Free SolarWinds SCP-NPM Practice Exam with Questions & Answers | Set: 2

NPM can monitor the virtualization host hardware health, VM sprawl, and virtualization host and VM performance metrics using the Virtualization Manager Integration feature1. However,NPM cannot display the virtualization environment tree, which shows the hierarchical relationship between the virtualization hosts, clusters, datastores, and VMs. This feature is only available in Virtualization Manager2, a separate product that can be integrated with NPM. References: 1: Network Performance Monitor Administrator Guide - Monitor virtual infrastructure 2: Virtualization Manager Getting Started Guide - View the virtualization environment tree

NPM requires only one agent for Quality of Experience, NetPath, and system monitoring on the same Windows server. The agent is a software component that collects data from the server and sends it to the Orion server1. The agent can perform multiple tasks, such as packet analysis, network path analysis, and system health monitoring, depending on the configuration and the license2. You can install the agent on the server either manually or remotely from the Orion Web Console3. References: 1: Network Performance Monitor Administrator Guide - Agents 2: Network Performance Monitor Getting Started Guide - Monitor with agents 3: Network Performance Monitor Installation Guide - Install agents

 Capacity Forecast Charts in NPM show the usage trends and forecasts for nodes, interfaces, and volumes based on historical data. By default, 7 days of data are required to generate these charts1. You can change this setting globally or individually for each object2. Capacity Forecast Charts are available for the following metrics: CPU utilization, memory usage, space usage, receive utilization, and transmit utilization3. References: 1: Monitor capacity usage trends on the network and forecast capacity issues in NPM - Capacity forecasting is available for nodes, interfaces, and volumes that meet the following requirements 2: Change capacity forecasting settings globally in NPM - Change the number of days of historical data required for capacity forecasting 3: Monitor capacity usage trends on the network and forecast capacity issues in NPM - Capacity forecasting is available for the following metrics of monitored nodes, interfaces, and volumes monitored

The Discovery Ignore List is a feature that allows you to specify the IP addresses or hostnames of the devices that you do not want to monitor or discover in the future. You can add devices to the ignore list manually or automatically during the discovery process. Once a device is added to the ignore list, it will be skipped by any subsequent discovery. You can also remove devices from the ignore list if you change your mind and want to monitor them later. References: Add devices to the Discovery Ignore List in NPM, Remove devices from the Discovery Ignore List in NPM, How to View Devices on Your Windows Network and What to Do If You Can’t See Them

 Bandwidth usage is the amount of data transferred over a network connection in a given time period. It is an indicator of how much traffic is flowing through a network device or link. Peak network traffic is the highest level of bandwidth usage that occurs during a specific time interval, such as an hour, a day, or a week. Monitoring peak network traffic can help you identify potential bottlenecks, plan for capacity, and optimize network performance. NPM can monitor bandwidth usage on nodes and interfaces using SNMP, WMI, or NetFlow protocols. You can view bandwidth usage charts and reports in the web console, as well as set alerts and thresholds for bandwidth utilization. References: Monitor bandwidth usage in NPM; SCP Study Aid - NPM, page 11.

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 trapsfrom 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

 Account limitations are a way of restricting the access of Orion user accounts to specific network objects, such as nodes, interfaces, groups, maps, or alerts. You can use account limitations to prevent a user from seeing or working with select monitored entities through the SolarWinds server. For example, you can limit a user to see only the nodesin a certain group, or only the maps that they have created. You can apply account limitations to individual users or user groups, and you can choose from predefined limitations or create custom limitations based on custom properties. The other options are not effective ways of limiting user access to monitored entities, as they either affect the monitoring status of the entities (unmanage), the permissions of the entities themselves (configure permissions), or the alerting scope of the entities (configure alert limitations). References:

• Limit user access to network areas with account limitations
• Predefined Orion Platform account limitations
• Create custom account limitations

An OID (Object Identifier) is a unique identifier for a specific variable in a MIB (Management Information Base) that can be polled or monitored by SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol). However, not all OIDs are supported by all devices or SNMP agents, which are software components that collect and report the MIB data. If you select an OID that is not supported by the device or the SNMP agent, you will get an “OID not supported” error when you try to create a custom poller for that device in NPM (Network Performance Monitor). This means that the device or the SNMP agent does not have the information for that OID or does not respond to the SNMP request for that OID12.

To resolve this issue, you can try the following steps34:

• Verify that the device supports the OID that you want to monitor. You can use the MIB Browser or the MIB Walk tool to browse the MIB tree of the device and find the OID. You can also check the device vendor’s documentation or website for the supported OIDs and MIBs.
• Verify that the SNMP agent on the device is configured properly and has the latest version. You may need to update the SNMP agent or enable some features or extensions to support the OID. You can also check the SNMP agent’s logs or status for any errors or warnings.
• Verify that the SNMP credentials and settings are correct and match the device’s configuration. You may need to use a different SNMP version, community string, port, or timeout value to communicate with the device. You can also test the SNMP connectivityusing the SNMP Test tool or the Test button in the UnDP (Universal Device Poller) application.
• Verify that there are no network issues or firewalls that are blocking the SNMP traffic between the NPM server and the device. You may need to allow the SNMP protocol and port on the firewall or router, or use a different network path or interface to reach the device. You can also use the Ping or Traceroute tools to check the network connectivity and latency.

References: 1: What is an OID?5, 2: The OID is not supported, 3: Troubleshoot Unknown Nodes, 4: Troubleshoot SNMP issues

 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

To identify the custom poller within the trigger condition, you need to use the Unique Name of your UnDP. The Unique Name is a user-defined identifier that you assign to your custom poller when you create it using the Universal Device Poller tool. The Unique Name is also used to reference the custom poller in the Orion database and the web console. When you select “I want to alert on: Custom Poller” in the alert configuration, you can choose the specific custom poller by its Unique Name from the list of available pollers. You can also use the Unique Name to filter, group, or sort the custom poller data in reports, charts, or tables. References: Create a custom poller, Create an alert for a custom poller, View custom poller data