Issue
Troubleshooting SNMP communications issues between Data Center Expert and APC Network Management Card Devices.
Product Line
StruxureWare Data Center Expert (DCE)
- Basic Appliance (AP9465)
- Standard Appliance (AP9470)
- Enterprise Appliance (AP9475)
- Virtual Appliance (AP94VMACT)
StruxureWare Central (SWC)
InfraStruXure Central (ISXC)
APC Network Management Card (AP9617, AP9618, AP9619, AP9630, AP9631, AP9635)
Environment
StruxureWare Data Center Expert (all versions)
StruxureWare Central (all versions)
InfraStruXure Central (all versions)
APC Network Management Cards
Cause
There are a number of reasons StruxureWare Data Center Expert (DCE) may not be able to communicate with a device. Lost communication usually occurs due to incorrect SNMP settings or SNMP being blocked on the network between the server and the APC device.
Resolution
The steps below will help resolve lost communication issues to APC Devices. It is recommended to check if your device has the latest firmware available. See Video: Data Center Expert | How do I mass upgrade APC and NetBotz appliance firmware? For APC devices. For third party devices (includes some APC devices that use alternative NMCs), resolution steps can be found within knowledge base Data Center Expert | Troubleshooting SNMP Lost Communication to Third Party Devices . If you do not know if the device is APC or Third-party, proceed below to determine.
Determining if your Device is APC or Third-Party
1) Log into the DCE Desktop Client using an Administrator account.
2) Navigate to the Monitoring perspective (button) and select the device group in the left-pane that contains the device in lost communication.
3) Right-click on the device within the Device View pane (tab).
- If there is an option for "APC SNMP Device Configuration..." proceed to SNMP Lost Communication Troubleshooting.
- If there is no option for "APC SNMP Device Configuration..." navigate to knowledge base Data Center Expert | Troubleshooting SNMP Lost Communication to Third Party Devices .
SNMP Lost Communication Troubleshooting
1) Within the Device View pane take note of the IP Address of the device that is in lost communication.
2) Navigate to: Device Menu > SNMP Device Communication Settings > Device Scan Settings.
3) Search for the Device's IP Address and then look within the Protocol column for that device to determine SNMP version.
4) If the device is in intermittent lost communication, proceed to step 5. If the device is in persistent lost communication, proceed to step 6.
NOTE: Intermittent lost communication is when the device loses communication to DCE and then re-establishes communication multiple times.
NOTE: Persistent lost communication is when a lost communication alert for the device is constant within DCE and is not clearing and reoccurring.
5) Intermittent lost communication occurs when DCE does not receive a response back for the SNMP request to the device within a set timeframe. This usually occurs due to network traffic issues or end-device processing issues. The usual resolution to this issue is to increase timeouts and retries for communication before DCE will report a lost communication alarm:
a) Check the box next to the device searched for in step 3.
b) Click the Edit Device Scan Settings... button.
c) Increase the Timeouts (seconds) and Retries.
NOTE: If having regular intermittent lost communications, it is recommended to increase the values to 10 second Timeouts and 5 Retries.
d) Click OK to save the changes.
NOTE: If the issue returns after increasing the timeouts and retries, the issue is commonly network related or end-device related. Contact your network team and/or technical support for assistance.
6) Persistent lost communication to devices occurs when DCE does not receive any responses back to SNMP requests to the APC Device. This usually occurs due to incorrect SNMP Settings within DCE or the Device. This may also occur due to changes on the network that may block the SNMP traffic from DCE to the device or from the device to DCE. If your device uses SNMPv1, as determined in step 3, proceed to SNMPv1 Persistent Lost Communication Troubleshooting. If your device is using SNMPv3, as determined in step 3, proceed to SNMPv3 Persistent Lost Communication Troubleshooting.
SNMPv1 Persistent Lost Communication Troubleshooting
1) Navigate to the Monitoring perspective and select the device group that has the device in lost communication.
2) Locate the device that is in lost communication and take note of the Application Version listed within the Device View pane.
NOTE: Steps below have different locations for settings depending on the application version of the NMC.
3) Right-click on the device within the Device View pane and select Launch to Device. This will load the web interface of the APC NMC.
