM Systems Director technical overview .
IBM Systems Director components . .
Manageable resource types . . . .
Manageable systems and system types
User interfaces . . . . . . . .
Base function and extensible plug-ins.
Upward integration. . . . . . .
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Chapter 2. Using the IBM Systems
Director Web interface . . . . . . . . 21
Logging into IBM Systems Director Server . . .
Logging out of IBM Systems Director Server . .
Enabling multisession support . . . . . . .
Navigating the Web interface . . . . . . .
The Web interface . . . . . . . . . .
Customizing the Web interface . . . . . .
Managing and closing open pages in the Web
interface . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Viewing help in the Web interface . . . . .
The Welcome banner area . . . . . . . .
Navigating IBM Systems Director by way of the
Home page . . . . . . . . . . . . .
IBM Systems Director Home page . . . . .
System severity states . . . . . . . . .
Starting work in IBM Systems Director . . .
Learning about the product . . . . . . .
Checking IBM Systems Director readiness . .
Viewing updates. . . . . . . . . . .
Viewing tutorials . . . . . . . . . .
Viewing the IBM Systems Director Server
summary . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Finding and navigating resources . . . . . .
Resource views . . . . . . . . . . .
Finding systems and other resources . . . .
Viewing resources in the topology perspective.
Working with tables . . . . . . . . .
Working with topology maps . . . . . .
Working with properties . . . . . . . .
Setting navigation preferences . . . . . .
Renaming a resource . . . . . . . . .
Removing a resource . . . . . . . . .
Managing groups . . . . . . . . . . .
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Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating a criteria-based dynamic group. . .
Creating a static group . . . . . . . .
Editing a group . . . . . . . . . . .
Deleting a group . . . . . . . . . .
Adding a resource to an existing group . . .
Exporting a group . . . . . . . . . .
Importing a group. . . . . . . . . .
Finding and starting tasks . . . . . . . .
Finding a task . . . . . . . . . . .
Starting tasks . . . . . . . . . . .
Launched tasks . . . . . . . . . . .
Using External Application Launch . . . .
Using Advanced External Application Launch
Scheduling tasks . . . . . . . . . . .
Noninteractive tasks . . . . . . . . .
Jobs and job instances . . . . . . . .
Scheduling a task . . . . . . . . . .
Scheduling a task from a selected system . .
Viewing active and scheduled job information
Viewing information about scheduled jobs .
Determining target systems that are affected by
a job . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Viewing job-instance records . . . . . .
Viewing job-instance logs . . . . . . .
Copying a scheduled job . . . . . . .
Editing a scheduled job . . . . . . . .
Running a scheduled job immediately . . .
Suspending and resuming a scheduled job .
Canceling a running job . . . . . . . .
Deleting a job . . . . . . . . . . .
Encrypting interprocess communication . . .
Encryption . . . . . . . . . . . .
Enabling encryption . . . . . . . . .
Disabling encryption . . . . . . . . .
Changing the encryption algorithm . . . .
Resending the encryption key to systems . .
Creating a new encryption key . . . . .
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Chapter 3. Discovering systems and
collecting inventory data . . . . . . 159
Discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
System discovery . . . . . . . . . . .
Discovery protocols . . . . . . . . . .
Choosing which discovery method to use . . . .
Viewing the discovery manager summary . . . .
Renaming discovered systems automatically . . .
Discovering systems with system discovery . . .
Performing a system discovery . . . . . .
Discovering systems that use a mirrored image
Managing systems that have duplicate SSH keys
Discovering IMMs for managing and updating
physical servers . . . . . . . . . . .
Discovering VIOS servers managed by an HMC
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Discovering the operating systems that have
vCenter installation . . . . . . . . . .
Viewing system discovery results. . . . . .
Managing discovery profiles . . . . . . . .
Creating a discovery profile . . . . . . .
Editing, copying, and deleting discovery profiles
Permanently excluding IP addresses from
discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Collecting and viewing inventory data . . . . .
Inventory data and collection profiles . . . .
Creating an inventory collection profile. . . .
Managing inventory collection profiles . . . .
Collecting inventory . . . . . . . . . .
Comparing fixes installed on IBM i systems . .
Viewing inventory. . . . . . . . . . .
Inventory collection metadata file (twguser.ini)
Exporting inventory data . . . . . . . .
Connecting to IT Registry and Context Menu
Service databases . . . . . . . . . . . .
External connections with IT Registry and
Context Menu Service databases . . . . . .
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Chapter 4. Configuring systems . . . 203
Configuration settings . . . . . . . . . .
Configuration templates . . . . . . . . . .
Predefined configuration template . . . . .
Configuration plans . . . . . . . . . . .
The Automatically deploy feature . . . . .
Predefined configuration plans . . . . . .
Configuration-setting license entitlement . . . .
Monitoring the deployment of configuration plans
and configuration templates . . . . . . . .
Managing system configuration . . . . . . .
Viewing configuration settings . . . . . .
Editing configuration settings . . . . . . .
Saving configuration settings as configuration
templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Saving configuration settings to a configuration
plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Backing up configuration settings for a device
Restoring configuration settings for a device . .
Managing configuration templates . . . . . .
Creating configuration templates . . . . . .
Creating a configuration template from an
existing one . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Viewing configuration templates . . . . . .
Editing configuration templates . . . . . .
Adding configuration templates to a
configuration plan . . . . . . . . . . .
Deploying configuration templates . . . . .
Viewing deployed targets . . . . . . . .
Exporting a configuration template . . . . .
Importing a configuration template . . . . .
Deleting configuration templates . . . . . .
Managing configuration plans . . . . . . . .
Creating configuration plans . . . . . . .
Creating a configuration plan from an existing
one . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deploying configuration plans. . . . . . .
Viewing configuration plans . . . . . . .
Viewing deployment history . . . . . . .
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Editing configuration plans. .
Exporting a configuration plan
Importing a configuration plan
Deleting configuration plans .
Managing activation keys by using
Activation Manager . . . . .
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Chapter 5. Monitoring system status
and health. . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
System status and health . . . . . . . . .
Viewing the status manager summary . . . . .
Viewing the performance summary . . . . . .
Using the Health Summary task to view the status
of your environment . . . . . . . . . . .
Scoreboard . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Health summary . . . . . . . . . . .
Using the scoreboard to identify issues . . . .
Adding a graphical monitor to the dashboard
Removing a graphical monitor from the
dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adding systems to the health summary . . .
Removing a group from the health summary
Using Resource Explorer to view the status of a
specific resource . . . . . . . . . . . .
Scenarios: Using custom monitor views, thresholds,
and event automation plans . . . . . . . .
Scenario: Using a custom monitor view in an
event automation plan to report disk data by
using drive letter names . . . . . . . . .
Scenario: Using a custom monitor view in an
event automation plan to report cluster drive
data using drive letter names . . . . . . .
Monitors and thresholds. . . . . . . . . .
Monitor views . . . . . . . . . . . . .
AIX Monitors view . . . . . . . . . .
All Monitors view . . . . . . . . . . .
Column Management Monitors view . . . .
Common CIM Monitors view . . . . . . .
Common Monitors view. . . . . . . . .
SNMP Monitors view . . . . . . . . .
IBM i Monitors view . . . . . . . . . .
VIOS Monitors view . . . . . . . . . .
Managing monitors . . . . . . . . . . .
Viewing a monitor . . . . . . . . . .
Creating a monitor view. . . . . . . . .
Editing a monitor view . . . . . . . . .
Deleting a monitor view. . . . . . . . .
Graphing a monitor . . . . . . . . . .
Managing thresholds . . . . . . . . . . .
Viewing a threshold . . . . . . . . . .
Creating a threshold . . . . . . . . . .
Editing a threshold . . . . . . . . . .
Activating a threshold . . . . . . . . .
Deactivating a threshold. . . . . . . . .
Deleting a threshold . . . . . . . . . .
Managing status set entries . . . . . . . . .
Viewing a specific status set entry . . . . .
Viewing status set entries for a specific resource
Viewing status set entries for a group of
resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Activating a status set entry . . . . .
Deactivating a status set entry . . . . .
Deleting a status set entry . . . . . .
Deleting a Power Systems status set entry .
Managing the event log . . . . . . . .
Changing backup event log preferences .
Changing event log preferences . . . .
Creating an event filter from an event . .
Deleting an event . . . . . . . . .
Replying to an IBM i inquiry message event
Viewing events . . . . . . . . . .
Viewing SNMP device attributes . . . . .
Managing MIB files . . . . . . . . .
Compiling a MIB file . . . . . . . .
Loading MIB files into memory . . . .
Managing process monitors . . . . . .
Viewing process monitors . . . . . .
Creating and configuring a process monitor
Removing process monitors . . . . .
Recording resource-monitor statistics . . .
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mkresmonrec . . . . . . . . . .
rmresmonrec . . . . . . . . . .
stopresmonrec . . . . . . . . . .
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Chapter 6. Automating tasks . . . . . 287
Events, filters, and actions in event automation
plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Event filters . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Event actions . . . . . . . . . . . .
Monitoring operating-system specific events . .
Mapping SNMP traps to Systems Director events
Viewing the automation manager summary . . .
Managing event automation plans . . . . . .
Copying an event automation plan . . . . .
Creating an event automation plan . . . . .
Deactivating and activating an event automation
plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deleting an event automation plan . . . . .
Editing an event automation plan . . . . .
Suspending and resuming event automation
plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Viewing event automation plans associated with
a resource . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Viewing event automation plan properties. . .
Managing event actions . . . . . . . . . .
Creating an event action. . . . . . . . .
Editing an event action . . . . . . . . .
Copying an event action. . . . . . . . .
Testing an event action . . . . . . . . .
Deleting an event action . . . . . . . . .
Saving and not saving an event-action history
Viewing an event-action history . . . . . .
Refreshing entries in an event-action history log
Deleting entries from an event-action history log
Viewing event action properties . . . . . .
Event-data-substitution variables . . . . . .
Managing event filters . . . . . . . . . .
Creating, editing, or copying an event filter . .
Editing an event filter . . . . . . . . .
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Copying an event filter . . . . . . . .
Viewing event filter properties . . . . .
Viewing predefined filter criteria . . . . .
Deleting an event filter . . . . . . . .
Exporting and importing event automation plans,
event filters, and event actions . . . . . .
Migrating and importing event automation data
from a previous version . . . . . . . . .
Using command automation . . . . . . .
Creating or editing a command definition . .
Running a command definition . . . . .
Restricting anonymous command execution .
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Planning to update systems . . . . . . . .
Supported update tasks . . . . . . . . .
Supported updates and systems . . . . . .
Version considerations for updating IBM
Director and IBM Systems Director . . . . .
Update considerations for specific operating
systems and platforms . . . . . . . . .
Determining the installed IBM Systems Director
version . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Starting to monitor and update systems . . . .
Configuring update manager . . . . . . . .
Updating IBM Systems Director . . . . . . .
Updating without an Internet connection . . .
Acquiring and installing updates . . . . . . .
Acquiring and installing updates with the IBM
Systems Director Web interface . . . . . .
Acquiring and installing updates with the
installneeded command . . . . . . . .
Keeping systems in compliance . . . . . . .
Compliance policies . . . . . . . . . .
Adding updates to a compliance policy . . .
Create and configure compliance policies . . .
Identifying systems that are out of compliance
Resolving compliance issues . . . . . . .
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Chapter 8. Remotely accessing
systems and resources . . . . . . . 405
Remote access facilities . . . . . . . . .
Distributed Command . . . . . . . .
File management . . . . . . . . . .
Launch Web browser . . . . . . . . .
Remote Command Line . . . . . . . .
Remote control tasks . . . . . . . . .
Remote Xen Console . . . . . . . . .
Serial Console . . . . . . . . . . .
Running remote access functions . . . . . .
Using the Distributed Shell . . . . . . .
Managing files on a remote system . . . .
Establishing command-line access to a remote
system . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Launching a Web browser . . . . . . .
Configuring Microsoft Windows Remote
Desktop Connection . . . . . . . . .
Establishing Remote Desktop Connection . .
Establishing Virtual Network Computing
communications . . . . . . . . . .
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Contents
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Establishing IBM BladeCenter or RSA
communication . . . . . . . . . . .
Launching the Hyper-V Virtual Machine
Connection Tool . . . . . . . . . .
Launching a VMware ESX or ESXi hypervisor
virtual machine connection . . . . . . .
Establishing a remote Xen console session . .
Accessing POWER managed systems or
x86-based systems by using the serial console
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Chapter 9. Managing agents . . . . . 421
Common agent services . . . . . . . . .
Resource manager . . . . . . . . . .
Agent manager . . . . . . . . . . .
Common agent . . . . . . . . . . .
Logging Platform Agent . . . . . . . . .
Importing agent packages . . . . . . . .
Installing agents using the Agent Installation
Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Restarting agents . . . . . . . . . . .
Restarting Common Agent . . . . . . .
Restarting Platform Agent . . . . . . .
Setting the agent manager for IBM Systems
Director Server . . . . . . . . . . . .
Viewing the agent manager properties . . .
Adding a new agent manager . . . . . .
Setting the active agent manager . . . . .
Deleting an agent manager . . . . . . .
Using a remote agent manager with IBM
Systems Director . . . . . . . . . .
Managing the agent manager used by a
Common Agent . . . . . . . . . .
Securing Common Agent managed systems . .
Changing the agent registration password . .
Migrating common agents to a different agent
manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Binding Platform Agent to specific IP addresses
Changing the Common Agent IP address . . .
Critical services for monitoring Platform Agent
hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Configuring Platform Agent for SELinux policies
Disabling IBM Systems Director agents . . . .
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Chapter 10. Managing IBM
BladeCenter, IBM Flex System
Manager compute nodes and System
x systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453
Service processor communication. . . . . . .
In-band communication requirements . . . .
Out-of-band communication requirements . . .
Out-of-band communication and the standard
TCP Command Mode protocol . . . . . .
Out-of-band communication and the secure TCP
Command Mode protocol . . . . . . . .
Out-of-band communication and the standard
CIM protocol . . . . . . . . . . . .
Out-of-band alert-forwarding strategies. . . .
Out-of-band event monitoring in a redundant
environment. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Service processors and resource types . . . .
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Viewing the management summary . . . . . .
Downloading and activating I/O module plug-ins
Configuring integrated management modules . .
Integrated management module task support
and features . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Configuring dynamic UEFI settings . . . . .
Changing the integrated management module
IP address by way of the server resource . . .
Changing the network port on an integrated
management module . . . . . . . . . .
Configuring integrated management module
security . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Configuring the Try DHCP setting for integrated
management module . . . . . . . . . .
Enabling Secure Sockets Layer after discovery
Enabling Secure Sockets Layer before discovery
Discovering scalable systems that have multiple
nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Discovering a scalable BladeCenter system with
multiple nodes . . . . . . . . . . . .
Discovering a scalable System x system . . .
Changing the password for the Remote Supervisor
Adapter or management module . . . . . . .
Enabling hardware events . . . . . . . . .
Managing power state settings on IBM BladeCenter
and System x servers . . . . . . . . . . .
Power On/Off task support using out-of-band
communication . . . . . . . . . . . .
Power On/Off task support using Wake on
LAN technology on System x . . . . . . .
Power On/Off task support by way of the
operating system on System x and blade servers
Changing the power state on System x and IBM
BladeCenter hardware . . . . . . . . .
Enabling collection of SNMP-based inventory by
way of management modules . . . . . . . .
Hardware-log information using out-of-band and
in-band communication . . . . . . . . . .
Viewing hardware-log information . . . . .
Refreshing hardware-log information . . . .
Clearing the hardware-log information . . . .
Providing hardware-log information. . . . .
Using locator LED settings on IBM Flex System
Managercompute nodes, IBM BladeCenter, and
System x servers . . . . . . . . . . . .
Locator LEDs and out-of-band and in-band
communication . . . . . . . . . . . .
Identifying hardware with the locator LED . .
Solving hardware problems by using
light-path-diagnostic LEDs . . . . . . . . .
Light-path-diagnostic LED information . . . .
Changing the resource for viewing
light-path-diagnostics LED information . . . .
Turning Off the Check Log LED . . . . . .
Viewing light-path-diagnostics status . . . .
Viewing detailed light-path-diagnostics
information . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Configuring templates . . . . . . . . . .
Password security levels for IBM BladeCenter
management modules and System x service
processors . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Configuring the boot sequence for a blade
server in an IBM BladeCenter chassis . . .
Configuring an IBM BladeCenter management
module . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Configuring network resources for IBM
BladeCenter blade servers . . . . . . .
Configuring SNMP agent community
information . . . . . . . . . . . .
Configuring the IP address pool for IBM
BladeCenter systems and System x servers .
Configuring System x service processors . .
Configuring switch protocol information . .
Configuring switch virtual LAN information
Configuring users and passwords for an IBM
BladeCenter chassis . . . . . . . . .
Managing network-configuration information
Managing system-account information . . .
Setting asset information . . . . . . .
Managing activation keys by using Feature
Activation Manager . . . . . . . . . .
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Chapter 11. Managing IBM Power
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537
New terms for Power Systems users in IBM
Systems Director . . . . . . . . . . . .
Managing Power Systems running AIX . . . . .
Managing Power Systems running IBM i . . . .
Managing systems controlled by HMC and IVM
Viewing the Power Systems Management summary
Monitoring for IBM i message queue events . . .
Managing power state settings on IBM Power
systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Changing the power state on IBM Power
systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Managing storage using shared storage pools . .
Shared storage pools . . . . . . . . . .
Requirements for creating and managing shared
storage pools with IBM Systems Director . . .
Installing the shared storage pool VIOS
subagent . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating a shared storage pool . . . . . .
Viewing the shared storage pool dashboard . .
Viewing the storage pool dashboard. . . . .
Adding physical volumes to a storage pool . .
Replacing physical volumes in a shared storage
pool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Editing a storage pool threshold . . . . . .
Adding VIOS virtual servers to a shared storage
pool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Removing VIOS virtual servers from a shared
storage pool . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deleting a shared storage pool . . . . . .
Removing the shared storage pool VIOS
subagent . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
537
538
539
540
541
542
544
545
545
545
548
549
549
551
551
551
552
554
554
555
556
556
Chapter 12. Managing IBM System z
systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 557
System z virtualization . . . . . . . .
Basics about the z/VM operating system . .
z/VM manageability access point and agent .
.
.
.
. 557
. 557
. 561
Viewing the System z Management summary page
Discovering systems and collecting inventory data
for System z . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Managing power state settings for Linux on
System z servers . . . . . . . . . . . .
Power On/Off task support by way of the
operating system on System z servers . . . .
Changing the power state on System z servers
561
562
563
563
564
Chapter 13. Managing and configuring
storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565
Planning for storage management . . . . . .
Storage management in real time and using
configuration templates . . . . . . . . . .
Managing SMI-S providers . . . . . . . . .
SMI-S providers for IBM Systems Director. . .
Installing SMI-S Providers . . . . . . . .
Configuring SMI-S providers . . . . . . .
Discovering and collecting inventory for storage
devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Running Discovery and unlocking storage
devices using SMI-S providers. . . . . . .
Running Direct Connection discovery and
unlocking storage devices using SMI-S
providers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Running System Discovery for multiple SMI-S
providers using multicast and broadcast . . .
Collecting inventory for devices managed by
IBM Tivoli Storage Productivity Center . . . .
Working with external storage applications . . .
Installing and configuring external storage
applications . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Launching an external storage management
application . . . . . . . . . . . . .
IBM Systems Director Storage Control 4.2.4 . .
Viewing storage devices . . . . . . . . . .
Storage Management Summary . . . . . .
Viewing storage systems using storage groups
Displaying attached storage for a given system
Viewing storage volumes . . . . . . . .
Viewing the health and status of storage devices
Storage topology perspective . . . . . . .
Managing storage in real-time . . . . . . . .
Managing IBM BladeCenter and System x
storage devices . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adding IBM BladeCenter Integrated Storage
devices to a server. . . . . . . . . . .
Provisioning storage from an existing storage
subsystem . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Managing storage volumes in real time. . . .
Configuring iSCSI components in real time . .
Configuring IBM BladeCenter SAS zone
connectivity in real time . . . . . . . . .
Managing storage with configuration templates
Viewing storage configuration templates . . .
Changing storage configuration templates . . .
Creating a configuration template for a storage
volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Managing IBM BladeCenter SAN configuration
mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Contents
565
566
566
567
571
576
579
579
580
582
583
584
584
588
590
592
592
594
595
595
596
597
598
598
602
603
604
608
613
615
615
616
616
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vii
Configuring iSCSI components using
configuration template . . . . . .
Managing IBM BladeCenter SAS zone
configuration . . . . . . . . .
.
.
. 621
.
.
. 626
Chapter 14. Managing virtual
environments . . . . . . . . . . . 631
Chapter 15. Security . . . . . . . . 633
Authenticating users to IBM Systems Director . .
User authentication . . . . . . . . . .
Users and user groups in IBM Systems Director
Authenticating IBM Systems Director users
stored in the local operating system . . . . .
Authenticating IBM Systems Director users
stored in the Microsoft Active Directory domain.
Authenticating IBM Systems Director users
stored in LDAP. . . . . . . . . . . .
Editing user properties . . . . . . . . .
Authorizing users to IBM Systems Director . . .
User authorization. . . . . . . . . . .
Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Permissions and roles required to run smcli
commands . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Authorizing users to manage resources . . . .
Assigning a role to a user or user group . . .
Copying a role to another user . . . . . .
Creating a role . . . . . . . . . . . .
Removing a role from a user . . . . . . .
Removing a role from a group. . . . . . .
Managing roles . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ending the session for another user . . . . .
Changing the time interval between consecutive
resynchronize calls . . . . . . . . . .
Managing user groups in IBM Systems Director
Managing credentials in IBM Systems Director . .
viii
IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
634
634
635
637
638
639
651
651
652
652
654
658
659
660
660
661
662
662
664
Managing shared credentials . . . . . . .
Managing mappings . . . . . . . . . .
Configuring the authentication registry . . . .
Managing targeted credentials . . . . . . .
Managing access . . . . . . . . . . . .
Accessing a secured system with request access
Accessing a secured system with configure
access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Configuring access to CIM using X509
certificates . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Revoking access to a secured system . . . .
Managing access to agentless managed systems
Accessing a managed system with configure
system credentials . . . . . . . . . . .
Configuring access to agentless managed
systems using sudo utility and key-pair
authentication . . . . . . . . . . . .
Managing auditing . . . . . . . . . . .
Audit records . . . . . . . . . . . .
Setting server-auditing preferences . . . . .
Viewing the audit log . . . . . . . . .
Deleting the audit log . . . . . . . . .
Communication protocols and supported
encryption algorithms . . . . . . . . . .
683
684
685
685
685
686
687
687
689
690
690
691
Appendix. Accessibility features for
IBM Systems Director . . . . . . . . 693
Accessibility options in IBM Systems Director . . 693
Keyboard navigation in IBM Systems Director . . 694
Using a screen reader with IBM Systems Director
695
Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697
Trademarks .
664
664
666
667
672
675
676
681
681
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
. 699
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . 701
About this publication
This publication provides instructions for using IBM® Systems Director for
systems-management tasks. IBM Systems Director consists of the following tools to
meet your systems-management needs:
v IBM Systems Director Web interface is the graphical user interface (GUI) for IBM
Systems Director Server. Using IBM Systems Director Web interface, you can
conduct comprehensive systems management using either a drop-and-drag
action or a single click.
v IBM Systems Director command-line interface (dircli) is the command-line
interface for IBM Systems Director Server. You can use a command-line prompt
to access, control, and gather information from IBM Systems Director Server.
This documentation also provides planning and implementation information for
event management.
Conventions and terminology
These notices are designed to highlight key information:
Note: These notices provide important tips, guidance, or advice.
Important: These notices provide information or advice that might help you avoid
inconvenient or difficult situations.
Attention: These notices indicate possible damage to programs, devices, or data.
An attention notice appears before the instruction or situation in which damage
can occur.
Publications and related information
You can view the same content in the IBM Systems Director Information Center as
PDF documents. To view a PDF file, you need Adobe Acrobat Reader, which can
be downloaded for free from the Adobe Web site at http://get.adobe.com/reader/.
Information centers and topic collections
v IBM Systems
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/eserver/
View the IBM Systems information center landing page, which provides
integrated information for multiple IBM Systems products.
v IBM Systems Director
publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/director/pubs/index.jsp
Updated periodically, the IBM Systems Director topic collection contains the
most up-to-date documentation available for IBM Systems Director.
v IBM Systems Director plug-ins
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/director/pubs/topic/extensions/
extensionparent.html
View the IBM Systems information center for information about how to install
and use plug-ins that extend the functionality of IBM Systems Director.
© Copyright IBM Corp. 1999, 2013
ix
v IBM Systems Director Upward Integration Modules (UIMs)
publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/systems/topic/uims/fqs0_main.html
Read the IBM Systems Director Upward Integration Modules (UIM) topic
collection to learn about how to install and use upward integration modules and
management packs that enable non-IBM workgroup and enterprise-management
products to interpret and display data that is provided by Common Agent and
Platform Agent.
v IBM Systems Director API Licensing
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/director/devsdk/index.jsp
View the license information regarding use of IBM Systems Director APIs and
their associated documentation. Fill out the form to request API access. After
your information is reviewed, you will be contacted with additional information
regarding access to and use of the APIs.
Publications
Release Notes® 6.3.3
Provides an easy reference to planning, install and troubleshooting
information for IBM Systems Director
IBM Systems Director Planning Guide
Provides planning information, including hardware requirements for
running IBM Systems Director components, supported IBM Systems
Director hardware, operating systems, databases, and workgroup and
enterprise systems-management software.
PDF files for installing IBM Systems Director Server
Provides detailed instructions to prepare for, install, and configure the IBM
Systems Director Server.
PDF files for installing IBM Systems Director agents
Provides detailed instructions to prepare for and install IBM Systems
Director agents on your managed systems, as well as, prepare for agentless
managed systems.
PDF files for upgrading and migrating IBM Systems Director Server
Provides detailed instructions to upgrade and migrate the IBM Systems
Director Server.
PDF files for upgrading and migrating IBM Systems Director agents
Provides detailed instructions to upgrade and migrate IBM Systems
Director agents.
IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
Provides detailed instructions for using the Web interface and managing
systems and resources in your environment.
IBM Systems Director Troubleshooting Guide
Provides information about problems and how to solve them, and
strategies for troubleshooting common problems.
IBM Systems Director Events Reference
Provides information about IBM Systems Director events, including the
event type, description, severity, and extended details.
IBM Systems Director Commands Reference
Provides detailed information about the systems management
command-line interface (smcli) commands, and other commands that can
be run directly from the command line, including configuring the database,
and starting and stopping IBM Systems Director.
x
IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
White papers and briefs
v IBM Systems Director
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/common/ssi/sa/wh/n/xbw03006usen/
XBW03006USEN.PDF
This paper provides a detailed overview of the changes in IBM Systems Director
V6.1, including the new Web interface, security features, operating system
agents, integrated plug-ins and additional plug-ins that can be separately
installed.
v Value Proposition for IBM Systems Director
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/common/ssi/sa/wh/n/xbw03007usen/
XBW03007USEN.PDF
This paper describes the challenges of operational management for enterprise
server installations and the value provided IBM Systems Director.
v Performance Tuning and Scaling Guide for IBM Systems Director 6.3
Hardware requirements for running IBM Systems Director Server
Provides information about how to plan, implement, configure, and use an IBM
Systems Director Server to manage a large configuration with optimal
performance. The Performance Tuning and Scaling Guide also contains
information about the following topics:
– Running IBM Systems Director plug-ins, such as IBM Systems Director Active
Energy Manager® and IBM Scalable Systems Manager
– Integration with Tivoli® products
– Implementing high availability
IBM Redbooks® publications
www.ibm.com/redbooks/
You can also search this Web page for documents that focus on IBM Systems
Director and specific IBM hardware; such documents often contain
systems-management material. The following book is available for IBM Systems
Director V6.1:
Implementing IBM Systems Director 6.1
Tip: Be sure to note the date of publication and to determine the version of IBM
Systems Director software to which the Redbooks publication refers.
Further information
See Searching knowledge bases for more resources for further information about
IBM Systems Director.
Web resources
Listed here are the websites and information center topics that relate to IBM
Systems Director.
Websites
v IBM Systems Director
www.ibm.com/systems/management/director/
About this publication
xi
View the IBM Systems Director website on ibm.com® which provides links to
downloads and documentation for all currently supported versions of IBM
Systems Director.
v IBM Systems Director Downloads
www.ibm.com/systems/management/director/downloads/
View the IBM Systems Director Downloads website on ibm.com which provides
links to download code IBM Systems Director, IBM Systems Director plug-ins,
and IBM Systems Director upward integration modules.
v IBM Systems Director Documentation and Resources
www.ibm.com/systems/management/director/resources/
View the IBM Systems Director Documentation and Resources website on
ibm.com which provides links to product documentation, Redbooks, redpapers,
white papers, and learning modules that are related to IBM Systems Director,
IBM Systems Director plug-ins, and IBM Systems Director upward integration
modules.
v IBM Systems Director Upward Integration
www.ibm.com/systems/software/director/downloads/integration.html
View the IBM Systems Director Upward Integration website on ibm.com which
provides more information about IBM Systems Director upward integration
modules that are created by IBM and other companies. IBM Systems Director
UIMs enable third-party workgroup and enterprise systems-management
products to interpret and display data that is provided by IBM Systems Director
Platform Agent managed system.
v IBM Systems Director Best Practices Wiki
https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/mydeveloperworks/wikis/
home?lang=en#/wiki/W3e8d1c956c32_416f_a604_4633cd375569/page/Best
%20Practices
View updated documentation and best practices for IBM Systems Director on
various systems.
v IBM Servers
www.ibm.com/servers/
View the IBM Servers website to learn about IBM Systems server and storage
products.
v IBM ServerProven®
www.ibm.com/servers/eserver/serverproven/compat/us/
View the IBM ServerProven website to learn about hardware compatibility of
IBM System x® and BladeCenter® systems with IBM applications and
middleware, including IBM Systems Director.
Forums
v IBM Systems Director Forum (System x, System z®, Power Systems™)
www.ibm.com/developerworks/forums/forum.jspa?forumID=759
View the IBM Systems Director Forum website on ibm.com to discuss
product-related issues that pertain to IBM Systems Director, IBM Systems
Director UIMs, and IBM Systems Director extensions. This website includes a
link for obtaining the forum by using a Rich Site Summary (RSS) feed.
v IBM Systems Director 6.x SDK Forum
www.ibm.com/developerworks/forums/forum.jspa?forumID=1852&start=0
xii
IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
View the IBM Systems Director 6.x SDK Forum website to discuss issues that
pertain to the IBM Systems Director Software Development Kit (SDK). This
website includes a link for obtaining the forum by using a Rich Site Summary
(RSS) feed.
v IBM Systems Forums
www.ibm.com/developerworks/forums/dw_esforums.jsp
View the IBM Systems Forums website on ibm.com to learn about various
forums that are available to discuss technology-related and product-related
issues that pertain to IBM Systems hardware and software products. This
website includes a link for obtaining the forum by using a Rich Site Summary
(RSS) feed.
How to send your comments
Your feedback is important in helping to provide the most accurate and highest
quality information.
If you have any comments about this book or any other IBM Systems Director
publication, go to the IBM Systems Director information center Web site at
publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/director/pubs/index.jsp. There you will find
the feedback page where you can enter and submit comments.
About this publication
xiii
xiv
IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
Terminology changes
Several terms changed between IBM Director v5.x and IBM Systems Director v6.x.
Deprecated terms
New terms
Description
IBM Director Agent
Common Agent
Common Agent provides a rich set of
security, deployment, and management
function. The function available for
Common-Agent managed systems varies
based on operating system and hardware,
and includes the following tasks: discover
systems; collect comprehensive platform
and operating system inventory data;
monitor health and status; manage alerts;
remotely deploy and install Common
Agent; perform remote access, including
transferring files; perform power
management function; more event support;
monitor processes and resources, and set
critical thresholds that send notifications
when triggered; manage operating system
resources and processes.
IBM Director Core
Services
Platform Agent
Platform Agent provides a lighter footprint
and fewer management functions than the
Common Agent. The function available for
Platform-Agent managed systems is limited
to the following tasks, and varies based on
operating system and hardware: discover
systems, collect limited platform inventory
data, monitor health and status, manage
alerts, remotely deploy and install Common
Agent, perform limited remote access, and
perform limited restart capabilities.
Level-2 managed
object
Common Agent
managed system
A system on which Common Agent is
installed
Level-1 managed
object
Platform Agent
managed system
A system on which Platform Agent is
installed
Level-0 managed
object
Agentless managed
system
A system that does not have an agent that is
installed but can be discovered by IBM
Systems Director using Secure Shell (SSH),
Distributed Component Object Model
(DCOM), or Simple Network Management
Protocol (SNMP).
The function available to
Agentless-managed systems is limited to the
following tasks, and varies based on
operating system and hardware: discover
systems, collect limited operating-system
inventory data, remotely deploy, and install
Common Agent and Platform Agent,
perform limited remote access, and perform
limited restart capabilities
© Copyright IBM Corp. 1999, 2013
xv
xvi
Deprecated terms
New terms
Description
Managed object
System
A hardware endpoint that can be discovered
and managed by IBM Systems Director. For
example, storage devices, network devices,
physical servers, virtual servers, and virtual
farms are systems.
Extension
Plug-in
Free or for-fee software that is downloaded
and installed on top of IBM Systems
Director to provide more function.
Job activation
Job instance
A specific occurrence of a job that is
running or is finished.
Event action plan
Event automation
plan
A user-defined plan that determines how
IBM Systems Director automatically handles
certain events. An event action plan
comprises one or more event filters and one
or more customized event actions.
Hardware control
point
Platform manager
Software that manages one or more host
systems and their associated virtual servers
and operating systems. Platform managers
can be started from the IBM Systems
Director web interface. For example, IBM
BladeCenter Management Module, IBM
Hardware Management Console (HMC),
IBM Integrated Virtualization Manager
(IVM), and VMware VirtualCenter are
platform managers.
Configuration profile
Configuration plan
A collection of templates that are used to
configure hardware and operating systems.
Component
Template
A stored version of definition parameters
for the configuration of a specific system.
Remote session
Remote command
line
A command-line interface to a remote
system.
IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
Chapter 1. Overview of IBM Systems Director
You can read an overview of IBM Systems Director, including supported hardware
and software requirements, technical overview, web resources, and what is new in
this release.
Accessibility
IBM strives to provide products with usable access for everyone, regardless of age
or ability.
The reference topic Accessibility features for IBM Systems Director provides details
about the accessibility support, tips, and workarounds of the product.
To learn about IBM Systems Director accessibility of the information center
interface, see the topic Keyboard navigation in IBM Systems Director
Note: For technical details about the accessibility support in IBM Systems Director,
see the Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates (VPATs). You can request VPATs
from the web at http://www.ibm.com/research/accessibility/requests/
accvpat.nsf/bidxjs?OpenForm.
License information
Before deploying this product, ensure that you have the necessary licenses.
IBM Systems Director
The IBM Systems Director program contains Management Server (Manager)
components, Agent components, and application programming interfaces (APIs), as
further described in the documentation.
You are authorized to use Management Server and Agent components only on IBM
machines.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the IBM Systems Director program includes a
license for up to 20 installations of the Agent component on non-IBM x86 systems.
These 20 licenses for non-IBM x86 systems are not transferable and cannot be
combined or aggregated. For example, if you buy two IBM machines and install
the IBM Systems Director program on only one of them, you are entitled to install
the Agent component on only 20 non-IBM x86 systems. If you install the IBM
Systems Director program on both IBM machines, your entitlement is limited to
managing 20 non-IBM x86 systems. To install additional Agent components on
non-IBM x86 systems, you must obtain additional Agent component licenses from
IBM.
Authorization for IBM Systems Director for Power Systems
Processor is a unit of measure by which the IBM Systems Director for Power
Systems program can be licensed. Processor (commonly called a processor core or
CPU) is a functional unit within a computing device that interprets and executes
instructions. A processor consists of at least an instruction control unit and one or
more arithmetic or logic unit. With multi-core technology, each core is considered a
© Copyright IBM Corp. 1999, 2013
1
processor. Authorization for the IBM Systems Director for Power Systems program
is based on the total number of activated processors (including any temporary
processors) on the machines running the IBM Systems Director for Power Systems
program and the total number of activated processors (including any temporary
processors) on the machines being managed by the IBM Systems Director for
Power Systems program.
Authorization for IBM Systems Director for IBM x86 servers
Server is a unit of measure by which the IBM Systems Director for IBM x86 servers
program can be licensed. A Server is a physical computer that is comprised of
processing units, memory, and input/output capabilities and that executes
requested procedures, commands, or applications for one or more users or client
devices. Where racks, blade enclosures, or other similar equipment is being
employed, each separable physical device (for example, a blade or a rack-mounted
device) that has the required components is considered itself a separate server.
The IBM Systems Director for IBM x86 servers program uses a per Server charging
metric. An authorization is required for each server running the IBM Systems
Director for IBM x86 servers program and for each server being managed by the
IBM Systems Director for IBM x86 servers program.
Terms applicable to API use
The IBM Systems Director program includes APIs called Representational State
Transfer (REST) APIs and Advanced External Application Launch (AEAL) function.
The IBM Systems Director REST APIs and AEAL function are described in the
documentation, available through the IBM Systems Director Information Center. If
you own or separately develop an interface to hardware that provides similar
function or feature as the REST APIs or AEAL function, or if the Licensee offers
hardware that provides similar function or feature as the REST APIs or AEAL
function, the following terms apply:
v You may develop applications using the Program's REST APIs and/or AEAL
function solely for testing and deployment within your Enterprise and only in
connection with your internal business purposes. An Enterprise is any legal
entity (such as a corporation) and the subsidiaries it owns by more than 50
percent.
v You may not rent, lease, loan, sell or otherwise distribute applications or
derivative works created using the IBM Systems Director REST APIs and/or
AEAL function to third party end users external to your Enterprise unless you
have entered into a written contract with IBM for this purpose.
Warranty
The IBM Systems Director program contains Upward Integration Modules (as
described in the documentation) for third party system management products to
manage IBM hardware platforms with Common Agent components. There is no
warranty or support service available for the Upward Integration Modules when
you use a third party system management product.
Special terms for the Software Update component
When you use the Software Updates navigation link of the IBM Systems Director
program to request software updates, the Management Server component collects
information about the release level of certain software products installed on your
2
IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
machine ("Software Information") and electronically sends that Software
Information to IBM. Software Information does not include business data such as
your financial, statistical and personnel data regarding your business. You agree
that IBM (including subcontractors and consultants under contract to IBM) may
store and use Software Information for purposes of software maintenance and
support, and that such Software Information (including any contact information
provided by you) may be transferred to such entities in any country whether or
not a member of the European Union.
Software Updates Licensee receives are covered by this Agreement. If any
additional or different terms apply to any such Software Update, such terms will
be included with the Software Update.
Supporting program details - IBM DB2®
The following applies to use of IBM DB2 Enterprise Server Edition.
Use Limitations: Use by Principal Program
"Use by Principal Program" means that neither you nor any application,
program, or device external to the Principal Program is authorized to
directly use or access the services of IBM DB2 Enterprise Server Edition in
any way. The IBM DB2 Enterprise Server Edition program is provided
exclusively for use by the Principal Program. You may access IBM DB2
Enterprise Server Edition only to perform administrative functions, such as
backup, recovery, and authorized configuration but may not directly use
the IBM DB2 Enterprise Server Edition program for any productive use.
Program details - IBM Systems Director Active Energy Manager
IBM Systems Director Active Energy Manager contains monitor function and
management function. The terms of this license apply to your use of the monitor
function. The management functions may be used for internal evaluation, testing,
or demonstration purposes for 90 days without a valid License Key. After 90 days
the management function will not operate without a valid License Key. If you want
to continue to use the management function to manage your systems after 90 days,
you must then obtain a valid License Key. Active Energy Manager uses a
per-processor or per-server charging metric, depending on platform.
Power Systems servers
For Power Systems servers, a processor license is required for every
processor on every Power Systems server being managed by the program.
Servers are categorized as small, medium, or large based on criteria such
as server model. Authorization for IBM Systems Director Active Energy
Manager is based on the total number of activated processors (including
any temporary processors) on the machine(s) running the program and the
activated processors (including any temporary processors) on the
machine(s) being managed by the program.
If you want to use the management function to manage IBM x86 servers,
you must obtain an authorization for IBM Systems Director Active Energy
Manager for IBM x86 or IBM Systems Director Standard Edition for IBM
x86. If you want to use the management function to manage IBM System
zservers, you must obtain an authorization for IBM Systems Director
Standard Edition for Linux on System z.
System x servers
For System x servers, a license is required for every IBM x86 server being
managed by IBM Systems Director Active Energy Manager. An
Chapter 1. Overview
3
authorization is required for each server running IBM Systems Director
Active Energy Manager and for each server being managed by IBM
Systems Director Active Energy Manager.
If you want to use the management function to manage Power Systems,
you must obtain an authorization for IBM Systems Director Active Energy
Manager for Power Systems, IBM Systems Director Standard Edition for
Power®, or IBM Systems Director Enterprise Edition for Power. If you want
to use the management function to manage IBM System z servers, you
must obtain a valid license key for IBM Systems Director Standard Edition
for Linux on System z.
Program details - IBM Systems Director VMControl
IBM Systems Director VMControl contains life cycle management functions, image
manager functions, and system pools functions. The terms of this license apply to
your use of the life cycle management functions. The image manager and system
pools functions may be used for internal evaluation, testing, or demonstration
purposes for 90 days without a valid License Key. After 90 days the image
manager and system pools functions will not operate without a valid License Key.
If you want to continue to use the image manager functions and/or the system
pools functions to manage IBM Power Systems after 90 days, you must obtain a
valid license key.
Power Systems servers
Authorization for IBM Systems Director VMControl Enterprise Edition for
Power Systems and IBM Systems Director VMControl Standard Edition for
Power Systems is based on the total number of activated processors
(including any temporary processors) on the machine(s) being managed.
If you want to move the authorization to manage a Power Systems
machine which has a higher authorization requirement or manage
additional Power Systems machines, you agree to notify IBM or its reseller
and agree to acquire the required authorization. If you want to use the
image manager functions and/or system pools functions to manage IBM
x86 servers, you must obtain an authorization for IBM Systems Director
VMControl Enterprise Edition for IBM x86. If you want to use the image
manager functions to manage IBM System z servers, you must obtain an
authorization for IBM Systems Director Standard Edition for Linux on
System z.
System x servers
An authorization is required for each server being managed by IBM
Systems Director VMControl Enterprise Edition for IBM x86.
If you want to use the image manager functions to manage IBM Power
Systems or IBM System z servers, you must obtain an authorization for
IBM Systems Director Standard Edition for Power, IBM Systems Director
VMControl Standard Edition, or IBM Systems Director Standard Edition
for Linux on System z. If you want to use the system pools functions to
manage IBM Power Systems servers, you must obtain an authorization for
IBM Systems Director Enterprise Edition for Power or IBM Systems
Director VMControl Enterprise Edition for Power.
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IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
IBM Systems Director technical overview
IBM Systems Director is a platform-management foundation that streamlines the
way you manage physical and virtual systems across a heterogeneous
environment. By using industry standards, IBM Systems Director supports multiple
operating systems and virtualization technologies across IBM and non-IBM x86
platforms.
IBM Systems Director provides consistent views for viewing managed systems,
determining how these systems relate to one another, and identifying their
statuses. You can use these views to correlate your technical resources with your
business needs. A set of common tasks included with IBM Systems Director
provides many of the core capabilities required for basic management. Use these
tasks to achieve instant business value. These common tasks include discovery,
inventory, configuration, system health, monitoring, updates, event notification,
and automation across managed systems.
The web and command-line interfaces in IBM Systems Director provide a
consistent interface that is focused on driving these common tasks and capabilities:
v Discovering, navigating, and visualizing systems on the network with the
detailed inventory and relationships to the other network resources
v Notifying users of problems that occur on system and ability to drill down to
the source of the problem
v Notifying users when systems need updates and distributing and installing
updates on a schedule
v Analyzing real-time data for systems and setting critical thresholds that notify
the administrator of emerging problems
v Configuring settings of a single system and creating a configuration plan that
can apply those settings to multiple systems
v Updating installed plug-ins to add new features and function to the base
capabilities
v Managing the lifecycle of virtual resources
IBM Systems Director is designed to manage simple and complex environments,
with multiple operating systems and platforms, up to 5 000 managed systems. It
supports the management of IBM and non-IBM hardware and drives common
tasks through the following platform management plug-ins and virtual resources:
v IBM Power Systems management
– HMC, IVM, and VIOS appliances
– Power servers, Power blades, and LS41 and QS21 blade servers
– AIX®, IBM i, and Linux on POWER® operating systems
v IBM BladeCenter chassis management
– IBM BladeCenter chassis components, such as switch modules and server
blades
– VMWare virtual servers
v IBM System x management
– System x systems and blade servers
– Windows and Linux operating systems on System x
v IBM System z management
– z/VM® hypervisor
– Linux on System z operating system installed on z/VM virtual servers
– Linux on System z running on a partition without z/VM
v IBM System Storage® management
– Integrated RIA controller (such as LSI)
Chapter 1. Overview
5
– Network storage, such as DS3000, DS4000®, DS5000, and DS6000™
– Storage switches, such as IBM BladeCenter SAS, Brocade, QLogic, Nortel, and
Cisco
v Some IBM Flex System hardware.
IBM Systems Director integrates with robust workgroup and enterprise
management software from IBM (such as Tivoli software), Computer Associates,
Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, NetIQ, and BMC Software.
IBM Systems Director components
IBM Systems Director includes IBM Systems Director Server and two
operating-system agents: Common Agent and Platform Agent.
IBM Systems Director Server provides a central point of control for aggregating
and managing discovered systems based on a service-oriented architecture. It can
be installed on one or more systems, called management servers. Systems that
connect to the IBM Systems Director web interface on the management server
through a web browser are called browser systems.
The operating-system agents serve as the control point for accessing operating
system and host information that might not be accessible through an out-of-band
interface (such as remote supervisor adapter (RSA), Baseboard Management
Control (BMC), and BladeCenter Management Module). These agents run on
operating-system-based and hardware-based endpoints, called systems, that can be
discovered and managed by IBM Systems Director. The level of system
management depends on the agent that is installed on the system: Common Agent
or Platform Agent. Each agent provides a different footprint size, level of
performance, and set of management functions.
IBM Systems Director can discover and manage some systems on which neither of
these operating-system agents is installed, but the level of management is limited.
This figure shows where the IBM Systems Director Server and operating-system
agents are installed in a basic IBM Systems Director environment.
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IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
Management server
Systems Director installed includes:
- Management Server
- Web Interface
- Command-line Interface
- Common Agent
- Platform Agent
- Service and Support Manager
- Active Energy Manager
- VMControl
HTTPS
Browser system
- no Systems Director
code installed
TCP/IP
Various protocols
SNMP devices
Agentless managed systems
- no Systems Director code
installed
Agentless managed systems
- no Systems Director code
installed
Common managed systems
- Common Agent installed
on each
FQM0553-0
Platform managed systems
- Platform Agent installed
on each
Figure 1. Software in an IBM Systems Director environment
Management server
The management server is a system that has IBM Systems Director Server installed.
It provides a central point of control for aggregating and managing discovered
systems based on a service-oriented architecture.
IBM Systems Director Server stores data about discovered systems, their attributes,
and their relationships to other resources in a relational database. You can access
information that is stored in this database even when the managed systems are not
available. IBM Systems Director Server includes a default database, the managed
IBM DB2 database, although you can choose to use any supported database.
IBM Systems Director Server includes two interfaces that the system administrator
can use to manage their environment: a web user interface and a command-line
interface. The system that you use to interact with these interfaces is called the
browser system.
Chapter 1. Overview
7
Tip: When you install IBM Systems Director Server, the Common Agent is
installed automatically on that system. The Common Agent provides a rich set of
security, deployment, and management function.
Common Agent
Common Agent provides a rich set of security, deployment, and management
function.
Common Agent is available for all Power Systems, System x, IBM BladeCenter,
System z systems, and some non-IBM systems, when the system is running a
supported operating system.
Notes:
v Systems running AIX require Common Agent to be installed. These systems
cannot be managed with Platform Agent.
v For a detailed list of operating systems that are supported for Common Agent,
see the Planning information.
Common Agent replaces Level 2: IBM Director Agent version 5.20. IBM Systems
Director 6.x supports agent systems running either Common Agent version 6.x or,
depending on the platform, the older Level 2: IBM Director Agent version 5.20.
The functionality that is available for Common Agent managed systems varies
based on the operating system and hardware in an environment, and includes the
following items:
v Discover systems
v Collect comprehensive platform and operating system inventory data
v
v
v
v
v
v
Monitor health and status
Manage alerts
Remotely deploy and install Common Agent
Perform remote access, including transferring files
Perform power management function
Additional event support
v Monitor processes and resources, and set critical thresholds send notifications
when triggered
v Manage operating system resources and processes
v Manage updates
Additionally, using Common Agent instead of Platform Agent provides enhanced
scalability through asynchronous system management, which reduces the demands
on IBM Systems Director Server. Firewall management is simplified, too, because
Common Agent requires that you keep fewer ports open.
For a detailed list of functionality that is supported by Common Agent managed
systems, see the Planning information.
Note: Throughout the IBM Systems Director documentation, the term Common
Agent (with both words capitalized) refers to the IBM Systems Director Common
Agent, which includes subagents that provide specific management capabilities for
IBM Systems Director. IBM Systems Director can also discover and perform limited
management on other common agents that use the common agent services (CAS)
architecture. When referring to these common agents generically, lowercase text is
used.
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IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
For information about resource managers and agent managers, see “Common
agent services”.
Platform Agent
Platform Agent is suited for environments that require a smaller footprint without
sacrificing a high level of manageability. It provides a subset of Common Agent
function used to communicate with and administer the managed systems,
including hardware alerts and status information.
Platform Agent is available for all IBM Power, System x and IBM BladeCenter, and
System z, IBM System Storage systems, and some non-IBM systems.
For IBM i, Platform Agent is part of the IBM Universal Manageability Enablement
for i Licensed Program Product that ships with the base operating system.
Platform Agent replaces Level 1: IBM Director Core Services version 5.20. IBM
Systems Director Server 6.x supports agent systems running either Platform Agent
6.x or, depending on the platform, IBM Director Core Services version 5.20.
Note: The version level of Platform Agent might not match the version levels of
IBM Systems Director Server or Common Agent.
The function available for Platform Agent managed systems is limited to the
following tasks, and varies based on operating system and hardware.
v Discover systems
v Collect limited platform inventory data
v
v
v
v
Monitor health and status
Manage alerts
Remotely deploy and install Common Agent
Perform limited remote access
v Perform limited restart capabilities
For a detailed list of function that is supported by Platform Agent managed
systems, see the Planning information in the information center at.
Agentless managed systems
IBM Systems Director provides a set of manageability functions for managed
systems that do not have Common Agent or Platform Agent installed. These
Agentless managed systems are best for environments that require small footprints
and are used for specific tasks, such as one-time inventory collection, firmware and
driver updates, and remote deployment.
Agentless managed systems must support the Secure Shell (SSH) or Distributed
Component Object Model (DCOM) protocol, or the Simple Network Management
Protocol (SNMP) interface. IBM Systems Director discovers Agentless managed
systems by verifying the IP addresses on your network and scanning the ports of
those addresses using the SSH or DCOM protocols. By default, IBM Systems
Director uses the range of addresses that are in the IP domain of the management
server. You can discover a specific IP address or range of IP addresses using the
IBM Systems Director Web interface.
When an Agentless managed system is discovered, it is locked by default. You can
unlock the system by requesting access to it through IBM Systems Director.
Chapter 1. Overview
9
Agentless managed systems are suited for one-time collection of inventory, and can
be used for updating firmware and drivers, and remotely deploying and running it
through SSH or DCOM services.
Note: No persistent data is stored on Agentless managed system.
The function available to Agentless managed systems is limited to the following
tasks, and varies based on operating system, platform, and hardware.
v Discover systems
v Collect limited operating-system inventory data
v Remotely deploy and install Common Agent and Platform Agent (root access
required)
v Perform limited remote access
v Perform limited restart capabilities
For a detailed list of function that is supported by Agentless managed systems, see
the “Planning for IBM Systems Director” section in the information center at
publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/director/pubs/topic/
com.ibm.director.plan.helps.doc/fqm0_r_planning.html.
Database application
IBM Systems Director uses a database to store information that it collects from the
endpoints that it manages.
You can configure a custom database to use with IBM Systems Director or you can
use the managed IBM DB2 database that is included with IBM Systems Director
Server 6.3.x.
Managed IBM DB2 database
The managed IBM DB2 database is packaged and installed with IBM Systems
Director Server 6.3.x. It is the default database for IBM Systems Director Server
6.3.x. You can store data only from IBM products, such as IBM Systems Director
and Storage Control, in the managed IBM DB2 database.
The managed IBM DB2 database is a subset of IBM DB2 Database Enterprise
Server Edition version 9.7 with fix pack 4. It includes the necessary JDBC driver
and the command-line interface. It does not include the IBM DB2 Control Center.
Unlike a regular IBM DB2 database, IBM Systems Director installs the managed
IBM DB2 database on the same server as IBM Systems Director Server. If you use a
regular IBM DB2 database, you can install and run IBM DB2 on the same server or
on a different server as IBM Systems Director Server.
It is possible to install and run the managed IBM DB2 database on the same server
as another IBM DB2 database that is used for another purpose. However, to reduce
the complexity of managing your resources, do not run multiple IBM DB2
databases on the same server. Instead, run the managed IBM DB2 database on one
server and the other IBM DB2 database on a different server.
Manageable resource types
A resource is a generic term for anything that IBM Systems Director can manage.
For example, systems, slots, cards, groups, and updates are all resources.
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IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
From the web interface, you can use the Find a Resource task to find resources.
You can also use the Resource Explorer task to view and work with these
resources.
Manageable systems and system types
A system is one type of resource that IBM Systems Director manages. It is an
operating-system-based or hardware-based resource that has an IP address and
host name and can be discovered and managed by IBM Systems Director. From the
Resource Explorer page in the IBM Systems Director Web interface, you can view
the All Systems group to work with all discovered systems.
Operating-system-based systems
Operating-system-based systems (referred to as operating systems) consist
of the operating system image, agent, drivers, applications, and
configuration settings. From the Resource Explorer page in the IBM
Systems Director Web interface, you can view the All Operating Systems
group to work with these types of systems.
Hardware-based systems
Hardware-based systems are the physical and virtual systems, such as
servers, virtual servers, storage systems, and network devices. Physical
systems can host multiple operating systems and virtual servers, either by
using a dual-boot feature or by way of a hypervisor. From the Resource
Explorer page in the IBM Systems Director Web interface, you can use the
All Network Systems, All Storage Systems, or All Systems groups to work
with the physical aspects of a system, determine how many virtual servers
a physical system contains, and determine how many operating systems
are running on a physical system.
To view the relationships between systems, view the topology map view for a
system by selecting the system and then clicking Actions > Topology Perspectives.
A submenu of applicable perspectives is displayed.
To view resources associated with a system, select the system and then click
Actions > Related Resources. A submenu of applicable related resources is
displayed.
IBM Systems Director manages the following types of systems:
Chassis
A physical resource that encloses other resources and provides definable
functions. Example types include a desktop, processing node,
uninterruptible power supply, disk or tape storage, or a combination of
these types.
Cluster
A computer system that is composed of two or more computer systems
that operate together to increase performance, reliability, availability, and
serviceability.
ComputerSystem
A single component that runs one operating system, or multiple
components that are controlled by one or more operating systems.
GenericNetworkDevice
A computer system that has an unknown device type.
Chapter 1. Overview
11
HardwareManagementConsole
A computer system that controls managed systems. This includes the
management of logical partitions and the use of Capacity on Demand.
OperatingSystem
Software that is responsible for the formation of an execution environment
and allocations of resources for software programs on a computer.
PassThroughModule
A Pass-Thru module.
Server A single node computer system such as a desktop, mobile device, or
NetPC. The Server class type is derived from the ComputerSystem class
type.
StorageSubsystem
A computer system that is dedicated to acting as a storage server.
Switch
A computer system that is dedicated to acting as a switch for network
traffic.
SystemChassis
A computer system that represents a modular enclosure that contains one
or more blades.
You can use the lssys -I command to obtain a list of valid system types for
commands such as discover.
With virtualization, you can hide the physical characteristics of your servers to
consolidate servers, optimize resource usage, and improve IT flexibility and
responsiveness. Using virtualization, you can create multiple discoverable virtual
servers from a single physical server or create a single discoverable virtual server
from multiple physical servers. Each virtual server has an independent operating
environment and can have functions or features that are not available in its
underlying physical resources.
Tip: Virtual servers running on IBM systems are often referred to as logical
partitions or virtual machines.
After IBM Systems Director discovers a physical server, it continues the discovery
process to find all associated virtual servers. Each IBM system offers virtualization
technologies to help you consolidate systems, optimize resource utilization, and
improve IT flexibility and responsiveness.
User interfaces
There are several methods for managing an IBM Systems Director environment: a
web interface and a command-line interface (smcli).
Web interface
You can use the IBM Systems Director Web interface to conduct comprehensive
systems management through a graphical user interface. Data is securely
transferred between the web browser and web interface through HTTPS.
The system on which you logged in to the IBM Systems Director Web interface is
referred to as the browser system. You log in to the IBM Systems Director through a
supported web browser with the following URL:
http://System_Name:Port_Number/ibm/console
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IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
where System_Name is the name of the system on which IBM Systems Director
Server is installed and Port_Number is the first (lower) of two consecutive port
numbers that you specified for the Web server to use. The default ports for the
Web server are 8421 and 8422. If you use port 8422, make sure that you specify
https to indicate a secure port.
Command-line interfaces
You can use the systems management command-line interface interactively using
the smcli utilities. This command-line interface (CLI) is an important primary
interface into IBM Systems Director and can be used either as an efficient way to
accomplish simple tasks directly or as a scriptable framework for automating
functions that are not easily accomplished from a graphical user interface. For
security reasons, the CLI runs only on the management server.
The command-line interface follows the GN/POSIX conventions.
Tips:
v The IBM Systems Director smcli supports most commands that were available in
previous releases through the discontinued dircli utility.
v For security, the CLI runs only on the management server. You can run the CLI
remotely using a remote-access utility, such as Secure Shell (SSH) or Telnet.
Base function and extensible plug-ins
Base plug-ins in IBM Systems Director provide core function to manage the full
lifecycle of IBM servers, storage, network, and virtual servers. Plug-ins that
provide advanced function or function that is tailored to a particular environment
can be downloaded and installed on top of IBM Systems Director.
Basic user interface, security, and agent management functions include:
v Finding and viewing resources and resource information, including relationships
and properties
v Organizing logical sets of resources into groups
v Starting, stopping, and scheduling tasks in IBM Systems Director
v Integrating third-party management software and other programs into the IBM
Systems Director Web interface
v Managing auditing
v Encrypting interprocess communication
v Managing Common Agent registration and authentication
v Authenticating users through a configured user registry available from the
operating system, Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), or domain
controller
v Creating roles and authorizing users and user groups to access certain systems,
groups, and tasks
v Managing credentials to support single sign-on authentication, even when
services span different systems
v Installing, upgrading, and promoting agents
Discovery manager
Discovery manager performs physical and virtual system discovery and inventory
of related resources on the network.
Chapter 1. Overview
13
You can use the discovery manager plug-in to:
v Discover systems and other resources (such as physical and virtual servers,
storage systems, and network devices) in a heterogeneous environment. Discover
resources by using a single IPv4 or IPv6 address, a single host name, a range of
IP addresses, or use a discovery profile to discover systems of different types
across multiple subnets.
v Collect inventory data about hardware and software that is installed on systems.
Inventory data is information about physical, logical, and virtual hardware (such
as virtual systems, virtual servers, and farms), software applications, operating
systems, middleware, firmware and BIOS, diagnostic information, and network.
v Manage inventory profiles that you can use to discover a group of resources or
collect inventory data based on a set of criteria.
v View systems, inventory data, and relationships among systems in the network
by using Resource Explorer.
v Request access to manage security credentials for discovered systems.
Status manager
Status manager provides an at-a-glance view of the health of your managed
resources (including systems, operating systems, applications, processes, and
security).
The status of discovered systems is automatically retrieved and displayed, and this
display can be customized in several ways: using one of the system status and
health tasks, navigating to a specific resource, or by using the command-line
interface.
You can use the status manager plug-in to:
v Use the Status Manager Summary page to view the status of discovered systems
and a summary of tasks that help you manage the status, problems, and events
for systems.
v Determine the health, compliance, and performance of managed systems in your
environment by using the health summary, scoreboard, and dashboard. The
health summary shows the overall health of your managed systems. The
scoreboard summarizes the hardware state, event state, and compliance state for
all managed systems. The dashboard shows performance information for specific
managed systems.
v View the event log.
v Identify problems and find the root cause by viewing detailed information about
the problems and inspecting the event log.
v Monitor dynamic properties of resources by defining monitors and thresholds.
v Monitor applications on a specific system by defining process monitors.
v Automatically send notifications when devices and services on a specific system
reach or exceed a particular setting by defining thresholds.
Configuration manager
Configuration manager is used to integrate new hardware into your environment,
configure systems after installation, or do one-off configurations for problem
resolution. Configuration manager uses a set of well-defined templates that can be
applied to servers, storage, and network resources even if the resources are
composed of different technologies.
You can use the configuration manager plug-in to:
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IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
v Use the Configuration Manager Summary page to view system configuration
status and a summary of tasks that help you configure your systems.
v Initially configure one or more systems (hardware and operating systems) to a
point where they can be deployed, allocated, and powered on.
v Automatically configure newly discovered systems by using the
automatic-deploy capability of a configuration plan.
v Reconfigure systems to prepare for redeployment, reallocation, or reprovisioning
(for example, as a result of an event or as part of a workflow that the
configuration needs to be support).
v Manage configuration templates and plans. A configuration template is a collection
of settings and values that define the configuration of a system. A configuration
plan is a set of templates that can be applied to one or more systems in a specific
order.
Automation manager
Automation manager provides tools to notify an administrator or run a predefined
task automatically when a certain event occurs.
You can use the automation manager plug-in to:
v Use the Automation Manager Summary page to view the status of jobs and
automation plans and a summary of tasks that help you automate tasks.
v Create custom event-automation plans used to automate tasks and other
responses to situations that occur in your environment.
v Create and manage event filters that allow the event automation plans to target
specific events.
v Create and manage event actions that identify tasks or commands to run or
notifications to send. These actions include starting a noninteractive task or
program on the management server or the system on which the event was
generated, or sending an email notification over the Internet or to a mobile
phone.
Update manager
Update manager provides tools for maintaining current versions of operating
systems, device drivers, firmware, and BIOS, and IBM Systems Director agent and
server code on managed systems without an upgrade or migration of the installed
product.
You can use the update manager plug-in to:
v Use the Update Manager Summary page to view update status and a summary
of tasks that help you manage updates on your systems.
v View update history and status of targeted systems.
v Identify updates available for your systems.
v Create customized update groups for your company's certified list of updates.
v Detect and view out-of-date systems.
v Get a notification when systems are in need of updates and which updates are
needed.
v Download, distribute, and install available and requisite updates in a single
request without repackaging or performing each step in the process separately.
v Download and review update information, such as prerequisites, readme files,
Release Notes, content letters, and associated collateral.
Chapter 1. Overview
15
Remote access manager
Remote access manager provides tools that support running and monitoring
applications and services running on remote systems.
You can use the remote access manager plug-in to:
v View and interact with applications on a system remotely by displaying the
screen image of the system by using remote control tools, including Virtual
Network Computing (VNC), Remote Desktop (RDP), and web-based remote
control for IBM BladeCenter and RSA.
v Run command-line programs through a remote session. The remote session
creates less network traffic and uses fewer system resources than the remote
control applications and, therefore, is useful in low-bandwidth situations.
v Manage files on a remote system.
v Open console windows to one or more POWER managed systems.
v Run a command on one or more managed systems in parallel.
Network Management
Network Management provides management functions for network devices,
including discovery, inventory, health and status monitoring, and configuration.
You can use Network Management to:
v Discover network devices in your environment.
v Review your network device inventory.
v Monitor the health and status of network devices.
v View network device configuration settings, and apply templates to configure
devices.
v Run network diagnostics tools like ping and traceroute.
Chassis management
Chassis management provides lifecycle management of your IBM BladeCenter
chassis and related resources, including discovery, health and status monitoring,
configuration, updates, and virtualization. It also provides platform-specific
functions.
You can use this plug-in to:
v Change power settings
v Manage hardware logs
v Identify hardware by using the locator LED
v View light-path diagnostic LEDs
IBM System x management
IBM System x management provides lifecycle management of your modular IBM
System x systems and related resources, including discovery, health and status
monitoring, configuration, updates, and virtualization. It also provides
platform-specific functions.
You can use this plug-in to:
v Change power settings
v Manage hardware logs
v Identify hardware by using the locator LED
v View light-path diagnostic LEDs
IBM System z management
IBM System z management provides the capability to discover System z hosted
virtual servers, and to access status information about them.
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IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
This plug-in provides functions to discover, monitor status, configure, and update
these virtual servers. It also generates information that is used in the Welcome
panel summary view and includes support for Linux on System z and z/VM
systems that are running on IBM System z mainframes.
IBM Power Systems management
IBM Power Systems management provides lifecycle management of your IBM
Power systems, and platform managers such as Hardware Management Console
(HMC) and Integrated Virtualization Manager (IVM) platform managers, including
discovery, health and status monitoring, configuration, updates, and virtualization.
It also provides platform-specific functions.
You can use the IBM Power Systems management plug-in to:
v Manage the following Power Systems environments that might include servers
with any supported processor versions that are running AIX, IBM i, or Linux:
– Power Systems managed by the Hardware Management Console
– Power Systems managed by the Integrated Virtualization Manager
– A Power Systems server with a single image (a nonpartitioned configuration)
– A Power Architecture® BladeCenter server under the control of a BladeCenter
management module
v Perform management tasks on systems that are under the control of HMC and
IVM, including managing power, creating virtual serves, editing virtual server
resources, and relocating virtual servers between host systems.
v Perform management tasks that are available from the IBM Systems Director
Web interface for supported versions of AIX and IBM i.
IBM System Storage management
IBM System Storage management provides lifecycle management of your physical
and virtual storage systems, including discovery, health and status monitoring,
configuration, updates, and virtualization. It also provides platform-specific
functions.
You can use the IBM System Storage management plug-in to:
v Add storage systems to IBM Systems Director using a proxy provider
v Configure storage systems
v Manage storage devices
v Update a SAN configuration profile
v Start storage management applications
v Use integrated SCM features to manage integrated RAID Controllers, IBM
BladeCenter SAS modules, and BC-S RAID SAS modules
v Use embedded management interfaces, IBM Systems Director Storage Control
4.2.4, or IBM Tivoli Storage Productivity Center to manage storage devices. See
the following topic for details: Supported storage devices.
v Support for automation plans based on events and event actions from storage
resources
v Support for IBM System Storage Area Network products
Additional IBM Systems Director plug-ins
Additional IBM Systems Director plug-ins can be downloaded and installed on top
of IBM Systems Director to provide advanced function or function that is tailored
to a particular environment.
For a complete list of available plug-ins and for information about how to
download and install the plug-ins, see the IBM Systems Director website at
www.ibm.com/systems/management/director/plugins/.
Chapter 1. Overview
17
Active Energy Manager plug-in
The Active Energy Manager plug-in helps you to monitor and manage the power
and cooling needs of IBM servers and IBM BladeCenter systems. Non-IBM systems
can also be monitored by using metering products, such as power distribution
units (PDU), sensors, and integration with facility software. You can use Active
Energy Manager to:
v Allocate less power and cooling infrastructure to your IBM servers.
v Reduce power usage on select IBM servers.
v Plan for the future by viewing trends of power usage over time.
v Determine power usage for all components of a rack.
Active Energy Manager is a licensed plug-in that supports Windows, Linux on
Power Systems, and Linux on System x platforms.
Service and Support Manager plug-in
The Service and Support Manager plug-in, which includes the Electronic Service
Agent™ tool, identifies and reports hardware problems and service information
automatically to IBM for service and support. All information sent to IBM is stored
in a secure IBM database and used for improved problem determination. You can
use Service and Support Manager to:
v Place service calls to IBM automatically if the system is under a service
agreement or warranty.
v Collect and send scheduled system inventory and diagnostic inventory to an
IBM database. This inventory information is available to IBM support
representatives when they are solving your problem.
v Communicate with IBM using a secure Internet connection by using encryption
and authentication.
Service and Support Manager is a free plug-in that is supported on the following
operating systems when installed on the IBM Systems Director management
server:
v Windows for 32–bit and 64–bit systems
v Linux on System x for 32–bit and 64–bit systems
v Linux on Power Systems
v Linux on System z
v AIX
IBM Systems Director Network Control plug-in
The Network Control plug-in provides facilities to discover, inventory, and monitor
network devices, start vendor applications for configuration of network devices,
and see groups of network devices.
Note: IBM Systems Director Network Control V1.1 is not supported on IBM
Systems Director. When you install or upgrade to IBM Systems Director V6.2, the
Manage page displays Network Management in place of IBM Systems Director
Network Control.
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IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
IBM Systems Director Storage Control 4.2.4
With the Storage Control plug-in, you can manage an expanded set of storage
subsystems and Fibre Channel switches.
You can use Storage Control to discover and collect inventory, and monitor device
health. These subsystems include the IBM DS8000® family (DS8100, DS8300,
DS8700, DS8800), the SAN Volume Controller, the IBM Storwize® V7000, and the
Brocade Fibre Channel switches.
Important: If you are not using IBM DB2 managed by Systems Director, then you
must use one of these versions of IBM DB2 as the local database application for
Systems Director to use Storage Control:
v IBM DB2 Enterprise Edition v. 9.7
v IBM DB2 Enterprise Edition v. 9.7 with fix pack 4
v IBM DB2 Enterprise Edition v. 9.7 with fix pack 6 (or above)
That is, the correct version of DB2 must be installed on the same system as
Systems Director. Storage Control is not supported on any other databases.When
you configure Systems Director, specify the database administrator user ID as the
database runtime user ID. In other words, when you configure Systems Director
with the external DB2 database, set the DB2 administrator user ID for the
DbmsUserId property in the cfgdbcmd.rsp file.
IBM Systems Director VMControl plug-in
The VMControl plug-in is designed to simplify the management of workloads in
your IT environment. Use IBM Systems Director VMControl Express Edition, IBM
Systems Director VMControl Standard Edition, and IBM Systems Director
VMControl Enterprise Edition to manage virtual servers, virtual appliances,
workloads, and system pools across multiple hardware platforms and
virtualization environments from one location.
IBM PowerVM® Workload Partition Manager for AIX plug-in
IBM PowerVM Workload Partition Manager for AIX (WPAR Manager) is a plug-in
for IBM Systems Director that provides a centralized point of control for managing
workload partitions (WPARs) across a collection of managed systems that are
running AIX. Workload Partition Manager can manage heterogeneous
environments of managed systems at different AIX technology levels. However, to
use full management capabilities, update the Workload Partition Manager agent to
the latest version. The following features are supported on all AIX technology
levels: Cross-system management of WPARs, including lifecycle management
Global load balancing with application mobility web-based administration of basic
WPAR operations and advanced management tasks Monitoring and reporting of
WPAR performance metrics.
Upward integration
With IBM Systems Director, you can make the most of your existing enterprise
management structure by upwardly integrating with many workgroup and
enterprise-management products.
IBM Systems Director upward integration modules (UIMs) and management packs
enable non-IBM workgroup and enterprise-management products to interpret and
display data that is provided by Common Agent and Platform Agent. IBM Systems
Chapter 1. Overview
19
Director UIMs and management packs provide enhancements to the
enterprise-management products that you can use to collect inventory data, view
IBM Systems Director event notifications, and for some UIMs, distribute IBM
Systems Director software packages.
With the IBM Systems Director UIMs and management packs, you can use your
enterprise-management software to manage systems that have Platform Agent or
Common Agent software installed on them.
You can use Platform Agent software to:
v Gather detailed inventory information about your systems, including operating
system, memory, network adapters, and hardware.
v Track your systems with features such as power management, event log, and
system monitor capabilities.
Platform Agent uses some of the latest systems-management standards, including
Common Information Model (CIM), Web-Based Enterprise Management (WEBM)
and Extensible Markup Language (XML), to provide compatibility with your
existing enterprise-management software.
For more information about upward integration modules, see IBM Systems
Director Upward Integration Modules.
You can also configure IBM Systems Director Server to forward alerts (such as
SNMP) to higher-level enterprise managers, including CA Unicenter NSM, HP
OpenView NNM, HP OpenView Operations for Windows, Tivoli NetView®, Tivoli
Management Framework, Microsoft Systems Center Operations Manager, and
Microsoft Systems Management Server.
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Chapter 2. Using the IBM Systems Director Web interface
IBM Systems Director provides the Web interface through which you can view
resources and use tasks in your systems-management environment. This section
provides information about the Web interface, including the Home page, the
different ways to view resources, and how to work with tables and topology maps
that are used in these different views; how to find resources; how to create and
work with groups of resources; how to find and start tasks; how to schedule tasks,
and much more.
In addition to these fundamental tasks, IBM Systems Director provides the
following tasks and features through plug-ins that are already installed or can be
separately installed. For information about available plug-ins, see “Installation.”
v Discovery and inventory collection (see “Discovering systems and collecting
inventory data”)
v Configuring systems (see “Configuring systems”)
v System status, health, event logs, and active status events (see “Monitoring
system status and health”)
v Event automation plans, event filters, and event actions (see “Automating
tasks”)
v Management and installation of updates to existing software products and
firmware, external network and storage switches, as well as external storage
servers (see “Updating systems”)
v A number of security features that include authentication and
user-administration options (see “Security”)
Related concepts:
Security
Related tasks:
Automating tasks
Configuring systems
Discovering systems and collecting inventory data
Monitoring system status and health
Updating systems
Logging into IBM Systems Director Server
You can log into IBM Systems Director Server by way of the Web interface to use
the features and functions that IBM Systems Director provides.
To log into IBM Systems Director Server, complete the following steps:
1. Point your browser to the following URL:
http://System_Name:Port_Number/ibm/console
where System_Name is the name of the system on which IBM Systems Director
Server is installed and Port_Number is the first (lower) of two consecutive port
numbers that you specified for the Web server to use. The default ports for the
Web server are 8421 and 8422. If you use port 8422, make sure that you specify
https to indicate a secure port.
2. Type the user ID and password that correspond to an authorized IBM Systems
Director administrator user ID and password.
© Copyright IBM Corp. 1999, 2013
21
3. Click Log in.
Note: A security alert window might be displayed before logging in. This is
due to incorrect configuration of the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate. For
information see “Configuring Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) between IBM Systems
Director and the Web browser client.”
Note: Logging in to IBM Systems Director will be slower with SSL enabled.
Note: For optimal performance, it is recommended that no more than 30 users log
on to IBM Systems Director Server at one time.
Related tasks:
Logging out of IBM Systems Director Server
Configuring SSL between IBM Systems Director and the Web browser client
Logging out of IBM Systems Director Server
When you are finished using IBM Systems Director, you can log out. To log off of
IBM Systems Director Server, in the Web interface, click Logout in the upper-right
corner.
Related tasks:
Logging into IBM Systems Director Server
Enabling multisession support
An authorized user can access multiple user sessions.
To enable multisession support, follow these steps:
1. Log out of the IBM Systems Director Server by clicking Logout in the
upper-right corner of the IBM Systems Director Web interface.
2. Open the <Director root>/lwi/runtime/isc/consoleProperties.xml file.
3. Update the ENABLE.CONCURRENT.LOGIN property to true:
<consoleproperties:console-property id="ENABLE.CONCURRENT.LOGIN" value="true">
4. Save the file.
5. Log back into the IBM Systems Director Server.
When a user is logged on more than once, you will see a number, such as (2), next
to the user's state on the Users page.
Related tasks:
Logging into IBM Systems Director Server
Logging out of IBM Systems Director Server
Authorizing users
Navigating the Web interface
Navigating in the Web interface, you can access tasks, resources, and data in IBM
Systems Director. The interface also provides ways to customize itself as well as
help information.
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IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
Related tasks:
Navigating by way of the Welcome page
The Web interface
IBM Systems Director provides tasks and unique views to help you manage your
systems-management environment. You can access all tasks available in IBM
Systems Director and you can launch tasks in several other management tools. You
can access your resources using Resource Explorer.
Figure 2. Web interface
Navigation area
The navigation area of IBM Systems Director Web interface provides
categories of tasks that can vary depending on your IBM Systems Director
installation. The navigation provides links to tasks you can perform on
your resources. Examples of typical tasks might include Resource Explorer,
Inventory, Health Summary, and Automation and Settings.
Content area
When you open the Web interface, by default you see the Home page for
IBM Systems Director in the content area. The content area changes
depending on the item you select in the navigation area. You can
customize aspects of the content area using the Navigation Preferences. For
more information, see “Setting navigation preferences.”
Chapter 2. Using the Web interface
23
View list
In the navigation area, this list provides the following alternate view
selections:
All tasks
Displays all the tasks that are available in your IBM Systems
Director installation. This is the default view.
My tasks
Displays a customized list of tasks. For more information, see
“Customizing the Web interface.”
IBM Systems Director
Displays only IBM Systems Director tasks.
Select Action list
This list provides the following ways to work with task pages:
My Startup Pages
Customizes the pages that are started automatically when you log
in to IBM Systems Director, the page that is displayed first of these
automatically started pages, and the default navigation area view.
For more information, see “Customizing the Web interface.”
Manage Open Pages
Provides a way to manage and close one or more open pages.
Close Page
Closes the page that you are viewing.
Help
Displays the help system.
Logout
Logs out of IBM Systems Director.
Related concepts:
The Welcome page
Related tasks:
Setting navigation preferences
Customizing the Web interface
Managing and closing open pages in the Web interface
Viewing help in the Web interface
Customizing the Web interface
The IBM Systems Director Web interface provides settings that you can use to
customize the Web interface to meet your specific needs. The My Tasks feature
provides a way to customize the tasks that are displayed in the navigation area. By
saving task pages to My Startup Pages, you can set one or more pages to open
automatically when you log in to IBM Systems Director, including a setting for the
default page that is displayed first among all of the automatically started pages.
Also, you can set the view that is displayed in the navigation area.
Note: In addition to these settings, you can customize navigation preferences for
table and topology views. For information see “Setting navigation preferences.”
To customize the Web interface, complete the following steps:
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IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, select My tasks from the View
list.
2. In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, click Edit 'My tasks'.
3. On the My Tasks page, select the tasks that you want to display in the
navigation area.
4. Click Apply. The selected tasks are displayed in the navigation area.
5. In IBM Systems Director, open a task page that you want to start
automatically when you log in to IBM Systems Director.
6. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface, click My Startup Pages from the
Select Action list.
7. On the Add to My Startup Pages page, click OK to save the selected page.
8. To add any other task pages that you want to start automatically, repeat steps
5 - 7.
9. To view your saved task pages, click My Startup Pages in the IBM Systems
Director navigation area. On the My Startup Pages page, the saved tasks are
displayed in the table.
10. Click Default to set the default page to display first among all of the
automatically started task pages.
11. If you decide that you do not want a page to start automatically, select that
task and click Remove.
12. To set your My tasks selections as the default navigation area view, select My
Tasks from the Console navigation default view list. You always can change
the navigation area view by using the View list. Select All Tasks to see all
IBM Systems Director tasks.
13. When you are satisfied with your settings, click OK to save the settings and
close the page. To save the setting but not close the page, click Apply. To close
the page without saving the settings, click Cancel.
Any changes take effect the next time you log in to IBM Systems Director.
Related concepts:
The Web interface
Related tasks:
Managing and closing open pages in the Web interface
Viewing help in the Web interface
Setting navigation preferences
Changing the welcome message on the login screen
The default herald contains the welcome message that displays with the login
prompt for all users. Users with Administrator authority can change the welcome
message using the dircli CLI command.
1. Create a UTF-8 file on the system. The file will contain the welcome message
and must be named loginMessage.properties.
2. Edit the file and add the following line, substituting your custom text:
loginMessage=This is the text that will appear on the login page.
Note: When creating loginMessage.properties, characters need to be specified
with valid ISO 8859-1 Unicode-escape sequences.
3. Save and exit the file.
4. On the host system, run the following command:
dircli chgloginmsg -f C:\loginMessage.properties
Chapter 2. Using the Web interface
25
The C:\loginMessage.properties file is copied to the install root in the following
path:
<Director root>/lwi/runtime/isc/loginMessage
The new message appears immediately for future login attempts, you do not need
to restart the server.
Related reference:
“Command-task file parameters” on page 119
Managing and closing open pages in the Web interface
The IBM Systems Director Web interface provides several ways to manage and
close open pages.
The Web interface provides page controls in the upper-right corner in the Select
Action list. Also, when you have more page tabs that can be displayed in the
width of the Web interface, an arrow is displayed that you can click to view the
additional tabs.
Figure 3. Select Action list
To manage and close open pages, complete any of the following steps:
v In the IBM Systems Director Web interface, click Manage Open Pages from the
Select Action list that is located in the upper-right corner of the Web interface
content area. On the Manage Open Pages page, you can close all pages by
clicking Close All Pages, close selected pages by selecting one or more pages
and clicking Close Page, or view a selected page by clicking the page link.
v To close a page that you are viewing, click Close Page from the Select Action
list.
v To close a page, click X on the page tab.
v When applicable, click the OK or Cancel buttons on the page.
Related concepts:
The Web interface
Related tasks:
Customizing the Web interface
Viewing help in the Web interface
Viewing help in the Web interface
The IBM Systems Director Web interface provides several ways to view help.
To view help, complete any of the following steps:
v In the IBM Systems Director Web interface, click Help in the upper-right corner.
The IBM Systems Director help system opens in a new Web browser window.
v In a task page, click ? in the upper-right corner of the page.
v In a task window or wizard, click ? in the upper-right corner of the window or
wizard.
v When applicable, click the Help button on the page.
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IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
Related concepts:
The Web interface
Related tasks:
Customizing the Web interface
Managing and closing open pages in the Web interface
The Welcome banner area
Starting with IBM Systems Director version 6.2, the Welcome banner area provides
links to the Active Status (compliance) page, where you can view the active
compliance issues for all discovered systems and the Problems page, where you
can view the active problems for all discovered systems.
In the Welcome banner area, you can get a quick view of system status by viewing
the following icons next to Compliance or Problems:
v
Warning
v
Critical
For more detailed information, click Compliance, to view the Active Status
(compliance) page or click Problems to view the Problems page.
Navigating IBM Systems Director by way of the Home page
Using the IBM Systems Director Home page, you can navigate to first-time setup
steps, make sure IBM Systems Director and its plug-ins are setup and configured,
manage your environment from plug-in summary pages, and access tutorials and
Information Center topics to expand your skills with IBM Systems Director.
Related tasks:
Navigating the Web interface
Finding and navigating resources
Managing groups
Finding and starting tasks
Scheduling tasks
IBM Systems Director Home page
Use the IBM Systems Director Home page to complete first-time setup steps, view
and activate IBM Systems Director plug-ins, and access information center topics
and tutorials to expand your skills with IBM Systems Director.
Figure 4. The Home page displaying the Initial Setup, Additional Setup, Plug-ins, and Learn tabs
The following links are available at the top of the Home page:
Chapter 2. Using the Web interface
27
Update IBM Systems Director
Checks for and displays any updates that are available from the product
web site that are required by the IBM Systems Director Server.
Information Center
Opens a link to the corresponding IBM Systems Director Information
Center in a separate browser tab.
Related concepts:
System severity states
Related tasks:
Starting work in IBM Systems Director
Learning about the product
Checking IBM Systems Director readiness
Viewing updates
Viewing tutorials
Viewing the IBM Systems Director Server summary
The Initial Setup tab
Provides the tasks to set up IBM Systems Director for the first time. A user must
have the AllPermission permission to view this page; otherwise, it is not displayed.
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IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
Figure 5. The Home page interface displaying the Initial Setup tab
The following tasks are provided on the Initial Setup tab.
Update IBM Systems Director
Obtain and install updates for IBM Systems Director. When the updates
begins, the current status of the update appears under this step. As part of
the update, you will need to restart the IBM Systems Director Server. A
timestamp of the update appears once the update successfully completes.
System Discovery
Discover systems by using a single IP address or host name, a range of IP
addresses, or a discovery profile.
Request Access
Request access to systems that IBM Systems Director has no access to using
either the request access task or the configure access task.
Collect Inventory
Collect the most current inventory from a resource or view the inventory
of a resource.
Resource Explorer
Provides a link to the Resource Explorer page to start managing the
resources in your environment.
Chapter 2. Using the Web interface
29
Health Summary
Provides a link to the Health Summary page where you can quickly view
and monitor resources that are important to you.
Related concepts:
“System discovery” on page 160
The Plug-ins tab
The Additional Setup tab
The Learn tab
Security
Related tasks:
“Updating IBM Systems Director” on page 365
“Collecting inventory” on page 194
Home page: Additional Setup tab
Provides additional steps to make IBM Systems Director more productive after the
steps on the Initial Setup tab are complete. A user must have the AllPermission
permission to view this page; otherwise, it is not displayed.
Actions
The Additional Setups tab consists of the typical next steps for setting up IBM
Systems Director. These steps include:
v Registering IBM Systems Director.
v Setting up Electronic Service Agent to collect and send hardware problem
information to Support.
v Creating thresholds and event automation plans
v Checking for updates on discovered systems
v Installing Common Agent on systems
v Setting up user security
v Configuring your systems
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IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
Figure 6. The Home page interface displaying the Additional Setup tab
Related concepts:
The Initial Setup tab
The Plug-ins tab
The Learn tab
The Plug-ins tab
Provides information that you can use to determine whether IBM Systems Director
and its plug-ins are ready to use. From this page, you can view, activate, and
deactivate additional plug-ins, along with importing license keys for your plug-ins.
The message associated with each plug-in changes based on whether the plug-in is
ready to use. The links provided for each plug-in include the plug-in summary
page on which you have quick access to your environment's data and applicable
tasks. If a plug-in is not ready to use, this page provides links to the applicable
tasks that you must perform to complete setup or configuration of the plug-in.
The Plug-ins tab includes an icon that is displayed if any problems exist with one
or more plug-ins.
Note: The Plug-ins tab displays only the plug-ins that the user is authorized to
use. If a user is not authorized to use any plug-ins, the Plug-ins tab is not
displayed.
Figure 7. The Plug-ins tab with the Information icon
Chapter 2. Using the Web interface
31
The icon displayed is tied to the plug-in states that are displayed on the Plug-ins
tab:
If one or more plug-ins are in an Error state, the Error-connecting icon is
displayed on the Plug-ins tab.
If one or more plug-ins are in the Setup-required state, the Setup-required
icon is displayed on the Plug-ins tab.
No icon
or collecting-data state
If all plug-ins are in the ready state
then no icon is displayed on the Plug-ins tab.
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IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
,
Figure 8. The Home page interface displaying the Plug-ins tab
Chapter 2. Using the Web interface
33
Plug-in title
Click the plug-in title to display the plug-in summary page. The summary
page provides tasks and information that you typically use in that plug-in.
Readiness icons
Each plug-in title has one of the following icons next to its name denoting
whether the plug-in is ready for use:
Ready
The plug-in is correctly installed and configured.
Collecting data
The process to determine whether a plug-in is ready to use has
started and might take a long time. To determine when the plug-in
is ready, click Refresh (located at the bottom of the page) and if
the plug-in is ready the status icon will change.
Setup required
The plug-in is not set up correctly or the set up is currently
incomplete. A message and additional links are displayed
providing information about any required setup, such as additional
configuring, enabling of firewall support, identifying applicable
types of servers required by that plug-in, or other setup activities.
Error connecting
The plug-in has failed to connect to the applicable destination,
which might be the management server, a Web site, or another
destination.
Plug-in links
Each plug-in section provides links that you can use to complete any
configuration or setup activities.
Refresh
Click to refresh the ready-for-use information. It also reports that last time
the information was refreshed.
Additional plug-ins to activate
Displays any additional plug-ins with links to activate them. The name of
each plug-in is a link to launch a new browser window with information
about the plug-in.
Import License Key
From the Additional plug-ins to activate box, click Import License Key to
open the Import License Key page where you can import permanent
license keys.
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IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
Related concepts:
The Initial Setup tab
The Additional Setup tab
The Learn tab
Importing license keys:
You can import permanent license keys through the IBM Systems Director Web
interface from the Plug-ins tab of the Home page. You can only use the Web
interface to import license packs for license key management. For installation
instructions, as well as information about compatability, planning, management,
and so on, see the documentation for each plug-in. For detailed licensing and
pricing information, or to obtain media with license keys, contact your IBM
marketing representative or business partner.
For a complete list of available IBM Systems Director plug-ins and for links to the
documentation for each plug-in, see the IBM Systems Director Web site at
www.ibm.com/systems/management/director/plugins/.
The Learn tab
Provides a list of available tutorials and other information center links. If the link
is to a tutorial, the link opens a tutorial section in the “Learning and tutorials”
section of the IBM Systems Director information center. Hover help for each link
provides a description for that tutorial.
Figure 9. The Home page interface displaying the Learn tab
This page provides the following information:
Tutorial links
Provides links to available tutorials for installed plug-ins.
Tip: The tutorials are launched from the Internet. You must have access to
the Internet to view them. For more information about e-learning and
tutorials, see “Learning and tutorials.”
Hover help
Provides a description for each tutorial.
Chapter 2. Using the Web interface
35
Related concepts:
The Initial Setup tab
The Additional Setup tab
The Plug-ins tab
System severity states
Systems with Common Agent or Platform Agent installed on them generate events
that numerically indicate their health status to IBM Systems Director Server. The
numeric values indicated by the event correspond to one of three severity levels in
IBM Systems Director: critical, warning, or informational.
Each applicable IBM Systems Director system generates a numeric value that aligns
it with one of the following three severity levels:
Critical
A system that has generated an event with a severity of 5 or 6 is the most
severe and is identified in IBM Systems Director as being in a Critical state.
These systems have already lost or will imminently lose data, have had
system down time, or are on the verge of losing some other services.
System operation might be impacted if the problem is left uncorrected.
Warning
A system that has generated an event with a severity of 3 or 4 is identified
in IBM Systems Director as being in a Warning state. These systems can
escalate to a Critical state if left uncorrected. System operation might not
be impacted and normal use of the hardware can continue.
Informational
A system that has generated an event with a severity of 1 or 2 is identified
in IBM Systems Director as being in an Informational state. These systems
are operating normally and typically, no action is required.
Related concepts:
The Home page
Related tasks:
Starting work in IBM Systems Director
Learning about the product
Checking IBM Systems Director readiness
Viewing updates
Viewing tutorials
Viewing the IBM Systems Director Server summary
Starting work in IBM Systems Director
Before IBM Systems Director can manage your systems, the systems must be
discovered. Using the Home page, you can set up IBM Systems Director for use for
the first time.
To get started with IBM Systems Director, complete the following steps:
1. If this is the first time using IBM Systems Director, the Home page is displayed
automatically. Otherwise, in the IBM Systems Director navigation area, click
Home.
2. On the IBM Systems Director Home page, view the tasks on the Initial Setup
tab. This section provides the steps to update IBM Systems Director, discover
systems, request access to system, and collect inventory.
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IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
3. View the steps on the Additional Setup tab. This section provides typical tasks
for setting up IBM Systems Director, including registering the product, creating
thresholds and event automation plans, checking for updates, installing
Common Agent on systems, setting up security, and configuring your systems.
Related concepts:
The Home page
System severity states
Related tasks:
Discovering systems and collecting inventory data
Learning about the product
Checking IBM Systems Director readiness
Viewing updates
Viewing tutorials
Viewing the IBM Systems Director Server summary
Learning about the product
There are several ways to learn about IBM Systems Director.
You can learn more about IBM Systems Director in the following ways:
v In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, click Home. On the Home page,
click the Learn tab. View the available tutorials to expand your skills with IBM
Systems Director.
v On the Home page, click the Plug-ins tab. For each plug-in, click the plug-in
section heading to view its summary page.
v Go to the IBM Systems Director information center at publib.boulder.ibm.com/
infocenter/director/pubs/index.jsp to review scenarios and other information
resources.
v Go to the IBM Systems Director customer forum. For more information, see
“Accessing the IBM Systems Director customer forum.”
v To familiarize yourself with other information resources available on the Web,
click Related Web Resources.
Related concepts:
The Home page
System severity states
Related tasks:
Starting work in IBM Systems Director
Checking IBM Systems Director readiness
Viewing updates
Viewing tutorials
Viewing the IBM Systems Director Server summary
Checking IBM Systems Director readiness
You can determine whether the plug-ins in your IBM Systems Director installation
are ready for use by viewing the Home page.
To determine whether plug-ins are ready for use, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, click Home.
2. On the Home page, click the Plug-ins tab.
Chapter 2. Using the Web interface
37
3. Browse the Plug-ins page to determine the plug-ins that are in your IBM
Systems Director installation and whether they are ready for use. Each plug-in
has one of the following icons beside its name denoting whether the plug-in is
ready for use or requires additional setup or configuration:
Ready
The plug-in is correctly installed and configured.
Collecting data
The process to determine whether a plug-in is ready to use has started
and might take a long time. To determine when the plug-in is ready,
click Refresh (located at the bottom of the page) and if the plug-in is
ready the status icon will change.
Setup required
The plug-in is not set up correctly or the set up is currently incomplete.
A message and additional links are displayed providing information
about any required setup, such as additional configuring, enabling of
firewall support, identifying applicable types of servers required by
that plug-in, or other setup activities.
Error connecting
The plug-in has failed to connect to the applicable destination, which
might be the management server, a Web site, or another destination.
4. If a plug-in reports that it has a problem, click the displayed links to complete
the setup and configuration.
5. Complete the setup tasks listed for the plug-in.
6. On the Plug-ins page, click Refresh. IBM Systems Director checks the plug-in.
The affected plug-in is now ready to use and its status is updated.
Related concepts:
The Home page
System severity states
Related tasks:
Starting work in IBM Systems Director
Learning about the product
Viewing updates
Viewing tutorials
Viewing the IBM Systems Director Server summary
Viewing updates
You can view updates that you can choose to apply to your IBM Systems Director
environment.
To view updates, in the IBM Systems Director navigation area, click Home to view
the Home page and complete any of the following steps:
v In the left-hand navigation, click Release Management > Updates. The Updates
page is displayed.
v Click Acquire updates.
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IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
1. On the Acquire Updates page, select the option to check for updates, then
select the types of updates for which you want check and click OK. Using
the Acquire Updates page, you can start managing updates in the following
ways:
– Select the systems to keep in compliance with the latest updates.
– Configure a connection to the Internet.
– Run or schedule a check for updates.
2. In the Launch Job window, click OK to start Check for Updates immediately.
IBM Systems Director checks for any updates that are available. A message is
displayed stating that the Check for Updates has run.
3. Click Show and Install Updates. The Show and Install Updates page is
displayed.
v On the Home page, click the Plug-ins tab. On the Plug-ins tab, click Acquire
Updates under the Update Manager section. The Acquire Updates page
described in the preceding step is displayed.
Related concepts:
The Home page
System severity states
Related tasks:
Starting work in IBM Systems Director
Learning about the product
Checking IBM Systems Director readiness
Viewing tutorials
Viewing the IBM Systems Director Server summary
Viewing tutorials
You can view tutorials to learn quickly how to use tasks and feature provided by
IBM Systems Director.
To view tutorials, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, click Home.
2. On the Home page, click the Learn tab. The Learn tab is displayed with the
available tutorials for the installed plug-ins. Hover help provides a description
for each tutorial.
3. Click the tutorial link for the task about which you want to learn.
Tip: The tutorials are launched from the Internet. You must have access to the
Internet to view them. For more information about e-learning and tutorials, see
“Learning and tutorials.”
If you have trouble viewing a tutorial, make sure that you install version 8.0 or
later of Adobe Flash Player from www.adobe.com/downloads/ and ensure that
your browser security settings are not preventing the interactive content from
displaying. Also, make sure that the system on which you install the IBM Systems
Director components meets the defined hardware requirements.
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Related concepts:
The Home page
System severity states
Learning and tutorials
Related tasks:
Starting work in IBM Systems Director
Learning about the product
Checking IBM Systems Director readiness
Viewing updates
Viewing the IBM Systems Director Server summary
Viewing the IBM Systems Director Server summary
You can view a summary of all activity within the past 30 days that is associated
with IBM Systems Director Server and the server on which it is running
(management server). Note that information on this page is refreshed automatically
when there are any changes.
To view the IBM Systems Director Server summary, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, click Home.
2. On the Home page, click the Plug-ins tab.
3. On the Plug-ins tab, scroll to the IBM Systems Director Server section of the
page and click the IBM Systems Director Server section heading. The IBM
Systems Director Server summary is displayed.
