SCP-NPM Practice Exam Questions with Answers SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) Exam Certification

You can make bulk changes to nodes in NPM using the Manage Nodes feature. This allows you to select multiple nodes and edit their properties, such as the polling method, the polling frequency, the SNMP credentials, the custom properties, and more. You can also use the Edit Nodes feature to assign or unassign pollers to nodes, such as the Universal Device Poller (UnDP), the Hardware Health Poller, the Wireless Poller, and more12. References: 1: Change the polling method for a node3, 2: Manage pollers using Device Studio4

 Web Console maps are interactive and dynamic maps that you can create and customize using the Orion Maps feature in the SolarWinds Platform Web Console. You can display various items on the maps, such as monitored nodes, interfaces and volumes, SAM applications and components, and network links. You can also add custom labels, annotations, and images to themaps. Web Console maps can help you visualize the relationships and dependencies among your network devices and applications, as well as troubleshoot issues and identify root causes. References: Orion Maps, Create and customize maps in the Orion Platform, Orion Maps 2.0, New Alerting, and Palo Alto Networks Monitoring - SolarWinds Lab Episode #77.

NetPath is a feature of SolarWinds NPM that helps you identify network problems faster by automatically creating a map of the problem area, with a wide variety of supporting information. NetPath displays the performance details of devices inside and outside of your network. You can use NetPath to see the node-by-node network path from a probe at remote site A to the accounting server at the headquarters, and isolate the node or connection that is decreasing end-to-end performance. If the issue is external, NetPath identifies the name of the company that owns the node and displays their contact information. If the issue is internal, NetPath incorporates data from NPM, NCM, and NTA about your on-premises gear. The other options are not as effective as NetPath in finding the source of the issue, as they do not provide the same level of visibility and analysis of the network path. References:

• NetPath - Easy Visual Network Path Analysis
• Discover your network paths in NPM
• View a network path in NPM

Capacity usage trends are calculated based on historical data. By default, the longest time period taken into account for calculating the capacity forecast is 180 days. The more historical data up to 180 days are available, the more precise is the calculated forecast. Forecast calculation methods include peak calculation and average calculation, which can be set globally or customized for individual objects. Capacity forecasting is available for nodes, interfaces, and volumes that meet certain requirements, such as being managed in NPM and having enough historical data in the database. References: Monitor capacity usage trends on the network and forecast capacity issues in NPM, Forecast capacity for nodes, interfaces, or volumes in NPM, Real-Time Network Monitoring Tool

SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is a protocol that allows network managers to monitor and control network devices using a set of standardized messages and data structures. SNMP uses a client-server model, where the network manager (client) sends requests to the network device (server) and receives responses. The network device has an SNMP agent that collects and reports the data using a MIB (Management Information Base), which is a hierarchical database of variables that describe the device’s status and configuration. Each variable in the MIB has a unique identifier called an OID (Object Identifier), which is a dot-separated sequence of numbers that follows a tree structure12.

To retrieve a single value in SNMP, you can use two types of requests: GET and GET NEXT. A GET request asks for the value of a specific OID, and the SNMP agent responds with the value if it exists, or an error if it does not. A GET NEXT request asks for the value of the next OID in the MIB tree, and the SNMP agent responds with the value and the OID of the next variable, or an error if there is no next variable. A GET NEXT request can be useful for discovering the OIDs and values of a device, or for iterating over a table of values34.

A GET VALUE request is not a valid SNMP request, and a GET TABLE request is not a single request, but a series of GET NEXT requests that retrieve all the values in a table . References: 1: SNMP Basics, 2: SNMP Tutorial Part 1 – Understanding MIBs and OIDs, 3: SNMP Tutorial Part 2 – SNMP Get, GetNext, GetBulk, 4: SNMP Commands, : SNMP Table Operations, : SNMP Table Retrieval

 Bandwidth usage is the amount of data transferred over a network connection in a given time period. It is an indicator of how much traffic is flowing through a network device or link. Peak network traffic is the highest level of bandwidth usage that occurs during a specific time interval, such as an hour, a day, or a week. Monitoring peak network traffic can help you identify potential bottlenecks, plan for capacity, and optimize network performance. NPM can monitor bandwidth usage on nodes and interfaces using SNMP, WMI, or NetFlow protocols. You can view bandwidth usage charts and reports in the web console, as well as set alerts and thresholds for bandwidth utilization. References: Monitor bandwidth usage in NPM; SCP Study Aid - NPM, page 11.

 One possible cause of this issue is that the user account has the No Reports limitation applied to it. This limitation prevents the user from accessing any reports in the Orion Console, regardless of the report group or category. To resolve this issue, you need to edit the user account and change the report limitation to either No Limitation (to allow access to all reports) or a specific report limitation category (to allow access to only the reports with that category). You can also create custom report limitation categories and assign them to the reports and users as needed. References: Restrict who can access reports in the SolarWinds Platform, Define what users can access and do in the SolarWinds Platform.

NPM can monitor the network bandwidth utilization of your devices, interfaces, and applications using SNMP and NetFlow protocols. Network bandwidth utilization is the amount of data transmitted or received over a network link in a given time period. High network bandwidth utilization can indicate network congestion, packet loss, latency, or other performance issues that can affect the email delivery speed. By looking at the network bandwidth utilization of the devices and interfaces involved in the email communication, you can identify the possible bottlenecks or sources of network problems that might be causing the email slowness. References: Monitor network bandwidth utilization in NPM, Network Bandwidth Analyzer Pack, How to Monitor Network Bandwidth Using the Command Line.

