Tivoli Business Systems Manager

Transcription

1 Tioli Business Systems Manager Version 3.1 Introducing the Consoles SC

2

3 Tioli Business Systems Manager Version 3.1 Introducing the Consoles SC

4 Note Before using this information and the product it supports, read the information in Notices on page 87. First Edition (October 2004) This edition applies to Version 3, Release 1 of Tioli Business Systems Manager and to all subsequent releases and modifications until otherwise indicated in new editions. Copyright International Business Machines Corporation All rights resered. US Goernment Users Restricted Rights Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contract with IBM Corp.

5 Contents About this guide Publications IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager library.. Related publications i Accessing publications online i Ordering publications ii Accessibility ii Tioli technical training ii Support information ii Participating in newsgroups iii Conentions used in this guide iii Typeface conentions iii Operating system-dependent ariables and paths ix Terminology ix Chapter 1. Oeriew of the IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager Consoles.. 1 Console Web Console Executie Dashboard Reporting System Understanding Resources and Business Systems..2 Resource Types Chapter 2. Introducing the Console... 3 Starting and Signing on to the Console Opening a Workspace Understanding Status Indicators Understanding Resource Indicators Getting Assistance While Using the Console....9 Getting Help for Error Messages Setting Preferences Using Console Views Using the Eent Viewer Understanding View Behaior Using Tree View Using HyperView Filtering in HyperView Using Table View Sorting Data in Tables Filtering Data in Tables Changing the Order of Columns in Tables..18 Using Topology View Working with Resources in Topology Views 18 The Naigation Center Other Resource Views Managed Resources View Business Impact View Working with Resource Properties The Current State and Scheduled State of a Resource Exceptions and Child Eents Using the Task Monitor Working with Notes Ownership Notes Taking Ownership of Eents Closing Ownership Notes Problem and Information Notes Creating Notes Using the Note Editor Using the Notes View Note Properties Using the Eent Viewer to Work with Notes..28 Working with Problem Tickets and Change Requests 28 Working with Problem Tickets Working with Change Requests Signing Off the Console Exiting the Console Chapter 3. Introducing the Web Console Signing on to the Web Console Understanding Alert State Indicators Understanding Resource Indicators Getting Assistance While Using the Web Console..35 Getting Help for Error Messages Setting Preferences Working with Resources Critical Watch List Viewing Eents Working with Filters Accessibility Chapter 4. Introducing the Executie Dashboard Accessing and Signing on to the Dashboard...39 Accessing the Flash-based Dashboard Accessing the HTML-based Dashboard Signing On to the Dashboard Working with the Flash-based Version of the Dashboard Icon Bar Mini Serice Icons The Serice Status Details View User Preferences The Dashboard Context Menu Working with the HTML Version of the Dashboard 46 Chapter 5. Introducing the Reporting System Reporting System Interface Report Forms within the Reporting System Report Selection Criteria The Report Templates Business System Aailability Report Business System Eent Count Report Business System Eents Report Business System Open Eent Ownership Report 54 Business System Resource Summary Report..54 Copyright IBM Corp iii

6 Business System Resource Tree Report CICS Start/Stop Time Analysis by Business System Report Current MVS Messages/Exceptions Report...54 Business System Alert State Report Global Business System Alert State Report...55 MVS Message/Exception Report New Resources Report Physical Resource Eent Count Report Physical Resource Eents Report Physical Resource Open Eent Ownership Report 58 Physical Resource Tree Report Resource Business System Impact Report...58 Resource Class Eents Report Shift Turnoer Report Deleting a Menu Item Signing Off the Reporting System Appendix A. Topology Views General Topology View Business System Topology View DB2 Topology Views CICS Topology Views IMS Topology Views IP Topology Views IP Backbone IP Subnet IP Segment Show in IP Backbone Appendix B. Storage, DB2, IMS, and CICS Resources Storage Resources DB2 Resources Hierarchy of DB2 Resources Issuing Commands IMS Resources Hierarchy of IMS Resources Programs, Transactions, Databases, and Logs.. 69 Issuing Commands CICS Resources Transaction Management Transaction Status Window File Management Viewing CICS Resources Appendix C. Monitoring Batch Processes Monitoring Batch Processes Batch Jobs Non-Key Jobs Conerting a Key Job to a Non-Key Job...73 The Batch Management Summary Window...74 High Leel Batch Schedule Set Monitoring...74 Monitoring the Progress of a Batch Schedule..74 Extending Schedules to Minimize Alerts Appendix D. Accessibility in the Console General Shortcut Keys Menu Shortcut Keys Console Menu Bar Console Menu Edit Menu View Menu Search Menu Actions Menu Help Menu Additional Menu Shortcut Keys for Topology Views 81 Search menu View Menu Actions Menu Support information Searching knowledge bases Search the information center on your local system or network Search the Internet Obtaining fixes Contacting IBM Software Support Determine the business impact of your problem 85 Describe your problem and gather background information Submit your problem to IBM Software Support 85 Notices Trademarks Index i IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

7 About this guide Publications IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager is an enterprise management product that monitors the data processing resources that are critical to a business application. It enables end-to-end monitoring of systems, subsystems, applications, and other resources in your enterprise, from z/os systems to distributed systems. Tioli Business Systems Manager proides your operations and support organizations, application owners, and management with a iew of the system components as they relate to your oerall business. This section lists publications in the Tioli Business Systems Manager library and related documents. It also describes how to access Tioli publications online and how to order Tioli publications. IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager library This following publications are in the IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager library: IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager Planning Guide, SC , proides an introduction to the Tioli Business Systems Manager product. It also contains planning and design information to consider when implementing a Tioli Business Systems Manager solution. This document is written for network planners, system designers, systems administrators, and others who are responsible for planning and implementing the product. IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager Installation and Configuration Guide, SC , proides the installation and configuration tasks necessary for the implementation of Tioli Business Systems Manager. This document is written for system administrators and others who are responsible for installing and configuring Tioli Business Systems Manager. IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager Introducing the Consoles, SC , proides an introduction to the Tioli Business Systems Manager console, Web console, executie dashboard, and the reporting system. This document is written for operators and administrators. IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager Administrator s Guide, SC , describes administratie tasks for Tioli Business Systems Manager. This document is written for system administrators and others who perform administratie tasks for Tioli Business Systems Manager. IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager Problem and Change Management Integration Guide, SC , describes how to write request processors to enable the problem, change, and automatic ticket integration function proided with Tioli Business Systems Manager to work with problem and change management applications. This document is written for system programmers. IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager Command Reference, SC , describes the commands aailable for use with Tioli Business Systems Manager. This document is written for system administrators and others who run commands and scripts for Tioli Business Systems Manager. Copyright IBM Corp. 2004

8 IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager Message Reference, SC , describes the messages for Tioli Business Systems Manager. This document is written for system programmers, network planners, operations managers, system designers, system administrators, network operators, and others who need message information for Tioli Business Systems Manager. IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager Troubleshooting Guide, SC , describes troubleshooting tasks to diagnose problems with Tioli Business Systems Manager. This document is written for system administrators and others who perform diagnostic tasks for Tioli Business Systems Manager. IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager Release Notes, GI , describes what is new for this release of the Tioli Business Systems Manager product. IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager Guide for Warehouse Pack, Version , using Tioli Data Warehouse, Version 1.2, SC , describes how to use the warehouse enablement pack to extract data from the Tioli Business Systems Manager database and load it into the Tioli Data Warehouse database, where it can be accessed using reporting and data analysis tools. This document is written for administrators and others who plan for and install the warehouse pack, use and maintain the warehouse pack and its reports, or create new reports. An index is proided for searching the Tioli Business Systems Manager library. If you hae Adobe Acrobat on your system, you can use the Search command to locate specific text in the library. For more information about using the index to search the library, see the online help for Acrobat. Related publications The Tioli Software Glossary includes definitions for many of the technical terms related to Tioli software. The Tioli Software Glossary is aailable at the following Tioli software library Web site: Access the glossary by clicking the Glossary link on the left pane of the Tioli software library window. Accessing publications online The documentation CD contains the publications that are in the product library. The format of the publications is PDF and HTML. IBM posts publications for this and all other Tioli products, as they become aailable and wheneer they are updated, to the Tioli software information center Web site. Access the Tioli software information center by first going to the Tioli software library at the following Web address: Scroll down and click the Product manuals link. In the Tioli Technical Product Documents Alphabetical Listing window, click the Tioli Business Systems Manager link to access the product library at the Tioli software information center. i IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

