1    System Administration Methods and Utilities

The operating system provides a number of methods and utilities you can use to perform administration tasks from initial configuration (setup) to ongoing maintenance and customizing your system environment. The following sections are included in this chapter:

1.1    Overview of the SysMan Menu and Other Utilities

SysMan Menu utilities are independent of user environments, which can be as follows:

For example, you can perform administrative tasks on a remote UNIX system from a personal computer running Microsoft Windows NT using the SysMan Menu and SysMan Station clients running as Java applications. The utilities are consistent in appearance no matter what user environment is used.

Although you can use different methods to perform the same tasks, it is important to note that there may be minor differences in the options provided, depending which administrative utilities you use and how you invoke them. For example, many SysMan Menu utilities are designed to run in different user environments, and therefore contain no graphical elements such as icons. The X11-based utilities, designed to run in a windowing environment such as CDE, often contain graphical elements and support windowing features such as drag-and-drop. Examples of these are:

Other legacy utilities, retained for backwards compatibility, are designed for use in character-cell terminals only. However, when invoked from the SysMan Menu, these utilities will also run in any of the supported user environments. An example is the NIS configuration utility, nissetup, which appears on the SysMan Menu as Configure Network Information Services(NIS)

In contrast to the X11-compliant utilities, the SysMan Menu utilities are not as highly functional and graphical. They enable you to perform the basic administrative tasks, independent of user environment. They also offer a greater breadth of administrative functions. The following usage constraints apply:

The advantage for the system administrator is that the SysMan Menu and SysMan Station provide a single consistent presentation format for administrative utilities, no matter where the administrator is located and what user environment is available. For example, you can log on to a remote UNIX system from your local PC and use the same familiar utilities to perform administrative tasks. You can also connect to any system using Insight Manager across the Web to view the system status and launch the SysMan Menu and the SysMan Station to perform tasks on the remote system.

1.2    Related Documentation

This guide does not document how to invoke and complete all fields in a given administration utility, but describes how you use the utility to perform administrative tasks. It includes examples of use, but not for all user environments or options. This section provides pointers to more detailed information on invoking and using administration utilities and methods. Documentation for the various options is provided in the following formats:

1.3    Setting Up Your System

The initial configuration of your system (setup) is usually performed as a post-installation task and System Setup is invoked automatically at first root (superuser) login after an installation. During installation, you may have already used some of the utilities documented in this chapter. You use the same utilities for initial setup as you do for ongoing maintenance and custom configuration of your system.

The System Setup utility is presented as a graphical user interface (the clipboard) if your system has a graphics board and you are running an X11 user environment such as the default CDE. If you first log in at a character-cell terminal, System Setup is presented as a text interface. Figure 1-1 shows the System Setup in graphical format.

Figure 1-1:  System Setup Graphical Interface

You can invoke System Setup at any time to modify the existing system configuration, simply by typing setup at the command line, or by invoking the System Setup icon in the CDE Application Manager - System Admin folder. The following options are provided:

Refer to Section 1.5.2 for more information and refer to the setup(8) reference page for a list of options.

1.4    Administrative Methods

Most of the tasks described in this book can be accomplished by using one or more of the following methods. Because of its versatility in different user environments, SysMan is the recommended method of performing system administration tasks.

1.5    Administrative Utilities Under CDE

The Common Desktop Environment (CDE) is the default X11 windowing user environment, although the utilities described in this section will run on other X11-compliant user environments. When you complete the full installation, the System Setup graphical interface will be displayed to guide you through the process of configuring the system for initial use. From System Setup, you invoke the same graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that you use regularly to administer and customize the system. System Setup is described in Section 1.5.2.

Many of the administrative utilities that you invoke from within CDE will start a SysMan Menu task option. However, some of the utilities are graphical, and either have no analogous SysMan Menu option, or offer features that can only be used under CDE. Examples are:

Under CDE, The GUIs are located in the Application Manager, which is the tool drawer option on the CDE front panel, as shown in Figure 1-4. Note that the icon next to the tool drawer only appears on the CDE front panel for the root login and is used to invoke the SysMan Station as described in Section 1.8.

