Performance and Fault Management

Features

A comprehensive guide for designing and implementing effective strategies for network performance and management

• Design and implement performance and fault monitoring that will measure and report the effectiveness of your Cisco network
• Generate reports and alerts that provide network information and status
• Learn to navigate Cisco's documentation and MIBs to determine which elements of a specific technology you should manage
• Study the key aspects of systems and VLAN management of Cisco devices
• Discover best practices and related configurations for implementing network management on Cisco routers and switches

Performance and Fault Management is a comprehensive guide to designing and implementing effective strategies for monitoring performance levels and correctng problems in Cisco networks. It provides an overview of router and LAN switch operations to help you understand how to manage such devices, as well as guidance on the essential MIBs, traps, syslog messages, and show commands for managing Cisco routers and switches.

Written by a team of network management experts, this book details how to implement the practice of network management through documentation, process reviews, and network baselining. It explains various management commands, data, protocols, and resources in Cisco routers and switches. With this book, you will discover how to achieve optimum performance and fault management results on your Cisco network.

Downloadable Sample Chapter

Download - 3.3 MB -- Chapter 1: Conducting a Network Audit

Table of Contents

I. FOUNDATIONS, APPROACHES, AND TOOLS.

The Importance of Network Audits. The Importance of Documentation. Conduct a Physical Inventory Audit. Where Are Your Wiring Closets? Where Are Your Wires? Where Are Your Network Devices? Where Are Your Servers? Where Are Your Key Users? Conducting a Connectivity Audit. Standardization. Layer 2 Connectivity. Layer 3 Connectivity. Who Is Responsible for the Devices? Process Analysis. Summary. References. Books. Paper. Internet Resource.

An Overview of Policy-Based Management. Defining Network Policies. Communication and Network Policies. Converting Policies into Technologies. Network Baselining. Planning the First Baseline. Identifying Devices and Ports of Interest. Determining the Duration of the Baseline. Using the Baseline Data. Using Service Level Agreements. Using the Baseline to Define SLAs. Using Operational Concepts to Define SLAs. Using Policy-Based Management: An Example. Drafting the Policies. Conducting the Baseline Analysis. Charting the SLA. Summary. References. Books. Internet Resource.

Why Develop a Knowledge Base? Defining the Knowledge Base Structure. Understanding Data Sources. Network Inventory. Policy-based Network Management. Performance Measurement and Reporting. Configuring Events. Prioritizing Faults. Keeping the Knowledge Base Current. Layer 2 and Layer 3 Connectivity. Device Connectivity. Verifying Interesting Ports. Detecting Redundancy. Name Resolution. Verification of Device and Port Configuration. Summary.

What Is Performance Management? Performance Data Collection. Performance Data Reporting. Network and Device Health Reporting. Fault Reporting. Capacity Reporting. Measuring Network Performance. Availability. Response Time. Accuracy. Utilization. Summary. References. Books. Internet Resources.

Understanding Event Types. Configuring Events for Continuous Data Sources. Configuring Events for Discrete Data Sources. Controlling Event Generation. Throttling Events. Lengthening the Sample Rate. Hysteresis. Determining When You Want Events to Be Triggered. Using Built-in Events. Console Messages. System Event Logs, Syslog Messages, and Applications Logs. SNMP Notifications. Configuring Events. Setting RMON Thresholds Using SNMP. Setting RMON Thresholds Using RMON Managers. Setting RMON Thresholds Using the Cisco IOS CLI. Setting Continuous Thresholds on Discrete Objects. Programming Devices to Configure Events. Setting Triggers by Collecting and Analyzing Data. Summary. References. Standards.

Event Overview. Event Producers. Protocols. Event Processing to Determine Faults. Event Collection, Normalization, and Filtering. Correlating Events to Determine Faults. Fault Delivery, Notification, Reporting, and Repair. Methods of Fault Delivery. Notifying Key Personnel of Critical Faults. Reporting Faults. Effecting Fault Repair. Summary.

