Elementary IM7 Questions

[KMan]

I'm configuring a few new servers to upgrade our web presence. I've not used IM before, and have some very basic questions.

1. Do I want to use IM on the web servers? (I told you these were basic!) I mean, does it add sufficient value without consuming too much in the way of resources?

2. Are there situations where you wouldn't want to run it?

3. Is it secure? The last thing I need is another piece of software to worry about. (MS gives me enough already.)

4. Are there best practices for how to install and configure it?

5. I'm doing the initial OS install while the servers are not connected to the net. Do they need to be connected in order to install IM?

6. Assuming that the consensus is that I should be using it, does anyone here offer consulting to help me work through the install?

Thanks!

[David Claypool]

The agents rely on SNMP and HTTPS protocols for communication. There is no "harm" that can be done while communicating with the agents via SNMP, but, yes, there have been SNMP exploits posted in the past that have required updating the OS SNMP layer. For HTTPS, our agents leverage the industry-standard OpenSSL libraries, and there also there have been security exploits (which of course we have posted updates to address).

However, that being said, we do not recommend using the agents in an un-protected environment open to the Internet. We do, though, have many users who are dependent on the agents and utilize them extensively for web servers in DMZ arrangements.