Installing the SolutionPack for Network Configuration Manager

To view data from , install the SolutionPack for Network Configuration Manager in the M&R platform.
  • Determine whether you need a SolutionPack license file by checking the feature names and expiration dates listed in
    Centralized Management
    License Management
    . If not listed, obtain a license by completing a Support Request (SR) form, which is available on the support website https://my.vmware.com/.
  • Make sure the core modules, such as the Module-Manager, are up-to-date on all servers since not all module dependencies are validated during the
    SolutionPack
    installation. See the
    VMware Smart Assurance Installation and Configuration Guide for M&R
    for more information.
  • The
    Network Configuration Manager
    is installed and running.
  • You have root login credentials for the
    Network Configuration Manager
    .
  • The SolutionPack for Network Configuration Manager license is uploaded to the M&R platform.
  • Ensure that the M&R platform is updated to 7.7.0.3 and later.
  1. Log in to the M&R server with root privileges.
    For example,
    https://
    Frontend-hostname
    :58443/APG
  2. Select
    Administration
    .
  3. Select
    Centralized Management
    in the
    Administration
    tree.
  4. Select
    SOLUTIONPACK CENTER
    .
  5. Select the
    Network Configuration Manager
    in the
    Browse and Install SolutionPacks
    screen.
  6. Read the summary information and click
    Install
    .
  7. Select the components to install.
    1. Accept the default name,
      vsa-ncm
      , in the
      Instance name
      field.
    2. Select the
      M&R
      server that will host the data collector in the
      Data collection
      list box.
    3. Select the
      M&R
      server to host the reports in the
      Reports
      list box.
    4. Click
      Next
      .
  8. Accept the default values for the
    Data Collection
    and
    Alerting on Data Collection
    panes.
  9. Select the
    NCM
    server version in the
    NCM Version
    drop-down field in the
    Server Configuration
    pane.
  10. Select
    Device server
    ,
    Distributed Server
    , or
    Combo Server
    in the
    NCM Server Type
    drop-down field and complete the fields depending on your deployment:
    Deployment
    Provide information for the following fields
    Device Server
    Select
    Device server
    in the
    NCM Server Type
    drop-down field.
    • Fully qualified System IP address or host name
    • System root user account and password
    Distributed deployment
    Select
    Distributed Server
    for a distributed
    NCM
    server in the
    NCM Server Type
    drop-down field.
    For the Application Server,
    • Fully qualified System IP address or host name
    • System root user account and password
    • NCM System administrator user name (for example,
      sysadmin
      ) and password. The NCM System credentials are required for certificate monitoring reports.
    To collect Database Server information, you also need:
    • NCM
      database IP address or host name
    • NCM
      database port number or accept the default port 5435
    • NCM
      database name in
      M&R
      in the
      NCM instance name
      field or accept the default name
    • NCM
      database password
    Use the
    +
    icon to add one or more Device, Distributed, or Combo Servers.
    Combo Server
    Select
    Combo Server
    in the
    NCM Server Type
    drop-down field.
    • Fully qualified System IP address or host name
    • System root user account and password
    • NCM System administrator user name (for example,
      sysadmin
      ) and password. The NCM System credentials are required for certificate monitoring reports.
    To collect Database Server information, you also need:
    • NCM
      database port number or accept the default port 5435
    • NCM
      database name in
      M&R
      in the
      NCM instance name
      field or accept the default name
    • NCM
      database password
  11. Optional, select the
    Configure collector advanced settings
    checkbox to configure the polling interval for data collection and also to configure the collection of different types of data, or accept the defaults.
    1. For Compliance, Jobs, and Inventory data, set the polling interval from 300 to 86400 seconds in the
      Polling period for DB and System data collection
      field or accept the default 900.
      The M&R polling interval determines the frequency of data collection. For example, the default 900 means that once in every 15 minutes, polling occurs and new raw values are collected.
    2. For Historical data, set the polling interval from 604800 to 2678400 seconds in the
      Polling period for DB and System data collection
      field or accept the default 604800.
    3. If you do not want the data to be collected, clear the selected checkbox for
      Compliance data
      ,
      Jobs data
      , or
      Inventory data
      . The latest data collection will not occur for or be updated in:
      • Compliance reports like Standard Compliance Reports, Device Compliance Reports
      • Jobs reports like Active Job Report and Historical Job Reports
      • All inventory-related reports like database, interface reports
    4. If you have selected Jobs Data to be collected in the above step, you have an option to use the new Elastic Search DB . Clear the
      Enable ElasticSearch DB
      checkbox, If you want to continue using the MySql DB for Jobs data.
    5. Select
      Reconcile Device Names
      , if you want to discover the common devices across Smarts SP and NCM SP.
    6. Optional, select
      Advanced Search Feature
      if you want to allow the
      M&R
      search engine to search all metrics collected by the SQL Collector.
  12. Click
    Next
    on the
    Data Collection
    pane.
    In the
    Data Collection
    pane when you select the
    Enable ElasticSearch DB
    check box, you must select
    Use ElasticSearch DB
    in the
    Events
    and
    Reports
    pane also. If you clear the
    Enable ElasticSearch DB
    check box in the
    Data Collection
    pane, you must deselect
    Use ElasticSearch DB
    check box in the
    Events
    and
    Reports
    pane also.
  13. In the
    Events
    pane, select
    Use ElasticSearch DB
    , if you have used Elastic Search DB for jobs data collection.
  14. Enter the Hostname or IP address details of the Elastic Search DB.
  15. In the
    Reports
    section, select the gateway and the administration web-service instance or accept the default values.
  16. Select the
    Use ElasticSearch DB
    checkbox, if you have used Elastic Search DB for jobs data collection.
  17. Select
    Install
    to install the SolutionPack.
Allow four to five polling cycles to pass before viewing reports.