Netfinity Remote System Manager service enables a manager to link with and remotely access Netfinity services installed on client systems within the manager's network. Client systems are divided into network administrator-specified logical groups. For example, a manager could create a group named "Service" for all customer service systems. Individual systems are then added to these logical groups using an informal System Name (for example, "John's System"), Network Type (any system-supported and configured communication protocol, including NetBIOS, IPX, and TCP/IP), and the Network Address of the system.
Using the Remote System Manager you can perform the following:
Managing and monitoring these systems is as simple as adding them to your network. Select the group you wish to access from the Groups screen, and then select the system you wish to connect with. Once connected, you can access any of the Netfinity services displayed in the Netfinity Service Manager for that system. You can monitor system activity and anticipate system crises with System Monitor, Screen View, and Alert Manager; remotely update and distribute software with the File Transfer; troubleshoot remotely with ECC Memory Setup, and Remote Session; and use the System Restart, Presence Check, and Login System functions to help access and manage your remote systems.
The system groups can be displayed in two different modes: Icon View and Detail View. Each of these modes allow different levels of information to be displayed on the systems.
The Remote System Manager also features a keyword-based discovery process. This discovery process uses preassigned keywords to identify Netfinity systems on your network. With the discovery process, you can add multiple systems to a system group based solely on these keywords. For more information on keyword assignment and the discovery process, see Using the Discovery Process.
The Groups screen displays all system groups that have been defined to the Remote System Manager. To access a Group, simply select the Group you wish to enter with the mouse. A Groups screen will open, displaying the names and system types of all systems currently defined within the group. The following operations can be performed from the Group screen:
Select Add/Edit Group to add or edit a system group using the Add/Edit Group screen.
To Add/Edit a system Group:
When system Discovery is initiated, this System Discovery Condition only includes a system in the group if that system's Keyword list (determined during installation of the Netfinity services) contains ALL of the Keywords specified in the Group Keyword list.
When system Discovery is initiated, this System Discover Condition only includes a system in the group if that system's Keyword list (determined during installation of the Netfinity services) contains at least ONE of the Keywords specified in the Group Keyword list.
When system Discovery is initiated, this System Discovery Condition only includes a system in the group if that system's Keyword list (determined during installation of the Netfinity services) contains ONE AND ONLY ONE of the Keywords specified in the Group Keyword list.
The Group Keywords define the keywords on all systems that will be considered when determining the systems added to a group during Discovery. Which Keywords are considered and how many Keywords are considered are determined by the System Discovery Conditions. System Keywords are typically set during Netfinity installation on each individual system.
The Auto-Discovery Interval setting controls how often the Discovery process is initiated to discover systems on the network.
Use the pull down menu selections to disable or set the severity of the alert that will be generated when a system is on-line and reachable. Available selections include the alert Severity numbers 0 (most severe) through 7 (least severe), Disabled (no alert will be generated), and the Default setting.
Use the pull down menu selections to disable or set the severity of the alert that will be generated when a system is off-line or unreachable. Available selections include the alert Severity numbers 0 (most severe) through 7 (least severe), Disabled (no alert will be generated), and the Default setting. The Default setting is the Notify when systems are off-line setting.
Use the pull down menu selections to select how often a system is checked to determine if it has come on-line or gone off-line. Available Presence Check Interval settings range from 15 seconds to 128 minutes.
During the discovery process, only systems that are using one of the selected communications protocols will be added to the group. By default, systems using any communications protocol will be added.
Note: All available operating systems are selected initially.
Select Add Cluster Group to add a cluster group.
To Add/Edit a cluster Group:
The Auto-Discovery Interval setting controls how often the Discovery process is initiated to discover systems on the network.
Use the pull down menu selections to disable or set the severity of the alert that will be generated when a system is on-line and reachable. Available selections include the alert Severity numbers 0 (most severe) through 7 (least severe), Disabled (no alert will be generated), and the Default setting.
