Auditing Software Configurations by Using the Browser Interface

This section describes how to use the browser interface to audit managed hosts.

To learn how to create folders and perform management tasks in the Change Manager repository, see Chapter 8, Maintaining the Change Manager Repository (Tasks). None of the procedures described in Chapter 8, Maintaining the Change Manager Repository (Tasks) are required to perform audit tasks, though you might want to create a hierarchy of folders in the repository.

To learn how to create host groups and perform management tasks on the Change Manager topology, see Chapter 9, Maintaining the Change Manager Topology (Tasks). None of the procedures described in Chapter 9, Maintaining the Change Manager Topology (Tasks) are required to perform audit tasks, though you might want to create a hierarchy of host groups in the topology.

To learn how to navigate through the browser interface, see Appendix A, Navigating Through the Change Manager Browser Interface (Reference).

How to Access the Files Section and Appropriate Folder (Web Browser)

Note that the top of the Files section hierarchy is a folder.

1. To go to the Files section, click the Files tab in the general links area at the top of the page.

   The top-level Files page shows a table, which can contain files and folders. The table is a file manager.

2. Drill down to the appropriate folder.

   Click a folder name to go into that folder. Then, view the folder's contents. Continue to click folder names until you reach the folder or file you want.

How to Create an Audit Rules File (Web Browser)

You create an audit rules file so that you can do the following:

• Build a manifest for a managed host

• Audit managed hosts by comparing manifests against a baseline manifest

1. If you are not already in the appropriate folder, see How to Access the Files Section and Appropriate Folder (Web Browser).

2. From the File Actions menu, choose New Audit Rules.

3. Supply the following information:

   • Choose a meaningful audit rules file name. For example, choose a name that describes the rules, usr-only. Add the .brul suffix to complete the audit rules file name, usr-only.brul.

   • Customize the sample rules in the Contents field. For more information about creating the rules file, see Audit Rules File Format.

4. When the audit rules are complete, click Save to create the audit rules file.

   Click Cancel to return to the previous page.

How to Import an Audit Rules File to the Change Manager Repository (Web Browser)

Import an audit rules file to the Change Manager repository. The audit rules file is used to build manifests and audit managed hosts.

The time required to import a file to the Change Manager repository depends on the size of the file and the speed of the network.

1. If you are not already in the appropriate folder, see How to Access the Files Section and Appropriate Folder (Web Browser).

2. From the File Actions menu, choose Import Audit Rules.

3. Supply the following information:

   • Choose a meaningful audit rules file name. For example, choose a name that describes the type of rules or audit coverage, such as usr-only. Add the .brul suffix to complete the audit rules file name, usr-only.brul.

   • Path name of the rules file to import. Click Browse to find the rules file.

4. When the information is complete, click Import to copy the rules file to the Change Manager repository.

   Click Cancel to return to the previous page.

How to Import a Manifest to the Change Manager Repository (Web Browser)

The manifests are created by the Build Manifests command.

The time required to import a file to the Change Manager repository depends on the size of the file and the speed of the network.

1. If you are not already in the appropriate folder, see How to Access the Files Section and Appropriate Folder (Web Browser).

2. From the File Actions menu, choose Import Manifest.

3. Supply the following information:

   • Manifest name. Choose a meaningful name. For example, choose a name that describes the audit rules used, the managed host's name, and the date and time of the audit. Add the .bmft suffix to complete the manifest name, usr-only.host12.may122002.bmft.

   • Path name to the manifest file to import. Click Browse to find the manifest.

4. When the information is complete, click Import to copy the manifest to the Change Manager repository.

   Click Cancel to return to the previous page.

How to Access the Hosts Section and Appropriate Administrative Domain and Host Group (Web Browser)

1. To go to the Hosts section, click the Hosts tab in the general links area at the top of the page.

   • If more than one administrative domain exists, you go to a page showing a table that lists the available administrative domains. Go to Step 2.

   • If only one administrative domain exists, the page shows a table that lists managed hosts and host groups in the default domain. Go to Step 3.

2. (Optional) Click the name of the administrative domain to use.

