Active System Manager User Guide Release 7.
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Contents About This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix Intended Audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-34 Chapter 2: Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Active System Manager Client Application Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Building a Standard Active System Manager Inventory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2 Configuring Discovery Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3 Running Discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Importing Validated Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Exporting Connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing Resource Pools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Working with Resource Adapters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-16 Opening the Resource Adapters View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-17 Opening the Resource Adapter Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-18 Overview . . .
Updating Templates Using the Link Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Common Features of the Link Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Switching to the Link Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Authoring Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Archiving Sessions Using the Session Archive Bin View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-43 Restoring Archived Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-43 Working with Archive Bin Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-44 Supporting Layer 2 Switching . . . . . . . . . . .
Setting Preferences for Script Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-2 Starting a Test Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-3 Viewing Test Case Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Updating Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-13 Importing Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-13 Exporting Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10 Active System Manager User Guide, Release 7.
About This Guide This guide describes the Dell™ Active System Manager product, which provides an integrated set of tools and services to automate environment infrastructure and streamline the new equipment verification and qualification process. This guide provides information needed to maintain and support the hardware and software environment of the Active System Manager product, and describes the architecture and operations of the Active System Manager product.
Intended Audience Intended Audience This guide is intended for system and network administrators who are responsible for managing an environment with the Active System Manager software, and should be familiar with the following concepts: • Basic principles and use of the Active System Manager product • Inventory and change management • UNIX operating system and common UNIX commands • Physical environment (layout, connectivity, inventory) • Oracle database administration • Licensing concepts •
Organization • Chapter 6, “Using Inventory” Describes the Active System Manager Inventory perspective and all of the functions available for using your inventory. • Chapter 7, “Repository Management” Describes the Active System Manager Inventory perspective and all of the functions available for you to manage repositories and Resource Adapters.
Conventions Conventions This guide uses special conventions for the following elements: • Notes • Syntax Conventions • Administrator Role Icon Notes Notes and caution statements provide special information. Their appearance and usage is as follows: Note Indicates information that emphasizes or supplements the main text. A note supplies information that may apply only in special cases; for example, memory limitations or equipment configurations.
Documentation Lineup Administrator Role Icon For administrator only tasks, the administrator icon is used to identify that sole role. For non-administrator tasks, no icon is used.
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Chapter 1 Active System Manager Overview The Active System Manager solution sits at the center of the Active System, and simplifies infrastructure configuration, collapses management tools, and drives automation and consistency.
The Active System Manager, enhances the functionality of Active System Manager by providing a more complete, end-to-end automation solution for both physical and virtual resources. The software enables a cloud like environment, and support pre-built provisioning templates and custom orchestrated workflows for a wide range of physical or virtual environments. It offers the ability to: • Enhance the discovery and inventory of all components across multiple Active Systems.
Active System Manager User Roles Active System Manager supports two different roles: users and administrators. Roles are associated to a user profile; for more information, see Chapter 4, “User Profile Management.” Each role comes with a specific set of built-in permissions. Those permissions are not configurable contrary to those that you can set in the user profile. The administrator has more access to a larger set of functionality within the Active System Manager system.
Table 1-2 Active System Manager Administrator Tasks (continued) Task Description Managing inventory The Active System Manager administrator is responsible for building and managing the environment’s resource inventory, which includes the various general resource types within your environment, as well as specific instances that require a particular configuration for a particular piece of network equipment.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Active System Manager User Interface Elements The Active System Manager user interface elements contains the following: • Active System Manager Software Menu Options • Perspectives • Views • Editors • Preferences • Icons Active System Manager Software Menu Options Table 1-3 lists and describes the available Active System Manager software menu options.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Table 1-3 Active System Manager Menu Options (continued) Menu Description Reports Allows you to perform all of the functions to create and print reports for your inventory (in alphabetical order, not functional order): • • • • • • Control Equipment Summary Report Custom Reports Detailed Session Report Group Management Report* Inventory Link Detail Report Managed Equipment Detail Report • • • • Managed Equipment Summary Report User Management Report* Ser
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Table 1-4 Tasks for Each Perspective (continued) Perspective Preferred Task Chapter Reference Test Controls the layout of the user interface the Active System Manager software uses to display information for your test cases, including which views are displayed and their positions within the Active System Manager software.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Navigating Perspectives You can use the standard procedure to open a perspective, but if you are in a working state and want to work with an existing perspective, you can navigate to a previous or next perspective. To do so, perform one of the following tasks: • On the Active System Manager menu bar, click Window > Navigation > Next Perspective. • On the Active System Manager menu bar, click Window > Navigation > Previous Perspective.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements 5. Click the Command Groups Availability tab and select the command groups that you want the Active System Manager software to add to the perspective. 6. Click the Toolbar Visibility tab to organize how you want to view the Active System Manager toolbar options. 7. Click the Menu Visibility tab to control which menu options to display on the Active System Manager menu bar. Note These tab options control the visibility of the menu items in the left panel.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Closing One or All Perspectives To close a perspective (or all perspectives), select one of the following methods: • On the Active System Manager menu bar, click Window > Close Perspective or click Window > Close All Perspectives. • On the Active System Manager toolbar, select a perspective, right-click and select Close. Deleting Perspectives To delete a perspective, perform the following steps: 1.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Table 1-5 Views Associated with Perspectives Perspectives Inventory Provisioning Template Session Test Default Views • Resource Types • Resource Instances • Operation Center • Outline • Properties • • • • Resource Adapters File Server Source Control Software Repository • • • • • • Components Templates Resource Types Resource Instances Properties Outline • • • • • Sessions Execution Queue Templates Properties Outline • • • • • Sessions Execution Q
Active System Manager User Interface Elements To open a pop-up menu that allows you to perform operations (such as filtering, grouping, creating a new view, expanding or collapsing the view), right-click any resource in a navigator view and select the menu that best suits your needs. For more information about opening views, see the “Opening Navigator Views” section on page 1-16.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Creating a Filter Creating a filter is a two-step process: creating a filter and then adding rules to the filter. To create a filter, perform the following steps: 1. Click the Filters icon within the top-right toolbar area of the perspective or view. The Filters dialog box displays an example from the Session perspective—Template view; see Figure 1-2. Each perspective has their own unique display. Figure 1-2 Filters Dialog Box 2.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements 3. Select a property and an operator. The list of operators will change based on the property type. The parameters available in the Property field vary, depending on what dialog box you access. 4. Set a value. The Value field contains any text string or numeric value that you want to filter. 5. Press Ctrl+Spacebar to view the available data in the database. 6. Repeat step 1 to step 5, as needed. Table 1-6 describes the values for each filter rule.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Deleting Rules and Filters To delete a filter or rule, select the associated rule or filter, and click Delete. Note You can only select more than one rule to delete; however, you can only select one filter at a time to delete. Grouping The Group By function allows you to modify the way entries, such as resource types or resource instances, are presented in the navigator pane, or to group entries, based on various properties.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Opening Navigator Views To open a navigator view, on the Active System Manager menu bar, click Window > Show View and select one of the views. For a list of all available views by perspective, see Table 1-5 on page 1-11.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Figure 1-4 Resource Instances View—New View Menu Down-arrow icon New View menu 2. Click New View to display the new view on the same view toolbar as the original. You can drag the new view to any part of the user interface. 3. Add any filtering, grouping, or sorting to the new view. 4. On the Active System Manager menu bar, click Window > Save Perspective As to save the perspective. 5.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Editors Review the following tasks for using editors: • Opening Files for Editing • Activating Editors • Modifying Editor Preferences • Tiling Editors • Changing the Tab Placement for Editors • Maximizing, Minimizing, or Restoring the Editor Workspace • Navigating Editors • Using Multi-Editor Functions • Context Menu Options Using Right-Mouse Click An editor is a pane that modifies data or objects.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Opening Files for Editing You can open an editor for a given file in one of two ways: • Right-click the file in one of the navigator views and select Open. • Double-click the file in one of the navigator views. Either option opens the file in the default editor for that file type. To open a file in a different editor, select Open With from the file’s pop-up menu.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Tiling Editors By default, editors are stacked in the editor area, but you can choose to tile them to view source files simultaneously. The Active System Manager application allows you to have multiple files open in multiple editors. Unlike views, editors cannot be dragged outside the application to create new windows. However, you can tile editor sessions, to view source files side by side. To do so, perform the following steps: 1.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Maximizing, Minimizing, or Restoring the Editor Workspace To maximize or minimize the editor workspace, perform one of the following options: • In the editor workspace, click the Maximize icon; or, on the Active System Manager menu bar, click Window > Navigation > Maximize Active View or Editor. To restore it back to its original view, click the Minimize icon.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements 3. Delete content from the database, by highlighting records and selecting either Edit > Delete, using the Delete option on the right-click menu, or pressing the Delete or Backspace key. Note You must resolve any existing dependencies before you delete the record. 4. Save your changes to the database, either by selecting File > Save, or right-clicking and then selecting Save. 5. Optional.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Pasting Functions The multi-editor supports the cut, copy, and paste functionality of a Windows clipboard, but there are several restrictions for the Paste function: • The most common restriction is that if an entire record has been copied to the clipboard, the first column must be selected before the Paste option can function.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Sometimes you need to enter dummy values for the read-only columns. When working with text programs, such as Notepad or Word, each value must be separated by tabs. Figure 1-9 display the “ReadOnly” string bracketed by tabs. When this text is pasted into the multi-editor, the “ReadOnly” values are discarded and the other values are pasted into the proper columns.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Figure 1-11 Fill > Down Option Example After Before The Fill > Series option creates field values based on the difference between the numeric values in the first two fields. For example, if “Name00” is in the first record and “Name05” is in the second record, the subsequent records are called “Name10”, “Name15”, “Name20”, and so on; see Figure 1-12.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Figure 1-14 Fill > Series Option Example 3 Note The Fill > Series option only works from the top of the selection to the bottom. To use this option going upwards: 1) switch the sort order to force the column to list in descending order, 2) create the values, and 3) then switch back to ascending order. Context Menu Options Using Right-Mouse Click Most of the functionality of the multi-editor is accessed through the right-click menu.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Table 1-7 Context Menu Options Using Right-Mouse Click (continued) Menu Description Insert Multiple Works similarly to the Insert Before and Insert After options. It prompts you for the number of records you want to create, and then copies the Manufacturer value of the currently selected content. Note: There is a Insert After check box. If this is enabled, the records are inserted below the current selection; if it is turned off, they are inserted above.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Figure 1-15 Preferences Dialog Box (Default) Table 1-8 describes the parameters you can configure for your user preferences, by preference type. The last column provides a figure reference, where you can view the dialog box and read how to configure the preference type setting.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Table 1-8 Preference Types—Configurable Parameters (continued) Preference Type Configurable Parameters and Description Reference General • Single click (open when using arrow keys)—Selecting a resource with the arrow keys opens it in an editor. Note: Depending on which view has focus, selecting and opening a resource may have different behavior. This preference may not take affect on all views.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Table 1-8 Preference Types—Configurable Parameters (continued) Preference Type Configurable Parameters and Description Reference General > Editors • Size of recently opened files list—For each file that is opened in an editor, it is stored in a list of recently used files. This option controls the number of files that display in this list at the bottom of the File menu. The default value is 4.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Table 1-8 Preference Types—Configurable Parameters (continued) Preference Type Configurable Parameters and Description Reference Help Open Modes—Specifies how information is displayed: • The Use External Browser check box allows you to select a web browser for this option. The default web browser for your operating system is used for displaying the help contents.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Table 1-8 Preference Types—Configurable Parameters (continued) Preference Type Configurable Parameters and Description Reference Scheduler • Scheduler Wizard—Allows you to set the following wizard options: • Show advanced scheduling options page during scheduling or rescheduling operations. • Show provisioning sequencing options page during scheduling or rescheduling operations.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Table 1-8 Preference Types—Configurable Parameters (continued) Preference Type Configurable Parameters and Description Reference Scheduler > Advanced Scheduling General Tab Assigns default ownership. Administrator task only.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Icons The main Active System Manager toolbar provides shortcuts for commonly used menu commands, including: • File > New • File > Save • File > Print • Navigate > Back • Navigate > Forward • Search Figure 1-16 displays the Active System Manager toolbar and its icons; see Table 1-9 for icon descriptions.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Table 1-10 displays the Active System Manager application icons found in views and editors. This table organizes the icons by the default perspective they appear in and the window type where you can find the icon.
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Table 1-10 Active System Manager Application Icons (continued) Icon Icon Name Default Perspective Window Type Group By Inventory, Test, Session, Template Views Interface Category Inventory Views/Editors Interface Ghost Inventory Views Interface Type Inventory Views/Editors Inventory Parameters Inventory Editors Links Inventory, Template Views/Editors Power Supply Inventory Views Relationship Inventory Views/Editors Report Reporting
Active System Manager User Interface Elements Table 1-11 Icon Icon Overlays (continued) Description Preferred Perspective Window Type Deadlock Inventory Views Delete/Remove Inventory Editors Dirty Inventory Editors Future State Inventory/Session Views Past State Inventory/Session Views Invalid Interface Inventory Editors/Views Running State Session Views Interface Inactive Inventory Editors Invalid Resource Inventory Editors Warning Inventory Views/Editors Active System M
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Chapter 2 Getting Started This chapter provides the basic information you need to install, configure, launch, and uninstall the Dell™ Active System Manager client software. It also describes how to connect to the Active System Manager server and verify the connection status.
Installing the Active System Manager Client Software Installing the Active System Manager Client Software on a Windows OS Note This procedure describes only how to install the Active System Manager software. To upgrade your Active System Manager client software, you must first uninstall the current version and then install the new version.
Installing the Active System Manager Client Software Troubleshooting Active System Manager License Error Messages This section describes the following Active System Manager software license-related errors that you may encounter, along with suggested actions: • License file doesn’t exist in the lux/etc folder • Active System Manager license has expired • Active System Manager application is deployed on un-licensed host machine • Active System Manager application is deployed on un-licensed IP address
Launching the Active System Manager Client Software on Windows Launching the Active System Manager Client Software on Windows To launch the Active System Manager client software on Windows, perform the following steps: 1. Select one of the following two options to launch the software: • The first time you install the software (at the end of the installation process); after that, you launch the software from your desktop. • On your desktop, click Start > All Programs > Dell > Active System Manager 7.0.
Launching the Active System Manager Client Software on Windows Figure 2-2 Connect to Active System Manager Server Dialog Box 2. Connect to the Active System Manager server; see the “Connecting to the Active System Manager Server” section on page 2-6. If you are logged on as an administrator, the Select Login Profile User dialog box displays; see Figure 2-3. Figure 2-3 Login Profile 3. Click OK to display the Active System Manager home page.
Connecting to the Active System Manager Server Figure 2-4 Active System Manager Home Page Connecting to the Active System Manager Server To successfully establish a working environment session, you must connect to the Active System Manager server by one of two ways; you cannot work offline: • Connecting to the Active System Manager Server for the First Time • Connecting to the Active System Manager Server After Account Setup • Verifying the Connection Status Connecting to the Active System Manager S
Connecting to the Active System Manager Server 3. On the Connect to Active System Manager Server dialog box (see Figure 2-2 on page 2-5), create a new server account. 4. Click OK to connect to the server. If your server must load a very large inventory database, a dialog box may appear that displays the progress. You have the options of canceling the connection attempt, or running it in the background. Also, you can display the loading process details by clicking Details.
