Provision Campus Networks

Campus networks

The Campus Network feature allows you to manage and standardize configurations across campus environments for Cisco Catalyst Switches (Cisco Catalyst 9000 Series Switches and Cisco Catalyst Industrial Ethernet (IE) Switches) and Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers. This feature helps you keep configurations consistent and scale your deployments across multiple sites.

In a campus network, networks act as logical containers for managed devices. To support configuration consistency, Catalyst Center uses configuration profiles. You can use these profiles to deploy consistent and standardized configurations on other devices. You can compare a device configuration with a configuration profile to identify deviations.


Note

This feature is in beta.

Switches

Catalyst Center supports creation of switching device groups, which are a collection of devices intended to have similar configurations. A network can include one or more device groups as well as individually managed devices, providing flexibility in switch deployment and management across sites. You can create new configuration profiles for switches or learn the device configurations from an existing device.

Wireless controllers

Catalyst Center can learn configurations from an existing wireless controller and save them as configuration profiles.


Note

This feature is in beta and requires feature enablement. To enable the feature, contact Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC). If this feature is not enabled, the options for wireless controller-related configurations are unavailable or dimmed.

For more information about campus networks configuration for wireless controllers, refer to Campus networks configuration use cases for Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers.

Manage networks

Use this procedure to view and manage networks in Catalyst Center.

Procedure

Step 1

From the main menu, choose Provision > Campus Network > Networks & Configuration Profiles.

If there are no existing networks, use the Create Network option to create a new network. For more information, see Create a network.

For existing networks, the list of networks is displayed with details, such as the number of device groups and devices and the site associated with the network.

To...

Do this...

Edit or delete a network

Hover your cursor over the ellipsis icon and choose Edit network name or Delete network, as required.

You cannot delete a network that has a device group attached to it.

Add a network

 Click Create Network. See Create a network.

View network details

Click a network.

See the next step.

Step 2

Click a network to view details of the network.

The window displays these details:

Name

Description

Device groups

This tab displays all the device groups associated with the network with details like the type of the device group and number of devices in the device group.

Click Create switching device group to add a new switching device group. In the create window, enter a device group name, add devices (optional) and click the create option.

Hover your cursor over the ellipsis icon and choose Edit or Delete, as required. You cannot delete a device group that has devices assigned to it.

To view the device group details, click a device group name. For more information, see Manage switching device groups.

Devices

This tab displays the list of network devices associated with the network with details such as the IP address, manageability status, the device group it belongs to, and so on. To view the device details, click a device name.

See Manage devices.

Create a network

Procedure

Step 1

From the main menu, choose Provision > Campus Network > Networks & Configuration Profiles.

This table describes what occurs based on the presence of existing networks.

If...

Then...

there are no existing networks

Create Network option is displayed.

there are existing networks

a list of the available networks is displayed with the Create Network option to add a new network.

Step 2

Click Create Network.

Step 3

In the Create Network window, configure these fields:

Network details

  • Network name: Enter a name for the network.

  • Site: Choose a site for the network. All devices that are associated with the site and the levels below it will be added to the network.

You can create a device group or add individual devices to your network. Choose from the available options.

Option

Action

Create a switch device group

Enter a Device group name. Optionally, add devices to your device group.

Add WLCs

Select wireless controllers to add to your network.

Note

 

This feature is in beta and requires feature enablement. If this feature is not enabled, this option is dimmed.

Do this later

Select to skip the device group creation.

Step 4

Click Create Network.

Manage configuration profiles

You can create configuration profiles or learn profiles from an existing device and assign these profiles to device groups and devices across the network. Use this procedure to add, edit, and delete configuration profiles.

Procedure

Step 1

From the main menu, choose Provision > Campus Network > Networks & Configuration Profiles.

Step 2

Use this table to configure the configuration profiles.

Note

 

For wireless controllers, this feature is in beta and requires feature enablement. If this feature is not enabled, these options are unavailable.

Table 1. Switching profiles

To...

Do this...

