NetMaster NMS Technical Description

Copyright © 2012 by Ceragon Networks Ltd. All rights reserved.

NetMaster NMS

Technical Description

NMS/00032 (Rev X)

1

NetMaster NMS Technical Description

Ceragon Proprietary and Confidential Page 2 of 64

Notice

This document contains information that is proprietary to Ceragon Networks Ltd. No part of this publication may be reproduced, modified, or distributed without prior written authorization of Ceragon Networks Ltd. This document is provided as is, without warranty of any kind.

Registered TradeMarks

Ceragon Networks® is a registered trademark of Ceragon Networks Ltd. FibeAir® is a registered trademark of Ceragon Networks Ltd. CeraView® is a registered trademark of Ceragon Networks Ltd. Other names mentioned in this publication are owned by their respective holders.

TradeMarks

CeraMap™, ConfigAir™, PolyView™, EncryptAir™, and CeraMon™ are trademarks of Ceragon Networks Ltd. Other names mentioned in this publication are owned by their respective holders.

Statement of Conditions

The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice. Ceragon Networks Ltd. shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damage in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this document or equipment supplied with it.

Open Source Statement

The Product may use open source software, among them O/S software released under the GPL or GPL alike license ("GPL License"). Inasmuch that such software is being used, it is released under the GPL License, accordingly. Some software might have changed. The complete list of the software being used in this product including their respective license and the aforementioned public available changes is accessible on http://www.gnu.org/licenses/.

Information to User

Any changes or modifications of equipment not expressly approved by the manufacturer could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment and the warranty for such equipment.

Revision History

Rev Date Author Description Approved by Date

A 2005-12-15 First version

B 2006-12-20 Upgraded for NetMaster release

R10F00

http://www.gnu.org/licenses/




C 2007-03-30 Upgraded for NetMaster release

R10G00

NetMaster editions concept

removed (Ch. 1.2)

System Architecture information

updated (Ch. 2)

CPE View for PtMP networks

added (Ch. 4.5)

System Requirements included

(Ch. 6)

Functionality table changed (Ch.

7)

NE Support Overview table

updated (Ch. 8)

D 2008-03-14 Upgraded for NetMaster release

R10H00

System Architecture for large

networks updated (Ch. 2)

System Requirements section

updated (Ch. 6)

New features added (Ch. 5.2)

NE Configuration File

Management

Report Generator

E 2008-06-13 Upgraded for NetMaster release

R10J00

System Architecture section

graphics updated (Ch. 2)


updated (Ch. 8)

Report Generator section

updated (Ch. 5.2.5)

F 2008-09-30 Pål Dyvik Updated according to final

release R10J00

Reports for Performance

Measurements (Ch. 5.4.4)


updated (Ch. 8)




G 2009-02-26 Pål Dyvik Updated according to final

release R10K00

OS and database support

update (Ch.6)

NE Support Overview Table

updated (Ch. 8)

New feature Topological Links

H 2009-06-05 Pål Dyvik Updated according to final

release R10L00


updated (Ch. 8)

System requirements moved to

separate document

J 2010-04-15 Pål Dyvik Updated according to final

release R11A00


updated (Ch. 8)

Functionality matrix updated

(Ch. 7)

Changes to Alarm presentation

(Ch 5.3)

Changes to PM/analog data

presentation (Ch 5.4)

K 2010-06-17 Pål Dyvik Updated according to final

release R11B00

Clock setting on NE in

GMT/UTC


updated (Ch. 8)


(Ch. 7)

L 2010-09-24 Pål Dyvik Updated according to final

release R11C00

New document template




Q 2010-11-05 Pål Dyvik Updated according to final

release R11D00

Alarm Workflow perspective

(Ch. 3.6)

Audible Alarms (Ch. 5.3.6)

Email Notifications (Ch. 5.3.6)


updated (Ch. 8)


(Ch. 7)

R 2011-03-10 Pål Dyvik Updated according to final

release R11E00


updated (Ch. 8)


(Ch. 7)

S 2011-05-26 Irina Oltu Updated Template Pål Dyvik 2011-05-26

U 2011-09-21 Pål Dyvik Updated according to final

release R11F00


updated (Ch. 8)


(Ch. 7)

Pål Dyvik 2011-09-21

V 2012-01-13 Pål Dyvik Updated according to final

release R12A00


updated (Ch. 8)


(Ch. 7)


W 2012-05-25 Pål Dyvik Updated according to final

release R12A01


updated (Ch. 8)


X 2012-10-31 Pål Dyvik Updated according to final

release R13A00

Service Management (Ch. 5.4)


updated (Ch. 8)


(Ch. 7)




Table of Contents

1. Introduction .................................................................................................... 10

1.1 Product overview .......................................................................................................... 10

1.2 NetMaster functionality................................................................................................. 11

1.3 Licensing ...................................................................................................................... 11

1.4 Standards ..................................................................................................................... 11

2. NetMaster architecture ................................................................................... 12

2.1 Application server ......................................................................................................... 14

2.2 Database server ........................................................................................................... 14

2.3 Client ............................................................................................................................ 14

2.4 Northbound interface to higher-order OSS .................................................................. 15

2.5 Communication ports ................................................................................................... 15

3. The graphical user interface .......................................................................... 16

3.1 Discover perspective .................................................................................................... 17

3.2 Geographical surveillance perspective ........................................................................ 18

3.3 Logical surveillance perspective .................................................................................. 19

3.4 Security audit perspective ............................................................................................ 20

3.5 User management perspective .................................................................................... 21

3.6 Alarm workflow perspective ......................................................................................... 22

3.7 Help system ................................................................................................................. 23

4. Topology ......................................................................................................... 24

4.1 Logical map view .......................................................................................................... 24

