SCP-NPM SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (NPM) Exam Free Practice Exam Questions (2025 Updated)

The Action Manager is a feature of the Orion Platform that allows you to create, edit, and delete actions for scheduled reports1. Actions are the tasks that are performed when a report is generated, such as sending an email, saving a file, or printing a report2. You can use the Action Manager to edit the email address for each action on each report schedule, without affecting the report content or schedule3. References: 1: Network Performance Monitor Administrator Guide - Use the Action Manager 2: Network Performance Monitor Administrator Guide - Schedule a report 3: SolarWinds Certified Professional Program - Reporting Exam Study Guide - Use the Action Manager

Response time is the amount of time it takes for a service request to return a response. It is a critical SLA performance metric for a hosted data center service, as it directly affects the user experience and satisfaction. High response time can indicate network congestion, server overload, or other performance issues that can degrade the quality of the service. By tracking response time, you can monitor the availability and reliability of the service, identify and troubleshoot potential problems, and ensure that the service meets the SLA expectations and standards. References: How to measure your SLA: 5 Metrics you should be Monitoring and Reporting, Data Center SLA Frequently Offer a 100% Uptime Guarantee, How To Measure SLA Performance in 4 Steps (With Tips).

The Discovery Ignore List is a feature that allows you to specify the IP addresses or hostnames of the devices that you do not want to monitor or discover in the future. You can add devices to the ignore list manually or automatically during the discovery process. Once a device is added to the ignore list, it will be skipped by any subsequent discovery. You can also remove devices from the ignore list if you change your mind and want to monitor them later. References: Add devices to the Discovery Ignore List in NPM, Remove devices from the Discovery Ignore List in NPM, How to View Devices on Your Windows Network and What to Do If You Can’t See Them

NPM provides a default report called Top 25 Interfaces by Percent Utilization that shows the interfaces with the highest average utilization over the selected time period1. This report can be easily edited to change the number of interfaces displayed, the time period, the sorting order, the layout, and the filters2. To create a report that shows the top 50 interfaces by percent utilization, you can simply edit this report and change the Limit option from 25 to 503. This is the most time-efficient way to create the report, as it does not require creating a new report from scratch, writing a SQL query, or running the report multiple times for different timeframes. References: 1: Network Performance Monitor Administrator Guide - Top 25 Interfaces by Percent Utilization 2: Network Performance Monitor Administrator Guide - Edit a report 3: Network Performance Monitor Getting Started Guide - Customize a report

One possible reason for not being able to show the polled results as charts on the Orion Web Console is that you did not set the poller to collect historical statistics. Historical statistics are required for displaying charts and gauges in the web console, as they provide the data points for plotting the trends and values over time. If you only set the poller to collect current statistics, you will only be able to view the polled results as tables or lists in the web console. To set the poller to collect historical statistics, you need to edit the poller and select the Keep Historical Data option in the Poller Properties page. You can also specify the retention settings for the historical data, such as the frequency and duration of data collection and storage1. References: Create a custom poller

Capacity planning is available for the following metrics of monitored nodes, interfaces, and volumes: CPU utilization on nodes, memory usage on nodes, space usage on volumes, receive (in) utilization on interfaces, and transmit (out) utilization on interfaces1. Capacity planning allows you to monitor capacity usage trends on the network and forecast capacity issues based on historical data and customizable thresholds. You can view capacity forecasting graphs and tables on the details views of nodes, interfaces, and volumes, or use the Top XX Capacity Problems widget to see a list of objects whose usage trend is rising2. References: Monitor capacity usage trends on the network and forecast capacity issues in NPM, Forecast capacity for nodes, interfaces, or volumes in NPM

SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is a protocol that allows network managers to monitor and control network devices using a set of standardized messages and data structures. SNMP uses a client-server model, where the network manager (client) sends requests to the network device (server) and receives responses. The network device has an SNMP agent that collects and reports the data using a MIB (Management Information Base), which is a hierarchical database of variables that describe the device’s status and configuration. Each variable in the MIB has a unique identifier called an OID (Object Identifier), which is a dot-separated sequence of numbers that follows a tree structure12.

