Cisco Crosswork Network Controller 7.2.x Administration Guide

Device groups

Updated: August 14, 2026

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Details how to organize network devices into logical groups within the Crosswork Network Controller, including manual and dynamic group creation, management tasks like moving or deleting groups, and bulk operations using CSV files.

A device group is a device category that

organizes devices into logical collections based on user-defined criteria,
enables filtering and visualization of data from specific sets of devices, and
simplifies monitoring by reducing screen clutter and focusing attention on relevant device data.

Create device groups

Organize devices into groups to simplify management, policy assignment, and bulk operations within your network platform.

Device groups let you manage related devices together. You can create groups manually or set up automatic grouping rules (see Create rule for dynamic device grouping). Note that each device can belong to only one device group.

Procedure

	1.	From the main menu choose Device Management > Device Groups. Only the devices belonging to that device group are listed in the devices table in the right pane.
	2.	To create a new group, select the parent group and choose Add group.
	3.	Enter the required details for the group and select Create. The new group appears under the selected parent device group.

Create dynamic device group rules

Automatically organize unassigned devices into dynamic groups using rules based on device host names or IP addresses.

You can create a rule to dynamically create device groups and automatically add unassigned devices to these groups using a Regular Expression (regex) on the device host name or IP address.

Before you begin

Dynamic rules do not apply to devices that already belong to groups. Move devices already in other groups to "Unassigned Devices" if you want the rule to apply to them.

Procedure

	1.	From the main menu choose Device Management > Device Groups.
	2.	Click next to All Locations > Manage Location Dynamic Groups.
	3.	Click Show more details and examples to help you fill out the required host name or IP address.
	4.	If there are any existing devices in the Unassigned Devices group, test your rule to preview potential group assignments.
	5.	Enable the rule to start automatically assigning matching unassigned devices to dynamic groups. The system checks for unassigned devices every minute and applies your rule.
	6.	Save your changes.
	7.	Review the newly created groups under Unassigned Groups and move groups into your preferred hierarchy as needed.

Unassigned devices matching your rule criteria are automatically placed into the correct dynamic groups.

Modify device group details

Change the name, parent group, or description of an existing device group to keep your network structure up to date.

Modify device groups when reorganizing devices or updating administrative records.

Procedure

	1.	From the main menu choose Device Management > Device Groups.
	2.	Select the device group you want to update.
	3.	Edit the group details, and description as needed.
	4.	Save your changes.

Delete a device group

Remove an existing device group and make its devices available for assignment to other groups.

Use this task when you need to delete a device group that is no longer required. Deleting a group will unassign all devices from that group, and make them available for reassignment.

Before you begin

Procedure

	1.	From the main menu choose Device Management > Device Groups.
	2.	Select the device group you want to delete.
	3.	Open the actions menu for the group and choose Delete group.
	4.	In the confirmation dialog, click Delete to confirm and complete the deletion.

The device group is deleted, and its devices are unassigned and available for reassignment to other groups.

Move devices from one group to another

Transfer devices to a different group to reorganize network assets and adjust policies or administrative boundaries as needed.

Use this task to efficiently regroup devices. This is useful during organizational changes, policy updates, or network scaling.

Before you begin

Identify the devices and the target group for the transfer.

Procedure

	1.	From the main menu choose Device Management > Device Groups .
	2.	Select the source group from which you wish to move the devices.
	3.	Select the devices to transfer.
	4.	Click Move, then choose the target group from the drop-down and confirm. If devices do not appear on device maps after moving, update your display settings: Go to Administration > Settings, then click the User settings tab. Options include: Automatically switch to the device group that will show all participating devices - Ensures all relevant devices for a service or policy are shown. Don't switch the device group automatically - Keeps your current device group selection, even if all devices are not shown. Ask me each time - Prompts you when a device could be missing from the map.

The devices are now part of the new group and visible in the target group's listing.

Import multiple device groups

Import multiple device groups at once and update existing ones in bulk by uploading a CSV file.

When you import device groups from a CSV file, new device groups are created for entries not already in the database. Existing groups are updated if the imported data matches them.

Importing device groups may overwrite current data, so exporting a backup of current device groups before importing is recommended.

Before you begin

Prepare a CSV file containing your device group data, using the provided template format.
Back up your current device groups to prevent accidental data loss.

Procedure

	1.	From the main menu, choose Device Management > Device Groups .
	2.	Click Import groups to open the dialog box.
	3.	If you have not prepared a device groups CSV file: Download the device groups CSV template to a local storage resource. Open the template in your preferred editor and add one row for each device group. Use a semicolon to separate multiple entries in the same field. Use two semicolons with no space between them to indicate that you are leaving the field blank. Remove all sample data rows, leaving only the column header row. When you are finished, save the new CSV file.
	4.	Click Browse and select your completed CSV file.
	5.	With the CSV file selected, click Import . Note Wait for the import to complete before clicking Import again to avoid duplicate device group entries.

The selected device groups are imported and updated as needed.

Export multiple device groups

Export the details of your device groups to a CSV file for record-keeping or bulk updates.

Use this task to create an export of all device groups in the system. You can modify the CSV file and import it again to update device group data.

Procedure

	1.	From the main menu, choose Device Management > Device Groups.
	2.	Click the export icon to download the device group details in CSV format.

The CSV file containing all device groups is downloaded in your systems download folder.

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