SolarWinds SCP-NPM SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) Exam Exam Practice Test

To show the connection between two devices on an Orion map, you need to meet the following requirements1:

• The devices must be monitored by NPM.
• The devices must support topology and be interconnected.
• The devices must have the corresponding interfaces monitored and identified as full or half duplex.
• The Orion Maps feature must be enabled and configured.

If you do not see the connection between two devices on an Orion map, you should first verify that you are monitoring Layer 2 and 3 topologies for the devices. You can do this by checking the NPM Network Topology widget on the device details page. This widget will reflect what connections will be automatically drawn in Orion Maps2. If the widget does not show the expected connection, you may need to enable topology polling for the devices or check the SNMP credentials and configuration3.

If you are monitoring the correct topologies and still do not see the connection, you can build a custom connection between the devices using the Orion Maps feature. In the Map Editor, you can add the two devices to the canvas, select them, and click the Connect Objects button. Here you can specify the interface on either side and choose to add the manual connection to the database2.

Building a new Orion map and adding the related entities instead of the nodes will not resolve the issue, as the related entities are based on the same topology data as the nodes. Changing the monitoring method from SNMP to CLI will not resolve the issue, as CLI is not supported for topology polling3.

References: Orion Maps; Orion Map Devices not connect - Forum; Polling methods used by Orion.

 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

Network Discovery is a feature of SolarWinds NPM that allows you to automatically discover and add network devices to the Orion Platform for monitoring. You can use Network Discovery to query Domain Controllers in your company domain and then select the Organizational Units (OUs) with the registered devices you want to scan. This way, you can add entities from NPM to monitor for all registered devices in your company domain in a single discovery. The other options are not as efficient or accurate as Network Discovery, as they either require manual addition of each device, or rely on the Domain Controllers to provide the list of registered devices, which may not be up-to-date or complete. References:

• Discover your network devices and add them to the Orion Platform
• Discover devices on your network using Active Directory

You can import device-specific MIBs into the SolarWinds MIB Database, and you can also import UnDP pollers based on OIDs from device-specific MIBs. UnDP stands for Universal Device Poller, which is a tool that allows you to monitor custom statistics based on OIDs with NPM. You can create UnDP pollers by selecting OIDs from the MIB Browser, or by importing them from a file that contains OIDs and poller names. You can then assign UnDP pollers to devices monitored by NPM and view the results on the web console. References:

• Monitor custom statistics based on OIDs with Universal Device Pollers in NPM - SolarWinds
• Import Universal Device Pollers - SolarWinds
• SCP Study Aid - SolarWinds (page 7)

Response time is the amount of time it takes for a service request to return a response. It is a critical SLA performance metric for a hosted data center service, as it directly affects the user experience and satisfaction. High response time can indicate network congestion, server overload, or other performance issues that can degrade the quality of the service. By tracking response time, you can monitor the availability and reliability of the service, identify and troubleshoot potential problems, and ensure that the service meets the SLA expectations and standards. References: How to measure your SLA: 5 Metrics you should be Monitoring and Reporting, Data Center SLA Frequently Offer a 100% Uptime Guarantee, How To Measure SLA Performance in 4 Steps (With Tips).

 The Universal Device Poller (UnDP) is a feature that allows users to create custom monitors for almost any statistic provided by SNMP based on its Management Information Base (MIB) and object identifier (OID). However, sometimes the OID that the user wants to monitor may not be available in the MIB tree, either because it is not supported by the device or because the MIB database is outdated. In this case, the user needs to update the MIB database to get the latest MIBs from the SolarWinds website or from the device vendor. This will ensure that the UnDP can find the OID in the MIB tree and poll it successfully12. References: 1: Update the SolarWinds MIB Database for the SolarWinds Platform3, 2: Monitor custom statistics based on OIDs with Universal Device Pollers in the SolarWinds Platform

