Ask Me Anything: Cisco Catalyst Center Assurance

[Brooke Hammer]

Ask Me Anything Event

Welcome to the Cisco Community Ask Me Anything conversation. Submit your questions from  Monday, September 23, 2024 through Friday, October 4, 2024. Our colleagues Arpita Dash, Prateek Upadhyay and Udhay R. will be waiting to assist you and resolve any questions that have not been clarified, or answer any new questions that you may have. We are waiting for you!

More about this event:

Join us for an Ask Me Anything (AMA) event where you can dive deep into Cisco Catalyst Center Assurance!

What is it?

Cisco Catalyst Center Assurance is a component of Cisco's Catalyst Center (formerly DNA) that provides comprehensive network visibility, insights, and automated troubleshooting capabilities. It leverages advanced analytics and machine learning to help network administrators ensure optimal network performance and user experience

• Proactive Monitoring: Continuously monitors the network to detect and address issues before they impact users.

• Network Insights: Provides detailed insights into network performance, user experience, and application behavior.

• Automated Troubleshooting: Uses machine learning and AI to identify root causes of network issues and suggest remediation steps.

• Health Scores: Offers health scores for network devices, clients, and applications to quickly assess the overall network health.

• User and Device Tracking: Tracks user and device activity to help identify and resolve connectivity issues.

• Historical Data Analysis: Analyses historical data to identify trends and recurring issues, aiding in long-term network planning and optimization.

By utilizing Cisco Catalyst Center Assurance, organizations can enhance their network reliability, improve user satisfaction, and reduce the time and effort required for network troubleshooting and maintenance.

Official Resources:

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/cloud-systems-management/network-automation-and-management/dna-center-assurance/2-3-5/b_cisco_dna_assurance_2_3_5_ug.html

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/cloud-systems-management/network-automation-and-management/dna-center-rogue-management-application/2-3-5/quick-start-guide/b_rogue_management_qsg_2_3_5.html

https://www.ciscolive.com/c/dam/r/ciscolive/apjc/docs/2023/pdf/BRKEMT-2397.pdf

Join us for this insightful Ask Me Anything session and gain valuable insights into the world of Cisco Catalyst Center Assurance. Let's uncover the solutions to your challenges and explore the vast possibilities in this dynamic field.

Our experts

Arpita Dash Technical Consulting Engineer

Prateek Upadhyay Technical Consulting Engineer

Udhay R. Technical Consulting Engineer

For more information, visit the Cisco Catalyst Center discussion forums . If you have questions or are experiencing technical problems with any of the Cisco products, post your question, request information or use the Cisco Community before opening a case with the TAC.

[ragulsv]

How does Cisco DNA center collect data from network devices?

[udr]

Cisco Catalyst Centre (Formerly Cisco DNA), uses a variety of protocols to gather data from network devices. These technologies include:

1. SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol): SNMP is widely used for collecting information from network devices and managing them.
2. NetFlow: This is a network protocol developed by Cisco for collecting IP traffic information and monitoring network traffic.
3. Telemetry: Cisco DNA Centre uses model-driven telemetry to stream real-time data from network devices.
4. Syslog: This protocol is used for logging information from network devices, which can then be collected and analysed.
5. CLI (Command Line Interface): In some cases, Cisco DNA Centre may use CLI commands to gather information from network devices.
6. Application Telemetry: DNA uses flow monitors to gather application data from network devices if enabled.

[balaji.bandi]

Does the DNAC can be monitor using SNMP with NMS ?

1. Telemetry: Cisco DNA Centre uses model-driven telemetry to stream real-time data from network devices.  - Enable telemetry for the Wireless - all the AP required to reboot, what is alternative option with out rebooting enable telemetry on Wireless

shell access is close recent version, what is the other option to get shell to troubleshoot, every small issue contact TAC is not a reasonable times.

backup success  - how can we send syslog alert or email, we can only get email when it fails, not getting syslog failed logs to syslog , what is the solution here ?

[arpdash]

Streaming Telemetry for WLC/AP will not cause any AP reboot. However in case of enabling application telemetry there will be a network disruption as connected AP will go for a reboot. From DNAC 2.3.5.5 , Shell access cannot be disabled due to security reason. However you can still use magctl commands to analyse the service logs and collect RCA for troubleshooting. For complex troubleshooting please feel free to reach out to TAC . Currently we just have event/mail notification for system backup failure . For backup success you can refer audit logs for same.

[balaji.bandi]

can this audit log can be pushed to externally ?

[arpdash]

Hello. Yes you can configure external syslog server to push the audit logs.

[arpdash]

Streaming Telemetry for WLC/AP will not cause any AP reboot. However in case of enabling application telemetry there will be a network disruption as connected AP will go for a reboot.

