You can use the Webmin utility of the BMC BladeLogic Rapid Deployment Stack for Servers (BladeLogic RDS) to access the BMC Server Automation Console (referred to as the console in this topic), and from there, to execute standard BMC Server Automation tasks. You can also access the Health and Value Dashboard and BMC BladeLogic Portal from the BladeLogic RDS main page. This topic contains the following sections:
Before you begin
In a Red Hat Enterprise Linux server environment, before you can launch the console from a Microsoft Windows server, you must first export the display.
Perform the following procedure to copy the console executable files from the bladelogicrds virtual machine's installation directories, then install and launch them on the Windows host:
- In the virtual machine's installation directories, navigate to /usr/libexec/webmin/Downloads.
- Copy one of the following files to the Windows host:
- BBSACONSOLE<version>-WIN32.exe (for example, BBS ACONSOLE87-WIN32.exe)
- BBSACONSOLE<version>-WIN64.exe (for example, BBSACONSOLE87-WIN64.exe)
- Run the copied executable file to install and launch the console on the Windows host.
If you are using the Windows client to connect to the BladeLogic RDS virtual machine, add the following entry for the virtual machine to the %SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\etc\hosts file of Windows:
<Update the IP Address of the VM> bladelogicrds bladelogicrds
To access the console from the BladeLogic RDS
- On the virtual machine, perform one of the following actions:
- In the Command Shell, run the command:
[root@bladelogicrds]# /opt/bmc/bladelogic/CM/rcp/launcher. - On the virtual machine desktop, double-click the BladeLogic Console icon.
- In the Command Shell, run the command:
From the console window, use the relevant credentials for the default BMC Server Automation Administrator authentication profile, and click Connect:
- BMC Server Automation Administrator user name: BLAdmin or RBACAdmin
- Password (case sensitive) w.r.t. username:
- If username is BLAdmin: bsaAdm1n
- If username is RBACAdmin: password
You are connected to the BMC Server Automation console.
If you are able to connect to the Application Server, you have successfully configured the BladeLogic RDS and BMC Server Automation.
Performing tasks from the console
The following table lists some of the key tasks you can perform from the console, and provides links to details about performing the tasks.
| Task | Description | For more information |
|---|---|---|
| Navigating the console | The console contains global menus, toolbars, perspectives, views, objects, and content editors, referred to collectively as the console. | Navigating the interface |
| Adding servers | In the console, the Servers folder gives you a variety of utilities for managing the servers in your system. Adding servers is a fundamental task. After you add a server, you can view its contents in real time and run various types of jobs on the server. BMC Server Automation jobs let you perform actions such as patching, deploying software, or checking a server's configuration for compliance with organizational standards. You can also use Network Shell and the BMC Server Automation command line interface (BLCLI) to manage the server. Before you can add a server to BMC Server Automation management, you must first deploy an agent to the server and then perform some minor configuration. | |
| Browsing inventory | You can browse any server in the Servers folder by right-clicking the server and selecting Browse. The following browse options are available:
| |
| Deploying agents | How to use the console to install agents on servers and and how to add those managed servers to your system | Installing one or more agents using the BMC Server Automation Console |
| Provisioning systems | Physical server, or bare metal, provisioning in BMC Server Automation enables you to boot a piece of hardware over the network and remotely install an operating system and software onto the machine. BMC Server Automation automates OS installation and configuration with support for all major operating systems, as well as the leading virtualization and cloud platforms. It also provides the ability to choose the best mechanism for delivering that OS — from traditional unattended installs, to image-based provisioning, to template-based provisioning on virtualization platforms. | Walkthrough: Provisioning a Linux VM on VMware Walkthrough: Provisioning Linux Walkthrough: Provisioning Microsoft Windows 2012 on a bare metal machine |
| Patching systems | Patch management refers to the acquisition, testing, and installation of patches. The patch administrator analyzes individual servers to determine which patches must be acquired and installed to comply with organizational standards. BMC Server Automation automates the process of building and maintaining a patch repository, analyzing target servers, and, if necessary, packaging and deploying patches. At the end of the process, reports are available to show compliance. | Patch management overview and workflow |
| Auditing system configurations | Audit Jobs allow you to compare server objects, components, server-object-based snapshots, or component-based snapshots to determine whether their configurations match a standard configuration. After running an Audit Job, you can view its results and quickly identify discrepancies between component configurations. When you identify discrepancies, you can bundle changes into a BLPackage and deploy the changes to a server so its configuration matches the standard configuration. Audits can also perform a security function by quickly identifying unauthorized changes to server configurations. | |
| Enforcing compliance | The Compliance module of BMC Server Automation enables you to analyze your servers and measure their compliance with corporate policies or industry standards. This topic describes the typical tasks that you perform while analyzing compliance through BMC Server Automation. Using the Compliance module, you can scan any number of server configurations across multiple data centers for adherence to the relevant policies or sets of compliance rules. | Analyzing system compliance |
| Deploying packages and software | BMC Server Automation lets you create packages and other types of objects that you can store in the Depot. After you create these objects, you can use jobs to deploy the objects on multiple servers. You can create the following types of objects and store them in the Depot:
| Deploying files and applications using packages and depot objects |
To access the Dashboard
You can access the Health and Value Dashboard from the main page of the BladeLogic RDS, by selecting the Health and Value Dashboard option. The Health and Value Dashboard provides a view into your BMC Server Automation environment and offers tips for optimizing BladeLogic installations. While the dashboard is not a monitoring tool, it is a mechanism for quickly assessing the health of all BladeLogic system components. The BladeLogic Dashboard can also show savings your organization is experiencing by using BladeLogic.
See BMC BladeLogic Dashboard for more information about using the Health and Value Dashboard.
The dashboard can be accessed through the link on the BladeLogic RDS page or through port 9843, using the following URL: http://bladelogicrds:9843/dashboard
To access the Portal
You can access the BladeLogic Portal from the main page of the BladeLogic RDS by selecting the BMC BladeLogic Portal option. The BladeLogic Portal is a web-based user interface that provides a subset of the functionality available in the BMC Server Automation Console and lets IT operations personnel execute common server configuration management activities, such as patching, compliance, provisioning, and software deployment.
See BMC BladeLogic Portal for more information about using the BladeLogic Portal.
The BladeLogic Portal is accessed through port 12006 using the following URL: https://bladelogicrds:12006. You are prompted to log on with your Portal credentials.
Where to go from here
To get started with BMC Server Automation, check out the walkthroughs and key concept topics in Getting started.
Overview
Content Tools
Apps
Reporter Replacement
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Tasks