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Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide
Internetworking Solutions Guide
August 2000

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Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide
Copyright © 2000, Cisco Systems, Inc.
All rights reserved.

C O N T E N T S
Preface

vii

Purpose

vii

Audience
Scope

vii

Conventions

viii

Related Documentation and Sites
Cisco Connection Online

Documentation CD-ROM

xii

Documentation Feedback

xii

Acknowledgements

xii

Overview of Basic SNMP Building Blocks
About SNMP

What are the Basic Components of SNMP?

About Basic SNMP Message Types and Commands
What are SNMP MIBs?
What is SNMPv1?

What is SNMPv2?

About SNMP Management
About SNMP Security

Network Design for a Dial NMS Case Study
Introduction to the Case Study
Benefits of a Dial NMS

Dial NMS Planning Questionnaire
Dial NMS Service Definition
Network Topology

Hardware Requirements

Software Requirements

Configuration Design Parameters

Implementation and Operation Tasks

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

EEE

Contents

Dial MIBs and OIDs Used in the Case Study

Task 1Enabling SNMP in a Cisco IOS Device
About Enabling SNMP
Enabling SNMP

41
42

Task 2 Exploring SNMP Capabilities by Using UCD-SNMP
About Using UCD-SNMP

Installing UCD-SNMP and Downloading Cisco MIBs
Exploring SNMP MIBs for Dial Networks
About SNMP Commander

Setting Up SNMP Commander

Task 3Using MRTG to Monitor and Graph Traffic Loads
About MRTG

About Selecting Dial OIDs

How to Inspect and Interpret Data

Creating and Editing a Configuration File
Sending MRTG Graphs to a Web Server

59
64

Task 4Using Syslog, NTP, and Modem Call Records to Isolate and Troubleshoot Fault s
About Syslog
About NTP

67
69

About Modem Call Records

Enabling NTP on a Cisco IOS Device
Setting Up an NTP Client

Troubleshooting the NTP Client

Enabling Syslog and Modem Call Records in the Cisco IOS Software
Configuring the Syslog Daemon

Inspecting Syslog Messages in the Log File

Task 5Setting Up a Web Portal for the Dial NMS
About a Web Portal

Building a Device Linker Web Page

Troubleshooting a Cisco 2511 Console Connection
About HTTP Access to the CLI

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Contents

Using HTTP to Access CLI Commands

Task 6Managing IP Addresses by Using DNS
About Managing IP Addresses

Using Cisco Network Registrar CLI Commands

Using a Batch File to Make Changes to a DNS Configuration
Creating a Primary Forward Zone

Creating an IP Tracker Web Page

How to Create a Reverse DNS Zone

Task 7Using HP OpenView to Create the SNMP Framework
About HP OpenView

101

Verifying the SNMP Configuration
About SNMP Demand Polls

102

105

Performing an SNMP Demand Poll
Testing SNMP Get Requests

105

107

Troubleshooting SNMP and a Demand Poll
Verifying that SNMP Traps Are Received
Unmanaging the Dial Ports
About Discovery Filters

108
108

110

Creating and Adjusting Maps

111

112

Setting Up and Editing a Discovery Filter

113

Using the HPOV CLI to Enter a Device into the Database

115

Task 8Using CiscoWorks 2000 Resource Manager Essentials
About CiscoWorks 2000 RME

Verifying that Device Polling is Turned On
Polling the Devices

117

Importing Devices from HPOV and Populating the Databases

118

120

121

Backing up Cisco IOS Configurations
Using CiscoView

123

124

INDEX

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Contents

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Preface
Purpose
This Internetworking Solutions Guide (ISG) describes how to implement and operate a dial network
management system (NMS) that provides management functions for a dial Internet access service
(DIAS).

Audience
This guide is intended for network engineers and operators who implement and operate dial NMS
systems.
This guide assumes that you have the following level of knowledge and experience:

An understanding of NMS protocols, such as Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP),
Network Time Protocol (NTP), and syslog.

Hands-on experience working with Cisco routers, IOS technologies, and UNIX.

Success configuring a Cisco network access server (NAS) for basic IP modem services.

A Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certificate or equivalent level of experience.

Scope
This guide provides guidelines and a case study for:

Designing a dial NMS.

Collecting and using data-management streams to operate a dial access network.

Managing important connection events and alarms for statistical analysis.

Reporting on the performance of a DIAS.

Addressing the perception problems that are commonly associated with dial access networks.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

LEE

Preface

Conventions

This guide describes the following network protocols, functions, and NMS applications:

Protocols—SNMP and NTP.

Functions—Syslog, modem call records, Cisco IOS command-line interface (CLI),
Log File Rotator, Device Navigator, web-based management, and War Dialer.

NMS applications—UCD-SNMP, Multi Router Traffic Grapher (MRTG), HP OpenView (HPOV),
and CiscoWorks 2000 Resource Manager Essentials (CW2000 RME).

This guide does not provide the following information:

Descriptions about the basics of network management.
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/software/ios121/121cgcr/fun_c/index.htm

Windows NT-based management of Cisco routers.
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/rtrmgmt/index.htm

Detailed authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA).
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/software/ios121/121cgcr/secur_c/index.htm

Basic access server configurations.
http://www.cisco.com/pcgi-bin/Support/PSP/index.pl?i=Products#Access_Products

Information about integrating high-end NMS systems in to a dial access environment.
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/cisintwk/intsolns/index.htm

Conventions

Caution

Convention

Description

bold

Command or keyword that you must enter.

italic

File names, directory paths to files, user names, and arguments for which you supply
values.

[x]

Optional keyword or argument that you enter.

{x | y | z}

Required keyword or argument that you must enter.

[x {y | z}]

Optional keyword or argument that you enter with a required keyword or argument.

string

Set of characters that you enter. Do not use quotation marks around the character
string, or the string will include the quotation marks.

screen

Information that appears on the screen.

^ or Ctrl

Control key—for example, ^D means press the Control and the D keys
simultaneously.

< >

Nonprinting characters, such as passwords.

Comment line at the beginning of a line of code.

Means reader be careful. In this situation, you might do something that could result in
equipment damage or loss.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

LEEE

Preface

Related SNMP Documentation and Sites

Site Description

URL

SNMP Technology TAC Page—Network
design tips, implementation and operation
guidelines, which are continually updated by
Cisco TAC engineers.

http://www.cisco.com/pcgi-bin/Support/PSP/psp_vie
w.pl?p=Internetworking:SNMP

http://penta.ufrgs.br/gereint/impl.htm
The SimpleWeb—Public domain software
packages, which are available on the Internet.
Most of the software is a spin-off from SNMP
related research.
SNMP FAQ—Frequently asked questions
about SNMP.

http://www.pantherdig.com/snmpfaq/
http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1382.html

What are the Basic Components of SNMP?
An SNMP-managed network consists of three key components: managed devices, agents, and network
management systems (NMS).

Managed devices
` Contain an SNMP agent and reside on a managed network.
` Collect and store management information and make it available to NMS by using SNMP.
` Include routers, access servers, switches, bridges, hubs, hosts, or printers.

Agent—A network-management software module, such as the Cisco IOS software, that resides in
a managed device. An agent has local knowledge of management information and makes that
information available by using SNMP.

Network Management Systems (NMS)—Run applications that monitor and control managed
devices. NMS provide resources required for network management. In the case study, the NMS
applications are:
` UCD-SNMP
` MRTG
` HPOV
` CW2000 RME

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Overview of Basic SNMP Building Blocks

About Basic SNMP Message Types and Commands

Figure 1 illustrates the relationship between the managed devices, the agent, and the NMS.
Figure 1

An SNMP-Managed Network

Management
Entity

NMS

Agent

Management
Database

35640

Agent

Managed Devices

About Basic SNMP Message Types and Commands
There are three basic SNMP message types:

Get—NMS-initiated requests used by an NMS to monitor managed devices. The NMS examines
different variables that are maintained by managed devices.

Set—NMS-initiated commands used by an NMS to control managed devices. The NMS changes
the values of variables stored within managed devices.

Trap—Agent-initiated messages sent from a managed device, which reports events to the NMS.
The Cisco IOS generates SNMP traps for many distinct network conditions. Through SNMP traps,
the Network Operations Center (NOC) is notified of network events, such as:
` Link up/down changes
` Configuration changes
` Temperature thresholds
` CPU overloads

Note

For a list of Cisco-supported SNMP traps, go to
http://www.cisco.com/public/mibs/traps/

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Overview of Basic SNMP Building Blocks

What are SNMP MIBs?

Figure 2

SNMP Event Interactions Between the NMS and the Agent

Get request
Response
Get next
Response

NMS
initiated

Get next
Response

Trap (agent initiated)

Agent
(Cisco IOS device)

26095

NMS

What are SNMP MIBs?
A Management Information Base (MIB):

Presents a collection of information that is organized hierarchically.

Is accessed by using a network-management protocol, such as SNMP.

References managed objects and object identifiers.

Managed object—A characteristic of a managed device. Managed objects reference one or more object
instances (variables). Two types of managed objects exist:

Scalar objects—Define a single object instance.

Tabular objects—Define multiple-related object instances that are grouped together in MIB tables.

Object identifier (or object ID)—Identifies a managed object in the MIB hierarchy. The MIB hierarchy
is depicted as a tree with a nameless root. The levels of the tree are assigned by different organizations
and vendors.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Overview of Basic SNMP Building Blocks

The MIB Tree and Its Various Hierarchies

ccitt (0)

iso (1)

iso-ccitt (2)
…

…

standard (0)

registrationauthority (1)

memberbody (2)

identifiedorganization (3)

…

dod (6)

…

internet (1)

directory (1)

mgmt (2)

mib-2 (1)

…

private (4)

…

enterprise (1)

…

DECnet (1)
…
…

experimental (3)

…

XNS (2)
…
…

…

cisco (9)

temporary
variables (3)

Apple Talk (3)

security (5)

snmpV2 (6)

…

Novell (3)
…
…
atInput (1)
atLocal (2)
atBcastin (3)
atForward (4)
…

…

VINES (4)
…
…

…

Chassis (5)
…
…

24187

Figure 3

What are SNMP MIBs?

As shown in Figure 3, top-level MIB object IDs belong to different standards organizations while
low-level object IDs are allocated by associated organizations. Vendors define private branches that
include managed objects for products. Non standard MIBs are typically in the experimental branch.
A managed object has these unique identities:

The object name—For example, iso.identified-organization.dod.internet.private.enterprise.cisco.
temporary variables.AppleTalk.atInput
or

The equivalent object descriptor—For example, 1.3.6.1.4.1.9.3.3.1.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Overview of Basic SNMP Building Blocks

What is SNMPv1?

SNMP must account for and adjust to incompatibilities between managed devices. Different computers
use different data-representation techniques, which can compromise the ability of SNMP to exchange
information between managed devices.

What is SNMPv1?
SNMPv1 is the initial implementation of the SNMP protocol and is described in RFC 1157
(http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1157).
SNMPv1:

Functions within the specifications of the Structure of Management Information (SMI).

Operates over protocols such as User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Internet Protocol (IP), OSI
Connectionless Network Service (CLNS), AppleTalk Datagram-Delivery Protocol (DDP),
and Novell Internet Packet Exchange (IPX).

Is the de facto network-management protocol in the Internet community.

The SMI defines the rules for describing management information by using Abstract Syntax Notation
One (ASN.1). The SNMPv1 SMI is defined in RFC 1155 (http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1155). The SMI
makes three specifications:

ASN.1 data types

SMI-specific data types

SNMP MIB tables

SNMPv1 and ASN1 Data Types
The SNMPv1 SMI specifies that all managed objects must have a subset of associated ASN.1 data types.
Three ASN.1 data types are required:

Name—Serves as the object identifier (object ID).

Syntax—Defines the data type of the object (for example, integer or string). The SMI uses a subset
of the ASN.1 syntax definitions.

Encoding—Describes how information associated with a managed object is formatted as a series
of data items for transmission over the network.

SNMPv1 and SMI-Specific Data Types
The SNMPv1 SMI specifies the use of many SMI-specific data types, which are divided into two
categories:

Simple data types—Including these three types:
` Integers—A signed integer in the range of -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647.
` Octet strings—Ordered sequences of zero to 65,535 octets.
` Object IDs— Come from the set of all object identifiers allocated according to the rules

specified in ASN.1.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Overview of Basic SNMP Building Blocks

What is SNMPv2?

Application-wide data types—Including these seven types:
` Network addresses—Represent addresses from a protocol family. SNMPv1 supports only

32-bit IP addresses.
` Counters—Nonnegative integers that increase until they reach a maximum value; then, the

integers return to zero. In SNMPv1, a 32-bit counter size is specified.
` Gauges—Nonnegative integers that can increase or decrease but retain the maximum value

reached.
` Time ticks—A hundredth of a second since some event.
` Opaques—An arbitrary encoding that is used to pass arbitrary information strings that do not

conform to the strict data typing used by the SMI.
` Integers—Signed integer-valued information. This data type redefines the integer data type,

which has arbitrary precision in ASN.1 but bounded precision in the SMI.
` Unsigned integers—Unsigned integer-valued information that is useful when values are always

nonnegative. This data type redefines the integer data type, which has arbitrary precision in
ASN.1 but bounded precision in the SMI.
The SNMPv1 SMI defines structured tables that are used to group the instances of a tabular object (an
object that contains multiple variables). Tables contain zero or more rows that are indexed to allow
SNMP to retrieve or alter an entire row with a single Get, GetNext, or Set command.

SNMPv1 Protocol Operations
SNMP is a simple request-response protocol. The NMS issues a request, and managed devices return
responses. This behavior is implemented by using one of four protocol operations:

Get—Used by the NMS to retrieve the value of one or more object instances from an agent. If the
agent responding to the Get operation cannot provide values for all the object instances in a list, the
agent does not provide any values.

