Contents

Configuring AVC to Monitor MACE Metrics

This feature is designed to analyze and measure network traffic for WAAS Express.

Application Visibility and Control (AVC) provides visibility for various applications and the network to central network management stations. MACE (Measurement, Aggregation, and Correlation Engine) provides AVC services by measuring metrics on a subset of traffic and exporting those metrics to a target. This enables the traffic to be measured and analyzed and the applications’ performance to be base-lined, monitored, and troubleshot .

This feature expands on the original enhancement of the WAAS Express feature that provided support for application monitoring. Monitoring capability for Wide-Area Application Services (WAAS) Express allows the analysis and measurement of TCP-based client-server messages to provide transaction- and session-based analytics. This feature works independently of WAAS Express to provide users with application visibility.

Finding Feature Information

Your software release may not support all the features documented in this module. For the latest feature information and caveats, see the release notes for your platform and software release.

Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to http:/​/​www.cisco.com/​go/​cfn . An account on Cisco.com is not required.

Restrictions for Configuring AVC to Monitor MACE Metrics

MACE does not interoperate with Network Address Translation (NAT) on the ingress (LAN) interface if the ip nat inside command is configured on the ingress interface. However, MACE interoperates with NAT on the egress (WAN) interface if the ip nat outside command is configured on the egress interface.

Information about Configuring AVC to Monitor MACE Metrics

New Functionality for MACE Phase 2

Phase 2 of Measurement, Aggregation, and Correlation Engine (MACE) provides the following additional support:

  • Monitoring of IPv6 flows

  • MACE metrics for UDP flows.

  • Two new NBAR option templates

  • New option templates for class and policy information

  • Use of the IPFIX protocol for flow exporters

The following collect commands can now be used to monitor IPv6 flows

  • collect art response time sum

  • collect art response time minimum

  • collect art response time maximum

  • collect art server response time sum

  • collect art server response time minimum

  • collect art server response time maximum

  • collect art network time sum

  • collect art network time minimum

  • collect art network time maximum

  • collect art client network time sum

  • collect art client network time minimum

  • collect art client network time maximum

  • collect art server network time sum

  • collect art server network time minimum

  • collect art server network time maximum

  • collect art total response time sum

  • collect art total response time minimum

  • collect art total response time maximum

  • collect art total transaction time sum

  • collect art total transaction time minimum

  • collect art total transaction time maximum

  • collect art count transactions

  • collect art server packets

  • collect art server bytes

  • collect art count retrans

  • collect art client packets

  • collect art client bytes

  • collect art count new connections

  • collect art count responses

  • collect art count late responses

  • collect art count responses histogram

  • collect art all

  • collect datalink mac source address input

  • collect ip dscp

  • collect application name

  • collect counter client bytes

  • collect counter server bytes

  • collect counter client packets

  • collect counter server packets

  • collect application http uri statistics

  • collect application http host

  • collect policy qos classification hierarchy

  • collect policy qos queue drops

  • collect time inter-packet-gap histogram

The following commands for new option templates are now supported

  • option                       application-attributes  

  • option sub-application-table

  • option                       class-qos-table  

  • option policy-qos-table

NetFlow Overview

NetFlow is a Cisco IOS application that provides statistics about packets that flow through a device.

NetFlow identifies packet flows for both ingress and egress IP packets. It does not involve any connection-setup protocol—either between devices or to any other networking device or end station. NetFlow does not require any external change—either to the packets themselves or to any networking device. NetFlow is completely transparent to the existing network, including end stations and application software and network devices such as LAN switches. Also, NetFlow capture and export operations are performed independently on each internetworking device; NetFlow need not be operational on each device in the network.

For more information, see the NetFlow Configuration Guide.

MACE Metrics

The Measurement, Aggregation, and Correlation Engine (MACE) provides the following metrics:

  • MACE metrics—Metrics that are extracted or calculated by the MACE engine itself, such as the number of packets and bytes.

  • ART metrics—Metrics that are extracted or calculated by the Application Response Time (ART) engine, such as network delay. These metrics are available only for TCP flows.

  • WAAS metrics—Metrics that are extracted or calculated by Wide-Area Application Services (WAAS), such as Data Redundancy Elimination (DRE) input bytes. These metrics are available only when WAAS is configured and MACE is monitoring the WAAS traffic.

MACE Configuration Plane

The Measurement, Aggregation, and Correlation Engine (MACE) can be configured either through an independent and new policy-map type or as part of the Wide-Area Application Services (WAAS) policy.

The table below lists the categories of MACE configuration.

Table 1  MACE Configuration Categories

Configuration

Description

Global set of metrics

Metrics that need to be collected.

Filters

Subset of traffic for which metrics need be collected. You can configure the MACE to monitor specific traffic. The MACE uses filters to classify traffic that has to be analyzed.

Timers

Frequency with which data needs to be exported. You can configure timer values for exporting flow metrics. After the timer expires, flow metrics are exported using NetFlow Data Export Version 9 (NDE v9). This timer has a default value of 5 minutes.

NetFlow Collector’s details

Details of the NetFlow Collector where data needs to be exported. You can configure information from the NetFlow Collector to export flow metrics. You can configure more than one exporter for the same set of metrics, in which metrics are exported to all NetFlow collectors.

The MACE collects the required metrics by using the metric template that contains a specific set of metric fields and exports them by using the Flexible NetFlow (FNF) infrastructure.

WAAS Express

Cisco's WAAS Express software interoperates with WAN optimization headend applications from Cisco. Cisco WAAS Express improves WAN access and use by optimizing applications, such as backup (is backup an application or a mechanism?), that require high bandwidth or are bound to a LAN.

WAAS Express helps enterprises meet the following objectives:

  • Complement the Cisco WAN optimization system by adding the capability to branch routers.

