For more information on NCM, visit: http://www.solarwinds.com/products/orion/configuration_manager/info.aspx
Watch this webcast: http://www.solarwinds.com/resources/webcasts/boost-network-reliability-with-four-configuration-management-quick-fixes.html
Configuration management is one of the surest and easiest ways to improve network reliability. Best-in-class configuration management tools can also save you a ton of time and improve the quality of your network operations. During this webcast you'll learn how to:
• Set up nightly config backups to easily roll back to a known good config
• Simultaneously change thousands of device configs
• Set up an alert to be notified anytime a config is changed
• Run a complete inventory report so you’re not paying maintenance for devices that aren’t on your network
Cloud Frontiers: A Deep Dive into Serverless Spatial Data and FME
Boost Network Reliability with Four Configuration Management Quick Fixes
1.
2. Introduction
A big “Howdy” from SolarWinds
based in Austin, Texas
» Josh Stephens - Head Geek, Monster Blogger,
Constant Tweeter
» Chris LaPoint – Senior Product Manager
Today’s Topic: Boosting Network Reliability
thru Configuration Management
Who is SolarWinds?
» What we do…
» Who are our customers?
» The SolarWinds community…
3. Housekeeping
Can you hear me now?
If not, use the WebEx Q&A panel to
contact the moderator
How do you win the free stuff?
How do you ask questions?
Will this thing be recorded?
4. Agenda
Introduction to network reliability reporting
Common causes of network destabilization
What is Configuration Management?
SCP Questions
Backing-up Device Configurations
Bulk Changes
Change Notification
Inventory Management
What to look for in an NCCM solution
Summary and Q&A
5. Network Reliability Reporting
Network reliability = Availability
Network wide availability is the key high level metric
Remember device level availability for more detail
Always baseline first…
Availability reporting mechanisms
Reports
Charts
Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
6. Common Causes of Destabilization
According to EMA, 70% of network issues are
caused by config problems*
Config mistakes and typo’s
Inconsistent or non-standardized configs
Inability to track config changes
Network issues last longer than they should
when…
Device configs aren’t backed up regularly
Config rollbacks aren’t an option
Change tracking isn’t in place
7. What is Configuration Management?
Network Configuration & Change Management (NCCM)
Management of device configurations
Typically used for network infrastructure devices
Routers, switches, firewalls, load balancers, VPN
concentrators.
Any text or menu based config device
NCCM includes
Config backups and restores (rollback)
Bulk change deployment
Inventory management
Change tracking and detection
8. Configuration Backups
Always backup your configs
Periodically (I recommend daily)
Before significant changes
Backups are useful for…
Compliance
Rollbacks
Comparisons
9. Bulk Changes
“Bulk changes” means changing many devices
at once or within a short period of time
They can be done on demand or at a scheduled
time
Avoids human error and significantly speeds up
the change process
Includes logging of changes for tracking
purposes
10. Change Notification and Tracking
Wouldn’t it be nice if…
Your NMS automatically notified you when someone
made a change
It told you exactly what was changed and by whom
It gave you the ability to rollback the change if
needed
Change tracking should include:
Who made the change
Why the change was made
What was changed
Details of before and after configs
11. Inventory Management
Discovery and tracking of devices
Automatic discovery of devices
Tracking of device moves/changes
Inventory information usage
Hardware maintenance contract renewal and
tracking
Theft/Loss prevention
Failure swapouts
12. What to Look for in an NCCM Product
Integration with your primary NMS
NCCM, Fault, Performance, and Traffic Analysis in a
single pane of glass
Correlation between config changes and
performance anomalies
Easy to install and use
NCCM features
All the things we just discussed…
Breadth of device support
Extensibility
Policy and Compliance Reporting
13. Summary and Q&A
Thank you for attending!
To learn more or to download free 30-day trials of
SolarWinds products visit: www.SolarWinds.com
Contact information
Josh Stephens, Head Geek
headgeek@solarwinds.com
twitter: sw_headgeek
Blog: http://thwack.com/blogs/geekspeak/
p.s. Remember to renew your maintenance!!!