GetNext—Used by the NMS to retrieve the value of the next object instance in a table or list within
an agent.

Set—Used by the NMS to set the values of object instances within an agent.

Trap—Used by agents to asynchronously inform the NMS of a significant event.

What is SNMPv2?
SNMPv2 is an improved version of SNMPv1. Originally, SNMPv2 was published as a set of proposed
Internet standards in 1993; currently, it is a Draft Standard. As with SNMPv1, SNMPv2 functions
within the specifications of the SMI. SNMPv2 offers many improvements to SNMPv1, including
additional protocol operations.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Overview of Basic SNMP Building Blocks

About SNMP Management

SNMPv2 and SMI
The SMI defines the rules for describing management information by using ASN.1.
RFC 1902 (http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1902) describes the SNMPv2 SMI and enhances the SNMPv1
SMI-specific data types by including:

Bit strings—Comprise zero or more named bits that specify a value.

Network addresses—Represent an address from a protocol family. SNMPv1 supports 32-bit IP
addresses, but SNMPv2 can support other types of addresses too.

Counters—Non-negative integers that increase until they reach a maximum value; then, the
integers return to zero. In SNMPv1, a 32-bit counter size is specified. In SNMPv2, 32-bit and 64-bit
counters are defined.

SMI Information Modules
The SNMPv2 SMI specifies information modules, which include a group of related definitions. Three
types of SMI information modules exist:

MIB modules—Contain definitions of interrelated managed objects.

Compliance statements—Provide a systematic way to describe a group of managed objects that
must conform to a standard.

Capability statements—Used to indicate the precise level of support that an agent claims with
respect to a MIB group. An NMS can adjust its behavior towards agents according to the capability
statements associated with each agent.

SNMPv2 Protocol Operations
The Get, GetNext, and Set operations used in SNMPv1 are exactly the same as those used in SNMPv2.
SNMPv2, however, adds and enhances protocol operations. The SNMPv2 trap operation, for example,
serves the same function as the one used in SNMPv1. However, a different message format is used.
SNMPv2 also defines two new protocol operations:

GetBulk—Used by the NMS to efficiently retrieve large blocks of data, such as multiple rows in a
table. GetBulk fills a response message with as much of the requested data as fits.

Inform—Allows one NMS to send trap information to another NMS and receive a response. If the
agent responding to GetBulk operations cannot provide values for all the variables in a list, the
agent provides partial results.

About SNMP Management
SNMP is a distributed-management protocol. A system can operate exclusively as an NMS or an agent,
or a system can perform the functions of both.
When a system operates as both an NMS and an agent, another NMS can require the system to:

Query managed devices and provide a summary of the information learned.

Report locally stored management information.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Overview of Basic SNMP Building Blocks

About SNMP Security

About SNMP Security
SNMP lacks authentication capabilities, which results in a variety of security threats:

Note

Masquerading—An unauthorized entity attempting to perform management operations by
assuming the identity of an authorized management entity.

Modification of information—An unauthorized entity attempting to alter a message generated by
an authorized entity, so the message results in unauthorized accounting management or
configuration management operations.

Message sequence and timing modifications—Occurs when an unauthorized entity reorders,
delays, or copies and later replays a message generated by an authorized entity.

Disclosure—Results when an unauthorized entity extracts values stored in managed objects.
The entity can also learn of notifiable events by monitoring exchanges between managers and
agents.

Because SNMP does not implement authentication, many vendors do not implement Set
operations, which reduce SNMP to a monitoring facility.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

About SNMP Security

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Overview of Basic SNMP Building Blocks

Network Design for a Dial NMS Case Study
Introduction to the Case Study
This case study describes:

How one Internet service provider (ISP) designs, implements, and operates a dial network
management system (NMS) for a dial Internet access service (DIAS).

How to implement dial NMS protocols, applications, and other utilities.

THEnet is an ISP in Austin, Texas that wants to develop a dial NMS and integrate it with its existing
Network Operations Center (NOC). THEnet has two dial point-of-presences (POPs) that provide
dial-up services for the following types of customers:

Residential subscribers

Corporations who outsource their dial-up services and want to avoid the overhead of operating their
own dial POP.

Figure 4

THEnet Operates Two POPs from One NOC

NOC
POP #1
Firewall
Backbone
router

PSTN

Intranet
WAN

Redundancy

Remote modem
users

POP #2

38198

Firewall
Backbone
router
Internet

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Network Design for a Dial NMS Case Study

Benefits of a Dial NMS

All remote modem users share a common pool of modem resources. Users can dial in to either POP.

The dial POPs are redundant. If one POP loses service, traffic is re-routed to the other POP.
Describing how traffic is re-routed is outside the scope of this case study, and the diagrams in the
case study show simplified IP paths only.

THEnet uses this model to identify the different functional areas of the dial NMS:
F = Fault management
C = Configuration management
A = Accounting management
P = Performance management
S = Security management
A dial NMS provides the FCAPS management functions for a DIAS.

Benefits of a Dial NMS
A dial NMS:

Increases network availability

Improves end-user satisfaction by improving service performance

Provides fault-isolation capabilities, which improves fault-analysis information

Reduces network support costs

Enables capacity plannning

Enables security improvements

Provides accounting (for example, billing and chargeback)

Processes important connection events and alarms for statistical analysis

Provides performance-reporting capabilities for a dial Internet access service

Enables standardized software releases (for example, software versions and configuration files)

Addresses the perception problems that are commonly associated with dial access networks

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Network Design for a Dial NMS Case Study

Dial NMS Planning Questionnaire

Dial NMS Planning Questionnaire
This planning questionnaire describes information that is essential for creating a dial NMS service
definition. A questionnaire helps network engineers make accurate design decisions and consider
alternative solutions. The network engineers at THEnet answered the design questions as shown in
Table 2.
Table 2

Network Design Questions and Answers

THEnet
Answers

Network Design Questions
What types of services does your network provide?

Dial Internet access services
(V.90 analog modem services)

How many dial POP sites are you managing?

Two sites in Austin, Texas

Residential subscriber
services

Corporate-outsourcing
services

What is the user-growth projection for the next 5 years?

3 months—50,000 users

3 months = Current deployment requirement.
1 year = Current design plan requirement.
5 years = Future scalability plan requirement.

1 year—100,000 users

5 years—1 million users

What types of network services will the DIAS support?
(Network management is based on customer requirements.)

What is the user-to-line ratio during busy hours?

10:1

What level of service must you guarantee to your customers?

Guaranteed up time

Do you have redundant connections to the Internet?

Yes

Do you have redundant connections to the NOC?

Yes

What existing servers do you have available in the NOC?

What SNMP framework management system do you want to
use?

SNMP management server

Syslog server

AAA server

Database server

HP OpenView (HPOV)

What element management system do you use for collecting and CiscoWorks 2000 Resource
managing syslog?
Manager Essentials
(CW2000 RME)
Do you have a preferred platform and operating system for
monitoring the network?

Yes

What type of network access servers will you use?

Cisco AS5800s

Do you have a staff of UNIX experts?

Yes

Sun Sparc, Solaris 2.6

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Network Design for a Dial NMS Case Study

Dial NMS Planning Questionnaire

Table 2

Network Design Questions and Answers (continued)

Network Design Questions

THEnet
Answers

Do you provide reports for any service level commitments with Yes
your customers? If yes, what management systems will you use?

Identify the types of users who require network management
reports.

What types of reports do you provide?

Multi Router Traffic Grapher
(MRTG)

Custom-based AAA
accounting tools and database
query tools

Network managers

Network operators

Network engineers

Help desk operators

Corporations who outsource
their dial-up service

End users

Periodic performance reports

Billing reports

Security reports

Router operations reports

High-priority syslog reports

What format do the managers want to view the reports in?

HTML web pages and
online graphs

Who will monitor the management systems?

The network operations staff

How will network operators be notified of network problems?

By sending e-mail to their pagers

For fault and performance management purposes, do you need to Yes
provide call detail records?
Disconnect cause codes and retrain
counters must be inspected.
What security protocols do you use for authentication,
authorization, and accounting (AAA)?

What dial NMS freeware do you plan to use?
What software tools do you plan to develop internally?

Do you plan to build and maintain customized scripts?

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

RADIUS for the remote
modem users

TACACS+ for the router
administrators in the NOC

MRTG, UCD-SNMP, Linux, and
Apache

Log File Rotator

Device Navigator

Modem Call Record Viewer

Web-based management

War Dialer for performance
testing (optional)

Yes

Network Design for a Dial NMS Case Study

Dial NMS Service Definition

Dial NMS Service Definition
A service definition is a statement that describes required services for a network design.
The dial NMS service definition determined for THEnet is based on:

The answers provided in Table 2

The FCAPS model
` Fault management
` Configuration management
` Accounting management
` Performance management
` Security management

Table 3

Dial NMS Service Definition for THEnet

FCAPS
Function
Fault
management

Service Requirements and Ways to Collect Management Data

SNMP—Use UCD-SNMP and HPOV to explore the SNMP Management
Information Bases (MIBs) and create the SNMP framework for the
dial NMS.

The Cisco IOS command-line interface (CLI)—Troubleshoot network
connectivity problems by collecting robust network statistics.
For example, use the following commands:
` show controller t1
` show isdn status
` debug ppp negotiation
` show isdn service
` debug ppp error
` debug isdn events
` debug isdn q921
` debug isdn q931

Syslog—Troubleshoot and isolate faults in the network by collecting
syslog data and modem call records. Important syslog messages will be
e-mailed daily to the operations staff.

Log file management—Collect and archive syslog data from network
access servers.

Web-based management—Navigate devices and enable HTTP access to
the CLI.

AAA—Collect accounting disconnect cause codes and view authentication
and authorization failures.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Network Design for a Dial NMS Case Study

Dial NMS Service Definition

Table 3

Dial NMS Service Definition for THEnet (continued)

FCAPS
Function
Configuration
management

Service Requirements and Ways to Collect Management Data

SNMP—Use CW2000 RME to archive configuration files, manage
Cisco IOS images, determine how much memory is installed, and discover
which boot ROMs are present.

CLI—Inspect and modify Cisco IOS configuration files and images.
For example, use the following commands:
` show version
` show running
` show modem version

Accounting
management

AAA authentication—Control access to the routers.

AAA authorization—Limit CLI command access to router administrators
on a per group basis. Authorization is also used for limiting network
service assignments, such as static IP addresses and access lists.

AAA accounting—Monitor which configuration changes are made to the
routers and identify who is making the changes. Authenticated usernames
also appear in syslog.

Effective IP address management—Manage all assigned IP subnets by
using a DNS server and the application Cisco Network Registrar.

Web-based management—Navigate devices and enable HTTP access to
the CLI.

Send accounting information to a database that is accessible by Standard
Query Language (SQL). Archive user-accounting data for billing and
auditing purposes.

Syslog—Collect basic accounting information by using modem call
records.

CLI—Collect accounting statistics. For example, use the following
commands:
` show interface accounting
` show isdn history
` show controller t1 call-counters
` show modem log
` show modem summary
` show modem call-stats

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Network Design for a Dial NMS Case Study

Table 3

Dial NMS Service Definition

Dial NMS Service Definition for THEnet (continued)

FCAPS
Function
Performance
management

Service Requirements and Ways to Collect Management Data

SNMP—For the initial installation, use MRTG to monitor key Object
Identifications (OIDs) in the device MIBs. In the future, use commercial
software applications that collect mass scale management data streams for
large numbers of access servers.

CLI—Monitor the performance of the access servers. For example, use the
following commands:
` show modem operational-status
` show modem connect-speeds
` show modem summary
` show modem call-stats

Security
management

Web-based management—Navigate devices and enable HTTP access to
the CLI.

War Dialer—Test remote client PCs by using a free client simulator.

Authenticate, authorize, and account for dial access clients (modem users)
in each POP by using RADIUS.

Authenticate, authorize, and account for router administrators in the NOC
by using TACACS+.

Review the AAA service security logs.

Review the AAA server database by using SQL queries.

CLI—Inspect security information. For example, use the following
commands:
` show snmp group
` show access-lists
` show location
` show tacacs
` show radius statistics
` show logging

Web-based management—Navigate devices and enable HTTP access to
the CLI.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Network Design for a Dial NMS Case Study

Network Topology

Network Topology
Based on the dial NMS service definition in Table 3, the network engineers at THEnet defined
the network topology for the POPs and NOC.
Figure 5

Network Topology for One POP

NOC

Firewall
Backbone
router

Cisco AS5800
access servers

Intranet
WAN

Backbone
router

AAA server
(for remote client users)

38197

Cisco 2511
OOB console server

Control

Data

An intranet WAN connects the two POPs together and routes traffic to the Internet. The NOC collects
management data from both POPs.
Figure 6

Network Topology for the NOC

Cisco PIX
firewall
UCD-SNMP
MRTG

38199

HP OpenView
CW 2000

AAA

An important design issue to consider is where to send syslog data. If syslog data is sent back to a
central site NOC, the syslog data must travel across WAN links. Estimate and monitor how much syslog
data is generated by each POP and the impact on the WAN links. Modem call records can add a
significant amount of traffic to syslog data.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Network Design for a Dial NMS Case Study

Hardware Requirements

In this case study, THEnet initially sends syslog data across WAN links to the NOC. The WAN links are
designed to support a large network capacity in a metropolitan area. Collecting syslog locally in each
POP is a future design consideration.

Hardware Requirements
To design the dial NMS for the two POPs and the NOC, the network engineers at THEnet defined these
hardware requirements:
Table 4

Hardware Description for Two POPs and the NOC

Hardware

Purpose

4 Cisco AS5800
access servers

Two access servers in each POP to provide access in to the Internet from the
PSTN. Cisco IOS Release 12.0(7)T is installed in each access server.

2 backbone
gateways

Enables management data streams to enter the NOC.

