Evaluating Issues in NetMRI

NetMRI uses the concept of Issues to quantify and report problems and events across the network.

The main Network Analysis > Issues page provides both the Network Scorecard and the Select Device Groups right pane. To quickly narrow down possible sources of the largest numbers of Issues, simply click a device group in the page. The Scorecard and the Issues table refresh to show only the Issues contents for the chosen device group. As an example, one device group, such as Network Management, might have an Overall Score of 10.0, indicating no problems, while the Routing device group might have an Overall Score of 8.8, indicating a substantial number of Issues in that layer of the network.

The system classifies Issues in three severity levels, along with a fourth scripting-related classification as follows:

• Errors: These are important issues that may affect the smooth operation of the network. Generally, such Issues are clear signs that something is wrong.
• Warnings: These are intermediate-level problems that should be addressed after the errors have been corrected. A warning may not be a real problem, depending on the design and operation of the network.
• Info: These issues are provided for information, and typically alert you to minor things that may or may not indicate a problem.
• CCS: These issues are directly related to the execution of a CCS script. CCS uses the Issues page for notification after a script executes. An example is Invalid User Account, which lists the non-Admin user accounts for a selected device or device group.

Issues are so important in NetMRI that a specific administrator user account is defined to manage them. For more information, see Understanding Users and Roles.

The Issues pages are probably the most frequently used of all NetMRI features, designed to quickly and conveniently monitor the overall health of the network. In the Network Analysis > Issues tab, the Network Scorecard shows the results of the daily analysis process and all issues generated for the latest time period. You can also filter issues.

NetMRI performs analysis of collected data during specified periods or in real-time. For issues processed during an analysis period, the system analyzes all network data collected since the last analysis process, looking for anything that might indicate an issue. For real-time analysis, NetMRI checks for issues while it collects data from the device. If an issue is found, it is raised immediately. As a result of the analysis activity, NetMRI generates a collection of issues that summarize the type of problem discovered and all the devices or interfaces associated with that issue. Issues are automatically closed every night just before the new analysis processing is performed. If the same problem persists, NetMRI generates a new issue.

Also see Issues, Changes, and Network Analysis.