User Guide for Internetwork Performance Monitor 2.5 - Overview of IPM [CiscoWorks Internetwork Performance Monitor]

Table Of Contents

Overview of IPM

What is IPM?

Key Terms and Concepts

How Does IPM Work?

Client/Server Architecture

New Features in IPM 2.5

Overview of IPM

This chapter provides an overview of Internetwork Performance Monitor (IPM) application. It contains the following sections:

•What is IPM?

•Key Terms and Concepts

•How Does IPM Work?

•Client/Server Architecture

What is IPM?

IPM is a network management application that allows you to monitor the performance of multi-protocol networks. IPM measures the latency and availability of IP networks on a hop-by-hop (router-to-router) basis. It also measures latency between routers and the mainframe in Systems Network Architecture (SNA) networks, and monitors jitter in networks with more than one server.

You can use IPM to:

•Troubleshoot problems by checking the network performance between devices.

•Send Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) traps and SNA alerts when a user-configured threshold is exceeded, a connection is lost and reestablished, or a timeout occurs.

•Analyze potential problems before they occur by accumulating statistics, which then can be used to model and design future network topologies.

•Monitor latency, availability, and errors between two network end points.

•Monitor jitter, packet loss, and errors between two network end points.

•Discover network paths between two network end points, and monitor network performance statistics on a hop-by-hop basis.

•Provide Web-based access to long-term information to help determine statistical trends.

•Monitor the availability of critical network servers.

•Monitor SNA performance in mainframe environments.

•Establish service-level agreements.

The IPM/SA Agent monitoring solution is composed of:

1. The IPM server

2. The IPM client application

3. The Service Assurance (SA) Agent feature of the Cisco IOS software

The focus of this document is the IPM network management application, which includes the server and the client. In some cases, however, it is not possible to fully describe IPM without including information about the SA Agent feature. Therefore, we have included some information about the Cisco IOS feature. Information about the SA Agent feature, provided in the latest Cisco IOS software documentation takes precedence over the information about the SA Agent feature, contained in this document.

Key Terms and Concepts

The key terms and concepts in IPM are:

•Network Performance Statistics—Five key statistics measured by IPM:

–Latency

–Availability

–Jitter

–Packet Loss

–Errors

•Source—Originating switch or router running IOS, from which IPM makes network performance measurements. The source switch or router must be running a version of Cisco IOS software that supports the SA Agent feature. For detailed information about the supported versions of the Cisco IOS software, see the "Cisco IOS Software Requirements" section in the Installation Guide for Internetwork Performance Monitor.

•Target—Destination of the network performance measurements. The target can be any IP-addressable device, an IBM Multiple Virtual Storage (MVS) mainframe that can be reached by the source router, or an SA Agent-enabled Cisco router. For jitter measurements, the target must be an SA Agent-enabled Cisco router or switch with RTR responder enabled.

•Operation—Set of parameters used in measuring network performance statistics. The parameters specify the type of measurement to be performed.

•Collector—Entity defined to measure network performance statistics from a specific router (source) to a specific device (target). The collector definition includes information about its source, target, operation, start time, duration, and type.

•Interval—How often, in seconds, the collector on the source router executes the measurement to and from the target. The value is usually every 60 seconds. The valid range is 10 to 3600 seconds (1 hour). The source router automatically aggregates all samples for a single hour into a single set of metrics for that hour. IPM retrieves these metrics from the source router once every hour.

•Duration—How long, in days, hours, and minutes, the collector runs and gathers information from the source router. The default value is forever. The valid range is 1 hour to forever.

•SA Agent Responder—Component embedded in a target Cisco router, running version 12.1 or later of the Cisco IOS software. It responds to SA Agent request packets from a source router running the SA Agent software, supporting Enhanced UDP measurements, such as jitter.

How Does IPM Work?

IPM measures and displays network performance statistics (latency, availability, jitter, packet loss, and error information) between a source router and a target device.

The target can be an IP-addressable device, an IBM MVS mainframe, or an SA Agent-enabled Cisco router:

•If the target is an IP-addressable device, it can be a network device, a server, or a workstation.

•If the target is an IBM MVS mainframe, it must be running an IPM Virtual Telecommunications Access Method (VTAM) application called NSPECHO for measuring SNA latency. See the "Installing NSPECHO to Measure SNA Response Times" chapter of the Installation Guide for Internetwork Performance Monitor for more information.

