Cisco Systems ONS 15600 manual CTC Installation Overview

Chapter 4 Cisco Transport Controller Operation

4.1.2 CTC Software Installed on the PC or UNIX Workstation

4.1.2 CTC Software Installed on the PC or UNIX Workstation

When you connect to the ONS 15600, the TSC card automatically downloads the CTC software to your computer, where it is automatically installed if you have the correct Java Runtime Environment (JRE). The automatic download/installation process ensures that your computer is running the same CTC software version as the TSC you are accessing. The CTC software files are stored in the temporary directory designated by your computer’s operating system. You can use the Delete CTC Cache button to remove files stored in the temporary directory. If the files are deleted, they are downloaded the next time you connect to an ONS 15600. Downloading the Java archive (JAR) files for CTC takes several minutes depending on the bandwidth of the connection between your workstation and the ONS 15600. For example, JAR files downloaded from a modem or a SONET data communications channel (SDCC) network link requires more time than JAR files downloaded over a LAN connection.

During network topology discovery, CTC polls each node in the network to determine which one contains the most recent version of the CTC software. If CTC discovers a node in the network that has a more recent version of the CTC software than the version you are currently running, CTC generates a message stating that a later version of the CTC has been found in the network, and offers to install the CTC software upgrade. If you have network discovery disabled, CTC will not seek more recent versions of the software. Unreachable nodes are not included in the upgrade discovery.

Note Upgrading the CTC software will overwrite your existing software. You must restart CTC after the upgrade is complete.

4.2 CTC Installation Overview

To connect to an ONS 15600 using CTC, enter the ONS 15600 IP address in the URL field of a web browser, such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer. After connecting to an ONS 15600, the following events occur automatically:

Note Each ONS 15600 has a unique IP address that you use to access the ONS 15600. The initial IP address, 192.168.1.2, is the default address for ONS 15600 access and configuration.

1.A CTC launcher applet is downloaded from the TSC to your computer’s temporary directory. (If these files are deleted, they are automatically reinstalled the next time you connect to the ONS 15600.)

2.The launcher determines whether your computer has a CTC release matching the release on the ONS 15600 TSC.

3.If the computer does not have CTC installed, or if the installed release is older than the TSC version, the launcher downloads the CTC program files from the TSC.

4.The launcher starts CTC. The CTC session is separate from the web browser session, so the web browser is no longer needed. If you log into an ONS 15600 that is connected to ONS 15600s with older versions of CTC, or to Cisco ONS 15454s or ONS 15327s, CTC element files are downloaded automatically to enable you to interact with those nodes. You cannot interact with nodes on the network that have a newer software version than the node that you are logged into (the nodes will appear gray in network view). Therefore, always log into nodes with the latest software release.

Each ONS 15600 can handle up to 16 simultaneous CTC sessions. CTC performance might vary depending upon the volume of activity in each session.

Cisco ONS 15600 Reference Manual, R7.2

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