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Configuring Protocols to Send Information to Dell OpenManage™ IT Assistant

Dell OpenManage™ IT Assistant Version 8.0 User's Guide

  Configuring the SNMP Service

  Configuring the SNMP Agent on Systems Running Supported Linux Operating Systems

  Setting Up CIM

Dell OpenManage IT Assistant uses two systems management protocols — Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and Common Information Model (CIM). This appendix provides configuration information for SNMP and CIM. These systems management protocols allow IT Assistant to get status for Dell™ PowerEdge™ systems using server agents or Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation (OMCI). This appendix includes procedures for configuring SNMP and CIM that support the discovery, status, and trap information. The following table summarizes the availability of supported operating systems and corresponding SNMP and CIM protocols for systems that can be managed by IT Assistant.

Table A-1. Supported Operating Systems and Systems Management Protocols on Managed Systems

Configuring the SNMP Service

In order for IT Assistant to install and function properly, it must be installed on a supported Microsoft operating system that has the SNMP service installed and running. Unless it has been modified after installation, the Microsoft operating system SNMP service should require no additional configuration. Although the SNMP service on IT Assistant system does not require special configuration, the SNMP service on the systems that it will be managing does. Furthermore, whereas IT Assistant can be installed only on supported Microsoft operating systems, it can manage systems that are running supported Microsoft, SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating systems. This section explains how to configure SNMP on these managed systems.

Each of the managed systems that use the SNMP protocol to communicate with IT Assistant must have read/write and read-only community names assigned. If you want IT Assistant to be able to receive traps from these managed systems, you must also configure an SNMP trap destination, defined either by host name or by IP address.

SNMP Community Names in IT Assistant and Server Administrator

For IT Assistant to successfully read information, modify information, and perform actions on a system running Dell OpenManage Server Administrator (the Dell recommended server agent) and/or other supported agents, the community names used by IT Assistant must match the corresponding community read-only (Get) and read/write (Set) community names on the managed system. Also, for IT Assistant to receive traps (asynchronous event notifications) from a system running Server Administrator, the system must be configured to send traps to the system running IT Assistant. For more information, see "Configuring SNMP for System Manageability."

Community Names Must Be Secure

There are operating system default names for both Get and Set community names. For security reasons, these names should be changed. When selecting community names for your network, use the following guidelines:

• Change both the Get and Set names to passwords that are hard to guess.
  
  
• Avoid using strings such as your company's name or phone number or any well known personal information about yourself.
  
  
• Use an alphanumeric string that includes both letters and numbers, mixing uppercase and lowercase letters; community names are case-sensitive.
  
  
• Use strings that are at least six characters long.
  
  

Configuring the SNMP Service on a System Running a Supported Windows Operating System

Running IT Assistant

IT Assistant may be installed on a system with any of following operating systems: Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional, or Windows Server® 2003. See the readme for the latest information on supported operating systems details and hardware configuration.

To install SNMP on the IT Assistant system, perform the following steps:

1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and choose Control Panel.
   
   
2. Double-click the Add or Remove Programs icon.
   
   
3. In the left-hand pane, click Add/Remove Windows Components.
   
   
4. Select Management and Monitoring Tools, click Details, select Simple Network Management Protocol, and click OK.
   
   
5. Click Next.
   
   

The Windows Optional Networking Components Wizard installs SNMP.

Configuring the SNMP Service on an IT Assistant Managed System Running a Supported Windows Operating System

Server Administrator and certain other managed system agents, such as Dell PowerConnect™ switches, use the SNMP protocol to communicate with IT Assistant. To enable this communication, the Windows SNMP service must be properly configured to enable Get and Set operations and to send traps to a services system.

NOTE: See your operating system documentation for additional details on SNMP configuration.

NOTE: For systems running Windows Server 2003 to be discovered, Microsoft's standard SNMP configuration on Windows Server 2003 requires SNMP to be configured to accept packages from the IT Assistant host.

Change the SNMP Community Name

Configuring the SNMP community names determines which systems are able to manage your system through SNMP.

1. If your system is running Windows Server 2003, click the Start button, right-click My Computer, and point to Manage. If your system is running Windows 2000, right-click My Computer, and point to Manage.
   
   

The Computer Management window appears.

2. Expand the Computer Management icon in the window, if necessary.
   
   
3. Expand the Services and Applications icon and click Services.
   
   
4. Scroll down the list of services until you find SNMP Service, right-click SNMP Service, and then click Properties.
   
   

The SNMP Service Properties window appears.

5. Click the Security tab to add or edit a community name.
   
   
   1. To add a community name, click Add under the Accepted Community Names list.
      
      

The SNMP Service Configuration window appears.

2. Type the community name of a system that is able to manage your system (the default is public) in the Community Name text box and click Add.
   
   

The SNMP Service Properties window appears.

3. To change a community name, select a community name in the Accepted Community Names list and click Edit.
   
   

The SNMP Service Configuration window appears.

4. Make all necessary edits to the community name of the system that is able to manage your system in the Community Name text box, and then click OK.
   
   

The SNMP Service Properties window appears.

