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Release Notes for CiscoWorks Network Compliance Manager 1.7.01

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Table Of Contents

Release Notes for CiscoWorks Network Compliance Manager 1.7.01

Contents

Introduction

Installing the CiscoWorks NCM 1.7.01 Patch

What's Been Fixed in CiscoWorks NCM 1.7.01

Supported Platforms

Supported Databases

Additional CiscoWorks NCM Configurations

Virtual Environments

Additional Required Applications

Hardware Requirements

Accessing the CiscoWorks NCM Documentation Set

Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request


Release Notes for CiscoWorks Network Compliance Manager 1.7.01

These release notes are for CiscoWorks Network Compliance Manager (NCM) 1.7.01.

CiscoWorks NCM 1.7.01 is a patch release that you can install on top of CiscoWorks NCM 1.7.

Note The Docs tab provided in the CiscoWorks NCM user interface might not include links to the latest documents. Therefore, we recommend that you access the CiscoWorks NCM documentation set using the following URL: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6923/tsd_products_support_series_home.html

Contents

This document contains the following sections:

•Introduction

•Installing the CiscoWorks NCM 1.7.01 Patch

•What's Been Fixed in CiscoWorks NCM 1.7.01

•Supported Platforms

•Supported Databases

•Additional CiscoWorks NCM Configurations

•Virtual Environments

•Additional Required Applications

•Hardware Requirements

•Accessing the CiscoWorks NCM Documentation Set

•Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request

Introduction

CiscoWorks NCM tracks and regulates configuration and software changes in a multivendor network environment. It provides visibility into network changes and tracks compliance with a broad variety of regulatory, IT, corporate governance, and technology requirements. CiscoWorks NCM helps IT staff identify and correct trends that could lead to problems, such as network instability and service interruption.

CiscoWorks NCM is integrated with CiscoWorks and is initially launchable from the CiscoWorks home page. CiscoWorks NCM is interoperable with other CiscoWorks applications, such as the LAN Management Solution (LMS) bundle through the Common Services Device Credential Repository (DCR).

Installing the CiscoWorks NCM 1.7.01 Patch

To install the CiscoWorks NCM 1.7.01 patch:

Step 1 Unzip the patch bundle on the CiscoWorks NCM server.

Step 2 Run the patch script.

For Windows, execute the patch.bat script from the command line.

For Linux or Solaris, execute the patch.sh script using the following commands:

% sh patch.sh

or

% ./patch.sh

A log file named patch.log is created in the <CWNCM_Install_Directory>/server/log/ directory, when the patch script is executed. The errors that occur during the installation process are logged in the patch.log file.

The patch installer creates a subdirectory named patch_backups in the root of the CiscoWorks NCM installation directory. This subdirectory includes a directory with the patch build number. The files that are changed by the patch installer are backed up in this directory. The backup.log file lists the files that are backed up and the original location of the files.

In a Multimaster or Horizontal Scalability environment, apply this patch to all NCM servers.

To remove the patch and roll back to the pre-patch state:

Step 1 Stop the NCM Management Engine.

Step 2 Manually restore the files listed in the backup.log file to their original locations.

Step 3 Back out any changes made to the .rcx files, if applicable.

Step 4 Restart the NCM Management Engine.

What's Been Fixed in CiscoWorks NCM 1.7.01

Table 1 describes the issues fixed in CiscoWorks NCM 1.7.01.

Table 1 Issues Fixed in CiscoWorks NCM 1.7.01 

Bug ID
Bug Summary
Fix Description

QCCR1B86242

Policy tag feature is not working properly for users with full access.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B87670

There are HTML processing errors.

After installing the patch, select the Cross site scripting check box available in the UI on the Admin > Administrative Settings > User Interface page under Security.

QCCR1B87671

There are problems with SQL.

 

QCCR1B87674

There are application errors.

After installing the patch,

1. Go to Admin > Administrative Settings > User Interface

2. Under Security, clear the Show Stack Traces check box.

3. Under Miscellaneous, select the Disable hidden stack trace output check box.

4. Under Miscellaneous, select the Disable detailed exception message output check box.

QCCR1B87826

The test policy may fail for the rule condition must not contain.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B87934

The device IP addresses are not updated after the primary IP address change.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B87936

Scripts cause a NullPointerException when run in a group.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B88153

The list device API shows the vendor name as the status.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B88444

The system becomes non-responsive during dynamic device group calculation and needs to be restarted to restore service.

