Using the WAE Device Manager GUI

This chapter describes how to use the WAE Device Manager GUI, which is a separate interface from the WAAS Central Manager GUI. The WAE Device Manager is a web-based management interface that allows you to control and monitor an individual WAE device in your network.The WAAS Central Manager device does not have a WAE Device Manager interface. In many cases, the same device settings are found in both the WAE Device Manager and the WAAS Central Manager GUI. For this reason, we recommend that you always configure device settings from the WAAS Central Manager GUI if possible.

When you change device settings in the WAE Device Manager, the changes are propagated to the WAAS Central Manager and override the group settings for that device. If you later decide that you want the group settings to override the settings that you configured from the WAE Device Manager, you can use the group override features in the WAAS Central Manager GUI. For more information, see the "Overriding Group Configuration Settings" section on page 3-8.

Note Throughout this chapter, the term WAAS device is used to refer collectively to the WAAS Central Managers and WAEs in your network. The term WAE refers to WAE appliances and WAE Network Modules (the NME-WAE family of devices).

This chapter contains the following sections:

•Launching the WAE Device Manager

•A Quick Tour of the WAE Device Manager

•WAE Management Workflow

•Managing a Cisco WAE

•Managing a CIFS Accelerator Device

•Managing a WAFS Core Device

•Managing a WAFS Edge Device

•Monitoring the WAE

•Viewing WAE Logs

Launching the WAE Device Manager

Each WAAS device is managed separately using the WAE Device Manager web-based interface. You can launch the WAE Device Manager remotely from any location on the WAAS network using Internet Explorer.

To launch the WAE Device Manager, use one of the following methods:

•Go to https://Device_IP_Address:8443/mgr

The Login window of the WAE Device Manager appears. Enter your username and password in the fields provided and click Login. The default username is admin and the default password is default.

•From the WAAS Central Manager GUI navigation pane, choose My WAN > Manage Devices, click the Edit icon next to the device that you want to manage, and click the Device GUI button at the bottom of the window.

The WAE Device Manager interface appears. (See Figure 10-1.)

Figure 10-1 WAE Device Manager Interface

A Quick Tour of the WAE Device Manager

The WAE Device Manager is divided into two sections. The area on the left displays the navigation area. The area on the right displays information about the options that you have selected from the navigation area.

The navigation area allows you to navigate the management screens for different WAE components. The navigation area includes the following options:

•Cisco WAE—Allows you to start and stop the WAE components, register and unregister the WAE, back up and restore configuration files, and use various WAE utilities. For more information, see the "Managing a Cisco WAE" section.

•CifsAO—Allows you to monitor preposition tasks, view WAFS device statistics, and view the log. For more information, see the "Managing a CIFS Accelerator Device" section.

The CifsAO option only appears if you have enabled the transparent CIFS accelerator on this WAAS device. For more information, see the "Enabling and Disabling the Global Optimization Features" section on page 12-2.

•WAFS Core—Allows you to monitor WAFS Core statistics and view log information. For more information, see the "Managing a WAFS Core Device" section.

The WAFS Core option only appears if you have configured this WAAS device as a core device in legacy WAFS mode. For more information, see Chapter 11, "Configuring Wide Area File Services."

•WAFS Edge—Allows you to monitor preposition tasks, monitor WAFS Edge statistics, and view log information. For more information, see the "Managing a WAFS Edge Device" section.

The WAFS Edge option appears only if you have configured this WAAS device as an edge device in legacy WAFS mode. For more information, see Chapter 11, "Configuring Wide Area File Services."

The options in the navigation area include suboptions, which when selected, display additional tabs in the display area. Mandatory fields in the display area are indicated with an asterisk. If you click Save without entering a value in a mandatory field, an error message is displayed. Click the Back link to return to the window where the error occurred.

Information displayed in tables can be sorted by clicking the column headers. Clicking the header a second time sorts the information in reverse order.

As you navigate in the WAE Device Manager, your current location is always displayed across the top of the display area.

To log out of the WAE Device Manager, click the icon on the upper-right side of the display area.

Note JavaScripts, cookies, and popup windows must be enabled in the web browser to use the WAE Device Manager.

WAE Management Workflow

After WAEs have been deployed and registered (as described in the Cisco Wide Area Application Services Quick Configuration Guide), use the WAE Device Manager to perform the following actions:

•Start and stop components as described in the "Starting and Stopping Components" section.

•Register and unregister the WAE as described in the "Registering and Unregistering a WAE" section.

•Back up and restore configuration files as described in the "Backing Up the Configuration Files" section.

•Configure Windows authentication as described in the "Configuring Windows Authentication" section.

•Define component-specific notification recipients as described in the "Defining Notification Settings" section.

•Run WAE maintenance utilities as described in the "Utilities Option" section.

•View the details, current status, and history of preposition tasks performed on WAFS devices as described in the "Preposition Option" section.

•View SNMP-generated information and graphs about each WAE component as described in the "Monitoring the WAE" section.

•View the logs for each WAE component as described in the "Viewing WAE Logs" section.

Managing a Cisco WAE

You use the Cisco WAE menu item in the navigation area to perform basic operations such as viewing the status of WAE components and stop or start components on the WAE. Figure 10-2 shows the Cisco WAE Control window.

Figure 10-2 Cisco WAE Control Window

The Cisco WAE menu item includes the following options:

•Control—Enables you to control the WAE and its components as described in the "Control Option" section.

•Configuration—Enables you to perform basic configuration tasks as described in the "Configuration Option" section.

•Utilities—Enables you to run various maintenance utilities on the WAE as described in the "Utilities Option" section.

•Monitoring—Enables you to view tables and graphs about the CPU and disk utilization in the WAE as described in the "Monitoring the WAE" section.

•Logs—Enables you to view event logs for various WAE subsystems as described in the "Viewing WAE Logs" section.