Create a configuration profile

Click Create new. For more information, refer to Create a configuration profile for switching device group.

Learn profile from an existing device

Click Learn from a switch. For more information, refer to Learn configuration profiles from a switch.

Edit a profile

Click the profile name and make the necessary updates.

Delete a profile

Choose Delete under the Actions column.

Duplicate a profile

Choose Duplicate under the Actions column and enter a name for the configuration profile.

Table 2. Wireless profiles

To...

Do this...

Learn profiles from a wireless controller

Click Learn from a WLC. For more information, refer to Learn configuration profiles from a wireless controller.

Edit a profile

Click the profile name and make the necessary updates.

Delete a profile

  1. Under Actions, click the corresponding ellipsis icon and choose Delete.

  2. In the dialog box, click Delete.

Duplicate a profile

  1. Under Actions, click the corresponding ellipsis icon and choose Duplicate.

  2. In the Duplicate configuration profile dialog box, enter a unique name for the configuration profile.

  3. Click Duplicate.

Create a configuration profile for switching device group

Use this procedure to create a configuration profile for switching device groups.

Procedure

Step 1

From the main menu, choose Provision > Campus Network > Networks & Configuration Profiles.

Step 2

Click Configuration profiles.

Step 3

In the Switching tab, choose the type of profile in the left pane and click Create New.

Step 4

Enter a Configuration profile name and optionally, a Configuration profile description.

Step 5

Configure the profile attributes based on the type of configuration.

Refer to Manage per-device configurations for Cisco Catalyst Switches for information on the configurations.

Step 6

After configuring the required profile settings, click Create configuration profile.

Learn configuration profiles from a wireless controller

Configuration profiles standardize configuration. They also allow provisioning across multiple wireless controllers.

Catalyst Center saves the device configurations learned from a wireless controller as configuration profiles. You can assign configuration profiles to wireless controllers across networks. Configuration profiles can be learned from wireless controllers that are provisioned using either Per-Device Configurations, provisioned using intent-based network configurations, or available in the inventory without being provisioned.

Use this procedure to learn device configurations from a wireless controller and save them as configuration profiles.

Before you begin

  • This feature is in beta and requires feature enablement. If this feature is not enabled, this option is dimmed.

  • Ensure that the Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller is running Cisco IOS XE Release 17.12 or later.

  • Configuration profiles are version-specific. Configuration profiles learned from a wireless controller running a specific Cisco IOS XE Release can be applied only to wireless controllers running the same version.

Procedure

Step 1

From the main menu, choose Provision > Campus Network > Networks & Configuration Profiles.

Step 2

Click Configuration profiles > Wireless.

Step 3

Click Learn from a WLC to learn the configuration profiles from a wireless controller.

Step 4

In the Select device window, select the wireless controller to learn configurations from.

To view the details of the unsupported wireless controllers for learning device configurations, click Can't find a device you're looking for?.

Step 5

In the Configurations to learn window, view the identified configurations. Update the configuration profile names, if necessary.

Step 6

In the Review window, review the configurations that will be saved to the configuration profiles.

Note

 

You cannot edit the configurations in this window.

Step 7

Click Create configuration profile to save the configurations.

Manage switching device groups

Use this procedure to view and manage a switching device group.

Before you begin

Ensure that you have created a network with device groups. For more information, see Create a network.

Procedure

Step 1

From the main menu, choose Provision > Campus Network > Networks & Configuration Profiles.

Step 2

Click a network name in the Networks window.

Step 3

Use these options to manage the device groups.

If you want to...

Then...

create a device group

click Create device group.

  1. In the create window, enter a device group name.

  2. Select the devices.

  3. Click Create device group.

edit or delete a device group

click the ellipsis icon and choose Edit device group name, or Delete as needed.

view device group details

click the device group name and continue to the next step.

Step 4

Click a device group name.

The window displays the Configurations and Devices associated with the device group.

The Configurations tab displays the configuration profiles associated with the device group.

Manage the configuration profiles using the options described in the table.

