1-7 Service Assurance Agent (SAA) | Cisco Field Manual[c] Router Configuration

SAA performs various measurements of network performance, either through operations configured and scheduled manually from the IOS command line or through an SNMP manager with the Cisco round-trip time monitoring (RTTMON) MIB.
SAA can measure the following types of response times: DHCP, DLSw+, DNS, ICMP Echo, SNA Echo, FTP, HTTP, UDP jitter, traceroute, TCP Connect, and UDP Echo.
Some SAA measurements can be made using only the local router and a remote host. Other measurements require a remote Cisco router running the SAA responder .
SAA measurements are collected and stored as statistical distributions. They can be collected in a historic fashion if desired.
The jitter operation measures the variance in delay between successive packets. This is especially useful for voice traffic, where a low jitter is required for good voice quality.
The TCP Connect operation measures the time required to request and open a TCP connection. This is useful for simulating the response of Telnet connections.

Configuration

Define global SAA parameters.
1. (Optional) Set the amount of SAA memory:
```
 (global)  rtr low-memory   bytes  
```
  The amount of router memory available to SAA operations is set to bytes (the default is 25% of available memory). The amount of memory should always be set to a value less than the amount of free memory, as reported by the show memory command. Memory is actually allocated when an SAA operation is scheduled.
2. (Optional) Use a key chain for MD5 authentication between the SAA collector and responder.
  
  Define a key chain:
```
 (global)  key chain   keychain-name  
```
  A key chain contains one or more authentication keys that can be used.
  - Configure a numbered key in the key chain:
```
 (keychain)  key   number  
```
    Keys can be numbered from 0 to 2147483647.
  - Define the text string for the key:
```
 (keychain-key)  key-string   text  
```
    The authentication string text is used as an authentication key. The string is from 1 to 80 characters (uppercase and lowercase alphanumerics; the first character must be alphabetic).
  - Apply the key chain to SAA on both collector and responder routers:
```
 (global)  rtr key-chain   name  
```
Define an SAA operation to perform:
```
 (global)  rtr   number  
```
An SAA operation identified by number is defined, and the router is placed in rtr configuration mode.
Define the type of operation to perform.
1. DHCP operation:
```
 (rtr)  type dhcp  [  source-ipaddr   source-addr  ] [  dest-ipaddr   dest-addr  ]   [  option   option  ] 
```
  By default, the broadcast address 255.255.255.255 is used on all available interfaces to detect answering DHCP servers. The round-trip time to detect a server and obtain a lease is measured. If desired, you can target specific DHCP servers by adding the ip dhcp-server ip-address command or by using the dest-ipaddr keyword with the server address dest-addr. If the source-ipaddr keyword is used, the DHCP request has a source address of source-addr. The option keyword is used to specify a DHCP option, which must be 82.
2. DLSw+ operation:
```
 (rtr)  type dlsw peer-ipaddr   ip-addr  
```
  The response time between the local router and the DLSw+ peer at ip-addr is measured. DLSw+ must first be configured on both the local and remote routers. (See Section 5-3 for more information.) The SAA operation is required only on the local router.
3. DNS operation:
```
 (rtr)  type dns target-addr   target-addr   name-server   dns-addr  
```
  The round-trip time between a DNS request and a reply is measured. The request is for a host at IP address target-addr. It is aimed at a DNS server at IP address dns-addr. In addition, the target-addr can be a host name so that a reverse lookup time is measured.
4. Echo operation.
  - ICMP echo:
```
 (rtr)  type echo protocol ipicmpecho  {  ip-addr   hostname  }[  source-ipaddr   ip-addr  ] (optional) (rtr)  lsr-path  {  name   ip-addr  } [{  name   ip-addr  }] ... 
```
    An end-to-end ICMP echo response time is measured between the local router and an end device. The end device can be identified by IP address ip-addr or by hostname. You can use the source-ipaddr keyword to specify an IP address ip-addr to be used as the source address. If desired, you can specify a loose source route path by adding the lsr-path command. The path is formed by the string name or the ip-addr values.
    