Control Option

The Control option displays the following tabs:

•Components—Enables you to view the working status of each WAE component. You can start, stop, and restart any component. For more information, see the "Starting and Stopping Components" section.

•Registration—Enables you to register or unregister the WAE with the WAAS Central Manager. For more information, see the "Registering and Unregistering a WAE" section.

•Backup—Enables you to download and save WAE configuration files and to restore these files back to the WAE, if required. For more information, see the "Backing Up the Configuration Files" section and the "Restoring the Configuration Files" section.

Starting and Stopping Components

The Components tab enables you to view which components are running and which components are not, and allows you to start, stop, and restart components.

From this tab you can click Refresh to update the status of each component and update the WAE Device Manager interface to reflect recent changes made to the device from the WAAS Central Manager GUI. For example, if the device is configured to be a transparent CIFS accelerator device while you are logged into the WAE Device Manager, that change is not reflected until you either click Refresh or log in again to the WAE Device Manager.

Note If a component is not running, most of its configuration can be performed offline. However, any configuration changes made to the component will take effect only after it is restarted.

Note Do not stop or start a component if the device is not registered to a WAAS Central Manager.

To start and stop components, follow these steps:

Step 1 In the Components tab of the Cisco WAE Control window, choose the component that you want to activate and click Start.

After a few seconds, a green checkmark appears next to the selected component, indicating its status is running, as shown in Figure 10-3.

Figure 10-3 Components Tab—Starting Components

•To stop a component, choose the component from the list and click Stop.

After a few seconds, a red appears next to the selected component, indicating that it is no longer running.

•To restart a WAE component, choose the component from the list and click Restart.

•To display the current status of the WAE components, click Refresh.

Registering and Unregistering a WAE

The Registration tab enables you to register the WAE with the specified WAAS Central Manager or unregister the WAE. After the WAE is registered, you can view and manage it from the WAAS Central Manager GUI.

To register the WAE, follow these steps:

Step 1 In the Cisco WAE Control window, click the Registration tab. (See Figure 10-4.)

Figure 10-4 Cisco WAE Control —Registration Tab

Step 2 In the Central Host field, verify that the address of the WAAS Central Manager is displayed. If no address appears in this field, then the WAE is not registered with a Central Manager.

Step 3 Click Register to register the WAE.

The "Registration will update the WAE properties in the WAAS Central Manager. Are you sure?" message is displayed. Click OK. If successful, the "Appliance registered successfully" message is displayed.

Step 4 Click Unregister to unregister the Cisco WAE.

If successful, the "Appliance unregistered successfully" message is displayed.

Note When you unregister a WAE, any policies defined for it in the WAAS Central Manager GUI are removed.

Backing Up the Configuration Files

The Backup tab enables you to back up and restore the configuration files of the WAE.

To back up the WAE configuration, follow these steps:

Step 1 In the Cisco WAE Control window, click the Backup tab. (See Figure 10-5.)

Figure 10-5 Cisco WAE Control —Backup Tab

Step 2 In the Download configuration backup area, click Download.

Step 3 In the File Download window, click Save.

Step 4 In the Save As window, browse to where you want to save the file. You can also change the filename.

Step 5 Click Save.

The WAE configuration files are downloaded to the selected destination folder and stored in a single, compressed file.

For information about restoring files from a backup, see the "Restoring the Configuration Files" section.

Restoring the Configuration Files

The Backup tab enables you to restore the configuration files of the WAE. Restoring the configuration returns the WAE to its previous state when the backup was performed.

To restore the configuration files, follow these steps:

Step 1 In the Restore configuration from backup area, click Browse to navigate to the location of the backup file that you want to restore.

Step 2 Click Upload to restore the selected configuration files.

Note After the upload is completed, the WAE will be reloaded.

Configuration Option

The Configuration option for the Cisco WAE menu item displays the following tabs:

•SNMP—Allows you to enable event MIB and logging traps on the WAE. For more information, see the "Configuring SNMP Settings" section.

•Networking—Allows you to view WAE settings defined during initial device setup described in the Cisco Wide Area Application Services Quick Configuration Guide. For more information, see the "Viewing Network Settings" section.

•Windows Authentication—Allows you to define the settings required by the WAE for Windows authentication to enable device login, disconnected mode, and CLI configuration. For more information, see the "Configuring Windows Authentication" section.

•Print Services—Allows you to configure print services. For more information on configuring print services, see Chapter 13, "Configuring and Managing WAAS Legacy Print Services."

•Notifier—Allows you to define the e-mail address to which notifications are sent when alerts are generated by the WAE. For more information, see the "Defining Notification Settings" section.

Configuring SNMP Settings

The SNMP tab allows you to configure the SNMP settings on the Cisco WAE. To configure the SNMP settings, click the SNMP tab in the Configuration window. The SNMP tab appears. (See Figure 10-6.)

Figure 10-6 WAE Configuration—SNMP Tab

This tab allows you to configure the following settings:

•SNMP community—Sets the SNMP community string for read access, which is used as a password for authentication when accessing the SNMP agent of the WAE.

•SNMP community (R/W)—Sets the SNMP community string for read/write access, which is used as a password for authentication when accessing the SNMP agent of the WAE.

•Enable event MIB traps—Allows the WAE to send event MIB traps to the SNMP host specified in the SNMP notification host field.

•Enable logging traps—Enables logging traps on the device.

•SNMP notification host—Enter the IP address or hostname of your SNMP host so that the WAE can send MIB and logging traps to the host.

Click Save after making any changes to this page, or click Cancel to disregard your changes so that they do not take effect.

Viewing Network Settings

The Networking tab (see Figure 10-7) enables you to view the connection parameters between the WAE and the LAN.

To view the WAE connection settings, click the Networking tab in the Configuration window.

Figure 10-7 Cisco WAE Configuration—Networking Tab

The Networking tab contains the following information:

•Machine name—The hostname of the WAE.

