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This chapter describes the SpreadSheet Interface (SSI) Conversion Plug-in, which translates network design information between NMT and a Microsoft Excel-compatible format. SSI requires that you use Microsoft Excel Version 6.2 or later. This chapter contains the following sections:
The SSI plug-in converts the .cnf file into its component tables and saves them as .dbf files; the SSI then tars (archives) the file for easy transfer to a PC or Macintosh platform. The SSI provides a PC toolkit to translate the spreadsheet files back into the .cnf file format readable by NMT. See Figure 7-1 for a schematic overview of the SSI process.
For instructions on installing the SSI, see the appendix "Installing WAN Design Tools."
The following procedure is for the conversion of an NMT .cnf file to .dbf, a Microsoft Excel compatible format, and archiving the .dbf output so that it can be moved from a UNIX workstation to a PC. This section also explains how to unarchive the file once it is on the PC.
Step 1 To convert a .cnf file to .dbf format and archive it as a .tar file, use the following command:
nmt2tar cnf_name [parts_file] [-H]
cnf_name is the name of any .cnf file in the current directory.
parts_file is the name of the file that lists the components. You should specify a parts file only if you are using a file other than the default.
-H displays help text.
Step 2 FTP the cnf_name.tar file to a computer that has Microsoft Excel installed.
Alternatively, copy the file to a PC- or Macintosh-compatible diskette by using the mcopy command. For example, mcopy cnf_name a: copies the file cnf_name to the diskette in the A: drive of the UNIX workstation.
Step 3 Unarchive the file at the PC using a program like tar.exe for PCs and StuffIt Deluxe for Macintoshes.
The unarchived file consists of several files, one file for each NMT configuration table. Each file has a .dbf extension and can be opened and edited in Microsoft Excel.
Step 4 Start Microsoft Excel, and edit the data. You can read and write a multi-spreadsheet workbook by using the SSI920Load and SSI920Unload macros. Alternatively, you can treat each file individually.
The following procedure is for the archiving of Microsoft Excel files so they can be easily moved from a PC to a UNIX workstation and for converting the Microsoft Excel files into NMT .cnf file format:
Step 1 To archive an Microsoft Excel file, use a program like tar.exe for PCs or StuffIt Deluxe for Macintoshes.
Step 2 The archived file should have a filename with a .tar extension.
Step 3 FTP the archived file to a workstation that has a directory linked to the NMT.
Alternatively, copy the file to a PC- or Macintosh-compatible diskette. To copy from a PC or Macintosh diskette to a UNIX workstation, use the mcopy command. For example, mcopy a:\filename copies the file "filename" to the UNIX workstation directory from which the command was issued.
Step 4 To unarchive the file, enter the following command:
tar2nmt filename [-H]
filename is the name of any .tar file in the current directory.
-H displays help text.
Step 5 The unarchived file will have a .cnf extension and can be opened and edited in the NMT.
After creating a CNF file using NMT, CET, or TPI , use SSI tools to translate the CNF file to an excel workbook.
In the UNIX environment, do the following:
Step 1 run the command nmt2tar.
This creates both the DBF files, and a tar file containing them.
Step 2 Transfer the output tar file to you PC environment. Make sure you use binary mode.
Step 3 Untar the file using the DOS command 'tar2dir'. Start EXCEL, and select file/macroNMT_Load, and click run.
Step 4 When prompted for an input file, select any of the DBF files for your run. NMT_Load convert NMT table files in DBF format to Excel spreadsheets, where each sheet is a table and each column is a file.
Step 5 When completed, select tools/macro>t NMT_Unload, and click run. Write in same directory, or another sub directory in your PC environment. NMT_Unload converts an excel spreadsheet to NMT DBF files.
The sheets that are NMT table names will be written.
In DOS a Dos environment, do the following:
Step 1 run dir2tar to create tar file of modified outputs.
Step 2 Transfer the tar file back to UNIX environment. Make sure you use binary mode. Run tar2nmt to create the CNF file.
The tar2nmt command will convert a tar version of these files to a NMT cnf file. The DBF columns that match NMT fields will be used. All fields not provided will be set to the NMT default value. Key fields, such as site names, are mandatory.
The file ssidoskt.tar contains bat files that can assist you in untarring and tarring the dbf files on the PC. Copy this file to the PC, and then untar it in the directory where you will beworking on NMT dbf files.
All system and data files are in binary format.
The table below describes a common SSI problem and what can be done about it.
Symptom | Network data gets rounded incorrectly when converting from Excel to NMT's CNF file. |
Probable Causes | The SSI user enters new connections or links in Excel using the SSI macros. The user then runs NMT_Unload macro, and transfers the tarred DBF file back to Unix. The user then enters the following commands: run tar2nmt run nmt and then discovers that the hub IDs and data conn types have been converted to integers. For example, a HUB id: or a data connection type: |
Solution | To avoid this corruption, make sure that one of the following is true for your link connection tables:
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Posted: Fri Dec 3 18:37:30 PST 1999
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