Product Spec: Solstice SunNet Manager 2.2.2
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Now more than ever, companies depend on networks to conduct business and to communicate with people around the world. Today, an increasing number of companies are looking for an easy-to-use, flexible, and cost-effective solution for managing their network computing environment that will improve productivity issues and manage operating costs.
Solstice(TM) SunNet Manager(TM) (Solstice(TM) SNM(TM)) software, the market leading network-based, multiplatform performance and fault management platform is the industry-leading network management platform for single domains. Solstice SNM is available on both the SPARC(R) and x86/Pentium(TM) platforms, giving the customer the best-of-breed management platform on both the most popular RISC and CISC systems.
More than 20,000 customers currently use Solstice SNM to monitor and control network and system resources. Using standard management protocols, Solstice SNM is a powerful end user tool, as both a management platform, and a development environment. Integrated tools provide fault, configuration, accounting, performance and security management services. In addition, an integrated, flexible development environment enables vendors, and users, to build custom tools to address unique requirements.
The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) enables you to manage resources connected through a TCP/IP network. Along with other SunSoft(TM) products, Solstice SNM manages diverse environments, including DECnet(R) and FDDI networks, and can also interact with IBM's NetView(R) management system. Together with the portfolio of solutions developed by industry partners, Solstice SNM can manage many diverse environments.

Typical Uses of Solstice SNM are:
- Analyze resource performance
- Identify and resolve faults
- Simplify and automate management tasks
- Solstice SNM 2.2.2 provides identical features and functionalities for both Solaris 1 and Solaris 2 operating environments, as there is one source for Solstice SNM
- Numerous quality enhancements have been completed to improve product reliability
- Solstice SNM 2.2.2 for Solaris 2.3 has support for internationalization
- A revised SNMP trap daemon has been provided to handle "Port" trap distribution
- The Event Summary window now incorporates a "Drop All" button that allows users to discard events easily
- A database trap will be generated whenever a management ASCII file or background image is loaded. This trap provides additional support for ISVs
This product brief focuses on three key components of the Solstice SNM environment:
- User Tools
- Distributed Architecture
- Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)
The Solstice SNM User Tools enable operators to monitor and control network and system resources. Graphical user interfaces and point-and-click actions simplify procedures and reduce training requirements.
Solstice SNM Console
The Solstice SNM Console is the central management application. Its object-oriented, graphical user interface enables users to initiate management tasks and display data. Through the Console, users can solve many types of management problems, including:
- Configuration
- Fault identification and diagnosis
- Network resource monitoring and control
- Capacity planning and management
Topology Map Display. The graphical display, called the topology map display, depicts objects on the network, called elements,
and network connections between them. Graphic bit-mapped images, such as world or country maps and blueprints, can be displayed behind these objects providing a visual reference pointer.
Views are then connected in sequences which enable the user to ''navigate'' through the network by simply pointing the mouse and double clicking on the icon which refers to the view. The Solstice SNM topology map display is very flexible and allows views to be arranged in different ways.
Hierarchical Views. Views may be arranged in a hierarchy to depict various levels of the network environment.
Perspective Views. In addition, users can create completely custom views, or perspective views, so that the network manager can display network resources as desired. For example, a single view could be displayed to view all managed routers on the network, regardless of their actual location in the network hierarchy. This offers the user the ability to view "intuitive slices" of the network, saving time and effort.
The Solstice SNM Properties feature simplifies configuration and customization of the Solstice SNM system, including its user tools and management services.
Link Management. The Link Management capability enables users to monitor the status of facilities connecting two devices. It provides built-in management functionality to change the color of a link based on the status of a device's interface.
Coupled with the Full Discovery option, Link Management enables operators to quickly monitor the most costly parts of a LAN internetwork, WAN facilities. If the device's interface is disrupted, the Link object changes to a user specified color. Should the interface status return to normal, the Link object color changes to blue to indicate a transition.
Multi-homed device (Aliases). Solstice SNM 2.2.2 enhances the ability to accurately represent network topology by representing multiple connections from one device. The ALIAS capability enables operators to apply one or more alternate names for a device that has multiple network interfaces.
Pre-defined Requests. Pre-defined Requests simplify the task of gathering information from agents. Pre-defined Requests eliminate the need for operators to learn syntax and semantics to get data and event information from specific managed objects. Solstice SNM 2.2.2 includes many Pre-defined Data and Event Requests.
Alarm Reports. Alarm Reports simplify the effort to analyze event/trap and error reports for a specific element and all elements within a given view. An Alarm Reports Summary window is automatically updated to display the number of events, traps and errors for all elements in a given view. Detailed report data for each element can be easily accessed from the Summary window.
