- Managing NetWare 6 Remotely
- Remote Manager
- Lab Exercise 3.1: Advanced Administration with Remote Manager
- iMonitor
- iManager
- Lab Exercise 3.2: Advanced Administration with iMonitor and iManage
- NetWare 6 Storage Services
- Understanding NSS
- Configuring Novell Storage Services
- Lab Exercise 3.3: Configuring NSS
- Managing NSS
- Storage Management Services
Remote Manager
Test Objective Covered:
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Use NetWare Remote Manager
Remote Manager was known as the NetWare Management Portal in earlier versions of NetWare. I like to call it NORM (Novell Remote Manager). This is the most robust of the three anytime, anywhere management utilities offered by NetWare 6. You can use Remote Manager to monitor your server's health, to change the configuration of your server, and to perform diagnostic and debugging tasks.
Real World
By default, Remote Manager is installed with most NetWare 6 installation options. The one exception is the pre-migration installation option. If you use this option, you must perform the migration and post-migration tasks (see Chapter 2), and then install Remote Manager from the NetWare 6 Operating System CD.
To use Remote Manager, you must meet the following minimum system requirements:
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Operating systemNetWare 5.1 or later.
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BrowserRemote Manager supports one of the following three browsers: Netscape 4.5 (or later), Internet Explorer 5 (or later), or the NetWare browser (available from the server console). In addition, you must have SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) enabled on your browser.
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NLMsPORTAL.NLM and HTTPSTK.NLM. Fortunately, both of these Remote Manager NLMs are loaded by default from AUTOEXEC.NCF.
To access Remote Manager from any of the browsers in the preceding list, simply enter the following in the Address field:
https://{server IP address}:2200
This URL launches the NetWare 6 Web Manager (shown in Figure 3.1). The Web Manager contains links to all of NetWare 6's Web-enabled utilities. Next, select the server that you want to administer from the Remote Manager list. Accept the SSL certificate by choosing Yes, and log in as Admin when Remote Manager asks you to authenticate.
FIGURE 3.1 NetWare 6 Web Manager.
Real World
In addition to secure port 2200, you can use the nonsecure port 8008 to access NoRM and then bounce over to the NetWare 6 Web Manager. This is because port 8008 automatically redirects you to a secure 8009 port. In fact, you can use port 8009 and go directly to the Remote Manager page. For additional security, you can also configure unique ports using the /ALTPORT and /SSLPORT load options with HTTPSTK.NLM.
The NetWare 6 Remote Manager window is shown in Figure 3.2. This screen is organized into five different management frames:
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Health indicator frameIn the upper-left corner of the Remote Manager window is an overall server health indicator. This graphic also links you to a server-health monitoring page. The health indicator represents your server's condition using one of four colors: green (good health), yellow (marginal health), red (requires administrator response), and black (communication with the server has been lost and it might be down).
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Header frameAt the top center of the Remote Manager window, the header frame contains general information about the server. It also provides links to the following management pages: Volumes, Health Monitor, Configuration, and Exit.
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Navigation frameOn the left side of the Remote Manager window, the navigation frame lists general tasks that you can perform. In addition, it provides an outline form to grant quick access to specific management tasks.
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Main content frameIn the center of the Remote Manager window is the main content frame. This context-sensitive frame lists details for the highlighted navigation option. The main content frame is where you'll perform most of your advanced remote management tasks.
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Online help frameIn the top-right corner of the Remote Manager window, you can access online help by clicking on the Novell icon.
FIGURE 3.2 NetWare 6 Remote Manager.
In this section, you'll learn how to perform the following administration tasks by using Remote Manager:
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Diagnosing server problems
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Managing servers
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Managing applications
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Managing server hardware
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Managing eDirectory
Diagnosing Server Problems
Remote Manager enables you to diagnose server problems using the Health Monitor link from the main page. Generally, Remote Manager enables you to monitor the health of servers by viewing the status for all known components, troubleshoot when server health is in question (such as red or yellow conditions on a component), and run a report comparing the configuration of two servers. Table 3.1 shows a list of the most popular server diagnostic tasks available in Remote Manager.
