Managing unix complexes

[Hansi]

In <1131 at duteca.UUCP> marcel at duteca (Marcel Mol) writes:

>    .... Therefor I am looking for tools/packages that help operators
>and system administrators to manage their unix systems.
>For example packages that help in the area of:

>	Problem management
>	Change management
>	User administration and Security
>	Disk backup
>	Migration/Recall of unused data to/from for example tapes
>	Configuration management
>	Performance and Capacity management
>	Accounting

Hi out there!

Sorry - I have to post a follow-up because my mail will bounce.

I'm writing a master thesis (in German: Diplomarbeit) on performance
management right now. So I would like to hear more of the replies
to Marcel's posting.

I think that today there are only few real solutions to this problem,
if you consider unix. Some companies have their own software packages
(e.g. HP's OpenView, AT&T's UNMA or Siemens-Nixdorf's NM), but most of
them would not cover all the topics Marcel mentioned.

ISO is working on standards, but right now there are no more than
draft proposals (see ISO 7498-4 and 10165). The greatest disadvantage
of the ISO-standards is that they only talk about the net, not the
computers in it.

I think you'll have to program your own solution, if you want it now
(quick and dirty). For example most unix systems come with a wide
collection of tools for accounting and performance evaluation. What you
have to do is to collect these data in a database and then start some
queries and computings on these. That sounds easy, but it isn't, because
the amount of data rises very quick. So you need a careful filter that
deletes stuff not required (e.g. delete all the data from none prime time).

If you want a good solution, you'll have to wait.

Bye
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