This fix addresses the issue of multiple threads calculating dynamic groups simultaneously.

The following options in the adjustable_options.rcx file control dynamic group calculation:

•dynamic_group/disable

•dynamic_group/disable_queued

•dynamic_group/disable_event_listener

•monitor/DynamicDeviceGroupMonitor/enabled

•dynamic_group/update_interval --- in minutes

•dynamic_group/queued_update_interval --- in minutes

The recommended configuration of these options is:

•<option name="dynamic_group/disable">false</option>

•<option name="dynamic_group/disable_queued">true</option>

•<option name="dynamic_group/disable_event_listener">true</option>

•<option name="monitor/DynamicDeviceGroupMonitor/enabled">false</option>

•<option name="dynamic_group/update_interval">30</option>

•<option name="dynamic_group/queued_update_interval">1</option>

Edit the adjustable_options.rcx with the recommended configuration, and then restart the NCM management engine.

Note In a Multimaster or Horizontal Scalability environment, set the dynamic_group/disable option to false on one core. An all other cores, set the dynamic_group/disable option to true.

QCCR1B88630

In View > Device > Single view the page times out.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B88631

View Configuration Changes page loads very slowly.

If you notice a large number of records in the RN_DEVICE_ACCESS_LOG table, run the following SQL command on the database:

Note Modify the date ('2011-03-26' in this example) to match your pruning schedule.

On Oracle:

Delete from rn_device_access_log

WHERE isConfigChange = 0

AND NoPrune = 0

AND ConfigID IS NULL

AND CreateDate < to_date('2011-03-26','yyyy-mm-dd')

AND NOT EXISTS (SELECT deviceaccesslogid FROM rn_diagnostic_data WHERE rn_device_access_log.deviceaccesslogid = rn_diagnostic_data.deviceaccesslogid)

AND NOT EXISTS

(SELECT deviceaccesslogid FROM rn_device_data WHERE rn_device_access_log.deviceaccesslogid = rn_device_data.deviceaccesslogid);

On Microsoft SQL server or MySql:

DELETE FROM rn_device_access_log

WHERE isConfigChange = 0

AND NoPrune = 0

AND ConfigID IS NULL

AND CreateDate < '2011-03-26'

AND NOT EXISTS

(SELECT deviceaccesslogid FROM rn_diagnostic_data

WHERE rn_device_access_log.deviceaccesslogid =

rn_diagnostic_data.deviceaccesslogid)

AND NOT EXISTS

(SELECT deviceaccesslogid FROM rn_device_data

WHERE rn_device_access_log.deviceaccesslogid =rn_device_data.deviceaccesslogid);

QCCR1B88968

The hostname is changed to primary IP by the resolve FQDN task even though the task fails.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B89124

Removing the old diagnostic script does not delete all related information.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B89125

The list device API call does not return the value for driverName.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B89386

Device Search is extremely slow when Config Text is a criterion.

This fix enables the contains (full text) search of Configuration Text.

The contains (full text) search is an indexed search and requires the database to be enabled for full text search.

Because the contains (full text) search is indexed, it returns results faster than does the contains search. However, the contains (full text) search supports fewer options than does the contains search.

For descriptions of the supported options for contains (full text), see Usage in this section.

Enable Full Text Search

On Oracle:

1. Verify that Oracle Text is enabled and has the required privileges.

a. The CTXSYS schema must be installed in the database instance.

b. Grant EXECUTE privileges on CTX_DDL package to the NCM database user:

GRANT EXECUTE ON CTX_DDL TO <ncm db user>;

For more information, see: http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/B19306_01/text.102/b14217/admin.htm

2. Verify that enough tablespace is available in the user schema, at least 30%-40% of the size of RN_DEVICE_DATA table.

3. Generate the full text index by using one of the following approaches:

Approach 1:

a. Stop the NCM management engine.

b. Log on to the NCM proxy with the credentials used to install NCM.

c. At a SQL prompt, run the following statement:

CREATE INDEX CWNCMftsDVDDataBlock ON RN_DEVICE_DATA(DataBlock) INDEXTYPE IS CTXSYS.CONTEXT;

Be sure to commit.

Note This statement creates the index and starts indexing process which takes time to complete, depending on the size of the RN_DEVICE_DATA table. To avoid data corruption, do not interrupt this command.