Diagnosing Server Problems in Remote Manager
Link |
Task |
Result |
Health Monitor |
Use the Health Monitor |
Enables you to view the server health status for all known components. |
Health Monitor |
Configure email alerts for server health status (select the Mail Control Panel link) |
By selecting the notify check box next to each health item, you configure Remote Manager to send an email to notify you when the server's health status changes to any value other than green (which means good). |
Health Monitor |
Configure health thresholds |
Enables you to configure the Suspect and Critical threshold values to something other than the default. |
Health Monitor |
Troubleshoot suspect or bad server health |
Outlines the specific health criteria (thresholds) for green, yellow, and red. |
Profile/Debug |
Check server CPU profiles and access additional debug options |
Enables you to view information about active and suspended threads, their states, the owning NLMs, and execution times. |
Run Config Report |
Run a configuration report |
Enables you to compare the configuration of two servers or to have a record of your server settings before making changes. |
Managing Servers
The primary purpose of Remote Manager is to manage NetWare servers. As you saw in Figure 3.2, the Manage Server link is the king of the hill. Within this tool, you can accomplish a variety of critical server management tasks, including accessing the file system, maintaining SET parameters, restarting the server, building server groups, accessing other servers, and monitoring NetWare licenses.
Table 3.2 lists the most popular server management tasks available in Remote Manager.
Managing Servers in Remote Manager
Link |
Task |
Result |
Volumes |
Access and manage server volumes and |
This page provides a list of server volumes, access to server DOS partitions partitions, and the ability to perform the following partition management tasks: |
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Browse the server's file system |
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View of change file access rights attributes |
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View details of directories or files and create, rename, or delete them |
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View individual files and perform text searches |
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Upload a file to the server Download a file from the server |
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Mount or dismount volumes |
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Manage disk partitions (formerly done using ConsoleOne only) |
Console Screens |
Access and run server console screens |
Access any server console screens except the graphical console. |
Connections |
Monitor server connections |
From this page, you can |
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View connection information and all current connections |
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Clear specific connections |
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Clear all not-logged-in connections |
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View a list of files in use by a connection |
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Send messages to all users |
SET Parameters |
View or change SET parameters |
You can perform the following: |
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View SET parameter categories |
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Access each SET parameter by category to view the current value for the SET parameter or associated help and change the SET value |
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Save the settings to a text file on volume SYS: to use as a reference |
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Control whether hidden SET parameters are viewable at the system console prompt or in SET parameters list in Remote Manager |
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View SET parameters with settings that are different from the server default (modified) |
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View SET parameters with values that have been changed on the server but that are reset to default values when the server is restarted (nonpersistent) |
Schedule Tasks |
Schedule tasks to run on the server |
Rather than making a batch file to run console commands on the server, you can use this link and its forms to schedule console commands to run |
Console Commands |
View console commands |
You can perform the following: |
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View a list of commands that can be executed at the server console and the associated help |
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Sort the list of console commands by command name or by the module that registered the command |
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Access the Console Screens link to execute commands |
View Memory Config |
View memory configuration |
You can perform the following: |
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View general information about how your server is using its memory |
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View information relating to the virtual memory swapping system on the server; enable or disable swapping for a volume; and change the parameters for swapping virtual memory |
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View which NLM is using the most allocated memory |
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View specific information about the server's virtual memory |
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View information about each memory pool in the server |
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View cache statistics for the traditional file system |
View Statistics |
View system statistics |
Access and view statistics for the following information: |
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Network Management |
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Kernel |
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Link Support Layer (LSL) |
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Media Manager |
Down/Restart |
Shut down, reset, or restart the server |
By selecting the corresponding link, you can shut down, reset, and restart the server |
Build Group |
Build server groups |
You can select from available network servers and assign them to a group; after you build your server group, you can save that group and all subsequent group configurations to a file |
Local Group File |
Load group files |
You can load the server group and subsequent configurations; this enables you to monitor server group health without building the server group each time |
Managed Server List |
Access other servers that have Remote Manager loaded |
Remote Manager uses SLP to provide access to other servers on your network that have Remote Manager loaded |
Basic File Access |
Access other servers that don't have Remote Manager loaded |
Remote Manager enables you to access the file system of servers in your tree that don't have Remote Manager loaded; however, no health monitoring or other administrative options are available on these servers |
Usage Information |
Create NetWare usage reports |
Remote Manager enables you to generate usage reports that provide the average number of users for a designated period of time; this feature is beneficial when considering software license purchases, and so on |
Configuration |
Configure information gathering |
Remote Manager enables you to configure the following: |
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The Information Collector server |
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Information rollup frequency |
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Communication ports |
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Default date range |
TIP
Remote Manager enables you to create server groups for efficient multiserver monitoring. By selecting the Server Group link in the navigation bar, you can scan the network and designate all or some of its servers as members of a group. After servers have been assigned to a group, you can monitor server health on the entire group of servers, rather than just one.
