Intelligent Manageability - Compaq Goes Beyond the Box

IT resources are rarely homogeneous, rather existing as an eclectic mix of networks, platforms, environments and applications. As businesses grow, so do their IT infrastructures diversify, taking advantage of the best technologies to perform specific tasks. While this may ensure that the business achieves its goals effectively it also creates a potential management nightmare for IT managers struggling to gain an overview of the entire IT infrastructure, to ensure that systems are running properly, to identify problems early and resolve them quickly.

Compaq`s approach to the problem has been to add the kind of intelligent manageability to its products required to keep businesses running effectively and competitively on a 24/7/365 basis. This strategy extends to three different areas - in Compaq products themselves; in a comprehensive set of IT management tools and through partnerships with 3rd party vendors.

Compaq Products - Built-In Manageability

The best place to start with manageability is in the products themselves and the easiest way to achieve this is to ensure that they comply to industry standards. To this end, Compaq builds its computers to comply with existing industry specifications eg, DMI v 2.0 for its desktop PCs and SNMP for its server range. However, this forms only part of the manageability of Compaq products. The company distinguishes itself by offering its clients a 3-year Pre-Failure Warranty Replacement for its server processors, hard disk drives and memory. For example, if a client using Compaq`s Insight Manager software management tool is notified of an imminent failure of any of the three components by means of the program`s predictive maintenance function, Compaq will replace the faulty component according to the warranty. This concept, while common to many hardware vendors, was originally pioneered by Compaq which was also the first vendor to apply it to all three components.

Says Ferhad Patel, Compaq`s product manager, Industry Standard Server Division, "This approach has taken system management out of the box and into a total management solution for our clients."

The Tools For Intelligent Management

As part of its strategy of adding value to the products and systems it supplies, Compaq offers a comprehensive range of software and hardware-based management tools, many of which are available for download from the Web free of charge. The tools are designed to provide IT managers with an effective means of keeping an eye on their companies` equipment.

The easiest way to ensure that all Compaq equipment has the latest software drivers is to use ActiveUpdate, a Web-based application that provides proactive notification and delivery of the latest software updates.

Compaq SmartStart is a deployment tool which enables users to configure Compaq hardware, load optimised drivers and assist with the installation of operating systems on Compaq servers.

The mass deployment of system software updates such as BIOS images, device drivers and management agents to client PCs can be easily executed using Compaq System Software Manager. This automates the mass update of system software and ensures a stable and consistent PC environment, saving both time and costs.

The flagship intelligent management software tool is Insight Manager. First introduced in 1992, Insight is used by more than 1 million Compaq servers worldwide to provide extensive fault detection, configuration and performance management.

Using a Windows-based console and SNMP to communicate with Compaq management agents across a broad spectrum of Compaq products, Insight Manager is designed to reduce downtime by providing predictive alert and fault management and lower costs by centralising the management functions, providing IT departments with a "virtual presence" for total access to every Compaq component on the WAN. It also monitors the thresholds of hardware, utilisation of I/Os, NICs and processors to identify system bottlenecks and offers easy software version control and fast notification of failures via pager or e-mail. In addition, it simplifies the configuration and upgrading of hardware.

Insight Manager LC is designed for managing PC workgroups, offering complete flexibility to manage Compaq and 3rd party DMI v 2.0 compliant PCs from any networked Web browser; while Insight Manager XE offers complete, Internet-based control of Compaq and 3rd party servers, clusters, clients and networking products using SNMP, DMI and HTTP protocols anywhere, anytime.

Compaq also offers a range of hardware-based management tools. The Remote Insight Board provides management via the LAN or modem. Operating like a black box on an airplane, the board can still be accessed even if the server is down, providing information on events leading to the crash. Remote Insight Lights-Out is another hardware-based tool which provides access via the LAN to allow administrators to troubleshoot, configure, remote floppy boot up and turn on or shutdown servers. It features a Web-based graphical interface and its own dedicated processor, memory, network adapter and power supply.

Manageability Through Partnerships

Compaq`s partnership with enterprise management system vendors such as Microsoft, BMC Software, Computer Associates, Tivoli and Hewlett-Packard has allowed it to integrate the features and benefits of Insight Manager into such 3rd party systems as Microsoft SMS, BMC Patrol, CA Unicentre, Tivoli Netview and HP OpenView.

Says Patel, "The more manageable the system, the easier and more cost-effective it is to run. With more emphasis being placed on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of IT systems and the ongoing shortage of IT support skills, intelligent manageability is becoming an important issue and one that Compaq has built into its vision on NonStop e-Business."