Cisco ACNS Software Configuration Guide for Centrally Managed Deployments, Release 5.2 - Chapter 10: Working with Device Configurations [Cisco Application and Content Networking System (ACNS) Software]

Table Of Contents

Working with Device Configurations

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 Device Locations

Creating and Modifying Locations

Deleting Locations

Viewing the Location Tree

Working with Content Engines

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 Common Internet File System Server

Configuring CIFS Server Settings

Configuring CIFS Server Website Access Control Settings

Working with Content Routers

Modifying Content Router Properties

Deleting a Content Router

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 Device Configurations

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 Device Locations

•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 > Devices.

Step 2 Click the Edit icon next to the name of the Content Distribution Manager that you want to view. The Device Home window appears.

Step 3 Choose Device Activation. 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 Monitoring > 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 Centralized Management System (CMS) until the problem is corrected. We recommend that you upgrade your standby Content Distribution Manager first and then upgrade your primary 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 cdm ip ip_addr global configuration 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 > Devices.

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 Device Home window appears.

Step 4 In the Contents pane, choose Device Activation. The browser window refreshes, displaying the Modifying Content Distribution Manager window.

Step 5 Click the Trash icon. You are prompted to confirm your decision.

Step 6 Click OK to execute your request.

Working with Device Locations

You work with locations by:

•Creating and Modifying Locations

•Deleting Locations

•Viewing the Location Tree

Creating and Modifying Locations

Locations are set up in the Content Distribution Manager GUI, and they organize and group Content Engines into virtual networks for distribution of content through channels.

Locations need to be configured before you can activate Content Engines and Content Routers and bring them online in the ACNS network.

To create a new location or modify an existing one, follow these steps:

Step 1 From the Content Distribution Manager GUI, choose Devices > Locations. The Locations window appears. (See Figure 10-1.)

Figure 10-1 Locations Window

Step 2 Click the Create New Location icon in the taskbar. The Creating New Location window appears. (See Figure 10-2.)

Figure 10-2 Creating New Location Window

Step 3 Enter a location name in the Name field.

Note Fields marked with an asterisk are required.

Step 4 Choose a parent location (or choose None) from the Parent Location drop-down list.

A location with no parent location assigned is a level 1 location. A location with a level 1 parent becomes a level 2 location, and so forth. The location level is displayed after you choose a parent location (or choose None) and click Submit to save the configuration.

Step 5 If you wish, enter comments about the location in the Comments field. This step is optional.

Step 6 Click Submit.

Step 7 To modify a location, go to the Locations window and click the Edit icon next to the name of the location you want to modify.

Step 8 Change the location name, parent location, or description as needed and click Submit to save the changes.

Deleting Locations

You can delete locations as needed, as long as they are not the root locations of activated Content Engines or Content Routers.

Note If a location has a Content Engine or Content Router assigned to it, you can first assign the Content Engine or Content Router to another location and then delete the original location.

To delete a location, follow these steps:

Step 1 From the Content Distribution Manager GUI, choose Devices > Locations. The Locations window appears.

Step 2 Click the Edit icon next to the location that you want to delete.

The Modifying Location window appears.

Step 3 Click the Trash icon. You are asked to confirm your decision to delete the location.

Step 4 Click OK. The location is deleted.

Viewing the Location Tree

The location tree represents the network topology you configured when you assigned a parent to each location. The Content Distribution Manager GUI graphically displays the relationships between the locations configured in your ACNS network.

To view the location tree, choose Devices > Locations. Then click the Location Trees button in the taskbar. The location tree is displayed.

Working with Content Engines

You work with Content Engines by:

•Modifying Content Engine Properties

•Rebooting a Content Engine

•Deleting a Content Engine

•Viewing Content Engine Channel Assignments

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 > Devices.

Step 2 Click the Edit icon next to the name of the Content Engine that you want to modify. The Device Home window appears.

Step 3 In the Contents pane chose Device Activation. The Device Activation window appears with fields for editing the properties of the selected Content Engine. (See Figure 10-3.)

