Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Getting Started
r11.2
This documentation and any related computer software help programs (hereinafter referred to as the Documentation) is for the end users informational purposes only and is subject to change or withdrawal by CA at any time. This Documentation may not be copied, transferred, reproduced, disclosed, modified or duplicated, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of CA. This Documentation is confidential and proprietary information of CA and protected by the copyright laws of the United States and international treaties. Notwithstanding the foregoing, licensed users may print a reasonable number of copies of the Documentation for their own internal use, and may make one copy of the related software as reasonably required for back-up and disaster recovery purposes, provided that all CA copyright notices and legends are affixed to each reproduced copy. Only authorized employees, consultants, or agents of the user who are bound by the provisions of the license for the Product are permitted to have access to such copies. The right to print copies of the Documentation and to make a copy of the related software is limited to the period during which the applicable license for the Product remains in full force and effect. Should the license terminate for any reason, it shall be the users responsibility to certify in writing to CA that all copies and partial copies of the Documentation have been returned to CA or destroyed. EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE STATED IN THE APPLICABLE LICENSE AGREEMENT, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, CA PROVIDES THIS DOCUMENTATION AS IS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT WILL CA BE LIABLE TO THE END USER OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE, DIRECT OR INDIRECT, FROM THE USE OF THIS DOCUMENTATION, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOST PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, GOODWILL, OR LOST DATA, EVEN IF CA IS EXPRESSLY ADVISED OF SUCH LOSS OR DAMAGE. The use of any product referenced in the Documentation is governed by the end users applicable license agreement. The manufacturer of this Documentation is CA. Provided with Restricted Rights. Use, duplication or disclosure by the United States Government is subject to the restrictions set forth in FAR Sections 12.212, 52.227-14, and 52.227-19(c)(1) - (2) and DFARS Section 252.2277014(b)(3), as applicable, or their successors. All trademarks, trade names, service marks, and logos referenced herein belong to their respective companies. Copyright 2008 CA. All rights reserved.
CA Product References
This document references the following CA products: Unicenter Automation Point Unicenter CA-Remote Console Unicenter CA-OPS/MVS Unicenter Network and Systems Management (Unicenter NSM) Unicenter Software Delivery (USD)
Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction 9
Overview ..................................................................................... 9 Event Monitoring and Automation ........................................................... 9 Notification and Escalation ................................................................. 10 Interface with Other CA Products .......................................................... 10 Graphical User Interface for Configuration .................................................. 11 Unicenter Automation Point Environment ....................................................... 11 Primary Monitoring Capabilities ............................................................ 11 Unicenter Automation Point Servers ........................................................ 11 Common Platforms........................................................................ 12 Components ................................................................................. 13 Interfaces to Companion Products ............................................................. 14 Unicenter CA-OPS/MVS Interface .......................................................... 14 Unicenter NSM WorldView Map Interface ................................................... 14 Unicenter NSM Event Manager Interface .................................................... 14 Online Manuals ............................................................................... 15 More Information ............................................................................. 15
Chapter 2: Installation
17
Review the Export Declaration ................................................................. 17 Install Unicenter Automation Point ............................................................. 17 How You Add, Reinstall, or Remove Features ............................................... 19 Unattended Installation ................................................................... 20 Install with Unicenter Software Delivery .................................................... 20 Before You Install Unicenter Automation Point .................................................. 20 Upgrade from Unicenter Automation Point r11.1 ................................................ 21 Uninstall a Previous Version ............................................................... 21 Back Up Your Current Configuration ........................................................ 21 Install the Notification Website Application on a Non-Unicenter Automation Point Machine ......... 21 Before You Start Unicenter Automation Point ................................................... 22 Initial Configuration ....................................................................... 22 Set Up Licensing .......................................................................... 22 How You Find Information ..................................................................... 24 Online Guides ............................................................................ 24 Online Help ............................................................................... 24
Contents 5
25
Removal of NETBEUI Network Transport from PPQs ............................................. 25 How You Upgrade Notification Manager Databases .............................................. 26 How CA Common Service Components are Migrated ............................................ 26 CCS on a Microsoft Windows Server Operating System ...................................... 26 CCS on a Microsoft Windows Client Operating System ....................................... 27 What's Next? ................................................................................. 27
29
Outboard Automation ......................................................................... 30 Connections Under Unicenter Automation Point ................................................. 31 Session Types ............................................................................ 32 Connection Types ......................................................................... 33 Session Configuration ..................................................................... 35 Console Consolidation ......................................................................... 35 How Console Consolidation Works.......................................................... 36 Remote Access ............................................................................... 37 Remote Viewer ........................................................................... 38 Web Message Viewer ...................................................................... 39 How Remote Access Provides Flexibility .................................................... 41 Security...................................................................................... 41 User Login Security ....................................................................... 42 How Unicenter Automation Point Automates the IPL Process ..................................... 42 How You Monitor HMC ........................................................................ 43 What's Next? ................................................................................. 44
45