Connecting to the Active System Manager Server Verifying the Connection Status When you launch the Active System Manager software, it requires you to connect to the server, to successfully establish a working environment session. To verify the connection status, perform the following steps: 1. Launch the Active System Manager software; see the “Launching the Active System Manager Client Software on Windows” section on page 2-4. The Welcome page displays the first time you log on.
Uninstalling the Active System Manager Client Software Uninstalling the Active System Manager Client Software This section describes the uninstallation procedures for removing the Active System Manager client software from a Windows workstation. To uninstall the Active System Manager client software on a Windows workstation, perform the following steps: 1. Click Start > All Programs > Dell > Active System Manager > Uninstall Active System Manager 7.0.
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Chapter 3 Account Management This chapter defines how to set up one or more Active System Manager server accounts and to switch between a number of Active System Manager servers. Creating New Server Accounts After launching the Active System Manager client software, you can create or add one or more server accounts, by performing the following steps: 1. Launch the Active System Manager client software; see the “Launching the Active System Manager Client Software on Windows” section on page 2-4.
Creating New Server Accounts 2. Click Setup to display the Setting Up Accounts dialog box; see Figure 3-2. Figure 3-2 Setting Up Accounts 3. Click Add to display the Add New Account dialog box; see Figure 3-3. Figure 3-3 Add New Account 4. Enter the following values, as instructed by your Active System Manager administrator: a. Click the Account field and type the name (up to 25 characters) to associate with the server properties. b.
Creating New Server Accounts 5. Click OK to add the new account and to return to the Setting Up Accounts dialog box. The new account is listed in the List of Accounts section; for an example, see Figure 3-2 on page 3-2. To create additional accounts, repeat step 3 and step 4, which connect you to different labs (each environment has its own Active System Manager server). 6. Click Close when you have finished adding accounts.
Connecting to Server Accounts Connecting to Server Accounts Each Active System Manager server controls a environment, including equipment and scheduling. By entering more than one account, you can connect to servers on demand. This allows you to switch accounts to work with different labs. When you exit the Active System Manager client, it remembers the last account you used. Therefore, the next time you launch the Active System Manager software, it uses that account name.
Editing Server Accounts Note You may be prompted to select between different login profiles published by your administrator. The Active System Manager product launches with the login profile you selected. To modify the login profile settings, see the “Saving Your Environment as a Login Profile” section on page 4-13 and the “Deleting Login Profiles” section on page 4-14. Editing Server Accounts You can modify the properties of any of the accounts that you create.
Deleting Server Accounts Deleting Server Accounts To delete a server account, perform the following steps: 1. On the Active System Manager menu bar, click File > Connect to Server. The Connect to Active System Manager Server dialog box appear; see Figure 3-1 on page 3-1. 2. On the Connect to Active System Manager Server dialog box, click Setup. The Setting Up Accounts dialog box displays; see Figure 3-2 on page 3-2. 3. Select the account name and click Delete.
Chapter 4 User Profile Management Note This chapter describes tasks and functions that are administrator-specific. A user can have administrator privileges based on its profile role. For a list of the built-in permissions based on administrator and user roles, see Table 4-1 on page 4-19. The Active System Manager software allows you to set permissions for access to a number of privileges.
Managing Security Functions Accessing a User List To access the available user list, on the Active System Manager menu bar, click Tools > Users and Groups. The Security Management window displays with the Users tab open by default; see Figure 4-1.
Managing Security Functions Adding New Users Based on external authentication methods and repositories, the Active System Manager software now supports internal, Lightweight Directory Active Protocol (LDAP)/Active Directory (AD) users, and Network Information System (NIS) users. You should create both a profile and a set of permissions for a new user (or group). For information about permissions, see the “Defining Permissions” section on page 4-19.
Managing Security Functions 3. Configure the profile settings as appropriate: a. Click the Username field and enter a username of at least three characters. b. Click the Password field and enter a password between 6 and 25 alphanumeric characters, including spaces. c. Click the First Name field and enter a first name. d. Click the Last Name field and enter a last name. e. Click the Role field and select User or Administrator, as appropriate.
Managing Security Functions Figure 4-3 New User—Membership Tab 5. Click the Permissions tab; see Figure 4-4. Figure 4-4 New User—Permissions Tab With this feature, you can: • Sort the permissions by clicking the Name field. • Select more than one permission at a time by clicking the respective permission check boxes. • Select all permissions by clicking Select All. • Remove all permissions from a group or user by clicking Deselect All.
Managing Security Functions For more information about permissions, see the “Defining Permissions” section on page 4-19. 6. Click OK. The Security Management window adds the new user to the list of existing users. 7. Click Close to complete the procedure. Adding LDAP/AD Users Adding an LDAP/AD user remotely is performed using an import wizard. It consists of importing users from remote authentication repositories based on standards (LDAP/AD).
Managing Security Functions 3. Click the Use existing repository option, click the drop-down list, and select a repository. The User Authentication Repository dialog box displays, which lists all users in a remote repository. You can use the Show new accounts only check box to remove users that are already in the Active System Manager system, to avoid duplication. If duplicates are found, you are prompted by the Active System Manager system, as a warning. 4.
Managing Security Functions For example, if the Bind DN attribute is specified as uid=admin,ou=system and the Base DN attribute is specified as ou=system, then all of the users belonging to the ‘system’ node will be picked up by the Active System Manager repository, and will be presented to the user to import into the Active System Manager repository.
Managing Security Functions 4. Configure the following connection settings: a. Click the Name field and enter a name for the NIS repository. b. Click the Domain field and provide an NIS domain name. c. Click the Host field and provide an NIS hostname or IP address. 5. Click Next to open the User Authentication Repository dialog box, which lists all users in a remote repository.
Managing Security Functions Copying Users Some administrators use a time-saving method for creating users by copying the users. Instead of manually configuring each new user’s permissions, the administrator can create a template user prior to the creation. This template user already has the basic groups and permissions that are common to all users. When a new user has is created, the administrator copies the template user and makes any individual modifications, as necessary.
Managing Security Functions Switching User Repositories To switch user repositories to migrate user authentication from the existing repository to a different one, perform the following steps: 1. Open the Security Management window; see the “Accessing a User List” section on page 4-2. 2. Click Switch To > repository name.
Managing Security Functions Deactivating Users To deactivate a user, perform the following steps: 1. On the Active System Manager menu bar, click Tools > Users and Groups. The Security Management window displays with the Users tab open by default; see Figure 4-1 on page 4-2. 2. Select one or more users in the table. 3. Click Deactivate > OK to confirm the deactivation operation. Deactivated users will not be allowed to log on, even if the permission to log on to their profile is set.
Managing Security Functions Saving Your Environment as a Login Profile To save your environment as a login profile, perform the following steps: 1. On the Active System Manager menu bar, click Tools > Login Profile > Save As. The Save As Login Profile dialog box displays. Note All Login profiles will be displayed as defined by all administrators of the system, along with the Default Profile available with each Active System Manager deployment. 2. Click the Name field, type the profile name, and click OK.
Managing Security Functions Figure 4-6 Security Management—Users and Groups 2. On the Users tab, select one or more (Ctrl+click) users to assign a login profile to your selection, and click Profiles. The Update Login Profiles dialog box displays. 3. Select at least one user profile and click OK. 4.
Managing Groups Managing Groups The following topics describe the procedures you follow to manage groups: • Accessing a Group List • Adding Groups • Editing Groups • Deleting Groups Accessing a Group List To access a group list, on the Active System Manager menu bar, perform the following steps: 1. Click Tools > Users and Groups. The Security Management window displays with the Users tab open by default; see Figure 4-1 on page 4-2. 2.
Managing Groups Adding Groups Groups are made up of users and groups. A group has its own set of permissions that are applied to its members. To add (or create) a new group, you add the users and administrators to who they belong. You can also add other existing groups as members of your group, and then set the permissions for that group. Groups are managed similarly to users; for example: • A group list displays all existing groups. • A group’s name, members, and permissions comprise its profile.
Managing Groups 5. Optional. Click the Specify maximum session duration constraint check box to set boundaries on the session duration. Specify the duration in day, hours, and minutes. 6. Click the Membership tab and select the users and groups to include as members of your new group. You can click to select the check box next to each user and group to include individually, or to select all users and groups, click Select All; see Figure .
Managing Groups Editing Groups To edit a group, perform the following steps: 1. Open the Security Management window; see the “Accessing a Group List” section on page 4-15. 2. From the group list, select a group to edit, and click Edit. (You can only select one group at a time to edit.) The Group [group name]—Edit Group dialog box displays with the previously entered name displayed; see Figure 4-10. Figure 4-10 Group [group name]—Edit Group 3. Optional.
Defining Permissions Deleting Groups To delete a group, perform the following steps: 1. Open the Security Management window; see the “Accessing a User List” section on page 4-2. 2. From the group list, select a group (or groups) to delete. (You can select more than one group at a time by holding down the Ctrl key and highlighting multiple groups.) The Confirm Delete dialog box displays, prompting you to confirm the deletion. 3. Click OK to delete the selected group (or groups).
Defining Permissions Table 4-1 Built-In Permissions Based on Roles (continued) Functionality Administrator Role User Role Reporting • Access to all reports • Create and execute custom reports • Access to user-based reports only • Execute custom reports Session • Access and to all sessions • Manage console access Access and manage only owned sessions, or one user is a participant Testing List and execute associated test cases List and execute test cases within owned or participant sessions Tab
Modifying Permissions Modifying Permissions The Active System Manager software allows you to set permissions for access to a number of privileges, such as making sessions, and importing and exporting files from the templates. There are three types of entities that have permissions assigned and that can be managed using the Users and Groups tabs: • Users—Can perform core Active System Manager functions, such as making sessions and working with templates.
Managing Authentication Repositories 4. Click the Permissions tab and modify the permissions settings as appropriate. For more information about permissions and the allowable functions to set or modify permissions, see the “Defining Permissions” section on page 4-19. 5. Click OK to update the permissions for your user or group (or groups).
Managing Authentication Repositories Deactivating Authentication Repositories To deactivate authentication repositories, perform the following steps: 1. On the Active System Manager menu bar, click Tools > Authentication Repositories. The Preferences—Security dialog box displays; see Figure 4-11 on page 4-22. 2. Select to deselect (disable) the repositories to deactivate. 3. Click Apply > OK.
Managing Authentication Repositories 4-24 Active System Manager User Guide, Release 7.
Chapter 5 Inventory Management Note This chapter describes tasks and functions that are administrator-specific. This chapter describes the Active System Manager Inventory perspective and associated tools that you use to catalog and define the equipment in your network environment. You use the Inventory perspective to manage resource types, resource instances, and connectivity to reflect the physical inventory of your environment.
Building a Standard Active System Manager Inventory Table 5-2 Reference Topics to Use for Building Inventory Basic Modeling Advanced Modeling See the “Building a Standard Active System Manager Inventory” section on page 5-2. See the “Using Resource Instances” section on page 5-19. See the “Using Resource Instances” section on page 5-19. See the “Using Resource Interface Types” section on page 5-30. See the “Using Resource Interface Types” section on page 5-30.
Configuring Discovery Setup Configuring Discovery Setup The Discovery Setup feature gathers the relevant information regarding your network equipment using domain-based information. To set up discovery domains and configure discovery parameters, perform the following steps: 1. On the Active System Manager menu bar, click Tools > Discovery > Setup. The Discovery Configuration Setup editor displays. Figure 5-1 displays an example of a preexisting setup.
Running Discovery 2. Click Add System to select your Active System type and populate the information required for each element, such as username, password, IP addresses, and so on. (Required fields are marked in red with an asterisk.) For specific details that maps your environment, refer to the Active System Manager Solution Guide. 3. Click Add vCenter and populate the information required for each element, such as username, password, IP addresses, and so on.
Running Discovery Figure 5-3 Discovery Report The report indicates failures (indicated in red) or success for each element.
Using Resource Types Using Resource Types The Active System Manager software uses resource types to model the various types of hardware resources in your environment. A resource type serves as a template for resource instances. A resource type does not see a particular piece of network hardware; it describes the basic structure of the basic model for that equipment. A single resource type can serve as the template for a variety of actual resource instances that exist in your environment.
Using Resource Types Creating a New Resource Type To create a new resource type, you may need a variety of different types of resource information, such as the resource data outlined in Table 5-4. Table 5-4 Resource Type Resource Information Resource Description Name Resource type name. Manufacturer Resource type manufacturer name. Model Resource type model name. Role A list of roles available (by category listed below). Use the appropriate role value based on your resource type.
Using Resource Types Table 5-4 Resource Type Resource Information (continued) Resource Description Properties for property-based scheduling You can define new kinds of properties as inventory parameters with the “schedulable” flag set enabled. When creating a Template in the Template perspective, you can then specify values required for those properties. The Active System Manager scheduler checks that a resource meets those requirements before allocating it in a session.
Using Resource Types Note The Active System Manager allows modeling of virtualized resourcing. Virtualized resources exist in inventory as a resource type, but virtual resource instances do not have associated resource instances in the inventory, which means that a virtual resource instance cannot be created using the traditional wizard.
Using Resource Types Figure 5-5 Import Resource Types 2. By default, the Select root directory option is enabled to allow you to manually type in the root directory location, or you can click Browse to navigate to the desired location. 3. Select the Select archive file option and type the archive file, or click Browse to navigate to the desired location. 4. In the Resource type specifications section, select a resource type, or click Select All to select all of the resource types available. 5.
Using Resource Types Figure 5-6 Save As—Clone a Resource Type 3. Once you have created a new resource type from the existing resource type, you can modify the following information: • Core properties—see the “Modifying Core Properties for Resource Types” section on page 5-12. • Interface types—see the “Adding Resource Interface Types” section on page 5-13. • Provisioning parameters—see the “Adding Provisioning Parameters” section on page 5-14.
Using Resource Types Modifying Core Properties for Resource Types The core properties data is used throughout the Active System Manager software. Adding as much information about the core properties makes it easy to create test cases and templates. To modify resource type core properties, perform the following steps: 1. In the Resource Types view, right-click a resource type and select Open to display the resource type core properties within the specified perspective.
Using Resource Types Adding Resource Interface Types Once you create a resource type, you can define the associated interface types for that resource type. For more information regarding interface types, see the “Using Resource Interface Types” section on page 5-30. To add resource interface types for your new resource type, perform the following steps: 1. In the Resource Types view, right-click a resource type and select Open. The resource type core properties display within the specified perspective. 2.
Using Resource Types Figure 5-8 Interface Type Selection 4. Select the desired interface type and click OK to update the resource type with the new interface type information. 5. Optional. If you add a new Console interface type, you can also update the Console parameters for the configuration and inventory as follows: a. Navigate to the Console section, below the Interface section for the resource type; see Figure 5-7. b. Click Add to add the desired provisioning parameters.
Using Resource Types • Click Add Configuration to add a reference to a configuration file from one of your repositories; see Chapter 7, “Repository Management.” Figure 5-9 Provisioning Parameters 3. Available on for the Add function: Modify the Name, Description, and Default Value fields as necessary. Note These parameters are case-sensitive and must be entered exactly as shown. 4. Click File > Save to save the changes to the server.
