Impact of Resetting ISE Context Visibility on Endpoint Connectivity

[ggenti]

I am planning to reset and synchronize Context Visibility on our ISE deployment, following the steps outlined in this Cisco guide:
Reset & Sync Context Visibility – Cisco ISE 

Before proceeding, I’d like to confirm whether this process introduces any downtime or impact to connected endpoints, assuming the instructions are followed as documented.

Thanks,

Genti

[balaji.bandi]

I have done sometime back, not that i have noticed any service impact, but you loose the data which you resetting (is this intention then you good then)

[wajidhassan · Accepted solution]

Hi @ggenti ,

Resetting and synchronizing Context Visibility on Cisco ISE, when done following Cisco’s documented steps, is generally a non-disruptive process. It should not cause downtime or interrupt connectivity for endpoints.

However, depending on your deployment size and load, you might notice a brief increase in CPU or network activity during the sync. It’s always best to perform this during a maintenance window or low-usage period as a precaution.

If you have a distributed deployment, the impact is further minimized since the process is handled per node.

Overall, endpoints should remain connected and operational throughout.

Hope this helps!

[ggenti]

Hi @wajidhassan 

Thank you for the feedback!! Will I lose data of the endpoints if I do the reset and synchronize of context visibility?

Thanks!

Genti

[wajidhassan]

Hey @ggenti 

No, resetting and synchronizing Context Visibility does not cause loss of endpoint data. It is mainly a process to refresh and sync visibility information across the deployment.

Endpoints remain connected, and their data is retained. Just expect a short period of increased system activity during the sync, which is why scheduling it during low-usage times is recommended.

[Marcelo Morais]

Hi @ggenti ,

 the Context Visibility represents the PAN Data.

The ISE Indexing Engine will be restarted, in other words, confirm that this service is running:

ise/admin# show application status ise
 ISE PROCESS NAME     STATE     PROCESS ID 
 -------------------------------------------
 ...
 ISE Indexing Engine  running   <Process ID> 
 ...

 If you Reset Context Visibility, it will remove all data from Context Visibility:

ise/admin# application configure ise
 Selection configuration option
 ...
 [20]Reset Context Visibility
 ...
 20
 This will remove all data from Context Visibility. Do you want to proceed [y/n]: y
 ...

If you Synchronize Context Visibility, it will only synchronize the data:

ise/admin# application configure ise
 Selection configuration option
 ...
 [21]Synchronize Context Visibility With Database
 ...
 21
 This will synchronize Context Visibility with database. Do you want to proceed [y/n]: y
 ...

Note: my recommendation ... use the Get All Endpoints option before Reset Context Visibility, as a backup:

ise/admin# application configure ise
 Selection configuration option
 ...
 [16]Get all Endpoints
 ...

Hope this helps !!!

[ggenti]

Thank you for the feedback!!

[robertwilkinson1]

My experiences have been you dont lose much data.  It appears like it syncs all the same data from the [16]Get all Endpoints option.   However this does not include things like application data from posture.  At least the two times I have done this it lost all of that data while it collected it again.