FAQ- Agent Load Process

Q.	What is an agent?
A.	An agent is a data file that is installed on the servers to be monitored.
Q.	Why use agent technology?
A.	Agent technology allows you to efficiently group a series of commands and requests together in one location on the Target and OPTIMIZATION servers. This provides quick and efficient collection of information from the monitored servers, back to the OPTIMIZATION Server.
Q.	How many OPTIMIZATION agent files are there?
A.	There are separate agent files for AIX, HP-UX, Linux, Solaris, and Windows.
Q.	How big are the OPTIMIZATION Agent files?
A.	Although the file size varies for each file, the average file size is 50Mb.
Q.	How are the OPTIMIZATION Agent installed on Windows NT/2000 systems?
A.	The OPTIMIZATION Server is given an IP address, is installed on the network, then joins the appropriate Windows NT/2000 domain. Once this is done, the OPTIMIZATION Server can communicate with all of the other servers and clients in that domain. The OPTIMIZATION Agent Deployment & Uninstall program is invoked on the OPTIMIZATION Server, and steps through a GUI-based installation process, during which time the servers and clients to be monitored are selected. The OPTIMIZATION Agents are deployed to the specified servers and clients via the network connection. Deployment of the agents can be done immediately, or can be scheduled for a later time that may be more appropriate based on network traffic, backup cycles, etc. The OPTIMIZATION Agent file resides in the \Program Files\Tivoli directory.
Q.	How is the OPTIMIZATION Agent uninstalled from a Windows NT/2000 system?
A.	The uninstall is performed via the OPTIMIZATION Agent Deployment & Uninstall program, located on the desktop of the OPTIMIZATION Server.
Q.	How are the OPTIMIZATION Agents installed onto UNIX/Linux systems?
A.	The OPTIMIZATION Agents for UNIX and Linux are in the form of a .bin file. They can be installed in one of two ways, either across the network or by loading media directly into each server to be monitored. If installing the OPTIMIZATION Agents remotely, the .bin file is “pushed” to the root (/) directory on the target UNIX or Linux system via FTP. If it is a local install, the .bin file is copied to the root directory on the target system. Once the .bin file is in the root directory, a script is run, which “unpacks” the .bin file to a temporary directory. When the file has been unpacked, another script is run to perform the actual installation and activation of the agent. root privileges on the target machines are necessary to perform these actions.
Q.	How is the OPTIMIZATION Agent uninstalled from a UNIX/Linux system?
A.	The OPTIMIZATION Agent is uninstalled from a UNIX/Linux system by running a script called uninstall.sh, which is located in the /usr/ Tivoli/TSRM directory
Q.	How long does it take to load an OPTIMIZATION Agent?
A.	Dependingon network bandwidth, the OPTIMIZATION Agent will take approximately 15 seconds to transfer to the target system via FTP. The unpacking and installation of the agent will take under 5 minutes.
Q.	What is the impact to the target server when the OPTIMIZATION Agent is running?
A.	Since the OPTIMIZATION Agent is only active when the OPTIMIZATION Server issues a request to it, the load is a low priority task, and uses very little CPU cycles (1-2%).
Q.	Do the monitored servers need to be re-booted to recognize the OPTIMIZATION Agent?
A.	No, the monitored servers do not have to be re-booted for the agent to be recognized.
Q.	How does the OPTIMIZATION Agent collect information from the system it resides on?
A.	Using basic SCSI commands that are built in to the Operating System, the OPTIMIZATION Agent initiates a probe to determine the hardware. Then, it scans the hardware using the information it collected from the probe. The gathered information is then sent back to the OPTIMIZATION Server as an octet stream. The OPTIMIZATION Server then enters the information into the Central Data Repository.
Q.	Can the OPTIMIZATION Agent see data on the client Server?
A.	No. The OPTIMIZATION Agent only reports back to the OPTIMIZATION Server on attributes of a data file, when it was last accessed, when it was backed up last, how much disk space has been assigned, etc.
Q.	How long does it take for the data collection process?
	Depending on the amount of storage connected to the target system and the number of files, it can take 2 minutes to 20 minutes per system.
Q.	How is data collected from Network Attached Storage machines (i.e. NetApp)?
A.	Because the OPTIMIZATION Agents must be installed on machines that have access to the NAS filers, the NAS filers must be visible to the machines where the OPTIMIZATION Agents are going to be installed. Additionally, the NAS filers must be configured to be a member of a Windows domain. Once the OPTIMIZATION Agents have been installed on the appropriate machines, the nodes within the OPTIMIZATION Server function tree are used to perform the data collection tasks.
Q.	How is data collected from a Novell NetWare environment?
A.	Firstly, the OPTIMIZATION Agent must be installed on a machine that is running the Windows NT or Windows 2000 Operating System. That machine must already have an installed NetWare Client, and have access to the Novell NetWare servers and volumes within the environment. Secondly, the OPTIMIZATION Agent performs an initial probe and requests from the NetWare client a list of the NDS trees that are accessible to that agent. Finally, the OPTIMIZATION Agent reports the list of NDS trees to the OPTIMIZATION server.