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Troubleshooting

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» Access Problems
» Browser Problems
» Clustering Problems
» Installation Problems
» IP Address Problems
» Login Problems
» Security Problems
» Other Problems

If noted, a topic may only apply to the HP-UX, Linux, or Windows operating system.

Access Problems

SMH Documentation Unclear on Treatment of securetty

Solution: The HP System Management Homepage (HP SMH) does not use /etc/securetty. Refer to the login(1)for details on /etc/securetty.

After entering a hostname on Linux, HP SMH does not start.

Solution: Hostnames that are 64 characters or longer in length are not supported on Linux.

The breadcrumb links presented in the HP SMH top frame only display the current location within the HP SMH menu structure up to the plugin name, but not including the names of internal plugin pages.

Solution: Use the buttons and links provided inside the plug-in pages to cancel an operation or move to a different plug-in page.

Browser Problems

When I log into HP SMH and then close the browser, the HP SMH session is not killed. If I go back and open Internet Explorer, after closing it, I can log into HP SMH without credentials. How can I fix this problem?

Solution: There are two possible solutions in order to be sure the HP SMH shortcut will ask for credentials.

Solution #1

  1. Select Tools Internet Options

  2. Choose the Advanced tab.

  3. Under Settings Browsing, uncheck Reuse windows for launching shortcuts (when tabbed browsing is off).

  4. Click [OK].

Solution #2

  1. Select Tools Internet Options

  2. Under the General tab, look for Tabs: Change how webpages are displayed in tabs. Click [Settings].

  3. Under Open links from other programs in:, select the third option The current tab or window.

  4. Click [OK] in the Tabbed Browsing Settings pop-up window.

  5. Click [OK] to close Internet Options.

When I use Internet Explorer 6.0 in Windows, why do I see warnings in the Security Alert dialog box when I log in to the HP System Management Homepage (HP SMH)?

Solution: There are two possible warnings that might be seen including:

  • Warning #1: The name on the security certificate is invalid or does not match the name of the site.

    This warning occurs when you browse to HP SMH using an IP address. This warning also occurs if you browse locally using localhost for the machine name.

  • Warning #2: The security certificate was issued by a company you have not chosen to trust. View the cert to determine whether you want to trust the CA.

    The certificate is issued by HP SMH. You can add the certificate to your Trusted Certificate List and the warning goes away.

Opening a second Mozilla browser can appear as an unauthorized login into HP SMH.

Solution: Mozilla browsers share sessions when launched separately.

Separate sessions are shared in Mozilla when launched from the desktop. However they are not shared in Internet Explorer.

I get security messages or partially displayed pages when browsing into HP SMH from Internet Explorer running on Windows 2003.

Solution: Internet Explorer 6.0 on Windows 2003 Server has different security settings in the default install. To prevent the problem, add each managed system into the local intranet zone twice, once as: http://hostname:2301 and once more as: https://hostname:2381. The alternatives to this solution are to decrease the level of security settings in the browser (not recommended) or alter the browser security settings to allow cookies (both stored and per-session) and allow active scripting.

My browser page does not display all of the contents. What is wrong?

Solution: Frame sizes are optimized for medium fonts. If you switch your browser to use larger or smaller fonts, then manually adjust the frame layout using the mouse.

Why does the browser prompt to accept cookies when accessing a system?

Solution: Browser cookies are required to keep track of user state and security. Cookies must be enabled in the browser and prompting for acceptance of cookies should be disabled.

I can log in to HP-UX with http://hostname:2301/, but not https://hostname:2381/.

Solution: By default, HP-UX is installed with the autostart feature enabled. A daemon listens on port 2301 and only starts HP SMH on port 2381 when requested, then stops it again after a timeout period. See the smhstartconfig(1M) command for more information.

When I browse to https://ipaddress:2381 on a local machine or a remote machine running Windows 2003, I don't see the Login screen.

Solution: Internet Explorer 6.0 on Windows 2003 sometimes causes only the Account Login text in a blue bar to appear instead of the entire Login page. This issue occurs when browsing on a local system or a remote system and can be resolved as follows:

HP System Management Homepage cannot show this page until you have enabled the javascript support and added this site to the Trusted sites list.

