PATROL Agent and PATROL Console communication is changed from two-tiered direct connections to three-tiered connections with an additional application server in the middle tier. In the case of PATROL consoles, this middle tier is PATROL Console Server. It creates a bridge between PATROL Agent’s distributed over the enterprise and
new PATROL 7.x Consoles. The PATROL 7.x consoles supported in this release are:
• PATROL Central Operator - Microsoft Windows Edition
• PATROL Central Operator - Web Edition
All the data related to a user session is collected and saved on the PATROL Console Server in one or more data files associated with a common name (the management profile). By storing management profiles on the PATROL Console Server, users can access their management profile from any 7.x console. The PATROL Console Server performs the following responsibilities:
• Stores frequently-accessed files in a centralized location.
• Caches console-specific agent information for use by the PATROL 7.x consoles.
• Sends requests for executing KM commands from consoles to agents.
• Creates a centralized log on location for all users to access agents.
• Allows centralization of privilege assignments and access control definitions (for both maintenance of tables and checking at runtime). BMC Software, Inc., Confidential and Proprietary Information Introduction 1-3
• Stores console credentials and impersonation data for console accounts in one central location. Centralization allows PATROL administrators to use authentication information through impersonation of user accounts for a given agent. This in turn allows users to authenticate to agents without requiring username and
password entry for each agent access or storage of passwords at every individual console system.
• Executes the same managed system queries across all agents.
• Executes the same event filters and queries across all agents.
• Executes state change actions as defined by users in their management profiles. These actions are executed as PSL or OS commands.
• Creates a persistent data cache for static agent attributes such as PATROL Agent versions, operating system names and versions, and preloaded KM lists, allowing you to access and query the information in the absence of agents.
• Stores privilege information defined through PATROL 7.x Administration Console Modules.
• Stores Access Control List (ACL) definitions as defined through PATROL 7.x Administration Console Modules.
• Stores management profiles for 7.x consoles so that the same information can be accessed from any 7.x console from any computer without any additional configuration that is local to the computer where the PATROL consoles are running. This enables location transparency for the users and allows roaming management profiles.
• Stores KM icons, online Help files, and lists of KM menu and InfoBox commands.
• Stores user preferences for charts, gauges, column order in list views, and view types such as icons, lists, and details. BMC Software, Inc., Confidential and Proprietary Information 1-4 PATROL Console Server and RTserver Getting Started
• Stores which PATROL Agents to connect and which KMs to load.
• Stores user-defined charts, custom views, folder hierarchies.
• Allows centralized access to predefined queries, event filters,
configuration options, and charts.