Nways Manager for AIX-LAN Network Manager/I.H.M.P. User's Guide

Configuring Management Parameters for SNMP Token-Ring Resources

After installing the SNMP Bridge and SNMP Token-Ring application, you can configure SNMP Token-Ring and SNMP bridge capability for the network you are managing by using SMIT to define values for:

LAN Network Manager general parameters
General parameters for SNMP agents
SNMP token-ring proxy agent parameters
SNMP bridge parameters

This chapter describes how to carry out these tasks.

Using SMIT to Configure LAN Network Management

The configuration parameters that you define in SMIT are saved in files with an extension of .conf in the /usr/CML/conf/lnmbrmon and /usr/CML/conf/trmon directories. These files are read each time LAN Network Manager is started.

Configuring General Parameters for SNMP Agents

In order for SNMP agent programs to forward trap information to LAN Network Manager applications, the agents must be specifically configured. There are two parameters that you might need to configure in the agent programs to communicate with LAN Network Manager and NetView for AIX:

IP address of the machine on which Nways Manager-LAN is running
Community name, time-outs, and retries as defined in NetView for AIX

IP Address of the Management Station

The IP address of the station on which Nways Manager-LAN is installed must be configured in each of the SNMP agent programs. If an agent is not configured with the correct IP address, LAN Network Manager applications cannot correlate traps and provide network topology and status changes.

The steps for configuring an agent program depend on the type of SNMP agent you are configuring. Refer to the documentation for each agent for configuration instructions.

Agent Community Names

A community name is a password that enables SNMP access to MIB values on an agent. To retrieve and update MIB values, LAN Network Manager applications use the SNMP community names defined in NetView for AIX to build SNMP queries. For these queries to be successful, the community name defined in each SNMP agent program must match the following values defined in NetView for AIX for the agent:

Read community name for retrieved MIB values
Write community name for updated MIB values

To ensure that the community names match, check the community defined in each agent program, then verify that the names match those defined on the NetView for AIX SNMP Configuration window. To open the SNMP Configuration window, select Options -> SNMP Configuration from the NetView for AIX menu bar.

If the community names do not match, you can change the community name defined either on the NetView for AIX SNMP Configuration window or in the agent program. If the community name defined for an agent in the agent program is public, you do not have to define the community name in NetView for AIX; public is the default community name.

Any change you make to a community name takes effect immediately. It is not necessary to stop and restart Nways Manager-LAN to activate the change. For more information about configuring agent community names, refer to the NetView for AIX User's Guide.

Agent Time-Outs

In order for an SNMP bridge or SNMP token-ring to be fully managed by LAN Network Manager, you must configure its time-out parameter with a large enough value so that the resources can be discovered by Nways Manager-LAN.

If you have a large network, be sure to define a longer time-out period so that the agent has enough time to provide all its configuration information before Nways Manager-LAN updates the LAN topology in the LAN submaps.

To change the time-out period defined for an agent program, select Options -> SNMP Configuration from the NetView for AIX menu bar and enter a new time-out value in the SNMP Configuration window.

Configuring SNMP Agents that Manage Token-Ring Segments

You can configure three types of SNMP proxy agents to manage SNMP token-ring segments:

Token-ring surrogate
RMON
SNMP-managed 8230

To define or reconfigure a token-ring SNMP proxy agent using SMIT, follow these steps:

Ensure you are logged on with root privileges.
If SMIT is not running, enter smit cml from an AIX operating system shell, or select Administer -> Campus Manager SMIT from the NetView for AIX menu bar.
The SMIT menu is displayed.
Select Configure.
Select Configure SNMP token-ring capability.
Select Configure IBM SNMP token-ring proxy agent.
Select the type of proxy agent you want to configure.
Enter the IP address of the proxy agent and press Enter or select OK.
Enter new values for any of the following configuration parameters. To display help information about a parameter, click on ? and point to the field.
IP address
Internet Protocol (IP) address of the agent.
Resync interval
Time period (in days, hours, minutes) used by Nways Manager-LAN to rediscover the agent, resynchronize the segment, and update LAN submaps with new or changed information about the resources managed by the agent. Each resynchronziation refreshes LAN submaps with the latest changes made to the network topology (for example, moving, adding, or removing token-ring devices).
Polling interval
Time period (in days, hours, minutes) used by Nways Manager-LAN to poll the agent and update database information on the status of token-ring resources managed by the agent. Each polling gathers information only from the token-ring resources that were reported during the last resynchronization.
Manage this agent
Specify whether or not you want this agent to be discovered by Nways Manager-LAN.
This setting is useful when more than one type of SNMP proxy agent manages the same token-ring segment. For example, you can disable one agent in order to allow the other agent to manage the segment. In this way, you can have an agent with lower priority manage a segment that is also discovered by an agent with higher priority. The priority in which token-ring SNMP agents are discovered is:
1. Token-ring surrogate
2. RMON
3. SNMP-managed 8230
For RMON agents, you must also define the following parameter:

