Frequently asked questions (FAQ) about deployment

This topic answers some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Infrastructure Management. BMC Software recommends that you review this FAQ when planning a new deployment or an upgrade.

User interfaces

Can I see all the PATROL Agent data in the Infrastructure Management consoles?

Yes. All trended data in BMC PATROL is now visible in the operator console. Attributes that are "availability" in nature, may be filtered from "storing" the data in the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server; however, Infrastructure Management supports graphing these attributes by querying the PATROL Agent for data. You can also see annotated data from BMC PATROL in the Operations Console. Text parameters in BMC PATROL are not visible in the Infrastructure Management UI.

Are all BMC PATROL console functions available in Infrastructure Management?

Not all of the BMC PATROL console functionality has been developed in Infrastructure Management yet, but some of the functionality does exist. In general, all configuration aspects are represented. Certain agent actions are also available. Infrastructure Management provides a Query Agent window which is similar (although not exactly the same) to the System Output window in BMC PATROL.

Have the BMC PATROL Central administration functions also migrated to Infrastructure Management?

Some of the functions have migrated, but the migration is limited (for example, KM menu commands have not been migrated).

Has the PATROL Configuration Manager functionality been incorporated in pushed in Infrastructure Management?

Yes. At a high level, Central Monitoring Administration replaces PATROL Configuration Manager. Some specific features of PATROL Configuration Manager do not exist in Central Monitoring Administration (for example, compare, reporting, and so on). Rule set development in Central Monitoring Administration includes policies and deployment of policies is much more controlled, automated, and easier in Central Monitoring Administration than PATROL Configuration Manager.

Does Infrastructure Management support Impact Explorer?

Yes. BMC Impact Explorer can be used to access Infrastructure Management cells.

Are any optional components required to view service hierarchies and status?

No.

In Infrastructure Management can we use Impact Explorer to view and manage events without registering the cell to a standalone BMC Event and Impact Manager 7.4.x IAS?

BMC recommends that in Infrastructure Management, you use the operator console and not Impact Explorer. If you use Impact Explorer, you will have to register the cell(s) to BMC Event and Impact Manager 7.4.x IAS.

Will all functionality present in the BMC PATROL Central Operator consoles be integrated into Infrastructure Management?

BMC plans to cover most (if not all) BMC PATROL Central Operator console capabilities of which you derive value from, in Infrastructure Management.

Have additional out-of-the-box reports been added in Infrastructure Management?

No new out-of-the-box reports have been added. Some reports that were based on outdated collectors have been removed. You can still create reports based on the attributes that you select.

Does the administration console still contain the UI similar to Impact Explorer?

Yes and that is the UI from which to manage event cells in Infrastructure Management.

Can I modify data tables using the Services Editor tab in the Administration Console?

Yes. You can modify the content of the data table but not the structure of the table.

Is the BMC Impact Explorer a Java application?

Yes.

Are there any changes to the prediction window?  

There are no changes to the prediction window.

What is the role of PATROL Configuration Manager?

PATROL Configuration Manager in general is not required but may still be useful because it provides some capabilities that are not present in Central Monitoring Administration. For example, the ability to compare agents. If you use Central Monitoring Administration for configuration management, then use PATROL Configuration Manager to view configuration from agents. Do not use both to apply configuration to agents.

Can I use PATROL Configuration Manager instead of Central Monitoring Administration?

BMC recommends using Central Monitoring Administration. Policy management provides operational benefits over the push/forget model of PATROL Configuration Manager. Central Monitoring Administration also has architectural improvements.

Is the flash check feature available?

Because statistical data is streamed in near real time, the flash check functionality will not be needed. Infrastructure Management also contains the Refresh Parameters menu option to force a collection outside of its normal timing.

BMC does not recommend multiple users using the Administration Console at the same time. But in a large enterprise, it is difficult to gauge the number of connected users without polling all possible users. How do I overcome this?

There are limited use cases for the administrator console in Infrastructure Management. Most operations that support multiple users have moved to Central Monitoring Administration . The administrator console is used mostly for event management, cell configurations, and older third party adapter configurations.

Can KM menu commands be run from Infrastructure Management?

A limited number of BMC PATROL KM menu commands are available in the Infrastructure Management consoles. You also can use the Query Agent capability in Central Monitoring Administration to run PSL commands.

Can all BMC KMs be configured using Central Monitoring Administration?  

Yes, all BMC KMs can be used through Central Monitoring Administration. Because KMs have their own release cycle, KMs are enabled as and when they are released.

When I click the Tools menu in the Operations Console, can I see all the historical data that was collected or do I have to search the device under All Devices?

You can see the historical data that is collected from the Tools menu. If the PATROL Agent is sending only events, the data comes from the PATROL Agent in real time to populate the graph and this is a seamless process.

Can I run PSL scripts and debug diagnostics from the Operations Console?

You can initiate PSL commands using the Query Agent command. This is not specifically designed to run scripts; however, with the correct syntax you can run small scripts. For a deep dive debug, you may still require a BMC PATROL console.

