SupportConnect - Unicenter Newsletter, Version 07.01
  

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CA
E-News
Unicenter® Newsletter
Version 07.01
April 19, 2007

In This Newsletter

Product News
> CA Simplifies Product Names
> You talked. We listened. Coming Soon: The New "CA Support OnLine" Site
> CA's Solution for Virtual Platform Management Has Arrived - Unicenter® ASM!
> Unicenter® NSM Management for Active Directory r11
> SearchData Center Silver Award Winner - Unicenter® NSM r11.1
> CA's Solution for Virtual Platform Management "In the News"
> Unicenter Management for Microsoft Exchange Version 11.1 is Generally Available
> Upcoming Beta Programs

Product Updates
> Certifications
> Unicenter® NSM Cumulative Image

General Information
> Unicenter® Success Stories
> News: Global Server Virtualization Survey - Summary Report
> New NSM Integrations - Unicenter® NSM Integration With Citrix Metaframe

Special Events
> CA WORLD® Registration
>Sessions Have Been Added - So Update Your Agenda Today
>Enterprise System Management Track Information
>Hands-On Labs

Product News

CA Simplifies Product Names
Beginning January 30, 2007, CA is simplifying its product names. Our intention is to describe our products by what they enable you and your business to accomplish. Some names have already changed; others will change over the next 12-18 months as part of the planned development cycle. There is nothing you need to do. We have established a dedicated site at ca.com/productnames as a resource center where you'll find additional information such as frequently asked questions, customer service numbers, and a list of current product names and former names.

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You talked. We listened. Coming Soon: The New "CA Support OnLine" Site
As part of a comprehensive long-term program to improve the way we provide you with support, we're pleased to let you know we'll debut a new CA Technical Support site at
CA WORLD®. This new site, built from the ground up with Customer input and suggestions, provides the foundation for a number of current and future improvements.

Read on to find out what this means for you as a CA Customer and what it means for you as an E-News subscriber.

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CA's Solution for Virtual Platform Management Has Arrived - Unicenter® ASM!
Is your organization planning to use or currently using virtual servers or clusters? Did you know that CA has a solution to help you manage these heterogeneous complex environments?

Unicenter® Advanced Systems Management r11.1 (Unicenter ASM) unifies and simplifies the management of virtual and physical system environments, enabling organizations to sustain an optimized, business-driven infrastructure. Unicenter ASM is a platform-neutral solution that, unlike other management solutions, provides management for a broad range of virtualized and clustered server environments. It enables centralized management and dynamic resource brokering of complex data center environments (operating system virtualization, server virtualization, and clustering). Unicenter ASM optimizes an organization's IT investments by continuously assessing and self-managing system resources and services based upon business policies - addressing the problems of underuse and overuse.

Some of the key features of Unicenter ASM include the following:

  • Advanced Discovery and Visualization features, such as the Systems Command Center (SCC), enable organizations to manage heterogeneous virtual and physical environments from a single, normalized console - improving operational efficiency.
  • Dynamic Resource Brokering (DRB) enables organizations to sustain an optimized, business-driven infrastructure by taking full advantage of the hardware investments incurred during consolidation and virtualization projects. It maximizes investments by continuously assessing, self-managing, and balancing system resources and services based on business policies - addressing the problems of underuse and overuse.
  • Unified Cluster Management enables continuous availability and delivery of services - helping to ensure business continuity while reducing risk. It creates a centralized, uniform infrastructure and treats clusters as independent entities. This enables normalized cluster monitoring and management - simplifying the management of heterogeneous cluster environments and reducing the learning curve.
  • Virtualized Server Management helps manage costs and improve operational efficiencies with secure, centralized, role-based management. It provides automated, policy-based management based on preconfigured business priorities, policies, and best practices. It enables VM Cloning and policy-driven session migration, automatically migrating less critical VMs, based on business policies and priorities, from one host to another. The centralized and comprehensive management of heterogeneous virtual and dynamic computing environments simplifies management and control, helping reduce costs.
  • Policy-Based Management enables rule-based and role-based management. It defines access privileges based on administrative roles and defines rules for groups of resources in a discovered cluster, such as a failover process based on time and day, or the movement of a resource to another group in the cluster.

To learn more about Unicenter ASM and see a demo, please visit ca.com/asm or SupportConnectSM.

