NP-View uses reports to present network information related to the open workspace. These reports are available to all users and can be accessed from the main menu. All of the reports are continuous scroll and can be searched by table or column. Searches can be combined between the table and columns.
Viewing Note: The reports are displayed with alternate rows shaded in a light gray. Also, in some columns (e.g., Risks) we also use a light gray text. We have noticed that some custom calibrations will turn these colors to white. If the gradient rows or text colors are not displaying on your screen try calibrating your monitor to the default settings to make them visible.
This report provides a summary of all device rules loaded into the workspace and can be accessed from the main menu (left image) or from the device info panel (right image).
If accessed from the main menu, rules for all devices in the workspace will be displayed. If accessed from the info panel, only the rules for the selected device will be displayed.
Fields with more data than can be shown within the columns with display a + icon which will show the additional data when clicked. The source, destination and service columns will show related object groups and object data within the + popup.
Columns can be displayed or hidden using the Kebab menu in the upper right corner of the report. Changes to the menu are automatically saved. Additionally, the table can be exported as displayed, with comment history or with object groups. Only visible columns will be displayed.
Columns can be sorted, rearranged or resized and changes will be automatically saved. Column filters can be displayed. Filters applied to the table or column will automatically be saved. Filters can be reset from the kebab menu. The default sort order for the table is ‘Device’ then ‘Line #’. To reset to the default sort order, open the Kebab menu and click “Clear all filters”.
Note that when filters are applied, a filters active indicator will be displayed.
When switching devices or views, the filters remain until cleared which may provide the user with unexpected results until the filters are changed or cleared.
Access rule commenting
Comments can be added to a row by double-clicking on the cell in the column “Comment”. Comment text and status can be added and then saved with the save button.
Once the comment is saved, the author and time stamp are automatically added.
Additional comments can be added and the history of comments can be displayed. Comments can only be added to the history, editing and deleting is not supported.
The history of comment changes can be viewed by clicking the clock icon in the left most column. If there is no comment history the clock icon will be disabled.
Additional Features
This report provides a summary of all assets loaded into the workspace including: Firewalls, Routers, Switches, Gateways and Hosts.
If an IP address is displayed as 0.0.0.0 this device has an IP address assigned by DHCP and while the device was detected, an IP address could not be extracted.
Unmapped hosts have enough information for inferring but not for mapping purposes on the topology. For some devices there may be a large number of hosts defined in Asset Inventory but less are showing on the topology map. These ‘invisible’ hosts are located behind mapped gateways and can be seen in the gateway’s peer list.
This report provides a summary of network ACL object groups including: Host IP addresses, network address of group members, and nested object groups. Object Groups classify users, devices, or protocols into “groups” and apply those groups to Access Control Lists (ACLs) to create access control policies for those groups. This report can be accessed from the main menu (left image) of from the device info panel (right image).
If accessed from the main menu, objects for all devices in the workspace including globals will be displayed. If accessed from the info panel, only the objects for the selected device will be displayed. When data is loaded from a firewall vs Network Management system, the listing of object groups for addresses may vary.
Objects consist of several types including Address, Service, Binding, Interface, and Zone.
Fields with more data than can be shown within the columns with display a + icon which will show the additional data when clicked. The name column will show related object data details within the + popup.
Columns can be displayed or hidden using the Kebab menu in the upper right corner of the report. Changes to the menu are automatically saved. Additionally, the table can be exported as displayed, with comment history or with object groups. Only visible columns will be displayed.
Columns can be sorted, rearranged or resized and changes will be automatically saved. Column filters can be displayed. Filters applied to the table or column will automatically be saved. Filters can be reset from the Kebab menu. The default sort order for the table is ‘Origin’. To reset to the default sort order, open the Kebab menu and click “Clear all filters”.
Note that when filters are applied, a filters active indicator will be displayed.
When switching devices or views, the filters remain until cleared which may provide the user with unexpected results until the filters are changed or cleared.
Object group commenting
Comments can be added to a row by double-clicking on the cell in the column “Comment”. Comment text and status can be added and then saved with the save button.
Once the comment is saved, the author and time stamp are automatically added.
Additional comments can be added and the history of comments can be displayed. Comments can only be added to the history, editing and deleting is not supported.
The history of comment changes can be viewed by clicking the clock icon in the left most column. If there is no comment history the clock icon will be disabled.
Additional Features
When a potential risk or warning is identified, it is logged in the “Risks and Warnings” table with a time and date stamp. Each potential risk is assigned a “type” (Risk or Warning) and a Criticality (High, Medium, Low) based on the active policies in the Policy manager. Additionally, the device name and a description of the infraction is listed with the status (New, Confirmed, Resolved, False Positive, Will Not Fix or Fixed).
