Release Notes Release 1.1

CA Nimsoft Monitor for Flow Analysis

Document Revision History

Document Version Date Changes

1.1 11/30/2012 Updated for Flow Analysis 1.1 release

1.0 9/29/2012 Initial version CA Nimsoft Monitor for Flow Analysis Release Notes

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Contents 5

Contents

Chapter 1: Flow Analysis Functionality 7

Solution Components ................................................................................................................................................... 7

Chapter 2: Requirements 9

Host Hardware and Sizing ............................................................................................................................................ 9

Supported Platforms .................................................................................................................................................. 10

Collector System Requirements ................................................................................................................................. 10

Supported Languages ................................................................................................................................................. 11

Chapter 3: Considerations 13

Synchronize System Time ........................................................................................................................................... 13

Firewalls ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13

Chapter 4: Known Issues 15

Usability ...................................................................................................................................................................... 15

Localization................................................................................................................................................................. 16

Performance, Stability, Scalability .............................................................................................................................. 16

Chapter 1: Flow Analysis Functionality 7

Chapter 1: Flow Analysis Functionality

CA Nimsoft Monitor for Flow Analysis provides network traffic flow reporting and alarming. Flow data from enterprise routers and other NetFlow-enabled network devices is received, stored and analyzed by the Flow Analysis Collector, stored in the Flow Analysis Database, then passed via the Collector probe to Nimsoft Monitor Server (NMS). The flow data is made available in web reports in the Unified Management Portal (UMP).

Solution Components

The following diagram shows the components that make up the Flow Analysis solution:

Note: Flow Analysis Collector and Flow Analysis Database are based on NetQoS Harvester and Reporter/Analyzer products, respectively.

Chapter 2: Requirements 9

Chapter 2: Requirements

The following sections describe supported environments for Flow Analysis.

Host Hardware and Sizing

The Flow Analysis solution requires installation on a minimum of three (typically four) separate host systems:

■ Two for Nimsoft Monitor Server; one for NMS itself (referred to in this guide as the NMS system) and one for its associated NIS database

■ One for UMP (referred to as the UMP system)

■ One which hosts Flow Analysis Collector, Database and the Flow Analysis probes (referred to as the Collector System).

Hardware sizing for NMS and UMP systems is covered in the Nimsoft Monitor Server Installation Guide in the section entitled "Determining Hardware Requirements."

For the Collector system, the following specifications are recommended:

Server specifications

Small Medium Large

# monitored interfaces

25 100 500

CPU 2.5 GHz dual-core 2.5 GHz dual-core 2.25 GHz quad-core

RAM 2 GB 4 GB 8 GB

Disk 72 GB hard drive 146 GB 10,000-RPM SAS hard drive

Three 146-GB 10,000-RPM SAS hard drives in RAID 5 configuration, or available SAN

NIC 1 GB LAN port 1 GB LAN port 1 GB LAN port

Virtual/physical server

Virtual allowed Physical Physical

Partition for the C: drive that contains 12 GB for the operating system; Partition for a D: drive or other separate drive that contains 41 GB for the installation files and at least 300 GB of available space for data.

Supported Platforms

10 Release Notes

When considering the hardware you'll apply to the solution, keep in mind that a hardware configuration that works today may need to grow in the future. Therefore, Nimsoft recommends taking future forecast growth into consideration when planning your hardware requirements. Use the information in this section to begin planning your deployment, but consider that your particular situation may impose greater or lesser demands on the system.

Many professionals believe it is wise to obtain and use hardware of the most current generation. By starting with hardware of the latest architecture, one can anticipate the longest useful life.

Consult your Nimsoft Sales Engineer if you have any doubts or concerns about your needs.

Supported Platforms

The following versions are officially supported for the Flow Analysis solution:

■ Nimsoft Monitor Server (NMS) 6.1

■ Unified Management Portal (UMP) 6.0

Supported Windows Server and Linux OS version information for the Nimsoft components (NMS, UMP and the Flow Analysis probe) is available from the Nimsoft Compatibility Support Matrix (login required).

Collector System Requirements

The Flow Analysis Collector and Database components are supported on Microsoft Windows 2008 R2, Standard or Enterprise edition (64-bit architecture), with:

■ Latest service pack and all critical updates installed

■ Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 or later

■ Java Runtime Engine (JRE) 1.6 or later

■ Microsoft ASP.NET 2.0 or later installed, including COM+ network access, IIS, and ASP. ASP.NET 2.0 comes with the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1

■ SNMP enabled

■ English language or one of the following language packs:

– Japanese

– Chinese (Simplified)

■ Minimum display resolution of 1024x768 (XGA)

Supported Languages

Chapter 2: Requirements 11

■ (Recommended) Remote Desktop Connection enabled to allow remote access by the administrator

Note: Flow Analysis Collector and Database supports installation on servers with IPv4 addresses. Installation is not supported at this time on servers with IPv6 addresses.