  • Provide branch office employees with LAN-like access to information and applications across a geographically distributed network.

  • Minimize unnecessary WAN bandwidth consumption through the use of advanced compression algorithms.

  • Virtualize print and other local services to branch office users.

  • Improve application performance over WAN by addressing the following common issues:
    • Low data rates (constrained bandwidth)
    • Slow delivery of frames (high network latency)
    • Higher rates of packet loss (low reliability)

The Network Analysis Module (NAM) Performance Agent (PA) for WAAS Express analyzes and measures network traffic. The PA enables baselining, monitoring, and troubleshooting of application performance. The analysis and measurement of network traffic is done by the Measurement, Aggregation, and Correlation Engine (MACE). MACE performs the required measurements on a subset of traffic and exports the necessary metrics to a target.

ART Engine

The Measurement, Aggregation, and Correlation Engine (MACE) data plane forwards packets to the Application Response Time (ART) engine in the same order in which the MACE receives them. The ART engine checks every packet forwarded by the MACE.

The ART engine saves some data from each packet in its own data structures and performs the required calculations. It aggregates the flows based on the following Layer 7 (L7) information:

  • Destination address

  • Destination port

  • Layer 4 protocol

  • Segment ID

  • Source address

When the export timer expires, the ART engine provides its flows and flow metrics to the MACE Exporter.

MACE Exporter

The Measurement, Aggregation, and Correlation Engine (MACE) Exporter receives the Flexible NetFlow (FNF) templates from the MACE configuration plane and builds FNF records based on these templates. It then passes the flow templates along with each record to the NetFlow infrastructure. FNF requires these templates to understand the layout of the records so that it can export the correct fields at the time of export.

The MACE Exporter allows you to configure the export time interval. The intervals 1, 2, 5, 10, and 15, in minutes, are supported. The export timer starts when the MACE is enabled. There are two ways to enable MACE: by using the MACE policy or by using the MACE along with the WAAS policy. To synchronize the export time of multiple devices that run the MACE across the network with the collector, the export timer expires when the current time modulo configured interval is zero. For instance, if a user configures a 5 minute interval at 10:07, the first export timer will expire at 10:10 (because 10:10 modulo 5 is 0) and subsequently at a gap of every 5 minutes (10:15, 10:20, and so on).


Note

Modulo is the resulting remainder when one number is divided by another. For example, the modulo of 5 and 4 is 1 because 5 divided by 4 leaves a remainder of 1.

This export mechanism ensures that the time when the first export interval expires is independent from the time when the MACE policy was applied to the target. Any future update to the timeout interval causes the current timer to stop, and a new timer starts. The timer also stops when the policy is removed from the interface.


Note

The MACE Exporter works on a best-effort basis. Also, MACE being a monitoring tool, the export process does execute with a high priority.

When the MACE Exporter timer expires, all engines are notified to process the metrics. After this notification, a second set of calls are sent to collect the processed metrics. The MACE Exporter receives the metrics data from various sources, aggregates them into a single FNF record, and passes it to the NetFlow component. Aggregation is done on the basis of Layer 7 keys. Application ID (Network-Based Application Recognition [NBAR]) is provided as a metric only when requested through the configuration.

How to Configure AVC to Monitor MACE Metrics

Configuring MACE for WAAS

MACE phase 2 can be invoked immediately before and after WAAS is enabled in both ingress and egress directions. This allows for measurements to be captured with no interference from any other feature. However, in the absence of WAAS, the before-WAAS and after-WAAS traffic is identical. Perform this task to enable MACE phase 2 on WAAS.

SUMMARY STEPS

    1.    enable

    2.    configure terminal

    3.    flow record type mace name

    4.    collect art all

    5.    collect application http host

    6.    collect application http uri statistics

    7.    collect policy qos classification hierarchy

    8.    collect policy qos queue drops

    9.    collect time inter-packet-gap histogram

    10.    exit

    11.    flow exporter exporter-name

    12.    export-protocol ipfix

    13.    option application-attributes

    14.    option sub-application-table

    15.    option class-qos-table

    16.    option policy-qos-table

    17.    destination ip-address

    18.    exit

    19.    flow monitor type mace name

    20.    record record-name

    21.    exporter exporter-name

    22.    exit

    23.    mace monitor waas {all | optimized} name

    24.    end


DETAILED STEPS
     Command or ActionPurpose
    Step 1 enable


    Example:
    Device> enable
     

    Enables privileged EXEC mode.

    • Enter your password if prompted.

     
    Step 2 configure terminal


    Example:
    Device# configure terminal
     

    Enters global configuration mode.

     
    Step 3 flow record type mace name


    Example:
    Device(config)# flow record type mace my-flow-record
     

    Configures a flow record for MACE and enters Flexible NetFlow flow record configuration mode.

     
    Step 4 collect art all


    Example:
    Device(config-flow-record)# collect art all
     

    Collects all Application Response Time (ART) metrics.

     
    Step 5 collect application http host


    Example:
    Device(config-flow-record)# collect http host
     

    Collects all Application Response Time (ART) metrics.

     
    Step 6 collect application http uri statistics


    Example:
    Device(config-flow-record)# collect http uri statistics
     

    Collects application HTTP URI statistics.

     
    Step 7 collect policy qos classification hierarchy


    Example:
    Device(config-flow-record)# collect policy qos classification hierarchy
     

    Collects the QoS policy classification hierarchy.

     
    Step 8 collect policy qos queue drops


    Example:
    Device(config-flow-record)# collect policy qos queue drops
     

    Collects the number of QoS policy queue drops.

     
    Step 9 collect time inter-packet-gap histogram


    Example:
    Device(config-flow-record)# collect time inter-packet-gap histogram
     

    Collects the inter-packet-gap time histogram.

     
    Step 10 exit


    Example:
    Device(config-flow-record)# exit
     

    Exits Flexible NetFlow flow record configuration mode.

