Dell OpenManage IT Assistant can discover, inventory, and perform a variety of change management tasks for each system in your enterprise. Managed systems can include a mixture of client systems (desktops, portable components, and workstations), servers, printers, tape devices, storage devices, systems with remote access cards, Dell™ PowerConnect™ switches, and digital keyboard/video/mouse (KVMs) switches used with rack-dense systems.
IT Assistant in Real-World User Scenarios
This section illustrates how IT Assistant can be used in two different customer scenarios:
A small-to-medium size business
A large enterprise environment
Although fictional, both scenarios presented in this section illustrate how administrators in charge of managing network environments might configure IT Assistant. While many configuration concepts are the same for both scenarios, others depend on the type and number of systems being managed. Use the scenario that best suits your situation as a general guide for configuring IT Assistant.
Regardless of the size of your network, it is useful to read through both scenarios to gain a more complete understanding of IT Assistant procedures and concepts.
NOTE: Neither scenario shown in this section is intended to illustrate the full capabilities of IT Assistant.
Based on your enterprise, you may choose to use options and features in IT Assistant not shown here. For
more information on IT Assistant's full range of capabilities, see the IT Assistant Online Help.
Having Multiple Java Runtime Environments On Your System
IT Assistant uses Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version 5.0. However, you may want to use a different version of the JRE, for example, to run a third-party application. You can use an older version of JRE in conjunction with version 5.0.
Switching Between Various Versions of the JRE
NOTE: For more information, see Sun Microsystem's J2SE 5.0 documentation at
http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/docs/guide/deployment/deployment-guide/jcp.html, and navigate to the Java Applet
Runtime Settings section.
If the system you use to run the IT Assistant console is also used to run applets that use a different version of the JRE, perform the following steps. These steps enable you to switch between two versions of the JRE.
Locate the jpicpl32.exe of the JRE version you want to use and execute.
For example, if you want to use JRE version 1.4.2, you can locate jpicpl32.exe under C:\Program Files\Java\j2re1.4.2_05\bin.
NOTE: This file is available for all JRE versions earlier than version 5.0.
The Java Plug-in Control Panel appears.
In the Browser tab, deselect Microsoft Internet Explorer, and click Apply.
Now select Microsoft Internet Explorer, and click Apply (see Figure 6-1). This integrates JRE 1.4.2
with Internet Explorer.
Figure 6-1. Java Plug-in Control Panel for JRE 1.4.2
Start Internet Explorer.
Do one of the following to check the Java Plug-in version number:
From the Tools menu, select Sun Java Console. The Java Plug-in version number will be 1.4.2_05.
Go to www.java.com/en/download/faq/top_issues.jsp, and locate the Test your Java Virtual Machine (JVM) issue. This test checks and displays the Java Plug-in version on your system as 1.4.2_05.
You can now run applets that use this version of the JRE.
If you want to use JRE version 5.0, perform the following steps:
In the Java Control Panel (for JRE 5.0), under the Advanced tab, expand the <Applet> tagsupportcomponent in the Settings tree. See Figure 6-2.
NOTE: Java Control Panel is found under Settings→ Control Panel→ Java.
NOTE: On supported Linux systems, run the ControlPanel executable in the bin folder of the JRE installation
on the Linux system.
Deselect Internet Explorer, and click Apply.
Now select Internet Explorer from the Java Control Panel, and click Apply (see Figure 6-2). This
integrates JRE 1.5.0 with Internet Explorer.
Figure 6-2. Java Control Panel for JRE 5.0
Start Internet Explorer.
Do one of the following to check the Java Plug-in version number:
From the Tools menu, select Sun Java Console. The Java Plug-in version number will be 1.5.0.
Go to www.java.com/en/download/faq/top_issues.jsp, and locate the Test your Java Virtual Machine (JVM) issue. This test checks and displays the Java Plug-in version on your system as 1.5.0.
Ensure That Agents and Instrumentation Are Installed and Running
Dell agents required for managed systems are contained in Dell OpenManage Server Administrator; Dell agents required for client systems (workstations, desktops, and portable components) are contained in Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation.
These agents gather status information from BIOS or other firmware on the systems they are installed on, then provide that information to IT Assistant. Systems that are monitored by IT Assistant are generally referred to as managedsystems—the systems that manage them are referred to as network management stations, or IT Assistant systems.
If either of these agents is not installed, see the Dell OpenManage Server Administrator and Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation documentationbefore continuing with IT Assistant configuration. If the appropriate agent is installed and running correctly, start IT Assistant and read on.
NOTE: Starting with IT Assistant version 8.0, you can discover devices using the IPMI Discovery support feature.
See "Configuring IPMI for System Manageability" for more information.
Select Active Directory Login if you have configured user information using the Microsoft® Active
Directory® plug-in. The privileges you have in IT Assistant are dependent on the user settings defined.
NOTE: For more information on setting up role-based access, see "Ensuring a Secure Dell OpenManage™
IT Assistant Installation." For information on installing the Active Directory plug-in and extending the Active
Directory schema for IT Assistant, see the Dell OpenManage Installation and Security User's Guide.
NOTE: To access IT Assistant remotely, you must enter https://<hostname>:<portnumber>. The
default port number is 2607.
Enter your password.
NOTE: As IT Assistant starts up, an authentication certificate pop-up box will appear. You must click OK to
accept these certificates within 5 minutes or IT Assistant will not load properly and certain critical features
will not function.
NOTE: You may see several pop-ups during IT Assistant startup. Pop-ups prompting you to accept an
authorization certificate can be avoided by selecting View Certificate→ Install Certificate (if available) or
choosing Always in response to the request to accept the certificate.
Configuring SNMP for System Manageability
Before configuring SNMP for system manageability, let us look at the two scenarios we will use to illustrate IT Assistant in this section:
Two systems administrators—let us call them Jane and Tom—are responsible for managing two separate network environments. Jane represents the small-to-medium size business (50 servers, plus over 200 client systems), while Tom represents a much larger enterprise (1,000 servers). Although Jane and Tom both use IT Assistant to discover and manage their systems, the way they configure and use IT Assistant will differ significantly. However, before highlighting the differences, let us look at some basic steps both must perform.
Both Jane and Tom must configure the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) systems management protocol to discover their systems and to receive traps (asynchronous, alert notifications) that report the status of their components. On managed systems, the Server Administrator agent generates SNMP traps in response to changes in the status of sensors and other monitored parameters on a managed system. In order to correctly send these traps, the operating system's SNMP service must be configured with one or more trap destinations that correspond to the system where IT Assistant is installed.
In addition to having the SNMP service installed and running on the IT Assistant system, each managed system's operating system must have the SNMP service or daemon configured.
SNMP Best Practices
When configuring SNMP, adhere to the following requirements:
Use a host name or a static IP address for the IT Assistant system.
On all managed systems, configure the static IP address or host name as the SNMP trap destination. If you use a host name as the SNMP trap destination (the IT Assistant system name), you must correctly configure name resolution on your network.
Ensure that Get and Set community names for SNMP are different.
When assigning community names to managed systems, keep the total number of different community names low. The fewer community names, the easier it will be to manage your network.
Information on the Managed System Needed for Optimal SNMP Configuration
For every system (running the Windows operating system) to be discovered and managed using SNMP protocol, ensure that SNMP is installed and properly configured.
The two community names that are to be set up are the Get (or read) community name and the Set (or write) community name. The read community name, which is sometimes labeled read only, allows IT Assistant to read information from the managed system, while the write community name, sometimes labeled read write, allows IT Assistant to read and write information to the managed system.
NOTE: Community names are case sensitive.
NOTE: Although you can set up just one community name as both read and read/write, it is advisable to create a
separate name for each to allow restricted access to the write action.