Can I see annotations on the BMC PATROL parameter data points in the Operations Console?

Yes. See Viewing annotation details.

PATROL Agents and agent policies

What are the different types of policies?

There are three types of policies: staging policies , monitoring policies , and agent blackout policies .

Do PATROL Agents create events? Or does Infrastructure Management generate events based upon the metric values it receives from the BMC PATROL infrastructure?

BMC recommends that you configure PATROL Agents to generate and forward events for "availability" parameters where sending data (0s and 1s) to the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server may not work. Performance parameters must be sent to Infrastructure Management as data only, allowing analytics to evaluate thresholds and generate intelligent events.

Do the filters in Central Monitoring Administration policies control what is available for viewing or do they a filter what is sent and stored in the database?

Policy filters  instruct a PATROL Agent on what to send to the database and the event cell. By default, any KM that is configured and running sends all of its data and events configured in the PATROL Agent. Filtering provides "agent side" instructions to limit the information that the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server must store. Viewing is not restricted by policy filtering. You can graph an attribute that is filtered from sending its data to Infrastructure Management. For these attributes, the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server requests data from the PATROL Agent in real time.

Which Central Monitoring Administration policy type instructs the PATROL Agent to stream data without placing it in the database?

Filtering configurations  in monitoring policies suppress data from being streamed to the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server from the PATROL Agent. However, in the Operations Console, you can view an attribute that is filtered.

Why has the "merge" functionality not been incorporated in Central Monitoring Administration policies?

Use of the "merge" operation opens the doorway to having policies getting applied to an unknown agent configuration. There may be some limited cases where the merge operation is beneficial and some cases where in may even be required. This is an enhancement that will be considered.

Does Central Monitoring Administration allow policy stacking with inheritance?

Yes. Inheritance cannot be carried for the same application class defined in two or more policies (for example, one policy cannot select three services to monitor and another policy provide additional three services).

Do policies include anything related to service impact?

No. Service impact is specific to rules and behavior of the Service Impact Management cell. Policies are focused on PATROL Agent configuration and/or monitoring the behavior of the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server. For more information, see Infrastructure Management cells and Knowledge Base.

Is there a policy versioning capability? For example, if I push a wrong policy out, can I easily revert?

Central Monitoring Administration does not have in built policy versioning. The Policy Migration Utility lets you leverage your preferred source code control where desired. These capabilities provide a means to create a "new" version of the policy, disable the old and enable the new.  If an issue arose you can disable the new and re-enable the old policy.

Have the PATROL Agent alert messages been updated? Or do I still need to define additional policies for this?

The PATROL Agent has been updated for event configuration. You can enrich messages while configuring the PATROL Agent. This configuration can be managed in a policy. For details, see Configuring a BMC PATROL Agent .

Does the blackout policy in Central Monitoring Administration apply to external events?

Blackout policies  control PATROL Agent behavior. For external events, you can create a blackout policy using the Event Management Policies tab in the Administrator Console.

Will using PATROL Configuration Manager on a PATROL Agent managed by Central Monitoring Administration break the ability to manage the agent?

No. However, an you must either use PATROL Configuration Manager or Central Monitoring Administration policies to manage a PATROL Agent, not both. Areas of agent configuration that are managed by policies override local configurations. In some instances, certain KMs may need to be configured outside of Central Monitoring Administration (for example, custom KMs not enhanced for Central Monitoring Administration policy control).

Is manual synchronization of PATROL Agents available in Infrastructure Management?

Yes. This is supported with older Integration Service nodes integrated with Infrastructure Management. This does not apply to new Integration Service nodes and 9.5 PATROL Agents because there are no adapters. Infrastructure Management includes manual synchronization in Central Monitoring Administration for older instances that were not initially included.

Does the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server still poll for data from the Integration Service?

No. In Infrastructure Management, PATROL Agents stream performance data all the way to the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server through the Integration Service nodes.

Is there a confirmation in Central Monitoring Administration before a policy is applied?

No. However, a policy is disabled by default. You must decide when to enable a given policy.

How are agent down alerts captured in Infrastructure Management?

The Integration Service checks the communication automatically and alerts if it finds communication to be broken.

Which port is used to push policies directly to the PATROL Agent from Central Monitoring Administration?

Central Monitoring Administration does not connect directly to agents. It connects through the agent controller on the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server(s). Policies are passed through the agent controller to the  Integration Service nodes. The PATROL Agents initiate the connection to the  Integration Service nodes and receive their policies. The default connection port for agents on the Integration Service is 3183. For information about port numbers and connection requests, see Network ports.

Are threshold rules in Infrastructure Management the same as PATROL Configuration Manager rules?

No. PATROL Configuration Manager threshold rules are the absolute type. Infrastructure Management has absolute and signature thresholds that leverage baselines. Additionally the rule format stored in Central Monitoring Administration as policy content for thresholds has changed in comparison to the older rule format managed in PATROL Configuration Manager. However, PATROL Configuration Manager can be used to collect and view any rules at the agent, even if they come from a policy. Avoid trying to manage the same agent with PATROL Configuration Manager and policies.