Availability Management ...................................................................... 45 Automation .................................................................................. 45 How You Automate Using Rules ............................................................ 47 Automating with REXX Programs ........................................................... 49 Integration with External Event Collection Systems ............................................. 51 Unicenter CA-OPS/MVS Interface .......................................................... 51 How Unicenter Automation Point Interfaces with Unicenter NSM ............................. 52 How You Collect Information from the Windows Event Log ................................... 57 How You Interface with Third-party Software Applications ................................... 58 What's Next? ................................................................................. 58
6 Getting Started
59
Beyond Automation ........................................................................... 59 Whom Can You Notify and How? ........................................................... 60 How You Make Your Workstation into a Voice Server with Paging Capabilities ..................... 60 Where Do These Components Reside? ...................................................... 61 How You Use a Dedicated Notification Server ............................................... 62 Notification Methods .......................................................................... 62 One-way and Two-way Paging ............................................................. 63 Telephone ................................................................................ 64 Email .................................................................................... 65 Text-to-Speech ........................................................................... 65 How You Configure Notification Methods ....................................................... 67 ADDRESS VOX Environment ................................................................... 67 Outbound Recording with Voice Message Delivery ........................................... 67 What's Next? ................................................................................. 68
69
Notification Manager Overview ................................................................ 69 Notification Manager Structure ................................................................ 70 Unicenter Automation Point DBMS ......................................................... 70 Notification Manager Policies .................................................................. 70 Notification Manager Terminology .......................................................... 71 How You Implement Your Notification Strategy ............................................. 72 Notification Website .......................................................................... 73 Notification Website Architecture ........................................................... 74 Notification Website Security .............................................................. 74 Notification Website Home Page ........................................................... 75 Update Notification Policies ................................................................ 75 Modify Individual Contact.................................................................. 76 Access Privileges .......................................................................... 76 The Notification Process ....................................................................... 76
Index
77
Contents 7
Chapter 1: Introduction
This guide introduces you to Unicenter Automation Point. By the time you have finished reading this guide, you will know how to install the product and have an overview of how it works. It is important to us that you feel comfortable with Unicenter Automation Point before you begin to use it.
Overview
Unicenter Automation Point lets you perform a variety of essential tasks in various management areas, which are discussed in the following sections.
Remotely view managed secured sessions from a Windows workstation through the Remote Viewer and the Web Message Viewer Capture messages and events from the Windows Event log Handle automation requirements using rules. Rules can be message-, time-, or command-based
Introduction 9
Overview
Handle the management of complex automation applications using REXX programming Export a message during rules processing to a customer-written function using a rules keyword Enable session-level and user-level security by leveraging Windows file security
Provide corporate-wide access through a secure notification website for maintaining personal notification data
10 Getting Started
Automatically populate icons on the Unicenter NSM WorldView map that represent the Unicenter Automation Point server and its selected sessions Directly interface with the Unicenter CA-OPS/MVS Multiple-System Facility (MSF) using TCP/IP communication technology
Introduction 11
The quantity of message or data stream activity The extent you use the product's notification capabilities Your need for backups to the Unicenter Automation Point servers The processor speed and size of RAM on each workstation
Common Platforms
The following illustration shows the common platforms (and other externally generated data streams) that Unicenter Automation Point is capable of monitoring. It also shows the various services used by the product for notifying data center personnel of problems, securing product functions, or remotely accessing the Unicenter Automation Point servers.
12 Getting Started
Components
Components
The following Unicenter Automation Point components work together to provide automation, event monitoring, and notification capabilities. Unicenter Automation Point Desktop Displays and manages Unicenter Automation Point sessions using your workstation's graphical user interface Configuration Manager Enables you to configure various Unicenter Automation Point functions and services. It is composed of two interfaces: The Wizard Interface, which you can use to initially set up your site configuration The Expert Interface, which you can use to fine tune Unicenter Automation Point Notification Server Services all notification requests from the VOX client command environment, manages the interaction of the VOX environment with the workstation's notification facilities (voice card, paging services, and email), and returns result information to the VOX client command environment. VOX Client Provides remote connectivity to the Notification Server component running on the Unicenter Automation Point server machine. Notification Manager Helps you implement automated notification policies in your operations. Notification methods can include paging, email, text-to-speech, voice notification, solicitation of input through DTMF tones, pre-recorded messages, message forwarding, and combinations of these functions. PPQs Provides a means for REXX programs to communicate with each other even if they are running on different computers. Notification Website Lets you to manage (create, edit, view, and delete) the methods, contacts, schedules, and login names used with Notification Manager. Web Message Viewer Provides a common, remotely accessible message window from which you can view all of the messages received and processed through rules by Unicenter Automation Point in as close to real time as possible.
Introduction 13
Remote Viewer Provides access to sessions that are managed by Unicenter Automation Point from a remote workstation. Unicenter NSM Security Server Needed on the Unicenter NSM Security Administration Server machine if you plan to use Unicenter security for the Remote Viewer application. Speech Notification Client Receives text-to-speech notification requests that are sent from the Unicenter Automation Point server machine.
14 Getting Started
Online Manuals
Online Manuals
The Unicenter Automation Point manuals are provided in portable document format (PDF).
More Information
After reading this Getting Started, you can refer to the numerous resources available to you for additional information. Your product DVD contains the product documentation in PDF format. These guides provide detailed information on configuring and using Unicenter Automation Point components.
Introduction 15
Chapter 2: Installation
This section contains the following topics: Review the Export Declaration (see page 17) Install Unicenter Automation Point (see page 17) Before You Install Unicenter Automation Point (see page 20) Upgrade from Unicenter Automation Point r11.1 (see page 21) Install the Notification Website Application on a Non-Unicenter Automation Point Machine (see page 21) Before You Start Unicenter Automation Point (see page 22) How You Find Information (see page 24)
Installation 17
2.
Insert Unicenter Automation Point DVD #1 into the DVD drive on your workstation. The Unicenter Automation Point DVD Launcher program should begin automatically. If it does, click Install Now to start the installation program before proceeding to Step 3. If this application does not start automatically, do the following: a. b. Click Start on the taskbar, and then choose Run. In the Open field of the Run dialog, type d:\setup.exe (where d: is the letter of the drive that contains the Unicenter Automation Point DVD) and then click OK.
3.
The installation wizard guides you through the installation. Follow the instructions on the dialogs. Note: At the beginning of the installation, a dialog informs you that if you have any features of Unicenter Automation Point running, they will be stopped. At this point, any existing release of the product is stopped, and then removed once the installation process begins. You will perform the following tasks during the installation: Accept the license agreement Provide customer information Select a location to install the program Select the features for Setup to install When you select Server features, the complete product is installed, including all Client features. If you choose to install only the Client features, you can select individual client features from the list to install. When you click a client feature, its description appears on the dialog. Note: The interfaces to companion products do not need to be selected if Unicenter NSM is already installed on the computer. Reuse, back up, or delete user data found from a previous installation. A dialog for these options appears only if Setup detects user data in an existing copy of Unicenter Automation Point on your machine. In that case, you are given the following options: Use the configuration data from the existing copy to configure the copy you are installing. If you choose this option, the data is also backed up. Back up only the user data. Setup places all backups in a BACKUP subdirectory of the directory where you install Unicenter Automation Point. If a BACKUP subdirectory already exists, Setup tries to add an extension of .001, then .002, then .003, and so on, until it finds a BACKUP.nnn directory name that does not exist. That directory is used to contain the backups.
18 Getting Started
Delete the user data, without creating backups. The end result will be the same as if an earlier version of the product had not been found. Note: When the installation is complete and you are satisfied that the new release of Unicenter Automation Point is working properly, you can delete the backup directory and all of its contents. If you reinstall Unicenter Automation Point, you should delete any backup data from previous installations before you start installing the current release. If you do not, then the old backup data from the previous installation is backed up again and will use a considerable amount of disk space.
Review settings Note that any old version of Unicenter Automation Point will be irrevocably removed if you proceed. Important! If, during setup, you receive a message telling you that files or directories are in use and the operation cannot be completed, see the Release Notes under the heading Installation Considerations for instructions on completing that operation. Copy program files 4. 5. When Setup has completed the installation, you are given the opportunity to view the Readme file. You must reboot your workstation to complete the installation process. Click Finish to proceed with the reboot.
Important! Do not remove Unicenter Automation Point DVD#1 from the drive until you have rebooted, logged in, and receive a message that the setup has completed. Note: An installation log is created in the %TEMP% directory with the file name Unicenter Automation Point Setup.log.
Installation 19
Notes: As an alternative, you can use Add/Remove Programs in the Windows Control Panel to add, reinstall, or remove features from Unicenter Automation Point. If you are installing additional features after you previously chose to install the server component, you do not need to separately install the client features. All client features are included with the server installation. Each time the Unicenter Automation Point installation program is executed, it tries to shut down the currently installed version. Keep this in mind when installing, adding, or removing Unicenter Automation Point features. Your configuration data is never removed or modified by the setup process unless you ask to remove the entire product and specify that you want to delete all user data and registry entries. Therefore, the features that you uninstall and then reinstall will have the same configuration settings that they had before you uninstalled them.
Unattended Installation
The file UNATTENDEDINSTALL.TXT located in the UNATTENDED directory on the installation media outlines the procedures necessary to run an unattended installation.
20 Getting Started
Installation 21
Initial Configuration
Note: If you installed Unicenter Automation Point r11.2 over r11.1, and if you asked to reuse your user data, you need not perform any configuration before using r11.2. Whether you have installed the client or the server component, you need to configure Unicenter Automation Point before you start the product for the first time. Configuration Manager provides a wizard to guide you through this process. The Wizard Interface enables you to functionally configure the automation facilities and notification services that are essential for Unicenter Automation Point to perform various functions. Configuration Manager also provides the Expert Interface, which lets you access the settings of the Unicenter Automation Point components, letting you drill down and quickly make changes to specific features. For detailed information on Configuration Manager, the Wizard Interface, and the Expert Interface, see the Administrator Guide.
Set Up Licensing
When you purchase Unicenter Automation Point, you receive a license certificate with your order. To access your Unicenter Automation Point license 1. Within the ca_lic directory (usually located under the Program Files\CA\SharedComponents directory, or at the root of the machine), search for a file named ca.olf. If the ca.olf file does not exist, use a text editor to create a file with that name. Copy all of the information from the Execution Key from your license certificate into this file, and save it into the ca_lic directory.
2.
22 Getting Started
3.
If the ca.olf file does exist, open it using a text editor and make the following edits: a. b. Replace all lines beginning with ID_ with the ID_ lines indicated in the Execution Key from your license certificate. At the bottom of the file, immediately following any existing FEATURE lines, add the FEATURE line from the Execution Key from your license certificate. Notes: Do not remove any existing FEATURE lines. The FEATURE line may wrap to a second line on the license certificate, but it must be entered on a single line with no carriage return in the ca.olf file. c. Save the edited ca.olf file into the ca_lic directory.
