NetBrain CE 5.0

What’s New inNetBrain CE 5.0

Map-Driven Network Automation

• NetBrain Technologies, Inc.

• 65 Network Drive

• Burlington, MA 01803

• Phone: +1 781 221 7199

• Email: [email protected]

• Website: www.netbraintech.com

NetBrain Technologies, Inc.

New Feature Guide: Consultant Edition v5.0

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New Features Overview

1. Automation Procedures:

Automation Procedures can automate a wide range of tasks normally completed through the CLI. Easily create your own, without script experience, or select from hundreds built-in.

2. Traffic Path Analysis

Visualize and analyze dynamic traffic paths across complex networks.

3. Visual Monitoring

Instantly visualize performance hotspots on the map. Diagnostic statistics include delay, packet loss, interface utilization, bandwidth utilization etc.

4. Enhanced Multi-Vendor Support

Users can customize software to support new vendor model devices by defining new device type and driver.

5. Feature Improvements MPLS cloud support New map data pane Layer-2 discovery improvements Live access improvements



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1. Automation Procedures

NetBrain procedures can automate any series of actions normally completed using the command line interface.

1. Use procedures to automate a wide range of network tasks:a) .Troubleshooting – Any troubleshooting logic can be translated into an executable and repeatable

process

b) Change Verification – Test the network after changes, e.g. ping multiple servers, test application flows, etc.

c) .Compliance – Check config compliance, e.g. ‘Is password encrypted?’ or ‘Is public community string used?’

d) .Mapping – Create customized maps and parse CLI output to the map, e.g. ‘Map multicasting tree’ or ‘Highlight VTP Domain’.

e) Traffic Path Analysis – Map across devices such as load balancers or firewalls

f) Customized Inventory Reports – Dynamically add fields to the inventory database such as IOS Image File.

2. Hundreds of procedures ‘out of the box’ to automate repetitive and difficult tasks, such as:a) Detect interface errors, speed/duplex mismatches, MTU mismatches

b) Check routing neighbors, QoS queue drop

c) Verify changes, such as configuration, multicasting distribution tree, HSRP roles, etc.

3. Create your own procedures in minutes. No scripting experience required.a) Build once, execute anywhere, any time

b) Build and share a knowledge database on how to troubleshoot common network problems

4. Run multiple procedures on hundreds of devices simultaneously.Select as many procedures as you like and indicate how many devices to include. Then click ‘Run’.



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Procedure Example 1:Are Interface Errors Increasing?Logic: Retrieve ‘show interface’ command twice and calculate the delta of each parameter. If delta is greater than 0, report error and highlight on map.



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Procedure Example 2:Has Root Bridge Changed?Logic: Issue ‘show spanning-tree’ against historic benchmark data and against live network. If Root ID has changed, raise alert and highlight on the map.



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Procedure Example 3:Map Multicasting Distribution Tree

Logic: Leverage the following commands to map the downstream source tree: Show ip mroute <group> Show ip pim neighbor Show ip igmp group



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Procedure Example 4:Automate Ping to a Group of End Hosts

Logic: Execute a ping from specified network devices to a group of end hosts. If ping fails, provide the source and destination of the failure.



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Procedure Example 5:Enhance Traffic Path Mapping LogicLogic:1. Check output VRF2. Find non-default route to destination3. Find default route

Related Commands:1. Show ip vrf2. Show ip route vrf vrf_name x.x.x.x



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Procedure Example 6:Inventory Device IOS Image Status

This procedure is used to add the <IOS Image File> attribute to the device properties.

Logic: Retrieve ‘show version’, parse the system image file information.



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Build Your Own Proceduresin MinutesNetBrain comes with hundreds of procedures built in. You can also customize your own with a visual ‘sample-driven’ platform. There are three components:

1. Probes – Define how to retrieve live data from network devices

2. Parsers – Define how to parse CLI command outputs

3. Triggers – Define how to analyze the results and provide user feedback



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2. Traffic Path Analysis

Networks are designed to move traffic from A to B. NetBrain CE 5.0 allows users to visualize and analyze these dynamic traffic paths across complex networks, factoring:

1. Dynamic and Static Routing

2. Network Address Translation (NAT)

3. Both L3 and L2 Traffic Flow

A historical view of traffic paths is also available, so that users can visually compare traffic flow between the past and present

Simply specify a source and destination IP address or hostname and click ‘Find Path’

L2/L3 Traffic Path between Two Points



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Map Live Traffic Path

During real-time troubleshooting, it’s important to know how traffic moves across the live network. Live traffic path analysis retrieves live data to discover the path including:

Routing Tables

Configuration Files

CAM/ARP Tables

The network design behind traffic paths is also decoded including:

ACL, QoS, NAT

Dynamic/Static Routing & PBR

VRF, Multicasting

Switch port speed and duplex settings

Traffic Path of the Live Network



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Map Historical Traffic Path

A key question when analyzing a network is, ‘what was the path like before?’. Leveraging historical benchmark data, users can map L3 and L2 traffic paths of the past.

By overlaying two paths in a single map, (live and historical), users can visualize the changes in traffic flow. Compare Historical and Live Paths



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3. Visual Monitoring

Visual monitoring is a powerful troubleshooting tool. It is different from traditional network monitoring:

It uses a dynamic map as the launching pad to start and stop monitoring

Real-time data collected from the live network is displayed in the map, along with alarms

Visual network monitoring can poll many types of data such as:

Device & port up/down status Link error Link delay Packet drop

The interval and alarm thresholds are configurable.

Monitor connectivity and performance directly from the map



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4. Enhanced Multivendor Support

NetBrain CE 5.0 supports a wider range of vendors: Support for Palo Alto Firewall, Enterasys Switch, and Nortel Switch (through MVF)

Better L2 topology support for Extreme Switch and HP ProCurve Switch

Better support for ASA and PIX firewall

Create customized drivers to support for new models (Introduced in V4.2)

Users can customize the software to support any device

Define device type and driver for retrieving and parsing live data

Supports login script in live access customization of device driver



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5a. Feature Improvement MPLS Cloud

NetBrain 5.0 can calculate virtual routing tables for MPLS clouds based on advertised route data from BGP CE devices. This is more accurate and efficient than the previous algorithm.

It is now possible to highlight neighbor information for the CE devices which connected with the MPLS cloud. From the map, use the ‘highlight routing protocol’ feature.



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Dynamic network data is better organized in the Map Data Pane. Configuration files, show-command data, attachment files, and recorded monitoring data

Drag and drop files into the pane to add an attachment

Drag show-command data to create a hyperlink to the data in the map

5b. Feature Improvement: New Map Data Pane



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5c. Other Improvements

1. Layer-2 Discovery Improvements Support for non-CDP LAN gateway devices, e.g. Firewall devices Filter DHCP entries of L2 One-IP table optionally, which reduces the size of the table and accelerates

workspace synchronization Discover L2 topology of LWAP Support VRF ARP table in L2 discovery Get interface MAC address from gateway ARP table if SNMP tuning fails

2. Live Access Improvements Improve Scheduled Rediscovery feature to support importing CLI data from folder or FTP server.

» Allows NetBrain to retrieve live network data via 3rd party systems (e.g. HP Opsware)

Support Regular Expression Logic in login script (expect what) Improve Device Setting and Network Setting

» Add ‘privilege username and prompt’ for login privilege mode (necessary for Brocade switch support)

Customizable CPU and memory OID at vendor model level, single device setting level, and device driver level

Technology

NetBrain CE 5.0