About Network Manager

Network Manager features include the following:

Manage modern complex networks

Network Manager discovers, polls, and visualizes complex networks, containing a wide range of network-type devices, such as routers and switches, and using network protocols such as MPLS, BGP, and OSPF, and technologies, such as RAN, LTE, and wifi access points.

View the network in multiple ways

Different ways to visualize the network include network views, which show standard and customized device groupings such as subnets, VLANs, and VPNs, and the Network Hop View, which shows a selected device and all devices connected to it up to a configurable number of connections. You can also navigate the interfaces and other components of a device using the Structure Browser. Multi-widget views enable you to put these views together; for example, you can select a device in the Network Hop View and instantly see the interfaces and other components of the device in an adjacent Structure Browser widget. You can also use multiwidget views to show simultaneous topology maps and event lists.

Apply ready-to-use device and interface polling capabilities

Network Manager provides a set of ready-to-use device and interface polls, including ICMP polls and MIB variable threshold polls. The MIB variable threshold polls generate network events if thresholds are violated on specified MIB variables. You can customize network polling so that events are received when thresholds are violated on any MIB variable on your network devices.

Leverage built-in root cause analysis capabilities

Network Manager sorts through multiple network events and uses knowledge of network topology to determine a single root cause event. Network Manager highlights root cause events in event lists and in topology maps so that your operators can instantly determine where to begin troubleshooting the network.

Troubleshoot network problems using right-click tools and topology search

Network Manager provides a set of ready-to-use right-click tools to enable operators to troubleshoot network devices shown in network topology maps and event lists. For example, you can perform diagnostic actions such as ping and traceroutes and you can retrieve device information such as DNS lookups or retrieve more complex protocol information such as BGP and OSPF information. You can add custom right-click tools to perform any desired action on a device.

You can also perform a search to retrieve events between selected devices. If you have integrated with Netcool Configuration Manager, then you can retrieve configuration history and other relevant configuration information for devices in your maps by right-clicking directory into Netcool Configuration Manager reports. Using the map search you can quickly identify an entity within a map using a partial identifier, such as part of an IP address or hostname.

Generate richer network visualization and event data

You can enrich the network topology by customizing the discovery to retrieve and store data about the discovered devices from third-party data sources. For example, you could retrieve customer information related to devices from a third-party inventory database, thereby enabling network operators to see the customer associated with a given device or network event.

You can also enrich network events with any topology data retrieved by the discovery process. For example, standard network events on device interfaces that originate from traps show the interface index only. You can enrich these events with interface name and description data. Operators viewing network events on device interfaces can then easily identify the interface.

Discover increasingly bigger networks

Network Manager can discover and manage increasingly bigger networks.

Run reports to retrieve essential network data

You can run reports to retrieve a wide range of network data, including data on network availability, network assets, and network technology.

Build custom multi-widget pages

You can build pages that contain any combination of data. For example, you can combine topology maps with device structure views and event lists. You can also combine discovery status information with event lists that show custom discovery events.

Integrate with a wide range of Tivoli products

Network Manager is a key component within that solution, where it is also tightly integrated with Netcool/Impact, and IBM Operations Analytics - Log Analysis. Network Manager also provides extensive reporting features, and integration with other IBM products, such as IBM Tivoli Application Dependency Discovery Manager, IBM Tivoli Business Service Manager and IBM Tivoli Monitoring.