Table Of Contents
Saving the Provisioning Session for Review
Killing an Orphan Provisioning Session
Working with Provisioning Session Commands
Starting a Provisioning Session
Creating a New Provisioning Configuration
Overwriting an Existing Inactive Configuration
Modifying and Activating a Configuration
Modifying an Existing Inactive Configuration and Saving It as Another Version
Committing a Provisioning Session to a Single MGC
Deploying a Provisioning Session to Dual MGCs
Synchronizing Configuration Data
Stopping a Configuration Session
Performing a Manual Switchover
Importing Saved MML Configuration Data
Working with Provisioning Commands
Overriding Component Properties
Changing Overridden Properties
Retrieving All Components of a Specific Type
Retrieving an Individual Component
Retrieving a Component Based on Signaling Service (Release 7.4.8)
Retrieving Provisioning Session Information
Configuring with MML
This chapter describes how to use the Man-Machine Language (MML) commands to configure the MGC. It provides information about:
•Working with Provisioning Session Commands
•Working with Provisioning Commands
For more information on MML, including online help, operating tips, command syntax, and status message definitions, refer to the Cisco Media Gateway Controller Software Release 7 Reference Guide.
Before starting an actual configuration, refer to "Provisioning Overview," for instructions and worksheets for configuring your system.
Working with MML
MML interfaces with the Provisioning Object Manager (POM). The POM requires an active provisioning session to make provisioning changes. Only one active provisioning session is allowed at a time. During an active provisioning session, the POM locks all the data files to prevent other users from making changes.
Tip Keep these tips in mind when working with MML:
•In general, MML commands are not case sensitive. However, file names are case sensitive when used as arguments in MML commands (for example, TKGFile, BCFFile, RoutingFile).
•Keywords do not need to be enclosed in quotes (" ").
•Use only one MML command on each line.
•After starting a provisioning session, MML displays COMPLD, indicating success. (This is true for all successful commands; for all failed commands, MML displays DENY.)
•A provisioning session inactive for 30 minutes results in a warning. If the session continues without activity for 5 more minutes, the session terminates.
•As many as 12 MML sessions can exist at any given time; however, only one provisioning session is allowed.
•You can create an ASCII text file for batch processing of provisioning commands.
•When performing batch provisioning, be sure no call processing is on going to prevent impacting call processing performance.
•You can create batch files for individual segments of provisioned data.
•During batch file execution, each MML command response echoes to the terminal. You can log command responses for later review so that the file can run unattended.
•Place quotes around all value strings in your commands. For example, card="Interface1". The keyword card does not have to be enclosed in quotes. The value Interface1 is being assigned to keyword card and must be enclosed in quotes.
•You can obtain online help in an MML session by typing help at the command prompt. For more information, refer to the Cisco Media Gateway Controller Software Release 7 Reference Guide.
Timesaver To repeat the last MML command you entered, press the Up Arrow key. To scroll through all the previous MML commands, continue to press the Up Arrow key after pressing the Shift Starting an MML Session.
You must start an MML session before you can start a provisioning session. Keep the following in mind when starting an MML session:
Caution Do not log in as root when starting MML. If you log in as root, then attempt to start an MML session, it will cause an MML core dump and MML will not start.
Starting MML
Perform the following steps to start an MML session.
Step 1 From the dumb terminal connected to the MGC, enter:
mml
Tip If another session is running, you receive a message similar to the following:
mml1: Already in use
Failure to run MML, reason=Entry was already present
Step 2 To run a second MML session, enter:
mml -s 2
Note The MML command mml -s 2 starts the second session and mml -s 3 starts the third session. There can be as many as 12 MML sessions open at one time.
Killing an MML Session
If another MML session is running, it can be killed by performing the following steps.
Step 1 Exit MML by entering:
mml>quitStep 2 To see the other MML sessions that are running enter:
ps -ef |grep mmlStep 3 To kill the undesired MML session, enter:
kill -9 xxxx(where xxxx is the session number).
Note You can kill an MML session only if you created the MML session you are going to kill. To kill an MML session created by another user, you must log in as root.
