XA R 7 8 Link Manager Belinda Daub

XA R 7. 8 Link Manager Belinda Daub Sr. Technical Consultant 1

Agenda • • • What is Link Manager? Common terminology New Features Administration and Configuration Monitor User Activity Auxiliary Machines Updates and Fix Servers Diagnostics 7. 8 Link Manager Upgrade 2

What is Link Manager? • Environment management tool for – Configuration and optimization of environment services – Starting and stopping environments – Upgrading environment release level – Monitoring environment status and troubleshooting – Monitoring and communicating with end users 3

Common Terminology Global environment MPX jobs Processes that manage and facilitate the global environment processes *Can now start from Link Manager “U-Job” Unattached job used to start/stop environments from System i *Required for Power-Link Auxiliary machine Computer other than the System i that can host environment services Environment service Process that provides some environment functionality such as web access 4

New Features • New Look –New Desktop icon –New Login Screen §Direct access to environments on multiple systems §Freedom from Java Webstart 5

New Features • New Feel – Console has full IDF customization and navigation and Usability features § § § Views, Subsets… Broadcast/receive Mutli-select Workbenches Preferences Etc… 6

New Features • By restructuring the IFS – Business environments can now be independently upgraded and managed – The Global environment can now be • Upgraded independently from business environments • Restarted with minimal interruption to the business environments • Managed from within Link Manager 7

Environment Management • Administration – Administer Environments and Machines – Communicate with users – Apply PTFs • Configuration – Manage environment fix levels – View tasks for all environments/machines – Work with users – Troubleshooting and Diagnostics 8

Environment Administration • Status – Environments – Machines – Tasks – – – – View details Change Copy Process Start Stop Move Process Apply Update 9

Environment Administration Example: Start Messaging Service 1. Start NMS 10

Environment Administration 2. View Details 11

Environment Administration set up to autostart with environment (also available in Environment Configuration) 12

Environment Administration • Communicate with Users – Client messages can be sent to Power-Link and Net. Link users – Single user or all users of an environment – Review who has read the message – Copy previous messages 13

Environment Administration Example: Send a message to users logging into the environment to warn them about a scheduled system outage. 1. Create a client message object for the environment. You can specify a particular user or all users. Also, you can specify whether the users see the message once or at every login. 14

Environment Administration Results • Users receive a pop up message when they log into Power-Link and Net-Link. • The status of the message can be viewed to see who has received it. 15

Environment Configuration • Built-in Views and subsets – Fix Level and User login information – Status of Updates 16

Environment Configuration • Environment Processes 17

Environment Configuration • Environment Tasks 18

Environment Configuration • Machines – Host and Auxiliary servers Questions? 19

Monitor User Activity • User Profiles – Basic information – Start and stop logging – Login history 20

Monitor User Activity • User logins – Subset by user, environment, workstation or active sessions 21

Auxiliary Machines • Add capacity and support remote sites • Servers can be – MS Windows – Mac OSX – Linux • • Host a variety of environment services Dedicated or automatically load balanced Installed standalone or as Windows service Managed from Link Manager console 22

Auxiliary Machines Example 1: Add auxiliary server to take some load off of the System i. 1. Install auxiliary software on the machines 2. Start auxiliary software on the machines 3. Restart running processes 23

Auxiliary Machines Results • Machines automatically show up in Link Manager console • Automatically available for load balancing • Managed from Link Manager console 24

Auxiliary Machines Example 2: Add dedicated auxiliary machines for Net -Link and for System-Link users. 1. Install auxiliary software on the machines 2. Set the auto offload flag to off (uncheck the box) 25

Auxiliary Machines 3. Create a new Process in Environment to add a new System-Link or Net-Link server 26

Auxiliary Machines 4. Use the move process action to assign processes to their machines (can select multiple entries) 5. Restart the processes 27

Auxiliary Machines Results • Two auxiliary machines dedicated to assigned processes. • Two Net-Link servers and two System-Link servers to handle user load. Questions? 28

Manage Updates • Impact of updates reduced by environment independence • Environments can restart automatically after updates • Auxiliary machines updated and restarted when necessary • Do not have to exit Link Manager for global restart • Staged updates offer transparency to the user 29

Manage Updates • Apply from Fix Levels • or Environments 30

Manage Updates Better visibility of fix levels • Installed and downloaded fix levels • Environments where the fix levels are applied • Fix details 31

Stage Updates Example: Apply update to an environment without increasing the login time for end users 1. Use the apply update action on the environment 2. Select the staged apply option 32

Stage Updates 3. Monitor the fix level download status on the environment 4. Use the Apply Update action to release the update 5. Use the Cancel Staged Apply action if you do not want to update the environment 33

Stage Updates Results • End users download the fix code silently in background while using Power-Link • Administrators can monitor the status of the downloads from Link Manager • Users are not inconvenienced by downloads when starting Power-Link. • Users who login after the update is applied will be updated before they can use Power-Link 34

Fix Servers • Deploy client fixes to remote users – Minimize downloads across WAN and reduce user login time – Code is downloaded once to each remote site – End users download from the LAN – Can be used with staged updates 35

Fix Servers Example: System i located in Atlanta with remote XA users in Chicago, Seattle and Minneapolis. 36

Fix Servers 1. Install auxiliary software on a machine at each remote site 2. Set the auto offload flag to off on each machine 3. Create a fix server process on the global environment for each remote site 4. Assign the fix server processes to the appropriate auxiliary machines 5. Manage the environment as usual 37

Fix Servers Results • WAN users get LAN performance for fixes • Remote auxiliary machines are synchronized before environment update is released Questions? 38

Diagnostics • Common issues – Missing files, PTF issues, object authority and permissions 39

Diagnostics • Logs archived for environment processes • Client logging can be activated from Link Manager – By user or workstation • Client logs visible from Link Manager • Save to disk and send to support 40

Diagnostics Example: User experiences intermittent issue that seems to appear once a week. After setting up some tracing options Infor support is requesting logs that show the issue. In addition to the logs, Infor support is also requesting some system files. 1. Set the days to retain logs to 14 on the affected environment 41

Diagnostics 2. Activate logging on the affected user’s profile or the workstation. Use the workstation if it hosts multiple users 42

Diagnostics 3. Review user’s client logs from Link Manager to check for the issue (view Login Details from User Profile or User Logins) 43

Diagnostics 4. Use the package model action on the environment to save the data after the issue occurs 5. Send the saved file to support 44

Diagnostics Results • Logs are archived for the user’s client sessions and environment server sessions for two weeks. • Support can receive the information they need to analyze the issue. • Issues can be easier to diagnose and quicker to resolve. 45

7. 8 Link Manager Upgrade • New client SH numbers – SH 15476 – Initial install CD (. iso image) on Software Download site – SH 15477 – Client fixes (for R 7. 8 environments) • SH 14855 still valid for R 7. 7 environments • Installation process – – – Reorganizes IFS directory structure Only upgrades global environment Minimum client fix level 40. 72 Power-Link still runs with Java Web Start at 40. * levels Several mandatory prerequisite PTFs needed for R 7. 7 environments installed on same machine Watch for 7. 8 Upgrade session this summer 46

Thank You Questions? Technical Information Belinda Daub 704. 814. 0004 belinda. daub@cistech. net Sales Information Ben Mc. Cormick 704. 814. 0016 ben. mccormick@cistech. net 47