Using Resource Types Adding Inventory Parameters for Resource-Based Scheduling Inventory parameters carry specific information about each resource type. It allows for a complex customization of the resource type. To add an inventory parameter for resource scheduling, perform the following steps: 1. In the Resource Types view, right-click a resource type and select Open. The resource type core properties display within the specified perspective. 2.
Using Resource Types To define resource-level setup and teardown scripts, you must define the inventory parameters called resourceSetUpScript and resourceTearDownScript at the resource type level, and then associate a runable script with them in the resource instance. In each resource instance associated with the resource type, you can specify default values for these scripts. Note These parameters are case-sensitive and must be entered exactly as shown.
Using Resource Types Creating Custom Icons for Resource Types The Inventory perspective contains a selection of custom icons for network resources. You can create custom icon images for your resource types. The image files must be of the .GIF file type. They should not be any larger than 80 pixels wide and 80 pixels high. Each user can specify their own custom icon Library folder.
Using Resource Instances Deleting Resource Types When you delete a resource type, the Active System Manager software removes it from your workspace, and permanently deletes it from the Active System Manager server. If the resource type has any dependencies, the Active System Manager server does not delete the resource type and will display associated dependencies. To delete a resource type, perform the following steps: 1. In the Resource Types view, right-click a resource type and select Delete. 2.
Using Resource Instances Building Resource Instances You can build a resource instance by copying an existing resource instance, importing one, or creating a new one. This section describes some of the guidelines you should follow: • Analyze—Identify what interfaces, other components, properties, and attributes does the resource instance have. Compile the information into a spreadsheet for reference.
Using Resource Instances Figure 5-12 New Resource Instance 2. Select an existing resource type. To search for particular existing resource type, use the filters, grouping and sorting tools to find the existing resource types that match your criteria. 3. Click the Asset Tag, Name, and Role fields, and enter values for the selected resource. The Asset Tag value must remain unique across the entire inventory. The Role field is automatically filled with the default values based on its type. 4.
Using Resource Instances 7. Update, add, or remove interfaces and set properties using one of the following methods: • Select one or more interfaces and update manually. • Select one or more interfaces and click Add. • Select one or more interfaces and click Remove. When creating a new resource instance, the Active System Manager application will generate the minimum set of interface, as specified in the associated resource type.
Using Resource Instances Copying Resource Instances You can copy resource instances via the Inventory perspective’s Advanced Clone tool. Using the Advanced Clone tool to copy resource instances speeds the process for creating large numbers of resource instances. Based on an existing resource instance, the Inventory perspective copies the existing component and interface configuration, but does not copy any of the existing availability dates.
Using Resource Instances Copying Resource Instances Using the Advanced Clone Tool To copy a resource instance via the Advanced Clone tool, perform the following steps: 1. Open the Inventory perspective; see the “Opening Perspectives” section on page 1-7. 2. In the Resource Instances view, right-click a resource instance and select Advanced Clone to display the Advanced Clone of Resource Instance dialog box.
Using Resource Instances Modifying Core Properties for Resource Instances The information in the core properties section provides a basic description of the resource instance. Table 5-6 lists the default resource instance core properties. Table 5-6 Resource Instance Core Properties Property Name Property Description Name Name of the resource. Manufacturer (Read-only) Resource manufacturer name. Model (Read-only) Model number or name of the resource type.
Using Resource Instances Modifying Resource Instance Resource Availability Dates The resource instance requires, at least, one set of availability dates (i.e., a from and a to date). Availability dates are critical properties of the resource instance because the scheduler uses those dates to allocate the resource. To modify the resource availability, perform the following steps: 1. In the Resource Instances view, right-click a resource and select Open. 2. Scroll down to the Availability section. 3.
Using Resource Instances Figure 5-13 Resource Allocation Statistics All of the associated sessions display for each resource instance that is part of the session within the Resource Availability calendar. The associated sessions for each resource instance appear as a colored rectangular bar. You may want to check status and availability for resources by using the Resource Availability calendar with the Session view and the Resource Instances view.
Using Resource Instances Deleting Resource Instances To delete a resource instance, perform the following steps: 1. In the Resource Instances view, right-click a resource instance and select Delete. You are prompted to verify the deletion, displaying only the asset tag. 2. Click OK to confirm the deletion. If the resource is used in sessions, the update fails. You can resolve these errors by deleting the conflicting sessions.
Using Resource Instances • Select one or more session dependencies, right-click and select Quick Fix > Cancel to cancel the session. Table 5-7 describes the results. Note The Quick Fix option tries to automatically delete the conflicting issue. However, if those resources have dependencies of their own, you must resolve them first. Note The Show Previous Dependencies icon (located in the top-right corner of the Dependencies view) allows you to select which level of dependencies to view.
Using Resource Interface Types Using Resource Interface Types This section lists all the resource interface types and selected interface type compatibility available in your environment. You can add or delete interface types, and associate certain interface types together. Table 5-8 displays the fields associated with resource interface types. Table 5-8 Resource Interface Type Fields Field Name Description Console Used for managing the resource locally, often a Serial EIA-232 port.
Using Resource Interface Types Adding Interface Types To add an interface type, perform the following steps: 1. On the Active System Manager menu bar, click Tools > Interface Types. The Interface Type Definition and Compatibility dialog box displays; see Figure 5-14. Figure 5-14 Interface Type Definition and Compatibility 2. Click the desired Console, Interface, Power Supply, or File System, and then click Add. The Add Interface Type dialog box displays; Figure 5-15. Figure 5-15 Add Interface Type 3.
Using Resource Interface Types Associating Interface Types To associate interface types, perform the following steps: 1. On the Active System Manager menu bar, click Tools > Interface Types. The Interface Type Definition and Compatibility dialog box displays; see Figure 5-14 on page 5-31. 2. Click the Show and manage interface types compatibility check box to display the Associate and Disassociate buttons. 3. Select the primary interface. 4.
Using Resource Interface Types Using Resource Interface Type Location Names You can use the Inventory perspective to generate resource location names with unique identifiers. The Active System Manager Pattern Generator tool can generate assets and resource names with unique identifiers. Using a range, you can create a long list of names and asset tags that have either letters or numbers appended to the string. The format for the range string is (1..9999), (A..Z), (a..z), (AA..ZZ), or (aa..zz).
Linking Resources Figure 5-17 Edit Interface Type Locations 4. Enter the interface locations manually or use the Pattern Generator tool to generate a bulk set of locations in the table. 5. Modify any names by selecting them with your mouse. 6. Click OK to automatically add the locations to the resource type. Linking Resources The Inventory perspective supports links between control equipment and managed equipment, or between two pieces of managed equipment.
Linking Resources Using Resource Links You specify connections (links) between the following types of resources and resource components: • Resource power supplies and power controllers • Resource console ports and terminal servers • Resource interface ports and matrix switches • Resource interface ports and patch panels • Resource interface ports and other managed resource interface ports Creating Links Between Resources When you create a link, the Inventory perspective compares the two associate
Linking Resources 2. Click New. Note It does not matter which New button you click; they all access the same dialog box. The Inventory perspective displays the New Link dialog box; see Figure 5-19. Figure 5-19 New Link—Link Management 3. Select interface locations for both resources, and then click Apply to create a new link or multiple links. 4. Click Close. If there is a problem with the link you have selected, a warning message displays at the top of the dialog box.
Importing Inventory Deleting Links To delete links, perform the following steps: 1. On the Active System Manager menu bar, click Tools > Links > Edit to display the Links editor with available links; see Figure 5-18 on page 5-35. 2. Select one or more links and click Delete. 3. Click File > Save to save this operation. Note You can only delete physical links if they are not used by any Running sessions. If they are in use, the Dependencies view will display automatically and list one or more sessions.
Importing Inventory Populating an SDI Inventory Spreadsheet Table 5-9 Typical Workflow Checklist for Importing SDI-Based Inventory Task 1. Perform a complete inventory of all standard network resources in your environment. 2. Use the inventory data from step 1 to populate a network inventory spreadsheet. For more information, see the “Populating an SDI Inventory Spreadsheet” section on page 5-38. 3. Migrate the data in the network inventory spreadsheet to a CSV file.
Importing Inventory Table 5-10 CSV Input Field Definitions Field Name Field Length Illegal Characters Description Resource Manufacturer 0 to 80 chars \/:*?\"<> |,'&% " " (i.e. a space char) Defines the Manufacturer of the resource. For the inventory spreadsheet, only list the Resource Manufacturer once per resource. Resource Model 0 to 40 chars \/:*?\"<> |,'&% " " (i.e. a space char) Model of the resource.
Importing Inventory Table 5-10 CSV Input Field Definitions (continued) Field Name Field Length Illegal Characters Description Resource Management Interfaces 0 to 80 chars "\'<>&| Where you can enter the address assigned to the port on your chassis. This must be a port and not a VLAN.
Importing Inventory Table 5-10 CSV Input Field Definitions (continued) Field Name Field Length Illegal Characters Description Resource Interface Parameters Field: 0 to 80 chars Value: 0 to 50 chars "\'<>&| {inventory, invParamName, invParamVal, INTERFACE, TYPE, LOCATION} inventory—A keyword; always present. invParamName—Name of the inventory parameter. invParamVal—Value of the inventory parameter. INTERFACE—It will be always INTERFACE (no other type is • • • • supported in the CSV import).
Importing Inventory Table 5-11 Component Location Generator Properties Property Name Property Description Configuration File Property Name comp.location.gen.info.file Default File Name complocgenerator.tcl File format The default complocgenertator.tcl file is placed under /lux/inventoryimport/plugindata. • Resource Location Generator—The Tcl file for generating locations for a resource. This can be changed as per component manufacturer or model information.
Importing Inventory • Configuration/inventory parameters generator file—You use the configuration/inventory parameters generator file to gather the configuration and inventory parameters for a specific manufacturer or model. Table 5-15 lists the configuration/inventory generator file properties. Table 5-15 Configuration/Inventory Parameters Generator File Properties Property Name Property Description Configuration File Property Name parameters.information.file Default File Name invconfigparams.
Importing Inventory Importing Plug-In Interface Files You use the Import Explorer to manage plug-ins (to add, update, and delete). To import your plug-in interface files, perform the following steps: 1. On the Active System Manager menu bar, click Window > Show View > Other > Import Explorer. The Active System Manager software displays the Import Explorer view; see Figure 5-20. Figure 5-20 Import Explorer View Table 5-16 lists the plug-ins (out of the box) are available.
Importing Inventory Figure 5-21 New Inventory Import Plug-in 3. Click the Plug-in Type drop-down box and select a type. 4. Click the Manufacturer field and enter a name. 5. Click the Model name and enter a name. 6. Click Finish. An empty Tcl file opens, enabling you to write the logic for the specific plug-in. Validating CSV Resource Data To validate CSV resource data, right-click in the CSV editor, and select Validate. Note The Validate menu is only enabled when there are no validation errors.
Importing Inventory Figure 5-22 Error on Validate Invocation—Left Side Figure 5-23 Error on Validate Invocation—Right Side Importing Validated Resource Data To import your resource data (as specified in the loader spreadsheet), right-click in the upper left corner of the file displayed in the Import editor, and select Import. Note The Import menu option is enabled only when there are no validation errors.
Importing Connectivity • Optional for CRI only: Component Plugin Validation Error—For components that include incorrect plug-in information. • Resource Imported—For the successfully imported resources. This information is provided against the chassis of the resource. • Optional for CRI only: Component Imported—For successfully imported components. • Resource Import Error—For the resource that was successfully validated, but failed to import due to dependencies, such as the unavailable components.
Importing Connectivity Table 5-17 outlines the typical workflow checklist for importing links with the Import tool. Table 5-17 Typical Workflow Checklist for Importing Links Task 1. Perform a complete inventory of all links in your environment. 2. Optional. Manually validate the spreadsheet data. This manual validation is required to identify and fix any illegal characters or field lengths within the input field definitions. 3. Migrate the data from step 1 to populate a link inventory spreadsheet.
Importing Connectivity Table 5-18 Field Properties of Link Inventory Spreadsheet (continued) Field Description To Dis Version Optional. Represents the resource version. If this is not provided, a link is automatically created on the active version of the resource; otherwise, an error displays. To Location Represents the interface location of To Resource to be linked.
Importing Connectivity • Outline view—Corresponding row information in the outline. You can also right-click the row in which the error is indicated and select Error Details. • Error Indication Ruler—An error indication ruler attached on the right side of Import editor, which overviews the error status in an opened CSV file. This ruler displays the error in red color and shows error details in the tooltip when you hover your mouse.
Importing Connectivity — Duplicate links within CSV — Same resource and location used in the CSV more than once Note The Link Import editor performs all the basic validations. • Link name already exists in the Active System Manager inventory. • Existence of resources in the Active System Manager inventory. • Existence of interface location in the resource.
Exporting Connectivity Exporting Connectivity The system allows you to export your physical connectivity in two file formats: XML and CSV. To perform a file export function, perform the following steps: 1. On the Active System Manager menu bar, click File > Export, and on the next wizard page, click Resource Links > Next to display the Export Resource Links dialog box. 2. Select one or more resources to export: a. Click Browse and navigate to the directory where you want to export the resource links. b.
Managing Resource Pools 2. Click Add to display the Add Resource Pool dialog box; see Figure 5-27. Figure 5-27 Add Resource Pool 3. Configure the Resource Pool and Association Details as follows: a. Click the Name field and enter a name for the new resource pool. b. Optional. Click the Description field and enter a description for the new resource pool. c. In the Resource Asset tab, select the resources (assets) to associate with this new resource pool. d.
Managing Resource Pools Figure 5-28 Add Resource Pool—Users e. Click the Resource Pools tab (see Figure 5-29) to bundle or create a hierarchy of the existing resource pools. Figure 5-29 5-54 Modify Resource Pool—Resource Pools Active System Manager User Guide, Release 7.
Managing Resource Pools f. Click the Groups tab (see Figure 5-30) and add one or more groups to the new resource pool. Figure 5-30 Add Resource Pool—Groups 4. Click OK.
Managing Resource Pools Modifying Resource Pools To modify (edit) existing resource pools, perform the following steps: 1. On the Active System Manager menu bar, click Tools > Resource Pools Management. The Manage Resource Pool dialog box displays; see Figure on page 5-52. 2. Select an existing resource pool and click Edit to display the Modify Resource Pool dialog box; see Figure 5-31. Figure 5-31 Modify Resource Pool 3. Modify the Resource Pool and Association Details as follows: a.
Managing Maintenance Windows Deleting Resource Pools To deleting existing resource pools, perform the following steps: 1. On the Active System Manager menu bar, click Tools > Resource Pools Management. The Manage Resource Pool dialog box displays; see Figure on page 5-52. 2. Select an existing resource pool and click Delete. A message displays prompting you to confirm the deleting 3. Click OK to confirm the resource pool deletion.
Managing Maintenance Windows Adding a Maintenance Window To add a maintenance window, perform the following steps: 1. Access the Maintenance Window dialog box. 2. Click Add to display and define the maintenance window; During the selected maintenance hours, regular users will be unable to log in to the Active System Manager system; only administrators can log in. 3. Click the Name field and enter a name for the maintenance window. 4. Click the Reason field and enter a reason for maintenance.
