Chapter 4

Cisco includes its documentation CDs (formerly called the Cisco UniverseCD) with every router shipped. These are very important, and many network administrators hold on to them like drowning men holding onto life preservers. Because of this, they seem to accumulate in unorganized piles. The proper action upon receiving a new one is to make it accessible via a web server on your network and throw out all but the latest two or three versions. It is not uncommon for documentation CDs to be lying around (unopened) years after they arrive. All new CD sets have the creation date silk-screened on the discs themselves, making it easier for you to determine their age.

The Cisco Documentation CDs are a two-disc set. The first disc contains the software you will need to install on your computer to view the documentation, which is contained on the second CD. Cisco documentation supports Microsoft Windows 95 or NT, Apple Macintosh, SUN Microsystems SunOS, Solaris 2.4 and higher, IBM AIX 4.1 and higher, and HP/UX 9.0.4, 10.10, and 10.20. All the documentation is HTML format. Cisco ships Netscape Navigator on the first CD, along with all the tools you will need to enhance it. This includes the Adobe Acrobat Reader plug-in, as well as others.

Since these tools ship on CD, they will most likely not be the latest versions available. If you have already installed complementary products or other versions of the same product, they may be corrupted by the installation of software from Cisco's documentation CD. Try loading only the pieces you need, and they will enhance what you already have. For example, if you have Netscape Communicator installed you would not want to load Netscape Navigator, since Communicator is a superset of Navigator. Doing so would have an unpredictable effect on Communicator. Instead, you should load only the plug-ins you don't already have installed. This action would add them to Communicator and enhance its functionality.

Once you have Navigator or Communicator installed with all the plug-ins that Cisco requires, you can access the documentation CD. However if you don't use Navigator you may experience problems launching the documentation CD from the Start -> Programs -> Cisco CDROM Products menu. Instead of seeing a browser with the documentation CD home page in it, a window will appear that looks like Figure 4-1.

Figure 4-1. Pop-up window asking you to choose a browser.

Simply click the "Other Browser" button, and browse your file system to choose Communicator. In most cases, you will find it in the directory C:\Program Files\Netscape\Communicator\Program\ netscape.exe. Once you do this, you should bookmark the home page for the documentation CD. You can then return to it simply by launching Communicator and selecting the bookmark.

The documentation on the CD is much like that on Cisco Connection Online (CCO). It has several advantages over CCO, since it is quicker to access and is available without an Internet connection. Of course, the CCO documentation will be up-to-date, while the version on the CD is frozen at one instant in time.

The documentation CD contains information on Cisco's entire product line. This includes all software, hubs, switches, and routers (from the tiny access router to the forklift sized enterprise routers). This is all the current documentation at the time of creation, including information on discontinued products. This CD set is free with each router, but costs a pretty penny if you want to purchase it from Cisco. You can buy it once, or as a monthly subscription. If you don't buy routers every month, you might consider purchasing it a few times a year just to keep current.

The Cisco Online documentation is located on CCO at . If you have a CCO login, it is located at . The two sites look similar, but there is more information available to subscribers.

The online documentation is the Holy Grail of knowledge for Cisco network administrators. It is always up-to-date, and available from anywhere you have Internet access (as long as the Internet is working properly). Anyone who is serious about knowing Cisco products needs a CCO account.

CCO accounts are classified into four categories:

1. Cisco customers who have a SMARTnet or comprehensive support contract with Cisco.
2. Cisco customers who receive service from an authorized Cisco Partner.
3. Cisco sales partners who have a Reseller, Distributor or OEM Service Agreement with Cisco.
4. Authorized resellers who have a Reseller Service Agreement with Cisco.

You can apply for an account on-line at . Make sure to have the proper documentation available at time of registration. The required information is spelled out for you on the registration page, and you cannot get your account without it.

The basic support offered by Cisco is SMARTnet maintenance. It includes registered access to CCO, technical support required for self-maintenance, software maintenance, and advance hardware replacement. Access to CCO is a must for any Cisco network manager. Technical support is through Cisco's Technical Assistance Center (TAC). Software maintenance allows you to download the latest versions of whatever Cisco software you are licensed to use. Advance hardware replacement means you receive replacement parts from Cisco and then send the broken one back to them.

Cisco offers two types of support agreements, SMARTnet and SMARTnet Onsite. Each has three levels of response time: Standard, Enhanced, and Premium. SMARTnet provides for advance replacement of parts, if calls are received between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. local time, five days a week. Parts arrive the next business day. SMARTnet Enhanced speeds up parts replacement with four-hour delivery between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. local time, five days a week. SMARTnet Premium goes one step further with four-hour parts delivery 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including all holidays.

