ConsoleOne is a Java-based tool for managing your network and its resources. It can be launched by running CONSOLEONE.EXE from where it was installed (default: SYS:PUBLICMGMTCONSOLEONE1.2BIN). By default, it enables you to manage Novell eDirectory objects, schema, partitions, replicas, and NetWare server resources.

If you install other Novell products, the appropriate management capabilities are snapped automatically into the version of ConsoleOne installed on that server.

ConsoleOne is installed during the OES NetWare installation, but can also be reinstalled or installed locally from the Novell client’s CD.

ConsoleOne also supports remote server console access through a Java applet called RConsoleJ.

To access the OES NetWare server console remotely, launch ConsoleOne and browse to the server you want. Select Tools, Remote Console.

Web Manager is a web-based “home page” for accessing most of the OES NetWare web-based tools and services.

To access Web Manager, open your web browser and enter your web server’s domain name or IP address, followed by a colon and the Web Manager port, which by default is 2200. For example:

or

iManager provides role-based management of your NetWare network, together with a nearly comprehensive set of administrative tools. After it’s loaded, you will use iManager to perform most of the day-to-day administrative tasks in your NetWare environment, including management of most additional services that are available with OES NetWare.

You can access the iManager web page by appending the iManager path (/nps/iManager.html) to the IP address or DNS name of the server running iManager. For example:

or

To force iManager into Simple mode to support federal accessibility guidelines, use the Simple mode path (/nps/Simple.html). For example:

or

You will be prompted to authenticate using a valid eDirectory username. Users can access only iManager features for which they have been assigned rights.

Novell Remote Manager (NoRM) is used for remote management of OES NetWare servers:

You can launch NoRM from Web Manager, or you can launch NoRM directly by the OES NetWare server’s domain name or IP address, followed by a colon and the port number, which by default is 8009. For example:

or

You can also launch NoRM directly from the graphical server console by clicking the red N icon on the icon bar at the bottom of the GUI.

You will be prompted to authenticate. If your user object is in the same context as the server object, you can authenticate by common name only. Otherwise, you need to specify a full eDirectory username, including the leading dot. For access to all NoRM features, the user should have supervisory rights to the NetWare server.

iMonitor is used for web-based management of Novell eDirectory in your OES NetWare network.

Launch iMonitor from NoRM by selecting NDS iMonitor from the Managing eDirectory section in the left navigation frame. Alternatively, you can go straight to iMonitor by appending the iMonitor path (/nds) to the NoRM URL. For example:

or

The first version of a centralized management interface was NWAdmin. NWAdmin is a Windows-based utility that enables administrators to see the whole network from a directory-centric, rather than server-centric, perspective. It requires the Novell client to provide network communications and access.

NWAdmin supports an extendable plug-in architecture so new functionality can be added as necessary to manage new features and new products. However, NWAdmin runs only on Windows and uses a proprietary architecture. Rather than try to support multiple versions of NWAdmin, Novell has moved toward a more open and standards-based management architecture based on Java programming techniques.

In 1998, with the release of NetWare 5, Novell introduced its second-generation administrative utility known as ConsoleOne. Similar to NWAdmin, ConsoleOne is an extendable management architecture that supports snap-ins to extend its capabilities. Its Java-based design enables it to run on both workstations and the NetWare server itself, providing the first-ever graphical server console. However, it still required some type of Novell client support for network communications and access. In the years since its release, ConsoleOne has achieved respectable performance, a major deficiency in its early versions, and still serves as the preferred tool for managing Novell and third-party products and services.

With the release of NetWare 6, Novell started making the final management interface transition necessary to support its One Net initiative by introducing a set of web-based management tools. iManager offers a true platform-independent management interface that can be used from any workstation at any location to perform network management and maintenance of any kind.

iManager v2.5, which ships with OES NetWare, provides a nearly complete set of tools for managing OES. However, some applications and tools may still require ConsoleOne, so you need to be familiar with the capabilities of each management interface. This chapter provides an introduction to the primary Novell management utilities, from ConsoleOne to iManager. It provides requirements and installation information for each utility, as well as an overview of its features and capabilities.

First, the chapter presents ConsoleOne and shows how ConsoleOne can be used for both local and remote server administration, as well as full eDirectory management.