•DHCP—Whether a DHCP server is available on the network.

•IP Address

•Net mask

•Default Gateway

•DNS Server 1

•DNS Server 2

•Domain Name

•MAC Address

•Time Zone

Configuring Windows Authentication

The WAAS Central Manager GUI and the WAE Device Manager use Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM) for user login authentication. Administrative users defined in the WAAS Central Manager GUI are distributed to the WAE Device Managers. Administrative user authentication is performed only upon login to the WAAS Central Manager GUI or the WAE Device Manager. Each WAE has a default GUI and CLI user with the username admin and password default. This user account cannot be deleted, but the password can be changed.

Note In situations where the CLI user account information conflicts with the management GUI configuration, the management GUI configuration will overwrite any conflicting CLI user account information at the time of configuration distribution. A warning is displayed to CLI users after configuring CLI user account settings to inform users of this behavior.

This section contains the following topics:

•Understanding Login Authentication and Authorization Through the Local Database

•Supported Authentication Methods

•LDAP Server Signing

•Setting Up Windows Authentication

•Checking the Status of Windows Authentication

Understanding Login Authentication and Authorization Through the Local Database

Local user authentication and authorization use locally configured usernames and passwords to authenticate administrative user login attempts. The login and passwords are local to each WAE.

By default, local user login authentication is enabled as the primary authentication method. You can disable local user login authentication only after enabling one or more of the other administrative login authentication methods. However, when local user login authentication is disabled, and you disable all other administrative login authentication methods, local user login authentication is reenabled automatically.

Windows Domain authentication is another user login authentication method. You can use the console, Telnet, FTP, SSH, or HTTP (WAFS Central Manager and WAE Device Manager interfaces) to authenticate Windows Domain users.

Supported Authentication Methods

When you enable Windows authentication on your WAE, you can configure additional settings that make the authentication process of your users, WAE, and services more secure when they register with the domain controller.

WAFS supports the following Windows authentication methods on the WAE:

•NTLMv2 authentication—A Windows authentication protocol that is built into most Windows operating systems.

•Kerberos—A Windows authentication protocol that uses secret-key cryptography and is built into Windows 2003 Server.

Note Windows domain authentication is not performed unless a Windows domain server is configured on the WAAS device. If the device is not successfully registered, authentication and authorization do not occur. WAAS supports authentication by a Windows domain controller running only on Windows Server 2000 or Windows Server 2003.

If you are using NTLM authentication, the Windows domain server must be installed with the option to support pre-Windows 2000 operating systems. (On the installation Permissions screen of the Windows server dcpromo wizard, select "Permissions compatible with pre-Windows 2000 server operating systems.")

LDAP Server Signing

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) server signing is a configuration option of the Microsoft Windows Server's Network security settings. This option controls the signing requirements for LDAP clients such as the WAE. LDAP signing is used to verify that an intermediate party did not tamper with the LDAP packets on the network and to guarantee that the packaged data comes from a known source.

The WAAS software supports both print services' and login authentication with Windows 2003 domains when the LDAP server signing requirements option for the Domain Security Policy has been set to "Require signing." LDAP server signing allows the WAE to join the domain and authenticate users securely.

Note When you configure your Windows domain controller to require an LDAP signature, you must also configure LDAP server signing on the WAE from the CLI by using the smb-conf section "global" name "ldap ssl" value "start_tls" global configuration command. You cannot enable this option using the WAE Device Manager interface. For information on using the smb-conf command, see the Cisco Wide Area Application Services Command Reference.

Setting Up Windows Authentication

The Windows Authentication tab allows you to configure the security settings on the WAE.

To configure Windows Authentication, follow these steps:

Step 1 Log into the WAE Device Manager.

Step 2 In the Configuration window, click the Windows Authentication tab.

The Window Authentication window appears. (See Figure 10-8.)

Figure 10-8 Cisco WAE Configuration—Windows Authentication Tab

Step 3 Enter the NetBIOS name.

The NetBIOS name cannot exceed 15 characters nor contain special characters.

Note By default, the NetBIOS name field is automatically populated with the hostname of the file engine. If this hostname changes, the NetBIOS field is not automatically updated with the new name.

Step 4 Enter the workgroup or domain name in the short name format, and check the NT Domain check box if the workgroup/domain is a Windows NT 4 domain.

For example, if your domain name is cisco.com, the short name format is cisco. If your workgroup or domain is a Windows 2000 or Windows 2003 domain, do not check the NT Domain check box.

If the NT Domain check box is checked, the domain name and short name format can contain a period (.), but be careful not to enter the fully qualified name for the NT domain.

Step 5 Enter the IP address or hostname for the WINS server that you are using.

Step 6 Check the Use NTLMv2 authentication check box to enable NTLMv2 authentication.

Note Enable NTLMv2 support only if all clients have their security policy set to "Send NTLMv2 responses only/Refuse LM and NTLM." Using NTLM v2 when the clients do not require it could cause authentication to fail.

Step 7 Check the Windows authentication for WAFS Management login check box to use Windows Domain to authenticate Telnet, FTP, console, SSH, and user interface (WAAS Central Manager GUI and WAE Device Manager) logins to WAFS.

When you add users through the WAAS Central Manager GUI, you are given the option to configure users as local users who have their login password stored on the WAE. Local users are authenticated by the WAE, but nonlocal users are commonly verified using Windows Domain authentication.

Step 8 If you are using Kerberos authentication, check the Kerberos enabled check box and then specify the following information:

•The fully qualified name of the Kerberos realm. All Windows 2000 domains are also Kerberos realms, but the realm name is always the all uppercase version of the domain name.

•The fully qualified name or IP address of the Key Distribution Center. You can also specify a port using the following format: ip address or name:port number. For example, 10.10.10.2:88.

•The organizational unit.