     
    Step 11 flow exporter exporter-name


    Example:
    Device(config)# flow exporter my-flow-exporter
     

    Creates a Flexible NetFlow flow exporter and enters Flexible NetFlow flow exporter configuration mode.

     
    Step 12 export-protocol ipfix


    Example:
    Device(config-flow-exporter)# export-protocol ipfix
     

    Configures IPFIX as the export protocol.

     
    Step 13 option application-attributes


    Example:
    Device(config-flow-exporter)# option application-attributes
     

    Configures an option template.

     
    Step 14 option sub-application-table


    Example:
    Device(config-flow-exporter)# option sub-application-table
     

    Configures an option template.

     
    Step 15 option class-qos-table


    Example:
    Device(config-flow-exporter)# option class-qos-table
     

    Configures an option template.

     
    Step 16 option policy-qos-table


    Example:
    Device(config-flow-exporter)# option policy-qos-table
     

    Configures an option template.

     
    Step 17 destination ip-address


    Example:
    Device(config-flow-exporter)# destination 209.165.201.1
     

    Configures the IP address of the workstation to which you want to send the NetFlow information.

     
    Step 18 exit


    Example:
    Device(config-flow-exporter)# exit
     

    Exits Flexible NetFlow flow exporter configuration mode.

     
    Step 19 flow monitor type mace name


    Example:
    Device(config)# flow monitor type mace my-flow-monitor
     

    Configures a Flexible NetFlow flow monitor of type MACE and enters Flexible NetFlow flow monitor configuration mode.

     
    Step 20 record record-name


    Example:
    Device(config-flow-monitor)# record my-flow-record
     

    Specifies the name of a user-defined flow record that was previously configured.

     
    Step 21 exporter exporter-name


    Example:
    Device(config-flow-monitor)# exporter my-flow-exporter
     

    Specifies the name of a flow exporter that was previously configured.

     
    Step 22 exit


    Example:
    Device(config-flow-monitor)# exit
     

    Exits Flexible NetFlow flow monitor configuration mode.

     
    Step 23 mace monitor waas {all | optimized} name


    Example:
    Device(config)# mace monitor waas all my-flow-monitor
     

    Enables MACE on WAAS for a flow monitor that was previously configured.

     
    Step 24 end


    Example:
    Device(config)# end
     

    Exits global configuration mode and returns to privileged EXEC mode.

     

    Configuring MACE for an Interface

    You can enable the Cisco IOS NAM PA for WAAS Express feature on both ingress and egress interfaces so that MACE can capture and monitor traffic in both directions. After enabling MACE in one direction, the same policy is internally configured in the other direction as well. Perform this task to enable MACE on an interface.

    SUMMARY STEPS

      1.    enable

      2.    configure terminal

      3.    flow record type mace name

      4.    collect art all

      5.    collect application name

      6.    collect counter client bytes

      7.    collect counter server bytes

      8.    collect counter client packets

      9.    collect counter client packets

      10.    collect application http host

      11.    collect application http uri statistics

      12.    collect policy qos classification hierarchy

      13.    collect policy qos queue drops

      14.    collect time inter-packet-gap histogram

      15.    exit

      16.    flow exporter exporter-name

      17.    export-protocol ipfix

      18.    option application-attributes

      19.    option sub-application-table

      20.    option class-qos-table

      21.    option policy-qos-table

      22.    destination ip-address

      23.    exit

      24.    flow monitor type mace name

      25.    record record-name

      26.    exporter exporter-name

      27.    exit

      28.    class-map type waas class-map-name

      29.    exit

      30.    policy-map type mace name

      31.    class name

      32.    flow monitor monitor-name

      33.    exit

      34.    exit

      35.    interface type number [name-tag]

      36.    mace enable

      37.    end


    DETAILED STEPS
       Command or ActionPurpose
      Step 1 enable


      Example:
      Device> enable
       

      Enables privileged EXEC mode.

      • Enter your password if prompted.

       
      Step 2 configure terminal


      Example:
      Device# configure terminal
       

      Enters global configuration mode.

       
      Step 3 flow record type mace name


      Example:
      Device(config)# flow record type mace my-flow-record
       

      Configures a flow record for MACE and enters Flexible NetFlow flow record configuration mode.

       
      Step 4 collect art all


      Example:
      Device(config-flow-record)# collect art all
       

      Collects all Application Response Time (ART) metrics.

       
      Step 5 collect application name


      Example:
      Device(config-flow-record)# collect application name
       

      Collects the application name.

       
      Step 6 collect counter client bytes


      Example:
      Device(config-flow-record)# collect counter client bytes
       

      Collects the total number of bytes from the client.

       
      Step 7 collect counter server bytes


      Example:
      Device(config-flow-record)# collect counter server bytes
       

      Collects the total number of bytes from the server.

       
      Step 8 collect counter client packets


      Example:
      Device(config-flow-record)# collect counter client packets
       

      Collects the total number of bytes from the server.

       
      Step 9 collect counter client packets


      Example:
      Device(config-flow-record)# collect counter server packets
       

      Collects the total number of packets from the server.

       
      Step 10 collect application http host


      Example:
      Device(config-flow-record)# collect http host
       

      Collects all Application Response Time (ART) metrics.

       
      Step 11 collect application http uri statistics


      Example:
      Device(config-flow-record)# collect http uri statistics
       

      Collects application HTTP URI statistics.

       
      Step 12 collect policy qos classification hierarchy


      Example:
      Device(config-flow-record)# collect policy qos classification hierarchy
       

      Collects the QoS policy classification hierarchy.

       
      Step 13 collect policy qos queue drops


      Example:
      Device(config-flow-record)# collect policy qos queue drops
       

      Collects the number of QoS policy queue drops.

