Provisioning Devices Using Admin UI

This chapter describes how to configure devices using the Prime Cable Provisioning Admin UI. Use the Devices menu to provision and manage various devices. You can:

Device Management

The Manage Devices page appears when you click the Devices tab on the primary navigation bar. You can also click the Devices link on the Main Menu to get to the Manage Devices page.

Searching for Devices

Using Prime Cable Provisioning, you can search for device information in a number of ways.

To select the search type, from the Manage Devices page, click the Search Type drop-down list. Subsequent search pages contain screen components that may be unique to the search type that you selected.

The Manage Devices page uses two separate but related areas to generate search results that allow you to manage the devices in your network. These areas are the:

  • Search Type drop-down list, which defines which search to perform.

  • An additional value field, which qualifies the search type that you selected. These fields include IP Address, MAC Address or MAC Address wildcard, Group Name (Group Type), and Owner ID.

Some searches that you can perform allow the use of a wildcard character (*) to enhance the search function. Prime Cable Provisioning provides specific wildcards for each search, as described in Table 1.


Note

We do not recommend using the wildcard search (*) in systems that support hundreds of thousands, or more, devices. Such a search can return thousands of results, and use extensive system resources so as to impact performance.

Table 1. Searches Supported for Device Management

Menu Search

Search Type Option

DUID Search

Searches using the DHCP Unique Identifier (DUID) of a device in an IPv6 environment. The accepted format for a DUID is a two-octet type code represented in network byte order, followed by a variable number of octets that make up the identifier; for example, 00:03:00:01:02:03:04:05:07:a0. See Troubleshooting Devices by Device ID , for information on how you can effectively use this search criteria.

FQDN Search

Searches by using the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) associated with the device that is assigned by the DNS Server. This search is especially useful when the device MAC address is unknown. For example, www.myhost.example.com is a fully qualified domain name. Where myhost identifies the host, example identifies the second-level domain, and .com identifies the third-level domain.

To search for a device with the FQDN IGW-1234.EXAMPLE.COM, you can try:

  • *.example.com

  • *.com

  • *

IP Address Search

Searches by returning all devices on the network that currently have the specified DHCP leased IP address. Wildcard searches are not supported. You must enter the complete IP address.

For example, to search for a device with the IP address 10.10.10.10, you must enter 10.10.10.10.

MAC Address Search

Searches by using the precise MAC address for a specific modem or all devices with a specific vendor-prefix that unambiguously identifies the equipment vendor. The vendor-prefix is the first three octets of the MAC address. For example, for MAC address 1,6,aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff, the vendor-prefix is “aa:bb:cc”. Therefore, if you perform a MAC address search, you can identify the manufacturer and the type of device. See Troubleshooting Devices by Device ID , for information on how you can effectively use this search criteria.

Group Search

Searches devices that are part of a particular group or group type.

Owner ID Search

Searches by using the owner ID associated with the device. The owner ID may identify the service subscriber’s account number, for example. This search function does not support wildcard searching. You must enter the complete owner ID.

For example, to search for a device with the owner ID 100000000000xxxxx, you must enter 100000000000xxxxx.

Provisioning Group Search

Searches by using the provisioning group to which the device belongs.

Registered Class of Service Search

Searches by using the Class of Service that a device has been provisioned with.

Registered DHCP Criteria Search

Searches for devices that belong to certain DHCP Criteria.

Related Class of Service Search

Searches by using both the registered and selected Class of Service.

Related DHCP Criteria Search

Searches using both the registered and selected DHCP Criteria.

Selected Class of Service Search

Searches by using the Class of Service selected by the RDU for a device that, for one reason or another, cannot retain its registered Class of Service.

Selected DHCP Criteria Search

Searches using the DHCP Criteria selected by the RDU for a device that, for one reason or another, cannot retain its registered DHCP Criteria.


