Agent-based Integration

The agent-based integration of the NNMi—OM integration is the preferred solution for integrating OM with NNMi.

If the agent and the web services implementations of the NNMi—OM integration both forward messages to the same OM management server, you might not see all messages from both implementations in the OM active messages browser. For this reason, does not support running both implementations of the NNMi—OM integration from one NNMi management server to the same OM management server concurrently.

The agent-based integration of NNMi—OM forwards NNMi management events as SNMPv2c traps to an Operations agent on the NNMi management server. The agent filters the NNMi traps and forwards them to the OM active messages browser. The agent configuration determines the OM management server receiving the forwarded incident.

The NNMi—OM integration can also forward the SNMP traps that NNMi receives to the agent. The NNMi—OM integration also provides for accessing the NNMi console from within OM.

The NNMi—OM integration provides event consolidation in the OM active messages browser for the network management, system management, and application management domains, so that OM users can detect and investigate potential network problems.

The primary features of the integration are as follows:

• Automatic incident forwarding from NNMi to the Operations agent. Forwarded incidents appear in the OM active messages browser.

• Access to the NNMi console from OM.

  • OM users can open the NNMiIncident form in the context of a selected message.
  • OM users can launch an NNMi view (for example, the Layer 2 Neighbor view) in the context of a selected message and node.
  • OM users can launch an NNMi tool (for example, status poll) in the context of a selected message and node.

This topic contains the following sections:

• Components of Integration
• Enable the Integration
• Use the NNMi—OM Integration
• Update the Integration Configuration
• Disable the Integration

Components of Integration

The agent implementation of the NNMi—OM integration consists of the following components:

• NNMi 10.30
• HPOM for Windows (9.00) or HPOM for Linux/UNIX (9.11, 9.20, or 9.21)

Enable the Integration

It is recommended that an experienced OM administrator complete the procedure for enabling the agent implementation of the NNMi—OM integration.

To enable agent implementation of the NNMi—OM integration, follow these steps:

1. On the NNMi management server, generate an SNMP trap policy file:

   1. Verify that the NNMi services are running:

      ovstatus -c

      All NNMi services should show the state RUNNING.

   2. Generate the SNMP trap policy file by entering the following command:

      nnmopcexport.ovpl -u <username>-p<password> \
-template "NNMi Management Events" -application "NNMi" \
-file NNMi_policy.dat

      The values for <username> and <password> correspond to an NNMi console user with the Administrator role.

      TIP:  If OM will forward the NNMi incidents to the  OMi event browser or to the BSM Operations Management event browser, also use the -omi_hi option to add health indicators to the management event policy conditions.

      The SNMP trap policy file includes a policy condition for each management event and SNMP trap configuration in the current NNMi incident configuration. For information about customizing the output of this command, see the nnmopcexport.ovpl reference page, or the Linux manpage.

2. On the OM management server, configure OM to receive messages from NNMi:

   1. In the OM console, add a node for the NNMi management server
   2. Install the Operations agent on the NNMi management server.

   3. Transfer the NNMi_policy.dat file created in step 1 of this procedure from the NNMi management server to the HPOM management server.

      Import the NNMi_policy.dat file into OM.

      • OM for Windows: Use the ImportPolicies command.
      • OM for Linux version 9.x: Use the opcpolicy command.
   4. Deploy the NNMi Management Events policy to the NNMi managed node.

   5. In the OM console, add an external node to catch all forwarded NNMi incidents.

      For initial testing, set the node filter to <*>.<*>.<*>.<*> (for an IP filter) or <*> (for a name filter). After you validate the integration, restrict the external node filter to match your network.

      If you do not set up an OM managed node for an NNMi incident source node, the OM management server discards all incidents regarding that node.

   For more information, see the following references:

   • OM for Windows:

     • Configuring external nodes in the OM help

   • OM for Linux:

     • Operations Manager for UNIX HTTPS Agent Concepts and Configuration Guide
     • Operations Manager for UNIX Concepts Guide
     • Operations Manager for UNIX Administrator's Reference
     • Operations Manager for UNIX Developer’s Toolkit Developer’s Reference
     • opcnode(1M), opcbbcdist(1M), opcragt(1M), opccfgupl(1M), opcpolicy(1M) (version 9.xx)

3. Identify an available port for SNMP communications between NNMi and the Operations agent.

   The Operations agent will listen on this port for the SNMP traps that NNMi forwards to this port. While enabling the integration, this port number is used in both step 4 (for the Operations agent) and step 5 (for NNMi) of this procedure.

   Because the Operations agent is installed on the NNMi management server, this port number must be different from the port NNMi uses to receive SNMP traps.

