Conga - Red Hat ENTERPRISE LINUX 4 - ADMINISTRATION Manual

Chapter 1. Red Hat Cluster Configuration and Management Overview

1.2. Conga

Conga is an integrated set of software components that provides centralized configuration and
management of Red Hat clusters and storage. Conga provides the following major features:
• One Web interface for managing cluster and storage
• Automated Deployment of Cluster Data and Supporting Packages
• Easy Integration with Existing Clusters
• No Need to Re-Authenticate
• Integration of Cluster Status and Logs
• Fine-Grained Control over User Permissions
The primary components in Conga are luci and ricci, which are separately installable. luci is a server
that runs on one computer and communicates with multiple clusters and computers via ricci. ricci is
an agent that runs on each computer (either a cluster member or a standalone computer) managed by
Conga.
luci is accessible through a Web browser and provides three major functions that are accessible
through the following tabs:
• homebase — Provides tools for adding and deleting computers, adding and deleting users, and
configuring user privileges. Only a system administrator is allowed to access this tab.
• cluster — Provides tools for creating and configuring clusters. Each instance of luci lists clusters
that have been set up with that luci. A system administrator can administer all clusters listed on this
tab. Other users can administer only clusters that the user has permission to manage (granted by an
administrator).
• storage — Provides tools for remote administration of storage. With the tools on this tab, you can
manage storage on computers whether they belong to a cluster or not.
To administer a cluster or storage, an administrator adds (or registers) a cluster or a computer to a
luci server. When a cluster or a computer is registered with luci, the FQDN hostname or IP address of
each computer is stored in a luci database.
You can populate the database of one luci instance from another luciinstance. That capability
provides a means of replicating a luci server instance and provides an efficient upgrade and testing
path. When you install an instance of luci, its database is empty. However, you can import part or all
of a luci database from an existing luci server when deploying a new luci server.
Each luci instance has one user at initial installation — admin. Only the admin user may add systems
to a luci server. Also, the admin user can create additional user accounts and determine which users
are allowed to access clusters and computers registered in the luci database. It is possible to import
users as a batch operation in a new luci server, just as it is possible to import clusters and computers.
When a computer is added to a luci server to be administered, authentication is done once. No
authentication is necessary from then on (unless the certificate used is revoked by a CA). After that,
you can remotely configure and manage clusters and storage through the luci user interface. luci and
ricci communicate with each other via XML.
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