Note

Normally, the Related and Selected Class of Service and the Related and Selected DHCP Criteria are identical. If they are not, you should investigate and modify the Selected Class of Service/DHCP Criteria to match the Related Class of Service/DHCP Criteria.

A Page Size drop-down list on the Manage Devices page lets you limit the number of search results that display per page. You can select 25, 50, or 75 results for display. If the number of results returned for a search exceeds the number selected, a screen prompt appears at the lower left corner of the page. These controls let you scroll backward or forward one page at a time, or to select a specific page.

A maximum of 1,000 results are returned for any query, with a maximum of 75 results appearing per page. To change the default maximum:

  1. Change the /adminui/maxReturned property in the BPR_HOME/rdu/conf/adminui.properties file.

  2. Restart the Prime Cable Provisioning Tomcat process for the administrator user interface: 

    
# /etc/init.d/bprAgent restart adminui


Searching for devices returns results under the following headings or links that appear on the page:

  • Identifier—Identifies all devices matching the search criteria. Each of the identifiers that appear links to another page from which you can modify the device.

  • Device Type—Displays the available device types. Available selections include:

    • CableHome MAN-Data

    • CableHome MAN-WAN

    • DOCSIS Modem

    • Computer

    • PacketCable Multimedia Terminal Adapter (MTA)

    • Set-top box (STB)

    • eRouter

    • RPD

  • Status—Identifies whether or not the device is provisioned. A provisioned device is one that has been registered using the application programming interface (API), or the administrator user interface, and has booted on the network.

  • Details—Displays all available details for the selected device. For additional information, see Viewing Device Details.

Viewing Device Details

You can view the details of any device identified in the search results. To view any device details, select the device and click Details.


Note

The information that appears in the View Device Details page largely depends on the type of device you choose. The sample fields listed in Table 1 identify the details that typically appear for most devices.

Table 2. View Device Details Page

Field or Button

Description

Device Details

Device Type

Identifies the device type; for example, a DOCSIS modem.

MAC Address

Identifies the MAC address of the device. This is an active link, if clicked, displays the appropriate Modify Device page of this MAC address.

DUID

Identifies the DUID of the device. This is an active link, if clicked, displays the appropriate Modify Device page of this DUID address.

FQDN

Identifies the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) for the device; for example, IGW-1234.EXAMPLE.COM.

Host Name

Identifies the host. For example, in the FQDN description above, IGW-1234 is the hostname.

Domain Name

Identifies the domain within which the host resides. For example, in the FQDN description above, EXAMPLE.COM is the domain name.

Owner ID

Specifies the Object Identifier, which is the value that identifies a specific SNMP Object in the MIB database.

Revision Number

Identifies the OID revision numbers that are validated before processing.

Behind Device

Identifies the device that is behind this device. This is an active link, if clicked, displays the appropriate Modify Device page of the behind device. You can further view the details of this device using the view details icon.

Provisioning Group

Identifies the provisioning group to which the device has been pre-assigned or assigned automatically. This is an active link that, if clicked, displays the Provisioning Group Details page.

Registered DHCP Criteria

Identifies the DHCP Criteria used. Except in the case of the default DHCP Criteria, this is an active link that, if clicked, displays the appropriate Modify DHCP Criteria page. If you select the default DHCP Criteria, the DHCP Criteria that is configured as the default on the Systems Defaults page is applied.

Security Domain

Identifies the RBAC domain assigned to an entity (such as Device, CoS, DHCP Criteria), in case Instance Level Access control is enabled.

Device Properties

Identifies any properties, other than those that appear on this page, that can be set for this device. This field includes the display of custom properties.

Device Provisioned State

Specifies if the device is provisioned. A device is provisioned only when it is registered and has booted on the network.

Device Registered State

Identifies if the device is registered.

Client Identifier

Identifies the client identification used by the device in its DHCP messages.

Client Request Host Name

Identifies the hostname that the client requests in its DHCP messages.

