Centralized Management

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Centralized Management concentrates management authority, management decisions, and management coordination within one logically unified management capability.

The managed subjects can reside across multiple:

• Nodes
• Geographic locations
• Network zones
• Deployment Targets
• Security Domains
• Infrastructure Environments
• Distributed Environments

Centralized Management provides a common point of management authority without requiring every managed subject to reside within one physical location or one computer.

The centralized management capability performs or coordinates management functions such as:

• Identifying managed subjects
• Receiving management requests
• Authorizing management operations
• Directing management operations
• Monitoring operation status
• Collecting management results
• Recording management activity
• Presenting management information

Centralized Management differs from a Centralized System:

• Centralized Management describes the concentration of management authority and coordination
• A Centralized System describes the concentration of primary system control, processing, authoritative state, or services

A Distributed System or Distributed Environment can operate under Centralized Management without becoming a Centralized System.

Centralized Management does not require one physical user interface. Multiple Management Interfaces can access the same logically unified management authority.

management in which authority, decisions, and coordination are concentrated within one logically unified management capability

• DIDO Reference Architecture, Network Topology Taxonomy
• Dido Solutions, Inc. and Jackrabbit Consulting, Inc.

Centralized Management identifies the organization of management authority rather than the physical location of management components.

The components that implement Centralized Management can use redundancy, replication, failover, or distribution while presenting one logically unified management authority.

The governing architecture determines:

• Managed subjects
• Management functions
• Management authority
• Authorized actors
• Management interfaces
• Communication mechanisms
• Required records
• Failure-handling behavior

The term does not prescribe a web application, command-line interface, database, message broker, cloud service, network protocol, or deployment platform.

Crucible provides Centralized Management of Infrastructure Environments deployed across multiple locations.

Administrators use a command-line interface and a web management application to access the same management authority. Crucible identifies the target environment, directs the requested operation, collects the result, and records the management activity.