2 Cisco 2511 OOB
console servers

Accesses the console ports in the Cisco AS5800s by using out-of-band (OOB)
management lines.

3 AAA servers

One server in each POP to authenticate, authorize, and account for dial access
clients by using RADIUS.

Routes traffic to the intranet WAN and the Internet.

One server in the NOC to authenticate, authorize, and account for router
administrators by using TACACS+.
1 Cisco PIX firewall Protects the NOC by filtering the devices that can access management services,
such as TACACS+, RADIUS, syslog, and SNMP.
3 Sun Ultra 10
workstations

Operates the dial NMS inside the NOC. Solaris version 2.6 is used.

The following capacity-planning calculations were made to determine the number of required lines and
Cisco AS5800s for the next five years.
Basic parameters:

There are 23 available bearer channels per PRI line

There are 28 PRI lines per T3 card (644 channels)

Each Cisco AS5800 has two T3 cards

There are 1288 available bearer channels per dual T3 Cisco AS5800

Table 5

Capacity-Planning Matrix for the Line and Chassis Requirements

Time

Busy Hour Users
Ratio
Required

Lines
Required

Chassis Calculation

AS5800s
Required

3 months

10:1

50,000

5000

5000 lines / 1288 = 3.88 chassis

4 AS5800s

1 year

10:1

100,000

10,000

10,000 lines / 1288 = 7.76 chassis

8 AS5800s

5 years

10:1

1,000,000

100,000

100,000 lines / 1288 = 77.64 chassis

78 AS5800s

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Network Design for a Dial NMS Case Study

Software Requirements

These calculations in Table 5 are based on a PRI system integration—not a system signalling 7 (SS7)
integration.
For each POP site, also plan for the following elements:

Power, space, and cooling for each Cisco AS5800

Required number of AAA servers

Required number of Cisco 2511s (OOB ports)

WAN link capacity

Software Requirements
To design the dial NMS inside the NOC, the network engineers at THEnet identified these software and
management system requirements:
Table 6

Dial NMS Software and Management System Requirements

Software and Management Systems

Purpose

UCD-SNMP

Uses CLI-based SNMP freeware to explore the SNMP MIBs
and OIDs that are useful for operating a dial network.

Multi Router Traffic Grapher
(MRTG), version 2.8.12

Monitors and graphs the traffic load on the network.

Web-based management

Manages a network by using light-weight NMS tools (LWT).
A LWT is light on:

Budget

Staff support

Course requirements

GUI requirements

THEnet requires the following LWTs:
Device Navigator—A web page that links network devices
together.

Cisco IOS Command Center—A web page that provides
HTTP access to the CLI.

Log File Rotator—A freeware script that archives, sorts,
and deletes syslogs.

Modem Call Record Viewer—A tool that enables you to
view modem records and syslogs on a web page.

HP OpenView (HPOV) Network
Node Manager Release 5.0

Creates the SNMP framework for the dial NMS and identifies
what is breaking in the network.

CiscoWorks 2000, maintenance
release 2
Resource Manager Essentials
(RME), version 2.2

Archives configuration files, upgrades the Cisco IOS,
determines how much memory is installed, and discovers what
boot ROMs are present.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

You can install HPOV and CW2000 RME on the same Sun
workstation—without conflicts.

Network Design for a Dial NMS Case Study

Table 6

Configuration Design Parameters

Dial NMS Software and Management System Requirements (continued)

Software and Management Systems
CiscoSecure Unix, version 2.3(3)

War Dialer

Purpose

Authenticates, authorizes, and accounts for dial access
clients in each POP by using RADIUS.

Authenticates, authorizes, and accounts for router
administrators in the NOC by using TACACS+.

Uses AAA accounting records to collect performance
data, fault data, and track router configuration changes.

Runs performance tests by using a dial simulator and
client PCs.

Configuration Design Parameters
Before THEnet can implement and operate the dial NMS, several design parameters must be defined by
the network engineers and operators.
Each dial POP requires enough IP address space for the POP to grow to its maximum size. For THEnet,
each POP must support up to 50,000 lines. Therefore, an entire class B network is initially assigned to
each POP.
Figure 7

IP Subnetting Diagram for the THEnet

POP #1
172.21.0.0/16

NOC

Access

Firewall
Device ID
IP pool

Intranet
WAN

PSTN
Modems
Clients

POP #2
172.22.0.0/16

Access

35229

Firewall

Device ID
IP pool

Internet

To simplify IP address management, each POP uses a similar IP subnetting plan.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Network Design for a Dial NMS Case Study

Configuration Design Parameters

Table 7

IP Subnetting Plan for POP #1 and POP #2

Network Name

Assigned IP Subnet

Description

POP #1

172.21.0.0/16

Class B IP subnet assigned to POP #1.

POP #2

172.22.0.0/16

Class B IP subnet assigned to POP #2.

NOC

172.23.10.0/24

Class C IP subnet assigned to the NOC.

Access

172.21.101.0/24
172.21.102.0/24

Primary and secondary class C access Ethernet subnets.
All the access devices in each POP are directly connected
to these subnets.

172.22.101.0/24
172.22.102.0/24
DeviceID

172.21.10.0/24
172.22.10.0/24

Identifies each Cisco IOS device with a unique, fixed, and
stable loopback IP address for network management
purposes.
One IP address is assigned to the loopback 0 interface of
each Cisco IOS device.
One IP address block is used to simplify IP-security
filtering at the NOC. This technique protects the NOC
from devices that should not access management
services, such as TACACS+, RADIUS, syslog, and
SNMP.

IP pool

172.21.103.0/24
172.21.104.0/22

Hosts a pool of IP addresses for the dial access clients
with modems.

172.22.103.0/24
172.22.104.0/22

This IP assignment provides 1280 IP addresses to each
POP. The access servers create the IP routes to support
the IP pools.
Few IP routes are summarized to the backbone instead of
advertising 1280 host routes.

Table 8

Caution

SNMP Community Strings Used at THEnet

Community String s

Purpose

5urf5h0p

Assigns a read-only (RO) community string to enable SNMP polling and
SNMP get requests.

5crapmeta1

Assigns a read-write (RW) community string to enable router configuration
changes.

Do not use “public” or “private” strings, which are well known in the industry, are
common hardware defaults, and invite attacks from hackers—regardless if you use filters.
To maximize security, choose community strings that are not associated with your
personal life or company.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Network Design for a Dial NMS Case Study

Implementation and Operation Tasks

The information in Table 9 is posted and maintained on web-based management pages. Easy access to
this information reduces network downtime.
Table 9

T1 Support Management Information at THEnet

T1 Dial-in Number

Circuit ID

Support
Contract

Contact Phone
Number

512-111-2222

72ABCA047006-001PT

ABC

512-555-1212

512-333-4444

72ABCA047006-002PT

DEF

512-555-1212

Implementation and Operation Tasks
THEnet implements and operates the dial NMS in two phases:

Phase A—Exploring and setting up basic dial NMS functions by using free management software
and light-weight NMS tools:
Task 1—Enabling SNMP in a Cisco IOS Device
Task 2— Exploring SNMP Capabilities by Using UCD-SNMP
Task 3—Using MRTG to Monitor and Graph Traffic Loads
Task 4—Using Syslog, NTP, and Modem Call Records to Isolate and Troubleshoot Faults
Task 5—Setting Up a Web Portal for the Dial NMS

Phase B—Monitoring and maintaining basic dial NMS functions by using commercially available
management systems:
Task 6—Managing IP Addresses by Using DNS
Task 7—Using HP OpenView to Create the SNMP Framework
Task 8—Using CiscoWorks 2000 Resource Manager Essentials
Note

Providing information for integrating high-end management systems is
beyond the scope of this case study.

The examples in this document are taken from a Sun Microsystems workstation running Solarus 2.6.
Some commands and filenames may vary slightly on other Unix systems, such as Linux and HP UX.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Implementation and Operation Tasks

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Network Design for a Dial NMS Case Study

Dial MIBs and OIDs Used in the Case Study
This section describes the MIBs and OIDs used to manage the dial Internet access service in the
case study.
See the following tables and choose the variables you want to use in your network. Explore the OIDs
and determine whether to poll and graph the results on a regular basis.

Caution

To explore the MIBs and OIDs, use UCD-SNMP. For more information, see the
“Task 2— Exploring SNMP Capabilities by Using UCD-SNMP” section on page 45.

To graph the trending statistics for a specific OID, use Multi Router Traffic Grapher (MRTG).
For more information, see the “Task 3—Using MRTG to Monitor and Graph Traffic Loads” section
on page 53.

Table 10

MIBs to Consider Using for the Dial NMS

Dial Related

System Management

MIB II / Interfaces

CISCO-POP-MGMT-MIB1

OLD-CISCO-CHASSIS

RFC1213-MIB

CISCO-MODEM-MGMT-MIB

CISCO-MEMORY-POOL-MIB IF-MIB

CISCO-VPDN-MGMT-MIB

CISCO-SYSTEM-MIB

CISCO-CAS-IF-MIB

CISCO-AAA-SESSION-MIB

CISCO-FLASH-MIB

CISCO-ISDN-MIB

CISCO-AAA-SERVER-MIB

CISCO-CONFIG-MAN-MIB

CISCO-CALL-HISTORY-MIB

CISCO-PROCESS-MIB

CISCO-DIAL-CONTROL-MIB
CISCO-CALL-RESOURCE-POOL-MIB
1. This MIB was enhanced in Cisco IOS Release 12.1(2)XH and later releases.

For a complete list of available Cisco MIBs, go to
http://www.cisco.com/public/sw-center/netmgmt/cmtk/mibs.shtml

For a list of Cisco-supported traps, go to http://www.cisco.com/public/mibs/traps

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Dial MIBs and OIDs Used in the Case Study

For more information about other NMS enhancements for dial, see Call Tracker plus ISDN and
AAA Enhancements for the Cisco AS5300 and Cisco AS5800 at
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/software/ios121/121newft/121limit/121x/121xh
/121xh_2/dt_cltrk.htm

Note

To protect a network access server from over polling, use the SNMP get bulk feature.
It’s available in SNMP v2 in CISCO-BULK-FILE-MIB.
Table 11 and Table 12 identify useful OIDs and variables within selected MIBs from Table 10.
Equivalent Cisco IOS commands are shown wherever applicable. Sometimes data is more clearly
inspected by using OIDs and a graphing tool instead of CLI commands.
To see the complete structure of the CISCO-POP-MGMT-MIB and CISCO-MODEM-MGMT-MIB,
go to the following URLs:

CISCO-POP-MGMT-MIB
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/cisintwk/intsolns/dialnms/popmgt.txt

CISCO-MODEM-MGMT-MIB
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/cisintwk/intsolns/dialnms/modemmgt.txt

Table 11

Description of CISCO-POP-MGMT-MIB

Description

OID

Number of analog calls connected

cpmISDNCfgBChanInUseForAn
alog

Equivalent Cisco IOS
Command
show modem summary

.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.2
Number of active DS0s in use

cpmActiveDS0s
.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.4

Total call count per DS0

cpmCallCount
.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.1.1.7

Total time in use for each DS0
Total octets received on a DS0

cpmTimeInUse

show controllers t1
call-counters
show isdn memory (See the
number of call control
blocks, CCBs, in the
command output.)
show controllers t1
call-counters

.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.1.1.8

show controllers t1
call-counters

cpmInOctets

None available

.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.1.1.9
Total octets transmitted on a DS0

cpmOutOctets

None available

.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.1.1.10
Total packets received on a DS0

cpmInPackets
.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.1.1.11

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

None available

Dial MIBs and OIDs Used in the Case Study

Table 11

Description of CISCO-POP-MGMT-MIB (continued)

Description

Equivalent Cisco IOS
Command

OID

None available

Total packets transmitted on a DS0 cpmOutPackets
.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.1.1.12
Number of active PPP calls

cpmPPPCalls

None available

.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.5
Number of active V120 calls

cpmV120Calls

None available

.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.6
Number of active V110 calls

cpmV110Calls

None available

.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.7
Maximum number of DS0s used
simultaneously

cpmActiveDS0sHighWaterMark
.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.8

Type of call currently connected to cpmDS0CallType
each DS0
.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.1.1.5

Table 12

show controllers t1
call-counters
None available

Description of CISCO-MODEM-MGMT-MIB

Variable Description
Modems available to take calls

OID
cmSystemModemsAvailable

Equivalent Cisco IOS
Command
show modem summary

.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.47.1.1.7
Average call duration for each
modem

cmCallDuration

Number of times each modem
failed to answer

cmRingNoAnswers

Number of times each modem
failed to train up successfully

cmIncomingConnectionFailures

Number of times each modem
successfully trained up

cmIncomingConnectionCompleti show modem
ons

show modem

.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.47.1.3.1.1.9
show modem

.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.47.1.3.3.1.1
show modem

.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.47.1.3.3.1.2

.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.47.1.3.3.1.3
Current TX speed for all the
modems

cmTXRate

Current RX speed for all the
modems

cmRXRate

List of users currently connected
and authenticated
Call durations for currently
connected and authenticated users

.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.47.1.3.1.1.14
.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.47.1.3.1.1.15
cpmActiveUserID

show modem
connect-speeds
show modem
connect-speeds
show caller

.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.3.1.1.3
cpmActiveCallDuration

show caller

.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.3.1.1.8

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Dial MIBs and OIDs Used in the Case Study

Table 12

Description of CISCO-MODEM-MGMT-MIB (continued)

Variable Description

OID

Equivalent Cisco IOS
Command

List of user CLIDs

cpmActiveRemotePhoneNumber

show caller ip

.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.3.1.1.2

show isdn history

List of called DNIS phone numbers cpmActiveLocalPhoneNumber

show caller ip

.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.3.1.1.13
List of TTY interfaces in use

cpmActiveTTYNumber

show caller ip

.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.3.1.1.14
List of which user is using which
modem slot

cpmActiveModemSlot

List of which user is using which
modem port

cpmActiveModemPort

List of which IP addresses are
currently in use

cpmActiveUserIpAddr

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

show caller user

.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.3.1.1.6
show caller user

.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.3.1.1.7
.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.3.1.1.4

show caller ip

Task 1Enabling SNMP in a Cisco IOS Device
About Enabling SNMP
In this case study:

Each Cisco IOS device is identified by a fixed and stable loopback IP address for network
management purposes. The IP address functions as an device ID.
One block of loopback IP addresses is used to simplify IP-security filtering at the NOC. This
technique protects the NOC from devices that should not access management services, such as
TACACS+, RADIUS, syslog, and SNMP.

