Integrating NerveCenter with a Network Management Platform - Integrating NerveCenter with HP OpenView Network Node Manager - Using OpenView as a node source -
The OpenView Platform Adapter      Sending NerveCenter Informs to HP OpenView Network Node Manager

Using OpenView as a node source

NerveCenter can integrate with HP OpenView Network Node Manager by receiving information about some or all of the nodes managed by OpenView.

NerveCenter can obtain node information from any or all of the following sources:

• A network management platform, such as HP OpenView Network Node Manager
• The NerveCenter Discovery behavior model
• An administrator's manual entries

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     Though NerveCenter supports SNMP v1, v2c, and v3, when NerveCenter obtains its nodes from a platform, the platform does not provide SNMP version information. By default, NerveCenter deems the SNMP agents on these nodes to be SNMP v1 by default.
  
  If you want NerveCenter to attempt SNMP version classification automatically for the nodes it receives from your platform, you must enable auto-classification. Then, NerveCenter can classify the correct SNMP version for each node with each resynchronization. Refer to Managing NerveCenter and NerveCenter: Node Classification for more information about SNMP auto-classification.

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     If you want NerveCenter to manage SNMP v3 nodes, you must use NerveCenter as your trap source regardless of the node source you configure. Refer to Managing NerveCenter for more information about the SNMP trap source.

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When NerveCenter uses information obtained by a network management platform, it does not use the platform's database as its repository for managed nodes. Instead, it stores node information in its own database in a node list.

There are several reasons for NerveCenter maintaining a node list in its own database:

• There may be a considerable distance between the platform's database and NerveCenter, making frequent access time-consuming and costly.
• NerveCenter adds configuration data to the node data that the management platform does not necessarily provided.
• Administrators have the option of adding nodes not in the platform's node database to the node list in NerveCenter's database.

Using OpenView as a node data source involves the following three items:

• Setting filters that limit the nodes NerveCenter monitors.

  For further details, see Filtering nodes from HP OpenView Network Node Manager

• Populating NerveCenter's node list

  For further details, see Populating NerveCenter's node list using OpenView as a node data source.

• Maintaining current data between NerveCenter and OpenView

  For further details, see Synchronization with HP OpenView Network Node Manager.

Populating NerveCenter's node list using OpenView as a node data source

NerveCenter is able to receive information about some or all of the nodes managed by OpenView.

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   To use OpenView to populate NerveCenter's node database, you must have the NerveCenter OpenView Platform Adapter (OVPA) installed and running.

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To populate NerveCenter's node list using OpenView, you must specify it as a source for the node data. Each NerveCenter database populates its node list from just one network management platform database. Depending on your filtering, the database may contain all the nodes or just a subset. In either case, there is just one source of the information.

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   If you wish to map system Object Identifiers (OID) to NerveCenter property groups, you must make the necessary configurations in the NerveCenter Client before naming the node data source. (See Designing and Managing Behavior Models.) After NerveCenter initially populates its node list, any subsequent mapping of OIDs to property groups will affect only new nodes added to the node list.

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  To use OpenView as a node data source:

1. Open NerveCenter Administrator and connect to the appropriate NerveCenter Server.

   For further instructions, see Managing NerveCenter.

2. Select the Node Source tab.

   NerveCenter displays the Node Source tab.

   

3. In the Machine Name field, type either the name or the IP address of a host that runs OpenView.

   For example, if you have OpenView running on a machine named Norm, you would type the name Norm or its IP address in the Machine Name field.

   If the Machine Name field is left blank, NerveCenter does not retrieve nodes from any platform.

4. In the Port field, type the number of the port used to communicate with the platform adapter process on the host. The default is 6024.

   The platform adapter must be configured to listen on the same port specified in this field.

5. Select Save.

NerveCenter now retrieves its initial node data from OpenView's database.

Synchronization with HP OpenView Network Node Manager

Over time, a network's topology will change. Eventually OpenView will add newly discovered devices to its database. It will also delete nodes and change node information. If NerveCenter depends on OpenView for the data in its node list, it needs to adapt to reflect these changes.

NerveCenter automatically updates its node list to keep in sync with OpenView's node data. This occurs in the following situations:

• When OpenView adds a node to its node database. After NerveCenter verifies the node meets the criteria set by its filters, it will add the node to its node list.
• When OpenView deletes a node from its node database. NerveCenter will delete from its node list any node that is set to Autodelete. Autodelete is the default setting for any new node added to the node list. This setting can be changed in the node's Node Definition Window in the NerveCenter Client. (See the section "Discovering and defining nodes" in Designing and Managing Behavior Models.)
• When OpenView changes information about a node in its node database. NerveCenter will make any necessary changes to its node data, including changes in the community string, address, parenting information or the managed/unmanaged state.

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     If OpenView unmanages a node in the NerveCenter node list, the unmanaged state will be updated in NerveCenter. However, if OpenView unmanages a node not found in NerveCenter's node list, the node will not be added to NerveCenter.

