Orion ConnectNow feature in Network Atlas

10/10/2018 2:54 PM

1/3/2025 7:25 PM

This article describes how the ConnectNow tool works in Network Atlas. 

Please note that Network Atlas has been deprecated, as of Orion Platform 2020.2:
Orion Platform 2020.2 Release Notes

It is still available and supported in the current release, but it will be removed in a future release. Deprecation is an indication that you should avoid expanded use of this feature and formulate a plan to discontinue using the feature. SolarWinds recommends that you start using Intelligent Maps in the Orion Web Console to display maps of physical and logical relationships between entities monitored by the Orion Platform products you have installed.

Network Performance Monitor

Using the ConnectNow tool, Network Atlas can automatically draw lines between map objects that are directly connected to your network. ConnectNow displays connections based on data calculated for nodes with enabled L2 and L3 topology pollers, as well as for unidentified nodes.
An unidentified node is a node that was found on the network but is not managed by Orion. These devices might be switches, hubs, routers, or other devices without names or addresses. They can also be virtual, generated to signify an indirect connection within your map in cases when a topology calculation cannot find any direct connections between two nodes. In these cases, an unidentified node is generated between the two known nodes.

Notes:

• The ConnectNow tool cannot draw indirect connections. For example, if the map objects A and C are connected indirectly through device B, you must manually add device B to the map to create the connections.
• ConnectNow displays data stored in the TopologyConnections database table. By default, the data are re-calculated every 30 minutes.
• Orion Enterprise Operations Console (EOC) does not support ConnectNow.
• ConnectNow requires both Layer 2 and Layer 3 data to form a connection - for nodes polled via SNMP, What object IDs (OIDs) does the Orion Platform poll for network topology information provides the OIDs to check on devices using the SNMP Walk tool detailed here: SolarWinds SNMP Walk: A new tool for collecting SNMP MIB walks in Orion Platform

To automatically connect objects using ConnectNow:

1. Add appropriate objects to an open network map.
   Note: For more information about adding objects to a network map, see Adding Map Objects .
2. Click Home > ConnectNow.