Table Of Contents
Credential Sets in a Non Session Based Device Authentication Environment
Credential Sets in a Session Based Device Authentication Environment
Comparing Credential Sets in a Non Session Based and Session Based Device Authentication
Displaying and Importing Discovered Devices
Managing the Network
This chapter details the options available to the system administrator to manage the network by easily adding devices into Cisco E-DI and grouping them for operational use:
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Credential sets—Specify how to communicate with the managed devices.
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Discovery—Devices need to be discovered before they are managed.
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Static and dynamic device grouping—Provides context for the Cisco E-DI CLI operations.
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Interface grouping—A set of static system-defined groups that combine multiple network interfaces into a single interface which may be used for configuring several interfaces at once.
Cisco E-DI provides session based device authentication for networks where there is an external AAA server. This mode requires a user to enter a login and password when managing devices. See Device Authentication and Using Session Based Device Authentication for more information. Session based device authentication is disabled by default, and must be enabled before any devices are managed. This can be done by the system administrator during installation, or by entering the following command in server configuration mode:
[SVR:/server](config)# device-auth session-basedTo specify the session credentials, enter:
[SVR:/server]# terminal device-auth login <login val>This chapter includes the following information:
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Credential Sets in a Non Session Based Device Authentication Environment
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Credential Sets in a Session Based Device Authentication Environment
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Comparing Credential Sets in a Non Session Based and Session Based Device Authentication
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Displaying and Importing Discovered Devices
Creating Credential Sets
Device credentials like login, password, and SNMP community string settings are required for communication with a device. Cisco E-DI combines these credentials into a credential set which specifies the necessary information for Cisco E-DI to communicate to the device. It is assigned to a device when the device is managed. See "Cisco E-DI Concepts" for more information about credential sets.
The commands used to create the credential sets are detailed in Table 3-1. The commands are given in server configure credential set mode [SVR:/server](conf-credential-set)#.
Table 3-1 Commands to Create Credential Sets
Action CommandEnter credential configuration mode by specifying a credential set name to configure or assign attributes to the default credential set.
[SVR:/server](config)# credential-set {default | name}A new credential set can be created based on an existing credential set. The new credential set inherits the attributes of the existing credential set.
[SVR:/server] (config)# credential-set [new name] based-on [name]To select Telnet transport.
[SVR:/server](conf-credential-set)# transport telnetTo select SSH v1.5 transport.
Note
The SSH default is 3des.
[SVR:/server](conf-credential-set)# transport ssh [cipher] { 3des | aes_128 | aes_192 | aes_256 | blowfish | des | twofish }To select SSH v2 transport.
Note
The SSH default is 3des.
Modes are applicable for all ciphers except arcfour.[SVR:/server](conf-credential-set)# transport ssh2 [cipher] { 3des | aes_128 | aes_192 | aes_256 | arcfour | blowfish | twofish_128 | twofish_192 | twofish_256 } [mode] { cbc | cfb | ctr | ecb | ofb |}To specify the enable password login for Telnet.
Note
The behavior of these commands changes when session based device authentication is enabled. See Using Session Based Device Authentication for a full explanantion of the command behavior.
[SVR:/server](conf-credential-set)# enable-password [{<0-2> name} | name][SVR:/server](conf-credential-set)# password [{<0-2> name} | name][SVR:/server](conf-credential-set)# login [{<0-2> name} | name]To specify the read community for SNMP communication.
[SVR:/server](conf-credential-set)# read-community [{<0-2> name } | name]To specify the write community for SNMP communication.
[SVR:/server](conf-credential-set)# write-community [{<0-2> name} | name]To remove a credential set.
[SVR:/server](conf)# no credential-set nameTo set the value of a command to null, use no before the command.
[SVR:/server](conf-credential-set)# no read-community[SVR:/server](conf-credential-set)# no write-community[SVR:/server](conf-credential-set)# no login[SVR:/server](conf-credential-set)# no password[SVR:/server](conf-credential-set)# no enable-password[SVR:/server](conf-credential-set)# no transport
The following example shows two credential sets:
credential-set defaultread-community 2 681D7F137A19write-community 2 681D7F137A19login Ciscopassword 2 573E4D2E41enable-password 2 286B0271127Dtransport telnetcredential-set Switchread-community 2 681D7F137A19write-community 2 681D7F137A19login switchpassword 2 7F127719enable-password 2 7F127719transport telnetSample credential set created using the based-on option:
credential-set <new name> based-on <name>transport sshThe credential set <new name> has all the attributes of the credential set <name> except for the transport type which is SSH instead of telnet as in <name>.
Assigning a Credential Set
The attributes defined in a credential set are used to login to a device, and to perform SNMP operations.
A credential set can be assigned to a single device or multiple devices. If there is no credential set assigned to a device, the default credential set will be used.
Credential sets can also be assigned to a group of devices using the ip-range command.
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Note
If a credential set is assigned to a device using the manage device command and also using the ip-range, the credential set specified in the manage device command will be used.
The commands used to manage the credential sets are detailed in Table 3-2.
