Medianet Reference Guide - Cisco

Chapter 6
Medianet Management and Visibility Design Considerations
Network-Embedded Management Functionality
Table 6-1
Summary of Network-Embedded Management Functionality (continued)
Management Product /Tool Management Functionality Description
Simple Network
Management Protocol
(SNMP)
Security management, fault
management, and
performance management
• Telemetry using SNMP can also be used to provide key fault
management information on network infrastructure devices
within a medianet.
• SNMP can be used to collect statistics from network
infrastructure devices for performance management
purposes.
• SNMP traps can be generated for authentication failures to
devices, providing an additional layer of security
management.
AAA services Security management • AAA services can be used to provide centralized access
control for security management, as well as an audit trail
providing visibility into access of network infrastructure
devices.
• For further information regarding network security best
practices, see the Cisco SAFE Reference Guide at the
following URL:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/solutions/Enterprise/Sec
urity/SAFE_RG/SAFE_rg.html.
NetFlow
NetFlow services provide network administrators access to information regarding IP flows within their
networks. IP flows are unidirectional streams of packets flowing through a network device. They share
common properties such as source address, destination address, protocol, port, DSCP value, and so on.
Network devices, such as switches and routers, can collect and store flow data in the form of flow records
within a NetFlow table or cache. Flow records can then be periodically exported from the NetFlow cache
to one or more NetFlow management collectors located centrally within a data center or campus service
module. NetFlow collectors aggregate exported NetFlow records to provide monitoring and reporting
information regarding the IP traffic flows within the network.
NetFlow provides a means of gaining additional visibility into the various video flows within an
enterprise medianet. From an FCAPS perspective, this visibility can be used for either performance
management purposes or for accounting management purposes. More specifically, NetFlow data can
assist in determining whether sufficient bandwidth has been provisioned across the network
infrastructure to support existing video applications. NetFlow data records can be exported in various
formats depending on the version. The most common formats are versions 1, 5, 7, 8, and 9. NetFlow
export version 9 is the latest version, which has been submitted to the IETF as informational RFC 3954,
providing a model for the IP Flow Information Export (IPFIX) working group within the IETF. NetFlow
version 9 provides a flexible and extensible means of exporting NetFlow data, based on the use of
templates that are sent along with the flow record. Templates contain structural information about the
flow record fields, allowing the NetFlow collector to interpret the flow records even if it does not
understand the semantics of the fields. For more information regarding NetFlow version 9, see the
following URL: http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3954.txt.
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Medianet Reference Guide
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