Cisco Catalyst Center Third-Generation Appliance Installation Guide, Release 3.1.x

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Complete the Quick Start workflow

Updated: April 3, 2026

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Overview

After you log in for the first time as the admin superuser (with the username admin and the SUPER-ADMIN-ROLE assigned), the Quick Start workflow automatically starts. Complete this workflow to discover the devices that Catalyst Center will manage and enable the collection of telemetry from those devices.

After you log in for the first time as the admin superuser (with the username admin and the SUPER-ADMIN-ROLE assigned), the Quick Start workflow automatically starts. Complete this workflow to discover the devices that Catalyst Center will manage and enable the collection of telemetry from those devices.

Before you begin

Make sure that:

Procedure

1.

In the Quick Start Overview slider, click Let's Do it.
2.

In the Discover Devices: Provide IP Ranges screen, enter this information and then click Next:

  • The name for the device discovery job.

  • The IP address ranges of the devices you want to discover. Click + to enter additional ranges.

  • Specify whether you want to designate your appliance's loopback address as its preferred management IP address. For more information, refer to the "Preferred management IP address" topic in the "Discover Your Network" chapter of the Cisco Catalyst Center User Guide.
3.

In the Discover Devices: Provide Credentials screen, enter the information described in this table for the type of credentials you want to configure and then click Next:

Field

Description

CLI (SSH) Credentials

Username

Username used to log in to the CLI of the devices in your network.

Password

Password used to log in to the CLI of the devices in your network. The password you enter must be at least eight characters long.

Name/Description

Name or description of the CLI credentials.

Enable Password

Password used to enable a higher privilege level in the CLI. Configure this password only if your network devices require it.

SNMP Credentials: SNMPv2c Read tab

Note

Catalyst Center does not support SNMPv2c credentials when FIPS mode is enabled. You'll need to enter SNMPv3 credentials instead. For more information regarding FIPS mode, refer to Configure the primary node using the Maglev wizard.

Name/Description

Name or description of the SNMPv2c read community string.

Community String

Read-only community string password used only to view SNMP information on the device.

SNMP Credentials: SNMPv2c Write tab

Name/Description

Name or description of the SNMPv2c write community string.

Community String

Write community string used to make changes to the SNMP information on the device.

SNMP Credentials: SNMPv3

Name/Description

Name or description of the SNMPv3 credentials.

Username

Username associated with the SNMPv3 credentials.

Mode

Security level that SNMP messages require:

  • No Authentication, No Privacy (noAuthnoPriv): Does not provide authentication or encryption.

  • Authentication, No Privacy (authNoPriv): Provides authentication, but does not provide encryption.

  • Authentication and Privacy (authPriv): Provides both authentication and encryption.

    Note

    When FIPS mode is enabled, Catalyst Center only supports Authentication and Privacy mode.

Authentication Password

Password required to gain access to information from devices that use SNMPv3. The password must be at least eight characters in length. Note the following points:

  • Some wireless controllers require that passwords be at least 12 characters long. Be sure to check the minimum password requirements for your wireless controllers. Failure to ensure these required minimum character lengths for passwords results in devices not being discovered, monitored, or managed by Catalyst Center.

  • Passwords are encrypted for security reasons and are not displayed in the configuration.

Authentication Type

Hash-based Message Authentication Code (HMAC) type used when either Authentication and Privacy or Authentication, No Privacy is set as the authentication mode:

  • SHA: HMAC-SHA authentication.

  • MD5: HMAC-MD5 authentication.

    Note

    Catalyst Center does not support this authentication type when FIPS mode is enabled.

Privacy Type

Privacy type. (Enabled if you select Authentication and Privacy as Mode.) Choose one of the following privacy types:

  • AES128: 128-bit CBC mode AES for encryption.

  • CISCOAES192: 192-bit CBC mode AES for encryption on Cisco devices.

  • CISCOAES256: 256-bit CBC mode AES for encryption on Cisco devices.

Note

  • Privacy types CISCOAES192 and CISCOAES256 are supported only for use with Discovery and Inventory features. Assurance features are not supported.

  • Privacy type AES128 is supported for Discovery, Inventory, and Assurance.

Privacy Password

SNMPv3 privacy password that is used to generate the secret key for encrypting messages are exchanged with devices supported with AES128, AES192, and AES256 encryption standards. Passwords (or passphrases) must be at least eight characters long.

Note

  • Some wireless controllers require that passwords be at least 12 characters long. Be sure to check the minimum password requirements for your wireless controllers. Failure to ensure these required minimum character lengths for passwords results in devices not being discovered, monitored, or managed by Catalyst Center.

  • Passwords are encrypted for security reasons and are not displayed in the configuration.

NETCONF

Port

The NETCONF port that Catalyst Center should use in order to discover wireless controllers that run Cisco IOS-XE.
4.

In the Create Site screen, group the devices you are going to discover into one site in order to facilitate telemetry and then click Next.

You can enter the site's information manually or click the location you want to use in the provided map.
5.

In the Enable Telemetry screen, check the network components that you want Catalyst Center to collect telemetry for and then click Next.

Note

If both the Enable Telemetry and Disable Telemetry options are grayed out, this indicates that either devices are not capable of supporting telemetry or devices are running an OS version that does not support telemetry enablement.
6.

In the Summary screen, review the settings that you have entered and then do one of these tasks:

  • If you want to make changes, click the appropriate Edit link to open the relevant screen.

  • If you're happy with the settings, click Start Discovery and Telemetry. Catalyst Center validates your settings to ensure that they will not result in any issues. After validation is complete, the screen updates.

    Catalyst Center begins the process of discovering your network's devices and enabling telemetry for the network components you selected. The process will take a minimum of 30 minutes (more for larger networks).
7.

After the message appears at the top of the home page to indicate that the Quick Start workflow has completed, do one of these tasks:

  • Click View Discovery to open the Discovery page and confirm that the devices in your network have been discovered.

  • Click the Go to Network Settings link to open the Device Credentials page. From here, you can verify that the credentials you entered previously have been configured for your site.

  • Click the View Activity Page link to open the Tasks page and view any tasks (such as a weekly scan of the network for security advisories) that Catalyst Center has already scheduled to run.

  • Click the Workflow Home link to access guided workflows that will help you set up and maintain your network.