Network Server Suite
Frequently Asked Questions
Windows Monitoring & Automation Related FAQ's
What is Network Server Suite?
Network Server Suite offers native AIX and Windows monitoring software for the system p and x range of servers. It is designed to enable outsourcers and systems administrators, of all levels, deliver a seamless IT operation without increasing headcount by centralizing the monitoring and management of all network servers (Windows®, Linux®, UNIX®, AIX®) and SNMP devices.
When used with Halcyon’s Enterprise Console, NSS provides comprehensive monitoring and automation for Windows®, AIX®, IBM i, UNIX® as well as Linux® and SNMP devices including a centralized “dashboard view” of the entire enterprise, regardless of location and platform.
Top
Why use Network Server Suite?
You can proactively monitor, manage and control system availability and automatically respond to operational situations specific to a company’s call out schedules and escalation policies and minimize costly outages.
Network Server Suite provides value for money to all users from small networks to large data centres. This fully integrated solution can manage all your network servers and devices from a single console.
- Are you managing databases on multiple systems?
- Do you have a single dashboard view of your entire enterprise?
- Is limited AIX expertise and responding to AIX systems problems causing an issue?
- Is limited Windows expertise and responding to Windows systems problems causing an issue?
- Are you monitoring your system messages and events?
- Are you using different monitoring tools for different systems?
- Is your high availability replication working?
- Do you have a way to verify if your end of day processing is successful?
- Are you automatically notified if you reach storage thresholds?
- Do you monitor systems after normal working hours?
When Network Server Suite is integrated within an IT environment to support existing monitoring tools it eliminates the need for:
- Multiple screens to monitor multiple environments or platforms
- An AIX expert to manage the platform
- A Window expert to manage the platform
- An i5/OS expert to manage the platform
Essential monitors ensure maximum availability of servers and network devices 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Alerts are sent to the Enterprise Console or text messages to mobile phones or by email.
Top
How can the Enterprise Console help me?
You can view messages and alerts generated by any AIX®, Windows® and IBM i on a centralized graphical PC console. Replies can be given to messages and alerts closed from the central console while color coded options help identify different Servers and/or different types of alerts. Comprehensive filters can escalate actions, change severity and forward alerts.
- Improve operational efficiency by monitoring messages and alerts from any number of Servers on a single graphical screen
- Manage messages from any Server directly from the Enterprise Console
- See at a glance where problems exist and what they are
- Interface directly with 3rd party helpdesk applications
- Speech and music can be used to draw your attention to specific events
- Reduce the amount of human resource required to look after multiple Servers
- Improve your department’s efficiency in dealing with and resolving issues
- Keep in touch with what is happening when you are off-site by SMS and/or email notification
- Reduce the time it takes to gather system information about different Servers, such as date of last IPL and cumulative PTF package installed, by using the in-built Server information panel
Top
How easy is it to install and configure the software?
Very - You can access the NSS installation guide from the downloads section of our website.
Top
Can I trial the software?
Yes – visit halcyonsoftware.com/downloads
Top
Can I arrange a web demo, prior to the software trial, to walk me through the software and ensure that I get to most from the trial?
We want to ensure your software trial is as productive as possible for you. So, prior to your software trial, we’ll walk you through Network Server Suite and focus on areas pertinent to your organisation. To arrange your walk through demonstration contact learn-more@halcyonsoftware.com
Top
AIX Monitoring & Automation
How can the AIX Server Manager help me?
- Eliminate manual checking of disk volume and performance thresholds, size of logical drives, CPU and memory usage (physical and page file)
- Keep track of changes to critical files and ensure no unauthorized changes occur
- Be automatically alerted if critical errors occur or when important thresholds are breached
- Early warnings of critical issues with System Uptime and Load Average
- Send out text messages to mobile phones or be notified by email. For ultimate flexibility, messages can also be sent to broadcast groups and schedules
- Run any operating system or user defined command
- Precisely emulate the actions of a very experienced IT operator with pre-populated and pre-defined monitoring and alerting templates, covering the most common monitoring requirements - software monitoring and management is possible within hours of installation
- Integrate AIX Server Manager into your own helpdesk system and automatically generate helpdesk tickets
Top
What significant features does Network Server Suite – AIX Server Manager offer?
Significant features, not found in other similar AIX monitoring products, include:
- Script monitor enabling outsourcers and systems operators to run their own scripts with custom parameters to monitor the output using full regular expression and wildcard compatibility.
- Logical volume monitoring – you can check logical groups, logical and physical volumes and keep track of unused disk space.
- File monitor - the ability to track changes to critical files, such as “inittab” alerting to unauthorized changes
- Error report monitor - providing immediate alerts to errors reported by “errpt” and the ability to specify error conditions.
Top
What can I use Network Server Suite - AIX Server Manger to monitor?
- Logical groups or Physical & Logical drives reaching customizable thresholds
- Critical processes active or inoperative at certain times
- Critical subsystems active or inoperative at certain times
- Critical errors from your “errpt”
- System health check including performance snapshot and load average
- File system utilization
- CPU/processor load
- Critical services are active e.g. email
- Check log files
- Files increasing in size too quickly
- Applications available
- The status of subsystems and subsystem groups
- Track changes to critical files, ensuring no un-authorized changes
Top
What actions can you take using the AIX server manager?
- Have alerts sent to the Enterprise Console, as text, email messages
- Automatically respond to operational situations specific to your company’s call out rotas and escalation policies.
- Run your own scripts with custom parameters to monitor the output using full regular expression and wildcard compatibility
- Receive immediate alerts to errors reported by “errpt” and specify error conditions
- Receive early warning alerts of critical issues and notifications of system performance
- Receive alerts when critical subsystems stop running
Top
Windows Monitoring & Automation
How can Halcyon’s Windows monitoring help me?
It’s designed to provide maximum availability of your servers and network devices – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Server Manager monitors the key areas of your servers and performs predetermined actions as required. Important events and error messages can be seen instantly on the graphical Enterprise Console during the day while, out of hours, on-call personnel can be notified immediately by text messages sent to their mobile phones or by email, using the Instant Alert.
The Central Configuration Manager defines filters and actions for each managed server. Any changes made to the settings for each system are automatically propagated to the servers.
- Manage more with less resource
- No need to manually monitor logs, disk space, errors, file sizes, etc.
- Cuts the cost and complexity of network management
- Protection from many sources of potential disaster
- Reduces unscheduled computer downtime
- Greatly reduces the risk of human error
- Interrogates network devices for error information
- Ensures email and web servers are working
- Informs you immediately if there is a serious problem
- Hardware vendor independent
Top
What can I Network Server Suite to monitor for in Windows?
Key monitoring features
- CPU Disk & Memory
- Event Log Monitor
- Service Monitor
- SMTP Monitor
- POP3 Monitor
- HTTP Monitor
- WMI Monitor
- File & Folder Monitor
- SNMP Monitor
- Ping Monitor
- Syslog Monitor
- Custom TCP/UDP Monitor
- NNTP Monitor
- FTP Monitor
- Telnet Monitor
Top
What actions can I take?
- Have alerts sent to the Enterprise Console, as text or email messages
- View all alerts and thresholds from all your managed servers and devices from a centralized graphical user interface – the Enterprise Console
- Automatically start, stop, pause or resume a service
- Automatically respond to operational situations specific to your company’s call out rotas and escalation policies
- Receive early warning alerts of critical issues and notifications of system performance
- Receive alerts when critical subsystems stop running
Top
|
