Cisco Systems Craft Works Interface Introduction, About CWI, Prerequisites, Related Documentation

1Introduction

This document introduces Craft Works Interface (CWI) that supports Cisco IOS XR Software Release 3.4.

Note This document refers to CWI managing devices. For Cisco IOS XR software, the devices can be any or all of the secure domain routers (SDRs) of which your Cisco IOS XR system is composed.

Related Documentation

See the following list for related documents that may be useful:

•Cisco Craft Works Interface User Guide

•Cisco Craft Works Interface Online Help

Intended Audience

This document is intended for experienced service provider administrators, Cisco telecommunication management engineers, and third-party field service technicians who have completed the required Cisco router training sessions.

2About CWI

CWI is a powerful, session-based tool that allows you to manage, monitor, and configure a single device or a network of devices. CWI is designed to operate in as many situations as possible. You can:

•Connect to the devices in several ways through a serial port, a terminal server, or an IP-based method, such as Telnet, SSH, or CORBA.

•Run Windows, Macintosh, and Linux clients.

•Connect to devices with or without XML or command-line interface (CLI) capabilities.

•Display both the administrative (admin) plane and device plane for Cisco IOS XR devices.

Depending on the tasks that you want to perform, CWI offers a selection of CLI- and graphic-based tools from which you can choose to perform the tasks. In addition to monitoring tools, CWI provides the following three methods to configure devices:

•Telnet, SSH, and Terminal Plus applications for direct access to the CLI of the device.

•CLI-based configuration editor tool for free-form editing and advanced navigation of the device configuration.

•Table-based applications that are used for bulk-configuration and client-side validation.

Unlike an Element Management System (EMS), CWI provides the following capabilities:

•Any Cisco IOS XR user can download CWI.

•CWI has a small footprint and no server is required.

•CWI has the flexibility to connect to the router through a serial port, terminal server, or management interface that uses CLI or XML data.

•Many features are aimed at the CLI user.

See Cisco Craft Works Interface User Guide for details on the activities in the CWI Desktop.

3Prerequisites

Prerequisites ensure that the CWI client and router are correctly set up to allow them to communicate. Meeting all prerequisites before starting any of the procedures in this guide is recommended to ensure successful communication between the CWI client and router. For network information, see “Network Considerations” section on page 21.

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