Network Management Center Blog : network operations

Fault and Performance management webinar with Analyst, Customer and HP

aruna13 — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:18:00 GMT

Hello,

Listen to an on-demand webinar where leading consumer customer, analyst Jim Metzler, and HP discuss integration of fault and performance management, discuss some of the relevant best practices, while identifying some of the key features in Hp's integrated fault and performance management solution. The panelists on the Webcast present three different perspectives – that of an industry analyst, a senior IT manager and HP's view on network management solutions.

Webinar recording:

· http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/cli_NMCBlog/7/50673494/

Thanks
Aruna Ravichandran

New NNMi integration module with IBM Netcool Software now shipping

aruna13 — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 04:50:00 GMT

We recently launched a new software product module which will now allow you to integrate NNMI with IBM's netcool software.

For more details on this integration, look at the latest NNMI deployment guide at:

http://support.openview.hp.com/selfsolve/document/KM763632/binary/nnmi_deployment_guide_81x_p5.pdf .

Read chapter à Integrations and Plug-ins à HP NNMi Integration Module for Netcool Software

Thanks,
Aruna Ravichandran

Sr. Product Marketing Manager,
Network Management Center, HP Software

aru@hp.com

The HP NNMi Integration Module for Netcool Software forwards NNMi management events as SNMPv2 traps to a Netcool/OMNIbus SNMP Probe on the NNMi management server. The probe filters the NNMi traps and forwards them to the Netcool/OMNIbus server. This module adds network-level fault and performance information to Netcool/OMNIbus, so that Netcool/OMNIbus users can detect and investigate potential network problem

The primary features of the integration module are as follows:

Automatic management event forwarding from NNMi to Netcool/OMNIbus.
Forwarded management events appear in the Netcool/Webtop event lists and the Netcool/OMNIbus Event List.
Access to the NNMi console from Netcool/Webtop and Netcool/OMNIbus.

NNMi integration with HP System Insight Manager ( HP SIM)

aruna13 — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 04:40:00 GMT

Hi,

I have had several questions lately asking about the integration between NNMi and HP System Insight Manager.

The HP NNMi–HP SIM integration provides actions for accessing several SIM tool from the NNMi console. Wit this integration,

NNMi users can detect and investigate potential network problems for HP ProLiant servers and storage devices.

Detailed documentation outlining this integration can be found in our latest version of deployment and configuration guide at:

http://support.openview.hp.com/selfsolve/document/KM763632/binary/nnmi_deployment_guide_81x_p5.pdf .

Read chapter à Integrations and Plug-ins à HP System Insight Manager

Thanks,
Aruna Ravichandran
Sr. Product Marketing Manager
Network Management Center,
HP Software
aru@hp.com

New Exciting Promotions with great discounts- live and kicking now !

aruna13 — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 04:15:00 GMT

Hello,

We are now offering 4 new exciting promotions which we just launched starting September 1st 2009 from HP Software Network Management Center !!!

In this blog post, I will cover 2 of the promotions and Joe Catalanotti, Sr. Product Marketing Manager for Network Performance Suite of products will introduce the other 2 promotions. I am responsible for the Fault and Availability Network Manager suite of products (NNMi/all the iSPIs). In short, I am "fault" and he is "performance", though I wish I could reverse it :-)

So, here are the details on these promotions....

3.645 HP Network Management Center (NMC) Promotion
3.644 - Back to the Future Promotion
3.643 - HP Automated Network Lifecycle Management (ANLM) Promotional bundles for New Opportunities Promotion
3.642 - HP Automated Network Lifecycle Management (ANLM) Promotional bundles for Installed base Promotion

3.645 HP Network Management Center (NMC) Promotion

Are you looking to buy the state of the art network management solution with the broadest and deepest integrations in the network management industry today ? Or are you an existing NNM/NNMi customer and want to expand your portfolio with advanced performance suite of products or our industry leader, HP Network Automation? If you answered yes to either of the above questions, then you now have the opportunity to buy these innovative products at a huge discount price !!!

3.644 - Back to the Future Promotion

Were you a previous HP Software Network Management customer? Are you unhappy with your current network management solution? If you answered yes to both these questions, then it is time to explore our our new innovative NNMi product? Now, you have the opportunity to come back to HP and get our innovative NNMi product at a steep discounted price.

