Table Of Contents
Release Notes for Cisco Info Center, 3.6.1
Contents
Introduction
New Features and Enhancements with Release 3.6.1
Cisco Info Center 3.6.1 Components
Cisco Info Mediator Modules
Related Products
Cisco Info Center Add-On Products
System Requirements
Operating System Requirements
Minimum Configuration
Additional Requirements for Virtual Operator
Recommended Configuration for Managing Large Networks
Optimizing Performance Using Regional Storage
Prerequisites for Monitored Products
Cisco Info Center 3.6.1 Support Matrix
Supported Hardware and Software
IOS Support
Cisco Transport Manager Support
Cisco Element Management Framework Support
Cisco Element Manager System Support
Generic SNMP Support
NMS and Cisco Info Center Component Specific Considerations
Using the Cisco CNS Info Mediator
Properties
Generic SNMP
DFM and ITM
MWFM
MTTrapd Info Mediator
NEI Support
Cisco WAN Manager
CiscoView
Informix Database
Service and Network Agents
Policy Manager
Support for ISC 3.x Events
Support for ISC 4.x Events
Virtual Operator
Additional Requirements for Virtual Operator
Webtop
Automations
Do Not Modify the Default Automations
Filters
Tools
Severity Mappings
Severity Mappings for TL1 to Cisco Info Center Event Severity Levels
Installation Notes
Upgrade Notes
Licensing Notes
Caveats
Known Problems and Limitations
Limitations with SSL Configuration
Known Issues with Related Products
Related Documentation
Obtaining Documentation
Cisco.com
Documentation CD-ROM
Ordering Documentation
Documentation Feedback
Obtaining Technical Assistance
Cisco TAC Website
Opening a TAC Case
TAC Case Priority Definitions
Obtaining Additional Publications and Information
Release Notes for Cisco Info Center, 3.6.1
January, 2005
Contents
These Release Notes provide information about the Cisco Info Center 3.6.1 release and contain the following sections:
•
"Contents"
•"Introduction"
•"New Features and Enhancements with Release 3.6.1"
•"Cisco Info Center 3.6.1 Components"
•"Cisco Info Center Add-On Products"
•"System Requirements"
•"Supported Hardware and Software"
•"NMS and Cisco Info Center Component Specific Considerations"
•"Severity Mappings"
•"Installation Notes"
•"Upgrade Notes"
•"Caveats"
•"Known Problems and Limitations"
•"Known Issues with Related Products"
•"Known Issues with Related Products"
•"Related Documentation"
•"Obtaining Documentation"
•"Documentation Feedback"
•"Obtaining Technical Assistance"
•"Obtaining Additional Publications and Information"
For more detailed information, refer to the Cisco Info Center Installation and Configuration Guide, 3.6.1 and also to the documentation associated with each respective Cisco Info Center software component, as listed in the "Related Documentation" section.
Introduction
Cisco Info Center is a Service-Level Management (SLM) system that provides a consolidated view of enterprise-wide events and status information. It collects event streams or messages from many different data sources and presents a single, consistent view of the current state of all Cisco Info Center managed systems. It distributes the event information to the operators and administrators responsible for monitoring service levels.
This information can then be:
•assigned to operators
•passed to Help Desk systems
•logged in a database
•replicated on a remote Cisco Info Center system
•used to trigger automatic responses to certain events.
Cisco Info Center allows diverse management platforms, applications, and Internet protocols to be brought together to provide an administrator a single point of monitoring those platforms and applications. Cisco Info Center does not replace the management platforms. It instead complements them by providing an enterprise wide event/fault and status exchange. Cisco Info Center can also tie together domain limited network management platforms in remote locations.
Cisco Info Center tracks the state of events in a high performance distributed database and presents information of interest to specific users through individually configurable filters and views. Cisco Info Center automation functions can be used to perform intelligent processing on the current state of managed objects. Cisco Info Center can build upon existing management systems or applications and, therefore, uses existing management skills and minimizes deployment time.
New Features and Enhancements with Release 3.6.1
Cisco Info Center Release 3.6 contains the following new features and enhancements:
•Enhanced Support for Cisco WAN Manager Traps—Cisco Info Center 3.6 extends support for Cisco WAN Manager events to Cisco WAN Manager release 15.0.
•Support for CTM 4.7—Cisco Info Center 3.6.1 supports Cisco Transport Manager (4.7) events.
•Support for Cisco CNS Configuration Change Events—Cisco Info Center 3.6.1 processes and reports configuration change events from devices running Cisco CNS.
•Upgrade from Release 3.5 and 3.6—Cisco Info Center 3.6 includes an upgrade option that allows you to upgrade to Release 3.6.1 from Cisco Info Center release 3.5 or 3.6.
•New User Tools—Cisco Info Center 3.6.1 includes two new tools: the MIB Query Tool and the Output Interpreter Tool. The MIB Query Tool allows you to query MIBs to search for traps by OID or by trap name. The Output Interpreter Tool allows you to issue Cisco IOS or CATOS show commands on specified devices and view the output in a display window.
•Centralized FLEXlm-based Licensing—With Release 3.6.1, all Cisco Info Center components now use FLEXlm-based licensing. This allows you to run one license server to manage multiple licenses over multiple hosts and also allows addition of new licenses without stopping the license server.
•Dual Server Desktop Architecture—Cisco Info Center 3.6.1 supports the Dual Server Desktop architecture. You can now configure Cisco Info Center to run two Info Servers, a Master Info Server and a Desktop Info Server, which share the processing of events received from and sent to Admin Desktops. Admin Desktops communicate with the Master Info Server when performing write operations and with the Desktop Info Server when reading event data. This mechanism greatly reduces the load on the Info Server component.
For detailed information on configuring an d using the DSD architecture, see Chapter 6 in the Cisco Info Center Installation and Configuration Guide, 3.6.1, "Desktop Info Servers."
•Info Server Failover—Cisco Info Server 3.6.1 allows you to configure Info Server failover. When you configure the system, you can set up a primary Info Server and a backup Info Server. If the primary Info Server goes down, the backup Info Server takes over event processing. And when the primary Info Server comes up again, it resumes event processing. This prevent any events from being lost in the event an Info Server goes down.
For detailed information on configuring and using Info Server failover, see chapter 7, "Configuring Failover," in the Cisco Info Center Installation and Configuration Guide, 3.6.1.
•SSL Encryption of All Communications Between Components—You can now configure Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption of messages sent between Cisco Info Center components.
For detailed information on configuring and using SSL encryption, see chapter 8, "Using SSL for Client/Server Communications" in the Cisco Info Center Installation and Configuration Guide, 3.6.1
Cisco Info Center 3.6.1 Components
Cisco Info Center comprises the following main components:
•Cisco Info Server—the core of the Cisco Info Center system. An active, main-memory database that stores and manages events. The Cisco Info Server consolidates, associates, and normalizes event data received from Cisco Info Mediators, Cisco Info Gateways, and monitors.
