Colubris Network Management System

InCharge Colubris Network Management System (CNMS)

The InCharge Colubris Network Management System (CNMS) centralizes all configuration, performance monitoring, fault management, and troubleshooting functions for the CIMS. It is a standalone, server-based WLAN management system designed to minimize network operational costs while enforcing strong RF security policies. Featuring an embedded database, the InCharge CNMS scales easily to manage WLANs composed of thousands of elements and tens of thousands of client devices. It communicates with multiservice controllers and access points using standard Internet protocols, thereby enabling InCharge to manage large, geographically-distributed networks that span thousands of locations.

During installation, the InCharge Colubris CNMS automatically discovers new network elements on the WLAN so that the administrator can organize them into groups for easy configuration and management. With this grouping capability, administrators can implement RF and system configuration changes network-wide in a matter of seconds. Complex tasks, such as provisioning a new service or implementing firmware updates, can be completely automated.

InCharge aggregates and correlates vital performance and security information from all elements in the system to produce a comprehensive, integrated view of the network and can automatically update the view in real-time. Administrators can also configure polling intervals by group to ensure efficient usage of wide-area network links. TCP/IP port-mapping enables the system to reach every element in the network, including those connected by NAT gateways.

Administration is easy to learn and manage, thanks to an intuitive web GUI that facilitates a range of operations and troubleshooting tasks. Help desk operations are informed and expedited by per-user network statistics that correlate with RADIUS authentication transactions for an integrated view of user status. InCharge presents a wealth of information at a glance, from signal strength and packet performance statistics to the user's roaming history and security configuration.

To ensure network integrity, the InCharge Colubris CNMS continuously monitors the network for rogue access points. It uses advanced wireline scanning techniques to catch rogues that are plugged into any Ethernet port in an enterprise network. It also coordinates RF rogue scans performed by the InReach MAPs in the network and logs all reports in a consolidated rogue scan log. This comprehensive approach allows administrators to classify rogues as threats, neighbors, and other categories, eliminating false positives and enabling administrators to take prompt action against real threats.

InCharge ensures continuous availability of services and a healthy infrastructure. An alerts screen displays real-time event notifications received from any element in the network, so network operators can take immediate corrective action. Alerts can also be triggered when a configurable threshold is exceeded; this enables operators to monitor specific operational parameters, such as traffic load or user count.

The InCharge CNMS graphically displays detailed network performance statistics that can be analyzed on a per-AP basis. Comprehensive historical performance reports assist network administrators with capacity planning. Administrators can use InCharge to periodically audit the configuration of each element to ensure consistency and reconcile equipment status against an inventory list.

InCharge also integrates smoothly with enterprise management frameworks thanks to its support for standard SNMP interfaces. A plug-in module for HP OpenView is also included.