Visualize Network Models

This chapter contains the following topics:

Create or import network models

The network models are typically generated using the Cisco Crosswork Planning Collector application and are saved as plan files. You can create new network models in the Cisco Crosswork Planning Design UI or import existing one from your local system. To use the plan files in the Cisco Crosswork Planning Design application, they must be available in the user space.

Use these procedures to import plan files into the user space or to manually create new network models.

Import plan files from the local machine

This section explains how to import the plan files into the user space from local machine.

Before you begin

Ensure the plan file you want to import has either a .txt or .pln extension.

Procedure

Step 1

From the main menu, choose Network Models.

By default, My user space > Network models page opens.

Step 2

Click the Import plan file button.

The Import Plan File window appears.

Step 3

Click Browse and choose the plan file that you want to import.

Step 4

(Optional) Select the required tags from the list (if available) or create new tags.

Follow these steps to create new tags.

  1. Click Add new tag.

  2. Enter the tag name.

  3. Click the + icon next to the text field.

Note

 

If a tag is removed from all the available plan files, then it is deleted from this list as well.

Step 5

Click Import.

The plan file is imported into the My user space > Network models page.

Import plan files from archive

This section explains how to import plan files into the user space from Local or Remote archive.

Before you begin

The archived network model from the Cisco Crosswork Planning Collector application is saved in a plan file format (.pln). The location of the archive differs based on whether the Cisco Crosswork Planning Design and Collector applications are installed on the same machine or different machines.

  • If the Cisco Crosswork Planning Design and Collector applications are installed on the same machine, the archived network models appear under Network Models > Local archive.

  • If the two applications are installed on different machines, connect to the machine where the Cisco Crosswork Planning Collector application is installed. After connecting, the archived network models appear under Network Models > Remote archive of the Cisco Crosswork Planning Design application. For details, see the "Scenario 2: When the Cisco Crosswork Planning Design and Collector Applications are Installed on Different Machines" section in the Cisco Crosswork Planning 7.1 Collection Setup and Administration.

Procedure

Step 1

From the main menu, choose Network Models.

By default, My user space > Network models page opens.

Step 2

On the left pane, under Local archive or Remote archive, list of archived collections are displayed. Select the required collection name from the list. The right panel displays the list of plan files created under this collection at various scheduled times. Use the Last updated column to know the time at which the plan file was created.

Step 3

Select the required plan file from the right panel and click > Export to user space under the Actions column.

The Export Plan to User Space window appears.

Step 4

(Optional) In the Save as field, enter a new name for the plan file.

Step 5

(Optional) Select the required tags from the list (if available) or create new tags.

Follow these steps to create new tags.

  1. Click Add new tag.

  2. Enter the tag name.

  3. Click the + icon next to the text field.

Note

 

If a tag is removed from all the available plan files, then it is deleted from this list as well.

Step 6

Click Save.

The plan file is imported into the My user space > Network models page.

Create new network models manually

This section explains how to create new network models in the user space manually.

Procedure

Step 1

From the main menu, choose Network Models.

By default, My user space > Network models page opens.

Step 2

Click the Create new button.

The New Network Model window opens.

Step 3

In the Name field, enter the name of the plan file.

Note

 
Make sure to include the .txt or .pln extension while entering the plan file name.

Step 4

(Optional) Select the required tags from the list (if available) or create new tags.

Follow these steps to create new tags.

  1. Click Add new tag.

  2. Enter the tag name.

  3. Click the + icon next to the text field.

Note

 

If a tag is removed from all the available plan files, then it is deleted from this list as well.

Step 5

Click Save.

The newly created network model opens in the Network Design page. By default, two nodes and interfaces are added to the network model.

What to do next

  • Add nodes and site details to the network model you created. For details, see Create objects.

  • Open the plan file in the Network Design page (see Open plan files) to perform any actions, as per your requirement.

Open plan files

Before you begin

Ensure that the plan file is available in the User space. To create or import the plan file into the user space, use the procedures described in Create or import network models.

You can open the plan file either from the Network Models page or from the Network Design page. The plan file opens in the Network Design page wherein you can perform various actions on them, as required.


Note

  • You can open only three plan files simultaneously, and only one plan file can be active at a time.

  • If you log out while working on a plan file, the file does not close; it remains open.

