2 About Scans and Discrepancies
This chapter describes the various scans that can be carried out using the Network Integrity UI. It also describes the different types of discrepancies that NI reports.
Managing Scans and Viewing Scan Results
Management and viewing of discovery scans is carried out using the Network Integrity UI. By carrying out scans and viewing and correcting discrepancies, you can keep your inventory synchronized with your network and with other systems. Through cartridge extensibility, Network Integrity can potentially discover any type of network, service, or data source.
Types of Scans
A scan is a set of configurations used to perform a Network Integrity operation. Configurations can include discovery operations, constraints on what parts of the network are discovered, and so on.
Network Integrity supports the following types of scans:
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Discovery scan: A discovery scan discovers your network. This can include network elements, physical resources, and logical resources. As part of the scan, you can specify network connection information such as name, port, community string, and time-out values. Network Integrity includes the following discovery scans:
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Discover Generic SNMP: Scans all types of Generic Vendor Device and models its physical and logical device tree.
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Discover MIB II SNMP: Discovers MIB II RFC1213, IF MIB RFC1573, IP-MIB for IPv6, and uses IANA MIB for support. Retrieves device information (including name, description, sysObjectId, and mgmtIpAddress) and interface details (including name, description, type, speed, status, alias and more) and uses the information to model the logical tree.
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Discover TL1: Scans one or more TL1 devices to retrieve device information and interface details, modeling the discovered data in the Information Model.
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Discover TMF814: Scans both physical (equipment) and logical (interface) hierarchy details of managed elements using the TMF814 CORBA interface as its discovery protocol and models the physical and logical tree.
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Discover Alcatel 1359IOO RI: Scans one or more Alcatel 1359IOO RI CSV file instances in a directory, resulting in hierarchical physical device model instances.
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Discover Ericsson XML: Scans one or more XML device file instances, resulting in multiple hierarchical device model instances.
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Discover WDM Services: Discovers the DWDM entities like Client, OCH, ODUFlex, ODU, OTU, OMS using the TMF814 CORBA interface as its discovery protocol.
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Discover IMS Network FTP: Discovers devices in IMS network over FTP protocol and models physical and logical hierarchies. This action also models the associations between the physical and logical hierarchies.
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Discover Optical Devices FTP: Discovers Optical devices over FTP protocol and models physical and logical hierarchies. This action also models the associations between the physical and logical hierarchies.
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Discover Microwave Devices: Discovers Microwave devices using FTP protocol and models physical and logical hierarchies. This action also models the associations between the physical and logical hierarchies.
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Discover SDH Connectivity and Service: Discovers SDH entities like Topological links, Trails, Tunnel and Services using FTP protocol. It also assimilates end to end circuit stitching.
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Discover Generic SNMP Device: Scans a Generic device using SNMP protocol and model discovered data to physical and logical tree.
For more details about the above discovery scans, refer to their respective cartridge guides.
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Assimilation scan: An assimilation scan produces additional scan results from existing scan results. When configuring an assimilation scan, you can choose additional scans to serve as input to the assimilation scan. Network Integrity includes the following assimilation scans:
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Assimilate Optical Circuits: Scans optical model input files, tracing and modeling end-to-end circuits.
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Assimilate IP Links: Scans discovery result of devices provided as input, discovers and models links between the devices.
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Import scan: An import scan imports network data from an inventory system. Network Integrity includes the following import scans:
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Import MIB II from UIM
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Import from MSS
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Import WDM Services
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Import SDH Connectivity and Service from UIM
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Incremental Import SDH Connectivity and Service From UIM
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Import Logical Optical from UIM
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Import Optical from UIM
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Incremental Import from UIM
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Import IP Links from UIM
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Network Integrity supports the simultaneous processing of multiple scans.
See the appropriate cartridge guide for more information about the above mentioned scans.
Creating Scans
Network Integrity uses cartridges to provide support for accessing different types of inventory targets and to specify scan actions for them. A scan typically specifies a scan action and scan action parameters, such as protocol and vendor properties, addresses (scope), and schedules.
You can associate a scan with one or more tags that define or describes the scope of the scan. Tags are customizable, and can relate to geography, ownership, network type, or other references.