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Most often, the node list will only be updated a node at a time. Occasionally, NerveCenter will need to perform a complete resynchronization with the platform. A resynchronization gathers from the platform the most current node data for all nodes. This occurs in the following situations:

• The NerveCenter Server is started and successfully connects to the OpenView Platform Adapter (OVPA).
• A connection between the NerveCenter Server and the node source successfully reconnects after being broken.
• The NerveCenter administrator changes the way in which NerveCenter filters by capabilities or system Object Identifiers (OIDs).
• A user manually chooses Resync in the Server menu of the NerveCenter Client.

The Machine Name field on the Node Source tab of the NerveCenter Administrator specifies the name of the host running the platform resynchronizing with NerveCenter. (See Populating NerveCenter's node list using OpenView as a node data source for more details on how to declare a node data source.) The Node Source and IP Filters tabs also specify the parameters NerveCenter uses to filter node data. (See Filtering nodes from HP OpenView Network Node Manager.)

Anyone administering NerveCenter should be aware of two important scenarios involving changes to OpenView's database:

• If the name changes in OpenView's database, NerveCenter considers it to be a new node.
• If a node is unmanaged in one of OpenView's maps but is managed in another, the node will remain in the managed state in NerveCenter's node data.

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     Since OpenView's node is matched to a NerveCenter node using its name, you should use care when changing NerveCenter's node configurations. Resynchronization adds nodes when it cannot find names that match OpenView's map information. Therefore, if you change a node's name in the Node Definition window, resynchronization will not find a match and will add a node, resulting in two nodes with the same address but different names.

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Filtering nodes from HP OpenView Network Node Manager

When using OpenView as a source of information about nodes , it is important to determine which of the nodes in OpenView's database NerveCenter will manage. NerveCenter does not need to monitor every node on your network.

There are several methods for restricting which nodes in OpenView's node database will be placed in NerveCenter's node list:

• Filtering Using a Node's Capabilities
• Filtering Using a Node's System Object Identifier
• Filtering nodes using a Node's IP Address

Filtering Using a Node's Capabilities

NerveCenter allows you to monitor managed nodes that have particular capabilities. Typically OpenView assigns these capabilities to a node to determine applicable management activities. Some examples of these capabilities are isRouter, isHub, and isIP.

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   Filtering by capabilities is available only when OpenView has assigned specific capabilities to a node.

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  To filter using a node's capabilities:

1. Open NerveCenter Administrator and connect to the appropriate NerveCenter Server.

   For further instructions, see Managing NerveCenter.

2. Select the Node Source tab.

   The Node Source tab is displayed.

   

3. In the Wanted Capabilities field, type the name of the specific capability desired.

   If this field is left blank, NerveCenter will not filter using a node's capability.

4. To enter multiple capabilities, separate each with a space.

   NerveCenter will monitor any node that matches at least one of the capabilities in the list.

5. Select Save.

   The NerveCenter Server adds the new capabilities filter. It also closes and opens a new connection with the platform adapter. NerveCenter automatically performs a resynchronization with OpenView's database.

New nodes will be added. Any node that is marked Autodelete (the default) will be deleted.

Filtering Using a Node's System Object Identifier

NerveCenter allows you to monitor managed nodes according to their particular system object identifiers (OIDs).

A node's System Object ID is an SNMP MIB-II object in the system group. It identifies the SNMP agent software running on the device. It is, however, commonly used to identify the type and vendor of the device because a particular vendor's agent usually runs on that vendor's devices.

 
  To filter using a node's system object identifier:

1. Open NerveCenter Administrator and connect to the appropriate NerveCenter Server.

   For further instructions, see Managing NerveCenter.

2. Select the Node Source tab.

   NerveCenter displays the Node Source tab.

   

3. In the System Object Ids field, type the name of the system OID wanted.

   If this field is left blank, NerveCenter will not filter using a node's system OID.

4. To enter multiple OIDs, separate each with a space.

   NerveCenter will monitor any node that matches at least one of the OID in the list.

   For example, an administrator may want to restrict NerveCenter to nodes running SNMP agents from either Cisco or Hewlett-Packard nodes by typing the following:

   1.3.6.1.4.1.9 1.3.6.1.4.1.11

   Any device with an OID matching either of these numbers will be included in the NerveCenter nodes database.

5. Select Save.

   The NerveCenter Server adds the new OID filter. It also closes and opens a new connection with the platform adapter. NerveCenter automatically resynchronizes with OpenView's database.

New nodes will be added. Any node that is marked Autodelete (the default) will be deleted.

Filtering nodes using a Node's IP Address

In addition to filtering nodes by OIDs and capabilities, NerveCenter allows you to filter out all nodes that do not belong to one or more subnets. NerveCenter determines the subnet by combining a specific IP address with a subnet mask. NerveCenter can filter by subnets of both Class B and Class C networks. In Class B networks, the first two octets specify the network while in Class C networks the first three octets identify the network.

