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Cubix
Management System
Chapter 2 - System Architecture
System Components
Administrators
Databases
Servers
Agents
Summary
CMS is a Windows-based application designed for installation on a NetWare workstation. This workstation is referred to as the CMS console.
CMS manages Cubix devices installed on the same NetWare network with CMS. All network communications are performed using SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) encapsulated in IPX packets.
CMS is a distributed system comprised of four types of software components. A brief overview of each component is presented below. A more detailed description is provided in the subsequent sections.
. Administrators (installed on the CMS console) - Administrators provide graphical user interfaces for management of Cubix network devices.
. Databases (installed on the CMS console) - Databases store Cubix device information that is displayed and manipulated by the administrators.
. Servers (installed on the CMS console) - Servers are background processes that are constantly running, collecting data from the Cubix agents and storing this data in the databases.
. Agents (installed on each Cubix device to be managed by CMS) - Agents monitor the device and send information as required to the servers running on the CMS console.
Figure 2-1 illustrates the CMS components.
NMS Integration
If Novell's NetWare Management System (NMS) is installed, CMS may be installed as a "snap in" NMS application, thus providing a single seamless management system. In this case, CMS in installed on the NMS console, and CMS administrators may directly be invoked from NMS as Cubix device management is required.
Administrators are Windows-based applications that are invoked when the user wants to access specific management information or functions.
CMS Administrator
The CMS Administrator lists all Cubix devices on the network. The identity and status of each device is displayed. From the CMS Administrator, the user may select a device and launch another administrator that provides more specific management functions based upon the type of the selected device. The administrators that may be launched from the CMS Administrator include:
. Node Administrator - launched if the type of device selected is a BC or QL processor, the node administrator describes the components of the selected device and allows the user to perform supervisory control functions on that node (control functions include node reset, node online/offline, etc.)
. BCVision Administrator - launched if the type of device selected is a BC Supervisor, the BCVision Administrator provides the BCVision functions to the CMS user for the IES modules and BC processors connected to the selected BC Supervisor
. QLVision Administrator - launched if the type of device selected is a QL Supervisor, the QLVision Administrator provides the QLVision functions to the CMS user for the selected QL Supervisor
Alarm Administrator
The Alarm Administrator provides the user interface into the CMS alarm system. Via the Alarm Administrator, the user may generate reports of current and past alarms. Alarm reports are displayed on the CMS console and optionally sent to a printer.
Alarms are reported by the agents installed on Cubix devices. In addition to reporting an alarm condition when the alarm occurs, the agents will notify CMS when the alarm clears. The alarms that may be generated by an agent depend upon the type of device it is monitoring. For example, a BC Supervisor will report any IES alarm, such as a temperature exceeding the maximum threshold or a voltage going out of range. QL Supervisors will report an alarm if it automatically resets an inactive QL processor. For a comprehensive list of alarms and trouble shooting options, refer to Appendix A - Alarm Messages.
In addition to reporting alarms, the Alarm Administrator provides a mechanism that allows the user to acknowledge alarms. Reports may then be generated containing only unacknowledged alarms, making it simple for the user to determine which alarms have not been previously reported.
The Alarm Administrator also allows the user to delete alarms from the Alarm Database.
Usage Administrator
The Usage Administrator provides the user interface into the CMS usage reporting system. Usage reports historically describe how Cubix QL and BC processors were used over time. Usage reports are displayed on the CMS console and may optionally be sent to a printer or stored on disk.
An agent running on each Cubix node continuously monitors the node environment usage information. This data is periodically reported over the network in an SNMP trap to the Usage Server (the trap interval is set in the NET.CFG file as described in the Agent Installation section of Chapter 2). Thus, the NetWare client name, login time, and session duration on each Cubix node may be reported by the Usage Administrator. This information is also used to report processor utilization and percent up time.
Usage information is gathered by the Usage Server for storage in the Usage Database. However, the Usage Server will only automatically update the Usage Database once a day with the usage information it has collected over the last twenty-four hours. When the Usage Administrator generates a report, it only uses information stored in the Usage Database. Therefore, the Usage Administrator provides an option to update the database on demand. Selecting this option before generating a report assures the user that the report will contain up-to-date data.
In addition, the user may delete some or all records from the Usage Database via the Usage Administrator.
CMS uses three databases. These databases are located on the CMS console. CMS uses Microsoft's Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) standard for all database access.
. CMS Database - stores a list of Cubix devices on the network and the status of each device
. Alarm Database - stores each Cubix alarm occurrence and notes the time each alarm clears
. Usage Database - stores Cubix BC and QL processor usage information
A server is responsible for maintaining each database. Unlike the administrators that are run on demand, the servers are background processes that run continuously as minimized icons and should never be closed. Shutting down a server could result in lost data in the database maintained by the server.
CMS Server
The CMS Server is responsible for identifying all of the Cubix devices on the network and storing this information in the CMS Database. This server is required. It should always be running on the CMS console.
Alarm Server
The Alarm Server is responsible for logging alarms into the Alarm Database. If alarm reporting is desired, this server should always be running on the CMS console. If alarm reporting is not required, the Alarm Server is not needed.
Usage Server
The Usage Server is responsible for logging all usage events into the Usage Database. A usage event is defined as a NetWare client logging into or out of a BC or QL processor. If usage reporting is desired, this server should always be running on the CMS console. If usage reporting is not required, the Usage Server is not needed.
For a device to be managed by CMS, an agent must be installed on the device. CMS includes several agents. The agent installed on each device depends upon the device type and operating environment as described below:
. Workstation Agent - provides usage information to the Usage Server and status information to the CMS Server for each BC or QL processor running DOS or Windows
. NetWare Agent - provides status information to the CMS Server for each BC processor running as a NetWare file server or router
. BC Supervisor Agent - provides status information to the CMS Server and alarms to the Alarm Server for each BC Supervisor (this agent is integrated into the BCVision application)
. QL Supervisor Agent - provides status information to the CMS Server and alarms to the Alarm Server for each QL Supervisor (this agent is integrated into the QL Supervisor NLM)
Figure 2-2 illustrates the CMS system architecture.
This document, and all Web contents, Copyright © 1997
by Cubix Corp., Carson City, NV, USA.