Next, OES NetWare’s web-based management tools are presented, including iManager, Novell Remote Manager (NoRM), and iMonitor. These browser-based utilities largely eclipse ConsoleOne today and offer much more flexibility for network administrators looking to get their jobs done from any place at any time.

Before looking at specific administrative tasks that are described throughout this book, it’s a good idea to get a feel for the basics of ConsoleOne administration. If you need a more detailed introduction to ConsoleOne, see the OES online documentation.

ConsoleOne is installed automatically to SYS:PUBLICMGMTCONSOLEONE1.2 during the OES NetWare server installation. Furthermore, any products installed on the server automatically place their ConsoleOne snap-ins in the correct location (SYS:PUBLICMGMTCONSOLEONE1.2SNAPINS) to function with this version. However, this means that different servers with different product sets may not have all the necessary snap-ins to manage services networkwide. So, if you are doing service-specific management, you should run ConsoleOne from a server where the service is actually installed.

The following sections describe requirements for running ConsoleOne on one of its supported operating systems.

Because the web-based management tools are much easier to develop to, management of some of the newer NetWare features are bypassing ConsoleOne and going straight to iManager. This includes, for example, Licensing and iPrint, which are managed through iManager and are not available from ConsoleOne.

Much of the server management that previously required access to the NetWare server console can now be done with NoRM, discussed later in this chapter. NoRM enables you to perform most management tasks that normally require access to the server console from a remote workstation or even from across the Internet. However, to manage any version of NetWare 5 or NetWare 6 remotely, you can also use RConsoleJ, which is part of ConsoleOne. Although RConsoleJ does not offer the flexibility of NoRM, it can save significant time by enabling you to manage servers to which you have a LAN/WAN connection.

RConsoleJ is a Java applet that provides a server “window” on your workstation from which you can use console utilities, load/unload NLMs, and change server configuration as if you were using the server’s actual keyboard and monitor. Using RConsoleJ enables you to access the server from any workstation on the network, which gives you greater freedom when administering your network.

RConsoleJ requires the IP protocol to connect to NetWare servers remotely. However, if you want to use it to connect to a server that is running IPX only, you can do so by routing RConsoleJ communications through a secondary proxy server, which has both IP and IPX protocol stacks loaded. The proxy server acts as a gateway between RConsoleJ and the IPX server.

Because RConsoleJ is part of ConsoleOne, you can run it from any platform that supports ConsoleOne, including Windows, NetWare, Linux, Solaris, and Tru64.

To set up your network for RConsoleJ, you have to do the following:

Set up the target server, which is the server you want to access remotely.

(Conditional) Install proxy software on an IP server if the target server is running only IPX.

Install RConsoleJ software on the workstation or server from which you want to run the remote console session.

RUNNING THE RCONSOLEJ CLIENT

To run RConsoleJ from a supported workstation or OES NetWare server, do the following:

Note

If you are running RConsoleJ from a NetWare server, you can start it directly from the server GUI by selecting the Novell button and then selecting Programs and RConsoleJ. You can then continue with step 3.

1. Open ConsoleOne and browse to the server object you want to control.

2. Right-click the server object and select Remote Console.

3. In the RConsoleJ screen, shown in Figure 4.2, specify the required information and select Connect.

Figure 4.2. The Remote Console interface from ConsoleOne.

The choices available include

Connection Options—Specify whether you are connecting via Secure or Unsecure IP. If you are using Unsecure IP, you can choose whether to connect directly or through a proxy.

Remote Server—Specify the target server’s name for a direct connection or the proxy server’s name for a proxy connection. Enter the remote password. The port number will be inserted automatically unless you have changed it from the default.

Note

If you are running ConsoleOne from a different server, or if you have installed ConsoleOne locally, you may be prompted to accept an unknown certificate. If so, click OK to accept the certificate and launch the RConsoleJ window.

For more information on using RConsoleJ, see the OES online documentation.

In some OES NetWare installations and patterns, iManager will not be installed automatically. If you did not select to install iManager during the server installation, it can be manually reinstalled through Deployment Manager or the graphical server console. To install iManager via Deployment Manager, complete the following steps:

1. Make sure you are logged in as a user with administrative rights to eDirectory and the NetWare server.

2. At the workstation, insert the NetWare 6.5 SP3 CD 1 (Operating System). Deployment Manager should start automatically. If not, run NWDEPLOY.EXE from the root of the CD-ROM.

