Sun Management Center Architecture

Sun Management Center software includes three component layers: console, server, and agent. The product is based on the manager and agent architecture:

• The console layer provides the user interface that you use to initiate management tasks. This layer includes a Java Console, a web console, and a command-line interface (CLI).

• The server (manager) executes management applications and sends requests to agents to perform management tasks on your behalf.

• The agents that execute on the managed nodes access the management information, monitor local resources, and respond to manager requests.

The following figure illustrates the three component layers.

Figure 1–1 Sun Management Center Component Layers

The major Sun Management Center layers and their functions are described next.

Console Layer

The Sun Management Center console layer is the interface between you and the other component layers of Sun Management Center software. This layer includes a Java Console, a web console, and a CLI. You can have multiple consoles, serving multiple users, for the same Sun Management Center server. The consoles provide these features:

• Visual representations of the managed objects, for example, hosts and networks

• The ability to manipulate attributes and properties that are associated with the managed objects, for example, create alarm thresholds

• The ability to initiate management tasks, for example, dynamic reconfiguration

Server Layer

The server layer accepts requests through the console and passes these requests to the appropriate agent. The server then relays the response from the agent back to the console.

For example, if you request information on the number of users that are accessing a host, the server layer receives this request from the console. The server layer then sends the request to the agent on that host. The agent finds the answer and sends the answer back to the server, which forwards the information to the console.

Similarly, if an error condition is created on one of the hosts, the agent on that host notifies the server. The server forwards the information to the console as an alarm.

In addition, the server layer provides the console with a secure entry point to interface with the agents.

The server layer includes the following components, as illustrated in Figure 1–2:

• Sun Management Center server

• Sun Management Center web server

• Topology manager

• Trap handler

• Configuration manager

• Event manager

Figure 1–2 Sun Management Center Server Layer

The server component is the core of the server layer. The server component consists of two servers: a Java server and a web server. Both the Java server and the web server are multi-threaded. These servers can handle multiple data requests from various Sun Management Center users.

The topology manager provides services that include managing user administrative domains and arranging managed object topology.

The trap handler is a centralized SNMP trap receptor that logs and forwards traps to interested components. This server layer component is responsible for receiving all alarm notifications.

The configuration manager provides security services to the server and the agents.

The event manager receives event information from the agents. These events can trigger alarms, which are forwarded to the console.

Agent Layer

The agent layer monitors, gathers information about, and manages objects on the nodes that the Sun Management Center software manages. The server layer uses SNMP to interact with the agent layer to gain access to the managed objects.

Sun Management Center agents are scalable, extensible, and SNMP-based. The agents monitor and manage objects by loading modules that focus on a specific aspect of the system, as well as application health and performance. These objects represent hardware, operating systems, and applications.

The agents use rules to determine the status of the managed objects. When the conditions that a rule specifies become true, the software automatically generates alarms and performs actions as the rule specifies.

Server Context

The server layer and agent layers together are referred to as a Sun Management Center server context. When you start the console, you log in to a particular server context. The managed objects whose agents send information to that server belong to the same server context.

A managed object can belong to the same server context or to a remote server context. A managed object in a remote server context sends information to a different server. A managed object in the same server context sends information to the server host that is connected to your console.

By default, the Sun Management Center software manages an object in the same server context but only monitors an object in a remote server context. For more precise definitions of “manage” and “monitor,” see Glossary. For more information about server contexts and security, see Sun Management Center Remote Server Access.

Figure 1–3 Console Logs Into a Server Context