OpenText Network Operations Management (NOM) — Administration & Real Operations
Blog Series: OpenText NOM — Part 6
➡ Part 1 — SNMP Explained
➡ Part 2 — Network Discovery & Monitoring
➡ Part 3 — Event & Incident Management
➡ Part 4 — Automation
➡ Part 5 — Data & Dashboards
After monitoring, correlation, automation and dashboards — the final layer is real operational administration.
This is where tools stop being software and become part of daily operations inside a NOC.
This article explains what administrators actually do in production.
📌 Role of NOM Administrator
A NOM admin is responsible for keeping monitoring reliable.
Not monitoring devices — monitoring the monitoring system.
Daily responsibilities:
Maintain discovery accuracy
Tune alerts
Manage users
Maintain integrations
Ensure data accuracy
🖼️ NOC Operations Environment
Core Administrative Tasks
1️⃣ Credential Management
Devices require authentication for monitoring.
Common credentials:
| Type | Purpose |
|---|---|
| SNMPv2/v3 | Metrics collection |
| SSH | Automation |
| API tokens | Integration |
Poor credential design → monitoring gaps.
Best practice: credential profiles per vendor.
2️⃣ Discovery Maintenance
Networks change daily.
New VLANs, devices, interfaces.
Admins must:
Re-run discovery
Remove stale nodes
Merge duplicates
Fix topology
🖼️ Topology Maintenance
3️⃣ Alarm Tuning (Most Important Job)
Default monitoring = thousands of useless alerts.
Admin must tune:
Thresholds
Polling interval
Suppression rules
Maintenance windows
Goal: meaningful alerts only.
Real Production Example
Before tuning:
5000 alerts/day
Operators ignore alarms
After tuning:
120 alerts/day
All actionable
4️⃣ User & Role Management
Different teams need different access.
| Role | Access |
|---|---|
| Operator | View alarms |
| L2 Engineer | Acknowledge |
| L3 Engineer | Configure |
| Admin | Full control |
Principle: least privilege.
🖼️ Role Based Access
5️⃣ Integration Management
Monitoring rarely works alone.
Integrations include:
ITSM ticketing
Email/SMS gateways
ChatOps
Automation systems
Admin ensures reliable data flow.
6️⃣ Performance & Database Maintenance
Monitoring generates huge data.
Admin tasks:
Database cleanup
Retention policies
Archive old events
Maintain performance
Without this → slow dashboards.
🖼️ Monitoring System Health
Shift Operations (Real NOC Work)
Daily routine:
Review overnight alarms
Verify monitoring coverage
Check failed polls
Validate integrations
Update maintenance schedules
Common Operational Problems
| Problem | Cause |
|---|---|
| False alarms | Bad thresholds |
| Missing alerts | Credential failure |
| Slow dashboard | Database growth |
| Wrong root cause | Topology error |
Best Practices
✔ Weekly discovery audit
✔ Monthly threshold review
✔ Regular DB cleanup
✔ Monitor the monitoring system
✔ Document runbooks
📚 Recommended Reading
🎯 Conclusion
Tools don’t run networks — operators do.
Administration transforms monitoring from installation → reliable operations.
A well-administered NOM environment prevents outages before they happen.
This is what separates a tool from an operational platform.
💼 Professional Support Available
If you are facing issues in real projects related to enterprise backend development or workflow automation, I provide paid consulting, production debugging, project support, and focused trainings.
Technologies covered include Java, Spring Boot, PL/SQL, CMS, Azure, and workflow automation (jBPM, Camunda BPM, RHPAM).
📧 Contact: ishikhanirankari@gmail.com | info@realtechnologiesindia.com
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