Release Notes for Cisco Service Control Application for Broadband (SCA BB) 3.5.0
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Table Of Contents
Release Notes for Cisco Service Control Application for Broadband (SCA BB) 3.5.0
Information About New Features
Congestion Control Through CMTS Awareness
Increased Number Of Concurrent Subscribers
UI and Operational Enhancements
Subscriber Manager and Collection Manager Enhancements
Traffic Accounting and Reporting
Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request
Release Notes for Cisco Service Control Application for Broadband (SCA BB) 3.5.0
Revised: April 13. 2011, OL-14439-09These release notes for Cisco SCA BB describe the enhancements provided in Cisco SCA BB Release 3.5.0. These release notes are updated as needed.
For a list of the caveats that apply to Cisco SCA BB Release 3.5.0, see Open Caveats.
For information regarding features added and issues resolved in the 3.1.x train, please refer to:
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Release Notes for Cisco Service Control Application for Broadband (SCA BB) 3.1.7
For further information about related products, please refer to the latest versions of the following Release Notes:
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For the Download Guide containing the compatibility matrix, refer to the following:
Cisco Service Control Application for Broadband Download Guide
Contents
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Introduction
This document describes the new functionality, enhancements, and known issues in SCA BB release 3.5.0.
It is assumed that the reader already has a good working knowledge of the Cisco Service Control solution. For additional information, please refer to the Cisco SCA BB documentation.
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SCA BB Release 3.5.0
This section describes the resolved issues of SCA BB release 3.5.0.
Information About New Features
The following section lists the major new features in SCA BB 3.5.0. See the Cisco Service Control Application for Broadband User Guide for a complete description of these features.
Behavioral Targeting
The SCE now includes a solution for behavioral targeted advertising that allows Service Providers to participate in the advertising value chain. This solution enables Service Providers to increase ARPU through a revenue sharing model while addressing privacy concerns through advanced Opt-in / Opt-out mechanisms.
The solution is comprised of several tools that allow integration with multiple advertising partners:
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The Redirect operation is enhanced with the following configuration options:
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— Only every T seconds
— Only once, every V Kbytes
— Only once, every X clicking events
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New fields in the HTTP Redirect packet for advanced use cases of smarter redirection by the redirect server. You can to choose whether to include each of the following fields:
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The Redirect operation now includes the option to select an HTTP code value (like 302 or 304) and string
Congestion Control Through CMTS Awareness
Congestion Control through CMTS awareness allows automatically tying DPI bandwidth management into CMTS physical interfaces so subscribers or applications can be de-prioritized in reaction to HFC bandwidth congestion. The solution is application and subscriber aware - different actions can be applied to different applications and subscribers. The solution is also topology aware and includes automatic real time tracking of each of the CMTS upstream and downstream interfaces. Congestion at the CMTS RF interfaces can be avoided through measuring bandwidth per upstream / downstream prioritizing only when required CMTS awareness is implemented in a MSOs network through the SCE integrating with CMTS's for automatically identifying existing RF interfaces and their associated speeds. The SCE keeps traffic within an upstream / downstream below the physical limit through mapping interface traffic into a virtual pipe (implemented based on SCE Global Controllers).
The SCE performs preferential bandwidth control - based on application tiers keeping the interface's utilization below a certain threshold for bounding the delay on that interface.
Mitigating Outgoing SPAM
The outgoing SPAM mitigation solution is enhanced with the ability to set the identification and mitigation per package. The following parameters can now be configured per package:
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Increased Number Of Concurrent Subscribers
The number of concurrent subscribers on the SCE2020 and SCE8000 is increased as follows:
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The number of supported concurrent subscribers is set to several discrete options. Each discrete option influences the amount of supported flows.
Enhancing The SCA BB Reporter
In release 3.5.0, the SCA BB Reporter is enhanced with the following new features:
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SCE8000 Enhancements
Release 3.5.0 includes multiple enhancements for the SCE8000:
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Classification Enhancements
The SCE's classification capabilities are enhanced in release 3.5.0:
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UI and Operational Enhancements
The user interface and operational concepts are enhanced in release 3.5.0:
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Flow Capture
Flow capturing functionality is added on the SCE for capturing subscriber traffic for multiple troubleshooting use cases. Layer 3 attributes like address ranges define the traffic to capture.
The captured traffic is accumulated in a .cap file and stored in a remote FTP destination.
