DSC System Access

You can access the DSC Platforms remotely using the

• Element Management System
  • Ribbon Application Management Platform (RAMP)
  • Ribbon Insight Element Management System (EMS)
• Web-based User Interface (Web UI)
• Menu-based user interface (Menu UI)
• Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)

• Transaction Language 1 (TL1) port and TL1 commands

Remote access to the DSC Platforms is only possible after you completed the installation process and configured the IP addresses on the Management and Routing CPUs/VMs. For more information about the installation process and system access, see the appropriate chapter in the Installation Guides.

Access to the Web UI to configure and provision the DSC Platforms is limited to a Web browser using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol over Secure Socket Layer (HTTPS). If you attempt to use HTTP for system access, you are redirected to use HTTPS. Using HTTPS for system access provides protection from eavesdroppers and man-in-the-middle attacks. Before you can log onto the system, a Certificate of Authority (CA) notification is displayed to ensure that you are, indeed, logging onto the DSC Platforms (see Configuring Signed Certificates from a Certificate Authority).

For information about logging onto the system using the TL1 port and TL1 commands, see the appropriate chapter in the TL1 Reference Guide.

Ribbon Application Management Platform (RAMP) and Ribbon Insight Element Management System (EMS)

The DSC Platforms is integrated with the Ribbon Application Management Platform (RAMP) or the Insight Element Management System (EMS) for a seamless and unified element management user experience.

• For information about registering the DSC Platforms with RAMP, refer to Register a DSC Device.

• For information about registering the DSC Platforms with Insight EMS, refer to Register a DSC Node. 
   

  DSC Platforms can be accessed through the latest version of the DSC Manager in EMS (refer to DSC Manager).

Use one of the following methods to enable EMS access on the respective DSC Platform:  

• Execute the initial configuration procedure: 
  • DSC 8000 – refer to Executing the Initial Configuration
  • DSC SWe on KVM hypervisor – refer to Executing the Initial Configuration
  • DSC SWe on MA-RMS – refer to Executing the Initial Configuration
  • DSC SWe on VMware hypervisor – refer to Executing the Initial Configuration 
• Use the Web UI – refer to Configure SNMP Community Directives

Web-based and Text-based User Interfaces

The DSC Platform supports a customized Linux-based operating system. The following UIs are supported:

• Web-based user interface (Web UI)
• Text-based user interface (Menu UI)
  • The Menu UI is only supported for executing the software upgrade and restore procedures, if required. For information about the software upgrade procedure, refer to the appropriate guide under Upgrade Guides.

For more information about the Web UI or Menu UI, refer to the appropriate sections in the Web UI and Menu UI Guide.

Supported Web Browsers

This release supports the following Web browsers:

Access the Web UI Using Microsoft Edge

Prerequisites

• Before you can start the Web UI, make sure that you have the required IP address and username/password
• For information about logging on as a tl1 user, refer to the appropriate section in the TL1 Reference Guide.

Start

1. Start your Web browser, and type the following in the URL text box:

   https://<IP address of the Web UI>

   

2. Do one of the following:
   1. Click Continue to this Web site and go to step 5.
   2. Click More information.
3. If you click More information, the following screen appears.
   
4. Make sure that you are connecting to a DSC Platform, and click Continue.

5. Enter the user name and password in the appropriate text box.

   Tip

   The DSC Platforms support a Linux-based operating system. These operating systems do not allow the use of upper-case characters. Therefore, all user names must be entered as lower-case characters in the Web UI login page.

6. Click Continue.

Access the Web UI Using Firefox

Prerequisites

• Before you can start the Web UI, make sure that you have the required IP address and username/password
• For information about logging on as a tl1 user, refer to the appropriate section in the TL1 Reference Guide.

Start

1. Start your Web browser, and type the following in the URL text box:

   https://<IP address of the Web UI>

   

2. Click I Understand the Risks.
   
3. Click Add Exception.
   
4. If the Location text box shows the IP address of the DSC Platform, click Get Certificate.
   
5. Click Confirm Security Exception.
6. Enter the user name and password in the appropriate text box.
7. Click Continue

Access the Web UI Using Chrome

Prerequisites

• Before you can start the Web UI, make sure that you have the required IP address and username/password
• For information about logging on as a tl1 user, refer to the appropriate section in the TL1 Reference Guide.

Start

1. Start your Web browser, and type the following URL into the text box: 
   

   https://<IP address of the Web UI>

   

2. Click Advanced. 
   
3. Click Proceed to <xxxxx> (unsafe).

4. Enter the username in the User text box.

5. Enter the password in the Password text box.

   Tip

   The SP2000 is a Linux-based operating system. The operating system does not allow the use of upper-case characters for usernames. Therefore, all usernames must be entered as lower-case characters in the Web UI login page.

6. You are prompted whether you want Chrome to remember this password.
7. Respond as required. The SP2000 Main Menu appears.

Set Up Custom Application Mode

Use the Custom Application Mode in the Web UI to create a redirect button to access any Web-enabled application. The following procedure shows an example of setting up a link to Google.

Start

1. From the Web UI Main Menu, click Custom.
   

2. Enter the required information in the text boxes (in this example, the information for Google and the appropriate Link Address).

3. Click Save. The Google button appears under the Application Menu.
4. Click Google.

Accessing the Menu UI

The Menu UI is a command line interface is only supported for executing software upgrade and restore procedures, if required.

Prerequisites

Before you can start the Menu UI, make sure that you

• have installed the DSC Platform

• have connected the local console

• understand the DSC IP networking configuration

  Note

  For more information about the preceding items, refer to the appropriate sections in the Installation Guides

• are familiar with the DSC Menu UI

  Note

  For more information about the DSC Platforms Menu UI, refer to the appropriate sections in the Web UI and Menu UI Guide

• completed the procedures in the DSC Password Management section using the Web UI

Start

1. Start an SSH session on the DSC Platform.
2. Log onto the Management CPU.
3. Enter the required user ID and password.

4. Enter the following at the Linux prompt:

   # startmenu

Simple Network Management Protocol

The DSC Platform is equipped with a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) agent that can connect with up to ten SNMP managers, or network management systems.

SNMP is part of the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) protocol suite. The SNMP is an application layer protocol that defines how management information between network devices is exchanged. The SNMP provides a means to monitor and control network devices.

An SNMP-managed network consists of the following three key components:

• managed network devices such as the DSC
• SNMP Agents such as individual processes within the DSC
• SNMP Manager that monitors and controls managed devices

An SNMP Manager can manage and monitor a network device using

• traps which are unsolicited alarms from SNMP Agents that notify the system of significant events
• user interaction that allows you to actively view, add, delete, and modify attributes and events on the managed device. You can also use the Command Line Interface (CLI), Web UI, or TL1 to perform these tasks.

The DSC Platform agents support Management Information Bases (MIBs) for monitoring various DSC Platform devices, entities, and alarms, and includes a circular buffer to record (up to 2048) instances of the alarms. The default value is 1000. To set this value as required, refer to Configuring the Trap Log. The MIB contains the performance and alarm data collected from the SS7 network.

For more information about SNMP, refer to Configuring SNMP

Transaction Language 1

Transaction Language 1 (TL1) is a Man-Machine Language (MML) widely used in the telecommunications industry for the management of network elements. A computer terminal configured with any operating system capable of establishing a Telnet session is used to communicate with a network element using TL1 commands. TL1 commands are ASCII-based instructions that are entered by an operator at a computer terminal and sent to a network element. The network element sends back a response based on the instructions.

The DSC Platform supports a customized Linux-based operating system and TL1 command capabilities. The TL1 commands are used to manage software application elements and parameters for this product.

For more information about TL1, refer to the appropriate chapter in the TL1 Reference Guide.