Table Of Contents

Alarms

Alarms Overview

Alarm Configuration

Alarm Monitors

Alarm Filters

Configuration Procedure

View Alarm Information

Alarm Definitions

Alarm Definition Example

Alarms

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This chapter provides general and procedural information on Serviceability Alarms.

This chapter contains the following topics:

•Alarms Overview

•Alarm Configuration

•Configuration Procedure

•Alarm Definitions

Alarms Overview

Cisco CallManager Serviceability Alarms provides a web-based interface that has two main functions: configure alarms and events and provide alarm message definitions. Both functions assist the system administrator and support personnel in troubleshooting Cisco CallManager problems.

You use Alarms to provide runtime status and state of the system and to take corrective action for problem resolution; for example, to determine if phones are registered and working. Alarms contain information such as explanation and recommended action. Alarm information includes application name, machine name, and cluster name to help you perform troubleshooting for problems that are not on your local Cisco CallManager.

You configure the Alarm interface to send alarm information to multiple destinations, and each destination can have its own alarm event level (from debug to emergency).

You can forward alarms to a Serviceability Trace file. An administrator configures Alarms and Trace parameters and provides the information to a Cisco TAC engineer. You can direct Alarms to the Win2000 Event Log, Syslog, an SDI trace log file, an SDL trace log file (for Cisco CallManager and CTIManager only), or to all destinations. Use Trace to collect and analyze the alarms.

When a service issues an alarm, the alarm interface sends the alarm to the selected monitors (for example, SDI trace). The monitor forwards the alarm or writes it to its final destination (such as a log file).

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Note To log alarms in the SDI trace log file, check two check boxes in Trace configuration and one check box in Alarm configuration: the Trace on check box in Trace configuration, the Enable trace file log check box in Trace configuration, and the SDI alarm destination check box in Alarm configuration.

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Alarm definitions describe alarm messages: what they mean and how to recover from them.

You search the Alarm definitions database for alarm information. When you click on any service-specific alarm, a popup window displays with a description of the alarm information and a recommended action.

The following sections provide procedures for alarm configuration and alarm definition searches.

Alarm Configuration

You configure alarm information that will be used for Trace and troubleshooting. You can configure alarms for Cisco CallManager servers that are in a cluster and services for each server, such as Cisco CallManager, Cisco TFTP, and Cisco CTIManager (see Configuration Procedure).

Alarm Monitors

The alarm interface supports up to four alarm destinations, or monitors. The following monitors receive alarms:

•Event Log

•SDI trace (can be viewed in text or XML format)

•SDL trace (can be viewed in text or XML format)

•Syslog

See Table 2-1 for a description of the alarm monitors.

Alarm Filters

Filtering of alarm information occurs based on the alarm event level that was configured for an individual service and the monitor destination. Filtering accomplishes two tasks: helps the administrator narrow the types of alarms that Cisco CallManager collects and prevents the event log, Syslog, and trace files from becoming overloaded. See Table 2-2 for a description of alarm levels.

Configuration Procedure

Perform this procedure to configure an alarm for any service.

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Step 1 Choose Application > Cisco CallManager Serviceability from the Cisco CallManager Administration window.

The Cisco CallManager Serviceability window displays.

Step 2 Choose Alarm > Configuration.

Step 3 Choose the server from the Servers column.

The server you chose displays, and a box with available services for alarms displays.

Step 4 Choose the service for which you want to configure the alarm from the Available Services for Alarm list.

The service you chose displays after the Current Service title, along with the current server you chose. A list of alarm monitors with the event levels displays in the Alarm Configuration window.

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Note Only the Cisco CallManager and CTIManager services have the check box for Enable Alarm for Trace (SDL) available.

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Step 5 Check the check box or boxes for the desired alarm destination as described in Table 2-1.

Step 6 Click the Down arrow in the Alarm Event Level selection box.

A list with eight event levels displays.

Step 7 Click the desired alarm event level as described in Table 2-2.

Step 8 Click the Update button to save your configuration.

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Note To set the default, click the SetDefault button; then, click Update. To cancel any changes you made, click the Cancel Changes button before you click Update. To apply the current settings for selected services to all nodes in a cluster, check the Apply to all Nodes check box.

