Cabletron Systems CBU-NM User manual

CBU-NM
User Manual
Fivemere Ltd. Cabletron Systems Ltd.
Fivemere House Network House
161 High Street Newbury Business Park
Aldershot London Road, Newbury
Hampshire, England Berkshire, England
GU11 1TT RG13 2PZ
Telephone: [44] (0)1635 580000
Fax: [44] (0)1635 44578

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Publication — 80-60100000-02
Publication Notice:
This manual has been compiled and checked for accuracy. However the
information contained in this manual does not constitute a warranty of
performance. Cabletron Systems Limited reserves the right to revise this
publication from time to time without notice. Cabletron Systems Limited
assumes no liability for losses incurred as a result of out of date or incorrect
information contained in this manual.
Proprietary Notice:
© 1996-1997, Cabletron Systems Ltd, all rights reserved.
This document may not in whole or part be copied, photocopied, reproduced,
translated, or reduced to any electronic medium or machine readable form
without prior consent from Cabletron Systems Limited.
Acknowledgements:
Kilostream™ is a trademark of British Telecom PLC.
ChameleonTCP/IP for Windows is a trademark of Netmanage.
Windowsand MS-DOSare trademarks of Microsoft.

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History Sheet
80-60100000-01 V 0.26 software 23 September 1996
80-60100000-02 V 0.27 software 01 July 1997

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1INTRODUCTION 1–1
1.1 THIS CHAPTER 1–1
1.2 FEATURES OF PCNC 1–1
1.3 OVERVIEW 1–2
1.4 GETTING STARTED 1–2
1.5 HOW PCNC WORKS 1–3
1.5.1 ALARMS 1–4
1.6 WHAT PCNC DOES 1–4
1.7 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 1–6
1.7.1 HARDWARE 1–6
1.7.2 SOFTWARE 1–6
2MAIN COMPONENTS 2–1
2.1 THIS CHAPTER 2–1
2.2 MAIN WINDOW 2–1
2.3 SPEED MENUS 2–2
2.4 THE NETWORK DATABASE 2–2
2.5 THE NETWORK INSPECTOR WINDOW 2–3
2.6 THE ALARM DATABASE 2–3
2.7 ALARM WINDOWS 2–3
2.8 ACKNOWLEDGING / SELECTING ALARMS 2–4
2.8.1 TO SELECT A SINGLE ALARM 2–4
2.8.2 TO SELECT A GROUP OF ALARMS 2–4
2.8.3 TO SELECT/DESELECT ADDITIONAL ALARMS 2–4
2.9 PORTS, LINKS AND TERMINALS 2–4
2.10 DRIVERS 2–5
3ALARMS AND FILTERS 3–1
3.1THIS CHAPTER 3–1
3.2 THE ALARM DATABASE 3–1
3.3 SNMP TRAPS 3–1
3.3.1 ALERT PROCESSING 3–2
3.3.2 ALARMS 3–3
3.3.3
U
NKNOWN
D
EVICE
/ U
NRECOGNISED
A
LERT
ALARMS 3–4
3.4 ALARM WINDOWS 3–5
3.4.1 NETWORK ALARM LOG WINDOW 3–5

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3.4.2 DEVICE ALARM LOG WINDOWS 3–5
3.4.3 UNACKNOWLEDGED ALARMS WINDOW 3–6
3.5 ARCHIVING 3–6
3.5.1 ARCHIVED ALARM LOG WINDOWS 3–6
3.6 READING THE DATABASE FROM OTHER APPLICATIONS 3–7
3.7 HARDWARE ALERT DISABLING 3–7
3.8 FILTERS 3–8
3.8.1 GENERIC / DEVICE FILTERS 3–9
3.8.2 SETTING UP A FILTER 3–10
3.8.2.1CHOOSING WHICH TYPES OF ALARM CAN BE FILTERED 3–10
3.8.2.2SHOWING AND HIDING ALARMS 3–11
3.8.2.3SPECIAL COMMANDS 3–11
3.8.2.4WHEN YOU HAVE FINISHED 3–11
4COMMUNICATIONS 4–1
4.1 THIS CHAPTER 4–1
4.2 CONNECTIONS 4–1
4.2.1 LOCAL DEVICES 4–1
4.2.2 REMOTE DEVICES 4–1
4.2.3 OTHER DEVICES 4–3
4.2.4 LINK DISABLING 4–3
4.3 CONTROL TERMINAL 4–3
4.4 AUXILIARY TERMINAL 4–4
4.5 CONNECTING TO NETWORK DEVICES 4–4
4.5.1 LOCAL DIRECT CONNECTION 4–4
4.5.2 REMOTE DIRECT CONNECTION 4–5
4.5.3 THE TALKWIRE LIST 4–5
4.5.3.1EDITING THE TALKWIRE LIST 4–6
5THE SNMP LINK AND CHAMELEON 5–1
5.1 THIS CHAPTER 5–1
5.2 OVERVIEW 5–1
5.3 REQUIREMENTS 5–2
5.3.1 NDIS-COMPLIANT NETWORK INTERFACE CARD 5–2
5.3.2 NDIS DRIVER 5–2
5.3.3 CHAMELEON 5–2
5.3.4 PCNC EXTENSIONS 5–3
5.3.4.1PCNCSNMP.EXE 5–3
5.4 HOW THE TRAPS ARE SENT AND RECEIVED 5–4
5.5 INSTALLING THE CHAMELEON PACKAGE 5–5
5.5.1 TEST THAT CHAMELEON IS INSTALLED CORRECTLY 5–7

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5.6 INSTALL THE MIB INTO YOUR NMS 5–7
5.7 THE NEXT STEP 5–7
5.8 THE NETWORK DATABASE 5–8
5.9 TRAP FORMAT 5–8
6INSTALLING PCNC 6–1
6.1 THIS CHAPTER 6–1
6.2 INTRODUCTION 6–1
6.3 REQUIREMENTS 6–2
6.4 WHAT’S ON THE DISTRIBUTION DISKS? 6–2
6.5 INSTALLING PCNC FOR THE FIRST TIME 6–3
6.5.1 BEFORE YOU START 6–3
6.5.2 * SET UP THE TCP/IP NETWORK 6–4
6.5.2.1* INSTALL THE NETWORK HARDWARE 6–4
6.5.2.2* CONFIGURE THE NDIS DRIVER 6–4
6.5.2.3* INSTALL CHAMELEON 6–4
6.5.3 INSTALL THE FILES 6–4
6.5.3.1* INSTALL THE OPTIONAL SNMP EXTENSIONS 6–4
6.5.4 CUSTOMISE PCNC.INI 6–5
6.5.5 CREATE THE WINDOWS ICON 6–5
6.5.6 CONFIGURE AND TEST PCNC 6–5
6.5.7 * ENABLE THE SNMP LINK 6–5
6.5.7.1* INSTALL THE MIB 6–5
6.5.7.2* RE-CONFIGURE PCNC.INI 6–5
6.5.7.3* TEST PCNC WITH SNMP 6–6
6.5.8 ENTER THE NETWORK INFORMATION 6–6
6.6 UPGRADING TO A NEWER VERSION OF PCNC 6–6
6.6.1 COPYING THE FILES 6–6
6.6.2 UPDATING THE PCNC.INI FILE 6–6
6.7 DRIVERS 6–7
7CONFIGURING PCNC.INI 7–1
7.1 THIS CHAPTER 7–1
7.2 INTRODUCTION 7–1
7.3 CONNECTING THE PORTS 7–2
7.3.1 COM PORTS 7–2
7.4 FORMAT OF THE PCNC.INI FILE 7–3
7.5 CHANGING THE PCNC.INI SETTINGS 7–3
7.6 CONFIGURING PCNC.INI 7–3
7.7 SETTINGS 7–4
7.8 [CONTROL LINK] 7–4

