CiscoWorks Blue Features

This chapter introduces the functions and capabilities of CiscoWorks Blue Maps and SNA View. CiscoWorks Blue Maps and CiscoWorks Blue SNA View provide a set of Motif and Web-based applications for diagnosing problems in, and managing, integrated networks based on Systems Network Architecture (SNA) and Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) environments.

SNA Network Configurations

The world of SNA networking is divided into the following three fundamental environments:

Traditional SNA networks, in which the mainframe computer, the network, and the network nodes are all running native SNA networking protocols.
integrated SNA/IP networks, in which the mainframe computer and the network nodes are running SNA protocols, which are being communicated over a TCP/IP network usually containing routers running RSRB, DLSw, or APPN/SNASw over IP.
TN3270 networks, in which the mainframe computer is running SNA protocols while the network nodes and the network itself are running TCP/IP.

In these SNA networks, the mix of protocols run by the mainframe computer, the network, and the end user devices varies, as shown in Figure 1-2.

These various SNA networks run a variety of protocols to transport data between the mainframe computer and the network nodes over the network. The SNA network protocols are shown in Figure 1-3.

Network management programs are tools that you use to manage these SNA networks and vary depending on the protocols used, as shown in Figure 1-4.

There is one tool that lets you identify and isolate outages in all SNA networks. SNA View, as shown in Figure 1-5, lets you see network connectivity views for the three types of SNA networks.

Network Management and Problem Diagnosis

When managing and diagnosing problems in SNA networks, the distinctions between diagnosis and management must be clear:

When you diagnose an SNA network problem, you are reacting to a specific, often reported, network problem. The usual scenario develops when a network outage occurs and a network user is stranded without a connection, and your help line or technical response telephone begins to ring. The end result of problem diagnosis is to detect where the problem is and diagnose the problem.
When you manage an SNA network, you are looking at a broader view of the network, and you might be trying to manipulate the status of one or more network devices to repair an outage or to improve performance. You might be called as a result of problem diagnosis, when a help-line responder detects an inactive device and asks you to activate it. But your job might also require you to take broader views of network maps to see where bottlenecks occur and to reroute network traffic.

Cisco Systems offers a set of SNA network management and problem diagnosis tools to help you perform these tasks.

CiscoWorks Blue SNA View is a tool for problem solving in all SNA networks. Its purpose is to collect as much information as possible about the outage, and then show a picture of all the network devices between the inactive network node and the mainframe computer.
Cisco's TN3270 Monitor products provide a network management tool for the TN3270 environment.

CiscoWorks Blue Maps is a tool for network management in those networks where SNA is routed over IP networks using DLSw, RSRB, or APPN/SNASw. Its purpose is to give you an overview of your integrated SNA/IP networks and to let you manage the IP routers that make up the network.

When you use the CiscoWorks Blue SNA View application, you can start with a few bits of information about a network outage, perhaps the logical unit (LU) name or the MAC address, and view the entire path from a network terminal back through the network of routers, or communication controllers, to the SNA mainframe computer. When you use the CiscoWorks Blue Maps applications, you can manage the Cisco routers that control communication in networks enabled for RSRB, DLSw, or APPN/SNASw.

Introducing CiscoWorks Blue Maps

CiscoWorks Blue Maps is a set of applications that lets you manage Cisco routers in an IBM SNA network. Each Maps application focuses on a particular protocol: DLSw, RSRB, or APPN/SNASw. The Maps displays graphical views of SNA networks connected with Cisco routers. These views are dynamically updated to provide snapshots of the network as it appears at any time.

Maps also lets you see beyond the routers to the SNA physical units (PU) and LUs that use the DLSw, RSRB, or APPN/SNASw protocols. Maps mainframe component discovers the PUs and LUs from VTAM information at the mainframe, monitors those PUs and LUs, and reports their changing status to the Maps workstation applications to update the Maps database and the graphical maps.

What Maps Provides

The CiscoWorks Blue Maps product provides the following Motif and web-based applications that show, in a graphical or tabular format, the routers that make up your integrated SNA and TCP/IP network:

DLSw Motif-based application—Displays graphic maps of DLSw devices and includes dependency views back to an SNA mainframe computer from SNA LUs and PUs that use DLSw.
RSRB Motif-based application—Displays graphic maps of RSRB devices and includes dependency views back to an SNA mainframe computer from SNA LUs and PUs that use RSRB.
APPN Motif-based application—Displays graphic maps of APPN/SNASw devices and includes dependency views back to an SNA mainframe computer from SNA LUs and PUs that use APPN/SNASw over IP.
HTML interface to Maps—Provides DLSw, RSRB, and APPN/SNASw network information in tabular format, but does not include dependency views from SNA LUs and PUs (SNA View provides these views).

