- Preface
- Chapter 1: Overview
- Chapter 2: Licensing
- Chapter 3: Synchronizing Mobility Services Engines
- Chapter 4: Configuring High Availability
- Chapter 5: MSE Delivery Modes
- Chapter 6: Configuring and Viewing System Properties
- Chapter 7: Managing Users and Groups
- Chapter 8: Configuring Event Notifications
- Chapter 9: Context-Aware Service Planning and Verification
- Chapter 10: Working with Maps
- Chapter 11: Monitoring the System and Services
- Chapter 12: MSAP
- Chapter 13: Performing Maintenance Operations
- Appendix A
- Index
Configuring Event Notifications
With the Cisco Prime Infrastructure, you can define conditions that cause the mobility services engine to send notifications to specific listeners. This chapter describes how to define events and event groups and how to view event notification summaries.

Note The Mobility Services Engines, Synchronize Services, Synchronization History, High Availability, Context Aware Notifications, and MSAP pages from the Services tab is available only in the virtual domain in Release 7.3.
This chapter contains the following sections:
•Information About Event Notifications
•Adding and Deleting Event Groups
•Adding, Deleting, and Testing Event Definitions
•Viewing Event Notification Summary
•The Prime Infrastructure as a Notification Listener
Information About Event Notifications
•Event Group—Helps you to organize your event notifications.
•Event Definition—An event definition contains the condition that caused the event, the assets to which the event applies, and the event notification destination.
•Event Notification—A mobility services engine sends event notifications to registered listeners over the following transport mechanisms.
–Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)
–Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) mail
–Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
–Syslog
This section contains the following topics:
•"Viewing Event Notification Summary" section
•"Clearing Notifications" section
•"Notification Formats in XML" section
Viewing Event Notification Summary
The mobility services engine sends event notifications and does not store them. However, if the Prime Infrastructure is a destination of notification events, it stores the notifications it receives and groups them into the following seven categories:
•Absence (Missing)—The mobility services engine generates an absence event when an asset goes missing. In other words, the mobility services engine cannot detect the asset in the WLAN for the specified time.
•In/Out Area (Containment)—The mobility services engine generates a containment event when an asset moves in or out of a designated area.

Note You define a containment area (campus, building, or floor) in Monitor > Maps. You can define a coverage area using the Map Editor.
•Movement from Marker (Movement/Distance)—The mobility services engine generates a movement event when an asset is moved beyond a specified distance from a designated marker you define on a map.
•Location Changes—The mobility services engine generates location change events when a client station, asset tag, rogue client, or rogue access point changes its location.
•Battery Level—The mobility services engine generates battery level events for all tracked asset tags.
•Emergency—The mobility services engine generates an emergency event for a Cisco CX v.1-compliant asset tag when the panic button of the tag is triggered or the tag becomes detached, is tampered with, becomes inactive, or reports an unknown state. This information is reported and displayed only for Cisco CX v.1-compliant tags.
•Chokepoint Notifications—The mobility services engine generates an event when a tag is stimulated by a chokepoint. This information is reported and displayed only for Cisco CX v.1-compliant tags.

Note All element events are summarized hourly and daily.

Note The Track Group and events must be synchronized with a mobility services engine.
Clearing Notifications
A mobility services engine sends event notifications when it clears an event condition in one of the following scenarios:
•Missing (Absence)—Elements (clients, tags, rogue access points, or rogue clients) reappear.
•In/Out Area (Containment)—Elements move back in to or out of the containment area.
•Distance—Elements move back within the specified distance from a marker.
•Location Changes—Clear state does not apply to this condition.
•Battery Level—Tags are detected and operate with normal battery level.

Note In the Prime Infrastructure, the Notifications Summary page reflects whether notifications for cleared event conditions have been received.
Notification Message Formats
This section describes the notification message formats for XML and text and contains the following topics:
•"Notification Message Formats" section
•"Notification Formats in Text" section
Notification Formats in XML
This section describes the XML format of notification messages and contains the following topics:
•"Missing (Absence) Condition" section
•"In/Out (Containment) Condition" section
•"Chokepoint Condition" section
•"Emergency Condition" section