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7.8.1 PORT=<NAME>:<RATE>,<PARITY>,<DATA BITS>,<STOP BITS> 7–4
7.8.2 LINECOUNT=<INTEGER> 7–5
7.8.3 RXQUEUESIZE=<INTEGER> 7–5
7.8.4 TXQUEUESIZE=<INTEGER> 7–5
7.8.5 HANDSHAKING=<BOOLEAN> 7–5
7.8.6 DIRECTCONNECTTIMEOUT=<INTEGER> 7–6
7.9 [AUXILIARY LINK] 7–6
7.9.1 COLUMNCOUNT=<INTEGER> 7–6
7.9.2 EMULATION=<STRING> 7–7
7.9.3 BREAKHANDLING=<BOOLEAN> 7–7
7.9.4 BREAKLENGTH=<INTEGER> 7–7
7.9.5 HANDSHAKING=<STRING> 7–7
7.9.6 FOREGROUNDCOLOUR=<INTEGER> 7–7
7.9.7 BACKGROUNDCOLOUR=<INTEGER> 7–8
7.9.8 TRANSLATEBACKSPACE=<BOOLEAN> 7–8
7.10 [REMOTE LINK] 7–8
7.11 [DEVICE DRIVERS] 7–9
7.12 [OPTIONS] 7–9
7.12.1 AUDIBLEWARNINGBUTTON=<BOOLEAN> 7–9
7.12.2 CONTINUOUSAUDIBLEWARNING=<BOOLEAN> 7–9
7.12.3 ALARMLOGGING=<BOOLEAN> 7–10
7.12.4 MINUTESBETWEENSAVES=<INTEGER> 7–10
7.13 [SNMP LINK] 7–11
7.13.1 FORWARDTRAPSTONMS=<BOOLEAN> 7–11
7.13.2 FORWARDTRAPSTOPCNC=<BOOLEAN> 7–11
7.13.3 RECEIVETRAPS=<BOOLEAN> 7–11
7.13.4 TRAPTXOIDPCNC=<GROUP OBJECT IDENTIFIER> 7–12
7.13.5 TRAPTXOIDNMS=<GROUP OBJECT IDENTIFIER> 7–12
7.13.6 TRAPRXOID=<GROUP OBJECT IDENTIFIER> 7–12
7.13.7 NAMESINTRAPS=<BOOLEAN> 7–12
8THE NETWORK DATABASE 8–1
8.1 THIS CHAPTER 8–1
8.2 THE ROLE OF THE NETWORK DATABASE 8–1
8.2.1 ALERT PROCESSING 8–2
8.2.2 COMMUNICATING WITH THE NETWORK 8–2
8.3 THE NETWORK INSPECTOR WINDOW 8–2
8.3.1 MEANING OF THE NETWORK INSPECTOR FIELDS 8–3
8.3.2 INDEPENDENT CHANNEL NAMING 8–3
8.4 DEFINING THE DATABASE 8–4

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8.4.1 ADDING AN ENTRY 8–4
8.4.1.1COMMENTS 8–5
8.4.1.2REMOTE ADDRESSING 8–5
8.4.1.3CHANNEL NAMING 8–5
8.4.2 MODIFYING THE DATABASE 8–5
9EQUIPMENT SETUP 9–1
9.1 THIS CHAPTER 9–1
9.2 INTRODUCTION 9–1
9.3 KBU 64 9–2
9.4 CABLETRON GENERIC SHELF PRODUCTS 9–2
9.5 OTHER CABLETRON PRODUCTS 9–2
10 COMMANDS 10–1
10.1 THIS CHAPTER 10–1
10.2 GENERAL 10–1
10.3 HELP 10–1
10.4 NETWORK | NEW DEVICE... 10–3
10.5 NETWORK | EDIT DEVICE... 10–3
10.6 NETWORK | DELETE DEVICE 10–3
10.7 NETWORK | SORT ORDER... 10–4
10.8 NETWORK | RESET DEVICE STATUS 10–4
10.9 NETWORK | DEVICE ALARM LOG 10–4
10.10 NETWORK | TALKWIRE LIST... 10–5
10.11 NETWORK | DIRECT CONNECT 10–5
10.12 NETWORK | DIRECT DISCONNECT 10–5
10.13 NETWORK | EXIT 10–6
10.14 ALARMS | FILTER... 10–6
10.15 ALARMS | ACKNOWLEDGE 10–6
10.16 ALARMS | AUDIBLE WARNING 10–7
10.17 ALARMS | SAVE TO ARCHIVE FILE... 10–7
10.18 ALARMS | INSPECT ARCHIVE FILE... 10–8
10.19 ALARMS | EXPORT ALARM DATABASE... 10–8
10.20 WINDOW | NETWORK INSPECTOR 10–8
10.21 WINDOW | NETWORK ALARM LOG 10–9
10.22 WINDOW | UNACKNOWLEDGED ALARMS 10–9
10.23 WINDOW | CONTROL TERMINAL 10–9
10.24 WINDOW | AUXILIARY TERMINAL 10–9
10.25 WINDOW | CASCADE 10–10
10.26 WINDOW | TILE 10–10

