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User Guide for CiscoWorks Common Services 3.1
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Open Source License Acknowledgements
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Preface
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Overview of Common Services
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Interacting With CiscoWorks Home Page
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Using Common Services Home
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Configuring the Server
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Managing Device and Credentials
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Administering Groups
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Using LMS Setup Center
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Using Device Center
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Working With Software Center
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Diagnosing Problems With CiscoWorks Server
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Understanding CiscoWorks Security
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Acronyms Used in Common Services Documentation
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Index
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Table Of Contents
Understanding Time Zone Settings
Learning More About Common Services
Overview of Common Services
CiscoWorks Common Services (Common Services) represents a common set of management services that are shared by CiscoWorks applications. CiscoWorks is a family of products based on Internet standards for managing networks and devices. All CiscoWorks products use and depend on Common Services.
Common Services provides a foundation for CiscoWorks applications to share a common model for data storage, login, user role definitions, access privileges, security protocols, as well as navigation.
Common Services creates a standard user experience for all management functions. It also provides a common framework for all basic system-level operations such as installation, data management including backup-restore and import-export, event and message handling, and job and process management.
Common Services provides a set of new features required to give the CiscoWorks applications a common look and feel. The CiscoWorks home page replaces the existing desktop.
Common Services enables sharing of critical information among the various products, and provides a new framework for delivering timely support of new devices. In addition, it supports new platforms, and provides enhanced security mechanisms.
This chapter contains the following sections:
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Understanding Time Zone Settings
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What's New In This Release
The following are the new features and enhancements in Common Services 3.1:
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Installation Changes
The Common Services installation framework is enhanced to support installation of multiple applications in one solution bundle. You can install Common Services 3.1 or upgrade the earlier versions to Common Services 3.1 using the single installable bundle image packaged in LMS 3.0 product DVD.
See Installing and Getting Started with LAN Management Solution 3.0 and Installing and Getting Started with LAN Management Solution 3.0 (Maintenance Kit) for more information.
Default Credentials
Devices added or imported into DCR do not contain all credentials required by the applications to manage them. Sometimes this could lead to failure of application jobs.
With the introduction of new default credentials feature, you can configure a default credential set comprising primary, secondary, SNMP, HTTP and RxBoot Mode credentials, and store them in DCR. You can add or import devices into DCR with the default credentials.
See Device Attributes and Configuring Default Credentials for more information.
Secondary Access Credentials
DCR allows the applications to store primary device credentials such as Primary Username, Password, and Enable Password. The primary device credentials allows the applications to access the devices and operate on them.
In this release, DCR allows you to add a secondary set of credentials. The secondary credentials serve as an alternative to primary device credentials.
Applications such as Resource Manager Essentials can use the configured secondary credentials as a fallback if they cannot access the devices using the primary credentials.
See Device Credentials for more information.
Enhancements to DCR CLI and Delete Devices Option
The earlier DCR command line (CLI) utility provides the option of deleting devices using their
device ID.With the enhanced DCR CLI delete devices option, you can delete the devices using their own identifiers such as hostname and domain name combination, and display name in both shell and batch modes. You can also delete devices from DCR as specified in the input CSV file, using the enhanced DCR CLI utility.
You can either delete all the devices in the selection list or only the devices that are not managed by applications using the delete devices option in command line or user interface.
The DCR CLI now provides an option to export the device information from DCR to ACS Server.
See Managing Device and Credentials for more information.
Security Enhancements
Common Services 3.1 has the following security related changes:
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Common Services supports integration of ACS 3.3.4 for Windows Server and Appliance, and
ACS 4.1 for Windows Server and Appliance with CiscoWorks server, in addition to the support for ACS 3.3.3 and ACS 4.0 versions.This security related enhancement requires the role and task definitions to be revisited. You should register the revised role and task definitions with ACS Server in the ACS mode.
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The Permissions report in the earlier version of Common Services displayed the tasks of a particular application in alphabetical order and the roles associated with each task.
In the enhanced Permissions Report, the tasks are grouped based on applications and displayed in a tabular form. This allows you to quickly locate a particular task easily in the report.
You can also sort the display of tasks in alphabetical order or in reverse alphabetical order within a task group.
See Permissions Report for more information.
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The Super Admin role is a new predefined role introduced in this release. This role has full access rights to perform any task including the administration and approval tasks in CiscoWorks.
During the integration of CiscoWorks applications with ACS Server, you only need to create a user in ACS corresponding to the System Identity User in CiscoWorks and assign the Super Admin role to the user for all CiscoWorks applications. You need not create a custom role with all the privileges and assign that role to the user.
You can assign this role to a user only on ACS Server and only when your login module is set to ACS. This role is not available in CiscoWorks local mode and during the local user setup in CiscoWorks Server. The Permissions report does not display the information about this role.
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Earlier, CiscoWorks supported only distinguished name based authentication to Microsoft Active Directory Server.
In this release, the integration of CiscoWorks Server with Microsoft Active Directory Server is made more flexible. CiscoWorks now additionally supports User Principal Name (UPN) based authentication, domain name based authentication, and Security Account Manager (SAM) account based authentication to Microsoft Active Directory Server.
