Table of Contents

Preparing to Use the Web-Based Management Interfaces

Hardware and Software Requirements
Configuring Netscape Communicator
Configuring Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01
Configuring Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0

Using Cisco Visual Switch Manager

Accessing CVSM for the First Time
CVSM Menu Options

Using Switch Network View
Using Cluster Management

Accessing Cluster Management
Common Interface Features in Cluster Management

Using Cluster Builder
Using Cluster View
Using Cluster Manager
Using the IOS Command-Line Interface

Understanding the CLI
Using the CLI to Manage Cluster Members
Setting Passwords
Getting Help
Abbreviating Commands
Using no Commands
Understanding Command-Line Error Messages
Configuring the Switch for Telnet
Starting a Telnet Session from the Browser
Working with Files in Flash Memory

SNMP Management

MIB Files
Using FTP to Access the MIB Files
Using CCO to Access the MIB Files
Using SNMP to Access MIB Variables
Managing Clusters via SNMP

Using the Management Interfaces

This chapter describes the features and management characteristics of the management interfaces. You can use these interfaces to monitor and configure a switch or a group of switches.

There are three web-based management tools that you access via a browser such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer:

• Cisco Visual Switch Manager (CVSM) for managing a switch

• Switch Network View for managing a simple stack of switches

• Cluster Management for managing a cluster of switches

With Cluster Management, you can use a command switch with an IP address to manage a cluster of up to 15 other switches. The other switches, called member switches, do not need individual IP addresses.

Table 3-1 lists the key features and defaults of this release and cross-references the descriptions for changing them with the CLI or an HTML interface.

Preparing to Use the Web-Based Management Interfaces

All of the web-based management features are based on an embedded HTML web site in the switch Flash memory. This section describes how to configure your environment for web-based management.

Hardware and Software Requirements

You can access the web-based interfaces through the browsers listed in Table 2-1. The switch checks the browser version when starting an HTML session to ensure that the browser is supported. If the browser is not supported, the switch displays an error message, and the HTML session does not start.

The minimum requirement for a PC is a Pentium processor running at 166 MHz with
64 MB of DRAM. The minimum requirement for a UNIX workstation is a Sun Ultra 1 running at 143 MHz.

Table 2-2 lists the configuration that yields the best results for the HTML interfaces.

Configuring Netscape Communicator

Follow these steps to configure Netscape Communicator:

Step 1 Start Netscape Communicator.

Step 2 From the menu bar, select Edit>Preferences.

Step 3 In the Preferences window, click Advanced.

(a) Select the Enable Java, Enable JavaScript, and Enable Style Sheets check boxes.

(b) Click OK to return to the browser Home page.

Step 4 From the menu bar, select Edit>Preferences.

(a) In the Preferences window, click Advanced Cache, and select Every time.

(b) Click OK to return to the browser Home page.

Configuring Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01

Follow these steps to configure Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01:

Step 1 Start Internet Explorer.

Step 2 From the menu bar, select View>Internet Options.

Step 3 In the Internet Options window, click Advanced.

(a) Scroll through the list of options until you see Java VM. Select the Java JIT compiler enabled and Java logging enabled check boxes.

(b) Click Apply.

(c) Click General. In the Temporary Internet Files section, click Settings. The Settings window opens.

Step 4 Click Every visit to the page, and click OK.

Step 5 In the Internet Options window, click Security.

(a) In the Zone drop-down list, select Trusted Sites Zone.

(b) In the Trusted Sites Zone section, click Custom.

(c) Click Settings.

Step 6 Select Java>Java Permissions section, and select Custom.

Click Java Custom Setting, which appears at the bottom of the window.

Step 7 In the Trusted Sites Zone window, click Edit Permissions.

(a) If the buttons under Run Unsigned Content are not available, select either Medium or Low security in the Reset Java Permissions list box. Click Reset.

(b) Under Run Unsigned Content, select Enable, and click OK.

Step 8 In the Security Settings window, click OK.

Step 9 In the Internet Options window, click Security.

(a) Verify that the Zone drop-down list is set to Trusted Sites Zone.

(b) In the Trusted Sites Zone section, click Add Sites.

Step 10 In the Trusted Sites Zone window, deselect the Require server verification check box.

(a) In the Add this Web site to the Zone field, enter the IP address of the cluster command switch, as in this example:

http://172.20.153.36

(b) Click Add, and then click OK.