•If the target is an SA Agent-enabled router, the router must be running version 12.1 or later of the Cisco IOS software. The IPM application is used to configure the SA Agent in each source router. The SA Agent measures the performance between the source router and the target device.

Once every hour, the source router aggregates all measurements into a single sample value for each network performance statistic. IPM gathers the data from the source routers once per hour and stores it in the IPM database.

IPM also provides a real-time feature that allows you to display the data without waiting for the one-hour data collection interval. However, the data displayed in the Real Time window is not stored in the IPM database.

Additionally, IPM provides an extensive set of reports and graphs for viewing and analyzing the collected performance metrics. IPM supports both standalone and Web-based clients in a multi-platform environment.

Client/Server Architecture

IPM provides central services and database functions on an IPM server, which communicates through a messaging interface to multiple IPM clients (Figure 1-1). The IPM software consists of server software and client software components that can be installed on the same workstation or on different workstations.

Figure 1-1 IPM Client/Server Architecture

For this release of IPM, the server software runs on Solaris 2.7, Solaris 2.8, and Windows 2000 Professional or Windows 2000 server systems. The client software runs on Solaris 2.7, Solaris 2.8, Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000 Professional or Windows 2000 Server (with SP3) platforms.

The client/server architecture is cross-platform compatible, which allows you to run the client and server software in mixed operating system environments. For example, you can run the IPM server on a Solaris workstation and access it from an IPM client running on a Windows workstation.

Note IPM does not support Network Address Translation (NAT), Port Address Translation (PAT) and Firewall between client and server.

The IPM server software consists of a group of functional services that manage the data among the network, client workstations, and the centralized database. The IPM server manages the exchange of data between the IPM database and the network devices, such as the source routers. The IPM process manager launches and manages all of the IPM servers, providing a robust and reliable launching platform for IPM.

The IPM client software communicates with the IPM server. You can install the IPM client software on the same workstation as the IPM server software, or on a different workstation on the same network as the IPM server. The IPM client integrates with the CiscoWorks desktop.

From a Web browser running on a Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 2000 Server (with SP3), Solaris 2.7, or a Solaris 2.8 workstation on the network, you can:

•Access the source, target, operation, and collector definitions.

•View Web-based reports of the performance metrics.

•Download/Launch the IPM client.

•View Web-based troubleshooting information.

•Determine the version of IPM that has been installed.

•View seed files.

All the above functions can also be launched via the CiscoWorks desktop.

New Features in IPM 2.5

These are the new features in IPM 2.5:

•Support to specify DHCP server for DHCP operations. You can specify a DHCP server name or address to be used for DHCP operations. This resolves the issue of any router (rather than a specific DHCP router) responding when you have different DHCP servers configured in different subnets connected to different source router interfaces.

•Support for performance measurement of FTP operations. In addition to the support for operations such as echo, pathecho, and DLSw, IPM allows you to configure FTP operations on a router. It also allows you to find out the time it takes to complete the FTP operation.

In this operation, you will be able to choose the mode of FTP session (active/passive) as well as the packet priority.

•Source interface: When you define an SAA test, you can specify the IP address of the source. This address will be used by the targets when they respond to the source device.

IPM operates in either of the following modes:

–Mode 1: In this mode, IPM does not set the source IP address. This is the default mode of operation.

–Mode 2: In this mode, IPM sets the IP address to the address of the source known to it.

IPM configures the collectors on the source devices without the source address. The source uses the standard routing mechanisms to identify the outgoing interface and uses its address as the source address.

You can change the default behavior (Mode 1), and switch to Mode 2 by changing the configuration file and restarting IPM.

For details, on setting the source interface address, see the "Managed Source Interface Settings" section.

•Support for migration of HTML reports for inline and remote upgrade. When you upgrade to IPM 2.5 from IPM 2.3 or 2.4, in addition to the database, environmental variables, seed files, the HTML reports would also be preserved.

•Support to specify proxy server for HTTP operations. IPM allows you to specify a proxy server for the HTTP operations.

•SSL Compliance: You can install IPM 2.5 on a machine that is running SSL-enabled CiscoWorks applications. However, it has to be noted that IPM is not SSL-compliant, but it can co-exist with other SSL-compliant CiscoWorks applications.

•Support for Firewall, and support for multi-homed systems: IPM 2.5 is tested with firewalls, and also with multi-homed systems.

For more details, see the relevant FAQ chapter in the User Guide.