To open from the Network Models page:

To open from the Network Design page:

  1. From the main menu, choose Network Models.

    By default, User space > My network models is selected.

    A list of available plan files is displayed.

  2. Open the required plan file in either of the following ways:

    • Click the name of the required plan file.

      OR

    • Under the Actions column, click > Open for the plan file you want to open.

    The plan file opens in the Network Design page.

  1. From the main menu, choose Network Design.

  2. Click the + icon at the end of the plan files tab bar displayed at the top of the page.

    The Network Models page opens listing all the available plan files.

  3. Open the required plan file in either of the following ways:

    • Click the name of the required plan file.

      OR

    • Under the Actions column, click > Open for the plan file you want to open.

    The plan file opens in the Network Design page.

After the plan file opens:

  • The network plot shows nodes connected by circuits. A circuit is two directly connected interfaces.

  • You can click and drag nodes to change their position.

  • The measured data in the model represents the period from which the data was collected from the network. This is the model used in the Cisco Crosswork Planning application.

  • In the My network models page, the selection check box next to the opened plan file appears grayed out, preventing you from deleting it.

Delete plan files

This section explains how to delete plan files from the user spaces.

Important considerations for plan file deletion

Note these points while deleting the plan files:

  • You can delete up to 10 files at a time.

  • Only admin users can delete the files which are available in the other user spaces.

  • You cannot delete the plan files that are currently open.

  • Deleting the plan files will result in the deletion of the associated reports.

Procedure

Step 1

From the main menu, choose Network Models.

Step 2

From the user space, select the plan files that you want to delete and click the Delete icon icon at the top.

If you are deleting a single file, then you can use the > Delete option under the Actions column.

Step 3

Click Delete in the confirmation dialog box.

Download plan files

This section explains how to download plan files.

You can download up to 10 files at a time.

Procedure

Step 1

From the main menu, choose Network Models.

Step 2

From the user space, select the plan files that you want to download and click the icon at the top.

If you are downloading a single file, then you can use the > Download option under the Actions column.

The plan files are downloaded to your local machine. When downloading more than one plan file, the files are bundled together in a single .tar file.

Key features of the Network Models page

All plan files, archived network models, and other files are listed in the Network Models page. To access this page, from the main menu, choose Network Models.

The following image and the table describe the various actions you can perform in the Network Models page:

Figure 1. Network models user interface

Callout No.

Description

1

My user space: My user space serves as an exclusive storage for the logged-in user, containing plan files and other files. Each user has their own space where they can view, edit, create, or delete plan files. Except for admin users, the users cannot view the plan files used by the other users.

By default, My user space contains few sample plan files.

There are four sub-sections under this section:

  • Network models—Lists all the plan files accessible to the logged-in user.

    Note

     

    In the right panel, the grayed out selection check box next to a plan file indicates that the plan file is currently open, and you cannot delete it.

  • Recent—Displays the logged-in user's recently accessed plan files.

  • Starred—Displays the plan files that are marked as favorites by the logged-in user.

  • All files—In addition to plan files, Cisco Crosswork Planning supports few other type of files. For example, patch files, output result files, and so on. The All files section displays these types of files (along with plan files) accessible to the logged-in user.

2

All user spaces: If you are an admin user, you can access the plan files from the user spaces of other users. The All user spaces section displays the plan files and all other files that are available in the user spaces of other users.

3

Local archive: If the Cisco Crosswork Planning Collector and Cisco Crosswork Planning Design applications are installed on the same machine, the Local archive section displays the archived network models that are generated using this application.

4

Remote archive: Displays the archived network models that are generated by the external collectors. Access this archive when the Cisco Crosswork Planning Collector and Cisco Crosswork Planning Design applications are installed on different machines.

5

Starred: Click the icon to mark the plan files as favorites. The files marked as favorites appear under My user space > Starred.

6

Plan files table: The table lists all the plan files that are available in the user space.

Use the icon under the Actions column to

  • view the details of the plan file.

    Note

     
    Use this option to add or delete tags from the plan files.

  • open the plan file in the Network Design page

  • make a copy of the plan file in the user space

  • download the plan file to your local machine, and

  • delete the plan file from the user space.