---

Note You do not need to enter the IP addresses of member switches. However, if a switch does have an IP address and you want to leave open the possibility of direct management, enter the member switch IP address as you did the command switch IP address.

---

Step 11 In the Internet Options window, click Apply, and then click OK.

Configuring Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0

Follow these steps to configure Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0:

Step 1 Start Internet Explorer.

Step 2 From the menu bar, select Tools>Internet Options.

Step 3 In the Internet Options window, click Security.

Step 4 Select the Trusted Sites icon and click Sites....

Step 5 Deselect the Require server verification checkbox and click Add.

Step 6 Add the switches you want to manage by entering their URLs in the Add this web site to the zone field. A URL is the switch IP address preceded by http://.

Step 7 After you have finished entering the URLs for your switches, click OK.

Step 8 Still in the Security tab of Internet Options, click Custom Level...

Step 9 In the Security Settings dialog box, scroll down to the Java>Java permissions section.

Step 10 Select Custom. This enables the Java Custom Settings button.

Step 11 Click Java Custom Settings and then select Edit Permissions.

Step 12 Under Run Unsigned Content, click Enable, and click OK.

Step 13 Click OK to close the Security Settings dialog box.

Using Cisco Visual Switch Manager

CVSM is a web-based device-management site for configuring and monitoring your switch. Because the switch is preconfigured, CVSM pages show the settings that the switch is using. You change the configuration settings by entering information in fields, adding and removing list items, or selecting check boxes. In addition, the CVSM Home page displays a live image of the switch (see Figure 2-2). The LEDs reflect the current status of the switch, and you can click on ports to configure them.

When you enter information in a CVSM field and click Apply, the change becomes part of the running (current) configuration. If you make a mistake and want to retype an entry, click Cancel to undo your first entry. Items added to or removed from lists in CVSM immediately become part of the running configuration, and you do not need to click Apply.

Accessing CVSM for the First Time

The switch must have an IP address before you can access CVSM. For instructions on assigning the IP address, see the "CLI Commands for Assigning IP Information to the Switch" section. Follow these steps to access CVSM:

Step 1 Be sure that you have configured your browser correctly. See the "Preparing to Use the Web-Based Management Interfaces" section for more information.

Step 2 Start the browser.

Step 3 Enter the switch IP address in the browser Location field (Netscape Communicator) or Address field (Internet Explorer).

Step 4 Press Return. The Cisco Systems Access page (see Figure 2-1) is displayed.

Step 5 Click Visual Switch Manager to display the CVSM Home page, shown in Figure 3-4.

The CVSM Home page displays when you click Visual Switch Manager on the Cisco Systems Access page. All the CVSM pages have a Home button that you can click to return to this page. From the Home page you can monitor and configure the port as described in Figure 2-2.

The other web-based tools are available from the CVSM Home page. Depending on your network, you can click Cluster Management to create and manage clusters of switches or Switch Network View to display the stack connected to the switch.

You can bookmark the IP address to easily retrieve the Home page for later use.

Figure 2-2: Using the Mode Button to Configure Ports

CVSM Menu Options

You can access the device-management features of this release from the Home page drop-down menus, such as the Port menu shown in Figure 2-3. Table 2-3 describes the menu options and their function.

Figure 2-3: CVSM Menu Bar

Using Switch Network View

The Switch Network View page displays a map of the devices that are directly connected to a switch that is not part of a cluster. From the Network View, you can display switch-connection information, device reports, and link reports.

You display Network View from the switch home page, but its availability depends on how your switch is configured. If your switch is part of a cluster, the button displays Cluster Management. If it is not part of a cluster, the button displays Switch Network View.

If your switch is not in a cluster, click Switch Network View on the CVSM Home page to display the view shown in Figure 2-4. Blue labels identify stack members. Yellow labels identify generic edge devices connected to stack members. Network View can also display Cisco routers, switches, hubs, and Cisco Micro Webservers if they are directly attached to a switch running IOS Release 11.2(8)SA6 or later.

Table 2-4: Network View Buttons

Name	Purpose
Visual Stack	Display live images of stack members. From this page you can: Display the status, duplex, speed and Port Fast settings on this port. Configure ports. Start the CVSM for any stack member.
Switch Manager	Display switch connection information (device type, IP address, port number) for switches that are directly connected to the primary switch. Switch stack members have blue labels, and switch edge devices have yellow labels. Click the IP address of a stack member to display the CVSM Home page for the switch.
Toggle Labels	Alternate between displaying IP addresses and device type labels.
Help	Display online help.
Legend	Display the meanings of icons and links.

