Getting started with HP Systems Insight Manager 6.0 or greater in a smaller Windows environment

4
numbers, and operating system
,
as well as enable him to track
central
ly
and update server BIOS,
firmware, and agents. With the addition of the
HP Insight Vulnerability and Patch Manager software
,
he can even scan systems for security vulnerabilities, update operating system and application
patches, and ensure that patches r
emain installed on the systems.
Example 2
Wilma is an IT administrator in a small department within a large enterprise. She is responsible for
managing the 20 Windows
®
servers and
one
storage array in her local environment. She
understands the benefits of
Systems Insight Manager
for the larger IT environment, but she thinks that
it might be too complex and expensive for her small department.
S
he prefers to use the old Windows
console even though she knows that it does not support the newest ProLiant server
s.
Systems Insight
Manager
can be installed on a desktop running Microsoft Windows XP Professional, and she can use
Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine (MSDE) as her database. MSDE ships with
Systems Insight
Manager
at no additional charge and can be insta
lled with
Systems Insight Manager
. Because
Systems Insight Manager
is browser
-
based, Wilma is not tied to her Windows management console
to get information on her servers and storage. She can sign in from any machine on the network and
get secure access to
her systems.
E
ven if
Wilma
is out of the office, she can still manage her servers
and storage.
She can also
eas
ily
update
Systems Insight Manager
. Instead of having to install a new
console with every agent release, she only has to update event definition
s in the console. She will
save time and increase her efficiency as she learns how to make the best use of
Systems Insight
Manager
features for updating her system software, running regular inventory reports, and more.
Systems Insight Manager
basics
Produc
t 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 n
etwork 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 Insi
ght 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 ser
ver 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
autho
rizations, systems, users, and more.
Systems Insight Manager
in a Windows environment
supports
SQL Express 200
8
Microsoft SQL 200
8
, and Oracle databases.
SQL Server
2008
Express
Edition Service Pack 2
ship
s
with
Systems Insight Manager
and is support
s
an e
nvironment 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 installe
d
Systems Insight Manager
.