Cabletron Systems CBU-NM User manual

CBU-NM

User Manual

Fivemere Ltd. Cabletron Systems Ltd.

Fivemere House Network House

161 High Street Newbury Business Park

Aldershot London Road, Newbury

Hampshire, England Berkshire, England

GU11 1TT RG13 2PZ

Telephone: [44] (0)1635 580000

Fax: [44] (0)1635 44578

CBU-NM

User Manual

ii 80-60100000-02ii

Publication — 80-60100000-02

Publication Notice:

This manual has been compiled and checked for accuracy. However the

information contained in this manual does not constitute a warranty of

performance. Cabletron Systems Limited reserves the right to revise this

publication from time to time without notice. Cabletron Systems Limited

assumes no liability for losses incurred as a result of out of date or incorrect

information contained in this manual.

Proprietary Notice:

This document may not in whole or part be copied, photocopied, reproduced,

translated, or reduced to any electronic medium or machine readable form

without prior consent from Cabletron Systems Limited.

Acknowledgements:

Kilostream™ is a trademark of British Telecom PLC.

Chameleon TCP/IP for Windows is a trademark of Netmanage.

Windows and MS-DOS are trademarks of Microsoft.

CBU-NM

User Manual

80-60100000-02 iii

History Sheet

80-60100000-01 V 0.26 software 23 September 1996

80-60100000-02 V 0.27 software 01 July 1997

CBU-NM

User Manual

ii 80-60100000-02iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION 1–1

1.1

T

HIS CHAPTER

1–1

1.2

F

EATURES OF

PCNC 1–1

1.3

O

VERVIEW

1–2

1.4

G

ETTING

S

TARTED

1–2

1.5

H

OW

PCNC

WORKS

1–3

1.5.1

A

LARMS

1–4

1.6

W

HAT

PCNC

DOES

1–4

1.7

S

YSTEM REQUIREMENTS

1–6

1.7.1

H

ARDWARE

1–6

1.7.2

S

OFTWARE

1–6

2 MAIN COMPONENTS 2–1

2.1

T

HIS CHAPTER

2–1

2.2

M

AIN

W

INDOW

2–1

2.3

S

PEED

M

ENUS

2–2

2.4

T

HE

N

ETWORK

D

ATABASE

2–2

2.5

T

HE

N

ETWORK

I

NSPECTOR

W

INDOW

2–3

2.6

T

HE

A

LARM

D

ATABASE

2–3

2.7

A

LARM WINDOWS

2–3

2.8

A

CKNOWLEDGING

/

SELECTING ALARMS

2–4

2.8.1

T

O SELECT A SINGLE ALARM

2–4

2.8.2

T

O SELECT A GROUP OF ALARMS

2–4

2.8.3

T

O SELECT

/

DESELECT ADDITIONAL ALARMS

2–4

2.9