To make the license installation process easier, a merged license file based on your Site ID is available to download from http://ca.com/support. Note: Check your license certificate for the most up-to-date licensing instructions.
Installation 23
Online Guides
The online guides for Unicenter Automation Point are distributed in portable document format (PDF) on the product DVD. To access the manuals, you need the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can download for free from the Adobe website. With the attached PDX index, you can easily search across all Unicenter Automation Point manuals using the Adobe Acrobat Reader Search facility: 1. 2. 3. Choose Edit, Search, or click the Search all guides button on the Bookshelf. Enter your desired search criteria in the pane on the right, and select In the index named INDEX.PDX. Click Search. Acrobat Reader displays a dialog that lists each manual containing matches of your search criteria.
Online Help
Unicenter Automation Point provides a context-sensitive What's This? Help feature for many of its dialogs. To use the What's This? Help feature, place your cursor over a field in a dialog, and then right-click your mouse. If help is available for the field, a context menu with a What's This? selection appears; click this selection to view the help information.
24 Getting Started
Migration Information 25
The Notification Manager component is converted to work with Unicenter Automation Point r11.2. Unicenter Automation Point r11.1 can access a Notification Manager database that has been upgraded to r11.2. Similarly, Unicenter Automation Point r11.2 can access a Notification Manager database that remains at release r11.1.
26 Getting Started
What's Next?
What's Next?
Now that you have installed the product and have the information you need to get started with it, you are ready to explore the functionality of Unicenter Automation Point. The next four chapters take you on this tour. The first of these chapters describes how Unicenter Automation Point simplifies the management of your enterprise through outboard automation.
Migration Information 27
Outboard Automation
Outboard Automation
Two types of automation-inboard and outboard-must be implemented to monitor systems most efficiently. Inboard automation is performed locally and involves actions on the local platform. Outboard automation provides a much more comprehensive type of automation that targets exceptions and the most critical problems. Outboard automation does not replace inboard automation, but complements it. Inboard automation products such as Unicenter CAOPS/MVS on the z/OS platform can manage 90% or more of all messages, leaving exceptions and critical messages that require further analysis and action for outboard automation. Outboard automation is a primary feature of Unicenter Automation Point. The following illustration depicts the inboard/outboard automation concept:
As you read the following sections and view the illustrations, keep in mind the following questions concerning Unicenter Automation Point and its outboard automation capabilities. Can Unicenter Automation Point connect to all of the platforms that need to be monitored? How do you make these connections? Can Unicenter Automation Point control mainframe HMC (processor) consoles as well as operator consoles? Can Unicenter Automation Point manage non-CPU devices such as computer room environmental systems through RS232 connections?
30 Getting Started
How are host console images displayed and controlled by Unicenter Automation Point? Can you use Unicenter Automation Point to replace and consolidate existing consoles? Can Unicenter Automation Point analyze and respond to events that occur on the hosts it is connected to? Can Unicenter Automation Point read console messages, run them though automation for possible action, and issue commands to the various host systems where necessary? If so, how does it do this? Does Unicenter Automation Point allow remote access so that you can monitor the various hosts from a dial-up connection or web browser? Can you issue remote commands to control the hosts? What kind of authentication is required before permitting remote access, and how is that security administered? When you have finished reading this chapter, you not only will have learned the answers to these specific questions, but you also will be aware of a solution to the broader problem of how to simplify the complexity of your enterprise environment and meet your monitoring needs.
Session Types
A session is a link to a host console or to a Unicenter Automation Point function. Unicenter Automation Point displays each session in its own window. There are two types of sessions. Terminal emulator sessions Unicenter Automation Point function windows Note: The session window is for the convenience of the operator. Unicenter Automation Point can automate the session without a window.
Function Windows
Unicenter Automation Point function windows let you view different types of information from windows. You use these windows to monitor and control Unicenter Automation Point processing. For example, you can use a window to view and act upon highlighted messages displayed by the host console.
32 Getting Started
Connection Types
Unicenter Automation Point supports a wide variety of simultaneous connections to both mainframe systems and asynchronous-type host systems without requiring any software to be installed on the host system. The following list shows the connections available with Unicenter Automation Point. Note that the connection type affects how Unicenter Automation Point communicates to the monitored host and how it detects messages. 3270 Cut mode session - coaxial connection through a 3270 adaptor card TN3270 session - TCP/IP connection to a TN3270 server HLAPI session - Connection through Attachmate Extra! client. Asynchronous RS-232 Session - cable connection, through serial (com) port Telnet session - TCP/IP connection SSH session - TCP/IP connection Windows Command Prompt VIO session - Virtual I/O connection If your system can communicate through one of the connections that are illustrated above, Unicenter Automation Point can communicate with your system. For example, suppose that you want to know if Unicenter Automation Point can connect to an AIX system. Or you have a system with an HP2625 terminal on its console, and you want to know if Unicenter Automation Point can automate that system. Look at the connections in the illustration; if the particular system that you want to connect to Unicenter Automation Point can communicate using one of the methods listed, then your answer is yes. The following sections provide quick reference lists of console types and terminal types that Unicenter Automation Point supports.