Managing Applications
Remote Manager enables you to manage server applications using the List Modules and Protected Memory links from the main page. Table 3.3 lists the most popular application management tasks available in Remote Manager.
Managing Applications in Remote Manager
Link |
Task |
Result |
List Modules |
Manage NLMs |
You can perform the following: |
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View resource information about each module loaded on the server or in an address space |
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Sort the module list by memory allocated |
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Access detailed information about a module, its flags, resources, and memory allocation, and access a button to unload the module |
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Load an NLM on the server |
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View the search path for loading a module or NCF file |
Protected Memory |
View and manage programs in protected memory and protected address spaces |
You can perform the following: |
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Execute an NCF file to load several modules into the same protected address spaces |
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Load specific modules in protected address spaces |
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View a list of modules loaded in a specific address space |
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View or change the current memory protection SET parameter settings |
System Resources |
View system resources |
You can perform the following: |
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View all resource tag types in the server operating system |
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View specific details about each resource |
NetWare Registry |
View NetWare registry information |
You can perform the following: |
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View key information from the NetWare Registry for this server |
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View operational information |
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Run the consistency checker for the Registry |
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Flush the Registry |
Winsock 2.0 |
View Winsock 2.0 statistics |
You can perform the following: |
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View NetWare settings and statistics |
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Diagnose and debug Winsock communications problems |
Protocol Information |
View information about each protocol server |
You can view general and specific information about each protocol running on the running on the server |
Java Application Information |
View Java application information |
You can start, stop, and view information about each Java-based application running on the server |
TIP
Remote Manager also enables you to monitor NetWare license use.
Managing Server Hardware
Remote Manager enables you to manage server hardware using the Processors and Disk/LAN Adapters links from the main page. Table 3.4 lists the most popular server hardware management tasks available in Remote Manager.
Managing Server Hardware in Remote Manager
Link |
Task |
Result |
Processors |
Access processor information |
You can perform the following: |
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View the status and detail about processors available on the server |
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Bring a processor online or take it offline (only when multiple processors are installed and except for processor 0) |
Disk/LAN Adapters |
View storage and network adapter information |
You can perform the following: |
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View information about the storage and network adapters installed on the server and the slots they're in |
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View storage adapter statistical information for the media manager of the server, resources registered, and information for the devices controlled by the adapter |
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View network adapter statistics generated and maintained by the LSL, resources registered and counter information, and frame types and protocols bound |
PCI Devices |
View PCI device information |
You can perform the following: |
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View a list of hardware instance numbers (HINs) |
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View the PCI configuration space and hexadecimal offset for a HIN |
Other Resources |
View hardware resource information |
You can view the resource information that drivers have registered for interrupts and handlers, non-ISA slots, ports, direct memory access (DMA) channels, or shared memory addresses |
Managing Novell eDirectory
Remote Manager enables you to manage eDirectory remotely using the specific eDirectory links available from the main page. Table 3.5 lists the most popular eDirectory management tasks available in Remote Manager.
Managing eDirectory in Remote Manager
Link |
Task |
Result |
Access Tree Walker |
Walk the eDirectory tree |
You can view the current eDirectory tree. This page also enables you to view details on and delete individual objects in the tree. |
View eDirectory Partitions |
View eDirectory partitions and replicas |
You can view information about eDirectory partitions on the server. The information includes the partition or replica name, the type of partition or replica, and the current state and name of the server that the partition or replica exists on. |
NDS Monitor DSTrace |
Access other eDirectory management tools |
You can access the eDirectory iMonitor utility and the DSTrace utilities to manage and troubleshoot eDirectory on your server. |
That completes our comprehensive lesson in NetWare 6 anytime, anywhere management with Remote Manager. This Web-based advanced administration tool enables you to remotely perform almost every task that you could if you were sitting at the server console. Now let's continue our NetWare 6 remote management lesson with Novell's Internet-savvy iMonitor tool.
Brain Snack
Part of NetWare 6 remote management is "seeing what isn't there." Use the following rhyme to test your perceptivity skills:
A CNE came to the riverside,
With a donkey bearing an obelisk,
But he did not venture to ford the tide,
For he had too good an *.
What is the missing word?
(Q3-1) (See Appendix C for all Brain Snack answers.)