Documentation > Getting Started > Basic Management

Basic Management

Essential management tasks and workflows for day-to-day operations with SysManage.

Management Overview

This guide covers the fundamental operations you'll perform regularly with SysManage, including host organization, package management, user administration, and basic monitoring. Master these tasks to effectively manage your infrastructure.

Prerequisites: Complete the Agent Setup guide to have working agents before following this guide.

1. Dashboard Navigation

Main Dashboard

The main dashboard provides an overview of your entire infrastructure:

  • Host Summary: Total hosts, online/offline status, health indicators
  • Update Summary: Available updates, security patches, critical updates
  • System Health: Resource usage, alerts, system status
  • Recent Activity: Agent connections, completed tasks, alerts

Navigation Menu

📊 Dashboard

System overview, key metrics, and health status

🖥️ Hosts

Host inventory, status, and detailed management

📦 Packages

Package inventory, updates, and installation management

⬆️ Updates

System updates, security patches, and OS upgrades

👥 Users

User management, roles, and access control

⚙️ Settings

System configuration, preferences, and administration

2. Host Management

Host Organization

Organize your hosts using tags and groups for efficient management:

Adding Tags

  1. Navigate to Hosts → Select a host
  2. Click Edit Host or the edit icon
  3. In the Tags section, add relevant tags:
    • production, staging, development
    • web, database, cache
    • critical, important, standard
    • datacenter-1, aws-us-east, office
  4. Click Save Changes

Bulk Tag Management

  1. In the hosts list, select multiple hosts using checkboxes
  2. Click Bulk Actions → Manage Tags
  3. Add or remove tags for all selected hosts
  4. Confirm the changes

Host Filtering and Search

Use the filtering system to find specific hosts:

  • Status Filter: Online, Offline, Warning, Error
  • Tag Filter: Select one or more tags
  • Operating System: Linux, Windows, macOS, BSD
  • Search: Hostname, IP address, or description
  • Updates Available: Hosts with pending updates

Host Details and Information

Click on any host to view detailed information:

System Information

  • Operating system and version
  • Hardware specifications (CPU, RAM, disk)
  • Network interfaces and IP addresses
  • Uptime and last boot time

Agent Status

  • Connection status and last contact
  • Agent version and capabilities
  • Certificate information
  • Configuration status

Packages and Updates

  • Installed package inventory
  • Available updates count
  • Security update status
  • Package manager information

3. Package Management

Package Inventory

View and manage packages across your infrastructure:

Global Package View

  1. Navigate to Packages
  2. View packages across all hosts with:
    • Package name and version
    • Number of hosts with this package
    • Version distribution
    • Update availability
  3. Click on a package to see detailed information

Host-Specific Packages

  1. Navigate to Hosts → Select a host
  2. Click the Packages tab
  3. View all packages installed on that host
  4. Filter by package type, update status, or search

Installing Packages

Install packages on one or multiple hosts:

Single Host Installation

  1. Navigate to host details → Packages tab
  2. Click Install Package
  3. Enter package name (searches available packages)
  4. Select desired version if multiple available
  5. Click Install and monitor progress

Bulk Installation

  1. Navigate to Packages → Bulk Actions
  2. Select target hosts using filters or manual selection
  3. Enter package names (one per line)
  4. Review and confirm installation
  5. Monitor installation progress

Package Updates

Keep your systems updated with the latest packages:

Individual Package Updates

  1. Navigate to Updates or host package list
  2. Find packages with available updates (highlighted)
  3. Click Update next to the package
  4. Confirm the update and monitor progress

Bulk Updates

  1. Navigate to Updates
  2. Select hosts or use Select All
  3. Choose update type:
    • Security Updates Only: Critical security patches
    • All Updates: All available package updates
    • Selected Packages: Specific packages only
  4. Review update plan and click Apply Updates

4. Update Management

Security Updates

Prioritize security updates to maintain system security:

Automatic Security Updates

  1. Navigate to Settings → Update Policy
  2. Enable Automatic Security Updates
  3. Configure schedule (daily, weekly, custom)
  4. Set maintenance windows for updates
  5. Configure notification preferences

Manual Security Updates

  1. Navigate to Updates → Security
  2. Review available security updates by severity
  3. Select hosts or use filters
  4. Click Apply Security Updates
  5. Monitor progress and verify completion

System Updates

Manage regular system updates and maintenance:

Update Scheduling

  1. Navigate to Updates → Schedule
  2. Create update schedules:
    • Production: Weekly during maintenance window
    • Staging: Daily or bi-daily
    • Development: Real-time or daily
  3. Set exclusion periods (holidays, critical business periods)
  4. Configure rollback procedures

