ISPPlanet Cache Review Series - Compaq TaskSmart

Compaq Insight Manager

On the other hand, we were very impressed by the Compaq Insight Manager (CIM). This largely WBEM-based manager is also included at no extra charge with the TaskSmart. CIM discovers and manages devices within specified address ranges. All discovered devices (below, left) are listed, but only those with WBEM agents can be actively managed. Just click on a device to select a management tool: view system configuration, mass storage (file system and SCSI) details, Ethernet adapters (below, right), system and expansion board specs, bus and CPU utilization.

Use Recovery panels to view or clear alarms stored in the device itself, set environmental thresholds, and allow remote console management by modem. Set up CIM properties for each device, including a read community string (CIM cannot perform SNMP writes). Launch a remote console by initiating an X-Windows terminal session to the CLI. (Surprisingly, there is no URL linking CIM to the TaskSmart GUI.) Generate device reports on a scheduled basis, in a specified format, or print reports on demand. Or launch a WBEM browser interface for the selected device.

 

CIM indicates overall device status by color; devices can be filtered (e.g., show only TaskSmart devices). Drill down to view the Alarm Log (below, left), where each alarm includes severity, description, detail, and recommended action. If you have a third-party SNMP DLL (not included), CIM can also be configured to listen to SNMP traps, but we found better information available through WBEM. Busy admins will truly appreciate CIM's alarm forwarding features. CIM can forward a select set of alarms for a given set of devices to an email address, pager number, or both (below, right). Finally, CIM can be used for remote software download (not tested).

Why is integrated management important? In large networks, there are simply too many device consoles, too much information to digest. A tool like CIM allows an admin to grasp overall network status, even when devices are remote. With CIM, TaskSmart can be managed like any other server. And therein lies its weakness: CIM doesn't provide integrated management of the cache, only the system on which it resides. When our TaskSmart spontaneously rebooted, CIM told us exactly when and why the problem occurred: Fatal Exception #14, Page Fault. This is fantastic. But it would have been even better to know what the cache was doing at the time (i.e., downloading a filter). We expect Compaq will add even more to CIM over time, as in-house experience with NICS grows.

 

Introduction/Under the Hood	Tuning Cache Behavior
Getting Started	NICS Monitoring
Where to Use the TaskSmart	Integrated Management <
Configuring the TaskSmart	Compaq Insight Manager
Defining Cache Services	> Product Support/Final Thoughts