9 Accessibility Note: If you print PDF documents on other than letter-sized paper, set the option in the File Print window that allows Adobe Reader to print letter-sized pages on your local paper. Ordering publications You can order many Tioli publications online at the following Web site: Tioli technical training Support information cgibin/pbi.cgi You can also order by telephone by calling one of these numbers: In the United States: In Canada: In other countries, see the following Web site for a list of telephone numbers: Accessibility features help users with a physical disability, such as restricted mobility or limited ision, to use software products successfully. With this product, you can use assistie technologies to hear and naigate the interface. You can also use the keyboard instead of the mouse to operate all features of the graphical user interface. For information about installing the Tioli Business Systems Manager product using the built-in screen reader, see the IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager Installation and Configuration Guide. For information about the shortcut keys that can be used with the Tioli Business Systems Manager console, see the Accessibility appendix in IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager Introducing the Consoles. For Tioli technical training information, refer to the following IBM Tioli Education Web site: If you hae a problem with your IBM software, you want to resole it quickly. IBM proides the following ways for you to obtain the support you need: Searching knowledge bases: You can search across a large collection of known problems and workarounds, Technotes, and other information. Obtaining fixes: You can locate the latest fixes that are already aailable for your product. Contacting IBM Software Support: If you still cannot sole your problem, and you need to work with someone from IBM, you can use a ariety of ways to contact IBM Software Support. For more information about these three ways of resoling problems, see Support information on page 83. About this guide ii

10 Participating in newsgroups User groups proide software professionals with a forum for communicating ideas, technical expertise, and experiences related to the product. They are located on the Internet and are aailable using standard news reader programs. These groups are primarily intended for user-to-user communication and are not a replacement for formal support. To access a newsgroup, use the instructions appropriate for your browser. IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: news://news.software.ibm.com/ibm.software.tioli.business-systems-manager IBM Tioli Enterprise Console : news://news.software.ibm.com/ibm.software.tioli.enterprise-console IBM Tioli Serice Leel Adisor: news://news.software.ibm.com/ibm.software.tioli.serice-leel-adisor IBM Tioli Switch Analyzer: news://news.software.ibm.com/ibm.software.tioli.switch-analyzer IBM Tioli NetView for UNIX and IBM Tioli NetView for Windows : news://news.software.ibm.com/ibm.software.tioli.netiew-unix-windows IBM Tioli NetView for z/os: news://news.software.ibm.com/ibm.software.netiew Conentions used in this guide This guide uses seeral conentions for special terms and actions and for operating system-dependent commands and paths Typeface conentions This guide uses the following typeface conentions: Bold Italic Lowercase commands and mixed case commands that are otherwise difficult to distinguish from surrounding text Interface controls (check boxes, push buttons, radio buttons, spin buttons, fields, folders, icons, list boxes, items inside list boxes, multicolumn lists, containers, menu choices, menu names, tabs, property sheets), labels (such as Tip:, and Operating system considerations:) Keywords and parameters in text Words defined in text Emphasis of words (words as words) New terms in text (except in a definition list) iii IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

11 Terminology Variables and alues you must proide Monospace Examples and code examples File names, programming keywords, and other elements that are difficult to distinguish from surrounding text Message text and prompts addressed to the user Text that the user must type Values for arguments or command options Operating system-dependent ariables and paths This guide uses the UNIX conention for specifying enironment ariables and for directory notation. When using the Windows command line, replace $ariable with %ariable% for enironment ariables and replace each forward slash (/) with a backslash (\) in directory paths. The names of enironment ariables are not always the same in Windows and UNIX. For example, %TEMP% in Windows is equialent to $tmp in UNIX. Note: If you are using the bash shell on a Windows system, you can use the UNIX conentions. For a list of terms and definitions for Tioli and other IBM products, refer to the IBM terminology Web site: For breity and readability, the term Tioli NetView for z/os refers to both the Tioli NetView for z/os product and the Tioli NetView for OS/390 product. About this guide ix

12 x IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

13 Chapter 1. Oeriew of the IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager Consoles The IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager consoles are role-based user interfaces and your role determines the consoles you access and the functions that are aailable to you within a console. An Administrator sets up the roles that determine how you work with the consoles. If users are assigned more than one role, they will always hae the highest of these roles. Following are the roles that are used in the consoles. Restricted Operator Users who are defined to the IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager system to do any action of an operator, but restricted operators are limited to what they can iew, based on what is in their workspace or Critical Resource List (CRL). Operator Users who are defined to the IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager system to do any action of an operator for any business system, or business system resource. Administrator Users who are defined to maintain the IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager system. Administrators can do all operator functions, as well as all administrator functions, except update other users CRLs. Super Administrator Users who can update other users CRLs and can do all other functions that are aailable to operators and administrators. Executie Users who can display and use an executie dashboard and the serices that are defined for it. A user can only iew the impact that is displayed on each of the serices. IT Executie Users who can display and use executie dashboards and the serices that are defined for them. They can also display problem statements. The IT Executie can switch to any other executie s or IT executie s dashboards. Report Operator Users who can run the reports that an administrator has configured. This role is used for the reporting system only, and it is required to allow users to log directly into the reporting system. Report Administrator Users who can configure the reports that are displayed. This role is used for the reporting system only, and it is required to allow users to log directly into the reporting system. This chapter proides a brief oeriew of each console and also gies an oeriew of resources and alerts. Oeriew information is coered in these sections: Console on page 2 Web Console on page 2 Executie Dashboard on page 2 Copyright IBM Corp

14 Reporting System Understanding Resources and Business Systems Console The IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager console is referred to as the console, and it is installed on users computers. Operators use the console to monitor resources for state changes and performance characteristics that reflect aailability. If the aailability of a resource is threatened, an alert icon is placed next to the resource or subsystem. Notification of alerts and eents management are primary tasks of the console. By obsering iews, you can see whether the system, subsystem, or resource is aailable and performing correctly. Administrators use the console to create and manage business systems and to configure the Web console and the executie dashboard. Web Console Executie Dashboard Reporting System The Web console is a Web-based ersion of the console that is optimized for operator interaction with resources and eents. Operators do the same monitoring and problem determination that they can do with the regular console. Administrators perform additional tasks such as creating shared filters. The executie dashboard is Web-based and it gies executies a high-leel iew of the serices they are responsible for. The executie dashboard also proides IT managers a iew of what the executie user sees. The reporting system proides reports that contain historical and operational data. The reporting system is a Web-based application that can be launched directly from a browser, or it can be launched from the console. Understanding Resources and Business Systems A resource is any object in IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager, such as an application, subsystem, or technical deice. Routers, serer machines, and other physical deices are resources. A physical resource is any resource that is in the physical tree, which is known as the All resources iew in the console. When the physical resource is placed in a business system, a business system resource is created. Business systems consist of collections of resources that are assembled for the purpose of aailability monitoring. Resource Types Each resource in the database is classified by type and each resource type is represented by an icon. You can iew resource types and the icon that represents each type in the console. You can also iew exceptions thresholds and child eents thresholds for resource types as well as the properties of resource types. 2 IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

15 Chapter 2. Introducing the Console This chapter introduces the IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager console (hereafter referred to as the console), gies instructions for starting the console and signing on, explains how to use the console, and how to close and exit the console. The console monitors resources for state changes and performance characteristics that reflect aailability. If the aailability of a resource or resources is threatened, an alert icon is placed next to the resource. Notification of alerts and eents management are the primary tasks of the console. By obsering iews, you can see whether the system, subsystem, or resource is aailable and functioning correctly. The console is a role-based user interface and your role determines what you hae access to. The following roles are used in the console: Restricted Operator Operator Administrator Super Administrator Starting and Signing on to the Console The console runs on Microsoft Windows, Linux, Solaris, and AIX operating enironments. After the console is installed, you can start it by following the instructions for your operating enironment. Table 1. Instructions for starting the console Operating Enironment Windows Linux Solaris AIX Instructions You can start the console one of two ways: If there is an icon on your desktop, double-click it. Select Start -> Programs -> IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager -> IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager console 3.1. Click the IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager Console icon. From the Application Manager, click the IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager folder and then click the IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager Console icon. From the Application Manager, click the IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager 3.1 folder and then click the IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager Console icon. When the sign on window opens do the following steps. 1. Type your user name for the system you are signing on to. 2. Type your password for the system you are signing on to. 3. The serer name you are signing on to is displayed. You can change this information if you are signing on to a different serer. 4. Click OK. Copyright IBM Corp

16 The console opens and looks similar to the window in Figure 1. The person who signed on in Figure 1 has the role of Operator, as displayed in the banner under the name, IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager. Figure 1. IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager console Components that are shown in Figure 1 are explained in Table 2. Table 2. Console components Component Banner area Oeriew The area that is located below the title bar. This is an optional area that can be customized by a console administrator to include releant information for a particular organization. For example, an organization might want to include the role descriptor for the particular user, the company logo, and links to Internet and intranet sites. 4 IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