Registered Class of Service

Identifies the Class of Service assigned to the device. This is an active link that, if clicked, displays the appropriate Modify Class of Service page.

If a different Class of Service has been selected for the device by extension, an additional field with Selected Class of Service appears.

Owner Identifier

Identifies the device. This may be a user ID or an account number; the field may also be blank.

Detected Properties

Identifies properties returned by the RDU device-detection extensions when configuration for the device is generated.

Selected Properties

Identifies properties returned by the RDU service-level selection extensions for the detected device type when the configuration for the device is generated.

Is Behind Required Device

Specifies “false” if the DeviceDetailsKeys.IS_BEHIND_REQUIRED_DEVICE property has been used to establish a required Cable Modem and the service-level selection extension determines that this device did not boot behind the required Cable Modem.

Is In Required Provisioning Group

Specifies “false” if the IPDeviceKeys.MUST_BE_IN_PROV_GROUP property has been used to establish a required provisioning group and the service-level selection extensions determine that this device did not boot in the required provisioning group.

Selected Access

Identifies the access granted to the device by the service-level selection extensions:

  • REGISTERED—Indicates that the device was registered and met requirements for access.

  • PROMISCUOUS—Indicates that the device’s provisioning will be based on policies assigned to its Cable Modem.

  • DEFAULT—Indicates that the device will be provisioned with default access for its device type.

  • OTHER—Not used by the default extensions built into Prime Cable Provisioning and is provided for use by custom extensions.

Selected Class of Service

Identifies the name of the Class of Service used to generate the configuration for the device. This is an active link that, if clicked, displays the appropriate Modify Class of Service page.

Selected DHCP Criteria

Identifies the name of the DHCP Criteria used to generate the configuration for the device. This is an active link that, if clicked, displays the appropriate Modify DHCP Criteria page.

Selected Explanation

Provides a textual description of why the service-level selection extensions selected the access they granted the device. For example, the device may have been granted default access because it did not boot in its required provisioning group.

Selected Reason

Identifies why the service-level selection extensions selected the access they granted the device as an enumeration code. The possible values are:

  • NOT_BEHIND_REQUIRED_DEVICE

  • NOT_IN_REQUIRED_PROV_GROUP

  • NOT_REGISTERED

  • OTHER

  • PROMISCUOUS_ACCESS_ENABLED

  • REGISTERED

  • RELAY_NOT_IN_REQUIRED_PROV_GROUP

  • RELAY_NOT_REGISTERED

Most of these indicate violations of requirements for granting registered or promiscuous access, resulting in default access being granted.

Related Group Name (Group Type)

Identifies the groups to which this device is related. This is an active link that, if clicked, displays the appropriate Modify Group page. See Managing Groups.

DHCPv4 Information

Note 

This section does not appear unless the device has discovered DHCPv4 data.

DHCP Inform Dictionary

Identifies additional information that the Cisco Prime Network Registrar extensions send to the RDU when requesting the generation of a configuration. This is for internal Prime Cable Provisioning use only.

DHCP Request Dictionary

Identifies the DHCP Discover or DHCP Request packet details sent from the Network Registrar extensions to the RDU when requesting the generation of a configuration.

DHCP Response Dictionary

This field is for internal Prime Cable Provisioning use only; it should always be empty.

DHCP Environment Dictionary

This field is for internal Prime Cable Provisioning use only; it should always be empty.

Lease v4 Information

Note 

This section does not appear unless the device has discovered Lease v4 data.

IP Address

Identifies the IPv4 address of the device.

DHCP Lease Properties

Identifies the lease properties, along with an IPv4 update, that Network Registrar sends to the RDU.

DHCPv6 Information

Note 

This section does not appear unless the device has discovered DHCPv6 data.

DHCPv6 Inform Dictionary

Identifies additional information that the Cisco Prime Network Registrar extensions send to the RDU when requesting the generation of a configuration. This is for internal Prime Cable Provisioning use only.

