Cisco ACNS Software Deployment and Configuration Guide, Release 5.1 - Chapter 8: Working with ACNS Network Devices [Cisco Application and Content Networking System (ACNS) Software]

Table Of Contents

Working with ACNS Network Devices

Working with Content Distribution Managers

Viewing the Content Distribution Manager Configuration

Configuring a Warm Standby Content Distribution Manager

Switching a Content Distribution Manager from Warm Standby to Primary

Deleting a Warm Standby Content Distribution Manager

Working with Content Engines

Viewing the Content Engine Configuration

Modifying Content Engine Properties

Rebooting a Content Engine

Deleting a Content Engine

Viewing Content Engine Channel Assignments

Commands Related to Content Acquisition and Distribution

Configuring the Content Engine CIFS Server

Configuring CIFS Server Settings

Configuring CIFS Website Access Control Settings

Working with Content Routers

Modifying Content Router Properties

Deleting a Content Router

Viewing the Content Router Configuration

Configuring Services on Content Routers

Working with Device Groups

Creating and Modifying Device Groups

Adding and Removing Content Engines from a Device Group

Enabling Device Group Overlap

Deleting a Device Group

Viewing Device Groups

Local Device Configuration Versus Central Management

Repurposing an ACNS Network Device

Working with ACNS Network Devices

An ACNS network is a coordinated system made up of three types of devices: Content Distribution Managers, Content Engines, and, if necessary, Content Routers. In order to deliver requested content using these devices, proper configuration using the Content Distribution Manager GUI is necessary. ACNS 5.x software also allows you to configure Content Engines into device groups so that content services can be configured for an entire group of Content Engines at one time. Device groups and Content Engines share the same configuration features and options.

This chapter provides information about configuring ACNS network device properties. It contains the following sections:

•Working with Content Distribution Managers

•Working with Content Engines

•Working with Content Routers

•Working with Device Groups

•Local Device Configuration Versus Central Management

•Repurposing an ACNS Network Device

Working with Content Distribution Managers

You work with Content Distribution Managers by:

•Viewing the Content Distribution Manager Configuration

•Configuring a Warm Standby Content Distribution Manager

•Switching a Content Distribution Manager from Warm Standby to Primary

•Deleting a Warm Standby Content Distribution Manager

Viewing the Content Distribution Manager Configuration

To view the Content Distribution Manager configuration, follow these steps:

Step 1 From the Content Distribution Manager GUI, choose Devices > CDM.

Step 2 Click the Edit icon next to the name of the Content Distribution Manager that you want to view.

Step 3 The Modifying Content Distribution Manager window appears, which shows the basic network settings that were configured at initial setup through the CLI.

Step 4 To view configuration settings, choose Show/Clear Commands > Show Commands in the Contents pane.

Step 5 Choose a show command from the drop-down list and click Submit.

A popup window appears, showing the CLI output for the command.

Configuring a Warm Standby Content Distribution Manager

Note Primary and standby Content Distribution Managers must be running the same version of ACNS software. If they are not, the standby Content Distribution Manager detects this and shuts down the configuration management subsystem (CMS) until the problem is corrected. We recommend that you upgrade your primary Content Distribution Manager first and then upgrade your standby Content Distribution Manager.

To configure a device to be a warm standby Content Distribution Manager, follow these steps:

Step 1 If the device is not already configured as a Content Distribution Manager, set the device mode by using the device mode command.
DeviceName# configure
DeviceName(config)# device mode content-distribution-manager
See the "Repurposing an ACNS Network Device" section.

Step 2 Obtain the primary Content Distribution Manager clock setting by using the show clock command. For example,
PrimaryCDM# show clock
Fri Jan 31 15:02:28 UTC 2003
Step 3 Set the standby Content Distribution Manager clock to match the primary Content Distribution Manager clock by using the clock set EXEC command.
DeviceName(config)# exit
DeviceName# clock set 15:02:28 31 january 2003
Step 4 Configure the Content Distribution Manager to be in standby mode by using the global configuration cdm role standby command.
DeviceName# configure
DeviceName(config)# cdm role standby
Step 5 Specify the primary Content Distribution Manager IP address by using the global configuration cdm ip ip_addr command.
DeviceName(config)# cdm ip ip_addr
Step 6 Register the device and enable management services by using the global configuration cms enable command.
DeviceName(config)# cms enable
Verify that the registration was successful. The output from this command should say whether the registration was successful or not.

Step 7 Before saving the configuration to flash memory, use the show cms info command to verify the time of the last update.
CDM# show cms info
Registration information :
Device Mode                      = cdm
Model                            = CDM4630
Node Id                          = 96
Time of last update              = Fri Jan 31 15:59:28 2003
To be current, the update time should be between 1 and 5 minutes old. You are verifying that the standby Content Distribution Manager has fully replicated the primary Content Distribution Manager configuration. If the update time is not current, check whether there is a connectivity problem or if the primary Content Distribution Manager is down. Fix the problem if necessary, and wait until the configuration has replicated as indicated by the time of the last update.

Also, use the show cms processes command to verify that all management services are running. For example:
CDM# show cms processes 
Service cms_httpd running
Service cms_ui running
Service cms_cdm running
Step 8 Save the configuration to flash memory by using the copy running-config startup-config EXEC command.
DeviceName(config)# exit
DeviceName# copy running-config startup-config
Switching a Content Distribution Manager from Warm Standby to Primary

If your primary Content Distribution Manager becomes inoperable for some reason, you can manually reconfigure one of your warm standby Content Distribution Managers to be the primary Content Distribution Manager.

