Using Intermapper

You experience Intermapper through the Map List Window, where you view a list of available maps. When you open a map, it appears in a Map Window.

If you are using RemoteAccess, you might be viewing more than one map list in the Map List window, one for each server.

You can customize Intermapper by defining Helper Applications and by specifying what actions should be taken when you double-click an object on a map. You can also set user preferences for Intermapper and Intermapper RemoteAccess.

Creating Maps

Use this section to find out how to start your map, to use Autodiscovery to find and map each device on your network, and to manually add devices and networks. After you are familiar with what maps are and how you can use them, you can add devices to your map by importing them. You can also export data from maps for use in spreadsheets and databases.

You can place a physical map image in the background of your map and use geographic coordinates as you import to place devices automatically in specific locations in relation to the background image.

Use Intermapper's different probe types to query your devices in specialized ways to give you more accurate information about the device states.

As you become more familiar with what Intermapper can do, you can add networks and scan them. You can create sub-maps, allowing you to view large networks through an overview map and drill down to see more details

Arranging Your Map

After you create your map, you can rearrange devices into logical groups, change the appearance of devices, change the device labels, add text, or add a background image. For maps with large switches, you can hide some detail. For tips on arranging your map, see Arranging Tips.

Notifiers and Alerts

You can set up devices to alert you to problems in a number of ways. When a device goes into the specified state, a notifier is triggered and alerts you to the problem.

You can create your own notifiers and configure them to send an Email message, page (through a modem or network), send a text message to a cell phone, or execute a script or system command. You can also open a WinPopup window on a Microsoft Windows system, send an entry to a Syslog server, or send an SNMP trap.

You can attach notifiers in the following ways:

If a device goes down and other devices are attached to that device, you can set a Vantage Point. Intermapper can then determine that the attached devices are dependent on the down device, and will not send notifications for those devices.

Network Monitoring

Intermapper begins polling devices as soon as you create your map. A lot of information is immediately available by viewing the Status window for a device, network, or link. You also view and edit a device or network information from the Info window. For routers, switches, and other devices with interfaces, you can view status or other information about specific ports through the Interfaces window.

You can set thresholds for a number of statistics:

  • For devices, you can set thresholds for packet loss or network traffic, and Intermapper alerts you when a behavior is out of range.
  • For links, you can set thresholds Error, Link Utilization, and Interface Discards.
  • You can set default thresholds the server, a map, or a device.

You can create charts that graph one or more data values associated with a device. You can also view a detailed Event log and Outage log to help you accurately troubleshoot problems. You can also create new log files for logging specific data.

If a device or link goes down, you can acknowledge the problem, which prevents Intermapper from sending notifications. There are several options for acknowledging problems that allow you to control the resumption of notifications after acknowledgment.

You can collect data from devices and save it in the Intermapper Database, through the Intermapper DataCenter. The data can be retrieved for reporting and analysis. You can set policies to specify how much data is retained and how long it is retained.

Server Settings

Use the Server Settings panel to view information about Intermapper, to set preferences, and to configure Intermapper's Remote, Web, Telnet, and Authentication servers. You can also maintain Intermapper's firewall and user list, enable and disable or control access to maps, and create notifiers.

Intermapper Reference

Use Intermapper Reference to view comprehensive lists of menu commands, details about the available device probes, file and folder locations, and learn advanced data import and export techniques. You can also learn how to use and customize the Intermapper web server and how to use the Intermapper Telnet server.

Troubleshooting Intermapper

Use the Troubleshooting section to help you learn about IP addresses, Domain Name Servers, SNMP, WINS Names, and view a number of frequently asked questions.