   1. From the NNMi management server, run the nnmtrapconfig.ovpl -showProp command. Look for the current trapPort value in the command output. This value is typically 162, which is the standard UDP port for receiving SNMP traps. Do not use this trapPort value when configuring SNMP communications between NNMi and the Operations agent.
   2. Select a port for configuring SNMP communications between NNMi and the Operations agent. A good practice is to use a port number similar to the value of trapPort. For example, if port 162 is not available, try port 5162.
   3. From the NNMi management server, run the netstat -a command and search the output for the port you selected in step b. If that port number does not appear in the output, it is probably available for the Operations agent to use.

4. On the NNMi management server configure the Operations agent with a custom port for receiving SNMP traps from NNMi by entering the following commands:

   • Configure the agent:

     ovconfchg -ns eaagt -set SNMP_TRAP_PORT <custom_port> \
-set SNMP_SESSION_MODE NETSNMP

   • Restart the agent:

     ovc -restart opctrapi

   For <custom_port>, use the port that you identified in step 3 of this procedure.

5. On the NNMi management server, configure NNMi incident forwarding to the Operations agent:

   1. In the NNMi console, open the NNMi—OM Integration Selection form (Integration Module Configuration > OM).

   2. Click OM agent implementation, and then click New.

      (If you have selected an available destination, click Reset to make the New button available.)

   3. On the NNMi—OM Agent Destination form, select the Enabled check box to make the remaining fields on the form available.

   4. Type the details for connecting to the Operations agent on the NNMi management server; use the following table as a reference.

      Table:    Operations Agent Connection Information

      Field	Description
      Host	The fully-qualified domain name (preferred) or the IP address of the NNMi management server. The Operations agent receives SNMP traps from NNMi on this server. The integration supports the following methods for identifying the Operations agent host: NNMi FQDN NNMi manages the connection to the Operations agent on the NNMi management server and the Host field becomes read-only. This is the default and recommended configuration. Use Loopback Do not use this option. Other Do not use this option. If the NNMi management server participates in NNMi application failover, see the NNMi Deployment Reference for information about the impact of application failover on the integration module.
      Port	The UDP port where the Operations agent receives SNMP traps. Enter the port number specific to the Operations agent. This value is the port that you identified in step 3. To determine the port, run the ovconfget eaagt command on the NNMi management server. The trap port is the value of the SNMP_TRAP_PORT variable. This port number must be different from the port NNMi uses to receive SNMP traps, as set in the SNMP Port field on the Communication Configuration form in the NNMi console.
      Community String	A read-only community string for the Operations agent to receive traps. For the NNMi—OM integration, use the default value, which is public.

   5. Specify the sending options; use the following table for reference. Select the HTTP option for the NNMi Console Access field.

      Table:    OM Integration Content Configuration Information

      Field	Description
      Incidents	The incident forwarding specification. Management NNMi forwards only NNMi-generated management events to the Operations agent. SNMP 3rd Party Trap NNMi forwards only SNMP traps that NNMi receives from managed devices to the Operations agent. Syslog NNMi forwards ArcSight Syslog messages to the northbound application using the NorthBound Integration module. NNMi begins forwarding incidents as soon as you enable the destination. For more information, see the NNMi Northbound Interface section of the NNMi Deployment Reference.
      Lifecycle State Changes	The incident change notification specification. Enhanced Closed NNMi sends an incident closed trap to the Operations agent for each incident that changes to the CLOSED lifecycle state. This is the default configuration. State Changed NNMi sends an incident lifecycle state changed trap to the Operations agent for each incident that changes to the IN PROGRESS, COMPLETED, or CLOSED lifecycle state. Both NNMi sends an incident closed trap to the Operations agent for each incident that changes to the CLOSED lifecycle state. Additionally, the integration sends an incident lifecycle state changed trap to the Operations agent for each incident that changes to the IN PROGESS, COMPLETED, or CLOSED lifecycle state. In this case, each time an incident changes to the CLOSED lifecycle state, the integration sends two notification traps: an incident closed trap and an incident lifecycle state changed trap.
      Correlations	The incident correlation notification specification. None NNMi does not notify the Operations agent of incident correlations resulting from NNMi causal analysis. This is the default configuration. Single NNMi sends a trap for each parent-child incident correlation relationship resulting from NNMi causal analysis. Group NNMi sends one trap per correlation that lists all child incidents correlated to a parent incident.
      Deletions	The incident deletion specification. Don’t Send NNMi does not notify the Operations agent when incidents are deleted in NNMi. This is the default configuration. Send NNMi sends a deletion trap to the Operations agent for each incident that is deleted in NNMi. For more information, see Incident Deletion Notifications in the NNMi Deployment Reference.
      NNMi Console Access	The connection protocol specification in the URL for browsing to the NNMi console from the OM message browser. The traps that NNMi sends to the Operations agent include the NNMi URL in the NmsUrl varbind (1.3.6.1.4.1.11.2.17.19.2.2.2). The integration requires an HTTP or HTTPS connection to the NNMi console. Select an appropriate option.
      Incident Filters	A list of object identifiers (OIDs) the integration uses to filter the events sent to the Operations agent. Each filter entry can be a valid numeric OID (for example, .1.3.6.1.6.3.1.1.5.4.1.3.6.1.4.1.9) or OID prefix (for example, .1.3.6.1.6.3.1.1.5.*). Select one of the following options: None NNMi sends all events to the Operations agent. This is the default configuration. Include NNMi sends only the specific events that match the OIDs identified in the filter. Exclude NNMi sends all events except for the specific events that match the OIDs identified in the filter. Specify the incident filter: To add a filter entry, enter the text in the lower text box, and then click Add. To delete a filter entry, select that entry from the list in the upper box, and then click Remove.