To switch a warm standby Content Distribution Manager to be a primary Content Distribution Manager, follow these steps:

Step 1 Check the status of recent updates from the primary Content Distribution Manager. Use the show cms info EXEC command and check the time of the last update.
DeviceName# show cms info
To be current, the update time should be between 1 and 5 minutes old. You are verifying that the standby Content Distribution Manager has fully replicated the primary Content Distribution Manager configuration. If the update time is not current, check whether there is a connectivity problem or if the primary Content Distribution Manager is down. Fix the problem, if necessary, and wait until the configuration has replicated as indicated by the time of the last update.

Step 2 Make sure that both Content Distribution Managers have the same Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) configured. Use the show clock detail command to check the time on each device. For example,
CDM1# show clock detail
Local time: Thu Mar  6 19:03:25 UTC 2003
  UTC time: Thu Mar  6 19:03:25 UTC 2003
Epoch: 1046977405 seconds
UTC offset: 0 seconds (0 hours 0 minutes)
If the UTC time does not match on the two devices, use the clock EXEC command to configure the time and then use the clock timezone UTC global configuration command to match the UTC offset. For example,
CDM2# clock set 19:03:25 mar 06 2003 
CDM2# configure
CDM2(config)# clock timezone UTC 0 0
Step 3 Configure the new role by using the global configuration cdm role primary command.
DeviceName# configure
DeviceName(config)# cdm role primary
This command changes the role from standby to primary and restarts the management service to recognize the change.

Step 4 Save the configuration to flash memory by using the copy running-config startup-config EXEC command.
DeviceName(config)# exit
DeviceName# copy running-config startup-config
If you switch a warm standby Content Distribution Manager to primary while your primary Content Distribution Manager is still online and active, both Content Distribution Managers detect each other, automatically shut themselves down, and disable management services. The Content Distribution Managers are switched to halted role, which is automatically saved in flash memory.

To return halted Content Distribution Managers to online status, follow these steps:

Step 1 Choose a role (active or standby) for each Content Distribution Manager.

Step 2 Change the role using the cdm role command.

Step 3 Enable management services using the cms enable command.

Step 4 Save the configuration using the copy running-config startup-config command.

Deleting a Warm Standby Content Distribution Manager

You can delete a warm standby Content Distribution Manager from the ACNS network at any point after you have registered the device and before the device has come on line as the primary Content Distribution Manager. Once the device has been called into use as the primary Content Distribution Manager, however, you cannot delete it using the Content Distribution Manager GUI.

Delete a warm standby Content Distribution Manager when the device is experiencing unresolvable problems or when its network address or configuration has changed and you need to add the device back to the ACNS network using its new address and configuration information.

When deleting a warm standby Content Distribution Manager from the ACNS network, you are effectively removing that device and the content it contains from the routing scheme that the ACNS software uses to fill user requests. Should your primary Content Distribution Manager fail during the time that the warm standby is deleted, there will be no failover for the Content Distribution Manager.

To delete a warm standby Content Distribution Manager, follow these steps:

Step 1 Log in directly to the Content Distribution Manager CLI, and enter the cms deregister command.

If for some reason the deregistration fails, you can force the deregistration by using the cms deregister force command.

Step 2 From the Content Distribution Manager GUI, choose Devices > CDM.

The browser refreshes, listing the Content Distribution Managers on your ACNS network. The warm standby Content Distribution Manager is identified as Standby.

Step 3 Click the Edit icon next to the name of the warm standby Content Distribution Manager that you wish to delete. The browser window refreshes, displaying the Modifying Content Distribution Manager window.

Step 4 Click the Trash icon. You are prompted to confirm your decision.

Step 5 Click OK to execute your request.

Working with Content Engines

You work with Content Engines by:

•Viewing the Content Engine Configuration

•Modifying Content Engine Properties

•Rebooting a Content Engine

•Deleting a Content Engine

•Viewing Content Engine Channel Assignments

Viewing the Content Engine Configuration

To view the Content Engine configuration, follow these steps:

Step 1 From the Content Distribution Manager GUI, choose Devices > Content Engines.

Step 2 Click the Edit icon next to the name of the Content Engine that you want to view.

Step 3 In the Contents pane, choose CDN Settings > Status.

The View Network Configurations for Content Engine window appears, which shows the basic network settings that were configured at initial setup through the CLI. (See Figure 8-1.)

Figure 8-1 View Network Configurations for Content Engine Window

Step 4 Alternatively, in the Contents pane, choose Show/Clear Commands > Show Commands.

Step 5 Choose a show command from the drop-down list and click Submit.

A popup window appears, showing the CLI output for the command.

Modifying Content Engine Properties

Use the Content Distribution Manager GUI to make changes to Content Engine properties.

To modify the Content Engine properties, follow these steps:

Step 1 From the Content Distribution Manager GUI, choose Devices > Content Engines.

Step 2 Click the Edit icon next to the name of the Content Engine that you want to modify. The Modifying Content Engine window appears with fields for editing the properties of the selected Content Engine. (See Figure 8-2.)

Figure 8-2 Modifying Content Engine Window

Step 3 Under the General Configuration heading, set or modify Content Engine properties.

•To change the name of the Content Engine, enter a new name in the Name field.

•To activate or deactivate the Content Engine check or uncheck the Activate check box.

•To set the default coverage zone, check the Set Default Coverage Zone File check box.

Step 4 Under the Locality heading, set or change the location information.

