LiveNX 5.2 Quick Start Guide - LiveAction 5.2 Quick Start Guide The purpose for this Quick Start Guide is to provide quick and detailed instructions setting up LiveAction for the first

LiveNX 5.2 Quick Start Guide

LiveAction, Inc. 3500 WEST BAYSHORE ROAD PALO ALTO, CA 94303


CONFIGURATION

LIVEACTION, INC.


The purpose for this Quick Start Guide is to provide quick and detailed instructions setting up LiveAction for the first time. In addition, the guide will navigate through LiveNX’s user interface and configuration of LiveNX’s Server, Client and Platform.

1-1| LiveNX 5.2 Quick Start Guide

1. Deployment Options

Single Server

Single server deployment of LiveAction consists of installing the server on a 64-bit Linux or Windows Server or VM. Since the LiveAction server has a built in collection node, it is fully useable without any additional installations.

Distributed Deployment

In distributed deployments, a single server is deployed as usual but additional collection nodes can be deployed and associated to the single server.

Virtual Machine

Servers and nodes can be deployed on VM as long as the performance requirements for compute, store and network are met.

Deployment Decision

The use and location of additional nodes are based on 3 criteria

Performance o Off load performance to another node.

Location o Place node near devices being polled. o Place at a branch site so data is not polled across the WAN to the DC where the server exists.

Security o Place node for different security zone, DMZ. o Node will initiate communication from security zone to server o In case of loss of communication, server of node may initiate communicates to reestablish


2. LiveNX Server Sizing and OS

LiveAction is capable of being installed in several Operating Systems in different families.

Operating Systems

Windows o Server 2012 R2 (64-bit) o Server 2008 R2 (64-bit) o 7 Professional (64-bit) o 7 Ultimate (64-bit)

Linux o RHEL with GNOME UI installed o CentOS 6.4 (64-bit) with GNOME UI installed o CentOS 6.5 (64-bit) with GNOME UI installed LiveAction instances that are installed on Windows Server or Windows Clients require Microsoft .NET Framework v3.5.1+

Download: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=22

Hardware Requirements

Tiny—For less than 25 devices (routers/switches) and less than 25K Flows/sec

2 Virtual Core 2+ GHz CPU

4 GB RAM

250GB 7,200 RPM HD*

Small—For less than 100 devices (routers/switches) and less than 100K Flows/sec

8 Virtual Core 2+ GHz CPU

8 GB RAM

2-6 TB 7,200 RPM HD*

Medium—For up to 500 devices (routers/switches) and less than 200K Flows/sec

16 Virtual Core, 2+ GHz CPU

16 GB RAM

8-16 TB 7,200+ RPM HD*

Large—For 500 to 1000 devices (routers/switches) and more than 200K Flows/sec

32 Virtual Core, 2+ GHz CPU

32 GB RAM 16-32 TB 7,200+ RPM HD*

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=22


VM Features and Guidelines

V-Motion is not supported

Local Datastore preferred o Thick Deployment

Hypervisor Options o VMware ESX(i) o Oracle Virtual Box o Microsoft Hyper-V o Xen

NOTE: Please reference The 5.2 User Guide for further installation details.

*Depends on flow rate from devices and retention time.

*For higher performance use RAID 10 or RAID 0 if redundancy is not required.

Client Sizing and OS

The LiveAction client runs on a standard Windows 64-bit based PC and Windows 7, 8, 32-bit Windows for webstart. LiveAction’s Mac client runs on OSX 10.9+ utilizing LiveAction client 3.14+ with similar memory and processor requirements as the Windows client requirements in the table below.

