Service Performance Manager

Transcription

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2 Notice Copyright Notice Copyright 2002-present by Aprisma Management Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Use, duplication, or disclosure by the United States government is subject to the restrictions set forth in DFARS (c)(1)(ii) and FAR Liability Disclaimer Aprisma Management Technologies, Inc. ( Aprisma ) reserves the right to make changes in specifications and other information contained in this document without prior notice. In all cases, the reader should contact Aprisma to inquire if any changes have been made. The hardware, firmware, or software described in this manual is subject to change without notice. IN NO EVENT SHALL APRISMA, ITS EMPLOYEES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, AGENTS, OR AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOST PROFITS) ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS MANUAL OR THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN IT, EVEN IF APRISMA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF, HAS KNOWN, OR SHOULD HAVE KNOWN, THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. Trademark, Service Mark, and Logo Information SPECTRUM, IMT, and the SPECTRUM IMT/VNM logo are registered trademarks of Aprisma Management Technologies, Inc., or its affiliates. APRISMA, APRISMA MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES, the APRISMA MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES logo, MANAGE WHAT MATTERS, DCM, VNM, SpectroGRAPH, SpectroSERVER, Inductive Modeling Technology, Device Communications Manager, SPECTRUM Security Manager, and Virtual Network Machine are unregistered trademarks of Aprisma Management Technologies, Inc., or its affiliates. For a complete list of Aprisma trademarks, service marks, and trade names, go to: All referenced trademarks, service marks, and trade names identified in this document, whether registered or unregistered, are the intellectual property of their respective owners. No rights are granted by Aprisma Management Technologies, Inc., to use such marks, whether by implication, estoppel, or otherwise. If you have comments or concerns about trademark or copyright references, please send an to spectrum-docs@aprisma.com; we will do our best to help. Restricted Rights Notice (Applicable to licenses to the United States government only.) This software and/or user documentation is/are provided with RESTRICTED AND LIMITED RIGHTS. Use, duplication, or disclosure by the government is subject to restrictions as set forth in FAR (June 1987) Alternate III(g)(3) (June 1987), FAR (June 1987), or DFARS (c)(1)(ii) (June 1988), and/or in similar or successor clauses in the FAR or DFARS, or in the DOD or NASA FAR Supplement, as applicable. Contractor/manufacturer is Aprisma Management Technologies, Inc. In the event the government seeks to obtain the software pursuant to standard commercial practice, this software agreement, instead of the noted regulatory clauses, shall control the terms of the government's license. Virus Disclaimer Aprisma makes no representations or warranties to the effect that the licensed software is virus-free. Aprisma has tested its software with current virus-checking technologies. However, because no antivirus system is 100-percent effective, we strongly recommend that you write protect the licensed software and verify (with an antivirus system with which you have confidence) that the licensed software, prior to installation, is virus-free. Contact Information Aprisma Management Technologies, Inc., 273 Corporate Drive, Portsmouth, NH USA Phone: U.S. toll-free: Web site: Page 2

3 Contents Notice... 2 Preface... 6 Intended Audience... 6 Text Conventions... 7 Document Feedback... 7 Online Documents... 7 Licensing... 8 SPM Installation and Upgrades... 8 Entering SPM Activation Key and Expiration Date...10 Troubleshooting License Expiration...10 Concepts Tests and Test Hosts...12 Supported Remote Performance Agents and Tests...13 RFC Cisco SAA Agent...14 Concord ehealth SystemEdge Service Response Subagent...14 Network Harmoni SLAplus Agent...15 Other Support...16 Test Host Position...17 Source...17 Mid Path...18 Extended Path...18 SPM Test Types...19 Response Time Tests by Category...19 Network Response Time Test Types...20 Network Service Response Time Tests...20 Application Service Response Time Tests...21 Alarms and Thresholds...22 Fault Isolation...22 Page 3

4 Working with User Roles and SPM...24 SPM for Operators...24 SPM for Administrators...24 User Interface Overview...24 Console...25 Host Searches...26 Test Searches...28 General Configuration...31 Browse...33 Advanced Configuration...34 Advanced Settings by Test Type...35 Schedule Configuration...36 Creating Custom Schedules...38 Threshold Configuration...40 Test Hosts Search Results...43 Test Host Details...44 Details...44 Test Types...45 SPM Test List...45 Test Inventory...46 Test Results...47 Test Summary...48 Latest Results...49 Recent Results...49 Graph of Recent Results...50 Creating Response Time Tests...53 DHCP...54 DNS...55 FTP...56 HTTP...58 ICMP Ping...59 Jitter...61 Page 4

5 Path Echo...63 POP SMTP...65 TCP Connection...66 UDP Echo...68 Scheduling Tests...69 Setting Thresholds...70 Establishing Baseline Thresholds...70 Running a Test...72 Modifying an Existing Test...72 Viewing Test Results...74 Viewing SPM Alarms...74 Configuring SPM for Data Export Overview...75 Configuring SPM for Data Export...75 Configuration Parameters...76 SPM Data Export Format...77 SPM Data Export Sample...79 Troubleshooting Firmware Issues...81 Time-Out Errors...82 ICMP Ping Tests and Extreme Summit Test Host Devices...83 Test Scheduling Caveats...83 Scheduling Tests in Geographically Distributed Environments...83 Schedule Time Interval and Empire Agent Test Hosts...84 SPM Results Graph Displays No Data...84 CORBA Connection Issues...85 Stale SPM Data Reported in Web Browser...85 Table Sorting and the Web Browser s Back Button...85 Event Code Table Index Page 5

