Table Of Contents
Administering Auto-Synchronization with Devices
Information About Auto-Synchronization with Devices
Automatic and Manual Purging of Event Data
Virtualization Support
Licensing Requirements for Auto-Synchronization with Devices
Prerequisites for Auto-Synchronization with Devices
Guidelines and Limitations for Auto-Synchronization with Devices
Configuring Device Auto-Synchronization
Starting and Stopping a Poller
Configuring the Polling Interval
Synchronizing with a Device
Deleting Data from the Events Database
Enabling and Disabling Automatic Event Purging
Configuring Automatic Event Purge Settings
Purging Events Now
Viewing the Status of Auto-Synchronization Pollers
Field Descriptions for Auto Synchronization with Devices
Summary Pane
Events Database Administration Tab
Additional References
Related Documents
Standards
Feature History for Auto-Synchronization with Devices
Administering Auto-Synchronization with Devices
This chapter describes how to administer the Auto-Synchronization with Devices feature in Cisco Data Center Network Manager (DCNM).
This chapter includes the following sections:
•
Information About Auto-Synchronization with Devices
•Licensing Requirements for Auto-Synchronization with Devices
•Prerequisites for Auto-Synchronization with Devices
•Guidelines and Limitations for Auto-Synchronization with Devices
•Configuring Device Auto-Synchronization
•Viewing the Status of Auto-Synchronization Pollers
•Field Descriptions for Auto Synchronization with Devices
•Additional References
•Feature History for Auto-Synchronization with Devices
Information About Auto-Synchronization with Devices
The Auto Synchronizing with Devices feature ensures that the Cisco Data Center Network Manager (DCNM) server has current configuration and status information about managed devices. The Cisco DCNM server creates one poller process for each device to retrieve the system and accounting logs that this feature requires.
When you choose Auto Synchronization with Devices on the Feature Selector pane, the content pane shows information about each poller process and allows you to control them.
You can configure the length of time that Cisco DCNM waits before polling a device again. By default, Cisco DCNM polls each managed device every 60 seconds. You can increase the length of time to a maximum of 300 seconds. For more information, see the "Configuring the Polling Interval" section.
Cisco DCNM polls devices concurrently; however, to avoid polling all devices simultaneously, Cisco DCNM begins polling devices in alphabetical device-name order and delays each polling process by a short, random amount of time.
This section includes the following topics:
•Automatic and Manual Purging of Event Data
•Virtualization Support
Automatic and Manual Purging of Event Data
You can use the Auto-Synchronization with Devices feature to delete unwanted event data. Cisco DCNM supports automatic purging of event data. You can configure the following aspects of automatic event data purging:
•Days of the week and time of day that automatic purging occurs.
•Whether Cisco DCNM determines which event data to purge by the age of the data or by a maximum number of database entries.
•Severity level of events.
You can also manually purge event data.
Virtualization Support
Cisco DCNM treats each virtual device context (VDC) on a Cisco NX-OS device as a separate device. Cisco DCNM creates one poller process per device.
Licensing Requirements for Auto-Synchronization with Devices
The following table shows the licensing requirements for this feature:
|
Product
|
License Requirement
|
Cisco DCNM |
Auto-Synchronization with Devices requires no license. Any feature not included in a license package is bundled with the Cisco DCNM and is provided at no charge to you. For information about obtaining and installing a Cisco DCNM LAN Enterprise license, see the Cisco DCNM Installation and Licensing Guide, Release 5.x. |
Prerequisites for Auto-Synchronization with Devices
The Auto-Synchronization with Devices feature has the following prerequisites:
•The Cisco DCNM server must be able to connect to the devices.
•The Cisco NX-OS device must be running a supported version of Cisco NX-OS.
•The Cisco NX-OS device must have the minimal configuration that is required to enable device discovery to succeed. For more information, see the "Verifying the Discovery Readiness of a Cisco NX-OS Device" section on page 5-7.
