Revision and Configuration Management Server

User Guide

February 2000

This document provides information for accessing and using the Revision and Configuration Management Server Version 3.1.

Revision/Update Information: This manual replaces the manual for Version 3.0

Software Version: RCM Server V3.1

February 2000

© 2000 Compaq Computer Corporation.

COMPAQ, the Compaq logo, AlphaServer, and VAX Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Tru64 and OpenVMS are trademarks of Compaq Information Technologies Group, L.P. in the United States and/or other countries.

Microsoft and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the United States and other countries.

All other product names mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Compaq shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein. The information in this document is subject to change without notice.

The information in this publication is subject to change without notice and is provided "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THIS INFORMATION REMAINS WITH RECIPIENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL COMPAQ BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE OR OTHER DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION OR LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION), EVEN IF COMPAQ HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

The limited warranties for Compaq products are exclusively set forth in the documentation accompanying such products. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting a further or additional warranty.

Compaq service tool software, including associated documentation, is the property of and contains confidential technology of Compaq Computer Corporation. Service customer is hereby licensed to use the software only for activities directly relating to the delivery of, and only during the term of, the applicable services delivered by Compaq or its authorized service provider. Customer may not modify or reverse engineer, remove or transfer the software or make the software or any resultant diagnosis or system management data available to other parties without Compaq's or its authorized service provider's consent. Upon termination of the services, customer will, at Compaq's or its service provider's option, destroy or return the software and associated documentation in its possession.

Table of Contents

Preface *

Purpose of this Document *

Intended Audience *

Structure of this Guide *

Document Conventions *

Related Information *

Overview *

How Does the RCM Server Work *

Accessing Data *

Information in the RCM Reports *

Using the RCM Server *

Accessing the RCM Server *

Web Browser Requirements *

Logging In to the RCM User Interface *

Allowing Access to Other Registered Users *

Arranging Elements in your Tree *

Arranging Systems in your Tree *

Generating Reports *

Using RCM Access Identifiers *

Creating Access IDs *

Grouping Systems under a Single Access ID *

Using RCM for AVANTO *

Viewing RCM Data in Raw Format *

RCM Security *

RCM Technical Support *

Forgotten your RCM Account Details *

RCM Technical Support *

Contact the RCM Team *

Preface

Purpose of this Document

This document describes the procedures for accessing and using the Revision and Configuration Management (RCM) Server to view configuration and revision data from Compaq® AlphaServer®, VAX®, or Intel® systems running Compaq Tru64™ UNIX®, Compaq OpenVMS™, or Windows NT®.

Intended Audience

This guide is intended for Compaq Services personnel who will use the RCM Server to view revision and configuration data from customer systems in the form of reports.

Structure of this Guide

This guide is divided into the following sections:

• Overview
• Using the Revision and Configuration Management Server
• RCM Technical Support

Document Conventions

This guide uses the following document conventions:

Related Information

This guide is part of the Revision and Configuration Management documentation set. To view the other documents in this documentation set, see the documentation links at the following URL:

http://smsat.ilo.dec.com/products/rcm/

Overview

This chapter provides an overview of the Revision and Configuration Management Server. It contains the following sections:

• How Does the RCM Server Work
• Accessing Data
• Information in the RCM Reports

How Does the RCM Server Work

The RCM Server allows users to create detailed revision and configuration reports for AlphaServer, VAX, or Intel systems running Compaq Tru64 UNIX, OpenVMS, or Windows NT. When revision and configuration data is transferred from a customer's system to Compaq Services, it is loaded into the RCM Server which is maintained in Compaq by the RCM team.

Accessing Data

RCM incorporates a web-based user interface, which allows you to view your data in the RCM Server in the form of reports. For information on the reports that are available, see the Information in the RCM Reports section.

You must register as a user at the RCM web site before you can access the RCM Server. All data in the RCM Server is secure. Security is managed at the access ID level. Initially, only the "owner" of an access ID may access the data. The "owner" of the access ID is the user who initially created the access ID. This user is responsible for granting access to other users.

