Resource Manager Related Concepts

Management Pages and the configuration item structures created within them follow a number of broader platform level concepts that are common to management of all types of items within ArenaCore. These concepts extend across:

• Physical Resources
• Logical Resources
• Services

Product Specs / Catalogs

All resource and service items managed by ArenaCore are described by specification definitions that describe key attributes and allowable (compatible) object relationships etc (meaning which types of items can be placed within or connected to each other). Product Specifications are created by manufacturer and vendor type users within ArenaCore, and are published via Product Catalogs such that other ArenaCore users may access and utilise these items.

Physical Equipment Structures

Physical equipment resource structures may be complex and contain other child resource items, such as CPUs, drive bay assemblies, memory and adapter card items (e.g. PCIe adapters). ArenaCore allows construction of multi-layered resource item structures including hierarchical nesting of items ranging from small adapter / daughterboard / mezzanine cards & chip level items (e.g. CPUs & DIMMs) up into rack sized ‘block’ style product definitions.

Some resource definitions may be Chassis type items, and have both a Front and Rear visual aspect, while others may only have a single exterior facing aspect (e.g. such as for a drive bay, a disk drive or a network adapter).

Resource definitions may contain internal Slots that cannot be seen in the Front or Rear visual management viewpoints of the Resource Manager. These items typically support a ‘Plan’ type viewpoint visualisation, in which any such internal objects can be seen and manipulated. The ability to place child items within slots or to form connections between ports of any equipment type is governed by Resource Role compatibility rules.

Logical Equipment Structures

Logical resources behave visually in one of two modes : Free Grouped or Hierarchical.

Logical Resource items may have custom UI panels and behaviour that have been developed by their owning vendor organisation (and/or by ArenaCore). This capability is covered further here.

Logical resource items may be layered and interconnected freely, depending on whether Resource Role compatibility rules are satisfied.

Links created in Logical Management Pages may be managed visually as either Orthogonal or Direct.

Command Event Management

Every user operation in the Resource Manager is recorded by ArenaCore, such that a structured history of change events is available at any point in the future.

Some Resources may have been defined with port interfaces. These may be connected to compatible ports on other Resource items via Physical Link objects.

Attribute Management

All Resource and Physical Link objects support the recording of Attribute values. For some types of Resources, additional Attribute types may be added dynamically by the User as needed.

Location

Resources may be assigned to specific Locations, such that tracking by Location is possible across all Resources for all Resource Management Pages within the ArenaCore system (Please note: This feature is currently being re-engineered)

Management Domains

Resources may be assigned to Management Domains, which are user defined groupings that may created to support common handling with respect to operational process or access security requirements either within or outside ArenaCore. These may be thought of as being ‘tags’, that carry context or user defined meanings – including for example down into associated management platform systems.

Approval Cycle

Management Pages are subject to an Approval cycle process that retains the state of any previously approved version of the same Management Page (known as Management Page Versioning).

Resource Orders

In conjunction with Management Page Versioning, the Physical Resource Manager will also produce Resource Orders as required to support ordering and delivery of new items added to new or existing Management Pages.