4.2 Geographical map view................................................................................................ 25 4.2.1 Topological links ........................................................................................................... 26

4.3 Tree view ...................................................................................................................... 27 4.3.1 Logical tree view .......................................................................................................... 27 4.3.2 Geographical tree view ................................................................................................ 28

4.4 CPE view for PtMP networks ....................................................................................... 29

4.5 Discovering and adding Network Elements ................................................................. 30

5. Basic management functions ........................................................................ 31

5.1 Function scoping .......................................................................................................... 31

5.2 Configuration management .......................................................................................... 31 5.2.1 Hardware inventory ...................................................................................................... 32 5.2.2 Software inventory ....................................................................................................... 32 5.2.3 Software download ....................................................................................................... 33 5.2.4 NE configuration file management ............................................................................... 34 5.2.5 Report generator .......................................................................................................... 35



5.2.6 Clock synchronization .................................................................................................. 37 5.2.7 Connection templates .................................................................................................. 37 5.2.8 Launch NE tools ........................................................................................................... 38

5.3 Fault management ....................................................................................................... 38 5.3.1 Network alarm status ................................................................................................... 39 5.3.2 Alarm summary ............................................................................................................ 40 5.3.3 Display Active Alarms .................................................................................................. 40 5.3.4 Display historical alarms .............................................................................................. 42 5.3.5 Audible notifications ..................................................................................................... 44 5.3.6 Email notifications ........................................................................................................ 44 5.3.7 Alarms customization ................................................................................................... 44

5.4 End-to-end Service Management ................................................................................ 45 5.4.1 Network Discovery ....................................................................................................... 45 5.4.2 Service Discovery ........................................................................................................ 45 5.4.3 Service Creation Wizard .............................................................................................. 45 5.4.4 Service Monitoring ....................................................................................................... 45

5.5 Performance management .......................................................................................... 45 5.5.1 Historical performance monitoring ............................................................................... 46 5.5.2 Current performance .................................................................................................... 48 5.5.3 Performance reports .................................................................................................... 49

5.6 Security management .................................................................................................. 52

5.7 Open SNMP Adapter ................................................................................................... 53

6. System requirements ..................................................................................... 55

7. Functionality table .......................................................................................... 56

8. NE support overview ...................................................................................... 59



List of Figures

NetMaster in a small network .............................................................................. 12

NetMaster in a large network .............................................................................. 12

Redundant NetMaster system with replication and failover ............................. 13

NetMaster client GUI ............................................................................................ 16

NetMaster discover perspective ......................................................................... 17

NetMaster geographical surveillance perspective............................................. 18

NetMaster logical surveillance perspective ....................................................... 19

NetMaster security audit perspective ................................................................. 20

NetMaster user management perspective .......................................................... 21

NetMaster alarm workflow perspective .............................................................. 22

NetMaster help system ........................................................................................ 23

Logical map view ................................................................................................. 24

Geographical map view ....................................................................................... 25

Topological links .................................................................................................. 26

Logical tree view .................................................................................................. 27

Geographical tree view ........................................................................................ 28

PtMP performance management, CPE radio statistics example ...................... 29

PtMP configuration management, CPE inventory example .............................. 29

Unmanaged elements .......................................................................................... 30

Hardware inventory view ..................................................................................... 32

Software inventory view ...................................................................................... 32

Software download job ........................................................................................ 33

Software download status ................................................................................... 33

NE configuration file management ..................................................................... 34

NetMaster report generator ................................................................................. 35

Report output example ........................................................................................ 36

NE clock synchronization.................................................................................... 37

Connection template assignment view .............................................................. 37

NE configuration tools ......................................................................................... 38



Network alarm status ........................................................................................... 39

Alarm summary .................................................................................................... 40

Display active alarms ........................................................................................... 41

Alarm filters .......................................................................................................... 41

Historical alarms .................................................................................................. 42

Alarm customization templates .......................................................................... 44

Performance monitoring templates .................................................................... 46

Historical performance view ............................................................................... 47

Performance time series graphs ......................................................................... 47

Current performance view ................................................................................... 48

Performance reports ............................................................................................ 49

Performance overview report .............................................................................. 50

Detailed performance report ............................................................................... 51

Group administration ........................................................................................... 52

User administration ............................................................................................. 53

User audit view ..................................................................................................... 53

Open SNMP Interface view .................................................................................. 54

List of Tables

Historical alarms .................................................................................................. 43

Functionality table ............................................................................................... 56

NE support table (part 1) ..................................................................................... 59

NE support table (part 2) ..................................................................................... 62



1. Introduction

1.1 Product overview

NetMaster is a comprehensive Network Management System offering centralized operation and maintenance capability for the complete range of network elements in the Ceragon product portfolio, consisting of all Microwave Radios, OEM and 3rd party products. NetMaster is built on state-of-the-art technology as a scalable, cross-platform system that supports distributed network architecture.

NetMaster offers full range management of all Ceragon network elements. It has the ability to perform configuration, fault, performance and security management. NetMaster is the user interface to all Ceragon transmission and access products and the key issue for the system is to present Ceragon management networks in the simplest possible manner. The software has network auto-discovery and uses the configuration data in the network elements to automatically build the managed network. The various elements and their attributes may be accessed using the intuitively graphical presentation of the element and its components. NetMaster has a continuously updated display of network status and network events are reported from the elements using notifications. An extensive database and context sensitive help facilities enable the user to analyze and report network events.

NetMaster primarily provides the following network management functionality:

Fault management

Configuration management

Performance monitoring

Service management

Security management

Graphical user interface with multiple maps

Network topology using perspectives and domains

Automatic network element discovery

HW and SW inventory

Software download jobs

Bulk setting of attributes on multiple elements

Report generator

Northbound interface to higher order OSS

Open SNMP Adapter

For a complete list of features, please refer to Section ‎0, Functionality.

Functionality is maintained also during network growth, ranging from the smallest single-server management solution to larger multi-server systems. High availability and reliability is obtained through various redundancy schemes.



1.2 NetMaster functionality

The NetMaster system is scalable in both size and functionality.

The NetMaster NMS server is the basis for any NetMaster system, providing basic functionality within the Fault, Configuration, Performance and Security management areas. The NMS Server is by itself an advanced tool for the user to perform operations and monitor network elements for the whole operational network in real time. The flexible client/server architecture gives the operators easy access to all network elements and full control of the system from many different locations.

By selecting among a set of optional features, the NetMaster system can be enhanced and tailored to each operator’s individual needs and requirements. With all optional features installed, the NetMaster system provides the operator with an advanced and sophisticated network management system that will highly increase the efficiency of operations and maintenance in the network.

For easy integration to external higher-level management systems, a Northbound SNMP interface can be provided.

A complete functionality table for the NetMaster system is given in Section ‎0.

1.3 Licensing

The use of NetMaster components and features is based on a licensing scheme with a specific customer license file. A NetMaster license is linked to an active network card in the server.

1.4 Standards

NetMaster functionality is based on international recommendations and standards. The following recommendations are applied:

General:

TMF608 MTNM information agreement

Fault management:

ITU-T X.733 alarm reporting function

ITU-T X.734 event report management function

ITU-T X.735 log control function

ITU-T Q.821 alarm surveillance

Performance management:

ITU-T G.826 end-to-end error performance

ITU-T G.784 SDH management



2. NetMaster architecture

The scalable and distributed architecture of the NetMaster gives the network operators great flexibility on how to implement, operate, and manage communication networks of various types and sizes. As a network grows, NetMaster can be scaled correspondingly, from a small compact single-server configuration to a large distributed system.

NetMaster in a small network

NetMaster in a large network



As an option, NetMaster can be configured for redundancy with failover capabilities, with manual or automated database replication between main and standby NMS sites. This can be applied to achieve co-located HW redundancy as well as geographical system redundancy for disaster recovery.

Redundant NetMaster system with replication and failover

The database replication can operate as Hot Standby with duplicated active servers with automated, scheduled synchronization, or Cold Standby, where the standby server must be manually started upon failure.



2.1 Application server

The application server manages the interaction of all NetMaster system components. It runs continuously in the background as a service.

The application server is initially developed for Microsoft Windows systems. It is based on JAVA/J2EE technology, hence suitable for porting to other platforms as well.

2.2 Database server

The database server stores all data used by the NetMaster system. The NetMaster management system supports database products from two different origins:

Oracle, a commercial, proprietary database SW vendor

PostgreSQL, a freeware, open-source database SW project

For more details:

Oracle databases: http://www.oracle.com/database/

PostgreSQL database: http://www.postgresql.org/

Supported database versions: please refer to the latest NetMaster System Requirements document.

2.3 Client

A client provides the user interface to the running services and the network managed by the server. Up to 20 clients can be logged on to the server simultaneously. Clients can be installed separately and are launched on demand and connected to the NetMaster application server.

Client and server are connected on a TCP/IP based LAN. Interactions between client and server are based on JAVA RMI.

A NetMaster client can be installed on Microsoft Windows or Sun Solaris platforms.

http://www.oracle.com/database/

http://www.postgresql.org/



2.4 Northbound interface to higher-order OSS

The NetMaster architecture supports an open interface to higher order management network systems or other business operations components.

The NetMaster SNMP agent provides an interface for any SNMP based network management system to perform fault and inventory management in networks managed by NetMaster. The agent provides topological information according to the standardized ENTITY-MIB (RFC 2737), and alarm state of the various network elements through proprietary tables and variables given in the proprietary NETMASTER-MIB. State changes are communicated to managers by means of SNMP traps.

The SNMP agent is a specialized client that logs onto the NetMaster server with a user ID and exposes a set of information through an SNMP interface. The only requirement to the user ID is that it is member of the predefined "SNMP Agent" user group, or a group with similar action permissions. This gives a very good control over the part of the network that is exposed to the High Level Manager (HLM), as the resource permissions for the SNMP agent user group can be configured in detail in the exact same way as any other user group defined in NetMaster.

The NetMaster SNMP agent is an optional feature, which requires a separate license. Inventory management is controlled by an additional license.

2.5 Communication ports

Management communication between NetMaster and a network element is based on one of the following:

SNMP over UDP/IP

HTTP over TCP/IP

Nera Q1 over TCP/IP

Nera Q1 over serial RS-232

Two different communication principles are used; polling of NE’s from NetMaster and Notifications sent from NE to NetMaster.

For specific port numbers in use for client/server and server/database communication, please refer to the latest NetMaster Installation Guide.



3. The graphical user interface

The user interface is designed to give the operators great flexibility regarding operations and how to navigate between views. The collection of views in the user interface reflects specific ways of working which are referred to as perspectives. The operator can organize and move windows and dialogs individually within a perspective.

NetMaster client GUI

There are five predefined perspectives to help the users navigate within the various working tasks:

Discover perspective

Geographical surveillance perspective

Logical surveillance perspective

Security audit perspective

User management perspective



3.1 Discover perspective

In the discover perspective, the operator can discover and manage new elements.

NetMaster discover perspective

New elements are found in the Unmanaged elements view. They can be turned into managed elements by dragging them directly into the preferred domain in the Geographical tree view.



3.2 Geographical surveillance perspective

Geographical surveillance perspective is used for surveillance and management of network elements based on a geographical model.

NetMaster geographical surveillance perspective

This perspective is tailored to the user whose main task and responsibility is to perform alarm surveillance in the network.

The Active alarms, Historical alarm and Alarm summary views together with the Geographical map give the operator full control of the total network alarm status.



3.3 Logical surveillance perspective

The Logical surveillance perspective is used for monitoring and managing network elements based on a user-defined logical model.

NetMaster logical surveillance perspective

This is a view for monitoring and managing the network based on a logical model and includes an editor for creating and editing a visual representation of logical domains. The operator can create, browse, delete and move logical domains, and the view allows including, moving and deleting network elements, as well. The domain structure can be used for assigning resource permissions to the user groups in the Group administration view. In the Logical map view / Logical tree view the operator can create domains and sub-domains corresponding to a logical grouping of the network elements.



3.4 Security audit perspective

The Security audit perspective is used for logging the events arising from user activities.

NetMaster security audit perspective

The system administrator can block or delete user accounts to prevent unwanted operations.



3.5 User management perspective

The User management perspective handles users and user groups, as well as permission assignment and restriction for the user groups.

NetMaster user management perspective

The User administration view is used to manage users; create new users, change passwords, block, delete and/or allocate permissions by assigning users to groups.

The Group administration view is used to create user groups and assign permissions for each group. The operator can control access permissions to geographical and logical domains, and to the operational tasks.



3.6 Alarm workflow perspective

NetMaster alarm workflow perspective

NetMaster provides a preset perspective that helps focus on the alarm workflow. The alarms initially appear in the Active un-acknowledged view, and eventually end up in the Historical acknowledged view. The two intermediate views show whether the alarm is cleared before it was acknowledged or vice versa.

The idea of this perspective is that the operator shall be made aware of all problem situations in the managed network. The workflow focus helps choosing the appropriate actions both for intermittent problems and for more permanent issues.



3.7 Help system

The NetMaster offers an extensive help system describing the features, choices and guides the user through the operation of the program.

NetMaster help system



4. Topology

The geographic and logical topology within NetMaster provides a visual representation of the geographical and logical placement of the managed network elements.

The network topology can be represented in the following views:

Logical map view

Geographical map view

Logical tree view / Hierarchical tree structures

Geographical tree view

4.1 Logical map view

This is a view for monitoring and managing your network based on a logical model. In the Logical map view, you can create domains and sub-domains corresponding to a logical grouping of network elements. Examples of logical models are:

Element type, element sub-type, etc. (e.g. Radio, Mux, CityLink, InterLink, etc.)

Transmission capacity (e.g.155/145Mb, 45/34Mb, 1.5/2Mb, etc.)

Logical map view



4.2 Geographical map view

This is a view for monitoring and managing your network based on a geographical model and includes an editor for creating geographical maps. A map is built by creating a set of polygon objects reflecting the nature of the network, including logical or geographical clusters of objects, or single elements. Map objects may or may not have dynamic alarm coloring and state information.

The geographical map can be designed with several domains (regions) and sub-domains. It is possible to set up navigation between maps by clicking on map objects (domains, elements or other objects).

Geographical map view



4.2.1 Topological links

This functionality enables the user to establish Topological Links in NetMaster.

Topological links

A topological link represents the physical interconnection between two managed elements, and is configured in NetMaster by manual insertion. The topological links interconnect managed elements within the same domain (future functionality will enable inter-domain links). The topological links may be displayed in GUI maps to show the connectivity in the managed network. If the end points of a link are associated with physical termination points in the end nodes, the link will display alarm coloring for the connection based on the status of the associated attributes.



4.3 Tree view

4.3.1 Logical tree view

This is a view for organizing and monitoring your equipment based on a logical model of your network. The view allows you to browse the domains and browse each NE and its equipment (racks, ports, slots, ODUs, etc.); reflecting the structure of each NE type.

Logical tree view



4.3.2 Geographical tree view

This is a view for organizing and monitoring your equipment based on a geographical model of your network. The view allows you to browse the domains and browse each NE and its equipment (racks, ports, slots, ODUs, etc.); reflecting the structure of each NE type.

The Geographical tree view allows you to include, move and delete NEs.

Geographical tree view



4.4 CPE view for PtMP networks

In the point-to-multipoint networks (PtMP), radio communication paths are configured in an asymmetric way. One base station (BS) is communicating with many customer terminals (CPEs). To avoid lengthy, time-consuming lists, the CPEs are not included in the logical or geographical tree views; instead they are shown in separate views, scoped to a specific BS.

CPE radio statistics is a part of the PtMP performance management.

PtMP performance management, CPE radio statistics example

CPE inventory is a part of the PtMP configuration management.

PtMP configuration management, CPE inventory example



4.5 Discovering and adding Network Elements

The discover process to identify and localize new elements is performed from the Discover perspective.

A search process with a specific search range defined by the operator will identify and list all network elements within the range.

The discovered elements will automatically appear in an Unmanaged elements view from where the operator can decide which elements to manage.

Unmanaged elements



5. Basic management functions

5.1 Function scoping

All network elements shown in NetMaster are associated with a set of available management functions. Depending on the network element type and user permissions, these functions will vary from element to element. Available scoped functions for a network or a domain are shown by right-clicking the corresponding element or domain icon, either in tree view or map view.

Commands executed from the menu line of the main GUI window are not scoped, i.e. they affect all managed objects in the network.

5.2 Configuration management

NetMaster provides functionality to display and manage network element configurations. Common operational configuration functions are available to groups of similar NEs, making it easy to get an overview of the installed equipment and to perform maintenance operations on a large set of network elements in a single operation.

For detailed configuration of a specific NE, NetMaster provides a function for scoped launching of the corresponding NE configuration tool.

Typical configuration operations are:

Display HW inventory

Display SW inventory/Activate SW/Reset SW

Manage SW download

Manage NE configuration files

Create various reports

Scheduled clock synchronization of NEs.

Security templates

Launch NE tools



5.2.1 Hardware inventory

The Hardware inventory view gives an overview of currently available hardware with related data.

Hardware inventory view

5.2.2 Software inventory

The Software inventory view displays available software memory banks for the NE selection. Each row displays the status of a memory bank and details about the corresponding stored software.

SW components can be restarted or activated from this view.

Software inventory view



5.2.3 Software download

A software download wizard provides functions for downloading software from the network management system to multiple selected NEs in one single operation.

Software download job

When the software download job is created, the software download process can be monitored and managed through the software download jobs view. This view contains details on all software download jobs performed from NetMaster, including progress and status on the download processes for each individual NE included in a job.

The operator can create new jobs, modify jobs, or start and stop jobs from this view.

Software download status



5.2.4 NE configuration file management

For easy storage of the NE configuration settings, a utility for NE configuration file backup and restore has been provided. This enables the NetMaster operator to restore a network element to a previous used configuration, which can be useful in case of major HW changes or complete re-installation at the radio site.

A configuration backup can be created at any time, for one single NE, a domain or a complete network. The backup will be time-stamped and tagged to the actual NE before it is saved to the database.

NE configuration file management

Valid configuration files acquired from other external sources can also be added to the NetMaster configuration file management system.



5.2.5 Report generator

A separate report generator is included in the NetMaster system. Most of the pre-defined reports can be run against data in the database with user-defines scope: on a single NE, a domain or a complete network.

NetMaster report generator

The following report types are included:

Overview of the most frequently occurring alarms , overall and per NE

Overview of NE types managed by the NetMaster system

HW/SW inventory

Network G.826 Performance reports, overview and details.

Report output is shown as a separate view, which can be exported to PDF or Microsoft Office formats. An example for an exported Alarm frequency report is shown below.



Report output example



5.2.6 Clock synchronization

The Clock synchronization view provides a function for synchronizing the NE clocks with the time of the NetMaster server. The synchronization is performed for the selected NEs every night in a 24-hour schedule.

NE clock synchronization

5.2.7 Connection templates

A Connection template contains a list of attributes used when setting up connections for this NE type. The available attributes is dependent on the NE type, and may include parameters for authentication, like usernames, passwords and SNMP community names. The Connection template may also contain attributes regarding polling of NE connectivity status.

Connection templates are assigned to the various NEs through a Connection template assignment view.

Connection template assignment view



5.2.8 Launch NE tools

For detailed configuration of individual NEs, NetMaster provides a function to launch a scoped NE configuration tool for a selected NE.

The Administrator configures the external tools to be associated with the various NE types and may also link various attributes obtained from the server to corresponding launch arguments on the external tool (like IP address, NE identification, authentication credentials). The configuration tool for a specific NE can then be launched from the context menu on the NE symbol in the NetMaster client.

NE configuration tools

5.3 Fault management

The NetMaster series provides functions for acquisition, storage and presentation of alarms and events from the managed network.

Typical fault management tasks include:

Alarm acquisition in the form of notification reception from NEs

Display network alarm status in many different ways

Coloring of graphical objects in the network views

Display new (un-acknowledged) alarms and old (acknowledged) alarms independently.

Propagation of the highest severity level upwards in the network display hierarchy.

Display alarm summary count

Display current alarms

Alarms acknowledging, un-acknowledging and commenting

Audible notifications upon severity level increase.

Display historical alarms; specify advanced filters/queries.

Customize alarms for selected NE types (alarm text, severity and blocking) for a selection of NEs through alarm templates.



5.3.1 Network alarm status

The status of the network and network elements is displayed through a graphical object coloring scheme in the graphical views. When the network is structured into a hierarchy of administrative domains, the alarm severity colors are propagated upwards in the hierarchy.

To ensure that new events are always in focus, there are two levels of alarm coloring and propagation:

The highest un-acknowledged (new) alarm severity status is displayed in the fill area of the graphical symbol.

The highest acknowledged (old) alarm severity status is displayed as a thin frame around the graphical symbol.

The graphical symbols in the map views also display the number of alarms of the highest severity for both acknowledged and un-acknowledged alarms. The coloring scheme used for each severity level can be configured in the Preferences dialog.

Network alarm status



5.3.2 Alarm summary

The Alarm summary view shows an overview of all alarms for all managed NEs and provides a quick overview of the alarm status in the entire network.

The view displays the Severity count graph: a graphical presentation of alarms of each severity category in the entire network. The graph includes a bar for each of the categories Critical, Major, Minor, Warning, Indeterminate, and Info.

The view will only present active alarms, i.e. clearable alarms in a raised state, and not those that have been cleared. The same alarm state is presented in the Active alarms view.

Whenever an alarm is cleared on the equipment, it disappears from the Alarm summary view, but can be found in the Historical alarms view.

Alarm summary

By clicking one of the severity bars, a filtered Active alarms view containing the alarms of the selected severity level will be opened.

5.3.3 Display Active Alarms

The Active Alarms view presents active alarms for a selected scope, and allows the operator to acknowledge alarms which have been followed up.

An active alarm is a clearable alarm in the raised state (i.e. not yet cleared). Whenever an alarm is cleared, it will be removed from the table, but can still be found in a corresponding scope in the Historical alarms view.



Display active alarms

Each user may select which attributes are shown in the alarms table, in which order the fields appear, and may sort the table ascending/descending on any column.

The Active alarms view contains two powerful filtering mechanisms for further drill-down within the current scope. It is possible to show or hide alarms based on their acknowledgement status, or, using an instant filtering function, showing only alarms that contain a certain textual pattern in one or more attribute.

Alarm filters



5.3.4 Display historical alarms

The Historical alarms view displays a table of all historical alarms or events for a selected scope. Historical alarms are alarms that have been raised and then cleared. The Historical alarms view also shows alarms that are non-clearable, i.e. events. Whenever an alarm appears in the Historical alarms table it will disappear from any table with the same scope in the Active alarms view.

Historical alarms

The advanced filter function in the Historical alarms view can help you when analyzing situations with errors or poor performance in your network. By studying other errors and the order they appeared for the NE, this view can help you identify and solve the "root cause problem".

To navigate quickly in a large data set, the Time slider function may be of great help. The Time slider shows a histogram of the number of alarms occurring along the time axis, and the area indicated with green color shows what time interval is currently presented in the alarm table. It is possible to expand this time interval, or to zoom in for a further detailed histogram.

It is possible to set up auto-refresh of the Historical alarms view.

The Historical alarms table may display the following fields for each alarm:



Historical alarms

Name Explanation

Resource Name Source of alarm - the network resource that generated the alarm

Alarm Text Gives the most likely reason for the alarm. Similar to "Native Probable

Cause", as defined in TMF608. This is a textual description of the cause of

the alarm, displayed exactly as sent from the NE or portrayed in the EMS

user interface. The text can be customized using the Alarm Templates

view.

Severity One of the possible alarm severities: CRITICAL, MAJOR, MINOR,

WARNING, INDETERMINATE or INFO. Severities can be customized

using the Alarm Templates view.

Raised Time (NE) The time on the NE when the alarm was raised.

Cleared Time (NE) The time on the NE when the alarm was cleared.

Acknowledged Checked if the alarm has been acknowledged

Probable Cause A mapping of the Probable Cause Qualifier and/or Native Probable Cause

with a set of predefined Probable Causes as defined in TMF608

Probable Cause

Qualifier

A code for uniquely identifying the alarm, e.g. used in the Alarm Templates

view.

Alarm type A text which identifies the type of alarm. Used internally to map the alarm

to a corresponding name.

Value is one of the following (as defined in TMF608 and specified by

X.733:EventType):

- communicationsAlarm

- environmentalAlarm

- equipmentAlarm

- processingErrorAlarm

- qualityOfServiceAlarm

Raised Time (System) The time when NetMaster received the alarm raised event.

Cleared Time

(System)

The time when NetMaster received the alarm cleared event.

Is Clearable Y if the alarm/event represents a condition that will be restored at a later

time (otherwise blank)

Additional Text Alarm text extension

http://127.0.0.1:50188/help/topic/no.nera.networks.ngnms.richclient.help/html/Alarm_Templates(en).htm



5.3.5 Audible notifications

NetMaster is capable of playing selected sound files based on user configurable criteria such as alarm severity and alarm type. The selected sound files can be played once or continuously until the raised or cleared alarm is acknowledged by the user. For elements under maintenance, the alarm sound may be temporarily or permanently disabled (muted).

5.3.6 Email notifications

NetMaster can issue email notifications to selected recipients based on user configurable criteria such as alarm severity and alarm type.

5.3.7 Alarms customization

NetMaster provides functions for customizing the alarms through alarm templates. The predefined alarm text and severity level of individual alarms can be modified, and individual alarms can be blocked from being logged and reported.

Alarm customization templates

Alarm templates are assigned to the various NEs through an Alarm template assignment view.



5.4 End-to-end Service Management

NetMaster provides advanced functions for End-to-end TDM and Ethernet Service Management.

5.4.1 Network Discovery

In addition to the automated discovery of NEs and general network topology, NetMaster also performs automated discovery of the connectivity in relation to services. This means that all potential service carrying connections are automatically discovered and offered as available resources for subsequent service provisioning.

5.4.2 Service Discovery

Upon connecting to an existing network, NetMaster offers automatic discovery of all services currently configured on each NE (dependent on NE capabilities). Any service that is discovered can, by operator decision, be included under NetMaster management, or left “as is”.

Once managed by NetMaster, the discovered services are covered by the same functionality as services created from NetMaster, including Service Alarms, Service State, Service Editing, general Service Displays and all reporting, statistics and historical data records.

5.4.3 Service Creation Wizard

NetMaster provides an intuitive and powerful Wizard that guides the users through the entire service provisioning workflow. Services are created by automated routing between the selected end points.

Ethernet Services can be Untagged or C-VLAN tagged.

5.4.4 Service Monitoring

Managed services are monitored for operational state (“Service State”, i.e. enabled, disabled, pending and various fault states). Alarms that are generated on the ports involved in a service are associated with the service in order to provide the alarm state of each service (“Service Alarms”).

5.5 Performance management

NetMaster provides functions for collecting, storing and displaying performance data from the network elements.

Typical performance management tasks include:

Historical performance monitoring

Supporting various types of performance data:

Analog measurement values

G.826 measurements

RMON Ethernet statistics

Displaying stored performance data in tabular and chart views



Current performance:

Continuously collecting and storing performance data at 1-min, 15-min, 24-hour, and monthly intervals.

Retrieving and displaying current performance counters, cumulative, 1-min/15-min/24-hour/month registers, and analog measurement values.

Performance counter reset for cumulative register

5.5.1 Historical performance monitoring

The Historical performance monitoring function collects and stores performance data continuously and enables various ways of displaying the stored data.

The performance data to be collected and the corresponding measurement granularity (interval) can be set up efficiently via performance templates. The available performance data depends on the capability of the specific NE type.

Performance monitoring templates



The Historical performance table view displays the stored PM data and analog measurements in a tabular form or as a time series graph.

Historical performance view

The Time series graph displays the measurements in a chart over the selected time period. The chart properties can be customized.

Performance time series graphs



5.5.2 Current performance

Current performance monitoring implies retrieving and displaying snapshots of the various performance counters, 1-min/15-min/24-hour/month registers and analog measurement values at the NE.

Current performance view



5.5.3 Performance reports

The reporting functionality enables a quick overview as well as detailed analysis of the performance of the managed network.

Performance reports

Reports covering performance measurements can be launched from the “View” pull-down menu, under “Reports”.



5.5.3.1 Overview PM report

The Overview report gives a summary of performance measurements (G826 parameters) as defined with a filter. The values of each performance parameter type will be the sum of all individual measurements of that type in the time interval specified in the filter.

Two graphical charts are displayed based on these selections.

Performance overview report

Measurement types over time (x- axis: time, y-axis: measurement value)

In this graph, it is normally easy to detect which types of errors dominate the overall performance, and how these are distributed in time. Based on this, the further investigations can focus on a specific window of time.

Measurement types over source network element (x-axis: Network Elements, y-axis: measurement value)

This graph displays the occurrence of performance errors for each network element, accumulated for the selected time interval. Any network element with a high number of errors is easily spotted, and may then be subject to further investigations.



5.5.3.2 Detailed PM report

The details report gives a listing of all performance measurements matching a defined filter.

Detailed performance report

All collected PM data from all network elements matching the filter is displayed in a tabular form, in which the detailed counters can be inspected. The table can be sent to printer or exported in PDF format, and also exported to file in XLS format, e.g. for further analysis and visualization.

Before printing, bear in mind that with a high number of active counters and/or selected network elements, this table can become very large.



5.6 Security management

NetMaster’s security management is role-based. It is handled through group administration and user administration functions.

The Group administration view is used when creating new user groups and assigning permissions to each group. A specific group permission is assigned from the combination of the corresponding resource permissions and action permissions.

Group administration

The Resource permission part displays the domains (sub-networks) for the selected group name. Permissions can be changed by checking or un-checking the checkboxes in the Resource permissions tree. The users in a specific group can only see the domains to which the group has been granted resource permissions; all other domains will be hidden.

The Action permission defines to which areas of functionality the selected group is granted permission.



The individual users are defined in the User administration view and assigned to one or several groups. From this view, a user can be created, deleted, blocked or un-blocked, and the user’s password can be changed.

User administration

All user events are logged to the database and can be listed in the User audit view.

User audit view

5.7 Open SNMP Adapter

The purpose of Open SNMP Adapter is to be able to discover and manage

SNMP elements that are not fully integrated in NetMaster. These types of

elements will be called open SNMP network elements (open SNMP NEs).

The following are the main points covered in the first release of open

SNMP:

(1) Discover any SNMP equipment (SNMP version v1 and v2c)



(2) Set any discovered SNMP equipment to managed state

(3) Only NE node it is shown in tree views

(4) Connection polling

(5) Allow configuration of launching of external tools

(6) Allow configuration of alarm handling through Open SNMP Interface

view:

(a) Reconcile current alarm table

(b) Reconcile current alarms given as single OIDs

(c) Reconcile current alarms given as single OIDs using a mask

(7) Configuration import/export

(8) Report - The NE Types Overview report will display a chart indicating

how many elements of open SNMP NE type are managed by

NetMaster within the scope of the report.

Open SNMP Interface view

The view consists of an Open SNMP Configurations area containing a tree

view with all configurations defined and an area containing details about the

currently selected configuration.

Once created, an open SNMP configuration consists of four pages where the

user can edit different settings needed to get information from the element:

Open SNMP Configuration

Alias List

Current Alarm Table

Current Alarm List

For an open SNMP configuration, it is be possible to disable both strategies

(Current Alarm Table or Current Alarm List) or only a strategy can be



enabled at a time. When a strategy is enabled, the other one will

automatically be disabled.

6. System requirements

Please refer to document NetMaster System Requirements for details on supported operating systems, database versions, HW requirements, etc.



7. Functionality table

This section describes the main functionality provided by NetMaster. Detailed support within each function area depends on specific NE type and in some cases the HW/SW version of the NE and its installed modules.

Functionality table

Functionality Description

Number of managed network

elements

1-10000 (Depending on license)

Client/Server Supported operating systems:

Refer to document NetMaster system requirements for details

Communication protocol: Java RMI over TCP/IP

Number of clients:

1-30 (Depending on license)

Security management Integrated HTML help

Context sensitive help

Group administration

User accounts administration

Resource permissions

Geographical

Logical

Action permissions

Administration

Configuration

Discover

Fault

Performance

Northbound interface

Preferences

Topology

User levels: configurable resource and action permissions

Audit logging

Advanced log filtering

Performance management Performance collection

Advanced collection filtering

Granularity/Intervals: 1min/15min/24hour/month




Logging

Performance display

Time slider histogram

Advanced view filtering

Tabular view

Time series chart view

Current performance

Reset performance counters

G.826 registers

G.821 registers

Ethernet statistics

ACM statistics

Analog values (RF input level, TX output power, Voltage, Current

load, Temperature)

Fault management Alarm acquisition

Manual alarm reconciliation

Network/NE status

Alarm summary

Active / Current alarms

Acknowledge alarm

Un-acknowledge alarm

Comment alarm

Fault severities: Critical, Major, Minor, Warning, Indeterminate, Info

Historical alarms view with auto refresh option

Time slider histogram of recorded alarms

Advanced log filtering

Quick filtering

Alarm customization

Alarm severity editing

Alarm name editing

Alarm blocking

Severity color customization

Multiple instances of alarm lists with same scope




Custom naming of window titles

Optional fault management

features

Audible notifications (Configurable criteria and sounds)

Email notifications (Configurable criteria and recipients)

Configuration management Network element and topology auto discovery

Serial connections

IP connections

HW inventory

SW inventory with reconcile

SW download

SW Activation/Reset

NE configuration file management (backup and restore)

NE clock synchronization, SNTP server setting (single NE and bulk

setting)

Trap receiver setting (Single NE and bulk setting)

Launch external tools

Service management TDM Services

Ethernet Services

Service discovery

Service provisioning

Auto-routing of services

Service alarms

Optional features Northbound SNMP agent (Fault and inventory data)

Open SNMP Adapter

Scheduling of report generation to file

Export to file: PDF, MS Office formats

Graphical user interface Geographical tree view

Logical tree view

Hierarchical maps

Filtering and sorting options in most views

Export of tables in views to file: XLS, CSV, XML formats

Platform optional features Redundancy with failover



8. NE support overview

These tables indicate which features are supported in NetMaster for the various manageable NE types. Please note all footnotes indicated (detailed after the second table).

NE support table (part 1)

NE Specific

Supported Features

Evolution Series

FibeAir IP10

FibeAir 70T

FibeAir

1500R

Protocols used by NetMaster

SNMP, v1 x

SNMP, v2c x x x x

HTTP x x

FTP x

Q1

NE topology x x x x

Automatic discovery of links x6) x6)

Fault

Active alarms x x x x

Events, (non-clearable alarms) x x x x

Traps x x x x

Polling x x x x



NE Specific

Supported Features

Evolution Series

FibeAir IP10

FibeAir 70T

FibeAir

1500R

Manual alarm reconciliation x x x x

Performance

G.821 (SES, ES, UAT, DM)

G.826 (SES, ES, UAS, BBE) x x x

Received Power Level (RPL) x x x x

Transmitted Power Level (TPL) x x x

CPE statistics

Analog measurements

Reset counters x

Ethernet utilization x9) x

ACM statistics x x

Configuration

HW inventory x x x x

SW inventory x x x x

Transmission inventory x8) x x x

CPE inventory

Manual SW reconciliation

SW download x x

SW Activation/Reset x x



NE Specific

Supported Features

Evolution Series

FibeAir IP10

FibeAir 70T

FibeAir

1500R

NE configuration file management x x

Clock sync x

Launch external application x x x x

Service management

Ethernet services x6) x6)

TDM services x6) x6)

Service discovery x6) x6)

Service provisioning x6) x6)

Service alarms x6) x6)

Service editing x6) x6)

Service state monitoring x6) x6)

Security, Authentication/Authorization

SNMP: R+RW community names x x x x

HTTP: login, username/password x x

Q1: username/password



NE support table (part 2)

NE Specific

Supported Features Inter-Link

City-Link

City-Link FE

NL

29x

NL24x/ Cel-Link

NL

18x-A1)

Com-pact-Link

Flex-Link

Net-Link/ N2N

WiLink I

Smart-Node A/C

Smart-Metro

Smart-Con-nect

BG-20 BG-30

Smart-pack

Protocols used by NetMaster

SNMP, v1 x x x x x x

SNMP, v2c x x x x

HTTP x

TFTP x

Q1 x x x x x

NE topology x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Automatic discovery of links

Fault

Active alarms x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Events, (non-clearable alarms) x x x x x x x

Traps x x x x x x x x x x x x

Polling x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Manual alarm reconciliation x x x x x x x x x x x x

Performance

G.821 (SES, ES, UAT, DM) x x

G.826 (SES, ES, UAS, BBE) x x x



NE Specific


City-Link

City-Link FE

NL

29x

NL24x/ Cel-Link

NL

18x-A1)

Com-pact-Link

Flex-Link

Net-Link/ N2N

WiLink I

Smart-Node A/C

Smart-Metro

Smart-Con-nect

BG-20 BG-30

Smart-pack

Received Power Level (RPL) x x x x x

Transmitted Power Level (TPL)

CPE statistics x x

Analog measurements x

Reset counters x x x

Ethernet Utilization

Configuration

HW inventory x x x x2) x x x x5)

SW inventory x x x x2) x x x x x x x x x x

Transmission inventory x7)

CPE inventory x3) x

Manual SW reconciliation x x x x

SW download x x x2) x

SW Activation/Reset x x x2)

NE configuration file management

Clock sync x x x x x x x x 4) 4) x 4) x 4) 4)

Launch external application x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x



NE Specific


City-Link

City-Link FE

NL

29x

NL24x/ Cel-Link

NL

18x-A1)

Com-pact-Link

Flex-Link

Net-Link/ N2N

WiLink I

Smart-Node A/C

Smart-Metro

Smart-Con-nect

BG-20 BG-30

Smart-pack

Security,

Authentication/Authorization

SNMP: R+RW community names x x x x x x x x x x

HTTP: login, username/password x

Q1: username/password x x

Footnotes applicable to both of the above NE support tables:

1) Older NL18x not supported

2) On new SU Board only - 2KZ198B

3) On NetLink-III-AU only

4) NE clock should be set to GMT/UTC time in order to avoid ambiguous interpretation of time stamps

5) Only partial inventory

6) On Evolution Series XPAND IP (SW >= R2A00), on IP-10G/E/C/Q (SW >=6.6) and on IP-10 (SW >=6.3)

7) Only RX/TX frequency

8) RX/TX frequency, ATPC, Space diversity for all Evolution Series radios. Bandwidth, Capacity and TDM capacity supported for XPAND IP and MicroIFU.

9) XPAND IP only.

Documents

NetMaster NMS Technical Description