AppManager for UNIX support extends the standard operations management capabilities of AppManager to your UNIX and Linux environments. The AppManager for UNIX module includes an agent for the computer that you want to monitor, Knowledge Scripts you use to specify what you want to monitor, and console components to make managing your environment easier.
When you install AppManager for UNIX on a UNIX or Linux computer, that computer becomes an agent computer (sometimes called a managed client) that you can monitor. The module includes several components that provide support for application monitoring, called managed objects. You can then run Knowledge Script monitoring jobs to manage your environment.
At regular intervals, the agent computer initiates communication with the management server to see if there is a new job to run, if the job status has changed (for example, to see if a job has been stopped), or if any of the job properties have been modified. If there is a new job or any changes to a job’s status, properties, or schedule, the management server delivers the new job to the agent computer.
When a job is received from the management server, the UNIX agent component of the module runs the job at a regular interval to retrieve the information requested and then passes the information back to the management server. When the management server receives data or events from the agent computer, it processes the information and takes the appropriate action, for example, by raising an event if a specific threshold is met.
From the Operator Console or Control Center, the managed UNIX server is the same as any other managed computer, and the workflow through AppManager is the same as for any managed Windows computer if you want to respond to events, create charts, modify job properties, or run reports.
The NetIQ UNIX Agent includes the following components:
NetIQ UNIX Agent Manager: A user interface that you can use to manage all your UNIX agents components across your enterprise. UNIX Agent Manager runs on Windows and Linux operating systems. You can store information about your agent computers in one UNIX Agent Manager server, then access the information through one or numerous UNIX Agent Manager consoles.
The AppManager UNIX Agent: A component of the NetIQ UNIX Agent that enables support for AppManager and provides the managed objects for UNIX and Linux AppManager modules.
Common components: Components that are shared by the AppManager UNIX Agent and the Security Agent for UNIX.
The key processes used by the UNIX agent are:
VigilEntAgent: The process that UNIX Agent Manager uses to communicate with the common components of the agent. This process should run continuously once the agent is installed.
Agent: The process that AppManger for UNIX uses to run Knowledge Script jobs. This process should run continuously once the agent is installed and configured to be used with AppManager.
Nqmagt: The process that monitors the status of the other agent processes and restart them if necessary. This process should run continuously once the agent is installed.
AppManager for UNIX sends a periodic heartbeat to the management server to determine if the jobs are operating properly and whether any new job information is available. When the agent computer contacts the management server, the management server identifies updates to any Knowledge Script jobs on the agent computer.
If job properties have changed or new jobs have been added since the last interval, the management server delivers the revised job information to the agent computer. If there is no change to the Knowledge Script job, the management server simply acknowledges the heartbeat, then waits for the next heartbeat signal.
Events and data returned by AppManager for UNIX are inserted by the management server into the standard AppManager workflow, so that events are displayed in the Operator Console TreeView or the Navigation Pane in Control Center, and data is stored in the AppManager repository in the same way that events and data are handled for Windows computers.
For information about creating and modifying Knowledge Script jobs, responding to events, and using collected data in charts and reports, see the User Guide for AppManager or the online Help.
You can specify multiple management servers for each agent computer. However, you can only specify one primary and one secondary management server for each repository. If you define both a primary and a secondary management server, AppManager for UNIX periodically signals both servers but only accepts job requests from and sends data to the primary management server. The secondary management server can only submit job requests and receive data when communication with the primary management server is interrupted.
Agent installation prompts you to designate the management servers that can communicate with the agent computers. You can include management servers from multiple management sites. You can designate the primary and secondary management server for the agent computer either during installation or by running the AMAdminUNIX_SetPrimaryMS Knowledge Script.
UNIX Agent Manager provides a server and console that allows you to view and manage all AppManager UNIX agent computers across your environment. You can use UNIX Agent Manager to remotely install, uninstall, or upgrade AppManager components on agent computers running UNIX or Linux operating systems. UNIX Agent Manager provides a robust patch management system that allows you to apply or remove upgrades to the agent computers. You can also define users with limited access to view or change agents on specific computers. If you use UNIX agents for other products provided by NetIQ Corporation, the UNIX Agent Manager console allows you to manage those agents across multiple products.