IT Baseline Protection Manual - The Information Warfare Site

Safeguard Catalogue - Organisation Remarks
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- What types of computer should be used as management servers? There can
generally be expected to be performance losses as the number of clients
connected to one management server increases. This must be taken into
consideration when planning.
- What physical arrangement must the management servers have, and where
will they be installed? The location of a server has an influence on, for
example, how computers that are to be administered by the server are
connected to it via the network. On some platforms, for example, there are
minimum requirements for the communications bandwidth between the
server and clients (e.g. TME 10 does not support the linking of clients via
lines rated lower than 14.4 kbps). This has direct consequences on the
possible management system configuration, and may make it necessary to
purchase new computers or expand network connections.
- Are gateways or proxies necessary, which allow hierarchically structured
management and/or connection to products from third parties?
- Some systems distinguish between what they refer to as managed nodes
and endpoints. Both of these are workstations, but they differ in terms of
the way they are integrated into the management system: endpoints, for
example, in contrast with managed nodes, do not maintain a local database
of their own with management information, nor can they be used for
forwarding management information to other computers. It has to be
decided which machines are to be incorporated into the management
system as managed nodes and which are to be administered merely as
endpoints. Generally speaking, most workstations should be included as
endpoints.
The management strategy drawn up in this way necessarily brings with it a
series of demands on the management product that is to be purchased. Specific
product selection can be made by weighting the requirements. The
management strategy must then be examined to determine whether it can be
implemented in full with the available range of functions. It may be necessary
to reformulate the strategy in certain areas as a result. Example: product
selection reveals that the system that supports strong encryption unfortunately
does not allow the delegation of administration tasks to subadministrators. The
management strategy has to be adapted as a result (assuming the weighting of
the requirements is correct).
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IT-Baseline Protection Manual: Oktober 2000