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Managing GroupWise Through ManageWise2.1

Articles and Tips: tip

Ross Ford
Senior Consultant
Novell Consulting - Asia Pacific

01 Aug 1997


When the Novell Consulting Division in the Asia-Pacific region were rolling out Novell Directory Services (NDS), ManageWise and GroupWise at a site in Sydney, they documented how to manage GroupWise using ManageWise 2.1 as part of a methodology deliverable from Novell Consulting. This document is included as part of the GroupWise 5 deployment methodology, but we thought it might be useful as a NetNote to show the greater Novell technical audience this way of managing GroupWise.

This NetNote assumes that you already have ManageWise installed on the network with the ManageWise NetExplorer Agents loaded. It further assumes you have one or more ManageWise consoles installed on the network, which have been installed with both IPX and TCP/IP protocols. One of these ManageWise consoles can be dedicated to support the GroupWise Support group within the organization. Td this console (called here MW-GW_Console) is then used to gather all alerts from the various GroupWise server.

Ideally, the GroupWise infrastructure should be managed using ManageWise 2.1. Each GroupWise Post Office server should have a ManageWise 2.1 Management Agent loaded. (If there is only one server in a remote office, and the server will combine File and Print and GroupWise Post Office functions, that server should have the full ManageWise Management Agent loaded. If there is a dedicated GroupWise Post Office at a remote site, that server should only have the ManageWise 2.1 NetWare Management Agent and the Virus Protection Agent loaded. Other servers in that location can host Inventory and LANalyzer functionality.) The ManageWise installation process lets you easily determine which components to install on a given server.

GroupWise Server Types

Depending on the size of a office and the number of users at that site, a GroupWise server will be either dedicated or nondedicated. A dedicated server will have just GroupWise running on it, whereas a nondedicated server might also be used for file and print services.

Dedicated GroupWise Post Office Servers. The following steps are needed in order to set up a GroupWise server with just ManageWise Server and Virus Protect agents:

  1. Load GroupWise on a designated server.

  2. Through the ManageWise Install program, install ManageWise--NetWare Management Agent on the GroupWise server.

  3. Through the ManageWise Install program, install ManageWise Virus Protect Agent on the GroupWise server.

  4. Define the Target IP Address of the MW-GW-Console for sending SNMP Traps to, in SYS:ETC\TRAPTARG.CFG.

  5. Edit SYS:\SYSTEM\AUTOEXEC.NCF on the GroupWise server to ensure that the ManageWise Agent and Virus Protection are loaded (uncomment the NMA2.NCF and LOAD LPROTECT lines).

NonDedicated GroupWise Post Office Servers. To set up an IntranetWare server which is also hosting a GroupWise Post Office, use the following steps:

  1. Load GroupWise on Server.

  2. Install the complete ManageWise Agent on the GroupWise server.

  3. Define the Target IP Address of the MW-GW-Console for sending SNMP Traps to, in SYS:ETC\TRAPTARG.CFG.

  4. Edit SYS:\SYSTEM\AUTOEXEC.NCF to ensure that the ManageWise Agent, LANalyzer Agent, Inventory Agent and Virus Protection Agent are loaded (uncomment the NMA2.NCF, LANZ.NCF, LOAD LDINV, and LOAD LPROTECT lines).

ManageWise 2.1 Consoles: Compiling the GroupWise MIBs

To access and manage alerts emanating from GroupWise servers, it is necessary to copy the C:\MW\NMS\SNMPMIBS\ALLMIBS\NOVELL\GRPWISE\WP.MIB file to the C:\MW\NMS\SNMPMIBS\CURRENT directory. Having copied the file, load the ManageWise Console and from the Tools menu, run MIB Compiler. This compiles all the MIBs that are in the C:\MW\NMS\SNMPMIBS\CURRENT directory.

ManageWise Forwarding Console

In a large network, a ManageWise console should be used to consolidate all Traps emanating from all servers. An IP address should be selected for this ManageWise console. This console will be known as the MW-FWD-Console. The MW-FWD-Console's IP address should be defined in each server's SYS:\ETC\TRAPTARG.CFG file.

ManageWise GroupWise Console

In a large network, it is essential to establish a proper strategy to manage the GroupWise infrastructure. The recommendation is to dedicate a ManageWise console purely to the recording of traps from GroupWise servers. The MW-GW-Console will only be used for the storing of traps and the forwarding of the traps to the GroupWise support staff's workstations. The GroupWise Support staff would then run ManageWise on their workstations to rectify problems with the GroupWise infrastructure.