QCCR1B89386 continued

 

4. Verify that the index was created.

At a SQL prompt, run the following statement:

SELECT index_name,index_type,status,domidx_status,domidx_opstatus from user_indexes where index_type = 'DOMAIN';

All three of the status values should be valid for the CWNCM ftsDVDDataBlock index name:

•status

•domidx_status

•domidx_opstatus

Note If any of the status values is INVALID, drop the index and recreate it. For example, to drop the index: DROP INDEX CWNCMftsDVDDataBlock; To force the index drop: DROP INDEX HPNAftsDVDDataBlock FORCE;

Approach 2:

a. Verify that no Take Snapshot tasks are running.

b. Log on to the NCM proxy with the credentials used to install NCM.

c. Run the following command:

run checkdb -fix -resolver addsearchindex -verbose

Note This command takes time to complete, depending on the size of the RN_DEVICE_DATA table. To avoid data corruption, do not interrupt his command.

d. In the verbose output, verify that this run did not generate any SQL/ORACLE exceptions.

e. Edit the adjustable_options.rcx file to set:

<option name="fulltextsearch/enabled">true</option>

f. Restart the NCM management engine.

On MSSQL:

1. Verify that MSSQL Full Text Search service is installed and enabled by using one of the following approaches:

•Using MSSQL Configuration Manager, determine whether the SQL Server FullText Search service is installed and started.

QCCR1B89386 continued

 

Using SQL Management Studio, run the following select statement:

SELECT fulltextserviceproperty('IsFulltextInstalled');

This statement returns 1 if the database is full-text enabled and 0 if it is not enabled.

2. Remove the MSSQL noise words. Follow the procedure for the specific MSSQL version:

MSSQL 2005

a. Change to the $SQL_Server_Install_Path\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\FTDATA\ directory.

b. Create a backup copy of the noiseENU.txt file.

c. Delete all entries in the noiseENU.txt file to leave an empty

file.

For more information on how to edit noise words, see:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms142551%28SQL.90%29.aspx

MSSQL 2008

By default no noise words are enabled.

3. Generate the full text index:

a. Log on to the NCM proxy with the credentials used to install NCM.

b. Run the following command:

run checkdb -fix -resolver addsearchindex -verbose

Note On MSSQL this command returns immediately and starts full-text indexing. Wait some time before you start using the new search. In the verbose output, verify that this run did not generate any SQL exceptions.

4. Edit the adjustable_options.rcx file to set:

<option name="fulltextsearch/enabled">true</option>

5. Restart the NCM management engine.

MySql:

This feature is not supported.

QCCR1B89386 continued

 

Multimaster Environment

Enable full text search on all NCM servers and databases in the

Multimaster setup.

Usage

After full text search is enabled, faster configuration text search is

available for the following options:

•Reports > Search For > Devices > Configuration Text > contains (full text)

•Reports > Search For > Configurations > Configuration Text > contains (full text)

•Reports > Search For > Device Templates > Configuration Text > contains (full text)

•Reports > Advanced Search > Search Criteria > Configuration Text > contains (full text)

•Could also create Dynamic groups based on Search Criteria > Configuration Text > contains (full text)

Similarly, these searches also support searching for configuration text that does not contain (full text). The search is case insensitive for the contains (full text) and does not contain (full text) operators.

Specific search usage

•Search for a single word (a sequence of characters containing no spaces):

Valid examples: interface, telnet, snmp

•Search for a single word using the wildcard:

The asterisk character (*) is the only supported wildcard. This wildcard must be at the end of the search phrase.

Valid examples: interf*, tel*

•Search for an IP address (same as searching for a single word):

The asterisk character (*) is the only supported wildcard; this wildcard must be at the end of the search phrase.

•Search for an IPV4 address is supported and treated as single word.

Valid examples:

–10.11.12.13 results in exact match

–10.11.12.* results in all addresses that start with 10.11.12

–10.11.* results in all addresses that start with 10.11

QCCR1B89386 continued

 

•Search for a phrase (a sequence of characters containing one or more white spaces):

Valid examples: set vlan, set vpn name

•Search for a phrase using the wildcard:

The asterisk character (*) is the only supported wildcard. This wildcard must represent one or more complete words within of the search phrase. The * must NOT be at the end of the search phrase.

Use a space on either side of the *. otherwise NCM treats the search as a word using the wildcard.

Valid examples: set * name, telnet * table * settings

•Logical operators (AND, OR, NOT, ACCUM, EQUIV) are not supported nor considered as part of search string.