Managing Maintenance Windows Modifying a Maintenance Window An administrator can update or cancel the maintenance window in the Confirmed and In Progress states. To edit a maintenance window, perform the following steps: 1. Access the Maintenance Window dialog box. 2. Click Edit to display the Update Maintenance Window and edit the existing settings 3. Modify the settings as follows: a. Optional. Click the Name field and enter a new name. b. Optional.
Managing Virtual Resources Managing Virtual Resources This section introduces you to the Operation Center view and gives you an insight into dynamic hierarchy of resources displayed in the Operation Center view. This section also familiarizes you with the navigational aspects of Operation Center view, and the possible operations available per object type in the Operation Center view.
Managing Virtual Resources machine (VM) objects running in the clusters. The resources are displayed per data center, starting from the highest level of datacenter, down to the individual VM.This is presented in a hierarchical manner in the vCenter hierarchy, Operation Center view, see Figure 5-32. Figure 5-32 vCenter Hierarchy in Operation Center View Note Figure 5-32 displays the typical hierarchical scenario of Vomer's vCenter objects.
Managing Virtual Resources Managing the Resource Manager Using the Operation Center View The Operation Center view facilitates the following set of operations: • Using Resource-Specific Operations • Synchronizing Resources • Viewing Resource Properties • Dragging and Dropping Resources Using Resource-Specific Operations The Operation Center view allows you to perform operations on the visible resources in the hierarchy.
Managing Virtual Resources Figure 5-34 Properties Panel Dragging and Dropping Resources The drag and drop operation allows you to drag and drop blades from the Operation Center view to an active session or a template. Note The drag and drop operation is available on blades in a subsequent manner. Editing Data Flow Values The Active System Manager software allows you to edit parameter values while executing a virtual operation from the Operation Center view.
Managing Virtual Resources 4. Click Secondary Source In the Possible Values pane, and select the Value Source Sub Type; for example, select a specific type of Software Repository. Note For advanced users, step 4 on page 5-64 and step 5 on page 5-64, fulfill the requirements. By default, the Active System Manager RA pre populates the Primary Source and Secondary Source entries in most cases.
Chapter 6 Using Inventory This chapter describes the Active System Manager Inventory perspective that catalogs and defines the inventory in your network environment. You can then use all of the Active System Manager perspectives to access your environment inventory. For a complete description of how the Active System Manager administrator builds the Active System Manager inventory, see Chapter 5, “Inventory Management.
Introducing the Inventory Perspective Table 6-1 View or Editor Name Inventory Perspective Elements (continued) View or Editor Description Discovery Explorer View Lists the resource data populated into your inventory when you run the Discovery Explorer. Links View Lists the links between control equipment and managed equipment, or between two pieces of managed equipment. Import Explorer View Displays the plug-in data of used by IIT during the inventory import.
Introducing the Inventory Perspective Figure 6-1 Inventory Perspective For information on how to customize the Inventory perspective preferences, see the “Customizing Perspectives” section on page 1-8.
About Resource Types and Resource Instances About Resource Types and Resource Instances You use the Active System Manager Inventory perspective to access your managed environment equipment. Managed equipment refers to the resources or equipment under test (EUT). Resources are modeled by type, which are specifications by manufacturer and model that you can use as generic elements in templates you author, and by instance, which are specific resources with unique asset tags.
Accessing Inventory Note The area in the Resource Instances view to the right of the actual instance data is the Resource Availability Calendar, which displays information regarding which resource instances are allocated for specific sessions. For more information on how to use the information displayed in this area of the view, see the “Using the Resource Allocation Calendar” section on page 6-11.
Accessing Inventory This section describes the following topics: • Using Resource Types • Using Resource Instances • Linking Views with Resource Instances • Using the Search Function Using Resource Types You can explore the various resource types that Active System Manager displays in the Resource Types view, by performing any of the following operations: • Navigate to the Resource Types view and open a resource type in the editor (double-click the resource type; for example, “Cisco 6509,” as disp
Accessing Inventory This section describes the following topics: • Accessing Resources via the Group By Dialog Box • Accessing Resources via the Filters Dialog Box Accessing Resources via the Group By Dialog Box The Group By function (dialog box) includes the following features: • Allows you to modify the way entries, such as resource types or resource instances, are presented in the navigator pane, or to group entries, based on various properties you can specify.
Accessing Inventory Both the Resource Types and Resource Instances views allow grouping; the Group By icon is available at the top-right of the Resource Types and Resource Instances view menu bars. Note For many Active System Manager users, your site’s custom properties may be the most relevant properties for you to use while grouping and organizing your inventory. Accessing Resources via the Filters Dialog Box You can use a filter to modify the display of your inventory resources.
Accessing Inventory You can create new filters and specify the associated rules for them. Once created, you can use the new filters for accessing your inventory. For more information, see the “Filtering” section on page 1-12. Note You can also set the filter using the Show Active Equipment icon (only available on the Resource Instances view, not the Resource Types view), located on the navigation view action bar. If set, this filter displays only resources that have active versions; i.e.
Accessing Inventory • Click Link with a resource type in the Resource Instances view to synchronize the instance shown with any selected resource type. Select resource types from the Resource Types view and observe that the instances displayed follow the types selected. • Close the Resource Instances view and re-open it: on the Active System Manager menu bar, click Window > Show View menu. Or click the Fast View icon (in the bottom-left corner).
Using the Resource Allocation Calendar Using Links View Filters The Active System Manager software includes four preset Links view filters: • Managed to Managed (resource to resource links)—Displays the links created between two managed resources. • Managed to Control—Displays the links between the interface of a managed resource to the interface of a control resource. • Control to Managed—Displays the links between the interface of a control resource to the interface of a managed resource.
Using the Resource Allocation Calendar Using the Resource Availability Calendar Options The Resource Availability Calendar includes a number of menu options and display characters that are designed to provide you with additional information.
Using the Resource Allocation Calendar Analyzing Resource Instance Availability in Existing Sessions The Resource Availability calendar enables you to quickly analyze how specific Resource Instances are allocated within past, present, and future sessions, as well as which resource instances are available for new sessions, including what percentage of each resource remains available.
Understanding Resource Allocation Understanding Resource Allocation The Active System Manager software provides two views that are introduced in the Inventory perspective: Resource Allocation view and Resource Port Allocation view. The purpose of the Resource Allocation view is to understand the current resource allocation, at the resource and port level. This view displays all allocations associated to a particular resource.
Understanding Resource Allocation Viewing Provisioned Domains List In a distributed multi-site environment, each site that has an Active System Manager server is referred to as a domain. Domains are provisioned by the Active System Manager administrator, but users of the system should be familiar with the different domains in their system, if applicable. To view a list of provisioned domains on your network, on the Active System Manager menu bar, click Tools > Domains.
Understanding Resource Allocation Figure 6-9 Preferences—Inventory—Domain Information For information about configuring preferences, see the “Preferences” section on page 1-27. 6-16 Active System Manager User Guide, Release 7.
Chapter 7 Repository Management The Active System Manager software provides a set of provisioning capabilities, including major features to software, firmware, and configuration file management. Those features include the following: • Support of virtually any software repository type, including file servers, change control systems, and Storage Area Network (SAN)- and Network Attached Storage (NAS)-based storage arrays.
Introducing the Setup Perspective Table 7-1 Setup Perspective Elements (continued) View or Editor Name View or Editor Properties View Displays the properties for the selected session, Template, or configuration file. It is a set of property values that are reflected in what you see in the editors. Templates View Lists the available templates previously created. Supports built-in filters. From this view, you can customize filters or group the Template organization by tree.
Introducing the Setup Perspective Figure 7-1 Setup Perspective The Active System Manager software allows for management and visibility of each repository content, particularly related with operating system (OS) images and configuration files via the Setup perspective. A repository is a collection of organized files called elements to be used to provision a resource under test.
Introducing the Setup Perspective Table 7-2 Repository Support (continued) Element Operations1 Type Storage Arrays Protocol Discover Import Export Delete Validate getVersions HTTP No No Yes No Yes No HTTPS No No Yes No Yes No Note: The Storage Arrays repository support can be performed through the Dell Professional Services Group. 1. The release notes will contain a set of platforms and services supporting those operations.
Managing Repositories Managing Repositories Table 7-4 lists and defines the set of general properties for managing repositories. Table 7-4 General Properties for Managing Repositories Field Description Name Name of the repository you assign. The name cannot be changed once it is created. Description Description of the repository you create or update. Location Pattern A simple way to force a structure on the repository.
Managing Repositories Creating a New Repository To create a new repository (or multiple file repositories), perform the following steps: 1. In the Setup perspective, perform one of the following options to display the New Repository dialog box: • On the File Servers view, right-click an element and select Repositories. • On the Active System Manager menu bar, click File > New > Other > Active System Manager > Repositories.
Managing Repositories Adding Elements into a Repository To add elements in a repository, you must select files (also called elements) to add into the Active System Manager repository context view. Note This operation may not be supported for all repository types and protocols supported. Dell recommends reviewing the Repository Support table (Table 7-2 on page 7-3). To do so, perform the following steps: To add elements in to a repository, perform the following steps: 1.
Managing Repositories Figure 7-2 Adding a New Element to a Repository Table 7-5 lists and describes the field properties in Figure 7-2. Table 7-5 7-8 Properties for Repository Elements Discovery and Association Field Description Repository Required. List of existing repositories. You must select one. Name Required. Filename of repository; for example, pico-test.cfg. Select file from your desktop using the Browse button (currently only available on import). Description Optional.
Managing Repositories Table 7-5 Properties for Repository Elements Discovery and Association (continued) Field Description Size Required for repository type storage arrays. Bundle Element definition is a bundle of elements (i.e., a container). You must move at least one element (see the Elements description) to the bundle. Resource Association Sets the element association with resource types or resource instances. Use the Add or Remove buttons to customize your resource association.
Managing Repositories Removing Elements from a Bundle To remove elements from a bundle, perform the following steps: 1. Open your repository navigator view. 2. Identify your bundle, select one or more elements within the bundle, right-click and perform one of the following options: • Select Remove from group to remove it from the group, but not from the repository. • Select Delete to delete from the repository and from the bundle.
Managing Repositories 5. Click Next to perform a repository discovery and status update and to display an example of that result. The files already exist in the repository, but have a new icon design. These filters allow you to filter out repository content. Table 7-6 lists and defines the icon filters. Table 7-6 Icon Filtering Icons Description Displays only existing elements. Displays only newly discovered elements Displays only conflicting elements Displays all elements 6. Click Finish.
Managing Repositories 2. Select one or more repositories and click Remove. You cannot delete repositories if the elements of the repository exist in the Active System Manager view; a dependency error displays (see Figure 7-6 as an example). Figure 7-6 Dependency Error 3. Click OK. Associating Elements with Resource Types or Resource Instances Repository elements (of any types) must be associated with resource types or resource instances.
Managing Repositories Editing Repository Elements To edit repository elements, perform the following steps: 1. Open a repository navigator view; see Figure 7-7 for a repository element example. Figure 7-7 Example of a Repository File Type 2. Select one element, right-click and select Edit to display the property dialog box associated with element. Figure 7-8 displays an example of a property for a specified element.
Managing Repositories Figure 7-8 Element Properties for a Specified File Table 7-7 lists and describes the field properties in Figure 7-8. Table 7-7 7-14 Properties for Repository Elements Discovery and Association Field Description Name Read only. Current element filename of repository. Description Optional. Description associated with new elements. Type Read only. Existing element file type: • Element • Image File • Configuration File Repository Read only.
Managing Repositories Table 7-7 Properties for Repository Elements Discovery and Association (continued) Field Description Bundle Read only if enabled (checked). Only enabled if you are editing a bundle. Element definition is a bundle of elements (i.e., a container). You must move at least one element (see the Elements description) to the bundle. Resource Association Sets the element association with resource types or resource instances.
Working with Resource Adapters Working with Resource Adapters In the Active System Manager system, resources—and therefore Resource Adapters (RAs)—are organized into a couple of categories: • Managed Resources—Explicitly specified in Template designs, scheduled by the users and actually set up and configured in live or active sessions. Managed Resources may include switches, routers, servers and SAN equipment.
Working with Resource Adapters Opening the Resource Adapters View In the Setup perspective, the Resource Adapters navigator view lists all Resource Adapters deployed in the Active System Manager application. To open the Resource Adapters view (see Figure 7-9), use one of the following methods: 1. Open the Setup perspective; see the “Introducing the Setup Perspective” section on page 7-1. 2. On the Active System Manager menu bar, click Window > Show View > Other > Active System Manager > Resource Adapters.
Working with Resource Adapters Opening the Resource Adapter Editor To open the Resource Adapter editor, in the Resource Adapters view, select a Resource Adapter, right-click and select Open. The following tabs are available on the Resource Adapter editor: • Overview—Defines all core properties of the Resource Adapter. • Operations—Defines all custom and system operations for the Resource Adapter. • Applications—Defines all applications that can be launched using the Resource Adapter.
Working with Resource Adapters Operations Note All Resource Adapter editor changes (using the File > Save function) will take effect immediately in your environment. We recommend that you back up or export your Resource Adapters before making such changes. To manage the system and custom methods defined in the Resource Adapter, perform the following steps: 1. In the Resource Adapters view, open the Resource Adapter editor, select a Resource Adapter, right-click and select Open. 2.
Working with Resource Adapters 3. Perform the following tasks (followed by the File > Save function), as appropriate to your needs: • To view or edit the applications, select one application to see associated detailed information. You can update the information at will. Click File > Save to save the new content of Resource Adapters. • To remove an application, select an application and click Remove. Click File > Save to save the new content of Resource Adapters.
Working with Resource Adapters In Active System Manager software, a Value-Source is a context based list of values that dynamically displays values to choose from, based on operation properties. It is the categorization of system managed objects into possible list of broad categories, from where an operation can fetch parameter values.
Working with Resource Adapters Table 7-11 displays the possible Value Sources applicable to custom and virtual operations.
Working with Resource Adapters Figure 7-11 Operation Attributes Table 7-12 lists and describes the operation attribute types as displayed in Figure 7-11. Table 7-12 Operation Attribute Types Attributes Description Name Lists all parameters related to selected operation. Type Lists parameter type such as ‘String’ or ‘Number’. Default Value Allows to enter default parameter value. Possible Values Allows to select value from a list of pre-defined possible values. Unit Allows to enter unit value.
Working with Resource Adapters Copying Resource Adapters To copy a Provisioning Manager Resource Adapter directory structure under a different Manufacturer/Model, perform the following steps: 1. In the Resource Adapters view, select a Resource Adapter, right-click and select Copy Resource Adapters. The Copy Resource Adapters dialog box displays; see Figure 7-12. Figure 7-12 Copy Resource Adapters 2. Click the Destination Domain pull-down menu, select a domain, and click OK.
Working with Resource Adapters 2. Click Browse to select a directory location to import one or more RAP files. 3. Click the Select resource adapter package file option and click Browse to select a directory location for your imported RAP file. 4. Click the Domain pull-down menu and select the domain for this RAP file. 5. Review the Resource Adapter values (see Table 7-8 on page 7-17) and perform one of the following options: • Click Select All to select all of the Resource Adapters to import.
