OrionNetworkAtlasAdminGuide (For Maps) PDF
OrionNetworkAtlasAdminGuide (For Maps) PDF
OrionNetworkAtlasAdminGuide (For Maps) PDF
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Orion Network Atlas version 1.2, 5.11.2010
2 Conventions
About SolarWinds
SolarWinds, Inc develops and markets an array of network management, monitoring, and discovery
tools to meet the diverse requirements of today’s network management and consulting professionals.
SolarWinds products continue to set benchmarks for quality and performance and have positioned
the company as the leader in network management and discovery technology. The SolarWinds
customer base includes over 45 percent of the Fortune 500 and customers from over 90 countries.
Our global business partner distributor network exceeds 100 distributors and resellers.
Contacting SolarWinds
You can contact SolarWinds in a number of ways, including the following:
Team Contact Information
1.866.530.8100
Sales
www.solarwinds.com
About SolarWinds 3
Administrator Guide SolarWinds Orion Network Atlas
Conventions
The documentation uses consistent conventions to help you identify items throughout the printed and
online library.
Convention Specifying
Straight brackets, as in
Optional command parameters
[value]
Curly braces, as in
Required command parameters
{value}
4 Conventions
Contents
About SolarWinds ........................................................................................... 3
Contacting SolarWinds .................................................................................... 3
Conventions .................................................................................................... 4
Chapter 1
Introduction ................................................................................................... 9
What is in a Map? ........................................................................................... 9
Network Atlas Features ................................................................................... 9
Example Maps............................................................................................... 10
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Contents 5
Administrator Guide SolarWinds Orion Network Atlas
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Appendix A
6 Contents
Date and Time Variables ............................................................................... 44
General Variables ......................................................................................... 45
Interface Variables ........................................................................................ 46
IP SLA Variables ........................................................................................... 48
Node Variables .............................................................................................. 49
Volume Variables .......................................................................................... 51
Wireless Variables ........................................................................................ 52
Index
Index ............................................................................................................. 53
Contents 7
Administrator Guide SolarWinds Orion Network Atlas
8 Contents
Chapter 1
Introduction
Orion Network Atlas is a powerful tool for creating custom maps and network
diagrams. The maps created in Orion Network Atlas enable users to view a
graphical depiction of their network in the Orion Web Console. You can also use
Orion Network Atlas maps to create your own network documentation, which can
then be printed and exported as needed. The following sections provide an
introduction to Orion Network Atlas:
• What is in a Map?
• Network Atlas Features
• Example Maps
What is in a Map?
Map objects can be Orion NPM nodes, interfaces, and volumes; Orion APM
applications and components; Orion IP SLA operations; other Orion Network
Atlas nested maps; and network links. The numerous presentation options for
your network maps include:
• a large set of predefined background colors, textures, and images for use in
your maps, and the ability to use your own custom background graphics
• the ability to project real-time weather or natural disaster maps onto your
network maps using linked web graphics as a background
• the ability to customize the shape, size, color, and style of map links to
illustrate the status or the relative bandwidth of associated objects
• the ability to show map objects in multiple styles to display network status
• map nesting that selectively reveals increasing levels of map detail with the
status of child objects on nested maps bubbled up to the parent map
Introduction 9
Administrator Guide SolarWinds Orion Network Atlas
ConnectNow
The ConnectNow tool in Orion Network Atlas allows you to instantly draw
lines between mapped objects that are directly, physically connected. For
more information, see “Connecting Objects Automatically with ConnectNow”
on page 15.
Linked Backgrounds
The linked backgrounds feature allows you to create maps with backgrounds
sourced directly from the Internet. Using a linked background, you can create
maps that include dynamic weather information relevant to your distributed
network sites. For more information, see “Selecting a Background Image” on
page 18.
AutoArrange
AutoArrange options allow you to quickly structure or reorganize objects on
your map. For more information, see “Selecting Automatic Layout Styles” on
page 36.
Example Maps
The following figures are examples of the types of maps you can create using
Orion Network Atlas.
10 Introduction
Chapter 2
Installing Orion Network Atlas
Orion Network Atlas is pre-installed on Orion EOC v1.1 and Orion NPM 9.5 or
later servers, and it can be run as a local application on those Orion servers.
