FirstWave VM

The fastest way to run NMIS 9, Open-AudIT and the full opSuite

The FirstWave VM is a single OVA that ships with everything you need to monitor, audit and automate your network. Deploy it on the hypervisor you already run, and you can be ingesting nodes in under an hour.

No credit card, and no licences pre-installed. Activate a free 20-node licence on each opSuite module, plus a 90-day, 100-device trial of Open-AudIT Enterprise.

Latest release

What's in the latest build

Release details

Release date
Operating system
Debian 12
Direct OVA download
Download the OVA

Component versions

NMIS
9.6.5
Open-AudIT
6.0.4
opCharts
4.9.3
opConfig
4.8.1
opEvents
4.6.4
opHA
5.1.8
opReports
4.6.9
opAddress
2.4.0

What's new in this build

  • Now delivered on Debian 12. Note: the omkadmin password has changed, see the Community Wiki.
  • Open-AudIT 6.0: a major release adding Vulnerability Detection and News Feeds.
  • opCharts: the Node Resources panel on the Nodes screen now shows interface names.
  • opConfig: File Integrity Monitoring command sets, plus TextFSM-based structured processing.
  • opHA: streaming of realtime opEvents.
  • opReports: you can now select Active Interfaces Only in reports.

View the full release notes on the Community Wiki

Why teams choose the VM

Built for network teams who don't have time to babysit a server

Skip the build, keep the control.

The VM is a hardened Debian 12 appliance with every FirstWave module pre-installed, pre-configured and ready to license. You get the operational control of running it inside your own environment, without the days of dependency wrangling.

One stack, end to end.

NMIS 9 for fault and performance, Open-AudIT for discovery and inventory, opCharts for visualisation, opConfig for configuration management, opEvents for correlation and automation, opReports for reporting, opAddress for IPAM, and opHA for distributed deployments. Everything is pre-integrated, so cross-module workflows work on day one.

Production grade from the first boot.

The VM is the same image our customers run in MSP networks, government environments and Fortune 500 enterprises. Snapshot it, replicate it, scale it, or use it as a sandbox before rolling out to bare metal.

A free path to prove value.

Each opSuite module activates a free, time-unlimited 20-node licence, and Open-AudIT ships with a free 90-day trial for 100 devices, so you can prove value on a slice of your estate before scaling. When you're ready, our engineers will help size the licence and plan the rollout.

Where it runs

Runs on the hypervisor you already operate

The FirstWave VM ships as an OVA, so it deploys cleanly on every major hypervisor. Pick your platform and follow the conversion guide.

Quick start

Three steps from download to monitoring

1

Download the OVA.

Grab the latest build from the link above. The image ships with the full opSuite already installed and configured.

2

Deploy on your hypervisor.

Follow the conversion guide for your platform, then power on the appliance. Default credentials are printed in the Message of the Day on the login screen, and listed in the Default Credentials doc on the Community Wiki.

3

Run the Getting Started Wizard.

Point a browser at the VM's IP address. The wizard walks you through licensing the modules you want, and adding your first nodes (one at a time, or in bulk via the Excel import template).

A localhost node is added automatically and starts collecting metrics, events and inventory data on first boot.

Free licence

Free licences, activated on first boot.

The FirstWave VM ships with no licences pre-installed. On first use, each opSuite module activates a free, time-unlimited 20-node licence, and Open-AudIT prompts you to try Open-AudIT Enterprise free for 90 days across 100 devices. That's a full production-quality network management stack for a small estate, or a fully featured lab for a larger one, at zero cost. When you're ready to grow, our team will help you size the licence and plan the rollout.

Designing a deployment? Talk to a FirstWave engineer.

Whether you're modelling a deployment for 200 nodes or 200,000, our team can walk you through:

  • Sizing and architecture for your environment
  • Migrating from Nagios, Zabbix, SolarWinds or PRTG
  • Distributed and high-availability deployments with opHA
  • Custom dashboards, escalations and integrations