First Published: May 22, 2017

Cisco Transport Planner Release Notes

This Release Notes document contains information about new features and enhancements for the Cisco Transport Planner (CTP). For detailed information regarding features, capabilities, hardware, and software introduced with this release, refer to the Release 10.6.2 version of the Cisco Transport Planner DWDM Operations Guide .

Cisco also provides Bug Search Tool, a web resource for tracking defects. To access the Bug Search Tool, visit the following URL:

https://bst.cloudapps.cisco.com/bugsearch

New Features

This section highlights new features supported by CTP Release 10.6.2. For detailed documentation of each of these features, refer to the Cisco Transport Planner DWDM Operations Guide.

Table 1. New Features in Cisco Transport Planner, Release 10.6.2

Features

Description

Additional support for NCS2K-400G-XP card

This card supports 16G-FC and OTU2 service also in addition with 100G and 10GE-LAN-PHY service types.

Support for new pluggables

The following pluggables are supported:

ONS-QC-16GFC-SW

  • Supported service type: 16G FC
  • Supported card: 400G-XP-LC

ONS-QSFP-4x10-MLR

  • Supported service types: OTU2, 10GE, OC192/STM64
  • Supported cards: 400G-XP-LC

    200G-CK-LC + MR-MXP+MR-MXP with SD-FEC_20

    200G-CK-LC + MR-MXP with FEC/EFEC/SD-FEC

    200G-CK-LC + MR-MXP (200G Mxp 100G + 10x10G Mode) with SD-FEC_20

    200G-CK-LC + 10X10G-LC + MR-MXP with SD-FEC_20

Support for OC192 and OTU2 service types on MR-MXP cards

OC192 and OTU2 service types are supported on the following OpModes:

  • 200G-CK-LC + MR-MXP + MR-MXP with SD-FEC_20
  • 200G-CK-LC + MR-MXP with FEC/EFEC/SD-FEC_20
  • 200G-CK-LC + MR-MXP (200G Mxp 100G + 10x10G Mode) with SD-FEC_20
  • 200G-CK-LC + 10X10G-LC + MR-MXP with SD-FEC_20
Support for Layer-2 SMR

Layer-2 SMR extends the available interconnection degree ports to derive more number of contentionless sides. Layer-2 contentionless sides will be created only after L1 contentionless sides are exhausted.

Support of M12 Chassis on Flex package The M12 Chassis is supported on Flex package as a subtended shelf with TCC3 controller card.
Support for legacy TXP/MXP cards on M12 Chassis in Flex package

When you configure the demand on CTP using the legacy TXP/MXP cards, after analysis, CTP automatically places M12 chassis with the following legacy TXP/MXP cards.

  • 15454-10E-L1-xx.x
  • 15454-10ME-xx.x
  • 15454-DM-L1-xx.x
  • 15454-10DME-C=
  • 15454-GE-XP
  • 15454-10GE-XP
  • 15454-OTU2-XP

Note

 

The 15454-OTU2-XP card can be placed in M12 chassis using Layout adjustment.

Support for 6AD-CFS

The MF-6AD-CFS Add/Drop is supported in flex network for SMR-20 with evolved mesh off for Directional Colorless configuration, in addition with OmniDirectional Colorless configuration.

Support for SMR1 and SMR2 on M15 Chassis

The 15454-40-SMR1-C and 15454-40-SMR2-C is supported on M15 Chassis.

Support for AR-XP/AR-MXP Regen

Regen is supported for AR-XP/AR-MXP with LR mode cards with OTU1 framing type.

Important Notes

  • In Release 10.6.2 Beta and earlier, MR-MXP Break-out unit was enabled by default. In Release 10.62 FCS, MR-MXP Break-out unit is disabled by default. You must check the site level check box to enable MR-MXP Break-out unit.

    Reason for change is, MR-MXP Break-out unit is supported only with SM pluggable. But in CTP, the default pluggable is MM. Therefore, disabling the MR-MXP Break-out unit avoids placing the Break-out unit wrongly with MM pluggable.

  • You must delete cache before using the new CTP build.

    Follow the below procedure to avoid any network corruption while using new CTP builds. This is applicable whenever two different CTP builds of same release is being used (like 10.6.2 Beta and FCS). Before using the new build, you must delete the CTP cache. To do this, use the Delete cache feature of CTP.

    1. Open CTP.

    2. Go to Tools > Delete cache and then follow the prompts.

Performing Software Updates in CTP

CTP enables you to update the CTP software automatically or manually.