Subscriber Manager and Collection Manager Enhancements
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Protected URL Database
The SCE Protected URL Database is a database that contains a "blacklist," a list of websites that are considered off limits or dangerous. The SCE can be configured to apply a specific action, such as blocking a site, when a subscriber attempts to access a site listed on the blacklist.
The database is encrypted so that no one, including the operator, can view the blacklist. The blacklist is managed on the SCE and cannot be withdrawn to the management PC.
RDRs are created when a subscriber attempts to access a link included in the blacklist. However, the RDRs do not contains the URL or Host information of the site.
Protocol Support
Refer to the Protocol Pack Notes for information regarding protocol support for Protocol Pack #15 (included in SCA BB 3.5.0).
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Resolved Caveats
This section describes caveats that are resolved in SCA BB release 3.5.0.
CSCsd52274
GC value does not change if the management agent is down during the time frame change
When the management agent is down (during a boot or PQI installation), if the time frame changes, the GC value does not consistently change to the value of the new time frame once the management agent is back up.
This issue is resolved in release 3.5.0.
CSCsg14757
Port congestion may cause inconsistent behavior
When there are many subscribers, and low GC values, high congestion factors are required in order to converge. Therefore, the subscribers connected to the low GC are starved with no fair reason from the user's perspective (business and policy wise).
This issue is resolved in release 3.5.0.
CSCsg29991
Changing the port of the PRPC server cause failure
If the PRPC server port in a device (SM/CM/SCE) is changed, many GUI actions create the PRPC connection in the same way that retrieves the correct PRPC port from the configuration file, while apply retrieves the session object in a different way.
This issue is resolved in release 3.5.0.
CSCsg45603
SM GUI - Remove mapping does not logout the subscriber
From the GUI, you add a subscriber. The subscriber appears in the GUI and in the SM. After removing the subscriber IP mapping from the GUI, the subscriber IP mapping remains in the SM and in the Edit Subscriber window.
This issue is resolved in release 3.5.0.
CSCsi86983
Virtual links is not supported for the SCE1010 platform
Applying a service configuration fails on SCE1010 when virtual links mode is switched on. Hence, virtual links is not supported for SCE1010 platforms.
This issue is resolved in release 3.5.0.
CSCsl52081
Multi-threading support is lacking when using Service Configuration API
When applying the customer's service configuration into the SCEs by a multi-threaded API program, API errors are returned from multiple SCEs.
This issue is resolved in release 3.5.0.
CSCsl74259
DURATION field in Usage RDRs should show actual duration
The DURATION field in Usage RDRs contains the configured duration rather than the actual duration.
This issue is resolved in release 3.5.0.
CSCsm37063
Problem applying pre-3.1.5 service configurations to SCA BB 3.1.5 and higher
There is a problem applying some service configuration/PP combinations (3.0.6PP#10, 3.1.0PP#10, 3.1.0PP#12) to SCA BB 3.1.5 installed with PP#12 and higher or 3.1.6 PP#13 and higher.
For example:
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The following error is displayed:
1/24/08 3:00:21 PM IST | ERROR | Protocol Pack Installation on 'SCE 315' [192.118.77.20]: Operation failed: Error while importing DSS: Item uniqueness violation error: duplicate Protocol ElementThis issue is resolved in release 3.5.0.
CSCsm57690
Apply operation tries to update CM address 127.0.0.1
When applying a PQB, the following error messages is generated: "Failed to update CM at 127.0.0.1 with service configuration values: Connection refused: connect". This happens only when a local RDR-server is configured: RDR-formatter destination 127.0.0.1 port 33001 category number 4 priority 100.
This issue is resolved in release 3.5.0.
CSCso85051
Separation of interval configuration of Accounting (ISG) RDR's from NURs
For the Accounting RDR, the reporting is controlled by the following advance setting options:
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This issue is resolved in release 3.5.0.
CSCsq72143
SCE8000 limits minimum GC to 1.6M
SCE8000 limits the minimum GC to 1.6M, although the GC can be configured to 16K via the CLI.
This issue is resolved in release 3.5.0.
CSCsq73623
sce-url-db should not be cleared silently
When you perform some sce-url-db operations related to protection, the SCE clears the URL database silently without notifying the user.
This issue is resolved in release 3.5.0.
