AlterPoint Shoots for Smoother Integration of IT Tools

AlterPoint adds a new software development kit for integrating network device configuration management with other management tools.

With support for an array of multivendor networking devices under its belt, network change and configuration management provider AlterPoint turned its attention to integrating its Device Authority tool with existing customer network and systems management platforms.

The Austin, Texas, company on April 10 released Device Authority V. 4.5 with a new software development kit that enables customers, systems integrators and channel partners to integrate the widespread device configuration data it gathers and normalizes with asset management offerings, troubleticketing systems, performance monitors and new CMDBs (Configuration Management Databases).
Device Authority, in addition to its automated device configuration discovery capability, includes a network intelligence model that allows the tool to normalize captured information to allow for an apples-to-apples comparison of configurations across devices in a network. The network intelligence model provides a foundation for Device Authoritys network policy engine, which supports policy creation and maintenance. With the new SDK, "we wanted to take the value out of our network intelligence model and make it easy to integrate with other IT management solutions," said Roger Castillo, chief technology officer at AlterPoint. "That allows our customers to do true customization of Device Authority to meet their automation needs. AlterPoint has unique detail around configuration management, so we add context to other solutions," he added. For NSM systems such as Hewlett-Packards OpenView Network Node Manager, such integration can provide context to troubleshooting performance or availability faults. "We can provide the answer to the Whats changed? question when assessing an outage. We can provide that console with [that] information and make that integration easy," Castillo said. Because Device Authority automatically tracks any changes made to device configurations, integration with troubleticketing systems can "provide a closed-loop automation process for [managing] change in an enterprise network," said Castillo. To read more about Device Authority, click here. The SDK provides multiple interface options to accommodate a range of integration methods. It supports Enterprise Java Beans, Web services, Perl scripts, RSS and SNMP. The Device Authoritys Event Gateway enables notifications to be integrated into a customers change process. Version 4.5 of the software also includes a new Welcome System series of templates that provide new users with access to best practices in implementing network change and configuration management. The Welcome System online reference system also includes Cheat Sheets that illustrate short cuts for implementing methodologies. Version 4.5 also includes support for Secure Shell Version 2 authentication. It is available now. Check out eWEEK.coms for the latest news, views and analysis on servers, switches and networking protocols for the enterprise and small businesses.