       
      Step 14 collect time inter-packet-gap histogram


      Example:
      Device(config-flow-record)# collect time inter-packet-gap histogram
       

      Collects the inter-packet-gap time histogram.

       
      Step 15 exit


      Example:
      Device(config-flow-record)# exit
       

      Exits Flexible NetFlow flow record configuration mode.

       
      Step 16 flow exporter exporter-name


      Example:
      Device(config)# flow exporter my-flow-exporter
       

      Creates an FNF flow exporter and enters Flexible NetFlow flow exporter configuration mode.

       
      Step 17 export-protocol ipfix


      Example:
      Device(config-flow-exporter)# export-protocol ipfix
       

      Configures IPFIX as the export protocol.

       
      Step 18 option application-attributes


      Example:
      Device(config-flow-exporter)# option application-attributes
       

      Configures an option template.

       
      Step 19 option sub-application-table


      Example:
      Device(config-flow-exporter)# option sub-application-table
       

      Configures an option template.

       
      Step 20 option class-qos-table


      Example:
      Device(config-flow-exporter)# option class-qos-table
       

      Configures an option template.

       
      Step 21 option policy-qos-table


      Example:
      Device(config-flow-exporter)# option policy-qos-table
       

      Configures an option template.

       
      Step 22 destination ip-address


      Example:
      Device(config-flow-exporter)# destination 209.165.201.1
       

      Configures the IP address of the workstation to which you want to send the NetFlow information.

       
      Step 23 exit


      Example:
      Device(config-flow-exporter)# exit
       

      Exits Flexible NetFlow flow exporter configuration mode.

       
      Step 24 flow monitor type mace name


      Example:
      Device(config)# flow monitor type mace my-flow-monitor
       

      Configures an FNF flow monitor of type MACE and enters Flexible NetFlow flow monitor configuration mode.

       
      Step 25 record record-name


      Example:
      Device(config-flow-monitor)# record my-flow-record
       

      Specifies the name of a user-defined flow record that was previously configured.

       
      Step 26 exporter exporter-name


      Example:
      Device(config-flow-monitor)# exporter my-flow-exporter
       

      Specifies the name of a flow exporter that was previously configured.

       
      Step 27 exit


      Example:
      Device(config-flow-monitor)# exit
       

      Exits Flexible NetFlow flow monitor configuration mode.

       
      Step 28 class-map type waas class-map-name


      Example:
      Device(config)# class-map type waas my-waas-class
       

      Configures a WAAS Express class map and enters class map configuration mode.

       
      Step 29 exit


      Example:
      Device(config-cmap)# exit
       

      Exits class-map configuration mode.

       
      Step 30 policy-map type mace name


      Example:
      Device(config)# policy-map type mace mace_global
       

      Configures a MACE policy map and enters policy-map configuration mode.

       
      Step 31 class name


      Example:
      Device(config-pmap)# class my-waas-class
       

      Configures a class name and enters policy-map class configuration mode.

       
      Step 32 flow monitor monitor-name


      Example:
      Device(config-pmap-c)# flow monitor my-flow-monitor
       

      Configures a flow monitor name.

       
      Step 33 exit


      Example:
      Device(config-pmap-c)# exit
       

      Exits policy-map class configuration mode.

       
      Step 34 exit


      Example:
      Device(config-pmap)# exit
       

      Exits policy-map configuration mode.

       
      Step 35 interface type number [name-tag]


      Example:
      Device(config)# interface ethernet0/0
       

      Configures an interface type and enters interface configuration mode.

       
      Step 36 mace enable


      Example:
      Device(config-if)# mace enable
       

      Applies the global MACE policy on an interface.

       
      Step 37 end


      Example:
      Device(config-if)# end
       

      Exits interface configuration mode and returns to privileged EXEC mode.

       

      Additional References

      Related Documents

      Related Topic

      Document Title

      Cisco IOS commands

      Cisco IOS Master Command List, All Releases

      Flexible NetFlow commands

      Cisco IOS Flexible NetFlow Command Reference

      NetFlow configuration tasks

      Cisco IOS NetFow Configuration Guide

      WAN configuration tasks

      • Wide-Area Networking Configuration Guide: Frame Relay

      • Wide-Area Networking Configuration Guide: Layer 2 Services

      • Wide-Area Networking Configuration Guide: SMDS and X.25 and LAPB

      • Wide-Area Networking Configuration Guide: Wide-Area Application Services

      WAN commands

      Cisco IOS Wide-Area Networking Command Reference

      Technical Assistance

      Description

      Link

      The Cisco Support and Documentation website provides online resources to download documentation, software, and tools. Use these resources to install and configure the software and to troubleshoot and resolve technical issues with Cisco products and technologies. Access to most tools on the Cisco Support and Documentation website requires a Cisco.com user ID and password.

      http:/​/​www.cisco.com/​cisco/​web/​support/​index.html

      Feature Information for Configuring AVC to Monitor MACE Metrics

      The following table provides release information about the feature or features described in this module. This table lists only the software release that introduced support for a given feature in a given software release train. Unless noted otherwise, subsequent releases of that software release train also support that feature.

      Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to . An account on Cisco.com is not required.
      Table 2 Feature Information for MACE Phase 2

      Feature Name

      Releases

      Feature Information

      MACE Phase 2

      15.1(4)M2

      This feature is provides support for IPv6 flows, MACE metrics for UDP flows, two new NBAR option templates, new option templates for class and policy information, and the use of IPFIX for flow exporters.

      The following commands were introduced or modified: collect application http host, collect application http uri statistics, collect policy qos classification hierarchy, collect policy qos queue drops, collect time inter-packet-gap histogram, export-protocol ipfix, option application-attributes, option sub-application-table, option class-qos-table,and option policy-qos-table.

      Configuring AVC to Monitor MACE Metrics

      Configuring AVC to Monitor MACE Metrics

      This feature is designed to analyze and measure network traffic for WAAS Express.