DHCPv6 Request Dictionary

Identifies the DHCP Discover or DHCP Request packet details sent from the Network Registrar extensions to the RDU when requesting the generation of a configuration.

DHCPv6 Relay Request Dictionary

Identifies DHCP packet details sent from the Network Registrar extensions to the RDU when requesting the generation of a configuration. This data, however, is derived from the CMTS, and includes information on the CMTS, and the DOCSIS version that the CMTS uses.

DHCPv6 Response Dictionary

This field is for internal Prime Cable Provisioning use only; it should always be empty.

DHCPv6 Environment Dictionary

This field is for internal Prime Cable Provisioning use only; it should always be empty. But if you set a value for the Attributes from Environment Dictionary on the Network Registrar default (Configuration > Defaults > NR Defaults) page, that value appears here.

Lease v6 Information

Note 

This section does not appear unless the device has discovered Lease v6 data.

IP Address

Identifies the IPv6 address of the device.

DHCPv6 Lease Properties

Identifies the lease properties, along with an IPv6 update, that Network Registrar sends to the RDU.

Technology-Specific Information

Note 

The technology-specific information identifies only data that is relevant for the technologies you are licensed to use.

XGCP Ports

Identifies the ports on which the Gateway Control Protocol is active.

DOCSIS Version

Identifies the DOCSIS version currently in use.


Note

Only when dual stack mode is enabled both v4 and v6 data (i.e., DHCPv4, DHCPv6, Lease v4, and Lease v6 information) is displayed.

Managing Devices

The Devices menu lets you add devices to the RDU database and update preprovisioned data. Device management includes:

  • Adding, deleting, and modifying RDU devices records

  • Regenerating configurations

  • Relating devices to management objects, such as Provisioning Group, Class of Service, and Group.


Note

If the computer has the option to restrict roaming from one modem to another, and the modem is replaced, the computer’s MAC address for the modem must also be changed.

This section describes how to perform various device management functions on new or existing devices. Several information fields appear consistently in all device management pages. These fields include:

  • Device Type—When adding a device, this is a drop-down list that identifies the available device types you can create within Prime Cable Provisioning. Available selections, as they appear on screen, include:

    • CableHomeWanData

    • CableHomeWanMan

    • Computer

    • DOCSISModem

    • PacketCableMTA

    • eRouter

    • STB


    Note

    When modifying a device, the device type cannot be edited or changed.

  • MAC Address—Identifies the MAC address of the device.

    Enter the MAC address of the device being added in this field. For example, the device with MAC address "1,6,aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff" can be searched by entering the address in the following ways:

    • 1,6,aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff or1,6,aa:bb:cc:*

    • aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff or aa:bb:cc:*

    • aabb.ccdd.eeff or aabb.cc*

    You can use a wild card character (*) to enhance the search function. While entering the MAC address of the device, ensure that you enter the commas (,), colons (:) and wild card (*) appropriately.

  • DUID—Identifies the DUID of the device.

    Enter the DUID of the device being added in this field. When doing this, ensure that you enter the colons (:) appropriately. For example, 00:03:00:01:02:03:04:05:06:a0.

  • Host Name—Identifies the device host. For example, from an FQDN of node.example.com, node is the hostname.

  • Domain Name—Identifies the domain within which the host resides. For example, from an FQDN of node.example.com, example.com is the domain name.

  • Owner Identifier—Identifies the device by using something other than the hostname. This may be a user ID, or an account number; for example, 1000000000000000000. You can also leave this field blank.

  • Registered Class of Service—Specifies the Class of Service that the device is provisioned with; for example, the default option or a Class of Service that you defined.

  • Registered DHCP Criteria—Specifies the DHCP Criteria that the device is provisioned with; for example, the default option or a DHCP Criteria that you defined.

Adding Device Records

To add a device record:

Procedure
Step 1

From the Manage Devices page, click Add.
Step 2

Choose the device type from the options available in the drop-down list.
Step 3

Enter details for the other fields on the page, such as MAC address, DUID, and hostname.
Step 4

Choose the Class of Service, and the DHCP Criteria registered for the device.