Table 3. Configurations

Option

Description

Create configuration profiles

Use this option to create configuration profiles.

Assign configuration profiles

Use this option if there are no existing profiles assigned to the device group.

  1. Select the profile name from the drop-down list for the required profile type—Layer 2, Layer 3, Security, Network Settings.

  2. Select the port profiles.

    1. Select the device model or individual device.

    2. Select one or more ports on the selected devices.

  3. Provision the configuration profile.

Edit configuration profile assignment

In the Configuration profile area, use the Edit option to modify and provision the profiles. You can also use the Delete option to remove the associated profile from the device group.

In the Edit window, select the required profiles or delete the existing assignment. After the required edits, provision the changes.

Edit port profile assignment

In the Port Profiles area, click Edit port profile assignment to edit and provision the port profiles. You can also use the Delete assignment option to remove the associated profile from the device group.

In the Edit window, select the required profiles or delete the existing assignment. After the required edits, provision the changes.

The Device tab displays the list of network devices assigned to the device group. The device table includes information, such as the device name, IP address, manageability status, uptime, and so on. Click a device to view the configuration details.

If there are no devices, the Assign devices option is displayed.

Use these options to manage the devices.
Table 4. Devices

Option

Description
Compare configuration

Compare device configurations with an existing configuration profile.

  • Choose Compare configuration > Compare configurations of all devices to compare configurations of all devices.

  • Choose the devices you want to compare and click Compare configuration to compare configurations for selected devices.

Refer to Compare device configurations.

Assign devices

Assign devices to the device group.

In the Assign devices window, check the check box next to the devices you want to add and click Assign devices.

Note

 

You can assign devices only from the site associated with the network.
Remove devices

Remove the device from the device group.

Check the check box next to the device you want to remove and click Remove devices.

Learn profiles

Create a configuration profile by learning the device configuration.

Check the check box next to the device that you want to learn from and click Learn profiles.

Note

 

The learn configuration option is available for Cisco Catalyst 9000 Series Switches only.

Refer to Learn configuration profiles from a switch.

Learn configuration profiles from a switch

Use this procedure to create a switching configuration profile by learning the configurations from a device.

Before you begin

Ensure that you have created networks and device groups and assigned devices to your device group. See Manage networks and Manage switching device groups.

Procedure

Step 1

From the main menu, choose Provision > Campus Network > Networks & Configuration Profiles.

Step 2

Follow these steps to learn profiles from devices.

Option 1:

  1. Click a network.

  2. Use one of these options to view the devices in your network.

    • Under the Device Group tab, click a device group.

      In the Device Group window, click the Devices tab.

    • Click the Devices tab.

  3. Select the device that you want and click Learn profiles.

    Note

     

    The Learn profiles option is supported only for Cisco Catalyst 9000 Series Switches.

Option 2:

  1. Click Configuration profiles > Switching.

  2. Click Learn from a switch.

  3. Select the device that want to learn.

Step 3

Choose the type of configurations.

  • For Device configurations, select the configurations to learn. Each configuration can be saved as a profile.

    • Layer 2

    • Layer 3

    • Security

    • Network Settings

    • Port Profiles

  • For Port configurations, select the ports to learn.

Step 4

Click Next.

The configurations that are learned from the device are displayed.

Step 5

View the configurations and edit as required.

Step 6

Click Create Configuration Profiles.

Manage devices

Before you begin

Create a network and assign devices to your network. For more information, refer to Create a network.

Use this procedure to view and manage devices in a campus network.


Note

For wireless controllers, this feature is in beta and requires feature enablement. If this feature is not enabled, these options are unavailable.

Procedure

Step 1

From the main menu, choose Provision > Campus Network > Networks & Configuration Profiles.

Step 2

Click a network name to view network details.

Step 3

Click the Devices tab.

Step 4

Select the required device type.

  • Click switches to manage switches.

  • Click wireless controllers to manage wireless controllers.

Step 5

If no devices are assigned to the network, click Assign devices.

For information about assigning switches, refer to Manage switching device groups. For information about assigning wireless controllers, refer to Assign wireless controllers to an existing network.