•Cisco Info Mediators—applications that act as a data acquisition agent. Cisco Info Mediators acquire data from events sources such as Cisco WAN Manager, HP Network Node Manager, Cisco IOS Syslog processes, Cisco Element Management System (Cisco EMF)-based applications, the Cisco Transport Manager application, and a variety of SNMP-enabled devices.
•Info Gateways—software modules that allow the Cisco Info Server to read events from and write events to third party applications and forward alerts between Cisco Info Servers.
•Cisco Info Admin Desktops—an integrated graphical suite of tools used by operators. These tools are the starting points for designing filters and customizing views. Cisco Info Admin Desktop information can be viewed from a UNIX/Motif front-end or a Java-driven Web browser. Event information is delivered in a format that allows operators to quickly respond.
•Virtual Operator 1.1—a product that allows the Cisco Info Server to execute resolution scripts that mimic the actions a Network Operations Center (NOC) operator would take to resolve an alert. Scripts or applications supported by the Virtual Operator can be UNIX shell scripts, PERL scripts, or compiled programs written in C or C++.
For instructions on installing Virtual Operator, refer to Chapter 6 of the Cisco Info Center Installation and Configuration Guide, "Installing the Virtual Operator Component." For detailed documentation on the Virtual Operator product, go to the Micromuse support site at the following URL:
http://support.micromuse.com/documentation/xml_test/xsltp.cgi?source=../xml_docs/xml/doclist.xml&location=p000025
For detailed information on the Cisco Info Center components and how they interoperate, refer to Chapter 1, "Overview," in the Cisco Info Center Installation and Configuration manual.
Cisco Info Mediator Modules
When you purchase Cisco Info Center you purchase licenses for one or more Cisco Info Mediators. The following Cisco Info Mediators have been developed to monitor specific types of Cisco hardware and software:
•Cisco RTTrapd Info Mediator—interfaces with devices monitored by Cisco WAN Manager to monitor events from Cisco wide-area switches and Syslog events from Cisco IOS devices through the Cisco CNS Notification Engine product. In the Cisco Info Center configuration interface, RTTrapd is referred to as the Cisco WAN Manager Info Mediator when it is used to monitor Cisco WAN Manager.
•Cisco HP NNM Info Mediator—interfaces with the Hewlett Packard Network Node Manager (NNM) system
•Cisco Syslog Info Mediator—acquires event data from the syslogd daemon, the UNIX system message logger, by reading from a FIFO that syslogd has been configured to write messages to
•Cisco EMF Info Mediator—interfaces with Cisco EMF-based applications, such as Cisco Connection Manager, Cisco DSL Manager (CDM), and Cisco Media Gateway Node Manager (CMNM). Refer to the "Cisco Element Management Framework Support" section for a detailed list of supported applications.
With Cisco Info Center 3.6.1, the Cisco EMF Info Mediator is now in maintenance mode. While the Cisco EMF Info Mediator continues to support events from previous releases of Cisco EMF-based Element Managers, no new development is planned for this Info Mediator.
•Cisco Transport Manager Info Mediator—interfaces with the Cisco Transport Manager 4.7 application to allow monitoring of Cisco optical devices, including the Cisco ONS 15454, ONS 15327, ONS 15600, ONS 15800, ONS 15801, ONS 15808, and ONS 15216 EDFA2 and EDFA3 optical transport platforms
•Cisco MTTrapd Info Mediator—multi threaded Cisco Info Mediator that interfaces with a variety of SNMP-enabled devices and event correlation engines such as CiscoWorks2000 (DFM and ITM) and MWFM. This also includes specific enhancements and fixes recommended by the CERT team. The set of rules also includes the best practices set of rules developed by Micromuse.
The Cisco MTTrapd Info Mediator also processes events transmitted by element managers that support the Northbound Event Interface (NEI) included with the Cisco Element Manager System version 3.2 and higher, such as Cisco Media Gateway Manager (CMGM) 2.0 and Cisco Media Gateway Controller Node Manager 2.3.1 and 2.3.1. The NEI allows element managers to send events encapsulated in SNMP messages to network management systems such as Cisco Info Center.
To enable support for the Cisco Element Manager System, select Cisco Element Manager from the Device Configuration menu during Cisco Info Mediator configuration using the nco_config configuration utility.
•Cisco CNS Info Mediator— interfaces with the Cisco CNS Performance Engine product. With Cisco Info Center 3.6.1, this Info Mediator supports Cisco CNS configuration change events.
Additional Info Mediators that work with a variety of hardware and software can be ordered in addition to Cisco Info Center.
For detailed information on the event sources and Cisco Info Mediators used with Cisco Info Center, refer to Chapter 3 in the Cisco Info Center Mediator Reference, 3.6.1.1
Related Products
The Cisco Info Center product suite includes several additional related products:
•Cisco Info Center for Security Monitoring—A product that monitors Cisco PIX firewalls and systems running Cisco Intrusion Detection (IDS) and generates security alerts.
Note Cisco Info Center 3.6.1 has not been tested with Cisco Info Center for Security Monitoring, 3.5.
•Cisco Info Center VPN Policy Manager, 3.1—An extension to Cisco Info Center that receives Customer Edge router and Provider Edge router events from Cisco's IP Solution Center (ISC) product (version 3.1 or 3.2), an application that allows service providers to define and monitor virtual private networks (VPNs).
To enable support for ISC 3.x events, you can purchase and install Cisco Info Center VPN Policy Manager, 3.1.
Note If you want to monitor ISC 4.x events, you can install the ISC 4.0 patch for Cisco Info Center 3.6.x. For more information on this patch, see the "Policy Manager" section.
Cisco Info Center Add-On Products
Cisco Info Center can work with several related products that can be ordered from the Cisco Info Center price list. These products include the following:
•Internet Service Monitors (ISM) 2.1—a set of components designed to monitor the status and performance of internet services. The information gathered and processed by the monitors is used to determine whether a particular service is performing adequately, to identify problem areas, and to report service performance. Performance is measured against agreed Service Level Agreement (SLA) criteria. A set of specific ISM utilities have been added to Cisco Info Center, which simplify the bulk configuration and loading of ISM data.
•Data Center Monitors—a fault management application that provides access to mainframe computer management applications for non-mainframe network operators.
•Firewall—a real-time security application that helps managers in secure operations centers to resolve network events that may disrupt business services or cause a security breach.The N
Note The Netcool Firewall product has not been tested with Cisco Info Center 3.6.1.
