Deployment Guide Series: IBM Tivoli Change and Configuration Management Database Configuration Discovery and Tracking v1.1

Deployment Guide Series: IBM Tivoli Change and Configuration Management Database Configuration Discovery and Tracking v1.1

by Morten Moeller, James Bacon, Murtuza Choilawala, Petar Kadijevic, Charles R. Rich, Kulasekaran Satagopan, Gucer Vasfi
Released November 2006
Publisher(s): IBM Redbooks
ISBN: 9780738496894

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Book description

The IBM Tivoli Change and Configuration Management Database Configuration Discovery and Tracking v1.1 (CDT) is an agentless deep discovery tool that can discover the configuration information of application systems as well as their components and relationships automatically. It also discovers installed hardware and software components in a complex computer server environment and tracks changes to all these components over time.

IBM Tivoli CCMDB CDT v1.1 is the core component of the IT Service Management strategy from IBM and fills the role of the Change Management Database for your implementation of ITIL aligned IT processes.

This IBM Redbooks publication provides help and recommendations on how to get started deploying Configuration Discovery and Tracking v1.1 and provides step-by-step instructions for setting up and customizing the discovery in your own environment. In addition, it describes the various interfaces that you can use to integrate CDT with your existing IT Service Management processes.

The information in this book is intended for IT specialists who design and implement IT Service Management solutions based on IBM Tivoli CCMDB Configuration Discovery and Tracking v1.1.