For new risks or warnings, the expectation is that the user will review each item, determine if the issue needs to be addressed and they can manually change the action status accordingly.
Upon subsequent network updates, the system will adjust the status if required. For example:
Note that if no risks or warnings are displaying in the Risks and Warnings report, please check the Policy Manager and verify that at least one policy and requirement is enabled and that at least one device is selected to run the risks report.
Access Rules and Object Groups have a Compare function to show historical differences in data that has been added or removed. The function can be engaged by clicking the “Compare” button located at the top of the page. This function is used to display changes over a period of days.
The user can select a time frame (7, 30, 90 or 356 days or a custom date range). The user can select one or more devices to include in the report and then show the history over the range. Once the parameters are selected, the “Show Comparison” button should be selected.
The comparison function will display all changes (Rule Adds, Rule Removal and Unchanged Rules) for the selected days. The data will be displayed using the column format of the selected table. The user can filter on added, removed or unchanged rules by clicking the jelly bean. Added rules will be highlighted in green, removed rules will be highlighted in red and unchanged rules will be highlighted in light blue.
Clicking the “Compare” button will revert to the normal table but will not clear the selections.
Clicking the “Reset” button will clear the selections and reset the table.
NP-View reports use highlighting to help the user quickly identify important information. The highlighting is controlled by the Table Highlight tab under the Policy manager function.
To learn more about Table Highlighting and the Policy Manager refer to the Policy Manager article.
Individual columns can be sorted ascending or descending as well as hidden from the table by using the Kebab menu on each column.
The report can also be personalized by adding or removing columns. By clicking the Kebab menu in the upper right, a list of columns will be displayed. The user can enable and disable specific columns for viewing. Selections are automatically saved.
Displayed columns can also be personalized. The user can change the column size (drag between columns) and order of the columns (drag from header).
The updated configuration will apply to all reports of the same type across workspaces. Each user can personalize the reports to meet their needs.
Note: Select reports have data export and import capabilities. Details on these features can be found here.
As modifications are made to the network and the updated configuration files are imported, the NP-View automatically detects the changes and logs them in the Change Tracking table. For each change, the timestamp, action, device, and description are recorded.
The actions recorded are as follows:
File import – for each file uploaded, of the following statuses will be displayed
Topology map – for each file uploaded, of the following statuses will be displayed for the topology map
Connectivity Paths – for each file uploaded, of the following statuses will be displayed for the workspace
Changes are displayed by calendar day. At the top of the table is a drop down that allows the user to select which day to review. The default is the current day.
The change tracking table can be searched, sorted by any column, switched to a list view, exported, and configured with alternate columns if required. These functions are available in the upper right corner of the table.
This report provides a summary of network paths and their analysis results. By clicking on a specific rule sequence, the associated access rule can be displayed for review and comment. This report is only available from within a view.
This interactive report provides a network path comparison between two points in time. When a configuration file is added to the system and is different from the previously imported file, a new “Version” is created. The user can select two versions to compare. The resulting table will display the changes between the two files. Removals in the left column and adds in the right column.
This interactive report is available from the main menu when two or more zones have been created. This report can be used to verify open ports between zones. This report is only available from within a view.
This interactive report is available from the main menu and from the device info panel to show all interfaces identified on the device. If opened from the main menu, all devices and interfaces will be displayed. If opened from a single device, only devices and interfaces from the selected devices will be displayed.
These interactive reports are available from device info panel to show all Routes or NAT’s
This interactive report is available from the device info panel and can be used to verify open ports between devices. This report is only available from within a view.
The system logs features shows a detailed sequence of tasks attempted and completed. This log is primarily used for system debugging and contains information, errors and warnings derived during system operation. The system log feature has three views, Workspace, User, and System. The System view is accessible only by the Administrator and shows the overall operation of system across users and workspaces. The workspace and user views are available to the Administrator and Workspace Admin. The user view shows the actions taken by the current user on the open workspace. The Workspace view shows system actions for the open workspace. The views can be filtered to show only information, errors, warnings or all. Errors are generated when a system operation fails to complete. Warnings are generated during data parsing and when policy / requirement infractions are identified.
The background task functions shows the status of each task spawned by a data import, merge, analysis or running policy. A parsing task indicates the imported file is being normalized and hosts inferred. Merge tasks combine the blueprints into the topology map. Analysis defines all of the paths and open ports. Policies review the active requirements to identify potential risks for review or to provide cell / text highlighting for reports.
The report displays the task name, its progress, the workspace the task is running, the user who owns the task and the time it started or ended. The check box allows the user to filter on the tasks pertinent to the current workspace. The X allows the user to cancel a task that may be running too long or be stuck for some reason.
The user can also cancel all tasks within a workspace using the “Cancel All for this Workspace” button.
Tip: Click on the active spinner on the topology map to invoke the Background Task report.
