Table Of Contents
SAA Application Performance Monitor
Related Features and Technologies
Supported Standards, MIBs, and RFCs
Setting the SAA APM Cache Size
Copying APM Files to the SAA Device
Preparing a System for APM Operation Reception
Configuring SAA APM Operations
Changing the Memory Threshold for the SAA APM
Erasing Files from the SAA APM Cache
Monitoring and Maintaining the SAA APM
Displaying SAA APM Operation Results
SAA Application Performance Monitor
Feature History
This document describes the Cisco Service Assurance Agent (SAA) Application Performance Monitor (APM) feature as implemented in Cisco IOS Release 12.2(2)T. It includes the following sections:
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Supported Standards, MIBs, and RFCs
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Feature Overview
The Cisco SAA is a Cisco IOS software feature that allows you to monitor network performance between a Cisco router and a remote device (which can be another Cisco router, an IP Host or an MVS host). Performance can be measured for real world scenarios through the configuration of SAA operations that are executed periodically. Various performance metrics measured include round trip response time, connect time, packet loss, application performance, and inter-packet delay variance (jitter). The SA Agent allows you to receive notifications and perform troubleshooting and problem analysis based on these metrics.
The SAA Application Performance Monitor (APM) allows you to monitor the performance of network-hosted applications by emulating the traffic of these applications. The SAA APM can also emulate and measure the performance of SAA Frame Relay and Path Jitter operations.
Monitoring the performance of network-hosted applications enables service providers and IT departments to verify that applications are performing as needed and to implement improvements as necessary.
APM operates differently from most SAA operations. Standard SA Agent operations allow the monitoring of protocol-based activity between a source and a destination, while APM operations monitor software application transactions between a source and a destination.
APM provides a way of monitoring client/server applications between devices by emulating application transactions. When using APM, one Cisco device is the application server node, and another is the application client node. Using SAA terminology, the transmitting device (the server) is the agent, and the receiving device (the client) is the responder. A single Cisco device can function as both a client and a server for network applications.
Applications are emulated through the use of downloadable scripts and configuration files. APM configuration files contain information about which script and scheduler files to run. APM configuration files use the ".cf" suffix. Script files are written in TCL and use the ".scr" suffix. Execution of APM operations can be scheduled through the use of scheduler files, which use the ".sch" suffix.
The following APM script files are embedded on the router running the SAA:
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Each script (".scr") file has a corresponding configuration (".cf") file and data (".dat") file. To download the script, configuration, data, and scheduler files used by the SAA APM, and to download the documentation ("readme" files) for the scripts, go to the "Cisco SAA APM" page at http://www.cisco.com/cgi-bin/tablebuild.pl/saa-apm.
Benefits
Application Performance Monitoring
Monitoring the performance of applications is a high-priority task for service providers that host applications (application service providers), and for enterprise IT departments that support a multitude of applications on a day-to-day basis. By using the SAA APM, performance can be measured for a combination of parameters such as response time, throughput, and availability. By measuring performance, providers can define and verify service-level agreements (SLAs) for their customers.
Frame Relay Monitoring
The SAA Frame Relay operation allows users to measure parameters such as response time (round trip latency), frame loss, and data integrity over Frame Relay circuits (such as PVCs). By measuring these parameters, providers can verify if the protocol is working correctly to meet customer needs. While a basic Frame Relay monitoring operation can be configured as a standard SAA operation using the CLI, the full performance monitoring functionality can only be configured using the SAA APM (using the Frame Relay APM script files).
Related Features and Technologies
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Related Documents
For details on configuring the Cisco SAA, refer to the "Network Monitoring Using Cisco Service Assurance Agent" chapter in the Release 12.2 Cisco IOS Configuration Fundamental Configuration Guide and the "Cisco Service Assurance Agent Commands" chapter in the Release 12.2 Cisco IOS Configuration Fundamentals Command Reference.
For other SAA enhancements introduced in Cisco IOS Release 12.2(2)T, including the Frame Relay monitoring operation, see the "SAA Support for Frame Relay, VoIP, and MPLS VPN Monitoring" feature module document.
