To manage remote segments (segments other than the one the OS/2 agent is running on), OS/2 agent has to manage the bridge that links the local segment to the remote segment. This chapter tells you how to define and manage bridges. Using the LAN Network Manager program, you can display information and status for a specific bridge and link and unlink the bridges in your network.
This chapter contains the following topics:
Separate adapters in the bridge connect to each LAN segment. The bridge program passes frames from one LAN segment to the other using the two adapters.
When monitoring bridges, always monitor the bridge adapter that is closer to the OS/2 agent program. The other bridge adapter might not be visible to the monitoring process.
For LAN Network Manager to correctly manage adapters on bridged segments, the program must be linked to the bridges that are connected to the bridged segments. You can link bridges either with the Link action or automatically by activating automatic linking for the bridge. See Linking Bridges for more information about linking bridges.
To use LAN Network Manager to manage remote segments, enable the following functions in the bridge using the bridge configuration program.
For a token-ring network, enable:
Some bridge programs do not support all the subvectors that are provided by some of the adapters in response to the query adapter function for the OS/2 agent. The query adapter function is used during segment resynchronization and during an adapter query. If a bridge running one of these bridge programs queries an adapter because of a request from the OS/2 agent, and that adapter provides the universal address subvector in response, the bridge returns an error to the OS/2 agent program. Therefore, the query adapter request fails. If the request was a resynchronization request, the segment resynchronization process ends when that adapter is reached and, therefore, the configuration information for that segment is incomplete.
LAN Network Manager provides limited support for the IBM 8209 Local Area Network Bridge. The 8209 LAN Bridge connects a token-ring segment to an Ethernet or IEEE 802.3 segment, or connects a token-ring segment to another token-ring segment. Using LAN Network Manager, you can link to and remotely configure the bridge and list and update the static entries in the transparent bridging table.
LAN Network Manager supports the following modules:
The following restrictions apply to Ethernet segments linked by the 8209 LAN Bridge to the Ethernet/IEEE 802.3 modules.
To enable the OS/2 agent to establish communication with bridges, define each bridge to LAN Network Manager, as described in this section. Also, verify that the adapter address in the Bridge Definition window matches the adapter address in the bridge program's bridge configuration.
Before the OS/2 agent can establish communications with a bridge follow these steps:
If you change the bridge configuration, do the following:
To define a bridge in your network, use the Add Bridge Definition window to enter the addresses of the two bridge adapters and to assign the bridge a symbolic name. You can also specify whether the bridge participates in the automatic bridge linking procedure with the OS/2 agent.
When monitoring bridges, always monitor the bridge adapter that is closer to the OS/2 agent program. The other bridge adapter might not be visible to the monitoring process.
For the OS/2 agent to correctly manage adapters on the remote segments, the program must be linked to the bridges that are connected to the remote segments.
To add a bridge definition, follow these steps:
The Add Bridge Definition window is displayed.
When you add a definition with the Add Bridge Definition window, the definition information is passed on to the OS/2 agent and stored in the OS/2 agent's database.
To delete a bridge definition, select Delete definition from the Actions pull-down menu on the Bridge Configuration window. Select OK from the warning dialog box to delete the definition, or select Cancel to cancel the delete operation.
| Note: | You can delete only bridges that are not currently linked. |
To view a list of the bridges that are defined in your network, use the List of Bridges window. This window displays a scrollable list of defined bridges and the following information for each:
You can also link, unlink, and delete definitions for bridges using the List of Bridges window.
Display and change basic information for a bridge and the segments that it links using the Bridge Configuration window.
To display the Bridge Configuration window, select the bridge, then select Configuration from either the LAN pull-down menu or the context menu.
Perform additional actions from the Bridge Configuration window by selecting a menu choice from the Actions, Navigation, or Parameters pull-down menu.
You can select the following choices from the Actions pull-down menu:
| For information about: | Read: |
|---|---|
| Unlink | Unlinking Bridges |
| Link | Linking Bridges with the Link Action |
| Delete definition | Deleting a Bridge Definition |
Navigate directly to the following bridge windows by selecting one of these
choices from the Navigation pull-down menu on the Bridge Configuration
window:
| Select: | To navigate to: |
|---|---|
| Profile | Bridge Profile window |
| Performance | Bridge Performance window |
To perform additional configuration tasks on the selected bridge, choose
one of these choices from the Parameters pull-down menu on the Bridge
Configuration window:
| For information about: | Read: |
|---|---|
| Reporting link | Displaying or Changing Reporting Link Parameters |
| Forwarding | Displaying or Changing Forwarding Parameters |
| Filter definitions | Displaying or Changing Filter Definitions |
| SRTB | Displaying or Changing SRTB Parameters |
Each IBM bridge program that is supported by LAN Network Manager has four reporting links, numbered from 0 through 3. Thus, a single bridge can simultaneously communicate with up to four OS/2 agent programs that in turn report to LAN Network Manager. When you configure the bridge program, you can configure a password for each of the reporting links.