4. View the IBM Systems Director status section. This section provides the
following information:
v The management server name. Click the name to view the properties page
for the server.
v The current status for IBM Systems Director Server and, if applicable, its last
restart date and time. The Status field displays a local system health rating
that warns you when the IBM Systems Director Server is experiencing
problems that could jeopardize performance or stability. If a problem is
detected, a message ID is also provided. When you can click on the message
ID, a new window opens with a recommended operator response.
v The number of systems discovered. Click this link to display the discovered
systems.
v The type of authentication used.
v The known ports that are in use. Click All possible ports to view
information about ports that IBM Systems Director might use.
v
v
v
v
40
Note: This link opens the IBM Systems Director information center and
requires Internet access.
The location of any trace and error logs.
The database version number and driver that is installed.
The current management server statistics including processor use, memory
use, storage use, and the number of active users.
In the Common tasks area, the following links are provided:
System discovery
Click System discovery to discover systems by specifying a single IP
address, host name, or IP address range or by using a discovery
profile.
Collect and view inventory
Click Collect and view inventory to open the View and Collect
IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
Inventory task, with which you can collect the most current
inventory from a resource or view the inventory of a resource.
Find a task
Click Find a task to quickly and easily find any task. Then, you can
run the selected task.
Find a resource
Click Find a resource to quickly and easily find a particular resource.
Resource Explorer
Click Resource Explorer to view, work with, and navigate among
resources in your systems-management environment, including view
and manage discovery options on an individual resource level.
5. View the Users and roles section. This section provides the following
information:
v The number of users that do not have access to any resources. Click this link
to view the Users page that displays the affected users.
v The number of users that are defined in your IBM Systems Director Server
environment. Click this link to view the Users page that displays the defined
users.
v The number of roles that are defined in your IBM Systems Director Server
environment. Click this link to view the Roles page.
v In the Common tasks area, the following links are provided:
Manage Users
Click Manage Users to specify basic properties for each authorized
user and assign access to each user using roles.
Manage Roles
Click Manage Roles to create, edit, or delete roles that are used to
assign access to users.
Add a role
Click Add a role to create a role.
You also can reach the summary page by using Find a Task. For more information,
see “Finding a task.”
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Related concepts:
The Home page
System severity states
Related tasks:
Discovering systems and collecting inventory data
Finding systems and other resources
Finding a task
Authorizing users
Starting work in IBM Systems Director
Checking IBM Systems Director readiness
Viewing updates
Viewing tutorials
Related reference:
All possible ports
Finding and navigating resources
The IBM Systems Director Web interface provides many ways to navigate
resources. This section includes information about finding resources; the available
ways to view resources and resource information, including topology maps and
Topology Perspectives; working with resources in tables; and working with
resources in topology maps.
Topology Perspectives is a powerful navigation feature. When you select this
action, you can view a resource and its relationships to other resources in a
graphical display. For more information, see “Topology Perspectives views,”
“Viewing resources in the topology perspective,” and “Working with topology
maps.”
The Web interface also provides navigational actions for resources by way of the
Actions menu and the complementary pop-up menu that is displayed when you
right-click a resource. These actions vary depending on the resource. When you
click a resource, the default navigational task occurs; the default task, too, can vary
depending on the resource. For example, if you click a group, the members of that
group are displayed. When you right-click a group, the first navigational action
provided in the pop-up menu is View Members, which displays the members of
the group. If you click a resource, the Properties page for that resource is
displayed. When you right-click a resource, Properties is provided at the bottom of
the pop-up menu.
The menu also provides the following navigational actions:
v When you select a resource, the Related Resources menu item provides a list of
any and all resources that are related to the currently selected resource.
v When you view members of a group, the menu provides group-specific actions.
For example, while viewing a member of the group called All My Linux Servers,
you can click Actions > All My Linux Servers to view a submenu of
appropriate actions for that group.
As you navigate from one resource to another or drill down from a resource to its
subcomponents, a breadcrumb path is displayed at the top of the page as a
navigational signpost. The breadcrumb path is extended each time you drill down.
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If you navigate to a related resource, the breadcrumb path is updated to the
current location. The last link in the path identifies your current location in the
resource navigation. If you right-click on this last link, a menu is displayed. This
menu provides the same options as the Actions menu at this current location. The
following examples illustrate specific resources and the pop-up menus that are
displayed when you right-click the breadcrumb path:
v When you view members of a group, the breadcrumb path displays the menu
associated with that group.
v When you view blade servers in a chassis, the breadcrumb path displays the
menu associated with the chassis.
v When you view a resource in a topology map, the breadcrumb path displays the
menu associated with that resource.
Related tasks:
Navigating the Web interface
Navigating by way of the Home page
Managing groups
Finding and starting tasks
Scheduling tasks
Related reference:
lsgp command
accesssys command
Resource views
The IBM Systems Director Web interface provides a number of ways to view
information about your resources as well as manage the resources. The most
typical ways are through tables and the properties view. Most tasks and plug-ins
provide information and function using tables, although the amount of information
and function varies depending on the task or plug-in. In this section, Resource
Explorer is used to describe navigating tables in general.
Information and functions also are provided using the properties view. The
properties view is always available for any resource by selecting the resource and
clicking Actions > Properties.
Some tasks and plug-ins, most notably Resource Explorer, also provide Topology
Perspectives. When you select this feature, you can view a collection of related
resources, such as systems and their storage, and see the relationships among the
resources using a topology map. You also can toggle from the map view to a
resource view or relationship view.
Chapter 2. Using the Web interface
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Related tasks:
Finding systems and other resources
Viewing resources in the topology perspective
Working with tables
Working with topology maps
Working with properties
Setting navigation preferences
Renaming a resource
Removing a resource
Table view
The table view can display a list of the resources or tasks. Tables are the basic way
that information is displayed in IBM Systems Director.
Use the following example and descriptions to learn about the table view.
Figure 10. Table view
Breadcrumb path
Provides a collection of links that show the navigation path to the current
view. You can click any of these links to go back in the path.
Toolbar
Provides frequently used tasks as buttons. Available buttons vary,
depending on the task page. In this example, the Create Group button is
provided, but on other task pages, the Create Group button might not be.
Actions
Opens a list of available actions. These actions include those that are
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provided in the toolbar and elsewhere on the page as well as actions that
are common to all tables. For common table actions, see “Table navigation
in IBM Systems Director.”
Search the table
Searches the table with the string or phrase provided. When you type a
string in this field, any matching strings in the currently displayed table
are highlighted. Additionally, if you click Search, all of the pages of a table
are searched for the provided string; only the rows that contain the string
are displayed in the table.
Resource area
Displays the content of the resource area depending on the resources that
you have chosen to view. To see the members of a group, click on a group
in the table. The view drills down to view the group members in the table
and another step is added to the breadcrumb path. For example, if you
click Common-Agent systems in the table, all systems in your
environment that have Common Agent installed are displayed. The
resource view functions in the same way regardless of the resources that
you have chosen to view.
To perform an action on a resource in the view, right-click the resource and
select an action.
Table state information
Provides navigation between pages of the table. The table view displays a
limited number of entries on a single page. To move to the next page, click
the arrow button at the bottom left portion of the table. The table view
indicates the number of pages of data that is being displayed, for example,
Page 1 of 3. It displays the count of resources or relationships currently
shown, filtered, and the number selected. To change the number of entries
that are displayed in the table, change the Rows per table setting in the
Navigation Preferences page. For more information see “Setting navigation
preferences.”
Tip: To got to a specific page, type a number in the provided entry field
and press Enter. If you specified an number that is not valid, the page in
the table does not change.
Related concepts:
Properties view
Topology Perspectives views
Related tasks:
Navigating tables
Setting navigation preferences
Properties view
The properties view displays a list of properties and other detailed information
associated with the selected resource. Using the properties view, you can access
troubleshooting information and other important details about a resource from
anywhere in the IBM Systems Director Web interface. This view is available for all
resources from the Actions menu and from the resource's pop-up menu.
Depending on the selected resource, the properties view can provide information
about any configuration settings, jobs, thresholds, or event automation plans that
can affect the resource as well as dynamic troubleshooting information such as
Chapter 2. Using the Web interface
45
active status, inventory, and event log. Also, the properties view provides access to
any tasks that can be performed on the selected resource by way of the Actions
menu.
You can access the properties view from any view by selecting a resource and
clicking Actions > Properties.
Use the following example and descriptions to learn about the properties view.
Figure 11. Properties view
Breadcrumb path
Provides a collection of links that show the navigation path to the current
view. You can click any of these links to go back in the path.
Actions
Contains actions that are applicable to the resource displayed in the
Properties view.
Additional properties
If present, this area provides links to customized properties views provided
by the plug-in.
Resource area
Displays the content of the resource area that varies depending on the
resource that you have chosen to view. While the General page is always
displayed by default, the following additional pages can be provided
depending on the resource type:
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General
Displays the basic resource properties. This page is displayed by
default.
Active Status
Displays any problems, compliance concerns, and other issues.
Applied Activities
Displays any jobs, thresholds, software packages, activations, or
event automation plans that are associated with the resource.
Configuration
Displays any configuration settings that can be edited immediately
or saved as a template for later deployment. For more information,
see “Configuring systems.”
Event Log
Displays any event log data that might be associated with the
resource. For more information, see “Managing the Event Log.”
Inventory
Displays any inventory data that might be associated with the
resource. For more information, see “Collecting and viewing
inventory data.”
Service and Support
Displays whether Service and Support Manager is monitoring the
resource for problems that can be reported automatically to IBM
support. This page is displayed only if you have installed and
activated the Service and Support Manager plug-in. For more
information, see “Service and Support Summary.”
Related concepts:
Table view
Topology Perspectives views
Related tasks:
Working with properties
Configuring systems
Collecting and viewing inventory data
Managing the event log
Topology Perspectives views
After you select Resource Explorer from the navigation area, you can drill down to
see relationships among your resources using Topology Perspectives. Select a
resource or group of resources and click Actions > Topology Perspectives > Basic.
The Basic selection provides a topology map that shows key resources that are
related to the selected resource. When viewing a collection of related resources,
you can toggle among the map view, resource view, or relationship view to
manage your resources.
Resource Explorer provides the basic topology perspective that is described in this
section. Other plug-ins available for IBM Systems Director might provide
additional perspectives on this menu. These additional perspectives can provide
specific topological views of resource information:
All
Provides a topology map that shows all resources that are related to the
selected resource.
Network
Provides a topology map that shows network-specific resources that are
related to the selected resource, including servers, routers, and network
cards.
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For information about additional topology perspectives, see the following topics:
v “Storage topology views”
v “The update topology perspective”
v “Viewing resources in virtualization perspectives”
Note: The properties view is always available for any resource; select the resource
and click Properties.
Related concepts:
Storage topology perspective
Table view
Properties view
Map view:
The map view shows a graphical view of your resources and their relationships.
You can drill down and view the relationships among these resources and other
resources in your environment. You can also view and edit resource properties.
You can click on any displayed system icon or on any relationship line to select a
resource or relationship; then right-click on that selected resource to display a list
of available actions.
You can access the topology map view by selecting one or more resources and then
clicking Actions > Topology Perspectives > Basic. After you have entered the map
view, you can change to the resource view or relationship view. You can access the
map view from the resource view or relationship view by clicking Actions > Map
View.
Use the following example and descriptions to learn about the map view.
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Figure 12. Map view
Breadcrumb path
Provides a collection of links that show the navigation path to the current
view. You can click any of these links to go back in the path.
Toolbar
The toolbar contains the following toolbar buttons and menu:
Table 1. Toolbar buttons and menu
Icon
Name
Description
Actions menu
Contains actions for the topology as a whole, as well as pop-up menu items
for resources currently selected in the topology. For example, to display the
properties of the currently selected resource, click Actions > Properties.
Search the map
Searches the map for resources that have a name containing the word or
phrase provided.
Select
Selects resources in the topology.
Zoom Area
Selects the part of the topology that you want to increase or decrease in size.
Pan
Provides a way for you to drag the topology map to reposition it in the
topology viewport.
Hover Help
Displays detailed information about a resource or relationship line when a
mouse hovers over it.
Zoom Out (F2)
Incrementally reduces the total area of the topology you want to view.
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Table 1. Toolbar buttons and menu (continued)
Icon
Name
Description
Zoom In (F3)
Incrementally enlarges the total area of topology you want to view.
Zoom To Fit (F4)
Scales the entire topology to fit into the topology viewport.
Print Graph
Prints the entire topology. A Web browser window opens containing a JPEG
image of the graph. You can either print the graphic using your Web-browser
print feature or save the graphic as a local image.
Note: Be sure the Web browser option to block pop-up windows is turned off
for the URL that you use to log in to the IBM Systems Director Web interface.
Print Viewport
Prints only the current resources and relationships that are displayed in the
topology viewport. This view might be only a portion of the overall topology.
A Web browser window opens containing a JPEG image of the graph. You can
either print the graphic using your Web-browser print feature or save the
graphic as a local image.
Note: Be sure the Web browser option to block pop-up windows is turned off
for the URL that you use to log in to the IBM Systems Director Web interface.
Hide Palette View
Hides the support area that displays the palettes.
Show Palette View
Shows the support area that displays the palettes.
Map area
Enables you to drill down and view the relationships between resources in
a graphical format. You can right-click on a resource to display a list of
available actions. You can perform mouse actions on the topology map
such as scrolling, repositioning, and resizing. You also can use the
Overview palette to easily reposition the resources and relationships that
are displayed in the map.
Support area
Contains the Overview, Details, and Filter palettes. Click Hide Palette
View
on the navigation toolbar to close the support area. Click Show
on the navigation toolbar to open the support area. See
Palette View
“Navigating topology maps” for more information.
Overview palette
Provides a view of the entire topology map with a rectangle surrounding
the portion of the map displayed in the map viewport. You can click and
drag within the Overview palette to reposition the topology. See
“Reordering, minimizing, and hiding palettes” for more information.
Details palette
Provides a way to work with the properties of your resources. When you
select a resource or relationship in the topology, all of its properties appear
in the properties page within the Details palette. To change editable
properties, click Edit to open the Edit Properties window, change the
property, and click OK. See “Viewing properties and details” for more
information.
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Filter palette
Provides a way to select the resources that you want to see in the topology
map. You can filter your selections by status and by resource type. When
filtered, the affected resources and relationships are grayed out in the map.
The Filter palette also provides a Results page that displays the results of
searching the map view. See “Filtering the topology map” for more
information.
Table state information
Displays the count of resources or relationships currently shown, the
number selected, and the number filtered. A Depth menu is displayed to
indicate the number of relationships from the root node to the object that is
farthest away from that node. Using this menu, you can select the depth of
related resources that you want to view in the topology.
Related concepts:
Resource view
Relationship view
Related tasks:
Navigating topology maps
Reordering, minimizing, and hiding palettes
Viewing properties and details
Filtering the topology map
Working with topology maps
Viewing resources in the topology perspective
Changing between resource views
Changing the default resource view
Resource view:
The resource view displays a list of the resources in the current topology map
view.
You can access the resource view from the map view or relationship view by
clicking Actions > Resource View.
Use the following example and descriptions to learn about the resource view.
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Figure 13. Resource view
Breadcrumb path
Provides a collection of links that show the navigation path to the current
view. You can click any of these links to go back in the path.
Actions
Opens a list of available actions. These actions include those that are
provided in the toolbar and elsewhere on the page as well as actions that
are common to all tables. For common table actions, see “Table navigation
in IBM Systems Director.”
Map View
Click to change to the topology map view of the selected resource
and its related resources.
Resource View
The currently selected view, it displays the resource view of the
selected resource and its related resources.
Relationship View
Click to change to the selected resource, its related resources, and
their relationships.
Depth Indicate the number of relationships from the root node to the
object that is farthest away from that node. Using this menu, you
can select the depth of related resources that you want to view in
the table.
Search the table
Searches the table with the string or phrase provided. When you type a
string in this field, any matching strings in the currently displayed table
are highlighted. Additionally, if you click Search, all of the pages of a table
are searched for the provided string; only the rows that contain the string
are displayed in the table.
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Resource area
The content of the resource area depends on the resources that you have
chosen to view. To see the members of a group, click on a group in the
table. The view drills down to view the group members in the table and
another step is added to the breadcrumb path. For example, if you click
Common-Agent systems in the table, all systems in your environment that
have Common Agent installed will be displayed. The resource view
functions in the same way regardless of the resources that you have chosen
to view.
To perform an action on a resource in the view, right-click the resource and
select an action.
Table state information
Provides navigation between pages of the table. The table view displays a
limited number of entries on a single page. To move to the next page, click
the arrow button at the bottom left portion of the table. The table view
indicates the number of pages of data that is being displayed, for example,
Page 1 of 3. It displays the count of resources or relationships currently
shown, filtered, and the number selected. To change the number of entries
that are displayed in the table, change the Rows per table setting in the
Navigation Preferences page. For more information see “Setting navigation
preferences.”
Tip: To got to a specific page, type a number in the provided entry field
and press Enter. If you specified an number that is not valid, the page in
the table does not change.
Related concepts:
Map view
Relationship view
Related tasks:
Setting navigation preferences
Navigating tables
Viewing resources in the resource view
Changing between resource views
Changing the default resource view
Relationship view:
The relationship view shows the relationships among the resources in the current
topology map view. You can see the name of each resource, its type of relationship
to another resource, and the related resource. Before you can access the
relationship view, you must enter Topology Perspectives.
You can access a relationship view from the map view by clicking Actions >
Relationship View.
Note: After you enter the map view, there are two additional alternate views: the
relationship view and the resource view. Having entered the map view you can
change among the three alternate views.
Use the following example and descriptions to learn about the relationship view.
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Figure 14. Relationship view
Breadcrumb path
Provides a collection of links that show the navigation path to the current
view. You can click any of these links to go back in the path.
Actions
Contains actions for the selected resource and its related resources in a
relationship view.
Opens a list of available actions. These actions include those that are
provided in the toolbar and elsewhere on the page as well as actions that
are common to all tables. For common table actions, see “Table navigation
in IBM Systems Director.”
Map View
Click to change to the topology map view of the selected resource
and its related resources.
Resource View
Click to change to the resource view of the selected resource and
its related resources.
Relationship View
The currently selected view, it displays the selected resource, its
related resources, and their relationships.
Depth Indicate the number of relationships from the root node to the
object that is farthest away from that node. Using this menu, you
can select the depth of related resources that you want to view in
the table.
Search the table
Searches the table with the string or phrase provided. When you type a
string in this field, any matching strings in the currently displayed table
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are highlighted. Additionally, if you click Search, all of the pages of a table
are searched for the provided string; only the rows that contain the string
are displayed in the table.
Relationship area
The content of the relationship area depends on the resources that you
have chosen to view. For example, if you click Virtual Servers and Hosts,
the relationships that pertain to your virtual systems and hosts will be
displayed in the relationship view. A relationship between two resources is
displayed in each row. The relationship view functions in the same way
regardless of the types of relationships you have chosen to view.
To perform an action on the resources in the relationship view, right-click
the resource name in a row. The pop-up menu provides a submenu for
each resource in the relationship. Select an action for the resource you want
to affect. The action you select is performed on the selected resource within
the relationship.
Table state information
Provides navigation between pages of the table. The table view displays a
limited number of entries on a single page. To move to the next page, click
the arrow button at the bottom left portion of the table. The table view
indicates the number of pages of data that is being displayed, for example,
Page 1 of 3. It displays the count of resources or relationships currently
shown, filtered, and the number selected. To change the number of entries
that are displayed in the table, change the Rows per table setting in the
Navigation Preferences page. For more information see “Setting navigation
preferences.”
Tip: To got to a specific page, type a number in the provided entry field
and press Enter. If you specified an number that is not valid, the page in
the table does not change.
Related concepts:
Map view
Resource view
Related tasks:
Setting navigation preferences
Navigating tables
Viewing resources in the relationship view
Changing between resource views
Changing the default resource view
Finding systems and other resources
A system-management environment can include a large number of systems and
other resources. While you can expand and navigate through groups from the
Resource Explorer page or within other task tables to find a particular resource,
you also can quickly and easily find a particular resource using Find a Resource.
To locate resources quickly, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Find a
Resource.
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2. In the Find a Resource field, type the name of the system and click Find. The
first 10 results of the search are displayed below the field. If there are more
than 10 results, More is displayed.
3. Optional: If there are more than 10 results, you can refine the search results.
4. Optional: To view all the search results, click More. A table is displayed with
the search results.
Related concepts:
Resource views
Related tasks:
Viewing resources in the topology perspective
Working with tables
Working with topology maps
Working with properties
Setting navigation preferences
Renaming a resource
Removing a resource
Related reference:
lssys command
accesssys command
Viewing resources in the topology perspective
Using topology perspectives, you can view a collection of resources and see their
relationships among each other in multiple ways. If a task provides topology
perspectives, the Topology Perspectives action is available from the Actions menu.
After you enter the topology map view, you can access the resource view and the
relationship view. These views provide alternate ways to view the resources and
relationships that are displayed in the map view.
Note: Do not confuse the resource view and relationship view with the navigation
tables that are used throughout the IBM Systems Director Web interface. These
views display only the resources and relationships that you selected to display in
the topology perspective.
Related concepts:
Resource views
Related tasks:
Finding systems and other resources
Working with tables
Working with topology maps
Working with properties
Setting navigation preferences
Renaming a resource
Removing a resource
Viewing resources in the map view
The map view shows a graphical view of your resources and their relationships. If
a resource provides the topology map view as an alternate view, Topology
Perspectives is available in the Actions menu.
To view a topology map, complete the following steps:
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1. On a task page, navigate to a resource with relationships that you want to see
in a topology map view and select it.
2. Click Actions > Topology Perspectives > Basic.
3. View the map area. Use the map to drill down and view the relationships
between resources in a graphical format. You can right-click on a resource to
display a list of available actions.
4. Use your mouse to scroll, reposition, resize, and select resources and
relationships, as well as open context menus for resources. Relationships
between resources are displayed as lines, and the direction of the relationship is
shown by the direction of the arrow attached to each line. For information
about determining the type of relationship that a line indicates, see
“Determining a relationship type.” For more information about relationship
lines, see “Topology-relationship descriptions.” For more information about
mouse actions in a topology map, see “Navigating topology maps.”
5. View the Overview palette in the Support area. This palette provides a view of
the entire topology map with a rectangle surrounding the portion of the map
displayed in the map viewport. You can click and drag within the Overview
palette to reposition the topology.
6. View the Details palette in the Support area. This palette provides a way to
work with the properties of your resources. When you select a resource or
relationship in the topology, all of its properties appear in the properties page
within the Details palette. To change editable properties, click Edit to open the
Edit Properties window, change the property, and click OK. See “Viewing
properties and details” for more information.
7. View the Filter palette in the Support area. This palette provides a way to select
the resources that you want to see in the topology map. You can filter your
selections by status and by resource type. When filtered, the affected resources
and relationships are grayed out in the map. The Filter palette also provides a
Results page that displays the results of searching the map view. For more
information, see “Filtering the topology map.”
Related concepts:
Map view
Related tasks:
Working with topology maps
Viewing resources in the resource view
Viewing resources in the relationship view
Changing between resource views
Changing the default resource view
Navigating topology maps
Viewing properties and details
Filtering the topology map
Determining a relationship type
Viewing resources in the resource view
The resource view displays a list of the resources in the current topology map
view.
To view and use the resource view, complete the following steps:
1. In a topology map or relationship table, click Actions > Resource View.
2. In the table view, click a resource in the list to drill down and see more
resources and their relationships.
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3. If you want to perform tasks or other actions on your resources, select one or
more resources; then, click Action and click a task.
Tips:
v You also can right-click the resource and select a task from the pop-up menu.
v You can run some tasks on multiple resources simultaneously. To perform an
action on multiple resources, select the resources, right-click on one of the
selected resources, and select a task from the pop-up menu.
Related concepts:
Resource view
Related tasks:
Navigating tables
Viewing resources in the map view
Viewing resources in the relationship view
Changing between resource views
Changing the default resource view
Viewing resources in the relationship view
The relationship view shows the relationships among the resources in the current
topology map view. You can see the name of each resource, its type of relationship
to another resource, and the related resource. Before you can access the
relationship view, you must enter Topology Perspectives.
To view and use the relationship view, complete the following steps:
1. In a topology map or resource view, select a resource and click Actions >
Relationship View. The resource view shows a list of the relationships among
your resources. A relationship between two resources is displayed in each row.
The resource view provides the following information about the relationships:
From
In the resource view, the resource that is the starting point of a
relationship. For example, if System A is the host for Virtual Server 1,
then System A is the starting point of the relationship.
Relationship type
The type of relationship between two resources. Relationships might be
physical to physical, physical to virtual, or virtual to virtual. Consider
the following examples:
v A physical to physical relationship might be an IBM Power system to
a disk unit.
v A physical to virtual relationship might be a host system to a virtual
server.
v A virtual to virtual relationship might be a virtual server connected
to a virtual LAN.
In the resource view, the resource that is the ending point of a
relationship. For example, if System A is the host for Virtual Server 1,
then Virtual Server 1 is the ending point of the relationship.
2. To perform actions on a resource in a relationship, select a relationship row.
Then, click Actions, select either the To or From resource, and click a task.
To
Tips:
v You also can right-click the resource and select a task from the pop-up menu.
v Use the pop-up menu or the Actions menu to perform actions on either of
the resources represented in the relationship.
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Related concepts:
Relationship view
Related tasks:
Navigating tables
Filtering table information
Viewing resources in the map view
Viewing resources in the resource view
Changing between resource views
Changing the default resource view
Changing between resource views
After you have entered the topology map view, you can change to alternate views
of the resources and relationships that you chose to view in the topology map
view.
You first must enter the topology map view before you can change to the
relationship table or resource table views. If a task provides the topology map
view, the Topology Perspectives action is available in the Actions menu.
After you enter the topology map view, you can change to the relationship view or
the resource view and then return to the map view. All views are available in the
Actions menu and the view that you are currently using is checked.
Also, the properties view is always available from the Actions menu. Select a
resource and then click Actions > Properties.
When selecting a view, consider the following information:
v In the map view, you can view related resources of multiple types, including
their status information. Also, you can control the levels of resources that you
view. For example, if you choose to view three levels, the map displays all
resources that are up to three levels away from the primary resource, such as a
server, its RAID controller, and any attached RAID physical drives.
v In the resource view, you can view all the resources from the map view, but in a
table that is easier to filter and sort.
v In the relationship view, you can view the types of relationships that exist
between the resources in the map view.
v In the properties view, you can view all the troubleshooting information for a
resource in one place.
Related tasks:
Viewing resources in the map view
Viewing resources in the resource view
Viewing resources in the relationship view
Changing the default resource view
Changing the default resource view
You can customize the view that you want displayed when you open a resource in
the topology map. This setting is provided for accessibility requirements and
screen reader support; the setting affects only the view that is shown when the
resource is opened. After you have opened the resource, you can switch to a
different view. By default, this option is not selected; therefore, the topology view
is the default view. When this setting is selected, the topology view is not initially
displayed when you select Topology Perspectives.
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To set the default resource view, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, expand Settings
and click Navigation Preferences.
2. On the Navigation Preferences page, select or clear Use the resource table view
as the default view for topology maps.
3. When you are satisfied with your settings, click OK to save the settings and
close the page. To save the setting but not close the page, click Apply. To close
the page without saving the settings, click Cancel. To reset the settings to the
system-defined values, click Restore Defaults. You still must click OK or
Apply to save the restored settings.
Related tasks:
Viewing resources in the map view
Viewing resources in the resource view
Viewing resources in the relationship view
Changing between resource views
Working with tables
Working with tables and table information is a common task in the IBM Systems
Director Web interface. In addition to navigating tables, you can filter, sort, search,
export, and print table information. You can add resources to your Favorites view
that you use frequently. Also, you can customize your table navigation preferences
and adjust table columns.
Related concepts:
Resource views
Related tasks:
Finding systems and other resources
Viewing resources in the topology perspective
Working with topology maps
Working with properties
Setting navigation preferences
Renaming a resource
Removing a resource
Navigating tables
Navigating tables is a common task in IBM Systems Director. Most resources and
information are displayed in tables.
To navigate in tables, complete the following steps:
1. Open a task, such as Resource Explorer, that uses tables for navigating
resources.
2. Click a resource or group in the task table. Depending on the resource or group
that you click, the following information is displayed:
v If you click an individual resource that contain other resources, its
subsystems or related resources are displayed. For example, you can drill
down to view disks related to a server or fans related to a BladeCenter
chassis. Depending on the resource, there might be several levels through
which you can drill down. You can continue to click or drill down on
resources to see lower-level subsystems or resources.
v If you click a resource that does not contain other resources, then that
resource's properties are displayed. Depending on the pages provided for the
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3.
4.
5.
6.
resource, you can access information such as inventory and event status;
configuration settings; and information about the jobs, thresholds, software
packages, activations, or event automation plans that are associated with the
resource. For information about the Properties page, see “Viewing
properties.”
v If you click a group, a list of the included systems and resources is
displayed.
If you want to change the number of rows that are displayed in the table,
change the Rows per table setting in the Navigation Preferences page. For more
information see “Setting table-navigation preferences.”
If you want to navigate to an earlier part of your path in the table, click the
applicable part of the breadcrumb path located above the table. As you drill
down through related resources or to properties pages, the breadcrumb path is
extended to reflect the path you have taken.
Continue to click or drill down through resources to see lower-level subsystems
or resources.
The Actions menu also provides alternative ways to navigate the resources in
the table. Clicking Actions > Related Resources provides a list of resources that
are related to your selected resource. Select a related resource from the list to
navigate quickly to it. If applicable, alternate views might be available from the
Actions menu. Clicking Actions > Topology Perspectives displays a map of
resources and their relationships starting from the selected resource. For
information about Topology Perspectives, see “Topology Perspectives views.”
If you want to perform tasks or other actions on your resources, select one or
more resources. Then, you can either right-click the resource or click the
Actions menu. Both menus provide tasks and actions that are available for the
selected resources. These tasks and actions fall into the following categories:
v Actions that provide navigational alternatives. Related Resources provides a
list of resources that are related to the selected resource. Using this list, you
can navigate quickly to any related resource. If applicable, alternate views
also might be available. For example, the Topology Perspectives view
displays a map of resources and their relationships starting from the selected
resource. For information about Topology Perspectives, see “Topology
Perspectives views.”
v Specific tasks or actions that are applicable to a selected resource in the table.
For example, if you select a system in a table, these actions might include
Create Group, Power On, Access Control, Encryption Key Reset, and others.
v Globally available tasks and actions. For example, these tasks might include
Create and Create Like if they are applicable to a resource.
v Actions that are specific to tables such as filtering, sorting, exporting, and
adjusting columns.
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Related concepts:
Table view
Topology Perspectives views
Related tasks:
Viewing properties
Filtering table information
Sorting table information
Searching table information
Printing tables
Exporting table information
Adding resources to your Favorites view
Adding a group of resources to the Health Summary
Setting table-navigation preferences
Setting table-column preferences
Viewing properties
The properties view displays a list of properties and other detailed information
associated with the selected resource. Using the properties view, you can access
troubleshooting information and other important details about a resource from
anywhere in the IBM Systems Director Web interface. This view is available for all
resources from the Actions menu and from the resource's pop-up menu.
For information about viewing properties in a topology map view, see “Viewing
properties and details.”
To view properties for a resource in a table, complete the following steps:
1. In the table, select a resource.
2. Click Actions > Properties. On the Properties page, the resource area displays
one or more pages. The number of pages and the types of information they
include vary depending on the resource. The General page is displayed by
default.
3. View the properties displayed on the General page. Some properties are
editable. For information about editing properties, see “Editing properties.”
4. Optional: If additional pages are available, click them to view additional
properties information and troubleshooting information. Depending on the
pages provided for the resource, you can access information such as inventory
and event status; configuration settings; and information about the jobs,
thresholds, software packages, activations, or event automation plans that are
associated with the resource.
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Related concepts:
Properties view
Related tasks:
Editing properties
Viewing properties and details
Navigating tables
Filtering table information
Sorting table information
Searching table information
Printing tables
Exporting table information
Adding resources to your Favorites view
Adding a group of resources to the Health Summary
Setting table-navigation preferences
Setting table-column preferences
Filtering table information
Within any IBM Systems Director Web interface table, you can use the filtering
options that are available from the Action button. After you have completed
filtering resources in the table view, you can see the rows that match your filter
criteria in the table.
Note: Filtering is not persistent; filter settings are not remembered for subsequent
uses of the list.
To filter information in any table, complete the following steps:
1. Click Actions > Show Filter Row. An additional row at the top of each column
is displayed. This row contains Filter links.
2. Click Filter to open the selectable filtering criteria for a column.
Note: The available filter conditions vary depending on the column.
3. In the Filter window, select the condition on which you want to filter the
column. The conditions available vary depending on the type of information
that the column contains:
Textual information, such as name and description
The Filter window provides the following settings, as well as an option
to match the case:
v Contains
v Starts with
v Ends with
Type information, such as resource type
The types present in this column determine the settings available for
filtering. For example, if the column contains hosts, platform managers,
physical processors, and storage systems, then those types are available
as filter selections. However, if the column contains only one type, for
example, only servers, then filtering is disabled for that column.
Health and compliance information
The Filter window provides settings that are applicable to the specific
information reported in the column. For example, the following settings
are used for health information:
v Critical
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v
v
v
v
v
v
Fatal
Minor
Warning
Informational
Unknown
OK
Status information
The Filter window provides settings that are applicable to the specific
information reported in the column. For example, the following settings
are for access status:
v None
v Partial
v Full
Enumeration
The Filter window provides a list of settings that are applicable to the
specific information reported in the column.
Numeric information
The Filter window provides the following settings when applicable,
where x is a specified number and y is another specified number:
v All numbers
v Numbers less than x
v Numbers less than or equal to x
v Numbers greater than x
v Numbers greater than or equal to x
v Numbers equal to x
v Numbers not equal to x
v Numbers between x and y
v Numbers between and including x and y
Date, time, or date and time information
The Filter window provides settings that are applicable to the specific
information reported in the column. For example, the following settings
are used for the date:
v All dates
v Dates until
v Dates from
v Dates between
Boolean information
The Filter window provides information that can be filtered by Yes and
No selections.
4. Optional: To refine your filtering, you can edit the filter settings for additional
columns.
5. When you are satisfied with your filter settings, click OK. If you want to clear
all of your filter settings, click Actions > Clear All Filters.
6. When you finish filtering your table information, click Actions > Hide Filter
Row.
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Related tasks:
Navigating tables
Viewing properties
Sorting table information
Searching table information
Printing tables
Exporting table information
Adding resources to your Favorites view
Adding a group of resources to the Health Summary
Setting table-navigation preferences
Setting table-column preferences
Sorting table information
Within any IBM Systems Director Web interface table, you can use the sorting
options that are available in the table column headers and from the Action menu.
To sort information in any table, complete the following steps:
1. If you want to sort all the rows by the values in one column, you can click the
Up Arrow and the Down Arrow in the applicable column heading. For
example, if you want to sort the rows by name, click the arrow in the Name
column for the sort direction that you want. If you want to sort the rows by
type, click the arrow in the Type column.
You can control the sorting of a column by a series of clicks on the column
heading:
v The first click sorts the rows in ascending order (Z-A).
v The second click reverses the sort, that is, to descending order (A-Z).
v The third click removes the sort altogether.
2. If you want to all the rows by the values of more than one column, click
Actions > Edit Sort. For example, you might want to sort all the rows by type
but, within type, you want the rows sorted by name.
3. In the Edit Sorts window, a list is displayed for each available column on
which you can sort. In the First Sort list, select the column that contains the
data you want sorted first. Also, select the order of the sort: Ascending (Z-A) or
Descending (A-Z).
4. Optional: If you want to sort the table information on additional columns,
continue to make selections in the additional sort lists.
5. When you are satisfied with your sort settings, click OK.
6. If you want to clear all of your sort settings, click Actions > Clear All Sorts.
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Related tasks:
Navigating tables
Viewing properties
Filtering table information
Searching table information
Printing tables
Exporting table information
Adding resources to your Favorites view
Adding a group of resources to the Health Summary
Setting table-navigation preferences
Setting table-column preferences
Searching table information
Within any IBM Systems Director Web interface table, you can search for a specific
string in the table information.
To search any table, complete the following steps:
1. Type a string in the Search the table field. Any matching strings in the
currently displayed table are highlighted.
2. Click Search. All of the pages in the table are searched for the provided string
and any rows that contain the string are displayed in a new table.
Related tasks:
Navigating tables
Viewing properties
Filtering table information
Sorting table information
Printing tables
Exporting table information
Adding resources to your Favorites view
Adding a group of resources to the Health Summary
Setting table-navigation preferences
Setting table-column preferences
Printing tables
If a table is only one page long (that is, you can view the entire table on the page),
you can use your Web browser to print the table information. Otherwise, to print
tables that are more than one page long, you can export the table data to a CSV
file that you can subsequently import into a spreadsheet program and print using
that program.
Note: Be sure the Web browser option to block pop-up windows is turned off for
the URL that you use to log in to the IBM Systems Director Web interface.
If you want to increase the number of table rows that are displayed on one page,
see “Setting table-navigation preferences” for information.
To print a multiple-page table, see “Exporting table information.” To print a
one-page table, complete the following steps:
1. In your Web browser, click File > Print.
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2. In the Print window for your Web browser, click the option to print the
selected frame. Selecting this option will print only the IBM Systems Director
Web interface content area and not the navigation area.
3. Optional: Adjust your orientation setting to landscape so that the table width
can be printed. Typically, this is a printer setting and must be changed in the
printer properties.
4. In the Print window, click OK.
Related tasks:
Navigating tables
Viewing properties
Filtering table information
Sorting table information
Searching table information
Exporting table information
Adding resources to your Favorites view
Adding a group of resources to the Health Summary
Setting table-navigation preferences
Setting table-column preferences
Exporting table information
Within any IBM Systems Director Web interface table, you can export the table
data to a CSV file that you can subsequently import into a spreadsheet program.
Note: Be sure the Web browser option to block pop-up windows is turned off for
the URL that you use to log in to the IBM Systems Director Web interface.
To export data from any IBM Systems Director Web interface table, complete the
following steps:
1. Click Actions > Export.
2. In the file download window for your Web browser, click Save to Disk and
then click OK.
3. If your Web browser requires a location selection, provide it and click Save.
The data is exported and a CSV file is saved in the location that you provided.
Tip: You can print a multiple-page table using a CSV file. Import the CSV file into
a spreadsheet program and use the program's print feature.
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Related tasks:
Navigating tables
Viewing properties
Filtering table information
Sorting table information
Searching table information
Printing tables
Adding resources to your Favorites view
Adding a group of resources to the Health Summary
Setting table-navigation preferences
Setting table-column preferences
Adding resources to your Favorites view
You can save resources that you refer to frequently into a special location: your
Favorites view. Having all these resources in one location makes managing your
system-management environment easier.
You can add a resource to your Favorites from many places in the IBM Systems
Director Web interface. Whenever the Actions menu or a pop-up menu provides
the Add to > Favorites selection, you can add the resource to your Favorites. To
add a resource to your Favorites, complete the following steps:
1. In an IBM Systems Director Web interface table, navigate to the resource that
you want to save.
2. Optional: If you want to add multiple resources to your Favorites at once,
select each resource in the table that you want to save.
3. Right-click the resource (or a selected resource) and then click Add to >
Favorites. A confirmation message is displayed.
To view your Favorites, navigate to the Health Summary page. In the IBM Systems
Director Web interface navigation area, expand System Status and Health and
click Health Summary. Favorites - userid, where userid is your user ID, is
displayed in the Health Summary page.
Related tasks:
Using the Health Summary task to view the status of your environment
Navigating tables
Viewing properties
Filtering table information
Sorting table information
Searching table information
Printing tables
Exporting table information
Adding a group of resources to the Health Summary
Setting table-navigation preferences
Setting table-column preferences
Adding a group of resources to the Health Summary
You can save a group of resources in the Health Summary for easy reference. The
resources must be in a group. On the Health Summary page, a thumbnail of the
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group contents is displayed. You can add a resource to the Health Summary
whenever the Actions menu or a pop-up menu provides the Add to > Health
Summary selection.
The resources must be in a group. If the resources are not in an appropriate group,
use the Create Group wizard to create a group. For information, see “Managing
groups.”
To add a resource to the Health Summary, complete the following steps:
1. In a table, select the group that you want to save in the Health Summary.
2. Click Actions > Add to > Health Summary. A confirmation message is
displayed.
To view the Health Summary, navigate to the Health Summary page. In the IBM
Systems Director navigation area, expand System Status and Health and click
Health Summary.
Related tasks:
Using the Health Summary task to view the status of your environment
Managing groups
Navigating tables
Viewing properties
Filtering table information
Sorting table information
Searching table information
Printing tables
Exporting table information
Adding resources to your Favorites view
Setting table-navigation preferences
Setting table-column preferences
Setting table-navigation preferences
You can customize your preferences for navigating in the table view. These
preferences include table accessibility, your preferred navigation view, and more.
To set the preferences, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, expand Settings
and click Navigation Preferences.
2. On the Navigation Preferences page, you can set the following preferences that
affect the table view:
Enable tables for accessibility
Select this option to turn off table features that are not accessible in the
interface, such as fixed column width. By default this option is not
selected.
Play sound when data on the page changes
Select this option to turn on a notification sound that is played when
the graphical user interface is refreshed. Examples of situations that can
cause a notification sound include a page refreshing dynamic data, a
user selection that displays additional controls or options, a table
completes a sort, or a user starts a page refresh. By default this option
is not selected.
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Use the resource table view as the default view for topology maps
Select the view that you want displayed when you open a resource in
the topology map. This setting affects only the view that is shown
when the resource is opened. After you have opened the resource, you
can switch to a different view. By default, this option is not selected;
the topology view is the default view.
Rows per table
Specify the number of rows to display on a page in the table view for
Resource Explorer and other navigation tables in IBM Systems Director.
The default number of rows is 15.
Rows per embedded table
Specify the number of rows to display in an embedded table in the
table view for Health Summary and other navigation tables in IBM
Systems Director. The default number of rows is 10.
3. When you are satisfied with your settings, click OK to save the settings and
close the page. To save the setting but not close the page, click Apply. To close
the page without saving the settings, click Cancel. To reset the settings to the
system-defined values, click Restore Defaults. You still must click OK or
Apply to save the restored settings.
Related tasks:
Navigating tables
Viewing properties
Filtering table information
Sorting table information
Searching table information
Printing tables
Exporting table information
Adding resources to your Favorites view
Adding a group of resources to the Health Summary
Setting table-column preferences
Setting table-column preferences
You can customize your preferences for the table columns used in Resource
Explorer and all other tables used in the IBM Systems Director Web interface.
These preferences include the available columns that are displayed in the table,
how the columns are ordered (except for Name, which is always the first column),
and the width for each column. Note that you also can adjust the column width by
dragging the column handles in the table-column header.
Note: These settings affect tables in the following ways:
v If you are viewing a group when you open the Column Preferences window, the
preferences are saved with the group. The preferences are saved specifically for
your use; group column preferences for other users are not affected.
v If you are viewing a set of resources of the same type when you open the
Column Preferences window, the preferences are saved for any time you view
that same resource type.
To set the table-column preferences, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface task table, click Actions > Columns.
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2. In the Columns window on the Order page, select the columns that you want
to display. Use the Add and Remove buttons to move columns between the
Available columns list and the Selected columns list.
3. To adjust the order in which the columns are displayed, select the column from
the Selected columns list and use Up and Down to adjust the order.
Note: You cannot adjust the Name column; it is always the first column.
4. Click the Width tab. The Width page provides an adjustable width setting (in
pixels) for each column displayed in the table.
Note: You also can adjust column width by dragging the column handles in
the table-column header.
5. If you want to change the settings on the page to the system-defined default
values, click Restore Defaults.
6. When you are satisfied with your settings, click OK to save the settings and
close the page. To save the setting but not close the page, click Apply. To close
the page without saving the settings, click Cancel. To reset the settings to the
system-defined values, click Restore Defaults. You still must click OK or
Apply to save the restored settings.
The table is adjusted to display using the new column settings.
Related tasks:
Navigating tables
Viewing properties
Filtering table information
Sorting table information
Searching table information
Printing tables
Exporting table information
Adding resources to your Favorites view
Adding a group of resources to the Health Summary
Setting table-navigation preferences
Working with topology maps
The topology map view shows a graphical view of your resources and their
relationships. In addition to navigating maps, you can filter, search, export, and
print topology maps. Also, you can customize your topology map palettes and
map preferences.
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Related concepts:
Resource views
Related tasks:
Finding systems and other resources
Viewing resources in the topology perspective
Working with tables
Working with properties
Setting navigation preferences
Renaming a resource
Removing a resource
Navigating topology maps
You can navigate topology maps to view resources and their relationships to each
other in a graphical view.
To navigate in topology maps, complete the following steps:
1. Open a task that provides the topology map view as an alternate view.
Resource Explorer is one of these tasks.
2. On the task page, navigate to a resource that you want to view in a topology
map and select it. The selected resource will be the root node in the topology
map.
3. Click Actions > Topology Perspectives > Basic. The topology map displays
scalable topology graphs that you can manipulate using the following mouse
actions:
Table 2. Mouse actions in the topology map
Interaction
Description
Scrolling and
repositioning
Topologies are often much larger than the topology-map viewing area. Therefore, you might
want to reposition the map to see specific resources.
You can reposition the topology map in the following ways:
v Use the eight scroll controls to scroll in eight directions. The scroll controls are displayed
as white arrows on all four sides and all four corners of the topology map. Click the
arrows to move the topology horizontally, vertically, and diagonally in small increments.
v Go to the Overview palette to reposition the topology map. A blue rectangle indicates the
viewable area of the topology map. Click and drag to move the blue rectangle around the
topology thumbnail. When the Overview rectangle is moved, the topology is repositioned
in the topology map.
v Click the Pan toolbar icon
to load the mouse with the Pan cursor, then click and drag inside the topology map.
v Press the Ctrl and arrow keys on the keyboard to scroll in four directions.
Resizing
A resizing function is provided to enlarge the topology map. Click and drag the small gray
triangle in the lower right portion of the topology map to resize the viewable area in the
topology map. Dragging the small gray triangle only resizes the size of the viewable area; it
does not resize the topology.
Note: Resizing the topology map causes the entire page to resize within the interface.
Select a resource
Click the resource icon or a resource label.
Select multiple
resources
To select two or more resources at the same time, click the first resource. Then press the Ctrl
key while using the mouse to select as many resources as you want.
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Table 2. Mouse actions in the topology map (continued)
Interaction
Description
Deselect resources
Click the resource again, or click on the background within the topology map. Alternatively,
select the deselect action from the Actions menu.
Select a relationship
Click the relationship line.
Select multiple
relationships
To select two or more relationships at the same time, click the first relationships. Then, hold
the Ctrl key down using the mouse to select as many relationships as you want.
Deselect a
relationship
Click the relationship line again, or click on the background within the topology map.
Open a pop-up menu Right-click the icon or label.
for a resource
Note: The pop-up menu items that are displayed are based on the icon or label that is
selected.
Open a pop-up menu Right-click the background within the topology map.
for the topology
Perform an action on Right-click the icon to access the pop-up menu and then select a menu action. Alternatively,
a resource
select the icon or label and then select an action from the Actions menu.
Perform an action on Select multiple resources, and right-click any of the selected resources to access the pop-up
multiple resources
menu; then select a menu action. Alternatively, select the icon or label and then select an
action from the Actions menu.
4. For large topology maps, use the Overview palette to view of the entire
topology map with a rectangle surrounding the portion of the map displayed
in the map viewport. You can click and drag within the Overview palette to
reposition the topology.
5. Optional: If you want to perform tasks or other actions on your resources,
select one or more resources. Then, you can either right-click on the resource or
click the Actions menu. Both menus provide tasks and actions that are
available for the selected resources. These tasks and actions fall into three
categories:
v Specific tasks or actions that are applicable to a selected resources in the
map. For example, if you select a system in a map, these actions might
include Create Group, Power On, Access Control and Encryption Key Reset.
If applicable, alternate views might be available. For example, Relationship
View displays a table of a selected resource and its related resources, and
lists their relationships.
v Globally available tasks and actions. For example, these task might include
Create and Create Like if they are applicable to a resource.
v Actions specific to maps such as graph mode, zoom, and layout.
6. If you want to navigate to an earlier part of your path, click the applicable part
of the breadcrumb path located above the map.
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Related concepts:
Map view
Related tasks:
Viewing properties and details
Determining a relationship type
Filtering the topology map
Searching the topology map
Printing topology maps
Exporting topology maps
Reordering, minimizing, and hiding palettes
Setting topology-navigation preferences
Viewing properties and details
You can view properties and detailed information about a selected resource in a
topology map. Depending on the selected resource, the properties view also
provides dynamic troubleshooting information such as active status, inventory, and
event log.
To view properties and details, complete the following steps:
1. In the topology map, click a resource or relationship line.
2. View the Details palette for the properties information. If you selected a
relationship line, a relationship table is displayed. If you selected a resource, a
properties table is displayed.
Note: If you want to reorder or adjust the size of the palette, see “Reordering,
minimizing, and hiding palettes.”
3. To view all of the resource properties information, click Actions > Properties.
On the Properties page, the resource area displays one or more pages. The
number of pages and the types of information they include vary depending on
the resource. The General page is displayed by default.
4. View the properties displayed on the General page. Some properties are
editable. For information about editing properties, see “Editing properties.”
5. Optional: If additional pages are available, click them to view additional
properties information and troubleshooting information. Depending on the
pages provided for the resource, you can access information such as inventory
and event status; configuration settings; and information about the jobs,
thresholds, software packages, activations, or event automation plans that are
associated with the resource.
6. When you are done viewing the properties, click OK to return to the topology
map view.
You also can change editable properties. For more information, see “Editing
properties.”
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Related concepts:
Properties view
Related tasks:
Editing properties
Navigating topology maps
Determining a relationship type
Filtering the topology map
Searching the topology map
Printing topology maps
Exporting topology maps
Reordering, minimizing, and hiding palettes
Setting topology-navigation preferences
Related reference:
Topology-relationship descriptions
Determining a relationship type
Topology maps display relationships between resources using lines. A line can
indicate one of many relationship types. There are several ways that you can
determine the type that a line indicates.
You can determine the type of relationship that a line indicates in any of the
following ways:
v In the topology map, click a relationship line. Then, view the Details palette. The
relationship type is listed in the Details palette.
v In the topology map, right-click a resource at either end of the relationship line
and then click Relationship View. The relationship table view is displayed. The
information is listed in the Relationship Type column.
. Then, move the
v On the topology map toolbar, click the Hover Help icon
mouse pointer over the relationship line to view information about the
relationship, including the relationship type.
For information about each relationship type, see “Topology-relationship
descriptions.”
Related tasks:
Navigating topology maps
Viewing properties and details
Filtering the topology map
Searching the topology map
Printing topology maps
Exporting topology maps
Reordering, minimizing, and hiding palettes
Setting topology-navigation preferences
Related reference:
Topology-relationship descriptions
Filtering the topology map
Within any topology map, you can use the filtering options that are available from
the Filter palette. Use this palette to select the resources that you want to see in the
topology map. You can filter your selections by status and by resource type. When
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filtered, the affected resources and relationships are grayed out in the map. The
Filter palette also provides a Results page that displays the results of searching the
map view.
To filter a map, complete the following steps:
1. View the Filter palette in the Support area. The palette has two pages: Filter
and Results. On the Filter page, the palette provides two types of settings on
which you can filter: status and resource type.
2. If you want to filter by resource status, go to the Status Items group and clear
the selections that you want to filter from the topology map. Any resource in
the topology map that has a status matching a cleared selection is grayed out in
the topology map. For example, if you clear the OK check box, any resources
that have a status of OK are grayed out in the topology map.
3. If you want to filter by resource type, go to the Resource Types group and
clear the selections that you want to filter from the topology map. Any resource
of a type that matches a cleared selection is grayed out in the topology map.
For example, if you clear the Server check box, any resources that are a server
resource type are grayed out in the topology map.
4. Click the Results tab. The Results page displays a table of information about
the resources that are not grayed out in the topology.
Note: Filtering is not persistent; filter settings are not remembered for subsequent
uses of the map.
Related tasks:
Navigating topology maps
Viewing properties and details
Determining a relationship type
Searching the topology map
Printing topology maps
Exporting topology maps
Reordering, minimizing, and hiding palettes
Setting topology-navigation preferences
Related reference:
Topology-relationship descriptions
Searching the topology map
You can search for a specific resource name in a topology map. Any resources in
the map that do not match the specified string are greyed out in both the large
topology map and the thumbnail topology map in the Overview palette.
To search a map, complete the following steps:
1. Type a string in the Search the map field.
2. Click Search. The name field is searched for the specified string. Any resources
in the map that do not match the specified string are greyed out in both the
large topology map and the thumbnail topology map in the Overview palette.
The search results also are displayed in the Filter palette on its Results page.
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Related tasks:
Navigating topology maps
Viewing properties and details
Determining a relationship type
Filtering the topology map
Printing topology maps
Exporting topology maps
Reordering, minimizing, and hiding palettes
Setting topology-navigation preferences
Related reference:
Topology-relationship descriptions
Printing topology maps
You can choose to print the entire topology or only a portion of the overall
topology.
Note: Be sure the Web browser option to block pop-up windows is turned off for
the URL that you use to log in to the IBM Systems Director Web interface.
To print a topology map, complete the following steps in the topology map view:
from the toolbar. A
1. To print the entire topology, click the Print Graph icon
Web browser window opens containing a JPEG image of the graph.
2. You can either print the graphic using your Web-browser print feature or save
the graphic as a local image.
3. To print only the current resources and relationships that are displayed in the
from the toolbar. The
topology map view, click the Print Viewport icon
currently displayed resources and relationships might be only a portion of the
overall topology. A Web browser window opens containing a JPEG image of the
graph.
4. You can either print the graphic using your Web browser print feature or save
the graphic as a local image.
Related tasks:
Navigating topology maps
Viewing properties and details
Determining a relationship type
Filtering the topology map
Searching the topology map
Exporting topology maps
Reordering, minimizing, and hiding palettes
Setting topology-navigation preferences
Related reference:
Topology-relationship descriptions
Exporting topology maps
You can export the topology-map data to a CSV file that you can subsequently
import into a spreadsheet program.
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77
Note: Be sure the Web browser option to block pop-up windows is turned off for
the URL that you use to log in to the IBM Systems Director Web interface.
To export data for an entire topology map, complete the following steps in a
topology map view:
1. Click Actions > Export.
2. In the file download window for your Web browser, click Save to Disk and
then click OK.
3. If your Web browser requires a location selection, provide it and click Save.
The data is exported and a CSV file is saved in the location that you provided.
Related tasks:
Navigating topology maps
Viewing properties and details
Determining a relationship type
Filtering the topology map
Searching the topology map
Printing topology maps
Reordering, minimizing, and hiding palettes
Setting topology-navigation preferences
Related reference:
Topology-relationship descriptions
Reordering, minimizing, and hiding palettes
The topology map view provides palettes that display overview and detailed
information as well as filtering options. You can reorder the position of the palettes
to meet your preferences, you can minimize one or more palettes, or you can
completely hide the support area that displays the palettes.
Each palette has arrow icons on the title bar as applicable. For example, if a palette
is the top palette in the support area, its title bar includes only a down arrow. The
middle palette include both up and down arrow icons. To reorder a palette, click
the applicable up or down arrow icons until the palette is in the order that you
prefer. To save the new palette order to use whenever you use the topology map
view, select Remember palette state in Navigation Preferences. For more
information, see “Setting topology-navigation preferences.”
To minimize or hide palettes, complete the following steps in the topology map
view:
v To minimize a palette, click the Minimize icon on the palette title bar to the
right. The palette minimizes and only the palette title bar is displayed.
v To maximize the palette, click the Maximize icon on the palette title bar to the
right. The palette maximizes and is fully displayed.
on
v To completely hide all of the palettes, click the Hide Palette View icon
the navigation toolbar. The support area is closed.
v To show the support area and the palettes, click the Show Palette View icon
on the navigation toolbar. The support area is displayed.
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Related tasks:
Navigating topology maps
Viewing properties and details
Determining a relationship type
Filtering the topology map
Searching the topology map
Printing topology maps
Exporting topology maps
Setting topology-navigation preferences
Related reference:
Topology-relationship descriptions
Setting topology-navigation preferences
You can customize your preferences for navigating in the topology map view.
These preferences include the way that topology map palettes are displayed, the
default topology and table sizes, your preferred navigation view, and more.
To set the preferences, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, expand Settings
and click Navigation Preferences.
2. On the Navigation Preferences page, you can set the following preferences that
affect the topology map view:
Show palettes on initial view
Select to display the Overview, Details, and Filter palettes in the
topology map view. If you deselect this setting, you will see the
topology map without the palettes; you can show the palettes again by
clicking the Show Palette View icon
This option is selected by default.
on the navigation toolbar.
Play sound when data on the page changes
Select this option to turn on a notification sound that is played when
the graphical user interface is refreshed. Examples of situations that can
cause a notification sound include a page refreshing dynamic data, a
user selection that displays additional controls or options, a table
completes a sort, or a user starts a page refresh. By default this option
is not selected.
Remember palette state
Select to make sure that the state of your palettes persists even as you
navigate away from the topology map view, change to another page in
the overall IBM Systems Director Web interface, or log off from the IBM
Systems Director Web interface. For example, you can customize the
topology map view by minimizing or reordering the Overview, Details,
and Filter palettes. By selecting Remember palette state, you maintain
the customized view of your palettes even after you log out of the IBM
Systems Director Web interface. This option is selected by default.
Use the resource table view as the default view for topology maps
Select the view that you want displayed when you open a resource in
the topology map. This setting affects only the view that is shown
when the resource is opened. After you have opened the resource, you
can switch to a different view. By default, this option is not selected;
the topology view is the default view.
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79
Topology map size
Specify the dimensions to use for the topology map view.
Remember last size used
Specify that you want to save the dimensions of the current
topology map view and use these dimensions at the next
startup. This option is selected by default.
Custom size (pixels)
Specify custom dimensions for the topology map view. The
following dimensions are the defaults:
v Width: 500 pixels
v Height: 500 pixels
Preferred size for topology map icons (pixels)
Specify the size of icons in the topology map when the map is
displayed initially. The default value is 50.
3. When you are satisfied with your settings, click OK to save the settings and
close the page. To save the setting but not close the page, click Apply. To close
the page without saving the settings, click Cancel. To reset the settings to the
system-defined values, click Restore Defaults. You still must click OK or
Apply to save the restored settings.
Related tasks:
Navigating topology maps
Viewing properties and details
Determining a relationship type
Filtering the topology map
Searching the topology map
Printing topology maps
Exporting topology maps
Reordering, minimizing, and hiding palettes
Related reference:
Topology-relationship descriptions
Topology-relationship descriptions
Relationships between different resources are displayed as lines, and the direction
of the relationship is shown by the direction of the arrow attached to each line. As
you work with the topology map, it is important to understand that relationship
types are differentiated by the lines.
The following relationships are available:
Table 3. Types of relationship lines in the topology map
80
Type
Description
Accessed via
Shows that a resource is accessed from, or accesses another resource.
For example, a system accesses an image repository.
Advertises
Shows that a certain capability is available on a system. For example,
if a system offers a Web service, it might advertise that Web service
capability.
Allocated from
Shows that a resource is allocated from or allocates another resource.
For example, a storage volume is allocated from a storage pool.
Applies to
Shows that a resource applies to another resource. For example, a
software product can be applied to a system.
IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
Table 3. Types of relationship lines in the topology map (continued)
Type
Description
Assigned to
Shows that a resource is assigned to, or assigns another resource. For
example, a DVD drive is assigned to a virtual server.
Binds to
Shows that a setting is bound to a specific resource. For example, a
specified IP address was bound to the given TCP/IP port.
Boots from
Shows the link between an operating system and the file system from
which it is loaded.
Configured using
Shows the settings that have been used to configure a specific
resource.
Configures
Shows that a resource template was used to configure an instance of a
resource. For example, a software instance is one of the instances that
were configured during of a general Software Installation.
Connected to
Shows that a resource is connected to another resource. For example, a
system is connected to a network through a particular port.
Contains
Shows that a resource is contained by or contains another resource. For
example, a host contains a physical processor or a rack contains a
chassis..
Controls/
controlled by
Shows that a resource is controlled by, or controls another resource.
For example, a platform manager controls a host or a virtual farm.
Controls access to
Shows a resource that controls access of another resource. For example,
a Role controls the access rights of a particular user.
Defined using
Shows that a resource was defined using another resource. For
example, a template was defined using specific configuration settings.
Federates
Shows a logical relationship between two resources. Resources that
exist independently are federated by a separate entity to create a
logical contain relationship. For example, hosts are federated by a
virtual farm.
Fixes
Shows the resource that fixes another resource. For example, a
firmware update fixes a system.
Hosts/hosted by
Shows that a resource is hosted by or hosts another resource. For
example, a virtual server is hosted by a host.
Installed as
Shows that a software module was used and installed as a specific
software resource.
Installed on
Shows the relationship between an operating system, software, or fix,
and a computer system. For example, an operating system is installed
on a server.
Latest for
This relationship represents that the given Software Module is the
latest for the given computer system.
Located at
Shows that the given physical resource or system is located at the
provided Location.
Member of
Shows membership of a group or other container. For example, a blade
server is a member of a BladeCenter chassis.
Needs
Shows that a Software Module is missing from the System and must
be applied to it. For example, an update might be needed by an
operating system.
Performs
Shows the entity that performs a service. For example, a set of
processes perform a service, or a system performs a particular role,
such as a domain name server.
Plugs into
Shows that the given resource plugs into the provided Slot.
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Table 3. Types of relationship lines in the topology map (continued)
Type
Description
Provides
Shows that this Service is provided by the System.
Realizes/realizes
by
Shows that one resource provides the physical reality of another
resource. For example, a host processor realizes a virtual processor
allocation.
Recommended for Shows that the given Software Module is recommended for the given
System.
Represents
Shows that the given Software Module is considered represented
within the Software Installable.
Requires
Shows that a resource requires or is required by another resource. For
example, an update might have three requisite updates that must be
installed at the same time.
Runs on
Shows that a resource runs on another resource.
Supersedes
Shows that a Software Resource is considered to be a superset of
another Software Resource and is therefore superseding it. For
example, an update might be more recent than another and therefore
supersedes it.
Uses/used by
Shows that a resource is used by another resource. For example, a
virtual server uses a processor allocation.
Related tasks:
Navigating topology maps
Viewing properties and details
Determining a relationship type
Filtering the topology map
Searching the topology map
Printing topology maps
Exporting topology maps
Reordering, minimizing, and hiding palettes
Setting topology-navigation preferences
Working with properties
The properties view displays a list of properties and other detailed information
associated with the selected resource. Using the properties view, you can access
troubleshooting information and other important details about a resource from
anywhere in the IBM Systems Director Web interface. This view is available for all
resources from the Actions menu and from the resource's pop-up menu.
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Related concepts:
Resource views
Properties view
Related tasks:
Finding systems and other resources
Viewing resources in the topology perspective
Working with tables
Working with topology maps
Setting navigation preferences
Renaming a resource
Removing a resource
Editing properties
If a resource property is editable, you can edit it in the properties view.
To edit a property, complete the following steps:
1. Navigate to the resource that you want to view and edit.
2. Right-click the resource and click Properties. The General page is displayed by
default in the properties view.
3. Click Edit at the bottom of the General page. The Edit window opens and
displays the properties. The properties vary depending on the resource. Only
some of the properties are editable. The editable properties are displayed in
fields and lists.
4. Edit one or more of the editable properties.
5. When you are satisfied with your changes, click OK to save the changes.
Related tasks:
Viewing activities that affect a resource
Editing location information for a resource
Editing location information for a group
Related reference:
chsys command
Viewing activities that affect a resource
A resource can potentially be affected by a number of applied activities, such as
jobs, thresholds, software packages, activations, or event automation plans. You can
determine applied activities that affect a specific resource in the properties view.
To view the applied activities associated with a resource, complete the following
steps:
1. Select the resource for which you want to view the applied activities.
2. Click Actions > Properties.
3. On the Properties page, click the Applied Activities tab.
The Applied Activities page displays a list of any jobs, thresholds, software
packages, activations, and event automation plans that are associated with the
resource.
Chapter 2. Using the Web interface
83
Related tasks:
Editing properties
Editing location information for a resource
Editing location information for a group
Editing location information for a resource
You can edit the location information that you have provided for an individual
resource. You can edit location information only if you have installed and activated
the Service and Support Manager plug-in or the Active Energy Manager plug-in.
To edit the location information for a resource, complete the following steps:
1. On the Properties page, if the General page is not displayed, click the General
tab to view the General page.
2. In the Additional Properties area, click Location.
3. Click Edit.
4. In the Edit Properties window, make the updates to the location information.
5. Click OK.
Related tasks:
Editing properties
Viewing activities that affect a resource
Editing location information for a group
Editing location information for a group
You can edit the location information that you have provided for a group of
systems. You can edit location information only if you have installed and activated
the Service and Support Manager plug-in or the Active Energy Manager plug-in.
To edit the location information for all of the systems in a group, complete the
following steps:
1. In Resource Explorer, right-click the group that you want to update.
2. Click Edit Location.
3. In the Edit Location window, select the boxes next to the information that you
want to update.
Note: Only the information in the fields that you select will be updated.
Changes made to other fields will not be saved.
4. Make the updates to the location information.
5. Click OK.
Related tasks:
Editing properties
Viewing activities that affect a resource
Editing location information for a resource
Setting navigation preferences
You can customize your preferences for navigating in IBM Systems Director. These
preferences include the way that topology map palettes are displayed, the default
topology and table sizes, your preferred topology icon size, and more.
To set the navigation preferences, complete the following steps:
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1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, expand Settings
and click Navigation Preferences.
2. On the Navigation Preferences page, you can set the following preferences:
Show palettes on initial view
Select to display the Overview, Details, and Filter palettes in the
topology map view. If you deselect this setting, you will see the
topology map without the palettes; you can show the palettes again by
clicking the Show Palette View icon
This option is selected by default.
on the navigation toolbar.
Remember palette state
Select to make sure that the state of your palettes persists even as you
navigate away from the topology map view, change to another page in
the overall IBM Systems Director Web interface, or log off from the IBM
Systems Director Web interface. For example, you can customize the
topology map view by minimizing or reordering the Overview, Details,
and Filter palettes. By selecting Remember palette state, you maintain
the customized view of your palettes even after you log out of the IBM
Systems Director Web interface. This option is selected by default.
Enable tables for accessibility
Select this option to turn off table features that are not accessible in the
interface, such as fixed column width. By default this option is not
selected.
Play sound when data on the page changes
Select this option to turn on a notification sound that is played when
the graphical user interface is refreshed. Examples of situations that can
cause a notification sound include a page refreshing dynamic data, a
user selection that displays additional controls or options, a table
completes a sort, or a user starts a page refresh. By default this option
is not selected.
Use the resource table view as the default view for topology maps
Select the view that you want displayed when you open a resource in
the topology map. This setting affects only the view that is shown
when the resource is opened. After you have opened the resource, you
can switch to a different view. By default, this option is not selected;
the topology view is the default view.
Topology map size
Specify the dimensions to use for the topology map view.
Remember last size used
Specify that you want to save the dimensions of the current
topology map view and use these dimensions at the next
startup. This option is selected by default.
Custom size (pixels)
Specify custom dimensions for the topology map view. The
following dimensions are the defaults:
v Width: 500 pixels
v Height: 500 pixels
Rows per table
Specify the number of rows to display on a page in the table view for
Resource Explorer and other navigation tables in IBM Systems Director.
The default number of rows is 15.
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85
Rows per embedded table
Specify the number of rows to display in an embedded table in the
table view for Health Summary and other navigation tables in IBM
Systems Director. The default number of rows is 10.
Preferred size for topology map icons (pixels)
Specify the size of icons in the topology map when the map is
displayed initially. The default value is 50.
3. When you are satisfied with your settings, click OK to save the settings and
close the page. To save the setting but not close the page, click Apply. To close
the page without saving the settings, click Cancel. To reset the settings to the
system-defined values, click Restore Defaults. You still must click OK or
Apply to save the restored settings.
Related concepts:
Resource views
Related tasks:
Finding systems and other resources
Viewing resources in the topology perspective
Working with tables
Working with topology maps
Working with properties
Renaming a resource
Removing a resource
Renaming a resource
You can rename a resource in the IBM Systems Director database. If the name that
was set for the resource when it was discovered is not easily usable for you, you
can rename the resource.
To rename a resource in the IBM Systems Director database, complete the
following steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Navigate to the resource that you want to rename.
Select the resource. Then, click Actions > Rename.
In the name field, type the new resource name.
In the Rename window, click OK.
The selected resource is renamed in the IBM Systems Director database.
Note: Consider how renaming a resource might affect other aspects of your
managed environment. For example, changing the name of a managed resource
that an event filter specifies as an event sender causes any associated event
automation plan to fail unless you update the sender name in the event filter.
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Related concepts:
Resource views
Related tasks:
Finding systems and other resources
Viewing resources in the topology perspective
Working with tables
Working with topology maps
Working with properties
Setting navigation preferences
Removing a resource
Related reference:
chsys command
Removing a resource
You can remove a resource from the IBM Systems Director database. Removing a
resource from the database also removes any additional resources that are
associated with it but does not affect the actual resources. However, removing a
resource from the database is useful when you are removing a resource from your
systems-management environment.
Resources have a properties that determines whether they can be removed. If the
property does not permit removal, this task is not available for the resource.
To remove one or more resources from the IBM Systems Director database,
complete the following steps:
1. Navigate to the resource that you want to remove.
2. Select the resource. Then, click Actions > Remove.
3. In the Remove window, OK.
4. A confirmation message is displayed. Click OK.
The selected resource is removed from the IBM Systems Director database.
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87
Related concepts:
Resource views
Related tasks:
Finding systems and other resources
Viewing resources in the topology perspective
Working with tables
Working with topology maps
Working with properties
Setting navigation preferences
Renaming a resource
Related reference:
rmsys command
Managing groups
You can use IBM Systems Director to organize logical sets of resources into groups.
Depending on the type of group that you create, you can use groups to easily
identify and categorize new resources when they are discovered. You can schedule
tasks to run on groups of resources. Using an event automation plan, you can
automatically run tasks on groups of resources. You can create, edit, import, and
export customized groups of resources. Groups are displayed in Resource Explorer,
Health Summary, wizards, and throughout the IBM Systems Director Web
interface.
Groups
You can use IBM Systems Director to organize logical sets of resources into groups.
Groups have the following general characteristics:
v Groups can include resources.
v Groups can include other groups.
v Resources can belong to multiple groups.
v You can perform tasks on groups in order to perform the task on every group
member.
v When you select a group in Resource Explorer, the resources that are members
of that group are displayed.
Related concepts:
Manageable systems
Related tasks:
Creating a criteria-based dynamic group
Creating a static group
Editing a group
Deleting a group
Adding a resource to an existing group
Exporting a group
Importing a group
Related reference:
Group commands
Group types
You can create dynamic and static groups in IBM Systems Director.
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Dynamic groups
Dynamic groups are based on specified system criteria. You can create a
dynamic group by specifying criteria that the attributes and properties of
the systems must match. IBM Systems Director automatically adds or
removes systems to or from the group when their attributes and properties
change and affect their matches to the group criteria.
For example, a dynamic group might contain all systems that have Linux
installed.
Note: You cannot edit or delete static default groups.
Static groups
Static groups contain a specified list of systems. IBM Systems Director
Server does not automatically update the contents of a static group. The
members of a static group are fixed unless you change them using the IBM
Systems Director Web interface, the dircli chgp command, or an event
automation plan. You also can copy the members of any dynamic group to
a static group.
For example, a static group might contain all the systems that are
physically located in a particular server room.
Related concepts:
Default or predefined groups
Group member types
Default or predefined groups
When you start Resource Explorer, the discovered resources are categorized and
displayed in default groups. You can click a group to view subgroups that further
categorize the resources for ease-of-use.
Note: You cannot edit or delete static default groups.
All Systems
All discovered systems in IBM Systems Director, including servers, chassis,
operating systems, switches, blades, and storage systems.
All Operating Systems
All operating systems that can be managed in the IBM Systems Director.
Groups by System Type
Systems categorized into subgroups by hardware and operating system
platform. The available subgroups vary, depending on the plug-ins that
you have installed in your IBM Systems Director environment.
v BladeCenter Systems
– BladeCenter Chassis
– BladeCenter Chassis and Members
– Power Systems Blade Servers
–
–
–
–
–
–
Note: The JS21 and JS22 blade servers are not displayed in this
group. They are displayed in the Power Systems group that is
contained in the IBM Power Systems group.
x86 Blade Servers
BladeCenter Servers
BladeCenter Ethernet Switches
BladeCenter Fibre Channel Switches
BladeCenter InfiniBand Switches
BladeCenter SAS Switches
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v
v
v
v
– BladeCenter InfiniBand Switches to Ethernet Bridges
– BladeCenter InfiniBand Switches to Fibre Channel Bridges
– BladeCenter Pass-Through Modules
Operating Systems
– Windows Systems
– Linux Systems
– AIX Systems
– IBM i Systems
– z/OS® Systems
System x
– System x Servers
– Servers with Service Processors
– VMware Hosts
– Scalable Systems
- Scalable Virtual Servers and Members
- Scalable Systems and Members
System z
– Hardware Management Console and Managed System z Servers
– z/VM Hosts
– z/VM Virtual Servers
– Linux on System z
– z/VM Manageability Access Points
IBM Power Systems
– Hardware Management Console and Managed Power Systems Servers
– IVM and Managed Power Systems Servers
– Virtual I/O Server Appliances
– Power Systems
Note: The JS21 and JS22 blade servers are displayed in this group
also.
– AIX/Linux Virtual Servers
– IBM i (formerly i5/OS™) Virtual Servers
– Virtual I/O Server Appliances
– Isolated Workloads and Hosts
– AIX Workload Partitions (WPAR)
– Linux Containers
v Storage Systems
All groups provided by Storage Management. For information, see
“Storage groups.”
– Systems and Volumes
– Storage Subsystems and Volumes
– SMI-S Providers
– Internal RAID
– Network Storage
– BladeCenter Storage
– Generic Systems
Groups by Agent
Systems categorized into subgroups by the degree of management
capability available in the IBM Systems Director systems-management
environment. This default group provides the following subgroups:
v Systems with No Agent
v Systems with Platform Agent
v Systems with Common Agent
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Groups by Status
Dynamic groups that contain systems for which there are unresolved
hardware status events. This default group provides the following
subgroups:
v Systems with Problems
v Systems not in Compliance
Groups by Access
Dynamic groups that contain systems depending on their current access
state. This default group provides the following subgroups:
v Systems with No Access
v Systems with Partial Access
v Systems with Full Access
Groups with Thresholds
Any groups to which you have applied a threshold.
Note: If you have migrated event automation plans from versions of IBM
Director earlier than version 6.1, event automation plans that use threshold
values are migrated to this group.
Personal Groups
Any groups that you have created or are exclusively associated with your
IBM Systems Director user ID. These subgroups include the Favorites
group.
Other Groups
Group definitions migrated from versions of IBM Director earlier than
version 6.1.
Update Groups
All groups provided by update manager. For information, see “Update
groups.”
Virtualization Groups
All virtualization groups.
Related concepts:
Group types
Group member types
Service and Support groups:
These predefined groups are available only if you have installed and activated the
Service and Support Manager plug-in. Service and Support Manager categorizes
systems into subgroups based on their service monitoring status.
This default group provides the following dynamic subgroups:
Excluded Systems
Contains resources that are ineligible for monitoring by Service and
Support Manager. The eligibility of a resource depends on many factors,
such as the type of resource, machine type, manufacturer, model, and serial
number.
Systems with Service Requests
Contains resources for which a service request has been opened with IBM
Support.
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Monitored Systems
Contains resources that are being monitored by Service and Support
Manager.
Unknown Systems
Contains resources for which Service and Support Manager eligibility is
undetermined. The eligibility of a resource depends on many factors, such
as the type of resource, machine type, manufacturer, model, and serial
number. Service and Support Manager has not been able to determine the
resources' eligibility because the resource information is not available.
For more information on Service and Support Manager groups, see “Service and
Support Manager.”
Storage groups:
These predefined storage groups are shipped with IBM Systems Director so that
you can start working on storage configuration quickly, and can understand which
systems have which storage devices attached.
Do not delete or make changes to these predefined storage groups. Instead, make a
copy of one that you want to change and make changes to the copy.
BladeCenter Storage
Contains all systems that have IBM BladeCenter S SAS RAID Controller
Module storage for IBM Systems Director. This group is used to define
discovered storage contained within the IBM BladeCenter S SAS RAID
Controller Module itself. IBM BladeCenter S SAS RAID Controller Module
storage is included in this group as well as in the Network Storage group.
Local Storage
Contains all systems that have Internal RAID Controllers installed. They
could be systems with traditional adapter cards, or IBM BladeCenter
systems with RAID daughter cards.
Network Storage
Contains all discovered external storage systems. These are the SAN
systems. They could be Fibre Channel, SAS storage systems, or iSCSI
systems. IBM BladeCenter S SAS RAID Controller Module storage is
included in this group as well as in the BladeCenter Storage group.
SMI-S Providers
Contains all systems that have SMI-S providers installed and running.
An example is a system that has installed the SMI-S Provider for IBM
Storage System DS4000.
Storage Subsystems and Volumes
Storage subsystem volume to computer system volume topology.
Systems and Volumes
Computer system volume to storage subsystem volume topology.
Update groups:
Update groups can be static or dynamic. Both types can be used in compliance
policies.
Static update groups
Contain individual updates that were explicitly chosen. Once established,
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the membership changes only when you manually add or delete updates.
Static update groups can be used as a baseline for future comparison or
update deployment.
Dynamic update groups
Automatically contains updates based on selected update types. The
membership of this group changes as update information changes.
It is important to note that the membership of an update group is not resolved at
the time that a task using the group is scheduled. The membership of the update
group is resolved at the time that the task runs.
If you add a system group or an update group to an existing system group or
update group, this new, nested group will not be considered when the parent
system or update group is used for validation of compliance policies.
Groups member types
In IBM Systems Director, groups have a member type that restricts the kind of
resource that can be a member of the group. For example, if a group is assigned
the member type Server, then only resources that are servers can be members of
the group.
The following member types are available:
Any
Contains all resources.
Group Contains other groups.
Note: This member type is not available for dynamic groups.
Managed System
Contains resources that are managed in IBM Systems Director by way of
Common Agent or Platform Agent. Agentless-managed systems are also
included.
Update
Contains software and firmware updates.
Related concepts:
Group types
Default or predefined groups
Creating a criteria-based dynamic group
Dynamic groups are based on specified system criteria. You can create a dynamic
group by specifying criteria that the attributes and properties of the systems must
match. IBM Systems Director automatically adds or removes systems to or from
the group when their attributes and properties change and affect their matches to
the group criteria.
The criteria available for selection are derived from inventory. For example, you
can quickly group existing systems by creating a dynamic group using the criterion
Windows operating system. You can further refine the systems that can be in the
dynamic group by using logical AND with an additional criterion selection of
“Windows systems with critical problems.” Then, create an event automation plan
to notify you when these systems have problems. You also can schedule tasks to
run on all systems that match a certain criterion, such as Collect AIX Inventory
on a group called AIX systems.
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To create a dynamic group, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, click Resource Explorer.
2. In Resource Explorer, click Create Group.
3. In the Group Editor wizard, the Welcome page is displayed. Click Next.
4. On the Name page, type a unique descriptive name for the group that you are
creating. Optionally, you also can type a description of the group. Click Next.
5. On the Type and Location page, select Dynamic from the Group type list.
6. From the Member type list, select the type of member that you want included
in the group. A member type acts like a filter. Only resources of the specified
type can be part of the group you are creating.
Any
Group membership is unlimited. Any resource can be in the group,
including systems, software, and management applications.
Managed System
Group membership is limited to system types such as different type of
servers, fabric, farms, hardware control points, controllers, operating
systems, chassis, switches, and storage.
Update
Group membership is limited to updates types such as for firmware,
IBM Systems Director, and operating systems.
7. From the Location list, select the parent group to contain the group that you
are creating. In Resource Explorer, a parent group is created and is located
under Personal Groups.
8. Click Next.
Option
Description
If you selected Any or Managed System
The Define page is displayed. Continue to
the next step.
If you selected Update
The Updates page is displayed. Go to step
15 on page 95.
9. On the Define page, click Add. The Add Criterion window is displayed.
10. Refine the criteria from which you can select.
Option
Description
If you selected Any
1. In the Resource category list, select the
type of resource with the criteria that
you want to evaluate.
2. In the Type of device to add list, select
the device type to further refine the
available criteria.
If you selected Managed System
In the Type of system to add list, select the
system type to further refine the available
criteria.
a. In the Select criteria to refine group contents list, expand the tree and
select a criterion for the dynamic group to evaluate. Your selection is
displayed below the list.
b. Click Operators to select how you want the criterion evaluated by the
value you provide.
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c. Click Value to select the value by which you want to evaluate the
criterion. If you want to specify a custom value, select Use entry from
below and type the custom value in the field.
Important: The custom value must match the value stored in the IBM
Systems Director Server database. Partial matches are not accepted. If the
value does not match, nothing is returned for this criterion.
d. Click OK. On the Define page, the criterion is displayed in the Criteria
preview field.
11. If you want to add additional criteria, click Add and repeat step 9 on page 94.
After adding another criterion, the Define page displays the logical AND and
the logical OR selections. These selections determine how the criterion that
you create now will affect the criterion you created previously.
You can use the logical AND only if your selected criteria belongs to the same
resource type or managed system type. For example, a criteria of
(Battery.description=’Sony’) AND (DiskDrive.NeedsCleaning=’true’) is
never true because a resource cannot be both a disk drive and a battery.
Therefore, if your criteria contain different resource types or managed system
types, the selection is set to logical OR and cannot be changed. If you do
select logical AND and subsequently add another criterion, the Add Criterion
window automatically displays the criteria that are valid for the resource type
or managed system type that you already selected.
12. If you want to change a criterion, select the criterion from the Criteria list and
click Edit. The Edit Criterion window is displayed with the settings for the
selected criterion. Change the settings and click OK.
13. If you want to delete a criterion, select the criterion from the Criteria list and
click Delete. A confirmation window is displayed; click Delete and the
selected criterion is deleted from the list.
14. Click Next and go to step 17.
15. On the Updates page, in the Available update types list, select the updates
that you want to add to the group and click Add. To make multiple selections,
press the Ctrl key and click your selections; then, click Add.
16. Click Next.
17. On the Summary page, verify the details of the group. If you need to make
changes, click Back; otherwise, click Finish.
The dynamic group is created and is displayed in Resource Explorer. A
confirmation message about the group creation is displayed also.
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Related concepts:
Groups
Related tasks:
Creating a static group
Editing a group
Deleting a group
Adding a resource to an existing group
Exporting a group
Importing a group
Related reference:
mkgp command
Creating a static group
To make working with a set of resources easier, you can create a static group. For
example, you can create a static group for all the servers that you are responsible
for in your systems-management environment. Groups also can contain other
groups. For example, you can have a group called Development Systems that
contains three groups: one group for each development team.
To create a static group, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, click Resource Explorer.
2. In Resource Explorer, click Create Group.
3. In the Group Editor wizard, the Welcome page is displayed. Click Next.
4. On the Name page, type a unique descriptive name for the group that you are
creating. Optionally, you also can type a description of the group. Click Next.
5. On the Type and Location page, select Static from the Group type list.
6. From the Member type list, select the type of member that you want included
in the group. A member type acts like a filter. Only resources of the specified
type can be part of the group you are creating.
Any
Group membership is unlimited. Any resource can be in the group,
including systems, software, and management applications.
Managed System
Group membership is limited to system types such as different type of
servers, fabric, farms, hardware control points, controllers, operating
systems, chassis, switches, and storage.
Update
Group membership is limited to updates types such as for firmware,
IBM Systems Director, and operating systems.
Group Group membership is limited to other existing groups.
7. From the Location list, select the parent group to contain the group that you
are creating. In Resource Explorer, a parent group is created and is located
under Personal Groups.
8. Click Next.
9. On the Define page, select one or more groups of resources from the
Available list and click Add. You also can drill down into a group and select
one or more resources. If you want to remove a group or resource, select it
from the Selected list and click Remove.
Notes:
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a. You cannot add a group's parent to itself. For example, if you define the
parent group location for Group1 to be Personal Groups, then you cannot
add Personal Groups to Group1.
b. If you select a resource to add, but the Add button is unavailable, then the
selected resource is not a valid selection due to its member type.
10. Click Next.
11. On the Summary page, verify the details of the group. If you need to make
changes, click Back; otherwise, click Finish.
The static group is created and is displayed in Resource Explorer. A confirmation
message about the group creation is displayed also.
Related concepts:
Groups
Related tasks:
Creating a criteria-based dynamic group
Editing a group
Deleting a group
Adding a resource to an existing group
Exporting a group
Importing a group
Related reference:
mkgp command
Editing a group
You can edit a group to change its name and description. If you are editing a static
group, you can edit the members of the group. If you are editing a dynamic group,
you can edit the membership criteria.
Note: You cannot edit default or predefined groups.
To edit a group, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, click Resource Explorer.
2. Click Actions > Edit.
3. In the Group Editor wizard, you can edit the name and description of the
group. If you are editing a static group, you can edit the members of the group.
If you are editing a dynamic group, you can edit the membership criteria.
4. On the Summary page, verify your changes to the group. If you need to make
changes, click < Back; otherwise, click Finish.
The group is updated with your changes and is displayed in the Resource
Explorer. A confirmation message about the group change is displayed also.
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Related concepts:
Groups
Related tasks:
Creating a criteria-based dynamic group
Creating a static group
Deleting a group
Adding a resource to an existing group
Exporting a group
Importing a group
Related reference:
chgp command
chusergp command
Deleting a group
When a group is no longer useful, you can delete it.
Note: You cannot edit or delete static default groups.
To
1.
2.
3.
delete a group, complete the following steps:
In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, click Resource Explorer.
Select the group that you want to delete.
Click Actions > Delete.
Attention: The group will be deleted for all IBM Systems Director users.
4. A confirmation message is displayed. Click Delete to delete the group.
The group is deleted and is no longer displayed in the Resource Explorer.
While you can delete the Favorites and Health Summary groups, the next time you
open Health Summary, the groups are recreated. However, they will not have any
members.
If you delete a group that was used when scheduling a job, the job remains and is
active, but it does not run because it does not have a target system against which
to run.
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Related concepts:
Groups
Related tasks:
Creating a criteria-based dynamic group
Creating a static group
Editing a group
Adding a resource to an existing group
Exporting a group
Importing a group
Related reference:
mkgp command
Adding a resource to an existing group
You can add one or more resources to an existing static group. This is useful when
new systems or resources are added to your systems-management environment
and you want to include them in groups that are already serving your needs.
To add one or more resources to an existing static group, complete the following
steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, click Resource Explorer.
2. Navigate to the resource or resources that you want to add to a static group.
3. Select one or more resources. Then, click Actions > Add to > Existing Group.
4. In the Add to Existing Group window, select one or more groups from the
Available list and click Add >. You also can drill down into a group and select
a subgroup. If you want to remove a group or resource, select it from the
Selected list and click < Remove.
Note: If the Add > button is unavailable, you cannot add your selected
resource to the selected group because of one of the following reasons:
v The selected group is a dynamic group. You can select only a static group.
v The selection is not a group, but an individual resource.
v The resource might already be a member of that group.
5. Click OK.
The selected resources are added the static group. A confirmation message about
the addition is displayed. Click View Group to view the affected group
immediately.
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Related concepts:
Groups
Related tasks:
Navigating tables
Creating a criteria-based dynamic group
Creating a static group
Editing a group
Deleting a group
Exporting a group
Importing a group
Related reference:
chgp command
chusergp command
Exporting a group
You can export a group to archive or back up the criteria that define a group. After
a group is exported, you can distribute it to a new instance of IBM Systems
Director Server by importing the group through the IBM Systems Director Web
interface.
Note: Be sure the Web browser option to block pop-up windows is turned off for
the URL that you use to log in to the IBM Systems Director Web interface.
Before using Internet Explorer to export a group, complete the following steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
In Internet Explorer, click Tools > Internet Options.
From the Security tab, click Custom level.
In the Settings list, scroll to the Downloads section.
Enable the Automatic prompting for file downloads setting.
Click OK.
6. A warning dialog displays. Click Yes to confirm the settings change.
7. Click OK to close the Internet Options window.
To export a group, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, click Resource Explorer.
2. Select one or more groups that you want to export.
3. Click Actions > Export Groups.
4. In the file download window for your Web browser, click Save to disk and
then click OK.
5. Optional: If your Web browser requires a location selection, provide it and click
Save.
The group is exported and an XML file is saved to the location that you provided.
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Related concepts:
Groups
Related tasks:
Creating a criteria-based dynamic group
Creating a static group
Editing a group
Deleting a group
Adding a resource to an existing group
Importing a group
Related reference:
lsgp command
Importing a group
You can import a previously exported group so that you can distribute that group
to a new instance of IBM Systems Director Server.
Note: To import groups from versions prior to IBM Systems Director 6.1, make
sure you use Group Export to export the group in the earlier version of IBM
Director.
To
1.
2.
3.
import a group, complete the following steps:
In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, click Resource Explorer.
Click Actions > Import Groups.
In the Group Import page, click Browse to navigate to the exported group file
that you want to import. Or, type the file name in the Select the file that you
want to import field.
4. Click OK. A progress indicator is displayed.
When the import is completed, a confirmation message is displayed and the group
is displayed in the Personal Group in Resource Explorer. If you want to view the
imported group in another group than Personal Group, select the imported group
and click Actions > Add to Existing Group.
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Related concepts:
Groups
Related tasks:
Creating a criteria-based dynamic group
Creating a static group
Editing a group
Deleting a group
Adding a resource to an existing group
Exporting a group
Related reference:
mkgp command
Finding and starting tasks
The IBM Systems Director Web interface provides many tasks and many ways to
start these tasks. This section provides information about finding tasks as well as
how to start tasks. It also includes information about how to integrate external
tasks into IBM Systems Director Web interface.
Related tasks:
Navigating the Web interface
Navigating by way of the Home page
Finding and navigating resources
Managing groups
Scheduling tasks
Finding a task
IBM Systems Director provides a wealth of tasks that you can use to manage your
system-management environment. While many tasks can be found in the IBM
Systems Director Web interface navigation area, the Actions menu, or in pop-up
menus, you can quickly and easily find any task using Find a Task. Then, you can
run the selected task. If it is a targeted task, a list of available target systems is
provided.
To find a task, you must be authorized to use that task. If it is a targeted task, you
must also have authorization to access the systems. For more information see
“Security.”
To find tasks quickly in the IBM Systems Director Web interface, complete the
following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Find a Task.
The Find a Task page opens and displays an alphabetical list of all available
tasks in your IBM Systems Director installation.
2. If you do not know the name of the task you want, go through the Find a Task
pages and view the descriptions of the tasks until you recognize the task that
you want. If you know all or part of the name of the task you want to find,
type the task name in the Search the table field and click Search. All of the
table columns are searched for the word that you typed. Any task that has the
entered word in any of its columns is displayed.
3. Click the task that you wanted to find to start it.
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4. If the task requires a resource on which to work, the task will request the
resource. If the task does not require a resource, then the task opens
immediately.
Related concepts:
Security
Launched tasks
Related tasks:
Starting tasks
Related reference:
lstask command
Starting tasks
You can choose from several methods of starting tasks in the IBM Systems Director
Web interface.
Start a task from the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area in any of
the following ways:
v Click Find a Task. On the Find a Task page, you can search for and start a
specific task. For more information, see “Finding a task.”
Note: You can select a noninteractive task and click Actions > Run to schedule
the task to start immediately or at a later time. For more information, see
“Scheduling tasks.”
v Expand the sections in the navigation pane to view and click available tasks.
v Expand Task Management and click External Application Launch. You can
configure other applications to run from the IBM Systems Director Web
interface. For more information, see “Integrating external applications.”
v Click My Startup Pages. Any pages that you have saved to your Startup page
are displayed here. A saved page includes any tasks that can be run from that
page. For more information, see “Customizing the Web interface.”
v Click any of the tasks available in the navigation area.
Start a task from the IBM Systems Director Web interface content area in any of the
following ways:
v In a table view, right-click a resource and select a task.
Tip: You can run some tasks on multiple resources simultaneously. To perform a
task on multiple resources, select one or more resources. Then, right-click one of
the selected resources and select a task.
v In a table or topology map view, select one or more resources. Then, click
Actions and click a task.
v In the topology map view, right-click a resource and select a task.
v In the topology map view, select the resource. Then, in the Details palette,
right-click the resource and select a task.
v For applicable tasks, you can select Run Now or Schedule. You can schedule a
task to start immediately or at a later time. For more information, see
“Scheduling tasks.”
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Related concepts:
Launched tasks
Related tasks:
Scheduling tasks
Customizing the Web interface
Finding a task
Integrating external applications
Related reference:
runtask command
Launched tasks
IBM Systems Director provide some tasks that start outside of the IBM Systems
Director Web interface. These tasks are launched tasks and are identified on menus
by the Launched tasks icon
.
When you select a launched task, the task can be displayed in one of the following
ways:
v In another instance of your Web browser. The task provides its own Web
interface.
v As a separate program on your system desktop.
Note: Launched tasks require an installation of Java™ Web Start (JWS). For more
information, see “Downloading Java Web Start.”
Related tasks:
Downloading Java Web Start
Finding a task
Starting tasks
Related reference:
Troubleshooting for launched tasks
Downloading Java Web Start
If you want to start tasks outside of the IBM Systems Director Web interface, the
Java Web Start (JWS) software must be installed on your browser system. JWS is
required on your browser system to enable launched tasks in IBM Systems
Director.
To download JWS, complete the following steps:
1. If your browser system requires JWS, a message window is displayed.
Complete the following applicable steps.
Option
Description
For Windows and AIX
Click Download Now.
For Linux
1. Select the applicable (Java Runtime
Environment) JRE for your browser
system.
2. Click Download Now.
2. Select to save the file to your hard disk drive or open and run the file
immediately, as applicable for your operating system.
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3. When the JWS installation is complete, retry the launched task that you wanted
to use.
Related tasks:
Configuring Web browsers to use JWS
Configuring SSL between IBM Systems Director and the Web browser client
Configuring Web Browsers to use Java Web Start
To launch tasks, Web browsers must use a Java Web Start program, such as the one
that is installed with the Java Runtime Environment (JRE).
Related tasks:
Downloading Java Web Start
Configuring SSL between IBM Systems Director and the Web browser client
Updating the Firefox Web browser to use the Java Web Start program:
To launch tasks that start outside the IBM Systems Director Web interface, the
Firefox Web browser must use the Java Web Start program that is installed with
the Java Runtime Environment (JRE).
To update the Firefox Web browser, version 3.6.13, to use the Java Web Start
program, complete the following steps:
1. In the Web browser, click Tools > Options.
2. In the Options window, click Applications from the toolbar.
3. Select the JNLP content type.
Note: If the JNLP file type is not available, see "Associating the JNLP file type
with the Java Web Start program (Firefox)".
4. In the Action column for the JNLP content type, select Use Java WebStart
Executable. If Java WebStart Executable is not available, select Use other... and
click Browse.
5. Navigate to the Java Web Start program, javaws.exe, located in the JRE
directory.
6. In the bin directory, select the javaws.exe program and click Open.
7. In the Options window, click OK. The Java Web Start program and the JRE are
now configured for use with launched tasks.
Related tasks:
Associating the JNLP file type with JWS (Firefox)
Associating the JNLP file type with the Java Web Start program (Firefox):
If, while updating the Firefox Web browser to use the Java Web Start program, you
determine that the JNLP file type is not available for configuration by way of the
Firefox Web browser, you must associate the JNLP file type with the Java Web Start
program.
To associate the JNLP file type with the Java Web Start program, complete the
following steps:
1. Click the IBM Systems Director task that required Java Web Start.
2. In the Opening launch.jnlp window that displays, click Open with and select
Other.
3. On the Choose Helper Application dialog, click Browse and navigate to the
Java Web Start program, javaws.exe, located in the JRE directory.
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4. In the bin directory, select the javaws.exe program and click Open.
5. In the Opening launch.jnlp window, click Do this automatically for files like
this from now on.
6. Click OK. The task launches.
Related tasks:
Updating Firefox to use IBM JWS
Updating the Microsoft Internet Explorer Web browser to use the Java Web Start
program:
To launch tasks that start outside the IBM Systems Director Web interface, the
Microsoft Internet Explorer Web browser must use the Java Web Start program that
is installed with the Java Runtime Environment (JRE).
To update the Microsoft Internet Explorer Web browser, versions 6.0, 7.0, or 8.0, to
use the Java Web Start program, complete the following steps:
1. Start the Windows Explorer program.
2. Click Tools > Folder Options.
3. In the Folder Options window, click the File Types tab.
4. On the File Type page, select the JNLP file type and view the information in
the Details area.
Note: If the JNLP file type is not available, see “Associating the JNLP file type
with the Java Web Start program (MSIE).”
5. If the Details area reports that the JNLP file type has customized behavior,
complete the following steps:
a. Click Restore. The default behavior for JNLP files, opening with the Java
Web Start executable, is restored.
b. Click Advanced.
6. In the Edit File Type window, click Edit.
7. In the Editing action for type window, click Browse.
8. Navigate to the Java Web Start program, javaws.exe, located in the JRE
directory.