•To change the location of the Content Engine, choose a new location from the Location drop-down list.

•To modify the parent location, choose a location from the Parent of the new Location drop-down list.

Step 5 Under the Acquisition And Distribution Information heading, set the Content Metadata Poll Interval Multiplier control to scale the unicast receiver Content Engine's next metadata poll interval either down or up.

Step 6 Under the Request Routing Heading, set or modify routing properties.

•To enable routing on the Content Engine, check the Enable Request Routing check box.

•If you wish to have a local coverage zone file overwrite the ACNS network-wide coverage zone file on this routing-enabled Content Engine, you can choose a file from the Coverage Zone File drop-down list.

The Coverage Zone File drop-down list contains the destination paths of all valid coverage zone files registered to your ACNS network. When you select a coverage zone file from this list, the Content Engine uses this coverage zone file to redirect the user's request. (For information on registering and applying coverage zones, see the "Registering and Applying a User-Defined Coverage Zone" section.)

•To enable the Content Engine as a PAC file server, check the Enable PAC File Server check box.

Step 7 Under the NAT Configuration heading, set or modify the NAT settings.

•Click the Use CE's primary IP Address radio button to enable the Content Distribution Manager to use the IP address configured on the primary interface of the Content Engine to communicate with devices in the ACNS network that are behind a NAT firewall.

•Alternatively, to explicitly configure a management IP address for the Content Distribution Manager to communicate with devices behind NAT firewall, click the Use IP Address radio button and enter the IP address and port number.

Note If the Content Distribution Manager cannot contact a device using the current management IP address, it will not attempt to communicate using alternate IP addresses.

Table 8-1 describes the Content Engine configuration fields that you can either view or modify.

Table 8-1 Content Engine Configuration Properties

Content Engine Configuration Property

Description

General Configuration

Name

Identifier for the Content Engine. This name is used by content routing and therefore must conform to the following rules:

•Use only alphanumeric characters and hyphens (-).

•The first and last character must be a letter or a digit.

•Maximum length is 63 characters.

•Names are case-insensitive.

Note The following characters are considered illegal and cannot be used when naming a device:
@, #, $,%, ^, &, *, (), |, \""/, <>.

Status

Read only. Content Engine status: online, pending, or inactive.

cdnfs

Read only. Current setting for cdnfs pre-positioned content disk space allocation. This value cannot be modified from this window. (See the "Updating Storage Capacity Through the Content Distribution Manager GUI" section.)

Set Default Coverage Zone file

When checked, generates a default coverage zone with the Content Engine serving the local subnet it resides on. The coverage zone is an ACNS network-wide mapping of user client addresses to the Content Engine addresses that should respond to requests for that client.

Locality

Location*¹

Location of the Content Engine.

Network topology locations organize and group Content Engines into virtual networks for content distribution. Locations must be configured beforehand. (See the "Creating and Modifying Locations" section.)

Parent of the new Location

A parent location can be chosen from this drop-down list. A location with no parent location assigned is a level 1 location. The location level is displayed in the Locations window.

Acquisition and Distribution Information

Content Metadata Poll Interval Multiplier

Applies only to a unicast receiver Content Engine, which regularly polls for new content metadata from its forwarder.

Allows you to scale the unicast receiver Content Engine's next metadata poll interval down to 10 percent of normal or up to 10 times normal. This multiplier enables users to control how receiver Content Engines notice changes in content. This latency multiplier supports both low-latency users and low-overhead users.

For example, if the metadata polling interval is set to 10% of normal, the value of the polling interval corresponds to 0.1 times normal. Therefore, if the value of the metadata poll interval is 120 seconds, 10% of normal is equal to 12 seconds, which is the effective polling interval.

Request Routing

Enable Request Routing

Enables the Content Engine to act as a simplified hybrid content router as well as a Content Engine.

Coverage Zone File

Allows you to select an imported coverage zone file for simplified hybrid routing.

Enable PAC File Server

Enables the Content Engine to function as a proxy autoconfiguration file server

NAT Configuration

Use CE's primary IP Address

Enables the Content Distribution Manager to use the IP address configured on the primary interface of the Content Engine to communicate with devices in the ACNS network that are behind a NAT firewall.

Use IP Address

Enables the field to enter an external IP address and the Port field. This denotes that you have chosen to explicitly configure a management IP address for the Content Distribution Manager to communicate with devices behind NAT firewall.

If the Content Distribution Manager cannot contact a device using the current management IP address, it will not attempt to communicate using alternate IP addresses.

Port

Port number to enable communication between the Content Distribution Manager and devices behind a NAT firewall.

¹* = this field is required.

Step 8 Click Submit.

Rebooting a Content Engine

Using the Content Distribution Manager GUI, you can reboot a Content Engine or group of Content Engines remotely. This option causes the Content Distribution Manager to perform a controlled shutdown of all Content Engines and then restarts the operating system on each device.

To reboot an individual Content Engine, follow these steps:

Step 1 From the Content Distribution Manager GUI, choose Devices > Content Engines.

Step 2 Click the Edit icon next to the name of the Content Engine that you wish to reboot. The browser window refreshes, displaying the Modifying Content Engine window. (See Figure 8-2.)

Step 3 Click the Reboot icon. You are prompted to confirm your decision.

Step 4 Click OK to begin rebooting the Content Engine.

To reboot an entire device group, follow these steps:

Step 1 From the Content Distribution Manager GUI, choose Devices > Device Groups.

Step 2 Click the Edit icon next to the name of the device group that you want to reboot. The Device Group window appears.