Integration Service

Does the PATROL Agent now push data to the Integration Service?

Yes. PATROL Agents version 3.8.50.01 and later pushed data to the Integration Service. In Infrastructure Management,  the PATROL Agent pushes the data all the way to the Infrastructure Management Server (through communication managed by the Integration Service).

Have only the terms related to the Integration Service components changed or has the technology also changed?

The technology has also changed. Integration Service comprises the Integration Service and the event cell. 9.5 BMC PATROL Agents do not communicate their data to a "BMC PATROL proxy server" any longer. PATROL Agents connect to the Integration Service and data is moved directly to the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server. Additionally, events can be sent to the Integration Service on the same port along with the performance data.

When I integrate with third party products or other monitoring tools, should I integrate with the Integration Service?

Yes, the Integration Service computer acts as the "entry point" to the architecture. All sources of data and events must connect to an entry point. Some integrations may only leverage events into the architecture, but they must still connect to an Integration Server (for example, event only).

Is it okay to install multiple instances of the Integration Service (that includes the Integration Service, cell, and BMC Event Adapter)?

Yes. Multiple instances of the Integration Service are supported. Installation of the cell components is required only once. Additional cells are created leveraging and configuring BMC Event Manager commands. Additional Integration Service instances can be installed on the same node as well. Installation of additional Integration Services provides a notation that cell components will be skipped during installation.

Is it mandatory to select a standalone Integration Service as a staging Integration Service?

Yes. Central Monitoring Administration does not support clustering staging Integration Services. It is important to note that clustering Integration Services create a comma separated list of Integration Services for the PATROL Agent. Because Central Monitoring Administration does not provide the staging Integration Service instruction to the PATROL Agent (this happens during the installation of the PATROL Agent), clustering may not be feasible. However, you can identify multiple Integration Services as staging Integration Services and when creating the PATROL Agent installation package  , use a comma separated list of these Integration Services. The PATROL Agent then connects to the first one it finds available in the list.

Should I not install the Monitor to Monitor KM on Integration Service hosts?

Yes. The the Monitor to Monitor KM is not needed on Integration Service hosts and it will not monitor the Integration Service processes. The KM was designed for the older Integration Service processes. In-built self monitoring replaces the KM. You must also install a PATROL Agent and an OS KM on the Integration Service nodes so that you can monitor the Integration Service processes externally.

If I want only event management, do I need the Integration Service if I am already using MCxP?

You need not install the Integration Service process if you are using Infrastructure Management only for event management. Third party events can be sent to event management cells directly. If you are using PATROL Agents and KMs for event detection, BMC recommends that you install the Integration Service and configure according to the Integration Service host deployment and best practices for event processing and propagation so that events from PATROL Agents are sent to the Integration Services. This recommendation allows you to easily take advantage of trending performance Key Performance Indicators (KPI) data in Infrastructure Management. In event only Integration Service installations, it is best to ensure that the cells used have all the latest and correct event processing data classes and rules.

Can I move agents from one Integration Service to another?

Yes. The move is very quick and there is no missing data after the move.

Can I have two servers defined in the Integration Service rule?

Yes.

Can two servers can be defined in the agent rule that defines Integration Service nodes?

Yes. This is supported as a cluster configuration in Central Monitoring Administration.

Staging Integration Service

What is the difference between an Integration Service and a staging Integration Service?

A  staging Integration Service allows you to automate the PATROL Agent to Integration Service configuration without sending data to the Infrastructure Management Server. It is used to automate which normal Integration Service or Integration Service cluster an agent must connect to. A staging Integration Service does not implement any monitoring policies.

What is the staging Integration Service used for?

The  staging Integration Service is used as a common initial place for newly installed PATROL Agents to enter the Infrastructure Management architecture. Staging policies can then decide which "production" Integration Service the PATROL Agent(s) must connect to going forward and optionally assign any agent tag(s) if required.

What is the concept behind configuring an Integration Service as a staging Integration Service?

When you install a Infrastructure Management Server, a local Integration Service is installed by default. BMC recommends that the Integration Service be used as a staging Integration Service . Never use the Integration Service on the Infrastructure Management Server for data collection.

Do I really need the staging Integration Service node?

It is not required but it is a best practice. A staging Integration Service makes for easier agent deployment.

Do I need to create the staging policy manually?

Yes. A staging policy   must be created manually. It is then applied based on the agent selection criteria   against agents connecting to any staging Integration Service.

Is it necessary to have a staging Integration Service?

A staging Integration Service   is not required if you know and configure the agent installation packages to contain the production Integration Service you want the agents to connect to. If you define the process and infrastructure so that each agent has the appropriate configuration for the Integration Service nodes, you do not have to use a staging Integration Service. The staging Integration Service is not mandatory. It is available to provide a central point to introduce agents to Infrastructure Management and to streamline the agent deployment process.