9. In the bin directory, select the javaws.exe program and click Open.
10. In the Editing action for type window, add the following string to the end of
the information in the Application used to perform action field: "%1"
Note: Be sure to type a space between the information and the new string.
11. Click OK.
12. In the Edit File Type window, click OK.
13. In the Folder Options window, click Close. The Java Web Start program and
the JRE are now configured for use with launched tasks.
Related tasks:
Associating the JNLP file type with JWS (MSIE)
Associating the JNLP file type with the Java Web Start program (MSIE):
If, while updating the Microsoft Internet Explorer Web browser to use the Java
Web Start program, you determine that the JNLP file type is not available for
configuration, you must associate the JNLP file type with the Java Web Start
program.
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To associate the JNLP file type with the Java Web Start program, complete the
following steps:
1. Start the Windows Explorer program.
2. Click Tools > Folder Options.
3. In the Folder Options window, click the File Types tab.
4. On the File Types page, click New.
5. In the File Extension field, type jnlp and click OK.
6. On the File Types page, select JNLP in the Registered file types list and click
Advanced.
7. In the Edit File Type window, clear the Confirm open after download check
box and click New.
8. In the New Action window, select the Use DDE check box.
9. In the Action field, type &Launch.
10. In the Application field, type javaws.
11. In the Topic field, type System.
12. Click Browse.
13. Navigate to the Java Web Start program, javaws.exe, located in the JRE
directory.
14. In the bin directory, select the javaws.exe program and click Open.
15. Add "%1" to the end of the information in the Application used to perform
action field. Be sure to type a space between the information and the new
string.
16. Click OK.
17. In the Edit File Type window, click OK.
18. In the Folder Options window, click Close. The Java Web Start program and
the JRE are now configured for use with launched tasks.
Related tasks:
Updating MSIE to use IBM JWS
Configuring Secure Sockets Layer between IBM Systems
Director and the Web browser client
IBM Systems Director Server provides, by default, a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
certificate that supports HTTPS connections between IBM Systems Director Server
and the web browser client. To ensure server authentication, data privacy, and data
integrity, you must replace the default certificate. Replace the default certificate
with either a self-signed certificate or a certificate that is signed by a certificate
authority (CA). You must also change the keystore password.
It is not required that you use SSL to secure the network traffic between your
management server and client browser. However, configuring SSL ensures data
integrity and data confidentiality between the management server and web
browser client. This protection is especially important if you access the IBM
Systems Director from outside your network or if you use the launched tasks
feature of the IBM Systems Director Web interface.
Note: Logging in to IBM Systems Director is slower with SSL enabled.
Note: Make sure that the host name you specify in the Common Name field of the
SSL certificate matches the host name that you specify in the URL that you use to
access the web interface. For example, if you specify a long name for the host
name in the Common Name field of the certificate, you must specify a long name
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in the URL. If these host names do not match, you might receive errors when you
try to open the web interface or start launched tasks. Follow the instructions in the
following procedure to make sure that you specify the correct host name in the
Common Name field of the certificate.
Note: When the SSL certificate that supports HTTPS connections between IBM
Systems Director Server and the web client expires or is not valid, you must
replace the certificate. If a client receives a web browser message that indicates that
the certificate is untrusted, expired, or not yet valid, then:
1. View the IBM Systems Director Server certificate.
2. Verify whether the certificate has expired.
If the certificate has expired, follow Step 1 - Step 5 to replace the certificate.
To replace the default certificate with a new certificate and to change the keystore
password for SSL, complete the following steps:
1. Delete the default certificate. For information see, “Deleting the default
certificate.”
2. Create a certificate. You can create either a self-signed certificate or request and
receive a CA signed certificate.
v To create a self-signed certificate, see “Creating a self-signed certificate.”
v To request and receive a CA signed certificate, see “Requesting a CA signed
certificate” and “Receiving a CA signed certificate.”
3. Update the web container properties. For information see, “Updating the web
container properties.”
4. Update the web browser with the new certificate. For information see,
“Updating the web browser with the new certificate.”
5. If you make any changes to the key store or trust store files by using any
application other than IBM Systems Director, you must restart IBM Systems
Director. If you use IBM Systems Director to make the changes, then IBM
Systems Director does not need to be restarted.
Related tasks:
Downloading Java Web Start
Configuring Web browsers to use JWS
Deleting the default certificate:
IBM Systems Director Server provides, by default, a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
certificate that supports HTTPS connections between IBM Systems Director Server
and the Web browser client. You must delete this default certificate before you can
replace it with either a self-signed certificate or a CA signed certificate. Also, you
must change the keystore password.
Note:
v Back up any files before you edit them.
v In addition to this procedure, you can delete the default certificate by using the
rmcert -a lwiks command. For more information, see "rmcert command".
To delete the default certificate, complete the following steps:
1. Stop IBM Systems Director Server by completing the applicable steps:
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Option
Description
For Linux
Type the following command: smstop
For Windows
1. Right-click My Computer and select
Manage.
2. In the Computer Management window,
expand Services and Applications >
Services.
3. In the Services pane, right-click IBM
Systems Director Server and select Stop.
4. Exit from the Computer Management
window.
2. Start the IBM Key Management program by typing the applicable command.
Option
Description
For Linux
install_root/jre/bin/ikeyman
For Windows
install_root\jre\bin\ikeyman.exe
where install_root is the root directory of your IBM Systems Director
installation. Note that this path uses the backslash (\) to delimit the directory;
depending on the system that you are using, you might be required to enter
the path using the forward slash (/).
3. To open the default keystore file, click Key Database File > Open.
4. In the Key database type list, select JKS.
5. Click Browse and navigate to the applicable default keystore file:
Option
Description
For Linux
install_root/data/security/keystore/
ibmjsse2.jks
For Windows
install_root\data\security\keystore\
ibmjsse2.jks
where install_root is the root directory of your IBM Systems Director
installation. Note that this path uses the backslash (\) to delimit the directory;
depending on the system that you are using, you might be required to enter
the path using the forward slash (/).
6. Select the default keystore file and click Open; then, click OK.
7. In the Password Prompt window, specify the default password for the default
keystore file and click OK. The default keystore file password for IBM Systems
Director is ibmpassw0rd.
8. In the Key database content pane, select the default personal certificate named
lwiks and click Delete.
9. If you make any changes to the key store or trust store files using any
application other than IBM Systems Director, you will need to restart IBM
Systems Director. If you use IBM Systems Director to make the changes, then
IBM Systems Director does not need to be restarted.
Next, you must create a new certificate.
v If you want to create a self-signed certificate, go to “Creating a self-signed
certificate.”
v If you want to request a CA signed certificate, see “Requesting a CA signed
certificate.”
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Related tasks:
Creating a self-signed certificate
Requesting a CA signed certificate
rmcert command
Creating a self-signed certificate:
Self-signed certificates are certificates that you create yourself for private use. After
you create a self-signed certificate, you can use it immediately. Because anyone can
create self-signed certificates, they are not considered publicly trusted certificates.
Therefore, use self-signed certificates only on a temporary basis while you test
your environment. You can replace the default certificate with a self-signed
certificate.
Before you complete this procedure, you must delete the default certificate. For
information see “Deleting the default certificate.”
Notes:
1. Back up any files before you edit them.
2. Messages and settings might differ depending on your Web browser and the
version of Java Web Start that you are running.
3. Instead of the steps 10-12 to change the keystore password, you can also use
the cfgappcred command. See "cfgappcred command."
Important: If you want to request a CA signed certificate, do not perform this
procedure. Instead, see “Requesting a CA signed certificate.”
To create a self-signed certificate, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Key Management program, click Create > New Self-Signed
Certificate.
2. In the Create New Self-Signed Certificate window, in the Key Label field,
specify a label for the new certificate, for example, DirServer.
3. In the Version list, select X509 V3.
4. In the Key Size field, accept the default value.
5. In the Common Name field, specify the fully-qualified host name of the
server for which you are creating the certificate.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Note: This host name must match the host name that appears in the URL you
specify in your Web browser to reach IBM Systems Director Server. In most
cases, you must specify the fully-qualified host name. However, if you use a
short name in your URL, you must specify a short name for the Common
Name.
In the Organization field, type the name of your organization.
In the Country or region list, accept the default value.
In the Validity Period field, specify the lifetime of the certificate in days or
accept the default value.
Click OK.
To change the default keystore file password, click Key Database File >
Change Password.
11. In the Change Password window, specify and confirm a new password and
click OK.
12. To exit the IBM Key Management program, click Key Database File > Exit.
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Next, you must update the Web container properties. Go to “Updating the Web
container properties.”
Related tasks:
Deleting the default certificate
Requesting a CA signed certificate
Updating the Web container properties
cfgappcred command
Requesting a CA signed certificate:
You can request a digital certificate from a certificate authority (CA). Because
certificate authorities are public entities that issue certificates to identify other
entities, CA signed certificates provide a level of public trust. Therefore, this type
of certificate is better suited for your production environment.
Before you complete this procedure, you must delete the default certificate. For
information see “Deleting the default certificate.”
Important: If you are creating a self-signed certificate, do not perform this
procedure.
You must create a certificate-signing request (CSR) to request a digital certificate
from a CA. To create a certificate-signing request, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Key Management program, click Create > New Certificate Request.
2. In the Create New Key and Certificate Request window, in the Key Label field,
type a label for the new certificate, for example, DirServer.
3. In the Key Size field, accept the default value.
4. In the Common Name field, specify the fully-qualified host name of the server
for which you are creating the certificate.
Note: This host name must match the host name that appears in the URL you
specify in your Web browser to reach IBM Systems Director Server. In most
cases, you must specify the fully-qualified host name. However, if you use a
short name in your URL, you must specify a short name for the Common
Name.
5. In the Organization field, type the name of your organization.
6. In the Country or region list, accept the default value.
7. In the Enter the name of a file in which to store the certificate request field,
type a file name or click Browse to select a file in which to store the certificate
request, for example, DirServerSecPubCertreq.arm.
8. Click OK.
9. Send the certificate-signing request file to the CA. See the CA Web site for
specific instructions about requesting a new certificate. You can request either a
test certificate or a production certificate from the CA. However, in a
production environment, you must request a production certificate.
Next, you must receive the CA signed certificate. Go to “Receiving a CA signed
certificate.”
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Related tasks:
Deleting the default certificate
Receiving a CA signed certificate
Receiving a CA signed certificate:
After the certificate authority (CA) accepts the certificate-signing request, the CA
processes the request and verifies your identity. The CA sends the signed certificate
back to you by way of e-mail. You must receive and save the new certificate in the
default keystore file.
Before you complete this procedure, you must create and submit a
certificate-signing request. For information see “Requesting a CA signed
certificate.”
Notes:
1. Back up any files before you edit them.
2. Instead of the following steps, you can also use the importcert and cfgappcred
commands. For more information, see "importcert command" and "cfgappcred
command."
3. Messages and settings might differ depending on your Web browser and the
version of Java Web Start that you are running.
4. This procedure documents how to receive a signed certificate with a file
extension of .arm from a CA into the IBM Key Management program. If your
certificate has a different file extension, see the IKeyMan User's Guide. Go to the
IBM Support and Download Web site at www.ibm.com/support/us and search
using the document number SC23-6510-00.
Important: If you are creating a self-signed certificate, do not perform this
procedure.
To receive a CA signed certificate, complete the following steps:
1. If the CA sends the new certificate to you as part of an e-mail message, you
must cut and paste the certificate from the e-mail message and save it in a
certificate file, for example, DirServerSecPubCert.arm.
Note: The e-mail message from the CA might include supplemental text in
front of the certificate and after the certificate. For example, you might see the
text BEGIN CERTIFICATE in front of the certificate and END CERTIFICATE after
the certificate. In this case, make sure that you cut and paste the supplemental
text along with the certificate text.
2. Save the certificate file in the applicable directory:
Option
Description
For Linux
install_root/data/security/keystore
For Windows
install_root\data\security\keystore
where install_root is the root directory of your IBM Systems Director
installation. Note that this path uses the backslash (\) to delimit the directory;
depending on the system that you are using, you might be required to enter
the path using the forward slash (/).
3. Start the IBM Key Management program by typing the applicable command.
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Option
Description
For Linux
install_root/jre/bin/ikeyman
For Windows
install_root\jre\bin\ikeyman.exe
where install_root is the root directory of your IBM Systems Director
installation. Note that this path uses the backslash (\) to delimit the directory;
depending on the system that you are using, you might be required to enter
the path using the forward slash (/).
4. To open the default keystore file, click Key Database File > Open.
5. In the Key database type list, select JKS.
6. Click Browse and navigate to the applicable default keystore file:
Option
Description
For Linux
install_root/data/security/keystore/
ibmjsse2.jks
For Windows
install_root\data\security\keystore\
ibmjsse2.jks
where install_root is the root directory of your IBM Systems Director
installation. Note that this path uses the backslash (\) to delimit the directory;
depending on the system that you are using, you might be required to enter
the path using the forward slash (/).
7. Select the default keystore file and click Open; then, click OK.
8. In the Password Prompt window, specify the default password for the default
keystore file and click OK. The default keystore file password for IBM
Systems Director is ibmpassw0rd.
9. In the Key database content pane, select Personal Certificates from the list.
10. Click Receive.
11. In the Receive Certificate from a File window, in the Data type list, select
Base64-encoded ASCII data.
12. In the Certificate file name field, specify the name of the certificate file that
you created when you received the certificate from the CA, for example,
DirServerSecPubCert.arm.
13. In the Location field, specify the applicable directory path:
Option
Description
For Linux
install_root/data/security/keystore
For Windows
install_root\data\security\keystore
14.
15.
16.
17.
where install_root is the root directory of your IBM Systems Director
installation. Note that this path uses the backslash (\) to delimit the directory;
depending on the system that you are using, you might be required to enter
the path using the forward slash (/).
Click OK.
In the Enter a Label window, specify a label for the certificate, for example,
DirServerSec.
Click OK.
Optional: Add the public version of the CA signed certificate to the Web
browser's truststore file.
The public version of the certificate contains all identifying information as
well as the public key associated with the certificate. This optional step can
provide additional security within your SSL configuration. The Web browser
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113
can determine whether the server presents a certificate that is signed by a
trusted signer. If the browser determines that the certificate is not signed by a
trusted signer, the browser displays a warning which alerts you to a possible
security breach. Configuring SSL for the browser is browser-specific. See your
browser documentation for instructions.
18. To change the default keystore file password, click Key Database File >
Change Password.
19. In the Change Password window, specify and confirm a new password and
click OK.
20. To exit the IBM Key Management program, click Key Database File > Exit.
Next, you must update the Web container properties. Go to “Updating the Web
container properties.”
Related tasks:
Requesting a CA signed certificate
Updating the Web container properties
Updating the Web container properties:
Because you changed the keystore or truststore password, you must update the
Web container properties with the new keystore or truststore password.
Before you perform this procedure, you must create a new certificate. You can
create either a self-signed certificate or request and receive a CA-signed certificate:
v To create a self-signed certificate, see “Creating a self-signed certificate.”
v To request and receive a CA signed certificate, see “Requesting a CA signed
certificate” and “Receiving a CA signed certificate.”
To update the Web container properties, you do not edit properties directly within
the webcontainer.properties file. Instead, you must create a file named sslconfig in
the same directory, edit the properties in the sslconfig file, and restart IBM Systems
Director Server. The process of restarting IBM Systems Director Server encrypts the
new password in the Web container properties.
Notes:
v Back up any files before you edit them.
v Messages and settings might differ depending on your Web browser and the
version of Java Web Start that you are running.
To update the Web container properties for a new keystore or truststore, complete
the following steps:
1. Stop IBM Systems Director Server.
2. Change to the applicable directory:
Option
Description
For Linux
install_root/lwi/conf
For Windows
install_root\lwi\conf
where install_root is the root directory of your IBM Systems Director Server
installation.
3. Change the name of the webcontainer.properties file to
webcontainer.properties.bak.
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4. In the same directory, create a file named sslconfig and copy the contents of
webcontainer.properties.bak into the sslconfig file.
5. Using a text editor, edit the sslconfig file.
Note: Specify only plain text values for the passwords in the sslconfig file.
6. Specify the new keystore or truststore password with the following text in the
sslconfig file:
keystore
com.ibm.ssl.keyStorePassword.secure_port=new_password
truststore
com.ibm.ssl.trustStorePassword.secure_port=new_password
Where
v secure_port is the secure port that IBM Systems Director Server uses. Use
the secure port value indicated in your properties file.
v new_password is the password that you set in one of the following steps:
– Step 11 on page 110 in “Creating a self-signed certificate”
– Step 19 on page 114 in “Receiving a CA-signed certificate”
7. Delete the line sslEnabled=true from the sslconfig file.
8. Save the sslconfig file.
Important: Ensure the sslconfig file is created without the .txt extension. If the
file is created with the .txt extension, remove it. Otherwise, the IBM Systems
Director Server will not start.
9. Restart IBM Systems Director Server by completing the applicable steps.
Option
Description
For Linux
Type the following command: smstart
For Windows
1. Right-click My Computer and select
Manage.
2. In the Computer Management window,
expand Services and Applications >
Services.
3. In the Services pane, right-click IBM
Director Server and select Start.
4. Exit from the Computer Management
window.
When you restart IBM Systems Director Server, the sslconfig file is used to
automatically create a new webcontainer.properties file and encrypt the new
password in this file. After the new webcontainer.properties file has been
created, IBM Systems Director Server deletes the sslconfig file because it is no
longer needed.
10. After you start and connect to IBM Systems Director Server, you can delete
the webcontainer.properties.bak file manually.
11. If you are using LDAP over SSL, then you must modify the keystore or trust
store password:
v If you used the cfguserreg command to configure LDAP, then you must
modify the keystore or trust store password using cfguserreg.
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v If you modified the securityLDAP.properties file to configure LDAP, then
you must modify the keystore or trust store password in that file. See
Authenticating IBM Systems Director users stored in LDAP for more
information.
Next, you must update the Web browser with the new certificate. Go to “Updating
the Web browser with the new certificate.”
Related tasks:
Creating a self-signed certificate
Requesting a CA signed certificate
Receiving a CA signed certificate
Updating the Web browser with the new certificate
cfgappcred command
Updating the Web browser with the new certificate:
You must update your Web browser with the new certificate.
Before you perform this procedure, you must update the Web container properties.
For information see “Updating the Web container properties.”
To update the Web browser with the new self-signed certificate, complete the
following steps.
Note: If you performed step 17 on page 113 in “Receiving a CA signed certificate”
or if the public version of the CA signed certificate is already stored in the browser
truststore file, go to step 11 on page 117. Some browsers contain the public version
of well known CA signed certificates.
1. In a Web browser, type the following URL to point to IBM Systems Director
Server: http://server_name:port_number/ibm/console, where server_name is
the host name of IBM Systems Director Server and port_number is the port for
IBM Systems Director Server. The default port is 8421.
Option
Description
For Microsoft Internet Explorer
A Security Alert window is displayed, for
example, you might see the following
message: The security certificate was
issued by a company you have not chosen
to trust. View the certificate to
determine whether you want to trust the
certifying authority. Continue to step 2.
For Firefox
A Website Certified by an Unknown
Authority window is displayed. Click
Accept this certificate permanently and
then click OK. You Web browser is updated
with the new certificate.
In the Security Alert window, click View Certificate.
In the Certificate window, click Install Certificate.
In the Certificate Import Wizard, on the Welcome page, click Next.
On the Certificate Store page, select the way that you want to store the
certificate and click Next.
6. On the Summary page, click Finish. A Security Warning window is displayed.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
In the Security Warning window, click Yes.
In the Certificate Import Wizard window, click OK.
In the Certificate window, click OK.
In the Security Alert window, click Yes.
When you use a launched task in the IBM Systems Director Web interface, the
following message is displayed: The application's digital signature has
been verified. Do you want to run the application? Be sure to select
Always trust content from this publisher and click Yes.
Related tasks:
Updating the Web container properties
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Using External Application Launch
Use External Application Launch to integrate third-party management software
and other programs into the IBM Systems Director Web interface user interface.
Before you can start an external application from IBM Systems Director Web
interface, you must configure the external application so that it is recognized by
IBM Systems Director.
To integrate an external application into IBM Systems Director, complete the
following steps:
1. Define the external-application task by creating a command-task file. For
information see “Creating a command-task file.”
2. Optional: Specify a national-language task title for the command-task file. For
information see “Specifying national-language task titles.”
3. Copy the command-task file and any resource-bundle files to the management
server (where IBM Systems Director Server is installed) in the
install_root/classes/extensions directory.
4. If you intend to integrate the external applications into an instance of IBM
Systems Director Web interface that is not running on the management server,
configure the remote IBM Systems Director Web interface for
external-application tasks. For more information, see “Configuring
external-application tasks for browser systems.”
5. Refresh the external applications. For more information, see “Refreshing
external-application tasks in the IBM Systems Director Web interface.”
6. Select and start an external application. For more information, see “Starting
external-application tasks in the IBM Systems Director Web interface.”
You can restrict the use of the external-application task to specific users. For more
information, see “Authorizing users to IBM Systems Director.”
Related tasks:
Authorizing users
Finding a task
External-application tasks
External-application tasks are user-defined tasks that are displayed in the IBM
Systems Director Web interface. They can start a command, process, or application
that is external to IBM Systems Director and runs on the browser system or
management server.
External-application tasks are defined in IBM Systems Director using a
combination of Java resources including command-task files and Java resource
bundles that you create. These resources specify the application to be started, the
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117
task title, and the way that the task is started in the IBM Systems Director Web
interface. External Application Launch tasks also have resources for each supported
language defined in the command-task file.
External-application tasks can be targeted, untargeted, or both.
Targeted and untargeted tasks:
All IBM Systems Director tasks (including native IBM Systems Director tasks, tasks
added by installing plug-ins, and external application tasks) are either targeted,
untargeted, or both, depending on how the task can be started.
Targeted tasks
Targeted tasks are tasks for which a resource is specified when the task is
started. Targeted tasks are started by right-clicking a resource and selecting
the task. Typically, a targeted task performs an action on the resource
specified as the target. Examples of targeted tasks are Remote Session and
SNMP Browser.
When an external application is started as a targeted task, information
about the specified target is provided. If one or more system attribute
names are configured, the available values for each target are passed to the
application using environment variables. If no system attributes are
configured, the IP address, MAC address, and computer name are passed
to the application by way of environment variables.
Untargeted tasks
Untargeted tasks are tasks for which no resource is specified when the task
is started. Untargeted tasks are started in the following ways:
v By selecting the task in the IBM Systems Director Web interface
navigation pane
v By selecting the task from the Actions menu or pop-up menu
Untargeted tasks perform actions that are not specific to a targeted
resource, perform actions that apply to all resources, or provide their own
interface for selecting resources on which to perform actions.
Tasks that are both targeted and untargeted
A task can be both a targeted task and an untargeted task, with behavior
reflecting the manner in which the task is started. The Inventory task is an
example of such a task: if started from a resource’s pop-up menu, it
displays information for that resource only; if started from the IBM
Systems Director Web interface navigation pane, it displays information for
all resources.
Related reference:
Command-task file location and naming conventions
Command-task file parameters
Considerations for command-string parameters
Environment variables
Managed-resource types
Sample command-task files
Command-task file location and naming conventions:
All command-task files must meet specific file-location and naming-convention
requirements.
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v Command-task files must reside on the management server in the
classes/extensions directory, under the directory in which IBM Systems Director
Server is installed. Command-task files that are not in this directory are ignored.
v Command-task file names must end with the .CMDExt extension, which is not
case-sensitive.
v The file name and extension are not case sensitive.
v Do not use underscores in file names. IBM Systems Director uses the file name
to sort the external-application tasks in the IBM Systems Director Web interface.
The sort function replaces spaces in the file name with underscores. File names
that are identical with the only variant being spaces and underscores are
considered duplicates, and only one will be displayed as an external-application
task in the IBM Systems Director Web interface.
Related concepts:
Targeted and untargeted tasks
Related reference:
Command-task file parameters
Considerations for command-string parameters
Environment variables
Managed-resource types
Sample command-task files
Command-task file parameters:
The Command-task parameters table lists the parameters that can be specified in a
command-task file. Parameters are listed here in alphabetical order.
Important: Consider the following information when working with command-task
file parameters:
v Both parameter names and values are case sensitive.
v Each parameter must be defined on a separate line.
v If the same parameter is specified more than once, the last parameter value in
the file is used by IBM Systems Director.
v If a command-task file includes parameters that are no longer supported, the
affected parameters are ignored.
v You must use ISO 8859-1 character encoding when editing the command-task
file. Characters that cannot be represented directly in the ISO 8859-1 character
set can be specified with valid ISO 8859-1 Unicode-escape sequences.
v Command-task files use Java-properties-file formatting; therefore, any backslash
(\) or forward slash (/) character must be coded as a double backslash (\\) or
forward slash (//) (for example, dir c:\\tmp\\backup1 /s).
v Environment-variable values must have only one backslash or forward slash.
v Windows-based systems use backslashes (\) to delimit directories in a directory
path. AIX-based systems and Web addresses use forward slashes (/) as
delimiters. This information uses backslashes (\) to delimit directories in paths
that apply to all operating systems; depending on the system that you are using,
you might have to enter the directory path differently than shown.
v No error-checking is performed on command-task files, so you must be careful
when editing them. Parameter names that do not exactly match expected
parameters are ignored.
v For information about setting a task title using a national-language string, see
“Specifying national-language task titles.”
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Table 4. Command-task parameters
Parameter name
Description
Allowed values
CheckFileExistsNow.Unix
CheckFileExistsNow.Windows
The attribute that shows or hides the
external-application task in the IBM
Systems Director Web interface based on
the result of the applicable FileExists
parameter (FileExists.Windows or
FileExists.Unix).
Possible values are:
true
If the file specified
by the FileExists
parameter exists on
the browser
system, then IBM
Systems Director
Web interface
displays the task. If
the file does not
exist, then IBM
Systems Director
Web interface hides
the task.
false
Client.x.Resource
The fully qualified Java class name of a
valid target type for the
external-application task. The target type
identifies the type of resources for which
the external-application task can be
targeted.
Important: To use this parameter, you
must set the Targeted parameter to a valid
value other than none; one, multi,
none|one, and none|multi are valid values.
To define multiple targets, replace x with a
unique non-negative integer for each target
class. For example, the following two lines
specify that the external-application task
can use either a physical platform or a
logical platform as a target:
Client.0.Resource=OperatingSystem
Client.1.Resource=Server
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IBM Systems
Director Web
interface always
displays the task.
A valid resource name for a
managed-resource type in
IBM Systems Director. For
the list of managed-resource
types, see
“Managed-resource types
for the Client.x.Resource
parameter.”
Table 4. Command-task parameters (continued)
Parameter name
Description
Allowed values
CommandString
CommandString.Linux
CommandString.Unix
CommandString.VMware
CommandString.Windows
CommandString.Windows2003
CommandString.WindowsXP
CommandString.WindowsVista
The command string to be run on a UNIX,
Linux, VMware, or Windows (including
Windows 2003, Windows XP, and Windows
Vista) browser system.
Note:
A valid command line for
an external application
running on a browser
system.
v You can specify both
CommandString.Server and
CommandString parameters if you want
to specify a browser system and
management server synchronized task in
which both a noninteractive task and an
interactive task are launched at the same
time.
v If you specify more than one
CommandString parameters that apply
to the same operating system, IBM
Systems Director uses the most specific
parameter. For example, if you specify
CommandString.Windows and
CommandString.Windows2003
parameters, IBM Systems Director uses
the CommandString.Windows2003
parameter.
CommandString.Server
CommandString.Server.Linux
CommandString.Server.Unix
CommandString.Server.VMware
CommandString.Server.Windows
CommandString.Server.Windows2003
CommandString.Server.WindowsXP
CommandString.Server.WindowsVista
The command string to be run on a UNIX, A valid command line for
an external application on a
Linux, VMware, or Windows (including
Windows 2003, Windows XP, and Windows management server.
Vista) management server.
Note:
v You can specify both
CommandString.Server and
CommandString parameters if you want
to specify a browser system and
management server synchronized task in
which both a noninteractive task and an
interactive task are launched at the same
time.
v If you specify more than one
CommandString.Server parameters that
apply to the same operating system, IBM
Systems Director uses the most specific
parameter. For example, if you specify
CommandString.Server.Windows and
CommandString.Server.Windows2003
parameters, IBM Systems Director uses
the CommandString.Server.Windows2003
parameter.
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Table 4. Command-task parameters (continued)
Parameter name
Description
Cwd
Cwd.Linux
Cwd.Unix
Cwd.VMware
Cwd.Windows
Cwd.Windows2003
Cwd.WindowsXP
Cwd.WindowsVista
The path name of the directory on a UNIX, A valid directory on the
browser system.
Linux, VMware, or Windows (including
Windows 2003, Windows XP, and Windows
Vista) browser system from which the
external-application task must be started.
Specify this parameter only if the
command needs to start in a specific
directory.
Note: If you specify more than one Cwd
parameters that apply to the same
operating system, IBM Systems Director
uses the most specific parameter. For
example, if you specify Cwd.Windows and
Cwd.Windows2003 parameters, IBM
Systems Director uses the
Cwd.Windows2003 parameter.
Cwd.Server
Cwd.Server.Linux
Cwd.Server.Unix
Cwd.Server.VMware
Cwd.Server.Windows
Cwd.Server.Windows2003
Cwd.Server.WindowsXP
Cwd.Server.WindowsVista
The path name of the directory on a UNIX, A valid directory on the
management server.
Linux, VMware or Windows (including
Windows 2003, Windows XP, and Windows
Vista) management server from which the
external-application task must be started.
Specify this parameter only if the
command needs to start in a specific
directory.
Note: If you specify more than one
Cwd.Server parameters that apply to the
same operating system, IBM Systems
Director uses the most specific parameter.
For example, if you specify
Cwd.Server.Windows and
Cwd.Server.Windows2003 parameters, IBM
Systems Director uses the
Cwd.Server.Windows2003 parameter.
FileExists
FileExists.Windows
FileExists.Unix
Specify a qualified path or name for a file
that must exist on the browser system
before launching the task. If IBM Systems
Director does not find the specified file, a
message is displayed and the external
application does not launch.
If you do not specify a directory in the
FileExists parameter, the default path is
temp/.ibm/lic where temp is the
operating-system-specific temp directory
on the browser system.
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Allowed values
The path and name of an
existing file on the browser
system.
Table 4. Command-task parameters (continued)
Parameter name
Description
Allowed values
ShellRequired
A flag that indicates whether you want to Specify one of the following
start a persistent shell on the management values:
console in which to start the external
true
Start the
application. Set this parameter if the
external-application
application requires an interactive window
task in a persistent
or advanced command-line syntax, such as
shell.
wildcard expansion.
false
Do not start the
The shell is started using one of the
external-application
following commands:
task in a persistent
shell. This is the
Windows
default value.
start cmd.exe /k
.
UNIX or Linux
bash –c
If this parameter is omitted or set to false,
the command string is issued without
starting a persistent shell. If this parameter
is set to true, any command output to the
shell is displayed in a command window
that you can scroll and later close.
ShellRequired.Server
A flag that indicates whether you want to Specify one of the following
values:
start a persistent shell on a managed
system in which to start the external
true
Start the
application. Set this parameter if the
external-application
application requires an interactive window
task in a persistent
or advanced command-line syntax, such as
shell.
wildcard expansion.
false
Do not start the
The shell is started using one of the
external-application
following commands:
task in a persistent
shell. This is the
Windows
default value.
start cmd.exe /k
UNIX or Linux
bash –c
If this parameter is omitted or set to false,
the command string is issued without
starting a persistent shell. If this parameter
is set to true, any command output to the
shell is displayed in a command window
that you can scroll and later close.
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Table 4. Command-task parameters (continued)
Parameter name
Description
Allowed values
System.Property.x
A requested system property (as defined in
the managed resource) that is specified for
each managed resource property required
by the command. Each property is passed
as an environment variable at launch time,
for each targeted system chosen. Each
property is assigned a unique environment
variable name, and these environment
variable names can be used in the
CommandString or can be accessed by a
script launching the application. For
example, to pass the computer name of the
targeted system, set the parameter to:
A system property
associated with one of the
Client.x.Resource target
types.
System.Property.x=Name
where x is the index number assigned to
the system property.
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Table 5. Command-task parameters, cont.
Parameter name
Description
Allowed values
Targeted
A flag that specifies whether the
external-application task can be
started as a targeted task, an
untargeted task, or both. If this
parameter is omitted, the value is set
to one.
Specify one of the following values:
none
An untargeted task. The task
can be opened by selecting it
in the IBM Systems Director
Web interface navigation
pane, from the Actions
menu, or from the pop-up
menu.
one
A targeted task. The task can
be started by selecting a
target system and
right-clicking the task. This
is the default value.
none|one
Tasks that are both targeted
and untargeted. The task can
be opened by selecting it in
the IBM Systems Director
Web interface navigation
pane, from the Actions
menu, from the pop-up
menu, or can be started by
selecting a target system and
right-clicking the task. This
is the default value.
multi
A targeted task. The task can
be started by selecting a
target system and
right-clicking the task. This
is the default value.
none|multi
Tasks that are both targeted
and untargeted. The task can
be opened by selecting it in
the IBM Systems Director
Web interface navigation
pane, from the Actions
menu, from the pop-up
menu, or can be started by
selecting a target system and
right-clicking the task. This
is the default value.
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Related concepts:
Targeted and untargeted tasks
Related tasks:
Specifying national-language task titles
Related reference:
Command-task file location and naming conventions
Considerations for command-string parameters
Environment variables
Managed-resource types
Sample command-task files
Considerations for command-string parameters:
When using command strings in command-task files, there are specific
considerations that you must review.
v Testing the command strings from a command line to ensure that they run
successfully outside of the command-task file can reduce debugging efforts. It is
your responsibility to ensure that the environment is properly configured for the
desired behavior. For example, if the application requires an interactive window
or advanced command-line syntax (such as wildcard expansion), you must set
the ShellRequired parameter. For information about the ShellRequired parameter,
see “Command-task file parameters.”
v Only a single command can be specified for the CommandString value. Do not
chain any commands or use pipes or redirection. You can, however, define a
shell script or batch file on the browser system. For information about the
CommandString parameter, see “Command-task file parameters.”
v
v
v
v
v
126
Note: Only some commands will accept parameters at invocation as they are
seen by the server as two separate commands. This is a limitation of the
operating system or application.
When the external-application task is defined on the management server (the
system running IBM Systems Director Server), the task title is displayed on all
instances of the IBM Systems Director Web interface. To start the application
successfully, the necessary applications, files, and any resources that are required
by the application must reside on the browser system from which you want to
start the task.
For information about passing target attributes to the external application, see
“Environment variables for external-application tasks.” When using the
CMDTASK_IP_ADDRESSn and CMDTASK_MAC_ADDRESSn environment variables in a
command string, always remember to append a number at the end of the
variable name to specify which TCP/IP address or MAC address will be
returned.
Because command-task files are Java properties files, the backslash (\) must be
represented by a double backslash, as in dir c:\\*exe /s.
An interactive task runs on the local system (the system from which you are
activating it). To create an interactive task that runs on the management server
or browser system, you must specify both a CommandString parameter and a
CommandString.Server parameter. Use environment variables to pass system
attributes to the external application.
A noninteractive task runs on the system on which IBM Systems Director Server
is installed. To create a noninteractive task, you must specify a
CommandString.Server parameter. Use environment variables to pass system
IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
attributes to the external application. If the task requires that system attributes
be passed in the environment, ensure that the system attributes are named
correctly.
Note: These tasks must not invoke IBM Systems Director commands.
v A console/server synchronized task runs an interactive task and a noninteractive
task. You would create a synchronized task when an interactive task depends on
a noninteractive task running simultaneously in order to function. The
noninteractive task is started first. The interactive task is started after a
successful launch of the noninteractive task. Because both tasks are required to
provide function to a user, they are considered to be one console/server task.
To create a console/server synchronized task, specify both a
CommandString.Server parameter and a CommandString parameter. The
CommandString.Server value is launched as a noninteractive task (on the
management server) and its CommandString counterpart is launched as an
interactive task (on the browser system). Use environment variables to pass
system attributes to the external applications.
v To create a group heading to serve as a parent for group of related
external-application tasks in IBM Systems Director Web interface, create an
interactive task without a CommandString or CommandString.Server parameter.
Related concepts:
Targeted and untargeted tasks
Related reference:
Command-task file location and naming conventions
Command-task file parameters
Environment variables
Managed-resource types
Sample command-task files
Environment variables for external-application tasks:
When an external-application task is started against a target, IBM Systems Director
passes system-property information about the selected target to the external
application by setting the values of environment variables on the browser system.
Note: You are responsible for ensuring the validity and functionality of your
environment variables.
To pass system-property values when starting an external application, the
external-application task must be targeted (that is, it must have at least one
Client.x.Resource parameter specified). The system properties that are available
depend on the target type (Client.x.Resource object). Each target type provides a
set of system properties, each of which has a key and a value. If you specify more
than one target type, the list of available system properties is the union of all
available system properties for those target types. Some system properties (such as
computer name) are available for all target types. For information about the
Client.x.Resource or System.Property parameter, see “Command-task file
parameters.”
Tip: Only specify the environment variables that are necessary to start the external
application. This is especially true if the external-application task targets multiple
resources.
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You can access the value associated with a system property using the echo
command. The following table provides an example.
Table 6. Examples of using the echo command
Operating system
Command example
Linux
echo $CMDTASK_IPV4ADDRESS0_0
Windows
echo %CMDTASK_IPV4ADDRESS0_0%
The following table lists system properties. Note that this might not be a complete
list.
Table 7. System properties
128
System property
Environment variable name
AgentDate
CMDTASK_AGENTDATE_x
AgentType
CMDTASK_AGENTTYPE_x
AgentVer
CMDTASK_AGENTVER_x
Architecture
CMDTASK_ARCHITECTURE_x
ComputerName
CMDTASK_COMPUTERNAME_x
CurrentTimeZone
CMDTASK_CURRENTTIMEZONE_x
DisplayName
CMDTASK_DISPLAYNAME_x
EncryptionEnabled
CMDTASK_ENCRYPTIONENABLED_x
EndpointType
CMDTASK_ENDPOINTTYPE_x
HasLicense
CMDTASK_HASLICENSE_x
ImageSet
CMDTASK_IMAGESET_x
IPHosts
CMDTASK_IPHOSTv_x
IPv4Address
CMDTASK_IPV4ADDRESSv_x
IPXaddress
CMDTASK_IPXADDRESSv_x
Locked
CMDTASK_LOCKED_x
LPARID
CMDTASK_LPARID_x
MACAddress
CMDTASK_MACADDRESSv_x
MachineTypeModel
CMDTASK_MACHINETYPEMODEL_x
Manufacturer
CMDTASK_MANUFACTURER_x
OperatingSystem
CMDTASK_OPERATINGSYSTEM_x
OSArchType
CMDTASK_OSARCHTYPE_x
OSMajVer
CMDTASK_OSMAJVER_x
OSMinVer
CMDTASK_OSMINVER_x
Ping
CMDTASK_PING_x
Protocols
CMDTASK_PROTOCOLSv_x
SecuredClient
CMDTASK_SECUREDCLIENT_x
SecureSupport
CMDTASK_SECURESUPPORT_x
SerialNumber
CMDTASK_SERIALNUMBER_x
SSHFingerprint
CMDTASK_SSHFINGERPRINT_x
SSHPort
CMDTASK_SSHPORT_x
SSHVersion
CMDTASK_SSHVERSION_x
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Table 7. System properties (continued)
System property
Environment variable name
Task
CMDTASK_TASKv_x
URL
CMDTASK_URL_x
WBEMPort
CMDTASK_WBEMPORT_x
Related concepts:
Targeted and untargeted tasks
Related reference:
Command-task file location and naming conventions
Command-task file parameters
Considerations for command-string parameters
Managed-resource types
Sample command-task files
Managed-resource types for the Client.x.Resource parameter:
Managed-resource types are used to specify targets for the external application task
with the Client.x.Resource parameter. For information about this parameter, see
“Command-task file parameters.”
Valid managed-resource types include those listed in Table 8.
Note: The information provided in this table is for reference only, and might not
include third-party managed-resource types or resource types supported in future
versions of IBM Systems Director.
Table 8. IBM Systems Director resources and managed-resource types
Managed-resource type
Resource
OperatingSystem
com.tivoli.twg.engine.TWGNativeManagedObject
com.tivoli.twg.tier.TieredManagedObject
SystemChassis
com.ibm.sysmgt.chassis.bcchassis.BCChassisManagedObject
Server
com.ibm.sysmgt.platform.LogicalPlatform
com.ibm.sysmgt.platform.PhysicalPlatform
com.ibm.sysmgt.platform.Platform
com.ibm.sysmgt.spm.server.partition.Partition
Chassis
com.ibm.sysmgt.spm.server.rioe.RIOEnclosure
GenericNetworkDevice
com.tivoli.twg.rmon.TWGRMONDevice
com.tivoli.twg.snmp.TWGSNMPDevice
Cluster
com.ibm.sysmgt.spm.server.complex.Complex
Switch
com.tivoli.twg.snmp.TWGSNMPDevice
PassThroughModule
com.tivoli.twg.snmp.TWGSNMPDevice
Printer
com.tivoli.twg.snmp.printer.SNMPPrinter
StorageSubsystem
com.ibm.sysmgt.storage.StorageManagedObject
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Related concepts:
Targeted and untargeted tasks
Related reference:
Command-task file location and naming conventions
Command-task file parameters
Considerations for command-string parameters
Environment variables
Sample command-task files
Sample command-task files:
The sample command-task files are provided to assist advanced users and vendors
who want to create command-task files.
Telnet to managed system (Telnet.CMDExt)
This example shows a command task to open a Telnet session and hold the
window open while a user types the user ID and password. With the –hold option,
you also receive an error message if the Telnet command is not performed
successfully.
# Parameters for all operating systems:
Targeted=one
ShellRequired=true
# Parameters for UNIX and Linux:
CommandString.Unix = xterm –hold –e telnet $CMDTASK_IP_ADDRESS0
#
-hold gives you an error message if telnet fails
# Parameters for Windows:
CommandString.Windows = telnet
%CMDTASK_IP_ADDRESS0%
Map a managed system to a Windows network drive (NetUse.CMDExt)
This example shows a command task to create a Windows network-drive
connection to the targeted system using the next available drive letter.
# Parameters for all operating systems:
Targeted=one
ShellRequired=false
# Parameters for UNIX or Linux:
CommandString.Unix =
# Empty command string specified; no action occurs
# Parameters for Windows:
CommandString.Windows = net use * \\\\%CMDTASK_COMPUTERNAME%\\c$ /u:userid pwd
# note: \\ for each \
Launch a noninteractive application (MyServerApp.CMDExt)
This example shows a command task to launch a noninteractive application on the
IBM Systems Director Server and specify both the manufacturer and the machine
type model of the target for the application.
# Parameters for all operating systems:
#On Windows:
CommandString.Server.Windows = myServerApp.exe %CMDTASK_MO_MFG_0%
%CMDTASK_MO_MACHINETYPEMODEL_0%
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Related concepts:
Targeted and untargeted tasks
Related reference:
Command-task file location and naming conventions
Command-task file parameters
Considerations for command-string parameters
Environment variables
Managed-resource types
Creating a command-task file
Command-task files are Java properties files that define external-application tasks for
IBM Systems Director. You can create a command-task file that is used to integrate
third-party management software and other programs with IBM Systems Director.
To create a command-task file, complete the following steps:
1. Create a file with the .CMDExt extension. For information about specifying file
names, see “Command-task file location and naming conventions.”
2. Open the file using a text editor. Each line that you create in this file must be
either a comment beginning with a number sign (#) or a parameter definition
in the form parameter_name=value, for example:
# This line is a comment. The following line sets a parameter for Windows:
CommandString.Windows = telnet %CMDTASK_IPV4ADDRESS0_0%
For information about the parameters that you can use, see “Command-task file
parameters.”
3. Define the task that you want to run using one of the CommandString
parameters or define a group heading. For important considerations about
specifying the command-string parameter, see “Considerations for
command-string parameters.” For information about the CommandString
parameter, see “Command-task file parameters.”
4. Optional: Define other parameters as needed.
5. Save and close the file.
Related concepts:
External-application tasks
Related tasks:
Specifying national-language task titles
Configuring external-application tasks for browser systems
Refreshing external-application tasks
Starting external-application tasks
Deleting external-application tasks
Specifying national-language task titles
Command-task files can reference Java resource bundles to apply
national-language titles to the external application task. You can create and modify
External Application Launch resource bundles using an editor. It is your
responsibility to ensure the accuracy of Java resource bundles that you create.
National-language task titles are specified by using the Unicode or UTF8 character
set. Characters are typed in the code page in which the user is working.
The IBM Systems Director Web interface supports the code pages listed in the
following table.
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Table 9. Code pages supported by the IBM Systems Director Web interface
Language
Code page
Brazilian Portuguese
850
English
850
French
850
German
850
Italian
850
Spanish
850
Japanese
UTF8
Korean
UTF8
Simplified Chinese
UTF8
Traditional Chinese
UTF8
Because the IBM Systems Director Web interface supports multiple code pages,
users cannot directly type characters in their current code page for all supported
languages. National-language titles for English, French, German, Italian, Brazilian
Portuguese, and Spanish can all be typed directly in code page 850, but to specify
characters in another code page, complete the following steps:
Important: You are responsible for ensuring that the data in the resource bundles
is valid for the intended purpose.
1. Create at least two properties files for resources (one default file and one
English file). For example, if you created a command-task file with the file
name “apple”, create two resource-bundle files named
appleResources.properties and appleResources_en.properties. For each
additional non-English title you must create additional resource bundles for
each locale that you defined. For example, if you provide French and Spanish
titles as well, you must create the appleResources_fr.properties and
appleResources_es.properties files. In the properties file, use the keyword
TitleKey to define the title, and, optionally, DescriptionKey to define a
description of the task. For example:
TitleKey=title
DescriptionKey=description
where title is the translated title of the task and description is a translated string
that describes the task. The description string is displayed in the Description
column on the External Application Launch page.
2. Using the translation services available to you, obtain translations of the title
text in all the languages that you intend to support. Translators will require
code page information if they are contracted to provide translated character
strings.
Note: If your translation service will translate the resource bundles you are
using, no subsequent steps should be necessary.
3. Copy the resource-bundle files to the applicable directory on the management
server.
Table 10. Location of resource-bundle files by operating system
Windows
installation
132
\Program Files\IBM\Director\classes\CmdTask\resources
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Table 10. Location of resource-bundle files by operating system (continued)
Linux
installation
/opt/IBM/director/classes/CmdTask/resources
where resources represents the directory that contains resource files for a specific
external-application task.
Configuring external-application tasks for browser systems
External-application tasks are initially created only on the management server.
Additional preparation is required to start external-application tasks on your
browser system (the system running the IBM Systems Director Web interface)
when the browser system is not the management server.
The following prerequisites apply to this procedure:
v One or more external-application tasks must be created on the management
server.
v The external-application task must be tested to make sure that it starts
successfully on the management server.
To configure the browser system to start an external-application task, complete the
following steps:
v Make sure that the application to be started by the external-application task, as
well as any resources required by the application, is present on the browser
system. If necessary, install the application on the browser system.
v Make sure the path and file name for the application that is installed on the
browser system is the same as the path and file name on the management
server, as specified in the .CMDExt file associated with the external-application
task.
v Make sure that Java Web Start is installed on the browser system.
Related concepts:
External-application tasks
Related tasks:
Downloading Java Web Start
Creating a command-task file
Specifying national-language task titles
Starting external-application tasks
Deleting external-application tasks
Refreshing external-application tasks in the IBM Systems
Director Web interface
In the IBM Systems Director Web interface, you can refresh the list of available
external-application launch tasks that you can use.
To refresh the list of external-application tasks, complete the following steps:
1. Restart the IBM Systems Director Server to pick up new command definitions.
2. Log back in to the IBM Systems Director Web interface.
3. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, expand Task
Management and click External Application Launch.
4. On the External Application Launch page, click Refresh. The list of available
external applications is refreshed.
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Related concepts:
External-application tasks
Related tasks:
Creating a command-task file
Specifying national-language task titles
Configuring external-application tasks for browser systems
Starting external-application tasks
Deleting external-application tasks
Related reference:
External Application Launch page
Starting external-application tasks in the IBM Systems Director
Web interface
After you integrate an external-application task and it is displayed in the IBM
Systems Director Web interface, you can start the task in the same ways as any
other IBM Systems Director task.
Important:
v When the external-application task is defined on the management server (the
system running IBM Systems Director Server), the task title is displayed on all
instances of the IBM Systems Director Web interface. To start the application
successfully, the necessary applications, files, and any resources that are required
by the application must reside on the browser system from which you want to
start the task.
v When you start an external-application task, the resulting application runs
according to the settings that are present on the system where the application is
started. You can change settings by defining system attributes within the
command-task file. For information about the System.Attribute parameter, see
“Command-task file parameters.”
v You can restrict the use of the external-application task to specific users. For
more information, see “Authorizing users to IBM Systems Director.”
To start an external-application task, use one of the following methods. Depending
on the task type, some methods might not be available.
v Right-click a resource and select the task.
v Select the task from the Actions menu.
v Select the task in the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation pane.
v In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, expand Task
Management and click External Application Launch. Then, select and start an
application from the External Application Launch page.
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Related concepts:
External-application tasks
Related tasks:
Creating a command-task file
Specifying national-language task titles
Configuring external-application tasks for browser systems
Refreshing external-application tasks
Authorizing users
Related reference:
External Application Launch page
Command-task file parameters
Deleting an external-application task
You can delete an external-application task that is displayed in IBM Systems
Director Web interface.
Attention: The command-task file for the selected external-application task is
permanently deleted on the management server.
To delete an external-application task, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, expand Task
Management and click External Application Launch.
2. On the External Application Launch page, select one or more tasks that you
want to delete.
3. Click Delete. The selected command-task files are deleted on the management
server. They are permanently deleted.
Related concepts:
External-application tasks
Related tasks:
Creating a command-task file
Specifying national-language task titles
Configuring external-application tasks for browser systems
Refreshing external-application tasks
Starting external-application tasks
Related reference:
External Application Launch page
Command-task file location and naming conventions
Command-task file parameters
Considerations for command-string parameters
Using Advanced External Application Launch
Use Advanced External Application Launch to integrate Web-based third-party
management software and other Web-based programs into the IBM Systems
Director Web interface.
Before you can launch an external Web-based application from IBM Systems
Director, you must register the external application using a template file. Once
registered, the external application launch points will be visible as either targeted
or untargeted tasks within IBM Systems Director, depending on the launch point
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definitions. The vendor instructions, as well as the template file, should provide
more information about the names of the tasks as they will be displayed in IBM
Systems Director.
To integrate an external Web-based application into IBM Systems Director,
complete the following steps.
1. Obtain the external application launch point template file from the vendor
providing the Web-based application.
2. Review the comments section of the template file and follow the vendor
instructions for customizing any information in the template file prior to
registration.
3. Run the following command: importextlps -f <filename>, where <filename>
is the fully qualified path and filename of the template file. If the template file
contains custom tags, use the -c option and specify the appropriate substitution
values.
4. Optional: Run the following command: listextlps -A <applicationID>, to
verify the external application launch points registered successfully (where
<applicationID> is the application ID from the template file).
To remove an external Web-based application registered with IBM Systems
Director, complete the following steps:
1. Run the following command: removeextlps -A <applicationID>, where
<applicationID> is the application ID from the template file.
2. Optional: Run the following command: listextlps -A <applicationID>, to
verify the external application launch points unregistered successfully (where
<applicationID> is the application ID from the template file).
Related tasks:
Finding tasks
Starting tasks
Scheduling tasks
You can use Scheduler (also called the Launch Job window) to schedule
noninteractive tasks to be run at an exact date and time. You can define a schedule
to repeat a task automatically at a given interval, such as every Saturday at 2:00
a.m. You can define a specific number of repeats, such as every Saturday at 2:00
a.m. for the next 6 weeks. Scheduler also provides automatic notification for job
status and task completion.
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Related concepts:
eLearning: Scheduling tasks
Related tasks:
Navigating the Web interface
Navigating by way of the Welcome page
Finding and navigating resources
Managing groups
Finding and starting tasks
Related reference:
Tasks and scheduled jobs commands
Noninteractive tasks
Noninteractive tasks, such as inventory collection or system identification, do not
depend on immediate user input and can be scheduled to occur on multiple
systems at any time. Interactive tasks, such as remote control and file transfer,
cannot be scheduled because they directly interact with only one client at a time.
Related concepts:
Jobs and job instances
Related tasks:
Scheduling a task
Scheduling a task from a selected system
Viewing active and scheduled job information
Viewing information about scheduled jobs
Determining target systems that are affected by a job
Viewing job-instance records
Viewing job-instance logs
Copying a scheduled job
Editing a scheduled job
Running a scheduled job immediately
Suspending and resuming a scheduled job
Deleting a job
Jobs and job instances
A scheduled task is called a job.
A job has the following characteristics:
v Noninteractive tasks that are to be run
v Specified dates and times the tasks are to be run
v Target systems on which the scheduled tasks are run
v A history that provides summary details about the job run
v A log that provides step-by-step details about the job run
You also can create jobs without assigning a schedule and manually run the job at
any time.
Because you can run a job more than once, there is a record called a job instance
that represents each execution of the job. For example, you might have a job that is
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scheduled for every day at noon. You could view the results for a specific
execution of the job, such as the Tuesday run as opposed to the Monday run, by
viewing the job instance record.
Related concepts:
Noninteractive tasks
Related tasks:
Scheduling a task
Scheduling a task from a selected system
Viewing active and scheduled job information
Viewing information about scheduled jobs
Determining target systems that are affected by a job
Viewing job-instance records
Viewing job-instance logs
Copying a scheduled job
Editing a scheduled job
Running a scheduled job immediately
Suspending and resuming a scheduled job
Deleting a job
Scheduling a task
When you create a job, you can schedule one or more noninteractive tasks to run
on one or more target systems.
To schedule a task, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, click Find a Task.
2. On the Find a Task page, right-click a noninteractive task that you want to
schedule and click Run.
If the task is an interactive task, you cannot schedule it and the Launch Job
window will not appear. For information on the difference between interactive
tasks and noninteractive tasks, see “Noninteractive tasks.”
3. The Launch Job window opens and the Target page is displayed. Select one or
more systems or groups of systems on which you want to schedule the task to
run.
Note: If you select a dynamic group, be aware that the group members used
for the scheduled task are those members present in the group when you create
this scheduled job. Subsequent changes in dynamic group membership are
ignored. For example, if you schedule to collect inventory by using a dynamic
group and the group membership changes, the target systems originally part of
the group are used for the inventory collection. The changed group
membership is ignored.
Important:
Although you can select multiple target systems when you create, edit, or copy
the job, the Scheduler does not evaluate the following criteria until the task is
actually run:
v Whether the target systems support the task that you are scheduling
v Whether the task is appropriate for multiple systems
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If the scheduled job fails any of these criteria, an error is logged in the job
instance record. Each job instance record provides detailed status information
about the History page and a log file that you can view from the Log page. For
more information, see “Viewing job-instance records” and “Viewing
job-instance logs.”
4. Click the Schedule tab. On this page, you can choose to run the job
immediately or schedule the job to run at a later time.
a. A job name is required and the Name field provides a unique default name.
To change the default name, type a job name in the field.
b. To run the job immediately, click Run Now and go to step 7. Otherwise,
click Schedule.
c. In the Schedule list, select how frequently you want the job to run. The
default setting is Once. Other values are Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Monthly,
Yearly, or Custom. Also, you can specify whether to run the job on the
weekend.
d. Select the date and time to run the job for the first time.
e. Select the time range for the job to repeat.
5. Rarely, a task might require setting additional parameters and the Parameters
page is provided. Click the Parameters tab. If the task provides default values,
they are displayed on this page. If the settings are blank, you must enter all the
settings; otherwise, the Scheduler cannot save the job.
6. Click the Notification tab. On this page you can customize a notification that is
sent by e-mail.
a. Select from the available criteria to customize when the mail notification is
sent. You can specify that the mail be sent when one of the following
criteria is met:
v When the job begins.
v When the job completes successfully.
v When the job fails. You can further customize this criterion by setting
either the percentage of target systems on which the job had errors or the
number of systems on which the job had errors. Therefore, if the job runs
on five systems, the job has errors on two systems, and you set the
criterion threshold to 50%, the notification is not sent.
v When the job receives any error.
b. Type your mail address, mail server, and mail server port.
Tip: You can provide only one mail address.
7. Click the Options tab. On this page you can select additional options for the
job behavior.
a. Select whether you want the job to run according to your management
server's time or the target system's time.
Tip: Make sure that you know the time and time zone to which the
respective systems' clocks are set.
b. Select whether you want the job to fail if a system is offline or if you want
the job to run when the system is online again.
8. Click OK to save the job.
Click Cancel to exit from the Launch Job window without saving the job.
If the job is created successfully, a message is displayed on the page from
which you started the Scheduler. If the job creation fails, a message is displayed
in the Launch Job window so that you can correct the job.
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Note: Scheduled jobs retain the locale in which they were created. For example,
if you create a scheduled job in German and then switch to English, the job will
still appear with German titles.
The job is displayed on the Active and Scheduled Jobs page.
Related concepts:
Noninteractive tasks
Jobs and job instances
Related tasks:
Scheduling a task from a selected system
Viewing active and scheduled job information
Viewing information about scheduled jobs
Determining target systems that are affected by a job
Viewing job-instance records
Viewing job-instance logs
Copying a scheduled job
Editing a scheduled job
Running a scheduled job immediately
Suspending and resuming a scheduled job
Deleting a job
Scheduling a task from a selected system
When viewing systems, you can select a noninteractive task and schedule it to run
on one or more systems.
To schedule a task from a selected system, complete the following steps:
1. In Resource Explorer or any table that displays systems, select one or more
systems on which you want to perform a noninteractive task.
2. Click Actions and click a noninteractive task that you want to schedule. The
Launch Job window is not displayed if one of the following conditions is true:
v One or more of the selected systems does not support the selected task.
v The task is an interactive task. You cannot schedule an interactive task and
the Launch Job window is not displayed. For more information, see
“Noninteractive tasks.”
3. The Launch Job window opens and the Schedule page is displayed. On this
page, you can choose to run the job immediately or schedule the job to run at a
later time.
a. A job name is required and the Name field provides a unique default name.
To change the default name, type a job name in the field.
b. To run the job immediately, click Run Now and go to step 7 on page 139.
Otherwise, click Schedule.
c. In the Schedule list, select how frequently you want the job to run. The
default setting is Once. Other values are Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Monthly,
Yearly, or Custom. Also, you can specify whether to run the job on the
weekend.
d. Select the date and time to run the job for the first time.
e. Select the time range for the job to repeat.
4. Rarely, a task might require setting additional parameters and the Parameters
page is provided. Click the Parameters tab. If the task provides default values,
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they are displayed on this page. If the settings are blank, you must enter all the
settings; otherwise, the Scheduler cannot save the job.
5. Click the Notification tab. On this page you can customize a notification that is
sent by e-mail.
a. Select from the available criteria to customize when the mail notification is
sent. You can specify that the mail be sent when one of the following
criteria is met:
v When the job begins.
v When the job completes successfully.
v When the job fails. You can further customize this criterion by setting
either the percentage of target systems on which the job had errors or the
number of systems on which the job had errors. Therefore, if the job runs
on five systems, the job has errors on two systems, and you set the
criterion threshold to 50%, the notification is not sent.
v When the job receives any error.
b. Type your mail address, mail server, and mail server port.
Tip: You can provide only one mail address.
6. Click the Options tab. On this page you can select additional options for the
job behavior.
a. Select whether you want the job to run according to your management
server's time or the target system's time.
Tip: Make sure that you know the time and time zone to which the
respective systems' clocks are set.
b. Select whether you want the job to fail if a system is offline or if you want
the job to run when the system is online again.
7. Click OK to save the job.
Click Cancel to exit from the Launch Job window without saving the job.
If the job is created successfully, a message is displayed on the page from
which you started the Scheduler. If the job creation fails, a message is displayed
in the Launch Job window so that you can correct the job.
Note: Scheduled jobs retain the locale in which they were created. For example,
if you create a scheduled job in German and then switch to English, the job will
still appear with German titles.
The job is displayed on the Active and Scheduled Jobs page.
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Related concepts:
Noninteractive tasks
Jobs and job instances
Related tasks:
Scheduling a task
Viewing active and scheduled job information
Viewing information about scheduled jobs
Determining target systems that are affected by a job
Viewing job-instance records
Viewing job-instance logs
Copying a scheduled job
Editing a scheduled job
Running a scheduled job immediately
Suspending and resuming a scheduled job
Deleting a job
Viewing active and scheduled job information
You can view quick, high-level information about active and scheduled jobs,
including a progress indicator for each job. The progress indicator is useful for
tracking the progress of instances of long-running jobs.
To view information about active and scheduled jobs, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, expand Task Management and
click Active and Scheduled Jobs.
2. On the Active and Scheduled Jobs page, scan for the job that you want. For
each job, the following information provided:
Name The name of the job.
Status The current status of the job. The following list describes the available
job states:
Active Indicates that the job has run once and is scheduled to run
again.
Scheduled
Indicates future scheduled runs of the job and the number of
systems affected by the job. This is a job's initial state.
Inactive
Indicates that the job has been disabled and scheduled
instances will not be run. Use this state to prevent a job from
running without deleting the job. Neither the job nor its history
is deleted.
Running
Indicates that the job is currently running and the number of
affected systems. This state can be transitory and, therefore, not
observable for some jobs. If a job is running, you cannot change
its state to Inactive.
Complete
Indicates that no future runs of the job are scheduled, that the
job has run at least once, and the number of affected systems.
Progress
If a job is in the Running state, a progress indicator is displayed in the
column.
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Description
A description of when the job is scheduled to run.
Next Run
The date when the job will run next.
Last Run
The date when the job ran most recently.
Task
The name of the task that the job runs.
Created By
The user ID of the person that created the job.
Related concepts:
Noninteractive tasks
Jobs and job instances
Related tasks:
Scheduling a task
Scheduling a task from a selected system
Viewing information about scheduled jobs
Determining target systems that are affected by a job
Viewing job-instance records
Viewing job-instance logs
Copying a scheduled job
Editing a scheduled job
Running a scheduled job immediately
Suspending and resuming a scheduled job
Deleting a job
Related reference:
lsjob command
Viewing information about scheduled jobs
You can view information (properties) about any job. This information includes
what tasks are included in each job and, if a job has a repeating schedule, when
the job has run before and when it will run next.
To view job information, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, expand Task Management and
click Active and Scheduled Jobs.
2. On the Active and Scheduled Jobs page, select the job that you want to view
and click Actions > Properties.
3. On the Properties page, the General page is displayed by default. On this page
you can view the following general information about the job:
v The name of the job that was originally given by the user who created the
job.
v The current status of the job.
v A progress indicator that reports the progress of the job if it is running when
you view the job properties.
v The description of when the job run and repeats. You can click on this status
to view the log of the last run.
v The date that the job last ran.
v The date that the job will run next.
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v The name of the task that the job runs.
v The name of the job's creator.
4. If you are finished viewing this information, you can return to previous views
using the breadcrumb links at the top of the Properties page.
Also on the Properties page, you can perform applicable tasks on the selected job.
Click Actions to view the available tasks that you can perform.
Related concepts:
Noninteractive tasks
Jobs and job instances
Related tasks:
Scheduling a task
Scheduling a task from a selected system
Viewing active and scheduled job information
Determining target systems that are affected by a job
Viewing job-instance records
Viewing job-instance logs
Copying a scheduled job
Editing a scheduled job
Running a scheduled job immediately
Suspending and resuming a scheduled job
Deleting a job
Related reference:
lsjob command
Determining target systems that are affected by a job
You can view a list of the target systems that are affected by a selected scheduled
job.
To view the target systems, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, expand Task Management and
click Active and Scheduled Jobs.
2. On the Active and Scheduled Jobs page, select the job that you want to view
and click Actions > Properties.
3. On the Properties page, click the Target tab. On this page you can view the list
of target systems on which the job will run.
4. If you are finished viewing this information, you can return to previous views
using the breadcrumb links at the top of the Properties page.
Tip: You also can find this information by selecting a system and viewing its
Properties. On the Properties page, click the Applied Activities page to view
information about any jobs that are associated with the system.
Also on the Properties page, you can perform applicable tasks on the selected job.
Click Actions to view the available tasks that you can perform.
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Related concepts:
Noninteractive tasks
Jobs and job instances
Related tasks:
Scheduling a task
Scheduling a task from a selected system
Viewing active and scheduled job information
Viewing information about scheduled jobs
Viewing job-instance records
Viewing job-instance logs
Copying a scheduled job
Editing a scheduled job
Running a scheduled job immediately
Suspending and resuming a scheduled job
Deleting a job
Viewing job-instance records
You can view a record for each instance of a scheduled job that has already run,
including detailed information about the status of a particular instance.
To view job-instance records, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, expand Task Management and
click Active and Scheduled Jobs.
2. On the Active and Scheduled Jobs page, select the job that you want to view
and click Actions > Properties.
3. On the Properties page, click the History tab. On this page you can view the
history of previous times that this job has run. A record is created for each
instance of the job as soon as it starts running. This page provides the
following historical information in each record:
Date Provides the date and time for the record
Status Indicates whether the job instance has completed.
Scheduled
Indicates future scheduled runs of the job and the number of systems
affected by the job. This is a job's initial state.
Inactive
Indicates that the job has been disabled and scheduled instances will
not be run. Use this state to prevent a job from running without
deleting the job. Neither the job nor its history is deleted.
Running
Indicates that the job is currently running and the number of affected
systems. This state can be transitory and, therefore, not observable for
some jobs. If a job is running, you cannot change its state to Inactive.
Complete
Indicates that no future runs of the job are scheduled, that the job has
run at least once, and the number of affected systems.
Failed Indicates that a job instance failed on the specified number or
percentage of systems, and the number of affected systems.
Unavailable
Indicates that a job instance did not run because a target system was
offline and the number of affected systems.
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Skipped
Indicates that a job instance did not run because a target system was
offline and the number of affected systems.
4. If you are finished viewing this information, you can return to previous views
using the breadcrumb links at the top of the Properties page.
Also on the Properties page, you can perform applicable tasks on the selected job.
Click Actions to view the available tasks that you can perform.
Related concepts:
Noninteractive tasks
Jobs and job instances
Related tasks:
Scheduling a task
Scheduling a task from a selected system
Viewing active and scheduled job information
Viewing information about scheduled jobs
Determining target systems that are affected by a job
Viewing job-instance logs
Copying a scheduled job
Editing a scheduled job
Running a scheduled job immediately
Suspending and resuming a scheduled job
Deleting a job
Related reference:
lsjobhistory command
rmjobhistory command
Viewing job-instance logs
You can view logs for each job instance that has already run. These logs can
include error messages that you can use to determine why a job instance failed.
To view job-instance logs, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, expand Task Management and
click Active and Scheduled Jobs.
2. On the Active and Scheduled Jobs page, select the job that you want to view
and click Actions > Properties.
3. On the Properties page, click the Logs tab. On this page you can view a log for
each record. For each job instance record, the page displays the date and time,
as well as one of the following status:
Running
Indicates that the job instance is currently running. This state might be
transitory and, therefore, not observable for some job instances.
Running with errors
Indicates that the job instance is currently running, but with errors.
This state might be transitory and, therefore, not observable for some
job instances.
Waiting
Indicates that the job instance is waiting for a resource to become
available.
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Waiting with errors
Indicates that the job instance is waiting for a resource to become
available, but has already logged some errors.
Complete
Indicates that the job instance has successfully finished its execution.
Errors Indicates that the job instance has finished its execution, but with
errors.
4. Right-click a record and click Show logs. The log is displayed below the table.
If the record state indicates errors, view the log for error messages that can help
you troubleshoot the problem.
Note: You can use the Message Filter dropdown list to limit the type of
messages to display from the selected job log.
5. If you are finished viewing this information, you can return to previous views
using the breadcrumb links at the top of the Properties page.
Also on the Properties page, you can perform applicable tasks on the selected job.
Click Actions to view the available tasks that you can perform.
Related concepts:
Noninteractive tasks
Jobs and job instances
Related tasks:
Scheduling a task
Scheduling a task from a selected system
Viewing active and scheduled job information
Viewing information about scheduled jobs
Determining target systems that are affected by a job
Viewing job-instance records
Copying a scheduled job
Editing a scheduled job
Running a scheduled job immediately
Suspending and resuming a scheduled job
Deleting a job
Related reference:
lsjobhistory command
Copying a scheduled job
Copy a job when you want to create a new scheduled job that is similar to a
existing job.
To copy a scheduled job, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, expand Task Management and
click Active and Scheduled Jobs.
2. On the Active and Scheduled Jobs page, select the job that you want to copy.
3. Click Create Like. The Create Like window is displayed with the settings of the
job that you copied.
4. Type a new job name for this job.
5. Navigate through the Create Like window and edit the applicable job settings.
6. When you are satisfied with your edits, click OK.
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The new job is saved and is displayed on the Active and Scheduled Jobs page.
Related concepts:
Noninteractive tasks
Jobs and job instances
Related tasks:
Scheduling a task
Scheduling a task from a selected system
Viewing active and scheduled job information
Viewing information about scheduled jobs
Determining target systems that are affected by a job
Viewing job-instance records
Viewing job-instance logs
Editing a scheduled job
Running a scheduled job immediately
Suspending and resuming a scheduled job
Deleting a job
Related reference:
Active and Scheduled Jobs
Launch Job window
Editing a scheduled job
Edit a job to change its settings. You can edit only jobs that have not run.
Attention: To avoid a potential error, check to make sure that the job that you
want to edit is not scheduled to run during the time that you want to edit it. Check
the Next Run column to make sure the job will not run during the time you intend
to edit it.
Important: You can edit only jobs that have not run. If a job has run once or more,
you cannot edit it. To edit a job that has already run, you can copy the job, edit the
new copy, then remove the original version of the job. Alternatively, you can create
a new job with the properties you need and then delete the original job.
To edit a scheduled job, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, expand Task Management and
click Active and Scheduled Jobs.
2. On the Active and Scheduled Jobs page, select the job that you want to edit.
3. Click Edit. The Edit window is displayed with the job settings of the job that
you want to edit.
4. Navigate through the Edit window and edit the applicable job settings. For
detailed information, see “Scheduling a task.”
5. When you are satisfied with your edits, click OK.
Note: If the job was executed while you were editing it, the edited job is not
saved. If this occurs, an error message is displayed stating that the job has run
already and cannot be replaced.
The edited job is saved and is displayed on the Active and Scheduled Jobs page.
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Related concepts:
Noninteractive tasks
Jobs and job instances
Related tasks:
Scheduling a task
Scheduling a task from a selected system
Viewing active and scheduled job information
Viewing information about scheduled jobs
Determining target systems that are affected by a job
Viewing job-instance records
Viewing job-instance logs
Copying a scheduled job
Running a scheduled job immediately
Suspending and resuming a scheduled job
Deleting a job
Running a scheduled job immediately
You can run a job immediately. This action does not affect any scheduled instances
of the job.
To run a scheduled job immediately, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, expand Task Management and
click Active and Scheduled Jobs.
2. On the Active and Scheduled Jobs page, select the job that you want to run.
3. Click Run Now. On the Active and Scheduled Jobs page in the Status column,
the state is changed to Running. This state can be transitory and, therefore, not
observable for some jobs. The state might appear to change to Complete
without changing to Running first. The Last Run column is updated also.
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Related concepts:
Noninteractive tasks
Jobs and job instances
Related tasks:
Scheduling a task
Scheduling a task from a selected system
Viewing active and scheduled job information
Viewing information about scheduled jobs
Determining target systems that are affected by a job
Viewing job-instance records
Viewing job-instance logs
Copying a scheduled job
Editing a scheduled job
Suspending and resuming a scheduled job
Deleting a job
Related reference:
runjob command
Suspending and resuming a scheduled job
You can stop a job from running any of its scheduled instances without deleting
the job. Neither the job nor its history is deleted. Then, you can resume the
running of the job. While the job will run its future scheduled instances, it will not
run any past instances that were missed during its suspension.
Note: You cannot suspend most job instances that are currently running.
Right-clicking on the job will show if the job supports suspending currently
running jobs or not. If you suspend the job, the suspension will affect only the job
instances that have yet to run.
To suspend and resume a scheduled job, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, expand Task Management and
click Active and Scheduled Jobs.
2. On the Active and Scheduled Jobs page, right-click on the job that you want to
suspend or resume.
3. Click Suspend. On the Active and Scheduled Jobs page in the Status column,
the state is changed to Inactive.
4. When you want to resume the job, select the job and click Resume. The job is
resumed. On the Active and Scheduled Jobs page in the Status column, the
state is changed from Inactive to Scheduled. A message is displayed on the
page stating that the job was resumed successfully.
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Related concepts:
Noninteractive tasks
Jobs and job instances
Related tasks:
Scheduling a task
Scheduling a task from a selected system
Viewing active and scheduled job information
Viewing information about scheduled jobs
Determining target systems that are affected by a job
Viewing job-instance records
Viewing job-instance logs
Copying a scheduled job
Editing a scheduled job
Running a scheduled job immediately
Deleting a job
Related reference:
runjob command
Canceling a running job
You can cancel a currently running job using the Cancel Running Job Instance task.
Restriction: The Cancel Running Job Instance task only applies to jobs that
support cancellation, such as Discovery.
To cancel a currently running job, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, expand Task Management and
click Active and Scheduled Jobs.
2. On the Active and Scheduled Jobs page, select the job that you want to cancel.
Note: The Last Run Status column will display Running for currently running
jobs.
3. Click Cancel Running Job Instance. A confirmation window opens.
4. Click OK to confirm cancelation of the job. On the Active and Scheduled Jobs
page, in the Last Run Status column, the state is changed to Complete.
Deleting a job
Delete a existing job when you no longer need it.
To delete a job, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, expand Task Management and
click Active and Scheduled Jobs.
2. On the Active and Scheduled Jobs page, select one or more jobs that you want
to delete.
3. Click Delete.
4. In the confirmation window, click OK.
The job is deleted and is no longer displayed on the Active and Scheduled Jobs
page.
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Related concepts:
Noninteractive tasks
Jobs and job instances
Related tasks:
Scheduling a task
Scheduling a task from a selected system
Viewing active and scheduled job information
Viewing information about scheduled jobs
Determining target systems that are affected by a job
Viewing job-instance records
Viewing job-instance logs
Copying a scheduled job
Editing a scheduled job
Running a scheduled job immediately
Suspending and resuming a scheduled job
Related reference:
rmjob command
Encrypting interprocess communication
Encryption is enabled for interprocess communication by default using the
Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). You can change the encryption algorithm,
disable and enable encryption, and manage encryption keys. This encryption
feature implementation is available only for IBM Director, versions 5.20.3 and
earlier.
Restriction:
v Only IBM Director 5.20 servers support encryption of the IPC layer between 5.20
servers and 5.20 agents.
v Additionally, the following limits exist for the supported interprocess
communication (IPC) encryption between 5.20 servers and agents:
1. 5.20 agents do not support encryption of the IPC layer with Netware
systems.
2. 5.20 agents do not support encryption of the IPC layer with 64-bit Windows
systems.
Related reference:
Encryption Preferences page
Encryption
IBM Systems Director contains a security feature that encrypts all data in
interprocess communications, except transport-layer datagrams used during
discovery. This encryption feature implementation is available only for IBM
Director, versions 5.20.3 and earlier.
Restriction:
v Only IBM Director 5.20 servers support encryption of the IPC layer between 5.20
servers and 5.20 agents.
v Additionally, the following limits exist for the supported interprocess
communication (IPC) encryption between 5.20 servers and agents:
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1. 5.20 agents do not support encryption of the IPC layer with Netware
systems.
2. 5.20 agents do not support encryption of the IPC layer with 64-bit Windows
systems.
This encryption feature provides automatic key management. You can select an
encryption algorithm from the provided libraries:
v IBM Java Cryptography Extension (JCE)
v OpenSSL
JCE provides ciphers for all Java-based platforms, including IBM i and Linux;
OpenSSL provides ciphers for 32-bit Windows operating systems.
Encryption is disabled by default. To encrypt data transmitted between IBM
Director Agent version 5.20, managed systems and IBM Systems Director Server,
you must enable encryption on both IBM Systems Director Server and IBM
Director Agent version 5.20, managed systems.
When you install IBM Systems Director Server, you can select one of the following
encryption algorithms:
v Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)
v Data Encryption Standard (DES)
v Triple DES
IBM Systems Director Server automatically generates a key, based on the
encryption algorithm selected. IBM Systems Director Server stores the key in
memory and presents it to IBM Systems Director Server or IBM Director Agent
version 5.20, each time that IBM Systems Director Server or IBM Director Agent
version 5.20, is started, using the Diffie-Hellman key exchange. It is not necessary
for a key to be stored on each managed system.
The following table outlines how data is transmitted between IBM Systems
Director Server and IBM Director Agent version 5.20, managed systems, depending
on whether encryption is enabled.
Table 11. Encryption state and data transmitted between IBM Systems Director Server
andIBM Director Agent version 5.20
IBM Systems Director
Server (encryption enabled)
IBM Director Agent version
5.20 (encryption enabled)
IBM Director Agent version
5.20 (encryption disabled)
Encrypted
Unencrypted
IBM Systems Director
No data transmission
Server (encryption disabled) possible
Unencrypted
If you have more than one management server in your environment, make sure
you consider the following situation:
v Two management servers have discovered each other and each are displayed in
the other's IBM Systems Director Web interface as systems.
v One management server (server A) has encryption enabled.
v The other management server (server B) either has encryption disabled or has
encryption enabled now but had it disabled when it was discovered and the
communication has not ended since the discovery.
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In this situation, unencrypted transmissions sent by server B to server A will
continue until the previous communication is ended. This occurs because server A
(in its role as a management server) is already communicating with server B (in its
role as system) in plain text.
You can delete each system from the Web interface of the other to end the
unencrypted communication. If you run multiple management servers that can
discover each other, you can enable encryption on both management servers before
they are started or before they can discover each other. You can also use the dircli
lsmo command to check for previous communication. For more information, see
“System commands.”
Notes:
v Encryption is not supported on systems running NetWare or systems running
64-bit versions of Windows.
v Neither out-of-band communications nor communication used by Internet tools,
such as Telnet or File Transfer Protocol (FTP), are encrypted.
v There is a performance penalty when you enable encryption. Encrypting data
packets and exchanging encryption keys has an effect on the speed with which
IBM Systems Director completes management operations. When either the
management server or the systems are restarted, keys are regenerated and
exchanged. Consequently, an unsecured managed system might seem to be
unmanageable for a period of time.
Related tasks:
Enabling encryption
Disabling encryption
Changing the encryption algorithm
Resending the encryption key to systems
Creating a new encryption key
Related reference:
Encryption Preferences page
System commands
Enabling encryption
You can enable encryption on the management server. This encryption feature
implementation is available only for IBM Director, versions 5.20.3 and earlier.
Restriction:
v Only IBM Director 5.20 servers support encryption of the IPC layer between 5.20
servers and 5.20 agents.
v Additionally, the following limits exist for the supported interprocess
communication (IPC) encryption between 5.20 servers and agents:
1. 5.20 agents do not support encryption of the IPC layer with Netware
systems.
2. 5.20 agents do not support encryption of the IPC layer with 64-bit Windows
systems.
To enable encryption on IBM Director Agent, versions 5.20.3 and earlier, complete
the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, expand Settings
and click Encryption Preferences.
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2. On the Encryption Preferences page, select the Enable encryption of data check
box.
3. Click Apply.
4. The Save Encryption Settings window opens. Click OK to confirm enabling the
encryption algorithm and synchronizing the keys. The keys are sent to all
affected systems. A confirmation message is displayed.
5. Click OK to save the change and close the page.
Related concepts:
Encryption
Related tasks:
Disabling encryption
Changing the encryption algorithm
Resending the encryption key to systems
Creating a new encryption key
Related reference:
Encryption Preferences page
Disabling encryption
You can disable encryption on the management server. Encryption must be enabled
previously. This encryption feature implementation is available only for IBM
Director, versions 5.20.3 and earlier.
Restriction:
v Only IBM Director 5.20 servers support encryption of the IPC layer between 5.20
servers and 5.20 agents.
v Additionally, the following limits exist for the supported interprocess
communication (IPC) encryption between 5.20 servers and agents:
1. 5.20 agents do not support encryption of the IPC layer with Netware
systems.
2. 5.20 agents do not support encryption of the IPC layer with 64-bit Windows
systems.
To disable encryption on IBM Director Agent, versions 5.20.3 and earlier, complete
the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, expand Settings
and click Encryption Preferences.
2. On the Encryption Preferences page, clear the Enable encryption of data check
box.
3. Click Apply to save the change.
4. The Save Encryption Settings window opens. Click OK to confirm disabling the
encryption algorithm.
5. A confirmation message is displayed. Click OK to save the change and close
the page.
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Related concepts:
Encryption
Related tasks:
Enabling encryption
Changing the encryption algorithm
Resending the encryption key to systems
Creating a new encryption key
Related reference:
Encryption Preferences page
Changing the encryption algorithm
You can change the algorithm used to encrypt communications between IBM
Director Server, versions 5.20.3 and earlier, and IBM Director Agent, versions 5.20.3
and earlier. When you change the algorithm, new encryption keys are sent to all
systems running IBM Director Agent, versions 5.20.3 and earlier. Encryption must
be enabled previously. This encryption feature implementation is available only for
IBM Director, versions 5.20.3 and earlier.
Restriction:
v Only IBM Director 5.20 servers support encryption of the IPC layer between 5.20
servers and 5.20 agents.
v Additionally, the following limits exist for the supported interprocess
communication (IPC) encryption between 5.20 servers and agents:
1. 5.20 agents do not support encryption of the IPC layer with Netware
systems.
2. 5.20 agents do not support encryption of the IPC layer with 64-bit Windows
systems.
To change the encryption algorithm for systems running IBM Director Agent,
versions 5.20.3 and earlier, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, expand Settings
and click Encryption Preferences.
2. In the Select data encryption standard list, select the encryption algorithm that
you want to use.
3. Click Apply.
4. The Save Encryption Settings window opens. Click OK to confirm changing the
encryption algorithm and synchronizing the keys. The keys are sent to all
affected systems. A confirmation message is displayed.
5. Click OK to save the change and close the page.
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Related concepts:
Encryption
Related tasks:
Enabling encryption
Disabling encryption
Resending the encryption key to systems
Creating a new encryption key
Related reference:
Encryption Preferences page
Resending the encryption key to systems
You can resend the existing encryption keys to systems running IBM Director
Agent. This encryption feature implementation is available only for IBM Director,
versions 5.20.3 and earlier.
Restriction:
v Only IBM Director 5.20 servers support encryption of the IPC layer between 5.20
servers and 5.20 agents.
v Additionally, the following limits exist for the supported interprocess
communication (IPC) encryption between 5.20 servers and agents:
1. 5.20 agents do not support encryption of the IPC layer with Netware
systems.
2. 5.20 agents do not support encryption of the IPC layer with 64-bit Windows
systems.
To resend encryption keys to all systems running IBM Director Agent, versions
5.20.3 and earlier, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, expand Settings
and click Encryption Preferences.
2. On the Encryption Preferences page, click Resend Keys.
3. In the Resend Encryption Keys window, click Resend to resend the keys. When
the operation is completed, the confirmation message is displayed.
4. To close the page, click OK.
Related concepts:
Encryption
Related tasks:
Enabling encryption
Disabling encryption
Changing the encryption algorithm
Creating a new encryption key
Related reference:
Encryption Preferences page
Creating a new encryption key
You can generate a unique encryption key for a system running IBM Director
Agent. This encryption feature implementation is available only for IBM Director,
versions 5.20.3 and earlier.
Restriction:
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v Only IBM Director 5.20 servers support encryption of the IPC layer between 5.20
servers and 5.20 agents.
v Additionally, the following limits exist for the supported interprocess
communication (IPC) encryption between 5.20 servers and agents:
1. 5.20 agents do not support encryption of the IPC layer with Netware
systems.
2. 5.20 agents do not support encryption of the IPC layer with 64-bit Windows
systems.
Encryption must be enabled.
To set a new encryption key for one system running IBM Director Agent, versions
5.20.3 and earlier, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Resource
Explorer.
2. On the Resource Explorer page, navigate to the managed system for which you
want to reset the encryption key.
3. Right-click the system and click Encryption Key Reset.
Note: You can select more than one system to reset encryption keys.
4. In the Encryption Key Reset window, click Reset to reset the key.
IBM Systems Director Server generates a new, unique key for the managed system
and displays a confirmation message.
Related concepts:
Encryption
Related tasks:
Enabling encryption
Disabling encryption
Changing the encryption algorithm
Resending the encryption key to systems
Related reference:
Encryption Preferences page
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Chapter 3. Discovering systems and collecting inventory data
To manage a resource within an environment or view inventory data about it, that
resource must first be discovered and, after access is granted, an inventory must be
collected. The resource is recognized and added to the comprehensive list of native
resources and native attributes for the system. Discovery and inventory collection
are the two primary tasks that are used to connect to supported network resources
and collect information about them.
If you are discovering and collecting inventory on Power Systems compute nodes,
make sure that SCP is installed on the Power Systems compute nodes before
running Discovery or Inventory Collection from the FSM so that the network
adapters are discovered and inventoried by the FSM. For more information about
installing SCP, which is available with the OpenSSH software tools, see the
following website:
OpenSSH and Kerberos Version 5 support
Related concepts:
Discovery manager
Manageable resource types
Manageable systems and system types
Related tasks:
Discovering and collecting inventory for storage devices
Discovery
Discovery is the process by which IBM Systems Director Server identifies and
establishes connections with network-level resources that IBM Systems Director can
manage, such as computers, switches, or printers. Use system discovery to identify
resources within your environment, collect data about those resources, and
establish connections with them.
Before you can use IBM Systems Director to manage a device, that resource must
be discovered by IBM Systems Director Server. After a resource is discovered, it
becomes a system that IBM Systems Director can manage.
Note: The discovery process discovers only systems and other types of resources
that can be managed by IBM Systems Director. In other words, just because you
can "ping" a resource does not mean that IBM Systems Director can discover it.
After a system is discovered, it is displayed on the Resource Explorer page. You
can drill down in the groups of systems within IBM Systems Director to manage
and view information about the systems that have been discovered.
You can view discovery and inventory information and perform discovery and
inventory tasks on the Initial Setup tab of the Home page or by using the
Discovery Manager plug-in. As the discovery process runs, the pie chart on the
Discovery Manager summary page updates to indicate the number of system types
discovered.
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159
Related concepts:
Manageable systems and system types
Related tasks:
Collecting inventory
System discovery
System discovery enables you to discover a resource for a single IPv4 or IPv6
address or host name or many resources of the same type that occur in a densely
populated single range of IP addresses. You can also use a discovery profile to
discover more specific categories of resource types, specify multiple ranges of IP
addresses, or automatically request access to or collect inventory for discovered
resources.
System discovery provides the following functions:
v Discovery based on a single IPv4 or IPv6 address
v Discovery based on a single host name
v Discovery based on one range of IPv4 or IPv6 addresses
v Discovery based on a discovery profile
Using discovery based on a single IP address or host name or a range of IP
addresses is useful when the following conditions apply:
v You are managing a single subnet (or only a few subnets) and you want to
manage all resources that are on the subnet or all resources of a given type.
v The subnet is a densely populated single range of IP addresses for a single
resource type that you want to discover at one time.
Using discovery based on a discovery profile is useful when the following
conditions apply:
v Your resources span many subnets.
v A specific type of resource occurs in multiple IP address ranges.
v You want to automatically request access to or collect inventory for the
discovered resources.
v You need to discover various types of resources by using targeted discovery
profiles.
System discovery is able to detect the same kinds of resources as the Default
getting started discovery profile, but also is able to discover the following types of
resources:
v Chassis by way of a management module or an advanced management module
v eServer™ 325, 326, and 326m model servers discovered by way of an ISMP
service processor1
v IBM Flex System Enterprise Chassis
v IBM Power servers with service processors
v IBM Power systems being managed by Hardware Management Console (HMC)
v IBM Power systems being managed by Integrated Virtualization Manage (IVM)
v IBM Tivoli Storage Productivity Center (TPC) storage resource groups
v Metering products such as power distribution units (PDU) and uninterruptible
power supplies
v Printers, switches, and bridges enabled for SNMP2
v Sensor hubs and sensor networks for energy and environmental management
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v Storage devices, including TPC storage resource groups
v System x servers with service processors
v System x servers discovered by way of an integrated management module,
integrated management module II, or IPMI baseboard management controller
(BMC)
v System x server discovered by way of a Remote Supervisor Adapter or Remote
Supervisor Adapter II
v System z servers being managed by (HMC)
v Systems that are cloned or that use a mirrored image3
v VMware vCenter systems
1. Although the service processor in the eServer 325, 326, and 326m models is
called an ISMP, it is a BMC.
2. Pass-through modules do not provide SNMP support.
3. To discover a system that uses a mirrored image, the system must be
properly configured. For more information, see “Discovering systems that
use a mirrored image.”
The discovery process discovers only systems and other types of resources that can
be managed by IBM Systems Director. In other words, just because you can "ping"
a resource does not mean that IBM Systems Director can discover it.
Discover only those resources that you intend to manage with IBM Systems
Director. For example, if the management interfaces of your networking equipment
are on a single subnet, yet you do not intend to manage your networking
equipment with IBM Systems Director, do not discover devices on that subnet.
As system discovery runs, the System Discovery page refreshes the list of
discovered resources in the Discovered Manageable Systems table. You also can
view the results of this discovery by using the Discovery jobs task to examine the
associated job. You can view all discovered systems on the Resource Explorer page.
While the discovery process is active, the System Discovery page also displays
additional elements:
v An icon and text message that states whether the discovery process is running
or stopping
v A Stop button that enables you to stop the discovery process that is updating
the Discovered Manageable Systems table
v A New discovery button that enables you to run another system discovery in
addition to the one that is currently active. If you run a new discovery, the new
discovery updates the Discovered Manageable Systems table. When you run a
new discovery, you must use the Discovery jobs task to view the results of the
current discovery.
Note: The time it takes for discovery to finish processing varies depending on
such factors as network performance and the number of systems that are
discovered. Avoid managing newly discovered resources for a time after the
discovery task finishes, because associated processing continues to run.
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Related concepts:
Default getting started discovery profile
Related tasks:
Discovering systems with system discovery
Discovering systems that use a mirrored image
Using system discovery to view current results
IP addresses
System discovery can use a single IP address, a single host name, or a single range
of IP addresses to discover manageable resources. When using a discovery profile,
you have options to specify multiple IP addresses and address ranges and import
IP address information in a text file. You can also exclude individual IP addresses,
IP address ranges, or entire subnets from discovery.
System discovery in IBM Systems Director version 6.2 supports both the IPv4 and
IPv6 protocols. Whether you specify a single IP address on the System Discovery
page or import a list of IP addresses, discovery requires that IP addresses adhere to
the following rules:
v The maximum permitted range of IP addresses is 256.
v For IP address ranges, the specified starting address must be less than the
ending address, where only the last piece of the starting and ending addresses
are unique. The following examples are valid patterns: a.a.a.b-a.a.a.c for an IPv4
address or a:a:a:a:a:a:a:b-a:a:a:a:a:a:a:c for an IPv6 address, where for each
example b is less than c.
v All addresses in a valid IPv4 address range must occur in the same Class C
subnet.
v When the interface allows (for example, when using the Discovery Profile
wizard), IPv6 address compression might be used to replace one or more
consecutive instances of 0 in an address. For example, when using address
compression, this address DD01:0:0:0:0:0:0:1C would be written as DD01::1C.
v Using the IPv6 loopback address (0:0:0:0:0:0:0:1 or ::1) is not supported.
v Using prefix-length for IPv6 addresses is not supported.
When discovering a range of IP addresses, use the smallest range possible.
v IPv4 example: Assume that you have a subnet 10.1.1.0 - 10.1.1.255, but all of
your systems are within the first 100 addresses. In this case, you would use
10.1.1.1-10.1.1.100 as the range instead of 10.1.1.1-10.1.1.255.
v IPv6 example: Assume that you have a subnet E290::51D2:9008:C01D:6420 E290::51D2:9008:C01D:651F, but all of your systems are within the first 100
addresses. In this case, you would use E290::51D2:9008:C01D:6420E290::51D2:9008:C01D:6484 as the range instead of E290::51D2:9008:C01D:6420E290::51D2:9008:C01D:651F.
Import IP address file format
When you have many IP addresses that you want to discover, consider using a
discovery profile to import one or more files that list the addresses to include in
and exclude from the discovery. An imported file can specify multiple single IP
addresses or address ranges to include and exclude. Discovery supports both IPv4
and IPv6 protocols.
Note: After creating the file, import it at the time you configure a discovery
profile. To create a discovery profile, click Create new profile on the System
Discovery page. For more information, see “Discovery profiles.”
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Importing a file that lists IP addresses to include and exclude applies only to the
current discovery. To permanently exclude IP addresses from discovery, specify
that IBM Systems Director permanently ignore the IP addresses. Excluding IP
addresses in this way means that Systems Director does not communicate with or
manage resources by using the excluded IP addresses. For more information, see
“Permanently excluding IP addresses from discovery.”
To import a file, the file must meet the following criteria:
v The file must be a simple ASCII text file. The file extension does not matter.
v The file must be located on the system that is running the web browser that you
are using to create or edit the profile.
v Case does not matter.
v Do not use host names.
v Each line of the file can contain only one IP address or one IP address range.
v Write an IP address range as <start>-<end> where <start> is the starting IP
address of the range and <end> is the ending IP address of the range. For
example, this entry includes the specified IP address range:
10.42.104.0-10.42.104.200
v To exclude a single IP address or IP address range, begin the line with exclude=.
For example, both ExcluDe=9.22.3.114 or exclude=e290::51D2:9008:C01d:6420E290::51d2:9008:c01D:6484 are valid entries.
Related tasks:
Permanently excluding IP addresses from discovery
IPv6 restrictions for discovery
Starting with version 6.2, adds support for using IPv6 addresses to discover and
manage resources. Keep in mind the following IPv6 considerations, whether you
discover resources by specifying a single IP address, host name, or IP address
range or by using a discovery profile to specify multiple IP addresses and address
ranges.
IPv6 in-band restrictions
The following restriction applies when using IPv6 in-band for agentless-managed
systems, Platform Agent managed systems, and Common Agent managed systems.
Restriction: All discoverable operating systems that version 6.2 can manage by
using IPv4 can also be managed by using IPv6 in-band, except for Windows 2003
and Windows XP. Microsoft does not officially support DHCPv6 client with
Windows 2003 or Windows XP, and so neither is fully IPv6 compliant.
IPv6 out-of-band restrictions
The following restrictions affect discovery when using IPv6 out-of-band.
Restriction:
v IPv6 support for managing IBM BladeCenter servers out-of-band requires
Advanced Management Module Firmware v3.54 (BPET54B) or higher.
v IPv6 support for managing IBM Power Systems servers out-of-band through
Hardware Management Console (HMC) requires HMC V7R350 SP1, V7 R710 or
higher.
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v IPv6 support for managing Power Systems servers out-of-band through
Integrated Virtualization Manager (IVM) requires IVM/Virtual I/O Server
(VIOS) 2.1.3 or higher.
v IPv6 support for managing Power Systems servers out-of-band using Flexible
Service Processor (FSP) is currently not available. This restriction does not apply
to Power Systems managed with IVM or HMC.
v IPv6 support for managing IBM System x servers out-of-band using Integrated
Management Module (IMM) is not available.
v IPv6 support for managing IBM System x servers out-of-band using Integrated
Management Module(IMM) II is available.
For more information about IBM Systems Director support for IPv6, see “IPv6
compliance”.
Related reference:
IPv6 compliance
Discovery profiles
System discovery can use a discovery profile to discover manageable resources. A
discovery profile is a group of discovery settings that are saved on IBM Systems
Director Server. Settings for the profile include the type of resources to be
discovered, and whether to automatically request access to or collect inventory for
discovered resources. IBM Systems Director includes several default profiles that
you can use, or you can create profiles to suit your specific requirements.
Several options exist for working with discovery profiles. You can use the System
Discovery page to run an existing profile or create a unique profile. Use the
Manage Discovery Profiles page to create, copy, edit, delete, or run discovery
profiles. Choosing to create or edit a discovery profile launches the Discovery
Profile wizard, which helps you configure the profile.
Typically, a default discovery profile searches the primary subnet for the specified
target resources. Default profiles automatically use the IP address range of the
current subnet, as determined by the last start of the IBM Systems Director Server.
You can also create a profile that you base on a default profile. Simply changing
the IP addresses might be sufficient to create a profile that suits your needs.
When discovering a large number of resources, network traffic associated with the
discovery process might cause timeouts that result in some discoverable resources
remaining undiscovered. To help prevent this problem, use one or more discovery
profiles. Using a discovery profile enables you to target specific resources and limit
the number of communication protocols used during discovery. Limiting the
number of communication protocols used when discovering a large number of
resources helps avoid problems caused by network traffic collisions and timeouts.
IBM Systems Director includes the following default profiles:
Default agentless discovery
Discovers agentless-managed systems running AIX, Linux, or Windows1.