6 Preface Welcome to the user guide for SPECTRUM s Service Performance Manager (SPM), an application designed to allow you to configure and view results of Response Time Test measurement across Distributed SpectroSERVER domains and throughout the managed network. SPM offers a multi-vendor, multi-agent approach to response time management, enabling existing performance management investments to be leveraged. Intelligent, automated discovery and configuration of performance test points within the infrastructure accelerates deployment and optimizes workflow efficiency. The user interface to the is entirely web-based and supports the Network Operations Center (NOC) workflow processes. Please take a moment to read through this short preface, which explains how the information in this guide is organized and presented and lets you know how to access information about other SPECTRUM products. In This Section Intended Audience Text Conventions [Page 7] Document Feedback [Page 7] Online Documents [Page 7] Intended Audience This guide is intended for Help Desk and NOC operators, network administrators, and Service Level Management (SLM) administrators. Page 6

7 Text Conventions The following text conventions are used in this document: Element Convention Used Example User-supplied parameter names Courier and Italic in angle brackets <>. The user needs to type the password in place of <password>. On-screen text Courier The following line displays: path= /audit User-typed text Courier Type the following path name: C:\ABC\lib\db Cross-references References to SPECTRUM documents (title and number) Functionality enabled by SPECTRUM Alarm Notification Manager (SANM) Underlined and hypertextblue Italic SANM in brackets []. See Document Feedback [Page 7]. SPECTRUM Installation Guide ( ) [SANM] AGE_FIELD_ID Document Feedback Please send feedback regarding SPECTRUM documents to the following address: Thank you for helping us improve our documentation. Online Documents SPECTRUM documents are available online at: Check this site for the latest updates and additions. Page 7

8 Licensing This section contains licensing and installation information for the SPM product. In This Section SPM Installation and Upgrades Entering SPM Activation Key and Expiration Date [Page 10] Troubleshooting License Expiration [Page 10] SPM Installation and Upgrades A installation is comprised of both SpectroSERVER and Web Operator Suite components. SPM can be installed as part of a SPECTRUM install or by adding it later to an existing installation of SPECTRUM. Note: For distributed SPECTRUM installations see the SPECTRUM Installation Guide (0675). Install SPM During SPECTRUM 6.6 Installation To install SPM as part of an installation of SPECTRUM 6.6, follow the appropriate installation procedure in the SPECTRUM Installation Guide (0675). Then, see Entering SPM Activation Key and Expiration Date [Page 10]. Note: Your extraction key must include Web Operator Suite and SPM. Page 8

9 Upgrade Existing SPECTRUM 6.6 Installation to Include SPM Note: Adding SPM to an existing SPECTRUM installation requires you to generate an SPM activation key and expiration date. To add SPM to an existing installation of SPECTRUM 6.6, follow the Installing Additional Components procedure in the SPECTRUM Installation Guide (0675). To add SPM during an in-place upgrade, select SPM in the Components Available view as part of the upgrade. Then, see Entering SPM Activation Key and Expiration Date [Page 10]. SPECTRUM 6.6 Installation Including SPM and Latest Patch Note: To install the latest patch over an existing SPECTRUM 6.6 installation including SPM, skip to the Install the latest SPECTRUM patch. step below, paying special attention to the warning. Install SPECTRUM 6.6. Install the latest SPECTRUM patch. Note: SPM will not be selectable in the Components Available view if it was not previously installed. Install Web Applications. Install the latest Web Applications patch. Enter your SPM activation key and expiration date in the.vnmrc file (see Entering SPM Activation Key and Expiration Date [Page 10]). WARNING! Upgrading an existing installation of SPECTRUM with the latest patch overwrites any changes you have made to the.vnmrc file. You must manually re-enter your SPM activation key and expiration date in the.vnmrc file after you install the patch but before you start the SpectroSERVER. Failure to do this will result in the behavior described in Troubleshooting License Expiration [Page 10], particularly, that all previously active SPM test hosts must then be manually re-activated before any tests will run. See Entering SPM Activation Key and Expiration Date [Page 10]. Page 9

10 Entering SPM Activation Key and Expiration Date After you have installed SPM, you must manually enter your SPM activation key and expiration date in your.vnmrc file by following the procedure below. Procedure To activate your SPM license, you must edit your.vnmrc file to reflect your SPM activation key (different from your SPECTRUM activation key) and expiration date. To do this, after installing SPM and prior to starting the SpectroSERVER, add the following values to the SpectroSERVER s.vnmrc file (located in <$SPECROOT>/SS/.vnmrc): spmpassword=<spm Activation Key> spmexpdate=<mm/dd/yyyy> Changes to the.vnmrc file take effect either the next time the SpectroSERVER is started or, in cases where you do not wish to cycle the SpectroSERVER, a maximum of 24 hours after adding a valid spmpassword and spmexpdate to the.vnmrc file. Troubleshooting License Expiration If your installation of SPM has an incorrect, expired, or missing key, you will see a red alarm on the VNM, all SPM Test Host models will switch to an INACTIVE state, and no SPM tests (manual or scheduled) will run. All configured SPM tests will remain in the SpectroSERVER and can be reenabled once a valid SPM password and expiration date are entered in the.vnmrc file. Any test hosts can then be re-activated to re-enable all previously configured tests. This same behavior also occurs at the end of an evaluation of SPM. A yellow alarm will be generated on the VNM model prior to the evaluation period end date, clearly indicating that the evaluation period will end soon. Page 10