Users can also run Orion Network Atlas as a standalone application on any
remote computer meeting the stated minimum requirements. The following
sections provide more information about installing Orion Network Atlas:
Note: To take full advantage of Orion Network Atlas features, users of Orion
Network Atlas must either have node management rights in Orion NPM or be
assigned the administrator role in Orion EOC.
Memory 1 GB
Note: To take full advantage of Network Atlas features, users of Orion Network
Atlas must either have node management rights in Orion NPM or be assigned
the administrator role in Orion EOC.
The following procedure adds monitored network objects to your Orion Network
Atlas map.
1. If you are creating a new map, click the Orion Network Atlas button ( ),
and then click New Map.
2. If you are adding objects to an existing map, complete the following
steps:
Notes:
• The ConnectNow tool cannot draw indirect connections between nodes. For
example, if nodes A and C are connected indirectly through node B, you
must manually add node B to the map to create the connections.
• Because topological data about your network is only generated during
Network Sonar Discovery, ConnectNow can only draw lines between
discovered nodes. Nodes that are added manually, as in Web Node
Management, cannot be connected using ConnectNow. Orion NPM version
10.0 does allow you to schedule network discoveries, so now you can have
regularly updated topological information about your network. For more
information about network discovery, see “Discovering and Adding Network
Devices” in the SolarWinds Orion Network Performance Monitor
Administrator Guide.
3. Click ConnectNow ( ).
1. Click Home.
UP DOWN UNKNOWN
UP UP DOWN UP
Note: Use multiple anchor points to create more complex shapes and curves.
1. Click Select in the Tools group or click the middle mouse button.
2. Click and drag the link you want to reshape.
Adding a Background
You can select colors, textures, and locally-hosted or Internet-hosted images to
serve as your map backgrounds:
1. Click Home.
1. Click Home.
Notes:
• Background images you supply display at their full size in the Orion Web
Console, so consider their dimensions. You may rescale images within the
application, but images displayed at full scale provide optimal quality.
• In determining map size and resolution, consider web page layouts and
potential display screen resolutions.
• Example background images are in the NetworkAtlas Backgrounds folder
located in your default shared documents folder. Clicking Background
Image always starts you in this background images folder.
1. Click Home.
2. If you want to use a background image from disk, click Background >
Background Image ( ), and then navigate to the image you want to use.
3. If you want to use a background image from the Internet, complete the
following steps:
Notes:
• In the web console, map background images linked from the Internet are
refreshed with the Orion Web Console refresh.
• If the Orion NPM server is behind a web proxy, the proxy settings
entered into Microsoft Internet Explorer are used to create the Internet
connection. If the web proxy requires authentication, you cannot link
directly to the background image. A workaround is to write a script that
periodically downloads the Internet image and saves it to a folder on the
web server. You can then specify the saved image as the linked
background image.
Saving Maps
Orion Network Atlas saves your maps directly to the server to which you are
connected.
Note: To save a map to your hard drive instead of your Orion server, click >
Export > Export Map.
To save a map:
1. Click the Orion Network Atlas button ( ), and then click Save.
2. If you are saving the map for the first time, name the map, and then click
OK.
3. If you want to save your map to your hard drive, complete the following
steps:
Opening Maps
Maps are loaded from the Orion server to which you are connected. They appear
in the left pane of the Orion Network Atlas window.
To open a map,
1. Click + to expand the Maps group in the left pane of the Orion Network Atlas
window.
2. Double-click the map you want to open.
Network Map
The Network Map resource displays a selected map within the Orion Web
Console. Objectts on the map a user is not permitted to see are hidden from
the user, as are any connections to those objects. For more information
about including Network Atlas maps in the Orion Web Console, see
“Displaying Maps in the Orion Web Console” on page 21.
All Maps
This resource provides a list of all available network maps. Clicking any map
name opens a view containing the selected map with a list of the objects
To display a saved map in the Home view of the Orion Web Console:
To display a saved map in the Home view of the Orion EOC web console:
• Press and hold CTRL while rotating the mouse wheel button.
