Configuring RMON
RMON is an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standard monitoring specification that allows various network agents and console systems to exchange network monitoring data. You can use the RMON alarms and events to monitor Cisco MDS 9000 Family switches running the Cisco SAN-OS Release 2.0(1b) or later or Cisco NX-OS Release 4.1(3) or later software.
This chapter includes the following sections:
Information About RMON
RMON is disabled by default, and no events or alarms are configured in the switch.
All switches in the Cisco MDS 9000 Family support the following RMON functions (defined in RFC 2819):
- Alarm—Each alarm monitors a specific management information base (MIB) object for a specified interval. When the MIB object value exceeds a specified value (rising threshold), the alarm condition is set and only one event is triggered regardless of how long the condition exists. When the MIB object value falls below a certain value (falling threshold), the alarm condition is cleared. This allows the alarm to trigger again when the rising threshold is crossed again.
- Event—Determines the action to take when an event is triggered by an alarm. The action can be to generate a log entry, an SNMP trap, or both.
For agent and management information, see the Cisco MDS 9000 Family MIB Quick Reference.
For information on an SNMP-compatible network management station, see the Configuring RMON .
RMON Configuration Information
RMON is disabled by default and no events or alarms are configured in the switch. You can configure your RMON alarms and events by using the CLI or an SNMP-compatible network management station.
Tip |
We recommend an additional, generic RMON console application on the network management station (NMS) to take advantage of RMON's network management capabilities. |
RMON Configuration Using Threshold Manager
RMON is disabled by default and no events or alarms are configured in the switch. You can configure your RMON alarms and events by using the CLI or by using Threshold Manager in Device Manager.
The Threshold Monitor allows you to trigger an SNMP event or log a message when the selected statistic goes over a configured threshold value. RMON calls this a rising alarm threshold. The configurable settings are as follows:
- Variable—The statistic you want to set the threshold value on.
- Value—The value of the variable that you want the alarm to trigger at. This value is the difference (delta) between two consecutive polls of the variable by Device Manager.
- Sample—The sample period (in seconds) between two consecutive polls of the variable. Select your sample period such that the variable does not cross the threshold value you set under normal operating conditions.
- Warning—The warning level used by Device Manager to indicate the severity of the triggered alarm. This is a DCNM-SAN and Device Manager enhancement to RMON.
Note |
To configure any type of RMON alarm (absolute or delta, rising or falling threshold) click More on the Threshold Manager dialog box. You should be familiar with how RMON defines these concepts before configuring these advanced alarm types. Refer to the RMON-MIB (RFC 2819) for information on how to configure RMON alarms. |
Note |
You must also configure SNMP on the switch to access RMON MIB objects. |
RMON Alarm Configuration Information
Threshold Manager provides a list of common MIB objects to set an RMON threshold and alarm on. The alarm feature monitors a specific MIB object for a specified interval, triggers an alarm at a specified value (rising threshold), and resets the alarm at another value (falling threshold).
You can also set an alarm on any MIB object. The specified MIB must be an existing SNMP MIB object in standard dot notation (1.3.6.1.2.1.2.2.1.14.16777216 16 16777216 for ifInOctets.167772161616777216).
Use one of the following options to specify the interval to monitor the MIB variable (ranges from 1 to 4294967295 seconds):
- Use the delta option to test the change between samples of a MIB variable.
- Use the absolute option to test each MIB variable directly.
- Use the delta option to test any MIB objects that are counters.
The range for the rising threshold and falling threshold values is -2147483647 to 2147483647.
Caution |
The falling threshold must be less than the rising threshold . |
You can optionally specify the following parameters:
- The event-number to trigger if the rising or falling threshold exceeds the specified limit.
- The owner of the alarm.
Default Settings
Table 1 lists the default settings for all RMON features in any switch.
Parameters |
Default |
---|---|
RMON alarms |
Disabled |
RMON events |
Disabled |
Configuring RMON
RMON is disabled by default, and no events or alarms are configured in the switch.