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Table 2-1 Alarm Destinations 

Name	Destination description
Enable Alarm for Event Viewer	Windows 2000 Event Viewer program. The program logs Cisco CallManager errors in the Application Logs within Event Viewer and provides a description of the alarm and a recommended action.
Enable Alarm for SDI Trace	The SDI trace library. Ensure this alarm destination is configured in Trace configuration of Cisco CallManager Serviceability.
Enable Alarm for Syslog	The Syslog file. Check this check box to enable the Syslog messages and configure the Syslog server name. If this destination is enabled and no server name is specified, Cisco CallManager sends Syslog messages to the local host. This box is unchecked by default.
Enable Alarm for SDL Trace	The SDL trace library. This destination applies only to Cisco CallManager and CTIManager services. Configure this alarm destination using the Cisco CallManager Administration Service Parameters for the Cisco CallManager service. Refer to the Cisco CallManager Administration Guide.

Table 2-2 Alarm Event Levels 

Name	Description
Emergency	This level designates system as unusable.
Alert	This level indicates that immediate action is needed.
Critical	Cisco CallManager detects a critical condition.
Error	This level signifies an error condition exists.
Warning	This level indicates that a warning condition is detected.
Notice	This level designates normal but significant condition.
Informational	This level designates information messages only.
Debug	This level designates detailed event information used for debugging by Cisco TAC engineers.

View Alarm Information

You view alarm information to determine whether there are Cisco CallManager problems. View alarm information that is sent to the Event Log using the Event Viewer program. You can view alarm information sent to the SDI or SDL trace log file in text or XML format. Use Trace to view the SDI or SDL log files in XML format or use a text editor to view the SDI or SDL log files in text format. (Trace supports text format as well.) Use CiscoWorks2000 report viewer to view Syslog messages.

Microsoft Windows 2000 documentation provides detailed information about Event Viewer and Microsoft text editors.

Perform the following procedure to view alarm information sent to the Win2000 Event Log.

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Step 1 Choose Start > Programs > Administrative Tools > Event Viewer from the Microsoft Windows menu.

The Event Viewer window displays.

Step 2 Choose Application Log.

The application log containing Cisco CallManager alarms displays.

Step 3 Double-click the alarm you want to view.

The Event Properties window displays (see Alarm Definition Example).

Step 4 For more information about the alarm, use Alarm Definitions. See Alarm Definitions.

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Alarm Definitions

Cisco CallManager stores alarm definitions and recommended actions in a standard query language (SQL) server database. The system administrator can search the database for definitions of all the alarms. The definitions include the alarm name, description, explanation, recommended action, severity, parameters, and monitors. This information aids the administrator when troubleshooting problems that Cisco  CallManager encounters.

Perform this procedure to search and view definitions.

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Step 1 Choose Application > Cisco CallManager Serviceability from the Cisco CallManager Administration window.

The Cisco CallManager Serviceability window displays.

Step 2 Choose Alarm > Definitions.

Step 3 Choose the catalog of alarm definitions from the Equals check box or click the Enter Alarm Name field to enter the alarm name. Refer to Table 2-3.

Step 4 Click the Find button.

The definitions list for the alarm catalog you chose displays.

Step 5 In the list, click the hyperlink alarm definition for which you want alarm details.

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Note Multiple pages of alarm definitions may exist. To choose another page, either click the Next or Last button at the bottom of the Alarm Message Definitions window, or enter the page number in the page number box and press Enter.

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The Alarm Details popup window displays.

Step 6 To print the definition, right-click in the window and choose Print.

Step 7 Close the Alarm Details window and return to the Alarm Message Definitions window.

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Table 2-3 Alarm Definition Catalogs 

Name	Description
CallManager	All Cisco CallManager alarm definitions
TFTPAlarmCatalog	All Cisco TFTP alarm definitions
CMIAlarmCatalog	All Cisco Messaging Interface alarm definitions
CtiManagerAlarmCatalog	All Cisco computer telephony integration (CTI) alarm definitions
DBAlarmCatalog	All Cisco database (Aupair) alarm definitions
GenericAlarmCatalog	All generic alarm definitions shared by all applications
IpVmsAlarmCatalog	All IP Voice Media Streaming applications alarm definitions

Alarm Definition Example

Figure 2-1 illustrates an alarm sent to the Windows 2000 Event Viewer and how that information correlates to Alarm Definitions (Figure 2-2).

Figure 2-1 Event Properties Window

Figure 2-2 Alarm Definitions Window