Figure 2. Actions menu

7

Search plan files: Use the Search bar at the top of the page to search for the required plan file.

8

List and card layouts: The plan files inside the user space can be either visualized in a list layout (default) or a card layout. Use these icons to toggle between list and card views.

9

Filter: Use Show/Hide Floating Filters icon to filter the plan files based on file types or by tag names.

It also allows you to filter the data in the table based on the date range you want to view (specific date, 3 months, 1 month, 1 week, and 1 day).

Key features of the Network Design page

When you click the plan file name in the Network Models page, it opens in the Network Design page. This page displays the network plot which shows sites that appear to be connected by circuits, though they actually connect to nodes (routers) within each site. The nodes within the sites are connected with intra site circuits. Each circuit consists of two interfaces. The page also displays information related to each object in the network model in a tabular format.

There are four primary sections in the Cisco Crosswork Planning Network Design page.

  • Plan file tabs

  • Toolbar

  • Network plot

  • Network Summary panel

The following image and the table describe the various actions that you can perform in the Network Design page:

Figure 3. Network Design user interface

Callout No.

Description

1

 Plan file tabs—Identifies which plan files are currently open. At a time, you can open three plan files. To bring a plan file to the forefront and make it active, click its associated tab. To open a new plan file, click the + icon at the end of this tab bar.

2

Design engine profile selection—Allows you to choose the design engine profile for synchronous tasks. For details, see Select design engine profiles.

3

Toolbar—Provides options for network modeling, simulation, and optimization.

  • Actions—Contains options related to tools, initializers, and reports. Use the Actions > Insert option to create various plan objects.

  • Preset workflows—Includes options that allow you to navigate to the simulation and optimization tools quickly.

    • Evaluate impact of failures—Helps you navigate to the Simulation analysis tool.

    • Evaluate impact of traffic growth—Helps you navigate to the Create growth plans tool.

    • Perform capacity planning—Helps you navigate to the Capacity planning optimization tool.

    • Perform optimization—Helps you navigate to the various LSP, SR LSP, and RSVP LSP optimization tools.

  • Show Layer 3—Indicates that the UI is currently displaying Layer 3 (L3) networks.

  • Plot view—Lets you choose the type of traffic displayed in the plot. For details, see Network plots.

  • Network options—Lets you set global simulation modes, such as Full Convergence or Fast Reroute for MPLS, and whether to include multicast hops. You can also set IGP, BGP, and Multicast protocol options.

  • Simulate icon ()—Triggers resimulation. By default, any change that voids the current simulation does not automatically trigger resimulation. For example, changes in topology trigger requires a resimulation. For details, see Auto-resimulation.

4

Network plot—Displays a visual representation of the network topology. The color on each interface represents the percentage of traffic utilization on that interface (see Traffic utilization). When you select the objects in the Network Summary tables, such as demands or interfaces, they are highlighted in the plot.

  • and icons—There are two views available to visualize the network topology graphically: Schematic view and Geographical view. For details, see Graphical network topology views.

  • Show Groups—In a schematic view, use this check box to group or ungroup the nodes. For details, see Grouping of nodes.

  • Auto-Focus—When this option is selected, selecting an object in the Network Summary table automatically focuses on it in the network plot. This option is selected by default.

  • The legend icon (Advanced Filter icon)—Use this icon to display a legend of icons and line types in the plot, and their meanings.

  • and icons—Use these icons to gradually zoom in and zoom out the network topology.

  • The Auto-fit icon ()—Use this icon to automatically adjust the topology map to fit within the network plot.

5

Network Summary panel—Provides a tabular summary of various objects in the network. For details, see Network summary tables.

6

Object tabs and tables—There are numerous tables available for specialized purposes, such as Multicast, P2MP LSPs, and Ports. The tables listed in Common tables are the most commonly used and are the defaults.

To bring a table to the forefront and make it the active table, click its associated tab. For example, to open the LSPs table, click the LSPs tab. If the tab you want to use is not visible, then click the Show/hide tables icon (Show/Hide Tables Icon) and check the check box corresponding to the required object.

The tables display a series of rows and columns, where the rows are objects and the columns are properties.

7

Settings button—Use the button at the top right corner to enable/disable the Auto-resimulate option. For more information, see Auto-resimulation.