This section includes the following topics:
Configuring the RMON Traps in SNMP
You must enable the RMON traps in the SNMP configuration for the RMON configuration to function correctly.
Note |
You must also configure SNMP on the switch to access RMON MIB objects. |
Enabling RMON Alarms by Port
To configure an RMON alarm for one or more ports, follow these steps:
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose Admin > Events > Threshold Manager and click the FC Interfaces ab. You see the Threshold Manager dialog box. |
Step 2 |
Choose the Select radio button to select individual ports for this threshold alarm. |
Step 3 |
Check the check box for each variable to be monitored. |
Step 4 |
Enter the threshold value in the Value column. |
Step 5 |
Enter the sampling period in seconds. This is the time between each snapshot of the variable. |
Step 6 |
Choose one of the following severity levels to assign to the alarm: Fatal , Warning , Critical , Error , Information. |
Step 7 |
Click Create. |
Step 8 |
Confirm the operation to define an alarm and a log event when the system prompts you to define a severity event. If you do not confirm the operation, the system only defines a log event. |
Step 9 |
Click More and then click the Alarms tab from the Threshold Manager dialog box to verify the alarm you created. |
Step 10 |
Close both dialog box pop-up windows. |
Enabling 32-Bit and 64-Bit Alarms
To configure an RMON alarm for one or more ports, follow these steps:
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose Admin > Events > Threshold Manager and click the FC Interfaces > Create tab. You see the create 32-bit and 64-bit alarm dialog box. |
Step 2 |
Click the Select radio button to select individual ports for this threshold alarm. |
Step 3 |
Check the check box for each variable to be monitored. |
Step 4 |
Enter the threshold value in the Value column. |
Step 5 |
Enter the sampling period in seconds. This is the time between each snapshot of the variable. |
Step 6 |
Choose one of the following severity levels to assign to the alarm: Fatal , Warning , Critical , Error , Information. |
Step 7 |
Click Create. |
Step 8 |
Confirm the operation to define an alarm and a log event when the system prompts you to define a severity event. If you do not confirm the operation, the system only defines a log event. |
Step 9 |
Click More and then click the Alarms tab from the Threshold Manager dialog box to verify the alarm you created. The 32-bit and 64-bit alarm Interval columns show second as the unit. |
Step 10 |
Close both dialog box pop-up windows. |
Creating RMON Alarms
To create 64-bit RMON alarms, follow these steps:
Procedure
Step 1 |
Expand Events and choose RMON from the Physical Attributes pane. You see the 64-bit alarm dialog box. |
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Step 2 |
Click the 64-bit alarms tab. |
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Step 3 |
Click the Create Row tab. You see the Create Row window. |
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Step 4 |
From the drop-down menu in the Variable field, choose from the list of MIB variables provided by the Threshold Manager.
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Step 5 |
Click the 32-bit alarms tab. |
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Step 6 |
Click the Create Row tab. |
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Step 7 |
From the drop-down menu in the Variable field, choose from the list of MIB variables provided by the Threshold Manager. |
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Step 8 |
Click the radio button to choose the RMON alarm to be created (32-bit or 64-bit HC Alarm). |
Enabling 32-Bit RMON Alarms for VSANs
To enable an RMON alarm for one or more VSANs, follow these steps:
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose Admin > Events > Threshold Manager and click the Services tab. You see the Threshold Manager dialog box. |
Step 2 |
Click the Services tab. You see the Threshold Manager dialog box with the Services tab for 32-bit alarm selected. |
Step 3 |
Click the 32-bit radio button. |
Step 4 |
Enter one or more VSANs (multiple VSANs separated by commas) to monitor in the VSAN ID(s) field. Use the down arrow to see a list of available VSANs to choose from. |
Step 5 |
