05-31-2007 11:25 PM
Hi
Can anybody please provide me with details regarding SMI-S support for
Cisco switches? Is the support available only for switches running
SAN-OS ?
I have a Cisco MDS 9000 running FabricWare and I dont see any cimserver
support embedded in the switch( cimserver CLI is not available).
Please let me know.
Thanks
Deepa
06-01-2007 07:56 AM
Cisco's MDS switches support SMI-S, however it is not turned on by default.
This link describes the process of enabling the CIM server -
If you found this helpfull please rate it.
--Colin
06-01-2007 07:10 PM
We use an application (used to be called AppIQ but has many names) that gets data via SMI-S for the SAN switches and it does not get all that much information coming out of SAN-OS. The release notes are full of caveats about SAN-OS. The vendor blames Cisco for this stating that the SMI-S api it lacking for information. VSAN zoning in particular is not all that good as far as reporting.
Mind you the Brocade SMI-S might provide more information but it is flakey more often than not in Director class switches. The application hangs on the Brocades all the time.
I would prefer to use SNMP as it has been around for ages and is relatively rock solid.
Stephen
06-05-2007 05:41 AM
Thank You Stephen.I am actually trying to write an application which can collect configuration information from switches supported by different vendors in the SAN. I assumed SMIS would be the best approach. Do you feel SNMP is a better option. Is there any information in the web I can use for reference?
06-05-2007 04:13 PM
SMI-S is probably (in theory) a better approach when you want to actually manage the switches such as zoning, etc. SMI-S was designed to "not really care" what switch or storage vendor it is.
I wont use AppIQ to do anything as I don't really trust it and to be honest, it is much quicker to do it on the switch itself.
Some of the issues with Cisco include:
The Cisco SMI-S provider does not always handle DomainID:PortNumber format properly when creating zones or reporting on zone content. Existing zones on Cisco switches with DomainID:PortNumber members may not be displayed correctly.
As far as collecting metrics, SNMP is much easier to use. I don't see MRTG offering to use SMI-S.
I just suppose its up to what you want to do. The industry push is towards SMI-S but so far, it has not lived up to my expectations.
HTH!!
Stephen.
06-05-2007 05:36 AM
Thank you. yes, I did happen to see the link, but the problem is I dont have the "cimserver" command listed in the CLI, when I try to enable the cimserver using the "config" command. I wonder if Fabricware OS providesSMIS support.
06-05-2007 07:16 AM
What Sanos version are you running?
06-07-2007 12:03 AM
The problem of not finding the cimserver support is with the switch running FabricWare OS, this is the version
Cisco MDS 9000 FabricWare
Software
system: 2.1(2)
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