Data sheet HP NonStop Software Essentials Simplify NonStop software management Managing software versions on any system can be a complicated task. With the scale that a NonStop system provides, this task can be even more challenging. HP NonStop Software Essentials is an HP strategic product to improve NonStop software management, and further reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) of NonStop customers. HP NonStop Software Essentials is part of the HP NonStop Essentials product family and is a plug-in to HP Systems Insight Manager (SIM). It is a software installation and management tool for all NonStop servers running G-series, H-series, and J-series software. NonStop Software Essentials uses the same server as used by the Distributed System Management/Software Configuration Management (DSM/SCM) Planner Interface, thus preserving all software packages created by customers using DSM/SCM. NonStop Software Essentials provides a complete functional replacement for the DSM/SCM Planner Interface, and provides some additional functionality not available in the Planner Interface. It is more secure, easy to use, provides better auditing, and overcomes other shortcomings of DSM/SCM. HP NonStop Software Essentials is part of base NonStop OS and does not need to be ordered separately. The NonStop Software Essentials server component is included in NonStop OS Release Version Update (RVU) J06.13 and later as well as H06.24 and later, and can be downloaded from NonStop SPR Scout for customers running previous J-series and H-series RVUs. 1 Similarly, NonStop Software Essentials Windows and Linux client components are included in the HP Insight Control for NonStop 6.3 (companion DVD to NonStop System Console Installer, Update 17) and later, and can be downloaded from NonStop SPR Scout for customers using previous NonStop System Console (NSC) software. Key features 1 Customers running G-series RVUs can order NSE01V2 to get the NonStop Software Essentials server component. HP NonStop Software Essentials provides the following key features: Web-based user interface Management of the archived software Ability to receive software packages into the archive Ability to receive snapshots into the host database Exporting of product and developer files Creation and management of software configuration revisions Interfaces for installing software onto multiple systems, and building and applying the revisions Dynamic display of request status across host and target boundaries Creation and review of reports for multiple systems, including one step software audit of the installed software on the system Management of planners and host administrators Management of physical and logical targets Ability to perform actions that previously required use of the block mode host and target interfaces
Key benefits The major benefits of HP NonStop Software Essentials include: User-friendly experience The Web interface greatly improves the usability over the DSM/SCM Planner Interface. Most displays are dynamic and do not require manual refresh. Tooltips are available to help describe icon behavior. Ability to install software from anywhere As the NonStop Software Essentials Web interface is available from any workstation with a Web browser, it provides a way to install software onto NonStop systems without installing the DSM/SCM Planner Interface on the workstation. Connection to multiple systems Multiple NonStop Software Essentials sessions can be created for concurrent connections to different systems. Consolidated interface NonStop Software Essentials provides some functionality that was previously only supported in the separate host and target interfaces. Enhanced security All the data in motion between the Central Management Server (CMS) and NonStop systems is secured using HTTPS. Access to all NonStop Software Essentials features is controlled using NonStop and DSM/SCM security. User credentials are periodically reauthenticated. Unified request status The complete status of requests that span multiple NonStop systems is shown in a single interface. Host and target activities can be cancelled and restarted. Enhanced software audit A simple one-step method of creating a report to verify that the software installed on multiple systems is what was intended to be installed. This helps customers comply with security and audit requirements. Additional functionality NonStop Software Essentials provides functionality beyond what DSM/SCM offers, such as the ability to compare new revisions with Site Update Tapes (SUTs) and other revisions. Integration with HP SIM NonStop Software Essentials is a plug-in to HP SIM, which provides a single pane of glass for all hardware and software management across the data center. When used with HP NonStop Cluster Essentials, HP NonStop Performance Essentials, HP NonStop I/O Essentials, HP Insight Control Power Management and HP Insight Remote Support Advanced, HP NonStop Software Essentials provides a complete manageability solution for NonStop systems from the HP SIM interface. 32-bit and 64-bit CMS support NonStop Software Essentials is supported on both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows and Linux CMSs. Virtual CMS support NonStop Software Essentials is supported on CMSs running VMware ESX and ESXi. User-friendly Web-based interface HP NonStop Software Essentials provides an easy to use Web-based user interface. This interface is available from any workstation with a Web browser, making it available virtually anywhere. The NonStop Software Essentials home page provides links and menus for all the software management tasks, categorized for easy access. A tree is always displayed in the navigation panel, for convenient viewing of all the software packages and package groups in the archive, as well as the configuration revisions and targets. Indicators are displayed to provide quick access to the host connection status. Tooltips provide useful explanations about 2
icons in the product. There is no need to manage multiple floating windows for a single system like the Planner Interface. The user can easily sign out and log onto another system, or bring up multiple instances of NonStop Software Essentials from HP SIM, for different systems or the same system. Figure 1: NonStop Software Essentials home page Software archive management HP NonStop Software Essentials provides multiple views of the software archive. The user can view all the software packages in the archive, only SUTs, Base SPRs or Update SPRs, only packages in a user-defined package group, and all user-defined package groups. The list of software packages in the archive can be sorted by package name, received date, received by, vendor, or type, making it easier to locate any package of interest. Groups can be used to organize packages into collections based on different criteria. Packages can also be deleted, which is an action that previously had to be done from the host interface utility. In addition, packages can be exported from these views. Users can click on a software package to get more information about it, such as when it was received into the archive, the release level, and a list of all the products in that package. The software package name and description can be modified. Product name, product number, product version, and processor type are also displayed and can be sorted. Products can be organized into groups based on different criteria. Figure 2: All software packages and software package views 3
