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Description
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PRODUCT NAME: PROBEwatch Digital UNIX, Version 3.3 SPD 46.02.00
DESCRIPTION
PROBEwatch for Digital UNIX[R] (OSF/1[R] AXP) is an application for
managing Digital's DECpacketprobe 90 Ethernet Remote Monitoring
(RMON) probe and DECpacketprobe 900RR Token Ring RMON probe.
DECpacketprobes monitor the network to which they are attached, and
make the statistical data available via the RMON Management
Information Base (MIB). PROBEwatch uses the Simple Network Management
Protocol (SNMP) to get the RMON MIB data from the DECpacketprobes.
You are provided with a Motif[R] graphical user interface, which
makes the application easier to learn and to use. It allows you to
configure probes and to view the performance data collected by them.
PROBEwatch also contains extensive protocol decoding capability.
PROBEwatch does not provide generic management of RMON devices, but
it is compatible with the RMON agents from Frontier Software
Development, Inc. PROBEwatch can be installed to operate with
POLYCENTER NetView[R] on Digital UNIX.
RMON is a proposed standard MIB specification written by the
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) RMON Working Group. The
specifications are designated RFC 1271 for Ethernet and RFC 1513
for Token Ring. RMON provides for an agent, acting on behalf of a
client, to collect statistics on a per packet basis by monitoring
the network on which the agent is attached. The agent-to-client
communication takes place via SNMP. The DECpacketprobe is an
implementation of an RMON agent, and PROBEwatch is Digital's
implementation of an RMON client. The DECpacketprobe 90 complies
with RFC 1271, except for collision count, and the DECpacketprobe
900RR complies with RFC 1513.
November 1995
AE-QMKLA-TE
SPD 46.02.00
MIB OBJECTS
RFC 1271 calls for nine separate groups of MIB objects. The nine
groups are as follows:
o Segment statistics--counters for total number of packets,
octets, broadcasts, collisions, dropped packets, fragments,
CRC/alignment errors, undersize and oversize errors, and
jabbers; each packet is also sorted by size into one of six
groupings. The RMON agent counts the number of packets that
were dropped (not counted into the categories above) due to
performance limitations.
o History--segment statistics stored at user-defined intervals.
o Host Table--statistics indexed by node address.
o Host Top N--host statistics sorted by user-defined criteria.
o Traffic Matrix--traffic patterns between pairs of nodes.
o Filters--a set of user-defined preconditions for packet capture
or events.
o Events--logs an entry in a local log or sends an SNMP trap when a
particular user-specified event occurs.
o Alarms--user-defined high or low thresholds.
o Packet Capture--stores packets that meet the filter criteria for
later retrieval by a client application such as PROBEwatch.
Version 3.3 of PROBEwatch for Digital UNIX supports RFC 1513, the
Token Ring extensions to the RMON MIB. The additional object group
defined in this MIB collects the following statistics:
o Station Order--physical order in which the hosts appear on the
ring.
o Station Config--includes MAC address, uptime, location, microcode
level, group address, and functional addresses.
o Source Routing Status--statistics related to source routing;
accurate only in a pure source route bridging environment.
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SPD 46.02.00
Version 3.3 of PROBEwatch also supports Frontier Software's FDDI and
WAN RMON probes using Frontier's extensions to the RMON MIB.
USING PROBEWATCH
The opening screen in PROBEwatch provides single mouse click access
to many of the PROBEwatch displays. On the initial screen is a
user-entered table of DECpacketprobe agents. You can select one of
these agents and look at the data collected for that segment.
Another feature on the top level screen is a list of agent groups.
By grouping desired agents together, you can see traffic and
protocol statistics on as many as eight segments in a single view.
Statistics and History Groups
Any of the parameters in the Statistics Group can be graphed over
time. Short- and long-term history graphs can be started in separate
windows for several of the variables in the Statistics Group. A
choice of chart formats is available for each graph. On the
multisegment protocol display, multiple protocols can be charted
per segment for any of the following statistics: utilization, byte
and packet rate, broadcast rate, small and large packet size rate,
average packet size, and number of hosts. The values displayed can
be last sample, average, minimum, or maximum.
Host and Conversation Groups
PROBEwatch lets you view the list of discovered hosts and sort the
list by various criteria, including discovery order, MAC address
order, and several statistics from the RMON Statistics Group. You
can select a pair of hosts and view the conversation statistics
between them. PROBEwatch supports the Top N Group through a window
that lists hosts sorted by the various statistics of the Statistics
Group. You can choose to have PROBEwatch identify hosts by replacing
the first three bytes of the MAC address with the vendor name when
the first three bytes can be associated with a known vendor.
Optionally, hosts can be identified by Internet Protocol (IP)
address rather than by MAC address. A chart shows the top 10
hosts, sorted by various statistics, such as bytes, packets,
multicasts, broadcasts, and errors. You can select a host and
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see the top 10 hosts with which that node is exchanging information.
