This guide serves as a validated reference for a Cisco Prime Infrastructure customer to migrate to Catalyst Center. This guide provides an end-to-end requirement checklist, readiness assessment, migration tool details, and postmigration day-n operations guidance.

The audience for this guide includes the technical staff responsible for migrating the enterprise network from Cisco Prime Infrastructure to Catalyst Center.

Note	If you are viewing this guide on cisco.com, click any of its figures to view a full-sized version.

The solution is validated with the hardware and software listed in this table.

The following figure shows the solution topology.

The following table lists the solution use cases.

Solution testing has verified the scale numbers that are listed in the following table. To view the scale numbers for the Catalyst Center appliance, see the Cisco Catalyst Center Data Sheet.

User-defined CLI templates provide out-of-the-box configuration templates that you can use to make changes on your network devices. If you have sufficient privileges, you can also create new templates that meet the exact needs of your environment, and then make those templates available for others to use. You can make the templates as simple or as complex as needed, including grouping multiple templates together into a composite template. Finally, you can associate templates with particular devices by creating configuration groups.

Catalyst Center templates offer the following benefits:

• Validate errors in the template

• Simulate the template

• Version control the template for tracking purposes

• Day-0 onboarding and day-n templates

Cisco Prime Infrastructure provides compliance features that you can use to audit whether device configurations comply with network requirements. Compliance policy defines how the system evaluates device configurations for compliance with network standards and expectations.

A compliance profile is a method of organizing custom and system compliance policies that the system uses to perform configuration audits.

Catalyst Center built-in compliance ensures that devices comply with business intent.

Compliance helps to identify any intent deviation or out-of-band changes in the network that can be injected or reconfigured without affecting the original content.

Catalyst Center compliance summary:

• Network settings: Indicates that the device configuration complies with what was designed and provisioned from Catalyst Center.

• End of life: Indicates that are no end-of-life alerts on the device.

• Startup vs running configuration: Indicates that both the startup and running configuration are in sync.

• Software image: Indicates that the device is running the golden image.

• Critical security advisories: Indicates that there are no critical advisories for the device.

A network administrator can conveniently identify devices that do not meet compliance requirements in Catalyst Center. Compliance checks can be automated or performed on demand:

• Automated compliance check: By default, a compliance check is triggered for any out-of-band change.

• Manual compliance: Can be triggered from the Inventory window or a device-specific window.

• Scheduled compliance check: Weekly trigger for all devices.

To view a compliance summary in Catalyst Center, choose Provision > Inventory > Select Device > View Device Details > Compliance > Summary.

In Catalyst Center, the Startup vs. Running Configuration compliance check identifies whether the startup and running configurations of a device are in sync. If the configurations are out of sync, a compliance check is triggered and a detailed report of the out-of-band changes is displayed. The check is triggered within 5 minutes of any out-of-band changes. To view the Startup vs. Running Configuration compliance check in Catalyst Center, choose Provision > Inventory > Select Device > View Device Details > Compliance > Summary > Startup vs. Running Configuration.

In Catalyst Center, you can view open violations after a template CLI push. You can acknowledge less-important device compliance violations. You can opt the violations in or out of the compliance status calculation.

To view rule-based compliance in Cisco Prime Infrastructure, choose Configuration > Compliance > Policies.

To view a compliance violation summary in Cisco Prime Infrastructure, choose Configuration > Compliance > Violation Summary.

For more information, see Compliance Audit for Network Devices.

Cisco Prime Infrastructure reports provide information about system and network health and fault information. You can customize and schedule reports to run on a regular basis. Reports can present data in a table, in a graph, or in a mixture of both formats. You can save reports in CSV or PDF format on the Cisco Prime Infrastructure server for download, or send reports to an email address.

Cisco Prime Infrastructure provide the following types of report data:

• Current: Provides a snapshot of data that is not time dependent.

• Historical: Periodically retrieves data from the device and stores it in the Cisco Prime Infrastructure database.

• Trend: Generates a report using aggregated data, which is collected and summarized as minimums, maximums, and averages.

With Cisco Prime Infrastructure, you can filter reports based on specific criteria. You can export reports, sort reports into logical groups, and archive reports for long-term storage.