Table of contents

  1. Notices
    1. Trademarks
  2. Preface
    1. The team that wrote this redbook
    2. Become a published author
    3. Comments welcome
  3. Chapter 1: Introducing Configuration Discovery and Tracking
    1. The four areas of IBM IT Service Management
    2. IBM Tivoli Change and Configuration Management Database Configuration Discovery and Tracking overview
      1. Why do I need IT Service Management? (1/2)
      2. Why do I need IT Service Management? (2/2)
      3. IBM IT Service Management: the answer to your prayers
      4. What Part does Configuration Discovery and Tracking play as the CMDB?
    3. Why have a Change and Configuration Database?
      1. The value of the CMDB
      2. Using the CMDB to create the IBM IT Service Management Solution
    4. Process managers
      1. Configuration manager
      2. Change Manager
      3. Release Manager
      4. How do the Process Managers integrate with Configuration Discovery and Tracking?
    5. Operational managers
    6. Roadmap for a successful ITSM implementation
      1. Visualizing the existing environment through Configuration Discovery and Tracking
      2. Establishing a federated CCMDB and integrate data with existing solutions
      3. Deploying IBM Tivoli Process Managers and Operational Managers
    7. Discovery technologies: A brief comparison
      1. Agent-based versus agentless discovery
      2. Application discovery versus inventory
    8. Summary
      1. Business benefits of CMDB
  4. Chapter 2: Configuration Discovery and Tracking terminology
    1. Architecture overview
      1. IBM Data Center Reference Model
      2. Agent-free discovery engine
      3. Topology Manager and Builder
      4. Configuration Discovery and Tracking Application Map Database
      5. Configuration Discovery and Tracking API
      6. Configuration Discovery and Tracking user interface
      7. Configuration Discovery and Tracking Application Status Manager
    2. Architectural details
      1. The Data Center Reference model
      2. Agent-free discovery engine and process
      3. Discovery extensibility
      4. Business application discovery
    3. Configuration Discovery and Tracking interfaces
      1. Configuration Discovery and Tracking’s provides open interfaces
      2. Configuration Discovery and Tracking uses Discovery Library technology
      3. Configuration Discovery and Tracking supports data federation
    4. Configuration Discovery and Tracking Deployment Architecture
      1. Small Configuration Discovery and Tracking deployment and discovery
      2. Windows infrastructure
      3. Configuration Discovery and Tracking discovery works transparently across firewalls
      4. Scaling Configuration Discovery and Tracking to meet enterprise visibility needs
    5. Configuration Discovery and Tracking Security
    6. Summary
  5. Chapter 3: Deploying Configuration Discovery and Tracking v1.1
    1. Creating a deployment plan
      1. Sizing your Configuration Discovery and Tracking environment
      2. Security considerations
      3. Communications
    2. Component installation prerequisites
      1. Configuration Discovery and Tracking Server
    3. Installing IBM Tivoli Change and Configuration Management Database Configuration Discovery and Tracking v1.1
      1. Common installation steps
      2. Typical installation
      3. Custom installation (1/2)
      4. Custom installation (2/2)
    4. Installation verification and server status
      1. Keeping your database responsive
    5. Silent installation of Configuration Discovery and Tracking Server
    6. Deploying Windows Gateways
      1. Setting up SSH connectivity to Windows Gateways
      2. Configuring Windows Gateway
      3. Anchor hosts
    7. Uninstalling Configuration Discovery and Tracking Server
  6. Chapter 4: Step-by-step Configuration Discovery and Tracking
    1. Initial administration
      1. Create roles
      2. Create users
      3. Launching the Product Console
    2. Discovering your business application
      1. Define the scope
      2. The initial discovery
      3. Define Access List entries for infrastructure components
      4. Discovering ComputerSystem Components
      5. Discovering the infrastructure component credentials (1/2)
      6. Discovering the infrastructure component credentials (2/2)
      7. Define custom server templates (1/2)
      8. Define custom server templates (2/2)
      9. Defining Business Applications (1/2)
      10. Defining Business Applications (2/2)
      11. Defining Business Services
  7. Chapter 5: Populating and maintaining the Configuration Management database
    1. Discovery
      1. Understanding Discoveries
      2. Sensor overview
      3. The Discovery process in detail
      4. Planning for Discovery
      5. Discovering with built-in facilities (1/2)
      6. Discovering with built-in facilities (2/2)
      7. Extending discovery through Custom Server templates (1/2)
      8. Extending discovery through Custom Server templates (2/2)
      9. Discovering Business Applications
      10. Automatically discovering Business Application instances (1/2)
      11. Automatically discovering Business Application instances (2/2)
    2. Importing Discovery Library Books
      1. Creating a Discovery Library book
    3. Providing input programmatically
      1. Command Line
      2. The SOAP/Web Services interfaces
      3. Native Java API (1/2)
      4. Native Java API (2/2)
  8. Chapter 6: Consuming configuration and relationship data
    1. Integration plans
    2. Integration reports
