Table of Contents
Reports
This chapter describes the reports that provide detailed information about your network. You can view these reports in the program's main window, or you can view HTML versions of them in a web browser. For more information about viewing reports in a browser, see the chapter on "Web Reports and Topologies" elsewhere in this reference guide.
Reports are listed in the navigation panel (left pane) of the main window.
Reports are based on the configuration files that were copied into your baseline's config subdirectory. That is, if you pointed the Creating a baseline wizard to a set of configuration files kept in the directory C:\myconfigs while creating the baseline you named mybaseline, the configuration files would have been copied into a new subdirectory data\mybaseline\config inside the Cisco Netsys Baseliner installation directory. Reports are based on this set of configuration files, not the source files in C:\myconfigs.
A new report will be generated based on the current state of the configuration files the first time you open the report during the current session. Subsequent reopenings of that report will simply redisplay the same information. If you have made changes to your configurations and want to see those changes reflected in the reports, you should reopen your baseline.
You can save individual reports in HTML, ASCII text, or comma separated value (CSV) format, by opening the report and choosing the Save Report item on the File menu. CSV reports can be imported into a spreadsheet. ASCII files can be imported into a text editor or word processor, or sent as e-mail. The HTML file is useful for transporting the report to a remote location in an easily printed format, but if you want to view the report in a web browser, you may find saving in HTML format to be of limited value (no hyperlinks to other reports, for example). Use the Generate Web Reports feature explained in the chapter "Web Reports and Topologies," instead.
You can print the currently open report by selecting Print Report from the File menu. The report will be converted to HTML format and sent to the printing mechanism of your web browser.
The browser will not open on your screen; to change printer properties, you will have to start your web browser and use its Print Setup function prior to selecting Print Report in the Cisco Netsys Baseliner software.
Select the Reports tab at the top of the main window's navigation panel. The Reports pane displays a data tree structure containing the names of the reports that you can generate.
Click on the plus sign ("+") adjacent to the Cisco Netsys Reports folder (or double click on the folder name) to expand the list to view the names. Click on a report name to display that report. If this is the first time during the current work session that you have displayed the report, it will be generated at this time.
In addition to viewing and printing reports from within the Cisco Netsys Baseliner software, it is also possible to generate a complete set of reports as HTML files that can be viewed in a web browser. This allows others, who may not have access to the Cisco Netsys Baseliner software, to view the reports, as well as topologies. For more information about generating these web reports, see the chapter "Web Reports and Topologies."
Reports are displayed in the display panel (right pane) of the main window.
Because reports vary considerably in purpose and content, the controls that are available will vary considerably from report to report. The general appearance of the panel, however, will remain constant.
The following items are common to all reports:
The title of the report will be displayed at the top of the display panel.
The Help button starts your web browser to display an HTML version of the section in this reference guide which describes the currently displayed report.
Some reports allow you to generate subsidiary, or "child," reports. When such a secondary report is open, the Parent button, adjacent to the report title, will be enabled and you can click it to return to the parent report. When this button is disabled, it means there is no parent report.
The data that makes up the report itself is displayed in a spreadsheet-like grid. Column headings vary from report to report. Click on a column heading to sort data according to that column's contents.
The Filter field immediately beneath the Results Grid allows you to specify search words or character strings, to filter the reports so that only a subset of entries is displayed. Use an asterisk (*) as a separator of indefinite length between character strings. The search mechanism will locate those reports which contain the search strings, in the order specified. For example, if you enter srb*high in the Filter field and press Enter, the report will display only those devices with SRB and high somewhere in their data fields, in that order. The search mechanism is not case sensitive (srb and SRB are considered to be the same).
Adjacent to the Filter field, a status report shows how many items are displayed, how many were filtered out of the display, and how many are represented in your baseline.
Although the actual buttons will vary from report to report, nearly all reports will have one or more action buttons at the bottom of the panel. These buttons will allow you to take certain actions related to the report.
Some buttons will cause items that are selected in the Results grid to be highlighted in all topology views. Other buttons allow you to drill down into your data by generating subsidiary, or "child," reports.
