Oracle® Communications IP Service Activator

Network and SLA Monitoring Guide

Release 7.2

E47717-01

October 2013

Oracle Communications IP Service Activator Network and SLA Monitoring Guide, Release 7.2

E47717-01

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Contents

Preface

- Audience

- Documentation Accessibility

1 Overview

- Introduction

- Measurement Types

- External Systems

- Configurable XML Exporter

- Integration with InfoVista

- Integration with MicroMuse

- Getting Started

2 Service Assurance Agent Measurement

- About Service Assurance Agent

- SAA Operations

- Configuration Considerations

- Topology

- One-way and Two-way Probes

- Unmanaged Devices

- Supported Operations

- SAA Responder

- SAA Templates

- Applications in IP Service Activator

- MPLS VPN

- Measurement-only VPN

- Configuring SAA

- Configuration Prerequisites

- Deployment Considerations

- Configuring SAA Measurements for Different VPN Connections

- Configuring SAA for a CE to CE Connection

- Configuring SAA for a PE to PE Connection using Shadow Routers

- Configuring SAA for a PE to CE Connection using a Shadow Router

- Configuring SAA Measurement in IP Service Activator

- Creating an SAA Template

- Adding an SAA Operation to a Template

- Creating a Measurement-only VPN

- Applying an SAA Template to a VPN

3 MIB-based and NetFlow Measurements

- Overview of MIB and NetFlow-based Measurements

- About Committed Access Rate MIB

- About MIB2

- About NetFlow

- NetFlow Architecture and Components

- About Flows

- About UDP Formats

- About Aggregation

- Configuring Measurement Types in IP Service Activator

- Configuration Considerations

- Reports

- Policy Target Levels

- CAR MIBs

- NetFlow

- Applying NetFlow or MIB-based Measurements to a Policy Target

4 Setting Up IP Service Activator for Integration

- Modeling External Systems

- Types of External System

- Creating an External System

- Creating Collectors

- Roles and Measurement Parameters

- Creating a Collector in IP Service Activator

5 Generic Exporter

- Generic Exporter Integration with IP Service Activator

- Key Integration Components

- TopologyExporter.xml Filtering

- Customizing Integration

- TopologyExporterConfig.xml

- TopologyExporter.xsl

- TopologyExporter.txt

- Invoking the Generic Exporter

- Configuring the Generic Exporter SNMP Community String

- Error Reporting

6 InfoVista Integration

- Integration with IP Service Activator

- Key Integration Components

- InfoVista Integration Files

- IP Service Activator Objects and InfoVista Vistas

- Object Model Synchronization

- InfoVista Object Mapping

- InfoVista.xml Filtering

- Customizing InfoVista Integration

- InfoVistaExportConfig.xml

- InfoVista.xsl

- InfoVista.txt

- def.txt

- Report.pl

- General Configuration Tasks

- Invoking the InfoVista Integration Module

- Configuring the InfoVista Integration Module SNMP Community String

- Importing IP Service Activator Integration Files into InfoVista

- Importing the Def.txt and Report.pl Files into InfoVista

- Importing the IP Service Activator InfoVista.txt File into InfoVista

- Reports

- Report Naming Conventions

- Interpreting Reports

- Specifying Additional Object Information

- Deployment

- Error Reporting

7 Micromuse Integration

- Integration with IP Service Activator

- Key Integration Components

- Micromuse Integration Files

- Micromuse Object Mapping

- Customizing Micromuse Integration

- MicromuseExportConfig.xml

- Micromuse.xsl

- Invoking the Micromuse Integration Module

- Specifying Additional Object Information

- MicromuseExport.xml Filtering

- Deployment

- Error Reporting

A TopologyExporterConfig.xml Fields

- TopologyExporterConfig.xml Fields

Preface

This guide provides information about how Oracle Communications IP Service Activator can be integrated with third-party reporting systems to offer network and SLA monitoring.

Audience

This guide is intended for network administrators who want to integrate IP Service Activator with third-party reporting systems and applications that offer network and SLA monitoring.

Documentation Accessibility

For information about Oracle's commitment to accessibility, visit the Oracle Accessibility Program website at http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup?ctx=acc&id=docacc.

Access to Oracle Support

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1 Overview

This chapter provides a brief overview of the use of network and SLA monitoring with Oracle Communications IP Service Activator.

Introduction

IP Service Activator integrates with a wide range of third-party reporting systems and applications to offer network and SLA monitoring. To do this, network measurement parameters are first configured in IP Service Activator to generate network statistics from the devices. A third-party reporting tool is then set up to collect and process the performance data.

Note:
Measurement and SLA monitoring are currently supported on Cisco IOS-based devices only.

Measurement Types

IP Service Activator supports a range of measurement types that enable the measurement of point-to-point performance, or performance at a specific point in the network. The following measurement types are supported:

- Service Assurance Agent (SAA): a Cisco technology that performs point-to-point measurement based on key SLA metrics such as response time, network resources, availability, jitter, connect time and packet loss.

- CAR MIB statistics: report on performance of CAR-enabled interfaces. Used to monitor bandwidth usage.

- MIB2 statistics: report on Management Information Bases (MIBs) in MIB2 format. Their variables indicate the basic state of the network, such as load, availability, discards, broadcast rate.

- NetFlow: a Cisco technology that enables you to characterize and analyze an IP flow on an interface. It is often used as a metering base for other applications, including accounting and billing, network planning, and marketing.

SAA measurements can be collected for pairs of peer devices (CE to CE, or between Virtual CEs, or between a CE and Virtual CE) within a VPN, either an MPLS VPN or a measurement-only VPN, with no MPLS configuration applied. Measurement is applied by defining an SAA template that holds one or more SAA operations and applying the template to a VPN.

NetFlow and MIB-based measurements can be collected for any IP Service Activator policy target; that is, a domain, network, customer, VPN, site, device, interface, sub-interface or VC endpoint. Measurement is applied using a measurement template which can be selectively inherited to lower level policy targets using device and interface roles. This means that you can apply measurement at a high level, such as the network, and implement measurement only at selected points in the network.

External Systems

IP Service Activator uses external systems to model third-party applications in the user interface and object model. When setting up reporting and measurement, one or more external systems must be modelled through the IP Service Activator user interface.

The type and number of external systems that must be modelled depends on the reporting software used.

If Concord's eHealth Suite is used for reporting, a single eHealth suite must be modeled.

For complete information about modelling external systems, see "Modeling External Systems".

Configurable XML Exporter

The Configurable XML Exporter runs as a client of the OSS Integration Manager (OIM). Based on information contained in a local configuration file, the Configurable XML Exporter creates an export file that can be used by a third-party reporting tool to collect data for report purposes.

The local configuration file specifies the following information:

- The IP Service Activator IP address

- The data, including type and scope, to extract from the object model

- The number of XSL style sheets to apply to the XML data

- The name of the final export file

Integration with InfoVista

IP Service Activator's InfoVista Integration module enables InfoVista to monitor and report on IP Service Activator's IP services. The solution offers a range of monitoring techniques that support SLA monitoring of point-to-point services, such as VPNs, as well as performance of specific interfaces.

Integration between IP Service Activator and InfoVista occurs in the following way:

- IP Service Activator's Configurable XML Exporter creates an export file that identifies which data to collect for the InfoVista reports

- InfoVista uses Vista Provisioner to import the export file and generate the necessary reports

As shown in Figure 1-1, IP Service Activator uses the InfoVista Configurable XML Exporter utility to export object model data in XML format. The exported data is then transformed by one or more XSL style sheets into a format that can be imported by Vista Provisioner.

Figure 1-1 InfoVista and IP Service Activator Integration

The export of data between IP Service Activator and InfoVista can occur on demand or can be scripted to occur on a scheduled basis using a cron task.

Integration with MicroMuse

IP Service Activator's Micromuse Integration Module enables Micromuse Netcool to monitor and report on IP Service Activator's IP services. The solution offers a range of monitoring techniques that support SLA monitoring of point-to-point services, such as VPNs, as well as performance of specific interfaces.

Integration between IP Service Activator and Micromuse occurs in the following way:

- IP Service Activator's Configurable XML Exporter creates an export file that identifies which data to collect for the Micromuse reports

- Micromuse Netcool Impact Server imports the exported XML file and generates the necessary reports

As shown in Figure 1-2, IP Service Activator uses the Micromuse Configurable XML Exporter utility to export object model data in XML format. The exported data is then transformed by one or more XSL style sheets into a format that can be imported by the Micromuse Netcool Impact Server.

Figure 1-2 Micromuse and IP Service Activator Integration

The export of data between IP Service Activator and Micromuse can occur on demand or can be scripted to occur on a scheduled basis using a cron task.

Getting Started

To set up network and SLA monitoring in IP Service Activator, you must first configure the devices in IP Service Activator to generate statistics for the various measurement types.

To do this, refer to the following chapters:

- Service Assurance Agent Measurement

- MIB-based and NetFlow Measurements

Once the devices are configured to generate statistics, you should then set up the third-party reporting tool to collect the statistics and generate reports.

Procedures on how to do this are covered in the following chapters:

- Setting Up IP Service Activator for Integration

- InfoVista Integration

- Micromuse Integration

2 Service Assurance Agent Measurement

This chapter provides information about using Service Assurance Agent (SAA) Measurement with Oracle Communications IP Service Activator.

About Service Assurance Agent

Service Assurance Agent (SAA) is a Cisco technology that measures key SLA metrics such as response time, network resources, availability, jitter, connect time and packet loss between two devices (CE to CE, or between Virtual CEs, or between a CE and Virtual CE - in this chapter, the term &rsquor;device' can refer to a CE or a Virtual CE). Figure 2-1 illustrates this concept.

Figure 2-1 SAA Monitoring SLA Metrics between CE Devices

For measurements to or from a Virtual CE, you drag the CE device into the SAA VPN site and you also add the Virtual CE object. After this is completed, you can perform measurements between Virtual CEs and between CEs and Virtual-CEs in addition to CE to CE measurements.

SAA is also referred to as Response Time Reporter (RTR).

Note:
IPv6 SAA is implemented as IP SLA rather than RTR.

SAA's measurement features are built into the Cisco IOS software, supporting response time monitoring without the need to purchase and deploy additional equipment and software in the network. This feature may represent significant cost and management savings.

For information on device and IOS support, see IP Service Activator Cisco IOS Cartridge Guide.

SAA Operations

When you apply SAA to a VPN, Oracle Communications IP Service Activator tests the connection between pairs of sites in the VPN. The SAA operation that performs the test is configured at the device level.

Also known as probes, SAA operations collect response time and availability information. An operation is configured on a device and tests the connection to a target device by placing synthetic packets in the network. The packets simulate other forms of network traffic, depending on the type of operation that has been configured. Each SAA operation has a unique ID number that enables tracking of the operation.

This section details how different VPN configurations can affect the implementation of SAA operations. The SAA operations supported by IP Service Activator are also covered.

Configuration Considerations

The number of operations that are configured when you apply SAA to a VPN depends on the topology of the VPN and whether you choose to configure one or two-way tests.