You can only enable Kerberos authentication if at least one of the boxes described in Step 7 is checked. After you enable Kerberos, make sure that the clock on your WAE is within 5 minutes of the clock on your domain controller. Otherwise, your domain controller will refuse to use Kerberos for authentication.

If you are using a Windows 2000 (with SP4) or Windows 2003 (with SP1) domain controller, you should enable Kerberos authentication.

Step 9 If your domain controller has been configured to require LDAP server signing, you need to use the WAAS CLI to enable LDAP server signing on the WAE by using the smb-conf section global name "ldap ssl" value "start_tls" global configuration command. For information on using the smb-conf command, see the Cisco Wide Area Application Services Command Reference.

Step 10 Check the Register WAE with Domain Controller check box.

Note You need to register the WAE with the domain controller whenever you enable or disable Kerberos, enable Windows authentication, or change the NetBios name, workgroup, or Kerberos realm.

A series of fields display under the check box. Enter the following information in these fields:

•Domain controller (enter the name, not the IP address).

You can only enter the NetBios name of the domain controller when Kerberos is disabled. If Kerberos is enabled, you can enter the fully qualified domain name of the domain controller.

•Domain administrator username (enter the username, domain\username, or domain+username).

•Domain administrator password.

Step 11 Click Save.

The Windows Authentication settings are saved, and the WAE is registered with the domain controller.

Step 12 Verify if Windows Authentication is working correctly. See the "Checking the Status of Windows Authentication" section.

Checking the Status of Windows Authentication

After you enable Windows Authentication, you can check the status of Windows Authentication and view the results of built-in tests that can help you resolve authentication issues.

A Windows Authentication problem can occur if you incorrectly configure the settings described in the "Setting Up Windows Authentication" section. Problems can also occur if the configuration of your domain controller changes.

The Authentication Details window shows the following information:

•A list of winbind Authentication tests

•The results of each test

•A pass or fail indicator

•Troubleshooting tips to help you resolve why a test failed

To check the status of Windows Authentication, follow these steps:

Step 1 On the Windows Authentication tab, click Show authentication status.

A message appears that explains the authentication status could take a while to display and that the WAE's performance could be impacted while the authentication status is being obtained.

Step 2 In the message dialog box, click OK to proceed or click Cancel to not display the authentication details.

If you clicked OK, the Authentication Details window appears. (See Figure 10-9.)

Figure 10-9 Authentication Details Window

Step 3 Check the Authentication status field at the top of the window.

If the status field displays "OK," then Windows Authentication is functioning correctly. If this field displays "Not OK," then proceed to the next step.

Step 4 View the status of each test, and resolve any failures using the provided troubleshooting tips.

Table 10-1 describes these tests.

Table 10-1 Authentication Test Descriptions 

Test
Description

wbinfo -t

Verifies that the workstation trust account created when the Samba server is added to the Windows domain is working.

wbinfo -a

Tests the domain credentials based on the specified username and password. To run this test, enter the appropriate username and password, and then click Refresh. Wait for the test results to be displayed.

wbinfo -D

Shows information from Samba about the domain.

wbinfo --sequence

Shows the sequence numbers of all known domains.

Time skew

Shows the time offset between the WAE and the KDC server. The time offset must be within 5 minutes; otherwise, the Windows KDC server refuses to use Kerberos for authentication. You can use the WAAS CLI to configure the time on the WAE.

This test is performed only when Kerberos authentication is enabled.


Step 5 Click Refresh to ensure that all the tests complete successfully.

Defining Notification Settings

The Notifier tab allows you to define the e-mail address to which notifications are sent when alerts are generated by the WAE.

To define notification settings, follow these steps:

Step 1 In the Configuration window, click the Notifier tab. (See Figure 10-10.)

Figure 10-10 Notifier Tab

Step 2 In the Email address field, enter the address to which notifications about this WAE are sent.

Step 3 In the Mail server host name field, enter the name of the mail server host.

Step 4 In the Time period field, enter the time interval for notifications to accumulate until they are sent through e-mail and choose the relevant time unit from the drop-down list (min or sec).

Step 5 From the Notify Level drop-down list, choose the minimum event severity level for generating notifications.

Step 6 In the Mail server port field, enter the port number for connecting with the mail server.

Step 7 Check the Login to server check box if the WAE must log in to the mail server to send notifications. If this option is selected, additional fields are enabled.

Step 8 In the Server username field, enter the username for accessing the mail server.

Step 9 In the Server password field, enter the password for accessing the mail server.

Step 10 In the From field, enter the text that should appear in the From field of each e-mail notification.

Step 11 In the Subject field, enter the text that should appear as the subject of each notification.

Step 12 From the SNMP Notify Level drop-down list, choose the minimum event severity level for generating SNMP notifications.

Step 13 Click Save.

Utilities Option

The Utilities option displays the following tabs:

•Support—Allows you to dump WAE data to an external location for support purposes. For more information, see the "Running Support Utilities" section.

•WAFS Cache Cleanup—Allows you to remove all files from the WAFS cache. For more information, see the "Running the Cache Cleanup Utility" section.

•File Server Rename—Allows you to rename a file server in the WAFS cache. For more information, see the "Running the File Server Rename Utility" section.

Running Support Utilities

The Support tab displays product information about the WAE, including the WAAS software version and build number running on the device.

The Support tab also allows you to download a system report that provides a snapshot of the current state of the WAE and its operation, including the configuration log files of various components. You can send this report to Cisco Technical Support (TAC) if you need assistance.

Note Downloading a full system report can impact the performance of the WAE. For this reason, we recommend downloading the system report during nonpeak hours or limiting the date range of the report.

To download the system report, follow these steps:

Step 1 In the Utilities window, click the Support tab.

The Support window appears. (See Figure 10-11.)

Figure 10-11 Utilities—Support Tab

Step 2 In the System Report area, choose one of the following radio buttons:

•Full to download a full system report.

•Specify Date: to download a report for the time range that you specify (default is the past 7 days).

