HP Toptools 5 - Hewlett Packardwhp-hou4.cold.extweb.hp.com/pub/toptools/Users_Manual.pdf · For...

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HP Toptools 5.5 User Guide

Transcript of HP Toptools 5 - Hewlett Packardwhp-hou4.cold.extweb.hp.com/pub/toptools/Users_Manual.pdf · For...

  • HP Toptools 5.5

    User Guide

  • toptools User Guide

    . Notice Page

    The information and specifications contained in this document are subject to change

    Hewlett-Packard makes no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Hewlett-Packard shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material. This document contains proprietary information, which is protected by copyright. All rights are reserved. No part of this document may be photocopied, reproduced, or translated to another language without the prior written consent of Hewlett-Packard Company. The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice. Microsoft®, Windows®, and Windows NT® are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Pentium® is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation. IBM and NetFinity are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. Compaq and Compaq Insight Manager are registered trademarks of Compaq Computer Corporation. Netware® and Novell® are registered trademarks of Novell Corporation. Unicenter® and TNG® are registered trademarks of Computer Associates International, Inc. SCO Unix® is a registered trademark of The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc. Other brand and product names are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders. Hewlett-Packard Company 2001 All Rights Reserved. Document Version 1.0 Hewlett-Packard Co. 10955 Tantau Ave. Cupertino, CA 95014 U.S.A.

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  • toptools User Guide Preface Toptools is a collection of applications and agents designed to provide device management of Hewlett-Packard computing products. At the center of the toptools solution is a device management tool (also referred to as the Device Manager) that is designed to help you identify and diagnose network and system problems quickly using a friendly and intuitive web-based interface. Additional “components” can be installed that provide management functions for specific device types such as servers or hubs and switches. This User Guide will provide instructions on the installation and use of toptools. For instructions on using HP Toptools Enterprise Products, refer to the User Guide for each specific product.

    Organization of this Guide This guide introduces you to toptools and suggests ways in which it can ease your network and system management tasks. It is organized into the following sections: • Introduction provides an overview of toptools and describes its features. • Installation provides a list of prerequisites and step-by-step installation instructions. • Using Toptools describes how to use toptools to perform typical network management tasks. • Information and Support provides remedies to common problems and information on how to get support. It

    also gives web locations where you can find HP computing product management-related information. • The Glossary provides definitions of common network terms.

    New Features This release contains many new features. For a more complete list of changes refer to the Readme file. Some of the new features are: • New devices and systems supported. Windows XP, HP-UX, Linux. HP 9000 Servers, Microsoft Clusters,

    APC UPS’s, and IA-64 hardware running Windows 2000 or Windows XP are now supported. • System Performance Advisor added. The System Performance Advisor allows you to monitor Microsoft

    Windows system resources. You can create custom performance reports for selected systems. • Enhanced discovery. Discovery node count is now limited only by system resources. See the Requirements

    discussion in the Installation section for more information. Toptools discovers the presence of pcAnywhere, NTWebAdmin, Telnet, and Instant Toptools. Additional discovery from manually added devices is restricted to provide greater control of the discovery process.

    • Improved event management. Custom groups can now be used for device selection. NT Event logging has

    been added as an action. A frequent alert report has been added to help identify problem devices. A test alert feature has been added to aid in action configuration. Automatic alert deletion has been added to remove unacknowledged alerts after “n” days.

    • Extended asset management. New inventory reports for Windows XP migration, racked systems, server

    drivers, and HP 9000 servers have been added. Reports for hubs, switches, routers, and Remote Control cards now provide firmware version information.

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  • toptools User Guide • New Property Pages. Support information has been added for Instant Support Tuner, PartSurfer, and Smart

    Search. • Simpler security. Toptools user groups are now local restricting access to the domain and allowing user

    groups to be added to the User Role groups (toptools, toptools operators, and toptools admins). • Utilities. Utilities are provided to make management easier.

    Mib2Imp – Allows import of supplemental alert descriptions SetTTPassword – Allows you to configure toptools accounts and passwords after installation. TTAddDevices – Allows you to add lists of devices and addresses.

    • Training. Self-paced training for toptools is available on the toptools CD at \Online Training\start.html or

    from the Hewlett-Packard web site at ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/toptools/Training/start.html

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  • toptools User Guide

    Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................... 7

    What Can HP Toptools Manage?..............................................................................................................7 Architecture ...............................................................................................................................................8

    Installation ................................................................................................................... 11 Hardware and Software Requirements ...................................................................................................11

    Toptools Management Server........................................................................................................................11 Recommendations for Managing Large Networks .........................................................................................13 Toptools Consoles .........................................................................................................................................13 Managed Nodes ............................................................................................................................................15

    Installation Procedure..............................................................................................................................17 Using HP Toptools ...................................................................................................... 33

    Navigating the HP Toptools Console ......................................................................................................33 The Navigation Panel.....................................................................................................................................34 The Device Selector.......................................................................................................................................35 The Alert Log .................................................................................................................................................38 Online Help ....................................................................................................................................................39

    Applications, Actions and Settings ..........................................................................................................39 Performing Actions on Devices......................................................................................................................39 Viewing Inventory Reports .............................................................................................................................51 Inventory Data Collection...............................................................................................................................51 Polling ............................................................................................................................................................52 Discovery .......................................................................................................................................................53 Auditing..........................................................................................................................................................53 Actions on Alerts............................................................................................................................................54 Internet & Email Services...............................................................................................................................55 Managing the Drivers/Firmware Version Database .......................................................................................55 Managing the TFTP Server............................................................................................................................56 Managing Toptools Services..........................................................................................................................56 Installing the Toptools MMC Snap-In .............................................................................................................56

    Using the System Performance Advisor..................................................................................................57 Performance Button.......................................................................................................................................58 System Performance .....................................................................................................................................58 Standard Report ............................................................................................................................................58 Custom Reports.............................................................................................................................................58 Starting Performance Monitoring ...................................................................................................................58 Creating A Custom Group..............................................................................................................................59 Selecting A Group to Monitor.........................................................................................................................59 Configuring the Performance Advisor ............................................................................................................59 Deploying Agents...........................................................................................................................................60 System Prerequisites .....................................................................................................................................62 Performance Reports.....................................................................................................................................63

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  • toptools User Guide

    HP Toptools for Desktops .......................................................................................................................68 Locating Personal Computers........................................................................................................................68 Updating Drivers/Firmware ............................................................................................................................69 Preventative Maintenance .............................................................................................................................71

    HP Toptools for Servers ..........................................................................................................................74 Obtaining Operational Status.........................................................................................................................74 Obtaining Software and Driver Information ....................................................................................................74 Finding a Bad Hard Disk Drive Using the Disk Locator Tool..........................................................................76

    HP Toptools for Hubs and Switches........................................................................................................78 Displaying Topology Maps.............................................................................................................................78 Monitoring Network Traffic Levels..................................................................................................................82

    Information and Support ............................................................................................ 89 Online Support and Information ..............................................................................................................89 Telephone Support ..................................................................................................................................89 HP Toptools Documentation and Training ..............................................................................................90 Performance and Troubleshooting Tips ..................................................................................................90

    Glossary....................................................................................................................... 93

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  • toptools User Guide

    Introduction Toptools is a web-based, device management tool that enables administrators and MIS managers to use a web browser to obtain information about devices on their network. It provides a common management application for HP personal computers, Netservers, HP-UX systems, AdvanceStack and ProCurve hubs and switches, and LaserJet printers as well as products from other vendors.

