Monitoring Routers

This chapter describes the various ways in which you can monitor Cisco routers using NSP. This chapter also lists and describes each NSP router status and how to define filters to view routers that match a certain status or are defined to specific group.

This chapter provides information on the following:

Displaying Router Status

You can display a list of all the Cisco routers on your network that are being monitored by NSP. The color in which the service point name of a router is displayed indicates the status of that router.

To view a list of routers being monitored by NSP, on the NSP main menu, position the cursor on the * MGR option, and press Enter. The Router Status panel is displayed.

Figure 4-1: Router Status Panel

The following information is displayed on the Router Status panel:

Last Initialized--Date and time when NSP was last started.
Routers--Total number of routers that are displayed in the list of routers on the Router Status panel.
Last Refresh--Time at which NSP last monitored each router and updated the Router Status panel.
SPname--Service point name of each router as defined in the VTAM configuration file (can be up to 8 characters).

Taking the Fast Path to Problem Resolution

From the Router Status and Router Status Extended panels, you can select a router and use the F5 function key to have NSP take you to the diagnostic panels most suited to solve the most critical problem affecting the router. For example, if an alert has been received from a router (router is displayed in pink and has an ALERT status), then selecting the router and pressing F5 takes you to the appropriate panel to view the received alerts for that router.

To take the fast path to problem resolution, on the Router Status or Router Status Extended panel, position the cursor on the router for which you want to view status details, and press F5.

Expanding the Status Information

To display additional information about the status of the routers in your network, on the Router Status panel, press F6. The Router Status Extended panel is displayed.

Figure 4-2: Router Status Extended Panel

The following information is displayed on the Router Status Extended Panel:

SPname--Service point name of each router as defined in the VTAM configuration file (can be up to 8 characters).
NSP Status--Along with the color in which a router displays, indicates the current status of the router. For a description of each status, see the "NSP Router Status" table in the "Reviewing Status Types" section.
Xtended--Displays flags that indicate the resource in which a status situation has occurred.
Operator--Name of the operator, if any, that is logged in to a router in enable mode (displays in white) or an operator who is busy with the router (displays in yellow).
Router Hostname--Host name of the router as defined in the router and VTAM configuration files.
Operation Group(s)--Logical group or groups to which the router has been defined by an enabled NSP user. For more information on filtering by logical groups, see the "Filtering by Logical Groups" section.

Note The Router Status panels are not intended for operational monitoring of a specific router. Use the Router Status panels to monitor all the routers in your network and to determine those routers for which you want to view operational information.

Reviewing Status Types

The color in which the service point name of a router is displayed on the Router Status panel indicates the status of that router.

The following table lists the color and meaning of each status.

Table 4-1: NSP Router Status

Color	Status	Definition
Green	ACTIV	NSP can communicate with the router and the router is ready to receive commands.
Red	INACT	Router has never been activated and cannot generate alerts or receive commands.
Red	INOP	Router failed when a command was issued perhaps because the router has been made inactive by an operator. If a router is in a inactive state, an SSCP-to-PU session cannot be established. An operator must first activate the router by issuing the SOLVE:Netmaster ACT command.
Red	UNKNOWN	The router is not defined to VTAM.
Yellow	PERF	The router is active and NSP has detected a performance-related problem, or an interface configured in the router is down.
Pink	ALERT	The router is active and through the SOLVE:Netmaster automation table an alert was detected from a resource managed by the router control point.
Turquoise	CONCT	Router has not been connected to VTAM.
Reverse	nnnnn	Router is in enable mode.
N/A	Blank	Indicates there is no information available about the router.

Filtering Routers

The NSP Router Status panel can display status information for up to 144 routers simultaneously. This allows you to view most, if not all, the routers in your network. To display a subset of routers that are of interest to you, you can define viewing filters.

You can define filters based on:

Logical groupings
Status

Filtering by Logical Groups

Group filtering allows you to view status for logically grouped routers. For example, a group may include all the routers located in a region or department, or those of a particular device type. The group to which a router belongs is assigned by an NSP administrator when the router is defined to NSP. You can identify the group to which a router belongs from the Router Status Extended panel or by viewing the management information data of a router. For information on viewing the management information data of a router, see the "Viewing Router Configuration from the NSP Perspective" section.

