Managing Inventory

You can discover the devices using the auto discovery option, and import the details into Cisco VTS. You can also manually create a CSV file with device details, in a prescribed format, and import it into Cisco VTS.

You can create authorization groups and assign devices you import into Cisco VTS, to these groups. Authorization groups are used to group devices with the same credentials (i.e. usernames and passwords). Once the authorization groups are created, all the devices under these groups may be accessed without specifying the credentials every time they are accessed.

If the same credential are used for accessing all devices, one authorization group can be used. If the credentials are different for different devices, multiple authorization-groups (as many as username/password pairs used by devices) need to be created.

When you do a manual import of devices, the CSV file that is used to import inventory details links the authorization group with a specific device. The applicable authorization group should be used for corresponding device entry in the CSV file.

This chapter has the following sections:

Creating Authorization Groups

Authorization Group is used by Cisco VTS to authenticate or to log in to the device.

To create an authorization group:

    Step 1   Go to Inventory > Authorization Group. The Inventory / Authorization Group window appears.
    Step 2   Click Add (+) icon. The Add Auth Group popup window appears.

    Enter the following details, and click Save:

    • Auth Group Name—The authorization group name.

    • Controller User Name—This is the VTC administrative user name.

    • Device User Name—This is the login user name for the device.

    • Password—This is the login password for the device.

    The authorization group gets added to the Groups table.

    To edit an authorization group, select the Auth Group Name check box and click the Edit icon.

    To delete an authorization group, select the Auth Group Name check box and click the delete (X) icon.

    Performing Auto Discovery

    In the auto discovery option, Cisco VTS automatically discovers the network topology in the data center . You can modify the device details after discovery is complete and add details to the inventory.

    The auto discovery option has the following prerequisites:

    • Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) has to be enabled on leafs, spine, DCI, and computes. See documentation for the respective devices for details about how to enable LLDP on these devices.


      Note

      As part of Topology discovery, once the compute hosts have been discovered using LLDP, you need to add the username and password to each host entry. This update is required for installation of the host-agent (in case of OpenStack) and any subsequent password change via VTS GUI to go through.

    • A seed device has to be identified, and the IP should be provided. The seed IP is that of one of the leaf or spine devices.

    • All devices must have a common set of credentials. These credentials will be used during the discovery process. See Managing Inventory for more information. The credentials must be of the appropriate privilege level on the devices.

    To perform auto discovery:

      Step 1   Go to Inventory > Import and Discovery. The Inventory / Discovery window appears.
      Step 2   Click Discovery . The Discover Network popup window appears.
      Step 3   Enter the Seed Device IP.
      Step 4   Enter the Seed Device User Name.
      Step 5   Enter the Seed Device Password.
      Step 6   Click Start Discovery.
      Step 7   After the auto discovery is complete, the details are displayed in the table. You can use the Bulk Edit option to modify the device details for more than one devices, before you add the devices to inventory, using the Add to Inventory button. To avoid errors, make sure you review the details in the table before you add the devices to Inventory. The Cisco VTS discovery log file is under /var/vts/log. Check for any errors/exceptions in this log file.

      If, during auto discovery, Cisco VTS fails to log into any of the nodes, then the information of the nodes along with the error details can be found in /var/vts/log.

      Note   

      When you add devices to the inventory using the Add to Inventory button, all devices in the table are added to inventory.

      Importing Inventory using CSV File

      The device inventory details need to be uploaded using a CSV file, in the prescribed format. The inventory file is used to define device mappings. If the format is incorrect, Cisco VTS displays an error and provides the details of the error. After a successful import, the topology gets displayed based on the mapping specified in the file.


      Note
      You should be an admin user to download or upload the CSV file. Also, if you are uploading a CSV file for the first time and there are issues uploading the file, then only the partial information is uploaded. You need to delete all the devices from network inventory and re-upload the file after fixing the issues. Or else, you may encounter problems due to the partial upload.

      To download a sample inventory file, click Download Template.