11 Concepts (SPM) is a Web-based SPECTRUM application that lets you create, store, modify, schedule, execute, and monitor response time tests. Using these tests (described in SPM Test Types [Page 19]), round-trip time can be measured between selected points in your network. These tests help you focus troubleshooting efforts in support of optimizing network performance and meeting service level agreements. The remainder of this section explains the concepts and terminology involved in using SPM to achieve these goals. In This Section Tests and Test Hosts [Page 12] Supported Remote Performance Agents and Tests [Page 13] SPM Test Types [Page 19] Alarms and Thresholds [Page 22] Fault Isolation [Page 22] Page 11

12 Tests and Test Hosts An SPM test host is a model of a device or software agent. The modeled device or agent can provide response time testing by initiating and performing response time measurements. A few examples of test host devices and agents are: A Cisco router A Sun Workstation running a SystemEdge Agent A SpectroSERVER For a complete list of supported agents and tests in SPM, see Supported Remote Performance Agents and Tests [Page 13]. SPECTRUM will configure the test host device or agent to perform a response time measurement. Devices that support SPM must be modeled with read/write community names to run SPM tests. Those modeled with read-only access will have an Inactive test host model. If you do not wish to use this device as a test host, then do nothing. If you do wish to use this device as a test host, you must update its community name using SpectroGRAPH or Search Manager. Once this is completed, the test host may be activated, and then used to run tests. Important: Attempts to run tests on a test host (with the exception of SpectroSERVERs) that isn't modeled with a read-write community string will cause an alarm on the test host model. Page 12

13 Supported Remote Performance Agents and Tests The following agents and MIBs are supported: RFC2925 Cisco SAA Agent [Page 14] Concord ehealth SystemEdge Service Response Subagent [Page 14] Network Harmoni SLAplus Agent [Page 15] Other Support [Page 16] RFC2925 Supported Tests ICMP Ping Vendors Implementing RFC2925 Extreme Juniper Riverstone Lucent (Ascend Max TNT) Page 13

14 Cisco SAA Agent Cisco SAA Agent is supported on Cisco routers running IOS 12.0 or higher. Supported Tests DHCP DNS FTP HTTP ICMP Ping Jitter Path Echo TCP Connection UDP Echo Note: For full-mesh measurements between hubs, Cisco recommends that shadow routers dedicated for SAA use be employed. See the SAA Agent FAQ for more information. Concord ehealth SystemEdge Service Response Subagent The Concord ehealth SystemEdge Service Response agent is a subagent that runs under the ehealth SystemEdge agent to add response time measurement capabilities. Supported Tests DNS FTP HTTP ICMP Ping POP3 SMTP TCP Connection Page 14

15 Network Harmoni SLAplus Agent SLAplus is an application response-time agent that effectively monitors vital host, system, and application performance metrics at the desktop. With SLAplus, actual application performance is measured to monitor Quality of Service and manage Service Level Agreements - critical parameters for judging the effectiveness of the entire IT infrastructure. SPM supports SLAplus, as well as the SLAplus agent offered by the vendors in the table below. Supported Tests DNS HTTP ICMP Ping OEM Vendors for Network Harmoni SLAplus Agilent Technologies InfoVista Peregrine Systems Ericsson Opticom RedPoint HP Micromuse Response Networks Page 15

16 Other Support Other Support Cisco Ping MIB Wellfleet Ping MIB SPECTRUM ICMP Daemon (ICMPd) Note: SPM supports the Wellfleet-PING-MIB for Wellfleet routers. The Nortel Contivity Ping MIB (CONTIVITY- INFO-V1-MIB) is not supported. Page 16

17 Test Host Position Test host position is the location of the test host on the test path and is critical to response time measurement. The following test host positions are possible in SPM: Source Mid Path [Page 18] Extended Path [Page 18] Source Note: Only ICMP Ping tests support mid path or extended path tests. The most common response time test case is when the source of the test (src in Figure 1) is also your test host (TH). In this test configuration, the source, or starting point, of the test is capable of being a Test Host (TH). A test host can initiate and perform response time measurements. When the source address is also the test host, response times are the most direct and accurate. Whenever possible, this is the desired mode. In SPM's source test, the test host (also the source of the test) generates a transaction directly with the destination (des) and measures the Round-Trip Time (RTT). Figure 1: Test Host Position: Source Page 17

18 Mid Path In a mid-path test configuration, the source, or starting point, of the test is not capable of being a test host (TH). It cannot initiate or perform any response time measurements. However, there exists a test host which lies directly on the path between the source and destination. In SPM's mid-path test, response time is measured from a) the test host to the source (RTT1); and b) the test host to the desired destination (RTT2). The sum of the two values is calculated to arrive at the total RTT from the source to the destination. Total RTT is a relative value which approximates actual time. Figure 2: Test Host Position: Mid Path Extended Path In an extended-path test configuration, the source, or starting point, of the test is not capable of being a test host (TH). It cannot initiate or perform any response time measurements. Additionally, there exists no test host between the source and destination as in the Mid Path scenario. However, the source is directly in the path between a test host and the destination. In SPM's extended-path test, response time is measured from a) the test host to the source (RTT1); and b) from the test host to the desired destination (RTT2). The difference of the two values is calculated to arrive at the RTT from the source to the destination. Total RTT is a relative value which approximates actual time. Note: Mid Path and Extended Path tests are useful only when either the source or destination address is not a test host. In both of these test types, you must determine test host position. Figure 3: Test Host Position: Extended Path Page 18

