Servers,Interfaces, Engines, & Scanners - Basic Objects
From GWAVA4
The GWAVA 4 system uses a treeview to represent your configuration. There are four main objects stored in the configuration database and displayed in the main treeview.
These are Servers, Interfaces, Engines, and Scanners.
Contents |
Server
The Server object unsurprisingly represents each physical server installed in the GWAVA system.
- Contains Scanner objects (see below) tied to that Server.
- General configuration information is stored here, such as connectivity/IP address settings, logging levels, GWVRELAY and GWAVAQMS configuration settings, etc.
Interface
An Interface is a logical object representing the physical Interface program (See GWAVA 4 Components) that takes mail from the GroupWise agent, converts it to MIME and sends it to the GWAVA component for processing. Typically, Interface settings aren't adjusted much after the initial Scanner installation. One exception is the POA scanner - the schedule is embedded in the interface.
Engine
The Engine is an object consisting of all of your scanning configuration settings, such as whether antivirus is enabled, what exceptions apply, etc. It is the Engine object that the GWAVA component actually loads and uses as the configuration choices when the Interface sends the mail to the GWAVA component. Everything listed under Manage Scanners is related to the Engine, except for the Mail Interface Object. Administrators spend the majority of their time adjusting settings here.
Scanner
The Scanner is a compound object consisting of a specific Engine tied to a specific 'Interface on a specific Server. The Scanner Object is displayed under the server (Manage Scanners) in the navigation area, and presents a unified view of both the Engine and the Interface.
Advanced Usage
Normally, GWAVA administrators need only deal with administration at the Server and Scanner level. This makes comprehension and use of the system easier. There is a simple one to one correspondence of a specific interface object with a specific engine object, deployed on a specific server.
Why would the administrator want to deviate from this model? Consider the following:
- If the administrator could tie the same engine object to multiple interfaces, the administrator would be able to share a common configuration across multiple interfaces and even across multiple servers. A single configuration change would affect them all.
- If the administrator could tie the same interface object to multiple engines, it would be possible to quickly link and unlink some temporary configuration changes in an organized fashion.
GWAVA 4 supports this functionality. The cost of the functionality is the interfaces and engines may no longer neatly line up under a specific Server object. By breaking the one to one correspondence, the administrator will probably spend more time in the Advanced section of the System Management pane, instead of browsing the Server objects under Server Management.
Consult Advanced linking/unlinking of Interfaces and Engines for more details.