There are ten main reports available, plus a variety of subsidiary drill-down reports. The main reports are as follows:
Because the Integrity Checks report (the report that is displayed when you first open a baseline) and its subsidiary Integrity Checks Summary report function a little bit differently than the other reports, and because they require a somewhat lengthier discussion, these two reports are described in the chapter "Integrity Checks Report."
The Baseline Summary report lists eight subsidiary reports which, together, provide a summary of your baseline model.
Figure 5-1: Baseline Summary report
When the Baseline Summary report is displayed, the Results grid has the following column headings:
- Report---name of the subsidiary report.
- Summary---a brief summary of the subsidiary report's contents.
The Baseline Summary report contains a single action button:
- Show Report---displays the selected report in the right panel of the main window. For a description of each of these drill-down reports, see the section "Subsidiary Reports" elsewhere in this chapter.
The Most Recent Configuration File Changes report itemizes the differences between the current version of configuration files and the previous version of the files.
Figure 5-2: Most Recent Configurations File Changes report
When the Most Recent Configuration File Changes report is displayed, the Results grid has the following column headings (use the horizontal scrollbar to see them all):
- Router---routers whose configuration files have been modified. A router may be listed more than once because of multiple changes to the configuration file. The device will be listed once for each type of change (although Delta and Diff reports will be comprehensive---all changes will be listed regardless of which of the multiple listings is selected).
- Type---types of modifications that have been made to the configuration file of the device listed in the Router column.
- If no changes have been made to a device's configuration file, the Type value will be collected.
- If the change made to a file affects something other than a supported IOS command (a comment was added, changed, or removed, for example), the Type value will be diff.
- Otherwise, the Type value will reflect the category of the command that was changed:
- BGP
- Dial Peer Voice
- Default Network
- EIGRP
- Global (any supported command not otherwise listed here)
- IGRP
- Interface
- IP Access List
- IP Community List
- IP AS-Path Access List
- IPX Access List
- IPX RIP
- Map Class
- Map List
- OSPF
- RIP
- Route Map
- Security
- SNA
- Static Route
- VPDN.
- Previous Time Stamp---date and time that the routers' configuration files were modified prior to the most recent save.
- Latest Time Stamp---date and time that the routers' configuration files were most recently modified.
- Collected Time Stamp---date and time that the routers' configuration files were last collected. (The collected and latest time stamps will be the same if the files were edited within the Cisco Netsys Baseliner software, because the act of editing is also a collection mechanism. If data is collected via the Collect Cisco Router Configurations wizard and there is no change to the configuration, then the two time stamps will be different.)
The action buttons for the Most Recent Configuration File Changes report include the following:
- Delta---displays the sequence of commands that need to be input into the router in order to implement the changes you made to the configuration file. (Warnings will be inserted into the report at appropriate locations if you attempt to mix commands from different IOS versions. Also, some IOS commands have idiosyncrasies which determine how they are presented in the Delta report. Since order is critical for access-list commands, for example, if you change one entry anywhere in a list, the entire list will be invalidated and then reconstructed.) The Delta report shows the commands needed to implement all of the changes you made to the device, not just the one item highlighted in the Most Recent Configuration File Changes results grid.
- Diff---displays the results of a file comparison between the file as edited and as it existed prior to the change.
- The Diff button launches Microsoft's file compare program (FC.EXE), with the configuration file as it existed prior to the change as the first parameter and the changed version as the second parameter. The command line equivalent would be FC <original file> <edited file>. (When you click the Diff button, a copy of the selected device's configuration file as it existed prior to the change is written to your Windows temporary directory. This is the first file listed in the Diff report's display window. This temporary file is deleted as soon as the comparison has been made.) The Diff report simply echoes the FC utility's output---the filename of the first file, marked by a series of asterisks, followed by the line prior to the first edited line, then the line or lines that were edited in the original file, then the next unchanged line. The next line (with asterisks) identifies the second file, then the line immediately preceding the changes, then the changes, followed by the next unchanged line.
- The Diff report shows all differences between the files, not just the differences associated with the item highlighted in the Most Recent Configuration File Changes results grid.
- Highlight---highlights the icon of the currently selected router in all currently displayed topology windows, making the router easy to locate. To select a router, click on it in the report's Results grid.
