Network Management

Auto Dependencies in NPM vs. Application Dependencies in SAM

If the Application Dependencies feature is enabled in SAM, you may notice a "Calculate dependencies automatically: Turned OFF" line in the Manage Dependencies section of the Orion Web Console.

First published date

11/11/2018 11:34 PM

Last published date

9/7/2021 5:00 PM

Overview

If the Application Dependencies feature is enabled in SAM, you may notice a "Calculate dependencies automatically: Turned OFF" line in the Manage Dependencies section of the Orion Web Console. That status does not refer to SAM's Application Dependencies; it refers to the Enable Auto Dependencies option that you can enable in Network Performance Monitor (NPM), on the Settings > Polling Settings page.

Product section

Orion Platform

Resolution

If the Enable Auto Dependencies feature is enabled in NPM, Orion calculates node-to-node dependencies automatically based on Topology connections. Orion finds the path each polling engine follows to reach nodes and determines node status based on these dependencies. A dependency entry is a directional step in a path.  If auto-dependencies are enabled, NPM recalculates dependencies every topology polling interval.

You can use NPM dependencies to accurately account for topological constraints on your network. These constraints may be either the result of the design of a specific device, as in the case of interfaces on a switch or router, or the result of the physical architecture of the network itself. Orion offers an Unreachable status to account for the case when a device may appear to be down when its status is actually indeterminate, due to another device being down or unresponsive. See Create dependencies between network objects automatically or more information.

To detect and display application dependencies, SAM detects how applications and nodes interact with each other if the Enable Application Dependency Mapping option is enabled on the Application Dependency Settings page. Use data gathered during Application Dependencies polling to:

  • Understand how applications and nodes connect with each another.
  • Identify unmonitored applications and processes that require attention.
  • Leverage latency and packet loss metrics to determine if an issue is caused by an application or the network.

See Monitor application dependencies in SAM for details.