For any node you monitor, you cannot use Network Discovery to automatically add child volumes or interfaces for monitoring. Network Discovery is a tool that helps you identify and add new devices to your network, but it does not automatically monitor all the components of the discovered devices. You need to manually select the volumes or interfaces you want to monitor from the list of resources on each node. You can also use the Network Sonar Results Wizard to filter and add the resources you want to monitor after running a discovery job. References:

• Discover your network with NPM - SolarWinds (see the Monitoring Settings panel section)
• Network Discovery Tool - Automated Discovery Software | SolarWinds (see the Monitor Devices section)

Orion Maps 2.0 supports displaying Palo Alto firewalls as network devices, along with their interfaces, zones, policies, and traffic data. You can also view the firewall status, alerts, and events on the map. To add a Palo Alto firewall to an Orion Map, you need to have Network Insight for Palo Alto enabled in NPM, and discover the firewall using SNMP and API polling. References: Orion Maps 2.0, New Alerting, and Palo Alto Networks Monitoring - SolarWinds Lab Episode #77, SolarWinds Lab Episode 77: Orion Maps 2.0, New Alerting, and Palo Alto Networks Monitoring - Orange Matter, Network Insight for Palo Alto Networks in NPM

 The best way to monitor an SNMP metric that NPM is not monitoring out-of-the-box is to create a custom poller using the Universal Device Poller (UnDP) tool. A custom poller allows you to monitor specific aspects of your network devices using SNMP, by selecting the OIDs that correspond to the metrics you want to collect. You can then assign the custom poller to the devices you want to monitor, and view the results in the Orion Web Console, as charts, tables, or gauges. You can also use custom pollers to create alerts and reports based on the collected data. References: Monitor custom statistics based on OIDs with Universal Device Pollers in NPM, Create a custom poller, Assign Universal Device Pollers to devices monitored in NPM

 If you do not want to be notified when an interface is down, you can specify that the interface is unpluggable. The interface status is not reflected in the status of the parent node and in alerts. On the Node Management view, select the interface, and click Edit Properties. Select Display Interface as Unplugged Rather Than Down, and click Submit. The interface status does not influence the status of the parent node1. References:

• Suspend collecting data for interfaces in NPM - SolarWinds (see the Set the interface status as Unpluggable section)

To allow the finance department to view select reports from NPM without a user account, you can enable the Link only option on the report. This option allows you to generate a direct link to the report that can be shared with anyone who has access to the Orion Web Console URL, even if they do not have a user account or login credentials. The Link only option also bypasses any report limitations or account restrictions that might apply to the report. To enable the Link only option on a report, you need to edit the report and select the Link only option in the Report Properties page. You can then copy the link and send it to the finance department via email or other methods. The finance department can then view the report by clicking the link and opening it in a web browser1. References: Share a web-based report with non-Orion Platform users

 Packet loss is a measure of how many packets are lost or discarded during transmission over a network. Packet loss can cause network performance issues such as slow response time, jitter, and degraded voice quality. NPM can monitor packet loss on nodes and interfaces using ICMP ping or SNMP statistics. You can review the packet loss metrics on the Node Details or Interface Details views, or create a custom chart or report to compare packet loss across multiple nodes or interfaces. By reviewing the packet loss on the nodes on either side of the connection, you can identify which node or interface is experiencing the problem and troubleshoot the root cause. You can also use the Performance Analysis dashboard (PerfStack) to correlate packet loss with other metrics such as response time, CPU load, memory usage, buffer misses, and interface errors123. References:

• Monitor packet loss in NPM - SolarWinds
• Troubleshoot intermittent network slowdowns with NPM - SolarWinds
• SCP Study Aid - SolarWinds (page 9)

Capacity planning is available for the following metrics of monitored nodes, interfaces, and volumes: CPU utilization on nodes, memory usage on nodes, space usage on volumes, receive(in) utilization on interfaces, and transmit (out) utilization on interfaces1. Capacity planning allows you to monitor capacity usage trends on the network and forecast capacity issues based on historical data and customizable thresholds. You can view capacity forecasting graphs and tables on the details views of nodes, interfaces, and volumes, or use the Top XX Capacity Problems widget to see a list of objects whose usage trend is rising2. References: Monitor capacity usage trends on the network and forecast capacity issues in NPM, Forecast capacity for nodes, interfaces, or volumes in NPM

The SNMP trap service is responsible for receiving, decoding, displaying, and storing the SNMP trap messages in the Log Analyzer database. If the service is not running, you will not see the messages in the Orion Web Console. You can verify the status of the service by using the Orion Service Manager or the Windows Services console. You can also restart the service if needed. The other options are not relevant for troubleshooting the cause of missing SNMP trap messages. References:

• Monitor SNMP traps
• Troubleshoot SNMP traps
• Orion Service Manager

According to the SolarWinds NPM Administrator Guide, you can use Orion groups to organize your network objects based on any criteria, such as location, device type, department, etc. You can then apply account limitations based on Orion groups to restrict user access to only the network objects that belong to a specific group. For example, you can create two Orion groups, one for Sydney and one for Perth, and assign the devices in each location to the corresponding group. Then, you can use the single group Account limitation to limit the users in Sydney to only view the Sydney group, and the users in Perth to only view the Perth group. References: SolarWinds NPM Administrator Guide, page 163-165; Limit users to specific network areas in the SolarWinds Platform