When using HP SMH (until version 2.1.5), the [Back] button in the browser window may not behave as expected. After pressing the [Back] button, the current page will be refreshed instead of the previous page being displayed.

On Linux for Itanium, this behaviour is found until version 2.1.7.

Solution: The use of the browser's [Back] button is not the supported method of navigating within HP SMH. You can navigate within HP SMH using the breadcrumb links and the navigation buttons and links presented inside the HP SMH pages.

Clustering Problems

I cannot browse to the HP SMH on my cluster IP address after a cluster fail over has occurred.

Solution: Install HP SMH 2.1.4 or later (which is available in SmartStart 7.5 or later) and modify the XML file to accommodate the cluster.

HP recommends the following actions:

  1. As a precautionary measure, copy the existing smhpd.xml file into a different directory.

  2. Manually add the tag:

    1. Open the smhpd.xml in the \hp\hpsmh\conf directory on the boot drive with a text editor.

    2. Add the following line between the <system-management-homepage> and </system-management-homepage> tags:

      <monitor-ip-changes>1</monitor-ip-changes>

    3. Save the file.

  3. Repeat these steps on any system that could be a target of a cluster failover.

  4. Restart the HP SMH service on both systems.

Installation Problems

After running setup.exe /r on a Windows system to import certificates, the installation fails.

Solution: Do not use setup.exe /r to import or copy certificates. Instead, use the Configure or Repair Agents tool in HP Systems Insight Manager.

When installing HP SMH, I receive the following error: another instance is running.

Solution: The HP SMH installation attempted to install on a system that had files that were previously corrupted or the installation was aborted.

To resolve this issue, navigate to the \temp directory on the HP SMH system and delete the smhlock.tmp file.

When installing HP SMH, I receive the following errors: error: cannot get exclusive lock on /var/lib/rpm/Packages error: cannot open Packages index using db3 - Operation not permitted (1) error: cannot open Packages database in /var/lib/rpm.

Solution: This error appears when more than one instance of the install is initiated on a Linux system. Only one HP SMH installation can run at a time.

IP Address Problems

Is there an easier way to access the local system with my browser without having to find out its IP address?

Solution: Yes. You can access the local system at https://hostname:2381 or https://127.0.0.1:2381. For HP-UX, you can access the local system at http://hostname:2301 if you keep the default setting of autostart enabled.

The word localhost does not work in all languages. In addition, if you have a proxy server configured in your browser, you might need to add 127.0.0.1 to the browser list of addresses that should not be proxied.

When I use the IP Restricted Login feature on Windows 2000 Advanced Server, entering my server IP address does not have the desired effect. How can I be sure that the local machine IP addresses are recognized by this feature?

Solution: On Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 Advanced Server, enter 127.0.0.1 in addition to the actual IP addresses of the server if you intend to include or exclude the local machine. The address 127.0.0.1 is always included in the Include section, so it is only excluded if it is explicitly placed in the Exclude section.

Although an IP restriction is configured, localhost access is not being denied. Why is this happening?

Solution: If you do not include the IP address for the local host in the Include field, the local host is still granted access because most users do not intend to block the local host access. If you do need to block localhost access, enter 127.0.0.1 into the Exclude field under IP Restriction.

Under IP Restriction, I did not include the system's local IP address or 127.0.0.1 to the Include list, but I can still browse to it locally.

Solution: As a precaution against users unintentionally locking themselves out of HP SMH access, localhost requests are not denied when the local IP addresses are not mentioned in the Include list. If this is absolutely necessary, the local system's IP address and 127.0.0.1 can be added to the Exclude list, and this setting denies access to any user trying to gain access from the local system.

Login Problems

After logging onto the Microsoft Windows operating system on a ProLiant server running HP System Management Homepage (SMH) Version 2.1.3 (or later), the ROTATELOGS.EXE command prompt appears on the screen if SMH has been configured to allow interaction with the desktop. When this occurs, one or two smaller command prompt windows will appear with messages similar to the following:

(drive) :\hp\hpsmh\bin\rotatelogs.exe

Solution: The command prompt window messages do not affect the performance or functionality of the server or of SMH and can be ignored.