      Note
      In a VMware environment, each time you add a leaf, you must create a corresponding VMware vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS). See the Important Notes Regarding VMware vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS) section for details.
        Step 1   Go to Inventory > Import and Discovery. The Inventory / Discovery window appears.
        Step 2   Click Import CSV

        The Import Devices popup window appears.

        Step 3   Click Browse to choose the CSV file.

        Click Download Template to download a sample CSV file.

        The CSV file has the following fields:

        • device-name—The device host-name (leaf, spine, DCI)

        • device-ip—IP address for the device (leaf, spine, DCI)

        • device-platform—Can be Cisco Nexus 9000, Cisco Nexus 7000 etc based on the device that is part of the network.

        • device-role—The role that a particular device plays in the data center.

          • leaf—If the device plays the role of a Leaf in the data center.

          • border leaf—If the device plays the role of a Border Leaf in the data center.

          • spine—If the device plays the role of a Spine in the data center.

          • spine-rr—If the Spine plays the role of a Route Reflector in the data center.

          • dci—If the device plays the role of a DCI in the data center.

        • group-tag—Identifier for the group.

        • port-name—Physical port connectivity (local interface)

        • connection-type—server (if connected to compute host); fabric (if connected to another leaf, spine, DCI devices).

        • server-id—Host-name or IP address of the connected device based upon what is configured on the actual host.

        • server-type—virtual-server for computes; baremetal for connections to spine, DCI.

        • interface-name—Physical port connectivity (interface of the connected device)

        • auth-group—Authorization group name, created as part of initialization, with correct credentials.

        Step 4   Browse for the CSV file, and click Import.
        Step 5   After the import operation complete, the details are displayed in the table.

        You can use the Bulk Edit option to modify the device details for more than one devices, before you add the devices to inventory, using the Add to Inventory button. To avoid errors, make sure you review the details in the table before you add the devices to Inventory.

        Click the device name to open the connected devices popup window, which gives details about connected devices for a device.

        Viewing the Network Topology

        Topology window provides a view of the data center fabric controlled by Cisco VTS. It displays the leafs, spines, border leafs, DCI, hosts, as well as the software VTEPs. You can get a tenant-based topology view using this feature.

        To view the network topology:

          Step 1   Go to Inventory > Topology. The Inventory / Topology window appears.
          Step 2   Select the tenant for which you need to view the topology, from the Select Tenant drop down list.

          The topology is displayed in the Topology window. You can use the following buttons to control the display:

          • Select node mode

          • Move mode

          • Zoom in / Zoom out / Zoom Selection

          • Fit Stage

          • Full Screen mode

          Hover the mouse cursor over the Topology Setting icon to view Topology Setting popup, where you can change the display icon appearance, and display color.

          Viewing Network Inventory

          The network inventory table displays details about the devices which have been added to the inventory.

          To view the network topology:

          Go to Inventory > Network Inventory. The Inventory / Network Inventory window appears with the Network Inventory table displayed.

          The following details are displayed:

          • Device Name

          • Admin State

          • IP Address

          • Auth Group

          • Device Platform

          • Device Role

          • Group Tag

          • BGP-ASN

          • Loopback Interface Number

          • Loopback Interface IP

          Note   

          You need to add the BGP-ASN information, loopback interface number, and loopback interface id of every device prior to starting any provisioning.

          You can add network devices via the Network Inventory table. To do this, click the Add (+) icon, and provide the details. You can use this option to add devices to the inventory.

          To edit network device, select the device you want to edit and click the Edit icon.

          To delete network devices from the Network Inventory table, select the device you want to delete and click the Delete (X) icon.
          Note   

          It is important that you remove the resource pool before deleting a device.


          Adding Fabric Connection

          To add fabric connection:

            Step 1   Go to Inventory > Network Inventory. The Inventory / Network Inventory window appears with the Network Inventory table displayed.
            Step 2   Click Fabric Connection tab, then click Add (+) icon.

            The Add Fabric Connection popup window appears.

            Step 3   Enter the necessary details and click Save.

