Overview

UserTracking network management software is an application in the CiscoWorks for Switched Internetworks (CWSI) suite of network management applications. CWSI applications enable you to configure, monitor, and manage a switched internetwork. CWSI includes the following applications:

• UserTracking

• Network Map

• VlanDirector

• CiscoView

• TrafficDirector

• AtmDirector

UserTracking is described here. For information about getting started with CWSI and the other CWSI applications refer to the following:

• Getting Started with CWSI (includes information about using the network map)

• Using VlanDirector

• Using AtmDirector

• Using TrafficDirector

• Using CiscoView with Catalyst and LightStream Switches

• Release notes

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Note To install CWSI, refer to the CD booklet Installing CWSI in the CD-ROM package.

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The UserTracking application allows you to monitor information used to identify end-user nodes on your network. With UserTracking, you can also modify the port mapping information maintained by the VLAN Membership Policy Server (VMPS).

VMPS

VMP S is a server process that supports dynamic ports. Dynamic ports enable end-user nodes to remain on the same VLAN after being moved and plugged into another physical port without the intervention of manual port reconfiguration. To support dynamic ports, there must be at least one Catalyst 5000 switch running VMPS per domain on the network.

When a workstation or other end-user node is attached to a dynamic port, the switch uses VMPS information to assign that port to a particular VLAN based on the MAC address of the network interface card in the device. When the device is moved and plugged into another port, VMPS provides configuration information from the MAC-VLAN mapping that allows the device to remain on the same VLAN as before without manual reconfiguration.

Without VMPS, each port is statically assigned to a single VLAN. Changing the VLAN assigned to a static port requires manually changing the VLAN assignment of the port. Thus, when you most a device and connect it to a different port, you need to manually reconfigure the port. You can use VlanDirector, CiscoView, or the command-line interface to do this reconfiguration; with VMPS, however, it is automatic.

Configuring VMPS and Dynamic Ports

To enable VMPS management of dynamic ports, you must first perform the following tasks on the Catalyst 5000:

• Configure the VMPS server

• Configure dynamic ports on clients

You can use CiscoView or the command-line interface to do this configuration. Refer to Using CiscoView with Catalyst and LightStream Switches or the Catalyst 5000 Software Configuration Guide.

UserTracking Features

The UserTracking application enables you to access and modify information about end-user nodes in the CWSI and VMPS databases in a network. With UserTracking you can do the following:

• Query the CWSI database using up to two search criteria, including username, IP address, and MAC address

• Display the results of queries in a table you can customize

• Modify, add, and delete port mappings

• Update the VMPS servers

• Manage the scheduling of network information acquisition

You can launch UserTracking from the CWSI main window or as a standalone application.

Components

The UserTracking application consists of two main components (Figure 1-1):

• UserTracking client--An application that runs as a part of CWSI or as a standalone application.

• UserTracking service module--An asynchronous network interface (ANI) module that services UserTracking client requests.

In addition, the UserTracking application uses the following network components (Figure 1-1):

• ANI--The server process that communicates with the network and provides information to CWSI network management applications. UserTracking communicates with network entities, including switch and router agents and VMPS servers, only via ANI.

• CWSI database--A database running on a server that stores ANI network information, including UserTracking service module information.

• TFTP--A Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) server that stores and transfers configuration information to the VMPS server.

• VMPS--A server process running in a Catalyst 5000 switch. VMPS provides services to switches within the same VLAN Trunk Protocol (VTP) domain.

Figure 1-1: Key Components of UserTracking