FCAPS Support
The Web Element
Manager application providses Fault, Configuration, Accounting,
Performance and Security (FCAPS) management functionality for the
chassis.
Fault Management
Fault management
consists of an event logging function wherein all alarms, warnings,
and other faults can be configured, reported, and acknowledged by
network operations personnel.
The Simple Network
Management Protocol (SNMP) is used by both the Web Element Manager
and the chassis to report event notifications. The application’s fault
management system offers the following support for generated alarms:
- Provide mechanisms
for viewing both current and pending alarms for both the chassis
and the Web Element Manager server.
- Generate audio and
visual alerts for alarms based on their severity (the Web Element Manager
also supports the configuration of a severity level for each alarm).
- Maintain statistics
for generated alarms.
- Store alarm information
in the PostgreSQL® database.
- Execute scripts through
the Script Server component of the application.
- Send E-mail notifications
and/or forward notifications to Network Management Servers
(NMSs) using a CORBA/IIOP-based Northbound Interface.
- Compliancy with the
following standards:
- TS 32.111-3, 3rd Generation
Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Services and
System Aspects; Telecommunication management; Fault Management; Part
3: Alarm Integration Reference Point (IRP): Common Object Request
Broker Architecture (CORBA) Solution Set (SS)
- TS 32.303, 3rd Generation
Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Services and
System Aspects; Telecommunication management; Configuration Management (CM);
Notification Integration Reference Point (IRP): Common Object Request
Broker Architecture (CORBA) Solution Set (SS)
Configuration Management
The Web Element
Manager implements an easy to use, point-and-click GUI for providing configuration
management for one or more systems. This GUI provides all the flexibility
offered by the system’s command Line Interface (CLI), while
providing the scalability of performing certain functions across multiple
chassis. All configuration information is stored in the PostgreSQL
Database.
At the system-level,
the Web Element Manager application provides support for the following:
- Adding, modifying,
or deleting systems to/from the management system
- Performing configuration
of card and port-level parameters
- Adding, modifying,
or deleting contexts
- Configuring specific
protocols and services within defined contexts such as AAA servers,
PDSN services, GGSN services, IP
access lists, IP interfaces, IP routes, IP address pools, RADIUS
accounting and authentication, PPP, subscribers, and others
At the network level,
the application is capable of transferring configuration and/or
software images to multiple systems simultaneously in advance to
performing software upgrades.
The Web Element Manager
supports the configuration of all parameters required to perform software
upgrades including:
- Adding, deleting, and
sorting system boot stack entries; these entries allow multiple
fall-backs in the event the system experiences an error in the loading
of a particular image or configuration file
- Configuring network
options for bootup
- Transferring configuration
and image files to/from a chassis
- Initiating and monitoring
upgrade status
The Web Element Manager
further simplifies the software upgrade process by providing tools
for managing system configuration files:
- Back-up Tool: Enables
the Web Element Manager to transfer a copy of the configuration
file currently being used by a managed system at user-defined intervals. Files
are transferred to the host server in a specific directory. The
number of files to retain in the directory is also configurable.
This tool provides a useful mechanism for testing configurations and/or
quickly restoring a last-known-good configuration in the event of
an error.
- Compare Tool: Provides
a powerful tool for comparing the configuration files of two managed
systems. Once the two files are specified, a dialog appears displaying
the two documents side-by-side. Line numbers are added for convenience.
Text additions, modifications, and deletions are displayed in different
colors for easy recognition. This tool can be useful on its own
to determine variations between multiple iterations of the same
configuration file, or, when used in conjunction with the Back-up
tool, it can provide an audit trail of configuration changes that
occurred during system operation.
Accounting Management
Accounting management
operations allow users to examine and perform post-process statistical
analysis on systems managed by the Web Element Manager application.
The type of statistics
used for element management-based accounting are called bulk statistics.
Bulk statistics are grouped into categories called schemas and are
polled by the system at fixed polling intervals and then transferred
to the Web Element Manager at a different transfer intervals (defined
in minutes).
Once the Web Element
Manager server application, called the receiver, has received bulk statistics
files from the managed system, these files are parsed and added
to the PostgreSQL database. This database is updated as new files
are received.
The Web Element Manager’s
accounting management functionality is compliant with TS 32.401, 3rd Generation
Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Services and System
Aspects; Telecommunication management; Performance Management (PM);
Concept and requirements and allows you to:
- Collect statistics
pertaining to the transfer and collection of bulk statistics
- Views statistics stored
on the chassis prior to transfer to the receiver
- Graph multiple received
bulk statistics over time as either a line or bar graph; these graphs
can be printed to network printers accessible by the server
- Generate eXtensible
Markup Language (XML) files for transfer to a Northbound NMS or
bulk statistics processor.
- Archive collected bulk
statistic information to conserve disk space on the server
Performance Management
Performance
management operations supported by the Web Element Manager allow
users to examine and perform real-time statistical analysis on systems
managed by the application as well as on the server on which the
application is running.
Information pertaining
to various aspects of the Web Element Manager (CPU and memory utilization,
disk space, and process status) and its managed systems (hardware,
protocols, software subsystems, and subscribers) is collected in
real time and is displayed in tabular format. Alternatively, most
of the information can be graphed as a function of time in either
line or bar-chart format. Multiple statistics can be graphed simultaneously
for quick comparison of data.
In addition to collecting
and providing mechanisms for the real-time viewing of statistical information,
the Web Element Manager provides useful monitoring tools similar
to those found in the CLI. These tools can be used to monitor active
subscriber sessions, protocol flows, and port information. Data
collected during this monitor operation can be saved to the client
machine for further analysis.
Security Management
Security management
pertains to the operations related to management users. This includes both
Web Element Manager application users and local management users
who are configured on the chassis. In many cases, management users
can be allowed access to both the system (via its CLI) and the application.
It is possible for both management user accounts to share the same
username and password.
The security management
features of the Web Element Manager allow you to:
- Add, modify, or delete
administrative users for both the application and the managed system.Regardless of the administrative
user type, there are four levels of management user privileges:
- Inspector: Inspectors
are limited to a small number of read-only Exec Mode commands.The
bulk of these are “show” commands giving the inspector
the ability to view a variety of statistics and conditions. The
Inspector cannot execute show configuration commands
and do not have the privilege to enter the Config Mode.
- Operator: Operators
have read-only privileges to a larger subset of the Exec Mode commands.
They can execute all commands that are part of the inspector mode, plus
some system monitoring, statistic, and fault management functions.
Operators do not have the ability to enter the Config Mode.
- Administrator:
Administrators have read-write privileges and can execute any command
throughout the CLI except for a few security-related commands that can
only be configured by Security Administrators. Administrators can
configure or modify the system and are able to execute all system
commands, including those available to the Operators and Inspectors.
- Security Administrator:
Security Administrators have read-write privileges and can execute
all CLI commands including those available to Administrators, Operators,
and Inspectors.
- Provide authentication
and privilege restoration based on the login information entered by
administrative users.
- Monitor current system
or application-level administrative users in real-time and optionally
terminate their management session.
- Perform an audit of
all managed system configurations performed through both the application
and the CLI as well as other operations performed within the application.The audit trail functionality
supports the configuration of filters defining the type of operations
to audit and also provides a dialog for performing the audit in
real-time.Audit trail results
are stored in the PostgreSQL database for later retrieval and analysis.The new Network Audit
Tool functionality in WEM supports the on-demand or periodic auditing
of chassis configuration attributes such as PPP MRU, Auth Sequence,
Bulkstats Schema Needs Update, etc.