3. Under Post-Install Tasks in the left pane, select Install NetWare 6.5 Products. Click Remote Product Install in the right pane.

4. Browse to, or specify, the name of the target server and click Next. Provide Admin user information when requested.

5. Select Customized NetWare Server from the list of patterns and click Next.

6. At the Components screen, select iManager 2.50 and Apache 2 Web Server and Tomcat 4 Servlet Container and click Next. Make sure all other products are deselected.

7. At the Summary screen, review your selections and click Copy Files. All the necessary application files will be copied to the target server. You will be prompted to insert the NetWare 6.5 SP3 CD 1 (Products) CD-ROM.

8. At the Installation Complete screen, click Reset Apache to restart Tomcat and the Apache Web Server. Close Deployment Manager after the installation is finished.

After it’s installed, you can open iManager from its URL, using either HTTP or HTTPS, at <server IP address>/nps/iManager.html. You will be required to authenticate to access iManager and will have access to only those features to which you have rights. For full access to all iManager features, authenticate as a user with supervisory rights to the eDirectory tree (see Figure 4.3).

Figure 4.3. The iManager 2.5 home page.

You can also open iManager in Simple mode, suitable for compliance with federal accessibility guidelines. It provides the same functionality as Regular mode, but with an interface optimized for accessibility by those with disabilities (for example, expanded menus for blind users who rely upon spoken commands). To use Simple mode, replace iManager.html with Simple.html in the iManager URL. For example:

or

Using either interface, you have access to only those features to which you have rights. For full access to all iManager features, authenticate as a user with supervisory rights to the eDirectory tree.

As shown in Figure 4.3, iManager is organized into three main sections, or frames:

Header frame—The Header frame is located at the top of the screen. Its buttons provide access to the various views, or content categories, available through iManager, as well as an Exit link to close the browser window.

Navigation frame—The Navigation frame is located on the left side of the screen. It enables you to navigate among the various management tasks associated with the selected iManager view. The rights of your authenticated identity further constrain what you see.

Content frame—The Content frame occupies the middle-right of the screen. When you select a link in the Header or Navigation frames, the appropriate information is displayed in the Content frame.

Role-based Services (RBS) enable administrators to assign users a management role. A role is a specific set of functions, or tasks, that the user is authorized to perform. After given a role, or roles, what a User sees and has access to in iManager is based on their role assignments. Only the tasks assigned to the authenticated user are displayed.

RBS has been significantly expanded in iManager 2.5, and offers very robust configuration and assignment of network management responsibilities. RBS is configured through iManager and all RBS-related information is maintained in a set of RBS objects in eDirectory. These object types include the following:

RBS Collection—A container object that holds a set of RBS modules that will be assigned to a given portion of your eDirectory tree.

RBS Module—A container inside the RBS collection that organizes available RBS Tasks and Books into functional groups. RBS modules enable you to assign users responsibility for specific functionality within a product or service.

RBS Role—An object type that specifies the tasks that users (members) are authorized to perform. Defining a role includes creating an RBS Role object and linking it to the tasks that the role can perform. RBS roles can be created only in an RBS Collection container.

RBS Task—An object type representing a linear process that can be performed via iManager. An RBS Task looks like a wizard utility that will guide you through the steps necessary to complete some operation. RBS Task objects are located only in RBS Module containers.

RBS Book—An object type representing a nonlinear collection of configuration options that can be modified in any order or combination. For example, the attributes associated with a user object can be modified in iManager via the Modify Object RBS Book. RBS Books are located only in RBS Module containers.

RBS Scope—An object type representing the context in the tree where a role will be performed, and which is associated with RBS Role objects. This object is dynamically created when needed, and automatically deleted when no longer needed.

CONFIGURING ROLE-BASED SERVICES

During the iManager installation, the schema of your eDirectory tree was extended to support the RBS object types specified previously. To set up RBS for the first time, complete the following steps in iManager:

1. In the Header frame, select the Configure button.

2. In the Navigation frame, open the Role-based Services group and select RBS Configuration.

3. Select Configure iManager in the Content frame.

4. Specify the name and location for the RBS Collection and click Next.

5. In the RBS Modules page, make your selections and click Start.

Specify the RBS Modules that you want installed in this RBS Collection. Each module provides a different set of management tasks that can be assigned as a group.