Any ProLiant server configured with Microsoft Windows 2000 Server or Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (any edition) and HP System Management Homepage (SMH) Version 2.1.3 (or later) when SMH is allowed to interact with the desktop may be affected.

To prevent SMH from interacting with the server desktop, perform the following:

  1. Click on StartProgramsAdministrative ToolsServices

  2. Click on HP System Management Homepage Properties.

  3. Click the Log On tab.

  4. Uncheck Allow service to interact with desktop.

  5. Click on Apply and then click OK.

  6. Restart the HP System Management Homepage service.

I gave a user group defined by Windows, such as Backup Operators, Administrator, Operator and User privileges through the HP SMH User Groups settings page but users in that group cannot login or do not have the correct privileges in HP SMH.

Solution: HP SMH only recognizes four of the user groups predefined by Windows which are Administrators, Users, Guests and Power Users. Any other groups predefined by Windows, such as Backup Operators, are not recognized.

On Linux, the group must be previously created using system tools as groupadd.

When trying to login to HP SMH on a Windows system using an administrative account defined in the Backup Operators group, the login fails.

Solution: On Windows systems within the pre-defined user groups, only Administrators, Users, Guests and Power Users are recognized. Any other groups predefined by Windows, such as Backup Operators, are not recognized. The work around is to create a new group and use that for providing access to HP SMH.

I cannot log in to HP SMH on my server running the Windows operating system.

Solution:

  1. Verify that a valid Windows operating system account has been set up and that the login is included in the Administrators group or one of the HP SMH operating system groups.

  2. Log in to the operating system. Change the password if prompted.

    If this password prompt appears, then the operating system Administrator has set up the user account with the user must change the password at next logon option selected.

    Any login created in the future can be added by the operating system group Administrator without selecting the user must change the password at next logon option. In addition, if this option is selected, you can change the password through the operating system before logging in to HP SMH.

I cannot log in to HP SMH on my Windows XP operating system.

Solution:

  • Go to ProgramsAdministrative ToolsLocal Security Settings and change the policy to Network Access: Sharing and security model for local accounts from Guest Only to Classic Only.

Why doesn't my password work after I upgrade my Web Managed Products?

Solution: HP SMH v2.0 and greater uses operating system accounts whereas previous versions use three static accounts (administrator, operator, and user). Any operating system account belonging to the administrators group (root group in Linux) has administrative access to HP SMH. With this access, you can assign accounts in other operating system account groups to different levels of access for HP SMH. The HP SMH online help describes this process in detail. See Security - User Groups

Note that this does not apply to HP-UX.

I created new Windows accounts, using default settings, for use with HP SMH but I cannot use them to log in.

Solution: By default, new accounts created in Windows operating systems are set to user must change the password at next logon. This option must be deselected before the account can be used to log in to HP SMH.

When I use Internet Explorer 6.0 in Windows and browse through the management server to a system that was discovered by IP address, I cannot log in to HP SMH. If anonymous access is enabled, I get through anonymously but the user name is incorrect.

or

When I use Internet Explorer 6.0 in Windows and browse through the management server to a device that was discovered by the IP address, the detailed certificate information does not appear in the text box of the Automatic Import Certificate screen.

Solution: These issues can be resolved two different ways by adjusting the Internet Explorer settings:

  • Configure the Internet Explorer Privacy settings from Medium to Low. HP does not recommend using this option.

    To change the settings:

    1. In Internet Explorer, click ToolsInternet Options.

    2. Click Privacy.

    3. Click and drag the slide bar to Low.

    4. Click [Apply].

    5. Click [OK]. The changes are saved.

    or

  • Add the IP address of the target HP SMH to the Local Intranet's zone.

    To change the settings:

    1. In Internet Explorer, click ToolsInternet Options.

    2. Click Security.

    3. Select Local Intranet.

    4. Click [Sites] → [Advanced].

    5. In Add this website to the zone, enter the IP address of the HP SMH system. For example, enter https://ipaddress .

    6. Click [Add].

    7. Click [OK].

    8. Click [OK] again.

    9. Click [OK]. The changes are saved.

When I browse to my system using the server name http://my-server-name:2301 with Internet Explorer, I cannot log in using my valid Windows administrator account username and password. However, I can log in if I browse to my system using my IP address, http://my-ip-address:2301.

