Configurations

Configurations

A configuration is a network management feature that allows you to

  • customize event and incident reporting,

  • manage REST endpoint and ITSM endpoint instances, and

  • enable delivery of events to various external destinations.

Catalyst Center platform offers the Configurations feature, enabling you to customize your network experience using these options.

  • Event Settings: Catalyst Center platform supports specific Cisco Catalyst Assurance events or incidents that may occur within your network. This means that Catalyst Center platform identifies these events. You can configure settings for the type, category, and severity under which Catalyst Center reports them. Configure this information in the GUI to customize details sent to external systems, such as ITSM endpoints or REST endpoints.

  • General Settings: You can add or edit REST and ITSM endpoint instances within one or more bundles.


Note

You can also configure various types of destinations to deliver the events from the Catalyst Center platform. From the main menu, choose System > Settings > External Services > Destinations to access the GUI window to configure a webhook, email, syslog, SNMP trap, or ITSM destination.

Configure event settings

You can view a preset number of issues (or events) in Event Settings within the Configurations window. Configure the type, category, severity, and workflow for these events.


Note

The Event Settings window functionality is only applicable for an ITSM integration and not for generic event notifications. To understand the full integration process between Catalyst Center and ITSM, see the Cisco Catalyst Center ITSM Integration Guide. Review the instructions in this window and click the link (here) to access the Events window in platform, where you can subscribe to events and receive notifications by email, webhook, SNMP trap, or syslog server (using the REST API).

Figure 1. Event Settings window
Figure 12: Event Settings window in Configuration window, configuring events.

Before you begin

  • Ensure that ITSM integration has been configured in Catalyst Center.

  • Verify that you have administrative access to Catalyst Center.

Procedure

Step 1

From the main menu, choose Platform > Manage > Configurations > Event Settings.

Step 2

Review these details in the Event Settings table.

  • Event Name: name of the Catalyst Center event.

  • Domain: domain of the Catalyst Center event.

  • Type: network, app, system, security, or integrations type of event.

  • Category: Error, Warn, Info, Alert, Task Progress, Task Complete.

  • Severity: 1 through 5.

    Note

     

    Assign Severity 1 for the most important or critical priority events.

  • Workflow: Incident, Problem, Event, or RFC.

  • Actions: Edit.

You can adjust what displays in the table by clicking the Filter icon and using the filter, or by typing a keyword in the Find field. For example, to display all access point notifications, type "AP" in the Find field. To view all network notifications, type "Network" in the Find field. To view all severity 1 notifications, type "1" in the Find field.

Edit the event to customize notification settings to match your network standards.

Step 3

Click Edit in the Actions column to edit an event.

Choose a setting, then adjust the value. For example, click Network and adjust to App. This changes the event type from a network type to an application type. Click Severity and adjust to 1 from 5. This raises the severity level from 5 to 1.

Step 4

Click the box next to the event name to enable notifications.

Notifications will be sent according to your chosen methods (email, webhook, SNMP trap, syslog).

Step 5

Click Save to apply your changes.

What to do next

  • From the main menu, choose Platform > Runtime Dashboard.

    Notifications for events display in the Events Summary field.

  • Click View Details to view the notifications.

Edit an instance in General Settings

You can edit an instance within a single or multiple bundles using Configurations.

Figure 2. Catalyst Center platform Configurations window

Before you begin

Enable, configure, and activate the bundles for your network in Bundles. For information about Bundles see Bundle features.

Procedure

Step 1

From the main menu, choose Platform > Manage > Configurations > General Settings.

Step 2

Review the details in the General Settings table.

  • Name: name of the instance and version.

  • Description: description of the settings containing the instances.

  • Instances: number of instances currently configured.

  • Usage: number of bundles that use the instance or instances.

  • Actions: specific tasks available for the setting (for example, edit or add an instance for the setting).

You can adjust what displays in the table by clicking the Filter icon and using the filter, or by entering a keyword in the Find field.

Step 3

Click the arrow for one of the displayed instances. For example, click the CMDB Synchronization Settings (v1) or Destination to Receive Events (v1) arrow.

The list of instances for that setting displays.

Step 4

In the Usage column, hover your mouse pointer over Bundles.