	User Guide for Internetwork Performance Monitor 2.5
	Overview of IPM
User Guide for Internetwork Performance Monitor 2.5 Index Preface Overview of IPM Getting Started with IPM Using IPM to Measure Network Performance Modifying IPM Components Accessing IPM Data from a Web Browser IPM FAQ IPM Command Reference SA Agent Feature Mapping Glossary	Download this chapter Overview of IPM Download the complete book User Guide for Internetwork Performance Monitor (complete document) (PDF - 4 MB) Table Of Contents Overview of IPM What is IPM? Key Terms and Concepts How Does IPM Work? Client/Server Architecture New Features in IPM 2.5 Overview of IPM This chapter provides an overview of Internetwork Performance Monitor (IPM) application. It contains the following sections: •What is IPM? •Key Terms and Concepts •How Does IPM Work? •Client/Server Architecture What is IPM? IPM is a network management application that allows you to monitor the performance of multi-protocol networks. IPM measures the latency and availability of IP networks on a hop-by-hop (router-to-router) basis. It also measures latency between routers and the mainframe in Systems Network Architecture (SNA) networks, and monitors jitter in networks with more than one server. You can use IPM to: •Troubleshoot problems by checking the network performance between devices. •Send Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) traps and SNA alerts when a user-configured threshold is exceeded, a connection is lost and reestablished, or a timeout occurs. •Analyze potential problems before they occur by accumulating statistics, which then can be used to model and design future network topologies. •Monitor latency, availability, and errors between two network end points. •Monitor jitter, packet loss, and errors between two network end points. •Discover network paths between two network end points, and monitor network performance statistics on a hop-by-hop basis. •Provide Web-based access to long-term information to help determine statistical trends. •Monitor the availability of critical network servers. •Monitor SNA performance in mainframe environments. •Establish service-level agreements. The IPM/SA Agent monitoring solution is composed of: 1. The IPM server 2. The IPM client application 3. The Service Assurance (SA) Agent feature of the Cisco IOS software The focus of this document is the IPM network management application, which includes the server and the client. In some cases, however, it is not possible to fully describe IPM without including information about the SA Agent feature. Therefore, we have included some information about the Cisco IOS feature. Information about the SA Agent feature, provided in the latest Cisco IOS software documentation takes precedence over the information about the SA Agent feature, contained in this document. Key Terms and Concepts The key terms and concepts in IPM are: •Network Performance Statistics—Five key statistics measured by IPM: –Latency –Availability –Jitter –Packet Loss –Errors •Source—Originating switch or router running IOS, from which IPM makes network performance measurements. The source switch or router must be running a version of Cisco IOS software that supports the SA Agent feature. For detailed information about the supported versions of the Cisco IOS software, see the "Cisco IOS Software Requirements" section in the Installation Guide for Internetwork Performance Monitor. •Target—Destination of the network performance measurements. The target can be any IP-addressable device, an IBM Multiple Virtual Storage (MVS) mainframe that can be reached by the source router, or an SA Agent-enabled Cisco router. For jitter measurements, the target must be an SA Agent-enabled Cisco router or switch with RTR responder enabled. •Operation—Set of parameters used in measuring network performance statistics. The parameters specify the type of measurement to be performed. •Collector—Entity defined to measure network performance statistics from a specific router (source) to a specific device (target). The collector definition includes information about its source, target, operation, start time, duration, and type. •Interval—How often, in seconds, the collector on the source router executes the measurement to and from the target. The value is usually every 60 seconds. The valid range is 10 to 3600 seconds (1 hour). The source router automatically aggregates all samples for a single hour into a single set of metrics for that hour. IPM retrieves these metrics from the source router once every hour. •Duration—How long, in days, hours, and minutes, the collector runs and gathers information from the source router. The default value is forever. The valid range is 1 hour to forever. •SA Agent Responder—Component embedded in a target Cisco router, running version 12.1 or later of the Cisco IOS software. It responds to SA Agent request packets from a source router running the SA Agent software, supporting Enhanced UDP measurements, such as jitter. How Does IPM Work? IPM measures and displays network performance statistics (latency, availability, jitter, packet loss, and error information) between a source router and a target device. The target can be an IP-addressable device, an IBM MVS mainframe, or an SA Agent-enabled Cisco router: •If the target is an IP-addressable device, it can be a network device, a server, or a workstation. •If the target is an IBM MVS mainframe, it must be running an IPM Virtual Telecommunications Access Method (VTAM) application called NSPECHO for measuring SNA latency. See the "Installing NSPECHO to Measure SNA Response Times" chapter of the Installation Guide for Internetwork Performance Monitor for more