Unmanaged devices can also be configured for SAA measurement by modelling the device as a virtual device in IP Service Activator.

Topology

The number of tests performed depends on the VPN's topology and whether the probe properties are set to half or full duplex:

- In a fully-meshed VPN, IP Service Activator tests the connection between each pair of sites, as shown in Figure 2-2.

Figure 2-2 Connection Tests in a Fully-Meshed VPN

- In a hub and spoke VPN, IP Service Activator tests the connection between the hub site and each spoke site, as shown in Figure 2-3.

Figure 2-3 Connection Tests in a Hub and Spoke VPN

If there are multiple hub sites and they are meshed, IP Service Activator also tests the connection between each pair of hub sites.

One-way and Two-way Probes

When you apply SAA to a VPN, you can specify whether the probe configured for each pair of sites is:

- A one-way (half duplex): an operation is configured on only one device in the connection

- A two-way (full duplex): an operation is configured on both devices in the connection

For TCP Connect, UDP Echo and Jitter operations, IP Service Activator also configures SAA Responder on target devices probed by one of these operations.

One-way Probes

For a one-way probe, IP Service Activator configures the operation on only one device for each A to B pair.

For hub and spoke VPNs, a probe is configured on each spoke, testing the connection from the spoke to the hub. These probes are shown in Figure 2-4.

Figure 2-4 One-way Probes in a Hub and Spoke VPN

For fully-meshed VPNs, IP Service Activator chooses one of the devices in each pair and configures the probe on that device only, ensuring that the load imposed by SAA is evenly distributed between devices. These probes are shown in Figure 2-5

Figure 2-5 One-way Probes in a Fully-Meshed VPN

Two-way Probes

For a two-way probe, IP Service Activator configures the operation on both devices for each A to B pair.

For hub and spoke VPNs, an operation is configured on each spoke, with the hub as the target, and on the hub an operation is configured to probe each spoke connection. These operations are shown in Figure 2-6.

Figure 2-6 Two-way Probes in a Hub and Spoke VPN

If there are multiple hub sites and they are meshed, IP Service Activator probes the connection between each pair of hub sites.

For fully-meshed VPNs, probes are performed between each pair of sites. These probes are show in Figure 2-7.

Figure 2-7 Two-way Probes in a Fully-Meshed VPN

Unmanaged Devices

An unmanaged device is a device that is not managed by IP Service Activator. It is possible to test the connection from a managed device to an unmanaged device by modelling the unmanaged device as a virtual router. The virtual device is set up as the destination device in a one-way probe. One or more managed devices can then send test packets to the virtual device.

For information on modelling a virtual device, see IP Service Activator User's Guide.

Note:
When testing the connection to a virtual device, Jitter, UDP Echo and TCP Connect operations require the manual configuration of rtr responder on the target device. IP Service Activator cannot configure rtr responder on an unmanaged (virtual) device.
The connection to a virtual device can be tested in one direction only; that is, from the managed to the unmanaged device.

Supported Operations

Table 2-1 summarizes IP Service Activator's support for SAA operations.

Table 2-1 Supported SAA Operations

Operation

Description

ICMP Echo

Measures end-to-end response time between a Cisco router and devices using IP.

UDP Echo

Calculates UDP response times between a Cisco router and an IP-enabled device.

TCP Connect

Discovers the time it takes to connect to a target device.

Jitter

A super set of the UDP Echo operation. The Jitter operation additionally measures per-direction packet-loss and jitter (inter-packet delay variance).

For detailed information about these operations, consult the Cisco documentation.

Note:
The number of SAA operations that can be configured on a Cisco device is limited by the router's IOS and hardware specification. Devices running IOS 12.1 or later support a maximum of 500 operations.

For UDP Echo, ICMP and Jitter operations, the target device may not natively provide the service. You can specify whether the operation sends a control message to the target device to enable the destination port prior to sending a packet.

When you push ICMP probe to the device IP Service Activator doesn't activate RTR responder on the device. In this case, you must manually activate the RTR responder on the device.

For all operations, you can define the rising or falling threshold for response times to the operation's test packets. A variety of algorithms are available for calculating a violation. You can also specify how long the operation waits for a response, whether error checking is performed and whether loss of connection is reported for connection-oriented protocols. You can specify what happens when a threshold is violated or a timeout or error condition occurs, either sending an SNMP trap or an SNA NMVT alert. An SNA NMVT alert is an SNA message that conveys network management specific information.

Note:
IP Service Activator does not configure the target address for an SNMP trap or SNA NMVT alert. If you wish to send an SNMP trap or SNA NMVT alert, you must manually configure the target address details on the relevant devices.
If you are generating reports using InfoVista, note that InfoVista does not respond to SNMP traps sent as a result of a violated threshold, timeout or loss of connection.

SAA Responder

UDP Echo, Jitter and TCP Connect operations use non-native services to test the connection to a target device. The SAA Responder enables a router to respond to these operation types and must be configured on target devices. IP Service Activator automatically configures an SAA Responder on the relevant devices.

SAA Templates

In IP Service Activator, an SAA template acts as a container for one or more SAA operations. A template may contain configuration details for different operation types, such as UDP and Jitter, or TCP Connect and Jitter. Once defined, a template can be applied to any number of VPNs.

For information on the limits that operate when defining an SAA template and applying SAA to a VPN, see "Creating an SAA Template".

Applications in IP Service Activator

IP Service Activator can apply SAA measurements to both MPLS and measurement-only VPNs.

MPLS VPN

When you apply SAA to a VPN, IP Service Activator configures operations between pairs of devices within the VPN. The number of operations configured depends on the VPN's topology and whether connections are tested in one or both directions. For more information, refer to the "Configuration Considerations".

Applying SAA to an MPLS VPN is suitable only where the VPN has a small number of sites or has a hub and spoke topology. If the VPN topology is fully-meshed, IP Service Activator configures a full mesh of SAA operations. The number of operations configured on each device will therefore be one less than the number of sites in the VPN.

SAA is processor intensive and significantly affects device performance. The greater the number of sites in the VPN, the greater the number of operations configured on each device.

If you choose to deploy more than one SAA operation, for example, Jitter and TCP Connect, operations are configured for each type.

Measurement-only VPN

A measurement-only VPN allows you to apply SAA to a subset of devices in an MPLS VPN or to apply SAA without configuring an MPLS VPN. A measurement-only VPN can be used to:

- Group a subset of devices that belong to an MPLS VPN and apply SAA to those devices.
This enables you to measure the connection between selected devices in an MPLS VPN, where the size of the VPN or its topology makes measuring all connections unfeasible.

Figure 2-8 illustrates this idea. All CE devices are members of an MPLS VPN. To reduce the number of operations configured, however, only the connection between CE1 and CE2 is measured. This is achieved by overlaying the MPLS VPN with a measurement-only VPN and applying SAA to the measurement-only VPN.

Figure 2-8 Measurement-only VPN Overlay

- Group devices that do not participate in an MPLS VPN and apply SAA measurement.
This enables you to measure a connection between any pair of devices without the need to configure MPLS.

Configuring SAA

SAA Measurement is configured in IP Service Activator by defining an SAA template that holds one or more SAA operations and applying the template to a VPN.

This section covers the following topics:

- Configuration Prerequisites

- Deployment Considerations

- Configuring SAA Measurements for Different VPN Connections

- Configuring SAA Measurement in IP Service Activator

For more information on the Service Assurance Agent, refer to the Cisco documentation.

Configuration Prerequisites

Before configuring SAA in IP Service Activator, ensure that the following pre-requisites are implemented:

- The RTT-MON MIB v2.1.0 or later must be present on the devices that you want to configure an SAA operation.

- Given that memory problems are common, the following command should be run on CE devices before configuring the SAA probes:

Global config mode
rtr low-memory #

Where # is an integer that is equal to 25% of the memory available in the system. For more information, refer to the Cisco documentation.

- If you intend to generate reports based on the SAA measurement, there may be additional pre-requisites associated with the reporting tool. For more information about the reporting tool's measurement requirements, see one of the following chapters, depending on which reporting tool you intend to use: Generic Exporter, InfoVista Integration, or Micromuse Integration.

Deployment Considerations

This section highlights some of the deployment considerations associated with applying SAA using IP Service Activator.

- Check the device's capabilities to determine which operation types are supported. The operation types can be found on the device object's Properties page in the Capabilities section, as shown in Figure 2-9.

Figure 2-9 Device Capabilities

- Make sure that you specify the correct device roles when defining data collection points. For more information, see "Creating Collectors".

- Ensure that you apply SAA templates only to the VPNs that you want to measure.

Configuring SAA Measurements for Different VPN Connections

SAA measurement can be set up for the following VPN connections:

- Configuring SAA for a CE to CE Connection

- Configuring SAA for a PE to PE Connection using Shadow Routers

- Configuring SAA for a PE to CE Connection using a Shadow Router

You can also test the connection to an unmanaged device by modelling it as a virtual router. For more information, see "Unmanaged Devices".

A shadow router is a device dedicated to SAA measurements in a service provider's Points of Presence (POP). Deploying shadow routers enables realistic PE to PE or PE to CE metrics to be gathered and protects measurement routers from customers. A PE device may have any number of shadow routers attached to it.

When configuring SAA measurements for different VPN connections, you may need to refer to the following additional references:

- For information on setting up a VPN, see IP Service Activator VPN User's Guide.

- Refer to the section "Configuring SAA Measurement in IP Service Activator" for procedures on how to:

- Create an SAA template and apply it to a VPN.

- Create a measurement-only VPN.

Configuring SAA for a CE to CE Connection

By deploying SAA on CE devices (or Virtual CEs), as shown in Figure 2-10, you can capture information about the complete end-to-end performance of a VPN service.

Figure 2-10 SAA for CE to CE Connections

You can only test a CE to CE connection where one or both CE devices are managed. An unmanaged device may be modelled as a virtual router and a one-way test performed. See "Unmanaged Devices".

There are two alternatives for monitoring a CE to CE connection:

- Apply SAA to the MPLS VPN: this setup is feasible only in some scenarios. See "Configuration Considerations" and "MPLS VPN".

- Overlap an MPLS VPN with a measurement-only VPN populated by a subset of the CE devices and apply SAA to the measurement-only VPN

To apply SAA to a CE to CE connection in an MPLS VPN:

1. Create a Management VPN populated by the CE devices and the management station.

2. Create an MPLS VPN where each site consists of a CE device and a PE interface.

3. Apply an SAA template to the MPLS VPN.

To apply SAA to a CE to CE connection in a measurement-only VPN:

1. Create a Management VPN populated by the CE devices and the management station.

2. Create an MPLS VPN where each site consists of a CE device and a PE interface.

3. Create a measurement-only VPN, populated by a subset of the MPLS VPN's CE devices.
You do not need to associate the PE interface with the measurement-only VPN's sites.

4. Apply an SAA template to the measurement-only VPN.

For information about setting up a VPN, see IP Service Activator VPN User's Guide.

For information about creating and applying an SAA template and creating a measurement only VPN, see "Configuring SAA Measurement in IP Service Activator".

Configuring SAA for a PE to PE Connection using Shadow Routers

PE to PE measurement provides information about the performance across the network backbone.

