What's new in this release

Summary of new features

IBM Tivoli Network Manager IP Edition 4.2 offers the following new features and functions. New features for the latest Fix Pack are listed first, followed by those for previous Fix Packs.

This description of the new features and enhancements is also available in Release notes - IBM Tivoli Network Manager IP Edition 4.2.

New product features and functions in Fix Pack 20

The following features and functions are introduced in this Fix Pack.

Discovery events

Discovery events can now be enabled in the Discovery Configuration GUI.

For more information, see Discovery events.

OSPF event changes

OSPF events are now raised against the interface, not the chassis.

For more information, see Network Manager network events.

User-defined collections

You can create user-defined collections of network entities, to customize the appearance of your network topology.

For more information, see Managing user-defined collections.

Seeding discovery with the Database Finder

You can now use the Database Finder through the Discovery Configuration GUI.

For more information, see Seeding discovery.

Support for discovering Cisco Fabric Extender devices

A new agent, the CiscoEthernetFEX agent, retrieves Cisco Fabric Extender data from Cisco Nexus 9K switches.

For more information, see Discovery agents that discover connectivity among Ethernet switches.

New script to retrieve SNMP credentials

The itnmCheckSNMPCredentials.pl script checks the SNMP credentials for discovered devices.

For more information, see itnmCheckSNMPCredentials.pl.

Add labels to the Network Views

You can add free-form text labels to the Network Views, if you have administrative permissions.

For more information, see Network Views GUI.

Troubleshoot discovery agents with the Device Investigator

A new right-click tool, the Device Investigator, shows information on discovery agents that were run on a particular device.

For more information, see Identifying agent activity for a device.

MPLS and cross-domain linking options moved to the GUI

Options to control MPLS discovery and cross-domain linking have been removed from stitchers and added to the Discovery Configuration GUI.

For more information, see Link domains and MPLS parameters.

CDP Agent has moved

The CDP agent has been moved to the Full Layer 2 and Layer 3 Discovery group in the Discovery Configuration GUI, and the CDP group has been removed. There is a new restriction that agent names and agent group names, considered together, must be unique. This means that an agent cannot be named the same as a group or as another agent.

To effect this change, the default copy of the $NCHOME/etc/precision/ConfigSchema.cfg file has been changed in Fix Pack 20.

If you have customized the $NCHOME file, you must manually migrate your changes to the new file.

Note: If the only change you made to this file is to add the StandardISIS agent to fix an issue in Fix Pack 19, you do not need to migrate any changes.

Ensure that the CDP Agent is enabled or disabled as appropriate for your discovery.

Software requirements documentation updates

The topics for supported platforms, databases, and components have been replaced by the following topics in Fix Pack 20:

• Compatibility requirements: requirements for the latest Fix Pack.
• Compatibility requirements for previous versions: requirements for previous Fix Packs.

New product features and functions in Fix Pack 18

The following features and functions are introduced in this Fix Pack.

BGP event changes

BGP events are now raised against the interface, not the chassis.

For more information, see Network Manager network events.

Configuring connections from slash 30, slash 31 subnets

You can configure how data retrieved by the IPLayer stitcher is handled by using parameters in the DiscoConfig.cfg file. Set m_RemoveSlash30NonPTPCon to 1 to ignore all interfaces that are not connected to a slash 30 subnet. Set m_RemoveSlash31NonPTPCon to 1 to ignore all interfaces that are not connected to a slash 31 subnet. The default for both values is 0.

For more information on the DiscoConfig.cfg file, see DiscoConfig.cfg configuration file.

itnm_data.pl script

You can use the itnm_data.pl Perl script to collect troubleshooting information for IBM Support.

For more information on this script, see itnm_data.pl.

Queueing discoveries

You can queue discoveries, that is, configure domains to be discovered one after another.

For more information, see Queueing discoveries.

Regional aggregation levels

You can configure the icons used for different levels of regional aggregation.

For more information, see Enabling regional aggregation for geographical views.

Ping polling timestamp data

You can configure chassis ping polls to retrieve the timestamp of the first ping failure.

For more information, see Configuring ping data.

Showing switch connections

You can use the GetEndDeviceConnections.pl script to show physical connections of a target device without needing to discover the entire IP address space.

For more information, see GetEndDeviceConnections.pl.

View data in topology API

You can use the Topology API to extract view data from the NCIM topology database to see which network views a given device belongs to.

For more information, see Retrieving view data.

Enriching device class fields

You can configure chassis events to be enriched with the class name and device class type of the device on which they were raised.

For more information, see Enriching device class fields.

/31 subnets

The LinkDomainsViaSlash31Subnet stitcher has been added. The stitcher creates connections between domains based on /31 subnet connectivity.

For more information, see Cross-domain stitchers.

Encryption reference

The documentation has been improved to list the types of encryption used in the product.

