This guide is for experienced network administrators who want to use Cisco Crosswork Optimization Engine in their network. This guide assumes that you are experienced and familiar with using the following technologies:

• Networking technologies and protocols (BGP-LS, IGP (OSPF and IS-IS), PCEP, model-driven telemetry, and so on)

• Traffic Engineering (TE) tunnels:

  • RSVP-TE tunnel provisioning

  • Segment Routing Traffic Engineering (SR-TE) policy provisioning

• Cisco Segment Routing Path Computation Element (SR-PCE)

• Point to Multi Point Tree (Tree-SID)

• Flexible Algorithm

Cisco Crosswork Optimization Engine is part of the Cisco Crosswork Network Automation suite of products and provides the ability to preserve network intent with network monitoring, network visualization, and closed-loop automation. It also provides real-time network optimization allowing operators to effectively maximize network utilization and increase service velocity.

Crosswork Optimization Engine is offered as an individual application and as the Traffic Engineering component of Cisco Crosswork Network Controller (see Crosswork Network Controller Solution and Crosswork Optimization Engine).

Crosswork Optimization Engine provides the following:

• A topology map that gives valuable network visualization of:

  • devices

  • links and link utilization

  • SR-TE policies

    • SR-MPLS and SRv6

    • Tree-SID

    • Flexible Algorithm

    • Circuit-Style Segment Routing (CS-SR) policies

  • RSVP-TE tunnels

• A UI that allows the network operator to:

  • provision SR policies and RSVP-TE tunnels and modify or remove them using an intuitive workflow

  • preview an SR policy or RSVP-TE tunnel before deploying it to the network

  • continuously track SR policy dynamic path computations to maintain SLA objectives (with correct licensing)

  • provision static Point to Multi Point (Tree-SID) policies

  • provision circuit Style SR-TE policies

• APIs that extend Crosswork Optimization Engine functions to other Crosswork applications and third-party applications.

This guide covers all the Crosswork Optimization Engine capabilities. However, you may not be able to access the features and functions due to licensing or the configuration of the role associated with your user account (see the Crosswork Network Controller Administration Guide). For licensing and ordering information, work with your Cisco Partner or Cisco account representative.

Cisco Crosswork Network Controller is a turnkey network automation solution for deploying and operating IP transport networks. It delivers increased service agility, cost efficiency, and optimization for faster time-to-customer value and lower operating costs. The solution combines intent-based network automation to deliver critical capabilities for service orchestration and fulfillment, network optimization, service path computation, device deployment and management, anomaly detection, and automatic remediation. For more information, see Cisco Crosswork Network Controller.

Crosswork Optimization Engine can be activated by itself or in conjunction with other Crosswork components (see the Crosswork Network Controller Installation Guide). Throughout this document, when using Crosswork Optimization Engine as part of the Crosswork Network Controller solution, some options are unavailable or slightly different. For example, to navigate to the Traffic Engineering UI, instead of Traffic Engineering > Traffic Engineering, the navigation within the Crosswork Network Controller solution is Services & Traffic Engineering > Traffic Engineering.

Advanced users can integrate other Crosswork applications and third-party applications with Crosswork Optimization Engine functions by using application programming interfaces (APIs), delivering new capabilities to their network operations.

For more information, see the Cisco Crosswork Network Automation API Documentation on Cisco DevNet.