What is Hardware Sentry KM?

Hardware Sentry KM monitors the hardware of almost any server (physical, virtual, and blade servers) and external storage device (disk arrays, fiber switches, and tape libraries) available in datacenters. Once Hardware Sentry KM is installed and configured for local or remote monitoring (using manufacturer-specific hardware agents, standard management technologies, SSH, SNMP, WBEM, WMI, and more), the monitored objects, their metrics and configuration properties are automatically integrated into BMC Helix Operations Management:

Contrary to manufacturers’ monitoring tools, Hardware Sentry KM allows IT administrators to monitor their heterogeneous infrastructure into one single console. Because thresholds are automatically set according to the manufacturers' recommendations and alarms triggered as soon as these thresholds are breached, hardware failures can be detected at an early stage, long before they impact business.

When a hardware failure occurs, IT administrators must quickly identify and replace the faulty component. Hardware Sentry KM simplifies this process by providing detailed information about each monitored component (vendor, model, serial number, part number, FRU number, location in the chassis, etc.) to make this task easier. It also generates full hardware health reports, outlining failures, their consequences and, recommended fixes.

Product Overview

Hardware Sentry KM comes with a library of connector files (MS_HW_*.hdf) that are platform-specific. More than 200 connectors are currently available to monitor almost any server on the market (Cisco, Dell EMC, IBM, Hitachi, HP, NetApp, Pure, etc.). They contain all commands, queries, and scripts required to collect information. Multiple connectors can be combined to obtain comprehensive monitoring of each system component.

Hardware Sentry KM supports a wide range of operating systems including:

• Linux/UNIX
• Windows
• Solaris
• HP-UX
• IBM AIX.