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Unicenter® NSM Management for Active Directory r11
We are proud to announce the enhanced Active Directory Management capabilities within the latest manufactured release of Unicenter NSM r11.1. This functionality is part of Unicenter NSM r11.1 and this latest release provides an enterprise-level view of Active Directory topology, health, and performance as well as providing a Knowledge Base for troubleshooting Active Directory problems. Key features are as follows:

Feature Function
Replication Islands Detects if the replication topology generation is enabled for all sites.
FSMO/DC Consistency Detects if the disposition of FSMO masters is not correct in the AD forest.
Subnet Consistency DCs belong to a special subnet according to their IP addresses and each DC is placed in a dedicated site. In turn, a subnet is associated with a site. This feature detects any inconsistency in this configuration.
DNS Consistency Detects if the configuration of the DNS records that are necessary for the proper working of AD is correct.
Time Difference Checks that the time setting is consistent throughout the AD forest.
AD Changes Detects any high-level changes in the AD forest.
FRS Replication Service Ensures that the FRS outbound replication is working correctly.
Replication Latency Checks that AD outbound replication is occurring in a timely manner.
Replication Failures Indicates the number of consecutive (outbound) synchronization failures compared to a configurable threshold.
Replication Partner Count Inbound and outbound replication partner count is compared with a configurable threshold.
Global Catalog Count For each site and domain, the current value is compared with a configurable threshold.
Domain Controller Discovers neighbor DCs and monitors connectivity and configuration.
Disk Space Monitors disk space for database files, logs, and FRS system volume.
AD Services Events Monitors the Windows Event Log for critical AD events.
AD Services Performance Monitors ADS performance counters.
File Replication Services Events Monitors the Windows Event Log for critical FRS events.
File Replication Services Performance Monitors FRS performance counters.
Domain Name Service Events Monitors the Windows Event Log for critical DNS events.
Domain Name Service Performance Monitors DNS performance counters.
Extended Resource Monitoring

Extended, active monitoring is performed as follows:

  • Replication latency by injecting a file to Sysvol and monitoring replication of this file
  • Folders marked as morphed
  • Group policy consistency
  • Initial Replication (that is, after the server was promoted to a DC)
  • Replication Failures (compares the time of the last sync attempt with the last sync success)
  • RID, CPU, and Memory usage
  • Disk performance
  • Time Difference (compares local DC time with PDC time)
  • Trust Status

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SearchData Center Silver Award Winner - Unicenter® NSM r11.1
Unicenter NSM r11.1 is the silver winner of SearchData Center's Product of the Year 2006 for Systems Management Tools. Winners were selected by a panel of judges consisting of users and analysts. These independent experts judged the entries based on the following criteria:

  • Innovation
  • Performance
  • Ease of integration into environment
  • Ease of use and manageability
  • Functionality
  • Value

For more information, visit SearchData.com.

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CA's Solution for Virtual Platform Management "In the News"
Since CA's solution for Virtual Platform Management - with Unicenter® ASM r11.1 - became Generally Available in late November, there has been a strong response from the media and industry experts. Here are some examples of what they have to say:

CA Expands its Unified Management of Virtualized Systems
Ptak, Noel & Associates discuss the value of heterogeneous virtual server management with Unicenter® Advanced Systems Management.

Unicenter Goes Virtual
11/27/2006 - eWeek
"With Unicenter ASM, we get a look and feel into clusters and virtual servers that's the same no matter what's underneath."

Making The Best Of Both Worlds
11/27/2006 - InformationWeek
"The latest version of CA's Unicenter ASM release 11.1, available this week, centralizes in one manager's console the ability to generate virtual machines from a variety of vendors' software."

CA Unicenter to manage virtual servers
11/27/2006 - Network World
"Unicenter Advanced Systems Management (ASM) 11.1 will help enterprise IT managers not only identify the virtual and physical elements in their environment, but also optimize them based on demand, CA says."

CA launches virtualization management tool
11/27/2006 - Computerworld
"The new Unicenter Advanced Systems Management r11.1 will support systems with virtualized servers and server clusters through a single interface."

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Unicenter® Management for Microsoft Exchange Version 11.1 is Generally Available
We appreciate your business and the opportunity to provide high-quality, innovative software and services. As part of our ongoing commitment to customer success, we regularly release updated versions of our products. We are pleased to announce that Unicenter Management for Microsoft Exchange r11.1 0701 is now available. New features for this release include the following:

  • Automatic discovery of the Exchange infrastructure and organization data
  • Centralized agent configuration deployment
  • Multi-node Exchange clustering support
  • Automatic performance baselining and thresholding