Guidelines and Limitations for Auto-Synchronization with Devices
The Auto-Synchronization with Devices feature has the following configuration guidelines and limitations:
•We recommend that you use the default device polling interval unless you encounter issues with synchronization due to slow response from devices or to managing many devices. For more information, see the "Configuring the Polling Interval" section.
•For the Auto-Synchronization with Devices feature, the Cisco DCNM client does not automatically update the information shown in the Summary pane. To ensure that you are viewing current information, from the menu bar, choose View > Refresh.
•We recommend that you configure automatic purging of event data to ensure that the Cisco DCNM database size does not grow too large.
Configuring Device Auto-Synchronization
This section includes the following topics:
•Starting and Stopping a Poller
•Configuring the Polling Interval
•Synchronizing with a Device
•Deleting Data from the Events Database
•Enabling and Disabling Automatic Event Purging
•Configuring Automatic Event Purge Settings
•Purging Events Now
Starting and Stopping a Poller
You can start and stop a poller for a device. When a poller is stopped, auto-synchronization for the device does not occur.
DETAILED STEPS
Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose DCNM Server Administration > Auto Synchronization with Devices.
A table of pollers appears in the Contents pane. Each row corresponds to a poller for a particular device. Devices are listed alphabetically. The Poller Status field displays messages about whether the poller is running or is stopped.
Step 2 Click the poller that you want to start or stop.
Step 3 Do one of the following:
•To start a poller, from the menu bar, choose Actions > Start Poller. The Poller Status field changes to Running.
•To stop a poller, from the menu bar, choose Actions > Stop Poller. The Poller Status field changes to Stopped.
You do not need to save your changes.
Configuring the Polling Interval
You can configure how often the Cisco DCNM server synchronizes with managed devices. While synchronizing, the Cisco DCNM server fetches accounting and system logs from managed devices. This setting affects how frequently features in the Cisco DCNM client receive updated information about managed devices. The default polling interval is 60 seconds.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Determine how often you want Cisco DCNM to perform auto-synchronization with managed devices. Consider the following:
•How often device configurations are changed by means other than Cisco DCNM, such as using the command-line interface of a device. If changes by means other than Cisco DCNM are common, consider using a short polling interval.
•How important it is to your organization that Cisco DCNM be up to date with managed device configurations. If up-to-date configuration information is important to your organization, consider using a short polling interval.
DETAILED STEPS
Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose DCNM Server Administration > Auto Synchronization with Devices.
The device polling interval appears in the Contents pane, above the table of pollers.
Step 2 In the Device Polling Interval field, enter the number of seconds between auto-synchronizations for all devices. The default interval is 60 seconds. You can specify an interval between 30 and 300 seconds.
Step 3 From the menu bar, choose File > Deploy to save the polling interval.
Synchronizing with a Device
You can make Cisco DCNM synchronize with a device manually when you do not want to wait for the next auto-synchronization to occur.
Note If many configuration changes have occurred on the device since the last successful synchronization, consider performing device discovery instead of synchronization. For more information, see "Discovering a Device" section on page 6-4.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Ensure that you have either configured the device entry with unique device credentials or that Cisco DCNM can use the default device credentials to connect to the device. For more information, see the "Configuring Default Device Credentials" section on page 6-6.
DETAILED STEPS
Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose DCNM Server Administration > Auto Synchronization with Devices.
A table of pollers appears in the Contents pane. Each row corresponds to a poller for a particular device. Devices are listed alphabetically.
Step 2 Click the device that you want Cisco DCNM to synchronize with.
Step 3 From the menu bar, choose Actions > Synchronize with Device.
Synchronization begins.
To determine when the synchronization has finished, watch the Last Sync Status column. Typically, synchronization with a device occurs in less than 5 minutes.
You do not need to save your changes.
Deleting Data from the Events Database
You can delete data from the events database based on the exact age of the events. Events that you delete can no longer appear in the Event Browser or on a feature-specific Events tab.
