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Remote Management

Dell OpenManage™ Array Manager 2.5 User's Guide

  Understanding the Conditions for Remote Connection

  Array Manager Node Discovery

  Connecting to a Remote Computer

  Disconnecting from a Remote Computer

  Using History to View Recent Connections

  Using Favorites

  Connecting to NetWare Servers

This chapter describes Array Manager's remote connection capabilities. With Array Manager, you can connect to remote computers and manage their storage remotely.


Understanding the Conditions for Remote Connection

In order to connect to a remote computer, you have to gain access to the computer by having an account that matches an administrator or supervisory account on that computer. The connection procedure for establishing your authentication varies depending on the type of remote computer you are connecting to. However, in all cases when you attempt to connect to a remote computer, the Connect to Computer dialog box will come up.

This dialog box allows you to identify the remote computer and gives you some options that make it more useful to connect to the computer in the future.

After you click the Connect button in the Connect to Computer dialog box, you may get a second dialog box, the Remote Connection dialog box, which requires you to enter a user name and password and, when necessary, a domain.

Depending on the type of computer you want to connect to and, possibly, how you have logged in to the local computer, this dialog box may not always come up. Sometimes you will be connected directly to the remote computer without having to enter any authentication information. At other times, this dialog box will not come up and you will be denied access.

It is helpful to know that there are three different connection situations that are categorized by the type of remote computer:

NetWare Computer

The simplest connection method is for a NetWare computer. When you attempt to connect to a NetWare computer, a Remote Connection dialog box will always come up to enable you to enter a user name and password. If you enter the user name and password for an account with supervisor rights on the remote computer, you will be able to connect.

The flow chart below diagrams the NetWare computer connection method:

Note: If you are unable to connect to a NetWare server, see the section You are unable to connect to a NetWare server in the Troubleshooting chapter.

Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000 Computer with Array Manager

If you are attempting to connect a Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000 computer with Array Manager installed, the initial login to the local computer determines whether or not you will receive the Remote Connection dialog box for entering authentication information.

The different ways you can log in initially on the local computer and their results when you attempt to connect to the remote computer are summarized as follows:

Initial login at the local computer

Result when you try to connect to remote computer

1

You log in at the local computer with an account that matches an administrator account on the remote computer. It can be a:

  • Local administrator account
  • Domain administrator account of the remote computer's domain or a trusted domain

You are connected directly to the computer without the Remote Connection dialog box.

2

You log in at the local computer with a local user or domain user account that matches a valid account on the remote computer that is NOT in the administrator group.

The Remote Connection dialog box comes up.

To connect successfully to the remote computer, you have to enter a user name and password that matches a valid administrator account on the remote computer. If you are entering a domain administrator account, you will need to indicate the name of the domain as well.

3

You log in at the local computer with an account that does NOT match any valid account on the remote computer.

The Remote Connection dialog box does not appear.

Access is denied per Windows security model.

In the third case in the table, you are denied access because your initial login does not show any relationship to the remote computer. The workaround for the third case in the table is to set up an account on the local computer that matches an administrator account on the remote computer and to log in to the local computer with that account. If the local or remote computer is in a workgroup, the third case probably will apply.

The flow chart that follows diagrams the possible connections for connecting to a Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000 computer with Array Manager installed:

Windows 2000 Server with Disk Management

Disk Management is the built-in disk and volume manager that comes with Windows 2000. Disk Management is also known as Logical Disk Manager, or LDM. Because Disk Management and Array Manager for Windows 2000 are related programs, you can connect to a Windows 2000 computer with Disk Management and manage its storage remotely from a computer with the Array Manager console software.

The situation for connecting to a remote Windows 2000 computer with Disk Management is fairly simple. You will never get the Remote Connection dialog box. Your authentication credentials are established at the initial login to the local computer. Thus, you must log in to the local computer with an account that matches an administrator account on the Windows 2000 remote computer with Disk Management.

The flow chart below diagrams the connection process:

Only a Windows 2000 machine with an Array Management console can connect to and manage a Windows 2000 server with Disk Management. If you are running Windows NT 4.0, you cannot connect to and manage a Windows 2000 server with Disk Management. The NT 4.0 Array Manager console does not have forward compatibility.

If you try to connect to a Windows 2000 computer with Disk Management right after a console-only Array Manager install, you may not be able to connect. See the section You are unable to connect to a Windows 2000 server with Disk Management after a client-only installation in the Troubleshooting chapter.

Further Considerations on Remote Connections

This section contains the following additional topics on remote connection:

Direct Connections Based on Cached Information

If you connect to a remote computer during an Array Manager session, disconnect from it, and then attempt to reconnect to it in the same session, Array Manager will automatically connect to it without a connection login box. The reason for this direct connection is that Array Manager keeps authentication information for all connections made during the current session. Thus, if you have already established your credentials for connecting to a computer in that session, you will not have to give them again.

If you attempt to connect to a remote computer that has the same administrator user name and password as another remote computer that you connected to in the current session, you will be automatically connected without a connection login box.

If in the current Array Manager session you establish a computer as a "favorite" and then disconnect from it, you can reconnect directly to it again in the current session by simply double-clicking its name in the Favorites list in the tree view. The same applies to a computer in the History list in the tree view. If you connected to a remote computer in the current session and disconnected from it, you can reconnect to it in the current session by double-clicking its name in the History list.