Windows Client Requirements Small Install Medium Install Large Install

Number of network devices Up to 25 25-500 500+

OS Type Win 7 Pro or greater

Win 7 Pro or greater

Win 7 Pro / Win Server 2012 R2

OS Size 32 bit 64 bit 64 bit

Processor Type Intel i3 type Intel i5 type Intel i7 type

Minimum Memory 4GB 8GB 16GB


3. Router and Switch Compatibility

Cisco Series Routers

ASR 1000, 800, 1700, 1800, 1900, 2600, 2600XM, 2800, 2900, 3600, 3700, 3800, 3900, 7200, 7600

ASR 1000 Zone-Based Firewall High-Speed Logging

This device may work with LiveAction since they support Netflow, IPFIX or sFlow data formats

ISR 4451-X

IOS versions 12.3, 12.4, 15.0 and 15.1 have been tested and are recommended for use with the software (IOS XE 2.6.0 for ASR 1000 series). Earlier IOS versions may also work but are not officially supported.

General-release IOS versions are recommended, although early- and limited-release versions will also work with the software.

High-End Cisco Routers

Limited compatibility tests have been done with the 10000 series and 12000 series routers. Unfortunately they are not supported at this time.

Cisco Series Switches

Catalyst 3000, 4500, and 6500 series switches

Some aspects of QoS can be set up on Layer 3-routable interfaces and VLANs

NetFlow can be set up to work with Catalyst 6500 and 4500 switches

Cisco Security Devices

ASA 5500 Series running 8.3 (limited to NetFlow support only)

Non-Cisco Devices (Flow analysis only)

These are non-Cisco vendors that have gone through limited flow analysis testing with LiveAction

Alcatel

Extreme

Foundry

Hewlett-Packard

Juniper

NetVanta

Riverbed Steelhead

Nortel


4. Installing the LiveAction Components

To download LiveNX, please refer to the download instructions sent via email when you request the LiveNX software and download the LiveNX Server (Required) in order to begin the deployment process.

LiveNX Server [required]

LiveNX Platform [optional]

LiveNX Node [optional]

LiveNX Client [optional]

Installing the LiveNX Server Software

Installation of the LiveNX Node and Server are very similar. Since the node is not required, please reference the LiveNX User Guide for further detailed information on the node installation.

A. Start B. Accept License Agreement C. Select Server Location

D. Select Data Directory E. Select Server IP Address F. Select Memory Allocation

G. Select Start Menu Folder H. Select Service Options I. Finish


Installing LiveNX Platform OVA [Optional]

With the addition to 5.2 LiveNX will now allow users to install a platform version of LiveNX. This step will eventually simplify installation and allow administrators to install and manage smaller versions of the appliance from their laptops. Here are the specifications.

1. Log into Vsphere

2. Deploy the OVA

Click on File > Deploy OVF Template > Browse to the OVA


Review the image description and click Next

Name the Deployment Image and click Next


Choose an your Datastore and click Next

Review and make changes to the Datastore options and click Next


NOTE: Thick and Thin Deployments have different drive-space behavior

Choose your Network Mapping and click Next

Review all your previous choices and click Finish



VMware will begin deploying your Virtual Appliance based on your configuration

3. Power on the OVA

4. Configure the Network

LiveAction comes with the ability to pick up DHCP on your local network as well as utilizing a static IP

a. Static IP Option Configure Static IP and Select “y”


b. DHCP Option Configure DHCP Option

NOTE: DHCP Option will have the above fields filled in if there is a DHCP server to distribute IPs

Once the network configuration portion is completed your LiveNX Appliance will be reachable. The next steps would be to log into the appliance and launch the LiveAction Server Management Console.

Starting Up The LiveNX Server

Windows: Start > All Programs/All Apps > LiveAction Server [Version] > Management Console

Linux: /opt/LiveActionServer/[Version]/LAManagementconsole

Ran under Gnome Desktop

Click Manage > Start Service


LiveAction’s installation will be complete when the message [The server is currently running] appears on the bottom left as indicated below.


Installing the LiveNX Client [Optional]

Client Installation

NOTE: Installation steps on OSX is very similar to the Windows installer. OSX uses dmg packages as executables

A. Start B. Accept License Agreement C. Select Client Location

D. Select Client Start Menu Folder E. Select Additional Tasks G. Finish


Client Webstart Optional

LiveAction offers an optional step for webstart by utilizing an automatic java client install through web.