Working with Resource Adapters Figure 7-14 Resource Adapter Properties 2. Review the Resource Adapter values (see Table 7-8 on page 7-17) and either click Select All to select all of the Resource Adapters to export, or click Deselect All to deselect the selected Resource Adapters. 3. In the To directory field, type a directory path, or click Browse to select a directory location for your exported RAP files. 4. Click Finish.
Chapter 8 Template Management This chapter describes the Active System Manager Templates perspective and all of the functions available, including how to import and export Templates directly from the Active System Manager Template view into the Templates perspective. Lastly, it describes how to work with configuration files for equipment provisioning in a Template. Before you can execute an environment session, you must define a requirement Template.
Figure 8-1 Templates Perspective Table 8-1 outlines the default views available when you open the Templates perspective. Table 8-1 8-2 Template Perspective Elements View or Editor Name View or Editor Templates View Lists the available Templates previously created. Supports built-in filters (Public/Private) and group functions. For more information, see Chapter 1, “Active System Manager Overview.” Template Editor Editor Defines the graphical area, where you can design your Template.
Table 8-1 Template Perspective Elements (continued) View or Editor Name View or Editor Properties View Description Associated with the selections in the Template editor, link editor, and the Outline view. The Properties view displays the properties of any of the selected objects in the associated views or editor. In case of multiple selections, the property of the object selected first will be displayed.
Linking Editor The first step in the workflow consists of connecting raw blades and L2 matrix switch in the linking editor. Creating a Physical Template The next step consists of dragging and dropping the managed devices in the Template editor to provision Hypervisors. You are also required to drag some VLAN components in the Template editor, and, assign some VLAN ID range to it or auto schedule it. Then, connect managed devices to VLAN component.
The workflow of Physical Template consists of the following steps: • Creating a Logical Template • Scheduling Template to Create a Session • Provisioning Note In the current implementation, there are separate inventory objects for raw blades and hypervisors/clusters provisioned, where they are brought into the Active System Manager’s inventory through discovery (these being logical entities have no link information).
Working with Templates Working with Templates The Active System Manager software allows you to perform a variety of additional functions using the Templates perspective, including: • Creating New Templates • Saving Templates • Changing Template Ownership and Permissions • Opening Templates • Closing Templates • Deleting Templates • Managing Template History Details • Filtering Templates • Validating Templates • Importing Templates • Exporting Templates • Attaching a Template Image •
Working with Templates Figure 8-2 New Template 2. Click the Name field and enter a name for the new Template. Note The Template name can be up to 80 alphanumeric characters, including spaces. If you enter a name that has been previously used, a dialog box displays, prompting you to use another name; otherwise, skip to step 5. If you see this prompt, click OK to return to the New Template dialog box. 3. Select the Template Type as Normal, Physical, or Logical.
Working with Templates 5. Click Finish to complete the new Template creation. The new Template opens in the Template editor as a blank page. You are now ready to add resource types and resource instances, set properties and define interface connectivity. For details, see the “Filtering Templates” section on page 8-13. Saving Templates You can modify and save any Template if you have permission (or if you are an administrator). To save a Template, with the working Template open, perform the following: 1.
Working with Templates Figure 8-3 Save As Dialog Box 2. Click the Name field and enter a new name for this Template. 3. Optional. Click the Description field and enter a description. 4. Optional. Click the Participants field and Add or Remove participants (sharing to a set of participants: users or groups), as necessary. 5. Select a Permissions option; for each user, you can assign permissions, and by default, they can be read only: • Delete is available for a specific user.
Working with Templates Changing Template Ownership and Permissions Template owners can share Templates with other users and groups. To do so, perform the following steps: 1. On the Active System Manager menu bar, open the Templates view: click Window > Show View > Templates to open the Templates view. 2. In the Templates view, right-click a Template and select Edit. The properties for that selected Template displays; see Figure 8-4 for an example. Figure 8-4 Properties for a Selected Template 3.
Working with Templates Opening Templates To open one or more Templates, see the following sub-sections: • Opening a Single Template • Opening Multiple Templates Opening a Single Template To open a single Template, perform one of the following options: • In the Templates view, right-click the Template and select Open. • In the Templates view, double-click the Template. • In the Sessions view, right-click the Template and select Open. Note Upon opening a Template, validation is invoked.
Working with Templates Closing Templates There are two ways in which you can close your Template, but not leave your working session. To do so, perform the following steps: 1. Select a method to close one or more Templates: • If you have more than one Template open in the Template editor, select which Template to close and click File > Close. Alternatively, to close all of the open Templates, click File > Close All.
Working with Templates 3. In the Template editor, right-click and select Add History. The History Note dialog box displays. 4. Type a description and click OK. Note You can add and modify history notes; but, you cannot delete prior history notes. Displaying History Note Details To display history note details, perform the following steps: 1. On the Active System Manager toolbar, click Window > Show View > Templates. 2. In the Templates view, right-click the Template and select Open. 3.
Working with Templates Figure 8-5 Invalid Template Example The following list outlines the reasons why a Template is invalid: • Missing resource types • Missing resource instances • Missing interfaces • Links with incompatible interface types • One or both of the link endpoints are missing Note After performing the previously indicated Template checks, the Active System Manager application verifies that the Template is schedulable. If a Template is not schedulable, an error message displays.
Working with Templates Validating Templates On Demand Note You can only perform this process on one Template editor at a time. To validate a Template on demand, perform the following steps: 1. Open a Template; see the “Opening Templates” section on page 8-11. 2. In the Template editor, right-click and select Validate. Importing Templates The import feature allows you to either import the Templates individually or to import Templates with Orchestrations.
Working with Templates 2. You can either Import Templates with Orchestrations or Import Templates only: a. Import Templates with Orchestrations Section • In the Select root directory, browse to perform a smart search that displays all Templates found in the default directory in Templates section. • In the Select Orchestration jar, select a Template with Orchestrations from your file system. • Select the Select root directory. Note The Active System Manager software saves the last directory browsed.
Working with Templates Figure 8-7 Export Templates 2. Select at least one Template to export or click Select All to select all of the Templates displayed. 3. In the To directory field, type a location to export to, or click Browse to select a directory location for your exported Templates. If a directory is already noted, skip this step and go to step 5. Note The Active System Manager software remembers the last directory you visited. Note You can only perform this step with a valid directory. 4.
Working with Templates Attaching a Template Image from a Screenshot To attach a Template image from a screenshot, perform the following steps: 1. Open a Template; see the “Opening Templates” section on page 8-11. 2. In the Template editor, click the background, right-click and select Attach Default Rendering > Screenshot (the default). 3. Click the Properties tab > Attachments to verify that the Template.jpeg attachment has been added. The attachments are used for reporting purposes.
Working with Templates Figure 8-8 Scheduling Session 2. In the Template Selection section, select a Template, if not done already. 3. Click the Behavior field and select a behavior; see Table 8-3 for the scheduling preferences. Table 8-3 Behavior Scheduling Preferences Behavior Definition As Soon As Possible (ASAP) Scheduler attempts to find the first available time slot where all resources are available for the proposed duration.
Working with Templates Based on the first four behaviors selected, the date and time options modify automatically.
Working with Templates Note You can adjust the scheduling behavior based on user preferences. See the Preferences—Scheduler page for scheduler options (click Window > Preferences > Scheduler). The Scheduler can automatically perform extra scheduling when no solutions are reported, including identify preemption or running ASAP Scheduling. The scheduler has identified a set of solutions.
Working with Templates 13. Click Finish to confirm your session. A prompt displays, confirming your scheduled session. The prompt asks if you would like to switch to the Sessions perspective to view your sessions. 14. Click the Remember my decision check box to allow the software to always switch to the Session Perspective view after scheduling all future sessions. Note This message displays if you are not in the Sessions perspective.
Working with Templates Updating Templates Using the Template Editor Once you have created a blank Template, define the network configuration that you want to manage or test by adding elements, such as resource types, resource instances, interfaces, properties, and connectivity.
Working with Templates Figure 8-9 Template-Level Properties View Table 8-4 lists and defines the Template-level properties. Table 8-4 Template-Level Properties Tab Name Category Template Custom Template System Archive Mode that defines whether the archive is public or private. User-defined Template System Created On Date created Template. User-defined Template System Description Template description. User-defined Template System Name Template name.
Working with Templates Table 8-4 Template-Level Properties (continued) Tab Name Category Property Description Value Provisioning Custom Contains a set of custom and system Template-level property names and values. You can add or remove the custom Template-level properties. The Sequencing function allows you to move the properties in a specific order. To add a custom Template property (that must be overwritten) with a editable value, click Add.
Working with Templates Table 8-4 Template-Level Properties (continued) Tab Name Category Property Description Value Provisioning System Setup Time (Min.) Time spent before a session becomes active. By default, the setup time for a Template is computed based on parameters specified in the SDT for each of the resources in the Template (i.e., the maximum time required for any resource in the Template). The SetUp Time property allows you to create additional setup time for a Template.
Working with Templates Note When dragging a virtual resource type (i.e., a resource type with the role set to virtual), you can request more than one resource for the same type by setting the Virtual Object Count resource type property (in the Properties view). The multiple resource types, as a single icon, are represented with two concentric circles. Table 8-5 lists and defines the default properties for the resource types selected.
Working with Templates Table 8-5 Default Properties for the Resource Types View (continued) Tab Name Property Name • Custom • System Description • Custom properties—Inventory parameters that are defined in the Inventory perspective for a resource type. • System properties—Types of system properties, such as card type, that are pre-defined in the Active System Manager software. These properties are built in and are common to all resource types.
Working with Templates Adding Provisioning Parameters Using CSV The Active System Manager software allows you to drag and drop resources in Template editor. Along with the resource types, the properties of each resource type are also loaded in the Properties panel of the Template editor; see Figure 8-10. Figure 8-10 Properties Panel In the Properties panel, the Provisioning parameters of dragged and dropped resources are loaded from the CSV file, called “provisioning_attributes.
Working with Templates Table 8-6 describes the Provisioning parameters input fields defined in the CSV file. Table 8-6 Provisioning Parameters Provisioning Parameters in a CSV File Description key Represents the name of the parent parameter for child parameters. Key is Null for root level parameters. Name Represents attribute name. datatype Represents attribute type: String (Default type), numeric, date, password. ismandatory Represents if the attribute is mandatory or not.
Working with Templates Setting Resource Type Properties for Scheduling Property-based scheduling is a standard capability of the Active System Manager scheduler. It applies only to the scheduler’s selection of resource types. If you author a resource instance, then there is no scheduler selection available. When you create a session, the Active System Manager scheduler checks the availability of resources required by the Template at the specified time and reserves them.
Working with Templates Figure 8-12 Inventory Properties—Resource Level 5. Repeat step 1 to step 4 for each resource type. Deleting Resource Types In the Template editor, to remove the resource type from the Template (and not from the inventory), click the resource type, right-click, and select Delete. Note If there is any connectivity in the Template with other resource types or resource instances, the links attached to the resource type (or resource instance) that you select will also be deleted.
Working with Templates 4. Select a manufacturer from the existing list and click OK. 5. Right-click the component and select Add Interfaces to display the Add Interface dialog box; Figure 8-14. Figure 8-14 Add Interface 6. Select the interface type and specify the count. To display all interface types, click the Show All Interface Types check box. 7. Click OK. Note To update the properties for the resource and its interfaces, see Figure 8-5 for definitions.
Working with Templates values display in the Properties view (displayed in table form). The Outline view (displayed in tabular form) does not update automatically with the specific resource selection; it only displays the selection corresponding to the resource in the Template editor. Table 8-7 lists and defines the default properties when authoring resource instances.
Working with Templates Table 8-7 Default Properties for the Resource Instances View (continued) Tab Name Property Name Description Configuration Files Image Files Used if you want to provision the resource. Each tab allows you to select files from the newly created repositories; for more information about repositories, see Chapter 7, “Repository Management.
Working with Templates Defining Provisioning Policies In order to have a fine-grained control over provisioning policies for all three main phases of the session life cycle (Setup, Teardown, and Snapshot operations), end users have the ability to define and change the sequencing of operations for each resource available in the Template. If provisioning policies are not overwritten, the Active System Manager system will execute its default policy. Policy changes are saved with the Template content.
Working with Templates Updating the Policy Sequencing To update the policy sequencing, perform the following steps: 1. Select the policy impacted, and drag one or more resources or resource types in to the sequencing box. A new sequence is automatically created (such as sequence1). You can add or remove resources or resource types at will by either dragging back resources, or inserting new sequencing directly in the sequencing box (right-click while operating elements). 2.
Working with Templates Figure 8-17 Provisioning Policy Status Supporting Layer 2 Switching Contrary to Layer 1 switch management where Layer 1 switches are entered in the inventory as control-based resources and underlying physical connectivity must also be pre-defined, Layer 2 switching requires inventory.
Working with Templates 3. In the resource instance editor, in the Inventory Parameters section, set the values for the supported VLAN ID. Note The Supported VLAN ID property cannot be removed. The following three options are available for the user to specify VLAN IDs: • Auto—If the user does not provide any VLAN ID, then the scheduler automatically assigns a VLAN ID to the VLAN component. The value is assigned randomly from the value range defined for a specific matrix switch.
Working with Templates Figure 8-19 Enabling VLAN in Template 4. Switch to the Link editor; see Figure 8-20. Figure 8-20 Link Editor VLAN Display 5. Set the VLAN ID either implicitly (the default behavior) or explicitly (user-defined). a. In the Template editor or link editor, select the VLAN component. b.
Working with Templates VLANCount—VLANCount Provisioning property facilitates the user to fetch the user-defined range of VLAN IDs, from a group associated with VLAN component. If the VLANCount value is blank, the Active System Manager software selects a VLAN ID randomly from associated group and allocates it to the VLAN component.
Working with Templates For all annotation functions: • The properties display in the Properties tab, where you can assign (or modify) the Border and Fill parameters, such as font style, font size, color, line style, line width, and opacity. • You can set the default preferences for those properties in the Preferences dialog box (click Window > Preferences > Template > Template Editor > Annotations).
Working with Templates Quick Filtering In the Filter text box (see Figure 8-22), enter a string to search and filter out elements on the right pane content. This is useful when working with a large set of resources and the focus is on specific end-devices and connectivity. Link Type Selector Creating links usually defines a link as “Simplex” (the default). On the action bar (see Figure 8-22), you can set other available options by selecting a link and applying a specific link type.
Working with Templates 8-44 Figure 8-24 Duplex Figure 8-25 Multicast Figure 8-26 Tap Active System Manager User Guide, Release 7.
Working with Templates Link Feasibility Toolbar The link feasibility icons (mutually exclusive) allow you to build connectivity within your Template while being aware of your underlying physical connectivity and compatibility between interface types. • Show Compatible Interfaces Only—To use this icon option, you must first select a resource type, resource instance, or an interface, and then click this icon.
Working with Templates Note The interfaces are disabled when the check mark next to the Enabled menu disappears. Figure 8-27 Interface—Enabled To enable all interfaces of a particular interface type (or on the resource), right-click the interface type, and select Enable All Interfaces. To disable all interfaces of a particular interface type (or on the resource), right-click the interface type, and select Disable All Interfaces.
