How we did it
 
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We set up a test network using 11 PCs (various Pentium notebooks and desktops) that ran Red Hat 6.2, Caldera eDesktop 2.4 or LinuxMandrake 7.1 Gold. Two servers, a Compaq ProLiant 3000 with twin 500-MHz CPUs and a Compaq DL380 machine with dual 733-MHz CPUs, were installed as Volution servers. These servers were running the directory services daemons and had Caldera eServer 2.3.1 or TurboLinux 6.0 installed.
We ran two tests, one using OpenLDAP, the other using Novell's eDirectory. We used ldif, a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol directory manipulation tool, to initially seed the directory databases with entries.
We also set up several SNMP Version 2.0 devices (hubs, a switch and a firewall) to send traps to Volution, which, in turn, serve as a gateway for traps and information sent to an SNMP console. We also used a Health Monitor policy to watch systems for various characteristics such as high CPU utilization and full file systems. We used Volution as a software repository for Red Hat Package Managers (RPM), as well as the manager for hardware and software inventory tasks. We used Volution as a software repository for RPMs and as manager for software and hardware inventory. We installed client software quickly from a ftp:pub directory or CD. When a client is pre-installed with Volution, it becomes autoconfigured into Volution when it first appeared on our Volution network.
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Henderson is principal researcher for ExtremeLab of Indianapolis. He can be reached at thenderson@compuserve.com.
Henderson is also a member of the Network World Global Test Alliance, a cooperative of the premier reviewers in the network industry, each bringing to bear years of practical experience on every review. For more Test Alliance information, including what it takes to become a member, go to www.nwfusion.com/alliance.
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