Catalyst Center displays the bundles that use the specified instance.

Step 5

Click the Edit icon ('Pad and Pen' icon) in the Actions column to edit an existing instance.

Edit the appropriate instance as required.

Step 6

(Optional) To edit the CMDB synchronization details for a CMDB Synchronization Settings instance, choose Edit > Actions and edit one or more of these instance fields in the slide-in panes that appear.

  • ServiceNow Access Settings: select an instance from the drop-down menu.

  • CMDB Inventory Settings: enter an Instance Name and Description.

  • Select Destination: enter Destination Type and Destination URI. Options include Synchronize device inventory directly with CMDB or Post device inventory details to a staging table.

  • Select Inventory Data Fields: select both the Inventory Data Fields to synchronize, as well as whether the data field is an attribute or reference.

  • Update Transforms: accept or update the CI class to the device family.

  • Set Source Identifier and Operational Limit: configure the discovery source and maximum limit.

  • Summary: review the configuration and make any changes before saving.

Step 7

(Optional) To edit a Destination to receive events instance, choose Edit > Actions and edit one or more of these fields in the slide-in pane.

  • Instance Name: name of instance.

  • Description: description of instance.

  • Destination to Receive Events: must choose one of these options.

    • Event Management: When setting up Catalyst Center integration with ServiceNow without using the Cisco Catalyst app, choose the Event Management option. The Event Management option also requires that you have the Event Management plugin configured within the ServiceNow instance.

    • REST API Endpoint: The REST API Endpoint option can be used with the Cisco Catalyst app. Data is sent to a REST API endpoint within the Cisco Catalyst app with the REST API Endpoint option.

    • Generic REST Endpoint in ServiceNow: For the Generic REST Endpoint in ServiceNow option, you can send the data to a different staging table in ServiceNow.

  • Destination URI: Enter a destination URI for the Generic REST Endpoint in ServiceNow option. This field is mandatory for this option.

For detailed information about integrating Catalyst Center with ServiceNow, see the Cisco Catalyst Center ITSM Integration Guide for this release.

Step 8

Click Update to save your edits to the instance.

The edits to the instance immediately take effect.

Add an instance in General Settings

You can add an instance within a single or multiple bundles using Configurations.

Before you begin

Enable, configure, and activate the bundles for your network in Bundles. For more information, see Bundle features.

Procedure

Step 1

From the main menu, choose Platform > Manage > Configurations > General Settings.

Step 2

Review and fill these details in the General Settings table.

  • Name: name of the instance and version.

  • Description: description of the settings that contain the instances.

  • Instances: number of instances in the setting.

  • Usage: number of bundles where the instance or instances are used.

  • Actions: specific task that you could perform for the setting (for example, edit or add an instance for the setting).

You can adjust what displays in the table by clicking the Filter icon and using the filter, or by entering a keyword in the Find field.

Step 3

Click the arrow for one of the displayed instances, such as CMDB Synchronization Settings (v1) or Destination to Receive Events (v1).

The list of instances for that setting displays.

Step 4

In the Usage column, hover your mouse pointer over Bundles.

Catalyst Center displays the bundles that use the specified instance.

Step 5

Click the Add Instances link in the Actions column to add an instance.

Add the required instances.

Step 6

(Optional) To add a CMDB Synchronization Settings instance, click Add Instance in the Actions column. Enter the instance fields in the slide-in panes that appear.

  • ServiceNow Access Settings: Select an instance from the drop-down menu.

  • CMDB Inventory Settings: Enter an Instance Name and Description.

  • Select Destination: Enter Destination Type and Destination URI. Options include Synchronize device inventory directly with CMDB or Post device inventory details to a staging table.

  • Select Inventory Data Fields: Select both the Inventory Data Fields to synchronize, as well as whether the data field is an attribute or reference.

  • Update Transforms: Accept or update the CI class for the device family.

  • Set Source Identifier and Operational Limit: Configure the discovery source and maximum limit.

  • Summary: Review the configuration and make any changes before saving.

Step 7

(Optional) To add a Destination to receive events instance, click Add Instance in the Actions column. Enter these instance fields in the slide-in pane.

  • Instance Name: name of instance.

  • Description: description of the instance.

