Cirrus Configuration Manager Features
Cirrus Configuration Manager includes the ability to create a detailed Network Inventory of each Network Device. The device inventory includes information about ARP & CAM tables, cards in each slot, firmware levels, total and used system memory, flash memory, etc. The information collected from each Network Device during Inventory can be customized.
With Cirrus, Network Engineers Can Now:
- • Make network configuration changes 10 to 50 times faster than manually updating devices
- • Control & manage device configurations from a central console
- • Detect unauthorized or unknown configuration changes to network devices through real-time notification
- • Track device inventory for auditing and compliance
- • Upload/download and make configuration changes using SNMP, TFTP, telnet or SSH
- • Immediately roll back to a previous device configuration
- • Schedule device configuration backups
- • Implement configuration changes in bulk (IOS and firmware updates)
- • Identify configuration violations through out-of-the-box policy management reporting
- • View detailed change history and side-by-side comparison of configurations
Version 3.5 Features Listing
Real-Time Configuration Change Detection [NEW]
Cirrus provides real-time detection and notification of changes that occur in monitored devices. Cirrus works in conjunction with the Orion Syslog Server or Orion Trap Receiver to log configuration change events and alert the user. Users can choose to compare to the last configuration or baseline configuration. Cirrus real-time notifications also work with other syslog servers that support third-party executables.
Configuration Roll-Back [NEW]
Cirrus includes roll-back functionality, enabling users to immediately “roll-back” to a previous ”known good” device configuration. Configuration Roll-Back is particularly useful if a device configuration change does not have the desired affect once implemented.
Increased Multi-Vendor Device Support [NEW]
Through the use of increased CLI character-string recognition and parsing and additional default device templates, Cirrus now supports devices such as Nortel BayStack Switches, Radware Load Balancers, Cisco Content Switches, Marconi Switches, Juniper Netscreen Firewalls and Citrix Netscaler Application Switches in addition to routers, switches, firewalls, VPN concentrators, and wireless access points from 13 vendors.
SNMP Config Management of Cisco Devices [NEW]
Previously, Cisco device configurations could only be managed through the Command Line Interface (CLI) – either Telnet or SSH. Now, full SNMP management of device configurations is possible, including uploading and downloading of configurations and configuration changes.
Scheduled Configuration Backups
With Cirrus’s scheduled task feature, managing routers has never been easier. Schedule config uploads, config downloads, device reboots, executing command scripts, and more. Cirrus uses the Windows Task Scheduler to organize the scheduled operations. Any Job created with Cirrus can be viewed and modified with the Windows Task Scheduler. Cirrus manages the task of backing up and archiving copies of configs for future reference.
Config Comparisons
Another feature of Cirrus is the ability to compare configuration files. Configs can be compared between two routers or switches. You can baseline your configs and then compare newer versions to the baseline as they are distributed. This allows you to easily view and track changes to your network. Reporting and change history functionality provides additional config compare options.
Policy Management
Cirrus enables users to ensure device configurations comply with federal regulations as well as their own internal standards. The Policy Reporting Manager comes with several out-of-the-box policy reports including SOX, HIPAA, CISP and Cisco security.
Device Inventory
Cirrus includes a detailed device inventory for each managed device. Serial numbers, interface and port details, IP Addresses, ARP tables, installed Windows software and many other details are included in the configuration management database. Inventory data can be extracted easily for use in other applications.
Bulk Changes
Need to quickly change a community string, password or block a MAC Address? Cirrus can execute bulk changes either in real-time or during a future, scheduled change window. Uploads, changes, and global command scripting can be scheduled by type of device, building, location, owner or any other custom property.
Upload/Download New IOS Images
Cirrus uses the award winning SolarWinds TFTP Server enabling you to Scheduled uploads of IOS image to your network devices. With the enhanced grouping capability of Cirrus you can easily manage each type of network device separately. You no longer have to spend hours downloading and validating the IOS of each device and device type. Cirrus provides this capability with the click of a button.
Reports
Cirrus ships with predefined reports for Device Location and Contact information, Down Nodes, Current IOS Image and Versions, Last Boot of each device, Current Response Time and System Information, etc. New reports can be created easily. Detailed Inventory reports for each device are also included. Includes ARP table, Port Map, VLANs by Port, Cisco Chassis, Card in Cisco devices, total and used memory, TCP and UDP services, flash memory, card serial numbers and chassis Ids and many other device inventory details.
MIB Browser
The award-winning SolarWinds MIB Browser is integrated into Cirrus. The extensive MIB database of more than 250,000 standard and vendor-specific OIDs significantly extend the capabilities of Cirrus. Several standard MIBs are included in the Cirrus menu view with the ability for you to add additional MIB’s or OID’s.
Show Commands
Cirrus has a robust “show command” function that obtains information about the devices on the network. Advanced features such as grouping, filtering, and pattern matching allow users to extract real-time information from multiple devices at one time using user defined search criteria. Examples of results include show processes CPU, show version, show IP interface, show VLAN and show port. Customers can easily add their own interrogation commands as well.
Configuration Change History
Configuration change reports show what devices have had configuration changes over the past day, week or any time period. The configuration change reports can also compare current configurations with a baseline configuration.
Real-Time Interfaces View
Several real-time interface views are included in Cirrus. These views include real-time port status, real-time traffic stats, port configuration, real-time ARP cache, last time data was transmitted/ received, real-time Cisco discovery protocol, and shutdown/enable interfaces.
Device Grouping
With the device grouping capability of Cirrus users are able to organize views according to business requirements. Devices can be grouped by type, location, building, business unit, application or any other custom set of properties. Backups, scheduled changes, reporting, uploads, etc can be executed by any of these groups or by combining groups.
Import Devices
Cirrus makes it easy to migrate devices from an existing database list or other configuration management solution. Users can import directly from Excel, MS-Access, SQL Server, CiscoWorks, Orion Network Performance Monitor, SolarWinds Sonar Discovery Database, Kiwi or a comma delimited or plain text file.
MAC Address Finder
Finding the location of a MAC address on a network can be difficult. Cirrus makes this task easy. Use the MAC address finder to locate the switch port a device is plugged into. Searches can be performed by IP address, MAC address or host name.
Database Support
Cirrus supports an open standard database structure. Cirrus does not hide your network data in a proprietary database but instead provides you full access by storing the data in Microsoft SQL Server or in a Microsoft Access database.