• Click the Zoom slider on the status bar, and then slide the zoom control to
the zoom level you want
• Click View, and then select the type of zoom you want to use from the Zoom
group.
The map of Oklahoma can then become a parent map to a network diagram.
Each child map can include a view of the objects, either devices or other maps,
deployed on it. Any nested objects can then be clicked to view the next level of
map detail, until the level of the final network device is reached and all available
network information is displayed.
Note: The total number of objects on a map, including those displayed on child
maps, affects how fast the map loads in the Orion Web Console. If your maps
load slowly, decrease the number of map objects.
1. Drag a map from the Maps group in the left pane onto the parent map, and
then position the map icon appropriately.
2. If you want the status of a child map to also indicate the status of its
child objects, complete the following steps:
a. Right-click the child map icon on the map, and then select Properties.
b. Check Include child status on the Status properties page, and then
click OK. The object status icon now includes the secondary status
indicator.
• The secondary status indicator respects the Orion web console Status Rollup
Mode setting for displaying status.
• All child objects and selected metric thresholds are taken into account to
determine secondary status.
1. Click Home.
2. Click Add Object in the Objects group to add a gray map object to the map.
Independent labels may also be placed anywhere on your map.
1. Click Home.
2. Click Add Label in the Labels group. A label is added to the map.
You can set the default representation style for all map object of a certain type, or
you can change the appearance of selected map objects.
1. Click the Orion Network Atlas button , and then click Network Atlas
Settings.
2. Click Graphic Styles in the left column.
3. Select an appropriate default style for each available map object.
Changing the representation of selected map objects opens up another level of
graphical information. For example, you can set an object icon to display a
mainframe graphic, visually designating the type of device being monitored. You
can then select a status style, such as 3D Pad Underneath, to illustrate the map
object status.
Icons that you paste into Orion Network Atlas are saved to the Orion database,
and made available for reuse in other maps under the "Imported" icon grouping.
Pasted icons saved to the Orion database can be accessed and used by remote
instances of Orion Network Atlas.
1. Determine which file on the Orion NPM server contains the icon (for
example, mypicture.wmf).
2. Add .del to the file name (for example, mypicture.wmf.del)
3. Start Orion Network Atlas on the Orion NPM server to delete the icons from
the database.
1. Right-click the object on the map, and then click Select Graphic.
2. Select User Graphics in the left pane.
3. Select your desired graphic image, and then click OK.
To move a label:
7. If you want to change the label border color, click the Border Color color
box, and then select a new color.
8. If you want to remove a label border, select 0 from the Border Width list.
9. If you want to add a label background, uncheck Transparent
Background.
10. If you want to change the label background color, click the Background
Color color box, and then select a new color.
11. If you want to remove a label background, check Transparent
Background.
12. Click OK.
orionServer
This is the IP address or host name of your Orion NPM server.
mapName
This is the display name of the map. If the map display name contains space
characters, substitute %20 for the spaces when specifying the name.
Notes:
Orion.Nodes
Location: ${Location}${CR}Contact: ${Contact}
Orion.NPM.Interfaces
Downlink:${Inbps}${CR}Uplink:${Outbps}
Tooltip variables are available for Orion NPM, Orion APM, Orion EOC, and Orion
IP SLA. For more information about available tooltip variables, see “Orion
Network Atlas Tooltip Variables” on page 43. For more information about custom
properties, see “Creating Custom Properties” in the SolarWinds Orion Network
Performance Monitor Administrator Guide.
• The Map Maker to EOC Converter converts maps created using MapMaker
in Orion NPM versions 9.1 and earlier for use with Orion EOC version 1.0.
• The Network Atlas to EOC Converter converts maps created using network
Atlas with Orion NPM version 9.5 and later for use with Orion EOC versions
1.1 and higher.
The following procedure downloads and installs the required conversion utility,
based on your current environment.
1. Browse to http://www.solarwinds.com/.
2. Click Customer Portal.
You can improve the visual layout and organization of your maps by using the
advanced layout tools to help you align and distribute your objects and links. This
section discusses the following topics:
Grids are not map objects, and are neither saved with a map nor displayed in the
Orion Web Console.
