F. Glossary

account

See user account.

application failover

In NNMi, an optional capability that transfers control of NNMi processes to a standby server when the currently active server fails. This optional capability, which must be configured by the user, utilizes JBoss clustering support.

auto-discovery

A spiral discovery process during which all SNMP nodes that match one or more discovery rules are automatically discovered and placed under management. Contrast with seeded discovery. See also spiral discovery and discovery rule.

community string

A plain-text password used to authenticate SNMP queries to SNMP agents.

console

See NNMi console.

discovery process

The process by which NNMi returns information about network nodes so that the nodes can be placed under management. Initial discovery runs as a two-phase process, returning device inventory information and then network connectivity information. After initial discovery, the discovery process is continuous, or can be initiated on demand. See also spiral discovery, auto-discovery, and seeded discovery.

discovery rule

A range of user-defined IP addresses used to limit the auto-discovery process. Configure a discovery rule in the NNMi console as part of setting up auto-discovery. See also auto-discovery.

global manager

The NNMi management server in a Global Network Management deployment that consolidates data from distributed NNMi regional manager servers. The global manager provides a unified view of topology and incidents across the whole environment. A global manager must have an NNMi Advanced license.

Global Network Management

A distributed deployment of NNMi with one or more global managers consolidating data from one or more geographically distributed regional managers.

high availability

Used in this guide to refer to a hardware and software configuration that provides for uninterrupted service if part of the configuration fails. High availability (HA) means that the configuration has redundant components to keep applications running at all times even if a component fails. NNMi can be configured to support one of several commercially available HA solutions. Contrast with application failover.

incident

A notification of an important event regarding your network. The event is reflected by a change of background color of a node in a network map, and is also reported through incident views.

JBoss Application Server

An application server program for use with Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE), and Enterprise Java Beans (EJB).

Layer 2 (L2)

The data link layer of the multi-layered communication model, Open Systems Interconnection (OSI). The data link layer moves data across the physical links in the network. The switch is a device that redirects data messages at the Layer 2 level by using the destination Media Access Control (MAC) address to determine where to direct the message.

Layer 3 (L3)

The network layer of the multi-layered communication model, Open Systems Interconnection (OSI). The network layer is concerned with quality of service, knowing the address of the neighboring nodes in the network, and selecting routes. It also recognizes and forwards incoming messages for local host domains. Everything in a subnet is connected at the Layer 3 (IP) level.

NNMi

An abbreviation for Job Management Partner 1/Consolidated Management 2/Network Node Manager i and Job Management Partner 1/Consolidated Management 2/Network Node Manager i Advanced.

NNMi is a software product designed to aid network administration and consolidate network management activities. Activities include the ongoing discovery of network nodes, monitoring of events, and providing network fault management. See also NNMi console.

NNMi console

The user interface of the NNMi software. Operators and administrators use the NNMi console for most network management tasks in NNMi.

NNMi management server

The computer system on which the NNMi software is installed and on which the NNMi process and services run.

node

In the network context, a computer system or device (for example, a printer, router, or bridge) in a network.

ovstart command

A command that starts the NNMi managed processes. For details, see Help > NNMi Documentation Library > Reference Pages (in NNMi Help).

ovstatus command

A command that reports the current status of the NNMi managed processes. For details, see Help > NNMi Documentation Library > Reference Pages (in NNMi Help).

ovstop command

A command that stops the NNMi managed processes. For details, see Help > NNMi Documentation Library > Reference Pages (in NNMi Help).

port

In the hardware context, a location for passing information into and out of a network device.

Quick Start Configuration Wizard

The Quick Start Configuration Wizard automatically runs immediately after NNMi installation finishes. Use the Quick Start Configuration Wizard to provide the read community strings for your SNMPv1 or SNMPv2c environment, set limits to the range of discovered nodes, or set up an administrator account.

Root Cause Analysis (RCA)

A problem solving function for identifying the root causes of network incidents. NNMi considers an incident to have occurred when the NNMi root cause analysis (RCA) engine evaluates a reported problem.

rule

See discovery rule.

seed

An SNMP node that helps NNMi discover your network by acting as a starting point for the network discovery process. For example, a seed might be a core router in the environment to be monitored. Each seed is identified by an IP address or host name. If auto-discovery is disabled, the discovery process is limited to seeded discovery. In this case, only the seeds that you specify are discovered and added to the NNMi database. See also auto-discovery and seeded discovery.

seeded discovery

A process, based on seeds or seed files, that discovers and returns Layer 2 connectivity information only about the nodes that you specify as seeds. Seeded discovery maintains a limited network inventory for specific queries and tasks. Contrast with auto-discovery. See also spiral discovery.

Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)

The network management protocol running above TCP/IP that is used to communicate network management information between a manager process and an agent process.

SNMP

See Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).

SNMP trap

An unconfirmed event, generated by an SNMP agent in response to an internal state change or fault condition, which conforms to the protocol specified in RFC-1155.

spiral discovery

The ongoing refinement of network topology information, which includes information about inventory, containment, relationships, and connectivity in networks managed by NNMi. See discovery process. See also auto-discovery and seeded discovery.

system account

A system account is a special account provided for use during NNMi installation. After installation finishes, the system account is used only for command line security or restoration purposes. See also user account.

topology (network)

In communication networks, a schematic description of the arrangement of a network, including its nodes and connections.

trap

See SNMP trap.

user account

A way to provide access to NNMi for users or groups of users. User accounts are set up in the NNMi console and implement predetermined user roles. See system account and user role.

user role

As part of setting up user access, the NNMi administrator assigns a pre-configured user role to each user account. User roles determine which user accounts can access the NNMi console, as well as which workspaces and actions are available to each user account. NNMi provides the following hierarchical user roles, which are predefined by the program and cannot be modified:

Administrator, Operator Level 2, Operator Level 1, Guest.