User Guide for CiscoView 6.0
Troubleshooting CiscoView
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Table of Contents

Troubleshooting CiscoView
 Identifying Device Problems
 Setting Community Strings
 Setting Debugging Options and Display Logs
 Understanding SNMP Error Messages
 Understanding Device Package Updates
 Resolving Java Plug-in Problems with CiscoView 6.0
 Testing Basic Connectivity and Setup
 Troubleshooting StackMaker Error Messages
 Reporting Problems to Cisco Systems

Troubleshooting CiscoView

This chapter provides information about troubleshooting CiscoView. It provides the most common Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and a troubleshooting table of common symptoms.

The following topics are described in this chapter:

Identifying Device Problems

The following sections provide answers to frequently asked questions and troubleshooting for device problems within CiscoView.

Frequently Asked Questions

The following are frequently asked questions concerning device problems.

Q. How do I know which version of CiscoView is required to support the new devices?

A. Refer to the Cisco IOS readme file, which lists all the supported new devices, and refer to the following URL to find out which version of CiscoView is appropriate to support those new devices: http://www.cisco.com/public/sw-center/netmgmt/ciscoview/
cvcww-download.shtml.

Q. What happens when CiscoView fails to display my device and I receive an error message on screen?

A. One of the following conditions exists:

  • The SNMP server is not set in the device. You can still ping the device from the management station.
  • The community string is incorrect. Verify that the device attributes are correct in the Essentials database. From the CiscoWorks desktop, click Admin > Essentials > Inventory > Check Device Attributes.
  • The management station cannot reach and successfully ping the device. This indicates a network problem that should be corrected for CiscoView to work properly.
  • The timeout value is too low. Doubling the existing timeout value is a good starting point. From the CiscoWorks desktop, click Admin > Essentials > System Configuration > SNMP.
  • The device package is not up-to-date. Check your device package and compare the date to the Cisco.com device package version. Upgrade your device package to the latest version, if required. See "Package Support Updater" for more information on updating device packages.

Setting Community Strings

Device attributes and credentials are set in the Essentials Inventory Manager. From the CiscoWorks desktop, click Admin > Essentials > Inventory > Change Device Attributes.

Setting Debugging Options and Display Logs

You can set SNMP and activity trace and/or view the trace log. This option records trace information into a file located in the displayed directory (a subdirectory of the install directory). From the CiscoWorks desktop, click Admin > Device Manager > CiscoView > Debug options and display logs. SNMP Trace displays SNMP request and response pairs, MIB instance ID, data value, data type, request method, and time stamp. Activity Trace displays server activity such as which device and dialog boxes are open.

Understanding SNMP Error Messages

The following sections provide answers to frequently asked questions and troubleshooting for SNMP error messages.

Frequently Asked Questions

The following are frequently asked questions concerning SNMP error messages.

Q. I received a timeout SNMP error message. What does this mean and how do I resolve it?

A. You can no longer reach the device in the time specified in the CiscoView SNMP Preferences window.

Increase the timeout if the device is remote, and reduce timeout if the problem is on the network. From the CiscoWorks desktop, click Admin > Essentials > System Configuration > SNMP.

Q. I received a badValue SNMP error message. What does this mean and how do I resolve it?

A. While performing a set of operations on a MIB object, the value specified for writing does not follow the proper syntax for the MIB object. Verify that the type is correct and the values are not out of range.

Understanding Device Package Updates

This section provides answers to frequently asked questions and troubleshooting for device package updates. For more information on device packages, refer to the "Device Packages" section.

Frequently Asked Questions

The following are frequently asked questions concerning device package updates.

Q. How do I know which device packages to download for my version of the devices?

A. Refer to the IOS readme file for a list of the latest device packages, or go to the following URL to find out which device packages to download: http://www.cisco.com/public/sw-center/netmgmt/ciscoview/
cvcww-download.shtml.

Q. How do I add device packages to CiscoView?

A. CiscoView device support can be updated by downloading device-specific files from Cisco.com. To do this, open a web browser and enter the following URL: http://www.cisco.com/pcgi-bin/Software/CiscoView/cvplanner.cgi.

Use the following steps to select, download, and install the device package.

Note    A valid login and password must be used to access Cisco.com.

1. Using the Software Selector tool from the CiscoView page, choose the CiscoView device file that you wish to download from Cisco.com. Any prerequisite files will automatically be added to your device file and zipped for download.

2. Save the zipped file bundle (named cv5packages.zip by Cisco.com) to your CiscoView server in a temporary directory, such as C:\temp.

3. Unzip the file into the temp directory using the WinZip utility. If you do not have this utility, go to the following URL and download the Unzip shareware utility: http://www.cdrom.com/pub/infozip/UnZip.html.

4. This will extract multiple .zip files and .readme files. Do not unzip these individual files.

5. Start Package Support Updater (PSU). See "Package Support Updater" for more information.

6. Select Add Device Package and navigate to the temp directory where you extracted the downloaded files, and select the new device(s) you wish to add to CiscoView. Be sure to select prerequisite files (either StackMaker or SwitchAddlets) if they appear in the list of available files.

Note    Only an Administrator can perform this action.

Resolving Java Plug-in Problems with CiscoView 6.0

This section provides answers to frequently asked questions and troubleshooting for the Java Plug-in when used with CiscoView 6.0.

Frequently Asked Questions

The following are frequently asked questions concerning the Java Plug-in when used with CiscoView. For a more detailed list of Java Plug-in FAQs, please visit www.javasoft.com.

