IBM NetVista Thin Client Manager Operations Utility Release 2 Version 2 Release 2 Service Update 2 README File Last Update: December 27, 2002 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS ----------------- 1.0 RELEASE NOTES 2.0 INSTALLATION 3.0 KNOWN PROBLEMS AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS 4.0 CHANGE HISTORY 5.0 TRADEMARKS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.0 RELEASE NOTES ------------------ 1.1 What is the IBM NetVista Thin Client Manager Operations Utility Release 2? The IBM NetVista Thin Client Manager Operations Utility Release 2 (Operations Utility) is a program that provides remote management services for the NetVista N2200e, NetVista N2800e Thin Client Express, NetVista N2200l Thin Client for Linux, NetVista N2200n Thin Client for Linux Express, and the NetVista N70 Thin Client for Linux. The Operations Utility provides the administrator with the ability to manage an installation of NetVista thin clients from a central location. The NetVista thin clients may be managed separately or managed in groups. Several remote management operations are provided, including update and recovery of flash- based clients, copying of configurations from client to client, changing the boot parameters of clients, and rebooting clients. 1.2 What features have been added since Version 2 Release 1 Service Update 3? Support has been added for remote management of clients running the NetVista Thin Client with TurboLinux 7. The Operations Utility can now manage Users and User Groups. Login and logout traps are now handled, and new users are created automatically if they did not previously exist. Links will be updated to show what workstations a user is currently logged into. All resource additions and changes are periodically saved to the persistent data file. Workstation and user configuration information can be created on the client and then stored in the Operations Utility as Profile Components. Clients can then retrieve this common configuration information from the Operations Utility. In the Operations Utility, Profile Components can be assigned to workstation groups and user groups, and a group can be designated as the profile group for a resource. Profile Components can be retrieved from the Operations Utility by the client when it boots or when a user logs in. The administrator can also specify default profile components. The toolbar containing the operation icons is now configurable. Several new client attributes are now managed through the Operations Utility. Inventory Report, now renamed Resource Report, has been enhanced. A report can now be generated for users and user groups. In addition to this, the Resource Report has a new easy to use configuration utility and allows the report file to be written in a comma-delimited format. The tcm.properties file is overwritten with each install of the Operations Utility. Values you would like to change and keep permanently such as timeout values or port numbers, should be written to the tcmOverride.properties file in the TCM directory in your install path. The type field has been removed from workstation filters. Existing filters that include the type field will no longer be valid. If you try to use them, you will get an error message saying the filter is not valid due to the type field. The filters can easily be changed through the filter panel GUI or the command line interface. The type field was a combination of model, release, and boot source, so to update your filters that use type, simply filter on those fields with appropriate values selected. New operations include the ability to: - Setup Network Connections (specifies various servers and TCP/IP information for Turbolinux 7 clients only. This operation replaces the following operations: Boot From Server, Boot From Flash, Flash Recovery and Client SNMP Trap Server Settings.) - Set Profile Components (selects Profile Components for a group. Applies to Turbolinux 7 clients only.) - Set Default Profile Components - Broadcast message to users - Schedule jobs for users Problems reported have been fixed in this service update. 1.3 You can find the latest NetVista Thin Client information at the following URL: http://www.ibm.com/nc/pubs 1.4 The latest update of the Operations Utility can be found at: http://service.boulder.ibm.com/nc ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.0 INSTALLATION ---------------- 2.1 Verifying system prerequisites You can install this release of the Operations Utility on the following Linux operating systems: TurboLinux 6.0.4 Redhat 6.2 Redhat 7.1 The Operations Utility is a Java-based application that requires Java Runtime Environment Version 1.3 (JRE 1.3). The installation program installs a private JRE 1.3. Ensure that /usr/bin is in your path. 2.2 Installing from the NetVista Thin Client Utilities CD 1) Logon as root. 2) Run startx. 3) Open xTerm. 4) Insert the CD containing NetVista Operations Utility. 5) Mount the cd drive. 6) Change the directory to: /mnt/cdrom/Linux/products/tcmOpUtil. 7) Run the installTCM.sh shell found on the mounted CD drive. Note: You may need to run it as ./installTCM.sh. 8) Press Enter to use default install directory or enter the directory of your choice. Say yes to create if not already created. Note: Please wait until you see the "Install script complete." message before exiting the xTerm session installTCM.sh is running in. Users other than root will need to be added to the tcm_admin group before they can run TCM. To restart TCM services without rebooting enter "startTCM restart". 