NetAdmin Presentation

1.1 Introduction

NetAdmin enables centralised deployment and configuration of applications. It makes it possible in particular to deploy and configure all the products in the Calyx Suite.

NetAdmin is made up of three distinct elements :

• Administration console : this software makes it possible for the administrator to establish deployment and configuration policies from the installed workstation.
  
• Server : the main task is the storage of installation programs for the products which are to be deployed but it also stores configuration information defined by the administrator and reports and logs generated by the workstations.
  
• Agent : installed on every workstation, it is in charge of the communication with the NetAdmin server and execution of installation and configuration defined by the administrator for that workstation.

The mechanism of the communication agent – the server developed for NetAdmin allows you to free yourself from constraints and thus to manage a cluster of machines through the same NetAdmin server.

The capability to install the administration console in a separate manner to the NetAdmin server gives you the opportunity to share the management of the cluster between different administrators.

Once the server and console are installed, you have the capability to configure the installation of the agent and different products from the Calyx Suite and also to define the methods of doing so.

After installation of the agent, the administration console makes it possible to visualise the already installed products of the Calyx Suite, to update them and to apply defined methods through the administration console.

1.2 System description

1.2.1 NetAdmin server

The Server is made up of two elements – a web server and a database. These two elements can be installed on a single server or distributed between two servers.

• Database : the database is used for the storage of strategies defined by the administrator, system information and configuration returned by the agents, logs and reports. This database can be used together with SQL Server 7 or 2000 (not included with NetAdmin).
• Web Server : the web server is a proprietary server whose task is to implement the interface between the agents and the datalowe. Once the agents contact the server, it sends the received requests to the datalowe and then relays the information from the datalowe back to the agent.

1.2.2  NetAdmin Agent

The agent is a service run under the account system which allows the execution of operations defined by the administrator via the administration console. It is in charge of the installation, the update and the removal of the products in the Calyx Suite and also their configuration and the collection of data concerning the workstation where the Calyx software is installed.

1.2.3 Communication principles

Two methods of communication are defined in NetAdmin :

• Communication Agent – NetAdmin Server : communication between the agents and the server is conducted periodically over HTTP. The agents periodically wake and contact the server on a port defined during the NetAdmin installation.
  However, it can be necessary in certain situation to wake the agent without waiting for normal reconnection : each agent listens on a port defined during the NetAdmin server installation. The administration console uses this port to wake the agent.
• Communication Console – NetAdmin Server : communication between an administration console and the NetAdmin console is carried out by the intermediary of an ODBC link.

1.3 New functionality

• Communication client mechanism – HTTP server and SQL datalowe : the principle of shared resource utilisation as the heart of the mechanism is abandoned for the benefit of HTTP communication and storage of information in an SQL datalowe.
  
• Dissociation of agent and console : the administration console and the agent are now totally disassociated. The console is an application in a complete package and its installation is carried out by the administrator on the workstations which will be used for configuration.
  
• Install program agent and format : The NetAdmin agent will function from now on as a service and uses the system account, simplifying its installation and its maintenance. The installation program presents itself in the form of a single executable file which makes placement and storage on other devices possible. Moreover, it is possible to generate installation programs containing an NT administration account allowing utilisation without being able to do the installation.
  
• Management of already installed software : at the time of installation, the agent is capable of detecting an already installed Calyx Suite on the workstation and of taking charge of the configuration. (Functionality available from version 4.5 of Calyx Suite onwards).
  
• Configuration and inheritance of configuration : configuration inheritance is no longer done in a global manner. It is now possible to avoid conserving configuration specifically for a piece of software or part of software, the rest of the configuration remaining inherited.
• Management of Calyx users : it is now possible to assign up to five badges to a user. These badges may or may not be different types.
  
• LDAP Synchronisation : management of Calyx users is now possible via a synchronisation with an LDAP directory. If a user is created by import from an LDAP directory, its appearance will be announced in the administration console.
  

Dynamic remote profile loading : this functionality allows the remote loading from an LDAP directory at session startup with a badge and it makes it possible to avoid overloading the profile station when it must be accessible to all users.