To retrieve a single value in SNMP, you can use two types of requests: GET and GET NEXT. A GET request asks for the value of a specific OID, and the SNMP agent responds with the value if it exists, or an error if it does not. A GET NEXT request asks for the value of the next OID in the MIB tree, and the SNMP agent responds with the value and the OID of the next variable, or an error if there is no next variable. A GET NEXT request can be useful for discovering the OIDs and values of a device, or for iterating over a table of values34.

A GET VALUE request is not a valid SNMP request, and a GET TABLE request is not a single request, but a series of GET NEXT requests that retrieve all the values in a table . References: 1: SNMP Basics, 2: SNMP Tutorial Part 1 – Understanding MIBs and OIDs, 3: SNMP Tutorial Part 2 – SNMP Get, GetNext, GetBulk, 4: SNMP Commands, : SNMP Table Operations, : SNMP Table Retrieval

According to the SolarWinds NPM Administrator Guide, you can assign different permissions to user accounts to control their access and actions in the Orion Platform. One of the permissions is “Allow Account to Clear Events and Acknowledge Alerts and Syslogs”, which enables the userto acknowledge alerts, clear events, and mark syslogs as read. This permission is required for a user to be able to acknowledge alerts, as acknowledging an alert stops the escalation process and provides an audit trail. The other permissions listed are not related to alert acknowledgment. “Allow Account to Unmanage Objects” allows the user to temporarily stop monitoring selected network objects. “Allow Node Management Rights” allows the user to add, edit, and delete nodes and interfaces. “Allow Administrator Rights” grants the user full access to all Orion Platform features and settings. References: SolarWinds NPM Administrator Guide, page 69-70; Add or remove an alert acknowledgment.

To show the connection between two devices on an Orion map, you need to meet the following requirements1:

The devices must be monitored by NPM.

The devices must support topology and be interconnected.

The devices must have the corresponding interfaces monitored and identified as full or half duplex.

The Orion Maps feature must be enabled and configured.

If you do not see the connection between two devices on an Orion map, you should first verify that you are monitoring Layer 2 and 3 topologies for the devices. You can do this by checking the NPM Network Topology widget on the device details page. This widget will reflect what connections will be automatically drawn in Orion Maps2. If the widget does not show the expected connection, you may need to enable topology polling for the devices or check the SNMP credentials and configuration3.

If you are monitoring the correct topologies and still do not see the connection, you can build a custom connection between the devices using the Orion Maps feature. In the Map Editor, you can add the two devices to the canvas, select them, and click the Connect Objects button. Here you can specify the interface on either side and choose to add the manual connection to the database2.

Building a new Orion map and adding the related entities instead of the nodes will not resolve the issue, as the related entities are based on the same topology data as the nodes. Changing the monitoring method from SNMP to CLI will not resolve the issue, as CLI is not supported for topology polling3.

 Device Studio Poller is a feature that allows users to create custom pollers for devices or technologies that are not supported by default in NPM. It can poll multiple OIDs for a given technology, perform logical operations or transformations on the polled data, and display the polled values in existing resources. However, it does not collect data from Orion Failover Engine or Hot Standby Engines, which are features of Orion High Availability that ensure continuous monitoring in case of primary server failure12. References: 1: Create pollers in Device Studio for NPM3, 2: When Good OIDs Go Bad: Customizing Device Pollers, 3: Manage Pollers (AKA Device Studio) question

https://documentation.solarwinds.com/en/success_center/orionplatform/content/core-monitoring-mibs-with-universal-device-pollers-sw548.htm

The SNMP trap service is responsible for receiving, decoding, displaying, and storing the SNMP trap messages in the Log Analyzer database. If the service is not running, you will not see the messages in the Orion Web Console. You can verify the status of the service by using the Orion Service Manager or the Windows Services console. You can also restart the service if needed. The other options are not relevant for troubleshooting the cause of missing SNMP trap messages. References:

Monitor SNMP traps

Troubleshoot SNMP traps

Orion Service Manager

Orion Maps show you how entities are connected based on the data collected by the Orion Platform products. To display the connections between the nodes in Orion Maps, you need to enable Layer 2 and Layer 3 topology polling on those nodes. This will allow the Orion Platform to discover the network topology using protocols such as CDP, LLDP, or ARP. You can enable topology polling on individual nodes or in bulk using the Manage Nodes feature in the web console. You can also customize the topology polling settings and frequency on the Orion Polling Settings page. References: Intelligent Maps for SolarWinds Platform products; Understand connections on Intelligent Maps in the SolarWinds Platform; Network Mapping Tool – Automated Network Mapping | SolarWinds

To identify the custom poller within the trigger condition, you need to use the Unique Name of your UnDP. The Unique Name is a user-defined identifier that you assign to your custom poller when you create it using the Universal Device Poller tool. The Unique Name is also used to reference the custom poller in the Orion database and the web console. When you select “I want to alert on: Custom Poller” in the alert configuration, you can choose the specific custom poller by its Unique Name from the list of available pollers. You can also use the Unique Name to filter, group, or sort the custom poller data in reports, charts, or tables. References: Create a custom poller, Create an alert for a custom poller, View custom poller data

NPM provides several default reports that can be used as templates for creating custom reports. One of them is the Top 100 Interfaces by Percent Utilization report, which shows the average and peak utilization of the most used interfaces in the network. To create a report that shows only the top 50 interfaces, you can copy this report and edit it to change the number of rows displayed. You can also modify other parameters such as the time period, the grouping, the sorting, and the filtering criteria. To copy and edit a default report, follow these steps1:

Click Reports > All Reports > Manage Reports.

Find the Top 100 Interfaces by Percent Utilization report and click Duplicate & Edit.

On the Layout Builder panel, click Edit Table.

On the Edit Resource panel, change the Maximum Number of Rows to 50.

Optionally, change other settings such as the Time Period, the Group By, the Sort By, and the Filter Results.

Click Submit.

Optionally, change the Report Name, the Report Description, and the Report Category.

Click Next and then Save.

You can now run or schedule the report to show the top 50 interfaces by percent utilization. References: 1: Create a custom report for NPM showing availability of devices in the last 30 days

 The best way to monitor an SNMP metric that NPM is not monitoring out-of-the-box is to create a custom poller using the Universal Device Poller (UnDP) tool. A custom poller allows you to monitor specific aspects of your network devices using SNMP, by selecting the OIDs that correspond to the metrics you want to collect. You can then assign the custom poller to the devices you want to monitor, and view the results in the Orion Web Console, as charts, tables, or gauges. You can also use custom pollers to create alerts and reports based on the collected data. References: Monitor custom statistics based on OIDs with Universal Device Pollers in NPM, Create a custom poller, Assign Universal Device Pollers to devices monitored in NPM

NPM can monitor the network bandwidth utilization of your devices, interfaces, and applications using SNMP and NetFlow protocols. Network bandwidth utilization is the amount of data transmitted or received over a network link in a given time period. High network bandwidth utilization can indicate network congestion, packet loss, latency, or other performance issues that can affect the email delivery speed. By looking at the network bandwidth utilization of thedevices and interfaces involved in the email communication, you can identify the possible bottlenecks or sources of network problems that might be causing the email slowness. References: Monitor network bandwidth utilization in NPM, Network Bandwidth Analyzer Pack, How to Monitor Network Bandwidth Using the Command Line.

When you create or edit an alert, you can test the trigger and reset actions by clicking Simulate next to the action you want to test. This will execute the action regardless of the trigger condition. You can also select an object to resolve any variables you have used in your action. For example, if your action is to send an email with the node name and status, you can select a node to see how the email will look like. This way, you can ensure the trigger actions you set on an alert will work as expected. References: Test alert triggers and actions in the SolarWinds Platform, How to Create Intelligent Alerts with NPM, How alerts work.

You can make bulk changes to nodes in NPM using the Manage Nodes feature. This allows you to select multiple nodes and edit their properties, such as the polling method, the polling frequency, the SNMP credentials, the custom properties, and more. You can also use the Edit Nodes feature to assign or unassign pollers to nodes, such as the Universal Device Poller (UnDP), the Hardware Health Poller, the Wireless Poller, and more12. References: 1: Change the polling method for a node3, 2: Manage pollers using Device Studio4