IBM Control Center Director Overview

The following illustration shows Control Center Director components that reside as services within a functional environment of the Control Center Director architecture. It also illustrates relationship with other connections such as, Connect:Direct Server and ICC.

Before you begin

Control Center Director upgrades and applies maintenance to Connect:Direct nodes through a Connect:Direct Agent instance which is co-packaged with Connect:Direct software.

The compatibility matrix below provides information about IBM Connect:Direct versions compatible with Control Center Director, by its features. To install this software, you should go to the IBM Passport Advantage website.

Table 1. Connect:Direct and Control Center Director Compatibility Matrix
IBM Connect:Direct for	License Governance	Upgrade Management	Dashboard	Server Management
UNIX v4.2.0.5, v4.3.0.1, v6.0.0.1, v6.1 and above*	Y	Y	Y	Y
Windows v4.7.0.7, v4.8.0.3, v6.0.0.3, v6.1 and above**	Y	Y	Y	Y
z/OS v6.0, v6.1 and above***	Y	N	N	N

* Supported UNIX variant information is available through Software Product Compatibility Reports website. Emergency Restore support over Control Center Director web console is available for Connect:Direct for UNIX from v6.1 and above.

** Emergency Restore support over Control Center Director web console is not available for Connect:Direct for Windows v6.1. This will be supported in an upcoming maintenance release.

*** APAR PH15805

Download IBM® Control Center Director to gain access to the following key Control Center Director components.

Component	Description
Control Center Director Engine	Control Center Director Engine renders the following core functions through a set of services that: Secure connection by using certificate-based authentication and manage communication with Connect:Direct® Agent and Server Enforce scheduled upgrades on target Connect:Direct nodes where package content is to be distributed Monitor Connect:Direct server and Agent status Control Connect:Direct Servers management with a variety of routines that stretch between viewing, modifying server and server group settings, to exporting server group composition report. Collect licensing data from managed Connect:Direct servers for greater visibility of your environment inventory.
Control Center Director Web Services
REST API Service	Control Center Director provides RESTful API interface to make HTTPS queries and fetch data from Control Center Director. These APIs make it easy to integrate Control Center Director with external portals and other monitoring tools. Install Control Center Director software package to install the REST API Service.
Web Console Service	Control Center Director provides Web Console, a browser-based interface, to render license governance and server management capabilities for large-scale Connect:Direct deployments. Web Console service is a component of Control Center Director.
Connect:Direct Agent	What is Connect:Direct Agent? Agent is a component of Connect:Direct servers that are managed using Control Center Director. What does an Agent do? It helps complete various tasks that are initiated in the Control Center Director Web Console. Example, if you want to upgrade a Connect:Direct Server in your network, you can schedule this task in Control Center Director. The agent replicates these settings and ensures that the task is completed effectively. When does the Agent Contact the Connect:Direct Server? While running silently in the background, the Connect:Direct Agent contacts Connect:Direct Server to: Enforce scheduled upgrades on Connect:Direct nodes where package content is to be distributed Collect licensing data Relay maintenance tasks initiated in the Control Center Director Web Console Relay managed Connect:Direct node and Agent discovery events to Control Center Director Engine. When the Connect:Direct Agent is first installed and configured, it is auto-discovered by the Control Center Director Engine within 1 minute.