The dial NMS environment interfaces with SNMP through these applications:
` UCD-SNMP
` SNMP Commander
` Multi-Router Traffic Grapher (MRTG)
` HP OpenView (HPOV)
` Cisco Works 2000 Resource Manager Essentials (CW2000 RME)

Caution

Avoid using well-known community strings, such as “public,” “private,” or “cisco.”
These strings are easily guessed and leave your device open to malicious attacks or
inadvertent access. To further enhance SNMP security, apply access lists to the community
strings.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 1Enabling SNMP in a Cisco IOS Device

About Enabling SNMP

Enabling SNMP
To enable SNMP on a Cisco IOS device in the network, follow these steps.
Note

Step 1

In some software releases, the commands snmp-server engineID local and
snmp-server packetsize are enabled by default.

To use Loopback0 for device management and set SNMP traps to use that IP address, enter the
following commands. This configuration also eliminates the need to change IP addresses if a different
interface is used to send traps.
!
interface Loopback0
ip address 172.21.10.1 255.255.255.255
!
!
snmp-server trap-source Loopback0
!

Step 2

To enable a basic SNMP configuration, enter the following commands. See Table 13 for descriptions of
each command.
snmp-server community 5urf5h0p RO
snmp-server community 5crapmeta1 RW
snmp-server location Lake Travis (Austin) Dial POP
snmp-server contact net-admin@aurora.the.net
snmp-server enable traps
snmp host 172.23.10.1 traps SNMPv1

Table 13

SNMP Command Descriptions

Command

Purpose

snmp-server community 5urf5h0p RO

Assigns a read only (RO) community string. Only get
requests (queries) can be performed.
The RO community string in this example (5urf5h0p)
allows Get requests but no Set operations. The NMS and the
managed device must reference the same community string.

snmp-server community 5crapmeta1 RW

Assigns a read write (RW) community string. SNMP
applications require RW access for Set operations.
The RW community string in this example (5crapmeta1)
enables write access to OID values. For example, you can
shut down an interface, download a configuration file, or
change a password.

snmp-server location Lake Travis
(Austin) Dial POP

Specifies the location of the device for administrative
purposes.

snmp-server contact admin
net-admin@aurora.the.net

Specifies a contact name to notify whenever a MIB problem
occurs.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 1Enabling SNMP in a Cisco IOS Device

Table 13

About Enabling SNMP

SNMP Command Descriptions (continued)

Command

Purpose

snmp-server enable traps

Enables traps for unsolicited notifications for configuration
changes, environmental variables, and critical device
conditions.
This command enables 14+ other commands for distinct
types of SNMP traps. Edit this command list to include only
the traps that are used by your network environment.

snmp host 172.23.10.1 traps SNMPv1

Identifies the host destination for the traps. Traps are sent in
the SNMP v1 format in this case study.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

About Enabling SNMP

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 1Enabling SNMP in a Cisco IOS Device

Task 2 Exploring SNMP Capabilities by Using
UCD-SNMP
About Using UCD-SNMP
Researching and identifying which functions are available in SNMP are part of building a dial NMS
environment. In this case study, UCD-SNMP, an opensource freeware application that allows access to
SNMP functions from a command line interface (CLI), is used to explore the capabilities of SNMP.
There are many benefits to using UCD-SNMP.
You can:

Gain a fundamental understanding of how SNMP functions and protocols work in a dial access
environment. This knowledge provides a solid foundation for using automated and GUI-based
SNMP applications.

Learn how to use a low-level troubleshooting capability in the event that other SNMP applications
produce questionable results.

Poll any OID and verify SNMP agent responses.

Use stable and reliable CLI commands. UCD-SNMP is unobstructed by GUI functionality.

Explore and research MIB content.

Discover what functions are available to manage a Cisco IOS device.

Create customized scripts and tools.

For this case study, the dial engineers at THEnet created a tool called SNMP Commander. The tool
aided the MIB research task by enabling dial engineers to build web-based object identification (OIDs)
bookmarks, which they could go to without using a keyboard.
By using UCD-SNMP and SNMP Commander, the dial engineers at THEnet identified which items the
commercial NMS applications would monitor within the network operations center (NOC).

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 2 Exploring SNMP Capabilities by Using UCD-SNMP

About Using UCD-SNMP

Installing UCD-SNMP and Downloading Cisco MIBs
To install UCD-SNMP and download MIBs from the Cisco FTP site, follow these steps.
Note

You can also download individual MIBs from
http://www.cisco.com/public/sw-center/netmgmt/cmtk/mibs.shtml

Step 1

Go to http://ucd-snmp.ucdavis.edu

Step 2

Download, compile, and install UCD-SNMP. In this case study, the UCD-SNMP commands are
installed in the /usr/local/bin directory.

Step 3

From the Cisco FTP site, download the MIBs into the /usr/local/share/snmp/mibs directory on your
Solaris workstation. By using the following Unix commands, you can copy the entire bundled v1 MIB
tar file from ftp.cisco.com.
cd /usr/local/share/snmp/mibs
ftp ftp.cisco.com
cd /pub/mibs/v1
bin
get v1.tar.gz
exit

Step 4

Decompress and untar the files in the /usr/local/share/snmp/mibs directory:
gzip -d v1.tar.gz
tar -xvf v1.tar

Note

There are many MIBs in the tar file that you may not use. Regardless, Cisco
recommends you keep all the MIBs on file to support your evolving network
needs.

Exploring SNMP MIBs for Dial Netwo rks
To explore the MIBs for a Cisco IOS device by using SNMP CLI commands, follow the steps in this
section. Poll OID variables by using the commands snmpget, snmpwalk, and snmptable.
Note

Step 1

This section assumes you already have a basic understanding of UCD-SNMP
and know how to use its CLI commands.

To determine the last restart reason for the router, enter the snmpget command and the relevant OID.
In the following example, the restart reason is “reload.”
onionring:~$ snmpget travis-nas-01.the.net 5urf5h0p .1.3.6.1.4.1.9.2.1.2.0
Counter32 (is a reserved word): At line 6 in /usr/local/share/snmp/mibs/SNMPv2-S
MI-V1SMI.my
Gauge32 (is a reserved word): At line 7 in /usr/local/share/snmp/mibs/SNMPv2-SMI
-V1SMI.my
Integer32 (is a reserved word): At line 8 in /usr/local/share/snmp/mibs/SNMPv2-S
MI-V1SMI.my
Did not find 'mib-2' in module RFC1213-MIB (/usr/local/share/snmp/mibs/IANAifTyp
e-MIB-V1SMI.my)

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 2 Exploring SNMP Capabilities by Using UCD-SNMP

About Using UCD-SNMP

enterprises.9.2.1.2.0 = "reload"

If SNMP-parsing errors are generated, suppress them by appending 2>/dev/null to the end of the
command. Standard output is tagged as 1. Error output is tagged as 2.
onionring:~$ snmpget travis-nas-01.the.net 5urf5h0p .1.3.6.1.4.1.9.2.1.2.0 2> /dev/null
enterprises.9.2.1.2.0 = "reload"
onionring:~$

Note

Step 2

If no response is returned by the SNMP agent, allow error messages to print to the
screen by removing the 2>/dev/null argument.

Check the system up time by entering the snmpget command and sysUpTime OID:
onionring:~$ snmpget travis-nas-01.the.net 5urf5h0p .1.3.6.1.2.1.system.sysUpTime.0 2>
/dev/null
system.sysUpTime.0 = Timeticks: (45450609) 5 days, 6:15:06.09
onionring:~$

Step 3

To gather basic configuration management information about the Cisco IOS device, enter the
snmpwalk command and the system OID.
onionring:~$ snmpwalk travis-nas-01.the.net 5urf5h0p system 2> /dev/null
system.sysDescr.0 = "Cisco Internetwork Operating System Software ..IOS (tm) 5800
Software (C5800-P4-M), Version 12.1(2a)T1, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc2)..Copyright
(c) 1986-2000 by cisco Systems, Inc...Compiled Mon 12-Jun-00 23:13 by ccai"
system.sysObjectID.0 = OID: enterprises.9.1.188
system.sysUpTime.0 = Timeticks: (45492606) 5 days, 6:22:06.06
system.sysContact.0 = "net-admin@aurora.the.net"
system.sysName.0 = "travis-nas-01.the.net"
system.sysLocation.0 = "Lake Travis (Austin) Dial POP"
system.sysServices.0 = 78
system.8.0 = Timeticks: (0) 0:00:00.00
onionring:~$

Step 4

Change the OID environmental prefix by entering the commands prefix and export prefix. This step
reduces the number of key strokes you must enter at the command line.
onionring:~$ snmpget travis-nas-01.the.net 5urf5h0p .1.3.6.1.4.1.9.2.1.2.0 2> /
dev/null
enterprises.9.2.1.2.0 = "reload"
onionring:~$ PREFIX=.1.3.6.1.4.1.9
onionring:~$ export PREFIX
onionring:~$ snmpget travis-nas-01.the.net 5urf5h0p 2.1.2.0 2> /dev/null
enterprises.9.2.1.2.0 = "reload"
onionring:~$

The UCD-SNMP application attaches a prefix to the requested variable unless it is fully qualified (for
example, unless the variable starts with a period “.”). By default, the prefix points to the MIB-II node
.1.3.6.1.2.1 location. The Cisco enterprises prefix points to .1.3.6.1.4.1.9
Step 5

Inspect the IP address entry table by entering the snmptable command and ipAddrTable OID:
onionring:~$ snmptable travis-nas-01.the.net 5urf5h0p ip.ipAddrTable 2> /dev/null
SNMP table: ip.ipAddrTable.ipAddrEntry
ipAdEntAddr ipAdEntIfIndex ipAdEntNetMask ipAdEntBcastAddr ipAdEntReasmMaxSize
172.21.10.1
351
255.255.255.255
1
18024
172.21.101.20
289
255.255.255.0
1
18024
onionring:~$

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 2 Exploring SNMP Capabilities by Using UCD-SNMP

About Using UCD-SNMP

Step 6

Poll the interfaces table and redirect the output to a text file by entering the snmptable command and
ifTable OID:
onionring:~$ snmptable travis-nas-01.the.net 5urf5h0p interfaces.ifTable
> /export/home/www/travis-nas-01_ifTable.txt
onionring:~$

Note
Step 7

Do not forget the space between > and /export

Inspect the contents of the interfaces table by entering the cat command. In the following Cisco AS5800
example, notice the interface descriptions (ifDescr) and types (ifType). There is one PPP and DS0 entry
for each serial interface.
onionring:~$ cat /export/home/www/travis-nas-01_ifTable.txt
SNMP table: interfaces.ifTable.ifEntry
ifIndex
ifDescr
ifType ifMtu
ifSpeed ........
1
"Async1/2/00"
other 1500
9000
2
"Async1/2/01"
other 1500
9000
3
"Async1/2/02"
other 1500
9000
.
.
.
.
289
"FastEthernet0/0/0"
ethernetCsmacd 1500 100000000
290
"Null0"
other 1500 4294967295
291
"T1 1/0/0"
ds1
?
?
292
"T1 1/0/1"
ds1
?
?
.
.
.
.
301
"T1 1/0/10"
ds1
?
?
302
"T1 1/0/11"
ds1
?
?
303
"Serial1/0/0:0" propPointToPointSerial 1500
64000
304
"Serial1/0/0:1" propPointToPointSerial 1500
64000
.
.
.
.
326
"Serial1/0/0:23"
lapd 1500
64000
327
"Serial1/0/0:23-Signaling"
isdn 1500
64000
328 "Serial1/0/0:0-Bearer Channel"
ds0
?
?
329 "Serial1/0/0:1-Bearer Channel"
ds0
?
?
.
.
.
.
350 "Serial1/0/0:22-Bearer Channel"
ds0
?
?
351
"Loopback0"
softwareLoopback 15144294967295

To view the complete, unabridged output for this example, go to
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/cisintwk/intsolns/dialnms/iftable.txt

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 2 Exploring SNMP Capabilities by Using UCD-SNMP

About SNMP Commander

About SNMP Commander
The dial engineers at THEnet created a tool called SNMP Commander that:

Provides web-based access to UCD-SNMP CLI commands.

Builds web-based OID bookmarks, which enable you to go to OIDs without using a keyboard.

Aids the MIB exploration and NMS design tasks.

By using SNMP Commander and a web browser, you can:

Create URL links for the network staff and help desk.

Identify target OIDs you want to graph by using MRTG.

Inspect thresholds and events to monitor by using other NMS systems.

The following two components work together to create SNMP Commander:

snmpcmds.dat—A comma separated variables file, which includes a list of SNMP CLI commands.
This file is read by the snmpcmds.pl script.
For the source code, go to
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/cisintwk/intsolns/dialnms/snmpdat.txt

snmpcmds.pl—A script that loads and reads a data file. You can use additional data files by
creating multiple instances of the original script and altering the data file descriptor.
For the source code, go to
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/cisintwk/intsolns/dialnms/snmppl.txt

Setting Up SNMP Commander
To set up SNMP Commander, follow these steps:
Step 1

From CCO, download snmpcmds.dat and snmpcmds.pl

Step 2

Customize the files for your environment. When you find useful OIDs, enter them in the snmpcmds.dat
file and use the web-based form of the script to research the MIBs. The web tool functions like an SNMP
OID bookmarker.