Step 3 Click the Reboot icon. You are prompted to confirm your decision.

Step 4 Click OK to begin rebooting each Content Engine in the device group.

Deleting a Content Engine

Delete a Content Engine when the device is experiencing unresolvable problems or when its network address or configuration has changed and you need to add the device back to the ACNS network using its new address and configuration information.

When deleting a Content Engine from the ACNS network, you are effectively removing that node and the content it contains from the routing scheme that the ACNS software uses to fill user requests. Although ACNS 5.0 software is designed to route requests around Content Engines that are busy, offline, or missing, removing a Content Engine may affect the speed with which the ACNS network can serve user requests.

Note You cannot delete a Content Engine if it is the last node assigned to a location that is designated as the root location for a channel. If you receive an error referencing the root location for a channel, add more Content Engines to that location, or change the root location for the channel before attempting to delete the Content Engine again.

Before a node can be removed from the ACNS network, the following conditions must be met:

•The device must have been activated in the Content Distribution Manager. (See the "Activating Devices in the Content Distribution Manager GUI" section.)

•The Content Distribution Manager must be running.

•The device must have the correct Content Distribution Manager IP address or host name configured.

•The Content Distribution Manager IP address or host name must point to the primary Content Distribution Manager.

Deleting a Content Engine from the ACNS network involves using the CLI to remove the registration information from the Content Engine itself and remove the registration record from the Content Distribution Manager GUI.

If the Content Engine is being removed because of system disk failure, see the "Recovering from Missing Disk-Based Software" section.

Note Do not use the Content Distribution Manager GUI to delete a Content Engine while the Content Engine is still active and registered. The GUI delete feature only removes the Content Engine's registration record from the Content Distribution Manager; it does not deregister the device. The Content Engine retains its registration information and continues to contact the Content Distribution Manager; however, the Content Distribution Manager no longer recognizes the Content Engine.

If for some reason the Content Distribution Manager loses the registration record of a device, use the cms deregister force command on the device to remove all of its registration information. Then use the cms enable command to reregister the device with the Content Distribution Manager as though it were a new node in the ACNS network.

To delete a Content Engine, follow these steps:

Step 1 Open a Telnet session to the Content Engine CLI.

Step 2 Enter the no cms enable command in global configuration mode.
CE-507# configure
CE-507(config)# no cms enable
Note Issuing the no cms enable command does not disable a primary sender Content Engine and activate the backup sender or vice versa, if the backup sender is the active Content Engine being removed from the network; however, issuing the cms deregister command does disable the communication between the two multicast senders. The cms deregister command disables the CMS, all acquisition and distribution services, and all routing communications to and from this device.

Step 3 Enter the cms deregister command in EXEC mode.
CE-507(config)# exit
CE-507# cms deregister
Note The cms deregister command cleans up the database automatically. You do not need to use the cms database delete command.

Step 4 If for some reason the deregistration fails, you can force the deregistration by using the cms deregister force command.
CE-507# cms deregister force
Note Ignore any messages stating that the deregistration failed. The cms deregister force command forces the deregistration to continue.

Step 5 To add the device back in to the ACNS network, reregister the device with the Content Distribution Manager by using the cms enable command in global configuration mode.
CE-507# configure
CE-507(config)# cms enable
Viewing Content Engine Channel Assignments

You can use the Modifying Content Engine page to view which channels a particular Content Engine is assigned to. You can view channel assignments for a bird's eye view of how a given Content Engine is deployed across your ACNS network—which channel it belongs to, the website, content provider, and manifest URL.

To view channel assignments for a Content Engine, follow these steps:

Step 1 From the Content Distribution Manager GUI, choose Devices > Content Engines.

Step 2 Click the Edit icon next to the name of the Content Engine for which you wish to view channel assignments. The Modifying Content Engine window appears.

Step 3 In the Contents pane, choose CDN Settings > Channels. The View Channels window appears, listing all the channels to which the Content Engine is assigned.

Commands Related to Content Acquisition and Distribution

Table 8-2 lists and describes the commands related to viewing content acquisition information. For complete descriptions of these commands, including usage guidelines and examples, refer to the Cisco ACNS Software Command Reference, Release 5.1 publication.

Table 8-2 Acquisition-Related Commands

Command

Syntax

Description

acquirer

start-channel

stop-channel

acquirer {start-channel {channel-id channel_num | channel-name channel-name} | stop-channel {channel-id channel_num | channel-name channel-name}}

Starts or stops content acquisition on a specified acquirer channel.

show acquirer

channels

progress

show acquirer channels {channel-id channel_num | channel-name channel-name} | progress {channel-id channel_num | channel-name channel-name}

Displays the acquirer information for the channels specified for which the Content Engine is the root Content Engine.

show statistics acquirer

channel-name

contents

errors

job-list

show statistics acquirer [channel-id channel-num | channel-name name | contents {channel-id channel-num | channel-name name} | errors {channel-id channel-num | channel-name name} | job-list {channel-id channel-num | channel-name name}]

Displays acquirer channel statistics for all the channels for which the Content Engine is the root Content Engine.

Table 8-3 lists and describes the commands related to viewing content distribution information. For complete descriptions of these commands, including usage guidelines and examples, refer to the Cisco ACNS Software Command Reference, Release 5.1 publication.