SMARTnet Onsite includes all the regular SMARTnet services, as well as:

1. All parts, labor, and material required for hardware maintenance
2. Labor for field installation of one software upgrade per year
3. Installation of all mandatory engineering and factory change notices
4. Onsite hardware maintenance

The basic difference between the three levels of SMARTnet Onsite is response time. The standard level provides for onsite coverage between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. local time, Monday through Friday, excluding local Cisco-observed holidays. It also includes guaranteed next-day delivery (Monday through Saturday) of replacement parts. SMARTnet Onsite Enhanced includes onsite coverage between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. local time, Monday through Friday, excluding local Cisco-observed holidays. SMARTnet Onsite Premium gives you maximum protection with onsite coverage 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Both SMARTnet Onsite Enhanced and Premium service include four-hour, onsite delivery of hardware replacements within a 50-mile radius of Cisco Service Centers.

All Cisco support contracts are valid for one year. Larger organizations requiring different lengths of time or special features such as co-terminus support agreements on new equipment should contact their Cisco sales representative.

The TAC is Cisco's product support organization. They receive your problem reports and respond to you within the time stipulated by your support contract. You can send problem reports to them through the WWW on CCO, or via e-mail, phone, and fax. Likewise, they can respond by e-mail, phone and fax, as you request. This adds the maximum amount of flexibility to their support organization and allows you access to support in the manner best fitting your situation.

Cisco provides priority four levels for support calls:

1. Production network is down, causing critical impact to business operations if service is not restored quickly. No workaround is available. Cisco and the customer are willing to commit substantial resources around the clock to resolve the situation.
2. Production network is severely degraded, impacting significant aspects of your business operations. No workaround is available. Cisco and customer are willing to commit full-time resources during business hours to resolve the situation.
3. Network performance is degraded. Network functionality is noticeably impaired, but most business operations continue.
4. Customer requires information or assistance on Cisco product capabilities, installation or configuration.

Cisco allows the customer to set the priority level. Obviously you should never ask for Priority Level 1 if you are not willing to go the extra effort to resolve the problem. The sun will never set on the problem until it is resolved since Cisco can pass it off to the next spot on the planet where they have a TAC, easily providing constant support. By reporting the current problem status, fresh engineers can pick up where others are preparing to leave work for the day. This provides continuity of the problem status, so the customer doesn't feel like he is starting over from the beginning.

All trouble reports issues to the TAC via CCO and e-mail are designated low priority by default. If you have a Priority 1 or 2 situation you should always use the telephone to contact Cisco. The next best option is fax, but you should specify in large letters this is a high priority situation. Always make sure the Cisco TAC representatives have several ways to contact you. This will keep you from losing time if you are away from the phone when they call.

The TAC automatically escalates your problem after predetermined amounts of time. The longer your problem goes unresolved, the more people are notified about it. This prevents a call from lingering too long and insures constantly high levels of service. You can see the levels of escalation in the table below. If you feel that adequate forward progress or the quality of service is not satisfactory, you should escalate your case by contacting the TAC Duty Manager. Simply ask any TAC representative to connect you to him immediately.

Automatic Problem Escalation Timeline

Table 4-1 Note: Priority 1 problem escalation times are measured in calendar hours, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Priority 2, 3 and 4 escalation times correspond with Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) business hours: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific Time, Monday through Friday, excluding Cisco holidays.

Cisco's troubleshooting engine is a searchable knowledge base of specific troubleshooting questions and answers. You define your search by selecting the LAN protocols, WAN protocols, or platforms that are giving you problems. Then you enter a brief problem description. The troubleshooting engine searches its database for a list of similar and attempts to help you troubleshoot it. As you step through it, you can select more in-depth questions with the hope that it will eventually lead you to a solution.

Most of the answers in the troubleshooting engine lead you to specific points in the documentation. If you are asking more general questions, you should use the Open Forum. The troubleshooting engine is only for making changes to configuration.

Cisco's open forum is another searchable knowledge base of specific questions and answers. It provides a broader search base by asking you to enter a brief problem description only. Optionally, you can enter an additional description of the problem, although this is not used in the search. The open forum searches its database for a list of similar questions posed to it in the past. By clicking on one of these, you can see the answer that was entered by a Cisco support engineer.

The question list is comprised of other Cisco customers' questions. When you choose one, you will see the additional description they entered and the support engineer’s response. If you don't find the answer to the question you entered, you can choose to send it to the forum or try to diagnose it with the troubleshooting engine. If you send it to the forum, a Cisco engineer will look at it and post an answer to it, usually within a few days. You can choose to have the question expire from the open forum and automatically open a case in the TAC. When your question is answered, you are notified by e-mail that the question now has a matching answer and has been entered into the database. The e-mail will contain a URL that will take you directly to the answer to your question.

Another area of interest to all is the technical tips section. It contains all sorts of useful information on router configuration, cabling, hardware, and white papers. This is the best place to find sample configurations designed more like "how to" articles and not answers to questions. You can also get technical information about basic and advanced features of Cisco's various products.

Outside the realm of Cisco Systems Inc., there exists the Internet news group comp.dcom.sys.cisco. This is a place where anyone can share ideas, and get, or give help. As always, there are rules that apply. Stick to problems and questions regarding Cisco products and be nice. There are a lot of Cisco professionals and Cisco employees who read the news group threads and help people for free. If you cannot afford a maintenance contract, this is one way to get no cost help. Don’t abuse it, though.