The community names that you assign for SNMP for managed systems in the operating system must also be recorded in IT Assistant when you set up SNMP discovery ranges.
In the Discovery Range dialog box under the protocols section, make sure that the Get (or read) and Set (or write) community names of all of the managed systems are entered. If there is more than one community name per field, separate each community name with a comma.
Depending on your network environment, configuring CIM may be a required task. CIM is the preferred systems management protocol for newer client instrumentation and is required for Dell systems instrumented with OMCI version 7.x. CIM is also used for performing remote Windows software updates.
In her small-to-medium size network, Jane must install, enable, and configure CIM to be able to manage client systems running the latest Client Instrumentation (OMCI 7.x). Although Tom's group of managed systems are made up entirely of servers, he will also install and enable CIM. Generally, CIM should be enabled if your enterprise includes any managed system running a Microsoft Windows® operating system.
Configuring CIM in the Operating System
IT Assistant uses the Windows Management Interface (WMI) core to make CIM connections. The WMI core uses Microsoft network security to protect CIM instrumentation from unauthorized access.
NOTE: IT Assistant requires the CIM user name and password with administrator rights that you established on
the managed systems. If you are using a domain user, be sure to specify the correct domain in the user name field.
A user name must always be qualified with a domain, or localhost if a domain is not present. The format is either
<domain>\<user> or <localhost>\<user>.
NOTE: CIM discovery requires proper user ID and password credentials. Failure to supply proper credentials on a
subnet configured for CIM discovery can result in account lockout.
Best Practices for Setting Up Discovery Targets
Regardless of the size of your network, the following table shows Dell's recommendations for the best way to set up discovery targets. IT Assistant users define discovery target systems and ranges on a network to identify the systems that they want to locate and record in their database. When you set up a discovery target and range in IT Assistant, you are given the option of selecting a host name, an IP address, or a subnet range to identify the systems that you want IT Assistant to discover. This section shows which discovery type is best for the network environment you have.
Table 6-1. Best Practice Recommendations for Setting Up Discovery
Preferred Discovery Range Type
DHCP
Primarily Static IP Addresses
Host name
Recommended
Recommended if DNS is present and IP addresses are spread among many different network segments
IP address
Not recommended
Recommended if IP addresses are spread among many different network segments
IP range
Recommended if located on one or a few network segments
Recommended if located on one or a few network segments
Configuring IPMI for System Manageability
To be able to use the Intelligent Interface Management Protocol (IPMI) discovery feature, ensure that you have:
Dell PowerEdge™ x8xx system and above. This feature will not work for other systems.
All systems equipped with a baseboard management controller (BMC).
BMC with IPMI version 1.5 and later.
Configured the BMC of every managed system.
NOTE: For more information on configuring the BMC, see the "Configuring Your Managed System" section in the
Dell OpenManage Baseboard Management Controller Utilities User's Guide on the Dell Support website at
support.dell.com or on the documentation CD.
Using the Microsoft IPMI Provider
Microsoft Windows Server® 2003 R2 is equipped with an IPMI driver and an IPMI Common Information Model (CIM) Provider. The CIM Provider exposes system information that is exposed by the BMC through the IPMI interface. IT Assistant uses this feature to extract information. You can use IT Assistant to discover and classify the BMC through IPMI.
However, ensure that you have the following to be able to use the Microsoft IPMI Provider to send information about your systems:
Windows Server 2003 R2 operating system on the managed systems
All managed systems have BMC with IPMI version 1.5 or later
For more information, see the Dell OpenManage IT Assistant Online Help.
Best Practices for Using the IPMI Discovery Feature
IPMI discovery provides you with information about a system even if the system is powered down. IPMI uses the Remote Management Control Packets (RMCP) protocol to communicate with the BMC of the managed systems.
NOTE: RMCP is a UDP-based protocol, which communicates over port 623. The IPMI messages are encapsulated
in the RMCP packets. RMCP protocol enables remote server control in all states where the system is powered on.
Configure the BMC on managed systems that will be discovered using the IPMI Discovery support feature.
Connect the BMC network interface card (NIC) to the network.
If your systems have a Dell Remote Access Controller (DRAC) 5, then the RAC should be connected to the network.
NOTE: For x8xx systems, you should enable the DRAC 4 and the BMC if you want to use the functionality of
both. However, for x9xx systems, DRAC 5 takes over the full functionality of the BMC. Therefore, you need to
enable only the DRAC 5.
In the discovery ranges, provide the SNMP/CIM IP address and credentials (user name and password) for the device as well as the BMC IP address and credentials.
Connectivity using IPMI is inherently slow due to the RMCP protocol. It is, therefore, recommended that you create a separate discovery range for devices that do not have a Dell agent installed on them. For this discovery range alone you can enable the IPMI discovery feature.
NOTE: Systems discovered only through the IPMI protocol are identified on the IT Assistant UI through the BMC
IP address. For this reason, tasks such as software deployment and performance monitoring cannot be run on
such systems.
Configuring IT Assistant to Discover Storage Devices
Starting with IT Assistant version 8.0, you can discover and monitor Dell|EMC storage devices.
You can display the status of the discovered Dell|EMC storage arrays in the Dell/EMC Arrays category under Storage Devices group. The status of Dell|EMC storage arrays will be red for failed/critical and green for normal. The Dell|EMC storage arrays recognize all SNMP traps from the device including logging, filtering, and actions information.
NOTE: Use IT Assistant's Event Management System to associate actions, such as e-mailing an administrator or
creating a trouble ticket in a help-desk system through an Application Launch, with the critical event sources
associated with the arrays. For more information, see the Dell OpenManage IT Assistant Online Help.
Prerequisites
You should have the following software configured to enable the Storage Integration feature:
EMC® Navisphere® Secure CLI on the same system that is running IT Assistant
SNMP enabled on your Dell|EMC array
FLARE® operating environment version 19 or later on your Dell|EMC array
Navisphere Secure CLI
IT Assistant uses Navisphere Secure CLI for getting inventory information from the storage devices. The IT Assistant installer detects if the Navisphere Secure CLI is not installed on the management station and gives you the option of installing it.
NOTE: EMC releases new versions of Navisphere Secure CLI periodically, and you may need to update the version
of the CLI on the IT Assistant management station.
NOTE: As new versions of IT Assistant are released, the Navisphere Secure CLI version will be updated.
If your storage environment has storage arrays, you can navigate to the element manager to manage the Dell|EMC device.
See the Dell OpenManage IT Assistant Online Help for connecting to the remote array for troubleshooting Navisphere agent issues.
See the EMC Navisphere online help for details on monitoring SNMP alerts.
Setup and Configuration
IT Assistant supports discovery on Dell|EMC storage arrays (for example, AX100 or AX150) arrays that have been upgraded to Navisphere Manager.
NOTE: IT Assistant does not manage arrays running Navisphere Express.
NOTE: If you are discovering an AX100i storage array, see the IT Assistant readme for the latest information.
IT Assistant uses SNMP for discovering the Dell|EMC arrays. Use the Navisphere Manager to enable SNMP on your Dell|EMC array, before it can be discovered in IT Assistant. Set SNMP in Navisphere under the Network settings of the Storage Processor properties.
NOTE: The storage processors on the Dell|EMC CX3-20, CX3-40, CX3-80 products each have one
management port and one service local area network (LAN) port. Do not connect the service ports to the
network for general use. Connecting these ports to the network may result in unpredictable status and event
reporting within IT Assistant.
Ensure that the following ports are open on the firewall:
TCP 80/443 (Web and SSL)
TCP 6389 (Navisphere CLI)
UDP 161/162 (SNMP and bi-directional)
NOTE: These are default ports. If you have changed the port configuration, ensure that the correct ports
are open.