Known Issue

ORACLE

If a Take Snapshot task is running during the generation of the full text index, you might see the following error:

java.sql.SQLException: ORA-29861: domain index is marked LOADING/FAILED/UNUSABLE

Disable Full Text Search

1. Edit the adjustable_options.rcx file to <option name="fulltextsearch/enabled">false</option>

or

Delete this option from the file.)

2. Remove the full text index

a. Verify that no Take Snapshot tasks are running.

b. Log on to the NCM proxy, and then run the following command:

run checkdb -fix -resolver removesearchindex

3. If any dynamic groups are configured to use the contains (full text)

or does not contain (full text) operator.

Edit or delete these dynamic group configurations.

QCCR1B89604

Creating a device group from the results of a search takes more than 15 seconds.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B89607

Diagnostics page loads slowly.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B89781

Module information is not deleted after the diagnostic history is erased.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B89789

SSH proxy connection should not be interrupted when special characters are entered.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B89794

Device type LoadBalancer instead of Load Balancer.

Update the appserver.rcx file

1. Locate the following line:

<value>Load Balancer</value>

2. Change the line to:

<value>LoadBalancer</value>

3. Save the file.

4. Restart the management engine.

QCCR1B89797

Pruning option for the RN_DEVICE_AUTH records must be provided.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B89842

There should be an option to force a save of the latest diagnostic.

This fix enables an option to force a save of the latest diagnostics.

To enable this option, add the following text to the site_options.rcx file:

<option name="Diagnostics/ForceSave">false

<title>Force a save of the latest diagnostics.</title>

<section>Diagnostics</section>

<type>Checkbox</type>

<comment>When selected, all of the latest diagnostics will be saved (even if those that did not change). This option can store an extra large number of records in the diagnostic data table and can have a negative performance impact. If you select this option, is recommended that you set a much shorter (0-2 days) database pruning schedule for Diagnostics.</comment>

</option>

To use this option

1. Go to Admin > Administrative Settings > Configuration Mgmt.

2. Check the check box Force a save of the latest diagnostics.

QCCR1B89851

Update the SWIM library.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B89861

There are problems with advanced scripting on Windows 2008 and cross-launch to NCM diagnostic results.

To enable this fix, follow these steps:

1. Edit the site_options.rcx file as follows:

a. Locate the option name="scripting/path1" block, for example:

<option name="scripting/path1">C:\NCM\server\ext\expect\bin\
expec.exe

<title>Path to Interpreter 1</title>

<section>Advanced Scripting</section>

<size>30</size>

<type>Text</type>

<comment>Command to run Interpreter</comment>

</option>

b. Immediately after the option name="scripting/path1" block,insert the following two blocks in order:

<option name="scripting/workdir1">C:\NCM\server\ext\expect

<title>Working Directory 1</title>

<section>Advanced Scripting</section>

<size>30</size>

<type>Text</type>

<comment>Working directory to start Interpreter from</comment>

</option>

<option name="scripting/arch1">arch32

<title>Architecture of Interpreter 1</title>

<section>Advanced Scripting</section>

<type>RadioButtons</type>

<domain>arch32</domain>

<arch32>32-bit Application</arch32>

<domain>arch64</domain>

<arch64>64-bit Application</arch64>

<domain>ignore</domain>

<ignore>Not Applicable</ignore>

</option>

QCCR1B89861 continued

 

c. In the newly added option name="scripting/workdir1" block, set the path to the location of the Expect directory. To determine this value, examine the path in the option name="scripting/path1" block.

Set the option name="scripting/workdir1" path to the partial option name="scripting/path1" path that contains the bin directory.

For example, if the path of option name="scripting/path1" is

C:\NCM\server\ext\expect\bin\expect.exe, set the path of option name=scripting/workdir1 to C:\NCM\server\ext\expect.

2. Restart the management engine

QCCR1B89911

There are garbage collection errors when running flows against NCM.

After installing the patch, update your custom application with the latest version of the truecontrol-client.jar file. This file is available in the <NCM_HOME>/client/ directory.

QCCR1B89912

Java API connect problems with multiple threads.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B89915

Virtual Context Firewalls are not available in reports and groups

Update the appserver.rcx file as follows:

1. Locate the following line:

<array name="devicetype/types">

2. After this line, add the following line:

<value>Virtual Firewall</value>

The file should now reads

<array name="devicetype/types">

<value>Virtual Firewall</value>

<value>Router</value>

<value>Switch</value>

3. Save the file.

4. Restart the management engine or reload the configuration.

QCCR1B90082

The list image command needs a specified site even if NCM has a single site only.

