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This chapter addresses the following topic:
The tables below describe highlights of new features and optimizations in recent AVC releases. They do not provide a full feature history of Cisco AVC.
•For Cisco IOS Releases, see Table B-1.
•For Cisco IOS XE Releases, see Table B-2.
Table B-1 AVC Feature History for Cisco IOS Releases
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Cisco IOS 15.4(1)T |
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Convergence of Cisco AVC Architecture Across Platform Types |
The convergence of AVC architecture brings together the strongest AVC features from IOS and IOS XE platforms, providing powerful features and greater standardization of configuration tasks across different Cisco platforms. Metrics, such as ART, HTTP, and QoS metrics, that were available in earlier releases can now be configured in the same way as on Cisco IOS XE platforms. Additional metrics are also newly available for Cisco IOS. |
Metric Mediation Agent (MMA) |
The Metric Mediation Agent (MMA) introduces an enhancement to Cisco AVC infrastructure, enabling addition of stateful and derived parameters with dynamic registration. The MMA provides aggregation of connections, history, and alarms from the route processor. The aggregated data is exported at a lower speed than the data path export. For more information about the MMA, see: |
QoS Metrics |
This Cisco AVC release provides new monitors for collecting metrics related to Quality of Service (QoS) policy. Monitors can indicate: •Packets dropped on an interface, per QoS queue, due to a QoS policy that limits resources available to a specific type of traffic. •Class hierarchy (indicating traffic priority) of a reported flow, as determined by the QoS policy map. For more information, see: |
Easy Performance Monitor (ezPM) Configuration |
Easy Performance Monitor "express" method of provisioning monitors. Easy perf-mon provides "profiles" that represent typical deployment scenarios. After a user selects a profile and specifies a small number of parameters, Easy perf-mon provides the remaining provisioning details. This release provides one profile, which includes five different traffic monitors. Future releases will provide additional options. For more information, see: |
Customizing attribute values |
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Export Spreading |
The export-spreading feature spreads out the export of records from the monitor cache over a time interval, to improve collector performance. For more information, see: |
IPv6 Support |
The Cisco AVC solution supports both IPv4 and IPv6. |
Features Available Prior to Cisco IOS 15.4(1)T |
|
Unified Solution |
Unifies the technologies of several reporting/control solutions. AVC technologies include the configuration mechanism, metrics, and reports of such components as TCP performance, Medianet, and so on. |
Media Metrics |
For an overview of the metrics collected by Cisco routers, both for Cisco IOS and for Cisco IOS XE, see: |
Cisco Performance Agent (MACE) Metrics, including: •Application response (ART) •FNF •HTTP •QoS |
For information about using these metrics, see: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/ios-xml/ios/wan_waas/configuration/15-mt/cfg-avc-mace.html |
TCP Performance Metrics |
AVC includes several TCP performance measurements for traffic performance reporting. |
Cisco Prime Infrastructure |
The Cisco Prime Infrastructure management and reporting system is an integral part of the Cisco AVC solution and provides extensive management and reporting features, including provisioning the system, storing exported data, and generating reports. |
Table B-2 AVC Feature History for Cisco IOS XE Releases
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Cisco IOS XE 3.11S |
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New metric added to track information about the interface being monitored |
The "observation point id" metric provides the physical port number of the interface to which the monitor is attached. |
Customizing attribute values |
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Interoperability with Cisco GET VPN |
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Cisco IOS XE 3.10S |
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Improved Exporting Model |
An improved and optimized exporting configuration model includes: •Exporting only a single record per packet, reducing duplicate data. •Optimizing monitor assignment. •Filtering low-bandwidth traffic. •Per server reports. The improved exporting model is used as part of the Easy Performance Monitor profile included in this release. |
Easy Performance Monitor Configuration |
Easy Performance Monitor "express" method of provisioning monitors. Easy perf-mon provides "profiles" that represent typical deployment scenarios. After a user selects a profile and specifies a small number of parameters, Easy perf-mon provides the remaining provisioning details. This release provides one profile, which includes five different traffic monitors. Future releases will provide additional options. For more information, see: |
Performance Improvements |
This release includes changes, such as an improved exporting model, predefined monitors, and MMA optimization, that improve performance by up to 30%. |
Parsing URI Address |
This release introduces the ability to parse URI addresses, enabling AVC to report depth 1 of the URI and filter traffic according to that value. For more information, see: |
Support for Records with 40 Fields |
This release introduces support for configuring records containing 40 fields. |
Cisco IOS XE 3.9S |
|
Enhanced Connection/Transaction Metrics |
Beginning with IOS XE release 3.9S, Flexible NetFlow (FNF) monitors can report on individual transactions within a flow. This enables greater resolution for traffic metrics. For more information, see: |
QoS Metrics |
This Cisco AVC release provides new monitors for collecting metrics related to Quality of Service (QoS) policy. Monitors can indicate: •Packets dropped on an interface, per QoS queue, due to a QoS policy that limits resources available to a specific type of traffic. •Class hierarchy (indicating traffic priority) of a reported flow, as determined by the QoS policy map. For more information, see: |
Cisco IOS XE 3.8S |
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Interoperability with Cisco AppNav |
Cisco AppNav is the Wide Area Application Services (WAAS) diversion mechanism. Beginning with IOS XE release 3.8S, AVC provides statistics before and after the AppNav WAAS service controller (AppNav SC), as well as inspecting and reporting application information on optimized traffic. |
Unified Solution |
Unifies the technologies of several reporting/control solutions. AVC technologies include the configuration mechanism, metrics, and reports of such components as TCP performance, Medianet, and so on. |
Metric Mediation Agent (MMA) |
The Metric Mediation Agent (MMA) is a new infrastructure element developed in the IOS XE 3.8 release to manage, correlate, and aggregate metrics from different metric providers. MMA provides the following functions: •Controls traffic monitoring and filtering policy. •Correlates data from multiple metric providers (see Metric Providers) into the same record. •Aggregates metrics. •Supports history and alert functions. This requires sending the metrics records to the route processor (RP) before exporting them to the management and reporting tools. |
TCP Performance Metrics |
This release adds several TCP performance measurements for traffic performance reporting. |
Interoperability with AppNav |
AppNav is the Wide Area Application Services (WAAS) diversion mechanism. AVC for IOS XE 3.8 provides statistics before and after the AppNav WAAS service controller (AppNav SC), as well as inspecting and reporting application information on optimized traffic. |
Packet Capture |
Cisco Embedded Packet Capture (EPC) technology performs packet capture. |
Cisco Prime Infrastructure |
The Cisco Prime Infrastructure management and reporting system is an integral part of the Cisco AVC solution and provides extensive management and reporting features, including provisioning the system, storing exported data, and generating reports. |
IPv6 Support |
The Cisco AVC solution supports both IPv4 and IPv6. |