Table Of Contents

Managing Global Settings

Managing Client Licenses

Installing Licenses

Uninstalling Licenses

Viewing Client License Properties

Viewing Database Segments

Customizing a Message of the Day

Adding a Message

Removing a Message

Managing Polling Groups

Polling Groups Overview

Customizing a Polling Group

Editing a Polling Group

Deleting a Polling Group

Adaptive Polling

Managing Protection Groups

Checking Assignment of Protection Groups to Cisco ANA Units

Changing Protection Groups for Cisco ANA Units

Viewing and Editing Protection Group Properties

Deleting a Protection Group

Managing Global Settings

---

This chapter describes how to define and manage the Cisco ANA Manage global settings, including client licenses, polling groups, and protection groups; and how to customize a message of the day.

This chapter includes the following sections:

•Managing Client Licenses

•Viewing Database Segments

•Customizing a Message of the Day

•Managing Polling Groups

•Managing Protection Groups

For more information about the Global Settings branch, see Global Settings Branch, page 2-18.

---

Note The Global Settings branch can be expanded to view the required sub-branch in the tree pane.

---

Managing Client Licenses

Upon installation, Cisco ANA provides one user, root. To authorize additional users, you must obtain and install license keys. The following types of license keys are available:

•Fixed—Authorizes users to access Cisco ANA clients. The type of default license that comes with the product is fixed and is limited to user root.

•Floating—Authorizes a specific number of users to access Cisco ANA clients and BQL concurrently. Each user who logs into a Cisco ANA client (Cisco ANA Manage, Cisco ANA NetworkVision, or Cisco ANA EventVision) or BQL is counted as using a license. The total number of concurrent logins for all Cisco ANA clients and BQL is limited by the number of licenses.

•Floating User—Authorizes a specific number of users to open one instance each of the Cisco ANA clients (Cisco ANA Manage, Cisco ANA NetworkVision, and Cisco ANA EventVision) concurrently. That is, one user can log into and work in concurrent sessions of Cisco ANA Manage, Cisco ANA NetworkVision, and Cisco ANA EventVision. If the same user opens more than one instance of the same client, each instance is counted as a separate license.

In general, floating licenses are used for BQL access while floating user licenses are used to access the GUI applications.

The Cisco ANA license mechanism looks for a license file for a user who has logged in and successfully passed authentication. It goes through the licenses one by one until it finds a license that fits the user, and then associates the user with that license.

The number of users for a floating or floating user license is defined by Cisco when the license is provided to the customer. If all of the licenses are in use and another user attempts to log in, an error message is displayed and the user cannot log in.

Consider the following license examples.

Floating License Example

Assume that a floating license authorizing three users is installed. The following scenarios demonstrate how this license might be used:

•In the first scenario, one user logs into Cisco ANA Manage, Cisco ANA NetworkVision, and Cisco ANA EventVision concurrently. Because the license authorizes a maximum of three concurrent logins, no additional users can log in.

•In the second scenario, one user logs into Cisco ANA Manage, a second user logs into Cisco ANA NetworkVision, and a third user logs into Cisco ANA EventVision. Again, because this license authorizes a maximum of three concurrent logins, no additional users can log in.

Floating User License Example

In this example, assume that a floating user license authorizing three users is installed. Each of the three users opens one instance of Cisco ANA Manage, Cisco ANA NetworkVision, and Cisco ANA EventVision concurrently so that three licenses are in use. If one of these users or another user then tries to open another instance of one of the Cisco ANA GUI applications, the Cisco ANA GUI application does not open, because this is regarded as a fourth license and, in this example, the floating user license is limited to three users.

For more information, see Client Licenses Sub-Branch, page 2-18.

To obtain a license key so that you can add users to Cisco ANA, contact your Cisco Account Manager. To activate additional users for the licenses purchased, contact your Cisco Account Manager or Sales Representative.

