N-central Features and functionality

N-able N-central offers on-premise and hosted options, designed for managed service providers who require more customization for complex environments. This document provides an overview of N-central's features and functionality.

Feature Overview
Analytics Analytics, utilizing Microsoft Power BI, provides comprehensive business intelligence through visualized dashboards. It efficiently summarizes data, enabling quick identification of patterns, trends, and areas for improvement. With the ability to drill down into individual customer data, it enhances decision-making by addressing complex business questions.
APIs With our APIs, both REST and classic, you can seamlessly retrieve endpoint data from N-able N-central and integrate it into various applications, enhancing system functionality and interoperability.
Asset discovery Asset discovery enables you to gather a list of all available devices for on a network. You perform an asset discovery when you have a new network or customer to monitor, or to find any new devices at a customer site.
Automation Automation in N-able N-central enables you to eliminate repetitive tasks across your customer base. You can automate activities such as: onboarding, ticket management, proactive and reactive maintenance, business reporting.
Automation Manager Create scripts to help automate routine tasks using a drag-and-drop interface designed for simplicity—no need to learn a scripting language or write a line of code.
Back up the N-able N-central server Backing up the N-able N-central database enables you to create a copy of the database on the N-able N-central server and upload a copy to an FTP server. This provides a backup that you can restore from in the event of a hard disk failure or data loss.
Connect2Help A multi-functional system tray tool for managed workstations and servers. The tool displays essential device information and allows you to add custom links for easy client support contact, access web portals and execute common system commands.
Cove Data Protection Cove Data Protection (Cove)™ offers cloud-first backup, disaster recovery, and archiving for both physical and virtual servers, workstations, and Microsoft 365® data. Managed through a unified web-based dashboard, Cove is designed to simplify data protection for Windows, macOS, Linux and Microsoft 365®, minimizing cost and complexity while maintaining speed and reliability.
Dashboards Dashboards enable you to quickly access specific devices and services to monitor their status.
Device Management

Devices are the systems, or items, that you monitor and maintain for your customer to ensure their business goals are met. In N-able N-central there are three types of devices:

  • Network device – such as a workstation, laptop, server, router/switch, printer, scanner, or a storage device

  • Mobile device – such as a smartphone or tablet

  • Cloud service device – either an Office 365 resource or another SaaS offering.
Device Management for Apple Device Management for Apple (DMA) is the N-central MDM solution. It enables you to use MDM with your monitored macOS (10.13.2+) devices so you can configure your devices by sending configuration profiles to them directly from the N-central Dashboard.
Disk Encryption Volume level disk encryption protects your customers' data due to theft or accidental loss, by rendering information on hard drives unreadable to unauthorized users. Disk encryption is integrated into Security Manager | AV Defender.
DNS Filtering DNS Filtering is a cloud-based, AI-driven content filtering and threat protection service based on DNSFilter. It is integrated with and configured in N-able N-central within minutes, with no installation of additional software necessary.
Domain user management Domain user management enables you to manage your active directory users without the need to remotely connect to the domain controller.
Endpoint Detection and Response (Integrated) An integrated threat management software from SentinelOne. Enabling devices to self-defend and heal themselves by stopping processes, quarantine, fix, and roll back events to keep devices protected. (Login required to view the documentation.)
Filters and Filtering Filters enable you apply service templates and scheduled tasks to devices based on specific criteria. N-able N-central includes many filters for the most common selection of devices, such as all Windows laptops, workstations and servers. You can use these filters as a starting point for your own specialized filters.
Microsoft Intune Integration with Microsoft’s Intune Mobile Device Management platform, leveraging all of the automation and features in N-able N-central.
Mobile Device Management Mobile Device Management (MDM) enables you to manage a customer's iOS or Android phones and tablets. By managing mobile devices, you can set up corporate email, WiFi access, track the location of the device and if necessary, wipe the data in the event the device is lost, to prevent someone from seeing sensitive information.
Multi-Instance Multi-Instance, tailored for MSPs handling devices across two or more N-central servers, empowers partners to efficiently manage multiple N-central server instances, mitigating inefficiencies, complexities, and potential security vulnerabilities.
N-able Backup N-able Backup is a hybrid cloud-based backup and recovery platform. N-able Backup operates seamlessly in the background, storing data in reliable, secure data centers away from your customer's devices. Restoration of data can be for a single file or an entire system.
NetPath NetPath™ displays the performance details of devices inside and outside of your network. It enables you to understand your network's performance and infrastructure beyond your firewall, from source to destination and everything in between.
Network Monitoring N-able N-central can monitor anything with an IP Address or network address. Because there are so many different types of devices available, N-able N-central gives you the ability to create your own custom services. If the device supports SNMP and the manufacturer provides the MIBs for the device, you can create your own services for the device.
Network Topology Mapping