P

ORTS

, L

INKS AND

T

ERMINALS

2–4

2.10

D

RIVERS

2–5

3 ALARMS AND FILTERS 3–1

3.1

T

HIS CHAPTER

3–1

3.2

T

HE

A

LARM

D

ATABASE

3–1

3.3

SNMP T

RAPS

3–1

3.3.1

A

LERT

P

ROCESSING

3–2

3.3.2

A

LARMS

3–3

3.3.3

U

NKNOWN

D

EVICE

/

U

NRECOGNISED

A

LERT

ALARMS

3–4

3.4

A

LARM WINDOWS

3–5

3.4.1

N

ETWORK

A

LARM

L

OG WINDOW

3–5

Table of Contents

80-60100000-02 v

3.4.2

D

EVICE

A

LARM

L

OG WINDOWS

3–5

3.4.3

U

NACKNOWLEDGED

A

LARMS WINDOW

3–6

3.5

A

RCHIVING

3–6

3.5.1

A

RCHIVED

A

LARM

L

OG WINDOWS

3–6

3.6

R

EADING THE DATABASE FROM OTHER APPLICATIONS

3–7

3.7

H

ARDWARE ALERT DISABLING

3–7

3.8

F

ILTERS

3–8

3.8.1

G

ENERIC

/ D

EVICE

F

ILTERS

3–9

3.8.2

S

ETTING UP A FILTER

3–10

3.8.2.1

C

HOOSING WHICH TYPES OF ALARM CAN BE FILTERED

3–10

3.8.2.2

S

HOWING AND

H

IDING ALARMS

3–11

3.8.2.3

S

PECIAL COMMANDS

3–11

3.8.2.4

W

HEN YOU HAVE FINISHED

3–11

4 COMMUNICATIONS 4–1

4.1

T

HIS CHAPTER

4–1

4.2

C

ONNECTIONS

4–1

4.2.1

L

OCAL

D

EVICES

4–1

4.2.2

R

EMOTE

D

EVICES

4–1

4.2.3

O

THER

D

EVICES

4–3

4.2.4

L

INK

D

ISABLING

4–3

4.3

C

ONTROL

T

ERMINAL

4–3

4.4

A

UXILIARY

T

ERMINAL

4–4

4.5

C

ONNECTING TO

N

ETWORK

D

EVICES

4–4

4.5.1

L

OCAL

D

IRECT

C

ONNECTION

4–4

4.5.2

R

EMOTE

D

IRECT

C

ONNECTION

4–5

4.5.3

T

HE

T

ALKWIRE

L

IST

4–5

4.5.3.1

E

DITING THE

T

ALKWIRE

L

IST

4–6

5 THE SNMP LINK AND CHAMELEON 5–1

5.1

T

HIS CHAPTER

5–1

5.2

O

VERVIEW

5–1

5.3

R

EQUIREMENTS

5–2

5.3.1

NDIS-

COMPLIANT NETWORK INTERFACE CARD

5–2

5.3.2

NDIS

DRIVER

5–2

5.3.3

C

HAMELEON

5–2

5.3.4

PCNC E

XTENSIONS

5–3

5.3.4.1

PCNCSNMP.EXE 5–3

5.4

H

OW THE

T

RAPS ARE SENT AND RECEIVED

5–4

5.5

I

NSTALLING THE

C

HAMELEON PACKAGE

5–5

5.5.1

T

EST THAT

C

HAMELEON IS INSTALLED CORRECTLY

5–7

CBU-NM

User Manual

ii 80-60100000-02vi

5.6

I

NSTALL THE

MIB

INTO YOUR

NMS 5–7

5.7

T

HE NEXT STEP

5–7

5.8

T

HE

N

ETWORK

D

ATABASE

5–8

5.9

T

RAP

F

ORMAT

5–8

6 INSTALLING PCNC 6–1

6.1

T

HIS CHAPTER

6–1

6.2

I

NTRODUCTION

6–1

6.3

R

EQUIREMENTS

6–2

6.4

W

HAT

’