Filtering by Status

Status filtering allows you view status for routers that match, or do not match, a specified status. You can choose to display a view that includes or excludes routers that match up to three status types that you specify. For more information on the statuses by which you can filter routers, see the "NSP Router Status" table in the "Reviewing Status Types" section.

Defining a Filter

Filters are defined in your NSP operator profile. If an operator profile has not been created for you by an NSP administrator, you can create one for yourself for filtering purposes. For additional information on operator profiles, see the "Defining Operator Profiles" section of the "Installing and Configuring Native Service Point" chapter.

Note The following procedure can also be used to create an operator profile.

To filter the routers you are viewing on the Router Status and Router Status Extended panels:

Step 1 On NSP menu, position the cursor on the * USER option and press Enter. The Cisco Router User Administration panel is displayed.

For a complete description of the fields on the User Administration panel, see the "Defining Operator Profiles" section of the "Installing and Configuring Native Service Point" chapter.

Figure 4-3: Cisco Router User Administration Panel

Step 2 Specify information for the following fields:

Change Type--Indicates whether you are defining a new operator profile, changing an existing profile, or deleting a profile. To specify an option for this field, type the number representing the option. Only an NSP administrator can specify the Delete option.
Action Type--Indicates whether you want to implement your changes at the next startup of NSP, implement them in the current session only, or implement them in the current session and save the changes for future sessions. To specify an option for this field, type the number representing the option.
Group Filters--Logical groups by which you want to filter routers. To enable group filtering, type a Y to the right of the Group Filters field. In the Group 1 and Group 2 fields, type one or two logical groups through which you want to filter routers.

: Logical groups are defined by an enabled NSP user in the router definition. The logical group or groups to which a router may belong are displayed on the Router Status Extended panel.

Status Filters--Status by which you want to filter routers. To enable status filtering, type a Y to the right of the Status Filters field. Type an X or I to the right of the Exclude/Include field to indicate whether you are filtering to include or exclude routers that match a status. In the Filter 1, Filter 2, and Filter 3 fields type one to three statuses through which you want to filter routers.

Step 3 Press Enter to verify your changes and press F4 to save them.

Step 4 To update the Router Status panel return to the NSP main menu, select the * MGR option, and press Enter.

Refreshing and Resetting Routers

While NSP automatically updates the status of the routers at the intervals specified by an NSP administrator in the NSP setup, you can manually refresh router status information at any time between those intervals.

If you are an enabled NSP user, you can also release and reset a router from an operator who is logged in to a router in enabled mode or is in a busy state with a router.

To refresh outdated router status information, on the Router Status panel, press F12.

To reset a router, on the Router Status Extended panel, position the cursor over the router you want to reset, and press F8.

Retrieving Router Configuration Information

There are several perspectives from which you can view the configuration of a router.

You can view the configuration of a router as it is defined in:

VTAM
NSP
Router configuration file

You can also display a list of archived router configuration files for a specific router. From this list, you can view the configuration file, and, if necessary, use the file for disaster recovery.

Viewing Router Configuration from the VTAM Perspective

To view a router as it is defined in VTAM:

Step 1 On the Router Status panel, position the cursor over the router and press Enter. The popup menu is displayed.

Step 2 In the field located at the top of the popup menu, type 5 and press Enter. The router configuration as it is defined in VTAM is displayed.

Figure 4-4: VTAM Router Configuration Information

Viewing Router Configuration from the NSP Perspective

To view a router as it is defined in NSP:

Step 1 On the Router Status panel, position the cursor over the router for which you want to view NSP management information and press Enter. The popup menu is displayed.

Step 2 In the field located at the top of the popup menu, type 3 and press Enter. The Router Management Data panel is displayed.