Console Types
Unicenter Automation Point can control the following types of consoles: Asynchronous consoles, including 3151, VAX, Tandem, and DataFrame consoles MCS consoles JES3 consoles Sessions for Unicenter CA-Remote Console Sysplex consoles TPF consoles - 3270 and asynchronous VM consoles VSE consoles
Terminal Types
The following lists describe the kinds of terminal emulation that you can use for your sessions. 3270 Sessions 3278 Model 2 (24x80 3278 Model 3 (32x80) 3278 Model 4 (43x80) 3278 Model 5 (27x132) 3279 Model 2 (24x80) 3279 Model 3 (32x80) 3279 Model 4 (43x80) 3279 Model 5 (27x132) 3205, a processor console option of the 4381 processor series Asynchronous Sessions 3151 Tandem 6530 (conversational or block mode) VT52 terminal emulation VT100 terminal emulation VT320 terminal emulation An asynchronous (ASCII TTY) terminal Windows Command Prompt Sessions VIO
34 Getting Started
Console Consolidation
Session Configuration
You can easily configure your sessions using the Session Definition Sets dialog in the Configuration Manager graphical user interface. Defaults are incorporated into the dialogs, and if you omit a value for an option that is required, you are reminded before you leave the dialog. What's This? help is available for fields to help you choose among optional values.
Console Consolidation
Today, many companies find that their mission-critical computer systems are spread over several locations. Even if your company is not particularly large, and has not grown by acquisition or merger, you may have several data centers that are physically separated from each other and possibly distant from some of the people who need to operate them. With Unicenter Automation Point, operators can monitor messages across multiple heterogeneous host systems and display them in a single focal point window for easy operator viewing. Operators are alerted to problems quickly, and actions can be taken to reduce impact on affected systems before the problems escalate, saving both time and money.
Console Consolidation
36 Getting Started
Remote Access
Remote Access
Remote access capabilities are of great value to your data center, particularly at these times: When the proximity of the Unicenter Automation Point Server to monitored systems (when direct connections are used) or to telephony equipment makes human access inconvenient When an operator control room is geographically separated from the enterprise servers, including Unicenter Automation Point servers Unicenter Automation Point supports secured remote access to any of the systems to which it is connected-even across multiple Unicenter Automation Point servers-providing geographic and off-hours flexibility for operator access to systems. Unicenter Automation Point provides two tools for remote access: The Remote Viewer The Web Message Viewer (Web MV)
Remote Access
Remote Viewer
The Unicenter Automation Point Remote Viewer lets you access and control sessions that are running on Unicenter Automation Point workstations at remote sites. Through a TCP/IP connection, the Remote Viewer enables one or more users to simultaneously connect up to 200 sessions from any number of Unicenter Automation Point engines connected to the network. The Remote Viewer is a separately installable client component. It provides session-level security, logon, and auditing capabilities through Unicenter NSM security or by mapping sessions to Windows file security. You can perform the following actions with the Remote Viewer: Remotely view Unicenter Automation Point host sessions Send commands to monitored Unicenter Automation Point sessions Shut down and restart Unicenter Automation Point remotely Submit REXX programs for execution on the Unicenter Automation Point server machine
38 Getting Started
Remote Access
The following diagram shows how each remote viewer simultaneously displays sessions from each host.
After you are connected to the Unicenter Automation Point Server, you can choose any session or window to view. You can display multiple windows on your remote PC all at one time. Essentially, you can recreate the Unicenter Automation Point server windows that are on a remote machine.
Remote Access
Web MV provides a common, remotely accessible message window that lets you view all of the messages received by Unicenter Automation Point in as close to real time as possible. These include not only the messages received from Unicenter Automation Point-managed sessions, but also messages generated by Unicenter Automation Point. In addition to viewing Unicenter Automation Point messages, you can also use Web MV to access detailed information about each message, separated into logical columns and displayed according to your specification. You can also specify the number of messages you want to store in a database, and scroll back as far as you need to view previous messages. With Web MV, you can also: Set the visual attributes of messages (including color and font) Set the visual attributes of session windows (including background color, columns, and size) Send commands to monitored sessions Issue Unicenter Automation Point DOM requests for action messages
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
You request the Web MV HTML page through the client Web browser. From this page, you download and launch the Web MV application. The Web MV application uses TCP/IP to connect to the Unicenter Automation Point server from which it was launched. You select which Unicenter Automation Point sessions to monitor. TCP/IP is used to transport both HTML page requests and messages captured from web-enabled Unicenter Automation Point sessions.
40 Getting Started
Security
Security
With the Remote Viewer and Web MV you have a great deal of concentrated power. To secure that power, Unicenter Automation Point validates both the Remote Viewer and Web MV through the use of the Remote Manager service, which is a CA-provided service that runs on Windows. You can select your level of security, either by specifying a list of trusted hosts (including localhost for Web MV), or through user login security (either no user security, Windows security, or Unicenter NSM security). You select the level of security using the Remote Viewing dialog in Configuration Manager.
42 Getting Started
Note: When directly connected, Unicenter Automation Point can continue to operate, even if your TCP/IP network is down.
What's Next?
What's Next?
In this chapter you learned how, by outboard automation, Unicenter Automation Point simplifies the management of your enterprise. The next chapter describes how, through event management, you can achieve the high level of availability that is critical to eBusiness success.
44 Getting Started
Availability Management
The term availability in this context means managing system events through a single point of control, suppressing non-essential events, and bringing disparate platforms together. It means increased productivity and reduced down-time, and systems running when and where they should, saving time and money. The term availability management is increasingly associated with event automation tools, especially when these tools improve uptime percentages for eBusiness and other traditional online applications.