S ON THE DISTRIBUTION DISKS

? 6–2

6.5

I

NSTALLING

PCNC

FOR THE FIRST TIME

6–3

6.5.1

B

EFORE YOU START

6–3

6.5.2

* S

ET UP THE

TCP/IP N

ETWORK

6–4

6.5.2.1

* I

NSTALL THE

N

ETWORK HARDWARE

6–4

6.5.2.2

* C

ONFIGURE THE

NDIS

DRIVER

6–4

6.5.2.3

* I

NSTALL

C

HAMELEON

6–4

6.5.3

I

NSTALL THE FILES

6–4

6.5.3.1

* I

NSTALL THE OPTIONAL

SNMP

EXTENSIONS

6–4

6.5.4

C

USTOMISE

PCNC.INI 6–5

6.5.5

C

REATE THE

W

INDOWS ICON

6–5

6.5.6

C

ONFIGURE AND TEST

PCNC 6–5

6.5.7

* E

NABLE THE

SNMP L

INK

6–5

6.5.7.1

* I

NSTALL THE

MIB 6–5

6.5.7.2

* R

E

-

CONFIGURE

PCNC.INI 6–5

6.5.7.3

* T

EST

PCNC

WITH

SNMP 6–6

6.5.8

E

NTER THE

N

ETWORK INFORMATION

6–6

6.6

U

PGRADING TO A NEWER VERSION OF

PCNC 6–6

6.6.1

C

OPYING THE FILES

6–6

6.6.2

U

PDATING THE

PCNC.INI

FILE

6–6

6.7

D

RIVERS

6–7

7 CONFIGURING PCNC.INI 7–1

7.1

T

HIS CHAPTER

7–1

7.2

I

NTRODUCTION

7–1

7.3

C

ONNECTING THE PORTS

7–2

7.3.1

COM P

ORTS

7–2

7.4

F

ORMAT OF THE

PCNC.INI F

ILE

7–3

7.5

C

HANGING THE

PCNC.INI

SETTINGS

7–3

7.6

C

ONFIGURING

PCNC.INI 7–3

7.7

S

ETTINGS

7–4

7.8

[C

ONTROL

L

INK

] 7–4

Table of Contents

80-60100000-02 vii

7.8.1

P

ORT

=<

NAME

>:<

RATE

>,<

PARITY

>,<

DATA BITS

>,<

STOP BITS

> 7–4

7.8.2

L

INE

C

OUNT

=<

INTEGER

> 7–5

7.8.3

R

X

Q

UEUE

S

IZE

=<

INTEGER

> 7–5

7.8.4

T

X

Q

UEUE

S

IZE

=<

INTEGER

> 7–5

7.8.5

H

ANDSHAKING

=<

BOOLEAN

> 7–5

7.8.6

D

IRECT

C

ONNECT

T

IMEOUT

=<

INTEGER

> 7–6

7.9

[A

UXILIARY

L

INK

] 7–6

7.9.1

C

OLUMN

C

OUNT

=<

INTEGER

> 7–6

7.9.2

E

MULATION

=<

STRING

> 7–7

7.9.3

B

REAK

H

ANDLING

=<

BOOLEAN

> 7–7

7.9.4

B

REAK

L

ENGTH

=<

INTEGER

> 7–7

7.9.5

H

ANDSHAKING

=<

STRING

> 7–7

7.9.6

F

OREGROUND

C

OLOUR

=<

INTEGER

> 7–7

7.9.7

B

ACKGROUND

C

OLOUR

=<

INTEGER

> 7–8

7.9.8

T

RANSLATE

B

ACKSPACE

=<

BOOLEAN

> 7–8

7.10

[R

EMOTE

L

INK

] 7–8

7.11

[D

EVICE

D

RIVERS

] 7–9

7.12

[O

PTIONS

] 7–9

7.12.1

A

UDIBLE

W

ARNING

B

UTTON

=<

BOOLEAN

> 7–9

7.12.2

C

ONTINUOUS

A

UDIBLE

W

ARNING

=<

BOOLEAN

> 7–9

7.12.3

A

LARM

L

OGGING

=<

BOOLEAN

> 7–10

7.12.4

M

INUTES

B

ETWEEN

S

AVES

=<

INTEGER

> 7–10

7.13

[SNMP L

INK

] 7–11

7.13.1

F

ORWARD

T

RAPS

T

O

N

MS

=<

BOOLEAN

> 7–11

7.13.2

F

ORWARD

T

RAPS

T

O

P

CNC

=<

BOOLEAN

> 7–11

7.13.3

R

ECEIVE

T

RAPS

=<

BOOLEAN

> 7–11

7.13.4

T

RAP

T

X

O

ID

P

CNC

=<G

ROUP OBJECT IDENTIFIER

> 7–12

