autoPinger tree branch – Background Information :-

What functions are accessible via the autoPinger tree branch - what are they used for?

The Toolbox provides a central point to check the operation of key devices on your network using ICMP Pings. It displays Pinger Status results in its Pinger Manager display and makes use of a Global Alarm System to log and report echo failures/threshold breaches and an Audio Report System for troubleshooting.

The Toolbox measures Pinger Service Levels in terms of Ping fail % and Ping response time, providing this information for the last 15 seconds, last 10 minutes and last 10 hours. This information is also provided Historically. The Pinger target IP addresses can be provided manually or they can be taken automatically from the currently loaded discovery database. You also have the capability of seeing the real time pinger status visually in Visio View drawings. This enables you to easily spot failure patterns and root causes (failed path components).

Global Alarm System

The Global Alarm System is used to configure the Toolbox to do the following when a Pinger fails or when a threshold alarm occurs:-

• Log the alarm report
• Send out an SNMP Trap
• Send a notification email or SMS text message.

User input is required to supply the target address for SNMP Traps and configure the Email client.

What is the Global Alarm System used for?

The Global Alarm System is used to automatically notify Network Managers of :-

• Devices failures
• Thresholds alarms - i.e., when a predefined statistical value breaches a Threshold (goes above threshold setting) or when a predefined statistical value drops (goes below threshold setting), for example you can set a thresholds based on the average ping response time.

Notifications are sent via SNMP Traps and emails/SMS text messages.

Audio Report System

The user can select specific sounds for good and failed ping response, so they can hear when an IP address stops responding.

Normally this would be used to check out a single IP address at a time, but you can potentially allocate up to four different sound patterns for good response and four different sound patterns for fail which means you could listen to the sound patterns for up to four addresses at a time.

What is the Audio Report System used for?

The Audio Report system is used to troubleshoot device operation

• The Echo sound patterns can be used by engineers to debug a network without having to keep watching a pinger.
• The Alarm sound patterns can be used to obtain an instant Alarm on any unit type, this is a useful facility for engineers and small networks, it also provides a means of checking the operation of critical network components.

Scope/Applications :-

Can I control the alarm conditions? -  i.e., ensure that the Toolbox does not generate an alarm report for very short lived events and to stop the same alarm condition being logged too many times.

Yes.

Reports

For additional information, see FAQ - Reports Manager

Failure Patterns:-

What Pinger Status information is provided in the Visio Views accessible via the autoMap tree branch tool? / Can I use  IP Pinger to see the failure pattern and root causes (failed path components)?

The Pinger status is shown directly on the Visio drawing, so failure patterns and root causes (failed path components) can be seen immediately.

autoPinger tree branch – Installation :-

What are the PC Platform Requirements for Toolbox?

• How much memory do I need to install?
• How much disk space do I need?

 

How do I find the MAC Address of the PC I wish to install on?

 

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

 

The MAC Address is a 12 digit hex number, e.g., 00-07-E9-5A-77-DB

 

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

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

 

DOS Window example:-

 

Alternatively if you are using a demonstration system, you can make use of the automated facility to request a license upgrade, this facility automatically finds your MAC address.

 

Display showing interface used to request license upgrades:-

  

 

 

 

autoPinger tree branch - Deployment :-

How do I deploy Toolbox to use functions accessible via the  autoPinger tree branch?

Click below to obtain your copy of the Codima Toolbox Deployment Guide.

• Codima Toolbox Deployment Guide

 

Support/Troubleshooting :-

 

There is a FAQ page for Troubleshooting, see :-

• FAQ-Troubleshooting the Codima Toolbox

 

How do I get the latest software version?

 

You should set up your PC platform so that it is able to access to the Web. Then you can use the Automatic Installation Update facility. This will automatically tell you if there is an update to the system available. You will also need to be authorized to receive updates.

 

You can also use the Help Menu, where the option Check for Updates will open a Web page listing the available updates, which you can select to download.

 

For more information see Help entry titled:-

• How to upgrade Software

 

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

 

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