Troubleshooting Prime Infrastructure
Cisco Prime Infrastructure provides helpful tools for network operators to connect to Cisco experts to diagnose and resolve problems. You can open support cases and track your cases from Prime Infrastructure. If you need help troubleshooting any problems, Prime Infrastructure allows you to:
-
Connect with the Cisco Support Community to view and participate in discussion forums (see “Launching the Cisco Support Community”.
-
Open a support case with Cisco Technical Support (see “Opening a Support Case”).
Related Topics
Launching the Cisco Support Community
You can use Prime Infrastructure to access and participate in discussion forums in the online Cisco Support Community. This forum can help you find information for diagnosing and resolving problems.
You must enter your Cisco.com username and password to access and participate in the forums.
To launch the Cisco Support Community:
Step 1 Display the Device 360° View page for the device on which you need support (see “Getting Device Details from the Device 360° View” in Related Topics).
Step 2 On the Device 360° View page, choose
Actions > Support Community
.
Step 3 If asked to log in, enter your Cisco.com username and password. The Cisco Support Community page displays a list of posts and discussions related to the device for which you need support.
Step 4 Using the Cisco Support Community page:
-
Enter additional keyword parameters or select a time-period to filter the discussions that are displayed.
-
Select the
Join the Discussion
link next to any of the related forum discussions to see details of the discussion or ask your own questions.
-
Select
Post a New Question
to post a new question in any of the Cisco Support Community forums
Related Topics
Opening a Support Case
You can use Prime Infrastructure to open a support request and to track your support cases. Prime Infrastructure helps you gather critical contextual information to be attached to the support case, reducing the time that it takes to create a support case.
To open a support case or access the Cisco Support Community, you must:
-
Have a direct connection to the internet from the Prime Infrastructure server.
-
Enter your Cisco.com username and password.
Step 1 Display the Device 360° View page for the device on which you need support (see “Getting Device Details from the Device 360° View” in Related Topics).
Step 2 Using the Device 360° View page, choose
Actions > Support Request
.
Step 3 If asked to log in, enter your Cisco.com username and password.
Step 4 To check on or update an existing case, enter the case number and click
Update Case
. Otherwise, click
Create
to open a new support case.
Prime Infrastructure gathers information about the device and populates the fields for which it can retrieve information. You can enter a Tracking Number that corresponds to your own organization’s trouble ticket system.
Step 5 Click
Next
and enter a description of the problem.
By default, Prime Infrastructure enters information that it can retrieve from the device. Prime Infrastructure automatically generates the necessary supporting documents such as the technical information for the device, configuration changes, and all device events over the last 24 hours. You can also upload files from your local machine and make them attachments to the support case.
Step 6 Click
Create Service Request
.
Related Topics
Improving Prime Infrastructure Performance
You can improve Prime Infrastructure’s speed and scalability using several techniques.
Related Topics
Tuning the Server
You can improve Prime Infrastructure’s performance and scalability by increasing the amount of RAM, CPU, and disk space allocated to the Prime Infrastructure server and its virtual machine (or VM).
Successful server tuning requires you to complete the following workflow:
1. Changes to the VM include a risk of failure. Take an application backup before making any changes to the VM (for details, see “Triggering Application Backups” in Related Topics).
2. Although it is enabled by default, you should ensure that the Server Tuning option is enabled before making changes to the VM (see “Enabling Server Tuning During Restarts”)
3. Perform the resource modifications in the VM, then restart the VM and the server (see “Modifying VM Resource Allocation Using VMware vSphere Client”).
Related Topics
Enabling Server Tuning During Restarts
During system start, the Prime Infrastructure server inspects its VM hardware allocations for changes and will adjust to make use of expanded resources automatically.
The “Enable Server Tuning during restart option” is enabled by default and you will not want to change this setting under normal circumstances. If you find that the Prime Infrastructure server is not taking advantage of recent changes to its hardware, such as a larger RAM or disk space allocation, follow the steps below to ensure the tuning feature is enabled,
Step 1 Choose
Administration > Settings > System Settings > General > Server Tuning
.
Step 2 Select the
Enable Server Tuning during restart
check box, then click
Save
.
Related Topics
Modifying VM Resource Allocation Using VMware vSphere Client
Use the following steps to make changes to the virtual appliance RAM, CPU or disk space resource allocations.
Be sure to back up the Prime Infrastructure server before attempting these types of changes (see “Backing Up and Restoring Prime Infrastructure” in Related Topics).
Please note that Compliance Services features will not work if you expand the RAM, CPU or disk space resource allocations after installation.
Tip For better performance: If you are changing RAM and CPU resource allocations for the virtual machine on which you run Prime Infrastructure, and you have more than one virtual machine running on the same hardware, you may also want to change your RAM and CPU resource reservations using the vSphere Client’s Resource Allocation tab. For details, see “VMware vSphere documentation” in Related Topics.
