To monitor a physical or virtual system with Tripwire Enterprise, you must first create a node. A node is a Tripwire Enterprise object that represents a system on your network. A monitored system is a database, directory server, file server, network device, or virtual infrastructure (VI) system represented by a node.
l Table 10 on the next pagedefines the types of nodes that may be created in Tripwire Enterprise.
Note A directory server node or file server node can represent either a physical or virtual machine. Similarly, a database node can represent a database hosted by a physical or virtual machine. For an introduction to virtual machines, see Monitoring Virtual Systems with Tripwire Enterprise on page 58.
l For a current list of databases, directory services, file server platforms, network devices, and virtual infrastructure platforms that can be monitored by Tripwire Enterprise, visit the Tripwire Web site:
http://www.tripwire.com/it-compliance-products/te/system-requirements
l To learn how nodes are created, seeHow are Nodes Created? on page 56.
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Type Description
database A database server is a physical server or virtual machine configured to host a database application in a client/server environment. A database node represents a single database on a database server. In Tripwire Enterprise, you may create the following types of database nodes:
l A DB2 database node represents a DB2 database.
l A Microsoft SQL Server database node represents a Microsoft SQL Server database.
l An Oracle database node represents an Oracle database.
l A Sybase database node represents a Sybase ASE database.
For more information about databases, see:
l How Does a Database Metadata Rule Work? (on page 87)
l How Does a Database Query Rule Work? (on page 89) directory
server
A directory is a centrally managed information store that enables users to search for data saved in a variety of locations on a network. A directory server is a physical server or virtual machine that hosts a directory, and a directory protocol is a communication standard used to access information with a directory.
A directory server node represents a directory server. In Tripwire Enterprise, you may create the following types of directory server nodes:
l An LDAP directory node represents any directory server that uses LDAP as the directory protocol. LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) is a standard, vendor-independent directory protocol.
l An Active Directory node represents a Windows system that supports Active Directory, an LDAP-compliant Microsoft directory included with some Windows platforms.
l A Sun directory node represents a Windows or UNIX system that hosts a Sun directory service (either Sun Java System Directory Server or Sun ONE Directory Server).
l A Novell eDirectory node represents a Windows or UNIX system that hosts an eDirectory, an LDAP-compliant directory from Novell Corporation.
For more information about directories, seeHow Does a Directory Rule Work? on page 90.
file server A file system, or file management system, is software used to organize and store files on a computer. A file server is a physical server or virtual machine that hosts a file system. A file server node represents a file server running a Windows, UNIX, or Linux operating system.
Note: For an introduction to virtual machines, seeMonitoring Virtual Systems with Tripwire Enterprise on page 58.
Table 10. Types of nodes
Type Description network
device
A network device node is a node that represents a physical router, switch, firewall, load balancer, or UNIX system.
Notes: VMware ESX is a hypervisor created by VMware, Inc. For backward compatibility with Tripwire Enterprise 7.1, the VMware ESX ‘network device’ node represents a physical server on which VMware ESX is installed. For more information about hypervisors, seeMonitoring Virtual Systems with Tripwire Enterprise on page 58.
A UNIX system is any system running a POSIX-compliant, UNIX-based operating system.
If Tripwire Enterprise does not include a node type for a network device you wish to monitor, you can create a custom node type in the Settings Manager (seeWorking with Custom Node Types on page 294).
virtual infrastructure
For an introduction to virtual infrastructure (VI) terms and concepts, seeMonitoring Virtual Systems with Tripwire Enterprise on page 58.
A VI node represents a VI or a component of a VI. With the following types of VI nodes, you can monitor the configuration files and parameters of a VI:
l A VI management node represents an entire VI defined by a single installation of VI management software. As a ‘container’ object similar to a group (seeAbout Groups on page 31), a VI management node contains node groups and other nodes that represent specific components of the VI.
l A VI hypervisor node represents a hypervisor installed on a VI host machine.
l A virtual machine template node represents a template in VI management software used to create virtual machines.
l A virtual machine node represents a virtual machine.
l A virtual switch node represents a virtual switch.
l A distributed virtual switch node represents a distributed virtual switch.
To learn more about the creation of VI nodes, seeMonitoring Virtual Systems with Tripwire Enterprise on page 58.
Notes: The hierarchy of nodes and node groups descended from a VI management node can not be directly modified in the Node Manager. For example, you cannot move a VI node descended from a VI management node, link an external node to a group under a VI management node, or create a new node or node group under a VI management node.
To monitor a database, directory, or file system hosted by a virtual machine, you must create a database, directory server, or file server node (seeHow are Nodes Created? on page 56).
Tripwire Enterprise 8.2 User Guide 53 Chapter 3. Terms, Concepts, and Functions