Codima Inc FAQs

The license files used by the Codima Toolbox are linked to the MAC Address of the Platform you install the software on. To obtain the MAC Address of a Host Platform you should type ipconfig/all from a DOS window.

To get to a DOS window, click Start, then Run, then type cmd in the text box.

If Host Platform has multiple MAC Addresses, you need only to supply one for the license link.

The Bottleneck Analysis tool gathers real time performance information using an SNMP Polling Policy based on the results of a network discovery. The size of the network covered by the Bottleneck Analysis will be therefore be subject to a number of issues including the range of Routers/Switches/Servers included in the discovery database. The Toolbox license controls the number of Managed Devices that are included in a discovery (Routers/Switches/Servers that respond to SNMP will be classed as Managed Devices).

The system is scalable for use on large networks, where you may require more than one polling engine, for more information see FAQ:-

A getting start guide is provided covering functions accessible via the autoMonitor tree branch. There is also on line help.

The stages required to start using the functions accessible via the autoMonitor tree branch are:-

Stage 1 – Deploying and configuring - see help entry titled “autoMonitor tree branch – Deployment”

Stage 2 - Discovering network, creating Topology drawings – see help entry titled “ How to start mapping using Codima Discovery Engine”

Stage 3 – Setting the SNMP Polling Policy, based on network infrastructure – see help entry tiled “How to set SNMP Polling Policy”

Stage 4 - OPTIONAL : Setting the SLA Thresholds – see help entry titled “How to set SLA values”

Yes, the Toolbox is shipped with predefined SLA thresholds for the key parameters needed to track Hot Spots. For detailed information on this facility, see help entry titled “How to set SLA values”.

You will need Microsoft® Office Visio 2007 (Professional) or 2010 (Professional or Premium), as this feature uses data graphics.

Yes- the Toolbox will use the SNMP Monitoring tool to gather this information from Switches, and when the associated SLA thresholds is breached it will issue an alarm to advise when you have excessive Collisions on a port. Collisions should normally not occur on Duplex Links so can indicate a link is running in half duplex when it should be duplex instead. Collisions normally occur in Half Duplex Links especially when connected to a shared Hub and there is a substantial loading causing
contention. Excessive collisions indicate the link is overloaded.

Can I use the Toolbox to find out which ports are receiving frames with Bad FCS?

Yes - the Toolbox will use the SNMP Monitoring tool to gather this information from Switches, and when the associated SLA thresholds is breached it will issue an alarm to advise when you have excessive FCS errors on a port. FCS errors indicate Layer 1 physical errors. These are typically caused by bad cabling, bad connectors, electrical disturbance to the cabling or a Line card problem such as a defective port transceiver. Other causes are wrong cable type or cable is too long and out of spec.

Can I use any of the toolboxes to ensure that I do not have VMware hosts and virtual machines that aren’t being fully utilized?

Yes. You can for example use the IT Engineer Toolbox or the Codima Toolbox All in One - they provide both the Mapping tool and the Bottleneck Analysis tool.

The Mapping tool will provide Virtual Machine visibility - Visio drawings will show the Virtual machines.
Then you can drill down from the drawing to use the Bottleneck Analysis tool to check the history of machines CPU utilization.

You can also obtain detailed information on the WMware server and information on the Guests (Virtual Machines) running on the VMware server using the Asset Inventory & Reports tool.

Do I need third party components? What are the Prerequisites?

Version 8.00 or later

BitNami WAMP Stack included in the Codima Installation, this stack incorporates the following software versions:
- Apache 2.2.17
- MySQL 5.1.56
- PHP 5.3.6
- PHPMyAdmin 3.4.2
This software is installed and configured as part of the Installation process.
Microsoft® Office Visio® 2007 (Professional ) and 2010 (Professional or Premium) - This is an essential requirement to display the result of the Codima Discovery Engine process.
Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE) V1.4.1 or later - Installed automatically as part of the Toolbox Installation

Version 7.60 or earlier

The following third-party components are required:-

Microsoft® Office Visio® 2007 (Professional ) and 2010 (Professional or Premium) - This is an essential requirement to display the result of the Codima Discovery Engine process. The Visio Views are then used to highlight where the bottlenecks are on the network.
Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE) V1.4.1 or later - Installed automatically as part of the Toolbox Installation
Microsoft® Access® driver - Configured during the Toolbox Installation.

