Overview of the Cisco IPeXchange Monitor

The Cisco IPeXchange Monitor software is the control center of the Cisco IPeXchange Internet Gateway (previously called the Cisco Internet Junction [IJ] Gateway). It lets network administrators monitor the incoming and outgoing traffic between Novell Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX) LANs and the TCP/IP-based Internet. The monitor also allows administrators to set constraints on the connections permitted.

The monitor has the following features:

• The graphical user interface (GUI) is in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). You can view the monitor with a familiar web browser.

• You can allow or deny access based on site and group access controls, according to the type of service (port number), IP address or host name, and time of day.

• You can import users and groups directly from your Novell NetWare server, so you do not have to add them manually.

• You can develop time schedules and address lists so that you can quickly assign and modify access controls.

• You can get a current "snapshot" of connections through the gateway. You can sort the list by various criteria.

• You can trace gateway operation when Cisco support personnel instruct you to do so for problem solving.

For example, using the monitor, you could have a site access control that specifies your company's general policy about Internet access. Then certain users could be placed in one or more groups that have different access controls, either less or more strict. You might define schedules for "work hours" or "weekends" and define the types of access that are allowable during those times. At a site where Internet access is generally denied, you could create an address list that you use to permit access only to internal sites or approved business-related sites. At a site where access to the Internet is generally allowed, you could create an address list to restrict external sites that you do not want users to visit.

For more information on the gateway, see the Cisco IPeXchange Internet Gateway documentation, which may refer to the gateway by its previous name, the Cisco Internet Junction Gateway.