2.1 ClearCase Administration Console

Rational ClearCase on Windows has an administration console that centralizes administration of views, VOBs, scheduled jobs, server logs, and the ClearCase registry for UNIX and Windows hosts. Because the ClearCase Administration Console is based on Microsoft Management Console technology, the user interface runs only on Windows. But because it uses standard ClearCase communication protocols to access data on other ClearCase hosts, it is an effective tool for administering ClearCase on all platforms, and it provides a single point from which most ClearCase administration functions can be managed even in a large, complex network.

The ClearCase Administration Console manages VOB and view storage, scheduled jobs, and server logs for all ClearCase hosts known to the ClearCase registry server for the local host or to any other accessible ClearCase registry server. It also manages registry information on the registry server host and provides easy access to the ClearCase customer Web site. To start the ClearCase Administration Console on a Windows host, click Start > Programs > Rational ClearCase Administration > ClearCase Administration Console.

A restricted version of the console, ClearCase Host Administration, manages VOB and view storage, scheduled jobs, and server logs for the local host. To start ClearCase Host Administration on a Windows host, click Start > Programs > Rational ClearCase Administration > ClearCase Host Administration.

In this document, we usually suggest using the ClearCase Administration Console to perform any administrative operation of which it is capable. We also provide information on using the cleartool command line to perform administrative tasks. Any procedure described in this book that uses ClearCase Administration Console can also use ClearCase Host Administration if the procedure is confined to operating on the local host.

NOTE: Because the Administration Console is implemented as an MMC snap-in, ClearCase users can create customized administration consoles by adding or removing snap-ins using the MMC model. At ClearCase installation, two .msc files (ClearCase snap-in configuration files) are installed in ccase-home-dir\bin. Users gain access to the new administration tools by using MMC and these .msc files.

Because these files are modified by MMC to store user preferences and can change over time, the installation also places copies of the installed versions of both files in ccase-home-dir\config\ui\preferences. Users who need to restore the default version of one or both files can copy the versions in ccase-home-dir\config\ui\preferences to ccase-home-dir\bin.

Controlling Remote Administration

The ClearCase Administration Console is a powerful tool for remote administration of ClearCase on Windows and UNIX. You may want to prevent remote administrative access to certain hosts (for example, critical VOB servers), because it is possible for an inexperienced or malicious user to impair or disrupt ClearCase operations by changing various host properties.

Every ClearCase host that supports local VOBs and views can be configured to allow or disallow remote administration, whether or not any VOBs or views exist on the host. If a host allows remote administration, a user who is a member of the ClearCase administrators group can use the host node of the ClearCase Administration Console to change some ClearCase properties of the host. These properties include registry regions, license server, registry server, and MVFS cache sizes. If the host does not allow remote administration, only a user who is logged on to that host can change these properties. (This setting also affects use of ClearCase Host Administration for local administration.)

NOTE: A ClearCase Windows client host configured with no support for local VOBs and views cannot be administered remotely.

A host is normally configured to allow or disallow remote administration at the time ClearCase is installed. To change this configuration after ClearCase is installed on a Windows host:

1. Click Start > Settings > Control Panel.

2. In the ClearCase program, click the Options tab and select the Allow ClearCase Remote Administration check box. Then click OK.

To change this configuration after ClearCase is installed on a UNIX host:

1. As the root user, make the file /var/adm/atria/config/admin.conf writable.

2. Edit /var/adm/atria/config/admin.conf with a text editor and find the line containing the DISALLOW_REMOTE_ADMIN parameter.

3. To enable remote administration, change the value of DISALLOW_REMOTE_ADMIN to 0.

4. To disable remote administration, change the value of DISALLOW_REMOTE_ADMIN to 1.

5. Save /var/adm/atria/config/admin.conf and make the file read-only.