      Application Visibility and Control (AVC) provides visibility for various applications and the network to central network management stations. MACE (Measurement, Aggregation, and Correlation Engine) provides AVC services by measuring metrics on a subset of traffic and exporting those metrics to a target. This enables the traffic to be measured and analyzed and the applications’ performance to be base-lined, monitored, and troubleshot .

      This feature expands on the original enhancement of the WAAS Express feature that provided support for application monitoring. Monitoring capability for Wide-Area Application Services (WAAS) Express allows the analysis and measurement of TCP-based client-server messages to provide transaction- and session-based analytics. This feature works independently of WAAS Express to provide users with application visibility.

      Finding Feature Information

      Your software release may not support all the features documented in this module. For the latest feature information and caveats, see the release notes for your platform and software release.

      Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to http:/​/​www.cisco.com/​go/​cfn . An account on Cisco.com is not required.

      Restrictions for Configuring AVC to Monitor MACE Metrics

      MACE does not interoperate with Network Address Translation (NAT) on the ingress (LAN) interface if the ip nat inside command is configured on the ingress interface. However, MACE interoperates with NAT on the egress (WAN) interface if the ip nat outside command is configured on the egress interface.

      Information about Configuring AVC to Monitor MACE Metrics

      New Functionality for MACE Phase 2

      Phase 2 of Measurement, Aggregation, and Correlation Engine (MACE) provides the following additional support:

      • Monitoring of IPv6 flows

      • MACE metrics for UDP flows.

      • Two new NBAR option templates

      • New option templates for class and policy information

      • Use of the IPFIX protocol for flow exporters

      The following collect commands can now be used to monitor IPv6 flows

      • collect art response time sum

      • collect art response time minimum

      • collect art response time maximum

      • collect art server response time sum

      • collect art server response time minimum

      • collect art server response time maximum

      • collect art network time sum

      • collect art network time minimum

      • collect art network time maximum

      • collect art client network time sum

      • collect art client network time minimum

      • collect art client network time maximum

      • collect art server network time sum

      • collect art server network time minimum

      • collect art server network time maximum

      • collect art total response time sum

      • collect art total response time minimum

      • collect art total response time maximum

      • collect art total transaction time sum

      • collect art total transaction time minimum

      • collect art total transaction time maximum

      • collect art count transactions

      • collect art server packets

      • collect art server bytes

      • collect art count retrans

      • collect art client packets

      • collect art client bytes

      • collect art count new connections

      • collect art count responses

      • collect art count late responses

      • collect art count responses histogram

      • collect art all

      • collect datalink mac source address input

      • collect ip dscp

      • collect application name

      • collect counter client bytes

      • collect counter server bytes

      • collect counter client packets

      • collect counter server packets

      • collect application http uri statistics

      • collect application http host

      • collect policy qos classification hierarchy

      • collect policy qos queue drops

      • collect time inter-packet-gap histogram

      The following commands for new option templates are now supported

      • option                       application-attributes  

      • option sub-application-table

      • option                       class-qos-table  

      • option policy-qos-table

      NetFlow Overview

      NetFlow is a Cisco IOS application that provides statistics about packets that flow through a device.

      NetFlow identifies packet flows for both ingress and egress IP packets. It does not involve any connection-setup protocol—either between devices or to any other networking device or end station. NetFlow does not require any external change—either to the packets themselves or to any networking device. NetFlow is completely transparent to the existing network, including end stations and application software and network devices such as LAN switches. Also, NetFlow capture and export operations are performed independently on each internetworking device; NetFlow need not be operational on each device in the network.

      For more information, see the NetFlow Configuration Guide.

      MACE Metrics

      The Measurement, Aggregation, and Correlation Engine (MACE) provides the following metrics:

      • MACE metrics—Metrics that are extracted or calculated by the MACE engine itself, such as the number of packets and bytes.

      • ART metrics—Metrics that are extracted or calculated by the Application Response Time (ART) engine, such as network delay. These metrics are available only for TCP flows.

      • WAAS metrics—Metrics that are extracted or calculated by Wide-Area Application Services (WAAS), such as Data Redundancy Elimination (DRE) input bytes. These metrics are available only when WAAS is configured and MACE is monitoring the WAAS traffic.

      MACE Configuration Plane

      The Measurement, Aggregation, and Correlation Engine (MACE) can be configured either through an independent and new policy-map type or as part of the Wide-Area Application Services (WAAS) policy.

      The table below lists the categories of MACE configuration.

      Table 1  MACE Configuration Categories

      Configuration

      Description

      Global set of metrics

      Metrics that need to be collected.

      Filters

      Subset of traffic for which metrics need be collected. You can configure the MACE to monitor specific traffic. The MACE uses filters to classify traffic that has to be analyzed.

      Timers

      Frequency with which data needs to be exported. You can configure timer values for exporting flow metrics. After the timer expires, flow metrics are exported using NetFlow Data Export Version 9 (NDE v9). This timer has a default value of 5 minutes.

      NetFlow Collector’s details

      Details of the NetFlow Collector where data needs to be exported. You can configure information from the NetFlow Collector to export flow metrics. You can configure more than one exporter for the same set of metrics, in which metrics are exported to all NetFlow collectors.

      The MACE collects the required metrics by using the metric template that contains a specific set of metric fields and exports them by using the Flexible NetFlow (FNF) infrastructure.

      WAAS Express

      Cisco's WAAS Express software interoperates with WAN optimization headend applications from Cisco. Cisco WAAS Express improves WAN access and use by optimizing applications, such as backup (is backup an application or a mechanism?), that require high bandwidth or are bound to a LAN.

      WAAS Express helps enterprises meet the following objectives:

      • Complement the Cisco WAN optimization system by adding the capability to branch routers.