Figure 1-4:  CDE Tool Drawer and SysMan Station Icons

If you are using an X11-compliant user environment other than CDE, invoke the individual GUIs from the command line as shown in the following examples: 

# /usr/sbin/X11/dxaccounts
 
# /usr/sbin/X11/dxarchiver
 
 

1.5.1    Accessing SysMan Under CDE

In CDE, certain SysMan Menu utilities are available in the Application Manager folder, which you can access as follows:

  1. From the CDE Front Panel by clicking on the arrow for the SysMan Applications panel. You can see this arrow above the icon for the SysMan Station, shown in figure Figure 1-4. When you click on this arrow, the panel appears as shown in Figure 1-5.

    Figure 1-5:  SysMan Applications Panel

    From this panel you can select one of the following icons, to launch a utility or open a folder containing more administration utilities:

  2. From the CDE Front Panel by clicking on its tool-drawer icon, shown in Figure 1-4. When the top-level folder is displayed, double click on the System_Admin group to access System Setup, the Welcome to SysMan online help volume, and the five utility groups. See Section 1.5.2.

Online help is available for the SysMan Menu utilities without actually running any utility. Click on the Help Manager icon on the CDE front panel to display the online help browser. The browser includes help families for CDE, the CDE Desktop, and System Management. You can also customize your CDE workspace with the Create Action utility in the Desktop_Apps folder. Customized icons enable you to start SysMan applications directly from the workspace. See the CDE Companion guide for more information.

In other X-Windows environments, the SysMan utilities can be invoked from the command line. See the sysman_intro(8) reference page for a list of the utilities. This reference page also describes how to display the online help browser in graphical environments other than CDE. The SysMan Station icon is also located on the CDE Front Panel on the root user display.

Additional information is available as follows:

1.5.2    System Setup

System Setup guides you through the process of configuring the system for initial use. System Setup is a graphical representation of a clipboard that contains an icon for each configuration application. After the initial root login following a full installation, System Setup is displayed automatically, prompting you to complete system configuration tasks. The initial window contains two options:

When you select an icon, the appropriate SysMan Menu utility, X11-based GUI, or character-cell script is invoked. The following list describes the available utilities:

You do not need to use all the options presented on System Setup, and you can opt to defer any option to a later time. If you choose to defer any configuration options and exit from System Setup, you will have to invoke System Setup manually from the Application Manager - System Admin folder, from the SysMan Menu, or from the command line as follows: 

# /usr/sbin/sysman
# /usr/sbin/checklist
# /usr/sbin/setup

1.6    The SysMan Menu

SysMan integrates most system administration utilities and makes them available under several different user environments. You can access utilities from the SysMan Menu, a hierarchical, task-oriented menu interface.

All the tasks in the SysMan Menu can be performed from a X11-capable display, a personal computer running Microsoft Windows, such as Windows NT Version 4.0, or a character cell terminal. There are several ways to start the SysMan Menu:

You can start a specific task directly from the command line using its name in the menu or its accelerator, which is a unique keyword for each option in the sysman menu. For example, to run the task that invokes the menu option Configure Division of Privileges (DOP)use its accelerator dopconfig and enter the following command at the system prompt: 

# /usr/sbin/sysman dopconfig

Use the following command to obtain a complete listing of the available tasks and their accelerators. 

# /usr/sbin/sysman -list

The SysMan Menu contains a text list of options organized in a hierarchy (or tree). Each option appears as a branch on the tree, leading to suboptions which may be further branches or end in a tasks. You can collapse or expand each option if suboptions are available, as indicated by a character preceding each menu item. The plus sign (+) indicate s that further menu items are available while the minus sign (-) indicates that the branch is fully expanded.

Tasks at the end of a branch are preceded by a vertical bar (|) indicating that no further expansion of the branch is possible and you can only select a task to invoke an administrative utility. Figure 1-6 Shows the SysMan Menu invoked in the CDE user environment. Note that the contents of this menu may be different on your system:

Figure 1-6:  The SysMan Menu

As shown in Figure 1-6, the Software branch (label 1) is fully expanded, showing Installation branch and the Register license data task. The Installation branch (label 2) contains several tasks such as Install software and List installed software. When you select a task, the appropriate utility is invoked.