Note The XML format is part of a supported API. Cisco provides change notification as part of the Mobility Services Engine API program whenever the API is updated in the future.
Missing (Absence) Condition
Message format for element absence:
<AbsenceTrackEvent
missingFor="<time in secs entity has been missing>"
lastSeen="time last seen"
trackDefn="<name of track definition>"
entityType="Mobile Station | Tag | Rogue AP | Rogue Client"
entityID="<mac address"/>
Message format for the clear state:
<AbsenceTrackEvent
state="clear"
trackDefn="<name of track definition>"
entityType="Mobile Station | Tag | Rogue AP | Rogue Client"
entityID="<mac address"/>
For example:
<AbsenceTrackEvent state="set" missingFor="34" lastSeen="15:00:20 08 Jun 2009" trackDefn="absenceDef1" entityType="Mobile Station"
entityID="00:0c:f1:53:9e:c0"/>
<AbsenceTrackEvent state="clear" entityType="Tag"
trackDefn="absenceDef1" entityID="00:0c:cc:5b:fc:da"/>
In/Out (Containment) Condition
Message format for element containment:
<ContainmentTrackEvent
in="true | false"
trackDefn="<name of track definition>"
containerType="Floor | Area | Network Design | Building"
containerID="<fully quality name of container>"
entityType="Mobile Station | Tag | Rogue AP | Rogue Client"
entityID="<mac address"/>
Message format for the clear state:
<ContainmentTrackEvent
state="clear"
trackDefn="<name of track definition>"
entityType="Mobile Station | Tag | Rogue AP | Rogue Client"
entityID="<mac address"/>
For example:
<ContainmentTrackEvent in="true" trackDefn="myContainerRule1"
containerType="Area"
containerID="nycTestArea,5th Floor,Bldg-A,Rochester_Group,Rochester,"

Note The containerID string represents a coverage area called nycTestArea, located in the 5th floor of Bldg-A of the campus Rochester.
entityType="Tag" entityID="00:0c:cc:5b:fa:44"/>
<ContainmentTrackEvent state="clear" entityType="Tag"
trackDefn="myContainerRule1" entityID="00:0c:cc:5b:f8:ab"/>
Distance Condition
Message format for elements on the same floor:
<MovementTrackEvent
distance="<distance in feet at which the element was located>"
triggerDistance="<the distance specified on the condition"
reference="<name of the marker specified on the condition>"
trackDefn="<name of event definition>"
entityType="Mobile Station | Tag | Rogue AP | Rogue Client"
entityID="<mac address"/>
Message format for elements located on a different floor:
<MovementTrackEvent optionMsg="has moved beyond original floor"
reference="<name of the marker specified on the condition>"
trackDefn="<name of event definition>"
entityType="Mobile Station | Tag | Rogue AP | Rogue Client"
entityID="<mac address"/>
Message format for clear state:
<MovementTrackEvent
state="clear"
trackDefn="<name of event definition>"
entityType="Mobile Station | Tag | Rogue AP | Rogue Client"
entityID="<mac address"/>
For example:
<MovementTrackEvent distance="115.73819627990147" triggerDistance="60.0"
reference="marker2" trackDefn="distance2" entityType="Mobile Station"
entityID="00:0c:41:15:99:92"/>
<MovementTrackEvent optionMsg="has moved beyond original floor"
reference="marker2" entityType="Tag"
trackDefn="distance2"
entityID="00:0c:cc:5b:fa:4c"/>
<MovementTrackEvent state="clear" entityType="Tag"
Battery Level
Example:
<BatteryLifeTrackEvent lastSeen="10:28:52 08 Jun 2009" batteryStatus="medium" trackDefn="defn1" entityType="Tag" entityID="00:01:02:03:04:06"/>
Location Change
Example:
<MovementTrackEvent distance="158.11388300841898" triggerDistance="5.0"
reference="marker1" referenceObjectID="1" trackDefn="defn1" entityType="Mobile Station"
entityID="00:01:02:03:04:05"/>
Chokepoint Condition
Example:
<ChokepointTrackEvent
lastSeen="11:10:08 PST 08 Jun 2009"
chokepointMac="00:0c:cc:60:13:a3"
chokepointName= "chokeA3"
trackDefn="choke"
entityType="Tag"
entityID="00:12:b8:00:20:4f"/>
An example for the clear state follows:
<ChokepointTrackEvent
state="clear"
entityType="Tag"
trackDefn="choke"
entityID="00:12:b8:00:20:4f"/>
Emergency Condition
An example for element location follows:
<ChokepointTrackEvent
lastSeen="11:36:46 PST June 08 2009"
emergencyReason= "detached"
trackDefn="emer"
entityType="Tag"
entityID="00:12:b8:00:20:50"/>

Note Emergency events are never cleared.
Notification Formats in Text
When you specify that notification be sent in text format, the mobility services engine uses a plain-text string to indicate the condition:
Tag 00:02:02:03:03:04 is in Floor <floorName>
Tag 00:02:02:03:03:04 is outside Floor <floorName>
Client 00:02:02:03:09:09 is in Area <areaName>
RogueClient 00:02:02:08:08:08 is outside Building <buildingName>
Tag 00:02:02:03:03:06 has moved 105 feet where the trigger distance was 90 feet.
Tag 00:02:02:03:03:20 missing for 14 mins, last seen <timestamp>.

