Extreme Networks EPICenter Guide Manual page 14

EPICenter Overview
management simplifies the configuration and maintenance of your network elements. These
functions can be performed simultaneously on groups of devices anywhere on the network as well
as on devices individually. EPICenter's stacking capability enables management of a stack of devices
as a single device and manages all ports on all devices using a single IP address.
Voice-Class Availability. EPICenter's availability is greatly enhanced by granular health and status
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monitoring of the network. Ethernet Automatic Protection Switching (EAPS) protocol support within
EPICenter enhances a highly available Extreme Networks switching environment. The Policy
Manager lets you work with high-level policy components in defining network policies to protect
and guarantee delivery of mission-critical traffic. The Real Time Statistics feature provides a
graphical representation of utilization and error statistics for multiple ports on a device, device slot,
or within a port group.
Comprehensive Security. EPICenter provides multiple features that control and monitor the security
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features on Extreme Networks' products. The VLAN Manager enables the creation and management
of VLANs easily throughout the network. The Policy Manager's access-based security policies
enforce user-based security. The IP/MAC Address Finder tool to locate any MAC address on your
network.
Support for multiple users with security. Users must log in to the EPICenter application, and can be
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granted different levels of access to the application features based on their assigned role. Three basic
predefined roles are provided, and additional user roles can be created. Telnet and SSH access to
Extreme switches can also be controlled based on the user identity. To protect the sensitive data from
being intercepted or altered by unauthorized access, Secure Shell 2 (SSHv2) protocol and HTTPS
protocols are provided. These protocols encrypt traffic between the switch management port and the
EPICenter.
Intelligent Management. Extreme Networks SmartTraps
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changes and forward them to the EPICenter server, thereby minimizing network management traffic.
EPICenter separates its SNMP status polling, used to asses a device's connectivity, from its less
frequent and more data-intensive detailed polling. The EPICenter alarm system further maximize
network monitoring capability while maintaining network usage efficiency.
Centralized Monitoring and Control. Extreme Networks switches and many other MIB-2
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compatible devices can be monitored and controlled from a central interface, without exiting
EPICenter to run a separate program or Telnet session. You can monitor the status of your network
devices visually through the Inventory Manager, via the Topology map, or by setting alarms that will
notify you about conditions or events on your network devices.
Group network elements for management efficiency. You can organize your network resources
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into multiple, overlapping groups (including groups made up of selected ports from multiple
switches) that you can manage as a single entity. Device groupings can be based on a variety of
factors, such as physical location, logical grouping, devices that support SSH2, and so on. Using
device groups, you can search for individual IP addresses and identify their connections into the
network. You can monitor the status of your network devices visually through the Inventory
Manager or via a Topology map, or by setting alarms that will notify you about conditions or events
on your network devices. You can display an overview of the status of your network devices as a
hierarchical topology map.
Hierarchical Displays. Most information, including that found in EPICenter topology maps, VLAN
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management, configuration management, and real-time statistics, is dynamically presented in an
easy-to-navigate hierarchical tree.
Multi-platform capability. The EPICenter server supports Sun SPARC and Intel platforms, and the
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Windows XP or 2003 Server, Linux and Solaris operating environments. Client applications on any of
these platforms can connect to servers on either platform.
Installed or web-based clients. The EPICenter software gives you a choice of installing full-function
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client software, or connecting to the EPICenter server through a web-browser-based client running
under Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox.
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automatically gather switch configuration
EPICenter Concepts and Solutions Guide