7.13.5

T

RAP

T

X

O

ID

N

MS

=<G

ROUP OBJECT IDENTIFIER

> 7–12

7.13.6

T

RAP

R

X

O

ID

=<G

ROUP OBJECT IDENTIFIER

> 7–12

7.13.7

N

AMES

I

N

T

RAPS

=<B

OOLEAN

> 7–12

8 THE NETWORK DATABASE 8–1

8.1

T

HIS CHAPTER

8–1

8.2

T

HE

R

OLE OF THE

N

ETWORK

D

ATABASE

8–1

8.2.1

A

LERT

P

ROCESSING

8–2

8.2.2

C

OMMUNICATING WITH THE

N

ETWORK

8–2

8.3

T

HE

N

ETWORK

I

NSPECTOR WINDOW

8–2

8.3.1

M

EANING OF THE

N

ETWORK

I

NSPECTOR

F

IELDS

8–3

8.3.2

I

NDEPENDENT

C

HANNEL

N

AMING

8–3

8.4

D

EFINING THE

D

ATABASE

8–4

CBU-NM

User Manual

ii 80-60100000-02viii

8.4.1

A

DDING AN ENTRY

8–4

8.4.1.1

C

OMMENTS

8–5

8.4.1.2

R

EMOTE ADDRESSING

8–5

8.4.1.3

C

HANNEL

N

AMING

8–5

8.4.2

M

ODIFYING THE

D

ATABASE

8–5

9 EQUIPMENT SETUP 9–1

9.1

T

HIS CHAPTER

9–1

9.2

I

NTRODUCTION

9–1

9.3

KBU 64 9–2

9.4

C

ABLETRON

G

ENERIC

S

HELF

P

RODUCTS

9–2

9.5

O

THER

C

ABLETRON

P

RODUCTS

9–2

10 COMMANDS 10–1

10.1

T

HIS CHAPTER

10–1

10.2

G

ENERAL

10–1

10.3

H

ELP

10–1

10.4

N

ETWORK

| N

EW DEVICE

... 10–3

10.5

N

ETWORK

| E

DIT DEVICE

... 10–3

10.6

N

ETWORK

| D

ELETE DEVICE

10–3

10.7

N

ETWORK

| S

ORT ORDER

... 10–4

10.8

N

ETWORK

| R

ESET DEVICE STATUS

10–4

10.9

N

ETWORK

| D

EVICE ALARM LOG

10–4

10.10

N

ETWORK

| T

ALKWIRE LIST

... 10–5

10.11

N

ETWORK

| D

IRECT CONNECT

10–5

10.12

N

ETWORK

| D

IRECT DISCONNECT

10–5

10.13

N

ETWORK

| E

XIT

10–6

10.14

A

LARMS

| F

ILTER

... 10–6

10.15

A

LARMS

| A

CKNOWLEDGE

10–6

10.16

A

LARMS

| A

UDIBLE WARNING

10–7

10.17

A

LARMS

| S

AVE TO ARCHIVE FILE

... 10–7

10.18

A

LARMS

| I

NSPECT ARCHIVE FILE

... 10–8

10.19

A

LARMS

| E

XPORT ALARM DATABASE

... 10–8

10.20

W

INDOW

| N

ETWORK INSPECTOR

10–8

10.21

W

INDOW

| N

ETWORK ALARM LOG

10–9

10.22

W

INDOW

| U

NACKNOWLEDGED

A

LARMS

10–9

10.23

W

INDOW

| C

ONTROL TERMINAL

10–9

10.24

W

INDOW

| A

UXILIARY TERMINAL

10–9

10.25

W

INDOW

| C

ASCADE

10–10

10.26

W

INDOW

| T

ILE

10–10

Table of Contents

80-60100000-02 ix

10.27

W

INDOW

| A

RRANGE

I

CONS

10–10

10.28

W

INDOW

| C

LOSE

A

LL

10–10

10.29

H

ELP

| C

ONTENTS

10–11

10.30

H

ELP

| U

SING HELP

10–11

10.31

H

ELP

| A

BOUT

... 10–11

11 TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE 11–1

11.1

T

HIS CHAPTER

11–1

11.2

Y

OU CANNOT SEE ANY ALARMS

11–1

11.3

S

OME ALERTS ARE NOT BEING PROCESSED

11–2

11.4

T

HE COMMAND LINE ISN

’