Automation
Event management through automation is the key to providing availability across systems. An event is an occurrence on your system at a particular place and time. Messages transmitted by an application, system, or device typify events in particular ways so that they can be managed. Through automation, you can suppress the non-essential messages, while at the same time act upon messages that require response. In addition, by using predefined corrective actions and notification techniques, you can respond proactively to problems and resolve them quickly. Unicenter Automation Point manages events by performing these operations: Detection-Monitors events, data, messages, and alerts Analysis-Evaluates and correlates the events it detects Action-Responds to events with predetermined actions such as: Suppressing, highlighting, and rewording messages Performing recovery procedures Starting and stopping tasks of other resources Restarting jobs, processes, or other resources
Event Management 45
Automation
Notification-Notifies personnel through various policies and procedures using the following: Numeric and alphanumeric paging Email Text-to-speech audio messages Windows popup messages Voice: Respond to queries through telephone keypad entries Play prerecorded or dynamically built voice messages Record and forward of voice messages The following illustration shows how this process works:
The following sections describe how Unicenter Automation Point manages events through rules, REXX programming, and integration with external event collection systems.
46 Getting Started
Automation
Rule Types
Unicenter Automation Point uses three types of rules: Message rules that tell Unicenter Automation Point what action to take when a specified message appears on a console Time rules that tell Unicenter Automation Point what action to take when a specified time or time interval occurs Command rules tell Unicenter Automation Point what action to take when a user issues a specified command to a console You can use the Unicenter Automation Point rules action keywords to trigger a variety of actions. These actions occur in real time to control ongoing event management activity (such as logging and display). You can also use the REXX programming language and a rich set of command environments provided by Unicenter Automation Point to perform a variety of complex tasks, including: Taking complex conditional actions with respect to event management Automatically issuing commands to connected systems Retrieving or storing data relevant to a REXX procedure Interfacing with the Unicenter NSM WorldView Map and Event Console Interfacing with Unicenter CA-OPS/MVS Using the rich set of Unicenter Automation Point notification services
Event Management 47
Automation
Rules Processing
Rules are loaded when Unicenter Automation Point starts. Rules are then compiled for optimal runtime performance and checked for syntax errors. You can: Define rules for specific sessions. Write a rule or REXX program to reload rules dynamically without stopping and restarting Unicenter Automation Point or disrupting monitoring activity. Loading an alternate set of rules from a different rules file may be useful as your workload changes from shift to shift. For each automated session, Unicenter Automation Point starts a rules processor to monitor the message stream for that session. Multiple, automated sessions are monitored concurrently by multiple rules processors. Each rules processor monitors the events defined in a common rules file.
Rules Actions
Unicenter Automation Point provides various action capabilities that can be triggered by rules processing to control the following types of activity: Synchronous activity that occurs and must complete in real time with the processing of each message Asynchronous activities set up in real time, but which do not restrict ongoing message processing The action capabilities can be grouped into the following categories: Display actions that control ongoing attributes of the Unicenter Automation Point depiction of monitored systems. These include the coloring, highlighting or lowlighting, prefixing, and rewording of received messages and controlling whether the received message is displayed in the Unicenter Automation Point Merged Msg window. Logging actions that control the logging and printing of received messages. These actions control whether the message is sent to the Unicenter Automation Point message log file or whether the message is printed on the local printer. Notification actions that control the following: Notifying local operators with auditory alarming when a given event occurs Issuing messages to either an operator or the automation log Notifying someone remotely through Notification Manager Forwarding messages, session information, or other user-specified data to the Unicenter NSM Event Console
48 Getting Started
Automation
Automation actions, which act as triggers and constraints on the execution of rules. In addition to the primary rule types of message pattern matching and time-of-day, you can use actions to do the following: Control time intervals for rule execution Control the maximum number of times a rule may execute absolutely Control the maximum number of times a rule may execute in a fixed time interval
Note: Conditional rule activity can also be controlled by data comparison. System event actions that let you automatically issue commands to: The operating system of monitored systems Applications running on monitored systems The operating system of the Unicenter Automation Point workstation Reply to WTORs on monitored systems Dynamically write and read status variables Run basic command sequences to configure the behavior of monitored systems Run complex procedural activity Write messages or other important data to a Program-to-Program Queue (PPQ) for processing by a REXX program on the same or another workstation
Event Management 49
Automation
Either the operator or a Unicenter Automation Point rule can start a REXX program. Note: For more information about REXX programs, see the Administrator Guide.
Command Environments
To enhance the usefulness of REXX-and Unicenter Automation Point connectivity to other hardware and software-Unicenter Automation Point allows your REXX programs to access special command environments, including the following: ADDRESS AXC Used to communicate within the Unicenter Automation Point environment and the console windows. This is the default environment for issuing command processors specific to Unicenter Automation Point. ADDRESS CMD Used to execute operating system commands. ADDRESS GLV (global variables) Lets you to store status values while Unicenter Automation Point is running in order to maintain consistent data across restarts. ADDRESS OPS Involves interaction with the Unicenter CA-OPS/MVS interface. ADDRESS PPQ (Program-to-program queues) Used for queuing information between processes and remote systems. It can be used locally and over a network. ADDRESS TNG Involves interaction with Unicenter NSM using the Unicenter NSM WorldView and Event Management interfaces.
