Sun Management Center Architecture and Base Components

The Sun Management Center software management framework is based on a three-tier architecture consisting of the Sun Management Center console, server, and agent components, which provide the core Sun Management Center functions.

Figure 2–1 Sun Management Center Basic Architecture

• The Server executes management tasks and sends requests to Sun Management Center agents to perform management tasks. The server stores network hardware and software information as well as network and Sun Management Center configuration in a database. The Sun Management Center server is normally installed on a single dedicated machine, and only one Sun Management Center server is required on a network.

• The Agent responds to the Sun Management Center Server directives, accesses management information on the local machine, provides alarm determination, and monitors local resources. The agent is automatically installed on the Sun Management Center server machine and must be separately installed on any machine that you wish to monitor.

• The Java Console is the graphical user interface that you use to monitor your network and run network management tasks.

• The web console is an alternate user interface to the Java Console and has a subset of the Java Console's features.

• The Sun Management Center Web server is installed with the server layer on the same host as the server layer.

  The Web Server enables you to access the Sun Management Center web console from any system that supports any one of the following Web browsers:

  • Internet Explorer 6.0

  • Mozilla^TM 1.7

  • Firefox 2.0

Sun Management Center initiates operations by sending requests to the Sun Management Center agents installed on each system. Based on SNMP technology, the agents process server requests. The agents also act autonomously, collecting and processing data locally. Agents can act on observed conditions to send SNMP traps (messages sent when errors or specific events occur on the network) or execute management operations. The agents can raise alarms or initiate specific actions through customized rules and thresholds even when connection to the manager is severed. For further information about SNMP, see Security Keys and SNMP Community String and SNMP Daemons and Legacy Agents.

Management and monitoring functions of the Sun Management Center agent are structured into loadable modules. The agent modules provide flexibility, enabling you to establish as little or as much monitoring and management as required on a per system basis. Additional modules can be dynamically loaded into Sun Management Center agents from the Sun Management Center console without disruption of the management or agent systems. For further information about Sun Management Center modules, see Appendix C, Sun Management Center Software Modules, in Sun Management Center 3.6.1 User’s Guide.