For complete documentation on APM scripts and scheduler files, see the "readme" files contained in the .zip file available from http://www.cisco.com/cgi-bin/tablebuild.pl/saa-apm.
Supported Platforms
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Determining Platform Support Through Feature Navigator
Cisco IOS software is packaged in feature sets that support specific platforms. To get updated information regarding platform support for this feature, access Feature Navigator. Feature Navigator dynamically updates the list of supported platforms as new platform support is added for the feature.
Feature Navigator is a web-based tool that enables you to quickly determine which Cisco IOS software images support a specific set of features and which features are supported in a specific Cisco IOS image.
Feature Navigator is updated regularly when major Cisco IOS software releases and technology releases occur. For the most current information, go to the Feature Navigator home page at the following URL:
Supported Standards, MIBs, and RFCs
Standards
No new or modified standards are supported by this feature.
MIBs
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To obtain lists of supported MIBs by platform and Cisco IOS release, and to download MIB modules, go to the Cisco MIB website on Cisco.com at the following URL:
http://www.cisco.com/public/sw-center/netmgmt/cmtk/mibs.shtml
RFCs
No new or modified RFCs are supported by this feature.
Configuration Tasks
See the following sections for configuration tasks for the SAA APM feature. Each task is identified as either required or optional.
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Setting the SAA APM Cache Size
APM script and scheduler files are kept in an area of memory called the APM cache. The default APM cache size is 100,000 bytes. The cache size is checked by the system before each attempt to copy a new file to the cache. If the file to be downloaded puts the cache over its size limit, a cache trimming operation is performed, and all files in the cache not tagged with a "sticky bit" will be deleted. To set the size of the APM cache, use the following command in global configuration mode:
Copying APM Files to the SAA Device
The APM script and scheduler files for the emulation to be performed must be copied to the routing device running the SAA prior to performing the operation. To copy script or scheduler files from an FTP server to the device that will initiate the APM operations, use the following commands in global configuration mode as needed:
Files tagged with a "sticky bit" can be deleted by using the clear saa apm cache global configuration command.
To confirm that the files were copied successfully, use the show saa apm cache command in EXEC mode.
Preparing a System for APM Operation Reception
To prepare the destination device (the application client) for certain SAA APM operations, you must enable the SAA RTR Responder on the device. Enabling the SAA RTR Responder is only necessary if there is to be separate control and data transactions; in other words, if an application server is enabled on the destination device, the Responder is not necessary.
To enable the SAA RTR Responder, use the following command in global configuration mode:
The SAA RTR Responder can also be enabled from a network managment system (NMS) using SNMP. To enable the Responder from an NMS, use the rttMonApplResponder -i 1 SNMP command.
Configuring SAA APM Operations
The APM configuration file for the APM operation should be kept on an FTP server accessible to the routing device running the SAA. The configuration file references the appropriate script (SCR), scheduler (SCH), and data (DAT) files. The configuration file also specifies the target of the APM operation (using the TARGET_IP variable).
To create and start an application performance monitoring operation, use the following command in global configuration mode:
The process of performing an APM operation involves starting and stopping the operation. After the operation is stopped, the data gathered during the operation can be retrieved using the show saa apm commands described in the "Monitoring and Maintaining the SAA APM" section. The recommended method for stopping operations is to configure the operation to stop after a certain number of iterations in the APM configuration file. However, you can also manually stop an APM operation using the CLI. To stop an APM operation manually, use the following command in global configuration mode:
Router(config)# saa apm operation operation-number stop
Stops a running SAA APM operation.
An APM operation will be removed from the system configuration when the ageout timer for the operation expires, or when the operation is deleted manually. The ageout timer is set using the OPER_AGEOUT value in the APM configuration file, and begins to count down after an operation is stopped. To manually delete an operation, use the following command in global configuration mode:
Router(config)# no saa apm operation [operation-number]
Deletes the specified SAA APM operation. If an operation-number is not specified, all APM operations are deleted.