The appearance and the functionality of the Historical Configuration File Changes are nearly identical to the Most Recent Configuration File Changes report described previously, except this report provides a comparison of the most-recently saved version of the files with the configuration files as they existed at the time the baseline was created.
Figure 5-3: Historical Configuration File Changes Report
The WAN Links Derivation report provides information about how the software identified the WAN connections---whether from configuration file, user assertion, or confirmation via data collection.
Figure 5-4: WAN Links Derivation report
When the WAN Links Derivation report is displayed, the Results grid has the following column headings (use the horizontal scrollbar to see them all):
- From---router name and interface on one end of the WAN link.
- To---router name and interface on the other end of the WAN link.
- Justification---basis on which the software concluded that the interfaces are logically connected. This conclusion could be based on any of the following values:
- IP Subnet
- IPX NET
- AppleTalk Cable-Range
- SMDS Map
- Frame-Relay Map
- X25 Map
- Dialer Map
- Observed Frame-Relay PVC
- ATM Static Map
- Observed Serial
- User Asserted
- Shared IP---the WAN link's shared IP subnet address.
- Shared IPX---the WAN link's shared IPX network address.
- Shared AppleTalk---the WAN link's shared AppleTalk cable range.
The Action buttons for the WAN Links Derivation report include the following:
- Highlight From---the highlighted icon in all currently displayed topology windows will be the router listed in the From column of the currently selected row, making the router easy to locate. To select a router, click on it in the report's Results grid.
- Highlight To---the highlighted icon in all currently displayed topology windows will be the router listed in the To column of the currently selected row.
The Unconnected WAN Interfaces report provides a list of all IP interfaces that do not match up with other interfaces in the baseline.
When the Unconnected WAN Interfaces report is displayed, the Results grid has the following column headings (use the horizontal scrollbar to see them all):
- Unconnected IP Interfaces---names of the routers and IP interfaces they use.
- Legal Connections Exist---if a connection exists, the entry in this column is Yes, otherwise it is No.
- Primary IP Subnet---primary IP subnet address.
- Primary IPX Net---primary IPX network address.
- AppleTalk Cable-Range---range of network numbers (IP addresses) that can be used on an AppleTalk network.
The Unconnected WAN Interfaces report contains a single action button:
- Highlight---causes the icon of the currently selected router to be highlighted in all currently displayed topology windows, making it easy to locate. To select a router, click on it in the report's Results grid
Figure 5-5: Unconnected WAN Interfaces report
The IP Major Net Partitioning report provides a list of major IP network addresses; tells whether the network is split or contiguous; and gives the number of attached interfaces and the number of clusters in each.
Figure 5-6: IP Major Net Partitioning Report
When the IP Major Net Partitioning report is displayed, the Results grid has the following column headings (use the horizontal scrollbar to see them all):
- Major IP Network---addresses of the major IP networks.
- Status---type of network partitioning (split or contiguous). Split partitioning refers to situations in which there is more than one cluster in a major net. This can be caused by no physical connectivity between subnets or by the need to cross major net boundaries in order for one subnet in a major net to reach another subnet in the same major net.
- # of Attached Interfaces---the number of interfaces attached to this major net partition.
- # of Clusters---number of clusters attached to this major net partition. A cluster is a collection of contiguous subnets within a major net.
The IP Major Net Partitioning report has one action button:
- Contiguous Clusters---opens a subsidiary report showing detailed information about the selected IP network's clusters. (To select a network, click on it in the Results grid.)
- For more information about the Contiguous Clusters report, see the section "Subsidiary Reports" elsewhere in this chapter.
The Voice Routing Loop and Dangling Routes report identifies routing loops and dangling routes in networks that transport voice traffic through the Cisco MC3810 router (a multi-service access device with LAN, voice, video and fax capabilities).
Figure 5-7: Voice Routing Loop and Dangling Routes report
When the Voice Routing Loop and Dangling Routes report is displayed, the Results grid has the following column headings:
- Destination pattern---a character string entered in the configuration file (x number of numerals plus y number of wildcard characters) which define the destination of the connection
- Originating Router---name of the router whose configuration file provided the data in the row
- Problem Type---either a Routing Loop (in which the voice path defined by the dial-peer destination pattern statements in the configuration files loops back to the point of origin---the path begins and ends at the same router) or a Dangling Route (a premature termination in which one of the routers along the route does not contain a dial-peer destination pattern that matches the pattern in the originating router, effectively leaving the path dangling at that point)
The action buttons for the Voice Routing Loops and Dangling Routes report include the following:
- Show Path---opens a subsidiary report for the route that is selected in the results grid.