Step 6

(Optional) Click Export to download a comma-separated value (CSV) file containing details of the network and its devices.

Step 7

(Optional) Manage switches using these configurations:

If you want to...

Then...

learn configuration profiles from a device

Check the check box for the device to learn configurations from and click Learn profiles.

Note

 

This option is available for only Cisco Catalyst 9000 Series Switches.

remove devices from the network

  1. Check the check box for the devices that you want to remove from the network

  2. Click Remove from network.

  3. In the dialog box, click Remove device.

assign devices to the network

Refer to Manage switching device groups.

compare device configurations

Refer to Manage switching device groups.

Step 8

(Optional) Manage wireless controllers using these configurations:

If you want to...

Then...

add a wireless controller to the network

click Add WLC.

Refer to Assign wireless controllers to an existing network.

manage configuration profile assignments for the wireless controller

click the ellipsis icon and choose Provision device.

Alternatively, check the check box for the device and click provision device.

Refer to Assign configuration profiles to a wireless controller, Edit configuration profile assignment for a wireless controller, and Delete configuration profile from a wireless controller.

compare device configurations

click the ellipsis icon and choose Compare configuration.

Alternatively, check the check box for the device and click Compare configuration.

Refer to Compare device configurations.

view the previous comparison results

click the ellipsis icon and choose view last run comparison.

remove devices from the network

  1. Click the ellipsis icon and choose Remove from network.

    Alternatively, check the check box for the device and click Remove from network.

  2. In the dialog box, click Remove device.

Assign wireless controllers to an existing network

Use this procedure to add wireless controllers to an existing network.

Before you begin

  • This feature is in beta and requires feature enablement. If this feature is not enabled, these options are unavailable.

  • Ensure that the wireless controller is assigned to the corresponding site for the campus network.

Procedure

Step 1

From the main menu, choose Provision > Campus Network > Networks & Configuration Profiles.

Step 2

Click a network name to view network details.

Step 3

Click the Devices tab.

Step 4

Click wireless controllers.

Step 5

Complete one of these configurations:

  • If there are no wireless controllers assigned to the network, click Assign devices to assign wireless controllers.
  • If a wireless controller is already assigned to the network, click Add WLC.

Step 6

In the Add device window, select the required wireless controllers.

Step 7

Click Assign devices.

Assign configuration profiles to a wireless controller

If configuration profiles are not assigned to a wireless controller, use this procedure to assign configuration profiles to the wireless controller.

Before you begin

  • This feature is in beta and requires feature enablement. If this feature is not enabled, these options are unavailable.

  • Ensure that configuration profiles are available for wireless controllers. For more information, refer to Learn configuration profiles from a wireless controller.

Procedure

Step 1

From the main menu, choose Provision > Campus Network > Networks & Configuration Profiles.

Step 2

Click a network name to view network details.

Step 3

Click the Devices tab.

Step 4

Click wireless controllers.

Step 5

Click the device name.

Step 6

Click Assign configuration profile and complete these configurations in the Assign Configuration Profiles and Provision window:

  1. In the Assign configuration profiles window, choose a configuration profile for each required configuration profile type from the corresponding drop-down list.

    Note

     

    You can only assign configuration profiles learned from a wireless controller running the same Cisco IOS XE Release.

  2. In the Review window, review the device configurations.

    If there is an issue that impacts provisioning, Catalyst Center displays the Error icon indicating issue that impacts provisioning icon. Click the features with this icon to view error details. Edit the corresponding configuration profiles to resolve the issues before proceeding. For more information, refer to Manage configuration profiles.

  3. Schedule the task for deployment.

    Depending on Visibility and Control of Configurations settings, you can either:

  4. On the Tasks window, monitor the task deployment.

Edit configuration profile assignment for a wireless controller

If configuration profiles are already assigned to a wireless controller, use this procedure to edit the configuration profile assignment and provision the wireless controller.

Before you begin

  • This feature is in beta and requires feature enablement. If this feature is not enabled, these options are unavailable.