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Upcoming Beta Programs

  • CA Dynamic Provisioning Manager (DPM) is an automated server provisioning solution designed to meet the increasingly demanding nature of today's server infrastructures where both physical and virtual environments can coexist. It is built upon a Service Oriented Architecture. For more information, click here.
  • CA SOLVE:Operations® Automation r11 addresses day-to-day mainframe systems operations and availability management challenges. It empowers organizations to proactively resolve problems with mainframe-hosted applications, helping to ensure that service level goals are met. For more information, click here.
  • CA-SYSVIEW® Performance Management (CA SYSVIEW) is a simple-to-use, comprehensive, integrated performance monitor for z/OS, JES2, z/OS UNIX System Services (USS), CICS, IMS, WebSphere MQ, and Advantage™ CA-Datacom®/DB Database resources. CA SYSVIEW collects and displays a rich variety of information about the operating system and subsystems. It enables proactive monitoring of performance metrics and provides powerful management capabilities for optimizing availability and resource usage. For more information, click here.
  • The eHealth® product suite provides comprehensive insight into key indicators for network performance management, enabling users to proactively manage their network and its components. Additionally, capacity planning capability provides "what if" analysis to let you "right-size" your infrastructure for maximum performance at minimal cost. For more information, click here.
  • Unicenter® NSM r3.1 SP1 for UNIX and Linux is part of our continuing effort to help our Unicenter NSM customers receive the latest published maintenance. The Unicenter Support Team is creating a service pack for Unicenter NSM r3.1 for the UNIX and Linux platforms. This service pack will contain maintenance published since the release of NSM r3.1 0403 for UNIX and Linux, and will let customers perform a fresh base installation or install a maintenance update on a NSM r3.1 system. If you would like to participate in the beta program for this service pack, contact John.Odalen@ca.com.

For information on all of CA's beta programs, please go to CA Beta Program.

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Product Updates

Certifications

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Unicenter® NSM Cumulative Image
Windows NSM r11.1 Cumulative Image is now available for customer download. This image is created by applying all published fixes (up to QO87315) to a Windows NSM r11.1 GA Master Image. This image is not a service pack and should not be used for upgrades from NSM r11.0 GA or r11.1 GA. This Cumulative Image may be used for new installations or upgrades from NSM 3.x.

To download this image, go to SupportConnectSM and select Downloads/Products. For the search criteria, select Unicenter® Network and Systems Management Managed Resource - MULTI-PLATFORM. Then, select the choice with 11.1 CUM and click Order Product. The download process instructs users to download a .zip file first, which contains a .txt file with an FTP location. The .txt file will identify the latest image.

Note: The CCSVER / UNIVER information has been updated and will indicate the following:

CA Common Services r11.1
Cumulative Image To QO86863

Unicenter NSM r11.1
Cumulative Image To QO86863

Updated Cumulative Images will be posted periodically, but will not be posted each time new published maintenance becomes available. Only the latest Cumulative Image will be posted on SupportConnect. Upon posting, previous images will be removed because they should no longer be used.

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General Information

Unicenter® Success Stories

  • "CA Relies on Its Own Unicenter® Network and Systems Management r11.1 and Unicenter® Service Desk r11.2 Solutions to Ensure Service Availability Company-Wide." For more information on this story, click here.
  • "Zions Bank Chooses Unicenter Network and Systems Management r11.1 to Centralize, Analyze and Correlate Server Management." For more information on this story, click here.
  • "EFW, Inc Accelerates ITIL Adoption Rate and Supports Dramatic Business Growth by Leveraging CA Enterprise IT Management (EITM) Solutions." For more information on this story, click here.
  • "Verizon Business Uses CA eHealth® Solutions in Private IP Reporting Service to Better Serve Converged Customer Environment." For more information on this story, click here.
  • "Sallie Mae Uses CA Solutions to Automate ITIL Processes and the Change Management Lifecycle." For more information on this story, click here.
  • "Bayer Manages All Job Scheduling Operations Using CA's Unicenter® Autosys® Job Management." For more information on this story, click here.

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News: Global Server Virtualization Survey - Summary Report
Organizations are looking at deploying virtualization for multiple reasons. Whether you are curious, still in the planning stages, or already engaged in deployment, this independent global study of 800 surveyed organizations highlights the mixed results companies are experiencing with server virtualization - as well as critical success factors discovered by early adopters. Learn how organizations are deploying virtualization and the benefits and challenges they experienced by clicking the following link: Global Server Virtualization Survey - Summary Report.

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New NSM Integrations - Unicenter® NSM Integration With Citrix Metaframe
Unicenter NSM now integrates with Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server (CPS). This package lets Unicenter NSM users monitor abnormal conditions in the CPS environment by using the standard Unicenter NSM user interfaces like Event Console, Topology Map, or MCC. The structure of the Citrix environment consisting of servers, zones, and farms is also made visible.

This integration was developed by NSM Development Services (SWAT) and is available through them by contacting joseph.mohacsi@ca.com.

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Special Events

CA WORLD® Registration
If you have not registered for CA WORLD, there is still time! To register and for more information about additional savings, please visit the CA WORLD Registration Page.

