We’re excited to announce a release candidate (RC) for version 2024.4 of the SolarWinds® Platform, SolarWinds® Hybrid Cloud Observability, and the Network and Systems modules. Version 2024.4 RC is now available for all customers under maintenance, so log in to your customer portal to download it. Want to see everything new? Check out the Release Notes.
This post focuses on expanding support for network devices available to customers who own Hybrid Cloud Observability or our Networking products. To see the list of all the features in 2024.4, see the complete announcement post.
Expanded SDWAN Monitoring: Fortinet
Support for SDWAN has been expanded to include Fortinet Secure SD-WAN monitoring of SD-WAN Edge devices and cloud orchestrators using the native FortiOS API.
This update focuses on three key areas: Edge Device Monitoring, Cloud Orchestrator Monitoring, and Tunnel Performance Metrics.
Edge Device Monitoring now provides comprehensive insights into device details, IP addresses, CDP/LLDP data, VLANs, port maps, and uplink performance. Our Cloud Orchestrator Monitoring feature offers real-time status updates, response time tracking, and a complete managed device list. Additionally, we've introduced Tunnel Performance Metrics, allowing you to closely monitor packet loss, jitter, and latency across your network.
These enhancements include proactive issue identification and diagnosis, improved network performance management, and enhanced visibility across your entire Fortinet Secure SD-WAN infrastructure.
Expanding Wireless Network Monitoring
This update brings comprehensive insights into access point details, network-wide client polling, and rogue AP detection for key wireless vendors:
- Fortinet: FortiManager API
- Ruckus: Ruckus One API
- Juniper: Mist API
- Arista: CloudVision API
- Extreme Networks: ExtremeCloud IQ API
Network administrators can now track total APs and clients, monitor rogue AP signal strength, assess controller response time, measure packet loss, and view interface utilization. These enhancements significantly improve wireless network visibility and management across multiple platforms, empowering users to maintain robust, secure, and high-performing wireless infrastructures.
This update enhances wireless network visibility and management across multiple vendor platforms.
Meraki Switches via API
We're excited to announce the expansion of our Meraki API polling capabilities, which now encompass switches alongside our existing SD-WAN and wireless access point monitoring. This update is part of our broader initiative to enhance API-based monitoring for Meraki devices, providing a more comprehensive and efficient network management solution.
The monitoring metrics include important network discovery and segmentation data, including CDP (Cisco Discovery Protocol) and LLDP (Link Layer Discovery Protocol) information, VLAN configurations, and routing table metrics.
This enhancement allows network administrators to gain deeper visibility into their Meraki switch infrastructure without relying on SNMP polling. API-based monitoring provides faster data retrieval, reduced network overhead, and more consistent monitoring than traditional methods.
NAT Stitching for Transparent Network Traffic Observation
NAT Stitching enhancement now observes conversations that traverse through Network Address Translation (NAT) devices, such as routers, security gateways, firewalls, and load balancers. Traditionally, NAT devices obscure the original source and destination IP addresses, making it challenging to track network conversations' true origin and flow.
By leveraging this NAT Stitching enhancement, you can now transparently monitor and report on the full path of your network traffic, ensuring that you have a comprehensive view of the conversations between your internal network and external entities.
How to Download
The 2024.4 release candidate is a fully tested and supported version and is ready to install on a new server or update your current one.
- For all current Hybrid Cloud Observability customers, the release is available now. You can log in to your customer portal and download it.
- For all current module and bundle customers, the release is available now. You can log in to your customer portal and download it.
- If you don’t own Hybrid Cloud Observability but would like to try it or one of its new features, there are a couple of options for you:
- Download a 30-day free trial and install it on a new server.
- If you’re a current module or bundle customer, upgrade to 2024.4 first and use the instant evaluation feature to try Hybrid Cloud Observability for 30 days with a click of a button. You can switch back to your modules anytime.
To see everything included in the release, check out the Release Notes.
—The Hybrid Cloud Observability Team
