Using Performance Monitors

Performance Monitors in Cisco netManager gather important information about the devices running on your network, then use that data to create reports trending the utilization and availability of different aspects of those devices.

The system also lets you create custom performance monitors that you can use to monitor any performance counter made available through WMI or SNMP, as well as the use of JScript and VBScript.

Performance monitors are configured in the Performance Monitor Library, and added to individual devices through Device Properties > Performance Monitors. You can create global WMI, SNMP, and active script monitors in the library, or create device-specific monitors in Device Properties.

Understanding the Performance Monitor Library

The Performance Monitor Library is a central storehouse of all global Performance Monitors that have been configured for your network. Performance monitors gather information about specific WMI and SNMP values from the network devices.

You can use the Performance Monitor Library to configure and manage performance monitors. When custom Performance Monitors are changed, the changes affect each instance of that particular monitor across your device groups. To access the Performance Monitor Library dialog box, do one of the following:

•

From the Cisco netManager console main menu, select Configure > Performance Monitor Library.

•

From the Cisco netManager web interface, select Go > Configure > Performance Monitor Library.

Step 4

Select an existing monitor, then click Edit to change the current monitor configuration or double-click an existing monitor to change the configuration.

Step 5

Select a performance monitor type, then click Delete to remove it from the list.

Enabling SNMP on Windows Devices

Before you can collect performance data on a Windows PC, you must first install and enable the Microsoft SNMP Agent on the device itself.

Step 8

After the installation wizard is complete, click Finish to close the window.

Step 3

In the Services (Local) list, double-click SNMP Service to view the properties.

Step 4

On the Agent tab, enter the contact name for the person responsible for the upkeep and administration of the computer, then enter the location of the computer. These items are returned during some SNMP queries.

Step 5

On the Security tab, click Add to add a community string for the device. Community strings are pass codes that allow applications like Cisco netManager to read information about the computer. This community string will be used later to create credentials for connecting to this device.

Configuring and Enabling Performance Monitors

Cisco netManager is installed with many performance monitors that monitor specific types of data on your devices. These monitors appear in the Performance Monitor Library.

If you select a specific performance monitor without configuring the monitor manually, the default collection type is automatically selected. The collection type refers to the item on the current device that is being monitored (This does not pertain to the custom WMI and SNMP monitors that may appear). For Cisco devices all performance monitors, except Interface Utilization and Ping Latency and Availability, will be enabled by default.

Performance monitors will be associated with the device based on its capabilities:


Capability	Performance Monitor
Autonomous Access Point	Device Inventory Entity Status
	CPU Utilization
	Memory Utilization
	Temperature Statistics
	Interface Status
	Power Supply Status
	Fan Status
Cisco ASA	Device Inventory Entity Status
	CPU Utilization
	Memory Utilization
	Temperature Statistics
	Interface Status
	Power Supply Status
	Fan Status
Cisco Unified Communications Manager	Communications Manager Status
	Communications Manager Logical Connectivity
	Device Inventory Entity Status
Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express	Communications Manager Express Status
	Communications Manager Express Logical Connectivity
	Device Inventory Entity Status
Cisco Unity	Unity Status
	Unity Port utilization
	Device Inventory Entity Status
Cisco Unity Connection	Unity Status
	Unity Port Utilization
	Device Inventory Entity Status
Cisco Unity Express	Unity Express Status
	Interface Status
	Device Inventory Entity Status
Cisco PIX (Firewall)	Device Inventory Entity Status
	CPU Utilization
	Memory Utilization
	Temperature Statistics
	Interface Status
	Power Supply Status
	Fan Status
Cisco IDS	Device Inventory Entity Status
	CPU Utilization
	Memory Utilization
	Temperature Statistics
	Interface Status
	Power Supply Status
	Fan Status
Cisco IPS	Device Inventory Entity Status
	CPU Utilization
	Memory Utilization
	Temperature Statistics
	Interface Status
	Power Supply Status
	Fan Status
MCS	CPU Utilization
	Memory Utilization
	Disk Utilization
	Temperature Statistics
	Power Supply Status
	Fan Status
	Voice Services Status
	Interface Status
	Device Inventory Entity Status
MPX	Voice Services Status
	Memory Utilization
	Disk Utilization
	CPU Utilization
	Interface Status
	Device Inventory Entity Status
Router	CPU Utilization
	Memory Utilization
	Temperature Statistics
	Interface Status
	Power Supply Status
	Fan Status
	Device Inventory Entity Status
SRST	SRST Status
SRST	Device Inventory Entity Status
Switch	CPU Utilization
	Memory Utilization
	Temperature Statistics
	Interface Status
	Power Supply Status
	Fan Status
	Device Inventory Entity Status
Cisco VPN	CPU Utilization
	Memory Utilization
	Temperature Statistics
	Interface Status
	Power Supply Status
	Fan Status
	Device Inventory Entity Status
Wireless LAN Controller	Device Inventory Entity Status
	Wireless LAN Controller Status
	Interface Status
	CPU Utilization
	Memory Utilization