Changing the Memory Threshold for the SAA APM
To specify how much memory must be available on the router to allow APM operations to be configured, use the following command in global configuration mode:
The saa apm lowWaterMark global configuration command configures the lowest amount of free memory that must be available on the system. If the amount of available free memory falls below the value specified in the saa apm lowWaterMark command, then the SAA will not allow new APM operations to be configured. (The lowWaterMark value is also referred to as the low-memory value or the low-memory-watermark value.) The default value is 25 percent of the memory available on the system at startup.
Note
For example, if there are 6 MB of free memory when the system starts up, and the default low-memory-watermark of 25 percent is used, then the SAA APM can use up to 4.5 MB memory for creating operations. If the free memory drops below 1.5 MB, then new APM operations cannot be created.
The value of the saa apm lowWaterMark command should not exceed the amount of free memory available on the system. To determine the amount of free memory available on the system, use the show memory EXEC command.
The show saa apm information EXEC command will display the number of operations that can be run on the device in the "Max Number of oper supported" field.
Erasing Files from the SAA APM Cache
To erase files from the SAA APM cache, use any of the following forms of the clear saa apm cache command in global configuration mode:
Monitoring and Maintaining the SAA APM
See the following sections for monitoring and maintenance tasks for the SAA APM feature:
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Displaying SAA APM Operation Results
To view the results of the SAA APM operation, use the following command in EXEC mode:
Router# show saa apm results [operation-number]
Displays the data gathered using the SAA APM.
Displaying SAA APM Status
To display information about the status of the SAA APM, use any of the following commands in EXEC mode:
Command Reference
This section documents new commands. All other commands used with this feature are documented in the Cisco IOS Release 12.2 command reference publications.
clear saa apm cache
To delete files from the SAA Application Performance Monitor (APM) cache, use the clear saa apm cache command in global configuration mode.
clear saa apm cache {local | remote | file filename} [force]
Syntax Description
Defaults
No default behavior or values.
Command Modes
Global configuration
Command History
Usage Guidelines
This command will not delete files tagged as "sticky" in the APM cache unless the force keyword is used. The sticky bit is set for a file when the file is copied to the router using the saa apm copy command. To check if files have the sticky bit set, use the show saa apm cache command; those files that show a value of 1 in the "SBit" column have the sticky bit enabled, while those with a sticky value of 0 do not have the sticky bit enabled.
Examples
In the following example, all files that are not tagged as "sticky" (as seen in the SBit column of the show saa apm cache output) are deleted from the APM cache:
Router# show saa apm cacheCache Size (bytes):100000Cache used (bytes):2056TimeCreated TimeAccessed Size Ref Loc Type SBit FileName09/21 13:31:25 09/21 13:31:48 1170 0 1 SCR 0 user/scripts/ldap-rem.scr09/21 13:31:20 09/21 13:31:27 1513 0 1 SCR 1 user/scripts/ldap.scr09/20 14:29:13 09/20 14:29:36 735 0 1 SCR 0 user/scripts/udp-rem.scrRouter# configure terminalRouter(config)# clear saa apm cache localRouter(config)# endRouter# show saa apm cacheCache Size (bytes):100000Cache used (bytes):1513TimeCreated TimeAccessed Size Ref Loc Type SBit FileName09/21 13:31:20 09/21 13:31:27 1513 0 1 SCR 1 user/scripts/ldap.scrRelated Commands
Displays the amount of memory available in the SAA APM cache and information about the files stored in the cache.
debug saa apm
To enable debugging output for the SAA Application Performance Monitor (APM), use the debug saa apm command in privileged EXEC mode. To disable SAA APM debugging output, use the no form of this command.
debug saa apm
no debug saa apm
Syntax Description
This command has no arguments or keywords.
Defaults
No default behavior or values.