Q. Why does CiscoView run slowly with the Java Plug-in installed?

A. Make sure the Java Plug-in console is disabled:

1. To bring up the Java Plug-in control panel, click on the Java Plug-in icon in the Windows Control Panel.

2. Deselect the "Show Java Console" checkbox.

Q. How do I find out what version of the Java Plug-in I am currently using?

A. Do the following:

1. Bring up the Java Plug-in control panel as described in the previous question.

2. Click the About tab.

Testing Basic Connectivity and Setup

The following information describes how to test the basic connectivity and setup for CiscoView. Perform these tasks first when you have a CiscoView-related problem. Then proceed to the troubleshooting tips described in Table 7-1 for more solutions to common problems when using CiscoView.

1. Test the IP connectivity:

a. Ping the router's IP address. If the ping is unsuccessful, make sure that IP routing is properly enabled and is functioning normally.

b. Ping the device by its name as well as by its IP address.

c. If you can ping the device by its IP address but not its resolved name, there is a name resolution problem. Consult your system administrator for assistance in resolving this problem.

2. Open a Telnet session to the router:

a. Enter the show running-config privileged EXEC command to view the router configuration. Verify that there is an snmp-server community string rw command entry in the configuration.

b. Do one of the following:

  • If the command is not present, configure the router with the snmp-server community command.
  • If the command is present, make sure that the rw (read-write) keyword is specified, not the ro (read only) keyword.

Table 7-1 provides possible solutions for symptoms sometimes experienced by users of CiscoView.

Table 7-1   Troubleshooting CiscoView

Symptom  Probable Causes  Possible Solutions 

Received CiscoView Timeout error messages.
  • There is a problem with the basic connectivity or setup.
  • The polling interval is too low.
  • There may be a problem with community string, name resolution, or timeout.
 1. Perform the steps in the "Testing Basic Connectivity and Setup" section. Verify that the device is running, and you are able to connect to the device. Use the command ping <device name> and verify that the device is active.

2. Verify that SNMP is active. On Cisco routers, SNMP may be inactive and will have to be activated using device CLI.

3. Increase the timeout if the device is remote, and reduce the timeout if the problem is on the network.

Unable to modify or configure devices.

The write community string may be invalid.

The Modify button is disabled.

Check community string. From the CiscoWorks desktop, click Admin > Essentials > Inventory > Check Device Attributes.

A card is missing for a particular device.

The latest device package may not be installed.

Upgrade the device package at the following URL:
http://www.cisco.com/public/sw-center/netmgmt/ciscoview/
cvcww-download.shtml.

Contact TAC if this does not solve the problem.

Web server is down and unable to connect.

The package installer may be shutting down the server to install a device package. This could last for 2 minutes.

 1. Try to reconnect in a few minutes. If it still fails, go to the server machine and run pdshow WebServer from the CSCOp/bin program to verify that the web server is running.

2. If it still fails, run pdexec JRunProxyServer to try to start the web server.

3. If you are still unable to restart the web server, contact TAC.

No device package exists for a particular device after using the Package Support Updater to download it.

During installation, the web server stopped.

Reinstall the device package and start the web server.

Select Abort from the CiscoView main menu to manually stop the installation process and restart the server.

There were errors while compiling MIBs during integrations.

MIB compilation failed.

Ignore the errors. This will not affect the completion of the integration.

Troubleshooting StackMaker Error Messages

To resolve StackMaker error messages, perform the appropriate recommended action. Table 7-2 lists the error message descriptions and possible solutions.

Table 7-2   StackMaker Error Messages and Possible Solutions

Error Message  Explanation  Possible Solution 

Could not reach device <devicename>; SNMP request timed out.

The device is not reachable through SNMP with the configured read community string. This error occurs when you try to launch StackMaker by clicking the Stack icon from a device display in CiscoView.

Ensure that the device is in operation and reachable by SNMP. Then launch StackMaker again.

This device is not stackable and doesn't support StackMaker.

StackMaker finds the device through SNMP, but the device is not stackable because it does not contain the StackMaker MIB. This error occurs when you attempt to stack a device that does not have the latest firmware containing the StackMaker MIB.

Upgrade your firmware to a compatible version. To do this, go to Cisco.com and download the firmware. For more information about downloading from Cisco.com, refer to the online help.

Reporting Problems to Cisco Systems

If you receive an error message, follow the recommended action. Review any release-specific information that might apply to a problem by clicking on the Readme File icon in your CiscoWorks program group. If you cannot resolve the problem, see the "Cisco Support Information" card that came with your product package, or see the "Cisco Support Information" help topic for information on how to contact Cisco support personnel.

To ensure that you receive adequate support from Cisco Support personnel, perform the tasks in Table 7-3.

Table 7-3   Contacting Cisco Support

Task  Action 

Contact Cisco support personnel.

 1. From the CiscoView Options bar, click TAC Mailer to display the TAC mailer dialog box.

2. Provide your CiscoView serial number and software version.

3. Describe the problem behavior or provide the error message text.

4. Specify the CiscoView application and version in which you are working when the problem occurs.

5. Provide the Cisco device model(s) and Cisco IOS version(s) on those devices when the problem occurs.

Reproduce the problem.

Explain the steps that allow you to reproduce the problem.

Verify the platform in which you are running CiscoView.

Provide platform information for the following:

  • CastleRock SNMP software package (include version number).
  • Windows version.
  • WINSOCK 1.1-compliant TCP/IP stack product (include version number).
  • Hardware setup (CPU, available RAM, available hard disk space, available virtual memory, and serial port or network interface card specifications).