Conference azur::mcc

4614.0. "PC-Based SNMP Mgr./Agent Info." by BLUMON::WEISENFELD () Fri Feb 26 1993 11:52

                       PC SNMP Manager/Agent Overview   
                      --------------------------------

Product Contacts: 
=================

	Product Management/Marketing:	Sally Jeglinski	   DELNI::JEGLINSKI
					Marian Weisenfeld  BLUMON::WEISENFELD
	Project Leader:			Brad Kennedy	   SISE::KENNEDY
	Project Architect:		Steve Wong	   TOOK::WONG


Executive Summary:
==================

The PC SNMP Manager/Agent is targeted to solve three management problems:

	- Management of the PC LAN (servers, hubs, workstations) from a PC
	- Management of the Enterprise (hosts, routers, etc.) from a PC
	- Management of the PC LAN (servers, hubs, workstations) from an
           Enterprise Management Station (POLYCENTER Framework, POLYCENTER
           SNMP Manager, etc.)

The management capabilities envisioned for this product offering include 
determining information about PC clients and servers (such as configuration 
information, and information obtained via NOS protocols, etc.), and 
controlling resources (such as network management resources, to the extent 
allowed by management protocols such as SNMP).

The PC SNMP Manager/Agent will compliment existing PATHWORKs management
capabilities (e.g., user account management, queue management, etc.).  In
addition, this first product offering will be integrated with the HubWatch
application currently sold by NAC.  The PC SNMP Manager/Agent product 
delivers the basis for a management capability for LAN Administrators, MIS
professionals, and network managers so that it will also be a complimentary
offering as part of the POLYCENTER portfolio of management products.


Market Opportunity:
===================

The proliferation of PCs in the corporate environment continues to grow 
as many IT managers network PCs and implement client-server applications.  
Some applications which used to run on mainframes and minis are now available 
on PCs.  As PC LANs grow in a distributed fashion, Digital capture a portion 
of the emerging market opporutnity to manage PCs and PC LANs in the 
distributed, heterogeneous enterprise.  Digital's ability to provide
seamless system and network management along with the necessary integration
services will be key to future market growth.
    
However, in order to capitalize on this opportunity, Digital must build 
and distribute PC-based applications, which are different from the 
traditional VMS- and ULTRIX-based applications that comprise the POLYCENTER 
portfolio today.  Success in the PC application market requires intuitive, 
simple-to-use, functionally-rich, lower-priced and high-volume applications.  
These requirements must drive the product delivery strategy in areas like
product design,  product packaging, licensing and pricing.

    
Digital's PC management strategy is targeted at managing the PC 
environment from two market segments: 1.) The data center and 2.) The PC 
LAN.  Optimal solutions will consist of applications which can either 
run stand alone or be integrated into an enterprise or PC management 
station solution.
    
The distributed data center environment will use the POLYCENTER Framework 
and provide capabilities that will be available in FY93.  This piece of
the solution will also largely be applicable for workgroups that have UNIX 
workstations or Digital's Pathworks servers.
    
The solution for customers that have only PC LANs will require a 
management station shell which will activate applications that run on a 
PC.  These products will also be sold through the Small and Medium 
Enterprises channel which will allow VARs to provide enhanced solutions.
The PC SNMP Manager/Agent is being delivered for this customer segment.

    
Product Strategy:
=================

Digital will provide a suite of products to manage the PC LAN 
environment, focusing first on those areas having the greatest revenue 
potential, either directly, or through enhanced sales of our system and 
network management solutions.  Target areas include management of 
servers, PCs, and networking devices.  In non-strategic areas as well as 
where Digital lacks sufficient expertise, vendors will provide solutions 
to complete our offering.
    

Product Deliverables:
=====================

The PC SNMP Manager/Agent product is the first of a series of NSM 
deliverables which will provide PC-based solutions for PC management.
The following features are scheduled to be delivered in Version 1.0 for 
external field test in June 1993 with FRS in September 1993 (please refer
to Appendix A for a description of these items and associated diagrams).

    PC SNMP/UDP Manager
   ---------------------
        o  Network map
        o  Polling/alarming
        o  MIB compiler
        o  Launching of HUBwatch application
        o  Integration with the PCIs PATHWORK framework
        o  Well-defined launch of other applications (third-party hubs,
           configuration applications, etc.)
        o  Data-driven MIB Browser

    Event Manager/Trap Exploder
    ---------------------------
        o  Events forwarded to other SNMP/UDP Managers

    PC SNMP/UDP Agent
    ------------------
        o  Non-dynamically extensible SNMPv1/UDP agent with support for Host
           MIB ++ hardwired extensions



Component and Work Description:
===============================

The PC LAN environment consists of DOS Workstations, Windows Workstations, VMS
Servers, ULTRIX Servers, INTEL Servers, Bridges, Concentrators, HUBs, etc. The
VMS and ULTRIX Servers run PCIs PATHWORK product and provide print and file
services for the workstations, including the ability to manage these services.

