Introduction to NCM

Use Network Configuration Manager (NCM) to streamline and automate network configuration management tasks. NCM helps you avoid network downtime by automatically backing up network device configurations and tracking any changes. NCM can also identify and remediate policy violations, and expedite firmware upgrades to avoid security vulnerabilities.

Download the PDF: NCM Product Guide (formerly known as Administrator Guide)

Manage configurations for multiple device types

Use NCM to manage configurations in heterogeneous, multi-vendor networks. NCM can automate configuration management tasks for routers, switches, firewalls, load balancers, and wireless access points from a variety of vendors. NCM supports any device that meets the following requirements:

• The device supports SSH or Telnet.
• The device has a command line interface (CLI).

NCM uses device templates to perform actions on different types of devices. Each device template contains a set of device-specific commands. NCM provides a set of device templates to perform actions on common device types. You can also create custom device templates to support additional device types.

View, edit, manage, and compare configs from one interface

Use NCM to remotely view, track, edit, and compare network device configurations without logging in to the physical NCM server. Assign NCM roles to specify what actions each user can perform.

Automatically back up configurations

To ensure that network configs are backed up on a regular basis, NCM includes backup jobs that automatically download configs once a day or once a week. You can use a default job or create a custom backup job to meet your organization's needs. When the backup job is enabled, it runs automatically at the specified interval.

Downloaded configs are stored in the database and (optionally) in a config archive. You can specify the location of the archive.

The Config Summary dashboard identifies failed backups and configs that are not included in a scheduled backup.

Monitor and manage changes to configurations

An unauthorized or inaccurate change to a network configuration can jeopardize network security and availability. Use NCM features to avoid or quickly recover from potentially damaging changes.

Establish a baselines to define the approved configuration for a set of devices and identify when a device config has deviated from the baseline. After a comparison runs, you can find devices whose configs do not match the baseline and review differences between baselines and configs.

Configure real-time change detection to get email notifications whenever a change to any of your device configurations occurs. The email includes information about the change.

To prevent inadvertent errors that could lead to unexpected downtime, you can set up an approval system for configuration changes. You can require approvals for changes made by all NCM users or only users with certain roles.

Use configuration change reports to see what devices have had configuration changes over a specified time period. Configuration change reports can also compare current configurations with a baseline configuration, alerting you whenever a change is discovered.

Ensure policy compliance

Use NCM policy reports to ensure that network configurations comply with federal regulations and corporate standards. These reports notify you of violations and can also include remediation actions. NCM provides preconfigured policy reports such as SOX, HIPAA, CISP, and Cisco Security. You can also create custom reports.

Identify devices with firmware vulnerabilities and automate firmware upgrades

NCM helps identify risks to network security by detecting potential vulnerabilities in your managed nodes using information provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). When the firmware vulnerability feature is enabled, NCM downloads this data and correlates it with your managed nodes to determine if any nodes are potentially at risk.

Because security fixes are distributed as new firmware revisions, upgrading firmware helps you protect your network from security vulnerabilities. You can use NCM to upgrade the firmware on many devices at once, and you can run multiple firmware upgrade operations simultaneously.

Collect device information

Use NCM to perform inventory scans on all of your devices, a group of devices, or a single device. An inventory scan gathers device information including the model and serial numbers, the operating system version, the number of NIC or interface cards, routing protocols, IP addresses, active ports, and more. The collected inventory statistics are displayed in NCM inventory reports and in the detail view of each device.