Working with Templates Table 8-8 Default Interface Properties for a Resource Type Tab Name Property Name Description Interface Name Name you assigned to this interface, or the default name assigned by the Templates perspective. Description Text string that describes this interface. The string can be unlimited in length and composed of alphanumeric characters, including spaces and special characters, to uniquely describe this connection. Type Interface type.
Working with Templates Table 8-9 Tab Name Default Interface Properties for a Resource Instance (continued) Property Name Description IP Address Interface management port. Only available when a management port is selected. IP Subnet Interface subnet associated with IP address. Only available when a management port is selected. Gateway Gateway IP address. Only available when a management port is selected.
Working with Templates To create a simple link, select an interface in the left pane and drag it to the right pane, or from right to left. To modify the link properties, click a property field and enter an appropriate value. Figure 8-28 Link Properties Example Table 8-10 lists and defines the default properties for the selected links. Table 8-10 Default Template Link Properties Property Name Description Name Name you assigned to this link, or the default name assigned by the Templates perspective.
Working with Templates Links can point to the same interfaces (see Figure 8-29); that is, interfaces can have multiple links associated in Templates and sessions. For example, when enabling a resource interface, a new interface-level property in the Template, “Exclusive”, is present, indicating that the interface cannot be shared across multiple sessions at the same time. Figure 8-29 Shared Interfaces Defining Custom Attributes for Links You can define custom attributes for the links.
Working with Templates Figure 8-30 • Disabling Template Links To enable a Template link that you disabled: With a Template open, click the Template editor, right-click one ore more Template links and select Enable. Note Disabled links do not have a direct impact on an underlying physical structure during the session Cleaning Up state. Associating an Orchestration Workflow with Templates An orchestration workflow is a set of operations that can be defined within a Template.
Working with Templates Figure 8-31 Orchestration Editor Two panes display: • Available Operations View—Contains all Resource Adapter custom operations associated with each resource in your Template. • Orchestration View—Working pane where you build your workflow by drag-and-drop operations from the Available Operations View pane. 3. Add a step (or steps) by one of the following methods: • 8-52 Select operations from the Available Operations view pane and drag those to the Orchestration View pane.
Working with Templates Figure 8-32 Specify Input Values for Selected Operation (Example) • In the Orchestration view, right-click any Step n folder and select Add Step. The step is automatically added at the end of the step process. • In the Orchestration view, right-click anywhere in the pane and select Add Step. The step is automatically added at the end of the step process. 4. In the Orchestration view, right-click the Step n folder to insert a step and select Insert Step.
Working with Templates . 8-54 Active System Manager User Guide, Release 7.
Chapter 9 Session Management This chapter describes the Active System Manager Sessions perspective, including all of the functions available for you to view, modify, and save sessions, as well as interact with equipment in running sessions and remotely run test cases.
Introducing the Sessions Perspective Figure 9-1 Sessions Perspective Table 9-1 outlines the default and non-default views available when you open the Sessions perspective; see Figure for a graphical representation of the views, which appear in tabular form, except for the Template editor. Table 9-1 Session Perspective Elements View or Editor Name Default Orchestration X Execution ID Execution Queue 9-2 NonDefault Displays orchestration executions.
Working with Running Sessions Table 9-1 Session Perspective Elements (continued) View or Editor Name Default Sessions X Session Archive Bin NonDefault Description Displays all the sessions for all the templates in all states. Displays all sessions in the Active System Manager application, including sessions that you reserved, and those reserved by others who have granted you access to their sessions.
Working with Running Sessions • Deleting Sessions • Purging Sessions • Rescheduling Sessions • Managing Session Links • Handling Link Preemption • Managing Session Resources • Associating Scripts to Sessions • Archiving Sessions Scheduling a Session Using Templates To schedule a new session, perform the following steps: 1.
Working with Running Sessions Figure 9-2 Scheduling Session 2. Define the session parameters, as necessary. For details, see the “Scheduling Templates” section on page 8-18. Note For information about templates, see Chapter 8, “Template Management.” Creating an Instant Session Instant scheduling allows users to start a session with dedicated resources or resource types without creating and managing templates. To create an instant session, perform the following steps: 1.
Working with Running Sessions 7. Click File > Save (or in the session editor, right-click and select Save) to invoke the scheduler and start the session. 8. Complete the scheduling wizard. For more information, see the “Scheduling Templates” section on page 8-18. The session is created in the Confirmed state, then goes into the Setting Up state if all resources are deemed allocated and ready to be provisioned. Once in a Running state, users can interact with the resources per normal operation.
Working with Running Sessions Figure 9-4 Table 9-2 Session States Workflow Session Perspective States Session State Status Description Pending Mode Confirmed A validated or scheduled session. In Process Mode Running A session that has started. Wait Setting Up A scheduled setup time has arrived, but some of the resources required by the session have not yet been released by earlier sessions.
Working with Running Sessions Opening the Session Editor A session editor allows you to view session-based resources. When opening the session editor, the overall rendering looks similar to the underlying Template, but resource type definitions are replaced by real inventory or virtual resources. The session editor displays a Template for a running session, and for each session, you can perform the following operations: • View its allocated resources, including all resources and links.
Working with Running Sessions Figure 9-5 Opening Session Example Using the Session Outline View with the Session Editor The Session Outline view content that lists the resources and links can be customized using the Show icons: • Show Outline—The default outline view content. Lists all resources and links in the session editor. This session outline is bidirectional (selecting an element from that view automatically selects the element from the editor).
Working with Running Sessions Viewing the Session Realization Information When opening a session editor for a running session, you can view the session realization information. The realization phase is where the Active System Manager system builds, provisions, and interconnects the resources for the defined requirements. For example, the editor can indicate the following results on the Realization tab (for each resource and link): • Power Off Resources are displayed as grayed-out; see Figure 9-6.
Working with Running Sessions Figure 9-7 Resource Instance Realization Error Figure 9-8 Resource Instance Realization Error For reference, see “Running a Session Audit Report” section on page 12-4. Retry Setup on Failed Resource Realization When the resource setup Resource Adapter methods have failed during the realization phase, you can retry the realization process for the failed resource realization. To do so, select the failed resource, right-click and select Retry Setup.
Working with Running Sessions Using the Sessions Calendar The Sessions view—calendar toolbar (see Figure 9-9) assists planners and managers with planning, scheduling, tracking, and allocating environment resources. The Sessions view—calendar toolbar enables you to view availability and session status of inventory or sessions—as well as resolve scheduling conflicts—against a variable time frame that displays schedule status and the availability of selected items.
Working with Running Sessions Table 9-3 Sessions View Features—Calendar Components (continued) Icon/Feature/Menu Option Description Drag (feature) Edits existing sessions, or extends or reduces the time frame for selected sessions. Filters and Group By (icons) Displays specific sessions; for more information, see the “Filtering” section on page 1-12 and the “Grouping” section on page 1-15.
Working with Running Sessions Figure 9-11 Show All Sessions Example Opening the Session Calendar To open the Session calendar, perform the following steps: 1. On the Active System Manager menu bar, click Window > Show View > Other > Active System Manager > Sessions > OK. The Sessions tab displays with the Sessions view; see Figure 9-12. Figure 9-12 Sessions View 2. Click the Show Calendar icon, if the calendar is not already displayed. 3.
Working with Running Sessions Note Use the Show In Calendar menu option (right click the session and select Show In Calendar) to display the selected session directly in the center of the session calendar; a red vertical marker identifies the selected session. Right-click the Sessions calendar date bar to view the following calendar options: • Day Calendar—Default; displays the calendar in one day segments. • Week Calendar—Displays the calendar in one week segments.
Working with Running Sessions Table 9-4 lists and defines the session-level properties. Table 9-4 Session-Level Properties Tab Name Category Property Description Value Session Custom Name Contains a set of custom and system session-level property names and values. Note: A default set of properties may be available based on your Active System Manager deployment configuration. You can add or remove the custom session-level properties. The Open function is intended to use for opening URLs or links.
Working with Running Sessions Table 9-4 Tab Name Provisioning Session-Level Properties (continued) Category Property Description Value System Status Session status; see Table 9-2 on page 9-7. Current status of your session for that Template. Pending sessions always display as “Confirmed”. The status for sessions currently running is “Active”. Read-only. System Time Left Computed time left in days, hours, minutes. Read-only. System Template Name of the underlying Template created.
Working with Running Sessions Figure 9-15 Session Properties Most of these properties are also displayed in the Properties view for the selected session in the session editor background; see Figure 9-14. 2. Modify the properties, as appropriate. Table 9-5 lists and defines the session’s default properties for the Session tab. The Editable column defines which properties you can modify. Table 9-5 Default Session Properties Property Name Description Editable ID Internal number assigned for session.
Working with Running Sessions Table 9-5 Default Session Properties (continued) Property Name Description Editable Actual Start Date/Time Start date and time of when the session is scheduled. The start time cannot be edited if the session is already in progress. Yes/No; see description Actual End Date/Time End date and time of when the session is scheduled. Can be updated based on resource availability; that is, not booked by someone else.
Working with Running Sessions Canceling Sessions Based on the current state of your session, the Cancel option is available. To cancel a session (or multiple sessions), perform the following steps: 1. In the Sessions view, select one or more sessions to cancel. 2. Right-click and select Cancel to display the Confirm Cancelation dialog box. 3. Click OK to confirm the cancellation. Deleting Sessions Based on the current state of your session, the Delete option is available.
Working with Running Sessions Figure 9-16 Purge Sessions Select, at least, one session to purge. To select all sessions, click Select All; to change your selected sessions, click Deselect All or click the session to deselect it. Note The utilization statistics are also purged. 3. Click OK. Rescheduling Sessions You can reschedule an existing session by using the underlying Template or the original allocated resources. To reschedule a session, perform the following steps: 1.
Working with Running Sessions • Use same resource instances—Uses previously allocated resources with that session. 3. Click the Behavior field to reschedule the session (see Table 8-2 on page 8-3 for definitions): • As Soon As Possible (ASAP) • ASAP with fixed time frame • Fixed start and end date • Permanent Session 4. Specify the Date/Time Options in Days, Hours, and Minutes. 5. Click Next.
Working with Running Sessions Figure 9-18 Rescheduling Session—Solutions 7. Click Next to display the next wizard page. If no solutions are reported, the wizard will display an error page with a high-level error message and a complete set of logs. If this happens, click Back to change your setting request. Solutions should appear; however, if not, the Scheduler logs are displayed.
Working with Running Sessions Figure 9-19 Allocated Resources The top part displays the allocated resource instances selected by the Scheduler, including interfaces. If you click the Identify Preemption Opportunities check box, the bottom part can list sessions that should be canceled in order to schedule this session. 11. Click Next.
Working with Running Sessions Figure 9-20 Scheduling Template Wizard 12. Click Finish to confirm your session. If the Perspective check box is enabled on the Window > Preferences > Scheduler dialog box, a prompt displays, confirming your scheduled session. 13. Click the Remember my decision check box to allow the software to remember the scheduled session and view the all of your sessions. Note This message displays if you are not in the Sessions perspective.
Working with Running Sessions Managing Session Links Authoring links essentially means to create connectivity (links) between or among the interfaces of the resources. The following topics describe how to author links: • Adding Connectivity • Common Features of the Session Link Editor Adding Connectivity When the Active System Manager software starts a session by attempting to realize the associated Template, one of its main tasks is to implement the Template’s links.
Working with Running Sessions Link Type Selector Creating links usually defines a link as “Simplex” (the default). On the action bar (see Figure 9-21), you can set other available options by selecting a link and applying a specific link type. The default is “Simplex”. Table 9-6 lists and describes the filters available on the link editor You can identify the different types of links (through their link end point decorations); see each respective figure for each link type to view the end point decorators.
Working with Running Sessions 9-28 Figure 9-23 Duplex Figure 9-24 Multicast Active System Manager User Guide, Release 7.
Working with Running Sessions Figure 9-25 Tap Link Feasibility Toolbar The link feasibility icons (mutually exclusive) allow you to build connectivity within your Template while being aware of your underlying physical connectivity and compatibility between interface types. • Show Static or Switched Interfaces Only—To use this icon option, you must first select a resource type or resource instance. Effectively, this option removes interfaces that are not connected via the underlying infrastructure.
Working with Running Sessions Creating Session Links To create a session link, perform the following steps: 1. Select an interface in the left pane and drag it to the right pane, or from right to left. The Create Link dialog box displays; see Figure 9-26. Figure 9-26 Create Link 2. By default, a link (with assigned properties) is automatically named; for example, Link_n. Link names must be unique. To change the link name, click the Name field and enter a new link name. 3. Optional.
Working with Running Sessions Table 9-7 lists and defines the default properties for the selected links. Table 9-7 Property Name Default Session Link Properties Description Name Name you assigned to this link, or the default name assigned by the Template perspective. Enter a link name of up to 80 alphanumeric characters, including spaces and special characters. Description Text string that describes this link. Type Type of link: simple.
Working with Running Sessions Handling Link Preemption For information about creating new links and link priority, see Chapter 6, “Using Inventory.” If a path segment (part of one of your links) is preempted while the session is running, the preempted link displays in red. You can try reconnecting the link by right-clicking it and selecting Retry. To delete the links, right-click the links to delete and select Break Link.
Working with Running Sessions When interacting with a group of virtual resources, you must first identify the resource in the group to interact with as follows: 1. Open a session editor; see the “Opening the Session Editor” section on page 9-8. 2. In the session editor, select the group. 3. Right-click and select Switch To > resource ID > resource by name. The selected resource name will be set in the session editor. 4. Right-click and select one of the operations for this resource.
Working with Running Sessions Displaying Resource Status To display a resource’s status, perform the following steps: 1. Open a session editor; see the “Opening the Session Editor” section on page 9-8. 2. In the session editor, select a resource and click the Link Editor tab. The resource and interface status displays in the label; see Figure 9-31. 9-34 Figure 9-31 Resource Status Figure 9-32 Interface Status Active System Manager User Guide, Release 7.
Working with Running Sessions Displaying Link Status To display link status, perform the following steps: 1. Open a session (or link edit); see the “Opening the Session Editor” section on page 9-8. 2. In the session editor, select a resource and click the Link Editor tab. 3. Click the Properties tab (view) and select the link. 4. Click the Realization tab. The Realization path properties identify both end points of the underlying connectivity; see Figure 9-33.
Working with Running Sessions Figure 9-35 Using the F2 Key Displaying Resource Instance Properties To display resource instance inventory properties, perform the following steps: 1. With a session open, click the session editor and select a resource instance. (The Properties view must also be open.) Selecting a resource instance in the session editor will automatically refresh the content of the Properties view. Table 9-8 defines tab names, description, and user action of the Resource—Properties view.
Working with Running Sessions Table 9-8 Resource Properties (continued) Tab Name Description User Action Realization Displays Resource Adapter operations during setup and teardown operations by providing logs. Current status is also provided. Same information is also visible in the Audit Log (Report > Session Audit Report). Read-only. Configuration Files Displays how the resource was configured by Resource Adapters based on the original Template requirement or last system operation.
Working with Running Sessions Adding Resource Instances To add resource instances, perform the following steps: 1. Open a session editor > Resource Instances view. 2. Drag a resource instance node into the session. The outline is yellow, which indicates that the node has not yet been allocated to your session. 3. Enable interfaces. 4. Set the properties as required. Use the Configuration Files and Image Files tabs if you need provisioning. 5. Save the session (File > Save).
