Manage my Cisco Enviroment

Hondabuff

Need some advice on managing my environment. I have 300 Cisco 867 Routers in branch locations that I'm currently managing and will be expanding to 1000 more. Yes 1000 more, I currently built out full Solarwinds server complete with all the bells and whistles including Config manager. I have had a few other engineers recommend Cisco works to manage configs on their boxes. Part of our hardening project is to change all the enable secret passwords and VTY/Con passwords. I want something easy to use that has a short learning curve. Im curious to see what everyone else uses to manage their configs.

RouteMyPacket

You can do all of that with Solarwinds NCM (Backup Configs, Push Out Changes etc, Compare Configurations). The next thing to consider is cost, are you running a demo of Solarwinds NPM/NCM or already purchased?

Solarwinds is idiot proof really and I've done several SW projects and it's not bad, cost is the determining factor IMO. I personally prefer something like Zenoss (Linuz Based and Free) but with that you have no support, you are the support should something break.

What I don't like is system related (MS) stuff in Solarwinds, try to keep it all network based IMO. You can play with the online demo here

http://oriondemo.solarwinds.com/Orion/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f

IPAM is an ok module but the Web and VoIP/Network Quality modules are really cool but fit within a particular environment based on needs.

Dieg0M

We use HPNA to push configs but we also have Solarwinds for monitoring.

Iristheangel

Prime Infrastructure is pretty awesome as well. I love their best practices templates. You can do monitoring, config backup, etc on it.

Hondabuff

We have the full blown Solarwinds with just about every plugin module. Our license agreement was pushing $60k. That's for 3 divisions of our company that use Solarwinds. I'm pretty much the greenhorn on Solarwinds and watching videos and training seminars as I go. I haven't even touched the Config manager yet as Im still building out my maps and nesting nodes in side of nodes. The company is even letting me kick the tires on Netbrain to see if it will add value to my job. A lot of our nodes have SNMP and CDP turned off so it has been little to no use as is Network Topology Mapper. Once I get Solarwinds humming along I can pass it over to our NOC to start using and I will be tackling the Configs. I need to change pw's and setup a VPN tunnels to our DR site.

DevilWAH

Iristheangel wrote: »

Prime Infrastructure is pretty awesome as well. I love their best practices templates. You can do monitoring, config backup, etc on it.

Prime is great but still needs polishing, like if I import CAD drawings in to the maps it will 50% of the time crash and need a reboot. I am hopping to go on a course for it soon.

I also like the plug and play images and config management. I can just past the SN in Prime, link it to a Plug and play profile with a config and IOS image, plug in power, plug in network and walk away, come back 20min later after its wiped the flash, installed the correct IOS and written the right config and ......

Not that I need it only deploying 9 or 10 switches at a time every few months, but still I can see if you are a big cisco house deploying switches across the country or in large data centers and you want to keep things constant, its really easy to set up. You can get it to phone home to, so set up a switch on prime, get it delivered to a remote site and have it plugged in there and it will go though the same process as above.

If they can polish it off then it will just get better.

Trifidw

I really need to spend some time with Prime and learn its features as they sound awesome. I upgraded to Prime from WCS ages ago and still only really use it for the MSE and access point locations...

Iristheangel

@DevilWAH - I haven't had that crash issue with ISE and CAD drawings. What version are you on?

DevilWAH

2.1 with latest patch.

Its a know issue with complex drawings, I am trying to import laboratory floor plans to like 100+ rooms with a few 1000 objects per drawing at 1:1 scale.

To get it to work I have to strip out layers and simple the drawing (saving in version 2010 helps to). I have found importing the CAD in to Eakhau site survey software, and then exporting from there as a Prime format file and import in to prime works though.

Iristheangel

What a pain. I haven't had that issue but perhaps my CAD files are a bit less complex. Oh well. Sorry to hear you're having that issue

DevilWAH

Iristheangel wrote: »

What a pain. I haven't had that issue but perhaps my CAD files are a bit less complex. Oh well. Sorry to hear you're having that issue

If I am honest the planning of wireless maps in Prime is not great, and nor is the wireless survey side of things. Its great for monitoring the wireless and configs on the controllers. But as a design and deploy tool leaves a lot to be desired.

Hondabuff

What's the main difference between Cisco Prime and Cisco works for managing configs?

DevilWAH

Hondabuff wrote: »

What's the main difference between Cisco Prime and Cisco works for managing configs?

Not used works for years! So don't really know sorry. All I can say is Prime does a very good job. The only thing I have yet to work out is how to sechdual exports of config from Prime.

I can take a back up of the data base with out to much issue, but I would love to be able to export the raw text files to a secure share so in the even of a DR exercise I can get to them with out having to have prime up and running.