19 SPM Test Types provides access to response time management MIBs with ease of use in mind. SPM makes use of the response time measurement capabilities of SNMP agents running on systems and devices on your network. Depending on the capabilities of a test host, any number of the following test types will be configurable via SPM. Note: Only current Cisco routers support the RTTMON MIB. Older, pre 11.2 deployments may support only the Cisco Ping MIB. Response Time Tests by Category Network Response Time Test Types [Page 20] Network Service Response Time Tests [Page 20] Application Service Response Time Tests [Page 21] The following is a complete list of supported test types: Test Type DHCP DNS Description Host Address (DHCP request/release response time) [Page 20] Naming Service (DNS lookup response time) [Page 20] FTP FTP [Page 21] HTTP HTTP [Page 21] ICMP Ping ICMP Echo (Ping) [Page 20] Jitter Jitter [Page 20] Path Echo Path Echo (Traceroute) [Page 20] POP3 POP3 [Page 21] SMTP SMTP [Page 21] TCP Connection TCP Connection [Page 21] UDP Echo UDP Echo [Page 21] Page 19

20 Network Response Time Test Types ICMP Echo (Ping) ICMP Echo (Ping) tests issue ICMP Echo Request messages from the test host to the destination address. If the test host and source addresses are not the same, then another ICMP Echo Request is issued from the test host to the source address. The resulting ICMP Echo Reply messages are used to determine the round-trip time between the source address and the destination address. A second metric, packet loss, results from these tests. When a series of ICMP Echo requests are made, which is typical of these tests, a coarse measure of packet loss is possible. Jitter Jitter tests both latency and losses between two endpoints, but adds a finer measure of the statistical behavior of a sequence of requests. This test is tailored to measure the quality of the network for applications that cannot tolerate loss or latency, such as VoIP. Path Echo (Traceroute) Path Echo provides both the discovery of the layer three hops between the source and destination addresses, as well as the round-trip ICMP Echo measurement from the host address to each hop in the discovered path. Network Service Response Time Tests Network service tests measure the response time of essential network applications. SPM supports the following network service tests: Host Address (DHCP request/release response time) Host Address measures the round-trip time to get an IP address. This provides web site performance monitoring and trouble-shooting information. Naming Service (DNS lookup response time) Naming Service measures DNS lookup time. This provides web site performance monitoring and trouble-shooting information. Page 20

21 Application Service Response Time Tests SPM supports the following application service tests: FTP This measures round-trip time to transfer a file. HTTP This is the round-trip time to get a web page. This provides web site performance monitoring. POP3 This measures POP3 response (transaction) time. SMTP This measures SMTP mail server response (transaction) time. TCP Connection TCP Connection measures TCP connection time. UDP Echo UDP Echo measures round-trip delay. This provides a measurement of the response time of UDP traffic. This test is useful for applications supporting ICMP. Page 21

22 Alarms and Thresholds You can configure SPM to generate an alarm whenever the duration of an response time test exceeds a predetermined threshold on a specific link or path. Alarms can be viewed through SPECTRUM clients such as the Web Operator Alarm Manager (Figure 4), Alarm Notifier, etc. In Web Operator Alarm Manager, you can filter alarms by Alarm Type to see all SPM alarms. To do this, select Alarm Type from the filter drop-down menu, enter SPM in the filter field and click Go. Note: By default, SPM alarms are minor alarms. Figure 4: Web Operator Alarm Manager Fault Isolation SPECTRUM attempts to correlate impact alarms with root cause alarms, suppressing alarms that are not the root cause of a fault. When an RTM test failed event occurs, and the contact status of the RTM test Host Device model is lost, then RTM Test Failed alarms will be suppressed. Page 22

23 Working with Service Performance Manager This section provides an overview of the user interface for SPECTRUM s as well as detailed descriptions of the tasks the interface enables you to perform. In This Section Note: See the SPECTRUM Web Operator (5078) for general information about the Web Operator Suite. See the SPECTRUM Web Operator Administrator Guide (5079) for administrative information such as defining roles for SPM and other SPECTRUM web applications. User Roles and SPM [Page 24] User Interface Overview [Page 24] Creating Response Time Tests [Page 53] Running a Test [Page 72] Modifying an Existing Test [Page 72] Viewing Test Results [Page 74] Viewing SPM Alarms [Page 74] Page 23

24 User Roles and SPM SPM functionality depends on the privileges of the current user. A SPECTRUM administrator can configure user roles for Web Operator using UserEditor. For more information about UserEditor usage, see the Security & User Maintenance (2602) documentation. SPM for Operators [Page 24] SPM for Administrators [Page 24] SPM for Operators When logged into SPM as an operator, you can view information for tests and test hosts and run existing response time tests. As an operator, you cannot create, delete, edit, or copy any tests. Operator users cannot change Host Status [Page 45] for any test hosts. SPM for Administrators Administrator users have full access to all SPM functionality, including creating and editing response time tests. User Interface Overview The SPM user interface is accessed from the SPECTRUM Web Operator application menu bar. When you click the menu bar s Service Performance Manager link, you will see the Service Performance Manager Console [Page 25] (Figure 5). Note: The first time a SPECTRUM web application view loads, there is a short wait while it compiles. Page 24