To configure monitors for use on specific devices, you must use either the Device Properties > Performance Monitors to configure for a single device, or Bulk Field Change > Performance Monitors to configure for multiple devices.

Step 2

Right-click and choose Properties from the right-click menu to view the device properties.

Step 3

Click Performance Monitors to view the Performance Monitors dialog box.

Step 4

From the top section of the dialog box, select the global performance monitor you would like to enable for the selected device.

Note To enable a CPU, disk, interface, or memory global performance monitor, you must first select and SNMP credential for the device from the SNMP credential page.

Step 2

Right-click and choose Properties from the right-click menu to view the device properties.

Step 3

Click Performance Monitors to view the Performance Monitors dialog box.

Step 4

In the top section of the dialog box, select a global performance monitor, then click Configure.

Step 5

On the monitor configuration dialog box, select the specific item you want to monitor by making a selection in the Collect data for drop-down list. Depending on the monitor, you can select to collect data for All, Active, Specific, or Default interfaces, memories, CPUs, or disks.

If you select Specific, the list is enabled and you can select or clear the selection for any of the items in the list. This is particularly useful with the Interface Utilization monitor where a device may have many interfaces.

Step 6

Select the Data collection interval. This is the amount of time between performance polls.

Note To enable a global performance monitor for multiple devices, use the Bulk Field Change feature for performance monitors.

Adding Custom Performance Monitors to the Performance Monitor Library

Performance monitors gather specific types of data on the devices they are assigned to. System-wide monitors are configured using the Performance Monitor Library, but you can also create specific SNMP and WMI monitors to be used on a per-device basis. The default performance monitors cannot be edited or changed from their default settings. By creating custom performance monitors, you can adjust the settings to fit your specific monitoring needs.

Step 1

In the Cisco netManager web interface, select Go > Configure > Performance Monitor Library.

Step 3

Select the monitor type: SNMP, WMI, or Active Script Performance Monitor.

Step 4

Follow the instructions for the monitor type you have chosen as described in these topics:

Configuring an SNMP Monitor

Step 1

In the Add SNMP Performance Counter dialog box, enter a name and a description for the monitor as it will appear in the Performance Monitor Library.

Step 2

Either enter the OID and instance or click the Browse (...) button next to the Instance box to go to the SNMP MIB Walker dialog box.

Step 3

In the MIB Walker dialog box, enter the share name or IP address of the computer to which you want to connect.

Step 4

Enter the SNMP credential used to connect to the device (or click the Browse (...) button to access the Credentials Library to create a new credential.)

Step 5

If needed, adjust the timeout and retry counts for the connection to the device.

Step 7

Use the navigation tree in the left pane to select the specific MIB you want to monitor.

Step 8

In the right pane, select the Property of the MIB you want to monitor. You can view more information about the property/value pair at the bottom of the dialog box.

Step 9

Click OK to add the OID to the Performance counter and Instance boxes in the Add SNMP Performance counter dialog box.

Step 10

Verify the configuration and click OK to add the monitor to the Performance Monitor Library.

Configuring a WMI Monitor

Step 1

On the Add WMI Performance Counter dialog, enter a Name and Description for the monitor, as it will appear in the Performance Monitor Library.