Table 8-3 Distribution-Related Commands

Command

Syntax

Description

show distribution

channel

forwarder-list

mcast-data-receiver

mcast-data-sender

processes

show distribution {channel {channel-id channel-num | channel-name name} | forwarder-list [detail] [channel-id channel-num [detail] | channel-name name [detail]] | mcast-data-receiver | mcast-data-sender | processes}

Displays the distribution information for a specified channel.

show statistics distribution

all

mcast-data-receiver

mcast-data-sender

metadata-receiver

metadata-sender

unicast-data-receiver

unicast-data-sender

show statistics distribution {all | mcast-data-receiver | mcast-data-sender | metadata-receiver| metadata-sender | unicast-data-receiver | unicast-data-sender}

Displays the statistics of the content distribution components.

debug distribution

all

mcast-data-receiver

mcast-data-sender

metadata-receiver

metadata-sender

unicast-data-receiver

unicast-data-sender

debug option

Monitors and records ACNS software distribution functions.

Note We recommend that the debug command be used only at the direction of Cisco Systems technical support personnel. Performance is impacted when you run the debug command.

Configuring the Content Engine CIFS Server

When the Content Engine CIFS server is enabled, Windows clients can request pre-positioned content from the Content Engine using the Windows file-sharing protocol, Server Message Blocks (SMB) or Common Internet File System (CIFS). The Content Engine CIFS server uses the SMB protocol to serve Windows clients.

You can configure, modify, and view the CIFS server and control access of pre-positioned website content for Content Engines and device groups using the Content Distribution Manager GUI.

Note All Content Engine settings in this section can also be configured for device groups by choosing Devices > Device Groups instead of Devices > Content Engines in the Content Distribution Manager GUI.

Configuring CIFS Server Settings

To configure the CIFS server settings for the Content Engine, follow these steps:

Step 1 Choose Devices > Content Engines. The Content Engines window appears.

Step 2 Click the Edit icon next to the desired Content Engine. The Modifying Content Engine window appears with the Contents pane on the left.

Step 3 In the Contents pane, choose CIFS > Server Configuration. The CIFS Server Settings for Content Engine window appears. (See Figure 8-3.)

Figure 8-3 CIFS Server Settings Window

Under the CIFS Server Settings panel, the currently applied settings details, such as whether default settings have been applied or settings have been derived from the device or device group, are displayed to enable you to identify the source information for the settings. The selected settings will be applied to the CIFS server configurations.

Step 4 Under the Authentication Mode panel, follow these steps:

a. Choose the Windows file sharing authentication mode from the Authentication Mode drop-down list. SeeTable 8-4 for a description of the options displayed in the list.

Note The login authentication method must be set to local on the Content Engine to use the ce-user mode. By default, the CIFS authentication mode is set to ce-user.

The domain name and IP address of the NTLM servers configured in the NTLM Server Settings for Content Engine window becomes applicable when the password-server authentication mode is selected.

Table 8-4 Authentication Mode Settings

Authentication Mode

Description

ce-user

Enables the default CIFS authentication mode in ACNS software and allow the user login using the user account configured on the Content Engine to access file sharing. This is different from the CIFS user mode in earlier releases of ACNS software. You need not maintain two different passwords for the same user account.

public

Enables any user, who is able to access the Content Engine using IP, browse all unprotected pre-positioned content on cdnfs.

password-server

Enables the integrated NTLM authentication mode. This option specifies that the Content Engine relies on the password database stored on an NTLM password server to authenticate users. Password servers are Windows domain controllers. Selecting this option defines the domain or workgroup in which the Content Engine and Windows clients are configured and server that stores the password database.

b. Enter the maximum number of simultaneous connections for pre-positioned content sharing in the Max Number of Connections field. The default value is 16 to suit basic browsing requirements. The range is 1 to 65536. (Required.)

c. Check the Enable Cifs Server check box to enable the CIFS server on the Content Engine and set the default mode of authentication for file sharing to ce-user.

d. Click Submit to save the settings.

A "Click to Submit" message appears in red next to the Current Settings when there are pending changes to be saved. You can also revert to the previously configured window settings by clicking Reset. The Reset button is visible only when you apply default or device group settings to change the current device settings but the settings have not yet been submitted.

Step 5 To delete the configured settings for the device, click the Remove Device Settings icon in the taskbar. This icon appears only if you have configured the settings for the Content Engine.

Step 6 To restore the factory default settings to the device, click the Apply Defaults icon in the taskbar.

Step 7 To override the device group settings applied to the device with the factory default settings, click the Override Group Settings with Defaults icon in the taskbar. This icon appears only if you have applied the device group settings to the Content Engine.

Step 8 To override the device group settings that have been applied from device groups with which the device is associated, click the Override Group Settings icon in the taskbar and configure the device settings. This icon appears only if you have applied the device group settings to the Content Engine.

To apply settings from a different device group to this device, choose the device group name from the drop-down list that appears in the taskbar.

Configuring CIFS Website Access Control Settings

If no website is explicitly configured to be shared, all websites that have been previously defined are shared by default. In other words, all cdnfs content is shared through CIFS file sharing resembling the configuration that existed in earlier ACNS software releases. The maximum number of websites that can be shared is 16.

If you choose the access level as share and set the authentication mode as public, a warning message is displayed because all protected content will be accessible to any user who is able to access the Content Engine using IP.

To configure access control for certain pre-positioned websites on cdnfs, follow these steps:

Step 1 Choose Devices > Content Engines. The Content Engines window appears.

Step 2 Click the Edit icon next to the desired Content Engine. The Modifying Content Engine window appears with the Contents pane on the left.

Step 3 In the Contents pane, choose CIFS > Website Access Control. The Cifs Websites for Content Engine window appears, listing all websites for which access control has been defined.

