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ManageWise 2.6: New Features and Enhancements

Articles and Tips: article

01 Oct 1998


There's a new version of ManageWise, Novell's comprehensive network management solution. Find out what‘s new in this release.

Overview

ManageWise is the comprehensive management solution that lets system administrators successfully manage and control their entire network. An open platform based on the SNMP standard, ManageWise helps you accomplish all management tasks from a single point of administration—everything from Novell Directory Services (NDS) monitoring and NetWare and Windows NT server management to desktop management and software distribution. You can even analyze network traffic, perform virus protection, and conduct network inventory and health reporting tasks—all without leaving your desk. These capabilities, coupled with proactive network planning and optimization, make ManageWise a key ingredient in reducing your network's total cost of ownership.

This AppNote provides a look at the new features found in the most recent release of ManageWise 2.6 and reviews the functionality of the ManageWise components.

Introduction

ManageWise continually monitors hundreds of objects and the status of various network components, including NDS, NetWare and Windows NT servers, SNMP devices, desktops, and network traffic. Its alarm system notifies you of changes or problems typically before a network failure occurs.

When problems do occur, ManageWise highlights the status of each device and its network segment for quick diagnosis. This means you can quickly resolve network performance issues or repair printing failures, overloaded servers, or failing remote office links.

ManageWise protects your network against virus infiltration on servers and desktops. In addition, it continually looks for unauthorized server access and other security breaks.

Advanced Autodiscovery and inventory capabilities simplify the task of tracking network assets. Autodiscovery automatically finds all network devices and builds a map that illustrates your network structure.

In addition, extensive reporting capabilities assist in problem solving and proactive planning of your network's growth. You can even conveniently access network reports from the ManageWise console or a Web browser.

ManageWise uses its award-winning LANalyzer component to analyze network traffic, pinpoint bottlenecks, and balance performance. Inventory data provided by ManageWise can also help you allocate resources and plan for Year 2000 remediation.

Because ManageWise is based on the SNMP standard, it can extend the capabilities of enterprise management solutions such as IBM/Tivoli TME10, Computer Associates' UniCenter TNG, or HP's OpenView for UNIX. SNMP capabilities allow ManageWise to manage routers, hubs, switches, and other SNMP devices. In addition, ManageWise uses the RMON standard for traffic monitoring.

ManageWise is licensed for the total number of workstations on your network so you can install its server components on all network servers.

Key Features

  • Autodiscovery and Network Mapping

  • Proactive Alarm System

  • NDS Monitoring

  • Server Management (NetWare and Windows NT)

  • Desktop Management

  • Software and Hardware Inventory

  • Software Distribution

  • Traffic Monitoring and Protocol Decoding

  • Virus Protection

  • Reporting and Analysis Tools

  • MIB Compiler and MIB Browser

New Features of ManageWise 2.6

ManageWise 2.6 offers many new features that truly provide wise solutions for network management. The new enhancements and features include:

Console Support for NT. ManageWise 2.6 allows you to run ManageWise console software on any Windows NT, Windows 98, or Windows 95 Workstation. Which means you can take advantage of Windows NT Workstation benefits such as true multitasking, increased stability, and higher performance.

Year 2000 Ready. Novell's ManageWise 2.6 components are Year 2000 Ready for a smooth transition from the year 1999 to 2000 with no changes in capabilities, data, or user interface.

NDS Monitoring. ManageWise 2.6 provides enhanced monitoring of NDS by overseeing various objects and states of the world's leading directory service. Over 130 new NDS alarm messages can be instantly reported to the ManageWise console, with information about events, changes, and problems.

Comprehensive Server Management Capabilities. ManageWise 2.6 provides the highest-quality, comprehensive, and up-to-date NetWare server management. Enhancements to its NetWare Management Agent (NMA) NetWare Loadable Modules offer Server Abend information and extended NetWare server trending and threshold statistics.

NetWare 5 Support. ManageWise 2.6 supports NetWare 5, while maintaining full compatibility with previous versions of Novell's popular network operating system.

Improved Traffic Analysis. The LANalyzer Agent in ManageWise 2.6 provides enhanced LAN analysis capabilities for high-speed FDDI networks in addition to the existing support of Ethernet and Token Ring.

It also offers packet decodes for industry-standard network protocols, including new decodes for DHCP, SMTP, BOOTP, and SLP.

ManageWise and ZENworks. ZENworks is a complementary solution to ManageWise, easing network administration and management by helping you securely diagnose and solve software-related problems without visiting each networked computer. ManageWise 2.6 is ready for integration with a future version of ZENworks, which allows these components to be used simultaneously without having to chose one over the other.

Optimized Autodiscovery Process. Thanks to its optimized Autodiscovery process, ManageWise 2.6 performs this function up to ten times faster than previous versions. Additionally, ManageWise 2.6 contains enhanced maps for the custom map editor that let you tailor your network view to reflect your actual geographic organization.

Product Maintenance. ManageWise 2.6 contains all known updates, fixes, virus signature files, and other enhancements which have been released for ManageWise 2.5.