T WORKING PROPERLY

11–2

11.5

Y

OU SET A FILTER

,

BUT THE ALARM STILL APPEARS

11–2

11.6

T

HE

N

ETWORK

D

ATABASE IS NOT VISIBLE

11–3

11.7

C

RASHES

11–3

11.8

T

HE

SNMP L

INK IS NOT WORKING

11–4

12 GLOSSARY 12–1

12.1

A

LARM

12–1

12.2

A

UDIBLE WARNING

12–1

12.3

D

EVICE

12–1

12.4

F

ILTER

12–1

12.5

L

INK

12–2

12.6

L

OG

12–2

12.7

M

ENU BAR

12–2

12.8

PCNC.DAT 12–3

12.9

PCNC.INI 12–3

12.10

P

OLL

N

UMBER

12–3

12.11

SNMP 12–3

12.12

S

PEED

M

ENUS

12–4

12.13

S

TATUS BAR

12–4

12.14

T

ALKWIRE

L

IST

12–4

12.15

TCP/IP 12–4

12.16

T

RAP

12–4

12.17

T

OOLBAR

12–4

12.18

W

ORKING DIRECTORY

12–5

13 DATA FORMATS 13–1

13.1

A

LERT MESSAGE FORMAT

13–1

13.1.1

A

LERT MESSAGE FIELDS

13–1

13.1.2

A

LERTS WITHOUT TIME AND DATE INFORMATION

13–2

CBU-NM

User Manual

ii 80-60100000-02x

13.1.3

A

LERTS WITH TIME AND DATE INFORMATION

13–2

13.1.4

A

LERT MESSAGE RECOGNITION

13–2

13.2

SNMP T

RAPS

13–2

13.2.1

T

RAP GENERATION FORMAT

13–2

13.2.2

T

RAP RECEIPT FORMAT

13–3

13.2.3

T

RAP EXAMPLES

13–3

13.3

E

XPORTED

A

LARM

D

ATABASES

13–4

13.3.1

.CSV

EXPORTED FILE FORMAT

13–4

13.3.1.1

T

EXT FIELDS

13–5

13.3.1.2

S

IGNED

N

UMERIC

F

IELDS

13–5

13.3.1.3

U

NSIGNED

N

UMERIC

F

IELDS

13–5

13.3.2

R

ECORD FORMAT

13–5

13.3.2.1

<D

ATE

>

FIELD

13–6

13.3.2.2

<T

IME

>

FIELD

13–6

13.3.2.3

<U

NACKNOWLEDGED FLAG

>

FIELD

13–6

13.3.2.4

<P

OLL NUMBER

>

FIELD

13–6

13.3.2.5

<C

HANNEL NUMBER

>

FIELD

13–6

13.3.2.6

<D

EVICE

ID>

FIELD

13–7

13.3.2.7

<A

LARM CODE

>

FIELD

13–7

13.3.2.8

<P

RODUCT NAME

>

FIELD

13–8

13.3.2.9

<D

EVICE OR CHANNEL NAME

>

FIELD

13–8

13.3.2.10

<A

LERT MESSAGE

>

FIELD

13–9

13.3.3

D

EVICE ALARM CODES

13–9

14 HANDSHAKING 14–1

14.1

C

ONTROL

L

INK

H

ANDSHAKING

14–1

14.2

H

ANDSHAKING PROVISIONS

14–1

14.3

C

ABLING REQUIREMENTS

14–2

14.3.1

H

ANDSHAKING DISABLED

14–2

14.3.2

H

ANDSHAKING ENABLED

14–3

14.4

S

YMPTOMS OF INCORRECT CABLING

14–3

14.4.1

H

ANDSHAKING DISABLED

14–3

14.4.2

H

ANDSHAKING ENABLED

14–3

14.5

A

DDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

14–4

Introduction

80-60100000-02 1–1

1 Introduction

1.1 This chapter

The CBU-NM is the product name for the Network Management software

known as ‘PCNC’. All references throughout in this manual are as

‘PCNC’.