    What Can HP Toptools Manage? Toptools provides critical network and systems management services to both HP and non-HP devices on the network allowing administrators to quickly and easily determine the health and configuration of their network resources through the following services: • Asset Management. Toptools discovers and reports on all devices connected to the network (PCs, servers,

    printers, networking devices) using automated discovery and inventory processes that save collected data to an ODBC compliant database. Users can browse network resources and reports using a web browser to open a toptools console session, or a database application like Microsoft Access to merge data into more sophisticated IS project and asset management databases. In addition, toptools can be used with HP-UX ServiceControl Manager (SCM) to provide additional management capabilities for HP-UX systems.

    • Fault Management. Toptools receives, logs, displays, and acts on alerts from devices in your network, and

    then provides the tools to help troubleshoot and resolve problems when they occur. For example, Hubs & Switches Automatic Configuration Management can configure your ProCurve switches to automatically send a trap to the Toptools server when a traffic problem occurs. Toptools can be configured to send a page when the alert is received. When paged, the administrator can log into toptools using a web browser, get more details on the alert, and then access the switch from the toptools Device Selector to correct the problem by (e.g.) changing the configuration of a port.

    • Configuration Management. Using toptools, administrators can directly access the configuration of critical

    resources such as printers through HP Web JetAdmin, or distribute software such as drivers or BIOS to HP personal computers and Netservers.

    • Security Management. Toptools allows users to configure access to HP products through actions such as Lock

    System for an HP Vectra, or configuring MAC address access to ports on HP ProCurve hubs. • Performance Management. Toptools provides both network and system performance monitoring tools.

    Toptools for Hubs & Switches offers the Network Performance Advisor and Traffic Monitor to view and advise on network traffic. Toptools for Desktops agents provide Resource Monitoring tools that monitor and display system resource utilization on PCs and generate alerts when thresholds are exceeded. Toptools contains the System Performance Advisor which monitors systems utilization and generates systems utilization alerts for HP and non-HP PC and server products at the individual device or group level.

    Any device from any vendor can be managed, provided that the device is on a TCP/IP or IPX/SPX network and running a management agent from one of the following industry standardized protocols: DMI, SNMP, WMI, HTTP. The amount of management support provided by toptools is determined by: • HP Product. Toptools is designed to lower the cost of ownership of HP computing products by accessing the

    manageability built into HP products. While toptools will provide a strong management solution for products from other vendors, toptools will provide the most extensive detail on HP products.

    • Agent support. Toptools provides the best support to new HP products running current HP management

    agents. The more agent standards that are supported by a device the more data toptools can collect. For non-HP systems, the level of industry standard compliance can also affect the amount of information that toptools can access.

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  • toptools User Guide Toptools provides specific management to the following HP products: • HP Vectra and Brio Desktops • HP Kayak and Visualize Workstations • HP Omnibook Notebooks • HP Netservers • HP ProCurve and AdvanceStack networking devices • HP LaserJet and JetDirect products • HP Jornada PC Companions • HP SureStore products • HP Network Attached Storage (NAS) products • HP-UX systems

    Architecture Toptools collects and then stores information about your network into an ODBC compliant database (MEDS) on a web server. Toptools uses the web server to authenticate and present the information to toptools consoles. The toptools console, which presents the data to the user (network administrator), can be launched from any station on your network running a web browser supported by the toptools application. The web browser (toptools console) and the web server use the HTTP protocol, a standard used by the Internet that provides extensible mechanisms to authenticate a user and offers various encryption options to secure the communication. The use of a single protocol from the console to the management server simplifies remote connections through firewalls and minimizes security risks.

    Toptools Configuration

    Toptools communicates with managed devices using industry standard protocols: TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, DMI, WMI, SNMP, and HTTP. The protocols used to discover, inventory and manage each device will depend on which protocols the managed device supports. For example, toptools will typically use IP, SNMP, and HTTP to communicate with a ProCurve switch, IPX and SNMP to manage a Netserver running Novell NetWare, and IP and WMI to manage a new Windows 2000 HP Kayak workstation. The toptools discovery process, one of the several processes that are part of the toptools application, automatically detects which protocols are supported and saves that information to the database.

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  • toptools User Guide

    Toptools Operating Components A number of toptools components run continuously on the management server, gathering data in the background even if no user is logged on. The following background components operate on a schedule (some schedules are user-configurable).

    • The Toptools Services component is a continuously running process that supports the toptools background components. It starts up when the system boots, without any user log-on. Toptools Services provides the following:

    ♦ Start up of configured toptools components when the system boots, including dependency

    checking. ♦ Scheduling of components at specific times of day, or at specified time intervals. ♦ An interface which lets you start, stop and pause individual toptools services (similar to the

    Windows NT Services application, servman.exe). • Discovery services components run as background services to discover network connected devices

    (discovery) and their relationships (topology). Discovery services run in one or more processes and are coordinated by a Discovery Control component, which runs under the Toptools Services. In addition, if a device sends a trap (SNMP) or an alert (DMI or WMI) to the toptools device manager, the device will automatically be added to the discovery database if the address is not already present.

    • Database Server services automatically maintain the device database. • Event Monitor/Event Viewer services run continuously to collect, log, and display device events. • Polling services request responses (ping) from devices to determine operational status. These services

    operate on user-configured schedules. • System Performance Advisor provides monitoring and threshold alerts for CPU, memory, disc I/O, and

    storage utilization. This feature, which is available for PCs and servers running Windows operating systems, requires the installation of Performance agents on managed systems.

    • Toptools for Hubs & Switches provides services such as traffic data collector that are also controlled by

    the Toptools Services Control. Refer to the HP Toptools for Hubs & Switches User Guide for more information.

    • HP Web JetAdmin. Selected as a component during installation, HP Web JetAdmin may work

    independently of toptools, or integrate with toptools to manage HP printing products. For more information, refer to Web JetAdmin user documentation.

    As a system administrator, you can stop and restart these services from within toptools. Online help provides detailed instructions for these procedures.

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  • toptools User Guide

    Toptools Databases

    • The Device Database (MEDS.mdb). The Managed Elements Data Store (MEDS) provides persistent storage for information about the managed devices. The discovery and inventory programs put data into or ‘populate’ MEDS, including a list of devices and their attributes (network address, object type, name, etc.). MEDS uses a Microsoft Access database, and provides read-only access through ODBC.

    • The Alert Database (Alerts.mdb). This database is an ODBC-compliant database used to store alerts received

    by toptools. • The Software Revision Management Database (RMDB.mdb). This database stores information about

    software updates for HP personal computers, Netservers, and ProCurve networking devices. • The System Performance Advisor Database (perfmon.mdb). Stores information collected by the System

    Performance Advisor to provide trending information. Toptools for Hubs & Switches creates files that are used to track traffic and topology information collected from HP ProCurve and AdvanceStack devices.

    - NOTE -

    IMPORTANT: Do not attempt to modify MEDS or any other toptools database! This will result in failure of the toptools applications. To use toptools databases for other purposes, make a copy of the database and modify the duplicate in another location!

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  • toptools User Guide

    Installation This section describes the requirements and installation of toptools.

    - NOTE -

    Refer to the toptools README file for changes or additions to the installation instructions in this User Guide.