Update Validation

Verify updates were applied successfully:

  1. Check Recent Activity for update status
  2. Review update logs for errors or warnings
  3. Verify system functionality post-update
  4. Monitor system health and performance

5. User Management

User Accounts

Manage user access to the SysManage interface:

Creating Users

  1. Navigate to Users → Add User
  2. Fill in required information:
    • Username (unique identifier)
    • Full name and email address
    • Initial password (user can change)
    • Role assignment
  3. Configure optional settings:
    • Multi-factor authentication requirement
    • Account expiration date
    • Login restrictions
  4. Click Create User

User Roles and Permissions

Administrator

  • Full system access
  • User management
  • System configuration
  • All host and package operations

Operator

  • Host and package management
  • Update installation
  • Monitoring and alerts
  • Limited configuration access

Viewer

  • Read-only access
  • View hosts and packages
  • View monitoring data
  • Generate reports

Custom

  • Define specific permissions
  • Tag-based access control
  • Feature-specific restrictions
  • Custom workflows

User Sessions and Security

Monitor and manage user sessions:

Active Sessions

  1. Navigate to Users → Active Sessions
  2. View currently logged-in users
  3. Monitor session duration and activity
  4. Terminate sessions if necessary

Security Settings

  1. Configure password policies
  2. Set session timeout periods
  3. Enable multi-factor authentication
  4. Configure login attempt limits
  5. Set up audit logging

6. Basic Monitoring

System Health Monitoring

Monitor the health of your infrastructure:

Health Dashboard

  • Host Status: Online/offline indicators
  • System Load: CPU, memory, and disk usage
  • Network Status: Connectivity and latency
  • Service Status: Critical service health

Alert Configuration

  1. Navigate to Settings → Alerts
  2. Configure alert thresholds:
    • CPU usage > 80% for 5 minutes
    • Memory usage > 90% for 2 minutes
    • Disk usage > 85%
    • Host offline for > 5 minutes
  3. Set notification channels (email, webhook)
  4. Configure escalation procedures

Performance Monitoring

Track system performance over time:

Metrics Collection

  • System Metrics: CPU, memory, disk, network
  • Application Metrics: Service-specific data
  • Custom Metrics: User-defined measurements
  • Log Analysis: Error rates and patterns

Trend Analysis

  1. Use the Analytics section to view trends
  2. Generate performance reports
  3. Identify capacity planning needs
  4. Detect performance degradation

7. Reporting

System Reports

Generate reports for analysis and compliance:

Inventory Reports

  • Host Inventory: Complete host listing with specifications
  • Package Inventory: Installed packages across all hosts
  • Update Status: Pending updates and security patches
  • Compliance Report: Policy compliance status

Custom Reports

  1. Navigate to Reports → Custom
  2. Select report type and filters
  3. Choose output format (PDF, CSV, JSON)
  4. Schedule automated report generation
  5. Configure email delivery

Audit Logs

Track system changes and user activities:

  • User Actions: Login, logout, configuration changes
  • System Changes: Package installations, updates
  • Agent Activity: Connections, certificate changes
  • API Usage: External integrations and automation

8. Best Practices

Daily Operations

  • Review dashboard for system health
  • Check for security updates
  • Monitor alert notifications
  • Verify agent connectivity
  • Review recent activity logs

Weekly Operations

  • Apply non-critical updates
  • Review system performance trends
  • Validate backup procedures
  • Update host documentation and tags
  • Review user access and permissions

Monthly Operations

  • Generate compliance reports
  • Review and update alert thresholds
  • Analyze capacity planning needs
  • Update system documentation
  • Review security policies

Emergency Procedures

  • Document incident response procedures
  • Maintain emergency contact lists
  • Practice rollback procedures
  • Keep offline access methods available
  • Regular disaster recovery testing

9. Common Issues

Host Shows Offline

  • Check agent service status
  • Verify network connectivity
  • Review agent configuration
  • Check certificate validity

Updates Failing

  • Check package repository access
  • Verify disk space availability
  • Review dependency conflicts
  • Check privileged operation settings

Performance Issues

  • Monitor system resources
  • Check database performance
  • Review agent polling intervals
  • Optimize query filters

Permission Errors

  • Verify user role assignments
  • Check tag-based permissions
  • Review session validity
  • Confirm operation permissions

Next Steps

After mastering basic management tasks:

  1. Advanced tutorials: Learn advanced workflows and automation
  2. Administration guide: Advanced configuration and management
  3. API integration: Automate operations with the REST API
  4. Security hardening: Implement advanced security measures

Navigation

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