User`s guide

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Chapter 1
Introduction
This chapter provides an overview of RingView for Token Ring functionality and features.
What Is RingView for Token Ring?
RingView for Token Ring is a SPECTRUM application program that provides
enhanced capabilties for modeling and displaying the ring of devices and
connections that make up a Token Ring (802.5) LAN.
An important feature of the RingView application is that it allows for several
different ways of displaying a Token Ring LAN within a SPECTRUM Topology
view. For example, you can choose to view the topology in an actual ring, or in
a “condensed” configuration that requires less onscreen space. You can also
choose between Token Ring stations being depicted as physical devices or
MAC entities. These and other display options are described in more detail in
Chapter 3 of this manual.
How RingView Works
In most cases, RingView operations are initially invoked by AutoDiscovery
and are thus transparent to the user. If the IP address range you specify for an
AutoDiscovery session includes a discrete Token Ring LAN, AutoDiscovery
will automatically create a model for the LAN and then activate the RingView
application, which will attempt to model the LAN’s contents. This is
accomplished in one of two ways. If the LAN includes a device that supports
one of Cabletron’s Token Ring MIBs (ctDot5 or ctDot5PhysMgmt), then the
complete topology of the ring can be read from the device’s station list. If there
are no such devices in the LAN, the topology is determined by querying each
device in the LAN for information about its neighbors. This process is
described in greater detail in Chapter 2.
After the initial modeling, you can keep the configuration of the ring current
through a RingView Tools dialog box, which is accessed from the LAN_802_5