Changes can be made to the configuration of an individual slide-in device as follows:

• Power the Stack up and wait a few minutes for the Primary Management Module to be selected and initialized.
• Launch the Focal Point application.
• If the Group Control String entry box on the main Focal Point application screen contains any text, clear it and press the SET button
• Select a cabinet from the list shown on the main Focal Point application screen. The Cabinet View screen will be displayed.
• Click on the device in the Cabinet View to open a "Details" screen
• Change fields on the "Details" screen and
• Click one of the "Apply" buttons (when applicable)
  
  The changes made on Details Screens are saved in non-volatile memory on the slide-in devices, meaning that a configuration follows a device if it is moved from one slot to another. See Retaining Configuration Settings when Replacing a Device.

A true real-time system places enormous demands on the systems that support it, and is therefore not the best choice for Network Management. SNMP is not designed for true real-time reporting. Instead, the Management Module periodically sends each Device in the system a message which informs it of its current configuration and also requests its current status.

Note that important status indications ("link down," for example) are preserved by individual devices until the Management Module acknowledges them. This means that while the reporting of such events is often delayed, it is never missed -- no matter short the duration of the event, and no matter how long it takes for the Management Module to collect the information. (These so-called "Protected" status indications are reported via SNMP traps sent to a trap manager such as HP OpenView, rather than by a visual indication in Focal Point.)

Each Point System device has its own processor and non-volatile memory. When changes are made to the configuration of the system (via Focal Point), they are received by the Primary Management Module which must distribute the new configuration information to the processors within the appropriate devices. In the worst case scenario (for a properly-functioning system) this can take as much as 40 seconds (This is for an 8 cabinet stack with a total of 16 modules installed, including power supplies. Performance is improved by limiting the number of empty slots in the stack), and even longer if there are communication problems in the system.

Certain changes must be written to non-volatile memory in the Cabinet or the Management Module. This can take several seconds to complete and verify.

Furthermore, in order to limit network traffic, the Focal Point application polls the Management Module periodically, rather than continuously streaming all changes. This means that once the Management Module has completed its data migration, the user still will not see the changes reflected in the Focal Point GUI until the next time Focal Point asks for the information.

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