From DNAC 2.3.5.5 , Shell access cannot be disabled due to security reason. However you can still use magctl commands to analyse the service logs and collect RCA for troubleshooting. For complex troubleshooting please feel free to reach out to TAC .

Currently we just have event/mail notification for system backup failure . For backup success you can refer audit logs for same.

[gpairait]

Hello Experts,

What would be pre-requisites to enabling assurance in DNAC?
do we need any special configs or it would be enabled by default?

[prateupa]

Prerequisites:

1. Cisco DNA Center Appliance: Ensure you have a Cisco DNA Center appliance properly installed and configured in your network environment.

2. Supported Devices: Verify that your network devices (routers, switches, wireless controllers, etc.) are supported by Cisco DNA Center. You can check the compatibility matrix provided by Cisco.

3. Software Versions: Ensure that your network devices are running the required software versions that support telemetry and other data collection methods used by Cisco DNA Center.

4. Licensing: Ensure you have the appropriate Cisco DNA licenses. Cisco DNA Center Assurance requires specific licensing tiers (e.g., Cisco DNA Advantage or Premier).

5. Network Connectivity: Ensure that Cisco DNA Center has network connectivity to all the devices you want to monitor. This includes proper IP and port reachability and necessary routing configurations.

6. Site Assignment of Devices: Ensure that your network devices are assigned to the appropriate sites within Cisco DNA Center. Site assignment is crucial for organizing devices and applying policies effectively.

7. SNMP & NETCONF: Make sure that the SNMP ports are open between the device and DNAC and SNMP credentials are configured in the Device. For 9800 WLC and eWLC-enabled devices, NETCONF is mandatory for device management and assurance.

Check the below guide for the required ports.

• Required Network Ports

DNAC pushes required certificates to devices for a secure connection.

[gkavyasn]

Hi experts,

What configurations are pushed by DNA to the network devices to collect data and when is it pushed?

[udr]

Please find the above image useful which explains the configuration pushed by Catalyst Center to different device families during the various DNA workflows. Please note catalyst center does not push the SNMP v2/v3 credentials during discovery if the credentials  defined in catalyst center is already present in the network device.

[neeraj-sharma]

What all type of events can be monitored through Catalyst Centre.

[arpdash]

Cisco Catalyst Center, previously known as Cisco DNA Center, provides comprehensive monitoring and management capabilities for a variety of network events. Here are some key types of events that can be monitored through Cisco Catalyst Center:

1. Device Health and Status:

• Device Up/Down Status

• Interface Status (Up/Down)

• Hardware Health (e.g., CPU, Memory Utilization)

• Power Supply and Fan Status

2. Network Performance:

• Throughput and Bandwidth Utilization

• Latency and Jitter

• Packet Loss and Error Rates

• QoS Metrics

3. Connectivity and Reachability:

• Link Status Changes

• Routing Protocol Events (e.g., OSPF/BGP Neighbor Changes)

• DHCP and DNS Issues

• IP Address Conflicts

4. Client and User Experience:

• Client Connectivity Issues

• Authentication Failures

• Roaming Events

• Application Performance Metrics

5. Security Events:

• Intrusion Detection and Prevention Alerts

• Firewall Rule Violations

• Malware and Threat Detection

• Unauthorized Access Attempts

6. Configuration Changes:

• Device Configuration Changes

• Policy Changes and Violations

• Firmware and Software Updates

• Compliance Audits

7. Wireless Network Events:

• Access Point Status (Up/Down)

• Radio Frequency (RF) Interference

• Wireless Client Connectivity

• SSID and WLAN Configuration Changes

8. Application Performance:

• Application Response Times

• Application Availability

• Traffic Patterns for Specific Applications

• Application QoS Metrics

9. Environmental Monitoring:

• Temperature and Humidity Sensors

• Environmental Alarms (e.g., Overheating)

• Power Usage and Consumption

10. Incident and Anomaly Detection:

• Anomalous Traffic Patterns

• Network Performance Degradation

• Incident Detection and Categorization

• Root Cause Analysis

11. Telemetry and Log Data:

• SNMP Traps and Syslog Messages

• NetFlow and IPFIX Data

• Application Telemetry

• Custom Telemetry Data Streams

12. Capacity and Resource Utilization:

• Device and Interface Utilization

• Capacity Planning Metrics

• Trend Analysis for Resource Usage

PFB reference guide:

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/cloud-systems-management/network-automation-and-management/dna-center-assurance/2-3-5/b_cisco_dna_assurance_2_3_5_ug.html

[arpdash]

You can also have manage custom user defined issues along with system issue.

For issue /event management:https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/cloud-systems-management/network-automation-and-management/dna-center-assurance/2-3-5/b_cisco_dna_assurance_2_3_5_ug/b_cisco_dna_assurance_2_3_3_ug_chapter_01001.html