Figure 10-3 Device Activation Window for Modifying Content Engine Properties

Step 4 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 5 Under the Locality heading, set or change the location information by choosing a new location from the Location drop-down list.

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 alternative IP addresses.

Table 10-1 describes the Content Engine configuration fields that you can either view or modify.

Table 10-1 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:

•The name must 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.

Activate

When checked, activates the Content Engine for centralized management through the Content Distribution Manager GUI.

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

Location¹

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.)

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

When checked lets you manually 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 alternative IP addresses.

Port

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

¹This 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 > Devices.

Step 2 Click the Edit icon next to the name of the Content Engine that you wish to reboot. The Device Home window appears.

Step 3 Click the Reload Content Engine icon in the taskbar. 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 Modifying Device Group window appears.

Step 3 Click the Reboot All Devices in Device Group icon in the taskbar. 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.x 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 be that of 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.

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.

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

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 Device Home page to view how many 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, channel quota, website, and content provider.

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

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

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

Step 3 In the Device Home window, under Assignments: This Devicename belongs to n Channels, click the Channels link, or in the Contents pane, choose Assignments. The Channel assignments for Content Engine window appears, listing all the channels to which the Content Engine is assigned.

Commands Related to Content Acquisition and Distribution

Table 10-2 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 5.2 publication.

Table 10-2 Acquisition-Related Commands

Command

Syntax

Description

acquirer

check-time-for-old-
content

start-channel

stop-channel

test-url

acquirer {check-time-for-old-content [channel-id channel-num | channel-name channel-name] [correct [channel-id channel-num | channel-name channel-name]] | start-channel {channel-id channel-num | channel-name channel-name} | stop-channel {channel-id channel-num | channel-name channel-name} | test-url url [use-http-proxy url | use-ntlm-domain domain-name | use-smb-options smb-options]}

Starts or stops content acquisition on a specified acquirer channel.

show acquirer

channels

progress

proxy authentication

show acquirer [channels [channel-id channel-num | channel-name channel-name] | progress [channel-id channel-num | channel-name channel-name | streams] | proxy authentication]

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

show statistics acquirer

channel-id

channel-name

contents

errors

job-list

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

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

Table 10-3 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 5.2 publication.

Table 10-3 Distribution-Related Commands

Command

Syntax

Description

show distribution

channels

forwarder-list

location

mcast-data-receiver

mcast-data-sender

object-status

processes

remote

show distribution [channels [channel-id channel-num | channel-name name]]

show distribution {forwarder-list [channel-id channel-num [detail] | channel-name name [detail] | detail]}

show distribution location {forwarder-load-weight | live-load-weight | location-loader-preference}[channel-id channel-num | channel-name channel-name]

show distribution mcast-data-receiver

show distribution mcast-data-sender

show distribution object-status object-url

show distribution processes

show distribution remote ip-address {metadata-center channel-id channel-num [start-generation-id gen-id end-generation-id gen-id] | unicast-sender channel-id channel-num {cdn-url | probe | relative-cdn-url} cdn-url}

show distribution remote traceroute {forwarder-next-hop channel-id channel-num {max-hop maxhop_num | trace-till-good | trace-till-root} | unicast-sender channel-id channel-num {cdn-url | probe | relative-cdn-url} cdn-url {max-hop maxhop_num | trace-till-good | trace-till-root}}

Displays the distribution information for a specified channel.

show statistics distribution

all

errors

mcast-data-receiver

mcast-data-sender

metadata-receiver

metadata-sender

unicast-data-receiver

unicast-data-sender

show statistics distribution {all | errors | 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 Common Internet File System Server

When the Content Engine Common Internet File System (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 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 > Devices. The Devices window appears.

Step 2 Click the Edit icon next to the Content Engine for which you want to configure CIFS settings. The Content Engine Device Home window appears with the Contents pane on the left.

Step 3 In the Contents pane, choose General Settings > File Sharing > CIFS Server. The CIFS Server Settings for Content Engine window appears. (See Figure 10-4.)

Figure 10-4 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 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.

