IBM CSM to IBM Systems Director Transformation Guide

Chapter 2. Planning and preparation 9

򐂰 Platform Agent

Also IBM-provided software that provides a subset of Common Agent functions. Used to

communicate with and administer managed systems, including hardware alerts and status

information.

򐂰 Managed System

Systems discovered, managed and monitored by the Management Server. Can refer to a

virtual operating system instance, a standalone server, a physical server that hosts virtual

servers, and more.

򐂰 Agentless managed systems

Systems managed by the Management Server without Common Agent or Platform Agent

installed. Communication with these systems uses native protocols such as Secure Shell

(SSH), Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), Common Information Model

(CIM), and more.

2.2.2 Manageable system types

Systems managed by IBM Systems Director can be hardware or software based. All of the

entities that have an IP address and can be discovered by IBM Systems Director are

considered systems. Here are some important ones when it comes to Power Systems:

򐂰 Operating System

Operating system software instance installed and running on a physical or virtual server.

In Power Systems these are Logical Partitions or Full-System Partitions running AIX,

IBM i, Virtual I/O Server (VIOS) or Linux on Power operating systems.

򐂰 Server or Host

A physical computer system. In Power Systems, this is a machine able to host multiple

LPARs or a single partition system.

򐂰 Platform Manager

A component that provides access to virtualized resources.

򐂰 Hardware Management Console

A special type of Platform Manager that provides access, via the Flexible Service

Processor (FSP), to Power System servers.

򐂰 Integrated Virtualization Manager

Another type of Platform Manager that provides access to virtualized Power Blades and

small- to medium-class Power Systems servers.

򐂰 System Chassis

An enclosure for one or more blades, both Power and x86.

2.2.3 Base functions

Base functions, also called plug-ins, provide basic functions in IBM Systems Director allowing

it to perform management of IBM servers, virtual servers, storage and network resources.

򐂰 Discovery Manager

Provides predefined discovery protocols for virtual and physical systems on TCP/IP

networks. Collects information (inventory) about systems and displays system

relationships.