How can I load balance thousands of PATROL Agents? Should I apply a tag to these agents first?

You must use a third party load balancer to load balance PATROL Agents across Integration Service nodes. You can also use a staging policy to apply tags to the PATROL Agents; however a load balancer eliminates the manual task of assigning tags for this purpose.

Does the staging Integration Service have limitations related to the number of PATROL Agents?

There are no known limitations. PATROL Agents connect and get reassigned to a production Integration Service immediately. In general, agents are assigned to the production Integration Service in less than a minute.

Does staging contain only the final Integration Service that monitors all the parameters and blackouts?

No. A  staging Integration Service   does not apply  monitoring policies   to the PATROL Agent. It only applies to staging policies  that contain final the Integration Service configuration and optionally tags for the PATROL Agent.

Does the PATROL Agent initiate a connection with the staging Integration Service every time I restart the server?

The PATROL Agent connects to the  staging Integration Service   based on the configuration in the agent installation package, the first time the agent starts. The staging Integration Service then applies a staging policy   to the agent. The staging policy contains the final Integration Service that the agent then connects to. After the staging policy is applied, the agent connects to the final  Integration Service and does not reconnect to the staging  Integration Service. It does not reconnect to the staging  Integration Service after a restart. If the agent were to be purged, it goes back to the staging  Integration Service for reassignment.

Does a staging policy only contain the Integration Service to which the PATROL Agent connects?

Generally. Additionally, a staging policy   can assign required tags to the PATROL Agent as part of the staging.

Cells

Is the event management cell always installed with the Integration Service?

You can select to include or exclude the event management cell as part of the installation process. You can also exclude the cell if you are installing an additional Integration Service on a server in which an Integration Service already exists. The event management cell is installed once on a server. Additional instances are configured without running the installation file again.

What is the event management correlation cell?

A correlation cell is a term referencing the type of event management work being done by the cell. Source cells normally perform actions that do not rely on evaluation with events from other sources. Correlation cells provide a common cell where events can be evaluated in context with other events.

Can I use the event correlation cell for rule refinement or should I continue to do it at the Integration Service cell?

Considering the Integration Service cell is the "entry point" or "source" cell for PATROL Agents, it is a best practice to perform message enrichment, deduplication here. Event management configuration KB content must be kept common across Integration Service cells where possible. Correlation cell rules allow for correlating across events that may originate separate communication paths (for example, across PATROL Agents from multiple Integration Service computers).

Does it matter where I place the correlation cell? Can it live on the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server itself, or should it stay on an independent host?

It depends on a number of factors (event volume, rules to be processed against, other resource constraints). It is best to install the correlation cell as a standalone cell allowing for the use of cell HA configuration.

Is it possible to run multiple correlation cells on the same physical server?

Yes, the event management software is only installed once, but multiple cells may be created and run after the installation.

Can I install Integration with BMC Remedy Service Desk with the correlation cell?  

Integration with BMC Remedy Service Desk is available only when you install the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server cell. If you want basic event to BMC Remedy integration, Integration with BMC Remedy Service Desk can be hosted by the correlation cell (or any standalone cell).

What is the idea behind adding a correlation cell? What is the guidance on modifying rules/classes on the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server cell?  Should it be avoided?

The idea is to keep the workload on the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server cell reduced as much as possible with relation to enrichment of external event classes. You must add rules/classes to support events that present themselves to the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server cell for viewing. However, modify BMC provided rules and policies only after consulting BMC Support. The use of a correlation cell provides a step where customer specific rules can be applied to events prior to presenting them to the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server for viewing. Performing these limited workflows at this type of cell minimizes the need to publish these rules across many cells.

Is a correlation cell similar to a processing cell?

It is the same technology. The term "correlation" defines how the cell is used. An Integration Service cell is considered a source cell (feed directly by an event source, for example PATROL Agents) and as much standard processing as possible must be done at these cells. As events rise through the architecture, there are more events to be managed and rule processing must be limited to only those actions that require higher levels of functioning (for example, correlating with other events, configuration item (CI) enrichment, and so on).

A processing cell (for example, an Integration Service cell) provides basic event enrichment and handling that is usually common across "like" processing cells (for example, all PATROL Agent processing cells). A correlation cell usually has customer specific rules that can be applied to events prior to presenting the events to Infrastructure Management for viewing. Events at this cell may originate from any number of sources (BMC PATROL, SNMP, SCOM, and so on); performing these limited workflows at this type of cell minimizes the need to publish associated rules across many cells and supports correlating events from multiple domains.

Does Impact Explorer 7.3.01 support event management cells?

Impact Explorer 7.3.01 is not officially supported. 

Can the correlation cell be either a service impact management or an event management cell?

Yes. If the correlation cell is a standalone cell, it can be configured as a service impact management or an event management cell.

Is the central cell a Service Impact Management cell?

The cell on the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server is a Service Impact Management cell. For more information see Infrastructure Management cells and Knowledge Base.

Is the correlation cell the event cell on the Integration Service node, or a separate cell?

