Archive of posts with year '2013'
HP is discontinuing support for HP Route Analytics Management Software, aka RAMS. RAMS is an extremely powerful system for managing large networks, but it always struggled to fit in with...
I’ve recently been asked about using IMC to backup newer Cisco devices, such as the 4500X, or 3850. HP has not yet validated the backup process for these devices, so...
This article is Part 5 in a 7-Part Series. Part 1 - CCIE Preparation: Commitment Part 2 - CCIE Preparation: Study Processes and Scheduling Part 3 - CCIE Preparation: Vendors...
This article is Part 4 in a 7-Part Series. Part 1 - CCIE Preparation: Commitment Part 2 - CCIE Preparation: Study Processes and Scheduling Part 3 - CCIE Preparation: Vendors...
This article is Part 3 in a 7-Part Series. Part 1 - CCIE Preparation: Commitment Part 2 - CCIE Preparation: Study Processes and Scheduling Part 3 - This Article Part...
This article is Part 2 in a 7-Part Series. Part 1 - CCIE Preparation: Commitment Part 2 - This Article Part 3 - CCIE Preparation: Vendors and Workbooks Part 4...
This article is Part 1 in a 7-Part Series. Part 1 - This Article Part 2 - CCIE Preparation: Study Processes and Scheduling Part 3 - CCIE Preparation: Vendors and...
ScienceLogic Dynamic Applications are policies that describe what data should be collected from managed systems, how it should be collected (SNMP, WMI, API, SQL, etc), how it should be presented,...
Kiwicon 7 has just wrapped up in Wellington, New Zealand. Kiwicon is “New Zealand’s own Hacker Conference.” It’s a top-notch event that’s been running for 7 years now, and highly recommended...
Pricing for Enterprise IT hardware and software can be a strange process, and settling on a vendor quote is a complicated dance. Junior engineers normally are more focused on technology,...
UPDATE 4/12/13 - this is now official - see https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/docs/DOC-22703. Once I’ve had a chance to digest the changes, I’ll post some thoughts.
When talking about “Open” in the context of technology, most people think about Open Source, Open APIs, Open documentation, etc. But there’s another facet too: being open about where your business...
Many engineers assume that product selection is as simple as finding the product with the best combination of features that still comes in under budget. Should be easy, right? Err…so...
Strong communities can make an enormous difference to the success or failure of a product or technology. Look at Linux, or VMware as good examples of a strong community. But...
This article is Part 7 in a 7-Part Series. Part 1 - IMC Compliance - Overview Part 2 - IMC Compliance - Walkthrough Part 3 - IMC Compliance - Scheduling...
Some Cisco routers I work with use multiple VRFs. A specific VRF is used for management, and the loopback interface is in that VRF. All SNMP + SSH access is...
This article is Part 6 in a 7-Part Series. Part 1 - IMC Compliance - Overview Part 2 - IMC Compliance - Walkthrough Part 3 - IMC Compliance - Scheduling...
This article is Part 5 in a 7-Part Series. Part 1 - IMC Compliance - Overview Part 2 - IMC Compliance - Walkthrough Part 3 - IMC Compliance - Scheduling...
This article is Part 4 in a 7-Part Series. Part 1 - IMC Compliance - Overview Part 2 - IMC Compliance - Walkthrough Part 3 - IMC Compliance - Scheduling...
This article is Part 3 in a 7-Part Series. Part 1 - IMC Compliance - Overview Part 2 - IMC Compliance - Walkthrough Part 3 - This Article Part 4...
This article is Part 2 in a 7-Part Series. Part 1 - IMC Compliance - Overview Part 2 - This Article Part 3 - IMC Compliance - Scheduling Tasks Part...
This article is Part 1 in a 7-Part Series. Part 1 - This Article Part 2 - IMC Compliance - Walkthrough Part 3 - IMC Compliance - Scheduling Tasks Part...
HP’s “VSR1000 Virtual Services Router” is now generally available. This was first announced at Interop Las Vegas in May, but it wasn’t until Interop NYC in September that it started...
There’s a lot of over-blown talk these days about APIs. Everyone wants one, everyone’s promising one. You might ask: “What’s the difference between using an API to put a port...
Recently I’ve been thinking about Cisco Prime Infrastructure, and Cisco’s continued resistance to supporting non-Cisco equipment. I’ve been wondering if this is good for Cisco, and if they should face...
HP has released Version 7.0 of Intelligent Management Center. This is a significant upgrade from 5.2, and greatly modernises the interface. (In case you’re wondering, version 6 was never publicly...
This is a quick overview of Splunk - what it is, how it works, what makes it good, and how you might use it. I like Splunk, and I think...
Cisco recently announced they have invested $10M into Loggly, a Cloud-based log management service. I had vaguely heard of Loggly before, but never properly investigated it. Let’s dive in and...
What is Log Management, and why should I care? Can’t I just grep through logs when I need to? Isn’t syslog on its own enough? This post will give an overview of...
