1    AlphaServer Management Station Overview and Startup

This chapter provides a brief overview of the AlphaServer Management Station (AMS) and describes the procedures for starting and configuring it. The following topics are discussed:

1.1    Overview of the AlphaServer Management Station

The AlphaServer Management Station (AMS) is a software application running on an AlphaServer or workstation that allows you to manage one or more ES47/ES80/GS1280 and GS80/GS160/GS320 platforms.

Using the AMS, you can monitor platform environmental status, monitor message and event logs, connect to the platform's management port, and boot and manage operating systems configured on subpartitions of the platforms. You can use the AMS either locally on the AlphaServer or access it remotely through either a Web browser or a Telnet session. You must have an account on the AMS machine and log in to it to access its functionality.

The AMS management software is composed of the following:

The AMS can be used as the single point of access to manage your ES47/ES80/GS1280 and GS80/GS160/GS320 platforms as described in the following section.

1.2    AMS's Place in Your Information Technology Infrastructure

The AlphaServer or workstation running the AMS software can serve as a bridge between the platform's management LAN and your corporate network. See Section 1.2.1 for more information.

Use the AMS machine as a single point of access to the platforms. For additional security, you can install two network interface cards (NIC) in the AMS machine. This allows the AMS machine to connect to the platform's built-in local area network (LAN) through a Network Address Translation (NAT) box, terminal server, or similar device, and to the corporate network. This configuration restricts access to the platforms because you must have an account on the AMS machine to use its components.

Figure 1-1 shows the AMS as the single point of access to the managed AlphaServer platforms connected to the AMS via a private LAN. The figure illustrates that users with the appropriate permissions to the AMS can manage the platforms from a Web browser or Telnet session through an Internet or modem connection, or from a local connection to the corporate network.

Figure 1-1:  AMS's Place in Your Information Technology Infrastructure

  1. The AMS machine runs software that controls access to platforms through their management LANs.

  2. The GS1280 platforms are connected to the AMS management LAN through a NAT box. These platforms have their own internal Server Management LAN.

  3. The GS160 and GS320 platforms are connected to the AMS management LAN through a terminal server.

1.2.1    The Platform's Management LAN

ES47, ES80, and GS1280 platforms are configured with a built-in management local area network (LAN). The LAN connects to the platform's management software, which is controlled by the backplane manager (MBM). The management LAN is used for communication with firmware.

When you connect the AMS to the platform's management LAN, you can connect to the MBM port to perform platform management tasks such as displaying configuration information, status, and error logs, configuring the MBM, or updating the firmware.

See the Command Line Interface reference on the Installation and Management CD for more information about managing the platform through the management LAN.

1.2.2    The NAT Box

A Network Address Translator device (NAT box) is a device that allows multiple connections from your corporate network to the private local area network (LAN) configured on ES47, ES80, and GS1280 platforms. A router is a type of NAT box.

Every ES47, ES80, and GS1280 platform is configured with its own management LAN using the same IP address, 10.253.X.X. The NAT box is an address translator that enables you to configure a different set of IP addresses for the platform so users on the corporate network can access the platform's management LAN. The NAT box translates the IP addresses you configure into the platform's internal set of IP addresses.

See the Installation and Service CD for information on how to install and configure NAT boxes. Also, see the instructions that came with your NAT box.

1.2.3    The Terminal Server

A terminal server is a device that provides terminals (PCs, printers, and other devices) with a common connection point to a local or wide area network. In an AMS environment, the terminal server is connected to the Internal Server Management LAN, which connects to the AMS host. You can connect multiple GS80, GS160, and GS320 platforms to the LAN, with each one having its own terminal server.

1.3    The Server Platform Manager

The Server Platform Manager (SPM) is a graphical client-server application. The server runs on the AMS machine and the client is a Web-based graphical user interface that provides local and remote management of ES47/ES80/GS1280 and GS80/GS160/GS320 platforms. It displays a list of managed platforms including the platform's partitions and the systems and consoles associated with those partitions. A system is a subdivision of a platform and runs an operating system.

The SPM displays each platform's hardware status and each partition's and console's operation status. The SPM provides Telnet access to a platform's management port, to a system's SRM console, and to management applications dedicated for managing platforms and systems.

