Implementation of DevOps in the campus networks is more than a buzz word now and has become a sheer reality with organizations either seriously considering on bringing automation or has already begun deploying some form of automation in their daily operations. One of the basic hinderance that typically arises in adopting this change is around the support and flexibility of using their preferred tools to automate and manage the network.
Cisco Catalyst 9000 switches provide much-needed flexibility not just in terms of software but also in terms of hardware. The software is powered by open IOS XE which is more programmable than ever with modular structure and support of open YANG Models. The hardware is also engineered with Unified Access Data Plane ASIC which can be programmed by IOS-XE on various stages of packet flow with new instructions enabling the support of new protocols or features in hardware. The combination of programmable software and hardware brings in uniqueness not just in terms of features but also in new innovations like Software Defined Access (SD-Access), Encrypted Traffic Analytics (ETA), Model Driven Telemetry and software patching to name a few paving the way for an entirely new era of Networking.
Programmable UADP ASIC
One of the fundamental changes in IOS-XE has been towards modularizing the whole software architecture in multiple compartments where IOS itself is running as a daemon with other operational drivers segmented out from the kernel. All the configurational and operational states are now stored as data models in the central repository called as IOS-XE Database. These structured data models give the system an ability to be managed, provisioned and configured via open API’s. Furthermore, it also equips the system to provide proactive insights when there is a change using telemetry or restart a certain software process or component using a software maintenance updates without impacting the user traffic on the switch. Moreover, Catalyst 9300, 9400 and 9500 also provide an environment to host 3rd party applications in a secure manner unleashing countless possibilities.
These capabilities and tools have opened up new horizons for users to build their own scripts for custom solutions. You can find some sample scripts at the following link: https://github.com/CiscoDevNet/catalyst9k-network-automation/
Open Programmable IOS-XE across Catalyst 9k
A new addition to the Catalyst 9k family is Catalyst 9200, which runs a lighter version of IOS-XE since it is catered for branch offices and small campus deployments. Catalyst 9200 also follows the legacy of supporting the above combination of programmable hardware and software with complete DevOps Toolkit as shown in the above picture.
The uniqueness of having programmable software and hardware throughout the whole catalyst 9k family not only brings differentiation in the industry but also provides the much needed future investment protection to the consumer especially in the new era of software-defined networking.