Figure 4-5: Router Management Data Panel

The following information is displayed on the Router Management Data panel:

Router Service Point Name--Service point name of the router as defined in the VTAM configuration file (can be up to 8 characters).
Router Host Name--Host name of the router as defined in the router and VTAM configuration files.
Router IP Address--User-defined IP address of the router.
Router Description--User-defined description of the router.
Configuration Data--User-defined pointer to where the configuration information is stored.
VTAM Definition Member--Details of the KSDs that contains the NSP configuration data.
Operation Group(s)--Logical group or groups to which a router has been defined by an enabled NSP user in the router definition.
Current Router Status--Current status of the router.
Extended Status--Status flags that indicate the resource in which a status situation has occurred.
Router Active Since--Date and time at which the router became connected to the network and accessible from NSP.
Enabled Operator--Name of the operator, if any, that is logged in to the router in enable mode or is in a busy state with the router.
Performance History Key--Key to the VTAM data record that contains the history data.
Last Related Alert--Last alert message generated by the router.
Last Error--Last error message generated by the router.

Step 3 If you are an enabled NSP user, you can change the NSP definition of a router by pressing F4 to display the Cisco Router Resource Definition panel, making the changes, and pressing Enter to verify your changes and F4 to update and save the router definition.

For more information on modifying a router definition, see the "Adding Router Definitions" section in the "Installing and Configuring Native Service Point" chapter.

You can obtain additional information from the Router Management Data panel using the function keys displayed along the bottom of the panel.

To	Press
View router information as it is defined in VTAM.	F10
View the values of common globals used to manage the router.	F11

Collecting and Archiving the Configuration from the Router Perspective

If you are an enabled NSP user, you can log in to and collect the current configuration of a router. You can also archive the router configuration file that you collect. To collect a current configuration, you must first log in to the router in enable mode.

To collect the current configuration of a router:

Step 1 On the Router Status panel, position the cursor over the router for which you want collect the current configuration and press Enter. The popup menu is displayed.

Step 2 In the field located at the top of the popup menu, type 7 and press Enter. The Router Command Interface panel is displayed.

Step 3 In the Password field, type the enable password and press Enter.

Step 4 Press F10 to collect the router's configuration. Status messages are displayed as NSP requests and collects the router configuration.

Step 5 When you are notified that the router configuration has been saved for the router, press Enter. The configuration you collected is archived.

Step 6 To exit your enabled session with the router, type exit in the command field beneath the hostname and press Enter.

Step 7 Press F3 to exit the Router Command Interface panel.

Viewing Archived Configurations

You can display a list of archived configuration files for a router, view the details of a specific configuration file, and if necessary, use it an archived configuration file for disaster recovery.

To display a list of archived configuration files:

Step 1 On the Cisco Router Status panel, position the cursor over the router for which you want to collect a list of archived configuration files and press Enter. The popup menu is displayed.

Step 2 In the field located at the top of the popup menu, type 6 and press Enter. The Archived Router Configurations Panel is displayed.

Figure 4-6: Archived Router Configurations Panel

Step 3 To view the details of a configuration file, position the cursor on top of the file you want to view and press F10. The Archived Configuration Data panel is displayed.

Figure 4-7: Archived Configuration Data Panel

Monitoring Router Performance

This section describes the router performance data that is available from NSP. It explains how to obtain the performance data that is useful in monitoring the performance of a router.

You can use the following methods to measure the performance of a router:

Specify CPU and memory thresholds in the NSP setup that, when exceeded, turn the SPname on the Router Status panel to yellow to indicate the router's degraded performance.
Start a periodic measurement of a specific router's performance and have the results logged and archived as router performance history data, which you can access to view the details of a router's performance over a range of time.

Setting Router Monitoring and Threshold Values

If you are an NSP administrator, you can set the monitoring intervals and CPU and memory thresholds in the NSP setup. Specifying CPU and memory thresholds determines the percentage of the CPU and free memory being used that, when exceeded, places a "P" in the Xtended column on the Router Status Extended panel to flag the router with degraded performance, alters the status of the router to PERF, and turns the SPname of the router to yellow.

To change the NSP monitoring and threshold values:

Step 1 On the NSP main menu, position the cursor on the * SETUP option and press Enter. The NSP Router Management Setup panel is displayed.

