IPv6 CNS Agents

IPv6 CNS Agents

Last Updated: July 23, 2012

IPv6 addressing is supported in the Cisco Networking Services (CNS) subsystem. CNS is a foundation technology for linking users to networking services and provides the infrastructure for the automated configuration of large numbers of network devices. The document describes CNS agents supported in IPv6.

Finding Feature Information

Your software release may not support all the features documented in this module. For the latest caveats and feature information, see Bug Search Tool and the release notes for your platform and software release. To find information about the features documented in this module, and to see a list of the releases in which each feature is supported, see the feature information table at the end of this module.

Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.

Information About IPv6 CNS Agents

CNS Agents

IPv6 addressing is supported in the Cisco Networking Services (CNS) subsystem. CNS is a foundation technology for linking users to networking services, and it provides the infrastructure for the automated configuration of large numbers of network devices. Many IPv6 networks are complex, with many devices, and each device must be configured individually. When standard configurations do not exist or have been modified, the time involved in initial installation and subsequent upgrading is considerable. ISPs need a method for sending out partial configurations to introduce new services.

To address all these issues, CNS was designed to provide "plug-and-play" network services using a central directory service and distributed agents. CNS features include CNS agents and a flow-through provisioning structure. CNS flow-through provisioning uses the CNS configuration and event agents to provide an automated workflow, eliminating the need for an onsite technician.

IPv6 addressing supports the CNS agents described in the following sections:

CNS Configuration Agent

The CNS configuration agent is involved in the initial configuration and subsequent partial configurations on a Cisco device. The configuration agent uses a CNS configuration engine to provide methods for automating initial Cisco device configurations, incremental configurations, and synchronized configuration updates, and the configuration engine reports the status of the configuration load as an event to which a network monitoring or workflow application can subscribe.

CNS Event Agent

The CNS event agent provides a transport connection to the CNS event bus for all other CNS agents. No event can be sent to the device by the configuration engine until the CNS event agent is operational and has successfully built a connection between the configuration engine and the device.

The event agent uses a CNS configuration engine to provide methods for automating initial Cisco device configurations, incremental configurations, and synchronized configuration updates.

CNS EXEC Agent

The CNS EXEC agent allows a remote application to execute a CLI command in EXEC mode on a Cisco device by sending an event message that contains the command.

CNS Image Agent

Administrators maintaining large networks of Cisco devices need an automated mechanism to load image files onto large numbers of remote devices. Network management applications are useful to determine which images to run and how to manage images received from the Cisco online software center. Other image distribution solutions do not scale to cover thousands of devices and cannot distribute images to devices behind a firewall or using Network Address Translation (NAT). The CNS image agent enables the managed device to initiate a network connection and request an image download allowing devices using NAT, or behind firewalls, to access the image server.

The CNS image agent can be configured to use the CNS event bus. To use the CNS event bus, the CNS event agent must be enabled and connected to the CNS event gateway in the CNS Configuration Engine. The CNS image agent can also use an HTTP server that understands the CNS image agent protocol. Deployment of CNS image agent operations can use both the CNS event bus and an HTTP server.

Additional References

Related Documents

Related Topic Document Title

IPv6 addressing and connectivity

IPv6 Configuration Guide

Configuring certificate enrollment for a PKI

Configuring Certificate Enrollment for a PKI

Cisco IOS commands

Cisco IOS Master Commands List, All Releases

IPv6 commands

Cisco IOS IPv6 Command Reference

Cisco IOS IPv6 features

Cisco IOS IPv6 Feature Mapping

Standards and RFCs

Standard/RFC Title

RFCs for IPv6

IPv6 RFCs

MIBs

MIB

MIBs Link

No new or modified MIBs are supported by this feature, and support for existing MIBs has not been modified by this feature.

To locate and download MIBs for selected platforms, Cisco IOS releases, and feature sets, use Cisco MIB Locator found at the following URL:

http://www.cisco.com/go/mibs

Technical Assistance

Description Link

The Cisco Support and Documentation website provides online resources to download documentation, software, and tools. Use these resources to install and configure the software and to troubleshoot and resolve technical issues with Cisco products and technologies. Access to most tools on the Cisco Support and Documentation website requires a Cisco.com user ID and password.

http://www.cisco.com/cisco/web/support/index.html

Feature Information for IPv6 CNS Agents

The following table provides release information about the feature or features described in this module. This table lists only the software release that introduced support for a given feature in a given software release train. Unless noted otherwise, subsequent releases of that software release train also support that feature.

Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.

Table 1Feature Information for IPv6 CNS Agents
Feature Name Releases Feature Information

IPv6 CNS Agents

12.2(33)SB

12.2(33)SRC

12.2(50)SY

12.4(20)T

CNS configuration and event agents use a CNS configuration engine to provide methods for automating initial device configurations, incremental configurations, and synchronized configuration updates, and the configuration engine reports the status of the configuration load as an event to which a network monitoring or workflow application can subscribe.

No commands were introduced or modified.

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Any Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and phone numbers used in this document are not intended to be actual addresses and phone numbers. Any examples, command display output, network topology diagrams, and other figures included in the document are shown for illustrative purposes only. Any use of actual IP addresses or phone numbers in illustrative content is unintentional and coincidental.

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