Technical data

Using Technician Interface Software
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Differences from Site Manager
The Technician Interface running on the router, and the Site Manager application
running on a PC or UNIX workstation, both manage the router software. The
Technician Interface differs from Site Manager as follows:
• The Technician Interface resides in the router’s operating system kernel and
automatically loads when you boot the router. You do not need to install the
Technician Interface software from a separate medium first; all you need is an
ASCII terminal or Telnet connection to the router. Site Manager, however,
resides on a workstation and runs independently of the router software.
• You establish a Technician Interface session through the router’s console port,
using a local ASCII terminal or dial-up connection. You establish a Site
Manager session independently and establish an in-band connection over the
network.
• The Technician Interface scripts let you display information about various
protocols and network services and enable or disable protocols, circuits, lines,
and services.
• The Technician Interface is a command-line interface; it assumes that you are
a network manager who knows the Technician Interface command syntax, the
MIB, and SNMP. (The Technician Interface does provide online Help,
however.)
In contrast, Site Manager is menu driven: when you display screens and select
options from Site Manager menus, it automatically sends the appropriate
SNMP commands to the router. Site Manager also provides help text.
Caution:
The Technician Interface does not provide the consistency checking
or verification that the Site Manager static configuration feature provides.
Technician Interface users can set erroneous values, commit the values to
memory, and save the values to configuration files, thereby possibly disrupting
router functionality and network activity.