Step 3

Test SNMP Commander by using a web browser:
a.

Select an SNMP command and OID.

Select an SNMP agent (Cisco IOS device).

Click Submit.

Inspect the program and query messages.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 2 Exploring SNMP Capabilities by Using UCD-SNMP

About SNMP Commander

Figure 8

SNMP Commander Tool

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 2 Exploring SNMP Capabilities by Using UCD-SNMP

Figure 9

About SNMP Commander

Polling Results from the table cpmActiveCallSummaryTable Command

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

About SNMP Commander

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 2 Exploring SNMP Capabilities by Using UCD-SNMP

Task 3Using MRTG to Monitor and Graph
Traffic Loads
About MRTG
Multi Router Traffic Grapher (MRTG) is a free performance management application for Unix that
monitors SNMP statistics from any SNMP capable device on your network and performs the following
functions:

Captures, stores, and graphically presents SNMP data. By default, a web page with four graphs per
MIB object (OID) is created by MRTG. The graphs show the variation of MIB data over time.

Runs from the crontab. Every five minutes, a cron job runs MRTG to query a user-configured list
of OIDs and network devices. After each data collection cycle, the MRTG perl script posts updated
graphs to a web page.

Efficiently compresses and archives data samples to create graphs.

Enables you to determine if trending data is useful for monitoring your environment before you
invest in costly network performance software. If trending data is critical to manage your network,
it may be necessary to purchase a commercial network performance package, such as Concord
Network Health. However, you may find that MRTG is all you need.

Cisco
IOS
devices

MRTG Polls for OIDs; OID Values that Are Returned to MRTG

Polling OID
Returning OID valves
MRTG

35193

Figure 10

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 3Using MRTG to Monitor and Graph Traffic Loads

About Selecting Dial OIDs

For each OID referenced in the configuration file, MRTG creates the following graphs:

Daily graph—5 minute average data points with approximately 33 hours of data presented.

Weekly graph—30 minute average data points with approximately 8 days of data presented.

Monthly graph—2 hour average data points with approximately 5 weeks of data presented.

Yearly graph—1 day average data points with approximately 1 year of data presented.

To quickly create images by using the GD graphics library, go to http://www.boutell.com/gd

About Selecting Dial OIDs
To select which dial OIDs to query when monitoring dial-up activity, see the OIDs listed in the
following tables:

Caution

Circuit utilization OIDs (Table 14)

Modem information OIDs (Table 15)

User information OIDs (Table 16)

Be cautious when polling network elements. Polling OIDs that retrieve large amounts of
data can cause CPU problems on a Cisco IOS device. For example, do not get the ARP
table, walk large portions of a MIB tree, poll the wrong OID too frequently, or get statistics
that have an entry for every interface. For example, a Cisco 7200 may have 10 interfaces;
whereas, a Cisco AS5800 may have 3,000 interfaces.
In this case study, the tools UCD-SNMP and SNMP Commander were used to inspect and understand
the MIBs. Based on this research, the network engineers at THEnet identified the OIDs in the following
tables to program in to MRTG.
To see the complete structure of the CISCO-POP-MGMT-MIB and CISCO-MODEM-MGMT-MIB,
go to the following URLs:

CISCO-POP-MGMT-MIB
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/cisintwk/intsolns/dialnms/popmgt.txt

CISCO-MODEM-MGMT-MIB
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/cisintwk/intsolns/dialnms/modemmgt.txt

Table 14

Circuit Utilization OIDs

Variable

Base MIB and OID

Description

Analog calls

CISCO-POP-MGMT-MIB

The number of analog calls connected.

1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.2
Active DS0s

CISCO-POP-MGMT-MIB

The total number of calls connected.

1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.4
Call count

CISCO-POP-MGMT-MIB
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.1.1.7

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

The number of calls that have occupied a
specific DS0.

Task 3Using MRTG to Monitor and Graph Traffic Loads

Table 14

About Selecting Dial OIDs

Circuit Utilization OIDs (continued)

Variable

Base MIB and OID

Description

Time in use

CISCO-POP-MGMT-MIB

The time for each DS0.

1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.1.1.8
PPP calls

CISCO-POP-MGMT-MIB

The number of active PPP calls.

1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.5
DS0 high
water mark

CISCO-POP-MGMT-MIB
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.8

The maximum number of DS0s ever used
simultaneously.

Table 15

Modem Information OIDs

Variable

Base MIB and OID

Description

Modems
available

CISCO-MODEM-MGMT-MIB

The number of modems currently available to
take calls.

Average call
duration

CISCO-MODEM-MGMT-MIB

No answers

CISCO-MODEM-MGMT-MIB

1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.47.1.1.7
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.47.1.3.1.1.9

The average call duration for each modem in the
NAS.
The number of calls not answered by a modem.

1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.47.1.3.3.1.1
Failed Train

CISCO-MODEM-MGMT-MIB
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.47.1.3.3.1.2

The number of modem calls that failed to train
up.
It’s normal behavior for most modems to not
have a 100 percent success rate.

Successful
train

CISCO-MODEM-MGMT-MIB
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.47.1.3.3.1.3

The number of modem calls that successfully
trained up.
It’s normal for most modems to not have a 100
percent success rate.

TX speed

CISCO-MODEM-MGMT-MIB
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.47.1.3.1.1.14

The current transmit speed (TX) of all the
modems in the NAS.
If a modem does not have an active call, zero is
returned.

RX speed

CISCO-MODEM-MGMT-MIB
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.47.1.3.1.1.15

The current receive speed (RX) of all the
modems in the NAS.
If a modem does not have an active call, zero is
returned.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 3Using MRTG to Monitor and Graph Traffic Loads

How to Inspect and Interpret Data

Table 16

User Information OIDs

Variable

Base MIB and OID

Description

Active user ID

CISCO-MODEM-MGMT-MIB

List of users currently connected
and authenticated.

.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.3.1.1.3
Active call duration
User CLID

CISCO-MODEM-MGMT-MIB
.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.3.1.1.8

Call durations for currently
connected and authenticated users.

CISCO-MODEM-MGMT-MIB

List of user Caller IDs (CLID).

.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.3.1.1.2
DNIS phone number

CISCO-MODEM-MGMT-MIB
.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.3.1.1.13

Active TTY

CISCO-MODEM-MGMT-MIB
.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.3.1.1.14

Active modem slot

CISCO-MODEM-MGMT-MIB
.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.3.1.1.6

Active modem port

CISCO-MODEM-MGMT-MIB
.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.3.1.1.7

Active user IP

CISCO-MODEM-MGMT-MIB
.1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.3.1.1.4

List of called Dialed Number
Information Service (DNIS) phone
numbers.
List of asynchronous terminal lines
(TTY) in use.
List of which user is using which
modem slot.
List of which user is using which
modem port.
List of which IP addresses are
currently in use.

How to Inspect and Interpret Data
Internet users spend approximately 80 percent of their time reading information—not downloading
data. Modem traffic is very limited on a per user basis. People cannot read as fast as modems can
download. Therefore, watch for the following types of trends and performance data on the access
servers:

PPP sessions in use.

DS0s in use.

Modem calls that have been rejected.

The number of calls coming in to the access server and at what time.

Spikes or dips in total calls connected outside the normal call pattern.

Long-term trends that may mean that you need to upgrade components in your network.

Throughput that has been reduced to unacceptable levels (potential bottlenecks).

For disaster recovery purposes, when fail over events and routing swaps occur, look for drops in the
primary data path and jumps in the backup path.

The utilization of the IP backbone, such as a Frame Relay link or Ethernet campus.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 3Using MRTG to Monitor and Graph Traffic Loads

How to Inspect and Interpret Data

The Connection Success Rate (CSR) is an important metric for tracking and measuring the stability of
a dial service. The CSR is defined by the number of modems that successfully train up and go in to
connected state. In addition to the CSR, you must track and analyze additional areas. For example,
SNMP MIBs can be used to measure the success rate for items such as PPP, AAA, and IP negotiation.
To collect the CSR service level counters, inspect the connection success and failure rate by using
modem OIDs or the show modem Cisco IOS command. SNMP, rather than the Cisco IOS CLI, is the
preferred method to collect these counters. SNMP can scale to support large numbers of access servers.
The following graphs show the DS0s and PPP sessions in use for 70,000 modem users calling in to a
dial-up service at a large university. The graphs are taken from one Cisco AS5300 in a large dial-up
modem pool.
Figure 11

Daily Graph: DS0s and PPP Sessions in Use

The jagged saw-tooth pattern at the top of the graph indicates a telephone-switch hunt group for the dial
lines passing by the access servers. A “jump up” occurs each time the hunt group passes by a different
T1 line. For a hunt group that rotates in a round-robin fashion, a jagged saw-tooth pattern is normal.
Figure 12

Weekly Graph: DS0s and PPP Sessions in Use

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 3Using MRTG to Monitor and Graph Traffic Loads

How to Inspect and Interpret Data

Figure 13

Monthly Graph: DS0s and PPP Sessions in Use

MRTG efficiently compresses and archives data to create graphs. For example, you can keep
information for an entire year on a server without using much disk space.
Figure 14

Yearly Graph: DS0s and PPP Sessions in Use

The configuration file used to create these graphs is posted at
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/cisintwk/intsolns/dialnms/mrtg53.txt
Note the numeric OIDs in the configuration file.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 3Using MRTG to Monitor and Graph Traffic Loads

How to Inspect and Interpret Data

Creating and Editing a Configuration File
Because dial interfaces normally go up and down as calls connect and disconnect, monitor counters
such as:

PPP sessions in use

DS0s in use

Modem calls that have been rejected

Depending on how the dial interfaces are used on a access server, different types of counters may not
be valuable to monitor, such as byte-packet counters on the interfaces in Table 17.
Table 17

Dial Interface Types on a Cisco AS5800

Interface Type

Syntax Example

Asynchronous

Async1/2/00

B-channel serial

Serial1/0/0:1

D-channel serial

Serial1/0/0:23

Group asynchronous

Group-Async0

T1/E1 controllers

T1 1/0/0

To enable MRTG to locate a device and poll it for network statistics, follow these steps:
Step 1

Collect the hostnames, IP address, and read only (RO) SNMP community strings for the devices to be
monitored.

Step 2

Download, compile, and install MRTG on to a Solaris workstation:

Step 3

For the source code, go to http://ee-staff.ethz.ch/~oetiker/webtools/mrtg/pub/

For the documentation, see the section “Getting and Installing MRTG on a UNIX System” at
http://ee-staff.ethz.ch/~oetiker/webtools/mrtg/mrtg.html

Create a configuration file.
There are two basic ways to create the file:

Manually create it by using the MRTG files config.text and sample-mrtg.config. These files are in
the /mrtg/doc directory.
or

Use the configuration maker (cfgmaker) in the /mrtg/run directory. MRTG creates a basic
configuration file for you. The default configuration file made with cfgmaker automatically polls
for a standard set of MIBs and pre-defined values.
Generic command syntax:
./cfgmaker communitystring@hostname-or-ipaddress >> outputfilename.cfg

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 3Using MRTG to Monitor and Graph Traffic Loads

How to Inspect and Interpret Data

Example:
./cfgmaker 5urf5h0p@travis-nas-01 >> travis-nas-01.cfg

In the previous example:
5urf5h0p

is the SNMP community string.

travis-nas-01

is the hostname of the managed device.

travis-nas-01.cfg

Note

Step 4

is the configuration file that MRTG reads each time it starts up.

If the domain name server (DNS) is not working, MRTG cannot use a hostname.
You must use an IP address instead.

By using a text editor, edit the configuration file (.cfg) to enable polling of dial variables and OIDs.
For a complete list of OIDs to poll, see the “About Selecting Dial OIDs” section on page 54.
The following configuration file is from a Cisco AS5300. This file can be used as a configuration
template for your environment, but use your own community string, work directory, and device name.
The following definitions are used in the example:

The RO community string is 5urf5h0p

The work directory is WorkDir:

The device name is travis-nas-01

/export/home/www/mrtg/travis-nas-01/dial

An electronic copy of this template is available at
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/cisintwk/intsolns/dialnms/dialmrtg.txt
WorkDir: /export/home/www/mrtg/travis-nas-01/dial
# set defaults
Options[_]: growright
# make legends reflect these are call counters
YLegend[_]: Active Calls
ShortLegend[_]: calls
LegendI[_]: calls:
LegendO[_]: calls:
######################################################################
#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------# purpose: DS0s and PPP Sessions.
#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Target[travis-nas-01_DS0PPP]:
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.4.0&1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.5.0:5urf5h0p@travis-nas-01
MaxBytes1[travis-nas-01_DS0PPP]: 200
MaxBytes2[travis-nas-01_DS0PPP]: 200
Title[travis-nas-01_DS0PPP]: DS0s and PPP sessions in Use
PageTop[travis-nas-01_DS0PPP]: DS0s and PPP sessions in Use

Device: travis-nas-01
HOME

Options[travis-nas-01_DS0PPP]: gauge

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 3Using MRTG to Monitor and Graph Traffic Loads

How to Inspect and Interpret Data

#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------# purpose: DS0s and Analog
#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Target[travis-nas-01_DS0ANALOG]:
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.4.0&1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.2.0:5urf5h0p@travis-nas-01
MaxBytes1[travis-nas-01_DS0ANALOG]: 200
MaxBytes2[travis-nas-01_DS0ANALOG]: 200
Title[travis-nas-01_DS0ANALOG]: DS0s and Analog in Use
PageTop[travis-nas-01_DS0ANALOG]: DS0s and Analog in Use