Step 4 Log in as root.
Step 5 Kill the undesired MML session.
Note If there are multiple MML sessions to be killed, enter a kill command for each MML session.
Step 6 Logout from the root by entering:
.exit
If another provisioning session is running, you cannot start a provisioning session. To see if another provisioning session is running, use the PROV-RTRV command (refer to the "Retrieving Provisioning Session Information" section).
Saving the Provisioning Session for Review
To save the provisioning session for review purposes, perform the following procedure.
Procedure
Verify
View the log file.
Tip You can place the diaglog commands to start and stop at the start and end of an MML batch file.
All MML commands are automatically logged to the mml.log file located in the /opt/CiscoMGC/var/log directory.
Killing an Orphan Provisioning Session
To kill an orphan provisioning session, perform the following procedure.
Procedure
Verify
View the log file.
Tip This command does not activate the new configuration.
Stopping an MML Session
To stop an MML session, perform the following procedure.
Procedure
Verify
View the log file.
Getting Help
To get help for a specific MML command, enter help: followed by the command you want help for, as shown in the following procedure.
Procedure
MML Configuration Commands
There are three types of MML configuration commands:
•Configuration session commands—Use session commands to work with entire provisioning data filesets. See Table 5-1.
•Configuration component/parameter commands—Use component/parameter commands to perform actions on components or parameters affecting a specific data file. See Table 5-2.
•Bulk configuration export commands—Use bulk commands to export the current VSC configuration to a file. See Table 5-3.
Working with Provisioning Session Commands
Use session commands to work with the entire set of provisioning data files.
Starting a Provisioning Session
Use the PROV-STA command to start a provisioning session when you want to:
•Create a new configuration.
•Modify an existing configuration.
•Modify an existing configuration and save it as another version.
•To copy a provisioning session, to deploy a provisioning session, or to synchronize a provision session.
Tip Although you can save to either the same version or a new version, saving to a new version instead of overwriting the old one gives you an easy way to return to a known configuration if there are problems with the new configuration.
Caution Do not name the destination directory "active" or "new." The names "active" and "new" have special meanings in the Cisco MGC software.
Creating a New Provisioning Configuration
To create a new configuration, use the PROV-STA command as indicated in the following section.
Procedure
Verify
Use the PROV-RTRV:SESSION command to verify that your new provisioning session has been created.
Tip The Cisco MGC Software Release 7 appends CFG_ in front of any user-supplied destination version name. For example, ver1 becomes CFG_ver1.
If you enter the prov-sta command without including the quotation marks around new or ver1, the following error message is generated:
M DENY
IIDT
"SRCVER"
/* Input, Invalid Data Parameter */
;
Note If you enter an invalid MML command, only the first error encountered in the command string is listed. Any additional errors in the MML command are not listed.
The first line of the returned MML message indicates the command was denied (DENY). The second line indicates the error was due to an invalid input data parameter (IIDT). The third line indicates the invalid data parameter (SRCVER). And the fourth line indicates the error cause in generic terms.
Refer to the Cisco Media Gateway Controller Software Release 7 Reference Guide for a list of error messages and their meanings.
Overwriting an Existing Inactive Configuration
For you to overwrite an existing inactive configuration, use the PROV-STA command.
Procedure
Verify
Observe the xterm window and verify that COMPLD is displayed in response to the MML command.
Tip For you to modify an existing configuration directory, the srcver and dstver must be the same. If they are the same, then the original configuration is overwritten by the new configuration.
It is a good practice to copy an existing configuration instead of overwriting it. This gives you an easy way to return to a known configuration if there are problems with the new configuration.
Caution If the source configuration specified is new, the software does not allow you to overwrite an existing configuration. For example, if a provisioning directory "CFG_ver1" exists, the following command fails:
mml>
prov-sta:srcver"new", dstver="ver1"
Note An existing nonactive configuration can be overwritten.
Modifying and Activating a Configuration
To modify an existing inactive configuration and save it as another version, use the PROV-STA command.