Reconnecting to a Favorite Server at Startup

The question is often asked about a "favorite computer" that you have designated to be reconnected when Array Manager restarts. Will that computer come up automatically in the tree view or will you get a connection login box? It depends on your initial login to the local computer. In every case, Array Manager will attempt to connect to the remote computer. If your initial login establishes that you have administrator rights on the remote computer, the remote computer will appear in your tree view. However, if your initial login requires a connection login box to establish your credentials as an administrator on the remote computer, then the login connection box will appear.

For more on Favorites, see Using Favorites in this chapter.

"Connection Failed" or Other Error Messages

If you get a "Connection Failed" or other error message, see the section When attempting to access a remote computer, you are denied access or get an error message in the Troubleshooting chapter.


Array Manager Node Discovery

From the Array Manager console, you can view all the computers within any connected Microsoft® Windows NT® or 2000® domain or in the administrator's primary Novell® Directory Services (NDS) tree that have the Array Manager software installed on them.

In Array Manager, left-click My Network Places and then Microsoft Windows Network to display all the domains attached to the network. You can view Microsoft Windows NT/2000 Array Manager computers. You must log on to a computer before you can manage storage devices connected to that computer.

NetWare Array Manager computers are also viewed in My Network Places. In Array Manager, left-click My Network Places, then NetWare Services, and then NetWare Servers to display all NetWare computers running Array Manager that have been found on the network. It is possible that some NetWare computers that are running Array Manager will not be found. You can still connect to these computers as described in the following sections.


Connecting to a Remote Computer

You can remotely log on to a Microsoft Windows NT/2000 Array Manager or Disk Management computer if you meet the following logon conditions:

You can remotely log on to a NetWare Array Manager server with these conditions:

To connect to a remote computer:
  1. From the Computer pull-down menu, select Connect; or right-click on the My Network Places icon and select Connect.

The Connect to Computer dialog box appears.

  1. Type the name of the computer to connect to.

For a NetWare computer, you must type in the DNS host name or IP address, and not the NetWare computer name that appears in NDS.

The second checkbox is grayed out unless the Add to Favorites folder checkbox is checked. When you add a remote computer to Favorites, Array Manager places the computer in the Favorites folder and will remember the logon information for accessing that computer as long as the current session of Array Manager is running.

If you select Add to Favorites folder, you can also select Reconnect at next start of application so that Array Manager will attempt to connect to the remote computer whenever the program is started.

For more information on Favorites, see Using Favorites later in this chapter.

Note: If when you attempt to connect to a remote computer, you get a "Connection Failed" or other error message, see the section When attempting to access a remote computer, you are denied access or get an error message in the Troubleshooting chapter.
  1. The Remote Connection dialog box may appear, depending on the type of computer you are connecting to.

To understand why the Remote Connection dialog box sometimes appears and at other times it does not, see the section Understanding the Conditions for Remote Connection at the beginning of this chapter.

  1. If the Remote Connection dialog box appears, fill in the user name and password by selecting one of the following steps:

OR

These domain names appear under My Network Places/Microsoft Windows Network. The domain field is not needed when connecting to a NetWare computer running Array Manager.

Note: The Remote Connection dialog box will not come up if you met the security logon conditions when you logged on initially.
  1. Click Connect.

This connection may take as long as 5 minutes to complete. The domain name is automatically updated in the window when you change it. The computer icon for the computer you connected to displays in the tree view of the Array Manager console.


Disconnecting from a Remote Computer

To disconnect from a remote computer

  1. Right-click the computer icon you want to disconnect from, or from the Computer pull-down menu, select Disconnect.

The remote connection ends with no message. The computer icon disappears from the left tree view.

If the connection is lost for any other reason, a message appears that indicates the connection has been terminated. Array Manager removes the icon for that computer from the left tree view. Click OK to close the message box.


Using History to View Recent Connections

Array Manager uses the History folder in the tree view to store a list of the most recent connections made from the computer. You may want to delete computer icons from the History list.

Deleting a computer from the History list:

Using Favorites

You can use the Favorites folder in the tree view for easy storage and retrieval of frequently used computer names. The Favorites folder lets you display and retrieve NetWare computer names, as well as the names of Windows computers.

Adding a Computer to Favorites

Removing a Computer from Favorites

Connecting to a "Favorite" Computer

Note: If you are logged on to the computer initially as a domain administrator, the "Favorites" computers should come up automatically and appear in the tree view (if you selected to reconnect at startup and the remote computers are online).

Connecting to NetWare Servers

When you connect to a NetWare server from an Array Manager console, you need to enter a DNS name, a Hosts name, or the IP address of the Netware Server to which you are connecting. When the connection is made, you will see the NetWare Server name on the console tree.

To do NetWare discovery for NetWare servers, you must have a NetWare client running on the machine on which you are running Array Manager console.

When you click on NetWare Services, you see all the remote servers running NetWare displayed underneath.

  1. To log on to a displayed server, double-click it to bring up the Remote Connection dialog box.

  2. Enter your full distinguished name and password and click OK.

For example, "cn=admin.0=dell"

This will log you on to the selected server, if you have supervisor rights to that server. If you don't have supervisor rights to the server, then your attempt to connect will be rejected.

My Network Places displays all connected NetWare servers.

Note: If you are unable to connect to a NetWare server, see the section You are unable to connect to a NetWare server in the Troubleshooting chapter.


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