    Hardware and Software Requirements Toptools consists of three main components: • Toptools Management Server • Toptools Consoles • Managed Nodes For successful installation and operation of toptools, you must verify that the station on which you will install the toptools server meets or exceeds the minimum requirements as specified below for both the toptools server and toptools consoles. For best results, managed devices should be configured with management agents prior to installation so that toptools can discover them during the first discovery cycle. Toptools Management Server The toptools server setup program (installation wizard) performs a thorough check of your system to verify that the minimum requirements listed in the following tables are met prior to installing toptools software. For software requirements, the toptools installation wizard may prompt you to install missing components, or in some cases, it may offer to install them for you. To reduce the amount of time required for installation, you should verify that your system meets the minimum requirements listed below. Some items, such as an unsupported Operating System type or insufficient system access privileges, will cause setup.exe to exit without installing toptools. Hardware requirements

    Processor Intel Pentium 266MHz or better

    Memory • 128 MB RAM or better • Paging file of 150 MB or better

    Hard Drive Minimum 2 GB hard disk with 100-400 MB (depending on components installed) available before installing toptools

    Video Super VGA (16 bit color) or better

    Network Adapter Required. Any supported by system

    Mouse Required. Any supported by system

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  • toptools User Guide Networking requirements:

    Access • Local Administrator (if installing in a Workgroup environment) • Domain Administrator if installing into a Windows NT or 2000 Domain.

    IP Addressing Required. • If using DHCP, IP address for the toptools server must be ‘reserved’.

    • Verify that the IP hostname matches the hostname entry for the IP address in the DNS server. This may be accomplished by running the program nslookup.exe.

    IPX Addressing Optional. Microsoft IPX/SPX and Netware Client Services are needed to manage Novell Netware clients and servers that are not running TCP/IP. If not installed, you may add this component after toptools installation.

    Installing toptools on a system participating in a Windows domain is recommended because: • Access through IIS is available through Windows user accounts and may be configured through the domain. • WMI management security uses Windows user accounts to grant or deny access. The toptools admin account in

    the domain typically has sufficient access to WMI data on systems within the same or trusted domains. If you install into a workgroup, you will need to explicitly grant access permission to the toptools admin account on each WMI based system you wish to manage.

    Software requirements:

    Operating System • Windows NT 4.0 Server or Workstation

    • Windows 2000 Professional or Server editions

    Service Pack Required: Windows NT SP 5 or 6a for NT. If neither of these are installed, the toptools installation will install SP 6a.

    SNMP Required. If not installed, you will be prompted during installation to provide the Operating System installation CD. Windows NT Service Pack 6a will be reapplied after installation of SNMP.

    Web Server Required: Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) or Personal Web Server. • Windows NT – included as part of toptools installation • Windows 2000 – you will be prompted for the Operating System

    installation CD if IIS is not detected. Most required and optional software is either included in the Operating System (such as WBEM in Windows 2000) or provided in the toptools installation such as Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0, Windows NT Option Pack components or WBEM (for Windows NT). Only the Windows NT SNMP service and the Windows 2000 SNMP and IIS services will require that you provide a CD, and you will be prompted by the installation wizard for the CD if necessary. The toptools server system should be configured with a paging file large enough to accommodate the size of the hard drives, operating system, and web server, plus toptools applications. Typically, 150 MB paging file is sufficient. Refer to Windows documentation for more information on optimizing and managing virtual memory.

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  • toptools User Guide Recommendations for Managing Large Networks If you are managing large networks (greater than 5000 devices) you should increase the capabilities of the toptools server. An Intel Pentium 4 with a processor speed > 1.3 GHz and an additional 256 MB of RAM for every 10,000 nodes (e.g. HP Vectra VL800). The faster the processor and more RAM the better your performance will be. If you do not require the Hubs and Switches component, do not install it. If you need to install the Hubs and Switches component, the following is recommended: Set Traffic Data collection to Manual mode. The traffic monitoring capabilities of the HP TopTools Traffic Monitor application can require a lot of system resources. Therefore, in large network environments, it is suggested that you manually select the points at which you would like to collect traffic data. Usually, you will want to collect traffic data on your network backbone segments and on segments with heavily utilized servers. Traffic Monitor can use the HP X-RMON functionality built into HP ProCurve and HP AdvanceStack and even HP Ethertwist network devices to provide detailed information on who is using network segments. It also uses standard traffic counters to provide basic traffic levels on network segments. Traffic Monitor can realistically monitor up to 200 network segments using the HP X-RMON technology. It can monitor up to 1800 additional segments using standard traffic counters. You should use the following instructions to turn on Manual traffic data collection and configure which network segments will be monitored with HP X-RMON and which additional segments will be monitored using standard traffic counters.

    On the toptools page, select Performance ->Traffic Data Collector Settings 1.

    2. On the Performance – Traffic Data Collector Settings page select the “User Selected Switch and Hub Ports (Manual)” setting Use the Add Device(s) button to add the devices on which you would like to collect Traffic Data 3.

    4. On each device, select the ports on which you would like to collect Traffic Data by expanding the device and then selecting either the Traffic Stats or the HP X-RMON check box for the desired ports.

    Toptools Consoles Because toptools is a web-based application, any system running a supported web browser may act as a toptools console. For this reason, it is important to consider security when configuring console access to toptools. When installing the toptools server, the installation wizard will install Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 if absent or an earlier unsupported version is detected. You may use the Microsoft Internet Explorer installation files on the toptools CD to install a supported browser on additional systems on your network. T

    he following table provides the console requirements:

    Supported Browsers Windows: • Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 sp2 (JVM 2436) • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 (JVM 3167) • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 • Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 • Netscape Navigator 4.61 • Netscape Navigator 4.72 Windows 2000: • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 (JVM 3234) • Netscape Navigator 4.72 HP-UX 10.20 and 11.x: • Netscape Navigator 4.51 (use Sun fonts) • Netscape Navigator 4.61 (use Sun fonts) Sun Solaris 2.6:

    • Netscape Navigator 4.51 • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0

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  • toptools User Guide

    Resolution Minimum: 800 X 600 X 256 colors

    Settings • Always accept cookies • Always refresh new page • Exclude using a proxy to access your toptools server

    Browser settings are extremely important. Set your browser to exclude using a web proxy to access your toptools server. This can be done for your entire DNS domain or just for the toptools server depending on your network requirements. (Example: For Internet Explorer 4.x go Tools => Internet Options => Connections => LAN Settings => Bypass proxy box). Also, be certain that your browsers (consoles) are configured to use the same security mechanisms as the toptools server. For example, your browser console must be prepared to use SSL if the web server on the toptools server is configured to use Certificate Authentication. If you have enabled Windows NT Challenge Response (Windows NT) or Integrated Windows Authentication (Windows 2000), the user at the browser must be prepared to supply a valid Windows user name and password. When using Netscape, the “afc11.zip” file must be present in the java\classes directory. Toptools will sense the presence or absence of this file the first time you connect to it via Netscape and walk you through installation of this file. Do not unzip it. When toptools is being accessed from a console running unix:

    • replace the HP fonts with Sun fonts by setting the environment variables for the session by typing: MOZILLA_JAVA_FONT_PROPERTIES=/opt/netscape/java/classes export MOZILLA_JAVA_FONT_PROPERTIES

    • ensure that the "afc11.zip" file resides in the =/opt/netscape/java/classes directory. If using Netscape Navigator, you must configure the Web server to use Basic Authentication. Refer to the Application Note “HP Toptools Security” for more information on configuring security for the toptools application. During installation of the toptools server, a shortcut to a console session is placed on the desktop of the toptools server.

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  • toptools User Guide

    To start a remote console session from another system, open the following URL: http://Toptools_Server_Host_Name.company.com/hptt where Toptools_Server_Host_Name.company.com is the valid IP hostname resolved in your DNS for your toptools server

    -or-

    http://#.#.#.#/hptt where #.#.#.# is the IP address of the toptools server. Managed Nodes

    - NOTE - You must have agents (toptools, SNMP, DMI, WMI or Webagent) running on managed devices to provide management information

    to toptools. Toptools will attempt to discover and identify any devices connected to your network using TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, or Windows ‘Network Neighborhood’ discovery. While toptools will make an entry for a device that responds to discovery, toptools cannot identify, inventory, or manage devices that do not have a management agent implemented on them. For the best results, all devices (both HP and non-HP) should have their most recent management agent installed.