Performing Automatic Software Updates in CTP

This section explains how to perform an automatic software update.

Procedure

Step 1

When CTP is launched, it checks for the latest software update automatically. If available, the following dialog box appears: Online Update Available, Would you like to Update CTP?Click Yes.

Step 2

The Software Update Dialog box appears listing the applicable software updates. Select the required software update and click Apply.

Step 3

The Update Successful message appears. Click OK.

Note

 
The Update dialog box appears every time CTP is launched until the software update is applied.

Performing Manual Software Updates in CTP

Contact the Cisco Sales/Account team to get the software update files.

This section explains how to perform a manual software update.

Procedure

Step 1

In the CTP Help menu, go to Help Check updates. The update CTP dialog box appears.

Step 2

Click Browse.

Step 3

Select the .upz update file and click OK.

Step 4

The Software Update Dialog box appears listing the applicable software updates. Select the required software update and click Apply.

Step 5

The Update Successful message appears. Click OK.

Step 6

Delete the cache and restart CTP.

Performing Software Update Rollback

CTP allows rollback of software updates. A single rollback moves the CTP software to the previous state (prior to the software update). For example, if there are two updates applied one by one—Update 1 and Update 2, after the first rollback, CTP removes Update 2 and retains Update 1. Further rollbacks are needed if multiple updates are present.

This section explains how to perform a rollback.

Procedure

Step 1

Press R while CTP is launching. The CTP launch is interrupted to perform a software rollback.

Step 2

Click Yes to confirm software rollback. The rollback successful dialog box appears.

Note

 

  • Delete CTP Cache before and after applying update. Procedures about deleting cache are mentioned in the CTP Operations Guide. Take a backup of the required files (User preferences, CTP Design Files (.mpz), NeUpdate File, Alien Files, and so on) before deleting CTP cache.

  • Automatic Update can be performed only when you are connected to the Cisco network. If you are not on a Cisco network, try to connect to Cisco VPN first. Otherwise, the software update file should be manually provided by a Cisco representative and manually updated.

  • Changes caused by the software update is applicable even if the CTP Cache is deleted after the update. To remove an update, follow the rollback procedure mentioned in the previous section.

  • Multiple rollbacks are not supported in this release. Re-install CTP if required.

  • In the Java Control Panel, set the Java security to medium and mention the CTP installation directory in the Exception Site List (if there are issues with the rollback). If the screen is unresponsive, end CTP process and restart CTP.

  • For MAC, force quit the process and restart CTP (if there are issues with the rollback).

  • After uninstallation, delete all the files under the directory where CTP is installed manually.

    • Default location on Windows OS: C:\Program Files\Cisco\CTP10.6.2.

    • Default location on Mac OS: Applications/CiscoCTP10.6.2.

Software and Hardware Requirements

Before you begin to install CTP Release 10.6.2, you must check if your system meets the minimum software and hardware requirements.

This section describes the software and hardware requirements for CTP Release 10.6.2.

Operating System Requirements

CTP Release 10.6.2 runs on systems with the following operating systems:

  • Microsoft Windows 10 Professional
  • Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
  • Linux
  • Apple Mac OS (up to X El Capitan).

Note
Microsoft Windows 10 Professional is the preferred operating system for CTP Release 10.6.2.

Supported Java Runtime Environment

CTP Release 10.6.2 requires that you install one of the following Java Runtime Environment versions:

  • Java 1.7

  • Java 1.8

Hardware Requirements

CTP Release 10.6.2 runs on systems with the following hardware configurations:

Hardware

Minimum Requirements

Typical Requirements

Recommended Requirements

CPU

Intel Pentium Processor 800 MHz

Intel Pentium Processor 1.4 GHz

Intel Pentium Processor 1.7 GHz

Memory

1024 MB RAM

1 GB RAM

2 GB RAM or more

Video Resolution

1024x768

1280x1024

1280x1024

Customizing Memory Usage for JVM

CTP Release 10.7 allows you to customize the maximum amount of memory to be used by the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). The default value of 1024 MB is appropriate for use with the recommended hardware (1GB of RAM).

For hardware using less physical memory, it is recommended that you reduce the maximum amount of memory to be used by the JVM. This reduction prevents the system from using system virtual memory, which results in poorer system performance.