How you move through and select menu items or invoke tasks is dependent on the user environment that you are using such as a curses terminal or a windowing environment. When using a terminal, you use the arrow keys or Tab key to move around the menu, highlighting options and buttons as you move. Use the Enter key to select an item, which will expand a branch or select a task to invoke the associated utility. When using a mouse in a windows environment, you can move the pointer to a branch or task and double-click MB1 to expand a branch or select a task and invoke the associated utility. Refer to the online help for detailed instructions on navigating through the utilities. The following option buttons appear on the SysMan Menu:

Context-sensitive help is also displayed in the pane located between the two rows of buttons. This help describes the content of the window as you move the mouse pointer or use the Tab key to move to an item. Selecting a task will invoke its associated utility in a format that is most appropriate for your current user environment, such as the X11-compliant windowing environment or curses format in a character-cell terminal.

Additional information is available in the sysman(8) reference page and in the online help. Refer to the tables in Appendix A for information on related utilities.

1.7    Using the SysMan Command Line

The sysman -cli utility is a command-line alternative to the SysMan Menu, which enables you to implement SysMan Menu tasks from the command line, view SysMan data, or write scripts to customize your configuration tasks. When you set up different parts of the system, such as configuring the network using SysMan Menu tasks, you are manipulating system configuration files such as /etc/rc.config.common or /etc/hosts. The sysman -cli utility enables you to view and manipulate entries in these files directly from the command line or from within a shell script.

You must have root privileges to use sysman -cli options, although unprivileged users can use it to view system setup data. Refer to the Security guide for information on using the division of privileges (DoP) utilities to enable nonroot users to become privileged users of SysMan tasks.

This section provides only a brief introduction to the many features of the sysman -cli utility. Refer to the sysman_cli(8) reference page for a complete list of options and flags. A set of shell script examples are provided in /usr/examples/systems_management/sysman_cli. Some command line examples follow.

You can use the sysman -cli command to display all the manageable components in the Menu. For example, the following command is used to list the main components in the SysMan Menu hierarchy: 

# sysman -cli -list components

Component(s):
  account_management
  atm
  auditconfig
  bindconfig
  bttape
  ciconfig
  clsschl
  doprc
.
.
.
networkedSystems
.
.
.

The following command displays the groups included in the networkedSystems component: 


#  sysman -cli -list group -comp networkedSystems 
Component: networkedSystems
  Group(s):
    hostEquivalencies
    hostEquivFileText
    hostFileText
    hostMappings
    joinMappingService
    componentid
    digitalmanagementmodes

The following command displays the current data values in the hostMappings group of the component networkedSystems. This data is the content of the /etc/hosts file. 


# sysman -cli -list values -group hostMappings /
-comp networkedSystems
Component: networkedSystems
  Group: hostMappings
    {} {} 127.0.0.1 localhost
    argnot {local host} 16.140.112.139 argnot.xxx.yyy.com
    jason server 16.140.112.3 jason.xxx.yyy.com
    fleece {backup server} 16.140.112.28 fleece.xxx.yyy.com
    {} {} 150.2.3.4 newshst.pubs.com

For every option in the SysMan Menu, the sysman -cli command gives you the ability to view and manipulate system data without invoking the utilities. For example, the following command shows how you can remove a host from the /etc/hosts file: 

# sysman -cli -delete row -group hostMappings /
-comp networkedSystems

 
Please enter key 1 [systemName]: newshst.pubs.com
Please enter key 2 [networkAddress]: 150.2.3.4

Note that you are prompted to enter key data that enables the utility to identify the correct entry in the /etc/hosts file. Because the SysMan Menu options sometimes work on data that is stored in tables, you need to identify the correct row in the table to delete or modify. Every row has some unique identifiers, called keys, which you must specify with the sysman -cli command option. If you do not supply the keys, you will be prompted to enter them. The following command shows how you determine the keys for a particular table: 

# sysman -cli -list keys -group hostMappings -comp /
networkedSystems


 
Component: networkedSystems
  Group: hostMappings          Keys: systemName,networkAddress