17 Table 2. Console components (continued) Component Business Systems iew Oeriew The area in which business systems are listed. Business systems are contained in folders in the Business Systems iew. A business system is a representation of a set of resources that make up a specific business system, application, ertical area of responsibility, or geographic area. The Business Systems iew is located on the left side of the console. To open a business system, click it and then press Enter. Depending on configuration options that are specified by your administrator, the Business Systems iew might not be aailable. If the Business Systems iew is aailable, you can close it by clicking the X that is located in the upper right corner of the Business Systems iew. To re-open the Business Systems iew, go to View > Show > Business Systems View. Task Assistant Workspace Left status bar Right status bar Task bar The place to go for answers to your questions. The Task Assistant is represented by the question mark on the far right of the menu bar. To open the Task Assistant, click the question mark. Area for displaying windows. Contains the resources you are monitoring. Located below the Workspace. Displays the user ID, the role of the user, and the console serer the user is connected to. Located below the Workspace. Displays the status of tasks. You can click this area to see a list of tasks. Select a task in the list to display it. Located below the status bars. Displays open business system windows. If you right-click a window in the task bar, a menu opens and you can show or close the business system. The menu bar on the console that is shown in Figure 1 on page 4 has a menu bar with these menus: Console View Search Windows Help These menus are explained in Table 3, along with some of the actions you can do from the menus. Table 3. Aailable menus when the console is started Menu Use to perform these actions Console Access the Notes iew Manipulate workspaces Open resource types Access administrator and console preferences Sign off the console Exit the console Chapter 2. Introducing the Console 5

18 Table 3. Aailable menus when the console is started (continued) Menu View Search Windows Help Use to perform these actions Show the following items on the console: Banner Toolbar Status bar Business Systems View Search for resources in the database Control the way windows are displayed on the console. For example, you can tile or minimize open windows. Access the Task Assistant to get information about the console: Frequently Asked Questions Help topics Search for information that is in the Task Assistant Table of Contents for the Task Assistant Index of console messages Keyboard help Copyright information for the console Opening a Workspace Workspaces are created so you can hae multiple iews open in the same style and position each time you open the console. You can create workspaces, name them, and select a workspace to open automatically when the console starts. You can edit or delete workspaces that you create. Administrators also create workspaces and grant permission for specific operators to iew them. If this is set in Administrator Preferences, an operator can sae workspaces that the operator creates, but operators cannot sae workspaces created by Administrators. When you sae a workspace, it is saed in the database so it is aailable when you sign on to the console. To open a Workspace do the following steps: 1. Click Console -> Open Workspace. Doing this opens a window similar to Figure 2 on page 7. 6 IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

19 Figure 2. Open a Workspace window 2. Select a workspace to open in the Open Workspace window and click Open. If you want this workspace to open each time you log in to the console, click Automatically open the selected workspace when the console is started. Now the console looks similar to Figure 3. As shown in Figure 3, the person signed on has the Operator role. Figure 3. Console window that shows an open workspace and the Business Systems iew Chapter 2. Introducing the Console 7

20 The Edit and Actions menus are now displayed on the menu bar, and selections on the other menus might be different. Selections on the Edit and Actions menus are related to the selected resource, and depending on your role some selections might not be aailable. See Table 4 for an explanation of some selections that could be on the Edit and Actions menus. You can also right-click a resource to open a menu for that resource. Table 4. Edit and Action menu items Menu Edit Copy Use to perform these actions Actions Paste Delete Displays the actions that are specific to the currently selected resource. Following are some actions you can do. See the business impact of a resource failure Take ownership of resources Open iews that are related to the selected resource Work with problem tickets, change requests, and notes Open the properties of the selected resource Understanding Status Indicators The icons that are located to the left of the resource names in Figure 3 on page 7 are called status indicators and the icons that are located to the right of the resource names are called resource indicators. The console informs you of aailability by notifying the resources that represent systems, applications, and resources. As eents that threaten aailability occur within your enironment, the console displays a status indicator icon next to that resource. Status indicators are described in Table 5. Table 5. Status indicators Status Indicator Description Normal (green) informs you that the resource is functioning as expected. This icon is usually not displayed in iews. You can configure the green indicator to display in Table iews from the Table View page of Console Preferences. Warning (yellow) informs you that the resource is functioning but its aailability is in jeopardy. This could mean that the system is oerloaded, or it could be part of the standard operations of your data center. Critical (red) informs you that the resource is not aailable or its aailability is at serious risk. Understanding Resource Indicators The console uses resource indicators for resources in some iews (tree and topology). In HyperViews, Ownership indicators are the only indicators that are displayed. Although resource indicators are not displayed in table iews, ownership is indicated in those iews with a check mark in the Has Ownership column of the table or the table has an Owner column. Views such as Tree iews, HyperViews, and Table iews are discussed later in this chapter. 8 IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

21 To configure which resource indicators are displayed do the following steps: 1. Choose Console > Preferences from the menu bar. 2. Click a iew. 3. Make your selections for displaying resource indicators in that iew. For information about displaying resource indicators, refer to the online help topic Resource Indicators. Resource indicators are described in Table 6. Table 6. Resource indicators Resource Indicator Description The resource has one or more open eents that are owned. All of the open eents for the resource are owned. This is only displayed to represent all eents owned, not the ownership of child eents. For example, you will generally not see this icon on a business system folder, but you will see it on business system resources. The resource has an open problem ticket. The resource has an open change request. Automation stopped. Automation started. The resource is in maintenance (for example, has a scheduled outage); no propagation occurs. The resource is either an executie dashboard serice or an executie dashboard serice resource. The resource is a business system folder shortcut. Whether or not the business system shortcut icon is displayed is determined by a setting in Console > Administrator Preferences > View. For information about business system shortcuts, see the information in the Task Assistant. This indicates a deleted source. If a business system resource is linked to a source physical resource that is deleted, the business system resource is oerlaid with a deleted source indicator. This is also true for a business system shortcut if the source business system is deleted. Getting Assistance While Using the Console The console uses the Task Assistant to display helpful information. To display the Task Assistant, click the question mark icon that is located in the upper right corner of windows. The Task Assistant opens with information about the window from which you clicked the question mark. Once the Task Assistant is open you can also get information by using the table of contents, index, message index, or the search function. If you want the Task Assistant to open in a browser for accessibility reasons, you can set a preference for this by doing the following steps. 1. Select Console > Preferences > General from the menu bar. Chapter 2. Introducing the Console 9

22 2. Click Use a specific Web browser. 3. Click Enable Launching of Task Assistant in an External Browser. The next time you click the question mark, the Launch Accessible Content button is aailable in the Task Assistant. If the button displays Browser Not Configured, go back to Console > Preferences > General and make sure you enter a fully qualified file name. Console preferences are discussed in more detail later in this chapter. Getting Help for Error Messages Console error messages hae the prefix GTMJC followed by a message number. To get information about an error message, click the question mark icon is located in the upper right corner of the error message to display the Task Assistant. that Setting Preferences To iew a list of all console messages: 1. Click Help > Message index or click the Message Index icon in the Task Assistant. 2. Click a message to see its explanation. The console uses console preferences and administrator preferences. Operators can set console preferences if an administrator has enabled this function. Administrators set administrator preferences. Figure 4 on page 11 shows a console that has Console Preferences open to the General page and also has the Task Assistant open. 10 IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

23 Figure 4. Console Preferences open to the General page Figure 5 on page 12 shows a console that has Administrator Preferences open to the Configuration page and has the Task Assistant open. Chapter 2. Introducing the Console 11

24 Figure 5. Administrator Preferences open to the Configuration page Using Console Views When a customized iew that you sae is restored from a workspace, the preferences that you saed are used instead of the console preferences that had preiously been set. If no saed workspace exists for a requested iew, console preferences are used for that iew. To set preferences, Click Console -> Preferences or Console > Administrator Preferences from the menu bar. This section explains different iews that are aailable for monitoring business systems and resources. Following are some things to keep in mind about iews. When you click the tree icon, the table icon, and the HyperView icon on the toolbar, you are toggling the iew in the current workspace between Tree iew, Table iew, and HyperView. You are not seeing a iew with different resources. When you select Tree, HyperView, or Table from the View menu, you are toggling the iew in the current workspace between Tree iew, Table iew, and HyperView. You are not seeing a iew with different resources. When you use the menu for a resource and open a different iew, the console retriees information from the database and displays the appropriate iew. Using the Eent Viewer You can open the eent iewer from applicable iews by clicking View > Eents. The eent iewer shows a list of eents for the selected resource and its descendents. Wheneer you select a different resource, the eent iewer automatically refreshes to display the eents for the selected resource and its 12 IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