Information in the RCM Reports

The RCM reports provide configuration and revision information for supported AlphaServer, VAX, and Intel systems. This information includes the following:

• Hardware and firmware revisions (when available)
• Operating system revision
• Installed software
• Windows NT software and service information
• Tru64 UNIX Versions 4.0E to 4.0G patch analysis information
• Hardware revision for AlphaServer ES40 systems

Reports on systems with FRU Table 4.0 or Configuration Tree Version 5 enabled will contain more detailed hardware information. The following types of RCM report are available:

• Configuration Report - an inventory of the components on the target system, based on a single data collection.
• Change Report - shows the difference between two data collections on the same system.
• Comparison Report - shows the differences between data collections on two different systems.
• Analysis Report - you can generate either of the following analysis reports:
  • Patch analysis for Tru64 UNIX Version 4.0E, 4.0F, and 4.0G systems
  • Hardware revision analysis for AlphaServer ES40 systems running Tru64 UNIX or OpenVMS

Note 1: You can generate reports for use with the AVANTO availability-modeling tool. For further information, see the Using RCM for AVANTO section. You can also view full details from collected data file (unformatted). For further information, see the Viewing RCM Data in Raw Format section.

Note 2: The RCM Configuration report is also used in delivering the Storage Configuration Healthcheck service. For more information on the Storage Configuration Healthcheck, see the Capability Support Pack at the following URL:

http://smsat.ilo.dec.com/products/rcm/storage/csp/

For the Configuration, Change, and Comparison reports, you can choose to generate only a subsection of the report. The following subsections are available:

• System devices: - contains information about processors, memory, I/O bridges and PCI devices. (Reports on systems with FRU Table 4.0 enables will contain more detailed device information.)
• Storage devices: - contains information about SCSI disks and HSZ, HSD, and HSJ storage subsystems.
• Installed software: - contains information about software, software patches, and licenses.

Using the RCM Server

This chapter describes how to access and use the Revision and Configuration Management Server to generate detailed revision and configuration reports for customer systems. It contains the following sections:

• Accessing the RCM Server
• Using RCM Access Identifiers
• Using RCM for AVANTO
• Viewing RCM Data in Raw Format
• RCM Security

Accessing the RCM Server

You can access the RCM Server at: http://rcm.ilo.dec.com/. The RCM user interface allows you to set up a tree structure to organize how you access and view your RCM data. You can set up a tree containing elements called centers, customers, and sites. You can add the systems on which you collect RCM data to your tree, using the system's RCM access ID. Once the systems are added to your tree, you can generate reports based on the data collected from the systems. This section describes the following topics:

• Web Browser Requirements
• Logging in to the RCM User Interface
• Allowing Access to Other Registered Users
• Arranging Elements in your Tree
• Arranging Systems in your Tree
• Removing and Deleting Elements
• Generating Reports

Note: To access the RCM Server, you need to register as an RCM user, using the RCM user interface. When you register, you provide a user name and password that you will need to enter each time you log in to RCM. Registration occurs automatically when you register at the following URL:

http://rcm.ilo.dec.com/registration.htm

Web Browser Requirements

The RCM user interface is Java-based, and your browser must be set up to enable JavaScript. To use the RCM interface, you need to use Microsoftâ Internet Explorer, Version 4.0 or above, or Netscape Communicator 4.06 or above (including 4.5). We recommend that you use Microsoft Internet Explorer as your browser application.

Logging In to the RCM User Interface

When you log in to the RCM user interface, you are asked to enter your user name and password. Once you have logged in, you remain logged in while your web browser remains open. You can navigate around the Internet and return to the RCM user interface. You do not have to log out as you are automatically logged out when you close your browser application.

Note: If you visit other web pages that host Java applets and return to the RCM user interface, you may be asked to log in again.

Allowing Access to Other Registered Users

Initially, only the "owner" of an access ID may access the data. The "owner" of the access ID is the user who initially created the access ID. This user is responsible for granting access to other users.

Two levels of access are available, as follows:

• Administrative: Allows the user to run reports and modify details about the access ID, including security access.
• Read-Only: Allows the user to run reports on the systems in this access ID.

To allow another registered user to access an access ID, follow these steps:

1. Select the access ID that you want to allow a user to access.
2. Click on the Security tab.
3. Enter the user name of the user you want to add in the Add User field.
4. Select the level of access that you want to allow that user, Administrator or Read-Only.
5. Click on the Add button.
6. Click on the Acknowledge button.