NOTE: If you are unable to launch to the device, verify the Device Launch Settings and use DCE's Ping Utility.
4) Log into the web interface. Auto-login may occur if the correct credentials are defined within DCE.
NOTE: For instructions on configuring auto-login see knowledge Video: Data Center Expert | How do I configure auto-login when launching to APC devices? .
5) Navigate to the SNMP settings to determine if SNMPv1 is set to enabled.
- Application Version 6.X: Configuration menu > Network > SNMPv1 > Access > Enabled [checked]
- Application Version 3.X-5.X: Administration tab > Network sub-tab > SNMPv1 > Access > Enable SNMPv1 access [checked]
6) Navigate to the SNMP community string settings within the APC NMC.
- Application Version 6.X: Configuration menu > Network > SNMPv1 > Access Control
- Application Version 3.X-5.X: Administration tab > Network sub-tab > SNMPv1 > Access Control
7) Data Center Expert requires the ability to be able to read and write data via SNMP to the APC NMC. If only Read access is provided, Priority Scanning will not function. Ensure that there is an entry for Read and another for Write that are activated.
NOTE: Instead of two entries, one entry with the Access Type of Write+ will work for both Read (Get) and Write (Set) requests.
8) Ensure that the NMS IP/Host Name field applies to DCE. For a description of what your entry within this field means, click on Help in the upper-right corner of the NMC while on the SNMP Access page or while editing a specific SNMP Access line.
9) Take note of what the enabled Read/Write community strings are or the Write+ community string is.
10) DCE Desktop Client > Device menu > SNMP Device Communication Settings > Device Scan Settings > Search for device > Check Box on device line item > Edit Device Scan Settings.
NOTE: If selecting multiple devices, the settings that are currently displayed on the Edit Device Scan Settings screen will be set for communication between DCE and the Devices. If the devices each have different settings, this will cause lost communication to any devices that do not match these new settings that are applied.
11) The community strings recorded in step 9 should match. If they do not match, either the community strings within the Device Scan Settings or the community strings within the APC NMC SNMP Access settings m
Troubleshooting SNMP communications issues between Data Center Expert and APC Network Management Card Devices.
Product Line
StruxureWare Data Center Expert (DCE)
- Basic Appliance (AP9465)
- Standard Appliance (AP9470)
- Enterprise Appliance (AP9475)
- Virtual Appliance (AP94VMACT)
StruxureWare Central (SWC)
InfraStruXure Central (ISXC)
APC Network Management Card (AP9617, AP9618, AP9619, AP9630, AP9631, AP9635)
Environment
StruxureWare Data Center Expert (all versions)
StruxureWare Central (all versions)
InfraStruXure Central (all versions)
APC Network Management Cards
Cause
There are a number of reasons StruxureWare Data Center Expert (DCE) may not be able to communicate with a device. Lost communication usually occurs due to incorrect SNMP settings or SNMP being blocked on the network between the server and the APC device.
Resolution
The steps below will help resolve lost communication issues to APC Devices. It is recommended to check if your device has the latest firmware available. See Video: Data Center Expert | How do I mass upgrade APC and NetBotz appliance firmware? For APC devices. For third party devices (includes some APC devices that use alternative NMCs), resolution steps can be found within knowledge base Data Center Expert | Troubleshooting SNMP Lost Communication to Third Party Devices . If you do not know if the device is APC or Third-party, proceed below to determine.
Determining if your Device is APC or Third-Party
1) Log into the DCE Desktop Client using an Administrator account.
2) Navigate to the Monitoring perspective (button) and select the device group in the left-pane that contains the device in lost communication.
3) Right-click on the device within the Device View pane (tab).
- If there is an option for "APC SNMP Device Configuration..." proceed to SNMP Lost Communication Troubleshooting.
- If there is no option for "APC SNMP Device Configuration..." navigate to knowledge base Data Center Expert | Troubleshooting SNMP Lost Communication to Third Party Devices .
SNMP Lost Communication Troubleshooting
1) Within the Device View pane take note of the IP Address of the device that is in lost communication.
2) Navigate to: Device Menu > SNMP Device Communication Settings > Device Scan Settings.