Default Common Agent discovery
Discovers systems on the local subnet that have IBM Director Agent,
versions 5.10 and 5.20, or Common Agent, version 5.0 or later, installed.2,
Default getting started discovery
Discovers a wide range of managed resources on the local subnet. For
more information, see “Default getting started discovery profile”.
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Default HMC managing IBM Power Systems discovery
Discovers IBM Power Systems and System z servers on the local subnet
that are under the control of Hardware Management Console (HMC) or
Integrated Virtualization Manager (IVM).
Default IBM BladeCenter discovery
Discovers IBM BladeCenter systems, by way of either a management
module or an advanced management module.
Default IBM Power Systems Servers with service processors discovery
Discovers IBM Power Systems servers with service processors.
Default IBM System x Servers with service processors discovery
Discovers IBM System x servers with service processors.
Default Platform Agent and agentless discovery
Discovers IBM Systems Director Platform Agent , version 6.1 or later,
managed systems; IBM Director Core Services, versions 5.10 and 5.20,
managed systems; and agentless-managed systems running AIX, Linux, or
Windows.4, 5
Footnotes:
1. Default agentless discovery profile does not discover agentless-managed systems enabled for SNMP.
2. Discovery of IBM Director Agent, versions 5.10 and 5.20 is provided only as a step toward upgrading discovered
agents to a more recent version. IBM Systems Director version 6.2 does not support managing IBM Director
Agent, version 5.10. For more information, see “Version compatibility of IBM Systems Director components.”
3. IPv6 is not supported for IBM Director Agent, versions 5.10 and 5.20. Common Agent version 6.2 includes
support for IPv6. but previous versions do not support IPv6 addresses.
4. Discovery of IBM Director Core Services, versions 5.10 and 5.20, is provided only as a step toward upgrading
discovered agents to a more recent version. IBM Systems Director version 6.2 does not support managing IBM
Director Core Services, version 5.10. For more information, see “Version compatibility of IBM Systems Director
components.”
5. IPv6 is not supported for IBM Director Core Services, versions 5.10 and 5.20. Platform Agent version 6.2 includes
support for IPv6. but previous versions do not support IPv6 addresses.
When you need to create a unique profile, the Discovery Profile wizard assists you
in identifying the type (and subtype) of resource that you want to discover and
configuring the necessary protocols. For more information about creating, editing
and deleting profiles, see “Managing discovery profiles”.
Related concepts:
Discovery protocols
Related tasks:
Creating a discovery profile
Managing discovery profiles
Discovering and collecting inventory for storage devices
Related reference:
Version compatibility of IBM Systems Director components across releases
Default getting started discovery profile:
The Default getting started discovery profile discovers a range of manageable
resources on your local subnet.
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The Default getting started discovery profile discovers the following types of
managed resources on the local subnet:
v Systems that are managed by using the following agents or services:
– IBM Systems Director Common Agent, version 6.1 or later1
– IBM Systems Director Platform Agent, version 6.1 or later1
– IBM Director Agent, versions 5.10 and 5.202, 3
– IBM Director Core Services, versions 5.10 and 5.202, 3
v Any existing infrastructure being managed with Tivoli Common Agent Services
v Agentless-managed systems enabled for Simple Network Management Protocol
(SNMP)
v Agentless-managed systems running AIX or Linux4
v Agentless-managed systems running Windows4
v Operating systems enabled for SNMP
v VMware ESX and ESXi hosts
1. IPv6 is not supported for IBM Director Agent, versions 5.10 and 5.20 or IBM
Director Core Services, versions 5.10 and 5.20.
2. Discovery of IBM Director Agent, versions 5.10 and 5.20, and IBM Director
Core Services, versions 5.10 and 5.20, is provided only as a step toward
upgrading the discovered agents to a more recent version. IBM Systems
Director version 6.2 does not support managing IBM Director Agent, version
5.10 or IBM Director Core Services, version 5.10. For more information, see
“Version compatibility of IBM Systems Director components.”
3. IPv6 is not supported for IBM Director Agent, versions 5.10 and 5.20 or IBM
Director Core Services, versions 5.10 and 5.20.
4. For more information about preparing or configuring agentless-managed
system so that IBM Systems Director can discover and manage them, see
“Preparing agentless managed systems.”
The Default getting started discovery profile attempts to discover systems by using
all agent-related discovery protocols on the local subnet. This inefficiency might
cause the management server to time out on one or more discovery requests,
resulting in a small percentage of discoverable resources remaining undiscovered.
Note: The time it takes for discovery to finish processing varies depending on
such factors as network performance and the number of systems that are
discovered. Avoid managing newly discovered resources for a time after the
discovery task finishes, because associated processing continues to run.
The Default getting started discovery profile does not discover every type of
managed resource. For more information about how to discover other types of
managed resources, see “System discovery.”
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Related concepts:
The Initial Setup tab
System discovery
Related tasks:
Viewing the discovery manager summary
Preparing agentless managed systems
Related reference:
Version compatibility of IBM Systems Director components across releases
Discovery protocols
A discovery protocol is any network communication protocol that IBM Systems
Director Server uses during the discovery process to discover a resource. The
Default getting started discovery profile uses a predetermined list of protocols.
When you specify a single IP address, a single host name, or a single range of IP
addresses, system discovery uses one or more protocols based on the selected
target resource type. Using a discovery profile enables you to refine the target
resource type and configure specific protocols that you want to use.
The communication protocols that IBM Systems Director Server uses during
discovery depend on the protocols used by the target resource type. You need to
decide about the different protocols only when you create or edit a discovery
profile. The Discovery Profile wizard helps you select and configure the correct
protocol for the type of resource that you want to discover.
When discovering a large number of resources, network traffic associated with the
discovery process might cause timeouts that result in some discoverable resources
remaining undiscovered. To help prevent this problem, use one or more discovery
profiles. Using a discovery profile enables you to target specific resources and limit
the number of communication protocols used during discovery. Limiting the
number of communication protocols used when discovering a large number of
resources helps avoid problems caused by network traffic collisions and timeouts.
By default, IBM Systems Director supports the following discovery protocols:
Agent manager discovery
Agent manager discovery specifically targets the discovery of Tivoli
common agents. In the Tivoli paradigm, Service Location Protocol (SLP) is
not supported and management servers contact an agent manager that
knows about the agents in their environment. You can select the agent
managers that you want to use in discovery.
Common Agent Services (CAS) discovery
CAS discovery utilizes Service Location Protocol (SLP) discovery, with
which clients can locate servers and other services on the network.
Common Information Model (CIM) discovery
CIM discovery utilizes the Service Location Protocol (SLP) for discovery.
With CIM discovery, clients can locate servers and other services on the
network.
Interprocess communication (IPC) discovery
IPC is the process by which programs send messages to each other.
Sockets, semaphores, signals, and internal message queues are common
methods of interprocess communication. IPC is also a mechanism of an
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operating system that enables processes to communicate with each other
within the same computer or over a network. IPC leverages services that
IBM Systems Director provides that components use to communicate with
each other. By using these services, a server task can communicate with an
agent task running on a target.
Secure shell (ssh) discovery
Secure shell is a Unix-based command interface and protocol for securely
accessing a remote computer. With ssh discovery, you can specify either a
single IP address or a range of IP addresses upon which to run discovery.
Note: IBM Systems Director does not support the ssh protocol on ESXi.
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) discovery
SNMP is a network management standard widely used in TCP/IP
networks. SNMP performs management services by using a distributed
architecture of management systems and agents. SNMP provides a method
of managing network hosts such as workstation or server computers,
routers, bridges, and hubs from a centrally-located computer running
network-management software.
Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S) discovery
With SMI-S discovery, clients can locate servers and other services on the
network. It is a design specification developed by the Storage Networking
Industry Association (SNIA) that specifies a secure and reliable interface
with which storage management systems (SMSs) can identify, classify,
monitor, and control physical and logical resources in a storage area
network (SAN). The interface integrates the various devices to be managed
in a storage area network (SAN) and the tools used to manage them.
Windows Distributed component object model (DCOM) discovery
Use Windows DCOM (an extension of the Microsoft Component Object
Model (COM) to support objects distributed across a network)
configuration to specify either a single IP address or a range of IP
addresses upon which to run discovery.
Note: Additional discovery protocols are routinely created by vendors. For more
information about communicating with a device that uses a protocol that is not
listed here, contact the manufacturer or software provider for that device.
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Related concepts:
IP addresses
IPv6 restrictions for discovery
Discovery profiles
Default getting started discovery profile
Related tasks:
Performing system discovery
Choosing which discovery method to use
Discovering your resources in the most efficient manner means deciding which
method best suits your needs. Each method has advantages and disadvantages to
consider.
Table 12. Recommended use for each discovery method
Discovery method
When this discovery method is appropriate
Specifying a single IP
address or host name, or
a range of IP addresses
v You are managing a single subnet (or only a few subnets) and you want to manage
all resources that are on the subnet or all resources of a given type.
Using the Default getting
started discovery profile
v The subnet is a densely populated single range of IP addresses for a single resource
type that you want to discover at one time.
v Your management server (the system running IBM Systems Director Server) and all
managed resources reside on a single subnet, for example, small and medium
business (SMB) and small office or home office (SOHO) environments.
v The subnet is densely populated with many types of agents or resources.
v Efficiency is not required. For example, discovering a sparsely populated subnet by
processing the entire subnet range takes longer because many requests that use many
protocols must complete.
Using a discovery profile
(other than Default
getting started)
v Your resources span many subnets.
v A specific type of resource occurs in multiple IP address ranges.
v You want to automatically request access to or collect inventory for the discovered
resources.
v You need to discover various types of resources by using targeted discovery profiles.
Each discovery method has advantages and disadvantages. Understanding this
information can help you decide which discovery method is best for your
systems-management environment.
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Table 13. Advantages and disadvantages of discovery methods
Discovery method
Advantages
Disadvantages
Specifying a single IP
v Discovers one system or IP address range
v Single-step task that can discover all
address or host name,
systems without requiring information
by using the protocols associated with the
or a range of IP
specified resource type. This method of
about what type of resource is located at
addresses
each IP address.
discovery might be inefficient because all
Note: Discovery
the discovery protocols for the specified
v Discovers a specific system by using an IP
supports IPv4 and IPv6
resource are used on each IP address. This
address or host name.
protocols.
inefficiency might cause the management
v Discovers multiple systems by using a
server to time out on one or more
range of IP addresses.
discovery requests, resulting in a small
v Can limit discovery based on the resource
percentage of discoverable resources
type.
remaining undiscovered.
v Schedules to run discovery on a recurring
basis
Using the Default
getting started
discovery profile
Easy to use.
v Discovers only agents in the local subnet.
Agents include:
– IBM Systems Director Common Agent,
version 6.1 or later1
– IBM Systems Director Platform Agent,
version 6.1 or later1
– IBM Director Agent, versions 5.10 and
5.202, 3
– IBM Director Core Services, versions
5.10 and 5.202, 3
– Agentless-managed systems
v An inefficient form of discovery because it
attempts all agent-related discovery
protocols on the local subnet. This
inefficiency might cause the management
server to time out on one or more
discovery requests, resulting in a small
percentage of discoverable resources
remaining undiscovered.
Using a discovery
profile (other than
Default getting started
profile)
v Provides various default discovery
profiles.
v Provides a wizard that helps you create a
profile.
v Does not provide a progress indicator for
discovery completion. Instead, use the job
progress indicator on the Active and
Scheduled Jobs page.
v Provides finer categories of resource types v Cannot discover multiple resource types
in a single discovery profile.
for selection.
v Takes more time and system knowledge
v Discovers multiple systems by using a
to configure due to extensive options and
range of IP addresses.
settings.
v Provides discovery-protocol selection that
enables the most efficient discovery of
target resources and reduces the chance
for network timeouts.
v Discovers multiple ranges of IP addresses.
v Schedules to run discovery on a recurring
basis.
v Imports a list of IP addresses to discover.
v Provides an option to automatically
request access to discovered resources.
v Provides an option to automatically collect
inventory for discovered resources.
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Table 13. Advantages and disadvantages of discovery methods (continued)
Discovery method
Advantages
Disadvantages
1. Common Agent version 6.2 and Platform Agent version 6.2 include support for IPv6. Previous versions of these
agents do not support IPv6 addresses.
2. Discovery of IBM Director Agent, versions 5.10 and 5.20, and IBM Director Core Services, versions 5.10 and 5.20,
is provided only as a step toward upgrading the discovered agents to a more recent version. IBM Systems
Director version 6.2 does not support managing IBM Director Agent, version 5.10 or IBM Director Core Services,
version 5.10. For more information, see “Version compatibility of IBM Systems Director components.”
3. IPv6 is not supported for IBM Director Agent, versions 5.10 and 5.20 or IBM Director Core Services, versions
5.10 and 5.20.
Related concepts:
System discovery
Default getting started discovery profile
Discovery profiles
Related reference:
Version compatibility of IBM Systems Director components across releases
Viewing the discovery manager summary
You can view a summary of all activity within the past 30 days that is associated
with discovery, including discovered systems, collected inventory data, system
access, and system authentication. The information on the summary page is
refreshed automatically when there are any changes.
To view the discovery manager summary, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, click Home.
2. On the Home page, click the Plug-ins tab. A list of available summary pages is
displayed.
3. On the Plug-ins tab, scroll to the Discovery manager section heading and click
it. The discovery manager summary for the past 30 days is displayed.
4. View the Discovery and Inventory section. This section provides the following
information:
v A pie chart and corresponding list that indicate the number of discovered
systems for which inventory was collected, broken down into the following
three categories:
– Systems with no agent (agentless)
Note: Agentless pertains to a type of data collection that is accomplished
without installing additional agents. Data is obtained by using software
that is already installed on the resource.
– Systems with a platform agent
– Systems with a common agent
Click any of the category list items to see a breakdown of the systems in that
category.
v The number of discovered systems for which no inventory was collected.
Note: A system that has not been discovered does not show up anywhere on
this page.
v In the Common tasks area, the following links are provided:
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System Discovery
Use the System Discovery page to run a discovery. Discover specific
types of resources for a single IP address or host name or a single IP
address range, or you can use a discovery profile to customize the
discovery settings.
Collect and view inventory
Use the View and Collect Inventory page to collect the most current
inventory from a resource or view the inventory of a resource.
Resource Explorer
Use the Resource Explorer page to view and manage discovery
options on an individual resource level.
5. View the Access and Authentication section. This section provides the
following information:
v The number of systems that are accessible.
v A pie chart and corresponding list that indicate the access levels of the
systems, broken down into the following three categories:
Systems with no access
IBM Systems Director is not authenticated to these systems and is
unable to perform any tasks on them.
Systems with partial access
IBM Systems Director has full access to some remote service access
points for these systems but no access to others.
Note: A system with partial access has multiple access points, but
not all these access points are accessible. To gain full access, you
must configure credentials to authenticate with each of the access
points. For more information, see “Accessing a secured system with
configure access” and “Accessing a secured system with request
access”.
Systems with full access
IBM Systems Director is fully authenticated and, barring other
inhibitors, able to perform tasks on these systems.
Click any of the category list items to see a breakdown of the systems in that
category.
v In the Common tasks area, the following links are provided:
Request access for 'no access' systems
Use the Request access for 'no access' systems page to view the list of
systems that are in the no access state. Also use this page to request
access, with a user ID and password, for any of the listed 'no access'
systems.
Manage Credentials
Use the Manage Credentials page to manage all your shared
credentials.
You also can reach the summary page by using Find a Task. For more information,
see “Finding a task.”
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Related concepts:
System discovery
Related tasks:
Finding a task
Accessing a secured system with request access
Accessing a secured system with configure access
Managing credentials
Renaming discovered systems automatically
You can configure IBM Systems Director to automatically rename each discovered
system by using a customized template.
Following discovery, IBM Systems Director assigns a name to each discovered
system, which might not suitable for your environment. To help better organize
your systems and ensure consistency among system names, you can rename each
system to follow a convention. You can use Resource Explorer to rename each
system individually, but this can be time consuming when you have many
discovered systems. An easier and more efficient option is to configure IBM
Systems Director to rename each discovered system by using a customized
template.
To automatically rename discovered systems, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, expand Settings
and then click Auto Rename. The Auto Rename page opens.
2. On the Auto Rename page, select the profile that you want to customize for
automatic renaming and click Edit. The Edit Template page opens.
3. Customize the template to be used when systems are automatically renamed
and enable the auto rename task:
a. Decide which variable should be displayed first in the name of each
resource and select it from the list, which varies depending on the resource
type that is selected.
Note: To specify text to be inserted into the name template, select
%TEXT%, then enter the text.
b. Click Insert.
c. Select each subsequent variable and click Insert after each one.
d. Select Yes to enable auto rename.
4. Click OK. The template is displayed in the table.
5. To set up targets and options for your auto rename task, click Rename. The Job
Launcher page opens. Make your selections, then click OK. The auto rename
task runs or is scheduled to run.
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Related concepts:
Discovery profiles
Manageable systems and system types
Discovering systems with system discovery
Use the system discovery task to discover one or more resources based on a
specific IP address, host name, or range of IP addresses or by using a discovery
profile. You can also use system discovery to discover properly configured systems
that use mirrored images. View the results of the current system discovery or a
system discovery that ran previously.
Related concepts:
IP addresses
IPv6 restrictions for discovery
Discovery profiles
Discovery protocols
Related tasks:
Choosing which discovery to use
Performing a system discovery
Use the System Discovery task to discover one or more resources by specifying a
single IP address, single host name, or a single range of IP addresses, or by using a
discovery profile.
To perform a system discovery, complete the following steps:
Note:
v Discover only those resources that you intend to manage with IBM Systems
Director. For example, if the management interfaces of your networking
equipment are on a single subnet, yet you do not intend to manage your
networking equipment with IBM Systems Director, do not discover devices on
that subnet.
v When discovering a large number of resources, network traffic associated with
the discovery process might cause timeouts that result in some discoverable
resources remaining undiscovered. To help prevent this problem, use one or
more discovery profiles. Using a discovery profile enables you to target specific
resources and limit the number of communication protocols used during
discovery. Limiting the number of communication protocols used when
discovering a large number of resources helps avoid problems caused by
network traffic collisions and timeouts.
1. Open the System Discovery page as follows:
v From the Initial Setup tab on the Home page, click System discovery.
The System Discovery page is displayed.
2. Select one of the following discovery methods:
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Table 14. System discovery methods
To do this task:
Complete these steps:
Use a single IPv4 or IPv6 address
1. Select Single IPv4 address or Single
IPv6 address from the Select a discovery
option field.
2. In the IP address field, type the IP
address of the system that you want to
discover.
3. If you want to discover only a specific
resource type, select it from the Select
the resource type to discover list.
Use a range of IPv4 or IPv6 addresses
1. Select Range of IPv4 addresses or Range
of IPv6 addresses from the Select a
discovery option field.
2. For the IP address range that contains
the systems that you want to discover,
type the complete low-end IP address in
the Starting IP address fields and the
last piece of the high-end IP address in
the Ending IP address field.
3. If you want to discover only a specific
resource type, select it from the Select
the resource type to discover list.
Use the host name of a system
1. Select Single host name from the Select
a discovery option field.
2. In the Host name field, type the host
name of the system that you want to
discover.
3. If you want to discover only a specific
resource type, select it from the Select
the resource type to discover list.
Use an existing discovery profile
1. Select Select a discovery profile to run
from the Select a discovery option field.
2. Select the profile that you want to use
from the Discovery profile to run field.
Create and use a discovery profile
1. Click Create new profile under
Advanced Tasks.
2. Use the Discovery Profile wizard to
create a discovery profile. After saving
the profile, the System Discovery page
display automatically, and the profile
you created is already selected.
3. Run the discovery.
v Click Discover Now if you want to run the discovery immediately.
v Click Schedule if you want to schedule the discovery to run at a specific
time. The Job Launcher page is displayed. Use the Job Launcher page to
configure the Schedule, Notification, and Options settings for the discovery
task.
The System discovery page updates in the following ways:
v A message displays information about the job under which the discovery
task runs.
v When the discovery task runs immediately, a status icon and text message
indicate the status of the discovery process.
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v As the process discovers manageable resources, the Discovered Manageable
Systems table displays them. The Discovered Manageable Systems table
displays the resources that are discovered during the current discovery and
those resources that were discovered previously.
v The Discover Now and Schedule buttons are deactivated and the Stop and
New Discovery buttons appear.
4. Optional: If you want to stop the discovery process, click Stop. If you want to
run a new discovery while the current discovery continues to run, click New
Discovery. When you choose to run a new discovery, the Discovered
Manageable Systems table displays results for the new discovery only. To view
the results of the current discovery, use the Discovery jobs task.
As the process discovers manageable resources, the Discovered Manageable
Systems table displays them, including those resources that were discovered
previously.
Note: After a resource is discovered, the virtual systems that are associated with
that resource are also discovered.
v To view the results of a specific discovery that ran at a previous time or a
discovery that is scheduled to run at a later time, use the Discovery jobs task.
v To view all discovered resources, use the Resource Explorer task.
Note: The time it takes for discovery to finish processing varies depending on
such factors as network performance and the number of systems that are
discovered. Avoid managing newly discovered resources for a time after the
discovery task finishes, because associated processing continues to run.
When the discovery process completes, the status icon and text message disappear
and the Discover Now and Schedule buttons become active again.
Related concepts:
System discovery
IP addresses
IPv6 restrictions for discovery
Discovery profiles
Default getting started discovery profile
Related tasks:
Choosing which discovery to use
Accessing a secured system with request access
Discovering and collecting inventory for storage devices
Related reference:
IPv6 restrictions for discovery
Discovering systems that use a mirrored image
Systems that are cloned (or use a mirrored image) and managed by must be
correctly configured to ensure their successful discovery.
To discover cloned systems, they must be configured in the following ways:
v All cloned systems must have a unique identifier (UID).
v Each cloned Common Agent managed system must have a globally unique
identifier (GUID).
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v Any cloned system that uses Secure Shell (SSH) must have a unique Secure Shell
(SSH) host key.
To discover cloned systems, perform the following steps before discovering them.
If you have previously discovered the cloned systems, remove the managed
systems and their operating systems from Systems Director before proceeding.
Note: On AIX you can also use the reset_diragent_keys command to perform
these steps automatically. See “reset_diragent_keys command” for information.
1. For the specified mirrored systems, view and compare the UID entries on the
host and the mirrored system to ensure that the UID entries are unique. For
Common Agent managed systems, perform a similar comparison for the Tivoli
GUID entries.
Important: Common Agent contains a platform agent. Therefore, if you have
a common agent, you need to complete the common agent and the platform
agent steps.
For instructions to search for existing resources, see the topic “Finding systems
and other resources”.
Platform
Instructions
AIX, Linux
For Platform Agent managed systems, run the following command:
od -t x1 /etc/ibm/director/twgagent/twgagent.uid
For Common Agent managed systems, run the following
command:
v For AIX: LANG=C;/usr/tivoli/guid/tivguid -Show
v For Linux: LANG=C;/opt/tivoli/guid/tivguid -Show
IBM i (formerly
i5/OS)
Note: Some characters are not readable. For Platform Agent
managed systems, run the following command: DSPF
STMF(’/etc/ibm/director/twgagent/twgagent.uid’)
For Common Agent managed systems, run the following
command: DSPF STMF(’/etc/TIVGUID’)
Note: Alternatively, use the following command to create a
spoolfile that contains the viewable TIVGUID: SBMJOB CMD(CALL
PGM(QCASNATIVE/GUID) PARM(’-show’)) JOBD(QCPMGTDIR/QCPMGTDIR)
Windows
For all mirrored systems, compare the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\
ComputerName\ComputerName\TWGMachineID
Note: The UID is displayed in reverse byte order.
For Common Agent managed systems, from the \Program
Files\tivoli\guid directory, run tivguid.exe -Show.
2. For all mirrored systems, remove the UID entry that might have been
duplicated. For instructions to remove a resource, see the topic "Removing a
resource".
Platform
Instructions
AIX, Linux
Run the following command: rm -f /etc/ibm/director/twgagent/
twgagent.uid
IBM i (formerly
i5/OS)
Remove the following file: /etc/ibm/director/twgagent/
twgagent.uid
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Platform
Instructions
Windows
For all mirrored systems, delete the following value in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\
ComputerName\ComputerName key
Value: TWGMachineID
3. For Agentless managed systems, proceed to step 4 on page 179. For Common
Agent managed systems generate a new Tivoli GUID and a new UID. For
Platform Agent managed systems, generate a new UID:
Platform
Instructions
AIX, Linux
Run the following command:
v For AIX: /opt/ibm/director/bin/genuid
v For Linux: /opt/ibm/platform/bin/genuid
And, for Common Agent managed systems, also run the following
commands:
1. /opt/ibm/director/agent/runtime/agent/bin/endpoint.sh
stop
2.
v For AIX: LANG=C;/usr/tivoli/guid/tivguid -Write -New
v For Linux: LANG=C;/opt/tivoli/guid/tivguid -Write -New
3. /opt/ibm/director/agent/runtime/agent/bin/endpoint.sh
start
4. Delete these files:
/opt/ibm/director/agent/data/collectioncache.txt
/opt/ibm/director/agent/data/providercache.txt
/opt/ibm/director/agent/conf/.settings/instancecache/*
/opt/ibm/director/agent/data/instancecache/*
IBM i
For Platform Agent managed systems, restart the platform agent.
For Common Agent managed systems, perform the following
steps:
1. Run the following command to stop the Platform Agent:
ENDTCPSVR SERVER(*CIMOM)
2. Run the following command to stop the Common Agent:
ENDTCPSVR SERVER(*HTTP) HTTPSVR(CAS)
3. Run the following commands:
a. SBMJOB CMD(CALL PGM(QCASNATIVE/GUID) PARM(’-Remove’))
JOBD(QCPMGTDIR/QCPMGTDIR)
b. SBMJOB CMD(CALL PGM(QCASNATIVE/GUID) PARM(’-Create’))
JOBD(QCPMGTDIR/QCPMGTDIR)
4. Use the following command to start the Platform Agent:
STRTCPSVR SERVER(*CIMOM)
5. Use the following command to start the Common Agent:
STRTCPSVR SERVER(*HTTP) HTTPSVR(CAS)
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Platform
Instructions
Windows
For Common Agent managed systems, run the following
commands:
v From the C:\Program Files\tivoli\guid\ directory, run
tivguid.exe -Write -New
v From the C:\Program Files\IBM\Director\bin\ directory, run
GENUID.exe
For Platform Agent managed systems, from the C:\Program
Files\IBM\Director\bin\ directory, run GENUID.exe
4. If the mirrored system does not use SSH, go to step 10 on page 180.
5. If you must determine the SSH key, run the following command: ssh-keygen
-lf /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key.pub.
6. If the mirrored system uses SSH, stop ssh:
Platform
Instructions
AIX
Run the following command: stopsrc -s sshd
Linux
Run one of the following commands:
v /etc/init.d/sshd stop
v service sshd stop
IBM i
The command you must run depends on which version of the
operating system you are running. For more information, see IBM
Portable Utilities for i.
Windows
Consult the documentation for the SSH client that you are using.
7. Delete the SSH host keys:
Platform
Instructions
AIX, Linux
Run the following commands:
1. rm /etc/ssh/ssh_host_key
2. rm /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key
3. rm /etc/ssh/ssh_host_dsa_key
IBM i
The command syntax depends on which version of the operating
system you are running. For more information, see IBM Portable
Utilities for i.
Windows
Delete the following files:
v C:\Program Files\OpenSSH\etc\ssh_host_rsa_key
v C:\Program Files\OpenSSH\etc\ssh_host_dsa_key
8. If your SSH client requires that you explicitly regenerate the SSH host keys,
run the commands to regenerate them.
Note: Some SSH clients require that you run specific commands to regenerate
the SSH host keys, but some regenerate the SSH host keys when you restart
SSH.
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Platform
Instructions
AIX, Linux
Run the following commands:
Note: In the following commands, " represents two single
quotation mark characters (').
1. /usr/bin/ssh-keygen -f /etc/ssh/ssh_host_key -N ’’ -t
rsa1
2. /usr/bin/ssh-keygen -f /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key -N ’’ -t
rsa
3. /usr/bin/ssh-keygen -f /etc/ssh/ssh_host_dsa_key
-t dsa
-N ’’
IBM i
How you regenerate the SSH host keys depends on which version
of the operating system you are running. For more information, see
IBM Portable Utilities for i.
Windows
Determine if you must manually regenerate the SSH host keys by
consulting the documentation for the SSH client that you are using.
9. Restart the SSH service:
Platform
Instructions
AIX
Run this command: startsrc -s sshd
Linux
Run one of the following commands:
v /etc/init.d/sshd start
v service sshd start
IBM i
The command syntax depends on which version of the operating
system you are running. For more information, see IBM Portable
Utilities for i.
Windows
Consult the documentation for the SSH client that you are using.
10. For Agentless managed systems, go to the next step.
For Common Agent managed systems, follow these steps:
a. Stop Common Agent Services by running by running the appropriate
command:
Windows: <install_directory>\IBM\Director\agent\runtime\agent\
bin\endpoint.bat stop
Linux: /opt/ibm/director/agent/runtime/agent/bin/endpoint.sh stop
b. Stop IBMSA and tier1slp by running net stop ibmsa. Respond Yes to the
prompt that asks to stop tier1slp.
c. Start IBMSA by running net start ibmsa.
d. Start tier1slp by running net start tier1slp.
e. Start Common Agent Services by running the appropriate command:
Windows: <install_directory>\IBM\Director\agent\runtime\agent\
bin\endpoint.bat start
Linux: /opt/ibm/director/agent/runtime/agent/bin/endpoint.sh
start
11. Run system discovery to discover the cloned system:
a. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface, click Inventory > System
Discovery.
b. Specify either the IP address or the host name of the cloned system, then
click Discover Now.
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12. If the endpoint was incorrectly mirrored previously, you must reauthenticate
to the newly mirrored system and any other endpoints that might have been
merged with it.
Related concepts:
Discovery protocols
Related tasks:
Removing a resource
Finding systems and other resources
Related reference:
reset_diragent_keys command
Managing systems that have duplicate SSH keys
For IBM Systems Director to identify a managed system, the system must provide
unique keys. However, sometimes the SSH key on AIX systems is not unique. If
possible, use the reset_diragent_keys command to change the SSH keys to make
them unique. If you cannot change the SSH keys, follow these instructions.
Important:
v If a managed system duplicates the SSH key for the operating system that hosts
Systems Director server, do not follow these steps. Do not reset the SSH keys or
UID on the Systems Director server, and do not remove the operating system
from Systems Director. If this happens, contact Support.
v If you ran discovery and did not follow these steps first, Systems Director
discovers the systems with duplicate SSH keys, but treats them as one system.
To fix this, follow the steps in “Getting rid of duplicate entries” on page 182.
For Systems Director to manage an AIX system that has duplicate SSH keys,
complete these steps:
v Set the universal ID (UID) for the Systems Director agent to a unique value.
v Omit the SSH protocol when discovering the AIX system.
Follow these steps to reset the agent UID and discover the system without the SSH
protocol:
1. Run this command to display the UID: od –t x1 /etc/ibm/director/
twgagent/twgagent.uid.
2. If the UID is duplicated with the IBM Systems Director Server Server or
another server that is managed by Systems Director, run these commands to
remove and reset it:
rm –f /etc/ibm/director/twgagent/twgagent.uid
/opt/ibm/director/bin/genuid
3. Register the system to Systems Director by using one of these methods. It must
be registered without discovering the SSH protocol.
v Run the configure.sh command from the system as follows. Specify the
following on one line:
/opt/ibm/director/runtime/agent/toolkit/bin/configure.sh
-amhost agent_manager
-passwd agent_registration_password
-force
The variables have the following values:
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agent_manager
IP address or network name of the system where the agent manager
is installed. This is typically the Systems Director management
server.
agent_registration_password
The password that was specified when the configAgtmgr.sh
command was run.
v Use a customized Systems Director discovery profile to add the system to
Systems Director without SSH protocol discovery.
There are several pre-defined discovery profiles, including Default Common
Agent discovery. These profiles are set up to run discovery on the subnet
that Systems Director is installed on. To specify a different IP address, copy
and edit the profile. See “Editing, copying, and deleting discovery profiles”
for details.
Related tasks:
Editing, copying, and deleting discovery profiles
Getting rid of duplicate entries
To determine whether this issue exists, list the discovered operating systems in
Resource Explorer. If it lists IP addresses for an operating system that are
associated with a different system, run the following commands. These commands
are further described in “Agent Manager Toolkit Usage”.
1. Remove all duplicated operating system resources from Systems Director. For
instructions, see “Removing a resource”.
Important:
v If a managed system duplicates the SSH key for the operating system that
hosts Systems Director server, do not follow these steps. Do not reset the
SSH keys or UID on the Systems Director server, and do not remove the
operating system from Systems Director. If this happens, contact Support.
v If you ran discovery and did not follow these steps first, Systems Director
discovers the systems with duplicate SSH keys, but treats them as one
system. To fix this, follow the steps in “Getting rid of duplicate entries.”
2. Log in as root or Administrator, navigate to AgentManager_Home/toolkit/bin
and run this command:
./RetrieveAgents.sh –toolkitPassword password
The toolkit password is the Resource Manager password that was defined
when the configAgtmgr.sh command was run during the Systems Director
install.
A list of all agents is shown.
3. Look for agents that have the wrong IP addresses for the hostname. These
agents need to be removed.
4. Run the LogicallyDeleteAgents command for each agent that needs to be
removed. This command sets the identified agents to be expired:
./LogicallyDeleteAgents.sh –toolkitPassword password -me management_element_ID
The management element ID is listed in the RetrieveAgents output.
The toolkit password is the Resource Manager password that was defined
when the configAgtmgr.sh command was run during the Systems Director
install.
5. Run the PurgeAgents command for each agent that needs to be removed. This
command removes the expired agent from the Agent Manager:
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./PurgeAgents.sh –toolkitPassword password
The toolkit password is the Resource Manager password that was defined
when the configAgtmgr.sh command was run during the Systems Director
install.
6. Follow the steps in the previous section to reset the ssh key or UID on all
duplicate servers.
7. Follow the steps in the previous section to rediscover and re-access each
managed system.
Discovering IMMs for managing and updating physical servers
If it has been discovered correctly, an integrated management module (IMM) can
be used to update a target physical server. If these steps are not done correctly, you
cannot use the IMM to update the target endpoints.
A VMWare operating system installed on the physical server has a separate IP
address and must be discovered separately. Therefore, to manage all virtual and
physical components within a physical server managed by an IMM, you must
perform two separate discoveries: one for the IMM and another for the operating
system.
Note: The order of discovery does not matter, but the System Discovery task has
to be run once for each of the IP addresses.
Follow these steps to discover the operating system first. To discover the IMM first,
use the information in “Viewing system discovery results”. After discovering the
IMM, discover the virtual operating system as usual.
1. Discover the operating system-managed endpoint by using its IP address.
For example, if you have an ESXi VMware operating system, this is the address
that you use to contact ESX.
2. Log in with an ID that has administrator privileges and request access to the
operating system. Ensure that the operating system is unlocked completely.
Additionally, the physical server-managed endpoint access status should be
“OK”.
3. Collect inventory. Before continuing, ensure that the inventory is collected
without errors.
4. Use the IMM IP address to discover the IMM. This IP address should be
different from the operating system’s IP address.
5. Use the IMM credentials to unlock the physical server from step 2.
6. Collect inventory for the IMM.
The IMM is now listed with a machine type of “Integrated Management
Module”. It can now be used to send updates.
Note: In all, there are at most three managed endpoints:
v Operating system.
v Physical server. This is also the server managed endpoint for the IMM.
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Related tasks:
Collecting inventory
Discovering systems with system discovery
Viewing system discovery results
Discovering VIOS servers managed by an HMC
Follow these steps to discover and access VIOS servers that are managed by a
Hardware Management Console (HMC).
Important: Do not manually discover a VIOS that is managed by an HMC. Doing
so might cause problems, for example, Systems Director might not be able to
access the VIOS correctly.
Follow these steps to discover the HMC and VIOS servers:
1. Ensure that your HMC is enabled for discovery. For instructions, see
“Preparing Hardware Management Console devices for discovery with IBM
Systems Director”.
2. In the IBM Systems Director interface, click Inventory > System Discovery.
3. Specify the appropriate information to discover the HMC. When the HMC is
discovered, the name is displayed in the Discovered Systems table, with “No
access” listed.
4. Right-click the name of the HMC and select Security > Request access.
5. Enter the user ID and password for the HMC and click Request access.
The requested HMC is now displayed with the Access value of OK. Next,
Systems Director automatically discovers the VIOS servers that the HMC
manages.
6. Run inventory on the HMC.
Related tasks:
Preparing HMC devices for discovery
Discovering the operating systems that have vCenter
installation
Follow the steps to discover the operating systems that have vCenter installation.
To discover the operating systems where vCenter is installed, complete the
following steps:
1. Ensure that the vCenter service is running on the operating system
2. In the IBM Systems Director interface, click Inventory > System Discovery.
3. Specify the appropriate information to discover the operating system. When the
operating system is discovered, the name is displayed in the Discovered
Systems table with No access.
4. Right-click the name of the system and select Security > Request access.
5. Enter the user ID and password for the OS and click Request access. The
operating system is now displayed with the Access value set to OK. The IBM
Systems Director automatically discovers and requests access to the host servers
that VCenter manages.
You can check whether the vCenter is discovered. To ensure that the vCenter is
discovered, right click the Operating System Management endpoints, select
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Security > Config Access to check the Remote Service Access Points (RSAP). The
RASP shows a vCenter in the list, and the URL of RSAP is like https://ip:port’.
By default, the port is 443.
Viewing system discovery results
Viewing the systems and other resources discovered during and after discovery is
an important aspect of performing system discovery.
Generally, use the System discovery page to view results of a running discovery
task and use the Discovery jobs task to view results of a previous discovery task.
When you are viewing results of a system discovery, keep in mind the following
points:
v The discovery process discovers only systems and other types of resources that
can be managed by IBM Systems Director. In other words, just because you can
"ping" a resource does not mean that IBM Systems Director can discover it.
v Some results indicate multiple IP addresses on the same discovered resource that
might represent separate operating systems, components, or other items.
Consider the following examples:
– Results indicate two IP addresses for a particular server that uses an
integrated management module (IMM). In this case, one IP address represents
the external IP of the IMM and the other IP address is a USB network
connection. Both discovered resources are valid.
– Results indicate multiple operating systems for a particular server that uses
more than one network interface card. In this case, successfully requesting
access to the discovered resources removes multiple occurrences of the
operating system.
v The discovery process might create an operating system resource for any device
that supports the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol. For example, discovery results
might show a IBM BladeCenter chassis resource and an operating system
resource for a single managed resource (the chassis). If that managed resource is
not an operating system (for example, a switch, storage device, or BladeCenter
chassis), then the associated operating system resource is invalid. Either ignore
or remove the associated operating system resource. Requesting access to such
an invalid operating system resource might lead to errors and further confusion.
Using system discovery to view current results
Use the System Discovery task to view a table that contains the results of your
current system discovery task.
To use the System Discovery task to view the system discovery results as you
discover systems, complete the following steps:
1. Open the System Discovery page as follows:
v From the Initial Setup tab on the Home page, click System discovery.
The System Discovery page is displayed.
2. Discover systems by using one of the available methods.
3. View systems as they are discovered in the Discovered Manageable Systems
table.
Note: When you are viewing results of a system discovery, consider the
following items:
v Displayed results include resources discovered by other IBM Systems
Director users who are accessing the same management server to perform
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discoveries. So the Discovered Manageable Systems table displays results
that might include additional resources that are not located at the target IP
addresses or host names that you expect.
v When you click New Discovery to run a new discovery while a previous
discovery is still running, the Discovered Manageable Systems table does
not include results for the previous discovery. To view results for the
previous discovery, you must use the Discovery Jobs task or the Active and
Scheduled Jobs task.
After the discovery process completes, all the discovered manageable systems are
displayed in the Discovered Manageable Systems table. The table maintains the
information until you close the Systems Discovery page, at which time it is cleared.
Note: Any discovered manageable system also is listed in one or more groups on
the Resource Explorer page.
Related concepts:
System discovery
Manageable resource types
Manageable systems and system types
Related tasks:
Finding and navigating resources
Using discovery jobs to view previous results
Use the Discovery Jobs task to view the results of a specific system discovery task
that ran previously or one that is running. For IBM Systems Director to retain the
results of a specific system discovery task, the job under which the task ran must
still exist.
To use the Discovery Jobs task to view the results of a specific system discovery
task, complete the following steps:
1. Open the System Discovery page as follows:
v From the Initial Setup tab on the Home page, click System discovery.
The System Discovery page is displayed.
2. Under Advanced Tasks, click Discovery jobs. The Active and Schedule Jobs
page displays. The entries in the Discovery jobs table include only those jobs
under which system discovery tasks ran.
Note: By using the Discovery Jobs task, the Active and Scheduled Jobs page
displays the Discovery jobs table, which displays only discovery-related jobs. If
you use the Active and Scheduled Jobs task, the resulting Active and
Scheduled Jobs table lists all jobs, including those jobs that are not related to
system discovery.
3. In the Discovery jobs table, click the job that represents the system discovery
for which you want to view the results. The properties page for the selected
entry displays.
4. Click the Discovered Systems tab to view the Discovered Manageable
Systems table, which contains results for the system discovery task.
Each system discovery task runs under a specific job. If that job is not deleted, you
can use the Discovery jobs task to view results for the associated system discovery.
Note: Typically, it is easier to use the System Discovery page to view the results of
a currently running system discovery task. However, when you click New
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Discovery on the System Discovery page to run another discovery while the
previous discovery is still running, you must use the Discovery Jobs task (or the
Active and Scheduled Jobs task) to view results for the previous discovery.
Related concepts:
Manageable resource types
Manageable systems and system types
Related tasks:
Viewing active and scheduled job information
Managing discovery profiles
Use the Managing Discovery Profiles page to create a unique discovery profile,
create a profile based on an existing profile, edit an existing profile, or delete one
or more profiles.
Related concepts:
System discovery
Discovery profiles
Creating a discovery profile
Use the Manage Discovery Profiles page to create a discovery profile. You can
create a unique profile or you can create a profile that you base on an existing
profile.
Before you start creating a profile, determine if a profile exists that at least in part
suits your needs. For example, IBM Systems Director for 6.2 includes several
default profiles created to find specific types of resources. To examine a default
profile more closely, on the Manage Discovery Profiles page, select the profile that
you want to examine, then click Edit. (Using Edit on a default profile enables you
to examine all the profile settings, but it does not allow you to change any of
them.)
To create a discovery profile, complete the following steps:
1. Open the System Discovery page as follows:
v From the Initial Setup tab on the Home page, click System discovery.
The System Discovery page is displayed.
2. Under Advanced Tasks, click Manage discovery profiles. The Manage
Discovery Profiles page is displayed.
3. On the Manage Discovery Profiles page, use one of the following methods to
start the Discovery Profile wizard.
v To create a unique discovery profile, click Create.
v To create a profile that is based on an existing profile, select the profile that
you want to copy, then click Create Like.
You can use Create Like with a default profile to easily alter the IP addresses
settings to find specific resources at new addresses that you specify.
4. Use the Discovery Profile wizard to create and save your discovery profile.
After you exit the Discovery Profile wizard, the new discovery profile appears in
the Discovery Profiles table on the Manage Discovery Profiles page and in the list
of available profiles to run on the System Discovery page.
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Related concepts:
System discovery
Discovery profiles
Related tasks:
Editing, copying, and deleting discovery profiles
Editing, copying, and deleting discovery profiles
Use the Manage Discovery Profiles page to create a unique discovery profile, create
a discovery profile like an existing profile, edit a profile, or delete a profile.
To edit or delete a discovery profile, or to create a profile based on an existing
profile, a discovery profile must exist. You can also use this page to create a unique
discovery profile that you then can manage. See “Creating a discovery profile” for
instructions.
To edit or delete a discovery profile, or to create a profile based on an existing
profile, complete the following steps:
1. Open the System Discovery page as follows:
v From the Initial Setup tab on the Home page, click System discovery.
The System Discovery page is displayed.
2. Under Advanced Tasks, click Manage discovery profiles. The Manage
Discovery Profiles page is displayed.
3. On the Manage Discovery Profiles page, select one of the following actions.
Note: When working with discovery profiles, you can select one or more
profiles at a time. If you select multiple profiles, you have only the options of
running them or deleting them.
Table 15. Discovery profile actions
188
To do this task:
Complete these steps:
Create a discovery profile based on an
existing profile
1. Select the profile on which you want to
base the new discovery profile.
2. Click Create Like. The Discovery Profile
wizard is displayed. The profile name
defaults to Copy of (original profile name),
but the remaining fields retain the same
values and selections as the original
profile.
3. Edit the profile properties as needed,
clicking Next to continue through the
wizard.
4. Click Finish to exit the wizard. The new
discovery profile appears in the
Discovery Profiles table on the Manage
Discovery Profiles page and in the list of
available profiles to run on the System
Discovery page.
Edit an existing discovery profile
1. Select the profile that you want to edit.
2. Click Edit. The Discovery Profile wizard
is displayed.
3. Edit the profile properties as needed,
clicking Next to continue through the
wizard.
4. Click Finish.
IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
Table 15. Discovery profile actions (continued)
To do this task:
Complete these steps:
Delete an existing discovery profile
1. Select the profile that you want to delete.
2. Click Delete. A confirmation message is
displayed.
3. Click OK in the confirmation message
box to delete the selected profile. The
deleted profile no longer appears in the
Discovery Profiles table on the Manage
Discovery Profiles page or in the list of
available profiles to run on the System
Discovery page.
Note: Any scheduled event that uses a
deleted profile continues to run as
scheduled. When the scheduled event tries
to run the deleted profile, the event fails.
Related concepts:
System discovery
Discovery profiles
Related tasks:
Creating a discovery profile
Permanently excluding IP addresses from discovery
Attempting to discover resources at IP addresses that you do not want to discover
or cannot manage takes extra time and can negatively affect discovery
performance. When you have many IP addresses that you want all future
discoveries to permanently ignore, consider updating IP preferences for the
management server. Updating the IPPreference.properties file causes all future
discoveries to ignore the specified IP addresses, but also prevents IBM Systems
Director from communicating with or managing the IP addresses.
Note: Before editing the IPPreference.properties file, consider carefully whether
you want to prevent Systems Director from communicating with or managing the
specified IP addresses. If you want only the discovery process to ignore the IP
addresses without disrupting the ability of Systems Director to communicate with
the IP addresses, use a discovery profile to exclude the IP addresses. You can
configure a discovery profile to import a file that specifies the IP addresses to
exclude. By using the imported file, discovery ignores the excluded IP addresses
only when running the associated profile. For more information, see “Import
address file”.
Consider having Systems Director permanently ignore IP addresses only if at least
one of the following conditions applies:
v The specified IP address or address range represents one or more multiple
network interface cards that you want to prevent communicating withSystems
Director
v The specified IP address or address range represents one or more resources
thatSystems Director cannot manage or resources that you do not want Systems
Director to manage
v The specified subnet is not one that Systems Director uses to manage resources
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You can exclude one or more individual IP addresses, an address range, or an
entire subnet. For example:
v When a managed resource has multiple network interface cards, exclude all but
the IP address that Systems Director uses to communicate with the resource.
v When managed resources are on more than one subnet, exclude the subnet that
Systems Director does not use to manage resources.
To permanently exclude IP addresses, perform the following steps:
1. Use a text editor to open an empty file named IPPreference.properties in the
following location: install_path/data/IPPreference.properties
where
install_path is the path where you installed IBM Systems Director Server.
Note: If the /data/IPPreference.properties file exists, open the file with a text
editor, then go to the next step.
2. Type the IP addresses that you want to exclude:
com.ibm.director.endpoint.excluded.ip.prefix=<IP_addresses>
where IP_address is one or more IPv4 or IPv6 addresses or address ranges that
you want to exclude.
v To exclude one or more individual IP addresses, use a comma character (,) to
separate the IP addresses:
com.ibm.director.endpoint.excluded.ip.prefix=192.168.53.1,192.168.53.22
v To exclude an IP address range:
com.ibm.director.endpoint.excluded.ip.prefix=192.168.53.1-192.168.53.150
v To exclude a subnet, use the asterisk character (*) as a wildcard:
com.ibm.director.endpoint.excluded.ip.prefix=192.168.*
Note:
v All entries in the IPPreference.properties file must be on the same line.
v To insert a comment, begin the line with a number (#) character.
3. Save and close the file.
For Systems Director to ignore the excluded IP addresses, you must restart the
management server.
Related concepts:
IP addresses
IPv6 restrictions for discovery
Import IP address file format
Collecting and viewing inventory data
Inventory collection is the process by which IBM Systems Director Server establishes
connections with network-level resources, such as computers, switches, or printers,
that have already been discovered and collects data about the hardware and
software that is currently installed on those resources. Use the View and Collect
Inventory task to view and manage an extended set of resources and relationships
for network-level resources that have already been discovered.
Before you can collect inventory for a resource and view the inventory data, you
must discover the resource by using System Discovery and also have access to it.
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Related tasks:
Discovering systems with system discovery
Accessing a secured system with request access
Related reference:
Inventory troubleshooting
Inventory data and collection profiles
IBM Systems Director uses inventory collection profiles to collect inventory data
from discovered resources.
After you collect inventory, you can view the inventory items, their attributes, and
the values of those attributes by using the Refresh View option. The inventory
items that are displayed include physical, logical, and virtual hardware; software
applications, operating systems, middleware, firmware, BIOS, and diagnostic
information; network information; and system-contained resources.
Note: You must discover a management module, such as CMM, before inventory
items can be displayed. You cannot use SNMP to retrieve the information.
Inventory data comprises three parts: inventory item, inventory attribute, and
inventory value.
Inventory item
A distinct part of a resource that makes up the whole. The inventory item
might fall into the following categories: basic system information,
hardware inventory, or software inventory. For example, hardware
inventory might include a physical card as an inventory item.
Inventory attribute
The details about an inventory item, for example, the attributes for a
physical card might include the name, the date it was last changed, a
description, FRU number, manufacturer date, physical element
manufacturer, physical element model, physical element serial number, and
more.
Inventory value
The data associated with the inventory attribute, for example, the name of
a physical card, or the serial number of the physical card.
IBM Systems Director uses profiles to manage the inventory collection tasks that
you create and run. An inventory collection profile is a group of settings that are
saved on IBM Systems Director Server that indicate the type of resources collected
during the collection process. Using IBM Systems Director Web interface, you can
run an inventory collection profile on specific systems (targets), and you can
schedule a profile to run at specific times or in response to specific events.
Inventory profiles make it possible to collect only a subset of all available
information, which reduces network traffic and speeds up collection.
By default, IBM Systems Director includes the following inventory collection
profiles:
All Inventory
This profile collects inventory from all resources and encompasses all the
other inventory collection profiles.
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Note: The All Inventory profile is the one you must run if you intend to
use update manager.
All Hardware Inventory
This profile collects inventory from physical and virtual devices.
All Software Inventory
This profile collects inventory from software resources.
Basic System Information
This profile collects inventory from system resources.
These profiles are read-only. They cannot be deleted or edited. They can, however,
be copied. You can use the existing profiles to create your own profiles by using
the Create like option. Or you can create your own inventory collection profile
without any preconfigured settings by using the Create option.
Related concepts:
Update manager
Creating an inventory collection profile
Use the Create Inventory Profile wizard to create an inventory collection profile.
If you do not want to use any of the profiles that are shipped with IBM Systems
Director, you must create and configure a profile that meets your needs before
collecting or viewing inventory.
To create an inventory collection profile, perform the following steps:
1. Open the View and Collect Inventory page as follows:
v On the Home page, click Collect inventory.
The View and Collect Inventory page is displayed.
2. Click Manage Profiles. The Manage Inventory Profiles page is displayed,
listing the existing inventory collection profiles.
3. Click Create. The Create Inventory Profile wizard opens.
4. In the Profile Name field, type a descriptive name to identify the profile.
5. In the Profile Description field, optionally type a brief description for the
profile.
6. Click Next. The Inventory Selection page displays a hierarchical tree of the
types of resources for which IBM Systems Director can collect inventory.
7. Navigate to and select the group or resource type that you want to add.
Note: You can add an entire group of resource types or you can select them
individually.
8. Click Add.
9. Continue adding resource types to the profile as needed.
10. Click Next. Either the Discovery Service page or the Options page is
displayed. If the Discovery Service page is displayed, proceed to the next step.
If the Options page is displayed, proceed to step 16 on page 193.
11. Select the option that reflects your decision about whether you want to
configure the discovery services or have the system choose the services for
you, then click Next.
v If you select Let me manually configure the discovery services, the Module
Selection page is displayed. Proceed to the next step.
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v If you select Let the system choose the discovery services, the Options
page is displayed. Proceed to step 16.
12. Select the discovery modules that you want to configure to discover
additional attributes on your resources.
13. Click Next. Pages for each of the discovery modules that you selected are
displayed.
14. Complete the pages for each discovery module.
15. Click Next. The Options page is displayed.
16. In the Timeout period field, type the number of minutes that you want to
allot before an inventory collection event terminates. From the Inventory
Collection Profile list, select the inventory collection profile that you want to
use. The timeout value indicates the length of time to wait for a response to
inventory collection communications that are sent to systems. If the timeout
value elapses before the response is received from the destination, no
inventory data is collected from that target.
17. In the Maximum simultaneous collections field, type the maximum number
of agents from which IBM Systems Director Server can simultaneously collect
inventory.
Note: To help reduce network traffic, specify the lowest possible number of
agents.
18. To instruct IBM Systems Director Server to automatically try again after failed
collection attempts, select Retry failed agents.
19. Click Next. The Summary page is displayed.
20. Click Finish.
After creating an inventory collection profile, you can run it from the View and
Collect Inventory page.
Related concepts:
Inventory data and collection profiles
Related tasks:
Collecting inventory
Managing inventory collection profiles
Use the Manage Inventory Profiles page to copy, edit, or delete inventory collection
profiles.
To copy, edit, or delete an inventory collection profile, the profile must already
exist. You can also use this page to create a new inventory collection profile that
you can then manage. See “Creating an inventory collection profile” for
instructions.
To copy, edit, or delete an inventory collection profile, complete the following
steps:
1. Open the View and Collect Inventory page as follows:
v On the Home page, click Collect inventory.
The View and Collect Inventory page is displayed.
2. Click Manage Profiles. The Manage Inventory Profiles page is displayed,
listing the existing inventory collection profiles.
3. On the Manage Inventory Profiles page, select one of the following actions.
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Note: When working with inventory collection profiles, you can select one or
more profiles at a time. If you select multiple profiles, you have only the
options of running them or deleting them.
Table 16. Inventory collection profile actions
To do this task:
Complete these steps:
Copy an existing inventory collection profile 1. Select the profile that you want to copy.
2. Click Create like. The Create Like
Inventory Profile wizard is displayed.
The profile name defaults to Copy of
(original profile name), but all the rest of
the fields are populated with the same
entries and selections as is in the original
profile.
3. Edit the profile properties as needed,
clicking Next to continue through the
wizard.
4. Click Finish. The new profile based on
the original profile will appear in the
table on the View and Collect Inventory
page.
Edit an existing inventory collection profile
1. Select the profile that you want to edit.
2. Click Edit. The Edit Inventory Profile
wizard is displayed.
3. Edit the profile properties as needed,
clicking Next to continue through the
wizard.
4. Click Finish.
Delete an existing inventory collection
profile
1. Select the profile that you want to delete.
2. Click Delete. A confirmation message is
displayed.
3. Click OK in the confirmation message
box. The selected profile is deleted and is
no longer displayed in the table on the
View and Collect Inventory page.
Note: Any scheduled event that uses a
deleted profile will continue to run until it
tries to run the deleted profile, at which
point the event will fail.
Related concepts:
Inventory data and collection profiles
Related tasks:
Creating an inventory collection profile
Performing system discovery
Collecting inventory
Use the View and Collect Inventory task to collect inventory data for systems that
have already been discovered and accessed by IBM Systems Director Server.
Before you can view inventory for a resource, you must discover that resource
using System Discovery. Inventory collection uses inventory collection profiles. You
can use an existing profile to collect inventory for a system. If the inventory
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collection profile does not exist for the type of inventory data you want to collect,
you must first create the inventory collection profile and make sure that it contains
the appropriate settings.
Note: Inventory is displayed for only those systems that are in a state other than
no access. To change the access state, select the system or systems and click
Actions > Security > Request Access.
To collect inventory for one or more systems, perform the following steps:
1. Open the View and Collect Inventory page as follows:
v On the Home page, click Collect inventory.
The View and Collect Inventory page is displayed.
2. In the Target Systems list, select the system for which you want to view or
collect inventory data. If the target system that you want to view is not in the
target systems list, perform the following steps to add the system to the list.
a. Click Browse to open the Context Chooser. The Context Chooser displays a
list of system groups.
b. In the list of groups, drill down to the individual target system for which
you want to view inventory data in the group that contains that target
system.
Note: You can select the entire group or you can drill down to select
individual target systems as targets within a group.
c. Select one or more target systems that you want to add.
d. Click Add. The selected target systems are displayed in the Selected list.
e. Click OK.
3. In the View by list, select the inventory profile that you want to use.
4. Click Collect Inventory. The Run - Collect Inventory page is displayed.
5. Use the Run - Collect Inventory page to set up optional functions and options
of your inventory collection task:
Schedule
Use the Schedule tab to set the inventory collection task to run
immediately or at a specified time and date in the future. You can also
schedule the task to repeat at a specified frequency.
Notification
Use the Notification tab to specify options for an email notification that
you can receive as the inventory collection process progresses.
Options
Use the Options tab to specify the time to use for the system time and
how to handle unavailable systems.
6. When you are finished with the Run - Collect Inventory page, click OK. An
inventory collection job is created and an informational message is displayed
about the job.
Note: Click Display Properties if you want to view the properties of the job.
The Active and Scheduled Jobs page is displayed and provides information
about the job including status, progress, a list of targets, a history, and error
logs.
When inventory collection is completed, you can view the inventory data list and
table by clicking Refresh View.
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Tip: To improve the performance of inventory collection and keep the system
resource usage to manageable levels, see the “Performance Tuning and Scaling
Guide for IBM Systems Director 6.3”.
Related concepts:
Inventory data and collection profiles
Related tasks:
Creating an inventory collection profile
Viewing inventory
Performing a system discovery
Viewing active and scheduled job information
Related reference:
Performance Tuning and Scaling Guide for IBM Systems Director 6.3
Comparing fixes installed on IBM i systems
You can select an IBM i system and compare its installed fixes to the fixes that are
installed on other IBM i systems. The result is exported as an HTML file.
The following steps use these terms:
Source system
The system that you want to compare to other systems.
Target systems
One or more systems that you want to compare the source system's fixes
to.
Follow these steps to compare the installed fixes:
1. Turn off any software to block pop-up windows in your web browser.
2. In Resource Explorer, select the source IBM i system.
3. Right click and select Inventory > Compare Installed Fixes.
4. From the Available list, select one or more target systems. Click Add to add
them to the Selected list. Click OK.
5. The system generates a report of differences between the source system's and
the target systems' installed fixes. The report is displayed in a new tab in your
browser.
Related reference:
cmpptfs command
Viewing inventory
Use the View and Collect Inventory task to view and manage an extended set of
resources and relationships for systems that have already been discovered. The
inventory that is displayed includes physical, logical, and virtual hardware;
software applications, operating systems, middleware, firmware, BIOS, and
diagnostic information; network information; and system-contained resources. Also,
IBM Systems Director displays the inventory data for the inventory items that are
collected.
Before you can view inventory data for a resource, you must collect the inventory
data for that resource.
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Note: Inventory is displayed for only those systems that are in a state other than
no access. To change the access state, select the system or systems and click
Actions > Security > Request Access.
To display inventory data for a resource, complete the following steps:
1. Open the View and Collect Inventory page as follows:
v On the Home page, click Collect inventory.
The View and Collect Inventory page is displayed.
2. In the Target Systems list, select the system for which you want to view or
collect inventory data. If the target system that you want to view is not in the
target systems list, perform the following steps to add the system to the list.
a. Click Browse to open the Context Chooser. The Context Chooser displays a
list of system groups.
b. In the list of groups, drill down to the individual target system for which
you want to view inventory data in the group that contains that target
system.
Note: You can select the entire group or you can drill down to select
individual target systems as targets within a group.
c. Select one or more target systems that you want to add.
d. Click Add. The selected target systems are displayed in the Selected list.
e. Click OK.
3. In the View by list, select the inventory profile that you want to use.
4. Click Refresh View. The inventory data for the selected resource is displayed.
Note: If you click Refresh View before any inventory has been collected by IBM
Systems Director Server, an empty table is displayed and the Last collected
value will be none. Before you try to view inventory, make sure that you
discover the applicable resources and collect the inventory for them.
Related concepts:
Inventory data and collection profiles
Related tasks:
Creating an inventory collection profile
Collecting inventory
Inventory collection metadata file (twguser.ini)
Use inventory collection metadata to more easily group inventory data collected
from managed resources. You can specify inventory collection metadata on only
managed resources that are running a supported version of the Windows operating
system and that have common agent services (CAS) installed. The twguser.ini file
contains the inventory collection metadata.
The plain text file twguser.ini resides in the install_root/agent/data directory, where
install_root is the root directory of your IBM Systems Director installation. Use a
plain text editor to make changes to the twguser.ini file.
Using inventory collection metadata makes it easier to view, organize, and search
collected inventory. For example, using metadata allows you to associate collected
inventory for a system with a particular user, email address, building, or country.
To see inventory collection metadata, make sure to collect inventory for the
affected system after you update the twguser.ini file.
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The following lists show the available metadata entries that are available in the
twguser.ini file and specifies the character length restrictions.
Important: Exceeding the character length restriction for even one entry prevents
inventory collection from using (and displaying) any of the metadata.
Table 17. User metadata entries and character length restrictions
User metadata entry
Maximum number of characters
FIRST_NAME
256 total, including MIDDLE_NAME and
LAST_NAME
MIDDLE_NAME
See FIRST_NAME
LAST_NAME
See FIRST_NAME
EMPLOYEE_ID
128
TITLE
256
DEPT_NAME
128
DEPT_NUMBER
64
DIVISION
64
WORK_PHONE
25
CELLULAR_PHONE
25
FAX_NUMBER
25
PAGER_NUMBER
25
PAGER_TYPE
32
EMAIL_ADDRESS
512
HOME_PHONE
25
Table 18. Location metadata entries and character length restrictions
Location metadata entry
Maximum number of characters
CITY
64
STATE
32
ZIPCODE
16
COUNTRY
32
BUILDING
64
FLOOR
32
ROOM_NUMBER
32
LATITUDE
16
LONGITUDE
16
USER_DATA1
Unsupported; do not use
USER_DATA2
Unsupported; do not use
Related tasks:
Collecting inventory
Viewing inventory
Exporting inventory data
You can export collected inventory data to a file in comma-separated value (CSV),
HTML, or XML format.
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Be sure to turn off the Web browser option to block pop-up windows for the URL
that you use to log in to the IBM Systems Director Web interface.
Complete the following steps to export your collected inventory data:
1. Open the View and Collect Inventory page as follows:
v On the Home page, click Collect inventory.
The View and Collect Inventory page is displayed.
2. Make sure to collect and view the inventory data that you want to export. For
more information about collecting and viewing inventory data, see “Collecting
inventory” and “Viewing inventory”.
3. Click Export All. The browser either opens a file download window or it
displays the exported data.
4. Save the file.
If the Web browser opens a file download window, save the file. If the Web
browser requires a location selection, provide it and click Save.
v If the Web browser displays the exported inventory data, from the File
menu, click Save As, navigate to the location where you want to save the
file, then click Save.
v
Note: You can save the file only to a file system that is accessible from the
system running IBM Systems Director Server.
Related tasks:
Collecting inventory
Viewing inventory
Connecting to IT Registry and Context Menu Service databases
Connect to preexisting IT Registry and Context Menu Service centralized databases
to enable IBM Systems Director to accept external connections so that it can share
tasks and resources with external applications such as Tivoli products.
The IT Registry and Context Menu Service databases to which you want to connect
must already exist.
Using the IT Registry and Context Menu Service Registration page in the IBM
Systems Director Web interface, you can register with either or both an IT Registry
or Context Menu Service database. After initial registration, if you want to remove
the capability of products to start IBM Systems Director tasks, you can unregister
to remove all connection settings and previously registered data for tasks and
resources for the currently connected IT Registry and Context Menu Service
databases. You can also register again to connect to different IT Registry and
Context Menu Service databases.
Note: The Context Menu Service does not support using the IBM DB2 server that
is installed and managed by Systems Director. Using IBM DB2 as the target
database for Context Menu Service requires a separate installation of IBM DB2.
1. Set up the JDBC jars for the database that you are using.
a. Obtain the JDBC jars by using one of the following two methods:
v Copy the JDBC jars from the installed instance of the database.
v Download the JDBC jars from the website for IBM DB2, Microsoft SQL
Server, or Oracle® Database.
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b. Place the jars into the /lib directory of the appropriate plug-in for your
database:
Note: If you are using the same DBMS type for the Systems Director
database, the jars already exist in the plug-in, so you do not need to copy
them.
v com.ibm.lwi.database.drivers.db2_8.1.0.0-LWI
v com.ibm.lwi.database.drivers.oracle_8.1.0.0-LWI
v com.ibm.lwi.database.drivers.sqlserver_8.1.0.0-LWI
The plug-ins are located under install_root/lwi/runtime/database/
eclipse/plugins, where install_root is the root directory of your IBM
Systems Director installation.
c. Open the MANIFEST.MF file in the META-INF directory of the plug-in and
ensure that the Bundle-Classpath entry in that file contains the exact name
of the JDBC jars placed in the /lib directory. If the Bundle-Classpath entry
is incorrect, edit MANIFEST.MF to include those jar names, then save the
changes.
2. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface, navigate to Settings -> IT Registry
and CMS Registration.
3. On the IT Registry and Context Menu Service Registration page, complete the
steps for the action that you want to take:
Register with IT Registry and Context Menu Service databases for the first
time
Complete the following steps to register with IT Registry and Context
Menu Service databases for the first time.
Note: You must register an application on all servers that will use it.
a. Complete all of the required fields with the connection settings for
the IT Registry database and the Context Menu Service database.
b. Click Test Connections to test if the connection settings that you
entered are valid. If the connection test fails, check your entered
values.
c. Click Register to apply the connection settings to register with the
targeted IT Registry and Context Menu Service databases.
Unregister with IT Registry and Context Menu Service databases
If you are already registered with IT Registry and Context Menu
Service databases but want to unregister, click Unregister. Clicking
Unregister removes all connection settings and previously registered
data for tasks and resources for the currently connected IT Registry and
Context Menu Service databases.
Note: The fields already contain the connection settings for the
connection databases with which you are currently registered.
Register with different IT Registry and Context Menu Service databases
If you are already registered but want to change and connect to
different IT Registry and Context Menu Service databases, you can
register again by using the values for the new databases. You do not
need to unregister with the initial IT Registry and Context Menu
Service databases before reregistering.
Complete the following steps to register with different IT Registry and
Context Menu Service databases.
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Notes:
v The fields already contain the connection settings for the connection
databases with which you are already registered.
v Reregistration completes for both databases, regardless of whether
you changed values for either one.
a. Replace the contents of each applicable field with the connection
settings for the new IT Registry and Context Menu Service
databases.
b. Click Test Connections to test if the new connection settings that
you entered are valid. If the connection test fails, check your entered
values.
c. Click Register to apply the connection settings to register with the
new targeted IT Registry and Context Menu Service databases.
After IBM Systems Director registration is complete and the other product is also
enabled to use IT Registry and Context Menu Service, the IBM Systems Director
tasks will appear in the context menus of the other product and can be launched
by selecting that menu item.
Related reference:
Installing the IBM DB2 Driver for JDBC and SQLJ
Oracle JDBC/UCP Download Page
Microsoft SQL Server JDBC Driver 2.0
External connections with IT Registry and Context Menu
Service databases
IT Registry and Context Menu Service are databases with which IBM Systems
Director can register so that it can accept external connections and therefore share
tasks and resources with external applications such as Tivoli products.
After IBM Systems Director registration is complete and the other product is also
enabled to use IT Registry and Context Menu Service, the IBM Systems Director
tasks will appear in the context menus of the other product and can be launched
by selecting that menu item.
IT Registry
When you register with the IT Registry, entries are added to the IT Registry
database for resources that IBM Systems Director has discovered.
Context Menu Service
The Context Menu Service, which is a component of the Tivoli Integrated Portal
(TIP), facilitates launch-in-context capability between products. The
launch-in-context capability enables one application to invoke a function or launch a
user interface that is provided by another application while also passing in data
that the function or user interface can immediately process. Context Menu Service
enables launch-in-context by allowing a product to register launch points for itself
and locate launch points for other products. Launch points provide information that
allows an application to invoke a function or user interface from another
application.
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When you register with the Context Menu Service, entries are added to the
Context Menu Service database so that other programs can start IBM Systems
Director tasks outside of IBM Systems Director.
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Chapter 4. Configuring systems
Using configuration manager, you can configure both hardware devices and
systems so that they will work together and meet the needs of your environment.
Note: To use configuration manager, you must have smadmin authority.
In order for your configuration settings to take effect, they must be deployed to the
appropriate managed resource (device or system). When you deploy a
configuration plan, the configuration settings contained in all templates contained
by the plan are applied to the resource. In Current Configuration, you can list
configuration settings for one resource, make some or no changes to the settings,
then deploy it to a different resource.
You must understand the following terms to effectively configure systems using .
Configuration setting
a real-time value associated with one aspect of a device that can be saved
as a configuration template or plan. For example, login information or
SNMP options.
You can save configuration settings from a system and convert them into
configuration templates or configuration plans. You also can create
configuration settings from scratch.
Configuration template
A version of configuration settings that are not on a given system, but are
stored for future deployment.
You can deploy a configuration template on a system even if it is not a
member of a configuration plan.
Configuration plan
A set of configuration templates used to configure a system.
Configuration settings
A particular system's configuration can be accessed and viewed. Changes can be
made if necessary, and the configuration setting for an individual resource can be
stored as a configuration template or as a configuration plan.
Configuration settings for a whole system can be stored as a set of configuration
templates, which can then be placed in a configuration plan.
All specific configuration settings are described in the documentation for their
specific devices. As an example, the configuration settings for IBM BladeCenter
and System x are described in the documentation for IBM BladeCenter and System
x. The configuration settings for storage devices are described in the IBM Systems
Director Storage Systems documentation.
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Related tasks:
Configuring templates
Managing storage with configuration templates
Configuration templates
A configuration template is a stored version of device parameters and settings,
which can be reused or deployed later.
You can create, view, edit, delete, deploy, and schedule configuration templates to
be deployed on a target resource.
Target types
A target type is the type of system on which a configuration template is deployed.
A configuration template can have one of the following target types. However, the
listed types might vary, depending on the installed settings in your environment:
BladeCenter chassis
BladeCenter H chassis
BladeCenter HT chassis
BladeCenter S chassis
BladeCenter T chassis
Ethernet Switch
Fibre Switch
IBM Flex System Enterprise Chassis
InfiniBand Switch
Operating System
Operating System (using CIM protocol)
Server (using CIM protocol)
Stand alone server
Storage Platform
Storage Switch
Tips:
v When you change a configuration template that is already contained in one or
more configuration plans, the changes apply to these configuration plans.
v If you want to delete a configuration template that is contained in one or more
configuration plans, remove that configuration template from all associated
configuration plans first, and then delete the configuration template.
You can delete a configuration template that is in one or more configuration
plans, but deleting the template generates a warning message.
v When you create a configuration plan, you can determine the order of the
configuration templates within the configuration plan. This order is not checked
at creation time to determine whether certain resources require that other
resources are defined first.
If an inappropriate order is chosen, errors might be issued when the
configuration plan is deployed. When you deploy a configuration plan, check
the status to determine whether it succeeded and analyze any errors received.
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v You can automatically deploy certain types of templates. The order that they are
deployed in is specified in the automatic deploy sequence list for each template
type. This list can be modified at any time. Additionally, the list is modified
automatically when templates that specify automatic deployment are added (by
modifying the properties or creation of a new template), or deleted.
Note: You cannot automatically deploy network templates, and this extends to
the network plans that contain them.
Predefined configuration template
IBM Systems Director provides a predefined configuration template to help you
quickly configure a BladeCenter chassis resource.
Do not delete or modify the predefined configuration template. To modify the
predefined configuration template, use the Create Like task to make a copy, and
then change the copy.
Configuration plans
A configuration plan is used to configure systems and resources. A configuration
plan is a group of configuration templates that are deployed in a sequence.
A configuration plan has a name, a description, a plan target type, an indicator of
automatic deployment status, plan creation information, and plan modification
information. A configuration plan contains one or more configuration templates.
The configuration templates in a configuration plan can be specified in an order,
and will be deployed in this order when the configuration plan is deployed.
Some configuration plans can be set up to be automatically deployed when a new
resource of that type is discovered. You can also specify the order in which the
configuration templates in a configuration plan are deployed, for situations in
which some resources must be defined before others.
Note: You cannot automatically deploy network templates, and this extends to the
network plans that contain them.
Types
A type is the category of resource associated with a configuration plan. These are
the types for a configuration plan. All configuration templates within a given
configuration plan must also be of the same type as the configuration plan.
Chassis
Devices such as management modules and switches
Network
Network components
Server Server components
Storage
Storage devices and other related resources
Operating System
Operating system components
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The Automatically deploy feature
This feature is used to automatically deploy a configuration plan or configuration
template when system changes, such as the addition or removal of hardware, are
detected by IBM Systems Director.
Note: You cannot automatically deploy network templates, and this extends to the
network plans that contain them.
An entire configuration plan or individual configuration templates can be
designated as automatically deploy. If an entire configuration plan is designated as
automatically deploy, whenever IBM Systems Director detects a new system or
device of that type, this entire configuration plan is automatically deployed on that
system or device.
There can be only one active configuration plan designated as automatically
deploy for each configuration plan type at any given time.
For example, assume that configuration plan plan1 and configuration plan plan2
are of the same plan type. If plan1 is already set to automatically deploy, and you
then designate plan2 as automatically deploy, plan2 will become designated as
automatically deploy for this plan type, and plan1 will no longer be designated as
automatically deploy. A warning will be displayed in this situation.
For an individual configuration template, automatically deploy means that
whenever IBM Systems Director detects a new device of the configuration template
type, the configuration template is automatically deployed on that device.
In addition to automatic deployment for a new device that is added to a system,
automatic deployment can also take place if a device is changed or removed. In
this case, automatic deployment is dependent on the values in the configuration
template or configuration plan that have been designated for automatic
deployment.
Predefined configuration plans
IBM Systems Director provides a predefined configuration plan to facilitate
configuration of some of the most popular resources and systems.
Do not delete these predefined configuration plans. Do not edit or change them. To
modify them, use the Create Like task, make a copy, and then change the copy. Do
not delete or modify the predefined configuration templates within the predefined
configuration plans.
Chassis Predefined Plan
This predefined configuration plan is for an IBM BladeCenter Chassis. It has one
predefined configuration template named Boot Sequence Predefined Template. To
see all relevant attributes, view this configuration plan and configuration template
from the IBM Systems Director Configuration Manager Summary page.
Configuration-setting license entitlement
Some configuration settings might be associated with a license entitlement. In
order to use the setting, and therefore any template or plan that contains that
setting, the license must be valid, that is, not expired. Not only must a
configuration setting have a valid license, but some licenses also require a license
for the system for which the configuration setting is intended.
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If a license is expired, you will be prevented from using the affected configuration
setting. If a license is required for systems, you can be prevented from using the
affected configuration settings on unlicensed systems. If you have an expired
license, the following items are subject to these restrictions:
v Current configuration settings that have a license entitlement
v Configuration templates that contain a license entitlement configuration setting
v Configuration plans including at least one template containing a license
entitlement configuration setting
If one of these items contains a license entitlement setting that has expired, the
item can be deleted. If you attempt to edit, deploy, or use the template in any way,
a message is displayed notifying you to purchase a license.
Monitoring the deployment of configuration plans and configuration
templates
To monitor when a configuration plan or configuration template is deployed, use
an event automation plan.
To create the event automation plan, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation pane, expand Automation and click
Event Automation Plans.
2. On the Event Automation Plans page, click Create.
3. The Event Automation Plan wizard displays the Welcome page. Click Next.
4. On the Name and description page, type a descriptive name for the event
automation plan that you are creating. Optionally, you also can type a
description of the plan. Click Next.
5. On the Targets page, select the systems that you want the event automation
plan to monitor for the configuration manager events. Select the systems in
the Available table and click Add to move them to the Selected list. Click
Next.
6. On the Events page, select Advanced event filters from the Events list.
7. Click Create to create an event filter.
8. The Create Event Filter wizard displays the Welcome page. Click Next.
9. On the Filter Name page, type a descriptive name for the event filter that you
are creating. Optionally, you also can type a description of the filter. Click
Next.
10. On the Filter Type page, select Simple event filter from the Filter type list.
11. On the Event Type page, select Custom from the Types of events to include
list. The Available Event Types table is displayed.
12. In the Available Event Types table, click Systems Director Program > System
Configuration. The table displays the available configuration manager events.
13. Select the applicable configuration manager event:
Option
Description
To monitor for the deployment of
configuration templates
Click Configuration Template, then select
Deployed.
To monitor for the deployment of
configuration plans
Click Configuration Plan, then select
Deployed.
14. On the Event Type page, click Next.
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15. On each of the remaining pages of the Create Event Filter wizard, until the
Summary page displays, accept the default selection and click Next.
16. On the Summary page, verify that the information is correct and click Finish.
The Events page displays the new filter.
17. On the Events page, make sure that the new filter is selected, then click Next.
18. On the Event actions page, click Create.
19. In the Create Actions window, select an event action, for example, Send an
e-mail (Internet SMTP) .
20. Click OK.
21. Complete the fields for the event action that you selected. For some event
action types, you can include event-specific information as part of the text
message. Including event information is referred to as event-data substitution.
You can use event-data-substitution variables to customize event actions. For
more information, see “Event-data-substitution variables.”
22. When you are satisfied with the settings, click OK.
23. On the Event Actions page, make sure that the new event action is selected,
then click Next.
24. On the Time range page, select the time over which you want to collect the
events. Select All the time (24 x 7) so that the plan is active all the time.
25. When you are satisfied with the specified time ranges, click Next.
26. On the Summary page, verify the details of the event automation plan. If you
want to change the settings, click Back.
27. When you are done editing the event automation plan, click Finish.
The Event Automation Plans page displays the new event automation plan.
Related concepts:
“The Automatically deploy feature” on page 206
“Configuration templates” on page 204
“Configuration plans” on page 205
Related tasks:
“Viewing configuration templates” on page 216
“Viewing configuration plans” on page 228
Managing system configuration
Manage your system configuration by viewing and making updates to
configuration settings. These configuration setting can be stored into configuration
templates, which can be grouped into configuration plans.
Note: Before changing the feature activation manager configuration on a switch,
for example, if you inventory, install, or remove license keys, you must specify
TFTP information on the IBM BladeCenter Update Settings page. For instructions,
see the topic “Specifying IBM BladeCenter update setting” in the information
center.
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Related concepts:
“Configuration settings” on page 203
“Configuration templates” on page 204
“Configuration plans” on page 205
Viewing configuration settings
The configuration settings for a particular system contain detailed information
about the system, such as definitions, options, and attached devices.
To view the configuration setting for a particular system, complete the following
steps:
1. From the Resource Explorer area, select a system.
2. Click Actions > Properties to view the current properties of the system:
v If the system has resources that can be configured by IBM Systems Director,
a Configuration tab will be present.
v If the system does not have resources that can be configured by IBM Systems
Director, there will be no Configuration tab. You cannot perform any of the
remaining steps in this procedure.
v The communication state such as: online or offline, and access state such as
locked or unlocked will also determine if the configuration tab is displayed
for a system.
3. Click Configuration to see the configuration settings for this system.
As an alternative, you can start this task from the navigator area by selecting
System Configuration > Current Configuration
Related concepts:
“Configuration settings” on page 203
“Configuration templates” on page 204
“The Automatically deploy feature” on page 206
“Configuration plans” on page 205
Related tasks:
“Editing configuration settings”
“Saving configuration settings as configuration templates” on page 210
“Saving configuration settings to a configuration plan” on page 211
“Creating configuration templates” on page 213
“Creating a configuration template from an existing one” on page 214
Editing configuration settings
Edit the configuration setting for a particular system so that they remain current
and are kept up to date with hardware and software changes.
1. From the Resource Explorer area, select a system.
2. Click Actions > Properties to view the current properties of the system:
v If the system has resources that can be configured by IBM Systems Director,
a Configuration tab will be present.
v If the system does not have resources that can be configured by IBM Systems
Director, there will be no Configuration tab. You cannot perform any of the
remaining steps in this procedure.
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v The communication state such a: online or offline, and access state such as
locked or unlocked will also determine if the configuration tab is displayed
for a system.
Click Configuration to see the configuration settings for this system.
Select the configuration setting to be edited.
Click Edit. A page with the configuration setting information is displayed.
Make any necessary changes.
Click Deploy. The changes are applied, and you are returned to the list of
configuration settings for the system.
8. Click Close.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
As an alternative, you can start this task from the navigator area by selecting
System Configuration > Current Configuration
Related concepts:
“Configuration settings” on page 203
“Configuration templates” on page 204
“The Automatically deploy feature” on page 206
“Configuration plans” on page 205
Related tasks:
“Viewing configuration settings” on page 209
“Saving configuration settings as configuration templates”
“Saving configuration settings to a configuration plan” on page 211
Saving configuration settings as configuration templates
In order to have the configuration setting for a particular device applied to another
resource, possibly one located on another system, you must save the configuration
setting as a configuration template.
To save a configuration setting as a configuration template, complete the following
steps:
1. From the Resource Explorer section, select a system.
2. Click Actions > Properties to view the current properties of the system.
v If the system has resources that can be configured by IBM Systems Director,
a Configuration tab will be present.
v If the system does not have resources that can be configured by IBM
Systems Director, there will be no Configuration tab. You cannot perform
any of the remaining steps in this procedure.
v The communication state such a: online or offline, and access state such as
locked or unlocked will also determine if the configuration tab is displayed
for a system.
3. Click Configuration to see the configuration settings for this system.
4. Select the configuration setting to be saved as a configuration template.
5. Click Actions > Save as Configuration Template. The Save as Configuration
Template page is displayed.
6. Type a name for the new configuration template.
7. Type a description for the new configuration template.
8. Click Open configuration template list when finished saving if you want to
see the list of existing configuration templates while the save is taking place.
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Although you will be taken to the Configuration template table, deploying
this newly-created configuration template from this table will require you to
select a target.
9. Optional: If you want to add the new configuration template to an existing
configuration plan of the same type, choose one from the list of configuration
plans. You are given the choice of configuration plans of the correct type.
10. Click Save. The Configuration Progress Indicator keeps you informed of the
progress of this task.
Related concepts:
“Configuration settings” on page 203
“Configuration templates” on page 204
“The Automatically deploy feature” on page 206
“Configuration plans” on page 205
Related tasks:
“Viewing configuration settings” on page 209
“Editing configuration settings” on page 209
“Adding configuration templates to a configuration plan” on page 218
“Viewing configuration templates” on page 216
“Saving configuration settings to a configuration plan”
Navigating tables
Saving configuration settings to a configuration plan
Use this procedure to save configuration settings to a configuration plan.
When you save configuration settings to a configuration plan, configuration
templates are created to contain the configuration settings. The configuration plan
that is produced is no different than one created starting with configuration
templates.
To save configuration settings to a configuration plan, complete the following
steps:
1. Click System Configuration > Current Configuration. A list of systems is
displayed.
2. Select a system.
3. Click Actions > View. A table of configuration settings for the chosen system is
displayed.
4. Select those configuration settings that you want saved to a configuration plan.
5. Click Save to Configuration Plan. The Save to Configuration Plan page is
displayed.
6. Choose the configuration plan for the configuration settings.
v Add selected configuration settings to an existing configuration plan. A list of
existing configuration plans is displayed. Choose one from this list.
v Add selected configuration settings to a new configuration plan. Type a
name and description for the new configuration plan.
7. Click Save.
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The configuration settings added to the configuration plan might not be in the
order that you would want them to be deployed on a system. From any table that
displays the configuration plan, click Actions > Edit to change the order of the
configuration templates.
Related concepts:
“Configuration settings” on page 203
“Configuration templates” on page 204
“The Automatically deploy feature” on page 206
“Configuration plans” on page 205
Related tasks:
“Viewing configuration settings” on page 209
“Editing configuration settings” on page 209
“Saving configuration settings as configuration templates” on page 210
Navigating tables
“Adding configuration templates to a configuration plan” on page 218
“Creating configuration plans” on page 224
“Viewing configuration plans” on page 228
Backing up configuration settings for a device
Follow these steps to back up a supported devices configuration settings.
Supported devices include IBM Flex System Enterprise Chassis with Chassis
Management Module (CMM) and x86 Blade systems with Integrated Management
Module (IMMv2). You can save all of the settings or a subset of the settings as a
configuration template, a CLI file, or a text file.
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation panel, click Resource Explorer > All
systems.
2. Right click the system you want to work with and select System Configuration
> Backup and Restore.
3. The Backup and Restore window opens. Select the appropriate task and fill out
the panels as required.
Restoring configuration settings for a device
Follow these steps to restore configuration settings for a supported device.
Supported devices include IBM Flex System Enterprise Chassis with Chassis
Management Module (CMM) and x86 Blade systems with Integrated Management
Module (IMMv2). These settings can exist in a text file, or from a file created by
using the IBM Systems Director user interface.
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation panel, click Resource Explorer > All
systems.
2. Right click the system you want to work with and select System Configuration
> Backup and Restore.
3. The Backup and Restore window opens. Select the appropriate task and fill out
the panels as required.
Note: User groups or accounts created on a resource after a configuration template
is deployed are not removed from the resource if you restore the configuration
settings by using the configuration template.
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Managing configuration templates
You manage configuration templates by creating and updating them. They can be
deployed to a system, or grouped into configuration plans.
Related concepts:
“Configuration templates” on page 204
Creating configuration templates
Create a configuration template to hold specific user-defined settings for a
configuration which can then be applied to relevant managed endpoints.
Note: For more information about navigating and working with tables in IBM
Systems Director Web interface, see “Table navigation in IBM Systems Director.”
To create a configuration template, complete the following steps:
1. From the Configuration manager summary page, click Create a Configuration
Template. The Configuration Templates page is displayed.
2. Click Actions > Create.
3. Choose a target type in the Template type field.
4. Choose a value in the Configuration to create a template.
5. Type a unique name for the new configuration template. The name must be
unique and have a maximum length of 100 characters. The name of the
configuration template cannot contain the following XML special characters:
v The ampersand character (&)
v The apostrophe or single quotation mark character (')
v The double quotation mark character (")
v The greater-than character (>)
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
The
The
The
The
The
The
The
less-than character (<)
vertical bar character (|)
back slash character (\)
slash character (/)
asterisk character (*)
colon character (:)
question mark character (?)
v The percent character (%)
6. Type a meaningful description for the new configuration template. The
maximum length is 500 characters. The description of the configuration
template cannot contain the following XML special characters:
v The ampersand character (&)
v The apostrophe or single quotation mark character (')
v The double quotation mark character (")
v The greater-than character (>)
v The less-than character (<)
7. Optional: If you want this configuration template to be run automatically
when a new device with a type that matches this configuration template is
added or removed, or when an event related to this type of device occurs,
select Automatically deploy this configuration template when notified of a
matching resource.
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Note: You cannot automatically deploy network templates, and this extends
to the network plans that contain them.
If you enable automatic deploy, the template is appended to the end of the
automatic deploy sequence list for the relevant type. To re-order the list, go to
Actions > Automatic Deploy Sequence.
8. Click Continue. The Configuration Settings page is displayed.
9. Enter configuration information.
10. Click Save to create the new configuration template. The new configuration
template will be displayed in the configuration template table.
Related concepts:
“Configuration templates” on page 204
“Configuration settings” on page 203
“The Automatically deploy feature” on page 206
“Configuration plans” on page 205
Related tasks:
“Viewing configuration settings” on page 209
“Creating a configuration template from an existing one”
“Viewing configuration templates” on page 216
“Editing configuration templates” on page 217
“Adding configuration templates to a configuration plan” on page 218
“Deploying configuration templates” on page 219
“Viewing deployed targets” on page 220
“Exporting a configuration template” on page 221
“Importing a configuration template” on page 222
“Deleting configuration templates” on page 223
Navigating tables
Creating a configuration template from an existing one
You can create a configuration template using an existing configuration template as
a model.
Note: For more information about navigating and working with tables in IBM
Systems Director Web interface, see “Table navigation in IBM Systems Director.”
To create a configuration template from an existing one, complete the following
steps:
1. From the Configuration Manager Summary page, click Create a Configuration
Template. The Configuration Templates page is displayed.
2. Select one configuration template to use as a model for the creation a new one.
3. Click Actions > Create Like. Information from the selected configuration
template is placed in the panels that follow.
4. Type a unique name for the new configuration template. The name must be
unique and have a maximum length of 100 characters. The name of the
configuration template cannot contain the following XML special characters:
v
v
v
v
214
The
The
The
The
ampersand character (&)
apostrophe or single quotation mark character (')
double quotation mark character (")
greater-than character (>)
IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
v
v
v
v
v
The
The
The
The
The
less-than character (<)
vertical bar character (|)
back slash character (\)
slash character (/)
asterisk character (*)
v The colon character (:)
v The question mark character (?)
v The percent character (%)
5. Type a meaningful description for the new configuration template. The
maximum length is 500 characters. The description of the configuration
template cannot contain the following XML special characters:
v The ampersand character (&)
v The apostrophe or single quotation mark character (')
v The double quotation mark character (")
v The greater-than character (>)
v The less-than character (<)
6. Optional: If you want this configuration template to be run automatically when
a new device with a type that matches this configuration template is added or
removed, or when an event related to this type of device occurs, ensure that
Automatically deploy this configuration template when notified of a
matching resource is selected.
Note: You cannot automatically deploy network templates, and this extends to
the network plans that contain them.
If you enable automatic deploy, the template is appended to the end of the
automatic deploy sequence list for the relevant type. To re-order the list, go to
Actions > Automatic Deploy Sequence.
7. Click Continue. The Configuration Settings page is displayed.
8. Enter configuration information. You cannot change the values in the Template
type and Configuration to create a template fields.
9. Click Save. The new configuration template is created, and will be displayed in
the configuration template table.
Chapter 4. Configuring systems
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Related concepts:
“Configuration templates” on page 204
“Configuration settings” on page 203
“The Automatically deploy feature” on page 206
“Configuration plans” on page 205
Related tasks:
“Creating configuration templates” on page 213
“Viewing configuration settings” on page 209
“Viewing configuration templates”
“Editing configuration templates” on page 217
“Adding configuration templates to a configuration plan” on page 218
“Deploying configuration templates” on page 219
“Viewing deployed targets” on page 220
“Exporting a configuration template” on page 221
“Importing a configuration template” on page 222
“Deleting configuration templates” on page 223
Navigating tables
Viewing configuration templates
The properties of a configuration template include the name, a description, the
target type, automatic deployment status, and the dates and ID of users who
created and edited the configuration template.
Note: For more information about navigating and working with tables in IBM
Systems Director Web interface, see “Table navigation in IBM Systems Director.”
To view a configuration template, complete the following steps:
1. From the Configuration manager summary page, click View Configuration
Templates. The Configuration templates page is displayed.
2. Select the configuration template you want to view.
3. Click Actions > Properties. A page containing the configuration template's
properties is displayed.
4. Click Cancel when you are finished viewing the information.
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Related concepts:
“Configuration settings” on page 203
“Configuration templates” on page 204
“The Automatically deploy feature” on page 206
“Configuration plans” on page 205
Related tasks:
“Saving configuration settings as configuration templates” on page 210
“Creating configuration templates” on page 213
“Creating a configuration template from an existing one” on page 214
“Editing configuration templates”
“Adding configuration templates to a configuration plan” on page 218
“Deploying configuration templates” on page 219
“Viewing deployed targets” on page 220
“Exporting a configuration template” on page 221
“Importing a configuration template” on page 222
“Deleting configuration templates” on page 223
Navigating tables
“Monitoring the deployment of configuration plans and configuration templates”
on page 207
Editing configuration templates
You can change some attributes of a configuration template after it is created.
Using the edit function, you can change some of the settings that the configuration
template defines. You cannot change the target type of the configuration template.
Changing template settings does not modify any settings that were deployed to a
system before modifying the template, but it does affect settings that are deployed
by using the modified template.
Note: For more information about navigating and working with tables in IBM
Systems Director Web interface, see “Table navigation in IBM Systems Director.”
To edit a configuration template, complete the following steps:
1. From the Configuration manager summary page, click View Configuration
Templates. The Configuration Templates page is displayed.
2. Select a configuration template to edit.
3. Click Actions > Edit Template. The Configuration Settings page is displayed.
4. Make all necessary changes.
Note: Depending on the template settings (which are preset), you might not be
able to change the template name and the automatic deployment setting.
For a template that supports automatic deployment, if you enable that function,
and it was not already enabled, the template is appended to the automatic
deploy sequence list. If you disable that function and it was previously enabled,
the template is removed from the list. To reorder the list, go to Actions >
Automatic Deploy Sequence.
Note: You cannot automatically deploy network templates, and this extends to
the network plans that contain them.
Chapter 4. Configuring systems
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5. Click Save. The changes are applied to the configuration template.
Tip: You also can select Actions > Properties to examine and change configuration
template attributes.
Related concepts:
“Configuration templates” on page 204
“Configuration settings” on page 203
“The Automatically deploy feature” on page 206
“Configuration plans” on page 205
Related tasks:
“Creating configuration templates” on page 213
“Creating a configuration template from an existing one” on page 214
“Viewing configuration templates” on page 216
“Adding configuration templates to a configuration plan”
“Deploying configuration templates” on page 219
“Viewing deployed targets” on page 220
“Exporting a configuration template” on page 221
“Importing a configuration template” on page 222
“Deleting configuration templates” on page 223
Navigating tables
Adding configuration templates to a configuration plan
When changes are made to your systems, it can be necessary to add new
configuration templates to a configuration plan.
Note: For more information about navigating and working with tables in IBM
Systems Director Web interface, see “Table navigation in IBM Systems Director.”
To add a configuration template to a configuration plan, complete the following
steps:
1. From the Configuration manager summary page, click View Configuration
Templates. The Configuration Templates page is displayed.
2. Select one or more configuration templates to add to a configuration plan.
3. Click Actions > Add to Configuration Plan. The Add to Configuration Plan
pop-up is displayed.
4. Choose a configuration plan:
v Click Add selected templates to this plan to select an existing configuration
plan.
v Click Add selected template to a new plan and specify the appropriate
values to create a new configuration plan.
5. Optional: If you do not want to see the list of configuration plans when you are
finished, clear Open Configuration Plan list when done saving.
6. Click Save. The configuration template will be added to the configuration plan.
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Related concepts:
“Configuration settings” on page 203
“Configuration templates” on page 204
“The Automatically deploy feature” on page 206
“Configuration plans” on page 205
Related tasks:
“Saving configuration settings as configuration templates” on page 210
“Saving configuration settings to a configuration plan” on page 211
“Creating configuration templates” on page 213
“Creating a configuration template from an existing one” on page 214
“Viewing configuration templates” on page 216
“Editing configuration templates” on page 217
“Deploying configuration templates”
“Viewing deployed targets” on page 220
“Exporting a configuration template” on page 221
“Importing a configuration template” on page 222
“Deleting configuration templates” on page 223
Navigating tables
Deploying configuration templates
You can deploy a configuration template even without having the configuration
template as part of a configuration plan. However, if you want to deploy the
configuration templates in a particular order, create a configuration plan to specify
the configuration templates in the desired order.
Each configuration template has a target type. Each system has a set of resources.
When a configuration template is deployed to a system, the configuration template
is deployed only on those resources that are of the same type as the configuration
template.
To deploy a configuration template to a target resource, complete the following
steps:
1. From the Configuration manager summary page, click View Configuration
Templates. The Configuration Templates page is displayed.
2. Select a configuration template to deploy.
3. Click Actions > Deploy. The Deploy Configuration Templates Job page
opens.
4. Select a system from the Available list. Use the Add and Remove buttons to
move items between the Available list and the Selected list.
5. Select as many systems as you want, and review the Selected list to ensure
accuracy.
6. Optional: Use the Browse button if you need information about the systems in
order to make your choice.
7. Optional: Click the Schedule tab. The Schedule page is displayed.
8. Optional: Enter job information.
9. Choose Run Now or Schedule.
10. Click OK when ready to run.
Chapter 4. Configuring systems
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11. A message at the top of the Configuration Templates page indicates if the
deploy task has completed or not. Click on Display Property to see the job
status.
12. Optional: In order to see the log information about the configuration template
deploy, complete these steps:
a. Click Display Property. The properties of the job are displayed.
b. Click the Active and Scheduled jobs tab. The Active and Scheduled jobs
page is displayed.
c. View the job status in the General task section.
d. Click the Logs tab. A table of job logs is displayed.
e. Select the configuration template deployment job, and right click on its
name, and select the Show logs option. A list of job logs is displayed.
f. In the Activations logs text box at the bottom of the screen, you can see
details about the deployment of the configuration template. If the
deployment has failed, the reason for the failure is displayed in the
Activation log.