Note Cisco maintains the right to modify the text notification format without notice.

Note XML is the recommended format for systems that need to parse or analyze notification contents.
The Prime Infrastructure as a Notification Listener
The Prime Infrastructure acts as a notification listener.
The Prime Infrastructure translates the traps into user interface alerts and shows them in the following formats:
•Missing (Absence)
Absence of Tag with MAC 00:0c:cc:5b:e4:1b, last seen at 16:19:45 08 June 2009.
•In/Out (Containment)
Tag with MAC 00:0c:cc:5b:fa:44 is In the Area 'Rochester > Rochester > 5th Floor > nycTestArea'
•Distance
Tag with MAC 00:0c:cc:5b:fa:47 has moved beyond the distance configured for the marker 'marker2'.
Tag with MAC 00:0c:cc:5b:f9:b9 has moved beyond 46.0 ft. of marker 'marker2', located at a range of 136.74526528595058 ft.
•Battery Level
Tag 00:01:02:03:04:06 has medium battery, last seen 11:06:01 08 June 2009
•Location Change
Mobile Station 00:01:02:03:04:05 has moved
158.11388300841898ft, where the trigger distance was 5.0
Guidelines and Limitations
If the MAC address that you are using while adding an event definition is a partial MAC address, then it might cause a performance issue in the Prime Infrastructure.
Adding and Deleting Event Groups
This section describes how to add and delete event groups. Event groups help you organize your event notifications.

Note The Services > Context Aware Notifications page is available only in the root virtual domain.
This section contains the following topics:
Adding Event Groups
To add an event group, follow these steps:
Step 1 Choose Services > Context Aware Notifications.
Step 2 Choose Notification Definitions.
Step 3 From the Select a command drop-down list, choose Add Event Group. Click Go.
Step 4 Enter the name of the group in the Group Name text box.
Step 5 Click Save.
The new event group appears in the Event Settings page.
Deleting Event Groups
To delete an event group, follow these steps:
Step 1 Choose Services > Context Aware Notifications.
Step 2 Choose Notification Definitions.
Step 3 Select the event group to delete by selecting its corresponding check box.
Step 4 From the Select a command drop-down list, choose Delete Event Group(s). Click Go.
Step 5 Click OK to confirm deletion.
Step 6 Click Save.
Adding, Deleting, and Testing Event Definitions
An event definition contains information about the condition that caused the event, the assets to which the event applies, and the event notification destination.
This section describes how to add, delete, and test event definitions and contains the following topics:
Adding an Event Definition
The Prime Infrastructure enables you to add an event definition to a group. An event definition must belong to a particular group.
To add an event definition, follow these steps:
Step 1 Choose Services > Context Aware Notifications.
Step 2 From the left sidebar menu, choose Notification Definitions.
Step 3 Click the name of the group to which you want to add an event definition. An event settings page appears showing existing event definitions for the event group.
Step 4 From the Select a command drop-down list, choose Add Event Definition. Click Go.
Step 5 On the Conditions tab, add one or more conditions. For each condition you add, specify the rules for triggering event notifications.

Tip For example, to keep track of heart monitors in a hospital, you might add rules to generate notifications when the following occur: (1) the heart monitor is missing for one hour, (2) the heart monitor moves off its assigned floor, or (3) the heart monitor enters a specific coverage area within a floor. In this example, add three separate rules to address these occurrences.
To add a condition, follow these steps:
a. Click Add to add a condition that triggers a notification.
b. In the Add/Edit Condition dialog box, follow these steps:
1. Choose a condition type from the Condition Type drop-down list.
•If you chose Missing from the Condition Type drop-down list, enter the number of minutes after which a missing asset generates a notification. For example, if you enter 10 in this text box, the mobility services engine generates a missing asset notification if the mobility services engine has not located the asset for more than 10 minutes after the device has become inactive or is no longer in the system. This condition occurs when the controller detects its absence and informs the mobility services engine about it, or if the mobility services engine does not hear anything about this device from the controller for 60 minutes by default. This value is only configurable from the MSE command-line interface (accessible using cmdshell on the console) using the config mobile-node-inactive-in-minutes command for clients and
config tag-inactive-time-in-minutes command for tags. Proceed to Step e.
•If you choose In/Out from the Condition Type drop-down list, choose Inside of or Outside of, then click Select Area. Entry and exit of assets from the selected area is then monitored. In the Select dialog box, choose the area to monitor, then click Select. The area to monitor can be an entire campus, building within a campus, a floor in a building, or a coverage area (you can define a coverage area using the map editor). For example, to monitor part of a floor in a building, choose a campus from the Campus drop-down list, choose a building from the Building drop-down list, and choose the area to monitor from the Floor Area drop-down list. Then click Select. Proceed to Step e.
•If you chose Distance from the Condition Type drop-down list, enter the distance in feet from a designated marker beyond which an asset triggers an event notification. Click Select Marker. In the Select dialog box, choose the campus, building, floor, and marker from the corresponding drop-down lists, and click Select. For example, if you add a marker to a floor plan and set the distance in the Trigger If text box to 60 feet, an event notification is generated if the monitored asset moves farther than 60 feet away from the marker. Proceed to Step e.

Note You can create markers and coverage areas using the Map Editor. When you create marker names, make sure they are unique across the entire system.
•If you chose Battery Level from the Condition Type drop-down list, select the check box next to the appropriate battery level (low, medium, normal) that triggers a notification. Proceed to Step e.
•If you chose Location Change from the Condition Type drop-down list, proceed to Step e.
•If you chose Emergency from the Condition Type drop-down list, click the button next to the appropriate emergency (any, panic button, tampered, detached) that triggers a notification. Proceed to Step e.
•If you chose Chokepoint from the Condition Type drop-down list, proceed to Step c. There is only one trigger condition and it is displayed by default. No configuration required.
c. In the Trigger If text box, specify the time in minutes to trigger the notification. The default is 60 minutes.
d. Select either Recurring or Non-recurring from the Notification Frequency radio button. If the frequency is non-recurring, the MSE sends absence notification only once. For recurring frequency, the MSE sends an absence notification periodically until the device becomes present again. Here period refers to the configured value in the absence definition.
e. From the Apply To drop-down list, choose the type of asset (Any, Clients, Tags, Rogue APs, Rogue Clients, or Interferers) for which a notification is generated if the trigger condition is met.

Note If you choose Any from the Apply to drop-down list, the battery condition is applied to all tags, clients, rogue access points, and rogue clients.

Note Emergency and chokepoint notifications apply only to Cisco-compatible extension (CX) tags Version 1 or later.
f. The Match By drop-down list contains the following choices, from left to right:
•Choose the matching criteria (MAC Address, Asset Name, Asset Group, or Asset Category) from the first drop-down list.
•Choose the operator (Equals or Like) from the second drop-down list.
•Enter the relevant text into the text box based on the Match By criteria you chose.
The following examples describe the asset matching criteria that you can specify:
–If you choose MAC Address from the first drop-down list, choose Equals from the second drop-down list, and enter a MAC address (for example 12:12:12:12:12:12) in the text box, the event condition applies to the element whose MAC address is 12:12:12:12:12:12 (exact match).
–If you choose MAC Address from the first drop-down list, choose Like from the second drop-down list, and enter 12:12 in the text box, the event condition applies to elements whose MAC address starts with 12:12.

Note If the MAC address is a partial MAC address, then it might cause a performance issue in the Prime Infrastructure.
g. Click Add to add the condition you have just defined.

Note If you are defining a chokepoint, you must select the chokepoint after you add the condition.
Defining a Chokepoint
To select a chokepoint, do the following:
Step 1 Choose Chokepoint from the Condition Type drop-down list in the Add/Edit Condition dialog box.
a. Choose Area type, Campus, and Outdoor Area from the appropriate drop-down lists.
b. Choose a Chokepoint from the menu that appears.
The Add/Edit Condition dialog box reappears and the location path (Campus > Building > Floor) for the chokepoint auto-populates the entry text box next to the Select Checkpoint button.
Step 2 On the Destination and Transport tab, follow these steps to add one or more destinations to receive event notifications and to configure the transport settings:
a. To add a new destination, click Add. The Add/Edit Destination and Transport dialog box appears.
b. Click Add New.
c. In the dialog box that appears, enter the IP address or hostname of the system that receives event notifications, and click OK.
The new entry is placed in the right column.
The recipient system must have an event listener running to process notifications. By default, when you create an event definition, the Prime Infrastructure adds its IP address as the destination.
d. To select a destination for notifications, highlight one or more IP addresses in the text area on the right, and click Select to add the IP addresses to the text area on the left.
e. From the Message Format radio button, select either XML or Plain Text as the message format.