- For more information about the Voice "Show Path" report, see the section "Subsidiary Reports" elsewhere in this chapter.
- Highlight---causes the icon of the originating router for the currently selected path to be highlighted in all currently displayed topology windows, making it easy to locate. To select a path, click on it in the report's Results grid.
The AAA Inventory report identifies all of the AAA (Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting) Servers that are connected to routers on your network, and identifies the protocol used by each.
Figure 5-8: AAA Inventory report
When the AAA Inventory report is displayed, the Results grid has the following column headings:
- Router---name of the router.
- AAA Server/Proxy---name of the AAA server or its proxy, if identified by name instead of address in the router configuration file.
- AAA Server/Proxy Address---the IP address of the router's AAA server or its proxy, if identified by address instead of name in the router configuration file.
- Protocol---protocol supported by the server.
The action buttons for the AAA Inventory report include the following:
- Highlight Router---the highlighted icon in all currently displayed topology windows will be the router listed Router column of the currently selected row, making it easy to locate. (To select a router, click on it in the report's Results grid.)
- Highlight AAA Server---the highlighted icon in all currently displayed topology windows will be the server/proxy identified in the AAA Server/Proxy or AAA Server/Proxy Address column of the currently selected row.
The VPDN Inventory report provides information about the source router, domain name, home gateway, and tunnel used to transmit data over a VPDN (Virtual Private Dialup Network) connection.
Figure 5-9: VPDN Inventory report
When the VPDN Inventory report is displayed, the Results grid has the following column headings:
- Source Router---name of the router whose configuration file is included in the baseline
- Domain Name---outgoing configured domain name
- Home Gateway Addr.---IP address of the home gateway server
- Tunnel ID---name of the Tunnel ID if one was specified in the VPDN's AAA server configuration file
- Tunnel Source---how the Tunnel ID was obtained. This value will be local if the tunnel was configured at the router using an IOS command. Otherwise, the value will be either RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service) or TACACS+ (Cisco-enhanced Terminal Access Controller Access Control System) depending on the protocol used by the VPDN's AAA server.
The action buttons for the VPDN Inventory report include the following:
- Highlight Source Router---the highlighted icon in all currently displayed topology windows will be the device listed in the Source Router column of the currently selected row, making it easy to locate. To select a router, click on it in the report's Results grid.
- Highlight Home Gateway---the highlighted icon in all currently displayed topology windows will be the device listed in the Home Gateway Addr. column of the currently selected row.
The following subsidiary reports are generated by selecting a report name in the Results grid of the Router Summary report and clicking the Show Report button:
The Devices report provides a numerical summary of the elements that make up your baseline.
To see the Devices report, open the Baseline Summary report and double click on the Devices row in the Results grid (or select Devices and click the Show Report button).
When the Devices report is displayed, the Results grid has the following columns:
- Column 1---the baseline component.
- Column 2---the number of items (such as configuration files, routers, and end systems) used to construct the baseline.
When the Devices report is displayed, there are no action buttons.
Figure 5-10: Devices Report
The Interfaces report provides a numerical summary of the types of interfaces contained in your baseline, and their status (active or shutdown). This information is obtained from the router configuration files used to create the current baseline.
To see the Interfaces report, open the Baseline Summary report and double click on the Interfaces row in the Results grid (or select Interfaces and click the Show Report button).
Figure 5-11: Interfaces Report
When the Interfaces report is displayed, the Results grid has the following column headings:
- Interface Type---type of interface by protocol. Includes a "grand total" row, showing sums for all interfaces.
- Active---number of interfaces currently configured to be active, listed by type.
- Shutdown---number of interfaces currently configured to be not active, listed by type.
- Total---total number of interfaces of a particular type.
When the Interfaces report is displayed, there are no action buttons.