Related concepts:
“Configuration templates” on page 204
“Configuration settings” on page 203
“The Automatically deploy feature” on page 206
“Configuration plans” on page 205
Related tasks:
“Creating configuration templates” on page 213
“Creating a configuration template from an existing one” on page 214
“Viewing configuration templates” on page 216
“Editing configuration templates” on page 217
“Adding configuration templates to a configuration plan” on page 218
“Viewing deployed targets”
“Exporting a configuration template” on page 221
“Importing a configuration template” on page 222
“Deleting configuration templates” on page 223
Navigating tables
Viewing deployed targets
You can view the devices and systems on which a configuration template has been
deployed, to determine where changes are required.
Note: For more information about navigating and working with tables in IBM
Systems Director Web interface, see “Table navigation in IBM Systems Director.”
To view the list of devices and systems on which a configuration template has
been deployed on, complete the following steps:
1. From the Configuration manager summary page, click View Configuration
Templates. The Configuration Templates page is displayed.
2. Select a configuration template.
3. Click Actions > View Deployed Targets. A list of devices and systems on
which the configuration template has been deployed is displayed.
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IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
Related concepts:
“Configuration templates” on page 204
“Configuration settings” on page 203
“The Automatically deploy feature” on page 206
“Configuration plans” on page 205
Related tasks:
“Creating configuration templates” on page 213
“Creating a configuration template from an existing one” on page 214
“Viewing configuration templates” on page 216
“Editing configuration templates” on page 217
“Adding configuration templates to a configuration plan” on page 218
“Deploying configuration templates” on page 219
“Exporting a configuration template”
“Importing a configuration template” on page 222
“Deleting configuration templates” on page 223
Navigating tables
Exporting a configuration template
A configuration template can be exported to an XML file on the local system.
Exporting is useful for moving a configuration template from one IBM Systems
Director system to another.
Note: For more information about navigating and working with tables in IBM
Systems Director Web interface, see “Table navigation in IBM Systems Director.”
To export a configuration template, complete the following steps:
1. From the Configuration manager summary page, click View Configuration
Templates. The Configuration templates page is displayed.
2. Select the configuration template that you want to export. Only one
configuration template can be exported to any given file.
3. Click Actions > Export.
4. Type the name of the file to receive the exported data.
5. Click Save.
Chapter 4. Configuring systems
221
Related concepts:
“Configuration templates” on page 204
“Configuration settings” on page 203
“The Automatically deploy feature” on page 206
“Configuration plans” on page 205
Related tasks:
“Creating configuration templates” on page 213
“Creating a configuration template from an existing one” on page 214
“Viewing configuration templates” on page 216
“Editing configuration templates” on page 217
“Adding configuration templates to a configuration plan” on page 218
“Deploying configuration templates” on page 219
“Viewing deployed targets” on page 220
“Deleting configuration templates” on page 223
“Importing a configuration template”
Navigating tables
Importing a configuration template
An XML file containing a configuration template can be imported to your list of
configuration templates.
Note: For more information about navigating and working with tables in IBM
Systems Director Web interface, see “Table navigation in IBM Systems Director.”
To import an XML file containing a configuration template, complete the following
steps:
1. From the Configuration manager summary page, click View Configuration
Templates. The Configuration templates page is displayed.
2. Click Actions > Import.
3. Select the XML file to be imported from the local system.
4. Click Open.
5. The information in the file is verified to ensure that it contains a valid
configuration template. If the configuration template is valid, it is added to the
Configuration templates page.
If there is already a configuration template with the same name as the one you are
trying to import, a message is displayed and the configuration template is not
imported. For the import to succeed, rename the existing configuration template.
If the configuration template being imported specifies <autoApply>true</
autoApply>, the template is appended to the end of the automatic deploy
sequence list for the relevant type after it is imported.
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Related concepts:
“Configuration templates” on page 204
“Configuration settings” on page 203
“The Automatically deploy feature” on page 206
“Configuration plans” on page 205
Related tasks:
“Creating configuration templates” on page 213
“Creating a configuration template from an existing one” on page 214
“Viewing configuration templates” on page 216
“Editing configuration templates” on page 217
“Adding configuration templates to a configuration plan” on page 218
“Deploying configuration templates” on page 219
“Viewing deployed targets” on page 220
“Deleting configuration templates”
“Exporting a configuration template” on page 221
Deleting configuration templates
You can delete those configuration templates that are no longer needed in order to
save space and prevent them from being used.
Note: For more information about navigating and working with tables in IBM
Systems Director Web interface, see “Table navigation in IBM Systems Director.”
To delete a configuration template, complete the following steps:
1. From the Configuration manager summary page, click View Configuration
Templates. The Configuration Templates page is displayed.
2. Select one or more configuration templates to delete.
3. Click Delete. A pop-up will prompt you to confirm the deletion.
4. Ensure that you have chosen the correct configuration templates to be deleted.
v Click OK to perform the delete.
v Click Cancel to cancel the delete.
If you delete a template that has automatic deploy enabled, it is removed from the
automatic deploy sequence list.
Chapter 4. Configuring systems
223
Related concepts:
“Configuration templates” on page 204
“Configuration settings” on page 203
“The Automatically deploy feature” on page 206
“Configuration plans” on page 205
Related tasks:
“Creating configuration templates” on page 213
“Creating a configuration template from an existing one” on page 214
“Viewing configuration templates” on page 216
“Editing configuration templates” on page 217
“Adding configuration templates to a configuration plan” on page 218
“Deploying configuration templates” on page 219
“Viewing deployed targets” on page 220
“Exporting a configuration template” on page 221
“Importing a configuration template” on page 222
“Deleting configuration templates” on page 223
Managing configuration plans
A configuration plan is used to configure hardware and operating systems.
Manage configuration plans by creating and updating them. They can be deployed
to a live system or set to be automatically deployed when a new system of
matching type is added.
Related concepts:
Configuration settings
Configuration templates
Configuration plans
The Automatically deploy feature
Predefined configuration plans
Related reference:
Configuration plans and templates
Creating configuration plans
A configuration plan consists of a set of configuration templates. Configuration
plans can also be used to automate, to an extent, the configuration process.
If you have not already done so, create configuration templates before creating a
configuration plan. You can also create configuration templates based on a target
resource when a list of these resources is displayed.
Note: For more information about navigating and working with tables in IBM
Systems Director Web interface, see “Table navigation in IBM Systems Director.”
To create a configuration plan, complete the following steps:
1. From the Configuration manager summary page, click Create a Configuration
Plan. The Configuration plans page is displayed.
2. Click Create. The Configuration Plan wizard starts.
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3. Optional: Clear Show this Welcome page next time if you do not want to see
the Welcome page the next time that this wizard starts.
4. Read the text on this page and click Next. The Name and Type page is
displayed.
5. Type a unique name for the new configuration plan in the Name field.
6. Type a description for the configuration plan in the Description field.
7. Select a target type for the configuration plan. The configuration templates in
the configuration plan must all be the same type. Only one type can be
selected.
8. Check Automatically deploy to indicate that this configuration plan is
automatically deployed whenever IBM Systems Director detects a new
resource of the same type. Only one configuration plan of any given type can
be designated to automatically deploy at any given time. If there is already a
configuration plan designated to automatically deploy, that plan will no
longer have that capability; instead, the new configuration plan will
automatically deploy. A message is issued in this situation.
Note: Because network templates do not support automatic deployment, the
automatic deploy button it is not available for network plans.
9. Click Next. The Configuration Templates page is displayed. This page is used
to select configuration templates to add to the plan. You can also add new
configuration templates based on a target resource.
10. Choose how you want to customize the Available table contents:
v Click Show existing templates to fill the table with all the existing
configuration templates.
v Click Show templates based on a target to choose a target system. Its
configuration settings will fill the table.
Click Browse if you would like more details about the choice of systems.
If you select this option, you must click Refresh after selecting the target
system, in order to display the list of available configuration templates for
that system.
v You can effectively use both features by clicking Show existing templates,
selecting some configuration templates, and adding them to the Selected
table. You then click Show templates based on a target, select configuration
templates from a target system, and add them to the Selected table.
You cannot change the values associated with an individual configuration
template while you are using this wizard.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Select each configuration template to be included in the configuration plan.
Click Add to move the configuration template to the Selected table.
Optional: Click Remove to delete configuration templates selected in error.
Select the order in which the configuration templates are to be deployed on a
target system when the configuration plan is deployed:
a. Select each configuration template whose order is to be changed.
b. Click Move Up or Move Down to change the order of the configuration
templates.
c. When the order is correct, click Next.
The Summary page is displayed.
15. Examine the information on this page.
v If you want to change information, click Back to return to the previous
page.
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v To return to a particular page to make corrections, click its entry in the
navigation pane.
v If all information on this page is correct, click Finish. The new
configuration plan will be created.
v To terminate the wizard without creating a new configuration plan, click
Cancel.
Related concepts:
Predefined configuration plans
The Automatically deploy feature
“Configuration settings” on page 203
“Configuration plans” on page 205
Related tasks:
Creating a configuration plan from an existing one
Deploying configuration plans
Viewing configuration plans
Viewing deployment history
Editing configuration plans
Exporting a configuration plan
Importing a configuration plan
Deleting configuration plans
Navigating tables
“Saving configuration settings to a configuration plan” on page 211
Related reference:
mkcfgplan command
Creating a configuration plan from an existing one
An existing configuration plan can be used as a model for creating a new one.
Note: For more information about navigating and working with tables in IBM
Systems Director Web interface, see “Table navigation in IBM Systems Director.”
To create a configuration plan with the same characteristics as an existing one,
complete the following steps. You can later edit this new configuration plan.
1. From the Configuration Manager Summary page, click Create a Configuration
Plan. The Configuration plans page is displayed.
2. Select one configuration plan to use as a model for the new configuration plan.
3. Click Create Like. The new configuration plan is created and added to the list.
The new name is the selected configuration plan's name with the prefix Copy of
appended.
4. The Configuration Plan wizard starts. Make any necessary changes.
5. Change the name of the newly-created plan.
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Related concepts:
Configuration plans
Predefined configuration plans
The Automatically deploy feature
Related tasks:
Creating configuration plans
Deploying configuration plans
Viewing configuration plans
Viewing deployment history
Editing configuration plans
Exporting a configuration plan
Importing a configuration plan
Deleting configuration plans
Navigating tables
Related reference:
mkcfgplan command
Deploying configuration plans
A configuration plan can be deployed on one or more systems.
Deploy a configuration plan on one or more systems from the Configuration Plan
page, or by using the automatically deploy feature. Configuration plans can also be
deployed using automation manager with an event action plan.
Note: For more information about navigating and working with tables in IBM
Systems Director Web interface, see “Table navigation in IBM Systems Director.”
To deploy a configuration plan on a target system, complete the following steps:
1. From the Configuration manager summary page, click View Configuration
Plans. The Configuration plans page is displayed.
2. Select the configuration plan.
3. Click Actions > Deploy. The Deploy Configuration Plans Job page is
displayed.
4. Select a system from the Available list. Use the Add and Remove buttons to
move items between the Available list and the Selected list.
5. Select as many systems as you want, and review the Selected list to ensure
accuracy.
6. Optional: Use the Browse button if you need information about the systems in
order to make your choice.
7. Click Next. The Schedule page is displayed.
8. Enter the job information.
9. Click OK when you are ready to run the job.
10. A message at the top of the Configuration Plans page indicates whether the
deploy task has completed. Click on Display Property to see the full status.
11. Optional: In order to see the log information about the deploy task, complete
these steps:
a. Click Display Property. The properties of the job are displayed.
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b. Click the Active and Scheduled jobs tab. The Active and Scheduled jobs
page is displayed.
c. View the job status in the General task section.
d. Click the Logs tab. A table of job logs is displayed.
e. Select the configuration plan deployment job, and right click on its name.
f. Click Show logs. A list of job logs is displayed.
g. In the Activations logs text box at the bottom of the screen, you can see
details about the deployment of the configuration plan. If the deployment
has failed, the reason for the failure is displayed in the Activation log.
Related concepts:
Configuration plans
The Automatically deploy feature
Related tasks:
Creating configuration plans
Creating a configuration plan from an existing one
Viewing configuration plans
Viewing deployment history
Editing configuration plans
Exporting a configuration plan
Importing a configuration plan
Deleting configuration plans
Navigating tables
Related reference:
mkcfgplan command
Viewing configuration plans
The properties of a configuration plan include the name, description, target type,
whether it can be automatically deployed, and dates and ID of users who created
and edited the configuration plan.
Note: For more information about navigating and working with tables in IBM
Systems Director Web interface, see “Table navigation in IBM Systems Director.”
To view a configuration plan, complete the following steps:
1. From the Configuration manager summary page, click View Configuration
Plans. The Configuration plans page is displayed.
2. Select the configuration plan whose information you wish to view.
3. Click Actions > Properties. A page containing the configuration plan's
properties is displayed.
4. Click Cancel when you are finished viewing the information.
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Related concepts:
“Configuration settings” on page 203
“Configuration plans” on page 205
“The Automatically deploy feature” on page 206
“Configuration templates” on page 204
Related tasks:
Creating configuration plans
Creating a configuration plan from an existing one
Deploying configuration plans
Viewing deployment history
Editing configuration plans
Exporting a configuration plan
Importing a configuration plan
Deleting configuration plans
Navigating tables
“Saving configuration settings to a configuration plan” on page 211
“Monitoring the deployment of configuration plans and configuration templates”
on page 207
Related reference:
lscfgplan command
Viewing deployment history
Follow these steps to view a list of the attempts to deploy configuration plans and
templates to a system. This option is only available on the context menu for a
system that has been discovered and unlocked. If no templates or plans have been
deployed to the system, this list is empty.
Note: For more information about navigating and working with tables in IBM
Systems Director Web interface, see “Table navigation in IBM Systems Director.”
1. From the Resource Explorer area, select a system that is not locked.
2. Click Actions > System Configuration > Deployment History. The
Deployment History page is displayed.
3. View the Type column to determine whether the attempt was an attempt to
deploy a configuration plan or an attempt to deploy a configuration template.
4. A list of the attempts to deploy a configuration plan or a configuration
template to the system is displayed. The date and time of the attempt, and the
status of the attempt, are also displayed. The most recent attempt is listed first.
5. When done, click Close.
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Related concepts:
Configuration plans
Configuration templates
The Automatically deploy feature
Related tasks:
Deploying configuration plans
Related reference:
lscfgplan command
Editing configuration plans
The attributes of a configuration plan can be changed after it is created.
Note: For more information about navigating and working with tables in IBM
Systems Director Web interface, see “Table navigation in IBM Systems Director.”
To edit a configuration plan, complete the following steps:
1. From the Configuration manager summary page, click View Configuration
Plans. The Configuration plans page is displayed.
2. Select the configuration plan to be edited.
3. Click Actions > Edit. The Configuration Plan wizard starts, using the existing
information about the configuration plan.
4. Proceed through the wizard making any necessary changes. This process is the
same as if you were creating a new configuration plan, except that you cannot
change the plan type.
Related concepts:
Configuration plans
Predefined configuration plans
The Automatically deploy feature
Related tasks:
Creating configuration plans
Creating a configuration plan from an existing one
Deploying configuration plans
Viewing configuration plans
Viewing deployment history
Exporting a configuration plan
Importing a configuration plan
Deleting configuration plans
Navigating tables
Exporting a configuration plan
A configuration plan can be exported to an XML file on the local system. This is
useful to move a configuration plan from one IBM Systems Director system to
another.
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Exporting a configuration plan will not export the contained configuration
templates. Only the names of the contained configuration templates will be listed
in the exported configuration plan. You will have to export the configuration
templates separately.
Note: For more information about navigating and working with tables in IBM
Systems Director Web interface, see “Table navigation in IBM Systems Director.”
To export a configuration plan, complete the following steps:
1. From the Configuration manager summary page, click View Configuration
Plans. The Configuration plans page is displayed.
2. Select the configuration plan that you want to export. Only one configuration
plan can be exported to any given file.
3. Click Actions > Export.
4. Type the name of the file to receive the exported data.
5. Click Save.
Related concepts:
Configuration plans
Related tasks:
Creating configuration plans
Creating a configuration plan from an existing one
Deploying configuration plans
Viewing configuration plans
Viewing deployment history
Editing configuration plans
Importing a configuration plan
Deleting configuration plans
Navigating tables
Related reference:
lscfgplan command
Importing a configuration plan
An XML file containing a configuration plan can be imported to your list of
configuration plans.
Note: For more information about navigating and working with tables in IBM
Systems Director Web interface, see “Table navigation in IBM Systems Director.”
To import and XML file containing a configuration plan, complete the following
steps:
1. From the Configuration manager summary page, click View Configuration
Plans. The Configuration plans page is displayed.
2. Click Actions > Import.
3. Select the XML file to be imported from the local system.
4. Click Open.
5. The information in the file is verified to ensure that it contains a valid
configuration plan. If so, it is added to the configuration plans page.
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If there is already a configuration plan with the same name as the one that you are
trying to import, a message is displayed and the configuration plan is not
imported. You are advised to rename the existing one in order for the import to
succeed.
The import of a configuration plan will not create the configuration templates
listed in the configuration plan file. The configuration plan import assumes that
the configuration templates listed in the plan are already present on the target
system. If a configuration template that is listed in the configuration plan file exists
in the database, it will be associated to the imported configuration plan.
Related concepts:
Configuration plans
Related tasks:
Creating configuration plans
Creating a configuration plan from an existing one
Deploying configuration plans
Viewing configuration plans
Viewing deployment history
Editing configuration plans
Exporting a configuration plan
Deleting configuration plans
Related reference:
mkcfgplan command
Deleting configuration plans
You can delete those configuration plans that are no longer needed, in order to
save space and prevent them from being used.
Note: For more information about navigating and working with tables in IBM
Systems Director Web interface, see “Table navigation in IBM Systems Director.”
Complete the following steps to delete a configuration plan:
1. From the Configuration manager summary page, click View Configuration
Plans. The Configuration plans page is displayed.
2. Select the configuration plans to be deleted.
3. Click Delete. A confirmation panel is displayed.
4. Ensure that you have chosen the correct configuration plans to be deleted.
v Click OK to perform the delete.
v Click Cancel to cancel the delete.
Deleting a configuration plan does not delete the configuration templates that are
included in that configuration plan.
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Related concepts:
Configuration plans
Related tasks:
Creating configuration plans
Creating a configuration plan from an existing one
Deploying configuration plans
Viewing configuration plans
Viewing deployment history
Editing configuration plans
Exporting a configuration plan
Importing a configuration plan
Deleting configuration templates
Navigating tables
Related reference:
rmcfgplan command
Managing activation keys by using Feature Activation Manager
Use the Feature Activation Manager to activate (or unlock) Features on Demand
options that are integrated in a managed resource. The feature is in the firmware
or software but is locked until you install the activation key. The Feature
Activation Manager consists of the Feature Activation Configuration page and the
Feature Activation wizard. Ensure that the resource that you want to configure
supports feature activation.
The Feature Activation Manager provides the capability to activate a feature on a
resource with a software key that is referred to as an activation key. For example,
when you purchase a server and a Features on Demand option, the activation key
can be installed on the server so that the Features on Demand function is ready for
you to use when you receive the server. Also, an available Features on Demand
option can be ordered anytime after your initial product purchase.
The feature is activated in one of the following ways:
v When you purchase a feature as part of a server or chassis order, the IBM
factory or IBM Business Partner enables the feature as part of the configuration
and testing of the server or chassis. You can begin using the feature when you
receive the server or chassis.
v When you purchase a Features on Demand option or upgrade that is separate
from the server or chassis order, you must complete the feature activation when
you install the option. In this case, an authorization code with instructions for
activating the feature is mailed to you.
v When you successfully retrieve an authorization code from the IBM Key
Management System Features on Demand web portal (https://www.ibm.com/
systems/x/fod/index.wss), an authorization code and instructions are contained
in a PDF that is e-mailed to you.
v When you already have the activation key, use the Feature Activation
Configuration wizard to upload the key.
An authorization code is a 22-character alphanumeric string that is the proof of
purchase and entitlement to upgrade one or more units with a particular feature.
The authorization code and instructions for requesting an activation key are on a
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printed document that is mailed to you. If you order directly from IBM, the
authorization code and instructions can also be sent to your email address.
To use the Feature Activation Configuration wizard to obtain, upload, install, or
activate keys, complete the following steps:
Note: Before viewing, installing, or adding feature activation keys for a switch, be
aware of the following Switch considerations.
1. On the Plug-ins tab of the Home page, click Configuration Templates under
Configuration Manager. On the Configuration Templates page, click Create.
2. In the Create window, select the Template type that you want to create, then
select (if available) Feature Activation Manager Configuration.
3. Type a Configuration template name, then click Continue. The Feature
Activation Configuration wizard is displayed.
4. Complete the Feature Activation Configuration wizard to add the activation
key for your resource.
Switch considerations:
v For switches that use either SNMPv1 or SNMPv2c, configure the Write
Community String.
v For switches that use SNMPv3, configure the feature key management privilege
for the specified user.
v For a IBM System Networking or a Mellanox switch, make sure to use the
Update Manager Configure settings task (on the System x and IBM BladeCenter
tab) to specify which server you want to use as the Trivial File Transfer Protocol
(TFTP) server. The TFTP server is used to inventory or install feature activation
keys on the switch.
Use the Feature Activation Configuration page to view information about installed
feature activation keys, add and remove keys, and reboot the specified device on
which a feature activation key is installed or removed. To access the Feature
Activation Configuration page, right-click the resource that you want to examine,
then select System Configuration > Configuration Settings > Feature Activation
Manager.
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Chapter 5. Monitoring system status and health
IBM Systems Director provides a set of tools that you can use to monitor and
manage the status and health of resources in your environment from a single
interface.
Related tasks:
Automating tasks
Related reference:
System status and health troubleshooting
System status and health
IBM Systems Director automatically retrieves and displays the status of systems
that have been discovered. You can display this information using one of the
System Status and Health tasks, by navigating to a specific resource in IBM
Systems Director, or by using the command-line interface.
Use this topic to learn about the following:
v “About system status and health”
v
v
v
v
“Working with system status and health”
“System status and health summary” on page 236
“System status and health tasks” on page 236
“Viewing older events” on page 238
About system status and health
Before you can view the status of any resources, IBM Systems Director must first
discover and be able to access those resources. After a system has been discovered,
IBM Systems Director automatically monitors the system and its resources.
The status of an entire system reflects the status of the component on the system
that has the most severe status. For example, if a component within a system has a
status of critical, the entire system will have a status of critical, even if the critically
impacted component is not critical to the system.
IBM Systems Director provides several tools and views to monitor and manage the
resources within your environment. See the section ““System status and health
summary” on page 236 for details.”
Working with system status and health
The approach you use to manage resources depends on how you prefer to view
them and what you are looking for when checking their statuses. Examples of
approaches that you can use for different situations are as follows:
v After connecting a new hardware device to your network, you might want to
check the status of the hardware. Rather than navigate to the Health Summary
page, you can drill down from the Resource Explorer page and navigate directly
to the new hardware to view its status.
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235
v If there is a problem with your network and you do not know the resource that
is causing the problem, it might be quickest to navigate to the Health Summary
page to identify the problem areas and drill down to the resources that are
causing the problem.
System status and health summary
There are several ways to view the system status and health summary:
Banner
The banner on the upper-right of the IBM Systems Director web interface
displays this information for all Systems Director managed systems:
v The total number of “critical”, “warning”, or “minor” health status
issues
v The total number of “out of compliance” issues
System Status and Health > Scoreboard
The scoreboard displays the total number of endpoints with active problem
reported. This total includes the following:
v The number of Systems Director managed systems with active problems
reported.
v The number of Systems Director managed systems that are not in
compliance with their configured compliance policies.
System Status and Health > Active Status
The 'Active Status' page displays all active events reported on Systems
Director managed systems. The table lists “information” events and
compliance events as well as “critical” and “warning” issues. Therefore, the
number of entries in the Active Status table can be greater than the number
of problems listed on the banner count.
Problems (Active Status)
The Problems (Active Status) table lists all active “critical”, “warning”, or
“minor” events reported on Systems Director managed systems. The
banner count should match this count.
Power Systems Management
This page lists the number of Systems Director managed IBM Power
resources with “critical”, “warning”, or “informational” events. This
number includes the endpoints on which all or some alerts have been
ignored.
System status and health tasks
The System Status and Health tasks simplify your work as a system administrator
by providing consolidated views of the health and status of your entire
environment. Specifically, the Health Summary task displays information about the
resources that IBM Systems Director has discovered. You can customize the content
that is displayed on the System Status and Health pages with information that is
specific to your business processes and organizational structure. In addition, you
can view detailed real-time data by adding monitors to the dashboard.
Use the System Status and Health tasks to perform the following functions:
v Determine the health and performance of resources in your environment.
v Identify the causes behind changes in the health of a resource.
v Display charts that indicate real-time usage data for resources.
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v Set thresholds to quickly determine whether the resources are in an abnormal
state.
v Run tasks on resources in response to status changes or system management
needs.
v Take action to resolve issues for resources.
v Launch the event log viewer.
Use the following System Status and Health tasks to view the system's status:
Performance Summary
The Performance Summary task displays available monitors with which
you can examine the servers, virtual servers, or operating systems that you
specify. Use this page to dynamically view, monitor, and work with
processor pools, memory pools, networks, and other critical areas of your
environment.
Health Summary
The Health Summary task displays several resource-monitoring tools on a
single page. Together, these tools provide a single, consolidated interface
with which you can quickly view the status of important areas of your
environment, monitor critical resources, and view the contents of
user-defined health summary groups.
Monitors
The Monitors task provides the tools that you need to retrieve real-time
status and quantitative data for specific properties and attributes of
resources in your environment. You can also set thresholds for the
monitors, graph the data that monitors retrieve, and drill down to quickly
view the status of resources for each system and the name of the monitor
so that you can view its properties.
Thresholds
The Thresholds task offers a consolidated view of all the thresholds that
you have created to monitor the dynamic properties of your resource. This
task saves you from searching for them all in the Monitors task.
Problems
The Problems task lists only those elevated status set entries that are
problem status set entries that have been reported to IBM Systems Director
Server. The data listed here is a subset of what is listed on the Active
Status page. From the Problems page, you can navigate to, display, and
manage these status set entries. You can also ignore entries to prevent IBM
Systems Director Server from collecting them or delete the entries to
remove them from the list until they occur again.
Active Status
The Active Status task lists all of the status set entries, including problems
and compliance issues, that have been reported to IBM Systems Director
Server. From the Active Status page, you can navigate to, display, and
manage these status set entries. You can also ignore entries to prevent IBM
Systems Director Server from collecting them or delete the entries to
remove them from the list until they occur again.
Event Log
An event is an occurrence of significance to a task or resource. Examples of
events include operation completion, hardware component failure, or a
processor threshold being exceeded. The Event Log task displays all events
that the management server receives from any resource for which you can
view events.
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SNMP Browser
The SNMP Browser task enables you to display, inspect, and perform
certain actions on SNMP-compliant resources, including selecting the
targets on which an SNMP job will run.
Viewing older events
In System Settings, you can specify how many events to keep in the event log.
When the event log is full and a new event is received, the oldest event is moved
to the backup event log. When the backup event log is full, a new one is created.
The old one might be deleted, depending on the backup event log preferences.
To view events in the backup event log, open data/eventLogBackup_n.log, where n
is incremented every time a new backup event log file is created.
See “Changing backup event log preferences” for more information.
Related tasks:
Changing backup event log preferences
Viewing the status manager summary
You can view a summary of the current activity that is associated with status,
including the status of the systems in your environment, the number of recordings
and thresholds, and detailed status. The information on the summary page
refreshes automatically when there are any changes.
To view the status manager summary, complete the following steps:
1. On the Home page, click the Plug-ins tab. A list of available summary pages is
displayed.
2. On the Plug-ins tab, select Status manager. The status manager summary is
displayed.
3. View the Status section. This section provides the following information:
There are four status categories, represented by icons:
v A pie chart and corresponding list that indicates the number of systems that
fall into each of the following four status categories:
Critical
Warning
Informational
OK
Click any of the category list items to see a breakdown of the systems in that
category.
v In the Status tasks area, the following links are provided:
Health summary
Use the Health Summary page to quickly view the status of
important areas of your environment, monitor critical resources, and
view the contents of user-defined health summary groups.
View problems
Use the Problems page to view the elevated status for categories that
are part of the problems composite category and ignore or delete the
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entries. The problems composite category includes all categories,
such as hardware status and threshold status, except compliance and
LED.
View active and ignored status
Use the Active Status page to view all status set entries for resources
in your environment and ignore or delete the entries.
Groups by status
Use the Groups by status page to view a list of groups that represent
resources grouped by status.
4. View the Management section. This section provides the following information:
v The number of thresholds that are active and not active. Click the link to
view the Thresholds page
v In the Common tasks area, the following links are provided:
Monitors
Use the Monitors page to create and work with monitors.
Thresholds
Use the Thresholds page to work with thresholds.
Event log
Use the Event Log page to view events according to filters that you
select.
Viewing the performance summary
Use the Performance Summary task to examine performance information selected
from available monitors for the resources that you specify.
Selecting the target resources populates the rows of Performance Summary table.
The available monitors for each target resource determine the columns (attributes)
that you can display.
The Performance Summary page displays multiple pages. Which pages display
depends on your IBM Systems Director installation. A base installation displays at
least a Processor page and a Memory page.
To view performance information for a target resource, complete the following
steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, expand System
Status and Health, then click Performance Summary.
2. Specify one or more target resources (servers, virtual servers, or operating
systems) for which you want to examine the performance information. Click
Browse if you want to search for a resource. The Performance Summary table
is created and populated with the targets that you specified.
3. Specify the type of performance information that you want to display in each
column. Each column represents an attribute reported by an available monitor.
a. Click Select Column Monitors
b. In the Columns window, select one or more entries from the Available
Columns list, then click Add to move them to the Selected Columns list.
c. If you want, select one or more entries from the Selected Columns list, then
click Remove to remove them from the list.
d. Click OK to save your changes.
The updated table displays performance data in the columns that you specified.
4. One way to work with the table entries is to right-click a target, then select
Column Monitors to choose a monitor that you want to use.
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5. Select the performance data that you want to examine, then select how you
want to interact with the data:
a. Select Activate Threshold to display the Threshold page, where you specify
how to activate the threshold.
b. Select Graph to display the Graph page, where you can view a graphical
rendering of the data.
c. Select Add To Dashboard to add a graphical rendering of the data to your
dashboard. Specify a name for the monitor view and select the type of
graph that you want to display.
Related concepts:
Dashboard
Related tasks:
Managing monitors
Activating a threshold
Working with tables
Using the Health Summary task to view the status of your environment
The Health Summary task displays several resource-monitoring tools on a single
page. Together, these tools provide a single, consolidated interface with which you
can quickly view the status of important areas of your environment, monitor
critical resources, and view the contents of user-defined health summary groups.
Before you can view the status of any resources, IBM Systems Director must first
discover and be able to access those resources.
IBM Systems Director provides multiple ways to check the status of a specific
resource in your environment. Use the Health Summary page to see a consolidated
view of the health and status of your system resources, storage resources, and
thresholds. These indicators help to identify areas within your environment that
might have problems or issues that you need to resolve. You can view the status of
several resources and quickly view details for those resources that are causing a
problem.
The Health Summary page contains the following sections:
v Scoreboard
v Dashboard
v Health Summary
By displaying a consolidated view of the health of your systems, storage resources,
and thresholds, these panels provide the information and tools that you can use to
monitor and manage systems and resources across multiple platforms from a
single interface.
Note: You are not required to first collect inventory for a resource for it to be
displayed on the Health Summary page.
The health summary task provides the following functions:
v Retrieves and displays the status and health of resources that you specify.
v Displays charts that indicate real-time data for resources and thresholds.
To view the status and health of your environment resources from the centralized
location of the Health Summary page, complete the following steps:
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1. On the Home page, click the Plug-ins tab. A list of available summary pages is
displayed.
2. On the Plug-ins tab, click Health Summary under Status manager.
3. Choose an item and drill down to view its details.
Related tasks:
Finding systems and other resources
Managing groups
Scoreboard
The scoreboard displays a table in which each row represents an area or category
of information. Each element of the table, including column headers, row headers,
and cell data, is potentially clickable and displays specific data. Each column
header in the scoreboard identifies a severity status associated with the
corresponding categories. At the intersection of each row and column is a number
that represents the number of resources that adhere to the conditions of both the
row and the column that intersect. Each resource is counted only once, regardless
of the number of issues it has. Clicking the number displays the resources. Only
the systems to which you have access are displayed on the scoreboard.
The scoreboard displays the status of important areas of your environment by
using three severity levels; critical, warning, and informational. A system that
reports multiple severities is always grouped under the highest severity. For
example, if a system has both critical and warning events, it is shown under
critical and is not listed under warning. From the totals, icons, and category names
in the scoreboard, you can drill down to view various details about the systems
that are reporting system health and performance issues.
In order for IBM Systems Director to monitor the vital signs related to the health
and performance of a target system, the target system must have Common Agent
or Platform Agent installed on it. Agentless managed systems are also counted if
they are configured to report performance issues and if they have one of the
following protocols installed:
v Secure shell (ssh)
v Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM), an extension of the Microsoft
Component Object Model (COM) to support objects distributed across a
network.
v Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
Examples of agentless-managed systems are management modules and Remote
Supervisor Adapters (RSAs).
By default, IBM Systems Director counts and displays the totals for the following
status categories:
Compliance
Identifies software-update and compliance-related status issues. The
compliance status category is populated only when a compliance policy is
re-validated due to a variety of different events.
Problems
Includes all types of issues including hardware, software, inventory, and
power-related status issues.
LED Status
Identifies the aggregate state of all hardware LEDs. Each LED identifies the
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state of a related hardware component. LED status is updated when any
hardware LED changes. For example, if there is a CPU LED fault, then the
CPU LED is lit and LED status is “Critical”.
Dashboard
The Dashboard section of the Health Summary page displays a real-time, graphical
representation of resource status based on the measurable properties for the
resource that you have set. You can display this data in various formats to help
monitor resources. Use the Monitors task to add items to the dashboard.
To display information in the dashboard, you must first set up and configure the
monitors to indicate the information that you want retrieved. By default, the
dashboard is initially empty. To add charts to the dashboard, you must use the
Monitors task to display existing monitors and target systems. From the Monitors
page, you can find the appropriate monitors and then add them to the dashboard.
You can add only one monitor to the dashboard for each graph. Additionally, you
can add only bar and line graphs for group monitor thumbnails in the dashboard.
Health summary
The Health Summary section of the Health Summary page displays selected
resources that you have chosen to watch closely. With this section, you can quickly
view and monitor the resources that are most important to you. You can perform
actions on a resource by using the Actions menu. You can also drill down to
display the properties and other details for each resource. To display information
in the health summary, you must first set up and configure the groups that you
want to display.
To view the health summary, expand System Status and Health in the IBM
Systems Director Web interface navigation pane and click Health Summary. The
scoreboard, dashboard, and health summary display the status and health of your
environment.
The Favorites group and the Systems with Problems group both appear in the
health summary by default. You can add or remove groups of resources from the
health summary. You can also create new health summary groups.
After you have discovered applicable resources, use the Health Summary Group
Editor wizard to add the most important or critical systems in your environment to
a health summary group. After a health summary group has been created, you can
add the group to the health summary.
Using the scoreboard to identify issues
From the Health Summary page, you can select items in the scoreboard and drill
down to details that help locate and identify issues within your environment.
The scoreboard counts and then displays only those systems that have been
discovered and are accessible, and have reached a critical, warning, or
informational level. Before you can view the status of any resources, IBM Systems
Director must first discover and be able to access those resources.
The scoreboard is a table that comprises columns, rows, and individual totals in
cells. You can drill down from the icons (column headers), category names (row
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headers), or totals (in the cells) to view various details about the systems that are
reporting system health and performance issues.
Totals If you click a totals number in the scoreboard, you are presented with a list
of entries that contains the number of systems in the list equal to the
number on which you clicked. For example, if two systems in your
environment have a combined total of five critical problems, the number 2
is displayed in the scoreboard to represent those two systems. When you
click the 2, you see all five critical problems.
Icons
When there is a number in the scoreboard, the severity icon above that
number becomes a clickable link. When selected, the link displays all the
entries with that severity from every category. For example, if two systems
in your environment have five critical problems and three critical
compliance issues between them, the number 2 is displayed under the
Critical icon for the Problems category and the number 2 is displayed
under the Critical icon for the Compliance category. The Critical icon at the
top of the scoreboard is enabled. If you click the Critical icon, you are
presented with a list of eight items: five critical problems and three critical
updates.
Categories
When there is a number in the scoreboard for a category, that category
name in the scoreboard becomes a clickable link. When selected, the link
brings up all the entries for all severities for that category. For example, if
two systems have five critical problems, four other systems have a total of
four warning problems, and one other system has one informational
problem, then there are three numbers in the scoreboard for the Problems
category: 2, 4, and 1, which represent numbers of systems with each type
of problem. When you click the Problems category, you see a list of ten
items, which are all the problems across all the systems.
Note: If there are no resources with a particular status for a category, the
intersecting cell will display a hyphen (-) instead of a number.
To use the scoreboard to identify problems, complete the following steps:
1. On the Home page, click the Plug-ins tab. A list of available summary pages is
displayed.
2. On the Plug-ins tab, click Health Summary under Status manager. The
scoreboard, dashboard, and health summary display the status and health of
your environment.
3. In the scoreboard, select one of the following filtering methods:
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Table 19. Filtering methods
To do this task:
Complete these steps:
Filter based on severity status
In the scoreboard, click the icon for one of
the following severity status values:
Critical A system that has generated an
event with a severity of 0 or 1 is
the most severe and is identified in
IBM Systems Director as being in a
critical state. These systems have
already lost or will imminently lose
data, have had system downtime,
or are on the verge of losing some
other services. Leaving the problem
uncorrected might have an impact
on system operation.
Warning
A system that has generated an
event with a severity of 2 or 3 is
identified in IBM Systems Director
as being in a warning state. These
systems can escalate to a critical
state if left uncorrected. Leaving the
problem uncorrected might not
have an impact on system
operation, so normal use of the
system can probably continue.
Informational
A system that has generated an
event with a severity of 4 is
identified in IBM Systems Director
as being in an informational state.
These systems are operating
normally and typically, so no action
is required.
Note: A system that has generated an event
with a severity of 5 is in an unknown state.
The unknown state is not included in most
IBM Systems Director tasks.
The resources with the selected severity
level are displayed in the Resource Explorer
table.
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Filter based on type of issue
In the scoreboard, click one of the listed
categories. The resources with the selected
issue type are displayed in the Resource
Explorer table.
Filter based on both status and issue
Click the number in the scoreboard that
corresponds to the severity level and the
type of issue that you want to be displayed.
For example, if two systems have critical
problems, the number 2 would be displayed
under the critical icon on the Problems
category. If you click that number, those
resources with a critical severity level for the
problems type of issue are displayed.
IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
4. Navigate to the resource that you want to view and click it to view its
subsystems or related resources. The number of pages and the types of
information that these subsystems or related resources include vary depending
on the resource.
5. Click through the pages until you find the resource that has caused the
problem.
Related concepts:
System severity states
Adding a graphical monitor to the dashboard
Monitors are dynamic in nature and can be easily monitored graphically by
configuring IBM Systems Director to display the information. When you select
Add to Dashboard for an individual monitor on the Monitors page, a graphical
representation of that monitor is added to the dashboard.
Before you can display any graphical monitors on the dashboard, IBM Systems
Director must first discover the systems that you want to monitor. After you have
discovered the applicable systems, you can add them to a group. You can then add
individual monitors to the dashboard.
To configure the dashboard to display the monitors you want, complete the
following steps:
1. On the Home page, click the Plug-ins tab. A list of available summary pages is
displayed.
2. On the Plug-ins tab, click Health Summary under Status manager.
3. In the dashboard, click Show Monitors. The Monitors page is displayed.
4. To select one or more target resources, click Browse. The Context Chooser is
displayed.
5. Use the Context Chooser to add one or more resources or groups of resources
as a target:
a. To add a group, select the group that you want to add as a target. To add a
single resource, drill down from the group that includes the resource that
you want to add and select the resource.
b. Click Add.
c. Continue selecting groups or resources as needed.
d. When you are finished adding targets, click OK.
6. From the Monitor selection page, select the monitor view that you want to be
displayed for the targets that you selected.
7. Click Show Monitors. The Monitor View page listing monitors for the targets
that you selected is displayed.
8. Right-click the monitor that you want to be displayed on the dashboard and
select Add to dashboard.
After adding a monitor to the health summary, navigate to the Health Summary
page to verify that the monitor is displayed in the dashboard.
Removing a graphical monitor from the dashboard
From the Health Summary page, you can remove charts from the dashboard.
To remove a chart from the dashboard, complete the following steps:
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1. On the Home page, click the Plug-ins tab. A list of available summary pages is
displayed.
2. On the Plug-ins tab, click Health Summary under Status manager.
3. In the dashboard, right-click the title of the chart that you want to remove and
click Remove.
Adding systems to the health summary
The health summary displays selected systems that you have chosen to watch
closely. Use this panel to quickly view and monitor the systems that are most
important to you.
By default, the health summary displays the status of systems that belong to the
health summary favorites group and the Systems with Problems group. To add
additional systems to the health summary, choose one of the following methods:
v Add additional systems to the health summary favorites group.
v Add additional systems to another group and add that group to the health
summary using either the Resource Explorer task or the Actions menu in the
health summary.
Using the health summary favorites group to add and remove
systems in the health summary
Use the Health Summary task to add and remove systems in the favorites group
and display them in the health summary.
Before you can add or remove a system from the health summary favorites group,
IBM Systems Director must discover that system.
By default, the health summary displays the status of systems that belong to the
health summary favorites group.
Note: The health summary also displays the Systems with Problems group by
default.
To add or remove systems in the health summary favorites group to be displayed
in the health summary, complete the following steps:
1. On the Home page, click the Plug-ins tab. A list of available summary pages is
displayed.
2. On the Plug-ins tab, click Health Summary under Status manager. The
scoreboard, dashboard, and health summary display the status and health of
your environment.
3. In the health summary, right-click Favorites and select Edit. The Group Editor
Wizard opens and the Welcome page is displayed.
4. Click Next. The Name page is displayed and the Name and Description fields
are filled out for your favorites group.
5. Leave the Name and Description fields as they are and click Next. The Type
page is displayed. You cannot change any values on this page.
6. Click Next. The Define page is displayed.
7. To add systems to the group, select the systems or criteria in the list on the
left and click Add.
8. To remove systems from the group, select the systems or criteria in the list on
the right and click Remove.
9. Continue modifying resources or criteria as needed.
10. Click Next. The Summary page is displayed.
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11. Click Finish.
Using the Actions menu to add systems to the health summary
Use the Actions menu on the health summary to add any group to the health
summary.
To add a group to the health summary using the Actions menu on the health
summary, complete the following steps:
1. On the Home page, click the Plug-ins tab. A list of available summary pages is
displayed.
2. On the Plug-ins tab, click Health Summary under Status manager. The
scoreboard, dashboard, and health summary display the status and health of
your environment.
3. In the health summary, click Actions > Edit. The Group Editor wizard opens.
4. In the Name field, type a descriptive name of the health summary group that
you want to create.
5. In the Description field, type a brief description for the group.
6. Click Next. The Type page is displayed.
7. In the Type list, select one of the following options:
Static
Static groups contain a specified list of systems. The members of a
static group are fixed unless you change them.
Dynamic
Dynamic groups are based on specified system criteria. IBM Systems
Director prompts you to specify the criteria that the system attributes
and properties must match. Then, when system attributes or system
properties change, its match to the group criteria changes and IBM
Systems Director automatically adds or removes the system to or from
the group.
8. In the Member list, select the type of members to add to the group.
9. Click Next.
10. In the left area, select the resources or criteria to use for the group, and click
Add.
11. Continue adding resources or criteria as needed.
12. Click Finish.
After adding a group to the health summary, navigate to the Health Summary
page to verify that the group is displayed. You can configure the columns that are
displayed in the health summary to make it easy to quickly identify the status of
the resources that you are monitoring. As a best practice, ensure that the columns
that are related to health and status are always displayed in the health summary.
Using Resource Explorer to add systems to the health summary
Use the Resource Explorer task to select the resource groups that you want to be
displayed on the health summary.
To add a resource group to the health summary, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Resource
Explorer.
2. Navigate to the group that you want to add to the health summary.
Note: If the group that you want to add does not exist, create it.
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3. From the Resource Explorer table, right-click the group that you want to add to
the Health Summary page and select Add to > Health Summary. The Navigate
Resources table is displayed.
Note: If you right-click a system instead of a group, you can add that system
to either the Favorites group or another group of your choosing. Adding the
system to the favorites group will automatically add it to the health summary.
However, if you add the system to another group of your choosing, ensure that
that group is added to the health summary if you want the system to appear
there.
After adding a group to the health summary, navigate to the Health Summary
page to verify that the group is displayed.
Removing a group from the health summary
The health summary displays the status of systems that belong to the health
summary favorites group and other groups that you have added to it. You can use
the Health Summary task to remove a group from the health summary.
To remove a group from the health summary, complete the following steps:
1. On the Home page, click the Plug-ins tab. A list of available summary pages is
displayed.
2. On the Plug-ins tab, click Health Summary under Status manager. The
scoreboard, dashboard, and health summary display the status and health of
your environment.
3. In the health summary, right-click the group that you want to remove and click
Remove. A confirmation message is displayed.
4. Click Remove. The group is removed.
Using Resource Explorer to view the status of a specific resource
Use Resource Explorer when you want to view the status of only one resource and
you know exactly which resource it is. Using the Resource Explorer task, you can
navigate to a specific resource and drill down to view detailed status information.
Before you can view the status of any resources, IBM Systems Director must first
discover and be able to access those resources.
To view the status of a specific resource using the Resource Explorer task in IBM
Systems Director, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation pane, click Resource
Explorer.
Note: If you know the name of the resource that you want to view, use the
Find a Resource task to navigate to it even more quickly.
2. In the Groups column, click the type of resource that you want to find.
3. Click the name of the resource you want to view. The table displays the state,
problems, and compliance status of the resource.
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Related tasks:
Finding systems and other resources
Managing groups
Scenarios: Using custom monitor views, thresholds, and event
automation plans
These example scenarios illustrate ways to use monitors, thresholds, and event
automation plans to report when important or critical disk drive conditions occur.
Each scenario creates a custom a monitor view, activates thresholds for the
monitors in the view, and uses the view and thresholds in an event automation
plan. When reported by the automation plan, the results from each example
indicate the affected disk drives by the letter name given to them on the system.
The scenarios do not specify which action the automation plan automatically
performs, but possible actions include notifying an administrator by phone or
email or running a remote command to correct the reported condition.
Scenario: Using a custom monitor view in an event
automation plan to report disk data by using drive letter
names
This example scenario describes how to create a monitor view and use that
monitor view in an event automation plan. The scenario assumes that you want to
create an event automation plan that monitors the percentage of disk drive space
used by specific disk drives. Additionally, the event automation plan must report
information about the disk drives by using the letter names given to the drives on
the system.
All tasks for this scenario occur within the IBM Systems Director Web interface, so
the scenario assumes some familiarity with browsing the interface and using it to
perform tasks. Also, each of the following steps describes only one way to perform
the action, even if an alternative method exists.
For this scenario, the letter names for the disk drives to monitor are drive c, drive
d, and drive e.
To create a custom monitor view for disk drives and use it within an event
automation plan, perform the following steps:
1. Select the resources that you want to monitor:
a. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Navigate
Resources.
b. Drill down to select the resources that you want to monitor, and select
them.
c. Click Actions > System Status and Health > Monitors. If System Status
and Health > Monitors is not a choice available to you, one or more of the
resources you selected are not eligible for monitoring. Make sure to select
only resources that can be monitored.
The Monitors task is displayed with the systems that you specified in step 1b
already selected.
2. Start creating a monitor view by clicking Actions > Create. The Create View
page is displayed.
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3. On the Create View page, in the Name field, type a name for the monitor
group that you are creating.
4. From the Show list, select Selected Resources.
5. Select the monitors for the individual disk drives that you want to monitor:
a. In the Selected Resources table, select SystemName > Director Agent >
Disk Monitors, where SystemName is the name of the system that contains
disk drives that you want to monitor. Monitor information for the disk
drives is displayed.
b. In the Selected Resources table, select the monitors that you want to
include in this monitor group. For example, select Drive C: % Space Used,
Drive D: % Space Used, and Drive E: % Space Used.
c. After selecting the monitors, click Add to add them to the monitor group,
then click OK.
Note: If you want to monitor drives on more than one system, for each system
that contains drives that you want to monitor, repeat step 5a through step 5c.
The Monitors page is displayed, and the Monitor Views table includes the
monitor view that you created.
6. Click the name of the monitor view that you created. The Monitor View page is
displayed.
7. Activate thresholds for the monitors. For each monitor for which you want to
create a threshold, perform the following actions:
a. Right-click the name of the monitor, then select Activate Threshold. The
Threshold page is displayed.
a. On the Threshold page, specify the threshold values and options that you
want to use, then click OK. The Monitor View page is displayed, and the
table shows that the new thresholds are active.
8. Create an event filter to be activated by the thresholds that you created
previously:
a. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click
Automation > Event Filters. The Event Filters page is displayed.
b. Click Create to create the filter. The Create Event Filter wizard is displayed.
c. On the Welcome page, click Next. The Filter Name page is displayed.
d. On the Filter Name page, type the name you want to give this event filter,
then click Next. The Filter Type page is displayed.
e. On the Filter Type page, select a filter type of Threshold event filter, then
click Next. The Event Type page is displayed.
f. On the Event Type page, select an event type of Custom. This scenario
assumes that the event filter does not include IBM i message queue events.
g. In the Event Types table, click Director > Director Agent (Component
Category) > Disk Monitors. The Event Types table displays the disk drive
event types.
h. Click the appropriate disk drive event component category, for example,
Drive C: % Space Used (Component Category). The Event Types table
displays thresholds for the specified disk drive.
i. Select the thresholds that you want to activate the event filter, click Add.
j. After you add all the necessary thresholds, click Next.
k. On all subsequent pages (until the Summary page is displayed), accept the
default values or specify the values that you want to use, then click Next.
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l. On the Summary page, review the settings for the event filter. Click Back if
you want to change any settings. When you are satisfied with the settings,
click Finish to create the event filter.
9. Create the event automation plan that uses the event filter you created in the
previous step:
a. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click
Automation > Event Automation Plans. The Event Automation Plans page
is displayed.
b. Click Create to create the event automation plan. The Create Event
Automation Plan wizard is displayed.
c. On the Welcome page, click Next. The Name and Description page is
displayed.
d. On the Name and Description page, type a name for the event automation
plan, then click Next. The Targets page is displayed.
e. On the Targets page, use the Show list and the Available table to select the
target systems that you want to be affected by the event automation plan.
For each target system that you select, click Add.
f. After you add all the targets, click Next. The Events page is displayed.
g. On the Events page, from the Events list, select Advanced Event Filters.
The Event Filters table is displayed.
h. From the Event Filters table, select the event filter that you created
previously, then click Next. The Event Actions page is displayed.
i. On the Event Actions page, select one or more event actions that you want
to occur when this event automation plan is triggered, then click Next. The
Time Range page is displayed.
j. On the Time Range page, specify the time range that determines when the
event automation plan is active, then click Next. The Summary page is
displayed.
k. On the Summary page, review the settings for the event automation plan.
Click Back if you want to change any settings. When you are satisfied with
the settings, click Finish to create the event automation plan.
When triggered, the event automation plan reports the percentage of space used on
the disk drives, which it identifies by the associated letter names.
Scenario: Using a custom monitor view in an event
automation plan to report cluster drive data using drive letter
names
This example scenario describes how to create a monitor view and use that
monitor view in an event automation plan. The scenario assumes that you want to
create an event automation plan that monitors the percentage of disk drive space
used on specific cluster drives. Additionally, the event automation plan must
report information about the disk drives by using the letter names given to the
drives on the system.
All tasks for this scenario occur within the IBM Systems Director Web interface, so
the scenario assumes some familiarity with browsing the interface and using it to
perform tasks. Also, each of the following steps describes only one way to perform
the action, even if an alternative method exists.
For this scenario, the letter names for the cluster drives to monitor are drive m and
drive n.
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To create a custom monitor view for cluster drives and use it within an event
automation plan, perform the following steps:
1. Select the resources that you want to monitor:
a. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Resource
Explorer.
b. Drill down to select the resources that have the cluster drives that you want
to monitor, and select them.
c. Click Actions > System Status and Health > Monitors. If System Status
and Health > Monitors is not a choice available to you, one or more of the
resources you selected are not eligible for monitoring. Make sure to select
only resources that can be monitored.
The Monitors task is displayed with the systems that you specified in step 1b
already selected.
2. Start creating a monitor view by clicking Actions > Create. The Create View
page is displayed.
3. On the Create View page, in the Name field, type a name for the monitor
group that you are creating.
4. From the Show list, select Selected Resources.
5. Select the monitors for the individual cluster drives that you want to monitor:
a. In the Selected Resources table, select SystemName > Director Agent >
Windows Performance Monitors > LogicalDisk > DriveName, where
v SystemName is the name of the system that contains the cluster drives
v DriveName is the letter name of the cluster drive that you want to
monitor
Monitor information for the cluster drive is displayed.
b. In the Selected Resources table, select the monitors that you want to
include in this monitor group. In this scenario, the monitor must report the
percentage of disk space used, but no available monitor for that
measurement exists. Select % Free Space, for which a threshold can be set
to report the percentage used.
c. After selecting the monitor, click Add to add it to the monitor group, then
click OK.
Note: If you want to monitor drives on more than one system, for each system
that contains drives that you want to monitor, repeat step 5a through step 5c.
The Monitors page is displayed, and the Monitor Views table includes the
monitor view that you created.
6. Click the name of the monitor view that you created. The Monitor View page is
displayed.
7. Activate thresholds for the monitors. For each monitor for which you want to
create a threshold, perform the following actions:
a. Right-click the name of the monitor, then select Activate Threshold. The
Threshold page is displayed.
b. On the Threshold page, specify the threshold values and options that you
want to use, then click OK.
Tip: In this scenario, the maximum threshold value must be a high value of
75% or more disk space used. The monitor reports only the percentage of
free space. To report when the disk has 75% or more disk space used, the
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threshold must be set for a low value of 25% or less free disk space.
The Monitor View page is displayed, and the table shows that the new
thresholds are active.
8. Create an event filter to be activated by the thresholds that you created
previously:
a. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click
Automation > Event Filters. The Event Filters page is displayed.
b. Click Create to create the filter. The Create Event Filter wizard is displayed.
c. On the Welcome page, click Next. The Filter Name page is displayed.
d. On the Filter Name page, type the name you want to give this event filter,
then click Next. The Filter Type page is displayed.
e. On the Filter Type page, select a filter type of Threshold event filter, then
click Next. The Event Type page is displayed.
f. On the Event Type page, select an event type of Custom. This scenario
assumes that the event filter does not include IBM i message queue events.
g. In the Event Types table, click Director > Director Agent (Component
Category) > Windows Performance Monitors > Logicaldisk > DriveName
> % Free Space (Component Category), where DriveName is the name of
the cluster drive that you want to monitor. The Event Types table displays
the cluster drive event types.
h. Click Low Warning, then click Add.
Remember: To report a high value for the percentage of disk space used,
the threshold is set to report a low value for the percentage of disk space
free.
The selected event type is added to the Selected list.
i. After you add all the necessary thresholds, click Next.
j. On all subsequent pages (until the Summary page is displayed), accept the
default values or specify the values that you want to use, then click Next.
k. On the Summary page, review the settings for the event filter. Click Back if
you want to change any settings. When you are satisfied with the settings,
click Finish to create the event filter.
9. Create the event automation plan that uses the event filter you created in the
previous step:
a. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click
Automation > Event Automation Plans. The Event Automation Plans page
is displayed.
b. Click Create to create the event automation plan. The Create Event
Automation Plan wizard is displayed.
c. On the Welcome page, click Next. The Name and Description page is
displayed.
d. On the Name and Description page, type a name for the event automation
plan, then click Next. The Targets page is displayed.
e. On the Targets page, use the Show list and the Available table to select the
target systems that you want to be affected by the event automation plan.
For each target system that you select, click Add.
f. After you add all the targets, click Next. The Events page is displayed.
g. On the Events page, from the Events list, select Advanced Event Filters.
The Event Filters table is displayed.
h. From the Event Filters table, select the event filter that you created
previously, then click Next. The Event Actions page is displayed.
Chapter 5. Monitoring system status and health
253
i. On the Event Actions page, select one or more event actions that you want
to occur when this event automation plan is triggered, then click Next. The
Time Range page is displayed.
j. On the Time Range page, specify the time range that determines when the
event automation plan is active, then click Next. The Summary page is
displayed.
k. On the Summary page, review the settings for the event automation plan.
Click Back if you want to change any settings. When you are satisfied with
the settings, click Finish to create the event automation plan.
When triggered, the event automation plan reports the percentage of free space on
the cluster drives. (In this case, the measurement desired is the percentage of space
used on the cluster drives, which you have to manually compute from the known
free space.) The data reported by the event automation plan identifies the cluster
drives by their associated letter names.
Monitors and thresholds
Monitors provide the means to retrieve and visually observe real-time changes in
system resources. Activating thresholds on monitors offers a way to trigger events
or report problems when the monitored resource exceeds the threshold. IBM
Systems Director includes monitor views, which are groups of monitors that
belong to a specific category. Examples of monitor views are AIX monitors and
SNMP monitors. Create custom monitor views that contain collections of monitors
that you find useful. Combine monitors, thresholds, and automation plans to
automate troubleshooting or corrective actions in response to reported warnings or
critical situations.
Monitors
Use monitors to observe changes in system resources on physical servers, virtual
servers, supported operating systems and hardware, and Virtual I/O Servers
(VIOS). The IBM Systems Director Web interface offers various locations where you
can use monitors. For example, on the Health Summary page, display one or more
specified monitors as graphs on the dashboard. View lists of monitors on the
Monitor page or see real-time data in columns on the Virtual Servers and Hosts
page. The Performance Summary page has a number of tabs, each of which offers
a selection of monitor columns. Additionally, some other resource tables offer the
ability to add or remove monitor columns, which provides an easy way to visually
monitor a variety of system resources within the table.
Monitor views are groups of commonly supported monitors. Some monitors that
are included in a monitor view might be unavailable to you because the managed
resource does not support them. Several factors determine which monitors are
available to use. Determining factors might include the operating system, hardware
configuration, and software configuration of the managed resource. Creating a
custom monitor view might make available to you additional monitors not
included in the default monitor views.
Thresholds
A threshold is a high or low limit that you do not want the monitored system
resource to exceed. For both the high threshold and the low threshold, you have
the option of specifying a warning value and a critical value. For example, the
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IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
high threshold for a monitor that measures the percentage of used space on a disk
drive might have a warning value of 80 and a critical value of 90.
Activating a threshold includes setting options that include specifying whether to
generate an event when the threshold is exceeded and determining the amount of
time the threshold waits before resending the information. When the monitored
resource exceeds the specified value for any threshold limit, the monitor displays
the appropriate icon for a warning or critical notification.
The next step in using monitors and thresholds is to combine them with one or
more event actions in an event action plan, making it possible to automate
troubleshooting and corrective responses to predetermined events. For more
information, see “Events, filters, and actions in event automation plans.”
Related concepts:
Events, filters, and actions in event automation plans
Related tasks:
Managing monitors
Managing thresholds
Monitor views
Use the Monitors task to monitor critical system resources on your managed
systems. IBM Systems Director arranges available monitors in groups called
monitor views. Each view represents a list of the most commonly available
monitors in a category, for example, monitors that are supported by AIX. Use
existing monitor views or create your own views that contain the selections of
individual monitors that you find useful.
Several factors determine the availability of individual monitors in a monitor view.
Determining factors might include the operating system, hardware configuration,
or software configuration of the managed resource. Depending on those factors,
some monitors included in a view might be unavailable in your environment.
Note: The monitor views described in the following topics are only those views
that ship with Systems Director. Installing an advanced plug-in might install one or
more additional monitor views that are not described here. For more information,
see the documentation for that plug-in.
When you create a monitor view, the Create View page presents all the available
monitors in each category, not just the most common monitors. Creating your own
monitor view makes available additional monitors that are not in the commonly
used sets of monitors included in the default monitor views.
Polling intervals (or how often data collection is performed) for monitors depend
on the managed system or device. In general, using the default settings, data
collections occur every 5 - 10 seconds, and the display refreshes every 10 - 20
seconds. Polling intervals affect the minimum granularity and timeliness of any
thresholds applied to a monitor.
AIX Monitors view
The AIX Monitors view contains some of the monitors most commonly reported by
installed versions of AIX as being available to IBM Systems Director. When you
create your own monitor view, additional individual AIX monitors might be
available.
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The following table lists some of the most commonly available monitors from the
AIX Monitors view and the data that each monitor retrieves.
Note: Several factors determine the availability of the individual monitors listed in
the following table. Determining factors might include the operating system,
hardware configuration, or software configuration of the managed resource.
Depending on those factors, some monitors listed in the following table might be
unavailable to you, and some monitors that are not listed might be available.
Table 20. Monitors commonly available in the AIX Monitors view
Monitor name
Data retrieved
™
256
Active Memory Sharing Enabled
Whether memory sharing is enabled.
Possible values are:
v TRUE
v FALSE
Active Time of /dev/hdisk0 for processing
request (%)
The percentage of time that the physical disk
is active (bandwidth utilization for the
drive) or, in other words, the total time disk
requests are outstanding.
Active Virtual Memory (4K Pages)
Active virtual memory in (4K page units)
Available Space of /dev/hdisk0 (MB)
Amount of available space (in megabytes)
on the specified disk drive
Available Space of Filesystem / (MB)
Amount of available disk space (in
megabytes) for the specified filesystem
Available Space of Filesystem /home (MB)
Amount of available disk space (in
megabytes) for the specified filesystem
Available Space of Filesystem /opt (MB)
Amount of available disk space (in
megabytes) for the specified filesystem
Available Space of Filesystem /tmp (MB)
Amount of available disk space (in
megabytes) for the specified filesystem
Available Space of Filesystem /usr (MB)
Amount of available disk space (in
megabytes) for the specified filesystem
Available Space of Filesystem /var (MB)
Amount of available disk space (in
megabytes) for the specified filesystem
Capacity of /dev/hdisk0 (MB)
Total capacity (in megabytes) of the specified
disk drive
CPU Computing Unit (%)
A percentage that represents the average
time that the processor spends in the user
mode, system mode, idle state, and wait
state divided by the length of time being
measured
CPU Utilization
The percentage of CPU capacity being used.
For uncapped partitions, this can be larger
than 100%, potentially much larger.
Uncapped partitions use all available
capacity in the shared processor pool.
Ethernet Kilobytes Received Rate of en0
(KB/sec)
Rate of data received (in kilobytes per
second) by way of Ethernet connection
Ethernet Kilobytes Received Rate of lo0
(KB/sec)
Rate of data received (in kilobytes per
second) by way of Ethernet connection
IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
Table 20. Monitors commonly available in the AIX Monitors view (continued)
Monitor name
Data retrieved
Ethernet Kilobytes Throughout Rate of en0
(KB/sec)
Rate of successful data communication
(receipt and transmission, in kilobytes per
second) by way of Ethernet connection
Ethernet Kilobytes Throughout Rate of lo0
(KB/sec)
Rate of successful data communication
(receipt and transmission, in kilobytes per
second) by way of Ethernet connection
Ethernet Kilobytes Transmitted Rate of en0
(KB/sec)
Rate of data transmitted (in kilobytes per
second) by way of Ethernet connection
Ethernet Kilobytes Transmitted Rate of lo0
(KB/sec)
Rate of data transmitted (in kilobytes per
second) by way of Ethernet connection
Ethernet Packets Received Rate of en0
(Packets/sec)
Rate of data received (in kilobytes per
second) by way of Ethernet connection
Ethernet Packets Received Rate of lo0
(Packets/sec)
Rate of data received (in packets per second)
by way of Ethernet connection
Ethernet Packets Transmitted Rate of en0
(KB/sec)
Rate of data transmitted (in packets per
second) by way of Ethernet connection
Ethernet Packets Transmitted Rate of lo0
(KB/sec)
Rate of data transmitted (in packets per
second) by way of Ethernet connection
Memory Mode
The memory mode
Memory Page Fault (Pages/sec)
Rate of page faults (in pages per second)
Memory Page Steal (Pages/sec)
Rate of page steals (in pages per second)
Memory Usage
Memory being used (in megabytes)
Paging Space Remaining (MB)
Amount of remaining paging space (in
megabytes)
Paging Space Reserved (MB)
Amount of reserved paging space (in
megabytes)
Paging Space Total (MB)
Total amount of paging space (in megabytes)
Paging Space Used (MB)
Amount of used paging space (in
megabytes)
Time for Servicing Transfers in relation to
Active Time of /dev/hdisk0 (%)
The percentage of time that the physical disk
is busy servicing a transfer request
compared to the time the disk is active (the
time when transfer requests are outstanding)
Total Space of Filesystem / (MB)
Amount of total disk space (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Total Space of Filesystem /home (MB)
Amount of total disk space (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Total Space of Filesystem /opt (MB)
Amount of total disk space (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Total Space of Filesystem /tmp (MB)
Amount of total disk space (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Total Space of Filesystem /usr (MB)
Amount of total disk space (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Total Space of Filesystem /var (MB)
Amount of total disk space (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Used Space of Filesystem / (MB)
Amount of disk space used (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Chapter 5. Monitoring system status and health
257
Table 20. Monitors commonly available in the AIX Monitors view (continued)
Monitor name
Data retrieved
Used Space of Filesystem /home (MB)
Amount of disk space used (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Used Space of Filesystem /opt (MB)
Amount of disk space used (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Used Space of Filesystem /tmp (MB)
Amount of disk space used (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Used Space of Filesystem /usr (MB)
Amount of disk space used (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Used Space of Filesystem /var (MB)
Amount of disk space used (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Note:
v These monitors gather data that is supplied by the agent.
v IBM Systems Director monitor and threshold memory values are measured in megabytes
(1024*1024 bytes). Some applications measure memory in millions of bytes. For example,
the memory value for 2 GB is the number of megabytes, or 2048 (1024*2).
All Monitors view
The All Monitors view contains all of the available individual monitors from the
other predefined views that ship with IBM Systems Director. Also, any individual
monitor not in the All Monitors view that is encountered while creating a monitor
view is added to the All Monitors view.
Note: Deleting a custom monitor view does not remove the individual monitors
from the All Monitors view.
When you create a monitor view, the Create View page presents all the available
monitors in each category, not just the most common monitors. Creating your own
monitor view makes available additional monitors that are not in the commonly
used sets of monitors included in the default monitor views.
For more information about available monitors, look at the information for the
specific view in which you are interested.
Column Management Monitors view
The Column Management Monitors view contains a selection of monitors offered
as resource table columns by the installed plug-ins. This monitor view is the only
view that ships with IBM Systems Director that you can edit, which means you
can add monitors that you want to use as columns in resource tables.
For example, when viewing a list of resources (not groups) on the Resource
Explorer page, click Actions > Columns to add columns to or remove columns
from the table. Some of the available columns to add or remove are monitors that
are included in the Column Management Monitors view.
Common CIM Monitors view
The Common CIM (Common Information Model) Monitors view contains some of
the most common CIM monitors. When you create your own monitor view,
additional individual CIM monitors might be available.
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The following table lists some of the most commonly available monitors from the
Common CIM Monitors view and the data that each monitor retrieves.
Notes:
v Linux for Power does not provide CIM-based metric profile metrics.
v Several factors determine the availability of the individual monitors listed in the
following table. Determining factors might include the operating system,
hardware configuration, or software configuration of the managed resource.
Depending on those factors, some monitors listed in the following table might
be unavailable to you, and some monitors that are not listed might be available.
Table 21. Monitors commonly available in the CIM Monitors view
Monitor name
Data retrieved
CPU Utilization
Rate at which the CPU is running
Disk % Space Available
Percentage of available disk space
Disk Space Remaining (MB)
Amount of remaining (available) disk space
(in megabytes)
Memory Usage (MB)
Memory being used (in megabytes)
Packet received rate
Number of IP packets received/second
Packet transmitted rate
Number of IP Packets sent/second
Note:
v Linux for Power does not provide CIM Base Metrics Profile (DMTF Standard DSP1053)
based metrics.
v Several factors determine the availability of the individual monitors listed in the
following table. Determining factors might include the operating system, hardware
configuration, or software configuration of the managed resource. Depending on those
factors, some monitors listed in the following table might be unavailable to you, and
some monitors that are not listed might be available.
v These monitors gather data that is supplied by the agent.
v IBM Systems Director monitor and threshold memory values are measured in megabytes
(1024*1024 bytes). Some applications measure memory in millions of bytes. For example,
the memory value for 2 GB is the number of megabytes, or 2048 (1024*2).
Common Monitors view
The Common Monitors view contains some of the most common monitors for
operating systems that are supported by IBM Systems Director. When you create
your own monitor view, additional individual operating systems monitors might
be available.
The following table lists some of the most commonly available monitors from the
Common Monitors view and the data that each monitor retrieves.
Note:
v Several factors determine the availability of the individual monitors listed in the
following table. Determining factors might include the operating system,
hardware configuration, or software configuration of the managed resource.
Depending on those factors, some monitors listed in the following table might
be unavailable to you, and some monitors that are not listed might be available.
v The “CPU % Utilization monitor” is different from the “CPU Utilization %”
virtualization monitor. For more information about the “CPU Utilization %”
monitor, see the topic: “Virtualization Monitors view”.
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259
Table 22. Monitors commonly available in the Common Monitors view
260
Monitor name
Data retrieved
Active Processors
Number of available processors
CPU Utilization
Rate at which the CPU is running
Disk 0 Workload
Workload managed by disk 0
Disk % Space Used
Percentage of space used on the disk
Disk Space Used (MB)
Amount of space used on the disk (in
megabytes)
Locked Memory (MB)
Amount of memory locked (in megabytes)
Memory Usage (MB)
Memory being used (in megabytes)
Paging Space Remaining (MB)
Amount of remaining paging space (in
megabytes)
Paging Space Reserved (MB)
Amount of reserved paging space (in
megabytes)
Paging Space Total (MB)
Total amount of paging space (in megabytes)
Paging Space Used (MB)
Amount of used paging space (in
megabytes)
Time for Servicing Transfers in relation to
Active Time of /dev/hdisk0 (%)
The percentage of time that the physical disk
is busy servicing a transfer request
compared to the time the disk is active (the
time when transfer requests are outstanding)
Total Space of Filesystem / (MB)
Amount of total disk space (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Total Space of Filesystem /home (MB)
Amount of total disk space (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Total Space of Filesystem /opt (MB)
Amount of total disk space (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Total Space of Filesystem /tmp (MB)
Amount of total disk space (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Total Space of Filesystem /usr (MB)
Amount of total disk space (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Total Space of Filesystem /var (MB)
Amount of total disk space (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Used Space of Filesystem / (MB)
Amount of disk space used (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Used Space of Filesystem /home (MB)
Amount of disk space used (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Used Space of Filesystem /opt (MB)
Amount of disk space used (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Used Space of Filesystem /tmp (MB)
Amount of disk space used (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Used Space of Filesystem /usr (MB)
Amount of disk space used (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Used Space of Filesystem /var (MB)
Amount of disk space used (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
Table 22. Monitors commonly available in the Common Monitors view (continued)
Monitor name
Data retrieved
Note:
v These monitors gather data that is supplied by the agent.
v IBM Systems Director monitor and threshold memory values are measured in megabytes
(1024*1024 bytes). Some applications measure memory in millions of bytes. For example,
the memory value for 2 GB is the number of megabytes, or 2048 (1024*2).
SNMP Monitors view
The SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) Monitors view contains
monitors supported by SNMP devices.
The SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) Monitors view contains
several monitors, such as the Network Bytes Transferred monitor, which retrieves
the total number of bytes (using SNMP) transmitted or received by the resource,
and monitors that require data collection from Remote Network MONitoring
(RMON).
Note: In some instances, SNMP monitors data will not be available for a
device. The capabilities of the SNMP device determine which monitors will
display data in the SNMP Monitors view.
IBM i Monitors view
Use these instructions to view and configure available IBM i CIM monitors. Doing
so helps you quickly start monitoring IBM i systems. Before starting, ensure that
you followed the instructions in the CIM section in the topic “Using IBM i
resources with an IBM Systems Director Server”.
The IBM i Monitors view shows some of the most common monitors reported by
installed versions of platform agent on IBM i as being available to IBM Systems
Director. When you create your own monitor view, more individual IBM i
monitors might be available.
To view IBM i monitors, follow these steps:
1. From the navigation pane, expand System Status and Health, then select
Monitors.
2. From the Monitors window, select IBM i Monitors and click Show Monitors.
Available Monitors
Following are some of the most commonly available monitors from the IBM i
Monitors view and the data that each monitor retrieves.
v For a more complete list of monitors that can be added to a custom view, see “
IBM i resource-monitor attributes”.
v For more information about CIM, see “Common Information Model”.
v For more information about monitors, see “IBM i System Metrics Providers”.
Note: Several factors determine monitor availability. Some factors include the
operating system, hardware configuration, and software configuration of the
managed resource. Depending on those factors, some monitors might not retrieve
the appropriate data and would then display “No Data Available”.
Chapter 5. Monitoring system status and health
261
Table 23. Commonly available monitors in the IBM i Monitors view
Monitor name
Data retrieved
Active Virtual Processors of Computer
System
Average number of active virtual processors
Average disk active time percentage
Average disk active time percentage
Average disk space utilization
Average disk space utilization
Average interactive jobs transaction rate
Average transaction rate of interactive jobs
Average interactive response time
Average transaction response time of
interactive jobs
Average jobs transaction rate
Average transaction rate of jobs
Average user pool faults
Average user pool faults
Batch jobs logical database IO rate
Database IO operations rate of all batch jobs
CPU % Utilization
Percentage of defined CPU capacity that is
used by this system
CPU Consumption Index
CPU time used, divided by the available
CPU time for this operating system
CPU External View Total of Operating
System (%)
External view CPU percentage. This is the
percentage of this partition CPU time used.
CPU External View User Mode of Operating External view user mode percentage
System (%)
CPU Internal View Idle of Operating System Idle percentage, as seen from within the
(%)
operating system
262
CPU Internal View Total of Operating
System (%)
User mode percentage from the perspective
of the operating system
CPU Internal View User Mode of Operating
System (%)
User mode percentage as seen from within
the operating system
Free Physical Memory of Operating System
(Kilobytes)
Kilobytes of unused, available physical
memory
Free Space in Page Files of Operating
System (Kilobytes)
Kilobytes of memory that can be mapped
into the operating systems’ paging files
Free Virtual Memory of Operating System
(Kilobytes)
Kilobytes of unused, available virtual
memory
Interactive jobs CPU percentage
Percentage of CPU used for interactive jobs
Maximum disk active time percentage
Maximum disk active time percentage
Maximum disk space utilization
Maximum disk space utilization
Maximum interactive response time
Maximum transaction response time of
interactive jobs
Maximum user pool faults
Maximum user pool faults
Number of Users of Operating System
Number of user sessions for which the
operating system is storing state information
Page In Rate of Operating System/sec
Number of pages that are paged in per
second
Process Count
Number of processes that are currently
loaded on the operating system
Total CPU Time of Operating System
(Milliseconds)
Total CPU time, sum of KernelModeTime
and UserModeTime, on operating system
level
IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
Table 23. Commonly available monitors in the IBM i Monitors view (continued)
Monitor name
Data retrieved
Unused Global CPU Capacity of Computer
System (Milliseconds)
Milliseconds of CPU time that are not used
on the global server level
Unused Partition CPU Capacity of
Computer System (Milliseconds)
Reserved but unused capacity for this
operating system container
User Mode Time of Operating System
(Milliseconds)
Time in user mode, in milliseconds, on
operating system level
Related reference:
Common information Model
IBM i System Metrics Providers
IBM i resource-monitor attributes
These are some of the most commonly used resource-monitor attributes for the
IBM i operating system.
Resource
monitor
Attributes
File
Notes:
1. File-monitor attributes can be files or directories.
2. For compatible file system types, the “Directory exists” or “File exists”
attribute (depending on which is applicable) is always valid data.
3. If there are more directories, additional subelements are displayed.
4. A directory can contain hundreds of subelements. If it does, a directory
might take 5 seconds or longer to open.
5. QSYS.LIB can contain thousands of subelements. If a timeout occurs,
reopening the directory after a timeout increases the timeout value, and
might increase the timeout value sufficiently for the operation to
complete.
v Directory
– Directory exists
– Last modified
– Directory attributes
– Directory owner
– Directory size (bytes)
– Object type
v File
– Checksum
– File exists
– Last modified
– File attributes
– File owner
– File size (bytes)
– Object type
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263
Resource
monitor
Attributes
File system
Note: The file system monitor attributes for specific directories are provided
for typical IBM i directories. If one of these directories does not exist, the
attribute is not displayed.
v /
v /bin
v /dev
v /etc
v /home
v /lib
v /tmp
v /usr
v /var
List of
directory
contents
v
v
v
v
v
v
Process
Note: The number of applications or executable files that a process monitor
checks can vary. The IBM Systems Director user configures the processes
that are monitored using the Process Monitor task in the IBM Systems
Director Web interface. Each of the process-monitor attributes is displayed
for each executable file that is monitored.
v Current active processes
v Maximum running at once
v Maximum running yesterday
v New executions counted
v Times failed to start
v Time started
v Time stopped
v Total execution time
v Execution time yesterday
I/O
processors
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
Job queues
264
Directory attributes
Directory exists
Directory owner
Directory size (bytes)
Last modified
Object type
Auxiliary IOP Use %
IOP All Comm. Use %
IOP Disk Use %
IOP LAN Use %
IOP Memory Free (KB)
IOP Operational Status
0 = The status field does not apply to this resource or could not be
determined.
1 = Operational; the resource is operational.
2 = Inoperative; the resource is not operational.
3 = Not detected; the presence of the resource could not be detected.
IOP Optical Use %
IOP SDLC Use %
IOP System Function Use %
IOP Tape Use %
IOP Twinaxial Use %
IOP X.25 Use %
Primary IOP Use %
v Job Queue Status
0 = Released; the queue is released.
1 = Held; the queue is held.
v Jobs in Queue
IBM Systems Director Systems Management Guide
Resource
monitor
Attributes
Job statistics
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
Batch Jobs Ended, Output Waiting
Batch Jobs Ending
Batch Jobs Held on Job Queue
Batch Jobs Held while Running
Batch Jobs on Held Job Queue
Batch Jobs on Unassigned Job Queue
Batch Jobs Running
Batch Jobs Waiting for Messages
Batch Jobs Waiting to Run
Jobs on System
NetServer
statistics
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
Average Response Time (Milliseconds)
File Opens/Minute
Kbytes Received per Minute
Kbytes Sent per Minute
Password Violations
Print Jobs Queued/Minute
Session Starts/Minute
Physical
disks
v Disk Arm Utilization %
v Disk Average Queue Length
v Disk Mirroring Status
0 = Not mirrored
1 = Active
2 = Resuming
3 = Suspended
v Disk Operational Status
0 = The status field does not apply to this resource or could not be
determined.
1 = Operational; the resource is operational.
2 = Inoperative; the resource is not operational.
3 = Not detected; the presence of the resource could not be detected.
v Disk Processor Utilization %
v Disk Read Commands/Minute
v Disk Read Kbytes/Minute
v Disk Space Free (MB)
v Disk Space Used %
v Disk Write Commands/Minute
v Disk Write Kbytes/Minute
Storage
pools
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
Subsystems
v Subsystem % of Job Limit
v Subsystem Active Jobs
v Subsystem Status
0 = Inactive; the subsystem is not running.
1 = Active; the subsystem is running.
System
statistics
v
v
v
v
v
v
Active to Ineligible (Transitions/Minute)
Active to Wait (Transitions/Minute)
Database Faults per Second
Database Pages per Second
Non-database Faults per Second
Non-database Pages per Second
Wait to Ineligible (Transitions/Minute)
CPU Utilization %
Current Temp Storage Used (MB)
Max Temp Storage Used (MB)
Permanent Addresses Used %
System ASP Used %
Temporary Addresses Used %
Chapter 5. Monitoring system status and health
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Resource
monitor
User
statistics
Attributes
v
v
v
v
v
Users
Users
Users
Users
Users
Disconnected
Signed Off, Output Waiting
Signed On
Suspended by Group Jobs
Suspended by System Request
VIOS Monitors view
The VIOS (Virtual I/O Server) Monitors view contains the most common monitors
reported by VIOS as being available to IBM Systems Director. When you create
your own monitor view, additional individual VIOS monitors might be available.
The following table lists the monitors included in the VIOS Monitors view and the
data that each monitor retrieves.
Note: Several factors determine the availability of the individual monitors listed in
the following table. Determining factors might include the operating system,
hardware configuration, or software configuration of the managed resource.
Depending on those factors, some monitors listed in the following table might be
unavailable to you, and some monitors that are not listed might be available.
Table 24. Monitors commonly available in the VIOS Monitors view
266
Monitor name
Data retrieved
Active Memory Sharing Enabled
Whether memory sharing is enabled.
Possible values are:
v TRUE
v FALSE
Active Time of /dev/hdisk0 for processing
request (%)
The percentage of time that the physical disk
is active (bandwidth utilization for the
drive) or, in other words, the total time disk
requests are outstanding.
Active Virtual Memory (4 K Pages)
Active virtual memory (in 4 K page units)
Available Space of /dev/hdisk0 (MB)
Amount of available space (in megabytes)
on the specified disk drive
Available Space of Filesystem / (MB)
Amount of available disk space (in
megabytes) for the specified filesystem
Available Space of Filesystem /home (MB)
Amount of available disk space (in
megabytes) for the specified filesystem
Available Space of Filesystem /opt (MB)
Amount of available disk space (in
megabytes) for the specified filesystem
Available Space of Filesystem /tmp (MB)
Amount of available disk space (in
megabytes) for the specified filesystem
Available Space of Filesystem /usr (MB)
Amount of available disk space (in
megabytes) for the specified filesystem
Available Space of Filesystem /var (MB)
Amount of available disk space (in
megabytes) for the specified filesystem
Capacity of /dev/hdisk0 (MB)
Total capacity (in megabytes) of the specified
disk drive
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Table 24. Monitors commonly available in the VIOS Monitors view (continued)
Monitor name
Data retrieved
CPU Computing Unit (%)
A percentage that represents the average
time that the processor spends in the user
mode, system mode, idle state, and wait
state divided by the length of time being
measured
CPU Utilization
Rate at which the processor is running
Ethernet Kilobytes Received Rate of en0
(KB/sec)
Rate of data received (in kilobytes per
second) by way of ethernet connection
Ethernet Kilobytes Received Rate of lo0
(KB/sec)
Rate of data received (in kilobytes per
second) by way of ethernet connection
Ethernet Kilobytes Throughout Rate of en0
(KB/sec)
Rate of successful data communication
(receipt and transmission, in kilobytes per
second) by way of Ethernet connection
Ethernet Kilobytes Throughout Rate of lo0
(KB/sec)
Rate of successful data communication
(receipt and transmission, in kilobytes per
second) by way of Ethernet connection
Ethernet Kilobytes Transmitted Rate of en0
(KB/sec)
Rate of data transmitted (in kilobytes per
second) by way of Ethernet connection
Ethernet Kilobytes Transmitted Rate of lo0
(KB/sec)
Rate of data transmitted (in kilobytes per
second) by way of Ethernet connection
Ethernet Packets Received Rate of en0
(Packets/sec)
Rate of data received (in packets per second)
by way of Ethernet connection
Ethernet Packets Received Rate of lo0
(Packets/sec)
Rate of data received (in packets per second)
by way of Ethernet connection
Ethernet Packets Transmitted Rate of en0
(Packets/sec)
Rate of ethernet data transmitted (in packets
per second)
Ethernet Packets Transmitted Rate of lo0
(Packets/sec)
Rate of data transmitted (in packets per
second) by way of Ethernet connection
Memory Mode
The memory mode
Memory Page Fault (Pages/sec)
Rate of page faults (in pages per second)
Memory Page Steal (Pages/sec)
Rate of page steals (in pages per second)
Memory Usage (MB)
Memory being used (in megabytes)
Paging Space Remaining (MB)
Amount of remaining paging space (in
megabytes)
Paging Space Reserved (MB)
Amount of reserved paging space (in
megabytes)
Paging Space Total (MB)
Total amount of paging space (in megabytes)
Paging Space Used (MB)
Amount of used paging space (in
megabytes)
Shared Ethernet Adapter ent4 Byte In Rate
(Kilobytes/sec)
Rate at which the adapter is receiving data
(in kilobytes per second)
Shared Ethernet Adapter ent4 Byte Out Rate
(Kilobytes/sec)
Rate at which the adapter is transmitting
data (in kilobytes per second)
Shared Ethernet Adapter ent4 Packet In/sec
Rate at which the adapter is receiving data
(in packets per second)
Shared Ethernet Adapter ent4 Packet
Out/sec
Rate at which the adapter is transmitting
data (in packets per second)
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Table 24. Monitors commonly available in the VIOS Monitors view (continued)
268
Monitor name
Data retrieved
Time for Servicing Transfers in relation to
Active Time of /dev/hdisk0 (%)
The percentage of time that the physical disk
is busy servicing a transfer request
compared to the time the disk is active (the
time when transfer requests are outstanding)
Total Space of Filesystem / (MB)
Amount of total disk space (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Total Space of Filesystem /home (MB)
Amount of total disk space (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Total Space of Filesystem /opt (MB)
Amount of total disk space (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Total Space of Filesystem /tmp (MB)
Amount of total disk space (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Total Space of Filesystem /usr (MB)
Amount of total disk space (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Total Space of Filesystem /var (MB)
Amount of total disk space (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Used Space of Filesystem / (MB)
Amount of disk space used (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Used Space of Filesystem /home (MB)
Amount of disk space used (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Used Space of Filesystem /opt (MB)
Amount of disk space used (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Used Space of Filesystem /tmp (MB)
Amount of disk space used (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Used Space of Filesystem /usr (MB)
Amount of disk space used (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Used Space of Filesystem /var (MB)
Amount of disk space used (in megabytes)
for the specified filesystem
Virtual Target Device vtscsi0 Read Rate
(Kilobytes/sec)
Rate at which the specified device is reading
data (in kilobytes per second)
Virtual Target Device vtscsi0 Transfer Rate
(Count for transmission/sec)
Rate at which the specified device is
transferring data (in count for transmission
per second)
Virtual Target Device vtscsi0 Write Rate
(Kilobytes/sec)
Rate at which the specified device is writing
data (in kilobytes per second)
Virtual Target Device vtscsi1 Read Rate
(Kilobytes/sec)
Rate at which the specified device is reading
data (in kilobytes per second)
Virtual Target Device vtscsi1 Transfer Rate
(Count for transmission/sec)
Rate at which the specified device is
transferring data (in count for transmission
per second)
Virtual Target Device vtscsi1 Write Rate
(Kilobytes/sec)
Rate at which the specified device is writing
data (in kilobytes per second)
Virtual Target Device vtscsi2 Read Rate
(Kilobytes/sec)
Rate at which the specified device is reading
data (in kilobytes per second)
Virtual Target Device vtscsi2 Transfer Rate
(Count for transmission/sec)
Rate at which the specified device is
transferring data (in count for transmission
per second)
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Table 24. Monitors commonly available in the VIOS Monitors view (continued)
Monitor name
Data retrieved
Virtual Target Device vtscsi2 Write Rate
(Kilobytes/sec)
Rate at which the specified device is writing
data (in kilobytes per second)
Note:
v These monitors gather data that is supplied by the agent.
v IBM Systems Director monitor and threshold memory values are measured in megabytes
(1024*1024 bytes). Some applications measure memory in millions of bytes. For example,
the memory value for 2 GB is the number of megabytes, or 2048 (1024*2).
Managing monitors
The Monitors task provides the tools that you need to retrieve real-time status and
quantitative data for specific properties and attributes of resources in your
environment. You can also set thresholds for the monitors, graph the data that
monitors retrieve, and drill down to quickly view the status of resources for each
system and the name of the monitor so that you can view its properties.
Note: For a list of items that you should consider while working with resource
monitors and event automation plans, see “Resource-monitor threshold settings
change unexpectedly”.
Related reference:
Resource-monitor threshold settings change unexpectedly
Viewing a monitor
Use the Monitors task to view the monitors you have set for your resource.
To view a monitor, complete the following steps:
1. Open the Monitors task as follows:
a. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Resource
Explorer.
b. Either select a group or drill down to select a resource within a group.
c. Click Actions > System Status and Health > Monitors.
The Monitors task with a table listing applicable monitor views and
information about each monitor view is displayed.
2. To select one or more target resources, click Browse. The Context Chooser is
displayed.
3. Use the Context Chooser to add one or more resources or groups of resources
as a target:
a. To add a group, select the group that you want to add as a target. To add a
single resource, drill down from the group that includes the resource that
you want to add and select the resource.
b. Click Add.
c. Continue selecting groups or resources as needed.
d. When you are finished adding targets, click OK.
4. From the Monitor selection page, select the monitor view that you want to be
displayed for the targets that you selected.
5. Click Show Monitors. The Monitor View page listing monitors for the targets
that you selected is displayed.
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6. View the properties for the monitor in the table or click the monitor to view
additional properties and details.
Creating a monitor view
Use the Monitors task to create views of monitors.
Ensure that the resources on which you create the monitor views have the
appropriate level of agent running on them. Agent level requirements for creating
monitors are as follows:
v Common monitors are available only for systems running Common Agent or
IBM Director Agent version 5.20.
v Common CIM monitors are available for all Common Agent managed systems
(except for Linux on System x Common Agent managed systems), all Windows
Platform Agent managed systems, and Linux on System z Platform Agent
managed systems.
v No common monitors or common CIM monitors are available for Agentless
managed systems.
To create a monitor view, complete the following steps:
1. Open the Monitors task as follows:
a. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Resource
Explorer.
b. Either select a group or drill down to select a resource within a group.
c. Click Actions > System Status and Health > Monitors.
The Monitors task with a table listing applicable monitor views and
information about each monitor view is displayed.
Click Create. The Create View page is displayed.
In the Name field, specify a name for the new monitor view.
Specify an optional description for the monitor view.
In the Show field, select Selected Resources to choose from existing monitored
resources or Monitor Views to choose from existing monitor views. For more
information about monitors that are shipped with Systems Director, see
“Monitor views.”
6. In the Available table, double-click a monitor to view and select all the
monitored resources that you want to add to your new monitor view.
2.
3.
4.
5.
For example, double-click Disk Monitors to view monitors that are available
for each hard disk drive present in a system.
7. Click Add.
Note: Add is activated only when an item that can be monitored, such as CPU
Utilization, is selected. If you select any items that cannot be monitored, Add
remains deactivated.
8. Click OK.
The new monitor view appears in the Monitor Views table.
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Related reference:
Version compatibility of IBM Systems Director components across releases
Editing a monitor view
Use the Monitors task to edit monitor views.
To edit a monitor view, complete the following steps:
1. Open the Monitors task as follows:
a. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Resource
Explorer.
b. Either select a group or drill down to select a resource within a group.
c. Click Actions > System Status and Health > Monitors.
The Monitors task with a table listing applicable monitor views and
information about each monitor view is displayed.
2. Select the monitor view that you want to edit.
3. Click Actions > Edit.
4. Modify the monitor view values as needed.
5. Click OK.
Deleting a monitor view
You can delete monitor views that you no longer need.
A monitor view must exist before you can delete it.
To delete a monitor view, complete the following steps:
1. Open the Monitors task as follows:
a. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Resource
Explorer.
b. Either select a group or drill down to select a resource within a group.
c. Click Actions > System Status and Health > Monitors.
The Monitors task with a table listing applicable monitor views and
information about each monitor view is displayed.
2. Select the monitor view that you want to delete.
3. Click Actions > Delete.
4. Click Delete.
The monitor view will no longer appear in the Monitors Views table.
Graphing a monitor
Use the Monitor View task to view graphical representations of the monitors on
your resource.
To graph a monitor, complete the following steps:
1. Open the Monitors task as follows:
a. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Resource
Explorer.
b. Either select a group or drill down to select a resource within a group.
c. Click Actions > System Status and Health > Monitors.
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The Monitors task with a table listing applicable monitor views and
information about each monitor view is displayed.
2. Select the monitor for which you want to create a graph.
3. Click Actions > Graph. The Graph page is displayed.
4. Modify the options of the graph, including graph type and zoom level, as
needed.
Managing thresholds
The Thresholds task offers a consolidated view of all the thresholds that you have
created to monitor the dynamic properties of your resource. This task saves you
from searching for them all in the Monitors task.
Note: Although there are smcli resource-monitor thresholds commands, you must
use the user interface to manage thresholds for advanced managers.
Viewing a threshold
Use the Thresholds task to view thresholds that are set for the monitors on your
resources or use the Resource Explorer task to view thresholds for a specific
resource.
To view a threshold, complete the following steps that apply to the method that
you want to use:
1. View thresholds that are set for the monitors on your resources:
a. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, expand System
Status and Health > Thresholds. The Thresholds page with a table listing
applicable thresholds and information about each threshold is displayed.
b. View the properties for the threshold in the table or click the threshold to
view additional properties and details.
2. View thresholds for a specific resource:
a. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Resource
Explorer.
b. Navigate to the resource for which you want to view the threshold.
c. From the Resource Explorer table, right-click the resource and select System
Status and Health > Thresholds. The Thresholds page is displayed.
Creating a threshold
You can create a threshold by activating a threshold on a specific monitor.
A monitor must have a threshold status of None before you can create a threshold
for it.
Tip: You can configure an event automation plan to send an e-mail notification
when a specified resource reaches a predefined threshold.
To create a threshold for a specific monitor, complete the following steps:
1. Open the Monitors task as follows:
a. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Resource
Explorer.
b. Either select a group or drill down to select a resource within a group.
c. Click Actions > System Status and Health > Monitors.
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The Monitors task with a table listing applicable monitor views and
information about each monitor view is displayed.
2. From the Monitor selection page, select the monitor view that you want to be
displayed for the targets that you selected.
3. Click Show Monitors. The Monitor View page listing monitors for the targets
that you selected is displayed.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Select the monitor for which you want to create a threshold.
Click Actions > Activate Threshold. The Threshold page is displayed.
Input and modify the threshold settings as needed.
Click OK.
The threshold status value in the Monitor View table will change from None to
Activated and the threshold settings will be displayed
Creating an event automation plan based on an existing
threshold
Use this method to create an event automation plan that uses the target system
and the event types that are specified by an existing active threshold. When
creating an event automation plan based on an existing threshold, you need to
specify only a few settings: the threshold levels that you want to monitor, the
event actions that you want the plan to include, and the time range that
determines when the plan is active.
1. From the Monitor View page or the Thresholds page in the IBM Systems
Director Web interface, select a monitor with an active threshold.
2. Click Create Event Automation plan. The Event Automation Plan wizard is
displayed.
3. Complete the wizard, then click Finish.
Related tasks:
“Creating an event automation plan” on page 322
Editing a threshold
Use the Thresholds task to edit thresholds that are set for the monitors on your
resource.
To edit a threshold, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, expand System
Status and Health > Thresholds. The Thresholds page with a table listing
applicable thresholds and information about each threshold is displayed.
2. Select the threshold that you want to edit.
3. Click Actions > Edit Threshold. The Threshold page is displayed.
4. Modify the settings for the threshold as needed.
5. Click OK.
Activating a threshold
You can activate thresholds that have been previously deactivated.
A threshold must be in the deactivated (disabled) state before you can activate it.
To activate a threshold, complete the following steps:
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1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, expand System
Status and Health > Thresholds. The Thresholds page with a table listing
applicable thresholds and information about each threshold is displayed.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Select the deactivated threshold that you want to activate.
Click Activate Threshold. The Threshold page is displayed.
Optional: Modify any settings for the threshold that you want to change.
Click OK.
The threshold status value in the thresholds table will change from deactivated to
activated.
Deactivating a threshold
You can deactivate thresholds that have been previously activated.
A threshold must be in the activated (enabled) state before you can deactivate it.
To deactivate a threshold, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, expand System
Status and Health > Thresholds. The Thresholds page with a table listing
applicable thresholds and information about each threshold is displayed.
2. Select the deactivated threshold that you want to activate.
3. Click Actions > Deactivate Threshold.
4. Click OK.
The threshold status value in the thresholds table will change from Activated to
Deactivated.
Deleting a threshold
You can delete thresholds that you no longer want associated with your monitors.
A threshold must exist before you can delete it.
To delete a threshold, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, expand System
Status and Health > Thresholds. The Thresholds page with a table listing
applicable thresholds and information about each threshold is displayed.
2. Select the threshold that you want to delete.
3. Click Actions > Delete Threshold.
4. Click Delete.
The threshold will no longer appear in the thresholds table.
Managing status set entries
The status set entries that are reported by resources that are managed by IBM
Systems Director help to indicate the overall health of your environment. By
managing and monitoring status set entries, which include problems and
compliance issues, you can help prevent undetected failures that cause network
interruptions and data loss.