NOTE: For more information on ports used by IT Assistant, see the Dell OpenManage Installation and
Security User's Guide.
IT Assistant discovers and displays the information for the storage processor value stored in the discovery range. Since the storage processors are redundant, you only need to enter the IP address of one storage processor for discovery and inventory purposes.
Using the Troubleshooting Tool
The EMC connectivity test can be used to test the communication between the IT Assistant management station and the Navisphere agent on the storage device. The test requires the IP address of the storage processor as well as Navisphere credentials.
NOTE: The Navisphere credentials should have a global scope.
Creating Reports
You can create custom reports for the Dell|EMC arrays. The report wizard of the IT Assistant allows you to select fields from a variety of tables including Device, NIC, Physical disk, Virtual disk, Enclosure, and Controller.
The reports can be created in HTML, XML, and comma-separated value (CSV) format.
NOTE: IT Assistant has pre-defined controller and enclosure reports for the Dell|EMC arrays.
Discovery in Jane's Small-to-Medium Size Business
Jane wants to discover all of the systems on her network. Discovery is a process whereby IT Assistant identifies each system and records identifying information for that system in the IT Assistant database.
As we mentioned previously, Jane is the sole system administrator of a mixed network of systems that includes:
50 Dell PowerEdge systems
200 Dell OptiPlex™ desktops
10 Dell PowerConnect switches
Jane is going to use IT Assistant to monitor global status for her systems, as well as to receive notification when a PowerEdge system or a PowerConnect switch on her network is in the warning or critical state. Jane does not plan to use IT Assistant to notify her when one of her desktop systems generates an alert.
Determining Requirements for a Mixed Server-Client System
Before using IT Assistant to configure discovery, Jane needs to make some basic decisions about her network. Specifically, she must decide the:
Systems management protocols needed to manage the systems and devices on her network
Community names and trap destinations for systems to be managed by SNMP
SNMP requirements for PowerConnect switches
CIM authentication credentials
Host names, IP addresses, or IP subnet ranges of systems she wants to monitor
Systems Management Protocols Needed for Jane's Network
In planning to configure discovery, Jane has a mixture of system types (server, client, and switches). The systems management protocols that Jane requires to manage these networked systems and devices are:
SNMP for her PowerEdge systems and PowerConnect switches
CIM for her systems running Windows, assuming that Jane has newer, CIM-compatible client instrumentation installed on her client systems
Jane's requirements for configuring Get and Set community names and trap destinations for SNMP on her managed systems are not affected by the size of her business. For SNMP configuration requirements associated with servers, see "Configuring Protocols to Send Information to Dell OpenManage™ IT Assistant."
Configuring SNMP for PowerConnect Switches
Jane can monitor her ten PowerConnect switches by using IT Assistant. Each model of PowerConnect switch has documentation that provides the following information on setting up the SNMP service for that switch:
Community names
Trap destinations
The hosts from which the switch will accept SNMP packets
Initial Tasks for Finding Systems on Jane's Network
Now that Jane has reviewed the prerequisite information for her discovery configuration, she is ready to perform first-time discovery configuration. Jane must perform the following tasks:
Configure communication protocols on the managed systems.
Configure discovery settings.
Enter all of the discovery ranges.
Using IT Assistant to Find and Manage Jane's Networked Systems
If this is the first time IT Assistant has been launched since installation, Jane is presented with a welcome screen indicating that IT Assistant has not yet been configured. The four basic steps of configuration are listed:
Step 1—Discovery Configuration – controls how often IT Assistant polls the network for the addition of new systems
Step 2—Inventory Configuration – controls how often IT Assistant retrieves a detailed inventory of all discovered systems
Step 3—Status Polling – controls how often IT Assistant retrieves the health and network connectivity status of discovered systems
Step 4—Ranges – identifies specific ranges for IT Assistant to either limit or expand its discovery, inventory, or polling tasks
Clicking any of the steps will take her to the corresponding dialog box under the Discovery and Monitoring menu bar in IT Assistant. Steps 1 through 3 are single-window dialog boxes; step 4 is a wizard-based procedure for defining discovery ranges.
Configuring Discovery Settings
Jane begins by configuring the discovery settings for her systems using the Discovery Configuration Settings dialog box. This dialog is displayed either automatically when she clicks Step 1: Discovery Configuration from the IT Assistant or by choosing Discovery Configuration from the menu bar. Here, Jane enters information that IT Assistant will use for discovery. These values remain unchanged and apply to the corresponding discovery ranges that she will create later in this procedure. However, she can change these values at any time.
To configure discovery settings in IT Assistant, Jane performs the following steps:
Jane selects Discovery and Monitoring→ Discovery Configuration from the IT Assistant menu bar.
The Discovery Configuration Settings dialog box appears. Enable Device Discovery is selected by default.
In the dialog box under Initiate Device Discovery, Jane selects the period she wants IT Assistant to
perform discovery.
Jane selects all seven days of the week at 6:00:00 AM because the data maybe dynamic, but she wants to select a non-peak period.
NOTE: Dell recommends that you schedule discovery at non-peak times.
Under Discovery Speed, Jane uses the sliding bar to indicate how much network bandwidth and
system resources she wants to allocate to discovery.
NOTE: The faster you set the discovery speed, the more network resources discovery will consume. Faster
discovery speeds may impact network performance.
Under Discover, Jane can choose whether to discover All Devices or Only Instrumented Devices.
She chooses Only Instrumented Devices since she wants IT Assistant to discover only devices that have SNMP or CIM instrumentation. If she wanted to discover any device that responded to a ping command, she would have chosen All Devices. For a list of supported agents, see "Agents Supported by IT Assistant."
NOTE: Dell recommends that if you have Domain Name System (DNS) configured on your network, select the
default, DNS Name Resolution.
Under Name Resolution, Jane selects DNS Name Resolution or Instrumentation Name Resolution.
DNS name resolution matches the IP address of a system to a host name. Instrumentation name resolution queries the managed system's agent instrumentation for its name. See your device or system documentation for more information on how to configure instrumentation name resolution.
NOTE: Dell recommends that if you have DNS configured on your network, select the default, DNS Name
Resolution.
Jane clicks OK.
Configuring Inventory Settings
Next, Jane needs to enter inventory settings. IT Assistant collects inventory information about software and firmware versions, as well as device-related information about memory, processor, power supply, PCI cards and embedded devices, and storage. This information is stored in the IT Assistant database and can be used to generate customized reports.
To set inventory settings, Jane performs the following steps:
Jane selects Discovery and Monitoring→ Inventory Configuration from the menu bar.
The Inventory Poll Settings dialog box is displayed. Enable Inventory is selected by default.
Under Initiate Inventory, Jane selects when she wants IT Assistant to perform inventory.
Jane selects all seven days of the week at 6:00:00 AM, a non-peak period for network traffic.
Under Inventory Speed, Jane uses the sliding bar to indicate how much network bandwidth and
system resources she wants to allocate to inventory.
NOTE: The faster you set the inventory speed, the more network resources discovery will consume. Faster
inventory speeds may impact network performance.
Jane clicks OK.
NOTE: IT Assistant version 8.0 can now display the inventory information for printers, tapes, and storage devices.
For more information, see the Dell OpenManage IT Assistant Online Help.
Configuring Status Polling Settings
Next, Jane defines status polling settings for her systems. IT Assistant performs a power and connectivity health check for discovered devices, determining whether a device is operating normally, is in a non-normal state, or is powered down. Status messages in IT Assistant include healthy, warning, critical, and powered down. Status icons also indicate if a system is not instrumented, there is no information for the system, or the state the system was in before it was last powered down.