Domains
PROBEwatch DomainView[TM] hides much of the work that is required in
the RMON MIB to set up filters for common protocol suites. A domain
is a subset of all traffic on the segment; and is specific to
particular protocol types. Domains are defined using filters in the
Filter Group. As with filters, custom domains can be created using
the template-based editor. More than one domain can be active at
the same time on any one probe; a different set of domains can be
set up by another PROBEwatch management station. You can optionally
enable statistics, history, hosts, conversations, or data capture
separately for each domain. A single mouse click from the top level
screen lets you view all of the domains installed on all of the
probes in a group. You can then limit the displayed domains to a
particular subset using the Scope button. You can also sort the list
of domains to see, for example, the top broadcasting domains and
segments.
Domains can be installed only on one probe at a time. You can,
however, preconfigure a file with domains and RMON groups;
when that probe is reset or powers up the next time, it will
download the configuration file. This requires Version 2.1 (or
higher) DECpacketprobe firmware. You can also select a probe and
choose Protocol Monitor; PROBEwatch will attempt to install all of
the domains that are displayed. It cannot, however, load domains
if the probe's resources have been depleted.
Data Capture Group
PROBEwatch lets you upload captured files from DECpacketprobes to
disk for subsequent decoding. Extensive protocol decoding exists for
Novell[R], AppleTalk[R] Phases 1 and 2, NFS[R], DECnet and LAT, XNS,
DoD TCP/IP suite, SNMP, VINES[R], SNA, and OSI. Each layer of the
Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model can be displayed in a
different color. PROBEwatch allows you to set up precapture filters
to use on a particular node or protocol. Although PROBEwatch comes
with many predefined filters, custom filters can be created using
the template-based filter editor.
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SPD 46.02.00
Alarms and Events Groups
PROBEwatch allows you to set up thresholds in a probe on a per
domain basis. You can specify which variable to monitor, whether
the value is to be absolute or per second, whether the alarm is to
occur on the rising or falling crossing of the threshold, or both.
Besides the variables in the statistics group, a threshold can be
set for the number of hosts or conversations on the segment. You
can enter textual trap description and severity level. The Setup
screen queries the probe for the last time the variable was sampled
and a trap was sent. PROBEwatch also provides access to the SNMP
Trap Viewing window. Traps are stored by date so that you can step
back through the history one day at a time. You can print the list
of traps or select a specific trap message to view more detail.
Background Tasks
PROBEwatch begins three background tasks when it is first started.
These are the trap, configuration, and logging daemons, which
continue running if you exit the main PROBEwatch application.
These tasks provide services as follows:
o Trap: a process for SNMP traps to be logged in a file as they
come in.
o Configuration: a process for handling configuration load requests
from DECpacketprobes as they power up.
o Logging: a process for periodically retrieving specified data
from DECpacketprobes and storing that data in a disk file.
In conjunction with the logging of data to disk, PROBEwatch provides
a screen for generating preformatted reports on the logged data.
HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS
o Any DECstation 3000 AXP or AlphaStation 200 or 400 workstation
o A color display with 1280 x 1024 resolution
o Minimum 64 MB RAM
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o CD-ROM drive
o Minimum 50 MB of disk space
o DECpacketprobe or Frontier NETscout[TM] probe for data collection
This product does not support VAX-based or MIPS RISC-based
processors.
SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS
Digital UNIX (OSF/1 AXP) operating system, Version 2.0 or higher;
see SPD 41.61
OPTIONAL SOFTWARE
POLYCENTER NetView Version 3.1; see SPD 53.57
GROWTH CONSIDERATIONS
The minimum hardware/software requirements for any future version of
this product may be different from the requirements for the current
version.
DISTRIBUTION MEDIA
CD-ROM
ORDERING INFORMATION
Software License: QL-217A9-AA
Media and Documentation: QA-217AA-AA
Update License: QL-217A9-RA
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SOFTWARE PRODUCT SERVICES
LPS/SUSL: QT-217A9-L9
MDDS: QT-217A*-E8
Installation: QT-217A9-I9
SERVICE OPTIONS
Service options available from Digital include:
o Network Management Planning and Design Services
o Network Management Implementation Services
o Network Management Operations Services
o Network Management Training
For more information on these service options, contact your local
Digital office.
SOFTWARE LICENSING
This software is furnished under the licensing provisions of Digital
Equipment Corporation's Standard Terms and Conditions. For more
information about Digital's licensing terms and policies, contact
your local Digital office.
SOFTWARE WARRANTY
Warranty for this software product is provided by Digital with the
purchase of a license for the product as defined in the Software
Warranty Addendum of this SPD.
The above information is valid at the time of release. Contact your
local Digital office for the most up-to-date information.
� 1995 Digital Equipment Corporation. All rights reserved.
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SPD 46.02.00
TRADEMARKS
[R] AppleTalk is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.
[TM]DomainView and NETscout are trademarks of Frontier Software
Development, Inc.
[R] NetView is a registered trademark of International Business
Machines Corporation.
[R] NFS is a registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.
[R] Novell is a registered trademark of Novell, Inc.
[R] OSF/1 and Motif are registered trademarks of Open Software
Foundation, Inc.
[R] UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other
countries licensed exclusively through X/Open Company Ltd.
[R] VINES is a registered trademark of Banyan Systems, Inc.
[TM]The DIGITAL Logo, DEC, DEChub, DECnet, DECpacketprobe, LAT,
POLYCENTER and PROBEwatch are trademarks of Digital Equipment
Corporation.
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