25 Figure 5: Console Console The console is the starting point for creating new response time tests (see Creating Response Time Tests [Page 53]) and for performing various operations on or with existing tests. For operations on existing tests, the links first access a list of predefined searches that let you find the particular test or tests you are interested in. These Test Searches [Page 28], as well as Host Searches [Page 26], are also available directly from the console itself. Page 25

26 Host Searches From the Console, you can locate a test host by using one of the following test host search links: All Test Hosts Note: If there is only one test host, the All Test Hosts link will open the Test Host Details [Page 44] view for that test host. This link provides a list of all of the available test hosts in your network. Active Test Hosts This link provides a list of all of the active (Host Status is Active) test hosts in your network. Page 26

27 Test Host by IP This link provides a search (Figure 6) by IP of the available test hosts in your network. Enter an IP address and click Search to see the Test Host Details [Page 44] for that test host. A search for Test Host by IP searches the IP Registry for all known IP addresses for test hosts (including devices that have multiple IP addresses). Note: Searching for partial IPs (for example, ) using Test Host by IP is not supported. Figure 6: Test Host by IP Page 27

28 Test Searches From the Console, you can locate a test by following one of the following test search links: All Tests Note: If there is only one test of a given search type (for example, Tests Exceeding Threshold is true for one test), the test search link will open the Test Summary [Page 48] view for that test. This link provides a list of all of the tests you have configured. Tests by Status This link provides the Test Status Searches view which links to the following test status searches: Search Name Bad Community String Bad Configuration Device Disabled Ready To Run Scheduled User Disabled Scheduled Tests This link provides a list of all scheduled tests. Tests Exceeding Threshold This link provides a list of all of the tests exceeding their thresholds. Page 28

29 Test by Name This link provides a search (Figure 7) by test name. Enter a test name or part of a test name and click Search. Figure 7: Test by Name Test by Type This link provides the Test Type Searches view which links to the following test type searches: DHCP DNS FTP HTTP ICMP Ping Jitter Path Echo POP3 SMTP TCP Connection UDP Echo Page 29

30 Test by Source Address, Destination Address and Port Number This link provides a search (Figure 8) by test source, destination, and destination port. Enter the Source, Destination, and Destination Port for the test and click Search. You can enter partial strings to search for a test using this search. Note that searches with port number set to 0 will return tests for which destination port is not applicable (N/A). Figure 8: Test by Source Address, Destination Address and Port Number Test by Source Address This link provides a search by test source address. Enter the source and click Search. You can enter partial strings to search for a test using this search. Test by Destination Address and Port Number This link provides a search by test destination address and port number. Enter the test destination address and port number and click Search. You can enter partial strings to search for a test using this search. Note that searches with port number set to 0 will return tests for which destination port is not applicable (N/A). Page 30

31 General Configuration The General tab lets you set the following basic parameters of response time tests. Source Note: The buttons available in the test configuration tabs are described in Test Results [Page 47]. This is the point of origin of the test. When you create a response time test from within the context of a test host, the Source is filled in for you. Destination Note: In cases where the test host device is modeled on more than one landscape in SPECTRUM, you must explicitly choose the model you want by either using the test host details context to create tests (see Creating Response Time Tests [Page 53]) or choosing the correct model using its landscape in the Browse [Page 33] dialog. The destination address for the test. Name The name of the test. Test Status To enable or disable the test, choose Enabled or Disabled from the dropdown menu and click the Save button. Description Enter a description of the test in this field. This is SPECTRUM Response Time Test by default. Page 31

32 Figure 9 and Figure 10 show the General tab of the Response Time Test Configuration view for an ICMP Ping test. Figure 9: Response Time Test Configuration-General Figure 10: Response Time Test Configuration-General Page 32

33 Browse Figure 11 shows the Browse Test Hosts view accessible from the Browse button under the General tab of the General Configuration [Page 31] view. This dialog displays the name, IP, status, and landscape of each available test host. Note: If a test host is modeled on more than one landscape in SPECTRUM, you can use the landscape to choose the correct test host model from the list. Figure 11: Browse Test Hosts Note: When browsing a network with many thousands of test hosts, the Select Test Host list in Figure 11 can take considerable time to build. Page 33

34 Advanced Configuration The Advanced tab lets you choose additional options for the test. The advanced settings available vary for each test type (see Advanced Settings by Test Type [Page 35]). See Tests and Test Hosts [Page 12] for more information. Note: Only ICMP Ping supports the test host position options. See Test Host Position [Page 17] for more information. Figure 12 shows the Advanced tab of the Response Time Test Configuration view for an ICMP Ping test. Figure 12: Response Time Test Configuration-Advanced Page 34