1. Go to: http://<IP_OF_LIVENX:8092>/ 2. Click Launch LiveAction Client

a. Caveats for Chrome: Issue 92846 3. The java client will launch automatically

a. Based off of your browser configuration to auto launch java clients.


5. Starting the LiveNX Client

Start the client by clicking on the desktop shortcut. The user login prompt will appear. Click Configure to enter the server IP address and application port number. The default port number to use is 7000. The first time username and password are “admin” and “admin.” After the initial login completes you will be prompted to create a stronger password.

Note: Forgetting the passwords for all administrative accounts will require resetting all LiveAction settings and rebuilding your configuration. Refer to the LiveAction User Guide Chapter 3.12 Lost Passwords for more information on recovery.

Add Devices to your Topology

To discover devices: File > Discover Devices.

The image below shows how to specify how LiveAction will discover your devices. Scan by a range of IP addressed from lowest to highest separated by a hyphen (no CIDR notation) or include a list of individual IP addresses (per line). There are options to specify the IP of the seed device to scan. Then specify the connected devices to be included by indicating the number of hops those devices are from the seed device. Click OK. LiveAction will begin searching the network based on the list specified and show results.


In the Device Discovery windows, select the Devices that were discovered > Click Add Devices to add them to LiveAction. Select or deselect all devices by right clicking inside the Select column.


Enable/Configure Cisco Devices for QoS, Flow and IP SLA

After any supported Cisco devices are added to the topology they need to be configured for advanced monitoring and control of technologies such as QoS, NetFlow, IP SLA and NBAR. The Device Discovery wizard will prompt to configure the devices that were just added. Click Yes to configure them with the device setup wizard. Please refer to Basic Setup and Operations, Chapter 4.2 of LiveAction User Guide for step-by-step instructions on how to Configure Cisco Devices for QoS, Flow and IP SLA.

Set up Your LiveAction User Accounts

The administrator account has full access to device configuration and monitoring, as well as user management. For day-to-day use of LiveAction it’s recommended to create and use accounts with Full Config or Partial Config roles.

Go to Users > User Management to create user accounts with the appropriate roles. See LiveAction User Guide, Chapter 3 Role-Based Access for information on creating user accounts.

If the administrator account password has been lost, a reset and rebuild of the configuration of LiveAction will be required. Refer to Chapter 3.12 of the user guide for information on Lost Passwords.

NOTE: A fully operational trial version of the software will operate on your PC for up to 14 days until you load and activate your permanent license.

19| LiveNX 5.2 Quick Start Guide

Appendix A: Enable HTTPS API on LiveNX

From the LiveAction server console, navigate to Properties > httpserver.api.enabled option. By default its set to False, this will need to be changed to True. Click Apply to apply the changes.

To restart LiveNX server: Click Manage > Stop Service, Wait for the Server to stop. Then Click Manage > Start Service.


Now connect to the LiveNX User interface and enter the IP address of the LiveAction server and utilize port 8093.

When the connection is made the LiveAction session will be reloaded and a connection will have to be accepted. Once through this process you will be at the Login page


Log in with any active username, and the Platform is now active.


Appendix B: How to Navigate the User Interface

QoS Tab: This LiveAction feature allows you to gain a detailed understanding of pre- and post-QoS application performance and traffic patterns as well as have the ability to manage and adjust QoS settings. With the monitor privilege, you will be able gain this understanding through viewing even though you are not able to make QoS configuration changes.


Flow Tab: This LiveAction feature provides advanced end-to-end system level flow visualization as well as detailed internal router and interface views and graphs. It enables IT engineers to observe the effect of QoS changes on network traffic in real time, and perform faster troubleshooting and root cause analysis through color-coded flows, point and click filters, visual path tracing and historical playback.

Click button (Top Left)

Click tab (Top Left)

Click

The arrows represent the Netflow data that is flowing over the network

Click on the button (Top Left). Move middle button to enlarge or reduce map. Grab white space to move map up/down.

