Tools

Tools are applications, commands, or scripts that are launched from within SCM. You can add custom tools into SCM and execute them across multiple systems simultaneously.

Tool Types

There are three types of tools supported in the SCM environment: Web tools, X Window tools, and command line tools.

Web tools	Web tools must reside on a Web server. The Web server can be running on the CMS or on a managed node. SCM launches the URL from a command line or from the graphical user interface. When a Web tool is launched from the command line, SCM opens a browser to display the tool. When a Web tool is launched from the SCM graphical user interface, it is opened in the workspace or in a separate browser window.
X Window tools	X Window tools require that an X server is running. These tools can reside on the CMS or on a managed node. When accessing SCM from a network client, you must have X server software running on the network client to execute an X Window tool. From the command line or the graphical user interface, SCM invokes the X Window application using the command line and passes the location of the X server by requesting the device for display from the user.
Command line tools	Command line tools include applications, commands, and scripts. They can reside on the CMS or on another managed node. They can be launched directly from the command line or from the graphical user interface.

Management Protocols and Applications

The basic supported management protocols and applications are Distributed Task Facility (DTF), WBEM, and SNMP. Tools are not limited to these protocols or applications, and they can even provide a custom management protocol or application. If a particular tool requires the DTF management application to be running, then the tool won’t be able to run on a system where the DTF agent software isn’t installed.

Distributed Task Facility

The distributed task facility (DTF) improves operator efficiency by replicating operations across the nodes or node groups within the management domain using a single command. This reduces the load on administrators in multi-system environments. X Window tools and command line tools use the DTF to execute. The DTF supports:

Executing scripts, commands, and applications remotely on managed nodes
Copying files to managed nodes

The DTF connects the CMS to agent software running on each node in the cluster. This is shown in Figure 1-6 “Distributed Task Facility”.

Figure 1-6 Distributed Task Facility

The DTF communicates to the agent daemon what tasks need to be performed on the node. The agent then performs the tasks and returns the results to the DTF. The DTF consolidates the feedback it receives from all the agents.

Tools

Technical documentation

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Tool Types

Management Protocols and Applications

Distributed Task Facility