Procedure
Verify
Observe the xterm window and verify that COMPLD is displayed in response to the MML command.
Tip dstver cannot be the same as the existing directory name; otherwise, you override the existing configuration.
Note An MML provisioning session that is not active for 30 minutes results in a warning. If the session continues with no activity for 5 more minutes, the session terminates.
Modifying an Existing Inactive Configuration and Saving It as Another Version
To modify an existing inactive configuration and save it as another version, use the PROV-STA command.
Procedure
Verify
Observe the xterm window and verify that COMPLD is displayed in response to the MML command.
Tip A provisioning session not active for 30 minutes results in a warning. If the session continues with no activity for 5 more minutes, it terminates.
Committing a Provisioning Session to a Single MGC
To direct the POM to make the data files that belong to the current provisioning session operational on a single MGC and then terminate the POM session, use the PROV-CPY command.
Procedure
Command Purpose mml> PROV-CPYCopies configuration settings from the current provisioning session to the active MGC in a single MGC configuration, and then activates the configuration.
Tip The PROV-CPY command differs from the PROV-DPLY command in that the PROV-DPLY command applies the configuration changes to dual MGC configurations, whereas the PROV-CPY command applies the configuration changes to single MGC configurations only.
Verify
Use the PROV-RTRV-softw:all command to verify that all processes are running.
Use the PROV-RTRV:session command to verify your configuration.
Deploying a Provisioning Session to Dual MGCs
To (1) direct the POM to make the data files that belong to the current POM session operational, (2) copy the data files to the standby MGC, and (3) terminate the POM session, use the PROV-DPLY command.
Procedure
Command Purpose mml> PROV-DPLYCopy configuration settings from the current provisioning session to both MGCs in a dual MGC configuration, and then activate the configuration.
Verify
Use the PROV-RTRV:session command to verify your configuration.
Tip A provisioning session not active for 30 minutes results in a warning. If the session continues with no activity for 5 more minutes, it terminates.
The PROV-CPY command is different from the PROV-DPLY command in that the PROV-DPLY command applies the configuration changes to dual MGC configurations, whereas the PROV-CPY command applies the configuration changes to a single MGC configuration.
Synchronizing Configuration Data
To synchronize the configuration data between two MGCs, use the PROV-SYNC command.
Procedure
Command Purpose mml> PROV-SYNCCopies the configuration data from the active MGC to the standby MGC to ensure that both MGCs are using the same configuration.
Verify
Use the PROV-RTRV:session command to verify your configuration.
Tip The configuration data always goes from the active MGC to the standby MGC.
You cannot perform the PROV-SYNC command with an open provisioning session, and pomSync.dat (in the XECfgParm.dat file) must be set to true.
Stopping a Configuration Session
To save all changes made during the configuration session and terminate the session with the POM, use the PROV-STP command.
Procedure
Verify
On successful completion of this command, the POM releases the lock on the configuration data files.
Tip This command saves the new configuration but does not activate it. You must use the PROV-CPY or PROV-DPLY command to activate the configuration.
Caution Quitting an MML session does not stop the session. While inactive sessions terminate, but the only command that can stop a session is PROV-STP, PROV-CPY, or PROV-DPLY.
Performing a Manual Switchover
To enable a switchover from an active to a standby system, use the SW-OVER command.
Procedure
Command Purpose mml>sw-over::CONFIRMVirtual Switch Controller 2000-04-02 17:06:23M COMPLDPerforms a manual switchover.
Verify
Use the RTRV-NE command to verify. For information on this command, refer to the Cisco Media Gateway Controller Software Release 7 Reference Guide.
The standby system becomes active in less than 2 seconds after the switchover.
Exporting Configuration Data
To export core configuration data (signaling paths, SS7 nodes, trunks, and trunk groups), routing plans, and dial plans, use the PROV-EXP command.
The following are key points to understand when you are exporting routing and dial plan information:
•If a provisioning session exists, the PROV-EXP command uses the provisioning link as the source of the data to be exported. If no provisioning session exists, this command uses the active link as the source of the data to be exported.