Step 3

In the dialog that appears, enter the share name or IP address of the computer in which you want to connect.

Step 4

Enter the domain and user login for the account on this computer. If a domain account is used, then the expected user name is domain\user. If the device is on a workgroup, there are two possible user names: workgroup name\user or machine name\user.

Step 5

Enter the password for the login used above and click OK to connect to the computer.

Step 6

Use the Performance counter tree to navigate to the performance counter you want to monitor.

Step 7

Once you select the performance counter, select the specific instance you want to monitor.

Step 8

Click OK to add the counter and instance to the Add Performance Counter dialog.

Step 9

Verify the configuration and click OK to add the monitor to the Performance Monitor Library.

Note

After the monitor has been added to the library, you can enable that monitor through Device Properties > Performance Monitors for that device.

Configuring an SNMP Active Script Performance Monitor

Step 1

On the Add Active Script Performance Monitor dialog box, enter a name and a description for the monitor as it will appear in the Performance Monitor Library.

Step 3

Choose the type of script (JScript or VBScript) you will be using to write the monitor from the Script type drop-down list.

Step 5

On the Add reference variables dialog box, enter a name and description for the variable.

Step 6

Select the type of object (SNMP or WMI) from the 0bject type drop-down menu.

Step 7

If needed, adjust the timeout and retry counts for connection to the device.

Step 8

Click the Browse (...) button next to the Instance box. The SNMP MIB Browser appears.

Step 9

Enter the share name or IP address of the computer in which you are trying to connect.

Step 10

Enter the SNMP credential used to connect to the device (or click the Browse (...) button to access the Credentials Library to create a new credential.)

Step 11

If needed, adjust the timeout and retry counts for the computer in which you are trying to connect.

Step 13

Use the navigation tree in the left panel to select the specific MIB you want to monitor. You can view more information about the property/value at the bottom of the dialog box.

Step 14

Click OK to add the OID to the Performance counter and Instance boxes in the Add new reference variable dialog box.

Step 15

Verify the configuration and click OK to add the variable to the Reference variable list on the Add Active Script Performance Monitor dialog box.

Step 17

Click OK to save changes and add the monitor to the Performance Monitor Library.

Configuring a WMI Active Script Performance Monitor

Step 1

On the Add Active Script Performance Monitor dialog, enter a Name and Description for the monitor as it will appear in the Performance Monitor Library.

Step 3

Choose the type of script (JScript or VBScript) you will be using to write the monitor from the Script type drop down menu.

Step 5

On the Add reference variables dialog, enter a name and description for the variable.

Step 6

Select the type of object (SNMP or WMI) from the Object type drop-down menu.

Step 8

In the dialog that appears, enter the share name or IP address of the computer in which you want to connect.

Step 9

Step 10

Enter a password for the login used above and click OK to connect to the computer.

Step 11

Use the Performance counter tree to navigate to the performance counter you want to monitor.

Step 12

Once you select the performance counter, select the specific instance you want to monitor.

Step 13

Click OK to add the variable to the Reference variable list on the Add active script performance monitor dialog.

Step 15

Click OK to save changes and to add the monitor to the Performance Monitor Library.

Performance Reporting

After you have configured a performance monitor, you can generate a performance report to see the results of the performance polling attempts. A report can be used to troubleshoot your network problems.

The Reports tab contains all of the Cisco netManager full reports. You can use the Reports Overview page and the Reports Category drop-down list to navigate to reports according to their type and category.

All reports can be printed and many can also be exported into Microsoft Excel. A report can also be saved as an .html file for later review.

Step 1

In the web interface, go to Go > Configure > Performance > Monitor Library.

Step 4

In the Add SNMP Performance Counter dialog box, enter a name and a description for the monitor as it will appear in the Performance Monitor Library.

Step 5

Either enter the OID and instance or click the Browse (...) button next to the Instance box to go to the SNMP MIB Walker dialog box.

Step 6

In the MIB Walker dialog, enter the share name or IP address of the computer to which you want to connect.