You can also use sysman -cli commands to add or remove user data entries from the system data files that are updated by the SysMan Menu. For example, the following command adds a mail user interactively: 

# sysman -cli -add row -comp mailusradm -group mailusers
 

 
Attribute Name: user_name (key attribute)
Attribute Description: user name
Attribute Type: STRING(8), Default Value:
Enter Attribute Value: davisB
 
Attribute Name: nis
Attribute Description: NIS User
Attribute Type: INTEGER, Default Value: 0
Enter Attribute Value ( to use default): 1
 
Attribute Name: mail_type (key attribute)
Attribute Description: mail user type
Attribute Type: INTEGER ENUM /
   { 0=Local/pop, 1=Secure Pop, 2=IMAP, 3=Secure IMAP }, /
Default Value: 0
Enter Attribute Value ( to use default): 2
 
Attribute Name: acl
Attribute Description: acl list
Attribute Type: INTEGER ENUM /
   { 0=all, 1=read, 2=post, 3=append }, Default Value: 0
Enter Attribute Value ( to use default): 0
 
Attribute Name: quota
Attribute Description: user name
Attribute Type: STRING(8), Default Value: 
Enter Attribute Value: 
 
Attribute Name: passwd
Attribute Description: password
Attribute Type: STRING(20), Default Value: 
Enter Attribute Value: change_me
 
Attribute Name: orig_mailtype
Attribute Description: original mail user type
Attribute Type: INTEGER ENUM /
  { 0=Local/pop, 1=Secure Pop, 2=IMAP, 3=Secure IMAP }, /
Default Value: 0
Enter Attribute Value ( to use default): 
 
#:
 
 

You can also enter the command as a single line, specifying all attribute values as follows: 

# sysman -cli -add row -comp mailusradm -group mailusers /
  -data "{davisB} {1} {2} {0} {0} {pls_chg} {1}"

1.8    The SysMan Station

The SysMan Station enables you to monitor a system, group of systems, or an entire cluster and administer system resources. You can also launch the SysMan Menu or invoke utilities directly from the Tools menu, or by selecting the icon representing a system component, and pressing MB3 to display a menu of options that apply to the selected device. Unlike the SysMan Menu, the SysMan Station is a highly graphical interface, and can only run in a windowing user environment such as CDE or Microsoft Windows.

Note

You can only connect between compatible server and client versions of the SysMan Station. If you attempt a connection to an incompatible server, you will see an error message or dialog similar to the following: 

System Management Server on host host name running version N,
This client running incompatible version N

Upgrade your client software to the appropriate version by downloading it from the server as described in Section 1.9.2.

This section provides a brief introduction to the main features of the SysMan Station, including customized views. For more information, refer to the online help.

To start the SysMan Station fom CDE:

  1. Log in as root and use the SysMan Station icon from the CDE Front Panel or from the SysMan Applications sub-panel. (This assumes the default CDE configuration, where the SysMan Station icon appears on the Front Panel under the SysMan Applications sub-panel.)

  2. Choose the SysMan Station icon from the System Management group in the Application Manager.

To start SysMan Station from the command prompt, enter: 


#sysman -station

After invoking SysMan Station, you will be connected to the local host. The main SysMan Station window appears similar to the example shown in Figure 1-7, except that the default display shows the Filesystems..., Network..., and Storage... options that can be monitored. These options are referred to as attention groups.

Figure 1-7:  SysMan Station Main Window

You can obtain event data for any of these groups by moving the pointer to an attention group, and pressing MB1. A window displaying a list of events will then be displayed.

The SysMan Station is a graphical representation of the system, in a hierarchical (tree) structure. For example, in the Storage option, you can view all disks on all buses for all processors on the system. You can select a specific device to monitor, and invoke utilities to administer that device. You can also display many details (properties) of individual devices. SysMan Station also enables you to create a customized view of a system or an attention group such as storage devices. You can quickly launch your custom views and check on device status.

The main window of SysMan Station provides the following features:

1.8.1    Using SysMan Station Status Options

When you invoke the SysMan Station, the Status pane displays a large checkmark icon if the status of the attention group is normal. If the status degrades, the icon will change color, becoming a cross (X) on a red background to indicate a serious problem. These icons also enable you to instantly display any system events posted by any component in the attention group.