To remove another registered user's access to an access ID, follow these steps:

• Select the access ID that you want to remove the user from.
• Click on the Security tab.
• Select the user name in the User Access field.
• Click on the Remove button.
• Click on the OK button.

To change the owner of an access ID, follow these steps:

• Select the access ID whose owner you want to change.
• Click on the Security tab.
• Enter the user name of the new owner in the Owner field.
• Click on the Change Owner button.
• Click on the Acknowledge button.

To change a user's level of access to an access ID, you must remove the user and then add the user again with the new level of access.

Arranging Elements in your Tree

The elements of your RCM tree are centers (CSCs), customers, and sites. When you log in to RCM for the first time, you see the top of your tree, called My Tree. You can add one or more CSCs to this tree. You give each CSC a name, and if you wish, you can enter an address for the CSC. You must add at least one CSC to your tree.

You can add elements called customers to CSCs, and you can add elements called sites to customers. For each customer and site, you can add an address. This forms your RCM tree. You can add and remove CSCs, customers, and sites.

You can add an existing CSC to your tree. If a colleague has added a CSC to their tree, you can also add that CSC to your tree. This means that you and your colleague will share information under this CSC. You can also share the customers, sites, and systems associated with that CSC. However, the individual elements under the CSC must be attached manually by each user who wants to access data stored under those elements. Access IDs under a CSC, customer, or site automatically appear once the CSC, customer, or site has been added to a CSC. If one user moves or adds access IDs, it will affect the trees of all other users automatically.

Each user may remove a CSC, customer, or site from their own tree. Doing this will not affect other users' trees (which use the same CSC, customer, or site). However, if you move or remove an access ID, this will affect all users that can see that access ID.

Note: The contact details displayed for each CSC, customer, or site are the details you entered when you registered to use RCM. If you are viewing an element that was created by another RCM user, the displayed contact details are those of the other user. The only detail that you can change is the address for the CSC, customer, or site, and you can only change the address of an element that you created. To change your contact details when you registered, please contact RCM Technical Support using the details available in the RCM Technical Support section.

Arranging Systems in your Tree

Systems (or groups of systems) are identified by their RCM access identifier (access ID). To view collected data from a system, you need to add the access ID of that system to your tree. The access ID and its associated systems are displayed in your tree. If that access ID covers more than one system, all of the systems are added to your tree. For information on using access identifiers, see the Using RCM Access Identifiers section. You can add an access ID to a tree, a CSC, a customer, or a site. You can also remove access IDs, and change the access ID of a specific system.

To add an access ID to your tree, do the following:

• Select the element in the tree under which you want to add the access ID.
• Click the Add Access ID button. A drop down list of available access ID's is displayed. (Restricted access ID's are not displayed.)
• If you want to add an existing access ID, select the access ID you wish to add.
• If the access ID that you want to add is not in the list, or you want to create a new access ID, click the New button.
  Enter the access ID you want to add. Note that access ID value must be unique. Click OK.

The access ID is added to your tree. Click on the access ID to view all of the systems covered by that access ID.

To remove an access ID from your tree, do the following:

• Select the access ID that you want to remove.
• Click the Remove Access ID button.

The access ID is removed from your tree, but it is not deleted from the RCM Server. You can add the access ID to your tree again at any time.

Note: You cannot remove an individual system from your tree, you can only remove an access ID.

To move a system to another access ID, do the following:

• Select the access ID from which you want to remove the system.
• Click the Systems tab.
• Select the system that you want to move, and click the Move To button.
• Select the new access ID for the system from the drop down list.
• Click OK.

The system is moved to the new access ID and automatically removed from its old access ID.

Note: You must reconfigure the RCM Data Collectors on the system with the new access ID. If you do not, data from the system will continue to appear under the old access ID. For information on reconfiguring the Data Collectors, refer to the Data Collector documentation. To access the Data Collector documentation see the documentation links at the following URL:

http://smsat.ilo.dec.com/products/rcm/

Removing and Deleting Elements

You can remove and delete various elements from your tree. When you remove an element from your tree, it is only hidden from view, not deleted from the RCM Server. When you delete an element, it is deleted from the RCM Server. You can remove and delete elements as shown in the following table:

Removing Elements from your Tree

To remove an access ID from your tree, do the following:

1. Select the access ID that you want to remove.
2. Click the Remove Access ID button.

The access ID is removed from your tree, but it is not deleted from the RCM Server. You can add the access ID to your tree again at any time.

