Administrator > Systems Management

Obtaining Peace of Mind

As the iSeries Navigator for Wireless UI designer, one of my underlying goals is to provide "peace of mind" to administrators. I know this sounds like a tall order, but in the area of systems management, it's a concept well within reach. To do so, a general understanding of how someone obtains peace of mind must be understood.

For example, when I want peace of mind about my 6-year-old son, I start by asking, "How are you feeling? Are you OK?" If the answer is, "Yes, I'm doing great," then I have peace of mind that my son is happy. I may need to ask specifically about home, school, play, relationships, sisters and his thoughts, but if he responds positively to each area, I have peace about my boy. However, if he has a problem in one of those areas, then I'll dig deeper to find the problems source, and try to fix it. (To be honest, so far, my boys main problems in life are that his Lego creations don't stick together very long and that his twin sisters sit on his train track while he's running the train. I'll cherish that level of severity as long as I can.)

In the systems-management world, I can give an administrator peace of mind by providing a way to ask your systems if they're OK. That's the point of iSeries Navigator for Wireless. More importantly, iSeries Navigator for Wireless allows you to select the areas that you care about. Then, if an area needs attention, you can dig deeper, find and fix the problem. Let's explore how iSeries Navigator for Wireless provides peace of mind.

iSeries Navigator for Wireless was previously called Management Central-Pervasive. MC-Pervasive started with OS/400* V4R5 as a wireless viewing tool that allowed administrators to see how their systems were doing. While this gave you some peace of mind, you couldn't take action when problems occurred, so an underlying feeling of dread prevailed that you'd have to go back into the office if a problem arised. In V5R1, MC-Pervasive was extended to let you take action from your wireless device. This is when MC-Pervasive really started to provide peace of mind.

With V5R2, its been renamed iSeries Navigator for Wireless. Along with the new name comes increased function, including additional monitor, task and access capabilities (and greater peace of mind). To explain more about iSeries Navigator for Wireless, this article outlines some V5R1 functionality and explains what features were enhanced in V5R2.

Getting Started
The key to obtaining peace of mind through iSeries Navigator for Wireless is to get started the right way. First, think to yourself, "When I'm away from the office, what do I care about?" While you're at work, you may care about 25 systems and 56 specific areas of each system. However, while you're away from the office, you may only care about your five critical systems and 10 main areas on each system. This information needs to be communicated to iSeries Navigator for Wireless.

The second, and most powerful way iSeries Navigator for Wireless provides peace of mind is by showing the status of the monitors you've set up in iSeries Navigator and providing a way to view details and take action on problem areas.

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