Guest

Cisco IOS Software Releases 11.3

Shelf Discovery and Autoconfiguration

Hierarchical Navigation

Downloads

Table Of Contents

Shelf Discovery and Autoconfiguration

Description

Autoconfiguration of Managed Shelves

Benefits

List of Terms

Configuration Tasks

Configure the Shelf

Configure the System Controller

Configuration Examples

Command Reference - System Controller

show syscon discover

show syscon sdp

syscon community

syscon password

Debug Command - System Controller

debug syscon sdp

Command Reference - Managed Shelf

show syscon sdp

syscon address

syscon shelf-id

syscon source-interface

Debug Command - Managed Shelf

debug syscon sdp

Supported MIBs and RFCs

What to Do Next


Shelf Discovery and Autoconfiguration

Description

The Shelf Discovery and Autoconfiguration feature allows a system controller to automatically discover new shelves and properly configure them to interact with the system controller. The system controller communicates with its managed shelves through the Shelf Discovery Protocol (SDP), which runs on top of UDP.

Autoconfiguration of Managed Shelves

When the system controller detects that a shelf has been added or reloaded, it sends the following configuration commands to the shelf:

•SNMP configuration commands

•Enables SNMP

•Configures the community string to match the string used by the system controller

•Configures the system controller as a target for traps

•Logging configuration commands

•Enables logging

•Configures the system controller as a target for logging

•Configures timestamps on messages

•NTP configuration commands

•Specifies the system controller as the time source

•Updates the system calendar using the NTP time

Benefits

The Shelf Discovery and Autoconfiguration feature provides the following benefits:

•Control of multiple platforms from one location

•Easier method of configuring commands on all shelves

•Consolidated list of managed shelves and all interfaces on managed shelves

List of Terms

shelf—An access server or router managed by the system controller.

Shelf Discovery Protocol (SDP)—The protocol a system controller uses to communicate with its managed shelves.

system controller—A Cisco IOS-based device that aids in the monitoring and management of a number of access servers and routers.

Configuration Tasks

In order for a system controller to automatically discover and configure a shelf, both the system controller and the managed shelf must be configured.

Configure the Shelf

To configure the shelf to use the system controller, perform the following tasks in global configuration mode:

Task
Command

Start the SDP process on the shelf. This command causes the shelf to start looking for a system controller at the specified address.

syscon address ip-address password

If the shelf does not already have a shelf ID, configure a shelf ID for the system controller to use.

syscon shelf-id number


To monitor the SDP process, use the show syscon sdp and debug syscon sdp commands.

Configure the System Controller

To configure the system controller, perform the following tasks in global configuration mode:

Task
Command

Specify the SNMP community string. During shelf autoconfiguration, this community string is automatically set on the shelf.

syscon community string

Specify the password used in authenticating messages between the system controller and managed shelves. This password must match the password configured on shelves.

syscon password password


Use the following commands to monitor SDP events and status:

Task
Command

Display information about managed shelves.

show syscon discover [brief | full]

Display information about SDP.

show syscon sdp

Debug SDP.

debug syscon sdp


Configuration Examples

The following sample configuration enables a device to begin serving as a system controller. The system controller waits to be contacted by shelves and then provides them with the appropriate configuration. 

syscon password syspassword

syscon community public

The follow example configures a shelf to use the system controller at 172.23.66.111. The shelf ID is 99. If you are using a Cisco AS5800, you do not need to specify a shelf ID with the syscon shelf-id command. 

syscon address 172.23.66.111 syspassword

syscon shelf-id 99

After the shelf has contacted the system controller through SDP, the system controller configures the managed shelf with the following commands: 

snmp-server community public RW

snmp-server enable traps

snmp-server host 172.23.66.111 traps version 2c public

snmp-server packetsize 1480

ntp server 172.23.66.111

ntp update-calendar

service timestamps log datetime msec

logging 172.23.66.111

logging trap

The following sample debug syscon sdp output on the managed shelf shows the shelf contacting the system controller. The shelf sends a Hello packet to the system controller at 172.23.66.111. The system controller responds with the autoconfiguration commands. The remaining lines show the Hello packets exchanged between the shelf and the system controller. 

