Cisco - CiscoWorks Blue SNA View Version 3.0

SNA View 3.0 is part of CiscoWorks Blue and provides an end-to-end SNA session view through the mixed SNA/IP networkćfrom the mainframe down to the physical unit (PU) and logical unit (LU).

SNA View 3.0 runs on Sun Solaris, HP-UX, and AIX and has now been ported to Windows NT.

SNA View 3.0 for Solaris, HP-UX, and AIX has been enhanced to manage large networks. The mainframe host discovery process as well as the status update propagation process for large SNA networks has been significantly improved. In addition, several other performance improvements have been made for scalability. SNA View 3.0 for Windows NT is a port of SNA View on UNIX to the Windows NT platform.

SNA View 3.0 for Windows NT is intended for small to medium-sized customer networks. It also addresses the skills needs of Windows NT shops that do not have any UNIX skills.

No, Maps has not been ported to Windows NT and currently runs on Solaris, HP-UX, and AIX.

What are the key differences between the UNIX and Windows NT releases of SNA View 3.0?

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SNA View for Windows NT is intended for small to medium-sized networks, while SNA View for the UNIX platforms can scale to large networks.

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SNA View for Windows NT requires a TCP/IP connection between the Windows NT workstation and the mainframe. SNA View for the UNIX platforms can use the TCP/IP or LU 6.2 connection between the workstation and the mainframe.

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Because Maps and TN3270 Monitor applications have not been ported to Windows NT, SNA View for Windows NT can display Maps (DLSw+, APPN, and RSRB) and TN3270 Monitor links in the end-to-end session path but cannot provide a hot link for launching these applications.

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SNA View for Windows NT does not forward traps to the network management platform, such as HP OpenView, SunNet Manager, and Tivoli NetView for AIX. SNA View for the UNIX platforms does forward traps.

Which operating system and network management platforms does CiscoWorks Blue SNA View Version 3.0 support?

Table 1 SNA View Version 2.0 Support
Operating System	Platform (Optional)
Solaris 2.5.1 and 2.6	SunNet Manager 2.2.3 and 2.3, and HP OpenView 5.01, 5.03, and 6.0
HP-UX 11.0	HP OpenView 5.01, 5.03, and 6.0
AIX 4.21 and 4.3.1	Tivoli NetView for AIX 4.1 and 5.0
Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 5	Will coexist with any network management platform

Cisco IOS" requirements and a complete list of the SNA View Version 3.0 operating system and platform support are included in the SNA View and Maps Version 3.0 data sheets.

Customers told Cisco that there were two things that they liked about the combination of Maps and SNA View. First, they liked to be able to get maps of the network, which showed the relationships between all of the SNA routers. This functionality is provided by Maps. Second, they liked the ability to display an end-to-end view of the SNA sessions that crossed over the networks that Maps displayed.

But customers said they needed more. They had multiple types of SNA networks. In addition to the Data-Link Switching (DLSw), remote source-route bridging (RSRB), and Advanced Peer-to-Peer Networking (APPN) networks that the Version 1.2 of SNA View could monitor, they had traditional subarea SNA and new TN3270 networks to worry about. This is where SNA View excels. SNA View provides end-to-end session views of traditional subarea SNA sessions, DLSw, RSRB, and APPN sessions, as well as TN3270 sessions passing through Cisco TN3270 Servers. In short, Maps displays maps, while SNA View displays views of SNA sessions.

Do I have to install code on the mainframe? If so, what is it, and how big is it?

Yes. Maps and SNA View have components that run on the mainframe. There are two pieces on the mainframe: a VTAM exit, named ISTEXCCS, and a started task that takes the information from this exit and transports it to the UNIX or Windows NT workstation. The information from VTAM is correlated with the information from the router network to provide the end-to-end session correlation for SNA sessions.

The amount of mainframe resources used by the VTAM exit is insignificant. The amount of mainframe resources required to transfer this information to the UNIX workstation is difficult to quantify. It depends on the number of PUs in the network and how much filtering is done at the mainframe. In general, the impact on the mainframe is minimal, except during the initial PU discovery process.