            Syncing Configuration

            You can check if the device state is in sync with VTS configuration database.

            To check whether the configuration is in sync:


            Note

            This operation can be done only on a device that has the Admin State as Unlocked. If Admin state is Locked, you must change the Admin State to Unlocked, and then do the check-sync operation. Also, the out-of-sync-commit behavior in System Settings must be set to Reject for this feature to be enabled.

              Step 1   Go to Inventory > Network Inventory. The Inventory / Network Inventory page displays the Network Inventory table .
              Step 2   Click the Config Sync link under the Sync column, for the device.

              If the configuration is in sync with the VTS database, the green In Sync icon is displayed.

              If the configuration is not in sync with the device, you will get an option to compare the configuration. You can compare the actual device configuration with the VTS configuration, and can view the diff in compare-config popup. You can also use the copy to clipboard option to copy and paste the configuration in a text editor. To synchronize the configuration, you can use the following options:

              • sync-from—Synchronize the VTS configuration by pulling configuration from the device.

              • sync-to—Synchronize the VTS configuration by pushing configuration to the device.

              Viewing Host Inventory

              You can view the details of the hosts connected to the switches.

              The Host Inventory has the Install Capabilities button. You can select the host from the list, and click Install Capabilities. If the host is connected to a physical VTEP (ToR), it installs the host agent in case of an OpenStack environment. If the capability is Virtual, clicking the Install Capabilities button installs the VTF VM on that host. See Installing OpenStack Host Agent and VTF using GUI.

              To view host inventory details:

                Step 1   Go to Inventory > Host Inventory. The Inventory / Host Inventory window appears
                Step 2   Select the device from the Select Device drop-down list. The following details are displayed:

                • Host Name

                • Host Type

                • Host Interface

                • Host IP Address

                • Device Port Name

                • Connection ID

                • Capability—The host capability - Physical or Virtual.

                • Status—Shows the installation status.

                To add a host from the table, select the Host Name check box corresponding to the device and click the Add (+) icon. Then provide the necessary details.

                To edit a host from the table, select the Host Name check box corresponding to the device and click the Edit icon.

                To delete a host from the table, select the Host Name check box corresponding to the device and click the click the Delete (X) icon.

                Installing OpenStack Host Agent and VTF using GUI

                You can use the Install Capabilities button to install the Host Agent and VTF on a host based on whether it is a virtual or physical server.

                  Step 1   Go to Inventory > Host Inventory. The Inventory / Host Inventory window appears
                  Step 2   Click + to add a host. You may also edit a host and modify the parameters to enable installation of physical or virtual capabilities.
                  • If you click + (Add) the Add Host popup is displayed. Enter the following details.
                  • If you choose to edit an existing host, the following windows are displayed depending upon the host type:
                    • Host Details:

                      • Host Name

                      • Host Type

                      • Host Interface

                      • Host IP Address

                      • Host Interface

                      • Device Port Name

                      • Capability—Specify whether it is a virtual-switch ir not.

                      • Username

                      • Password

                    • Common Parameters—These are displayed only if the host capability is virtual-switch.

                    • VTF IP—The IP address of the VTF.

                    • Subnet Mask

                    • Gateway

                    • Tenant Bridge—Name of the tenant network port group/bridge on the binding-host to which VTF is attached.

                    • Underlay Bridge—Name of the underlay network portgroup/bridge on the binding-host to which VTF is attached.

                    • Datastore

                    • Username

                    • Password

                  Ensure that you review the tooltips for important information about the entries.

                  Step 3   Click Install Capabilities. Based on the host type, it installs the host agent / VTF on the host.

                  See the Status column for the installation status. The VMM type is also shown once the capabilities get installed.

                  Viewing the IOS XRv to VTF Mapping

                  Go to Inventory > Virtual Forwarding Groups. The Inventory / Virtual Forwarding Groups window appears.

                  The canvas displays the number of VTFs that are attached to the IOS XRvs . The table on the right hand side shows the VTFs.