Table Of Contents
Cisco Application Performance Assurance Overview
Cisco Application Performance Assurance Solution
Application Performance Assurance for Enterprises
Cisco Application Performance Assurance Capabilities
Application Performance Assurance Technology
About APA Device Console Components
Class Configuration Management
Cisco Application Performance Assurance Overview
This module provides a general overview of the Cisco Application Performance Assurance (APA) solution. It introduces the Cisco Application Performance Assurance concept and capabilities.
It also briefly describes the hardware capabilities of the Network Module Enhanced Application Performance Assurance (NME-APA) and the Cisco specific applications that together compose the total Cisco APA solution.
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Cisco Application Performance Assurance Solution
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Cisco Application Performance Assurance Solution
The Cisco APA solution is delivered through a combination of hardware and specific software solutions that address various traffic management challenges faced by enterprises. Service providers can use the NME-APA to support classification, analysis, and control of Internet and IP traffic.
Cisco APA enables enterprises to accommodate more traffic while capitalizing on their existing infrastructure. With the power of Application Performance Assurance, enterprises have the ability to analyze IP network traffic at high speeds. The Cisco APA solution also gives enterprises the tools they need to identify and target overhead content-based traffic.
Application Performance Assurance for Enterprises
Enterprises of any industry must find new ways to get maximum leverage from their existing infrastructure, while differentiating their offerings with enhanced IP capabilities.
The Cisco APA solution adds a layer of service intelligence and control to existing networks that can:
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Cisco Application Performance Assurance Capabilities
The core of the Cisco APA solution is the application for managing traffic including:
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For application protocols implemented using bundled flows (such as FTP, which is implemented using Control and Data flows), the NME-APA understands the bundling connection between the flows and treats them accordingly.
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Programmability provides an easy upgrade path for network and application growth.
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Application Performance Assurance Technology
The network devices perform application-layer stateful-flow inspection of IP traffic, and control that traffic based on configurable rules. The network device uses ASIC components and reduced instruction set computer (RISC) processors to exceed beyond packet counting and expand into the contents of network traffic. Providing programmable, stateful inspection of bidirectional traffic flows, and mapping these flows with user ownership, the network devices provide real-time classification of network usage. The classification provides the basis of the advanced traffic-control and bandwidth-shaping functionality. Where most bandwidth shaper functionality ends, the Cisco APA solution provides further control and shaping options, including:
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About APA Device Console Components
APA provides a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for configuration and security functions. You use the GUI, called the Application Performance Assurance Device Console (APADC) to perform the functions described in this guide. The APADC includes a complete management infrastructure that provides the following management components to manage all aspects of the solution:
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These management interfaces are designed to comply with common management standards and to integrate easily with existing OSS infrastructure.
Device Management
Cisco provides network Fault, Configuration, Performance, and Security Management.
Three interfaces provide network management:
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Traffic Management
APA traffic management includes functionality that allows you to define various traffic classes and related protocols. In addition, APA allows you to set global policies and global filtering. In addition, you can set global settings such as calendars and ToS marking settings.
Data Collection
The APA generates usage data and statistics and manages them as Raw Data Records (RDRs), using a simple TCP-based protocol (RDR-Protocol). The APA implements the collection system and processes them on the local machine. The data is then stored for analysis and reporting functions, and for the collection and presentation of data to additional OSS systems.
Class Configuration Management
APA allows you to configure classes for your network applications. You can add, edit, and delete the various classes of traffic to be used for traffic classification. A class configuration file containing settings for traffic classification, accounting and reporting, and control is created and applied to the APA. The APA provides a tool to distribute these configuration files to the APA hardware on which APA is running.
The APA provides a GUI to edit and create these files.
Policy Management
APA allows you to define policies, which are a collection of rules that define APA's reaction when it encounters flows that match the criterion you specify. You can define global filtering, global policies, and user policies.
User Management
APA user management functionality allows you to define the users and groups of users on the network, for which traffic might be mapped for enabling user-awareness in system reporting. You can also view a list of active users on the network.
Reporting
APA reporting functionality provides the means of defining the data retrieval parameters, as well as the ability to generate application traffic reports.
Admin Management
APA administration management allows you to define each APA Device Console operator and the corresponding access rights.