•Impact —a value-added application that assists network operators in monitoring Service Level Agreements by providing additional event analysis beyond that available with Cisco Info Center. For example, Impact users can determine the consequences of an event, such as what or when services are affected and which users are affected by specific alarm conditions.
•Netcool for Voice Networks—a supplement to Cisco Info Center designed specifically for providers of carrier-grade voice services. It includes a Central Configuration Tool that allows voice service providers to install the system at multiple sites from a central location and a set of Telecommunications Service Managers (TSMs) that work with TL1-based monitoring systems as well as Marconi, Alcatel, Ericsson, and Nortel devices.
•Netcool/Tivoli—an application that integrates the Cisco Info Server product with the Tivoli network management application and allows Tivoli to manage a Cisco Info Server installation.
•Precison IP—an application that automatically discovers IP networks, gathering topology data to deliver a complete picture of devices and layer 2 and layer 3 connectivity, including MPLS, ATM and Frame networks. Precision IP monitors all discovered elements for status and continually updates its database with new device information as the network changes. When network problems occur, Netcool/Precision analyzes events and identifies the root cause of the problem.
•Precision TN—an application that automatically discovers transmission layer (Layer 1) networks, deepening the visibility provided by Precision IP at network layers 2 and 3. Precision TN collects and sends alarm, inventory, facility, and connection information to Netcool/OMNIbus from any TL1- or SNMP-managed network elements so that you can drill down to the very shelf, card, and port involved in the alarm - and all in real time.
•Reporter—a real-time, Web-based client-server application that provides accurate, historical reporting on Cisco Info Center event data forwarded from the Cisco Info Server.
•System Service Monitors—An application that simultaneously monitors a variety of UNIX, Linux, and Windows platforms, and tracks elements such as CPU utilization, memory utilization, disk space, blocks, inodes, and total free files.
•TL1 Transaction Service Monitor—An application that gathers events and data from all of the Transaction Language 1 (TL1)-managed elements in a network and forwards the data as alerts which are processed by the Cisco Info Server.
•User Service Monitors—Applications that measure and analyze real-time usage data from a variety of network devices, such as routers, firewalls, and proxies, and produce usage reports, threshold analysis, and outage detection analysis.
•Visionary—a product that utilizes a network agent that receives events from an intelligent, high-volume SNMP polling engine called the Distributed Status Monitor (DSM) and performs a rules-based analysis of network events, based on Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standards and vendor-specific management information.
•Webtop—A Web-based application that monitors events from the Cisco Info Server and related products and displays them in a Web Browser screen.
For additional information on Webtop support with Cisco Info Center 3.6.1, see the "Webtop" section.
For additional information on these products, refer to the Release Notes for Cisco Info Center Add-On Products, 3.6.1.
System Requirements
This section provides the hardware, software, and configuration requirements for the Cisco Info Center 3.6.1 product.
Operating System Requirements
The Sun system must have Solaris 8 or 9 with Motif 1.2 or the Common Desktop Environment (CDE) installed.
If you need to run the CiscoView application or view the Cisco Info Center online documentation on CCO, a supported browser is required.
For current browser requirements for the CiscoView application, refer to the documentation for the CiscoWorks2000 component your Cisco Info Center installation will monitor. The documentation for the Device Fault Manager and Voice Health Monitor components of CiscoWorks2000 is listed in the "Related Documentation" section.
Minimum Configuration
This section provides the minimum system requirements for Cisco Info Center 3.6.1.
•Info Server— Sun Blade 150 workstation or Sun Fire V120 server with a minimum of 1 GB RAM, and a 1-GB hard drive
Note This does not include additional NMS or add-on requirements. Please read the Release Notes or installation manual for the NMS you will use with each Cisco Info Mediator to determine the installation requirements for that particular NMS.
•Info Mediators—Sun workstation with a minimum of 64-MB RAM and a minimum 100 MB hard drive, for each Cisco Info Mediator
•Info Admin Desktops— Sun workstations with a minimum of 48-MB RAM and a minimum of 75-MB hard drive.
Additional Requirements for Virtual Operator
If you will install the Virtual Operator component in a single-system architecture, note the following additional requirements:
•An additional 55 MB of free disk space
•An additional 90 MB of free space in the /tmp directory
•Installation of Perl 5 or a link to it from /bin/perl or /usr/local/bin/perl
•The Java Runtime Environment (JRE) release on your Solaris operating system must be patched to the following recommended level:
j2re1.4.1_01
See the Sun Microsystems SunSolv web page at the following URL for further information:
http://sunsolve.sun.com/
Recommended Configuration for Managing Large Networks
This section indicates the minimum system requirements for a large installation.
•Cisco Info Server—Sun Fire 280R dual CPU or Netra 20 server 900 MHz or higher with a minimum of 2 GB of RAM and a 2-MB hard drive disk storage per Info Mediator
Note This does not include additional NMS or add-on requirements. Please read the Release Notes or installation manual for the NMS you will use with each Cisco Info Mediator to determine the installation requirements for the NMS.
•Info Mediators—Sun Ultra 2 or higher workstation with a minimum of 64-MB RAM and a minimum 100 MB hard drive, per Info Mediator
•Cisco Info Admin Desktops—Sun workstations with a minimum of 48-MB RAM and 75-MB hard drive.
•Webtop—See the release notes for the version of Webtop that you are installing.
Optimizing Performance Using Regional Storage
When the Info Server needs to process very large numbers of events, you can improve performance by configuring the Info Server to use Regional Storage.
You convert the Info Server to Regional Storage using the following procedure:
Step 1 Make sure that you perform this procedure before you bring the Cisco Info Center installation up in a production environment.
Step 2 Make sure licenses are available for the Info Server.
Step 3 Stop the Info Server.
Step 4 Verify that the Info Server is not running.
Step 5 Edit the Info Server properties file. Set the RegionStorage property to True to make sure (RegionStorage : True). This property is False by default.
Step 6 Issue the nco_objserv command as follows:
nco_objserv -dattofuzzy -name <server_name>
where server_name is the name of the Info Server.
The data migration starts. The migration starts in logical storage and then writes the database in Region Storage and then shuts down.
You will then see the Info Server start normally and stops again.
Step 7 Start the Info Server again as you do normally.
The Info Server will no longer write to checkpoint .dat files; instead it will write to tab, log0, log1, chk0, and chk1 files.
Note For detailed information on checkpointing, see the "Checkpointing - Logical and Region Storage" section in chapter 2 of the Cisco Info Server Administrator Reference, 3.6.1, "Cisco Info Server SQL.
For detailed information on the nco_objserv command, see Table 1-1, "Cisco Info Center Command Line Options" in chapter 1 of the Cisco Info Center Administrator Reference, 3.6.1, "Configuring the Cisco Info Server and Proxy Server."
