Hi all,
We use both NPM & NCM for our customers. One large setup is highlighted below -
Key objectives of using NPM:
- Monitor over 3000 network devices with about 16000 elements (yes, we do have APE's)
- Use NPM in conjunction with NTA & IPAM
- Devices are clubbed into various groups like Core LAN, Core WAN, Distribution LAN, Distribution WAN and more (about 20 groups)
- Use of Network Atlas / Maps to showcase various network segments
- Critical Links / Interfaces have been grouped for focused monitoring
- NTA is used for application traffic monitoring - specifically Multicast, Web and some in-house apps
- A multi-vendor environment - majority Cisco (Nexus 7k, 5k, 2k, Cat 6500, 4500 ..), Arista, old Nortel BayStacks, Huawei and more
- Alert management
- Ticket management (NPM triggers automatic tickets to WHD - a sore point with the customer)
- Dashboards have been created to showcase Device, interface status, uptimes & more
- Reports scheduled on a daily basis for some critical monitored elements
Key objectives of using NCM
- Configuration management of only select devices (not of all 3000)
- Change management
- Audit functions
As always is the case, the NPM & NCM scope is unending - we continue to evolve the monitoring & configuration aspects. When does a customer say "All Set"