      • Provide branch office employees with LAN-like access to information and applications across a geographically distributed network.

      • Minimize unnecessary WAN bandwidth consumption through the use of advanced compression algorithms.

      • Virtualize print and other local services to branch office users.

      • Improve application performance over WAN by addressing the following common issues:
        • Low data rates (constrained bandwidth)
        • Slow delivery of frames (high network latency)
        • Higher rates of packet loss (low reliability)

      The Network Analysis Module (NAM) Performance Agent (PA) for WAAS Express analyzes and measures network traffic. The PA enables baselining, monitoring, and troubleshooting of application performance. The analysis and measurement of network traffic is done by the Measurement, Aggregation, and Correlation Engine (MACE). MACE performs the required measurements on a subset of traffic and exports the necessary metrics to a target.

      ART Engine

      The Measurement, Aggregation, and Correlation Engine (MACE) data plane forwards packets to the Application Response Time (ART) engine in the same order in which the MACE receives them. The ART engine checks every packet forwarded by the MACE.

      The ART engine saves some data from each packet in its own data structures and performs the required calculations. It aggregates the flows based on the following Layer 7 (L7) information:

      • Destination address

      • Destination port

      • Layer 4 protocol

      • Segment ID

      • Source address

      When the export timer expires, the ART engine provides its flows and flow metrics to the MACE Exporter.

      MACE Exporter

      The Measurement, Aggregation, and Correlation Engine (MACE) Exporter receives the Flexible NetFlow (FNF) templates from the MACE configuration plane and builds FNF records based on these templates. It then passes the flow templates along with each record to the NetFlow infrastructure. FNF requires these templates to understand the layout of the records so that it can export the correct fields at the time of export.

      The MACE Exporter allows you to configure the export time interval. The intervals 1, 2, 5, 10, and 15, in minutes, are supported. The export timer starts when the MACE is enabled. There are two ways to enable MACE: by using the MACE policy or by using the MACE along with the WAAS policy. To synchronize the export time of multiple devices that run the MACE across the network with the collector, the export timer expires when the current time modulo configured interval is zero. For instance, if a user configures a 5 minute interval at 10:07, the first export timer will expire at 10:10 (because 10:10 modulo 5 is 0) and subsequently at a gap of every 5 minutes (10:15, 10:20, and so on).


      Note

      Modulo is the resulting remainder when one number is divided by another. For example, the modulo of 5 and 4 is 1 because 5 divided by 4 leaves a remainder of 1.

      This export mechanism ensures that the time when the first export interval expires is independent from the time when the MACE policy was applied to the target. Any future update to the timeout interval causes the current timer to stop, and a new timer starts. The timer also stops when the policy is removed from the interface.


      Note

      The MACE Exporter works on a best-effort basis. Also, MACE being a monitoring tool, the export process does execute with a high priority.

      When the MACE Exporter timer expires, all engines are notified to process the metrics. After this notification, a second set of calls are sent to collect the processed metrics. The MACE Exporter receives the metrics data from various sources, aggregates them into a single FNF record, and passes it to the NetFlow component. Aggregation is done on the basis of Layer 7 keys. Application ID (Network-Based Application Recognition [NBAR]) is provided as a metric only when requested through the configuration.

      How to Configure AVC to Monitor MACE Metrics

      Configuring MACE for WAAS

      MACE phase 2 can be invoked immediately before and after WAAS is enabled in both ingress and egress directions. This allows for measurements to be captured with no interference from any other feature. However, in the absence of WAAS, the before-WAAS and after-WAAS traffic is identical. Perform this task to enable MACE phase 2 on WAAS.

      SUMMARY STEPS

        1.    enable

        2.    configure terminal

        3.    flow record type mace name

        4.    collect art all

        5.    collect application http host

        6.    collect application http uri statistics

        7.    collect policy qos classification hierarchy

        8.    collect policy qos queue drops

        9.    collect time inter-packet-gap histogram

        10.    exit

        11.    flow exporter exporter-name

        12.    export-protocol ipfix

        13.    option application-attributes

        14.    option sub-application-table

        15.    option class-qos-table

        16.    option policy-qos-table

        17.    destination ip-address

        18.    exit

        19.    flow monitor type mace name

        20.    record record-name

        21.    exporter exporter-name

        22.    exit

        23.    mace monitor waas {all | optimized} name

        24.    end


      DETAILED STEPS
         Command or ActionPurpose
        Step 1 enable


        Example:
        Device> enable
         

        Enables privileged EXEC mode.

        • Enter your password if prompted.

         
        Step 2 configure terminal


        Example:
        Device# configure terminal
         

        Enters global configuration mode.

         
        Step 3 flow record type mace name


        Example:
        Device(config)# flow record type mace my-flow-record
         

        Configures a flow record for MACE and enters Flexible NetFlow flow record configuration mode.

         
        Step 4 collect art all


        Example:
        Device(config-flow-record)# collect art all
         

        Collects all Application Response Time (ART) metrics.

         
        Step 5 collect application http host


        Example:
        Device(config-flow-record)# collect http host
         

        Collects all Application Response Time (ART) metrics.

         
        Step 6 collect application http uri statistics


        Example:
        Device(config-flow-record)# collect http uri statistics
         

        Collects application HTTP URI statistics.

         
        Step 7 collect policy qos classification hierarchy


        Example:
        Device(config-flow-record)# collect policy qos classification hierarchy
         

        Collects the QoS policy classification hierarchy.

         
        Step 8 collect policy qos queue drops


        Example:
        Device(config-flow-record)# collect policy qos queue drops
         

        Collects the number of QoS policy queue drops.

         
        Step 9 collect time inter-packet-gap histogram


        Example:
        Device(config-flow-record)# collect time inter-packet-gap histogram
         

        Collects the inter-packet-gap time histogram.