50 Getting Started
ADDRESS VOX Involves inbound and outbound voice processing, paging, and email. Note: For information about accessing various command environments from REXX programs, see the Reference Guide.
Event Management 51
The Unicenter Automation Point to Unicenter CA-OPS/MVS Interface also supports inbound communication from Unicenter CA-OPS/MVS. Using this interface, you can initiate the following tasks from Unicenter CA-OPS/MVS: Send WTO messages directly to Unicenter Automation Point rules processing Invoke REXX programs on the Unicenter Automation Point workstation Trigger NMFIND (notification) requests Issue PPQ WRITE commands from Unicenter Automation Point
52 Getting Started
Event Management 53
Note: A significant benefit of the Remote Viewer is that you can customize the right-click menu for the system icons to launch the Remote Viewer to view the console for that system. The Remote Viewer is distributed on the Unicenter Automation Point DVD and can be installed separately from the rest of the product on any Windows workstation, including workstations that run the WorldView Map. (There are no licensing restrictions as to the number of workstations on which the Remote Viewer can be installed.) The Remote Viewer also provides you with both logon and session-level security.
54 Getting Started
Both Unicenter Automation Point and Unicenter NSM Event Manager enable you to monitor and process system events. Both products provide event capture and viewing capabilities, along with message matching and the ability to perform automated actions on selected system events. Both products also enable you to monitor the Windows event logs. However, each product has its own particular strengths regarding event processing, which are noted in the following sections.
Event Management 55
56 Getting Started
Event Management 57
What's Next?
What's Next?
In this chapter you learned how you can achieve a high level of system availability by using rules and REXX programs to monitor events across multiple systems, evaluate these events, and control and coordinate the states and actions of multiple hardware machines. The next chapter describes how Unicenter Automation Point completes your automation solution by providing resolution of problems that require more than automation.
58 Getting Started
Beyond Automation
There may be times when you need more than standard automation scripts to handle the complex problems that occur at your data center. Consider the following example. You work for a bank that has systems that monitor the level of currency in all ATM machines across the city. One of your busiest ATMs is low on currency on a Friday night because of heavier than usual withdrawals. Your system puts out a message letting you know about this problem. Scripts and REXX programs cannot address this situation, as it is one that requires human intervention. This is a time when the notification capabilities of Unicenter Automation Point could prove invaluable. There are a number of such scenarios that require capabilities that are beyond the scope of automation. They fall into these categories: Your automated scripts are not complex enough to handle all of the possible events that occur in your data center. Some events are too unusual or complex for automated scripts to apply the kind of judgment required. Human awareness or intervention is required for decisions that must be made. Technical experts who could aid in solving a problem may not be readily available. When automation is not enough to handle events, Unicenter Automation Point provides you with the means to address those problems that require human attention, and possibly intervention. Your staff may need to become aware of these problems so they can make informed decisions about how to resolve them. Sometimes it is necessary to communicate the potential side effects of a problem or resolution to the appropriate people, or to require manual intervention from experts. Unicenter Automation Point supplements inboard and outboard handling of events with notification and escalation policies that meet these needs.
Notification Overview 59
How You Make Your Workstation into a Voice Server with Paging Capabilities
How You Make Your Workstation into a Voice Server with Paging Capabilities
Unicenter Automation Point provides a VOX environment, which consists of multichannel inbound and outbound voice processing software that transforms your workstation into a sophisticated voice server. Although a significant part of the function of the VOX environment is to provide voice processing services, paging and email services are also provided. The VOX environment consists of the following components: notification server Services all voice processing requests from the VOX client Manages interaction with the workstation voice card, with the workstation modem (for one-way paging), with Internet-accessible paging services (for two-way paging), and with the MAPI or SMTP interface modules (for email) Returns resulting information to the VOX client VOX command environment Enables your REXX programs to request notification services from one or more notification servers and return the result to the calling REXX program voice word library Contains a voice index file and a voice data file
60 Getting Started
How You Make Your Workstation into a Voice Server with Paging Capabilities
Notification Overview 61
Notification Methods
Note: Besides performance optimization, another reason for using a dedicated notification server is proximity to hardware and communication equipment.
Notification Methods
Unicenter Automation Point supports notification methods of varying complexity from alphanumeric paging, telephone, and email to two-way paging and text-to-speech notification. The notification methods that are described in the sections that follow can be used in multiple ways to notify people and communicate problems, thereby leading to resolutions for those problems quickly and efficiently.
62 Getting Started
Notification Methods
Notification Overview 63
Notification Methods
Telephone
To use telephone as a notification method, you must configure an Intel Dialogic voice card. The VOX environment supports up to 36 analog voice channels in a single workstation. These channels can be logically grouped so that you can control the available channels more easily. The VOX environment accepts input from touch-tone and network devices. Touch tone telephones generate Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) signals. Telephone network devices such as Central Office (CO) and Private Branch Exchange (PBX) switches generate Multi-frequency (MF) signals. The following are some practical examples of how Unicenter Automation Point provides telephone notification: Help desk. Through the Answer Tree application, the VOX environment waits for an incoming call, verifies the user ID and password of a caller, and presents the caller with a list of system incidents. When the caller selects an incident item, a voice file that details the status of the incident is played. Problem escalation. The VOX environment plays an announcement message over an intercom system one or more times, possibly increasing the volume and preamble each time. If an operator does not respond, the VOX environment dials the extension of each person on an internal notification list and plays the message. If there is no response, each person on an on-call list is called, and each person's beeper is activated in the order listed.