25 descendents. Whereas the resource iew displays resource status subject to propagation, the eent iewer simply displays the eents for the selected resource and its descendents. From the eent iewer you can manage eents by taking ownership of them, transferring them, and closing them out, either singly or in bulk. You can also see the details of eents and the properties of the resource that the eent is associated with. You can also open a Business Impact iew. If a resource that was dragged into a business system has an alert state only because of child eents, the alert does not carry oer with the resource. If the resource that was dragged has messages or exceptions in addition to the child eents, the messages or exceptions might cause the alert state to carry oer with the resource. Because of this, if the eent iewer is launched from a Tree iew or a HyperView, the status of the resources in those iews could be different from the eents shown in the eent iewer. So, if you drag and drop a resource into a business system, but do not drag and drop any of its descendents, eents for the resource and for ALL of its descendents are shown in the eent iewer. Howeer, if you also drag and drop any descendents of the resource, the eent iewer shows ONLY eents for the resource and the descendents that were dragged and dropped. As with other Table iews in the console, you can set filters for eents in the eent iewer. By default, eent iewer filters are set to display only recent eents of some significance. For example, the Date filter is set to Last 30 minutes, and the Alert State is set to Yellow. Because the eent iewer displays eents for the selected resource and its descendents, this can adersely affect system performance. When working in the eent iewer, consider these guidelines: Filter for a time frame that is appropriate to the business system (examples are: 3 hours or less; 24 hours or less.) Set the auto-refresh time to no less than 1 minute Do not auto-refresh the iew from which the eent iewer was opened, unless the iew is a resource-specific table iew. For example, if the eent iewer is opened from either a Tree iew or HyperView, these iews do not need to be refreshed because they already receie notifications without being refreshed. Do not manually refresh the eent iewer as this causes both the eent iewer and the iew from which the eent iewer was opened to refresh. Understanding View Behaior Switching presentation style does not change the underlying model for the iew, which is based on how the iew is initially inoked. It is this underlying model definition that is saed in the workspace, and that dictates the content when the iew is restored. For example if you sae a Tree iew that is expanded to fie leels and then switch to the HyperView presentation style, when the iew is restored it preseres the HyperView presentation style, but the underlying model (tree iew) causes the iew to display only the root and the immediate children. HyperView and Tree iew support expanding and collapsing nodes, howeer this information is not saed in the workspace with a iew. So when the HyperView or Tree iew is restored from the workspace, it reerts to its initial display state. Chapter 2. Introducing the Console 13

26 Tree iew and HyperView also support changing the presentation style of the iew content. While iewing in Tree iew, you can click on the toolbar, or click View -> HyperView to switch the presentation style to HyperView. Likewise, you can click to switch a HyperView to the tree presentation style. In each case, no database retrieal occurs; the current iew content is simply switched to the alternate presentation style. Using Tree View Tree iew is the default iew that is displayed by the console. Figure 6 illustrates the Tree iew. The Tree iew initially displays the root resource of the tree and the immediate children of the resource. You can expand the nodes to increase the leel of descendent resources that is displayed. You can select a resource by clicking it. Right-click a resource to open its menu and select an action to perform on that resource. Figure 6 shows a Tree iew with the eent iewer open. Figure 6. Tree View that has the Eent Viewer Open Expanding a resource in the tree iew causes resource information to be cached at the client. Be aware that future updates to these resources are automatically sent to the client, potentially causing the iew to be refreshed. For example when a business system is added, the client receies a notification that a business system 14 IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

27 has been created. If the parent business system of the newly created business system is currently displayed in the tree, or has eer been displayed during this session by expanding a node, this parent business system and its children must be retrieed from the database. If this parent business system has many descendents that hae been expanded in the past, a large number of database calls could be required. Using HyperView HyperView is another way of displaying the descendents of a resource. The term HyperView is used in two distinctly different contexts within the console: HyperView is a graphical presentation tool that is used for displaying resource hierarchies. With HyperView, a large number of resources can be displayed in a relatiely small space. HyperView is a menu selection that displays resource hierarchies using the HyperView presentation style. By default, the HyperView function returns 10 generations of descendents. What you see depends on the filtering, which the console performs on the results returned by the database and the return limit that is configured in Console > Administrator Preferences > Configuration. When the database retriees the descendents, if the return limit is exceeded while processing a generation, then the incomplete generation is not returned, and the last complete generation is returned and becomes the leaes on the initial HyperView display. This behaior is particularly noticeable with large generations. Figure 7 on page 16 shows resources displayed in HyperView. Chapter 2. Introducing the Console 15

28 Figure 7. HyperView To iew resources in HyperView do the following steps. 1. Right-click a resource. 2. Click Open -> HyperView. To select a resource while in HyperView: 1. Press the Shift key while you click the resource. 2. Doing this places a selection box around the selected resource. To moe a resource to the center of the HyperView: 1. Click a resource to moe it to the center of the HyperView. 2. To moe back to the original position of the HyperView, click View -> Home from the menu bar or click the Home icon on the toolbar. You can adjust the spacing between nodes by using the Node Spacing slider at the top of the HyperView window. Moing the slider to the left reduces the spacing between nodes, displaying more resources in the iew. Moing the slider to the right increases the spacing between nodes, displaying fewer resources in the iew. The iew is redrawn when you release the slider. 16 IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

29 In addition to proiding a different iew of your enterprise, HyperView displays links between resources in the color of the alerts that propagate up the tree. Filtering in HyperView A unique capability of using HyperViews is that you can filter on minimum alert state, minimum priority, and eent ownership to limit the information in the iew. HyperView also has a unique search capability. When you enter information in a search field, such as the name of a resource, the results are marked with pointers in the iew. To change display properties, such as colors, and text and icon size, right-click the background. Using Table View The Table iew displays details about resources. When you change the iew type from Tree iew to Table iew or from HyperView to Table iew, all the resources are displayed in rows with columns that contain arious attributes of the resources. Use Table iews to sort information and do more extensie filtering. Figure 8 shows a Table iew. Figure 8. Table View Sorting Data in Tables To sort data in a particular column, moe your mouse pointer oer the column header for the respectie column until you see the up and down arrow icons. Chapter 2. Introducing the Console 17

30 To sort in ascending order click the up arrow. To sort in descending order, click the down arrow. Once the data is sorted, the icon that indicates how the data is sorted is shown on the respectie column header. For example, if the data is sorted in ascending order, the up arrow is displayed on the column header. If the data is sorted in descending order, the down arrow is displayed on the column header. Filtering Data in Tables You can filter data in a table to meet your criteria. To filter data do the following steps. 1. With the cursor inside a table column heading, right-click to access the table menu. 2. From the table menu, click Filter -> Show Filter Row. Once this item is selected, the filters that are set for each column in the table are displayed under their respectie column headers. These filters are initially set to <no filter>. 3. Click the filter for the column in which you want to filter data. When you click the filter, you are presented with a window from which you can set the filter. After you hae set the filter, the new setting replaces the preious one that was under the column header. Changing the Order of Columns in Tables To include all the necessary information about resources, tables hae a number of columns. You can change the order of columns in tables by clicking a column heading and dragging it to where you want it. Using Topology View Topology iews display graphical representations of managed resources and the relationships between resources. Resources are represented by icons and relationships are represented by lines or arrows that might show direction. Any type of relationship between two resources can be represented in a Topology iew. Working with Resources in Topology Views Because of their graphical nature, topology iews proide a more interactie presentation of resources than Tree, Table, or HyperViews. The console proides a number of Topology iews that display relationships for specific classes of resources. See Appendix A, Topology Views, on page 61 for detailed information about arious Topology iews. You can moe resources around in the Topology iew by dragging one or more nodes using the left mouse button. Press Ctrl while you click the left mouse button to select more than one resource for dragging. The new locations can be saed in the workspace. The Naigation Center The Topology Naigation Center proides a thumbnail iew of the Topology iew and it contains tools for zooming and panning around the iew. The Naigation Center depicts the current iew in the workspace and is not displayed if the current iew is not a Topology iew. To specify preferences for the Naigation Center, click Console > Preferences > Topology > Naigation Center. Figure 9 on page 19 shows resources displayed in a Topology iew with the Naigation Center open. 18 IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

31 Figure 9. Topology View Other Resource Views Choices on the Open menu as shown in Figure 10 on page 20 include other ways to iew resources. This section introduces the Managed Resources iew and the Business Impact iew. Chapter 2. Introducing the Console 19