6. Click OK to save the changes.
   
   

Enabling SNMP Set Operations

SNMP Set operations must be enabled on the managed system to change Server Administrator attributes using IT Assistant.

1. If your system is running Windows Server 2003, click the Start button, right-click My Computer, and point to Manage. If your system is running Windows 2000, right-click My Computer, and point to Manage.
   
   

The Computer Management window appears.

2. Expand the Computer Management icon in the window, if necessary.
   
   
3. Expand the Services and Applications icon, and then click Services.
   
   
4. Scroll down the list of services until you find SNMP Service, right-click SNMP Service, and click Properties.
   
   

The SNMP Service Properties window appears.

5. Click the Security tab to change the access rights for a community.
   
   
6. Select a community name in the Accepted Community Names list, and then click Edit.
   
   

The SNMP Service Configuration window appears.

7. Set the Community Rights to READ WRITE or READ CREATE, and click OK.
   
   

The SNMP Service Properties window appears.

8. Click OK to save the changes.
   
   

Configuring Your System to Send SNMP Traps

Managed system agents such as Server Administrator generate SNMP traps in response to changes in the status of sensors and other monitored parameters. You must configure one or more trap destinations on the managed system for these traps to be sent to an IT Assistant system.

1. If your system is running Windows Server 2003, click the Start button, right-click My Computer, and point to Manage. If your system is running Windows 2000, right-click My Computer and point to Manage.
   
   

The Computer Management window appears.

2. Expand the Computer Management icon in the window, if necessary.
   
   
3. Expand the Services and Applications icon and click Services.
   
   
4. Scroll down the list of services until you find SNMP Service, right-click SNMP Service, and click Properties.
   
   

The SNMP Service Properties window appears.

5. Click the Traps tab to add a community for traps or to add a trap destination for a trap community.
   
   
6. To add a community for traps, type the community name in the Community Name box and click Add to list.
   
   
7. To add a trap destination for a trap community, select the community name from the Community Name drop-down menu and click Add.
   
   

The SNMP Service Configuration window appears.

8. Type the trap destination and click Add.
   
   

The SNMP Service Properties window appears.

9. Click OK to save the changes.
   
   

Configuring the SNMP Agent on Systems Running Supported Linux Operating Systems

This section describes the configuration of SNMP agents on systems running Red Hat Enterprise Linux and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server operating systems.

Managed system agents such as Server Administrator use the SNMP services provided by the ucd-snmp or net-snmp SNMP agent. You can configure the SNMP agent to change the community name, enable Set operations, and send traps to an IT Assistant system. To configure your SNMP agent for proper interaction with IT Assistant, perform the procedures described in the following sections.

NOTE: See your operating system documentation for additional details on SNMP configuration.

Changing the SNMP Community Name

Correctly configuring SNMP community names determines which IT Assistant services systems are able to communicate with managed systems in your network. The SNMP community name used by IT Assistant must match an SNMP community name configured on a managed system so that IT Assistant can successfully read from, write to, and perform actions on managed systems in your network.

To change the SNMP community name, edit the SNMP agent configuration file, /etc/snmp/snmpd.conf, by performing the following steps:

1. Find the line that reads:
   
   

com2sec publicsec default public

or

com2sec notConfigUser default public

2. Edit this line by replacing public with the new SNMP community name. When edited, the line should read:
   
   

com2sec publicsec default community_name

or

com2sec notConfigUser default community_name

To change the SNMP community name in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, edit the SNMP agent configuration file, /etc/snmpd.conf by performing the following steps:

1. Find the line that reads:
   
   

rocommunity public 127.0.0.1

2. Edit this line by replacing rocommunity with the new SNMP community name. When edited, the line should read:
   
   

rwcommunity public <ITA system IP address>

Enabling SNMP Set Operations

SNMP Set operations must be enabled on the system running Server Administrator in order to change Server Administrator attributes using IT Assistant. To enable SNMP Set operations on the system running Server Administrator, edit the SNMP agent configuration file, /etc/snmp/snmpd.conf (/etc/snmpd.conf in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server), and perform the following steps:

1. Find the line that reads:
   
   

access publicgroup "" any noauth exact all none none

or

access notConfigGroup "" any noauth exact all none none

2. Edit this line, replacing the first none with all. When edited, the line should read:
   
   

access publicgroup "" any noauth exact all all none

or

access notConfigGroup "" any noauth exact all all none

For Red Hat Enterprise Linux (version 7.3 or later) and Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS (version 2.1 or later) operating systems, the default SNMP access for the sysLocation and sysContact variables has been changed to read-only access. IT Assistant uses the access rights for these variables to determine whether or not certain actions can be performed through SNMP. These variables must be configured with read/write access to enable "sets" or system configuration setting changes in IT Assistant. To configure the variables, it is recommended that you comment out the sysContact and sysLocation values in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server SNMP configuration file.

1. Find the line that starts with sysContact.
   
   
2. Change the line to #sysContact.
   
   
3. Find the line that start with sysLocation.
   
   
4. Change the line to #sysLocation.
   
   

Configuring Your Managed Systems to Send Traps to IT Assistant

Managed system agents such as Server Administrator generate SNMP traps in response to changes in the status of sensors and other monitored parameters on a managed system. For IT Assistant to receive these traps, one or more trap destinations must be configured on the managed system.