8

Save views—Use the Save view button to save views of the commonly used tables. For more details, see Save table views.

9

Show/hide tables—Use Show/Hide Tables Icon to show or hide one or more object tables from the Network Summary panel. For details, see Show or hide tables or columns.

10

Show/hide table columns—Use Show/Hide Columns Icon to show or hide one or more columns from the object tables. For details, see Show or hide tables or columns.

11

Filter icons—There are three filter options available in Cisco Crosswork Planning: Floating filter, Advanced filter, and Cross table filter. For details, see Search and filter in tables.

Select design engine profiles

At the top of the Network Design page, all available synchronous engine profiles are displayed. By default, a synchronous engine profile with the highest memory is selected (Auto). If you need to work on a large plan file that requires more vCPU and memory, you can select the engine profile with higher vCPU and memory allocations. For information on design engine profiles, see Design engine instances.

Follow these steps to change the engine profile as per your requirement.

Before you begin

Ensure that the required engine profiles are available. For details on creating design engine instances, see Create design engine services

Procedure

Step 1

From the main menu, choose Network Design.

Step 2

Close any open plan files.

Step 3

Select the required synchronous engine profile from the drop-down list located next to the page title.

Ensure that the engine profile's "State" is Up and "Availability" is Idle. If the does not meet this requirement, a red icon is displayed next to it in the drop-down. You can also check the status of the engine profile on the Design Engine Instances page.

Step 4

Open the required plan files and start working on them. They will now use the selected engine profile for all synchronous tasks.

Assign sites to nodes

The Assign sites to nodes initializer helps to reorganize your network by changing the node-to-site mappings. Although nodes do not have to be contained in sites, adding them to sites can simplify and improve the visualization of the network. For example, you would typically place all nodes in the same geographic location or point-of-presence (PoP) into a single site.

Using this initializer, you can:

  • Create a node-to-site association based on a simple mapping rule that applies to all nodes. This creates a temporary mapping that is not stored in the plan file.

  • Create or customize a Node-to-site mapping table, which uses rules to map nodes to sites based on regular expression substitutions. Because the table is stored in the plan file (as a <NodeSiteMappingRules> table), you can maintain and reuse it.

Site assignment rules

This section explains how the Assign sites to nodes initializer assigns sites to nodes.

If a node is ...

Then ...

in an external AS

Cisco Crosswork Planning assigns it to a site named after the AS name. If the AS name does not exist, Cisco Crosswork Planning assigns the node to a site named after its ASN.

not in an external AS and is not a pseudo-node (PSN)

Cisco Crosswork Planning assigns nodes to sites based on the Simple mapping rules or on the Node-to-Site mapping rules, depending on what you choose in the Assign sites to nodes window.

not in an external AS and it is a PSN

Cisco Crosswork Planning assigns it to the site that contains the most nodes connected to the PSN. In case of a tie, Cisco Crosswork Planning assigns the node to the site with the lowest lexicographic name.

Simple mapping rules

To create temporary node-to-site mappings that are not stored in the network model, click the Use simple mapping rule radio button in the Assign sites to nodes window.

The mapping is created using two fields:

  • Node name delimiter(s)—Identifies which sections of the node names to use in the assignments. By default, these are a period, a hyphen, and a colon (.-:). New site names are based on the sections between these characters. For example, by default Cisco Crosswork Planning parses the node name of acme.router into two sections: acme and router.

  • Site name—Determines how to create the site names based on the node names. In the following list, # equals any integer.

    • $#—Specifies the section reading left to right. For example, $1 matches chicago in chicago.isp. Note that $0 specifies the entire node name.

    • [#:#]—Specifies the character range reading left to right. For example, $1[1:3] matches chi in chicago.isp.

    • $-#—Specifies the section name reading right to left. For example, $-1 matches jose in san.jose.

    • [-#:-#]—Specifies the character range reading right to left. For example, both $2[-4:-1] and $-2[-4,-1] match jose in san.jose.cr1.

Node-to-Site mapping rules

To create a Node-to-Site Mapping <NodeSiteMappingRules> table in the network model, particularly for use by the template:

  1. Click the Use rules in node-to-site mapping table radio button in the Assign Sites to Nodes window.

  2. Click Add icon and enter the details.

    Column

    Description

    Order

    Identifies the order in which rules are applied.