Command Modes
Privileged EXEC
Command History
Examples
The following is sample output from the debug saa apm command:
Router# debug saa apmRouter# configure terminalRouter(config)# saa apm operation 123 start ftp://apm/config/iptv.cf21:40:27: SAA-APM-123: downloading file (apm/config/iptv.cf) of size (534)21:40:29: SAA-APM-123: downloading file (apm/scheduler/master.sch) of size (2500)21:40:30: SAA-APM-123: downloading file (apm/scripts/iptv.scr) of size (1647)21:40:32: SAA-APM-123: downloading file (apm/data/iptv.dat) of size (118)21:40:32: SAA-APM-123: sending APM_CAPABILITIES_REQUEST message21:40:32: sending control msg:21:40:32: Ver: 1 ID: 29 Len: 4821:40:32: SAA-APM-123: apm_engine version: major<1>, minor<0>21:40:32: SAA-APM-123: sending APM_SCRIPT_DNLD message21:40:32: sending control msg:21:40:32: Ver: 1 ID: 30 Len: 14821:40:37: SAA-APM-123: sending APM_SCRIPT_DNLD_STATUS message21:40:37: sending control msg:21:40:37: Ver: 1 ID: 31 Len: 14821:40:38: SAA-APM-123: starting the operation21:40:38: SAA-APM-123: sending APM_SCRIPT_START message21:40:38: sending control msg:21:40:38: Ver: 1 ID: 32 Len: 14821:40:41: SAA-APM: 0,2144,0...21:49:42: SAA-APM-123: waiting for ageout timer to expire21:55:13: SAA-APM-123: sending APM_SCRIPT_DONE message21:55:13: sending control msg:21:55:13: Ver: 1 ID: 42 Len: 14821:55:13: SAA-APM-123: operation doneRouter(config)# no saa apm operation 2921:55:13: SAA-APM-123: sending APM_SCRIPT_DONE message21:55:13: sending control msg:21:55:13: Ver: 1 ID: 42 Len: 14821:55:13: SAA-APM-123: operation donesaa apm cache-size
To set the size of the SAA Application Performance Monitor (APM) cache, use the saa apm cache-size command in global configuration mode. To reset the SAA APM cache size to its default, use the no form of this command.
saa apm cache-size bytes
no saa apm cache-size bytes
Syntax Description
Defaults
The default APM cache size is 100000 bytes.
Command Modes
Global configuration
Command History
Usage Guidelines
SAA APM script and scheduler files are kept in an area of memory called the SAA APM cache. The cache size is checked by the system before each attempt to copy a new file to the cache. If the file to be downloaded puts the cache over its size limit, a "cache trimming" operation is performed, and all files in the cache not tagged with a "sticky bit" (sticky=1) will be deleted.
Examples
In the following example, the SAA APM cache is set to 80,000 bytes (approximately 78 kilobytes):
Router(config)# saa apm cache-size 80000Router(config)# endRouter#00:01:50: %SYS-5-CONFIG_I: Configured from console by consoleRouter# show saa apm cacheCache Size (bytes): 80000Cache used (bytes): 793File Name TimeCreated TimeAccessed ref Type stickyapm.cf.1234567 00:02:50 00:00:00 1 CFG 0apm/config/smtp-1000.cfg 00:02:50 00:00:00 1 CFG 0Related Commands
Displays the amount of memory available in the SAA APM cache and information about the files stored in the cache.
saa apm copy
To copy script or scheduler files from an FTP server to the device that will initiate the SAA Application Performance Monitor (APM) operations, use the saa apm copy command in global configuration mode.
saa apm copy {script | scheduler} ftp://[username:password@]server-name/path-to-file/file-name [sticky]
Syntax Description
Defaults
No default behavior or values.
Command Modes
Global configuration
Command History
Usage Guidelines
The saa apm copy command downloads an SAA APM script or scheduler file from an FTP server to the local SAA APM cache in NVRAM.
A file tagged as "sticky" will not be deleted from the local APM cache during a cache trimming operation. APM cache trimming operations are initiated when the saa apm lowWaterMark value is reached.
You can force a file tagged as "sticky" to be deleted using the clear saa apm cache command.
Examples
In the following example, a Frame Relay emulation script titled "frm.scr" is downloaded from the FTP server FTP101. The username "joe" and the password "letmein" are used to access the server:
Router(config)# saa apm copy script ftp://joe:letmein@FTP101/userbin/joefiles/frm.scr stickyRelated Commands
Deletes files from the SAA APM cache.
