Introduction
Modern enterprise networks are Hybrid and multi-vendor spanning across geographic locations. The network configuration compliance is vital to ensure operational and performance goals as well as security goals. Compliance may also involve adhering to latest industry standards like HIPAA and other standards.
OpsRamp’s NCM offers a policy-based solution that monitors network configuration of all the network devices in a centralized location. It provides a Governance model to enable network administrators to remediate configuration drift and remain compliant.
The following are the key functionalities of NCM:
- Automated and Scheduled Network Configuration backup.
- Notification on variances between configurations on a resource.
- Manual and policy-based restoration to Baseline Configuration.
- Policy-based Network Configuration Compliance.
- Policy-based Remediation with Governance Model.
- Dashboards for Compliance and Remediation Tasks.
- Configurable Compliance and Remediation workflows with process automation.
The NCM landing page contains three tabs: RULES, POLICIES, and COMPLIANCE. The names of the tabs describe the type of information that will be displayed in the page when the tab is clicked.
| Tab | Description |
|---|---|
| RULES | Rules specify a set of network configurations that are expected to be present on the device. This page allows users to create a new rule or view/edit the created rules. |
| POLICIES | The policies comprise a set of compliance rules. The page allows users to create a new policy or view the existing policies. |
| COMPLIANCE | A user can view the status of each policy and perform remediation actions (such as approve or reject) in the compliance page. |
NCM Prerequisites
- At present, NCM supports Arista and Cisco NX-OS network devices.
- Gateway version 15.1.0 and above is compatible with this feature.
SNMP Discovery
See SNMP Discovery for more details on SNMP discovery.
Additional Prerequisites
To use the NCM policy you need to perform the below configurations in Custom Forms and Status Flows sections under Service Desk.
Custom Forms - Task
Custom fields help you to provide more business-relevant information while creating an entity in Service Desk.You need to modify Task details in the CUSTOM FORMS available under Service Desk. The custom fields can be created at partner level or client level.
To update the form:
- Go to Setup > Service Desk > Configuration section > Custom Forms.
- Select the Partner and Client for which you want to create NCM policy.
- Click the Task tab and select the field icons to add required fields.
- Edit the Running Config field. Provide Display Label name and ensure that the Is editable? checkbox is checked as shown below:
- Edit the Remediation Config field. Provide Display Label name and ensure that the Is editable? checkbox is checked as shown below:
- Edit the Baseline Config field. Provide Display Label name and ensure that the Is editable? checkbox is checked as shown below:
Edit Action and make the changes as mentioned below:
- Provide Display Label name.
- Ensure that the Is editable? checkbox is checked.
- Under Dropdown Options, ensure that the Approve, Reject, and Pending is added.
Click Update to save the changes in the form.
Status Flows
You need to configure the status flows under Service Desk. See Configure status flows for more details.
Create Credentials
You need to make sure to add the credentials for the resources that are assigned to a policy. See Creating credentials for more details.