For more information, see Encryption reference.

New product features and functions in Fix Pack 17

The following features and functions are introduced in this Fix Pack.

Python 3 is a prerequisite for installation

Fix Pack 17 requires Python 3. You must install Python 3 before upgrading to Fix Pack 17. You must install Python 3 on the server where the core components are installed. Supported versions of Python are from version 3.8 to 3.11 inclusive. For versions of Network Manager prior to Fix Pack 17, the required version of Python is Python 2 (not Python 3), version 2.6.6 or later on Linux® and version 2.7.5 or later on AIX®.

New Java tool for GRPC Collector

A new Java tool, GrpcQueryCollector.jar, has been added for GRPC collectors. For versions of Network Manager Fix Pack 17 and above, all the collectors use GRPC instead of XML-RPC.

For more information, see GrpcQueryCollector.

Support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 9 and SuSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 15.0 SP4

These operating system versions are now supported.

On Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 9 (x86-64) and SuSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 15.0 (x86-64) SP4, the installation directory for the Network Manager core components is, for root installations, created without the required permissions to install the product. On these platforms, when installing as the root user, you must create the directory into which the core components will be installed, for example, /opt/IBM/netcool/core before installing, and modify the permissions on this directory and its parents using commands similar to the following:

chmod o+rx /opt/IBM/netcool/core
chmod o+rx /opt/IBM/netcool
chmod o+rx /opt/IBM/

If you do not modify the permissions before installing, the installation process gives an error. You must fix the permissions before proceeding with the installation.

For more information, see Compatibility requirements.

Passing username to WebTools

When a user runs a WebTool, you can pass the username of that user to the script. You might want to do this for audit purposes.

For more information, see Passing a username to WebTools tools.

Conversion of Hex strings to decimal format

Retrieved polling data can now be converted automatically from Hex string format to decimal format by using the appropriate data type in the eval statement.

For more information, see Example basic threshold expression.

5G topology support

The Alcatel5620Sam collector is extended to support 5G Core topology. New entity types are added to support 5G network topology.

For more information, see Predefined collectors and Entity types.

Collector discovery changes

As a result of collector discovery improvements, you must specify the Helper type when configuring Java collector discovery.

For more information, see Seeding an EMS discovery.

StandardISIS agent

This Phase 1 discovery agent discovers connectivity between routers that support the stable ISIS MIB (RFC4444). The agent retrieves ISIS neighbours and ISIS area and circuit information. Before enabling this agent, configure SNMP access and the SNMP helper, and install the DIFFSERV and ISIS MIBs.

For more information, see Connectivity at the layer 3 network layer.

Dynamic indexing for SNMP polling

You can configure a poll policy to poll a specific index within a table of a device's MIB, as well as all indexes of the table. This option is available only for poll policies that use poll definitions that are Basic Thresholds.

For more information, see Creating fully featured poll policies.

Role to control printing

The new user role ncp_printing_allowed controls visibility of the Save as Image and Print buttons.

Improved rediscovery using traps

When using traps to trigger rediscovery of devices, you no longer need to ensure that the NmosDomainName field is present in the event.

For more information, see Disco plug-in

Specifying the Oracle client version

You can configure a specific version of the Oracle client to be used to connect to the Oracle NCIM database. By default, Network Manager uses version 12, regardless of the version of the Oracle database installed. For Oracle, the supported client versions are 11.2.0.4, 12.1.0.2.0, and 19.13.0.0. These clients are installed with Network Manager.

To configure the client version, modify the $NCHOME/precision/bin/ncp_common file and update the value of the ITNM_ORACLE_CLIENT_PATH parameter from the default of ${ORACLE12_CLIENT} to either ${ORACLE11_CLIENT} or ${ORACLE19_CLIENT}.

Save a copy of this file. Your customizations are overwritten when you upgrade to a new fix pack. You must make the changes again after upgrading to a new fix pack.

Support for SHA256/SHA512 encryption for SNMPv3 discovery and polling in Network Manager

SNMPv3 supports SHA256 and SHA512 encryption algorithms for authenticating the passwords.

For more information, see Configuring device access

New collector for Nokia Altiplano EMS

A new Java™ REST API collector, NokiaAltiplanoRest, has been added. It retrieves data from the Nokia Altiplano Access Controller EMS.

For more information, see Predefined collectors.

New product features and functions in Fix Pack 16

The following features and functions are introduced in this Fix Pack.

Support for AIX 7.3

Support is added in Fix Pack 16 for AIX 7.3 iSeries and pSeries. For more information, see Compatibility requirements.

Documentation improvements

Topology API queries related to geographic views are documented. For more information, see Retrieving location data.

Information on troubleshooting polling timeouts has been added. For more information, see Troubleshooting polling timeouts.