    The ICMP echo has a default payload size of 28 bytes, making a total packet size of 64 bytes. The request-data-size command can be used to increase the size of the echo request packet.
  - SNA RU echo:
```
 (rtr)  type echo protocol snaruecho   sna-hostname  
```
    An end-to-end SNA SSCP native echo response time is measured between the local router and an SNA device. The SNA host name defined for the PU in VTAM is given as sna-hostname.
  - SNA LU echo:
```
 (rtr)  type echo protocol  {  snalu0echoappl   snalu2echoappl  }  sna-hostname  [  application-name   sna-application  ] [  mode-name   sna-mode  ] 
```
    An end-to-end SNA LU0 connection from the local router to the NSPECHO host application (Cisco-supplied) is measured. The SNA host name defined for the PU in VTAM is given as sna-hostname. The SNA application can be given with the application-name keyword, as sna-application (the default is NSPECHO). The mode-name keyword specifies the SNA mode as sna-mode.
5. FTP operation:
```
 (rtr)  type ftp operation   operation-type   url   url  [  source-ipaddr   source-ipaddr  ] [  mode  {  passive   active  }] 
```
  The FTP file download response time is measured. The only FTP operation that is supported is "get," specified as operation-type. The file to be downloaded is specified using the url keyword. The URL is given as url, and it must be in the form of a typical URL. If the user and password are specified, the form is ftp://user:password@host/filename . Otherwise, the default username anonymous and password test can be used with the form ftp://host/filename . If desired, you can give the source address of the FTP request (that is, the router) using the source-ipaddr keyword. The FTP mode is specified with the mode keyword. It can be passive (the default) or active.
6. HTTP operation.
  - Define the operation:
```
 (rtr)  type http operation  {  get   raw  }  url   url  [  name-server   dns-addr  ]   [  version   version  ] [  source-addr  {  name   src-addr  }] [  source-port   port  ]   [  cache  {  enable   disable  }] [  proxy   proxy-url  ] 
```
    The round-trip response time is measured to request a base HTML page from a server and receive a response. To configure a standard HTTP "get" operation, use the get keyword. An HTTP raw request must have the raw keyword, followed by the http-raw-request command (discussed next ).
    
    The URL to get is given as url. The address of a name server can be given as dns-addr with the name-server keyword. The source address of the HTTP request can be given as name or src-addr with the source-addr keyword. In addition, the HTTP port can be specified as port (the default is 80) using the source-port keyword. The HTTP version is given with the version keyword. You can download a cached HTTP page using the cache enable keywords. The proxy keyword specifies a proxy-url that can be used to point to the proxy server.
  - (Optional) Define HTTP raw commands for a get request:
```
 (rtr)  http-raw-request  (rtr-http)  http_1.0_commands  (rtr-http)  exit  
```
    HTTP 1.0 commands can be entered to form a custom (or "raw") HTTP request to be executed. The response time of this request and the reply is measured.
7. Jitter operation:
```
 (rtr)  type jitter dest-ipaddr  {  name   ip-addr  }  dest-port   dest-port  [  source-addr  {  name   ip-addr  }] [  source-port   src-port  ] [  control  {  enable   disable  }] [  num-packets   pkts  ] [  interval   milliseconds  ] 
```
  The round-trip time of a UDP echo is measured. In addition, packet loss and jitter are also measured in each direction. Jitter measurements must be taken between two Cisco routersone configured with the SAA jitter operation, and the other configured as an SAA responder (see Step 5). The default data packet size for this operation is 32 bytes, but this can be changed with the request-data-size command.
  
  The dest-ipaddr keyword specifies the remote or target router by name or IP address. The destination UDP port number and an optional source port number are given with the dest-port and source-port keywords. If desired, the source address of the request packets can be set with the source-addr keyword. By default, the local router sends a control message to the destination port to begin the jitter operation, as the control enable keywords specify. If this is not desired, use control disable. The number of packets sent in the jitter operation can be set with the num-packets keyword (the default is 10). In addition, the spacing between packets in the stream can be set with interval (the default is 20 milliseconds).
  