Also observe these prerequisites for the Collector system:

■ Do not install more than one instance of the Flow Analysis Collector on the Collector System

■ Assign a static IP address (IPv4) to the Collector system

Note: Make a note of the Collector system host IP address; you will need to enter it later as the flow export destination when configuring router NetFlow attributes. See the CA Nimsoft Monitor for Flow Analysis User Guide for details.

■ Disable any antivirus software during installation (and remember to enable it when finished).

■ Disable the following types of third-party software:

– Anti-spyware

– Server monitoring and maintenance tools such as SMS, SUS, or MoM

■ Do not implement drive space compression on the Collector system. Drive space compression can cause database losses and degraded system performance.

Supported Languages

Flow Analysis is available in these languages:

■ English

■ Simplified Chinese

■ Japanese

■ Spanish

■ Brazilian Portuguese.

Chapter 3: Considerations 13

Chapter 3: Considerations

This section describes characteristics found in this release that affect installation, localization, or general operation.

Synchronize System Time

Synchronize the system time among all servers that will have Flow Analysis components installed. Perform the following steps on each server, unless the system time is synchronized automatically.

Follow these steps:

1. Right-click the date or time on the right edge of the taskbar and select Adjust date/time.

The Date and Time dialog opens.

2. Click the Internet Time tab.

3. Click Change settings.

The Internet Time Settings dialog opens.

4. Select the check box labeled Synchronize with an Internet time server.

5. Select the server with which you want to synchronize. The default is time.windows.com.

6. Click Update Now.

The system time is synchronized with the selected server.

7. Click OK in the Internet Time Settings dialog.

8. Click OK in the Date and Time dialog.

Firewalls

For the Flow Analysis Collector to work properly in a firewall-protected environment, these firewall ports must be open:

Flow Analysis Collector to routers (SNMP interface, read-only)

■ UDP 161 [SNMP polling]

Flow Analysis Collector to trap destination

■ UDP 162 [traps]

Firewalls

14 Release Notes

Routers to Flow Analysis Collector

■ UDP 9995 [flow]

Chapter 4: Known Issues 15

Chapter 4: Known Issues

The following sections describe known issues, and workarounds in some cases.

Usability ■ If a known Collector system is not listed in the drop-down menu in the main

window of the Flow Analysis GUI, stop and start the Discovery Server and Agent probes using Infrastructure Manager.

■ Some interfaces that are listed in the Interfaces tab of the Probe Configuration window are not valid targets for SNMP traps. For example, for Cisco routers an interface named Nu0 is listed. This is not an actual interface, but is used as a placeholder for traffic that cannot be routed. Therefore, you cannot create traps for Nu0. If you try to create a trap, you see the following error message:

Some types of virtual or control interfaces listed in the Interfaces tab may also not be actual interfaces. If you see this error when trying to create a trap, make sure the interface is a valid interface for SNMP traps.

Localization

16 Release Notes

■ When you click on an existing SNMP v3 profile in the Probe Configuration window, the appropriate fields are not blank for AuthNoPriv and NoAuthNoPriv Security Types. For AuthNoPriv, the Privacy Key and Privacy Protocol fields should be blank. For NoAuthNoPriv, the Authentication Key, Authentication Protocol, Privacy Key, and Privacy Protocol fields should be blank. Although these fields are not blank, any information in these fields is ignored.

■ When you create or edit SNMP profiles, the profiles may not respond immediately. It may take up to an hour for changes to be reflected in the Responding SNMP Profiles tab.

■ When you enter credentials in the DSA Administrator Username and DSA Administrator Password fields of the Collector Configurations tab, they are not immediately verified to be correct. Make sure the user entered has Windows administrator privileges on the Flow Analysis Collector system.

Localization ■ The Flow Analysis configuration GUI is not localized.

■ Some minor areas of the Flow Analysis Reporter portlet may not be localized properly. For example:

– Chinese: The date picker calendar for custom time intervals for reports does not display the correct days of the week. The date picker functions properly; only the display of the names of the days is incorrect.

– The tool tip when you mouse over the date picker calendar for custom time intervals for reports is displayed only in English.

Performance, Stability, Scalability ■ Product performance is sub-optimal when using Internet Explorer 8.