Scans support multiple IP address formats, including IPv4, IPv6, wildcards, and ranges. You can enter the IP addresses manually or import them from a file, and multiple IP address specifications can be combined into one scan. For example, you can carry out a discovery scan using a combined IPv4, IPv6, and Domain Name System (DNS) host name configuration.
To search within a scope while editing or creating a Discovery scan:
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From the Tasks panel, click Manage Scans.
The Manage Scans page appears.
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Do one of the following:
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Click the Create icon on the Search Results table.
The Create Scan page appears.
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Select a scan record and click the Edit icon.
The Edit Scan page appears.
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Go to the Scope tab.
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Select an option for Search Scope and enter the corresponding value.
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Click Search.
The scan is created or edited according to the scope.
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(Optional) Enter a value in the text field and click the Add Address icon to add a network address.
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(Optional) From the Network Address table, select a record and click the Delete Address icon to delete the network address.
Setting Scan Schedules and Blackout Periods
The scan schedule determines when a scan runs. You can set a scan to run immediately, regularly, or on-demand. The frequency with which scans repeat is configurable. For example, you can set scans to repeat at monthly intervals, on the last day of the month, or at a set time every night.
A blackout window defines a period of time when a specified scan should not run, or be paused if already running. This can be used to avoid running scans during peak network traffic hours, or during a planned network outage. The scheduling options available for blackout windows are identical to those for scheduling scans.
Viewing Scan Results
When a scan runs, the Scan Results table lists the outcomes for one or more Network Integrity scans. Each scan is defined by scan name and by scan action type associated with the scan - discovery, import, or assimilation. In addition, the table identifies the data source assigned to each scan, the current status of the scan (in progress, completed, completed with errors).
The scan results list the date and duration of the scan run and details of errors in the scan. If selected, the summary of detected discrepancies is presented.
All scan data is presented in one place, and filtering and sorting are supported, so you can get to the key data to identify issues. By selecting individual scan result details, you can drill down to entity details, and to individual entity attributes.
Filtering Scan Data
You can filter the search results for devices based on one or multiple resource names. This helps you to view information about specific devices. You can filter the search results according to one or more resource names.
To filter scan results:
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Open NI user interface.
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Go to Display Scan Results.
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Click on a scan record to view the discovery scan results.
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Go to Resource Name and use the filter option to choose either of the following options:
- Equals
- Contains
- Starts with
- Ends with
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Enter the device name in the text field for the resource name.
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Click Search
The search result displays the devices with the entered names.
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(Optional) You can view the device search results for multiple names as follows:
- Enter the device names separated with commas.
- From the filter, select Contains.
- Click Search.
The search result displays all devices with the entered name.
About Discrepancy Detection, Review, and Resolution
Discrepancy detection is the process where Network Integrity compares discovered network data with imported inventory data and reports on differences between the sets of data. Discrepancy detection is an optional part of a scan run.
Network Integrity reports the following types of discrepancies:
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Attribute Value Mismatch: An entity exists in both the network and the inventory results, but an attribute has different values.
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Extra or Missing Entity: An entity (or any dependent children) is present in one set of results but is missing from the other side.
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Extra or Missing Association: An association exists for an entity in one set of results, but is missing from the other side.
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Ordering or Association Ordering Error: Matching entities or associations appear in different orders in the network and inventory results.
You can edit the details of a discrepancy, ignore the discrepancy, or send details of the data discrepancies to an external system. See "Integrating with Inventory Systems".
Discrepancy review is facilitated by extensive search capabilities, a color-coded severity system, and the ability to assign a priority and owner to each discrepancy. You can also store notes to track progress and enhance an audit trail.
Discrepancy resolution enables you to carry out in-context correction, multiple corrective actions, or bulk discrepancy correction. You can also ignore certain discrepancies. You can use Design Studio to create cartridges that extend Network Integrity to discover new types of devices, to import from different inventory systems, or to enhance Network Integrity to automatically resolve discrepancies.
For more information about discrepancies, discrepancy detection, discrepancy resolution, or cartridge creation, see "Using Design Studio to Extend Network Integrity" in Network Integrity Developer's Guide.