Using CiscoView 5.4 (Standalone)
CiscoView 5.4
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CiscoView 5.4

CiscoView 5.4

CiscoView 5.4 operates in client-server mode. In a client-server mode, the device package and basic management functionality is centrally located on the CiscoView 5.4 server.

To ensure that you are set up correctly to use CiscoView and perform basic functions within CiscoView, you must perform certain tasks. Refer to the online help for more information about performing these specific tasks. For more information about your setup, refer to the Installation and Set Up Guide for CiscoView 5.4.

Table 2-1 lists tasks required to set up and use CiscoView.


Table 2-1: CiscoView Setup Overview
Task Description

Installing CiscoView

Install CiscoView from the CD-ROM package and optionally download device packages from Cisco.com.

Navigating in CiscoView

Display menus and options to view device and components for configuration and monitoring.

Navigating in CiscoView

Learn to navigate within CiscoView menus.

Making Selections and Displaying Menus

View the graphical representation of the device and selected components to configure and monitor status.

Using CiscoView

Perform tasks such as selecting devices, setting preferences, selecting components, configuring and monitoring devices, and getting help.


Installing CiscoView

Before you can display a device's view for configuration and monitoring, you must install CiscoView from the CD-ROM package. Refer to the Installation and Set Up Guide for CiscoView 5.4 for detailed installation instructions. During the installation process, all available device packages are installed for you. This eliminates the need to incrementally select device packages to install. Cisco Systems device packages are periodically updated, and should be downloaded from Cisco.com as they become available.

Refer to the "Package Support Updater" section later in this chapter for information about how to use this utility to download device packages.

Java Plug-in

Before you can use CiscoView on a client machine, you need to install the Java Plug-in.

Note   Java Plug-in version 1.3.1 is supported on Windows 95/98/NT/2000, Solaris, AIX, and HP-UX client machines.

Make sure that the following patches are already installed on your machine before proceeding with the installation of the Java Plug-in:

The following patches are recommended for applications that use AWT: PHSS_20275, PHSS_17535, PHSS_20864, PHSS_21493 (PHNE_20094 and PHSS_20863 are dependencies of PHSS_20864).

For more information and instructions on downloading the patches,
go to the following URL: http://www.unixsolutions.hp.com/products/java/patches.html.

Download these individual patch files from the following URL: http://techsupport.services.ibm.com/rs6k/fixdb.html.

Navigating in CiscoView

When you start CiscoView, the CiscoView window opens. The following components comprise the CiscoView main window:

  • Select Device drop-down list box

  • Device Commands buttons

  • Main Menu buttons

  • Graphical Device display window

Table 2-2 lists CiscoView Navigation options.


Table 2-2: CiscoView Navigation Options
Option Description

Select Device Drop-Down List Box

Use the Select Device drop-down list box to select and display a device. Either enter a device name or IP address, or select from the recently displayed devices listed.

Device names and SNMP read and write community strings are preserved when you open new CiscoView sessions.

Device Commands Buttons

Use the Device Commands buttons to activate device commands unique to the displayed device.

The Device Command buttons are described in the online help for each device package.

Main Menu Buttons

Use the Main Menu buttons to perform various CiscoView tasks.

Refer to Table 2-3 for more information.

Graphical Device Display Window

Use the Graphical Device Display window to view a graphical display of the device's back or front panel once you select a device. The display shows all device components color-coded according to their current status and refreshed according to your polling frequency. If a hot swap is detected, the device is rediscovered and the display redrawn at the next poll.

Status Bar and Buttons

Use the Status Bar and buttons to display the progress and result of device polling, selections, and so on.

Refer to Table 2-4 for more information.


Table 2-3 describes the Main Menu buttons for all Cisco devices.


Table 2-3: Main Menu Buttons
Menu Button Description

Telnet

Launches a Telnet command-line session to the managed device.

CCO

Launches a separate browser containing the Cisco.com web page.

Cisco Support

Opens the TAC Mailer dialog box for sending reports to the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) group. You can describe the problem using the available options and the comment field. When you click Send, your descriptions and information about the runtime device package and operating environment are sent to the specified mail recipients.

