Release Notes for Broadband Access Center for Cable Release 2.7

The release notes describe fixes to certain software issues and new features being implemented in Broadband Access Center for Cable 2.7.

Introduction

Broadband Access Center for Cable (BACC) is a provisioning application that is easy to install, configure, and maintain. It provides a simple and easy way to deploy high-speed data, voice technology, and home networking technology services.

You can use the BACC Java provisioning API for easy integration into an existing operations support system (OSS) environment.

Related Documentation

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Cisco Broadband Access Center for Cable Command Line Interface Reference (Release 2.7)

System Components

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The regional distribution unit (RDU), which is software that you install on your server.

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A rack-mountable DPE with the required BACC software already installed. Two such devices are currently in use: the original DPE-590 and the new DPE-2115.

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Extension points that must be installed on the Network Registrar DHCP servers.

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The Key Distribution Center (KDC), which is an authentication server used to authenticate PacketCable MTAs and grant security tickets.

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An administrator's user interface from which you can monitor and manage BACC.

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A sample user interface (SUI) that you can use to demonstrate BACC's power and flexibility.

System Requirements

You must have the Solaris 8 or 9 operating system, and Cisco Network Registrar installed on your system to successfully use the BACC software.

Note The minimum Network Registrar version required to install BACC 2.7 is Network Registrar 5.5 although the recommended version is 6.1.2.3.

Hardware Considerations

The minimum hardware requirements needed to support a lab and a fully deployed network are completely described in the Cisco Broadband Access Center for Cable Installation Guide.

Note Processing capacity, disk storage, and memory requirements depend on the size of the network deployment and the amount of log information needed.

Device Provisioning Engine 590

All installation and connection issues are discussed in the Cisco Content Engine 500 Series Hardware Installation Guide that accompanies this product.

Device Provisioning Engine 2115

All installation and connection issues are discussed in the Installation and Setup Guide for the Cisco 1102 VLAN Policy Server. You should refer to that guide to identify various ports and connectors, and to install the device.

Uninstallation Note

Before uninstalling BACC 2.7, ensure that no soft links are defined under the <BACC_HOME> directory. The <BACC_HOME> directory is the root installation directory, the one in which you install the BACC component or components; the default installation directory is /opt/CSCObpr. Avoid defining soft links under <BACC_HOME> because you risk losing all the soft links, and the files and folders to which the soft links point. For more information, refer Table 1, "BACC Known Software Problems," on page 8.

New Features

The major features for this release are the troubleshooting MAC address feature, the Cisco KDC, and the improved RDU extension capability.

This section briefly describes new or modified features found in the BACC 2.7 release:

Automated Migration

The BACC 2.7 release supports the automatic migration of RDU datastore from BACC 2.6.x.

CableHome Support

This BACC version supports the CableHome home networking technology. With this support, WAN-Man and WAN-Data objects now operate in the promiscuous mode. In this way, a cable modem will have optional relationships with multiple promiscuous mode Class of Services and DHCP Criterias.

Dynamic DOCSIS Version Selection

BACC now can detect a cable modem's DOCSIS version from an incoming DHCP request. It can also detect the CMTS DOCSIS version from a customer-supplied source that provides a mapping of GIADDR to DOCSIS version numbers. You can select a different DOCSIS file based on the combined versions of the cable model and the CMTS.

DOCSIS 2.0 Support

Increased MIB Functionality

Unlike previous versions of this product, BACC 2.7 now supports a new set of management MIBs, which offer increased flexibility and functionality.

TACACS+ Authentication

This release introduces support for the TACACS+ authentication (login only) for the hardware DPE CLI. Coupled with two new user types: read-only (disabled mode) and read-write (enable mode), the use of TACACS+ is optional.

Note BACC 2.7 does not support running TACACS+ on the same computer that is running the RDU, DPE, or Cisco Network Registrar.

