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This is the latest documentation for BMC Helix Network Management (formerly known as Netreo).

 

System Preferences

 

From the main menu, select Administration > System > Preferences to open the BMC Helix Network Management System Preferences page.

You must select Save Changes to commit any changes made.

General Options

  • NETREO PAGE TITLE
    This name is displayed in the browser title bar for each dashboard page.
  • ALERT PREFIX
    All incident IDs will use this as a prefix to identify the source BMC Helix Network Management server.
  • FQDN FOR NETREO URL IN ALERTS
    The FQDN for this BMC Helix Network Management appliance. This allows BMC Helix Network Management to provide a working URL in alert messages that will take the responder directly to the source of the problem. BMC Helix Network Management messages are always in plain-text, but smart email parsers will make this URL a clickable link.
  • NETREO CUSTOM MESSAGE
    Text entered into this field will appear as a message above the login screen (see image at right). Use this field to provide instructions to users when they log in.

System Options

  • BACKUP FILE NAME PREFIX
    Switching this feature on will add the BMC Helix Network Management host name from the ALERT PREFIX setting above to the beginning of the backup file name. Useful if you have multiple BMC Helix Network Management appliances deployed.
  • USER SESSION EXPIRATION
    BMC Helix Network Management will automatically log out any users who have been inactive for this number of minutes.
  • PASSWORD EXPIRATION
    Select a time period (in days) from the pull-down list within which users must change their passwords. Can be set to “Never,” if desired.
  • THRESHOLD RECOVERY ALARMS
    When enabled, BMC Helix Network Management will run the action groups assigned to a threshold check when it recovers from a critical alarm state (as well as when entering that state).
  • EMAIL SOURCE ADDRESS FOR REPORTS
    The email address BMC Helix Network Management will use as its source address for sending reports through email.
  • WINDOWS POLLING METHOD
    The default method BMC Helix Network Management will use to try to poll Windows devices. Can be overridden on a per-device basis on the Device Administration page. The available options are:
    • Windows Management Instrumentation - For connecting to pre-version 10 Windows Server devices that still use the deprecated WMIC tool.
    • Windows Remote Management - (default) (WMI commands are still used by PowerShell to collect polling data. See WMI Class Reference for more information.)
    • Windows Native PowerShell - (Available for RHEL 8 and CentOS 8 only.) If selected, will deactivate toggle for Windows Remote Management Check below (if active), as port TCP/5986 is not supported with this polling method.
  • WINDOWS REMOTE MANAGEMENT CHECK
    When enabled, BMC Helix Network Management authenticates with Windows devices using only the secure port TCP/5986 and encrypted credentials.
  • AUTOMATICALLY ADD ACCESS POINT
    When enabled, BMC Helix Network Management will automatically add active wireless access points (WAPs) when they are discovered.
  • AUTOMATICALLY DISABLE DEVICE
    The number of hours after which BMC Helix Network Management will automatically disable polling and monitoring for a device reported as down. (For example: 24 hours, 168 hours (7 days), 8544 hours (356 days)
    • When a device is auto-disabled due to being reported as down for the defined duration, BMC Helix Network Management marks it with an "auto-disabled" flag. This indicates that polling and monitoring were automatically suspended.
    • Clearing the auto-disabled flag:

      • If the device returns online and responds successfully to a discovery poll, BMC Helix Network Management automatically clears the auto-disabled flag and re-enables polling and monitoring. This recovery process is fully automated and does not require manual intervention if the device returns to an UP state.

    • Effect of user-initiated changes while the device is auto-disabled:

      • If a user updates the device settings (such as toggling the Polling & Monitoring flag, changing device type, or modifying other configurations) while the device remains DOWN, the auto-disabled flag will persist.

      • Such changes do not affect the automated re-enable logic, which depends on the device responding to discovery polls.

  • DEVICE SSH ACCESS
    This setting allows/disallows SSH access to managed devices for several tools in BMC Helix Network Management. The three options available are:
    • Disable Remote SSH
    • Allow Remote SSH
    • Allow Remote SSH and Auto-login to Enable Mode
  • TURN ON SSH1 ALGORITHMS FOR ALL SSH TOOLS
    When enabled, BMC Helix Network Management will use only SSH1 algorithms for all SSH tools.
  • AUTOMATIC UPDATES
    When enabled, BMC Helix Network Management will automatically update itself to the latest maintenance release. Updates are performed early on the first Sunday after a release is available. (Applies to on-premise appliance deployments only. SaaS deployments are always on the latest release.)
  • INCLUDE DEVICE PASSWORDS IN CSV EXPORT
    If enabled, BMC Helix Network Management will include decrypted passwords in the CSV export list of devices.
  • PREFERRED IP PROTOCOL VERSION
    (IPv4 selected by default) When a device responds to both IPv4 and IPv6, the selected IP protocol version will take precedence. The change for each device will take place after its normally scheduled (or manually initiated) discovery poll. This global preference may be overridden on a per-device basis using the IP PROTOCOL VERSION field in its Device Administration page.
  • Devices Auto-Parenting
    (Enabled by default) When enabled, BMC Helix Network Management attempts to automatically determine parent and child devices for all managed devices each time a new device is added for monitoring. While this setting is enabled, automatically discovered parent-child relationships cannot be deleted by the user; however, additional relationships can still be added. Disabling this setting will delete all auto-discovered parent-child relationships, while retaining any manually added relationships.

Display Options

  • REFRESH RATE
    How often (in seconds) to refresh dashboards that use a refresh (0 to disable, 30 is minimum, 120 is recommended).
  • TOPOLOGY MAP DISPLAY
    The arrangement in which the icons of the network hierarchy are drawn on the Topology Map. The options are:
    • Draw Map Top Down - This displays the network hierarchy with parents at the top and their children below.
    • Draw Map Bottom Up - This displays the network hierarchy with the children at the top of the map and their parents below.
  • BANDWIDTH UTILIZATION DISPLAY
    Determines whether to display interfaces in the Bandwidth Utilization Dashboard using the interface description or device name. The available options are:
    • Display Interface Description
    • Display Device Name

 

 

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BMC Helix Network Management