Features

Fault management and event handling.  HP SIM provides proactive notification of actual or impending component failure alerts. Automatic Event Handling enables you to configure actions to notify appropriate users of failures through e-mail, pager, or Short Message Service (SMS) gateway and enables automatic execution of scripts or event forwarding to enterprise platforms, such as HP OpenView Network Node Manager or HP OpenView Operations.

Consistent multisystem management. HP SIM initiates a task on multiple systems or nodes from a single command on the CMS. This functionality eliminates the need for tedious, one-at-a-time operations on each system.

Two user interfaces. HP SIM provides a web browser GUI and a command line interface (CLI) to make it easy to incorporate HP SIM into your existing management processes.

Web Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) indications for HP-UX, Linux, and Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S) devices. HP SIM enables you to subscribe and unsubscribe to WBEM indications through the GUI. You can also subscribe or unsubscribe to WBEM indications through the CLI.

Role-based security. HP SIM enables effective delegation of management responsibilities by giving system administrators granular control over which users can perform which management operations on which systems.

Manage SSH keys. The SSH Keys feature enables you to view and manage the public SSH keys, stored in the known_hosts file, from the CMS. SSH keys enable the CMS and a managed system to authenticate a secure connection.

Secure remote management. HP SIM leverages operating system security for user authentication and uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Secure Shell (SSH) to encrypt management communications.

The Configure or Repair Agents feature enables you to repair credentials for SNMP settings, System Management Homepage, or Management HTTP Server trust relationships on Windows, Linux, and HP-UX systems supported by HP SIM.

Easy and rapid installation. HP SIM installs on your server platform of choice running HP-UX 11i v1, HP-UX 11i v2 or HP-UX 11i v3 on PA-RISC/Integrity or ProLiant platforms running Windows or Linux.

First Time Wizard. HP SIM provides you with step-by-step, online guidance for performing the initial configuration of HP SIM. The wizard helps you configure HP SIM settings on the Central Management Server (CMS).

Data collection and inventory reports. HP SIM performs comprehensive system data collection and enables you to quickly produce detailed inventory reports for managed systems. Reports can be generated in HTML, XML, or CSV format. Data collection and reporting has been added for Superdome systems and other cellular complexes. Data that can be collected includes information on enclosures, cabinets, cells, memory, Integrity virtual machines, non-Integrity virtual machines, virtual partitions (vPars), and hard partitions (nPars). The data collected depends on which filters are selected,

Snapshot comparisons. HP SIM enables you to compare configuration snapshots of up to four different servers or configuration snapshots of a single server over time. This functionality assists IT staff in pinpointing configuration issues that can contribute to system instability. Snapshot comparisons can also be used to save a picture of a standard configuration for comparisons to other systems.

HP Version Control. HP SIM automatically downloads the latest BIOS, driver, and agent updates for HP ProLiant and HP Integrity servers running Windows and Linux, identifies systems running outdated system software, and enables system software updates across groups of servers. For HP-UX systems, Software Distributor is integrated into HP SIM.

Service Essentials Remote Support Pack. HP SIM now includes a new Service Essentials Remote Support Pack plug-in. This plug-in leverages elements of HP’s Instant Support Enterprise Edition (ISEE) technology and provides integrated HP SIM and Remote Support Pack capability. This capability is deployed on your Windows-based Central Management Server (CMS) and includes the following:

	NOTE: The process for configuring the Remote Support Client after it is installed on the CMS through Software Manager (covered in Chapter 8 of this document), is documented in the HP Service Essentials Remote Support Pack Configuration and Usage Guide at http://docs.hp.com/en/netsys.html#Service%20Essentials%20Remote%20Support%20Pack. This document is required to complete the configuration of the Service Essentials Remote Support Pack.

Web-Based Enterprise Services, and Open Service Event Manager. HP Services has deployed leading edge analysis tools that notify you when a significant system event will occur or has already occurred. Web-Based Enterprise Services (WEBES) System Event Analyzer (SEA) and Open Service Event Manager (OSEM), are used as part of the Remote Support Pack remote service offering and as standalone tools to HP Services customers. WEBES and OSEM generate service notifications to HP SIM through a specific SNMP trap type if analysis has determined there are serviceable events. If the Remote Support Pack is installed, the service notification provided by WEBES and OSEM also provides status about the remote support incident.

System Management Homepage. The System Management Homepage is a web-based application that provides a consolidated interface for single system management. By aggregating the data from HP web-based agents and management utilities, the System Management Homepage provides a common, easy-to-use interface for displaying hardware fault and status monitoring, performance data, system thresholds, diagnostics, and software version control for an individual server.