  • Destination to Receive Events: choose one of these options.

    • Event Management: When setting up Catalyst Center integration with ServiceNow without the Cisco Catalyst app, choose the Event Management option. This option requires that you have the Event Management plug-in configured within the ITSM instance.

    • REST API Endpoint: The REST API Endpoint option can be used with the Cisco Catalyst app. Data is sent to a REST API endpoint within the Cisco Catalyst app with the REST API Endpoint option.

    • Generic REST Endpoint in ServiceNow: For the Generic REST Endpoint in ServiceNow option, you can send the data to a different staging table in ServiceNow.

  • Destination URI: Enter a destination URI for the Generic REST Endpoint in ServiceNow option. This field is mandatory for this option.

For detailed information about integrating Catalyst Center with ServiceNow, see the Cisco Catalyst Center ITSM Integration Guide for this release.

Step 8

Click Add to save your instance addition.

The additions to the instance take effect immediately.

Configure a webhook destination

Catalyst Center supports webhook destinations for events and reports. To configure a webhook destination for either, use the Catalyst Center GUI and complete these steps.

Before you begin

  • Ensure you have the necessary access to the Catalyst Center GUI.

  • Gather the details you need: webhook name, description, target URL, REST API method, and authentication information (if needed).

Procedure

Step 1

From the main menu, choose System > Settings > External Services > Destination > Webhook.

Step 2

Review the Webhook tab.

The Webhook tab displays these fields.

  • Name: webhook name you enter.

  • Description: description that you provide.

  • URL: the webhook’s callback URL you provide.

  • Method: REST API method you select for the webhook (for example, POST).

  • Edit: link you use to edit the configured webhook fields. After editing the webhook configuration, click Update to save your changes.

For this release, you can configure an IPv6 value for the URL.

Step 3

Click Add to configure a webhook.

The slide-in pane for adding a webhook appears.

Step 4

Enter values in the fields of the Add Webhook slide-in pane to configure the webhook.

  • Name: name of the webhook.

  • Description: description of the webhook.

  • URL: URL address of the webhook (callback URL).

Step 5

Based on your webhook configuration, choose whether a trust certificate is associated with the webhook URL.

For the Trust Certificate radio button, click Yes or No.

Step 6

Choose the authentication type associated with your webhook URL, based on your webhook configuration.

For the Authentication radio button, choose one of these options.

  • Basic: Authentication where the client sends HTTP requests with an Authorization header that contains the word Basic , followed by a space and a base64-encoded string username:password . If you select Basic in the GUI, the Header Key field is automatically populated with the Authorization value.

  • Token: Authentication where users are authenticated using a security token that is provided by the server. If you select Token, the Header Key field below enters the value X-Auth-Token.

  • No Authentication: indicates you do not need authentication.

Step 7

Under Headers, enter values for the Header Name and Header Value.

Click Add to add the header name and value.

Note

 

Based on the type of authentication you chose, header names and values may be automatically populated.

Step 8

Click Save to save your webhook destination configuration.

What to do next

Configure a webhook destination for an event or for a report.

To configure an event or a report using the webhook destination, see Configure event notifications for network events and Generate your first report.

Configure email destinations for event and report notifications

Catalyst Center supports email notification for both events and reports.


Note

  • For the emails to have the correct Catalyst Center hyperlink, enter the IP address or hostname of Catalyst Center in the Integration Settings window. To enter this information using the GUI, click the menu icon and choose System > Settings > System Configuration > Integration Settings. For more information, see Configure integration settings.

  • If an email destination is already configured with a username and password, when you navigate to System > Settings > External Services > Destinations > Email, the password field remains blank for security. Update the password if required, or leave the window without changes.

To perform these tasks, ensure you have the necessary permissions. For details about role-based access control, see Supporting Role-Based Access Control.

Configure an email destination for events or reports using the Catalyst Center GUI.

Procedure

Step 1

From the main menu, choose System > Settings > External Services > Destinations > Email.

Step 2

Configure the required Primary SMTP Server fields.

  • Hostname/IP: Enter the host name or IP address of the primary SMTP server.

  • Type: Select the protocol type from the drop-down list.

  • Port: Select the port number of the server from the drop-down list.