Installing Licenses

To install a license:

---

Step 1 Choose Global Settings > Client Licenses. The Client Licenses table is displayed.

Step 2 Open the New Client License dialog box in one of the following ways:

•Right-click Client Licenses, the choose New License.

•Choose File > New License.

•Click New License in the toolbar.

Step 3 Copy the key from the file provided to you.

Step 4 Paste the information into the New Client License dialog box.

Step 5 Click OK. The new license information is displayed in the workspace.

---

Uninstalling Licenses

If required, you can uninstall a client license. For example, you might do this if it has expired.

---

Note The default license cannot be uninstalled.

---

To uninstall a license:

---

Step 1 Choose Global Settings > Client Licenses in Cisco ANA Manage.

Step 2 In the workspace, select the license you want to uninstall.

Step 3 Uninstall the license in one of the following ways:

•Right-click the license, then choose Delete.

•Click Delete in the toolbar.

The license is uninstalled and no longer appears in the workspace of the Cisco ANA Manage window.

---

Viewing Client License Properties

Cisco ANA Manage enables you to view the properties of a license, such as the IP address and account name.

To view client license properties:

---

Step 1 Choose Global Settings > Client Licenses in Cisco ANA Manage.

Step 2 Select the required license in the workspace.

Step 3 Open the Client License Properties window in one of the following ways:

•Right-click the license, then choose Properties.

•Choose File > Properties.

•Click Properties in the toolbar.

Table 7-1 describes the fields in the Client License Properties window.

Table 7-1 Client License Properties 

Field	Description
License Type	The available license types are: •Fixed—Authorizes users to access Cisco ANA clients. The type of default license that comes with the product is fixed and is limited to user root. •Floating—Authorizes a specific number of users to access Cisco ANA clients and BQL concurrently. Each user who logs into a Cisco ANA client (Cisco ANA Manage, Cisco ANA NetworkVision, or Cisco ANA EventVision) or BQL is counted as using a license. The total number of concurrent logins for all Cisco ANA clients and BQL is limited by the number of licenses. •Floating user—Authorizes a specific number of users to open one instance each of the Cisco ANA clients (Cisco ANA Manage, Cisco ANA NetworkVision, and Cisco ANA EventVision) concurrently. That is, one user can log into and work in concurrent sessions of Cisco ANA Manage, Cisco ANA NetworkVision, and Cisco ANA EventVision.
User Count	The number of users allowed to operate the client applications, as defined by the license. The exact number of users is displayed if the number is limited whereas 0 (zero) indicates an unlimited number of users.
Client Type	The applications that the user is authorized for, such as BQL or client applications.
Creation Date	The date the license was implemented.
Properties Workspace Table Displays the properties of the allocated users for the selected license.
IP	The IP address from which allowed logins are allowed for this license and username. If no IP address is displayed, the user with the specified username can log in from any IP address.
BQL Enabled	Indicates whether the license includes BQL connections or only client applications.
Account Name	The username for login.

Step 4 Click the upper right corner to close the Client License Properties window.

---

Viewing Database Segments

Cisco ANA Manage enables you to view and monitor:

•Database segment storage allocation information

•Database disk usage

•Database growth

The information is automatically checked by the system.

To view database segments, choose Global Settings > DB Segments. The database segments are displayed in the workspace.

For more information about the columns displayed in the DB Segments table, see DB Segments Sub-Branch, page 2-21.

Customizing a Message of the Day

Cisco ANA Manage enables you to define a message that is displayed when a user logs into any client application. The user must accept the message before logging in. If the user does not accept the message, the user cannot log in. The message supports HTML format.

The message can be changed as required. However, only one message is applied at a time.

Adding a Message

To customize a message of the day:

---

Step 1 Choose Global Settings > Message of the Day. The Title and Message fields appear in the workspace.

Step 2 In the Title field, enter a title for the message.

Step 3 In the Message field, enter the text that is to appear when users log in.