If you wish to collect PE to PE metrics, you must deploy shadow routers.

In IP Service Activator, a shadow router behaves in a similar way to a CE device: it may be associated with a site and have a VRF table associated with it, a protocol may be specified for connection to the PE device, and so on.

IP Service Activator includes a system-defined Shadow role which must be assigned to the shadow devices. For information on assigning a role to a device, see IP Service Activator User's Guide.

Figure 2-11 SAA for PE to PE Connections using Shadow Routers

The PE device to which a shadow router is attached may participate in more than one MPLS VPN, where each VPN belongs to a different customer. If you wish to view performance metrics per customer in IP Service Activator using an integrated reporting tool, you must create a measurement-only VPN for each customer. Populate the measurement-only VPN with the relevant shadow routers and apply SAA to the VPN.

To apply SAA to a PE to PE connection using shadow routers:

1. Create a Management VPN populated by the shadow routers and the management station.

2. Create an MPLS VPN where each site is a shadow router and a PE interface.

3. If you wish to group a subset of shadow routers by customer, create a measurement-only VPN populated by the relevant shadow routers.

4. Apply an SAA template to the MPLS VPN and, if created, each measurement-only VPN.

For information about setting up a VPN, see IP Service Activator VPN User's Guide.

For information about creating and applying an SAA template and creating a measurement only VPN, see "Configuring SAA Measurement in IP Service Activator".

Configuring SAA for a PE to CE Connection using a Shadow Router

PE-CE metrics provide information about the connection between the service provider's POP and a customer site. A shadow router must be deployed at the PE device, as shown in Figure 2-12.

Figure 2-12 SAA for PE to CE Connections using a Shadow Router

If the CE device is not managed it is possible to test the connection to it by modelling the device as a virtual router. See "Unmanaged Devices".

To apply SAA to a PE to CE connection using a shadow router:

1. Create a Management VPN that contains the shadow routers and the management station and, optionally, the CE devices.
Alternatively, you can create two Management VPNs: one for the shadow routers and one for the CE devices.

2. Create an MPLS VPN where each site is a CE device and a PE interface.

3. Create a measurement-only VPN populated by a shadow router attached to one of the MPLS VPN's PE devices and one or more of the CE devices attached to the PE device.

4. Apply an SAA template to the measurement-only VPN.

For information about setting up a VPN, see IP Service Activator VPN User's Guide.

For information about creating and applying an SAA template and creating a measurement only VPN, see "Configuring SAA Measurement in IP Service Activator".

Configuring SAA Measurement in IP Service Activator

This section covers the following procedures:

- Creating an SAA Template

- Adding an SAA Operation to a Template

- Creating a Measurement-only VPN

- Applying an SAA Template to a VPN

Creating an SAA Template

By default, an SAA template has:

- A maximum of 1024 devices may participate in the VPN

- A maximum of 4 Type of Service (ToS) values may be used within the VPN

- A maximum of 4 operation types may be applied to the VPN

However, you can adjust these VPN-specific limits by specifying the amount of space that IP Service Activator allocates to store device, ToS value or operation type data.

Figure 2-13 Adjusting the SAA Template Values

By adjusting the values of Device ID Bits, TOS Bits, and SAA Bits, you can increase the number of devices within the VPN, the number of operations, or the number of operation types that can be applied. The values specified for these three fields must add up to exactly 14. If you choose to increase the number of bits allocated to the device ID, you must reduce either the number of bits allocated to the ToS value or the SAA operation type.

If you wish to apply more than one operation to a single peer-to-peer connection in a VPN, you must ensure that either the ToS value or the operation type differs between the operations. This is because IP Service Activator bases each operation's unique RTR (Round Time Response) number on the ToS value and operation type (in combination with other types).

To create an SAA template:

1. On the System tab, right-click on the SAA Templates folder.

2. Select Add SAA Template from the context menu.
The SAA Template dialog box opens.

3. Specify values including Name, Details, Device ID Bits, TOS Bits, and SAA Bits.

4. Click OK and commit the transaction.

Adding an SAA Operation to a Template

You can only configure SAA operations to test the connection between two devices that are in the same customer VPNs.

To add an SAA operation to a template:

1. On the System tab, open the SAA Templates folder.

2. Right-click on the SAA template and select Add SAA Operation from the context menu.
The SAA Operation dialog box appears.

3. On the SAA Operation property page, specify values including Type, Source port, Destination Port, Request size, ToS, Control, Packets in sequence, Inter-packet interval, History lives kept, History filter, History buckets, and Tag Value.

4. Select the Threshold property page.

5. Specify values including Type, Rising, Falling, Repetitions, X, Y, Average, and Action.

6. Select the Other property page.

7. Specify values including Period, Timeout, Lifetime, Half duplex, Full duplex, Error checking, Connect checking, and Timeout checking.

Creating a Measurement-only VPN

You can use SAA to measure the point-to-point connection between any pair of devices without configuring an MPLS VPN.

To apply SAA without configuring an MPLS VNP:

1. Apply the appropriate roles to the relevant devices.
You can associate devices tagged with the Access or Shadow role with sites in a VPN.

2. Associate each device with a site. For Virtual CE measurements, you also associate the Virtual CE to the site.
You do not need to associate an interface with the site.

3. If needed, specify the device's (or Virtual CE's) SAA destination and source measurement address as follows:

1. Open the Device/Virtual CE dialog box.

2. Select the SAA property page. Note that attributes on the Virtual CE SAA property page are different than those on the Device SAA property page.

3. Configure Measurement Probe Destination Address in one of two ways:

- Select Use device management address to use the device management IP address set up on the Device property page as the SAA destination measurement address.

- Select Use and from the drop down list and choose one of the interfaces previously discovered on the device.

4. Configure Measurement Probe Source Address in one of four ways:

- Select Use Measurement Probe Destination Address to use the Measurement Probe Destination Address as the Measurement probe source address in the device.

- Select Use Device Management Address to use the Device Management Address as the Measurement probe source address in the device.

- Select Use and from the drop-down menu select an address from the other available addresses in the device as the Measurement probe source address.

- Select Not configured to avoid configuring the Measurement probe source address in the device.

5. Select Use and select an IP address from the drop-down list of interfaces that have previously been discovered by the device.

4. For each site:

1. Right-click on the site and select Properties from the context menu to open the Site dialog box.

2. Select the Connectivity property page.

3. In the Routing Type field, select None.

5. Create a VPN by right-clicking on the VPN folder and selecting Add MPLS VPN from the context menu.

6. Ensure that the Use MPLS option on the VPN property page of the VPN dialog box is cleared to effectively create a measurement-only VPN.

7. Add the relevant sites to the VPN.

Applying an SAA Template to a VPN

To apply an SAA template to a VPN:

1. On the Service tab, select the relevant VPN and select Properties from the VPN's context menu.
VPNs are listed in the VPNs folder beneath the relevant customer.

2. Select the Measurement property page.

3. In the SAA Measurement field, select an SAA template from the drop-down list.

If a site is a member of more than one VPN to which SAA measurement is applied, there may potentially be one operation per VPN configured on the device, depending on the VPN's topology and whether one or two-way tests are performed. For information on the factors that affect the number of operations configured within a VPN, see "SAA Operations".

3 MIB-based and NetFlow Measurements

This chapter provides information about measuring performance in Oracle Communications IP Service Activator using MIB-based and NetFlow measurements.

Overview of MIB and NetFlow-based Measurements

Oracle Communications IP Service Activator allows you to measure performance based on various information sources other than SAA probes. You can apply CAR MIB, MIB2 and NetFlow measurement types to any policy target, including a customer, VPN, device or VC endpoint.

Measurement is set up by applying a measurement parameter to a policy target. Measurement types are inherited in the same way as rules and PHB groups. Device and interface roles provide fine-grained control over the application of NetFlow and MIB-based measurements.

Once the measurement parameters are configured, a third party reporting tool can then set up to collect and process the performance data. For more information, refer to the following chapters:

- Setting Up IP Service Activator for Integration

- InfoVista Integration

- Micromuse Integration

A third party reporting tool, such as InfoVista, can then be used to view measurement-based reports.

About Committed Access Rate MIB

Committed Access Rate (CAR) is configured on router interfaces. It is used to limit the input and output traffic rates, control bandwidth usage and implement a selective IP entry policy.

CAR MIB reports provide a clear picture of the performance of each interface channel based on its CAR configuration. CAR MIB polls the following MIBs:

- CISCO-CAR-MIB

- CISCO-SMI-MIB

About MIB2

MIB2 measurement polls variables defined in any MIB2 format MIB. The MIB and the variables polled depend on the reporting tool used to generate reports. For example, if InfoVista is used for reporting, a range of MIBs are queried, including the Cisco Memory Pool MIB, Cisco AAL5 MIB and the IF MIB.

Applying MIB2 measurement provides information about the basic state of the network; for example, load, availability, discards, broadcast rate. Monitoring MIB2 values can provide useful information for detecting escalating error conditions and to determine trends that aid in capacity planning.

There is no device configuration associated with MIB2 measurement.

About NetFlow

NetFlow is a Cisco-specific feature that enables you to characterize and analyze an IP flow on an interface with minimal impact on router performance. Often used as a metering base for other applications, including accounting and billing, network planning, and marketing, NetFlow generates flow-based statistics per interface and the information produced is highly granular. NetFlow is often deployed at the PE interface within an MPLS VPN but can be applied at any point in the network.

Flow-based statistics are gathered on the router and stored in a cache. At intervals, the router exports its stored information in the form of NetFlow UDP datagrams to collector software; the software varies, depending on which reporting tool you wish to use (see "Creating Collectors"). A range of UDP formats is supported; later versions minimize bandwidth usage by aggregating data before export from the device.

The NetFlow measurement parameter specifies which version of UDP to use for exporting flow data and any aggregation that should be applied before export. The device driver configures NetFlow on the device according to the parameters defined in IP Service Activator.

For information on IP Service Activator support for NetFlow by device and IOS, see the IP Service Activator Cisco cartridge guides.

This section covers the following NetFlow topics:

- NetFlow Architecture and Components

- About Flows

- About UDP Formats

- About Aggregation

NetFlow Architecture and Components

In any NetFlow deployment, collection software gathers exported flow data from monitored devices. IP Service Activator currently supports the following collection software:

- Vista Plug-in for NetFlow for use with InfoVista Server

- Cisco's NetFlow FlowCollector

Oracle recommends that you install the collection software on a dedicated host machine. A number of collectors may be distributed throughout the network, with each collector gathering data from a subset of devices.

About Flows

A flow is a unidirectional stream of packets between a source and a destination. Both of these parameters are defined by a network-layer IP address and a transport-layer source and destination port number. A flow is identified by the combination of the following seven field values:

- Source IP address

- Destination IP address

- Source port number

- Destination port number

- Layer 3 protocol type

- ToS byte

- Input logical interface (ifIndex)

Together, these key fields define a unique flow. Additional accounting fields appear in the flow and these vary depending on which UDP format version packets have been selected for export from the device (see "About UDP Formats").