The table of fix packs in the Release Notes now denotes whether a particular fix pack includes database schema changes. If the fix pack that you want to upgrade to, or any of the intervening fix packs, contain database schema changes then you must run the update_db_schemas.pl script.

The list of product versions available to download now includes the build number of that Fix Pack. You can run a command to find the build number, and correlate that build number with the Fix Pack version. For more information, see Downloading Network Manager.

Discovery Library Adapter (DLA) logging changes

The DLA now uses the same logging mechanism as the GUI instead of log4j. For more information, see Configuring the DLA.

Displaying performance information on links

You can configure links between devices to display bandwidth or other performance information from poll policies. For more information, see Displaying performance information on links.

Configuring device data displayed in geographical views

You can customize the data that is displayed in a tooltip, or when a device, location, or link is selected in the geographical views. For more information, see Configuring device data displayed in geographical views.

Cross-domain Link Aggregation Group (LAG) connectivity

You can configure LAG connections across domains for data from collector discovery. For more information, see Configuring cross-domain links in the GUI.

Rediscovery based on traps

The Disco Event Gateway plugin can now discover or rediscover devices by using traps received via Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus. For more information, see Disco plug-in.

Updates to RemoveNode.pl script

A new optional command line option is added to the RemoveNode.pl script. The -cleandisco option removes a device from discovery cache database tables. For more information, see RemoveNode.pl.

Change the alignment of nodes in the network views

You can change the way that nodes are aligned in the network view by right-clicking on the map and using the Align Nodes submenu. The alignment applies to the nodes that are selected at the time. If no nodes are selected, the alignment applies to all nodes.

For more information, see Network Views GUI.

Restart not needed after changing DB2 password

The ncp_sighup_model.pl script has been added. You can use this script instead of restarting Network Manager, after the DB2 password is updated, if you use DB2 for the NCIM database. For more information, see ncp_password_update.pl.

Updates to Huawei M2000 collector

The Huawei M2000 collector has additional technology support: GNODEB,GBTS, and multi technology eNodeB (eNodeB,NodeB,GBTS). For more information, see Predefined collectors.

New optional script on Linux: setup_run_as_capabilities.sh

On Linux only, a new script is added. The setup_run_as_capabilities.sh script is an alternative to the setup_run_as_setuid_root.sh script. For more information, see setup_run_as* scripts.

New product features and functions in Fix Pack 15

The following features and functions are introduced in this Fix Pack.

Security improvements for Log4j

The version of Log4j that is used by Apache Storm, a component of Network Manager, is updated to version 2.17.1.

Log4j version 1, which was used by the ncp_dla component, is removed.

Support for resolving duplicate OID labels

Some SNMP object labels refer to more than one OID and are thus not unique. The way that the GUI processes ambiguous labels is determined by the mib_browser.duplicate.mib.label.action property in the mib_browser.properties file. This property has the following allowed values:

• always: Always use the OID instead of the label.
• never: Always use the label. This was the behaviour prior to Fix Pack 15.
• prompt: If the label is unique, use the label. If the label is not unique, you can choose to replace it with the OID, if the OID is known, choose from a list of multiple OIDs with that label, or use the label. This option is the default.

Huawei M2000 collector supports neType data

The Huawei M2000 collector now processes BSC6900UMTSNE, BSC6910UMTSNE, BSC6900GSMNE, and BSC6910GSMNNE class neType discovery data supplied in CMExportFile format.

For more information, see Predefined collectors.

Retrieve number of monitored entities

You can use the monitoredEntities.py script to retrieve the total number of currently monitored network entities in a particular domain.

For more information, see Retrieving the number of monitored entities.

Poll definitions can use multibyte data type

You can now use the multibyte data type in poll definitions.

For an example of using the multibyte data type in an eval statement, see Example generic threshold expression.

Network paths can use discovered topology

Path views created from the Trace Network Path window or the itnm_pathTool.pl script can use the discovered topology in the NCIM database instead of querying the network devices.

For more information, see Creating path views and itnm_pathTool.pl.

Enable or disable the overlay icons for managed status in Topoviz

The administrator can enable or disable the display of overlay icons for managed status in Topoviz (Network Hop View, Network View and Path Views GUI). This is useful if users are not interested in managed status, or if it takes a long time to calculate. Managed status can be slow to calculate for devices that contain a large number of interfaces. Disabling the display of managed status also disables the Manage and Unmanage tools on the right-click menu.

For more information, see Configuring the display of extra information associated with a device.

Copy tooltip text

You can use the Copy Tooltip right-click menu option to copy the text that is displayed when hovering the cursor over a network entity or link in the Network Hop View.

Cisco DNA Rest collector

A collector is added to retreive data from Cisco DNA Element Management systems. For more information, see Configuring the Cisco DNA REST collector.

NCIM audit logging

You can configure the GUI to keep a log of HTTP requests made by a GUI user that interact with the NCIM topology database. NCIM audit logging is disabled by default. For more information, see NCIM audit logging.