To set status polling settings, Jane performs the following steps:
Jane selects Discovery and Monitoring→ Status Polling Configuration from the menu bar.
The Status Polling Configuration Settings dialog box is displayed. Enable Status Polling is selected by default.
Under Status Polling Interval, Jane selects the interval that she wants IT Assistant to use to perform
status polling.
Under Status Polling Speed, Jane uses the sliding bar to indicate how much network bandwidth and
system resources she wants to allocate to status polling.
NOTE: The faster you set the status polling speed, the more network resources discovery will consume.
Faster speeds may impact network performance.
Jane clicks OK.
Configuring Discovery Ranges
IT Assistant maintains a register of network segments that it uses to discover devices. A discovery range can be a subnet, a range of IP addresses on a subnet, an individual IP address, or an individual host name.
To identify her systems to IT Assistant, Jane must define a discovery range.
To define an include range, Jane performs the following steps:
Jane selects Discovery and Monitoring→ Ranges from the menu bar.
The Discovery Ranges navigation tree isdisplayed on the left side of the IT Assistant window.
Jane expands Discovery Ranges, right-clicks Include Ranges and selects New Include Range.
The New Discovery Wizard starts.
NOTE: To exclude a specific system or host name from discovery, right-click Exclude Range in the Discovery
Ranges navigation tree and enter the name or IP address of the system. In most small-to-medium businesses
like Jane's, this option is not used.
In step 1 of the wizard, Jane enters an IP address (or range) or host name.
She clicks Add to add multiple ranges of IP addresses or host names.
She clicks Next to go to the next step.
NOTE: Acceptable values for the include range are subnet range, host name, or IP address of a single
system. Jane refers to the IP subnet ranges she wrote down for her servers, desktop systems, and switches.
On Jane's list, Jane may have 192.166.153.* and 192.166.154.*, where the first subnet range is for Jane's
servers, the second subnet range is for Jane's desktops, and the switches are spread out on both subnets.
NOTE: The Import Node List utility offers a convenient way to specify a list of host names, IP addresses, and
subnet ranges for IT Assistant to discover. See the IT Assistant Online Help for instructions on how to run the
utility from the command line. The importnodelist.exe file is in the bin directory of the IT Assistant base
directory.
In step 2 of the wizard, Jane uses the default values for Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP)
time-out and retry for the range. She uses the Troubleshooting Tool to determine these values.
NOTE: IT Assistant offers a troubleshooting tool that can be useful in gathering system information and
subnet ranges. Access the tool by selecting Tools→ Troubleshooting Tool from the menu bar. For more
information, open the Troubleshooting Tool dialog box and click Help.
In step 3 of the wizard, Jane configures the SNMP parameters to be used during discovery:
Jane ensures the Enable SNMP Discovery option is selected.
She enters a case-sensitive value for the Get Community name.
Jane's considerations:
Jane is managing 50 servers, so she wants to configure SNMP. The Get Community name is a read-only password that SNMP agents installed on managed systems use for authentication. Jane considers the following as she selects a Get Community name:
Each SNMP-enabled managed system has a Get Community name. Jane ensures that she lists each of the community names on all of the systems that she wants to manage. If Jane's managed systems have more than one community name, she enters multiple community names separated by commas in the Get Community name field.
Although the Get Community name affects read-only information retrieved by IT Assistant from managed systems, such as the results of discovery, status polling, and alert logs, Jane wants to limit access to this data. Therefore, she changes the default Get Community name (public) to a name known only to her and her designated backup.
NOTE: Community names entered in the SNMP Get and Set community name fields for the managed
system's operating system must match the Get Community and Set Community names assigned in
IT Assistant.
Jane enters a case-sensitive value for the Set Community name.
Jane's considerations:
The Set Community name is a read-write password that allows access to a managed system. SNMP agents running on the managed system use this password for authentication when actions are attempted on the system, only power cycle tasks use SNMP sets.
NOTE: Although Dell server instrumentation has an authentication layer above the SNMP Set
community name (which requires a host name and password), many SNMP agents do not. Agents
without this added security layer may allow any user who knows the SNMP Set communityname to
gain control of the managed system.
NOTE: IT Assistant only uses SNMP sets to power cycle systems if the Server Administrator remote
command line is not available. If SNMP sets are not required for this purpose, do not enter an SNMP set
community name in the discovery wizard.
Jane chooses a Set Community name that matches the SNMP Set community value on the system she is managing. She also makes sure the name she chooses follows the secure password standards in place across her enterprise.
NOTE: If you want to specify more than one SNMP Get or Set community name in an individual
discovery range (for example, one community name for each IP subnet range), separate your
community names with commas.
Jane enters the SNMP time-out and retry values for the discovery range. In Jane's type of network, the default values are usually good choices.
In step 4 of the wizard, Jane configures the CIM parameters to be used during discovery.
Since Jane has a mix of servers and client systems in her managed group running Windows, she will configure CIM.
Jane ensures Enable CIM Discovery is selected.
In Domain\User Name, she enters the same name she used to configure CIM on the managed system.
She enters the same password she used for the CIM password on the managed system.
NOTE: You should enable the CIM Discovery option if you want to use the Microsoft hardware agent for IPMI
in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2.
In step 5 of the wizard, Jane does not select Enable Dell/EMC Array Discovery because she does not
have Dell|EMC storage devices on her network.
In step 6 of the wizard, Jane does not configure the IPMI parameters because she does want to monitor
her systems through IPMI.
In step 7 of the wizard, Jane chooses what action IT Assistant will take upon completion of the wizard.
In step 8 of the wizard, Jane reviews her selections and clicks Finish to complete the wizard.
NOTE: You can click Back to change your selections.
Changing Discovery, Inventory, and Status Polling Settings After Original Setup
You can return to the Discovery and Monitoring menu at any time to edit the settings you entered. The new settings you enter will become effective the next time you perform the corresponding action.
Creating Alert Action Filters and Alert Actions for Jane's Small-to-Medium Size Business
Jane creates an Alert Action Filter in IT Assistant by specifying a set of conditions. When tied to an Alert Action, IT Assistant will automatically execute whatever action Jane has defined.
IT Assistant has three types of Alert filters:
Alert Action Filters – used to trigger actions when an alert condition is met
Ignore/Exclude Filters – used to ignore SNMP traps and CIM indications when they are received.
Alert View Filters – used to customize the Alert Log view
Jane chooses to use an Alert Action Filter in IT Assistant to filter warning and critical events for her servers and PowerConnect switches. That way, she will be able to create an Alert Action that will automatically send her an e-mail notification when her server and switch components enter these states. From there, she can take action to prevent a more serious event, such as a system failure. Being the only system administrator of her network, Jane must be selective about which systems she monitors, as well as the Alert Action Filters she creates. She decides to reserve these filters and actions only for her most mission-critical equipment and most severe events.
Creating an Alert Action Filter
Select Alerts→ Filters from the menu bar.
The Alert Filters window appears.
Expand the Alert Filters in the navigation tree and right-click Alert Action Filters. Select New Alert
Action Filter.
The Add Filter Wizard appears.
Enter a descriptive name for the filter. For example, Jane's Network Warning and Critical.
Under Severity, select the severity of the events for which you want to receive alerts and logs.
Jane selects Warning and Critical.
Click Next.
Under Alert Category Configuration, either select Select All, or select the categories of events to
include in the alert filter.
Jane selects Select All because she wants to be notified of any warning or critical event that affects her network switches or servers.
Click Next.
Under Device/Group Configuration, select the devices or groups to associate with the new action
alert filter.
Jane selects Servers and Network Devices.
Click Next.