Discover Tool
The Discover Tool automatically creates the management database and builds a graphical representation of the network. This tool saves considerable time setting up the display and configuring the database.
Discover seeks out IP and SNMP-addressable elements on the network, adds element instances to the run-time management database, and displays element icons on the network topology map. Discover identifies routers, workstations, and servers and displays the appropriate element for each discovered device. Special options allow the Discover Tool to assist with the distribution of the management load around the network to minimize network management traffic overhead.
Auto-Management
The Auto-Management feature lets users immediately monitor resources without initiating specific management operations.
The Auto-Management feature, which has customizable properties, automatically starts pre-defined event requests for each element added to the management database by the Discover Tool, Console graphical editor, or Management Services API. These event requests generate signalling options as specified by the user. These event requests are started for elements supporting one of the following agents:
- Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP version 1 & version 2)
- hostperf (Host Performance)
- ping (Reachability)
Request Management
Solstice SNM provides the operator with the ability to define and launch tools, called requests, which gather management data from network and system resources. Tabular and graphic formatted reports summarize the data gathered by the requests.
Request Builder. The Request Builder allows the operators to rapidly create Data Requests and Event Requests.
Data Requests allow operators to gather values for selected attributes over time. Once captured, the data may be displayed or logged for future analysis.
Event Requests allow operators to monitor changes in attribute values based on pre-defined thresholds. If a threshold is exceeded, Solstice SNM automatically alerts operators with audio, visual, electronic mail or programmatic responses.
Request Viewer. The Request Viewer is a powerful tool to view, select, and manipulate requests for all managed elements. The Request Viewer is extremely useful when managing large numbers of network elements. With the Request Viewer, all requests may be selected and sorted by request name, target host, request timestamp, type, state, and view. This mechanism provides the operator with the ability to efficiently manage all resources, or to selectively select and sort to limit the scope of control.
Browser Tool
The Browser Tool provides the ability to retrieve, organize, and view management data. Operators can generate simple reports, review logged element information, and perform comparative trend analysis with the Browser Tool.
Data gathered by various requests is loaded into the Browser Tool and automatically organized by system, agent, group, type, and date. Organized in a report stream format, the user can easily scan and analyze the data. The Browser Tool provides report stream operations to select, copy, delete, print, clear, and send selected report stream to the Grapher Tool.
Grapher Tool
The Grapher Tool visually presents dynamic or logged network data in multi-dimensional comparative graphs.
These 2D or 3D graphs provide a powerful, comparative charting tool. It is useful for identifying statistical trends or diagnosing potential network problems or bottlenecks. For example, graphs can be easily created to compare server CPU utilization percentage, observe peak loads, network segment performance, or any useful element attribute.
Both real-time and logged data may be displayed on a single graph display or with multiple graph displays side-by-side. Graphs can be customized to fully meet specific user requirements.
Solstice SNM software is based on a Distributed Management Architecture that gives users the ability to manage multi-vendor networks and systems of varying size and complexity. This encompasses networks ranging in size from tens of nodes to thousands of nodes.
The Solstice SNM architecture scales by spreading the management processing load around the network. This optimizes the processing and bandwidth overhead needed to gather management information.
Agents
Solstice SNM provides two types of agents: those that directly access managed objects, and those that indirectly access managed objects.
The second type of agent, called a Proxy Agent, is the basis for the Solstice SNM distributed management architecture. Solstice SNM Proxy Agents provide two primary benefits:
- Allow management applications to manage objects of virtually any protocol
- Localize network management polling activity to minimize network management traffic
Solstice SNM agents and proxy agents communicate with management applications via the Remote Procedure Call (ONC/RPC) protocol. Proxy agents translate the RPC protocol into the protocol that the managed elements understand. Through this mechanism, Solstice SNM manages a wide-range of resources including:
- Communication Protocol Layers and Interfaces
- Network Devices such as bridges, routers, hubs, printers, workstations, PCs
- Application, Data, and Network Services
- System and Operating System Resources
The distributed management architecture scales by:
- Configuring proxy agents so that they are located in close proximity to the managed element (rather than adjusting the polling interval which negatively impacts the quality of management information received)
- Filtering trap information and deferring sending of reports to minimize the inbound traffic to the Console
- Distributing the manager applications that are registered to receive the reports through the Event Dispatcher mechanism
Simple Network Management Protocol
The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is the industry standard for the exchange of management information.