If you reduce the amount of memory dedicated to JVM, Cisco Transport Planner may generate an Out of Memory error in the case of a complex design, typically when designing an any-to-any traffic design with a large number of nodes. In such cases, it is recommended that you increase the memory size.

Allowing JVM to use too much memory compared to the available RAM can instead result in very low system performances due to the use of virtual memory. The following table lists the recommended settings:

System RAM

Minimum JVM Memory

Maximum JVM Memory

Suggested JVM Memory

1024 MB

256 MB

450 MB

350 MB

1 GB

512 MB

900 MB

700 MB

2 GB or more

512 MB

1800 MB

1450 MB

To change the maximum amount of memory to be used by the JVM, you need to edit the Startup.properties file, which is available in the directory where you saved thectp.jar file during installation. Replace the default value (1024 MB) with the appropriate one from the Suggested JVM Memory column of the preceding table. Save the file and restart the Cisco Transport Planner for the changes to take effect.


Note
The suggested memory values are for a system with fairly less load. If there are many processes running on your system, changing to the suggested memory value may not launch CTP. In such cases, reduce the JVM memory appropriately (you may reduce the memory in granularity of 100 MB) by editing the Startup.properties file.

Cisco Bug Search Tool

Use the Bug Search Tool (BST) to view the list of outstanding and resolved bugs in CTP Release 10.6.2.

BST, the online successor to Bug Toolkit, is designed to improve the effectiveness in network risk management and device troubleshooting. The tool allows partners and customers to search for software bugs based on product, release, and keyword, and aggregates key data such as bug details, product, and version. The tool has provision to filter bugs based on credentials to provide external and internal bug views for the search input.

The BST is available at https://bst.cloudapps.cisco.com/bugsearch. For more information on BST, see Bug Search Tool Help.

Search Bugs in BST

Follow the instructions below to search bugs specific to software release 10.6.2 in BST.

Procedure

Step 1

Go to https://bst.cloudapps.cisco.com/bugsearch. You will be prompted to log into Cisco.com. After you login, the Bug Search Tool page opens.

Step 2

To search for a specific bug, enter the bug ID in the Search For field and click Enter.

Step 3

To search for all the bugs in CTP 10.6.2 enter the following parameters:

  • Search For—Enter Cisco TransportPlanner in the text box.

Or

Click Select from List and choose Optical Networking > Network Design > Cisco TransportPlanner.

  • Releases—Enter the appropriate release number.

  • Show Bugs—Select Affecting or Fixed in these Releases.

Step 4

Press Enter .

Note

 

  • By default, the search results include bugs with all severity levels and statuses, and bugs that were modified during the life cycle of the bug. After you perform a search, you can filter your search results to meet your search requirements.

  • An initial set of 25 search results is shown in the bottom pane. Drag the scroll bar to display the next set of 25 results. Pagination of search results is not supported.

Workaround for CSCvc07962

Issue: Browse button in Apply Site template window not visible correctly in the windows10.

This issue is seen in windows 10 systems which are having high resolution and the OS scaling is set greater than 100%.

Workaround 1:

  1. Right click on the desktop > Select "Graphics Properties". "Graphics control Panel" window appears.
  2. Click on the "Display" and set the Resolution as 1600x900 and Scalling as "Scale Full Screen".
  3. Click Apply.
  4. Right click on desktop again, and select "Display setting" scroll until the end and click the "Advanced Display settings".
  5. In the advance setting display settings window, click the "Advanced sizing of text and other items".
  6. Click on the "Scaling level".
  7. Set the value to 100% and click OK
  8. Logout and login again. You are done.

Workaround 2:

  1. Press Windows Button + R, type ?regedit?, and then click OK.
  2. Navigate to the following registry subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > SideBySide.
  3. Right click, select NEW > DWORD (32 bit) Value.
  4. Type PreferExternalManifest, and then press ENTER.
  5. Right click PreferExternalManifest, and then click Modify.
  6. Enter Value Data 1 and select Decimal.
  7. Click OK. Exit Registry Editor.
  8. For the manifest file contact PLM and place the same in the CTP installed directory>>Java>>JRE>>bin.

Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request

For information on obtaining documentation, submitting a service request, and gathering additional information, see the monthly What’s New in Cisco Product Documentation, which also lists all new and revised Cisco technical documentation, at:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/general/whatsnew/whatsnew.html

Subscribe to the What’s New in Cisco Product Documentation as a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed and set content to be delivered directly to your desktop using a reader application. The RSS feeds are a free service and Cisco currently supports RSS version 2.0.