2.3 Down loading the NetVista Thin Client Utilities from the Web You can find the latest version of the Operations Utility at the following URL: http://service.boulder.ibm.com/nc Follow the link to the NetVista Service Utilities in the download section. From the download page click the Linux item. 1) Download the single .zip file for the Operations Utility to a temporary directory on your server. 2) Unzip the file. 3) Change the permissions on the install shell: chmod 755 installTCM.sh 4) To install the Operations Utility run the installTCM.sh shell that was unzipped to the temporary directory. Note that you must be logged-on as root to install the Operations Utility. Also, please note the instructions in step 6 of section 2.2 above. 2.4 Starting Operations Utility To start TCM, open an xTerm session and enter runTCM or runTCMGUI. To start TCM Command Line, open an xTerm session and enter runTCMCLI. Note: The GUI and Command Line cannot be run at the same time. 2.5 TCM Operation Utility Uninstall 1) Logon as root. 2) Run startx. 3) Open xTerm. 4) Change directory to the location where you installed TCM. Note: Default location is "/usr/local/NetVista". 5) Run unInstallTCM.sh Note: You may need to run it as ./unInstallTCM.sh. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.0 KNOWN PROBLEMS AND LIMITATIONS ----------------------------------- ----------- 3.1 General ----------- 3.1.1 Local Host Value must be properly configured. The local host value on the server must be properly configured on all supported platforms. If the local host value is improperly configured, an operation appears to be successful, but the end result may never happen (i.e. a backup file never appears). If the log file has an invalid localhost I/P address (i.e. 127.0.0.1), check the etc/hosts file to ensure that it is properly configured. 3.1.2 Change Trap Port Number to run as a Non-Root User In order to run TCM as a non-root user: Traps must be disabled in the tcm.properties file, or the trap port number in the tcm.properties file must be set to a value greater than 1024. 3.1.3 TCM will now be running all the time. This allows the TCM Profile Server to serve Profile Components and TCM to run scheduled jobs. If, for some reason, TCM or Tomcat are not running, restart them by entering "startTCM start" in an Xterm window. 3.1.4 There is a problem on Linux servers where TCM task windows may change position on their own. The amount and direction the windows move is dependent on the specific Linux platform and the window manager being run. To prevent the windows from moving, do the following: 1. Position and resize all task windows as desired. 2. End Operations Utility (both the GUI and the TCM service). 3. Add property tcm.taskGUIManager.saveGeometries=false to tcmOverride.properties. 4. Restart Operations Utility. Now the task windows will appear in the positions you specified and will not move. However, any additional position or size changes you make will no longer be saved. 3.1.5 On RedHat 7.1, operation windows which are closed and later reopened may progressively shrink in size. Simply drag the corner of the window to resize it. 3.1.6 Performing flash recovery on Turbolinux 7 clients in DHCP environments can cause unexpected behavior unless you follow the procedure explained in the GUI-based online help text. --------------------------------------------------------------- 3.2 Thin Client Express and Thin Client Manager booted clients. --------------------------------------------------------------- 3.2.1 SNMP and Administrator passwords When restoring a V2R1 profile to a new 'out of box' machine there exists a possibility of password mismatch between TCM and the client box. If the profile contains passwords that are different than the passwords currently set on the client, the passwords will need to be reset via the Configuration Tool on the client to match the values in TCM. 3.2.2 Boot from Server Operation The boot server specified in the Simplified menu will be used as the workstation configuration server and the authentication server. From the Advanced menu you cannot use Flash as the workstation configuration server. 3.2.3 Authenticate from Server Operation The authenticate from server specified in the Simplified menu will also be used as the workstation configuration server. When using this operation, you will always boot from flash. If you wish to boot from a server, use the Advanced option of the Boot from Server operation. From the Advanced menu, you cannot use Flash as the workstation configuration server. 3.2.4 Backup or Restore Configuration Files When you plan to do a common restore, always specify a name for the backup Create new profile option. Do not leave this field blank. If the profile name is left blank, the backup will work and a folder is created with the workstation MAC address as the name. If you plan to only use the corresponding restore, then leaving the Create new profile field blank on backup will result in a successful restore. The inclusion of SNMP Community Names and Administrator Password in the backup profile is now optional. If you wish to restore the profile to multiple workstations and do not want common passwords, do not include password information in the backup. 