Under Date/Time Range Configuration, enter values for any or all of the optional categories.
Jane leaves these options unselected since she wants the filter to apply at all times.
Click Next.
Under Alert Action Associations, select whether you want the event captured by the filter to trigger an
alert or be written to a log file.
Jane selects Alert to get a console notification.
The New Filter Summary shows your selections. Click Finish to accept, or Back to make changes.
Verify that the filter name you created in step 3 of the wizard appears in the Summary of Alert Action
Filters window.
Creating an Alert Action
Now, Jane wants to create an Alert Action that is triggered by the Alert Action Filter she just set up.
To create an Alert Action:
Jane selects Alerts→ Actions from the menu bar.
Jane right-clicks Alert Actions in the navigation tree and selects New Alert Action.
The Add Alert Action Wizard appears.
Jane gives the action a logical name in the Name field.
From the Type pull-down menu, Jane chooses Email.
NOTE: Jane could also choose Trap Forwarding or Application Launch from the action type pull-down list. Trap
Forwarding allows large-scale enterprise managers to send SNMP traps to a specific IP address or host.
Application Launch allows an administrator to specify an executable to run when the alert action filter is met.
NOTE: Any trap forwarded by IT Assistant will not have the EnterpriseOID, Generic TrapId, and Specific
Trap ID of the original trap. These values will appear in the description of the forwarded trap.
In the E-mail Configuration dialog, Jane specifies a valid e-mail address (within your enterprise's
SMTP server group) to receive the automatic notification.
NOTE: Jane can test the e-mail configuration she specified by using the Test Action button. A
success/failure message will be issued. A success should be interpreted as IT Assistant sending the
message, not that the recipient received it. For more information on using the Test Action button, see the
Troubleshooting topic in the IT Assistant Online Help.
NOTE: To send e-mail through IT Assistant, the enterprise's SMTP server must be correctly configured. To
configure the SMTP server, go to Preferences→ Web Server on the top navigation bar, and configure the
SMTP Server Name (or IP Address) and DNS Suffix for SMTP Server.
In Alert Filter Associations, Jane identifies the Action Alert filter that will trigger this e-mail.
She selects Jane's Network Warning and Critical—the name she gave the Alert Action Filter she set up earlier.
A summary dialog shows Jane's selections.
Jane verifies that the name of the Alert Action she assigned in step 3 appears in the Summary of Alert Actions window.
Jane clicks Finish to accept the changes.
As a result of how Jane has configured Alert Action Filters and Alert Actions in IT Assistant, here is what will happen:
IT Assistant will continuously monitor all servers and network switches on Jane's network.
When any server or network switch reaches a warning or critical state, the Alert Action Filter that Jane set up in IT Assistant will automatically trigger the accompanying Alert Action.
The Alert Action will send Jane an e-mail notification to the address she specified.
Jane then decides what action to take on the affected system, such as power cycling the system, shutting it down, or running a remote command using other IT Assistant capabilities.
Many more features are available in IT Assistant than those illustrated here. Click the Help button in the appropriate IT Assistant dialog box to see detailed online help about that feature.
Now, let us look at how a much larger enterprise might use IT Assistant to accomplish basically the same tasks as Jane did for a small enterprise.
Discovery in Tom's Enterprise-Size Business
In a larger enterprise, Tom is the systems administrator for a network of 1,000 servers. Tom also supervises four technicians who assist him by taking corrective action on servers when notified that a critical or warning event has occurred. Tom's four technicians have the following areas of responsibility:
One administrator responsible for all remote systems
One technician for the first shift (12 hours)
One technician for the second shift (12 hours)
One technician for weekends who works 24-hour shifts but who responds only to critical and warning events when notified
Configuring the Discovery Settings
Since Tom is monitoring a network of servers and no clients, his primary choice for a systems management protocol is SNMP. However, since he also manages systems running Windows, he will also enable CIM (like Jane).
To configure the discovery settings for his servers, he will need to perform the following tasks:
Determine subnet ranges, IP addresses, and/or host names for the servers that he wants to monitor.
Determine the subnet ranges, host names, or IP addresses that he does not want to monitor.
Determine SNMP read-only (Get) and read-write (Set) community names that he will use for his network.
Install and configure the SNMP agents and the operating system SNMP service on each system he wants to monitor.
Determine appropriate discovery time-out values for the network.
IP Subnet Ranges for Servers
Tom's first decision is to determine which of the 1,000 servers he wants to monitor with IT Assistant. Tom may want to record the IP subnet range of each subnet he wants to include in his discovery, any systems or ranges he wants to exclude from discovery, corresponding community names used on each subnet, and any other data he determines is relevant to his network. An example of a form that captures this data appears in Table 6-2. Note that Tom may monitor systems based on subnet range, host name, or IP address. Although it is advisable to limit the number of community names used in a network, Tom may also define multiple read-only and read-write community names in his network environment. For example, Tom may decide that he wants a common Get community name for all systems on this network but unique Set community names for certain data centers.
NOTE: IT Assistant offers a troubleshooting tool that can be useful in gathering system information and subnet
ranges. Access the tool by selecting Tools→ Troubleshooting Tool from the menu bar. For more information, open
the Troubleshooting Tool dialog box and click Help.
Configuring SNMP on Each Managed System
Before configuring discovery, Tom needs to determine the Get and Set community names he wants to use for his network, and install and configure the SNMP agent and operating system SNMP service of each server he wants to manage. See "Configuring SNMP for Server Manageability (Both Scenarios)."
Table 6-2 provides information about the remote systems that Tom is monitoring.
Table 6-2. Example Subnet Ranges, IP Addresses, or Host Names and Corresponding Information for Data Center and Remote Servers
System Group Name
Include Subnet Range
Exclude Hosts or Subnet Range
Read-Only/Read-Write Community Names
Number of Devices on Subnet
Longest Ping Response Time Observed on Subnet (milliseconds)
Data Center Servers 1
192.166.153.*
192.166.153.2
dcp123/dcsecure01
100
64
Data Center Servers 2
192.166.154.*
examplehost
dcp123/dcsecure01
100
128
Data Center Servers 3
192.166.155.*
192.166.155.10-25
dcp123/dcxprivall
100
78
Data Center Servers 4
192.166.156.*
dcp123/dcxprivall
100
32
Data Center Servers 5
192.166.157.*
dcp123/dcxprivall
100
146
Data Center Servers 6
192.166.158.*
dcp123/dcxprivall
100
148
Data Center Servers 7
192.166.159.*
dcp123/dcxprivall
100
132
Data Center Servers 8
192.166.160.*
dcp123/dcxprivall
100
59
Data Center Servers 9
192.166.161.*
dcp123/dcxprivall
50
128
Remote Servers 1
10.9.72.*
dcp123/dcxprivrem
50
5600
Remote Servers 2
10.9.73.*
dcp123/dcxprivrem
100
2400
Dell|EMC Storage Devices
192.166.162.1-10
dcp123/NA
5
32
Printers
192.166.163.51-100
dcp123/NA
25
32
Tape Devices
192.166.163.1-20
dcp123/NA
10
59
Selecting An Appropriate Discovery Time-Out Value for the Network
Since Tom is monitoring remote systems across a WAN, time-out values may differ significantly between local systems and those further removed. In this case, it is recommended that Tom determine and set an appropriate time-out for the discovery of the systems located over the WAN.
In environments with long network latency times, such as global WANs, Tom may want to consider increasing ping time-outs across the enterprise. He can determine the ping times of systems that exhibit the greatest latency on the network by using the Tools→ TroubleshootingTool and selecting the Device Connectivity tab. From there, Tom can test the connection of high-latency systems to see whether he should increase specific ping times for better WAN performance.