32 Figure 10. Resource with its menu open Managed Resources View Managed Resources iew is a table iew that proides a high-leel monitoring window to filter for alert state eents. The Managed Resources iew proides pertinent resource information in a column format with sorting capabilities. When you select a resource (a row of information) in this iew, you can iew and perform operations relatie to that resource. The Managed Resources iew returns the physical resources regardless of where it is launched. By default it also returns the physical children of any resources in the iew. The only exception to this is when launched from a business system, if the parent resource has children in the business system, only those children are displayed. Administrators should configure the system to return a maximum of resources to accommodate business systems containing large numbers of resources. Administrators can set the maximum number of resources searched as well as the maximum number of resources returned. To set these limits, administrators use the Configuration page of the Administrator Preferences notebook. The Task Assistant has information about setting limits. Wheneer a new resource is added in the console database, there could be a delay when displaying resources in the Managed Resources iew. 20 IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

33 Business Impact View Business Impact is a HyperView that shows the impact of resource failures. The Business Impact iew shows where a selected resource is used. Administrators should configure the system to return 6 generations, which should be adequate to accommodate resources other than DB2 resources or IMS resources. For DB2 and IMS resources, the iew should be configured to 12, which is the maximum number of generations allowed. To set this limit, click Console > Administrator Preferences > Configuration. Use the Task Assistant to get information about setting this limit. Working with Resource Properties Each resource within the console contains information called properties. Properties contain specific information about a resource, such as name, description, state, and threshold controls. Properties information aries depending on the resource. Following are some examples of what you can do when you open the properties for a resource. View arious attributes such as name, description, current, and scheduled states Look into the cause of an alert, by examining currently posted exceptions and console messages View thresholds for propagation To open the properties for a resource or a resource type do the following steps. 1. Right-click the resource or resource type to open its menu. 2. Click Properties. Figure 11 on page 22 is an example of the properties notebook for a resource, opened to the General page. Chapter 2. Introducing the Console 21

34 Figure 11. Example of the General page of a properties notebook for a resource The Current State and Scheduled State of a Resource Current state and scheduled state are shown on the General page of resource properties. The current state of a resource reflects whether that resource is currently aailable. The scheduled state of a resource reflects whether that resource should be aailable at the current time. Comparing the current state of a resource with its scheduled state is one method of determining whether a resource is aailable. While current state is a function of aailability for the resource, scheduled state is a function of a resource s schedule. Eery resource has a scheduled state property. This alue can be changed by administrators and can be used to indicate to users the state that a resource should be in. For CICS regions it is possible to create tasks that automatically update the scheduled state and create exceptions when the state is not appropriate. Exceptions and Child Eents Using Properties pages for exceptions and child eents you can iew the number of exceptions receied by the resource. The Child Eents properties page displays child eents that occur on resources. Child eents, for example, could be transactions within a CICS region that hae exceeded their thresholds and are tagged with alerts. Each transaction that had an alert generates an eent and passes that eent to its parent, the CICS resource. These eents are called child eents, because they originate from children of a resource. Eents are assigned a priority, based on the priority assigned to the transaction itself, or based on the incoming exception that caused the alert. 22 IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

35 Using the Task Monitor The Task Monitor uses the Table iew. You can monitor, start, restart, cancel, or remoe tasks that are running. You can open the Task Monitor at any time during the console session, howeer, at least one task must be running. Figure 12. Task Monitor Working with Notes A status bar that is located at the bottom of the Workspace displays the status of tasks. Click this area to see a list of tasks. You can then select a task in the list to display it. How you work with notes is determined by settings in Administrator Preferences > Notes and Administrator Preferences > Take Ownership. You can use notes to: Take ownership Proide information about a problem Proide general information about a resource Table 7 describes the three types of notes that the console uses. Table 7. Types of notes Use this Type of Note Ownership To do this Take ownership of problem that has caused a Red or Yellow alert Chapter 2. Introducing the Console 23

36 Table 7. Types of notes (continued) Use this Type of Note Problem Information To do this Proide information about a problem that already has an owner or a problem whose seerity does not require eent ownership Proide general information about a resource Ownership Notes Use Ownership notes to take ownership of eents. You can take ownership of eents at the eent leel or at the resource leel. When you take ownership at the resource leel, you can take ownership of all eents associated with a resource. When you take ownership at the eent leel, you can take ownership of indiidual eents or all of the eents associated with a resource. Taking Ownership of Eents You can take ownership of the following eents: Any unowned critical (red) and warning (yellow) exceptions The most recent message if more than one message is sent to a resource. To take ownership of an eent, do the following steps: 1. While you are in a iew, click Console > Eents to open the eent iewer. 2. Right-click the eent you want to take ownership of and then click Take Ownership. Doing this opens the Note Editor. 3. Complete the requested information and click OK. To take ownership at the resource leel, do the following steps: 1. Right-click a resource in the iew that has at least one eent. 2. Click Resource Take Ownership. Doing this opens the Note Editor. 3. Complete the requested information and click OK. Use the Task Assistant to get information about using the Note Editor. Closing Ownership Notes You can close Ownership notes from the eent iewer or from the note properties window. When a note is closed by the user, all associated eents are closed. The system could also close notes. An open ownership note must be associated with eents that are in either the yellow or red state. An ownership note is closed by the system if all associated eents become green. As eents become green, those eents are automatically remoed from the note. When all eents are remoed from a note, the note is automatically closed by the system. Problem and Information Notes Problem and Information notes proide additional information about console resources, problems, alerts, or any other subjects. Problem notes proide additional information about soling a problem that someone took ownership of, or to act as the primary source of information regarding a problem whose seerity did not call for anyone to take ownership. 24 IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

37 Information notes are een more general than problem notes. You can use Information notes for coneying information that is not coered by Ownership and Problem notes. Because Problem and Information notes are not associated with eents, they are not automatically closed. Creating Notes When you create a note, the Note Editor dialog opens. There is an Eents table in the lower section of the window that proides a listing of eents. Eents are listed in descending order with exceptions filtered to the top of the list. Both types of eents (messages and exceptions) are listed. If the Note Editor is opened from the resource to take ownership of a problem, all eents for that resource are displayed. Administrators can configure consoles (Console > Administrator Preferences > Notes) to initiate the creation of a problem ticket from the Note Editor window when an Ownership note is created. Using the Note Editor Use the Note Editor to take ownership of a resource or an eent, communicate problems to other users about a resource, and relay general information about a resource. You can also iew the contents of a note and begin the process of creating a problem ticket. The eents table located in the lower section of the Note Editor proides a listing of eents. Eents are listed in descending order with exceptions filtered to the top of the list. If you opened the Note Editor from a resource to take ownership, all eents for that resource are listed. Figure 13 on page 26 shows the Note Editor with eents that are preselected and with the Task Assistant open. Chapter 2. Introducing the Console 25

38 Figure 13. Note Editor You can access the Note Editor by right-clicking a resource or an eent and clicking Notes > Create or Notes > Find. Using the Notes View The Notes View is a table iew that proides a centralized iewing facility and a base for performing a ariety of tasks that are associated with notes. Administrators set options for using the Notes View in Console > Administrator Preferences > Notes. You can use the table filters in Notes View to selectiely display notes. After changing the filters, refresh the iew to retriee new data from the database. By default the filters for the Notes View are set to display the open notes for the current user. Figure 14 on page 27 is an example of a console opened to the Notes View. 26 IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

39 Figure 14. Notes View To access the Notes iew, click Console > Notes. You can select a note or notes and perform arious actions, such as transfer the note to a different user or add remarks to a note. You can also double-click a note to open its properties. Use the Task Assistant to get additional information about the Notes View. Note Properties You can change general information for a note, iew its history, or add remarks from the note properties pages. Administrator preferences determine what information you can change. To open the properties of a note, either right-click the note and select Properties or double-click the note. The History properties page for a note lists all actions that hae been taken against a note, and you can add remarks to a note from the History page. Figure 15 on page 28 shows the General properties page for a note. Chapter 2. Introducing the Console 27

40 Figure 15. General Properties of a Note Using the Eent Viewer to Work with Notes The Eent Viewer displays information about eents (exceptions and messages) that are associated with either an indiidual resource or all of the resources within a business system. Within the eent iewer, operators can do the following actions with eents: Take ownership Transfer ownership Close When a new resource is added in the database, there could be a delay when displaying eents for resources. If you drag and drop a resource into a business system, but do not drag and drop any of its descendents, eents for the resource and for ALL of its descendents are shown in the eent iewer. Howeer, if you also drag and drop any descendents of the resource, the eent iewer shows ONLY eents for the resource and the descendents that were dragged and dropped. Working with Problem Tickets and Change Requests If your console is set up to work with problem management and change management systems, you can use the console to perform arious tasks that are related to problem tickets and change requests. A problem or change system user ID and password might be required to perform these tasks. If NetView is used to access those systems, an additional user ID and password might also be required. 28 IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