How can I check the performance of the Bottleneck Analysis tool?

You can use the information provided in the SNMP Poll Manager display and the SNMP Alarm Log.

The SNMP Poll Manager provides information covering the volume of SNMP responses being received from the devices that are included in the SNMP Polling Policy used to to provide information for the Bottleneck Analysis tool.

How do I set the SNMP polling policy?

The SNMP Poll Manager can automatically set the polling policy for the network based on the information obtained from a discovery. The default settings are to poll devices identified during the discovery run as Servers, Routers and Switches and the links that connect them.

Discovery runs are made using the functions accessible via the autoMap tree branch.

You can also manually enhanced the polling policy - Tutorials are provided on the Codima Web site covering the various methods available to set the Polling Policy. See also help entry titled

How to set SNMP Polling Policy

What is meant by the term SNMP Polling Policy?

The term SNMP Polling Policy applies to the range of devices and ports that the SNMP Polling Engine has been set up to poll. The polling policy for the network is based on the information obtained from a discovery.

How easy is it to automatically find hotspots? - How long does it take to set up?

Once you have completed a network discovery, the actions needed to create a network specific polling policy and start gathering the information to automatically show the hot spots takes only a few minutes.

Actions:-

Load database from Network Discovery - this process can be done automatically following a discovery run
Access SNMP Poll Manager - this dialog box can be opened automatically following a discovery run
Click on the buttons to start the Creation of the SNMP Polling Policy
When list of devices to Poll is provided - Click on Button to Start Polling
Monitor Polling Status using the SNMP Poll Manager to ensure you are getting replies from devices and you are ready to view the Link Hot Spot facility to find Hot Spots effecting Key network devices or use the Path Analysis tool to find the Hot Spots in a selected Path.

What are hot spots/bottlenecks? - what type of performance parameters is the Bottleneck Analysis tool able to track

Hot spots are potential bottlenecks on the network, overloaded interfaces, devices running out of memory or disk space, devices where CPU utilization is too high.

The following diagram shows the Device Console, which illustrates the range of Hot spots the Bottleneck Analysis tool can track.

To obtain a copy of the SNMP MIB list, contact your Codima Toolbox supplier.

The Bottleneck Analysis tool can find hot spots on the network as a whole or on a user defined path through the network. Devices involved must have active SNMP agents as the information used to identify hotspots is updated in real time.

What protocol support is required on the network to obtain the best possible range of information for the bottleneck analysis?

SNMP - An SNMP Polling Engine is used to monitoring Devices - it polls the devices to gather information needed to find Hot spots. Hot spots are potential bottlenecks on the network, overloaded interfaces, devices running out of memory or disk space, devices where CPU utilization is too high etc. The information gathered enables you to establish:-

Where and when you have Port Bottlenecks/Hot Spots on your network?
When and where you have Device bottlenecks/Hot Spots on your network?
Which ports are experiencing Collisions? – indicators of duplex problems and port overload
Which ports are receiving frames with Bad Frame Check Sequences (FCS)? – indicators of connector/cabling problems

ICMP - Uses ICMP Echo Requests to check Operational status.

What is autoMonitor tree branch used for?

Its main application is to automatically find hotspots/bottlenecks on the network. Isolating problems for example to a specific overloaded interface or to a device with high CPU or Memory utilization.

What are the Benefits of using the Bottleneck Analysis and Path Analysis tools?

Fast and easy problem solving – minimizing down time and ensuring that access to applications is not affected.
- Bottlenecks can quickly be identified in Visio View Network Topology diagrams
You can be proactive and identify problems before they impact on the business.
- Trend analysis can be used to spot likely problems rather than fire-fighting after they occur.
You can easily check if you have bottlenecks in Business critical traffic paths on your network, for example the path you plan to use for your VoIP traffic.

For more information review the Features and Benefits Video Tutorial for the IT Engineer Toolbox:-

Click here to access the sign in page for the Tutorials:-

http://www.codimatech.com/support_tutorials.php

What is the Path Analysis tool - what is it used for?

The Path Analysis tool provides an option to select paths in the Visio View Topology drawings. Real time and historical statistics are maintained for the SNMP compliant devices in the Path enabling the user to see where the Hot Spots/Bottlenecks are.

What is the Polling Interval - can I change it?

When using the Bottleneck Analysis and Path Analysis tools, the Toolbox polls every 1 minute, this is not configurable. The configurable aspects applies only to what is polled.

- Alarm Reporting/Trap issue :-

What are the Benefits of using the Global Alarm System?

You can be proactive : Automatic notification of bottlenecks and device failures.
You have multiple alarm reporting methods.
- Ensuring that you can integrate the tool with your operating practices, for example if you have an SNMP Management system, the alarms can be reported to it as SNMP Traps or if your engineers prefer email notifications or SMS text messages, then alarms can be reported that way.
You have controlled Alarm Reporting
- Flood control ensures you are not overloaded with alarm reports - can avoid generating an alarm report for very short lived events and stop the same alarm condition being logged too many times.
- Email and SMS Alarm report frequency is controlled - multiple alarms reports are included in single Emails/SMS Messages.
You have predefined alarm thresholds on key events - ensuring system works out of the box.
You have an embedded email client – independent of the Networks own email facilities, so will be able to report on any failures associated with the platform hosting the Networks email client.

For more information review the Features and Benefits Video Tutorial for the IT Engineer Toolbox:-

Click here to access the sign in page for the Tutorials:-

http://www.codimatech.com/support_tutorials.php

Can I have alarm reports automatically emailed to me?

Can I set SNMP Traps?

Can I set threshold alarms?

Yes. This tool uses a Global Alarm System to log and report Threshold alarms. The Global Alarm System can be set up to apply one or more of the following actions

• Log the alarm reports
• Send out an SNMP Trap when a threshold value is breached (goes above threshold setting) or when a value drops (goes below threshold setting).
• Send a notification email/SMS Text message when a threshold value is breached (goes above threshold setting) or when a value drops (goes below threshold setting).

For detailed information on this facility, see Help entries titled

How to email alarm reports
How to set SNMP Traps
How to set alarm thresholds
How to configure Email Client

- Reports:-

What are the benefits of using the Reports Manager? - when using the Bottleneck Analysis tool

The key benefit is it that this tool provides you with evidence at your finger tips. Producing a wide range of Reports that can be used to show both network trends and isolate problems. The range of reports available is toolbox specific. The Bottleneck Analysis tool includes:-

Reports covering the history of bottlenecks (overloaded ports and devices), collisions and Bad Frames Check Sequences. They will enable you to answer questions such as:-

Where and when do I have Port Bottlenecks/Hot Spots on my network?
When and where do I have Device bottlenecks/Hot Spots on my network?
Which ports are experiencing Collisions? – indicators of duplex problems and port overload
Which ports are receiving frames with Bad Frame Check Sequences (FCS)? – indicators of connector/cabling problems

For more on the Reports Manager tool - see FAQs - Reports Manager

What kind of Statistics Reports are available?

There are a number of different types of Statistics Reports, they include :-

HTML Reports created using information in History Charts.
Pre defined Statistical Reports - accessible via the Reports Manager tree branch, these reports can be produced as HTML Reports or scheduled as daily, weekly, monthly Word reports.

For additional information, see FAQ - Reports Manager

- SNMP :-

Are there any issues with SNMP operation on XP service pack 2 machines that are using the XP system embedded firewall?

Yes - you have to manually open the UDP SNMP-agent (161) and SNMP-trap ports (162) to get the agent to respond to SNMP polls and to forward traps.

These functions are essential to enable the Toolbox to operate its SNMP functions.

This should not affect the larger network installations that Codima services, as they generally do not use the XP embedded firewall solution.

Can I monitor SNMP variables historically?

Yes - but you will require the SNMP Monitoring and Bottleneck Analysis tools included in the Codima All in One Toolbox and the Codima IT Engineer Toolbox.

What SNMP MIBs are supported by the discovery engine? - used to provide the mapping and real time device performance information

The MIB list is updated on a regular basis. To obtain a copy of the SNMP MIB list, contact your Codima Toolbox supplier.

- MIBs :-

How do I export a MIB walk?

The SNMP Sim Generator will do the Mib walk and email results automatically.

How do I run a MIB walk?

The easiest way to obtain a MIB walk is to use the SNMP Sim Generator, this runs the MIB walk and automatically emails the results to Codima.

To provide a successful MIB walk you must use the correct community strings for the device you are browsing.

What is the SNMP SIM Generator?

This is a tool to automate the MIB Walk process and email results back to Codima, it is specifically designed to obtain information for the customization of the Codima Discovery engine.

Help entries titled "How to run SNMP Sim Generator" are included with these tools.

Notes:

To provide a successful MIB walk you must use the correct community strings for the device you are browsing.

Troubleshooting

Can I have a check list - to successfully provide :-

Topology drawings
Asset inventory reports
Information to set SNMP Polling Policy

Yes -

Click here to obtain a hard copy of the check list

How do I isolate problems if I do not get replies to SNMP requests?

Check that the Codima Toolbox has been correctly set up for SNMP operations - this includes checking :-

IP Address of Host Platforms Network Adapter - Is it suitable for the network you are connected to?

Deployment - Is the Codima Toolbox correctly deployed for active operation?, i.e., connected to a free switch port and not a mirror port.

See Check list below for more details

Check that there are no configuration or network issues that effect ability to get SNMP information - this includes checking :-

SNMP access - Have you configured the Codima Toolbox with the correct:-

Read community? - SNMPv1 and v2c

Authentication and Privacy information? - SNMP v3

VLAN - Have you ensured that the Toolbox Host Platform is on the management VLAN?

Access Lists - Have you checked to ensure they are not configured with filters or “Access Lists” restricting which administration addresses are allowed?

Firewalls - Have you checked Firewall access for all devices involved, they must be set to allow incoming and outgoing access to SNMP UDP ports.

Check that device you are sending the SNMP Request to is able to provide SNMP Information - this includes checking :-

If it has an SNMP Agent installed on it

If the SNMP Agent is active

If the SNMP access information for the devices matches the information configured in the Codima Toolbox

What should I check to ensure system is ready for SNMP operations?

Quick Check List

IP address of Host Platforms Network adapter - check it is suitable for the network you are connected to.
Ability to run active operations - for example you can not run active operations if connected only to a mirror port, see
- Codima Toolbox Deployment Guide
Check that you can communicate with the device you wish to browse, e.g., Ping the device.
Check that device your are browsing is SNMP compliant, i.e., has an SNMP Agent installed.
Check Firewall access for all devices involved, they must be set to allow incoming and outgoing access to SNMP UDP ports.

Note: XP Service pack 2 machines using the XP system embedded firewall default to not allowing incoming or outgoing access.

Check SNMP community string - default setting = public. To change community strings, see Help entry titled :- How to set Community Name
SNMP Browsing - (applies to functions accessible via autoAnalyzer tree branch and autoMap tree branch)

Check that you have not selected an unsupported branch of the MIB tree when browsing, try highlighting the default system group in the MIB tree. All agents usually support this group of variables.

SNMP Polling - (applies to functions accessible via autoMonitor tree branch)
- Check that you have undertaken a discovery on the network - The Mapping tool is required for this facility, as it is used to gather the SNMP support information used to set the SNMP Polling Policy.
- Check that you have not overloaded the SNMP Poller by trying to poll too many nodes - see Help entry titled:- How to troubleshoot the operation of SNMP facility.

Notes:

The list of addresses to be polled is held in the file Target.db (stored in ..\Express\SNMP\ folder), you can delete individual address or delete all addresses in this file to start with a clean system, see Help entry titled:- How to delete IP addresses from Managed Target List.
The SNMP Log covers most SNMP activities and can provide useful diagnostic information
The discovery process used by the Codima Discovery Engine does not use the SNMP Module interface, it has its own own dialogs for setting SNMP security parameters.

SNMP Polling Engine

What is the SNMP Polling Engine?

The SNMP Polling Engine is used by the Bottleneck Analysis tool, it polls devices associated with the SNMP Polling Policy to gather information for the Bottleneck Analysis. For more information see FAQ

How many devices can a single SNMP Polling Engine poll?

Microsoft® Patch level

What is the latest Microsoft® Patch level that the Codima Toolbox software been tested with?

The process of testing with Microsoft® patches is an ongoing one, latest level tested is as follows :-

Windows XP Service Pack 3

Windows 2003 Server SP 2

Windows Vista SP1

Window Server 2008 SP1

Windows 7

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