ManageWise 2.6 Benefits

ManageWise 2.6 delivers many benefits to customers including increased network productivity, reduced cost of network ownership and operation, standards-based interoperability, and comprehensive management with the scalability to accommodate business growth. The following table lists various features of the ManageWise 2.6 product and briefly describes how you can benefit from them.


Feature
Benefit

Autodiscovery and Network Mapping

Simplifies network navigation by creating network maps automatically, allowing administrators to locate problems faster.

Pro-Active Alarm System

Prevents downtime by identifying potential problems early.

NDS Monitoring

Provides notification of 130 NDS events and reduces network downtime.

Server Management

Optimizes server performance, increases network performance, and provides quicker problem resolution.

Desktop Management

Speeds response time for end-user problems.

Software and Hardware Inventory

Provides information needed to quickly resolve end-user problems. Allows pro-active planning and budgeting for network growth.

Traffic Monitoring and Protocol Decoding

Helps to optimize network performance, by allowing pro-active planning of network growth and quick resolution of network problems.

Virus Protection

Protects against virus infiltration of network servers and desktops.

Reporting and Analysis Tools

ManageWise reports allow quick analysis of network status and health and documentation of the 'network history'.

Standards Support: SNMP Support, MIB Compiler, and MIB Browser

The SNMP tools monitor and manage any SNMP-based device in the network from a single point of administration. The SNMP support allows further ManageWise integration with enterprise solutions including Tivoli TME10, HP OpenView and CA Unicenter/TNG.

Remote Management Services

ManageWise is optimized for RMS allowing the Management Service Provider to remotely manage customers networks as part of their service offering.

Supported browsers

All, even text only.

Supported protocols

TCP/IP, HTTP, FTP, more

Document formats

HTML (text)GIF and JPEG (images)

ManageWise 2.6 Components

ManageWise consists of several components. Each component provides an advantageous functionality that fulfills a particular role. Listed below are each of the components that make up ManageWise with a brief description of its function.

ManageWise Console

ManageWise Console is the user interface for the administrator. While the console is the central ManageWise component, the management capabilities of each network device depend on the SNMP agent available for each device. The console can only do what the agent allows.

Note: The ManageWise 2.6 console can be installed on a Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT workstation. While a dedicated console is not required, it is highly recommended.

NetExplorer

NetExplorer is a set of server modules (NLMs) responsible for discovery of all network components in what is called the Autodiscovery process. The NetExplorer Manager on the ManageWise console reads the NetExplorer data and uses it to build network maps. Logically, the NetExplorer is a part of the console software, although it runs on a server.

NetExplorer can be installed on only one server for the entire network. However, in some cases, it makes sense to run it on several servers. For instance, when two or more administrators use different consoles to manage for different parts of the network. Each console may be limited to the respective parts of the network reflecting the administrator's responsibility area. Here, the NetExplorer's Autodiscovery can be limited through scoping, which can be set in the NetExplorer Console software running on the NetExplorer server (load nxpcon).

The NetExplorer utilizes the LANalyzer Agent for discovery of IP nodes. So, IP nodes will not be discovered in a segment not running the LANalyzer Agent.

Desktop Management Utilities

The desktop management utilities consist of two components: the console software and the server software. The console software is installed automatically during the ManageWise console installation. The server software runs on a NetWare server and is required once per a user domain. In order to be manageable, the users have to be attached to a ManageWise server running the desktop management utilities. Those utilities contain the inventory database and tools responsible for security of desktop management. For remote offices it might not be practical for users to attach to a central server over a slower WAN link. Therefore, several user domains can be built with typically one user domain per location, although it is possible to have more domains per location or a single domain for the entire network.

LANalyzer Agent

The LANalyzer Agent is an RMON agent responsible for the traffic monitoring in each segment. It is a set of NLMs which must be installed on a NetWare server, once per segment. There is no reason to have multiple LANalyzer Agents in a segment, and segments with no LANalyzer installed cannot be monitored.

LANalyzer Agent is utilized for Autodiscovery by the NetExplorer for discovery of IP and other nodes.

Server Agent

ManageWise can manage two types of servers: NetWare (all versions since NetWare 3.11) and Windows NT (3.51 and 4.0). There are different agents responsible for this functionality:

NetWare Management Agent. The NMA is an SNMP-based agent responsible for management of the NetWare server. It consists of a set of NLMs running on the managed NetWare server. Typically, each NetWare server in the network should be managed via NMA.

ManageWise Agent for Windows NT. The ManageWise Agent for Windows NT is an SNMP-based agent responsible for management of the NT server. It is the only component of ManageWise which has to be purchased separately for each managed NT server. It consists of several modules running on the NT server. Typically, each Windows NT server in the network should be managed via the ManageWise Agent for Windows NT.

Client Software

The ManageWise client software must be installed on every managed client. ManageWise supports management of DOS, Windows 3.x,Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, OS/2, and Macintosh. There is no need to install the software on each client manually. After the installation of ManageWise, a new user group called MAGEWISE is created and each managed client should be made a member of this group. The next time the user logs in, ManageWise client software will be automatically installed on the user's desktop. The Macintosh software comes on a separate diskette included in the ManageWise box.