41 Working with Problem Tickets You can create, update, find, or close problem tickets from within the console. Create a problem ticket from the context menu of a resource Creating a problem ticket from the context menu of a resource does not contain linked eents or ownership notes. Creating a problem ticket from the context menu of a resource creates the problem ticket at the resource leel. Create a problem ticket from an Ownership note Creating a problem ticket from an Ownership note ensures a relationship with the linked eent but only through the Ownership note. The problem ticket creation can be done at the time the Ownership note is created in the Note Editor, or it can be done later from the Note Properties window for the ownership note (proided this is allowed by your configuration). Find a problem ticket You can search for a problem ticket from the context menu of a selected resource or by clicking Find in the Create Problem Ticket window. Update or close problem tickets You can update or close problem tickets from the Problem Ticket Properties window. You can open this window from the Find Problem Ticket window, the Note Properties window of a note that has an associated problem ticket, or from the Notes or Notes Summary iews. Working with Change Requests You can create, update, find, and close change requests from within the console. Signing Off the Console Exiting the Console Create a change request Open the menu for a resource and click Change Request > Create. Find a change request Open the menu for a resource and click Change Request > Find. Update or close a Change Request You can update and close change requests on the Properties page of the Change Request. You can open the properties of a change request from the Find Change Requests window. Do the following steps to sign off the console and then sign on as a different user: 1. Click Console > Sign Off. 2. The Sign On window opens and you can sign on using different sign on information. To close open iews and exit the console: 1. Click Console -> Exit. 2. The console closes. Chapter 2. Introducing the Console 29

42 30 IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

43 Chapter 3. Introducing the Web Console This chapter introduces the IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager Web console. Most of the concepts that are introduced for the console are aailable in the Web console. Using the Web console, operators can do the basic monitoring and problem determination tasks that they do using the regular console and administrators can do additional tasks such as creating shared filters. The Web console proides a role-based Web interface that presents tasks that are releant to each role that you are assigned. These tasks are organized in a portfolio that is titled My Work. The following roles are used in the Web console: Restricted Operator Operator Administrator Super Administrator Signing on to the Web Console The Web console is configured to accept Secure Socket Layer (SSL) connections from clients. To sign on to the Web console, do the following steps: 1. Open your Web browser. 2. Type the address that your administrator proided. The address is probably similar to the following example. In the example, console_serer_name is the fully-qualified name of a computer where the console serer is running. If you are using the default port (9443) for the HTTP serer port on the computer where the console serer is running the address is: 3. If you are using Windows 2003 and Internet Explorer, do the following steps: a. In Internet Explorer, select Tools > Internet Options > Security Settings. b. Make sure Meta Refresh and Actie Scripting are selected. When the sign on window opens, do the following steps: 1. Type your user name. 2. Type your password. 3. Click OK. The Web console opens and looks similar to Figure 16 on page 32 Copyright IBM Corp

44 Figure 16. IBM Tioli Systems Manager Web console Components that are shown in the window in Figure 16 are explained in Table 8. Table 8. Console components Component Banner area My Work portfolio task bar Oeriew The area that is located below the title bar and contains the product name. You can set your preference for displaying the banner by clicking View Miscellaneous > User Preferences > Appearance. The area that displays the way your work is organized within the Web console. The portfolio is located on the left side of the Web console and is a container for the tasks that you are assigned. The portfolio is titled My Work. This portfolio area also shows recent filters you used. You can toggle between displaying the portfolio and not displaying it by clicking the arrow button that is located on the title bar of the portfolio. The bar that is located aboe the work area and it displays buttons for each open window. When you click one of these buttons, the associated window opens in the work area. The task bar also includes icons for the following: Show all tasks. Opens the Task Manager, where you can switch to other tasks and close tasks. Sign off of the Web console 32 IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

45 Table 8. Console components (continued) Component Task Assistant Work area Status bar Oeriew The place to go for answers to your questions. The Task Assistant is represented by the question mark on the far right of the menu bar. To open the Task Assistant, click the question mark. When it is open, the Task Assistant is displayed to the right of the work area. To close the Task Assistant, click the question mark. Area for displaying windows. This area does not include the task list or the Task Assistant. Located below the work area. Displays the user ID, the role of the user, and the console serer that the user is connected to. The portfolio that is shown in Figure 16 on page 32 has these actions: View Business Systems View Eents View Resources View Notes View Miscellaneous Recent Filters These actions are explained in Table 9. Table 9. Aailable actions when the Web console is started Action View Business Systems Use to iew Business Systems List Launches the Business Systems iew. Business Systems Filters Launches the business systems filters page. You can use an existing filter to iew business systems or you can create a new filter. View Eents View Resources Eent Filters Launches the eents filters page. You can use an exiting filter to iew eents or you can create a new filter. Resource Filters Launches the resource filters page. You can use an existing filter to iew resources. Critical Watch List Launches the critical resources page. You can add or remoe existing filters for monitoring critical resources. Search All Resources Launches the search page to use for locating resources View Notes View my notes Launches your My Notes iew, which displays ownership, problem, and information notes that are assigned to you. Chapter 3. Introducing the Web Console 33

46 Table 9. Aailable actions when the Web console is started (continued) Action View Miscellaneous Recent Filters Use to iew Portfolio tasks Launches a page to use for updating the tasks that are displayed in your portfolio. User preferences Launches a page to use for establishing your preferences for using this console. Welcome window Launches the Web console Welcome window. Displays filters that you used recently. Understanding Alert State Indicators The Web console indicates the alert states of resources by displaying a color indicator that represents the alert state of a resource. Alert state indicators are described in Table 10. Table 10. Alert state indicators Alert state Description Normal (green) informs you that the resource is performing as expected. Warning (yellow) informs you that the resource is performing but its aailability is in jeopardy. This could mean that the system is oerloaded, or it could be part of the standard operations of your data center. Critical (red) informs you that the resource is not aailable or its aailability is at serious risk. Understanding Resource Indicators The Web console uses resource indicators in iews. Table 11 describes the resource indicators that are used. Table 11. Resource indicators Resource Indicator Description The resource has one or more open eents that are owned. All of the open eents for the resource are owned. The resource has an open problem ticket. The resource has a scheduled outage; no propagation occurs. The resource is a business system folder shortcut. Whether or not the business system shortcut icon is displayed is determined by a setting in Console > Administrator Preferences > View. For information about business system shortcuts, see the information in the Task Assistant. 34 IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

47 Table 11. Resource indicators (continued) Resource Indicator Description This indicates a deleted source. If a business system resource is linked to a source physical resource that is deleted, the business system resource is oerlaid with a deleted source indicator. This is also true for a business system shortcut if the source business system is deleted. Getting Assistance While Using the Web Console The Web console uses the Task Assistant to display helpful information. To display the Task Assistant, click the question mark icon that is located in the upper right corner of windows. The Task Assistant opens with information about the window from which you clicked the question mark. Once the Task Assistant is open, you can also get information by using the table of contents, index, message index, and the search function. To close the Task Assistant, click the question mark. Getting Help for Error Messages Web console error messages hae the prefix GTMWC followed by a message number. To get information about an error message, click the question mark icon is located in the upper right corner of the error message to display the Task Assistant. that Setting Preferences To iew a listing of all console messages: 1. Click the Message Index icon in the Task Assistant. 2. Expand the Message Index tree. 3. Expand the GTM tree. 4. Click a message to see its explanation. Although administrators set some preferences that are used in the Web console, you can set the following preferences by clicking View Miscellaneous > User Preferences. General Set refresh rates and whether to display icons in iews Appearance Set whether to display the banner, use the sliding portfolio, and set a color scheme Maximum returns Set maximum returns for eents, resources, business systems, and search results Problem ticket Set user IDs and passwords for accessing the system to work with problem tickets. This is aailable if your Web console is configured by an administrator to use a problem ticket system. Chapter 3. Introducing the Web Console 35

48 Figure 17 shows a Web console that has User Preferences open to the General page and also has the Task Assistant open. Figure 17. General User preferences for Problem Ticket To set preferences, do the following steps: 1. Click User Preferences. Working with Resources 2. Click the page for the preferences you want to set. 3. Set the preferences and click OK. You can work with resources in the following ways: Business Systems List Filters Critical watch list (See Critical Watch List on page 37.) You can access business systems directly from your My Work portfolio by clicking Business Systems List. This iew proides top-down naigation of business systems. Click the Select Action menu to access actions you can do with the selected resource. 36 IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