64 Getting Started
Notification Methods
Auto-attendant. One or more voice channels wait to answer an incoming telephone call. On the specified ring, the VOX environment answers the call and presents the caller with a menu of several options. Then depending on the menu selection, the VOX environment presents the caller with another menu, or transfers the caller.
Email
The Notification server manages the interaction between the VOX environment and the supported email protocols (MAPI and SMTP). In order to use MAPI as your email transport, you must first install the MAPI interface by installing a compatible MAPI client on the Notification server (such as Microsoft Outlook). If you choose to use the SMTP protocol for transmitting email messages, you do not need to install any additional software. To send email messages, the VOX environment provides two commands: SENDMAIL and POSTMAIL. Whether you can use email paging depends on whether the feature is available through your paging service. If this feature is available, call costs can be significantly reduced by not requiring a modem or analog telephone lines.
Text-to-Speech
The Text-to-Speech notification feature of Unicenter Automation Point delivers animated spoken messages over your TCP/IP network. If the receiving PC has a sound card and speakers, the words are spoken by an animated character. If not, a cartoon word balloon shows the message that would have been spoken. If the person to be notified is monitor-bound, this is a good notification method to use. The Text-to-Speech facility uses Microsoft Agent technology. The Microsoft Agent is a built-in component of Windows as a part of the operating system.
Notification Overview 65
Notification Methods
Two mechanisms are used to produce the text-to speech capability: The Notification Manager Speak method is used to notify a Notification Manager contact point-to-point. The ALARMSAY rules keyword uses the Unicenter Automation Point alarm mechanism to send notifications to the local Unicenter Automation Point server and to any Remote Viewer client currently monitoring the session. The AP Listener icon is in the Status Tray Area of the receiving system. The appearance of the icon represents different states of the notification queue.
66 Getting Started
Notification Overview 67
What's Next?
What's Next?
In this chapter you learned how the additional flexibility that Unicenter Automation Point provides through notification and escalation techniques enhances your automation solution. The next chapter describes Notification Manager, which allows you to implement automated notification policies through its Notification Website, without the need for REXX programming.
68 Getting Started
Notification Strategy 69
70 Getting Started
Notification Strategy 71
72 Getting Started
Notification Website
Notification Website
Using the Notification Website, you can perform these major tasks: Create, modify, and delete contacts, methods, and logins Send notifications View the status of notifications that you send Adjust your own schedule
Notification Strategy 73
Notification Website
This illustration shows a separate web server and a Unicenter Automation Point server; however, a site could also configure the web server functionality directly on the Unicenter Automation Point Server. Note that your web server environment must provide a servlet hosting facility. Unicenter Automation Point redistributes the free Apache Tomcat servlet hosting application for those sites that do not have their own servlet hosting software. For details, see the Administrator Guide.
74 Getting Started
Notification Website
Data Encryption The data transmitted to and from the Notification Website is encrypted and protected. The webmasters at your site control the means for establishing secure data transmission mechanisms, such as SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), between the web server and the client browsers that are connected. The data transmitted between the web server and the AP server is encrypted using proprietary algorithms. Authentication The Notification Website is protected from illicit users. The identity of a user is verified and confirmed before he or she is allowed to use the Notification Website. Authorization The Notification Website prevents authenticated users from using the website in unauthorized ways. User privileges and permissions are checked before a legitimate user is allowed to access particular information or to use particular methods. Note: LDAP security can be used for either or both authentication and authorization. For more information, see the Administrator Guide.
Notification Strategy 75
Access Privileges
All web pages on the Notification Website have separate access privileges. You can probably grant the privilege to update a contact's own schedule to most people. Privileges to modify other people's schedules and to modify the methods themselves are usually granted to fewer people.
Note: For detailed information on how to set up Notification Manager, see the Administrator Guide.
76 Getting Started
Index
A
access, remote 37 ADDRESS TNG environment 53 ADDRESS VOX environment 67 Adobe Acrobat Reader search facility 24 Notification Manager objects 71 pre-installation considerations 70 notification methods 62 notification requests 51
O
one-way paging 63
C
CA Remote Console, mainframe communication with 34 components of the VOX environment 60 console types 34 contacts object, Notification Manager 71
P
parameter objects, Notification Manager 71 pre-installation considerations for Notification Manager 70
D
DBMS 70 documentation, product 24
R
remote access, security and 41 remote connection capabilities 38 Remote Viewer 38, 54 REXX programs, executing 51 rules,automating with 47
E
Event Traffic Controller 55
G
guides, product 24
S
search facility, Adobe Acrobat Reader 24 sessions Automation Point function 32 configuring 35 types of 32 systems, monitoring multiple 37
H
Hardware Automation Facility (HAF) 43 HMC, monitoring 43
I
installation procedure 17 IPL process, automating 42
T
terminal types 34 time block object, Notification Manager 71 TN3270E 35 two-way paging 63
L
licensing 22 login object, Notification Manager 71
U
Unicenter NSM 52 Unicenter Software Delivery, installing with 20 uninstalling a previous version 21 user rights, advanced 17
M
manuals, product 24 method object, Notification Manager 71 methods, notification 62 Microsoft SQL Server DBMS 70
N
NMFIND requests 51
V
VOX environment 60
Index 77
W
Web Message Viewer (Web MV) 39
78 Getting Started