1.2 WHAT NETWORK NODE MANAGER PROVIDESBefore getting into specifics, let's look at some concepts and terminology that will be used throughout this book. Then we will delve into the requirements of a corporation in search of a network management solution. 1.2.1 Continuous Status Monitoring of Managed NodesA managed node is a device that responds to ICMP echo requests (ping) and is actively being polled by NNM. This device may be discovered automatically by NNM or may be added manually. Optimally, the device is running an SNMP agent. 1.2.2 User and Administrator InterfacesThere are two types of NNM users: administrators and operators. An administrator manages the NNM installation and customization. An operator uses NNM to manage the network for the organization. An administrator accesses NNM from the native interface and requires full control of customization. An operator can access NNM using the native interface in read-only mode, which prevents permanent customization. The operator can also access NNM from the web-based Network Presenter, which provides limited functionality and read-only capabilities. Another web access method, Dynamic Views, allows full access, provided that it is executed from the NNM station that is running the NNM processes. 1.2.3 Integration with Trouble Ticketing SystemsMany corporations today have some means of tracking problems that occur within the IT infrastructure. This includes problems involving computer systems, environmental systems, network devices, and peripheral devices such as printers. These systems are commonly known as trouble ticketing systems because they use the paradigm of a ticket to track the problem from detection to correction. Depending on the size of the organization, these systems can become elaborate and include such capabilities as dispatching a person with equipment to effect a physical repair. NNM can tie into the trouble ticketing system. In this way, the system can be made aware of external detection and correction events. 1.2.4 Third-Party ApplicationsWhile NNM does not offer everything required for enterprise management, it is easily customizable and "open" to third-party applications. You can make customizations to NNM without modifying and compiling source code. NNM provides the ability to customize the Graphical User Interface (GUI) from within the GUI.Many vendors develop product specific applications that integrate seamlessly into the OpenView framework. For example, CiscoWorks allows you to manage Cisco® networking devices and can be integrated into the NNM GUI. This application provides the ability to configure and manage Cisco devices from NNM.The HP OpenView Integrated Solutions Catalog , available via http://openview.hp.com/sso/isv/search, provides a current listing of third-party software and device vendors that have integrated their products with HP OpenView solutions. 1.2.5 The Need for Network ManagementOur rapidly growing business, Sealey Inc., provides managed services to its customers, including web hosting, systems monitoring, and notification. Although the company is based in Atlanta, there are co-locations across seven states. There are system administrators and router managers in each of the seven states who will need access to the data in their locations. The administrators typically use Windows systems and the router managers use a combination of HP-UX and Solaris systems, providing connections to their local network-monitoring software. The router folks expect to be able to use CiscoWorks 2000 to configure their routers and would like for the network management solution to integrate with these applications. The company also uses Service Desk as their trouble ticketing system and would like their network management application to automatically open a trouble ticket when certain events occur.We need a network management solution that will allow Sealey Inc. to monitor customer networks proactively. For example, when a customer's Oracle database server becomes unavailable, the customer loses millions of dollars per hour. Most of the customer's servers are fully redundant with mirrored disk drives, dual power supplies, and contingency servers. However, the customers not only want the appropriate party to be notified when any components fail, they also want the ability to access this management information. The customers want to automatically page their engineers when necessary. Sealey Inc. needs a network management solution that will provide the following capabilities:
The customers want their database and application servers to be monitored. Sealey Inc. will monitor the necessary MIB variables to keep track of memory and CPU utilization. Telamon® Telalert can be used to page the database administrators when problems are encountered on the servers. If network connectivity between application and database servers fails, a local network operator will need to be paged. Sealey Inc. can define thresholds for MIB variables and monitor these values in order to notify a network operator before the network becomes overly congested.Sealey Inc. can give operators easy access to the database and application servers by creating buttons that will launch a telnet session to the server. NNM provides both a native (Motif) interface and a web-based interface. Anyone accessing NNM as an administrator can choose between the native ovw interface and the web-based Dynamic Views. The web-based version allows flexibility to run the application from any operating system in any location. Certain web-based tools provide read-only access and limited functionality, but can be used by operators to monitor the network. NNM also has the ability to generate and view web-based reports of devices and availability. See Figure 1-2 for the web-based General Inventory report available with NNM. Figure 1-2. NNM provides web access to data such as General Inventory.[View full size image]  Figure 1-3. NNM provides the ability to graph MIB variables. The MIB variable, ifInOctets, shown on this graph tracks interface traffic into the interface.[View full size image]  |
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