Configuration Tools

HP Systems Insight Manager

The HP Systems Insight Manager (HP SIM) provides web-based multiple system management. You can use it to configure and manage not only HP-UX systems but also HP Linux systems and HP Windows® systems, as well as non-HP Linux and Windows systems. HP SIM makes use of the HP SMH interface and other tools. It is fully described in HP Systems Insight Manager 5.0 Installation and User Guide on http://docs.hp.com (click “Network and Systems Management” and “HP Systems Insight Manager”)

HP-UX System Management Homepage (Web-Based)

	NOTE: Not all management functions can be performed using HP SMH. Refer to volume one of the HP-UX System Administrator’s Guide: Overview for additional information.

The HP-UX System Management Homepage (HP SMH) is a web-based interface for managing one HP-UX system at a time. It completes the transfer of the System Administration Manager (SAM) functions into web-based processes. In HP-UX 11i Version 2, the management of kernel configuration, peripheral devices, and partition management became web-based, using kcweb, pdweb, and parmgr, respectively. In HP-UX 11i Version 3, most management functions can be accessed using the web-based HP SMH interface. The following chapters provide examples using HP SMH. See “System Management Homepage (Web-Based)”. HP SMH is also described in the System Management Homepage manual.

HP-UX System Management Homepage (Text-Based)

The text-based HP-UX System Management Homepage (HP SMH) replaces the System Administration Manager (SAM). It operates as a logged-in management tool. It uses simple terminal-based screens. In some cases, the earlier screen-based and X-Window-based displays have been retained. See “System Management Homepage (Text-Based)”.

HP-UX Commands

HP-UX commands provide you with the finest granularity of access to system configuration but they require you to be careful to complete all the steps correctly. In some cases, such as root home directory reconfiguration (see “Create the Root Home Directory” in the HP-UX System Administrator’s Guide: Configuration Management), they may be the only way to do it. In other cases, such as tweaking non-password data in the password file, it’s just easier to run a command such as vipw. The following chapters describe the use of HP-UX commands where they are necessary or convenient.

Generally, HP recommends that less-experienced system administrators use HP SMH or HP SIM to manage systems wherever possible and convenient, because they are designed to ensure that all the files and databases are updated and all the commands are issued correctly.

Using HP SIM and HP SMH versus HP-UX Commands

HP SIM and HP SMH reduce the complexity of most administration tasks. They minimize or eliminate the need for detailed knowledge of many administration commands, thus saving valuable time. Use these utilities whenever possible, especially when first mastering a task. Some tasks described in this manual cannot be done by these utilities, in which case you will need to use the HP-UX commands. However, these utilities are the tools of choice for much administration work.

	TIP: Most tasks in HP SMH allow you to display the HP-UX commands that it will use to perform the task at hand. Previewing these commands can help you learn how to perform HP-UX administration tasks at the command line.