Configuring Discovery Settings for the First Time in the Enterprise Network
Like Jane, if this is the first time IT Assistant has been launched since installation, Tom is presented with a welcome screen indicating that IT Assistant has not yet been configured. The four basic steps of configuration are listed:
Step 1: Discovery Configuration
Step 2: Inventory Configuration
Step 3: Status Polling
Step 4: Ranges
Clicking any of the steps will take him to the corresponding dialog box under the Discovery and Monitoring menu bar in IT Assistant. Steps 1 through 3 are single-window dialog boxes; step 4 is a wizard-based procedure for defining discovery ranges.
Configuring Discovery Configuration Settings
Tom also begins by configuring the discovery settings for his systems using the Discovery Configuration Settings dialog box. This dialog is displayed either automatically when he clicks Step 1: Discovery Configuration from the IT Assistant welcome screen or by choosing Discovery Configuration from the menu bar. Here, Tom enters information that IT Assistant will use for discovery. These values remain unchanged and apply to all the discovery ranges he will create later in this procedure. However, he can change these values at any time using this dialog box.
To configure discovery settings in IT Assistant for a large enterprise, Tom performs the following steps:
Tom selects Discovery and Monitoring→ Discovery Configuration from the IT Assistant menu bar.
The Discovery Configuration Settings dialog box appears. Enable Device Discovery is selected by default.
Under Initiate Device Discovery, Tom selects when he wants IT Assistant to perform discovery.
Tom wants to perform discovery every day, so he selects Every Week On, each day of the week, and 2:00 a.m. for the start time. His network traffic is the lightest at this time.
Under Discovery Speed, Tom uses the sliding bar to indicate how much network bandwidth and
system resources he wants to allocate to discovery.
Tom sets the discovery speed to Fast (all the way to the right). Tom wants to discover all of the systems he is going to manage with IT Assistant rapidly and get them in the database. For subsequent discoveries, if Tom finds that this setting dramatically impacts the network performance while he is attempting to perform other tasks on the network, he can change the Discovery Speed to consume fewer network resources.
Under Discover, Tom can choose whether to discover all devices or only instrumented devices.
Under Name Resolution, Tom can select DNS Name Resolution or Instrumentation Name Resolution.
Domain Name System (DNS) name resolution matches the IP address of a system to a host name. Instrumentation name resolution queries the managed system's agent instrumentation for its name. See your device or system documentation for more information on how to configure instrumentation name resolution.
NOTE: If you are managing a cluster, you must use instrumentation name resolution to be able to discern
each independent node (system); otherwise, using DNS name resolution is recommended.
Tom clicks OK.
Configuring Inventory Settings
Next, Tom enters inventory settings. IT Assistant collects inventory information about software and firmware versions, as well as device-related information about memory, processor, power supply, PCI cards and embedded devices, and storage. This information is stored in the IT Assistant database and can be used to generate customized reports.
To set inventory settings, Tom performs the following steps:
Tom selects Discovery and Monitoring→ Inventory Configuration from the menu bar.
The Inventory Poll Settings dialog box is displayed. Enable Inventory is selected by default.
In the dialog box under Initiate Inventory, Tom selects when he wants IT Assistant to
perform inventory.
Tom sets inventory for weekly on Saturday at 3:00 a.m.
Under Inventory Speed, Tom uses the sliding bar to indicate how much network bandwidth and
system resources he wants to allocate to inventory.
NOTE: The faster you set the inventory speed, the more network resources discovery will consume. Faster
inventory speeds may impact network performance adversely.
Tom clicks OK.
NOTE: IT Assistant version 8.0 can now display the inventory information for printers, tapes, and storage devices.
For more information, see the Dell OpenManage IT Assistant Online Help.
Configuring Status Polling Settings
Next, Tom defines status polling settings for his systems. IT Assistant performs a power and connectivity health check for discovered devices, determining whether a device is operating normally, is in a non-normal state, or is powered down. Status messages in IT Assistant include healthy, warning, critical, and powered down. Status icons also indicate if a system is not instrumented, if there is no information for the system, or the state the system was in when it was last powered down.
To set status polling settings, Tom performs the following steps:
Tom selects Discovery and Monitoring→ Status Polling Configuration from the menu bar.
The Status Polling Configuration Settings dialog box is displayed. Enable Status Polling is selected by default.
Under Status Polling Interval, Tom selects the interval he wants IT Assistant to use to perform
status polling.
Under Status Polling Speed, Tom uses the sliding bar to indicate how much network bandwidth and
system resources he wants to allocate to status polling.
NOTE: The faster you set the status polling speed, the more network resources discovery will consume.
Faster speeds may impact network performance.
Tom clicks OK.
Configuring Discovery Ranges
IT Assistant maintains a register of network segments that it uses to discover devices. A discovery range can be a subnet, range of IP addresses on a subnet, individual IP address, or an individual host name.
Tom's enterprise network is organized into a number of subnets. There are 850 servers in the datacenter and 150 remote servers. Tom refers to the IP subnet ranges he wrote down for his servers (see Table 6-2).
Tom's datacenter servers are divided into eight separate subnets, and his remote servers are divided into two subnets.
To identify his systems to IT Assistant, Tom must define a discovery range.
To identify an include range, Tom performs the following steps:
Tom selects Discovery and Monitoring→ Ranges from the menu bar.
The Discovery Ranges navigation tree isdisplayed on the left side of the IT Assistant window.
Tom expands Discovery Ranges, right-clicks Include Ranges and selects New Include Range.
The New Discovery Wizard starts.
In step 1 of the wizard, Tom can enter an IP address, an IP address range, or a host name.
Based on the information about Tom's systems in Table 6-2, he must add different IP address ranges. Tom can combine those ranges that have common settings (community name, timeouts, retry intervals, choice of protocol for discovery, and user credentials). For example, he can combine the Data Center Servers 3 to Data Center Servers 9 groups.
He enters the IP address range as:
192.166.155.*
Instead of completing this wizard multiple times with same entries in all the wizard panes to include all these systems, Tom clicks Add to add multiple ranges of IP addresses. The second time, he enters:
192.166.156.*
and so on.
NOTE: Ensure that you have a separate range for Dell|EMC devices. This is because apart from the SNMP
credentials, Dell|EMC devices also require the Navisphere credentials.
Tom clicks Next to go to the next step.
NOTE: The Import Node List utility offers a convenient way to specify a list of host names, IP addresses, and
subnet ranges for IT Assistant to discover. See the IT Assistant Online Help for instructions on how to run the
utility from the command line. The importnodelist.exe file is in the /bin directory.
In step 2 of the wizard, Tom enters the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) time-out and
retry values for the range. Tom chooses the highest time-out retry value for the ranges that he combines.
For example, in Table 6-2 for Data Center Servers 3 to Data Center Servers 9, Tom chooses
148 milliseconds, the highest time-out interval in that range.
In step 3 of the wizard, Tom configures the SNMP parameters to be used during discovery:
Tom ensures the Enable SNMP Discovery option is selected.
Tom enters a case-sensitive value for the Get Community name. The Get Community name is a read-only password that SNMP agents installed on managed systems use for authentication.
Tom's considerations:
Tom considers the following as he selects a Get Community name:
Each SNMP managed system has a Get Community name. Tom ensures that he lists each of the community names on all of the systems he wants to manage. If Tom's managed systems have more than one community name, he can enter multiple community names separated by commas in the Get Community name field.
Although the Get Community name affects read-only information retrieved by IT Assistant from managed systems, such as the results of discovery, status polling, and alert logs, Tom wants to limit access to this data. Therefore, he changes the default Get Community name (public) to a name known only to him and his system administrators.