Solstice SNM includes all the basic SNMP mechanisms (set, get, get-next, get bulk, inform, response, trap.) As an operator option, traps may also be filtered to limit the inbound traffic to the management station during network failures. Several integrated features enable operators to leverage the advantages of SNMP:
- SNMP Proxy Agents which distribute SNMP management across network
- SNMP Set Tool to automate control of SNMP agents
- Bundled SNMP Agent for SPARC(R) systems enable SPARC systems to be managed by any SNMP management station
- The SNMP Trap Daemon translates and forwards traps to the Event Dispatcher for distribution to registered manager applications
- The mib2schema utility translates standard SNMP MIBs into an easy-to-understand format so the user does not need to decipher complex ASN.1 MIB definitions
- SNMP version 2 Support. Solstice SNM 2.2.2 provides an early adopters' implementation of simple Network Management Protocol version 2 (SNMPv2). It supports the Protocol Operations for SNMPv2 described in RFC 1448. It also supports the following protocol data units (PDUs): GET, SET, GET-NEXT,
GET-BULK, INFORM, and SNMPv2-TRAP.
Solstice SNM provides both User Tools and Developer Tools in one package. Three application programming interfaces (APIs) enable vendors, and users to build powerful tools to complement the functionality of the Solstice SNM User Tools:
- Manager Services API
- Agent Services API
- Database/Topology Map API
Manager Services API
The Manager Services provide communication services based on ONC(TM) RPC, a more network-efficient set of calls than SNMP or OSI. These communication services enable Solstice SNM to be extensible to any other protocol and scale efficiently to large networks. Other benefits of using ONC-based communication include the access control (security netgroups) and authentication mechanisms (Secure RPC) available in Solaris.
Agent Services API
The Agent Services provide the ability to manage multiprotocol environments via an intermediary protocol. Proxy agents can be written to the Agent Services API extending Solstice SNM management even further.
A number of agents written to the Agent Services API are included with Solstice SNM:
diskinfo Disk Information
etherif Ethernet interface statistics
hostif Interface statistics
hostmem Memory utilization
hostperf Host performance data
iostat Disk I/O, CPU, and tty statistics
ippath IP packet route trace info
iproutes IP route table and statistics
layers Protocol layer statistics
lpstat Printer status
ping IP connectivity information
rpcnfs RPC and NFS(R) statistics
snmp MIB I, II and enterprise subtree
snmpd SNMP agent for SPARC systems
sync Synchronous interface statistics
traffic Ethernet traffic analyzer
In addition, the following SunSoft products provide add-on capabilities for Solstice SNM:
- SunLink(R) SNA Peer-to-Peer 8.0
- SunLink DNI version 8.0
- SunLink X.25 version 8.0
- SunLink CMIP version 8.0
- PC-NFS(R) version 3.5/4.0
Database/Topology Map Services API
The Management Database/Topology Map Services provide the mechanism to modify the database and customize the topology display. For example, management applications can programmatically load and save ASCII files to the Solstice SNM run-time management database.
Solstice SNM 2.2.2 for Solaris 2 provides a migration path to future SunSoft management platforms. Applications using the documented application programming interfaces (APIs) and dynamically linked to libraries provided in Solstice SNM 2.2.2 for Solaris 2, will be binary compatible with the Solstice(TM) Enterprise Manager(TM) platform.
A growing portfolio of products and services which can be used with Solstice SNM to provide integrated management solutions are being delivered and developed by third party companies. The development of these third party solutions is fostered by the Solstice Partners Program. The products and services offered by SunSoft and the Solstice Partners are described in the Solstice Solutions Portfolio which provides broad coverage of critical management issues including:
Traditional Management Disciplines
- Configuration management
- Problem solving
- Capacity management
- Security management
- System administration
- Specific device management
Heterogeneous Management Links
- Integrating diverse management protocols
- Providing interfaces to other management systems
- Delivery of integrated management solutions
Hardware
- SPARCstation(TM) or SPARCserver(TM)
- x86/Pentium platform
Operating System Software
- Solaris 2.4 for x86
- Solaris 2.3 or later
- Solaris 1.1.1 (SunOS(TM) 4.1.3) or later
Window Environment
- OpenWindows(TM) 3.1 or later
System Configuration
Distribution Media
Display Monitor
- Solstice SunNet Manager 2.2.2 User's Guide 801-7854-01
- Solstice SunNet Manager 2.2.2 Reference Manual
801-7857-01
- Solstice SunNet Manager Programmer's Guide 801-7859-01
To order Solstice SunNet Manager, in the U.S., call 1-800-SUN-SOFT.
Outside the U.S., please call +1-415-960-3200 for the location of the SunSoft office closest to you.