Dell OpenManage

Systems Management Layers

There are many different components that work together to make up the OpenManage solution. The two main components are the management station and the managed node. In Figure 1, the two main components are broken down into layers to show how the components relate to each other.

The management station is a layer of software that is installed on a system. The main goal of the software is to discover, manage, and monitor the managed nodes. The management software can be made up of multiple applications that communicate via SNMP, DMI or CIM.

The managed node can be broken down into 3 main layers; the software layer, BIOS/firmware layer, and hardware layer. The hardware and BIOS/firmware layers send vital information to the software layer. The software layer then sends the information to the management station. If the managed node experiences a power loss, the optional DRAC (Dell Remote Access Card) can take the place of the software layer, giving the management station control of the BIOS and other firmware.