The default attention groups that you can monitor are:

1.8.2    Using SysMan Station Views

In the Views pane, a list of attention groups is displayed. You can select any item in the list to display a window showing the hierarchical structure of the group. The options are:

You can customize views and save them so that you only monitor those parts of the system that are most important to you, or run applications to administer the components displayed in a view. Note that when you customize a view, you have the opportunity to save it, and assign it an icon as described in Section 1.8.3.

In any of the system component screens, you can click MB1 on any component to select individual system components and expand or collapse sections of the display hierarchy. On selecting a component, MB3 displays a menu that contains one or more of the following options (depending on whether an option applies to the object that is selected):

Options are grayed out when not available.

1.8.3    Using SysMan Station Menu Options

The main window of the SysMan Station offers the following pull down menus and options, provided to enable keyboard selection rather than using a mouse:

You will be prompted to save your custom view before you exit SysMan Station. You can then assign a name and an icon to the custom view. When you next invoke SysMan Station, your custom view will be added to the Views pane.

The component views provide pull-down menus of the following options:

You will be prompted to save you custom view before you exit SysMan Station. You can then assign a name and an icon to the custom view. When you next invoke SysMan Station, your custom view will be added to the Views pane.

For information on installing the SysMan Station under Microsoft Windows, refer to Section 1.10.

1.9    Configuring and Using Insight Manager

Insight Manager is a World Wide Web-based management utility that enables you to look across a heterogeneous computing services environment and access information about any entity connected to the network. Entities are referred to as devices and can be computer systems, networked printers, or network components such as routers. You can obtain information about the configuration of systems and their components or peripherals and in some cases, perform administrative tasks on components. Using Insight Manager can facilitate other administrative tasks such as asset management, asset security, workload management, and event management. Note that Insight Manager is also used by applications to display online help when the applications are running in java mode.

1.9.1    Web Browser Requirements

Your system must have the minimum requirements noted in this section. Some software components can be downloaded and installed as documented in lated sections:

1.9.2    Setting Up Insight Manager from the SysMan Menu

The Insight Manager agent (daemon) is configured by default when you install the operating system, you do not need to start it. The agent is initialized during system startup transition to run level 3, and the initialization script is located in /sbin/rc3.d/S50insightd. This script runs the /usr/share/sysman/bin/insightd command and prints a boot-time message at the console when the agent is successfully started. (See Chapter 3 for an explanation of run levels.)

The SNMPD agents, /usr/sbin/os_mibs and /usr/sbin/cpq_mibs, are also invoked during transition to run level 3 and are invoked by the /sbin/rc.3d/S49snmpd script. To test that the system is properly configured, enter the following commands 

#  ps agx | grep insight
   487 ??       S        0:35.63 /usr/share/sysman/bin/insightd
# ps agx | grep cpq
   466 ??       S        0:00.36 /usr/sbin/cpq_mibs
# ps agx | grep os_mibs
   468 ??       S        0:00.36 /usr/sbin/os_mibs

If you do not wish to have the Insight Manager Web Agent enabled by default, you can configure its default setting through the SysMan Menu as follows.

Invoke the SysMan Menu as described in Section 1.6. and expand the Monitoring and Tuning branch to display the Set Up Insight Manager task and launch the set up utility. To set up Insight Manager, complete the setup window options as follows:

  1. Enable Insight Manager - Check this box to enable access to the Insight Manager agents. This option enables or denies access by all users, including root.

  2. Administrator Password and Password verify - Supply a password for the administrator, who will be the root user. When Insight Manager is set up, it allows password access to be granted to other users. You can use this option to update the administrator password at any time.

  3. Enable anonymous logins to WebAgent Applications - Allows nonprivileged users to invoke Insight Manager and view details of any connected devices in the local area network although users cannot perform any operations unless authorized. There are security implications to consider when giving nonprivileged users access to Insight Manager.

