System Management Hub is a distributed application that is configurable to support 1-tier or n-tier architectures. It runs on all Software AG-supported platforms (such as Windows, Solaris, HP UX, AIX, Linux, Linux S/390, and mainframe platforms), and provides the following assets:

• Cross-platform availability (Windows, UNIX, mainframe)

• Remote administration and Internet support

• Separation of management interfaces and presentation layers from actual product agents

• Concentration of all product-relevant management data in one product-independent "Common MIL Layer"

• Generic plug-ins for the MIL Layer that run on every supported interface or external system such as Tivoli, CA Unicenter, SNMP etc.

• Generic batch console based on the MIL Layer interface

• Open architecture that is extensible with plug-ins at every level

System Management Hub has a modular architecture that supports a variety of installation scenarios - from the simplest "everything on one machine" to the very complex distributed model with dedicated proxy machines and redundant backup resources for enhanced performance. It permits plug-in integration of existing products and separation of implementation-specific management technologies.

The data interfaces use XML technology to achieve a higher degree of flexibility and extensibility. Each of the management tasks is standardized and described in XML. This provides the user with generic rendering that generates at run time an HTML-based interface.

This XML-based architecture guarantees the availability of the new feature for each of the products and across all platforms.