  NOTE
  
  A measurement of the one-way delay between the requesting and responding routers can also be taken. To do this, the jitter operation requires that the clocks be synchronized by configuring Network Time Protocol (NTP) on both routers. (See Section 1-4 for more information.)
8. Path Echo operation:
```
 (rtr)  type pathecho protocol ipicmpecho  {  name   ip-addr  } 
```
  Hop-by-hop response times from the local router to an IP host are measured along a network path using a traceroute operation. The destination or target is given by name or IP address.
9. TCP Connect operation:
```
 (rtr)  type tcpconnect dest-ipaddr  {  name   ip-addr  }  dest-port   port  [  source-ipaddr  {  name   ip-addr  }  source-port   port  ] [  control  {  enable   disable  }] 
```
  The response time to initiate and open a TCP connection to a remote host is measured. If the remote target is another Cisco router with an SAA responder, any TCP port number specified by the dest-port keyword is used. If the target is another device, the TCP port number must be available and working on the target machine. The source address and TCP port number of the request packets can be given with the source-ipaddr and source-port keywords. By default, the SAA control protocol is enabled ( control enable ) so that the remote router will answer, even if the TCP port is not in operation.
10. UDP Echo operation.
  - Define the operation:
```
 (rtr)  type udpecho dest-ipaddr  {  name   ip-addr  }  dest-port   port  [  source-ipaddr  {  name   ip-addr  }  source-port   port  ] [  control  {  enable   disable  }] 
```
    The round-trip time of a UDP echo packet sent to a remote host is measured. If the remote target is another Cisco router with an SAA responder, any UDP port number specified by the dest-port keyword is used. If the target is another device, the UDP port number must be available and working on the target machine. The source address and UDP port number of the request packets can be given with the source-ipaddr and source-port keywords. By default, the SAA control protocol is enabled ( control enable ) so that the remote router will answer, even if the UDP port is not in operation.
  - (Optional) Define a data pattern to use:
```
 (rtr)  data-pattern   hex-value  
```
    The data-pattern command is used to ensure that data is not corrupted during the process. The default pattern is 0xABCD.
Define optional parameters for the operation.
1. (Optional) Set basic operation attributes.
  - Set the operation frequency:
```
 (rtr)  frequency   seconds  
```
    The number of seconds between operations can be set to seconds (the default is 60).
  - Set the time to wait for a response:
```
 (rtr)  timeout   milliseconds  
```
    The amount of time SAA waits for a response to an operation can be set to milliseconds (the default is 5000).
  - Set the rising threshold that defines a reaction:
```
 (rtr)  threshold   milliseconds  
```
    A reaction event is defined by an operation's measurement rising above a threshold value. The threshold can be set to milliseconds (the default is 5000).
  - Set the size of the payload in an SAA request packet:
```
 (rtr)  request-data-size   bytes  
```
    The protocol data in the request packet payload can be 0 to the maximum of the protocol (the default is 1 byte).
  - (SNA echo only) Set the size of the payload in an SAA response packet:
```
 (rtr)  response-data-size   bytes  
```
    The response packet protocol data is 0 bytes in length for APPL protocols by default. Otherwise, the default is the same size as request-data-size.
  - Set the Type of Service (ToS) bits in the request packet IP header:
```
 (rtr)  tos   value  
```
    The ToS value can be set to value, in decimal or hex (0x), ranging from 0 to 255 (the default is 0).
  - Set the identifier tag:
```
 (rtr)  tag   string  
```
    A text string tag can be assigned to an operation to identify it with a group of operations. The string value can be 0 to 16 characters in length.
  - Set the SNMP owner information:
```
 (rtr)  owner   string  
```
    A text string can be used as the SAA operation owner string for SNMP. This string can contain any relevant information, such as the person issuing the operation, phone numbers , location, or the reason for the operation. The string value can be 0 to 255 characters and may contain embedded spaces.
  - Check SAA echo responses for corrupted data:
```
 (rtr)  verify-data  
```
    If data corruption is suspected, echo responses can be verified at the expense of extra overhead.
2. (Optional) Set operation statistics parameters:
```
 (rtr)  distributions-of-statistics-kept   buckets  (rtr)  statistics-distribution-interval   milliseconds  (rtr)  hours-of-statistics-kept   hours  (rtr)  hops-of-statistics-kept   hops  (rtr)  paths-of-statistics-kept   paths  
```
  NOTE
  
  The SAA statistics commands should be used only when statistical information is needed for network modeling. Otherwise, the default values provide the correct resources for response-time operations.
  
  Measurements from each operation are distributed into "buckets" that contain results from a distinct response-time interval. The distributions-of-statistics-kept command specifies how many buckets are available (the default is 1). The statistics-distribution-interval command sets the width of the response-time interval (the default is 20 milliseconds; this has no effect if the default, 1 distribution, is used). The hours-of-statistics-kept command sets the length of time that statistics are kept (the default is 2 hours). The hops-of-statistics-kept command sets the number of hops of a pathecho operation for which statistics are kept (the default is 16 hops for pathecho and 1 hop for echo). The paths-of-statistics-kept command sets the number of distinct paths for which statistics are kept, because different paths may be used over different pathecho executions (the default is 5 paths for pathecho and 1 path for echo).
3. (Optional) Set measurement history parameters:
```
 (rtr)  buckets-of-history-kept   datapoints  (rtr)  lives-of-history-kept   lives  (rtr)  samples-of-history-kept   samples  (rtr)  filter-for-history  {  none   all   overthreshold   failures  } 
```
  NOTE
  
  You should use the SAA history commands only if you suspect a network problem. History collection records the last specified number of data points and therefore uses more router memory. By default, history collection is not performed.
  