New product features and functions in Fix Pack 14

The following features and functions are introduced in this Fix Pack.

Fix nodes in network view

A new network view setting, Keep old nodes in place after discovery, fixes the position of existing nodes. This setting overrides the global topoviz.node.freezeold parameter in the topoviz.properties file for an individual view.

For more information, see Configuring position of nodes in Network Views after rediscovery.

Support for connecting Multiple Event Management Systems

The Alcatel SAM 5620 collector can be configured to switch between a primary and secondary EMS.

For more information, see Configuring the Alcatel5620Sam Java collector.

NokiaOMS1350 Java collector supports new EMS Version 20.11

The collector uses single-step authentication when the DataSource.emsVersion value is greater than or equal to 20.11, because these EMS versions do not support three-step authentication.

Tellabs collector supports upgraded EMS

The Tellabs INM8000 collector has been extended to support the new SR8.0 SP3 version of the EMS server.

Support for index-based OIDs in SNMP poll definitions

You can now use full index-based OIDs in poll definitions.

For more information, see Creating basic threshold poll definitions.

Cisco UCS support

Blade server containment information on Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) devices is now discovered by the new discovery agent CiscoUCSSnmp.

For more information, see Discovering containment information.

New Event Gateway Stitcher

A new stitcher, LookupChassis.stch, has been added.

For more information, see Topology lookup stitchers.

New collector for Cisco DNA Center

A new collector, the CISCO DNA REST collector, has been added. It retrieves topology and event management information from the Cisco DNA Center EMS.

For more information, see Predefined collectors.

New product features and functions in Fix Pack 13

The following features and functions are introduced in Fix Pack 13.

New Stitcher: LAGLayer

A new Stitcher, LAGLayer, creates Layer 2 connectivity between the LAG (Link Aggregation Group) physical member ports, and Layer 3 connectivity between LAGs.

Restricting access to domains in GUI

You can control the domains in which users of the GUI can access network views, poll policies, and other domain-specific information. To restrict access to domain-specific information, you must enable role-based access to domains, create the appropriate roles, and assign the roles to users.

For more information, see Restricting access to domains in the GUI.

Assign the value of the SuppressionState field in the table field on Omnibus

If the SuppressionState field value is added or updated, then the value is visible in event details published on Omnibus GUI.

Support for Nokia 5529IDM AMS version 9.7 discovery

Nokia IDM 5529 Java collector has been extended to support 9.7.03 and 9.7.05 IDM/ASM version EMS discovery.

S11, Gx, SGI interfaces and connectivity for SAEGW/PGW devices

Alcatel5620Sam java collector has been extended to support Interfaces/connectivity/topology for System Architecture Evolution Gateway (SAEGW)/Packet Data Network Gateway (PGW) devices on S11/SGI/Gx interfaces.

Support discovery of device Huawei U2020 in IBM Tivoli Network Manager

Huawei M2000 (HuaweiM2K) java collector has been extended to support the eNodeB/NodeB devices from the CMExport files.

Populating VLAN info in Nokia SAM NSP V19.9 eMS

Alcatel5620Sam collector has been extended to support the VLAN entities and VLAN association for ports.

Process the netw.RadioPhysicalLink.xml

Alcatel5620Sam collector has been extended to support the Link Aggregation Groups (LAG) and physical port connections coming through the netw.RadioPhysicalLink.xml inventory file.

Support for Cisco NCS2000 Platform

Added new integration support for Cisco NCS2000 EPNM (Evolved Programmable Network Manager) EMS discovery to IBM Tivoli Network Manager through java collector. Cisco EPNM REST Collector designed to support the discovery of Cisco EPNM EMS.

Update Juniper support MX / SRX device support

The support has been extended for MX/SRX series devices for Juniper. Also JUNIPER-CHASSIS-DEFINES-MIB has been upgraded to the latest version to support MX/SRX series devices.

New product features and functions in Fix Pack 12

The following features and functions are introduced in Fix Pack 12.

Tabular network views to display severity icons

You can now select the option to display the status as text or icon for severity and managedStatus columns.

For more information, see Configuring column display in the tabular view.

Support for storing the Poll Data for Float Value

IBM Tivoli Network Manager now allows you to store float, 64-bit integer, and 32-bit integer values in DB table for Db2 and Oracle.

For more information, see Storing Poll Data for DB2 and Oracle section Historical polled data collection and storage tasks.

Connectivity between MME and HSS IMS

ALU SAM Collector is now extended to support the Mobility Management Entity (MME) to Home Subscriber Server (HSS) over S6a interface.

Nokia 5529 IDM collector extended for additional parameters

The Nokia 5529 IDM collector is now extended for additional parameters. The collector allows you to add any additional attributes mapping to the properties file for all the managed objects coming in the EMS export file. All those additional attribute will be populated as name or value pairs in workingEntities.finalEntity.