The IOS Versions report tells which version of the Cisco IOS (Internetwork Operating System) software is used by each router on your network. This information is obtained from the router configuration files used to create the current baseline. To see the IOS Versions report, open the Baseline Summary report and double click on the IOS Versions row in the Results grid (or select IOS Versions and click the Show Report button).
Figure 5-12: IOS Versions Report
When the IOS Versions report is displayed, the Results grid has the following column headings:
- Router Name---name of router.
- IOS Version---version of the Cisco IOS software used by the router.
When the IOS Versions report is displayed, there are no action buttons.
The Syntax Errors report lists all configuration files containing syntax errors, tells where in the file the error is located, and describes what the error is.
To see the Syntax Errors report, open the Baseline Summary report and double click on the Syntax Errors row in the Results grid (or select Syntax Errors and click the Show Report button).
Figure 5-13: Syntax Errors Report
When the Syntax Errors report is displayed, the Results grid has the following column headings:
- File---name of file in which the syntax error was found.
- Line---location in the file (line number) where the syntax error was found.
- Error---description of the error.
See the appendix "Syntax Checks" for a complete listing of possible syntax errors.
When the Syntax Errors report is displayed, there is a single action button:
- Highlight---causes the icon of the router defined by the configuration file in which the error was found to be highlighted in all currently displayed topology windows, making it easy to locate. To select a router, click on it in the report's Results grid.
The User Warnings report provides a list of configuration-file entries which the Cisco Netsys Baseliner software has identified as unusual and which might be the cause of a network problem (though some configurations identified as unusual may, in fact, be intentional).
Figure 5-14: User Warning Report
To see the User Warnings report, open the Baseline Summary report and double click on the User Warnings row in the Results grid (or select User Warnings and click the Show Report button).
When the User Warnings report is displayed, the Results grid has the following column headings:
- Primary Device---name of the primary router associated with the identified problem.
- Secondary Device---name of the secondary router, if there is one, associated with the identified problem.
- Severity---an indication of how severe the identified problem might be (a subjective analysis that may not be applicable in a specific instance).
- Problem Type---a brief synopsis of the problem.
The action buttons for the User Warnings report include the following:
- Highlight Primary---the highlighted icon in all currently displayed topology windows will be the router listed in the Primary Device column of the currently selected row, making it easy to locate. To select a router, click on it in the report's Results grid.
- Highlight Secondary---the highlighted icon in all currently displayed topology windows will be the router listed in the Secondary Device column of the currently selected rows.
The Router Commands report itemizes by category the commands contained in your baseline's configuration files.
To see the Router Commands report, open the Baseline Summary report and double click on the Router Commands row in the Results grid (or select Router Commands and click the Show Report button).
Figure 5-15: Router Commands Report
When the Router Commands report is displayed, the Results grid has the following column headings:
- Command---type of command; one of the following:
- Parsed ---router commands that are parsed, or read, during an integrity check.
- Unparsed ---router commands that are ignored during an integrity check (such as source-bridge, tunnel mode, or tx_queue-limit).
- Non-connectivity ---those router commands that are not related to connectivity (such as description, enable, login, password, or version).
- Count---number of commands of specified type found in the configuration files.
When the Router Commands report is displayed, there is one action button:
- Show Report---opens a third-level report which itemizes and quantifies the specific commands of the selected type encountered in the baseline configuration files. (To select a type, click on it in the Results grid.)
The Policy Check Violations report identifies violations of user-defined configuration policies.
To see the Policy Check Violations report, open the Baseline Summary report and double click on the Policy Check Violations row in the Results grid (or select Policy Check Violations and click the Show Report button).
Figure 5-16: Policy Check Violations Report
When the report is generated, the software will search for a file called default.router_template in the directory which contains your baseline. If the file is present, the software will perform the checks specified in it and display the results in the Policy Check Violations report.
For information about how to define these policies, see the appendix "Defining Policy Checks."
When the Policy Check Violations report is displayed, the Results grid has the following column headings:
- File---the name of the configuration file in which the violation was found.
- Line---when a specified subcommand condition is found, this column will contain the line number of the major command that contains the located subcommand. If a single file contains multiple instances of the violation, each instance will be listed separately in the Policy Check Violations report. Line numbers are reported for major_cmd/sub_cmd conditions only, not for command conditions. See the appendix "Defining Policy Checks" for more information.
