DCE sending traps to Vmware VX Operations

[DCIM_Support]

We have a customer who wants to send traps from DCE to Vmware VX Operations and he is afraid about that.

Do we need any special requirement or consideration to do that? Do you have any experience with that?

Best regards,

Enric Climent

(CID:122691026)

[DCIM_Support]

Hi Eric

Nothing specifically about DCE sending traps but I am always cautious about one system sending traps to another.  It all depends on what your customer is trying to achieve (you don't mention this) and in the case they're not really sure (happens very often), this is a good opportunity to guide them.  "If they don't know where they're going they will get there but might not like it...".

I've seen many examples of customers insisting that "it'll all be OK, just send them all", only to find that the people administrating the target system are upset.  And then its turned off and then very hard to recover the situation.

How many devices does the DCE monitor and how many alarms are averaged during a day?  If it's e.g. 25 devices and 2 alarms per day that's pretty easy.

There are several ways to get event information to your target system, each with different features and challenges.  E.g. turn on DCE's Network Management Integration, put the IP address of the target and a few other details, select from the handful of severity levels and press Go.  Only takes a few minutes.

However, it may not be long before you hear a scream, perhaps because of "useless" alarms or just plain too many alarms or some other reason!  Or maybe it'll all be OK.  If they're looking to you to be responsible, can you risk it?

Another option is to use a step by step approach, e.g. turn on individual alarms e.g. UPS onBattery (arm and rearm events) to start with and then do some testing.  This takes much more engineering effort and tighter control

They will ask you for MIB or already have done so expect this will be different depending on which method you choose.

First thing is to clarify why and exactly what they want to achieve.  Then work out how to do it.

I'm happy to assist further if you need

(CID:122691037)

[DCIM_Support]

Hi Enric Climent,

I do not know the details and exact task of your customer, but the DCE-server has two built-in functions regarding the sending of its SNMP traps.

1. DCE-server can send all its SNMP traps that occur by alarm of any severity. And, you can configure, for example, to send SNMP traps only for critical alarms or for critical alarms and warnings. This is configured in "Alarm Configuration" -> "Network Management System Integration...":
   
2. You can customize per device alarm thresholds (or device alarm), which are of most interest to the customer. And then create a special Alarm Action to send SNMP trap, choosing the necessary severities: "Alarm Configuration" -> "Manage Alarm Actions...":
   
   After that, do not forget to add the above per device alarm threshold and the new SNMP trap alarm action to the same "Notification Policy". Thus, the DCE-server will send SNMP traps only for certain devices and no more.

With best regards.

(CID:122691151)

[DCIM_Support]

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