  The buckets-of-history-kept command sets the number of data points to be kept for the operation (the default is 50 buckets). The lives-of-history-kept command enables history collection and sets the number of lives that are collected for the operation (the default is 0). A life is how long an operation is active, from start to finish. The samples-of-history-kept command sets the number of history entries per bucket (the default is 16 for pathecho and 1 for all others). The filter-for-history command specifies the type of history information to collect. The keywords are none (the default; no history), all (keep all attempted operations), overthreshold (keep only results that are over the threshold), and failures (keep only operations that fail).
4. (Optional) Set operation thresholds.
  - Configure an action to perform:
```
 (global)  rtr reaction-configuration   operation  [  connection-loss-enable  ]   [  timeout-enable  ] [  threshold-falling   milliseconds  ] [  threshold-type   option  ] [  action-type   option  ] 
```
    A notification can be sent when a threshold or other condition is met. Notifications can be used to trigger further SAA operations or to send alerts. The reaction is configured for the numbered SAA operation. The connection-loss-enable keyword enables checking for loss of connections (the default is disabled). The timeout-enable keyword enables checking for operation timeouts based on the timeout command (the default is disabled). The threshold-falling keyword defines the falling threshold of the response-time values (the default is 3000 milliseconds). (The rising threshold is defined by the threshold command).
    
    Threshold calculations are defined by the threshold-type keyword, as one of never (no threshold violations, the default), immediate (immediately perform the action when the threshold is violated), consecutive [ occurrences ] (perform the action if the threshold is exceeded occurrences times; the default is 5), xofy [ x y ] (perform the action if the threshold is exceeded x times out of y; the default is 5 of 5), or average [ attempts ] (perform the action if the average of the last attempts response times exceeds the threshold; the default is 5).
    
    The action to be taken is defined by the action-type keyword, as one of none (no action), traponly (send an SNMP trap), nmvtonly (send an SNA NMVT alert), triggeronly (trigger a second SAA operation), trapandnmvt (send a trap and an NMVT alert), trapandtrigger (send a trap and trigger a second operation), nmvtandtrigger (send an NMVT alert and trigger a second operation), or trapnmvtandtrigger (send a trap and an NMVT alert and trigger another operation).
  - Configure a second SAA operation to occur after a threshold:
```
 (global)  rtr reaction-trigger   operation target-operation  
```
    The target-operation SAA operation number is started if a trigger is defined for the original SAA operation.
(Optional) Define an SAA responder on a remote router:
```
 (global)  rtr responder  
```
The responder is enabled on a remote router to provide an intelligent response to various SAA operation types.
Schedule an SAA operation:
```
 (global)  rtr schedule   operation  [  life   seconds  ] [  start-time  {  pending   now   hh:mm  [  month day   day month  ]}] [  ageout   seconds  ] 
```
The numbered SAA operation is scheduled for activity. The life keyword defines the total amount of time that data is collected (the default is 3600 seconds, or 1 hour ). The start-time keyword sets how long the operation will be started: pending (the default; will not run until started with a time or triggered), now (start collecting data as soon as the command is entered), or a specific time (24-hour format) and an optional date (the default is the current date). If a date is used, at least three characters of the month name must be given. The ageout keyword sets how long the operation is kept while in the pending state (the default is 0 secondsinfinite).
Show SAA operation results.
1. (Optional) View the SAA operation configuration:
```
 (exec)  show rtr configuration  [  operation  ] 
```
2. (Optional) View the SAA operation activity:
```
 (exec)  show rtr collection-statistics  [  operation  ] 
```
3. (Optional) View the SAA operation results:
```
 (exec)  show rtr distribution-statistics  [  operation  ] [  tabular   full  ] 
```
  The results of the collected distributions are displayed (only one distribution is collected by default). The tabular keyword displays the results in a format that can be parsed by an application. The full keyword displays the results in a more readable format.

Example

An operation is configured to measure ICMP echo response times to host 192.168.191.47. Measurements are to be taken every 30 seconds. The operation is scheduled for a lifetime of 8 hours, to begin immediately.

  rtr 1   type echo protocol ipicmpecho 192.168.191.47   frequency 30   rtr schedule 1 life 28800 start-time now

An operation is set up to measure the HTTP response times of server 10.68.191.82. Measurements are taken once a minute for 1 hour (note that these are the defaults for frequency and life ). The operation should begin at 8:00 a.m. on February 12. The URL www.swellcompany.com is used as a test page.

  rtr 10   type http operation get url http://www.swellcompany.com   rtr schedule 10 start-time 08:00 feb 12