Controlling Activity from the CommCell® Console
The CommServe® StorageManager is the command and control center of the CommCell® architecture. It is responsible for managing the administrative functions. It handles all activity between agents, and communicates with MediaAgents when the media subsystem requires management. The CommServe manager contains the database that stores all of the information pertinent to the CommCell component.
The CommServe® server ties the elements of the CommCell configuration together; it is the coordinator and administrator of the CommCell component. The CommServe server communicates with all agents in the CommCell component to initiate data protection, management and recovery operations. Similarly, it communicates with MediaAgents when the media subsystem requires management. The CommServe server maintains a database containing all the information relating to the CommCell component. In addition, it provides several tools to administer and manage the CommCell component.
The software supports CommServe components on several Operating Systems, including support for CommServe server in a clustered environment. (See System Requirements - CommServe for a list of supported CommServe components and their requirements. See Support Information - Installation for information on cluster support for CommServes components).
See CommServe Deployment for information on installing the CommServe software. Once installed, the CommServe server is displayed in the CommCell Browser as the top node in the CommCell Browser. You can have only one CommServe server in a CommCell component. You can perform several operations from the CommServe component level and modify the properties associated with a CommServe server. These are described in CommServe Operations.
The CommServe controls activity in the CommCell group through the following elements:
The Job Manager manages and monitors immediate or scheduled operations throughout the CommCell group. The Job Manager communicates with agents in order to initiate and monitor data protection and data recovery operations. The Job Manager communicates with MediaAgents to monitor the resources necessary to complete these operations. The Job Manager starts, suspends, and resumes operations based on these resources.
All of this activity is displayed in the Job Controller of the CommCell Console. An authorized CommCell user can also perform actions on active operations from the Job Controller.
The scheduler allows users to schedule tasks so that these tasks can be initiated by the software.
The CommServe® server controls the Event Manager and Alert subsystems. The Event Manager monitors the events occurring throughout the CommCell, and reports them through the Event Viewer in the CommCell® Console. This information can also be viewed through log files. Events can also be reported to CommCell users through the use of configured alert notifications, through the alert subsystem.
Users can obtain filtered data through the use of reports generated from the CommCell® Console. Users can also obtain information on non-active operations by viewing job history information.
The CommServe® server controls all user security within the CommCell® component. The CommServe software grants CommCell users permission to perform CommCell actions based on the assigned capabilities and CommCell object association of a CommCell user's member user group.
The CommServe® software is responsible for storing a metadata SQL database which contains all the information for the CommCell component. The software provides the facility to retrieve this data in the event of a disaster or system failure.
The CommCell® Console is the graphical user interface through which CommCell users can manage and administer the CommCell component.
From the CommCell® Browser, you can view information and modify the status of the CommServe® server.
CommServe® server properties can be viewed from the General tab of the CommServe Properties dialog box.
The CommCell name is the name that was given to this CommServe® server at the time of installation.
The name of the computer on which the CommServe® software is installed.
The Version tab of the CommServe Properties dialog box displays the version number of the CommServe® software that is installed on the CommServe computer. It also displays all post-release Service Packs and Updates that may have been installed on the CommServe computer.
For a detailed explanation of the version information, see Version.
The Security tab allows you to associate one or more user groups to the CommServe Server. Once associated, members of the associated user group(s) can perform all functions within a CommCell group.
For a detailed explanation of security, see User Administration and Security.
The Activity Control tab allows you enable or disable administrative, data protection, data recovery, and scheduler activity for the entire CommCell® element.
For a detailed explanation of activity control, see Activity Control.
Disaster Recovery backups perform regular backups of the CommServe® database. It is critical to be able to retrieve this information in the case of a disaster or system failure. For comprehensive information on Disaster Recovery backups, see Disaster Recovery Backup.
The Restore by Jobs feature can be used to restore Disaster Recovery backup data. For an overview, see Restore by Jobs.
You can run a Data Aging operation to remove the data that has exceeded its user-defined retention rule. For more information on Data Aging, see Data Aging.
An auxiliary copy operation allows you to create secondary copies of data associated with data protection operations, independent of the original copy. For more information on Auxiliary Copy, see Auxiliary Copy,
This option allows you to download updates from the FTP site for downloading updates. For comprehensive information on updates, see Automatic Updates.
This options allows you to install updates from the CommServe® Cache. See Install Updates to Specific Clients/MediaAgents for step-by-step instructions to install updates. See Automatic Updates for comprehensive information on updates.
You can view and send the log files of the operations that have occurred on your system from a CommServe® computer. For more information on log files, see Log Files.
You can perform a search for specific events that have occurred within your CommCell® configuration. For more information about events, see Event Viewer.
From the CommCell® Browser, you can view and modify all the jobs that are scheduled to run on a CommServe® server using the Scheduled Jobs window. The Scheduled Jobs window allows you to review the jobs that are scheduled and the identity of the client computers for which they are run. For an overview, see Scheduling.
You can view the job history of all of the administration jobs that have run. For an overview, see Admin Job History.
You can view the log files generated by a MediaAgent. The files that reside on a given computer may differ depending on the role of the computer in the CommCell® architecture (CommServe® Server, MediaAgent, Client). A CommServe computer contains only the CommServe log files. A computer that is both a CommServe Server and a MediaAgent contains the log files of both entities. For a detailed explanation of log files, see Log Files.
You can view the users currently logged on to the CommCell® Console. See Users Logged In for an overview.
The Control Panel allows you to launch a wide variety of administrative tasks. See Control Panel for more information.