CSCsr50955
SCE external URL filtering fails if URL path contains "%"
The SCE external URL filtering might incorrectly classify URLs that contain "%" in the path part of the URL.
This issue is resolved in release 3.5.0.
CSCsv78126
Default TR rate limit of 250 RDRS per sec is way too high
The current default policy sets the Transaction RDRs rate limit to a value of 250 RDRs per second. This value is too high and should be set no higher than 100 as it was in 3.1.X
This issue is resolved in release 3.5.0.
Open Caveats
Traffic Processing
This section describes open caveats in SCA BB release 3.5.0 that relate to traffic processing.
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Traffic Classification
This subsection describes open caveats in SCA BB release 3.5.0 that relate to traffic classification.
CSCsd81077
Unexpected flow classification after adding service element with non-default zone
The same flow can be classified to different services, depending on a zone configuration that seems unrelated. This occurs after you define a new port-based protocol and then create a new service, adding a service element with the new protocol and a non-default zone to the service. Flows that match the new protocol but do not match the zone of the service element will now be mapped to the Default Service.
The following steps illustrate this. The unexpected flow classification occurs at step 6.
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Workaround:
Add the service element <New port-based protocol, Initiated by either side, *, *>to an existing service. (You can also define a new service for this purpose.) Once you do that, transactions using the specific protocol but with network IP addresses that do not match the specific zone, will go to the less specific service.
For the example given above, add the service element <doom2, Initiated by either side, *, *>to the "Generic TCP" service.
CSCsi46655
Limitations when working with VLANS/VPNs with overlapping IPs
When SCA BB is deployed in an environment where it is required to analyze traffic in VLANs/VPNs with overlapping IP addresses, some of its capabilities, which rely on uniqueness of IP addresses in the network, do not function:
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Many reports in the following categories rely on IP uniqueness:
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N/A
Flow capacity deteriorates when HTTP URL table is full
In release 3.0.0, the limit for the number of items in the HTTP URL list was increased from 10K to 100K. Note that adding more than 10K items to the list affects flow capacity. Using 100K list items can degrade system capacity by up to 50K flows compared with the capacity numbers presented in SCA BB release 3.1.5.
Traffic Accounting and Reporting
This subsection describes open caveats in SCA BB release 3.5.0 that relate to traffic accounting and reporting.
CSCsb60539
Incorrect Values in Session ID field in RTSP TUR
When enabling TUR RDRs for RTSP, the session ID field in RTSP TUR contains incorrect values due to the session ID being extracted from the wrong place in the RTSP packets.
CSCsd74145
Skype reporting limitations
Skype call detection is done using a heuristic analysis of Skype traffic, which makes call detection in Skype less accurate than in other VoIP protocols, and introduces the following limitations:
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When looking at aggregated information and reports these limitations are of less significance, due to averaging and aggregation of large number of calls.
N/A
Concurrent sessions reported by SCE application lower than open flows reported by SCE platform
The number of concurrent sessions reported by the SCE application can sometimes be lower than the number of open flows in the SCE platform counters. In certain services, such as VoIP and FTP, a single session is made of more than one flow. The SCE platform counters track flows, rather than sessions, and therefore may show higher values. In addition, flows with no payload are tracked by the SCE platform counters, but not by the SCE application counters.
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Clarification regarding VoIP accounting
The following MIB counters and fields in the Link Usage RDR and the Package Usage RDR require clarification:
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Traffic Control
This subsection describes open caveats in SCA BB release 3.5.0 that relate to traffic control.
CSCsg08507
Quota Threshold RDRs are not supported for Number of Sessions bucket
When working in the QM with a Number of Sessions bucket and with dosage less than quota, when the dosage given to the SCE is fully used a new session will be blocked even if there is still quota in the QM, since there are no Quota Threshold RDRs. This (blocked) session will trigger a Threshold RDR (and threshold notification to the QM); therefore the next session will succeed.
For example, if the dosage size is 5 sessions, every 6th session will be blocked and will fail.
Workaround:
Always set the dosage size equal to the quota size when working with a Number of Sessions buckets
CSCsy73995
BWC with unlimited PIR limits subscriber traffic to 500 mbps
A subscriber Bandwidth Controller (BWC) with unlimited PIR that is connected to an unlimited Global Controller actually limits the subscriber bandwidth to 500 mbps instead of allowing unlimited rate.