Step 3 Click Estimate size to view the size of the report.

The actual size of the report may vary from the estimate. If the estimated size is large, you may want to specify a smaller time frame and download multiple smaller reports to minimize the stress on the WAE.

Step 4 Click Download.

A message informs you that downloading the report can affect the performance of all services on the device.

Step 5 Click OK to start the collection process.

Step 6 In the File Download window, click Save.

Step 7 In the Save As window, browse to where you want to save the file. (You can also change the filename.) Click Save. The file is saved in tar gzip format.

Running the Cache Cleanup Utility

The WAFS Cache Cleanup tab enables you to remove all files from the WAFS device cache.

To run the cache cleanup utility, follow these steps:

Step 1 In the Utilities window, click the WAFS Cache Cleanup tab.

The WAFS Cache Cleanup window appears. (See Figure 10-12.)

Figure 10-12 Utilities—WAFS Cache Cleanup Tab

Step 2 Click Run to erase the contents of the cache.

Running the File Server Rename Utility

The File Server Rename tab enables you to change the resource location for all resources of a given file server name on the WAAS device. This function changes the file server name for the files in the WAFS cache.

To run the file server rename utility, follow these steps:

Step 1 If the WAFS Edge component is running, stop it as described in the "Starting and Stopping Components" section.

Step 2 In the Utilities window, click the File Server Rename tab.

Step 3 In the Current File Server name field, enter the current name.

Step 4 In the New File Server name field, enter the new name and click Run for the new name to take effect.

Note Do not specify the name of another existing cached file server in the New File Server name field. If you do specify an existing name as the new name, the cached contents of this file server are overwritten with the cached contents of the file server you are renaming.

Managing a CIFS Accelerator Device

The CifsAO option in the navigation area allows you to monitor preposition tasks, view WAFS device statistics, and view the log. The CifsAO option appears only if you are using transparent CIFS accelerator mode.

The CifsAO option includes the following menu items:

•Preposition—Allows you to monitor the progress of preposition policies created in the WAAS Central Manager GUI. In addition, you can optionally terminate preposition tasks. For more information, see the "Preposition Option" section.

•Monitoring—Allows you to view WAFS device statistics in tables and graphs as described in the "Monitoring the Cisco WAE Component" section.

•Logs—Allows you to view the event log related to the CIFS accelerator. For more information, see the "Viewing Cisco WAE Logs" section.

Preposition Option

The Preposition option allows you to view the details and current status of preposition policies created in the WAAS Central Manager GUI. These policies define which files are proactively placed in the WAAS device cache according to a prearranged schedule. Prepositioning enables system administrators to strategically place large, frequently accessed files at the network edge during off-peak hours, increasing efficiency and providing end users with quick first-time access of those files.

You can view information such as the root directory containing the files being prepositioned, the schedule for each policy, and the status of the most recent task for each policy. You can also view a detailed task history for each policy, and manually terminate any tasks in progress.

To view preposition policies for this device, follow these steps:

Step 1 In the navigation area, click Preposition.

The CifsAO > Preposition window appears. (See Figure 10-13.)

Figure 10-13 CifsAO > Preposition Window

The Preposition window contains a table that displays all the preposition policies assigned to this WAFS Edge device. For each policy, the following information is displayed:

•ID—ID number of the selected policy.

•Description—Descriptive name assigned to the policy.

•Root Directory—Source directory for the content being prepositioned.

•Schedule—Defined schedule for the policy.

•Started—When this policy was last invoked by the system.

•Duration—Elapsed time of the latest task.

•Status—Current status of the policy, updated every time the refresh button is clicked. If the task defined by the policy is currently being run, its status is In Progress. A preposition task in progress can be terminated.

•Termination reason—Reason the policy was terminated.

Step 2 Choose a policy in the table and click View to view a detailed task history (iterations of a selected policy).

The Preposition Task Details window appears. (See Figure 10-14.)

Figure 10-14 Preposition Task Details

The top half of the Preposition Policy window displays the following details about the selected policy:

•Create Date—When the policy was created.

•Last Modified—When the policy was last modified.

•Total size—Limit placed on the total size of the files being prepositioned, if any.

•Min file size—Minimum size of files in the root directory (and subdirectories if they are part of the preposition policy) that are affected by the policy.

•Max file size—Maximum size of files in the root directory (and subdirectories if they are part of the preposition policy) that are affected by the policy.

•Perform on—Which files to preposition from the selected location—those files that have changed since the last preposition, those files changed during a defined interval, or all files.

The lower half of the Preposition Policy window contains a table that displays the most recent tasks performed by the selected policy (up to the last 10 iterations), including the following information:

•Total data—Total amount of data to be transferred by the policy.

•# matching files—Number of files matching the defined filter of the policy.

•Amount copied—Total amount of data copied by the policy during its most recent run. (This amount may be less than the amount in the Total data field if the policy is currently in progress, or if the policy did not complete its run, for example, due to time constraints placed on its operation.)

•# files copied—Number of files copied by the policy during its most recent run.

•Throughput—Throughput achieved by the policy in kilobits per second (Kbps).

•Termination reason—Reason that the policy was terminated, if relevant. Policies can be terminated due to time or space constraints placed on the policy or to a decision by the administrator to manually terminate its operation.

Step 3 Click Close to return to the Policies window.

Note To update the information displayed in the Policies window, click Refresh.

Terminating a Preposition Task

You can terminate a preposition task that is in progress at any time. This action does not delete the preposition policy that generated the task; the system will still perform the task described by the policy when the next scheduled time arrives.

Note Do not terminate a preposition task if the device is not registered to a WAAS Central Manager.

To terminate a preposition task, follow these steps:

Step 1 In the Policies window, select a preposition policy with a status of In Progress and click Terminate. A confirmation message is displayed.

Step 2 Click Yes to terminate the task. If you click View to display the Preposition Policy window, the table that displays the task history contains a message indicating that the latest task was terminated by the administrator.