You can also run the setup utility from the command line as follows: 

# /usr/sbin/sysman imconfig

1.9.3    Insight Manager Concepts

As a Web-based utility, Insight Manager is independent of operating environments. This method of administering a computing environment is known as Web-based management (WBEM). At the current level of implementation, some Insight Manager features are fully implemented in some operating environments, but are not yet implemented in others. This means that you can use all features of Insight Manager on Windows NT systems, but you cannot use certain features on UNIX.

In its present implementation, Insight Manager provides a consistent wrapper for SysMan and other UNIX-based utilities, enabling you to manage supported systems from a Web browser. On a PC or server running Windows NT you can both view details of devices and invoke administrative tasks. On a UNIX system, you can use Insight Manager to view details of devices, but you must invoke the UNIX SysMan Menu or SysMan Station to perform administrative tasks.

Note that other operating environments and platforms are supported. Only Windows NT on PC platforms is considered here, to give you an idea of the restrictions as they apply in an environment where PC clients are served by UNIX servers. In future, all administrative tasks will be fully integrated and provide seamless WBEM administration regardless of hardware platform or operating environment. At present, Insight Manager protocols are able to communicate between the following operating environments in addition to UNIX:

The main server component of Insight Manager is Insight Manager XE, which provides full administrative services for Windows NT. XE can communicate with any other device in the local area network or domain that is running the Insight Manager agent. In the context of Insight Manager, a device is any entity connected to the network. It can be a computer system with all its peripheral devices, a networked printer, or a router. Any network entity that has an address, and can run the Insight Manager agents is a device that can communicate with the XE server, although some devices may require additional hardware.

To be manageable through WBEM, a device must have some form of operating environment that is recognized by Insight Manager. The operating environment must be capable of communicating device information to the WBEM network, and also of receiving and executing instructions sent from other (authorized) devices in the WBEM network. The operating environments must be able to run Insight Manager agents which communicate with each other using a standard protocol. Devices, and their operating environments, are able to provide information about hardware and software status using a data model, such as the Common Information Model (CIM) or a Management Information Base (MIB) and Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). These can be thought of as a database of objects, with attributes and values, representing the manageable components of a device. There are industry standard MIBs and proprietary MIBs. Insight Manager uses its standard protocol to poll a device for such data, and present it to the user in a consistent format, no matter how different the database. It is this standard protocol that puts a consistent wrapper around the device data that can be obtained (or manipulated).

In an environment consisting of client PCs and UNIX or Windows NT servers, you can use Insight Manager as your common interface to administrative tasks. For example, as an authorized (root) user working at your PC, you can invoke Insight Manager to view the general system status of an AlphaServer running UNIX, then invoke SysMan Station to check the specific status of a peripheral such as the status of file systems on a disk. You can also launch a SysMan Menu task to perform operations on that file system.

From the same browser page, you can then respond to a status warning from a Windows NT server and (if the XE agent is running at your site) perform troubleshooting operations. For example, in a heterogeneous computing environment, devices can run many different operating systems with vastly different disk and file management systems, such as AdvFS on UNIX and the FAT or NTFS file system on Windows NT. What an administrator may need to know is how much space is available on disks, so file systems can be serviced before they run out of space. Insight Manager enables you to monitor all such data at a single point, and can (in some cases) be used to initiate corrective actions.

You use Insight Manager by connecting your Web browser to a port on any system in the local area network that is running the Insight Manager agents. For example, if you have a UNIX system with the host name and address of trout.cu.da.com, you type the following URL in the Location (or address) field of the browser as follows: 

HTTP://trout.cu.da.com:2301
 

You can also specify the TCP/IP address, such as 20.111.333.10 in place of the host name and address. Once you have connected to a system, you can view the local system, status, or select other hosts on the local network. You can also connect to another host simply by selecting its address from the list of local devices.

Two devices have special status on a WBEM network:

A feature of Insight Manager is auto-discovery. Any Insight Manager agent can discover any other Insight Manager agent in the local network domain. You can configure a system so that it does not participate as a master or participate in auto-discovery, as described in Section 1.9.4.