•If the directory indicated with DIR_NAME already exists, the PROV-EXP command fails. This ensures that current files generated by previous PROV-EXP commands are not overwritten by a subsequent PROV-EXP command.
Procedure
Verify
Examine the exported data to verify the configuration data.
If trunks and trunk groups are defined, a file for the trunks and a file for the trunk groups will also be generated as part of the command to export configuration data. The files export_trunks.dat and export_trkgrp.dat are placed in the same directory created by the initial PROV-EXP command. An MML command to import the generated files is appended to the end of the config.mml file to import the trunk and trunk group files. These commands look like this:
prov-add:files:name="TKGFile", file="<dir_name>/export_trkgrp.dat", action="import"prov-add:files:name="BCFile", file="<dir_name>/export_trunks.dat", action="import"Importing Saved MML Configuration Data
To import previously exported configuration data, you can use batch MML as follows:
From a UNIX prompt, enter the following command to import previously exported configuration data:
mml -b /opt/CiscoMGC/etc/cust_specific/dumpdir/config.mml
Note When performing batch provisioning, be sure no call processing is on going to prevent impacting call processing performance.
To export all the configuration data:
To import all configuration data from the directory "saved_config" in the previous procedure, use the following UNIX commands, which execute MML in batch mode, in the following order:
mml -b /opt/CiscoMGC/etc/cust_specific/saved_config/config.mmlmml -b /opt/CiscoMGC/etc/cust_specific/saved_config/routing.mmlmml -b /opt/CiscoMGC/etc/cust_specific/saved_config/<CustGrpID>.mmlTo export the MML trunk group file, use the following MML commands:
prov-add:files:name="TKGFile",file="trunkGroupCust.dat",action="export"prov-ed:files:name="TKGFile",file="trunkGroupCust.dat",action="export"Working with Provisioning Commands
Use provisioning commands to work with components, parameters, and properties.
•Components—Describe physical and logical entities, such as external switches, signaling links, and signaling services.
•Parameters—Are defined when you create or modify a component. For example, when you add a signaling service, the options that you specify when you create the service are called parameters.
Note Although parameters are often called options or properties, properties have a specific meaning in this section.
•Properties—Are options that are applied to a linkset or signaling service or trunk groups when you create the linkset or service. A default set of properties is assigned to each linkset and signaling service. The default property settings should work for most installations. You can override them to customize your installation.
Use the MML provisioning commands for the actions discussed in the following sections:
•Overriding Component Properties
•Changing Overridden Properties
•Retrieving an Individual Component
•Retrieving a Component Based on Signaling Service (Release 7.4.8)
•Retrieving Provisioning Session Information
Adding a Component
To add a component to the MGC configuration, use the PROV-ADD command.
Procedure
Verify
To verify the new component, use the PROV-RTRV command.
Tip After you add a system component, you can change the value of most parameters at any time. However, you cannot change the component type or name, because these attributes uniquely identify the component you are modifying. To change the type or name of a component, you must delete the component and create a new component with a new type and name.
If you want to use a component's default values, you do not have to specify any parameters. For information on component default parameters, refer to "Planning for Provisioning."
When adding components, add the components in the following order.
•External nodes
•Point codes (OPC, APC, and DPC)
•Adapter cards
•Adapter interfaces
•Signaling services
•Linksets
•Links
•SS7 routes
•SS7 subsystems
•Trunk groups
•Trunks
•Route groups
Modifying a Component
To modify a provisioning object within the data files, use the PROV-ED command.
Procedure
Verify
After you enter the command to modify a component, the component is changed. To verify the change, use the PROV-RTRV command.
Tip Enter only those parameters that you want to modify.
Deleting a Component
To remove a component from the MGC configuration, use the PROV-DLT command.
Procedure
Command Purpose mml> prov-dlt:ptcode:name="opc"Virtual Switch Controller 2000-06-16 11:42:45M COMPLD"ptcode"Deletes the point code component named opc.
Verify
To verify that the component is removed, use the PROV-RTRV:ALL command.