Maps Features

CiscoWorks Blue Maps applications provide the features described in the following sections:

SNA Resource Management

There is a trend in network management to reduce the need for separate network resource managers by providing direct management of heterogeneous multi-vendor networks from a single, integrated network management system. In keeping with this strategy, CiscoWorks Blue uses information from Virtual Telecommunications Access Method (VTAM) and the Multiple Virtual Storage system (MVS) to enable network administrators to monitor and manage SNA resources. To further simplify and enhance network management, use Maps to display your SNA resources on graphical network maps.

The workstation program runs on a UNIX workstation to collect SNA network information provided by the Maps and SNA View mainframe program. It provides the SNA control and correlation needed to manage SNA devices from a workstation, allowing the network administrator to see beyond the routers to the SNA PU and LU resources.

CiscoWorks Blue gets PU and LU resource information from VTAM at a mainframe computer and correlates that information with the Cisco routers associated with the PUs and LUs. By interacting with the mainframe, CiscoWorks Blue adds vital PU and LU information to the graphical maps. Because CiscoWorks Blue correlates PU and LU names with the routers in the network, you can more easily isolate problems to the IP network or to the SNA network.

Resource information is dynamically updated to provide a snapshot of the network as it appears at any given time. This information allows the administrator to display a graphical map depicting details from the PU back toward the VTAM host, providing information, such as the PU and LU status and dependency relationships.

Graphical Map Layout

CiscoWorks Blue Maps applications get network data from the MIBs to provide detailed logical maps of the SNA-related protocols. These maps are automatically drawn to depict specific protocols in the network. For example, the DLSw key devices map provides a view of the key DLSw routers with their peer routers and the rings and peer connections between them. Topology is drawn based on the DLSw protocol, and you can focus on different components of the DLSw network, such as individual routers and links.

Figure 1-6 is a sample DLSw key devices view and shows the following information:

A small set of routers that you designate as "key devices" based on their networking attributes
The peer routers to those key router
The peer connections that connect the key routers to their peers

Network Management Tools

CiscoWorks Blue Maps provides the network administrator with the tools needed to manage growing integrated SNA and TCP/IP networks. This set of Maps applications (RSRB, DLSw, and APPN/SNASw) can be integrated with popular Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) management platforms, such as IBM NetView for AIX, HP OpenView, or SunNet Manager. From the graphical maps, you can display path information or go directly to a device view using CiscoView.

Problem Determination

You can use the graphical maps to efficiently identify and diagnose problems related to the specific protocol under observation (RSRB, DLSw, and APPN/SNASw). Having identified the problem area, you can easily access additional information by invoking other menus in the application. For instance, in a DLSw network, you can use a key routers view to display a selected set of routers and their peer connections. From this view, you can then display information about peer routers, peer connections, and DLSw circuits. You can also view new nodes as they are added, and view the status of the devices and links as it changes.

Maps Applications

CiscoWorks Blue Maps offers both Motif-based and web-based network management applications.

Motif-Based Network Management Applications

CiscoWorks Blue Maps offers a set of network management applications that use the X Window System and Motif graphical interfaces to display graphical maps of the nodes and links in your network. Each application focuses on a particular protocol: DLSw, RSRB, or APPN/SNASw.

Web-Based Applications

CiscoWorks Blue Maps offers a set of web-based client/server applications that lets you use web browsers to display information about RSRB, DLSw, and APPN/SNASw networks. The network information is presented in a tabular format. The web server runs on your Maps workstation and collects information from the Cisco routers in the network. You can use a web browser from any workstation in the network to connect to the web server and to view the network.

Introducing CiscoWorks Blue SNA View

This section presents a brief overview of the functions provided by CiscoWorks Blue SNA View. SNA View is a web-based application used for problem diagnosis in all SNA networks. The SNA View web server runs in a UNIX workstation gathering information about routers and SNA LUs and PUs from the SNA View and Maps data base. When you link to the SNA View web page, you can display SNA session paths. The web page then displays a session connectivity view, as shown in Figure 1-7.

CiscoWorks Blue SNA View provides the functions discussed in the following subsections:

CiscoWorks Blue SNA View offers web-based client and server applications. These applications start with all the information you can provide about a failing node and then display the network devices between that node and the mainframe computer.

SNA Switching Services

SNA View supports the SNA Switching Services feature of the Cisco IOS software. The SNA Switching Services feature identifies a new APPN/SNASw branch extender network node (BrNN) and includes a new APPN/SNASw stack in the Cisco IOS software. To support SNA Switching Services, the Cisco routers must be running Cisco IOS Release 12.0(5)XN or Release 12.1 or later.

Levels of Security

CiscoWorks Blue SNA View supports two levels of security; the administrator and the non-administrator.

Install, uninstall, and modify all CiscoWorks Blue SNA View functions.
Launch the Console window from bridge icon or from the cwb start console command. This option displays in the bridge icon menu if you are logged in with administrator privileges.