         
        Step 10 exit


        Example:
        Device(config-flow-record)# exit
         

        Exits Flexible NetFlow flow record configuration mode.

         
        Step 11 flow exporter exporter-name


        Example:
        Device(config)# flow exporter my-flow-exporter
         

        Creates a Flexible NetFlow flow exporter and enters Flexible NetFlow flow exporter configuration mode.

         
        Step 12 export-protocol ipfix


        Example:
        Device(config-flow-exporter)# export-protocol ipfix
         

        Configures IPFIX as the export protocol.

         
        Step 13 option application-attributes


        Example:
        Device(config-flow-exporter)# option application-attributes
         

        Configures an option template.

         
        Step 14 option sub-application-table


        Example:
        Device(config-flow-exporter)# option sub-application-table
         

        Configures an option template.

         
        Step 15 option class-qos-table


        Example:
        Device(config-flow-exporter)# option class-qos-table
         

        Configures an option template.

         
        Step 16 option policy-qos-table


        Example:
        Device(config-flow-exporter)# option policy-qos-table
         

        Configures an option template.

         
        Step 17 destination ip-address


        Example:
        Device(config-flow-exporter)# destination 209.165.201.1
         

        Configures the IP address of the workstation to which you want to send the NetFlow information.

         
        Step 18 exit


        Example:
        Device(config-flow-exporter)# exit
         

        Exits Flexible NetFlow flow exporter configuration mode.

         
        Step 19 flow monitor type mace name


        Example:
        Device(config)# flow monitor type mace my-flow-monitor
         

        Configures a Flexible NetFlow flow monitor of type MACE and enters Flexible NetFlow flow monitor configuration mode.

         
        Step 20 record record-name


        Example:
        Device(config-flow-monitor)# record my-flow-record
         

        Specifies the name of a user-defined flow record that was previously configured.

         
        Step 21 exporter exporter-name


        Example:
        Device(config-flow-monitor)# exporter my-flow-exporter
         

        Specifies the name of a flow exporter that was previously configured.

         
        Step 22 exit


        Example:
        Device(config-flow-monitor)# exit
         

        Exits Flexible NetFlow flow monitor configuration mode.

         
        Step 23 mace monitor waas {all | optimized} name


        Example:
        Device(config)# mace monitor waas all my-flow-monitor
         

        Enables MACE on WAAS for a flow monitor that was previously configured.

         
        Step 24 end


        Example:
        Device(config)# end
         

        Exits global configuration mode and returns to privileged EXEC mode.

         

        Configuring MACE for an Interface

        You can enable the Cisco IOS NAM PA for WAAS Express feature on both ingress and egress interfaces so that MACE can capture and monitor traffic in both directions. After enabling MACE in one direction, the same policy is internally configured in the other direction as well. Perform this task to enable MACE on an interface.

        SUMMARY STEPS

          1.    enable

          2.    configure terminal

          3.    flow record type mace name

          4.    collect art all

          5.    collect application name

          6.    collect counter client bytes

          7.    collect counter server bytes

          8.    collect counter client packets

          9.    collect counter client packets

          10.    collect application http host

          11.    collect application http uri statistics

          12.    collect policy qos classification hierarchy

          13.    collect policy qos queue drops

          14.    collect time inter-packet-gap histogram

          15.    exit

          16.    flow exporter exporter-name

          17.    export-protocol ipfix

          18.    option application-attributes

          19.    option sub-application-table

          20.    option class-qos-table

          21.    option policy-qos-table

          22.    destination ip-address

          23.    exit

          24.    flow monitor type mace name

          25.    record record-name

          26.    exporter exporter-name

          27.    exit

          28.    class-map type waas class-map-name

          29.    exit

          30.    policy-map type mace name

          31.    class name

          32.    flow monitor monitor-name

          33.    exit

          34.    exit

          35.    interface type number [name-tag]

          36.    mace enable

          37.    end


        DETAILED STEPS
           Command or ActionPurpose
          Step 1 enable


          Example:
          Device> enable
           

          Enables privileged EXEC mode.

          • Enter your password if prompted.

           
          Step 2 configure terminal


          Example:
          Device# configure terminal
           

          Enters global configuration mode.

           
          Step 3 flow record type mace name


          Example:
          Device(config)# flow record type mace my-flow-record
           

          Configures a flow record for MACE and enters Flexible NetFlow flow record configuration mode.

           
          Step 4 collect art all


          Example:
          Device(config-flow-record)# collect art all
           

          Collects all Application Response Time (ART) metrics.

           
          Step 5 collect application name


          Example:
          Device(config-flow-record)# collect application name
           

          Collects the application name.

           
          Step 6 collect counter client bytes


          Example:
          Device(config-flow-record)# collect counter client bytes
           

          Collects the total number of bytes from the client.

           
          Step 7 collect counter server bytes


          Example:
          Device(config-flow-record)# collect counter server bytes
           

          Collects the total number of bytes from the server.

           
          Step 8 collect counter client packets


          Example:
          Device(config-flow-record)# collect counter client packets
           

          Collects the total number of bytes from the server.

           
          Step 9 collect counter client packets


          Example:
          Device(config-flow-record)# collect counter server packets
           

          Collects the total number of packets from the server.

           
          Step 10 collect application http host


          Example:
          Device(config-flow-record)# collect http host
           

          Collects all Application Response Time (ART) metrics.

           
          Step 11 collect application http uri statistics


          Example:
          Device(config-flow-record)# collect http uri statistics
           

          Collects application HTTP URI statistics.

           
          Step 12 collect policy qos classification hierarchy


          Example:
          Device(config-flow-record)# collect policy qos classification hierarchy
           

          Collects the QoS policy classification hierarchy.

           
          Step 13 collect policy qos queue drops


          Example:
          Device(config-flow-record)# collect policy qos queue drops
           

          Collects the number of QoS policy queue drops.