Because LAN Network Manager uses only one reporting link number at a time, all bridges for a single reporting link must have the same password if you want LAN Network Manager to link to the bridges.
Only a controlling LAN Network Manager program can change reporting link parameters.
To display or change reporting-link parameters for the selected bridge, select Reporting Link from the Parameters pull-down on the Bridge Configuration window.
The Forwarding Parameters window displays information about how the bridge is configured to forward data frames from one segment to another. You can specify parameters, such as bridge priority, which determine the bridge's operation in the larger network, as well as parameters that apply to specific segments, such as path cost.
To display the Forwarding Parameters window, select Forwarding from the Parameters pull-down on the Bridge Configuration window.
| Note: | In a LAN Subnet submap, if one LLC token-ring bridge is configured as Frame Forwarding Active and the other bridge in the segment is configured as Frame Forwarding Inactive, both bridges are green and the port segment with inactive links is red. |
The parameters that control the filter function of a bridge can be displayed and changed on the Filter Definitions Parameters window.
You can define two types of filters:
These filters prevent the frames that are originated by specific LAN stations from traversing the bridge. You can filter according to the source address, the destination address, or both. You can also specify the low and high address values of the address range for which you want to filter.
These filters prevent frames of a particular type from traversing the bridge or allow only a particular type to get through. You can specify the low and high address values of the filtering range.
To display the Filter Definitions Parameters window, select Filter definitions from the Parameters pull-down on the Bridge Configuration window.
To view or change the Source Routing Transparent Bridging (SRTB) parameters for the bridge, use the SRTB Parameters window.
These parameters apply only to the IBM 8209 LAN Bridge, which enables the connection of a Token-Ring segment with an Ethernet or IEEE 802.3 segment. The 8209 bridge supports both the source-routing method of routing data (used in a token-ring environment) and the transparent-bridging method of routing data (used in an Ethernet or IEEE 802.3 environment). The SRTB parameters affect the way the bridge converts the format of data frames as it passes them from one network environment to another.
To display or change the SRTB parameters, select SRTB from the Parameters pull-down on the Bridge Configuration window.
You can also display additional SRTB windows using the following push buttons in the SRTB Parameters window:
Use the Static Entries window to display the predefined address entries in the bridge transparent-bridging table. These entries are retrieved from the bridge and displayed in the list. Each entry consists of the medium access control (MAC) address of a station on the local or remote Ethernet/IEEE 802.3 segment.
Only a message frame with a destination address that is not in this table is passed by the bridge to the Token-Ring segment. If the destination address is in the table, the frame is discarded.
You can also delete static entries on this window.
To display the static entries for a bridge, select SRTB from the Parameters pull-down on the Bridge Configuration window. The SRTB Parameters window is displayed.
Select the Static entries push button. The Static Entries window is displayed.
To delete one or more static entries, select the entry from the list and then select the Delete push button.
You can add a static entry using the Add menu choice from the Actions pull-down menu on the Static Entries window. For more information, see "Adding Static Entries".
To add a static entry to the bridge's transparent-bridging table, use the Add Static Entry window. If the bridge receives a data frame with a destination address that matches a static address that you have entered on this window, the bridge discards the frame.
To add a static entry to the list of entries that are defined in the transparent-bridging table, select Add from the Actions pull-down menu in the Static Entries window.
Use the Mapped Addresses window to display the list of translated addresses for bridges that connect token-ring and carrier sense multiple access with collision detection (CSMA/CD) segments.
Some types of bridges that connect token-ring and CSMA/CD LAN segments, such as the 8209 LAN Bridge, can maintain, in memory, a database of translated destination addresses for each port. If the destination address of a logical link control (LLC) frame is in the database of the inbound port, the address is changed to the corresponding translated address before the frame is forwarded.
You can also delete mapped addresses from this window.