The correlation cell can be either located on an Integration Service or (if required) somewhere else. It is just a standard cell that is configured and used as a correlation cell. It is not a special installation.

Events and performance data

What do 'events' actually reference? Are they events created by threshold/conditions configured at the Infrastructure Management layer, or something else?

Events reference the occurrence of availability and performance metric threshold breaches. Events can come from many sources. PATROL Agents normally detect and generate "availability" events that are sent to the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server, while "performance" events are raised in the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server based on threshold evaluations in the analytics process. For more information, see Event.

Is performance data sent to Infrastructure Management or is only event data sent?

In general, attributes that are "availability" in nature generate events configured in the PATROL Agent and are passed to Infrastructure Management. Performance attributes are sent as data to the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server. The BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server might then have thresholds that generate events based on the data received. These events might be in the form of Critical, Major, Minor, and so on or as abnormality events. Additionally, all trended data in BMC PATROL is visible in the Operations Console.

Which major metrics are covered in application monitoring?

BMC provides comprehensive application response time monitoring with BMC Real End User Experience Management which integrates with Infrastructure Management. BMC also provides many metrics for application monitoring through BMC PATROL KMs. For a list of out-of-the-box KMs, see List of Monitoring Solutions and KMs in Infrastructure Management Performance Management.

Is there a change in the baseline mechanism and its use in thresholding?

No. See Managing baselines and How setting the All Baselines option affects absolute instance thresholds.

When does the policy or tag take effect?

Tags can be applied as part of the registration through the Integration Service. They can also be applied through staging and monitoring policies  .

If the rate process modifies an event, does it flush all customization for that event?

You can specify the sequence of event processing before it reaches the rate process. This includes customizations to events. Customization to events are removed by the rate process.

Is there a relationship between event and data when the events and data come into Infrastructure Management from different paths?

Yes, there is a mapping which handles this relationship.

Is there a list of supported third party data sources?

Yes. See Event integration with supported third-party products and Data integration with supported third-party products. Infrastructure Management can also consume data and events from third party sources for which there are no pre-built integrations. You have to configure customized integrations when pre-built integrations are not available.

Is there a base rule set for data collection and event or event only for the base KMs?

Central Monitoring Administration does not provide default monitoring configurations. This is being considered for the future.

What does the old cell MCxP correspond to in Infrastructure Management?

MCxP has not changed in Infrastructure Management. The MCxP rule and class files in the KB define the BMC PATROL event structure and basic handling of BMC PATROL events.

Are the MCxP and mcxa processes still running for event processing?

Yes.

What is the difference between the Integration Service and MCxP?

The Integration Service and MCxP are completely separate and do not conflict. Overall, MCxP defines event configuration for BMC PATROL events in the event management cell. The Integration Service receives performance data and events. The Integration Service forwards events to the local event management cell running on the same host with the  Integration Service process. The MCxP rules and class files define the structure of BMC PATROL events in the cell and how BMC PATROL events are processed.

Where can I restrict data and event collection from the PATROL Agent?  How can I select monitored parameters for events and data?

You can do this using  monitoring policies   and filter policies in Central Monitoring Administration.

Can I enable BMC Event Adapters in the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server?

Technically yes, but BMC does not recommend it.

Service impact models

Is there a limit to the number of service models per BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server? Do MOM and Enterprise usage break the distributed model?

For information about the number of models a single BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server can support, see Sizing charts for event and impact management. MOM and Enterprise use case implementations are intended to support environments where all service models can be configured in a single BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server.

Is there a benefit in using a service impact management cell or an event management cell as the correlation cell?

If you want to publish CIs to a cell, the cell must be a service impact management cell.

When I integrate other monitoring tools and view the related events in Infrastructure Management, can I include those servers in the service models?

Yes. Events from other monitoring tools can be used for status change or impact change in service models.

Deployment architecture and sizing

When sizing the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server and Integration Service, is it better to consider 50% to 70% of what BMC recommends?

Not necessarily. It depends on your plans for growth. Be sure to leave some buffer. BMC recommends at least 10%.

With manual adapters in versions earlier than 9.6, I could restrict the import of application class and parameters. In later versions of Infrastructure Management, all application classes and parameters are imported. Will this not put an additional load on the server?

Policies allow even more control than manual adapters in earlier releases. In Infrastructure Management, you can filter at the application class, instance, and/or parameter levels. This filtering can include data, events, or both and can be applied at levels appropriate to what you want to view. For more information see, Configuring a monitor  .

How many managed servers can a single BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server handle?

In general, a a single BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server can support 20000 devices, 250000 instances, and 1.7 million attributes (given the proper server resources, for example, 32 GB RAM, 8 CPUs). For more information, see Performance benchmarks and tuning.

What is the maximum number of PATROL Agents supported by a single BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server?

Generally 20,000. However, the number of agents is not the only limiting factor. For additional important details, see Sizing charts and guidelines for data and event management environments.

