Pass the SolarWinds SolarWinds Certified Professional SCP-NPM Questions and answers with CertsForce

NPM can monitor the network bandwidth utilization of your devices, interfaces, and applications using SNMP and NetFlow protocols. Network bandwidth utilization is the amount of data transmitted or received over a network link in a given time period. High network bandwidth utilization can indicate network congestion, packet loss, latency, or other performance issues that can affect the email delivery speed. By looking at the network bandwidth utilization of thedevices and interfaces involved in the email communication, you can identify the possible bottlenecks or sources of network problems that might be causing the email slowness. References: Monitor network bandwidth utilization in NPM, Network Bandwidth Analyzer Pack, How to Monitor Network Bandwidth Using the Command Line.

SNMP traps are unsolicited messages sent by SNMP-enabled devices to notify the NPM server of important events or problems, such as device failures, configuration changes, or performance issues. SNMP traps contain information about the device and the event, such as the device name, IP address, timestamp, and OID (Object Identifier). An OID is a unique identifier for a specific variable in a MIB (Management Information Base), which is a hierarchical database of device information that can be accessed by SNMP. However, not all OIDs are recognized by NPM by default, as different devices may use different or custom MIBs and OIDs. Therefore, to ensure NPM correctly interprets SNMP traps from a new router on your network, you need to update the MIB database with the latest MIBs from the router vendor or from the SolarWinds website. This will allow NPM to translate the OIDs in the SNMP traps into meaningful names and values, and display them in the Trap Viewer or use them in alerts12.

To update the MIB database, follow these steps3:

Download the MIB files from the router vendor’s website or from the SolarWinds MIB Database.

Copy the MIB files to the \SolarWinds\Orion\Mibs folder on the NPM server.

Click Settings > All Settings > Manage MIBs.

Click Add New MIB and browse to the MIB file that you want to add.

Click Submit.

Repeat steps 4 and 5 for each MIB file that you want to add.

Click Compile to compile the MIBs and update the MIB database.

You can now view the SNMP traps from the new router in the Trap Viewer or use them in alerts. References: 1: SNMP Traps Explained: How to View SNMP Traps, 2: SNMP Traps in NPM, 3: Update the SolarWinds MIB Database for the SolarWinds Platform, : SolarWinds MIB Database, : 2, : 1, : 3, : 4

Universal Device Pollers (UnDPs) are custom pollers that allow you to monitor specific aspects of your network devices using SNMP. You can apply UnDPs to any object type that supports SNMP polling, such as interfaces, nodes, and volumes. You cannot apply UnDPs to applications, because they are not SNMP-based objects. Applications are monitored using Application Performance Monitor (APM), which uses different methods, such as WMI, scripts, or agents, to collect data. References: Monitor custom statistics based on OIDs with Universal Device Pollers in NPM, Assign Universal Device Pollers to devices monitored in NPM, Add and assign Universal Device Pollers

You can make bulk changes to nodes in NPM using the Manage Nodes feature. This allows you to select multiple nodes and edit their properties, such as the polling method, the polling frequency, the SNMP credentials, the custom properties, and more. You can also use the Edit Nodes feature to assign or unassign pollers to nodes, such as the Universal Device Poller (UnDP), the Hardware Health Poller, the Wireless Poller, and more12. References: 1: Change the polling method for a node3, 2: Manage pollers using Device Studio4

 NetPath is a feature of NPM that helps you identify network problems faster by automatically creating a map of the problem area, with a wide variety of supporting information. NetPath displays the performance details of devices inside and outside of your network. NetPath can analyze paths to any network segment, whether it is on-premise, cloud, or hybrid. NetPath uses distributed monitoring and path analysis to discover how applications are delivered through the network to your users. You can deploy agents on Windows computers that act as synthetic users and use advanced probing to discover and test the network path that traffic takes to any network endpoint, such as your local file print server, your website, or external websites. NetPath can also incorporate data from NPM, NCM, and NTA about your on-premises gear, as well as data from the Internet nodes and providers12. References: 1: Discover your network paths in NPM3, 2: NetPath - Easy Visual Network Path Analysis | SolarWinds4

 SolarWinds NPM can monitor various metrics on an Ethernet switch, including configuration changes, duplex mismatches, and CPU utilization. Configuration changes are tracked by the Network Configuration Manager (NCM) integration, which allows you to view, compare, and restore configuration files, as well as receive alerts on configuration changes1. Duplex mismatches are detected by the topology polling feature, which collects and displays the duplex mode of the connected devices and interfaces, and alerts you when there is a mismatch2. CPU utilization is monitored by the SNMP polling feature, which collects and displays the CPU load of the switch, as well as other performance metrics such as memory utilization, interface statistics, and more3. Buffer misses are not monitored by NPM, as they are not part of the standard SNMP MIBs that NPM supports. References: Monitor configuration changes on network devices with NPM; Detect and predict duplex mismatches in NPM; Monitor CPU load, memory utilization, and buffer usage on switches and routers; [Buffer Misses - Forum].

SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) is a comprehensive monitoring solution designed to provide a wide range of metrics for network devices. For an Ethernet switch, NPM can monitor configuration changes, buffer misses, duplex mismatches, and CPU utilization1

Sometimes, the Orion Platform may not be able to automatically map the connection between your cloud server and on premise router, even if layer 2 and layer 3 topologies are being polled on the devices. This may happen if the devices are separated by a firewall, a VPN, or a NAT device that prevents the Orion Platform from discovering the link information. In such cases, you can manually create a custom connection between the cloud node and the on premise node on the Orion Map. You can also edit the properties of the custom connection, such as the name, the status, the bandwidth, and the utilization. By creating a custom connection, you can visualize and monitor the connection between your cloud server and on premise router on the Orion Map12. References:

Create custom connections on Orion Maps - SolarWinds

SCP Study Aid - SolarWinds (page 10)

The best way to reduce false alerts for high traffic utilization is to configure the alert trigger condition to be more specific and accurate. By setting the alert to trigger only when traffic utilization remains high for a sustained period, you can avoid getting alerted for short-lived spikes that are not a cause for concern. You can use the Time of Day and Trigger Condition options in the alert configuration wizard to define the duration and threshold of the high traffic utilization condition. For example, you can set the alert to trigger only when traffic utilization is greater than 80% for more than 10 minutes during business hours. References:

How do I create a high transmit percent utilization alert to monitor interface bandwidth - Forum - Network Performance Monitor (NPM) - THWACK Products

How alerts work - SolarWinds

SCP Study Aid - SolarWinds (page 8)

 One possible cause of this issue is that the user account has the No Reports limitation applied to it. This limitation prevents the user from accessing any reports in the Orion Console, regardless of the report group or category. To resolve this issue, you need to edit the user account and change the report limitation to either No Limitation (to allow access to all reports) or a specific report limitation category (to allow access to only the reports with that category). You can also create custom report limitation categories and assign them to the reports and users as needed. References: Restrict who can access reports in the SolarWinds Platform, Define what users can access and do in the SolarWinds Platform.

https://documentation.solarwinds.com/en/success_center/orionplatform/content/core-importing-mib-pollers-sw512.htm