    Managing HP computing products HP computing products support a variety of agents that are provided free-of-charge.

    • HP Personal Computers. HP personal computer products (HP Vectra, Kayak, Omnibook, Visualize, and Brio) must be running a Toptools for Desktops, Toptools for Notebooks, Toptools for Visualize, or Toptools for Brio agent respectively which provide DMI or WMI support depending on the version of the agent and model of the product. Once installed, toptools can identify, inventory, provide detailed property pages, run management actions, distribute software and automatically receive and process alerts from these products. Most HP personal computers come equipped with toptools agents already installed. To check for update information, refer to http://www.hp.com/go/kayaksupport or http://www.hp.com/go/vectrasupport. To download agents, visit the toptools web site at http://www.hp.com/toptools.

    • HP Jornada PC Companions. These products (also referred to as “Handheld PCs” or “PalmTops”) are

    manageable by toptools when they are docked to an HP personal computer running the Toptools for Desktops and PC Companion Desktop DMI agents. Upon docking, the PC Companion Desktop DMI agent downloads an agent to the Jornada called the PC Companion agent. To download the Toptools for Desktops and PC Companion Desktop DMI agents, go to the download page at the toptools web site http://www.hp.com/toptools.

    • HP Netservers. To use toptools to manage HP Netservers, HP Netserver Agents (Toptools for Servers

    agents) must be installed on the Netservers. These agents support both SNMP and DMI and enable toptools to identify, inventory, poll, manage, and automatically receive and process alerts from HP Netservers. In addition, HP Netservers are associated with the Toptools Remote Control card accessory if detected. The Toptools Remote Control card is managed through a firmware agent that uses SNMP and webagent technology. Instructions for installing HP Netserver (toptools) agents is provided in the Toptools for Servers Administration Guide and on the Net Server Navigator CD. The latest information and downloads can be obtained at http://www.hp.com/toptools.

    • HP ProCurve and AdvanceStack Hubs and Switches. HP networking devices are managed using both

    SNMP and webagent technology provided in the device firmware. This software is included with the product and enabled during product installation. Additional information is provided in the Toptools for Hubs & Switches User's Guide and on the Toptools for Hubs & Switches CD. The latest information can be obtained at http://www.hp.com/rnd/support/support.htm.

    • HP-UX Systems. HP-UX systems can be managed using DMI and SNMP technology. Additional

    management features are available when toptools is used together with an HP-UX SCM (Service Control Manager) Server.

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    http://toptools_server_host_name.company.com/hptthttp:///http://www.hp.com/go/kayaksupporthttp://www.hp.com/go/vectrasupporthttp://www.hp.com/toptoolshttp://www.hp.com/go/netserverhttp://www.hp.com/rnd/support/support.htm

  • toptools User Guide

    • HP LaserJet Printers. HP LaserJet and JetDirect products are supported through integration with HP Web JetAdmin which is included on the toptools CD. To manage HP LaserJet products, the JetDirect interface must be installed. JetDirect uses SNMP and webagent technology on the firmware of the JetDirect card. Once enabled and configured, toptools and Web JetAdmin provide inventory, property page, firmware update, status monitoring and alert reception functions for HP printing products.

    • System Performance Advisor. Toptools provides Performance Agents that may be installed free-of-

    charge on HP and non-HP systems. If you want to use the System Performance Advisor to monitor performance on Windows systems, you will need to install performance monitoring agents on the systems to be monitored. The installation of these agents does not need to be done before you install toptools. Refer to the online help topic "Performance Agent Deployment" for additional information. Note: The number of devices that you can monitor using the System Performance Advisor will vary depending on the capabilities of the toptools server and your network configuration. The performance agents utilize about 2% of the CPU availability on a typical monitored Pentium-based system. Other HP products such as HP-UX workstations and server and networked attached storage are also managed by toptools. For more information, refer to your product’s documentation.

    Managing Non-HP products Devices must be running agent software provided by their manufacturer (e.g. SNMP support enabled in Cisco routers) or by another provider (e.g. Microsoft SNMP services installed on a non-HP server or the Intel LanDesk client installed on a non-HP PC). In all cases, the agent technology must adhere to industry standard DMI, SNMP, WMI, or HTTP. If a device supports more than one protocol, it will be managed using all protocols supported. Toptools will attempt to collect and display information using whichever protocol is available. The table below depicts what level of support is provided to devices supporting each of the listed protocols:

    Toptools Services SNMP v.2 (MIB-II) DMI 2.0 WMI HTTP

    Discover Yes Yes Yes Yes Identify Device Type Device Type and OS Device Type and OS No Polling Yes Yes Yes Yes Inventory Yes Yes Yes No

    Property Pages Yes Yes Yes Link to webagent page (5)

    Actions Toptools generic Toptools generic plus Power On (4) Toptools generic Toptools generic

    Alert reception (1) (2) (3) N/a Software Distribution No No No No

    ‘Toptools generic’ refers to non-device specific actions such as Add to Custom Group, Delete, etc. (1) SNMP traps sent to toptools will appear with the system object identifier (a number string). Toptools provides a utility that

    compiles proprietary SNMP MIBS to load trap definitions into toptools. Once loaded, SNMP traps from non-HP devices (such as Compaq servers) or SNMP trap forwarding applications (such as HP ManageX or Microsoft BackOffice) will be recognized by toptools and displayed with user friendly descriptions within the Alert Log. In addition, these alerts will be handled by other toptools services such as Actions on Alerts and the Most Frequent Alerts Report.

    (2) Toptools uses the standard DMI 2.0 mechanism to ‘subscribe’ for DMI alerts. If you have a non-HP PC or server that has a

    DMI agent and uses DMI to send alerts, toptools will automatically receive and process alerts from the PC. (3) WBEM alert handling has not yet been standardized by the DMTF. Therefore, WMI alert handling is supported for HP PCs

    only. Other vendors like IBM may use another protocol (e.g. SNMP) to send alerts. In this case, the system would be managed using both SNMP and WMI.

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  • toptools User Guide (4) Power On will work with systems that support standard Magic Packet technology. (5) If a device supports a webagent technology and another technology, such as WMI, toptools will create a link to the

    management home page (webagent) and will also generate generic toptools property pages. Toptools automatically discovers webagents (or web servers) listening on port 80 (Device Home Page) or ports 280, 411, 2301, or 6500 (Management Home Page). The management URL for a specific device may be manually set using the Device Communication dialog.

    Installation Procedure This section will provide step-by-step instructions on installing a toptools server on a Windows NT or 2000 system.

    - Note - If you upgrade from a version of toptools earlier than 5.0, the installation wizard will offer to uninstall the earlier version for you. If you choose not to uninstall the earlier version, the installation process will halt. If you are uninstalling a version earlier than toptools 5.0 you will lose settings and device information in the toptools databases. This means that you must rediscover your network and reenter any configuration or supplementary information before using toptools. If you are upgrading from toptools 5.0, you can elect to save database information during the uninstall process. This information can be restored for use with toptools 5.5 Refer to the uninstallation and installation procedures for more information. If you do not save information during the uninstall process you will lose configuration and database information. Check the readme file and the toptools web site for the latest information.

    You can install the toptools server from the toptools CD ROM (run CD:\setup.exe) or from the toptools web site. The web site is located at http://www.hp.com/toptools. Go to the download page and follow the directions provided. The toptools installation wizard (setup.exe) is an extensive program designed to make the toptools installation process friendly and successful. It performs the following basic steps: 1. Checks your system for necessary hardware, operating system and web server components to determine which

    if any of these components need to be installed, and then reports on steps that must be completed by the user or the installation wizard.