Is it possible to move from a standalone installation to multiple server architecture without rebuilding the entire infrastructure?

Yes. For more information, see BMC Communities.

Does BMC strictly recommend SAN or is NAS supported?

SAN is preferred. BMC recommends a tier 1 SAN storage for production environments. For more information, see Hardware requirements to support small, medium, and large environments.

Do 5000 servers fall under a medium environment sizing?

5000 servers can be considered a medium environment sizing from purely a device count perspective. However, without considering all other scalability aspects, 5000 BMC PATROL managed servers cannot be considered medium environment.

How many agents can be handled by one Integration Service?

A 4 GB RAM and 2 CPU Integration Service host can handle up to 900 PATROL Agents. For more information, see Sizing charts and guidelines for data and event management environments.

When I install PATROL Agent 9.5, I am asked if I want to route events via the Integration Service. If I select Yes and still provide the cell information such as mc_port, do events get sent to both?

No. Events are sent to only one destination. The destination must be an event management cell as recommend in Integration Service host deployment and best practices for event processing and propagation . The cell can then send the events to multiple destinations.

Can the Integration Service and the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server communicate over the Internet?

BMC recommends that you have dedicated bandwidth and minimum latency; hence, the Internet is not recommended. However, BMC supports WAN connections and data compression is included to help manage WAN connections between the Integration Service nodes and the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server.

If an Integration Service can handle only 900 agents, what is the scalability for an event correlation cell?

350,000 events per day. For more information see see Sizing charts and guidelines for data and event management environments.

To which port does the PATROL Agent push data and events to the Integration Service?

The default port is 3183. This port can be changed. See Ports that can be configured after installation.

Can I install different versions of the Integration Service on the same servers if I use different ports?

Yes you can use the Integration Service on an Infrastructure Management Server that contains an earlier version of the Integration Service.

What are the recommendations regarding the event load for one cell? How many events per second?

This has not changed much from earlier releases. The maximum load depends on many factors including the rules and policies that are enabled, types of events, and so on. In general, a single cell can support about 25 events per second. There may be more, but BMC recommends that you be conservative with this number. Note that events must be actionable messages.

Is there a maximum number of agents that can connect to a staging Integration Service host?  

900 is the maximum number of PATROL Agents tested against a single Integration Service. However, agents do not maintain a connection to a staging Integration Service  . They connect to the staging Integration Service, get their staging policy, and then immediately move to a production Integration Service. They do not reconnect to the staging Integration Service, so there no limit to the number of agents that a staging Integration Service can handle because the connection is transient.

Does the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server make a connection with the PATROL Agents?

In Infrastructure Management, the Infrastructure Management Server does not make a connection with the PATROL Agents. The connection is between the PATROL Agents and the Integration Service. Central Monitoring Administration connections follow the same path and are perceived as a console connection by the PATROL Agent.

Is it recommended to create and download installation packages for PATROL Agents from Central Monitoring Administration? Will a manual installation do the same?

You can install the PATROL Agent manually. Central Monitoring Administration allows you to create a repository of silent installation packages that can be downloaded and run on the target servers to be monitored.

Can I push an agent installation file to a target system to install the agent from Central Monitoring Administration?

No. Central Monitoring Administration does not deploy an installation package. You can create a silent installation package for the agents and KMs in but cannot deploy them using Central Monitoring Administration. You can use BMC Server Automation or any software distribution mechanism that you may have to deploy the silent install packages.

Can BMC Server Automation be used for deployment?

Use Central Monitoring Administration to handle the application of monitoring configuration through monitoring policies  . BMC Server Automation can handle the deployment and installation of agents and KMs. For more information, see Integrating with BMC Server Automation .

In large environments where network connectivity is not an issue, can I use the  Integration Service instead of the staging Integration Service?

Yes. If the location of the PATROL Agent connection is well defined and a  staging Integration Service is not required, the PATROL Agent can just connect to the required production Integration Service.

What is the scalability recommendation for staging Integration Service nodes?

There are no scalability recommendations except that you must not simultaneously connect to more than 900 nodes. For more information see, Sizing charts and guidelines for data and event management environments.

What is the network bandwidth utilized between the PATROL Agent, the Integration Service, and Infrastructure Management Server?

See Performance benchmarks and tuning for a PATROL Agent.

How many locally managed servers can connect to a single Integration Service host?

The maximum number of supported PATROL Agents is 900 on a large Integration Service host.

Should the staging Integration Service be installed separately?

The staging Integration Service is installed in the same way as you install an Integration Service. You can then configure the Integration Service to be a staging Integration Service  . BMC recommends that you edit the Integration Service installed with the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server and make it a staging Integration Service. A staging IS can be installed in any computer in which you install a normal Integration Service.

Is staging good for small or medium environments because in a large environments staging is difficult to spread or size to the event cell and data limitation?

Not exactly. The  staging Integration Service does not process performance data or events. Its purpose is to apply staging policies  . This depends on how you want to control initial agent connections into the Integration Service nodes as part of the deployment process and their production Integration Services. Using a staging Integration Service allows you to alter deployment behavior without the need to alter your standard agent installation packages.

