Monitor v3.1.0 Install and User Guide

Introduction

nShield® Monitor is a monitoring solution delivered in a virtual appliance environment. Designed to be both cost-effective and scalable, it delivers the level of security assurance expected of a Hardware Security Module (HSM) accessory supporting application.

Users connect to the nShield Monitor server via HTTP(s) using a configured IP address or through a user-friendly name. This is achieved using a standard web-browser (Internet Explorer, Chrome or Firefox). nShield Monitor provides a secure, authenticated connection allowing easy access to all monitored information.

nShield Monitor provides the following features:

  • Able to monitor of estates composed of the nShield HSMs and client hosts

  • Operates automatically in the background without human involvement

  • Alerts users when investigation or intervention may be required

  • Provides information relevant to each user based upon role and groups

  • nShield Monitor provides the following benefits to an organization:

  • Removes the need to pro-actively inspect each device to determine status on a regular basis

  • Suitable to operate in "dark" data centers or in environments where physical access to devices is not possible

  • Rapid and automatic notification of potential security issues

  • Ability to respond to device hardware failures. For example, a failed power supply unit.

  • Notification of unexpected changes to device configurations

  • Immediate alerting of device overload

  • General reporting of security, configuration, health and utilization of the estate of devices to support audit requirements

After the initial network setup and installation, the virtualized nShield Monitor server monitors HSMs and client hosts.

nShield Monitor provides a central repository of all information collected from your estate of devices and monitors information directly from the HSMs including device utilization, command information and HSM health. nShield Monitor also provides alarm and event notification (via syslog, SNMP, and email) as well as event logging and report generation from predefined templates.