- Problem Type---if a policy has been violated, this column will contain the text Check Violation.
Violations are reported in the order in which the policies were defined in the default.router_template file, except that all major_cmd/sub_cmd policy check violations will be reported first, followed by all command policy check violations (though you can sort this order by clicking on a column heading.)
The text displayed in the Annotation panel identifies the major command, the configuration filename, and the line number of the major command; the syntax of the subcommand condition, as defined in the default.router_template file; and the message string if one was defined in the default.router_template file. The text in this pane can be selected and copied to the Windows clipboard (use Ctrl-C, or click the right mouse button in the Annotation pane to open an Option menu with cut/copy/paste commands). If there are no policy violations reported, the Annotation panel will not be displayed.
When the Policy Check Violations report is displayed, there are no action buttons.
The Router Configuration Files report provides information about the name, location, and version of the files used to build your baseline.
To see the Router Configuration Files report, open the Baseline Summary report and double click on the Router Configuration Files row in the Results grid (or select Router Configuration Files and click the Show Report button).
When the Router Configuration report is displayed, the Results grid has the following column headings:
- Router Name---name of the device.
- Configuration File Name---filename of the configuration file for the device.
- RCS Version---the configuration file's internal revision control number.
When the Router Configuration Files report is displayed, there are no action buttons.
Figure 5-17: Router Configuration Report
The Contiguous Clusters report tells the number, type, and IP addresses of reachable interfaces in each cluster of an IP Major Network.
To see the Contiguous Clusters report, open the IP Major Partioning report and click the Contiguous Clusters button).
Figure 5-18: Contiguous Clusters Report
When the Contiguous Clusters report is displayed, the Results grid has the following column headings:
- Cluster---a numerical itemization of all reachable interfaces for each cluster (such as 1 of 2, 2 of 2, for cluster1, followed by 1 of 6, 2 of 6, and so on for cluster2).
- # Reachable Interfaces---a numerical itemization of all reachable interfaces for each cluster (such as 1 of 71, 2 of 71, and so on for cluster1, followed by 1 of 6, 2 of 6, and so on for cluster2, and so on).
- Reachable Router Interfaces---identifies interfaces by type and router hostname.
- Address---IP addresses of the interfaces (use the horizontal scrollbar to display the column in full).
The action buttons for the Contiguous Clusters report include the following:
- Highlight Router---the highlighted icon in all currently displayed topology windows will be the router on which the interface is located, making it easy to locate. To select a router, click on it in the report's Results grid.
- Highlight Subnet---causes the icons of the devices that make up the currently selected subnet to be highlighted in all currently displayed topology windows.
The Voice "Show Path" report provides detailed information about the path highlighted in the results grid of the Voice Routing Loop and Dangling Routes report.
To see the Voice "Show Path" report, open the Voice Routing Loops and Dangling Reports report, select a row in the Results grid, and click the Show Path button).
Figure 5-19: Voice "Show Path" Report, Showing Routing Loop Details
When the Show Path button is clicked in the Voice Routing Loop and Dangling Routes report, the Results grid changes to show the following column headings:
- Router name---name of the router whose configuration file provided the data for a given row in the grid. (Each row represents a router along the voice path route.)
- If the parent Voice Routing Loop and Dangling Routes report identified this path as a Routing Loop in the Problem Type column, then the first and last entries in the grid will be the same (the route loops back to its starting router).
- If the parent Voice Routing Loop and Dangling Routes report identified this path as a Dangling Route in the Problem Type column, the router listed last will show None for Outgoing Dial-Peer, No Match for Destination Pattern, and None for Session Target (route has no termination, and is therefore left dangling).
- Outgoing Dial-Peer---the dial-peer string entered in the router's configuration file.
- Destination Pattern---the destination-pattern character entered in the router's configuration file.
- Session Target---the session-target string entered in the router's configuration file.
The action button for the Voice "Show Path" report is the following:
- Highlight---causes the icon of the currently selected router to be highlighted in all currently displayed topology windows, making it easy to locate. To select a router, click on it in the report's Results grid.
Posted: Tue Apr 27 11:56:36 PDT 1999
Copyright 1989-1999©Cisco Systems Inc.