35 Advanced Settings by Test Type The following settings are available in the Advanced Configuration [Page 34] tab for each type of test. ICMP Ping Note: RTTMON may occasionally perform more than the specified sample count repetitions for an SPM Test. See Packet Loss Percentage and Sample Count [Page 50]) for more information. For ICMP Ping tests, you can configure sample count, packet size, and Test Host Position [Page 17]. UDP Echo For UDP Echo tests, you can configure sample count and packet size. Path Echo For Path Echo tests, you can configure sample count and packet size. TCP Connection For TCP Connection tests, you can configure sample count and packet size. DNS No advanced configuration is available for DNS tests. HTTP For HTTP tests, you can configure sample count and proxy URL. See HTTP [Page 58] for more information. DHCP No advanced configuration is available for DHCP tests. Jitter For Jitter tests, you can configure sample count and packet size. Page 35

36 Schedule Configuration The Schedule tab lets you schedule when a test will be run. Figure 13 shows the Schedule tab of the Response Time Test Configuration view. Note: Once a test has been scheduled, the Run Now button is disabled because scheduled tests cannot be run manually. Figure 13: Response Time Test Configuration-Schedule Schedule State Choose Enabled or Disabled from the drop-down menu and click Save to set the schedule state of this test. Schedule Time Interval The interval between each scheduled run of the test. The default value is 900 seconds. Page 36

37 Schedule Note: For information on the Create Schedule button and custom schedules, see Creating Custom Schedules [Page 38]. Choose one of the following schedules from the drop-down menu: 7 days a week for 24 hours a day Daily from 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM Daily from 6:00 PM - 7:00 AM Monday - Friday from 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM Monday - Friday from 6:00 AM - 11:00 PM Note: Time zones for Schedule are local to the SpectroSERVER where the test host running the scheduled test is modeled. See Scheduling Tests [Page 69] for more information. Threshold Violation Interval This field lets you change the test interval upon a threshold violation. This gives you more precise data during a period of high latency. Latency Time Out Note: Setting this too low can create enough additional traffic and load on the router during a period of high latency to exacerbate the situation. This is the number of milliseconds allowed for the response. If no response is received before this timeout occurs, then a timeout event is generated. Any response which arrives after this timeout will be ignored. Set the timeout to be higher than the threshold setting. Page 37

38 Creating Custom Schedules To create a custom schedule, click the Create Schedule button (Figure 14) in the Schedule Configuration [Page 36] view. Figure 14: Create Schedule Note: The Create Schedule button for creating custom schedules is only available for SPECTRUM 6.6 SP3 and later releases. Additionally, the Create Schedule button is not available until the test host s domain is known. When you create a new test from the Console [Page 25] (rather than from within the context of a test host, as described in Creating Response Time Tests [Page 53]), you cannot immediately create a custom schedule. To create a custom schedule for a new test created without test host context, first use the Browse [Page 33] button to select a test host. The domain will then be known to SPM and the Create Schedule button will be available (for SPECTRUM 6.6 SP3 and later). The Schedule Editor [Page 39] will appear. Page 38

39 Schedule Editor The schedule editor (Figure 15) lets you create custom schedules. To create a custom schedule with the schedule editor, set the start date, duration, and recurrence of a test s schedule and click OK. Figure 15: Schedule Editor Note: If you set a test s scheduled recurrence to None and click OK in the schedule editor, the test will run once on the start date, revert to the default schedule of 7 days a week for 24 hours a day, and have a status of Disabled. Page 39

40 Threshold Configuration The Threshold tab (Figure 16) lets you configure SPM alarm thresholds. SPM can be configured to alarm when a test exceeds a configured threshold on a specific link or path. Alarms are visible through any SPECTRUM Alarm client, such as the Web Operator Suite Alarm Manager, or Alarm Notifier. You can use these alarms to proactively address network, network service, and network application latencies, as well as to correlate network and trouble ticket events. Figure 16: Response Time Test Configuration-Threshold Active Thresholds Schedule Note: For information on the Create Schedule button and custom schedules, see Creating Custom Schedules [Page 38]. Choose one of the following schedules from the drop-down menu: 7 days a week for 24 hours a day Daily from 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM Daily from 6:00 PM - 7:00 AM Monday - Friday from 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM Monday - Friday from 6:00 AM - 11:00 PM Page 40

41 Threshold Events are asserted on Select one of the following from the drop-down menu to assert threshold events on: RTM Test Source Model (if modeled in SPECTRUM) Destination Model (if modeled in SPECTRUM) Test Host Latency Time Out This is the number of milliseconds allowed for the response. If no response is received before this timeout occurs, then a timeout event is generated. Any response which arrives after this timeout will be ignored. Set the timeout to be higher than the threshold setting. See Time-Out Errors [Page 82]. Threshold Type For each supported Threshold Type for the test (latency and packet loss in the case of ICMP Ping, Figure 16 [Page 40]), you can configure the following values. Status Note: For all Threshold Types, the values for Threshold, Threshold Cycles and Clear Cycles must be greater than zero. The Clear Threshold value must also be greater than zero unless the Threshold Type expresses it in percentage (for example, packet loss). In this case, it must be zero or greater. Choose Enabled or Disabled from the drop-down menu to set whether the threshold type is enabled on this test. Page 41

42 Alarm Severity To set Alarm Severity, choose one of the following alarm options available from the drop-down menu to create an event or alarm when response time exceeds the threshold and number of successive test cycles you specify. Threshold Event Minor Alarm Major Alarm Critical Alarm Threshold The response time threshold value for this test. Threshold Cycles The number of consecutive test cycles this test must run in violation of the threshold in order to set an alarm. Clear Threshold The reset threshold under which alarms will clear. This must be equal to or less than Threshold. Clear Cycles The number of consecutive test cycles this test must run under the Clear Threshold in order to clear an alarm. Page 42