    2. Prompts the user for desired toptools components. 3. Installs prerequisite software and toptools applications while continually displaying status. The complete installation process including prerequisite software may take up to 45 minutes depending on the number of components to be installed and the number of reboots necessary. Toptools uses an ‘auto logon’ feature that automatically logs the user into the system and continues the installation process following a required reboot. Before running setup.exe, verify the following: The system meets the minimum hardware and networking requirements as specified in the previous section

    and the readme file. The Operating System is Windows NT 4.0 Workstation or Server, or Windows 2000 Professional, Server,

    or Advanced Server edition. You have a Windows NT Operating System installation CD if installing on a Windows NT system that

    does not already have the Microsoft SNMP service installed. You have a Windows 2000 Operating System installation CD if installing on a Windows 2000 system that

    does not already have the Microsoft SNMP service and/or Microsoft IIS already installed. The following steps show dialogs from a variety of systems. The dialogs you see and the exact procedure you will follow will vary depending on the operating system, existing software environment, and the components you select. For information on upgrading toptools or installing toptools on non-English versions of Windows, refer to the readme file.

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  • toptools User Guide Step 1: Close other applications and run CD:\setup.exe or begin the installation

    process from the web site download page. You will see the following dialog:

    Step 2: Click Next. The toptools installation wizard will check your system for requirements and installed components and then report on the results. You may see a screen similar to the following:

    This example shows a Windows 2000 Professional Workstation that has met the necessary hardware and networking requirements, but needs to install both SNMP and IIS services. As shown in the dialog above, the wizard will indicate which components are needed, whether a CD (or reboot) is required, and the order in which the components will be installed.

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  • toptools User Guide Step 3: Select toptools components and destination directory. The Toptools Component Selection dialog allows you to choose which toptools components you would like to install in addition to toptools core services such as discovery, inventory, and event management. You may elect to add components at another time by running install again.

    Hubs & Switches Installs Toptools for Hubs & Switches applications like Network Performance

    Advisor and topology mapping. These applications manage HP ProCurve and AdvanceStack products.

    Netserver Components Adds software needed to manage HP Netservers and Toptools Remote Control cards.

    Desktop PCs Provides specific management of HP personal computer products. Functions like software version control and security actions are added to the toptools console.

    Web JetAdmin for Printers By selecting this option, the toptools installation wizard will either install Web JetAdmin server on the toptools server and integrate it with the toptools console, or link to a Web JetAdmin server on another system.

    At this point if you are not installing on an NTFS formatted drive, the wizard will inform you that the toptools file system will not be as secure as possible. You then have the opportunity to select an NTFS drive if you require additional security. Without NTFS toptools cannot regulate user roles. On non NTFS installations, all users have toptools admin capabilities.

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  • toptools User Guide Step 4: Integrating Web JetAdmin. If you selected Web JetAdmin for Printers in the component selection dialog, toptools will first check to see if there is already a Web JetAdmin server installed on the local system. If not, it will prompt you to perform a local installation or link to a remote Web JetAdmin server on the network. HP Web JetAdmin supports a number of platforms including Unix. If linking to a remote server, the toptools installation wizard will prompt you for the hostname or IP address of the remote server and the port used by Web JetAdmin. The default port is 8000. If you specified a different port when installing Web JetAdmin, you will need to enter it.

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  • toptools User Guide Step 5: Integrating SCM. If you want to link toptools with a Service Control Manager (SCM) installation you can do so during installlation. (Note you can also add a link to an SCM server at any time after installation by clicking Settings, and Integration.) Check the servicecontrol manager box on the Select integration dialog. This will cause the scm integration dialog to be displayed.

    Enter the URL and port (normally 1188) to be used. This will cause a “Launch ServiceControl Manager” action being added to the action menu for all HP-UX and Linux systems.

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  • toptools User Guide Step 6: Create toptools service account. Toptools uses a local Windows user account “toptools service” to provide system access to the toptools services. It also creates three user groups called “toptools”, “toptools operators” and “toptools admins”. These Windows user groups are used to control access to the toptools application when toptools is installed onto an NTFS partition. Refer to the White Paper “HP Toptools Security” (www.hp.com/toptools) for more information. If there was a previous installation of toptools on the local Windows system you must use the same toptools service account password for each installation.

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    http://www.hp.com/toptools

  • toptools User Guide Step 7: Select toptools admin account. Toptools uses a domain Windows user account “toptools admin” to provide domain access to managed systems. If the toptools system is part of a workgroup and is not part of a domain, a local account will be created. If the system is part of a domain but you do not have domain admin privilages, a domain level admin account and password will be configured in toptools, but the domain level “toptools admin” account will not be created. You will not be able to access all toptools features until the domain level “toptools admin” account has been created on the domain by someone with domain admin capabilities. Following installation refer to the Installation help topics for more information. If there are previous or multiple installations of toptools within a the Windows domain you must use the same toptools admin account password for each installation.

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  • toptools User Guide Step 8. Select the toptools program folder.

    Step 9: License agreement and warranty. Software license and warranty notices will be displayed. Clicking Yes will indicate that you have read and accept the terms. Step 10: Enable auto-logon feature. The auto-logon feature allows the installation wizard to reduce the amount of interaction required during installation on NT systems by automatically logging back into the system following a required reboot. This is not required on Windows 2000 systems.

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  • toptools User Guide Enter your account information. The account should be the same account used to launch setup.exe (and have administarative access to system). Account information is temporarily stored in the Windows registry and is removed when installation is complete to protect the security of your account. Step 11: Installation wizard installs software and displays progress. Respond to

    requests for information or insertion of a CD. If you are installing from the web, the required components will be downloaded and saved on your hard disk for installation. A dialog will show you the status of the download process. If you cancel the download, a link to the toptools website will be provided to allow you to order a CD. Once the files have been downloaded or if you are installing from a CD, you will then be guided through any needed system software installation. The message window on the right shows the status of the installation process. The first step will be the installation (if required) of Windows components. Once this is complete the toptools components that you have selected will be installed.

    You may be prompted (depending on your environment and selections) for information or an operating system CD. For example, on NT systems the Windows Operating System installation you will need the CD for SNMP and/or IIS if these services have not already been installed.

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  • toptools User Guide The wizard will provide instructions for installling components. When configuring the SNMP service, it is important to remember that you are also configuring an SNMP agent that will allow the toptools server to be managed. Refer to your Windows documentation for information on configuring the SNMP services. During the installation of SNMP services on an NT system you will be asked if you want to reboot. Answer NO. The wizard will reboot your system later.

    When installing IIS on Windows 2000 systems, you may select multiple IIS services, but only the World Wide Web Server is required by toptools.

    Upon completion of these tasks, you will need to remove the Operating System CD from the CD drive, check the confirmation box at the bottom of the dialog (shown above, “I have installed the SNMP & IIS services”), and then click Next.

    • If you don’t have a browser, or have an installation of Microsoft Internet Explorer older than 4.01 SP2 on the

    toptools server, the wizard will install Internet Explorer version 5.5. If you already have an older version of Internet Explorer installed, the old proxy settings will be preserved. If you do not have a browser installed and

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  • toptools User Guide

    you are using a gateway or firewall to access the Internet, you must enter the proxy addresses and port numbers for the HTTP and FTP fields after toptools installs Internet Explorer. You do not need to make an entry for Socks.

    • Some files may be read-only. This may be because they are in use. Click Yes to overwrite them. • If you receive a message about Auto Alert, click Continue. (Information about Auto Alert is given in the HP

    Toptools for Servers Administrator Guide.) • If you do not have a copy of Acrobat Reader installed, the installation wizard will install the reader for you.

    This is for access to toptools documentation that is provided in the .pdf format. • You will be prompted about checking for available patches. If you click Yes, the wizard will check for you.

