Systems Administration

Part Two of Network Management Lecture

Elements of IT Infrastrucuture that must be managed

• Enterprise network

• LAN Management

• Server Management

• Desktop Management

• Database Management

• Application Management

• Remote Access Management

Application Management Specification

• AMS: put together by HP, Tivoli, Oracle

• ARM: Application Response Management

• Also IETF standard WBEM : Web Based Enterprise Management– Integrates SNMP & HTTP & DMI

Server Management & Systems Administration

• Monitoring

• Reporting

• Troubleshooting

• Diagnosing Server performance

• requires Software Modules on Servers

Configuration Management

• Single Sign-on

• Licence metering tools

• Automated S/W inventory tools

• Software distribution tools

• Handled by Policy Based Management tools– Can manage more than one type of Computer

Client & Desktop Management

• Config & support of Workstations or Clients– Hardware & OS more than Apps

• Architecture & Protocols proposed by

“Desktop Management Taskforce” (DMTF)– Gives rise to DMI

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Distributed Management Architecture

• An API that can be used by applications developers is known as application response measurement (ARM) and can measure several key application statistics

Client & Desktop Management

• In theory - Desktop Management & Enterprise Management must be able to interoperate– Desktop Mgmt info stored in

• MIF ( Management Info Format )

– Enterprise uses a • MIB ( Management Info Base )

– MIB - MIF mapper required

Desktop Management Technology

• Suites of Applications– Netwizard– Tivoli IT Director

• Challenge is extending desktop management to Laptops– S/Wdistribution, change analysis, job

scheduling, asset monitoring, backup, virus protection

Database Management

• 2 ways of looking at it: – Distributed Database Management– Enterprise Database Management

Distributed Database Management

• Build in self diagnosing intelligence– referred to as ‘Instrumentation’– Software Agents that collect performance data

and report it via SNMP

• 2 network related variables that can affect this are: Bandwidth & Latency

• No standard of what data should be gathered or how it should be reported.

Enterprise Database Management

• When companies combine - variety of databases around the enterprise

• Consolidating distributed databases into an enterprise view

Enterprise Database Management Tools

• Global User Administration– Security Management

• Heterogeneous data schema and content manipulation

• Effective troubleshooting– Monitor for free space, runaway processes,high

CPU utilisation, low swap space

• Should support: Oracle, Informix, SQL Server, Adaptive Server & DB2

Laptop Management Technology

• A Mobile MIF is available

• Information gathered:– Battery levels– ac Lines– Docking status– Device bays