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10.27 WINDOW | ARRANGE ICONS 10–10
10.28 WINDOW | CLOSE ALL 10–10
10.29 HELP | CONTENTS 10–11
10.30 HELP | USING HELP 10–11
10.31 HELP | ABOUT... 10–11
11 TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE 11–1
11.1 THIS CHAPTER 11–1
11.2 YOU CANNOT SEE ANY ALARMS 11–1
11.3 SOME ALERTS ARE NOT BEING PROCESSED 11–2
11.4 THE COMMAND LINE ISN’T WORKING PROPERLY 11–2
11.5 YOU SET A FILTER, BUT THE ALARM STILL APPEARS 11–2
11.6 THE NETWORK DATABASE IS NOT VISIBLE 11–3
11.7 CRASHES 11–3
11.8 THE SNMP LINK IS NOT WORKING 11–4
12 GLOSSARY 12–1
12.1 ALARM 12–1
12.2 AUDIBLE WARNING 12–1
12.3 DEVICE 12–1
12.4 FILTER 12–1
12.5 LINK 12–2
12.6 LOG 12–2
12.7 MENU BAR 12–2
12.8 PCNC.DAT 12–3
12.9 PCNC.INI 12–3
12.10 POLL NUMBER 12–3
12.11 SNMP 12–3
12.12 SPEED MENUS 12–4
12.13 STATUS BAR 12–4
12.14 TALKWIRE LIST 12–4
12.15 TCP/IP 12–4
12.16 TRAP 12–4
12.17 TOOLBAR 12–4
12.18 WORKING DIRECTORY 12–5
13 DATA FORMATS 13–1
13.1 ALERT MESSAGE FORMAT 13–1
13.1.1 ALERT MESSAGE FIELDS 13–1
13.1.2 ALERTS WITHOUT TIME AND DATE INFORMATION 13–2

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13.1.3 ALERTS WITH TIME AND DATE INFORMATION 13–2
13.1.4 ALERT MESSAGE RECOGNITION 13–2
13.2 SNMP TRAPS 13–2
13.2.1 TRAP GENERATION FORMAT 13–2
13.2.2 TRAP RECEIPT FORMAT 13–3
13.2.3 TRAP EXAMPLES 13–3
13.3 EXPORTED ALARM DATABASES 13–4
13.3.1 .CSV EXPORTED FILE FORMAT 13–4
13.3.1.1 TEXT FIELDS 13–5
13.3.1.2 SIGNED NUMERIC FIELDS 13–5
13.3.1.3 UNSIGNED NUMERIC FIELDS 13–5
13.3.2 RECORD FORMAT 13–5
13.3.2.1 <DATE> FIELD 13–6
13.3.2.2 <TIME> FIELD 13–6
13.3.2.3 <UNACKNOWLEDGED FLAG> FIELD 13–6
13.3.2.4 <POLL NUMBER> FIELD 13–6
13.3.2.5 <CHANNEL NUMBER> FIELD 13–6
13.3.2.6 <DEVICE ID> FIELD 13–7
13.3.2.7 <ALARM CODE> FIELD 13–7
13.3.2.8 <PRODUCT NAME> FIELD 13–8
13.3.2.9 <DEVICE OR CHANNEL NAME> FIELD 13–8
13.3.2.10<ALERT MESSAGE> FIELD 13–9
13.3.3 DEVICE ALARM CODES 13–9
14 HANDSHAKING 14–1
14.1 CONTROL LINK HANDSHAKING 14–1
14.2 HANDSHAKING PROVISIONS 14–1
14.3 CABLING REQUIREMENTS 14–2
14.3.1 HANDSHAKING DISABLED 14–2
14.3.2 HANDSHAKING ENABLED 14–3
14.4 SYMPTOMS OF INCORRECT CABLING 14–3
14.4.1 HANDSHAKING DISABLED 14–3
14.4.2 HANDSHAKING ENABLED 14–3
14.5 ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS 14–4

