Welcome to yet another big update of Cisco Catalyst Center! Whether you are a Network Engineer, Security Specialist, DevNet Engineer, or IT Leader, you will find something new and interesting in this release. NX Customer Success Specialist Chiara Pietra, NX Solutions Architect Julio Guerro, and NX Customer Success Specialist Kuba Zabiega prepared the following to walk you through some of the key features introduced in Cisco Catalyst Center version 2.3.7.6.
The table below provides a quick overview of some key features of the newly recommended release. Feel free to ask any upgrade questions using the blue ‘Comment’ button at the bottom of this article.
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Feature Description |
How does it compare to previous versions? |
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Catalyst Center OVA for ESXi - We are continuously broadening the deployment options for Cisco Catalyst Center. This release introduces the capability to deploy Cisco Catalyst Center in VMware environment as OVA (at no additional cost). |
Previously, you had to purchase a physical Catalyst Center appliance or host the virtual appliance in AWS Cloud. Now, you can leverage your existing hardware virtualization platform on-prem to deploy Catalyst Center on VMWare ESXi. This version supports key features and use cases of the physical appliance, while also offering benefits such as easy installation, quicker time to value, and the inherent high availability capabilities of ESXi. |
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Configuration visibility and control – The newly enhanced configuration process allows for better visualization and confirmation of configuration changes made by Catalyst Center. It provides a detailed view of command-line interface (CLI) used for all pre- and post-provisioning operations. |
Previously, you had the option to generate a Configuration Preview available for selected workflows like device provisioning. Now, this feature can be made mandatory for all supported workflows. This enhancement allows network administrators to precisely see what configuration changes will be applied to each device in the update process. Furthermore, the delivery of the enhanced control allows you to forward planned network configurations to Service Now ITSM for approval before deployment. This ensures that all changes follow standardized methods, enhancing consistency and reliability in your network operations. |
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3rd party device support for MIB-II – You can now add third-party equipment that supports the SNMP MIB-II protocol to your inventory, allowing you to seamlessly inventory your entire network with Catalyst Center. |
Previously, Catalyst Center was primarily designed to manage Cisco devices with full or limited support. Now, you can add any devices that support the SNMP MIB-II standard. This upgrade enables a centralized view for Inventory and Topology, along with additional information (depending on the device), resulting in a more comprehensive and streamlined management experience. |
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Image Update workflow enhancements, including flexible device ordering - The Image Update workflow for network devices has been enhanced to consist of a 5-step granular workflow, simplifying bulk upgrades. You can also now configure the order in which these upgrades should happen as part of the same workflow. |
Previously, when a software image update was launched selecting multiple devices, Catalyst Center performed the upgrade for the devices in parallel. Now, in addition to providing a guided workflow where you can pick eligible devices for the upgrade, you can decide what devices need to be upgraded sequentially, what devices need to be upgraded in parallel, and the order of upgrade activities. This is especially useful when upgrading multiple devices across the core, distribution, and access layers. |
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Device Details: Configurations workflow - You can view, filter, and edit different Layer 2 configurations for a device that has been added to Catalyst Center with an existing configuration (brownfield). |
Previously, from Device Details, you could review some interface configuration and perform some minimal changes, like shut/no shut port or edits to its description and the vlan assigned to it. Now, you can view a broad list of existing device configurations as well as add or modify configurations, such as VLAN configurations, STP, Discovery Protocols like CDP and LLDP, port configuration, etc. This is an important enhancement for simplifying brownfield management, giving customers better visibility into their networks and improved operational simplicity. |
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Event Analytics – Enhance your understanding of network performance by accessing relevant AI-driven metrics and insights, all conveniently presented in a unified, user-friendly interface. |
Previously, events were listed and organized chronologically in the Issues and Events dashboard. Now, the new Event Analytics – Preview dashboard offers an enhanced view of these events. It lists the events and presents analytics and insights in the form of heatmaps. The heatmaps can categorize and display the count of syslog messages based on severity and track reachability transitions of both wired and wireless network events. |
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LAN Automation enhancements – Capability to execute 5 LAN Automation sessions concurrently (one per site) |
Previously, LAN Automation was restricted to a single process running at any given time. With the release of version 2.3.7.6, it is now possible to run up to five concurrent LAN Automation workflows across different sites. |
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Notification Center – A simple and convenient hub for viewing important notifications, such as appliance status, expiring certificates, integration statuses with external systems, and other critical updates |
In older releases, staying informed about such errors required collecting logs from specific services and manually triggering the Validation Tool or System Analyzer. With the new Notification Center, you will receive instant alerts about potential stability issues in your environment. The Notification Center settings are customizable per user, allowing you to enable or disable notifications based on your preferences. |
Catalyst Center OVA for ESXi
The capability to deploy Cisco Catalyst Center in VMware environment as OVA for ESXi provides further deployment flexibility for customers managing complex network infrastructures. Image 1 displays the Summary view of vSphere Client with OVA. For information on the different options to perform this installation, please refer to the Deployment Guide.