SNMPv1/v2c community string propagation is supported using the Deploy Passwords task. When this task is enabled, propagation without user interaction occurs in the following scenarios:

•Modify the current community string of a single device.

•Add a new community string to a single device.

•Remove current working community string.

•Add a community string to a group of devices.

QCCR1B90248

SNMP community string propagation fails

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B90300

The product version for the core and the satellite should be updated.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B90305

Add fixes and language file from NCM 1.7 SJK.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B90467

Null pointer exception occurs when running a multi-task project on IOS devices.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B90468

Policy rule exceptions are not applied to software policy.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B90513

The Import/Export Scripts and diagnostics link is enabled on scripts and diagnostics page for a user with no privileges.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B90518

NNMi-NCM integration: Device deleted in NCM is notdeleted in NNMi.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B90613

Syslog change detection does not behave as expected.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B90657

The TFTP Server IP Address is not used when taking a snapshot from a device on the other side of a firewall.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B90711

API/CLI: useaaaloginforproxy says (yes|no) but works only for (1|0).

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B90787

Attempt to communicate outside the time window (usmStatsNotInTimeWindows error) on Diagnostic Task Detect Device Boot.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B90815

On the Start/Stop Services page, mouse hover over a link changes the link color to red and not black.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B90905

Same day diagnostic data not pruned.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B91001

SyslogReader java.rmi.ServerException error occurs on support parsing of ACS 5.x logs by NCM Syslog server.

This fix provides a mechanism for parsing Cisco Secure Access Control System (ACS) 5.x logs for change detection when those logs are forwarded by ACS 5.x to the NCM Syslog server.

Note The NCM AAA Log Reader Agent cannot be used to process ACS 5.x logs because ACS 5.x uses a format different from that of standard RFC-compliant logs. Also, the NCM AAA Log Reader Agent is a Windows application while ACS 5.x is installable on a CSACS appliance or VMware.

To enable the use of ACS 5.x logs for change detection, follow these steps:

1. Configure the ACS 5.x server to forward ACS logs to the NCM syslog server:

a. On ACS 5.x, go to System Administration > Log Configuration > Remote Log Targets > Create to set the IP address of the NCM Syslog server.

Use Advanced Syslog Options to verify that the Port and Facility Code values match the configuration of the NCM Syslog server.

b. On ACS 5.x, go to System Administration > Log Configuration > Log Categories > Global to set the categories of logs to be forwarded (for example, AAA Audit).

For the selected categories, use the Remote Log Target tab to add the NCM Syslog server configured in the previous step as a target.

For more information, see: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps9911/
products_user_guide_list.html

2. On the NCM server, update the appserver.rcx file:

a. Locate the following line:

<option name="syslog/process_other_treatments">false
</option>

b. Change it to <option name="syslog/process_other_treatments">
true</option>

c. Save the file.

3. Restart NCM.

QCCR1B91001 continued

 

4. In NCM, go to Admin > Administrative Settings > Configuration Mgmt,

5. Add the pattern CSCOacs to the Syslog Detection Patterns list.

QCCR1B91193

Device policy edit/view screen displays only 25 rules

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B91247

Module diagnostics fail when the module description is longer than 128 characters.

This problem has been resolved.

QCCR1B89008

Support parsing of ACS 5.x logs by NCM Syslog server

This problem has been resolved.


Supported Platforms

Table 2 shows the supported platforms for CiscoWorks NCM 1.7.x.

Table 2 Supported Platforms for CiscoWorks NCM 1.7.x

Operating System
Architecture
32-bit
64-bit1

Windows Server 2008 R2

x86_64

 

X

Windows Server 2003 SP2

X86_32

X

 

Solaris 10 SPARC2 ,3

Sun4u, Sun4v

 

X

RedHat RH AS 44

x86_32

X

 

RedHat RHEL Server 5

x86_64

 

X

SuSE Enterprise Linux Server 10

x86_64

 

X

1 CiscoWorks NCM 1.7 full installs are supported only on 64-bit architecture. You can upgrade from an existing 32-bit CiscoWorks NCM platform to a 64-bit platform. If you are using a RHEL 5 Server x64, it is required that you upgrade to 64-bit platform.