    Node matches

    Regular expression matching the node names.

    Site expression

    Site name expression, which can use references in the Node matches rule.

An attempt is made to match the node name to expressions in the Node matches column. If a match is found, the node is assigned to the site as defined by the corresponding Site expression. The order in which these matches are attempted is defined by the Order column.

Examples

  • Node-to-site mapping example matches cr1.lax into lax-core and er1.lax into lax-edge.

    Figure 4. Node-to-site mapping example

  • This table describes the examples of various combinations of Node matches and Site expression values, and the corresponding results.

    Node matches

    Site expression

    Result

    cr1.chi.isp.net

    chi

    Map node cr1.chi.isp.net to site chi.

    .*\.(.*)\..*

    $1

    Map node cr1.chi.isp.net to site chi as above, but also maps node cr1.okc.isp.net to site okc.

    ..(.)\.(.*)..*

    $2-$1

    Map node cr1.par.isp.net to site par-1.

Run the Assign sites to nodes initializer

This section explains how to run the Assign sites to nodes initializer.

Procedure

Step 1

Open the plan file (see Open plan files). It opens in the Network Design page.

Step 2

Choose Actions > Initializers > Assign sites to nodes.

Step 3

Choose one or more nodes for which you want to assign sites.

Step 4

Click Next.

Step 5

Choose which method of node-to-site mappings to use.

  • To use a temporary node-to-site mapping that is not stored in the plan file, click Use simple mapping rule.

  • To use a Node-to-Site Mapping table that is saved in the file, click Use rules in node-to-site mapping table.

    • To add a new rule, click Add icon and enter the details.

    • To edit an existing rule, click the Edit button.

    • To delete an existing rule, click the Delete button. To delete multiple rules, select the rules and click Delete icon.

Step 6

For those nodes that the node-to-site definition does not find or cannot create a matching site, you have the option to keep the nodes in their current sites (if applicable) or to remove them from sites. To keep them in their current sites, check the Keep unmatched nodes in current sites check box.

Step 7

Choose the options as follows.

Option

Description

  • For nodes that are in external ASes, assign them to sites according to one of the following options:

    • AS name, then ASN if the name is empty

    • ASN

    • Using the same rules as other sites

  • Choose whether to assign PSN nodes and all remaining nodes to sites with most connections.

Step 8

Click Next and verify the assignments.

Step 9

When you are satisfied with the mappings, click Submit.

Assign geographic locations to sites

Cisco Crosswork Planning includes a database of worldwide city names and airport codes that identify the longitude and latitude of major cities. Use the Actions > Initializers > Assign locations to sites initializer that accesses this database to let you quickly lay out sites within a network with geographic precision.


Note
Changing the geographic location of a site does not change the location of its children sites.

Follow these steps to assign multiple sites to locations.

Procedure

Step 1

Open the plan file (see Open plan files). It opens in the Network Design page.

Step 2

From the toolbar, choose Actions > Initializers > Assign locations to sites.

Figure 5. Assign locations to sites

Step 3

Set the longitude and latitude values using one of the following methods. In each of these two methods, Cisco Crosswork Planning fills in the fields with the most closely associated airport or city code in its database, thereby assigning longitude and latitude.

  • Select one or more rows from the table. Click either Best match > Best match by site or Best match > Best match by location. Cisco Crosswork Planning finds the airport or city codes that most suitably match the site or location.

  • Select a row from the table. Click either Choose all matches > Choose all matches by site or Choose all matches > Choose all matches by location. Cisco Crosswork Planning finds all airport or city codes that might be applicable to that site or location. Choose the one you want.

If you match by site, locations might change based on the match. If you match by location, the site names do not change.

Step 4

Click Save to accept the newly assigned locations.

Initialize site location

As an alternative to using the Assign locations to sites initializer, you can set a location from the Edit window. For best results, use airport codes.

Procedure

Step 1

Open the plan file (see Open plan files). It opens in the Network Design page.

Step 2

In the Network Summary panel on the right side, select one or more sites from the Sites table.

Step 3

Click Edit icon.

If you are editing a single site, you can also use the > Edit option under the Actions column.

Step 4

In the Location field, enter a geographic name, such as a city name. Cisco Crosswork Planning fills in the Location fields with the most closely associated airport or city code in its database. Choose the location.

