E 2 EP Current Futures Group 6 Breakout

E 2 EP: Current & Futures Group 6 Breakout Results Recorded by Matt Zekauskas 30 May 2001

Group 6 Scott Friedrich, GA Tech Deborah Davis, GA Tech Matthew Almand, TAMU Scott Douglas, Goddard Peter Olenick, Princeton Matt Zekauskas, stuckee Group 6 Breakout 05/30/01 2

How do you know the network is working correctly? No calls! Would like to detect in advance… Group 6 Breakout 05/30/01 3

Today’s Problem Focus Most performance problems are with “traditional” applications, not “advanced” applications. • Ex: Peoplesoft • Calls through help desk • “It was working yesterday, now it’s 50% slower” Group 6 Breakout 05/30/01 4

Steps 1. Compensate for user expertise… what is the real problem? Sometimes don’t know Sometimes users don’t know endpoints 2. Is it really a network problem? [on-demand] Net. Out to TCP discard port Net. IQ endpoints Traceroute observatories/ Looking. Glass Abilene router proxy [traceroute/ping]; AMP Passive! [e. g. , Old Network General Sniffer] Group 6 Breakout 05/30/01 5

Other Systems Openview for main network fault detect MRTG Roll-your-own test points (periodic tcp tests) – “strategically deployed systems” Roll-your-own flow analysis Netscape to X (general reachability) Group 6 Breakout 05/30/01 6

Other Problems Going directly up mgmt chain • Get directives to fix immediately w/no other data • Don’t want to hear “it works for me” (end up working with application) (“prove”) Unreasonable expectations (OC 48 out of OC 12) • Way to tell what’s reasonable out of path? Group 6 Breakout 05/30/01 7

Other Problems Users don’t understand firewalls, “tcp” wrappers I 1, once verify campus ok to edge & symmetric routing, can’t do any more Ability to trap transient problems Group 6 Breakout 05/30/01 8

Net Resources General web searches CERT site Group 6 Breakout 05/30/01 9

Futures Group 6 Breakout 05/30/01 10

Missing Tools Pervasively deployed helper on endpoints Button user can push to see if it’s really a network problem, and if so give data that would be useful to solve [FPT? ] Tell users if over Internet 2 / Expectations Something to highlight problems before user calls Group 6 Breakout 05/30/01 11

Characterization Classify traffic, at department level Help performance by providing knowledge about non-mission traffic where feedback might result in controls Privacy obviously an issue… top destinations without noting sources Ability to shape here (e. g. , packeteer) being deployed Group 6 Breakout 05/30/01 12

On E 2 EPI Tools Lots of commercial solutions claim to be in this space: Tivoli, HP Openview, CA Netcenter, (Net. Cool), … ; adapt rather than start from scratch Group 6 Breakout 05/30/01 13

Finding People Maintained list of contacts at other campuses • DNS model (update locally) OK • Need access when network is dead • Automate 1 -on-1 contact with other net managers? Especially getting credibility w/remote. • Ability to get all key contacts on phone call? (perceived as easier w/ Internet 2) • Single contact/institution may be insufficient Vendors: around 1 st line support? Group 6 Breakout 05/30/01 14

Knowledgebase A healthy skepticism… Require keywords; but provide? – avoid search & get something irrelevant Refineable searches Various manefestations point to same problem Contacts for “interesting” problems Include other R&E network info (ESNET…) Group 6 Breakout 05/30/01 15

User Education Educated users very valuable for problem resolution… Materials from Internet 2 applied locally? Anything in I 2 participation agreement? Group 6 Breakout 05/30/01 16

www. internet 2. edu 05/30/01 17