Click the tab (Top Left)

The larger circles are the managed devices

Amber devices indicate drops/congestion

The little circles on the devices are their interfaces

Amber interface indicate drops/congestion

Double-click an amber interface to view its QoS statistics

The top of this page is the real-time NBAR statistics

The bottom of this page is the real-time QoS policies’ statistics

Amber classes listed to the bottom right are queues with Congestion

Click [Top Left]

Click [Top left below “File” button] to see the various dashboards [System, QoS, Flow, IP SLA]

Click QoS to see QoS dashboard. Click on QoS Audit

From here, click on QoS System Audit to generate a QoS Audit report that provides info on all the QoS policies.

Click Issues Tab to see possible issues with this networks QoS policies


There are multiple filter options on the this Flow View in the menu bar

Routing Tab: This LiveAction feature provides real-time routing layer visualization and path debugging capability, enabling easy detection of routing loops, asymmetric routes, and other anomalies that impact network performance. You can see different routing protocols across a highly visual network topology, display routing protocols at the device level, test routing paths and instantly see the paths being drawn on the topology.

Select DSCP in the Filter Colors

The arrows now represent DSCP QoS markings on the flows

Select the Filter, *Default Filter Group

All of the flows will now be shown in the network diagram

Click button [Top Middle]

This will show the Netflow data in a Table

Click the tab

Sort the data by clicking the header

This is the Flexible Netflow performance stats of real VOIP and Video over IP Traffic

Click the tab [top left]

Sort the Data by click on any of these headers

CND = Client Network Delay

SND = Server Network Delay

AD = Application delay

This is the Cisco AVC Flexible Netflow performance stats of critical data applications


Click the button (Top Left)

Click the tab (Top Left, after Flow tab). Select “Protocol” tab

The arrows represent the routing table data that is being collected from the devices

The larger green arrows show the state of the routing protocol adjacencies

Click the to see the real-time hello messages

Double click on a device (Cisco_1941) to see the Routing Table of that device

IP SLA Tab: This LiveAction feature allows IT engineers to generate IP SLA tests from router to router for measuring network performance, through a highly interactive graphical interface. It shows data paths of IP SLA test traffic (such as latency, loss, jitter and Mean Opinion Score (MOS) for VoIP) in a live topology view and provides various reports for the overall health of the network and detailed performance indicators.

Click on the button (Top Left)

Click the tab (Top Left)


The arrows represent the active IP SLA test

The larger green arrows show the state of the routing protocol adjacencies

o

Click the button to see the results in tabular format for various IP SLA tests. Close view.

Click , Top Left below “File”, Select “IPSLA” tab to see the various IP SLA dashboard such as overall health, last 100 IP SLA alerts, and other trending, test type information.

LAN Tab: This LiveAction feature provides real-time Layer 2 visualization for networks, including trunk interfaces, port channels, VLAN associations, spanning tree topologies, and bandwidth usage. The topology shows per-VLAN spanning tree settings, simply identifies the root bridge and draws forwarding, and blocking port state links intuitively. LiveAction’s cross correlation capability greatly simplifies troubleshooting and managing of Layer 2 network issues as traditional methods using CLI can be very time consuming.

Click on the button (Top Left)

Click the Tab (Top Left)

From The Dropdown,

Select Show VLAN Paths to see the VLAN’s path through the network

Select Show Spanning Tree to see the spanning tree Topology


6. Appendix C: TCP and UDP Ports

Service Port

Client Access TCP 7000

NetFlow UDP 2055

sFlow UDP 6343

Web Dashboard TCP 8092

Node Communication TCP 7026


7. Appendix D: NetFlow Deployment Considerations

NetFlow data is sent by network infrastructure devices (routers/switches/etc.) across the network to LiveAction collector Nodes. This important technology does consume a minimal amount of network bandwidth in order to deliver the management data it provides. The purpose of this document is provide examples of NetFlow bandwidth consumption rates from real networks that LiveAction is managing to assist network architects with data points for capacity planning.

LiveAction can be used to track both the Flow rate per second and the actual bandwidth consumption of NetFlow by using its own NetFlow Reports.

