Understanding HP SIM 5.1 and 5.2 security (481362-003, January 2009)

Overview
This document is provided as an overview of the security features available in the HP Systems Insight
Manager (HP SIM) framework. More detailed documentation can be found in the HP Systems Insight
Manager Technical Reference Guide.
Architecture overview
HP SIM runs on a central management server (CMS) and communicates with managed systems using
various protocols. The customer can browse to the CMS or directly to the managed system.
Figure 1. Architecture overview
Communication protocols
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
SNMP v1 is one of the primary protocols used to gather data about systems. SNMP traps are used to
notify HP SIM of status changes or other events on a system. SNMP is not a guaranteed protocol;
there are no assurances that any request, response, or trap will reach its destination. SNMP security is
limited to a clear-text community string included with the request, similar to a password. SNMP data is
not encrypted, so the entire payload can be easily snooped on the network.
The operating system of the managed system may provide additional security capabilities for SNMP
such as IP address restrictions for valid requests.
Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
HTTP is another primary protocol used to acquire data about managed systems during identification.
HTTP is not a secure protocol and can be easily viewed on the network. The secure version of HTTP is
called HTTPS and is described later.
Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM)
WBEM is another protocol used to acquire data about managed systems. It is primarily XML over
HTTP or HTTPS.