Warning if domain name is not all uppercase

If the name of the new domain contains any lowercase letters, the script prompts to ask if you want to create a domain with that name. The script also now has a -force command-line option, which suppresses this question and creates the new domain unconditionally. If you have any custom scripts that call domain_create.pl, you may need to add the -force option to them to preserve existing behavior.

Support for 5G gNodeB

IBM Tivoli Network Manager now supports 5G NR GNodeB devices.

Support for Apache Storm

Apache Storm has been upgraded from version 2.1.0 to 2.2.0.

New product features and functions in Fix Pack 11

The following features and functions are introduced in Fix Pack 11.

Tivoli Common Reporting is not supported

Tivoli Common Reporting is no longer supported. You must use Cognos Analytics on all platforms.

All references to Tivoli Common Reporting have been updated to Cognos Analytics in the Fix Pack 11 documentation.

Link Status Option

Your administrator can now configure links to display link status information from poll policies. Links can be displayed as colored, or colored with an associated severity icon.

For more information, see Monitoring links.

Warning if a user is about to create an excess number of views

If the system contains a large number of views, this can adversely affect performance. The administrator can restrict the number of child views that a dynamic view is allowed to contain when a user creates or edits a dynamic view. If the number of child views that a dynamic view would contain is greater than the topoviz.tree.size.warning property in topoviz.properties, the GUI displays a warning,

For more information, see Creating dynamic network views.

New usageStringsRef string

This is a new array reference that contains an element for each of the non-standard command line argument scenarios. If the application takes only standard arguments, this constructor argument should be set to undef.

For more information, see RIV::Param Constructor.

ncp_gis able to display custom icons based on the device class

You can now customize the node icon for a device class in a geographical view.

To customize the node icon, see Configuring the appearance of geographical views.

New product features and functions in Fix Pack 10

The following features and functions are introduced in Fix Pack 10.

Hop view can now search across domains

You can now search for network entities across all domains at once.

For more information, see Using the basic search.

New product features and functions in Fix Pack 9

The following features and functions are introduced in Fix Pack 9.

New Telnet agent

The HuaweiLLDPTelnet agent discovers the Layer 2 physical switch-to-switch links between Huawei switches. For more information, see Discovery agents that discover connectivity among Ethernet switches.

Change encryption strength

You can change the strength of the encryption used by the Network Manager core components and GUI components. You can also change the type of encryption. For more information, see Configuring encryption length and type.

Configure the display of interface information in the Structure Browser

The Structure Browser displays the interface name in the Device Structure Tree by default. You can append the interface alias to the interface name by configuring a properties file.

For more information, see Customizing Structure Browser preferences.

Configure the display of the Bookmarks and Libraries tabs

The Network Views display the Bookmarks tab by default. You can show the Libraries tab by default instead, and hide one of the tabs, by configuring a properties file. You can also open the Network Views by using a URL parameter that defines which tab is opened by default.

For more information, see Configuring the tabs displayed in the Network Views and Network Views URL parameters.

All entity attributes can be retrieved from a network view query

You can use the allAttributes=true parameter to retrieve all entity attributes from a network view Topology API query, instead of only the entity IDs.

For more information, see Extracting topology data for all chassis devices within a specified network view.

New product features and functions in Fix Pack 8

The following features and functions are introduced in Fix Pack 8.

All view maintenance settings can be enabled at once

You can enable or disable all automatic view maintenance properties at once by setting a single property, topoviz.engine.views.enabled.

For more information, see Setting up automatic view maintenance.

Structure Browser table columns widths can be adjusted

You can control the width of columns in the Structure Browser Devices table in the same way as for the Structure Browser Interfaces table. For more information, see Customizing Structure Browser preferences.

Related to this feature, the entityId and entityType columns can now be in any order in the table definition for the Structure Browser and the Network Views table mode. The default layout for the Network Views table mode and the Interfaces view in the Structure Browser is coded differently in the ncimMetaData.xml file. You must observe the new conventions if you change the column display for these views. For more information, see Configuring column display in the tabular view and Configuring column display in the Structure Browser.

Topology API can filter by sub-chassis

An optional Boolean parameter, includeSubChassis, has been added to nm_rest/topology/devices/all and nm_rest/topology/devices/classes. Using this property, you can include or exclude results from sub-chassis.

For more information, see Extracting topology data for all chassis devices and Extracting topology data for all chassis devices that belong to a set of classes.

Note:

As part of this feature, the definition of the ncim.mainNodeDetails database view has been changed. The domainMgr table has been replaced with the domainMgrExcludeManual view, to filter out duplicated rows for manual devices. If you have changed the definition of the ncim.mainNodeDetails database view, incorporate your changes into the new view definition.