Shelf# debug syscon sdp


SYSCTLR: Hello packet sent to the SYSCTLR at 172.23.66.111

SYSCTLR: Command packet received from SYSCTLR

Feb 24 17:24:16.713: %SHELF-6-SYSCTLR_ESTABLISHED: Configured via system controller 
located at 172.23.66.111

SYSCTLR: Rcvd HELLO from SYSCTLR at 172.23.66.111

SYSCTLR: Hello packet sent to the SYSCTLR at 172.23.66.111

SYSCTLR: Rcvd HELLO from SYSCTLR at 172.23.66.111

The following sample debug syscon sdp output on the system controller shows the system controller discovering the managed shelf. In the first few lines, the system controller receives a Hello packet from shelf 99 at 172.23.66.106. The system controller responds with a Hello packet. When the shelf sends another Hello packet, the system controller resets the timer and sends another packet. 

Syscon# debug syscon sdp


SYSCTLR: Hello packet received via UDP from 172.23.66.106

%SYSCTLR-6-SHELF_ADD: Shelf 99 discovered located at address 172.23.66.106

Hello packet sent to the RS located at 172.23.66.106

SYSCTLR: Hello packet received via UDP from 172.23.66.106

Timer for shelf 99 updated, shelf is alive

Hello packet sent to the RS located at 172.23.66.106

Command Reference - System Controller

This section documents new or modified commands. All other commands used with this feature are documented in the Cisco IOS Release 11.3 command references.

•show syscon discover

•show syscon sdp

•syscon community

•syscon password

show syscon discover

To display information about discovered shelves, use the show syscon discover EXEC command.

show syscon discover [brief | full]

Syntax Description

brief

(Optional) Displays a list of discovered shelves. This is the default.

full

(Optional) Displays detailed information about discovered shelves.


Command Mode

EXEC

Default

Brief

Usage Guidelines

This command first appeared in Cisco IOS Release 11.3 AA.

The show syscon discover full command includes output from the show syscon perfdata and show syscon monitor commands.

Sample Display

The following is sample output from the show syscon discover brief command: 

Syscon# show syscon discover brief


Shelf# 3  10.0.1.2 Last update  11:15:29 PST Jan 22 1998

describes the fields shown in this display.

Table 1 Show Syscon Discover Brief Field Descriptions

Field
Description

Shelf# 3

The identification number for this shelf.

10.0.1.2

IP address for this shelf.

Last update

Time and date of the last update from the shelf.


The following is sample output from the show syscon discover full command: 

Syscon# show syscon discover full

Shelf# 3  10.0.1.2 Last update  11:16:27 PST Jan 22 1998 type products.108

ifIndex      Type   OperStatus    Speed       Last Changed

      1       1     down              9000       249

      2       1     down              9000       249

      3       1     down              9000       249

      4       1     down              9000       249

      5       1     down              9000       249

      6       1     down              9000       249

      7       1     down              9000       249

      8       1     down              9000       249

      9       1     down              9000       249

     10       1     down              9000       249

     ...


Performance Data Collection:

          Poll        Last     Total     Get    GetBulk  Bulk Xfer

Shelf#    Group       File    Requests Requests Requests  Requests Errors

    2  chassis      886010845     151        0        0      151       0

       popmgmt      886011146    5180      148     5032        0       0


Health monitor process is not running.

describes the fields shown in this display.

Table 2 Show Syscon Discover Full Field Descriptions

Field
Description

Shelf# 3

The identification number for this shelf.

10.0.1.2

IP address for this shelf.

Last update

Time and date of the last update from the shelf.

type products.108

Type of shelf. The value can be one of the following:

•108 - Cisco 7206

•109 - Cisco AS5200

•125 - Cisco 7204

•162 - Cisco AS5300

ifIndex

Interface index.

Type

Type of interface, corresponding to ifType.

OperStatus

Operational status of the interface.

Speed

Speed of the interface.

Last Changed

Value of ifLastChanged.

Performance Data Collection ...

Performance data collection information. The output corresponds to the output of the show syscon perfdata command. Refer to the show syscon perfdata command for field descriptions.

Health Monitor process...

Current status of the Health Monitor process. The output corresponds to the output of the show syscon monitor command. Refer to the show syscon monitor command for field descriptions.


Related Commands

show syscon monitor
show syscon perfdata
show syscon sdp
syscon community
syscon password

show syscon sdp

To display information about the Shelf Discovery Protocol, use the show syscon sdp EXEC command.

show syscon sdp

Syntax Description

This command has no arguments or keywords.

Command Mode

EXEC

Usage Guidelines

This command first appeared in Cisco IOS Release 11.3 AA.