Working with Running Sessions 3. Select a substitute option: • Automatic—Allows the Active System Manager software to determine (based on current allocation and availability) a new resource that satisfies the original requirement. • Select resource from reserved pool (For Administrators Only)—For more information about resource pooling, see the “Managing Resource Pools” section on page 5-52. • Manual—Allows you to select from the existing resources available in the inventory. 4.
Working with Running Sessions Deleting Resources Inactive resources can be deleted from the session editor. The only way to bring the resource instance back into the session editor is to drag it from the Resource Instances view or the Search results view; see the “Adding Resource Instances” section on page 9-38. To delete resources, perform the following steps: 1. Open a session editor. 2. Select an inactive resource in the editor. 3. Right-click and select Delete. 4.
Working with Running Sessions Figure 9-38 Associating a Script on a Confirmed Session 2. Select the Associate Script/Testcase option and add a script (see step 3). Associate Script/Testcase—The hostname, username, password, script, and Is Secure and Timeout (Mins) value can be automatically generated from your preferences that you set up in Figure 9-38. You can modify all six values, if necessary.
Working with Running Sessions To set or view script association preferences, see the following sub-sections: • Setting Script Association Preferences • Viewing Session Script Properties Setting Script Association Preferences To set script association preferences, perform the following steps: 1. On the Active System Manager menu bar, click Window > Preferences > Test and Script Execution. 2. Click the Script and Folder Location fields and set the default values, respectively.
Working with Running Sessions Archiving Sessions Using the Session Archive Bin View To archive sessions using the Session Archive Bin view, perform the following steps: 1. On the Active System Manager menu bar, click Window > Show View > Other > Session Archive Bin > OK. The Session Archive Bin view displays; see Figure 9-39. Figure 9-39 Session Archive Bin View 2. Select the session you want to archive within the Sessions view. 3.
Working with Running Sessions Working with Archive Bin Rules Note You may want to archive older templates and sessions, depending on the Archive Bin rules defined by the Active System Manager administrator. Note All users retain the ability to search such templates and sessions within the Active System Manager Archive Bin.
Working with Running Sessions 2. In the All filters section, perform the following sub-steps: a. Click Add. b. Click the Name field and type a rule name that you want to keep for the rule you are defining. c. Click the Type field and select archive or session type. If you select archive type, see the corresponding property types in the Templates column in Table 9-10; if you select the session type, see the corresponding property types in the Sessions column in Table 9-10. 3.
Working with Running Sessions 5. Click the Match [all] or [any] of the above rules field and select all or any. • The all option functions the same way as the AND logic feature. All of the rules must be met before the entry displays. • The any option functions the same way as the OR logic feature. If any of the rules are met, then the entry displays. Note You can define multiple rules; for example, one for templates, one for dates, and so on. 6. Click Apply > OK.
Working with Running Sessions Supporting Layer 2 Switching During the life of a running session, session owners can operate on a VLAN in similar ways as in Template authoring. The following operations are allowed in the session when it comes to VLAN management: 1. A new VLAN component can be introduced to indicate new VLAN connections between resources. 2.
Working with Running Sessions Updating VLAN IDs in a Running Session In a running session, you can add a new VLAN component and provide VLAN IDs by entering values in any of the following properties: Note Updating values in a running session is irrelevant if a VLAN component is already scheduled.
Working with Running Sessions Figure 9-42 Assigning VLAN Count to VLAN Component Note The VLANCount or VLANId property can contain value at a single point of time. VLANId The VLANId provisioning property facilitates you to provide comma separated single or multiple VLAN IDs to the VLAN component. In case of multiple VLAN IDs the value can be provided in the value range format (10..15).
Working with Running Sessions Figure 9-43 Assigning VLAN ID to VLAN Component VLANGroup The VLANGroup inventory property facilities you to provide VLAN IDs in a group. Creating groups for VLAN IDs facilitates you to map your VLAN ID requirements with the existing group names, so as to choose from a set of VLAN IDs as per your requirements. The VLAN groups are created on a matrix switch.
Working with Running Sessions Figure 9-44 Assigning VLANGroup to VLAN Component On saving the value assigned to VLANGroup, the schedular randomly assigns value from the range for the selected group, and assigns the value to the VLAN component; see Figure 9-45.
Working with Running Sessions Figure 9-45 VLAN ID Assigned from Selected Group Range Assettag The Assettag associates a VLAN ID with a matrix switch. To assign value to the Assettag inventory property, press Ctrl+spacebar to select the matrix switch value; see Figure 9-46. 9-52 Active System Manager User Guide, Release 7.
Working with Running Sessions Figure 9-46 Assigning Value to Assettag Note If you select a value for Assettag inventory property and VLANGroup value is blank, then the scheduler searches across selected matrix switch, and assigns a random VLAN ID to the VLAN component. However, if both the assettag and VLANGroup properties contain a value, then the scheduler assigns a VLAN ID to the VLAN component from the selected VLANGroup range.
Working with Running Sessions Figure 9-47 VLAN ID Assigned to VLAN Component Deleting a VLAN Component from a Running Session To delete a VLAN component from a running session, perform the following tasks: 1. Right-click a VLAN component, select Status and click Inactive; see Figure 9-48. Figure 9-48 9-54 Inactivating VLAN Component Active System Manager User Guide, Release 7.
Working with Running Sessions 2. Click Save. 3. Right-click the VLAN component and click Delete; see Figure 9-49. Figure 9-49 Deleting VLAN Component 4. Click Save to delete the VLAN component. Saving Sessions The session editor allows you to save the current configuration at any time and the Template is saved to the Active System Manager archive, so that the next time you use the equipment, you can continue from where you last worked on that session.
Working with Running Sessions Figure 9-50 Saving the Session as a New Template Note You can modify certain parameters (see Table 9-5 on page 9-18) and save any session you create. The default name you use for the session in the Session properties dialog box (see Figure 9-15 on page 9-18), determines how the session is recognized in the Active System Manager archive. 2. Click the Name field and enter a name for the Template. Do not use the original name. Enter descriptive text in the Description field.
Configuring Session Notifications and Reminders Note Only the Template is saved, with or without asset tags as you request. The configuration files in the Active System Manager archive are not changed. Note The Save feature only commits changes to templates in the Public or Private area within the system. Use a new Template name when using the Save As feature. If you save a Template, the Active System Manager software adds it to the Active System Manager archive.
Configuring Session Notifications and Reminders Setting Session Notifications and Reminders To set session notifications and reminders, perform the following steps: 1. On the Active System Manager menu bar, click Window > Preferences > Scheduler > Notifications and Reminders. The Preferences—Notifications Reminders dialog box displays; see Figure 9-51. Figure 9-51 Preferences—Notifications Reminders (for Sessions) Dialog Box 2.
Configuring Session Notifications and Reminders Figure 9-52 Add Session Notification—Events Tab Dialog Box 3. In the Rule section, perform the following sub-steps: a. Click the Name field and type a name for the notification rule. Note A notification rule cannot be saved without a name. b. Click the Description field and type a corresponding description for the notification rule. c. Click the Scope field and select All Sessions (System Wide).
Configuring Session Notifications and Reminders • On session resource change • On status change 5. Optional. If you select the On status change check box in step 4, select the session status to change. If not, skip this step and go to step 6.
Configuring Session Notifications and Reminders 7. In the Email Recipients section, select one or more email recipients: • Owner—Owner of the session notification. • Participants—Participants of the session notification. • Other—List of email addresses you enter, separated by a semicolon. 8. In the Email Format section, select the email format that the Active System Manager system sends out: • Plain text—Email is provided in plain text format.
Configuring Session Notifications and Reminders 2. Click Add > Reminders. The Add Session Reminder dialog box displays; Figure 9-54. Figure 9-54 Add Session Reminder 3. In the Rule section, perform the following sub-steps: a. Click the Name field and type a name for the reminder rule. Note A reminder rule cannot be saved without a name. b. Click the Description field and type a corresponding description for the reminder rule. c. Click the Scope field and select All Sessions (System Wide).
Starting and Stopping ASAP Rescheduling Editing Session Reminders To edit session reminders, perform the following steps: 1. Open the Preferences—Notifications Reminders dialog box by one of the following methods: • In the Sessions view or session editor, select a session to set the reminder options, right-click and select Edit. • On the Active System Manager menu bar, click Window > Preferences > Scheduler > Notifications & Reminders.
Managing Virtual Resources Figure 9-55 Start and Stop Automatic Rescheduling Menu Options Managing Virtual Resources Note All operations associated with managing session resources applies to virtual resources only. For information about inventory management used to model virtual resource types and resources, see Chapter 5, “Inventory Management.” If you are working with session elements modeled as virtual resources, there are few more operations available to you.
Managing Virtual Resources Duplicating Virtual Resources This procedure allows you to quickly clone a virtual resource in your environment by adding a new resource with same characteristics as the one selected. Set-up script will be also running during this operations. To duplicate virtual resources, perform the following steps: 1. Open a session editor; see the “Opening the Session Editor” section on page 9-8. 2. Select a virtual resource, right-click and select Duplicate.
Managing Virtual Resources Scaling Up Virtual Resources Scaling up a virtual resource allows for administrators and session owners to request and immediately change the capacity-based properties of the virtual resources. This feature can also be used in the context of relocation if necessary. The current capacity property values can be found in the Elasticity tab. To scale up virtual resources, perform the following steps: 1. Open a session editor; see the “Opening the Session Editor” section on page 9-8.
Managing Virtual Resources Executing System-Based Operations There are three sub-menus available (out of the box) to execute system-based operations; see Figure 9-56: • Apply Configuration Files—Applies a new configuration to the resource using the associated configuration file. • Apply Image Files—Applies a new set of OS images to the selected resources. • Snapshot—Saves the current configuration and image file back into the repository.
Managing Virtual Resources You can apply the non-associated configuration file to the resource. To display all configuration files, click the Show All Configuration Files check box. The Up and Down button is available f you have, at least, two files, you can rearrange the order in which the files will be applied on the resource by the Active System Manager software. For information about setting up provisioning parameters; see Chapter 6, “Using Inventory.
Managing Virtual Resources Executing Custom-Based Operations on Managed Resources To execute custom-based operations on managed resources, perform the following steps: 1. Open a running session, right-click one or more resources, and select Custom Operation >
Managing Virtual Resources Figure 9-58 Example—Custom View Operation Results The Custom Operations view is a ordinary navigation view that supports Filter and Group By functions (custom filtering and grouping). It allows you to re-execute and see the status and history of all those operations. Executing Custom-Based Operations on Control Resources To execute custom-based operations on control resources, perform the following steps: 1.
Managing Virtual Resources 2. In the Operation list that displays, select the resource to perform the operation. One or more control resources display. The list of parameters and operations will change depending on the resource Resource Adapter. The Operation pull-down menu is pre-filled and a list of associated properties display. 3. Optional. Specify the following values for those properties: • Name—By default is available by the Resource Adapter. • Value—The default value (if available) displays.
Managing Virtual Resources Figure 9-60 Resource Adapter Log Output Example Monitoring Resource Adapter Execution You can monitor Resource Adapter operation logs “live” while they are executing. To do so, perform the following steps: 1. Open a running session editor (session editor). 2. Right-click a resource and select Resource Adapter Log > Monitor. A new view displays where the Resource Adapter execution output can be viewed while it is being executed; see Figure 9-61.
Managing Virtual Resources Working with Resource Terminals The Sessions perspective allows you to work with the resource terminals of the resources in your Template. Multiple consoles can be open at the same time. The following topics describe how to work with resource terminals: • Opening a Resource Terminal • Using the Active Terminals View • Using Terminal Emulation Support Opening a Resource Terminal The Resource Terminal view displays console input and output to a resource.
Managing Virtual Resources The Monitoring console mode is used to monitor already opened connections to the resource. It does not open any new connection with a resource; for example, if the protocol is set for Secure Shell (SSH), the user is not prompted for a username and password. The Show message on console display option displays the Mediation Server information messages. The Secure session check box option opens an SSL socket.
Managing Virtual Resources Figure 9-63 Active Terminals View Using Terminal Emulation Support The Active System Manager Terminal Emulation is a visual software component that acts as the front end. It displays the data that is transmitted by the remote host and translates keystrokes to be sent to the remote host. The Active System Manager product supports: • An ANSI/vt100-compliant terminal, provided the resource to which you are communicating also supports the same.
Managing Virtual Resources 9-76 Active System Manager User Guide, Release 7.
Chapter 10 Orchestration Management This chapter describes the Active System Manager software’s Orchestration feature. The Orchestration feature helps you to create a template-like structure called Orchestration, for executing a sequence of operations in steps. In this chapter you learn how to create, update, and delete Orchestrations.
Understanding Orchestration Figure 10-1 displays the organization of steps in Orchestration. Figure 10-1 Organization of Steps in Orchestration In Figure 10-1, the Available Operations View pane displays the template resources, along with a list of custom operations related to each visible template resource. You can drag-and-drop these custom operations in Orchestration View pane to create ordered steps collectively (also called Orchestration).
Understanding Orchestration Orchestration Types The Active System Manager software facilitates you (template owner) with the ability to specify the Orchestration on the basis of three different reservation states, where Orchestrations can be executed. Table 10-1 lists and describes the various Orchestration types based on reservation states.
Understanding Orchestration Selecting Custom Operations While building Orchestrations based on custom operations or prior to executing custom operations explicitly, you are required to provide certain parameter values for selected custom operations. Instead of manually entering these parameter values, you can choose to select pre-defined values from custom operations Value Source as defined in Resource Adapter definition. In Orchestration, a Value Source refers to the Primary Source field.
Working with Orchestrations 5. Check the required parameter value from the list of values displayed to auto-populate the Value field with selected value. This value is referred to determine the actual runtime value of the parameter at execution time. 6. Click OK to add custom operation in Orchestration. Working with Orchestrations The direct access to Template and Orchestration view is available through the Perspective navigation bar, that appears on the extreme left of Active System Manager software.
Working with Orchestrations Creating Orchestrations The On-Demand Orchestration can be set as Setup Orchestration or Teardown Orchestration. Any Template can contain a maximum of one designated Setup and Teardown Orchestration. The context-menu, to change Orchestration type, is based on applicability; for example, for an Orchestration which is of type Setup, the visible context-menu to change the Orchestration type contains On-Demand and Teardown Orchestration types.
Working with Orchestrations Figure 10-4 Orchestration Editor The Orchestration Editor contains Available Operations View pane and Orchestration View pane: • Available Operations view pane—Contains all RA custom operations associated with each resource in your Template. • Orchestration view—Working pane where you build your workflow by any of the following two methods: • Dragging and dropping custom operations from the Available Operations view pane.
Working with Orchestrations Figure 10-5 Specify Input Values 3. Enter RA input values in Parameters, wherever required. Note For ease of use, Active System Manager facilitates context assistance for custom operations; see Possible Values in Figure 10-5. 4. In case of Add Script: Note The Active System Manager software has the ability to execute arbitrary scripts from the orchestration. You can associate script (scripts) with any step of orchestration.
Working with Orchestrations 5. Click Add to add any of the following four script types: • Add Default Script—Adds the default script. • Add Script from Repository—Adds the script from the repository; see Figure 10-7. Figure 10-7 • Add Script from Repository Add from HTTP Server—Adds the HTTP scripts; see Figure 10-8.