Figure 2-4: Switch Network View Page

Using Cluster Management

Cluster Management consists of three related tools that you can use to create clusters of switches, manage individual switches, and display device information, link information, and performance graphs. This section describes how you can use the following Cluster Management tools to manage your network:

• Cluster Builder

• Cluster View

• Cluster Manager

Accessing Cluster Management

See the "Creating Clusters" section for information on how to create a cluster.

Once the cluster is created, you can access Cluster Management in the following ways:

• Click Cluster Management on the switch Home page

• Click Cluster Management on the Cisco Access page, as shown in Figure 2-1.

Common Interface Features in Cluster Management

Certain features are common to all three Cluster Management tools. Table 2-5 lists the buttons on the Cluster Builder, Cluster View, and Cluster Manager pages.

Using Cluster Builder

Use Cluster Builder to automatically or manually create a cluster of switches. Devices directly connected to the command switch and running the appropriate software display in color to identify them as cluster members or candidates.

Depending on your topology, you can add all candidate switches to the cluster at once (star topology) or add them one by one (daisy-chain topology). After the cluster is created, you can collapse the entire cluster into a single icon by clicking Toggle Views to display Cluster View. Figure 2-5 shows Cluster Builder displaying a map of cluster devices.

Cluster Builder labels other network devices with the following colors:

Green	A cluster member, either as a member switch or as the command switch.
Blue	A cluster candidate. Add these candidates to the cluster with Cluster Builder.
Yellow	A directly connected Cisco device that cannot be a cluster member. These can be routers, hubs, switches, or other Cisco devices.

Table 2-6 describes the active buttons in Cluster Builder, Table 2-7 describes the available menu options when you right-click a switch, and Table 2-8 describes the available menu options when you right-click a link. The menu options can vary depending on the type of device and whether it is a cluster member or not.

Figure 2-5: Cluster Builder

Using Cluster View

Cluster View displays the cluster as a single icon and edge devices and candidate switches connected to the cluster. To access Cluster View, click the Toggle Views button in Cluster Builder.

Cluster View labels network devices with the following colors:

Yellow	Edge devices that are not running Cluster Management software
Green	Cluster icon
Blue	Candidate switches that are not qualified for membership
White	Additional clusters

Table 2-9 lists the menu options available when you right-click a device. Table 2-10 lists the menu options available when you right-click a link.

Using Cluster Manager

Cluster Manager displays live images of cluster switches that you can use to monitor and configure the devices. You can click a port, or several ports, to configure status, speed, duplex and Port Fast settings.

The LEDs display real-time information on the status and configuration of the ports. Click the Mode button to change the port LED mode to display the speed and duplex settings of all switch ports. Click Device Position to place the images in any order.

Click a switch chassis and right-click to display the device pop-up window. Table 2-11 describes the items available from this menu.

Using the IOS Command-Line Interface

This section introduces the Cisco IOS command-line interface (CLI). The Cisco IOS Desktop Switching Command Reference: Catalyst 2900 Series XL
and Catalyst 3500 Series XL Cisco IOS Release 11.2(8)SA6 is a complete description of commands that have been created or changed for the switches. The documentation set for Cisco IOS Release 11.2(8) describes the other command switches.

Understanding the CLI

This section describes the Cisco IOS command-mode structure. Each command mode supports specific Cisco IOS commands. For example, the interface type_number command is used only from global configuration mode.

The switch supports the following command modes:

• User EXEC

• Privileged EXEC

• VLAN database (Enterprise Edition Software only)

• Global configuration

• Interface configuration

• Line configuration

Table 2-12 describes how to access each mode, the prompt you see in that mode, and how to exit the mode. The examples in the table use the host name switch.

Using the CLI to Manage Cluster Members

You can configure member switches via the CLI by first logging in to the command switch. Enter the EXEC mode rcommand command and the number of the member switch to access the member switch CLI. The following example shows how to log in to member-switch 3 from the command-switch CLI:

switch# rcommand 3
 

See the "Starting a Telnet Session from the Browser" section for instructions on starting a Telnet session to the switch.

Setting Passwords

Because many privileged EXEC commands are used to set operating parameters, you should password-protect these commands to prevent unauthorized use.