Please contact your direct HP sales rep or your HPSW certified partner about these promotions as they are only available for a limited short time !!!

Joe, will be blogging about the other 2 promotions soon....

Regards
Aruna Ravichandran
Sr. Product Marketing Manager
Network Management Center, HP Software

aru@hp.com

HP NNMi–HP Network Automation Integration – Fault, Availability, Change and Configuration Management from a single pane of glass

aruna13 — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:31:00 GMT

Did you know that The HP NNMi–HP Network Automation (NA) integration combines NA’s configuration change detection capabilities with NNMi’s network monitoring capabilities, placing more information at your fingertips when problems occur?

Without exiting NNMi, you can connect to NA to view information about NA-managed devices and configuration change events. While in NA, you can perform any NA functions for which you have the necessary credentials.

The HP NNMi–HP NA integration adds configuration menu items for opening connections to NA. The integration also adds menu items for viewing configuration information on devices managed by NA. These tools provide the following functionality:

• View detailed device information, including vendor, model, modules, operating system version, and recent diagnostic results.

• View device configuration changes and configuration history.

• Compare configurations (typically the most recent and last previous configurations) to see what changed, why, and who made the changes.

• View device compliance information.

• Run NA diagnostics and command scripts from NNMi nodes.

• (NNM iSPI NET) Detect connections with mismatched speed or duplex configurations.

Value

• Alarm integration—NNMi integration communicates NA configuration change information to the NNMi console, enabling you to quickly identify whether configuration changes may have caused network problems. From within NNMi, you can quickly access NA functionality to view specific configuration changes anddevice information, identify who made the change, and roll back to the previous configuration to restore network operation. Because a majority of network outages are caused by device configuration errors, this feature can enhance both problem identification and response time in resolving network downtime.

• Access to NA configuration history from NNMi—In the NNMi console, a device-level menu provides access to NA features for reviewing configuration changes. For any device in the NA database, this feature displays configuration changes side-by-side so that you can easily view changes. You can also view configuration history.

• Operations efficiency—Network operations personnel can monitor and investigate information from two data sources within a single screen.

Supported Versions

• NA version 7.50 or higher with the latest consolidated patch

• NNMi version 8.11 or higher on the Windows, Linux, or Solaris operating system Only

Be the next HP NOC Star and win prizes....

aruna13 — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:05:00 GMT

Launching the NOC Star Campaign --- You could be the next HP NOC Star!

http://www.hp.com/go/nocstar

Are you currently using HP Network Node Manager i (NNMi 8.x) software? If so, you may be the next NOC Star we are looking for!

Share you share NNMi experience with us – along with any benefits you have received to date -- and you will get a free NOC Star t-shirt for just submitting your entry. You can submit videos, podcasts, or just text through the online form.

Entries are being accepted through August 15th, 2009. Users can then vote on their favorite entry for a chance to win a $500 HP gift certificate.

Start submitting your entry at www.hp.com/go/NOCstar and you could be our next HP NOC star !

Winning entries, along with a photo of the NOC star will be showcased on HP’s portal.

Thanks,
Aruna Ravichandran
Sr. Product Marketing Manager

Network Management Center

HP Software

Network Management at HP Software Universe

Michael_Procopio — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:46:00 GMT

by Michael Procopio

HP Software Universe is next week, 16-18 June, in Las Vegas. Network Management will be well represented.

Aruna Ravichandran is speaking in three sessions, you can see information on those at her post HPSoftware Universe/HP Technology Forum (HPTF) - Network Management sessions.

Here is the list of sessions, I have marked Aruna’s with an –A next to the session number:

Session ID	Title	Presenting company
1028	Deploying HP Performance Insight in large scale environments	HP
1076	HP Network Node Manager-i SPI for performance: become a power user in less than an hour	HP
1081-A	HP Network Node Manager 7 to 8i: a migration story	Melillo Consulting
1092	Melillo: how to deploy data center infrastructure monitoring in small and medium business environments	Melillo Consulting
1299	Integrating voice and video management into network operations	EMA
1345	NetScout: unified service-delivery management for improving application performance in the modern IP network	NetScout Systems
1353	Automated network lifecycle management: transforming network management to a fully integrated and automated approach with breakthrough ROI	HP
1354	HP Performance Insight: techniques to drive performance management productivity	HP
1403-A	HP Network Node Manager-i: a review of functionality that can yield significant ROI to your network management operations	HP
1404-A	Network Node Manager-i 8.11 Smart Plug-Ins: adding value to your network and fault management operations when deploying NNMi	HP
1410	HP Network Node Manager-i upgrade tips and tricks	HP
1411	HP Network Node Manager-i deployment by example	HP
1488	HP Network Node Manager-i upgrade tips and tricks	HP

You can get the details of all the Network Management sessions at the HP Software Universe Track Session Catalog.

