Shared Properties

Shared properties files can be shared between different devices of the same type. You can create one shared properties file, install it on multiple agents, and monitor the same information across multiple network segments.

For example, you might be monitoring a network consisting of 12 Ethernet segments, 12 Token Ring segments, 3 Fast Ethernet segments, an FDDI backbone, and 3 WAN links, with a dedicated agent monitoring each segment. If you had to configure each agent separately, you would have to configure 31 individual agents. Instead, you can configure a single shared properties file and install it on all agents. Or you can create a properties file for the backbone and high speed links, one for the WAN, and one for the LANs (Ethernet, Token Ring, and so forth).

Using shared properties, you can monitor the same domains and statistical groups, log the same information, and monitor the same network variables across all segments. You can install any changes to the configuration across all agents by simply altering the single shared properties file and reinstalling it on all agents. You can create a shared properties file for the following device types:

Agent	Includes common agents such as Ethernet, Token Ring, Fast Ethernet, FDDI, and WAN.
Switch	Includes any switch that TrafficDirector supports.
Frame Relay	Includes WAN Frame Relay agents and all associated DLCIs discovered on the selected interface.

You can define the following properties in a shared properties file:

Domains and their statistical groups--statistics, hosts, and conversations
Logging intervals for domain statistical groups
Alarms or "traps" on domain variables

Agent Groups and Shared Properties

When you select an agent in Configuration Manager, the configuration defined in the properties file associated with the selected agent is displayed. This lets you see at a glance what properties are actually configured in the agent.

Note When you create or alter a properties file, properties are not configured in an agent until you use Configuration Manager to install the properties file on the agent. For a properties file to truly represent the actual monitoring configuration installed on an agent, you must always install the properties file on all agents you have defined it for after making any changes.

Agent groups make it easier to maintain the same shared properties across multiple agents. When you select an agent group in Configuration Manager and click Install, all properties files associated with each agent in the group are reinstalled. It makes sense to create an agent group in which the same shared properties file is defined for each agent. In this way, you can edit a shared properties file, select the group, then reinstall the properties file on all agents by clicking Install once.

For example, you can create a single shared properties file, install it on ten different agents, then create an agent group consisting of all ten agents. To edit the shared properties file and configure all agents with the changes, simply select one of the agents in the group, launch Property Editor, and edit the shared properties file. To configure all agents with the new properties, select the agent group, and click Install, and the properties file will be reinstalled on all agents in the group.

You can even name the group after the properties file to make the agents using the properties file easier to find. For example, if all agents in the group are assigned to the default properties file, you can name the group g_default. Similarly, if all agents in the group use a properties file you created to monitor high-speed backbones, you can name the group g_backbone.

Creating Shared Properties Files

Before you begin defining properties, you must create the properties file with which you want to work. You can use Property Editor to create a new shared properties file in one of the following ways:

Using the New option in the File menu.
Defining a new properties file when adding or editing an agent.
Using the Create a Copy option in the File menu.

TrafficDirector ships with one default shared properties file for agents and one for switches that reflect the properties installed on SwitchProbes when they are shipped. When you create a new shared properties file--for an agent, switch, or Frame Relay agent--the new file has these default properties. You can edit the shared properties file to suit your monitoring needs.

Creating a New Shared Properties File

To create a new shared properties file using the New option in the File menu, take the following steps:

Step 1 Click the Property Editor icon launch Property Editor from the TrafficDirector main window.

The Property Editor (Shared) window opens (see Figure 10-1).

Step 2 Select File>New.

Step 3 Select the type of device for which you want to create a shared properties file. You can choose from the following device types:

Agent
Switch
Frame Relay agent

The New Properties File window opens.

Step 4 Enter a name for the new shared properties file. The properties filename can be up to 15 alphanumeric characters and is case sensitive. You can also use dashes and underscores.

Step 5 Click OK to create the new properties file or click Cancel to exit the New Properties File window without creating a new file.

If you selected OK, TrafficDirector returns you to the Property Editor main window and displays the new properties file. The newly created shared properties file is simply a copy of the default shared properties file shipped with TrafficDirector.

Step 6 You can now edit the new properties file to suit your monitoring needs. See "Configuring Shared Properties." The agent is not configured with the properties defined in the file until you use Configuration Manager to install the file on the selected agent.

Creating a New Properties File from Configuration Manager

To create a new properties file from Configuration Manager when you add or edit an agent, take the following steps:

Step 1 Launch Configuration Manager by clicking the Config Manager icon of the TrafficDirector Admin level.

Step 2 Select the Agent, Switch, or FrameRelay radio button.