Read-Only and Read-Write Users

BACC 2.7 now supports two new types of users to access the RDU for troubleshooting purposes. A read-only user, who is unable to make any sort of configuration change, and a read-write user, who can make configuration changes but lacks the administrator's flexibility.

IP Lease Reservation

Although this feature was supported in previous BACC releases, specifically through the use of custom RDU extensions, BACC 2.7 now supports lease reservation operations through the use of the BACC API and administrator's user interface.

Improved DOCSIS Shared Secret Management

Unlike previous BACC releases, where only one DOCSIS shared secret (DSS) was supported, BACC 2.7 now supports the use of DSS on a per-DPE basis. Changing the DSS no longer requires the regeneration of devices using that DSS; the new value is available immediately.

You can use this feature to define multiple different DOCSIS shared secrets for devices belonging to different CMTSs. In this way, if the shared secret is compromised, only a limited number of CMTSs are compromised.

Troubleshooting Specific MAC Addresses

You can use this feature to troubleshoot a specific device (or a small set of devices) throughout the RDU, DPE, and Network Registrar extensions.

Bugs

For information on BACC bugs, see the BACC27_BugList.html file in the /docs subdirectory of the BACC CD-ROM or electronic distribution.

Known Software Problems

Table 1 identifies software issues that are known to exist in this release of BACC.

Table 1 BACC Known Software Problems
Number	Description	Resolution
CSCef90805	You cannot delete a property by using the change property API call, and then add it back in the same call.	Delete and then add the property by using separate API calls.
CSCeg61170	After upgrading from BACC 2.6.2 to BACC 2.7 it is possible for the rdu.properties file to be overwritten by the installation program. If this occurs, logging and tracing related properties will be lost.	You must manually configure logging and tracing by using the setLogLevel.sh tool after the upgrade is complete.
CSCeg87139	When the TFTP server receives a bad ACK, for a previous data block but not the last one sent, it automatically resends the data block instead of waiting for the real ACK. It should NOT transmit the data block, instead it should wait to receive another ACK.	There is currently no workaround or resolution to this issue.
CSCeh03452	The syntax used in conjunction with the runCfgUtil.sh tool does not allow a way to generate options where it could have nested sub-options. When using DOCSIS 2.0 for example: `41.` `41.1` `41.1.1 30` `41.1.2 10000000` `41.1 41.1.1 30` `41.1.2 20000000` `41. 41.2` `41.2.1 30` 41.2.2 30000000	The only workaround to this problem is to break multiple suboptions into multiple groups. According to the DOCSIS 2.0 RF spec, this definition achieves the same result: `41.` `41.1` `41.1.1 30` `41.1.2 10000000` `41.` `41.1` `41.1.1 30` `41.1.2 20000000` `41.` `41.2` `41.2.1 30` `41.2.2 30000000`
CSCeh25095	You cannot upgrade the DPE or Network Registrar Extension Points by using the setup.bin package. However, if you attempt to do this, there is no error message to specifically indicate this restriction.	Use the upgrade scripts supplied with BACC to upgrade these components.
CSCeh49666	The /snmp/mibs/mibList property is used to expand the list of MIBs to be loaded into RDU. This property set in rdu.properties file overrides the internal default MIB list in RDU. This might result in configuration generation failure if the property is not populated to include both the default MIB list and the custom ones that must be added by the user.	Populate the value of the property to include the default MIB list and the custom lists.
CSCei01669	BACC 2.7 installer (setup.bin) fails to detect and upgrade the BACC 2.6.x KDC installed on the box.	Uninstall the 2.6.x KDC and then install the new KDC from BACC 2.7 distribution.
CSCei31988	KDC upgrade from BACC 2.6.x to BACC 2.7 fails. The bprAgent fails to start the KDC properly.	Install BACC 2.7 KDC from the install program instead of upgrading from an earlier version.
CSCsd23070	When you run the uninstaller, the uninstallation program removes the soft links under the <BACC_HOME> directory, and the files and folders to which the soft link points.	There is currently no workaround or resolution to this issue.
	Note The <BACC_HOME> directory is the root installation directory, the one in which you install the BACC component or components; the default directory is /opt/CSCObpr.