Managing a WAFS Core Device

The WAFS Core option in the navigation area allows you to monitor WAFS Core statistics and view log information. The WAFS Core option appears only if you are using WAFS legacy mode.

The WAFS Core option includes the following menu items:

•Monitoring—Allows you to view WAFS Core statistics in tables and graphs as described in the "Monitoring the Cisco WAE Component" section.

•Logs—Allows you to view the event log related to the WAFS Core. For more information, see the "Viewing Cisco WAE Logs" section.

Managing a WAFS Edge Device

The WAFS Edge menu item in the navigation area allows you to monitor preposition tasks, monitor WAFS Edge statistics, and view log information. The WAFS Edge option appears only if you are using WAFS legacy mode.

The WAFS Edge option includes the following menu items:

•Preposition—Allows you to monitor the progress of preposition policies created in the WAAS Central Manager GUI. In addition, you can optionally terminate preposition tasks. For more information, see the "Preposition Option" section. Preposition works the same for WAFS legacy mode and transparent CIFS accelerator mode.

•Monitoring—Allows you to view WAFS Edge device statistics in tables and graphs as described in the "Monitoring the Cisco WAE Component" section.

•Logs—Allows you to view the event log related to the WAFS Edge device. For more information, see the "Viewing Cisco WAE Logs" section.

Monitoring the WAE

The Monitoring option available for the Cisco WAE, WAFS Core, WAFS Edge, and transparent CIFS accelerator components enables you to view detailed tables that describe the current state of the WAE. It also provides graphs that display historical data about the selected components. These graphs enable you to track WAE statistics for a day, week, month, or an entire year.

Note WAE statistics and graphs are generated by the freeware MRTG utility. For details, go to http://people.ee.ethz.ch/~oetiker/webtools/mrtg/.

The monitoring options differ for each WAE component as described in Table 10-2.

Table 10-2 Monitoring Options by Component

Component
Monitored Statistics

Cisco WAE

CPU and disk drive utilization

Transparent CIFS accelerator

CIFS traffic and cache

WAFS Core

Connectivity

WAFS Edge

Connectivity, CIFS traffic, and cache


This section contains the following topics:

•Monitoring Graphs

•Monitoring the Cisco WAE Component

•Monitoring a WAFS Core

•Monitoring a Transparent CIFS Accelerator or a WAFS Edge Device

Monitoring Graphs

The WAAS software generates four historical graphs for each monitored statistic. Each graph presents a different range of time for the selected data as follows:

•Daily—Displays data for the past 24 hours. Each data point represents a 5-minute average.

•Weekly—Displays data for the past seven days. Each data point represents a 30-minute average.

•Monthly—Displays data for the past five weeks. Each data point represents a 2-hour average.

•Yearly—Displays data for the past 12 months. Each data point represents a one-day average.

The maximum value over the given time period and the current value for the statistic being monitored is also displayed below each of these graphs.

Viewing Options

You can view an index window of the daily graphs for all the monitored statistics available for a component, or you can view the four historical graphs for a particular statistic (for example, cache utilization) at once.

Figure 10-15 shows a sample screen when a user chooses to view the index graphs.

Figure 10-15 Sample Index Graph Window

Tip Each graph in an index window acts as a link. Clicking on the graph displays all four historical graphs for the selected statistic. For example, clicking the Request Optimization graph in the index graphs window displays the daily, weekly, monthly and yearly Request Optimization historical graphs. Clicking the Back button in the browser returns you to the index graphs.

Figure 10-16 shows a sample screen when a user chooses to view the historical graphs for a particular statistic.

Figure 10-16 Sample Historical Graph Window

Note Graphs can be printed using the Print command in your browser.

Monitoring the Cisco WAE Component

The Monitoring option for the Cisco WAE component displays a table with the statistics monitored on a WAE. From this table, you can display historical graphs that indicate the central processing unit (CPU) utilization and disk drive utilization on the WAE.

CPU utilization is a measure of the amount of bandwidth used by the CPU versus the total bandwidth available. The amount is expressed as a percentage. Disk drive utilization is a measure of the amount of disk space that is being used on all disk drives versus the total disk space available. This amount is also expressed as a percentage.

To monitor the WAE component, follow these steps:

Step 1 In the navigation area, click Monitoring under the Cisco WAE menu item.

The Cisco WAE Monitoring window appears. (See Figure 10-17.)

Figure 10-17 Cisco WAE Monitoring Window

Step 2 Do one of the following:

•Choose the statistic that you want to view (by clicking in its row), and then click View to display a popup window that contains the historical graphs for that statistic.

•Click View All to display the index window with the daily graphs for both statistics on the WAE component.

Monitoring a WAFS Core

The Monitoring option for the WAFS Core menu item displays the following two tabs:

•Connectivity—Displays a table of connectivity statistics for the WAFS Core. This table is displayed by default.

•Graphs—Displays a list of graphs that are available for the WAFS Core.

To monitor a WAFS Core, follow these steps:

Step 1 In the navigation area, click Monitoring under the WAFS Core component.

The Connectivity tab on the WAFS Core Monitoring window appears. (See Figure 10-18.)

Figure 10-18 WAFS Core Monitoring—Connectivity Tab

The Connectivity tab displays a table that contains the following data about the WAFS Core:

•ID—Alphanumeric system identifier for the WAFS Core.

•Cluster—Name of the core cluster to which this WAFS Core belongs, if any.

•Connected—Indicator of whether the WAFS Core is currently connected to () or disconnected from () its WAFS Edge devices.

•Total Sent Messages—Total number of messages sent from this WAFS Core since activation.

•Total Received Messages—Total number of messages received by this WAFS Core since activation.

•Total Bytes Sent—Total number of bytes sent from this WAFS Core since activation.

•Total Bytes Received—Total number of bytes received from this WAFS Core since activation.

