The 'All Users' and 'All Groups' plugins only work with locally defined users and groups. Users and groups defined in NIS, NIS+ and other similar services are ignored.
Users may use Web-based System Manager in one of the following Client-Server management modes:Two new installation bundles are available to automatically complete configuration of the Web-based System Manager online extended helps and fully enable remote management from a Windows system:
- From a local display on AIX: manage one or many AIX systems by adding the hostnames to the Management Environment within Web-based System Manager.
- From a Windows system using the Web-based System Manager PC Client application.
- From a Windows system using applet mode from either Netscape or Microsoft Internet Explorer browser.
- Remote XServer (exporting DISPLAY from one AIX system to another) performance is slower than using a local display. This is due to a Java 2 design problem.
To use a web server other than IBM HTTP Server, refer to the Web-based System Manager FAQ for more information.
- Netscape bundle: Together with the extended helps file set that is automatically installed, the Netscape browser on AIX delivers extended and Tips help when the customer selects a link in the Tips area or a menu item from the Help menu.
- wsm_remote bundle: Following installation of the base IBM HTTP Server, additional processing is performed to enable Web-based System Manager to be accessed from a Windows system using either PC Client or Applet mode. This processing also runs the /usr/websm/bin/wsmserver -enable command to start communications between the AIX and Windows systems.
The suggested minimum memory configuration to run a Web-based System Manager session is 256 MB. You may require additional memory if you run more sessions simultaneously, such as multiple Web-based System Manager sessions running the Monitoring plugin.
Reliable Scalable Cluster Technology (RSCT), which includes the Web-based System Manager Monitoring application, is contained in a separate software package, rsct.core, which is installed by default. For more information about the Monitoring application, refer to the file: /usr/sbin/rsct/README/rsct.core.README.
Following are problems that have been identified and are being addressed. Current workarounds, recommendations, and problems identified after this version of the product is released will be posted to the Web-based System Manager FAQ.
- General
- Viewing Remote Queue status using the All Print Queues view for AIX remote printers can inaccurately indicate a problem. Check the actual status of the queue from the command line by entering the following command: enq -q -P queue. If the command returns the status that the queue is ready, printing will function normally.
- There are known Java problems with using PC-Exceed that result in random size dialogs (and other problems). A suggested workaround is to (in Exceed):
set: Protocol->Enable Custom Vendor String
to: "eXcursion"
For further information, see Java bugs 4340199 & 4279670 at http://java.sun.com- In certain instances cascade menus which are displayed from a context menu do not disappear when the mouse button is clicked on another part of the console frame. The context menu disappears but the cascade menu remains.
- Occasionally, Web-based System Manager may hang after expanding a filesystem. This appears to be a Java related timing issue and is being investigated.
- There may be a delay encountered between the time that the system name is selected in the navigation area and the username and password are requested. This is a performance issue and will be addressed in a future release.
- When connection problems occur with a Host, there may be a delay before feedback in the form of an error message is returned to the user. This is a performance issue that is being addressed.
- If the following message is encountered: The wizard script file, tguides/.../...sgs, was not found or could not be opened, there is an inconsistency between the managed machine and the managing server where the taskguides are not installed on both systems. Please refer to the Web-based System Manager FAQ for details.
- Management Environment
- If a host is added and login completed as one user, at this time it is not possible, at this time, to remove the host, re-add it, and login as a different user. This is because the session was saved. If you re-add the host, you will re-attach to the original (saved) session as the original user. This will be addressed in a future release.
- The dialog for adding a host to the management environment has changed. The option to add all machines for a given domain has been removed.
- Due to support for applet mode, a fully qualified host name is not equivalent to a non-fully qualified host name. For example "foo" and "foo.austin.ibm.com" are not equivalent. A Java security exception would occur in applet mode if the InetAddress class was used to determine if "foo" and "foo.austin.ibm.com" are equivalent. Because of this, it is possible to have multiple entries for the same machine (differing in case or domain specification).
- The selection for Adding only computers that can be managed by Web-based System Manager has been removed from the Add Host panel starting with AIX 51C.
- Prior versions of Web-based System Manager will not be able manage, or be managed by, this and later versions of the product. This is true for remote management from AIX systems and for PC client.
- Translation / National Language Support
- All shortcuts for menu items in Web-based System Manager appear in English. These strings are generated by Java. Java should provide translation for these strings.
- Java's runtime messages are not translated in all locales. When a translated message can not be found for a locale, English text will appear. One example of this is the file chooser dialog. This defect has been reported to the Java team.
- PC Client mode is available in English only for this release.
- Accessibility
- Pressing and releasing the Alt key does not shift focus to the menu bar in Java. In order to use a mnemonic, the Alt key must be held down while the mnemonic character is pressed. This causes an accessibility limitation. This problem is scheduled to be fixed in Java 1.4.
