Here are some commonly asked questions and answers to help with your adoption of Cisco DNA Center Wireless.
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Q1. What is the role of Cisco DNA Center within Cisco DNA?
A. Cisco DNA Center is the central dashboard for the management, automation, and assurance of your Cisco DNA network. It provides an intuitive and simple overview of network health and clear drilldown menus for quickly identifying and remediating issues. It is also the control point for all automation, orchestration, assurance, and analytics functions provided by Cisco DNA.
Q2. What makes Cisco DNA Center different?
A. Cisco DNA Center is a complete management and control platform that simplifies and streamlines network operations. This single, extensible software platform includes integrated tools for AIOps, NetOps, SecOps, DevOps, and Internet-of-Things (IoT) connectivity with AI/ML technology integrated throughout. Cisco DNA Center offers a single dashboard for every core function in your network. With this platform, IT can become more nimble and respond to changes and challenges faster and more intelligently.
Recommended ATXs - Getting Started: Cisco DNA Center
Q3. What are some of the best practices I should follow before installing Cisco DNA Center?
A. The best practices for DNA Center deployment are:
- Always plan for a Cluster, even if you have just one DNA Center appliance at the moment.
- Reserve IP addresses in advance and make sure to avoid any IP overlap.
- Changing the intra-cluster link from one interface to another is not supported.
- Make sure DNA Center has internet connectivity.
- For further details, check this installation guide.
Recommended ATXs -
Installation Best Practices: Cisco DNA Center and Getting Started: Cisco DNA Center
Q4. What are the key principles that enable Cisco DNA Automation to deliver more effective end-to-end network automation?
A. To provide a more effective end-to-end network automation tool, Cisco DNA automation supports five principles of automation—visibility, intent, deployment, management, and extensibility:
- Visibility enables users to see what devices are connected to their infrastructure, and which configurations are resident on these devices.
- Intent translates business intent into policies that guide the automated processes.
- Deployment streamlines the process of adding new devices and applying consistent configurations.
- Management supports the on-going management of network devices, especially the identification of software versions and configurations, the correct deployment of new software features, updates and patches, and the ability to continually monitor compliance across the network.
- Extensibility enables Cisco DNA Center to use configurations and network telemetry generated through automation processes to extend the capabilities of the solutions to include network assurance and security integrations.
Recommended ATXs - Feature Overview: Cisco DNA Center Automation
Q5. What are the benefits I get from Cisco DNA Automation?
A. Cisco DNA Automation is a set of capabilities delivered by Cisco DNA Center that helps simplify deployment and automate the configuration of network devices based on policies. It is also used for operations to create, change, update, or delete network services. Included are features such as Plug and Play, or PnP, for zero- touch provisioning, Software Image Management (SWIM), as well as all day-0, day-1, and day-N functionality. Features of Cisco DNA Automation include day-0 bulk update, zero-touch device replacement for Return Material Authorizations (RMAs), and NetFlow automation for Cisco Stealthwatch ETA support, rogue device detection, Wireless Intrusion Prevention System (wIPS) detection, and Cisco Umbrella integration for DNS security. For complete details on these features, please refer to this Cisco DNA Center data sheet.
Recommended ATXs - Deployment Best Practices: Automation
Q6. How does Cisco DNA Center Assurance improve my network performance?
A. Cisco DNA Center collects data from every point in the network. It then uses Cisco AI Network Analytics to define the levels of performance required for optimal user experience on your network and to derive insights on optimization options. The clean and simple dashboard shows overall status and flags issues. Guided remediation then automates resolution to keep your network performing at an optimal level with fewer tedious and time-consuming troubleshooting tasks. For more details, go to
Cisco DNA Assurance User Guide.
Recommended ATXs - Use Case Overview and Planning: Cisco DNA Assurance
Q7. What types of APIs does Cisco DNA Center offer?
A. Cisco DNA Center offers several types of APIs that can be used to extend the capabilities:
- Intent-based APIs that enable continuous network alignment to changing IT and business needs
- Integration APIs that enable integration of Cisco and third-party IT and network systems for streamlining IT operations across domains that were previously silos
- Multivendor Software Development Kits (SDKs) that allow interaction with network equipment from different vendors
Recommended ATXs -
Component Integration: Cisco DNA Center Third Party Systems
Q8. What is Cisco AI Network Analytics?
A. Cisco AI Networks Analytics works inside Cisco DNA Assurance to increase intelligence in the network, empowering administrators to accurately and effectively improve performance and facilitate issue resolution.
Recommended ATXs - Advanced Feature Overview: AI Network Analytics
Q9. What Cisco Infrastructure products can be managed by Cisco DNA Center?
A. As Cisco DNA Center continues to evolve and add greater value, the number of Cisco products and solutions that can be managed through the dashboard continues to grow. Find current list of supported products from Cisco DNA Ready Infrastructure Brochure.
Q10. Can I migrate the data from Prime Infrastructure to Cisco DNA Center?
A. Yes, the data can be easily migrated from Prime Infrastructure to Cisco DNA Center using the migration tool known as Cisco DNA Center Coexistence Tool. This tool is integrated into the Prime Infrastructure web GUI. You should have Prime Infrastructure version 3.5 or above for this to work. Make sure to check
the compatibility matrix for Cisco DNA Center versions.
Recommended ATXs - Migration Strategies and Best Practices: Prime Infrastructure
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Looking for more resources? Access the latest guides, recordings, other FAQs and more via Cisco DNA Center ATXs Resources.
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