Tip If you want to delete events based on the number of events in the database, see the "Purging Events Now" section.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Determine the date and time of the newest events data that you want to delete. When you follow the steps in this procedure, Cisco DCNM deletes all events that are older than the date and time that you select.
DETAILED STEPS
Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose DCNM Server Administration > Auto Synchronization with Devices.
The Events Database Administration tab appears in the Details pane, below the table of pollers.
Step 2 From the Delete events older than drop-down list, choose the date and time of the newest event that you want to delete and click OK.
Step 3 Click Delete.
Cisco DCNM deletes all events older than the date and time that you specified.
Enabling and Disabling Automatic Event Purging
You can enable or disable the automatic purging of events from the Cisco DCNM events database.
DETAILED STEPS
Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose DCNM Server Administration > Auto Synchronization with Devices.
The Events Database Administration tab appears in the Details pane, below the table of pollers.
Step 2 Under Purge Settings, do one of the following:
•To enable automatic event purging, check Enable Auto Purge.
•To disable automatic event purging, uncheck Enable Auto Purge.
Step 3 From the menu bar, choose File > Deploy to save your changes to the Cisco DCNM server.
Configuring Automatic Event Purge Settings
You can configure when automatic event purging occurs and the criteria that Cisco DCNM uses to determine which events to purge.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Determine when you want automatic event purging to occur. We recommend that automatic event purging occur when Cisco DCNM usage is low.
If you perform backups of your Cisco DCNM databases, consider scheduling automatic event purging after database backups have occurred, to ensure that you retain a record of all events.
Determine what criteria you want Cisco DCNM to use to determine which events to purge. The criteria available are as follows:
•Age of event—Cisco DCNM can purge all events that are older than a specific number of days, weeks, or months.
•Number of events in the database—When the number of events in the database exceeds the maximum number that you specify, Cisco DCNM can purge the oldest events first until the maximum number is not exceeded.
•Severity of event—Cisco DCNM can purge events based on the severity level of the event.
If you enable both criteria, Cisco DCNM applies them independently of each other.
DETAILED STEPS
Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose DCNM Server Administration > Auto Synchronization with Devices.
The Events Database Administration tab appears in the Details pane, below the table of pollers.
Step 2 Under Purge Threshold, configure the criteria that Cisco DCNM uses to determine which events to purge. You can configure any of the criteria in the following table:
|
Purge Criteria
|
How to Configure
|
Age of events |
1. Check Data older than. 2. From the first drop-down list, choose the number of days, weeks, or months. 3. From the second drop-down list, choose Days, Weeks, or Months, as needed. |
Number of events in the database |
1. Check Total Entries Exceed(0-2147483647). 2. In the box, enter the maximum number of entries that you want to allow in the events database. |
Severity of event |
1. Check Severity. The list of eight severity levels becomes available. 2. For each severity level that you want Cisco DCNM to use to determine whether to purge events, check the severity level. |
Step 3 Under Purge Settings, follow these steps to configure when you want automatic purging to occur:
a. Check the days-of-the-week check boxes to specify which days of the week that you want automatic purging to occur.
b. Use the Run at box to configure the exact time on the specified days that you want automatic event purging to occur.
Step 4 (Optional) If you want to enable automatic event purging, check Enable Auto Purge.
Step 5 From the menu bar, choose File > Deploy to save your changes to the Cisco DCNM server.
Purging Events Now
You can purge event data on demand, using the automatic event purge settings to determine which events are purged. Events that you delete can no longer appear in the Event Browser or on a feature-specific Events tab.
Tip If you want to delete events on demand, based on the exact age of the events, see the "Deleting Data from the Events Database" section.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Ensure that the automatic event purge settings are configured as needed. For more information, see the "Configuring Automatic Event Purge Settings" section.