NOTE: Community names entered in the SNMP Get and Set community name fields for the managed
system's operating system must match the Get Community and Set Community names assigned in
IT Assistant.
Tom enters a case-sensitive value for the Set Community name.
Tom's considerations:
The Set Community name is a read-write password that allows access to a managed system. SNMP agents running on the managed system use this password for authentication when actions are attempted on the system, including shutting down, configuring action alerts, and updating software.
NOTE: Although Dell server instrumentation has an authentication layer above the SNMP Set
community name (which requires a host name and password), many SNMP agents do not. Agents
without this added security layer allow any user who knows the SNMP Set communityname to gain
control of the managed system.
Tom chooses a Set Community name that matches the SNMP Set community value on the system he is managing. He also makes sure the name he chooses follows the secure password standards in place across his enterprise.
NOTE: If you want to specify more than one SNMP Get or Set community name in an individual
discovery range (for example, one community name for each IP subnet range), separate your
community names with commas.
NOTE: IT Assistant only uses SNMP sets to power cycle systems if the Server Administrator remote
command line is not available. If SNMP sets are not required for this purpose, do not enter an SNMP set
community name in the discovery wizard.
Tom enters time-out and retry values for the SNMP discovery range.
In step 4 of the wizard, Tom configures the CIM parameters to be used during discovery.
Since Tom also has systems running Windows, he needs to configure CIM.
Tom ensures Enable CIM Discovery is selected.
In Domain\User Name, Tom enters the same name that he used to configure CIM on the managed system.
Tom enters the same Password that he used for the CIM password on the managed system.
NOTE: You can enable the CIM Discovery option if you want to use the IPMI discovery support feature. This
option is available only on x8xx and x9xx systems running the Windows Server 2003 R2 or other releases that
support the Microsoft Hardware Management Provider.
In step 5 of the wizard, Tom selects the Enable Dell/EMC Array Discovery.
In this screen, Tom gives the following details:
Navisphere Username
Navisphere Password
NOTE: You can use this field only if you have Dell|EMC devices in the discovery range.
In step 6 of the wizard, Tom configures the following IPMI parameters of the BMC of his
managed systems.
User name
Password
KG Key
NOTE: KGKey is applicable only on x9xx systems, which support IPMI version 2.0. By default, KGKey is
disabled on the BMC.
NOTE: If you have both x8xx and x9xx systems on your network and you enable the KGKey on x9xx systems,
you will need to specify two separate ranges to discover these systems.
Since Tom has new uninstrumented (without any Dell agent installed) PowerEdge x9xx systems, he can discover these systems using IPMI discovery.
In step 7 of the wizard, Tom can choose what action IT Assistant will take upon completion of the
wizard.
In step 8 of the wizard, Tom reviews his selections and clicks Finish to complete the wizard.
NOTE: IT Assistant version 8.0 can now discover printers, tapes, and storage devices. For more information, see
the Dell OpenManage IT Assistant Online Help.
Exclude Systems From Discovery
IT Assistant also provides the capability to exclude specific systems from discovery. This feature is normally used in larger enterprise environments to improve speed, to isolate a system with a problematic agent, or to enhance security and convenience.
Tom has one system in his enterprise that contains highly sensitive information. So sensitive, in fact, that he doesn't even want the system visible to his system administrators. Therefore, he sets an Exclude Range to isolate that system from routine network discovery.
Tom selects Discovery and Monitoring→ Ranges from the menu bar.
The Discovery Ranges navigation tree isdisplayed on the left side of the IT Assistant window.
Tom expands Discovery Ranges, right-clicks Exclude Ranges and selects New Exclude Range.
The NewExclude Range dialog box appears.
Tom enters the IP address for the system and clicks OK.
As a result, that system is hidden from routine discovery by IT Assistant.
Changing Discovery, Inventory, and Status Polling Settings After Original Setup
Tom can return to the Discovery and Monitoring menu at any time and edit the settings he entered. The new settings will become effective the next time he performs the corresponding action.
Creating Alert Action Filters and Alert Actions for Tom's Large Enterprise
IT Assistant offers Tom the ability to set up Alert Action Filters that specify a set of system conditions. When these conditions are met, Tom can also create an Alert Action in IT Assistant that is triggered by the Alert Action Filter. The Alert Action takes whatever action Tom has defined.
IT Assistant has three types of filters:
Alert Action Filters – used to trigger actions when an alert condition is met
Ignore/Exclude Filters – used to ignore SNMP traps and CIM indications when they are received.
Alert View Filters – used to customize the Alert Log view
Before Tom creates Alert Action Filters or Alert Actions for his 1,000-server environment, he creates two custom groups to better facilitate event notification. According to the scenario outlined previously, most of Tom's servers are housed in a datacenter while some are remote. Tom's decides on this strategy for setting up IT Assistant.
He decides to:
Create one custom group for the datacenter servers and one custom group for the remote servers.
Create an Alert Action Filter for each of the four administrators who help Tom with the remote and
datacenter servers on different days and different shifts.
Create an Alert Action that will be triggered by the corresponding Alert Action Filter to automatically
e-mail the appropriate administrator at the appropriate day and time.
Tom's Administrators
Tom has three administrators; all are responsible for keeping the datacenter servers operational, and they work the following hours:
Bob works onsite for the first shift Monday through Friday (7 A.M. to 7 P.M.)
John works onsite second shift Monday through Friday (7 P.M. to 7 A.M.)
Jill is on call weekends from 7 P.M. Friday to 7 A.M. Monday
Therefore, Tom wants to configure IT Assistant to:
Notify Bob, John, and himself by e-mail any time a datacenter server warning or critical events occur
Notify Jill by e-mail of any warning or critical events, but only if they occur during the time that she is on call
Creating Custom Groups
Tom requires two custom groups to manage notification of his four administrators who are going to take action on the critical and warning events for his 1,000 servers. The custom groups are remote servers and datacenter servers.
From the IT Assistant menu bar, Tom selects Views→ Devices.
Tom right-clicks the top-level root in the IT Assistant navigation tree and selects New Group.
The Add Group Wizard appears.
Tom enters a name and description for the group he wants to add.
Tom names the group Datacenter Servers.
In the Group Membership dialog, Tom can either select the devices to include in the new group or, if
a query-based group, he selects the query from the pull-down menu.
Tom review his selections in the summary screen and clicks Finish to complete the wizard.
Tom repeats the previous steps to create a second group named Remote Servers.
Creating an Alert Action Filter
Now, Tom will create an Alert Action Filter that includes each of the four administrators who work for him. In the following procedure, you can see how creating custom groups for the two types of servers make it easier to create the filters.
To create an alert action filter, Tom performs the following steps:
Tom selects Alerts→ Filters from the menu bar.
The Alert Filters window appears.
Tom expands the Alert Filters in the navigation tree and right-clicks Alert Action Filters. He selects
New Action Alert Filter.
The Add Filter Wizard appears.
Tom plans to create three filters, one for each of the notification event actions that he is going to create for each of his administrators. Tom has to create each of his three filters one at a time. Tom creates filters for the following:
Datacenter first shift (M–F, 7 A.M.–7 P.M.)
Datacenter second shift (M–F, 7 P.M.–7A.M.)
Weekend administrator (7 P.M. Friday to 7 A.M. Monday)
Tom enters a descriptive name for the filter.
Tom chooses DC 1st Shift as his name for the first filter. The names he chooses for the other two filters will be DC 2nd Shift, and Weekend Admin.
Under Severity, Tom selects the severity of the events for which he wants to receive alerts and logs.
For the DC 1st Shift filter, Tom selects Warning and Critical and clicks Next.
Under Alert Category Configuration, Tom selects Select All because he wants to monitor all of the
servers in his enterprise and clicks Next.