43 Test Hosts Search Results The Test Host Inventory view provides a listing of all devices currently designated as test hosts, indicating which test types are supported by each host. This view is accessible from the All Test Hosts link in the Service Performance Manager Console [Page 25]. Figure 17 shows the Test Host Search Results view accessible from the Console (Figure 5 [Page 25]). In the Test Host Search Results view, click the Name link to see the Test Host Details view for that host. Figure 17: Test Host Search Results Page 43

44 Test Host Details The Test Host Details view provides information (Details [Page 44]) on a specific device that serves as a host for one or more tests. This view also lists the test types supported by the device and provides the SPM Test List [Page 45]. Figure 18 shows the Test Host Details view. Figure 18: Test Host Details Details Name The model name of the test host device model. Network Address The IP address of the test host device model. Landscape The landscape where this test host is modeled. Device Type The type of device. Page 44

45 Host Status This drop-down menu sets the status of the test host. If set to Inactive, this test host is in maintenance mode and no tests will be performed. Note: Before activating a non-vnm test host, see Firmware Issues [Page 81] for more information. VNM test hosts always start in an active state. All other test hosts always start in an inactive state. Community name changes have no effect on the test host State. If running a test results in an SNMP_SET failure, the test host will enter an inactive state. Host status is persistent. To activate an inactive test host, select Active from the drop-down menu and click Save. Note that if the test host device's model is in maintenance mode, an error will be displayed and the test host will not be activated. Test Types Supported test types on this host. See SPM Test Types [Page 19] for more information about test types. SPM Test List This section lists the tests configured on this test host. Filter You can filter the list of tests by any of the following: All Name Source Address Destination Host Address Type Status Page 45

46 Test Inventory Depending on where it is launched from, the Test Inventory view lists all available tests in the system or loaded onto a specific host, showing the information that is set in General Configuration [Page 31], as well as the following information, for each test. You can configure which columns appear and in what order by clicking the Configure button. See the SPECTRUM Web Operator 5078 for more information about table configuration. Name The name of the response time test. Click on the name to launch the Test Results [Page 47] view for that test. % Threshold This is the ratio of response time to the threshold, where 100 percent is at threshold. This column provides a quick reference of which tests are at or near threshold. Figure 19 shows the Test Inventory view, accessible from All Tests (under Test Searches) in the Console. Note: To quickly see a top 10 list of the tests closest to threshold violation, click the sort button next to the % Threshold table heading. Figure 19: Test Inventory Page 46

47 Test Results Figure 20 shows the Test Results view, accessible from the Name column of Test Inventory. Note: The Archive Manager must be running for a given test s landscape in order for SPM to display test results for that test. This view provides the following sections: Test Summary [Page 48] Latest Results [Page 49] Recent Results [Page 49] Figure 20: Test Results Page 47

48 Test Summary The Test Summary section of the Test Results view (Figure 20) provides information defined for this test by the tabbed configuration views starting with General Configuration [Page 31]. To quickly return to the Test Host Details [Page 44] view for this test s host, click the Host Address link. The test s condition is also displayed. If Condition is other than Normal you can click this link to view the alarms (Figure 4) for this model. Run Now Note: ICMP Ping, Path Echo, DNS, and HTTP test types are not port-configurable in SPM. They show N/A for Destination Port in the Test Summary section while other tests show the applicable port information. This button (disabled for scheduled tests) immediately runs the test once. Save This button (disabled in the Results view) saves changes made to the current test in any of the configuration tabs. See General Configuration [Page 31]. Cancel This button (disabled in the Results view) returns to the Service Performance Manager Console [Page 25], canceling any changes made to the current test in any of the configuration tabs. Delete This button can be used to delete the current test. Pressing Delete opens a confirmation dialog: Confirm Destroy Do you really want to destroy the following model(s)? Model <test name> of type RTM_Test. Click Cancel to return to the Test Results view or OK to delete the model. Page 48

49 Copy A new test can be created by copying an existing test, and modifying parameters on the new copy. Copied tests are disabled by default. Copied tests are auto-named by appending _COPY to the source test s name. Refresh Note: You cannot copy tests between domains running different versions of SPECTRUM. Click this button to ensure you are viewing the latest data for this test. Latest Results This section provides results from the last time the test was run. This includes the Last Run time, Current Value, Threshold Value, and % of Threshold of the latest run for the test s metrics (latency and packet loss in the case of ICMP Ping). Recent Results Note: You must click the Refresh [Page 49] button to be sure you are seeing the latest results. The Recent Results section displays the most recent three hours of test result data (3 Hr) by default. You can change this to display data for any of the following time periods by clicking the corresponding link: 1 Hr 6 Hr 12 Hr 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month All Results For each test metric, Minimum Value, Maximum Value, and Average Value are shown. Selecting 1 Month will retrieve 31 days worth of result data. Selecting All Results will retrieve all result data stored in SPECTRUM s Distributed Data Manager (DDM) database, up to a maximum of 365 days. By default, the DDM stores up to 45 days worth of data. See the Database Management (2601) documentation for more information. Page 49