Step 1 Open a CLI session with the Prime Infrastructure server (see “Connecting Via CLI”).
Step 2 Stop Prime Infrastructure using the
ncs stop
command (see “Stopping Prime Infrastructure”).
Step 3 Halt the VMware virtual appliance:
PIServer/admin#
halt
Step 4 Launch the vSphere Client, right-click the virtual appliance, then click
Edit Settings
.
Step 5 To change the RAM allocation, select
Memory
and change the
Memory Size
as needed. Then click
OK
.
Step 6 To change the CPU allocation, select
CPUs
and select the
Number of Virtual Processors
from the drop-down list. Then click
OK
.
Step 7 To add a new disk (you cannot expand the space of the existing disk):
a. Click
Add
.
b. Select
Hard Disk
, then click
Next
.
c. Check
Create a new virtual disk
, then click
Next
.
d. Enter the desired
Disk Size
and specify a
Location
for the new virtual disk, then click
Next
.
e. With the Advanced Options displayed, click
Next
, then click
Finish
.
Step 8 Power on the virtual appliance (see “Restarting Prime Infrastructure”)
Related Topics
Compacting the Prime Infrastructure Database
You can reclaim disk space by compacting the Prime Infrastructure database.
Step 1 Open a CLI session with the Prime Infrastructure server (see “Connecting Via CLI”).
Step 2 Enter the following command to compact the application database:
PIServer/admin#
ncs cleanup
Step 3 When prompted, answer
Yes
to the deep cleanup option.
Related Topics
Configuring Client Performance Settings
You can configure many client processes to improve Prime Infrastructure performance and scalability (see Related Topics).
Related Topics
Enabling Automatic Client Troubleshooting
The
Administration > Settings > System Settings > Client and User > Client
page allows you to enable automatic client troubleshooting on a diagnostic channel for your third-party wireless clients running Cisco Compatible Extensions (CCX).
With this feature enabled, Prime Infrastructure will process the client ccx test-association trap that invokes a series of tests on each CCX client. Clients are updated on all completed tasks, and an automated troubleshooting report is produced (it is located in dist/acs/win/webnms/logs). When each test is complete, the location of the test log is updated in the client details pages, in the V5 or V6 tab, in the Automated Troubleshooting Report area. Click
Export
to export the logs.
When this feature is not enabled, Prime Infrastructure still raises the trap, but automated troubleshooting is not initiated.
Automatic client troubleshooting is only available for clients running CCX Version 5 or 6. For a list of CCX-certified partner manufacturers and their CCX client devices, see the Cisco Compatible Extensions Client Devices page, linked under Related Topics, below.
Step 1 Choose
Administration > Settings > System Settings
>
Client and User > Client
. The Client page appears.
Step 2 In the
Process Diagnostic Trap
area
,
select the Automatically troubleshoot client on diagnostic channel check box, then click
Save
.
Related Topics
Enabling DNS Hostname Lookup
DNS lookup can take a considerable amount of time, so Prime Infrastructure has it disabled by default.
You can enable or disable the DNS lookup for client hostnames, and change how long Prime Infrastructure retains the results of previous DNS lookups in its cache.
Step 1 Choose
Administration > Settings > System Settings
>
Client and User > Client
.
Step 2 Select the Lookup client host names from DNS server check box.
Step 3 Enter the number of days that you want the hostname to remain in the cache, then click Save.
Related Topics
Specifying How Long to Retain Client Association History Data
Client association history can take a lot of database and disk space. This can be an issue for database backup and restore functions. The retention duration of client association history can be configured to help manage this potential issue.
Step 1 Choose
Administration > Settings > System Settings
>
Client and User > Client
.
Step 2 Under Data Retention, change the following parameters as needed:
-
Dissociated Clients
—Enter the number of days that you want Prime Infrastructure to retain the data. The valid range is 1 to 30 days.
-
Client session history
—Enter the number of days that you want Prime Infrastructure to retain the data. The valid range is 7 to 365 days.
-
Number of Rows To Keep
—Enter the maximum number of client session records to maintain. The default is 8,000,000.
Step 3 Click
Save
.
Related Topics
Polling Clients When Receiving Client Traps/Syslogs
Under normal circumstances, Prime Infrastructure polls clients on a regular schedule, every few minutes, identifying session information during the poll. You can also choose to have Prime Infrastructure poll clients immediately whenever traps and syslogs are received from them. This helps you discover new clients and their sessions quickly.
This option is disabled by default, as it can affect Prime Infrastructure performance. Busy networks with many clients can generate large amounts of traps and syslogs, especially during peak periods when clients are roaming and associating/disassociating often. In this case, polling clients every time you receive a trap or syslog may be an unnecessary processing burden.