Figure 1-2:  SPM Main Window

The SPM allows you to:

See Chapter 2 for detailed information.

1.4    The AlphaServer Management Utility

The AlphaServer Management Utility (AMU) is a client-server application. The server runs on the AMS machine and the client is a Web-based graphical user interface that allows you to view, configure, and monitor a particular ES47, ES80, and GS1280 platform.

Using the AMU client, you can perform the following tasks:

The AMU does not recognize GS80, GS160, and GS320 platforms.

Figure 1-3 shows the AMU. The left frame displays a tree view of the managed platform and the right frame displays a graphical representation of the platform.

Figure 1-3:  AMU Main Window

See Chapter 3 for detailed information.

1.5    The AlphaServer Partition Wizard

Through a wizard-like series of screens, the AlphaServer Partition Wizard (APW) enables you to work with partitions without having to know anything about the console commands involved. The APW works with both hard and soft partitions.

As you create and modify partitions, the APW updates AMS configurations by adding, modifying, and removing consoles as needed to match your partition configuration. You can use the APW with both ES47/ES80/GS1280 and GS80/GS160/GS320 platforms.

You can run the APW from the Server Platform Manager (SPM) and from the command line.

See Chapter 4 for detailed information.

1.6    The Platform Console Manager

The Platform Console Manager (PCM) is a character-cell application that displays a list of managed systems and their consoles for each platform connected to the AMS. A system is a subdivision of a platform and runs an operating system.

Because the PCM runs in the character cell environment, it is ideal for use when you use Telnet to connect to the AMS machine over a low-bandwidth connection.

The PCM displays each console's status and provides access to each console and to the console's log files. It also displays a continuously updated, timestamped list of the latest console output from the managed systems. The PCM obtains information about each system from a database that is shared between all the components of the AMS application. Figure 1-4 shows the main PCM window.

Figure 1-4:  PCM Main Window

You can use the PCM as the launch point for all console management activities. With PCM, you can perform the following tasks:

See Chapter 5 for detailed information.

1.7    Required Steps for Configuring the AMS

The following steps describe how to configure the AlphaServer Management Station. You must perform these configuration steps before you try to access the AMS applications to manage your AlphaServer:

1.7.1    Step 1: Start the Console Management Facility Daemon and the Tomcat Web Server

The Console Management Facility (CMF) daemon, cmfd, allows you to connect to consoles configured on the platforms. It monitors and logs the output of any console connections.

The Tomcat Web server allows you to run the Server Platform Manager (SPM) and AlphaServer Management Utility (AMU) in a Web browser.

The following steps show you the commands you need to run to start the cmfd daemon and the Tomcat Web server:

  1. To start cmfd enter one of the following commands:

    For Tru64 UNIX: 

    # /sbin/init.d/cmfd start

    For Linux: 

    # /etc/init.d/cmfd start

    The cmfd starts automatically during subsequent reboots of the AMS.

  2. To start the Tomcat Web server enter one of the following commands:

    For Tru64 UNIX: 

    # /sbin/init.d/amstomcat start

    For Linux: 

    # /etc/init.d/amstomcat start

    The Tomcat Web server starts automatically during subsequent reboots of the AMS.

See Section 3.2.1 for information about running AMU as a standalone application.

1.7.2    Step 2: Add Users to the amsuser Group

The amsuser group is created on the AMS machine when you install the AMS software. Members of the amsuser group, along with root, are allowed to run the SPM and PCM.

To add users to the amsuser group, edit the /etc/group file located on the AMS machine.

You can secure access to the platforms by installing two network interface cards (NIC) in the AMS machine. This allows the AMS machine to connect to the platform's built-in local area network (LAN) and the corporate network through a Network Address Translator (NAT) box or similar device for ES47, ES80, and GS1280 platforms and through terminal servers for GS80, GS160, and GS320 platforms. This configuration restricts access to the platforms because you must have an account on the AMS machine to use its components.

We recommend that you secure access to the platforms in this way for the following reasons:

1.7.3    Step 3: Add and Configure the Platforms to Be Managed

Before managing platforms with the AMS, you must add and configure them in either the Server Platform Manager (SPM) or the Platform Console Manager (PCM):

SPM and PCM use a common datastore, which means that platforms and consoles configured by SPM can be displayed in PCM and those configured by PCM can be displayed in SPM.