HP Servicecontrol Manager 3.0 User's Guide

HP Servicecontrol Manager Introduction
Tools
Chapter 1
16
Tools
Tools are applications, commands, or scripts that are launched from within SCM. You
can add custom tools into SCM and execute them across multiple systems
simultaneously.
Tool Types
There are three types of tools supported in the SCM environment: Web tools, X Window
tools, and command line tools.
Management Protocols and Applications
The basic supported management protocols and applications are Distributed Task
Facility (DTF), WBEM, and SNMP. Tools are not limited to these protocols or
applications, and they can even provide a custom management protocol or application. If
a particular tool requires the DTF management application to be running, then the tool
won’t be able to run on a system where the DTF agent software isn’t installed.
Distributed Task Facility
The distributed task facility (DTF) improves operator efficiency by replicating operations
across the nodes or node groups within the management domain using a single
command. This reduces the load on administrators in multi-system environments. X
Window tools and command line tools use the DTF to execute. The DTF supports:
• Executing scripts, commands, and applications remotely on managed nodes
Web tools Web tools must reside on a Web server. The Web server can be
running on the CMS or on a managed node. SCM launches the
URL from a command line or from the graphical user
interface. When a Web tool is launched from the command
line, SCM opens a browser to display the tool. When a Web
tool is launched from the SCM graphical user interface, it is
opened in the workspace or in a separate browser window.
X Window tools X Window tools require that an X server is running. These
tools can reside on the CMS or on a managed node. When
accessing SCM from a network client, you must have X server
software running on the network client to execute an X
Window tool. From the command line or the graphical user
interface, SCM invokes the X Window application using the
command line and passes the location of the X server by
requesting the device for display from the user.
Command line
tools
Command line tools include applications, commands, and
scripts. They can reside on the CMS or on another managed
node. They can be launched directly from the command line or
from the graphical user interface.