---

Note Abort and Continue buttons are displayed in the message dialog box by default, so the message must be related to these actions. For example, "Do you accept the terms of use in the Product License Agreement? Click Continue to proceed or click Abort to cancel."

---

Step 4 Click Save. A confirmation message is displayed.

Step 5 Click OK. The message is displayed when a user logs into any client application.

---

Removing a Message

To remove a message of the day:

---

Step 1 Choose Global Settings > Message of the Day.

Step 2 Delete the text in the Message field.

Step 3 Click Save. A confirmation message is displayed.

Step 4 Click OK. The message no longer appears when a user logs into a client application.

---

Managing Polling Groups

This section includes:

•Polling Groups Overview

•Customizing a Polling Group

•Editing a Polling Group

•Deleting a Polling Group

•Adaptive Polling

Polling Groups Overview

Unit servers poll NEs to discover and display accurate and up-to-date information of the network. The system periodically triggers polling at set intervals. Polling rates can be customized or optimized by the administrator.

Cisco ANA provides the ability to fine-tune the frequency at which information is retrieved from the managed elements, thereby enabling a high degree of control and flexibility over the amount of network traffic used by the various VNEs.

Table 7-2 describes the different polling intervals that you can set.

Table 7-2 Types of Polling Intervals 

Type	Description
Status	The polling rate for status-related information, such as device status (up or down), port status, or admin status. The information is related to the operational and administrative status of the NE.
Configuration	The polling rate for configuration-related information, such as VC tables or scrambling.
System	The polling rate for system-related information, such as device name or device location.
Toplogy Layer 1 Counters	The polling rate of the topology process as an interval for the Layer 1 counter. This is an ongoing process.
Topology Layer 2 Counters	The polling rate of the topology process as an interval for the Layer 2 counter. This process is available on demand.

---

Note All polling rates are expressed in seconds.

---

In addition to the defined polling intervals, VNEs implement adaptive polling to ensure that the element is not overloaded. Checking the device CPU might defer specific polls to avoid an additional load on the managed element. See Adaptive Polling.

Users can define polling profiles by setting customized polling intervals that can be applied to managed elements. The VNE then polls the network element according to the preset values. This ensures polling of devices for different information consistently and in accordance with technical and business requirements.

Core devices can be assigned to a polling group (all devices use the same polling profile) that specifies a higher frequency for status but a lower frequency for configuration-related information while edge or access devices can be polled more frequently for system and configuration-related information. For example, managed network service operators can use polling groups to reflect their agreement with customers so that premium customer devices are polled more frequently than normal devices.

For your convenience, Cisco ANA includes the preconfigured polling groups default and slow. These polling groups cannot be deleted. Table 7-3 identifies the settings for the default and slow polling groups.

Table 7-3 Polling Rates for default and slow Polling Groups 

Attribute	default Polling Group Setting	slow Polling Group Setting
Status polling rate	180 seconds (3 minutes)	360 seconds (6 minutes)
Configuration polling rate	900 seconds (15 minutes	1800 seconds (30 minutes)
System polling rate	86400 seconds (24 hours)	172800 seconds (48 hours)
Layer 1 polling rate	30 seconds	30 seconds
Layer 2 polling rate	30 seconds	30 seconds

Customizing a Polling Group

Cisco ANA Manage enables you to create and customize new polling groups. These new polling groups can then be used when defining a VNE. For more information, see Defining VNEs, page 6-10.

---

Caution Changing the polling rates can result in excess traffic and network element crashes.

---

To create and customize a polling group:

---

Step 1 Choose Global Settings > Polling Groups.

Step 2 Open the New Polling Group dialog box in one of the following ways:

•Right-click Polling Groups, then choose New Polling Group.

•Choose File > New Polling Group.

•Click New in the toolbar.