If you enable the Wireless Polling Clients when Receiving Client Traps/Syslogs option, Prime Infrastructure enables Client Authentication, Client Deauthentication, and Client Disassociate Traps on the WLC even if you previously disabled the traps on the WLC. Prime Infrastructure triggers the WLC Sync operation, which enables the client traps on WLC.
Step 1 Choose Administration > Settings > System Settings > Client.
Step 2 Select the Poll clients when client traps/syslogs received check box. Prime Infrastructure will poll clients as soon as a trap or syslog is received, to identify client sessions.
Step 3 Click
Save
.
Related Topics
Saving Client Traps as Events
In some deployments, Prime Infrastructure might receive large amounts of client association and disassociation traps. Saving these traps as events can cause slow server performance. In addition, other events that might be useful could be aged out sooner than expected because of the amount of traps being saved.
Follow the steps below to ensure that Prime Infrastructure does not save client association and disassociation traps as events.
Step 1 Choose Administration > Settings > System Settings > Client.
Step 2 Unselect the Save client association and disassociation traps as events check box.
Step 3 Click Save to confirm this configuration change. This option is disabled by default.
Related Topics
Saving 802.1x and 802.11 Client Traps as Events
You must enable
Save 802.1x and 802.11 client authentication failed traps as events
for debugging purposes.
Step 1 Choose Administration > Settings > System Settings > Client.
Step 2 Select the
Save 802.1x and 802.11 client authentication fail traps as events
check box.
Step 3 Click Save to confirm this configuration change.
Related Topics
Enabling Enhanced Client Traps
To enable enhanced client traps:
Step 1 Choose Administration > Settings > System Settings > Client and User > Client.
Step 2 Select the Discover Clients from enhanced client traps check box.
Step 3 Make sure that the Prime Infrastructure server is registered as a Trap receiver on Cisco WLC for receiving Client traps. The following trap flags need to be enabled on the devices for enhanced client trap to work:
-
config trapflags client enhanced-802.11-associate enable
-
config trapflags client enhanced-802.11-deauthenticate enable
-
config trapflags client enhanced-authentication enable
-
config trapflags client enhanced-802.11-stats enable
Step 4 To log the incoming enhanced client traps on the Prime Infrastructure side, you can enable client trap logging via ssh to root shell. This generates clientTraps.log file under the /opt/CSCOlumos/logs file.
-
/opt/CSCOlumos/bin/setLogLevel.sh com.cisco.client.traps TRACE
Related Topics
Optimizing Memory for Assurance Processing
Prime Infrastructure’s Assurance features depend heavily on high-volume NetFlow data forwarded to the Prime Infrastructure server by devices, including NAMs. Because Prime Infrastructure always aggregates NetFlow data before storing it, supporting Assurance features with appropriate data is a memory-intensive process.
With more working memory to hold NetFlow data during aggregation, Prime Infrastructure can get this job done faster and more efficiently. This can lead to important performance improvements if your organization licenses Assurance features and makes heavy use of them.
Prime Infrastructure offers features to help you:
-
Determine how much memory is currently allocated to Assurance-related data processing, and how completely individual Assurance features are using that memory pool.
-
Increase the default pool of memory used to process Assurance-related data.
-
Balance the memory allocated to individual Assurance features, so those with the greatest demand for memory get what they need.
The amount of performance improvement you can get from using these features depends on the memory available and how you use Assurance features, but can be substantial. For example: Given a Prime Infrastructure Professional implementation with the recommended minimum hardware Prime Infrastructure can process up to 414,000 NetFlow host records in a single five-minute aggregation cycle. With Assurance memory optimization, maximum processing for the same type of data is closer to 800,000 records per cycle.
You can increase the Assurance memory pool without balancing Assurance memory allocations, and vice versa. But using these two optimization options together is the best way to improve Prime Infrastructure performance when Assurance features are used.
Related Topics
Monitoring Assurance Memory Allocation and Demand
You can quickly see Prime Infrastructure’s current Assurance-related memory allocation and usage.
Step 1 Select
Services > Application Visibility & Control > Data Sources
.
Step 2 Select the text link
Assurance Memory Statistics
(in the upper right corner of the page). Prime Infrastructure displays:
-
The current memory allocation in megabytes for each of the main Assurance feature categories, including Traffic, Performance Routing, Applications, Voice-Video data, Device Health, Lync and other data.
-
The usage of each area’s memory allocation over the last 24 hours. The percentage represents the peak memory usage over that period (that is, if 100 percent of the memory allocation is used at any point in the past 24 hours, the usage percentage shown will be 100 percent).
Related Topics
Increasing the Assurance Memory Pool Via CLI
You can use the Prime Infrastructure command line to allocate more memory to all types of Assurance-related data processing. Note that using the
ncs tune-resources assurance
command requires a server restart. Once restarted, the server will increase the total pool of memory allocated to all Assurance-related data processing.