50 Note: Retrieving large numbers of result events may negatively impact performance. To see a graph of the test data for a given measurement, click the Launch Graph link. For more information about this graph, see Graph of Recent Results [Page 50]. Packet Loss Percentage and Sample Count RTTMON may occasionally perform more than the sample count repetitions (set in Advanced Configuration [Page 34]) specified for an SPM Test. SPM takes this into account, and properly calculates the average, maximum, and minimum results for latency and packet Loss. Because of this, the value for percentage of packet loss (shown in the Latest Results and Recent Results sections of Test Results [Page 47] as well as in the Graph of Recent Results [Page 50] for packet loss) can be other than a multiple of (1 / sample count) * 100. For example: If you set sample count to 5, normally the percentage of packet loss will be a value of 0%, 20%, 40%, %. If the agent performs more than 5 repetitions, you may see 0%, %, % %. Graph of Recent Results Figure 21 [Page 51] shows the Graph view, accessible from the Launch Graph link in the Recent Results [Page 49] section of Test Results. The label at the top of the graph indicates the response time metric and the period over which it is being measured. To print an SPM graph, right click the Test Summary area above the graph and select Print. Note: The time zone used by the results graph is local to your web browser. Page 50

51 Figure 21: Graph Graph Legend The legend at the base of the graph defines the Y-axis value of the data series shown by the graph (Latency in Figure 21) as well as the line colors, values, and units for Latency Timeout and/or Threshold. X and Y Zoom % Note: Hovering over the end of a data point line or on a threshold line in the graph displays a descriptive label for that line. For a data point in the series, the date, time, and value are displayed in this label. The zoom feature lets you view a section of the graph in greater detail. By choosing a zoom percentage from the drop-down menus or manually entering a value in either zoom box, you can zoom in on the X and/or Y axes to see only the data you are interested in. For example, in cases where a graph of test results contains outliers for latency, zoom the Y-axis to a value greater than 100 percent and, if needed, use the resulting vertical scroll bar to scroll to the relevant data. Figure 22 and Figure 23 show a results graph with one outlier before and after zooming. Note: You must enter a zoom percentage of 100% or greater within either of the two provided fields to zoom. Entering a percentage lower than 100% will cause the graph to default back to 100%. Page 51

52 Figure 22: Zooming the Graph Figure 23: Zooming the Graph Page 52

53 Creating Response Time Tests This section describes how to create, schedule, and set thresholds for each of the supported test types in SPM. In This Section DHCP [Page 54] DNS [Page 55] FTP [Page 56] HTTP [Page 58] ICMP Ping [Page 59] Jitter [Page 61] Path Echo [Page 63] POP3 [Page 64] SMTP [Page 65] TCP Connection [Page 66] UDP Echo [Page 68] Scheduling Tests [Page 69] Setting Thresholds [Page 70] Establishing Baseline Thresholds [Page 70] Page 53

54 DHCP DHCP tests measure the round-trip time required to get an IP address. The DHCP server must be on the same subnet as the test host performing the DHCP test. To configure the test host to work with your DHCP server s IP address, see the documentation for the device. Note: In order for DHCP tests to work on a router, one of the neighboring routers must be a DHCP agent or relay. See the documentation for your device for more information. Results from DHCP tests are: Latency Procedure Note: DHCP test latency result values that are higher than the value set for timeout for tests run on Cisco router test hosts are the result of a known issue with Cisco IOS 12.2(2)T. See Firmware Issues [Page 81]. 1. Locate the test host from which you want to run a DHCP test. Under Host Searches in the Console, search for a test host using the All Test Hosts link. Note: DHCP tests must be supported on the test host you wish to use. 2. In the Test Hosts Search Results view, click the Name link of the test host from which you wish to run a test. If you have many available test hosts to choose from, you can use the drop-down filtering options at the bottom of the page to filter the list to locate the test host you want. See the SPECTRUM Web Operator (5078) for more information on the filter tool. Note: Running response time tests on any one test host device can create a significant load on that device. 3. In the Create Response Time Test dialog of the resulting Test Host Details view for that host (Figure 24 [Page 60]), select DHCP from the drop-down menu and click Continue. 4. This opens the tabbed Response Time Test Configuration view (Figure 9). In the General tab of this view, the source address will already be entered. You can also click the Browse [Page 33] button to Page 54

55 search for available test hosts. No destination address is needed for DHCP tests. 5. Enter a name for the test in the Name field and enter any descriptive notes in Description. Note: Each test on a given test host must have a unique Name. 6. Enable or disable the test using the Test Status drop-down menu and click the Save or Run Now buttons. For more information, see: General Configuration [Page 31] Scheduling Tests [Page 69] Setting Thresholds [Page 70] Establishing Baseline Thresholds [Page 70] DNS DNS tests measure DNS lookup time. IP DNS-based host name-to-address translation must be enabled on the test host device performing the DNS test. To check to see if DNS lookup is enabled and/or to enable it, see the documentation for the device. Results from DNS tests are: Latency Packet Loss Procedure 1. Locate the test host from which you want to run a DNS test. Under Host Searches in the Console, search for a test host using the All Test Hosts link. Note: DNS tests must be supported on the test host you wish to use. 2. In the Test Hosts Search Results view, click the Name link of the test host from which you wish to run a test. If you have many available test hosts to choose from, you can use the drop-down filtering options at the bottom of the page to filter the list to locate the test host you want. See the SPECTRUM Web Operator (5078) for more information on the filter tool. Page 55