2 Before installing CiscoWorks NCM 1.7 on a Solaris 10 platform, you must reconfigure the Syslog server on Solaris 10 to ignore the remote Syslog messages. The Solaris Zone on which CiscoWorks NCM runs must use a dedicated Network Interface Card (NIC).

3 A large amount of swap space is required due to the fork() system call on Solaris. When you fork a 24 GB process, Solaris allocates 24 GB in the swap file. If the 24 GB is not available in swap, the fork() system call fails.

4 The last supported CiscoWorks NCM version on this platform is CiscoWorks NCM 1.5.x.


The following operating systems are no longer supported:

•Windows 2000

•Solaris 9

•Red Hat AS3

•SuSE 9

Note For all operating system upgrades, please see the respective vendor documentation or contact your system support personnel. Cisco is not responsible for issues that might arise during third-party product upgrades.

Supported Databases

Table 3 shows the databases that are supported by CiscoWorks NCM 1.7.x.

Table 3 Supported Databases for CiscoWorks NCM 1.7.x

Database
Notes

Oracle 10g (10.2.0.2 and 10.2.0.4) Standard and Enterprise Edition

64-bit Oracle is supported. If you are running CiscoWorks NCM 1.7 in a Distributed System environment, you will need Oracle 10g or 11gR1 Enterprise Edition.

Oracle 11g (11.1.0.7.0) Standard and Enterprise Edition

64-bit Oracle is supported. If you are running CiscoWorks NCM 1.7 in a Distributed System environment, you will need Oracle 10g or 11gR1 Enterprise Edition.

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and 2008 Standard and Enterprise Edition

64-bit Microsoft SQL Server is supported. High Availability Distributed System on Microsoft SQL Server requires SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 (Standard Edition or Enterprise Edition) or SQL Server 2008 (Standard Edition or Enterprise Edition).

MySQL 5.0.58

MySQL 5.0.58 ships with CiscoWorks NCM 1.7.


Except for modest deployments without full enterprise scale and performance requirements, the application server and database server should be on separate physical machines. In addition, the database server should be dedicated to CiscoWorks NCM, rather than serving multiple applications.

Note CiscoWorks NCM 1.7 does not support the use of Microsoft SQL Named Instances.

The following databases are no longer supported:

•Oracle 9i and Oracle 9.2

•Microsoft SQL Server 2000

•MySQL 3

Note For all database upgrades, please see the respective vendor documentation or contact your database analyst. Cisco is not responsible for issues that might arise during third-party product upgrades.

Additional CiscoWorks NCM Configurations

If you have configured a High Availability Distributed System, the database requirements for Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server include:

Database
Restrictions

Oracle 10g Standard or Enterprise Edition (10.2.0.2 and 10.2.0.4)

No more than five CiscoWorks NCM Cores can be configured together.

Oracle 11g Standard or Enterprise Edition (11.1.0.7.0)

No more than five CiscoWorks NCM Cores can be configured together.

Microsoft SQL Server Standard and Enterprise Edition 2005 (SP2 or higher) and 2008

No more than two CiscoWorks NCM Cores can be configured together. The maximum number of devices should not exceed 6500.


If you have configured a Horizontal Scalability environment, the database requirements for Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server include:

Database
Restrictions

Oracle 10g Standard or Enterprise Edition (10.2.0.2 and 10.2.0.4)

No more than five CiscoWorks NCM application servers can be configured together with a single database.

Oracle 11g Standard or Enterprise Edition (11.1.0.7.0)

No more than five CiscoWorks NCM Cores can be configured together with a single database.

Microsoft SQL Server Standard and Enterprise Edition 2005 (SP2 or higher) and 2008

No more than five CiscoWorks NCM application servers can be configured together with a single database.


See High Availability Distributed System Configuration Guide for CiscoWorks Network Compliance Manager for information on configuring High Availability Distributed System environment.

See Horizontal Scalability User Guide for CiscoWorks Network Compliance Manager for information on configuring Horizontal Scalability environment.

Note High Availability and Horizontal Scalability environments are not supported for MySQL.

Virtual Environments

Note the following points while running CiscoWorks NCM in a virtual environment:

•VMWare guests can be run on a VMWare ESX 3.5 or VMWare ESX 4.0 server (preferred). It is important that the Disk I/O be split. The ESX server must have two arrays, one for the ESX operating system and one for the virtual machines.

•Use of Vmotion is not recommended.