Step 1 Open a CLI session with the Prime Infrastructure server (see “Connecting Via CLI”).
Step 2 Enter the following command:
PIServer/admin#
ncs tune-resources assurance
Step 3 Restart the Prime Infrastructure server (see “Restarting Prime Infrastructure”).
Related Topics
Balancing Assurance Memory Allocation
You can use the Prime Infrastructure interface to automatically balance the allocation of the total Assurance memory pool to individual categories of Assurance-related data processing, ensuring that those Assurance features that need memory the most are getting it.
Step 1 Select
Services > Application Visibility & Control > Data Sources
.
Step 2 Select the text link
Assurance Memory Statistics
(in the upper right corner of the Data Sources page).
Step 3 Click
Rebalance
.
Prime Infrastructure will change Assurance memory allocations to individual features as needed, reducing allocations for less-used features and increasing allocations for features where usage over the past 24 hours was at or near 100 percent.
Related Topics
Resetting Assurance Memory Allocation
You can use the Prime Infrastructure interface to cancel Assurance memory balancing, returning the allocation for each Assurance-related feature to its default value.
Step 1 Select
Services > Application Visibility & Control > Data Sources
.
Step 2 Select the text link
Assurance Memory Statistics
(in the upper right corner of the Data Sources page).
Step 3 Click
Reset
.
Related Topics
Resetting the Assurance Memory Pool
You can use the Prime Infrastructure command line to return the Assurance memory pool to the default allocation, disabling all changes created using the
ncs tune-resources assurance
command explained in “Increasing the Assurance Memory Pool Via CLI”.
Step 1 Open a CLI session with the Prime Infrastructure server (see “Connecting Via CLI”).
Step 2 Enter the following command:
PIServer/admin#
ncs tune-resources default
Step 3 Restart the Prime Infrastructure server (see “Restarting Prime Infrastructure”).
Related Topics
Performing Special Administrative Tasks
Prime Infrastructure provides administrators with special access in order to perform a variety of infrequent tasks, including
-
Connecting to the server via an SSH command-line interface (CLI) session.
-
Changing server hardware setup and resource allocations.
-
Starting, stopping, and checking on the status of Prime Infrastructure services.
-
Running Prime Infrastructure processes accessible only via the CLI.
-
Managing access rights, including changing passwords for user IDs with special tasks.
-
Removing or resetting Prime Infrastructure.
Related Topics
Connecting Via CLI
Administrators can connect to the Prime Infrastructure server via its command-line interface (CLI). CLI access is required when you need to run commands and processes accessible only via the Prime Infrastructure CLI. These include commands to start the server, stop it, check on its status, and so on.
Before you begin, make sure you:
-
Know the user ID and password of an administrative user with CLI access to that server or appliance. Unless specifically barred from doing so, all administrative users have CLI access.
-
Know the IP address or host name of the Prime Infrastructure server.
Step 1 Start up your SSH client, start an SSH session via your local machine’s command line, or connect to the dedicated console on the Prime Infrastructure physical or virtual appliance.
Step 2 Log in as appropriate:
a. If you are using a GUI client: Enter the ID of an active administrator with CLI access and the IP address or host name of the Prime Infrastructure server. Then initiate the connection.
Or
b. If you are using a command-line client or session: Log in with a command like the following:
[localhost]#
ssh
username@IPHost
Where:
–
username
is the user ID of a Prime Infrastructure administrator with CLI access to the server..
–
IPHost
is the IP address or host name of the Prime Infrastructure server or appliance.
Or
c. If you are using the console: A prompt is shown for the administrator user name. Enter the user name.
Prime Infrastructure will then prompt you for the password for the administrator ID you entered.
Step 3 Enter the administrative ID password. Prime Infrastructure will present a command prompt like the following:
PIServer/admin#.
Step 4 If the command you need to enter requires that you enter “configure terminal” mode, enter the following command at the prompt:
PIServer/admin#
configure terminal
The prompt will change from
PIServer/admin# to PIServer/admin/conf#
.
Related Topics
Starting Prime Infrastructure
You will need to start Prime Infrastructure after upgrades.
Step 1 Open a CLI session with the Prime Infrastructure server (see “Connecting Via CLI”).
Step 2 Enter the following command to start the Prime Infrastructure server or appliance:
PIServer/admin#
ncs start
Related Topics
Checking Prime Infrastructure Server Status
You can check on the status of all Prime Infrastructure server or appliance processes at any time, without stopping the server. Technical Assistance personnel may ask you to perform this task when troubleshooting a problem with Prime Infrastructure.
You can also check on the current health of the server using the dashlets on the Admin Dashboard (see “Monitoring Prime Infrastructure Health”).
You can check on the status of High Availability options enabled on the server using the command
ncs ha status
(see “Checking High Availability Status”).
Step 1 Open a CLI session with the Prime Infrastructure server (see “Connecting Via CLI”).