3) Search for the Device's IP Address and then look within the Protocol column for that device to determine SNMP version.
4) If the device is in intermittent lost communication, proceed to step 5. If the device is in persistent lost communication, proceed to step 6.
NOTE: Intermittent lost communication is when the device loses communication to DCE and then re-establishes communication multiple times.
NOTE: Persistent lost communication is when a lost communication alert for the device is constant within DCE and is not clearing and reoccurring.
5) Intermittent lost communication occurs when DCE does not receive a response back for the SNMP request to the device within a set timeframe. This usually occurs due to network traffic issues or end-device processing issues. The usual resolution to this issue is to increase timeouts and retries for communication before DCE will report a lost communication alarm:
a) Check the box next to the device searched for in step 3.
b) Click the Edit Device Scan Settings... button.
c) Increase the Timeouts (seconds) and Retries.
NOTE: If having regular intermittent lost communications, it is recommended to increase the values to 10 second Timeouts and 5 Retries.
d) Click OK to save the changes.
NOTE: If the issue returns after increasing the timeouts and retries, the issue is commonly network related or end-device related. Contact your network team and/or technical support for assistance.
6) Persistent lost communication to devices occurs when DCE does not receive any responses back to SNMP requests to the APC Device. This usually occurs due to incorrect SNMP Settings within DCE or the Device. This may also occur due to changes on the network that may block the SNMP traffic from DCE to the device or from the device to DCE. If your device uses SNMPv1, as determined in step 3, proceed to SNMPv1 Persistent Lost Communication Troubleshooting. If your device is using SNMPv3, as determined in step 3, proceed to SNMPv3 Persistent Lost Communication Troubleshooting.
SNMPv1 Persistent Lost Communication Troubleshooting
1) Navigate to the Monitoring perspective and select the device group that has the device in lost communication.
2) Locate the device that is in lost communication and take note of the Application Version listed within the Device View pane.
NOTE: Steps below have different locations for settings depending on the application version of the NMC.
3) Right-click on the device within the Device View pane and select Launch to Device. This will load the web interface of the APC NMC.
NOTE: If you are unable to launch to the device, verify the Device Launch Settings and use DCE's Ping Utility.
4) Log into the web interface. Auto-login may occur if the correct credentials are defined within DCE.
NOTE: For instructions on configuring auto-login see knowledge Video: Data Center Expert | How do I configure auto-login when launching to APC devices? .
5) Navigate to the SNMP settings to determine if SNMPv1 is set to enabled.
- Application Version 6.X: Configuration menu > Network > SNMPv1 > Access > Enabled [checked]
- Application Version 3.X-5.X: Administration tab > Network sub-tab > SNMPv1 > Access > Enable SNMPv1 access [checked]
6) Navigate to the SNMP community string settings within the APC NMC.
- Application Version 6.X: Configuration menu > Network > SNMPv1 > Access Control
- Application Version 3.X-5.X: Administration tab > Network sub-tab > SNMPv1 > Access Control
7) Data Center Expert requires the ability to be able to read and write data via SNMP to the APC NMC. If only Read access is provided, Priority Scanning will not function. Ensure that there is an entry for Read and another for Write that are activated.
NOTE: Instead of two entries, one entry with the Access Type of Write+ will work for both Read (Get) and Write (Set) requests.
8) Ensure that the NMS IP/Host Name field applies to DCE. For a description of what your entry within this field means, click on Help in the upper-right corner of the NMC while on the SNMP Access page or while editing a specific SNMP Access line.
9) Take note of what the enabled Read/Write community strings are or the Write+ community string is.
10) DCE Desktop Client > Device menu > SNMP Device Communication Settings > Device Scan Settings > Search for device > Check Box on device line item > Edit Device Scan Settings.
NOTE: If selecting multiple devices, the settings that are currently displayed on the Edit Device Scan Settings screen will be set for communication between DCE and the Devices. If the devices each have different settings, this will cause lost communication to any devices that do not match these new settings that are applied.
11) The community strings recorded in step 9 should match. If they do not match, either the community strings within the Device Scan Settings or the community strings within the APC NMC SNMP Access settings m