Installation
CAUTION
The installation process and the system requirements described below will change in the future NEXT beta versions.
System requirements
NEXT is distributed as an OVA virtual machine image for deployment under the control of a hypervisor. The following hypervisors are currently supported: VMware ESXi.
The recommended system requirements for the platform, depending on the number of network nodes that are planned to be monitored using the monitoring system are shown in the table below.
CPU
Level of Intel Core i3 3.6 GHz, 4 cores.
Level of Intel Core i5 3 GHz, 6 cores.
Level of Intel Xeon E 2.4 GHz, 10 cores.
HDD
up to 200 Gb
up to 1 Tb
up to 2 Tb
RAM
up to 4 Gb
up to 8 Gb
up to 16 Gb
Requirements for network connections used in NEXT
Web GUI
User web-browser
TCP
443
-
Polling
NEXT
UDP
any
161
SNMP Trap
AW device
UDP
162
any
Resolving domain names for the update center
NEXT
UDP/TCP
any
53
Connecting to the update center
NEXT
TCP
any
8443
Connecting to devices via Telnet
NEXT
TCP
any
23
Connecting to devices via SSH
NEXT
TCP
any
22
Downloading the configuration via FTP (control connection)
AW device
TCP
2123
any
Downloading the configuration via FTP (data connection)
NEXT
TCP
any
any
Uploading SSH keys to the device (the device downloads the key via ftp)
AW device
TCP
2122
any
Updating the device firmware (the device downloads the file via ftp)
AW device
TCP
any
any
Pre-installation
Requirements for the deployment:
A virtualization server controlled by a hypervisor compatible with NEXT.
OVA image (Open Virtualization Format) with the latest version of monitoring system, downloaded from the official FTP server.
Installation
NOTE
In this installation example, the VMware ESXi hypervisor is used. For deploying to a different hypervisor, proceed according to the user guide of the product.
Step 1 - import the OVA image
Launch vSphere Client and connect to a hypervisor.
Run the image import wizard "File → Deploy OVF Template".
In the first step of the wizard click on the "Browse" button and and specify the path to the NEXT image file. Click on the "Next" button to proceed to the following step.
The next step contains general information about the image, click the "Next" button.
Specify a custom virtual machine name, such as "NEXT EMS." Click "Next" to continue.
Select the hypervisor storage where the virtual machine should be created. The storage should have the necessary free space, corresponding to the system requirements.
Click "Next" to continue.
At the next step specify the formatting requirements for the space allocated in the repository. Keep the default settings and click "Next" to continue.
Let's configure the network connection of the virtual machine to the local network. It depends on the hypervisor's configuration and on the local network topology. The selection of the network connection is determined by the following requirements:
the monitoring system must have network access to the wireless devices;
the wireless network administrators must have access to the web interface of the monitoring system;
to make updates, the monitoring system must have access to the update server located in the Internet;
for the correct functioning of the notification subsystem, the monitoring system must have network access to the corresponding email server.
Click "Next" to continue.
In the final step, the summary information about the parameters of the newly created virtual machine is displayed. Check it and return to the appropriate steps to make adjustments, if necessary.
Set the "Power on after deployment" flag in order to automatically start the virtual machine after it is created.
If all the parameters are correct, click the "Finish" button to complete the image import and create a virtual machine with the NEXT monitoring system.
Now the virtual machine is created. Run it manually if you have not chosen to start the virtual machine automatically in the previous step.
NOTE
To ensure NEXT work correctly, make sure that EFI support is enabled on the virtual machine. Open the virtual machine's settings by clicking "Edit settings" button, proceed to "VM Options" → "VMware Tools", if necessary in the "Firmware" subsection select the "UEFI" option (virtual machine should be turned off).
Step 2 - NEXT pre-configuration
NOTE
In the first beta version, only the network settings are available for configuration. In the future, the list of adjustable parameters will expand.
Open the virtual machine's console. After NEXT loads, the service mode is launched, in which the basic parameter configuration, necessary to start the monitoring system, is available.
The network connection settings are the most important. By default, NEXT attempts to obtain the network settings via DHCP. To set static values, disable DHCP and manually specify the following parameter values:
IP address and network mask of the monitoring system's network interface;
Default gateway IP address;
DNS server's IP address.
Click on the "Apply" button after setting all the parameters.
The preliminary configuration is completed, now you can connect to NEXT monitoring system's web interface where you will be met by installation wizard.
Time settings
Configure the time settings of virtual machine to ensure correctly displayed date and time in the monitoring system. Open the virtual machine's settings by clicking "Edit settings" button, proceed to "VM Options" → "VMware Tools". Set the "Synchronize guest time with host" flag.
Initial setup
Initial setup allows you to configure the key parameters of the monitoring system:
A user account with the Superadmin role.
The device group name for autodiscovered devices.
Email settings for user notification about incidents.
At the first step of initial settings you need activate the basic license of the Free type. This step is required and cannot be skipped. After installation is completed you can change license to Trial or Enterprise on the settings section.
NOTE
In order to apply the license, the user's PC must have an access to the Internet. The NEXT server access to the Internet is not required.
Click on the "Activate" to go to reading the text of license agreement.
After reading the text of license agreement click on the "Accept" to proceed to license activation.
Copy the activation key and go to the Licensing center by clicking on the "Go to CA".
Click on the "Manage" to view the list of licenses in the Licensing Center. You should use your Passport account to authorize in the licensing center. Please be careful because requested licenses will be issued to the organization and person specified in your user profile.
To create a basic license click on the "Create Free License". Find the created license in the list and click on the "Select".
After that paste the activation key in the appropriate field and click the apply button. Copy the generated license key and return to the initial setup interface to the NEXT.
Paste the license key into the appropriate field and click the apply button.
The license has been successfully applied. Click on the "Continue" to continue initial setup.
On the second step you will create a user account with the Superadmin role. This is the main administrative account assuming full access rights in the monitoring system.
Fill in the required fields and click on the "Continue" to proceed the creation of SNMP profiles and Email settings. These settings are not required to start the monitoring system, so they can be skipped and configured later. You can read about how to do this in the "System Configuration" section.
At the final step of initial setup you need specify the names of two groups of devices (for more details see "Devices and links"):
Default group;
Automatically discovered devices.
After completing the initial setup your NEXT will be ready to work.
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