  • Ensure that the required configuration profiles are available for assignment. For more information, refer to Learn configuration profiles from a wireless controller.

Procedure

Step 1

From the main menu, choose Provision > Campus Network > Networks & Configuration Profiles.

Step 2

Click a network name to view network details.

Step 3

Click the Devices tab.

Step 4

Click wireless controllers.

Step 5

Click the device name.

Step 6

Click Edit configuration profile assignment and complete these configurations in the Assign Configuration Profiles and Provision window:

  1. In the Edit configuration profiles window, choose a configuration profile for each required configuration profile type.

    You can only assign configuration profiles learned from a wireless controller running the same Cisco IOS XE Release.

    If you want to...

    Then...

    assign a configuration profile for a configuration profile type that doesn't have an assigned profile

    choose the required configuration profile from the corresponding drop-down list.

    delete a configuration profile from a configuration profile type

    1. Click the corresponding Delete assignment option.

    2. In the dialog box, click Yes.

    choose a different configuration profile for a configuration profile type that already has an assigned profile

    1. Delete the assigned configuration profile.

    2. Choose the required configuration profile from the corresponding drop-down list.

  2. In the Review window, review the device configurations.

    If there is an issue that impacts provisioning, Catalyst Center displays the Error icon indicating issue that impacts provisioning icon. Click the features with this icon to view error details. Edit the corresponding configuration profiles to resolve the issues before proceeding. For more information, refer to Manage configuration profiles.

  3. Schedule the task for deployment.

    Depending on Visibility and Control of Configurations settings, you can either:

  4. On the Tasks window, monitor the task deployment.

Delete configuration profile from a wireless controller

Use this procedure to delete a configuration profile assignment from a wireless controller.


Note

This feature is in beta and requires feature enablement. If this feature is not enabled, these options are unavailable.

After deletion, you can assign a different configuration profile to the wireless controller.


Note

When you delete a configuration profile from a wireless controller, Catalyst Center does not remove the corresponding configurations provisioned on the wireless controller.

Procedure

Step 1

From the main menu, choose Provision > Campus Network > Networks & Configuration Profiles.

Step 2

Click a network name to view network details.

Step 3

Click the Devices tab.

Step 4

Click wireless controllers.

Step 5

Click the device name.

Step 6

Click the Delete assignment option to remove the configuration profile assignment for a configuration profile type.

Step 7

In the dialog box, click Delete.

Compare device configurations

Use this procedure to compare device configurations with a configuration profile to identify deviations.

Before you begin

Switches

Ensure that you have created networks and device groups and assigned devices to your device group. Refer to Manage networks and Manage switching device groups.

Wireless controller


Note

This feature is in beta and requires feature enablement. If this feature is not enabled, this option is unavailable.

Procedure

Step 1

From the main menu, choose Provision > Campus Network > Networks & Configuration Profiles.

Step 2

Click a network.

Step 3

Follow these steps to compare the device configurations.

Switches

  1. In the Device Groups tab, click a device group.

  2. In the Device Group window, choose the required option.

    To...

    Do this...

    Compare device configurations of all the devices

    Choose Compare configuration > Compare configurations of all devices.

    Compare device configuration for selected devices

    Check the check box for the required devices, and click Compare configuration.

Wireless controllers

  1. In the Devices tab, click wireless controllers.

  2. Click the ellipsis icon and choose Compare configuration.

    Alternatively, check the check box for the device and click Compare configuration.

Step 4

In the Compare configuration dialog box, complete these steps:

  1. From the Select profile type drop-down list, choose the type of configuration profile.

  2. From the Select profile drop-down list, choose the profile against which you want to compare the configurations.

  3. Click Compare.

The Comparison results window shows the number of devices for these comparison outcomes:

  • Match: Devices with matching configurations.

  • Does not match: Devices with configurations that do not match the configuration profile.

  • Comparison failed: Devices for which the comparison failed.

You can also view the specific devices that were compared and their individual comparison results.