Today marks one year since I passed CCIE Routing and Switching, and was branded number 36708. This is supposed to be a huge achievement, bringing fame and fortune, right? You’re supposed...
This article is Part 7 in a 7-Part Series. Part 1 - NMS Primer 1: What is an NMS? Part 2 - NMS Primer 2: How Do They Work? Part...
This article is Part 6 in a 7-Part Series. Part 1 - NMS Primer 1: What is an NMS? Part 2 - NMS Primer 2: How Do They Work? Part...
This article is Part 5 in a 7-Part Series. Part 1 - NMS Primer 1: What is an NMS? Part 2 - NMS Primer 2: How Do They Work? Part...
This article is Part 4 in a 7-Part Series. Part 1 - NMS Primer 1: What is an NMS? Part 2 - NMS Primer 2: How Do They Work? Part...
This article is Part 3 in a 7-Part Series. Part 1 - NMS Primer 1: What is an NMS? Part 2 - NMS Primer 2: How Do They Work? Part...
This article is Part 2 in a 7-Part Series. Part 1 - NMS Primer 1: What is an NMS? Part 2 - This Article Part 3 - NMS Primer 3:...
This article is Part 1 in a 7-Part Series. Part 1 - This Article Part 2 - NMS Primer 2: How Do They Work? Part 3 - NMS Primer 3:...
The HP Communities forums offer email subscriptions for threads you’ve participated in, or all posts for a specific message board. By default these emails only contain the subject of the post,...
Everyone talks about how moving to Cloud-based services can reduce CapEx, and that you only “pay for what you need.” People seem to assume this is a Good Thing, and...
HP IMC is great at backing up your switch configurations, but it can be very frustrating when it doesn’t work. Here’s a list of steps I go through when debugging...
I’ve been reading more about OpenFlow recently, and something that was pointed out to me was that OpenFlow offers features that could give us deeper insights into our traffic flows,...
How much monitoring should I do for services that I’ve outsourced? This question comes up frequently with my clients. They’ve paid someone else to manage a service for them, and...
The default logging style for Cisco IOS-based devices is to insert the system uptime in the log entry. This makes it basically useless. Here’s some typical log output:
A good customer of mine needs to replace their Service Desk system. Having a fair idea of their requirements, I asked them if they had looked at $(insert very well-known...
Cisco made some announcements about SDN certifications at Cisco Live US, in June this year. These didn’t seem to get a lot of attention at the time, perhaps due to...
Microsoft patches are released on a (mostly) monthly cycle, and other vendors have started following suit. When this first happened, people treated it like a major event. But I think...
Juniper recently released 12.1X45-D10 for the SRX-110. The key new feature for me was DHCPv6 Client support - finally! It’s still new, and buggy, and I wouldn’t rush it into...
IMC has a predefined list of over 6,000 devices. This list maps sysOIDs to devices, so when you add a new device to IMC, it will say “this is a...
The most interesting talk I attended at HP Discover in Las Vegas this year was Ken Gott’s talk on “Management of Software Defined Networks and Hybrid Environments with HP IMC.”...
Timezones can be complicated things - every country has its own set of rules around how to decide what time it currently is - and those rules change, frequently. Modern...
I’d just like to clear up a little confusion that people have about HP IMC templates, and how they are used. Templates can be used to define credentials for different...
Auto-discovery can help you populate your NMS, and keep it up to date. HP IMC supports several methods of adding devices - either by manually adding them, or getting IMC...
HP IMC has an optional add-on module for NetFlow/sFlow Analysis called “Network Traffic Analyzer (NTA).” This comes in 10-, 20- or 50-node license packs. Based on the license names, you...
The Windows WMI repository can become corrupted on Windows 2008 R2 servers being used with XenApp. WMI corruption can cause problems for monitoring systems, and potentially some applications. Here's how...
HP Operations Manager has been around a long time in the Enterprise server management space. I first started working with it around 2001, and I’ve always had a soft spot...
NNMi can use LDAP for authenticating users, with or without SSL. Recently a customer changed the SSL certificate used on their LDAP server, which broke NNMi authentication. NNMi trusts one...
This is a companion post to my review of the technical differences between NNMi and IMC. That one tried to stay focused on technical matters, but this post is more opinion-based....
It can be hard to understand the differences between HP's NNMi and IMC. Both offer a great range of network management capabilities. Here I outline the technical similarities and differences...
Getting a certification isn't like a degree - it expires. Each renewal cycle, you need to decide if it's worth putting in the effort to renew it. My advice: Think...
Recently I upgraded an HP SIM system from 7.1 to 7.2 on Windows 2008 R2. After the upgrade, SNMP discovery and data collection failed for all systems - servers, switches,...
I attended HP Discover in Las Vegas this year as a blogger and speaker, courtesy of HP. HP Discover is HP’s main technology conference. It’s held once a year in Las...
I spoke at HP Discover in Las Vegas this year, on IMC Customisation, with Chris Young, Aaron Paxson, and Rick Kauffman. Overall I felt it was OK, but we could...