Sample Display

The following is sample output from the show syscon sdp command: 

Syscon# show syscon sdp


3006 Total SDP packets

    6 Bad packets with bad MD5 hash

    1503 Hello packets received

    1497 Hello packets sent

    0 Command packets received

    0 Command packets sent

describes the fields shown in the sample display.

Table 3 Show Syscon SDP Field Descriptions

Field
Description

Total SDP packets

Total number of SDP packets sent or received by the system controller.

Bad packets with bad MD5 hash

Number of packets with a bad MD5 hash.

Hello packets received

Number of Hello packets received by the system controller from managed shelves.

Hello packets sent

Number of Hello packets sent from the system controller to managed shelves.

Command packets received

Number of packets containing commands received by the system controller.

Command packets sent

Number of commands sent by the system controller.


Related Commands

show syscon discover
syscon community
syscon password

syscon community

To set the SNMP community string the system controller uses to communicate with its managed shelves, use the syscon community global configuration command. The no form of this command sets the community string to public.

syscon community string
no syscon community

Syntax Description

string

SNMP community string.


Default

The community string is private.

Command Mode

Global configuration

Usage Guidelines

This command first appeared in Cisco IOS Release 11.3 AA.

This command is required in order to configure the system controller. The system controller automatically configures its managed shelves to accept this SNMP community string.

Example

The following example configures the system controller to use the community string purple when communicating with managed shelves using SNMP. The managed shelves will automatically be configured to accept the community string of purple from the system controller. 

syscon community purple

Related Commands

show syscon discover
show syscon sdp
syscon password

syscon password

To set the password used by the system controller to communicate with its managed shelves, use the syscon password global configuration command. This command also configures the device as a system controller. The no form of this command deletes the password and disables the system controller.

syscon password string
no syscon password

Syntax Description

string

Password string.


Default

No password is set.

Command Mode

Global configuration

Usage Guidelines

This command first appeared in Cisco IOS Release 11.3 AA.

This command is required to use any of the system controller features. The password must match the password specified on the shelves through the syscon address command. The managed shelves use this password to authenticate messages from the system controller.

Example

The following example configures the system controller to use the password yellow to communicate with its managed shelves: 

syscon password yellow

Related Commands

show syscon discover
show syscon sdp
syscon community

Debug Command - System Controller

The debug syscon sdp command has been added for this feature.

debug syscon sdp

Use the debug syscon sdp EXEC command to display messages related to the Shelf Discovery Protocol (SDP). The no form of this command disables debugging output.

[no] debug syscon sdp

Usage Guidelines

Use this command to display information about SDP packets exchanged between the shelf and the system controller.

Sample Display

The following sample debug syscon sdp output shows the system controller discovering a managed shelf. In the first few lines, the system controller receives a Hello packet from shelf 99 at 172.23.66.106. The system controller responds with a Hello packet. When the shelf sends another Hello packet, the system controller resets the timer and sends another packet. 

Syscon# debug syscon sdp


SYSCTLR: Hello packet received via UDP from 172.23.66.106

%SYSCTLR-6-SHELF_ADD: Shelf 99 discovered located at address 172.23.66.106

Hello packet sent to the RS located at 172.23.66.106

SYSCTLR: Hello packet received via UDP from 172.23.66.106

Timer for shelf 99 updated, shelf is alive

Hello packet sent to the RS located at 172.23.66.106

Command Reference - Managed Shelf

The following commands are used on the managed shelves:

•show syscon sdp

•syscon address

•syscon shelf-id

show syscon sdp

To display information about the Shelf Discovery Protocol, use the show syscon sdp EXEC command.

show syscon sdp

Syntax Description

This command has no arguments or keywords.

Command Mode

EXEC

Usage Guidelines

This command first appeared in Cisco IOS Release 11.3 AA.

Sample Display

The following is sample output from the show syscon sdp command: 

Shelf# show syscon sdp


Current time 10:46:32 PST Jan 28 1998, system controller 172.23.66.100

Last hello packet received at 10:45:38 PST Jan 28 1998

11773 Total SDP packets

    0 packets with bad MD5 hash

    5884 Hello packets received

    5889 Hello packets sent

    0 Command packets received

    0 Command packets sent

describes the fields shown in the sample display.

Table 4 Show Syscon SDP Field Descriptions

Field
Description

Current time

Current time and date.

system controller

IP address of the system controller.