Note the following points:
1. If you don't want to edit the Info Server properties files you can just add the command line option -fuzzytodat.
2. The option -dattofuzzy converts from .dat (logical storage) to fuzzy (Region Storage). To go the other way, you use the option -fuzzytodat.
Prerequisites for Monitored Products
Each application component contained within the Cisco Info Center product architecture has an associated set of prerequisites (for example, Java plug-ins and supported browsers). This information can be obtained from the product documentation at this site:
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/rtrmgmt/info_ctr/3_6_1/index.htm
You can also obtain relevant documentation at this site:
http://support.micromuse.com/documentation/
For component specific issues, it is recommended you obtain and consult these documents.
Cisco Info Center 3.6.1 Support Matrix
Table 1 indicates which components of Cisco Info Center can co-exist on the same host with which Network Management Systems (NMSs) or be installed standalone in combination with specified Solaris versions and software releases. A notation of "yes" indicates a Cisco Info Center 3.6.1 component can co-exist on the same host or be installed standalone with an indicated operating system, software release, and/or NMS.
Note The Cisco MTTrapd, Cisco Element Management Framework, and Cisco HP NNM Info Mediators cannot co-exist on a single machine. Only one of these Info Mediators can be installed on a single machine, because by default, they all bind to port 162.
Table 1 Cisco Info Center 3.6.1 Compatibility Matrix
Cisco Info Center 3.6.1 Component
|
Required
Solaris
Version
|
NMS/
Manager
|
Can Be Installed Standalone
|
Can Co-exist with NMS/Manager
|
Can Co-exist 1 with NMS/ Manager and Cisco Info Server
|
Cisco RTTrapd Info Mediator
|
8, 9
|
CWM 12.0.x
CWM 15.0
|
yes
yes
|
yes
yes
|
yes
yes
|
Cisco Syslog Info Mediator
|
8, 9
|
Syslog
|
yes
|
yes
|
yes
|
Cisco Transport Manager Info Mediator
|
8, 9
8, 9
|
CTM 4.7
|
yes
yes
|
yes
yes
|
yes
yes
|
Cisco BTS Softswitch
|
8, 9
|
BTS Softswitch 3.5.2
|
|
|
|
Cisco Element Management Framework Info Mediator
|
8, 9
|
Cisco EMF 3.0.4
Cisco EMF 3.1
Cisco EMF 3.2
|
|
yes
yes
yes
|
yes
yes
yes
|
Cisco MTTrapd Info Mediator
|
8, 9
|
DFM 1.x
ITM 2.0
MWFM 2.0
Voice Gateways
Gatekeepers
Cisco Element Manager System 3.2 (NEI)
|
yes
yes
yes
yes
|
yes
yes
yes
yes
|
yes
yes
yes
yes
|
Cisco CNS Info Mediator
|
8, 9
|
Cisco CNS configuration change events
Cisco CNS Performance Engine 2.0.1
|
yes
|
yes
|
yes
|
Supported Hardware and Software
Cisco Info Center 3.6.1 operates with the following hardware and software platforms.
IOS Support
Cisco IOS Syslog messages are supported through the Cisco CNS Notification Engine product and the Cisco Syslog Info Mediator.
Cisco Transport Manager Support
Cisco Info Center supports the following optical platforms through Cisco Transport Manager:
•The Cisco ONS 15454 is supported through CTM 3.1/3.2/4.7
•The Cisco ONS 15800 is supported through CTM 3.1/3.2/4.7
•The Cisco ONS 15327 is supported through CTM 3.1/3.2/4.7
•The Cisco ONS 15801 is supported through CTM 3.1/3.2/4.7
•The Cisco ONS 15808 is supported through CTM 3.1/3.2/4.7
•The Cisco ONS 15600 is supported through CTM 3.2/4.7
•The Cisco ONS 15216 EDFA2 and EDFA3 through CTM 4.7
Cisco Element Management Framework Support
Through the Cisco Element Management Framework Info Mediator, Cisco Info Center 3.6.1 supports the following legacy Element Managers that run under the Cisco Element Management Framework:
•Cisco Media Gateway Node Manager (CMNM)—manages media gateways running on Cisco MGX 8260 devices
•Cisco DSL Manager (CDM)—manages Cisco DSL Aggregation Modules (DSLAMs) such as the Cisco 6260 DSLAM
•Cisco Service Connection Manager (SCM)—manages the Cisco aggregation-layer router, often used in xDSL environments, such as the 6400
•Cisco Universal Gateway Manager (UGM)—offers robust, scalable, carrier-class capabilities for the Cisco AS5xx0 series of universal gateways
•Cisco Cable Manager (CCM)—manages Cisco uBR7200 series broadband routers
•Cisco 7200/7400 Manager (C72/74M)—manages Cisco 7200 and Cisco 7400 routers
•Cisco 12000 Manager—manages Cisco 12000 routers.
Cisco Element Manager System Support
With Cisco Info Center 3.6.1, the Cisco MTTrapd Info Mediator supports Cisco Element Manager System 3.2, including events sent in SNMP messages from element managers that support the Northbound Event Interface (NEI). It also supports the Cisco EMF Clear Alarm Tool.
Note Cisco Info Center support for Cisco Element Manager System events is now in sustaining mode. Support for previously supported applications will be maintained.
Generic SNMP Support
Cisco Info Center 3.6.1 supports monitoring a varied set of hardware devices and software applications through the Cisco MTTrapd Info Mediator: The best practices rules from Micromuse have also been included in Cisco Info Center for customer's convenience.However, they have not been tested by Cisco and will not be supported.
NMS and Cisco Info Center Component Specific Considerations
This section presents considerations you should be aware of when installing specific Cisco Info Center components or NSM applications that work with Cisco Info Center.
Using the Cisco CNS Info Mediator
If you are using the Cisco CNS Info Mediator (nco_p_cns):
•The TIBCO Rendezvous daemon (rvd or rvrd) must be installed and running.The Cisco CNS Info Mediator must run on the same machine as the Cisco CNS Performance Engine product, or must run on a host that has the TIBCO Rendezvous daemon installed on it.
•When prompted for the notifier name used with the Cisco CNS Info Mediator, enter the notifier name for which the Cisco CNS Notification Engine application or the Cisco CNS Performance Engine application is configured, for example, cisco.mgmt.das.
Properties
If the rules and properties need to be customized, the variable $OMNIHOME cannot be used within them. You must instead specify the actual and complete path.
Generic SNMP
The Cisco MTTrapd Info Mediator is used with the Cisco Info Center bind to SNMP port 162. If you want to install them on the same host, you must configure them to use different SNMP ports.
DFM and ITM
To monitor devices managed by the Device Fault Manager (DFM) component of CiscoWorks2000 (CW2K), DFM must be installed and configured to send traps to the host running the Cisco MTTrapd Info Mediator.
