Configuring data collection from HMC (for AIX systems)

On AIX systems, you can use Continuous Optimization Agents to collect the configuration data from the IBM Hardware Management Console (HMC). However, you must configure the HMC to make this data available for collection. The HMC configuration includes remotely executing commands using SSH from an LPAR that runs AIX. The data collected from the HMC includes the following details:

• Processor and memory resources of the frame on which the LPAR runs
• Configuration and statistics of the LPAR that runs on the frame (If the HMC is configured to collect this data)

To enable remote execution of commands without password prompts, perform the following configuration tasks:

1.  Enable remote command execution on the HMC

   1. In the Navigation area, click the HMC Maintenance icon.
   2. In the Contents area, double-click the System Configuration icon.
   3. In the Contents area, click Enable / Disable Remote Command Execution.
   4. Select the Enable ssh check box.
   5. Click OK.

   For more details, see the configuration chapter in the Hardware Management Console for pSeries Installation and Operations Guide.

2. Perform one of the following procedures:
   • (Recommended) Use the script to configure the AIX environment. 
     
   • (Not recommended) Manually configure the AIX environment. For more information, see Configuring the AIX environment manually for data collection.

Using the script to configure the AIX environment

To collect data from the HMC, the user account that is used for installing the Continuous Optimization Agent must be authorized to run commands remotely on the HMC. To authorize the user account, you need to perform multiple configurations in the AIX partition. BMC Helix Continuous Optimization provides a script (configure_openssh) that simplifies these configuration steps. This script is available in $BEST1_HOME/bgs/scripts. The script is designed to be run with the default settings and it performs the following actions when run:

• Create the key files in this directory: $BEST1_HOME/local/setup/.ssh
• Create an account on the HMC and copy the public key to that account (if necessary).
• Override default settings in the Agent configuration file ($BEST1_HOME/local/setup/Collect.cfg) to:
  • Override the default name/IP Address of HMC
  • Override the default name of the HMC user account
  • Override the default location of ssh
• Verify data collection from the HMC

To run the script, complete the following steps:

1. Change to the following directory:

   cd $BEST1_HOME/bgs/scripts

2. Run the following command:

   $ ./configure_openssh

   You can override the default settings by running the script with or without the flags as follows:

   Action	Result
   Run the script without the -p flag	A password prompt appears. This password is the new password for the new user account being created on the HMC.
   Run the script with the -s flag	The new user account is not created on the HMC. Use this flag if a user account already exists.

   If you want to use the default settings, do not pass any command line arguments to the script.

Reference material

The following IBM publications provide more information about using SSH with AIX:

• Managing AIX Server Farms (IBM Redbook)
• Effective System Management Using the IBM Hardware Management Console for pSeries (IBM Redbook)
• Hardware Management Console for pSeries Installation and Operations Guide