    3. Introduction
    4. Integration options
      1. Integration using Discovery Library Adapters
      2. Integration using Software Development Kit
      3. Integration using Tivoli Directory Integrator
    5. Comparison of the integration options
    6. Integration points
    7. Typical integration road map
      1. Develop integration plan
      2. Identify integration needs
      3. Determine integration methods
      4. Develop integration architecture
      5. Configure integration
      6. Develop new integration components
      7. Implement integration components
    8. Configuration Discovery and Tracking reports
      1. Generating an inventory report
      2. Generating a change history report
      3. Generate a dormant components report
      4. Generate a component comparison report
      5. Generating Data Center Drift Report
      6. Generating an application drift report
      7. Generating a switch topology report
      8. Generating custom reports
  9. Chapter 7: Tips, tricks, and troubleshooting
    1. Log files
      1. Installation log files
      2. Discovery log files
      3. Troubleshooting hanging discoveries
    2. Configuration Discovery and Tracking Server operations
      1. Tuning the Configuration Discovery and Tracking for performance
      2. Server not started automatically
      3. DBInit failed
      4. Server start is slow
    3. Product Console
      1. Launching the Product Console
      2. Configuration Discovery and Tracking Server is not running or is not rechargable
      3. Accessing the Configuration Discovery and Tracking server in an SSH tunnelling environment
      4. Encrypt data transmissions when setting up access list
    4. Infrastructure connectivity
      1. Verifying that a UNIX system is able to be discovered
      2. Verifying access to a computer system through ssh
      3. Verifying WMI access to a target system
    5. Discovery
      1. Tuning discoveries
      2. Error messages that might occur during discovery (1/2)
      3. Error messages that might occur during discovery (2/2)
      4. Path incorrect for discovery
      5. Server components are not discovered
      6. No computer systems are discovered
      7. Expected files are not discovered from Computer Systems
    6. Troubleshooting custom server templates
      1. No software is discovered on a UNIX/Linux system
      2. About the Discover or Ignore radio button
      3. Dependencies not being discovered?
      4. Software process not discovered?
      5. Dependency between two software processes not shown
      6. Connections between software processes on the same machine not shown?
      7. Runtime tab Environment section for an application empty?
    7. Application ServerDiscovery
      1. Which authorizations are required?
      2. Verifying discovery of WebSphere Application Servers with security enabled
      3. Discover WebSphere servers using an anchor server
      4. WebSphere Server discovery with multiple, deployed SSL certificates
      5. Verifying discovery of database servers
    8. Networking devices
      1. MIBs used by SNMP Sensors
      2. Access List Specification for Cisco Telnet Access
    9. How-tos
      1. How to add custom icons
      2. WMI Access without Administrator Account
      3. Adding new elements to the details panel
    10. Frequently asked questions
      1. Is Configuration Discovery and Tracking a 32-bit or 64 bit application?
      2. Is the Van Dyke Shell supported?
      3. What is the unique signature of hosts?
      4. Is there an object in the data model with a Site attribute?
      5. Is there a way to load scope without doing it with the GUI?
      6. How do I use the API from the command line?
      7. How do I know which classes the api.sh command supports?
      8. Can I replicate the access credentials to another server?
      9. Does dependency mapping work for custom servers?
      10. Icon arrangement in the business applications map
      11. What if I am not allowed to run lsof?
      12. How can I manually capture dependencies ?
      13. Is sys group sufficient privilege on HP/UX 11.11 to run lsof?
      14. Must other ports besides the one for SSH be open for a Windows Gateway to function appropriately?
      15. How do I manually test access to WebLogic?
      16. How do I check if all necessary files have been deployed to a Windows Gateway?
      17. What is the default SSL passphrase for WebSphere Application Server?
      18. Correcting too many time-outs during discovery for DB2 databases
      19. Do Anchors or Gateways initiate a callback to the Server?
      20. Granularity of dormancy analysis
      21. Cannot remotely connect to the server
      22. Unavailable DNS server hosts with IP addresses and no host names
      23. Verify the Linux version
      24. Discovery runs slowly
      25. Lots of sensor timeouts in log file
      26. Are you getting an lsof failure in the log?
      27. Product Console disappears and does not come back
      28. Weird GUI behavior such as show details does nothing
      29. Configuration Discovery and Tracking Server will not start
      30. Need to know what encryption is used
      31. Configuration Discovery and Tracking language
      32. LSOF issues
      33. Migrate the database on Oracle to a new instance
      34. How to test WMI access
      35. Extract and reuse templates and the namespace
      36. How to test SSH
      37. Set up LDAP for Configuration Discovery and Tracking?
      38. Are multiple active sessions allowed?