For an upgrade, the script that changes the mainNodeDetails database view is in $ITNMHOME/scripts/sql/updates/$server/4.2-fp8.sql, where $server is db2 or oracle.

For a new installation, the script that defines the mainNodeDetails database view is in $ITNMHOME/scripts/sql/$server/createPrecisionIPDb.sql, where $server is db2 or oracle.

New product features and functions in Fix Pack 7

The following features and functions are introduced in Fix Pack 7.

Changing GUI properties does not require a restart of the Dashboard Application Services Hub

If you edit a .properties file in the $NMGUI_HOME/profile/etc/tnm directory, which contains properties used by the Network Manager GUI, you no longer have to restart the Dashboard Application Services Hub in order for the changes to take effect.

Backing up ncp_store cache files

You can back up and restore the ncp_store cache, so that you have a copy of the topology.

For more information, see Configuring backups of the ncp_store cache.

Topology API can filter by class

The Topology API can now include or exclude devices that belong to a specified class or set of classes.

For more information, see Extracting topology data for all chassis devices that belong to a set of classes.

Support for Google Chrome Browser

Google Chrome is now a supported browser for using the Network Manager GUI.

For more information on supported browsers, see Browsers for Web applications.

Hiding the option to enable caching of discovery tables

Caching discovery tables can significantly affect discovery performance. An administrator can now remove the option to enable this feature from the GUI. Caching can still be enabled on the command line.

For more information, see Advanced discovery parameters.

Configuring displayed columns in the Structure Browser

You can choose which columns are displayed in the Structure Browser tabular view.

For more information, see Configuring column display in the Structure Browser.

Customize horizontal alignment of text in the Structure Browser and tabular views

You can change the horizontal alignment of text to be left, right or center-aligned.

For more information on this feature in the Structure Browser, see Configuring column display in the Structure Browser.

For more information on this feature in the tabular views, see Configuring column display in the tabular view.

New product features and functions in Fix Pack 6

The following features and functions are introduced in Fix Pack 6.

Support for cloud-based MMEs and Nokia SAE Gateways

The Alcatel5620Sam Java Collector has been extended to support cloud-based, or virtual, MMEs (Multimedia Extensions), and to support Nokia SAE Gateway devices, which have both LTE PDNGateway and ServingGateway functionality. If the data has been discovered, you can select LTE S1-U, LTE S5-U, and LTE S8 connectivity from the topology views. For more information, see Predefined collectors.

Support for IBM Db2 version 11.1 Advance Enterprise Server Edition

IBM Db2 version 11.1 Advance Enterprise Server Edition is supported for use a topology database. For more information, see Compatibility requirements.

Customize the Structure Browser view for a single device

You can specify the view in which the Structure Browser portlet opens when a single device is displayed.

For more information, see Customizing Structure Browser preferences.

Third-party library upgrade

Tom Sawyer libraries have been upgraded to version 7.6. This is intended to improve performance in the GUI.

Support for TLS protocol versions in Cisco APIC collector

You can specify the version of TLS protocol that you want the collector to use.

For more information, see Configuring the Cisco APIC REST collector.

Support for discovering Cisco CRS LAG information

The IEEE8023LAG agent discovers the LAG (Link Aggregation Group) Link entities and physical ports associated with the LAG between two network devices. The agent discovers information from Cisco Carrier Routing System (CRS) LAG networks.

For more information, see Discovery agents on other protocols.

Support for discovering Nokia OMS 1350 EMS

The NokiaOMS1350 Java collector retrieves data from the Nokia OMS 1350 EMS.

For more information, see Configuring the NokiaOMS1350 Java collector.

New product features and functions in Fix Pack 5

The following features and functions are introduced in Fix Pack 5.

New IP SLA agents

Discovery support is introduced for Huawei NQA and Juniper RPM devices by using two new agents:

HuaweiNQA

The Huawei Network Quality Analyser (NQA) agent discovers IP SLA-related data from Huawei NQA devices that support the NQA-MIB MIB. The agent retrieves data such as information on the configured probes.

JuniperRPM

The Juniper Realtime Performance Monitoring (RPM) agent discovers IP SLA-related data from Juniper RPM devices that support the DISMAN-PING-MIB and JUNIPER-PING-MIB MIBs. The agent retrieves data such as information on the configured probes.

View device information in the Device View

The Device View is a composite GUI that displays information about a device. Select a device in the Network Hop View widget to display the following information in the other portlets within the Device View:

• The Top Performers widget shows poll data for the device.
• The Event Viewer widget shows events for the device.
• The Structure Browser widget shows the containment of the device.

For more information, see Using the Device View.

Export a network view

You can export the contents of a network view to a comma-separated values (CSV) file.

For more information, see Visualizing devices in tabular layout.

Add columns to the tabular view

You can add and remove columns when the network topology is displayed in tabular layout.