The Need to Understand Network Statistics. Availability Statistics. Random Nature of Network Performance Variables. Simulations. Basic Statistical Measures and Applications. Average, Mode, and Median. Range, Variance, and Standard Deviation. Weighted Mean. Application of the Statistical Methods. Response Times. Using Network Simulations to Analyze Response Time. Applying Statistical Analysis to Response Time in an Example Network. Moving Exponential Average for Cisco Routers CPU Calculation. Summary. References. Books. Periodical. Standards.

Ping. Traceroute. Terminal Emulators. Simple Network Management Protocol. SNMP Versions. SNMP Packet Formats. SNMP Operations. Structure of Management Information. SNMP Object Types. SNMP Views. Evolution of the Interfaces Group. Remote Monitoring MIB and Related MIBs. Syslog. Cisco Discovery Protocol. Name Service. Summary. References. Books.

NMS Frameworks. Knowledge Base Tools. Performance Measurement and Reporting Tools. Reducing NMS Traffic. Tracking Interface Data. Performance Monitoring and Reporting. Criteria for Selecting Performance Management and Reporting Tools. Performance Measurement and Reporting Tools. Event and Fault Management Tools. Configuring Event Generation. Event Collection Tools. Event Correlation Tools. Fault Management Tools. Policy Management Tools. Summary. References. Internet Resources.

II. MANAGING DEVICES AND TECHNOLOGIES.

Hardware Characteristics of Routers. Backplane Bus Architecture in the 7x00 Series Routers. IDBs (Interface Descriptor Blocks). Hardware Buffers. Hardware Characteristics of Catalyst LAN Switches. Environmental Characteristics. Performance Management Data for Router Hardware. MIB Variables for Chassis Information. CLI Commands for Chassis Information. MIB Variables for Card Information. CLI Commands for Card Information. Syslog Messages for Card Information. Chassis and Card Information via the Entity MIB. Performance Management Data for Switches. MIB Variables for Chassis Information. Chassis Information via show version. MIB Variables for Card Information. CLI Commands for Line Card Information. SNMP Traps and Syslog Messages for Chassis and Line Card Information. Chassis and Card Information via the Entity MIB. Error/Fault Data for Router Hardware. MIB Variables for Router Failure. CLI Commands for Router Failure. SNMP Traps for Router Failure [4]. Error/Fault Data for Switch Hardware. MIB Variables for Switch Failures. CLI Commands for Switch Failure. SNMP Traps for Switch Failure. Error/Fault Data for Router Environmental Characteristics. MIB Variables for Voltages (Power Supply). CLI Commands for Voltages. SNMP Traps for Voltages. Syslog Messages for Voltages. MIB Variables for Temperature. CLI Commands for Temperature. SNMP Traps for Temperature. Syslog Messages for Temperature. Error/Fault Data for Switch Environmental Characteristics. MIB Variables for Voltages (Power Supply) and Fan. Voltage and Fan Information via show system. SNMP Traps for Voltage and Fan Information. Syslog Messages for Voltage and Fan Information. MIB Variables for Temperature. Temperature Information via show system. SNMP Traps for Temperature Information. Syslog Messages for Temperature Information. Summary. References. Internet Resources.

Overview of Processor Characteristics. Router Processors. Catalyst Switch Processors. Router Switching Paths. Catalyst Switch Switching Paths. Router Memory. Switch Memory. Router Buffers. Switch Buffers. Performance Data for Router Processors. MIB Variables for Router CPU Utilization. CLI Commands Relating to CPU on the Router. MIB Variables for Router Device Uptime. CLI Commands Relating to sysUptime. MIB Variables for Memory Utilization on Routers. CLI Commands for Memory Usage. MIB Variables for Buffer Utilization on Routers. CLI Commands for Buffer Usage. Correlating Different Router Performance Variables. Correlating High CPU Values. Correlating High Memory Usage and Fragmentation. Correlating Buffer Misses. Performance Data for Switch Processors. MIB Variables for Switch Backplane Utilization. CLI Commands for Switch Processor Backplane Statistics. CLI Commands for Monitoring Traffic Utilization on NMP. MIB Variables for Dynamic CAM Entries. CLI Commands for CAM Entries. MIB Variables for Calculating Logical Ports. CLI Commands for Calculating Logical Ports. Error/Fault Data for Router Processors. MIB Variables for Memory Leaking or Depletion. CLI Commands for Analyzing Memory Usage. Syslog Messages Relating to Memory Issues. MIB Variables for Identifying Router Reloads. CLI Commands for Analyzing Reload Crash Conditions. SNMP Traps Relating to Reload Conditions. Syslog Messages Relating to Reload Conditions. Error/Fault Data for Switch Processors. MIB Variables for Switch and Module "Health" Status. CLI Commands for Analyzing Switch and Module Health. SNMP Traps Relating to Switch Health. Syslog Messages Relating to Switch Health. CLI Commands for Analyzing Switch System Resources. Summary. References. Internet Resources.

