Enterprise-level server management tools

In the field of infrastructure management, server management tools have a lot of work to do. In most cases, these tools are the center or hub of the server infrastructure. They provide unified management services for a large number of servers, this means that the server management tool covers the main fields of server management and has comprehensive functionality. Generally, server management tools can be divided into kits and specialized products. Kits are the most notable tools. They are usually a large one-stop service station for server management, some of which are comprehensive. Some enterprise-level suites, such as IBM's Tivoli and HP's OpenView, attempt to cover the main areas of server management-storage, network, security, server performance, and software management. On the other hand, the dozens of dedicated product certification kits in this field do not include all (or even enough) important features and functionality, and there is indeed a market for the survival of other dedicated products.
There is also a difference in the "method" for implementing server management. Most suites attempt to establish a unified approach-consistent user interfaces, multi-platform support, all-encompassing policy control, and a unified framework of code and structure that connects all parts together, of course, there is also support for a single vendor. Dedicated products are specific to elements that may or may not be included in a suite. They often differentiate themselves by sticking to a certain management philosophy (such as exception-based or business process-oriented, or they may have unusual user interfaces (usually more images) or unique feature configurations (feature combinations in an unorthodox manner ). All server management products integrate, aggregate, or centralize operations on many servers to a single management point. Server Management products are mainly divided into single platform products (mainly for Microsoft and partner platforms) and multi-platform products. For convenience, it is often divided into Microsoft System Management Server and four major kits: IBM Tivoli, CA Unicenter, bmc patrol, and HP OpenView. Currently, there are dozens of products that constantly challenge some of these four major suites. However, many products are classified as running only on server products that use Windows operating systems and on multi-platform servers that run Linux, Unix, or Mac OS X. To some extent, this Division also reflects the products developed using Java, that is, non-Microsoft products written in Java.
So what should we expect from the server management software? First, all server management products integrate, aggregate, or centralize operations on many servers to a single management point. The main benefit of doing so is obviously: managing a large number of servers requires fewer people, and the management software function can be applied to many servers in a unified way. Of course, what servers, what functions are executed, and how they are managed are critical. Server Management software may be dedicated to certain hardware (such as IBM, Dell, and Apple) and certain operating systems (such as Windows, Linux, Unix, and Mac OS X) and some types of servers (such as Web servers, database servers, and application servers ). In general, most vendors are very accurate in terms of the functionality of software classification, but not always. The classification of features may sometimes be random. Some products also overlap functions, such as monitoring network traffic and monitoring server security.
The most difficult choice is to determine how the server is managed, that is, the management method. Some features, such as whether the software is GUI-oriented or Web-based, are easy to determine. However, the more subtle aspect of management is not just that. In most cases, you must experiment or test the software to get the true feeling of how the management software runs. To help evaluate server management tools, a menu is created for comparison suite and dedicated tool features. If an enterprise user has determined the type of server management required by the user, this table can help him determine whether the suite is the most suitable or the dedicated product set is more suitable.
Note that none of the products (or even suites) can cover all the features listed in the table. There will be many overlapping functions, and vendors often define product functions in a conflicting manner. In other words, these categories are used for guidance. We have not evaluated the importance of these features, because only the user can decide what is most important to the actual application.