Flows are processed in a NetFlow cache. NetFlow creates a NetFlow cache entry that contains information for all active flows. Within the cache, a flow record is maintained for each active flow. Each flow record contains key fields that can be used for exporting to a collection device.

The router checks the cache once per second and expires the flow if one or more of the following conditions are met:

- Transport is completed

- The cache is full

- The inactive timer has expired after traffic inactivity for the specified number of seconds

- The active timer has expired after traffic activity for the specified number of minutes

About UDP Formats

NetFlow data is exported from the router as a UDP datagram in one of the five formats: Version 1, Version 5, Version 7, Version 8, or Version 9. The datagram consists of a header and one or more flow records.

IP Service Activator supports the following formats:

- Version 1: the first released version and should only be used if you need to support a legacy collection system. Typically, records are exported when the NetFlow cache is full or the flow or the timer has expired.

- Version 5: based on version 1 with the addition of BGP AS information and flow sequence numbers.

- Version 8: supports router-based aggregation of flows in additional aggregation caches. As flows expire from the main cache, they are added to each enabled aggregation cache. This format allows for export datagrams to contain a subset of Version 5 export data, which is valid for a particular aggregation cache scheme.

- Version 9: a flexible and extensible means to carry NetFlow records from a network node to a collector. The version has definable record types and is self-describing for easier NetFlow Collection Engine configuration. In this version:

- Record formats are defined using templates.

- Template descriptions are communicated from the router to the NetFlow Collection Engine.

- Flow records are sent from the router to the NetFlow Collection Engine with minimal template information so that the NetFlow Collection Engine can relate the records to the appropriate template.

- The version is independent of the underlying transport (UDP, TCP, SCTP, and so on).

IP Service Activator indicates which UDP versions are supported by the device in the device capabilities. For information on retrieving and viewing device capabilities, see IP Service Activator User's Guide.

For detailed information on which UDP versions are supported by a particular device, consult the Cisco documentation.

About Aggregation

Aggregating NetFlow data on the router before exporting in Version 8 format provides a number of benefits:

- It reduces the bandwidth required between the router and the machine that collects the exported NetFlow data.

- It reduces the amount of flows sent to the collector software for processing.

- It improves the scalability of high-flow-per-second routers, such as the Cisco 7500 series routers.

A range of aggregation schemes is available and you can configure each aggregation scheme with a cache size, timeout value, export destination IP address and export destination UDP port.

As flows expire in the main NetFlow cache, relevant information is extracted from the expired flow and the relevant flow entry in an aggregation cache is updated. One or more aggregation caches may be maintained, depending on the number of aggregation schemes selected for export. Each aggregation cache contains different field combinations that determine which data flows are grouped.

Note:
In IP Service Activator you can implement only one aggregation scheme on a device. The aggregation cache parameters (size, timeout value, and so on) are the same as those defined for the main NetFlow cache.

Data is always exported from an aggregation cache in v8 format.

The following aggregation schemes are available:

- AS aggregation: generates AS-to-AS traffic flow data. The scheme groups data flows by source BGP AS, destination BGP AS, input interface and output interface.

- Destination prefix: supports examination of flows by destination. The scheme groups data flows by destination prefix, destination prefix mask, destination BGP AS and output interface.

- Prefix aggregation: supports examination of flows by source and destination. The scheme groups data flows by source prefix, destination prefix, source prefix mask, destination prefix mask, source BGP AS, destination BGP AS, input interface and output interface.

- Protocol port aggregation: supports examination of network usage by traffic type. The scheme groups data flows by IP protocol, source port number and destination port number when applicable.

- Source prefix aggregation: supports examination of flows by source. The scheme groups data flows by source prefix, source prefix mask, source BGP AS and input interface.

Note:
If you are generating NetFlow reports in IP Service Activator, note that some aggregation schemes may not be supported by the integrated reporting software. Consult the relevant SLA monitoring guide or third-party documentation for details of supported schemes.

Configuring Measurement Types in IP Service Activator

This section gives conceptual and procedural information about configuring measurement types in IP Service Activator.

Configuration Considerations

Depending on the type of measurement being configured and its intended use, any one of the following considerations should be taken into account when configuring a measurement parameter in IP Service Activator:

- Reports

- Policy Target Levels

- CAR MIBs

- NetFlow

Reports

If you intend to generate reports based on these measurement types, there may be additional requirements associated with the reporting tool. For more information about the reporting tool's measurement requirements, see one of the following chapters, depending on which reporting tool you intend to use: Generic Exporter, InfoVista Integration, or Micromuse Integration.

Policy Target Levels

Measurement is automatically inherited to policy targets at a lower level, down to the device level. Below this level, device and interface roles specify where measurement is inherited to.

When you configure a measurement parameter, you must specify at which level measurement is activated, and this varies depending on the measurement type, as shown in Table 3-1.

Table 3-1 Measurement Levels by Type

Measurement

Device Level

Interface Level

Sub-interface Level

PVC Level

CAR MIB

N/A

Select one or more options (mandatory)

Select one or more options (mandatory)

Select one or more options (mandatory)

MIB2

Select one or more options (mandatory)

Select one or more options (mandatory)

Select one or more options (mandatory)

Select one or more options (mandatory)

NetFlow

Mandatory

Select one or more options (mandatory)

Select one or more options (mandatory)

Select one or more options (mandatory)

NetFlow is generally applied to Access interfaces on PE devices; that is, as close to the customer site as possible.

CAR MIBs

If you want to apply the CAR MIB measurement on an IP Service Activator object, the following MIBs must be present on the devices where measurement is implemented:

- CISCO-CAR-MIB

- CISCO-SMI

NetFlow

When applying NetFlow measurement, you can specify in which version of UDP packets are exported from the device to the NetFlow collector. Later versions support aggregation of flows before export, minimizing bandwidth usage. For more information on UDP and aggregation, see "About UDP Formats" and "About Aggregation".

Note:
If you are monitoring NetFlow measurements using an integrated reporting tool, check which aggregation schemes are supported. A tool may not support all of the available aggregation types. For information on supported aggregation types, consult the reporting tool's documentation.

The following limitations apply to the NetFlow measurement parameter:

- NetFlow data cannot be exported to more than one collection system.

- When configuring NetFlow measurement, you cannot configure multiple aggregation schemes on a device.

- Check the device's capabilities; device-level capabilities indicate support for NetFlow.
To do this, right-click on the device object and select Properties from the context menu. Then select the Capabilities property page.

- Oracle recommends that you configure a dedicated interface between the router and the collection device to prevent loss of packets.

- The collection device should be a dedicated host machine.

Applying NetFlow or MIB-based Measurements to a Policy Target

Measurement Parameters can be applied to policy targets including networks, devices, interfaces, and sub-interfaces.

To apply NetFlow or MIB-based measurements (on device driver) to a policy target:

1. From the policy target's pop-up menu, select Add Measurement Parameter.
The Measurement Parameter dialog box appears.

2. Select the Measurement property page, shown in Figure 3-1.

Figure 3-1 The Measurement Property Page on the Measurement Parameter Dialog Box

3. In the Name field, enter an identifier for the measurement parameter.

4. From the Driver type drop-down menu, select a driver type or select Any to apply measurement to all vendor devices.

5. As needed, specify options including Collect class-based QoS statistics, Collect CAR QoS MIB statistics, Collect MIB2 statistics, Collect NetFlow statistics, Collect Juniper CoS MIB Statistics, Device level, Interface level, Sub-interface, PVC.

6. If you select NetFlow properties, specify values for Netflow, Cache, Aggregation, Active timeout, and Inactive timeout.

7. On the Role property page, specify the device and interface roles to which measurement applies.

If you are using Network Processor, you can apply Netflow parameters using Netflow Parameters and Collector Parameters configuration policies that are packaged within the Service Assurance module.

To apply NetFlow or MIB-based measurements to a policy target using NetFlow parameters:

1. On the Domain dialog box, load the ServiceAssurancePolicyTypes.policy configuration policy.
For information on loading a configuration policy file, see IP Service Activator QoS User's Guide.

2. On the Topology tab, right-click a policy target, select Add Configuration Policy, select Service Assurance, then select Netflow Parameters.
The Configuration Policy dialog box appears, shown in Figure 3-2.

Figure 3-2 NetFlow Configuration Policy Dialog Box

3. In the Name field, enter a name for the configuration policy.

4. In the Description field, enter a description for the configuration policy.

5. From the DriverType list, select the appropriate vendor device to which you want to apply the configuration policy.
Netflow is supported only on Cisco cartridge.

6. From the Version list, select one of the following:

- Select AG Only to export data from the aggregation cache only.

- Select v1 to export data in v1 format.

- Select v5 to export data in v5 format.

- Select v9 to export data in v9 format.

7. From the Export Type list, select one of the following:

- Select Origin-as to specify that export statistics include the origin autonomous system (AS) for the source and destination.

- Select Peer-as to specify that export statistics include the peer AS for the source and destination.

8. From the Aggregation list, select one of following:

- Select AS to indicate the scheme groups' data flows by source BGP AS, destination BGP AS, input interface, and output interface.

- Select Destination-Prefix to indicate the scheme groups' data flows by destination prefix, destination prefix mask, destination BGP AS, and output interface.

- Select Prefix to indicate the scheme groups' data flows by source prefix, destination prefix, source prefix mask, destination prefix mask, source BGP AS, destination BGP AS, input interface, and output interface.

- Select Protocol-Port to indicate the scheme groups' data flows by IP protocol, source port number and destination port number when applicable.

- Select Source-Prefix to indicate the scheme groups' data flows by source prefix, source prefix mask, source BGP AS, and input interface.

9. Specify the values including Cache, ActiveTimeout, and InactiveTimeout.

10. On the Role property page, specify the device and interface roles to which the configuration policy applies.

For more information, see the IP Service Activator Help.

To apply NetFlow or MIB-based measurements to a policy target using Collector Parameters:

1. On the Domain dialog box, load the ServiceAssurancePolicyTypes.policy configuration policy.
For information on loading a configuration policy file, see IP Service Activator QoS User's Guide.

2. On the Topology tab, right-click a policy target, select Add Configuration Policy, select Service Assurance, then select Collector Parameters.
The Configuration Policy dialog box appears, shown in Figure 3-3.

Figure 3-3 Collector Configuration Policy Dialog Box

3. In the Name field, enter a name for the configuration policy.

4. In the Description field, enter a description for the configuration policy.

5. From the Type list, select one of the following:

- Select Cisco Netflow FlowCollector to allow device-generated statistics to be exported to Cisco Netflow Collector.

- Select Infovista NetFlow to allow device-generated statistics to be exported to Infovista Netflow Collector.

6. Under Collector Properties, specify values of the primary IP to which the statistics are exported. You may also specify the values of secondary IP.

7. On the Role property page, specify the device and interface roles to which the configuration policy applies.

For more information, see the IP Service Activator help.

4 Setting Up IP Service Activator for Integration

This chapter provides information about modeling external systems and creating collectors in Oracle Communications IP Service Activator.

Modeling External Systems

IP Service Activator's SLA monitoring capability is provided through integrated third party reporting software. Before you configure IP Service Activator to support the third party reporting tool, it is important to understand the reporting tool's architecture and functionality.