Note: You cannot remove an individual system from your tree, you can only remove an access ID.

To remove a CSC, customer, or site from your tree, do the following:

1. Select the CSC, customer, or site that you want to remove.
2. Click the Remove Center, Remove Customer, or Remove Site button.

The CSC, customer, or site is removed from your tree, but it is not deleted from the RCM Server. You can add the CSC, customer, or site to your tree again at any time.

Deleting Elements from the RCM Server

To delete a system or a data collection from the RCM Server, do the following:

1. Select the system that you want to delete or delete data from.
2. Click the Delete Data icon button.
3. To delete the system and all its collections, check the Delete System and all its collections check box, then click the Delete Data button.
4. To delete a collection, select the data collection that you want to delete. To select more than one collection, press Ctrl while selecting each collection. Then click the Delete Data button.

The systems or data collections are deleted from the RCM Server.

Before you delete an access ID, you must either move or delete all systems in the access ID. To delete an access ID from the RCM Server, do the following:

1. Move or delete all systems in the access ID.
2. Select the access ID that you want to delete.
3. Click the Delete Access ID icon button.
4. Click the Delete button.

The access ID is deleted from the RCM Server.

Generating Reports

To generate a report, do the following:

1. Select the system (or systems) for which you want to view a report.
2. Click the type of report you want to generate. The available types of report are Configuration, Change, Comparison, and Analysis.

   

   For information on generating reports for use with the AVANTO availability-modeling tool, see the Using RCM for AVANTO section.

3. If you are generating a Configuration, Change, or Comparison report, and you only want to generate one or more subsections of the report, select the subsections you want to generate. The available subsections are System Devices, Storage Devices, and Installed Software.

   

4. If you are generating an Analysis report, select the type of report you want to generate. The available options are Patch and Hardware Revision.
5. Click the OK button.

Your report is displayed in a new browser window. Download time varies depending on the size of the report.

Note: If you want to see a Comparison report you will have to select two systems. To do this, press Ctrl while selecting each system.

For further information on the types of reports and subsections of reports available, see the Information in the RCM Reports section.

Using RCM Access Identifiers

This section describes how to use RCM access identifiers (access IDs). It contains the following topics:

• Creating Access Ids.
• Grouping Systems Under a Single Access ID.

The RCM access ID is a unique identifier that allows you to do the following:

• Associate one or more systems with a place in the RCM Tree.
• Group systems together in the RCM Tree.
• Control access to collected data.

Every system that data is collected from must have a single, unique, access ID. You can group more than one system under the same access ID.

You need to know a system's access ID to perform the following tasks:

• Install the RCM Data Collectors on the system.
• Add the system to the RCM Tree.

Creating Access IDs

An access ID can be comprise of uppercase alphanumeric characters (A-Z and 0-9), periods (.), hyphens (-), and underscores (_). Each access ID must be unique within RCM. You can create an access ID as follows:

• Enter a new access ID using the Add Access ID button in the RCM user interface. For further information, see the Accessing the RCM Server section.
• RCM verifies that this access ID is unique and adds this access ID to the area you have chosen in the RCM Tree. This allows you to view collections for all the systems with that access ID in that area in the RCM Tree.

Suggestions for creating your access ID: Use a string that is unique and that you can easily remember. Alternatively, you can use the customer's Obligation ID or you can use you own naming convention technique. For example, you could use the system name, followed by the date and time: 'GANDALF9909011730'.

Example: There is a customer named TopStar in your RCM Tree. You can assign the access ID GANDALF9909011730 to the customer TopStar. When you install the Data Collectors on systems in TopStar, you can enter the access ID GANDALF9909011730. When data collected on TopStar's systems is sent to the RCM Server, it appears in the RCM Tree under the customer TopStar.

Grouping Systems under a Single Access ID

You can use the same access ID for several systems to group them together. For example, you may want all the systems belonging to one customer to appear in the same area in the RCM Tree. Alternatively you may want all the systems in a given workgroup to appear in the same area in the RCM Tree.