Specify a scope for the RBS Modules you have selected. The scope specifies the container in which those assigned this management role will be able to perform those management tasks. Select Inheritable if you want the management tasks to be applicable to all subcontainers of the Scope you specify.

6. When the installation of iManager modules completes, click Close.

Based on your selections, this procedure creates all the appropriate RBS objects in your eDirectory tree. After you have configured your RBS Collection, selecting RBS Configuration in the Navigation frame opens the RBS Configuration task, as shown in Figure 4.4.

Figure 4.4. RBS Configuration page in iManager 2.5.

With most installations and patterns for OES NetWare, NoRM is installed automatically. After the installation, use a web browser from a client computer in your network to access NoRM. To access NoRM from an Internet connection outside your firewall, you need to make sure that TCP port 8009 is opened through the firewall to the IP address of your web server. Port 8009 is the default port through which you will access the Web Manager interface. This port can be changed as long as it doesn’t conflict with any other service on the OES server.

To use NoRM, you must have a 4.x or newer web browser such as Internet Explorer or Netscape Communicator. Make sure that Java or JavaScript is enabled on your web browser.

NoRM is accessible directly, or from the server console. To open NoRM directly, open your web browser and enter your web server’s domain name or IP address, followed by a colon and the port number, which by default is 8009. For example:

or

You might be prompted to accept an unknown certificate. At the Authentication dialog, enter the full username, with a leading dot, and password of a user with administrative rights to this server and then select OK (see Figure 4.5).

Figure 4.5. The Novell Remote Manager home page.

To open NoRM from the graphical server console, click the red N button from the GUI.

After logging in, your NoRM session remains open until you close all your browser windows at that workstation. To log out of NoRM, close all the browser windows at the workstation from which you logged in.

As with iManager, NoRM’s user interface is organized into three main sections, or frames:

Header frame—The Header frame is located at the top of the screen. It provides a semaphore (Green, Yellow, Red) assessment of the server’s health, in addition to other tools and the Volumes and Health Monitor pages in NoRM. Clicking the Novell Remote Manager title in the header takes you to an About NoRM description of the software components of NoRM. Selecting the semaphore icon next to your server name also takes you to the Health Monitor page. By default, the Volumes page is always displayed when NoRM first starts.

Navigation frame—The Navigation frame is located on the left side of the screen. It lists different management tasks, organized into groups that you can perform with NoRM. Each link takes you to the specific page(s) for performing that task. The list of available tasks in the Navigation frame can change based on the services and NLMs that you have loaded on the server.

Content frame—The Content frame occupies the middle-right of the screen. When you select a link in the Header or Navigation frames, the appropriate information will be displayed in the Content frame. If an Information icon appears in the upper-right corner of the page, you can view help for the page that is displayed in the main content frame.

From these frames you can view and modify all features accessible through NoRM.

CONFIGURING NORM

You can access NoRM configuration options by selecting the Configure button in the header (see Figure 4.6). To access the configuration options you must be logged in as a user with supervisory rights to the server from which NoRM is being run.

Figure 4.6. NoRM Configuration options.

The NoRM Configuration settings are organized into four groups:

Novell Remote Manager Configuration options—These settings enable you to configure what is visible in NoRM, manage special access accounts in case problems arise, and restart NoRM when configuration changes are made.

Note

Even if hidden, any SET parameter or console command can still be activated from either NoRM or the server console as long as you know the proper syntax.

Novell Remote Manager Health Logging controls—These settings enable you to view and control the server health log. With these settings you can view, clear, enable/disable, and restrict the maximum size of the server health log.

HTTP logging controls—These settings control NoRM’s HTTP log file and allow you to enable the Debug screen, when necessary for troubleshooting.

Warning

The Debug Screen option will create significant server overhead and should be used only to help diagnose problems with the HTTPSTK module that is used by NoRM. Do not enable Debug Screen during normal operation.

HTTP Interface Management—These settings configure NoRM’s basic environment—including TCP and SSL ports, default login contexts, and startup parameters—and restrict NoRM access by IP address.

