FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Open Systems Management
General FAQs
What is Webex?
Webex is a Cisco Systems Inc. company that provides on-demand collaboration, online meeting, web conferencing and video conferencing applications. Its products include "Meeting Center" which allows people to share an electronic desktop over the Internet while discussing what they are seeing over the telephone. Applecross Technologies uses it for demonstration and training purposes.
For more information visit www.webex.com
What is PDF?
"PDF" (Portable Document Format) is Adobe(R) Acrobat(R) format. PDF is a proprietary format that allows you to read electronic documents, either on or off line. This format provides a page-by-page view of documents, exactly as they appear in their printed form, as well as allowing keyword search.
Adobe provides a free Acrobat Reader that allows you to view, navigate, and print PDF files across all major computing platforms. It is the free viewing companion to Adobe Acrobat and to Acrobat Capture(R) software.
If you do not already have it, you may use this link http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html to download the FREE Adobe Acrobat reader, which you may then install and use to access PDF documents on this site.
What is VMware?
VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) is a publicly-listed developer of proprietary virtualization software products for x86-compatible computers, including VMware Workstation and VMware ESX Server.
The VM in the name plays on the term "Virtual Machine". In essence, virtualization lets you transform hardware into software. The software transforms or "virtualizes" the hardware resources of an x86-based computer - including the CPU, RAM, hard disk and network controller - to create a fully functional virtual machine that can run its own operating system and applications just like a "real" computer.
For more information visit http://www.vmware.com
Installation and Configuration
Pricing and licensing
- How is cosbatch licensed?
- What is a subscription license?
- Temporary licenses
- What does the cosbatch license key do?
- Does the price for cosbatch for a particular computer system ever change?
How is cosbatch licensed?
cosbatch 3.1 is licensed by the power of the systems on which it resides. The price will therefore vary according to the manufacturer, model and number of CPUs/cores in those systems. You will not be able to get an accurate quotation from OSM unless you have that information to hand.
There are two main licensing models - nodal licensing and domain licensing. Nodal licensing is normally more financially attractive to smaller users. Domain licensing is normally more financially attractive to larger users. OSM will always quote on the basis of the least expensive option. If you are already a cosbatch user then you will be licensed according to only one of these two models.
Domain licensees must license the cosbatch Scheduler software. The current cost of this software is US$13,500.00 one time fee plus annual support and maintenance. Controller software must also be licensed separately if active/active failover is required. The current cost of this is US$6,750.00 one time fee plus annual support and maintenance. They must then license Standard node Server software or Agent software for each system on which jobs and suites will run. The cost of the Agent software, in particular, is very aggressively priced in this model.
Nodal licenses allow an end user organization to run cosbatch on a UNIX or Linux based system in any way that they wish - as a Scheduler, Controller, Standard node or as an Agent - for the same price in each case. This price is higher than the cost of an Agent for the same system under domain pricing, but the Scheduler software does not have to be separately licensed. As additional licenses are added, eventually the extra cost per system will match or exceed the cost of the Scheduler/Controller software. For this reason nodal licensing is normally only more attractive to smaller users.
Only Agent software may be licensed for MS Windows based systems in either case.
Annual maintenance and support is charged at a cost of 15% of license fees for office hours support and 20% of license fees for 24*7 support.
OSM encourages new users to license our software using a subscription model rather than paying a one time fee plus annual support and maintenance. The subscription model provides both a one year software license and associated support and maintenance for an annual fee equal to 35% of the one time license fee for office hours support, and for 40% of the one time license fee for 7*24 support.
Licenses for development and test servers are priced at 50% of the cost of a production server of the same manufacturer/model/number of cpus.
Licenses for disaster recovery servers are free of charge. Please note that we define a disaster recovery server as one where the instance of cosbatch is NOT running at any time other than when the production server it is supporting is down, and only then to run the work that the production server would have run. By definition this is active/passive running and no real time synchronization of data can occur.
What is a subscription license?
cosbatch can be licensed by either paying a one time license fee or by subscription.
Traditionally users have paid for a one time license fee that grants them perpetual use, and then paid an annual support and maintenance charge. A subscription license grants the end user organization a one year license to use the software, plus support and maintenance for the year. At the end of the year the organization no longer has any rights to the software unless they renew the subscription.
The concept of a subscription license appeals to users who:
- are unsure of how long they might require the software;
- have an expense budget on which they can rely, but have problems accessing a budget for capital expenditure;
- want to link their payment for the software in line with its use.
OSM calculates the price of a subscription license by multiplying the one time license fee for the software provided by 20%, and then adding on the cost of support and maintenance - 15% for office hours support and 20% for 7*24 support. An annual subscription license will therefore cost either 35% or 40% of the one time license fee. After five years, the end user organization will have paid the same amount as they would have paid had they paid a one time fee plus annual maintenance and support.
Temporary licenses
Prospective end user organizations evaluating cosbatch with a view to purchasing licenses for it for the first time may request a 30 day evaluation key of cosbatch. Further extensions of these keys may be granted by your OSM Account Manager at their discretion.
Existing customers of cosbatch may request 60 day temporary keys at any time to assist in transition, for temporary testing or for other requirements. For periods exceeding 60 days, OSM will make a charge based on the prorated subscription license for the systems in question.
What does the cosbatch license key do?
If you have been sent a temporary license key that expires less than 60 days in the future then it will be a non host-specific license key. You may use this key to run cosbatch on any system on which you have installed the software. The key will expire on the exact date provided. It does NOT run for a set period from whenever you install it.