To display the mapped addresses for a bridge, select SRTB from the Parameters pull-down on the Bridge Configuration window. The SRTB Parameters window is displayed.
Select the Mapped Addresses push button. The Mapped Addresses window is displayed.
To delete one or more mapped addresses, select the entry from the list and then select the Delete push button.
You can add a mapped address using the Add menu choice from the Actions pull-down menu on the Mapped Addresses window. For more information, see Adding Mapped Addresses.
To add mapped addresses to the list of translated addresses for bridges that connect token-ring and CSMA/CD segments, use the Add Mapped Addresses window. If the bridge receives a data frame with a destination address that you have entered on this window, the bridge changes the address to the corresponding translated address before the frame is forwarded.
Select Add from the Actions pull-down menu in the Mapped Addresses window. The Add Mapped Addresses window is displayed.
The Bridge Profile window displays information about the bridge and its current operation. The window provides general bridge and routing information and describes the bridge adapter connection to a segment.
To display the profile information for a bridge, select the bridge and then select Profile from either the LAN pull-down menu or the context menu.
You can select the following actions from the Actions pull-down menu on the
Bridge Profile window:
| For information about: | Read: |
|---|---|
| Unlink | Unlinking Bridges |
| Link | Linking Bridges with the Link Action |
To navigate directly to the other bridge windows, select one of these
choices from the Navigation pull-down menu on the Bridge Profile window:
| Select: | To navigate to: |
|---|---|
| Configuration | Bridge Configuration window |
| Performance | Bridge Performance window |
The OS/2 agent links a bridge to manage remote segments connected to the network by the bridge. You can define bridges so that they are automatically linked. See Linking Bridges Automatically for more information. However, if you have not defined a bridge to link automatically, or if the automatic link option is set to Disabled, you can use the link function to link the bridge.
When you use the link function, the bridge checks the reporting link number and password that is sent by the OS/2 agent. The bridge rejects the link attempt if the specified authorization level is in use or if the password does not match the password defined to the bridge program for the specified authorization level.
If you have unlinked a bridge or started LAN Network Manager and then try to link the bridge, the OS/2 agent notifies LAN Network Manager that the link was successful or that the link failed. If the link failed, OS/2 agent returns a reason code for the failure, but additional link requests for that bridge do not result in another trap sent to LAN Network Manager unless the reason for the failure is different from the reason last logged for this bridge.
The performance notification interval for each bridge is set when LAN Network Manager links to the bridge. To change the performance notification interval, see Displaying or Changing Performance Data.
To link a bridge which has not been defined to automatically link (described in Linking Bridges Automatically),you can select Link from the Actions pull-down menu on either the Bridge Profile or Bridge Configuration windows.
To link a bridge, follow these steps:
The Bridge Profile or Bridge Configuration window is displayed.
LAN Network Manager displays a message indicating whether the link succeeded or failed.
When you define a bridge, you can activate automatic linking for that bridge. If you activate automatic bridge linking, the OS/2 agent tries to automatically link to the bridge when a bridge definition is changed or added and each time the OS/2 agent is started or restarted.
If you activate automatic linking for a bridge, ensure that you have selected Enabled in the Bridge autolink flag field on the Bridge Parameters window. If this field is set to Disabled in the Bridge Parameters window, automatic bridge linking is turned off for all bridges, regardless of their individual automatic bridge linking status.
If you activate automatic bridge linking for a bridge but the OS/2 agent is not able to link, or if the link is terminated, the OS/2 agent tries to re-establish the link every n minutes, where n is the Autolink timer value defined in the Bridge Parameters window. The OS/2 agent logs a trap the first time the bridge fails to link and again when the link is established.
Read Defining General Bridge Parameters for more information about changing parameters in the Bridge Parameters window.
To unlink specific bridges, follow these steps:
The Bridge Profile or Bridge Configuration window is displayed.
LAN Network Manager displays a message indicating whether the link was successfully terminated.
The Bridge Performance window displays performance counter information for the selected bridge. You can also specify threshold levels to control the frequency of data collection and notification. Values for the various performance counters are listed for each segment to which the bridge is attached.
Performance counters accumulate the number of bytes and frames that are forwarded and not forwarded from each LAN segment to the other through the bridge. Frames and bytes forwarded are categorized by type; frames not forwarded are categorized by reason. The bridge program maintains several performance counters for each LAN segment that is connected to a bridge. The bridge program also controls the bridge counters, and LAN Network Manager cannot reset them.