Note 
The status of the device added from the Admin UI remains in unprovisioned state even after assigning the Class of Service, and the DHCP Criteria.
Step 5

In addition to the values that you provided for the device earlier, you can optionally add new values for existing property name/value pairs.

  • Property Name—Identifies the name of the custom or built-in device property.

  • Property Value—Identifies the value of the property.
Step 6

Click Submit.

Deleting Devices

Deleting device records is a simple process, but one that you should use carefully. To undo the delete, you must restore a previously backed-up database or re-add the device. If restoration of a backed-up database becomes necessary, see Database Restore.

To delete a device record, locate the device that you want to delete and click Delete.

Regenerating Device Configurations

The Regenerate button or API operation forces immediate regeneration of configurations for a device that are sent to the DPEs in the device's provisioning group.

Normally, the process of regenerating the configuration is automatically triggered following changes to the device, Class of Service, or other such impacting changes. However, after a change to a Class of Service, the system takes time to regenerate configurations for all devices. You can use the Regenerate button to expedite regeneration of configurations for a given device; this option is especially useful during proactive troubleshooting.

To regenerate a configuration for a device:

Procedure
Step 1

From the Manage Devices page, locate the device for which you want to regenerate a configuration. You can use one of the search types for this purpose.

Step 2

Check the check box to the left of the device.
Step 3

Click Regenerate.

The RDU regenerates a configuration for the specific device.

Relating and Unrelating Devices

The concept of relating devices is similar to that of Class of Service or DHCP Criteria inasmuch as a device is related to a specific Class of Service or to a specific DHCP Criteria. The significant difference is that the Class of Service and DHCP Criteria are considered to be predefined groups and that you use groups to group devices into arbitrary groups that you define.

In this context, the Relate function lets you associate a device, using its MAC address or DUID, to a specific group, which is in turn associated with a specific group type.

By relating a device to a specific group, information indicating that the device is related to a specific group is stored in the database. If you relate the device to the predefined system-diagnostics (system) group, you can use available information to troubleshoot potential problems.

Relating a Device to a Group

You can relate and unrelate only one device at a time from the administrator user interface.

To relate a device:

Procedure
Step 1

From the Manage Devices page, locate the device that you want to relate to a group. You can use one of the search types for this purpose.

Step 2

Check the check box to the left of the device.
Step 3

Click Relate. The Relate Device to Group page appears.

Step 4

Select the group type from the drop-down list and the group from the list of defined groups.

Note 

To select multiple groups from the Groups list, press Control or Shift.

Step 5

Click Submit .

To verify if the device is related to the group you specified, click the View Details icon corresponding to the device. On the Device Details page that appears, check the status against Related Group Name (Group Type).

Unrelating a Device from a Group

To unrelate a device from a group:

Procedure
Step 1

From the Manage Devices page, locate the device that you want to unrelate from a group.
Step 2

Check the check box corresponding to the device identifier, and click the Unrelate button.

Step 3

From the list of defined groups, select the group from which you want to unrelate the device.

Note 

To select multiple groups from the Groups list, press Control or Shift.

Step 4

Click Submit. The Manage Devices page appears.

Searching Devices in a Group

To search for devices belonging to a particular group:

Procedure
Step 1

From the Manage Devices page, select the Group Search option from the drop-down list under Search Type.
Step 2

From the Group Name (Group Type) drop-down list, select the name of the group to which the devices are associated.
Step 3

Click Search.

The devices related to the group appear.

Resetting Devices

The Reset button lets you reboot any selected device.

To reset a device:

Procedure
Step 1

From the Manage Devices page, locate the device that you want to reboot. You can use one of the search types for this purpose.
Step 2

Check the check box corresponding to the device.
Step 3

Click Reset .

The device reboots.