For more information on integrating with InfoVista, see "InfoVista Integration".

For more information on integrating with Micromuse, see "Micromuse Integration".

To enable IP Service Activator's support for third party reporting software, you must model the reporting software's components as external systems through the IP Service Activator client. The type and number of components to be modelled depends on which reporting software you are using.

Types of External System

IP Service Activator supports four types of external system for reporting purposes:

- InfoVista Server

- Vista Plug-in for NetFlow

- NetFlow FlowCollector

- Micromuse Netcool

As shown in Table 4-1, you should select the external system type based on the reporting tool you will use and the statistics type you want to collect.

Table 4-1 External Systems

External System Type

Reporting Tool

Statistics Type

InfoVista Server

InfoVista

SAA

MIB-based data

Vista Plug-in for NetFlow

InfoVista

NetFlow

NetFlow FlowCollector

Third party tool that reports on Cisco's NetFlow data

NetFlow

Micromuse

Micromuse Netcool Impact Server

CoS MIBs

An external system does not have to be dedicated to collecting one particular data type. For example, the InfoVista Server can collect both SAA and MIB-based data.

Creating an External System

To create an external system:

1. On the System tab, select the External Systems folder and select Add External System from the folder's context menu.
The External System dialog box appears.

2. Select the External System property page and specify values including Name, Remarks, Type, Primary IP, Port, Secondary IP, Port and URL.

3. Select the Security property page, and select values including Username and Login password. These apply to Infovista Server.

Creating Collectors

One or more collectors must be added to each device that you want to monitor. The collector links the device to the external system that performs data collection and aggregation. In IP Service Activator, the link between the device and the external system is called a collector parameter.

A collector behaves in a similar way to IP Service Activator's PHB groups in that it may be applied to any number of policy targets, and is inherited through IP Service Activator's policy inheritance hierarchy. Device and interface roles specify the points from which data is collected. Figure 4-1 illustrates this concept. For more information on defining and using roles, see IP Service Activator User's Guide.

Figure 4-1 Collectors and IP Service Activator Device Roles

Roles and Measurement Parameters

The roles that you associate with a collector depend on the type of data to be collected and from which devices.

For NetFlow and MIB-based measurement, the roles should be the same as those associated with at least one measurement parameter.

SAA is configured at device level and so only the device role that you associate with a collector is significant.

Note:
Though only device role is significant, you must also specify an interface role when you apply a collector that collects SAA data. Oracle recommends that you use the system-defined Any Role.

SAA measurement can be applied to an MPLS VPN or to a measurement-only VPN.

If SAA is applied to devices that participate in an MPLS VPN, the device role you associate with a collector depends on which connection you are measuring:

- For CE to CE, the device role must be Access or Shadow
It is possible to monitor the CE to CE connection by applying SAA to the CE device, or by deploying shadow routers.

- For PE to PE, the device role is Shadow
Shadow routers must always be deployed when monitoring the PE to PE connection.

- For PE to CE, data must be collected from devices tagged with two different roles: Shadow and Access.
It is not possible to associate two device roles with a collector. Oracle recommends that you assign an additional user-defined role to the relevant Shadow and Access devices and associate this role with the collector.

If you have applied SAA to devices that do not participate in an MPLS VPN, the device role must be Access or Shadow, depending on which role you have assigned to the monitored devices.

Note:
If you are collecting measurement data for a VPN and generating reports using InfoVista, Oracle recommends that you assign a single collector to the VPN. If you distribute collection between multiple collectors, VPN-level reports will not be available as there is currently no mechanism for aggregating VPN data from multiple collectors.
If you apply a collector at domain level, the collector is inherited through IP Service Activator's logical inheritance line; that is, through customer, VPN, and site. Do not apply the collector at domain level unless you have created at least one customer and VPN, populated by the devices from which you wish to collect data

When you have associated a collector with a policy target, the measurement component exports the relevant topology details to the collector. For example, if the collector is associated with a VPN, the component exports topology details for all devices participating in the VPN. If the topology changes, the measurement component exports the updated details to the collector.

Creating a Collector in IP Service Activator

If you are creating more than one collector, and if you are creating a Vista Plug-in for Netflow, ensure that you create the plug-in collector first.

To create a collector in IP Service Activator:

1. From a policy target's context menu, select Add Collector Parameter.
The Collector Parameter dialog box appears.

2. On the Collector property page, specify values including Name, Collector, and Driver Type.
Measurement data may be collected from Cisco devices only.

3. On the Role property page, specify the device and interface roles to which the collector applies.
You must specify both a device and an interface role for the collector to be applied. If necessary, you can use the system-defined Any Role as the device or interface role which effectively acts as a wildcard.

5 Generic Exporter

This chapter describes the Oracle Communications IP Service Activator Generic Exporter.

Generic Exporter Integration with IP Service Activator

Integration between IP Service Activator and the Generic Exporter occurs in the following way:

- IP Service Activator's Generic Exporter reads an XML export file (TopologyExporterConfig.xml) that identifies which data to collect for external reporting.

- This file is used to guide data collection from the IP Service Activator object model through the OSS Integration Manager (OIM) to create TopologyExporter.xml, which contains raw object model data.

- An XSL file (TopologyExporter.xsl) is then used to filter the TopologyExporter.xml file to create an export file.

Figure 5-1 Generic Exporter and IP Service Activator Integration

Key Integration Components

Table 5-1 provides a brief description of the key components used with the Generic Exporter.

Table 5-1 Key Integration Files

File

Description

TopologyExporterConfig.xml

When the Generic Exporter is invoked, it reads this configuration file which includes variables indicating:

- The IP Service Activator server to connect to

- The name of the output XML file to be used when extracting data from IP Service Activator

- The transformation directives indicating the number of XSLs to be called and what sequence they are to be called in

- The root tag to be used in XML output

- The rules specifying which objects, attributes and children are to be extracted and which are to be filtered out from the IP Service Activator object model

TopologyExporter.xml

An object model file filtered by TopologyExporter.xsl to produce final output file TopologyExporter.txt

TopologyExporter.xsl

An XML schema file used to transform TopologyExporter.xml. Executes filtering and formatting commands to localize data to meet output requirements.

TopologyExporter.txt

Contains filtered object model information to be transmitted by FTP to the Vista Provisioner.

Archive files

Whenever IP Service Activator creates a new TopologyExporter.txt file, the previous one is archived with the date and time of creation incorporated into the filename.

These files can be customized to meet the requirements of the third party components you are integrating IP Service Activator data with. For more information, see "Customizing Integration".

TopologyExporter.xml Filtering

The Generic Exporter filters the object model to process only the entities described in the table below. It exports an XML file containing a filtered version of the object model for both customer and network topology trees:

- Policy/Domain*/Customer*/VPN*/, Site*, ParameterSetInstance*

- Policy/Domain*/Network*/Device*, ParameterSetInstance*

Customizing Integration

A service provider can customize the Generic Exporter integration between IP Service Activator and a third party component by modifying the following files:

- TopologyExporterConfig.xml

- TopologyExporter.xsl

- TopologyExporter.txt

TopologyExporterConfig.xml

The content of the TopologyExporter.xml file is controlled by the TopologyExporterConfig.xml file. The Generic Exporter utility uses TopologyExporterConfig.xml to generate TopologyExporter.txt.

As needed, a service provider can modify the TopologyExporterConfig.xml file to customize the topology information exported.

The TopologyExporterConfig.xml file is located in the following directory:

ServiceActivator_Home/modules/TopologyExporterIntegrationModule/

For a description of the fields included in the TopologyExporterConfig.xml file, see "TopologyExporterConfig.xml Fields ".

TopologyExporter.xsl

The TopologyExporter.xsl file applies formatting and filter rules to the TopologyExporter.xml file to generate a TopologyExporter.txt file. If TopologyExporterConfig.xml is modified, the filters in TopologyExporter.xsl should also be modified accordingly.

The TopologyExporter.xsl file is located in the following directory:

ServiceActivator_Home/modules/TopologyExporterIntegrationModule/

The default transform file, TopologyExporter.xsl, applies the following filters to TopologyExporter.xml to generate the output TopologyExporter.txt file:

- Domains: applies the domains filter.

- Networks: when a device is nested in multiple networks, only the immediate parent of the device appears in the output network folder.

- Devices: must be managed and must not be virtual.

- Interfaces and Sub-Interfaces: must have interface and parent device roles assigned, must have measurement parameter MIB2 selected, must have measurement parameter Juniper CoS selected for Juniper CoS data export.

- PVCs: must have measurement parameter MIB2 selected.

TopologyExporter.txt

The TopologyExporter.txt file is derived from the TopologyExporter.xml file based on format instructions provided by the TopologyExporter.xsl file.

The TopologyExporter.txt file is deposited in the following directory:

ServiceActivator_Home/modules/TopologyExporterIntegrationModule/

Invoking the Generic Exporter

The XML data export function of the Generic Exporter is invoked using the TopologyExporter.sh script, which resides on the IP Service Activator server on which the Integration Manager is installed.

It can be invoked from a manually entered command, or set up to run automatically at appropriate intervals using a UNIX cron job.

The command has the following syntax:

ServiceActivator_Home/modules/bin/TopologyExporter.sh username password [ftp_server_name] [ftp_user_name] [ftp_pwd] [remote_directory_name]

Where username is the user ID used to access IP Service Activator, password is the password for username, ftp_server_name is the destination FTP server to send the output file to, ftp_user_name is the user ID for the destination FTP server, ftp_pwd is the password for ftp_user_name, and remote_directory_name is the destination FTP server directory in which to place TopologyExporter.txt.

Configuring the Generic Exporter SNMP Community String

The OSS Integration Manager does not pass the device SNMP write community string in open text (acting as a password) and therefore it is not available for TopologyExporter.xsl to process. A hard coded value of private is used for this value.

If your devices are configured to use a different value for the SNMP write community string, you can replace the string private by editing the TopologyExporter.xsl file.

If your devices are all configured with individual write community strings, you would have to implement a look up method which integrates with the TopologyExporter.xsl file. This is beyond the scope of this document.

Error Reporting

During the filtering of the TopologyExporter.xml file by the TopologyExporter.xsl file, if there is missing data or incorrect data, a message will be output to the Error console. The error will also be included in the XML output file as an XML comment. This allows you to confirm if any of the required data is missing or if the data is incorrectly filled.

6 InfoVista Integration

This chapter describes how Oracle Communications IP Service Activator integrates with InfoVista. It assumes a working knowledge of InfoVista concepts. For more information about InfoVista, see the InfoVista documentation.

Integration with IP Service Activator

Integration between IP Service Activator and InfoVista occurs in the following way, as illustrated in Figure 6-1:

- IP Service Activator's Generic Exporter, which is automatically installed with the InfoVista Integration Module, reads an XML export (InfoVistaExportConfig.xml) file that identifies which data to collect for the InfoVista reports

- This file is used to guide data collection from the IP Service Activator object model through the OSS Integration Manager (OIM) to create InfoVistaExport.xml, which contains raw object model data.

