Novell SUPPORT ADVISOR 2.0.1 Instruction Manual

Novell®
www.novell.com
AUTHORIZED DOCUMENTATION
Novell Support Advisor
2.0.1
June 2010
Novell Support Advisor

Legal Notices
Novell, Inc., makes no representations or warranties with respect to the contents or use of this documentation, and
specifically disclaims any express or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose.
Further, Novell, Inc., reserves the right to revise this publication and to make changes to its content, at any time,
without obligation to notify any person or entity of such revisions or changes.
Further, Novell, Inc., makes no representations or warranties with respect to any software, and specifically disclaims
any express or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. Further, Novell, Inc.,
reserves the right to make changes to any and all parts of Novell software, at any time, without any obligation to
notify any person or entity of such changes.
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trade laws of other countries. You agree to comply with all export control regulations and to obtain any required
licenses or classification to export, re-export or import deliverables. You agree not to export or re-export to entities
on the current U.S. export exclusion lists or to any embargoed or terrorist countries as specified in the U.S. export
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4Novell Support Advisor Administration Guide

Contents 5
Contents
novdocx (en) 7 January 2010
About This Guide 7
1 Novell Support Advisor 2.0.1 9
1.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.2 System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.2.1 Novell Support Advisor can be installed and run from: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.2.2 Novell Support Advisor can run against and analyze the following platforms . . . . . . 10
1.2.3 Known Issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.2.4 Legal Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.3 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.3.1 Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.3.2 Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.3.3 Macintosh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.3.4 Work Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.4 Running Novell Support Advisor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.4.1 Local Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.4.2 Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.4.3 Adding and Saving Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.5 Using Novell Support Advisor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
1.5.1 Analyze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

6Novell Support Advisor Administration Guide
novdocx (en) 7 January 2010

About This Guide 7
About This Guide
This guide is intended to help partners and customers install and administer Novell Support Advisor
Audience
This guide is intended for Novell Support Advisor users.
Feedback
We want to hear your comments and suggestions about this manual and the other documentation
included with this product. Please use the User Comments feature at the bottom of each page of the
online documentation, or go to Novell Documentation Feedback (http://www.novell.com/
documentation/feedback.html) and enter your comments there.
Documentation Updates
For the most recent version of the Novell Support Advisor Guide, visit the Novell Support Advisor
Web site (http://www.novell.com/documentation/support_advisor).
Additional Documentation
For more information on Novell Support Advisor including videos, forum links and articles, please
go to the Novell Support Advisor Website (http://support.novell.com/advisor

8Novell Support Advisor Administration Guide

Novell Support Advisor 2.0.1
1
9
1
Novell Support Advisor 2.0.1
Section 1.1, “Overview,” on page 9
Section 1.2, “System Requirements,” on page 10
Section 1.3, “Installation,” on page 11
Section 1.4, “Running Novell Support Advisor,” on page 12
Section 1.5, “Using Novell Support Advisor,” on page 17
1.1 Overview
The Novell Support Advisor is a free tool that allows customers to perform both pro-active and
reactive system and application diagnostic tasks in a loca, secure and automated fashion for SUSE
Linux Enterprise, ZENworks Configuration Management, NetWare and GroupWise systems.
Novell Support Advisor is an easily installed cross-platform (Linux, Windows, MAC) client that can
be downloaded directly from the Novell Support Advisor Homepage (http://support.novell.com/
advisor). The client is installed on a system that can communicate with both the servers in
customers’ local environment and the update server at Novell. The client prompts the customer to
download newly released Novell Support Diagnostic Patterns (SDPS) authored by Novell technical
experts from the Novell update server. Novell SDPS identify new problems and return possible
solutions to the customer
The Novell Support Advisor diagnosis occurs securely and locally, and does not require sending log
information to Novell for analysis. When the data is gathered for a health check, some load occurs
over a Secure Shell connection to the queried device, but once the data is collected, the connection is
terminated so network and device load is minimized. The gathered data is then consolidtaed into a
dashboard view that shows critical patterns in red, and good patterns in green, identifying what
segments in which systems need attention.
This tool also builds an Analysis Archive Database, or tar ball archive, that preserves a history of
health checks that have been run and the problems that have been addressed, allowing customers to
identify trends and changes over time. A dashboard using the same color-coding scheme, a simple
red = critical and green = good makes the information readily accessible.
Novell Support Advisor can be used reactively when a problem occurs, and also proactively to run
“health checks” to prevent potential future issues.
Novell Support Advisor periodically checks back to Novell to see if there are any new support
patterns available. When new patterns are released, the administrator will be notified and updated
will automatically download, ready for any future analysis.
If a problem is discovered where further help is needed, a service request connection to the Novell
Customer Center through the client interface can be opened via Novell Support.
For more information, see Novell Support Advisor Homepage (http://support.novell.com/advisor)

10 Novell Support Advisor Administration Guide
1.2 System Requirements
1.2.1 Novell Support Advisor can be installed and run from:
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 or later
OpenSUSE 10.3 or later
Microsoft Windows XP SP3 or later
Microsoft Windows 7
Apple Macintosh OS 10.5 or later
1024 MB RAM
145 MB disk space for installation
1.2.2 Novell Support Advisor can run against and analyze the
following platforms
SUSES Linux Enterprise Server 9
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10
SUSE Linux Enterprise 11
GroupWise 8 (Windows and Linux)
ZENWorks Configuration Management 10 (Linux and Windows)
NetWare 6.5
1.2.3 Known Issues
ZENworks running on windows requires the ZENworks control center credentials, not the windows
username and password
1.2.4 Legal Notices
Novell, Inc. makes no representations or warranties with respect to the contents or use of this
documentation, and specifically disclaims any express or implied warranties of merchantability or
fitness for any particular purpose. Further, Novell, Inc. reserves the right to revise this publication
and to make changes to its content, at any time, without obligation to notify any person or entity of
such revisions or changes.
Further, Novell, Inc. makes no representations or warranties with respect to any software, and
specifically disclaims any express or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any
particular purpose. Further, Novell, Inc. reserves the right to make changes to any and all parts of
Novell software, at any time, without any obligation to notify any person or entity of such changes.
Any products or technical information provided under this Agreement may be subject to U.S. export
controls and the trade laws of other countries. You agree to comply with all export control
regulations and to obtain any required licenses or classification to export, re-export, or import
deliverables. You agree not to export or re-export to entities on the current U.S. export exclusion
lists or to any embargoed or terrorist countries as specified in the U.S. export laws. You agree to not