 






           Software
           Product
           Description

           _________________________________________________________

           PRODUCT NAME:  Remote System Manager, Version 2.3     SPD
           29.59.03

           DESCRIPTION

           Remote System Manager (RSM) is a VMS and ULTRIX layered prod-
           uct that permits a system manager to manage a number of com-
           puter systems efficiently.

           RSM uses the DECnet network to automate the recurring sys-
           tem management tasks of:

           o  Software distribution and installation (both operating
              systems (VMS only) and applications)

           o  File backup and restore

           o  System administration (VMS systems only)

           For flexibility in configuration, RSM is available as four
           separately licensed products described below:

           RSM VMS Server

           This product maintains RSM Client software and administra-
           tive information, maintains libraries of application soft-
           ware, directs the installation of software, schedules file
           backups, and receives file backups.

           Additionally for RSM VMS Clients, the Server provides for
           the remote maintenance of user accounts, directories, DEC-
           net proxies, licenses, and libraries of operating systems.

           The RSM Server license includes the right to install the RSM
           VMS Client on the same node.

                                    DIGITAL                June 1991

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           Remote System Manager, Version 2.3          SPD 29.59.03


           RSM Server software can be installed on a cluster and con-
           figured to use the distributed resources available to all
           nodes that share the cluster alias. Alternatively, the Server
           software can be configured to operate on a single, speci-
           fied node in the cluster. Configuring the RSM Server for op-
           eration on a single cluster-member restricts the use of RSM
           and the associated workload to a single node.

           Configuring the RSM Server for full VAXcluster system op-
           eration allows more efficient use of cluster-wide resources,
           providing redundancy and load balancing with minimum man-
           ager preparation and effort. In this configuration, all mem-
           bers of the cluster, who share the cluster alias, will per-
           form some of the work associated with RSM operations.

           Typical networks would have one or more RSM Servers, each
           serving a number of Clients. Where there are multiple RSM
           Servers for a given set of Clients, one Server is designated
           for management operations and the others are Software li-
           brary servers or Backup target servers.

           RSM VMS Client

           This product provides VMS systems with the ability to re-
           ceive software distributed from an RSM Server including op-
           erating systems. This product also permits files to be backed
           up to and restored from an RSM Server.

           RSM ULTRIX Client

           This product provides ULTRIX systems with the ability to re-
           ceive software distributed from an RSM Server. Operating sys-
           tems cannot be installed on ULTRIX Clients as of this re-
           lease. This product also permits files to be backed up to
           and restored from an RSM Server.






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           Remote System Manager, Version 2.3          SPD 29.59.03


           Features

           Software Distribution and Installation

           The Software Distribution Services (SDS) component of the
           RSM Server performs the installation of software to RSM Clients.
           RSM stores copies of applications for both VMS and ULTRIX
           and operating systems for VMS systems in a library on the
           RSM Server and uses the DECnet network to distribute soft-
           ware automatically to the RSM Client during the installa-
           tion process.

           Note: Software that is installed using SDS remains subject
           to any licensing restrictions associated with that software.

           Application Software Installation

           RSM provides users with the ability to take applications from
           an RSM Server library and install those applications on one
           or more RSM Clients. Application software is installed at
           the RSM Client using the standard installation utility for
           that system (for VMS systems, the VMSINSTAL utility; for UL-
           TRIX systems, the setld utility).

           RSM's Application Sets feature provides for the creation and
           manipulation of "sets" of related applications. The concept
           of Application Sets makes performing operations on an en-
           tire set of applications as easy as performing operations
           on a single application.

           RSM provides users with the ability to manage and enforce
           application prerequisites. This feature permits applications
           to be stored in the library along with information on the
           software prerequisites for the application. When RSM is re-
           quested to install this application, RSM automatically ver-
           ifies that RSM has installed all of the software prerequi-
           sites on the Client. If RSM finds that any prerequisite soft-
           ware is not present on the Client, RSM automatically installs
           the required prerequisite software.


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           Remote System Manager, Version 2.3          SPD 29.59.03


           Restrictions

           For VMS:

           SDS can install any VMS application that can be installed
           with the VMSINSTAL utility and conforms to the following rules:

           o  The application's installation procedure must conform to
              the guidelines presented in the VMS Developer's Guide to
              VMSINSTAL.

           o  The application must be installable while VMSINSTAL is
              running as a noninteractive process. In addition, the ap-
              plication must be installable using a VMSINSTAL auto-answer
              file.

           SDS executes VMSINSTAL as a detached process. Therefore, any
           application installation procedure that performs terminal-
           related activities (such as SET TERMINAL) or modifies its
           execution based on process mode (such as INTERACTIVE or BATCH)
           may fail.

           The application installation procedure must not depend on
           local conditions such as node name or pre-existing files.

