CBD and SG300 switches

[msitechs]

Our organization has been attempting to get the Cisco Business Dashboard rolled out to manage the switches at our clients. We've gotten started on rolling out our first client, however I seem to be getting some conflicting information and need some assistance in figuring this out.

The first client we are rolling out to has CBS250, CBS350, SG300 and SG250 switches. We have setup direct management on the CBS switches, and they are manageable from the platform just fine, their status is connected and I can mange config changes directly from the dashboard. 

The SG switches show up in the dashboard under the Inventory, but they are not manageable, can't run backups, only can access the GUI login interface for the switch. The switches have been updated to the latest firmware - see screenshot below. 

As you can see above, there is no section for PnP, Port Management or Pending Config on the SG300. According to this device list Cisco Business Dashboard - Device Support List - Cisco the SG300 and SG250 switches have the following functions: Discovered, Monitored, Operation, Configuration, and Reporting. However I am not getting any of those, and you can see that the CBD Agent not supported message comes up too. 

What am I missing? I thought it may have had something to do with SNMP, but even with that being setup correct on the switches in an identical fashion, it did not make a difference. I verified I can ping the dashboard from the switch. Is the information in the device list incorrect? Is there a different procedure for connecting the SG switches than there is for CBS switches? There is no CBD or FindIT section on my switch, and I have not been able to find the certificate section to import the certificate on the switch to enable them either.

Also was wondering if maybe the direct management switches don't have capability of managing other switches but only connecting them to the dashboard? Do I need a separate probe for the SG switches? Another separate issue is that there is also one switch which is a SG350 and that one DOES have a CBD section after I imported the certificate to it, but it stays disconnected despite following the procedure for an embedded probe. No errors, no logs, nothing to go off of.  Any help would be appreciated, thank you!

[Mark Fang · Accepted solution]

You are right, direct management switches don't have capability of managing other devices. Since not all your devices support direct management, a Probe managed network is the only viable option.

Embedded Probe can manage up to 15 network devices. Looks like your network comprises no more than this number, you can enable an embedded Probe on any of your CBS switches. Otherwise you will need to setup a software Probe.

A network can either be managed directly or by a Probe, but not both simultaneously. You have two options to proceed:
1) Delete the current network and create a new network, selecting network type as Probe Managed.
2) Disconnect all devices to make the network offline, then you will be able to change the network type to Probe Managed.

After implementing one of these options, open the network detail page and navigate to the Onboarding tab. Follow the steps to enable an embedded Probe and connect it to the CBD.

[msitechs]

Thank you Mark, I was indeed able to get this working with a software probe, will have to do some testing with the embedded probe in the near future. Thanks a ton!

[palouis]

Hi Guys,

Can I jump in - I've got 2 x SG250-08s and these won't connect to CBD giving an Unsupported error.

Ive looked on Cisco's site https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/cloud-systems-management/network-automation-and-management/cisco-business-dashboard/technical-reference/b_CBD_Device_Support_List.html

These show as fully supported - I've attached an edited image of the Support Matrix

My question is what am I doing wrong?  Just shows as "Disconnected"

The Log shows: 
The CBD agent status for WSW01 is not supported  Notifications/CBD agent

My probe version on the SG250 is 2.4.1.20220225

Any ideas?

P

[Mark Fang]

It appears that your network is currently set to Direct Managed. However, the SG250 model does not support direct management. If you refer to Table 6, Direct Management Agent Support, in the device support list, you’ll notice that the SG250 is not included. To resolve this, please delete the existing network that is set to Direct Managed. Afterwards, create a new network and choose the "Probe Managed" type. A wizard will then guide you through the process of onboarding the devices.

[msitechs]

Just to piggy back off what Mark said, you cannot mix and match probe types from what I've learned. I have some CBS switches and some SG switches and I had started with enrolling the CBS ones knowing they have direct managed capabilities and they added to the portal just fine. However after adding a few of my CBS switches I couldn't add any SG switches because my network was set to Direct Managed. Since the SG do not support this, the SGs could not be enrolled. 

I did what Mark suggested, and deleted the Direct Managed network and set them all up to be probe managed and followed the prompt to have the probe running off the switch. Alternatively if you have the ability to run a virtual machine on your network you can run a software probe but I'd go with the switches instead. 

[palouis]

Thanks guys, I've followed your instructions and gone with probe managed network.

Only one Q - none of the devices show Connected in CBD Agent status?  is that a direct only thing?

Same as the SG switch till shows disconnected in status ?

Cheers Paul

[Mark Fang]

Yes, CBD Agent Status is only available for devices in a direct managed network.

[msitechs]

Where are you seeing "CBD Agent status" at, on the switch or somewhere in the dashboard? Do the devices show up online in Inventory section? If the devices aren't connecting to the dashboard What I noticed is that I had to add the DNS entry for the dashboard on each switch (IP & hostname combo) as well as add a static route to the modem on each switch. Then my switches would connect no problem.