Release Information

Quest Management Xtensions for MOM includes the following new features:

• Product Name Change - Vintela Systems Monitor was renamed to Quest Management Xtensions for MOM. Cosmetic name changes were made on the product interface. "VSM" still appears in a few, low-level places.
• Integrated Reports - Quest Management Xtensions for MOM allows MOM administrators to quickly run reports based on the data that Quest Management Xtensions for MOM surfaces including, Agent Configuration, Agent Health, Performance Data, Threshold Data, System Health, Capacity Data, etc.
• New Providers for Unix Base OS Management Pack - Quest Management Xtensions for MOM delivers a management pack that instruments CPU utilization on a per processor basis and instrumentation for file sizes. Two new Providers in the Unix Base OS Management Pack: Unix Processor Utilization and Unix File Watcher.
• Vintela Authentication Services (”VAS”) 2.6 and VAS 3.0 Management Packs - Quest Management Xtensions for MOM now provides management packs for both versions of VAS, version 2.6 and 3.0. It does not monitor vashost. Rules include: License Watcher, vas.conf Watcher, VAS Daemon Connected Mode, Daemon Process Watcher, and VAS Yellow Pages Watcher.
• Better Error Reporting - Custom provider perl scripts and the log parser can send alerts directly to MOM if they have any problems running.
• Configurable Timeouts - We've added the ability to set different timeout (service unavailable alert) intervals for all computers, or individually based on computer or domain names.
• Native Support for 64-bit versions of Redhat and Solaris - Quest Management Xtensions for MOM can now monitor native 64-bit systems (namely Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 3 and 4 - (64-bit*). (Solaris 64-bit is handled by the 32-bit build).
• Unattended Service installation - The Quest Management Xtensions for MOM Service installation is now optionally a single-step process capable of being distributed through SMS.
• Automatic Agent Upgrade - Quest Management Xtensions for MOM is now capable of upgrading currently installed agents by retrieving current members of the Quest Management Xtensions for MOM Agent Computer Group for inclusion in the list of systems onto which to install through the push installer.
• Ability to "Retry" a failed Agent Installation - There is a new button on the Final push install screen that allows the user to retry a failed Agent installation without requiring re-entry of parameters, package location, Active Directory options, etc. This button can be used in conjunction with the Edit button to correct previous setting selections
• Re-sizable windows in the Agent Installation Wizard - output and error screens are now fully re-sizable, and are updated as the install runs. They are also "pausable", so the output can be halted in case you see something and you don't want the text to continue scrolling while you're reading. The installation continues.
• The Agent Installation Wizard "remembers" the Agent Installation parameters - The push installer will remember all options (except passwords) selected from its most recent run. The wizard can be executed by simply hitting the Retry button if a “rerun” is desired.
• Agent Installation Wizard displays a running count of the current task it is performing - The installation wizard indicates the current task number of the total number of tasks that is in progress.
• su to root - The push installer allows end-users to “ssh” to a target system as one user, then “su –“ to root after the connection has been established. Many systems turn off the ability for root to ssh remotely.
• Parameter Matching - The push installer will contact the Quest Management Xtensions for MOM Service running on the Management Server in order to establish the options that we specified when it was installed. These options are now automatically reflected in the options with which the agents are configured.
• Computer Name - The push installer will by default use the host name specified with the ssh connection as the computer name in MOM (you can override that).
• Ease of use - The push installer has a MUCH simpler connection vs. authorization screen, and has eliminated the need to know if VAS / VASHOST is installed on the target computers... the installer takes care of that.
• Additional Functionality - The ability to clean the existing packages before running the install. (Do not use this if you have data you do not want to lose, unless you back it up, of course.)
• Improved Performance - The push installer caches the packages on the agent until an install is successful. Quest Management Xtensions for MOM has some pretty big packages (especially AIX ). We now leave them down there until Quest Management Xtensions for MOM has been installed successfully, and run check-sums to make sure the packages are valid. It also allows you to rerun the installer to change configuration settings (like a different primary management server) without having to push the packages down.
• Setup - We allow you to use the computer's IP address instead of the hostname on the box (which oft-times is something like "localhost") as the computer name in MOM when DNS is not yet setup correctly on the target machine.