Step 5 Choose the Windows file sharing authentication mode from the Authentication Mode drop-down list. See Table 10-4 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 10-4 Authentication Mode Settings

Authentication Mode

Description

ce-user

Enables the default CIFS authentication mode in ACNS software and allows a user to log in 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 to browse all unprotected pre-positioned content on the cdnfs.

password-server

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

ldap-server

Enables the LDAP server for Windows file sharing authentication.

Step 6 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.

Step 7 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 after you have applied default or device group settings. 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.

Configuring CIFS Server 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. The maximum number of websites that can be shared is 16.

If you choose the access level as share (see Figure 10-5) and set the authentication mode as public (see Figure 10-4), 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 the cdnfs, follow these steps:

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

Step 2 Click the Edit icon next to the Content Engine for which you want to configure access control. The Content Engine Device Home window appears with the Contents pane on the left.

Step 3 In the Contents pane, choose General Settings > File Sharing > CIFS Server Access Control. The CIFS Server Website Access Control 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, if you want to apply the group settings 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 after you have applied default and device group settings. 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 Check the Share All WebSites check box if you want all websites that have been created to be shared. All individual websites for which access levels have been specified will be deleted. Click Submit. The system displays a dialog box prompting you to confirm your decision. Click OK to continue.

Step 5 Click the Create New CIFS Website icon in the taskbar. The Creating New CIFS Website for Content Engine window appears. (See Figure 10-5.)

Figure 10-5 Creating New CIFS Website Window

Step 6 From the Website Name drop-down list, choose the websites for which you wish to limit access to pre-positioned cdnfs content. 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 base name 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 base name of the path and must not be the same for two websites.

Step 8 From the Access Level drop-down list, choose the level of access to be allowed for the websites. 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

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:

•Location

•Coverage zone file

•Description

To modify a Content Router, follow these steps:

Step 1 From the Content Distribution Manager GUI, choose Devices > Devices. The Devices 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 Content Router Device Home window appears.

Step 3 In the Contents pane, choose Device Activation. The Modifying Content Router window appears. (See Figure 10-6.)

Figure 10-6 Modifying Content Router Window

Step 4 Check the Activate check box if the Content Router is in Inactive status. If the Content Router is in Online status, this check box will be checked by default.

Step 5 Click the Deactivate Device icon in the taskbar if you want a Content Router in Active status to be inactivated.

Step 6 If you wish to change the location, choose a new location from the Locations drop-down list.

Step 7 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. Otherwise, choose None.

The Coverage Zone File drop-down list contains the destination paths of all valid coverage zone files registered to your ACNS network. When you choose 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 8 If you wish to modify the description used to identify the Content Router, enter a new description in the Comments field.

Step 9 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 > Devices. The Devices window appears, listing the Content Routers in your ACNS network. The online status of the device is listed in the Status column.

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

Step 3 Click the Delete Device (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.

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 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 10-7.)

Figure 10-7 Device Groups Window

Step 2 Click the Create New Device Group icon in the taskbar. The Creating New Device Group window appears. (See Figure 10-8.)

Figure 10-8 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, choose Assignments > 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 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 7 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 that appears next to the name of the removed Content Engine.

Step 8 To display a subset of Content Engines assigned to device groups, click the Filter Table icon in the taskbar. You can choose to filter Content Engines by name, location, and status. After setting the filtering criteria, click Submit.

Step 9 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 > 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 10-7.)

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 10-7.)

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 in ascending or descending order 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 which is 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

logging

tacacs

bandwidth

multicast

rule

bypass

ntlm

transaction-logs

cdp

ntp

multicast accept-license-agreement

dns-cache

proxy-auto-config

wmt

excluding:

wmt proxy

wmt

accept-license-agreement

wmt live-url-stripping

dns enable

proxy-protocols

error-handling

ldap

ftp

radius-server

http

rtsp

excluding:

rtsp server real-subscriber accept-license-agreement

rtsp proxy media-real accept-license-agreement

rtsp-proxy

https

icpurl-filter

ldap

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

•CE-566

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 "Getting Started."