- An InfoVista.xsl is then used to filter InfovistaExport.xml to create a comma delimited export file (InfoVista.txt) containing the object model data as required by your existing InfoVista reports.

- The IP Service Activator provided def.txt file acts as a data dictionary against the entries in the InfoVista.txt file.

- InfoVista.txt and def.txt are sent by FTP to the InfoVista server.

Figure 6-1 InfoVista and IP Service Activator Integration

Key Integration Components

Table 6-1 provides a brief description of the key components used to enable InfoVista reporting with IP Service Activator.

Table 6-1 Key InfoVIsta Integration Components

Component

Description

InfoVista Integration Module

An IP Service Activator module that includes the Generic Exporter utility and several integration files. The Generic Exporter exports the object model and converts it to an InfoVista compliant format ready for import by the InfoVista Server.

For details on installing the InfoVista Integration module, refer to IP Service Activator Installation Guide.

InfoVista Server

Uses SNMP to poll and collect SAA and MIB-based data from the devices and NetFlow data from the Vista Plug-ins for NetFlow. IP Service Activator is used to allocate devices to InfoVista servers. Each InfoVista Server maintains a local object model that reflects the devices assigned to it and the measurement applied.

Vista Plug-in for Netflow

Collects and aggregates v1, v5 and v8 NetFlow UDP datagrams from NetFlow-enabled devices and exports the data to an InfoVista Server. The IP Service Activator user interface is used to allocate a device to an InfoVista server. The component is only required when the NetFlow measurement is applied. IP Service Activator is used to allocate devices to Vista Plug-ins for NetFlow.

Vista Provisioner

An InfoVista integration utility that enables users to automate a number of key tasks in the administration of an InfoVista Server.

InfoVista Integration Files

Table 6-2 provides a brief description of the key files used to enable IP Service Activator integration with InfoVista.

Table 6-2 Key InfoVista Integration FIles

File

Description

infoVistaExport.sh

A script residing on the IP Service Activator server on which the Integration Manager is installed, used to invoke the XML export process.

InfoVistaExportConfig.xml

When the Generic Exporter is invoked, it reads this configuration file which includes variables indicating:

- The IP Service Activator server to connect to

- The name of the output XML file to be used when extracting data from IP Service Activator

- The transformation directives indicating the number of XSLs to be called and what sequence they are to be called in

- The root tag to be used in XML output

- The rules specifying which objects, attributes and children are to be extracted and which are to be filtered out from the IP Service Activator object model

InfoVista.xml

An object model file filtered by InfoVista.xsl to produce final output file InfoVista.txt

InfoVista.xsl

An XML schema file used to transform InfoVistaExport.xml into a format compliant with InfoVista. Executes filtering and formatting commands to localize specific InfoVista requirements.

InfoVista.txt

A filtered object model information to be transmitted via ftp to the Vista Provisioner.

def.txt

A data dictionary that validates the sanity of InfoVista.txt file

Archive files

Whenever IP Service Activator creates a new Infovista.txt file the previous one is archived with the date and time of creation incorporated into the filename.

These files can be customized as needed. For more information, see "Customizing InfoVista Integration".

After the InfoVista.txt file is imported into the Vista Provisioner, the InfoVista Server polls the assigned devices for SAA and MIB-based statistics using SNMP. For NetFlow statistics, the InfoVista Server polls the Vista Plug-in for NetFlow. The Vista Plug-in for NetFlow collects the NetFlow statistics directly from the devices.

IP Service Activator Objects and InfoVista Vistas

Both IP Service Activator and InfoVista use object models:

- IP Service Activator models system components, the topology of the network and the policy that has been applied to the network.
This information is modelled in IP Service Activator's internal object model and made available to third-party applications, including InfoVista, through the OSS Integration Manager (OIM) or the Generic Exporter.

- InfoVista models the elements necessary to generate the relevant reports for the correct policy targets; for example, Frame Relay and ATM VC endpoints, WAN interfaces and NetFlow interfaces.
A class of objects is referred to as a Vista, while an object within a class is referred to as a Vista Instance, or Instance.

Object Model Synchronization

The object model between IP Service Activator and InfoVista is synchronized when the InfoVista.txt file generated by IP Service Activator's Generic Exporter is imported by the Vista Provisioner.

Synchronization is a manual action that should occur each time monitored network or service elements are added, deleted, or re-configured in IP Service Activator. Synchronization of the object model can also be scheduled during regular maintenance windows. For more information on how to perform this procedure, see "Importing IP Service Activator Integration Files into InfoVista".

InfoVista Object Mapping

Table 6-3 shows how IP Service Activator objects are mapped to InfoVista Vistas.

Table 6-3 IP Service Activator to InfoVista Mapping

IP Service Activator Object

InfoVista Vista or Vista Instance

InfoVista Type

Comment

Device

Router

Basic

N/A

Device(s)

Router Group

Group

N/A

Interface, Sub-interface

WAN_IF

Proxy

N/A

Interface(s), Sub-interface(s)

WAN_IF Group

Group

Interface, Sub-interface

LAN_IF

Group

Interface(s), Sub-interface(s)

LAN_IF Group

Group

PVC

ATM_PVC

Proxy

PVC

FR_PVC

Proxy

External System

NFPLUGIN

Basic

External System, Collector IV Server, Measurement Parameter: IV Plugin

NFROUTER

Proxy

External System, Collector IV Server, Measurement Parameter: IV Plugin

NFINTERFACE

Proxy

SAA Operation

SAA_JITTER

Proxy

Jitter

SAA Operation

SAA_RTT

Proxy

TCP, UDP, ECHO

SAA Opteration(s)

END2END_GROUP

Group

SAA Operation(s)

SAAGENT_GROUP

Group

CAR Policy

VPN-IF

Proxy

CAR

Interface mapping depends on both the device and interface roles assigned in IP Service Activator, as shown in Table 6-4.

Table 6-4 IP Service Activator to InfoVista Role Mapping

IP Service Activator Device Role

IP Service Activator Interface Role

InfoVista Interface Mapping

Access

Local

LAN_IF

Access

Access

WAN_IF

Gateway

Access

WAN_IF

Gateway

Core

WAN_IF

Core

Core

WAN_IF

All other

All other

Ignored

InfoVista.xml Filtering

The InfoVista Generic Exporter filters the object model to process only the entities described in the table below. It exports XML file containing a filtered version of the object model for both customer and network topology trees:

- Policy/Domain*/Customer*/VPN*/, Site*, ParameterSetInstance*

- Policy/Domain*/Network*/Device*, ParameterSetInstance*

InfoVista reports must exist against entities in the topology tree for network reporting.

Customizing InfoVista Integration

A service provider can customize the integration between IP Service Activator and InfoVista by modifying the following files:

- InfoVistaExportConfig.xml

- InfoVista.xsl

- InfoVista.txt

- def.txt

- Report.pl

InfoVistaExportConfig.xml

The content of the InfoVistaExport.xml file is controlled by the InfoVistaExportConfig.xml file. The Generic Exporter uses the InfoVistaExportConfig.xml file to generate the InfoVista.xml file.

The default InfoVistaExportConfig.xml file is set up to generate an InfoVista.xml file that lists all devices in IP Service Activator that are assigned a collector.

As needed, a service provider can modify the InfoVistaExportConfig.xml file to customize the topology information provided to InfoVista.

The InfoVistaExportConfig.xml file is located in the following directory:

ServiceActivator_Home/modules/Config

For a description of the fields included in the InfoVistaExportConfig.xml file, refer to "TopologyExporterConfig.xml Fields ".

InfoVista.xsl

The Infovista.xsl file applies formatting and filter rules to the Infovista.xml file to generate an InfoVista.txt file that can be imported by the Vista Provisioner. If the InfoVistaExportConfig.xml file is modified, the filters in the Infovista.xsl file should also be modified accordingly.

The InfoVista.xsl file is located in the following directory:

ServiceActivator_Home/modules/Config

The default InfoVista.xsl file applies the following filters to the InfoVistaExport.xml file to generate the InfoVista.txt file:

- Domain(s)

- Network(s)
When a device is nested in multiple networks, only the immediate parent of the device appears in the InfoVista network folder

- Device(s):

- Must be Cisco or Juniper

- Must be managed

- Must not be virtual

- Must have either InfoVista Server or Vista Plug-in for NetFlow associated

- Interface(s)/Sub-Interface(s):

- Must have interface and parent device roles assigned

- Must have measurement parameter MIB2 selected

- Must have measurement parameter Juniper CoS selected for Juniper CoS data export

- PVC(s): must have measurement parameter MIB2 selected

InfoVista.txt

The InfoVista.txt file is derived from the InfoVista.xml file based on format instructions provided by the InfoVista.xsl file.

The InfoVista.txt file is deposited in the following directory:

ServiceActivator_home/modules/InfoVistaIntegrationModule

When the error message

SAA with ID=WARNING

appears in the InfoVista.txt file, this indicates that the probe ID could not be evaluated for the following reasons:

- Destination router is not monitored (a collector is not assigned to it)

- Source router is virtual and cannot be monitored with probes

- Source router concrete is not in the installed state or configuration has failed on the router

If you have duplicate routers in the same network, an "instance name duplicate" error is triggered while exporting the InfoVista.txt file to the InfoVista server. Ensure there are no duplicate routers in the same Network before invoking the InfoVista topology exporter.

Alternatively, the InfoVista.txt file can be edited to remove duplicate entries before export to the InfoVista server.

def.txt

The def.txt file acts as a data dictionary that validates the InfoVista.txt file. The default supplied def.txt file must be updated using a text editor when changes are made to either the InfoVistaExportConfig.xml or InfoVista.xsl files.

The def.txt file is located in the following directory:

ServiceActivator_home/modules/InfoVistaIntegrationModule

Report.pl

IP Service Activator is packaged with a default report.pl file. This file determines the folder structure used by InfoVista for storing reports and can be customized as needed.

The default report.pl file specifies a folder structure that mirrors IP Service Activator's policy inheritance hierarchy. At the top of the structure are domain-level report folders. Below this, report folders are held in two branches: one reflecting the physical inventory of network devices and the other reflecting customer configurations.

The Report.pl file is located in the following directory:

ServiceActivator_home/ExplorerScripts/TopologyExporter/IVProvCfg

The default report.pl file specifies the following folder structure:

Domain Instance
Network Instance
Router Instance
Router - individual reports
SAA Folder
SAA Instance Folder - individual reports

WAN Folder
WAN Instance Folder - individual reports
LAN Folder
LAN Instance Folder - individual reports
ATM-PVC Folder - individual reports
FR PVC Folder - individual reports
NetFlow Folder
Router Instance Folder
NF Router Instance Folder - individual reports
NF Interfaces Instance Folder - individual reports
Overview LAN Folder - group Reports across all routers/interfaces
Overview WAN Folder - group Reports across all routers/interfaces
Overview Router Folder - group Reports across all routers/interfaces
Customer Instance
Site Instance
Probe Summary Folder - group reports
SLA Exec Folder - group reports
VPN Instance
Probe Summary Folder - group reports
SLA Exec Folder - group reports
NetFlow Folder
NFPlugin Folder
IV Plugin Folder - individual reports
CAR Folder
Router Instance Folder
CAR Interfaces Instance Folder - individual reports

The Vista Provisioner and InfoVista Server automatically generate CAR reports when a CAR policy is detected on an interface using the VPN_IF definition in the def.txt file. This occurs regardless of whether the Collect CAR MIB statistics check box is enabled or not in the Measurement Parameter dialog for a device. The automatic generation of CAR reports by InfoVista prevents the customized placement of the CAR folder. As a result, it automatically appears at the root of the report folder structure.