Catalyst Center uses data from the reports feature to derive insights from the network and its operation. Catalyst Center reports data in several formats, such as CSV and PDF. Catalyst Center provides flexible scheduling and configuration options to meet operational needs. For more information, see Reports.

Note	Not all Catalyst Center reports are supported in PDF file format.

The following table compares Cisco Prime Infrastructure and Catalyst Center reports.

The following figure shows the Catalyst Center Reports window:

The following figure shows a Catalyst Center-generated report:

The following figure shows a Cisco Prime Infrastructure-generated report (Reports > Reports > Scheduled Run Results):

The Catalyst Center software image management (SWIM) process manages software upgrades and controls the consistency of image versions and configurations across your network. SWIM speeds and simplifies the deployment of new software images and patches. Prechecks and postchecks help ensure that an upgrade has no adverse effects. SWIM provides an easy way to build a central repository of software images and apply them to devices. Administrators can mark software images as golden for a device family, and then upgrade devices to the software image and patch versions that follow the golden versions defined in the repository. Catalyst Center supports patches from intent to prechecks and postchecks in the same way that it manages regular images. SWIM tracks when software maintenance updates, subpackages, ROMMON, AP service pack, and AP device pack upgrades are applied to the base image.

Catalyst Center SWIM provides the following benefits:

• Provides prechecks and postchecks as part of the SWIM workflow, comparing the difference before and after an upgrade.

• Provides complete flexibility and simplicity to choose show commands based on your network requirement.

With the Catalyst Center software image upgrade, you import the image from cisco.com and then mark the image as golden. You can specify a golden software image for a device family or for a particular device role. The device role is used to identify and group devices according to their responsibilities and placement in the network.

To start the image upgrade, Catalyst Center compares each device software image with the image that you designate as golden for that specific device type. If the software image and the golden image differ, Catalyst Center specifies that the software image of the device is outdated. You can then update the outdated software image.

Before pushing a software image to a device, Catalyst Center performs upgrade readiness prechecks on the devices, such as checking the device management status, disk space, and so on. If any prechecks fail, you cannot perform the software image upgrade. You must correct any issues before you can upgrade the software image on the devices.

If all prechecks succeed, you can distribute (copy) the new image to the device and activate it (that is, make the new image the running image). The activation of the new image requires a reboot of the device. Because a reboot might interrupt the current network activity, you can schedule the process for a later time.

After the software image is successfully upgraded, Catalyst Center performs upgrade postchecks, such as checking the CPU usage, route summary, and so on, to ensure that the state of the network remains unchanged.

To start the image upgrade, choose Provision > Inventory > Select Device > Actions > Software Image > Image Update.

The following figure shows the Cisco Prime Infrastructure SWIM landing page:

The following figure shows the Cisco Prime Infrastructure image upgrade:

For more information about Catalyst Center SWIM, see Manage Software Images.

The Configure Access Points workflow lets you configure and deploy AP-level parameters, such as the AP location, admin status, mode, and so on. You can also configure radio-level parameters, such as the radio power level, channel settings, and so on.

The Configure Access Points workflow in Catalyst Center is similar to the Lightweight Access Point feature in Cisco Prime Infrastructure.

The following settings configured using the Configure Access Points workflow aren't overwritten when the wireless controllers or APs are reprovisioned:

• Admin status for radios (only applicable for Cisco AireOS wireless controllers)

• AP primary controller

• AP secondary controller

To launch the Configure Access Points workflow in Catalyst Center, choose Workflow > Configure Access Points:

The following figure shows the AP-level parameters to configure:

The following figure shows an AP primary controller name change for HA:

To launch the Cisco Prime Infrastructure Lightweight Access Point feature, choose Configuration > Template > Lightweight Access Points > AP Template Detail > LAP1:

For more information, see AP Configuration in Catalyst Center.

If you check the Enable ISE settings check box, the Cisco ISE server details are pushed. If you don't check the Enable ISE settings check box, Cisco ISE data isn't pushed to the Catalyst Center server.