CA WORLD Sessions Have Been Added - So Update Your Agenda Today
Sessions are now posted and live on the CA WORLD site. We are happy to announce the addition of the following sessions:

EN216SN Unicenter® NSM r11: Service Availability Management Pack and EITM  
Track Dynamic and Virtual Systems Management
Date/Time Monday, April 23, 2007, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.  
Speaker Andy Attwood / Capgemini
William Merrow / CA
 
EN209SN Virtualization: What, Where, Why, Who, and How?  
Track Dynamic and Virtual Systems Management
Date/Time Wednesday, April 25, 2007, 2:45 - 3:45 p.m.  
Speaker Andi Mann / Enterprise Management Associates  
EN211PN ESM - Open Forum  
Track Dynamic and Virtual Systems Management
Date/Time Wednesday, April 25, 2007, 1:15 - 2:15 p.m.  

Enterprise System Management Track Information
Here is a list of the tracks covered under the Enterprise Systems Management Focus Area. To learn more about these tracks and the products covered, please click the following links:

  • Across the Stack - This track illustrates how our solutions provide a comprehensive approach to enabling IT management to assure consistent, reliable service to business users.
  • Application Performance Management - Learn how Application Performance Management can help you take control of critical processes and systems to ensure that they are predictably meeting customer needs and delivering business results.
  • Database Management - Topics covered include the latest capabilities and future directions for the CA modeling and database management products, best practices, tips and techniques for data modeling and process modeling, and how these solutions support regulatory compliance initiatives.
  • Network and Voice Management - This track covers CA's distributed network and voice management solutions: eHealth®, SPECTRUM® and eHealth® for Voice, as well as its mainframe network management products: Unicenter® NetMaster® and Unicenter® NetSpy®.
  • Dynamic and Virtual Systems Management (formerly referred to as System Management) - This track explores the emerging trends in system management along with strategies to address the challenges of improving operational efficiency, reducing costs, and improving service levels.
  • Workload Automation - This track illustrates how the Workload Automation solution provides a comprehensive approach to enabling the delivery of critical IT and business services swiftly and reliably across the enterprise.

Enterprise System Management Sessions to look for

EN201SN Systems and Enterprise Management - Today and Tomorrow  
Date/Time Monday, April 23, 2007, 2:45 - 3:45 p.m.
EN202SN Unicenter® Network and Systems Management r11.1 - Migration  
Date/Time: Tuesday, April 24, 2007, 1:15 - 2:15 p.m.
Speaker Rob Thornton / FOOD LION INC
Kevin Meehan / CA
 
EN203SN Virtual Platform Management - Introduction to Unicenter® Advanced Systems Management r11.1  
Date/Time Monday, April 23, 2007, 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Speaker John Coleman / Wellspan Health
Kouros Esfahany / CA
 
EN205SN Unicenter Network and Systems Management r11 - "Current Events"  
Date/Time Tuesday, April 24, 2007, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Speaker Cody Lowder / ZIONS BANK
Salvatore Pilo / CA
Curt Chapman / ZIONS BANK
 
EN206SN CA's Vision for Next Generation Data Center Automation  
Date/Time Monday, April 23, 2007, 1:15 - 2:15 p.m.
Speaker Kouros Esfahany / CA  
EN207SN Unicenter Network and System Management r11.1 Tips and Tricks - Chalk Talk  
Date/Time Wednesday, April 25, 2007, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Speaker William Merrow / CA
Niten Ved/ NetCom Systems, Inc.
 
EN213PN Driving to Infrastructure Operational Maturity Using CA Unicenter and VMware Infrastructure 3  
Date/Time Tuesday, April 24, 2007, 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Speaker John Crocker / BNP Paribas
Farzin Shahidi / CA
Terry Lyons / VMware, Inc
 

Hands-On Labs
Don't forget the Labs! To help ensure the maximum use of our systems management solutions, we are providing the following labs:

EN225LR Hands-On Lab: Unicenter Advanced Systems Management - Behind the Scenes  
Date/Time Tuesday, April 24, 2007, 2:45 - 3:45 p.m.
EN225LS Hands-On Lab: Unicenter Advanced Systems Management - Behind the Scenes  
Date/Time: Thursday, April 26, 2007, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
EN227LN Hands-On Lab: Unicenter Network and Systems Management for Beginners  
Date/Time Monday, April 23, 2007, 1:15 - 2:15 p.m.
EN228LN Hands-On Lab: Comprehensive System Performance with Unicenter NSM  
Date/Time Tuesday, April 24, 2007, 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
EN229LN Hands-On Lab: Unicenter Network and Systems Management Portal  
Date/Time Wednesday, April 25, 2007, 8:30 - 9:30 a.m.
EN230LR Hands-On Lab: Event to Resolution with Unicenter Network Systems Management r11.1  
Date/Time Wednesday, April 25, 2007, 2:45 - 3:45 p.m.
EN230LS Hands-On Lab: Event to Resolution with Unicenter Network and Systems Management r11.1  
Date/Time Wednesday, April 25, 2007, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

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