Overview

In this course, you learn how to operate and configure the Netcool Configuration Manager solution for compliance of network device configurations. Topics cover many aspects of the solution and how it supports the network configuration management environment. You have access to virtualized servers, network devices, and extensive exercises to see how the solution manages network devices and creates compliance policies to ensure correct configuration settings. You configure software so that network discovery can run. You learn methods that the solution uses for device management and its customization, in addition to details about device modeling technology. You work with integrations between Netcool Configuration Manager, IBM Tivoli Network Manager, and Netcool/OMNIbus to see how these solutions work together to manage the network.

If you are enrolling in a Self Paced Virtual Classroom or Web Based Training course, before you enroll, please review the Self-Paced Virtual Classes and Web-Based Training Classes on our Terms and Conditions page, as well as the system requirements, to ensure that your system meets the minimum requirements for this course. /terms

Audience

Partners, Services, Support, Technical Sales

Prerequisites

Before taking this course, you should have the following skills:

• Basic UNIX skills are helpful but not mandatory

Objective

After you complete this course, you can perform the following tasks:

• Discover and import network devices into the solution
• View and modify a configuration with the configuration editor
• Modify one or more devices with a command set
• Approve, stop, and restart units of work
• Import devices that are discovered by IBM Tivoli Network Manager
• Implement view, add, modify, and delete rights throughout the application
• Create schedules for units of work and implement recurring units of work
• Optimize execution of tasks and steps to increase throughput
• Use the IBM device terminal to connect to a device and make changes
• Build and test modeled command sets that have advanced features
• Use the upgrade manager
• Make out-of-band changes with the out-of-band change daemon and synchronize them
• Create and test simple compliance policies
• Use the existing compliance reports
• Create automated actions to remediate device compliance
• Set up preemptive compliance and observe its effects on unit of work execution

Course Outline

IBM Tivoli Netcool Configuration Manager solution overview

• Business value
• Architecture
• Terminology

Configuration manager interface

• Accessing the application
• The queue manager
• The resource browser
• User preferences and help

Single change configuration management

• Discovering network devices
• Navigating the configuration and changes
• Making direct connections to devices
• Device synchronization

Mass change configuration management

• Command sets
• Building simple command sets
• Processing command sets

Administrative tasks

• Approving changes
• Stopping and restarting units of work
• Searching and comparing units of work or resources
• Restoring a versioned configuration
• Reporting

Netcool integrations

• Integration with other Netcool products

Authentication and authorization model

• Enabling access control
• Realms
• Groups and users
• FIPS 140-2 security

Device management

• Modeling and drivers
• Security sets
• Device interaction
• Customizing device interaction
• Device authentication
• Access resource
• File transfer resource

Using workflow and scheduling

• Controlling the flow of tickets
• Scheduling units of work
• Understanding server time

UOW management

• Units of work and tasks
• Task processing
• Change management quality

IBM device terminal

• Device terminal overview
• Device terminal command filtering
• Device terminal administration

Advanced command sets

• Command set types
• Native command sets
• Modeled command sets
• Applying command sets
• Command set groups

Device OS upgrade manager

• OS upgrade overview
• OS registry
• OS specification
• Optional resources
• Launching an OS upgrade

Out-of-band change (OOBC) daemon

• Overview
• Installing OOBC
• Configuring OOBC

Compliance manager interface

• Accessing the application
• The Policy Definitions tab
• The Devices tab
• The Execution tab
• The Results tab
• Integration with configuration management

Compliance reports

Build and run a policy

• Policy overview
• Building a Definition
• Building a rule
• Email action
• Build and test a policy
• Exempting a device from a policy
• Build and run a process

Remediation

• Remediation actions
• Parameterization
• Approvals

Advanced definitions

• General concepts
• CLI definitions
• Show command definitions
• SmartModel definitions
• Using parameters in definitions
• Using JavaScript

Preemptive compliance

• Overview
• Requirements and configuration