Question 1

What is the most time-efficient way to create a report in NPM that shows the top 50 interfaces by percent utilization?

Accepted Answer

B

Explanation: NPM provides a default report called Top 25 Interfaces by Percent Utilization that shows the interfaces with the highest average utilization over the selected time period1. This report can be easily edited to change the number of interfaces displayed, the time period, the sorting order, the layout, and the filters2. To create a report that shows the top 50 interfaces by percent utilization, you can simply edit this report and change the Limit option from 25 to 503. This is the most time-efficient way to create the report, as it does not require creating a new report from scratch, writing a SQL query, or running the report multiple times for different timeframes. Reference: 1: Network Performance Monitor Administrator Guide - Top 25 Interfaces by Percent Utilization 2: Network Performance Monitor Administrator Guide - Edit a report 3: Network Performance Monitor Getting Started Guide - Customize a report

Question 2

You can apply Universal Device Pollers to which object types? (Choose all that apply.)

Accepted Answer

A, B, C

Explanation: Universal Device Pollers (UnDPs) are custom pollers that allow you to monitor specific aspects of your network devices using SNMP. You can apply UnDPs to any object type that supports SNMP polling, such as interfaces, nodes, and volumes. You cannot apply UnDPs to applications, because they are not SNMP-based objects. Applications are monitored using Application Performance Monitor (APM), which uses different methods, such as WMI, scripts, or agents, to collect data. Reference: Monitor custom statistics based on OIDs with Universal Device Pollers in NPM, Assign Universal Device Pollers to devices monitored in NPM, Add and assign Universal Device Pollers

Question 3

You can display Palo Alto firewalls on Orion Maps.

Accepted Answer

B

Explanation: 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. Reference: 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

Question 4

You have two groups of users – one in Sydney and one in Perth. How do you limit the users within the Orion Platform so they only have access to the devices in their location?

Accepted Answer

A

Explanation: 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. Reference: SolarWinds NPM Administrator Guide, page 163-165; Limit users to specific network areas in the SolarWinds Platform

Question 5

You deploy a new router on your network. What should you do to ensure NPM correctly interprets SNMP traps from the device?

Accepted Answer

C

Explanation: SNMP traps are unsolicited messages sent by SNMP-enabled devices to notify the NPM server of important events or problems, such as device failures, configuration changes, or performance issues. SNMP traps contain information about the device and the event, such as the device name, IP address, timestamp, and OID (Object Identifier). An OID is a unique identifier for a specific variable in a MIB (Management Information Base), which is a hierarchical database of device information that can be accessed by SNMP. However, not all OIDs are recognized by NPM by default, as different devices may use different or custom MIBs and OIDs. Therefore, to ensure NPM correctly interprets SNMP traps from a new router on your network, you need to update the MIB database with the latest MIBs from the router vendor or from the SolarWinds website. This will allow NPM to translate the OIDs in the SNMP traps into meaningful names and values, and display them in the Trap Viewer or use them in alerts12. To update the MIB database, follow these steps3: Download the MIB files from the router vendor’s website or from the SolarWinds MIB Database. Copy the MIB files to the \SolarWinds\Orion\Mibs folder on the NPM server. Click Settings > All Settings > Manage MIBs. Click Add New MIB and browse to the MIB file that you want to add. Click Submit. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for each MIB file that you want to add. Click Compile to compile the MIBs and update the MIB database. You can now view the SNMP traps from the new router in the Trap Viewer or use them in alerts. Reference: 1: SNMP Traps Explained: How to View SNMP Traps, 2: SNMP Traps in NPM, 3: Update the SolarWinds MIB Database for the SolarWinds Platform, : SolarWinds MIB Database, : 2, : 1, : 3, : 4

Question 6

How can you quickly generate a report in NPM to show the top 50 interfaces by percent utilization?

Accepted Answer

C

Explanation: NPM provides several default reports that can be used as templates for creating custom reports. One of them is the Top 100 Interfaces by Percent Utilization report, which shows the average and peak utilization of the most used interfaces in the network. To create a report that shows only the top 50 interfaces, you can copy this report and edit it to change the number of rows displayed. You can also modify other parameters such as the time period, the grouping, the sorting, and the filtering criteria. To copy and edit a default report, follow these steps1: Click Reports > All Reports > Manage Reports. Find the Top 100 Interfaces by Percent Utilization report and click Duplicate & Edit. On the Layout Builder panel, click Edit Table. On the Edit Resource panel, change the Maximum Number of Rows to 50. Optionally, change other settings such as the Time Period, the Group By, the Sort By, and the Filter Results. Click Submit. Optionally, change the Report Name, the Report Description, and the Report Category. Click Next and then Save. You can now run or schedule the report to show the top 50 interfaces by percent utilization. Reference: 1: Create a custom report for NPM showing availability of devices in the last 30 days

Question 7

You run a Network Discovery and discover devices that you do not want to monitor. What feature can you use to exclude those devices from future discoveries?

Accepted Answer

D

Explanation: The Discovery Ignore List is a feature that allows you to specify the IP addresses or hostnames of the devices that you do not want to monitor or discover in the future. You can add devices to the ignore list manually or automatically during the discovery process. Once a device is added to the ignore list, it will be skipped by any subsequent discovery. You can also remove devices from the ignore list if you change your mind and want to monitor them later. Reference: Add devices to the Discovery Ignore List in NPM, Remove devices from the Discovery Ignore List in NPM, How to View Devices on Your Windows Network and What to Do If You Can’t See Them

Question 8

Which is not true for Device Studio Poller?