I hope to see you there, but if you can’t make it we will be doing follow-up posts. You can also follow on Twitter, the hashtag is #HPSU09. There are already a number of Tweets and the show hasn’t started yet. The Twitter account for the show is HPSU09, if you’d like to follow us. Or visit the HP Software Universe Facebook page.

HPSoftware Universe/HP Technology Forum (HPTF) - Network Management sessions

aruna13 — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:30:00 GMT

I will be presenting the following 3 sessions at HP Software Universe, which runs in 2 weeks from June 16th - 18th, at Venetian in Las Vegas. The overall theme of the conference is “focusing on initiatives that can deliver immediate improvements and rapid ROI.” All of my sessions fit very well into that theme. Here are the three sessions I will be presenting:

Session 1081 - HP Network Node Manager 7 to 8i: a Migration story - Thursday, June 18 09:00am - 10:00am Speaker(s):
Keith Wilson, Director, Melillo Consulting
Ken Herold, Principal Architect, Melillo Consulting
Aruna Ravichandran HP

Abstract:
Attend this session and hear how, at a time when most IT organizations were taking a wait-and-see approach to HP Network Node Manager-i version 8 (NNM 8i), a global consumer products company made the commitment to migrate NNM 7 to 8i in its production network management infrastructure. Presenters will explain how they migrated from NNM 7.5, running on three distributed Solaris servers and a DR server, to NNM 8i on a single primary server with one DR server. They’ll describe the project from proof of concept to 24 x 7 monitoring of nearly 6,000 nodes to eliminate two servers and client software, reduce the number of hardware vendors, simplify the management of NNM, and provide a complete disaster-recovery solution. They’ll cover the cultural and technical challenges of moving from UNIX to Windows, the training required to bring staff up to speed on NNM 8i, and the need to migrate custom action shell scripts to Windows without rewriting them. And you’ll come away with detailed knowledge that can make your migration to NNM 8i a success.

Session 1403 HP Network Node Manager-i: a review of functionality that can yield significant ROI to your network management operations
Speaker(s):
Aruna Ravichandran

Schedule
Tuesday, June 16
03:00pm - 04:00pm

Abstract:
This session will go into detail about the key features of HP Network Node Manager-i (NNMi) 8.11. Specific topics will include spiral L2/L3 discovery, advanced scalability, advanced root-cause analysis, the intuitive GUI with advanced map management, and the n-tier architecture. You will also learn how the innovative NNMi technology with the intuitive design, intelligent automation, and immense scalability delivered breakthrough ROI for one our NNMi customers.

Session - 1404 Network Node Manager-i 8.11 Smart Plug-Ins: adding value to your network and fault management operations when deploying NNMi
Speaker(s):
Aruna Ravichandran

Schedule
Wednesday, June 17
10:30am - 11:30am

Abstract:
The session will focus on the Smart Plug-ins (iSPI) that add value to NNMi. It will cover the features, capabilities, integrations, and benefits of the iSPI for Performance, iSPI for Network Engineering Toolset, iSPI for Multicast, iSPI for MPLS, and iSPI for IP Telephony.

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If you are planning to attend HP Technology Forum which runs at the same time at Mandalay Bay, I will be presenting an ANLM (Automated Network Lifecycle Management) session along with the Product Manager, Pete Zwetkof. Here are the details to the HPTF session.