Device: travis-nas-01
HOME

Options[travis-nas-01_DS0ANALOG]: gauge
#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------# purpose: DS0s and SerialX:Y
#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Target[travis-nas-01_DS0SERIAL]:
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.4.0&1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.3.0:5urf5h0p@travis-nas-01
MaxBytes1[travis-nas-01_DS0SERIAL]: 200
MaxBytes2[travis-nas-01_DS0SERIAL]: 200
Title[travis-nas-01_DS0SERIAL]: DS0s and SerialX:Y in Use
PageTop[travis-nas-01_DS0SERIAL]: DS0s and SerialX:Y in Use

Device: travis-nas-01
HOME

Options[travis-nas-01_DS0SERIAL]: gauge
#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------# purpose: DS0s and Sw56
#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Target[travis-nas-01_DS0Sw56]:
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.4.0&1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.10.0:5urf5h0p@travis-nas-01
MaxBytes1[travis-nas-01_DS0Sw56]: 200
MaxBytes2[travis-nas-01_DS0Sw56]: 200
Title[travis-nas-01_DS0Sw56]: DS0s and Sw56 in Use
PageTop[travis-nas-01_DS0Sw56]: DS0s and Sw56 in Use

Device: travis-nas-01
HOME

Options[travis-nas-01_DS0Sw56]: gauge
#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------# purpose: cpmISDNCallsRejected and cpmModemCallsRejected
#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Target[travis-nas-01_callrejects]:
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.2.1.0&1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.2.2.0:5urf5h0p@travis-nas-01
MaxBytes1[travis-nas-01_callrejects]: 200
MaxBytes2[travis-nas-01_callrejects]: 200
Title[travis-nas-01_callrejects]: travis-nas-01 cpmISDNCallsRejected and
cpmModemCallsRejected
PageTop[travis-nas-01_callrejects]: cpmISDNCallsRejected and
cpmModemCallsRejected

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

How to Inspect and Interpret Data

Task 3Using MRTG to Monitor and Graph Traffic Loads

Device: travis-nas-01
HOME

#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------# purpose: cpmISDNCallsClearedAbnormally and cpmModemCallsClearedAbnormally
#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Target[travis-nas-01_clearAbnormal]:
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.2.3.0&1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.2.4.0:5urf5h0p@travis-nas-01
MaxBytes1[travis-nas-01_clearAbnormal]: 200
MaxBytes2[travis-nas-01_clearAbnormal]: 200
Title[travis-nas-01_clearAbnormal]: travis-nas-01 cpmISDNCallsClearedAbnormally and
cpmModemCallsClearedAbnormally
PageTop[travis-nas-01_clearAbnormal]: cpmISDNCallsClearedAbnormally and
cpmModemCallsClearedAbnormally

Device: travis-nas-01
HOME

#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------# purpose: cpmISDNNoResource and cpmModemNoResource
#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Target[travis-nas-01_callNoResource]:
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.2.5.0&1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.2.6.0:5urf5h0p@travis-nas-01
MaxBytes1[travis-nas-01_callNoResource]: 200
MaxBytes2[travis-nas-01_callNoResource]: 200
Title[travis-nas-01_callNoResource]: travis-nas-01 cpmISDNNoResource and
cpmModemNoResource
PageTop[travis-nas-01_callNoResource]: cpmISDNNoResource and cpmModemNoResource

Device: travis-nas-01
HOME

#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------# purpose: cmSystemModemsInUse and cmSystemModemsAvailable
#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Target[travis-nas-01_modemcount]:
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.47.1.1.6.0&1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.47.1.1.7.0:5urf5h0p@travis-nas-01
MaxBytes1[travis-nas-01_modemcount]: 200
MaxBytes2[travis-nas-01_modemcount]: 200
Title[travis-nas-01_modemcount]: cmSystemModemsInUse and cmSystemModemsAvailable
PageTop[travis-nas-01_modemcount]: cmSystemModemsInUse and
cmSystemModemsAvailable

Device: travis-nas-01
HOME

Options[travis-nas-01_modemcount]: gauge
#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------# purpose: cvpdnTunnelTotal and cvpdnDeniedUsersTotal
#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Target[travis-nas-01_vpdn_tunnelanddenied]:
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.24.1.1.1.0&1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.24.1.1.3.0:5urf5h0p@travis-nas-01
MaxBytes1[travis-nas-01_vpdn_tunnelanddenied]: 200

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 3Using MRTG to Monitor and Graph Traffic Loads

How to Inspect and Interpret Data

MaxBytes2[travis-nas-01_vpdn_tunnelanddenied]: 200
Title[travis-nas-01_vpdn_tunnelanddenied]: cvpdnTunnelTotal and cvpdnDeniedUsersTotal
PageTop[travis-nas-01_vpdn_tunnelanddenied]: cvpdnTunnelTotal and
cvpdnDeniedUsersTotal

Device: travis-nas-01
HOME

Options[travis-nas-01_vpdn_tunnelanddenied]: gauge
#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------# purpose: activeDS0s and cvpdnSessionTotal
#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Target[travis-nas-01_activeDS0vpdnSession]:
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.19.1.1.4.0&1.3.6.1.4.1.9.10.24.1.1.2.0:5urf5h0p@travis-nas-01
MaxBytes1[travis-nas-01_activeDS0vpdnSession]: 200
MaxBytes2[travis-nas-01_activeDS0vpdnSession]: 200
Title[travis-nas-01_activeDS0vpdnSession]: activeDS0s and cvpdnSessionTotal
PageTop[travis-nas-01_activeDS0vpdnSession]: activeDS0s and cvpdnSessionTotal

Device: travis-nas-01
HOME

Options[travis-nas-01_activeDS0vpdnSession]: gauge

Step 5

Open the crontab file in your system by entering crontab -e. The -e enables edit mode. You can run
crontab from any directory.
igloo:/ ->crontab -e
"/tmp/crontabmMaqZd" 14 lines, 610 characters
#ident "@(#)root
1.19
98/07/06 SMI"
/* SVr4.0 1.1.3.1
*/
#
# The root crontab should be used to perform accounting data collection.
#
# The rtc command is run to adjust the real time clock if and when
# daylight savings time changes.
#
10 3 * * 0,4 /etc/cron.d/logchecker
10 3 * * 0
/usr/lib/newsyslog
15 3 * * 0 /usr/lib/fs/nfs/nfsfind
1 2 * * * [ -x /usr/sbin/rtc ] && /usr/sbin/rtc -c > /dev/null 2>&1
30 3 * * * [ -x /usr/lib/gss/gsscred_clean ] && /usr/lib/gss/gsscred_clean

Caution

Step 6

Although the crontab file is a flat text file, do not manually edit it by using vi crontab.
vi can corrupt the crontab, which causes all cron jobs to stop working. You must use the
crontab -e command, which synchronizes and updates all the crontab daemons
accordingly.
Insert the directory path for the MRTG configuration file (.cfg) you created. At the bottom of the file,
enter a line similar to this one:
0,5,10,15,20,25,30,35,40,45,50,55 * * * * /opt/mrtg/run/mrtg
/opt/mrtg/run/conf/travis-nas-01.cfg

Note

Do not forget to include a space between /mrtg and /opt

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 3Using MRTG to Monitor and Graph Traffic Loads

How to Inspect and Interpret Data

"/tmp/crontabmMaqZd" 14 lines, 610 characters
#ident "@(#)root
1.19
98/07/06 SMI"
/* SVr4.0 1.1.3.1
*/
#
# The root crontab should be used to perform accounting data collection.
#
# The rtc command is run to adjust the real time clock if and when
# daylight savings time changes.
#
10 3 * * 0,4 /etc/cron.d/logchecker
10 3 * * 0
/usr/lib/newsyslog
15 3 * * 0 /usr/lib/fs/nfs/nfsfind
1 2 * * * [ -x /usr/sbin/rtc ] && /usr/sbin/rtc -c > /dev/null 2>&1
30 3 * * * [ -x /usr/lib/gss/gsscred_clean ] && /usr/lib/gss/gsscred_clean
0,5,10,15,20,25,30,35,40,45,50,55 * * * * /opt/downloads/mrtg/mrtg-2.8.8/run/mrtg
/opt/downloads/mrtg/mrtg-2.8.8/run/travis-nas-01.cfg

On a 5-minute time interval, MRTG will start up, read the configuration file, and re-generate
performance graphs.

Sending MRTG Graphs to a Web Server
MRTG builds all the graphs and web pages.
To browse and view the graphs produced by MRTG, make sure the web server is running. For
information on how to set up a web server, go to http://www.apache.org/
To send MRTG graphs to a web server, follow these steps:
Step 1

Verify that the configuration file points to the correct working directory (WorkDir:) on your web server
by entering the more command. See WorkDir: in the following example.
igloo:/opt/downloads/mrtg/mrtg-2.8.8/run ->more travis-nas-01.cfg
WorkDir: /export/home/www/mrtg/travis-nas-01/dial
# set defaults
Options[_]: growright
# make legends reflect these are call counters
YLegend[_]: Active Calls
ShortLegend[_]: calls
LegendI[_]: calls:
LegendO[_]: calls:
.
.
.

Step 2

To send the web pages and graphs to the web-server directory, enter the following command:
igloo:/opt/downloads/mrtg/mrtg-2.8.8/run ->./mrtg travis-nas-01.cfg
igloo:/opt/downloads/mrtg/mrtg-2.8.8/run ->

Now, the crontab will automatically perform this function every five minutes.
Ignore any Rateup WARNING errors, which means that crontab is working in the background.
Rateup
Rateup
Rateup
Rateup

WARNING:
WARNING:
WARNING:
WARNING:

.//rateup
.//rateup
.//rateup
.//rateup

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

The backup log file for 172.21.101.20.178 was invalidl
Can't remove 172.21.101.20.178.old updating log file
Can't rename 172.21.101.20.178.log to 172.21.101.20.1e
could not read the primary log file for 172.21.101.209

Task 3Using MRTG to Monitor and Graph Traffic Loads

Step 3

How to Inspect and Interpret Data

Use a web browser to view the MRTG output files in the web page directory.
Note

If the domain name server (DNS) is not working, a hostname cannot be used by
MRTG. Use the IP address instead.

Figure 15

MRTG Graphs Viewed by Using a Web Browser

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

How to Inspect and Interpret Data

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 3Using MRTG to Monitor and Graph Traffic Loads

Task 4Using Syslog, NTP, and Modem Call
Records to Isolate and Troubleshoot Faults
About Syslog
Syslog, Network Time Protocol (NTP), and modem call records work together to isolate and
troubleshoot faults in a dial access network.
Syslog enables you to:

Centrally log and analyze configuration events and system error messages, such as router
configuration changes, interface up and down status, modem events, security alerts, environmental
conditions, trace backs, and CPU process overloads.

Capture client debug output sessions in a real-time scenario.

Reserve telnet sessions for making configurations changes and using show commands.
Telnet sessions that are cluttered with debug output interfere with troubleshooting procedures.

Reduce network downtime by knowing when the network has quality problems.

Figure 16

Cisco IOS Sending Syslog Messages to a Syslog Server

Syslog messages

Syslog server

Cisco IOS

Syslog messages
written to
hard disk

24528

Internal view

You can enable syslog in any Cisco IOS device and send syslog messages to many different destinations
(host, buffer, console, history, and monitor).

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 4Using Syslog, NTP, and Modem Call Records to Isolate and Troubleshoot Faults

About Syslog

By using the logging ? command, you can see the log settings for distinct destinations:
travis-nas-01(config)#logging ?
Hostname or A.B.C.D IP address of the logging host
buffered
Set buffered logging parameters
console
Set console logging level
facility
Facility parameter for syslog messages
history
Configure syslog history table
monitor
Set terminal line (monitor) logging level
on
Enable logging to all supported destinations
rate-limit
Set messages per second limit
source-interface
Specify interface for source address in logging
transactions
trap
Set syslog server logging level

There are eight levels of syslog information in the Cisco IOS software. Monitor and manage logs
according to the severity level of the syslog message. By using the logging trap ? command, you can
see the logging severity levels:
travis-nas-01(config)#logging trap ?
<0-7>
Logging severity level
alerts
Immediate action needed
critical
Critical conditions
debugging
Debugging messages
emergencies
System is unusable
errors
Error conditions
informational Informational messages
notifications Normal but significant conditions
warnings
Warning conditions

Table 18

(severity=1)
(severity=2)
(severity=7)
(severity=0)
(severity=3)
(severity=6)
(severity=5)
(severity=4)

Logging Trap Severity Definitions

Message Type

Description

Syslog Message

Severity Level

emergencies

System unusable

LOG_EMERG

alerts

Immediate action needed

LOG_ALERT

critical

Critical conditions

LOG_CRIT

errors

Error conditions

LOG_ERR

warnings

Warning conditions

LOG_WARNING

notifications

Normal but significant condition

LOG_NOTICE

informational

Informational messages only

LOG_INFO

debugging

Debugging messages

LOG_DEBUG

In this case study, syslog is enabled on all Cisco access servers and backbone routers. Each device sends
syslog messages to the same log file on the same syslog server.
The terminology in the syslog messages can vary between different versions of Cisco IOS software.
To effectively manage syslog messages, ensure that wherever possible, the same version of Cisco IOS
software is running on all routers.
Note

For background information on syslog, go to
http://www.cert.org/security-improvement/practices/p041.html

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 4Using Syslog, NTP, and Modem Call Records to Isolate and Troubleshoot Faults

About NTP

About NTP
The Network Time Protocol (NTP):

Provides a synchronized time base for networked routers, servers, and other devices.

Coordinates the time of network events, which helps you understand and troubleshoot the time
sequence of network events. For example, call records for specific users can be correlated within
one millisecond.

Enables you to compare time logs from different networks, which is essential for:
` Tracking security incidents
` Analyzing faults
` Troubleshooting

Without precise time synchronization between all the various logging, debug output, management,
and AAA functions in the network, you cannot make time comparisons.
For a list of NTP clients, go to http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~ntp/software.html

About Modem Call Records
A modem call record (MCR) is a type of syslog message that is:

Created when a user dials in and hangs up, but it is not generated until the end of the call.