Configuration Visibility and Control
Catalyst Center 2.3.7.6 provides enhanced configuration security with the Visibility and Control of Configurations feature. This page can be accessed by going to Settings -> System Configuration -> Visibility and Control of Configurations. On this page, you can enable Configuration Preview and ITSM Approval as shown in Image 2. When provisioning specific devices, you will also see the Generate configuration preview option as shown in Image 3.
Additionally, for Cisco Catalyst 9800 series WLCs running Cisco IOS XE release 17.13.1 or later, you can generate IOS CLI from YANG configuration in the configuration preview for greater clarity.
3rd party device support for MIB-II
Catalyst Center 2.3.7.6 allows you to add any devices that support the SNMP MIB-II standard. In Image 4, you can see device Palo-Alto-PA-820 listed and supported despite being from 3rd party vendor Palo Alto Networks. Image 5 shows a network admin view of the ports of this 3rd party device, providing a more comprehensive network management experience.
Image Update workflow enhancements, including flexible device ordering
As part of the Image Update workflow, under the Device Activation Order section, you will be able to assign devices to the Parallel and Sequential tabs. Additionally, you can choose which of these update activities should happen first by clicking the Edit Order option. Within the Sequential tab, you can reorder the list of devices if needed as well as abort selected activities in case of failure.
Device Details: Configurations workflow
Within the Layer 2 Configurations menu, you can view, filter, and edit different configurations of a device that has been added to Catalyst Center with existing configurations (brownfield). This tab is available only for Cisco Catalyst 9000 series switches and Cisco IE switches running Cisco IOS-XE 17.3 or later. Images 7, 8, and 9 show examples of this for VLAN, STP, and Port configurations. Note: This is a beta feature.
Event Analytics
The Event Analytics – Preview page displays enhanced analytics and insights. Heatmaps show the magnitude of Syslog messages classified by severity over a selected time range. Image 10 shows an example of heatmaps generated for Wired Events. Event Analytics uses AI Analytics to perform the analysis; this needs to be enabled under System > Settings > Cisco AI Analytics.
LAN Automation Enhancements
LAN Automation represents a big advancement in the simplification, speed, and provisioning of new devices within networks. If you have not yet utilized this feature, we highly recommend giving it a try, as it can substantially save time and effort. For distributed networking teams conducting concurrent provisioning operations, it is now possible to run up to five LAN Automation processes simultaneously with one session per site. All workflows can be efficiently managed from the new LAN Automation landing page, enhancing coordination among your teams.
Notification Center
The new Notification Center is located on the top right corner of the navigation pane. You can enable or disable desired notifications by clicking your profile name and selecting My Profile and Settings, then Notification Preferences.
Conclusion
By integrating simplicity with enhanced functionality, this upgrade is designed to assist you in effectively managing your network infrastructure. For guidance in planning your upgrade, view the Catalyst Center upgrade page.
We strongly recommend utilizing the "Upgrade Validation Tool" before executing this upgrade to identify potential problems and reduce risk prior to your upgrade. This tool can be accessed from System > System Health > Tools > Validation Tool in 2.3.5. Note: in 2.3.7.6, this tool is under System > System 360 > System Health > Tools > Validation Tool.
Please review the Upgrade Paths image to determine your path to upgrade to 2.3.7.6 based on your current version:
Again, we encourage you to use the ‘Comment’ button for any questions about upgrading to Catalyst Center 2.3.7.6!