The following steps are necessary in this environment:

  1. Ensure the ManageWise Console software is loaded on the MW-GW-Console.

  2. GenevaSoft AlertPage software should be loaded on the MW-GW-Console for the forwarding of alarms to the GroupWise support team's workstations.

  3. Copy the C:\MW\NMS\SNMPMIBS\ALLMIBS\NOVELL\GRPWISE\WP.MIB file to C:\MW\NMS\SNMPMIBS\CURRENT on all workstations, including the MW-GW-Console workstation.

  4. On all workstations, run the ManageWise Console software, go to Tools menu, and run MIB Compile which compiles all the MIBs in the C:\MW\NMS\SNMPMIBS\CURRENT directory.

  5. Load and configure the GenevaSoft AlertPage software to forward all GroupWise SNMP Traps from the MW-GW-Console to ManageWise Consoles in the GroupWise Support Centre.

  6. The MW-FWD-Console should have its Genevasoft AlertPage software set to forward all GroupWise traps to the MW-GW-Console.

Network Discovery Information

The discovery of information in a network is undertaken by the NetExplorer process on a IntranetWare server. It is possible to configure the discovery process to limit the discovery visibility in a network. This is called Scoping. It is also possible to exclude workstations from being discovered. To eliminate workstation discovery it is necessary to create the file SYS:NMDISK\NXPIPX.INI and to have only one line in it:

gAutoDiscover=3

Setting up ManageWise NetExplorer for a GroupWise Environment

A ManageWise NetExplorer server, physically close to the GroupWise support group, should be set up to exclude workstations from discovery. It should also be able to discover the entire network so it can "see" all GroupWise servers. It should have all the ManageWise Server Agent processes loaded. (The inventory agent will be used with supporting remote GroupWise users when they are having problems running GroupWise.) For convenience, we will call this server GW-NXP-SERVER.

Ideally, in a large site there should be an IntranetWare server dedicated to the GroupWise Support group, so that they can use it for the storage and testing of GroupWise software and support activities. This server could be used as the GW-NXP-SERVER. This server should have the ManageWise NetExplorer software modules loaded, as well as the complete ManageWise Server Agent. (Refer to the AppNote entitled "ManageWise 2.1 Configuration and Usage Tips" in the January 1997 issue for detailed information on NetExplorer setup, scoping, and exclusion.)

The NetExplorer server could be set to target just the internal IPX addresses of the GroupWise servers in the network. This is achieved through the NetExplorer Console, NXPCON.NLM. (If you only want to use TCP/IP, you might need to put in the IP addresses of routers in the network as well. Otherwise, the discovery process may be adversely affected.

To eliminate workstation discovery at this NetExplorer server, create a SYS:\NMDISK\NXPIPX.INI file with only the following statement in it:

gAutoDiscovery=3

Ensure that the ManageWise Inventory Agent is running on this NetExplorer server. This is achieved by the LOAD LDINV line in the SYS:SYSTEM\AUTOEXEC.NCF file. (If the ManageWise agent has been loaded via the ManageWise Install program, the above line will already be in the SYS:SYSTEM\AUTOEXEC.NCF file and it will only require that the comment symbol be removed from the start of the #LOAD LDINV line.)

Providing GroupWise Client Support and Remote Control

When a remote workstation requires support from the central GroupWise support group, the remote users need to execute the following two commands at their workstation. (This process can also be delivered via the Novell Application Launcher 2.0. See the January 1997 AppNote referenced above for further details.)

The remote workstation should now run the inventory transfer process as follows:

SYS:\MW\LDT\WLDISCAN /F /S:GW-NXP-SERVER

where this is the server in the GroupWise support area running the LDINV inventory database.

The remote workstation should now run the Remote Control program as follows:

SYS:\MANAGEWISE\LDT\WUSER

Providing Support to Remote Workstations Running Groupwise

When a user presents with a GroupWise problem, the GroupWise support staff can run ManageWise and go to the Tools Menu. They should select Desktop Manager. Once the database is loaded from the GW-NXP-SERVER the support staff can select the desired workstation and by double clicking on the object they will initiate remote control to the workstation. They can then talk the user through the resolution of the problem.

From time to time, the ManageWise Inventory database may get a little large. Refer to the ManageWise documentation for instructions on resetting the database. Alternately, obtain the new LDINV.DLL file from Novell Technical Support and copy it into the C:\MW\LDT directory on the ManageWise Consoles. This patch allows for the successful removal of entries from the inventory database.

* Originally published in Novell AppNotes


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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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