For information on configuring DFM to forward messages to Cisco Info Center (or another network management system), refer to the "Using the GUI to Configure the SNMP Trap Adapter to Forward Traps" section in the "Getting Started" section of the Installing and Setting Up Device Fault Manager on Solaris manual or the Installing and Setting Up Device Fault Manager on Windows 2000 and Windows NT manual.
To monitor devices and software managed by the IP Telephony Monitor (ITM) component of CiscoWorks2000, ITM must be installed and configured to send traps to the host running the Cisco MTTrapd Info Mediator.
Note To monitor events coming in from the Device Fault Manager (DFM) application through ITM application, you must configure both the DFM and the ITM trap notifier to send traps to Cisco Info Center.
MWFM
To monitor devices managed by the Mobile Wireless Fault Mediator (MWFM) application, MWFM must be installed and configured to send traps to Cisco Info Center.
MTTrapd Info Mediator
1000 series traps from the eventd daemon in the Cisco WAN Manager are also supported through the Cisco MTTrapd Info Mediator.
NEI Support
If you will use Cisco Info Center to monitor Northbound Event Interface (NEI) events from element managers running under the Cisco Element Manager System, you must install the Cisco MTTrapd Info Mediator on one host and the Process Control component on the host running the Cisco Element Manager System. After you install the Process Control component on the remote host, you must run the cemf_nei_pa_conf.sh script on the remote host.
For information on running the cemf_nei_pa_conf script, refer to the "Installing the Process Control Agent on the Remote Cisco Element Manager Host" section in Chapter 3 of the Cisco Info Center Installation and Configuration Guide, 3.6.1.
Note Support for applications that use the NEI continues at the same level as for Cisco Info Center 3.6; however, no new development is planned to support NEI-based applications.
Cisco WAN Manager
•Cisco WAN Manager 12.0.x, or 15.0 must be installed and running. One of these versions is needed for proper functioning with Cisco Info Center 3.6.1. To check the existence of the process, issue the ps -ef | grep <process_name> command where <process_name> can be svmain or RtmProxy.
•Multiple Cisco WAN Manager Networks Support.
Network names must be unique as they appear in the Cisco WAN Manager hosts' svplus/config.sv file or the network.conf file (as is the case with Cisco WAN Manager 10.4.10, 10.5.10, or 11.0.10) as managed by a single Cisco Info Server. You can edit these files and restart the Cisco WAN Manager hosts to ensure the names are different.
•dbaccess must only exist in /usr/users/informix/bin and INFORMIXDIR must be set to /usr/users/informix for the root user.
CiscoView
CiscoView should be installed in different directories depending on which release of Cisco WAN Manager you are running. The following list indicates which directories CiscoView should be installed in for specific Cisco WAN Manager releases:
Cisco WAN Manager Version
|
CiscoView Installation Directory
|
12.0.x, 15.0
|
Web CiscoView needs to be in place along with Cisco WAN Manager.
|
Consult the CiscoView documentation for a detailed description of a CiscoView installation.
Informix Database
The Cisco WAN Manager Informix Database name should be "stratacom."
Service and Network Agents
•The Cisco WAN Manager Service and Network Agent should be installed and running. Refer to the Cisco WAN Manager Installation Guide for installation instructions.
•The Cisco WAN Manager SNMP Agent must use default port 8161 for SNMP Trap Registration as the Cisco Info Server uses port 8161 to communicate with the Service and Network Agent.
Policy Manager
With Cisco Info Center 3.6.1, the Policy Manager component is no longer provided. However, if you have installed the Policy Manager component provided with Cisco Info Center release 3.4.1 or 3.5, when you upgrade to release 3.6.1 you can retain this component.
Support for ISC 3.x Events
To support enhanced monitoring of ISC 3.x events, you can also purchase and install the Cisco Info Center VPN Policy Manager, 3.1 product.
Support for ISC 4.x Events
If you need to monitor ISC 4.x events, you can install the Policy Manager for ISC 4.0 patch. This patch is available on the Cisco Info Center software download area at the following URL:
http://www.cisco.com/pcgi-bin/tablebuild.pl/cic
The name of the patch for ISC 4.0 support is:
CIC3.6x-IIU002-PM4.0.tar
Virtual Operator
Note the following points if you are installing the Virtual Operator component.
Additional Requirements for Virtual Operator
The Virtual Operator component must be installed on a system running Solaris 8 or 9.
In addition to the requirements for the Info Server component, the Virtual Operator component requires the following:
•An additional 55 MB of free disk space
•An additional 90 MB of free space in the /tmp directory
•Installation of Perl 5 or a link to it from /bin/perl or /usr/local/bin/perl
•The Java Runtime Environment (JRE) release on your Solaris operating system must be patched to the following recommended level:
j2re1.4.1_01
See the Sun Microsystems SunSolv web page at the following URL for further information:
http://sunsolve.sun.com/
Web Browser Requirements
Virtual Operator is supported on the following browsers:
•Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.x, 6.x
•Netscape Navigator 4.x, 7.x
Note Your browser must be configured to accept all cookies.
Licensing Requirements
Virtual Operator requires two types of license:
•a Virtual Operator engine license
•a Virtual Operator resolution scripts license.
Each resolution scripts license allows you to run up to 20 resolution scripts.
Note For detailed information on Virtual Operator licensing and installation, refer to Chapter 5 of the Cisco Info Center Installation and Configuration Guide, 3.6.1, "Installing the Virtual Operator Component."
Webtop
In addition to Info Desktops running on UNIX hosts, you can also use the Webtop application with Cisco Info Center 3.6.1. Webtop is a browser-based implementation that lets you view Info Server events and administer the Cisco Info Server from your Web browser.
Cisco Info Center 3.6 installed version 1.1 of Webtop. However, version Cisco Info Server 3.6.1 does not install Webtop. If you are already using Webtop or would like to use it, note the following points:
•If you upgrade to Cisco Info Center 3.6.1, you can continue to use Webtop 1.1.
•Webtop is available as a separate installation. After installing Cisco Info Center (either as a new installation or as an upgrade installation from release 3.6) you can install Webtop by downloading it from the Cisco Info Center software download area on Cisco Connection online (CCO), at the following URL:
http://www.cisco.com/pcgi-bin/tablebuild.pl/cic
The Webtop installation is provided in the following tar file:
cic-webtop-[release_number]-ga.tar
The Webtop installation program checks whether you have a previous release of Webtop installed and upgrades it if required. Otherwise, the installation program performs a new installation of Webtop.
For information on installing Webtop, refer to the README file contained in the tar file.