Note If you select Prime Infrastructure as the destination for notifications, you must select the XML format.
f. Choose one of the following transport types from the Transport Type drop-down list:
–SOAP—Simple Object Access Protocol. Use SOAP to send notifications over HTTP/HTTPS and to be processed by web services on the destination.
Specify whether to send notifications over HTTPS by selecting its corresponding check box. Enter the destination port number in the Port Number text box.
–Mail—Use this option to send notifications through e-mail.
Choose the protocol for sending the mail from the Mail Type drop-down list. Enter the following: username and password (if Authentication is enabled), name of the sender, prefix to add to the subject line, e-mail address of recipient, and a port number if necessary.
–SNMP—Simple Network Management Protocol. Use this option to send notifications to SNMP-capable devices.
If you selected SNMP Version v2c, you are prompted to enter the SNMP community string in the SNMP Community text box and the applicable port number in the Port Number text box.
If you selected SNMP Version v3, you are prompted to enter the username, security name, choose the authentication type from the drop-down list, enter the authentication password, choose the privacy type from the drop-down list, and enter the privacy password.
–Syslog—Specifies the system log on the destination system as the recipient of event notifications. Enter the notification priority in the Priority text box, the name of the facility, and the port number on the destination system.
g. To enable HTTPS, select the Enable check box.
h. The Port Number auto-populates.
i. Click Save.
Step 3 On the General tab, follow these steps:
a. Select the Admin Status Enabled check box to enable event definition (disabled by default).
b. Set the event definition priority by choosing a number from the Priority drop-down list. Zero is highest.

Note An event definition with a higher priority is serviced before event definitions with a lower priority.
c. Choose the frequency of notifications:
1. Select the All the Time check box to continuously report events. Proceed to Step g.
2. Unselect the All the Time check box to select the day and time of the week that you want event notifications sent. Days of the week and time text boxes appear for selection. Proceed to Step d.
d. Select the check box next to each day that you want the event notification to be sent.
e. From the Apply From drop-down list, choose a start time for the event notification. The possible values are hour, minute, and AM or PM.
f. From the Apply Until drop-down list, choose an end time for the event notification. The possible values are selecting the hour, minute, and AM or PM.
g. Click Save.
Step 4 Verify that the new event definition is listed for the event group (Services > Context Aware Notifications > Notification Settings > Group Name).
Deleting an Event Definition
To delete one or more event definitions from the Prime Infrastructure, follow these steps:
Step 1 Choose Services > Context Aware Notifications.
Step 2 Choose Notification Definitions.
Step 3 Click the name of the group from which you want to delete an event definition.
Step 4 Select the event definition that you want to delete by selecting its corresponding check box.
Step 5 From the Select a command drop-down list, choose Delete Event Definition(s). Click Go.
Step 6 Click OK to confirm that you want to delete the selected event definition.
Testing Event Definitions
You can use the Prime Infrastructure to verify that the mobility services engine is sending an event notification over the transport protocol you have specified in an event definition. The mobility services engine sends three fictitious event notifications (absence, containment, and distance) to the destination you have specified in the event definition. The messages contain dummy MAC addresses.
To test one or more event notifications of an event definition, follow these steps:
Step 1 Choose Services > Context Aware Notifications.
Step 2 Choose Notification Settings.
Step 3 Click the name of the group containing the event definitions that you want to test.
Step 4 Select the event definitions that you want to test by selecting their corresponding check boxes.
Step 5 From the Select a command drop-down list, choose Test-Fire Event Definition(s). Click Go.
Step 6 Click OK to confirm that you want to test the event notifications.
Step 7 Ensure that notifications were sent to the designated recipient.
Viewing Event Notification Summary
To view event notifications summary, follow these steps:
Step 1 Choose Services > Context Aware Notifications.
The Prime Infrastructure shows a summary of event notifications for each of the seven event notification categories.

Note Emergency and chokepoint notifications are reported and displayed only for Cisco CX v.1-compliant tags.
Step 2 To view event notifications for a monitored asset, click one of its corresponding links.
For example, to view absence events for client stations generated in the last hour, click the link in the Last Hour column for the Client Stations entry in the Absence (Missing) list.