Use the pull down menu selections to disable or set the severity of the alert that will be generated when a system is off-line or unreachable. Available selections include the alert Severity numbers 0 (most severe) through 7 (least severe), Disabled (no alert will be generated), and the Default setting. The Default setting is the Notify when systems are off-line setting.
Use the pull down menu selections to select how often a system is checked to determine if it has come on-line or gone off-line. Available Presence Check Interval settings range from 15 seconds to 128 minutes.
During the discovery process, only systems that are using one of the selected communications protocols will be added to the group. By default, systems using any communications protocol will be added.
Note: All available operating systems are selected initially.
Note: Although these filters will prevent systems that are not using the selected communications protocols or operating systems from being added to the group automatically during the discovery process, systems that do not get discovered can be added manually by selecting Add System on the Group page.
Select Cancel at any time to close this window without saving any changes.
Select Add Rack Group to add a rack group.
To add a rack group to your network:
The Auto-Discovery Interval setting controls how often the Discovery process is initiated to discover systems on the network.
Use the pull down menu selections to disable or set the severity of the alert that will be generated when a system is on-line and reachable. Available selections include the alert Severity numbers 0 (most severe) through 7 (least severe), Disabled (no alert will be generated), and the Default setting.
Use the pull down menu selections to disable or set the severity of the alert that will be generated when a system is off-line or unreachable. Available selections include the alert Severity numbers 0 (most severe) through 7 (least severe), Disabled (no alert will be generated), and the Default setting. The Default setting is the Notify when systems are off-line setting.
Use the pull down menu selections to select how often a system is checked to determine if it has come on-line or gone off-line. Available Presence Check Interval settings range from 15 seconds to 128 minutes.
During the discovery process, only systems that are using one of the selected communications protocols will be added to the group. By default, systems using any communications protocol will be added.
Note: All available operating systems are selected initially.
Note: Although these filters will prevent systems that are not using the selected communications protocols or operating systems from being added to the group automatically during the discovery process, systems that do not get discovered can be added manually by selecting Add System on the Group page.
Select Cancel at any time to close this window without saving any changes.
Select Delete Group to remove a system group using the Groups screen.
When Dynamic Addressing is disabled (default), systems are tracked by their address. This can result in incorrect system identification and management when the system changes address (such as when DHCP is used).
When Dynamic Addressing is enabled, Remote System Manager will use the System Unique ID (on systems possessing one) to track systems as they change address. This allows systems to be correctly identified and managed despite any address or location changes. The Remote System Manager will depend upon the preserving of the System Unique ID through these changes. Deleting or changes a system's Unique ID will prevent the system from being properly identified with its existing objects in the Remote System Manager. This can be prevented by preserving the NFUNIQUE.ID file found on the system when reinstalling its software.
When Dynamic Addressing is enabled, the Remote System Manager will ping and discover systems. Since pings are typically sent directly to a system's address, this can prove to be ineffective when systems frequently change addresses (such as when they use DHCP). This problem is addressed by enabling Dynamic Ping support.
Dynamic Ping support greatly improves the Remote System Manager's ability to find exising systems when they change addresses. This is done by periodically sending broadcast messages requesting a response from the specific systems which the Remote System Manager has defined, but cannot find on the network. This is similar to discovery requests, but is more efficient, as only the specific systems which are missing will respond to the request (as opposed to all systems which match a discovery request). The frequency of these requests is controlled by the Dynamic Ping Interval setting.
Using the Netfinity Remote System Manager's discovery process you can quickly and easily add multiple remote systems to system groups.
Select Discover Systems in all Groups to initiate the discovery process for all groups.
This will instruct Remote System Manager to add all systems in the network that fit the system group's System Discovery Conditions.
Use the Notification Defaults screen to specify a set of system notification settings for all systems contained in the group.
To set the System Notification Defaults:
Use the pull down menu selections to disable or set the severity of the alert that will be generated when a system is on-line and reachable. Available selections include the alert Severity numbers 0 (most severe) through 7 (least severe). The Default setting is None (Disabled).