To display the performance information for a bridge, follow these steps:
The Bridge Performance window is displayed.
The data collection fields indicate how often bridge performance data is collected, and the time period in which the collection takes place. You can change the values of these fields on the Bridge Parameters window. For more information about the Bridge Parameters window, see Defining General Bridge Parameters.
To start or stop the collection of bridge performance data, change the value of the Collecting field on the Bridge Performance window. To start collecting data, the Collecting field must be set to Enabled, the Performance notification interval field must be set to an interval greater than zero, and the bridge must have a controlling link.
The Bridge Performance Graphing window enables you to generate a graph of historical bridge data by selecting the types of data you want to graph.
To generate a graph of bridge performance data, follow these steps:
The Bridge Performance Graphing window is displayed.
The bridge performance data that is collected by LAN Network Manager is saved in a file.If you want to work with this data in a spreadsheet program, you can convert the history.01 files to a spreadsheet-readable delimited format using the lnmexport utility.
To use the lnmexport utility to export bridge performance data, enter the following command from an AIX operating system shell:
lnmexport ip_address brg bridge_name week_data > output_file
where:
The lnmexport utility converts the bridge performance data stored in the /usr/CML/reports/lnmlnmemon/dir_name directory, where dir_name is a directory named with the IP address of the OS/2 agent. The converted data is placed in the file you specified with the lnmexport command, and stored in the same directory, or a directory you specify with the redirect symbol (>).
The format of the bridge data consists of a comment linefollowed by the performance data, which is organized in groups of 20 rows. The comment line looks like the following:
# B7: A06 A01
B7 represents the name of the bridge. A06 and A01 are the names of the two segments that the bridge connects.
The comment line is followed by groups of 20 rows, each row containing four columns, such as the following:
1 0 767622262 3 2 0 767622262 0.00 3 0 767622262 17 4 0 767622262 1000.00 5 0 767622262 0 6 0 767622262 0 7 0 767622262 0 8 0 767622262 0 9 0 767622262 0.00 10 0 767622262 0 11 0 767622262 279651 12 0 767622262 11231000.00 13 0 767622262 13 14 0 767622262 0.00 15 0 767622262 0 16 0 767622262 0 17 0 767622262 0 18 0 767622262 0 19 0 767622262 0.00 20 0 767622262 0
This group contains 10 types of performance data recorded for the two ports
of the bridge at a particular sample time. The first column of each row
represent a specific type of performance statistic, such as broadcast bytes or
broadcast frames. Rows numbered 1 through 10 contain data measured at
the bridge port connected to one of the attached segments, while rows 11
through 20 contain the same type of data for the bridge port connected to the
other attached segment. The following table shows the performance
statistic associated with each numbered row:
| Rows for Bridge Port 1 | Rows for Bridge Port 2 | Performance Statistic |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Broadcast bytes |
| 2 | 12 | Broadcast frames |
| 3 | 13 | Non-broadcast bytes |
| 4 | 14 | Non-broadcast frames |
| 5 | 15 | Link error bytes |
| 6 | 16 | Link error frames |
| 7 | 17 | Target LAN inoperative |
| 8 | 18 | Other reasons |
| 9 | 19 | Adapter congestion |
| 10 | 20 | Filtered |
The time the data was recorded is stored in the third column of each row. This value is recorded as the number of seconds since January 1, 1970.
The value for each performance statistic is stored in the fourth column of each row.
As an example, suppose you want to convert the current week'sbridge performance information for a bridge named B7, so you can work with the information in a spreadsheet program. Bridge B7 is managed by an OS/2 agent with an IP address of 9.67.187.11. You want to put the converted information in a file called brgb7.wks.
You would enter the lnmexport command as follows:
lnmexport 9.67.187.11 brg B7 01 > brgb7.wks
The lnmexport command converts the source data to the spreadsheet format by putting all the values for each group on one line of the output file. For example, if the source file contained data for bridge B7 sampled at 10 different times over a particular time interval, and therefore had 10 groups of data, the exported spreadsheet-format file has 10 lines of data, each corresponding to a group in the source file.
To transfer the brgb7.wks file to a DOS or OS/2 diskette, you can use the following AIX DOSWRITE command:
doswrite -a brgb7.wks brgb7.wks
This command transfers the file to a DOS or OS/2 diskette in the diskette drive of your AIX workstation. You can then work with the file using the spreadsheet program.