Figure 4-8: NSP Router Management Setup Panel

Step 2 Specify information in the following fields:

Change Type--Indicates whether you are defining the management environment for the first time, changing an existing setup, or deleting a setup. Type 2 to specify that you are changing an existing setup.
Action Type--Indicates whether you want to implement your changes at the next startup of NSP, implement them in the current session only, or implement them in the current session and save the changes for future sessions. Type the number representing the appropriate option.
Monitoring Intervals (Hours)--Interval, in hours, that you want NSP to monitor and collect status information from routers. Valid range is 1 to 24 hours. If you specify a monitoring interval in this field, do not specify a monitoring interval in the Minutes field.
Monitoring Intervals (Minutes)--Interval, in minutes, that you want NSP to monitor and collect status information from routers. Valid range is 15 to 59 minutes. If you specify a monitoring interval in this field, do not specify a monitoring interval in the Hours field.
Router Thresholds (CPU and Memory)--Percentage of the router CPU and memory that, when exceeded, alters the status of a router on the Router Status panel. Valid range is any 2-digit numeric value. To stop measuring the CPU performance, specify 00 in the CPU field.

Step 3 Press Enter to verify your changes and F4 to save the NSP setup.

Note For a complete description of the fields located on the NSP Router Management Setup panel, see the "Configuring NSP" section in the "Installing and Configuring Native Service Point" chapter.

Gathering and Viewing Router Performance Data

Once you have set the monitoring interval and CPU and memory threshold levels, NSP will measure the performance of the routers in your network using those values. The results are archived in the Router Performance History data set. If you are an NSP administrator, you can set the record wrap counts for the data set in the NSP setup. Any NSP user can view the records archived for a specific router on the Router Performance History panel.

Gathering Router Performance Data

To set the Router Performance History wrap counts:

Step 1 On the NSP main menu, position the cursor on the * SETUP option and press Enter. The NSP Router Management Setup panel is displayed.

Step 2 Press F8 to display the second NSP Router Management Setup panel and F8 again. The Router Management Constants Setup panel is displayed.

Figure 4-9: Router Management Constants Setup Panel

Step 3 Position the cursor in the Router Performance History Value field in the MAX Record Count section and type the number of performance records you want to collect. A valid range is a 1- or 2-digit number. The default is 48.

Caution The wrap counts are set on a per router basis. When these values are changed after initializing NSP, they only apply to new routers or interfaces defined to NSP. The only method of applying changed wrap counts to previously defined routers and interfaces is to delete the router definition and redefine the router to NSP.

Viewing Router Performance Data

To view performance history records for a specific router:

Step 1 On the Router Status panel, position the cursor on the router for which you want view performance data and press Enter. The popup menu is displayed.

Step 2 In the field located at the top of the popup menu, type A and press Enter. The archived performance data for the router you selected is displayed.

Figure 4-10: Router Performance Data Panel

The following information is displayed on the Router Performance History panel:

Date--Date the performance data was logged.
Time--Time the performance data was logged.
CPU Utilization:
- 5 Sec--CPU utilization by task in the last 5 seconds before the record was collected.
- 1 Min--CPU utilization by task in the last minute before the record was collected.
- 5 Min--CPU utilization by task in the last 5 minutes before the record was collected.
Memory Usage:
- Total--Sum of used bytes plus free bytes when the record was recorded.
- Used--Amount of memory in use when the record was recorded.
- Free--Amount of memory not in use when the record was recorded.

You can obtain additional information from the Router Performance History panel using function keys displayed along the bottom of the panel. To view additional information about a history record, select the record and:

To	Press
View detailed information about the current CPU performance.	F10
View detailed information about the current memory performance.	F11

Logging in to Routers and Issuing Commands

You can use the NSP Router Command Interface panel to connect to and issue commands to a router that you would normally have to issue via a telnet session with a router. However, NSP does restrict the use of certain commands such as TELNET.

Commands issued from the Router Command Interface panel are written to a SOLVE:Netmaster log. The name of the operator who issues a command is also recorded. However, as an NSP security feature, if the command issued requires a password, the password is suppressed and not logged. Also, if the command issued requests router configuration information, all security sensitive data is suppressed and not logged.

Note The commands that you can successfully issue from the Router Command Interface panel are based on your authority level as defined in your operator profile.