Introduction
80-60100000-02 1–1
1 Introduction
1.1 This chapter
The CBU-NM is the product name for the Network Management software
known as ‘PCNC’. All references throughout in this manual are as
‘PCNC’.
This chapter contains a brief description of what PCNC does and how it
does it. You do not need to read to this chapter if you are already
familiar with PCNC. If you do bypass this chapter, you can use the
Glossary to learn the meaning of unfamiliar terms.
1.2 Features of PCNC
PCNC provides:
• A central site for monitoring and controlling a network.
• Alarm processing to make alert messages more meaningful.
• Alarm filtering to show only the information you want to see.
• A record of all alarm information for examination at any time.
• A clear picture of the current status of every device on the network.
• Terminal emulation for direct communication with network devices.
• A user-friendly interface to make network supervision easier and
more intuitive.

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1.3 Overview
The Cabletron Network Controller (PCNC) collects information from a
network of Cabletron devices. Whenever an alert message arrives from
a device, PCNC will notify you. The message is processed, recorded
and displayed as an ‘Alarm’, and you can then decide whether or not you
need to act on the information. All alarms are recorded in a database
which can be viewed at any time.
PCNC also allows easy communication with all devices on your network,
using the Control Terminal. It allows you to talk to local devices directly,
and to remote devices using a ‘Talkwire List’ of local devices which in
turn communicate with the remote devices.
The PCNC program runs under MicrosoftWindowson an IBM-
compatible PC and provides a user-friendly interface to the network.
1.4 Getting Started
After installing PCNC, you first need to configure a file called PCNC.INI,
as described in Chapter 7. This done, you can customise the program to
work with your network, using the Network Inspector window. The
information you enter fills the ‘Network Database’ - PCNC uses this to
communicate with all your devices individually, and process the alarms.
When you run PCNC, you will see a window like this:
Title bar
Menu bar
Alarm Panel
& Toolbar
Workspace
Status bar
Figure 1.1 - Main Window

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You will find all the commands in the menu bar, and on the toolbar just
below are many of the commonly used commands. To find out what
each icon means, place the mouse over the relevant button, and a
message will be displayed in the Status Bar. In addition, clicking the
right button of the mouse over a window brings up a selection of
commands (a ‘Speed Menu’) relevant to that window.
1.5 How PCNC works
PCNC allows easy network monitoring by converting alert messages into
‘Alarms’. It contains two main databases - one to store information about
your network, and one to store all incoming alarms. These databases
can be viewed through the Network Inspector window and the Alarm
windows respectively. Terminal windows allow you to communicate
directly with devices on your network. Software ‘Links’ transfer
information between the program and the network ports.
The connections between these elements of PCNC are shown in the
schematic diagram below. Each component is more fully described in
Chapter 2.
Network Inspector
Alarm
Database Network Database
Auxiliary Link
Alarm WindowsTerminals
Auxiliary
Port
Control link
Local
Port
SNMP link
TCP/IP
Remote
Port
Remote Link
Figure 1.2 - PCNC Program Structure