Step 2 Click the Graphs tab. (See Figure 10-19.)

Figure 10-19 WAFS Core Monitoring - Graphs Tab

The following historical graphs are available for a WAFS Core component:

•Connected WAFS Edge counts—Number of WAFS Edge devices currently connected to the selected WAFS Core. This graph is useful for detecting WAFS Edge device disconnections.

•WAFS Core traffic—Total volume of traffic (in kilobits) between the WAFS Core and each of the WAFS Edge devices connected to it. The green line represents transmitted traffic; the blue line represents received traffic.

Step 3 Do one of the following:

•Choose the statistic that you want to view (by clicking in its row), and then click View to display a popup window that contains the historical graphs for that statistic.

•Click View All to display the index window with the daily graphs for both statistics on the WAFS Core component.

Monitoring a Transparent CIFS Accelerator or a WAFS Edge Device

Monitoring a transparent CIFS accelerator device or a WAFS Edge device is almost the same, except that the transparent CIFS accelerator does not monitor connectivity.

The Monitoring option displays the following tabs:

•Connectivity—Displays a table of connectivity statistics for the WAFS Edge device. This tab does not appear when using transparent CIFS accelerator mode.

•CIFS—Displays data about the status of the CIFS protocol and the selected device.

•Cache—Displays data about the device cache.

•Graphs—Displays a list of graphs that are available for the device.

Note The SNMP parameters displayed in the CIFS and Cache tabs are contained in a special MIB file.

To monitor a transparent CIFS accelerator or WAFS Edge device, follow these steps:

Step 1 In the navigation area, click Monitoring under the CifsAO or WAFS Edge menu.

The Monitoring window appears. (See Figure 10-20.) If you are using transparent CIFS accelerator mode, the Connectivity tab is not used and the CIFS tab is displayed first; skip to Step 2.

Figure 10-20 WAFS Edge Monitoring—Connectivity Tab

The Connectivity tab displays a table that contains the following data about the WAFS Edge device:

•ID—Alphanumeric system identifier for the WAFS Edge device.

•Cluster—Name of the Core cluster to which this WAFS Edge device is connected, if any.

•Connected—Indicator of whether the WAFS Edge device is currently connected to () or disconnected from () the WAFS Core.

•Total Messages Sent —Total number of messages sent from this WAFS Edge device since activation.

•Total Messages Received—Total number of messages received by this WAFS Edge device since activation.

•Total Bytes Sent—Total number of bytes sent from this WAFS Edge device since activation.

•Total Bytes Received—Total number of bytes received by this WAFS Edge device since activation.

Step 2 Click the CIFS tab.

The CIFS tab displays the following CIFS-related information:

•Total Time Saved—Total time saved by CIFS acceleration.

•Total KBytes read—Total number of kilobytes read by clients (both through the cache and remotely) from this device using the CIFS protocol.

•Total KBytes written—Total number of kilobytes written by clients to this device using the CIFS protocol.

•Remote requests count—Total number of client CIFS requests that were forwarded remotely over the WAN. The name of this statistic is a link that you can use to display its historical graphs (without first going to the Graphs tab). Local requests are also shown on these graphs.

•Local requests count—Total number of client CIFS requests handled locally by this device. The name of this statistic is a link that you can use to display its historical graphs (without first going to the Graphs tab). Remote requests are also shown on these graphs.

•Total remote time—Total amount of time, in milliseconds, spent by this device to process all client CIFS requests that were sent remotely over the WAN.

•Total local time—Total amount of time, in milliseconds, spent by this device to process all client CIFS requests that were handled locally.

•Connected sessions count—Total number of CIFS sessions connected on this device. The name of this statistic is a link that you can use to display its daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly graphs (without first going to the Graphs tab).

•Open files count—Total number of open CIFS files on this device. The name of this statistic is a link that you can use to display its daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly graphs (without first going to the Graphs tab).

•CIFS Command Statistics—Table of statistics on CIFS commands. For each command type, the table lists the total number of requests, the number of remote requests, the number of asynchronous requests, the average time in milliseconds spent by this device to process each request that was handled locally, and the average time in milliseconds spent by this device to process each request that was sent remotely over the WAN.

To reset the CIFS statistics, click the Reset CIFS Statistics button below the table.

Step 3 Click the Cache tab.

The Cache tab displays the following information:

•Maximum cache disk size—Maximum amount of disk space (in gigabytes) allocated to the WAFS device cache.

•Current cache disk usage—Current amount of disk space (in kilobytes) used by the WAFS device cache. The name of this statistic is a link that you can use to display its historical graphs (without first going to the Graphs tab).

•Maximum cache resources—Maximum number of resources (files and directories) allowed in the WAFS device cache.

•Current cache resources—Current number of resources contained in the WAFS device cache. The name of this statistic is a link that you can use to display its historical graphs (without first going to the Graphs tab).

•Evicted resources count—Number of resources that have been evicted from the cache since the device was started.

•Last eviction time—Time when a cache eviction last occurred.

•Cache size high watermark—Percentage of disk usage that causes the WAFS device to begin evicting resources.

•Cache size low watermark—Percentage of disk usage that causes the WAFS device to stop evicting resources.

•Cache resources high watermark—Percentage of total cache resources that causes the WAFS device to begin evicting resources.

•Cache resources low watermark—Percentage of total cache resources that causes the WAFS device to stop evicting resources.

•Last evicted resource age—Amount of time that the last-evicted resource spent in the WAFS device cache.

•Last evicted resource access time—Last time that the last-evicted resource was accessed.

Step 4 Click the Graphs tab (see Figure 10-21).

Figure 10-21 WAFS Edge Monitoring - Graphs Tab

The following historical graphs are available for the device:

•CIFS Edge - CIFS Core traffic—Total volume of traffic (in kilobytes) between the WAFS Edge device and each of the WAFS Cores connected to it. The green line represents transmitted traffic; the blue line represents received traffic. This item appears only if you are using WAFS legacy mode.

