A web-based management GUI for legacy PureData for Analytics systems. Useful on any PDA appliance, and essential after our OS hardening service, which locks down the legacy host so that only the ODBC/JDBC database port is externally accessible. NZ Controller is provided free to all Netezza® Support Plus Managed Service customers.
What NZ Controller Delivers
NZ Controller is a browser-based web application for day-to-day monitoring, management, and maintenance of your PureData for Analytics hardware and software. System overview, active sessions, hardware health, and audit log are available on any PDA system. After the OS hardening service, the legacy host VM is accessible only via the ODBC/JDBC database port; direct CLI and SSH access are gone entirely. NZ Controller becomes the sole interface for all host-level operations: hardware diagnostics, firmware checks, and ongoing maintenance that would otherwise be impossible. Smart Associates engineers use NZ Controller as the standard access method for all managed support activity.
Smart Associates containerises your existing RHEL6 NPS host inside a VM running on a new Enterprise Linux 9 shell, on four new SSDs shipped to your site and fitted into spare slots in your existing 2-host chassis (2 per host for redundancy). The original RAID array is preserved as a rollback. After hardening, the only externally accessible port on the legacy host is the ODBC/JDBC database port (5480). SSH and all other access paths are eliminated. NZ Controller, deployed separately as a standalone application, becomes the sole interface for ongoing host-level monitoring, management, and maintenance.
Why It’s Needed
Netezza N2001 and N3001 systems run on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, which reached end of support in November 2020. IBM® has never provided an official path to upgrade Netezza to RHEL7 or above — and RHEL7 itself reached end of support in July 2024. Known CVEs on RHEL6 Netezza systems will not receive patches from IBM or Red Hat.
This is often the main obstacle to keeping a Netezza appliance running long-term. Even where the business continues to get significant value from the platform, a compliance or security team that cannot accept an unpatched OS will push for decommission or expensive migration — regardless of whether the data platform itself is performing well.
NZ Controller removes that obstacle. The RHEL6 host is containerised inside a VM and hidden behind a fully patched, continuously maintained EL9 environment. Vulnerability exposure is eliminated. Compliance teams get what they need. The appliance keeps running.
Management Interface
On an unhardened system, these capabilities complement the CLI. On a hardened system, where only the ODBC/JDBC database port is externally accessible, they are the only way to perform host-level operations.
A consolidated dashboard showing the current state of your PureData for Analytics appliance — hardware status, software versions, and system health at a glance.
Real-time visibility into hardware health across the appliance chassis: disk status, fan speeds, temperatures, and firmware versions. On a hardened system this is the only way to access these diagnostics, since CLI access has been eliminated.
Monitor current database sessions, query activity, and connected users. Identify long-running or problematic queries and take action directly from the browser.
A tamper-evident record of management actions and system events — supporting compliance requirements and providing the audit trail needed for security reviews and incident investigation.
Deployment
Smart Associates ships the SSDs directly to your site. Our engineers then guide you through the full process remotely: SSD installation, EL9 host configuration, RHEL6 VM migration, firewall hardening, and NZ Controller setup. No on-site visit required.
The EL9 outer shell can run any Enterprise Linux flavour — Rocky, Alma, Oracle, or RHEL — to match your organisation’s standards.
Discuss DeploymentPricing
The NZ Controller web app is included with your managed support. The OS hardening is a separate, optional add-on — taken when compliance or diagnostics demand it.
Included with Netezza Support Plus Managed tier
The full NZ Controller management GUI is provided at no extra charge to Netezza Support Plus Managed Service customers. Smart Associates engineers use it as the standard access method for all managed support activity on your system, giving you a complete audit trail of every action taken. On hardened systems, NZ Controller is essential: it is the sole interface for ongoing host-level monitoring, management, and maintenance.
View Managed SupportOne-time service, any support tier
+ VAT · supply, configuration & installation
Includes 4× SSDs (shipped to your site, 2 per host for redundancy) and all labour to containerise the original RHEL6 OS and install the new hardened EL9 shell around it. Smart Associates guides your team through the process remotely. After hardening, only the ODBC/JDBC database port is externally accessible. NZ Controller, deployed as a standalone application, becomes the sole interface for all host-level operations.
Enquire About HardeningTalk to Smart Associates about NZ Controller for your PDA system, or visit the dedicated product site for full details.