Installing ManageWise 2.6

The recommended equipment and system requirements for using ManageWise 2.6 include the following:

  • 1 IntranetWare (or NetWare 4.11) server with Support Pack 4 installed

  • 1 Windows NT 4 Workstation configured as a ManageWise Console (with a CD-ROM drive)

  • 2 Windows 95/NT workstations configured as a user workstation

Managed server requirements:

NetWare versions supported: NetWare 5, intraNetWare, NetWare 4.11, NetWare 4.1, NetWare 3.12, NetWare 3.11, NetWare SFT III, NetWare SMP, NetWare/SMB and NetWare/IP

Additional RAM for the following components:

  • 365 KB - NMA (each server)

  • 6 MB - Virus Protection (each server)

  • 620 KB - LANalyzer (one server in each segment)

  • 5 MB - Desktop Management Utilities (one server in each location)

  • 490 KB - NetExplorer (one server per network)

  • 27MB - hard disk space

LANalyzer server also requires an Ethernet, Fast-Ethernet, Token-Ring, or FDDI adapter supporting the promiscuous mode.

NT Server Requirements:

  • Windows NT 3.51, NT 4.0

  • 4MB additional RAM

  • ManageWise Agent for Windows NT Servers (purchased separately)

  • Console minimum requirements:

  • Pentium microprocessor-based PC

  • 32MB RAM, 48 or more recommended

  • Approximately 70MB free hard disk space (depends on network size)

Client Requirements:

MS-DOS 3.3 or later, Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT 3.51, NT 4.0, Mac OS System 7, OS/2 Warp, OS/2 2.x, DOS and Windows 3.x clients require approximately 11KB of resident memory. Windows 95, 98, and NT clients use DLLs.

Pre-Installation

  1. Install the latest version of the NetWare Client on both Windows 95/NT clients.

  2. Install the latest version of the NetWare Client on the Windows NT workstation.

  3. Create at least two users in NDS (one per user workstation). To simplify the setup, you can place them in the same container as the server.

Installation

  1. At the Windows NT workstation that will be your ManageWise Console, log in to NDS as Admin and, if necessary, map a drive to the root of SYS: on the NetWare server.

  2. Place the ManageWise 2.6 CD into the CD-ROM drive. The installation interface will start automatically.

  3. Choose Install ManageWise 2.6, then follow the prompts. To see what is installed, choose Custom Install, and choose to install all modules.

  4. When prompted to approve the modification of AUTOEXEC.NCF and other files, edit AUTOEXEC.NCF and make sure that the following lines are un-commented (should be by default after the installation):

    • NMSBASE.NCF

    • LOAD SNMP verbose Control= Trap=

    • SEARCH ADD SYS:LANZ

    • LANZ.NCF

    • MW_AUTO.NCF

    • NETXPLOR.NCF

    • NMA2.NCF

    • ISTART4.NCF

  5. Read the Post Installations Setup Tasks detailed by the installation program, and perform any that are necessary, then exit the installation program.

  6. Restart your server or re-run the AUTOEXEC.NCF.

  7. Run NetWare Administrator and add all users you created to MANAGEWISEGROUP group. Do not add Admin to MANAGEWISEGROUP group.

  8. From each Windows client workstation, log in to NDS as the first user you created. If prompted, allow the autoconfiguration utilities to set up to workstation for remote control, inventory, and InocuLAN.

Optional Installation

Detailed here are the instructions for the optional installation of the ManageWise Agent for Windows NT Server:

  1. Create an NDS user for the NT server and make the user a member of MANAGEWISEGROUP Group.

  2. Install a Windows NT 4 server configured as a Primary Domain Controller.

  3. Add the SNMP service to the Windows NT server and configure it for manual startup. (In some cases setting the SNMP service to start automatically when the ManageWise Agent for NT Server is installed can cause the SNMP service to hang at startup. This is being addressed in an update.)

  4. Install the latest version of the NetWare client on the Windows NT server.

  5. Configure the Windows client on the ManageWise Console to log in to the NT domain as Administrator or a user with comparable domain rights and privileges.

  6. Place the ManageWise Agent for Windows NT Server CD in the CD-ROM drive on the NT server and install the agent. Before restarting the NT server, apply the update to the ManageWise Agent for Windows NT Server (MWNT01A.EXE from http://support.novell.com/misc/patlst.htm).

  7. Apply the update to the ManageWise Console and recompile the MIBs.

  8. From the NT server, log in as the user you just created and, if prompted, allow the autoconfiguration utilities to set up to server for remote control and inventory.

  9. Manually start the SNMP service on the NT server.

Summary

ManageWise 2.6 reinforces Novell's commitment to help companies lower their total cost of network ownership and operation. By providing support for NetWare 5 and the Windows NT Console, as well as improved NDS monitoring and Year 2000 readiness, ManageWise 2.6 is capable of meeting your network's product requirements and prepare you for Y2K issues.

For product availability and pricing visit the ManageWise web page at http://www.novell.com/products/managewise.

* Originally published in Novell AppNotes

Disclaimer

The origin of this information may be internal or external to Novell. While Novell makes all reasonable efforts to verify this information, Novell does not make explicit or implied claims to its validity.

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