To display a grid:
1. Click View.
2. Click Show Grid in the Grid group.
To customize the grid:
1. Click View.
2. If you want grid lines, click Grid Option > Grid Lines.
3. If you want grid points, click Grid Options >Grid Points.
4. If you want to change the grid size, click Grid Options > Grid Size, and
then select a grid size.
1. Click Edit.
2. Select the map objects you want to align.
3. Click the appropriate button in the Align group to arrange your selected
objects
Button Function Description
Aligns all selected objects on the left edge of the
Align Left
group
Aligns all selected objects on the right edge of the
Align Right
group
Aligns all selected objects on the bottom edge of the
Align Bottom
group
Aligns all selected objects on the top edge of the
Align Top
group
Center
Centers all selected objects vertically
Vertically
Center
Centers all selected objects horizontally
Horizontally
1. Click Edit.
2. Select the map objects you want to distribute.
3. Click the appropriate button in the Distribute group to arrange your selected
objects
Button Function Description
Distributes all objects so that they are equidistant
Distribute
from the left edge of the leftmost object to the right
Horizontally
edge of the rightmost object
Distributes all objects so that they are equidistant
Distribute
from the top edge of the topmost object to the bottom
Vertically
edge of the bottommost object
Circular
Emphasizes the clusters inherent in the topology of a map. It emphasizes
prominent links between main objects and its peripherals. Object groups
Symmetrical
Emphasizes the symmetrical patterns inherent in the map topology. It
emphasizes an even distribution of objects, and minimizes edge crossings.
Object groups have star spiral placements. Use symmetrical layouts for
maps that have fairly homogenous or uniform clusters.
Hierarchical
Emphasizes mapped dependency relationships by placing objects at different
levels. Use hierarchical layouts to depict data dependencies.
Orthogonal
Emphasizes compact drawings and uses only horizontal and vertical edges.
Objects are enlarged if necessary to provide enough space for edge
connections. Use orthogonal layouts for maps that need to depict multiple
clusters in a space-efficient manner.
Tree
Emphasizes parent and child relationships. Child objects are arranged farther
from the root object than their parent objects. Use tree layouts for maps that
have a central control object.
Reorganize
Moves all mapped objects back to the center of the map view.
Arrange Labels
Restores the default relative position of all object labels.
1. Click Edit.
2. Click an apprpriate layout style from the AutoArrange group.
The Map Properties window allows you to configure options regarding the
following aspects of your map:
1. Right-click any empty portion of the map, and then select Map Properties.
2. Slide the Map status will be UP slider to configure an appropriate up state
threshold on the Map Properties page.
1. Right-click any empty portion of the map, and then select Map Properties.
2. Select Remove nodes that users do not have permission to view.
If you choose to reveal restricted nodes to all users, all web console users can
see the restricted nodes, but users with account limitations cannot retrieve any
additional information about the restricted node.
1. Right-click any empty portion of the map, and then select Map Properties.
2. Select Allow all users to view all nodes on this map.
Note: An Orion NPM user with account limitations, but who has permission to run
and use the Orion Network Atlas application, can change this setting in the map
and see the presence of restricted nodes. Although the user cannot retrieve any
information regarding the restricted nodes, this can still be considered a security
Map Properties 39
Administrator Guide SolarWinds Orion Network Atlas
40 Map Properties
Chapter 7
Orion Network Atlas Settings
You can customize the default icon styles, map defaults, and node tree
specifications from the Orion Network Atlas Settings window.
To open the Orion Network Atlas Settings window, click the Orion Network Atlas
button ( ), and then click Network Atlas Settings.
The following sections describe the options available in the Orion Network Atlas
Settings window.
Connection Settings
The options in this section allow you to select the default Orion server details.
Map Defaults
The options in this section allow you to set a device threshold for the overall
map status. The status indicator reflects the state of many objects at once;
therefore, SolarWinds recommends that the map status be set at 100%. At
this setting, when any device on a map or sub-map is down, the problem
status will be indicated.