•CIFS Edge - Client Average Throughput—Total volume of traffic between the WAFS Edge device and the clients it serves, divided by total uptime (including idle time). Displayed in kilobytes per second. This item appears only if you are using WAFS legacy mode.

•Cache Disk Capacity—Amount of disk space (in megabytes) used by the WAFS device cache.

•Cache Utilization—Percentage of disk space and percentage of resources used by the cache, based on defined limits.

•Cached Objects—Total number of objects (files and directories) contained in the cache.

•Client Average Throughput—Total volume of traffic between the WAFS Edge device and the clients it serves, divided by total uptime (including idle time). Displayed in kilobytes per second. This item appears only if you are using CIFS transparent accelerator mode.

•Connected CIFS Core count—Number of WAFS Cores connected to the selected WAFS Edge device. This item appears only if you are using WAFS legacy mode.

Note The WAFS Edge device can be connected to multiple WAFS Cores for potential higher availability.

•Connection Statistics—Number of accelerated CIFS sessions on the device.

•File Optimization—Total number of open CIFS files.

•Request Optimization—Percentage of user requests answered by the cache (as opposed to sending a request remotely over the WAN to the file server for the user-requested content).

•Requests Count—Average rate of requests handled locally (client requests answered through the cache) and average rate of requests handled remotely (client requests answered through the remote file server). The request count is displayed in requests per second.

Step 5 Do one of the following actions:

•Choose a graph in the table and then click View to display a popup window with all four historical graphs for the selected statistic.

•Click View All to display the index window with the daily graphs for the WAFS Edge device.

Viewing WAE Logs

You can view event information logged by the Cisco WAE, CifsAO, WAFS Core, and WAFS Edge components. The event information available varies based on the component that you are viewing.

This section contains the following topics:

•WAE Logs

•Viewing Cisco WAE Logs

WAE Logs

You can configure what you want displayed for each log file and save the log to a file locally as described in the following sections:

•Setting Display Criteria

•Viewing Log Entries

•Saving Log File Information

Setting Display Criteria

All WAE logs allow you to set the criteria for the data that you want to display as shown in Figure 10-22.

Figure 10-22 WAE Log Data Criteria

To set the criteria for viewing log information, follow these steps:

Step 1 Choose the beginning date (year, month, and day) and time (hour and minutes using a 24-hour clock format) from the From drop-down list.

Step 2 Choose the ending date (year, month, and day) and time (hour and minutes using a 24-hour clock format) from the To drop-down list.

Step 3 (Optional) Choose the minimum severity level of events to display from the Log Level drop-down list.

By choosing the minimum severity level, all events with a severity level greater than that specified are displayed. The default is All.

Step 4 (Optional) Choose the number of events (one per line) to appear on a single page of the log from the Lines drop-down list.

The default is 100 events.

Step 5 (Optional) Enter a filter string by which the log can be further filtered.

Step 6 Click Update.

Viewing Log Entries

Each log entry contains the date and time that the event occurred, the severity level of the event, and a description containing the log message. The log message format varies based on the type of event.

The severity level of an event indicates the seriousness of the event. Six choices are defined and provide the follow information:

•All—Displays events of all severity levels.

•Debug—Indicates events have occurred that match those specified for debugging purposes.

•Info—Indicates an event occurred regarding the proper operation of the component. No user action is required with this type of event.

•Warning—Indicates a minor problem occurred on a component. The component should be able to overcome the incident without user intervention.

•Error—Indicates a problem occurred that affected the proper operation of the component. User intervention is likely required.

•Fatal—Indicates a severe problem occurred on a component that may have caused it to stop operating. User intervention is required.

Saving Log File Information

You can save a log as a text file and download it to your local drive.

To save a log as a text file, follow these steps:

Step 1 Set up your log with the date range and time frame that you want to save, using the From and To drop-down lists. (See the "Setting Display Criteria" section.)

Step 2 Set up the severity level of the events you want to view.

For more information, see the "Setting Display Criteria" section.

Step 3 Click Update.

Step 4 Click Download.

The File Download window appears.

Step 5 Click Save in the File Download window.

Step 6 Specify the directory where you want to save the log file.

Step 7 Click OK.

Viewing Cisco WAE Logs

Each WAE component generates its own log files.

The Cisco WAE component generates these logs:

•Manager log—Displays events related to the WAE Device Manager and WAAS Central Manager GUI components, such as configuration changes and WAE registrations and notifications that other WAE components were started or stopped.

•WAFS Watchdog log—Displays events related to the watchdog utility, which monitors the other application files inside the WAE and restarts them, if necessary.

The WAFS Core generates one log that displays all events related to WAFS Core operation. The WAFS Edge device also generates one log that displays all events related to the WAFS Edge operation. If you are using transparent CIFS accelerator mode, the CIFS accelerator generates one log that displays all events related to CIFS accelerator operation.

To view Cisco WAE, CIFS accelerator, WAFS Core, or WAFS Edge logs, follow these steps:

Step 1 In the navigation area, click the Logs option under the Cisco WAE, WAFS Core, WAFS Edge, or CifsAO component.

Figure 10-23 shows the Logs window for the Cisco WAE component.

Figure 10-23 Cisco WAE Component Logs Window

Step 2 If you selected the Cisco WAE, click the Manager or WAFS Watchdog tab to choose the log that you want to view.

Step 3 Set up your display criteria using the From, To, Level, and Lines drop-down lists. (See the "Setting Display Criteria" section.)

Step 4 (Optional) Set a filter on the log so that only events containing specific words or phrases are displayed by entering the relevant free text in the Filter text box.

Step 5 Click Update. The Logs window is refreshed according to your selected criteria.

Note Navigation arrows ( ) appear at the bottom of each log window when the number of events is greater than the number of lines selected per window.