Therefore, if a subscriber transmits more than 500 mbps of traffic, the SCE platform will limit the traffic to 500 mbps, even if the BWC is set to Unlimited
Workaround:
None
SCA BB Console
This section describes open caveats in SCA BB release 3.5.0 that relate to the SCA BB console.
General
This subsection describes open caveats in SCA BB release 3.5.0 that relate to general issues concerning the SCA BB console.
CSCsa91254
A PQB file is saved when Save is selected from tools other than the Service Configuration Editor
Selecting Save from any tool in the SCA BB Console saves the currently open PQB configuration file, even if that is not the appropriate file type for the tool.
CSCsu88253
Welcome page does not always open from some views
Depending on the open view, the Welcome page does not appear or appears in a different location within the SCA BB console.
CSCsv62305
GUI cannot apply to all SCA BB versions
Upgrading a device via the GUI or API also upgrades the console. If you upgrade a Protocol Pack via an SPQI file, the console is upgraded as well with the new signatures. Applying it to a device that was not upgraded as well may fail.
CSCsw51179
Applying a policy to an SCE with a lower PP version
You can apply a policy with a GUI that is upgraded to a higher PP version than the SCE it is applying the policy to. This can cause new signatures that seem to be controlled by the SCE to actually not be handled since the SCE is not aware of them.
CSCsw63256
Installing a SPQI via the GUI is required to be able to apply a policy to SCEs
When you perform a protocol pack upgrade via the GUI or the servconf application, a special module is extracted to C:\Documents and Settings\user\.p-cube\. If this module does not exist an apply to the relevant SCEs might fail.
N/A
Limitations in navigating from the Reporter to the Service Configuration Editor
SCA BB allows users to navigate from a report to the corresponding service configuration entity. For example, right-clicking a service name in the report's legend can take you to the service definition in the Service Configuration Editor. However, the system can navigate only to the PQB file that is currently open in the SCA BB console.
N/A
After applying a service configuration, service and package names are not refreshed in the Reporter
Service and package names are not refreshed automatically in the Reporter after applying changes in the SCA BB Console.
Workaround:
Refresh the templates manually.
Installation
This subsection describes open caveats in SCA BB release 3.5.0 that relate to installation of the SCA BB console.
CSCsa94964
Uninstalling while GUI is open
Running the uninstaller while the SCA BB Console is open, can fail; however, no warning is given when starting the uninstallation. Close the SCA BB Console before running the uninstaller.
CSCsa94964
Must uninstall SCA BB Console before reinstalling it
You must uninstall the SCA before reinstalling it. Do not install the SCA on top of an existing installation.
CSCsc32003
Network Navigator configuration not removed when SCA BB Console uninstalled
When the application is uninstalled, the Network Navigator configuration (sites and devices) is not deleted, but instead is kept for future SCA BB Console installations. \
Workaround:
To clear these settings, manually delete the following folder:
C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\.scasbb300
Network Navigator
This subsection describes open caveats in SCA BB release 3.5.0 that relate to the Network Navigator.
CSCsa95657
Two identical devices can be created
The console permits the creation of two (or more) identical devices (with the same name or the same IP address).
Workaround:
Remove all identical devices.
CSCsc49774
Incorrect error message for failure to connect
If you mistakenly provide the IP address of a device of a different type (for example, adding an SCE but with the IP address of an SM) connecting to this device will fail; the error message that is issued does not correctly identify the problem.
CSCsv55906
Double default site in the Network Navigator
When upgrading from 3.1.7 to 3.5.0, the Network configuration is not automatically imported. You export, and then import. Once the import is complete, two default sites appear in the window.
N/A
Concurrent operations on the same SCE platform are not supported
Concurrent operations, such as applying a configuration and extracting a support file simultaneously, on the same SCE platform are not supported. Wait for one operation to finish before beginning a second operation.
N/A
Updating CM with service configuration values in a NAT environment
When applying a service configuration to the SCE, the Network Navigator also updates the relevant CM with service configuration values, such as service and package names, that are later shown by the Reporter.
The Network Navigator takes the CM IP address from the SCE platform RDR-formatter definitions. With certain topologies (such as in a NAT environment), this IP address might not be accessible by the Network Navigator, and a different CM IP address should be used. The engage.ini preferences file can be used to remap CM IP addresses from the SCE platform RDR-formatter definitions to IP addresses to which the Network Navigator can connect.
