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NCM v5 - FAQ for existing Cirrus customers

Hi all,

I want to clarify some answers to some questions that have been posed by Cirrus customers regarding the release of Orion NCM v5 (previously Cirrus).

========

Q: I own Cirrus today. Will I have to pay for Orion NCM v5?

A: If you are a Cirrus customer with current maintenance, you will get Orion Network Configuration Manager v5 at no additional cost when it is released on 9/29.

=========

Q: I also own Orion NPM and I'd like the NCM integration. Will I have to pay for that? Where can I see it?

A: If you are a Cirrus customer with current maintenance, you will get the NCM integration for Orion NPM at no additional cost when it is released on 9/29. You can see it here: http://oriondemo.solarwinds.com/

=========

Q: Before I upgrade, is there a place where I can check out the new NCM website?

A: http://orionncmdemo.solarwinds.com/

We hope you like what you see. We're trying to deliver the best network management software on earth, so don't hesitate to let us know what you think of this new release!

Thanks,

-Chris

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cnorborg

I think one thing most users (definitely myself) would be interested in is how security (ie: roles/permissions) is delegated. How flexible it is. The online demo doesn't allow you in to look at things, and there isn't much explanation on the website beyond a screen capture that looks promising. Will you be publishing additional documentation on how this is implemented and maybe even what future plans might be in store for this?

iainskwatt

This is top news. Just looking at the demo now, very happy, and looking forward to this, it's exactly the direction Cirrus needed to go. Top marks!

Just a few questions:

Will this now be using one database or will it still be keeping them separate?

How does the upgrade work, obviously having cirrus for nearly a year now I have a lot of data? I assume the data wont be lost but my Orion database does have a lot of different nodes that my Cirrus database doesn't. I'm just interested to see how this will work.

And also if I add nodes to Orion I have to then import to Cirrus, will this still continue or will I have an option to import to Cirrus, if they are to be separate databases still?

RSimmons

Agreed - glad to see the rapid improvement in Cirrus! One thing I can't seem to find however, now that you can run reporting and comparisons via a web console - where can I edit the configuration via the web? Otherwise, it seems an odd option to leave out - it being the core use of Cirrus!

chris.lapoint

I think one thing most users (definitely myself) would be interested in is how security (ie: roles/permissions) is delegated. How flexible it is. The online demo doesn't allow you in to look at things, and there isn't much explanation on the website beyond a screen capture that looks promising. Will you be publishing additional documentation on how this is implemented and maybe even what future plans might be in store for this?

For v5, the website is primarily focused on reporting so you can give users access to the website or not. This access can be granted separately from access to the Windows client. If you have Orion NPM, then you can restrict access through views and node limitations to the integrated NCM resources.

As far as future plans, we are going to continue to move very quickly. We expect to add website-base upload/download in the next release along with more granular permissions and roles.

chris.lapoint

Agreed - glad to see the rapid improvement in Cirrus! One thing I can't seem to find however, now that you can run reporting and comparisons via a web console - where can I edit the configuration via the web? Otherwise, it seems an odd option to leave out - it being the core use of Cirrus!

We absolutely agree with you. We're moving as quickly as we can to integrate upload/download and other config management tasks into the website into the next release. We've already started on this effort, but it won't make 5.0.

chris.lapoint

This is top news. Just looking at the demo now, very happy, and looking forward to this, it's exactly the direction Cirrus needed to go. Top marks!

Thanks, we appreciate the positive feedback. We realize we're not done yet and will continue to bring more and more functionality over time into the new website.

Will this now be using one database or will it still be keeping them separate?

NCM will still leverage it's own database, but we've included a NPM import job which will allow you to keep your nodes in synch. That is, if you add a node or change a custom property through NPM, those changes will be automatically imported in NCM.

How does the upgrade work, obviously having cirrus for nearly a year now I have a lot of data? I assume the data wont be lost but my Orion database does have a lot of different nodes that my Cirrus database doesn't. I'm just interested to see how this will work.

The Cirrus v4 -> NCM v5 upgrade should be competely seamless. Since we've opted to keep the database separate for now, the upgrade shouldn't be any different than upgrading from Cirrus v3.5.1 -> Cirrus 4

Ciag

That is, if you add a node or change a custom property through NPM, those changes will be automatically imported in NCM

Just a quick question on that statement which I feel important to ask.

If I remove a device from NPM will it?

1. automatically be removed from NCM,

2. will I be given an option to remove it from NCM too

3. or will I still have to go into NCM and manually delete it

Thanks

Ciag

brn5336

Can the new NCM be installed as a stand alone product similar to Cirrus? With Cirrus I was able to install in on a server separate from my ORION NPM server.

chris.lapoint

Can the new NCM be installed as a stand alone product similar to Cirrus? With Cirrus I was able to install in on a server separate from my ORION NPM server.

It can still be installed standalone on a separate server from NPM. There are 2 components to NCM (Cirrus):

1. NCM server - desktop application, information service, website

2. NCM integration module - this must be installed on NPM server. this installs resources that retrieve data remotely from NCM using the information service