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  • toptools User Guide Step 12: Configure Advanced Settings option When all the selected toptools components have been installed, you may choose to make advanced configuration settings for discovery before starting toptools. Depending on the size of your network, you may want to configure discovery settings rather than wait for the first discovery cycle to complete.

    If you click No, the installation wizard will use the networking configuration of the toptools server to discover the local networks that the toptools server communicates with.

    Click Yes to configure the discovery process.

    The next graphic shows the first dialog for configuring advanced configuration settings. In this dialog, you can specify additional networks for toptools to discover. The first entry is based on the IP network that the toptools server resides in. Be certain that the subnet masks specified for IP networks are correct, and that additional IPX networks are accessible to the toptools server through the frame type used by the toptools server or through an IPX router.

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  • toptools User Guide

    Toptools uses many mechanisms for discovery, including reading the ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) cache on routers (gateways). To access ARP information from routers, the toptools server needs the correct SNMP read community to access the information. By default, the router, or gateway, specified within Windows TCP/IP properties on the toptools server is entered. Specify its SNMP read community name, and the address and corresponding communities of any other routers you would like toptools to contact for ARP cache discovery.

    You will then be asked to select the discovery methods to use and when to schedule discoveries.

    This dialog allows you to configure which types of discovery you would like toptools to run, and on which schedule. To maximize performance and reduce network traffic, you should only enable discovery types that your network or environment supports. You must enable either IP or IPX discovery. Schedule discovery for a time when most PCs are powered on.

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  • toptools User Guide

    IP Discovery Discovery using the IP protocol.

    Ping Discovery Sends a ping to every address of every network you specified in the previous dialog. Without ping discovery, toptools will rely on information from ARP cache (see previous dialog description for information). If you do not have a community name for any routers or devices that support ARP, you will need Ping Discovery enabled to find IP devices.

    Web Server Discovery Checks ports 80, 280, 411, 2301, and 6500 for the existence of web server applications or webagents.

    WMI (WBEM) Discovery Enable if you are operating in a Windows 2000 network or if you have devices running agents that use WMI technology (such as the System Performance Advisor).

    IPX Enable if your toptools server is installed with IPX support and you need to manage IPX servers, clients, and networking devices.

    DMI Discovery Enable for identification of systems that use DMI technology in their agents, such as HP personal computers with Windows 9x or NT operating systems.

    Network Neighborhood Discovery

    Required for local Windows 2000 discovery. Useful in discovering PCs and servers that do not currently have an agent, but you would like to deploy a management agent to using toptools. This process will discover Windows NT and 2000 systems, Windows 9x systems with File and Print Sharing enabled, and Netware servers if the toptools server has Netware Client services installed. It is required to discover Windows 2000 systems.

    Segment and Hub Topology Uses the standard SNMP bridge MIB and other relationships found by discovery to populate the Topology tab within the toptools server.

    Delete devices if not . . . Keeps the toptools database from becoming populated with obsolete addresses, in particular, within DHCP environments.

    Run Discovery To disable scheduled discovery, uncheck the Run Discovery box. Otherwise, configure a discovery schedule that meets your management needs and the traffic patterns of your network.

    Step 13: Scheduled events. You can set the schedules for automatic inventory and software or firmware updates. When enabled, toptools will update inventory data for the devices that have been discovered or check the toptools website(s) for updated software and firmware for managed devices.

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  • toptools User Guide Step 14: Complete installation and reboot. At this point you can review the readme file (recommended), and have the toptools services started.

    If your system requires a final reboot before starting toptools, you will be prompted. Upon completion of the installation process, you will need to: • Add users to the toptools groups to enable access to the toptools application. • Open a toptools console to verify success using the new shortcut placed on the Desktop. If you configured

    Advanced Settings during installation and disabled discovery, you will need to manually start discovery to populate the database.

    • For a quick overview of navigating the toptools console interface, click “Guided Tour” on the toptools Home

    page. To open a toptools console immediately following installation, log into the toptools server console as a local Administrator, a Domain Admin, or as the toptools User (or whichever account you specified during the installation process). Double-click the toptools shortcut placed on the desktop. To setup or enable toptools console sessions from additional stations in your network, refer to the instructions provided under Toptools Consoles earlier in this section for supported browsers and configurations. For information on configuring toptools security, refer to the White Paper “Toptools Security” and the online Help topics Security and User Roles. Information about using toptools applications is provided in the next sections of this guide. You may also refer to the toptools online Help that is available from within the toptools. To access the toptools online Help system, click the Help button at the bottom of the toptools navigation panel.

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  • toptools User Guide

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  • toptools User Guide

    Using HP Toptools This chapter describes how to navigate the toptools console and use its applications and components (Toptools for Desktops, Toptools for Servers, and Toptools for Hubs & Switches). Specific information for configuring and using individual applications and dialogs is also provided in the toptools online Help system. The following documentation is included on the toptools CD and provides greater depth on each specific topic:

    • HP Toptools Deployment Guide • HP Toptools for Servers Administrator's Guide • HP Remote Control Card User Guide • HP Toptools for Hubs & Switches User's Manual

    The toptools console provides access to the following core management services: • View managed network assets through browsing or reporting. • View device or application alerts received by toptools. • View and monitor status of your network resources. • Use tools that allow you to browse and change device configuration or troubleshoot problems. • Use tools that allow you to update device software such as BIOS and agents. • Use tools that allow you to monitor network and system utilization. • Control the configuration of the toptools server and its services. To access this information through the toptools console, you must open a session by launching a browser and entering a URL to the toptools application on the toptools server: http://your_toptools_server/hptt. For information on supported web browsers and their configuration for use with toptools, refer to the Toptools Consoles section of the Installation chapter.

    Navigating the HP Toptools Console Toptools is designed to help users quickly and easily start browsing and managing their network. The toptools console consists of the following main controls or displays: • The Navigation Panel and main ‘window’. • The Device Selector • The Alert Log • The online Help system The Device Selector, Alert Log, and online Help system may be accessed through the Navigation Panel. When the toptools console opens, it displays the toptools Home page.

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    http://your_toptools/

  • toptools User Guide

    current session role and user account

    online help user role anddiscovery status

    guided tour, version,and training

    navigation panel

    Toptools Home Page The Home page offers an option to view the Guided Tour (a short demonstration of how to click through the toptools controls) and displays your current session status. The Navigation Panel The Navigation Panel provides toptools navigational control through a series of buttons that are always displayed during the session. Each of the buttons displays a specific collection of controls or applications when clicked. For example clicking on the Devices button displays the following menu:

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  • toptools User Guide Buttons:

    Home Select the toptools Home page, or pages describing the features of each of the installed toptools components, such as HP Toptools for Hubs & Switches.

    Devices Display the Device Selector with a specific tab (or page) in focus.

    Maps View Topology maps created by HP Toptools for Hubs & Switches.

    Alerts View and configure Alert Management.

    Inventory Generate and view reports.

    Performance View and configure HP Toptools for Hubs & Switches traffic monitoring or System Performance Advisor.

    Policies Configure network policy management using HP Toptools for Hubs & Switches.

    Settings Configure toptools services.

    Help Access the online Help system.

    When you select actions in toptools, the resulting dialog or information is usually displayed within the main window, such as when you display the Home page. An icon is displayed on the Alerts button to show the highest severity alert within the Alert Log. The Device Selector As toptools discovers your network and its resources, it stores this data in the toptools database, MEDS. The Device Selector provides a friendly interface that allows you to take actions on the discovered devices and to view the data toptools has gathered about them. The Device Selector is one of the few tools within the toptools console that can be displayed in a separate window. To disable this feature, uncheck the box at the bottom of the dialog “Always open in a separate window”. By disabling this feature, the Device Selector will appear within the main window.