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Status set entries that are reported by resources in your environment are tracked
by IBM Systems Director. You can use IBM Systems Director to quickly navigate to
and display these entries. You can also control the entries that are displayed and
collected by IBM Systems Director.
The Health Summary task displays several resource-monitoring tools on a single
page. Together, these tools provide a single, consolidated interface with which you
can quickly view the status of important areas of your environment, monitor
critical resources, and view the contents of user-defined health summary groups.
You can also use other tasks in IBM Systems Director Web interface, such as
Resource Explorer and Find a Resource to quickly navigate to specific resources.
After you have located a specific resource, you can use the Actions menu to view
its status.
You can perform the following actions on status set entries that are tracked by IBM
Systems Director:
Delete Clears a status set entry. When a status set entry is deleted, the individual
status set entry is removed from IBM Systems Director tasks that might
display it; however, future occurrences of the entry are still tracked and
counted by IBM Systems Director.
Ignore Deactivates a status set entry. When a status set entry is deactivated for a
system or a specific entry type, the systems continues to generate that
entry and the entry still occurs. However, IBM Systems Director tracks its
status in only the event log. Future occurrences of the entry that occur for
the specified system are not displayed or counted by IBM Systems Director
unless you reactivate the status set entry.
Activate
Activates a status set entry that has been deactivated. When a status set
entry is activated, the individual status set entry and all future occurrences
of the entry are tracked and counted by IBM Systems Director.
Viewing a specific status set entry
Status set entries that are reported by resources in your environment are tracked
by IBM Systems Director and displayed in the applicable health summary tasks
and panels. Use the System Status and Health tasks to view status set entries that
have been collected by IBM Systems Director.
You can view status set entries for only those resources to which you have access.
To view a specific status set entry, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, expand System
Status and Health and navigate to the type of status set entry that you want to
view:
v To navigate to a hardware or power-related status set entry, click Problems.
The Problems task lists only those elevated status set entries that are problem
status set entries that have been reported to IBM Systems Director Server.
The data listed here is a subset of what is listed on the Active Status page.
From the Problems page, you can navigate to, display, and manage these
status set entries. You can also ignore entries to prevent IBM Systems
Director Server from collecting them or delete the entries to remove them
from the list until they occur again.
v To navigate to all status set entries, including problems, click Active Status.
The Active Status task lists all of the status set entries, including problems
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275
and compliance issues, that have been reported to IBM Systems Director
Server. From the Active Status page, you can navigate to, display, and
manage these status set entries. You can also ignore entries to prevent IBM
Systems Director Server from collecting them or delete the entries to remove
them from the list until they occur again.
A table listing applicable status set entries and information about each entry is
displayed.
2. View the properties for the status set entry in the table or click the status set
entry to view additional properties and details.
You can use the Ignore, Activate, and Delete actions to control the entries that are
displayed and collected.
Viewing status set entries for a specific resource
Status set entries that are reported by resources in your environment are tracked
by IBM Systems Director and displayed in the applicable health summary tasks
and panels. Use the Resource Explorer task to view status set entries for specific
resources.
You can view status set entries for only those resources to which you have access.
To view the status information for a specific resource, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Resource
Explorer.
2. In the table view, drill down to the resource that you want to view within the
group that contains that resource.
3. Select the resource that you want to view.
4. Click Actions > System Status and Health > Active Status. The active status
set entries are listed for the resource.
Note: In a targeted launch scenario, only status that applies to the target is
displayed.
You can use the Ignore, Activate, and Delete actions to control the entries that are
displayed and collected.
Viewing status set entries for a group of resources
Status set entries that are reported by resources in your environment are tracked
by IBM Systems Director and displayed in the applicable health summary tasks
and panels. Use the Navigate Resources task to view status set entries for the
resources that belong to a specific group.
You can view status set entries for only those resources to which you have access.
To view status set entries for a group of resources, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Navigate
Resources.
2. In the table view, select one or more groups from the list.
3. Click Actions > System Status and Health > Active Status. The active status
set entries are listed for the resources that belong to the selected group.
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Note: In a targeted launch scenario, only status that applies to the targets is
displayed.
You can use the Ignore, Activate, and Delete actions to control the entries that are
displayed and collected.
Activating a status set entry
You can activate (un-ignore) individual status set entries that have been
deactivated (ignored). Status set entries that are activated are tracked by IBM
Systems Director and are displayed in the applicable Health Summary tasks and
panels.
When status set entries are activated for a system or a specific entry type, IBM
Systems Director tracks them.
To activate a status set entry, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, expand System
Status and Health and navigate to the type of status set entry that you want to
view:
v To navigate to a hardware or power-related status set entry, click Problems.
The Problems task lists only those elevated status set entries that are problem
status set entries that have been reported to IBM Systems Director Server.
The data listed here is a subset of what is listed on the Active Status page.
From the Problems page, you can navigate to, display, and manage these
status set entries. You can also ignore entries to prevent IBM Systems
Director Server from collecting them or delete the entries to remove them
from the list until they occur again.
v To navigate to all status set entries, including problems, click Active Status.
The Active Status task lists all of the status set entries, including problems
and compliance issues, that have been reported to IBM Systems Director
Server. From the Active Status page, you can navigate to, display, and
manage these status set entries. You can also ignore entries to prevent IBM
Systems Director Server from collecting them or delete the entries to remove
them from the list until they occur again.
A table listing applicable status set entries and information about each entry is
displayed.
2. Click Ignored Status.
3. Select the entry that you want to activate.
4. Click Activate.
Deactivating a status set entry
You can deactivate (ignore) individual status set entries that you do not want IBM
Systems Director to collect. Status set entries that are deactivated are ignored by
IBM Systems Director and are not displayed in the health summary tasks and
panels.
When a status set entry is deactivated for a system or a specific entry type, the
systems continue to generate that entry and the entry still occurs. However, IBM
Systems Director does not track its status. Future occurrences of the entry on the
specified system will not be displayed or counted.
To deactivate a status set entry, complete the following steps:
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277
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, expand System
Status and Health and navigate to the type of status set entry that you want to
view:
v To navigate to a hardware or power-related status set entry, click Problems.
The Problems task lists only those elevated status set entries that are problem
status set entries that have been reported to IBM Systems Director Server.
The data listed here is a subset of what is listed on the Active Status page.
From the Problems page, you can navigate to, display, and manage these
status set entries. You can also ignore entries to prevent IBM Systems
Director Server from collecting them or delete the entries to remove them
from the list until they occur again.
v To navigate to all status set entries, including problems, click Active Status.
The Active Status task lists all of the status set entries, including problems
and compliance issues, that have been reported to IBM Systems Director
Server. From the Active Status page, you can navigate to, display, and
manage these status set entries. You can also ignore entries to prevent IBM
Systems Director Server from collecting them or delete the entries to remove
them from the list until they occur again.
A table listing applicable status set entries and information about each entry is
displayed.
2. Select the entry that you want to deactivate.
3. Click Ignore.
4. In the Ignore Confirmation window, select the option that represents the
desired scope for the ignore operation:
v Selected resources only
v All resources
5. Click OK.
You can display entries that have been deactivated and then reactivate them. You
can also delete individual entries to clear the specific occurrence of the entry but
not future occurrences.
Deleting a status set entry
You can delete individual status set entries that you do not want IBM Systems
Director to collect. Status set entries that are deleted are not displayed in the health
summary tasks and panels.
When a status set entry is deleted, the individual status set entry is removed from
IBM Systems Director tasks that might display it; however, future occurrences of
the entry are still tracked and counted by IBM Systems Director.
To delete a status set entry, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, expand System
Status and Health and navigate to the type of status set entry that you want to
view:
v To navigate to a hardware or power-related status set entry, click Problems.
The Problems task lists only those elevated status set entries that are problem
status set entries that have been reported to IBM Systems Director Server.
The data listed here is a subset of what is listed on the Active Status page.
From the Problems page, you can navigate to, display, and manage these
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status set entries. You can also ignore entries to prevent IBM Systems
Director Server from collecting them or delete the entries to remove them
from the list until they occur again.
v To navigate to all status set entries, including problems, click Active Status.
The Active Status task lists all of the status set entries, including problems
and compliance issues, that have been reported to IBM Systems Director
Server. From the Active Status page, you can navigate to, display, and
manage these status set entries. You can also ignore entries to prevent IBM
Systems Director Server from collecting them or delete the entries to remove
them from the list until they occur again.
A table listing applicable status set entries and information about each entry is
displayed.
2. Select the entry that you want to delete.
3. Click Delete.
4. In the Delete Confirmation window, click Yes.
An entry is deleted for only that instance. If the entry occurs again in the future,
IBM Systems Director will collect it.
Deleting a Power Systems status set entry
When IBM Systems Director receives an event that needs to be listed as a problem
, it creates a status set entry for the event. Some Power Systems status set entries
are not automatically cleared. Follow the steps in this topic to manually close and
delete Power Systems status set entries.
You might have two different types of Power Systems status set entries:
Service status entries
For instructions to close and delete service status entries, see this topic:
“Manage Service and Support Manager events”
Hardware status entries
Hardware status entries are not deleted automatically. If you want to delete
them, follow these instructions:
1. In the IBM Systems Director left navigation pane, expand System Status and
Health and navigate to the Problems view or the Active Status view.
2. Select the entry that you want to delete and click delete. When you delete a
Power Systems status set entry, Systems Director removes the entry from every
view where it was visible.
3. In the confirmation window, click Yes.
Systems Director deletes only that instance. If the entry recurs, Systems Director
collects it again.
Related tasks:
Manage Service and Support Manager events
Managing the event log
An event is an occurrence of significance to a task or resource. Examples of events
include operation completion, hardware component failure, or a processor
threshold being exceeded. The Event Log task displays all events that the
management server receives from any resource for which you can view events.
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Related concepts:
Events
Changing backup event log preferences
The event log preferences file specifies the backup event log maximum file size
and the maximum number of backup files to keep. Use these instructions to
change the event log preferences.
In System Settings, you can specify how many events to keep in the event log.
When the event log is full and a new event is received, the oldest event is moved
to the backup event log. When the backup event log is full, a new one is created.
The old one might be deleted, depending on the backup event log preferences.
To view events in the backup event log, open data/eventLogBackup_n.log, where n
is incremented every time a new backup event log file is created.
To change the preferences, follow these steps:
1. Modify this file: data/LogManagement.properties.
max_number_of_backup_files=1
Maximum number of backup files to keep. The file name is
eventLogBackup_n.
size_of_each_backup_file=1
Size of each backup file, in megabytes.
2. Restart IBM Systems Director Server.
Changing event log preferences
The Event Log Preferences task is used to configure the options for the events that
are retrieved and displayed in the event log. You can set the number of events that
are retrieved and the duration of time over which those events are retrieved (time
range).
Note: Use the server preferences settings page to set the maximum number of
events that are stored in the management server log file.
To change the event log preferences, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, expand Settings
and then click Event Log Preferences. The Event Log Preferences page is
displayed.
2. On the Event Log Preferences page, make the desired changes.
3. Click OK.
Creating an event filter from an event
You can create a simple event filter for use in an event automation plan from an
event in the Event Log.
To create an event filter, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, expand System Status and
Health and click Event Log.
2. In the Events table, select the event that you want to use for an event filter.
3. Click Create Filter. The Create Filter window is displayed. At the bottom of the
window, the selected event type is displayed.
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4. In the Event filter name field, type the name for the event filter.
5. Optional: In the Description field, type a description to help you identify this
event filter. The description is displayed in the Event Filter window.
6. Click OK.
When you create an event automation plan in the Event Automation Plan wizard,
on the Events page select Advanced Event Filters from the Events list. the Event
Filters table displays all available event filters, including the one created from the
event log.
Related concepts:
Event filters
Related tasks:
Managing event automation plans
Deleting an event
You can delete individual events that you do not want IBM Systems Director to
display in the event log.
To delete an event, complete the following steps:
1. Open the event log as follows:
a. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Resource
Explorer.
b. Either select a group or drill down to select a resource within a group.
c. Click Actions > System Status and Health > Event Log.
The event log table is displayed.
2. Select the event that you want to delete.
3. Click Delete.
4. In the Delete Confirmation window, click OK.
Replying to an IBM i inquiry message event
Follow these to reply to an individual IBM i inquiry message event displayed in
the event log.
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation pane, expand System Status and
Health and click Event Log. The event log table opens.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Select the single inquiry message event that you want to reply to.
Click Reply. The Reply to Message window opens.
In the Reply field, enter your message.
Click OK.
Viewing events
Use the Event Log task to view events that are stored in the event log. The event
log includes all events that are received by the management server from any
resource to which you have authorization to view events.
You can view all events, events for a specific managed resource or group, or events
that are filtered using a specific criteria.
Note: The event log does not automatically refresh. To refresh the information in
the table, change the event filter or click Refresh.
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To view events in the event log, complete the following steps:
1. Open the event log as follows:
a. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Resource
Explorer.
b. Either select a group or drill down to select a resource within a group.
c. Click Actions > System Status and Health > Event Log.
The event log table is displayed.
2. Click Event Filter and select the filter criteria that you want to use. The default
filter is All Events. The event log displays the events that have been received
by IBM Systems Director Server and that match the filter criteria.
Note: The number of events that are displayed is limited by the event-log
preferences settings. By default, the event log displays the last 500 events that
occurred over the last 24 hours. Use the Event Log Preferences page to change
the event log preferences.
3. View the properties for the event in the table or click the event to view
additional properties and details.
You can use the Delete action to control the events that are displayed.
Viewing SNMP device attributes
You can use the SNMP Browser task to view the attributes of SNMP devices, for
example, hubs, routers, or other management devices that are compliant with
SNMP. You can use the SNMP Browser for management based on SNMP,
troubleshooting, or monitoring the performance of SNMP devices.
To view SNMP devices, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, expand System
Status and Health, then click SNMP Browser.
2. In the SNMP Browser window, use the Target field or click Browse to select an
available target. The SNMP Systems table displays entries that represent the
collection of managed objects in the Management Information Base (MIB)
module.
3. To perform an action on an entry in the table, right-click the entry and select an
action.
The SNMP Systems table displays information about the SNMP resource,
including all the managed objects defined in the MIB module and the MIB itself.
You can inspect the objects or perform actions on them.
Note: To configure your SNMP devices, see “Accessing a secured system with
configure access”.
Related tasks:
Accessing a secured system with configure access
Working with tables
Managing MIB files
You can import, remove, and compile Management Information Base (MIB) files
for SNMP-compliant resources.
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Compiling a MIB file
You can compile Management Information Base (MIB) files that are located on the
IBM Systems Director Server.
The MIB files are located in the install_root\proddata\snmp directory, where
install_root is the root directory of your IBM Systems Director installation. Note that
this path uses the backslash (\) to delimit the directory; depending on the system
that you are using, you might be required to enter the path using the forward
slash (/).
When IBM Systems Director Server starts, it loads a default set of compiled MIB
files that are commonly used. If you have updated the list of MIB files to load,
your most recent selections are loaded.
MIB data is stored in its own persistent-storage file, name.mibdata, where name is
the MIB definition name. These files are located in the install_root\proddata\snmp
directory. By deleting these files and loadedmibs.dat, you can remove all MIB data
in IBM Systems Director but retain other persistent-storage data.
To compile a MIB file, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, expand Settings
and then click Manage MIBs.
2. On the Manage MIBs page, click Import MIB File.
3. On the Import MIB file page, click the File name field or click Browse to search
for an MIB file. (To compile successfully, the MIB file must be located on the
IBM Systems Director Server.)
4. Select the MIB file that you want to import, then click OK. Click Cancel to
close the page without importing a MIB file.
A message displays that indicates whether the compilation was successful. The
message provides a link to view logs.
Loading MIB files into memory
You can load Management Information Base (MIB) files into memory.
To load MIB files into memory, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, expand Settings
and then click Manage MIBs.
2. On the Manage MIB files page, in the Available MIB files list, select the MIB
files that you want to load into memory.
3. Click Add to transfer the selected MIB files to the Loaded MIB files list.
4. When you are satisfied with your settings, click OK to save the settings and
close the page. To save the setting but not close the page, click Apply. To close
the page without saving the settings, click Cancel. To reset the selected MIB
files to the server default MIB installation, click Restore Defaults. You still
must click OK or Apply to save the restored settings.
Managing process monitors
You can use process monitors to generate events when an application process
starts, stops, or fails to start.
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Viewing process monitors
You can view a list of the process monitors that exist on a managed system.
To view a list of the process monitors that exist on a managed system, complete
the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Resource
Explorer.
2. Navigate to the resource for which you want to view the process monitors.
3. Right-click the resource and select System Status and Health > Process
Monitors.
Note: The Process Monitors selection item displays for only those resources
that are operating systems.
The Process Monitors page, which lists all the process monitors created for the
selected resource, is displayed.
Creating and configuring a process monitor
To monitor a process, you must create and configure a monitor. This is supported
only on systems that have Common Agent installed.
To create and configure a process monitor, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Resource
Explorer.
2. Navigate to the resource for which you want to create a process monitor.
3. Right-click the resource and select System Status and Health > Process
Monitors.
Note: The Process Monitors selection item displays for only those resources
that are operating systems.
The Process Monitors page, which lists all the process monitors created for the
selected resource, is displayed.
4. On the Process Monitors page, click Create. The Create window is displayed.
5. In the Create window, type the executable file name of the application process
that you want to monitor.
6. Select any combination of the Start, Terminate, and Fail to start after reboot
check boxes, to specify the actions that you want to monitor. Selecting one or
more actions activates the process monitor. A process monitor does nothing
unless you select at least one action.
7. If you select Fail to start after reboot, type a timeout value. This value is the
number of seconds that the process monitor waits for the application process to
start before generating a fail event.
8. Click OK to save the process monitor.
The new process monitor is displayed in the Process Monitors table on the Process
Monitors page.
Removing process monitors
You can remove any number of existing process monitors from a managed
resource.
To remove one or more process monitors from a managed resource, complete the
following steps:
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1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Resource
Explorer.
2. Navigate to the resource from which you want to remove one or more process
monitors.
3. Right-click the resource and select System Status and Health > Process
Monitors.
Note: The Process Monitors selection item displays for only those resources
that are operating systems.
The Process Monitors page, which lists all the process monitors created for the
selected resource, is displayed.
4. Select one or more process monitors that you want to remove.
5. Click Delete to remove the selected process monitors and any associated
thresholds. A confirmation dialog displays.
6. Click OK. The selected process monitors and any associated thresholds are
removed and no longer appear in the Process Monitors table.
Related tasks:
Scheduling tasks
Recording resource-monitor statistics
You can view statistics about critical system resources, such as processor, disk, and
memory by recording resource-monitor statistics. Record resource-monitor statistics
for an individual managed system, multiple systems specified by IP addresses or
host names, or system groups by using the smcli resource-monitor recording
commands.
Use the commands to start or stop recording statistics (resource-monitor values),
and to export recordings to archive or review the statistics. You can export
recordings to a file in text, comma separated values (CSV), HTML, or XML
formats. You can also delete resource-monitor recordings.
Note: Because IBM Systems Director stores the recordings in binary format, you
must use the smcli resource-monitor recording commands to work with the
recordings.
lsresmonrec
Use the lsresmonrec command to list information about previously configured
resource-monitor recordings.
mkresmonrec
Use the mkresmonrec command to record resource-monitor values.
rmresmonrec
Use the rmresmonrec command to delete one or more resource-monitor recordings.
stopresmonrec
Use the stopresmonrec command to stop recording resource-monitor values.
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Chapter 6. Automating tasks
By creating event automation plans and applying them to specific systems, you can
automate tasks and other responses to situations that occur in your
systems-management environment. For example, when a specified threshold is
reached or a specified event occurs, you can be notified by e-mail or phone. Or,
you can configure an event automation plan to start a program on a system or
change a system variable when a specific event occurs.
Important: If you are using predefined IBM Systems Director roles, you must have
SMAdministrator authority to use the automation tasks in the IBM Systems
Director Web interface.
IBM Systems Director provides the Event Automation Plan wizard as a quick and
simple way to create event automation plans that meet most systems-management
needs. Using the Event Automation Plan wizard, you can create plans that monitor
for the most typical situations in systems-management environments, including,
but not limited to, the following examples:
v Critical hardware events from all systems in your environment
v Processor (CPU) use in a specific group of systems, such as all servers running
Linux
v All Common Agent managed systems to determine whether Common Agent
goes offline
v The status of updates that are underway
v Disk space use in systems, such as those that store database data
Then, in response to the situations that you are monitoring, you can choose to send
a page or e-mail, or you can start a program on a system. For more information
about creating event automation plans and using the Event Automation Plan
wizard, see “Creating an event automation plan.”
The Event Automation Plan wizard also provides advanced event actions and
event filter options that you can use to create event automation plans that can
meet very specific needs in your systems-management environment.
Successful implementation of event automation plans requires planning and
consideration of how you will implement them. Providing thoughtful descriptions
for your event automation plans can be particularly helpful. For more information,
see “Planning for event automation plan implementations.”
© Copyright IBM Corp. 1999, 2013
287
Related concepts:
eLearning: Automating tasks
Related tasks:
“Creating an event automation plan” on page 322
Related reference:
Planning for events
Event and event automation plan commands
Events, filters, and actions in event automation plans
An event automation plan lets you automatically respond to a situation in your
IBM Systems Director environment. By creating event automation plans and
applying them to specific systems, you can be notified by e-mail, for example,
when a specified threshold is reached or a specified event occurs. Or, you can
configure an event automation plan to start a program on a system in response to
the event.
What is an event automation plan?
Event automation plans are composed of three components: a target list that
contains one or more system or group, a filter that specifies types of events; and
one or more actions, which are invoked in response to filtered events. The Event
Automation Plan wizard provides a quick and easy way to create event
automation plans for common situations. If you want to create sophisticated event
automation plans, it is important to understand the events that are generated in a
systems-management environment, the event filters that specify the triggering
events, and the event actions that can automate a response to the triggering event.
When you create an event automation plan, you include a filter and one or more
actions. Finally, you apply the event automation plan to an individual system,
several systems, or a group of systems.
How does IBM Systems Director Server use an event automation
plan?
When IBM Systems Director Server receives an event, the server determines
whether there is a plan for that type of event. If so, the server checks whether the
event source is in the list of targets in the plan. If it is in the plan, then the server
performs the action specified in the plan.
Events
An event is an occurrence of significance to a task or system, such as the
completion or failure of an operation. In a systems-management environment, IBM
Systems Director Server receives events from many sources.
These sources include, but are not limited to, the following programs and
protocols:
v Systems Director Program native events generated by the management server.
v Systems Director native events generated by Common Agent. For more
information, see “Common Agent.”
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v Common Information Model (CIM) indications from the Common Information
Model Object Manager (CIMOM) that is installed as part of Common Agent and
Platform Agent.
v Microsoft Windows event log.
v Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI).
v SNMP traps through out-of-band communication, that is, communication that is
not through Common Agent or Platform Agent.
v Platform Event Traps (PET) through out-of-band communication with systems
that support Alert Standard Format (ASF) and Intelligent Platform Management
Interface (IPMI).
v Service processor notifications through out-of-band communication.
Alerts and resolutions
In Systems Director, an event can be in one of the following categories: alert and
resolution. Typically, an alert is the occurrence of a problem relating to a system. A
resolution is the occurrence of a correction or solution to a problem.
Related concepts:
“Event filters” on page 294
“Event actions” on page 298
Related reference:
CIM indications in IBM Systems Director
Mapping SNMP traps to Systems Director events
This topic explains how to modify the rules used to map SNMP traps to Systems
Director events. This customization provides greater flexibility in what information
gets presented to users and increases the event action plan filter options.
Introduction
Systems Director can manage SNMP traps. An SNMP trap is a notification sent
from the device acting as an SNMP agent; such as a switch, router, or printer, to
Systems Director. It processes incoming traps by mapping them to Systems
Director event format. The conversion process is called mapping. Systems Director
has default mappings for some traps. Users can also create mapping files to map
additional events.
Mapping SNMP traps to Systems Director allows you to do the following:
v Use the same event action plan tools for SNMP traps and Systems Director
events.
v Create homogenous information across multiple vendors supporting a trap.
v Customize information presented in the resulting Systems Director event.
There are two methods by which traps are converted: unmapped and mapped:
Unmapped traps
Use a generic set of rules, also called keys, to map the trap data to
properties within the Systems Director event. Any trap OIDs that are not
included in the mapping keys are considered unmapped and use the
default, generic keys.
Mapped traps
Have specific conversion keys defined for an SNMP OID or OID range.
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Follow these steps to add or change mappings:
1. Open the .map file in one of these directories:
v Linux: /opt/ibm/director/data/snmp/
v Windows: C:\Program Files\ibm\director\data\snmp\
2. Modify the .map file as necessary. See the map file properties below.
3. Restart Systems Director services.
Mapping key syntax
The SNMP map file contains a series of map entries that consist of predefined
keys grouped into map entries for specific OIDs or range of OIDs. The equals sign
(=) is used to set a value and the double equals (==) is used to compare values as
equal to each other.
Predefined keys
The predefined keys describe how SNMP trap data should be converted to
Systems Director event format. Each key has this format: event.index.key
format.
Note: The predefined key usually does not need to be changed.
index
Identifies which map the key entry belongs to. It must be unique
to the key entry in the map file. Follow these suggestions to avoid
duplication of index values:
v Use the specific trap type as a part of that index. In the
following example map entry, the trap type is 8217 and the
index was set to 18217.
v Systems Director uses index values through 14000, so choose
indexes above 14000. Check the existing .map files for additional
index values that are in use.
key
The key property to be modified and the data associated with it.
Example:
The entry event.12000.severity=4 sets the severity to 4 for map 12000.
Map entries
A map entry contains two sections of keys. The first section, Director Alert
Definition, describes the organization and content of the Systems Director
event. The SNMP Trap Filter Section deals with how the trap information
is filtered and parsed.
Example map entry:
#
#
#
#
- Director Alert Definition Section Mappings from lsi-adaptersas.mib specific SNMP traps to the corresponding Director Event Format
author: Author Name
Warning! This file is case-sensitive
# SW traps
# - Director Alert Definition Section # Define the alert Family
event.18217.family=SNMP
# Define the alert Event Qualifiers
event.18217.keyword.0=Hardware
event.18217.keyword.1=Storage
event.18217.keyword.2=LSI
# Set the Severity
event.18217.severity=4
# Set the Category
event.18217.category=1
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# Define the message to be displayed
event.18217.text=PD state changed on Adapter {0} Dev {1} Enc {2} Slot {3} from {4} to {5}
# - SNMP Trap Filter Section # OID of the trap to match
event.18217.oid=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.8.0.8217
# Trap variable to parse for the alert message
event.18217.eventvar.0=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.6.1001
event.18217.eventvar.1=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.8.1201
event.18217.eventvar.2=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.8.1202
event.18217.eventvar.3=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.8.1203
event.18217.eventvar.4=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.8.1205
event.18217.eventvar.5=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.8.1204
event.18217.proceedwithnormaltrap=false
Mapping file syntax - Map entries, Director Alert Definition section
This section uses a set of keys to define which information is presented in the
Systems Director event. The following keys are pertinent to this section:
Table 25. Keys pertinent to the Director Alert Definition map entry section
Key
Value
Description
event.index.family
SNMP
Top-level qualifier: the family name
of event.
event.index.keyword.0
event.qualifier.sample1
This is the top level qualifier. This
value can be translated from the
language bundle specified by
event.bundle key.
event.index.keyword.1
event.qualifier.sample2
The next level qualifier. You can
create as many keywords. These
values form the event type hierarchy
within a family.
event.index.severity
0,1,2,3,4,5
0 - Fatal, 1 - Critical, 2 - Minor, 3 Warning (default), 4 –
Harmless/Informational, 5 Unknown
event.index.category
0 or 1
0 – resolution, 1 - alert (default)
event.index.text
text1
This value can be translated from
language bundle specified by
event.bundle key.
event.index.version
version number
Version number of this event
definition (defaults to 1)
The event.index.family and event.index.keyword keys are used to define the
event type hierarchical structure that the resulting Systems Director event will
belong to. This grouping can be used as part of an event action plan event filter.
The family for mapped SNMP traps is always set to SNMP, while the rest of the
keywords in the hierarchy can be set to whatever best describes the Systems
Director event.
Example:
The example in “Mapping key syntax” on page 290 uses the following entries for
family and keywords:
# - Director Alert Definition Section # Define the alert Family
event.18217.family=SNMP
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# Define the alert Event Qualifiers
event.18217.keyword.0=Hardware
event.18217.keyword.1=Storage
event.18217.keyword.2=LSI
These keys will produce a Systems Director event with the Event Type
SNMP.Hardware.Storage.LSI. The first two keywords define the component
category, and the last keyword becomes the component type. These are the values
as shown in the Systems Director event interface:
Component Type:
LSI
Component Category: SNMP\Hardware\Storage
Additionally, you can select the event type on the Event Type page of the Event
Filter wizard. To see it, choose these:
Types of events to include: Custom
Show: Event Type
The next two keys in the example, event.18217.severity=4 and
event.18217.category=1, set the event severity to “Informational” and the category
to “Alert”. There are event categories:
Alert
A problem has just occurred.
Resolution
A problem has been resolved.
The Director Alert Definition Section ends with the key that describes what event
text is produced. The example has the following entry:
# Define the message to be displayed
event.18217.text=PD state changed on Adapter {0} Dev {1} Enc {2} Slot {3} from {4} to {5}
Note: In the map file, this key is on a continuous line.
All information after event.18217.text= is in the event text as it is entered, except
the bracketed numbers such as {0}. These numbers represent the inclusion of
variable information specified in the SNMP Trap Filter Section of the map entry.
They can be assigned to any of the trap variables sent with the trap. This lets you
include trap variable data in the event text.
Mapping file syntax - Map entries, SNMP Trap Filter section
The SNMP Trap Filter Section of the map entry specifies how the SNMP trap is
filtered and parsed. The following keys are pertinent to this section:
Table 26. Keys pertinent to the SNMP trap filter map entry section
Key
Value
Description
event.index.oid
1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.8.0.8217 (see the
example map entry)
OID of incoming trap to be matched.
Use an asterisk (*) as a wildcard
character to support fallback rules.
event.index.eventvar.0
Event variable
This value can be used as a variable
in event.index.text.
event.index.eventvar.1
Event variable
Use this to add a second variable if
necessary. You can add as many
variables as are needed.
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Table 26. Keys pertinent to the SNMP trap filter map entry section (continued)
Key
Value
Description
event.index.eventvar.index.0
Position based event variable. For
example, this value can be 1. (see the
example map entry)
Use this instead of
event.index.eventvar.n if you want
a specific varbind (by position) value
to be used as an event variable. The
first occurring word index is a
number and the second word index
is an actual word. In the example
map entry, the value of first varbind
will be used as event variable {0}.
event.index.eventvar.index.1
Position based event variable. For
example, this value can be 2.
Use this to add a second variable if
necessary. You can add as many
variables as are needed. In this case,
the value of second varbind will be
used as event variable {1}.
event.index.proceedwithnormaltrap
true/false
If true, a normal SNMP trap event is
also generated. Currently, this value
is ignored.
The first key included in this section is event.index.oid. It defines the OID of the
trap that the map should be applied to. The example OID key is for the specific
trap type 8217.
# OID of the trap to match
event.18217.oid=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.8.0.8217
Notice that the OID is in numeric format and identifies a specific trap. To indicate
a range of trap OIDs, end a branch with an asterisk (*), as shown here:
event.12000.oid=1.3.6.1.6.3.1.1.5.*
After the specified OID is found, the trap identification can be filtered further by
matching the trap variable information against predefined values. This can be done
by using one of these keys: event.index.eventvarbind or
event.index.eventvarbind.index. The primary difference between these two keys
is how the variable data is found.
After the OID and variable filters in the map entry identify a compatible trap,
Systems Director retrieves the variable trap information to be included in the
Systems Director event text. The SNMP trap variables can be parsed into the
Systems Director event text using the event.index.eventvar and
event.index.eventvar.index keys. In the example map entry, key entry for
event.index.event.var shows a request for the trap variable with OID
1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.6.1001 and assigns it to the Event Text variable {0}.
event.18217.eventvar.0=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.6.1001
The event text variable {0} is replaced with the value of the trap variable’s OID in
the event.index.text key.
event.18217.text=PD state changed on Adapter {0} Dev {1} Enc {2} Slot {3} from {4} to {5}
The complete set of variables in the example is mapped as follows.
# Trap variable to parse for the alert message
event.18217.eventvar.0=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.6.1001
event.18217.eventvar.1=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.8.1201
event.18217.eventvar.2=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.8.1202
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event.18217.eventvar.3=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.8.1203
event.18217.eventvar.4=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.8.1205
event.18217.eventvar.5=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.8.1204
Another commonly used key is event.index.proceedwithnormaltrap. For an SNMP
trap that is mapped, this key lets you decide whether Systems Director should
report the original SNMP trap. By default, Systems Director processes both the
SNMP trap and the mapped Systems Director event. This causes double event log
entries and possibly multiple event action plan triggers. Setting the
event.index.proceedwithnormaltrap key to false specifies that only the mapped
event is processed.
Example:
event.18217.proceedwithnormaltrap=false
MIB trap used in the example map entry
Reference of trap from MIB used for this example.
pdtStateChange TRAP-TYPE
ENTERPRISE pdTraps
VARIABLES
{atAdpNumber,pdID,pdEncIndex,pdSlotNo, pdOldState, pdNewState}
DESCRIPTION "PD state changed on Adapter -$1 Dev -$2 Enc -$3 Slot -$4 from $5 to 6"
--#TYPE "LSI SAS Trap: PD state changed"
--#SUMMARY "PD state changed on Adapter -%d Dev -%d Enc -%d Slot -%d from %d to %d"
--#ARGUMENTS {0,1,2,3,4,5}
--#SEVERITY INFORMATIONAL
--#GENERIC 6
--#CATEGORY "Error Events"
--#STATE OPERATIONAL
::= 8217
Forwarding SNMP traps from IBM Systems Director Server to
any SNMP application
To forward SNMP trap events that come from IBM Systems Director to an external
SNMP application, import these Management Information Bases (MIBs) to the
external application.
MIBs:
SNMP-FRAMEWORK-MIB
IBM-REC-MIB.mib
IBM-Director-Alert-MIB.mib
On Windows systems, the MIBs are located here: C:\Program Files\IBM\Director\
proddata\snmp\.
On Linux systems, the MIBs are located here: /opt/ibm/director/proddata/snmp/.
After the MIBs are imported, the external SNMP application’s event data displays
the correct trap information.
Event filters
A filter specifies one or more events that you want your event automation plan to
process. The event automation plan ignores any event instances that do not meet
the specifications of the filter. Typically, you will use the common event filters that
are provided in the Event Automation Plan wizard. Occasionally there are
situations where you will want to create a sophisticated event filter. The event
filters described in this section are available for such implementations. Using these
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filters, you can specify details for an event such that it covers very specific
problems and occurrences. To create filters quickly, default values are provided;
however, you can customize the settings.
You can use a filter to capture a single event or multiple events. When designing
an event filter, first determine whether the following criteria are met:
v Can all the target systems generate all the events that you want to filter?
If a system cannot generate the event that you want to filter, the filter will not be
effective on that system. In such instances, you can apply the event automation
plan to those systems, but it will have no effect. For example, if an event filter is
based on an event for BladeCenter products and that event automation plan is
applied to systems that do not include BladeCenter products, the event filter has
no events to filter, and therefore, no actions are performed. If you understand
this concept, you can create more complex event automation plans, and you can
reduce the number of event automation plans you must build and maintain.
v Can you use the same event actions for all targeted systems to respond to the
event?
v Are the other filter options besides the event type common for all targeted
systems? These settings include the number of times the filter is active, the
severity of the event, and other attributes.
In addition to selecting the event types to filter, you also can select from four types
of event filters: Simple, Duplication, Exclusion, and Threshold. Each filter offers
different options for processing the selected event types.
Related concepts:
“Events” on page 288
“Event actions” on page 298
Related tasks:
“Managing event filters” on page 336
Events that are available for filtering
Using the Event Automation Plan wizard you can select from commonly used sets
of events. Occasionally, you might need to create a filter using specialized events.
The Event Automation Plan wizard provides a means to do this also. All currently
available event types are displayed in the tree on the Event Type page in the Event
Filter Builder window, except for the IBM i message queue events. The Event Type
page provides a way to specify the IBM i message queue events without using the
tree.
The default installation of IBM Systems Director and its default plug-ins publish
their events in the Event Type tree when one of the following software starts:
v IBM Systems Director Server
v Common Agent
v Platform Agent
However, optional plug-ins might vary in whether the events are published when
one of these software starts. When the events are published depends on how the
optional plug-ins are implemented.
If you add a plug-in to your IBM Systems Director installation, the plug-in might
publish its events either when it is added to the installation or when the plug-in
sends its first event. If the plug-in publishes when it sends its first event, only that
event is published.
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Note: Events from the Windows event log are displayed in the Windows event log
tree in the Event Type Filter Builder. Events from WMI are displayed in the
Common Information Model (CIM) tree.
Simple event filter
Simple event filters are general-purpose filters; most event automation plans use a
simple event filter.
In addition to any simple event filters that you create, IBM Systems Director
provides the following predefined, read-only simple event filters in the Event
Filters page.
Note: You cannot change predefined event filters; they are read-only. However,
you can copy a predefined filter and change the copy. For more information, see
“Copying an event filter.”
All events
Processes any events that occur on any system, except for
Windows-specific and IBM i-specific events.
Common Agent offline
Processes only those events that are generated when any managed
operating system resource goes offline.
Critical events
Processes only those events that have a Critical severity.
Disk Use
Processes only those events that are generated when the currently available
hard disk space in a system changes with respect to availability.
Environmental sensor events
Processes only those events that are associated with the condition of a
system environment, such as voltage and temperature.
Fatal events
Processes only those events that have a Fatal severity.
Hardware Predictive Failure Analysis events
Processes only those events that are generated when a Predictive Failure
Analysis is detected for a hardware component.
Informational events
Processes only those events that have a Informational severity.
Memory use
Processes only those events that are generated when the currently available
memory in a system changes with respect to availability.
Minor events
Processes only those events that have a Minor severity.
Processor use
Processes only those events that are generated when the state of a
processor (CPU) has changed.
Security events
Processes only those events that are generated by specific security
protocols, for example, log on failed due to an undefined user ID, or
incorrect or expired password.
Storage events
Processes only those events that are generated by storage components,
such as RAID configurations, for example, when creating, modifying, or
destroying a storage volume or storage pool.
Unknown events
Processes only those events that have a Unknown severity.
Warning events
Processes only those events that have a Warning severity.
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Some of these predefined filters use the severity of events to determine which
events can pass through; other filters target a specific type of event. Using one of
these predefined event filters ensures that the correct event type or event severity
is selected.
Related tasks:
“Managing event filters” on page 336
Duplication event filter
In addition to the options that are available in the simple filters, duplication event
filters ignore duplicate events.
You can use this filter in two ways: with or without specifying the number of times
to ignore an event (Count).
To specify only a time range (Interval), the Count setting must be set to zero
(Count = 0). The first occurrence of an event that meets the filter criteria triggers
associated actions and starts a countdown of the interval. For example, if you
specify a 10-second interval, a 10-second timer starts when an event meets the
filtering criteria. Because Count is set to 0, all other instances of an event that
meets the criteria do not trigger associated actions during the interval.
If you also specify a number of times to ignore an event (Count), it applies within
the specified time range (Interval). After the first occurrence of an event that meets
the filtering criteria, the Count setting specifies the number of times an event must
meet the criteria again before associated actions are triggered.
For example, if you set Count to 9, an event meeting the criteria is allowed to
occur nine times within the interval. When an event meets the criteria for a tenth
time within the interval, the associated actions are triggered, the count is reset, and
the interval is reset.
For the duplication filter to trigger the associated event actions a second time, the
count must be exceeded within the reset interval. For example, if Count = 3 and
Interval = 5 minutes, the event action is invoked for the fourth occurrence of the
event that occurs within 5 minutes. Then, the count and interval are reset. A fourth
occurrence of the event must occur in a 5-minute interval again.
This filter is useful in managing the processing of frequently generated events. For
example, you can define a duplication filter to filter on the occurrence of an offline
event and define a corresponding event action to forward the event to IBM
Systems Director Server. Depending on the criteria that you define, only the first
event announcing that the system is offline is processed, and all other instances in
which an event meets the filtering criteria are discarded until the Count value is
exceeded during the specified interval.
Related tasks:
“Managing event filters” on page 336
Exclusion event filter
In addition to the simple filter options, exclusion event filters exclude certain event
types. Using this filter, you define the criteria of the events to exclude. You can use
this filter to activate a group of events and then exclude some of the events in that
group. You can use this filter to exclude multiple event types.
This filter type is useful when you want to create a filter based on a severity or a
category of events, but you want to exclude some specific event types. Instead of
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creating event filters for each event that you want to include, you can specify the
event types that you want to exclude. By using exclusion event filters, it is easier
to remove events that you do not want to monitor.
Example
You can monitor server events, but exclude security alerts such as
“SSHLogin_Failed” failures from a service processor or other SSH client. To change
the event filter, complete the following steps:
1. On the Event Filters page, select the event filter that you want to edit. Click
Edit. The Edit Event Filter wizard is displayed.
2. Change the filter type from 'Simple Event filter' to 'Exclusion Event filter'.
3. Click the 'Excluded Event Type' tab on the left. Select Custom and specify the
full path of the events to be excluded. For this example, browse to Managed
Resource > Managed System Resource > Logical Resource > System >
Computer System > Hardware Control Point > Service Processor.
Under Operational Condition, select SSH Login Failed.
4. Click Add.
Result
The client no longer receives email related to “SSHLogin_Failed for Service
Processor”.
Related tasks:
“Managing event filters” on page 336
Recurring event filter
In addition to the simple filter options, a recurring event filter processes an event
after it has occurred a specified number of times within a specified interval.
An event triggers associated actions if, within the specified interval, the event
occurs the number of times specified in the Count field.
For example, you can define a recurring filter to monitor frequently occurring
heartbeat events and forward the event to IBM Systems Director Server only when
the heartbeat event is received for the 100th time during a specified amount of
time. Count is set to 100 and Interval is set to 5 minutes. When the specified event
is received for the 100th time within 5 minutes, the event actions are invoked, and
the Count and Interval settings are reset. To invoke the event actions a second
time, the specified event must be received 100 times within an interval of 5
minutes again. If only 90 events are received within the 5 minutes, the Count and
Interval settings are reset.
Another example is to create a recurring filter such that, if a user attempts to log
on with a bad password five times within five minutes, the event automation plan
will trigger associated event actions.
Related tasks:
“Managing event filters” on page 336
Event actions
Event actions specify the action that IBM Systems Director takes in response to a
specific event or events. Using the Event Automation Plan wizard, you can easily
create an event automation plan that will send you an e-mail or pager notification
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in response to an event. Additionally, the Event Automation Plan wizard provides
other advanced event actions that you can use in response to an event.
IBM Systems Director has several predefined types of event actions. With the
exception of “Add to the event log”, you must customize each action that you
want to use.
Note: When you upgrade from previous versions of IBM Director to IBM Systems
Director 6.1 or later, the following event actions will no longer be supported:
v Add a message to the console ticker tape
v Send a message to a management console user
If you migrate an event action plan from IBM Director, version 5.20 or earlier, to
IBM Systems Director 6.1 or later, these actions will be removed from the event
automation plan. If the resulting event automation plan has no event actions
remaining, the plan will be in a deactivated state.
Related tasks:
“Creating an event action” on page 326
“Editing an event action” on page 327
“Copying an event action” on page 327
“Deleting an event action” on page 329
“Saving and not saving an event-action history” on page 329
“Viewing an event-action history” on page 330
“Viewing event action properties” on page 332
Log to a log file
Logs information about the triggering event to a specified text file.
Requirements
None
Result The specified text is added to the log file. Also, applicable attributes of the
event are also logged, for example, severity, event type, date, time, and IP
address of the affected system. You can specify the filename and file
extension of the log file, as well as its maximum file size. If the log file
reaches its specified maximum size, it is renamed to filename.1, where
filename is the file name that you specified. Then, a new filename.extension
file is created, where extension is the file extension that you specified for
the log file. The log file is located on the management server in the
install_root\log directory, where install_root is the root directory of your
IBM Systems Director installation. Note that this path uses the backslash
(\) to delimit the directory; depending on the system that you are using,
you might be required to enter the path using the forward slash (/).
Example
Use this event action when you want to log information in a file after a
specified event is generated. You can log the following information:
v Standard information from the event.
v Custom information that you specify.
Tip: You can use event-data-substitution variables in the Log comment
field field. For more information, see “Event-data-substitution
variables.”
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Related concepts:
“Event-data-substitution variables” on page 333
Modify an event and send it
Resends the event that originally triggered the event automation plan. Before
resending the event, the action modifies the event data, such as its text and
severity, to your specification.
Requirements
None
Result The triggering event and the event that this event action generates are both
logged in the Event Log. The event that this event action generates
contains the text and event type from the original triggering event.
Example
Use this event action when you want to send a secondary event that
contains information from the first event. You can change or add to the
event text. Also, you can change the event severity; for some events, this
capability is useful when you want to increase the severity level.
For example, by default an Topology Offline event has a severity of
informational. If you have created an event automation plan to filter
critical events and you want the Topology Offline event to be treated as
such, you can use this event action to change the severity of this event.
Create a simple filter for the Topology Offline event. Then, use the Modify
an event and send it event action to resend the event, but change the
severity to critical in the New event severity field. Now, the critical event
filter will catch the event and the event automation plan will perform the
prescribed action.
Note: You can use event-data-substitution variables to include event-data
information into the new event text. For more information, see
“Event-data-substitution variables.” The detail slot setting also accepts
event-data-substitution variables; however, using event-data-substitution
variables in the detail slot setting can cause errors if not done correctly.
Related concepts:
“Event-data-substitution variables” on page 333
Post to a newsgroup (NNTP)
Posts a message to a newsgroup used by your organization. The newsgroup must
use Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) to send and receive information.
Requirements
Newsgroup service must be available.
Note: You cannot use this action to post a message to a secure news
server.
Result The specified message is posted to the newsgroup.
Example
This action can be useful as an additional logging mechanism outside of
IBM Systems Director. Use this event action when you want to send
information to a newsgroup after a specified event is generated. The
message might notify members of a technical support organization when a
critical server is having problems.
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Note: You can use event-data-substitution variables to include event data
information into the newsgroup message. For more information, see
“Event-data-substitution variables.”
Related concepts:
“Event-data-substitution variables” on page 333
Send a Tivoli Enterprise Console event
If IBM Systems Director Server receives an event, you can forward that event to a
specified Tivoli Enterprise Console® event server.
Requirements
This event action requires that Tivoli Enterprise Console server is installed
on the specified system.
Result The specified Tivoli Enterprise Console server receives an IBM Systems
Director event in the Tivoli Enterprise Console event format.
Note: If the Tivoli Enterprise Console server is unavailable, the Tivoli
Enterprise Console events are queued and delivered when the Tivoli
Enterprise Console server becomes available.
Example
When IBM Systems Director Server receives an event, you might want to
forward the event to a Tivoli Enterprise Console server.
Send an Internet (SMTP) e-mail
Sends a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) e-mail message. You also can send a
message to an e-mail enabled phone. Using this action, you can send more text
than when using Send an e-mail to a mobile phone.
Note: This event action can send e-mail messages to Lotus Notes® IDs.
Requirements
If you are concerned about the availability of the internal mail server,
consider using an outside SMTP provider.
Result The specified e-mail address receives the e-mail message.
Example
Use this event action to send a message to administrators that need to
track the status of a group of servers.
Note: You can use event-data-substitution variables to include event data
information in the subject and body of the e-mail message. For more
information, see “Event-data-substitution variables.”
Related concepts:
“Event-data-substitution variables” on page 333
Related tasks:
“Testing an event action” on page 328
Send an e-mail to a mobile phone
Sends an e-mail message to a mobile phone. The e-mail message is shortened to
accommodate the limited display screen of a mobile phone. Using this action, you
can send less text than when using Send an e-mail (Internet SMTP) .
Requirements
This event action has the following requirements:
v The management server must be running Windows, AIX, or Linux.
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v The mobile phone must be able to receive text messages.
Result The specified mobile phone receives the e-mail message. If you specified a
message body, that is all that the mobile phone receives. If you did not
specify a message body, the mobile phone receives the text of the
triggering event.
Example
Use this event action to send an e-mail message to service personnel when
a Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) configuration fails.
Note: You can use event-data-substitution variables to include event data
information in the subject and body of the e-mail message. For more
information, see “Event-data-substitution variables.”
Related concepts:
“Event-data-substitution variables” on page 333
Related tasks:
“Testing an event action” on page 328
Send an event to Tivoli Event Integration Facility probe
If IBM Systems Director Server receives an event, you can forward that event to a
specified Tivoli Event Integration Facility (EIF) probe.
Requirements
This event action requires that you have Tivoli Event Integration Facility
(EIF) probe installed on the specified system.
Result The specified EIF probe receives an IBM Systems Director event in the
Tivoli Event Integration Facility event format. The event includes the
following extra tokens:
source_moid
This token has a value of the managed object identifier (MOID) for
the source event system. For example, an IBM Director Server,
called dirserverA, discovers an IBM Director Agent, called
diragentB. When the events from diragentB occur, the source_moid
is the MOID of diragentB.
Note: For out-of-bind events, the system that is the source of the
events has no MOID.
source_app
This token has a value of “IBM_DIRECTOR”, which means that the
source application is IBM Systems Director.
source_app_version
This token has a value that corresponds to the version of IBM
Director Server that is currently installed.
managed_object_type
This token has a value that corresponds to the type of managed
object (in this case, the component type) that is associated with the
type of source event. Some examples of managed objects:
v managed_object_type="BCChassis"
v managed_object_type="UPD"
v managed_object_type="Fan"
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http_port
This token has a value of an HTTP port number, such as
http_port=8421.
https_port
This token has a value of an HTTP secure port number, such as
https_port=8422.
Note: Note: If the EIF probe is unavailable, the Tivoli Event Integration
Facility events are queued and delivered when the probe becomes
available.
Example
When IBM Systems Director Server receives an event, you can forward the
event to a Tivoli Business Service Manager (TBSM) by using the EIF probe.
The event action sends the event to the probe. Then, the probe forwards
the event to Tivoli OMNIBus, and TBSM pulls the event from OMNIBus.
Any products that work with EIF probe can process the event action, so
TBSM represents only one potential consumer of this event action.
Note: OMNIBus is a prerequisite for running TBSM. You can install
OMNIBus as part of TBSM, and TBSM customers have the option of
connecting to an existing copy of OMNIBus.
Send an SNMP INFORM request to an IP host
Sends an SNMPv2 or SNMPv3 INFORM request to a specified IP address or host
name. SNMP INFORM is a special version of an SNMP trap with a response from
a destination. Optionally, SNMPv3 traps can be authenticated (by using either the
Message Digest 5 protocol or the Secure Hash Algorithm protocol) and encrypted
(by using either the Advanced Encryption Standard or the Data Encryption
Standard).
Requirements
This event action requires that an SNMP manager that can receive an
SNMP INFORM be installed on the specified system.
Result The specified system receives an SNMP INFORM.
Note: For SNMPv1 and SNMPv2, this event action supports all
implementations that follow the associated RFCs. For SNMPv3, this event
action supports implementations that follow the associated RFCs (like the
inform listener in Net-SNMP version 5.4.2.1). Keep in mind that different
SNMPv3 implementations offer varying degrees of support that might
produce different results.
Example
An SNMP INFORM is a type of SNMP communication. You can use this
event action to send an SNMP INFORM in response to the triggering
event. Typically, an SNMP INFORM is used for manager-to-manager
communication as a means of acknowledging receipt of a notification.
If you use SNMP to monitor your systems, use this action to send specified
critical events as SNMP INFORM notifications to your SNMP monitor. If
the SNMP INFORM is not received, the action completion status is set to
Failed and IBM Systems Director Server knows whether the SNMP
INFORM was delivered successfully.
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Send an SNMP trap reliably to a NetView host
Generates an SNMP trap and sends it to a specified NetView host using a TCP/IP
connection to the host. If delivery of the SNMP trap fails, a message is posted in
the history log of the system.
Requirements
The NetView product must be installed on the specified system.
Result The specified NetView system receives the SNMP trap. If delivery of the
SNMP trap fails, a message is written to the specified system's history log.
The failure information can be retrieved from the management server
system log using the lsevtacthist command-line command. For more
information, see “lsevtacthist command.”
Example
If you are using the NetView product to monitor your systems, use this
event action to send or reroute specific events from IBM Systems Director
Server to your NetView host. Then, you can view these specific events on
your NetView console.
Related reference:
lsevtacthist command
SNMP trap details
Send an SNMP trap to an IP host
Generates an SNMPv1, SNMPv2, or SNMPv3 trap and sends it to a specified IP
address or host name. Optionally, SNMPv3 traps can be authenticated (by using
either the Message Digest 5 protocol or the Secure Hash Algorithm protocol) and
encrypted (by using either the Advanced Encryption Standard or the Data
Encryption Standard).
Requirements
This event action requires the availability of SNMP agent on the specified
system that is to receive the traps.
Result The specified system receives an SNMP trap.
Note: For SNMPv1 and SNMPv2, this event action supports all
implementations that follow the associated RFCs. For SNMPv3, this event
action supports implementations that follow the associated RFCs (like the
trap listeners in IBM AIX Version 6.1 or Net-SNMP version 5.4.2.1). Keep in
mind that different SNMPv3 implementations offer varying degrees of
support that might produce different results.
Example
If you use an SNMP application to monitor your systems-management
environment, you can use this action to send the events from IBM Systems
Director as traps to the SNMP application. If your systems-management
environment includes several installations of IBM Systems Director Server,
you can use this event action to configure each instance of IBM Systems
Director Server to send the events as traps to the SNMP application such
that the traps are consolidated in the SNMP application. In the SNMP
application, an administrator can view all of the events from all of the IBM
Systems Director Server installations.
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Related reference:
SNMP trap details
Send events to Syslog server
When IBM Systems Director Server receives an event, you can forward that event
to a specified syslog server. To help ensure reliability, specify a secondary syslog
server that receives messages when the primary syslog server is unavailable. You
can also configure the primary and secondary syslog servers to forward messages
to another syslog server.
Requirements
This event action requires that you have a syslog server installed,
configured, and running on the specified system. When you create the
event action, you must specify the port number and the protocol used to
communicate with the syslog server. Verify that the management server
can successfully communicate with the syslog server.
Important: When using the UDP protocol, the event action handler
assumes that the port is open on the remote system if the event action does
not receive an ICMP unreachable message from the syslog server. For
example, the event action assumes that the remote UDP port is listening or
open when ICMP is disabled on a syslog server that is not pingable or
when the syslog server does not exist.
Result The specified syslog server receives the forwarded IBM Systems Director
event message. Configure the event action to forward messages from a
specific type of source (or facility) and to include different levels of detail
in the forwarded messages.
Note: When the primary syslog server is not available, a specified
secondary syslog server receives the message. If you did not specify a
secondary syslog server or if the secondary syslog server is not available,
the event action fails to start.
Facilities
The event action forwards messages generated by any one of the
following facilities:
Note: Some syslog servers might support only a subset of the
facilities. Forwarded messages for unsupported facilities might
exhibit unexpected results.
v AUTH: authorization system messages (including programs that
require user IDs and passwords)
v AUTHPRIV: security or authorization system messages
(including programs that require user IDs and passwords)
v CLOCKDAEMON: clock daemon messages
v CRON: cron daemon messages
v DAEMON: system daemon messages (daemons not specified by
other facilities)
v FTP: FTP daemon messages
v KERN: kernel messages
v LOCAL0 - LOCAL7: user-defined facility messages
v LOGALERT: authorization system messages (including programs
that require user IDs and passwords)
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v LOGAUDIT: authorization system messages (including programs
that require user IDs and passwords)
v LPR: line printer subsystem messages
v MAIL: mail program messages
v NEWS: news subsystem messages
v NTP: NTP subsystem messages
v SYSLOG: syslog server messages
v USER: user-level messages
v UUCP: UUCP subsystem messages
Example
When IBM Systems Director Server receives an event, details about the
event are packaged into a message that is forwarded to a syslog server. For
example, the management server receives an event with a severity of 4
(Harmless). The Send events to Syslog server event action packages the
specified event data into a message with a corresponding syslog severity of
5 (Notice) and forwards the message to the syslog server. (The event also is
logged in the appropriate IBM Systems Director Server log.) When the
primary syslog server is not listening, the event action forwards the
message to the secondary syslog server (if a secondary server is specified).
Note: When the message sent to the syslog server is larger than 1024
bytes, the event action separates the message into two or more segments.
Each segment of the message is numbered, and the last segment is
identified.
Related reference:
The Syslog Protocol
Event data and severity mapping:
Select how much event data the Send events to Syslog server event action includes
in the forwarded messages. The severity level is always included in the forwarded
message. Use the severity mapping information to determine how the severity
level of the stored message on the syslog server corresponds to the severity level of
the original IBM Systems Director event.
Event data
Specify how much event data are included in messages forwarded to the syslog
server by selecting either Main event data or All event data.
Note: Main event data is the default selection.
Main event data
Main event data includes the following data:
v The management server IP address or host name
v The event ID
v The event message
v The name of the resource that generated the event
v The severity level of the event
v The localized date and time that represent when the event occurred
v The category of the event (Alert or Resolution)
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v
v
v
v
v
The
The
The
The
The
fully qualified representation of the event type
component category
component instance
condition type
condition value
All event data
All event data includes the same data as main event data plus the
following data:
v
v
v
v
The time zone of the management server
The source application, which is IBM Systems Director
The version of IBM Systems Director
The name of the resource that sent the event, which might be different
from the source value when the event is forwarded or transmitted
through an intermediate system
v The unique ID of the event sender
v The unique ID of the event
v Any additional details, as available
Severity mapping
The Send events to Syslog server event action maps received IBM Systems Director
events of a given severity to a corresponding syslog severity level. The result of
this mapping is that the event in the IBM Systems Director log has a different
severity level than event in the syslog server log. Use the following table to
determine how the severity levels of IBM Systems Director events correspond to
severity levels of the corresponding events in the syslog server log.
Table 27. How IBM Systems Director events map to corresponding syslog server events
Severity of an IBM Systems Director event
Severity of the corresponding event sent to
the syslog server
0
Fatal: The source of the event caused
the program to fail; resolve before
restarting the program
1
Alert: Take action immediately
1
Critical: The source of the event might
cause the program to fail; resolve
immediately.
2
Critical: Critical condition
2
Minor: The application that issued the
event assigned a severity level that
indicates that the source of the event
should not cause immediate program
failure; resolve
3
Error: Error condition
3
Warning: The source of the event
might not be problematic but warrants
investigation.
4
Warning: Warning condition
4
Harmless. The event was generated
only for informational purposes. Most
events of this severity do not indicate
potential problems.
5
Notice: Normal but significant
condition
5
Unknown. The application that
generated the event did not assign a
severity level; however, these events
might indicate potential problems.
6
Informational: Informational message
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Related reference:
Generating events (genevent command)
The Syslog Protocol (RFC 5424)
Set an event system variable
Sets a user-defined system variable to a new value or resets the value of an
existing system variable. IBM Systems Director provides user-defined system
variables to help you test and track the status of network resources according to
the needs of your organization. System variable names and values can be
referenced wherever event data substitution is allowed.
Note: This event action affects an IBM Systems Director-provided, user-defined
system variable, not an operating-system variable.
Requirements
None
Result The specified variable and value are added to the EventSysVar.prop file.
This file is located on the management server in the /opt/ibm/director/
data directory. in the install_root\data directory, where install_root is the
root directory of your IBM Systems Director installation. Note that this
path uses the backslash (\) to delimit the directory; depending on the
system that you are using, you might be required to enter the path using
the forward slash (/).
Example
Assume that you need to monitor a bottleneck in the network that can
cause network congestion. You can create an event automation plan to
specify an SNMP event that indicates network congestion, and initiate the
Set Event System Variable task when the event occurs. Assume that you
have specified the following settings:
v System variable name field: NetStatus
v New value field: Congested
v Reset value to use IBM Systems Director Server when restarts field:
Normal
v Time until automatic value reset field: 10
If 10 seconds elapse before IBM Systems Director Server receives the event
that triggers this action or before IBM Systems Director Server stops and
restarts, the NetStatus system variable is reset to normal.
Instead of using a specific event that signals that your NetStatus is
Normal, you have used a system variable that automatically resets to
normal when the events that cause this action to trigger are not received
within the interval. If IBM Systems Director Server continues to receive the
events before the interval expires, this action continues to trigger, signaling
that the network is congested. If the timer interval expires, NetStatus is
reset to Normal.
Note: You can use event-data-substitution variables to include event-data
information in the System variable name, New value, and the Reset value
to use IBM Systems Director Server when restarts fields of this event
action. For more information, see “Event-data-substitution variables.”
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Related concepts:
“Event-data-substitution variables” on page 333
Start a program on a system
Starts a program on a specified system. Programs can include command-line
commands that can start or stop programs on the system.
Requirements
This event action has the following requirements:
v The specified system must have Common Agent installed.
v To work with this type of event action, the user must belong to the
smadmin group.
Result The program is started on the specified system.
Related concepts:
“Event-data-substitution variables” on page 333
Related tasks:
“Testing an event action” on page 328
“Migrating and importing event automation data from a previous version” on
page 342
Start a program on the management server
In response to an event, starts a program on the management server (the system
running IBM Systems Director Server) that received the event. Programs can
include command-line commands that can start or stop programs on the system.
Requirements
To work with this type of event action, the user must belong to the
smadmin group.
Result The program is started on the management server that is processing the
event and invoking the event automation plan.
Example
If your management server is configured with an audio card, you can start
an audio player and play a specified file to alert a technician about a
critical event. This implementation can be useful in large rooms with many
servers.
Tip: You can use event-data-substitution variables in the Program file
name field. For more information, see "Event-data-substitution variables."
Related concepts:
“Event-data-substitution variables” on page 333
Related tasks:
“Testing an event action” on page 328
“Migrating and importing event automation data from a previous version” on
page 342
Start a program on the system that generated the event
Starts a program on the system that generated the event that triggered the event
automation plan. Programs can include command-line commands that can start or
stop programs on the system.
Requirements
This event action has the following requirements:
v The specified system must have Common Agent installed.
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v To work with this type of event action, the user must belong to the
smadmin group.
Result The program is started on the system that generated the event.
Example
You might use the dakill.exe program that is provided with IBM Systems
Director, located in the support directory. You can use this program to stop
processes by providing the process name.
For example, if you want to stop the solitaire.exe program, you can create
an event automation plan using this event action and combine it with a
process monitor configured to generate an event when solitaire.exe starts
and the event automation plan will stop the solitaire.exe process on that
system.
Note: You cannot test this event action before including it in an event
automation plan. The Test menu item under the template menu is not
supported by this action.
Tip: You can use event-data-substitution variables in the Program file
name field. For more information, see “Event-data-substitution variables.”
Related concepts:
“Event-data-substitution variables” on page 333
Related tasks:
“Migrating and importing event automation data from a previous version” on
page 342
Start a task on a specified system
Starts a noninteractive IBM Systems Director task on a specified system.
Noninteractive tasks are tasks that do not require user input.
Requirements
This event action has the following requirements:
v The specified task must be a noninteractive task.
v The task that you want to use must be available in the IBM Systems
Director Web interface before you can specify the task for this action.
v To work with this type of event action, the user must belong to the
smadmin group.
Important: Some tasks have hardware or software requirements and
cannot be performed on a given system. Give careful consideration to an
event automation plan that uses this event action before associating it with
a given system or group. For example, not all power management
commands are available. For more information, see “Managing power state
settings on IBM BladeCenter and System x servers,” and “Power On/Off
task support for System z servers.”
Result The task is started on the specified system.
Example
Consider an environment where you have two physical systems and one of
the physical system is running three virtual servers. You can create an
event automation plan that detects a critical Predictive Failure Analysis
(PFA) event on a physical system. Using this action, you can run a
previously created noninteractive task that migrates the running workload
of the virtual servers hosted on the affected physical server to the second
physical server.
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Note: You can create noninteractive tasks using the Command Automation
task.
Related tasks:
“Testing an event action” on page 328
“Migrating and importing event automation data from a previous version” on
page 342
Start a task on the system that generated the event
Starts a noninteractive IBM Systems Director task on the system that generated the
event. Noninteractive tasks are tasks that do not require user input.
Requirements
This event action has the following requirements:
v The specified task must be a noninteractive task.
v The task that you want to use must be available in the IBM Systems
Director Web interface before you can specify the task for this action.
Important: Some tasks have hardware or software requirements and
cannot be performed on a given system. Give careful consideration to an
event automation plan that uses this event action before associating it with
a given system or group. For example, not all power management
commands are available. For more information, see “Managing power state
settings on IBM BladeCenter and System x servers,” and “Power On/Off
task support for System z servers.”
Result The task is started on the system that generated the event.
Example
You can create an event automation plan to monitor systems for hardware
problems and, when the event automation plan detects a hardware
problem, you can set the locator LED on that system to flash by using this
event action.
Note: You cannot test this event action before including it in an event
automation plan. The Test menu item under the template menu is not
supported by this action.
Related tasks:
“Migrating and importing event automation data from a previous version” on
page 342
Static group: add or remove group members
Adds a defined set of systems to a specified static group or removes a defined set
of systems from the specified static group. Use this event action to initialize a set
of systems to process. Then the processing is triggered by an event that you
specify in your event filter.
Requirements
Both the source and target groups must be static groups.
Result The group member that generated the event is added to the specified static
group or removed from a specified static group, as applicable.
Example
Use this action to track systems that have been processed. When the
specified event is received, this event action moves a defined set of
systems to a static group. Then, as each system is processed, the system is
removed from the static group using the Static group: add or remove the
event-generating system event action.
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For example, create a static group that contains all the systems that require
updating. After each system is updated, an event is generated. That event
can trigger this event action to remove the updated system from the static
group. When there are no more systems in the static group, you know all
systems have been updated.
Tip: You can use event-data-substitution variables for the target group
name or the new group name. For example, you can dynamically set the
target group to the static group that contains the system that generated the
event. For more information, see “Event-data-substitution variables.”
Related concepts:
“Event-data-substitution variables” on page 333
Static group: add or remove the event-generating system
Adds the system that generated the event to a specified static group or removes
the system that generated the event from a specified static group, as applicable.
Requirements
Both the source and target groups must be static groups.
Result The system that generated the event is added to the specified static group
or removed from a specified static group, as applicable.
Example
You can use this event action to track systems for which IBM Systems
Director has processed an event. As a system generates the event that you
specified, that system is moved to a static group. Then, you can view the
members of that static group to see which system has generated the event.
Similarly, as a system generates the event that you specified, that system
can be removed from a static group.
Tip: You can use event-data-substitution variables for the target group
name or the new group name. For example, you can dynamically set the
target group to the static group that contains the system that generated the
event. For more information, see “Event-data-substitution variables.”
Related concepts:
“Event-data-substitution variables” on page 333
Timed alarm that generates an event
Generates a defined alarm event only if IBM Systems Director does not receive a
specified event within a specified time range. This event action is useful for
monitoring for a loss of function, much like a heartbeat monitor.
Requirements
None
Result An event triggers an event automation plan that contains this event action.
The action is invoked and it starts a timer. If another event of the same
type is received before the timer expires, nothing further happens.
However, if the timer does expire, an alarm event is generated by this
action.
Example
You can use this action to make sure that something happens repeatedly or
within a given amount of time. After the timer expires and the alarm event
is sent, the monitoring process of this event action stops.
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Note: In IBM Systems Director, versions 6.1.x and 6.2.x, when the
associated event is not received within the specified interval, the alarm
triggers the action only one time or generates only one event. This
behavior is different than in IBM Director 5.x, where the alarm continually
triggers the action during the specified interval until the event associated
with the action is received.
For example, you can monitor Common Agent to go offline on a system. If
Common Agent does not return online within a given amount of time, you
can power off that system.
Note: You also can stop the monitoring process by setting the timer value
to 0. This capability is useful if you want to stop the process without
deleting the event action or the event automation plan.
Tip: You can use event-data-substitution variables in the following fields:
Timed alarm ID, Program file name, and Working directory. For more
information, see “Event-data-substitution variables.”
Related concepts:
“Event-data-substitution variables” on page 333
Timed alarm that starts a program
Starts a specified program only if IBM Systems Director does not receive a
specified event within a specified time range. This event action is useful for
monitoring for a loss of function, much like a heartbeat monitor.
Requirements
To work with this type of event action, the user must belong to the
smadmin group.
Result An event triggers an event automation plan that contains this event action.
The action is invoked and it starts a timer. If another event of the same
type is received before the timer expires, nothing further happens.
However, if the timer does expire, this action starts a specified program on
the management server.
Example
You can use this action to make sure that something happens repeatedly or
within a given amount of time. After the timer expires and the program is
started, the monitoring process of this event action stops.
For example, you can monitor for a system to go offline. If the system does
not return online within a given amount of time, you can failover to a
backup system.
Note: You also can stop the monitoring process by setting the timer value
to 0. This capability is useful if you want to stop the process without
deleting the event action or the event automation plan.
Tip: You can use event-data-substitution variables in the following fields:
Timed alarm ID, Program file name, and Working directory. For more
information, see “Event-data-substitution variables.”
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Related concepts:
“Event-data-substitution variables” on page 333
Related tasks:
“Migrating and importing event automation data from a previous version” on
page 342
Monitoring operating-system specific events
If you want to monitor Windows-specific or IBM i-specific events in the IBM
Systems Director environment, you must create an event automation plan in order
for IBM Systems Director to process these events. The predefined active event
automation plan in IBM Systems Director, Log All Events, does not monitor these
operating-system specific events.
Systems running Windows or IBM i can generate the following operating-specific
events.
Windows-specific event types
v Windows event log
v Windows services
v Windows registry
IBM i-specific event types
v Msgq
Even though these events are generated by their respective operating systems (or
an optional layer that is installed on the operating system), IBM Systems Director
does not process these events unless you create an event automation plan to do so.
When you install IBM Systems Director, it has one predefined active event
automation plan: Log All Events. However, this event automation plan does not
log these Windows-specific or IBM i-specific events. You must create an event
automation plan with a simple-event filter that contains the event types for one or
more of these events. Then, you must apply this event automation plan to the
systems running Windows or IBM i.
When Common Agent starts on a system running Windows, the twgescli.exe
program starts, too. This program listens for IBM Systems Director Server to send a
message to Common Agent that an event automation plan has been applied to that
system. If the event automation plan includes a simple-event filter that contains the
event types for any of the Windows-specific events, IBM Systems Director
appropriates these events for its own use. This process is called event subscription.
The twgescli.exe program subscribes to the event types that are specified in the
event automation plan and translates the Windows-specific events into an IBM
Systems Director event type. Then, the program forwards the events to the
management server from which the event automation plan was applied.
Mapping SNMP traps to Systems Director events
This topic explains how to modify the rules used to map SNMP traps to Systems
Director events. This customization provides greater flexibility in what information
gets presented to users and increases the event action plan filter options.
Introduction
Systems Director can manage SNMP traps. An SNMP trap is a notification sent
from the device acting as an SNMP agent; such as a switch, router, or printer, to
Systems Director. It processes incoming traps by mapping them to Systems
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Director event format. The conversion process is called mapping. Systems Director
has default mappings for some traps. Users can also create mapping files to map
additional events.
Mapping SNMP traps to Systems Director allows you to do the following:
v Use the same event action plan tools for SNMP traps and Systems Director
events.
v Create homogenous information across multiple vendors supporting a trap.
v Customize information presented in the resulting Systems Director event.
There are two methods by which traps are converted: unmapped and mapped:
Unmapped traps
Use a generic set of rules, also called keys, to map the trap data to
properties within the Systems Director event. Any trap OIDs that are not
included in the mapping keys are considered unmapped and use the
default, generic keys.
Mapped traps
Have specific conversion keys defined for an SNMP OID or OID range.
Follow these steps to add or change mappings:
1. Open the .map file in one of these directories:
v Linux: /opt/ibm/director/data/snmp/
v Windows: C:\Program Files\ibm\director\data\snmp\
2. Modify the .map file as necessary. See the map file properties below.
3. Restart Systems Director services.
Mapping key syntax
The SNMP map file contains a series of map entries that consist of predefined
keys grouped into map entries for specific OIDs or range of OIDs. The equals sign
(=) is used to set a value and the double equals (==) is used to compare values as
equal to each other.
Predefined keys
The predefined keys describe how SNMP trap data should be converted to
Systems Director event format. Each key has this format: event.index.key
format.
Note: The predefined key usually does not need to be changed.
index
Identifies which map the key entry belongs to. It must be unique
to the key entry in the map file. Follow these suggestions to avoid
duplication of index values:
v Use the specific trap type as a part of that index. In the
following example map entry, the trap type is 8217 and the
index was set to 18217.
v Systems Director uses index values through 14000, so choose
indexes above 14000. Check the existing .map files for additional
index values that are in use.
key
The key property to be modified and the data associated with it.
Example:
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The entry event.12000.severity=4 sets the severity to 4 for map 12000.
Map entries
A map entry contains two sections of keys. The first section, Director Alert
Definition, describes the organization and content of the Systems Director
event. The SNMP Trap Filter Section deals with how the trap information
is filtered and parsed.
Example map entry:
#
#
#
#
- Director Alert Definition Section Mappings from lsi-adaptersas.mib specific SNMP traps to the corresponding Director Event Format
author: Author Name
Warning! This file is case-sensitive
# SW traps
# - Director Alert Definition Section # Define the alert Family
event.18217.family=SNMP
# Define the alert Event Qualifiers
event.18217.keyword.0=Hardware
event.18217.keyword.1=Storage
event.18217.keyword.2=LSI
# Set the Severity
event.18217.severity=4
# Set the Category
event.18217.category=1
# Define the message to be displayed
event.18217.text=PD state changed on Adapter {0} Dev {1} Enc {2} Slot {3} from {4} to {5}
# - SNMP Trap Filter Section # OID of the trap to match
event.18217.oid=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.8.0.8217
# Trap variable to parse for the alert message
event.18217.eventvar.0=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.6.1001
event.18217.eventvar.1=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.8.1201
event.18217.eventvar.2=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.8.1202
event.18217.eventvar.3=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.8.1203
event.18217.eventvar.4=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.8.1205
event.18217.eventvar.5=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.8.1204
event.18217.proceedwithnormaltrap=false
Mapping file syntax - Map entries, Director Alert Definition
section
This section uses a set of keys to define which information is presented in the
Systems Director event. The following keys are pertinent to this section:
Table 28. Keys pertinent to the Director Alert Definition map entry section
Key
Value
Description
event.index.family
SNMP
Top-level qualifier: the family name
of event.
event.index.keyword.0
event.qualifier.sample1
This is the top level qualifier. This
value can be translated from the
language bundle specified by
event.bundle key.
event.index.keyword.1
event.qualifier.sample2
The next level qualifier. You can
create as many keywords. These
values form the event type hierarchy
within a family.
event.index.severity
0,1,2,3,4,5
0 - Fatal, 1 - Critical, 2 - Minor, 3 Warning (default), 4 –
Harmless/Informational, 5 Unknown
event.index.category
0 or 1
0 – resolution, 1 - alert (default)
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Table 28. Keys pertinent to the Director Alert Definition map entry section (continued)
Key
Value
Description
event.index.text
text1
This value can be translated from
language bundle specified by
event.bundle key.
event.index.version
version number
Version number of this event
definition (defaults to 1)
The event.index.family and event.index.keyword keys are used to define the
event type hierarchical structure that the resulting Systems Director event will
belong to. This grouping can be used as part of an event action plan event filter.
The family for mapped SNMP traps is always set to SNMP, while the rest of the
keywords in the hierarchy can be set to whatever best describes the Systems
Director event.
Example:
The example in “Mapping key syntax” on page 315 uses the following entries for
family and keywords:
# - Director Alert Definition Section # Define the alert Family
event.18217.family=SNMP
# Define the alert Event Qualifiers
event.18217.keyword.0=Hardware
event.18217.keyword.1=Storage
event.18217.keyword.2=LSI
These keys will produce a Systems Director event with the Event Type
SNMP.Hardware.Storage.LSI. The first two keywords define the component
category, and the last keyword becomes the component type. These are the values
as shown in the Systems Director event interface:
Component Type:
LSI
Component Category: SNMP\Hardware\Storage
Additionally, you can select the event type on the Event Type page of the Event
Filter wizard. To see it, choose these:
Types of events to include: Custom
Show: Event Type
The next two keys in the example, event.18217.severity=4 and
event.18217.category=1, set the event severity to “Informational” and the category
to “Alert”. There are event categories:
Alert
A problem has just occurred.
Resolution
A problem has been resolved.
The Director Alert Definition Section ends with the key that describes what event
text is produced. The example has the following entry:
# Define the message to be displayed
event.18217.text=PD state changed on Adapter {0} Dev {1} Enc {2} Slot {3} from {4} to {5}
Note: In the map file, this key is on a continuous line.
All information after event.18217.text= is in the event text as it is entered, except
the bracketed numbers such as {0}. These numbers represent the inclusion of
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variable information specified in the SNMP Trap Filter Section of the map entry.
They can be assigned to any of the trap variables sent with the trap. This lets you
include trap variable data in the event text.
Mapping file syntax - Map entries, SNMP Trap Filter section
The SNMP Trap Filter Section of the map entry specifies how the SNMP trap is
filtered and parsed. The following keys are pertinent to this section:
Table 29. Keys pertinent to the SNMP trap filter map entry section
Key
Value
Description
event.index.oid
1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.8.0.8217 (see the
example map entry)
OID of incoming trap to be matched.
Use an asterisk (*) as a wildcard
character to support fallback rules.
event.index.eventvar.0
Event variable
This value can be used as a variable
in event.index.text.
event.index.eventvar.1
Event variable
Use this to add a second variable if
necessary. You can add as many
variables as are needed.
event.index.eventvar.index.0
Position based event variable. For
example, this value can be 1. (see the
example map entry)
Use this instead of
event.index.eventvar.n if you want
a specific varbind (by position) value
to be used as an event variable. The
first occurring word index is a
number and the second word index
is an actual word. In the example
map entry, the value of first varbind
will be used as event variable {0}.
event.index.eventvar.index.1
Position based event variable. For
example, this value can be 2.
Use this to add a second variable if
necessary. You can add as many
variables as are needed. In this case,
the value of second varbind will be
used as event variable {1}.
event.index.proceedwithnormaltrap
true/false
If true, a normal SNMP trap event is
also generated. Currently, this value
is ignored.
The first key included in this section is event.index.oid. It defines the OID of the
trap that the map should be applied to. The example OID key is for the specific
trap type 8217.
# OID of the trap to match
event.18217.oid=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.8.0.8217
Notice that the OID is in numeric format and identifies a specific trap. To indicate
a range of trap OIDs, end a branch with an asterisk (*), as shown here:
event.12000.oid=1.3.6.1.6.3.1.1.5.*
After the specified OID is found, the trap identification can be filtered further by
matching the trap variable information against predefined values. This can be done
by using one of these keys: event.index.eventvarbind or
event.index.eventvarbind.index. The primary difference between these two keys
is how the variable data is found.
After the OID and variable filters in the map entry identify a compatible trap,
Systems Director retrieves the variable trap information to be included in the
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Systems Director event text. The SNMP trap variables can be parsed into the
Systems Director event text using the event.index.eventvar and
event.index.eventvar.index keys. In the example map entry, key entry for
event.index.event.var shows a request for the trap variable with OID
1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.6.1001 and assigns it to the Event Text variable {0}.
event.18217.eventvar.0=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.6.1001
The event text variable {0} is replaced with the value of the trap variable’s OID in
the event.index.text key.
event.18217.text=PD state changed on Adapter {0} Dev {1} Enc {2} Slot {3} from {4} to {5}
The complete set of variables in the example is mapped as follows.
# Trap variable to parse for the alert message
event.18217.eventvar.0=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.6.1001
event.18217.eventvar.1=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.8.1201
event.18217.eventvar.2=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.8.1202
event.18217.eventvar.3=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.8.1203
event.18217.eventvar.4=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.8.1205
event.18217.eventvar.5=1.3.6.1.4.1.3582.4.1.8.1204
Another commonly used key is event.index.proceedwithnormaltrap. For an SNMP
trap that is mapped, this key lets you decide whether Systems Director should
report the original SNMP trap. By default, Systems Director processes both the
SNMP trap and the mapped Systems Director event. This causes double event log
entries and possibly multiple event action plan triggers. Setting the
event.index.proceedwithnormaltrap key to false specifies that only the mapped
event is processed.
Example:
event.18217.proceedwithnormaltrap=false
MIB trap used in the example map entry
Reference of trap from MIB used for this example.
pdtStateChange TRAP-TYPE
ENTERPRISE pdTraps
VARIABLES
{atAdpNumber,pdID,pdEncIndex,pdSlotNo, pdOldState, pdNewState}
DESCRIPTION "PD state changed on Adapter -$1 Dev -$2 Enc -$3 Slot -$4 from $5 to 6"
--#TYPE "LSI SAS Trap: PD state changed"
--#SUMMARY "PD state changed on Adapter -%d Dev -%d Enc -%d Slot -%d from %d to %d"
--#ARGUMENTS {0,1,2,3,4,5}
--#SEVERITY INFORMATIONAL
--#GENERIC 6
--#CATEGORY "Error Events"
--#STATE OPERATIONAL
::= 8217
Viewing the automation manager summary
You can view a summary of activity within the past 30 days that is associated with
automation, including event automation plans, scheduled and run jobs, event
management and Event Log, a list of systems with the most critical and warning
events, and a list of the most frequent received critical and warning events. Note
that information on this page is refreshed automatically when there are any
changes.
To view the automation summary, complete the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, click Home.
2. On the Home page, click the Plug-ins tab.
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3. On the Plug-ins page, scroll to the Automation portion of the page and click
the Automation Manager section heading. The Automation manager summary
for the past 30 days is displayed.
4. View the Scheduled Jobs section. This section provides the following
information:
v The number of active scheduled jobs.
v The number of job activations that have completed successfully.
v The number of job activations that have failed.
v Up to three upcoming jobs that will run next. If more than one job will run
at the same time, all affected jobs are displayed.
v Up to three of the most recently run jobs. If more than one job ran at the
same time, all affected jobs are displayed.
v In the Job management area, a link to the Active and scheduled jobs page.
Using the Active and scheduled jobs page, you can create or edit jobs, view
job information, view job instance information, suspend and resume jobs,
and more.
5. View the Systems with the Most Frequent Critical or Warning Events section.
This section provides the following information:
v The five systems that have generated the most events with the following
event severities: fatal, critical, or warning. If there are more than five systems
that have generated the same number events, an ellipse (...) displayed
indicate that there are more systems.
v In the Event management area, a link to the Event log task page. On this
page you can view events that IBM Systems Director Server has received
along with event information that can help you troubleshoot problems in
your systems-management environment.
6. View the Most Frequent Critical or Warning Events section. This section lists
the five event types that have been generated the most with the event severity
of fatal, critical, or warning. If there are more than five event types that have
been generated in the same number of severities, an ellipse (...) displayed
indicate that there are more event types.
7. View the Event Automation Plans section. This section provides the following
information:
v The number of active event automation plans.
v The number of inactive event automation plans.
v In the Plan management area, the following links are provided:
Event automation plans
Use the Event Automation Plans page to create and work with event
automation plans.
Event actions
Use the Event Actions page to create and work with event actions
that specify the action to automate when an event automation plan is
triggered.
Event filters
Use the Event Filters page to create and work with event filters that
determine which events trigger an event automation plan.
You also can reach the summary page by using Find a Task. For more information,
see “Finding a task.”
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Related tasks:
Finding a task
Scheduling tasks
Managing event automation plans
Use event automation plans to automate tasks in your system-management
environment. These plans are composed of event filters and event actions. The
plans are triggered by events. You can create, copy, edit, deactivate, activate, and
delete event automation plans. Also, you can view the Automation summary page.
Related concepts:
eLearning: Creating basic event automation plans
eLearning: Creating advanced event automation plans
Related tasks:
Monitoring for IBM i message queue events
Monitoring the deployment of configuration plans and configuration templates
Related reference:
Event automation plan commands
Exporting event automation plans (lsevtautopln command)
Generating events for testing purposes (genevent command)
Copying an event automation plan
Copy an event automation plan when you want to create a plan that is similar to a
preexisting plan.
To copy an event automation plan, complete the following steps:
1. On the Plug-ins tab of the Home page, click Event Automation Plans under
Automation Manager.
2. On the Event Automation Plans page, select the event automation plan that you
want to copy.
3. Click Create Like.
4. On the Name and description page, type a new descriptive name for the event
automation plan that you are creating. Optionally, you also can type a
description of the plan. Click Next.
5. In the event automation plan wizard, navigate to the pages that you want to
edit and make your changes.
6. On the Summary page, verify the details of the event automation plan. If you
need to make changes, click < Back Make sure to specify whether you want to
apply the event automation plan as soon as you finish creating it.
7. When you are done editing the event automation plan, click Finish.
The event automation plan is saved and is displayed on the Event Automation
Plans page.
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Related reference:
mkevtautopln command
Creating an event automation plan
Create an event automation plan to automatically respond to a situation in your
IBM Systems Director environment. By creating event automation plans and
applying them to specific systems, you can be notified by e-mail or pager, for
example, when a specified threshold is reached or a specified event occurs. Or, you
can configure an event automation plan to start a program on a system in response
to the event.
Use this method to create an event automation plan by configuring all the possible
settings. For example, select one or more systems to apply the plan to, specify one
or more event types from the full range of available events, select or create the
associated thresholds, and so on.
Alternatively, you can follow these instructions: “Create an event automation plan
based on an existing threshold”.
1. On the Plug-ins tab of the Home page, click Event Automation Plans under
Automation Manager.
2. On the Event Automation Plans page, click Create. The Event Automation Plan
wizard is displayed.
3. Complete the wizard, then click Finish.
Related tasks:
“Creating an event automation plan based on an existing threshold” on page 273
Monitoring for IBM ii message queue events
Monitoring the deployment of configuration plans and configuration templates
Related reference:
mkevtautopln command
Selecting the events that trigger an event action
The event automation plan uses event filters to monitor for the occurrence of one
or more specified events. When these events occur, your event automation plan
responds with one or more customized event actions.
The types of events that you can select and the ways that you can filter events are
broadly divided between the following categories:
v Common event filters
v Advanced event filters
Common event filters are predefined simple filters that monitor for events of
common interest in systems management. For example, the Disks event filter is
triggered by any hard disk events and the Fans event filter is triggered by any fan
events. The Event Automation Plan wizard provides several common event filters
so you can create typically required event automation plans quickly and easily. For
more information about event filters, see “Event filters.”
If you want to monitor specific events that are not included in the common event
filters, then you must select advanced event filters. You also can create more
sophisticated event filters that are triggered when duplicates of an event are
received, when events occur a specific number times over a range of time, or when
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a specific event is received but you want to exclude another event. For more
information about event filters, see “Event filters.”
Related concepts:
“Event filters” on page 294
“Events that are available for filtering” on page 295
“Simple event filter” on page 296
“Duplication event filter” on page 297
“Exclusion event filter” on page 297
“Recurring event filter” on page 298
Related tasks:
Monitoring for IBM i message queue events
Creating an event automation plan based on an existing
threshold
Use this method to create an event automation plan that uses the target system
and the event types that are specified by an existing active threshold. When
creating an event automation plan based on an existing threshold, you need to
specify only a few settings: the threshold levels that you want to monitor, the
event actions that you want the plan to include, and the time range that
determines when the plan is active.
1. From the Monitor View page or the Thresholds page in the IBM Systems
Director Web interface, select a monitor with an active threshold.
2. Click Create Event Automation plan. The Event Automation Plan wizard is
displayed.
3. Complete the wizard, then click Finish.
Related tasks:
“Creating an event automation plan” on page 322
Deactivating and activating an event automation plan
You can deactivate an event automation plan such that the specified events do not
trigger the plan. When you want the event automation plan available for events to
trigger again, you can subsequently activate the event automation plan. By default,
event automation plans are activated.
Deactivating an event automation plan can be useful if you want to temporarily
turn off an event automation plan. For example, if you have an event automation
plan that notifies you of printer problems by sending a message to your mobile
phone, you can turn off the event automation plan while you are gone on vacation,
but turn it back on when you return.
To deactivate and then activate an event automation plan, complete the following
steps:
1. On the Plug-ins tab of the Home page, click Event Automation Plans under
Automation Manager.
2. On the Event Automation Plans page, select the event automation plan that you
want to deactivate.
Note: You can deactivate more than one event automation plan at a time.
3. Click Actions > Deactivate. The event automation plan is deactivated. On the
Event Automation Plans page in the Status column, the state is changed from
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Active to Inactive. A message is displayed on the page stating that the event
automation plan was deactivated successfully.
4. When you want to activate the event automation plan, select the plan and click
Actions > Activate. The event automation plan is activated. On the Event
Automation Plans page in the Status column, the state is changed from Inactive
to Active. A message is displayed on the page stating that the event automation
plan was activated successfully.
Related reference:
evtautopln command
Deleting an event automation plan
You can delete an event automation plan when it is no longer useful.
To delete an event automation plan, complete the following steps:
1. On the Plug-ins tab of the Home page, click Event Automation Plans under
Automation Manager.
2. On the Event Automation Plans page, select the event automation plan that you
want to delete.
Note: You can delete more than one event automation plan at a time.
3. Click Delete.
4. In the confirmation window, click Delete.
The event automation plan is deleted and is no longer displayed on the Event
Automation Plans page. A message is displayed on the page stating that the event
automation plan was deleted successfully.
Related reference:
rmevtautopln command
Editing an event automation plan
Edit an event automation plan to change settings in a preexisting event automation
plan.
To edit an event automation plan, complete the following steps:
1. On the Plug-ins tab of the Home page, click Event Automation Plans under
Automation Manager.
2. On the Event Automation Plans page, select the event automation plan that you
want to edit.
3. Click Edit.
4. In the event automation plan wizard, navigate to the pages that you want to
edit and make your changes.
5. On the Summary page, verify the details of the event automation plan. If you
need to make changes, click < Back Make sure to specify whether you want to
apply the event automation plan as soon as you finish creating it.
6. When you are done editing the event automation plan, click Finish.
The event automation plan is saved and is displayed on the Event Automation
Plans page.
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Related reference:
chevtautopln command
evtautopln command
Suspending and resuming event automation plans
You can suspend all event automation plans for a system (except for the Log All
Events plan) so that the specified events do not trigger the plans. When you want
the event automation plans available for events to trigger again, you can resume
all the event automation plans.
Suspending all event automation plans can be useful when you want to
temporarily turn off all event actions associated with the event automation plans.
For example, if you have automation plans that notify you when a server
encounters various problems, you can suspend all event automation plans while
you work on the server. After you resolve the problem, you can resume all event
automation plans for the server.
To suspend and then resume event automation plans, complete the following steps:
1. On the Initial Setup tab of the Home page, click Resource Explorer.
2. Navigate to the group that contains the resource for which you want to
suspend all the event automation plans.
3. Right-click the resource, then select Automation > Suspend Event Actions.
After you suspend event actions, no event triggers any event automation plan
for the selected resource, except the Log All Events plan. In the Suspended
Action Plans column for the specified resource, the state changes from False to
True.
Note: For more information about adding the Suspended Action Plans column
to the table, see “Setting table-column preferences”.
4. When you want to resume having event actions on the resource trigger event
automation plans, right-click the resource, then select Automation > Resume
Event Actions. After you resume event actions, event actions for the resource
again trigger event automation plans. In the Suspended Action Plans column,
the state changes from True to False.
Related tasks:
Setting table-column preferences
Viewing event automation plans associated with a resource
You can view the properties for a resource to determine whether that resource is
associated with any event automation plans.
To determine whether a resource is associated with any event automation plans,
complete the following steps:
1. Navigate to the resource and select it.
2. Click Actions > Properties.
3. On the Properties page, click the Applied Activities tab.
On the Applied Activities page, you can view a list of any event automation plans
that can potentially affect the resource.
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Viewing event automation plan properties
You can view the properties for an event automation plan for information about
the plan settings. This information is the same summary that you see when you
complete creating an event automation plan.
To view event automation plan properties, complete the following steps:
1. On the Plug-ins tab of the Home page, click Event Automation Plans under
Automation Manager.
2. On the Event Automation Plans page, select the event automation plan whose
properties you want to view.
3. Click Actions > Properties.
4. On the Properties page, view the settings for the event automation plan.
Note: The Actions button does not provide any event-filter specific actions
because there are none available on the Properties page.
Related reference:
lsevtautopln command
Managing event actions
Event actions specify the action that IBM Systems Director takes in response to a
specific event or events. You can create, copy, edit, test, and delete event actions as
well as view their properties. Also, you can record and view the history of an
event action.
Related reference:
Viewing event actions (lsevtact command)
Generating events for testing purposes (genevent command)
Creating an event action
Create an event action to use in your event automation plans. You can create event
actions and test actions before using them in your event automation plans.
Typically, you create event actions in the Event Automation Plan wizard. However,
there might be times when you want to create an event action that you can use in
event automation plans at another time.
To create an event action, complete the following steps:
1. On the Plug-ins tab of the Home page, click Automation Manager. On the
Automation Manager summary page, click Event Actions under Plan
management.
2. On the Event Actions page, click Create.
3. In the Create Actions window, select an event action. For information about
event action types, see “Event actions.”
4. Click OK.
5. Type a name for the event action in the Action name field. Use a naming
convention that ensures the entries are grouped conveniently on the Event
Actions page. For example, if you want names to begin with the associated
action, an event action that sends a message to a pager or phone might start
with Pager or Phone.
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6. Complete the remaining fields for the event action that you selected. For some
event action types, you can include event-specific information as part of the
text message. Including event information is referred to as event-data
substitution. You can use event-data-substitution variables to customize event
actions. For more information, see “Event-data-substitution variables.”
7. If the event action that you selected includes the Test button, you can
determine whether your settings are correct by clicking Test.
8. Click OK to save the event action. The new event action is displayed in the
Event action page.
Note: You can create and select more than one type of event action for your
event automation plan.
The event action is saved and is displayed on the Event Actions page.
Related concepts:
“Event actions” on page 298
Related reference:
mkevtactemail command
mkevtactstpgm command
mkevtactsttask command
Editing an event action
Edit an event action to change settings in a preexisting event action.
To edit an event action, complete the following steps:
1. On the Plug-ins tab of the Home page, click Automation Manager. On the
Automation Manager summary page, click Event Actions under Plan
management.
2. On the Event Actions page, select the event action that you want to edit.
3. Click Edit.
4. Edit the settings that you want to change for the event action.
5. If the event action that you selected includes the Test button, you can
determine whether your settings are correct by clicking Test.
6. Click OK to save the event action. The new event action is displayed in the
Event action page.
Note: You can create and select more than one type of event action for your
event automation plan.
The event action is saved and is displayed on the Event Actions page.
Copying an event action
Copy an event action when you want to create an event action that is like a
preexisting event action.
To copy an event action, complete the following steps:
1. On the Plug-ins tab of the Home page, click Automation Manager. On the
Automation Manager summary page, click Event Actions under Plan
management.
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On the Event Actions page, select the event action that you want to copy.
Click Create Like.
Edit the settings that you want to change for the event action.
If the event action that you selected includes the Test button, you can
determine whether your settings are correct by clicking Test.
6. Click OK to save the event action. The new event action is displayed in the
Event action page.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Note: You can create and select more than one type of event action for your
event automation plan.
The event action is saved and is displayed on the Event Actions page.
Related reference:
mkevtactemail command
mkevtactstpgm command
mkevtactsttask command
Testing an event action
You can test an event action to make sure that the settings perform as expected. It
is a best practice to test an event action before using it in an event automation plan
so you can avoid unexpected results.
The following event actions cannot be tested because critical information is not
available until a system generates the event and triggers an event automation plan:
v Start a program on the system that generated the event
v Start a task on the system that generated the event
v Update the status of the system that generated the event
To make sure that an event action can be tested, select the event action and click
Actions > Properties. The Properties page for the event action states whether the
event action can be tested.
To test an event action, complete the following steps:
1. On the Plug-ins tab of the Home page, click Automation Manager. On the
Automation Manager summary page, click Event Actions under Plan
management.
2. On the Event Actions page, select the event action that you want to test.
3. Click Actions > Test.
4. In the confirmation window, click Test. A message is displayed on the page
stating whether the event action was started successfully. If the selected event
action cannot be tested, a message also is displayed.
5. To view details about the test, select the event action and click Actions >
Properties. An example of the kind of detail you might want to view is
whether the action completed successfully.
6. On the Properties page, click the History tab to view details about the test.
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Related concepts:
“Send an e-mail to a mobile phone” on page 301
“Send an Internet (SMTP) e-mail” on page 301
“Start a program on a system” on page 309
“Start a program on the management server” on page 309
“Start a task on a specified system” on page 310
Related reference:
testevtact command
Deleting an event action
You can delete an event action when it is no longer useful.
To delete an event action, complete the following steps:
1. On the Plug-ins tab of the Home page, click Automation Manager. On the
Automation Manager summary page, click Event Actions under Plan
management.
2. On the Event Actions page, one or more event actions that you want to delete.
3. Click Delete.
4. In the confirmation window, click Delete.
The event action is deleted and is no longer displayed on the Event Actions page.
A message is displayed on the page stating that the event action was deleted
successfully.