For more information, see Configuring column display in the tabular view.

Geographical maps updates

You can choose from available base mapping layers and custom mapping layers in the geographical views. For more information, see Viewing devices in geographical context.

Important: The syntax of the config.json configuration file is different in Fix Pack 5. Before installing Fix Pack 5, back up your existing config.json configuration file. Migrate any configuration changes that you made, referring to the new syntax as described in Adding custom map layers.

You can change the default connectivity in the Network Hop View

When the Network Hop View is opened from the Dashboard Application Services Hub menu, Structure Browser, or Event Viewer, it displays layer 2 connectivity by default. You can change this default setting.

For more information, see Changing the default topology layer for the Network Hop View.

PDF guides reorganized

The PDF documentation deliverables have been consolidated into the following items:

• The IBM Tivoli Network Manager IP Edition Release Notes give important and late-breaking information about Network Manager. This publication is for deployers and administrators, and should be read first.
• The IBM Tivoli Network Manager IP Edition Installation and Configuration Guidedescribes how to install Network Manager. It also describes necessary and optional post-installation configuration tasks. This publication is for administrators who need to install and set up Network Manager.
• The IBM Tivoli Network Manager IP Edition Administration Guide describes administration tasks such as how to start and stop the product, discover the network, poll the network, manage events, administer processes, and query databases. This publication is for administrators who are responsible for the maintenance and availability of Network Manager.
• The IBM Tivoli Network Manager Reference contains reference information including the system languages, databases, and Perl API used by Network Manager. This publication is for advanced users who need to customize the operation of Network Manager.

Show or hide layout buttons in the Path Views GUI

You can use the new property topoviz.pathview.layout.enabled in the $NMGUI_HOME/profile/etc/tnm/topoviz.properties file to show or hide the layout buttons for the Path Views GUI.

The default value for this property is false, which hides the layout buttons.

New product features and functions in Fix Pack 4

The following features and functions are introduced in Fix Pack 4.

Monitoring IP Service Level Agreement (IP SLA) configurations

You can configure discovery to discover and visualize probes that are configured to monitor IP SLA response times. Collections of probes are displayed in the network views. You can also view the status of events on the probes and the links between them.

Important: You must install version 4.8.7 of the Netcool/OMNIbus Knowledge Library and configure it for use with the IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus SNMP Probe. For information on how to install and configure the Netcool/OMNIbus Knowledge Library, see http://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSSHTQ/omnibus/probes/nckl/wip/concept/nckl_intro.html.

For more information about monitoring IP SLA, see Monitoring IP Service Level Agreement (IP SLA) configurations.

Firefox 52 support

The Network Manager web applications now run on Firefox 52.

For more information, see Browsers for Web applications.

Updates to Telnet Helper encryption algorithms

The Telnet Helper now supports the AES-128-CTR , AES-192-CTR and AES-256-CTR encryption algorithms.

For more information, see Helpers.

New product features and functions in Fix Pack 3

The following features and functions are introduced in Fix Pack 3.

Support for SLES 12.0

SuSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 12.0 (x86-64) is a supported operating system in Fix Pack 3.

Support for Db2 version 11.1

IBM Db2 version 11.1 Enterprise Server Edition is supported for use as the topology database in Fix Pack 3.

Support for Linux on IBM z Systems

Network Manager is now supported on Linux on IBM z Systems. The following versions are supported:

• SuSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 12.0 SP2 and SP3 on IBM z Systems (s390x, 64 bit)

If you use Network Manager on Linux on IBM z Systems, Tivoli Common Reporting is not supported. Use Cognos Analytics for reporting. For more information about Cognos Analytics, search for Cognos Analytics in the IBM Order Management Software Knowledge Center at https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/en/SS6PEW.

Offline geographical maps

You can use an appropriate mapping provider to enable access to geographical maps without an internet connection. For more information, see Integrating an online or offline Web Map Service.

Custom geographical map layers

You can add custom layers to geographical maps. For example, you can add geographical information that is made available by a public server. For more information, see Adding custom map layers.

Regional aggregation for geographical maps

You can group locations into cities, group cities into states, and group states into countries. This grouping is called regional aggregation. For more information, see Enabling regional aggregation for geographical views.

New product features and functions in Fix Pack 2

The following features and functions are introduced in Fix Pack 2.

Geographical views

You can configure geographical discovery to enrich devices with location information. These devices can be displayed in the new GIS Device Health View and GIS Device Map. Devices can be grouped into locations. Status is shown on devices, locations, and links.

Note:

If you installed a beta version of this feature, you must uninstall the geographical views feature before updating to Fix Pack 2 or later. Run the following command from the top level directory where you unpacked the beta .zip file:

sh bin/install.sh -u

The application WAR files are removed and the WebSphere Application Server is restarted.

To download the beta files again, contact IBM Support.