      39. Users automatically logged out after x minutes of inactivity
      40. Password rules
      41. Are password record or playback techniques used?
      42. Can you force Password change on Initial Login?
      43. Can you force Password change at set interval?
      44. Can you disable password after three failed logon attempts?
      45. Can you disable a password after a set interval of inactivity?
      46. Can you log all login attempts and retain for a defined time period?
      47. Are passwords transmitted in clear between the user interface and server ?
      48. Are passwords are not stored in clear on the server?
      49. Integration with Netegrity for Single Sign-On
  10. Appendix A: Agent-based versus agentless application Discovery
    1. Accelerators: The Rate of Change for Applications in the Enterprise
      1. Effect of the Regulatory Industry on Compliance
    2. Agents as a means of application data acquisition
      1. In the beginning there were agents and they were good
      2. The Agent: Automation in response to a rise in complexity
      3. The financial imperative towards distribution
    3. The impact of n-Tier architectures
    4. Using an agent for application discovery
      1. Additional issues to consider when using an agent
    5. Agentless Discovery
    6. A variation: Network appliances for agentless discovery
    7. A new approach: A hybrid called the sensor
      1. The Sensor and how it works
      2. Remote management protocols
    8. The politics of agents
    9. Decide based on your requirements
    10. It is not all or nothing
    11. Conclusion
  11. Appendix B: Useful tools and utilities
    1. CMDB data model overview
      1. CMDB XML object model format
      2. Accessing Data Model objects - examples
      3. Model Query Language
    2. The command line interface: api.sh
      1. Using api.sh find to query the database
      2. api discovery: controlling discoveries
      3. api change: unveiling changes
      4. api version - managing versions
      5. api delete - deleting objects from the command line
      6. api topology - managing topologies
      7. api export - extracting data from the CMDB
      8. api import - loading data into the CMDB
      9. Using api.sh from remote systems
    3. Useful utilities
      1. loadidml: the bulk loader
      2. loadscope - the scope import utility
      3. templateloader: the template import/export utility
    4. Support tools
      1. testhang.jy
      2. testjdbc.jy
      3. testos.jy
      4. testping.jy
      5. testportmap.jy
      6. testportscan.jy
      7. testprimaryip.jy
      8. testsnmp.jy
      9. testssh.py
      10. testwmi.jy
      11. wmiexec.jy
  12. Appendix C: Discovery Library overview
    1. Introduction
      1. Interaction with the Discovery Library
      2. Discovery Library system level use cases
      3. Discovery Library schema
      4. Adapters
      5. Discovery Library books
    2. Discovery architecture overview
      1. Authors
      2. Readers
      3. IdML book files
      4. File naming conventions
      5. Time stamp conventions
      6. IdML Schema
      7. Ownership of data
      8. Example XML file
      9. Discovery Library scenario: XYZ Corporation
    3. Installation and configuration
      1. Integration with other products
      2. Archiving and deleting files
      3. Extending the CDM.xsd file
    4. Use Cases
      1. Put Book use cases
      2. Get Book use cases
      3. Request Discovery use case
      4. Administer use case
    5. Discovery Library Security
  13. Appendix D: Supported sensors
  14. Appendix E: Top DB2 performance tips
    1. Monitor switches
    2. Agents
    3. Maximum open files
    4. Locks
    5. Temporary tablespaces
    6. Sort memory
    7. Table access
    8. Tablespace analysis
    9. Buffer pool optimization
    10. SQL cost analysis
    11. Staying in tune
    12. The Top 10 at a glance
  15. Appendix F: Solving WMI Access Denied errors
    1. WMI Access Denied
  16. Appendix G: Service management and the IT Infrastructure Library
    1. The IT Infrastructure Library
    2. Service management
      1. Service delivery
      2. Service support
    3. Service support disciplines
      1. Configuration management
      2. Service desk
      3. Incident management
      4. Problem management
      5. Change management (1/2)
      6. Change management (2/2)
      7. Release management
    4. Service delivery disciplines
      1. Capacity management (1/2)
      2. Capacity management (2/2)
      3. Availability management
      4. Financial management for IT services
      5. IT Service continuity management
      6. Service level management (1/3)
      7. Service level management (2/3)
      8. Service level management (3/3)
    5. Bringing it all together
      1. Organization
      2. Processes
      3. Tools
    6. Constant improvement is a must
      1. Planning
      2. Delivery
      3. Measurement
      4. Calibration
    7. The power of integration
  17. Related publications
    1. IBM online resources
    2. How to get IBM Redbooks
    3. Help from IBM
  18. Abbreviations and acronyms
  19. Index (1/3)
  20. Index (2/3)
  21. Index (3/3)
  22. Back cover

Product information

  • Title: Deployment Guide Series: IBM Tivoli Change and Configuration Management Database Configuration Discovery and Tracking v1.1
  • Author(s): Morten Moeller, James Bacon, Murtuza Choilawala, Petar Kadijevic, Charles R. Rich, Kulasekaran Satagopan, Gucer Vasfi
  • Release date: November 2006
  • Publisher(s): IBM Redbooks
  • ISBN: 9780738496894