This chapter contains a brief description of what PCNC does and how it

does it. You do not need to read to this chapter if you are already

familiar with PCNC. If you do bypass this chapter, you can use the

Glossary to learn the meaning of unfamiliar terms.

1.2 Features of PCNC

PCNC provides:

• A central site for monitoring and controlling a network.

• Alarm processing to make alert messages more meaningful.

• Alarm filtering to show only the information you want to see.

• A record of all alarm information for examination at any time.

• A clear picture of the current status of every device on the network.

• Terminal emulation for direct communication with network devices.

• A user-friendly interface to make network supervision easier and

more intuitive.

CBU-NM

User Manual

ii 80-60100000-021–2

1.3 Overview

The Cabletron Network Controller (PCNC) collects information from a

network of Cabletron devices. Whenever an alert message arrives from

a device, PCNC will notify you. The message is processed, recorded

and displayed as an ‘Alarm’, and you can then decide whether or not you

need to act on the information. All alarms are recorded in a database

which can be viewed at any time.

PCNC also allows easy communication with all devices on your network,

using the Control Terminal. It allows you to talk to local devices directly,

and to remote devices using a ‘Talkwire List’ of local devices which in

turn communicate with the remote devices.

The PCNC program runs under

Microsoft



Windows

on an IBM-

compatible PC and provides a user-friendly interface to the network.

1.4 Getting Started

After installing PCNC, you first need to configure a file called PCNC.INI,

as described in Chapter 7. This done, you can customise the program to

work with your network, using the Network Inspector window. The

information you enter fills the ‘Network Database’ - PCNC uses this to

communicate with all your devices individually, and process the alarms.

When you run PCNC, you will see a window like this:

Title bar

Menu bar

Alarm Panel

& Toolbar

Workspace

Status bar

Figure 1.1 - Main Window

Introduction

80-60100000-02 1–3

You will find all the commands in the menu bar, and on the toolbar just

below are many of the commonly used commands. To find out what

each icon means, place the mouse over the relevant button, and a

message will be displayed in the Status Bar. In addition, clicking the

right button of the mouse over a window brings up a selection of

commands (a ‘Speed Menu’) relevant to that window.

1.5 How PCNC works

PCNC allows easy network monitoring by converting alert messages into

‘Alarms’. It contains two main databases - one to store information about

your network, and one to store all incoming alarms. These databases

can be viewed through the Network Inspector window and the Alarm

windows respectively. Terminal windows allow you to communicate

directly with devices on your network. Software ‘Links’ transfer

information between the program and the network ports.

The connections between these elements of PCNC are shown in the

schematic diagram below. Each component is more fully described in

Chapter 2.

Network Inspector

Alarm

Database

Network

Database

Auxiliary Link

Alarm WindowsTerminals

Auxiliary

Port

Control link

Local

Port

SNMP link

TCP/IP

Remote

Port

Remote Link

Figure 1.2 - PCNC Program Structure

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1.5.1 Alarms

When a network alert message arrives, PCNC uses the information you

have entered into the Network Database to identify the source of the

message. It then passes the message to a separate module which

decodes the alert. Finally it logs the message as an alarm in the Alarm

Database. Once the alerts have been translated and logged, you can

view and filter the resulting alarms using the alarm windows.

Alarm

Database

Network

Database

Alert

Processor

Remote

Link

Local

Port

Remote

Port

TCP/IP

Control

Link

SNMP

Link

Figure 1.3 - Alarm Processing

1.6 What PCNC does

When an alarm arrives, PCNC alerts you with an audible warning (if

enabled) and a flashing panel on the toolbar. An alarm icon flashes next

to the originating device in the Network Inspector window.