Related reference:
rmevtact command
Saving and not saving an event-action history
You can save useful information about an event action by saving the event-action
history. When you no longer want to save the event-action history, you can stop
saving it. By default, the event-action history is not saved. To view an event-action
history, see “Viewing an event-action history.”
Saving the history of an event action can provide useful information. For example,
an event automation plan can include an event action that reduces disk-space used
by running a program to remove temporary files. When you start saving the
history for this event-action, the following information is recorded:
v The date and time when the event action ran and, later, when the cleanup
program ran
v Whether the program ran successfully
v The event that triggered the event filter.
To start and then stop saving the history of an event action, complete the following
steps:
1. On the Plug-ins tab of the Home page, click Automation Manager. On the
Automation Manager summary page, click Event Actions under Plan
management.
2. On the Event Actions page, select the event action with the history that you
want to start saving.
Note: You can start saving the history for more than one event action at a time.
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3. Click Actions > Start Saving History. The history of the event action is now set
to be saved. On the Event Actions page in the History column, the value is
changed from Not saved to Saved. A message is displayed on the page stating
that saving of the event-action history was started successfully.
4. When you want to stop saving the history for an event action, select the event
action and click Actions > Stop Saving History. The history of the event action
is set to no longer be saved. On the Event Actions page in the History column,
the value is changed from Saved to Not saved. A message is displayed on the
page stating that saving the event-action history was stopped successfully.
Related reference:
evtacthist command
Viewing an event-action history
You can view an event-action history for information about how an event action
ran in your systems-management environment.
Before you can view the history for an event action, you have to start saving the
history for that event action. For information, see “Saving and not saving an
event-action history.”
Saving the history of an event action can provide useful information. For example,
an event automation plan can include an event action that reduces disk-space used
by running a program to remove temporary files. When you start saving the
history for this event-action, the following information is recorded:
v The date and time when the event action ran and, later, when the cleanup
program ran
v Whether the program ran successfully
v The event that triggered the event filter.
To view the history for an event action, complete the following steps:
1. On the Plug-ins tab of the Home page, click Automation Manager. On the
Automation Manager summary page, click Event Actions under Plan
management.
2. On the Event Actions page, select the event action for which you want to view
the history.
3. Click Actions > Properties.
4. On the Properties page, click the History tab to view the event-action history.
Each log entry in the history provides the following information about each
time the event action was used:
Date
The date and time on which the event was generated.
Launch Status
Event action launch status, which indicates whether the action was
launched successfully. Possible values are successful and failed.
Completion Date
The date and time when the event action completed.
Completion Status
Event action completion status, which indicates whether the action ran
successfully. Possible values are successful, failed, and not performed.
The Not Performed status is specific to three event actions: Modify an
event and send it, Start a program on a system, and Start a task on a
specified system. If you do not configure any modifications to make to
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an incoming event, the event is not sent again and the event action
status is considered not performed. For the latter two events, if the
specified system cannot be found when the event action is invoked,
then the action cannot be performed.
Managed Resource
Target system on which the event occurred.
Event Type
The type of event that was generated. The event types are categorized
by hardware, device, or software.
Category
The mode of the event. Possible categories are:
Alert
A problem occurred.
Resolution
A problem was resolved and is no longer a problem.
Event Severity
The severity level of the event, which identifies potentially urgent
problems requiring immediate attention. Possible severity levels are:
Fatal
The source of the event has already caused the program to fail
and needs to be resolved before the program is restarted.
Critical
The source of the event might cause program failure and needs
to be resolved immediately.
Minor The source of the event is not likely to cause immediate
program failure, but needs to be resolved.
Warning
The source of the event is not necessarily problematic, but
might warrant investigation.
Informational
The event was generated for information only. Most events of
this severity do not indicate potential problems. However,
offline events are categorized as informational, and these events
can indicate potential problems.
Unknown
The application that generated the event did not assign a
severity level.
Sender
The system that sent the event to IBM Systems Director Server. For
example, SNMP events list the IP address of the trap source. Because
most events are generated by IBM Systems Director Server, this field
typically contains the name of the management server.
Related reference:
lsevtacthist command
Refreshing entries in an event-action history log
You can refresh an event-action history log so that you can view the latest
available entries.
To refresh an event-action history log, complete the following steps:
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1. On the Plug-ins tab of the Home page, click Automation Manager. On the
Automation Manager summary page, click Event Actions under Plan
management.
2. On the Event Actions page, select the event action for which you want to view
the history.
3. Click Actions > Properties.
4. On the Properties page, click the History tab to view the event-action history.
5. On the History page, click Refresh. The list of available log entries is refreshed.
Deleting entries from an event-action history log
You can delete log entries from an event-action history when the entries are no
longer useful.
To delete a log entry, complete the following steps:
1. On the Plug-ins tab of the Home page, click Automation Manager. On the
Automation Manager summary page, click Event Actions under Plan
management.
2. On the Event Actions page, select the event action whose history-log entries
you want to delete.
3. Click Actions > Properties.
4.
5.
6.
7.
On the Properties page, click the History tab to view the event-action history.
Select one or more log entries that you want to delete.
Click Delete.
In the confirmation window, click Delete.
The log entry is deleted and is no longer displayed on the History page. A
message is displayed on the page stating that the log entry was deleted
successfully.
Viewing event action properties
You can view the properties for an event action for information about the action
settings. Also, the Properties page lists the event automation plans that include the
event action.
To view event-action properties, complete the following steps:
1. On the Plug-ins tab of the Home page, click Automation Manager. On the
Automation Manager summary page, click Event Actions under Plan
management.
2. On the Event Actions page, select the event action whose properties you want
to view.
3. Click Actions > Properties.
4. On the Properties page, view the settings for the event action. The settings vary
depending on the type of the event action.
Note: The Actions button does not provide any event-action specific actions
because there are none available on the Properties page.
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Related reference:
lsevtact command
Event-data-substitution variables
For some types of actions, you can include event-specific information as part of the
message text. Including event information is referred to as event-data substitution.
You can use event-data-substitution variables to customize the message text sent
by an action.
The following examples show how you can use event-data-substitution variables in
the message text associated with a customized event action:
v &severity - &text on &system
v Event &text received from &system at &time on &date
Tip: When you use event-data-substitution variables, do not use punctuation after
the variable, for example:
Event received from &system.
&system cannot be interpreted correctly because of the period.
You can use the following event-data-substitution variables.
Note: Any of the substitution variables can have a null value. In that case, the
localized version of the string “Not Applicable” is returned.
&date The localized date on which the event occurred.
Example: 7/23/2007
&ipaddr
The IP address of the system on which the event was generated. This is
either the IP address of the system running Common Agent or, for an
SNMP device, the TCP/IP address.
Example: 9.45.2.69
&iphost
The IP host name of the system on which the event was generated. This is
either the name of the system running Common Agent or, for an SNMP
device, the TCP/IP host name.
Example: moonlite.mycompany.com
&time The localized time at which the event occurred.
Example: 2:32 PM CDT
&text
The event details, if they are supplied by the event.
Example: System moonlite is offline with errors.
&type The event-type criteria that were used to trigger the event. For example,
the event that is generated when a system goes offline is of type Topology
> Offline. This type corresponds to the entry on the Event Type page.
Example: ComputerSystem or Processor
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&severity
The severity level of the event.
Example: Informational
&system
The system name of the system on which the event was generated. This is
either the name of the system running Common Agent or, for an SNMP
device, the TCP/IP address.
Example: moonlite
&sender
The name of the system that sent the event. This can be different from the
&system value if the event was forwarded or transmitted through an
intermediate system. This variable returns a null value if the name is
unavailable.
Example: moonlite
&group
The group to which the target system belongs and that is monitoring the
system. This variable returns a null value if the group is unavailable.
Example: TestHardwareGroup
&category
The category of the event, either Alert or Resolution. For example, if the
system goes offline, the category is Alert. If the system goes online, the
category is Resolution.
Example: Alert
&pgmtype
The fully qualified representation of the event type using internal type
strings (ComponentCategory.ComponentType).
Examples: Managed Resource > Managed System Resource > Logical
Resource > Logical Device > Processor
&timestamp
The long value timestamp of the time that the event occurred, in
milliseconds, since 1/1/1970 12:00 AM GMT.
Example: 1185219178228
&rawsev
The nonlocalized string of event severity. Non-localized string of the event
severity.
Example: Any of the following strings: “FATAL”, “CRITICAL”, “MINOR”,
“WARNING”, “INFORMATIONAL”, “UNKNOWN”.
&rawcat
The nonlocalized string of event category.
Example: Any of the following strings: “ALERT”, “RESOLUTION”.
&corr An internally generated correlation identifier for this event. This identifier
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allows an alert event to be correlated with a resolution event, thereby
indicating that the problem that caused the alert has been corrected. The
length of this string can vary.
Example: 1883481972341237
&snduid
The unique ID of the event sender.
Example: 7F153619BA2D7861
&sysuid
The unique ID of the system that is associated with the event.
Example: 4309132478791324
&prop:file_name#property_name
The value of the property string property_name from property file file_name.
file_name can include the absolute directory path or the relative path to the
IBM\Director\classes directory.
Note: For IBM i, you must use the absolute directory path.
The properties file contains key=value pairs. property_name is the name of a
key in the properties file. The value of the specified property is returned.
The value can be any string, depending on the purpose and contents of the
properties file.
Examples:
&prop:logging.properties#SystemErr.level = INFO
&prop:encoding.properties#zh = UTF-8
&prop:security.properties#enableAuthentication = TRUE
&sysvar:variable_name
The string value of a variable, variable_name, previously set in the IBM
Systems Director sysvar file. Variables can be set in this file using the Set
an event system variable event action. The variable name and value can
be any string. This variable returns null if a value is unavailable. For
information about the event action, see “Set an event system variable.”
Examples:
&sysvar:DEBUG_SETTING = DEBUG_ON
&sysvar:IP = 9.3.44.150
&slotid:slot_id
The nonlocalized ID slot_id is the identifier of event details contained
within the event. An event might include any number of event details. This
substitution variable is used to retrieve those details. The user must know
the identifier of the event detail that they want. The value can be any
string as defined by the component that generates the event.
Example: &slotid:Suppressions = “3 instances of this condition have been
suppressed.”
&otherstring
If any other word is preceded by an &, it is treated the same as the slot_id
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in the previous &slotid:slot_id variable. The otherstring string is used as an
identifier to locate event details contained with the event.
The value of the detail slot that has a localized label that matches
otherstring. A detail slot is a record in an event detail. For example, an event
might have one event detail that has an ID of key1 and a value of value1.
You could use the substitution variable &slotid:key1 to obtain the value
value1. You also can use &key1 to obtain the value value1. In the
description above, otherstring is a placeholder for the user-defined event
detail ID. However, if the passed ID is not found, the value Not
applicable is returned.
Example: &Suppressions = “3 instances of this condition have been
suppressed.”
Related concepts:
“Log to a log file” on page 299
“Modify an event and send it” on page 300
“Post to a newsgroup (NNTP)” on page 300
“Send an e-mail to a mobile phone” on page 301
“Send an Internet (SMTP) e-mail” on page 301
“Set an event system variable” on page 308
“Static group: add or remove group members” on page 311
“Static group: add or remove the event-generating system” on page 312
“Timed alarm that generates an event” on page 312
“Timed alarm that starts a program” on page 313
Managing event filters
A filter specifies one or more events that you want your event automation plan to
process. The event automation plan ignores any event instances that do not meet
the specifications of the filter. You can create, copy, edit and delete event filters.
Related reference:
Viewing event types (lsevttype command)
Generating events for testing purposes (genevent command)
Creating, editing, or copying an event filter
Create an event filter to use in your event automation plan. Typically, you create
event filters in the Event Automation Plan wizard. You can use the Event Filter
wizard to create an event filter that you intend to use in an event automation plan
at another time. Also, you can edit an existing event filter or create one by copying
and modifying an existing filter.
You create event filters so that you can use them in your automation plans. As you
create or edit event filters, you specify the types of events and event characteristics
that you want to include in the filter. The filter is triggered when those included
events are encountered during the processing of an automation plan.
To create an event filter, edit an existing filter, or create a filter that is based on an
existing filter, complete the following steps:
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Note: The Event Filter wizard determines which panels to display based on your
choices. Different panels display depending on the type of events and event
characteristics that you choose to include.
1. On the Plug-ins tab of the Home page, click Automation Manager. On the
Automation Manager summary page, click Event Filters under Plan
management.
2. Perform only one of the following actions.
v If you want to create an event filter, click Create.
v If you want to edit an existing event filter, select the filter you want to edit,
then click Edit.
v If you want to create an event filter that is like an existing filter, select the
existing filter, then click Create Like.
3. On the Welcome page, click Next.
4. On the Filter Name page, type a name and description for the event filter,
then click Next. Although it is not required, a description does help you sort
and manage your event filters.
5. On the Filter Type page, select the type of filter that you want to create, then
click Next. For more information about the different filter types, see “Event
Filters”.
6. On the Event Type page, complete one of the following actions to select the
type of event that you want to include, then click Next.
v Select Default to include events of all types, except for Windows-specific
events. Optionally, you can include IBM i message queue events.
v Select Common to include the most common systems-management event
types, except for Windows-specific events. Optionally, you can include IBM
i message queue events. Click the name of an event type to see a
description and any additional settings. If an entry has additional settings,
make sure to select the event type and each setting that you want to
include.
v Select Custom to specify event types by category, type, and value.
Optionally, you can include IBM i message queue events. The Available
table is a hierarchical list of event types. Click an entry in the table or the
breadcrumbs above the table to navigate within the hierarchy. Select an
entry to include that entry and any entries in subsequent levels of the
hierarchy. (The table also lists available Windows-specific events.)
7. If the IBM i Event type page appears, specify IBM i messages that you want
to include. Otherwise, go to the next step.
a. Type each message that you want to include.
Note: Use the following format: library/message_queue.messageID, where,
for each specified event
v library is the library
v message_queue is the message queue
v messageID (optional) is the ID
The IBM i.Message Queue field automatically provides the common
message queue event prefix, which is OS/400.msgq. You type only the
unique portion of the message queue event. Consider the following
examples that assume the library is QSYS and the message queue is
QSYSOPR:
v To specify all message IDs, type QSYS/QSYSOPR.
v To specify a message ID of CPF1234, type QSYS/QSYSOPR.CPF1234.
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v To specify any message ID that starts with the characters CPF:
– If the managed resource has 5770UME V1R3 and all the available
UME PTFs installed, type QSYS/QSYSOPR.CPF.
– Otherwise, type QSYS/QSYSOPR. Then, on the Event Text page of Event
Filter wizard, specify that you want to look for the characters CPF.
b. Click Add to add the message to the list of Selected IBM i event types.
c. When you are finished adding messages, click Next.
8. If the Excluded Event Type page appears, specify the event types that you
want to exclude, then click Next. Otherwise, go to the next step. Excluded
events do not trigger the filter. You specify the event types to exclude in the
same way that you specified the event types to include in step 6 on page 337
Optionally, you can exclude IBM i message queue events. To exclude available
Windows-specific events, select Custom.
9. If the Excluded IBM i Event Type page appears, specify the IBM i messages
that you want to exclude. Otherwise, go to the next step. Excluded events do
not trigger the filter. You specify the messages to exclude in the same way that
you specified the messages to include in step 7 on page 337
10. On the Severity and Category page, specify the severities and categories that
you want to include, then click Next. Select Default to include events of all
severities and categories. Select Custom to specify one or more severities and
categories.
11. On the Event Sender page, you can add any specific event senders that you
want to include in the filter. The filter is triggered when a specified sender
generates an event that you included in the filter. Choosing Default includes
events sent from any managed resource.
a. Select a sender from the Systems list, then click Add to add it to the
Selected senders list.
b. To add a sender that does not appear in the Systems list, type the name of
the sender in the Additional sender field, then click Add.
c. When you are finished adding senders, click Next.
Important: Remember to update any specified sender name if you rename
the associated resource (the sender). When a managed resource is renamed,
IBM Systems Director does not automatically update the associated sender
name in an event filter. Renaming the resource without updating the event
filter results in a mismatch between the sender name that is specified in
the event filter and the sender name that is specified in the incoming
event. The mismatch in sender names causes any event action plan that
includes the filter to fail.
12. On the Event Text page, specify the event text that you want to include in the
filter, then click Next.
v Select Default to include all event text.
v Select Custom to specify a word, separate words, or a phrase that you want
to include in the filter. The filter is triggered by only those events that you
include in the filter that also contain the specified text.
13. If the Frequency page appears, specify how often an event occurs before
triggering this filter. Otherwise, go to the next step.
v Select Default to trigger the filter any time an included event occurs.
v Select Custom to specify how many times an event must occur before
triggering the filter, called the matching event count. Optionally, you can
specify a time interval within which the event must occur.
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14. If the System Variables page appears, specify the system variables that you
want to include, then click Next. Otherwise, go to the next step. The filter is
triggered when an included event occurs that has a specified keyword and
value pair with a given value.
v Select Default if you want to include all events, regardless of whether they
have system variables.
v Select Custom so that the filter is triggered only when included events also
contain one of the selected keyword and value pairs that has a specified
value.
15. On the Time Range page, specify when you want events to trigger the filter,
then click Next.
v Select All so that the filter is triggered any time that included events occur.
v Select Custom to specify that the filter is triggered only when included
events occur on a particular day of the week or within an identified time
range.
16. On the Summary page review your settings. If you want to modify any
settings, click Back to make changes. When you are satisfied with the event
filter, click Finish to save it.
The event filter is saved and is displayed on the Event Filters page.
Related concepts:
“Events that are available for filtering” on page 295
“Simple event filter” on page 296
“Duplication event filter” on page 297
“Exclusion event filter” on page 297
“Recurring event filter” on page 298
Related tasks:
“Creating an event automation plan” on page 322
“Viewing the automation manager summary” on page 319
Related reference:
Events Reference
Editing an event filter
Edit an event filter to change the settings in an event filter that you previously
created.
To edit an event filter, complete the following steps:
1. On the Plug-ins tab of the Home page, click Automation Manager. On the
Automation Manager summary page, click Event Filters under Plan
management.
2. On the Event Filters page, select the event filter that you want to edit.
Note: IBM Systems Director includes some predefined event filters that you
cannot edit. You can create an event filter that is like a predefined filter by
using Create Like, but you cannot directly edit it.
3. Click Edit. The Edit Event Filter wizard is displayed.
4. Use the Edit Event Filter wizard to edit the event filter. The Edit Event Filter
wizard uses the same panels as the Create Event Filter wizard. For more
information about using an Event Filter wizard to create or edit an event filter,
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see “Creating an event filter”. After you finish using the Edit Event Filter
wizard to save the event filter, it is displayed on the Advanced Event Filters
page.
The edited event filter is saved and displayed on the Event Filters page.
Related concepts:
“Events that are available for filtering” on page 295
“Simple event filter” on page 296
“Duplication event filter” on page 297
“Exclusion event filter” on page 297
“Recurring event filter” on page 298
Related tasks:
“Viewing the automation manager summary” on page 319
Copying an event filter
Copy an event filter when you want to create an event filter that is like a
preexisting event filter.
To copy an event filter, complete the following steps:
1. On the Plug-ins tab of the Home page, click Automation Manager. On the
Automation Manager summary page, click Event Filters under Plan
management.
2. On the Event Filters page, select the event filter that you want to copy.
3. Click Create Like. The Copy Event Filter wizard is displayed.
4. Use the Copy Event Filter wizard to create an event filter based on the one that
you selected. The Copy Event Filter wizard uses the same panels as the Create
Event Filter wizard. For more information about using an Event Filter wizard
to create or edit an event filter, see “Creating an event filter”. After you finish
using the Copy Event Filter wizard to save the event filter, the filter is
displayed on the Advanced Event Filters page.
The new filter that is based on a preexisting filter is saved and displayed on the
Event Filters page.
Related concepts:
“Events that are available for filtering” on page 295
“Simple event filter” on page 296
“Duplication event filter” on page 297
“Exclusion event filter” on page 297
“Recurring event filter” on page 298
Related tasks:
“Viewing the automation manager summary” on page 319
Viewing event filter properties
You can view the properties for an event filter for information about the filter
settings. Also, the Properties page lists the event automation plans that include the
event filter.
To view event-filter properties, complete the following steps:
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1. On the Plug-ins tab of the Home page, click Automation Manager. On the
Automation Manager summary page, click Event Filters under Plan
management.
2. On the Event Filters page, select the event filter whose properties you want to
view.
3. Click Actions > Properties.
4. On the Properties page, view the settings for the event filter. The settings vary
depending on the type of the event filter.
Note: The Actions button does not provide any event-filter specific actions
because there are none available on the Properties page.
Related tasks:
“Viewing the automation manager summary” on page 319
Related reference:
lsevtfltr command
Viewing predefined filter criteria
You can view the criteria used to define a predefined event filter.
Note: You cannot change predefined event filters; they are read-only. However,
you can copy a predefined filter and change the copy. For more information, see
“Copying an event filter.”
If you want to see what event filter criteria are included in a predefined event
filter, complete the following steps:
1. On the Plug-ins tab of the Home page, click Automation Manager. On the
Automation Manager summary page, click Event Filters under Plan
management.
2. On the Event Filters page, select the predefined filter that you want to view.
3. Click Actions > Properties.
Related concepts:
“Simple event filter” on page 296
Deleting an event filter
You can delete an event filter when it is no longer useful.
To delete an event filter, complete the following steps:
1. On the Plug-ins tab of the Home page, click Automation Manager. On the
Automation Manager summary page, click Event Filters under Plan
management.
2. On the Event Filters page, select the event filter that you want to delete.
Note: You can select to delete more than one event filter at a time.
3. Click Delete.
4. In the confirmation window, click Delete.
The event filter is deleted and is no longer displayed in the Event Filters page. A
message is displayed on the page stating that the filter was deleted successfully.
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Related tasks:
“Viewing the automation manager summary” on page 319
Related reference:
rmevtfltr command
Exporting and importing event automation plans, event filters, and
event actions
Event automation plans, event filters, and event actions can be exported and
imported as an XML file on the management server.
Using CLI commands to export and import event automation plans, event filters,
and event actions makes it easier and faster to use multiple instances of your
plans, filters, and events. For example, you can export a set of event filters then
import them to other systems. Or, after exporting some event automation plans to
a development environment, you can modify and test them safely, then import
them to the systems in your production environment.
Use any XML editor to create or edit an XML file. Importing the XML file creates
the event automation plan, event filter, or event action, but does not update or
replace any existing plan, filter, or action. The import process checks and compares
the event automation plans, event filters, and event actions that you are importing
with the plans, filters, and events that reside on the management server. The
import process then reports any errors and conflicts.
The schema files used for exporting and importing automation data reside in
install_directory\proddata\schema\xml, where install_directory is the location where
IBM Systems Director is installed.
v When exporting XML files, using the -F option with the CLI commands creates a
copy of the schema in the same directory as the exported files, if the schema
does not exist in that location.
v When importing XML files, the schema file needs to be in the same directory as
the imported file. The CLI commands create a copy of the schema in the same
directory as the one to which the XML file is imported, if the schema does not
exist in that location.
Related tasks:
“Migrating and importing event automation data from a previous version”
Migrating and importing event automation data from a previous
version
When you update and migrate IBM Systems Director Server, the existing event
automation plans, event filters, and event actions are also migrated. You might also
choose to import automation data that was created by using a previous version of
Systems Director. A migrated or imported event automation plan that contains
certain event actions might need to be reviewed to ensure that any related
commands or tasks perform as expected.
In previous versions of Systems Director, a user could create or edit an event
action that runs a program or starts a task that might be beyond the authority
specified for that user. In Systems Director 6.3 and higher, the following event
actions are available only to users with SMAdministrator authority. That is, the
user must be a member of the smadmin group:
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v
v
v
v
v
Start
Start
Start
Start
Start
a
a
a
a
a
program on a system
program on the management server
program on the system that generated the event
task on a specified system
task on a system that generated the event
v Timed alarm that starts a program
After you migrate or import an event automation plan from a previous version of
Systems Director, the EventActionPlanRisk.log file identifies the plans that contain
event actions that are meant to be created by a user with SMAdministrator
authority. Review the identified event actions to ensure that the actions (and the
related commands or tasks) are valid.
Starting or restarting the management server generates the
EventActionPlanRisk.log file, which resides in install_root/logs directory, where
install_root is the root directory of your IBM Systems Director installation.
The following example shows how the log identifies an event action and the
related commands that you might want to examine. The log also identifies the
event automation plan and event filter in which the event action occurs.
Plan Name Filter Name
Action Name
Action Type
*********************************************************
p123
p123-Filter
apg-sys
Start a program on a system
p123
p123-Filter
pgm on-ISD
Start a program on the management server
p123
p123-Filter
pgm on evt-sys
Start a program on the system that generated the event
p123
p123-Filter
start-task
Start a task on a specified system
p123
p123-Filter
run-task-evt-sys Start a task on a system that generated the event
p123
p123-Filter
time-spg
Timed alarm that starts a program
Related tasks:
“Exporting and importing event automation plans, event filters, and event actions”
on page 342
Using command automation
Use the Command Automation task to create, edit, copy, and delete command
definitions. A command definition specifies and configures a command-line
program that you want to run on a managed system. Anonymous command
restrictions apply to command definitions.
Notes:
v Users with SMAdmin roles are given unrestricted access to target systems. These
users always have “root” or “admin” access on IBM Systems Director - managed
systems when running command automation through IBM Systems Director.
This is regardless of what command-line context access the user has on the
target. If this causes a security violation, give users SMManager or other
customized roles that prevent them from accessing command automation.
Creating or editing a command definition
Use the command automation task to create and run a command definition, which
specifies the command-line program that you want to run on a managed system.
You can create a command definition, create one based on an existing command
definition, or edit an existing command definition.
Note:
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v Command automation is supported only on systems on which Common Agent
is installed.
v Remember that anything a system-account user can do from a command line
can be done to the system, regardless of the user who is logged in to the
managed system.
To create or edit a command definition, perform the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Automation >
Command Automation.
2. Determine if you want to create a command definition, create a command
definition based on an existing one, or edit an existing command definition.
v If you want to create a command definition, click Create.
v If you want to create a command definition that is based on an existing
command definition, select a command definition from the table, then click
Create Like.
v If you want to edit an existing command definition, select a command
definition from the table, then click Edit.
3. In the Create Command Definitions window, specify information about the
command definition:
a. Accept the default name for the command definition or type a new name in
the Name field.
b. In the Command to run field, type the fully qualified file name and
command syntax. Consider the following information:
v For managed systems running IBM i, the command is run in the Qshell
environment. To run an IBM i system command (such as the call
command), specify the command similar to the following example:
system ’call mylib/myclpgm’
The command runs within the Qshell environment and enables you to
access the IBM i system commands.
v For managed systems running Windows, preface the command with the
following string to ensure that it runs in a Windows command-shell
window:
cmd /c
c. In the Timeout field, type a timeout value, in seconds. The timeout value
specifies the number of seconds to wait for the command either to return a
completion code or time out. Make sure that the timeout value is long
enough.
d. Select the Log check box if you want to log any output produced by the
command, for example, a directory listing.
e. Either accept the default user ID (or the existing user ID if you clicked Edit
or Create Like) or type a new user ID that has the required authority to
perform the command. If you want to run the process using an alternative
user account and override the default user ID, you can specify a user ID
and password in the Login group box.
Note: (Managed systems running IBM i only) Commands cannot be performed
using the default user ID that is shipped with IBM Systems Director. For a
command definition to run successfully on IBM i systems, the command
definition must specify a valid user ID and password, or the managed system
to which it is being run must be configured to specify a user that has the
authority to run the command definition. You can register that user in the IBM
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Director Agent default user function ID on the managed system system using
Application Administration in Power Systems Navigator.
Note: You either must specify an alternative user ID or remove the default user
ID from the registered function and add a new default user ID that has the
required authority to perform the command.
4. Click OK to save the command definition.
The Command Automation page displays the new command definition.
Running a command definition
After creating a command definition, you can run it on one or more specific
managed resources. Run the command definition immediately, or schedule the
command to run at a specific time or at regular intervals.
As an alternative to using the Command Automation task in the IBM Systems
Director Web interface, you also can specify the command definition as an action
in an event automation plan.
Note:
v Command automation is supported only on systems on which Common Agent
is installed.
v Using the Command Automation task to start interactive programs, for example
notepad.exe, is not supported.
To run a command definition, perform the following steps:
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Automation >
Command Automation.
2. Select the command definition that you want to run. The Command
Automation page is displayed.
3. Click Run. The Launch Job window displays.
4. Use the Launch Job window to specify one or more target resources on which
you want to run the command and determine when you want to run the
command. You can also specify other options, including notification settings.
5. After you finish specifying the configuration for this command definition in the
Launch Job window, click OK to use your settings to run the command
definition.
Restricting anonymous command execution
By default, commands are run on the managed system as either system account
(Windows) or root (Linux). You can restrict anonymous command execution by
disabling this function and always requiring a user ID and password.
Restricting anonymous command execution on Linux
You can restrict anonymous command execution on managed systems running
Linux.
To restrict anonymous command execution, complete the following steps:
1. Change to the directory in which Common Agent is installed. If you installed
IBM Systems Director in the default directory, the directory name is
opt/ibm/director/data.
2. From a command-line prompt, type the following string, and then press Enter:
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vi ProcMgr.properties
3. Change the value of RestrictAnonCmdExe to True.
4. Save the file. The change takes effect immediately.
Restricting anonymous command execution on Windows
You can restrict anonymous command execution on managed systems running
Windows.
To restrict anonymous command execution, complete the following steps:
1. On a Windows system, type regedit at a command line and press Enter:
2. Navigate to the registry entry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Tivoli\
Director\CurrentVersion.
3. Double-click RestrictAnonCmdExec.
4. In the Value data field, change 0 to 1.
5. Click OK. The change takes effect immediately.
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Chapter 7. Updating systems
Use the IBM Systems Director update manager to acquire, install, and manage
updates, as well as to monitor your systems to ensure that they remain current.
Update manager enables you to keep your systems at desired software or firmware
update levels by automatically checking for available updates and identifying
which systems need attention. It also provides you with the ability to monitor your
systems for needed updates and schedule the installation of updates at times that
are convenient for your network and users.
Update manager compares update information that is loaded into it with the
inventories of specified systems to determine whether updates are needed. To load
current information about available updates into update manager, you can use the
update manager Acquire updates task. Within that task, you can use either of the
following functions, both of which supply the same exact source for update
manager:
v Acquire updates: If an Internet connection is available, the acquire updates task
automatically contacts the update repository and downloads information about
the latest available updates into update manager.
Note: To acquire updates, the IBM Systems Director Server must have Internet
Protocol version 4 (IPv4) Internet access. This access can be through a direct
connection or through a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) proxy that you
configure in the Settings task. (See “Changing update settings” for more
information.) If an IPv4 connection is unavailable, you can instead import the
updates for more information.
v Import updates from the file system: If no Internet connection is available, you
can manually download supported updates and then import them into update
manager.
Update manager then enables you to examine recently acquired updates and install
any that are needed.
Note: Because update manager determines needed updates by comparing
information about available updates with system inventories, the update
information must be current. To help keep update manager up to date, schedule a
recurring Acquire updates task that will regularly download update information
since the last acquire updates was run. Alternatively, you can regularly monitor
www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/ and import updates that your systems might
need into update manager.
If your systems need updates, you can use update manager to manage the
installation.
Important: For update manager to determine which updates are needed, you must
ensure that the software inventory for monitored systems is collected and current.
Most update manager methods cannot determine the applicability of updates to a
system unless inventory was previously collected on the system.
To view a table of the updates needed by your systems, you can use the update
manager Show and install updates task. From this table, you can select which
updates to install.
© Copyright IBM Corp. 1999, 2013
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Notes:
v Before update manager installs updates, it displays information about whether
system restarts are required. You can allow or disable automatic restarts. If
automatic restarts are allowed, update manager calculates the installation
sequence that minimizes the number of restarts. Alternatively, you can manually
control the restarts.
v During installation, update manager automatically downloads the update
installation files and distributes them across your network to complete the
installation. As with restarts, you can also manually control these steps to
minimize disruption.
To receive an automatic notification when updates are required to keep your
systems current or at a specified update level, you can use update manager to set
up compliance policies. These policies specify which systems are monitored and
which updates you must install to keep the systems in compliance. Update
manager uses these policies to check the status of your systems and notifies you
when systems need updates, and which updates are needed. To set up compliance
policies, you can use the update manager Create and configure compliance
policies task. After a compliance policy is set up, the compliance pie chart then
appears on the Update Manager summary page and you can use that to monitor
compliance status and take any necessary corrective action.
Note: As a best practice, plan to update to the latest update or patch for your
release of IBM Systems Director at least twice a year. Maintaining this schedule
will help to eliminate unnecessary exposure to problems that are already resolved
in more current updates and patches. Staying farther back on maintenance can also
inhibit the ability of your service representative to provide a formal fix without
first requiring the application of a more current update or patch.
Related tasks:
Installing agents
Planning to upgrade or update
Planning to upgrade or update
Related reference:
Update commands
Planning to update systems
Complete these planning steps before starting the actual update process to ensure
that the update process that you follow is successful and meets your needs.
Supported update tasks
You can use update manager to complete various update tasks, including
downloading and installing updates to existing software and setting up compliance
policies to monitor your systems. You can also use update manager to manage
individual updates or sets of updates that are known as update collections.
Update manager performs the following tasks:
v Manage and install updates to existing software products and firmware, external
network and storage switches, and external storage servers.
v Install updates to IBM Systems Director.
v Install updates to IBM Systems Director agents that have already been installed.
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v Acquire and install an individual update or update collection with the following
sequence of tasks:
1. Downloading, which copies the installable files for an update to the
management server.
2. Installation staging, which copies the installable files for an update to an
appropriate location for eventual installation.
3. Installing, which installs an update.
4. Uninstalling, which removes an update.
v
v
v
v
Note: Not all updates support the uninstallation task.
Manage compliance policies, which provide notification of when systems are in
need of updates and which updates are needed.
Schedule a check for updates, which is a search for new updates of which
update manager is not currently aware. If any new updates are found, update
manager obtains the necessary information that is required to include these
updates.
Provide details about a specific update, such as its documentation and
prerequisite requirements (requisite updates).
Display information about updates that were installed by IBM Systems Director.
Note: Updates installed by other means are not displayed.
Update manager does not perform the following tasks:
v Install new software products.
v Install IBM Systems Director agents on systems that currently do not have an
agent.
Instead, install IBM Systems Director agents with the agent manager plug-in of
IBM Systems Director.
v Migrate to any version of IBM Systems Director from any version of IBM
Director.
v Migrate to IBM Director 5.2 from IBM Director 5.1.
v Perform actions on systems that are not accessible. You can perform update
actions on only those systems that are accessible.
Notes:
– If a system is not accessible, the update menu actions are not displayed for it.
You cannot select a system that is not accessible in any of the system selection
actions, for example on the System page in the Installation wizard, on the
Installation staging wizard, and so on.
– If you want to monitor update management and compliance status on any
systems that are not accessible, you must first run inventory collection on
them. Most update manager methods cannot determine the applicability of
updates to a system unless inventory was previously collected on the system.
v Update another, different instance of IBM Systems Director Server.
Supported updates and systems
This is a list of supported updates and the systems to which they apply. Unless
otherwise noted, the systems can be Agentless managed systems, Common Agent
managed systems, and Platform Agent managed systems.
v IBM Systems Director 6.3.x, as follows:
– Common Agent
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– Platform Agent
– IBM Systems Director Server
v IBM Systems Director 6.2.x and 6.1.x, as follows:
– Common Agent
– Platform Agent
v IBM Director V5.20.x, as follows:
– IBM Director Agent version 5.20
– IBM Director Core Services version 5.20
v Technology levels and service packs for AIX 5.3 TL6 SP5 and later. (IBM Systems
Director Server or Common Agent only)
v Technology levels and service packs for AIX 6.1 (IBM Systems Director Server or
Common Agent only)
v SUSE Linux
v Red Hat Enterprise Linux
v Cumulative PTF packages and PTF groups for IBM i (formerly i5/OS) 5.4 and
later
v Hardware Management Console systems at V7.3.3 SP2 or later
v Power Systems firmware for all systems that meet at least one of the following
criteria:
– Inband stand-alone (not managed by Hardware Management Console or
Integrated Virtualization Manager) Power Systems target systems running
AIX or Linux
Note: These systems must have the Common Agent installed.
– Out-of-band (managed by Hardware Management Console) target systems
Note: No Common Agent is required in this case because Secure Shell (SSH)
performs the update.
– Power Systems target systems managed by Integrated Virtualization Manager
and running Virtual I/O Server version 1.5.2.1-FP11.1 or later
Note: No Common Agent is required in this case because SSH performs the
update.
v Migration, fix packs, service packs, and interim fixes for Virtual I/O Server
version 1.5.2.1-FP11.1 or later
v Device driver and firmware updates, or UpdateXpress System Pack updates, for
System x servers running Linux or Windows
Notes:
– Support is provided for servers running all available agent and agentless
levels.
– Support is provided for the application of System x device driver and
firmware updates to IBM Director 5.20.x systems. This support includes IBM
Director 5.20.x versions of IBM Director Agent managed systems, IBM
Director Core Services managed agents, and Agentless managed systems.
– Support is not provided for the application of System x device driver and
firmware updates to IBM Director 5.10.x systems.
– Support is not provided for updating IMM V2 systems running IBM Director
Agent 5.x.
v IBM BladeCenter I/O Module Firmware
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Notes:
– Applying IBM BladeCenter device driver and firmware updates to IBM
Director 5.20.x systems is supported.
– Applying IBM BladeCenter device driver and firmware updates to IBM
Director 5.10.x systems is not supported.
– For these devices, inventory is provided by SNMP.
v IBM BladeCenter Management Modules, Advanced Management Modules, and
Passthrough Modules
Notes:
– Applying IBM
Director 5.20.x
– Applying IBM
Director 5.10.x
BladeCenter device driver and firmware updates to IBM
systems is supported.
BladeCenter device driver and firmware updates to IBM
systems is not supported.
– For these devices, inventory is provided by SNMP.
v External storage firmware, including IBM BladeCenter external storage firmware
for IBM BladeCenter S SAS RAID Controller Module and IBM BladeCenter SAS
Connectivity Module
v For the list of available System x and IBM BladeCenter systems that update
manager supports, see IBM ServerProven at www.ibm.com/servers/eserver/
serverproven/compat/us/.
Version considerations for updating IBM Director and IBM
Systems Director
The use of a configuration with mixed IBM Director 5.20 and IBM Systems
Director 6.1 or 6.2 systems is discussed here, as well as applying updates to IBM
Systems Director itself. Consider these points when applying updates to systems
that are at a level earlier than the current level of IBM Systems Director.
v You cannot use update manager to perform a migration to IBM Director 5.20
from IBM Director 5.10.
v You cannot use update manager to perform a migration to IBM Systems Director
6.x from any version of IBM Director 5.x. However, you can use agent manager
to upgrade an IBM Director Agent version 5.20 to a IBM Systems Director 6.1
Common Agent managed system.
v From IBM Systems Director 6.1, you can use update manager to update to IBM
Systems Director Server 6.1.2 and use agent manager to update to Platform
Agent 6.1.2.
v You cannot update Common Agent 6.1 to Common Agent 6.1.1, so you must
first uninstall Common Agent 6.1 and then use agent manager to install
Common Agent 6.1.1 and Platform Agent 6.1.2.
v To update to Common Agent 6.2.1, you must start with Common Agent 6.2.
v You cannot use update manager to perform a migration to IBM Systems Director
6.2 from any version of IBM Director 5.10 or 5.20. However, you can use agent
manager to upgrade IBM Director Agent version 5.20 to a IBM Systems Director
6.2 Common Agent managed system.
v IBM Systems Director supports the updating of systems that are at earlier
versions of IBM Director as long as the updates do not change the version or
release level. The following earlier version of IBM Director can be updated: IBM
Director 5.20, all modification levels.
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Note: You cannot update a newer version of any IBM Director or IBM Systems
Director component to an older version of the same component. You need to first
uninstall the newer component and then install the older component.
Related tasks:
Managing agents
Managing agents
Installing agents
Update considerations for specific operating systems and
platforms
When you are installing updates for certain hardware and operating systems, there
are unique tasks to be performed and restrictions to consider.
Predefined update groups can be used to facilitate working with updates for a
particular platform or operating system.
Update considerations for AIX systems
Updating AIX systems with IBM Systems Director requires the use of Network
Installation Management (NIM) software and a Common Agent. IBM Systems
Director supports updating AIX 5.3 TL6 SP4 and later releases, as well as updating
AIX 6.1 and later releases.
Terms used for updating AIX
These are terms you will encounter when you are working with AIX updates:
Network Installation Manager (NIM) master
An AIX system that has been designated as a focal point to receive updates
and install them on other AIX systems, known as NIM clients.
Network Installation Manager (NIM) client
An AIX system that is installed from a NIM master.
Technology Level
The twice yearly AIX releases, which contain new hardware and software
features and service updates. The first of the twice yearly technology levels
is restricted to hardware features and enablement, as well as software
service. The second of the twice yearly technology levels includes
hardware features and enablement, software service, and new software
features.
Make sure that you install all parts of a technology level. Back up your
system before installing a technology level.
Service Pack
A collection of service-only updates (also known as PTFs) that are released
between Technology Levels to be grouped for easier identification. These
fixes address highly pervasive, critical, or security-related issues.
Maintenance Level
The service updates (fixes and enhancements) that are necessary to
upgrade the Base Operating System (BOS) or an optional software product
to the current release level.
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Recommended level
The level of a service pack that is recommended for a given AIX
technology level. Not all technology levels have a recommended service
pack level.
Latest level
The most recent level of service pack or technology level.
Tips for updating AIX
Be aware of these tips and restrictions when you are working with AIX updates:
v Do not upgrade the AIX host operating system that IBM Systems Director Server
is running on. Doing so would break the connection between IBM Systems
Director agent and IBM Systems Director Server.
v Back up your system before installing a technology level.
v Updates can be installed only within a release of AIX. You cannot perform a
migration to a new version of AIX with update manager.
v You cannot perform a new overwrite installation of AIX with update manager.
v AIX 5.3 TL6 SP4 and later releases are supported, as well as AIX 6.1 and later
releases.
v To perform an installation or installation staging for AIX updates, your system
must adhere to the following requirements:
– Ensure that your AIX has a NIM master.
Note: During installation, IBM Systems Director automatically adds the target
AIX system as a NIM client of the NIM master.
– Ensure that your AIX has a NIM environment.
– Ensure that the AIX NIM master and the AIX managed systems (NIM clients)
contain Common Agent.
– Ensure that the NIM master is correctly initialized and configured.
– If you are updating an agentless or Platform Agent system, ensure that the
/tmp directory has full public read/write/execute permissions and enough
allotted disk space to accommodate the staged update.
v The updates will always be staged to a NIM master. IBM Systems Director
update manager creates a separate file system named /export/um_lpp_source if
it does not exist. The size is initially set to 1G, but IBM Systems Director update
manager will increase the size if the available space is not large enough to hold
the update files.
v Installation of an update that requires a license acceptance must be done
manually on the AIX target system. There are cases in which an update
contained in a technology level or a service pack can require license acceptance.
The ability to accept a license is not supported from the user interface and must
be performed by installing the file set through the System Management Interface
Tool (SMIT) interface and responding yes to the query ACCEPT new license
agreements?.
v If you plan to import updates on an AIX system, note that you can import only
those updates that contain descriptor files. Fix Central is typically the only
location from which you can obtain updates with descriptor files, so updates
obtained from the DVD might not properly import.
v Update manager cannot install AIX iFixes in the .EPKG.Z format. IBM Systems
Director can import and apply fixes on AIX only when the fix packages are
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published on ECC (Electronic Customer Care) and include all supported files
such as the .sdd file. When such a fix package is available, you can install it with
the following command:
emgr -i -C package_name.epkg.Z
For more information about the emgr command and installing iFixes on AIX, see
emgr Command.
Update considerations for IBM BladeCenter I/O Modules and
Management Modules
Consider these factors when updating IBM BladeCenter I/O Modules and
Management Modules.
v You can use update manager to install updates to IBM BladeCenter, but you
cannot use update manager to uninstall or roll back IBM BladeCenter updates.
v Regarding updates to an S SAS RAID Controller Module:
– Before you can update the IBM BladeCenter S SAS RAID Controller Module,
you must discover the Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S)
provider used to communicate with the module.
– The S SAS RAID R3 Controller Modules (for Linux and Windows) require
that the managed system has the following software installed:
- Platform Agent 6.3 or later
- The appropriate supported operating system:
v For the Linux module: Redhat Enterprise Linux 6.1 (32 bit) or SUSE
Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP1 (32 bit)
v For the Windows module: Windows Server 2008, Enterprise, Standard,
and Datacenter Editions R2
– On managed systems that have both SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP1 (32
bit) and the R2 module installed, updating Platform Agent from version 6.2.x
to version 6.3.3 automatically installs the R3 module. For other managed
systems, use the Install Agent wizard. For more information, see “Installing
the SMI-S provider for the IBM BladeCenter S SAS RAID Controller Module
on additional systems.”
v Before you can update out-of-band switches and IBM BladeCenter Management
Modules, you must create a configuration template for them.
v Updates to I/O modules, management modules, advanced management
modules, and pass through modules must be installed from a Trivial File
Transfer Protocol (TFTP) or File Transfer Protocol (FTP) server. Use the Settings
function to specify TFTP or FTP server properties.
Notes:
– If the staging server is an AIX system, ensure that you install the unzip
command on it if it is not already installed.
– If you use the management server as a TFTP server, ensure that port 69 on
the management server is open for inbound UDP communication.
v SNMP agents must be enabled in the IBM BladeCenter Management Module.
Otherwise, communication is not possible. You can enable this using IBM
Systems Director by creating a Management Module Network SNMP
Configuration template, and applying it to the IBM BladeCenter Management
Module.
v When creating the Management Module Network SNMP Configuration
template, the IBM BladeCenter Management Module must be configured to have
the SNMP Access Type with a value of SET, for the installation process to
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succeed. Alternatively, you can use the Web-based interface for Advanced
Management Module or Management Module, under SMPv3 User Profile, to
change the Access Type to SET.
v SNMP Version 3 communication requires authentication (or credentials) as it is
more secure. When creating the Management Module Network SNMP
Configuration template, select SNMP Version 3, and fill in the appropriate
authentication settings.
v SNMP Version 3 credentials can also be obtained from the IBM BladeCenter
Management Module, if possible, when it is being unlocked. This normally
means that the privacy protocol is set to NONE for the User ID used to unlock
the IBM BladeCenter Management Module.
v SNMP credentials in the Management Module Network SNMP Configuration
template used by IBM Systems Director must match the SNMP credentials in the
IBM BladeCenter Management Module itself. Check these credentials.
Related tasks:
Installing the SMI-S provider for the BladeCenter S SAS RAID Controller
Module on additional systems
Update considerations for Hardware Management Console
systems
Hardware Management Console systems can have these items installed: updates,
upgrades, and interim fixes.
Note these restrictions and hints for working with Hardware Management Console
updates:
v Only Hardware Management Console Version 7 Release 3.3 SP2, and later
versions and releases, are supported.
v Only Virtual I/O Server Version 1.5.2.1 and later fix packs are supported.
v Hardware Management Console upgrades are not supported for the installation
staging task. If installation staging is attempted, a message is displayed with
instructions for creating and using a CD to manually perform this task.
v An ISO image is a disk image for an ISO 9660 file system, and contains the
installable files for a particular update or upgrade. A download is automatically
performed for the ISO image, and the files that are downloaded can be used for
installation on the management server. You must manually create a CD with this
ISO image and then install the update from the CD.
v Hardware Management Console upgrades are not supported for the installation
task. If you attempt an installation task, after having successfully performed a
manual installation staging task, a message is displayed with instructions for
installing the upgrades on each Hardware Management Console system. If you
attempt an installation task and installation staging has not been performed
manually, a message is displayed with the installation staging instructions using
CDs mentioned above.
v Uninstalling and rolling back Hardware Management Console updates,
upgrades, or interim fixes is not supported.
v Updating a Hardware Management Console system might remove existing CIM
indication subscriptions. To ensure that IBM Systems Director correctly registers
the CIM indication subscriptions and continues to accurately display the status
of the updated Hardware Management Console system, revoke and then
reinstate access to the system.
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v Extended discovery or inventory discovery must be performed for the target
Hardware Management Console before using any Hardware Management
Console functions in update manager.
v Sometimes upgrades require that you install the media manually by storing the
obtained ISO image on a CD, for example, when there is no Hardware
Management Console update path to a new release. When a manual CD
installation is required, the upgrade ISO image must be downloaded using
update manager and stored in the
director install\data\updateslib\HMC\Update_ID
directory, where director install is the location of the IBM Systems Director
installation. Subsequently, if the Install task is chosen, installation instructions
are displayed to upgrade the Hardware Management Console manually using
the CD installation.
Update considerations for IBM i systems
Consider these factors when updating IBM i (formerly i5/OS) systems.
v Only IBM i Version 5 Release 4 and later releases are supported.
v To distribute and apply IBM i PTFs, a credential must be created authorizing the
user after IBM Systems Director has obtained access to the IBM i system. The
IBM i system must be an agentless-managed, platform-managed, or common
agent services managed system with access granted. Refer to the topic “Creating
single sign-on credentials” for instructions to create the credentials.
v Updates that are permanently installed on the system cannot be uninstalled.
v If an update requires a system restart, the administrator must perform the restart
manually. No automatic system restarts are performed for IBM i systems.
For more information about updating IBM i systems, see “Best practices for
working with updates for IBM i.”
Update considerations for Linux systems
Each Linux Distribution Partner provides updates for its specific Linux
distribution. To download updates and install them, you must have an Internet
connection and be registered with the Linux Distribution Partner.
Consider these factors when updating Linux systems.
v IBM Systems Director supports the application of updates only to Red Hat
Enterprise Linux versions 5.x and 6.x, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 with any
of the applicable service packs, and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11.
v Only users with root authority can manage Common Agents.
v The target system must have network connectivity with the management server
and either direct or proxy connectivity with the Internet. The Internet connection
is needed to obtain the updates from the Linux Distribution Partner.
v To apply Linux updates, each system must be registered with the update server
for the appropriate Linux distribution's update service.
See these Web sites for more information:
– For Red Hat Enterprise Linux distributions, https://www.redhat.com or
https://rhn.redhat.com
– For SUSE Linux distributions, http://www.novell.com or
http://www.novell.com/customercenter
v Ensure that the following commands are installed on each system that is to
receive an update:
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–
–
–
–
–
zip
gunzip
rug (for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 with the service pack)
zypper (for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11)
yum (for Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions 5.x and 6.x)
v Uninstalling updates and rolling back updates are not supported.
v The Linux system to receive updates must be a Common Agent managed
system.
v If you are updating an agentless or Platform Agent system, ensure that the /tmp
directory has full public read/write/execute permissions and enough allotted
disk space to accommodate the staged update.
Update considerations for IBM Power I/O firmware
Consider these factors when updating IBM Power I/O firmware.
v AIX is required on the target system to update IBM Power I/O firmware.
v Common Agent 6.2.1 is required on the target system to install IBM Power I/O
firmware.
v You must perform extended discovery or inventory collection for the target
system before working with IBM Power I/O firmware updates.
v If you will update a shared device, ensure that it is not used on other partitions.
v You cannot use update manager to downgrade or roll back an IBM Power I/O
firmware level.
v The IBM Systems Director Web interface allows you to select multiple criteria
values at the same time. If you select the criteria value of All, other selected
criteria values are ignored.
Update considerations for Power Systems firmware
Consider these factors when updating Power Systems firmware.
v You must perform extended discovery or inventory collection for the target
system before working with Power Systems firmware updates.
v If the target system is managed by Hardware Management Console or
Integrated Virtualization Manager, extended discovery or inventory collection
must be performed for the managing Integrated Virtualization Manager or
Hardware Management Console of the target system before using any Power
Systems firmware functions of update manager.
v For a stand-alone Power Systems server, the installation staging and installation
tasks require that the installed operating system (Linux or AIX) is available.
v The fix service provider will have only the firmware level 01SF240_338.201 for
POWER5 Power Systems firmware.
v All POWER6® firmware will be available from the fix service provider.
v Some POWER5 and POWER6 systems have BPC firmware to control each bulk
power unit in the central processor complex (CPC) and towers. This bulk power
is attached to the frame. These systems must be managed by a Hardware
Management Console. When the Power Systems firmware is updated for these
systems, the bulk power firmware might require updating as well. Update
manager for Power Systems firmware will automatically update this bulk power
firmware in this situation.
An example is if you upgrade your POWER5 or POWER6 Power Systems
firmware to a new level and that level requires an update to the bulk power
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firmware. Update manager will automatically download and install this bulk
power firmware as part of the Power Systems firmware download and
installation tasks.
v Power Systems firmware updates can be obtained from www.ibm.com/support/
fixcentral/.
v Some levels of Power Systems firmware being installed on a system managed by
Hardware Management Console require that the Hardware Management
Console managing the system to be at a minimum Hardware Management
Console level. See the readme file for the Power Systems firmware. If you
attempt to update the Power Systems firmware when the Hardware
Management Console is not at the required level, the task will fail and log an
appropriate message.
v Uninstalling and rolling back Power Systems firmware updates or upgrades is
not supported.
These are the configurations supported for updating Power Systems firmware:
v Standalone POWER5 and later systems running Linux or AIX, with the Common
Agent installed
v POWER5 Power Systems and later systems managed by Hardware Management
Console and running Linux, AIX, or IBM i (formerly i5/OS)
v POWER5 Power Systems and later systems (POWER6 Power Systems, and so
on) managed by Integrated Virtualization Manager, with Virtual I/O Server
1.5.2.1 and later fix packs
Update considerations for System x systems
Consider these factors when updating System x systems.
v Before you attempt to update the firmware for a System x system, make sure
that the LAN over USB interface is enabled on the system.
v You can use update manager to install updates to System x systems, but you
cannot use update manager to uninstall or roll back System x system updates.
v System x and IBM BladeCenter firmware updates for UEFI and IMMv2, and
PBDSA firmware updates on IMMv2 systems, are available in an operating
system agnostic format. This means that you can install any of these types of
updates on any operating system that resides on a system with the applicable
machine type. To install these updates, which are not self-executable binary files,
you must use IBM UpdateXpress System Pack Installer (UXSPi). In IBM Systems
Director, ensure that the latest version of UXSPi is imported, then use the UXSPi
settings tab to view obtained operating system agnostic updates and manually
import new ones.
Note: You must also use UXSPi to run compliance checks on such System x and
IBM BladeCenter firmware updates. Ensure that the latest version of UXSPi is
imported before running compliance.
v The designated severity levels of System x system updates can dynamically
change depending on the updates that are already installed on the system. For
example, if no previous versions of an update exist on a system, the current
version of the update might have a higher level of severity than it would if a
previous version of the update existed.
Update considerations for Virtual I/O Server systems
Updating Virtual I/O Server systems with IBM Systems Director by using a
migration image requires the use of Network Installation Management (NIM)
software. The NIM server must be running AIX 6.1 or later.
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A NIM master is not required when updating Virtual I/O Server systems with fix
pack, service pack, or interim fix updates.
Terms used for updating Virtual I/O Server
These are terms you will encounter when you are working with Virtual I/O Server
updates:
Network Installation Manager (NIM) master
An AIX system that has been designated as a focal point to receive updates
and install them on other Virtual I/O Server systems, known as NIM
clients.
Network Installation Manager (NIM) client
A Virtual I/O Server system that will use a NIM master for migration.
Fix pack
A fix pack updates your Virtual I/O Server release to the latest level. A fix
pack update can contain product enhancements, new functions, and fixes.
Service Pack
A Service Pack applies to only one Virtual I/O Server level. A Service Pack
contains critical fixes for issues found between fix pack releases. A Service
Pack does not update Virtual I/O Server to a new level, and it can only be
applied to the fix pack release for which it is specified.
Interim fix (iFix)
An interim fix (iFix) applies to only one Virtual I/O Server level and
provides a fix for a specific issue.
Migration image
A Migration image supports the upgrade from a Virtual I/O Server version
to a newer version.
Tips for updating Virtual I/O Server
Be aware of these tips and restrictions when you are working with Virtual I/O
Server updates:
v Only Virtual I/O Server 1.5.2.1-FP11.1 and later releases are supported.
v You cannot use IBM Systems Director update manager to perform a fresh
installation of Virtual I/O Server.
v To perform an installation or installation staging for the Virtual I/O Server
migration image, your system must meet the following requirements:
– A NIM environment is required.
– An AIX NIM master is required to migrate Virtual I/O Server to higher
release, such as from Virtual I/O Server 1.5.2.1-FP11.1 to 2.1.0.0.
– Do not update the NIM master when you are migrating Virtual I/O Server
using that NIM master.
– The operating system level for the NIM master must be AIX 6.1 or later.
v Do not migrate to Virtual I/O Server 2.1.0.0 directly from a lower version such
as 1.5.2.1-FP11.1 because Virtual I/O Server 2.1.0.0 is not officially supported by
IBM Systems Director. Install the fix pack or Service Pack for Virtual I/O Server
2.1.0.0 directly when you are migrating from a version earlier than Virtual I/O
Server 2.1.0.0. The update manager for Virtual I/O Server extension will
automatically install Virtual I/O Server 2.1.0.0 and the selected fix pack or
service pack for you.
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v
v
v
v
v
Note: You also need a NIM environment because migrating to Virtual I/O
Server 2.1.0.0 is based on NIM operation
If there are any LPARs managed by the Virtual I/O Server system, you must
close them before installing updates on the Virtual I/O Server system.
Back up your system before migrating it to a higher release.
When performing migration, the migration image will always be staged to a
NIM master. The image requires 16G of available space and will be put into a
separate file system named /export/um_lpp_source. If the file system does not
exist on the NIM master, IBM Systems Director update manager will create it. If
the file system does not have enough available space, IBM Systems Director
update manager will increase the size of the file system.
For the installation of a fix pack, service pack, or iFix, 5G of available space is
required on the /opt file system of the target Virtual I/O Server system.
The update manager for IBM Systems Director extension will automatically
accept the license if the update requires it.
v IBM Systems Director update manager does not support rollback for Virtual I/O
Server extensions.
v The size of some updates might exceed the file size limit of the system on which
IBM Systems Director Server is installed. Therefore, you should set the file size
limit to unlimited before proceeding. Refer to the system documentation for
information about checking and setting file size limits.
v If you distribute an update that is a migration image, the progress bar will reach
100% complete while the status is still running. The task will actually be
complete when the status is changed to Complete.
v Although the IBM Systems Director Web interface allows you to select multiple
criteria values at same time, only one of them will take effect:
– When the criteria value All is selected, other selected criteria values will be
ignored.
– When the criteria value All is not selected and the criteria value Latest
Upgrade is selected, only the latest upgrade takes effect. All other selected
criteria values will be ignored.
v Only migration tasks are staged to the NIM master. All other update tasks, such
as for firmware or fix packs, are staged directly to the managed server.
Update considerations for VMware ESXi systems
Consider these factors when updating VMware ESXi systems.
v The following firmware update types are supported when updating versions 5.0,
5.0 updates 1 and 2, 5.1, or 5.1 update 1 of either the standard VMware ESXi
(vSphere) product or an IBM customized version of VMware ESXi (vSphere):
Table 30. VMware ESXi supported firmware
360
Firmware update type
Standard VMware ESXi
(vSphere)
IBM customized version of
VMware ESXi (vSphere)
Brocade
N
Y
Broadcom
N
Y
DSA
Y
Y
Emulex
N
Y
FPGA
Y
Y
IMM
Y
Y
QLogic CNA
N
Y
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Table 30. VMware ESXi supported firmware (continued)
Firmware update type
Standard VMware ESXi
(vSphere)
IBM customized version of
VMware ESXi (vSphere)
QLogic FC
N
Y
uEFI
Y
Y
v Updates are not supported on IBM customized VMware ESXi (vSphere) versions
4.0 or 4.1.
v To manage firmware updates for systems running standard VMware ESXi, you
must first discover and access both the OperatingSystem resource and the
related Server resource, which is, for example, an IMM.
Note: Discovering and accessing only the VMware ESXi OperatingSystem
resource will not create the correct Server resource because the OperatingSystem
resource and the Server resource are typically assigned different IP addresses.
See “Viewing system discovery results” for more information.
v To manage firmware updates for systems running the IBM customized version
of VMware ESXi, you need to discover only the OperatingSystem resource.
v Install updates to management modules from a server with SSH File Transfer
Protocol (SFTP), Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP), or File Transfer Protocol
(FTP). If necessary, use the Settings function to specify TFTP or FTP server
properties.
Notes:
– If you are updating an IMM v1 system running standard VMware ESXi, TFTP
is the only supported protocol.
– If you are updating the IBM customized version of VMware ESXi, SFTP is the
only supported protocol.
v Use IBM ToolsCenter Bootable Media Creator (BoMC) or UpdateXpress System
Pack Installer (UXSPI) to update VMware ESXi versions that IBM Systems
Director does not support.
v Before updating firmware on an IBM customized version of VMware ESXi
(vSphere), ensure that you apply the latest VMware ESXi drivers and the latest
VMware ESXi IBM customized image patches to the ESXi system.
Related tasks:
Viewing system discovery results
Update considerations for multi-node systems
Consider these items before updating system firmware on multi-node systems.
In a multi-node system, also called a scalable system, update manager is
responsible for keeping the following four types of system firmware at the same
level on all physical servers across the system:
v DSA
v FPGA
v IMM
v UEFI
To achieve this, if any system firmware update is needed on the physical server,
update manager marks the needed relationship on the top level system, also called
the cluster system. Then, during installation, the update is applied to all the
physical servers in the multi-node system.
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Consider the following items when updating the system firmware on multi-node
systems:
v Before starting any system firmware update processes, ensure that the
multi-node systems are discovered with both inband mode and OOB mode. See
Discovering a scalable BladeCenter system with multiple nodes for more
information about how to discover multi-node systems.
v When checking compliance, the system firmware is shown on the cluster
manageable endpoint of the multi-node system instead of on the physical server
system.
v The systems firmware updates are installed to all the physical server systems
when you install the update on the multi-node system. All the partition systems
are then rebooted after the installation.
Related tasks:
Discovering scalable systems that have multiple nodes
Determining the installed IBM Systems Director version
Before you update an installation of IBM Systems Director, determine the version
of the IBM Systems Director Server or agent that is installed.
To determine the installed version of IBM Systems Director Server:
v Console: Check the version number of the IBM Systems Director Server
managers on the Home page.
v CLI: Run the smcli lsver command.
To determine the installed version of IBM Systems Director agent:
v From IBM Systems Director Server:
– Console: Check the version number in the Agent MEP properties.
– CLI: Run the smcli lssys command, with the ManagementSoftware attribute.
For example: smcli lssys -A ManagementSoftware -i 9.22.103.245.
v (AIX only) From the IBM Systems Director agent:
– CLI: Run the lsagent.agent command.
Note: Maintenance is not delivered for every manager at each update or patch. For
example, the update for a particular version might be released for automation
manager without the release of a corresponding update for configuration manager.
Related tasks:
Planning to update
Updating the product
Related reference:
lssys command
lsver command
Starting to monitor and update systems
To monitor and update systems, you must set up update manager correctly,
including choosing the systems to monitor. You must also ensure that an Acquire
updates task is run on a recurring basis, and that someone is periodically checking
systems that have compliance issues. Lastly, you must install needed updates.
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For systems that are to be monitored for update management and compliance
status, you must:
v Make sure that the systems are discovered and accessible.
v Collect inventory on the systems. Most update manager methods cannot
determine the applicability of updates to a system unless inventory was
previously collected on the system.
Tip: Use the IBM Systems Director Pre-Install Utility to scan systems and identify
potential problems that could prevent IBM Systems Director from updating
successfully.
Tip: To protect your system in the event of an unforeseen complication, ensure
that you back up your data before performing any update tasks.
1. From the Plug-ins tab on the IBM Systems Director Web interface Home page,
click Update Manager. The update manager summary page is displayed.
2. Click the Optional: Getting started link and complete the Getting Started
wizard. See “Getting started with updates” for more information.
3. Click the Configure settings link and complete the Settings task. See
“Changing update settings” for more information.
4. Optional: Create additional update groups to facilitate update management. See
“Managing update groups” for more information.
5. Acquire and install updates for the product or system that you want to update:
Update IBM Systems Director
If you want to simply update IBM Systems Director, use “Update IBM
Systems Director” to let update manager take most defaults and run
most update tasks for you automatically. See “Updating IBM Systems
Director” for more information.
Update other systems
If you want to update other systems, or if you want to update IBM
Systems Director but have full control over the whole process, use the
various update manager tasks in the IBM Systems Director Web
interface or the installneeded command to update your systems. See
“Acquiring and installing updates” for more information.
6. Schedule an Acquire updates task to run periodically, at least once a week. See
“Acquiring new updates” for more information.
7. Review the Update Compliance section of the update manager summary page
to check if your systems meet your update specifications. See “Keeping systems
in compliance” for more information.
8. If some systems need updates, review the exact compliance issues and address
them by planning to install the needed updates.
9. Periodically, perform Steps 7 and 8, or create an Event Automation Plan to
perform this task and notify you of any systems that are in need of updates.
See “Creating an event automation plan” for more information.
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Related tasks:
Planning to update systems
Configuring update manager
Updating the product
Acquiring and installing updates
Keeping systems in compliance
Managing update groups
Creating an event automation plan
Related reference:
Pre-Installation Utility
Configuring update manager
Before starting to manage updates, run the Settings function and the optional
Getting Started With Updates wizard to customize your configuration.
To specify settings, go to the Update Manager summary page, click Configure
settings and complete the various tabs for your configuration.
Then, use the optional Getting Started With Updates wizard to accomplish the
following tasks:
v Select a set of systems to monitor with compliance policies
v Create update groups for updates that are appropriate to the selected systems
v Configure Internet connectivity
v Run or schedule a check for updates
To run the Getting Started With Updates wizard, complete the following steps:
1. On the Update Manager summary page, click Optional: Getting started. The
Getting Started With Updates wizard displays a welcome panel.
2. Optional: If you do not want to see the Welcome page next time, clear Show
the welcome page next time.
3. Click Next. The Name and Description page is displayed.
4. Type a name and optional description for the update group that is to be
created. This group is initially empty but will acquire the updates for the
systems that were selected. It is also attached to these systems through a
compliance policy. Update manager will monitor the systems and indicate
when a system is missing a needed update from the group.
5. Click Next. The Systems page is displayed.
6. Optional: The IBM Systems Director Server is selected by default. Select it and
click Remove if you do not want monitoring of this system.
7. Select at least one system, which must be accessible, and click Add. These
systems will be automatically associated with an update group through
system compliance policies. If a selected system cannot be monitored, an error
message is displayed.
8. Click Next. The Connection page is displayed.
9. Indicate how the Internet is to be accessed to acquire updates:
v Click Use direct connection if a direct Internet connection exists and you
want it used.
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v Click Use Proxy server if your proxy server requires authentication. A
proxy can be an HTTP proxy or a Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure
(HTTPS) proxy, and must be configured and made available by your
organization.
a. Type the host name and port number of the proxy server.
b. Click Authenticate using the following credentials if you want to
access the proxy server with a user ID and password. Type the user ID
and password for the proxy server.
Note: To acquire updates, the IBM Systems Director Server must have Internet
Protocol version 4 (IPv4) Internet access. This access can be through a direct
connection or through a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) proxy. If an IPv4
connection is unavailable, updates can be imported.
10. Optional: Click Test Connection if you want to test the connection settings
that you have specified.
11. Click Next. The Summary page is displayed.
12. This page lists the types of updates that will be added to the update group to
monitor the selected systems, and when a check for updates is run. Verify the
information on this page:
v If the information is correct, click Finish. The common launch-task window
is displayed to schedule an acquire updates for the selected systems.
Schedule this task to run on a recurring basis, not just once.
v If the information is incorrect, click Back to return to previous pages and
correct the information.
13. Specify notification and schedule settings for the task that is being launched.
In addition to launching a check for updates task, the wizard creates an
update group using the default update criteria for the systems that were
selected. A compliance check is created for each selected system to ensure that
it complies with this newly created group.
Related concepts:
Updates and applicable resources
Update considerations for specific operating systems and platforms
Compliance policies
Related tasks:
Configuring update manager
Navigating tables
Navigating tables
Related reference:
Update types
Updating IBM Systems Director
Use “Update IBM Systems Director” in the IBM Systems Director Web interface to
automatically obtain and install all types of updates for IBM Systems Director.
Consider these points when updating IBM Systems Director:
v Most update manager methods cannot determine the applicability of updates to
a system unless inventory was previously collected on the system.
v You must restart IBM Systems Director to activate installed updates.
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To instruct update manager to take most defaults and update IBM Systems
Director almost automatically, complete the following steps.
Attention: Use this method instead of other methods, such as the Acquire
updates" method, to update IBM Systems Director. Other methods might allow you
to install only a partial set of updates, which can cause damage to the installed
image and prevent you from starting IBM Systems Director. Even if it does start,
you might find that not all required plug-ins are present, which could result in
undefined or unknown behavior of the updated image.
1. From the IBM Systems Director Web interface Home page, click Update IBM
Systems Director. When the acquire updates task completes, the updates
needed by the IBM Systems Director Server are displayed in the table.
2. Optional: If your management server does not have an IPv4 connection to the
Internet, you can download IBM Systems Director updates and then use update
manager to import and install the updates.copy the updates to the management
node. See “Updating without an Internet connection” for more information.
3. Click Download and Install to run or schedule the update.
4. After the installation is complete, restart IBM Systems Director to activate the
updates.
Related concepts:
Version considerations
Related tasks:
Planning to update systems
Configuring update manager
Disk space requirements for applying updates
Disk space requirements for applying updates
Determining the installed version
Restarting the product
Related reference:
Update types
installneeded command
Updating without an Internet connection
If the management server does not have an Internet connection, you can manually
download IBM Systems Director update packages. After an update package has
been downloaded and extracted, you can use update manager to schedule when to
import and install the updates.
1. Download the necessary fix files from Fix Central. See “Getting fixes from Fix
Central” for more information.
2. Import and install the updates using either the command line or the IBM
Systems Director Web interface:
Command line
Run the following command to import and install the updates:
smcli installneeded -v -F /home/USERID
IBM Systems Director Web interface
Complete the following steps to import and install the updates:
a. From the IBM Systems Director Web interface Home page, click
Update IBM Systems Director.
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b. On the Update IBM Systems Director page, click Stop to stop the
task that checks for new updates and instead display options for
downloading and importing updates.
c. In the Path field, either type the full local directory path and file
name of the downloaded update package zip file, or click Browse...
to manually search for and locate the file and then have the path
information entered into the field for you.
d. Click Import and Install to run or schedule the import and
installation of the updates.
3. After the installation is complete, restart IBM Systems Director to activate the
updates.
Related tasks:
Getting fixes from Fix Central
Disk space requirements for applying updates
Disk space requirements for applying updates
Downloading manual updates
Related reference:
Fix Central
Acquiring and installing updates
Use IBM Systems Director Web interface tasks or the installneeded command to
update your systems with update manager.
Note: If you are updating IBM Systems Director itself, see “Updating IBM Systems
Director”.
Tip: To download updates for multiple System x systems or all updates for a
given System x system, you can instead use UpdateXpress System Pack Installer.
See the readme that is included with the UpdateXpress System Pack Installer at
www.ibm.com/support/entry/portal/docdisplay?brand=5000008&lndocid=SERVXPRESS for further information and a link to the user guide.
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Related concepts:
Version considerations
Related tasks:
Updating the product
Planning to update systems
Configuring update manager
Disk space requirements for applying updates
Disk space requirements for applying updates
Determining the installed version
Restarting the product
Related reference:
Update types
installneeded command
Acquiring and installing updates with the IBM Systems
Director Web interface
Use the update manager tasks in the IBM Systems Director Web interface to
acquire updates, stage your installation, manage update groups, and install
updates on your systems.
Showing needed updates
Use the Show and install updates function to identify updates that are needed by
your systems.
This function does not show information for systems for which you have not
collected inventory.
Note: For more information about navigating and working with tables in IBM
Systems Director Web interface, see “Table navigation in IBM Systems Director.”
This function can be used on systems or system groups. If you select a system
group, this task will display only those systems within the group that are in need
of updates.
The list of needed updates is produced by comparing the updates that IBM
Systems Director has knowledge of to the inventory on your systems. This task
does not list as needed any update that IBM Systems Director does not know
about. An important part of keeping your systems up-to-date is running the Show
needed updates function and reviewing the results.
To see a list of updates needed by a system, complete the following steps:
1. From the Update Manager summary page, locate the Updates section.
2. Click Show and install updates. The Show and install updates page is
displayed.
3. Select a system or system group in the Selected systems field. Click Browse to
see a list of systems to choose from.
4. Click Show and install updates. A table of needed updates is displayed.
5. Examine the table. There is one line for each update and details about the
update.
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Notes:
v If you do not see an update that you expected to see, you can view all
updates that are available for installation on a system by selecting Show all
installable updates.
v Certain listed updates, for example UpdateXpress System Pack updates for a
IBM BladeCenter blade server or chassis, are actually update collections that
contain one or more member updates that are combined into one installable
image. To view the member updates within the update collection, right-click
on the update collection and select “Update”. For more information, see your
product documentation.
Update tasks such as Install can be done from this page by clicking Actions and
selecting an available task.
Related concepts:
The update topology perspective
Update relationships
Compliance policies
Related tasks:
Viewing update details
Navigating tables
Navigating tables
Related reference:
installneeded command
Showing all installable updates
Use the Show all installable updates function to identify all updates that are
available for installation on your systems.
This function does not show information for systems for which you have not
collected inventory.
Note: For more information about navigating and working with tables in IBM
Systems Director Web interface, see “Table navigation in IBM Systems Director.”
This function can be used on systems or system groups. If you select a system
group, this task will display only those systems within the group that have
updates that are available for installation.
The list of all installable updates is produced by comparing the updates that IBM
Systems Director has knowledge of to the inventory on your systems. This task
does not list as installable any update that IBM Systems Director does not know
about.
To see a list of all updates that are available for installation on a system, complete
the following steps:
1. From the Update Manager summary page, locate the Updates section.
2. Click Show and install updates. The Show and install updates page is
displayed.
3. From the Show and install updates page, click Show all installable updates.
The Show All Installable Updates page is displayed.
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4. Examine the table. There is one line for each update and details about the
update.
Update tasks such as Install can be done from this page by clicking Actions and
selecting an available task.
Related concepts:
The update topology perspective
Update relationships
Compliance policies
Related tasks:
Viewing update details
Navigating tables
Navigating tables
Showing installed updates
Use the Show installed updates function to determine which updates are installed
on a particular system. This task shows those updates that were installed by IBM
Systems Director. Updates installed by other means are not displayed.
This function does not show information for systems whose inventory you have
not collected.
Update tasks such as Uninstall can be done from this page by clicking Actions and
selecting an available task.
To change which update properties are displayed on the table, their position in the
table, or the field sizes, click Actions > Columns.
Note: For more information about navigating and working with tables in IBM
Systems Director Web interface, see “Table navigation in IBM Systems Director.”
To see a list of updates installed on a particular system, complete the following
steps:
1. From the Update Manager summary page, click Show installed updates. The
Show Installed Updates page is displayed.
2. Select a system or system group in the Selected systems field. Click Browse to
see a list of systems to choose from.
3. Click Show Installed Updates. A table of installed updates is displayed.
4. Examine the table. There is one line for each update and details about the
update.
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Related concepts:
The update topology perspective
Update relationships
Compliance policies
Related tasks:
Viewing update details
Navigating tables
Navigating tables
Checking for new updates
Use the Acquire updates task to periodically load new updates into update
manager. Schedule a check for updates task to run frequently, at least once a week.
Note: To check for updates, the IBM Systems Director Server must have Internet
Protocol version 4 (IPv4) Internet access. This access can be through a direct
connection or through a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) proxy. If an IPv4
connection is unavailable, updates can be imported.
To check for new updates, complete the following steps:
1. Select Acquire updates from the Updates section of the Update Manager
summary page. The Acquire updates page is displayed.
2. Select the option to check for new updates.
3. Select the types of updates for which you want to check.
4. Optional: Click Remove to remove any entries that have been selected in
error.
5. Click OK. A scheduling task is displayed
6. Optional: Type a job name.
7. Choose when to run the job:
v Click Run Now to run the job right away.
v Click Schedule and choose a date and time for the check for updates, as
well as the Repeat Options for running the task.
You are advised to schedule a repeating task, because it ensures that you
are aware of new updates as they become available. You are also advised to
choose a time when system load is light, so that the job will complete
quickly.
8. Click Notifications and enter notification options.
9. Click Options and enter other options.
10. Click OK.
11. If any new updates are found, update manager will be automatically made
aware of them. Examine any static update groups that you have created to see
if the new updates must be added.
This is an alternative, system-based approach. Go to the Resource Explorer area
and select a system or system group. Click Actions > Release Management >
Acquire Updates. This will scope the check for updates to just that type of system
or systems in the group.
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Related concepts:
Compliance policies
Related tasks:
Keeping systems in compliance
Related reference:
Update types
checkupd command
Update types:
The various operating systems and firmware that can be updated by IBM Systems
Director have unique update types. The update type is used when a check for
updates is scheduled, or when a compliance policy is created for a system.
Update types for AIX:
These update types are used for AIX systems.
All
Request a specific Technology Level or Service Pack. This choice copies all
the technology level and service pack metadata to the management server.
Update to recommended level
Update to the recommended service pack level. When an AIX system is
chosen from the Getting Started wizard, this type is the default value. If
the newest technology level does not have a recommended service pack,
the AIX system will be updated to the newest technology level that does
have a recommended service pack.
Update to latest level
Remain on the same technology level, but update to the latest service pack
level.
Upgrade to recommended level
Upgrade the technology level to the recommended level. This is likely to
upgrade AIX to a new service pack on the new technology level.
Upgrade to latest level
Upgrade the technology level to the latest level. Typically, AIX is updated
to a new service pack on the new technology level.
Update types for System x servers and chassis:
These are the update types for System x servers and chassis.
System x servers and chassis
Categories
ASR Driver
Automatic Server Restart Driver
BIOS
System BIOS updates
BMC/H8
BMC/H8 Updates
CD ROM / DVD
Chipset-INF
Server Chipset Device Drivers/INF files
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Diagnostics
Diagnostic flash updates
Fibre
Fibre Channel updates
Hard Disk Drive
Hard disk drive firmware updates
Hot Plug
Active PCI Device Driver updates
iSCSI Internet SCSI updates
Network
Network Device Driver and firmware updates
PLD Code
CPLD and FPGA firmware updates
RSA
RSA Firmware updates
RSA II
RSA II firmware updates
SAS
Serial Attached SCSI updates
SATA Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) updates
SCSI
Small Compute Systems Interface (SCSI) updates
ServeRAID
ServeRAID updates
Service Pack Driver
Service Processor (including RSA and RSA II) Device Driver
updates
Tape
Tape Drive firmware updates
UXSP UpdateXpress System Pack
Note: On a IBM BladeCenter blade server or chassis, UpdateXpress
System Pack updates are actually update collections that contain
one or more member updates combined into one installable image.
For more information about UpdateXpress System Packs, see
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/toolsctr/v1r0/index.jsp.
Video Video Device Driver updates
Severity
Initial Release
Critical
Suggested
Non-Critical
Note: The designated severity levels of System x system updates can
dynamically change depending on the updates that are already installed on
the system. For example, if no previous versions of an update exist on a
system, the current version of the update might have a higher level of
severity than it would if a previous version of the update existed.
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When chosen from the Getting Started wizard, all System x updates are selected by
default.
Update types for Hardware Management Console:
These are the update types for Hardware Management Console systems.
All
Used to request all updates.
Update to recommended level
Remain on the same version and release, but update to the recommended
modification level. This is the default when a Hardware Management
Console system is chosen from the Getting Started wizard.
Update to latest level
Remain on the same version and release, but update to the latest
modification level.
Upgrade to recommended level
Upgrade the version and release to the recommended level.
Upgrade to latest level
Upgrade the release to the latest level within the current version. For
example, if you are currently at V7R3.3.0M0 and you request Upgrade to
latest level, you might get an update to V7R4.0.0M0, but you will not get
one for V8.
Update types for IBM Systems Director and IBM Director:
These are the update types for IBM Systems Director and IBM Director.
IBM Systems Director
5.20
IBM Director 5.20.x
6.1
IBM Systems Director 6.1.x
6.2
IBM Systems Director 6.2.x
6.3
IBM Systems Director 6.3.x
Update types for IBM i systems:
These are the update types for IBM i (formerly i5/OS) systems.
PTF Groups
Operating System PTF Groups
Include IBM DB2 UDB, High Impact or Pervasive and other PTF
Groups. The list of PTF groups varies depending on the IBM i
version being updated.
IBM WebSphere® Application Server PTF Groups
Includes updates for IBM WebSphere Application Server products
supported by IBM i. The list of PTF groups varies depending on
the IBM i version being updated.
Update types for Linux:
These are the update types for Linux systems.
Red Hat EL
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Security
Fixes to defects that have the potential to compromise system,
network, or user security. They are categorized according to their
severity:
v Critical
v Important
v Moderate
v Low
Bug Fixes
Fixes to defects that do not compromise system, network, or user
security.
Enhancements
New features
Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
Category
v Recommended
v Optional
v Security
Update types for IBM Power I/O firmware:
These are the update types for IBM Power I/O firmware.
All
Used to request all updates.
Update to latest level
Remain on the same version and release, but update to the latest
modification level.
Update types for Power Systems firmware:
These are the update types for Power Systems firmware.
All
Used to request all updates.
Update to recommended level
Remain on the same version and release, but update to the recommended
modification level. This is the default choice when Power Systems
firmware is chosen from the Getting Started wizard.
Update to latest level
Remain on the same version and release, but update to the latest
modification level.
Upgrade to recommended level
Upgrade the version and release to the recommended level.
Upgrade to latest level
Upgrade the version and release to the latest level.
Update types for Virtual I/O Server systems:
These update types are used for Virtual I/O Server systems.
All
Request all updates on FSP, including migration, fix packs, service packs,
and interim fixes.
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Latest Update
Remain on the same release, but update to the latest fix pack, service pack
level, and interim fix.
Latest Upgrade
Request the latest release of Virtual I/O Server and the most current
interim fix on the latest release. When a Virtual I/O Server system is
chosen from the Getting Started wizard, this type is the default value.
Downloading updates
While the download of updates happens automatically as needed, you might want
to download updates when it is most convenient for your network, and to ensure
that the updates are available at the time of installation.
You can choose to download the installable files for the update to the management
server if you have interest in installing the update, and want to make the
installation process run faster when it is scheduled. Downloading the updates
ahead of installation ensures that the valuable time allocated for system
maintenance (when typically systems are not available to the users) is not spent on
tasks such as downloading, which does not require exclusive system access.
You are not required to run the download task. If the installable files for the
update have not been downloaded when the installation task is scheduled, the
download task is automatically be invoked before the installation task.
It is important to note that the membership of an update group is not resolved at
the time that a task using the groups is scheduled. The membership of the update
group is resolved at the time that the task runs.
To download updates, complete the following steps:
1. From any panel where a list of updates is present, click Actions > Download.
2. You will see a summary panel explaining which updates are to be downloaded
to the management server. Click OK.
3. The task scheduler is displayed. Choose to either run the download now or
schedule it for later.
4. When the download task is used on a selection of updates that must be
manually downloaded, a message is issued stating that not all the updates can
be automatically downloaded. You can click Download manually to display
the manual download page. Follow the instructions on that page to complete
this process.
Related tasks:
Navigating tables
Navigating tables
Related reference:
importupd command
Downloading manual updates:
Some updates must be downloaded manually. An example of an update that
requires a manual download is an update that requires a licensing agreement.
There might be some updates that cannot be automatically downloaded due to
licensing restrictions. In this case, the downloaded column for the update will
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contain the text No, manual download. When you try to download this type of
update, you will see instructions for a manual download.
When you select the download task on an update menu, a panel is displayed to
guide you through visiting the appropriate Web site, downloading the update, and
then copying the installable files for the update.
To perform a manual download of an update, complete the following steps:
1. From the update menu page, select Actions > Download. A panel with
instructions for each manual download is displayed.
2. Select one update and click Actions > Download. This launches a Web browser
to the appropriate Web site for downloading the installable files for the update.
3. If a licensing agreement is displayed, read it and any other information
presented to you. Accept the licensing agreement if you want to continue.
4. The download retrieves the installable files for the update. Make a note of their
location.
5. Close the browser for the download link. You will return to the Download
Updates page.
6. Put the location of the update installable files (from Step 4) in the Files to
import field.
7. Optional: Click Browse to browse the directory.
8. Repeat this step for each update that requires a manual download.
9. Click OK to import the updates you have downloaded.
After an update has been manually downloaded, it can be managed the same way
as any other update.
Related tasks:
Updating without an Internet connection
Importing updates
Use the Acquire updates import function to copy one or more updates from a
directory on the management server to the update library.
To import updates, complete the following steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
From the Update Manger summary page, locate the Updates section.
Click Acquire updates.
Select the option to import updates.
In the Path field, either type the full directory path that contains the update
files on the management server, or click Browse... to manually search for and
locate the directory and then have the path information entered into the field
for you.
Notes:
v On Windows, the specified path must point to a local directory. You cannot
specify network mounted directories.
v You cannot select specific updates from the target directory. All eligible
updates found within the directory are copied to the update library.
v You can import only those updates that contain descriptor files. Fix Central is
typically the only location from which you can obtain updates with
descriptor files, so updates obtained from the DVD might not properly
import.
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5. Click OK. The scheduler is displayed. You can then choose to run the task now
or to schedule it to run in the future.
Related reference:
importupd command
Exporting updates
Use the Export function to copy updates from the update library to a target
directory on the management server. The target directory must be accessible to the
management server.
To
1.
2.
3.
export updates, complete these steps:
From any list of updates, select the ones that you want to export.
Click Actions > Export updates.
Specify a location for the update files by typing or browsing for the path name
on the management server in the Path field.
4. Click OK. The scheduler is displayed. You can then choose to run the task now
or schedule it to run in the future.
Related reference:
lsupd command
Using the System x and IBM BladeCenter platform configuration
file to acquire updates to systems that are outside of your
environment
Use this procedure only in situations where the normal update tasks cannot be
performed. Customize the System x and IBM BladeCenter platform configuration
file so that you can acquire updates for systems that you have not discovered or
for which you have not collected inventory using IBM Systems Director.
To modify the System x and IBM BladeCenter platform configuration file for a
particular System x or IBM BladeCenter system, complete the following steps:
1. Open the file in a text editor. The System x and IBM BladeCenter platform
configuration file is named director install/data/xbc_platforms.cfg where director
install is the directory in which IBM Systems Director has been installed.
2. Using the guidelines in the file itself, add the machine type, operating system,
and architecture combination for the system that you want to manage.
3. Save the file.
Now this system will be listed by update manager and update tasks can be
performed for this system.
Related concepts:
The System x and BladeCenter platform configuration file
Related reference:
Sample System x and BladeCenter platform configuration file
The System x and IBM BladeCenter platform configuration file:
You can use a System x and IBM BladeCenter platform configuration file to specify
systems that you have not yet discovered or for which you have not yet collected
inventory with IBM Systems Director. This file is then used to perform update
tasks on the systems listed in the file.
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This capability applies to System x and IBM BladeCenter systems. A blank System
x and IBM BladeCenter platform configuration file is created automatically on the
management server the first time that any System x or IBM BladeCenter update
criterion is displayed. You can customize this file for systems that have not been
discovered by IBM Systems Director so that their updates can be downloaded.
The System x and IBM BladeCenter platform configuration file has this name:
director install/data/xbc_platforms.cfg
where director install is the directory in which IBM Systems Director has been
installed.
System x and IBM BladeCenter platform configuration file format
In the System x and IBM BladeCenter platform configuration file, each entry is on
a separate line The file has these fields, separated by commas:
Machine type
The 4-digit machine type of the System x or IBM BladeCenter server.
Operating system
The operating system running on the System x or IBM BladeCenter server.
Architecture
The architecture of the operating system. This value will typically match
the architecture of the server, although it is possible to run 32-bit Windows
on an EM64T-based Server.
Attention: The values that you specify for Operating system and Architecture are
case sensitive. For these two fields, use an example entry as a basis for a new entry
to avoid errors.
Tasks used with the System x and IBM BladeCenter platform configuration file
Use the System x and IBM BladeCenter platform configuration file to select the
machine type and operating system criteria for an update group, or to control the
acquire updates task. For each of these update manager tasks, consider these
points:
Acquire updates (selected from the Update Manager summary)
If the System x and IBM BladeCenter platform configuration file contains
machine type and operating system entries, the Acquire updates panel will
display these values. You can use them as you would any other selection
on this page.
If an entry in the System x and IBM BladeCenter platform configuration
file contains a wildcard, all values that match the wildcard will be selected
when this entry is selected.
Acquire Updates (selected in the context of a system and then choosing Custom)
The System x and IBM BladeCenter platform configuration file is not
needed because the machine type and operating system information is
provided by the selected system.
Create an update group
The values in the System x and IBM BladeCenter platform configuration
file are displayed when you are creating update groups. Create a dynamic
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update group and choose the entries from the System x and IBM
BladeCenter platform configuration file that you are interested in.
Sample System x and IBM BladeCenter platform configuration file:
This sample file can be used to download updates for systems that are not present
in your environment.
The entries are commented out. Remove the number sign (#) for each entry that
you want to use.
#Machine Type, Operating System, Architecture
#Operating System Choices:
#RHEL 3
#RHEL 4
#RHEL 5
#SLES 8
#SLES 9
#SLES 10
#AIX
#Windows 2000
#Windows 2003
#Windows XP
#Windows Vista
#Architecture Choices:
#blank indicates i386 or x86
#x64
#ppc
#For Out-of-Band updates specify NONE for both
#Operating System and Architecture
#Examples:
#8843,RHEL 3,
#8843,RHEL 3,x64
#8843,RHEL 4,
#8843,RHEL 4,x64
#8843,RHEL 5,
#8843,RHEL 5,x64
#8843,SLES 8,
#8843,SLES 8,x64
#8843,SLES 9,
#8843,SLES 9,x64
#8843,SLES 10,
#8843,SLES 10,x64
#8843,Windows 2000,
#8843,Windows 2003,
#8843,Windows 2003,x64
#8843,Windows XP,
#8843,Windows XP,x64
#8843,Windows Vista,
#8843,Windows Vista,x64
#8842,RHEL 3,ppc
#8842,RHEL 4,ppc
#8842,RHEL 5,ppc
#8842,SLES 8,ppc
#8842,SLES 9,ppc
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#8842,SLES 10,ppc
#8842,AIX,ppc
#8852,NONE,NONE
Installation staging
Use installation staging to copy the files that comprise an update to an appropriate
location for eventual installation. That location might not be the system that the
update is to be installed on. This task is not required. If you skip this step, the
update is staged when it is needed. This task is provided to save time during
installation maintenance windows, in order to minimize system downtime and
unavailability.
The task of installation staging is accomplished by running the Installation staging
wizard on an update. The Installation staging wizard guides you through the task
of copying the installable files for an update from the management server to an
appropriate location for eventual installation.
If the installable files for an update have not been previously downloaded, a
download is run before the installation staging is performed.
It is important to note that the membership of an update group is not resolved at
the time that a task using the group is scheduled. The membership of the update
group is resolved at the time that the task runs.
To perform an installation staging for an update, complete the following steps:
1. Click Actions > Installation staging on the menus for an update or update
group. The page of the Installation staging wizard is displayed.
2. Clear the Show this welcome page next time box if you do not want to see
the Welcome page again.
3. Click Next. The Updates page is displayed. The Updates page is skipped if
the Installation staging wizard was invoked from an update or update group.
In this case, proceed to Step 5.
4. Select each update that you want. If an update that is part of an update
collection is chosen, a warning is issued because it is advisable to install the
update collection as a whole.
5.
If you select updates that require a manual download, these updates cannot
be staged until you manually download them. The Downloads required panel
will be displayed.
a. Click Details to manually download updates.
b. Click Continue, the updates are now downloaded and ready when you
have completed the manual download.
c. Click Skip the updates which must be manually downloaded if you do
not want to manually download these updates, or the process has failed
for one or more of them. Those updates will be removed from the list and
will not be staged.
d. Click Next The Systems page is displayed.
6. You can stage updates for installation by selecting the systems or system
groups that the updates are to be installed on. Select the system or system
group name and click Add
Be aware that if you selected system groups, the list of individual systems in
these groups is not determined until the task runs. You are presented options
only for those systems that were individually selected. Group membership is
not determined until the task runs.
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7. If some of the updates are for AIX or IBM BladeCenter systems, and you had
not already specified the necessary AIX or IBM BladeCenter options on the
Settings page, it is displayed so that you can choose these options.
8. Click Next. The Options page is displayed.
9. If you do not want updates that are required for the installation of the
selected updates to also be staged for installation, clear Automatically stage
missing required updates. Clearing this box is not advised. Missing
mandatory updates will cause the installation task to fail.
10. A table of the known update requirements for each selected update is
displayed.
a. Select a system from the list of systems to see its update requirements.
b. Review the required updates that will be installed when Automatically
stage missing required updates is selected. You cannot edit the required
updates here.
11. Click Next. The Summary page is displayed.
12. Review the information on this page.
v If it is correct, click Finish. A panel is displayed for you to specify
notification and schedule settings for the installation staging task being
launched by this wizard.
v If some information is incorrect, click Back to go to previous pages and
correct the information, or click Cancel to cancel the entire process.
After the installation staging task completes, the updates are staged in the
following locations:
v When staging to AIX, IBM i, and Linux systems, updates are staged to
/tmp/updatemanager/staging in all cases.
v When staging to Windows systems, updates are usually staged to
TEMP\updatemanager\staging, where TEMP usually resolves to C:\WINDOWS\TEMP
but can change depending on the resource type to which you are staging.
Note: To ensure that updates are staged to the Windows TEMP directory, specify
RELOAD_STAGING_LOCATION=true in the install_path\IBM\Director\lwi\
runtime\core\workspace\.metadata\.plugins\
com.ibm.director.mgr.updates.server\update.properties file.
To determine the exact staging path for a particular system, see the related entry in
the job log. To verify that the path has sufficient space, explicitly stage an update
to the target system and then verify the staging at that path.
Related tasks:
Navigating tables
Navigating tables
Related reference:
installupd command
Viewing information about updates
Information about updates and updates groups is often needed to decide whether
to install the update.
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Related concepts:
The update topology perspective
Update relationships
Update groups
Related reference:
lsupd command
The update topology perspective:
The Updates topology perspective displays a topology view tailored to the
system's update-related resources.
From any place within update manager where you can display a system, click
Actions > Topology Perspectives.
By default, a topology perspective contains all resources related to the system. The
Updates perspective limits the resource types to update-related resources that are
installed on, needed by, or applicable to the system. The following resources types
are included in the Updates perspective:
v systems
v updates
v update collections
Click the displayed resources to see the relationships displayed in the Properties
table.
Relationships for updates and update collections:
Update relationships indicate how an update relates to other updates and target
systems. The Topology view is a good way to illustrate update relationships.
This is a list of all update relationships. To simplify this discussion, the term
'update' refers to either an individual update or an update collection, unless
otherwise noted.
appliesTo
Indicates systems that an update can be installed on at this time. You can
view updates that can be installed on a system by navigating the appliesTo
relationship from the system's Related Resources submenu.
federates
Specifies the individual updates that are contained in an update collection.
installedOn
Indicates systems where the update is currently installed. You can view
where a specific update is installed by following the installedOn
relationship from the update's context menu.
This displays the systems where the update is installed using a table view.
This table view can be switched to a topology map to display a graphical
layout instead of a topology. In the topology map, the installed on
relationships between the updates and the systems are displayed.
needs Indicates updates that a system needs.
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Several updates might applyTo a system, but the system might only need
one of those updates. An example is the situation where one update
supersedes another.
You can see where an update is needed for installation by following its
needs relationship using the resource navigator.
When an update is acquired, the needs and appliesTo relationships for the
update and affected systems are automatically synchronized so that the
new update can be properly managed, and compliance policies remain
accurate.
This table view can be switched to a topology map to display a graphical
layout instead of a topology. In the topology map, the needs relationships
between the updates and the systems are displayed.
requires
Indicates that this update requires another update to be installed.
supersedes
Indicates that this update supersedes another update, meaning that the
other update is not needed if this one is installed.
Viewing properties, documentation, requirements, and other details for an
update:
You can obtain details about an update, such as general properties, installation
requirements, installable files, and documentation.
If an update has not been downloaded and you attempt to view the contents of an
associated documentation file, the download task will be run so that the files can
be read.
To view properties and documentation for an update, complete the following steps:
1. From any place where an update is displayed, click the update name. A page of
general information about the update is displayed, including: name, ID, size,
version, and so on.
2. Click the General tab to see general information about the update.
In this list, the term 'update' is used to refer to an update or update group.
Note: Certain listed updates, for example UpdateXpress System Pack updates
for a IBM BladeCenter blade server or chassis, are actually update collections
that contain one or more member updates that are combined into one
installable image. To view the member updates within the update collection,
right-click on the update collection and select “Update”. For more information,
see your product documentation.