Do Integration Services support hop connections when the network has some limitation?

If the PATROL Agent cannot connect to the single Integration Service in the configuration list, it connects to the next one in the list. You can also use load balancers between the PATROL Agents and Integration Service nodes. 

Can I auto deploy basic PATROL Agents to new servers in the environment?

Infrastructure Management does not have this capability. Infrastructure Management integrates with BMC Server Automation for easier deployments.

Can I run the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server in a public cloud?

Yes, as long as the appropriate operating system, hardware, storage resources, and connectivity are allocated for it.

Can you restrict the number of active instances of the Administration Console?

There is no way to restrict the number of active instances in Infrastructure Management.

Database

Do Infrastructure Management installations support the use of Oracle RAC?

Yes. See Installing the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server on Microsoft Windows with Oracle as database.

Does Infrastructure Management use or need Data Guard, partitioning, Spatial or other Oracle enterprise functionalities?

Oracle Standard Edition is supported. Infrastructure Management does not require partitioning. Other Oracle offerings are not required either; however, BMC recommends Data Guard to support Disaster Recovery.

Are there other reasons to choose Oracle RAC Enterprise Edition over the Oracle RAC Standard Edition?

RAC is not supported with Oracle Standard Edition. Oracle may also impose limitations on sockets based on the Oracle editions. 

How much capacity is needed for an Oracle database? 

This depends on the size of the managed environment based on an architecture and scalability assessments. This is categorized based on small, medium and large environments. For Microsoft Windows running with i7 CPUs in a large environment, BMC recommends 4 CPUs, 24 GB RAM, 600 Gig of storage for the Oracle database. For more information, see Hardware requirements to support small, medium, and large environments and Tuning the Infrastructure Management database for performance.

Is Oracle Exadata supported as an Oracle database architecture?

Yes. Some Infrastructure Management customers use Oracle Exadata architectures.

Will the SAP SQL Anywhere database be supported in later Infrastructure Management releases?

Yes.

Can the embedded SAP SQL Anywhere database be split apart from the application server?

No, the use of the embedded SAP SQL Anywhere database is restricted to installing the database as part of the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server.

How many instances of the Oracle database are required?

Two, one for each Infrastructure Management environment that supports multiple BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Servers and one per Infrastructure Management Performance Management Reporting environment.

Does Infrastructure Management  support Microsoft SQL Server?

The BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server does not include Microsoft SQL Server support.

Is there any particular version of Oracle recommended?

Oracle versions 11.2.0.2.0 and 11.2.0.3.0.

When using Oracle, does Infrastructure Management require partitioning?

The BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server does not require Oracle partitioning. Infrastructure Management Performance Management Reporting requires Oracle partitioning in the latest release.

Does Oracle allow for a greater number of elements to be stored compared to SAP SQL Anywhere?

No. Using Oracle does not increase the scalability of the solution. However, it does provide a nominal improvement in performance and supports better database resiliency.

Can a single Oracle instance support multiple BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Servers?

Yes. You can have multiple BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Servers in the same Oracle instance. Each server must have its own schema. For more information, see Configuring multiple Infrastructure Management child servers to connect to the same Oracle database.

Can I start with SAP SQL Anywhere and migrate to Oracle later on?

No. Infrastructure Management does not provide scripts or a method to migrate data from SAP SQL Anywhere to Oracle.

Is only one Oracle database user and only one Oracle schema required for all BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Servers in a multiple server architecture?

No. A separate database user and schema is required per BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server. Infrastructure Management Performance Management Reporting supports a single consolidated schema.

Do I need only one Oracle instance?

You will need only one Oracle instance for all BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Servers, and only one Oracle instance for Infrastructure Management Performance Management Reporting. This is a total of two instances, regardless of the total number of BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Servers. For more information, see Installing the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server on Microsoft Windows with Oracle as database and Configuring multiple Infrastructure Management child servers to connect to the same Oracle database.

Can I use newer versions of Oracle? 

Supported database versions that are documented are the versions that have been tested and supported. It is unlikely that a newer or earlier version of Oracle may not work; however these versions have not been tested. Do not use versions earlier than 11g.

High availability

Is application level clustering supported in Infrastructure Management without using Microsoft clustering?

OS clustering is still required in Infrastructure Management to support HA. For more information, see Installing Infrastructure Management in high availability mode and Infrastructure Management high availability deployment and best practices.

Is HA supported across guest systems within the VMware ESX Server?

BMC does not recommend this scenario. If you install the primary and secondary hosts in virtual guest systems, the guests must run on separate ESX Servers so that you have resiliency at the hardware level. If you install the primary and secondary hosts on the same ESX Server, they will both be unavailable if the ESX Server goes offline or if there is a hardware issue.

Is the match table data not synchronized with the HA event management cells?

Integrations

Can third party tools such as Microsoft Operations Manager, Microsoft SCOM, and IBM Tivoli be integrated with Infrastructure Management?

