Managing HP Servers through Firewalls with Insight Management 7.0

11
Next, the CMS will attempt to identify a number of management protocols such as SNMP, HTTP, and
WBEM. The protocols used for asset management depend on the types of systems being managed
(Table 1):
• ProLiant servers provide management data through SNMP, giving complete coverage of the
hardware instrumentation. Integrity servers running Windows also provide this SNMP
instrumentation.
• ProLiant and Integrity servers running Microsoft Windows 2003 or 2008 also expose much data
through the Insight Providers and WMI. The HP Insight Providers include server providers
(information about processors, memory, peripheral devices, computer system information, and
sensor information); network providers (network controller information and indications); and storage
providers (storage controller information and indications). WMI on Integrity currently does not cover
detailed hardware information such as controllers, DIMMs, and physical disks.
• ProLiant and Integrity servers running Linux may also provide management data through WBEM.
While that data is not currently as rich as the SNMP information, WBEM provides basic hardware
and operating system information today. WEBM will be expanded to provide full instrumentation in
future.
• HP 9000 and Integrity servers running HP-UX provide management data with WBEM. HP
recommends WBEM for asset management and makes it available on 11.x versions of HP-UX.
(These systems also support SNMP, but SNMP is not required for asset management.)
Table 1 Protocols used for asset management of industry-standard servers
Server
OS SNMP WBEM WMI SSH WS-MAN
ProLiant Windows Y Y
1
Y
ProLiant Linux Y Y Y
HP 9000 HP-UX Y
2
Y (11.x)
HP Integrity HP-UX Y
2
Y
HP Integrity Linux Y Y Y
HP Integrity Windows Y Y
1
Y
Other devices Y Y
1
When WMI mapper is installed
2
Not required for asset management
Selecting the protocols that must be enabled through the firewall depends on the types of system to be
managed. Issues associated with each protocol are discussed in the following paragraphs. Ideally,
WBEM will be used to manage servers located through a firewall.
SNMP
SNMP gives the best management coverage but at the highest risk. While no “set” operations are
required for asset management, SNMP is UDP-based; therefore, in many environments it is not
considered a suitable protocol to pass through the firewall. Because SNMPv1 has a simple, clear-text
“community,” it provides a low level of security. However, SNMP may be suitable for some
environments in which the network containing the managed systems is relatively controlled. The
community string is not suggestible be a “default, Public or Private.” It should be customized
accordingly.
Using SNMPv3, users can securely collect management information from their SNMP agents without
fear that the data has been tampered with. Also, confidential information, such as SNMP set packets