Use the pull down menu selections to disable or set the severity of the alert that will be generated when a system is off-line or unreachable. Available selections include the alert Severity numbers 0 (most severe) through 7 (least severe). The Default setting is the None (Disabled).
Use the pull down menu selections to select how often a system is checked to determine if it has come on-line or gone off-line. Available Presence Check Interval settings range from 15 seconds to 128 minutes. The Default setting is (10 min).
The System screen displays all the systems for the selected group. The System Icons depict the connectivity status of each system in the group as well as identification of manager and client systems. For example, a manager System that is on-line is displayed as a "green" machine Icon annotated with a world. To access a System, simply select the System you wish to enter with the mouse. A services screen will open, displaying the available services that are supported for that system. The following operations can be performed from the System screen:
Select Groups from the Systems screen to view all system groups that have been defined to the Remote System Manager.
The Groups screen will be displayed.
To Add a system to a System Group, or Edit a system that is already present:
Note: Edit System will only be present if systems have already been discovered
This must be the network address recognized by the Network Type you will be using.
Use the pull-down menu selections to disable or set the severity of the alert that will be generated when a system is on-line and reachable. Available selections include the alert Severity numbers 0 (most severe) through 7 (least severe). The Default setting is None (Disabled).
Use the pull-down menu selections to disable or set the severity of the alert that will be generated when a system is off-line or unreachable. Available selections include the alert Severity numbers 0 (most severe) through 7 (least severe). The Default setting is the None (Disabled).
Use the pull-down menu selections to select how often a system is checked to determine if it has come on-line or gone off-line. Available Presence Check Interval settings range from 15 seconds to 128 minutes. The Default setting is (10 min).
To delete a system from a System Group:
Using the Netfinity Remote System Manager's discovery process you can quickly and easily add multiple remote systems to a system group.
Select Discover Systems to initiate the discovery process for the current group.
This will instruct Remote System Manager to add all systems in the network that fit the system group's System Discovery Conditions.
Select Detail View to display detailed system information for the all the systems in the system group.
In Detail View, the systems in the group are presented in a table, with each row containing a variety of information on the system including the System Name, Network Type, Network Address, and System Type. The systems can also be displayed as an Icon View.
Select Icon View to display System Icons depicting the connectivity status of each system in the group as well as identification of manager and client systems.
For example in Icon View, a Manager System that is on-line is displayed as a "green" machine icon with its "system name" annotated with a world. The systems can also be displayed in a Detail View.
Select Refresh to update and display any system changes for the System Group.
System Icons depict the connectivity status of each system in the group as well as identification of manager and client systems.
This option enables you to change the System Name and Keywords on the selected remote system from the Set Keywords and System Name screen. The remote system's name and any currently assigned keywords (if any) are shown in the System Name and Keywords fields. The System Name is used primarily by the system administrator for organizing and identifying systems within a Netfinity System Group, and Keywords are used by Remote System Manager's automatic discovery process.
To change the System Name or assign new Keywords:
To Restart a system in a system group:
Note: You will not be able to perform this function unless you have access to the remote system's Security Manager Service
.The Restart Confirmation screen will be displayed requesting you to confirm the system restart request.
To perform a Presence Check of a system:
If the machine is displayed as a red Icon it cannot be opened for communication. The system will be automatically recognized eventually but this option will check for its presence immediately.
System Icons depict the connectivity status of each system in the group as well as identification of manager and client systems.
This option is only available if the system is off-line and supports the Wake-Up-On-LAN feature.
To attempt a System Wake-up of a suspended system:
This option is only available if the system has support for unattended shutdown. On some systems, shutting down will also result in the system powering-down.
To attempt a System Shutdown of a system:
Note: You will not be able to perform this function unless you have access to the remote system's Security Manager Service.
The Restart Confirmation screen will be displayed requesting you to confirm the system shutdown request.
This option is only available if the system has Advanced Power Management (APM) support enabled.