Group reports are generated by Vista Provisioner based on configuration information provided by the def.txt file. See "InfoVista Object Mapping" for default groups.

General Configuration Tasks

To access the InfoVista Integration module functionality in the IP Service Activator client, ensure that the Allow concurrent logins option is enabled for the IP Service Activator user. For more information on how to do this, see IP Service Activator System Administrator's Guide.

The tasks for integrating IP Service Activator with InfoVista include:

1. Install the InfoVista Integration Module on the IP Service Activator server.
For instructions on how to install InfoVista Integration module, see IP Service Activator Installation Guide.

2. Install the following InfoVista components in the following order:

- InfoVista Server or Servers

- Vista Provisioner or Provisioners

- When NetFlow measurement is used, plug-in or plug-ins for NetFlow

For instructions on how to install these components, refer to the InfoVista documentation.

3. In the IP Service Activator client:

- Configure the devices to generate statistics for the various measurement types. See "Service Assurance Agent Measurement" and "MIB-based and NetFlow Measurements".

- Model the InfoVista Server or servers and the Plug-in or plug-ins for NetFlow components as &rsquor;external systems'. See "Creating an External System".

- Add collectors to the devices that you want to monitor. See "Creating a Collector in IP Service Activator".

- To collect data for SAA or MIB-based statistics, link the device to an InfoVista Server collector.

- To collect data for NetFlow statistics, add two Collector Parameters. First link the device to the Vista Plug-in for NetFlow collector. Then link the device to an InfoVista Server collector.

Note:
When you associate both a NetFlow and MIB-based collector with a device, the device exports NetFlow data to the NetFlow Collector (Vista Plug-in for NetFlow) which in turn is polled by the MIB-based collector (InfoVista Server).
IP Service Activator calculates the relationship between the NetFlow and MIB-based collectors. You do not need to associate a NetFlow collector with a MIB-based collector in the user interface.

or information on how to import IP Service Activator integration files into InfoVista, see "Importing IP Service Activator Integration Files into InfoVista".

Invoking the InfoVista Integration Module

The XML data export function of the InfoVista Integration Module is invoked using the infoVistaExport.sh script, which resides on the IP Service Activator server on which the Integration Manager is installed.

It can be invoked from a manually entered command, or set up to run automatically at appropriate intervals using a UNIX cron job.

Optionally, the infoVistaExport.sh script can instruct the InfoVista Integration Module to transmit the final output InfoVista.txt file to an external system using an FTP protocol transfer. The destination FTP server, logon credentials and a destination directory can be specified when the script is invoked.

The command has the following syntax:

ServiceActivator_home/modules/bin/infoVistaExport.sh username password [ftp_server_name] [ftp_user_name] [ftp_pwd] [remote_directory_name]

where:

- username is the user ID used to access IP Service Activator

- password is the password for the user ID

- ftp_server_name is the destination FTP server to send InfoVista.txt to

- ftp_user_name is the user ID for the destination FTP server

- ftp_pwd is the password for the FTP user ID

- remote_directory_name is the destination FTP server directory in which to place InfoVista.txt

Note:
To access the InfoVista Integration Module functionality in the IP Service Activator client, ensure that the Allow concurrent logins option is enabled for the IP Service Activator user. For more information on how to do this, see IP Service Activator System Administrator's Guide.

Configuring the InfoVista Integration Module SNMP Community String

The OSS Integration Manager does not pass the device SNMP write community string in open text (acting as a password) and therefore it is not available for Topology.xsl to process. A hard coded value of private is used for this value.

If your devices are configured to use a different value for the SNMP write community string, you can replace the string private by editing the InfoVista.xsl file.

If your devices are all configured with different write community strings, you would have to implement a look up method which integrates with the InfoVista.xsl file. This is beyond the scope of this document.

The entry in InfoVista.txt representing the NFPLUGIN has a hard coded community string of public as IP Service Activator does not manage this attribute.

Importing IP Service Activator Integration Files into InfoVista

This section describes how to import files to InfoVista once the InfoVista Integration Module has been run. See "Invoking the InfoVista Integration Module" for instructions on invoking the module to create the InfoVista.txt file.

Importing the Def.txt and Report.pl Files into InfoVista

This procedure should be performed during the initial set up of InfoVista reporting, once installation of the InfoVista Integration Module is complete. Refer to IP Service Activator Installation Guide for details on installation of the InfoVista Integration Module.

To import the IP Service Activator Def.txt and report.pl files into InfoVista:

1. Copy the def.txt and report.pl files from the following location to the Vista Provisioner:
ServiceActivator_home/modules/InfoVistaIntegrationModule

2. Refer to the InfoVista documentation for instructions on how to import this file into the Vista Provisioner.

Importing the IP Service Activator InfoVista.txt File into InfoVista

Use this procedure if the infoVistaExport.sh file is not set up to send the InfoVista.txt file through FTP directly to the Vista Provisioner. Otherwise, perform this procedure each time the network topology is updated in IP Service Activator.

To import the IP Service Activator InfoVita.txt file into InfoVista

1. Generate the InfoVista.txt file. See "Invoking the InfoVista Integration Module".

2. Copy the new InfoVista.txt file from the following location to the Vista Provisioner:
ServiceActivator_home/ServiceActivator/modules/InfoVistaIntegrationModule

3. Refer to the InfoVista documentation for instructions on how to:

- Import the InfoVista.txt file into the Vista Provisioner.

- Update the InfoVista Server with the latest topology configuration.

Reports

This section covers the following topics:

- Report Naming Conventions

- Interpreting Reports

Report Naming Conventions

Report names are based on the entry names included in the InfoVista.txt file. Table 6-5 oultines the report naming conventions.

Table 6-5 Report Naming Conventions

Entry

Naming Convention

Example

Device/Router

Device Name

rot2611-18

WAN Interface

Device Name + Interface Name + IP Address

rot2611-18_Ethernet0/1_10.13.5.26

LAN Interface

Device Name + Interface Name + IP Address

rot2611-18_Ethernet1/1_10.13.5.29

ATM PVC

Device Name + PVC Name

rot2611-18_VPI: 1 VCI: 100

FR PVC

Device Name + PVC Name

rot2611-18_DLCI3

JITTER Probe

”From” Src Device Name + ”To” Dest Device Name + ”Name” Probe Name + ”ID” + Probe ID + ”DSCodePt” + DSCodePt

From: rot2611-18 To: rot2611-17 Name: TcpConnect ID: 1074790913 DSCodePt:0

RTT Probe

”From” Src Device Name + ”To” Dest Device Name + ”Name” Probe Name + ”ID” + Probe ID + ”DSCodePt” + DSCodePt

From: rot2611-18 To: rot2611-17 Name: TcpConnect ID: 1074790914 DSCodePt:0

NetFlow Plugin

Plugin Name

Defined by user in IP Service Activator

NetFlow Device/Router

”nf_” + Device Name

nf_rot2611-18

NetFlow Interface

”nf_” + Device Name + Interface Name + IP address

nf_rot2611-18_Serial0/0_8.9.10.56

CAR Interface

Device Name + Interface Name + IP address

rot2611-18_Serial0/0_5.6.7.8

Interpreting Reports

For detailed information on the reports generated by InfoVista, refer to the InfoVista documentation.

Specifying Additional Object Information

There are inventory attributes not stored in the IP Service Activator Object Model that are needed by the InfoVista Server for SLA collection. In order to store this information, a separate graphical user interface (GUI) is available from the associated object (i.e. Device, VPN, Site) in the IP Service Activator client.

The Additional Attributes GUI is a configurable XML Java Swing GUI that allows you to enter the additional attributes. These are stored as Generic Policies in the IP Service Activator object model and exported along with the other IP Service Activator objects.

To launch the Additional Attributes GUI:

1. In the IP Service Activator client, right-click on the appropriate object.

2. Select Modules.

3. Select InfoVista.

4. Select Properties.
The Additional Attributes GUI appears, as in Figure 6-2.

Figure 6-2 The Additional Attributes GUI

The fields displayed depend on what object type you are setting properties for.

Deployment

For details on the versions of InfoVista components supported, refer to the Release Notes for your version of IP Service Activator.

Error Reporting

During the filtering of the InfoVistaExport.xml file by the InfoVista.xsl file, if there is missing data or incorrect data, a message will be output to the Error console. The error will also be included in the XML output file as an XML comment. This allows you to confirm if any of the required data is missing or if the data is incorrectly filled.

7 Micromuse Integration

This chapter describes how Oracle Communications IP Service Activator integrates with the MicroMuse Netcool Impact Server through the Micromuse Integration Module. It assumes a working knowledge of MicroMuse concepts. For more information about MicroMuse, see the MicroMuse product documentation.

Integration with IP Service Activator

IP Service Activator communicates with Micromuse Netcool through Micromuse Integration Module which generates XML formatted documents. These XML files comply with the input requirements of Micromuse Netcool Impact server via the XML DSA. This allows the sharing of information between the IP Service Activator object model and Micromuse.

Typically the Micromuse Integration Module will be set up to generate its export XML file (Micromuse.xml) on a nightly basis. When Micromuse needs additional information on a fault it will then read the export XML file to enhance the fault information.

In more detail, integration between IP Service Activator and Micromuse occurs in the following way, as illustrated in:

- IP Service Activator's Generic Exporter, which is automatically installed with the Micromuse Integration Module, reads a local XML config file (MicromuseExportConfig.xml) which contains the parameters required to log in to the OIM and extract data from the object model.

- The Generic Exporter creates MicromuseExport.xml which contains raw object model information.

- The Micromuse.xsl file is then used to filter MicromuseExport.xml to create an export file (Micromuse.xml) containing filtered object model data as required by your existing Micromuse policies.

- Micromuse then uses the Micromuse Netcool Impact server to import the export file and generate the necessary reports.

Figure 7-1 Micromuse and IP Service Activator Integration

Key Integration Components

Table 7-1 provides a brief description of the key components used to enable IP Service Activator integration with Micromuse.

Table 7-1 Key Micromuse Integration Components

Component

Description

Micromuse Netcool Impact Server

Receives information from the IP Service Activator object model in an XML file transmitted by FTP. The server then distributes the data to Netcool Impact and other installed Micromuse Netcool solutions.

Additional attributes GUI

GUI used to add additional property attributes required by Netcool to devices. This information is stored in the IP Service Activator object model as configuration policy information.

Micromuse Integration Module

An IP Service Activator module that includes the Generic Exporter and several integration files. The Generic Exporter exports data from the object model and converts it to a Micromuse compliant format ready for import.

For details on installing the Micromuse Integration Module, refer to IP Service Activator Installation Guide.