Step 2 Enter the following command to display the current status of Prime Infrastructure processes and services:
PIServer/admin#
ncs status
Related Topics
Checking Prime Infrastructure Version and Patch Status
You can check on the version of a Prime Infrastructure server and the patches applied to it at any time, without stopping the server. You will usually need to do this when upgrading or patching the server software.
Step 1 Open a CLI session with the Prime Infrastructure server (see “Connecting Via CLI”).
Step 2 Enter the following command to display the current status of Prime Infrastructure processes and services:
PIServer/admin#
show version
Related Topics
Stopping Prime Infrastructure
You can stop a Prime Infrastructure server or appliance at any time using the command line interface. Any users logged in at the time you stop Prime Infrastructure will have their sessions stop functioning.
Step 1 Open a CLI session with the Prime Infrastructure server (see “Connecting Via CLI”).
Step 2 Enter the following command to stop the Prime Infrastructure server or appliance:
PIServer/admin#
ncs stop
Related Topics
Restarting Prime Infrastructure
Step 1 Open a CLI session with the Prime Infrastructure server (see “Connecting Via CLI”).
Step 2 Enter the following command to stop the Prime Infrastructure server or appliance:
PIServer/admin#
ncs stop
Step 3 Wait for the previous command to complete.
Step 4 Enter the following command to restart the Prime Infrastructure server or appliance:
PIServer/admin#
ncs start
Related Topics
Removing Prime Infrastructure
You may need to remove Prime Infrastructure in preparation for a clean “from scratch” re-installation. You can do so by following the steps below
Note that this procedure will delete all your existing data on the server, including all server settings and local backups. You will be unable to restore your data unless you have a remote backup or access to disk-level data recovery methods.
Step 1 Stop the server (see “Stopping Prime Infrastructure”).
Step 2 In the VMware vSphere client, right-click the Prime Infrastructure virtual appliance.
Step 3 Power off the virtual appliance.
Step 4 Right click on the powered-off virtual appliance and select
Delete from Disk option
.
Related Topics
Resetting Prime Infrastructure to Defaults
You may need to reset the installed Prime Infrastructure server to factory defaults, removing all user data and customizations, but preserving the installation itself. You can do so by following the steps below.
Note that this procedure will delete all your existing data on the server host except for the default settings supplied with Prime Infrastructure. You will be unable to restore your data unless you have a remote backup or access to disk-level data recovery methods.
Step 1 Stop the server (see “Stopping Prime Infrastructure”).
Step 2 Download the installation ISO image appropriate for your installed version of the Prime Infrastructure virtual or physical appliance server software and burn it to DVD (see “Getting the Installation ISO Image”).
Step 3 Power off the virtual appliance.
Step 4 Reinstall the appliance or OVA by booting the host from the DVD.
Related Topics
Restoring Physical Appliances to Clean State
You will want to restore your Prime Infrastructure physical appliance to a clean state in preparation for an RMA return or other hardware retirement.
Note that this procedure will delete all of your existing data on the server, including all server settings, local backups, and the Prime Infrastructure software. You will be unable to restore your data unless you have a remote backup. Restoring the host to a clean state also ensures data security by preventing disk-level data recovery.
Step 1 Stop the server (see “Stopping Prime Infrastructure”).
Step 2 Power off the physical appliance, then power on.
Step 3 During the boot sequence, press
Ctrl+H
when prompted. The console displays the RAID Configuration screen.
Step 4 Click the virtual drive containing the Prime Infrastructure server.
Step 5 Select
slow init
to re-initialize the hard drive. The physical appliance will overwrite the entire drive with zeroes.
Related Topics
Changing the Prime Infrastructure Host Name
Prime Infrastructure prompts you for a host name when you install the server. For a variety of reasons, you may find there is a mismatch between the host name on the Prime Infrastructure server and the host name elsewhere. If so, you can recover without reinstalling by changing the host name on the server.
Step 1 Open a CLI session with the Prime Infrastructure server (see “Connecting Via CLI”). Be sure to enter “configure terminal” mode.
Step 2 Enter the following command:
PIServer/admin(config)#
hostname
newHostName
Where
newHostName
is the new host name you want to assign to the Prime Infrastructure server.
Step 3 Restart the Prime Infrastructure server using the
ncs stop
and
ncs start
commands, as explained in Restarting Prime Infrastructure
Related Topics
Enabling the FTP User
To use Prime Infrastructure as an FTP server for file transfers and software image management, an administrator must configure an FTP account. Use the steps below to enable the account and set a password for it.
Step 1 Open a CLI session with the Prime Infrastructure server (see “Connecting Via CLI”).
Step 2 Enter the following command:
PIServer/admin#
ncs password ftpuser
ftp-user
password
password
Where:
-
ftp-user
is the username for FTP operation.
-
password
is the login password for
username
.
