Table Of Contents

Cisco ANA Client Overview

Cisco ANA NetworkVision

Cisco ANA PathTracer

SoftProperties Manager

Cisco ANA Command Builder

Cisco ANA EventVision

Event Types and Categories

Cisco ANA Client Overview

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Cisco ANA provides a suite of GUI tools that offer an intuitive interface for managing the network and services and performing the required system administration activities. The Cisco ANA Client application suite comprises Cisco ANA NetworkVision, Cisco ANA EventVision, and Cisco ANA Manage.

This chapter provides an overview of the following client applications:

•Cisco ANA NetworkVision— Describes Cisco ANA NetworkVision, including the Cisco ANA PathTracer, Cisco ANA Soft Properties Manager and the Cisco ANA Command Builder.

•Cisco ANA EventVision—Describes Cisco ANA EventVision, including a description of event types and categories.

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Note For information about the Cisco ANA Manage application, please refer to the Cisco Active Network Abstraction Administrator Guide.

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Cisco ANA NetworkVision

Cisco ANA NetworkVision is the main GUI for Cisco ANA. It is a surveillance tool providing total visibility for multi-vendor, multi-tier, multi-technology networks. It also supports fault and configuration functionality. The highly optimized, customizable GUIs enable constant, system-wide surveillance of the network and service states, down to the node level.

Cisco ANA NetworkVision supports the creation of multiple network maps in order to represent specific network views. Views can cover specific network segments, customer networks, or any other mix of network elements desired. Once the maps have been created, they are available for all connecting clients (with support for fine grained access privileges).

Cisco ANA NetworkVision enables you to:

•View network inventory and multilayer connectivity.

•Troubleshoot, monitor and manage Network Elements (NEs).

•Model and view network maps, maintaining up to date topological information on device connections, traffic, and routes.

The NetworkVision maps based on Cisco ANA's representation of VNEs (Virtual Network Elements) provides a graphic display of active faults and alarms and serves as an easy access point for activation of services. Cisco ANA provides rich functionality for displaying and managing the network maps by providing:

•Multiple concurrent maps per user.

•Easily customizable hierarchy of nested sub-maps, NE aggregations and business tags with easy navigation up and down the hierarchy.

•Dual views of the network in a hierarchical tree, as well as in topological maps, including all network connections.

•NEs and links using color cues and graphic symbols to indicate status and alarms.

•Every NE (either from the tree or map) allows mouse point-and-click drill-down providing detailed internal physical and logical inventory information.

For specific details on using Cisco ANA NetworkVision when working with MPLS VPN service network maps, refer to the Cisco Active Network Abstraction MPLS User Guide.

NetworkVision is also the launch point for these related tools, described in the following sections:

•Cisco ANA PathTracer

•SoftProperties Manager

•Cisco ANA Command Builder

Cisco ANA PathTracer

Cisco ANA PathTracer enables end-to-end route tracing to be performed with informative performance information displayed simultaneously for the multiple networking layers. Upon receiving a path's start and endpoint, Cisco ANA PathTracer visually traces the route through the network. For more information about Cisco ANA PathTracer, see Chapter 9, "Using PathTracer to Diagnose Problems".

SoftProperties Manager

The Cisco ANA Soft Properties Manager enables you to manage soft properties and Threshold Crossing Alarms (TCA).

The Soft Properties Manager allows you to extend the set of supported properties for each Network Element (NE), by adding soft properties to the Virtual Network Elements (VNEs). These properties extend the Cisco ANA IMO and are available through the client GUI as well as through the BQL API.

Soft properties are retrieved from the NE using SNMP, Telnet/SSH or TL1.

In addition, alarm thresholding enables the user to constantly monitor selected properties and generate an alarm every time they cross a user-defined threshold or violate a condition.

The Soft Properties Manager tool is typically used by integrators and any other users who want to manage the soft properties and TCA alarms that are executed within the Cisco ANA platform.

For more information on the Cisco ANA Soft Properties Manager, refer to the Cisco Active Network Abstraction Customization User Guide.

Cisco ANA Command Builder

The Cisco ANA Command Builder enables you to execute a programmable sequence of SNMP or Telnet command lines. These commands can include data properties taken from the Cisco ANA information model (built-in), as well as user-defined input parameters entered during runtime.

The Command Builder is launched from a Managed Element (Cisco ANA modeled VNE) such as a port, typically from the NetworkVision's Inventory window. The Managed Element will then be used to develop and test the command. Once the command has been completed it can be published and attached to a wider scope of Managed Elements.

For more information on the Cisco ANA Command Builder, refer to the Cisco Active Network Abstraction Customization User Guide.

Cisco ANA EventVision

Cisco ANA EventVision is the intuitive interface used by administrators for viewing system events and tickets that are generated within the Cisco ANA system.

EventVision is a GUI application that serves as a browser for viewing and retrieving detailed information about the different types of system events and tickets that are generated. Monitoring EventVision helps predict and identify the sources of system problems, which in turn assists in preventing future problems.

You can configure EventVision to display the following information:

•Number of events per page (default 50 events).

•Number of events to be exported to a file.

•Display previous dated events (in weeks).

•Filter options.

•What information appears in EventVision tabs, such as the Audit tab.

System managers or administrators periodically review and manage the events list using EventVision. In addition, when an event occurs in the Cisco ANA system, the details become available in EventVision.

All administrator activities in Cisco ANA Manage are logged and available in EventVision. For more information on Cisco ANA Manage, refer to the Cisco Active Network Abstraction Administrator Guide.

Event Types and Categories

Every event that occurs in the Cisco ANA system and the Cisco ANA Gateway is logged. This includes events that are performed as part of the normal operation of the Cisco ANA system, as well as events that may need further attention. Events are categorized and any of the log entries can be viewed in the EventVision events list tabs:

•Audit

•Provisioning

•Security

•Service

•Syslog

•System

•Ticket

•V1 Traps

•V2-V3 Traps

EventVision recognizes the following categories of events:

•Audit—Related to the running of commands in the Cisco ANA Gateway.

•Provisioning—Related to configuration and provisioning activities.

•Security—Related to client login and user activity when managing the system and the environment.

•Service—Related to the alarms that are generated by the Cisco ANA system.

•Syslog—Related to the predefined set of syslogs received from the devices by the VNEs, which are used to generate the syslog events.

•System—Related to the everyday working of the internal system and its components. These events may be related to Cisco ANA and Cisco ANA Gateway resources, representing the system log.

•Ticket—Related to all the tickets that were opened in Cisco ANA.

•V1 Trap—Related to SNMPv1 traps from the devices by the VNEs, which are used to generate the trap events.

•V2-V3 Trap—Related to SNMPv2 or SNMPv3 traps from the devices by the VNEs, which are used to generate the trap events.

You can also view all the events in the All tab, if required. For more information see All Tab, page 15-1.