Used to gather statistics and modem-performance logs on a per-call basis, such as:
` Modulation trends (V.90 verses V.34).
` Call time durations (consistent short connection times on a modem, regular Lost Carrier

counts).
` Unavailable user IDs.
` PPP negotiation or authentication failures.

In this case study, the engineers filter modem call records out of syslog and store them into flat files on
a Unix host. The records are sorted by using cron jobs and perl scripts. A web-based MCR viewer
facility is used to:

Search the call records.

Extract historical and statistical information about individual users and access servers.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 4Using Syslog, NTP, and Modem Call Records to Isolate and Troubleshoot Faults

About Modem Call Records

Figure 17

Web-Based MCR Viewer

You can view entire log files or portions of logs in the MCR viewer. In addition, you can parse for
specific users and other call attributes for a modem call (for example, modulation, error correction,
compression, disconnect causes, and retrains).
Note

Modem call records are available in syslog starting with Cisco IOS
Releases 11.3AA and 12.0T.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 4Using Syslog, NTP, and Modem Call Records to Isolate and Troubleshoot Faults

About Modem Call Records

Enabling NTP on a Cisco IOS Device
To enable NTP and related clocking services, follow these steps.
Step 1

From the Cisco IOS device, enter the following commands. Enable debug timestamps and include the
date, time, and milliseconds relative to the local time zone:
!
service timestamps debug datetime msec localtime show-timezone
service timestamps log datetime msec localtime show-timezone
!

Step 2

Identify the local timezone and enable recurring time adjustments for daylight savings time by entering
the following commands:
!
clock timezone CST -6
clock summer-time CST recurring
!

Step 3

Locate an NTP server that can be reached by the Cisco IOS device.

Step 4

Specify the IP address for the NTP server and enable automatic-calendar updates by entering the
following commands:
!
ntp update-calendar
ntp server 172.22.255.1
!

Note

Step 5

By default, the ntp clock-period command is enabled in some Cisco IOS releases.
The Cisco IOS software appends an arbitrary number to the end of the command.

Verify that the clock is synchronized with the NTP server by entering the following command:
travis-nas-01>show ntp status
Clock is synchronized, stratum 9, reference is 172.22.255.1
nominal freq is 250.0000 Hz, actual freq is 249.9987 Hz, precision is 2**24
reference time is BD123336.28CCF0C4 (18:09:42.159 CST Sat Jul 8 2000)
clock offset is 0.1183 msec, root delay is 61.84 msec
root dispersion is 0.93 msec, peer dispersion is 0.79 msec
travis-nas-01>

Inspect the status and time association. Clock sources are identified by their stratum levels. The
previous display shows a stratum level nine clock.

Note

If the NTP synchronization does not take place, reload the router.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 4Using Syslog, NTP, and Modem Call Records to Isolate and Troubleshoot Faults

About Modem Call Records

Step 6

Verify that the router is receiving NTP packets from the NTP server by entering the following command:
travis-nas-01>show ntp association
address
ref clock
st when poll reach delay offset
disp
*~172.22.255.1
127.127.7.1
8
984 1024 377
60.3
-0.89
0.8
* master (synced), # master (unsynced), + selected, - candidate, ~ configured
travis-nas-01>

The tilde (~) next to the IP address of the NTP server means the NTP service is configured. The asterisk
(*) indicates successful synchronization with the master clock.

Setting Up an NTP Client
To set up an NTP client on a Solaris v2.6 workstation, follow these steps.
Note

Step 1

Locate an NTP server that can be reached by the workstation. There are many available NTP servers on
the Internet. If your workstation cannot reach the Internet, locate an NTP server within your network.
Note

Step 2

Additional software is not required to set up NTP on the workstation if it is
running Solaris v2.6 (or later).

A common practice is to configure an area border router as an NTP server for a
particular subnet. The area border router then points to an external NTP server.
Other equipment on that subnet uses the loopback 0 IP address on the area border
router as an NTP server.

Go to the /etc/inet directory and inspect the template file called ntp.client:
onionring:~$ cd /etc/inet
onionring:/etc/inet$ more ntp.client
# @(#)ntp.client
1.2
96/11/06 SMI
#
# /etc/inet/ntp.client
#
# An example file that could be copied over to /etc/inet/ntp.conf; it
# provides a configuration for a host that passively waits for a server
# to provide NTP packets on the ntp multicast net.
#
multicastclient 224.0.1.1

Step 3

Copy ntp.client and create the ntp.conf configuration file in the /etc/inet default directory:
onionring:/etc/inet$ cp ntp.client ntp.conf
onionring:/etc/inet$

The NTP daemon reads ntp.conf at startup to locate the NTP server.
Note

You must have root-level permissions to edit or copy any files in the /etc/inet/
directory.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 4Using Syslog, NTP, and Modem Call Records to Isolate and Troubleshoot Faults

Step 4

About Modem Call Records

Edit the ntp.conf file by changing multicastclient to server followed by the IP address of the target
NTP server:
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#

@(#)ntp.client

1.2

96/11/06 SMI

/etc/inet/ntp.client
An example file that could be copied over to /etc/inet/ntp.conf; it
provides a configuration for a host that passively waits for a server
to provide NTP packets on the ntp multicast net.

server 172.22.255.1

Step 5

Go to the directory /usr/lib/inet/ and start the NTP daemon by entering the xntpd command.
The daemon sets and maintains the time-of-day of the operating system in agreement with the master
time server.
onionring:/etc/inet$ cd /usr/lib/inet/
onionring:/usr/lib/inet$ ls
in.dhcpd xntpd
onionring:/usr/lib/inet$ xntpd
onionring:/usr/lib/inet$

Step 6

Verify that the NTP daemon is running by entering the ntpq -p command:
onionring:/usr/lib/inet$ ntpq -p
remote
refid
st t when poll reach
delay
offset
disp
==============================================================================
*maui-rtr-01.mau CHU(1)
8 u
49
64 377
1.08
-0.131
0.08
onionring:/usr/lib/inet$

The following information appears:

The remote NTP server to which the workstation is connected.

The reference ID.

The stratum level of the server.

The type of NTP packet that was received by the client (local, unicast, multicast, or broadcast).

The polling interval in seconds.

The reachability register in octal.

The current delay of the server in seconds.

The current offset of the server in seconds and the dispersion of the server in seconds.

The delay, offset, and displacement between the client and the server in seconds.

When the daemon starts, most of the time values will be zeros until there is a sufficient number of
queries taken by the daemon to determine the correct offset.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 4Using Syslog, NTP, and Modem Call Records to Isolate and Troubleshoot Faults

About Modem Call Records

Troubleshooting the NTP Client
Table 19

NTP Problems and Solutions

Problem

Solution

The ntp.client file or the xntpd
daemon cannot be found in the
directories shown in the examples.

Verify that the workstation is running Solaris v2.6 or a later
version of Solaris. Enter the uname -a command to see the
version.
Versions earlier than Solaris v2.6 do not support NTP and must
be supplemented with additional NTP software available from
http://www.sunfreeware.com/

The error message “No Associations There are three possible solutions:
IDs Returned” when you enter the
The network traffic is slow, and the workstation has not
ntpq -p command.
had time to poll the NTP server. Allow the workstation
enough time to issue the poll (a few seconds); then, enter
the ntpq -p command.

The mulitcastclient line in the ntp.conf file was not
replaced with the server line.

The NTP server you have chosen is down, or it is not
configured correctly.

Enabling Syslog and Modem Call Records in the Cisco IOS Software
To enable syslog messages in the Cisco IOS software and send them to a syslog server,
follow these steps:
Step 1

Inspect the current logging status by entering the following command:
travis-nas-01#show logging
Syslog logging: enabled (0 messages dropped, 0 flushes, 0 overruns)
Console logging: level debugging, 42 messages logged
Monitor logging: level debugging, 93 messages logged
Buffer logging: level debugging, 3 messages logged
Trap logging: level informational, 121 message lines logged
Log Buffer (8192 bytes):
travis-nas-01#

Step 2

Set up a basic syslog configuration by entering the following commands. See Table 20 for command
descriptions.
!
logging buffered 10000 debugging
no logging console guaranteed
logging console informational
!
!
logging trap debugging
logging facility local0
logging 172.21.100.100
!

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 4Using Syslog, NTP, and Modem Call Records to Isolate and Troubleshoot Faults

Table 20

About Modem Call Records

Logging Command Descriptions

Command

Purpose

logging buffered 10000 debugging

Sets the internal log buffer to 10000 bytes for debug output.
New messages overwrite old messages.
You can tune buffered-logging parameters for collecting logs
on a NAS when you are at a remote location. For example, turn
on debugs and start logging them in the history buffer. Make
your test call; then, re-connect in shell mode and inspect the
debugs.

logging console informational
no logging console guaranteed

Sends the most urgent informational logs to the console port in
the event the IP network or syslog server fails. Alternatively,
send messages to the console by using the commands logging
console errors or logging console warnings.
Caution

Logging console can cause the router to
intermittently freeze up as soon as the
console port overloads with log
messages. Debugs and modem call
records sent to the console port are
potentially destructive to the Cisco IOS
software.

logging trap debugging

Enables logging up to the debug level (all eight levels).

logging 172.21.100.100

Specifies the IP address of the syslog server.

logging facility local0

Assigns a logging-facility tag (local0) to the syslog messages
for this device. The tag must match the facility number
configured in the syslog.conf file on the Unix host. See Step 1
in “Configuring the Syslog Daemon” section on page 76.
In this case study, each device sends syslog messages to the
same log file on the same syslog server.

Step 3

Enable modem call records in the Cisco IOS by entering the following command:
!
modem call-record terse
!

A modem call record, which is a syslog message, looks like this:
May 26 22:04:23.346 CST: %CALLRECORD-3-MICA_TERSE_CALL_REC: DS0 slot/contr/chan=
0/0/0, slot/port=2/14, call_id=26, userid=(n/a), ip=0.0.0.0, calling=4082322078,
called=3241933, std=V.34+, prot=LAP-M, comp=V.42bis both, init-rx/tx b-rate=264
00/24000, finl-rx/tx b-rate=28800/24000, rbs=0, d-pad=None, retr=1, sq=4, snr=27
, rx/tx chars=136/6470, bad=2, rx/tx ec=134/184, bad=0, time=594, finl-state=Ste
ady, disc(radius)=(n/a)/(n/a), disc(modem)=DF03 Tx (host to line) data flushing
- OK/Requested by host/DTR dropped

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 4Using Syslog, NTP, and Modem Call Records to Isolate and Troubleshoot Faults

About Modem Call Records

Step 4

(Optional) To disable syslog messages and SNMP traps when dial interfaces go up and down, use the
commands no logging event link-status and no snmp trap link-status. Although up and down events
are legitimate events on dial interfaces, these events should not cause alarms as LAN and WAN
interfaces would.
!
interface Serial1/0/0:4:23
no logging event link-status
no snmp trap link-status
!
interface Group-Async0
no logging event link-status
no snmp trap link-status
!

In this example, only the fourth T1 of a T3 card is shown.
Note

In some Cisco IOS images, the logging event link-status command is disabled by
default.

Configuring the S yslog Daemon
In this case study, all the syslog messages from the access servers are sent to a single log file. The syslog
messages from the backbone routers are sent to a different log file.
To configure the syslog daemon on a Solaris syslog server, follow these steps:
Step 1

On the syslog server, edit the file syslog.conf in the /etc/ directory by using a text editor. To get syslog
working, you must add the following line to the file:
|
local0.debug
|

/var/log/router.log

The local facility number is local0.debug. It must match the facility number configured in the
Cisco IOS device. See the logging facility command in Table 20.

The log file path name is

One tab exists between the facility number and the path name. Spaces are not permitted.
You can define any directory location/path for the .txt log file.

/var/log/router.log

In the following example, the new line is in bold:
"syslog.conf" 53 lines, 1861 characters
#ident "@(#)syslog.conf
1.3
93/12/09 SMI"
/* SunOS 5.0 */
#
# Copyright (c) 1991-1993, by Sun Microsystems, Inc.
#
# syslog configuration file.
#
# This file is processed by m4 so be careful to quote (`') names
# that match m4 reserved words. Also, within ifdef's, arguments
# containing commas must be quoted.
#
#
#
#

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 4Using Syslog, NTP, and Modem Call Records to Isolate and Troubleshoot Faults

About Modem Call Records

#Following is the new line. It adds a logging facility number and direcory path for the
#log file (router.log).
local0.debug
/var/log/router.log

Note

Step 2

The previous syslog.conf example has been abbreviated to fit this document. The
actual file size is much larger than the example. Add the new line to the end of the
file.

Create the log file and check the read/write privileges by entering the following commands:
aurora:/etc ->touch /var/log/router.log
aurora:/etc ->ls -l /var/log/router.log
-rw-r--r-1 root
other
27110 Jul
aurora:/etc ->

Step 3

Verify the syslog daemon is running by entering the ps -elf | grep syslog command from the
/etc directory. If the daemon is running, a process ID is returned by the system (for example, 169). If the
daemon is not running, no ID is returned.
aurora:/etc ->ps -elf | grep syslog
8 S
root
169
1 0 41 20 60756cc8
aurora:/etc ->

Step 4

8 19:56 /var/log/router.log

187 604e3156

Jun 19 ?

Activate the configuration changes you made in syslog.conf by restarting the syslog daemon. Enter the
start/stop S74syslog scripts from the /etc/rc2.d directory.
aurora:/etc ->rc2.d/S74syslog stop
Stopping the syslog service.
aurora:/etc ->rc2.d/S74syslog start
syslog service starting.
aurora:/etc ->ps -elf | grep syslog
8 S
root 4405
1 0 44 20 6042d320
aurora:/etc ->

187 604e3156 09:16:35 ?