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1.5.1 Alarms
When a network alert message arrives, PCNC uses the information you
have entered into the Network Database to identify the source of the
message. It then passes the message to a separate module which
decodes the alert. Finally it logs the message as an alarm in the Alarm
Database. Once the alerts have been translated and logged, you can
view and filter the resulting alarms using the alarm windows.
Alarm
Database
Network
Database
Alert
Processor
Remote
Link
Local
Port
Remote
Port
TCP/IP
Control
Link
SNMP
Link
Figure 1.3 - Alarm Processing
1.6 What PCNC does
When an alarm arrives, PCNC alerts you with an audible warning (if
enabled) and a flashing panel on the toolbar. An alarm icon flashes next
to the originating device in the Network Inspector window.
A description of the alarm appears in the Unacknowledged Alarms
window and in the Alarm Log windows. Clear information about the
source and type of alarm allows you to decide quickly what action (if any)
needs to be taken. You can then inform PCNC that you have read the
message by ‘acknowledging’ the alarm, and the alarm then disappears
from the Unacknowledged Alarms window. When all alarms have been
acknowledged, the panel no longer flashes and the sound stops.
You can view all recent alarms (before and after they have been
acknowledged) by looking at either the Network Alarm Log or Device
Alarm Log windows. An alarm icon, identical to that displayed next to
the device, flashes beside unacknowledged alarms.

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The information in the Alarm windows comes from the Alarm Database
through internal filters. In addition, the Alarm Log windows (but not the
Unacknowledged Alarms window) can be filtered to display only certain
alarm types. For example, if you are investigating how often a device
has been in backup, you can choose to hide all alarms except
Performing Backup alarms. For more details, see Chapter 3 - Alarms
and Filters
.
The Alarm Database is described fully in Chapter 3. The diagram below
shows an overview of the database and its related windows.
Alarm Database
Unacknowledged
Alarms Window Network Alarm Log Window
Custom Filter
Unacknowledged
Filter Custom Filters
Archived Alarm
Log Window
Custom Filter
Device Alarm
Log Windows
Single Device
Filters
Archived Alarm
Database
Figure 1.4 - The Alarm Database
The Alarm Database can store up to 5000 alarms. If this count is
exceeded, the database ‘overflows’ and the earliest alarm information
will be lost from the log. To prevent this happening, the database can be
cleared and stored to a disk file (Archived) for examination at a future

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date. The program will warn you when the database is nearly full, but it
is a good idea to archive the database frequently. This ensures you
have a complete log of alarms, and keeps the program running
efficiently.
1.7 System requirements
To install and run the PCNC program you will require an IBM-compatible
PC. We recommend that it is of the following type or superior.
1.7.1 Hardware
• 66MHz 80486DX PC with 8MByte of RAM.
• At least 10 MByte of free fixed disk space.
• Colour VGA graphics card and compatible monitor (higher resolution
displays will show more information).
• At least one unused COM port, with Windows COM driver support,
for connection to a Cabletron network.
• A 3.5" 1.44 MByte floppy disk drive to read the supplied disks.
1.7.2 Software
• MS-DOS5.0 or later already installed.
• MicrosoftWindows3.1 or 3.11 already installed.

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2 Main Components
2.1 This chapter
This chapter contains information about how and why you use the main
components of PCNC outlined in
Figure 1.2 - PCNC Program Structure .
2.2 Main Window
This is the main control console for PCNC. It contains all the PCNC
commands and windows.
Title bar
Menu bar
Alarm Panel
& Toolbar
Workspace
Status bar
Figure 2.1 - Main Window

