Summary
The previous sections covered many kinds of information you will want to include in your knowledge base. This summary brings this information together.
Taken together, all the information that you desire to store in your knowledge base will define its schema. Collecting this information as you define your needs for your network will allow you to define a custom schema for your knowledge base. Table 3-1 compiles the information from the preceding sections into an example schema.
| Knowledge Base Section | Subsection | Object | Required? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Network inventory | Device | Name | Yes |
| IP address(es) | Yes | ||
| Location | Yes | ||
| Contact information | Yes | ||
| Switch | No | ||
| Switch port | No | ||
| Function | No | ||
| Usernames/passwords | No | ||
| Community strings | Yes | ||
| Physical key or badge requirements | No | ||
| MAC address(es) | No | ||
| Layer 2 connectivity | No | ||
| Layer 3 connectivity | No | ||
| VLAN | No | ||
| Policy management | Service level agreements | No | |
| Policies | For policy management | ||
| Rules | For policy management | ||
| Performance measurement and reporting | Interesting devices | Yes | |
| Device groups | No | ||
| Availability | Device name or address | Yes | |
| Protocols to use | Yes, unless only one | ||
| Frequency to poll | Yes | ||
| Number of attempts | Yes | ||
| Timeout value | Yes | ||
| Response time | Source/destination pairs | Yes | |
| Response thresholds | Yes | ||
| Protocol to measure | Yes, unless only one | ||
| Accuracy | Objects for each interface type | Yes | |
| Accuracy thresholds | Yes | ||
| Utilization | Rising thresholds | Yes | |
| Falling thresholds | If hysteresis is supported | ||
| Reporting | Report definitions | Yes | |
| Devices or groups to report on | Yes | ||
| Configuring events | Objects to set thresholds on | Yes | |
| Devices and interfaces | Yes | ||
| Trigger values | Yes | ||
| Prioritizing faults | Port or interface priority | Yes | |
| How time of day affects priorities | Desirable |
Choose a method of implementing your knowledge base that starts out simply, yet can expand as you expand the amount and type of network management activities. Keep things simple and only implement the items that are more difficult if they are truly required in your network.
The bottom line for all this information is use it or lose it. If you are not actively using this information, it will quickly become out-of-date and useless. So, rely on this information and you will keep it accurate.
Now that you have a storage vehicle for information about your network, you can use it. The next chapter discusses performance management of your network, and will rely on the knowledge base to determine what to collect and to store the collected data.