Solution: Verify whether there is an underscore "_" defined in your server 's computer name. If there is, remove it or use -(dash) instead of __ (underscore).You should be able to log in using system name.

You might need to change the Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) configuration after you rename a system.

This is a security feature added by Microsoft security patch MS01-055 for Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6.0 that prevents systems with improper name syntax from setting cookie names. Domains that use cookies must use only alphanumeric characters (- or .) in the domain name and the system name. Internet Explorer blocks cookies from a system if the system name contains other characters, such as an underscore character (_).

Security Problems

After updating my Windows XP system with Service Pack 2, I am unable to access HP Systems Insight Manager or the HP Version Control Repository Manager. What happened?

Solution: The Windows XP Service Pack 2 implements a software firewall that prevents browsers from accessing the ports required for HP Systems Insight Manager and Version Control Repository Manager access. To resolve this issue, you must configure the firewall with exceptions to allow browsers to access the ports used by HP Systems Insight Manager and Version Control Repository Manager.

HP recommends the following actions:

  1. Select StartSettings Control Panel.

  2. Double-click Windows Firewall to configure the firewall settings.

  3. Select Exceptions.

  4. Click [Add Port].

    You must enter the product name and the port number.

    Add the following exceptions to the firewall protection:

    ProductPort Number
    HP SMH Insecure Port:2301
    HP SMH Secure Port:2381
    HP SIM Insecure Port:280
    HP SIM Secure Port:50000

  5. Click [OK] to save your settings and close the Add a Port dialog box.

  6. Click [OK] to save your settings and close the Windows Firewall dialog box.

This configuration leaves the default SP2 security enhancements intact, but will allow traffic over the ports previously indicated. These ports are required for HP Systems Insight Manager and Version Control Repository Manager to run. Ports 2301 and 2381 are required for the Version Control Repository Manager and ports 280 and 50000 are required by HP Systems Insight Manager. The secure and insecure ports must be added for each product to enable proper communication with the applications.

Why can't I import X.509 certificates directly into HP SMH?

Solution: HP SMH generates Certificate Request in Base64-encoded PKCS #10 format. This certificate request should be supplied to the CA. Most Certificate Authorities return Base64-encoded PKCS #7 certificate data that you can import directly into HP SMH by selecting SettingsHP System Management HomepageSecurityLocal Server Certificate.

If the CA returns the certificate data in X.509 format, rename the X.509 certificate file as cert.pem and place it into the \hp\sslshare directory. When HP SMH is restarted, this certificate is used.

Why is my PKCS #7 cert data not accepted?

Solution: When using a Mozilla browser, there can be problems when cutting and pasting cert request and reply data when using Notepad or other editors. To avoid these problems always use Mozilla to open any certificate reply files from your CA. Be sure to use the Select All, Cut, and Paste operations that are supplied by Mozilla when working with certificates.

Why is my private key file not protected by the file system?

Solution: If you are using Windows operating systems, you must have the system drive in NTFS format for the private key file to be protected by the file system.

Why do I get errors when I paste my customer-generated certificate PKCS #7 data into the HP Systems Insight Manager Certificate Data field in SettingsHP System Management HomepageSecurityTrusted Management Servers ?

Solution: The customer-generated certificate PKCS #7 data is not relevant to the date given in the Trusted Management Servers field. The PKCS #7 data should be imported into the Customer Generated Certificates Import PKCS #7 Data field under SettingsHP System Management HomepageSecurityLocal Server Certificate. The HP Systems Insight Manager Certificate Data field is used to trust HP Systems Insight Manager servers with HP SMH. For more information, refer to Security - Trusted Management Servers.

Why can't I use a Windows 2003 certificate authority to grant my third-party certificate into the HP SMH?

Solution: To use a Windows 2003 certificate authority to create a certificate for HP SMH:

  1. Create the PKCS #10 data packet by clicking SettingsHP System Management HomepageSecurityLocal Server Certificate page.

  2. Press the Ctrl+ C keys to copy the data into a buffer.

  3. Navigate to http://W2003CA/certsrv where W2003CA is the name of your Windows 2003 certificate authority system.

    • Select Request a certificate.