A summary of the requirements for UNIX systems in a WBEM environment is as follows:

1.9.4    Using Insight Manager

When Insight Manager is configured, you can also connect to the Insight Manager Web agents of any system in the local network domain that is running the Insight Manager agents. For example, to connect to the local host on a UNIX system, invoke Netscape and specify the following URL in the Location field: 

http://<host>:2301
 

Where <host> is either the fully qualified network name of the system, such as bender.fut.ram.ma, or the TCP/IP address such as 111.22.333.11. The port is always :2301, unless you are connecting to the XE Agent, in which case it is 280.

If the connection succeeds, you will see the Insight Manager Web-based Management device home page. This page provides links to other pages both in text format, and as icons. Move the pointer to an item and press MB1 to invoke a link. Note that the UNIX device homepage, and the links from it will differ in content from the home page on other systems, such as a PC running Windows NT. You can always navigate back to one of the following three pages from any Insight Manager page:

The following links are available from the Device Home page:

For more detailed information on any Insight Manager Web page, consult the online help by selecting the question mark (?) icon.

1.9.5    Using the Insight Management Agents Page

The Insight Management Agents page provides detailed information on the status of a device, its operating system, and any components that can be seen by the Insight Manager agent. If the device is a computer, a component can be a mass storage peripheral, such as a hard disk. This Web page is divided into three frames as follows:

1.10    Using SysMan on a Personal Computer

From Insight Manager, you can install the SysMan Station client and create a launch point for the SysMan Menu in the user environment running on a personal computer. This feature supports Microsoft Windows, MacOS, and Linux. Full information on this feature, together with a download address for the required software, is provided in a Web page available from the UNIX system. This page is located at http://<host>:2301/sysman/index.html, where <host> is the host name and address or the TCP/IP address. The process is as follows:

  1. On the UNIX system, use the Netscape Web browser to launch the .../sysman/index.html page. A link to this page is provided on the default UNIX home page, under the heading System Management. Scroll down to the section titled "Managing UNIX from a PC".

    Check the requirements and restrictions, noting any requirements for your client system, and download the requisite software. For example, you must be using the Internet Explorer Web browser on the client system.

  2. If it is not already installed on your client system, select the Web page options to download the software kits for the Java run-time environment and the SysMan Station client.

  3. You are prompted to either save the kits to a location on your client system, or run them directly. The latter option begins installation and configuration of the software, using the typical Windows installation process. For example, you are prompted for a location for the installed software.

  4. When the installation process is complete, click on the Start button and select Programs. The SysMan Station and SysMan Menu are listed as Java applications on the Programs menu. Select either icon to launch the required application.

  5. When you launch either application, a dialog box is displayed, giving you the following connect options:

    When you press OK, the application window opens (the time to start up depends on the current network speed and traffic). You can then use the SysMan Station or SysMan Menu as described in preceding sections.

1.11    Setting Up a Serial Line Console

You can manage remote systems through a modem connection. A serial line console enables you to connect a local terminal to the remote system console through modems attached to your local system and to the communications port COMM1 of the remote system. The local system can be any terminal or terminal emulation device that enables a modem connection such as a dumb terminal, an X terminal window, or a personal computer (PC). To perform administrative tasks, you must be able to log in as root (or an account with administration privileges).

This connection is referred to as the console port. The terminal connection supports a limited set of communication rates up to 57,600, depending on the console firmware supported by your processor. Currently, this feature is only available on systems that support modems as console devices, such as the AlphaServer 1000A. Consult your system hardware documentation to find out if your system has such capabilities.

The console port enables you to do the following:

Note that running the Environment Configuration Utility (ECU) on the remote system will cause the modem to disconnect. For this reason, you should use the ECU to complete any environment configuration before setting up and using a modem as a console device.

1.11.1    Setting Up a Console Port

The following sections provide an overview of the steps required to set up a serial line console port and set up the remote modem for dial-in. It is assumed that your local (dial-out) modem is already installed and configured for use.

1.11.1.1    Connecting the Modem to COMM1

The CONSOLE environment variable on the remote system should be set to serial.

