Table Of Contents
Getting Started with DFM
Working with DFM Windows
Using Help
Understanding the Dates and Times Displayed
Using Tabular Displays
Paging and Sorting Tabular Displays
Exporting Data from Tabular Displays
Printing Tabular Displays
Selecting Objects and Groups
Understanding Your User Role
Responding to Security Alerts
Responding to Messages About Device Limits
Getting Started with DFM
These topics help you to work with and understand the Device Fault Manager (DFM) user interface:
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Working with DFM Windows
•Using Tabular Displays
•Selecting Objects and Groups
•Understanding Your User Role
•Responding to Security Alerts
•Responding to Messages About Device Limits
Working with DFM Windows
This topic focuses on questions you may have when you first start to work with the DFM user interface:
What is the purpose of the DFM Home Page?
The DFM home page opens when you click Device Fault Manager > Home on the LMS Portal. The DFM home page is an easy way to access frequently used operations. The following links are available.
Device Management
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Notification Services
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Faults
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Configuration
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Add Device
Device Rediscovery
Device Summary
Device Import
Device Details
Discovery Status
Rediscovery Schedule
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Notification Services
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Alerts
Fault History
Fault History Group/Device Search
Fault History Alert/Event ID Search
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Polling and Thresholds
DFM Group Administration
Trap Forwarding
Data Purge
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The tabs on the DFM home page are the portals for all DFM-related tasks: starting an Alerts and Activities display, running Fault History reports, managing devices in the DFM inventory, configuring notifications, and performing system configuration on DFM.
What is the purpose of the CiscoWorks LMS Portal?
The CiscoWorks LMS Portal replaces the CiscoWorks home page, and provides quick access to status information and CiscoWorks functions. It is the default window that opens when you first log on to the CiscoWorks server. The portal provides easy access to network and device information related to configuration, reporting, performance, and fault management. You can customize the portal depending on your role. For information on the portal, refer to User Guide for LMS Portal 1.0.
Why are multiple windows open?
For ease of use, DFM opens separate windows for each application, and sometimes for functions within applications. Opening multiple browser windows allows you to:
•Refer to information from one display to complete a task in another window
•Rapidly compare information on different displays.
When DFM opens a new browser window, it does not close previously opened windows. You can close browser windows when you are done with them.
Note If you close the CiscoWorks window while displaying Alerts and Activities in the Device Fault Manager browser windows, links in those windows will continue to function. In contrast, if you log out of CiscoWorks, links from those windows will return errors and you will need to log in to CiscoWorks again.
Why do I see the error "The page cannot be displayed"?
DFM displays often include links to more detailed information. Right-clicking a link and selecting Open in New Window is not supported. It is expected behavior for this error to appear.
When I press the Enter key, why doesn't DFM complete the current task?
DFM does not accept pressing the Enter key as a substitute for clicking buttons, such as OK, Finish, or Next, on the application page.
Where is the help button?
You can access help by clicking the Help link at the top right of any home page—the CiscoWorks home page, the DFM home page, or any other application's home page. See Using Help.
Using Help
To start DFM help:
1. Launch any DFM display from the LMS portal. See What is the purpose of the DFM Home Page?.
2. Click the Help link near the top right of the page (the Alerts and Activities display provides a Help button).
Note If you have selected an option in any home page, the context-sensitive help for that option is displayed.
Help is displayed in a separate browser window that remains open until you close it. Online help includes an index and search capability. You can access CiscoWorks help by clicking Main at the top right of the help page.
Understanding the Dates and Times Displayed
Dates and times displayed by DFM reflect the date, time, and time zone set on the server where DFM is installed. If the client system you use to run DFM is located in a time zone other than the time zone set on the server, you will notice the difference; for example:
•Status "as of" the current date and time will not display your local time and time zone and may not match your local date.
•Dates and times shown for previous events are recorded (and displayed) with the server time stamp, which is offset from your local time.
There are no settings that you can change on the client to affect the time zone displayed by DFM. However, you can obtain information about the time zone acronyms and offsets used by DFM in Release Notes for CiscoWorks Common Services 3.1. To see the release notes, log in to Cisco.com and go to the Common Services documentation at http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/cscowork/ps3996/tsd_products_support_series_home.html.