If you have purchased a license of cosbatch for a particular computer system then we will have requested the hostname (returned by the 'uname -n' command) for that system. You will be sent a permanent key for that system which is locked to that particular hostname.
Does the price for cosbatch for a particular computer system ever change?
The answer is yes.
OSM sets its license fees by categorizing computer systems into power groupings. As the power of new systems is always greater than those they replace, we would have to keep adding more and more powerful groupings to cater for these new systems. Instead we apply Moore's Law. To paraphrase Moore's Law, the power of computer systems is expected to double every eighteen months.
Every eighteen months OSM reviews the power grouping categories of all the computer systems in its price-list. Those computer systems which remain current in the manufacturer's price book are left untouched. Those which have been "end-of-lifed" are demoted by one category every eighteen months until they reach our lowest level of power categorization.
In this way a cosbatch license for a computer system which is three years old may cost as little as half as much as it did when it was first released.
Support
Training
- What type of training is available?
- What is the content of training session 1?
- What is the content of training session 2?
- What is the content of training session 3?
- What is the content of training session 4?
What type of training is available?
OSM runs training courses on the latest versions of its software products and offers users the following options:
- Customized training at customer's site
- Standard or customized remote training using a shared desktop over the Internet
Customized training at customer's site:
The following courses are currently available from OSM:
- cosbatch Administrator - one day
- OSM Toolset - three days (suitable for cosbatch V2.4 and V2.5 only)
Please contact the appropriate OSM office for further information.
Standard, free, online training courses for cosbatch:
The following four training sessions will be available free of charge from OSM for existing and prospective cosbatch users:
- Training Session 1 - Installation and Configuration
- Training Session 2 - Architecture and Administration
- Training Session 3 - Suite and Job Maintenance and Preconditions
- Training Session 4 - Monitoring and Command Line Interface
Each session will take approximately two hours. If you attend all four courses then you will cover the content of the official one day cosbatch Administrator course.
What is the content of training session 1?
cosbatch Training Session 1
Installation and Architecture
cosbatch Training Session 1 is designed to provide the user with knowledge of the architecture of cosbatch and how to install cosbatch.
Objectives
On completion of this session, students should have acquired the knowledge of how to install any or all cosbatch components on Unix, Linux and Windows systems. They should also be able to describe the architecture of the product, what the different node types are, and how they interact.
Structure
The course will adopt the following structure:
Description of the various cosbatch distribution types:
-
CD
-
Self-extract image
Installation pre-requisites
Installation of the different types of cosbatch Nodes:
-
Scheduler
-
Controller
-
Standard
-
Unix Agent
-
Windows Agent
Pre-requisites:
None
Course Duration:
2 hours
What is the content of training session 2?
cosbatch Training Session 2
Basic User Interface and Administration
cosbatch Training Session 2 is designed to provide the user with enough information to use the cosbatch UI, and with the knowledge required to configure and maintain cosbatch on an ongoing basis.
Objectives
On completion of this course, students should have acquired an understanding of the fundamental architecture of the cosbatch product. Students will become familiar with the Scheduler and Execution Agent components of cosbatch. Discussion of the Queue, Processor and Calendar facilities will enable students to understand and make better use of cosbatch's functionality.
Structure
The course will adopt the following structure:
- Introduction to the cosbatch UI
- Simple ways to display data
- How to Add, Modify and Remove data within cosbatch
- Host Configuration and Operations
- Concepts of Queues and Processors
- Processor Configuration
- Queue Configuration
- Attaching and Detaching Queues and Processors, and Queue Operations
- Calendar Configuration and Operations
- Event Precondition Configuration
- Week Numbering Definition
-
Security - Roles and Users
Prerequisites
None
Course Duration
2 hours
What is the content of training session 3?
cosbatch Training Session 3
Jobs, Suites and Preconditions
cosbatch Training Session 3 is designed to provide the user with the knowledge required to create and configure cosbatch suites and jobs, including the definition of both event and job preconditions.
Objectives
On completion of this course, students should be able to define stand-alone jobs, suites and suite jobs. They should also have obtained a good understanding of the precondition language and event preconditions used in cosbatch to link jobs within suites.
Structure
The course will adopt the following structure:
- Submitting a standalone job
- Operations for standalone jobs
- Defining Suites
- Precondition language
- Adding jobs to a Suite using preconditions
- Event preconditions
- Suite Operations
- Handling preconditions that were not met
- cosbatch Defaults
Prerequisites
cosbatch Training Session 2 - Architecture and Administration
Course Duration
2 hours
What is the content of training session 4?
cosbatch Training Session 4
Advanced User Interface and Command Line Interface
cosbatch Training Session 4 is designed to provide students with knowledge of the advanced features of the UI, and to use the cosbatch command line interface.
Objectives
On completion of this course, students will be able to use the advanced features of the cosbatch UI such as multi-pane windows, drag and drop, and dockable windows. The course will also cover usage of the command line interface (CLI) to control and maintain cosbatch as an alternative to the standard graphical user interface.
Structure
The course will adopt the following structure:
- Multiple displays in the UI
- Drag and Drop for
- Queues and Processors
- Events and Jobs
- Graph display
- Drag and Drop for Events and Preconditions in a Suite
- The Window pull down menu
- Docking windows
- The Output window of the UI
- Introduction to the cosbatch CLI
- Controlling the Scheduler
- Low level database access via cb_isnet
- Submitting and managing Jobs and Suites
- Defining and managing Calendars
- Defining and managing Queues and Processors
- Defining and managing Global Events
Prerequisites
cosbatch training session 2 - Baisc User Interface and Configuration
cosbatch training session 3 - Jobs, suites and preconditions
Course Duration
2 hours