           For ULTRIX:

           SDS can install any ULTRIX application that can be installed
           with the setld utility. The setld program does not permit
           the installation of subsets that cannot fit into the avail-
           able disk space.

           Application subset naming has changed as of ULTRIX V4.0. The
           version labeling used by SDS only supports this new naming
           convention. ULTRIX applications present in SDS libraries since
           V2.2 will not work, however, applications prior to ULTRIX
           V4.0 can be reinstalled if needed with a modified use of the
           subset version naming.

           All NFS file systems should be dismounted before using setld
           with the -a, -d, and -l options.

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           Remote System Manager, Version 2.3          SPD 29.59.03


           Operating System Software Installation - VMS Clients Only

           RSM can install a VMS Operating System on an RSM Client. Us-
           ing this capability, managers of RSM Servers can take a VAXs-
           tation, MicroVAX, or VAXserver, connect it to an Ethernet
           network, and have a preconfigured operating system trans-
           mitted over the Ethernet and installed on the RSM Client.

           The system manager selects a FETCHed operating system from
           the SDS library for downloading; it must be a version of VMS
           that supports the system to be initial system loaded (ISLed).
           Once designated for ISLing, the Client is booted from the
           Ethernet and the Client system is downloaded.

           Restrictions

           For the installation of operating system software, both the
           RSM Server and its Client must be on the same Local Area Net-
           work.

           Approximately 15,000 blocks of disk space should be reserved
           for storing the remote boot disk image that RSM uses to per-
           form an initial system load (ISL) on the management server.

           File Backup and Restore

           The Backup and Restore Services (BRS) component provides sched-
           uled file backups from RSM Clients to RSM Servers. BRS also
           has the ability to restore files that it backed up.

           Backups are scheduled by creating an RSM Server database en-
           try for each backup task required for each Client. This en-
           try defines all of the attributes of the backup task, such
           as the frequency of the backup (daily, weekly, monthly), the
           style of backup (incremental or full), the files to be backed
           up, and whether to store the backed up data on disk or tape.

           Restrictions



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           Remote System Manager, Version 2.3          SPD 29.59.03


           When restoring to an RSM Client from a tape backup, RSM copies
           the information to be restored to an RSM Server disk prior
           to transferring this information to the RSM Client. There
           must be sufficient disk space on the RSM Server for this op-
           eration.

           In order for RSM to perform an image restore of an RSM Client,
           that Client must have at least two writable storage devices.

           For ULTRIX:

           Backups on ULTRIX systems use the native backup utilities
           (dump and tar) in multiuser mode, and these utilities are
           subject to certain limitations. Specifically, any user or
           system activity that modifies files while they are being backed
           up may corrupt the backup. Digital recommends that non-image
           backups be performed whenever possible, because during non-
           image backups RSM uses the tar utility, which is less vul-
           nerable to corruption problems.

           System Administration

           The Client Administrative Services (CAS) component of the
           RSM Server provides remote management of user accounts, di-
           rectories, and proxies on RSM VMS Clients. It provides a mech-
           anism for maintaining consistent logical names, symbol names,
           and DECnet node names across the set of RSM VMS Clients. Also,
           it distributes VMS license information for Clients as of VMS
           V5.0 and checks security of DECnet and guest accounts on RSM
           Clients.

           Restrictions

           The mechanism for maintaining consistent logical names, sym-
           bols, and DECnet node names is provided by commands in a menu
           interface that allow a master copy of these databases to be
           distributed from the RSM Server to specified RSM VMS Clients.

           There is no command line interface to this component of RSM.

           Additional Features

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           Remote System Manager, Version 2.3          SPD 29.59.03


           RSM Server Hierarchy

           The RSM Management Server can control the operation of up
           to four other RSM Servers. This feature allows centralized
           scheduling of RSM operations while other RSM Servers con-
           tain the SDS library or receive the backup output files.

           Menu and Command Line User Interface

           This version of RSM supports both a menu-style and a com-
           mand line interface. The menu interface is designed to aid
           the user in the correct structuring of RSM command lines.

           Groups

           In many situations, a number of computer systems perform sim-
           ilar tasks. These systems typically use the same software
           and can operate on the same backup schedule. RSM's Group fea-
           ture permits all of these systems to be referenced by a sin-
           gle group name. RSM operations on a Group are performed on
           each system in the group.

           Management of LMF licenses

           RSM provides the ability to create and maintain a VMS Li-
           cense Management database on the RSM Management Server for
           each VMS Client. RSM can then transmit this database to the
           VMS Client and install it as a Secondary LMF Database. This
           feature requires that both the Server and Client be execut-
           ing VMS V5.0 at a minimum.

           Configuration

           Any given RSM Server should not be configured to support more
           than 40 RSM Clients.

