Novell has taken some lumps about management tools over the years, and with iManager they may or may not be warranted, that is up to the individual user. However, anyone who has struggled with iManager and adding plug-ins can relate to how frustrating it can be to correct issues once they occur. Locating information for configuring and yes, fixing, iManager can be frustrating to say the least.

Much of this information is available in online documentation, TIDs, and tech tips. Since I recently found a solution to one of the issues that has been plaguing me, I thought it would be “cool” to submit some of the tips and tweaks I’ve come across in one place.

First off, I only use iManager Workstation because 1) it does not require any server-side configuration, and 2) it runs much faster.

Configuring iManager Workstation

• Download the full version of iManager Workstation (currently 2.7) from http://download.novell.com

• Extract the files to the desired location, typically c:\novell\imanager

• Create a desktop shortcut for C:\Novell\imanager\bin\imanager.bat

• Optional: configure iManager for unrestricted access should you not wish to use Role Based Services, or for “troubleshooting purposes” as TID 10095953 describes (http://support.novell.com/docs/Tids/Solutions/10095953.html)
  
  
  
  
  • Edit C:\Novell\imanager\tomcat\webapps\nps\WEB-INF\config.xml
  
  
• Insert the following at the bottom of the file BEFORE the </config> ending tag:

<setting>
<name><![CDATA[RBS.forceUnrestricted]]></name>
<value><![CDATA[true]]></value>
</setting>
	

• Start iManager and authenticate with admin-equivalent rights

• If your internet access is behind a proxy server, navigate to the Configure page, select iManager Server-->Configure iManager from the navigation pane, then select the Plug-in Download tab. Check “Enable Proxy” and enter requisite information.
  
  
  Note: as of the time of writing, iManager Workstation 2.7 does not include the proxy information. Download and manually add iManager 2.7 SP2 for that functionality.
  
  
  

  Another method is to add the proxy information to the iManager.bat file, see Preycor’s Technical Tip Configuring iManager 2.7 to Use a Proxy Server (http://www.novell.com/communities/node/4530/configuring-imanager-27-use-a-proxy-server)

• Navigate to Plug-in Installation-->Available Novell Plug-in Modules, select and install the desired plug-ins.

Troubleshooting

We geeks always want to try to figure stuff out on our own, but sometimes it pays to check the documentation!

Problem: One of the more exasperating issues we have come across with iManager Workstation is that after unzipping the iManager Workstation files to the local drive and adding one or more plug-ins, iManager would stop showing additional windows such as the Object Selector window to browse for an object.

After much frustration attempting to get a working configuration of iManager (2.7) with plug-ins for Identity Manager 3.6, and no luck finding any help on the interwebz, I finally looked in the online documentation, and there it was in the Troubleshooting section. Whodathunk!!!

The following is from the Troubleshooting section of the iManager 2.7 Administration Guide:
http://www.novell.com/documentation/imanager27/imanager_admin_272/index.html?page=/documentation/imanager27/imanager_admin_272/data/bouqsqh.html

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8.15 iManager Workstation Does Not Display Information

iManager workstation might not display error messages, and load pages such as Tree View, Object Browse, Create Objects, and page after clicking the Refresh button. This happens when the XULRunner browser cache contains old data of the previous build of iManager 2.7 workstation.

Work around: You must manually clear the data from browser cache.

For Windows:

Exit iManager.

Browse for C:\Users\\AppData\<Profile>\Mozilla\eclipse\Cache (the path varies depending on the configuration and OS).

Edit: doc shows path for Vista...for XP look here: C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Mozilla\eclipse\Cache

Delete all the data from the Cache directory.

Restart iManager.

For Linux:

Exit iManager.

Browse for one of the following:
/root/.mozilla/eclipse/Cache (for root user)
/$HOME/.mozilla/eclipse/Cache (for non root user)
Delete all the data from the Cache directory.
Restart iManager.

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Workaround: to check if the issue is with the embedded Mozilla browser included with iManager Workstation, start iManager and minimize it. Then open Firefox or Internet Explorer and type in http://localhost:48080/nps in the address bar. If iManager works fine in that browser, the above fix will likely be sufficient.

I’m still looking for how to configure iManager Workstation to run in Firefox rather than the embedded version of Mozilla included so if you find it, please share!