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Home > Archive > Unix administration > February 2004 > Knowledge management systems for system administration?
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Knowledge management systems for system administration?
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| Jeremiah DeWitt Weiner 2004-02-22, 8:34 am |
| Dear folks,
This is sort of a more abstract question than this group usually gets,
but I thought it was worth a shot. I'm looking for a sort of software that
may or may not exist. Basically, what I've got in mind is software that will
store information about systems, networks, software, users, etc. and the
relationships between them, so that the information can be made visible and
useful for managing the whole shebang. Not a database, exactly: a database
might be part of the whole solution, but I'm looking for something a little
higher-level than that. Not just a chart, either: the system should be able
to contain knowledge in depth about objects within it, and it should be able
to do some of the grunt work for you (for example, you select an object and it
tells you what other systems will be affected by changes to the selected
object).
Basically, I'm looking for a knowledge-management system,
or KMS, tailored for system administration, or perhaps just an operations
department as a whole. Things I've thought about are:
-database (too low-level, doesn't embody any business knowledge)
-Sun Management Center (too specifically technical)
-Lotus Notes (IMO, a big mess and not really applicable, but maybe I'm wrong?)
-IBM Rational suite (don't know much about these)
-various KMS's (maybe - I'm just wondering if there's something specific)
If anyone has any ideas for this kind of systems management
software, I'd love to know about them. If you think I'm in the wrong
group and you know a better one, feel free to let me know that, too.
Much thanks,
JDW
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| Mike Miller 2004-02-23, 12:33 am |
| In article <c19ael$bk4$1@reader2.panix.com>, jdw@panix.com says...
> Dear folks,
>
> This is sort of a more abstract question than this group usually gets,
> but I thought it was worth a shot. I'm looking for a sort of software that
> may or may not exist. Basically, what I've got in mind is software that will
> store information about systems, networks, software, users, etc. and the
> relationships between them, so that the information can be made visible and
> useful for managing the whole shebang. Not a database, exactly: a database
> might be part of the whole solution, but I'm looking for something a little
> higher-level than that. Not just a chart, either: the system should be able
> to contain knowledge in depth about objects within it, and it should be able
> to do some of the grunt work for you (for example, you select an object and it
> tells you what other systems will be affected by changes to the selected
> object).
>
> Basically, I'm looking for a knowledge-management system,
> or KMS, tailored for system administration, or perhaps just an operations
> department as a whole. Things I've thought about are:
> -database (too low-level, doesn't embody any business knowledge)
> -Sun Management Center (too specifically technical)
> -Lotus Notes (IMO, a big mess and not really applicable, but maybe I'm wrong?)
> -IBM Rational suite (don't know much about these)
> -various KMS's (maybe - I'm just wondering if there's something specific)
>
> If anyone has any ideas for this kind of systems management
> software, I'd love to know about them. If you think I'm in the wrong
> group and you know a better one, feel free to let me know that, too.
>
> Much thanks,
> JDW
>
Take a look at Visonael's product. It does some of what you want.
You might also look at what Remedy has to offer. I don't know if they have
anything pre-built for your needs but you can do a lot if you want to roll
your own.
--
Mike Miller
If all else fails - READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!
or if you like
"If all else fails - THROW HARDER" Robert Smith(pro bowler)
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| Dave Hinz 2004-02-24, 12:34 am |
| On Mon, 23 Feb 2004 13:04:52 GMT, Mike Miller <mcubed5@ftml.net> wrote:
> In article <c19ael$bk4$1@reader2.panix.com>, jdw@panix.com says...
[color=blue]
> Take a look at Visonael's product. It does some of what you want.
Maybe he'd like the concept of a Wiki? Lets your people get down to
documentation & not worrying about how things are stored, you just write.
If you want to link into something, you can type it like [DMZ Network Diagram]
which turns into an html link - if that exists, it's to a page with that
info in it, if it isn't, click on it and it helps you create it.
You can search on titles or content, see inter-relationships, and so on.
Very self-maintaining and intuitive to use once you get the "AHA!" moment.
You can play with one at wikipedia.org to see just how big it can get.
I'm using phpwiki from sourceforge.net and am quite happy with it - setup
is painless (some sort of a database, php, a webserver instance, and it's
ready).
> You might also look at what Remedy has to offer. I don't know if they have
> anything pre-built for your needs but you can do a lot if you want to roll
> your own.
It depends on needs & budget - take a look at the wikipedia and other
example wiki databases out there; I wish I'd had this 10 years ago. Makes
documentation painless when you only worry about content rather than
framework.
Dave Hinz
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