Session - 3780 - Automating Network Management

Speaker(s):
Aruna Ravichandran, Pete Zwetkof

Schedule
Wednesday, June 17
2:30pm - 3:30pm
Room: Surf F

Abstract:
This session will show how daily operational tasks around fault, performance, and configuration management can be automated, human errors reduced, and network availability improved with detailed usecases. A demonstration of integrated network management tools applied to common real-life network problems will visualize the concepts discussed. This session will provide you with a thorough understanding of the capabilities of automated network management. You’ll also understand the concepts of map-based management, continuous spiral discovery, causal engine and management by exception, and how to apply them to increase the efficiency of your network department. Through this session, you will gain insights into the use of automation to move beyond labor-intensive approaches to network management. Today labor accounts for 70 percent of IT costs. Networks continue to grow in size and complexity but IT staffs do not. The challenge is to increase IT staff productivity. The traditional silo approach of deploying point tools to address network management is inefficient. Manual processes used to manage the network are prone to human error.

Hoping to meet see you all soon !

Aruna

Who says you can’t lower the cost of network operations? part 3

Michael_Procopio — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 02:01:00 GMT

by Scott Steves, State of Kansas

Who says you can’t lower the cost of network operations?

In my first post, Who says you can’t lower the cost of network operations?, I said that management told my team “you need to consolidate operations and increase staff productivity”. We did it and these are the five tips I can pass on from my experience. In the second post, Who says you can’t lower the cost of network operations? part 2, I covered tips 1 and 2. In this post, I’ll cover the rest of the tips.

Tip #3: Software should support the organization’s consolidation goals

The wide variety of management software can be daunting when deciding what’s best for the organization. It’s important to look at your organization’s consolidation goals and use software that aligns with those goals. My department required software that was capable of multi-vendor management because we did not want to worry about which vendor’s network equipment we needed to support. We also needed software that was capable of scaling across our entire infrastructure, making sure it would not encounter issues even after monitoring 1,000 nodes.

Tip #4: Pay attention to the richness of the portfolio

When evaluating management software, it’s also important to evaluate the “functional density” of the portfolio. By that, I mean an integrated portfolio that delivers as much of the capability that you need as possible. This will allow you to do more without adding unnecessary complexity to the toolset or interfaces. We were able to reduce the State of Kansas’ network’s MTTR by at least 15-20 percent by taking advantage of HP’s network management software features. When you are able to reduce MTTR, it improves both the quality of network service delivered and staff productivity. This translates into significant cost savings. Even more importantly, reducing MTTR improves network availability. The state cited our improved network availability as an example of program success in the Kansas State Legislature. Finally, having a single, unified and standardized interface with easy to use features saves our operators hundreds of hours per year.

Tip #5: Automate whenever possible

Use network automation software to track and regulate network configuration and software changes. This will make it easy to correlate changes with faults. We learned the value of this during a recent upgrade of network hardware. Change management in a network of our size can be an overwhelming task but, with the automation software, we did not have to monitor configuration changes manually. Instead, the software managed this.

To summarize, implementing standardized business service management software was the right decision for my organization, especially during these tough economic times. It could be the answer to your challenges as well. Be sure to look for standardized management software that aligns with your organization’s goals, research the richness of the tools and use automation software whenever possible.

I'm Scott Steves; I work in the Network Analysis Group as a Systems Network Software Consultant for the Division of Information Systems & Communications at the State of Kansas. I provide research and support for the network and configuration management solutions in the Division. Feel free to connect with me via www.linkedin.com/in/ssteves

If you are interested in BSM see our BSMblog. If you are interested in IT Operations see our ITOpsBlog

For more information on network management products go to the Network Management Center page

Dog lover sees bright spot in Network Management economy

Michael_Procopio — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 07:20:00 GMT

I was just reading an article by a fellow dog lover Tracy Corbo of IDC called Technology That Is Relevant in a Recession - Network Infrastructure Management

She points out something that I have been thinking about, that is, in this recession the more selling and other operations that can be moved to the network, the more money can be saved.

There are a couple results of that sentence. One, we are in a recession. That means budgets are tighter including for IT so throwing hardware at a performance problem to make it better –- maybe not.

Two, the network's importance goes up. The American saying is "don't put all your eggs in one basket" – in this case don’t put everything on the network, but we don't have much choice. The cost of moving all those network interactions to phone calls would be astronomic. According to the book Net Income Cut Costs Boost Profits By Wally Bock and Jeff Senné, the average cost of going through a customer call center is US$20. I don't have an exact reference for a number for web transactions but I bet it is less than $1, that is a 20:1 cost increase.