For more information on the available fields, refer to the online help.

Preferences

Opens the Preferences dialog box where you can specify SNMP and community string. The preferences settings are preserved for all new CiscoView sessions.

About

Displays the following:

  • CiscoView release version and copyrights

  • Active device package, if applicable

  • All installed device package information

Help
  • Opens CiscoView help if no device is selected.

  • Opens context help if a device or component is selected.


Table 2-4 describes the Status Bar and buttons.


Table 2-4: Status Bar and Buttons
Item Description

Status Bar

Displays the progress and result of device polling, selections, and so on.

System Info Button

Displays system MIB information (name, description, location, contact, and up-time) for a displayed device.

Print Button

Prints the current graphical display.

Color Legend Button

Describes the significance of the colors on the graphical display. Color schemes are:

  • Blue—the port is dormant

  • Orange—the port is down

  • Red—the port failed

  • Yellow—the port has a minor failure

  • Purple—the port is being tested

  • Green—the port is active


Making Selections and Displaying Menus

When you select a device in CiscoView, a graphical representation of the device is displayed. You can view front or back device panel and select different components (cards, ports, power supply) and menu options to configure and monitor status for these devices.

Table 2-5 lists popup menu options.


Table 2-5: Popup Menu Options
Option Description

Configure

Configures device categories, such as Management, Physical, ARP Table, TCP, and so on.

Monitor

Displays a set of dynamic charts for selected device categories.

Front and Rear

Displays either the front or back device panel. A logical view can also be displayed as defined by the device package.

Resize

Reduces the graphical display down to 90%, 80%, 70%, 60% or 50%. You can resize it back up to 100%.

Refresh

Triggers component polling and display update.

System Info

Displays system MIB information (name, description, location, contact, and up-time) for a displayed device.


Tabbed Panel Format Dialog Box Option

In dialog boxes that use the tabbed panel format, you can switch categories by clicking the appropriate tab instead of selecting a category from a drop-down box. The tabbed panel format dialog box also supports multilevel tab indexes.

Note   Not all device packages use the tabbed panel format dialog box.

Bitmap Property Dialog Box

When configuring a device or a port in CiscoView 5.4, you have the option of specifying how bitmap values in the MIB are displayed. To the right of input fields or table cells that display bitmap values is an icon. Click on the icon and the Bitmap Property Dialog Box appears. All valid bitmap values have a corresponding checkbox. After making the desired selection, click OK and the new bitmap values, separated by commas, are displayed.

Using CiscoView

Once you have installed CiscoView and learned to navigate within CiscoView, you can perform various tasks.

Table 2-6 lists these tasks and descriptions.


Table 2-6: CiscoView Tasks
Task Description

Selecting a Device

Select a device to view its graphical representation to configure and monitor it.

The device names and SNMP read and write community strings are preserved when you open new CiscoView sessions.

Setting Preferences

Use the Set Preferences option to change certain options within CiscoView.

Depending on your security level, you might not be able to use the Set Preferences option.

Refer to Table 2-7 for a list of the available options in Setting Preferences.

Selecting a Component

Select a component on the graphical device display to configure and monitor it.

Configuring Your Device

Right-click a device and select Configure to configure multiple categories of information; for example, Interface, Management, Physical, and ARP Table, simultaneously.

Different categories of information can be displayed for each device, card, and port. To see the categories of information that can be displayed for each component type, look at the Category pop up menu from the Configuration window.

Refer to Table 2-8 for a list of buttons and their descriptions available within the Configure dialog.

Monitoring Your Device

Right-click a device and select Monitor to monitor multiple categories of information; for example, Ethernet collisions, Management, Physical, and ARP Table, simultaneously. The Monitoring dialog is non-modal and resizeable.

Refer to Table 2-9 for a list of buttons and their descriptions available within the Monitor dialog.


Table 2-7 lists the available Preference Setting options.