information. •If the target is an SA Agent-enabled router, the router must be running version 12.1 or later of the Cisco IOS software. The IPM application is used to configure the SA Agent in each source router. The SA Agent measures the performance between the source router and the target device. Once every hour, the source router aggregates all measurements into a single sample value for each network performance statistic. IPM gathers the data from the source routers once per hour and stores it in the IPM database. IPM also provides a real-time feature that allows you to display the data without waiting for the one-hour data collection interval. However, the data displayed in the Real Time window is not stored in the IPM database. Additionally, IPM provides an extensive set of reports and graphs for viewing and analyzing the collected performance metrics. IPM supports both standalone and Web-based clients in a multi-platform environment. Client/Server Architecture IPM provides central services and database functions on an IPM server, which communicates through a messaging interface to multiple IPM clients (Figure 1-1). The IPM software consists of server software and client software components that can be installed on the same workstation or on different workstations. Figure 1-1 IPM Client/Server Architecture For this release of IPM, the server software runs on Solaris 2.7, Solaris 2.8, and Windows 2000 Professional or Windows 2000 server systems. The client software runs on Solaris 2.7, Solaris 2.8, Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000 Professional or Windows 2000 Server (with SP3) platforms. The client/server architecture is cross-platform compatible, which allows you to run the client and server software in mixed operating system environments. For example, you can run the IPM server on a Solaris workstation and access it from an IPM client running on a Windows workstation. Note IPM does not support Network Address Translation (NAT), Port Address Translation (PAT) and Firewall between client and server. The IPM server software consists of a group of functional services that manage the data among the network, client workstations, and the centralized database. The IPM server manages the exchange of data between the IPM database and the network devices, such as the source routers. The IPM process manager launches and manages all of the IPM servers, providing a robust and reliable launching platform for IPM. The IPM client software communicates with the IPM server. You can install the IPM client software on the same workstation as the IPM server software, or on a different workstation on the same network as the IPM server. The IPM client integrates with the CiscoWorks desktop. From a Web browser running on a Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 2000 Server (with SP3), Solaris 2.7, or a Solaris 2.8 workstation on the network, you can: •Access the source, target, operation, and collector definitions. •View Web-based reports of the performance metrics. •Download/Launch the IPM client. •View Web-based troubleshooting information. •Determine the version of IPM that has been installed. •View seed files. All the above functions can also be launched via the CiscoWorks desktop. New Features in IPM 2.5 These are the new features in IPM 2.5: •Support to specify DHCP server for DHCP operations. You can specify a DHCP server name or address to be used for DHCP operations. This resolves the issue of any router (rather than a specific DHCP router) responding when you have different DHCP servers configured in different subnets connected to different source router interfaces. •Support for performance measurement of FTP operations. In addition to the support for operations such as echo, pathecho, and DLSw, IPM allows you to configure FTP operations on a router. It also allows you to find out the time it takes to complete the FTP operation. In this operation, you will be able to choose the mode of FTP session (active/passive) as well as the packet priority. •Source interface: When you define an SAA test, you can specify the IP address of the source. This address will be used by the targets when they respond to the source device. IPM operates in either of the following modes: –Mode 1: In this mode, IPM does not set the source IP address. This is the default mode of operation. –Mode 2: In this mode, IPM sets the IP address to the address of the source known to it. IPM configures the collectors on the source devices without the source address. The source uses the standard routing mechanisms to identify the outgoing interface and uses its address as the source address. You can change the default behavior (Mode 1), and switch to Mode 2 by changing the configuration file and restarting IPM. For details, on setting the source interface address, see the "Managed Source Interface Settings" section. •Support for migration of HTML reports for inline and remote upgrade. When you upgrade to IPM 2.5 from IPM 2.3 or 2.4, in addition to the database, environmental variables, seed files, the HTML reports would also be preserved. •Support to specify proxy server for HTTP operations. IPM allows you to specify a proxy server for the HTTP operations. •SSL Compliance: You can install IPM 2.5 on a machine that is running SSL-enabled CiscoWorks applications. However, it has to be noted that IPM is not SSL-compliant, but it can co-exist with other SSL-compliant CiscoWorks applications. •Support for Firewall, and support for multi-homed systems: IPM 2.5 is tested with firewalls, and also with multi-homed systems. For more details, see the relevant FAQ chapter in the User Guide.
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