The Orion platform supports agent-based monitoring for Windows, Linux/Unix, and AIX systems. An Orion agent is software that provides a communication channel between the Orion server and the target system, as an alternative to WMI or SNMP. Agent-based monitoring can offer better performance, security, and reliability than agentless monitoring, especially for remote or cloud-based systems. The Orion platform does not support agent-based monitoring for Sun Solaris or IBM systems, as they are not compatible with the agent software. References: Monitor with SolarWinds Platform agents in SAM, SolarWinds Platform Agent requirements, Orion Platform | SolarWinds

NPM provides a default report called Top 25 Interfaces by Percent Utilization that shows the interfaces with the highest average utilization over the selected time period1. This report can be easily edited to change the number of interfaces displayed, the time period, the sorting order, the layout, and the filters2. To create a report that shows the top 50 interfaces by percent utilization, you can simply edit this report and change the Limit option from 25 to 503. This is the most time-efficient way to create the report, as it does not require creating a new report from scratch, writing a SQL query, or running the report multiple times for different timeframes. References: 1: Network Performance Monitor Administrator Guide - Top 25 Interfaces by Percent Utilization 2: Network Performance Monitor Administrator Guide - Edit a report 3: Network Performance Monitor Getting Started Guide - Customize a report

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 the devices 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.

Orion Maps can automatically display the connections between the devices that are monitored by NPM, based on topology data, manual dependencies, or application dependency mapping. However, if some of the devices are not monitored by NPM, or the connections are not detected by any of these methods, you can manually configure the connections between them in Orion Maps. To do this, you need to drag and drop the desired devices from the Entity Library to the map canvas, and then use the Connect tool to draw lines between them. You can also edit the connection properties, such as name, type, and status, to customize the appearance and behavior of the connections. References: Create and edit Intelligent Maps, Connect objects on maps manually, Intelligent Maps for SolarWinds Platform products

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

 Device Studio is a feature in the SolarWinds Platform Web Console that allows you to create custom pollers for devices or technologies that are not supported by default in NPM. You can use Device Studio to create pollers for CPU and memory, as well as other metrics, by defining the object identifiers (OIDs) and formulas that you want to poll. Device Studio currently supports SNMP and WMI polling technologies, and you can test, assign, and edit your custom pollers from the Manage Pollers page. References: Create pollers in Device Studio for NPM, Device Studio, Device Studio Poller.

To detect duplex mismatches, you need to meet the following requirements1:

• The nodes must be monitored by NPM.
• The nodes must be in the up state during the discovery.
• The nodes must support topology and be interconnected.
• Duplex of both devices must be identified as full or half.
• The Possible Duplex Mismatches widget must be enabled on the node details view.

You do not need to ensure corresponding values for each interface are different, as this is the result of a duplex mismatch, not a requirement for detection. In fact, you should unify the duplex mode configuration on neighboring interfaces to avoid mismatches1.

References: Detect and predict duplex mismatches in NPM; Speed and Duplex Mismatch - Forum

According to the SolarWinds NPM Administrator Guide, you can use Orion groups to organize your network objects based on any criteria, such as location, device type, department, etc. You can then apply account limitations based on Orion groups to restrict user access to only the network objects that belong to a specific group. For example, you can create two Orion groups, one for Sydney and one for Perth, and assign the devices in each location to the corresponding group. Then, you can use the single group Account limitation to limit the users in Sydney to only view the Sydney group, and the users in Perth to only view the Perth group. References: SolarWinds NPM Administrator Guide, page 163-165; Limit users to specific network areas in the SolarWinds Platform

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 limit a user to only monitor Windows servers and not be able to view other devices that NPM monitors. For example, you can create a custom limitation based on the node property Operating System, and select only Windows as the value. Then, you can apply this limitation to the user account or user group that you want to restrict. The other options are not effective ways of limiting user access to specific devices, as they either affect the visibility of the entire view (view permissions), the layout of the view (account views), or the scope of the alerts (alert limitations). References:

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

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

 If you do not want to be notified when an interface is down, you can specify that the interface is unpluggable. The interface status is not reflected in the status of the parent node and in alerts. On the Node Management view, select the interface, and click Edit Properties. Select Display Interface as Unplugged Rather Than Down, and click Submit. The interface status does not influence the status of the parent node1. References:

• Suspend collecting data for interfaces in NPM - SolarWinds (see the Set the interface status as Unpluggable section)

NPM provides several default reports that can be used as templates for creating custom reports. One of them is the Top 100 Interfaces by Percent Utilization report, which shows the average and peak utilization of the most used interfaces in the network. To create a report that shows only the top 50 interfaces, you can copy this report and edit it to change the number of rows displayed. You can also modify other parameters such as the time period, the grouping, the sorting, and the filtering criteria. To copy and edit a default report, follow these steps1:

• Click Reports > All Reports > Manage Reports.
• Find the Top 100 Interfaces by Percent Utilization report and click Duplicate & Edit.
• On the Layout Builder panel, click Edit Table.
• On the Edit Resource panel, change the Maximum Number of Rows to 50.
• Optionally, change other settings such as the Time Period, the Group By, the Sort By, and the Filter Results.
• Click Submit.
• Optionally, change the Report Name, the Report Description, and the Report Category.
• Click Next and then Save.

You can now run or schedule the report to show the top 50 interfaces by percent utilization. References: 1: Create a custom report for NPM showing availability of devices in the last 30 days

SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is a protocol that allows network managers to monitor and control network devices using a set of standardized messages and data structures. SNMP uses a client-server model, where the network manager (client) sends requests to the network device (server) and receives responses. The network device has an SNMP agent that collects and reports the data using a MIB (Management Information Base), which is a hierarchical database of variables that describe the device’s status and configuration. Each variable in the MIB has a unique identifier called an OID (Object Identifier), which is a dot-separated sequence of numbers that follows a tree structure12.

To retrieve a single value in SNMP, you can use two types of requests: GET and GET NEXT. A GET request asks for the value of a specific OID, and the SNMP agent responds with the value if it exists, or an error if it does not. A GET NEXT request asks for the value of the next OID in the MIB tree, and the SNMP agent responds with the value and the OID of the next variable, or an error if there is no next variable. A GET NEXT request can be useful for discovering the OIDs and values of a device, or for iterating over a table of values34.

A GET VALUE request is not a valid SNMP request, and a GET TABLE request is not a single request, but a series of GET NEXT requests that retrieve all the values in a table . References: 1: SNMP Basics, 2: SNMP Tutorial Part 1 – Understanding MIBs and OIDs, 3: SNMP Tutorial Part 2 – SNMP Get, GetNext, GetBulk, 4: SNMP Commands, : SNMP Table Operations, : SNMP Table Retrieval

High Traffic Utilization alerts are triggered when the interface’s received or transmitted percent utilization exceeds a specified threshold. However, this may not reflect the actual network congestion, as traffic spikes can occur momentarily and then subside. To avoid false alerts, you can configure the alert to trigger only when the traffic utilization remains high for a sustained period, such as 5 minutes or more. This way, you can filter out the transient traffic peaks and focus on the persistent issues that affect the network performance. References:

• How do I create a high transmit percent utilization alert to monitor interface bandwidth
• Trouble with High receive percent utilization alert
• How alerts work

 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.

 Traps are unsolicited messages sent by network devices to report events or issues. The Orion Platform can receive and process traps from any device that supports SNMP. To alert on a select message, you can use the Traps in Orion Alerts feature, which allows you to configure the default trap alert to fire on the trap message you select to alert on. You can also customize the alert conditions, actions, and triggers to suit your needs. For example, you can alert on traps thatmatch a specific OID, source, or severity, and send an email, log a ticket, or run a script when the alert is triggered. References: Configure SNMP traps in NPM, Traps in Orion Alerts, Create alerts for SNMP traps