nodes in the domain have limited contact with switches outside the domain. You will rarely see this design today, because the current switching software no longer supports it.

Network Management

In managing a wide area network, you have to understand the basic network management technology common to both LANs and WANs. You must understand IP addressing, Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), out−of−band management/in−band management, Management Information Bases (MIBs), network management tools, configuration of systems, and so on. Let’s look at some WAN specifics.

The CLI

Everyone who has worked with Cisco equipment is familiar with the Command Line Interface (CLI). The WAN interface is very different from the interfaces in other Cisco equipment. To gain access to the CLI, you will have to use the serial port on the control module, the Ethernet connection, or a virtual terminal. Figure 3.7 displays an initial login screen. You are provided with this display when you first Telnet into the equipment.

Figure 3.7: An initial login screen.

The login screen is divided into three parts: system information, display, and input. The system information appears at the top of the screen. It contains the name of the unit, method of accessing the CLI, current user ID and privilege level, chassis model, system software version, and date/time/time zone. The display portion shows the result and the last command given. The input portion has a prompt for your next command.

You can enter commands on the CLI in three ways:

∙Via a menu—Pressing the Esc key opens a menu; you highlight a command using the arrow keys and press Enter to issue the command.

∙In response to prompts—A prompt will request the required parameters. Using the prompt method, you enter the desired command, and the switch asks you for all the required parameters.

∙Using direct entry—Direct entry is the only way to issue optional parameters in the CLI; all the parameters must follow the command in exact order, separated by spaces.

Every command falls into a privilege level. The levels are superuser, service, StrataCom, and 1 to 6. A level is assigned when the user account is created. The user can issue commands only at his or her level or lower. The superuser, service, and StrataCom levels rank above level 1 (the highest numerical level).

WAN Manager

The Cisco WAN Manager software manages an entire WAN infrastructure. It operates on Sun Solaris and IBM AIX systems. The software’s components are as follows:

∙Topology Management—Provides an automatically generated topology map. The map can be formatted as a standalone or for HP Open View, CiscoWorks, or IBM NetView. A multicolor map can be generated that’s updated in real time. It can provide the network manager with a global view of

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