About the N1 Grid Service Provisioning System

The N1 Grid Service Provisioning System software is an enterprise-class software platform that automates the deployment, configuration, and analysis of applications in data centers.

The provisioning software applies an object-oriented approach to:

• Application components

• Tasks that IT operators perform on application components: configuration, deployment, and analysis.

This object-oriented approach ensures that all the intelligence about an application is automatically taken into account every time that application is acted upon. This consistency makes data center operations more accurate and less prone to error. Through knowledge of what an application requires as a whole, IT operators gain unprecedented control over applications and data center operations.

The provisioning system can help you perform the following tasks.

• Automate and manage software rollouts, patches, and upgrades

• Develop models of your existing deployment processes

• Determine what software is installed on your hosts

• Compare the configurations of hosts

• Monitor and maintain documented and consistent configurations

For more information about the different provisioning system applications, see Overview of N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Applications in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Installation Guide.

Starting the N1 Grid Service Provisioning System Applications

Before you can begin to configure the provisioning system you must start the Master Server, Remote Agents, and Local Distributors.

Starting Applications on Solaris OS, Red Hat Linux, and IBM AIX Systems

The following table lists the commands to start the N1 Grid Service Provisioning System software applications on Solaris OS, Red Hat Linux, and IBM AIX systems. N1SPS-home is the home directory of the application.

Do not use the Bourne shell to start the Master Server or other N1 Grid Service Provisioning System software applications. If you start the Master Server process using the cr_server start command in a Bourne shell, and if a ^C command is issued to any subsequent command in the same shell that started the Master Server, then the database and Master Server processes stop.

In the N1SPS5.0-home/server/bin/roxdb.out file, the following messages appear as the most recent entries:

DEBUG:  fast shutdown request
DEBUG:  aborting any active transactions

Starting Applications on Windows Systems

On Windows systems, you start the Master Server, Local Distributor, and Remote Agent in the Services Panel. You start the CLI Client from a DOS window.

To start the Master Server, Local Distributor, or Remote Agent, click the Start menu, then Programs -> Administrative Tools -> Services. In the Services panel, find the name of the application and start it.

System User Interfaces

After you have started the provisioning system applications, you can access the provisioning system through three interfaces.

Browser Interface

This primary interface to the provisioning system interacts with the Master Server through the Master Server's built-in web server. The object-oriented design allows quick navigation and the ability to monitor the system without the need to reference commands. Automation is available to ease component and plan creation. Some activities can only be accomplished by using this interface, such as performing bulk move procedures.

For information about how to access the browser interface, see How to Launch the Browser Interface.

Command-Line Interface: Single-Command Mode

This CLI mode enables you to issue a single command from a shell to the Master Server. You can also use the CLI to write scripts in languages other than Jython.

For information about how to access and use the non-interactive CLI interface, see N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

Command-Line Interface: Interactive mode

This CLI mode allows you to embed CLI commands into sophisticated object-oriented scripts. The Jython Interpreter also allows you to submit multiple CLI commands to the Master Server.

For information about how to access and use the CLI Jython interface, see N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

How to Launch the Browser Interface

Before You Begin

The Master Server must be installed and running. For information about how to start the Master Server, see Starting the N1 Grid Service Provisioning System Applications.

Steps

1. In a web browser, navigate to the home page of the Master Server.

   The URL for the Master Server is configured during the installation process. If you don't know the web address for your master server, consult the person who installed and configured the N1 Grid Service Provisioning System software.

   The default location is http://masterserver-hostname:8080.

2. Type your user name and password in the appropriate fields.

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   Note –

   The provisioning system is installed with an administrator account called admin. The password for this account is set during installation.

   For more information about the admin user account, see Default User Account.

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3. Click Log In.

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   Tip –

   To log in without using your mouse, press the Tab key after you type the password. Then press the Return key to initiate the login process.

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How to Launch the Single-Command Mode CLI

For information about how to access and use the single-command CLI interface, see N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

Step

From a machine where the CLI Client application is installed, type the command you need to run.

N1SPS-home/cli/bin/cr_cli -cmd subsystem.object.command -u user -p password

For more information on command syntax and command output formats, see Chapter 1, Using the Command-Line Interface, in N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

How to Launch the Interactive Mode CLI

For information about how to access and use the CLI Jython interface, see the N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

Steps

1. From a machine where the CLI Client application and Jython are installed, start the Interactive Mode CLI.

   N1SPS-home/cli/bin/cr_clij

2. Include the following code at the beginning of your script.

   from clui import * app=PyCLUI() app.execStr(CLI command) App.close()

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   Note –

   The assignment app=PyCLUI() calls the CLI. The App.close() call deletes the instance of this Jython class.

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