Step 3 Enter the required information for the new polling group:

Field	Description
Name	Enter a name for the polling group.
Description	Enter a description for the polling group.
Status	Enter the number of seconds for the polling interval for status-related information.
Configuration	Enter the number of seconds for the polling interval for configuration-related information.
System	Enter the number of seconds for the polling interval for system-related information.
Layer 1	Enter the number of seconds for the polling interval for the topology process for the Layer 1 counter. This is an ongoing process.
Layer 2	Enter the number of seconds for the polling interval for the topology process for the Layer 2 counter. This process is available on demand.

Step 4 Click OK. The new polling group is displayed in the workspace.

---

For more information about polling groups, see Polling Groups Overview.

The new polling group can be used when defining a new VNE. See Defining VNEs, page 6-10.

Editing a Polling Group

Cisco ANA Manage enables you to edit or view polling group properties.

To view and optionally edit polling group properties:

---

Step 1 Choose Global Settings > Polling Groups.

Step 2 Open the polling group Properties dialog box in one of the following ways:

•In the workspace, right-click the polling group you want to view or edit, then choose Properties.

•Choose File > Properties.

•Click Properties in the toolbar.

For more information on the fields displayed in the Update Polling Group dialog box, see Customizing a Polling Group.

Step 3 Edit the properties of the polling group as required.

---

Note If any VNEs are using this polling group, a warning message is displayed.

---

Step 4 Click Apply.

Step 5 Click OK. The polling group settings are modified accordingly.

---

---

Note Editing the polling group settings affects all VNEs and devices using the selected polling group.

---

Deleting a Polling Group

Cisco ANA Manage enables you to delete polling groups.

---

Note You cannot delete a polling group being used by a VNE.

---

To delete a polling group:

---

Step 1 Choose Global Settings > Polling Groups.

Step 2 In the workspace, right-click the polling group you want to delete, then choose Delete. A warning message is displayed.

Step 3 Click Yes. A confirmation message is displayed.

Step 4 Click OK. The polling group is deleted from the Polling Group table.

---

Adaptive Polling

In addition to defined polling intervals, VNEs implement adaptive polling to ensure that the element is not overloaded. Checking the device CPU usage can defer specific polls to avoid an additional load on the managed element.

When a VNE exceeds the maximum CPU usage threshold value, an alarm is sent, the VNE is polled less regularly, and a delay is added between sending the commands to the NE:

•In SNMP, the delay is between SNMP packets sent to the device.

•In Telnet or SSH, the delay is between CLI commands sent to the device.

When the CPU usage threshold values for the VNE fall below the clear threshold value, an alarm is sent and the VNE returns to normal polling.

The values for any VNE can be customized through the system registry; for example, for the minimum and maximum CPU usage threshold values. When the defined values are reached, an alarm is sent. A clear value can also be defined so that when the CPU usage threshold value drops below the maximum value or rises above the minimum value, a message is sent clearing the original alarm. These values are defined in the registry.

In addition, the maximum and minimum tolerance levels can be customized through the system registry. When a VNE is using normal polling and CPU usage is high, the VNE moves to slow polling when the maximum CPU usage threshold value (upper tolerance level) is exceeded five times (default), as shown in Figure 7-1.

Figure 7-1 Polling Threshold Levels

If the VNE is using slow polling after it has been checked 5 times, the VNE is checked an additional 10 times (default) to see if the CPU usage is still high. If so, the VNE is moved to maintenance mode. Once the VNE is in maintenance mode, you must manually return the VNE to normal polling; it does not automatically return to regular polling. When the VNE is in maintenance mode, the NE is not polled.

In Figure 7-2:

1. CPU usage is polled 5 times and is running above the maximum threshold value.

2. The VNE moves to slow polling.

3. The CPU usage is polled 10 additional times.

4. CPU usage remains above the maximum value, so the VNE moves to maintenance mode.

Figure 7-2 CPU Usage—Example 1

When the VNE is using slow polling and CPU usage drops to a regular level (or below the minimum value), Cisco ANA waits for the VNE to drop below the maximum CPU usage threshold value twice (default) before returning the VNE to normal polling.

