using the openmanage server administrator event ...€¦ · web viewthis paper provides...

Using the Dell OpenManage™ Server Administrator Event Management System

Dell OpenManage™

By Prakash [email protected]

June 2002

STEPBY

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mailto:[email protected]

ContentsExecutive Summary..................................................3Introduction.............................................................4Configuring Alert Actions with the Web User Interface...................................................................5Alert Action Walk Through.....................................10Execute Application Action....................................12

Application Execution Using abcMailer under Microsoft® Windows®........................................12Configuring abcMailer.......................................................12

FiguresFigure 1: Web User Interface Screen after Successful Login.....................................5Figure 2: Main Screen for Alert Actions......................................................................6Figure 3: Alert actions for Fans under the Main System Chassis...............................7Figure 4: Main System Chassis Fan Events and Configuration Page..........................8

TableTable 1: All Supported Alert Action Related to a Fan Probe Warning.......................10

June 2002 Dell Enterprise Systems Group

Section 1Executive Summary

Dell OpenManage™ Server Administrator is a new entry into the suite of Dell Systems Management Software. It is designed to simplify management of Dell PowerEdge servers with both easy-to-use browser-based and command-line interfaces. Event management is a core function of systems management. It includes generating events on the development of system critical situations, and taking appropriate actions on these events. It is crucial that the system administrator be made aware of any problem that develops that needs immediate attention from the administrator to restore the system to normal conditions. This paper discusses events, supported actions, and how to configure supported actions using OpenManage Server Administrator.


Section 2Introduction

All components in a system play important roles in keeping the system productive. However, systems management applications such as Server Administrator single out specific critical components for special attention to help ensure the health of others. Healthy computer systems rely especially on a steady supply of electrical power in appropriate voltages to operate system components properly. Components of systems also require a functional range of temperatures inside the chassis. Running programs and doing calculations on data requires well-functioning random access memory (RAM). As a result of these requirements, the power switch, power supply, fans, and system memory are some of the most important components that Server Administrator monitors.

What is an Alert Action?An alert action is an administrator-specified action for a system to take when certain conditions are met. Alert actions help the system administrator or the person responsible for managing the system by notifying him/her with a warning or failure event.

Supported EventsWhat follows is a list of some of the events supported by Server Administrator: Power supply critical Power system redundancy degraded Chassis intrusion detected Fan probe warning Temperature probe warning Voltage probe warning Current probe detects a failure


Section 3Configuring Alert Actions with the Web User Interface

Server Administrator allows the user to view or configure alert actions based on a single component, or on all the components in the system. To view or configure alert actions via a web browser, log on to the Server Administrator web interface. Figure 1 shows the screen that appears after getting through the secured login authenticated with the operating system user credentials.

Figure 1: Web User Interface Screen after Successful Login

Clicking on the "Alert Actions" link under the "Properties" tab of System will bring up the main screen where all the alert actions associated with all the system components are displayed. There is also an "Alert Actions" link available under the Properties tab for all the


supported components. Clicking on that link will lead to the screen where alert actions related to individual components are displayed. Refer to Figures 2, 3, and 4 for guidance on navigation.Use the following steps (shown in Figure 2) to get to the main screen where the alert actions for the supported events of all the components are displayed:

1. Click on the “System” component in the component tree area.

2. Click on the “Properties” tab on the sub navigation bar.

3. Click on the “Alert Actions” tab on the lower sub navigation bar.

Figure 2: Main Screen for Alert Actions.


Figure 3: Alert Actions for Fans under the Main System Chassis

A fresh install of Server Administrator has all the alert actions disabled by default. A Power User or an Administrator has the capability to enable the actions by clicking the event name.Figure 4 shows the events associated with selected components, and the currently active actions associated with each of them. Clicking on the event name leads to a second screen where the supported actions can be configured.


Figure 4: Main System Chassis Fan Events and Configuration Page

Currently, there are four actions supported by Server Administrator, as follow: Beep speaker on the Server Display an alert message on the server Broadcast a message Execute an application on the serverThere are three different ways to configure the actions listed above: Clicking on the "Set to Default" button on the top right hand corner selects and sets the top three actions. Clicking on the "Clear All" button on the top right hand corner clears all the previously selected actions. Each action can also be set by checking or un-checking the box next to it and clicking the “Apply Changes” button at the bottom of


the screen. Any changes are lost if “Apply Changes” button is not clicked.


