Deploy Cisco 8000v

[johnlloyd_13]

hi,

i plan to replace our CSR1000v with 8000v and would like to ask:

1.is the DNA license a "required" or bundled order?

i just need to run the 8000v as route reflector. do i go with "routing essentials" or "DNA essentials"?

https://www.cisco.com/c/m/en_us/products/software/sd-wan-routing-matrix.html

2.is there a throughput license needed? refer to "appx" smart license from my CSR1000v.

does the 8000v use "smart" license or i just type the "license boot level xx" command?

License Level: appx

License Type: N/A(Smart License Enabled)

Next reload license Level: appx

License Authorization:
Status: AUTHORIZED
Last Communication Attempt: SUCCEEDED
Next Communication Attempt: None

License Usage:
License Entitlement tag Count Status
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CSR 1KV APPX 10M (appx_10M) 1 AUTHORIZED

3. do i go for "gold star" dublin 17.12.x or cupertino 17.9.x?

[Enes Simnica]

gDay @johnlloyd_13 For 8000v u don’t need DNA if u’re just running it as a route reflector, the Routing Essentials license will be enough. Unlike CSR1000v there’s no throughput license model, 8000v just uses smart licensing where you set the license level, so u won’t be dealing with appx tiers anymore. As for software, it’s better to go with the Gold Star release, currently 17.12.x (Dublin), since that’s Cisco’s recommended and stable option.

hope it helps!

-Enes
CCNP x2 Enterprise
Your Friendly Networking Ninja

[Jens Albrecht]

Hello @johnlloyd_13,

the Catalyst 8000V must be ordered with a mandatory Cisco DNA subscription license and can be deployed in either traditional routing or SD-WAN mode.

All Cisco DNA subscription tiers require a Smart Account/Virtual Account (SA/VA).

You also need to order the appropriate bandwidth license (T0 - T4).

The details can be found at the Cisco Catalyst 8000V Edge Software Ordering Guide.

So when you go through the order process you need to select whether you deploy the router in Autonomous or SD-WAN mode, on-premise or cloud-based, the bandwitdth tier and terms.

Also carefully read the Configure Licenses and Throughput for Cisco Catalyst 8000V Edge Software Guide as Cisco regularly updates the rules for throughput levels, counted vs. uncounted traffic, etc.

At this point of time I would go for the 17.12.x train for new deployments.

HTH!

[johnlloyd_13]

hi,

thanks for these info! info is a bit overwhelming

i'll go with "dublink" 17.12.x gold star code then.

just to confirm, i'll ask our cisco reseller for SKU: C8000V-PF bundled with DNA essentials DNAC-C-T2-E-xY?

then if i want to run 1Gbps throughput on this VM, i'll configure as:

Device(config)# platform hardware throughput level MB T2

[Jens Albrecht · Accepted solution]

Well, Cisco licensing has never been easy. That said I recommend talking to your reseller and let them select the SKUs for your order so that they take responsibility if anything goes wrong.

Generally speaking you are correct if you want to deploy the VM in the cloud.
For DNA Essentials the T2 tier is the maximum throughput you can order.

You also need to specify the software mode, i.e. Autonomous Mode (IOSXE-AUTO-MODE-PF) vs. SD-WAN Mode (IOSXE-CTRL-MODE-PF).

Finally ask your reseller regarding the services options as you probably want to be able to get TAC support if needed.

HTH!

[johnlloyd_13]

hi,

thanks a lot for these very helpful info!

one last question, do i need to register the C8000v to our on-prem CSSU server?

i read somewhere on autonmous mode or IOS-XE 17.x, there's no need to register smart license. i just need to apply the CLI command to "unlock" the BW throughput.

[Jens Albrecht]

Hi,

the best answer in this case is... it depends.

Technically the registration is not necessary, however your support contract might request you to send so-called RUM reports in regular intervals. Check the Report license usage section with details how to check whether or not reporting is required.

HTH!

[johnlloyd_13]

hi jens,

i found this cisco live doc.

https://www.ciscolive.com/c/dam/r/ciscolive/emea/docs/2023/pdf/BRKXAR-2003.pdf

do i need this command for my 8KV to run as RR?

i don't have this previously configured in my CSR1KV.

is this just an optional command specific for 8KV?

C8KV(config)#platform resource control-plane-heavy

[Jens Albrecht]

Hi @johnlloyd_13,

whether this command is actually needed depends on the number of BGP session your router needs to handle but it is definetely recommended for route-reflectors.

The default platform resource profile is targeted to achieve maximum forwarding performance and these profiles allow you to modify the vCPU resource allocation depending on your needs.

A route reflector’s primary workload is handling a large number of BGP sessions which are control-plane intensive tasks, not high-throughput packet forwarding. Hence adding more vCPUs to the control-plane improves the performance of a route-reflector.

More details including tables that show how these profiles exactly change the vCPU allocation based on the total number of vCPUs available can be found at the Configuring the vCPU Distribution chapter of the Cisco Catalyst 8000V Edge Software Installation And Configuration Guide.

Finally, you can use the command 'show platform software cpu alloc' to check the current allocation and verify changes made by the platform resource profiles.

HTH!

[balaji.bandi]

Question 1  - any poduct like Cisco 8K you need to add DNA Lincese mandatory for 1 year when you ordering.

Question2 - you should able to register using smart License.

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/routers/C8000V/configure-licenses-throughput-c8000v.html