Is NetBrain right for me?
NetBrain is designed for enterprise-grade networks. Our automation platform scales for large, complex, multi-vendor, and hybrid (physical, virtual, software-defined) environments. If your network is large enough that it’s hard (if not impossible) to keep accurately documented, then NetBrain is right for you. If your network is so complex that it’s difficult to troubleshoot “by hand,” then NetBrain is right for you. If you have multiple IT teams (network, security, application, virtualization) that need to collaborate, then NetBrain is right for you. But if your network is small, static, and your network teams comprise only a couple of engineers who know everything about it, then there are probably more cost-effective solutions out there to meet your needs.
How do customers typically use NetBrain?
Customers typically use NetBrain in one or all of the following workflows: • Documentation: Dynamic Maps are created instantly, self-update, and make virtually unlimited network information available at a click. • Troubleshooting: Event-triggered automation maps and diagnoses the problem as it’s happening. • Security: When an attack is detected, NetBrain captures the crime scene automatically and allows you mitigate the threat immediately. • SDN: NetBrain automation demystifies your Cisco ACI and VMware NSX environments so you can operate SDN with confidence. • Change Management: Validate the impact of changes to reduce self-inflicted outages. • IT Collaboration: NetBrain shares data via Dynamic Maps and shares know-how via Executable Runbooks — making it the first effective platform for IT collaboration.
How are NetBrain’s Dynamic Maps different from other auto-generated diagrams?
Traditional network topology diagrams — even those built automatically — are essentially just icondriven pictures, where static images identify devices. Dynamic Maps, on the other hand, are datadriven: every element correlates to a mathematical data model with virtually unlimited details about your network configuration, design, topology, status, performance, even information from your NMS tools. Dynamic Maps are like Google Maps for your network. Dynamic Maps are custom-built on the fly in seconds, either by an engineer on demand or by an external system by an event. They’re always accurate, always up-to-date, with all the details you need and none of the clutter you don’t. NetBrain is designed to be the first automation tool for everyday tasks: It is capable of deep-level network discovery and provides on-demand delivery of discovered knowledge to users based on the task at hand. It provides automation for many manual tasks for detailed troubleshooting and design and allows the automation to be customizable by average users. Furthermore, it promotes a mechanism for network professionals to share knowledge and collaborate.
How does NetBrain differ from a network monitoring solution?
NetBrain can perform deep diagnostic monitoring across thousands of data points for any given device. This is helpful to streamline troubleshooting, with interactive automation. However, NetBrain is not designed as a network-wide 24×7 monitoring solution like SolarWinds, Paessler PRTG, etc., due to the volume and depth of data that NetBrain collects. It’s not an either/or decision whether to go with NetBrain or a 24×7 monitoring solution. NetBrain complements, not substitutes for, a monitoring solution. NetBrain automation is how you quickly resolve the issues detected by a 24×7 monitoring tool. Think of it as the difference between a smoke detector and a fire extinguisher. They do different jobs, but you need both.
Is NetBrain a cybersecurity solution?
NetBrain is not an IDS or SIEM. Rather, it’s a complementary solution that enables you to respond faster to a security threat detected by your IDS or SIEM. The second a threat is detected, NetBrain event triggered automation immediately kicks into action to:
- Map the area under attack
- Capture forensic data in real time.
- Run triage diagnostics
Before any human arrives on the scene, critical information has already been collected and analyzed so you can stop the bleeding in minutes, not hours.
What other solutions does NetBrain integrate with?
NetBrain integrates with any tool that has an API. The most common integrations are 24×7 monitoring solutions (SolarWinds, Paessler PRTG), ticketing systems (ServiceNow, BMC Remedy), SIEM and log management tools (Splunk, LogRhythm), and application and performance products (NETSCOUT, Gigamon).
Can I try NetBrain?
Yes. You can sign up for a Test Drive of our software in a hassle-free curated virtual environment here. You can get a hands-on feel for Dynamic Maps, Data Views, and Executable Runbooks. Note: Test Drive is a virtual environment. You won’t be deploying NetBrain on your own network, but it’s the easiest, fastest way to get a hands-on feel for the NetBrain automation platform.
What are the system requirements for installing NetBrain?
It depends on the number of network devices and concurrent users. Find specific details here. How much does NetBrain cost? It depends on the number (and type) of network devices and which modules you have deployed. For more information, start at the Licensing page.
What network devices does NetBrain support?
NetBrain supports hundreds of network hardware types from over 150 vendors — with even more continuously being added. A list of the device vendors and types supported via SNMP, CLI or API is available here.