The DSM POLYCENTER System Census collector runs on the DOS and Windows client
workstations, and collects configuration management information.  This
information can be collected via: their own daemons, DOS based configuration
management applications/programs (e.g., MSD), and by importing the information
from DMTF MIF files.  The collected information is stored on VMS, Ultrix, and
Intel server-resident disks.   The data can be collected at workstation boot
time or upon login to the server.  In the future, the ability to update the data
on demand, or when the data is deemed to be "stale" may be a feature that needs
to be added to POLYCENTER System Census. The configuration management
information stored on the servers can in turn be accessed by sub-agents of the
PC SNMP/UDP Agent part of the Console Client part of this project, by accessing
the server-resident files.  The configuration management information from the
workstation clients will be modeled into a "super" Host MIB and be accessed by
SNMP/UDP managers via the PC SNMP/UDP Agent.

The workstations and servers run NOS protocols (Netware, LAN Manager, and
Appleshare).  These protocols will be used by sub-agents of the PC SNMP/UDP
Agent to access server management information.  The server management
information from the servers will be modeled into the "super" Host MIB mentioned
above and be accessed by SNMP/UDP managers via the PC SNMP/UDP Agent. For the
first version, the sub-agents will not be dynamically extensible.  Dynamic
extensibility via support for the Microsoft SNMP API is planned for a follow-on
offering.

The EMF Common Agent product runs on the Ultrix servers and provides server host
(e.g., Host MIB) and network management (e.g., MIB II) information via SNMP over
UDP.  It provides this information to SNMP/UDP managers.

The SNMP managers mentioned above includes the PC SNMP/UDP Manager part of the
Console Client, as well as other (unrelated to this project) SNMP/UDP Managers
in the PC LAN environment or in the Enterprise.  The PC SNMP/UDP Manager part of
the Console Client can (via SNMP/UDP) access consolidated information such as
configuration management information about the clients from the servers, server
management information from the servers, host and network management information
from the Ultrix Server (via the Common Agent), Bridge, Concentrator, and HUB
management information via SNMP/UDP, and information from other SNMP/UDP
speaking devices in the PC LAN environment and in the Enterprise.  SNMP/IPX and
SNMP/DDP support is planned for a follow-on offering.

The user interface part of the Console Client will be developed as a mixture of
Object Management Modules (OMM) as well as loosely coupled launched applications
under the PATHWORKs GUI Framework.  The applications include the modified SNMP
Research applications (e.g., Poller, MIB Compiler, MIB Browser, MAP, alarms,
etc.) as well as additional applications (e.g., auto-discovery), as time and
resources permit.

SNMP traps from the Common Agent, NOS generated events, and pseudo events based
upon the configuration management information will be sunk to the Event
Manager/Trap Exploder part of the Console Client.  These events will be
subscribed to by applications, and by an SNMP/UDP trap emitter for relay to
SNMP/UDP speaking devices in the PC LAN environment and in the Enterprise. NOTE:
In the future, trap filter management will be accomplished via SNMP from any
SNMP/UDP speaking devices in the PC LAN environment and in the Enterprise. For
now, trap filter management will be accomplished via manipulation of an SNMP
configuration file.


Product Component Diagram:
==========================



               PC LAN                                            ENTERPRISE
+-----------------------------+                             +----------------+
| +-------------------------+ |                             |                |
| |DOS/Windows Workstation  | |                             |                |
| |    Configuration Info * | |                             |                |
| +------------V------------+ |                             |                |
|              |              |                             |                |
|              V              |                             |                |
| +-------------------------+ |      +-----+--------------+ | +------------+ |
| |ULTRIX/VAX/INTEL SERVER  | |      |     |              | | |            | |
| |            V            | |      |     |              +-+->  Any SNMP  | |
| |            +------------+-+----->|     | PC SNMP Agent| | |   Manager  | |
| |PC LAN NOS Server Info*>-+-+----->|     |              | | |            | |
| |  (LAN MGR, NETWARE)     | |      +--+--+--------------+ | +-----^------+ |
| |                         | |         |                   |       |        |
| |SNMP Network/Host Info   | |      +--v---------------+  +--------+        |
| | (if a SNMP agent     *>-+-+-+    | PW PC GUI CONSOLE|  ||                |
| |  is available)          | | |    +-^------^------^--+  ||                |
| |                         | | |      |      |      |     ||                |
| +-------------------------+ | |   +--+----+ |   +--+----+||                |
|                             | |  +-------+| |  +-------+||| +------------+ |
|                             | | +-------+|+ | +-------+|+|| |      *     | |
|                             | | |Applic*|+  | |Applic*|+ || |Network,    | |
| +-------------------------+ | | +-------+   | +-------+  || |RMON,       | |
| | Network/RMON Info       | | |             |            || |System Info | |
| | All PC LAN Devices who  | | |    +--------+---------+  || |from ALL    | |
| | have their own SNMP/UDP | | |    | PC SNMP Manager  |  || |Enterprise  | |
| | agents (e.g., BRIDGES,  | | |    +--------^---------+  || |Devices who | |
| | ROUTERS, CONCENTRATOTS) | | |             |            || |have their  | |
| |                         | | |             |            || |own SNMP/   | |
| |                      *>-+-+-+-------------+------------++-<UDP Agents  | |
| +-------------------------+ |                             | +------------+ |
+-----------------------------+                             +----------------+

Any updates on this project?

Thanks,
_Tak