HP Systems Insight Manager - Manual (Page 97)

17 HP SIM custom tools
General concepts
Custom tools are tools that can be created by the user to run on the CMS or on target systems. For
example:
• Remote tool A tool that runs on selected target systems. It might copy files to the target
systems or run specific X-Window applications on the target systems. You can schedule this
tool.
• CMS tool A tool that runs on the CMS. It is usually a script or batch file and can pass in
environment variables. Using Automatic Event Handling, you can configure this tool to run
when events are received. You can schedule this tool.
• Web page tool A tool that launches a web URL. The URL is launched in a separate browser
window on the CMS. You cannot schedule this tool.
To add custom tools, you can either use the Tools
→Custom Tools→New Custom Tools menu
in the GUI, or edit the tool definition files (tdefs) in a text editor and register them with the CLI
mxtool
. Both procedures are explained in this chapter.
Tool types
As delivered, HP SIM provides an administrator with unified management control of any number
of servers and storage devices from a single console in the data center or in a remote location.
When customized with specialized tools or Insight Essentials Value Added Software plug-ins, HP
SIM becomes a comprehensive, easy-to-use platform for controlling Microsoft Windows, Linux, or
HP-UX enterprise environments.
A key method of administering multiple systems is through scripting. HP SIM features a modular
architecture that uses
tool definition files (TDEFs) written in the XML data file format. A TDEF contains
the definitions of one or more tools used by HP SIM and define how a tool launches and executes.
A tool can be a script or an executable file. Creating custom tools enables you to extend the use
of HP SIM to your specific business environment.
General concepts 97