CA Nimsoft Monitor for Flow Analysis Release Notes Release 1.0
Document Revision History Document Version Date Changes 1.0 9/29/2012 Initial version CA Nimsoft Monitor for Flow Analysis Release Notes Contact Nimsoft For your convenience, Nimsoft provides a single site where you can access information about Nimsoft products. At http://support.nimsoft.com/, you can access the following: Online and telephone contact information for technical assistance and customer services Information about user communities and forums Product and documentation downloads Nimsoft Support policies and guidelines Other helpful resources appropriate for your product Provide Feedback If you have comments or questions about Nimsoft product documentation, you can send a message to support@nimsoft.com.
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Contents Chapter 1: Flow Analysis Functionality 7 Solution Components... 7 Chapter 2: Requirements 9 System Sizing... 9 Supported Systems... 10 Supported Component Software Versions... 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... 15 Performance, Stability, Scalability... 15 Contents 5
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 1: Flow Analysis Functionality 7
Chapter 2: Requirements The following sections describe supported environments for Flow Analysis. System Sizing The Flow Analysis solution requires installation on a minimum of three (typically four) separate host systems: Two for Nimsoft Monitor Server; one which is for NMS itself and one for its associated NIS database One for UMP (referred to as the UMP system) One which hosts Flow Analysis Collector and 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 # monitored interfaces Small Medium Large 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. Chapter 2: Requirements 9
Supported Systems 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. Consult your Nimsoft Sales Engineer if you have any doubts or concerns about your needs. Supported Systems Supported Component Software Versions The following versions are officially supported for the Flow Analysis solution: Nimsoft Monitor Server (NMS) 6.00 Unified Management Portal (UMP) 6.0 Flow Analysis Collector 1.0 and Database To provide the most current information possible, updates to system requirements are provided at the Nimsoft Support site, support.nimsoft.com. For a list of supported operating systems, databases, and browsers, see the Nimsoft Compatibility Support Matrix: http://support.nimsoft.com/downloads/doc/compatibility_supportmatrix_current. pdf 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.net Framework 3.5 SP1 Java Runtime Engine (JRE) 1.6 or later. English language or one of the following language packs: Japanese Chinese (Simplified) Minimum display resolution of 1024x768 (XGA) 10 Release Notes
Supported Languages ASP.NET 2.0 installed, including COM+ network access, IIS, and ASP. ASP.NET 2.0 comes with the.net Framework 3.5 SP1 SNMP enabled (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 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 2: Requirements 11
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] Chapter 3: Considerations 13
Firewalls Routers to Flow Analysis Collector UDP 9995 [flow] 14 Release Notes
Chapter 4: Known Issues The following sections describe known issues, and workarounds in some cases. Usability Localization The 7-day time interval is not supported for drill down on a TopN device interface. Clicking on a device interface (when the time interval is set to 7-days) will correctly link to a report showing top conversations, hosts, applications, etc., but the time interval shown is for the last 24-hour period, not a 7-day time period. 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. The Flow Analysis configuration GUI is not localized. Performance, Stability, Scalability Product performance is sub-optimal when using Internet Explorer 8. Chapter 4: Known Issues 15