Micromuse Integration Files

IP Service Activator uses the files listed in Table 7-2 to perform integration with the Netcool Impact server.

Table 7-2 Micromuse Integration Files

File

Description

MicromuseExport.sh

Script residing on the IP Service Activator server on which the Integration Manager is installed, used to invoke the XML export process. See "Invoking the Micromuse Integration Module".

MicromuseExportConfig.xml

When the Micromuse Generic Exporter is invoked, it reads this configuration file which includes variables indicating:

- The IP Service Activator server to connect to

- The name of the output XML file to be used when extracting data from IP Service Activator

- The transformation directives indicating the number of XSLs to be called and what sequence they are to be called in

- The root tag to be used in XML output

- The rules specifying which objects, attributes and children are to be extracted and which are to be filtered out from the IP Service Activator object mode

MicromuseExport.xml

Object model file filtered by Micromuse.xsl to produce final output file Micromuse.xml

Micromuse.xsl

XML schema file used to transform MicromuseExport.xml into a format compliant with Micromuse. Executes filtering and formatting commands to localize specific Micromuse requirements.

Micromuse.xml

Filtered object model information to be transmitted via ftp to the Micromuse Netcool Impact server.

Archive files

Whenever IP Service Activator creates a new Micromuse.xml file the previous one is archived with the date and time of creation incorporated into the filename.

These files can be customized as needed. For more information, refer to the section "Customizing Micromuse Integration".

After the Micromuse.xml file is imported into the Micromuse Netcool Impact server, it is distributed to other Micromuse solutions.

Micromuse Object Mapping

Table 7-3 shows how Micromuse XML objects are mapped to IP Service Activator object model entities.

Table 7-3 Micromuse Object Mapping

Micromuse Resource

IP Service Activator Object Model Entity

Comments

Service

VPN

N/A

VpnSite

Site

N/A

VpnAccessPoint

Interface

N/A

OspfRoutingProtocol

OSPF Attributes from Interface

This is from Service level. IP Service Activator stores it at the Interface level.

RipRoutingProtocol

RIP Attributes from Interface

This is from Service level. IP Service Activator stores it at the Interface level.

BgpRouting Protocol

BGB Attributes from Interface

N/A

Static Routing

Static Routing Attributes from Interface

N/A

Customer

Customer

N/A

Contact

Site properties

N/A

SubnetworkConnection

Left blank

N/A

ManagedElement

Device

N/A

Classifier

Class Of Service

N/A

Forwarding class

Classification Group

N/A

Loss-priority

Classification

N/A

PolicyMap

PHB

N/A

PolicyClass

CoS Mechanisms

N/A

TerminationPoint

Interface/Subinterface/Segment

N/A

Customizing Micromuse Integration

A service provider can customize the integration between IP Service Activator and Micromuse by modifying the following files:

- MicromuseExportConfig.xml

- Micromuse.xsl

MicromuseExportConfig.xml

The Generic Exporter generates the MicromuseExport.xml file following content guidelines stored in the MicromuseExportConfig.xml file.

The default MicromuseExportConfig.xml file is set up to generate a MicromuseExport.xml file that lists all devices in IP Service Activator that are assigned a Micromuse collector.

A service provider can modify the MicromuseExportConfig.xml file appropriately to customize the topology information provided to Micromuse.

The MicromuseExportConfig.xml file is located in the following directory:

ServiceActivator_home/modules/Config

For a description of the fields included in the default MicromuseExportConfig.xml file, see "TopologyExporterConfig.xml Fields ".

Micromuse.xsl

The Micromuse.xsl file applies formatting and filter rules to the MicromuseExport.xml file to generate an xml file that can be imported by the Micromuse Netcool Impact server. If the MicromuseExportConfig.xml file is modified, the filters in the Micromuse.xsl file should also be modified accordingly.

The Micromuse.xsl file is located in the following directory:

ServiceActivator_home/modules/Config

It applies the following filters:

- Domain(s)

- Network(s)

- Device(s):

- Must be from Cisco or Juniper

- Must be managed

- Must not be virtual

- Must have Micromuse Server associated

- Interface(s):

- Must have interface and parent device roles assigned

- Must have measurement parameter MIB2 selected

- Sub-interface(s):

- Must have interface and parent device roles assigned

- Must have measurement parameter MIB2 selected

- PHB Group(s) for Interface/Sub-interface

- Must have concrete object installed

- Policing Rule(s) for Interface/Sub-interface

- Must have concrete object installed

- Customer(s):

- No filters are applied directly to the Customers

- VPN(s)

- No filters are applied directly to the VPNs

- Site(s)

- No filters are applied directly to the Sites

- Device(s)

Invoking the Micromuse Integration Module

The XML data export function of the Micromuse Integration Module is invoked using the micromuseExport.sh script, which resides on the IP Service Activator server on which the Integration Manager is installed.

It can be invoked from a manually entered command, or set up to run automatically at appropriate intervals using a UNIX cron job.

Optionally, the micromuseExport.sh script can instruct the Micromuse Integration Module to transmit the final output Micromuse.xml file to an external system using an FTP protocol transfer. The destination FTP server, logon credentials and a destination directory can be specified when the script is invoked.

The command has the following syntax:

Service Activator_home/modules/bin/micromuseExport.sh username password [ftp_server_name] [ftp_user_name] [ftp_pwd] [remote_directory_name]

where:

- username is the user ID used to access IP Service Activator

- password is the password for the user ID

- ftp_server_name is the destination FTP server to send Micromuse.xml to

- ftp_user_name is the user ID for the destination FTP server

- ftp_pwd is the password for the FTP user ID

- remote_directory_name is the destination FTP server directory in which to place Micromuse.xml

Note:
To access the Micromuse Integration Module functionality in the IP Service Activator client, ensure that the Allow concurrent logins option is enabled for the IP Service Activator user. For more information on how to do this, see IP Service Activator System Administrator's Guide.

Specifying Additional Object Information

There are inventory attributes not stored in the IP Service Activator Object Model that are needed by the Micromuse Netcool Impact Server for fault collection. In order to store this information, a separate GUI is available from the associated object (i.e. Device, VPN, Site) in the IP Service Activator client.

The Additional Attributes GUI is a configurable XML Java Swing GUI that allows you to enter the additional attributes. These are stored as Generic Policies in the IP Service Activator object model and exported along with the other IP Service Activator objects.

To launch the Additional Attributes GUI:

1. Right-click on the appropriate object

2. Select Modules from the context menu.

3. Select Micromuse

4. Select Properties.
The Additional Attributes GUI appears, as in Figure 7-2.

Figure 7-2 The Micromuse Additional Attributes GUI

The fields displayed depend on what object type you are setting properties for.

MicromuseExport.xml Filtering

The Micromuse Generic Exporter filters the object model to process only the entities described in the table below. It exports an XML file containing a filtered version of the object model for both customer and network topology trees:

- Policy/Domain*/Customer*/VPN*/, Site*, ParameterSetInstance*

- Policy/Domain*/Network*/Device*, ParameterSetInstance*

Micromuse collector parameters must exist against entities in the topology tree for network reporting.

Note:
Classifier, forwarding-class and loss-priority are Juniper-only functionality and are not supported.

Deployment

For details on the versions of MicroMuse components supported, refer to the Release Notes for your version of IP Service Activator.

Error Reporting

During the filtering of the MicromuseExport.xml file by the Micromuse.xsl file, if there is missing data or incorrect data, a message will be output to the Error console. The error will also be included in the XML output file as an XML comment. This allows you to confirm if any of the required data is missing or if the data is incorrectly filled.

A TopologyExporterConfig.xml Fields

This appendix describes fields included in the default Oracle Communications IP Service Activator TopologyExporterConfig.xml files, located in the following directory:

ServiceActivator_home/modules/Config/

TopologyExporterConfig.xml Fields

Table A-1 describes the configuration fields.

Table A-1 Configuration Fields

Type

Configuration Field

Description

ipsaServer

ipAddress

The IP address where the IP Service Activator Integration Manager is running.

ipsaServer

port

The port where the IP Service Activator Integration Manager is running.

primaryEntry

filenameToWrite

The filename of the XML export file.

transformations

--

Multiple transformations can be performed by surrounding each transformation with the <item> </item> element.

transformations

fileNameToRead

The filename that acts as the source document for the transformation. This entry is usually the filenameToWrite from the primaryEntry.

transformations

xslToCall

The filename of the XSL document that is used for the transformation.

transformations

filenameToWrite

The filename where the transformation is written to.

rootTagName

--

The root XML tag (top-level) that is inserted into the output XML document. The default is 'root'.

Table A-2 describes the output rules fields.

Table A-2 Output Rules Fields

Field Type

Output Rules Field

Description

startFromObject

--

The object type in IP Service Activator that the export starts the cascade from.

objectSubscription

--

Filters which objects are exported.

objectSubscription

subscribe

Identifies which object types to export. If all objects should be exported, insert object type 'all'.

objectSubscription

unsubscribe

Identifies which object types not to export.

attributeSubscription

--

Filters which attributes to export.

attributeSubscription

subscribe

Identifies what attributes to export. If all attributes should be exported, then enter the single subscribe 'all'.

requiresAttributeValue

--

Filters which objects to export based on an attribute value.

requiresAttributeValue

objectType

Type of object the attribute is on.

requiresAttributeValue

attribute name

The name of the attribute.

requiresAttributeValue

attribute value

The value the attribute must have for the object to be exported.

requiresChild

--

Filters which objects to export based on associated child type.

requiresChild

objectType

Identifies type of object to export based on child type.

requiresChild

requires

The type of child object that is required for the above object type to be exported. For example, if the objectType is Customer and requires is set to VPN, only Customers that have VPNs will be exported.

ignoreChild

--

Filters which objects not to export based on whether they are the child of a given parent.

ignoreChild

objectType

Identifies the object type of the parent.

ignoreChild

ignore

Type of child object type that will not be exported based on the above parent type. For example, if the parent objectType is Customer and ignore is set to VPN, any VNP object with a parent of Customer will not be exported.

stopChildCascade

--

Stops cascading one level below a certain object type. For example, if stopChildCascade is given for object type Site, only direct children of the Site object are exported.

stopChildCascade

item

The object type to stop cascading on (note: you will still get one level of children below this object type)

requiresCollectorParameter

--

Filters which objects to export based on whether they are associated with a collector of a certain type.

requiresCollectorParameter

objectType

The object type, typically Device, that is associated with a collector type.

requiresCollectorParameter

collectorType

The collector type that the above object type is associated with. For example, if the objectType is Device and the collectorType is InfoVista Server, only devices that are associated with an InfoVista Server collector are exported.

cascadeMeasurementParameter

--

This is not really a filter. Measurement parameters are not children of objects, but instead have targets to which they apply. To make Measurement Parameters appear as children, the exporter can cascade the xml definition of the MeasurementParameter down to the object which it targets. For example, if cascadeMeasurementParameter is applied to the object type Interface, the measurement parameter will appear under the interface object when it is exported.

cascadeMeasurementParameter

item

The object type that measurement parameters are cascaded on.

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