There are two commands for setting passwords:

• enable secret password (a very secure, encrypted password)

• enable password password (a less secure, unencrypted password)

When Cluster Management suggests a candidate to add to a cluster, there is a field where you can enter the enable password of the candidate. If you enter the password that has already been defined for the candidate, the switch joins the cluster and then inherits the enable password of the command switch. See the "Automatically Discovering Cluster Candidates" section for more information on managing enable passwords in Cluster Management.

To unset a password, use the no version of the commands: no enable password or no enable secret.

If you lose or forget your enable password, see the "Recovering from a Lost or Forgotten Password" section.

Getting Help

You can use the question mark (?) and arrow keys to help you enter commands.

For a list of available commands in a command mode, enter a question mark:

switch> ?
 

To complete a command, enter a few known characters followed by a tab (with no space):

switch# sh conf<tab>
switch#sh configuration
 

For a list of command variables, enter the command followed by a space and a question mark:

switch> show ?
 

To redisplay a command you previously entered, press the up-arrow key. You can continue to press the up-arrow key for more commands.

Abbreviating Commands

You only have to enter enough characters for the switch to recognize the command as unique. This example shows how to enter the show configuration command:

switch# show conf

Using no Commands

• Resets a command to its default values.

Understanding Command-Line Error Messages

Table 2-13 lists some error messages that you might encounter while using the CLI to configure your switch.

Table 2-13: Common CLI Error Messages

Error Message	Meaning	How to Get Help
% Ambiguous command: "show con"	You did not enter enough characters for your switch to recognize the command.	Reenter the command followed by a question mark (?) with a space between the command and the question mark. The possible keywords that you can enter with the command are displayed.
% Incomplete command.	You did not enter all of the keywords or values required by this command.	Reenter the command followed by a question mark (?) with a space between the command and the question mark. The possible keywords that you can enter with the command are displayed.
% Invalid input detected at `^' marker.	You entered the command incorrectly. The caret (^) marks the point of the error.	Enter a question mark (?) to display all of the commands that are available in this command mode. The possible keywords that you can enter with the command are displayed.

Configuring the Switch for Telnet

The following procedure describes one way to configure a password for Telnet.

Task	Prompt	Command
Step 1 Attach a PC or workstation with emulation software to the switch console port. The default data characteristics of the console port are 9600, 8, 1, no parity. When the command line appears, go to Step 2.
Step 2 Enter privileged EXEC mode.	switch>	enable
Step 3 Enter global configuration mode.	switch#	config terminal
Step 4 Enter the interface configuration mode for the Telnet interface. There are 16 possible sessions on a command-capable switch. The 0 and 15 indicate that you are configuring all 16 possible Telnet sessions.	switch(config)#	line vty 0 15
Step 5 Enter a password.	switch(config)#	password password
Step 6 Return to privileged EXEC mode so that you can verify the entry.	switch(config)#	end
Step 7 Display the running configuration. The password is listed under the command line vty 0 15.	switch#	show running-config
Step 8 As an option, save the running configuration to the startup configuration.	switch#	copy running-config startup-config

Starting a Telnet Session from the Browser

Follow this procedure to start a Telnet session via a browser:

Step 1 Start one of the supported browsers.

Step 2 In the URL field, enter the IP address of the command switch.

Step 3 When the Cisco Access page (Figure 2-1) is displayed, click Telnet - to the switch to start the Telnet session.

Working with Files in Flash Memory

You can use the file system in Flash memory to copy files and to troubleshoot configuration problems. Use the privileged EXEC dir flash: command to display the contents of Flash memory:

Switch# dir flash:
Directory of flash:
 
  2  -rwx      843947   Mar 01 1993 00:02:18  C2900XL-h-mz-112.8-SA
  4  drwx        3776   Mar 01 1993 01:23:24  html
 66  -rwx         130   Jan 01 1970 00:01:19  env_vars
 68  -rwx        1296   Mar 01 1993 06:55:51  config.text
 
1728000 bytes total (456704 bytes free)

The file system uses a URL-based file specification. The following example uses the TFTP protocol to copy the file conffile.txt from the host arno to switch Flash memory with the name bootfile:

switch# copy tftp://arno//2900/conffile.txt flash:bootfile

You can enter the following parameters as part of a filename:

• TFTP

• Flash

• RCP

• XMODEM

Use the copy running-config startup-config command to save your configuration changes to Flash memory so that they are not lost if there is a system reload or power outage. This example shows how to use this command to save your changes:

Switch# copy running-config startup-config
Building configuration...
 