   6. Click Submit at the bottom of the form.

      A new window opens, showing a status message. If the message indicates a problem with the settings, click Return, and then adjust the values as suggested by the text of the error message.

6. Optional. In OM, add the custom message attributes for NNMi incidents to the active messages browser. Follow the appropriate steps:

   • OM for Windows:

     • In the browser, right-click any column heading, then click Options.
     • In the Enter Custom Message Attributes list, select an attribute, then click Add.

   • OM for Linux:

     • In the Java Interface Message Browser, right-click any column heading, and then click Customize Message Browser Columns.
     • On the Custom tab, select from the Available Custom Message Attributes, and then click OK.

   Note the following information:

   • Most of the custom message attributes for NNMi incidents begin with the text nnm.

   • For the agent implementation of the NNMi—OM integration, some interesting attributes for NNMi incidents are as follows:

     nnm.name
nnm.server.name

   • To change the order the custom message attributes appear in the messages browser, drag a column heading to the new location.

7. Optional. On the OM management server, enable contextual launching of the NNMi views.

   OM for Windows: Associate the NNMi source nodes with the NNMi Web Tools group.

   For information, see Enable tools in the By Node tool group in the OM help.

   For information, see the section on installing and configuring the NNMi—OM integration in the  Operations Manager for UNIX and Linux Administrator's Reference (version 9.xx).

8. Configure NNMi to Forward ArcSight Logger Syslog Messages.

   You can configure NNMi to forward ArcSight Logger Syslog messages to OM using NNMi’s Northbound Interface. The result is in ArcSight Logger Syslog messages being sent to OM management server.

   To configure the NNMi—OM (agent-based) integration to forward Syslog messages to NNMi’s Northbound Interface, do the following:

   1. From the NNMi console, click Integration Module Configuration > HPOM. NNMi opens the NNMi—OM Integration Selection screen.
   2. Click the OM agent implementation.
   3. Click Edit.

   4. Modify the form to match the highlighted fields shown in Agent-based Integration. Completing the following configuration steps are important:

      • In the Incidents Field, select the Syslog check box.

      • In the Deletions Field, select the Send check box.

   5. Configure OM to include an SNMP trap policy that matches traps with the OID for nnmiSyslog incidents. The nnmiSyslog incident OID to listen for is .1.3.6.1.4.1.11.2.17.19.2.0.4000.

   After completing step 1 through step 7, the OM management server will be able to receive ArcSight Logger Syslog messages.

   NNMi takes varbinds from the ArcSightEvent trap (OID is .1.3.6.1.4.1.11937.0.1) and forwards these varbinds northbound in another trap (from the hp-nnmi-nbi.mib). You can see the trap’s Custom Incident Attributes (CIAs) by viewing the 20th varbind (nnmiIncidentCias) in the comma-separated list from the nnmiSyslog incident (OID is .1.3.6.1.4.1.11.2.17.19.2.0.4000).

Use the NNMi—OM Integration

The agent implementation of the NNMi—OM integration provides a one-way flow of NNMi management events and SNMP traps to the Operations agent. The SNMP trap policy conditions determine how OM treats and shows the incoming traps. For example, you can change a policy condition to include the value of a trap custom message attribute (CMA) in the message text.

View the forwarded NNMi incidents in the OM active messages browser. OM menu commands provide access to NNMi views in the context of the selected message. Information embedded in each message supports this cross-navigation:

• The nnmi.server.name and nnmi.server.port CMAs in the message identify the NNMi management server.
• The nnmi.incident.uuid CMA identifies the incident in the NNMi database.

The original source object appears in the Object column of the OM active messages browser and in the nnm.source.name CMA. (In the web services implementation of the NNMi—OM integration, the original source object is only available in nnm.source.name CMA.)

Configuration Item Identifiers

In Business Service Management (BSM) and Universal CMDB Software (UCMDB), a configuration item (CI) is a database representation of a component in the IT environment. A CI can be a line of business, business process, application, server hardware, or a service.