    Note

     
    The default port number for SMTP is 25.

  • Username: Enter the username for authenticating the primary SMTP server.

  • Password: Enter the password for authenticating the primary SMTP server.

Step 3

Configure the optional Secondary SMTP Server fields.

  • Hostname/IP: Enter the host name or IP address of the secondary SMTP server.

  • Type: Select the protocol type from the drop-down list.

  • Port: Select the port number of the server from the drop-down list.

    Note

     
    The default port number is 25.

  • Username: Enter the username for authenticating the secondary SMTP server.

  • Password: Enter the password for authenticating the secondary SMTP server.

Step 4

Configure the Senders and Receivers test email fields.

  • From: Sender of the test email.

  • To: Recipient of the test email.

  • Subject: Enter text (up to a maximum of 200 characters) for a subject line for the test email.

Step 5

To test the email configuration, click Test.

After you click Test, the system sends a test email using your configured parameters for the primary and secondary SMTP servers, with Cisco SMTP Configuration Test Email as the subject line. The system shows a success or failure message based on the connectivity results.

Step 6

To save the configuration, click Save.

To cancel the configuration, click Cancel.

What to do next

Configure an email destination for either an event or a report. For information, see Configure event notifications for network events and Generate your first report.

Configure a syslog server destination

Catalyst Center supports a syslog server destination for event notifications.

Complete these steps to configure a syslog server destination for event notifications using the Catalyst Center GUI.

Before you begin

  • Gather the syslog server details: name, description, hostname or IP address, port number, and protocol (TCP or UDP).

  • Confirm that your computer can connect to the syslog server.

Procedure

Step 1

From the main menu, choose System > Settings > External Services > Destination > Syslog.

Step 2

In the Syslog tab, review the available fields for configuring the syslog server.

Step 3

To configure a new syslog server, click the Add icon (+).

Step 4

Enter your syslog server information into the fields.

  • Name: Enter the name of the syslog server.

  • Description: Enter a description of the syslog server.

  • Hostname/IP: Enter the hostname or IP address of the syslog server.

  • Port: Enter the port number used by the syslog server.

  • Protocol: Select either TCP or UDP.

When you choose the TCP protocol, check the isSecure check box to ensure secure TCP communication.

Step 5

(Optional) To test the configuration, click Validate.

After your configuration succeeds, a validation message appears.

Step 6

To save your syslog server destination configuration, click Save.

To cancel your configuration, click Cancel.

What to do next

Configure a syslog server destination to receive event notifications. To learn more, see Configure event notifications for network events.

Configure a trap notification

Catalyst Center supports SNMP trap event notifications.

Follow these steps to configure SNMP trap event notifications using the Catalyst Center GUI.

Before you begin

  • Ensure you have access rights to the system SNMP configuration settings.

  • Gather SNMP trap receiver details (hostname or IP address and port).

  • Determine whether you require SNMP version 2C or version 3, and obtain the corresponding credentials.

Procedure

Step 1

From the main menu, choose System > Settings > External Services > Destination > SNMP.

Step 2

Check the SNMP window for the available settings.

Step 3

Click Add to configure a trap.

Step 4

Enter information in each field.

  • Name: Enter a name for the event notification.

  • Description: Provide a brief description of the event.

  • Hostname/IP Address: Enter the hostname or IP address of the SNMP trap receiver; use either an IPv4 or IPv6 address.

  • Port: Enter the port number for the SNMP trap receiver (server).

  • SNMP Version: Select the SNMP version from the drop-down list

    • SNMP V2C: For SNMP version 2C, enter the community string.

    • SNMP V3: For SNMP version 3, enter the username and select the mode

      • No Authentication, No Privacy: You do not need to configure any additional settings.

      • Authentication, No Privacy: Specify authentication type (SHA or MD5) and authentication password.

      • Authentication and Privacy: Specify authentication type (SHA or MD5), authentication password, privacy type (AES128 or DES), and privacy password.

Step 5

Click Save.

What to do next

Access the Event Notifications window to select one or more events and subscribe to the configured SNMP trap destination. From the main menu, choose Platform > Developer Toolkit > Event Notifications. Select an event that supports subscription to an SNMP trap destination (SYSTEM type event), then subscribe.