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3.7: An Overview - NerveCenter Components - Additional NerveCenter Utilities -
Additional NerveCenter Utilities
NerveCenter includes the following utilities that extend its capability and enhance its performance:
- Trapgen -- Generates a trap
on a specified node.
- ImportUtil -- Imports behavior models and/or changes
the NerveCenter Server configuration.
- IPSweep -- Pings nodes and sends SNMP traps to the
NerveCenter Server, which then adds those nodes to its database.
- Crystal Reports -- Provides reporting capability on
Windows.
The following sections briefly describe each utility.
TrapGen
TrapGen is a standalone utility that allows you to send an SNMP trap to a particular device. From a command line or shell prompt, you can set the generic and specific trap numbers, provide the sender and recipient IP addresses, include an enterprise identifier, and specify the variable bindings.
Generating a trap is useful for testing trap masks and behavior models. When you send an SNMP trap to a NerveCenter Server, any trap mask configured to detect the specified trap values fires its trigger. If your trap mask and alarm are working properly, you see the alarm listed in your console.
ImportUtil
ImportUtil is a utility that does the following from the command line:
- Imports behavior models and
nodes to a NerveCenter Server.
- Imports configuration settings to a NerveCenter
Server.
The following diagram shows ImportUtil along with the other NerveCenter components.
NerveCenter ImportUtil Utility
ImportUtil imports the data referenced in the editable file ImpUtil.ini, which is located in the installation/Sms directory (Windows) or the installation/userfiles directory (UNIX).
You can edit NerveCenter configuration settings in ImpUtil.ini as well as specify
the behavior models and nodes you want to import. You must have the proper
*.mod or *.node file for the behavior models or nodes you want to import. When
you have made the changes you want to ImpUtil.ini,
run ImportUtil to import the specified information or files.
Note NerveCenter includes other import
and export operations as well. These are built directly into the NerveCenter
interface.
IPSweep
You can use NerveCenter's ping sweep utility, IPSweep, to populate your database. The following diagram shows how IPSweep fits in with the other NerveCenter components.
IPSweep does not populate the NerveCenter server database. All it does is send a trap to NerveCenter if it gets a ping response from an IP address. It is up to the server to add the "unknown" node to its database once it gets a trap.
NerveCenter Configured to Discover Nodes
Ipsweep extracts information from the NerveCenter configuration settings about the subnet IP filters defined for NerveCenter. IPSweep also obtains node information from the NerveCenter database, identifies nodes that fall within the subnet range but are not in the database, and sends those nodes a ping (ICMP echo request). If the ping returns a response, IPSweep issues an SNMP trap. The trap can be sent either to a host specified as the node source or, if no node source is specified, to the local NerveCenter. In a standalone configuration, the trap is sent to NerveCenter. Once NerveCenter receives the trap, the node is added to the NerveCenter database.
You run IPSweep by enabling the IPSweep behavior model. For more information about NerveCenter's IPSweep behavior model, refer to the Learning How to Create Behavior Models online guide shipped with NerveCenter.
Crystal Reports
NerveCenter's reporting capability allows you to collect important network information to anticipate and avoid network problems. You can create reports to run against the NerveCenter database and against NerveCenter log files.
On Windows, NerveCenter is shipped with several reports developed using Seagate Software Crystal Reports. You can use reports to establish baselines, monitor thresholds, determine network utilization patterns, track system performance, and identify potential bottlenecks and other critical conditions.
The following diagram shows how Crystal Reports works with the other NerveCenter components.
Click the thumbnail
above to view full-sized image.
Crystal Reports is accessed from the NerveCenter Client, which is connected to the NerveCenter Server. When you request a particular report, the NerveCenter Server forwards the report file to the Client. The Client runs the Crystal Reports viewer using a temporary ODBC data source as the connection to the NerveCenter database.
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This file was
last updated on 10 October 2000 |