To attempt a System Power-Down of a system:
Note: You will not be able to perform this function unless you have access to the remote system's Security Manager Service.
The Restart Confirmation screen will be displayed requesting you to confirm the system power-down request.
To set the default User ID and Password to be used when accessing systems which do not have a specific user ID and Password set:
Setting this User ID and Password yields the same results as using the Set Outgoing User ID and Password option in the Security Manager service to set the User ID for the <DEFAULT> system name.
Using the Netfinity Remote System Manager's discovery process you can quickly and easily add multiple remote systems to a selected system group. The discovery process uses Keywords that are assigned to all systems during the Netfinity installation process.
When a system group is created, system group Keywords can be specified, along with a system discovery condition. When the discovery process is initiated, the Netfinity Remote System Manager sends a short message out over your network, using your enabled communications drivers. This message requests that any remote systems that have the Netfinity programs installed and running and that have the proper keywords, as determined by the system discovery condition and keywords that you selected when you created the system group, acknowledge their presence on the network.
The remote systems that have the correct Keywords then send a response to the system that initiated the discovery process. This response contains all of the information necessary to add the individual system to the system group (system name, network address, and network type). The individual remote systems are then automatically added to the system group. Objects representing each of the remote systems then appear in the System Group window, sorted alphabetically. This entire process takes approximately 45 seconds to complete.
The discovery process has been designed to be open-ended and flexible, thus allowing for its use over a broad range of work group sizes.
The process by which you organize your Netfinity system groups is dependent on the environment in which you will be using it. For example, if you are using Netfinity in a peer-to-peer work group, where every individual system has complete access to all other systems in the work group, only one system group is necessary, and keyword assignment is fairly simple.
However, in a larger organization (such as a small company that has several departments, each of which will be a separate work group, but all of which will be managed by an individual Netfinity Remote System Manager) more intricate keyword assignment might be necessary. This section provides you with a series of examples of keyword assignment, system-discovery condition selection, and the effect that these have on the discovery process.
When the Netfinity installation process is complete, you can enter system-specific Keywords. Keywords are a series of descriptive words that identify the individual system within the group. For example, a system might have keywords identifying the company name, the department name, the building number, the department manager's name, and the primary user's name. The main goal of keyword assignment is to offer a broad variety of criteria by which to identify a system.
Using the example system Keywords, you could:
These are just some of the possible combinations of systems that could be added using the discovery process. Which Netfinity systems are added to the system group is determined by the Keyword list and the system-discovery condition that you selected when you created the individual system group.
Assume that there are four remote systems that you can potentially add to any system group. Each of these four systems uses NetBIOS communication drivers and has only three system-specific keywords assigned. The three Keywords represent the company name, the department the system is located in, and the primary user's last name. The Keywords for each system are as follows:
System Number | System Keywords |
---|---|
System #1 | IBM, DEVELOPMENT, JONES |
System #2 | IBM, DEVELOPMENT, SMITH |
System #3 | IBM, MARKETING, O'BRIAN |
System #4 | IBM, MANAGEMENT, JEFFERSON |
When you want to create a system group, decide which keywords to look for during the discovery process, and set a system-discovery condition. The system-discovery condition determines how many of the remote system's keywords must match the Remote System Manager system group Keywords if they are to be included in the system group. There are three possible system-discovery conditions.
They are:
When the discovery process is initiated, this system-discovery condition includes a remote system in the system group only if that system's Keyword list contains all of the Keywords specified in the Keyword list.
When the discovery process is initiated, this system-discovery condition includes a remote system in the system group only if that system's Keyword list contains at least one of the Keywords specified in the Keyword list.
When the discovery process is initiated, this system-discovery condition includes a remote system in the system group only if that system's Keyword list contains one and only one of the Keywords specified in the Keyword list.
To exit the Remote System Manager service, select the "Netfinity" image on the top or bottom of the Remote System Manager service to return to the Netfinity services screen.