A separate view of all the files in a product is available. The list of files in the product can be sorted by file name or fingerprint, and the files can be exported. Figure 3: View of the product files Receiving software HP NonStop Software Essentials provides support for receiving software packages into the archive. Users can specify information about which package to receive and when to receive it. The specification of inputs is well organized into separate tabs to provide easy access and management of the inputs. NonStop Software Essentials also provides the capability to perform a better targeted subvolume search and find distributed subvolumes containing packaged software. Figure 4: Receiving software into the archive 4
Receiving snapshots HP NonStop Software Essentials provides the capability to receive snapshots into the host database from a file or tape drive. Snapshots provide the host database with information about the software configurations on the target system. NonStop Software Essentials supports both an expand-connected network and a non-expand environment. In an expand-connected network, target snapshots can be generated, transferred, and received by the host as part of the Build/Apply, Back Out, or Independent Snapshot request. In a non-expand environment, a snapshot can be manually transferred from the target to the host and then received into the host database by issuing a Receive snapshot request on the host. Figure 5: Receiving a snapshot into the host database Management of software revisions HP NonStop Software Essentials provides the ability to manage all software configuration revisions. A table lists all logical targets for the systems managed by the host, along with their latest revisions and attributes of the revisions. This is updated dynamically, providing the user up-to-date information. The data can also be sorted to customize the presentation. From this interface, users can determine the latest software revisions, create and install a new revision for a target, and audit the software on the system. Information provided includes the clone group (that is, a collection of NonStop systems all running an identical set of software managed by one master system), clone role (Master or Clone), and the state of the latest revision. Users can also view the owner of the revision and whether they are in the same planner group. Figure 6: Configuration revisions display 5
The user can perform target creation and maintenance with HP NonStop Software Essentials. Targets can be created based on an existing target or with all new attributes. Targets can also be modified, deleted, and initialized. Figure 7: Modifying a target HP NonStop Software Essentials provides the history of all software revisions for each target. The list of revisions for the target can be displayed, along with the release, submitted date, state, and built and applied dates. This view provides the capability to see the details of any revision, edit a revision, and delete a revision. A tree table shows all the products in the revision and any groups the products belong to. Groups can be used to organize products by different criteria. Figure 8: Configuration revision history Creation of software revisions HP NonStop Software Essentials provides an integrated interface to create, edit, or view a software revision, edit revision notes, and perform any action required for creating a software revision. The interface for creating and editing revisions shows all the sources of software side-by-side to select from and the new software configuration being created, along with the actions that can be performed on the software configuration under construction. Entire packages can be copied to a software configuration simply by loading the software package container into the source table and selecting the package(s) to copy. The new revision can be easily compared with SUTs or other revisions. User-friendly symbols indicate the products only on one side or products on both sides but with different versions. In addition, the correctness of the new software revision is validated, and any inconsistencies are presented to the user. 6
Figure 9: Creating or editing a software revision Building and applying software revisions After creating the new revision, the next step of building and applying the revision is seamlessly invoked by HP NonStop Software Essentials. The options for the build and apply are similar to those in the DSM/SCM Planner Interface, helping with migration to NonStop Software Essentials. The options are presented in a user-friendly tab format, so that there is no need to manage multiple floating input windows. All inputs by the user are validated. Also, defaults are set so that the user is not required to customize any settings unless needed by the customer environment. Figure 10: Building and applying a software revision Integrated request status monitoring HP NonStop Software Essentials displays the real-time status of requests issued by the user. If the request spans multiple systems, the status on each system is displayed. This allows the user to view the entire lifecycle of the request across host and target boundaries in one interface, and to resolve issues in any part of the request without having to access multiple utilities to find the data. DSM/SCM interfaces did not show the complete status of requests that spanned multiple NonStop systems. For example, a Build/Apply request has four sequential activities, starting on the host system, then moving to the target system, and ending back on the host system. Neither DSM/SCM host nor target system interfaces showed the complete status of the activities, even when the host and target were the same system. NonStop Software Essentials provides consolidated request status reports across the host and 7