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   Note -

   Use Sun Management Center to create a new administrative domain. See "Using Sun Management Center Administrative Domains" in Sun Management Center 3.0 Software User's Guide.

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3. Drill down to the appropriate host group.

   Click a host group name to go into that host group. Then, view the host group's contents. Continue to click host group names until you reach the host group or managed host you want.

How to Add a Managed Host (Web Browser)

Managed host properties are the same as those specified for shared profiles. For information about the properties and property values, see Chapter 10, Creating Shared Profiles and Host Properties (Reference).

A managed host can be a client of only one Change Manager server. To change control of a managed host to another Change Manager server, see Internal error: unable to establish probe connection Appears When Running Jobs on Managed Hosts.

1. If you are not already in the appropriate host group, see How to Access the Hosts Section and Appropriate Administrative Domain and Host Group (Web Browser).

2. From the Host Actions menu, choose Add Host.

   The host property page appears.

3. Supply the following information:

   • Host name.

   • Ethernet address of the managed host.

   • Platform group of the managed host.

   • Port number configured on the agent to communicate with the server.

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     Note -

     If you change the value of this property after installing a managed host, the Change Manager server will no longer be able to communicate with it. To reestablish communication with the server by using the new agent port, you must re-initialize the managed host by performing an initial installation on it.

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   • Shared profile to use to install or update the managed host.

   • Parameter values that customize the Solaris Flash archive for the managed host.

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   Note -

   If a shared profile already exists for this managed host, you only need to specify the name of the shared profile. You can override any archive-specific parameter values specified in the shared profile by clicking the Load button. Then, you can update these parameter value fields on the host properties page.

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4. Click Add to add the managed host.

   Click Cancel to return to the previous page.

How to Build Manifests for Managed Hosts (Web Browser)

1. If you are not already in the appropriate host group, see How to Access the Hosts Section and Appropriate Administrative Domain and Host Group (Web Browser).

2. Select the managed hosts and host groups for which you want to build manifests.

   For example, select host1 and host2 by clicking the checkbox next to host1 and host2.

3. From the Host Actions menu, choose Build Manifests.

4. Supply a meaningful job name.

   For example, the job name might be Build manifests for host1 and host2.

5. Determine when you want to run the job, either now or at another time.

   • To initiate the job immediately, click the Start Now radio button.

   • Run the job at a later time by specifying the start date and start time.

     • Start date. Click the date or specify the date in the mm/dd/yyyy format.

       mm and dd are two-digit forms for the month and day. yyyy is the four-digit form for the year.

     • Start time. Choose the start time from the hour and minute pull-down menus.

6. Specify the path name of the audit rules file to use.

   Click Browse to open a file chooser to help in the search for the audit rules file in the Change Manager repository.

   To add an audit rules file to the Change Manager repository, see How to Create an Audit Rules File (Web Browser) and How to Import an Audit Rules File to the Change Manager Repository (Web Browser). See the description of the Audit Rules File Format.

   For example, the audit rules file is /files/web-server/usr-only.brul.

7. Specify the path name of the folder in which to store the manifest.

   For example, store the resulting manifests in the /files/web-server folder.

8. Supply the prefix for the manifest file name.

   The prefix helps identify the manifest.

   For example, the prefix name might be usr-only to indicate the rules file used to generate the manifests. The resulting manifest file name for host1 might look like usr-onlyhost1.brul.

9. Click Submit to build the manifests, or click Cancel to return to the previous page.

   This operation takes some time to complete.

10. When the operation completes, view the manifests.

    1. Click the Files tab at the top of the web page to go to the Files section.

    2. Drill down to the folder where you stored the manifests.

    3. Click the manifest name to go to its property page.

       You can view one manifest at a time.

       If the manifest is very large, use the Prev and Next buttons to navigate between pages.

    4. To return to the folder that holds the manifests, click Back.

       Repeat Steps 10c and 10d to view more manifests.

For example, Suzi can schedule a job to build manifests for the /hosts/web-server/apache/host1 and /hosts/web-server/apache/host2 managed hosts. The manifests will be stored in the /files/web-server folder. Each file name will use usr-only as the prefix. The audit rules file to be used is called /files/web-server/usr-only.brul. The operation is scheduled to start on June 27th at 3:00 a.m.