49 Viewing Eents When you use filters for displaying resources, you can specify search criteria to narrow the resulting list of resources. The resource filter is accessible from the portfolio or from a selected resource. See Working with Filters, for additional information. Critical Watch List The critical watch list is a list of resources and filters that are assigned to an operator for management or monitoring tasks. You can add and remoe resources and filters to and from this list. You can access your critical watch list from the portfolio. Working with Filters Use an eent filter to find eents. The eent filter is aailable from the portfolio or from a selected resource. Using a filter, you can specify search criteria to narrow the result list. You can also sae and add filters to your portfolio. See Working with Filters, for additional information about filters. Filters are a key component in the Web console. You can use filters to search for resources, eents, and business systems. Filters can be saed and reused. Administrators can gie you access to shared filters and these shared filters are listed in your filter list. Views generated by filters are the predominant way to do problem analysis when you are using the Web console. Filters are tailored to the type of resource you are searching for. You can use filters to locate resources, business system filters, and eents. Open the Task Assistant to get information about creating filters. Accessibility You can operate all features of the Web console by using the keyboard rather than the mouse. The keyboard shortcuts for the Web ersion of the console are the standard keyboard shortcuts for your Web browser. Chapter 3. Introducing the Web Console 37

50 38 IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

51 Chapter 4. Introducing the Executie Dashboard The executie dashboard is a Web-based console that administrators set up and configure using the IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager console. Your system administrator proides the Web address, your user ID, and your password for your dashboard. The executie dashboard proides executies with a iew of the following information: The serices they are responsible for The history for these serices Status changes that occurred in the serices since the last time they were iewed The executie dashboard proides IT executies a iew of the following information: The executie dashboard as the executie sees it Information about why a serice is red Details about the underlying subserices Accessing and Signing on to the Dashboard The executie dashboard is aailable in two ersions: A ersion that is Flash-based and is for users who hae no more than 12 serices on their dashboard. Although you can iew information for more than 12 serices, only 8 serices can be displayed in the serices area of the dashboard. You can access up to 12 serices from the icon bar on the dashboard. An HTML ersion that is for users who hae more than 12 serices on their dashboard, and for users who want to use the accessibility features of their Web browser. Accessing the Flash-based Dashboard To access the Flash-based ersion of the dashboard: 1. Open your Web browser. 2. Type the address your administrator proided. The address is probably similar to one of the following examples. In the examples below, console_serer_name is the fully-qualified name of a computer where the console serer is running. If the default number for the HTTP serer port on the computer where the console serer is running is 9080, the address for the Flash ersion of the executie dashboard is similar to the following: If the HTTP serer port is something other than 9080, the address is similar to the following (port_number is the serer port on the computer where the console serer is running): Accessing the HTML-based Dashboard To access the HTML ersion of the executie dashboard, do the following steps: 1. Open your Web browser. Copyright IBM Corp

52 2. Type the address your administrator proided. The address is probably similar to one of the following examples. In the examples below, console_serer_name is the fully-qualified name of a computer where the console serer is running. If the default number for the HTTP serer port on the computer where the console serer is running is 9080, the address for the HTML ersion of the executie dashboard is similar to the following one: If the HTTP serer port is something other than 9080, the address is similar to the following one (port_number is the serer port on the computer where the console serer is running): Signing On to the Dashboard After you access one of the dashboards, a window displays fields for you to type your user ID and password. 1. Type your user ID. 2. Type your password. 3. Click OK. Working with the Flash-based Version of the Dashboard Figure 18 shows an example of the Flash-based ersion of an executie dashboard. Figure 18. Example of Flash-based ersion of an executie dashboard Components that are shown in Figure 18 are explained in Table 12. Table 12. Executie dashboard components Component Title bar Description Displays your user ID and the ersion of the executie dashboard that you are using. The upper right corner of the window contains the Minimize and Close buttons. 40 IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

53 Table 12. Executie dashboard components (continued) Component Tool bar Description Contains the icons for functions such as refresh and sign off. If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer, copy and print are also aailable. Serices area The main area of the dashboard. This is where your serices are displayed. Each serice is represented by an object that looks similar to this: Serice menu Serice Name Secondary impact indicator Hold the mouse oer the button on the upper left side of the serice to display a menu for the serice. The options on the Serice menu on the IT executie dashboard are described in The Dashboard Context Menu on page 45. The serice menu on the executie dashboard has these options: Go to impact Displays information pertaining to the aailability state of the serice. Information displays een if the serice is green. Secondary impact information is displayed if the dashboard serice is configured to support display of this information. User Preferences Opens the User Preferences notebook. You can use this notebook to change your settings for auditory and isual indicators and also how status icons are displayed. For information on the User Preferences notebook, see User Preferences on page 44. About Displays the copyright information page. The name of the serice is displayed aboe each executie dashboard. In Figure 18 on page 40, this icon is located in the lower center of the North East serice and it looks similar to this:. (The secondary impact indicator icon in the lower center of the North East serice indicates trend issues with this serice in the serice leel agreement.) Click this icon on a serice where it is used to iew secondary impact information, such as iolations and trends in IBM Tioli Serice Leel Adisor (ITSLA). Currently ITSLA is supported for secondary impact information. Secondary impact information is information that could impact the resource but does not play a role in the aailability state or impact. Secondary impact information can be requested by the executie and configured by the system administrator, but showing this information is optional. If you place your cursor oer the secondary impact indicator icon on a serice, you see summary information such as serice name and aailability status. The information also indicates how many iolations or trends there are, if any, and when the last one occurred. If trends or iolations exist, there is a link to the details of this information. Secondary impact indicators are described in Table 13 on page 42. Chapter 4. Introducing the Executie Dashboard 41

54 Table 12. Executie dashboard components (continued) Component Icon bar Description Contains icons for naigating, iewing status, and getting information. You can naigate to any of your executie dashboard serices or to your dashboard home page by selecting the appropriate icon. You can also get status information for your dashboard serices. Icons on the icon bar in Figure 18 on page 40 are described in Table 14. Table 13 describes secondary impact icons that could be displayed on serices when administrator preferences are set to display these icons. Table 13. Secondary Impact Icons Icon Description Indicates uniewed iolation; no trends. (Red box with no arrow) Indicates uniewed iolation; iewed trends. (Red box with blue arrow) Indicates uniewed iolation; uniewed trends. (Red box with yellow arrow) Indicates no uniewed iolations; no trends. (White box with no arrow) Indicates no uniewed iolations; iewed trends. (White box with blue arrow) Indicates no uniewed iolations; uniewed trends. (White box with yellow arrow) Icon Bar The icon bar that is shown in Figure 18 on page 40 contains these icons: Table 14. Icons on the icon bar Icon Description Home icon takes you to your home page on the dashboard. Red status icon indicates that the serice is experiencing critical issues. This icon is called a mini serice icon. See Mini Serice Icons on page 43 for additional information about mini serice icons. Green status icon indicates that the serice is functioning as expected. This icon is called a mini serice icon. See Mini Serice Icons on page 43 for additional information about mini serice icons. Although a Yellow status icon is not shown in Figure 18 on page 40, this icon indicates that a serice is experiencing issues but the issues are not critical. All Impacts icon displays the current business impact information for all serices on the executie dashboard, or all problems for the IT executie dashboard. History icon displays the amount of time the serice was in Red or Yellow status oer the last 24 hours. Time your dashboard serices were last refreshed. 42 IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

55 If a tooltip (fly-oer information) remains displayed after you moe the mouse away from an icon, you can remoe the tooltip by moing your mouse anywhere on your dashboard. Otherwise, the tooltip is remoed the next time the dashboard refreshes. Mini Serice Icons Mini serice icons are located on the Icon bar to indicate the status of each serice that is on the executie dashboard. The mini serice icons are arranged in the same order as the executie dashboard serices, and they proide a quick iew of the status of the serices. Clicking one of the mini serice icons displays the status for that executie dashboard serice. Placing your cursor oer a mini serice icon displays summary information about the serice that it represents. This information proides the serice name, aailability status, and when the last impact occurred. The information is for aailability status and does not display secondary impact information. The Serice Status Details View To iew the current impact on a serice, do one of the following. Click the center of any executie dashboard serice in the Serices area. Click a Mini Serice Status/Naigation icon on the bottom of the executie dashboard. From a serices menu, click: Go to impact if you are an executie user Go to problem if you are an IT executie user Information for All Users Serice Name of the serice Impact statement Displays the role of the serice and the impact (red or yellow) Time of first impact Date and time of the first impact on the serice Time of last impact Date and time of last impact on the serice Problem ticket information Problem ticket number and date and time If more than one problem ticket is open, a statement that multiple tickets hae been opened is displayed instead of the date and time information. Information for IT Executie Users Problem Name of resource. If the resource is configured as a serice, the role and impact of that serice is displayed. Path Location of the resource in the business system tree on the console Resource state Current state of the resource Notes Date and time the note was created and the subject of the note. Chapter 4. Introducing the Executie Dashboard 43