Refer the hardware documents supplied with your modem for connecting the modem to your system. Consult the modem(7) reference page to obtain the correct modem settings and for instructions on how to create the appropriate system file entries. In particular, the cons entry in /etc/inittab file should be modified so that the getty or uugetty process sets up the COMM port correctly. This line is similar to the following example: 


cons:1234:respawn:/usr/sbin/getty console console vt100   
 

This line should be changed as follows if you are using a modem set to run at a baud rate of 38,400 as a console device: 


cons:1234:respawn:/usr/sbin/getty console M38400 vt100   
 

1.11.1.2    Setting the Configurable DCD Timer Value

The serial driver has been modified to allow the Carrier Detect (DCD) timeout value to be configurable. The default value for this timer is 2 seconds, which is in accordance with the DEC STD-052 standard and is acceptable for most modems. This timer is used to determine how long the driver must wait when the DCD signal drops, before declaring the line disconnected and dropping the DTR and RTS signals. Some modems expect DTR to drop in a shorter time interval, so refer to your modem documentation to verify the interval.

The timer can be modified via the /etc/sysconfigtab file or the sysconfig command to set the timer to 0 (no timeout period), 1, or 2 seconds. To set the timer via the /etc/sysconfigtab file, edit the file and include the following: 

ace:      
  dcd_timer=n

Where n = 0, 1, or 2

The syntax for modifying the timer via the sysconfig command is as follows: 

# sysconfig -r ace dcd_timer=n

Where n = 0, 1, or 2

Note that by modifying the value with the sysconfig command, the setting is lost when the system is rebooted. To preserve the setting across reboots, edit the /etc/sysconfigtab file.

1.11.1.3    Setting the Console Environment Variables

The COM1_MODEM, COM1_FLOW, and COM1_BAUD console environment variable settings must be equivalent to the getty or uugetty settings used when you created your system file entries for the modem.

Consult your hardware documentation for information on how to set the console environment variables. Typically, the variables are set when the system is shut down and in console mode, as shown in the following example: 

>>> set COM1_MODEM ON
>>> set COM1_FLOW SOFTWARE
>>> set COM1_BAUD 9600  
 

Valid settings are as follows:

Note that if you change the baud rate, flow control, or modem setting (for example, using the getty command), the change will be propagated down to the console level and the environment variables will change automatically.

1.11.1.4    Verifying the Modem Setup

Dial the remote system and obtain a login prompt or console prompt, if the system is not booted. Log out or disconnect and ensure that the line hangs up correctly. Dial in again to ensure that you can reconnect.

1.11.2    Initiating a Console Port Connection

You can initiate a connection between the local and remote systems by different methods. A tip, kermit, or cu connection can be initiated from a terminal or X-terminal window or you can use a PC-based terminal emulator.

For example, use the tip command as follows: 

# tip [telephone number]
# tip cons

Where telephone_number is the telephone number of the remote system, including any prefixes for outside lines and long-distance codes. The second line is an example of an entry in the /etc/remote file, which you can use to specify details of remote systems and tip settings.

Once you have initiated the dial-out command, and the two modems have established a connection, the word connect is displayed on your local terminal window. Press the Return key and the console prompt (>>>) or the login: prompt will be displayed.

See the tip(1) reference page for more information.

1.11.2.1    Using the Console Port

Once you have access to the system and are logged in to a privileged account, you can perform any of the administration tasks described in this volume that do not require access to a graphical user interface, such as using commands and running utilities. Note that the following features may be useful for remote administration:

1.11.2.1.1    Turning Off Console Log Messages

The syslogd daemon now has an internal switch to disable and enable messages to the console. This feature is invoked by the -s flag on the syslogd command line, or by running the following command: 

# /usr/sbin/syslog

See the syslog(1) reference page.

1.11.2.1.2    Shutting Down the Remote System

When you shut down the remote system, the modem connection will be dropped. To avoid this, use the following command before you shut down the system: 

# stty -hupcl

See the stty(1) reference page for more information.

When the shutdown is complete, you will still have access to the console prompt.

1.11.2.1.3    Ending a Remote Session

To end a remote session from the operating system shell prompt, type [Ctrl/d] to log out and terminate the remote session. Otherwise, type [+++] to put the modem into local command level, and type [ATH] followed by the Return key to hang up the connection.

1.11.3    Troubleshooting

If you have problems setting up your systems and connecting, check the set up as follows: