Windows nPartition Guide v5.5

• Does not allow configuration of specific nPartitions to be controlled by use of the nPartition
Config Privilege option (all users logging in by remote IPMI have configuration privileges
for all nPartitions in the complex).
• Requires the additional login step of providing the MP host name and address and IPMI
password to connect to the MP remotely.
• Uses IPMI/LAN connections, which are slightly less secure than remote WBEM connections
(using SSL). For this reason, HP recommends that the network connection between the
management station and the MP be on a private network.
Remote management using WBEM
Some of the advantages of remote management using WBEM are as follows:
• Uses a secure HTTPS/SSL connection between the remote management station and the
nPartition.
• Enables configuration of specific nPartitions to be controlled with the nPartition Config
Privilege option (users can be restricted to configuration of certain nPartitions).
• Enables you to manage all complexes in the data center from a single management station.
Some of the disadvantages of remote management using WBEM are the following:
• Requires at least one nPar to be configured already and booted to Windows (or another
operating system) and running the WBEM/WMI nPartition Provider.
• Requires copying SSL certificates from the nPartition to the management station’s trusted
certificate store (currently not an automated process).
• Requires the additional login step of providing a user name and password for the remote
nPartition being connected to.
Authentication and authorization issues
A list of the authentication and authorization issues associated with each of the management
modes and connection methods follows.
Local management
Authentication issues associated with the local management mode include the following:
• Authentication is implemented solely by the operating system login to the nPartition (the
account used to log in to Windows on the nPartition where the tools are run).
• For Partition Manager (a web application), you are prompted for login credentials when
you first access an SMH or Partition Manager web page (either locally or from a remote
browser).
• The credentials you provide are the same as the operating system credentials used to log in
to the nPartition directly (for example, in Windows, you use your local or domain Windows
account to log in to SMH).
Authorization issues associated with the local management mode include the following:
• Authorization is based on the operating system authorization group to which the account
used to log in belongs.
• In Windows, if the login account is a member of the local or domain Administrators group,
you are given full permission to view and modify nPartition configurations. Accounts that
do not belong to the local or domain administrators group are given read-only access to the
nPartition tools.
• If the nPartition Config Privilege option is enabled for the complex, users logging in to a
given nPartition with full privileges are able to modify the configuration of that nPartition
only. All other nPartition configurations are read-only for them.
• With HP SMH, you can grant read-only and read/write permissions to any operating system
group. Only Windows administrators are automatically given full permissions. Other groups
must be configured in SMH on the local nPartition to give those groups read-only or
Choosing a management mode 21