    The Device Selector offers four tabs (pages) that provide different views of the information contained in MEDS.

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  • toptools User Guide Tabs:

    Device Types Displays all devices discovered by toptools and categorizes them based on their identified device type. Devices that do not fit one of the categories (Personal Computers, Servers, Printers, Networking Devices, Storage Devices, Clusters) or do not have an agent are listed under the “Others” category.

    Topology Displays all devices and their network relationships discovered by toptools topology discovery. This view may be sorted by combinations of networks, segments, and connections.

    Custom Groups

    Displays groups of devices created and maintained by the toptools console user. When using the Performance Monitor, these Custom Groups may also become monitored groups.

    Search Allows you to specify search criteria to query to toptools database. You may then take actions upon any devices displayed within the Search results, including adding the query results to a Custom Group.

    Each tab (page) in the Device Selector displays the same columns in the right pane to summarize data about each device. This information provides a short summary of the device’s type, status, and how toptools is connecting with the device to obtain information. It also provides a common method to select devices for each of the functions. Columns:

    Name The name of the computer or device used by the Domain Name Service. This may be a DNS host name, Windows or Netware name, network address, or user-assigned “Friendly Name” for the device. Names must be unique.

    Type Hardware type and model of the device as identified by toptools.

    Polling Displays the results of the last poll sent from toptools to the managed device. If polling is not enabled for the selected device, the word ‘off’ is displayed.

    Alerts Displays the most critical alert level toptools has received from the device.

    SNMP Indicates if toptools has detected an SNMP agent on the device.

    DMI Indicates if and what version of DMI has been detected on the device.

    WBEM Indicates if WMI has been detected on the device. If the device supports WMI and is Windows NT, the graphic will appear in this column. A indicates a Windows 2000 or Windows XP system, and indicates a Windows 2000 or Windows XP with the HP WMI agent.

    Web Indicates if a web server application or webagent has been detected on the device. If the device responds to an HTTP connection on port 80 the graphic will appear in the web column. If the device responds to other ports, or the user configures a management url within the Device Communication dialog, the graphic will appear.

    You may change the sort order of the list of devices presented by clicking the headings of columns.

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  • toptools User Guide While browsing devices within the Device Selector, you may wish to obtain more details about the device, or perform management tasks. To access the menu of options, select the device(s) within the right pane, click the Actions button located above the left pane, or right-mouse click on the device entry to display the context menu. A menu such as the following will appear:

    The actions available will vary depending on the type and number of devices you have selected. Actions will be discussed in more detail later in this chapter.

    Creating Custom Groups of Devices In performing your device management tasks, you may find that you spend a significant percentage of time managing certain devices such as those belonging to a particular department in your organization, or devices of the same type and model. In these cases, it may be easier to manage and monitor these devices as a permanent group, rather than searching for and acting on devices one-by-one. There are two ways to create Custom Groups within the Device Selector: • Click the Custom Groups tab. Select “Actions” at the top of the left pane and select the menu item “New

    Group”. This menu will also allow you to manage existing Custom Groups. • Select one or more devices from anywhere within the Device Selector and display the Action menu. Select the

    option “Add to Custom Group”. The dialog that appears will allow you to specify an existing Custom Group to add the device(s) to, or allow you to create a new one.

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  • toptools User Guide The Alert Log The Alert Log provides you with a quick look at the ‘health’ of your network and its resources. To access the Alert Log, you may either select a device from within the Device Selector or choose the option “View Alerts” or click the Alerts button within the Navigation Panel. If you launch “View Alerts” for a selected device, the Alert Log will launch filtered to show alerts for only the selected device. When clicking the Alerts button in the Navigation Panel, the following choices appear:

    View Alerts Displays the Alert Log within the main window.

    Configure Actions on Alerts

    Provides a utility to configure what actions toptools should take when it receives alerts from devices, such as paging or sending email.

    Frequent Alerts Displays the 20 devices having the most critical alerts.

    Drivers/Firmware Update Status

    Displays a log of driver/firmware update actions that are scheduled or have occurred for the selected device.

    View Audit Events Displays Audit Event Log within the main window.

    As shown in the picture below, the Alert Log provides a list of alerts including the state of the alert (new, acknowledged, closed), its severity, a description of the alert, the device that sent it, the time that toptools received the event, extended details, and any user entered notes about the alert and/or device.

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  • toptools User Guide The default display will be all alerts except those that have been closed. To customize your view of the Alert Log, you can create a filter based on any combination of devices, alert severity and alert state. You may also click on column headings to change the sort order of the list. To configure how long closed alerts are saved in the log, go to the Actions on Alerts dialog by clicking the Alerts button in the Navigation Panel. Online Help Toptools provides an extensive online Help system designed to provide detailed instructions for toptools functions and dialogs. Toptools offers two options for accessing online Help. You can access the full contents of online Help at any time by clicking the Help button at the bottom of the Navigation Panel. Help will display with the table of contents in the left pane, and a topic in the right pane that provides in-context help for the window or dialog you currently have in focus.

    You may also display help for the functions on the current page by clicking on the help icon ( ) whenever it is displayed in the upper right corner of the page.

    Applications, Actions and Settings This section will introduce the actions available for managing devices, toptools applications like inventory reporting and software revision management, and tools to manage the toptools server. Performing Actions on Devices You may access toptools actions for devices through the Device Selector, or from within property pages for HP devices. This section discusses actions available through the Device Selector. To access the Actions menu, select a device or collection of devices (Shift + click) within the Device Selector, and then click on the Actions button on the top left pane of the Device Selector, or right-click on your selections. The options presented within the displayed menu are context sensitive. This means that the options are appropriate to all of the devices you have selected. For example, the menu option ‘Power Off’ will only be available for HP personal computers or Netservers that support it. If your device or collection of devices includes a printer, this option will not be enabled. Menu options fit into two categories: • Actions available for all devices, regardless of type • Actions available for devices that are dependent on hardware type, management protocol, or model.

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  • toptools User Guide Actions available for all devices (except PC Companions unless otherwise noted by *):

    View Alerts Opens the Alert Log filtered to display alerts for the selected device(s). Check Connectivity (Ping)

    Sends a ‘ping’ (ICMP echo request) to the selected device to test network connectivity between the toptools server and the device.

    Set Friendly Name

    Sets the name used to display the device within the toptools console. *

    Update Discovery

    Initiates an on-demand discovery of the selected device(s) and updates MEDS with the information. Click ‘Refresh’ in the Device Selector to update the display. *

    Add to Custom Group

    Adds the selected device(s) to an existing or new Custom Group. *

    Delete

    Removes the device(s) from the toptools console and MEDS. *

    Find in Topology View – or- Find Next Occurance

    Opens the Topology tab and displays the selected device within the network topology.

    Agent Deployment

    Deploys an HP Toptools for Desktops agent to the selected device(s).

    Security -> Set SNMP Passwords (Communities)

    Stores (in MEDS) the SNMP community strings to be used by toptools to communicate with the selected device(s).

    Export

    Output current display to a file in .HTM or .CSV format.

    Some actions are useful for gaining more access to the selected device(s). For example, if you have installed a management agent on a device following the last toptools discovery cycle and now want to manage the device but don’t want to wait for the next discovery to run, you can select Update Discovery to obtain new information on the selected device immediately. Toptools discovery uses the default SNMP community string ‘public’ when trying to identify SNMP devices on your network. For example, if you have configured a different community on your switch, toptools will not be able to identify the switch until you enter the correct community for it to use to communicate with the device. Following the entry of the correct SNMP community, you would want to select that device within the Device Selector, and then execute the action ‘Update Discovery’. Actions dependent on hardware type, management protocol, or model:

    Power On Personal computers with DMI and HP Netservers with the HP Toptools Remote Control card installed. Will execute ‘wake on lan’ for any system supporting ‘magic packet’ technology, or use the remote control card to power on a Netserver.

