Cisco Cisco Prime Assurance Manager 1.1 White Paper
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Closing The Loop for Effective Network Operations Management:
Cisco Prime Assurance Manager
Reporting: While the many and varied dashboards and dashlets within Cisco Prime Assurance
Manager deliver abundant operational visibility, it is only possible to present a limited number of
data points in this way. A fully functional network operations management solution must also provide
reporting for off-line analysis and collaborative data sharing beyond the core operations team. Cisco
Prime Assurance Manager includes three primary types of reports to support these needs: Device,
Performance, and Raw NetFlow.
Manager deliver abundant operational visibility, it is only possible to present a limited number of
data points in this way. A fully functional network operations management solution must also provide
reporting for off-line analysis and collaborative data sharing beyond the core operations team. Cisco
Prime Assurance Manager includes three primary types of reports to support these needs: Device,
Performance, and Raw NetFlow.
• Device reports are focused on details of activity, availability, and health of network nodes. They
include common templates for viewing items such as CPU utilization, device inventory, interface
utilization, port attributes, VPN status, licensing by device or license type, and more. Site filters can
be applied for adding focus as needed.
utilization, port attributes, VPN status, licensing by device or license type, and more. Site filters can
be applied for adding focus as needed.
• Performance reports look more broadly across the activity of both network and application
layers. Common templates here include threshold violations, application response, interface errors,
voice/video quality, WAN traffic analysis, environment/temperature, and end-user experiences.
Site filters can be used for these reports as well.
voice/video quality, WAN traffic analysis, environment/temperature, and end-user experiences.
Site filters can be used for these reports as well.
• Raw NetFlow reports allow detailed analysis of each constituent flow record, as well as sorting
by content or source, for deep forensic analysis.
Cisco Prime Assurance Manager includes the ability to run any report on an ad hoc / as needed or a
regularly scheduled, recurring basis. Exporting is supported for CSV and PDF formats for sharing
beyond primary browser outputs. Report templates can also be added, modified, and saved to adapt to
the needs of any individual organization or reader audience.
regularly scheduled, recurring basis. Exporting is supported for CSV and PDF formats for sharing
beyond primary browser outputs. Report templates can also be added, modified, and saved to adapt to
the needs of any individual organization or reader audience.
Putting Cisco Prime Assurance Manager to Work
Simply assembling the broad set of functional capabilities detailed above is impressive; however, the
real test of a network monitoring system is how well the combination of features can be put to
use for real-world tasks and workflows. Since Cisco Prime Assurance Manager adheres to the task-
oriented design tenets of the Cisco Prime portfolio, data and views are aligned for efficient and logical
navigation and use, coupled with context-sensitive drilldowns that deliver maximum insight with a
minimum of effort. Following are a couple of example cases of how Cisco Prime Assurance Manager
can be applied:
real test of a network monitoring system is how well the combination of features can be put to
use for real-world tasks and workflows. Since Cisco Prime Assurance Manager adheres to the task-
oriented design tenets of the Cisco Prime portfolio, data and views are aligned for efficient and logical
navigation and use, coupled with context-sensitive drilldowns that deliver maximum insight with a
minimum of effort. Following are a couple of example cases of how Cisco Prime Assurance Manager
can be applied:
• Network visibility: Many times, the challenge to understanding what is going on in the network is
to first understand just what makes up the network. Cisco Prime Assurance Manager includes both
automated discovery and import mechanisms to recognize devices and all related subcomponents of
devices, both physical and virtual in nature. This is combined with endpoint site association features
so that all network elements and activity can be tied back to a common understanding of that which
the network connects – data centers, local campuses, and remote branch sites. Finally, device or
port-level groups can be defined for pulling together managed elements that are to be monitored
using similar or special policies and profiles. Collectively, these capabilities allow the entire Cisco
network to be monitored, end-to-end, across physical and virtual elements and relationships, from
a high level, such as via the Overview Dashboard, as well as with great depth around any individual
point along the way, such as via Device 360 views.
automated discovery and import mechanisms to recognize devices and all related subcomponents of
devices, both physical and virtual in nature. This is combined with endpoint site association features
so that all network elements and activity can be tied back to a common understanding of that which
the network connects – data centers, local campuses, and remote branch sites. Finally, device or
port-level groups can be defined for pulling together managed elements that are to be monitored
using similar or special policies and profiles. Collectively, these capabilities allow the entire Cisco
network to be monitored, end-to-end, across physical and virtual elements and relationships, from
a high level, such as via the Overview Dashboard, as well as with great depth around any individual
point along the way, such as via Device 360 views.