Context

Tool mentors explain how a tool can perform tasks, which are part of ITUP processes and activities. The tasks are listed as Related Elements in the Relationships section.

You can see the details of how processes and activities are supported by this tool mentor, by clicking the links next to the icons:

•   Configuration Management
  •   Verify and Audit Configuration Items

Details

IBM® Tivoli® Network Manager (TNM) provides the capability to automatically discover network devices, their configurations, and  connectivity. Authorized CI definitions can be defined in CCMDB for particular CIs, which are deemed critical to tightly manage. CI audits can then be performed to compare the authorized and actual CI states to determine if there were unauthorized changes made to the CI. This activity might be performed as part of a regulatory or internal controls compliance audit.

The verification and audit activity can be performed in one of two ways:

1. Through TNM the integration to the change and configuration management database (CCMDB), the CCMDB will include the most up to date CI information. You can then use the CCMDB to:
   a.) Identify a baseline or target CI configuration, and then compare other CIs to that configuration
   b.) Identify recent changes to a CI over a specific time horizon
   
   See IBM Tivoli Change and Configuration Management Database for more information.
   
2. Network Manager also includes the capability to generate network reports detailing the current configuration of the network, including network devices, their configuration, and connectivity information. These reports can be compared to a baseline to audit the configuration management database.
   
   
   
   Figure 1. Sample PDF report showing current network configuration 

The IBM Tivoli Open Process Automation Library (OPAL) contains the Discovery Library Adapter (DLA), which provides the integration between Network Manager and the CCMDB. To download the DLA or for more information, visit the Discovery Library Adapter for IBM Tivoli Network Manager page.  

For more information

For more information about this tool, go to the IBM Tivoli Network Manager page.