Note When a device is associated with one or many device groups that have been configured with the settings displayed in this window, you can select the device group name, from the Select a Device Group drop-down list that appears in the taskbar, whose settings who want to apply to the device. A "Click Submit to Save" message appears in red next to the current settings when there are pending changes to be saved. You can also revert to the previously configured window settings by clicking Reset. The Reset button is visible only when you apply default or device group settings to change the current device settings but the settings have not yet been submitted.

The currently applied settings details, such as whether default settings have been applied, or settings have been derived from the device or device group, are displayed to enable you to identify the source information for the settings.

Step 4 Choose the settings that you wish to apply from the Select new settings drop-down list. You can choose to apply the device settings or default settings of the Content Engine, disable all the settings of the Content Engine, or apply the settings of any of the previously configured device groups. The selected settings will be applied to the CIFS server configurations.

Step 5 Click the Create New Cifs Website icon in the taskbar. The Creating New Cifs Website for Content Engine window appears. (See Figure 8-4.)

Figure 8-4 Creating New CIFS Website Window

Step 6 Choose the websites for which you wish to limit access to pre-positioned cdnfs content from the Website Name drop-down list. (Required.) The websites must have been previously defined in the Creating Web Site window.

Step 7 Enter the first-level component of the selected websites in the Path field. This component will be combined with the FQDN of the origin server specified in the Creating Web Site window. The basename of the path or the first-level component of a particular website must be unique. For example, if the path is entered as www.domain.com/subdomain, subdomain refers to the basename of the path and must not be the same for two websites.

Step 8 Choose the level of access to be allowed for the websites from the Access Level drop-down list. You can choose share if you wish to share protected cdnfs content. Otherwise, choose protect to deny access to protected cdnfs content.

Step 9 Click Submit to save the settings.

Working with Content Routers

You work with Content Routers by:

•Modifying Content Router Properties

•Deleting a Content Router

•Viewing the Content Router Configuration

Modifying Content Router Properties

You use the Devices tab in the Content Distribution Manager GUI to make changes to a Content Router.

You can modify the following Content Router properties:

•Name

•Location

•Coverage zone file

•Description

To modify a Content Router, follow these steps:

Step 1 From the Content Distribution Manager GUI, choose Devices > Content Routers. The Content Routers window appears, listing all the Content Routers registered in your ACNS network.

Step 2 Click the Edit icon next to the name of the Content Router that you want to modify. The Modifying Content Router window appears. (See Figure 8-5.)

Figure 8-5 Modifying Content Router Window

Step 3 If you wish to change the name of the Content Router, enter a new name in the Name field.

Step 4 If you wish to change the location, choose a new location from the Locations drop-down list.

Step 5 If you wish to have a local coverage zone file overwrite the ACNS network-wide coverage zone file on this router, you can choose a file from the Coverage Zone File drop-down list.

The Coverage Zone File drop-down list contains the destination paths of all valid coverage zone files registered to your ACNS network. When you select a coverage zone file from this list, the Content Router uses this coverage zone file to redirect the user's request. (For information on registering and applying coverage zones, see the "Registering and Applying a User-Defined Coverage Zone" section.)

Step 6 If you wish to modify the description used to identify the Content Router, enter a new description in the Comments field.

Step 7 Click Submit. A message indicating that the transaction was successfully completed appears at the bottom of the window.

Deleting a Content Router

You can delete a Content Router if the device is experiencing unresolvable problems. If you are deleting the only Content Router in your ACNS network, you are effectively removing the ability of your ACNS network to fill user requests unless you have WCCP or proxy routing configured on your ACNS network.

Removing the node from the ACNS network involves using the CLI to shut down ACNS network services and deregister the node. If the node is being removed because of hardware failure and it cannot be accessed through its CLI, you can remove the node using the Content Distribution Manager GUI; however, the node continues to store its registration information until you deregister it using the CLI.

To remove and deregister a Content Router, follow these steps:

Step 1 Open a Telnet session to the Content Router CLI.

Step 2 Enter the no cms enable command in global configuration mode.
CR# configure
CR(config)# no cms enable
Note Issuing the no cms enable command does not disable acquisition and distribution services on the device; however, issuing the cms deregister command does. The cms deregister command disables the CMS, all acquisition and distribution services, and all routing communications to and from this device.

Step 3 Enter the cms deregister command in EXEC mode.
CR(config)# exit
CR# cms deregister
Note The cms deregister command cleans up the database automatically. You do not need to use the cms database delete command.

Step 4 If for some reason the deregistration fails, you can force the deregistration by using the cms deregister force command.
CR# cms deregister force
Note Ignore any messages stating that the deregistration failed. The cms deregister force command forces the deregistration to continue.

Step 5 To add the device back in to the ACNS network, reregister the device with the Content Distribution Manager by using the cms enable command in global configuration mode.
CR# onfigure
CR(config)# cms enable
In case of a hardware failure, you might need to remove the node from the ACNS network routing scheme using the Content Distribution Manager GUI.

Before a node can be removed from the ACNS network through the Content Distribution Manager GUI, the following conditions must be met:

•The device must have been activated in the Content Distribution Manager. (See the "Activating Devices in the Content Distribution Manager GUI" section.)

•The Content Distribution Manager must be running.

•The device must have the correct Content Distribution Manager IP address or host name configured.

•The Content Distribution Manager IP address or host name must point to the primary Content Distribution Manager.