RMON agent MAC address display policy
Format in which MAC address of the agent is reported. Valid values: canonical or non-canonical (default).
To activate changes made to any of the parameters, press Enter or select OK and then do one of the following:
- Stop and restart the lnmtrmon daemon by entering the following commands:
```
/usr/CML/bin/cmlstop lnmtrmon
/usr/CML/bin/cmlstart lnmtrmon
```
- Delete and then rediscover the agent by entering the commands:
```
cml_agent_delete <agent_IP_address>
cml_agent_add <agent_IP_address>
```
If necessary, repeat steps 4 through 9 for each Token-Ring SNMP proxy agent in your network.

Configuring SNMP Agents that Manage SNMP Bridges

You use SMIT to modify parameters related to the SNMP Bridge application; for example, you can:

Change the operating parameters of the bridge application.
Add, change, or delete the label that identifies a bridge subnet.

For information about how to define SNMP bridges that can be discovered by Nways Manager-LAN, see the online book Coupling and Autodiscovery.

Editing SNMP Bridge Parameters

Using SMIT, you can modify parameters such as the resync interval, polling interval, and the bridge discovery period for the SNMP bridges in your network. To edit the configuration parameters of SNMP bridges, follow these steps:

Ensure you are logged on with root privileges.
If SMIT is not running, enter smit cml from an AIX operating system shell, or select Administer -> Campus Manager SMIT from the NetView for AIX menu bar.
The SMIT menu is displayed.
Select Configure.
Select Configure SNMP bridge capability.
Select Edit bridge parameters. The Edit Bridge Parameters menu is displayed.
Enter new values for any of the following SNMP bridge parameters. To display help information about a parameter, click on ? and point to the field.

Resync interval
Time period (in days, hours, minutes) used by Nways Manager-LAN to check the status and verify the connections between bridges and segments, and then update LAN submaps with new or changed information. Each resynchronziation refreshes LAN submaps with the latest changes made to the network topology (for example, moving, adding, or removing SNMP bridges).
Polling interval
Time period (in days, hours, minutes) used by Nways Manager-LAN to poll SNMP bridge agents and update database information on the status of bridges managed by the agents. Each polling gathers information only from the SNMP bridges reported during the last resynchronization.
Discovery period
Time period used by Nways Manager-LAN to discover SNMP bridges and refresh network views containing bridges. For large networks, ensure that this value is large enough to allow all SNMP bridges to be discovered before Nways Manager-LAN redraws the submaps.
Press Enter or select OK to activate your changes.
Select Exit SMIT from the Exit pull-down menu to leave the SMIT program.

Adding, Changing, and Deleting SNMP Bridge Subnet Labels

Each LAN Network Manager bridge subnet icon is identified with a subnet label. The default subnet label LAN Network Manager uses is the hexadecimal bridge identifier, which is composed of a priority field and the MAC address of the designated root bridge of the subnet. To add or change the label for a SNMP bridge subnet, follow these steps:

Ensure you are logged on with root privileges.
If SMIT is not running, enter smit cml from an AIX operating system shell, or select Administer -> Campus Manager SMIT from the NetView for AIX menu bar.
The SMIT menu is displayed.
Select Configure.
Select Configure SNMP bridge capability.
Select Add/Change bridge subnet labels.
In the MIB-defined designated root label field, enter the label that is currently displayed as the label for the subnet you want to change. Then press Enter or select OK.
The User defined designated root label field is displayed.
Enter the new label for the subnet in the User defined designated root label field.
Press Enter or select OK to save your changes.
Select Exit SMIT from the Exit pull-down menu to leave the SMIT program.

The new or modified subnet label is displayed with the subnet icon the next time LAN Network Manager is restarted

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