To issue commands to a router using the Router Command Interface:

Step 1 On the NSP main menu, press Tab to move to the Service Point Name field.

Step 2 Type in the service point name of the router and press Enter. The Router Command Interface panel is displayed.

Figure 4-11: Router Command Interface Panel

The Router Command Interface panel is made up of the following elements:

Display--Indicates whether the destination of the output of a command entered from the Command Interface panel is displayed on the Router Command Interface panel or logged. To display the output on the panel, type Y. To display the output and log the output, type B.
Command Field--Where you enter NSP commands to the router. You can enter up to three lines of text.
Output Display--Displays the output from the router.
Command Input--Enables you to enter SOLVE:Netmaster or NSP commands.
Error Message Display--Displays any error messages in response to the command you entered or function key you pressed.

You can obtain additional information from the Router Management Data panel using the function keys displayed along the bottom of the panel

To	Press
Recall the last command you issued.	F12

Viewing Alerts

Alerts generated by a router being monitored by NSP are forwarded to the host via the service point configured in the router. You can access SOLVE:Netmaster's Event Selection List to view a list of events generated by a router. For more information on using the SOLVE:Netmaster Event Selection List, refer to the appropriate SOLVE:Netmaster Operations manual.

To display a list of alerts generated by a router:

Step 1 On the Router Status panel, position the cursor on the router for which you want to a display list of most messages and press Enter. The popup menu is displayed.

Step 2 In the field located at the top of the popup menu, type 4 and press Enter. The SOLVE:Netmaster NEWS Events Selection panel is displayed listing the events generated by that router.

Figure 4-12: Total Count Information

Obtaining Additional Router Information

The NSP router management function provides a list of commonly used Cisco IOS software show commands that you can use to obtain additional information about a router that is useful for monitoring and problem determination purposes. If you are an NSP administrator, you can add show commands to the Router Show Commands panel.

To obtain additional information about a Cisco router:

Step 1 On Router Status panel, position the cursor on the router and press Enter. The popup menu is displayed.

Step 2 In the field located at the top of the popup menu, type B and press Enter. The Router Show Commands panel is displayed.

Figure 4-13: Router Show Commands Panel

The following commands are displayed on the Router Show Commands panel:

show version--Displays the configuration of the system hardware, the software version, the names and sources of configuration files, and the boot images.
show processes cpu--Displays detailed CPU utilization statistics.
show processes memory--Displays memory utilization.
show protocols--Displays the global and interface-specific status of any configured Level 3 protocols.
show environment all--Displays the temperature and voltage information on the Cisco 7000 series console.
show boot--Verifies the boot Flash memory.
show rif--Displays the current contents of the routing information field cache.
show interfaces--Displays statistics for all interfaces configured on the router.
show snmp--Checks the status of communications between the SNMP agent and the SNMP manager.
show hosts--Displays the default domain name, the style of name lookup service, a list of name server hosts, and the cached list of host names and addresses.
show processes--Displays information about the active processes on a router.
show dspu--Displays the status of the DSPU feature.
show flash--Displays the type of Flash memory present, any files that might currently exist in Flash memory, and the amount of Flash memory used and remaining.

Step 3 To view a list of possible command arguments, type the number representing the command and a question mark (?) in the Action field and press Enter.

Step 4 To return to the Router Show Commands panel, press F3.

Step 5 To issue the command, type the number representing the command, and if applicable, any additional arguments in the Action field, and press Enter.

Adding Commands to the Router Show Commands Panel

If you are an NSP administrator, you can add Cisco IOS software show commands to the Router Show Commands panel. These show commands must be supported by Cisco IOS Release 11.0 and later.

To add a Cisco IOS software show command:

Step 1 On the Router Show Commands panel, press F4. Press Tab to move to the line number on which you want to add a show command.

Step 2 In the field on the line, type the parameter or parameters that correspond to the command that you are adding (without the show keyword) and press F4.

Step 3 To return to the Router Show Commands panel, type B in the field located at the top of the popup menu and press Enter. The Router Show Command panel is displayed with the command you added.

Table of Contents

Monitoring Routers