HP StorageWorks Command View XP Advanced Edition Device Manager Agent Installation and Configuration Guide (December 2005)

Overview of the Device Manager Agent 10
1 Overview of the Device Manager Agent
This chapter covers the following topic:
• Overview of the Device Manager Agent (see section
1-1 )
1-1 Device Manager Agent Overview
The Device Manager agent collects information about storage devices (logical units on a disk array)
that are connected to the host server as well as information about the host server itself. It then
transmits this information to the Device Manager server using TCP/IP. The collected information
includes the capacity and usage rate for each storage unit, the WWN of the HBA, mount points, file
system types, and SCSI addresses.
The Device Manager agent has a command (hldutil) that collects the preceding information, a
command (HiScan) that transmits the information to the Device Manager server, and a resident
program (hdvmagt) that provides information in response to requests from programs, such as the
Device Manager server and Dynamic Link Manager.
For information about HiScan, see section
3-7 . For details about hldutil, see section 3-8 . For details
about how to start the resident program (hdvmagt), see section
3-2-6 .
The Device Manager agent can perform the following tasks in parallel:
• Requesting host information (from the Device Manager server).
• Requesting creation of a volume pair (from the Device Manager server).
• Requesting linkage with other program products.
These tasks are performed as necessary. All processes are integrated into a single add-on module,
and managed by the Device Manager agent.
The Device Manager agent incorporates two programs: a daemon (for UNIX
®
platforms) or a service
(for Windows
®
platforms), and WebServer. When the Device Manager agent receives a request from
a remote host such as a Device Manager server, the daemon or service process generates the
WebServer process. The WebServer process gathers server-side information and forwards this
information to the remote host via TCP/IP. This information includes utilization of LU capacity, host
bus adapter (HBA), worldwide names (WWNs), mount points (not currently available for VERITAS),
file system types and names, and the operating system’s SCSI address. The Device Manager server
presents its view of StorageWorks XP disk array resources to the Device Manager client.
You can display this information by executing the hldutil command, and you may send this
information by executing the HiScan command. The hldutil command and HiScan command are
part of the command line interface (CLI) in the Device Manager agent. Both of these commands are
explained further in this guide.
In a standard installation of the Device Manager agent, the operating system task scheduler is
configured to execute the HiScan command on a periodic basis (for Windows
®
, Solaris™, and HP-
UX). The recommended duration for a HiScan execution configuration is from 30 minutes to as long
as 24 hours, depending upon your operational environment. The Agent (HiScan) parameters include
the IP address of the Device Manager server.
NOTE: The Release Notes contains the latest information for using Device Manager. Please read the
Release Notes as well as this manual.