Name The name of the update.
Description
A description of the update.
Acquired Date
The date that this update was acquired by update manager.
Build Date
The date that the update was built. An example is the date that the
source for the update was compiled.
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Build Number
The build number of the update.
Category
The category of update.
Downloaded
Whether the update has been downloaded to the management server.
Filenames
The names of the files for the update.
Package Type
The package type of the update.
Platform
The hardware platform that the update applies to.
Product
The name of the product that the update applies to.
Restart Type
Whether a restart is required when the update is installed or
uninstalled, and what type of restart is required.
These are the possible values:
Restart immediately after update is installed
The restart must be performed before other updates can be
installed or uninstalled.
Restart after all updates are installed
The restart can be performed at the end of the install or
uninstall task.
None
There is no restart indicated for the system or resource.
Severity
The severity of the update is one of the following values:
v Critical
v High
v Normal
v Low
v Not Applicable
Note: The designated severity levels of System x system updates can
dynamically change depending on the updates that are already
installed on the system. For example, if no previous versions of an
update exist on a system, the current version of the update might have
a higher level of severity than it would if a previous version of the
update existed.
Software ID
A character string or value that identifies the software or firmware that
needs the update.
Superseded
Whether this update has been superseded by another.
Total Size
The total size of all the update's files.
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Uninstallable
Whether the update can be uninstalled.
Update ID
A unique identifier for the update.
Update Type
Whether the update is an individual update or an update collection.
Vendor
The manufacturer of the update.
Version
The software or firmware version that the update applies to.
3. Click the Documentation tab. A page of documentation files is displayed. Some
updates might not have documentation files.
4. Click the Requirements tab. A page of requirements that must be met in order
for the update to be installed is displayed. The type of information depends on
which software component is being updated, such as applicable operating
systems and levels.
5. Close this page by clicking the X on the page tab.
Related concepts:
The update topology perspective
Update relationships
Related tasks:
Viewing required updates
Viewing parent update collections
Viewing the supersede relationships for an update
Related reference:
lsupd command
Searching update documentation:
If there is a specific area of concern or detail that you are looking for, searching
update documentation can point you to the updates that you are most interested
in.
Only the latest documentation for an update in its supersede chain is displayed. If
you have a situation where update A supersedes update B, the documentation for
update A is displayed rather than the documentation for update B, since update A
is the most recent update in the supersede chain.
The Update Manager summary page contains a search field that searches the
documentation files of updates that are available for management. The search is
limited to updates that have been downloaded to the management server. For each
update, only those files that are human readable are available for searching.
To search update documentation, complete the following steps:
1. From the Update Manager summary page, locate the Search section.
2. In the Search local updates field, type the terms you want to search for.
3. Click Search. Search results are displayed in a separate table, sorted by
closeness to the search terms. Search results are not case-sensitive.
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4. Optional: You can do various tasks from the search results page, such as
installing an update, viewing the properties, or adding it to an update group.
5. If you do not find what you are looking for, perform a check for updates to
ensure that you have all the most recent updates.
You can use operators in your searches to obtain more accurate search results. Here
are examples of the supported search operators and their meanings:
Linux Matches anything that contains Linux.
Linux*
Matches anything that begins with Linux.
Linux server
Matches anything that contains either Linux or server or both.
Linux OR server
Same as Linux server.
+Linux +server
Matches anything that contains both Linux and server.
Linux AND server
Same as +Linux +server.
+Linux -Blade
Matches anything that contains Linux and does not contain Blade.
clock~ Matches anything like clock, such as block, click, clocks, and so on.
(Linux OR server) AND Blade
Matches anything that contains Blade and also contains Linux or server or
both.
"Issues and Recommendations"
Matches anything with the exact phrase 'Issues and Recommendations'.
Related concepts:
The update topology perspective
Update relationships
Related tasks:
Viewing update details
Navigating tables
Navigating tables
Related reference:
lsupd command
Viewing required updates:
When preparing to install an update, it might be necessary to first install another
update on a given system. These updates are called required updates or requisite
updates.
You can view the updates required by an update by navigating the requires
relationship on the update menu. The requires relationship navigation will display
the updates required by the currently selected update. The updates are displayed
in a navigator table view.
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This table view can be switched by the user to a topology map to display a
graphical layout instead of a table. In the topology map, the required relationships
between the updates are displayed.
Note: For more information about navigating and working with tables in IBM
Systems Director Web interface, see “Table navigation in IBM Systems Director.”
To view the required updates for a specific update, complete the following steps:
1. From any list of updates, select the update whose required updates you want
to display.
2. Click Actions > Related Resources > Needed Updates. A table of the needed
updates is displayed.
Related concepts:
The update topology perspective
Update relationships
Related tasks:
Viewing parent update collections
Navigating tables
Navigating tables
Viewing the supersede relationships for an update
Related reference:
lsupd command
Viewing the contents of update collections:
An update collection is an update that contains other updates, such as a service
pack. They can be managed as a single unit, just like an individual update.
To determine if an update is a collection or an individual update, from any table
where a list of updates is displayed, view the Update Types field. A value of
'Collection' indicates that the update is an update collection. A value of 'Individual'
indicates that the update is not a collection, but an individual update.
Note: For more information about navigating and working with tables in IBM
Systems Director Web interface, see “Table navigation in IBM Systems Director.”
To view update collections, complete the following steps:
1. From any list of updates, select an update collection.
2. Click Actions > Related Resources > Updates. A table of the member updates
is displayed.
Although you can view the member updates in an update collection, you are
advised not to install these individual members separately. Instead, install the
entire update collection.
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Related concepts:
The update topology perspective
Update relationships
Related tasks:
Viewing required updates
Viewing parent update collections
Viewing the supersede relationships for an update
Related reference:
lsupd command
Viewing the supersede relationships for an update:
One update supersedes another if installation of the one update will make the
other no longer needed.
The concept of supersede can be explained by this example. UpdateA supersedes
UpdateB if UpdateA contains all the information in UpdateB, or installing
UpdateA creates a situation where UpdateB is not needed. UpdateA can be said to
supersede UpdateB or be a supersede of UpdateB. UpdateB can be said to be
superseded by UpdateA.
You can see the updates that are superseded by a given update by selecting
supersedes on the Related Resources submenu at the top of the update menu. It is
possible that an update does not supersede any other. It is also possible that an
update is not superseded by any other
This table view can be switched by the user to a topology map to display a
graphical layout instead of a table. In the topology map, the superseded
relationships between the updates are displayed.
Related concepts:
The update topology perspective
Update relationships
Related tasks:
Viewing required updates
Viewing parent update collections
Related reference:
lsupd command
Viewing parent update collections:
For a given update, a parent update collection is an update collection that contains
this update, as well as possibly others. Not all updates will have a parent update
collection.
Parent update collections are updates themselves, and can be installed as an
update. These are similar in concept to service packs.
To view update collections, complete the following steps:
1. From any list of updates, select an update whose parent update collection you
want to view.
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2. Click Actions > Related Resources > Update Collection. The update collection
that contains this update is displayed.
Although you can view the member updates in an update collection, you are
advised not to install these individual members separately. Install the entire update
collection.
Related concepts:
The update topology perspective
Update relationships
Related tasks:
Viewing required updates
Viewing the supersede relationships for an update
Related reference:
lsupd command
Managing update groups
You can group updates to form an update group, which can then be managed as if it
were an individual update. The use of update groups can save time and limit the
complexity of the update tasks.
Related concepts:
Update groups
Related tasks:
Managing groups
Managing groups
Update groups:
Update groups can be static or dynamic. Both types can be used in compliance
policies.
Static update groups
Contain individual updates that were explicitly chosen. Once established,
the membership changes only when you manually add or delete updates.
Static update groups can be used as a baseline for future comparison or
update deployment.
Dynamic update groups
Automatically contains updates based on selected update types. The
membership of this group changes as update information changes.
It is important to note that the membership of an update group is not resolved at
the time that a task using the group is scheduled. The membership of the update
group is resolved at the time that the task runs.
If you add a system group or an update group to an existing system group or
update group, this new, nested group will not be considered when the parent
system or update group is used for validation of compliance policies.
Viewing update groups:
It is advisable to view the individual members of an update group so that you are
aware of the updates that are being used for compliance policies.
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Note: For more information about navigating and working with tables in IBM
Systems Director Web interface, see “Table navigation in IBM Systems Director.”
To view an update group, complete the following steps:
1. From the Update Manager summary page, click Show update groups. A table
of all defined update groups is displayed. This table shows all the update
groups in the group named Update Groups.
2. Click the name of the update group that you want to view. The members of the
group are displayed in a list.
Related concepts:
Update groups
Related tasks:
Creating update groups
Managing groups
Managing groups
Navigating tables
Navigating tables
Creating update groups:
Although there are predefined update groups, you might want to create and
manage update groups for your unique systems and their software.
To create an update group, complete the following steps:
1. From the Resource Navigator, click Create Group. The Group Editor wizard is
displayed.
2. If the Welcome page is displayed, click Next. The Name page is displayed.
3. Type a name and description for the new group and click Next. The Type and
Location page is displayed.
4. Select a Member type of Update.
5. In the Group type field, choose either a Static or Dynamic update group. The
Define page is displayed.
6. Select group members:
v If the group type is Static, select the individual updates and update collection
and click Add to move them to the Selected column.
v If the group type is Dynamic, select the types of updates and click Add to
move them to the Selected column. These values are like those on the
Acquire Updates page.
7. Click Next. The Summary page is displayed.
8. Review the choices for the new group carefully.
v If your choices are correct, click Finish to create the update group.
v If you want to change your choices, click Back to go to the previous page, or
choose the Group Editor wizard page from the navigation area.
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Related concepts:
Update groups
Related tasks:
Viewing update groups
Managing groups
Managing groups
Installing updates on systems
Use the Install wizard to install updates on systems or groups of systems. If you
choose to install updates that have not been downloaded or staged for installation,
these tasks will be automatically performed as part of the installation task.
Note: The installation of updates on IBM i (formerly i5/OS) systems requires a
single sign-on credential that maps an IBM Systems Director Web interface user to
an IBM i user ID.
v For instructions to create credentials, see “Creating single sign-on credentials”.
v For more informations about credentials, see “Managing single sign-on
credentials”.
Tip: Use the IBM Systems Director Pre-Install Utility to scan systems and identify
potential problems that could prevent IBM Systems Director from updating
successfully.
Tip: To protect your system in the event of an unforeseen complication, ensure
that you back up your data before performing any update tasks.
To install updates, complete the following steps:
1. From the Update Manager summary page, locate the Updates section.
2. Click Show and Install Updates. The Show and Install Updates page is
displayed.
3. Select a system or system group in the Selected systems field. Click Browse
to see a list of systems to choose from.
4. Click Show and install updates. A table of needed updates is displayed.
5. Select each update that you want to install. Whole update collections, not
individual member updates, will be installed.
6. Click Install. The Install wizard Welcome page is displayed.
7. Clear Show this welcome page next time if you do not want to see the
Welcome page next time.
8. Click Next The Systems page is displayed.
9. If some of the updates are for AIX or IBM BladeCenter systems, and you had
not already specified the necessary AIX or IBM BladeCenter options on the
Settings page, it is displayed so that you can choose these options.
10. Click Next.
11. Optional: If you select updates that require a manual download, and this has
not already been done, you must manually download them. The Downloads
required page is displayed.
a. Click Details to perform the manual download.
b. Click Continue, the updates are now downloaded and ready when you
have completed the manual download.
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c. Click Skip the updates which must be manually downloaded if you do
not want to download these updates, or the manual download process has
failed for one or more of them.
12. Click Next.
13. Optional: The Manual Installation Required page will be displayed if a
selected update must be manually installed by the user.
a. Click View under the Installation Instructions heading to see the manual
installation instructions.
b. Read the instructions and decide to install the updates now or later.
Updates that require manual installation will be removed from the list of
selected updates. If all the selected updates require manual installation, you
cannot continue; Next will be disabled.
14. Click Next. The Restarts page is displayed. All selected systems are displayed
in the table even if they do not require a restart. For each system, the highest
restart impact is listed. The systems are sorted in this table with those of
highest restart impact listed first.
15. Automatically restart as needed during installation is selected by default.
Clear this box if you do not accept the restart requirements. If you clear the
Automatically restart as needed during installation box and updates are
installed that have pending restarts, then the installation task will complete
with errors and some update installs might not be attempted if a dependent
update requires an immediate restart.
16. Click Yes in the Restarts Required column for a system to view all updates to
be installed on the system and their individual restart requirements. This view
is specific to the selected system. It shows all the updates that will be installed
on that system and the restart value for each. You cannot change the
information on this page. If you do not accept the restart requirement, click
OK to return to the Install wizard, click Back, and then remove systems or
updates.
If you have selected system groups as the target for the update installation,
the list of individual systems in these groups is not determined until the task
runs. You are presented options only for those systems that were individually
selected. Group membership is not determined until the task runs.
These are the possible values:
Restart immediately after update is installed
The restart must be performed before other updates can be installed
or uninstalled.
Restart after all updates are installed
The restart can be performed at the end of the install or uninstall task.
None There is no restart indicated for the system or resource.
17. Click Next. The Summary page is displayed.
18. Review the information on this page.
v If it is correct, click Finish. A panel is displayed for you to specify
notification and schedule settings for the installation task.
v If some information is incorrect, click Back to go to previous pages and
correct the information, or click Cancel to cancel the entire process.
Note: Even if the installation of your update is successful, the version numbers
that are displayed for a particular updated IBM Systems Director component might
not match across version displays. For example, after successfully updating
Platform Agent 6.2 to 6.2.1 and collecting inventory, the Platform Agent version
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that is displayed in the file set remains as 6.2. Rebooting the system will fix the
version in some but not all instances of this issue. Regardless, this issue does not
impact functionality, though, and you can ignore it.
Related tasks:
Navigating tables
Navigating tables
Managing single sign-on credentials
Managing single sign-on credentials
Related reference:
Pre-Installation Utility
installupd command
installneeded command
Removing update files
When an update is no longer needed, you can remove its associated installable
files to save space.
If an update has not been downloaded, this task is not available. This task removes
the installable files for an update, but descriptive information about the update is
not removed. When this task completes, the update remains known to update
manager and is treated like any other update.
To remove the installable files from an update, complete these steps:
1. From any page where a list of updates is present, select the updates whose files
you want to delete.
2. Click Actions > Delete files.
3. Click Yes in the verification window to confirm the removal of the files.
To remove all information about an update, use the cleanupd command.
Related reference:
cleanupd command
Uninstalling updates
It might be necessary to remove an update from a system or group of systems. Use
the Uninstall updates task to do this. Not all updates support the uninstall task.
For updates that cannot be uninstalled, it might be possible to roll them back to an
earlier version by installing an older version on top of the current one.
To uninstall updates, complete the following steps:
1. From the Update Manager summary page, click Show installed updates. The
Show Installed Updates page is displayed.
2. Select a system or system group in the Selected systems field. Click Browse to
see a list of systems to choose from.
3. Click Show installed updates. A table of installed updates is displayed.
4. Select each update that you want to uninstall.
5. Click Uninstall updates. The Uninstall wizard Welcome page is displayed.
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6. Clear Show this welcome page next time if you do not want to see the
Welcome page next time.
7. Click Next. The Updates page is displayed.
8. Select each update that you want to uninstall and click Add.
9. Click Next. The Systems page is displayed.
10. Select each system or system group from which you want to uninstall the
updates and click Add. All selected updates that are installed on these
systems will be uninstalled. If you select a system group, the updates are
uninstalled from those systems that are a member of the group at the time the
uninstallation task runs.
11. If some of the updates are for AIX systems, and you had not already specified
the necessary AIX options on the Settings page, it is displayed so that you can
choose these options.
12. Click Next.
13. Optional: The Manual Uninstall Required page might be displayed. It is
displayed only when an update selected for uninstallation must be manually
removed.
a. Click View under the Uninstallation Instructions heading to see the
manual instructions for each update to be uninstalled.
b. Read the instructions and decide to run them now or later.
14. Click Next. The Restarts page is displayed. All selected systems are displayed
in the table even if they do not require a restart. For each system, the highest
restart impact is listed. The systems are sorted in this table with those of
highest restart impact listed first.
15. Automatically restart as needed during installation is selected by default.
Clear this box if you do not accept the restart requirements. If you clear the
Automatically restart as needed during installation box and updates are
uninstalled that have pending restarts, then the uninstallation task will
complete with errors and some uninstalls might not be attempted if a
dependent update requires an immediate restart.
16. Click Yes in the Restarts Required column for a system to view all updates to
be uninstalled on the system and their individual restart requirements. This
view is specific to the selected system. It shows all the updates that will be
uninstalled on that system and the restart value for each. You cannot change
the information on this page. If you do not accept the restart requirement,
click OK to return to the Uninstall wizard, click Back, and then remove
systems or updates. If you have selected system groups as the target for the
uninstallation task, the list of individual systems in these groups is not
determined until the task runs. You are presented options only for those
systems that were individually selected. Group membership is not determined
until the task runs.
These are the possible values:
Restart immediately after update is installed
The restart must be performed before other updates can be installed
or uninstalled.
Restart after all updates are installed
The restart can be performed at the end of the install or uninstall task.
None There is no restart indicated for the system or resource.
17. Click Next. The Summary page is displayed.
18. Review the information on this page.
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v If the information is correct, click Finish. A panel is displayed for you to
specify notification and schedule settings for the task being launched by
this wizard.
v If some information is incorrect, click Back to go to previous pages and
correct the information, or click Cancel to cancel the entire process.
If an update cannot be uninstalled, it might be possible to roll back the installed
update by installing an older version of the update. The older update can be
installed if the older update is applicable to the system.
Related tasks:
Navigating tables
Navigating tables
Related reference:
uninstallupd command
Acquiring and installing updates with the installneeded
command
Use this alternate update method if you want to use the command line to specify
some options and then let update manager automatically obtain and install all
types of updates for IBM Systems Director.
You can use the installneeded command line tool to simply update IBM Systems
Director servers and agents, or you can add optional parameters to install other
update types. The tool performs the entire update process from beginning to end
with a single command. The basic flow consists of collecting inventory on the
target system, acquiring updates, running compliance, installing needed updates,
then running inventory and compliance again.
This topic describes several high-level uses for the installneeded command. See
the installneeded command topic for more detailed information.
v To update IBM Systems Director Server from the FSP, issue the following
command:
smcli installneeded -v -F
This command will use the server on which it is run as the target. It will
automatically acquire IBM Systems Director Server updates from the FSP and
install them. The -v option specifies “verbose” and is useful for tracking
progress or seeing problems. The -F option specifies “force”, without which the
command will ask for confirmation before installing each update.
The following options and operands are also useful when updating IBM Systems
Director Server:
-I
Installs updates that are already in the updates repository. For example:
smcli installneeded -v -I
import_path
Installs updates after you import them from the supplied path. For
example:
smcli installneeded -v c:\dirupdates
See the installneeded command topic for more detailed information about these
options and operands.
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v To update Common Agent or Platform Agent with the latest update level from
the FSP, complete the following steps from an IBM Systems Director server:
1. Issue the following command to determine the OID of the system:
smcli lssys -o
The output will resemble this example:
netvj165, 0xa98
netvj165.vrow.netfinity.com, 0xa39
2. Issue the following command to update the agent:
smcli installneeded -v -n {system_oid | system_name} -F
For example:
smcli installneeded -v -n 0xa39 -F
smcli installneeded -v -n netvj165.vrow.netfinity.com -F
The following options and operands are also useful when updating Common
Agent or Platform Agent:
-I
Installs updates that are already in the updates repository. Use the
following format for the command:
smcli installneeded -v -n {system_oid | system_name} -I
-i
Specifies an IP address or host name to identify the system instead of
the system OID or system name. This could be useful if you are
using a script to update the system after using other CLI commands
to discover and request access to the system. If both the server MEP
and operating system MEP have the same IP address, you must use
another parameter along with the command to install the updates
without user intervention. Use the following format for the
command:
smcli installneeded -v -t system_type -i ip_address -F
For example:
smcli installneeded -v -t OperatingSystem -i 10.11.9.165 -F
Note: Use the lssys -T command to determine the valid system
types.
Note: You can use -i in combination with -I.
See the installneeded command topic for more detailed information about
these options and operands.
v To update Common Agent or Platform Agent with a specific update level,
complete the following steps from an IBM Systems Director server:
1. Download the desired updates from www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/.
2. Issue the following command to import and install the updates:
smcli installneeded -v -n {system_oid | system_name} -F import_path
For example:
smcli installneeded -v -n 0xa39 -F c:\dirupdates
v To install other types of updates, complete the following steps:
1. Issue the following command to determine the update type or types to
specify:
smcli installneeded --list
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2. Issue either of the following commands to install the updates:
– smcli installneeded -v -n {system_oid | system_name} -F -u
update_type
– smcli installneeded -v -t system_type -i ip_address -F -u
update_type
For example:
– Install System x and IBM BladeCenter updates from the FSP to the system
with a system OID of 0xa39:
smcli installneeded -v -n 0xa39 -F -u systemxandbc
– Install System x and IBM BladeCenter updates that were already acquired
from the FSP or imported previously to the system with a system name of
netvj165.netfinity.com:
smcli installneeded -v -n netvj165.netfinity.com -F -u systemxandbc -I
– Install Linux updates to the system with an IP address of 10.11.9.165:
smcli installneeded -v -t OperatingSystem -i 10.11.9.165 -F -u linux
Note: The default value for -u is “Director”, which is implied if -u is not
specified. That is why the previous command to update IBM Systems
Director Server was accurate even though the -u option was not included.
The -u option corresponds to the update ProviderType and specifies the
types of updates to acquire if -c is specified or implied when no other option
is given. The acquire updates task will only order updates using the default
criteria values that are supported by the target system or server if no target
system is provided.
To illustrate with an example, a user wants to update IBM Systems Director
Server on Linux and uses the following command to do so:
smcli installneeded -v -F
The user then discovers and accesses a Linux agent and plans to perform
Linux updates on the agent after the agent side setup is complete. There are
correct and incorrect commands to use for this action:
– Incorrect:
smcli installneeded -v -t OperatingSystem -i 10.11.9.165 -F -u linux -I
This command would find no updates to install. Even though the smcli
installneeded -v -F command already ran the acquire updates task on a
Linux server, -u was not specified and therefore defaulted to “-u
Director”. Only IBM Systems Director updates were acquired from the
FSP, and no Linux updates were placed in the repository for installation.
– Correct:
smcli installneeded -v -t OperatingSystem -i 10.11.9.165 -F -u linux
This command would complete an acquire updates task for Linux updates
from the FSP and install them.
See the installneeded command topic for more detailed information about
these options and operands.
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Related concepts:
Version considerations
Related tasks:
Planning to update systems
Configuring update manager
Disk space requirements for applying updates
Disk space requirements for applying updates
Determining the installed version
Restarting the product
Related reference:
Update types
installneeded command
lssys command
Keeping systems in compliance
Use compliance policies to receive notification about systems that are missing
specific updates.
The Update Manager summary page provides a quick view of the number of
systems that are monitored by compliance policies and the number of systems that
are out of compliance. Review this information before viewing the more detailed
data that follows it.
Use the Update Manager summary page to view information about compliance
policies for your systems. All compliance policy tasks are initiated from the Update
compliance section on this page.
Note: Compliance status does not change on the monitored systems until an
acquire updates task is complete and compliance has completed. This status
change can take up to ten minutes after the acquire updates task completes.
Important: When using compliance for the first time, keep in mind the following
items:
v To check compliance for IBM BladeCenter and System x systems running Linux
or Windows, an applicable IBM UpdateXpress System Pack Installer (UXSPi) is
required. The UXSPi is downloaded automatically when you use update
manager to acquire updates from the internet. If the management server does
not have an internet connection, you must manually download and import an
applicable UXSPi.
Important: For UXSPi to work correctly on 64-bit Linux operating systems, you
must install the compatibility libraries compat-libstdc++-296-2.96.
v To check compliance for , Systems Director an applicable IBM UpdateXpress
System Pack Installer (UXSPi) is required. The UXSPi is downloaded
automatically when you use update manager to acquire updates from the
internet. If the management server does not have an internet connection, you
must manually download and import an applicable UXSPi.
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Important: For UXSPi to work correctly on 64-bit Linux operating systems, you
must install the compatibility libraries compat-libstdc++-296-2.96.
v To efficiently balance impact on resources and improve reliability, consider
grouping your systems, for example by type or by level of operating system,
and then using a rollout or staged approach to attain currency.
v For important information about applying compliance on IBM BladeCenter and
System x systems specifically, refer to the Best Practice Firmware Update Guide IBM BladeCenter and System x at http://www.ibm.com/support/entry/portal/
docdisplay?lndocid=MIGR-5082923
v For important information about applying compliance on Systems Director, see
the Firmware Update Guide - IBM Flex System, at http://www.ibm.com/
support/entry/portal/docdisplay?lndocid=MIGR-5091991&brandind=5431802.
1. To view or edit update compliance policies, click Create and configure
compliance policies from the Update Manager summary page. A list of
systems is displayed.
2. Select a system from the list to edit its compliance policy.
You can create compliance policies on systems or system groups. When a policy is
created on a system group, all systems within the group inherit the compliance
policy. The group is displayed in the Inherited column when viewing the system
compliance policy.
Related concepts:
Compliance policies
Update relationships
Updates and applicable resources
Update considerations for specific operating systems and platforms
Compliance policies
Use compliance policies to monitor your systems and inform you when systems
are missing specific updates.
The first section on the Update Manager summary page is the Update Compliance
section. This section provides a quick summary of the update health of your
systems and provides several system-related tasks.
Tips
v If you see the term Inherited Compliance Policy or an Inherited field in a table
when you are viewing this information, there is a compliance policy on the
parent group for the system. The policy can be removed from the system only
by removing it from the system parent group.
v The behavior of a compliance policy for an update group differs slightly
depending on whether the update group is static or dynamic:
Static update group
When a static update group is examined, each update contained within
the group that is applicable to the system must be found to be installed;
otherwise the compliance policy indicates an 'out of compliance'
situation. This situation is verified by examining the appliesTo
relationship on the update.
Dynamic update group
When a dynamic update group is examined, the compliance policy
indicates an 'out of compliance' situation only when updates that are
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needed by the systems are not installed. This situation is verified by
examining the needs relationship on the update.
v If you add a system group or an update group to an existing system group or
update group, this new, nested group is not considered when the parent system
or update group is used for validation of compliance policies.
v If an update that is not applicable to a particular system is not installed, the
compliance policy does not indicate an 'out of compliance' situation.
Adding updates to a compliance policy
Updates can be added to a compliance policy to keep the compliance policy
current.
To add an update to the compliance policy for a system, complete the following
steps:
1. From any panel that has a list of updates displayed, click Add to >
Compliance Policy.
2. Select the system or system group to be monitored for the update.
3. Click OK. The selected update is added to the compliance policy for the
system.
4. Click Save to save the compliance policy.
Related concepts:
Updates and applicable resources
Update considerations for specific operating systems and platforms
Compliance policies
Related tasks:
Keeping systems in compliance
Create and configure compliance policies
Use the Create and configure compliance policies page to change compliance
policies.
The Create and configure compliance policies task is used to configure compliance
policies on systems that are monitored for missing updates. Each compliance check
is listed on a separate line.
The target system or system group is checked against its associated compliance
policy automatically when the system or update inventory changes.
To modify compliance policies, complete the following steps:
1. From the Update Manager summary page, click Create and configure
compliance policies. The Compliance Policy page is displayed.
2. Select a system or system group.
3. Optional: Click Browse to see a list of systems.
a. Click Add to add a system or system group.
b. Click Remove to remove a system or system group.
4. Click Show Compliance Policies.
5. Select one of the following policies to create or, if it already exists, configure it:
v Policy to ensure that the latest released updates are always applied
v Policy to ensure that specific version levels of updates are maintained
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Important: If a policy already exists and you select and configure the other
policy, the existing policy and its compliance checks are removed when you
save the new policy.
If the chosen policy already exists, the table displays all associated compliance
checks. If the chosen policy does not already exist, the table is empty.
6. Choose a task to perform on the selected compliance policy:
v Create a new compliance check. Complete the following steps:
a. In the displayed table, click Add.... The Add... page is displayed.
b. In the Show: list, select the type of updates to display in the table.
Note: If you are adding a compliance check to the “Policy to ensure that
the latest released updates are always applied” policy, you can choose
from among only dynamic update groups. If you are adding a
compliance check to the “Policy to ensure that specific version levels of
updates are maintained” policy, you can choose from among only
individual updates or static update groups.
c. Choose the updates or update groups to include in the compliance policy.
d. Click OK to add the updates or update groups to the compliance policy.
v Remove a compliance check. Select a compliance check, then select Actions >
Remove.
7. Click Save to save the changes to the compliance policy. This will activate the
selected compliance policy and any compliance checks that you set up for it,
and will remove any previously existing compliance policies and compliance
checks.
Example
If you create a static update group where some of the updates supersede others,
the compliance policy verifies that the latest superseding update is installed. The
recommendation that comes from this type of compliance policy will be to install
the latest update in the supersede chain.
As an example, consider an update group with these attributes:
v It is a static update group.
v Group members are updates named UpdateA, UpdateB, and UpdateC.
v UpdateA supersedes UpdateB.
v UpdateB supersedes UpdateC.
When a compliance policy is created with this group, the compliance policy
verifies that the latest supersede update (UpdateA in this case) is installed, and, if
it is not, the recommended action is to install the latest update in the supersede
chain (UpdateA in this case). Even if both UpdateB and UpdateC are installed, the
compliance policy indicates 'out of compliance' unless UpdateA is installed. If
UpdateB and UpdateC are not found on the system, but UpdateA is present on the
system, the compliance policy indicates that the system is in compliance.
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Related concepts:
Compliance policies
Related tasks:
Identifying systems that are out of compliance
Identifying systems that are out of compliance
Identify systems that are out of compliance so that you can take recommended
corrective action.
This function does not give you information about all your systems, just those that
are monitored by compliance policies.
The system-compliance status indicator represents the highest severity among all of
the compliance policy updates that are not installed on the system. There are five
compliance categories, represented by icons:
: Indicates a missing update severity of critical or high
: Indicates a missing update severity of medium or low
: Indicates a missing update severity that is not known or not
applicable
: Indicates systems that are in compliance; they have no missing
updates
: Indicates systems that are not accessible or do not have inventory
collected
To identify systems that are out of compliance according to an active compliance
policy, complete the following steps:
1. On the Update Manager summary page, find the Update Compliance section.
2. Examine the pie chart and icons to its right. The number of systems in each
compliance category is displayed.
Note: The compliance pie chart is visible only if you have already created a
compliance policy for your system.
3. If one or more system is in need of updates, click one of the systems links next
to the severity icons (which are next to the pie chart). This displays a table of
systems.
4. Optional: You can also click the View all issues link to the bottom right of the
pie chart to view all compliance issues for all systems that are in a policy and
are in need of updates.
5. Examine the Compliance column to find which systems are in need of updates.
The highest severity of all the missing updates is displayed.
6. Select one or more systems.
7. Click System Health > Compliance Issues The View All Issues page is
displayed.
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Those systems that have the same compliance issues are grouped, and the total
number of systems is displayed.
8. Click a compliance issue to expand and filter the list of individual systems.
Otherwise, each system with each particular issue and recommendation is
listed.
Related concepts:
Compliance policies
Related tasks:
Changing compliance policies
Resolving compliance issues
When a compliance policy indicates that there are updates that are required on one
or more systems, examine the severity of the updates, and plan to install them
considering your system's availability, workload, and scheduling factors.
Use this procedure only if one or more of your systems is out of compliance, as
indicated by the Compliance column in the list of monitored systems, or as
indicated by the pie chart on the Update Manager summary page.
Note: The compliance pie chart is visible only if you have already created a
compliance policy for your system.
The Compliance column visually indicates that a system is not in compliance. The
status severity is the highest severity of all the updates needed by the system.
To correct an out-of-compliance situation, complete the following steps:
1. Click the compliance status in the Compliance column to see the Issues and
Recommendations panel.
2. Read the recommended action. Make sure that you understand the proposed
actions.
3. Choose the issues that you want to resolve and then click either Install or
Uninstall, according to the recommendation. The appropriate wizard starts.
You can choose to resolve all issues at once instead of resolving them
individually.
Related concepts:
Compliance policies
Related tasks:
Changing compliance policies
Identifying systems that are out of compliance
Navigating tables
Navigating tables
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Chapter 8. Remotely accessing systems and resources
Using the IBM Systems Director remote access function, you can establish sessions
to a system and transfer files when you are logged into another system.
In order to use remote access, one or more discovered and accessible systems must
have support for at least one remote access task.
Remote access facilities
Remote access has facilities for file transfer and access to systems in both
full-screen and command-line modes.
Remote access consists of these access mechanisms:
Distributed Command
Executes a command on one or more managed systems in parallel.
File Transfer
Transfers files from one system to another.
Launch Web Browser
Opens a browser window for the selected system.
Remote Command line
Establishes command-line access to a remote system.
Remote Control
Establishes full-screen access to a remote system using these access
methods:
BladeCenter and RSA Remote control
Launches the Web interface to remotely control IBM BladeCenter or
Remote Supervisor Adapter (RSA) systems
Microsoft Windows Remote Desktop Connection
Launches this application for Windows systems
Virtual Network Computing
Launches Virtual Network Computing (VNC) for AIX and Linux
systems.
Remote Xen Console
Establishes command-line access to a remote Xen server.
Serial Console
Opens console windows to one or more POWER managed systems.
Distributed Command
The Distributed Command task launches the Distributed Shell.
Restriction: To use this task, you must be logged into IBM Systems Director Server
running on AIX. Otherwise, you will get an error message.
The Distributed Shell gives you the ability to execute a command on one or more
managed systems in parallel. The command is executed on each remote target and
the output from each system is returned to the IBM Systems Director Server.
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405
The Operating System resource type is supported by the Distributed Command
task.
Related tasks:
Using the Distributed Shell
File management
Use the File Management task to manage files and directories on a remote system.
From the IBM Systems Director Web interface, you can use the File Management
task to manage files on a remote system. File management task operations include
rename, delete, upload, download, and the creation of new folders.
If you use the File Management task to perform an upload or download, you can
transfer individual files and directories between the following systems only:
v The browser system and the management server
v The browser system and a managed system
Transferring files directly between a management server and a managed system is
not supported. If you need to transfer a file from a management server to a
managed system (or the reverse, from a managed system to a management server),
you must transfer the file to a browser system first, and then transfer it from the
browser system to the managed system or the management server.
Launch Web browser
Use the Launch Web browser facility to access a system that has a Web server.
The IP address that IBM Systems Director has for the system is used to launch the
Web browser with http protocol.
Remote Command Line
The Remote Command Line task establishes command-line access to a remote
system.
The Remote Command Line task opens a non-graphical Remote Command Line
window in the IBM Systems Director Web interface. You can communicate with a
remote system by issuing its operating system's commands at the command-line
prompt in the window.
Generally, you can have multiple remote command-line sessions active at the same
time.
Restriction: You can have only one active remote command-line session through a
management server to a single Windows system at a time.
When you connect to a system that is running UNIX or Linux, Remote Command
Line uses the secure shell (ssh) protocol. If the ssh server on the system does not
respond, Remote Command Line attempts to connect using the Telnet protocol.
For a system running IBM i, Remote Command Line uses the Telnet protocol only.
The Remote Command Line function does not use SSH to connect to switches. For
switch resources, telnet is always used.
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Remote control tasks
Remote control establishes a full-screen session to the remote system using a
remote control application.
If your system does not have one of the following applications installed, you must
first install and configure it on your browser system.
BladeCenter and RSA Remote Control
Launch the Web interface for remote control of IBM BladeCenter or Remote
Supervisor Adapter (RSA) systems.
Microsoft Windows Remote Desktop Connection
Launch this application for Windows systems.
Virtual Network Computing
Launch Virtual Network Computing (VNC) for AIX and Linux systems.
Microsoft Windows Hyper-V Virtual Machine Connection Tool
Launch the Hyper-V Virtual Machine Connection Tool.
VMware ESX or ESXi hypervisor virtual machine
Launch a VMware ESX or ESXi hypervisor virtual machine connection.
Setting up remote control
As mentioned above, if your system does not have one of the above
applications installed, you must first install and configure it on your
browser system. To install and configure a remote control application:
1. From the Remote Access Summary page, click Set up remote control.
2. On the Setup Remote Control page, click the check box next to Use
Remote Desktop to control Window systems.
3. Complete required fields.
4. Click Apply and then OK.
Related concepts:
IBM BladeCenter and RSA Remote Control
Microsoft Windows Remote Desktop Connection
Virtual Network Computing
Hyper-V Virtual Machine Connection Tool
VMware ESX or ESXi hypervisor virtual machine connection
Related tasks:
Running remote access functions
IBM BladeCenter and RSA Remote Control
Use the IBM BladeCenter and Remote Supervisor Adapter (RSA) function to access
an IBM BladeCenter or RSA system.
Related tasks:
Establishing IBM BladeCenter or RSA communication
Microsoft Windows Remote Desktop Connection
Use the Microsoft Windows Remote Desktop Connection to establish remote
control sessions to Windows systems from IBM Systems Director.
Before using Microsoft Windows Remote Desktop Connection, make sure to
configure it on your Windows system. There is no need to install or configure
anything on IBM Systems Director.
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Related tasks:
Configuring Microsoft Windows Remote Desktop Connection
Establishing Remote Desktop Connection
Virtual Network Computing
Use the Virtual Network Computing (VNC) application to establish remote control
sessions to AIX and Linux systems from IBM Systems Director.
Virtual Network Computing must be installed first in order to use it with remote
control.
Follow these steps to install VNC:
1. Install the RealVNC viewer or another compatible VNC viewer on the Web
browser client.
2. Ensure that the Web browser client has network access to the agent.
3. Install and configure the VNC server on the agent, using a default port number
of 5091.
Important: When using VNC to establish remote control sessions on Linux
systems, you must also create the following script on your Web browser system
and associate it with the .vnc file type in the browser.
#!/bin/sh
VncViewer=vncviewer
# (may need to
Conf=$1
Host=$(
cat $Conf | grep ^Host= |
Port=$(
cat $Conf | grep ^Port= |
Port=eval [ $Port - 5900 ]
which $VncViewer 1>/dev/null 2>&1 &&
be customized for your environment)
cut -d= -f2 | tr -d ’\r’ )
cut -d= -f2 | tr -d ’\r’ )
$VncViewer $Host:$Port &
Related tasks:
Establishing Virtual Network Computing communications
Hyper-V Virtual Machine Connection Tool
The Microsoft Windows Hyper-V Virtual Machine Connection Tool can be
launched from IBM Systems Director using Remote control to display and provide
access to the video, keyboard, and mouse of Hyper-V virtual machines.
Related concepts:
Remote control tasks
Related tasks:
Launching the Microsoft Windows Hyper-V Virtual Machine Connection Tool
VMware ESX or ESXi hypervisor virtual machine connection
VMware ESX and VMware ESXi are platform-virtualization software that you can
launch from IBM Systems Director by using Remote control.
Related concepts:
Remote control tasks
Related tasks:
Launching a VMware ESX or ESXi hypervisor virtual machine connection
Remote Xen Console
The remote Xen console task manages a command-line interface to a remote Xen
server.
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You can use the remote Xen console window to establish a fully active command
session with a remote Xen server or host. The remote Xen server or host must be
started and have access granted in order to establish communications. This session
is non-graphical, so a command line window opens when it is started.
Serial Console
The Serial Console task launches the serial console.
Restriction: To use this task, you must be logged into IBM Systems Director Server
running on AIX 6.1F or higher. Otherwise, you will get an error message.
The serial console gives you the ability to open console windows to one or more
IBM Power managed systems. Each window provides access to the system’s serial
console, accessed out-of-band.
The following resource types are supported by the Serial Console task:
v Server
v Virtual Server
v System
Related tasks:
Using the serial console
Running remote access functions
You can run the remote access functions from the Remote Access Summary page.
For the remote control functions, you do not choose which function to run. It is
chosen based on the target system.
Related concepts:
Remote access facilities
Related tasks:
Accessing a secured system with request access
Using the Distributed Shell
Use the Distributed Shell to execute a command on one or more managed systems
in parallel.
To use the Distributed Shell, you must be logged into IBM Systems Director Server
running on AIX. Otherwise, you will get an error message.
When you use the Distributed Shell to execute a command on one or more
managed systems in parallel, the command is executed on each remote target and
the output from each target is returned to the IBM Systems Director Server.
To use the Distributed Shell, complete the following steps:
1. From the Remote Access Summary page, click Distributed Command. The
Targets page is displayed.
2. Select one target for remote access. Use the Add and Remove buttons to move
items between the Available list and the Selected list.
3. Optional: Click Show to filter the targets, for example, to show only those
targets that support the Distributed Command task.
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4. Click OK. The Distributed Shell page is displayed with a Selected Targets
pane that contains the list of targets selected.
5. Optional: To display a list of hidden options, click Show Additional Options.
The options include:
Shell
The shell in which the remote command should be run. You can select
either ksh or csh.
Fanout
The maximum number of target systems to run command in parallel.
(1–16).
Timeout (sec)
The amount of time, in seconds, that can elapse before termination of
command execution. Zero can be used for unlimited timeout.
Output formatting
The format of output from the targets. You can select None, Group
output from each target together, or Compress identical output.
Send server locale information to targets
If you want to send server locale information to the targets, click the
check box next to this option.
Hide Additional Options
You can click Hide Additional Options to close the Show Additional
Options pane.
6. Optional: Click Save As to save the command so that it can be recalled later
using Browse Saved Commands ....
a. A Save command window is displayed with two fields: Name and
Description.
b. Required: Specify a name to save the specified command under in the
Name field. The command name is loaded in the Command field.
c. Optional: Specify a description of the command in the Description field.
7. Click Run. The command is executed on the selected targets.
8. Optional: If you click Browse saved commands ..., the Saved commands
window is displayed where you can select a previously saved command. The
commands are listed in the following format: Name – Description.
To
a.
b.
c.
execute a saved command:
Select a saved command from the Select saved command: pull-down menu.
Click Load . The command name is loaded in the Command field.
Click Run on the Distributed Shell page. The command is executed on the
selected targets.
In the Saved commands window, you can also select Delete, to delete a saved
command or Cancel, to close the Saved commands window.
After the command executes on the selected targets, the Command Output pane is
displayed in the Distributed Shell page to show the output of the command from
each target, as well as errors from those targets. Click Cancel to return to the
Distributed Shell page where you can run additional commands.
Remember:
v When specifying a name for the command, if another command is already saved
under the same name, an error message displays.
v The name you specify cannot contain spaces.
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v The Name field is used to create a file of the same name.
v The created files will be stored in the /opt/ibm/sysmgt/dsm/saved_commands
directory.
Related concepts:
Distributed Command
Using the Distributed Shell to issue a command to several
targets
You can use the Distributed Shell to issue a command to several targets.
To use the Distributed Shell, you must be logged into IBM Systems Director Server
running on AIX. Otherwise, you will get an error message.
Before doing this task, a set of Operating System targets must be discovered and
you must request access to those targets.
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Resource
Explorer.
2. Select the Operating System targets for which you want to run the command
by clicking on the box next to the target in the Select column.
3. Click Actions and select Distributed Command. The Distributed Shell page is
displayed.
4. Type the command name in the Command field. For example, date, for the
date command.
5. Click Run. The command is executed on the selected targets and the output is
displayed on the Command Output pane.
Using the Distributed Shell to issue a command to a group
You can use the Distributed Shell to issue a command to a group.
To use the Distributed Shell you must be logged into IBM Systems Director Server
running on AIX. Otherwise, you will get an error message.
Before doing this task, a set of Operating System targets must be discovered and
you must have access to those targets.
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Resource
Explorer.
2. Navigate to the group of type Operating Systems.
3. Right-click the group and select System Configuration > Remote Access >
Distributed Command. The Distributed Shell page is displayed.
4. Type the command name in the Command field. For example, date, for the
date command.
5. Click Run. The command is executed on all the members of the selected group
and the output is displayed on the Command Output pane.
Using the Distributed Shell to save a command for future
execution
You can use the Distributed Shell to save a command for future execution.
To use the Distributed Shell, you must be logged into IBM Systems Director Server
running on AIX. Otherwise, you will get an error message.
Before doing this task, a set of Operating System targets must be discovered and
you must have access to those targets.
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1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Resource
Explorer.
2. Navigate to a target.
3. Right-click the target and select System Configuration > Remote Access >
Distributed Command. The Distributed Shell page is displayed.
4. Click Save As.
5. Type the Name and Description for the saved command.
6. Click Save.
Using the Distributed Shell to execute a previously saved
command
You can use the Distributed Shell to execute a previously saved command.
To use the Distributed Shell, you must be logged into IBM Systems Director Server
running on AIX. Otherwise, you will get an error message.
Before doing this task, a set of Operating System targets must be discovered and
you must have access to those targets.
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Resource
Explorer.
2. Navigate to a target.
3. Right-click the target and select System Configuration > Remote Access >
Distributed Command. The Distributed Shell page is displayed.
4. Click Browsed Saved Commands. The Saved Commands window is
displayed.
5. Select a command to execute.
6. Click Load. The Distributed Shell page is displayed with the command name
in the Command field.
7. Click Run to execute the command.
Managing files on a remote system
Use the File Management task to manage files on remote systems.
Important: Keep in mind the following important items when you use the File
Management task to transfer (upload or download) files:
v You can use the task with only one system at a time. You cannot transfer files to
multiple systems or to a group.
v Files are transferred in chunks through a queue on the management server and
the receiving Common Agent. If the chunk is not processed by the queue before
the timeout limit is reached, the transfer will fail. Such failures can occur when
other tasks are running on the same Common Agent, or when the queue is full.
Give careful consideration to transferring large files using file management.
v The transfer of large (5 MB or larger) files might take several or more minutes to
complete, during which time you might receive little or no indication that the
transfer is still running. If you try to initiate the transfer again while the original
transfer is still running, both transfers will fail. So, before trying to transfer a file
again, verify that the original transfer completed and failed.
To use the File Management task to manage files, complete the following steps:
1. From the Remote Access Summary page, click File Management. The Targets
page is displayed.
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2. Select the targets for file management, using the Add and Remove buttons to
move a system from the left (Available) column to the right (Selected) column.
Note: The Choose Target window does not display locked systems.
3. Click OK. The File Management page is displayed.
4. Right-click on a file or directory and select a management operation: Rename,
Delete, New Folder, Upload File or Download File.
5. Optional: Alternatively, you can access the File Management page from the
Navigation pane by clicking System Configuration > Remote Access > File
Management.
6. Optional: Right-click on a file or directory and select Properties to view
properties not displayed in the default view of the File Management page, such
as Created, Type, and Attributes.
7. Optional: Click Actions > Columns to select additional properties to display on
the File Management page. Select the properties by using the Add and Remove
buttons to move a property from the left (Available) column to the right
(Selected) column.
Related concepts:
File management
Establishing command-line access to a remote system
Use Remote Command Line to run commands on a remote system.
To establish a remote command-line session, complete the following steps:
1. From the Remote Access Summary page, click Remote Command Line. The
Targets page is displayed.
2. Select a target for remote access, using the Add and Remove buttons to move a
system from the Available column to the Selected column. You can select only
one target.
3. Optional: Click Show to filter the targets, for example, to show only those
targets that support remote command line.
4. Click OK. A Login dialog displays in front of the Remote Command Line
window.
5. Type the User name and Password for the remote system you are accessing.
6. Click OK. The Remote Command Line window is enabled for input.
Note: If the window is disabled for input after you click OK, you must ensure
that the server is in the browsers trusted zone. You can perform the following
steps for Internet Explorer:
a. Launch Microsoft Internet Explorer.
b. Select Tools > Internet Options > Security.
c. Select Trusted sites.
d. Click Sites. The Trusted sites window opens.
e. In the Add this website to the zone: field, type https://<server ip address>
for example, https://10.10.6.120. Click Add.
f. Click Close on the Trusted sites window and then click OK to close out the
Internet Options window.
Perform these steps for Mozilla Firefox:
a. Launch Firefox.
b. Select Tools > Options > Security.
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c. Select Exceptions. The Allowed Sites - Add-ons Installation window opens.
d. In the Address of web site field, type https://<server ip address> for
example, https://10.10.6.120. Click Allow.
e. Click Close on the Allowed Sites - Add-ons Installation window and then
click OK to close out the Options window.
7. Optional: Alternatively, you can establish command-line access to a remote
system by using Resource Explorer to navigate to the system.
a. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Resource
Explorer.
b. Navigate to the system on which you want to establish command-line
access.
c. Right-click the system and select System Configuration > Remote Access >
Remote Command Line
d. Follow steps 5 and 6 above.
8. After the Remote Command Line is enabled for input, you can communicate
with the remote system by issuing its operating system's commands.
9. When you are finished, close the Remote Command Line tab to terminate
command-line access.
Related concepts:
Remote command line
Launching a Web browser
Use the Launch Web browser task to access the default Web page for a system that
hosts a Web server.
When using this feature, you might see panels displaying various actions
performed by IBM Systems Director in order to accomplish this task. These panels
require no action from you and can be ignored.
Note: For more information about navigating and working with the Available
table, see “Navigating tables.”
To launch a Web browser for a system that hosts a Web server, complete the
following steps:
1. From the Remote Access Summary page, click Launch Web Browser. The
Targets page is displayed.
2. Select a target using the Add and Remove buttons to move a system from the
Available column to the Selected column. You can select only one target.
3. Optional: Click Show to filter the targets, for example, to show only those
targets that support launching a Web browser.
4. Click OK. Using the IP address for the chosen system, a Web browser is
invoked.
5. View and communicate with this Web page.
6. When you are finished, close the Web browser session.
Related tasks:
Navigating tables
Configuring Microsoft Windows Remote Desktop Connection
You must configure Microsoft Windows Remote Desktop Connection on your
Windows system in order to use it with IBM Systems Director.
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If you are using a web browser on a Linux system to connect to a Windows agent,
you will need to configure and use the tsclient application.
To configure Microsoft Windows Remote Desktop Connection on your Windows
system, go to the Web site at windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/products/
features/remote-desktop-connection and follow the instructions.
Note: The Windows panel interfaces and text vary slightly depending on the
version of Windows that you are running.
You can ignore the section Connect your remote computer to the host computer;
this action is performed automatically by IBM Systems Director.
Related concepts:
Microsoft Windows Remote Desktop Connection
Establishing Remote Desktop Connection
Use Microsoft Windows Remote Desktop Connection to communicate with
Windows systems.
If you are using a Linux browser, you must install and configure the tsclient
application.
To establish a Microsoft Windows Remote Desktop Connection communications
session, complete the following steps:
1. From the Remote Access Summary page, click Remote Control. The Targets
page is displayed.
2. Select the target for access, using the Add and Remove buttons to move a
system from the Available column to the Selected column.
3. Click OK. A window opens displaying a file; the file name is an IP address and
the file type is rdp.
4. Click Open. A Remote Desktop session is started.
5. Perform your work on this remote desktop.
6. When you are finished, close the page by clicking the X at the top.
Related concepts:
Microsoft Windows Remote Desktop Connection
Establishing Virtual Network Computing communications
Use Virtual Network Computing (VNC) to communicate with systems with a
full-screen session.
The Web browser-client machine must install RealVNC viewer or a compatible
VNC viewer. The agent must be configured to run vncserver on the default port of
5901.
Important: The VNC Remote Framebuffer (RFB) protocol is not secure. However,
you can improve the security of a VNC session by using a Secure Shell (SSH)
tunnel. To create an SSH tunnel on Linux or Unix systems before you start VNC,
run the following command:
ssh -L local_port:local_hostname:destination_port -N -f
user_name@destination_hostname
where:
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v local_port is any available local port on the local host system that is the source
of the tunnel
v local_hostname is the local host system that is the source of the tunnel
v destination_port is the remote port on the system that is the destination of the
tunnel
v user_name is the user ID that enables the SSH session to the VNC server (and
KVM host)
v destination_hostname is the host name of the system that is the destination of
the tunnel
The SSH session continues to run in the background and can be terminated after
the VNC session ends. Some VNC viewers will optionally create an SSH tunnel
and determine the available local port to use.
To establish a VNC session, complete the following steps:
1. From the Remote Access Summary page, click Remote Control. The Targets
page is displayed.
2. Select the target for VNC access, using the Add and Remove buttons to move a
system from the left (Available) column to the right (Selected) column.
3. Click OK. A window opens displaying a file; the file name is an IP address and
the file type is vnc.
4. Click Open. A VNC session is started.
5. Communicate with the target system by logging in and working as usual.
6. When you are finished, terminate the VNC communication by clicking the X at
the top of the window.
Important: When using VNC to establish remote control sessions on Linux
systems, you must also create the following script on your Web browser system
and associate it with the .vnc file type in the browser.
#!/bin/sh
VncViewer=vncviewer
# (may need to
Conf=$1
Host=$(
cat $Conf | grep ^Host= |
Port=$(
cat $Conf | grep ^Port= |
Port=eval [ $Port - 5900 ]
which $VncViewer 1>/dev/null 2>&1 &&
be customized for your environment)
cut -d= -f2 | tr -d ’\r’ )
cut -d= -f2 | tr -d ’\r’ )
$VncViewer $Host:$Port &
Related concepts:
Virtual Network Computing
Establishing IBM BladeCenter or RSA communication
Use IBM BladeCenter or Remote Supervisor Adapter (RSA) to communicate with
IBM BladeCenter or RSA systems with a full-screen session.
To establish an IBM BladeCenter or RSA communications session, complete the
following steps:
1. From the Remote Access Summary page, click Remote Control. The Targets
page is displayed.
2. Select an IBM BladeCenter or RSA target, using the Add and Remove buttons
to move a system from the Available column to the Selected column.
3. Click OK. The IBM BladeCenter or RSA system is displayed.
4. From the IBM BladeCenter Management Module, click Blade Tasks > Remote
Control in the left navigation area.
5. Communicate with the target system by logging in and working as usual.
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6. When you are finished, close the browser window.
Related concepts:
IBM BladeCenter and RSA Remote Control
Launching the Hyper-V Virtual Machine Connection Tool
Use Remote control to launch the Microsoft Windows Hyper-V Virtual Machine
Connection Tool.
To launch the Hyper-V Virtual Machine Connection Tool, complete the following
steps:
1. From the Remote Access Summary page, click Remote Control. The Targets
page is displayed.
2. Select the virtual server target for access, using the Add and Remove buttons
to move a virtual server from the Available column to the Selected column.
3. Click OK. The Hyper-V Virtual Machine Connection Tool is launched.
Related concepts:
Remote control tasks
Launching a VMware ESX or ESXi hypervisor virtual machine
connection
Use Remote control to launch a VMware ESX or ESXi hypervisor virtual machine
connection
To launch a VMware ESX or ESXi hypervisor virtual machine connection, complete
the following steps:
1. From the Remote Access Summary page, click Remote Control. The Targets
page is displayed.
2. Select the virtual server target for access, using the Add and Remove buttons
to move a virtual server from the Available column to the Selected column.
3. Click OK. A VMware ESX or ESXi hypervisor virtual machine connection is
launched.
Related concepts:
Remote control tasks
Establishing a remote Xen console session
Use remote Xen console to run commands on a remote Xen server.
When using this feature, you might see panels displaying various actions
performed by IBM Systems Director in order to accomplish this task. These panels
require no action from you and can be ignored.
Note: For more information about navigating and working with the Available
table, see “Navigating tables.”
To establish a remote Xen console session, complete the following steps:
1. From the Remote Access Summary page, click Remote Xen Console. The
Targets page is displayed.
2. Select a target using the Add and Remove buttons to move a system from the
Available column to the Selected column. You can select only one target.
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3. Optional: Click Show to filter the targets, for example, to show only those
targets that support remote Xen console.
4. Click OK. A window with a remote Xen console is displayed and enabled for
input.
5. Communicate with the remote Xen console.
6. Optional: You can select text within the remote command-line window and
click Edit > Copy to copy the selected text to the clipboard. You can also
import clipboard text into a remote command line window by clicking Edit >
Paste.
7. When you are finished, click File > Close to terminate the session.
Related tasks:
Navigating tables
Accessing POWER managed systems or x86-based systems
by using the serial console
Use the serial console to open console windows to one or more POWER managed
systems or x86-based systems.
To use the serial console, you must be logged in to IBM Systems Director Server
running on AIX 6.1F or higher. Otherwise, an error message is displayed.
Use the serial console to open windows to POWER managed systems or x86-based
systems. Each window provides access to the serial console of the system, which is
accessed out-of-band.
To use the serial console, complete the following steps:
1. From the Remote Access Summary page, click Serial Console. The Targets page
is displayed.
2. Select one target for remote access. Use the Add and Remove buttons to move
items between the Available list and the Selected list.
3. Optional: Click Show to filter the targets. For example, you can use the filter to
show only those targets that support the hardware command-line interface.
4. Click OK. A separate window is displayed for each selected target. The title of
each console window is the display name of the selected target.
Note: The defaults cannot be changed when the serial console is displayed
when the IBM Systems Director web interface is used.
Important: When you use the serial console connection to remotely access an
x86-based system, ensure that Windows Telnet server is installed on the x86
system. You must also start a Telnet service because by default a Telnet service is
not enabled. If the Telnet server is already installed, ensure that the serial over
LAN (SOL) settings are configured as a prerequisite. For details on the
configuration, see the Serial over LAN (SOL) Setup Guide.
Note: If an error indicates that an SSH or Telnet server is not configured, install
and enable the Telnet Server on the resource.
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Related concepts:
Serial Console
Displaying a serial console to one server target
You can display a serial console to one server target from the IBM Systems
Director Resource Explorer page.
To use the serial console, you must be logged into IBM Systems Director Server
running on AIX 6.1F or higher. Otherwise, you will get an error message.
Before doing this task, you must have access to the target's managing hardware
control point.
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Resource
Explorer.
2. Navigate to the target for which you want to display a serial console.
3. Right-click the target and select System Configuration > Remote Access >
Serial Console. A separate window is displayed for the selected target.
4. Login to the console with the target's userid and password.
Displaying a serial console to several server targets in a group
You can display a serial console to several targets in a group from the IBM Systems
Director Resource Explorer page.
To use the serial console, you must be logged into IBM Systems Director Server
running on AIX 6.1F or higher. Otherwise, you will get an error message.
Before doing this task, you must have access to the target's managing hardware
control point.
1. In the IBM Systems Director Web interface navigation area, click Resource
Explorer.
2. Navigate to the group containing System type objects for which you want to
display a serial console.
3. Right-click the group and select System Configuration > Remote Access >
Serial Console. A separate window is displayed for the selected group.
4. Optional: You can also select multiple individual targets from Resource
Explorer. After you specify your targets, select System Configuration > Remote
Access > Serial Console from the Actions pull-down menu.
5. Login to each target using target's userid and password.
Closing the serial console
There are three ways to close the serial console.
To use the serial console, you must be logged into IBM Systems Director Server
running on AIX 6.1F or higher. Otherwise, you will get an error message.
Close the serial console by using one of three methods:
v File > Close
v X from the console title bar
v Ctrl-x
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Chapter 9. Managing agents
You can use IBM Systems Director to deploy and manage agents (including
Common Agent and Platform Agent).
Note: Throughout the IBM Systems Director documentation, the term Common
Agent (with both words capitalized) refers to the IBM Systems Director Common
Agent, which includes subagents that provide specific management capabilities for
IBM Systems Director. IBM Systems Director can also discover and perform limited
management on other common agents that use the common agent services (CAS)
architecture. When referring to these common agents generically, lowercase text is
used.
Common agent services
IBM Systems Director uses the common agent services (CAS) architecture, which
provides a shared infrastructure for managing systems. This infrastructure, which
includes resource manager, agent manager, and common agent elements, is also
used by Tivoli Provisioning Manager products.
The goal of common agent services is to reduce infrastructure cost, complexity, and
redundancy by providing a common agent that can be used by multiple
management products instead of multiple separate agents that each provide
essentially the same functionality.
To achieve this goal, one or more resource managers (such as IBM Systems Director
Server) use an agent manager to communicate with the common agents that are
installed on managed resources. This architecture is illustrated in Figure 15.
IBM Systems
Director Server
Resource manager
Embedded agent
manager
Common agents
Figure 15. The elements of common agent services in the default configuration for IBM Systems Director
Related information:
Tivoli Provisioning Manager documentation
Resource manager
Installed on the management server, the resource manager is the management
application that uses the agent manager for security and credential management.
IBM Systems Director Server is the resource manager for IBM Systems Director.
© Copyright IBM Corp. 1999, 2013
421
Multiple resource managers can use the same agent manager and manage the same
common agents.
v Each common agent can use exactly one agent manager.
v Each resource manager can use exactly one agent manager.
v Each resource manager can manage many common agents.
Agent manager
The agent manager provides authentication and authorization services for installed
common agents and resource managers. It also maintains a registry of
configuration information about Common Agent managed systems.
Note: Except for security and credential management, systems management
communications between IBM Systems Director Server and common agents do not
go through the agent manager.
IBM Systems Director uses only one active agent manager at a time to
communicate with common agents. If no agent manager is active, IBM Systems
Director is not able to manage common agents.
v Each common agent can use exactly one agent manager.
v Each agent manager can be used by many resource managers.
v Each agent manager can be used to manage many common agents.
As illustrated in Figure 15 on page 421, IBM Systems Director Server includes an
embedded agent manager. However, IBM Systems Director Server can use an agent
manager other than the one that is embedded locally. Using another agent manager
allows multiple instances of IBM Systems Director Server to manage the same
common agents. Installing your IBM Systems Director Server instance and the
agent manager on separate servers can also improve performance.
Notes:
v The agent manager that is embedded with IBM Systems Director Server can be
used by any number of instances of IBM Systems Director Server, but it is not
configured for use with other management application products.
v If you will use the locally embedded agent manager, you need to supply
credentials when you configure it that are used if you change agent managers.
These credentials depend on your operating system:
– On AIX or Linux, you can specify any credentials. You do not need to use the
root user ID or even an operating system user ID.
– On Windows, use the same administrator credentials that you used to install
IBM Systems Director.
The agent manager has the following parts:
agent manager service
The agent manager utilizes http servlets or Web services to manage agents
for IBM Systems Director and other products. The agent manager service
provides authentication and authorization using X.509 digital certificates
and the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol. It also processes queries
against its registry of configuration information about common agents and
resource managers. Resource managers and common agents must each
register with the agent manager before they can use its services to
communicate with each other.
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The agent manager service provides the core agent manager functionality
with the following services:
Service catalog
Provides information about the location of the agent manager
service.
Credential manager
Enables the agent manager to act as a certificate authority and
issue security credentials and revocation lists to managed elements.
Agent registry
Retrieves information about the common agent resources.
Querying service
Enables the resource manager to query the agent registry for the
agent and resource manager information.
agent manager registry
The agent manager registry stores the following information in a database:
v The identity, digital certificates, and communication information for each
resource manager
v The identity, digital certificate, and status for each common agent
v Basic configuration information about each common agent including
information about the type and version of the hardware and operating
system
v The last error or, optionally, a configurable number of errors, reported by
each common agent
v Communication parameters for the common agent, including IP address,
the port or ports for which the common agent is configured, and the
supported protocol
Common agent
Installed on managed systems, the common agent reports information about the
managed system to the resource manager and performs tasks on the managed
system as directed by the resource manager.
Note: Throughout the IBM Systems Director documentation, the term Common
Agent (with both words capitalized) refers to the IBM Systems Director Common
Agent, which includes subagents that provide specific management capabilities for
IBM Systems Director. IBM Systems Director can also discover and perform limited
management on other common agents that use the common agent services (CAS)
architecture. When referring to these common agents generically, lowercase text is
used.
v Each common agent can use exactly one agent manager.
v Each common agent can be managed by one or more instances of IBM Systems
Director Server.
Note: All instances of IBM Systems Director Server must use the same agent
manager, and the common agent must be registered with that agent manager.
When you discover a system that has a common agent on it, the IBM Systems
Director Web interface will list the system with a protocol of 'CAS'. The system
will initially have no access, but you can register the agent with the agent manager
using one of the following two methods, depending on the mode you used to
install common agent services:
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Managed mode common agent services
Common agent services registers the common agent with the agent
manager during installation.
Unmanaged mode common agent services
Requesting and gaining access to the system registers the common agent
with the default agent manager that is configured with IBM Systems
Director Server.
Related concepts:
Common Agent
Logging Platform Agent
Use the PALog.INI configuration file to configure logging for Platform Agent. This
topic describes the property values and options to use with that file.
The PALog.INI file is located at the following paths:
v On Linux: PA_INSTALL_DIR/platform/data/PALog.INI
v On Windows: PA_INSTALL_DIR\cimom\data\PALog.INI
where PA_INSTALL_DIR is the Platform Agent installation path.
Example ITA properties file
# ITA Properties file written Sat Sep 04 19:43:00 2010
[PlatformAgent.Logging]
codeset_dir =
config_type = cclog
logging_type = ita_logdefault
nlspath =
start_logdaemon = none
use_logdaemon = false
[PlatformAgent.Logging.cclog]
PlatformAgent.organization = CompanyA
PlatformAgent.logger.className = ccg_pdlogger
PlatformAgent.logger.listenerNames = PlatformAgent.loggerfl PlatformAgent.ffdc
PlatformAgent.loggerfl.className = ccg_levelfilter
PlatformAgent.loggerfl.level = ALL
PlatformAgent.loggerfl.listenerNames = PlatformAgent.loggerhd
PlatformAgent.loggerhd.className = ccg_filehandler
PlatformAgent.loggerhd.fileName = agent.log
PlatformAgent.loggerhd.formatterName = PlatformAgent.fmt
PlatformAgent.loggerhd.maxFileBytes = 4096000
PlatformAgent.loggerhd.maxFiles = 3
PlatformAgent.fmt.className = ccg_basicformatter
PlatformAgent.ffdc.className = ccg_ffdc_filecopy_handler
PlatformAgent.ffdc.baseDir = PlatformAgent-FFDC
PlatformAgent.ffdc.filesToCopy = agent.log
PlatformAgent.ffdc.triggerFilter = PlatformAgent.lf
PlatformAgent.lf.className = ccg_levelfilter
PlatformAgent.lf.level = ERROR
PlatformAgent.tracer.className = ccg_pdlogger
PlatformAgent.tracer.listenerNames = PlatformAgent.trfl
PlatformAgent.trfl.className = ccg_levelfilter
PlatformAgent.trfl.level = OFF
PlatformAgent.trfl.listenerNames = PlatformAgent.trhd
PlatformAgent.trhd.className = ccg_filehandler
PlatformAgent.trhd.fileName = agent.trace
PlatformAgent.trhd.maxFileBytes = 4096000
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PlatformAgent.trhd.maxFiles = 3
PlatformAgent.trhd.formatterName = PlatformAgent.trfmt
PlatformAgent.trfmt.className = ccg_basicformatter
PlatformAgent.fmt.className
Sets the format in which messages are logged. The following values are
accepted:
ccg_basicformatter
The text format in which the messages are logged.
ccg_xmlformatter
The XML format in which the messages are logged.
PlatformAgent.logger.className
Indicates the type of logging handle to use for the logger. The following
values are accepted:
ccg_basiclogger
A basic logger class, with support for localized and non-localized
messages. Loggers of this class do not automatically add any data
to the event except for the timestamp. ccg_basiclogger does not
show the LEVEL information. The following example shows what
the output might look like:
2010-09-04 20:04:43.671+05:30 PlatformAgent.Test | This is a test
message
ccg_pdlogger
An extended logger class with extra information for diagnosing
application problems. Loggers of this class automatically add the
names of the product, component, server, and organization to the
event, along with the timestamp. The following example shows
what the output might look like:
2010-09-24 08:14:39.663-04:00 18446744073559305104 7093 CompanyA
nettk125.trow.netfinity.com PlatformAgent | Start Logger
PlatformAgent.
Note: If the className value is set to NULL, a warning message does not
appear on the IBM Systems Director Web interface. It instead appears on
the agent console. A default logger with the name
PlatformAgent_default_message.log is created for logging the warning
message information.
PlatformAgent.logger.listenerNames
Specifies a list of names that procures events from the specified logger,
filter, or handler. Ensure that the names are the names of objects that are
defined in the same properties file. Separate the names in the list with
spaces. By default, Platform Agent supports two listeners: logger and
FFDC. To disable the FFDC, remove the PlatformAgent.ffdc entry.
PlatformAgent.loggerfl.className
Specifies the class name for the logging level filter. This property is not
configurable; do not change it.
PlatformAgent.loggerfl.level
Specifies the logging filters with log level values. The following values are
accepted:
ALL
Enables all log levels.
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FATAL
Instructs the filter to block all events that are at a level lower than
fatal.
ERROR
Instructs the filter to block all events that are at a level lower than
error.
WARNING
Instructs the filter to block all events that are at a level lower than
warning.
INFO Instructs the filter to block all events that are at a level lower than
info.
DEBUG_MIN
(Default log and trace value.) Sets the debugging log levels to the
minimum value and includes extra debugging information such as
method name, function name, and line numbers.
DEBUG_MID
Sets the debugging log levels to the median value and includes
extra debugging information such as method name, function name,
and line numbers.
DEBUG_MAX
Sets the debugging log levels to the maximum value and includes
extra debugging information such as method name, function name,
and line numbers.
OFF
Disables logging and creates a log file that contains only a message
stating that the logger initialized. No other messages are logged.
When no log level is specified, a warning message appears. A default
logger with the name PlatformAgent_default_message.log is created for
logging the warning message information.
A default tracer with the name PlatformAgent_default_trace.log is created
for logging the trace information.
PlatformAgent.loggerfl.listenerNames
Assigns the logger handler that manages the logging properties that are
related to the log file. This property is not configurable; do not change it.
PlatformAgent.loggerhd.appending
Indicates whether to append or overwrite existing file handler output files.
The following values are accepted:
TRUE (Default value.) Causes existing files to open in append mode.
FALSE
Causes existing files to be overwritten.
PlatformAgent.loggerhd.className
Indicates the type of handler to use for the logger. The following values are
accepted:
ccg_filehandler
Logs the messages to a file.
ccg_consolehandler
Logs the messages to the IBM Systems Director Web interface. This
option is not supported.
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PlatformAgent.loggerhd.fileName
Indicates the full path of the log file. If this property is set to blank, no log
file is created, a warning message appears, and no logging takes place.
Note: If a Windows path name is specified in a properties file, you must
double the back-slashes like in the following example:
fooHandler.baseDir: C:\\temp\\myApp\\
PlatformAgent.loggerhd.formatterName
Specifies the handle to the Platform Agent formatter, which takes care of
assigning a particular format for the log file. This property is not
configurable; do not change it.
PlatformAgent.loggerhd.maxFileBytes
Indicates the maximum file handler output file size (in bytes). When that
size is reached, the log file is closed and renamed, and an empty new log
file is opened. This property has no effect unless the set value of the
maxFiles property is greater than one.
Note: For the correct behavior, set this value higher than 10 KB. If it is set
to less than 10 KB, the maxFileBytes size of the rollover files cannot be
interpreted if the log messages are high.
Example: In the following example, the first rollover file is of size
agent.log and the next rollover files is of size maxFileBytes:
Size of the rollover files = if ( sizeofagent.log > maxfileBytes )
PlatformAgent.loggerhd.maxFiles
Indicates the maximum number of file handler output files that are created
before the oldest one is recycled. If this property is set to 1 or 0, the current
log file never closes and might grow without limit. A warning message
appears. The default value is 3.
PlatformAgent.organization
Displays the organization name as IBM in the log file.
Trace properties
The following trace properties are like their companion log properties.
Note: The default trace level is OFF.
v PlatformAgent.tracer.className
v PlatformAgent.tracer.listenerNames
v PlatformAgent.trfl.className
v PlatformAgent.trfl.level
v PlatformAgent.trfl.listenerNames
v PlatformAgent.trfmt.className
v
v
v
v
v
PlatformAgent.trhd.className
PlatformAgent.trhd.fileName
PlatformAgent.trhd.formatterName
PlatformAgent.trhd.maxFileBytes
PlatformAgent.trhd.maxFiles
FFDC properties
PlatformAgent.ffdc.className
When set to ccg_ffdc_filecopy_handler, copies specified files to an
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output directory whenever triggered by an event. This action
allows the creation of backup copies of files, the contents of which
might have been otherwise overwritten before examined.
PlatformAgent.ffdc.baseDir
Required value that designates the base directory into which all
FFDC output is placed. To conform to the Tivoli Serviceability
Imperative, this base directory must adhere to the following
format:
[install-Dir]/[log]/PlatformAgent-FFDC/
Whenever FFDC actions occur, daily subdirectories with the
following format are created under the base directory:
[baseDir]/[YYYY.MM.DD]/
where YYYY.MM.DD is the numeric year, month, and day from the
timestamp of the event that triggered the FFDC action.
By default, no base directory is specified, and no FFDC actions are
performed by an FFDC handler until the property is specified.
Instead, a warning is issued until the property is set.
Note: If a Windows path name is specified in a properties file, you
must double the back-slashes like in the following example:
fooHandler.baseDir: C:\\temp\\myApp\\
PlatformAgent.ffdc.filesToCopy
Specifies the files to copy. To copy multiple files on Windows,
enclose each file name in quotations and separate each one by a
space.
If you specify to log the ERROR level, FFDC is triggered and files
are copied into the directory that is specified by the
PlatformAgent.ffdc.baseDir property.
Every time FFDC is triggered, message files are appended.
PlatformAgent.ffdc.triggerFilter
Required value that designates the name of a CCLOG or CFFDC
filter to control which events trigger an FFDC action.
By default, no trigger filter is specified, and no FFDC actions are
performed by an FFDC handler until the property is specified.
Instead, a warning is issued until the property is set.
PlatformAgent.ffdc.triggerRepeatTime
Sets the minimum amount of time, in milliseconds, that it will take
the handler to respond to more triggering events after a triggering
event. Use this property to limit how rapidly a given FFDC action
is repeated. For example, it might not make sense for a given
application to take an AutoTrace snapshot less than 10 seconds
after the previous snapshot.
PlatformAgent.ffdc.maxDiskSpace
Sets the maximum disk space, in bytes, that is allotted to the FFDC
data. When the total space used by the FFDC data exceeds the
specified limit, a warning is issued and, depending on the quota
policy, actions are taken. Those actions might include the automatic
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deletion of older files or the suspension of new FFDC actions until
more space is made available by the manual removal of files. By
default, the maximum disk space is 10 megabytes (10*1024*1024).
PlatformAgent.ffdc.quotaPolicy
Designates the policy that specifies what to do when the FFDC
directory exceeds the disk space limit. The following values are
allowed:
QUOTA_AUTODELETE
(Default value.) Automatically deletes FFDC files, in a
decreasing order of age, until the directory is below the
disk space limit.
QUOTA_IGNORE
Issues warnings but do not enforce the FFDC disk space
quota.
QUOTA_SUSPEND
Halts further FFDC actions until the FFDC directory is
manually cleaned up to below the disk space limit.
PlatformAgent.ffdc.firstWarning
A percentage of maximum disk space usage for the first warning.
A first warning is issued if the disk space usages exceeds this
value. Set this value to a floating-point value between 0.0 and 1.0.
The default first warning threshold is 0.75.
PlatformAgent.ffdc.secondWarning
Sets a maximum percentage of disk space usage for the second
warning. A second warning is issued if the disk space usages
exceeds this value. Set this value to a floating-point value between
0.0 and 1.0. The default second-warning threshold is 0.90.
PlatformAgent.lf.className
Sets the trigger filter for the FFDChandler ccg_level_filter, which
specifies that the FFDC trigger occurs, and then monitors the log
levels in the log file.
PlatformAgent.lf.level
Designates the FFDC trigger level value of the log levels in the
logging filters. The following values are accepted:
FATAL
Triggers the FFDC when a fatal error message is logged in
the log file.
ERROR
Triggers the FFDC when an error error message is logged
in the log file.
When no log level is specified, a warning message appears. A
default logger with the name PlatformAgent_default_message.log
is created for logging the warning message information.
A default tracer with the name PlatformAgent_default_trace.log is
created for logging the trace information.
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PALog.INI and PALog.INI.bkp files
The PALog.INI.bkp file is created as a backup in case a process crashes while
updating the PALog.INI file.
When you modify any configuration, use PALog.INI.bkp to ensure that the
property ITA logging initialization File I/O takes place properly.
If both of these files are deleted, ITA fails to initialize the logger and throws an
error message. The location of the error file is ./tmp/italog_error.log on Linux
and %TEMP%/italog_error.log on Windows.
ITA logs only the initialization error messages in to the error log file.
If the PALog.INI is corrupted or invalid property values are assigned, no error
messages are logged to the italog_error.log file. No such error messages appear on
the IBM Systems Director Web interface.
PALog.INI is not recreated if it is corrupted. For every successful logger
initialization, PALog.INI.bkp is overwritten with the PALog.INI.
Importing agent packages
IBM Systems Director Server can import agent packages that have been
downloaded from the Web or obtained on physical media. These agent packages
then can be distributed to managed systems using the Agent Installation Wizard.
The agent packages that IBM Systems Director Server uses are Tivoli Provisioning
Manager automation packages with a file extension of .tcdriver for 6.1.x packages
and .jar for 6.2 packages.
Use the following procedure to import one or more agent packages for distribution
using the Agent Installation Wizard.
1. Download the installation package from the IBM Systems Director Downloads
Web Site at www.ibm.com/systems/management/director/downloads/.
2. Copy the package files to a directory on the management server.
3. In the IBM Systems Director navigation area, click Release Management >
Agents. The available agent and subagent package groups are listed.
Note: A subagent plugs in to a base agent and provides additional capabilities
to support IBM Systems Director plug-ins such as IBM Systems Director
VMControl. This documentation uses the collective term “agents” to refer to
both agents and subagents.
4. Click Import Agent. The Import Agent window opens.
5. Type the path on the management server where you copied the package files in
step 2, and then click OK.
All of the agent packages that are found in the specified path are imported, and a
confirmation message appears indicating that the packages were successfully
imported.
Note: The imported packages might not appear in the agent package groups list
immediately.
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After the agent packages are successfully imported and appear in the agent
package groups, you can install the packages using the Agent Installation Wizard.
Related tasks:
“Installing agents using the Agent Installation Wizard”
Related information:
"Developing automation" in the Tivoli Provisioning Manager Information
Center
Installing agents using the Agent Installation Wizard
You can use the Agent Installation Wizard to install agent packages on managed
systems.
IBM Systems Director Server requires a number of agent packages that can be
deployed to managed systems using the Agent Installation Wizard.The imported
agent packages are located in the dynamic group “Agent Package Groups” and can
be accessed by clicking Release Management > Agents in the navigation area. You
use the Agent Installation Wizard to select one of these agent packages to install
and one or more systems on which to install the agent package. Then, the wizard
creates an agent installation job that can run immediately or at a scheduled time.
Important: Ensure that the following requirements are met to enable use of the
Agent Installation Wizard to install and update agents:
v The root user account was used to initially request access to the managed
system.
v IBM Systems Director Server on non-Windows systems has SSH, and a
successful SSH connection exists in both directions between the server and the
agent.
v IBM Systems Director Server on Windows systems has DCOM, and a successful
DCOM connection exists in both directions between the server and the agent.
Complete the following steps to import the agent packages:
1. Download the remote agent packages from http://www.ibm.com/systems/
software/director/downloads/agents.html. Ensure that you choose packages
from the “Remote Deployment using Agent Installation wizard” section.
2. Copy the packages to a location of your choice on the IBM Systems Director
Server system.
3. Import the packages with the Agent Installation Wizard.
4. Make any required changes to the diragent.rsp and or platform.rsp response
files. See the topic for your operating system under “Installing Common Agent
manually” or “Installing Platform Agent manually” for instructions about how
to change the response files.
Complete the following steps to install agents using the Agent Installation Wizard:
1. Start the Agent Installation Wizard. You can start the wizard in multiple ways:
v From the Home page, click Additional Setup. Then, click Install agents on
systems > Deploy Agents.
v Right-click an agent package or a managed system and select Release
Management > Install Agent.
2. If the Agent Installation Wizard Welcome page appears, click Next.
3. In the Agent Installation Wizard Agents page, complete the following steps:
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a. Select the agent or subagent package that you want to install in the
Available list.
Note: A subagent plugs in to a base agent and provides additional
capabilities to support IBM Systems Director plug-ins such as IBM Systems
Director VMControl. This documentation uses the collective term “agents”
to refer to both agents and subagents.
b. Click Add. The selected agent package is displayed in the Selected list.
Notes:
v Depending on how you started the Agent Installation Wizard, the
Selected list might already contain one or more agent packages.
v The Agent Installation Wizard can install only one agent package at a
time. If more than one agent package is displayed in the Selected list,
you will not be able to advance to the Systems page.
c. Click Next.
4. In the Agent Installation Wizard Systems page, complete the following steps:
a. Select the managed systems on which you want to install the agent package
in the Available list.
b. Click Add. The selected systems are displayed in the Selected list.
Notes:
v Depending on how you started the Agent Installation Wizard, the
Selected list might already contain one or more systems.
v Depending on the agent package that you are installing, some selected
systems are potentially not valid targets for installation. The wizard
checks the selected systems for some or all of the following criteria to
ensure that the systems are valid targets before allowing you to continue:
– Operating system family
– Operating system version
– Operating system distribution
– Operating system name
– Server architecture
c. Click Next.
5. In the Agent Installation Wizard Summary page, review the Selected Agents
and Selected Systems lists to ensure that they are correct.
v If the selections are not correct, click Back and make the necessary changes.
v If the selections are correct, click Finish.
After you click Finish, the Run - Install Agent window opens.
6. In the Run - Install Agent window, click the Schedule tab. On this page, you
can choose to run the job immediately or schedule the job to run at a later time.
a. A job name is required and the Name field provides a unique default name.
To change the default name, type a job name in the field.
b. To run the job immediately, click Run Now and go to step 7 on page 433.
Otherwise, click Schedule.
c. In the Schedule list, select how frequently you want the job to run. The
default setting is Once. Other values are Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Monthly,
Yearly, or Custom. Also, you can specify whether to run the job on the
weekend.
d. Select the date and time to run the job for the first time.
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e. Select the time range for the job to repeat.
7. Click the Notification tab. On this page you can customize a notification that is
sent by e-mail.
a. Select from the available criteria to customize when the mail notification is
sent. You can specify that the mail be sent when one of the following
criteria is met:
v When the job begins.
v When the job completes successfully.
v When the job fails. You can further customize this criterion by setting
either the percentage of target systems on which the job had errors or the
number of systems on which the job had errors. Therefore, if the job runs
on five systems, the job has errors on two systems, and you set the
criterion threshold to 50%, the notification is not sent.
v When the job receives any error.
b. Type your mail address, mail server, and mail server port.
Tip: You can provide only one mail address.
8. Click the Options tab. On this page you can select additional options for the
job behavior.
a. Select whether you want the job to run according to your management
server's time or the target system's time.
Tip: Make sure that you know the time and time zone to which the
respective systems' clocks are set.
b. Select whether you want the job to fail if a system is offline or if you want
the job to run when the system is online again.
9. Click OK to save the job.
Click Cancel to exit from the Launch Job window without saving the job.
If the job is created successfully, a message is displayed on the page from
which you started the Scheduler. If the job creation fails, a message is displayed
in the Launch Job window so that you can correct the job.
The job created by the Agent Installation Wizard will transfer the agent
self-extracting script and the agent response file into the following directory,
which depends on your version and agent level, on the target system:
6.x Common Agent
/tmp/commonagent_tmp
6.x Platform Agent
/tmp/platformagent_temp
5.x Common Agent
install_root/SwDistPk
After the files are copied, the installation file sets are extracted into the /tmp
directory and installed. The files are then removed after a successful
installation. You need to ensure that there is sufficient space on the target
system to copy the self-extracting script and extract the file sets. Refer to the
space requirements as specified in “Hardware requirements for systems
running Common Agent or Platform Agent”.
If the agent deployment completes with errors, check the log file for your target
operating system for a possible root cause:
v AIX and Linux:
– Common Agent: /var/log/dirinst.log
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– Platform Agent: /opt/ibm/platform/log/install.log
v Windows: %WINDIR%/diragentinst_timestamp.log or %WINDIR%/
platint_timestamp.log
Note: For more information about error log files, see “Information to provide
to the IBM Technical Support Center”.
Notes for AIX:
v Refer to “Installing Common Agent on AIX” for more detail on the
self-extracting script and the response file options.
v For AIX server and agents, it is less space consuming to remotely install
agents using NIM as explained in the IBM Systems Director Best Practices
wiki page “Installing IBM Systems Director Common Agent for AIX using
NIM” at http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/wikis/display/WikiPtype/
Installing+IBM+Systems+Director+Common+Agent+for+AIX+using+NIM.
Installing with NIM does not allow the use of a response file.
You can view the status of the agent installation job by clicking Task Management
> Active and Scheduled Jobs.
If you installed Platform Agent on Linux, enable SNMP Access and Trap
Forwarding by installing and configuring Net-SNMP. For instructions and
information, see http://www.net-snmp.org/.
Related tasks:
Install the product on the management server.
Log on, discover managed systems, and request access to them.
Verify that the systems meet the requirements for the agents you will install.
Preparing a common-agent managed system
Preparing a platform-agent managed system
Scheduling tasks
“Importing agent packages” on page 430
Related reference:
Hardware requirements for systems running Common Agent or Platform Agent
Related information:
IBM Systems Director for Power Systems wiki
"Developing automation" in the Tivoli Provisioning Manager Information
Center
Restarting agents
The following topics contain information about stopping, starting, and checking
the status of Common Agent and Platform Agent.
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Related tasks:
“Changing the Common Agent IP address” on page 449
Restarting Common Agent
Restarting Common Agent requires that you run a command to restart certain
processes and, for other processes, run one command to stop the processes and
then run another command to start them again.
Before you stop Common Agent, warn users to finish their work or stop the
processes that they are running.
To restart Common Agent, complete the following steps:
1. Stop the Common Agent processes.
v If you are running AIX, type the following command on a command line and
press Enter:
stopsrc -s cas_agent
v If you are running IBM i, type the following command on a command line
and press Enter:
ENDTCPSVR SERVER(*HTTP) HTTPSVR(CAS)
Note: The IBM i Common Agent an IBM i TCP server.
v If you are running Linux, type the following command on a command line
and press Enter:
install_root/agent/runtime/agent/bin/endpoint.sh stop
where install_root is the root directory of your IBM Systems Director
installation.
v If you are running Windows, type the following command on a command
line and press Enter:
install_root\agent\runtime\agent\bin\endpoint.bat stop
Note: If desired, you can use the following command instead:
net stop IBMTivoliCommonAgent0
Note: After the Common Agent processes are stopped, two events that
announce that the agent is stopped are immediately generated and recorded in
the IBM Systems Director Server event log. However, a third event, which
announces that the agent system is offline, is also recorded in the event log, but
at a later time. This third event is generated only after IBM Systems Director
Server next runs the Verify Connection task against the agent system. The
Verify Connection task runs according to a user-defined schedule, so the third
event is delayed and then recorded according to that same schedule.
2. Start the Common Agent processes.
v If you are running AIX, type the following command on a command line and
press Enter:
startsrc -s cas_agent
v If you are running IBM i, type the following command on a command line
and press Enter:
STRTCPSVR SERVER(*HTTP) HTTPSVR(CAS)
v If you are running Linux, type the following command on a command line
and press Enter:
install_root/agent/runtime/agent/bin/endpoint.sh start
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where install_root is the root directory of your IBM Systems Director
installation.
v If you are running Windows, type the following command on a command
line and press Enter:
install_root\agent\runtime\agent\bin\endpoint.bat start
Note: If desired, you can use the following command instead:
net start IBMTivoliCommonAgent0
3. Obtain the status of Common Agent to ensure that it started successfully.
v If you are running AIX, type the following command on a command line and
press Enter:
lssrc -s cas_agent
v If you are running Linux, type the following command on a command line
and press Enter:
install_root/agent/runtime/agent/bin/endpoint.sh status
where install_root is the root directory of your IBM Systems Director
installation.
v If you are running Windows, type the following command on a command
line and press Enter:
install_root\agent\runtime\agent\bin\endpoint.bat status
where install_root is the root directory of your IBM Systems Director
installation.
Restarting Platform Agent
Restarting Platform Agent requires that you run a command to restart certain
processes and, for other processes, run one command to stop the processes and
then run another command to start them again.
Before you stop Platform Agent, warn users to finish their work or stop the
processes that they are running.
To restart Platform Agent, complete the following steps:
1. Stop the Platform Agent processes.
v If you are running AIX, type the following command on a command line and
press Enter:
stopsrc -s platform_agent
Note: Stopping Platform Agent does not also stop the CIM server. If you
want to stop the CIM server, type the following command and press Enter:
stopsrc -s cimsys
v If you are running Linux, type the following command on a command line
and press Enter:
paservices stop
Note: Alternatively, you can run the following command to stop and then
automatically start the Platform Agent services on Linux:
paservices restart
v If you are running IBM i, type the following command on a command line
and press Enter:
ENDTCPSVR SERVER(*CIMOM)
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Note: The IBM i Platform Agent is an IBM i TCP server.
v If you are running Windows, run the following command:
paservices.vbs stop
Note: Alternatively, you can run the following command to stop and then
automatically start the Platform Agent services on Windows:
paservices.vbs restart
2. Start the Platform Agent processes.
v If you are running AIX, type the following command on a command line and
press Enter:
startsrc -s platform_agent
Note: If it is not already running, the CIM server is automatically started by
Platform Agent.
v If you are running Linux, type the following command on a command line
and press Enter:
paservices start
Note: Alternatively, you can run the following command to stop and then
automatically start the Platform Agent services on Linux:
paservices restart
v If you are running IBM i, type the following command on a command line
and press Enter:
STRTCPSVR SERVER(*CIMOM)
v If you are running Windows, run the following command:
paservices.vbs start
Note: Alternatively, you can run the following command to stop and then
automatically start the Platform Agent services on Windows:
paservices.vbs restart
3. Obtain the status of Platform Agent to ensure that it started successfully.
v If you are running AIX, type the following command on a command line and
press Enter:
lssrc -s platform_agent
v If you are running Windows, go to the Services panel (Start Menu > Settings
> Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services) and ensure that the
following services are running:
– Platform Agent
– Platform Agent
– Platform Agent
– Platform Agent
– Platform Agent
Related reference:
paservices utility
Cimlistener Service
SLP SA
SLP Attributes Service
WMI+A Service
Watchdog Service (Platform Agent only)
Platform Agent Watchdog
Platform Agent Watchdog monitors Platform Agent 6.3.x services, such as
cimlistener and cimserver, on Windows, Linux on x86, and Linux Kernel-based
Virtual Machine (KVM).
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When Platform Agent Watchdog notices that any monitored services have crashed
or otherwise become useless, it automatically restarts those services.
Note: If you want to stop certain services manually, ensure that you first stop the
Platform Agent Watchdog service.
Platform Agent Watchdog monitors a default set of services that depends on your
operating system:
Services monitored on Windows:
v
v
v
v
v
v
cimlistener
gatherwin
ibmsa
reposwin
tier1slp
wmicimserver
Services monitored on Linux on x86:
v cimlistenerd
v cimserverd
v gathererd
v paslpd
v tier1slpinst
Services monitored on Linux Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM):
v cim-listener
v gatherer
v slpd
v tier1slpinst
v tog-pegasus
Setting the agent manager for IBM Systems Director Server
By default, IBM Systems Director is configured to use its embedded agent
manager. However, you can configure IBM Systems Director Server to use a
different agent manager.
You can configure how IBM Systems Director interacts with the common agent
services architecture to secure your Common Agent managed systems and to
improve scalability and performance.
Important: Setting the agent manager incorrectly will prevent IBM Systems
Director Server from communicating with common agents.
Viewing the agent manager properties
Some basic properties of the agent manager can be displayed in the IBM Systems
Director Web interface.
To view information about the configured agent manager, use the following
procedure:
1. Click Settings > Agent Manager Configuration.
2. Optional: Click the name of a listed agent manager.
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The following properties are displayed for agent managers in the IBM Systems
Director Web interface:
Active Whether the agent manager is the active agent manager for IBM Systems
Director Server.
CAS Version
The common agent services version of the agent manager.
IP Address
The IP address of the agent manager.
Name The globally unique identifier (GUID) of the system on which the agent
manager is installed.
Adding a new agent manager
You can configure IBM Systems Director to use additional agent managers in
addition to the default agent manager that is installed with IBM Systems Director
Server.
IBM Systems Director uses only one agent manager at a time; the agent manager in
use is the active agent manager. You can add other agent managers in the Agent
Manager Configuration page, but only the active agent manager is used for
communication with Common Agents.
Note: For descriptions of resource managers and agent managers, see “Common
agent services”.
Use the following procedure to add a new agent manager:
1. Click Settings > Agent Manager Configuration.
2. In the Agent Manager Configuration page, click Add.
3. In the Add a New Agent Manager window, type the requested information for
the agent manager you are adding, and then click OK.
Agent Manager host name or IP address
The host name or IP address of the agent manager you are adding.
Resource Manager Registration user name
The user name that is used to register IBM Systems Director Server
with the agent manager.
Resource Manager Registration password
The password that is used to register IBM Systems Director Server with
the agent manager.
Agent Registration password
The password that is used to register common agents with the agent
manager.
Catalogue service port
The port that is used for non-secure, or public, communications.
Note: The agent recovery service listens for registration failures on this
port number in addition to port 80.
Make the new agent manager active
If selected, this check box sets the new agent manager as the active
agent manager for IBM Systems Director Server.
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Important: Changing the active agent manager in IBM Systems
Director migrates all of the common agents that are registered with the
previously active agent manager to the new active agent manager. This
has two implications:
v Depending on the number of common agents that are registered with
the previously active agent manager, the migration process could
take some time, during which some common agents might not be
available for management by IBM Systems Director.
v After the common agents are migrated to the new active agent
manager, they will no longer be able to be managed by any
management applications (including other installations of IBM
Systems Director) that use the agent manager from which they were
migrated. In order to manage the migrated common agents with
other management applications, the management applications must
be configured to use the new active agent manager.
Related concepts:
“Common agent services” on page 421
Setting the active agent manager
You can set the active agent manager from the Agent Manager Configuration page.
IBM Systems Director uses only one agent manager at a time to communicate with
common agents. This agent manager is the active agent manager. If no agent
manager is active, IBM Systems Director will not be able to manage common
agents.
Important: Changing the active agent manager in IBM Systems Director migrates
all of the common agents that are registered with the previously active agent
manager to the new active agent manager. This has two implications:
v Depending on the number of common agents that are registered with the
previously active agent manager, the migration process could take some time,
during which some common agents might not be available for management by
IBM Systems Director.
v After the common agents are migrated to the new active agent manager, they
will no longer be able to be managed by any management applications
(including other installations of IBM Systems Director) that use the agent
manager from which they were migrated. In order to manage the migrated
common agents with other management applications, the management
applications must be configured to use the new active agent manager.
To set the active agent manager, use the following procedure:
1. Click Settings > Agent Manager Configuration.
2. In the Agent Manager Configuration page, select the agent manager that you
want to activate, and then click Make Active.
3. In the confirmation prompt, click Yes.
Related tasks:
“Managing the agent manager used by a Common Agent” on page 442
Deleting an agent manager
You can remove an agent manager from the Agent Manager Configuration page.
Note: You cannot delete the active agent manager. If you need to delete the active
agent manager, you must first make a different agent manager active.
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To delete an agent manager from the Agent Manager Configuration page, use the
following procedure:
1. Click Settings > Agent Manager Configuration.
2. In the Agent Manager Configuration page, select the agent manager you want
to delete, and then click Delete. The Delete Selected Agent Managers window
prompts you for confirmation.
3. Click OK in the Delete Selected Agent Managers window.
The agent manager is removed from the Agent Manager Configuration page, and
IBM Systems Director Server will no longer use the agent manager to communicate
with common agents.
Deleting an agent manager from the Agent Manager Configuration page does not
uninstall the agent manager or delete any agent manager data.
Using a remote agent manager with IBM Systems Director
There are several reasons why you might want to use an agent manager that is
remote to your IBM Systems Director Server instance instead of the agent manager
that is embedded within it.
For example, if you need to manage the same common agents with more than one
instance of IBM Systems Director Server, all of the instances of IBM Systems
Director Server must use the same agent manager.
Such situations are addressed by configuring one or more of the management
applications to use a remote agent manager, which is the agent manager embedded
in IBM Systems Director Server on a remote system.
Configure IBM Systems Director Server to use an agent manager other than the
locally embedded agent manager if you want to obtain any of the following goals:
v Manage the same common agent services agents with one or more IBM Systems
Director Server instances and one or more Tivoli applications
v Gain partial redundancy by detecting an agent manager failure condition and
then switching to a different agent manager
v Improve performance on IBM Systems Director Server by decoupling the agent
manager workload to a separate system
The agent manager can run under one of the following types of enterprise
application server environments:
IBM WebSphere Application Server
Agent manager can use an existing installation of a supported version of
IBM WebSphere Application Server. The agent manager applications can be
installed in the same application server as your other products, or it can be
in an application server that is dedicated to the agent manager.
lightweight runtime environment
The agent manager applications can be installed in the same lightweight
runtime instance as your other products, or it can use an instance that is
dedicated to the agent manager.
Note: The agent manager that is installed as an embedded component of
IBM Systems Director Server uses the lightweight runtime en