The "dc.ip.remap.<n>=<address1>,<address2>" property in the engage.ini file defines a mapping between IP addresses. For example, the entry " dc.ip.remap.1=10.1.12.224,212.194.11.27 " means that if the SCE RDR formatter destination is 10.1.12.224, the Network Navigator should update the CM at 212.194.11.27.
The engage.ini file can be found and edited at the following location:
<scas-bb-console-installation>/plugins/policy.contribution/config
which usually maps to:
C:\Program Files\Cisco SCAS\SCAS BB Console 3.0.0\plugins\policy.contribution_1.0.0\config\engage.ini
Service Configuration Editor
This subsection describes open caveats in SCA BB release 3.5.0 that relate to the Service Configuration Editor.
CSCsx17491
Opening old PQB files (prior to 3.0.0) not supported in 3.5.0
PQB files that were created using SCA BB releases prior to 3.0.0 might not open in SCA BB release 3.5.0.
Workaround: Install SCA-BB 3.1.7, open the PQB and save it to the disk. You can then open it in SCA-BB 3.5.0.
N/A
New protocols not assigned automatically to services in old PQB files
When upgrading old PQB files, new protocols do not get assigned to any service. Signature-based protocols that are not assigned to a service are classified as Generic TCP, even if the flow itself is UDP.
Workaround:
Manually assign protocols to a service using the SCA.
Subscriber Manager GUI
This subsection describes open caveats in SCA BB release 3.5.0 that relate to the Subscriber Manager GUI.
CSCsw79014
SCA BB Subscriber Manager GUI - Many issues
The following issues with the SM Client GUI make it practically unusable:
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Reporter
This subsection describes open caveats in SCA BB release 3.5.0 that relate to the Reporter.
N/A
Reporter sometimes shows service number instead of service name
In unusual circumstances, the Reporter shows some service numbers instead of the symbolic name.
The problem occurs after a policy has been applied to an SCE platform via the SCA BB Console, modified (by renaming, adding, or deleting services) and then reapplied.
This occurs only in SCA BB 3.0.5.
Workaround:
Save the service configuration and close the SCA BB Console, then reopen the Console and apply the service configuration.
Configuration Management
This section describes open caveats in SCA BB release 3.5.0 that relate to configuration management.
General
This subsection describes open caveats in SCA BB release 3.5.0 that relate to general issues concerning configuration management.
N/A
SCE log and SNMP traps when a service configuration is applied
Apply operations are logged in the SCE user log, with the origin file name and host. This can be viewed in SCE CLI in the following manner:
#more user-log ... 2005-12-18 10:20:54 | INFO | CPU #000 | Engage Policy Applied: username@hostname/64.103.125.159, filename.pqb, Fully-Functional, 6(+1)Packages, 38 Services ...The SCE also generates an SNMP trap with a similar message after a service configuration is applied.
Service Configuration API
This subsection describes open caveats in SCA BB release 3.5.0 that relate to the Service Configuration API.
N/A
Backward compatibility with SCA BB 2.5 Service Configuration API
Package and class name changes: The Service Configuration Management API has changed in SCA BB 3.0.0, to accommodate new product naming conventions. Nevertheless, the older API classes and methods can still be used.
Note, however, that the Service Configuration Editing API in SCA BB 3.0.0 has been significantly changed, and is generally incompatible with 2.5.
CSV file format changes: SCA BB introduces a new format for CSV files of HTTP URL lists. For backward compatibility, SCA BB 3.0.0 Service Configuration API allows importing CSV files of HTTP URLs in the old 2.5 formats.
Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request
For information on obtaining documentation, submitting a service request, and gathering additional information, see the monthly What's New in Cisco Product Documentation, which also lists all new and revised Cisco technical documentation, at:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/general/whatsnew/whatsnew.html
Subscribe to the What's New in Cisco Product Documentation as a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed and set content to be delivered directly to your desktop using a reader application. The RSS feeds are a free service and Cisco currently supports RSS version 2.0.
Cisco and the Cisco Logo are trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco's trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. (1005R)
Any Internet Protocol (IP) addresses used in this document are not intended to be actual addresses. Any examples, command display output, and figures included in the document are shown for illustrative purposes only. Any use of actual IP addresses in illustrative content is unintentional and coincidental.
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