To delete a Content Router using the Content Distribution Manager GUI, follow these steps:

Step 1 From the Cisco Content Distribution Manager GUI, choose Devices > Content Routers. The Content Routers window appears, listing the Content Routers in your ACNS network. (See Figure 8-6.)

The online status of the device is listed in the Status column.

Figure 8-6 Content Routers Window

Step 2 Click the Edit icon next to the name of the Content Router that you wish to delete. The Modifying Content Router window appears.

Step 3 Click the Trash icon. You are prompted to confirm your decision.

Step 4 Click OK to execute your request. The Content Router is removed from the Content Distribution Manager GUI.

Step 5 If possible, access the Content Router CLI to deregister the Content Router.

Step 6 Enter the cms deregister force command.

Note You must use the cms deregister force command after deleting a device in the Content Distribution Manager GUI, because once the device has been deleted, the Content Distribution Manager no longer has a record of the device.

Step 7 To add the device back in to the ACNS network, reregister the device with the Content Distribution Manager by using the cms enable command in global configuration mode.

Viewing the Content Router Configuration

You can use the Devices tab in the Content Distribution Manager GUI to view the configuration of a Content Router. To view the Content Router configuration, follow these steps:

Step 1 From the Content Distribution Manager GUI, choose Devices > Content Routers. The Content Routers window appears, listing all the Content Routers registered in your ACNS network.

Step 2 Click the Edit icon next to the name of the Content Router that you want to view. The Modifying Content Router window appears.

Step 3 In the Contents pane, choose CDN Settings > Status. The View Network Configurations for Content Router window appears. (See Figure 8-7.)

Figure 8-7 View Network Configurations for Content Router Window

Configuring Services on Content Routers

Configuring services on Content Routers differs from configuring services on Content Engines and device groups in that only platform configuration and authentication services need to be enabled on Content Routers.

The configuration windows for these features are the same windows as those used for Content Engines and device groups. See the following sections and pages for configuration information.

For platform configuration, see the following sections:

•Configuring NTP Settings

•Configuring CDP Settings

For authentication and authorization, see the following sections:

•Configuring Login Authentication and Configuration Authorization

•Configuring Content Request Authentication

For more information regarding the use of Content Routers in the ACNS network environment, see "Setting Up Content Request Routing in the ACNS Network."

Working with Device Groups

A device group is a set of similar devices (such as Content Engines) that share common qualities and capabilities. Some common qualities might include disk capacity, distribution minimum bandwidth, or routing properties.

Device groups are assigned to channels through the Content Distribution Manager GUI. Whenever a channel is created and additional device groups are added, or a channel assignment to the device group changes, devices in the group are notified of the changes and assignments.

Using the device group feature of the Content Distribution Manager, you can create a new device group definition, modify information about a device group, or remove a device group from the system.

You work with device groups by:

•Creating and Modifying Device Groups

•Deleting a Device Group

•Viewing Device Groups

Creating and Modifying Device Groups

To create or modify a device group, follow these steps:

Step 1 From the Content Distribution Manager GUI, choose Devices > Device Groups. The Device Groups window appears. (See Figure 8-8.)

Figure 8-8 Device Groups Window

Step 2 Click the Create New Device Group icon in the taskbar. The Creating New Device Group window appears. (See Figure 8-9.)

Figure 8-9 Creating New Device Group Window

Step 3 Enter the name of the device group in the Name field.

The name must be unique and should be a name that is useful in distinguishing the device group from others on your system.

Step 4 If you wish, enter comments about the group in the Comments field. This field is optional.

Note If you want to modify the list of Content Engines assigned to the device group, see the "Adding and Removing Content Engines from a Device Group" section.

Step 5 Click Submit.

Step 6 To modify a device group, go to the Device Groups window and click the Edit icon next to the name of the device group that you want to modify. The Modifying Device Group window appears.

Step 7 Change the device group name or description as needed and click Submit.

Adding and Removing Content Engines from a Device Group

Note In ACNS 5.x software, device groups only support Content Engines. Content Routers cannot be assigned to a device group.

To add or remove Content Engines from a device group, follow these steps:

Step 1 From the Content Distribution Manager GUI, choose Devices > Device Groups.

Step 2 Click the Edit icon next to the name of the device group that you want to edit. The Modifying Device Group window appears.

Step 3 In the Contents pane, click Assign Devices. The Content Engine assignment to DG window appears, displaying the Content Engines assigned to various locations.

Step 4 Click the Assign icon (blue cross mark) next to the name of the Content Engine that you wish to add to the device group. Alternatively, you can click the Assign all Content Engines icon in the taskbar to perform a bulk addition of all Content Engines in various locations to the device group.

Step 5 Click Submit to add the Content Engines to the device group. Upon submission, a green tick mark appears next to the assigned Content Engine.

Step 6 To view the device group for a Content Engine, choose Devices > Content Engines. Click the Edit icon next to the name of the device. In the Contents pane, choose CDN Settings > Device Groups.

Step 7 To remove Content Engines, click the Unassign icon (green tick mark) next to the name of the Content Engine that you want to remove from the device group. Alternatively, you can click the Unassign all Content Engines icon in the taskbar to perform a bulk removal of all Content Engines from the selected device group.

Step 8 Click Submit to remove the Content Engines from the device group that you are working on. The list of Content Engines in the device group shows a blue cross mark appears next to the name of the removed Content Engine.

Step 9 To display a subset of Content Engines assigned to device groups, click the Filter Table icon in the taskbar.

Step 10 To revert to the display of all Content Engines in the ACNS network, click the View All Content Engines icon in the taskbar.