For detailed documentation on Webtop, refer to the Micromuse Support site at the following URL:
http://support.micromuse.com/documentation/xml/xsltp.cgi?source=../xml_docs/xml/doclist.xml&location=p000029
Automations
•The Generic Clear automations (AA_GenericClear_Populate_Problems_Table, AB_GenericClear_Correlate_Problems_Table, and AC_GenericClear_Correlate_Status_Table) in Cisco Info Center release 3.6.1 work differently than with previous releases. With previous releases, when a fault event was cleared, the resulting Clear events were deleted immediately. By default, with Cisco Info Center, the Clear events are visible on the event list for 30 minutes (this is the same as with the NetCool/Omnibus version of the automations).
•In order to use the Administrator interface to implement automations, an InfoAdmin user must exist. Do not delete this user ID and do not change the password for this user ID.
Note The Resolve NEName or Address automation updates the NEName using NEAddress value or updates the NEAddress using the NEName value, when only one of the two fields (NEName or NEAddress) is available. This automation is turned off by default, because it will cause a significant performance penalty. If you are concerned about performance, you are advised not to turn on this automation.
Do Not Modify the Default Automations
Do not modify the default set of Cisco Info Center automations provided with the initial installation. If you want to customize an automation, first rename the automation (make sure not to use a name already in use), then implement your changes. Alternatively, you can turn off the default automations, copy them to a new name, edit them, and then save them under a new name.
Filters
•The Manager field from the different Info Mediators are:
<host>@SV+, <host>@NNM5, <host>@syslog, <host>@C-NOTE, <host>@ctm, <host>@mttrapd and
<host>@cemf
•Unique Class numbers are assigned to each event category. The filters are based on that Class.
Tools
Note For the Ping, Telnet, and Traceroute tools, the NEAddress value is used by default. These automations will not work when NEAddress is not populated with a value.
•Launching the CiscoView tool from CiscoWorks2K or Cisco WAN Manager 10.4.10, 10.5.10, 11.x.x, or 12.0.x or CiscoWorks2K requires specific versions of web browsers. Refer to the respective CiscoWorks2K or Cisco WAN Manager documentation for browser requirements.
•Cisco Info Center tools that initiate remote scripts rely on the nco_pa process. If this process dies or cannot get a connection, none of the tools will work. The status of the nco_pa process is logged in the /opt/Omnibus/log/NCO_PA.log file.
•the dsx3RcvEXZCounter in the RTC tool gives a "does not exist" error message. The MGX dsx3 counter does not work on the SRM card but works on the BNM card.
•There must be connectivity to the Cisco WAN Manager host for all Cisco WAN Manager tools to work. All nodes should be reachable from the Cisco WAN Manager machine through IP-relay. The Cisco WAN Manager gateway node should be connected to a LAN.
•Cisco Info Center 3.6.1 includes two new tools: the MIB Query Tool and the Output Interpreter Tool. The MIB Query Tool allows you to query MIBs to search for traps by OID or trap name. The Output Interpreter Tool allows you to issue IOS or CATOS show commands and view the output in a display window.
For information on using these tools, refer to Appendix B, "Automation Reference," in the Cisco Info Center Administrator Reference, 3.6.1.
Note When you delete a tool, you must delete the menu on which the tool occurs, the menu item, and the tool before re-inserting the tool.
Severity Mappings
Cisco Info Center maps MGX alarms to a severity level according to the value of the MGX SNMP varbind: moduleTrapAlarmSeverity. Table 2 indicates the mapping details that are used.
Table 2 MGX Severity Level Mapping
MGX:
|
Cisco Info Center Severity Level
|
minor (1)
|
Minor (3—Yellow)
|
major (2)
|
Major (4—Mustard)
|
dontCare (3)
|
Warning (2—SkyBlue)
|
N/A
|
Indeterminate (—Purple)
|
Severity Mappings for TL1 to Cisco Info Center Event Severity Levels
Table 3 shows the mapping of TL1 alarm codes received through Cisco Transport Manager to Cisco Info Center severity levels. The default severity is 1. The severity of the generic TL1 messages is indicated by the AlarmCode, which is mapped to the standard Cisco Info Center severity levels ranging from 0—5.
:
Table 3 TL1 AlarmCode—Severity Mapping
$AlarmCode
|
Description
|
Cisco Info Center Severity
|
M
|
Response message (Heartbeat/Resync)
|
1—Indeterminate
|
A
|
Non-alarm event
|
2—Warning
|
*
|
Minor alarm
|
3—Minor
|
**
|
Major alarm
|
4—Major
|
C
|
Critical alarm
|
5—Critical
|
Note The above severity will be overridden by the specific severity of that particular alarm, which indicated by the notification codes in the alarm.
Table 4 indicates the mapping of TL1 Notification Codes to Cisco Info Center Severity Levels.
Table 4 NotificationCode—Severity Mapping
NOTIF_CODE Values
|
Description
|
Cisco Info Center Severity
|
CL
|
The condition causing the alarm has Cleared.
|
0—Clear
|
CR
|
A Critical alarm.
|
5—Critical
|
MJ
|
A Major alarm.
|
4—Major
|
MN
|
A Minor alarm.
|
3—Minor
|
NA
|
The condition is Not Alarmed.
|
1—Indeterminate
|
NR
|
The alarm is not reported.
|
1—Indeterminate
|
Installation Notes
Cisco Info Center 3.6.1 is installed using the OINSTALL installation script.
Refer to the Cisco Info Center Installation and Configuration Guide, 3.6.1 for installation instructions.
•For an overview of installation, refer to chapter 2, "Overview of Installation and Configuration."
•For instructions on installing a multi-system architecture in which components are distributed over several hosts, refer to chapter 3, "Installing and Configuring the Multi-System Architecture."
•For instructions on installing a single-system architecture in which all components are installed on a single host, refer to chapter 4, "Installing and Configuring the Single System Architecture."
•For Virtual Operator installation instructions, refer to Chapter 5, Installing the Virtual Operator Component."
•For instruction son configuring the failover feature for Info Servers and Info Mediators, refer to chapter 7, "Configuring Failover."
Upgrade Notes
When you run the Cisco Info Center 3.6.1 installation utility (OINSTALL) you can upgrade from the Cisco Info Center 3.4.1, 3.5 or 3.6 release to release 3.6.1.
Before upgrading, make sure to:
•Make a backup copy of any rules files that you have customized
•If you have customized any of the default Cisco Info Center automations, rename the automations before upgrading.
For detailed upgrade instructions, refer to Chapter 9 of the Cisco Info Center Installation and Configuration Guide, "Upgrading to Cisco Info Center 3.6.1."
The upgrade utility will prompt you to add any new release 3.6.1 components that you might want to install.
Licensing Notes
Set the NETCOOL_LICENSE_FILE environment variable in the /etc/cic file to ensure that it does hot get unset when the system goes down.