Overview of System Interfaces. Special Considerations for Sub-interfaces. Special Considerations for ifIndex. Special Considerations on Interface Counters. Special Considerations on High-Speed Interfaces. Performance Monitoring for System Interfaces. Performance Measurements for Full-Duplex Interfaces. Performance Measurements for Sub-interfaces. MIB Variables for Interface Traffic. CLI Commands for Interface Traffic. Error/Fault Monitoring. Link Status. Link Errors. MIB Variables for Interface Errors. Summary. References. Books. Standard.

Ethernet Overview. Architecture and Theory. Access Method. Collision Domain. Standards. Switched Ethernet Versus Shared Ethernet. Performance Data. MiB Variables for Ethernet Traffic. CLI Commands for Ethernet Traffic. Error/Fault Detection. MIB Variables for Ethernet Errors. MIB Variables for Ethernet Collisions. Syslog Messages Relating to Ethernet Errors. Summary. References. Books. Standards. Paper. Internet Resource.

Overview of ATM. Performance Management. Router/Catalyst Switch Interfaces. LS1010 and Catalyst 8500MSR Interfaces. Fault Management for ATM Interfaces. Router/Catalyst Interfaces. LS1010/8500MSR Interfaces. Summary. References. Books. Standards. Internet Resource.

Overview of VLAN Characteristics. Logical Versus Physical Ports. VLAN Trunking. Spanning Tree (802.1d). Performance Management Data for VLANs. Logical Versus Physical Ports. VLAN Utilization. Error/Fault Data for VLANs. MIBs to Monitor for Spanning Tree Topology Changes. CLI Commands Relating to the Spanning Tree. SNMP Traps Relating to Spanning Tree. syslog Messages Relating to Spanning Tree. Summary. References. Internet Resources.

Overview of Frame Relay. Identifying Frame Relay Interfaces. Identifing Frame Relay Interfaces. Using the Cisco Frame-Relay MIB to Identify the Sub-interface. Performance Data for Frame Relay. Measuring Utilization On Frame Relay Virtual Circuits. Congestion Monitoring. Correlating Performance Variables. Error/Fault Data for Frame Relay. Monitoring Frame Relay Circuit Flapping. Monitoring Frame-Relay Errored Frames. Summary. References. Books. Papers. Standards.

Overview of Dial Networking. Access Physical Resources. Access Logical Resources: Logical Constructs and Logical Interfaces. Key-Managed Modem Benefits. Performance Data for ISDN and Dial. MIB Variables for Modem Status Monitoring. CLI Commands for Modem Status Monitoring. MIB Variables for Monitoring of Connection Statistics. CLI Commands for Monitoring of Connection Statistics. MIB Variables for Monitoring Modem Connection Speeds. CLI Commands for Monitoring Modem-Connection Speeds. MIB Variables for Measuring Modem Utilization of the NAS. CLI Commands for Measuring Utilization of the NAS. MIB Variables for Measuring ISDN Utilization. CLI Commands for Measuring ISDN Utilization. Correlating Variables and Performance Issues. Error/Fault Data for Dial and ISDN. MIB Variables for Monitoring Connection Errors. CLI Commands for Monitoring Connection Statistics. CLI Commands for Monitoring Modem Firmware. MIB Variables for Measuring ISDN/PRI Service. MIB Variables for Monitoring ISDN and Modem Connections. CLI Commands for ISDN/PRI Service. MIB Variables for Monitoring Modem and ISDN Trap States. Syslog Messages for Modem and ISDN Trap Information. Summary. References. Book. Internet Resources.