In an age of instant world-wide communications, some might ask why we still need IT conferences. It turns out that no matter what people say, nothing beats being in the...
I’ve just passed the HP0-Y45 exam, which means I have completed the requirements for “HP ASE - Network Architect v1.”
HP has recently released a free version of HP NNMi. This gives you a perpetual license to run NNMi, with some limitations. It’s not completely crippled freeware, and may be...
Update: We’re getting closer to an official announcement, and this post is attracting a lot of hits - you probably want to read my latest post, which contains more info....
Greg Ferro, of Etherealmind.com fame, has published a book on blogging: “The Arse First Method of Technical Blogging.” This covers his
Many network faults I see are quite preventable, or could have been fixed far sooner, if basic network ‘hygiene’ had been maintained. Major faults are often the result of multiple...
I’ve posted a review of ScienceLogic EM7 up at Packet Pushers: Review: ScienceLogic - One Tool to Rule Them All.
Watch out if you have HP NNMi integrated with HP Operations Manager, and you’re upgrading to the latest Operations Agent. I have a customer using HP Network Node Manager 9.22,...
If you have a strong Cisco background, then you immediately think of Spanning Tree Protocol when you think of Layer 2 loop protection. Or if you’re keeping abreast of the...
Recently I was upgrading an HP 2910al switch from 14.70 to 15.08.0012. I used IMC to load the new firmware, rebooted the device, waited…and nothing. Device went offline, and never...
I have just passed the HP exam “HP0-Y37: Migrating and Troubleshooting Networks.” This means I I have now passed all required exams for “HP Master ASE - Network Infrastructure 2011.”...
Recently I’ve been doing more VMware work. It’s been a while, but it makes a nice change. At this site, we have 100+ hosts, and thousands of VMs. Recently we...
When developing IMC adapters, sometimes you have problems with parsing the output correctly. Adapters that use the CLI to retrieve a backup will have extra lines that creep in, such...
I’ve written basic versions of Device Adapters for IMC, to allow configuration backup of Miktrotik RouterOS-based systems, and Citrix Netscaler-based systems. I’ve also posted a modified Juniper adapter, with a...
I’ve spent a lot of time on technical and non-technical forums over the last 10+ years. I’ve written thousands of posts on places like CPUG, CPshared, Thorntree, Packetpushers, NetOps, HP...
Years ago, I was working at a large bank. It was a large site, with a lot of employees, so there was a staff member working full-time in the mail...
If you currently hold Cisco CCNA, CCNP or CCIE certification, you can use this as credit towards HP AIS, ASE and Master ASE certifications.
A few weeks ago, I commented on Twitter that I was thinking about migrating from one product to a newly released product. It’s the sort of thing you do all the...
When Apple launched the Mac App Store, I was quite interested in how it would work out. The App Store for iOS has been hugely successful, even if it is...
HP Discover is HP’s showcase technology conference, bringing together speakers, presentations, partners and products from right across HP’s product line. It covers everything from laptops to servers and software. It’s...
HP Software recently released 6 free network utilities and tools. Free stuff is good right? We all like free. But HP doesn’t do things out of the goodness of its...
HP IMC was originally offered in two editions - Standard and Enterprise. As of v5.2, there is also a “Basic” edition. The new “Basic” edition is feature-limited, aimed at smaller customers with...
I have to pass two exams to complete HP Master ASE - Network Infrastructure. I recently passed the first of these, “HP0-Y32: Designing and Troubleshooting Open Standard Networks.”
I’ve had a couple of questions come up about how I organise my life around work/study. I can’t promise all the answers, but I can relate what I’ve done over...
As part of my preparation for the “HP0-Y32: Designing and Troubleshooting Open Standard Networks” exam, I used the official study guide from HP Press: “HP ASE Network Infrastructure Official Certification...
What is the “HP Master ASE - Network Infrastructure” certification?
Recently I was involved in a discussion on HP’s IMC Forum, where MohammadH needed help with IMC. One of the problems he had was switch backups not working properly. It...
For HP exams, you need a “Learner ID.” Apparently your HP Passport account is not enough, and they like to maintain separate databases. Just to confuse things. You will need...
This is from my post on northlandboy.com, shortly after passing the CCIE R&S lab on my second attempt:
From an earlier post on northlandboy.com, this was my review of the boot camp I attended as part of my CCIE study.
This is from a post on northlandboy.com, shortly after my failed first CCIE lab attempt:
If you implement a proxy server for security reasons, you must implement SSL Intercept, or anyone can waltz on past your anti-virus, filtering, and content restrictions. For a previous employer,...
I wrote a review of HP’s Intelligent Management Center (IMC), at Packetpushers.net. I like the product, but it was not all glowing:
I recently passed the ITIL 2011 Foundation Certification. After all the stress and time-suckage that was CCIE study, this was remarkably pain-free. Ridiculously easy really - most of the study...
Some of you may know me from my writings at northlandboyandhisgirl.com. That site works well for my travel writing, but right now I want to do a lot more technical...