In Figure 7-3:

1. CPU usage is polled five times and is running above the maximum threshold value.

2. The VNE moves to slow polling. CPU usage drops to a regular level and then below the minimum threshold value.

3. The CPU usage is polled an additional two times.

4. CPU usage remains below the maximum value, so the VNE returns to normal polling.

Figure 7-3 Example 2 CPU Usage

If CPU usage is high and a slow polling interval is used, and an AVM goes down and is then restarted, the AVM remembers its previous polling interval. When the AVM is restarted, uses the same polling interval that it was using before it went down.

Managing Protection Groups

By default, all units in the Cisco ANA fabric belong to one cluster, the default-pg protection group. You can change the default setup of the units by customizing protection groups (clusters) and then assigning units to these groups.

For more information, see Appendix F, "Using High Availability."

Cisco ANA Manage enables you to create new protection groups. These new protection groups can be used when defining a unit. For more information, see Adding New Cisco ANA Units, page 5-4.

To create a protection group:

---

Step 1 Choose Global Settings > Protection Groups.

Step 2 Open the New Protection Group dialog box in one of the following ways:

•Right-click Protection Groups, then choose New Protection Group.

•Choose File > New Protection Group.

•Click New in the toolbar.

Step 3 Enter the required information for the new protection group:

Field	Description
Name	Enter a unique name for the protection group.
Description	Enter a description of the protection group.

Step 4 Click OK.

The workspace displays details of the new protection group and all currently defined protection groups in the Protection Groups table.

---

---

Note The default-pg protection group displayed in the workspace is the default protection group. All units in the Cisco ANA fabric belong to this protection group by default.

---

Checking Assignment of Protection Groups to Cisco ANA Units

You can view the protection groups to which the units are currently assigned to confirm that the configuration or assignment matches the initial deployment plan.

To check unit protection groups assignments, select ANA Servers in the tree pane. The properties of the ANA Servers branch are displayed in the workspace, including the protection group to which each unit and standby unit belongs.

Changing Protection Groups for Cisco ANA Units

You can easily and quickly change the protection group to which a unit has been assigned.

To change the protection group setting of a unit:

---

Step 1 Select ANA Servers in the tree pane.

Step 2 Expand the ANA Servers branch, then select the required ANA Unit sub-branch.

Step 3 Open the Properties dialog box for units in one of the following ways:

•Right-click the required unit, then choose Properties.

•Choose File > Properties.

•In the toolbar, click Properties.

The Protection Group list displays the currently customized protection groups. For more information about defining a new protection group, see Managing Protection Groups.

The Enable Unit Protection check box enables you to define whether a unit is enabled (check box is checked) for high availability.

---

Note We recommend that you do not disable this option.

---

Step 4 In the Protection Group field, select the protection group you want to assign to the unit.

Step 5 Click OK. The Cisco ANA Manage window is displayed.

---

Viewing and Editing Protection Group Properties

You can view and optionally edit the properties of a protection group, such as its description.

To view or edit the properties of a protection group:

---

Step 1 Choose Global Settings > Protection Groups.

Step 2 Open the Properties dialog box for the protection group in one of the following ways:

•Right-click Protection Groups, then choose Properties.

•Choose File > Properties.

•Click Properties in the toolbar.

Step 3 View the properties of the protection group and edit the description as required.

Step 4 Click OK. The Cisco ANA Manage window is displayed.

---

Deleting a Protection Group

Cisco ANA Manage enables you to delete protection groups.

---

Note Confirm that no units are using the protection group you plan to delete.

---

To delete a protection group:

---

Step 1 Choose Global Settings > Protection Groups.

Step 2 In the workspace, select the protection group you want to delete.

Step 3 Delete the protection group in one of the following ways:

•Right-click the protection group, then choose Delete.

•In the toolbar, click Delete.

The protection group is deleted.

---