Note The username for FTP must be ftp-user.
For example:
pi-system-999/admin# ncs password ftpuser ftp-user password MyPassword
Initializing...
Updating FTP password.
This may take a few minutes...
Successfully updated location ftp user
pi-system-999/admin#
Related Topics
Changing the Root User Password
Administrators can change the password associated with this special administrative ID.
Step 1 Open a CLI session with the Prime Infrastructure server (see “Connecting Via CLI”).
Step 2 Enter the following command:
PIServer/admin#
ncs password root password
password
Where
password
is the root user login password. You can enter a password not exceeding 80 characters.
For example:
PIServer/admin# ncs password root password #password#
pi-system-198/admin# ncs password root password #password#
Password updated for web root user
pi-system-198/admin#
Related Topics
Recovering Administrator Passwords on Virtual Appliances
You can recover (that is, reset) administrator passwords on Prime Infrastructure virtual machines (also known as OVAs) installed on your own hardware.
Before You Begin
Ensure that you have:
-
Physical access to the Prime Infrastructure server.
-
A copy of the installation ISO image appropriate for your version of the software. See “Getting the Installation ISO Image” in Related Topics.
-
Access to the VMware vSphere client, and to the vSphere inventory, Datastores and Objects functions. If you do not have such access, consult your VMware administrator. You should avoid accessing ESX directly from the vSphere client.
Step 1 At the Prime Infrastructure OVA server, launch the VMware vSphere client.
Step 2 Upload the installation ISO image to the data store on the OVA virtual machine, as follows:
a. In the vSphere inventory, click
Datastores
.
b. On the
Objects
tab, select the datastore to which you will upload the file.
c. Click the
Navigate to the datastore file browser
icon.
d. If needed, click the
Create a new folder
icon and create a new folder.
e. Select the folder that you created or select an existing folder, and click the
Upload a File
icon.
If the Client Integration Access Control dialog box appears, click
Allow
to allow the plug-in to access your operating system and proceed with the file upload.
f. On the local computer, find the ISO file and upload it.
g. Refresh the datastore file browser to see the uploaded file in the list.
Step 3 With the ISO image uploaded to a datastore, make it the default boot image, as follows:
a. Using the VMware vSphere client, right-click the deployed OVA and choose
Power > Shut down guest
.
b. Select
Edit Settings > Hardware
, then select
CD/DVD drive 1
.
c. Under
Device Type
, select
Datastore ISO File
, then use the
Browse
button to select the ISO image file you uploaded to the datastore.
d. Under
Device Status,
select
Connect at power on
.
e. Click the
Options
tab and select
Boot Options
. Under
Force BIOS Setup
, select
Next time VM boots, force entry into BIOS setup Screen
. This will force a boot from the virtual machine BIOS when you restart the virtual machine.
f. Click
OK
.
g. In the VMware vSphere client, right-click the deployed OVA and choose
Power > Power On
.
h. In the BIOS setup menu, find the option that controls the boot order of devices and move
DVD/CDROM
to the top.
Step 4 Follow the steps below to reset a server administrator password:
a. Save your BIOS settings and exit the BIOS setup menu. The virtual machine will boot from the ISO image and display a list of boot options.
b. Enter
3
if you are using the keyboard and monitor to access the OVA, or
4
if you are accessing via command line or console. The vSphere client displays a list of administrator user names.
c. Enter the number shown next to the administrator username for which you want to reset the password.
d. Enter the new password and verify it with a second entry.
e. Enter
Y
to save your changes and reboot.
f. Once the virtual machine has rebooted: Using the vSphere client, Click the CD icon and select
Disconnect ISO image
.
Step 5 Log in with the new administrator password.
Related Topics
Recovering Administrator Passwords on Physical Appliances
You can recover (reset) administrator passwords on Prime Infrastructure physical appliances.
Before You Begin
Ensure that you have:
-
Physical access to the Prime Infrastructure appliance.
-
A copy of the appliance recovery CD that was supplied with the shipped appliance.
If you have lost the appliance recovery CD, download and burn a DVD copy of the ISO image, as explained in “Getting the Installation ISO Image”. You can then use the DVD to reset administrator passwords on the appliance (see “Recovering Administrator Passwords on Virtual Appliances” for detailed steps).
Step 1 Place the appliance recovery CD in the appliance's optical drive and reboot the appliance. The vSphere client displays a list of boot options.
Step 2 Enter
3
to select the
Reset Administrator Password (Keyboard/Monitor)
boot option. The vSphere client displays a list of administrator user names.
Step 3 Enter the number shown next to the administrator user name for which you want to recover (reset) the password.
Step 4 Enter the new password and verify it with a second entry.
Step 5 Enter
Y
to save your changes and reboot.
Step 6 Log in with the new administrator password.