Last hello packet received

Time and date the last Hello packet from the system controller was received by the shelf.

Total SDP packets

Total number of SDP packets sent or received by the shelf.

packets with bad MD5 hash

Number of packets with a bad MD5 hash.

Hello packets received

Number of Hello packets received by the shelf from the system controller.

Hello packets sent

Number of Hello packets sent from the shelf to the system controller.

Command packets received

Number of packets containing commands received by the shelf.

Command packets sent

Number of commands sent by the shelf.


Related Commands

syscon address
syscon shelf-id

syscon address

To specify the system controller for a managed shelf, use the syscon address global configuration command. Use the no form of this command to stop the management of the shelf by the system controller.

syscon address ip-address password
no syscon address

Syntax Description

ip-address

IP address of the system controller.

password

Password string.


Default

No system controller is specified.

Command Mode

Global configuration

Usage Guidelines

This command first appeared in Cisco IOS Release 11.3 AA.

This command is required in order for the shelf to be managed by the system controller. The password must match the password configured on the system controller through the syscon password command.

Example

The following example configures a shelf to be managed by a system controller at 10.2.3.4 using the password green: 

syscon address 10.2.3.4 green

Related Commands

show syscon sdp
syscon shelf-id

syscon shelf-id

To specify a shelf ID for a managed shelf, use the syscon shelf-id global configuration command. The no form of this command removes the shelf ID.

syscon shelf-id number
no syscon shelf-id

Syntax Description

number

Shelf ID. The value ranges from 0 to 9999.


Default

No shelf ID is specified.

Command Mode

Global configuration

Usage Guidelines

This command first appeared in Cisco IOS Release 11.3 AA.

Use this command to specify a shelf ID for a managed shelf. Some platforms, such as the Cisco AS5800, use other commands to assign a shelf ID. In these situations, do not specify a shelf ID with the syscon shelf-id command. Use the platform-specific command instead.

Example

The following example configures a shelf ID of 5 for the managed shelf: 

syscon shelf-id 5

Related Commands

show syscon sdp
syscon address

syscon source-interface

To specify the interface to use for the source address in SDP packets, use the syscon source-interface global configuration command. Use the no form of this command to return to the default source interface for a packet, the interface that transmitted the packet from the shelf.

syscon source-interface interface
no syscon source-interface

Syntax Description

interface

Type and number of the interface to use for the source IP address.


Default

SDP packets use the IP address of the output interface.

Command Mode

Global configuration

Usage Guidelines

This command first appeared in Cisco IOS Release 11.3 AA.

Use this command to ensure that all SDP packets sent by the managed shelf have the same source IP address.

Example

The following example configures a shelf to use the IP address of the Ethernet99/1/0 interface: 

syscon source-address Ethernet99/1/0

Related Commands

show syscon sdp
syscon shelf-id

Debug Command - Managed Shelf

The debug syscon sdp command has been added for this feature.

debug syscon sdp

Use the debug syscon sdp EXEC command to display messages related to the Shelf Discovery Protocol (SDP). The no form of this command disables debugging output.

[no] debug syscon sdp

Usage Guidelines

Use this command to display information about SDP packets exchanged between the shelf and the system controller.

Sample Display

The following sample debug syscon sdp output shows the shelf contacting the system controller. The shelf sends a Hello packet to the system controller at 172.23.66.111. The system controller responds with the autoconfiguration commands. The remainding lines show the Hello packets exchanged between the shelf and the system controller. 

Shelf# debug syscon sdp


SYSCTLR: Hello packet sent to the SYSCTLR at 172.23.66.111

SYSCTLR: Command packet received from SYSCTLR

Feb 24 17:24:16.713: %SHELF-6-SYSCTLR_ESTABLISHED: Configured via system controller 
located at 172.23.66.111

SYSCTLR: Rcvd HELLO from SYSCTLR at 172.23.66.111

SYSCTLR: Hello packet sent to the SYSCTLR at 172.23.66.111

SYSCTLR: Rcvd HELLO from SYSCTLR at 172.23.66.111

Supported MIBs and RFCs

None

What to Do Next

Once you have configured the Shelf Discovery and Autoconfiguration feature on the system controller and managed shelves, you can increase the functionality of the system controller by configuring additional features. The following features, which are documented separately, provide additional functionality for the system controller:

•Health Monitor

•Performance Data Collection

•Syslog Disk Logging

•Virtual Console

•FTP Server