Note

By clicking the word Novell in the upper-right portion of the header frame, you can access the Novell Support Connection at http://support.novell.com/. From this site, you can get current updates, locate troubleshooting information, or open an online support incident.

iMonitor is installed automatically during the installation of OES NetWare. Because it shares resources with NoRM, the PORTAL and HTTPSTK.NLM programs must be loaded on the server. Entries are placed in the AUTOEXEC.NCF to accomplish this.

After the installation, use a web browser from a client computer in your network to access iMonitor. To access iMonitor from an Internet connection outside your firewall, you need to make sure that TCP port 8009 is opened through the firewall to the IP address of your web server. Port 8009 is the default port through which you will access the Web Manager interface. This port can be changed as long as it doesn’t conflict with any other service on the OES NetWare server.

To use iMonitor, use a current version of a web browser, and make sure that Java or JavaScript is enabled on your web browser.

To access iMonitor, open NoRM and browse down to the Manage eDirectory heading in the Navigation frame and then select NDS iMonitor.

Alternatively, you can open iMonitor directly by opening your web browser and entering your web server’s domain name or IP address, the NoRM port number (8009), and the iMonitor path (/nds). For example:

or

You might be prompted to accept a certificate. At the Authentication dialog box, enter the full username, with a leading dot, and password of a user with administrative rights to this server, and then select OK to display the screen shown in Figure 4.7.

Figure 4.7. The iMonitor home page showing a summary of DSAgent information.

As with NoRM, your iMonitor session remains open until all browser windows at your workstation are closed.

Because it is a component of NoRM, iMonitor adheres to a page layout similar to the one for NoRM and iManager. There are four possible frames to an iMonitor page:

Header frame—The Header frame is located at the top of the screen. It provides a semaphore (Green, Yellow, Red) assessment of the eDirectory tree’s health, in addition to access to other iMonitor tools and the iMonitor configuration. Clicking the NDS iMonitor title in the header takes you to an About iMonitor description of iMonitor software components. By default, the Agent Summary page is always displayed when iMonitor first starts.

Navigation frame—The Navigation frame is located on the left side of the screen. It lists different management tasks, organized into groups, which you can perform with iMonitor. Each link takes you to the specific page(s) for performing that task.

Content frame—The Content frame occupies the middle-right of the screen. When you select a link in the Header or Navigation frames, the appropriate information is displayed in the Content frame.

(Conditional) Replica frame—When needed, the Replica frame appears in the lower-left corner of iMonitor. This happens when another replica of the requested data exists, or when another replica has a different view of the information being presented in the Main Content frame. From the Replica frame you can change the replica that you are using to view the requested data.

The amount and type of information that you see in iMonitor is dependent on your current eDirectory identity and the version of the DSAgent with which you are currently working. As new versions of eDirectory are released, they are updated to provide more information to iMonitor. Therefore, older versions of eDirectory or NDS, while still accessible via iMonitor, will not provide the same level of detail offered by current versions of eDirectory.

iMonitor can function in one of two possible modes. You don’t need to do anything to select between the two modes; iMonitor handles it automatically. However, it is important to understand them to interpret iMonitor data and navigate the eDirectory tree properly:

Direct mode—Direct mode is used when iMonitor is gathering information or executing an operation on the same server from which iMonitor is running. The server-centric iMonitor features mentioned previously, which include DSTrace, DSRepair, and Background Scheduler, are available only from Direct mode. Direct mode gives you full access to all iMonitor features and is faster than Proxy mode.

Proxy mode—Proxy mode is used when iMonitor is gathering information or executing an operation on a server other than that from which iMonitor is running. Proxy mode makes it possible to gather information and statistics from older versions of eDirectory or NDS. Proxy mode is the default method of operation for iMonitor, meaning that when iMonitor is opened, it will continue to run from the specified server until explicitly told to switch to an instance of iMonitor on a different server.

iMonitor chooses the mode based on the URL request submitted from your browser. If the URL contains a server query, iMonitor will use Proxy mode. If no server query is present, iMonitor will run the query against the local DSAgent using Direct mode.

The default configuration of iMonitor is suitable for most environments. However, iMonitor offers a configuration file, SYS:SYSTEMNDSIMON.INI, that enables you to customize iMonitor. It enables you to change both the general execution of iMonitor, as well as customize specific iMonitor features. For more information on iMonitor, see the OES online documentation.