Related Topics
Getting the Installation ISO Image
Copies of the Prime Infrastructure installation ISO image are needed for some special maintenance operations, such as resetting administrator passwords.
Prime Infrastructure ISO image files have the format
PI-APL-
version
-K9.iso
, where
version
is the version number of the product. The version number will often contain extended numbering indicating the patch level of the product. For example: If you were using a fully-updated version of Prime Infrastructure 3.0, you would need to download the ZIP archive file
PPI-APL-3.0.0.78-1-K9.iso.zip
from Cisco.com, and then extract the
PI-APL-3.0.0.78-1-K9.iso
ISO image filefrom the archive file.
If you do not have a copy of the ISO image, you can download it from Cisco.com using the steps below:
Step 1 On a browser with internet access, link to the Cisco Software Download Navigator (see Related Topics).
Step 2 Use the
Find
box to search for “Cisco Prime Infrastructure”.
Step 3 From the results list, select the software version you are using (for example, if you were using Prime Infrastructure 3.0, you would select
Cisco Prime Infrastructure 3.0
).
Step 4 Select
Prime Infrastructure Software
to display the list of ISOs and other downloadable image files for that software version.
Step 5 Download the ISO image from the page.
Step 6 When the download is complete, check that the MD5 checksum of the downloaded file matches the checksum shown for the file on its Cisco.com download page. If the checksums do not match, the file is corrupt, and you will need to download it from Cisco.com again.
Step 7 If you need the ISO image on disk: Burn the ISO image to a Dual Layer DVD using DVD authoring software. For reliable results, we recommend that you conduct the burn at single (1X) speed and with the “Verify” option turned on.
Related Topics
Keeping Prime Infrastructure Software Updated
Cisco provides updates to Prime Infrastructure software periodically. These updates fall into the following categories:
-
Critical Fixes—Provide critical fixes to the software. We strongly recommend that you download and apply all of these updates as soon as they are available.
-
Device Support—Adds support for managing devices which Prime Infrastructure did not support at release time. These updates are published on a monthly basis.
-
Add-Ons—Provide new features, which can include new GUI screens and functionality, to supplement the Prime Infrastructure version you are using.
For details on how to find these updates, and how to get notifications when they are released, see “Viewing Installed and Available Software Updates” in Related Topics.
The update notifications that Prime Infrastructure displays are based on the Notification Settings you specify using
Administration > Settings > System Settings > Software Update
. For details, see “Configuring Software Update Notifications”.
For details on installing these updates, see “Installing Prime Infrastructure Software Updates”.
For details on streamlining your software update notifications and installations using your Cisco.com account, see “Using Your Cisco.com Account Credentials with Prime Infrastructure”.
Related Topics
Viewing Installed and Available Software Updates
Prime Infrastructure allows you to:
-
Receive notifications when new software updates become available.
-
Modify how and when you are notified that new software updates are available.
-
View the details of each update.
-
See which software updates have been installed.
The following topics explain how to perform each of these tasks.
Related Topics
Getting Software Update Notifications
When properly configured, Prime Infrastructurewill notify you automatically when new software updates are available.
Step 1 Choose
Administration > Settings > System settings > General > Account credentials
Step 2 Enter a valid Cisco.com user name and password.
Step 3 Click
Save
.
Step 4 Choose
Administration > Settings > System Settings > General > Software Update
.
Step 5 Under Notification Settings, select the categories for which you want updates displayed on the
Administration > Software Update
page.
Step 6 Click
Save
.
To see notifications: Click on the notifications icon at the top right, next to the alarms icon.
Related Topics
Configuring Software Update Notifications
You can modify the update notifications that Prime Infrastructure displays on the
Administration > Software Update
page. For example, if you do not want to install any updates to Prime Infrastructure, you can disable all notification and prevent Prime Infrastructure from displaying notifications of available updates.
Step 1 Choose
Administration > Settings > System Settings > General > Software Update
.
Step 2 Under Notification Settings, select the categories for which you want updates displayed on the
Administration > Software Update
page.
Step 3 Click
Save
.
Related Topics
Viewing Details of Installed Software Updates
Step 1 Choose
Administration Settings > Licenses and Software Updates > Software Update
.
Step 2 Click the
Updates
tab to see the Name, Type, Version and Status for each installed software update.
To filter this list, click the Filter icon at the right side of the Updates tab and select the categories of installed updates you want to see.
Step 3 Click the
Files
tab to see the list of installed UBF files and downloaded UBF files which have yet to be installed.
To delete a software update file that has not yet been installed, select the file and click
Delete
.
Related Topics
Viewing Installed Updates From the Login Page
Step 1 Launch or log out of Prime Infrastructure. The login page displays.
Step 2 Click
View installed updates
. Prime Infrastructure displays a popup list of the names and versions of all installed software updates.
Step 3 Click the
Close
button to close the popup list.
