User Guide for CiscoView 6.0
CiscoView 6.0
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Table of Contents

CiscoView 6.0
 Installing CiscoView
 Starting CiscoView
 Navigating in CiscoView
 Managing Devices

CiscoView 6.0

CiscoView 6.0 operates in client-server mode. In client-server mode, the device package and basic management functionality are centrally located on the CiscoView server.

The following features are new for CiscoView:

  • New user interface. See the "Navigating in CiscoView" section for more information.
  • Use of a lightweight, HTML-based client to enhance performance.
  • Device import using Resource Manager Essentials (Essentials). CiscoView inherits device credentials (read-write community strings) from the Essentials database. See the Essentials Inventory online help for more information on adding devices and changing device credentials.
  • IP address filtering capability.

To ensure that you are set up correctly to use CiscoView and perform basic functions within CiscoView, you must perform certain tasks. For more information about your setup, refer to Installation and Setup Guide for CiscoWorks Small Network Management Solution.

The following topics are discussed in this chapter:

Installing CiscoView

Before you can display a device's view for configuration and monitoring, you must install CiscoView from the CiscoWorks Small Network Management Solution CD-ROM package. Refer to Installation and Setup Guide for CiscoWorks Small Network Management Solution on Windows 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 "Package Support Updater," for information about how to use this utility to download device packages.

Starting CiscoView

You can start CiscoView from WhatsUp Gold and Device Center.

Note   CiscoView shows only devices that are managed by Essentials. To add new devices, change SNMP settings, or edit device credentials (read-write community strings), use the Essentials Inventory. After these tasks are performed within Inventory, use the context menu to refresh the CiscoView device list. See the "Using the Context Menu" section for more information on accessing the context menu.

To start CiscoView from WhatsUp Gold, follow these steps:

Step 1   From the CiscoWorks desktop, select the WhatsUp Gold tab.

TimeSaver Do one of the following:
  • Select CiscoView.
  • Open a topology map, and then select CiscoView.



To access CiscoView from Device Center, follow these steps:

Step 1   From the CiscoWorks desktop, select the Device Center tab.

Step 2   Select a device from the Device Selector. The device information page displays the Summary and Functions Available panes.

Step 3   Select CiscoView from the Management Tasks pane (located at the bottom of the device information page).




Navigating in CiscoView

When you start CiscoView, the CiscoView window opens.


Figure 2-1   CiscoView Desktop


1

Options bar

 4

Chassis View
2

Tools bar

 5

Object Selector handle
3

Activity bar

 

Table 2-1 describes each component on the CiscoView desktop.

Table 2-1   CiscoView Desktop Component Descriptions

Component  Description 

Options bar

Allows you to change preferences, start a Telnet session to the device, and send a message to the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC). See Table 2-2 for a description of each option.

Tools bar

Allows you to log out of a CiscoView session, access online help specific to the selected device, or find out what CiscoView version is installed. See Table 2-3 for a description of each option.

Activity bar

Shows progress and result of device polling, refreshes, and so on. If any error occurs as a result of device polling, the error message will appear in the activity bar.

Chassis view

Displays a graphical representation of the device's back or front panel after you select a device. Device components shown are color-coded according to their status and refreshed according to the polling frequency you have defined. See the "Understanding the Color Legend" section for more information on color status definitions.

If a hot swap is detected, the device is rediscovered and the display redrawn at the next poll.

Object Selector handle

Opens and closes the Object Selector (see the "Using the Object Selector" section):

  • When the Object Selector is closed, click the handle to open it.
  • When the Object Selector is open, click the handle to close it.

Table 2-2 describes the options on the Options bar.

Table 2-2   Options Bar

Option  Description 

Preferences

You can set the following global preferences:

  • Refresh rate of chassis view (how often the device is polled)
  • MIB label shown in dialog boxes
  • Refresh rate of graphs within the device monitoring dialog box

The Preferences settings are preserved for all new CiscoView sessions.

Note To set preferences—for example, to resize or change the chassis view—for a particular device, access the device's context menu. See the "Using the Context Menu" section for more information.

TAC Mailer

Opens the TAC Mailer dialog box for sending reports to the Cisco TAC. 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.

Telnet

Starts a Telnet command-line session to the selected device.

Table 2-3 describes the options on the Tools bar.

Table 2-3   Tools Bar

Item  Description 

Logout

Terminates the CiscoView session.

Help

Opens a new window that displays context-sensitive help for the displayed page. The window also contains buttons that you use to go to the overall help contents, index, and search tool.

About

Displays the following information:

  • CiscoView release version and copyrights. This information refers to the base application that runs all device packages; for example, CiscoView X.X.
  • Active device package, if applicable; for example, Cat5000 Package, Version X.X.
  • All installed device package information (version numbers shown in parentheses).

Using the Object Selector

The Object Selector lists all devices managed by Essentials. The Object Selector is located on the left side of the CiscoView desktop. All devices must be imported into the Essentials database before you can use CiscoView. See the Essentials Inventory online help for information on adding devices and setting device credentials.

To display a device, follow these steps:

Step 1   Click the Object Selector handle to open (and close) the Object Selector. A list of all devices managed by Essentials appears.


Figure 2-2   Object Selector



Step 2   (Optional) Enter a partial IP address in the given field and click Go. The list is filtered to show only devices containing the string you entered.

Step 3   Select a device from the list. A graphical representation of the device chassis appears.