For more information about this feature, see Configuring geographical views.

Network Views GUI: background images can be set for Network Views

When you create views, you have the option to provide background images for Network Views.

New product features and functions in Fix Pack 1

New product features and functions in Interim Fix 2

The following additional support is provided in Interim Fix 2.

Support for Oracle Database version 11g

Network Manager V4.2 Interim Fix 2 supports Oracle version 11g, Enterprise Edition with Partitioning option.

Support for Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus on Windows

Network Manager V4.2 Interim Fix 2 provides the ability to configure an existing Windows ObjectServer for use with Network Manager. This configuration is done by a new script called config_object_server_for_itnm.sh, which supports an ObjectServer running on Windows as well as UNIX. If you want to use this ObjectServer as the user repository, then you must also run scripts to configure the users and assign roles to these users.

For more information, see Configuring an ObjectServer for use with Network Manager core processes and Configuring the user repository.

New product features and functions in V4.2

The following new features are provided in V4.2.

Ability to seed discoveries based on third-party database content

Network Manager V4.2 provides a new discovery finder process. Discovery finder processes are responsible for determining device existence. Network Manager V4.2 introduces a new Database finder, ncp_df_dbentry. The Database finder reads a database to retrieve a list of devices to find on the network.

For information about how to configure the Database finder, see DiscoDBEntryFinderQueries.cfg configuration file.

AIX support

Network Manager V4.2 introduces support for AIX platforms.

For more information, see Compatibility requirements.

Default optimization of network polling

Two instances of the network polling process, ncp_poller, are configured on installation. The ncp_poller_admin poller performs administrative tasks such as monitoring the size and age of the poll data database tables, updating caches, dropping partitions, and MIB Grapher support. The ncp_poller_default poller is used for SNMP and Ping polling. This distribution of functions can help to improve performance. In previous versions of Network Manager, the administrator had to configure an administrative poller. In Network Manager 4.2, this configuration is done automatically.

More information: Multiple poller overview

Enhanced network map features, including enhanced search and zoom features

The network map function is extended and now includes enhanced search and zoom functions.

For more information about the new quick search function, see Using quick search within a view. For more information about the new zoom and pan function, see Configuring the zoom and pan tool.

Enhanced upgrade and migration process

The upgrade and migration process was redesigned with ease of use in mind. The number of files that typically need to be manually migrated is now reduced.

If you need to upgrade to Network Manager V4.2, be sure to read the updated instructions at Upgrading and migrating carefully.

GUI responsiveness

The Network Manager GUI no longer uses Java applets. This redesign aims to help the GUI responsiveness for users.

Installation process now uses IBM Installation Manager

Network Manager V4.2 uses IBM Installation Manager for installation. IBM Installation Manager is used by most other IBM® products, and is designed for speed and ease of use.

For more information, see the Installing section.

Network Health Dashboard to enable operators to monitor and troubleshoot network health

Netcool Operations Insight users can use the Network Health Dashboard to monitor and troubleshoot network health. The Network Health Dashboard monitors a selected network view, and displays device and interface availability within that network view. It also reports on performance by presenting graphs, tables, and traces of KPI data for monitored devices and interfaces. A dashboard timeline reports on device configuration changes and event counts, enabling you to correlate events with configuration changes. The dashboard includes the Event Viewer, for more detailed event information.

For more information, see the Netcool Operations Insight Knowledge Center, at http://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSTPTP/welcome.

New mechanism for aggregating raw poll data into historical polling data

Network Manager now uses the Apache Storm real-time computation system to aggregate raw poll data into historical poll data, and stores raw and historical poll data in the NCPOLLDATA database. You can access this data on a per device or link basis from the topology map within the Network Hop View GUI, Network Views GUI, and Path Views GUI. Raw and historical poll data is also presented in graphs and tables in performance reports, and for Netcool Operations Insight users in the Network Health Dashboard.

Right-click option to display historical poll data for all metrics on a device or interface

Within a topology view, users can right-click on a device, multiple devices, a subview, or a subnet to display the historical poll data. To do display historical poll data, first right-click a device, and then select Polling > MIB Info > Show Performance.

Note: This new feature replaces the SNMP MIB Grapher historical data function.

For more information about this function, see Displaying poll data from a topology view.

Support for Mozilla Firefox ESR 38

Network Manager V4.2 introduces support for Mozilla Firefox Extended Service Release (ESR) 38.

Using the new Dashboard Application Services Hub features

Network Manager now uses functions of the Dashboard Application Services Hub within Jazz® for Service Management to administer pages, folders, views, widgets, and console preference profiles.

The integration between Network Manager V4.2 and Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus Web GUI V8.1 is simpler, because both products are now hosted by Dashboard Application Services Hub. The Network Management Integration for Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus V8.1 is no longer required.

For more information, see Administering the GUI framework.