1. What are the tools provided
by Simulation Toolkit? Can each tool function as a separate application?
The tools provided by WebNMS Simulation Toolkit are as follows:
SNMP Agent Simulator : To simulate a standalone SNMP agent.
TL1 Agent Simulator: To simulate a standalone TL1 Agent.
Network Designer: To simulate a network with multiple SNMP,TL1,TFTP,FTP, Telnet and Cisco IOS devices.
Network Recorder: To record and replay real SNMP networks.
SNMP Trap Stormer: To simulate SNMPv1/v2 traps.
SNMP Trap Recorder: To record and replay SNMP traps
NMP MIB Browser: To test the simulated SNMP agent.
NMPv3 Config Tool: To configure the SNMP v3 agent.
TL1 Message Builder: To create a TCS file.
TL1 Craft Interface: To test the simulated TL1 agent.
Yes. Each tool can function as a separate application. You can
use the .bat/.sh file in the <Simulator Home>/bin directory
to run each application separately.
2. What markets (or
customers) does Simulation Toolkit serve?
Testing departments can test management applications by
simulating large, complex network environments with SNMP and TL1
devices without requiring large budgets.
Management application developers can develop their applications
in parallel with agent development through simulation of device
prototypes.
Enterprises can evaluate the suitability of applications
with anticipated failure and growth scenarios or qualify purchases
before deployment.
Equipment Manufacturers can demonstrate how their hardware
scales and how its management application is used.
Marketing and Sales can demonstrate the capabilities of
their network management product easily and effectively.
Simulations can be used to train network operators, administrators,
and technicians.
End-users can easily yet exhaustively evaluate new management products
prior to purchase, and customize them after purchase.
3. What is the process of licensing
a copy of WebNMS Simulation Toolkit ?
There are two types of licenses for WebNMS Simulation Toolkit
Trial User License
Permanent License
WebNMS provides an Evaluation period for 30 days on the trial
copy that can be extended if required. The evaluation copy is a
fully functional version of the product but provides certain restrictions
on the number of nodes that can be simulated. WebNMS will provide
a Registered License after you purchase the product.
4. What are the restrictions imposed
on the evaluation version?
The evaluation copy is a fully functional version of the product
but provides certain restrictions on the number of nodes that can
be simulated. The evaluation version has the following restrictions:
Network Simulator:
Restricted to 25 SNMP devices , 25 TL1 devices, 25 TFTP devices,
25 Cisco IOS devices and 25 Telnet devices.
Response for first 2 SNMP group nodes per device.( first two
nodes that get the request) and first five TL1 Command codes that
get the request.
Allows configuration of 3 traps per SNMP device.
Allows configuration of 3 input based Autonomous messages and
3 timer based autonomous messages per TL1 device.
SNMP Agent Simulator:
Response only for the first two group nodes requested.
Allows configuration of 3 traps and 3 Informs
TL1 Agent Simulator:
Response only for the first five Command Codes.
Allows configuration of 3 input based Autonomous messages and
3 timer based autonomous messages.
5. Can a simulated network
configuration be copied from one platform to another ?
Yes, the Network Designer tool allows you to package the network
that you have created with the desired configurations and install
it in any other system having Simulation Toolkit.
6.Will Simulation
Toolkit work with any management application?
Yes, Simulation Toolkit will work with any management application
which supports SNMP and TL1 protocol and IPv4 or IPv6 Address can be assigned to the devices.
9. What is the maximum
SNMP packet size that the simulator supports?
The maximum SNMP packet size supported in Network Designer is 20000
bytes. That is, in a single PDU, you will be able to send/receive
a maximum of 20000 bytes.
10. Is it possible to control the simulation
running in a machine from another machine ? For example, start/stop/set
config/send trap etc. ?
Simulation Toolkit provides "RMI support" that enables
management of agents and network through RMI. The RMI client API
methods can be used to programatically start/stop individual SNMP/TL1
devices in the network, send SNMP v1/v2/v3 traps and TL1 autonomous
messages, update values for a specific SNMP/TL1 device in the network,
and so on.
11. How to start the simulator, if Simulation
Toolkit is installed in a system with multiple NIC (Network Interface
cards)?
If your system has multiple interface cards installed, the following
configurations must be made before starting the simulator.
For Windows
The order in which the Interface must be used is specified in
the Network and Dial-up Connections folder . Select this folder.
Go to Advanced Settings option in Advanced menu and change the
order of priority.
For Linux / Solaris
Use the command /sbin/ifconfig to check the valid interface
name configured in your system.
Edit CreateVIP.sh file in <SimulatorHome>/bin/cmdline
directory with this interface name. For example, if the interface
name is eth0, edit the file as follows: /sbin/ifconfig eth0:$count
$ip netmask 255.255.255.0 up
Now, run the CreateVIP.sh file to create the virtual IPv4 addresses
manually before starting the network.
12. Is is possible to simulate proxy agents
using simulation toolkit?
Yes, Simulation Toolkit supports SNMP Proxy Agent Simulation to
simulate multiple SNMP agents with same IPv4 or IPv6 Address, but with different
community strings. This utility can be started from command line
by executing the StartSnmpProxyAgent.bat/.sh in <Simulator_Home>/bin/cmdline
directory.
You can refer to the following Help Documentation
section "SNMP Proxy Agent Simulation" to learn more about
this feature.
1. How easy it is to create a network
with Simulation Toolkit's Network Simulator?
The Network Simulator offers an integrated network design studio
to create and configure huge networks in seconds. Click
here to learn about the unique capabilities of Simulation Toolkit
7 that enables creation of large networks in seconds.
3. When I create a network, I am
able to view the Template tree on the left side? What is the difference
between the Template Tree and the device tree?
The device tree consists of all the pre-configured devices in the
device library and any new devices configured by the user. The Template
tree view is enabled only after creating the network. The template
tree will list only the template devices (devices in the device
library) that were used to create the network and the number of
devices of each type. For example, Cisco3600_1(3) means that the
loaded network consists of 3 devices created using the device Cisco3600.
b. Using the Bulk Modification option in the Tools
menu: Using this option, you can modify the IPv4 or IPv6 address, Port number
and SNMP agent values corresponding to SNMP OIDs across all or selected
agents present in the network.
7. What functionality does the initialize
service option provide ?
Using this option, the trap, autonomous and behavior service can
be disabled/enabled. For example, if trap service is disabled, the
traps will not sent to the manager.
8. Why does the Stop Network option stop
all the network that is running? How should I stop a single network
?
The Stop Network menu option stops the network simulation itself.
Hence all the networks will be stopped. To stop a single network,
the Stop All Agents option can be used. Refer to Help documentation
section, Simulating a Network -> Starting and Stopping Agents
in the Network for starting and stopping of agents in the network.
9. Is it possible to customizing the SNMP
request/response PDU in the Network Simulator?
Yes, the network simulator supports the "SNMP PDU Scrambler"
for customizing the request/response PDU by exposing it to the user
for customization. For example, a request SNMP PDU can be customized
to validate that it contains multiple
varbinds before the agent performs SNMP operation in OIDs. The response
SNMP PDU can be customized, for example, to send garbled/invalid
responses to test the SNMP managers robustness in the event of receiving
bad packets.
10. Can batches of Traps be defined
by the simulator?
Traps are created in a number of alternate ways :
1. Default generation of Traps defined in the MIB.
2. Manual definition of Traps in the UI or using Jython scripts.
3. Recording of Traps from real agents/devices.
Traps are sent based on Request, on Threshold or on a Timer, with
‘repeat’ parameters that govern how many traps are sent
or for what time period. The repeat parameters effectively define
batches of traps to be sent or, for more complex situations, JPython
scripts can be used to simulate the sending of a group of different
traps.
RMI (Remote Method Invocation) is implemented in the network simulator
and the agent simulators, to control the simulated agent and network
behavior from a remote client program. The SNMP and TL1 RMI client
APIs, defines the methods in the simulator, which can be accessed
via RMI from the client program.
The methods can be used to programmatically update values for a
specific SNMP/TL1 device within the simulated network, start/stop
individual SNMP/TL1 devices in the network, send SNMP v1/v2/v3 traps
and TL1 autonomous messages, etc. The javadocs of the RMI client
APIs are available in <SimulatorHome>/examples/javadocs directory.
For more information, refer Behavior
simulation scenarios.
12. I have created 200 nodes
at one time through network designer wizard. Now can i dynamically
assign them unique system name property?
While adding SNMP devices to the network, the Network Simulator
automatically configures the unique name of the device as the sysName
in the system group of RFC1213-MIB. The network simulator also provides
the option to configure "unique OID values" while creating
the network.
You can refer to the following Help Documentation section "Network
Simulator Guide -> Creating and Configuring a network -> Creating
a new network" to learn more about this feature.
14. Will the network simulator allow
me to configure real time behavior of devices? What are the different
scenarios in which the behavior of the network can be customized?
Simulation Toolkit's Behavior Simulation feature offers powerful
built-in SNMP script APIs and RMI client APIs to automate a complete
network environment.For more information, refer Behavior
simulation scenarios.
15. From your documentation I understand
that you support TFTP. Is it possible to control the simulated TFTP
client of the agent via a script (Jython or alike)?
Yes, you can control the simulated TFTP client through jython scripts.
We have provided the following script API methods which can be used
inside jython files.
17. Is there a topology editor to
create the connections between the devices easily?
Yes, the topology editor enables you to visualize interconnections
between the devices in the network. You can connect new devices or
disconnect existing devices in the topology. Refer to Network Simulator
Guide -> Topology Editor for more information.
18. Will the product work with multiple
network cards?
The product does not support Multiple Network card environment.
As virtual IPs are created dynamically it is not possible to distribute
the creation of IPs to multiple cards.
19. I cannot start agents in simulator.
I get "Unable to start agent" error when starting an agent
instance. Why?
The above error will occur in Network Simulator in any one of the
following cases:
The port may be occupied by some other application. If you
are unable to start the SNMP agents at port 161, refer to TroubleShooting
Guide in Help documentation.
There is a IP clash in the network. (i.e) the virtual IP configured
in the simulator already exists in the network. Please ensure
that the virtual IPv4 or IPv6 address specified is unique.
Product is installed in C:\Program Files . Actually this is
a limitation of our product. Installation directory name should
not have spaces.
20. I have started agents in the simulator,
but I cannot ping them from my management station. Why?
If the simulator and the manager application is running in separate
machines on the same network, the virtual ipaddress configured in
the simulator ( machine where the simulation application is running
) will not be accessible from the Manager ( machine where the manager
application is running ).
To access the simulated network, execute the route add command
in the system where the manager application is running.
2. What kind of devices can
be simulated using the Snmp Agent Simulator?
Any type of devices can be simulated, provided, the MIBs corresponding
to the device exists. Load the MIB in Snmp Agent Simulator . The
simulator in turn will simulate default values for all the groups
present in the MIB. The simulated default values can be changed
according to the real-time requirements.
3. What level of reality is guaranteed
in a simulated device?
With Snmp Agent Simulator tool, there is a provision to record values
from the real agent. The traps sent by the real device can also
be recorded. Once the values are recorded, the simulated device
will behave exactly like the real device.
5. Can the behavior of the simulated
agent be customized ?
The behavior of the simulated agent/device can be customized using
behavior scripts or through RMI. For more information, refer Behavior
simulation scenarios.
6. We need to validate an SNMP PDU
which contains multiple varbinds before the agent simulator performs
SNMP operation in OIDs. Can this be done?
The SNMP Agent Simulator provides PDU Scrambler interface to access
and customize the request and /response SNMP PDUs. As per your requirement,
the incoming PDU can be customized for the analysis and verification
of the order of the OIDs present in the PDU. For more information,
refer Behavior simulation
scenarios.
3. Can the behavior of the simulated
TL1 agent be customized ?
The behavior of the simulated device can be customized using Jython
scripts and TL1 ScriptInterface API. For more information, refer
Behavior simulation
scenarios.
2. Does the Cisco IOS Simulator support all
modes supported by Cisco IOS ?
The Cisco IOS simulator supports the following modes - user, privilegedEXEC,
global configuration, Interface configuration, Router (BGP, OSPF,
RIP ) and Vlan modes.
3. What are the commands supported
by the Cisco IOS simulator?
The Cisco IOS Simulator enables you to configure cdp, access-list, rmon
alarms and events, set passwords, IPv4 or IPv6 addresses, clock rates, hostname,
configure BGP, OSPF, RIP, EIGRP and vlan for a specific router,
ping devices, display startup and running config and many other
functions.
Refer to the Help topic, Cisco IOS Simulator Guide -> IOS Commands
supported, to learn about the complete set of commands supported.
4. What are the protocols supported
by a Cisco IOS enabled device ?
The IOS enabled devices support SNMP, CLI, TFTP and FTP protocols.
The IOS Software Simulation can be accessed using CLI and IPv4 or IPv6 Address can be assigned to the devices.
7. What are the operations that
can be performed on an Cisco IOS enabled device ?
You can login and logout of the Cisco IOS simulator, get into and out
of different modes, configure cdp, access-list, rmon alarms and
events, set passwords, IPv4 or IPv6 addresses, clock rates, hostname, enable/disable
SNMP trap service, configure SNMP community, contact, location etc.,
specify MTU value for the network interface node, configure BGP,
OSPF, RIP and vlan for a specific router, ping devices, display
startup and running config and many other functions.
Refer to the Help topic, Cisco IOS Simulator Guide -> IOS Commands
Supported, to learn about the complete set of commands supported.
8. Is it possible for me to customize
commands supported by the Cisco IOS device?
Yes, it is possible to customize the commands supported by the
Cisco IOS device. The Cisco IOS simulator comes along with a Script Editor to
facilitate viewing and editing of script files configured for the
IOS commands. Refer to the Help topic, Cisco IOS Simulator Guide ->
Script Editor, to learn about the complete set of commands supported.
9. Is it possible for me to add new
commands to the existing Cisco IOS Device ?
Yes, you can add new commands to the existing Cisco IOS devices from
the device tree. Refer to the Help topic, Cisco IOS Simulator Guide
-> Adding IOS Commands, to learn about adding new commands.
10. Do you have any relation of SNMP
OIDs with the IOS Commands? If yes, how can I do that?
If the IOS Command supports a MIB Object, the SNMP script API methods
defined in the SNMP Script Interface can be used to implement the
IOS command. For example, Cisco-CDP-MIB defines Mib object to enable/disable
cdp. Hence, the command cdp enable uses the SNMP script API
methods to implement the command. Refer to the script file cdp_enable_ci.py
in <simulatorhome>/devices/db/Cisco1700/cli for further
reference.
The SNMP and CLI script api methods are available in Javadocs inside
<SimulatorHome>/ examples/javadocs directory.