Figure 6. Choosing geographic location

Step 5

Click Save to accept the newly assigned location.

Network topology

Network plots

The network plot, also referred to simply as the plot, is the main area showing the network topology. It can contain both sites and nodes. From the main menu, choose Network Design to view the network plots. Although Cisco Crosswork Planning shows only the sites in the network plot and tables, you can view those sites in more depth.

Figure 7. Network plot views

There are multiple network plot views available. The default view is Simulated traffic. To change the view, select it from the Plot view drop-down list.

  • Simulated traffic—View of simulated traffic that can be used for capacity planning, what-if analysis, and failure planning. Circuits are sized proportional to their capacity. Interfaces are colored according to the percentage of simulated traffic (in comparison to available capacity as defined by the size of the interface or the QoS bound).


    Note

    You can observe the colored links only if the auto-resimulation is enabled. To trigger the resimulation manually, click in the toolbar. For details on updating the auto-resimulation setting, see Auto-resimulation.

  • Measured traffic—View of traffic as measured from live views of the network. Circuits are sized proportional to their capacity. Interfaces are colored according to the percentage of measured traffic (in comparison to available capacity as defined by the size of the interface or the QoS bound).

  • Worst-case traffic—Interfaces are colored to show the maximum utilization of the interface over all failure scenarios as defined by the most recently run simulation analysis. For more information, see Evaluate Impact of Worst-Case Failures.

  • Failure impact—Interfaces and nodes are colored to indicate how a failure of that interface or node would impact other interfaces and nodes. For more information, see Evaluate Impact of Worst-Case Failures.

  • LSP reservations—Circuits are sized proportional to their LSP reservable bandwidth. Interfaces are colored according to the percentage of bandwidth (in comparison to what is reserved for the LSP). For information, see Configure RSVP-TE Routing.

Site plots

The site plot can contain other sites or nodes and their connecting interfaces, including external interfaces that are labeled with their destination node.

To open a site plot, click a single site from the network plot.

Figure 8. Site with three nodes

Graphical network topology views

There are two views available to visualize the network topology graphically.

  • Schematic View: Click in the network plot to visualize the topology in a schematic view. This view shows the network topology, positioned according to an automatic layout algorithm, ignoring their geographical location. You can change the layout using . You can drag and move the nodes/sites in schematic view. However, the positions of the nodes/sites are not persisted across user sessions.

  • Geograpic View: Click in the network plot to visualize the topology in a geographic view. This view shows network topology, superimposed on a map of the world. Each device location on the map reflects the device's GPS coordinates (longitude and latitude) as defined in the device inventory. If the GPS coordinates are not available, then this view will be unavailable and nodes will be placed in a pre-determined location.

Grouping of nodes

In the schematic view (), the nodes are grouped based on the sites that they belong to. Use the Show Groups check box to group or ungroup the nodes based on sites. When a site is clicked, the topology schematic map is replaced with a new map that will only show the nodes that are part of the site and the links that interconnect these nodes.

In the geographical view (), the nodes are grouped and ungrouped automatically based on the geographical location.

Representation of plan objects

For detailed information on how the plan objects are represented in the network plot, click the icon in the network plot.

Traffic utilization

The links between nodes are colored according to the simulated, measured, or worst case utilization. Each link may have two different colors based on the utilization of each unidirectional interface that the link represents. The color fill of an interface shows the bandwidth utilization for traffic leaving that interface in proportion to the interface capacity. That is, it shows the traffic utilization. Rows that are selected in the tables, such as demands or interfaces, are highlighted in the plot.


Note

You can observe the colored links only when you trigger the resimulation. To trigger the resimulation, click in the toolbar. By default, the auto resimulation is off in Cisco Crosswork Planning. To change this default setting, see Auto-resimulation.

Following table lists the mapping between the color of the links and the traffic utilization.

Traffic Utilization

Color

Example

0%

Light grey

< 30%

Dark green

30 to 50%

Light green

50 to 80%

Blue

80 to 90%

Light orange

90 to 100%

Orange red

Above 100%

Red

No traffic

Dark grey

All parallel links between two nodes to be clustered to form a single link are shown as dotted lines. When a clustered link is selected, the network summary table on the right side shows the constituent links and provides a way to select each one of them separately.