Tip Component types are listed in the Cisco Media Gateway Controller Software Release 7 Reference Guide. If you cannot remember the name of a component, use the PROV-RTRV:ALL command to display all components.
You cannot delete a component that is a parent of another component. For example, you cannot delete a linkset that contains links. You receive an error message when you try to delete a parent component.
Overriding Component Properties
To override component properties for an existing provisioning component, use the PROV-ADD command.
Procedure
Verify
To view the component configuration, use the PROV-RTRV command as described in the "Retrieving Provisioning Session Information" section.
Tip Working with properties is similar to working with components, but there are differences. For example, when you create a component, you have to define values for all of the component parameters. However, you never have to create a component property, because a set of default properties is automatically created when you create a component. If you want to change a default property value, you must override that value.
For information on components, parameters, and properties, refer to "Planning for Provisioning."
After you override a property value with the PROV-ADD command, an override statement is added to the configuration file for a specific linkset or signaling service property. Do not use additional PROV-ADD commands to change the overridden property value. Use the PROV-ED command to modify overridden property values, as explained in the "Changing Overridden Properties" section.
Changing Overridden Properties
To modify a provisioning object within the data files, use the PROV-ED command.
Procedure
Verify
After you enter the PROV-ED command, the property value is changed. To view the component configuration, use the PROV-RTRV command.
Tip There are two property types: lnksetprop and sigsvcprop. The lnksetprop property type changes properties for a linkset, and the sigsvcprop property type changes properties for a signaling service. The name parameter in the command above indicates a specific linkset or signaling service that you have already defined. Replace the property parameter with the property name. For more information on these property types, refer to the "Planning for Provisioning."
Note Changes made to the lnksetprop property type do not take effect until the MGC software is stopped and restarted, even though the PROV-RTRV command indicates the changed value.
Table 5-4 lists the properties that can be provisioned and indicates whether or not the modified value takes effect without stopping and restarting the MGC software.
Retrieving All Components
To retrieve all configured components, use the PROV-RTRV command.
Procedure
Tip Component types and component parameters are listed in the Cisco Media Gateway Software Release 7 Reference Guide. If you cannot remember the name of a component, use the PROV-RTRV:ALL command to display all components.
Retrieving All Components of a Specific Type
To retrieve all the components of a specific type, use the PROV-RTRV command.
Procedure
Verify
To verify the retrieve, use the PROV-RTRV command.
Retrieving an Individual Component
To display an individual component that is configured on the MGC, use the PROV-RTRV command.
Procedure
Tip If you cannot remember the name of a component, use the PROV-RTRV:ALL command to display all components.
Retrieving a Component Based on Signaling Service (Release 7.4.8)
To display a component that is based on the signaling service and is configured on the MGC, use the PROV-RTRV command.
Procedure
You can use the following provisioning commands to retrieve information based on the signaling service or trunk group.
•IP links—Retrieve the IP links associated with the named signaling service.
mml> prov-rtrv:iplink:srcsvc="mgcpsvc1"•Nailed trunk—Retrieve all nailed trunks associated with the named (source or destination) signaling service.
mml> prov-rtrv:nailedtrnk:srcsvc="sc-1"•Switched trunk—Retrieve all switched trunks associated with the named (source or destination) signaling service. You can also retrieve the span (source or destination) too.
mml> prov-rtrv:switchtrnk:trunkgrpname="1000"•Trunk group—Retrieve all trunk groups associated with the named signaling service. You can also retrieve the span (source or destination) too.
mml> prov-rtrv:trnkgrp:svc="ss7svc1"Retrieving Protocol Variants
To retrieve the signaling protocol variants available on the MGC, use the PROV-RTRV:VARIANTS command.
Procedure
Tip A provisioning session is not required.
Retrieving Provisioning Session Information
To obtain information about the provisioning session, for example (if there is an active session) use the PROV-RTRV command.
Procedure
Creating a Batch File
You can create a file of MML provisioning commands for use as a batch file. All commands go into a single ASCII text file that, when read by MML, are executed sequentially.