How to Audit Managed Hosts (Web Browser)

Audit managed hosts by comparing them to a baseline manifest.

1. If you are not already in the appropriate host group, see How to Access the Hosts Section and Appropriate Administrative Domain and Host Group (Web Browser).

2. Select the managed hosts and host groups to compare.

   For example, select host1 and host2 by clicking the checkbox next to host1 and host2.

3. From the Host Actions menu, choose Audit.

4. Supply a meaningful job name.

   For example, the job name might be Compare host1 and host2.

5. Determine when you want to run the job, either now or at another time.

   • To initiate the job immediately, click the Start Now radio button.

   • Run the job at a later time by specifying the start date and start time.

     • Start date. Click the date or specify the date in the mm/dd/yyyy format.

       mm and dd are two-digit forms for the month and day. yyyy is the four-digit form for the year.

     • Start time. Choose the start time from the hour and minute pull-down menus.

6. Specify the path name of the audit rules file to use.

   Click Browse to open a file chooser to help in the search for the audit rules file in the Change Manager repository.

   To add an audit rules file to the Change Manager repository, see How to Create an Audit Rules File (Web Browser) and How to Import an Audit Rules File to the Change Manager Repository (Web Browser). See the description of the Audit Rules File Format.

   For example, the audit rules file is /files/web-server/usr-only.brul.

7. To specify the baseline manifest, do one of the following:

   • Specify the path name of the baseline manifest.

   • Click Browse to find the baseline manifest.

   For example, the baseline manifest is /files/web-server/usr-only.baseline.bmft.

8. To specify the report file, do one of the following:

   • Specify the path name of the report file.

   • Click Browse to choose the report file in which to store the results.

   For example, the report file is stored in /files/web-server/host1-host2.usr-only.compare.txt.

9. Click Submit to initiate the manifest comparison, or click Cancel to return to the previous page.

   The compare operation takes some time to complete.

10. When the operation completes, view the generated comparison reports.

    1. Click the Files tab at the top of the web page to go to the Files section.

    2. Drill down to the folder where you stored the comparison reports.

    3. Click the comparison report name to go to the property page.

       You can view one comparison report at a time.

       If the comparison report is very large, use the Prev and Next buttons to navigate between pages.

    4. To return to the folder that holds the comparison reports, click Back.

       Repeat Steps 10c and 10d to view more comparison reports.

How to Get the Software Status of Managed Hosts (Web Browser)

1. If you are not already in the appropriate host group, see How to Access the Hosts Section and Appropriate Administrative Domain and Host Group (Web Browser).

2. Select the managed hosts and host groups for which you want to get the software status.

   For example, select host1 and host2 by clicking the checkbox next to host1 and host2.

3. From the Host Actions menu, choose Get Software Status.

4. Supply a meaningful job name.

   For example, the job name might be Get Software Status for host1 and host2.

5. Determine when you want to run the job, either now or at another time.

   • To initiate the job immediately, click the Start Now radio button.

   • Run the job at a later time by specifying the start date and start time.

     • Start date. Click the date or specify the date in the mm/dd/yyyy format.

       mm and dd are two-digit forms for the month and day. yyyy is the four-digit form for the year.

     • Start time. Choose the start time from the hour and minute pull-down menus.

6. To specify the report file, do one of the following:

   • Specify the path name of the report file.

   • Click Browse to choose the report file in which to store the results.

   For example, the report file is stored in /files/web-server/host1-host2.software.status.txt.

7. Click Submit to get the software status, or click Cancel to return to the previous page.

   The software status operation takes some time to complete.

8. When the operation completes, view the generated software status reports.

   1. Go to the Files section.

      Click the Files tab at the top of the page.

   2. Drill down to the folder where you stored the software status reports.

   3. Click the name of the software status report to go to the property page.

      You can view one software status report at a time.

      If the software status report is very large, use the Prev and Next buttons to navigate between pages.

   4. To return to the folder that holds the software status reports, click Back.

      Repeat Steps 8c and 8d to view more software status reports.