Node Tree
The options in this section allow you to customize the view of the node tree
located on the left pane of the Orion Network Atlas main window. Some
users find it helpful to display the status icons of each node and interface,
while others find the vendor network node and interface icons more useful.
You may also specify that node names and/or IP addresses be included in
the display.
Graphic Styles
The options in this section allow you to select the default graphical styles for
Orion Network Atlas. You can change the default style types for network
objects, and you can select a color scheme for Orion Network Atlas itself.
Many of the variables that are available for use in Orion NPM alerts are also
available for use in Network Atlas tooltips. These variables are dynamic, and they
parse when the tooltip is opened. For example, the variable ${CPULoad} will
parse with the current processor utilization of the node you are viewing. The
following sections provide tables of variables corresponding to the types of
objects you can map with Network Atlas.
Notes:
• For more information about viewing and customizing Network Atlas tooltips,
see “Customizing Orion Web Console Tooltips” on page 31.
• In some cases, the table name may be required for alert variables, as in
${Nodes.Description}. The following tables provide the table name in
listed variables when it is required.
• In earlier versions of Network Atlas, variables were referred to as macros.
Application Variables
The following application variables are valid for use in Network Atlas tooltips.
Variable Description
Variable Description
Variable Description
${DD} Current day of the month (two digit number, zero padded)
General Variables
The following general variables are valid for use in Network Atlas tooltips.
Variable Description
Date and time of the last event for this Alert. (Windows control
${AlertTriggerTime}
panel defined “Short Date” and “Short Time”)
Interface Variables
The following interface variables are valid for use in Network Atlas tooltips.
Variable Description
Day, date, and time that this interface was last polled
${CustomPollerLastStatisticsPoll}
by the current poller
Variable Description
IP SLA Variables
The following variables related to IP SLA operations are valid for use in Network
Atlas tooltips.
Variable Description
Node Variables
The following node variables are valid for use in Network Atlas tooltips.
Variable Description
${BlockUntil} Day, date, and time until which node polling is blocked
${CustomPollerLastStati
Day, date, and time of last poll attempt on node
sticsPoll}
${CustomPollerLastStati
Day, date, and time that node was last successfully polled
sticsPollSuccess}
Variable Description
synchronization
Volume Variables
The following volume variables are valid for use in Network Atlas tooltips.
Variable Description
Wireless Variables
The following wireless variables are valid for use in Network Atlas tooltips.
Variable Description
${ WirelessStatBlockUntil } Date and time node may be polled again by wireless poller
A I
account limitations independent
maps 39 labels 25
advanced options nodes 25
maps 35 installing
alignment tools on remote computer 11
maps 35 Orion Network Atlas 11
anchor points 17 requirements 11
application component monitors interface
variables 44 links in maps 16
applications interfaces
variables 43 variables 46
autoarrange IP SLA
maps 36 variables 48
automatic mapping 15 L
B layouts
background circular 36
image 19 hierarchical 36
Background Image 19 orthogonal 36
backgrounds symmetrical 36
maps 17 tree 36
C linking URLs
ConnectNow 15 maps 30
converting maps 32 links
D anchor points 17
date status 16
variables 44 M
distributing objects maps
maps 36 adding map objects 14
E backgrounds 17
EOC converting NPM to EOC 32
converting maps from NPM 32 creating 13
examples 10
F icon styles 41
features 9 label appearance 29
G layout 36
general line styles 41
variables 45 link 16
gridlines linking URLs 30
maps 35 map defaults 41
Index 53
Administrator Guide SolarWinds Orion Network Atlas
nested 24 S
node tree 41 security
settings 41 maps 39
system requirements 11 starting 13
metrics status
maps 25 maps 39
N T
nested maps 24 time
network links 29 variables 44
node graphics tooltips
maps 26 maps 31
node metrics 25 V
nodes variables 43
variables 49 application component monitors
NPM 44
converting maps to EOC 32 applications 43
O date 44
Orion Network Atlas general 45
adding map objects 14 interfaces 46
starting 13 IP SLA 48
Orion Network Atlas nodes 49
installing 11 time 44
P volumes 51, 52
properties volumes
maps 39 variables 51, 52
R Z
remote installation 11 zoom
maps 23
54 Index