Accepted Answer

A

Explanation: Device Studio Poller is a feature that allows users to create custom pollers for devices or technologies that are not supported by default in NPM. It can poll multiple OIDs for a given technology, perform logical operations or transformations on the polled data, and display the polled values in existing resources. However, it does not collect data from Orion Failover Engine or Hot Standby Engines, which are features of Orion High Availability that ensure continuous monitoring in case of primary server failure12. Reference: 1: Create pollers in Device Studio for NPM3, 2: When Good OIDs Go Bad: Customizing Device Pollers, 3: Manage Pollers (AKA Device Studio) question https://documentation.solarwinds.com/en/success_center/orionplatform/content/core-monitoringmibs-with-universal-device-pollers-sw548.htm

Question 9

While building an Orion map in the NPM web console you notice that two of your devices do not
show a connection between them. You verify the two devices are connected. How can you resolve
this issue? (Choose all that apply.)

Accepted Answer

B, D

Explanation: To show the connection between two devices on an Orion map, you need to meet the following requirements1: The devices must be monitored by NPM. The devices must support topology and be interconnected. The devices must have the corresponding interfaces monitored and identified as full or half duplex. The Orion Maps feature must be enabled and configured. If you do not see the connection between two devices on an Orion map, you should first verify that you are monitoring Layer 2 and 3 topologies for the devices. You can do this by checking the NPM Network Topology widget on the device details page. This widget will reflect what connections will be automatically drawn in Orion Maps2. If the widget does not show the expected connection, you may need to enable topology polling for the devices or check the SNMP credentials and configuration3. If you are monitoring the correct topologies and still do not see the connection, you can build a custom connection between the devices using the Orion Maps feature. In the Map Editor, you can add the two devices to the canvas, select them, and click the Connect Objects button. Here you can specify the interface on either side and choose to add the manual connection to the database2. Building a new Orion map and adding the related entities instead of the nodes will not resolve the issue, as the related entities are based on the same topology data as the nodes. Changing the monitoring method from SNMP to CLI will not resolve the issue, as CLI is not supported for topology polling3. Reference: Orion Maps; Orion Map Devices not connect - Forum; Polling methods used by Orion.

Question 10

What can you use to retrieve a single value in SNMP? (Choose all that apply.)

Accepted Answer

B, D

Explanation: 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 . Reference: 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

Question 11

You need to build an Orion Map to show the relationships and connections between your Cloud
servers and on premise infrastructure. You add the nodes but discover that the Orion Platform is not
automatically mapping the connection between your cloud server and on premise router. You have
verified that layer 2 and layer 3 topologies are being polled on the devices. How do you resolve this
issue?

Accepted Answer

B

Explanation: Sometimes, the Orion Platform may not be able to automatically map the connection between your cloud server and on premise router, even if layer 2 and layer 3 topologies are being polled on the devices. This may happen if the devices are separated by a firewall, a VPN, or a NAT device that prevents the Orion Platform from discovering the link information. In such cases, you can manually create a custom connection between the cloud node and the on premise node on the Orion Map. You can also edit the properties of the custom connection, such as the name, the status, the bandwidth, and the utilization. By creating a custom connection, you can visualize and monitor the connection between your cloud server and on premise router on the Orion Map12. Reference: Create custom connections on Orion Maps - SolarWinds SCP Study Aid - SolarWinds (page 10)

Question 12

Half of your objects in a nested map are down, but the top level map is up. What is the cause?

Accepted Answer

C

Explanation: Map status thresholds determine how the status of a map is calculated based on the status of its child objects. If you set the map status threshold to above 50%, it means that the map will be up if more than half of its child objects are up, regardless of the severity of the down objects. This can cause a situation where half of your objects in a nested map are down, but the top level map is up, because the top level map only considers the status of the nested maps, not the individual objects within them. To avoid this, you can lower the map status threshold to a value that reflects the desired level of availability for your network, or use custom map status thresholds to specify different values for different maps. Reference: Set map status thresholds in NPM, Create nested maps in NPM, How to map through a deeply nested array of objects?

Question 13

A custom poller has polled some results from nodes. Which of the following is a possible reason for NOT being able to show the polled results as charts on the Orion Web Console?

Accepted Answer

A

Explanation: One possible reason for not being able to show the polled results as charts on the Orion Web Console is that you did not set the poller to collect historical statistics. Historical statistics are required for displaying charts and gauges in the web console, as they provide the data points for plotting the trends and values over time. If you only set the poller to collect current statistics, you will only be able to view the polled results as tables or lists in the web console. To set the poller to collect historical statistics, you need to edit the poller and select the Keep Historical Data option in the Poller Properties page. You can also specify the retention settings for the historical data, such as the frequency and duration of data collection and storage1. Reference: Create a custom poller

Question 14

Network performance over an inter-campus Ethernet link is slow. One side of the connection is
experiencing a high number of packet drops. What information in NPM can you review to help
discover the cause of the issue?

Accepted Answer

A

Explanation: 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. Reference: Monitor packet loss in NPM - SolarWinds Troubleshoot intermittent network slowdowns with NPM - SolarWinds SCP Study Aid - SolarWinds (page 9)

Question 15

You use NPM to monitor a set of physical servers. The server team decides to virtualize these servers using VMware. Which part of your virtual infrastructure will NPM no longer be able to monitor?

Accepted Answer

B

Explanation: https://support.solarwinds.com/SuccessCenter/s/article/VMAN-and-IVIM-featurecomparison?language=en_US

Free SolarWinds SCP-NPM Actual Exam Questions