- In certain instances the mnemonics on the Web-based System Manager menu bar do not work unless the mouse cursor is within the console frame. It has not been determined if this is a Java problem or a Web-based System Manager problem.
- Extended/Tips Help
- Installing both the Netscape and Remote Management bundles on the AIX system (as noted above in Recommendations) will configure and enable the transmission of all helps from the AIX system to remote systems.
- On Windows systems, make sure that a default browser is set. On AIX systems, the default browser is set to Netscape as part of the installation.
- Problems rendering the Extended or Tips Help can be encountered if the configuration is not complete. Troubleshooting tips are provided in the Web-based System Manager FAQ.
- PC Client Mode
- Currently, Web-based System Manager does not support Netscape 6.0 for installation of the PC Client application. Use an earlier version of Netscape, such as 4.7x. Support for Netscape 6.0 will be added in a future release.
- Occasionally, when initializing the PC Client application on a Windows system, an InstallShield error message will be displayed that indicates that this application cannot be installed on any system other than Windows 95/98/NT/ME/2000, when the user is, in fact, on one of those systems. Simply close the window and restart the installation process and it will continue normally.
- Upon successful installation of the PC Client application, close the browser/InstallShield window and start the Web-based System Manager PC Client using the desktop icon. Prior to starting this application, users on Windows 95/98/ME have to restart their system.
- Occasionally, one may experience a problem running PC Client where an "out of environment space" message is displayed in the console window and PC Client fails to launch. This normally happens when MS-DOS command interpreter is running low on memory, (one example may be starting applications that require more memory, at system boot) so increase the memory reserved for MS-DOS command interpreter.
- Right click on the PC Client icon and select Properties.
- Now select the Memory tab and then change the value for the Initial Environment from Auto to 1024 or higher.
- Then restart PC Client by either double clicking the icon or running wsm.bat. If you still see the error message, then right click on the Dos prompt icon and select Properties. Now follow steps 2 and 3 above.
NOTE: When you re-install PC-Client you may have to repeat these steps if you see this message again.
- Security for PC Client Mode
- Web-based System Manager PC Client security provides for secure operations in PC Client mode. You can install Web-based System Manager PC Client Security on your PC after you have installed the Web-based System Manager PC Client.
To install the Web-based System Manager PC Client on your PC, follow the instructions in the Web-based System Manager Administration Guide.
To install Web-based System Manager PC Client Security, you must first install the sysmgt.websm.security and/or sysmgt.websm.security-us filesets on a Web-based System Manager server. These filesets are available on the Expansion Pack.
The steps for downloading and installing PC Client Security on your PC are similiar to the procedure for the PC Client.
- Enter the following web address in the PC web browser: <hostname>/pc_client/pc_client_security.html, where <hostname> is the name of the Web-based System Manager server configured for Web-based System Manager PC Client Security installation.
- Click Proceed at the warning screen.
- On Internet Explorer, a Security Warning will be displayed requesting permission to temporarily install and run a Java JVM file. Select YES to continue the installation. On Netscape Communicator, two Java security messages will be displayed. Select Grant for both to continue the installation.
- When the PC Client Security Installer panel is displayed, press Next to continue.
- To install using the default location, press Next, otherwise, enter the desired location, then press Next. You must install PC Client Security in the same location as the PC Client
- A confirmation panel will be displayed showing the install location, the package being installed, and the approximate size of the install package. Press Next to continue the installation.
- A status panel is displayed showing either that the installation completed successfully or error messages if errors occurred during the installation. Press Finish to close the panel.
To establish secure connections in PC Client mode, you must copy the Certificate Authority's public key file, SM.pubkr, to the PC Client codebase directory on your PC. Follow the instructions in the Web-based System Manager Administration guide for configuring Web-based System Manager security.
- Applet Mode
- Currently, Web-based System Manager does not support Netscape 6.0 for running applet mode. Use an earlier version of Netscape, such as 4.7x. Support for Netscape 6.0 will be added in a future release.
- The initial load time is significant, particularly when the class files are not cached. Setting your browser's cache size to a large value (10M or more) will help on subsequent launches of Web-based system Manager.
- If you encounter difficulty using applet mode, review the following document: http://java.sun.com/products/plugin/1.3/troubleshooting.faq.html
- Problems have been found with the proxy configuration in Internet Explorer 5 that prevent use of Web-based System Manager. If IE's proxy configuration is not correctly specified, a "load: class <X> not found" error will appear in IE's status bar when you try to access wsm.html in applet mode. You may get this error even though IE appears to function correctly with regular http files.
If you experience this problem, carefully review your proxy settings. To view your proxy settings in IE 5, select:
Tools -> Internet Options -> Connections -> LAN Settings.Notice that you can specify a single proxy server that will supply the needed configuration info for every protocol (i.e. http, ftp, etc.) or, through the "Advanced" button, you can specify a proxy server for each protocol individually.
Make certain that if you specify servers for each protocol separately, they are correct.