Enabling Device Group Overlap

If you want the ability to assign a device to more than one device group, you must enable device group overlap. Content Engines can be assigned to multiple device groups when device group overlap is enabled in the Content Distribution Manager GUI. To enable device group overlap, follow these steps:

Step 1 From the Content Distribution Manager GUI, choose System > System Configuration. The Config Properties window appears.

Step 2 Click the Edit icon next to the property name DeviceGroup.overlap. The Modifying Config Property, DeviceGroup.overlap window appears.

Step 3 Choose true from the Value drop-down list. (The default is false.)

You can return to the default at any time by choosing false from the Value drop-down list. When you disable device group overlap, existing overlapping device groups are retained and continue to be handled as though overlap were enabled; however, any newly added groups do not allow overlapping, and new devices cannot be added to the existing overlapping groups.

Step 4 Click Submit.

Deleting a Device Group

To delete a device group, follow these steps:

Step 1 From the Content Distribution Manager GUI, choose Devices > Device Groups. The Device Groups window appears. (See Figure 8-8.)

Step 2 Click the Edit icon next to the name of the device group that you want to delete. The Modifying Device Group window appears.

Step 3 Click the Trash icon in the taskbar. You are prompted to confirm your decision to delete the device group.

Step 4 Click OK to confirm your decision. The device group is removed from the ACNS network.

Viewing Device Groups

To view all the device groups in your ACNS network, follow these steps:

Step 1 From the Content Distribution Manager GUI, choose Devices > Device Groups. The Device Groups window appears. (See Figure 8-8.)

Step 2 Click the View All Device Groups icon in the taskbar to refresh the table.

The table also displays device type and comments. You can sort the columns by clicking the column heading.

Step 3 To print the table data, click the Printer icon in the taskbar.

Local Device Configuration Versus Central Management

Cisco ACNS 5.x software uses certain CLI commands that are particularly important for ACNS network functionality, and which are likely to be managed using device groups. If you configure any of these commands from the Content Engine or Content Router, either through the Content Engine GUI or CLI, then the settings are not stored as part of the Content Distribution Manager's ACNS network-wide configuration data, and are likely to be overwritten by the Content Distribution Manager.

Note We recommend that you do not configure these centrally managed settings from the local device GUI or CLI.

Furthermore, if you configured any of these settings on your Content Engine or Content Router before you registered it with your Content Distribution Manager, you must reconfigure these settings in the Content Distribution Manager GUI.

These commands include the following:

authentication

bandwidth

bypass

cdp

dns-cache

dns enable

error-handling

ftp

http

https

icp

ldap

logging

multicast

ntlm

ntp

proxy-auto-config

proxy-protocols

radius-server

rtsp

excluding:

rtsp server real-subscriber accept-license-agreement

rtsp proxy media-real accept-license-agreement

rtsp-proxy

tacacs

rule

transaction-logs

url-filter

multicast accept-license-agreement

wmt

excluding:

wmt proxy

wmt accept-license-agreement

wmt live-url-stripping

Repurposing an ACNS Network Device

Some hardware models allow you to change the device mode and redeploy the device in your network for a different purpose. For example, you might repurpose a Content Engine as a Content Distribution Manager for failover and redundancy.

The following hardware models support device mode changes:

•CE-7305

•CE-565

To change the device mode of your eligible device, you must be prepared to configure the disk space allocations, as required by the different device modes, and to reboot the device for the new configuration to take effect.

Devices that can be reconfigured using the device mode command are shipped from the factory by default as Content Engines. When you change the device mode of a Content Engine to a Content Router or a Content Distribution Manager, you need to configure the sysfs. (See the "Configuring Disk Space" section.)

If, however, you are changing the device mode of a Content Router or a Content Distribution Manager back to a Content Engine, you must configure disk space allocations for the sysfs, cfs, mediafs, and cdnfs that are used on the Content Engine. (See "Configuring Disk Space.") For example:
DeviceName# disk config sysfs 10% cfs 20% mediafs 10% cdnfs 60%
Note Enabling content routing on a Content Engine is not considered a device mode change. You do not need to follow this procedure to enable the content routing functionality. (To enable content routing on a Content Engine, see the "Modifying Content Engine Properties" section.)

To change the device mode of a device that is already operating as part of your ACNS network, follow these steps:

Step 1 Access the device CLI.

Step 2 Enter the show device-mode current command to view the current device mode.
DeviceName# show device-mode current
Current device mode: content-engine
Step 3 Configure the new device mode by using the device mode command in global configuration mode. For example:
DeviceName# configure
DeviceName(config)# device mode content-router
Step 4 Deregister the device by using the cms deregister force command.
DeviceName(config)# cms deregister force
Step 5 Save the configuration by issuing the write memory command or the copy running-config startup-config command.
DeviceName# write memory
DeviceName# copy running-config startup-config
Step 6 Use the restore factory-default preserve basic-config command to reload the software and apply the device mode configuration.
DeviceName# restore factory-default preserve basic-config
Note This command erases all existing content on the device; however, your network settings are preserved and the device is accessible through Telnet and Secure Shell (SSH) after it reboots.

Step 7 Verify the new configuration. Check that the current and configured device modes are the same. For example:
DeviceName# show device-mode configured
Configured Device mode: content-router
DeviceName# show device-mode current
Current device mode: content router
Step 8 Configure the disk space allocation based on the new device mode and needs of your network by using the disk config command.

Step 9 Follow the directions for configuring, registering, and activating new devices in "Configuring and Registering ACNS Network Devices."