Azure account requirement

You must download the ARM template for Catalyst Center. Contact your Cisco sales representative to request this file.

Azure disk size requirement

Azure supports a maximum disk size of 3 terabytes (TB).

Azure network infrastructure requirements

You must meet these Azure network infrastructure requirements:

• The ARM template deploys only the Catalyst Center VA. Before you begin the Catalyst Center VA deployment, you must manually deploy these required virtual machine resources:

  • Resource group

  • Virtual network name

  • Subnet name

  • Network security groups

  • SSH public key source

• Ensure that you establish a secure tunnel between your Azure resources and enterprise router or firewall for connectivity to the devices in your enterprise network. For example, Catalyst Center on Azure can connect to your network using Azure ExpressRoute, Cisco SD-WAN, colocation services, or an IPsec tunnel.

• For your existing connection from the enterprise router or firewall to Azure, ensure that the correct ports are open for traffic to flow to and from the Catalyst Center VA. You can open them using either the firewall settings or a proxy gateway. Make sure that the network security groups are configured to match the list of required ports. For information about the recommended communication ports, see "Communication ports" in the "Plan the Deployment" chapter of the Cisco Catalyst Center Installation Guide.

• The ARM template provided by your Cisco sales representative will configure the Azure cloud Network Time Protocol (NTP) server as 168.61.215.74 for time synchronization with the Catalyst Center VA. NTP connectivity is required for a successful configuration of the Catalyst Center VA. Ensure that the NTP connection is allowed in the network security group and any perimeter firewall.

Azure region configuration requirement

You must deploy Catalyst Center in an Azure region that supports the E32s_v4 VM size.

Azure subscription requirement

You must use a supported Azure subscription type. Catalyst Center on Azure is not supported on Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) plans. You must use a non-CSP plan, such as Pay-As-You-Go, Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA), and Enterprise Agreement (EA).

Catalyst Center environment requirements

You have this Catalyst Center information and services on hand:

• IP address, netmask, and gateway that are created from the Azure subnet.

• Enterprise DNS server.

• Fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of Catalyst Center, which is for the DNS resolution of Catalyst Center on day one.