Using RCM for AVANTO

The AVANTO availability-modeling tool uses .ecl files to model likely availability statistics for a given configuration. An .ecl file contains a description of hardware configuration and system availability details.

You can use the RCM user interface to generate a partial .ecl file from the data collected by the RCM Data Collectors on a system. You can save this file locally, edit it, and load it into AVANTO to obtain an availability model for that system.

To generate a partial .ecl file, do the following:

1. Select the system for which you want to generate the .ecl file.

   

2. Click the Config Report button.
3. You can ignore the Report Sections options. The output automatically includes all relevant information.
4. In the Format drop down list, select AVANTO .ecl.

   

5. Click the OK button.

The .ecl file output is displayed in text format, in a new browser window. Download time varies depending on the size of the report.

To save the output locally as a .ecl file, do the following:

• Open the browser window in which the output is displayed.
• In the File menu, select the Save As option.
• Select text as a file type.
• Save the output using the filename of your choice, with the file extension .ecl. For example myreport.ecl.

• Viewing RCM Data in Raw Format

  To view the data from a collection in raw format (unformatted), follow these steps:

• Select the system for which you want to generate a report in raw format.
• Select the Configuration Report option.
• Select the collection that you want to view in raw format.
• Select Raw Collection Data from the Format drop-down list.
• Click OK.

The raw data appears in a new browser window.

RCM Security

The RCM Server is secure and cannot be accessed by users who have not registered. Only you and the users you nominate can access a customer's configuration data.

Each data collection is associated with an access identifier, representing the server or group of servers from which the data was collected. Initially, only the "owner" of an access ID may access the data. The "owner" of the access ID is the user who initially created the access ID. This user is responsible for granting access to other users.

Two levels of access are available, as follows:

• Administrative: Allows the user to run reports and modify details about the access ID, including security access.
• Read-Only: Allows the user to run reports on the systems in this access ID.

For information on using access identifiers, see the Using RCM Access Identifiers section.

You and your nominee(s) need to use the correct RCM access ID when you are installing the RCM data collection utilities. Each data collection associated with this access ID will automatically be available to you (and anyone you nominate) when you log on to the report generator. For information on using access IDs, see the Using RCM Access Identifiers section.

RCM Technical Support

This chapter provides information on accessing RCM technical support resources. It contains the following sections:

• Forgotten your RCM Account Details
• RCM Technical Support
• Contact the RCM Team

Forgotten your RCM Account Details?

If you have already registered for RCM, but you have forgotten your user name or password - don't worry! We can send you a copy of your account details. If you have not registered, you can register on the Registration page at the following Compaq internal URL: http://rcm.ilo.dec.com/Registration.htm

To receive a copy of your account details, go to the following Compaq internal URL:

http://smsat.ilo.dec.com/products/rcm/service/using/forget.htm

Enter the following information, and click the Send me a copy of my account details button.

• Your name
• The e-mail address you specified when you registered
• A contact telephone number
• Your RCM user name (if you remember)

The name and e-mail address fields are required.

Your RCM user name and password will be sent to the e-mail address that you specified when you registered. You should receive a response within one working day.

RCM Technical Support

f you have a problem using any aspect of RCM, either with the Data Collectors, data transport, or the user interface, please contact us at the following URL:

rcm.support@compaq.com

To help us resolve any problems quickly, please send us the following information:

1. Your name, RCM user name (registration name), and contact details.
2. The access ID (entered during data collector installation), hostname, and serial number of the system on which you collected data.
3. The platform, system serial number, operating system version, and data collection utility versions, and build numbers.
4. The platform, operating system name and version, and browser name and version on the system from which you accessed the RCM Server.
5. Details of the problem, including any log files, error files, or messages generated by the system.

Contact the RCM Team

The RCM team would welcome any queries or comments you may have about RCM.

If you have questions or comments, or you would like to participate in future field tests or early release programs, contact the Product Manager, Vincent Jordan.

You can also contact the Project Manager, Tom Kilgarriff, or the Development Manager, Paddy Medley.

Vincent Jordan - RCM Product Manager

Tom Kilgarriff - RCM Project Manager

Paddy Medley - Development Manager