Device with Normal status
Device with Warning status
Device with Critical status
Device with Unknown status
You can use tools to view, configure, manage, and protect the devices on your network—all from a single console. You can distribute and update software or configuration settings, diagnose hardware and software issues, use remote control features to train users or resolve problems, and use role-based administration to control users' access to features and devices.
The top pane in the console displays the device you are logged in to and the user you are logged in as. The devices list is the main window of the console and is the starting point for most functions. The left-hand pane shows available tools. The right-hand pane in the console displays dialogs and screens which allow you to manage devices and users, view reports, run discoveries, create and modify queries, and so on. You can resize the panes and columns of the Devices list. When no agents are installed on a device, the name and IP address are the only columns that contain information. In some instances, the operating system will also display.
Management Suite provides some Windows application-like functionality in the convenience and accessibility of your Web browser.
NOTE: For dialogs and windows to display properly, the Management Suite Web site must be added to the allowed list of the browser's popup blocker.
NOTE: Role-based
administration
As a user, the devices you can view and manage in the My
devices list and the management tools you can use are
determined by the access rights and device scope assigned to you by
the administrator.
This section provides information about:
The My devices list contains the following groups and sub-groups. In addition, depending on your access rights and device scope, you can create your own groups for easier management of devices.
The All devices list shows the devices for the currently logged-in user, based on the user's scope, in a flat list (no sub-groups). When connected to a particular core server, the administrator can see every device managed by that core server. Product users, on the other hand, are restricted and can only see the devices that reside within their assigned scope (a scope is based on either a database query or a directory location).
Devices running product agents (Standard management agent and Inventory) automatically appear in the All devices list when they are scanned into the core database by the inventory scanner. Typically, this scan takes place for the first time during initial device configuration. Once a device is scanned into the core database it is considered to be a managed device—it can now be managed by that core server.
Because the All devices group is populated automatically via an inventory scan, you may never need to manually discover devices. However, to discover devices not already in the core database (or to move unmanaged devices to a managed devices group), you can use the device discovery tool to scan the network for devices.
The All devices group provides the following information for each device. To sort a column, click on its header; click the header again to reverse the sort. Double-click All devices to open the list.
When you select a device, the device's properties are displayed in the Properties pane below the device list. The Properties pane shows many important device attributes:
From the console, you can remote control the device, view a detailed inventory, and target the device for an action, such as running a report. If the device is a Linux device, you can use SSH and SFTP for remote access. See About the Properties screen for details.
Double-clicking a device in the All devices list opens a full device inventory window that displays all inventory information for the device.
The My devices list shows groups of devices created by the currently logged-in user. My devices groups are not visible to, and can't be used by, other users.
The Public deviceslist shows groups of devices that have been created by a user with Administrator rights. They are visible to other users.
The Virtual hosts OS list shows VMware ESX servers that are configured as virtual hosts, that have been discovered by selecting the Virtual hosts option in a device discovery configuration. When you click Virtual hosts OS or any sub-groups in the tree view, the hosts are shown as end nodes in the device window. When you click a host name in the tree view, the host is a container and the virtual machines running on it are displayed in the device list.
Device icons display in the All devices list and the Health dashboard and show the current health status of each device. You can update the health status for devices one at a time as you select them in the My devices list by clicking the Refresh toolbar button.
The following table lists the possible device and status icons and what they mean:
| Icon | Description |
|---|---|
|
|
Device with Normal status |
|
|
Device with Warning status |
|
|
Device with Critical status |
|
|
Device with Unknown status |
NOTE: Icon display
quality
These are high-color icons and require at least a 16-bit
color-depth setting. If the icons in your console appear out of
focus, change your color settings in the Windows Display
Properties.
Shortcut (context) menus are available for all items in the console, including groups, devices, queries, scheduled tasks, scripts, and so on. Shortcut menus provide quick access to an item's common tasks and critical information.
To view an item's shortcut menu, right-click the item. For example, when you right-click a managed device in the My devices list, its shortcut menu will typically display the following options:
The help does not cover every console item's shortcut menu, but it is recommended that you right-click any item to see the options that are available.
Tools are available through the left pane. They are organized into sections, such as Device view and Remote access. Use the arrow keys at the top of the each section to view all the tools.
An administrator sees all of the tools in the left navigation pane. Other users will see only the tools (features) that are allowed by their assigned rights. For example, if a user doesn't have the Reports right, the Reports tool doesn't appear in the left navigation pane.
Here is a complete list of tools:
When you click a tool name, the tool's window opens in the right pane.
In the My devices view, you can quickly view information about a device by clicking the device in the list and selecting Properties in the bottom pane.
More detailed information about the device is available in its inventory data. You can view inventory data in the All devices view by double-clicking the device, or by selecting the View inventory tab in the Properties pane to open the full Inventory window.
Use the Properties pane to view useful information about the selected device. The screen includes a brief summary of properties and the following buttons: