Frequently Asked Questions
Agent Development Tools
General
- What are the tools provided by WebNMS
SNMP Agent Toolkit? Can each tool function as a separate application?
- Where do I find the tools packaged in the
toolkit?
- Does the code get generated each time when
I compile the file in the Agent Toolkit Compiler tools?
- How do I disable the logging feature from
my working directory using the tools?
- How do I specify storage types for different
nodes through the GUI tool?
SNMP Agent Tools
- What is a MIB?
- What are the SNMP versions supported by
each SNMP tool?
- How do I convert an SMIv1 MIB to SMIv2 MIB?
- How do I add a MIB to the agent? Can I load
more than one Mib file in the Mib tree?
- Can the agent be generated for particular
managed objects of a MIB?
- How can i develop and access SNMPv3-related
information using SNMP agent toolkit?
- How is the selection of SNMP V2 Compliance/SNMP
V3 Compliance related to Version V1/V2/V3 option in Project
-> Settings menu of MIB Compiler UI?
- Can I compile the MIB to generate MIB.cds
and MIB.cmi using Agent Toolkit?
- How do I view the trap and its details sent
by the SNMP agent?
- Is there any tool available for for manipulating
USM and VACM tables of Snmp v3 agent during runtime?
Multi-Protocol Agent Tools
- How do I implement my defined MIB variables
as different MBeans?
- Can I use my own MIBs for generating source
from the JMX Compiler or do I have to use the WebNMS
MIB Editor to create a MIB ?
- Is it possible to register and then monitor
an MBean from a remote URL?
- Can I invoke the testing tools from the
JMX Compiler?
- What are the different protocols supported
by MBean Browser?
- Does the different browsers support dynamically
registering/unregistering of MBeans from the multi-protocol
agents?
- How do I view the trap and its details sent
by the multi-protocol agent?
TL1 Agent Tools
- What are TCS files? Suggest me a tool that
is used to generate TCS files?
- How do I develop and use TL1 technology?
General
1.What are the tools provided by WebNMS
Agent Toolkit? Can each tool function as a separate application?
The tools provided by WebNMS Agent Toolkit are:
SNMP Agent
- MIB Editor- SNMP Editor used to create and edit MIB files.
- MIB Compiler- SNMP agent developer that provides an SNMP
agent framework after reading MIB files.
- MIB Browser- SNMP Manager that is used to view and operate
on data available through an SNMP agent on a managed device.
- SNMP V3Admin- Tool for viewing and manipulating USM and
VACM tables in the SNMPv3 agent at runtime.
Multi-Protocol Agent
- MIB Editor- Editor tool used to create and edit MIB files.
- JMX Compiler- Developer tool that generates stub files
for building Multi-Protocol agent after reading MIB files.
- MBean Browser- Management tool used for testing Multi-Protocol
agent using the protocols such as RMI, CORBA, and HTTP.
- MIB Browser- SNMP Manager that is used to view and operate
on data available through an SNMP agent on a managed device.
- TL1 Browser- TL1 Management console that allows the user
to view and operate on data available through a TL1 agent
on a managed device.
TL1 Agent
- TL1 Message Builder- It is an editor tool that can be
used for defining the TL1 CommandSet (.tcs file) for a TL1
agent.
- TL1 Compiler- It is a TLI agent developer tool that takes
the tcs file as input and generates code for it to form
a TL1 agent.
- TL1 Browser- It is a TL1 Management console that allows
the user to view and operate on data available through a
TL1 agent on a managed device.
Yes. Each SNMP/ Multi-Protocol/ TL1 tool can function as
a separate application. You can use the .bat/.sh file to load
each application separately.
Questions
2.Where do I find the tools packaged in
the toolkit?
The complete set of WebNMS Agent Toolkit tools is available
in the <WebNMS/JavaAgent>/bin directory. The
tools can also be started from the Agent Toolkit Launcher
that is located at <WebNMS/JavaAgent>/AgentToolkit.bat.
Questions
3. Does the code get generated each time
when I compile the file in the Agent Toolkit Compiler tools?
No. Code will be generated only when you do code generation
for the loaded files and not while compilation. Source Code
can be generated once, and instrumentation and compilation
can be done any number of times without having to regenerate
the code.
Questions
4. How do I disable the logging feature
from my working directory using the tools?
The log messages in the log files can be disabled by choosing
DISABLED option from the combo box of Project->Settings->General->debug
level dialog given in the MIB Compiler. By disabling the
level, the log file will be created but the messages will
not be written in it at runtime. Since the log file is empty,
there will not be any impact on the memory size.
Questions
5. How do I specify storage types for different
nodes through the GUI tool?
To specify storage types for different nodes,
- Right-click on the node in the MIB tree and select the
required storage type from the options provided. (or)
- Specify the required storage option in the Project ->
Settings -> Source code generation -> Storage Model
dialog.
Questions
Back To Module
SNMP Agent Tools
1. What is a MIB?
A MIB (Management Information Base) is defined as a database
of management information called managed objects. Each object
represents some resource to be managed. It is used and maintained
by a network management protocol such as SNMP. The values
of the MIB object can be changed or retrieved using SNMP commands,
usually through a GUI network management system.
Questions
2. What are the SNMP versions supported
by each SNMP tool?
The supported SNMP versions are SNMP v1, SNMPv2, and SNMPv3.
Questions
3. How do I convert an SMIv1 MIB to SMIv2
MIB?
MIB Editor is used to convert an SMIv1 MIB to SMIv2 MIB or
vice versa. This is enabled by selecting File->Convert
As option provided in the MIB Editor.
Questions
4. How do I add a MIB to the agent? Can
I load more than one MIB file in the MIB tree?
Agent Toolkit provides MIB Compiler that takes the MIB as
input and generates the agent for its managed objects. Yes,
it allows to load and generate agent for more than one MIB
file.
Questions
5. Can the agent be generated for particular
managed objects of a MIB?
Yes. The Agent Toolkit provides the flexibility to generate
SNMP agents for particular managed objects of a MIB. This
is implemented by using the "Selected Nodes" option
in the MIB Compiler. To invoke this,
- Right-click on the selected nodes and choose "Add
To List" which adds it to the Selected Nodes block.
- Then generate the agent using the "Generate Source->Selected
Nodes" option.
Questions
6. How can I develop and access the SNMPv3-related
information using SNMP Agent Toolkit?
The key feature of SNMP Agent Toolkit is that it provides an easy
and user-friendly GUI tools for building SNMP agent that renders
complete support to SNMPv3. Additionally the SNMP agent test
tool such as MIB Browser makes it evenmore easier to access
SNMPv3-related management information. Please refer to "Configuring
SNMPv3 settings" of the help documentation for details
on SNMPv3 agents.
Questions
7. How is the selection of SNMP V2 Compliance/SNMP
V3 Compliance related to Version V1/V2/V3 option in Project->Settings
menu of MIB Compiler UI?
The "Version" in Project -> Settings menu of
MIB Compiler UI allows you to create an agent of your choice.
On the other hand, any agent created as a v2c agent is by
default V2 compliant.
However if the option is unchecked, the necessary codes for
the SNMP V2 compliance will not be generated. This holds good
for SNMP V3 compliance also and the RFCs implemented for v3
are different. Please refer to
SNMP v2 compliance and SNMP
V3 compliance section for detailed information about the
SNMP standard compliance.
Questions
8. Can i compile the MIB to produce MIB.cds
and MIB.cmi using Agent Toolkit?
Yes. Agent Toolkit provides MIB Browser that generates MIB.cds
and MIB.cmi files under the <WebNMS/JavaAgent>/mibs
directory. Please follow the given steps to generate these
files:
- Choose Edit->Settings
- Select Mib Settings and enable Compiled File option in
the Mib Loading Options.
Questions
9. How do I view the trap and its details
sent by the SNMP agent?
The MIB Browser provides Trap viewer to view the trap and
its details sent by the SNMP Agent.
Questions
10. Is there any tool available for manipulating USM and
VACM tables of Snmp v3 agent during runtime?
Yes, the contents of the USM and VACM related tables can
be viewed and manipulated using Snmp v3 Administration tool
during agent runtime. For more details, refer the
SNMPv3 Admin Tool section of our help documentation.
Questions
Back To Module
Multi-Protocol Agent
1.How do I implement my defined MIB variables
as different MBeans?
This can be implemented by providing the MIB file as input
to the JMX Compiler. It generates MBeans for each group in
the MIB. Refer to "Creating
a Simple Multi-Protocol agent Using JMX Compiler"
of our help documentation for further details.
Questions
2.Can I use my own MIBs for generating
source from the JMX Compiler or do I have to use the WebNMS
MIB Editor to create a MIB ?
No, you don't have to create MIBs using the MIB Editor. MIBs
created by other sources can also be used to generate code
in the JMX Compiler.
Questions
3.Is it possible to register and then monitor
an MBean from a remote URL?
Yes, it is possible to register an MBean from a remote URL.
This can be done using the Management Applet (MLet) service.
The Mlet service allows you to instantiate and register an
MBean from a remote URL with the MBean server. Please refer
to the topic, "Loading
MBeans dynamically using MLet service" for more information.
Questions
4.Can I invoke the testing tools from the
JMX Compiler?
Yes, you can invoke the testing tools using the option Tools->MIB/MBean/Web/TL1
Browser from the toolbar menu of JMX Compiler.
Questions
5.What are the different protocols supported
by MBean Browser?
RMI/CORBA/HTTP
Questions
6.Does Agent Toolkit support dynamically
registering/unregistering of MBeans in the multi-protocol
agents?
Yes. It can be acheived through MBean Browser by using Settings->Register/Unregister
MBean option provided in its toolbar.
Questions
7.How do I view the trap and its details
sent by the multi-protocol agent?
The trap and its details can be viewed using Trap Viewer
in MIB Browser and JMX Notification Viewer in MBean Browser.
Questions
Back To Module
TL1 Agent
1.What are TCS files? Suggest me a tool
that is used to generate TCS files?
TCS files holds commands which specify the action to be
taken at NE. Agent Toolkit provides TL1 Message Builder to
create/edit TCS files.
Questions
2.How do I develop and use TL1 technology?
To deploy and use TL1 technology for management, follow the
given steps:
- Decide what aspects of your products you want to manage
via TL1
- Select the standard TL1 messages to implement
- Create TCS files for your device using TL1 Message Builder
- Generate TL1 agent stub files using TL1 Compiler
- Instrument and then implement the instrumented TL1 agent
in your devices
- Test the agent using TL1 Browser
Questions
Back To Module
