CentreCOM 3600 Series Hub/Repeaters
5
Network Management
All manageable CentreCOM AT-3600 Series Repeaters are equipped with
network management agents. In a standalone configuration, the agent makes
the repeater a manageable node (or
hub
) on the network. In a department
concentrator, the Master module provides agent services for the entire
concentrator.
Should the Master module fail, the Backup takes over the Master functions
automatically. You can hot swap any module other than the Master to trace
faults or reconfigure the concentrator without network downtime. Refer to
Chapter 2 on page 15 for information on configuring concentrators and
Chapter 5 on page 55 for information on failure recovery.
Network management support is provided through an RS232 terminal port
(the Omega Agent) and through a Telnet session (to the Omega Agent) for
inexpensive local management. The SNMP agent also supports
industry-standard SNMP Network Management Stations.
Agent Software
Upgrades
The AT-3600 agent software is easy to upgrade through the firmware cassette
port. When you insert an optional AT-S4 firmware cassette into this port, the
new firmware is copied to the repeater’s onboard non-volatile flash memory at
power-up. Refer to Chapter 2 for information on AT-S4 capabilities and
installation.
Standard Agent
Software
Standard agent network management software includes:
❑
SNMP
❑
Management Information Base II (MIB II)
❑
Repeater MIB
❑
Out-of-band ASYNC ASCII terminal port (Omega)
❑
Remote network monitoring (Telnet) management (RFC 854)
SNMP.
SNMP, a component of the TCP/IP protocol suite, includes only three
commands: GET, GET NEXT and SET. These simple commands are
executed against a lengthy list of variables (or managed objects), called the
Management Information Base (MIB), within the repeater itself.
Should the Master (or top unit in the chassis) fail, the Backup (or second from
the top unit) automatically takes over all Master functions. You can hot swap
any module other than the active Master to trace faults or reconfigure the
concentrator without interrupting hub management functions.
❑
A limited set of management operations
❑
Definitions of manageable variables
❑
Data representations
SNMP has three fundamental operations which are, in turn, applied to
network parameters such as statistical counters and status indicators:
❑
Get
: retrieves a variable and the command
❑
GetNext
: retrieve the next, or entire, variable
❑
Set
: a command that writes values into a variable