Note

All traffic is displayed in Mbps. In the network plot, the traffic utilization colors represent outbound traffic.

Example: Determine traffic utilization

In this example, we determine the traffic utilization of the interfaces between the sites, "lon" and "par", and "us_customer" and "wdc".

Procedure

Step 1

Open the plan file (see Open plan files). It opens in the Network Design page.

Step 2

Click the link between the sites. In this example, click the links between "lon" and "par", and "us_customer" and "wdc". The circuits are selected in the Network Summary table.

Step 3

In the Network Summary panel on the right side, choose Cross Table Filter icon > Filter to circuits. The Circuits table opens and shows only the selected circuits.

Step 4

Select the circuits and choose Cross Table Filter icon > Filter to interfaces. The Interfaces table opens and shows only the interfaces included in the selected circuits.

Step 5

Notice the utilization values in the Util sim column.

  • For "to_cr1.par" interface, the Util sim value is 33.49%, which is between the 30-50% level denoted by light green. The interface is filled with green that extends to fill almost half of this interface. The other half of the circuit ("to_cr1.lon") displays the traffic utilization for the reverse direction, which is 78.38% for this interface, which is between 50-80% level denoted by Blue.

  • For "to_us_customer" interface, the Util sim value is 80.15%, which is between the 80-90% level denoted by light orange. The other half of the circuit ("to_cr2.wdc") displays the traffic utilization for the reverse direction, which is 47.96% for this interface, which is between 30-50% level denoted by light green.

Step 6

To show all the interfaces, clear the applied filter.

Identify most highly utilized interface

Identifying the most utilized interfaces is useful when analyzing large, complex networks.

Procedure

Step 1

Open the plan file (see Open plan files). It opens in the Network Design page.

Step 2

In the Interfaces table, click the Util sim column heading to sort the interfaces by descending order. Click it two more times; the column sort toggles between ascending and descending order.

Step 3

Notice that the most utilized interface is at the top row. Select this top row. The interface highlighted in the plot is the most highly utilized interface.

Step 4

Deselect the row to deselect the interfaces.

Network summary tables

The Network Summary tables are displayed on the right side of the Network Design page. They display a series of rows and columns, where the rows are objects and the columns are properties (Common table functions). Network models also contain other tables that are not viewable from the UI. These tables contain more complex information, such as showing complex relationships between objects. If you open a network model using a .txt editor, each table is labeled with angle brackets, such as <Nodes> and <Sites>.

Common tables

There are numerous tables available for specialized purposes, such as Multicast, P2MP LSPs, and Ports. The tables listed below are the most commonly used and are the defaults.

To bring a table to the forefront and make it the active table, click its associated tab. For example, to open the LSPs table, click the LSPs tab.

  • Interfaces—A list of the interfaces in the network.

  • Demands—A list of the demands in the network. Each demand specifies how much traffic is routed from a source (node, external AS, or external endpoint) to a destination (node, external AS, external endpoint, or multicast flow destination).

  • Nodes—A list of network routers, which typically have names that suggest their location and function. For example, node cr1.atl is core router 1 in the Atlanta site.

  • LSPs—A list of MPLS LSPs in the network; each LSP contains both source and destination. Note that sub-LSPs within point-to-multipoint (P2MP) LSPs are listed in the LSP table.

  • Sites—A list of network sites.

  • SRLGs—A list of the shared risk link groups (SRLGs); an SRLG is a group of objects that might all fail due to a common cause.

  • AS—A list of both internal and external autonomous systems (ASes). An AS is a collection of connected IP routing prefixes that are controlled by one operator.

Figure 9. Common table functions

Work with tables and object selections

This section familiarizes you with the basic dynamics between tables and objects, such as nodes, sites, circuits, interfaces, and ports. When you select an object in a table, it is automatically selected in the network plot. Conversely, whatever you select in the network plot is selected in the tables.

Task: Show different tables and select objects. Each time you make a selection, observe what happens in the tables and in the network plot to see their relationships.

Procedure

Step 1

If the plan file is not open, open it using the steps mentioned in Open plan files.

Step 2

Notice that the Interfaces tab is selected in the Network Summary panel on the right side. Click the Sites tab (click More > Sites) to show the Sites table.