target boundaries even if the host and target are different systems. The user can cancel and restart target activities, which was previously only possible from the Target Interface. For clone Build/Apply requests, all targets are shown for the Apply step. Cancelling and restarting during the Apply step is also supported for all or selected targets in the clone group. EMS events for all events on the system related to an entire request can be viewed in a separate window by a button click. The EMS events may be collected from both the host and the target. Build/Apply requests also provide access to viewing the planner instructions. Figure 11: Build/Apply request status HP NonStop Software Essentials also displays a list of all issued requests, along with a snapshot of the status of each of these requests. All requests from the host and target are aggregated, and the user can click on an individual request to view the detailed status. This aggregated request view is updated automatically to display any new requests and update the status of existing requests providing a real-time, at-a-glance view of the pending, executing, and completed activities. Build/Apply requests in this view also provide access to the planner instructions. Figure 12: List of all requests for the host and targets 8
Creating and viewing reports With HP NonStop Software Essentials, the user can create and view reports for multiple systems. Supported reports are Software Audit, Configuration Differences, Configuration Product Files, Configuration Products, Contents of All Configurations, Replaced Update SPR (Software Product Release), and Required Update SPR. The Software Audit report is a one-step report to show the differences between the currently installed files and the currently applied configuration for a target, providing customers proof of what is installed versus what was expected to be installed as needed by their security auditors. NonStop Software Essentials also provides a view of all the generated reports. The user can click on the name of a report to display the report contents. The report can be printed using the browser print facility or sent to a spooler. Figure 13: Creating and viewing a Software Audit report 9
Management of planners and administrators HP NonStop Software Essentials provides the capability to manage the planners and administrators who perform software management tasks. The list of existing planners can be displayed and sorted by planner name or the name of the group they belong to. New planners can be created with the permissions of an existing planner or with all new permissions, and existing planner permissions can be changed. Groups can be used to organize planners by different criteria. A view is also provided to display all planner groups along with all existing members within each group. Figure 14: Planner and planner group views Using HP NonStop Software Essentials, host administrators can be managed as well. The list of host administrators can be displayed and sorted by name. Host administrators can be created with similar attributes as an existing host administrator or with all new attributes. Existing host administrators can be deleted and their access rights can be modified. Figure 15: Managing host administrators 10
Management of host configurations The host administrator can manage the host configuration profile with HP NonStop Software Essentials. Global defaults such as default tape drive or default report location can easily be set. Figure 16: Manage host configuration view Volume maintenance The database administrator can manage the volumes and specify which disks are used for archive and scratch purposes. The list of volumes is displayed, along with the alternate volume name and current archive or scratch setting, with the ability to change the archive and scratch settings for the volumes. Figure 17: Volume maintenance view 11
Technical specifications NonStop Hardware Windows CMS Hardware Linux CMS Hardware NonStop Software Windows CMS Software Linux CMS Software Any HP Integrity NonStop BladeSystem Any HP Integrity NonStop NS-Series Server Any HP NonStop S-Series Server Windows-compatible 32-bit or 64-bit system HP IA-32 or IA-64 AMD64 or EMT64T system HP NonStop Operating System Release Version (RV) G06.24 or later HP NonStop Operating System Release Version (RV) H06.09 or later HP NonStop Operating System Release Version (RV) J06.03 or later Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard or Enterprise (x86 or x64 version) Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Standard or Enterprise (x86 or x64 version) Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard or Enterprise (x86 or x64 version) VMware ESX 3.5 or later VMware ESXi 4.1 or later HP SIM 6.3 or later with Hotfixes Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 or later (32 bit or 64 bit) VMware ESX 3.5 or later VMware ESXi 4.1 or later HP SIM 6.3 or later with Hotfixes HP Technology Services HP Technology Services help build an infrastructure that is reliable, highly available and rooted in best practices. HP recommends the following services: HP Critical Service (Optimized Care) High performance reactive and proactive support designed to minimize downtime. It offers an assigned support team which includes an Account Support Manager (ASM). This service offers access to HP s Global Mission Critical Solution Center, 24x7 HW and SW support, 6-hour Call-to-Repair commitment, enhanced parts inventory and accelerated escalation management. HP Proactive 24 (Standard Care) Provides proactive and reactive support delivered under the direction of an ASM. It offers 24x7 HW support with 4 hour onsite response, 24x7 SW support with 2 hour response and flexible call submittal. HP Support Plus 24 (Basic Care) provides reactive HW and SW support with remote problem diagnosis, 4 hour onsite response, replacement parts. The SW support includes installation advisory support, software updates for HP and selected third party software products. HP Installation and Start-up Services This service provides efficient and effective deployment of HP hardware components. For more information, visit hp.com/services/nonstop. Customer Technical Training HP Financial Services Acquire a new IT solution, manage existing assets, or dispose of equipment that no longer meets your needs. hp.com/go/hpfinancialservices Gain the skills you need with ExpertOne training and certification from HP. With HP NonStop training, you will accelerate your technology transition, improve operational performance, and get the best return on your HP investment. Our training is available when and where you need it, through flexible delivery options and a global training capability. hp.com/learn/nonstop Learn more at hp.com/go/nonstop/essentials Sign up for updates hp.com/go/getupdated Rate this document Copyright 2010, 2012 2013 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein. Microsoft and Windows are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. AMD is a trademark of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 4AA2-2202ENW, February 2013, Rev. 3