Step 7

Enter the SNMP credential used to connect to the device (or click the Browse (...) button to access the Credentials Library to create a new credential.)

Step 8

If needed, adjust the timeout and retry counts for the connection to the device.

Step 10

Use the navigation tree in the left pane to select the specific MIB you want to monitor.

Step 11

In the right pane, select the property of that MIB you want to monitor. You can view more information about the property/value pair at the bottom of the dialog box.

Step 12

Click OK to add the OID to the Performance counter and Instance boxes in the Add SNMP Performance counter dialog box.

Step 13

Verify the configuration and click OK to add the monitor to the Performance Monitor Library.

Step 1

In the web interface, go to Go > Configure > Performance > Monitor Library.

Step 4

In the Add WMI Performance Counter dialog box, enter a name and a description for the monitor, as it will appear in the Performance Monitor Library.

Step 6

In the dialog box that appears, enter the share name or IP address of the computer to which you want to connect.

Step 7

Enter the domain and user login for the account on this computer. If a domain account is used, then the expected username is domain\user. If the device is on a workgroup, there are two possible user names: workgroup name\user or machine name\user.

Step 8

Enter the password for the login used above and click OK to connect to the computer.

Step 9

Use the performance counter tree to navigate to the performance counter you want to monitor.

Step 10

Once you select the performance counter, select the specific instance you want to monitor.

Step 11

Click OK to add the counter and instance to the Add Performance Counter dialog box.

Step 12

Verify the configuration and click OK to add the monitor to the Performance Monitor Library.

Note After the monitor has been added to the library, you can enable that monitor through Device Properties > Performance Monitors for that device.

Step 1

In the web interface, go to Go > Configure > Performance > Monitor Library.

Step 4

In the Add Active Script Performance Monitor dialog, enter a name and a description for the monitor as it will appear in the Performance Monitor Library.

Step 6

Choose the type of script (JScript or VBScript) you will be using to write the monitor from the Script type drown-down list.

Step 8

On the Add reference variables dialog box, enter a name and a description for the variable.

Step 10

If needed, adjust the timeout and retry counts for connection to the device.

Step 11

Click the Browse (...) button next to the Instance box. The SNMP MIB Browser appears.

Step 12

Enter the share name or IP address of the computer to which you are trying to connect.

Step 13

Enter the SNMP credential used to connect to the device (or click the Browse (...) button to access the Credentials Library to create a new credential.)

Step 14

If needed, adjust the timeout and retry counts for the computer to which you are trying to connect.

Step 16

Use the navigation tree in the left pane to select the specific MIB you want to monitor. You can view more information about the property/value at the bottom of the dialog.

Step 17

Click OK to add the OID to the Performance counter and Instance boxes in the Add new reference variable dialog.

Step 18

Verify the configuration and click OK to add the variable to the Reference variable list on the Add active script performance monitor dialog.

Step 20

Click OK to save changes and add the monitor to the Performance Monitor Library.

Step 1

In the web interface, go to Go > Configure > Performance > Monitor Library.

Step 4

In the Add Active Script Performance Monitor dialog, enter a name and a description for the monitor as it will appear in the Performance Monitor Library.

Step 6

Choose the type of script (JScript or VBScript) you will be using to write the monitor from the Script type drown-down list.

Step 8

On the Add reference variables dialog box, enter a name and a description for the variable.

Step 10

If needed, adjust the timeout and retry counts for connection to the device.

Step 11

Click the Browse (...) button next to the Instance box. The SNMP MIB Browser appears.

Step 12

Enter the share name or IP address of the computer to which you are trying to connect.

Step 13

Enter the SNMP credential used to connect to the device (or click the Browse (...) button to access the Credentials Library to create a new credential.)

Step 14

If needed, adjust the timeout and retry counts for the computer to which you are trying to connect.

Step 16

Use the navigation tree in the left pane to select the specific MIB you want to monitor. You can view more information about the property/value at the bottom of the dialog.

Step 17

Click OK to add the OID to the Performance counter and Instance boxes in the Add new reference variable dialog.

Step 18

Verify the configuration and click OK to add the variable to the Reference variable list on the Add active script performance monitor dialog.