Using Tabular Displays
DFM presents information in tabular displays when the amount of data to be displayed or manipulated could be quite large. Tabular displays ease the task of handling information by providing the following features:
•Sorting—You can sort a tabular display in the order you prefer by clicking any clickable column heading.
•Direct page access—You can browse a tabular display screen by screen or jump to any screen number in the range by entering a screen number.
•Data export—You can export data from a tabular display to a comma separated values (CSV) file, a Portable Document Format (PDF) file, or both, depending upon the tabular display that you are using. See the icon in Table 2-1.
•Printer friendly—You can format the tabular display for a printer and print the result from the browser. Like the tabular display, the print-friendly browser display includes a maximum of 2,000 records. See the icon in Table 2-1.
Table 2-1 Tabular Displays—Export and Print-Friendly Icons
Icon
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Action
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Exports all data to either a CSV file or a PDF file.
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Reformats the displayed records into print-friendly format, and displays them in a new browser window.
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Paging and Sorting Tabular Displays
The sort order for any tabular display is indicated by the presence of a triangle in the column heading. A triangle pointing down indicates records in descending order, which is the default, while a triangle pointing up indicates records in ascending order.
Step 1 To sort a tabular display, click any blue column heading label.
The first time you click a column heading on a previously unsorted column, data in that column is sorted in descending order. If you click the column heading again, the records will be sorted in the reverse order.
Exporting Data from Tabular Displays
All tabular displays can be exported as comma separated values (CSV) files. Some tabular displays can also be exported as PDF files.
Note To open a PDF file, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 or higher installed on your client system. However, you can save a file as a PDF file even if you do not have Acrobat Reader on your system.
Step 1 Click the data export icon located on the top-right side of the tabular display. See the icon in Table 2-1.
Step 2 If the dialog box Export to appears, select one of the following and click OK:
•CSV
•PDF
Note Some tabular displays may only support CSV exports.
Step 3 Save the export file in one of the following ways:
•If you selected PDF and have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your client system, the PDF file opens. To save the PDF file, select File > Save as from the browser and follow the online instructions to save the file.
•If you selected PDF and do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed, or if you selected CSV, follow the online instructions to save the file.
Printing Tabular Displays
Step 1 Click the print-friendly icon located on the top-right side of the tabular display. See the icon in Table 2-1.
A new browser window opens, displaying the data in print-friendly format.
Step 2 Print the tabular display from the new browser window.
Selecting Objects and Groups
As you use DFM, you will often need to select something—a device or a device group, for example—before you can view information or complete a task. Groups and devices displayed in a selector differ depending upon the application:
•By discovery status—for example, known and questioned devices. Device states are described in Understanding the Device Summary and Device States.
•By device type—for example, Routers or Switches. These groups are controlled by Common Services; see the User Guide for CiscoWorks Common Services 3.1 for more information.
•By Group Administration—for example, Customizable Access Groups (under User Defined Groups). Managing Groups, explains how to work with these groups.
The following table describes the categories you may see in the device selector windows.
Group
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Description
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Discovery Status Groups
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All Known Devices
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A container for all devices that were successfully imported and are being managed by DFM.
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All Learning Devices
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A container for all devices DFM is in the process of discovering.
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All Pending Devices
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A container for all devices that are in the process of being deleted from DFM.
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All Questioned Devices
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A container for all devices that DFM cannot manage.
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Device Type Groups
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All Devices
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A container for all devices that were successfully imported and are being managed by DFM.
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Device Type Groups
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Same as Common Services System Defined Groups. As the name implies, devices are grouped together by their type.
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Group Administration Groups
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CS@MARVER_DAILY
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Groups that are controlled by Common Services.
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System Defined Groups
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Groups that Common Services predefines and controls.
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User Defined Groups
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Groups provided by Common Services to help you organize devices into groups that you define, based on characteristics you choose; for example, device location. These are controlled by selecting Common Services > Groups > Group Admin.
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DFM@MARVER-DAILY
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Groups that are controlled by DFM.
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DFM System Defined Groups
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Groups that are predefined and controlled by DFM.
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Access Port Groups
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Predefined access port groups used by DFM.
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Interface Port Groups
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Predefined interface port groups used by DFM.
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Trunk Port Groups
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Predefined trunk port groups used by DFM.
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DFM User Defined Groups
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Groups provided by DFM to help you organize ports, interfaces, and devices into groups that you define, based on characteristics you choose; for example, Backup interfaces in a certain device group. These groups are used by Polling and Thresholds and other DFM functions.