Credential Sets in a Non Session Based Device Authentication Environment
If the administrator selects non session based device authentication during installation, Cisco E-DI uses credential sets which are centralized (non session based) device credential stores.
Table 3-3 lists the protocols and credentials used in non session based device authentication mode.
See Device Authentication for more details.
Credential Sets in a Session Based Device Authentication Environment
Cisco E-DI provides session based device authentication which requires a user to enter a login and password when managing devices. The device authentication login and password are valid for the entire duration of the user session, and are used for authenticating all the devices.
In session based device authentication mode:
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For system initiated tasks or scheduled tasks—All credentials used for Cisco E-DI to device communication are from the central credential set, not from the session credential set.
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For user initiated tasks—SNMP credentials and the enable password are from the central credential set, and the Telnet login and password are from the session.
Table 3-4 lists the protocols and credentials used in session based device authentication mode.
See Device Authentication for more details.
Comparing Credential Sets in a Non Session Based and Session Based Device Authentication
Table 3-5 details and compares the way that components in a credential set function in non session based device authentication and session based device authentication modes.
See Device Authentication for more details.
Device Discovery
Basic network discovery is required primarily in situations where Cisco E-DI is deployed without a management application. Discovery is also useful in cases where a non-Cisco management application is deployed in conjunction with Cisco E-DI, and it lacks adequate discovery capabilities. Table 3-6 details the commands required to set up device discovery.
Devices need to be discovered first before they are managed.
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Note
Discovery can only be triggered from the CLI.
Two mechanisms for discovery are provided:
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Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP)
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SNMP sweep
Both these mechanisms require that Cisco E-DI have SNMPv1/v2c read access to the NE. Discovered devices are not automatically managed. Devices need to be selected from the discovered list to be managed by Cisco E-DI.
Discovery with a specified frequency can be scheduled.
This section includes the following information:
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Displaying and Importing Discovered Devices
Setting Up Device Discovery
For a CDP based discovery, a seed IP address has to be provided to start discovering the network. Multiple seed addresses can also be specified to make discovery quicker. A maximum hop count/distance of any discovered device from the seed IP addresses can be specified. The maximum hop count is 10. If no hop count is specified, a default value 1 is used and the hop count is the same for all the seeds specified. Discovery is performed starting from the seed IP addresses specified till all the devices are discovered or the hop count is reached. In server configure mode, discovery can be scheduled with a list of seed IP addresses, hop count and repetition frequency.
If the discovered devices have multiple IP addresses, typically only one of those IP addresses is meant for management. When Cisco E-DI has to choose one of the IP addresses for device identification and management, and the configuration command discovery use-mgmt-ip-address is enabled, it uses the following criteria to determine the management interface address:
1.
If a loopback IP address (interface) is configured then this is the preferred management IP address.
2.
If a device has multiple loopback IP addresses (interfaces), the first address that gets resolved to a hostname is the management IP address.
3.
If a loopback IP addresses cannot be resolved then the preferred IP address is the first configured loopback IP address (based on the ifIndex value).
4.
If none of the above rules apply, the preferred IP address is the first configured IP address in the device (based on ifIndex value).
Discovering Devices
Table 3-7 details how to start the discovery process.
Any discovery, either scheduled using the configure mode or manually run in the exec mode is implemented in the background. Each discovery job is given a unique task id and the status can be checked using the show discovery command.
Displaying and Importing Discovered Devices
Table 3-8 details the commands required to display and import the discovered devices.
Table 3-8 Commands to Show and Import Discovered Devices
Action CommandTo show the discovery history for all discovery jobs and the list of devices discovered
[SVR:/server]# show discovery historyTo list all the devices that have been discovered so far and their current status.
[SVR:/server]# show discovery devices-discoveredTo list all the devices that have been discovered for a given discovery job.
[SVR:/server]# show discovery devices-discovered [task-id]To list all devices that have been discovered, with their preferred management IP address that has been determined.
[SVR:/server]# show discovery devices-discovered mgmt-ip-bindingTo show discovery task history for a specific discovery job.
[SVR:/server]# show discovery history [task-id]To show the discovery task history about the date/time of implementation and number of devices discovered
[SVR:/server]# show discovery task-historyTo clear discovery history related information.
[SVR:/server]# clear discovery historyTo clear the discovered devices list.
[SVR:/server]# clear discovery devices-discoveredTo import all the devices discovered which are currently un-managed, and set them to managed state.
[SVR:/server]# import devices from-discovered-list allTo import the devices selectively.
All devices with a manageable state are displayed in the discovery history. Select y to manage the device or n to skip the device.
Select q to quit.
[SVR:/server]# import devices from-discovered-listTo import devices from an XML or CSV seed file.
[SVR:/server]# import devices from-seed-file filenameTo import all devices.
[SVR:/server]# import devices from-seed-file allTo select the management IP address to be used for device discovery. See Setting Up Device Discovery.
[SVR: /server](config)# discovery use-mgmt-ip-bindingTo show the discovered devices, and the management IP addresses that are identified for those devices.
[SVR: /server](config)# show discovery devices-discovered mgmt-ip-binding
Managing Devices
Cisco E-DI will only establish connections to NEs that are in the managed device list. Cisco E-DI will reject sessions directed to any unmanaged device and display the following error, %no such managed device exists.
