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This chapter contains the following sections:
Cisco Extensible Network Controller (XNC) is a software platform that serves as an interface between the network elements (southbound) and third-party applications (northbound). Cisco XNC, which is a JVM-based application that runs on a Java Virtual Machine (JVM), is based on a highly available, scalable, and extensible architecture. Cisco XNC is built for extensibility using the Open Services Gateway initiative (OSGi) framework.
Cisco XNC can support multiple protocol plugins in the southbound direction. In Release 1.6, Cisco Plug-in for OpenFlow 1.0 and the Cisco One Platform Kit (onePK) are supported.
Cisco XNC provides the following:
Cisco Monitor Manager is a network application that runs on Cisco Extensible Network Controller (XNC). Cisco Monitor Manager, in combination with the Cisco Plug-in for OpenFlow and Cisco Nexus 3000 or 3100 Series switchs, enables you to create a scalable and flexible replacement for matrix switches, which traditionally connect network monitoring devices to points within the network where monitoring is desired.
Cisco Monitor Manager provides management support for multiple disjointed Cisco Monitor Manager networks. You can manage multiple Cisco Monitor Manager topologies that may be disjointed using the same Cisco XNC instance. For example, if you have 5 data centers and want to deploy an independent Cisco Monitor Manager solution for each data center, you can manage all 5 independent deployments using a single Cisco XNC instance by creating a logical partition (network slice) for each monitoring network.
With the Cisco Monitor Manager solution, you can do the following:
To manage which edge ports a Cisco Monitor Manager application user can use for creating rules for edge ports, you must modify the App-User role settings in the config.ini file to enable role-based access control (RBAC) for application users. After you make your changes and restart Cisco Extensible Network Controller (XNC), note these restrictions:
To enable RBAC for the App-User role, follow these steps:
You must log into the Cisco Monitor Manager using HTTPS. The default HTTPS web link for the Cisco Monitor Manager GUI is https://Controller_IP:8443/monitor.
Note | Before you can use HTTPS, you must manually specify the https:// protocol in your web browser. The controller must also be configured for HTTPS. |
The Cisco Monitor Manager GUI contains the following areas and panes:
The menu bar contains the following items:
Note | The Admin drop-down list—Displays the username that you used when you logged into Cisco Monitor Manager. |
The left side of the topology pane contains a group of tools that allow you to manipulate the content of the topology pane. Hovering over a tool displays its function. From the top of the pane to the bottom, the tools are as follows:
Note | You can also increase the size of the topology diagram by scrolling up with your mouse wheel. |
Note | You can also decrease the size of the topology diagram by scrolling down with your mouse wheel. |
You can resize the panes in the GUI display by clicking the pane resize grippers as follows:
You should periodically save the configuration changes that you make in Cisco Monitor Manager.
Note | Any unsaved configuration changes in Cisco Monitor Manager will be lost if you stop the Cisco Extensible Network Controller (XNC) application. |