Start and stop CiscoWorks Blue SNA View services.

Functions Common to Maps and SNA View

When you install the CiscoWorks Blue products, you always install all the code, whether you license Maps, SNA View, or both. Maps and SNA View use many common functions:

Share router database and SNA information
Maintain the information in the database with the same set of processes, daemons, and commands:

Discovery processes
Polling processes
Host discovery processes
Web daemon for access to the CiscoWorks Blue database

Monitor and control the common processes with the Process Manager
Collect, log, and display error messages with the Message Logger
Provide graphical interfaces to discovery, creating key devices, and launching some of the main processes using the administration application
Allow access to the database information from the web using the same web server and web daemon
Collect VTAM information at the mainframe and send it to the workstation

Introducing the Protocols

This section presents a brief overview of the protocols supported by
CiscoWorks Blue Maps and contains the following sections:

Data-Link Switching Protocol (DLSw+)

The DLSw+ protocol is a way of transporting SNA and NetBIOS traffic over a campus or WAN. This method helps integrate SNA and LAN internetworks by encapsulating non-routable SNA and NetBIOS protocols within routable IPs.

RSRB hop-count limits
Broadcast traffic (from RSRB explorer frames or NetBIOS name queries)
Unnecessary traffic (acknowledgments)
Data-link control timeouts
Lack of flow control and prioritization

Because these limitations occur when RSRB is extended across a WAN, DLSw+ is typically used to transport SNA and NetBIOS across a WAN.

DLSw Peers

Pairs of DLSw routers communicate SNA information across TCP/IP networks. The two routers exchanging SNA information are called peer routers or peers. The connection between any two peer DLSw routers is called a peer connection. Using CiscoWorks Blue Maps, you can select a DLSw router and then display information about that router and its DLSw peer routers.

DLSw Circuits

The data-link control connection between an originating end system and the originating router.
The peer connection between that router and its peer router (typically across a TCP/IP connection).
The data-link control connection between this second peer router and the destination end system.

Each peer connection can carry multiple circuits. DLSw+ supports circuits between pairs of SNA PUs, and between NetBIOS clients and servers.

What the DLSw Maps Application Provides

The DLSw application displays a graphical map of the network routers that are enabled for the DLSw protocol. It shows you the routers, the logical DLSw connections, and the Token Rings attached to the routers. Use the DLSw application to display information in the following categories:

DLSw Maps—Graphical representations of selected peer routers and peer connections
Dynamic DLSw changes—Status changes to the DLSw peers, either by polling or router-generated trap messages
Peer statistics—Information about DLSw peers
Circuits—Logical connections between SNA devices throughout the DLSw network
Data-link types and routing information field (RIF) data
IP paths, WAN link states, and traffic statistics
Event notifications messages—Trap messages sent when the network status changes
Poller exits that can start your user-written applications when routers do not respond to polling
Active or last-known connection paths for PUs and LUs

Global view—Shows all routers in the DLSw network.
Key devices view—Shows just those DLSw routers designated as key devices, and aggregations of the key router's peer routers and peer connections.
Focus view—Shows the DLSw network from the perspective of a specified router called the focus router.
Dependency view—Shows the path from a PU or LU back toward the mainframe.

The DLSw Maps application issues event notification messages that notify a network management system of changes in DLSw status, and dynamic discovery of new DLSw devices. DLSw+ features, such as border nodes and backup nodes are shown as regular DLSw nodes on the map.

The DLSw Maps application supports the CISCO-DLSW-MIB MIB and the IETF draft standard DLSw MIB (RFC 2024).

Remote Source-Route Bridging (RSRB) Protocol

RSRB was Cisco's original implementation for transporting the Logical Link Control, type 2 (LLC2) Protocol traffic over an IP network. RSRB connects Token Ring and non-Token Ring media into one logical network segment.

Benefits of RSRB

RSRB offers the following features to enhance performance, availability, scalability, and flexibility in internetworks:

Performance—IP load sharing and custom and priority queuing
Availability—Non-disruptive rerouting capability
Scalability—Broadcast reduction and source-route bridging (SRB) hop count reduction by RIF passthrough
Flexibility—Media conversion (Synchronous Data-Link Control [SDLC] to LLC2), SRB dynamics, transport options (Fast-Sequenced Transport [FST] and direct transport)

RSRB Transport Options

Encapsulate the Token Ring traffic inside IP datagrams passed over a TCP/IP connection between two routers.
Use FST to transport RSRB packets to their peers without TCP/IP or User Datagram Protocol (UDP) header or processor overhead.
Use Media Access Control (MAC) layer encapsulation over a single serial line, Ethernet, Token Ring, or Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) ring connected between two routers attached to Token Ring networks.