- Problems such as screen flicker can occur in some situations while using applet mode. The problem seems to be a configuration problem of the browser, or operating system, since it does not consistently give trouble on all similarly configured machines. If you encounter such problems, you should consider changing browsers.
- Currently the Web-based System Manager supports the 1.3.0 Java plug-in. This version can be found at http://java.sun.com/products/archive/j2se/1.3.0/jre/index.html
See: http://www.ibm.com/servers/aix/os/wsm51/index.html for information about Web-based System Manager.Vendors needing information about how to integrate their product with Web-based System Manager can contact their IBM representative for more details.
Hardware
Management Console (HMC)
Starting with AIX Release 51C, there will be support for management of the HMC, or Hardware Management Console system. This system is the controlling hardware for the eServer p690 system. The HMC system provides the basic functionality needed to configure and manage the eServer p690 system. The HMC provides partition management, service, and problem determination software for maintaining the eServer p690 system.
HMC/eServer p690 server systems may be managed remotely, provided that the HMC or the Web-based System Manager framework of the client is at a compatible level. For remote management of the HMC server from a client HMC system, the client must have an HMC framework level at Level 1 Release 1 or above. This information may be found under the Help menu of the client in the "about Hardware Management Console for pSeries" menu item. For remote management of an HMC system from a Web-based System Management client, the client must have a Web-based System Manager framework with a build date of October 24, 2001 or later. This information may be found under the Help menu of the client in the "about Web-based System Manager" menu item.Possible remote managment scenarios involving HMC systems are as follows:
- An AIX server may be remotely managed from an HMC client. All AIX plugins on the AIX server may be managed remotely from the HMC client, provided that the Web-based System Manager framework version is compatible. Also, plugins are checked for compatibility on an individual basis against the Web-based System Manager framework and if it is not compatible for that plugin, a message will be displayed stating that the plugin can not be managed by the client.
- An HMC server may be remotely managed from an AIX client. All HMC plugins on the HMC server may be managed remotely from the AIX client, provided that the AIX client is at a compatible Web-based System Manager framework version, otherwise an error message will be displayed stating that the AIX client will not be permitted to manage the HMC server.
- An HMC server may be remotely managed from a Web-based System Manager PC client (for instructions on how to install the PC client, please refer to the Web-based System Manager Adminstration Guide). All HMC plugins on the HMC server may be managed remotely from the PC client, provided that the PC client is at a compatible Web-based System Manager framework version, otherwise an error message will be displayed stating that the PC Client will not be permitted to manage the HMC server. The only plugin exception to this is Service Agent, as described in the HMC Known Problems section below.
- An HMC server may be remotely managed from another HMC client. All HMC plugins on the HMC server may be managed remotely from the HMC client. The only plugin exception to this is Service Agent, as described in the HMC Known Problems section below.
- Remote management of an HMC server via Applet mode is not supported at this time.
- Currently, there is a known problem when opening an xterm locally on the HMC system. The user cannot backspace in the xterm until "stty erase" is run on the xterm command line. This will be corrected in a future release.
- When the user is updating the console date or time via the System Configuration Customize Console Date/Time selection, the individual elements of the field must be selected and the value updated using the spinner buttons on the right side of the field. If the values are entered directly into the elements via the keyboard, they will not update correctly. This behavior is also true when setting the time and date for a scheduled operation in the Customize Scheduled Operations selection of the Scheduled Operations application. This problem will be corrected in a future release.
- After a change has been made to the timezone using the System Configuration Customize Console Date/Time task, it may be nessessary to log out and re-login before the changes for the timezone will be reflected within the system.
- When setting up a Scheduled Operation on an HMC server from a remote client, the date that is checked against is that of the client, rather than the server and if there is a descrepancy, such as time zone differences or just an invalid time/date on the client, an error message may be displayed stating that the user is trying to schedule an operation in the past. This will be corrected in a future release.
- The status of the Service Agent processes do not always refresh correctly. Occasionally after starting the processes, the status may say that the processes are not running, but in the background the processes have started. Clicking on the "Start Service Agent processes" selection once or twice will cause the console to update the status area with the correct information.
- Remote management of the HMC Service Agent - Hardware Managment Console plugin Service Agent UI - registration/customization task may only be done if the connection made between the client and server is a secure SSL connection, otherwise an error message panel will be displayed stating that an SSL connection is required. If an SSL connection is not available, the Service Agent - registration/customization task may only be run locally on the HMC server.
- Since the HMC system does not have a browser installed, the user will not be able to view Helps when managing an AIX server from an HMC client. If the user selects items under the Help menu while managing an AIX server plugin, the following error message will be displayed:
Load help contents failure: Could not run browser. . .
Check to see if default browser is available.
Hardware Management Console and Web-based System Manager are products
of International Business Machines (IBM) Inc.
Copyright © 1997, 2001 International Business Machines.
11400 Burnet Road, Austin, Tx 78758.
All rights reserved.