See Changing Login Module to MS Active Directory for more information.
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In the earlier releases, Common Services supported adding local users to CiscoWorks Server only through the user interface. Common Services did not support bulk addition of local users.
With the introduction of a script for adding local users, you can add bulk local users through CLI. You can also import the local user information from remote servers through CLI.
See Setting Up Local Users Through CLI for more information.
Enhancements to CiscoWorks Home Page
CiscoWorks home page and the application windows that are launched from CiscoWorks home page now contain the name of the CiscoWorks Server along with the browser title.
This feature helps you to identify the server in which the applications are installed. This is particularly useful in a multi-server setup and Single Sign-On (SSO) based setup.
See Displaying CiscoWorks Server Name With Browser Title for more information.
Changes to Device Center Connectivity Tools
Common Services 3.1 provides an enhanced user interface to select a specific SSH protocol version (SSHv1 or SSHv2) for a device using the Management Station to Device tool. This is used to test the protocol connectivity against the chosen device.
See Using Device Center for more information.
Logging Configuration
The new Logging Configuration user interface allows you to debug modules in Common Services such as DCR, Software Center, CiscoWorks home page and so on .
You do not need to restart the daemon manager after you have enabled the debugging option for a particular module.
See Configuring Logging for more information.
Disk Space Monitoring and Threshold Configuration
You can monitor the disk space availability in your CiscoWorks Server and configure the threshold level of disk space utilization. You can also set an option to notify end users through e-mail when the disk space exceeds the threshold level.
See Configuring Disk Space Threshold Limit for more information.
Backup-Restore Changes
The Backup-Restore component is enhanced to send you an e-mail on the status of immediate or scheduled backup jobs when they complete. The e-mail notification is also sent when you schedule a backup job or remove a scheduled backup job.
You should configure one or more e-mail addresses if you want to receive the e-mail notification.
Hostname Change Script
Earlier when you changed the hostname of the CiscoWorks Server, you needed to manually change the hostname related entries in the CiscoWorks directories and files, registry entries, and databases.
Common Services 3.1 provides a script to automatically update the CiscoWorks directories and files, registry entries, and databases, after you have changed your hostname.
See Using CiscoWorks Server Hostname Change Scripts for more information.
IP Address Range Based Device Grouping
Earlier, you cannot create a device group for devices within a specified IP Address range.
With the introduction of new range operator, you can group devices within a range of IP Addresses. You can also perform an advanced search of devices within a specified IP Address range.
See Group Administration and Performing Advanced Search for more information.
Support for CiscoWorks LMS Portal and CiscoWorks Assistant
Common Services 3.1 supports new LMS applications namely CiscoWorks LMS Portal and CiscoWorks Assistant that help in improving the usability of existing applications in the LMS bundle.
CiscoWorks LMS Portal helps you to set up a customized home page. The status summary of Common Services jobs, security configurations and other information are available as portlets in the LMS Portal application. See the User Guide for CiscoWorks LMS Portal 1.0 for more information.
CiscoWorks Assistant is a web-based tool that provides workflows to help you to overcome network management and LMS deployment challenges. Using CiscoWorks Assistant you can easily deploy multiple LMS server and maintain device credentials. See the User Guide for CiscoWorks Assistant 1.0. for more information.
Support for MDF 1.18
Meta Data Framework (MDF) Package defines device types in a uniform way across CiscoWorks applications. This package contains new device types, new device type definitions, new device icons, and solutions to some problems in earlier MDF packages.
Common Services 3.1 supports the MDF package version 1.18 that contains the following new device types:
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When you add new device types through MDF Package, it does not guarantee support for these device types in all CiscoWorks applications. Device support has to be provided by individual applications such as DFM, RME and Campus Manager. For a list of supported device types, see the relevant product documentation.
Third Party Tools and Software Changes
The third party tools have been upgraded in this release to provide support for new features and applications in LMS bundle:
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See Installing and Getting Started with LAN Management Solution 3.0 and Installing and Getting Started with LAN Management Solution 3.0 (Maintenance Kit) for information on supported platforms, version upgrade information of third party software, and client and server requirements.
Additional Information Online
You also see the new features and enhancements in the previous releases of Common Services available in Cisco.com
For details on new features and enhancements in Common Services 3.0, see:
For details on new features and enhancements in Common Services 3.0.3, see:
For details on new features and enhancements in Common Services 3.0.5, see:
Understanding Time Zone Settings
Common Services and associated CiscoWorks application suites support many time zones. However, applications that have scheduling and reporting functions, and applications that produce or use time stamps vary based on:
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For detailed information, see the Release Notes included with your CiscoWorks applications.
Learning More About Common Services
You can find detailed information on the features and functions of CiscoWorks Common Services in the following chapters:
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In addition, the Online help included with Common Services provides explanations and procedures for the related tasks.
You can launch the Online help from the CiscoWorks home page. Go to the CiscoWorks home page and click Help on the top right side of the window to launch the Online help.
For tips about accessing Online help, see Using Online Help.
You can check the version details and licensing information about Common Services by clicking the About button located at the top right of the CiscoWorks home page.