Three, therefore managing the network becomes critical to organizations. And that means network management software is pretty important to have.

The support for this conclusion: a number of network management vendors have recently reported strong earnings. Actually, this was Tracy’s main point.

Here are some tidbits from our customers on how NNMi helped them (paraphrased):

·Health Care Customer: It is nice to have NNMi find a down device before someone needs to go use that lab.
·Beta customer: We found 6 bad power supplies and a couple bad fans using the software, if the redundant units had gone down we have a network down and a scramble. Now we can send a tech out to replace the units in a planned way.
·Internal testing - using the NNM iSPI Performance we found links with duplex mismatch. [Duplex mismatch will create packet errors due to collisions and can exhibit as weird performance problems.] We found them before we put the links into production saving a lot of headaches trying to track them down.

If you have any cost savings examples please put in a comment. Or if you like contact us about being a guest blogger.

For the Network Management Center Michael Procopio, LinkedIn.com/in/mjprocopio

Join the other conversations

Operations - hp.com/go/ITOpsBlog

Business Service Management - hp.com/go/BSMblog

Who says you can’t lower the cost of network operations? part 2

Michael_Procopio — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 03:15:00 GMT

by Scott Steve, State of Kansas

In my first post on this topic, I said that management told my team “you need to consolidate operations and increase staff productivity”. We did it and these are the five tips I can pass on from my experience.

Tip #1: Implement standardized management methodologies wherever possible We have an infrastructure that spans dozens of state agencies and services, including the Departments of Labor, Corrections and Transportation--to name a few. Previously we operated in a heterogeneous environment with various operating and management systems. We support hundreds of thousands of citizens, tens of thousands of employees and several hundred contractors accessing our network every day. With a network this complex, it was critical from an efficiency perspective to implement standardized management methodologies. We found that HP provides a number of solutions that fit our needs. This includes NNMi (Network Node Manager) and the iSPI for Performance, for fault and performance management. We also use Network Automation for network change and configuration management, it integrates with NNMi. Using industry-standard integrated software such as this for fault, configuration and performance solutions means different people viewing will see the same data. This also results in reduced training costs, easier product maintenance and better MTTR (Mean Time To Repair). Not to mention we didn’t need to spend money on point products unnecessarily.

Tip #2: Consider replacing point-to-point tool providers     After using management software for a while, it became apparent that a number of our “point” management tools could easily be replaced. By doing this replacement, we reduced the number of network management tools, which translated into tens of thousands of dollars saved on an annual basis. With fewer tools, we lowered the software support cost. More important were the efficiencies gained in standardizing our management environment. A common interface--using the same software--reduces complexity in a management environment. This means it’s easier to maintain. In addition, since there are fewer applications running, you’re minimizing training costs. For example, instead of running separate fault and performance tools, iSPI for Performance is an add-on tool to the NNMi fault product. A less complex management environment also reduces the risk of technical glitches that can result in network downtime.

In the next post, I’ll cover tips 3, 4 and 5.

If you are interested in BSM see our BSMblog. If you are interested in IT Operations see our ITOpsBlog

For more information on network management products go to the Network Management Center page

Who says you can’t lower the cost of network operations?

Michael_Procopio — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 23:18:00 GMT

Who says you can't lower the cost of network operations?

Part 1 - Guest post by Scott Steves, State of Kansas

Picking the right tools for software consolidation is challenging. It is even harder when you are managing a geographically dispersed and architecturally diverse network. We are going through an organizational change and, like everywhere, it took our team a bit of time to absorb the change. However, when our departments at State of Kansas heard we needed to find ways to consolidate operations and improve staff productivity, our group in Networking Services decided we could do it. Ultimately, we got improved network availability and performance, increased staff efficiencies and lowered operational costs. Here are five tips that I learned when going through our technology infrastructure transformation. Keep these in mind the next time your team hears someone utter the words "consolidate" and "boost." It's not as difficult as you might think.

Tip #1: Implement standardized management methodologies wherever possible

Tip #2: Consider replacing point-to-point tool providers

Tip #3: Software should support the organization's consolidation goals

Tip #4: Pay attention to the richness of the portfolio

Tip #5: Automate whenever possible

I'll do another post with more details on each tip later.