Step 3

From the Sites table on the right side, select various sites, and each time notice that the circle color around the selected site changes to Grey color.

Step 4

Show the Circuits table (which is not in the default table tabs) using the Show/hide tables icon (Show/Hide Tables Icon). For details, see Show or hide tables or columns.

Step 5

In the Circuits table, select the circuits of your choice. Notice that the selected circuit rows are highlighted as are the corresponding circuits in the network plot. Conversely, if you select the circuits in the network plot, the corresponding rows are highlighted in the table.

If you select two circuits, it selects four interfaces (two interfaces per circuit). To verify these selections, in the Circuits table, ensure that the circuits are selected and click the Cross table filter icon (Cross Table Filter icon). Then, choose Filter to interfaces. The Interfaces table shows the four interfaces.

Step 6

In all the tables, check the selection check box in the header row to select all the objects. The selected objects are highlighted in the network plot. Uncheck this check box to deselect all the objects.

Show or hide tables or columns

Table 1. Show or Hide Tables or Columns

To...

Do This...

Show one or more tables

  1. In the Network Summary panel on the right side, click the Show/hide tables icon (Show/Hide Tables Icon).

  2. Check the check boxes for the objects that you want to show and uncheck the ones you want to hide. For example, if you want to display the Circuits table, then select the check box next to Circuits.

    Note

     
    Use the Search bar at the top to search for the table names quickly.

  3. Click Apply.

Show/hide tables

Show or hide one or more columns

  1. In the Network Summary panel on the right side, select the required Object tab.

  2. Click the Show/hide table columns icon (Show/Hide Columns Icon).

  3. Check the check boxes for the columns that you want to show and uncheck the ones you want to hide. For example, if you want to display the Capacity column in the table, then select the Capacity check box.

    Note

     
    Use the Search bar at the top to search for the column names quickly.
Show/hide tables

Search and filter in tables

Use the following filter options to search and filter the values in tables:

  • Floating filter—Click the Show/Hide Floating Filters icon icon to toggle the display of the floating filters at the top of each column. Using this filter you can set the filter criteria on one or more columns in the table.

    To clear all the filters, click the X icon in the Filters field that appear above the table.

  • Advanced filter—Use the Advanced Filter icon icon to filter the table to a list of specific search values:

    1. Choose from the drop-down lists and enter the value.

    2. If you are filtering by more than one criterion, you can optionally use these controls:

      • All (AND)—(Default) Filters to only those rows that match all the specified criteria (default).

      • Any (OR)—Filters to rows that match any one of the criteria.

  • Cross table filter—Use the Cross Table Filter icon icon to filter the selection to associated objects. For example, you might want to filter a circuit to associated interfaces. To use this option, select the object from the Network Summary table, and choose Filter > Filter to X, where X is a name of a viable object.

Sort columns in tables

Click the column headings to toggle the columns to sort in ascending or descending order. Notice the upward and downward arrows in the column headings. The upward arrow indicates that the columns are sorted in the ascending order, while the downward arrow indicates the descending order.

Save table views

The network models contain multiple object tables. In Cisco Crosswork Planning, you can save the views of the most commonly used tables. When the saved view is applied, the network model displays only the tables that are saved in the view.

Procedure

Step 1

If the plan file is not open, open it using the steps mentioned in Open plan files.

Step 2

Use Show/Hide Tables Icon to show or hide the tables as per your requirement. For details, see Show or hide tables or columns.

Step 3

Click > Save view in the top right corner.

The Save View As window appears.

Step 4

Enter the name and click Save.

The newly created view appears in the Saved views list.

Step 5

Apply Views:

  1. Click the Saved views drop-down list. List of all the saved views are displayed.

  2. Click the thumbnail of the view (in the card layout) or the view name (in the list layout) to apply the view on the network model.

Step 6

Rename Views:

When a view is applied on a network model, you can rename it.

  1. Ensure that the view is applied (see Step 5).

  2. Click > Rename view. The Rename View window appears.

  3. Enter a new name for the view and click Save.

Step 7

Delete Views:

  1. Click > Manage views. List of all the saved views are displayed.

  2. Click the Advanced Filter icon icon in the view that you want to delete.

  3. Click Delete in the confirmation window.