Under Device/Group Configuration, Tom selects the name of device or group to associate with the
new action alert filter.
Tom selects Datacenter Servers, the name of one of the custom groups he created previously and clicks Next.
Under Date/Time Range Configuration, Tom enters values for any or all of the optional categories.
Tom selects different time and day values for each of the three filters. Tom does not select date filters, but could use this value if he wanted to create a filter and action for a vacation, an outside service vendor, or another special situation.
For the DC 1st Shift filter, Tom enables the time range 7:00:00 A.M. to 7:00:00 P.M. and enables the days Monday through Friday.
For the DC 2nd Shift filter, Tom enables the time range 7:00:00 P.M. to 7:00:00 A.M. and enables the days Monday through Friday.
For the Weekend Admin filter, Tom specifies two filters (WA1 and WA2):
For WA1, Tom enables the time range 7:00:00 P.M. to 7:00:00 A.M. and selects the days Friday to Monday.
For WA2, he enables the time range 7:00:00 A.M. to 7:00:00 P.M. and selects the days Saturday and Sunday.
Tom clicks Next.
Under Alert Action Associations, Tom decides whether he wants the event captured by the filter to
trigger an action or be written to a log file.
Tom selects Alert, since he wants IT Assistant to notify the selected administrators by e-mail when the system enters a Critical or Warning state.
Click Next.
The New Filter Summary shows Tom's selections.
He verifies that the filter name he assigned in step 3 appears in the Summary of Alert Action Filters window.
Tom clicks Finish to accept the changes.
Notification Alert Actions in the Enterprise Environment
Tom's alert action filters and groups are now configured so that he can set up e-mail alert actions to automatically notify himself and his three administrators. Tom's strategy is as follows:
Set up IT Assistant to send e-mail to his administrators when any warning or critical events occur, depending on their on-call or shift status
Copy himself on all messages so he can to stay aware of overall server events
Tom is configuring e-mail for himself, as well as for his first- and second-shift datacenter administrators and his weekend administrator. Therefore, he will repeat the following procedure four times—for himself, Bob, John, and Jill.
NOTE: To send e-mail through IT Assistant, go to Preferences→ Web Server on the top navigation bar, and
configure the SMTP Server Name (or IP Address) and DNS Suffix for SMTP Server.
Creating an Alert Action
To create an alert action:
Tom selects Alerts→ Actions from the menu bar.
Tom right-clicks Alert Actions in the navigation and selects New Alert Action.
The Add Alert Action Wizard appears.
Tom gives the action a logical name in the Name field.
Tom is configuring a separate Alert Action for himself, Bob, John, and Jill. Each time he repeats the procedure here, he uses the following names in the Name field:
Tom ADMIN MGR e-mail
DC 1st Shift Bob e-mail
DC 2nd Shift John e-mail
Weekend Admin Jill e-mail
From the Type pull-down menu, Tom chooses Email.
In the E-mail Configuration dialog, Tom specifies a valid e-mail address (within your enterprise's
SMTP server group) to receive the automatic notification.
NOTE: Tom can test the e-mail configuration he specified by using the Test Action button. A success/failure
message will be issued. Tom can specify multiple e-mail addresses, separated by a comma or semi-colon.
In Alert Filter Associations, Tom identifies the Action Alert filter that will trigger this e-mail.
Tom supplies the names of the Alert Filters he set up in the previous procedure—either DC 1st Shift, DC 2nd Shift, or Weekend Admin—each time he performs this step.
A summary dialog shows Tom's selections. He clicks Finish to accept the changes.
He verifies that the Alert Action he defined in step 3 appears in the Summary of Alert Actions window.
As a result of how Tom has configured Alert Action Filters and Alert Actions in IT Assistant, here is what will happen:
IT Assistant will continuously monitor all servers on Tom's network.
When any server reaches a warning or critical state, IT Assistant will automatically send Tom an e-mail notification at the address he specified in the Alert Action wizard.
When any server reaches a warning or critical state, IT Assistant will automatically send either Bob, John, or Jill an e-mail notification depending on the date range specified in the Alert Action Filter wizard.
Using IPMI Discovery in Tom's Enterprise-Size Business
Let us say that Tom has purchased 100 Dell PowerEdge x9xx systems for his enterprise. These systems are equipped with the BMC that support IPMI versions 1.5 or later. These new systems are uninstrumented, that is, they do not have any Dell agent installed on them.
IT Assistant version 8.0 communicates with the BMC directly or through the Windows IPMI Provider on a Windows Server 2003 R2 system and classifies these systems under the Server category in the Device tree.
Using the IPMI discovery feature, Tom can:
Classify his uninstrumented Dell devices
View information about the uninstrumented devices
Launch the Serial-Over-LAN (SOL) Proxy
Launch the IPMI Shell (IPMISH) and perform remote power control tasks on the managed systems
NOTE: You should be logged on to the system before you turn off the system. Microsoft Windows does not
allow turning off a system without a logging on to it.
Classification and Display of Non-Dell Systems
Devices discovered through IPMI will display under Out of Band Unclassified Devices→ IPMI Unclassified Devices.
NOTE: This is applicable for non-Dell devices.
Each device will display in the tree as <server hostname>.
NOTE: If the host name is unavailable, the device will display the device IP address.
Devices with IPMI version 1.5 support only a limited notion of system health, including intrusion, fans, power supplies, and drives (off the internal backplane only). This health is a yellow or green indicator. Devices with IPMI version 2.0 support all health states, including normal, warning, and critical.
NOTE: PowerEdge x8xx systems support IPMI version 1.5 and x9xx systems support IPMI version 2.0.
Hardware Logs
Devices under the IPMI Discovered Devices group have a tab for viewing the hardware logs. Each time the view is refreshed, a connection will be made by the IT Assistant management system to the target system to retrieve the up-to-date logs. The connection will be closed after all the records are retrieved to free up resources and minimize connection usage, since the BMC has a limit on open connections.
The Hardware Logs tab is used for log retrieval through all supported protocols.
Launch Points
Tom right-clicks each device under IPMI Discovered Devices to access the launch point for Serial-Over-LAN (SOL). SOL is the only pre-configured application that can be launched from the IPMI Discovered Devices group.
NOTE: The Dell Remote Access Controller (DRAC) also has a telnet launch point to connect to the DRAC.
IPMISH Tasks
Tom can run IPMI Shell (IPMISH) tasks on the devices discovered through IPMI. If he selects devices from the IPMI Enabled Devices group, he can use either $IP or $BMC_IP.
NOTE: Use the -k parameter on the Baseboard Management Utility (BMU) command line to enter the IPMI
encryption key.
Viewing Information on a Non-Dell System
Tom can view the embedded logs on a non-Dell device with Windows Server 2003 R2 (with System Management MSI installed), as well as view information available through the standard operating system instrumentation.
He should have enabled CIM discovery for the include range corresponding to the device, using the administrator privilege user account for CIM discovery.
NOTE: For non-administrator user accounts, the hardware management agent will not be discovered.
Click a device in the Device tree to view device information. The Hardware Logs tab contains information corresponding to the embedded logs.
The device summary tab contains information retrieved through the standard operating system instrumentation. This data includes NIC, operating system, BIOS, contact, memory, and processor information. The device will be listed under the Unknown category, as there is no device type information available through the standard operating system instrumentation.
Summary
This chapter has covered IT Assistant configuration in both the small-to-medium business and large enterprise network environments. Following the examples shown here will allow you to more successfully configure IT Assistant.
Many more features are available in IT Assistant than those illustrated here. Click the Help button in the appropriate IT Assistant dialog box to see detailed online help about that feature.