When NNMi integrates with the BSM topology database or UCMDB, NNMi shares CI information with BSM or UCMDB for the devices that NNMi manages. In this case, the agent implementation of the NNMi—OM integration can associate incidents regarding NNMi-managed devices with BSM or UCMDB CIs. The SNMP trap policy conditions enable this association.

For information about the integrations with BSM and UCMDB, see the NNMi— Business Service Management Integration Guide.

Health Indicators

If the NNMi SNMP trap policy file was created with the -omi_hi option to nnmopcexport.ovpl, the policy file associates a health indicator with each standard NNMi management event in the SNMP trap policy file, as appropriate. (Not all management event types have health indicators.) The health indicator is available in the EtiHint CMA.

For the specific health indicators, see the SNMP trap policy file.

Default Policy Conditions

The default integration behavior varies with the integration content, as described here:

• NNMi management event incidents

  • The NNMi SNMP trap policy file includes conditions for all NNMi management event configurations defined in the NNMi incident configuration when the file was generated.
  • The messages created from NNMi management events appear in the OM active messages browser.
  • These traps include the CI information described in Configuration Item Identifiers above.
  • The messages created from these traps might include health indicators described in Health Indicators above.

• Third-party SNMP traps

  • The NNMi SNMP trap policy file includes conditions for all SNMP trap configurations defined in the NNMi incident configuration when the file was generated.
  • The messages created from third-party traps appear in the OM active messages browser.
  • The messages created from these traps do not include health indicators.
  • If you configure the integration to forward all received SNMP traps and the OM management server receives SNMP traps directly from devices that NNMi manages, OM receives duplicate device traps. You can set the policies to correlate SNMP traps from NNMi with those that OM receives directly from managed devices.

• Syslog messages

  • NNMi forwards ArcSight Syslog messages to the northbound application using the NorthBound Integration module.
    NNMi begins forwarding incidents as soon as you enable the destination.

• EventLifecycleStateClosed traps

  • The Operations agent logs the messages created from these traps. Generally, they do not appear in the OM active messages browser.
  • The NNMi SNMP trap policy file causes the Operations agent to acknowledge the message that corresponds to the closed NNMi incident in the OM active messages browser.

• LifecycleStateChangeEvent traps

  • The NNMi SNMP trap policy file does not include conditions for processing these traps. The Operations agent does not forward these traps to the OM active messages browser.

• EventDeleted traps

  • The NNMi SNMP trap policy file does not include conditions for processing these traps. The Operations agent does not forward these traps to the OM active messages browser.

• Correlation notification traps

  • The Operations agent logs the messages created from these traps. They do not appear in the OM active messages browser.
  • These traps have no impact on the OM active messages browser.

Customize Policy Conditions

To customize the default policy conditions, edit the conditions on the OM management server, and then re-deploy the policy to the Operations agent on the NNMi management server. For more information, see the following reference:

• OM for Windows: SNMP Interceptor Policies (version 9.0x) in the OM help
• OM for Linux (version 9.xx): Operations Manager for UNIX and Linux Concepts Guide

Update the Integration Configuration

Update the SNMP Trap Policy Conditions for New NNMi Traps

If new SNMP trap incident configurations have been added to NNMi since the integration was configured, follow these steps:

1. On the NNMi management server, use the nnmopcexport.ovpl script to create an SNMP trap policy file for the new traps.

   For the -template option, specify a name that is different from the names of the existing SNMP trap policy files.

   You can limit the file contents to a specific author or OID prefix value. For more information, see the nnmopcexport.ovpl reference page, or the Linux manpage.

2. Transfer the new SNMP trap policy file from the NNMi management server to the OM management server, and then import it into OM.
3. On the OM management server, deploy the new policy to the NNMi managed node.

Alternatively, you can re-create the SNMP trap policy file for all NNMi management events and SNMP traps. If you take this approach, importing the new policy file into OM overwrites any existing policy customizations.

Change the Configuration Parameters

To change the integration configuration parameters, follow these steps:

1. In the NNMi console, open the NNMi—OM Selection form (Integration Module Configuration > HPOM).
2. Click OM agent implementation.
3. Select a destination, and then click Edit.

4. Modify the values as appropriate.

5. Verify that the Enable Integration check box at the top of the form is selected, and then click Submit at the bottom of the form.

   The changes take effect immediately.

Disable the Integration

No SNMP trap queuing occurs while a destination is disabled.

To discontinue the forwarding of NNMi incidents to the NNMi Operations agent, follow these steps:

1. In the NNMi console, open the NNMi—OM Integration Selection form (Integration Module Configuration > OM).
2. Click OM agent implementation.

3. Select a destination, and then click Edit.

   Alternatively, click Delete to entirely remove the configuration for the selected destination.

4. Clear the Enable Integration check box at the top of the form, and then click Submit at the bottom of the form.

   The changes take effect immediately.

Optionally, deactivate or delete the SNMP trap policy as described in the OM documentation.