Introduction

These topics provide an overview of Cisco TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager :

What Is Cisco TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager?

Cisco TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager (TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager) evaluates your network and reports its readiness to deploy the Cisco TelePresence solution in your network. TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager analyzes your network infrastructure to detect recommended best-practice noncompliances, determine the resource utilization, and assess your network's capability to carry telepresence media traffic. It uses open interfaces, such as Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and Telnet/SSH, to remotely poll read-only data from different devices in deploying a Cisco TelePresence solution.

•

Ensures that the network can carry telepresence traffic through a detailed analysis of the current network device configuration and setup.

•

Provides telepresence traffic simulation to predict the number of telepresence calls that the network can accommodate and an insight to any voice and video impairment factors.

•

Provides customized reports that can provide results and suggestions from recorded analyses and traffic simulation.

After running these tools, you can view three types of reports that provide you with analysis information and recommendations for your network.

Is TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager Ready to Use?

The instructions for installing and configuring TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager are included in the Quickstart Guide for Cisco TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager.

To use TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager, you must import devices into the TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager inventory. See "Using TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager to Add Devices" section for more information. TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager obtains devices to poll from the Common Services Device and Credentials Repository (DCR).

•

TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager must complete inventory collection.

Table 1-1 lists the steps you must take before using TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager.

Table 1-1 Adding and Classifying Devices
	Description	References/Notes
Step 1	Add and discover devices. •Use TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager to add devices by using auto discovery. •Add devices manually. •Use a seed file to import devices into the DCR.	See "Device Management." We recommended that you use traceroute auto discovery. This enables TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager to discover and add all devices in a path (using pathname and source/destination devices) into DCR. More importantly, generated reports provide assessment based on these traceroute paths.
Step 2	Select devices for assessment.	This step is optional. By default, all devices are automatically included in all assessment operations. See "Selecting Devices for Assessment" section.
Step 3	Start inventory collection on selected devices.	See "Inventory Collection and Device Classification."
Step 4	Configure device classification.	This step is optional. By default, devices are automatically classified by TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager. See "Inventory Collection and Device Classification."

After you import devices, TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager is ready to analyze your network. Table 1-2 lists tasks that you can attend to after initially configuring devices.

Table 1-2 TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager Tasks
Task	Explanation	Reference
Analyze compliance	Checks your devices against best practice rules for network device configuration.	See "Running Compliance Analysis" section.
Analyze performance	Gathers CPU, bandwidth utilization, and memory-related information from devices over a period of time.	See "Running Performance Analysis (Creating a Performance Study)" section.
Simulate telepresence traffic	Configure various call simulations to run at intervals.	See "Running Telepresence Traffic Analysis" section.
Answer the questionnaire	Extracts information about your network that cannot be determined through inventory collection or compliance analysis. This optional step is recommended so that TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager can give you recommendations suitable for your network.	See "Completing the Questionnaire" section on page 5-1.
Run analysis reports	Provides complete analysis reports based on completed assessments: •Executive Report—Provides a high-level summary assessment of your network. •Performance Report—Provides utilization statistics for the devices selected for the study. •Compliance Report—Provides an analysis of device compliance (according to telepresence best practices), recommendations for Cisco TelePresence device types, and recommendations based on your answers filled to the questionnaire. •Traffic Simulation Report—Provides Cisco TelePresence traffic analysis of your existing network. The video and audio traffic analysis is based on reports provided by the traffic analysis agents deployed at strategic locations in your network for each network path.	See "Generating the Report" section on page 5-1 and "Viewing Reports" section on page 5-2.

What Is the Dashboard?

The dashboard is the first window that opens when you start TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager. The dashboard displays a typical user workflow. The icons also provide quick shortcuts to the tasks you want to do. The dashboard also contains a time stamp of all completed or running processes.

Getting Started with TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager

These topics help you to work with and understand the TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager user interface:

Starting TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager

To start TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager from the Windows desktop, select Start > Programs > Cisco TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager 1.0.

To start TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager, from a browser, enter http://<machine name>:1741.

Note If Enhanced Security is enabled on the Windows 2003 system, you must add the TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager home page to the Internet Explorer Trusted Sites Zone. Otherwise, you will not be able to access it until it is added to the trusted sites. (See Working with TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager Windows.)

Working with TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager Windows

This topic focuses on questions you might have when you first start to work with the TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager user interface:

For ease of use, TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager opens separate browser windows for many displays. Having multiple windows open enables you to:

When TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager opens a new browser window, it does not close previously opened windows. You can close browser windows manually when you are done with them.

When I press the Enter key, why doesn't TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager complete the current task?

TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager does not accept pressing the Enter key as a substitute for clicking buttons, such as OK, Finish, or Next, on the application page.

Using Help

To start help, click the Help button in the top right corner. If a display is open, click the question mark icon.

Note

If you selected an option in the navigation tree, the context-sensitive help for that option is displayed.

Help is displayed in a separate browser window that remains open until you close it. Online help includes an index and search capability.

Understanding the Displayed Dates and Times

Dates and times displayed by TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager reflect the date, time, and time zone set on the server of which TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager is installed. If the client system you use to run TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager is located in a time zone other than the time zone set on the server, you will notice the difference; for example:

•

Status "as of" the current date and time will not display your local time and time zone and might not match your local date.

•

Dates and times shown for previous events are recorded (and displayed) with the server time stamp, which is offset from your local time.

Using Displays and Reports

TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager presents information in displays, and you can also generate reports. The displays and reports usually use table formats. Tables ease the task of handling information by providing the following features:

•

Sorting—You can sort a display in the order you prefer by clicking a column heading.

•

Direct page access (only in reports)—You can browse a report screen by screen or jump to any screen number in the range by entering a screen number.

Note

A report can show up to 2,000 records. If more than 2,000 records exist and you need to access additional records, you can use the data export icon to export all records.

•

Data export—You can export data from a display to a comma-separated values (CSV) file, PDF file, or both, depending upon the display that you are using.

•

Print-friendly format—You can format the display for a printer and print the result from the browser. Like the display, the print-friendly browser display includes a maximum of 2,000 records.

•

Paging and Sorting Displays and Reports—The sort order for any display or report is indicated by a triangle in the column heading you will see the triangle. After you click a column heading. A triangle pointing down indicates descending order, which is the default, while a triangle pointing up indicates ascending order.

The first time you click a column heading on a previously unsorted column, data in that column is sorted in descending order. If you click the column heading again, the records will be sorted in the reverse order.

Note

When you sort a display or report, if more than 2,000 records are available, only the first 2,000 records are displayed after sorting.

Table Of Contents

Introduction

What Is Cisco TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager?

Is TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager Ready to Use?

What Is the Dashboard?

Getting Started with TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager

Starting TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager

Working with TelePresence Readiness Assessment Manager Windows

Using Help

Understanding the Displayed Dates and Times

Using Displays and Reports