Working with Orchestrations • Resource Level Script—Adds resource level scripts, see Figure 10-9. Figure 10-9 Add Resource Level Script 6. Click OK to add the custom operation or script to the step in the Orchestration View pane. Note At each Orchestration step, you can choose to execute or skip executing any particular step in an orchestration. For more details, refer “Re-Executing Failed Steps” section on page 10-10 At each Orchestration step, you can choose to abort or skip, if any error occurs.
Working with Orchestrations Figure 10-10 Re-Executing Failed Steps The following right-click options are available to select steps for execution: • Rename—Allows you to rename the selected step by right clicking or double clicking on the step. • Select Execute All—Allows you to select all steps for execution on a single click. • Deselect Execute All—Allows you to deselect all selected steps on a single click.
Working with Orchestrations Figure 10-11 Abort on Error 2. Click Finish to save settings. Note By default, the Abort on Error check box is deselected. Editing Orchestrations Orchestrations can be edited from: • Orchestrations View for Setup, On-Demand, and Teardown Type Orchestrations. • Running Session Before Execution. Note When Orchestration is edited from Orchestrations view, the update is permanent, and is applicable to any Session that uses the edited Orchestration thereafter.
Working with Orchestrations To edit an existing Orchestration, perform the following steps: 1. Right-click (or double-click) an existing Orchestration and click Open; see Figure 10-12. Figure 10-12 Context-Menu for Updating Orchestration The Orchestration Editor displays; see Figure 10-13. Figure 10-13 Orchestration Editor for Updating Orchestration 2. Edit the sequence as required.
Working with Orchestrations Deleting Orchestrations To delete an Orchestration, perform the following steps: 1. Select the Orchestration to delete and right-click to select Delete, or press the Delete key. 2. When the Confirm Delete dialog box displays, click OK. Linking Orchestrations with Template Selection The Linking feature allows you to view all Orchestrations related to the selected Template.
Executing Orchestration Executing Orchestration Note On-Demand Orchestrations are executed in a running Session. You are required to schedule a Template before executing related Orchestrations in a running session. To do this, right-click a Template and click Schedule. Follow the scheduling process thereafter to reserve a Template for the session. To execute Orchestration, perform the following steps: 1. Right-click a running session and select the Orchestration to execute from Execute Orchestration.
Executing Orchestration 3. On selecting an Orchestration, the Execute Orchestration Update dialog box displays. Before executing, you can update the Orchestration. The selected Orchestration details display in Orchestration View pane prior to execution. If you change the Orchestration and then execute it, the original Orchestration associated with Template will remain unchanged. The change applies to that particular session where the Template is executed. 4. Click OK.
Executing Orchestration Orchestration Execution with Default Operation Properties View The Orchestration Execution view displays the Orchestration and its status (Completed, Aborted, In-Progress, Skipped (in case Execute is unchecked)) for the opened running session in a tree structure. It also facilitates viewing the hierarchial representation of real-time Orchestration step execution.
Executing Orchestration Console View The Console view displays the real-time status of each step in an executing Orchestration; see Figure 10-18. Figure 10-18 10-18 Console View of Executing Orchestration Active System Manager User Guide, Release 7.
Chapter 11 Working with Test and Script Execution This chapter describes the various methods of how to work with test and script execution using the Active System Manager software: • Working with Test Cases • Working with Resource Scripts • Working with Session Scripts • Customizing Script Execution • Working with the Execution Queue View Working with Test Cases This section describes the following topics about working with test cases: • Opening the Test Cases View • Setting Preferences for S
Working with Test Cases Setting Preferences for Script Servers To set preferences and the default values for script servers, perform the following steps: 1. Select one of the following options to display the Preferences dialog box (Figure 11-1): • On the Active System Manager menu toolbar, click Window > Preferences > Test and Script Execution > Script Server. • In the Test Cases view, select one or more test cases, right-click and select Preferences. Figure 11-1 Setting Preferences for Test Cases 2.
Working with Test Cases Starting a Test Case You can use the Session perspective to view a list of all of the test cases that are associated with a reserved Template. You can then select one of those test cases to execute on the remote host. You can also execute multiple tests on the Template from the session editor. While other Session perspective sessions can connect to the same session, only the session that starts the test case can monitor it or execute commands on it.
Working with Resource Scripts Working with Resource Scripts Resource scripts are executable files located in a script repository on a remote server. The repository must follow a strict directory structure to allow for resource-level scripts to be executed. The directory structure should follow the Manufacturer and Model name, as defined per each resource type.
Working with Resource Scripts Setting Default Runtime Environment Variables To set default runtime environment variables that will be passed to each resource script executions, perform one of the following options: 1. Open the Script Server preferences: • On the Active System Manager menu toolbar, click Window > Preferences > Test and Script Execution > Script Server. • In the Resource Scripts view, select one or more resource scripts, right-click and select Preferences. 2.
Working with Session Scripts 5. Optional. Select a script and click Environment to overwrite the default execution environment settings. For more information about the global settings, see the “Setting Preferences for Resource Scripts” section on page 11-4. 6. Click OK to start the resource scripts. For more information about script execution, see the “Customizing Script Execution” section on page 11-8.
Working with Session Scripts Setting Preferences for Session Scripts The following sub-sections describe how to set preferences for session scripts: • Setting a Default Remote Script Execution Environment • Setting Default Runtime Environment Variables Setting a Default Remote Script Execution Environment You can set runtime environment variables at the resource and session level.
Customizing Script Execution Customizing Script Execution To customize script execution, perform the following steps: 1. Open the Execute Scripts dialog box by one of the following methods: • In the Sessions view, select a running session, right-click, and select Execute Session Scripts. • In the Resource Scripts view, select one or more scripts, right-click, and select Start. Depending on how many scripts you select, that number of scripts will appear in the Execute Scripts dialog box.
Customizing Script Execution Figure 11-2 Table 11-2 Script Server Properties Execute Scripts Property Fields Field Description Hostname Script server hostname or IP address. Username Remote Shell (RSH) or Secure Shell (SSH) username; a UNIX account. Password Remote Shell (RSH) or Secure Shell (SSH) password; a UNIX account. Script Default session script. Folder Location Default location to store the scripts.
Working with the Execution Queue View Working with the Execution Queue View The Execution Queue view displays all test case and script (session startup, or session level, or resource level) executions. The Execution Queue view has a default set of filters: • Scripts • HTTP Scripts • Test Cases Each execution is identified by a unique identifier (ID), which is recorded in the execution output and displayed in the Execution Queue view. Each execution ID equals one script.
Working with the Execution Queue View Table 11-3 Execution States and Their Related Functions (continued) State Description Menu-Function-Description Running The execution is in the process of running. You can view the start time. • • • • • • • • Start—Starts a new execution. Stop—Stops the execution. Delete—Deletes the execution. Monitor Execution Output—Displays a new view (Console) where you can monitor the output in an ongoing state.
Working with the Execution Queue View Deleting an Execution ID To delete an execution ID, in the Execution Queue view, right-click an execution ID (in any state; see Table 11-3) and select Delete. Monitoring Execution Output To monitor the execution output, in the Execution Queue view, right-click an execution ID (only in the Running state) and click Monitor Execution Output. The output displays in the Console view. Note You can only perform this function in the Running state.
Chapter 12 Reports The Active System Manager software has several built-in reports for tracking the usage of your environment’s inventory. They are usually displayed in your default web browser and can be printed or exported to PDF. You can also use the Active System Manager software to create a wide array of custom reports. For additional information on creating custom reports, refer to the available BIRT documentation.
Using Standard User Report Types Running a Control Equipment Summary Report The Active System Manager software provides two types of inventory equipment summaries: one for managed equipment and one for control equipment. The Control Equipment Summary report displays summary information on the control equipment in inventory on the current server. This report lists each item of your control equipment, grouped by category (matrix switch, Trivial File Transfer Protocol [TFTP] server, and so on).
Using Standard User Report Types Running a Managed Equipment Detail Report The Managed Equipment Detail report lists the ports on each resource, what card they are located on, and relationships that apply to them. Use this report to help you manage your environment physically and as a network.
Using Standard User Report Types Running a Session Report The Session report lists the sessions associated with the environment. To run a Session report, perform the following steps: 1. On the Active System Manager menu bar, click Reports > Session Report. The Sessions Filter Options display. This filter works in the standard way for the Active System Manager software. 2. If no criteria is entered, then all sessions are included in the report.
Using Standard Administrator Report Types Table 12-1 lists and describes the Session Audit report sections. Table 12-1 Session Audit Report Sections Section Description Overview List of core properties associated with the session. Associated Rendering Screenshot of the session or custom rendering. Template Scripts Status Success or failure messages associated with the execution of the Template-level scripts. Session Properties Custom (user-defined) properties associated with the session.
Using Standard Administrator Report Types Running a User Management Report There are two types of security management reports available: • The User report lists all of the administrators in the first section, and then all of the (non-administrator) users in the next section. Within each section, entries are listed alphabetically by last name, then first name. • The Group Definition report lists all of the groups that have been defined in the Active System Manager software.
Printing Reports Printing Reports The Active System Manager software reporting feature is designed to print out all information in a given category, not just the information you see displayed on the screen. For best results, use the Landscape mode in your browser’s print settings.
Printing Reports 12-8 Active System Manager User Guide, Release 7.
Chapter 13 Settings This chapter describes the Settings menu option; this option allows the administrator to set a variety of system settings. To access the Settings page, on the Active System Manager menu bar, click Settings. The Settings page displays with the Settings sub-menu open, by default; see Figure 13-1. Note For the purpose of displaying a generic, full capture of the Settings page, the Settings page has been intentionally cropped.
Figure 13-1 13-2 Settings Main Page (Email Notification, Script Server) Active System Manager User Guide, Release 7.
Figure 13-2 Settings Settings Main Page (General, Scheduler Options, Session Approval Settings) 13-3
Configuring Settings Configuring Settings The administrator can configure the following settings from the Settings sub-menu: • Settings • Database • License • Script Servers • Properties Settings Note The Settings sub-menu page displays, by default, when you click the Settings sub-menu. The Settings sub-menu allows the administrator to set E-mail notification settings, script server settings, general settings and auto-test deployment settings. For system settings, perform the following steps: 1.
Configuring Settings Table 13-2 Script Server Settings Fields (continued) Fields Description Remote Script Location Enter servers’ remote script location Resource Script Location Enter servers’ resource script location Reservation Script Parameters Enter scripts’ reservation script parameters Device Script Parameters Enter scripts’ device script parameters Secure Communication Check for establishing and ensuring securing communication 4.
Configuring Settings Database The Database sub-menu allows the administrator to backup the database and schedule backup operation for the database. To back up and schedule database, perform the following steps: 1. On the Active System Manager menu bar, click Sessions > Database to display the existing database listing; see Figure 13-3.
Configuring Settings Figure 13-4 Schedule Database Table 13-6 lists and defines the fields to be set for scheduling database backup.
Configuring Settings Log File The Log File operation allows you to create a log file of the selected database from the list for future reference. To create a log file of selected database entry, perform the following steps: 1. Click Log File in Action column. The Log File page displays; see Figure 13-6. Figure 13-6 Log File Dialog Box 2. Open the file in XML editor or choose your own program to open the selected file. 3. Save the file in a designated location. 4.
License License The License sub-menu allows the administrator to view the licensing status. To view licensing status, perform the following steps: 1. On the Active System Manager menu bar, click Settings > License to display the current licensing information and associated live (current) counters; see Figure 13-7. Figure 13-7 Current Licensing Status Note The User Sessions option is only displayed for superadmin users.Click User Sessions to display a list of all users accessed to the system.
License Figure 13-8 Get New License 5. When the Dell Support team responds to your software license request, paste the license file provided and click Submit. 13-10 Active System Manager User Guide, Release 7.
Script Servers Script Servers The Script Servers sub-menu allows the administrator add and view the list of added script servers. To view and add script servers, perform the following steps: 1. Click Settings > Script Servers to display the list of existing script servers; see Figure 13-9.
Properties Table 13-7 lists and defines the fields to be set for adding a new HTTP Script Server. Table 13-7 Fields for Adding HTTP Script Server Fields Description Server Name* Mandatory field. Enter HTTP script server name to be added Server IP Address* Mandatory field. Enter HTTP script server IP address Server Port* Pre-populated by default port number 2. Click Save to add new HTTP script server. Deleting Server To delete an existing script server from the list, click Delete; see Figure 13-9.
Properties Updating Properties You can update the properties of the following Active System Manager components by exporting .csv file properties: • Inventory • Template • Session • Template Link • Preferences Note The Import (see the “Importing Properties” section on page 13-13) and Export (see the “Exporting Properties” section on page 13-14) operation works in a similar manner for all components. Importing Properties To import properties, perform the following steps: 1.
Properties Exporting Properties To export properties, perform the following steps: 1. On the Properties screen, click Export; see Figure 13-11. Figure 13-13 Exporting Properties 2. Click Open or Save to a designated location. 3. Open the file from the designated location and update the properties in the .csv file. 13-14 Active System Manager User Guide, Release 7.
Chapter 14 Dashboard This chapter describes the Dashboard perspective and its features. The Dashboard perspective provides an “at-a-glance-birds-eye view” of your Active System Manager. To use this view, you can manage, add, or remove widgets to share with the administrator a solid understanding of your physical and virtualized infrastructure. Figure 14-1 displays an example of the Dashboard perspective, as a non-administrator user logged in.
Managing Widgets Managing Widgets The Dashboard perspective contains widgets that define your infrastructure in a specific layout. A widget is a stand-alone application that can be embedded into third party sites by any user on a page where they have rights of authorship (e.g. a web page, blog, or profile on a social media site). Widgets allow users to turn personal content into dynamic web apps that can be shared on websites where the code can be installed.
Managing Widgets The following topics describe how to use and manage the Dashboard content: • Adding a Widget • Editing a Widget • Customizing a Widget • Refreshing Widget Content • Deleting a Widget • Deleting a Widget • Changing the Dashboard Layout • Rearranging Dashboard Content Adding a Widget To add a widget, perform the following steps: 1.
Managing Widgets Editing a Widget To edit a widget, perform the following steps: 1. Open the Dashboard perspective and view the widgets, use one of the following methods: • On the Active System Manager navigation menu, click Dashboard. • On the Active System Manager menu bar, click Window > Open Perspective > Dashboard. 2. Select a widget, on the title bar, click the down arrow icon, Figure 14-3 and select Edit; see Figure 14-3.
Managing Widgets Refreshing Widget Content For some widget, the associated data does not refresh automatically, so you may be looking at stale information. To get an up-to-date representation of the widget data, you will need to refresh its content; perform the following steps: 1. Open the Dashboard perspective and view the widgets, use one of the following methods: • On the Active System Manager navigation menu, click Dashboard.
Managing Widgets Changing the Dashboard Layout Depending on how you want to view the Dashboard content, you can manipulate the layout as follows: 1. Open the Dashboard perspective and view the widgets; use one of the following methods: • On the Active System Manager navigation menu, click Dashboard. • On the Active System Manager menu bar, click Window > Open Perspective > Dashboard. 2. Select a widget. If the widget is empty, click the Edit layout link; see Figure 14-4.