Note The MML provisioning commands must be in the correct provisioning sequence based on component dependencies. For example, a line interface cannot be provisioned before the card.
Some advantages to using an MML provision batch file are that you can cut and paste commands and the batch files can be used repeatedly to "re-provision" the MGC or to quickly provision multiple MGCs.
You can create an MML batch file by using any ASCII text editor. Simply enter each MML provisioning command on a single line, ending with a carriage return. You can use any name for the file (use the UNIX file naming convention) and you can copy and paste components.
Note When performing batch provisioning, be sure no call processing is on going to prevent impacting call processing performance.
To create a batch file, use an ASCII text editor program to create a new file with one MML command on each line, as shown in Figure 5-1. You can use any name for the file and you can store it in any location; however, the file must be accessible on the machine where you run MML sessions.
Figure 5-1 Sample MML Provisioning Batch File
prov-sta::srcver="new",dstver="oldyella"prov-add:ptcode:name="opc",netaddr="111.111.666",netind=1,desc="originating Pointcode"prov-add:ptcode:name="dpc1",netaddr="444.777.444",netind=2,desc="TDM Switch dpc1 Pointcode"prov-add:ptcode:name="dpc2",netaddr="555.333.555",netind=3,desc="Host Node dpc2 Pointcode"prov-add:apc:name="apc1",netaddr="666.222.222",desc="STP 1 APC pointcode",netind=1prov-add:apc:name="apc2",netaddr="777.333.333",desc="STP 2 APC pointcode",netind=2prov-add:apc:name="apc3",netaddr="888.777.777",desc="STP 3 APC pointcode",netind=3prov-cpyNotice that the first command starts a provisioning session, and the last command terminates and commits the provisioning session. If you are not ready to commit a session, use the prov-stp command to save and stop the provisioning session.
The prov-cpy or prov-dply command makes the provisioning session active and then automatically stops the provisioning session.
Also notice that the commands in the file do not configure a complete system. You can create batch files to define complete systems or modify parts of an existing system.
Note If you want to test the batch file before you use it, use the prov-stp command.
If you plan to run the batch file multiple times on the same host, plan the source and destination directories carefully.
Note The example shown above would fail if run twice, because the destination directory already exists.
In this example, you could edit the batch file after the first execution and replace the source version name with the destination version name. Future executions of the batch file would then replace the previous configuration. For more information on the source and destination directories, refer to the "Starting a Provisioning Session" section.
Note If any of the provisioning commands fail in batch mode, the changes do not become active. The prov-cpy and prov-dply commands fail, indicating that some of the provisioning commands in the batch file have failed.
Note Due to interdependencies between objects used by channel controllers, all provisioning components should be defined in one provisioning session. If multiple batch files are used, each batch file except the last one should start with prov-sta and end with prov-stp. End only the last batch file with the prov-cpy command.
Starting a Batch File
To start executing the batch file, use the following UNIX command.
Procedure
Verify
After you enter the command, MML displays the result of each command as it is executed. When the batch file is done, the MML session is closed.
Tip MML provides a log function that records the MML commands and responses for you in a log file. If you start this function before you start the provisioning session and stop it after you stop the provisioning session, you can let the batch file run unattended and then check the log file later for any error messages. The log command is called diaglog. For more information on using this command, refer to the Cisco Media Gateway Software Release 7 Reference Guide.
The diaglog commands to start and stop can be placed at the beginning and end, respectively, of an MML batch file.
All MML commands are automatically logged to the mml.log file located in the /opt/CiscoMGC/var/log directory. A sample log file is shown below:
va-cerulean% more mml.log.4Sat Jan 8 04:10:01:694 2000 | mml11 (PID 24954) <Info>MML_INFO_COMMAND: MML CommandSat Jan 8 04:10:06:218 2000 | mml11 (PID 24954) <Info>MML_INFO_COMMAND: MML Commandmml> sta-audVirtual Switch Controller - VSC-01 2000-01-08 04:10:06M RTRVSABT/* Status, Command Aborted - Command has timed outwithout successful completion of operationSome operations may have completed successfully */va-cerulean%