Table 2-7: Preference Setting Options
Option Description

Setting Community Strings

Use the Preferences Community tab to delete the read and write community strings for the device currently being managed. This lets you enter the read and write community strings for a device after you display the device. If you want to make changes to a device or port setting, but did not specify community string when you first opened the device display, you can enter the community string without exiting and reopening the device window.

If a host's community strings are not already defined within CiscoView, you can add them with the CiscoView Community Strings dialog. Otherwise, CiscoView allows you to enter the correct community strings when you try to access the host.

If you do not enter a host's community strings when accessing the host, CiscoView uses the default read and write community strings as defined in the SNMP tab.

Setting SNMP Preferences

Use the Preferences SNMP tab to set polling frequency, SNMP timeout and retries, and default read and write community strings.

Use the Default Read and Write Community fields to define the community strings that CiscoView automatically uses for device when you do not specify the device's current community strings.


Table 2-8 lists buttons and descriptions available within the Configure dialog.


Table 2-8: Buttons within Configure Dialog
Button Description

OK

Writes modification of all categories to managed device then disposes the dialog

Apply

Writes modification of the current category to managed device

Cancel

Aborts changes and disposes the catalog

Print

Prints the current category

Help

Launches dialog-specific help

Create

Launches a table row creation dialog

Delete

Deletes selected row from the table

Refresh

Refreshes configuration dialog


Note   Depending on your device, you might not see the Category menu, or you might see different options in the Category menu.

Table 2-9 lists buttons and their descriptions available within the Monitor dialog.


Table 2-9: Buttons within Monitor Dialog
Button Description

Print

Prints the current category

Help

Launches dialog-specific help

Cancel

Disposes the dialog

Start/Stop

Starts/stops the monitoring of device information


Integrating with Third-Party Vendors

Use the Integration utility to integrate Cisco device information and Cisco applications into SNMP management platforms such as HP OpenView Network Node Manager. This utility allows you to launch CiscoView from an SNMP platform even when CiscoView is running on a different machine than the NMS. It also allows you to integrate other applications into NMS menus.

When CiscoView is installed on the same machine as the target NMS, the Integration utility runs as part of a single CiscoView install. However, when the target NMS is installed on a different machine, you need to download NMIM from the following URL: http://www.cisco.com/public/sw-center/cw2000/cmc3rd.shtml

You might need to run the Integration utility to:

  • Change your Cisco.com login information.

  • Change your CiscoView server location.

  • Register a new application.

  • Change the NMS with which you wish to integrate your Cisco applications.

The following topics are described next:

Integration Utility Features

Use the Integration utility to:

  • Download the NMIDB (Network Management Integration Data Bundle) from Cisco.com.

  • Prompt for additional configuration information that might not be available to register each application. This information is used to integrate the Cisco applications with the NMS console menu. In some cases, the NMS allows you to double-click on the device icon in the topology map of the NMS console to invoke an application.

  • Run an adapter script to integrate the icons, MIBs, and applications into the NMS. You can select an adapter script from the list of NM adapters provided with this utility. New NM adapters can be downloaded and added to the list.

Using the Integration Utility

You can perform certain tasks using the Integration utility, as described in Table 2-10.


Table 2-10: Integration Utility Tasks
Task Description

Starting the utility

Depending on your platform, you can start the Integration utility:

1. Use a Telnet utility to open a connection to the system on which the Integration utility is installed.

2. Navigate to the CiscoView /bin directory.

3. Set the X display environment on your X server.

4. Enter the following script on the command line: ./nmic.sh

Downloading the Data Bundle

The Network Management Integration Data Bundle (NMIDB) contains the icons and configuration files specific to a Cisco device platform. NMIDB also contains MIBs and the application registration information used to register Cisco applications into the NMS. You can download an NMIDB from a file on your local machine, from Cisco.com, or from another system, or use an already downloaded file.

Registering the Applications

The application registration information is used to integrate Cisco applications with the NMS console menu. The Applications Registration dialog box displays user applications that are to be integrated into the NMS menu. This information is then extracted from the NMIDB. There is one tab for each application.

