The back end of an adapter represents a Domain Manager. Object manipulations (for example, setting an attribute) within an ASL rule set are translated into VMware Smart Assurance Remote API requests. The Domain Manager to which the API transmits the request is determined by the back end. Two back ends are available:

  • Remote Domain Manager —Specifies a remote Domain Manager.

  • Restart-enabled Domain Manager — Specifies a remote Domain Manager, but the adapter handles automatic reconnects if the connection to the Domain Manager is broken.

    The --server option to the sm_adapter command creates a remote Domain Manager back end.

    % sm_adapter --server=myServer rules.asl

    The restart-enabled Domain Manager back end is a specialization of the remote Domain Manager that adds automatic reconnect capabilities. When using a normal remote Domain Manager back end, the adapter terminates if one of the following occurs:

  • Domain Manager is unavailable when the adapter starts.

  • Domain Manager disconnects while the adapater is running.

    The restart-enabled Domain Manager should be used in cases where you want the adapter to remain active when the Domain Manager is unavailable. The back end of a restart-enabled Domain Manager periodically attempts to reconnect to the Domain Manager. Once it succeeds, the connection is restored and the adapter continues to function.

    The restart-enabled back end is most useful in conjunction with the subscriber front end. The section “Subscriber front end with a restartable Domain Manager” on page 134 provides additional information about using the restart-enabled Domain Manager with the subscriber front end.