The volume of NetFlow data that is placed on the wire by a devices is proportional to two main factors.

Number of interfaces enabled for NetFlow

Volume of end user data (voice/video/web/etc.) on the network.

LiveAction recommends enabling Flow on the fewest interfaces possible that still provides the fullest view of network traffic. Most Cisco devices support NetFlow being configured bi-directionally on an interface – in both the input and output directions. If Flow is configured by-directionally on two interfaces, for example, on the LAN and WAN interface of a WAN router, then two Flow records will be created and sent to LiveAction for each minute that a conversation is active. One record will be created as the conversation enters the LAN interface and a second record will be created as the conversation leaves the WAN interface. This means that Flow will consume twice the bandwidth required to report on that one event. To limit the bandwidth utilization of NetFlow, LiveAction recommends enabling Flow bi-directionally on only the WAN interface(s) of WAN devices.

Some Cisco devices only support Flow configured in the input direction. For these devices, the same principles apply, configured Flow on the fewest number of interfaces that still provide the fullest view of the network traffic.

The second main factor for determining the volume of bandwidth consumed by NetFlow is bandwidth usage is proportional to the volume of user data that is traversing the network. For example, NetFlow has the capability to consume less bandwidth on a low T1/E1 WAN links than a 100Mb WAN link. But if there is only a T1/E1s volume of end user data on a 100Mb link, its NetFlow consumption would similar to that of a physical T1/E1.

Example Flow Bandwidths

The following table contains data taken from LiveAction running in production networks. The values represent sample utilizations from actual WAN environments.

Each of these examples has Flow configured bi-directionally on only the WAN interface.


Device Type Flows/Sec Full-Duplex User

Bandwidth

Avg.-Peak

NetFlow Bandwidth

Average

NetFlow Bandwidth

Peak

WAN Router .61 158-309Kbps 2Kbps (1%) 14.8Kbps (4%)

WAN Router 34 505K-1.1Mbps 27Kbps (5%) 42.4Kbps (3%)

WAN Router 27 820K-2.6Mbps 22Kbps (2%) 36Kbps (1%)

WAN Router 197 ~21-39Mbps 85Kbps (.04%) 117Kbps (.03%)

WAN Router 366 ~37-72Mbps 161Kbps (.04%) 219Kbps (.03%)

WAN Router 474 ~80-125Mbps 280kbps (.03%) 396Kbps (.03%)

Internet Router

593 ~75-115Mbps 317Kbps (.04%) 418Kbps (.03%)

Core Switch 633 ~146-335Mbps 470Kbps (.03%) 578Kbps (.01%)

Core WAN Router

22,000 ~4-4.2Gbps 11Mbps (.02%) 12Mbps (.02%)

Note: the percentages represent the percent of bandwidth utilized by Flow compared to rest of the end-user bandwidth

Example Node/Server Bandwidth

LiveAction can be deployed in distributed architecture. When using this model, LiveAction Node collectors will receive NetFlow and SNMP data from infrastructure devices (routers/switches/etc.) and store it locally. The LiveAction Server will request specific data from the Nodes on demand to render end-user views, dashboards and reports. There is also minimal synchronization communication between the Server and Node(s). The volume of bandwidth used by the LiveAction Server and Node(s) is proportional to the number of devices being monitored by each Node and the number of end-user actively monitoring LiveAction.


The following table provides example bandwidths of this communication.

Devices Per

Node

Node to Server

Traffic

(Avg./Peak)

Server to Node

Traffic

(Avg./Peak)

100 125Kbps/1.2Mbps 5Kbps-25Kbps

500 625Kbps/ 1.75Mbps 25Kbps-125Kbps

1000 1.25Mbps/ 2.25Mbps 50Kbps/ 250Kbps

Note: These are typical bandwidth estimates that LiveAction would expect to see. Each network is different so results may vary.

Documents

LiveNX 5.2 Quick Start Guide - LiveAction 5.2 Quick Start Guide The purpose for this Quick Start Guide is to provide quick and detailed instructions setting up LiveAction for the first