HP Dev Resource Central - Gambit gives non-stop systems a real test

HP Dev Resource Central - Gambit gives non-stop systems a real test


Gambit’s MIMIC Simulator and MIMIC Virtual Lab Enterprise software tools provide
simulation software to enable companies to build their own "virtual labs" for testing
and/or developing software without purchasing hardware and maintaining labs.
Read how the Network Node Manager (NNM) Developer's Toolkit streamlined the
work of Gambit developers, enabling them to launch virtual labs from the HP NNM.


Gambit gives non-stop systems a real test

Test a new application for a non-stop environment, a network comprised of ten thousand
devices? It's essential, of course, but was not so easy until the Gambit Communications,
a Nashua, New Hampshire company, was formed in 1995 to research and develop simulation
software products. The MIMIC Simulator and MIMIC Virtual Lab Enterprise software tools
enable companies to build their own "virtual labs" for testing and/or developing software,
without purchasing hardware and maintaining labs. By simulating the SNMP agent in networking
devices the software simulates up to 10,000 devices in one workstation. MIMIC can be
launched from the HP OpenView management console to run the simulated and real network
side-by-side. More information about Gambit Communications, Inc. can be found on the
Web at
www.gambitcomm.com.



A combination that simulates a production network

Pankaj Shah was serious as he described how a customer's network went down after a newly
deployed network management application blew up. Then smiling, he added that with a few
mouse clicks they changed a few settings and re-ran the application. No problems here...
Shah's customer was delighted with this finding, based on software used in conjunction with
HP OpenView. Gambit has enabled the customer to create a working replica of the production
environment, promoting their ability to safely test new applications and equipment, train
staff on everyday procedures, even practice disaster scenarios and recovery procedures -
and do this with far fewer lab resources.

"Realistically, you simply cannot do this without simulation software", says Shah,
co-founder of Gambit Communications. "IT managers never have enough time. Worse, testing
large networks that are new or revamped and comprising several thousand elements means
you need all kinds of expensive equipment to accurately assess and test." Instead,
Gambit's MIMIC provides a copy of the live network seen at the management console. The
software makes it easy for network managers to disable parts of the network and routers
at key traffic points, simulate cable cuts, change traffic, and generate traffic storms
that will be seen by NOC staffers sitting at their HP OpenView console.


Gambit tools used by prominent corporations

Gambit's customers include prominent international giants Alcatel, Lucent Technologies,
Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, BankOne, MCI, BT, Boeing, VISA. and Hewlett-Packard -
where MIMIC is the linchpin of an educational course helping students gain real network
management proficiency with HP OpenView and NNM.


Linking MIMIC output to HP OpenView

"Sample code copied from the HP OpenView Network Node Manager (NNM) Developer's Toolkit
put our development of MIMIC steps ahead. For example," noted Shah, "we saw how HP NNM
expected to receive files and data, and made it easy to create new items for the MIMIC
GUI that worked from the first time without any trial-and-error involved."

The developers also leveraged the documentation (the HP OpenView Integration Guide for
Developers and the HP OpenView Network Node Manager - Creating and Using Registration
Files) to streamline their work. An especially significant chapter described methods
for creating and using registration files, and how the files are processed, which made
subsequent development of interface components easier.

The guides provided Gambit developers a thorough overview of various possible integration
scenarios. "We are easily able to consider scenarios for integration with HP OpenView
Operations and possibly using HP OV Interconnect to obtain data from HP NNM," said Shah,
"now that our integration of MIMIC with HP NNM is complete."


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