DETAILED STEPS
Step 1 From the Feature Selector pane, choose DCNM Server Administration > Auto Synchronization with Devices.
The Events Database Administration tab appears in the Details pane, below the table of pollers.
Step 2 Under Purge Settings, click Purge Now.
Cisco DCNM deletes events, using the automatic event purge settings to determine which events to purge.
Viewing the Status of Auto-Synchronization Pollers
To view the status of an auto-synchronization poller, from the Feature Selector pane, choose DCNM Server Administration > Auto Synchronization with Devices.
Poller status and information about the synchronization time and status appear in the Pollers area in the Contents pane. For information about the fields that appear, see the "Field Descriptions for Auto Synchronization with Devices" section.
Field Descriptions for Auto Synchronization with Devices
This section includes the following field descriptions for the Auto Synchronization with Devices feature:
•Summary Pane
•Events Database Administration Tab
Summary Pane
Table 12-1 Auto Synchronization with Devices Summary Pane
|
Field
|
Description
|
|
Pollers
|
Device Polling Interval |
Number of seconds that all pollers wait before the next attempt to synchronize with a device. The default value is 60 seconds. Valid values are from 30 to 300 seconds. |
Last Refresh Time |
Display only. Date and time that the Cisco DCNM client updated information shown on the Contents pane. |
Device |
Display only. Name and IP address of the device for the corresponding poller. |
Poller Status |
Display only. Whether the poller is running or stopped. A running poller attempts to synchronize with the configuration and status information from its device at the frequency specified by the Device Polling Interval field. |
Last Sync Time |
Display only. Date and time that the poller last retrieved system and accounting log data from the device. |
Last Sync Status |
Display only. Whether the most recent synchronization attempt succeeded or failed. If synchronization failed, determine why Cisco DCNM failed to connect to the device. If necessary, rediscover the device. |
Events Database Administration Tab
Table 12-2 Events Database Administration Tab
|
Field
|
Description
|
Delete events older than |
Date and time of the newest event to be deleted from the events database. There is no default value for this field. |
|
Purge Threshold
|
Data older than |
Whether, during automatic event purging, Cisco DCNM deletes events that are older than the age specified in the drop-down lists located to the right of this check box. By default, this check box is unchecked. If you check the check box, the default age is 1 day. |
Total Entries Exceed |
Whether, during automatic event purging, Cisco DCNM deletes the oldest events until the number of events equals the number in the box located to the right of this check box. By default, this check box is unchecked. If you check the check box, the default number of event is 25,000. |
Severity |
Whether, during automatic event purging, Cisco DCNM deletes events with severity levels that are selected from the list of severity levels. By default, this check box is disabled. |
Severity Levels |
Severity levels of events that Cisco DCNM deletes during automatic event purging. The severity levels are available only if the Severity check box is checked. By default, all severity levels are disabled. The severity levels are as follows: •Emergency •Alert •Critical •Error •Warning •Notification •Informational •Debugging |
|
Purge Settings
|
Enable Auto Purge |
Whether automatic purging of event data is enabled. By default, this check box is disabled. |
Run on |
Days of the week that the automatic purging of events data occurs. By default, none of the check boxes are checked. If you check the Daily check box, the check boxes for the individual days of the week become unavailable. |
Run at |
Time of day that automatic purging of event data occurs, on the days of the week that automatic purging is enabled. |
Additional References
For additional information related to administering Auto-Synchronization with Devices, see the following sections:
•Related Documents
•Standards
Related Documents
Standards
|
Standards
|
Title
|
No new or modified standards are supported by this feature, and support for existing standards has not been modified by this feature. |
— |
Feature History for Auto-Synchronization with Devices
Table 12-3 lists the release history for this feature.
Table 12-3 Feature History for Auto-Synchronization with Devices
|
Feature Name
|
Releases
|
Feature Information
|
Auto-Synchronization with Devices |
5.0(2) |
No change from Release 4.2. |
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