Caveats
This section contains information about open Document Defect Tracking System (DDTS) bugs.
•CSCec26885. When the MTtrapd Info Mediator (nco_p_MTTrapd) is run, the message No such file or directory appears.
This is due to an error in the installation script, which adds an entry to the registry specifying installation of the MTTrapd Info Mediator in the wrong directory.
Workaround. Install the MTTrapd Microsoft installer file (MSI file) directly, rather than going to add/remove programs or re-executing Cisco InfoCenter.msi directly.
•CSCin54649. Sometimes, when a desktop is connected to a remote Info Server, clicking on an event in the event list results in an error message, "Fatal Error: Failed to connect to Object Server.
Workaround. This occurs when the remote Info Server is at a great geographical distance from the desktop, such as on another continent. The solution is to select the event several times. After trying a few times, the connection will complete and the event will display correctly.
•CSCin55009. When the MTTrapd Info Mediator is processing a large number of events, the Info Sever cannot handle the load and the events are queued. This causes a delay in display of the events.
•CSCin55350. When the MTTrapd Info Mediator is run, CPU utilization for Cisco Info Center 3.6 is greater than that for release 3.5. This will be addressed in a future release.
•CSCef52793. The Licensing page on the Micromuse support site contains a field for requesting Virtual Operator 1.0 licenses (ELMD-based licenses), but does not contain a field for requesting Virtual Operator 1.1 licenses, which are FLEXlm-based licenses.
Workaround: When requesting licenses for Virtual Operator 1.1, scroll down to the Extra Details field at the bottom of the form and indicate that you are requesting Virtual Operator 1.1 licenses.
•CSCef00456. When upgrading from Cisco Info Center 3.6 to 3.6.1, the existing license file is lost.
Workaround. Use the following procedure to work around this problem.
–Before upgrading, make a backup copy of your existing Cisco Info Center 3.6 license file. This file has the file extension .lic and is located in the $OMNIHOME/common/license/etc/ directory.
–Run the OINSTALL installation utility and upgrade the installation to release 3.6.1.
–After completing the upgrade, copy the backup license file to the new $OMNIHOME/common/license/etc/ directory.
–Complete any additional required licensing steps as described in the Cisco Info Center Installation and Configuration Guide, 3.6.1.
•CSCef66290. The output interpreter does not work (The $OMNIHOME/utils/nco_functions utility does not have EXEC privileges even after being granted them).
•CSCef69913. The nco_confpack utility does not work.
Workaround. Before running the nco_confpack utility, edit the omni.dat file and make sure that the Info Server name is enclosed in square brackets, for example, [INFOSERVER].
•CSCin78199. The nco_pa_stop, nco_pa_start, and nco_pa_status utilities accept an incorrect password.
•CSCin78780. In the Precision product, is not possible to add more than two NE and TC properties in the Netscape browser. This occurs when the following steps are performed.
–Select the Admin tab
–Click Blackbox Editor.
–Click the Add New Network Element button
–Try to add more NE properties by using the Add Property button
The expected result is that a Name-Value pair field is added. However, no Name-Value pair is added.
Workaround. None.
•CSCin81289. The encode/decode tool is enabled for all events.
•CSCin80807. The nco start command can be run when a reconfiguration is in progress using the nco_config utility.
•CSCin81722. Pressing CTRL-C when prompted for a password for the CTM Info Mediator or for the Certificate Authority (CA) server causes the terminal behavior to change.
•CSCin82096. When configuring the Master Info Server for a DSD configuration, only the default name (the name of the Info Server that was already specified in Info Server configuration) can be specified.
•CSCin82105. Info Server failover does not work correctly with Webtop (if the primary Info Server is down, events are not forwarded to the backup Info Server).
•CSCin91981. Customizations are not migrated when the release is upgraded from release 3.4.1 to release 3.6.1 and you add or delete components as part of the upgrade. You can upgrade Cisco Info Center release 3.4.1 to release 3.6.1; however, if you add or delete a component during the upgrade process, any tools, triggers, users, groups, and classes configured in release 3.4.1 are not retained in the upgraded release.
Workaround: Complete the upgrade procedure and then run OINSTALL again to add or delete components.
Known Problems and Limitations
This section lists known problems and limitations with Cisco Info Center 3.6.1
Limitations with SSL Configuration
Note the following limitations when you configure Cisco Info Center 3.6.1 to use SSL communication between the Info Server and client components:
1. Cisco Info Center supports either SSL communication or default plain text communication. If SSL is configured for thee Info Server, all the interacting Cisco Info Center components must also communicate through SSL communication,
2. Cisco Info Center supports either SSL or a Dual Server Desktop (DSD) architecture only on a single system (therefore, DSD configuration is not possible for a failover Info Server). In addition, the Certificate Authority must be on the same host.
3. The host that is running the SSL Certificate Authority must have Cisco Info Center 3.6.1 installed.
4. Virtual Operator and Webtop do not work with SSL.
5. Failover configuration will not work with SSL configured.
For Micromuse known issues regarding SSL, refer to the NetCool/Omnibus Version 3.6 Release Notes at the following URL:
http://support.micromuse.com/documentation/36books/Rnote_36_2004.pdf
Known Issues with Related Products
Each application contained within the Cisco Info Center product architecture has an associated set of Release Notes containing product-specific issues. This information can be obtained from the Micromuse Support site:
http://support.micromuse.com/documentation/
Note In order to access the Micromuse support site, you must have a user ID and password. If you do not have a user ID for the Micromuse support site, contact the Cisco TAC:
For information on contacting TAC see the "Obtaining Technical Assistance" section.
Micromuse recommends you obtain and read these Release Notes prior to initiating a Cisco Info Center installation.
Related Documentation
Each component contained within the Cisco Info Center product architecture has an associated set of documentation which can be obtained from Cisco Systems at this site:
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/rtrmgmt/info_ctr/3_6/index.htm
You can also obtain relevant documentation at this site:
http://support.micromuse.com/documentation/
For component-specific information, it is strongly recommended that you obtain and consult these documents. Issues such as licensing, connectivity and integration, and product specific features are described in the respective guides for each application.
This section describes the manuals in the Cisco Info Center documentation set and how to obtain access to them. The online versions of the Cisco Info Center documentation can be found on the Cisco Documentation CD, as well as on the Cisco Connection Online (CCO) at the following URL (unless otherwise noted):
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/rtrmgmt/info_ctr/3_6_1/index.htm
Refer to and read the Cisco Info Center 3.6.1 documents in the following order:
1. Documentation Guide for Cisco Info Center, 3.6.1 (Part Number: 78-16550-01). This document is available in hard and soft copy. It is available on CCO at:
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/rtrmgmt/info_ctr/3_6_1/docguide/index.htm.