Step 20

Click OK to save changes and add the monitor to the Performance Monitor Library.

You can suspend or enable data collection on that monitor by selecting or clearing the checkbox next to the monitor name.

Example: Monitoring Router Bandwidth

Through the Performance Monitoring system, you can configure the application to gather bandwidth usage on your SNMP enabled devices (routers, switches, etc.) and then track that usage through performance reports. Several performance monitors are installed with the application, but for bandwidth monitoring, the Interface Utilization monitor is the most useful because it shows percent utilization and throughput.

The Interface Utilization monitor gathers statistics on the volume of bytes going through the active interfaces on the device. You can collect data on all interfaces, active interfaces, or just specific interfaces. This monitor is configured and enabled through Device Properties > Performance Monitors.

Note Before you can configure the monitor, you must have SNMP enabled on the device, and the proper credentials configured in the Credentials Library for the device. The Performance Monitoring system uses these credentials to connect to the device during the configuration process and during normal performance gathering. For more information on enabling SNMP, see "Enabling SNMP on Windows Devices" section.

Configuring the Monitor

Because the Interface Utilization performance monitor is one of the default performance monitors installed with Cisco netManager, there is no global configuration required before setting up the monitor for the device itself. Once your SNMP credentials have been established for the device, you are ready to configure and enable the monitor to start gathering data.

Step 1

On the Cisco netManager web interface, select the device you want to gather performance data for and then right-click.

Step 5

Click Configure to set up the monitor for the device. Cisco netManager scans the device and discovers the interfaces on the device.

Once the scan is complete, the Configure Interface Data Collection dialog box appears. If the credentials for the device are not configured properly, the scan will fail (you can return to the Credentials Library to fix it.) If the device is not SNMP-enabled, the scan will fail (see "Enabling SNMP on Windows Devices" section).

Step 6

Select the interfaces you want to collect data for. From the Collect data for drop-down list, select All, Active, or Specific. If you select Specific, select just the interfaces you want to monitor in the list. By default, active interfaces will be measured.

Step 7

(Optional) Click Advanced to change the retry and timeout settings for the SNMP connection to the device. Click OK to save the changes to the Advanced Settings.

Step 8

On the Configure Interface Data Collection dialog box, enter a time interval (in minutes) you want the application to wait between polls. The default is 10 minutes.

Viewing the Data

Cisco netManager takes several polling cycles before it has enough data to produce meaningful graphs (with a 10-minute poll interval, this may mean a few hours.) Once enough data has been gathered, there are several reports you can use to view this data:

•

By Device—For device-specific data, view the Interface Utilization report (shown below); or the Device Status report, which shows graphical statistics of all monitors configured on a device.

•

By Group—Access the Group Interface Statistics report to view summarized statistics for all devices in the selected group that have interface statistics enabled.

•

System Wide—Use the Top 10 report to view the top performers in terms of bandwidth utilization across your network. You can also view system-wide data by running the Group Interface Utilization report against the All Devices dynamic group.

Example: Troubleshooting a Slow Network Connection

The real-time reporting provided by performance monitors can provide both the raw data and the data trend analysis that can help you isolate network problems. For example, you might experience a problem with a network connection between two of your office sites. This example shows how you can use performance monitors to troubleshoot the slow network connection.

A developer working in Augusta, Georgia, on an Atlanta-based project complains of a slow network connection between the Augusta and Atlanta offices. He states that it takes 40 minutes to check in files to the source library over the T1 connection.

The Atlanta office network administrator reacts by completing the following steps:

Step 1

On the Cisco netManager web interface, he goes to the Reports tab to select the Ping Response Time report.

Step 2

From here, he checks the connection from the Atlanta Cisco netManager application to the Augusta primary server. The report shows an increased response time beginning at 11:45 a.m.

Note

The connection in this scenario has been configured with the appropriate performance monitors and has been gathering data for weeks. To set up this type of monitor for a connection, configure the Ping Latency and Availability monitor on a device located on the other end of the connection. For more information, see Configuring and Enabling Performance Monitors.

Table Of Contents