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Customizable Access Port Groups
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Groups the user can customize to track access ports.
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Customizable Groups
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Groups the user can customize to track devices.
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Customizable Interface Groups
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Groups the user can customize to track interfaces.
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Customizable Trunk Port Groups
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Groups the user can customize to track trunk ports.
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With many devices in DFM, it can sometimes be difficult to locate the devices in which you are interested. To assist you in locating devices, DFM provides a search option in the device selector page when it is launched from certain locations.
Note For a detailed description of how to customize the device selector, see the User Guide for CiscoWorks Common Services 3.1.
The device selector pane lists all DFM devices in a group. The devices are listed in the appropriate groups based on group rules.
Enter the search criteria in the Search Input field. The search criteria can be:
•IP Address—Enter the Device IP Address.
•DNS Name—Enter search criteria to match the DNS name.
You can enter multiple criteria separated with a comma. You can also enter a wildcard character (*) or a question mark (?) to select multiple devices.
You have three options:
•All—Choose this tab to include all the devices. Click the Search Results tab to display the list of devices. From here you can select some or all of the devices to proceed. Then click the Selection tab to display the chosen devices and continue with the original task.
•Simple search—Enter text in the <Search Input> text box. You can enter the wildcard (*) in the search input, for example 10.77.*.* or *.cisco1.com. Click the search arrow or press Enter. Click the Search Results tab to display the list of devices. From here you have the option to select some or all of the devices to proceed. Then click the Selection tab to display the chosen devices and continue with the original task.
•Advanced search—Click the advanced search tool. A dialog box that includes the advanced search options opens. Choose the attributes you want to include and click Add Rule Expression. The rule is displayed in the Rule Text pane. You can add other attributes using the OR, AND, and EXCLUDE expressions. For more information about rules, see Understanding Rules. This will create a rule which you can check, if required, by clicking Check Syntax. When the search criteria are specified, click Search. The results are displayed; click the Search Results tab. From here you can select some or all of the devices to proceed. Then click the Selection tab to display the chosen devices and continue with the original task.
Note You can create an accumulated list by combining results from different searches. When devices have been chosen and placed in the Selection pane, continue your search and selection, then place these in the Selection pane.
Understanding Your User Role
When you log in to DFM, you enter the username and password assigned to you by a system administrator. Your username is associated with either a CiscoWorks role or a Cisco Secure Access Control Server (ACS) role. By default, CiscoWorks and ACS roles are the same, but an ACS administrator can modify the ACS roles. User roles control the functions that you are allowed to see and use from the DFM home page. If you cannot locate a function in the DFM home page, the task is not permitted for the user role. For more information, do the following:
•View the CiscoWorks Permission Report to determine which tasks are permitted for each user role. From the Common Services home page, select Server > Reports > Permission Report and click Generate Report.
•View the ACS report by logging onto the ACS server and select Shared Profile Components. Refer to the ACS online help for more information.
For more information, refer to these topics:
•Configuring Users (ACS and Non-ACS)
•Using DFM in ACS Mode
Responding to Security Alerts
The first time you select nearly any DFM function, you will see a Security Alert window displayed. You should install the self-signed security certificate. You should do this once, on each client system you use to access DFM.
Note If you see a Security Alert Window with a message that the certificate has expired, you should contact a user with System Administrator privileges to create a self-signed security certificate, and then install it.
Note If you do not install the self-signed security certificate, you may not be able to access some DFM application pages.
Step 1 Click the View Certificates button on the Security Alert window. The Certificate window is displayed.
Step 2 Install the certificate as follows:
a. Click the Install Certificate button. The Certificate Import Wizard window is displayed.
b. Follow the instructions provided by the Certificate Import wizard.
Responding to Messages About Device Limits
If you exceed your server's device limit, DFM will continue to work, but it will not allow you to import any more devices. What happens next depends on your device import setting:
•Manual synchronization with DCR—When you use the Device Import page to move devices from the DCR into DFM, DFM will display a popup message warning you that you cannot import any more devices (see Understanding the Device and Credentials Repository).
•Customized, filtered import or full import from the DCR—You will notice that devices are not appearing on DFM pages. You can check the license log for more information (see Viewing and Maintaining Log Files).
For information about device-based licensing, see Installation and Getting Started Guide for LAN Management Solution 3.0.