Obtaining Documentation

Cisco documentation and additional literature are available on Cisco.com. Cisco also provides several ways to obtain technical assistance and other technical resources. These sections explain how to obtain technical information from Cisco Systems.

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Reporting Security Problems in Cisco Products

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An emergency is either a condition in which a system is under active attack or a condition for which a severe and urgent security vulnerability should be reported. All other conditions are considered nonemergencies.

Tip

We encourage you to use Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) or a compatible product (for example, GnuPG) to encrypt any sensitive information that you send to Cisco. PSIRT can work with information that has been encrypted with PGP versions 2.x through 9.x.

Never use a revoked or an expired encryption key. The correct public key to use in your correspondence with PSIRT is the one linked in the Contact Summary section of the Security Vulnerability Policy page at this URL:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/products_security_vulnerability_policy.html

The link on this page has the current PGP key ID in use.

If you do not have or use PGP, contact PSIRT at the aforementioned e-mail addresses or phone numbers before sending any sensitive material to find other means of encrypting the data.

Obtaining Technical Assistance

Cisco Technical Support provides 24-hour-a-day award-winning technical assistance. The Cisco Technical Support & Documentation website on Cisco.com features extensive online support resources. In addition, if you have a valid Cisco service contract, Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) engineers provide telephone support. If you do not have a valid Cisco service contract, contact your reseller.

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Submitting a Service Request

Using the online TAC Service Request Tool is the fastest way to open S3 and S4 service requests. (S3 and S4 service requests are those in which your network is minimally impaired or for which you require product information.) After you describe your situation, the TAC Service Request Tool provides recommended solutions. If your issue is not resolved using the recommended resources, your service request is assigned to a Cisco engineer. The TAC Service Request Tool is located at this URL:

For S1 or S2 service requests, or if you do not have Internet access, contact the Cisco TAC by telephone. (S1 or S2 service requests are those in which your production network is down or severely degraded.) Cisco engineers are assigned immediately to S1 and S2 service requests to help keep your business operations running smoothly.

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Definitions of Service Request Severity

To ensure that all service requests are reported in a standard format, Cisco has established severity definitions.

Severity 1 (S1)—An existing network is down, or there is a critical impact to your business operations. You and Cisco will commit all necessary resources around the clock to resolve the situation.

Severity 2 (S2)—Operation of an existing network is severely degraded, or significant aspects of your business operations are negatively affected by inadequate performance of Cisco products. You and Cisco will commit full-time resources during normal business hours to resolve the situation.

Severity 3 (S3)—Operational performance of the network is impaired, while most business operations remain functional. You and Cisco will commit resources during normal business hours to restore service to satisfactory levels.

Severity 4 (S4)—You require information or assistance with Cisco product capabilities, installation, or configuration. There is little or no effect on your business operations.

Obtaining Additional Publications and Information

Information about Cisco products, technologies, and network solutions is available from various online and printed sources.

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The Cisco Product Quick Reference Guide is a handy, compact reference tool that includes brief product overviews, key features, sample part numbers, and abbreviated technical specifications for many Cisco products that are sold through channel partners. It is updated twice a year and includes the latest Cisco offerings. To order and find out more about the Cisco Product Quick Reference Guide, go to this URL:

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iQ Magazine is the quarterly publication from Cisco Systems designed to help growing companies learn how they can use technology to increase revenue, streamline their business, and expand services. The publication identifies the challenges facing these companies and the technologies to help solve them, using real-world case studies and business strategies to help readers make sound technology investment decisions. You can access iQ Magazine at this URL:

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World-class networking training is available from Cisco. You can view current offerings at this URL:

Table Of Contents

Release Notes for Broadband Access Center for Cable 2.7

Contents