Specifies the lowest amount of free memory that must be available on the system to allow additional SAAAPM operations to be configured.
saa apm lowWaterMark
To specify the lowest amount of free memory that must be available on the system to allow additional SAA Application Performance Monitor (APM) operations to be configured, use the saa apm lowWaterMark command in global configuration mode. To restore the default low-memory-watermark value, use the no form of this command.
saa apm lowWaterMark bytes
no saa apm lowWaterMark
Syntax Description
Defaults
The default APM low-memory-watermark is 25 percent of free memory at startup.
Command Modes
Global configuration
Command History
Usage Guidelines
The saa apm lowWaterMark global configuration command configures the lowest amount of free memory (low-memory-watermark) that must be available on the system. If the amount of available free memory falls below the value specified in the saa apm lowWaterMark command, then the SAA will not allow new APM operations to be configured. The default value is 25 percent of the memory available on the system at startup.
Note
For example, if there are 6 MB of free memory when the router starts up, and the default low-memory-watermark of 25 percent is used, then the SAA APM can use up to 4.5 MB memory for creating operations. If the free memory drops below 1.5 MB, then new APM operations cannot be created.
The value of the saa apm lowWaterMark command should not exceed the amount of free memory available on the system. To determine the amount of free memory available on the system, use the show memory EXEC command.
The show saa apm information EXEC command will display the number of operations that can be configured on the device in the "Max Number of oper supported" field.
Examples
In the following example, the SAA APM low-memory-watermark is set to 3,145,728 bytes (3 MB):
Router(config)# saa apm lowWaterMark 3145728Router(config)# endRouter# show saa apm informationService Assurance Agent: Application Performance MonitorAPM Engine Version: 1.0Max Number of oper supported: 23Number of configurable oper: 23Number of oper configured: 0Number of files in cache: 0Cache Size (bytes): 100000Cache used (bytes): 0APM low memory water-mark: 3,145,728Related Commands
saa apm operation
To start or stop an SAA Application Performance Monitor (APM) operation, use the saa apm operation command in global configuration mode. To delete existing SAA APM operations, use the no form of this command.
saa apm operation operation-number {start ftp://[user:password@]server-name/path-to-file/filename | stop}
no saa apm operation [operation-number]
Syntax Description
Defaults
No default behavior or values.Command Modes
Global configuration
Command History
Usage Guidelines
The following files are required to perform an SAA APM operation:
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All filenames can have a maximum of 255 characters.
The saa apm operation start command points to the APM configuration file to be used for the operation. The APM configuration file specifies the location of the other files used in the operation, and the target IP address for the operation.
To download script, configuration, data, and scheduler template files used by the SAA APM, and to download the documentation ("readme" files) for the scripts, go to the "Cisco SAA APM" page at http://www.cisco.com/cgi-bin/tablebuild.pl/saa-apm.
After an operation is started using the saa apm operation start command, the operation should be stopped using the saa apm operation stop command.
Examples
In the following example, an SAA APM NNTP operation is started and stopped, and the operation is deleted from the configuration:
Router# config terminalEnter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.Router(config)# saa apm operation 2 start ftp://user:password@saa-nms/apm/config/nntp-20.cfRouter(config)#1d09h: SAA-APM-1: downloading file (apm/config/nntp-20.cf) of size (532)1d09h: SAA-APM-1: using cached file (apm/scheduler/master.sch)1d09h: SAA-APM-1: using cached file (apm/scripts/nntp.scr)1d09h: SAA-APM-1: sending APM_SCRIPT_DONE message1d09h: SAA-APM-1: operation doneRouter(config)# saa apm operation 2 stopRouter(config)# no saa apm operation 2Related Commands
show saa apm cache
To display the amount of memory available in the SAA Application Performance Monitor (APM) cache and information about the files stored in the cache, use the show saa apm cache command in EXEC mode.
show saa apm cache
Syntax Description
This command has no arguments or keywords.
Defaults
No default behavior or values.
Command Modes
EXEC
Command History
Usage Guidelines
SAA APM script and scheduler files are kept in an area of system memory called the SAA APM cache.