To configure your system running Server Administrator to send traps to a Services system, edit the SNMP agent configuration file, /etc/snmp/snmpd.conf (/etc/snmpd.conf in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server), by performing the following steps:

1. Add the following line to the file:
   
   

trapsink IP_address community_name

where IP_address is the IP address of the services system and community_name is the SNMP community name.

2. Save the snmpd.conf file and restart the snmpd service.
   
   

Setting Up CIM

CIM is available only on supported Microsoft Windows operating systems.

Setting Up CIM on Your Managed Systems

This subsection provides steps for setting up CIM on managed systems running supported Windows operating systems. For more information, see "Configuring CIM for Manageability."

Recommendation for Creating a Domain Administrator

Although the following procedure describes how to add a local administrator to a supported Windows operating system, Dell recommends that you create a domain administrator instead of create a user on every system managed by IT Assistant. Creating a domain user account will also aid in preventing account lockouts due to failed IT Assistant logons to systems found in the entered discovery range. By example, a discovery range of 192.168.0.* would result in an attempt to log on to all 253 systems. If the credentials passed to any one of these managed systems did not authenticate, the account would become locked out. In addition, the improved security in Windows XP mandates that the client be in the same domain as the IT Assistant system. Windows XP also requires a user name with a nonblank password. For more information on creating a Windows domain user account, see your Microsoft documentation.

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.

For Managed Systems Running Windows 2000

NOTE: The WMI core is installed with Windows 2000 by default.

1. Click Start→ Settings→ Control Panel→ Administrative Tools→ Computer Management.
   
   
2. In the Computer Management (Local) tree, expand the Local Users and Groups branch and click the Users folder.
   
   
3. On the menu bar, click Action and then click New User.
   
   
   1. In the New User dialog box, fill in the required information fields with the user name and password – for example, CIMUser and DELL. (These are only examples for illustration; you should set user names and passwords as appropriate for your enterprise.)
      
      
   2. Ensure that you deselect the User must change password at next logon check box.
      
      
   3. Click Create.
      
      
4. In the right pane of the Computer Management dialog box, double-click CIMUser.
   
   

You may have to scroll through the list to locate CIMUser.

5. In the CIMUser Properties dialog box, click the Member Of tab.
   
   
6. Click Add.
   
   
7. Click Administrators, click Add, and then click OK.
   
   
8. Click OK again, and then close the Computer Management dialog box.
   
   
9. Install Client Instrumentation 7.x or Server Administrator, depending on whether the system is a client or a server.
   
   
10. Restart the system.
    
    

For Managed Systems Running Windows XP Professional

As mentioned previously, the improved security in Windows XP mandates that the client be in the same domain as the IT Assistant system. Also, when implementing your own user name and password, do not specify a blank password.

The following steps detail how to create a local user. Dell highly recommends that you create a domain user with administrative rights so that you do not have to manually add a user to every client. This will simplify the creation of discovery ranges in IT Assistant.

1. Click Start→ Settings→ Control Panel→ Administrative Tools→ Computer Management.
   
   
2. In the Computer Management (Local) tree, expand the Local Users and Groups branch and click the Users folder.
   
   
3. On the menu bar, click Action and then click New User.
   
   
   1. In the New User dialog box, fill in the required information fields with the user name CIMUser and password DELL.
      
      
   2. Ensure that you clear (deselect) the User must change password at next logon check box.
      
      
   3. Click Create.
      
      
4. In the right pane of the Computer Management dialog box, double-click CIMUser.
   
   

You may have to scroll through the list to locate CIMUser.

5. In the CIMUser Properties dialog box, click the Member Of tab.
   
   
6. Click Add.
   
   
7. Click Administrators, click Add, and then click OK.
   
   
8. Click OK again, and then close the Computer Management dialog box.
   
   

NOTE: Windows XP Professional is supported for use on IT Assistant client systems only.

9. Install Client Instrumentation 7.x or Server Administrator, depending on whether the system is a client or a server.
   
   
10. Restart the system.
    
    

For Managed Systems Running Windows Server 2003

1. Click Start→ Settings→ Control Panel→ Administrative Tools→ Computer Management.
   
   
2. In the Computer Management (Local) tree, expand the Local Users and Groups branch and click the Users folder.
   
   
3. On the menu bar, click Action and then click New User.
   
   
   1. In the New User dialog box, fill in the required information fields with the user name CIMUser and password DELL.
      
      
   2. Ensure that you clear (deselect) the User must change password at next logon check box.
      
      
   3. Click Create.
      
      
4. In the right pane of the Computer Management dialog box, double-click CIMUser.
   
   

You may have to scroll through the list to locate CIMUser.

5. In the CIMUser Properties dialog box, click the Member Of tab.
   
   
6. Click Add.
   
   
7. Click Administrators, click Add, and then click OK.
   
   
8. Click OK again, and then close the Computer Management dialog box.
   
   
9. Install Client Instrumentation 7.x or Server Administrator, depending on whether the system is a client or a server.
   
   
10. Restart the system.
    
    

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