Check the check box in the Select column for each variable to monitor. |
Step 6 |
Enter the threshold value in the Value column. |
Step 7 |
Enter the sampling period in seconds. |
Step 8 |
Choose a severity level to assign to the alarm: Fatal , Critical , Error , Warning , Information . |
Step 9 |
Click Create. |
Step 10 |
Confirm the operation to define an alarm and a log event when the system prompts you to define a severity event. If you do not confirm the operation, the system only defines a log event. |
Step 11 |
Click More, and then click the Alarms tab in the Threshold Manager dialog box to verify the alarm you created. |
Enabling 32-Bit and 64-Bit RMON Alarms for Physical Components
To configure an RMON alarm for a physical component for a 64-bit alarm, follow these steps:
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose Admin > Events > Threshold Manager and click the Physical tab. You see the Threshold Manager dialog box with the Physical tab for the 64-bit alarm selected. |
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Step 2 |
Check the check box in the Select column for each variable to monitor. |
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Step 3 |
Enter the threshold value in the Value column. |
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Step 4 |
Enter the sampling period in seconds. |
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Step 5 |
Choose one of the following severity levels to assign to the alarm: Fatal(1), Warning(2), Critical(3), Error(4), Information(5). |
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Step 6 |
Click Create. |
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Step 7 |
Confirm the operation to define an alarm and a log event when the system prompts you to define a severity event. If you do not confirm the operation, the system only defines a log event. |
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Step 8 |
Click More, and then click the 64-bit Alarms tab in the Threshold Manager dialog box to verify the alarm you created.
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Creating a New RMON from Device Manager Threshold Manager
RMON does not check the RMON alarm configuration before configuring the switch.
To configure an RMON alarm from Device Manager Threshold Manager, follow these steps:
Procedure
Expand Events, choose RMON, and click the Control tab. You see the create RMON alarm Threshold Manager dialog box. A user error is prompted if adding the new alarm exceeds the maximum alarm.
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Managing RMON Events
To define customized RMON events, follow these steps:
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose Admin > Events > Threshold Manager and click More in the Threshold Manager dialog box. |
Step 2 |
Click the Events tab in the RMON Thresholds dialog box. You see the RMON Thresholds Events tab. |
Step 3 |
Click Create to create an event entry. You see the Create RMON Thresholds Events dialog box. |
Step 4 |
Configure the RMON threshold event attributes by choosing the type of event (log , snmptrap , or logandtrap ). |
Step 5 |
Increment the index. If you try to create an event with the existing index, you see a duplicate entry error message. |
Step 6 |
(Optional) Provide a description and a community. |
Step 7 |
Click Create, then close this dialog box. |
Step 8 |
Verify that your event is listed in the remaining RMON Thresholds dialog box. |
Step 9 |
Click Close to close the RMON Thresholds dialog box. |
Managing RMON Alarms
To view the alarms that have already been enabled, follow these steps:
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose Admin > Events > Threshold Manager and click More in the Threshold Manager dialog box. |
Step 2 |
Click the Alarms tab. You see the RMON Thresholds dialog box. |
Step 3 |
Delete any alarm by selecting it, and then click Delete . |
Viewing the RMON Log
To view the RMON log, follow these steps:
Procedure
Step 1 |
Choose Admin > Events > Threshold Manager and click More on the Threshold Manager dialog box. |
Step 2 |
Click the Log tab in the RMON Thresholds dialog box. You see the RMON Thresholds Log tab. This is the log of RMON events that have been triggered by the Threshold Manager. |
Field Descriptions for RMON
This section describes the field descriptions for RMON.