Running the Adapter Script

The Adapter scripts integrate icons, MIBs, and application with NMS. The Choose Adapter dialog box provides both the Adapters available and their descriptions. The Adapter script checks whether the NMS exists on the machine before integration.


For more information about Integration utility, refer to the online help.

Note   NM integration runs automatically when you download a device package through the Package Support Updater.

Package Support Updater

Use the Package Support Updater to:

  • Integrate new Cisco device information asynchronously with the CiscoView engine.

  • Install or uninstall device packages.

  • Upgrade installed device packages.

  • View a list of currently installed device packages and their versions.

  • View a log of all device package changes.

  • Automate device package installations and upgrades.

The Package Support Updater operates in one of three modes: Command Line Interface (CLI) mode, standalone interactive mode, and web-based interactive mode.

Note   For more information on device packages, refer to the following URL: http://www.cisco.com/public/sw-center/netmgmt/
ciscoview/cvcww-download.shtml.

CLI and Standalone Interactive Modes

Package Support Updater mainly runs in one of the following modes:

  • CLI Mode: Noninteractive standalone mode that is run from the command line

  • Standalone Interactive Mode (xpsu)

The CLI and standalone interactive modes require the administrator to Telnet to the CiscoView server and manually install or uninstall device packages.

Note   CLI and Standalone interactive modes are supported only on server machines.

Device Package Installation Messages

Table 2-11 lists the messages you might see during the device package installation process.


Table 2-11: Device Package Installation Message Summary
Sample Message Message Type Explanation Message Location

Path /tmp/dir2/x is invalid.

Error

Specified directory is not a valid directory.

Status bar

Found 2 CiscoView packages in the directory /tmp/dir/.

Info

Specified directory is a valid directory.

Status bar

Package C8500 cannot be downgraded to a lower version.

Error

User selected a package whose superceding version has already been installed.

Status bar

Cannot find base package 'CDPAddlet' for C8500.

Error

Base packages are unavailable for selected package.

Status bar

Package "IOS Addlet has been added to install list due to dependencies."

Info

Installer automatically selected a base package.

Status bar

Cannot proceed with install. Reason: Insufficient disk space.

Error

Not enough disk space.

Dialog box


Refer to the Package Support Updater online help for more information.

Web-Based Interactive Mode

Package Support Updater also runs in web-based interactive mode. This mode provides a graphical user interface (GUI) to install device packages remotely without requiring the administrator to Telnet to or access the CiscoView server console. This mode also allows you to schedule automatic downloads of new device packages from Cisco.com onto the server. The device packages on the client machine can be uploaded onto the server without the use of ftp.

Note   Web-based interactive mode is available only when CiscoView 5.4 is used as a standalone product.

Using the Package Support Updater in web-based interactive mode, you can perform the tasks listed in Table 2-12.


Table 2-12: Package Support Updater Tasks
Task Description

Starting the Package Support Updater

To start the Package Support Updater, log into CiscoView and select
Device Manager > Administration> Package Support Updater.

Viewing Installed Packages

To view the installed packages, log into CiscoView and select Device Manager > View Installed Packages.

Installing Device Packages

To install new device packages or upgrade existing packages, log into CiscoView and select Device Manager > Administration > Package Support Updater > Add Packages.

Scheduling Automatic Downloads from Cisco.com

To schedule automatic downloads from Cisco.com, log into CiscoView and select Device Manager > Administration > Package Support Updater > Add Packages > Schedule Downloads.

Installing Device Packages from a Client Machine

To install device packages from a client machine, log into CiscoView and select Device Manager > Administration > Package Support Updater > Add Packages then select Hard disk/CD-ROM on this client workstation.

Uninstalling Device Packages

To uninstall device packages from a client machine, log into CiscoView and select Device Manager > Administration > Package Support Updater > Delete Packages.

Viewing the Device History

To view device package changes, log into CiscoView and select Device Manager > Administration > Package Support Updater > View History.

The log shows up to 50 of the most recent changes.


Note   Only one client can add or delete device support at a time. After adding or deleting device support, all active users must close their browsers and log back into CiscoView.