III. OPTIMAL MANAGEMENT.

Setting Up Telnet Access Characteristics. Set the Terminal Length to 0 When Using Scripts to Gather the Data. Use TACACS+ or RADIUS On the Devices for Access. Setting Up a Loopback Interface. Setting Up NTP. Configuring NTP on a Router. Setting Up SNMP. Enabling SNMP on Cisco Devices. Controlling SNMP Trap Messages. Setting the SNMP Packet Size to the Maximum. Controlling SNMP Access Using Views and Access Lists. Setting Up Logging. Enable Logging on the Cisco device. Timestamp the Log Messages. Source All Messages from the Loopback0 Interface's IP Address. Buffer the Log Messages on the Cisco Device. Setting Up RMON. Setting Up CDP. Setting Up SPAN on a Switch. Summary. References. Internet Resources.

Conventions. General Network Management. How Do I Configure Logging to a syslog Server? How Do I Configure an RMON Threshold? What Threshold Values Should I Use? How Can I Track if a Router or Switch Disappears from the Network? How Do I Graph Data that Require a Calculation? How Can I Enable or Disable Certain Types of Traps? How Can I Collect Information that Is Available in a show Command, but Not Through SNMP? How Can I Force a Router to Consistently Provide the Same Source IP Address for Any Traps or syslog Messages? Why Can't I Collect RMON Statistics from a Switch? System-Related Questions. How Do I Collect CPU Utilization? Collecting CPU Utilization on Catalyst 4000, 5000, and 6000 Series Switches. Why Is IP SNMP Causing High CPU Utilization? How Do I Collect Free and Largest Block of Contiguous Memory? How Do I Collect Catalyst Switch Backplane Utilization? How Can I Measure Router or Switch Health? How Do I Measure the Ratio of Buffer Hits to Misses? How Do I Measure the Ratio of Process-switched Packets to Total Packets? How Can I Avoid a Device Appearing to Be Down if a Single Managed Interface Goes Down? How Can I Track When a Power Supply Dies or a Redundant Supply Changes State? How Do I Track When a Cisco Device Reloads and Determine the Reload Reason? General Interface Management. Can MIB II ifTable Variables (such as ifInOctets) Be Collected from Sub-interfaces? How Can I Collect Interface Utilization and Monitor It Over Time? How Can I Measure Utilization for IOS Sub-interfaces? How Do I Collect Interface Utilization from High-Speed Interfaces such as ATM and Gigabit Ethernet? How Do I Disable/Enable Traps for Specific Router or Switch Ports? Why Does My Interface Utilization Appear to Be Greater than 100 Percent? How Can I Measure Interface Health? How Can I Detect When an Interface Goes Down? How Can I Determine the Bandwidth of an Interface or Sub-interface? How do I Track the Number of Broadcasts Received on a Particular Interface? How Do I Clear Device SNMP Counters? How Can I Collect Interface Information when the Ifindex Always Changes for Interfaces? VLAN/Spanning Tree. How Do I Collect VLAN Utilization? How Can I Track Spanning Tree Topology Changes? Why Do I See the Spanning Tree for Only One VLAN with SNMP? Frame Relay. How Can I Measure the Number of Frame Relay Drops that Occur? How Do I Measure Frame Relay Circuit Utilization? How Can I Detect if a Frame Relay PVC Changes State? ATM, ISDN, and Dial. How Do I Get ATM Sub-interface Traffic Statistics? How Can I Track Rejected Modem and ISDN Calls? How Can I Track Calls that Are Rejected Due to Lack of B Channels or Modem Available? Summary.

IV. APPENDIXES.

Cisco MIB Evolution. Cisco MIB Structure. How to Navigate MIBs on Cisco's Web Site. Researching Support for New Devices and Versions of Code. Compiling MIBs. Getting Trap Definitions for OV and NV. Identifying Unknown Traps.

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