RMON Thresholds Controls
Field |
Description |
---|---|
AlarmEnable |
If true, the RMON alarm feature is enabled. If the RMON feature is disabled, all the RMON alarm related polling are stopped. Note that this is only intended for temporary disabling of RMON alarm feature to ensure that the CPU usage by RMON alarms is not detrimental. For permanent disabling on this feature, it suggested that all the entries in the alarmTable are removed. |
MaxAlarms |
The maximum number of entries allowed in the alarmTable. |
RMON Thresholds 64bit Alarms
Field |
Description |
---|---|
Interval |
The interval in seconds over which the data is sampled and compared with the rising and falling thresholds. When setting this variable, care should be taken in the case of deltaValue sampling - the interval should be set short enough that the sampled variable is very unlikely to increase or decrease by more than 2^31 - 1 during a single sampling interval. |
Variable |
The variable to be sampled. Only variables that resolve to an ASN.1 primitive type of INTEGER (INTEGER, Integer32, Counter32, Counter64, Gauge, or TimeTicks) may be sampled. |
SampleType |
The method of sampling the selected variable and calculating the value to be compared against the thresholds. If the value is absoluteValue, the value of the selected variable will be compared directly with the thresholds at the end of the sampling interval. If the value is deltaValue, the value of the selected variable at the last sample will be subtracted from the current value, and the difference compared with the thresholds. |
Value |
The value of the statistic during the last sampling period. For example, if the sample type is deltaValue, this value will be the difference between the samples at the beginning and end of the period. If the sample type is absoluteValue, this value will be the sampled value at the end of the period. This is the value that is compared with the rising and falling thresholds. The value during the current sampling period is not made available until the period is completed and will remain available until the next period completes. |
StartupAlarm |
The alarm that may be sent when this entry is first set to valid. |
Rising Threshold |
A threshold for the sampled statistic. When the current sampled value is greater than or equal to this threshold, and the value at the last sampling interval was less than this threshold, a single event will be generated. |
Rising EventId |
The ID of the eventEntry that is used when a rising threshold is crossed. |
Falling Threshold |
A threshold for the sampled statistic. When the current sampled value is less than or equal to this threshold, and the value at the last sampling interval was greater than this threshold, a single event will be generated. |
Falling EventId |
The ID of the eventEntry that is used when a falling threshold is crossed. The eventEntry identified by a particular value of this index is the same as identified by the same value of eventIndex. If there is no corresponding entry in the eventTable, then no association exists. In particular, if this value is N/A, no associated event will be generated, as N/A is not a valid event index. |
FailedAttempts |
The number of times the alarm variable was polled (in the active state) and no response was received. |
Owner |
The ID of the user who configured this entry. |
RMON Thresholds 32bit Alarms
Field |
Description |
---|---|
Interval |
The interval in seconds over which the data is sampled and compared with the rising and falling thresholds. When setting this variable, care should be taken in the case of deltaValue sampling - the interval should be set short enough that the sampled variable is very unlikely to increase or decrease by more than 2^31 - 1 during a single sampling interval. |
Variable |
The variable to be sampled. Only variables that resolve to an ASN.1 primitive type of INTEGER (INTEGER, Integer32, Counter32, Counter64, Gauge, or TimeTicks) may be sampled. |
SampleType |
The method of sampling the selected variable and calculating the value to be compared against the thresholds. |
Value |
The value of the statistic during the last sampling period. |
StartupAlarm |
The alarm that may be sent when this entry is first set to valid. |
Rising Threshold |
A threshold for the sampled statistic. When the current sampled value is greater than or equal to this threshold, and the value at the last sampling interval was less than this threshold, a single event will be generated. |
Rising EventId |
The ID of the eventEntry that is used when a rising threshold is crossed. |
Falling Threshold |
A threshold for the sampled statistic. When the current sampled value is less than or equal to this threshold, and the value at the last sampling interval was greater than this threshold, a single event will be generated. |
Falling EventId |
The ID of the eventEntry that is used when a falling threshold is crossed. |
FailedAttempts |
The number of times the alarm variable was polled (in the active state) and no response was received. |
Owner |
The ID of the user who configured this entry. |
RMON Thresholds Events
Field |
Description |
---|---|
Description |
A comment describing this event entry. |
Type |
The type of notification that the probe will make about this event. In the case of log, an entry is made in the log table for each event. In the case of SNMP-trap, an SNMP trap is sent to one or more management stations. |
LastTimeSent |
When this event entry last generated an event. If this entry has not generated any events, this value will be N/A. |
Owner |
The entity that configured this entry and is therefore using the resources assigned to it. |
RMON Thresholds Log
Field |
Description |
---|---|
Time |
When this log entry was created. |
Description |
A description of the event that activated this log entry. |