Confirm that a new syslog process ID was assigned (for example, 4405) after the start/stop process.
Note

You must have root-level permissions to run system scripts, such as the files in
/etc/rc2.d

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 4Using Syslog, NTP, and Modem Call Records to Isolate and Troubleshoot Faults

About Modem Call Records

Inspecting Syslog Messages in t he Log File
To inspect syslog messages by using Cisco IOS commands, Unix commands, FTP, and a web browser,
follow these steps:
Step 1

From the Cisco IOS device, create basic syslog messages by entering these commands:
travis-nas-01#configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line.
travis-nas-01(config)#^Z
travis-nas-01#configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line.
travis-nas-01(config)#^Z
travis-nas-01#

Step 2

End with CNTL/Z.

From the syslog server, verify that the syslog messages went in to the log file. Enter the tail -f command
to monitor the last 10 lines of an active log file. To exit tail -f mode, press Ctrl-C.
aurora:/etc ->tail -f /var/log/router.log
May 26 17:43:12 [172.21.101.20.6.122] 629: May 26
Configured from console by vty0 (172.22.61.200)
May 26 17:51:15 [172.21.101.20.6.122] 630: May 26
Configured from console by console
May 26 17:51:19 [172.21.101.20.6.122] 631: May 26
Configured from console by console
May 26 17:54:38 [172.21.101.20.6.122] 632: May 26
Configured from console by vty0 (172.22.61.200)
^C
aurora:/etc ->

Step 3

20:43:27.068 CST: %SYS-5-CONFIG_I:
20:43:30.932 CST: %SYS-5-CONFIG_I:
20:46:50.344 CST: %SYS-5-CONFIG_I:

View the syslog messages in a web browser. Notice the wide horizontal scroll bar, which is helpful for
viewing debug messages and modem call records.
Figure 18

Syslog Messages that Appear by Using FTP and a Web Browser

ftp://sam@172.23.84.22/var/log/router.log

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

20:35:23.551 CST: %SYS-5-CONFIG_I:

Task 4Using Syslog, NTP, and Modem Call Records to Isolate and Troubleshoot Faults

About Modem Call Records

Table 21 shows the generic URL syntax to use. Be sure to replace the variables with your own
information. The FTP server automatically prompts you for a login password.
Table 21

URL Syntax Descriptions and Examples

Generic URL Syntax

Description

Example

ftp://username@host/directory-path

Uses FTP to view ftp://sam@172.23.84.22/var/log/router.l
logs from a remote og
location.

file://directory-path

Views logs on a
local host.

file://var/log/router.log

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

About Modem Call Records

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 4Using Syslog, NTP, and Modem Call Records to Isolate and Troubleshoot Faults

Task 5Setting Up a Web Portal for the
Dial NMS
About a Web Portal
A web portal for the dial NMS is a combination of CGI scripts and HTML links used to support a dial
Internet access service.
As the number of devices and applications in a network increase, the operations support team may
become inundated with a myriad of management products. To support a dial service, a web portal
provides easy access to:

Product manuals, design guides, white papers, and troubleshooting guides.

Light-weight tools and scripts.

Network policies, procedures, and reports.

Periodic and just-in-time reporting.
` The help desk can access operational information

(for example, current connected caller status).
` The operations staff can report on current service levels.

Tips

For more information on building a management intranet, go to
http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/cc/serv/mkt/nmps/ent/tech/bmi_wi.htm

Table 22

Utilities Provided by the Web Portal for the Dial NMS

Utility

Function

Documentation Center

A web server used as an online-documentation hub to share
network operations information.

Device Linker

A web page used for bookmarking URLs for quick device telnet
and out of band (console) access.
See the “Building a Device Linker Web Page” section on page 83.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 5Setting Up a Web Portal for the Dial NMS

About a Web Portal

Table 22

Utilities Provided by the Web Portal for the Dial NMS (continued)

Utility

Function

Cisco IOS CLI Command Center

A web page that provides HTTP access to frequently used
Cisco IOS CLI commands. The operations team and help desk can
use this utility to troubleshoot connectivity problems.
See the “Using HTTP to Access CLI Commands” section on
page 86.

IP Tracker

A web page that uses two scripts to keep track of IP address block
assignments by using DNS reverse lookup zones.
See the “Creating an IP Tracker Web Page” section on page 96.

SNMP Commander

A script that aids the MIB research task by enabling engineers to
build web-based object identification (OIDs) bookmarks. You can
poll for network statistics by using OID bookmarks and a web
browser. No keyboard is required.
See the “About SNMP Commander” section on page 49.

Syslog Viewer

A utility that uses FTP to access a syslog server and a web browser
to view syslog messages. Migration to HTTP is straightforward
after security issues are addressed. The use of non-wrapping text
is useful when viewing debug messages and modem call records.
See the “Inspecting Syslog Messages in the Log File” section on
page 78.

Modem Call Record Viewer

Light-weight scripts used to parse and view modem call records.
See the “About Syslog” section on page 67.

CiscoWorks 2000 Resource
Manager Essentials

A utility used to remotely monitor and maintain devices through
a web-based browser interface.
See the “Task 8—Using CiscoWorks 2000 Resource Manager
Essentials” section on page 117.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 5Setting Up a Web Portal for the Dial NMS

About a Web Portal

Building a Device Linker Web Page
A device linker web page:

Simplifies access to the many device-management interfaces in the network.

Provides links to the telnet, console, and HTTP ports of Cisco IOS devices.

Figure 19

Device Linker Used to Access Devices

Cisco 2511 terminal server

Line 1
RS-232
cable

Device Linker

Telnet access
telnet://172.21.10.10

35192

Cisco AS5800

HTTP access to the CLI
http://172.21.10.10
OOB console access
telnet://172.21.10.1:2001

By using a Cisco terminal server for out-of-band console access, such as a Cisco 2511, the consoles are
available at TCP port 20xx on a terminal server. The target line number replaces xx. For example to get
to line 1, telnet to port 2001. The equivalent URL is telnet://172.21.101.250:2001
To build a device linker web page, follow these steps:
Step 1

Collect the IP addresses for the Cisco IOS devices.

Step 2

Collect the device console out-of-band (OOB) paths for the terminal server and the lines connected to
Cisco IOS devices.

Step 3

Create a basic HTML table and enter the information for each device. The telnet and HTTP information
is in bold in the following HTML code fragment. Step 4 shows what the table looks like in a web
browser.

Dial The.Net Device Linker

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 5Setting Up a Web Portal for the Dial NMS

About a Web Portal

Name
IP
Console
Hardware Type
Comments

travis-nas-01
172.21.10.1
travis-oob-01:2001
5800
Dial POP #1

Table 23

Step 4

Functions and Parameters for Designing a Device Linker Web Page

Function

Formula

Example

OOB console access

telnet://termserver-ip:20XX

telnet://172.21.101.250:2001

Basic IP access

telnet://ip-address

telnet://172.21.10.1

IOS HTTP access

http://ip-address

http://172.21.10.1

Post the device linker web page to a WWW server in the NOC.
Figure 20

A Device Linker Management Page

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 5Setting Up a Web Portal for the Dial NMS

Step 5

About a Web Portal

Click on an active device link. After a telnet session opens, log in.
Figure 21

Console Port Login

Troubleshooting a Cisco 2511 Console Connection
If you cannot access the console of a device, follow these steps:
Step 1

Verify that the configuration on the terminal server is correct. Telnet is the only service that must be
supported to access the lines. The following configuration fragment shows you how to configure
16 TTY lines on a Cisco 2511 terminal server.
!
line 1 16
no exec
transport input telnet
!

Step 2

If the console port is blocked, you may need to telnet to the terminal server and clear the line. Enter the
show users EXEC command followed by the clear line type number command.
c2511-oob#show users
Line
User
0 con 0
admin
4 tty 4
admin
* 10 vty 0
admin

Host(s)
idle
incoming
incoming

c2511-oob#clear line tty 4
[confirm]
[OK]
c2511-oob#show users
Line
User
Host(s)
0 con 0
admin
idle
* 10 vty 0
admin
incoming

Idle Location
0 dhcp-172-71-218-198.guessme.com
0 dhcp-172-71-218-198.guessme.com

Idle Location
0 dhcp-172-71-218-198.guessme.com

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 5Setting Up a Web Portal for the Dial NMS

About HTTP Access to the CLI

Step 3

(Optional) Sometimes administrators inadvertently leave lines in use. To make idle telnet sessions end
after 30 minutes, enter the exec-timeout 30 0 command on all the lines.
!
line 1 16
no exec
exec-timeout 30 0
transport input telnet
!

About HTTP Access to the CLI
Using web-based access to the CLI reduces the need for telnet sessions to monitor or verify network
operations. Telnet sessions can be reserved for actions such as making configuration changes.
Additionally, sending syslog to a syslog server prevents telnet sessions from becoming cluttered with
debug output.
HTTP access to the CLI is:

Very difficult to secure. One way of securing a router is to use access-control lists on all VTY lines.
Enable only devices in the NOC to access the VTY lines.

Not recommended for service providers. If used, you should weigh the perceived ease of use versus
the additional security issues involved with HTTP access to a network device.

The Cisco IOS CLI Command Center is a web page utility that provides HTTP access to CLI commands
on a router. HTTP access to the CLI simplifies the troubleshooting tasks for a help desk.

Using HTTP to Access CLI Commands
To manage a dial Internet access service by using HTTP access to CLI commands, follow these steps:
Step 1

Enable HTTP services on the Cisco IOS device by entering the following commands:
!
ip http server
ip http authentication aaa
!

Table 24

Command Descriptions

Command

Purpose

ip http server

Enables the router to function as an HTTP server.

ip http authentication aaa

Uses the AAA facility as an authentication method
for HTTP server users.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 5Setting Up a Web Portal for the Dial NMS

Step 2

About HTTP Access to the CLI

Create a table in an HTML web page and enter your list of frequently used Cisco IOS CLI commands.
Note

To create the link for a CLI command, specify the IP address of the Cisco IOS
device followed by the command. Remember to include the forward slashes (/)
between each command mode and key word.

Table 25

Formula and Example for Linking a CLI Command

Formula

Example

http://ip-address/exec/ios-key-word/.../cr

http:/172.23.84.20/exec/sh/caller/cr

The web page can include many types of commands useful for managing a dial Internet access service,
including:

System commands (Table 26)

Interface commands (Table 27)

Call state commands (Table 28)

Debug commands (Table 29)

Table 26

System Commands

show running configuration show file systems

show ip route

show version

dir

show ip route static

show modem version

show flash

show ip route connected

Table 27

Interface Commands

show controller t1

show ip interface brief

show interface Fast
Ethernet0/0/0

show isdn service

show interface

show line

show isdn status

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 5Setting Up a Web Portal for the Dial NMS

About HTTP Access to the CLI

Table 28

Call State Commands

show modem

show caller

show users

show modem call-stats

show caller ip

show dialer

show modem ?

show caller timeout

show dialer map

show caller ?

Table 29

Step 3

Debugging Commands

show logging

debug isdn q931

debug aaa
authentication

clear counters

debug modem

debug aaa
authorization

clear logging

debug ppp negotiation

debug aaa accounting

show debug

debug ppp authentication

debug aaa per-user

undebug all

debug dialer

debug vtemplate

debug dialerpacket

debug vprofile

Post the HTML page that you created in Step 2 to a web server.

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 5Setting Up a Web Portal for the Dial NMS

Figure 22

About HTTP Access to the CLI

Cisco IOS CLI Commander

For the source code that created the Cisco IOS CLI Commander in Figure 22, go to
http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/cisintwk/intsolns/dialnms/httpcli.txt

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 5Setting Up a Web Portal for the Dial NMS

About HTTP Access to the CLI

Step 4

Click on a CLI command and view the command output in a web page.
Figure 23

Output for the Show Caller Command

Basic Dial NMS Implementation Guide

Task 6Managing IP Addresses by Using DNS
About Managing IP Addresses
Managing IP addresses is a primary network administration function. Assigning and removing
IP addresses can be tedious and error prone. Regardless—you must manage IP addresses to avoid
duplicate IP subnets and addresses.
Domain Name System (DNS) servers provide two kinds of fundamental lookup services:

Forward lookups—Used for looking up the IP address of a provided device name. This is the most
common kind of lookup performed.

Reverse lookups—Used for looking up a device name of a provided IP address. Administratively,
reverse-lookup zones are important tools used for tracking IP address assignments.

In this case study, the dial engineers at THEnet:

Note

Have received a block of IP addresses from the NOC with DNS administrative rights and
instructions for setting up IP address space.

Track IP address assignments by using DNS reverse lookup zones within the existing DNS service.

Use the application Cisco Network Registrar (CNR) and its CLI to manage the IP address database.
CNR is a full-featured IP address management solution for both enterprise and service provider
networks. It includes advanced DNS and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) servers.

This section assumes you are familiar with the basics of DNS. For more information about
DNS, see DNS and Bind, Third Edition, by Paul Albitz and Cricket Liu. The ISBN number
is 1565925122.

Table 30

Cisco Systems Dial Nms Operating Instructions Dnmsb

DS0s and PPP sessions in Use

DS0s and Analog in Use

DS0s and SerialX:Y in Use

DS0s and Sw56 in Use

cpmISDNCallsRejected and cpmModemCallsRejected

cpmISDNCallsClearedAbnormally and cpmModemCallsClearedAbnormally

cpmISDNNoResource and cpmModemNoResource

cmSystemModemsInUse and cmSystemModemsAvailable

cvpdnTunnelTotal and cvpdnDeniedUsersTotal

activeDS0s and cvpdnSessionTotal

Dial The.Net Device Linker

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Name	IP	Console	Hardware Type	Comments
travis-nas-01	172.21.10.1	travis-oob-01:2001	5800	Dial POP #1