           RSM supports only a single level of Server hierarchy. Each
           RSM environment must contain one and only one management server.
           A management server can support a maximum of four other servers.
           The other servers can be target servers, library servers,
           combined target and library servers, or any combination of

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           Remote System Manager, Version 2.3          SPD 29.59.03


           these. If users need to add more servers, they must parti-
           tion the client population into distinct management domains.

           RSM makes extensive use of facilities provided by the op-
           erating system on which it runs, causing RSM to be highly
           dependent upon the configuration of the base operating sys-
           tem. Operating system related files should not be moved from
           where they were placed during the installation process. Also
           search lists should not be created that prevent RSM from ac-
           cessing the correct copy of these files in the standard lo-
           cations. All modifications to operating system data files
           (i.e., DECnet databases, user authorization files, etc.) should
           be done using the operating system provided utilities or as
           described in the appropriate documentation.

           HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS

           VAX, MicroVAX, VAXstation, or VAXserver configuration as spec-
           ified in the System Support Addendum (SSA 25.59.03-x).

           SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

           Distributed Name Service (DNS) (SPD 28.79.xx) must be in-
           stalled within the network and accessible, via DECnet, from
           RSM Server nodes.

           RSM Clients require that there be at least one RSM Server
           in the network.

           For VMS Systems:

           RSM Server Software:

           VMS Operating System
           DECnet-VAX

           RSM Server provides initial load support for VMS Operating
           System

           RSM Client Software:

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           Remote System Manager, Version 2.3          SPD 29.59.03


           VMS Operating System or
              MicroVMS Operating System
           DECnet-VAX

           For ULTRIX Systems (RISC and VAX):

           RSM Client Software:

           ULTRIX Operating System
           ULTRIX Worksystem Software
           DECnet-ULTRIX

           Refer to the System Support Addendum (SSA 25.59.03-x) for
           availability and required versions of prerequisite/optional
           software.

           ORDERING INFORMATION

           VMS Server

           Software Licenses: QL-B13A*-**
           Software Media: QA-B13A*-**
           Software Documentation: QA-B13AA-GZ
           Software Product Services: QT-B13A*-**

           VMS Client

           Software Licenses: QL-B14A*-**
           Software Media: None[1]
           Software Documentation: None[2]
           Software Product Services: None[3]

           ULTRIX/VAX Client

           _________________

         [1] Client is distributed on the VMS Server media.
         [2] Client information is covered in the documentation for the

             VMS Server.
         [3] Client Services are provided in the Services offering for

             the VMS Server.

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           Remote System Manager, Version 2.3          SPD 29.59.03


           Software Licenses: QL-VWWA*-**
           Software Media: None[1]
           Software Documentation: None[2]
           Software Product Services: None[3]

           ULTRIX/RISC Client

           Software Licenses: QL-GUXA*-**
           Software Media: None[1]
           Software Documentation: None[2]
           Software Product Services: None[3]

           *  Denotes variant fields. For additional information on avail-
              able licenses, services, and media, refer to the appro-
              priate price book.

           SOFTWARE LICENSING

           The licensing terms are based on clusterwide licensing in
           which the license applies to a purchase power rating rather
           than a specific CPU. Customers continue to receive the right-
           to-use software on nodes within a cluster system. The RSM
           Server must be licensed on all members of the VAXcluster sys-
           tem that share the cluster alias. In this case, the VAXclus-
           ter license would be restricted to the rating purchased rather
           than the total rating of the VAXcluster system, unless the
           entire VAXcluster system shared the cluster alias.

           This software is furnished under the licensing provisions
           of Digital Equipment Corporation's Standard Terms and Con-
           ditions. For more information about Digital's licensing terms
           and policies, contact your local Digital office.









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           Remote System Manager, Version 2.3          SPD 29.59.03


           LICENSE MANAGEMENT FACILITY SUPPORT

           The RSM VMS Server, RSM VMS Client, and RSM ULTRIX RISC Client
           layered products support the VMS License Management Facil-
           ity.

           License units for this product are allocated on a CPU-capacity
           basis.

           For more information on the License Management Facility, re-
           fer to the VMS Operating System Software Product Descrip-
           tion (SPD 25.01.xx) or the License Management Facility man-
           ual of the VMS Operating System documentation set.

           For more information about Digital's licensing terms and poli-
           cies, contact your local Digital office.

           SOFTWARE PRODUCT SERVICES

           A variety of service options are available from Digital. For
           more information, contact your local Digital office.

           SOFTWARE WARRANTY

           Warranty for this software product is provided by Digital
           with the purchase of a license for the product as defined
           in the Software Warranty Addendum of this SPD.

           [TM]The DIGITAL Logo, CI, DEC, DECnet, DECstation, DEC-
               system, MicroVAX, MicroVMS, ULTRIX, VAX, VAXcluster,
               VAXft, VAXserver, VAXstation, and VMS are trademarks
               of Digital Equipment Corporation.









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