Examples
The following is sample output from the show saa apm cache command:
Router# show saa apm cacheCache Size (bytes): 100000Cache used (bytes): 6849TimeCreated TimeAccessed Size Ref Loc Type SBit FileName03/21 13:31:25 03/21 13:31:48 1170 0 1 SCR 0 user/scripts/ldap-rem.scr03/21 13:31:23 03/21 13:31:48 38 0 1 DAT 0 user/data/ldap-rem.dat03/21 13:31:22 03/21 13:31:27 69 1 0 DAT 0 user/data/ldap.dat03/21 13:31:20 03/21 13:31:27 1513 1 0 SCR 0 user/scripts/ldap.scr03/21 13:31:19 03/21 13:31:27 2500 1 0 SCH 0 user/scheduler/master.sch03/21 13:31:17 03/21 13:31:27 256 1 0 CFG 0 apm.cfg.103/21 13:31:17 03/21 13:31:17 568 1 0 CFG 0 user/config/ldap.cf03/20 14:29:13 03/20 14:29:36 735 0 1 SCR 0 user/scripts/udp-rem.scrTable 1 describes the significant fields shown in the display.
Related Commands
show saa apm information
To display details about SAA Application Performance Monitor (APM) running on the system, use the show saa apm information command in EXEC mode.
show saa apm information
Syntax Description
This command has no arguments or keywords.
Defaults
No default behavior or values.
Command Modes
EXEC
Command History
Examples
The following is sample output from the show saa apm information command:
Router# show saa apm informationService Assurance Agent: Application Performance MonitorAPM Engine Version: 1.0Max Number of oper supported: 50Number of configurable oper: 50Number of oper configured: 0Number of files in cache: 0Cache Size (bytes): 100000Cache used (bytes): 0APM low memory water-mark: 6708828Related Commands
Specifies the lowest amount of free memory that must be available on the system to allow additional SAA APM operations to be configured.
show saa apm operation
To display details about SAA Application Performance Monitor (APM) operations, use the show saa apm information command in EXEC mode.
show saa apm information [operation-number]
Syntax Description
Defaults
Information for all APM operations is displayed.
Command Modes
EXEC
Command History
Examples
The following is sample output from the show saa apm operation command:
Router# show saa apm operationOperation Information:Operation ID: 1234567Owner: CLIControlFile URL: ftp://user:password@saa-nms/apm/config/smtp-1000.cfgSNMP Row Status: activeLatest Operation Time: *08:13:40.000 UTC Mon Oct 08 2001Latest Operation Status: 0show saa apm results
To display the accumulated data for SAA Application Performance Monitor (APM) operations, use the show saa apm results command in EXEC mode.
show saa apm results [operation-number]
Syntax Description
operation-number
(Optional) A number that uniquely identifies an APM operation. If an operation-number is not specified, all operation results in the buffer are displayed.
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Defaults
All APM operation results are displayed.
Command Modes
EXEC
Command History
Usage Guidelines
SAA APM script and scheduler files are kept in an area of system memory called the SAA APM cache.
Examples
The following is sample output from the show saa apm results command:
Router# show saa apm resultsCache Size (bytes): 100000Cache used (bytes): 14188File Name TimeCreated TimeAccessed ref Type stickyapm/data/ldap-13.dat 13:37:20 13:37:25 1 DAT 0apm.cf.9 13:37:18 13:37:25 1 CFG 0apm/config/ldap-13.cf 13:37:18 00:00:00 1 CFG 0apm/data/ldap-12.dat 13:37:15 13:37:20 1 DAT 0apm.cf.8 13:37:14 13:37:20 1 CFG 0apm/config/ldap-12.cf 13:37:14 00:00:00 1 CFG 0apm/data/ldap-11.dat 13:37:11 13:37:16 1 DAT 0apm.cf.7 13:37:11 13:37:16 1 CFG 0apm/config/ldap-11.cf 13:37:11 00:00:00 1 CFG 0apm/scripts/ldap.scr 13:37:07 13:37:29 3 SCR 0apm/data/iptv-2.dat 13:36:49 13:36:54 1 DAT 0apm/config/iptv-2.cf 13:36:48 00:00:00 1 CFG 0apm/scripts/iptv.scr 13:36:47 13:37:08 1 SCR 0apm/scheduler/master.sch 13:36:45 13:37:34 4 SCH 0Table 2 describes the significant fields shown in the display.
Related Commands