RSRB Application

The RSRB Maps application discovers IP-based RSRB devices in your network and displays them on a map. Using the RSRB Maps application, you can do the following:

View your entire network or specific portions of your network
View changes to peer states
Get network traffic statistics for a peer
Get peer information

What the RSRB Application Provides

The RSRB application displays a graphical map of the network routers enabled for the RSRB protocol. It shows you the routers, the links that connect them, the Token Rings attached to them, and the RSRB virtual rings. Use the RSRB application to display information in the following categories:

RSRB peers, peer status, and virtual rings
Data-link types and RIF data
IP paths, WAN link states, and traffic statistics

Global view—Shows all routers in the RSRB network with their virtual rings and Token Rings.
Virtual ring view—Shows a specific virtual ring with all routers belonging to that virtual ring. Peer routers appear on this map.
Focus view—Shows the RSRB network from a specified router (focus router) perspective. The focus router, its peers, the virtual rings, and Token Rings appear on this view.
Dependency view—Shows the path from a PU or LU back toward the mainframe.

Advanced Peer-to-Peer Networking (APPN) Protocol

APPN is the second generation of SNA networking that was developed for the following reasons:

To provide an effective routing protocol that allows SNA traffic to flow natively and concurrently with other protocols
To allow sessions to be established between end users without using the mainframe
To reduce excessive requirements for predefining resources and paths
To maintain the class of service (COS) method to provide prioritization within SNA traffic
To provide an environment that supports both legacy and APPN/SNASw traffic

APPN dynamically locates and defines network resources and routes. Sessions can be established between any two LUs in the network without involving a mainframe.

Directory services are distributed. A network node need remember only those resources that use its services. Each network node maintains a complete map of the network topology, including all network nodes and transmission groups. This map allows routers to select the best path through the network at any time based on the COS. The topology is updated as changes occur in the network.

APPN Terminology

This section defines some of the APPN/SNASw terminology you will encounter using the APPN/SNASw application.

A transmission group (TG) is the set of links connecting two or more nodes. The topology database contains network nodes and the connecting transmission groups.

A dependent logical unit is a traditional VTAM LU type (such as an LU type 0, 1, 2, or 3). The LU cannot initiate sessions without the intervention of VTAM, nor can it participate actively in a peer-to-peer session initiation.

The control point (CP) in an APPN/SNASw environment is similar to a traditional VTAM system services control point (SSCP). Each APPN/SNASw node has a control point, which is responsible for activating and deactivating resources within the node or between one node and its adjacent nodes. The CP is responsible for exchanging topology information with adjacent nodes as well.

A network node (NN) is a node in an APPN/SNASw network to which other nodes make requests to activate sessions and locate other SNA resources.

An end node (EN) is a node that provides end-user services and supports sessions between its local control point and the control point in an adjacent network node. An end node can be thought of as a session endpoint that accesses the network through a network node. An end node contains a subset of APPN/SNASw functionality, and does not include functions like network topology maintenance and routing.

A low-entry networking node (LEN) was the original peer node that IBM defined for AS/400s and S/36 systems. It allowed communication between two nodes without the intervention of VTAM. It did not support intermediate routing, so relay applications and direct connections were required. All resources had to be defined. APPN/SNASw nodes are the extensions added to low-entry networking nodes to provide this function. Low-entry networking nodes can access an APPN/SNASw network through a network node server, but resources must be predefined.

What the APPN/SNASw Maps Application Provides

The APPN/SNASw APPN/SNASw Maps application discovers APPN/SNASw network objects and connections, then displays the nodes and transmission groups on a graphical map. It displays the routers, the ports and links on the routers, and the transmission groups that connect them. Use the APPN/SNASw application to display the following information:

APPN network nodes, end nodes, and low-entry networking nodes
Intermediate session information and session paths
Virtual routing nodes
Ports, links, and transmission groups
Dynamic LU Requestor-Dynamic LU Services (DLUR-DLUS) sessions
PUs

APPN networks are dynamic. Nodes can be added, deleted, or moved within the network with no central administration. Sessions can travel between peer nodes in the network without going through a central host. Network administrators and users must understand the topology and status of the network, and should be able to diagnose communication failures within the network. The APPN/SNASw Maps application satisfies these needs by enabling administrators and users to do the following tasks:

View a graphical representation of their APPN/SNASw network
View APPN/SNASw nodes, transmission groups, ports and links, and transmission groups
Determine the status of objects based on color coding

Global view—Shows all network nodes in the APPN/SNASw network.
Adjacent nodes view—Shows the adjacent nodes for a selected APPN/SNASw network node.
Ports and links view—Shows the ports and links for a selected APPN/SNASw network node.

The APPN/SNASw Maps application supports the IBM-6611-APPN-MIB, the APPN-DLUR-MIB, the IETF draft standard APPN MIB (RFC 2455), and the IETF draft standard DLUR MIB (RFC 2232).

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