Course description: IBM Systems Director 6.2 - Power and System x - Planning and Installation (SPVC)

This fundamental self-paced hands on lab course provides the foundation of IBM Systems Director for both IBM Power and System x platforms. Between the balance of lectures and hands on labs, the audience will get an introduction to the IBM Systems Director's base managers which facilitates Systems Management. Installation of this product will be through hands on labs installing IBM Systems Director for both AIX and Windows environments. In addition, labs on the base tasks of getting started, discovery, and inventory are provided for both platforms. Additional managers are introduced with lectures on Active Energy Manager and VMControl. This class will enable you to gain a basic understanding of the IBM Systems Director product.

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Roadmaps that reference this course are:

• System x Systems Management

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Enrollment in this course is not restricted. This is an intermediate course for individuals who are involved in the planning, installation, configuration and upgrading of System x and System p servers and those individuals who use IBM Systems Director management software.

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The following courses, or equivalent skill, are required prior to this course:

• System x

You hould have:

• Some experience with Intel-based computer hardware and Windows or Linux operating systems.
• System p
• A basic background in UNIX systems administration and troubleshooting. No previous courseware is required.

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• Describe base functions of IBM Systems Director
• Define the three architecture components of IBM Systems Director
• Describe the three agents of IBM Systems Director
• Define the functional components of the IBM Systems Director management server
• List the elements of the Common Agent Services
• Associate given features to the three IBM Systems Director editions
• Identify a small, medium, and large IBM Systems Director management environment
• Identify the database support for IBM Systems Director server
• Describe IBM Systems Director licensing considerations
• Differentiate between a basic installation and a custom installation of IBM Systems Director server
• Understand the components of an IBM System Director server installation and associated requirements
• Define the steps to install IBM Systems Director 6.2 on to a management server
• Install IBM Systems Director 6.2 on to a management server running Windows
• Install IBM Systems Director 6.2 on to a management server running AIX
• Use a supported Web browser to login to the management server.
• Describe where to go in the IBM Systems Director user interface to get further help.
• Describe how to add pages to your startup screen.
• Describe the various navigational views provided in the user interface.
• Describe and apply security paradigms based on both users and roles for management server login.
• Describe in general terms the base managers included with IBM Systems Director.
• Describe the role of Discovery Manager
• Describe how to perform Discovery and Inventory tasks using the IBM Systems Director 6.2 management environment
• Perform selected Discovery Manager tasks using IBM Systems Director 6.2
• Describe how to use Status Manager and the Health Summary screen to determine the status of managed resources.
• Describe how to configure the Health Summary Dashboard to view metrics that represent the status of particular resources.
• Describe how to view Active Status on a resource, including problems associated with a resource.
• Describe how to view the Event Log of a particular managed resource.
• List the various Update Manger tasks that can be performed within the IBM Systems Director 6.2 management environment
• Describe how to perform selected Update Manager tasks using the IBM Systems Director 6.2 management environment
• Perform selected update tasks using IBM Systems Director 6.2 Server
• Describe the IBM Systems Director 6.2 automation management features
• Create an event filter
• Create an event action
• Build and test an Event Automation Plan
• Use ISD to execute commands on one or more target systems using:
  • The Command Automation task
  • The Distributed Command (or DSH) task
  • The Run Command task
• Describe how to use Configuration Manager to view the current configuration of a managed resource.
• Describe the difference between Configuration settings, templates, and plans and how they work together to help configure systems automatically.
• Describe how to start the Configuration Plan Wizard.
• Describe the different methods of accessing remote systems using IBM Systems Director
• Describe how to transfer files and directories between systems using IBM Systems Director
• Understand when to use each of the remote access tasks provided by IBM Systems Director
• Describe the basic capabilities of the IBM Systems Director Storage Management function
• List the device types supported by Storage Management
• Give a basic description of the SMI-S standard
• Describe how to launch an external storage management application
• Describe the three sections and their functions of the BladeCenter and System x Management portal in IBM Systems Director
• Describe the available support functions for LED management with IBM Systems Director
• Describe the management capabilities of IBM Systems Director with the BladeCenter environment
• Describe the integration of the Power Systems environment into IBM Systems Director 6.2
• List the key steps to configure the Power Systems environment into IBM Systems Director 6.2
• Describe the management capabilities of IBM Systems Director 6.2 with the Power Systems environment
• Configure a Power Systems environment within IBM Systems Director 6.2
• Perform management tasks on the Power Systems environment using IBM Systems Director 6.2
• Describe the basic management capabilities of the IBM Systems Director System z Management function
• Determine the status of System z resources managed by IBM Systems Director
• Describe, in general terms, the Service and Support Manager advanced plug-in
• List the features of Service and Support Manager
• Describe what information is sent to IBM by Service and Support Manager
• Identify the supported functions of IBM Systems Director Active Energy Manager
• Differentiate between the manage and monitor features of IBM Systems Director Active Energy Manager
• Describe the role and capabilities of the IBM Systems Director VMControl 2.3 plug-in
• Match the supported functions to the three VMControl editions
• Define the terms virtual appliance, image repository, workload, and system pool as they apply to VMControl

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• Unit 1: IBM Systems Director 6.2 Overview
• Unit 2A: Planning and installation on Windows
• Unit 2B: Planning and installation on IBM AIX
• Unit 3: User Interface and Security
• Unit 4: Base Managers
• Unit 5: Discovery Manager
• Unit 6: Status Manager
• Unit 7: Update Manager
• Unit 8: Automation Manager
• Unit 9: Configuration Manager
• Unit 10: Remote Access
• Unit 11: Storage Management
• Unit 12: IBM BladeCenter and System x Management
• Unit 13: IBM Power Systems Management
• Unit 14: IBM System z Management
• Unit 15: Service and Support Manager
• Unit 16: Active Energy Manager
• Unit 17: VMControl
• Unit 18: Additional Advanced Managers

System x Labs:

• Exercise 1: Installing IBM Systems Director 6.2 on Windows
• Exercise 2: Getting Started with IBM Systems Director 6.2
  • Navigate the console
  • Iniate discovery of managed systems
  • Collect and view inventory from managed systems
  • Create static and dynamic resource groups

System p Labs:

• Exercise 1: Installing IBM Systems Director 6.2 on IBM AIX
• Exercise 2: IBM Systems Director 6.2 Tasks
  • Manage access to your ISD server
  • Discover Systems in your environment
  • Collect inventory for your systems
  • Use navigate resources to display systems

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Co Requisite Course - System p Director Self Study (AN0D0)

Special Note for IBM Business Partners authorized to remarket IBM IT Education Services public classes and on-site classes: This course is excluded from the IBM Technical Training Services for Public Education Program and the IBM Training Services for Enterprise - on-site Education Program for IBM Business Partners.

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