Getting Started with HP Systems Insight Manager 7.0 or Greater in a Smaller Windows Environment

Systems Insight Manager basics

Product architecture

Systems Insight Manager is a simple distributed architecture comprising three types of systems: a

central management server (CMS), managed systems, and network clients. Authorized users can

access the CMS through a web browser GUI from any network client running Internet Explorer or

Mozilla Firefox. Systems Insight Manager also provides a command line interface (CLI) to enable

scripted operations.

Central management server

Each management domain has a single CMS. The CMS runs the Systems Insight Manager software

and initiates all central operations within the domain. The CMS can be a Windows, HP-UX, or Linux

machine. However, this paper is intended for users who install Systems Insight Manager software on

a Windows system. The CMS can be a server or a desktop PC that meets the hardware requirements

specified in Installation overview and requirements in a Windows environment.

Systems Insight Manager uses a database to store management domain information, including

authorizations, systems, users, and more. Systems Insight Manager in a Windows environment

supports SQL Express 2008, Microsoft SQL 2008, and Oracle databases. SQL Server 2008 Express

Edition Service Pack 2 ships with Systems Insight Manager and supports an environment of up to 500

managed servers and storage devices. You do not need a Microsoft SQL server license to use SQL

Express Edition.

Browsing into Systems Insight Manager

Systems Insight Manager has a web-based interface. You can access Systems Insight Manager by

opening a supported web browser and entering the following into the address bar:

https://<systemname>:50000

The first time you log in to SIM, the credentials are the operating credentials of the user that installed

Systems Insight Manager.

Managed systems

A managed system is any system in the management domain that communicates with the CMS.

Managed systems can include servers, desktops, workstations, storage, printers, laptops, hubs,

storage systems, SANs, management processors, or routers with an IP address. To get the full

capabilities from Systems Insight Manager, ProLiant servers must have one or more management

agents installed. You can install the ProLiant Windows management agents onto ProLiant PL300 series

servers and above directly from Systems Insight Manager (see Configuring the managed system

software using the Configure or Repair Agents feature from the CMS). ProLiant 100 series servers and

non-HP platforms can be managed using standards-based management protocols such as Windows

Management Instrumentation (WMI) and SNMP. HP storage arrays and infrastructure and non-HP

storage arrays are managed using standards-based management protocols such as SNMP, SMI-S

(Storage Management Initiative Specification) and WBEM (Web-Based Enterprise Management.)

Network clients

You can access Systems Insight Manager from any network client. The network client can be part of

the management domain and must be running a compatible browser to access the GUI or an SSH

client application to securely access the CLI.