    Power Off

    HP personal computers and HP Netservers with the HP Toptools Remote Control card installed. Provides the capability to power off a single or multiple devices. For PCs includes the option for a conditional or unconditional power off.

    Reboot

    HP personal computers. Will provide the option for a conditional or unconditional reboot of a single or multiple PCs.

    Change Support Information

    HP personal computers. Allows the toptools user to specify support information such as leasing, software image, and support URL.

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  • toptools User Guide

    Security

    Set System Passwords

    HP personal computers. Sets DMI system passwords and policies for the managed PC, and also stores the password in MEDS for use with actions.

    Change Security Settings

    HP personal computers. Provides configuration control of the startup sequence and system access to I/O devices.

    Lock/Unlock System

    HP personal computers. Dynamically ‘protects’ the system and locks the keyboard and mouse of the selected PCs.

    Protect/Unprotect System

    HP personal computers. Prevents shutdown via the front panel or through the operating system.

    Set ID String

    HP personal computers. Sets the asset tag or ‘tatooing string’ on the selected PCs.

    Instant Support Settings HP personal computers. Allows you to configure log on, e-mail address, and proxy information for remote diagnostics.

    Set Policy

    HP PC companions. Sets user account information and policies on the companion.

    Launch ServiceControl Manager

    HP UX and Linux systems. Provides a link to an SCM Server.

    Manage Drivers/Firmware

    HP personal computers and networking products. Compares the selected device(s) with the software stored in the Toptools Server’s Driver/Firmware versions available for upgrades. If the software is not present, it will attempt to download it. Once stored on the toptools server, it offers the option to deploy the software immediately, or on schedule.

    Add Printer

    HP personal computers. Select the shared printer and driver and deploy settings and driver to managed PCs.

    e-Diagtools

    Configure Settings

    HP personal computers. Configure e-Diagtools such as Internet settings and PC startup options.

    Launch e-Diagtools

    HP personal computers. Launches e-Diagtools, causing a reboot of the selected device(s).

    NT WebAdmin Page

    HP and non-HP systems. Launches to the management page of Microsoft IIS if enabled and detected by toptools.

    Start/Stop Sending Traps

    HP Netserver and networking products. Enables/disables sending of traps on the managed device(s).

    Remote Control

    HP Netservers with the HP Toptools Remote Control card installed. Launches the management home page of the card from which you can control the server’s power, perform console redirection, and other critical tasks.

    Related Devices

    HP Netservers. Provides link to associated devices, such as the HP Toptools Remote Control card.

    Update Firmware

    HP printing and networking products. For printers, must be launched directly from a console session on the toptools server. When selected for networking devices, it displays the manage Drivers/Firmware dialog.

    SNMP/Trap Configuration

    HP networking products. Only available when launched directly from the toptools server console, displays a windows dialog called ‘Device Configuration’ with options to configure thresholds and trap destinations.

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    Telnet

    Any device supporting Telnet. Displays telnet.exe on the station that the browser console was launched from.

    Node Port Table

    HP networking products. Displays the node port table (device ports and attached systems) for the selected device.

    User Maintenance

    Add

    HP Toptools Remote Control card. Add user accounts for management control and access to the selected card(s).

    Delete

    HP Toptools Remote Control card. Delete user accounts for management control and access to the selected card(s).

    Change Password

    HP Toptools Remote Control card. Change account passwords for management control and access to the selected card(s).

    View Reports

    View a report summarizing user account information on the selected card(s).

    Properties

    View the toptools or Web JetAdmin property pages for the selected device.

    Device Home Page

    View the web server home page for the selected device.

    Management Home Page

    View the management pages (webagent or web management application) for the selected device.

    View System Performance

    View the system performance data collected by the System Performance Advisor.

    Instant Support Tuner

    Use remote diagnostic features on HP personal computers and servers that have the Instant Support Tuner installed.

    PCAnywhere

    Launch a web-based PCAnywhere session to the selected system.

    Many actions, such as the Security options for HP personal computers, or the user account management of the HP Toptools Remote Control card are also available within the property or management pages of the devices. These actions are available from the Actions menu to provide quick access, or enable actions against multiple devices, rather than against a single selected device. For actions enabled for HP products, the HP management agent must be installed on the HP product to enable the enhanced management control. (It may be necessary to reboot the device after agent installation.) Without the HP agent software installed, toptools will not be able to perform advanced management functions, and will manage the device as it does other non-HP products. Toptools property pages (menu item “Properties”) are the most common action executed. When the property pages are opened, toptools checks with MEDS to determine the device’s type and supported protocols to display the correct pages. Toptools attempts to contact the device to provide dynamic information directly supplied by the device. If the device is inaccessible, toptools will provide information from data that has been stored in MEDS by the inventory collection process. The following sequence of graphics shows toptools property pages for an HP Vectra PC running Windows 2000 Professional.

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  • toptools User Guide The Identity page, shown below, displays a short summary of the PCs configuration and location.

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    The Status page provides a collection of buttons and controls to browse device status, including a view of the Windows Event Log on the managed PC. The Configuration page (shown below) displays detailed statistics and information about the device's configuration.

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    The Security page allows you to modify passwords and security settings such as enabling or disabling floppy drives or power–on control. The Reports page (below) can display summary or extensive configuration reports of the device you are browsing.

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    The e-Diagtools page (above) provides access to the tools and diagnostic configuration information.

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    The Support page provides information on where to obtain support for the device at HP, and also offers space for corporate IT departments or resellers to offer support information to users or system administrators. Property pages or management home pages vary depending on the device type. The examples below show pages for an HP ProCurve switch, an HP Netserver, and the Web JetAdmin property pages for an HP LaserJet printer.

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  • toptools User Guide The HP ProCurve Switch Management Home page is shown above and toptools property pages for an HP Netserver are shown below.

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    HP Web JetAdmin property pages are available when the toptools server has been linked to a Web JetAdmin server, or when the LaserJet device has a JetDirect interface that supports a webagent. Viewing Inventory Reports Toptools collects information about the devices in your network and stores the information into MEDS through the Inventory Collection process. Once the inventory is collected, you may view the information in pre-configured inventory reports, or you may create your own reports. To access the reports, click the Inventory button in the Navigation Panel. The resulting options will include the ability to create a new report, view reports listed, or configure which reports are displayed in the drop down menu. The pre-configured reports offer selections to view your resources by device type, or specialized reports for PCs, Windows 2000, and Windows XP readiness. Alternatively, you may make a duplicate of MEDS and save the duplicate to another location. You may use a program like Microsoft Access to create your own reports.

    - NOTE -

    Do not attempt to access or modify MEDS directly. This will corrupt your toptools installation. Inventory Data Collection Inventory data collection performs inventory the first time you run discovery on a device, and then on a user-configurable schedule. To configure the update schedule, click the Settings button in the Navigation Panel, and select Inventory Data Collection. This dialog will allow you to configure the frequency of collection, and on which management protocols you wish to collect inventory. For example, if you would like to collect inventory information for HP personal computers with Windows NT, you would want to enable DMI discovery. To determine which protocols devices you are interested in supporting, you may display the Device Selector to view your target

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  • toptools User Guide systems. Check which protocols are enabled based on what is displayed in the Device Selector columns. Polling When checking network resource ‘health’, it is important to consider and understand the difference between monitoring utilization (such as provided by Resource Monitoring, System Performance Advisor, or Traffic Monitor), receiving alerts sent from devices, and ‘polling’. Polling is a schedule of network �