Sample Subnet Filters and Their Results for a Class C Network and Sample Subnet Filters and Their Results for a Class B Network illustrate some filter configurations and their results:

Sample Subnet Filters and Their Results for a Class C Network

In addition to filtering out all but an entire subnet, NerveCenter allows you to exclude a specific node or range of nodes within the remaining subnet.

Sample Subnet Filters with Exclusions and Their Results illustrates some filter configurations with exclusions and their results.:

Sample Subnet Filters with Exclusions and Their Results

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   You can filter nodes that have been discovered by NerveCenter, provided by the platform node source, or imported from a node file.

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NerveCenter can determine automatically or manually subnet criteria used to filter nodes by IP address.

 
  To configure NerveCenter to determine subnet criteria automatically:

1. Open NerveCenter Administrator and connect to the appropriate NerveCenter Server.

   For further instructions, see Managing NerveCenter.

2. Select the IP Filters tab.

   The IP Filters tab is displayed.

   

3. In the Method area, select Automatic.

   Setting the method to automatic tells NerveCenter to ignore any address filters you enter and use instead the server's masks as a filter. NerveCenter calculates the subnet address and mask using the IP address and mask of each network interface card on the server.

4. Select Save.

NerveCenter will now automatically use the server's masks as a filter.

 
  To set the subnet criteria manually:

1. Open NerveCenter Administrator and connect to the appropriate NerveCenter Server.

   For further instructions, see Managing NerveCenter.

2. Select the IP Filters tab.

   The IP Filters tab is displayed.

   

3. In the Method area, select Manual.

   When the method is set to manual, NerveCenter will only use the subnet addresses listed in IP Address Filters area. If the IP Address Filters list is empty, NerveCenter ignores a node's subnet when determining if the node will be part of the node database.

4. In the Subnet Address field, type the appropriate subnet. In the Mask Address field, type the appropriate subnet mask.

   A node's subnet address combines the node's IP address with the subnet mask.

5. In the Exclusion List field, enter all the nodes you want excluded from the subnet address. To exclude more than one node, separate each number with a comma without a space. To exclude a continuous range of nodes, use a hyphen to separate the minimum and maximum number by a hyphen.
6. Select Add.

   The subnet address and mask address will be added to the IP Address Filters list.

   

7. Select Save.
8. To filter by additional IP addresses and masks, repeat steps 4 through 7.

NerveCenter monitors any address falling within the subnet and not excluded by the filter.

Identifying Parent-Child Relationships

In order to use NerveCenter's Downstream Alarm Suppression behavior model, it is necessary to establish the parent-child relationship between nodes. You can let OVPA extract relationship information from HP OpenView Network Node Manager and either store it in the NerveCenter database or in a text file. You can also create the text file manually.

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   By default, OVPA does not get information about a node's parents from OpenView. You must configure OVPA to collect that information by doing the following steps.

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  To identify parent-child relationships using OVPA:

1. Make sure HP OpenView Network Node Manager is running. Also make sure the NerveCenter Server is running.
2. Make sure that OpenView is set up as your node source in the NerveCenter Administrator. See Populating NerveCenter's node list using OpenView as a node data source for more details.
3. If OVPA is running, stop it by typing ovstop ovpa at the command line.
4. Start OVPA in parenting mode from the command line by typing one of the following commands:
   • ovpa -pc

     OVPA runs and computes parenting information, resychronizing the information periodically. The how often OVPA resychronizes information is configurable through the Node Source tab in the NerveCenter Administrator. The default resync parent rate is 600 seconds.

   • ovpa -pc -writeParentsToFile hostname

     hostname is the name of the machine on which the NerveCenter Server runs. OVPA computes the parenting information, writes it to a file named hostname_PC.dat, and then stops.

 
  To change the resync parent rate:

1. Open NerveCenter Administrator and connect to the appropriate NerveCenter Server.

   For further instructions, see Managing NerveCenter.

2. Select the Node Source tab.

   NerveCenter displays the Node Source tab.

   

3. In the Resync Parent Rate field, type the number of seconds you want between each resync attempt.

   If left blank, the default resync parent rate is 600.

4. Select Save.

 
  To identify parent-child relationships manually:

1. Open a new text file.
2. Include a line for each node that has parents. Use the following syntax:
       child parent

   where child is the name of the node and parent is the name of each node on which the child is dependent. If you have more than one parent, separate parents by typing a space between each one.

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      If NerveCenter uses a full domain name for the node, use the full name in this file to refer to that node.

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   For example, if nodeA is dependent on nodeB.domain.com and nodeC; and nodeB.domain.com is dependent on nodeD, then the contents of the text file would look like this:

   
       nodeA nodeB.domain.com nodeC
    nodeB.domain.com nodeD
3. Save and close the file.

For more information see the White Paper Open NerveCenter: Downstream Alarm Suppression.