User manual

Sample Nform Configuration
7
5.0 SAMPLE NFORM CONFIGURATION
Nform is installed on a single workstation and can be configured to monitor and manage up to 30
SNMP devices by default. The user has the option of expanding Nform’s network capabilities with
additional licenses. Licenses are available in increments of 30, 100 or 500 additional monitored and
managed devices. The primary license key allows one local user; licenses are available to add one, five
or 10 concurrent users. See Table 16 for details on additional device/user licenses.
Nform is designed to monitor any part of a network. Its functionality permits it to monitor any SNMP-
enabled device that can be contacted via local network or the Internet. These devices include those
made by Liebert and, with templates available from Liebert, units built by other manufacturers.
Nform may be configured to turn devices on or off as needed—for example, turning on a fan—and to
obtain a snapshot of the status of any or all devices when an alarm is received. These functions
require an Advanced Notification License for SNMP get/set request actions
(see Table 16).
Nform can also interface with computers that have MultiLink 1.5 installed, sending shutdown notices
as needed when alarms are received. This capability requires a MultiLink Network Shutdown
License
(see Table 16).
Nform-Enterprise includes licenses for the Advanced Notification and MultiLink shutdown features.
Example of Nform on a Network
Figure 1 shows one possible configuration of an Nform server that is monitoring and managing vari-
ous devices—UPS, environmental and monitoring units. The network also has Nform client software
installed on another computer, several computers with MultiLink 1.5 installed and a network man-
agement system.
When an alarm is received, Nform can send e-mail notifications, append alarm data to a file and run
scripts. With appropriate licenses, Nform can also send shutdown notifications to the computers with
MultiLink 1.5 installed, obtain a snapshot of the status of connected devices and turn devices on or off
when an alarm is received.
Figure 1 Sample Nform configuration
OpenComms Nform
server
MultiLink
1.5
client
MultiLink
1.5
client
MultiLink
1.5
client
Network
Management
System
Ethernet
Environmental
unit
UPSMonitoring
unit
UPS
OpenComms
Nform
client
Battery
monitoring
unit
DC
unit