    • Select Advanced certificate request.

    • Select Submit a certificate request by using a base.

    • Press the Ctrl+ V keys to paste the PKCS #10 data into the field.

  4. From your Windows 2003 certificate authority system:

    • Click StartAll ProgramsAdministrative ToolsCertification Authority.

    • Click CA (Local)W2003CA/certsrv ⇒ where W2003CA is the name of your Windows 2003 certificate authority system.

    • Issue the pending request certificate.

  5. Navigate to http://W2003CA/certsrv where W2003CA is the name of your Windows 2003 certificate authority system.

    • Select View the status of a pending certificate request.

    • Select Base64-encoded and Download certificate (not certificate chain).

      The file download is certnew.cer.

    • Rename certnew.cer to cert.pem.

What are the security options when using Bastille?

Solution: Bastille is a system hardening program which enhances the security of an HP-UX host. It configures daemons, system settings and firewalls to be more secure. It can shut off unneeded services and tools such as rcp(1) and rlogin(1), and can help to limit the vulnerability of common internet services such as Web servers and DNS.

One of the facilities that Bastille uses to lock down a system is IP filtering. Refer to the Partition Manager Online Help for requirements when using IP filtering with Partition Manager. If Bastille's interactive user interface is used, be aware of these issues when answering the questions asked by Bastille. Bastille also has three install-time security options that are represented by the following files in /etc/opt/sec_mgmt/bastille.

  • HOST.config

    Host-based lockdown, without IPFilter configuration. Using this configuration has no impact on Partition Manager.

  • MANDMZ.config

    A fairly tight lockdown, but leaves open select network ports that are used by common management protocols and tools. For example, WBEM still functions when this configuration is used. Launching Partition Manager under this configuration requires the use of SSH or changes to enable ports 2301 and 2381. To enable launching Partition Manager on a system where ports 2301 and 2381 have been disabled, adjust the IP filtering by adding entries such as:

    pass in quick proto tcp from any to any port = 2301 flags S/0xff keep state keep frags

    pass in quick proto tcp from any to any port = 2381 flags S/0xff keep state keep frags

    to /etc/opt/sec_mgmt/bastille/ipf.customrules prior to running Bastille.

    Refer to ipf(5) for more information.

  • DMZ.config

    A tight lockdown. Launching Partition Manager under this configuration requires the use of SSH.

    Bastille also impacts using Partition Manager to remotely manage a system where Bastille is enabled. After the normal transfer of certificates, Partition Manager will work as described above if the HOST.config or MANDMZ.config configurations are used. However, the DMZ.config configuration blocks WBEM traffic and thus prevents Partition Manager from remotely managing the system.

    For more information about Bastille, refer to bastille(1M) and the Bastille User Guide, installed at /opt/sec_mgmt_bastille/docs/user_guide.txt.

Other Problems

Why can't I install HP SMH on my system?

Solution: The HP SMH install requires a Java version that requires at least 256 colors to load.

This applies to Windows only.

Why do I get an error indicating the page cannot be displayed when I click the Management Processor link?

Solution: The administrator for the management processor has configured the Web server on the management processor to use a port other than port 80. HP SMH does not currently have access to that parameter and assumes the management processor is on port 80.

Why can't I install HP SMH on HP-UX or Linux when I am not root?

Solution: You must be logged in as root for HP SMH to have the proper access rights.

You cannot su- to mimic root access to reinstall on United Linux 1.0 or SUSE SLES 8.

In the ServiceGuard Manager plugin, selecting [Display Consolidated Syslog] may require you to reauthenticate or cause a page not found error.

Solution: If the page not found error is displayed, you can press the [Refresh] button in the browser to allow the page to be properly shown. Subsequently, you will need to reauthenticate.

The value presented in the Total Swap Space Size field of the Memory Utilization property page includes not only the swap space that actually exists in the system as a device or file system but also the size of the pseudo-swap, which does not exist as an actual memory resource. The actual device and file system swap space is not presented in the page.

Solution: Currently, it is not possible to obtain the actual size of the device and file system swap space through the HP SMH property pages. You can obtain this information from the HP-UX command line, using the swapinfo command.