Hp COMPAQ PROLIANT 3000, COMPAQ PROLIANT 2500, COMPAQ PROLIANT 4000, COMPAQ PROLIANT 800, COMPAQ PROLIANT 1000 Compaq Survey Utility

July 1998 Prepared by Management

Solutions Marketing Compaq Computer

Corporation

CONTENTS

Executive Summary .........1

Introduction.....................3

The Importance of

Service Tools...................3

What is Compaq

Survey Utility................... 4

Theory of operation................4

Key Features....................5

On-line Serviceab ility.............5

Simplified Collectio n ..............6

Audit Trail ............................. 6

Remote Insight in tegration ......7

How Compaq Survey Utility

Works ..............................7

Accessing and Viewing...........7

Collecting and Updating....... 11

Transferring and Printing......11

Conclusion ...................12

Specifications ............... 13

WHITE PAPER

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Compaq Survey Utility

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This paper provides an overview of the technology, features and use of Compaq Survey

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Utility.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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With the complexity of today’s server applications and the criticality of data stored on

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servers, maximizing server availability is a requirement in order to maintain the

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successful operation of a business. Compaq Survey Utility was designed as a service

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tool, in order to deliver enhanced serviceability for Compaq servers, and increase overall

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availability.

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In addition to robust management tools, service tools can be invaluable in bringing about

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the quick resolution of server problems. In order to streamline the service process, and

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resolve problems quickly, it is necessary to have the right information available at the

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time that a service call is placed. The primary information requirement, and the one that

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provides the greatest insight into potential server issues, is the configuration of the

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system. Compaq Survey Utility delivers this critical data, and addresses customer

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requirements for enhanced service tools and higher server availability through its

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comprehensive feature design:

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• On-line installation and operation: No requirement to take the server off-line or

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reboot the server in order to use Compaq Survey Utility

• Comprehensive configuration capture under a single tool: Gathers detailed hardware

and operating system configuration information under a single tool.

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Automatic configuration audit trail: Compaq Survey Utility automatically maintains a configuration history for the server. By storing multiple configuration snapshots and highlighting changes and differences, the utility is able to provide a detailed record of the server history.

This combination of features simplifies the service process, and minimizes downtime experienced by a server. Versions of Compaq Survey Utility are available for Microsoft Windows NT™ and Novell NetWare, and the utility is supported on all ProSignia and ProLiant servers.

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WHITE PAPER (cont.)

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NOTICE

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The information in this publication is subject to change without notice.

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OMPAQ COMPUTER CORPORATION SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR TECHNICAL

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OR EDITORIAL ERRORS OR OMISSIONS CONTAINED HEREIN

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INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES RESULTING FROM THE

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FURNISHING

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This publication does not constitute an endorsement of the product or products that were tested.

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The configuration or configurations tested or de scribed may or may not be the only available

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solution. This test is not a determination of product quality or correctness, nor does it ensure

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compliance with any federal, state or local requirements. Compaq does not warrant products other

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than its own strictly as stated in Compaq product warranties.

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Product names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their

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respective companies.

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Compaq, Contura, Deskpro, Fastart, Compaq Insight Manager, LTE, PageMarq, Systempro,

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Systempro/LT, ProLiant, TwinTray, LicensePaq, QVision, SLT, ProLinea, SmartStart, NetFlex,

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DirectPlus, QuickFind, RemotePaq, BackPaq, TechPaq, SpeedPaq, QuickBack, PaqFax, registered

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United States Patent and Trademark Office.

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Aero, Concerto, QuickChoice, ProSignia, Systempro/XL, Net1, SilentCool, LTE Elite, Presario,

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SmartStation, MiniStation, Vocalyst, PageMate, SoftPaq, FirstPaq, SolutionPaq, EasyPoint, EZ

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Help, MaxLight, MultiLock, QuickBlank, QuickLock, TriFlex Architecture and UltraView,

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CompaqCare and the Innovate logo, are trademarks and/or service marks of Compaq Computer

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Corporation.

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Other product names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their

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respective companies.

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Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT, Windows NT Advanced Server, SQL Server for Windows NT

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are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

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White Paper: Compaq Survey Utility

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Second Edition: July 1998

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Document Number : ECG075/0798

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, PERFORMANCE, OR USE OF THIS MATERIAL.

, NOR FOR

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WHITE PAPER (cont.)

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INTRODUCTION

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In today’s business environment servers are being deployed to run increasingly critical

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and complex applications. The successful operation of the business depends on the

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continuing operation of the servers. Therefore, server availability has become a key

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requirement.

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Enhanced server management tools have been developed to aid in optimizing the

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performance of the system and identifying potential problems before they are manifested

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to users on the system. In the event that a problem does occur, however, tools must be

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available that allows administrators to work issues and resolve problems without taking

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the server off-line. Tools that can provide on-line serviceability are able to deliver an

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increase in server availability, minimizing the interruption of daily business activities.

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Compaq Survey Utility was developed to fill the need for an on-line service tool.

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THE IMPORTANCE OF SERVICE TOOLS

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The complexity of environments combines with the fact that administration budgets and

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staffs are shrinking, resulting in the requirement that servers must not only be highly

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available, but tools must be available to make administrators more efficient. Effective

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service tools are as important as ongoing management tools in meeting this objective.

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Service tools ensure that in the event a problem does occur, it will be resolved quickly

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and easily in order for the server to continue to support users and applications.

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Administrators today encounter a number of challenges in managing their environments.

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As a result of these challenges, specific requirements have emerged in terms of improving

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serviceability. The primary requirements for service tools include:

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• On-line functionality to identify and resolve problems without taking the server off-

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• Simplify the collection process for gathering the information required to effectively

resolve service cases

• Deliver automatic configuration tracking and audit trail history that is accessible on-

demand

Fulfilling all of these requirements results in:

• Faster problem resolution times

• Minimized administration costs and resources

• Higher server availability

Compaq Survey Utility was designed to address these user requirements and deliver the benefits of higher availability and minimized costs.

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WHITE PAPER (cont.)

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WHAT IS COMPAQ SURVEY UTILITY?

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Compaq Survey Utility is an online information-gathering agent similar to other Compaq

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management agents that run on servers. It gathers critical hardware and software

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information from various sources to give a complete view of the server. Survey Utility

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delivers comprehensive configuration capture, provides a means for automatically

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identifying and comparing configuration changes, and automatically maintains a server

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configuration history. The information is saved as a history of multiple sessions in a

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single configuration history file that can be downloaded to the user’s system.

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This utility was developed to allow resolution of problems without taking the server off-

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line and to assist in maximizing server availability. The information obtained by the

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utility is useful in troubleshooting server problems, and streamlines the service process

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by enabling quick and easy identification of server configurations, which is the first step

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in resolving service cases.

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Compaq Survey Utility version 2.04 and later includes a web browser interface in

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addition to the command-line interface to allowing access using a familiar user interface.

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This also enables remote control of the utility and facilitates easy transfer of survey

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information from remote machines to a service provider.

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Theory of Operation

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The Compaq Survey Utility captures data as sessions; a session is defined as an organized

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group of data describing the configured state of the system at a specific point in time. The

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Compaq Survey Utility maintains up to 10 distinct sessions.

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The session information is maintained in a file called SURVEY.IDI, located in the same

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directory as the executable portion of the program. This file contains all of the binary

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information captured for every session. This file can be analyzed locally by the Survey

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