HP ProLiant Essentials Performance Management Pack. HP SIM provides a software solution that detects, analyzes, and explains hardware bottlenecks on HP ProLiant servers and HP StorageWorks Modular Smart Array (MSA) shared storage. HP ProLiant Essentials Performance Management Pack (PMP) tools available in HP SIM consist of Online Analysis, Offline Analysis, CSV File Generator Report, System Summary Report, Static Analysis Report, Configuration, Licensing, and Manual Log Purge. PMP is automatically installed with HP SIM and operates in conjunction with HP SIM. No software installation on the monitored servers is required, other than the Insight Management Agents. PMP 4.3 includes the following features:

The following hardware is supported:

The following new operating systems are supported:

Go to http://h18013.www1.hp.com/products/servers/proliantessentials/valuepack/pmp/index.html for more information.

HP ProLiant Essentials Vulnerability and Patch Management Pack. HP ProLiant Essentials Vulnerability and Patch Management Pack identifies and provides advice to resolve security vulnerabilities and delivers advanced patch management through automated acquisition, optimized deployment, and continuous enforcement of security patches. The HP ProLiant Essentials Vulnerability and Patch Management Pack must be manually installed from the Management CD and requires one license for each target system being managed. Five fully functional non-expiring licenses, for use on servers or desktops, are provided with the HP ProLiant Essentials Vulnerability and Patch Management Pack for evaluation purposes. For more information about installation and setup, see the HP ProLiant Essentials Vulnerability and Patch Management Pack Quick Setup Poster and the HP ProLiant Essentials Vulnerability and Patch Management Pack User Guide, on the Management CD. For more information on the HP ProLiant Essentials Vulnerability and Patch Management Pack, go to HP ProLiant Essentials Vulnerability and Patch Management Pack at http://www.hp.com/servers/proliantessentials/vpm.

HP ProLiant Essentials Virtualization Management Software. Virtual machine management capabilities integrated into HP SIM extend its capabilities to deliver unified management of an IT infrastructure consisting of both physical and virtual server resources and to simplify and consolidate the provisioning, management, and migration of all server resources from one central interface.

The virtual machine management capabilities in HP SIM are provided by integrating the HP ProLiant Essentials Virtual Machine Management Pack and the HP ProLiant Essentials Server Migration Pack. Both these components are installed together as one component, but they are licensed separately.

HP BladeSystem Integrated Manager in HP Systems Insight Manager.  HP SIM delivers a blade environment designed to consolidate access to blade deployment, configuration, and monitoring tools. Picture views are available of racks and enclosures. HP BladeSystem Integrated Manager is automatically installed with HP SIM. No license key is required. To access HP BladeSystem Integrated Manager, select ToolsIntegrated ConsolesHP BladeSystem. See http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/servers/Integrity-bl/p-class/60p/index.html for more information.

HP ProLiant Essentials Rapid Deployment Pack - Windows Edition. The HP ProLiant Essentials Rapid Deployment Pack (RDP) is a multiserver deployment tool that enables IT administrators to easily deploy large volumes of servers in an unattended, automated fashion. The RDP is installed separately from HP SIM and requires a license for each server being managed. You must register your RDP product registration number to purchase licenses or obtain a 10-node 30-day license prior to installing RDP (a 10-node 7-day evaluation license is built into the software). The RDP is installed from its own DVD. See http://www.hp.com/servers/rdp for information about RDP including a link to obtain evaluation licenses or register your product. Refer to the RDP documentation for network environment setup, prerequisites for the deployment server, and installation instructions.

HP Storage Essentials. HP is changing the economics of managing the data center. HP Storage Essentials is the first open, standards-based suite of storage products designed to integrate into HP SIM. For more information on HP Storage Essentials, see http://h18006.www1.hp.com/products/storage/software/esuite/index.html.

HP Insight Power Manager. HP Insight Power Manager (IPM) is an integrated power monitoring and management application that provides centralized control of server power consumption and thermal output at the datacenter level. It extends the capacity of datacenters by enabling the user to control the amount of power and cooling required for ProLiant servers. Built on ProLiant Power Regulator Technology, it extends new server energy instrumentation levers into HP SIM for greater Unified Infrastructure Management.

Support for HP-UX Serviceguard clusters. HP SIM recognizes HP-UX Serviceguard clusters and displays them in the GUI. HP Serviceguard Manager opens when you click a Serviceguard cluster in a search list and provides information on the clusters.