3.2.5 DHCP Considerations With the additional support in the firmware (01/12/01 and 07/10/01 levels) and enhancements in this release of TCM, the operations that change boot or authentication servers for clients that are managed via DHCP are now supported. Essentially, TCM will change the mode of the firmware to "DHCP Override" -- the client will obtain IP information (client IP, gateway, and DNS) from the DHCP server and will obtain all other boot information from the firmware values as set by TCM. It is important to note that once these operations are used on the clients, TCM will manage their boot and authentication server settings rather than DHCP. For DHCP managed clients, the Boot From Server, Authenticate from Server, Boot from Flash, and the Flash Recovery operation is allowed when the client has the 01/12/01(or later) level firmware (and an error is presented if the firmware level is not supported for this operation). It is strongly recommended the Linux clients are using the 01/12/01 or later firmware (and this release of TCM provides a Firmware Update function to assist with updating firmware on the clients). ---------------------------------------------------------------- 3.3 Thin Client for Linux and Thin Client Linux Express clients ---------------------------------------------------------------- 3.3.1 Software Update Operation Clients not running Turbolinux 7 should use Flash Recovery to obtain Turbolinux 7 due to format changes on the flash card. Software updates on Turbolinux 7 clients should only be from Turbolinux 7 images. 3.3.2 Boot From Server Operation The Advanced menus to specify the workstation configuration server and authentication server are disabled for Linux clients. The Linux client does not support remote management of these servers at this time. 3.3.3 Authenticate from Server Operation This operation is disabled for Linux clients. At this time, Linux clients only support local authentication. 3.3.4 Backup or Restore Configuration Files SNMP Community Names and the Administrator Password are not included in the default list of files for the backup profile. If the client you backup or restore is configured to send SNMP traps (see Operation Completion Status Indication below), you will receive a trap indicating the success or failure of the backup or restore. 3.3.5 Operation Completion Status Indication The Linux client has the ability to send an SNMP trap to the Operations Utility when it has completed the Backup or Restore Configuration Files, Flash Recovery, or Software Update operations. This trap indicates to the user of the Operations Utility whether the operation has succeeded or failed. However, the clients must first be configured to send the traps to the Operations Utility. See the Operations Utility product Help for more information about configuring clients to send traps. 3.3.6 SNMP Trap Considerations For workstations that are configured to send SNMP traps to the Operations Utility, the workstation is automatically added to the workstation list. However, the TCM Operations Utility assumes that the default SNMP Community Names are being used on the workstation. If the community names have changed from the default, then the Operations Utility may not have the correct community names to perform management operations. The user will need to use the Passwords tab of the Properties notebook to set the community names that the Operations Utility will use to match those already on the client. The Configure SNMP Traps operation does not show the current values of the four trap servers on the workstation. If you are unsure of which trap server is in which position then use the operation to set all the trap servers that are needed. 3.3.7 DHCP Considerations With the additional support in the firmware (01/12/01 and 07/10/01 levels) and enhancements in this release of TCM, the operations that change boot or authentication servers for clients that are managed via DHCP are now supported. Essentially, TCM will change the mode of the firmware to "DHCP Override" -- the client will obtain IP information (client IP, gateway, and DNS) from the DHCP server and will obtain all other boot information from the firmware values as set by TCM. It is important to note that once these operations are used on the clients, TCM will manage their boot and authentication server settings rather than DHCP. For DHCP managed clients, the Boot From Server, Authenticate from Server, Boot from Flash, and the Flash Recovery operation is allowed when the client has the 01/12/01(or later) level firmware (and an error is presented if the firmware level is not supported for this operation). It is strongly recommended the Linux clients are using the 01/12/01 or later firmware (and this release of TCM provides a Firmware Update function to assist with updating firmware on the clients). 3.3.8 Profile Considerations When profiles are requested from the TCM Profile Server, the workstation or user is automatically added to the resource list if it was previously unknown. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.0 CHANGE HISTORY ------------------- 02/02/2001 - Version 2 Release 1 Service Update 1 04/30/2001 - Version 2 Release 1 Service Update 2 08/03/2001 - Version 2 Release 1 Service Update 3 12/14/2001 - Version 2 Release 2 02/06/2002 - Version 2 Release 2 Service Update 1 05/20/2002 - Version 2 Release 2 Service Update 2 - Fixed Back and Restore operation for Turbo Linux 7 SU 1 clients. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.0 TRADEMARKS --------------- The following terms are trademarks of the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) in the United States, or other countries or both: IBM NetVista N2200e, Thin Client Express NetVista N2800e, Thin Client Express NetVista N2200 Thin Client Linux NetVista N2200l Thin Client for Linux NetVista N2200n Thin Client for Linux Express NetVista N70 Thin Client for Linux NetVista Thin Client Manager Operations Utility Other company, product, and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others. (C) Copyright IBM Corporation 2000-2002. All rights reserved.