A description of the alarm appears in the Unacknowledged Alarms

window and in the Alarm Log windows. Clear information about the

source and type of alarm allows you to decide quickly what action (if any)

needs to be taken. You can then inform PCNC that you have read the

message by ‘acknowledging’ the alarm, and the alarm then disappears

from the Unacknowledged Alarms window. When all alarms have been

acknowledged, the panel no longer flashes and the sound stops.

You can view all recent alarms (before and after they have been

acknowledged) by looking at either the Network Alarm Log or Device

Alarm Log windows. An alarm icon, identical to that displayed next to

the device, flashes beside unacknowledged alarms.

Introduction

80-60100000-02 1–5

The information in the Alarm windows comes from the Alarm Database

through internal filters. In addition, the Alarm Log windows (but not the

Unacknowledged Alarms window) can be filtered to display only certain

alarm types. For example, if you are investigating how often a device

has been in backup, you can choose to hide all alarms except

Performing Backup

alarms. For more details, see Chapter 3 -

Alarms

and Filters

.

The Alarm Database is described fully in Chapter 3. The diagram below

shows an overview of the database and its related windows.

Alarm Database

Unacknowledged

Alarms Window

Network Alarm

Log Window

Custom Filter

Unacknowledged

Filter

Custom Filters

Archived Alarm

Log Window

Custom Filter

Device Alarm

Log Windows

Single Device

Filters

Archived Alarm

Database

Figure 1.4 - The Alarm Database

The Alarm Database can store up to 5000 alarms. If this count is

exceeded, the database ‘overflows’ and the earliest alarm information

will be lost from the log. To prevent this happening, the database can be

cleared and stored to a disk file (Archived) for examination at a future

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date. The program will warn you when the database is nearly full, but it

is a good idea to archive the database frequently. This ensures you

have a complete log of alarms, and keeps the program running

efficiently.

1.7 System requirements

To install and run the PCNC program you will require an IBM-compatible

PC. We recommend that it is of the following type or superior.

1.7.1 Hardware

•

66MHz 80486DX PC with 8MByte of RAM.

•

At least 10 MByte of free fixed disk space.

•

Colour VGA graphics card and compatible monitor (higher resolution

displays will show more information).

•

At least one unused COM port, with Windows COM driver support,

for connection to a Cabletron network.

•

A 3.5" 1.44 MByte floppy disk drive to read the supplied disks.

1.7.2 Software

• MS-DOS

5.0 or later already installed.

• Microsoft



Windows

3.1 or 3.11 already installed.

Main Components

80-60100000-02 2–1

2 Main Components

2.1 This chapter

This chapter contains information about how and why you use the main

components of PCNC outlined in

Figure 1.2 - PCNC Program Structure

.

2.2 Main Window

This is the main control console for PCNC. It contains all the PCNC

commands and windows.

Title bar

Menu bar

Alarm Panel

& Toolbar

Workspace

Status bar

Figure 2.1 - Main Window

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All the PCNC commands and windows can be accessed using the menu

bar. Many commands can also be used by clicking on buttons in the

toolbar just below. When you move the mouse over a button, its

function is displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the screen. The

commands are all described in Chapter 10 -

Commands

.

The toolbar also contains a large alarm symbol that flashes whenever

there is an unacknowledged alarm.

The network is controlled and monitored using the windows which appear

inside the Main window’s workspace. Each of these windows is created

using a toolbar button or menu option. Once created, these windows are

either open to display information, or represented by icons at the bottom

of the workspace area. A window that has been reduced to an icon can

be restored either by double-clicking it with the mouse, selecting it from

the Window menu, or clicking on its toolbar button.

2.3 Speed Menus

Many PCNC commands can also be accessed using ‘Speed Menus’,

which are very similar to those in the menu bar. Click the right mouse

button over the Network Inspector window to bring up the Network

Inspector Speed Menu. Click over any Alarm window to see the Alarm

Log Speed Menu. The Control Terminal also has a Speed Menu which

contains commands relevant to direct network connections.