Network Topology Mapping allows you to scan your network of devices and visualize it by building a topology map of the network. Based upon the N-able Network Topology Mapper product, the MSP Network Topology map provides you with the following information about your network:

  • The monitoring status of scanned devices

  • A list of services of a N-able N-central-managed device

  • Allows you to deep link from the topology map to the device details view.
Notifications Notifications are used to alert you to changes in the status of a monitored service. You can send notifications to any registered user through e-mail or mobile device. You can assign users notification methods and schedules, enabling you to tailor the notifications to the user and when they will receive notifications.
Patch Management Effectively manage the download and installation of Microsoft and third-party software patches across Windows devices on your customers' networks. Patch Management uses rules, caching, multiple maintenance windows and automated approval methods to enable you to automate the patching of devices under your management.
Patch Management for Apple Update the operating system, manage App Store purchases, and deploy updates for third-party non-App Store apps on your Apple devices.
Probes and Agents Device management relies on software probes and agents. Probes are responsible for network equipment providing monitoring and management services for devices on that private network. Agents are additional software components installed on Microsoft, macOS, or Linux host devices to gather data from local device. Agents are typically installed on devices to provide full monitoring and management regardless of where the device is.
PSA Integrations Professional Services Automation (PSA) is a software solution that incorporates separate project management, time tracking, invoicing, and collaboration tools used by many professional service providers including Autotask, ConnectWise, MSP Manager, Help Desk Manager, Marval, and Tigerpaw. Custom PSA Integration functionality enables you to link your custom PSA application with N-able N-central.
Remote Control A key feature of N-able N-central is the ability to remotely control any managed device in your network using Take Control, Remote Desktop, SSH, Telnet, Web Page or a custom connection.
Report Manager Report Manager is the premier solution used by managed service providers and other IT service companies to report on the performance of IT infrastructure under their management.
Reporting Online reports are built-in, customizable reports in N-able N-central to enable you to extract real-time data about devices you are monitoring.
Rules A rule is like a bucket that collects filtered devices. A filter collects devices based on selected criteria and drops them into the bucket, or rule. The rule defines what tasks are initiated when the devices are filtered. Once the devices belong in that rule, the rule activates and the N-able N-central automation begins.
Scheduled Tasks Scheduled Tasks enable you configureN-able N-central to perform specific maintenance functions and tasks for a one-time or on a recurring basis, at all administrative levels. Scheduled tasks can run across multiple customers or sites and take full advantage of filters to best target specific devices.
Security Manager | AV Defender All-in-one solution to protect customer devices and networks from anti-malware using behavioral analysis, network traffic scans, content control, anti-phishing and firewall. Using security profiles, you can configure tailored security settings to best suit your customer's needs
Services Services monitor customer devices, generate email alerts and PSA tickets, and enable technicians to view the status of devices and troubleshoot errors. Services are composed of metrics that monitor one aspect of a device.
Services Templates Use service templates to group and configure services to monitor devices. Service templates provide a way to group similar services that you can apply to devices and newly discovered devices. The templates save time by providing a quick way to apply standard monitoring and data analysis across all your customer's devices
SNMP Monitoring N-able N-central uses SNMP to discover asset information and monitor the status of devices. N-able N-central uses SNMP in two ways: it queries devices for information using the GET command, and it receives syslog messages.
Take Control A remote management tool that enables you to troubleshoot and resolve your customer's issues without interrupting the user. Take Control connects directly into the device, enabling you to easily see what is going on with the device and make the necessary changes, completely transparent to the end user.