Section 3Alert Action Walk Through

This section provides a discussion on each Alert Action option associated with a specific component. In this instance it is for fans in the system chassis. Consider setting alert actions for "Fan Probe Warning" associated with Fans under Main System Chassis. All the fan probes in the system have two warning thresholds: Maximum Warning Threshold and Minimum Warning Threshold. Assume that 5700 RPM and 3400 RPM are set as "Maximum Warning Threshold" and "Minimum Warning Threshold" for CPU Fan in the system respectively. If the CPU fan records a reading that is above 5700 RPM or below 3400 RPM, then the system sensor generates a fan probe warning. Assuming that the administrator enabled all the supported actions, Table 1 shows how each one of the actions responds to this warning event.

Table 1: All Supported Alert Action Related to a Fan Probe Warning

Beep the Speaker on the server: Enable the system's beep speaker. When enabled, it beeps the speaker on the system where OpenManage Server Administrator is running.

Display an alert message on the server: Enable your system's console alert. When enabled, the monitor attached to the system from which you are running Server Administrator displays a visual alert message.

Broadcast a message: Enable a message


or alert to be broadcast to all users that have drives mapped to the system where Server Administrator is running. To have this option up and running correctly, users need to connect (map, mount appropriately) to the system where Server Administrator is running

Execute Application: Execute an application program. A fully qualified path to the application is mandatory. Any standalone application is a suitable candidate for this option. There are more than a couple of ways of using this feature effectively, depending on the user preferences.


Section 4Execute Application Action

Just about any standalone application is a suitable candidate for this option. There are a number of ways to use this feature effectively, depending on the user preferences. Select an application that in some way alerts the administrator at the physical location of the server. For example, if the system is overheating then such an application might spawn a program that warns users about an impending shutdown. (The intent is to accomplish something automatically because of the alert.) It is very much a personal choice on what to execute as an application, it may be a notepad.exe on Windows, a batch file to perform a set of actions, a shell script etc., Or select an application that can page to alphanumeric pagers. There is a wide range of third party software1 available with this function. Or select an application that can send electronic mail to the administrator or related personnel on the occurrence of an alert event. There are many third party applications that may be used to send an email using SMTP.

Application Execution Using abcMailer under Microsoft® Windows®

abcMailer is an application that can send electronic mail to the administrator on the occurrence of an alert event. The following are instructions for using abcMailer as an alert mechanism for OpenManage Server Administrator running under Microsoft® Windows®.

Configuring abcMailer

To setup an automatic email response on an alert, perform the following steps:

1 One such company is Notepage, Inc., which offers products on text messaging; visit http://www.notepage.net for more information on its products. * Third party software like Notepage and ABCMailer used as examples for execute application option in this paper are not part of OpenManage Server Administrator. They are used as examples show how to add third party software to use the “Execute Application” option.


1. Install abcMailer on the server where Server Administrator is running. Visit http://www.abcpager.com/ for more details on abcMailer software.

2. Launch abcMsetup application to open abcMailer from the control panel on windows operating system.

Steps 3 through 5 are shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Steps 3 Through 5 for Setting Up and Email Alert Action

6. Write a small batch file with the following two commands: Change the current directory to the directory where abcMailer.exe exists:cd C:\Program Files\SHS\abcMailer Issue the command to send the mail:abcMailer.exe testuser: Fan Probe reading in the warning threshold.[appname] [username] [content of the mail]

7. Enter the absolute path to the location of above created batch file in the "Execute Application" option in the alert actions screen of the Server Administrator:Ex: C:\OmsaAlerts\email_on_fan_probe_warning.bat.As described above Server Administrator helps the user in four different ways in notifying the persons responsible for managing the


system about significant events. Configuring alert actions appropriately lead to timely detection of system critical events and thus protect the individual components of the system and the system as a whole from failure.Note: Please refer to OpenManage Server Administrator's user manual or help system for possible limitations on the alert action options or alert action delivery methods on different operating systems.

THIS WHITE PAPER IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY, AND MAY CONTAIN TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS AND TECHNICAL INACCURACIES. THE CONTENT IS PROVIDED AS IS, WITHOUT EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND.

Dell, Dell OpenManage, and PowerEdge are trademarks of Dell Computer Corporation. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell disclaims proprietary interest in the marks and names of others.

©Copyright 2002 Dell Computer Corporation. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of Dell Computer Corporation is strictly forbidden. For more information, contact Dell. Dell cannot be responsible for errors in typography or photography.

Information in this document is subject to change without notice.


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