2.4 The Network Database

The Network Database stores information about devices on your

network, and identifies each one using a unique ‘Poll number’. This

information is vital to PCNC’s processing of incoming messages, and

must accurately reflect your network configuration in order for PCNC to

run properly. See Section 8.4 -

Defining the Database

for details of how

to set it up.

Network messages contain the Poll number of the device that generated

them. When it receives an alert message, PCNC ‘looks up’ the device

with that number in the database. It can then use the information stored

for that device to convert the message into an Alarm.

Main Components

80-60100000-02 2–3

2.5 The Network Inspector Window

The Network Database can be viewed and modified using the Network

Inspector window. Each line in this window displays information about a

particular device, such as its location and type. It can also display a

description of the device entered by the user, allowing each device to be

identified easily.

The window also shows clear information about the present status of

each device, allowing you to tell at a glance the current state of the

network. For example, each device has a grey alarm symbol next to it,

which flashes pink if the device has any unacknowledged alarms.

The information stored about the Device’s location allows you to connect

automatically to each device, as described in Section 4.5 -

Connecting to

Network Devices

.

2.6 The Alarm Database

When an alert message is received by PCNC, it is decoded and

converted into an Alarm which is stored in the Alarm Database. Exactly

how this is done is described in Chapter 3 -

Alarms and Filters

.

2.7 Alarm windows

Information stored in the Alarm Database can be viewed through the

various Alarm windows. Each alarm is shown as an entry in the window,

with information regarding its time of arrival, source and nature. If the

alarm has been acknowledged, its alarm symbol (on the left) is grey, and

if not it flashes pink.

You can choose to hide certain types of alarm from most of these

windows by means of the Alarm Filters (see Section 3.8 for details).

The Network Alarm Log window displays the complete contents of the

current Alarm Database. The Device Alarm Log window shows all the

alarms generated by a particular device. Both these windows can be

filtered to hide unwanted information.

All

unacknowledged alarms are

displayed in the Unacknowledged Alarms window, which cannot be

filtered.

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2.8 Acknowledging / selecting alarms

To acknowledge an alarm, select it from any Alarm window, then use the

Acknowledge

command from the Alarms menu, the Alarms Speed

menu, or the toolbar button. As a short cut, you can simply double-click

on the alarm. You can also select multiple alarms.

Once acknowledged, the alarm’s entry in the Unacknowledged Alarms

window will be removed, and the relevant symbols in the Alarm Log

windows will stop flashing. When all alarms for a certain device have

been acknowledged, the Alarm symbol next to the device in the Network

Inspector Window will stop flashing. When all alarms for the whole

network have been acknowledged, the Alarm Panel in the toolbar will

stop flashing.

2.8.1 To select a single alarm

Click on the alarm with the left mouse button - any previous

selections will be cleared

2.8.2 To select a group of alarms

Click on the first alarm with the left mouse button. Press and hold

down the

Shift

key while you select the last alarm in the group.

2.8.3 To select/deselect additional alarms

Press and hold down the

Ctrl

key while you click on the alarm you

wish to select/deselect.

2.9 Ports, Links and Terminals

PCNC can receive alert messages either through serial COM ports or

from a TCP/IP network via a Network Interface Card. To receive

messages over TCP/IP you will need to install the SNMP extensions

which are an optional feature of PCNC. Note, however, that PCNC

cannot communicate directly with your NIC. To use PCNC’s SNMP Link,

you need to install the Chameleon



package from NetManage



Inc.

PCNC communicates with the physical network using software modules

called Links. The Control Link is connected to local Cabletron devices.

The Remote Link is connected to a KBU that can receive alerts from

off-site KBUs via the ISDN network. The Auxiliary Link is used to

connect to non-Cabletron devices which do not generate alert messages

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Cabletron Systems CBU-NM User manual

Cabletron Systems CBU-NM User manual

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