User's Manual

ManualsBrandsDell ManualsComputersActive System Manager Version 7.1

Table Of Contents

Contents
About This Guide
- Intended Audience
- Organization
- Conventions
- Documentation Lineup
Chapter 1
Active System Manager Overview
- Active System Manager User Roles
- Active System Manager User Interface Elements
Chapter 2
Getting Started
- Active System Manager Client Application Requirements
- Installing the Active System Manager Client Software
- Launching the Active System Manager Client Software on Windows
- Connecting to the Active System Manager Server
- Uninstalling the Active System Manager Client Software
Chapter 3
Account Management
- Creating New Server Accounts
- Connecting to Server Accounts
- Editing Server Accounts
- Deleting Server Accounts
Chapter 4
User Profile Management
- Managing Security Functions
- Managing Groups
- Defining Permissions
- Modifying Permissions
- Managing Authentication Repositories
  - Activating Authentication Repositories
  - Deactivating Authentication Repositories
Chapter 5
Inventory Management
- Understanding Resource Modeling
- Building a Standard Active System Manager Inventory
- Configuring Discovery Setup
- Running Discovery
- Using Resource Types
- Using Resource Instances
- Using Resource Interface Types
- Linking Resources
- Importing Inventory
- Importing Connectivity
- Exporting Connectivity
- Managing Resource Pools
- Managing Maintenance Windows
- Managing Virtual Resources
Chapter 6
Firmware Management
- Creating Active System Manager Software Repositories
  - Creating Repository with Dell Chassis Firmware Repository Type
    - Prerequisites
    - Steps to Create Repository with Dell Chassis Firmware Repository Type
  - Creating Repository with Dell Server Firmware Repository Type
    - Prerequisites
    - Steps to Create a Repository with Dell Server Firmware Repository Type
- Updating Dell Chassis Firmware from the Operations Center
  - Prerequisites
  - Steps to Update Dell Chassis Firmware from the Operations Center
- Updating Dell Server Firmware
- Minimum Firmware Versions for Active System Manager Components
Chapter 7
Server Template and Profiles
- Creating a Server Template
- Editing a Server Template
- Adding or Editing BIOS Information on a Server Template
- Adding or Editing RAID Information on a Server Template
- Adding or Editing Firmware Settings on a Server Template
- Adding or Editing Networks Settings on a Server Template
- Naming Conventions when using Orchestrations
- Server Profiles
Chapter 8
Using Inventory
- Introducing the Inventory Perspective
- About Resource Types and Resource Instances
- Accessing Inventory
- Using the Resource Allocation Calendar
  - Using the Resource Availability Calendar Options
    - Accessing Calendar Menu Options for Resource Availability Calendar
    - Displaying Aspects of the Resource Availability Calendar
  - Analyzing Resource Instance Availability in Existing Sessions
- Understanding Resource Allocation
  - Viewing Provisioned Domains List
  - Setting the Default Domain
Chapter 9
Repository Management
- Introducing the Setup Perspective
  - Opening Views on the Setup Perspective
- Managing Repositories
- Working with Resource Adapters
Chapter 10
Network Management
- Understanding Global Identity Pools
- Understanding Networks
Chapter 11
Template Management
- Template Types
  - Physical Template
  - Logical Template
- Working with Templates
Chapter 12
Session Management
- Introducing the Sessions Perspective
- Working with Running Sessions
- Configuring Session Notifications and Reminders
- Starting and Stopping ASAP Rescheduling
- Managing Virtual Resources
Chapter 13
Orchestration Management
- Understanding Orchestration
- Working with Orchestrations
- Executing Orchestration
  - Monitoring Orchestration Execution
Chapter 14
Working with Test and Script Execution
- Working with Test Cases
- Working with Resource Scripts
- Working with Session Scripts
  - Setting Preferences for Session Scripts
    - Setting a Default Remote Script Execution Environment
    - Setting Default Runtime Environment Variables
  - Browsing and Executing Session Scripts
- Customizing Script Execution
- Working with the Execution Queue View
Chapter 15
Reports
- Using Standard User Report Types
- Resource Usage Showback Report
  - Running a Session Audit Report
  - Running Custom Reports
- Using Standard Administrator Report Types
  - Running a User Management Report
  - Running a Template Utilization Report
- Printing Reports
  - Printing Reports from an HTML Browser
  - Printing Reports from a Web Browser
Chapter 16
Settings
- Configuring Settings
  - Settings
  - Database
- License
- Script Servers
  - Defining New Script Server
  - Deleting Server
- Properties
  - Updating Properties
    - Importing Properties
    - Exporting Properties
Chapter 17
Dashboard
- Managing Widgets

Contents 7

Validating Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-13

Validating Templates Automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-14

Validating Templates On Demand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-15

Importing Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-15

Exporting Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-16

Attaching a Template Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-17

Attaching a Template Image from a Screenshot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-18

Attaching a Custom Rendering (Template) from a File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-18

Scheduling Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-18

Archiving Templates using the Templates View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-24

Restoring Archived Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-24

Updating Templates using the Template Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-25

Viewing and Modifying Template Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-25

Adding Resource Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-31

Setting Resource Type Properties for Scheduling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-36

Deleting Resource Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-37

Adding Resource Types Based on Manufacturer Only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-37

Adding Resource Instances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-38

Modifying Resource Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-40

Deleting Resource Instances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-40

Defining Provisioning Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-41

Supporting Layer 2 Switching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-43

Using Annotations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-46

Updating Templates using the Link Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-47

Common Features of the Link Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-47

Switching to the Link Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-50

Authoring Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-50

Modifying Interface Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-53

Managing Template Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-53

Associating an Orchestration Workflow with Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-56

Editing Orchestration Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-56

Deleting Orchestration Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-58

Chapter 12: Session Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1

Introducing the Sessions Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-1

Working with Running Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-3

Scheduling a Session Using Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-4

Creating an Instant Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-5

Opening Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-6

Opening the Session Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-9

Using the Session Outline View with the Session Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-10

Viewing the Session Realization Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-11

Retry Setup on Failed Resource Realization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-12

Using the Sessions Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-13

Using Sessions View Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-13

Opening the Session Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-15

Viewing Session Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-16

Editing Default Session Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-18

Assigning and Changing Session Ownership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12-20

Using the Scheduling Wizard at Creation Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-20

Using the Edit Session Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-20

Canceling Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-21

Deleting Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-21

Purging Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-21