•If you plan to use virtual machines for both CiscoWorks NCM and your database, ensure that they are running on different VMWare Guests. Note that this only works if you set a limit on managed devices and keep it low. It is recommended that you have the database on a different ESX host so there is no conflicting I/O on the array.

•If you plan to run VMWare in a Distributed System or Horizontal Scalability environment, the maximum number of CiscoWorks NCM Cores should not exceed two.

•Some VMWare Guests time drift. Syncing to an external time source can solve this issue.

The CiscoWorks NCM VMWare Guest system requirements are double that of standalone server requirements.

CiscoWorks NCM can be network intensive, therefore, if you have many virtual machines sharing a virtual switch and network interface card, you could experience unexpected behavior, including time-outs and failed tasks. In addition, each virtual environment is different and could function differently under loads with shared VM Guests.

If you there any performance issues while running CiscoWorks NCM in a virtual environment, do the following:

•Increase hardware resources

•Ensure that resources are dedicated through your ESX Administrator

•Decrease the number of VMWare Guests running simultaneously

•Add a dedicated network interface card to the ESX server for CiscoWorks NCM to use exclusively

Significant performance degradation has been seen on ESX servers running multiple virtual machines where one or more virtual machine was under heavy load. It is critical that the ESX server running CiscoWorks NCM in a virtual environment be properly resourced to avoid performance degradation.

Note The number of managed devices does not have as significant of an impact on performance as the number of concurrent tasks. If performance issues are seen, reduce the number of concurrent tasks and ensure that CiscoWorks NCM is getting the appropriate resources.

Additional Required Applications

You need to install the following applications:

•CiscoWorks NCM supports the following browsers:

–Mozilla Firefox 3.x and higher

–Internet Explorer 7.x and higher

Note Windows pop-up blockers must be disabled for the browser. Cookies must be enabled for the browser.

•Microsoft Excel 2000 or higher, if you are viewing Summary Reports from the CiscoWorks NCM server.

•Adobe® Acrobat Reader™ version 4.0 or higher if you are viewing CiscoWorks NCM documentation from the CiscoWorks NCM server.

•ActivePerl 5.8.x (for Windows).

•Perl 5.8.x (for Solaris and Linux). The CiscoWorks NCM Convert-to-Perl script feature uses Perl.

•Perl Net::SSH::Expect module (for using the Connect module with SSH)

Note Third-party products mentioned in this documentation are manufactured by vendors independent of Cisco. Cisco makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.

Hardware Requirements

CiscoWorks NCM requires the following minimum hardware:

Table 4 Application Server Requirements

Application Server

CPU

Intel Xeon or equivalent, 3.0+ GHz (Windows, Linux), Dual UltraSparc IIIi+, 1.3 GHz (Solaris)

Memory

4 GB RAM

Swap Space

4 GB

Disk

40 GB, Fast SCSI

Network

100 Mbps Fast Ethernet, full duplex


Table 5 Database Server Requirements

Database Server

CPU

Intel Xeon or equivalent, 3.0+ GHz

Memory

4 GB RAM

Swap Space

4 GB

Disk

60 to 100 GB, Single Channel RAID, Fast SCSI

Network

100 Mbps Fast Ethernet, full duplex


Accessing the CiscoWorks NCM Documentation Set

All or any part of the CiscoWorks NCM documentation set, including this document, might be upgraded over time. Therefore, we recommend that you access the CiscoWorks NCM documentation set using the following URL: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6923/tsd_products_support_series_home.html

Tip To cut and paste a two-line URL into the address field of your browser, you must cut and paste each line separately to get the entire URL without a break.

Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request

For information on obtaining documentation, submitting a service request, and gathering additional information, see the monthly What's New in Cisco Product Documentation, which also lists all new and revised Cisco technical documentation, at:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/general/whatsnew/whatsnew.html

Subscribe to the What's New in Cisco Product Documentation as a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed and set content to be delivered directly to your desktop using a reader application. The RSS feeds are a free service and Cisco currently supports RSS Version 2.0.

Open a service request online at:

http://www.cisco.com/techsupport/servicerequest

View a list of Cisco worldwide contacts at:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/support/tsd_cisco_worldwide_contacts.html

Cisco and the Cisco Logo are trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco's trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. (1005R)

Any Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and phone numbers used in this document are not intended to be actual addresses and phone numbers. Any examples, command display output, network topology diagrams, and other figures included in the document are shown for illustrative purposes only. Any use of actual IP addresses or phone numbers in illustrative content is unintentional and coincidental.

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