Yes. BMC provides out-of-the-box integrations for some third party tools. For more information, see Event integration with supported third-party products and Data integration with supported third-party products.

How do I integrate Microsoft SCOM and Zenoss with Infrastructure Management?

For Microsoft SCOM, you must leverage the SCOM adapter for performance data. Event integration for SCOM is based on the Seamless integration. For more information see Adapter for SCOM. Zenoss integration is only event based unless you create a custom method for integrating performance data.

What does "MZ product" mean?

"MZ product" refers to the Market Zone product. Market Zone is a third party product developed to work with BMC solutions and is sold by BMC Software.

Can MSBI for business reporting be integrated with Infrastructure Management in the way it is integrated with BMC Portal?

The database includes data views. If MSBI can fetch data from data views, it can be supported.

Does Infrastructure Management Performance Management Reporting require a separate license or is it included under the Infrastructure Management Performance Management license?

Infrastructure Management Performance Management Reporting is included under the same license. The Reporting Studio option that supports creation of custom reports is an add-on license.

Can only events be received from Microsoft SCOM through the native Infrastructure Management adapter? 

The Infrastructure Management native adapter handles performance data. BMC recommends the Seamless integration for events. For more information, see Supported integrations with third-party products.

Is the Seamless integration the Seamless Adapter from Avnet?

No. The Seamless integration is from Seamless Technologies:  http://www.bmc.com/products/product-listing/Seamless-Technologies-Event-Integration-for-BPPM.html

Is the new streaming supported with other integrations such as BMC TM ART and BMC Portal?

The new streaming is only for data from PATROL Agents.

Is integration with Microsoft SCOM 2012 supported?

Yes. For more information, see Adapter for SCOM.

Do Integration Services now support events from Microsoft SCOM in addition to data?

No. For events, see http://www.bmc.com/products/product-listing/Seamless-Technologies-Event-Integration-for-BPPM.html

Do I need to configure the integration with BMC Remedy and xMatters at the Central Monitoring Administration level or do I configure it on each BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server?  

BMC Remedy and xMatters do not integrate with Central Monitoring Administration. They integrate with the event and service impact management functions in Infrastructure Management. They can be integrated with any or all the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Servers. The proper architecture for your environment must be reviewed by BMC Consulting Services.

Is email adapter supported in Infrastructure Management?

Infrastructure Management can send SMTP emails natively. There is no in-built adapter for receiving emails as events. However this is planned in a future release and the method to support this is documented on BMC communities.

Can BMC Atrium Discovery and Dependency Mapping be integrated with Infrastructure Management?

The best practice is to leverage the event management cell on an Integration Service host. You can enable the SNMP trap adapter on the cell to receive SNMP traps as events. To do this, consider the Sizing and scalability considerations and best practices. If you plan to receive a very large number of SNMP traps, you must install an event management cell on a dedicated node to handle the volume. Never forward SNMP traps or raw events to the BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Server. For more information see, Managing Infrastructure Management events through SNMP traps.

Is SNMP supported in Infrastructure Management?

Yes. If you upgrade a previous version of Infrastructure Management that leveraged SNMP monitoring, it is supported. The old Infrastructure Management monitors (non-PATROL Agent monitoring) have been deprecated and are not available in Infrastructure Management.

Security and authentication

Is multi tenancy supported in Infrastructure Management?

Not completely. Infrastructure Management supports operational multi tenancy where you can segregate access to data and operational activities based on user roles and permissions. There is no role-based access control for administrative activities. A user has either full administrative access or no administrative access. Also, there is no concept of segregated tenant accounts in Infrastructure Management.

Does Infrastructure Management support multitenancy in multiple client environments?

Infrastructure Management does not support multitenancy. You can configure various levels of visual separation and access control. However, this is different from true multitenancy.

Infrastructure Management is not FIPS compliant. For information about security capabilities, see Security planning.

No. It is in the roadmap for forthcoming Infrastructure Management releases.

There is no direct effect. Connections to the agents are handled via the certificate based path (level 2 by default). Central Monitoring Administration does not use Access Control Lists (ACLs) on PATROL Agents. Central Monitoring Administration connects to the agents through the Integration Service nodes. When multiple BMC TrueSight Infrastructure Management Servers are involved, Central Monitoring Administration communicates through the Child Servers to the respective Integration Service nodes and then to the agents. Access control is managed for the Query Agent functionality with the "Allow PATROL Agent operations" and "Allow trusted connection to PATROL Agents" permissions.

Yes. PATROL Agents do not connect to Central Monitoring Administration. The connection is through the Integration Service. Central Monitoring Administration does not use ACLs on the PATROL Agent.

Is there documentation about visual separation setup in a multi client environment?

There is no specific documentation about this topic. In general, leverage the access control capability in Infrastructure Management to leverage user groups where appropriate groups are created per client. This type of configuration can vary from one customer to another and requires engaging BMC Consulting Services or other technical assistance to understand how access control works and what the limitations are.