IBM Netcool Operations Insight V1.2

UPDATE: Read Netcool Operations Insight – What exactly is it and how can I get it?

IBM Netcool Operations Insight V1.2.0, introduced in this blog post, has recently gone GA. This update to the initial 1.1.0 version includes major releases of both the Netcool/OMNIbus and Netcool/Impact products. Also new to 1.2.0 is IBM Networks for Operations Insight which adds network management capabilities to the Netcool Operations Insight solution via integration with the IBM Tivoli Network Manager IP Edition and IBM Tivoli Netcool Configuration Manager products.

In all, the IBM Netcool Operations Insight V1.2.0 offering now spans the following products:

  • IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus V8.1
  • IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus Web GUI V8.1
  • IBM Tivoli Netcool/Impact V7.1
  • IBM SmartCloud Analytics – Log Analysis V1.2
  • Jazz for Service Management V1.1.0.3
  • IBM Tivoli Network Manager IP Edition V4.1.1
  • IBM Tivoli Netcool Configuration Manager V6.4.1

Netcool/OMNIbus V8.1

From an Netcool/OMNIbus perspective, one of the more noteworthy changes is that Web GUI is now delivered by Dashboard Application Services Hub (DASH) as shipped with Jazz for Service Management, rather than the Tivoli Integrated Portal. In common with previous major upgrades to the TIP there is no in-place/direct upgrade of Web GUI, instead a side-by-side approach is required whereby a new DASH instance is installed and then the existing Web GUI configuration is migrated over. The V8.1 migration tool only supports migrations from TIP V2.1 and above, so customers running Web GUI V7.3 or the older Webtop product will need to upgrade to V7.3.1 or V7.4 first.

The functionality offered by the JavaScript based Event Viewer has been extended to include the ability to run SQL, CGI and Script tools without requiring any additional browser plug-ins. This makes it a more viable alternative to the Java applet based Active Event List and will be welcomed by those who are looking to reduce their exposure to Java. The Event Viewer can also be used to run Command tools but this does require the installation of a browser plug-in.

Other updates to Netcool/OMNIbus include:

  • The Deployment Engine installer has been replaced with IBM Installation Manager
  • Enhanced multi-tenancy support through the use of restriction filters and new user_in_group() and current_userid() SQL functions
  • An Initial Configuration Wizard interface that can be used to automate the creation and configuration of components such as ObjectServers and Gateways
  • Web GUI now provides a Data Sources interface for the creation and modification of ObjectServer data source connections. Interfaces are also provided for metric and tool prompt creation

Netcool/Impact V7.1

Netcool/Impact V7.1 also sees some changes in the user interface department, specifically the introduction of a new user interface which, disappointingly, isn’t hosted by DASH and uses a separate instance of WAS Liberty Profile instead.

impact_7.1Whilst there is nothing wrong with the interface itself, the inability to have a single application server instance hosting both the Web GUI and Impact user interface components seems a backwards step from what was possible with the Tivoli Integrated Portal based versions. With some configuration the Netcool/Impact GUI can be accessed through DASH though, so at least from a user perspective it appears seamless.  Another shortcoming of the move to the Liberty platform is the loss of a GUI based approach for managing users and roles, this now has to be done via the CLI.

As with Netcool/OMNIbus Web GUI, the upgrade from an existing installation is via a new install at V7.1 and subsequent migration of the configuration data. Netcool/Impact also now uses the IBM Installation Manager product to manage the installation process.

A few of the other new features include:

  • Enhancement of the Policy Logger, introducing the ability to log current context, function variables and query diagnostics
  • A Simple Email Notification add-on that provides an interface for defining and managing rules/filters that result in emails being generated when matching alerts are received. Note that an external SMTP server is still required to actually send the emails
  • Proxy based web service access
  • Event Isolation and Correlation add-on providing the ability to take action on correlated events based on a previously defined application topology

 

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Ant Mico