Cluster Systems Management

Cluster Systems Management (CSM) for AIX® is designed for simple, low-cost management of distributed and clustered IBM Power Systems in technical and commercial computing environments. CSM, included with the IBM Power Systems high performance computer solutions dramatically simplifies administration of a cluster by providing management from a single point-of-control.

CSM reduces the cost and complexity of systems management

CSM is a comprehensive systems management tool designed to reduce the cost and complexity of system deployment and maintenance by enabling a small number of administrators to manage large environments efficiently:

• CSM improves administrator efficiency by controlling multiple, heterogeneous machines from a single point, enabling fast responses and consistent policies, updates and monitoring by a small staff.
• CSM provides monitoring with automated responses and notification to ensure problems are recognized and addressed quickly with minimal distraction.
• CSM simplifies management with pre-defined functions for common tasks and pre-defined monitors for key system metrics. Complex functions and monitors can be defined for easy, single-command or point-and-click use.
• Management by group eliminates both the need to address each machine individually and the risk of accidental oversight/omission. CSM can even build groups automatically based on machine characteristics.
• CSM improves security and efficiency by giving administrators access to the commands they need without having to give every administrator high authorization. Security configuration is performed automatically.

In addition to providing all the key functions for administration and maintenance of typical distributed systems, CSM is designed to deliver the parallel execution required to manage clustered computing environments effectively. CSM provides the following system management capabilities for IBM Power Systems nodes in a managed cluster:

• Installation and setup commands to create and configure the cluster easily.
• Security configuration across the cluster is performed automatically, eliminating the need to manually distribute encryption keys etc.
• Create node groups within the cluster and manage machines by group. Node groups can be defined manually or dynamically.
• Remote command execution across multiple nodes (or node groups) in the cluster; CSM tracks and displays the status of each command on each machine.
• A configuration file manager to distribute and synchronize files across nodes or node groups in the cluster.
• Comprehensive monitoring of system parameters and status with event display and automated responses (for example, a file system filling up can send an event to the CSM console and automatically notify an administrator and trigger a script to remove all temporary files).
• Software diagnostic tools minimize down time by systematically analyzing software components and servers to find the root cause of problems quickly.
• Scalable, remote hardware control and console access allows administrators to manage systems from a remote location. This enables centralized management of systems in different locations, increasing administrative efficiency.
• Fully scriptable command line interface supports user-defined commands to automate complex tasks.
• Administrators can be authorized to perform specific tasks that exceed their overall authorization level, enabling them to do their jobs effectively without compromising security.
• Web-based interface provides control and management of a CSM cluster including:
  • Updating and removal of nodes from the cluster
  • Creation and deletion of node groups
  • Distributed command execution including user-defined commands
  • Visual monitoring capabilities
  • Hardware control capabilities
• CSM is flexible and fully customizable to fit into and augment your existing administrative processes. Users can add their own power methods, console methods, MAC methods, post-install scripts, CFM pre/post scripts, sensors, conditions, responses and probes.