Related Topics
Viewing Installed Updates From the About Page
Step 1 Click the settings icon at the upper right corner of any Prime Infrastructure page.
Step 2 Click
About Prime infrastructure
. The About page appears, listing the version of the product and other details
Step 3 Click
View installed updates
. Prime Infrastructure displays a popup list of the names and versions of all installed software updates.
Step 4 Click the
Close
button to close the popup list.
Related Topics
Installing Software Updates
Prime Infrastructure periodically provides critical fixes, device support, and add-on updates that you can download and install by choosing
Administration > Software Update
. Depending on your connectivity and preference, you can install software updates by:
-
Downloading updates directly from Cisco.com to the Prime Infrastructure server. To use this method, your Prime Infrastructure server must be able to connect externally to Cisco.com. For details, see “Installing Software Updates from Cisco.com” in Related Topics.
-
Downloading software update files to a client or server with external connectivity, then uploading them to and installing them on the Prime Infrastructure server. For details, see “Uploading and Installing Downloaded Software Updates” in Related Topics.
Related Topics
Installing Software Updates from Cisco.com
The following steps explain how to install software updates directly from Cisco.com. This procedure assumes that Prime Infrastructure has external connectivity to Cisco.com and that you want to download updates directly from Cisco.com.
Step 1 Choose
Administration > Licenses and Software Updates > Software Update
.
Step 2 Click the
download
link at the top of the page to get the latest updates from Cisco.com.
Step 3 Enter your Cisco.com login credentials. Prime Infrastructure lists the available updates.
If you receive an error indicating there was a problem connecting to cisco.com, verify your proxy settings by choosing
Administration > Settings > System Settings > General > Proxy
. If your proxy settings are not working, deselect
Enable Proxy
, then click
Save
.
Step 4 Click
Show Details
to see the details about the updates.
Step 5 Click
Download
next to the update you want to install.
Step 6 After the update has been downloaded, click
Install
on the message that appears.
The Status of Updates section shows the installed software updates.
Step 7 If prompted to restart the Prime Infrastructure server, follow the steps explained in the related topic, “Restarting Prime Infrastructure”.
Related Topics
Uploading and Installing Downloaded Software Updates
The following steps explain how to upload and install software updates. This procedure is useful when your Prime Infrastructure server does not have external connectivity, or you prefer to download files on a different server.
Step 1 Choose
Administration > Licenses and Software Updates > Software Update
.
Step 2 Click the
upload
link at the top of the page.
Step 3 On the Upload Update window, click
Cisco Download
, which displays Cisco.com’s “Download Software” page.
Step 4 Select
Products > Cloud and Systems Management > Routing and Switch Management > Network Management Solutions > Prime Infrastructure
.
Step 5 Select the correct version of Prime Infrastructure.
Step 6 Select an update software type (such as “Prime Infrastructure Device Packs”).
Step 7 From the page that appears, click
Download
next to the file containing the updates you want. The file will have a UBF filename extension.
If you have not already stored your Cisco.com credentials (see “Saving Cisco.com Account Credentials in Prime Infrastructure” in Related Topics), you will be prompted to log in to Cisco.com, and to accept your organization’s active license agreement with Cisco, before you can download the update file.
Be sure to download software updates that match your Prime Infrastructure version. For example, if you were running Prime Infrastructure 2.2, be sure to download software updates for version 2.2 only.
Step 8 With the update file downloaded to your client machine, return to the Prime Infrastructure tab and choose
Administration > Licenses and Software Updates > Software Update
.
Step 9 Click
Upload
and browse to locate and select the update file you downloaded.
Step 10 Click
Install
for the updates you have uploaded.
The Status of Updates section shows the installed software updates.
Step 11 If prompted to restart the Prime Infrastructure server, follow the steps explained in the related topic, “Restarting Prime Infrastructure”.
Related Topics
Using Your Cisco.com Account Credentials with Prime Infrastructure
You can store your Cisco.com account user name and password in Prime Infrastructure. Doing so will allow you to streamline download and installation of software updates, and speed automatic checking and notification of updates.
Note that Prime Infrastructure stores only one set of Cisco.com credentials at a time. The password is stored in secure, encrypted form. It will use this stored user name and password to do all software update notification checks and downloads until such time as another user either deletes the stored credentials (as explained in “Deleting Cisco.com Account Credentials” in Related Topics) or overwrites them by entering a new Cisco.com user name and password.
Related Topics
Saving Cisco.com Account Credentials in Prime Infrastructure
Step 1 Choose
Administration > Settings > System settings > Account credentials
Step 2 Enter a valid Cisco.com user name and password.
Step 3 Click
Save
.
Related Topics
Deleting Cisco.com Account Credentials
Step 1 Choose
Administration > Settings > System settings > Account credentials
.
Step 2 Click
Delete
.
Step 3 Click
Yes
to confirm the deletion.
Related Topics