2. Release Notes for Cisco Info Center, 3.6.1 (this document). This document is available on CCO at:
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/rtrmgmt/info_ctr/3_6_1/relnotes/index.htm.
3. Cisco Info Center Installation and Configuration Guide, 3.6.1 (Part Number: OL-4815-01). This document is available on CCO at:
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/rtrmgmt/info_ctr/3_6_1/install/index.htm
4. Cisco Info Center Adminstrator Reference, 3.6.1, (Part Number: OL-4814-01). This document is available on CCO at:
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/rtrmgmt/info_ctr/3_6_1/admin/index.htm
5. Cisco Info Center User Guide, 3.6.1. This document is available on CCO at:
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/rtrmgmt/info_ctr/3_6_1/user/install.htm
6. Cisco Info Center Mediator Reference, 3.6.1. This document is available on CCO at:
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/rtrmgmt/info_ctr/3_6_1/med_ref/install.htm
Obtaining Documentation
Cisco provides several ways to obtain documentation, technical assistance, and other technical resources. These sections explain how to obtain technical information from Cisco Systems.
Cisco.com
You can access the most current Cisco documentation on the World Wide Web at this URL:
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/home/home.htm
You can access the Cisco website at this URL:
http://www.cisco.com
International Cisco websites can be accessed from this URL:
http://www.cisco.com/public/countries_languages.shtml
Documentation CD-ROM
Cisco documentation and additional literature are available in a Cisco Documentation CD-ROM package, which may have shipped with your product. The Documentation CD-ROM is updated regularly and may be more current than printed documentation. The CD-ROM package is available as a single unit or through an annual or quarterly subscription.
Registered Cisco.com users can order a single Documentation CD-ROM (product number DOC-CONDOCCD=) through the Cisco Ordering tool:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/partner/ordering/ordering_place_order_ordering_tool_launch.html
All users can order annual or quarterly subscriptions through the online Subscription Store:
http://www.cisco.com/go/subscription
Click Subscriptions & Promotional Materials in the left navigation bar.
Ordering Documentation
You can find instructions for ordering documentation at this URL:
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/es_inpck/pdi.htm
You can order Cisco documentation in these ways:
•Registered Cisco.com users (Cisco direct customers) can order Cisco product documentation from the Networking Products MarketPlace:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/partner/ordering/index.shtml
•Nonregistered Cisco.com users can order documentation through a local account representative by calling Cisco Systems Corporate Headquarters (California, USA) at 408 526-7208 or, elsewhere in North America, by calling 800 553-NETS (6387).
Documentation Feedback
You can submit e-mail comments about technical documentation to bug-doc@cisco.com.
You can submit comments by using the response card (if present) behind the front cover of your document or by writing to the following address:
Cisco Systems
Attn: Customer Document Ordering
170 West Tasman Drive
San Jose, CA 95134-9883
We appreciate your comments.
Obtaining Technical Assistance
For all customers, partners, resellers, and distributors who hold valid Cisco service contracts, the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) provides 24-hour-a-day, award-winning technical support services, online and over the phone. Cisco.com features the Cisco TAC website as an online starting point for technical assistance. If you do not hold a valid Cisco service contract, please contact your reseller.
Cisco TAC Website
The Cisco TAC website (http://www.cisco.com/tac) provides online documents and tools for troubleshooting and resolving technical issues with Cisco products and technologies. The Cisco TAC website is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Accessing all the tools on the Cisco TAC website requires a Cisco.com user ID and password. If you have a valid service contract but do not have a login ID or password, register at this URL:
http://tools.cisco.com/RPF/register/register.do
Opening a TAC Case
Using the online TAC Case Open Tool (http://www.cisco.com/tac/caseopen) is the fastest way to open P3 and P4 cases. (P3 and P4 cases are those in which your network is minimally impaired or for which you require product information.) After you describe your situation, the TAC Case Open Tool automatically recommends resources for an immediate solution. If your issue is not resolved using the recommended resources, your case will be assigned to a Cisco TAC engineer.
For P1 or P2 cases (P1 and P2 cases are those in which your production network is down or severely degraded) or if you do not have Internet access, contact Cisco TAC by telephone. Cisco TAC engineers are assigned immediately to P1 and P2 cases to help keep your business operations running smoothly.
To open a case by telephone, use one of the following numbers:
Asia-Pacific: +61 2 8446 7411 (Australia: 1 800 805 227)
EMEA: +32 2 704 55 55
USA: 1 800 553-2447
For a complete listing of Cisco TAC contacts, go to this URL:
http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/687/Directory/DirTAC.shtml
TAC Case Priority Definitions
To ensure that all cases are reported in a standard format, Cisco has established case priority definitions.
Priority 1 (P1)—Your network is "down" or there is a critical impact to your business operations. You and Cisco will commit all necessary resources around the clock to resolve the situation.
Priority 2 (P2)—Operation of an existing network is severely degraded, or significant aspects of your business operation are negatively affected by inadequate performance of Cisco products. You and Cisco will commit full-time resources during normal business hours to resolve the situation.
Priority 3 (P3)—Operational performance of your network is impaired, but most business operations remain functional. You and Cisco will commit resources during normal business hours to restore service to satisfactory levels.
Priority 4 (P4)—You require information or assistance with Cisco product capabilities, installation, or configuration. There is little or no effect on your business operations.
Obtaining Additional Publications and Information
Information about Cisco products, technologies, and network solutions is available from various online and printed sources.
•The Cisco Product Catalog describes the networking products offered by Cisco Systems, as well as ordering and customer support services. Access the Cisco Product Catalog at this URL:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/products_catalog_links_launch.html
•Cisco Press publishes a wide range of general networking, training and certification titles. Both new and experienced user will benefit from these publications. For current Cisco Press titles and other information, go to Cisco Press online at this URL:
http://www.ciscopress.com
•Packet magazine is the Cisco quarterly publication that provides the latest networking trends, technology breakthroughs, and Cisco products and solutions to help industry professionals get the most from their networking investment. Included are networking deployment and troubleshooting tips, configuration examples, customer case studies, tutorials and training, certification information, and links to numerous in-depth online resources. You can access Packet magazine at this URL:
http://www.cisco.com/packet
•iQ Magazine is the Cisco bimonthly publication that delivers the latest information about Internet business strategies for executives. You can access iQ Magazine at this URL:
http://www.cisco.com/go/iqmagazine
•Internet Protocol Journal is a quarterly journal published by Cisco Systems for engineering professionals involved in designing, developing, and operating public and private internets and intranets. You can access the Internet Protocol Journal at this URL:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/about/ac123/ac147/about_cisco_the_internet_protocol_journal.html
•Training—Cisco offers world-class networking training. Current offerings in network training are listed at this URL:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/learning/index.html
Copyright © 2005 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
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