56 Only those ownership notes that are associated with resources and eents that directly contribute to the non-green status of the serice are displayed. Ownership notes that are associated with the children of a percentage based threshold (PBT) folder are not displayed because they do not directly contribute to the status color of a serice. For information about PBTs, see the percentage based thresholds section in the IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager Administrator s Guide. If configured in Administrator Preferences in the console, problem ticket numbers, ownership note information, and secondary impact information is displayed in the Details iew. Display of problem ticket, ownership note, resource state, and secondary impact information is dependent on releant information being aailable. The time that is displayed for an impact is your local time. The Serice Status Details iew replaces the home page iew. Click the Home icon to return to the dashboard home page. User Preferences You can change the order of the serices on your dashboard by dragging and dropping the serices. To change the order of a serice, do the following steps: 1. Click and hold the mouse button in the gray area that is located on the left side of the serice. The color of this area changes from gray to blue while you are doing this. 2. Drag the serice to the position you want and drop it on the serice that is located where you want the serice you are dragging to be. Dragging and dropping does not work for sub-serices, nor does it work in the HTML ersion of the dashboard. To change user preferences, click User Preferences on the serice menu to open the Preferences notebook. This notebook is displayed in the Serices area. After making changes to your settings, click Sae or Discard to return to the Serices area. Use the following pages in the notebook to change preferences. Visual Indicator You can change the following preferences: New Impacts When a new impact or problem is receied, this option allows you to choose if the executie dashboard serice flashes and for how long. You can specify if dashboard serices on the home page that hae a new impact or problem should: Neer flash 44 IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles Flash until you iew the dashboard serice Flash the number of times you specify (whether or not you hae iewed the dashboard serice) Refresh rate Use to adjust the frequency that your browser window refreshes for incoming status. You can set the refresh time from 1 to 120

57 minutes, but you cannot set the refresh time lower than what is specified in administrator preferences in the console. The default alue is 10 minutes for executies and 5 minutes for IT executies. Auditory Indicator Use to choose the type of sound, if any, you hear when a status or secondary impact indicator changes from green to yellow or red. A change in status includes: A yellow or red alert A new yellow or red alert (This occurs if you do not click the first alert before a second one occurs.) A change in secondary impact information status Only a single sound is heard no matter how many status changes occur with a refresh. Show Status icons Use to display an alternate set of status icons. The Dashboard Context Menu The context menu presented to an executie user and to an IT executie user are different because these users hae different purposes for using the dashboard. Executie users hae the following items that are described in Table 12 on page 40 on their context menu: Go to impact User Preferences About IT executies hae the following items on serices menus: Go to problem Shows information pertaining to the aailability state of the executie dashboard serice. This displays een if the serice is green. Secondary impact information is shown if the executie dashboard serice is configured to display this information. The IT user selecting Go to problem sees more detail than the executie who selects Go to impact. Open Serice This option is aailable if serices that are direct children of the serice are contained within the dashboard serice. Opens serices that are direct children of the serice. User Preferences Displays the User Preferences notebook. You can use this notebook to change settings for auditory and isual indicators and also change how status icons are displayed. For information about the User Preferences notebook, see User Preferences on page 44. About Displays the copyright information page. Switch to another user s iew Use to display dashboard serices that are defined for another user (for example, the executie user). Enables IT users to switch their dashboard home page to display the dashboard serices that are defined for another user. This feature is useful if, for example, the executie sees a consistent problem and calls the IT executie to find out what the problem is or when the issue might be resoled. The authorized IT user can then iew Chapter 4. Introducing the Executie Dashboard 45

58 the executie dashboard serices as the executie sees them to get additional information about the issue. Switch back When iewing the executie dashboard serices of another user, use this option to quickly switch back to your own iew. Like the Switch to another user s iew option, this is only aailable to the IT user, not to the executie user. Working with the HTML Version of the Dashboard The HTML ersion of the executie dashboard is a table ersion of the dashboard and it accommodates dashboards that hae any number of serices. Functions that are aailable in the Flash-based dashboard are also aailable in the HTML dashboard. In the HTML dashboard, most actions are accessed through the table menu. The HTML ersion offers the following capabilities for accessibility: screen reader Because it uses basic HTML, this ersion supports the use of a screen reader for ealuating the contents of the window. Also, you can disable the automatic refresh function in the HTML executie dashboard by setting the refresh rate to zero (0) on the preferences page. Doing this ensures that unexpected refreshes do not interrupt reading the current screen. keyboard usage (instead of a mouse) You can operate all features of the executie dashboard by using the keyboard instead of the mouse. Use the tab keys to naigate from field to field and use the arrow keys to moe within fields. colors The HTML interface does not use color as the sole isual cue for status. There is either an image or a word accompanying colors used in the interface. You can set your monitor to high contrast mode and still see and understand the images. magnification tools The HTML ersion of the dashboard supports using magnification tools in the interface. Figure 19 on page 47 shows an example of an HTML ersion of the executie dashboard. 46 IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

59 Figure 19. Example of an HTML ersion of an executie dashboard The only preference you can set in the HTML ersion of the dashboard is the refresh rate. The icon bar uses the same icons as the Flash-based dashboard. See Table 14 on page 42 for a description of these icons. One difference is that the sign off icon is located on the icon bar of the HTML ersion of the dashboard. You can click a mini serice icon on the icon bar to access details about the serice. The mini serice icons are not necessarily displayed in the same order that the serices are displayed in the table. Chapter 4. Introducing the Executie Dashboard 47

60 48 IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

61 Chapter 5. Introducing the Reporting System You can use the console reporting system to generate reports in real time from historical aailability data that the console collects from the system. The console uses a Web browser to display these reports. To use the reporting system, your console preferences must indicate that you are either using the default Web browser or you are using a different Web browser and hae included its fully-qualified file name. You can access the reporting system through a Web browser at the following Web address: Reporting System Interface In the Web address, history_serer_name is the name of your history serer. You can also access the reporting system directly from the console. To access the reporting system from the console do one of the following: Select a resource and then click Console > Actions > Open > Reporting System. Right-click a resource and then click Open > Reporting System. If you are prompted for your user name and password, type the requested information. When you open the reporting system directly from the console, the reporting system opens either the Business System Eents Report Selection page or the Physical Resource Eents Selection page. Figure 21 on page 51 shows an example of the Business Systems Eents Report Selection page. The Business System Eents report, which is described in Table 17 on page 53, is the report that you hae access to when you open the reporting system directly from the console. You do not hae access to the entire reporting system from the console. When you open the reporting system directly from a Web browser you hae access to the reporting system interface, which looks similar to the window in Figure 20 on page 50. Copyright IBM Corp

62 Figure 20. IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager Reporting System The interface consists of the Report Template Index along the left column with reporting system information on the right. This information includes the name of the default data serer and the current date and time. The Report Template index lists all aailable report templates. Some reports are grouped into submenus within the index. If the selected template requires selection of a resource from the All Resources iew, the appropriate tree iew is displayed. To select the resource for reporting, click the link next to the appropriate resource. After making your selections from the arious headings, click Submit to generate and display the report in the browser. The Report Template index contains the following links: Historical Reporting Contains the report templates that are in the database Menu Administration Create, delete, and modify elements for the organization. (Administrators Only) Export Report Export reports generated in the reporting system to arious file formats Console administrators can edit the index to reflect additional contents and reports as well as links to the corporate Intranet or Internet site. 50 IBM Tioli Business Systems Manager: Introducing the Consoles

63 Report Forms within the Reporting System The reporting system proides you with reports so you can hae the data you need to analyze, anticipate, and aoid any future problem scenarios. You are required to specify selection criteria for the report you are requesting. All reports in the system require that you specify a time span. This requirement exists because of the large number of records that are contained in the database, possibly coering a year or more of historical data. By issuing a specific time span you ensure that a reasonable number of reports are returned, that waiting time is curtailed, and that network traffic is kept to a minimum. Figure 21 shows an example of a Report Selection page. Figure 21. Report Selection page Report Selection Criteria After you select the report type from the Report Template index, select the filtering criteria from the report selection page. Drop-down lists are proided for some of the selections when multiple choices are aailable. When you complete all the information, click Submit to generate the report. Chapter 5. Introducing the Reporting System 51