Once it starts managing the device, Cisco E-DI to NE communication is independent of any management station to Cisco E-DI communication, and Cisco E-DI manages the device until it is asked to stop.
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Note
You can clear all previous connections, enter the command clear status connections.
All the management tasks can be performed through CLI commands. When Cisco E-DI starts managing an NE, it stores the NE identification information and additional inventory information in the system database.
Once device information is located, Cisco E-DI selects a data model from its device package using the following criteria:
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It ensures that the data model's device family matches the target NE's device family.
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For software version, Cisco E-DI tries to find the exact match. If the exact match cannot be found, then it will find the nearest version of the OS knowledge base from the available pool.
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If the NE's OS version is lower than any available OS version then, the lowest available knowledge base version is selected.
You can start managing a device when a credential set has been applied to the device. See Table 3-2.
Grouping
Cisco E-DI provides the option to create groups. This can be used to manage groups of devices conveniently. See "Cisco E-DI Concepts" for a detailed explanation of groups in Cisco E-DI.
Table 3-9 details the commands used to manage static groups, and Table 3-10 details the commands to manage dynamic groups.
Table 3-10 Commands to Manage Dynamic Groups
Description ActionTo create a dynamic group.
Note
The group name can have no more than 40 characters.
[SVR:/server] (config)# dynamic-group group-nameTo enter dynamic group configuration mode.
[SVR:/server] (config)# dynamic-group nameTo specify a rule to be either included or excluded.
See Table 1-2 for device capability options.
[SVR:/server](conf-dynamic-group)# capability (device-capability)* {include | exclude}To specify a range of IP addresses to be included into this group.
[SVR:/server](conf-dynamic-group)# ip-range index from_ip_address to_ip_addressTo specify a devicename to be included into this group
[SVR:/server](conf-dynamic-group)# devicename contains name-patternTo specify a devicetype name to be included into this group
[SVR:/server](conf-dynamic-group)# devicetype **devicetype-nameTo remove the dynamic group.
[SVR:/server](config)# no dynamic-group nameTo remove a capability rule.
See Table 1-2 for device capability options.
[SVR:/server](conf-dynamic-group)# no capability device-capabilityTo negate the ip-range rule.
[SVR:/server](conf-dynamic-group)# no ip-range indexTo negate devicename rule
[SVR:/server](conf-dynamic-group)# no devicename contains nameTo negate devicetype rule
[SVR:/server](conf-dynamic-group)# no devicetype device-type
Sample dynamic group configuration in the running config file:
dynamic-group Namecapability cdp-enabled includecapability edi-server excludeip-range 1 172.16.0.1 172.16.0.15devicename contains ap!dynamic-group AllRouterscapability l3-router include!dynamic-group AllCisco2600Routersdevicefamily Cisco2600!dynamic-group AllCisco2621Routersdevicetype Cisco2621!static-group SwitchesAndRoutersinclude device 172.16.0.1include device 172.16.0.5include group Switchesinclude group AllRouters!dynamic-group AllCiscoIOScapability os-type-ios include!Viewing Devices
After the groups are defined, use the commands in Table 3-11 to view the groups and devices that belong to the group.
When a device is managed, basic information like the device name, software version, type, capabilities are stored in the database. This information changes whenever inventory is performed on the device. When the server is reloaded, the information stored in the database is loaded before an inventory is performed on the device.
Domain Control
Domain control is a mechanism where a user can perform restricted or controlled operations on NEs grouped under one or more domains with associated privilege levels.
A domain group can consist of multiple groups with individual privileges. See "Managing Security," for more information about user security and roles. Server privileges are mandatory, with the default privilege level being NoAccess. A user can be assigned a domain group so that operations are restricted to the devices and privileges set in the domain group. On invoking a task, Cisco E-DI performs the task only on the devices that the user has privileges for. If a device belongs to more than one device group, the matching entry will be evaluated and the appropriate privileges are enforced.
There are two pre-defined domain groups that allow the administrator to easily configure initial user privileges:
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FULL_CONTROL group allows all possible network and server privileges.
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NO_CONTROL domain group allows no actions in any context.
Unless explicitly assigned, a domain group will have no server and network privileges. When a domain group is deleted, the user assigned to that domain group will be assigned to a NO_CONTROL group. The user will be reassigned to the group if it is added again.
Sample domain group configuration file:
dynamic-group BLDG-2ip-range 1 192.168.3.1 192.168.3.254!dynamic-group BLDG-1ip-range 1 192.168.2.1 192.168.2.254!static-group DALLASInclude device 192.168.2.5include group CiscoAP1100!domain-group LimitedControldevice-group 1 BLDG-2 privileges NoAccessdevice-group 2 BLDG-1 privileges ReadOnlyUserserver privileges NoAccess!domain-group DALLAS-Admindevice-group 1 DALLAS privileges NetOperatorserver privileges ReadOnlyUser!user john domain-group LimitedControl password 7 bdMWc9Axpq9HMuser ann domain-group DALLAS-Admin password 7 bdqE0050W3Qaw