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All the PCNC commands and windows can be accessed using the menu
bar. Many commands can also be used by clicking on buttons in the
toolbar just below. When you move the mouse over a button, its
function is displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the screen. The
commands are all described in Chapter 10 -
Commands
.
The toolbar also contains a large alarm symbol that flashes whenever
there is an unacknowledged alarm.
The network is controlled and monitored using the windows which appear
inside the Main window’s workspace. Each of these windows is created
using a toolbar button or menu option. Once created, these windows are
either open to display information, or represented by icons at the bottom
of the workspace area. A window that has been reduced to an icon can
be restored either by double-clicking it with the mouse, selecting it from
the Window menu, or clicking on its toolbar button.
2.3 Speed Menus
Many PCNC commands can also be accessed using ‘Speed Menus’,
which are very similar to those in the menu bar. Click the right mouse
button over the Network Inspector window to bring up the Network
Inspector Speed Menu. Click over any Alarm window to see the Alarm
Log Speed Menu. The Control Terminal also has a Speed Menu which
contains commands relevant to direct network connections.
2.4 The Network Database
The Network Database stores information about devices on your
network, and identifies each one using a unique ‘Poll number’. This
information is vital to PCNC’s processing of incoming messages, and
must accurately reflect your network configuration in order for PCNC to
run properly. See Section 8.4 -
Defining the Database
for details of how
to set it up.
Network messages contain the Poll number of the device that generated
them. When it receives an alert message, PCNC ‘looks up’ the device
with that number in the database. It can then use the information stored
for that device to convert the message into an Alarm.

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80-60100000-02 2–3
2.5 The Network Inspector Window
The Network Database can be viewed and modified using the Network
Inspector window. Each line in this window displays information about a
particular device, such as its location and type. It can also display a
description of the device entered by the user, allowing each device to be
identified easily.
The window also shows clear information about the present status of
each device, allowing you to tell at a glance the current state of the
network. For example, each device has a grey alarm symbol next to it,
which flashes pink if the device has any unacknowledged alarms.
The information stored about the Device’s location allows you to connect
automatically to each device, as described in Section 4.5 -
Connecting to
Network Devices .
2.6 The Alarm Database
When an alert message is received by PCNC, it is decoded and
converted into an Alarm which is stored in the Alarm Database. Exactly
how this is done is described in Chapter 3 -
Alarms and Filters .
2.7 Alarm windows
Information stored in the Alarm Database can be viewed through the
various Alarm windows. Each alarm is shown as an entry in the window,
with information regarding its time of arrival, source and nature. If the
alarm has been acknowledged, its alarm symbol (on the left) is grey, and
if not it flashes pink.
You can choose to hide certain types of alarm from most of these
windows by means of the Alarm Filters (see Section 3.8 for details).
The Network Alarm Log window displays the complete contents of the
current Alarm Database. The Device Alarm Log window shows all the
alarms generated by a particular device. Both these windows can be
filtered to hide unwanted information.
All unacknowledged alarms are
displayed in the Unacknowledged Alarms window, which cannot be
filtered.

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2.8 Acknowledging / selecting alarms
To acknowledge an alarm, select it from any Alarm window, then use the
Acknowledge command from the Alarms menu, the Alarms Speed
menu, or the toolbar button. As a short cut, you can simply double-click
on the alarm. You can also select multiple alarms.
Once acknowledged, the alarm’s entry in the Unacknowledged Alarms
window will be removed, and the relevant symbols in the Alarm Log
windows will stop flashing. When all alarms for a certain device have
been acknowledged, the Alarm symbol next to the device in the Network
Inspector Window will stop flashing. When all alarms for the whole
network have been acknowledged, the Alarm Panel in the toolbar will
stop flashing.
2.8.1 To select a single alarm
Click on the alarm with the left mouse button - any previous
selections will be cleared
2.8.2 To select a group of alarms
Click on the first alarm with the left mouse button. Press and hold
down the
Shift
key while you select the last alarm in the group.
2.8.3 To select/deselect additional alarms
Press and hold down the
Ctrl
key while you click on the alarm you
wish to select/deselect.
2.9 Ports, Links and Terminals
PCNC can receive alert messages either through serial COM ports or
from a TCP/IP network via a Network Interface Card. To receive
messages over TCP/IP you will need to install the SNMP extensions
which are an optional feature of PCNC. Note, however, that PCNC
cannot communicate directly with your NIC. To use PCNC’s SNMP Link,
you need to install the Chameleonpackage from NetManageInc.
PCNC communicates with the physical network using software modules
called Links. The Control Link is connected to local Cabletron devices.
The Remote Link is connected to a KBU that can receive alerts from
off-site KBUs via the ISDN network. The Auxiliary Link is used to
connect to non-Cabletron devices which do not generate alert messages