If you check the Enable CMX settings check box, CMX is pushed with floor groups. If you don't check the Enable CMX settings check box, CMX data isn't pushed to the Catalyst Center server.

When the Cisco Prime Infrastructure – Catalyst Center migration tool is active and auto sync is enabled, CMX is pushed dynamically to Catalyst Center floor groups, and Catalyst Center tracks the location data for assigned groups.

After CMX is migrated to Catalyst Center, it is not managed by Cisco Prime Infrastructure.

The following figure shows how to enable the Cisco ISE setting in the PDMT for migration:

The following figure shows how to enable CMX settings in the PDMT for migration:

The following figure shows the dynamic synchronization and CMX settings enabled:

The following figure shows CMX on Cisco Prime Infrastructure before migration:

The following figure shows CMX settings after migration to Catalyst Center:

The following figure shows a floor map on CMX:

When you migrate Cisco ISE from Cisco Prime Infrastructure to Catalyst Center, Cisco ISE is added to Catalyst Center in the failed state. To avoid this, you must:

• Activate pxGrid on Cisco ISE.

• Enable ERS on Cisco ISE.

• Make sure that the Cisco ISE CLI and GUI passwords are the same.

If you aren't using Cisco Prime Infrastructure for wireless automation and Catalyst Center Assurance and you want to remove Cisco Prime Infrastructure permanently, review the following two workflows.

When Force Sync Is Enabled

When force sync is enabled and you initiate device deletion from the Cisco Prime Infrastructure, the device is removed from the Cisco Prime Infrastructure but not from the Catalyst Center inventory and Catalyst Center is used for Assurance.

Note	Make sure that dynamic sync is disabled in the PDMT before removing the device from Cisco Prime Infrastructure.

The device deletion initiates from Cisco Prime Infrastructure.

The device is intact in the Catalyst Center inventory.

When the device is removed from Cisco Prime Infrastructure after migration, the telemetry subscription for Cisco Prime Infrastructure is removed and the telemetry connection is up.

When Dynamic Sync Is Enabled

When dynamic sync is enabled and you initiate device deletion from Cisco Prime Infrastructure, the device is deleted from the Cisco Prime Infrastructure inventory and dynamic sync triggers removal of the device from the Catalyst Center inventory.

Note	Make sure all the telemetry subscriptions for Cisco Prime Infrastructure and Catalyst Center are cleared.

Removing the device from the Cisco Prime Infrastructure inventory initiates device deletion from Catalyst Center.

The following figure shows the deletion of the device from Catalyst Center.

Currently, device deletion from Catalyst Center doesn’t remove the telemetry subscription for Catalyst Center.

To delete all the telemetry subscriptions from the wireless controller configuration, enter the following commands:

WLC#term shell
            WLC#function removeall() {
            for id in `sh run | grep telemetry | cut -f4 -d' '`
            do
            conf t
            no telemetry ietf subscription $id
            exit
            done
            }
           WLC#removeall

For more information, see Delete All Telemetry Subscriptions from the WLC Configuration.

The following tables show the scale used in the PDMT migration.

Cisco Prime Infrastructure usage summary for migration:

Migration time taken:

Catalyst Center inventory after migration:

Catalyst Center dashboard after migration:

Assurance dashboard after migration:

The current version of this guide focuses on the Cisco Prime coexistence model, where Cisco Prime Infrastructure is used for network automation and provisioning and Catalyst Center is used for assurance and monitoring. Future revisions of this guide will cover the use cases of learning device configurations in Catalyst Center and adapting the network automation functionality in Catalyst Center. These use cases will enable the complete migration from Cisco Prime Infrastructure to Catalyst Center, and eventually replace Cisco Prime Infrastructure with Catalyst Center for full management of the enterprise network.

To learn more about the Cisco Prime Infrastructure-to-Catalyst Center migration, consult the following references:

• Cisco Prime Infrastructure to Cisco Catalyst Center Prime Data Migration Guide

• Cisco Intelligent Capture Deployment Guide

• Cisco Catalyst 9800 Nonfabric Deployment Using Cisco Catalyst Center

• Cisco Catalyst Assurance User Guide

• Cisco Catalyst Center User Guide