No. Previous versions of SNA View required a network management system, CiscoWorks, and Maps. Version 3.0 of SNA View does not require any of these other products, although it will integrate with these products if they are available.

Does SNA View provide management of SNA resources that are not running through the routed network?

Yes, SNA View allows users to control SNA resources that are defined to any VTAM. SNA View displays the session connectivity for any VTAM resource (with expanded capabilities for resources that traverse Cisco routers using DLSw, APPN, or RSRB) and TN3270 sessions that utilize the Cisco TN3270 Server for the Channel Interface Processor (CIP) or Channel Port Adapter (CPA).

Yes. Many customers have found that utilizing the Web version allows them to get to all of the information that is required for problem determination and isolation. That is, the user can pull SNA resource information from VTAM. However, this capability is limited to display only and is staticćnot dynamicćinformation.

My customer wants to integrate the SNA resource information with the router ports but is unsure about how to control those same resources from the Web. What can we do to help?

SNA View provides access to the HTML interface provided by Tivoli NetView for OS/390. When SNA View operators use this interface, they are prompted for the NetView user ID and password. The operators then have the same level of authority that they would have on the mainframe.

Why does SNA View require a TCP/IP or LU 6.2 connection to the mainframe? Is one method preferable over the other?

SNA View uses the communication between the UNIX or Windows NT server and the mainframe to retrieve the vital SNA resource information (PUs and LUs) from VTAM. After this information is retrieved through the discovery process, the application and the mainframe communicate only when the status of the SNA resources changes or if the user invokes the mainframe commands capability.

The communication method used is a customer preference. The TCP/IP connection requires TCP/IP on the mainframe—that is, IBM's Communications Server for OS/390 (TCP/IP for MVS), Interlink's TCPaccess, or Cisco IOS for S/390. The LU 6.2 option is only available on AIX and HP-UX workstations.

The VTAM exit is used to retrieve and keep the current information about PUs in the network. Customers who already have a VTAM exit in place can use the supplied exit manager, which allows the Cisco exit to coexist with the customer exit. If assistance is required, the customer can call the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) and will be forwarded to the CiscoWorks Blue Engineering organization.

No. SNA View will integrate with Tivoli NetView for OS/390 or SOLVE:Netmaster if they are installed on the mainframe, but SNA View does not require either product.

At this point, we have not determined an upper boundary on the numbers of PUs or LUs that can be managed. However, in the Cisco test lab, it managed up to 10,000 PUs with no problems or defects. The customer can also use filters on the mainframe to control which PUs and LUs that SNA View will manage and can choose to not manage LUs as well. In addition, SNA discovery processes about 600 PUs per minute in the Cisco lab.

Internetwork Status Monitor is a mainframe application that runs as a NetView or SOLVE:Netmaster application. It provides a mainframe operator with device-level management of routers.

SNA View has both mainframe and UNIX workstation components. It provides a network manager using a Web browser to access information about the end-to-end session connectivity of SNA PUs and LUs on Synchronous Data Link Control (SDLC), Data-Link Switching Plus (DLSw+), and RSRB networks, as well as TN3270 sessions running over IP networks.

Yes. SNA View can display APPN resources and can even correlate Dependent LU Requester/Dependent LU Server (DLUR/DLUS) information with downstream DLSw sessions.

What happened to the mainframe Command and Message windows that were provided with the Motif interface to Version 1.2 of SNA View?

A number of customers voiced security concerns with the level of command and message support provided with Version 1.2. In Version 2.0, we decided that the best way to deal with these concerns was to provide links to the Web-based interface to Tivoli NetView for OS/390. To use this interface, the SNA View user must provide a valid NetView user ID and password and go through the security interfaces provided by the mainframe. These security interfaces provide authorization at the command and file level and provide far more granularity than Cisco could.

What type of Cisco service and support is provided for CiscoWorks Blue SNA View Version 3.0?

CiscoWorks Blue SNA View Version 3.0 is covered by the Cisco Software Application Support (SAS) program. SAS includes 7x24 access to the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC), Cisco Connection Online (CCO) privileges, and software maintenance updates (within a single release). Contact your local sales office for further information.

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CiscoWorks Blue SNA View Version 3.0