Step 3 Do one of the following:

To define the new properties file for an existing agent, select the agent, then click Edit to the right of the agent list box.

: The Edit Agent window opens.

To define the file for a new agent that you are adding, click Add.

: The Add Agent Window opens (Figure 11-1).

Figure 11-1: Add Agent Window

Step 4 Enter a name for a new properties file in the Properties File field. If you selected Add in step 3, enter information for the rest of the fields. See Chapter 4, "Configuration Manager."

Step 5 Click OK to add the new agent configuration and return to the Configuration Manager main window.

The new agent is added to TrafficDirector and displayed in the agent list box in the Configuration Manager main window.

Creating a New Shared Properties File Using Existing Files

To create a new shared properties file based on any existing shared properties file, take the following steps:

Step 1 Click the Property Editor icon from the TrafficDirector Admin window.

Step 2 Select File>Open.

Step 3 Select the type of device for the shared properties file you want to open. You can choose from the following device types:

Agent
Switch
Frame Relay agent

The Select File window opens (Figure 11-2).

Step 4 From the Files list box, select the shared properties file that you want to copy as the base for the new properties file. Note that shared properties files have the following extensions:

*.asd for agents
*.ssd for switches
*.fsd for Frame Relay agents

Step 5 Click OK to open the selected file.

Step 6 Select File>Create a Copy.

The Create a Copy window (Figure 11-3) opens.

Figure 11-2: Select File Window

Figure 11-3: Create a Copy Window

Step 7 Enter a name for the new shared properties file. The properties filename can be up to 15 alphanumeric characters and is case sensitive. You can also use dashes and underscores.

Step 8 Click OK to create a copy of the file you opened in Step 4.

The new properties file is created and you are returned to the Property Editor window, which displays the new properties file.

Step 9 You can now edit the new properties file to suit your needs. See "Configuring Shared Properties." The agent is not configured with the properties defined in the file until you use Configuration Manager to install the file on the selected agent.

Configuring Shared Properties

You use shared properties files to configure domains, logging for domains, and alarms on domain statistics. Properties files are configured off-line, and are installed on the agent after all properties for the file are defined.

Defining Domains

To define a domain, take the following steps:

Step 1 From the Property Editor window, select File>Open.

Step 2 Select the type of shared properties file.

The Select Files window opens.

Step 3 Select the properties file from the Files list box.

Step 4 Click OK to open the file.

The selected file is displayed in the Property Editor main window.

Step 5 Click Add in the Property Editor main window.

The Add Domain window opens (Figure 11-4). The DLCI Port List box can be selected only when defining custom properties. See Chapter 12, "Custom Properties."

Figure 11-4: Add Domain Window

Step 6 Enter the following information:

Domains--select the domain you want to install on an agent.
Stats--enable or disable the Statistics group to track basic statistics for the selected domain, including bytes, packets, and errors. Select the drop-down list box to the right of the Stats heading, then select the corresponding option.
Stats logging--enable or disable logging for the Statistics group, or specify the interval at which you want TrafficDirector to poll the agent for basic statistics. Select the drop-down list box under the Logging heading and to the right of the Statistics heading, then select the corresponding polling interval.
Hosts--enable or disable the Hosts group to gather statistics for specific hosts within the selected domain. Select the drop-down list box to the right of the Hosts heading, then select the corresponding option.
Hosts Logging--disable logging for the Hosts group, or specify the interval at which you want TrafficDirector to poll the agent for host statistics. Select the drop-down list box under the Logging heading and to the right of the Hosts heading, then select the corresponding polling interval.
Conversations--enable or disable the Conversations group to track basic statistics between specific hosts within the selected domain. Select the drop-down list box to the right of the Conversations heading, then select the corresponding option.
Conversations Logging--disable logging for the Conversations group, or specify the interval at which you want TrafficDirector to poll the agent for conversation statistics. Select the drop-down list box under the Logging heading and to the right of the Conversations heading, then select the corresponding polling interval.
Short-Term History--enter the number of buckets you want to use to track short-term history for the selected domain. You can enter a value between 1 and 1000. The default is 50. (For generic domains only.) Also enter the interval, in seconds, at which you want the agent to fill the short-term history buckets. The default is 60 seconds. (For generic domains only.)
Long-Term History--enter the number of buckets you want to use to track long-term history for the selected domain. You can enter a value between 1 and 1000. The default is 50. (For generic domains only.) Also, enter the interval, in seconds, at which you want the agent to fill the long-term history buckets. The default is 600 seconds. (For generic domains only.)

Step 7 Click OK to write the domain configuration to the shared properties file and return to the Property Editor main window.

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