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Introduction to xConnect

xConnect is the latest enhancement to the already impressive Seneca line of products. xConnect allows you to audit, manage, and maintain all aspects of a enterprise or end-user's network. From edge device monitoring to storage integrity, xConnect puts you in control of your entire environment from a single, intuitive dashboard.

xConnect monitors your environment with advanced intelligence, and empowers you to manage and maintain many functions of your installation from a single web-based user interface. While its functionality may be expected to center around the performance monitoring of servers, the application also provides command and control functionality on the device level.

This platform is designed with managed service providers in mind to enable intuitive, but powerful, enterprise level management of one or many networks through a single pane of glass. Reduce the amount of service calls and truck rolls by getting in front of issues before your end-user realizes that something has happened.

Monitor

  • Temperatures, fan speeds, power supplies
  • RAID controllers, physical, logical and virtual storage
  • System utilization
  • Application monitoring (APM)
  • Network health
  • Application health

Manage

  • Client-less remote desktop
  • Secure tunneling to private networks
  • Access to Out of Band Management (iLO, iDRAC, Generic IPMI)
  • Remote Scripting
  • Designed for Service Providers managing multiple sites/customers

Act

  • Automatic Remote Command Execution (Self-heal)
  • Egress alarms to 3rd party services (REST API)
  • Email notifications

Platform Overview

The xConnect Remote Management Platform consists of three main components each requiring setup and configuration.

  • xConnect Agent
  • xConnect Bridge (Optional)
  • xConnect Dashboard
graph LR A(Edge Devices) --> B(Agent) B --> A B -->C(Bridge - Optional) C -->D(Dashboard); linkStyle default stroke-width:2px,fill:none,stroke:black;

For greenfield projects where PCs or servers and gateways have been manufactured by Seneca, this setup and configuration can be simplified by Seneca pre-installing our Agent software.

We will explain how to install the xConnect Agent on existing servers, and how to configure it once installed. If purchasing a new device from Seneca, the installation process may not necessary, and you can jump straight to the Getting Started guide. However, it is recommended to always grab the latest version from our download repository

The xConnect Agent runs locally within the operating system of the machine discovering sensors and applications automatically. The Agent sends real-time data (telemetry) to the xConnect cloud, providing system and device information. In the event of an issue, xConnect can trigger a workflow to immediately notify or react to an issue in the environment.

xConnect Agent

graph LR A(Edge Devices) --> B(Agent) style B fill:#04acec B --> A B -->C(Bridge - Optional) C -->D(Dashboard); linkStyle default stroke-width:2px,fill:none,stroke:black;

This is a required component for any compute device that you would like to be monitored by the xConnect Platform.

This agent is responsible for collecting health information (also called telemetry) as well as securely facilitating remote management features.

The Agent consists of multiple components but are rolled into a single Service, the xConnect Agent Core.

Additional technical detail can be found here: xConnect Agent Detail

xConnect Bridge (Optional)

graph LR A(Edge Devices) --> B(Agent) B --> A B -->C(Bridge - Optional) C -->D(Dashboard); style C fill:#04acec linkStyle default stroke-width:2px,fill:none,stroke:black;

This platform component is used to enable private/isolated network's agents access to the xConnect API. This is only required for environments that are monitoring devices that do not have a direct route or unfettered access to the internet.

It will host a squid server to proxy HTTP(S) traffic from the agents to the *.senecaxconnect.com API endpoints.

Additional technical detail can be found here: xConnect Bridge

xConnect Web Dashboard

graph LR A(Edge Devices) --> B(Agent) B --> A B -->C(Bridge - Optional) C -->D(Dashboard); style D fill:#04acec linkStyle default stroke-width:2px,fill:none,stroke:black;

The Web Dashboard is hosted by Seneca via Microsoft Azure and is included in the cost of xConnect Remote Management Platform license annual fees. No need to manage your own cloud costs, we take care of that for you!

The Web Dashboard can be accessed at senecaxconnect.com

You will be provided an account by the xConnect Administration team to access the Web Dashboard.

When launching the URL, you will be prompted to enter your username and password. This is the account provided by the xConnect Administration team or your account owner.

Additional technical detail can be found here: xConnect Web Dashboard