Understanding the Color Legend

When a device is selected and displayed in the chassis view, all device components are color-coded according to their status. Table 2-4 lists each color and its meaning.

Table 2-4   Color Legend Descriptions

Color  Meaning  Description 

Cyan (blue-green)

Port is dormant

Interface cannot pass packets, but is in a pending state, waiting for some external event to place it in the Up state. Interface could have:

  • Packets to transmit before establishing a connection to a remote system
  • A remote system establishing a connection to the interface; for example, dialing up to a SLIP server

When the expected event occurs, the interface state changes to Up.

Orange

Port is down

Admin status is up and operational value is down.

Red

Port failed

Hardware failure in the port.

Yellow

Minor failure

Port or interface is down: both admin and operational status are down. This does not necessarily indicate a fault condition. Yellow can also indicate that the port is disabled.

Purple

Port is being tested

Admin status is up, but tests need to be performed on the interface. After testing is completed, the interface state changes to Up, Dormant, or Down as appropriate.

Green

Port is active

Interface is able to send and receive packets.

Using the Context Menu

When you select a device in CiscoView, a graphical representation of the device is displayed in the chassis view. The context menu appears when you right-click a device or its components. Its contents are context-sensitive and vary according to the device and your selection.

You can view the front or back device panel and select different components (cards, ports, power supply) and menu options to configure and monitor status for the device. To access the context menu, follow these steps:

Step 1   Select a device from the Object Selector. A graphical representation of the device chassis appears.

Step 2   Right-click the device or its components. The context menu appears.

Step 3   Select an option to change. The context menu contents vary by device, but typically contains these 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 or 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.

Device-specific options

Options defined in the device package, such as "Clear All Counters."



Selecting a Device or its Components in the Chassis View

You can select the entire device, or one or more Cisco device components to configure and monitor. For example, you can configure multiple ports or multiple cards in a chassis.

Step 1   Select a device from the Object Selector. A graphical representation of the device chassis appears.

Step 2   Do one of the following:

  • Select the device or a single component.

a. Left-click on the device or component to select it. A yellow border appears around the selection. (To select the entire device, point to an area that does not contain a component before clicking.)

b. Right-click to display the context menu.

  • Select multiple components.

a. Hold down the Ctrl key to select several similar components at once. A yellow border appears around the selected components.

b. Right-click while holding down the Ctrl key to display the context menu.

Note    Components in the group must be defined by the device package as being of the same type.



Managing Devices

CiscoView shows only devices that are managed by Essentials. To add new devices, change SNMP settings, or edit device credentials (read-write community strings), use the Essentials Inventory. After these tasks are performed within Inventory, use the context menu to refresh the CiscoView device list and see the changes. See the "Using the Context Menu" section for more information on accessing the context menu.

The following topics are described in this section:

Understanding Categories

Categories consist of commands and options specific to a selected device. You modify or view categories to configure and monitor a device, card, and port. For example, a Catalyst 6000 device has configuration categories such as Management, Physical, AAA Configuration, ARP Table, Authentication, and so on (see Figure 2-3).


Figure 2-3   Category Example


Note   Some devices and components have no categories.

Configuring Devices

Configure a device to define its characteristics, connections, and components (such as cards and ports). You can configure different categories of information for devices and components, and also change multiple categories at the same time.

Step 1   Select a device from the Object Selector. A graphical representation of the device chassis appears.

Step 2   Select the device or components to configure.

Step 3   Right-click to display the context menu, then select Configure. The Configure Device dialog box appears.

Step 4   From the category list, select the category to configure, and complete any other fields. Categories and fields vary by device.

As you change the information in fields for different categories, the changes are retained.

Step 5   When you are done modifying category, click one of the following buttons:

Button  Description 

OK

Applies your changes and exits the dialog box.

Apply

Applies your changes. The Configure Device dialog box remains open; you can select more categories to view or configure.

Cancel

Cancels your changes and exits the dialog box.

Refresh

Refreshes the dialog box.

Print

Prints the current category.

Help

Opens online help that is specific to that device and category.

If a table appears, click one of the following buttons:

Button  Description 

Create

Opens the Table Row Creation dialog box.

Delete

Deletes the selected rows from the table.



Monitoring Devices

You can monitor real-time statistics for interfaces, resource utilization, and device performance. CiscoView also allows you to simultaneously monitor multiple categories, such as Ethernet Collisions, Management, Physical, and ARP Table.

CiscoView supports pie, strip, x-y, and bar charts. The chart type displayed depends on the selected device and category.

Step 1   Select a device from the Object Selector. A graphical representation of the device chassis appears.

Step 2   Select the device or components.

Step 3   Right-click to display the context menu, then select Monitor. The Monitor Device dialog box appears and displays a summary of performance charts that vary by device.

Note    When a bar graph fills up, it scrolls to the left as polling continues.

Step 4   Select a category from the Category list and a value from the Refresh Rate list.

A chart for the selected category appears. It is updated at the selected refresh rate (the rate is preserved across new CiscoView sessions).

Step 5   (Optional) Select another category and refresh rate to open another monitor window. You can monitor multiple categories simultaneously.

Step 6   Click one of the following buttons:

Button  Description 

Start/Stop

Begins or ends the monitoring of device information.

Cancel

Exits the dialog box.

Print

Prints current charts.

Help

Opens online help that is specific to that category and device.