[OK]
switch#

SNMP Management

This section describes how to access Management Information Base (MIB) objects to configure and manage your switch. It provides the following information:

MIB Files

The MIB files contain variables that can be set or read to provide information about the switch, such as the traps generated by the switch.

The following MIB files contain the MIB and trap information for the switch:

• RFC1213-MIB.my contains the MIB II (RFC 1213).

• CISCO-C2900-MIB.my contains the device-specific MIB.

• BRIDGE-MIB.my contains the bridge MIB (RFC 1493).

• CISCO-CDP-MIB-V1SMI.my contains the Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) MIB.

• CISCO-VLAN-MEMBERSHIP-MIB.V1SMI.my controls VLAN membership of ports.

• CISCO-SWITCH-CGMP-MIB.my controls Cisco Group Management Protocol.

Using FTP to Access the MIB Files

You can obtain each MIB file with the following procedure:

Step 1 Use FTP to access the server ftp.cisco.com.

Step 2 Log in with the username anonymous.

Step 3 Enter your e-mail username when prompted for the password.

Step 4 At the ftp> prompt, change directories to /pub/mibs.

Step 5 Use the get README command to display the readme file containing a list of available files.

Step 6 Use the get MIB_filename command to obtain a copy of the MIB file.

Using CCO to Access the MIB Files

CCO serves a wide variety of users through two interfaces that are updated and enhanced simultaneously: a character-based version and a multimedia version that resides on the World Wide Web (WWW). The character-based CCO supports Zmodem, Kermit, Xmodem, FTP, and Internet e-mail, and it is excellent for quick access to information over lower bandwidths. The WWW version of CCO provides richly formatted documents with photographs, figures, graphics, and video, as well as hyperlinks to related information.

• WWW:  http://www.cisco.com

• WWW:  http://www-europe.cisco.com

• WWW:  http://www-china.cisco.com

• Telnet:  cco.cisco.com

• Modem:  From North America, 408 526-8070; from Europe, 33 1 64 46 40 82. Use the following terminal settings: VT100 emulation; databits: 8; parity: none; stop bits: 1; and connection rates up to 28.8 kbps.

For a copy of CCO's Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), contact cco-help@cisco.com. For additional information, contact cco-team@cisco.com.

Using SNMP to Access MIB Variables

The switch MIB variables are accessible through SNMP, an application-layer protocol facilitating the exchange of management information between network devices. The SNMP system consists of three parts: SNMP manager, SNMP agent, and MIB.

Instead of defining a large set of commands, SNMP places all operations in a get-request, get-next-request, and set-request format. For example, an SNMP manager can get a value from an SNMP agent or store a value into that SNMP agent. The SNMP manager can be part of a network management system (NMS), and the SNMP agent can reside on a networking device such as a switch. You can compile the switch MIB files with your network management software. The SNMP agent can respond to MIB-related queries being sent by the NMS.

An example of an NMS is the CiscoWorks network management software. CiscoWorks software uses the switch MIB variables to set device variables and to poll devices on the network for specific information. The results of a poll can be displayed as a graph and analyzed in order to troubleshoot internetworking problems, increase network performance, verify the configuration of devices, monitor traffic loads, and more.

As shown in Figure 2-8, the SNMP agent gathers data from the MIB, which is the repository for information about device parameters and network data. The agent can send traps, or notification of certain events, to the manager.

The SNMP manager uses information in the MIB to perform the operations described in Table 2-14.

Managing Clusters via SNMP

SNMP must be enabled for the Cluster Management reporting and graphing features to function properly. When you power-up your switch for the first time, SNMP is enabled if you enter the IP information via the setup program and accept its proposed configuration. If you did not use the setup program to enter the IP information, and SNMP was not enabled, you can enable it on the SNMP page described in the "Disabling and Enabling SNMP" section.

When a cluster is created, the command switch manages the exchange of messages between member switches and an SNMP application by appending the host name of the member switch to the first configured RW and RO community strings. The command switch uses this community string to control the forwarding of messages, such as traps, between the SNMP management station and the member switches, as shown in Figure 2-9. However, if a member switch has its own IP address and community strings, they can be used in addition to the access provided by the command switch.

Figure 2-9: SNMP Management for a Cluster

Posted: Wed May 26 10:47:59 PDT 1999
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