           
          Step 14 collect time inter-packet-gap histogram


          Example:
          Device(config-flow-record)# collect time inter-packet-gap histogram
           

          Collects the inter-packet-gap time histogram.

           
          Step 15 exit


          Example:
          Device(config-flow-record)# exit
           

          Exits Flexible NetFlow flow record configuration mode.

           
          Step 16 flow exporter exporter-name


          Example:
          Device(config)# flow exporter my-flow-exporter
           

          Creates an FNF flow exporter and enters Flexible NetFlow flow exporter configuration mode.

           
          Step 17 export-protocol ipfix


          Example:
          Device(config-flow-exporter)# export-protocol ipfix
           

          Configures IPFIX as the export protocol.

           
          Step 18 option application-attributes


          Example:
          Device(config-flow-exporter)# option application-attributes
           

          Configures an option template.

           
          Step 19 option sub-application-table


          Example:
          Device(config-flow-exporter)# option sub-application-table
           

          Configures an option template.

           
          Step 20 option class-qos-table


          Example:
          Device(config-flow-exporter)# option class-qos-table
           

          Configures an option template.

           
          Step 21 option policy-qos-table


          Example:
          Device(config-flow-exporter)# option policy-qos-table
           

          Configures an option template.

           
          Step 22 destination ip-address


          Example:
          Device(config-flow-exporter)# destination 209.165.201.1
           

          Configures the IP address of the workstation to which you want to send the NetFlow information.

           
          Step 23 exit


          Example:
          Device(config-flow-exporter)# exit
           

          Exits Flexible NetFlow flow exporter configuration mode.

           
          Step 24 flow monitor type mace name


          Example:
          Device(config)# flow monitor type mace my-flow-monitor
           

          Configures an FNF flow monitor of type MACE and enters Flexible NetFlow flow monitor configuration mode.

           
          Step 25 record record-name


          Example:
          Device(config-flow-monitor)# record my-flow-record
           

          Specifies the name of a user-defined flow record that was previously configured.

           
          Step 26 exporter exporter-name


          Example:
          Device(config-flow-monitor)# exporter my-flow-exporter
           

          Specifies the name of a flow exporter that was previously configured.

           
          Step 27 exit


          Example:
          Device(config-flow-monitor)# exit
           

          Exits Flexible NetFlow flow monitor configuration mode.

           
          Step 28 class-map type waas class-map-name


          Example:
          Device(config)# class-map type waas my-waas-class
           

          Configures a WAAS Express class map and enters class map configuration mode.

           
          Step 29 exit


          Example:
          Device(config-cmap)# exit
           

          Exits class-map configuration mode.

           
          Step 30 policy-map type mace name


          Example:
          Device(config)# policy-map type mace mace_global
           

          Configures a MACE policy map and enters policy-map configuration mode.

           
          Step 31 class name


          Example:
          Device(config-pmap)# class my-waas-class
           

          Configures a class name and enters policy-map class configuration mode.

           
          Step 32 flow monitor monitor-name


          Example:
          Device(config-pmap-c)# flow monitor my-flow-monitor
           

          Configures a flow monitor name.

           
          Step 33 exit


          Example:
          Device(config-pmap-c)# exit
           

          Exits policy-map class configuration mode.

           
          Step 34 exit


          Example:
          Device(config-pmap)# exit
           

          Exits policy-map configuration mode.

           
          Step 35 interface type number [name-tag]


          Example:
          Device(config)# interface ethernet0/0
           

          Configures an interface type and enters interface configuration mode.

           
          Step 36 mace enable


          Example:
          Device(config-if)# mace enable
           

          Applies the global MACE policy on an interface.

           
          Step 37 end


          Example:
          Device(config-if)# end
           

          Exits interface configuration mode and returns to privileged EXEC mode.

           

          Additional References

          Related Documents

          Related Topic

          Document Title

          Cisco IOS commands

          Cisco IOS Master Command List, All Releases

          Flexible NetFlow commands

          Cisco IOS Flexible NetFlow Command Reference

          NetFlow configuration tasks

          Cisco IOS NetFow Configuration Guide

          WAN configuration tasks

          • Wide-Area Networking Configuration Guide: Frame Relay

          • Wide-Area Networking Configuration Guide: Layer 2 Services

          • Wide-Area Networking Configuration Guide: SMDS and X.25 and LAPB

          • Wide-Area Networking Configuration Guide: Wide-Area Application Services

          WAN commands

          Cisco IOS Wide-Area Networking Command Reference

          Technical Assistance

          Description

          Link

          The Cisco Support and Documentation website provides online resources to download documentation, software, and tools. Use these resources to install and configure the software and to troubleshoot and resolve technical issues with Cisco products and technologies. Access to most tools on the Cisco Support and Documentation website requires a Cisco.com user ID and password.

          http:/​/​www.cisco.com/​cisco/​web/​support/​index.html

          Feature Information for Configuring AVC to Monitor MACE Metrics

          The following table provides release information about the feature or features described in this module. This table lists only the software release that introduced support for a given feature in a given software release train. Unless noted otherwise, subsequent releases of that software release train also support that feature.

          Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to . An account on Cisco.com is not required.
          Table 2 Feature Information for MACE Phase 2

          Feature Name

          Releases

          Feature Information

          MACE Phase 2

          15.1(4)M2

          This feature is provides support for IPv6 flows, MACE metrics for UDP flows, two new NBAR option templates, new option templates for class and policy information, and the use of IPFIX for flow exporters.

          The following commands were introduced or modified: collect application http host, collect application http uri statistics, collect policy qos classification hierarchy, collect policy qos queue drops, collect time inter-packet-gap histogram, export-protocol ipfix, option application-attributes, option sub-application-table, option class-qos-table,and option policy-qos-table.