Logging in and Managing Cisco Nexus Data Broker

This chapter contains the following sections:

Configuring Cisco Nexus Data Broker

Configuring High Availability Clusters

Cisco Nexus Data Broker supports high availability clustering in active/active mode with up to five controllers. To use high availability clustering with Cisco Nexus Data Broker, you must edit the config.ini file for each instance of Cisco Nexus Data Broker.

Before You Begin

  • All IP addresses must be reachable and capable of communicating with each other.
  • All switches in the cluster must connect to all of the controllers.
  • All controllers must have the same HA clustering configuration information in the config.ini files.
  • All controllers must have the same information in the xnc/configuration/startup directory.
  • If using cluster passwords, all controllers must have the same password configured in the xncjgroups.xml file. See Password Protecting the High Availability Clusters.

    Step 1   Ensure that Cisco Nexus Data Broker is not running on any of the instances in the cluster.
    Step 2   Open a command window on one of the instances in the cluster.
    Step 3   Navigate to the xnc/configuration directory that was created when you installed the software.
    Step 4   Use any text editor to open the config.ini file.
    Step 5   Locate the following text: 
    # HA Clustering configuration (colon-separated IP addresses of all controllers that are part of the cluster.)
# supernodes=<ip1>:<ip2>:<ip3>:<ipn>
    Step 6   Remove the comments on the # supernodes line, and replace <ip1>:<ip2><ip3>:<ipn> with the IP addresses for each instance of Cisco Nexus Data Broker in the cluster. You can enter from two to five IP addresses.

    Example: 
    # HA Clustering configuration (colon-separated IP addresses of all controllers that are part of the cluster.)
supernodes=10.1.1.1:10.2.1.1:10.3.1.1:10.4.1.1:10.5.1.1
    Step 7   Save the file and exit the editor.
    Step 8   Repeat Step 3 through Step 7 for each instance of Cisco Nexus Data Broker in the cluster.
    Step 9   Restart Cisco Nexus Data Broker.

    Password Protecting the High Availability Clusters

    You can password protect your HA clusters with the xncjgroups.xml file. This file must be exactly the same for each instance of Cisco Nexus Data Broker.

      Step 1   Ensure that Cisco Nexus Data Broker is not running on any of the instances in the cluster.
      Step 2   Open a command window on one of the instances in the cluster.
      Step 3   Navigate to the xnc/configuration directory.
      Step 4   Use any text editor to open the xncjgroups.xml file.
      Step 5   Locate the following text: 
      <!-- <AUTH auth_class="org.jgroups.auth.MD5Token" auth_value="ciscoXNC" token_hash="MD5"></AUTH> -->
      Step 6   Remove the comments from the AUTH line.

      Example: 
      <AUTH auth_class="org.jgroups.auth.MD5Token" auth_value="ciscoXNC" token_hash="MD5"></AUTH>
      Step 7   (Optional)  Change the password in the auth_value attribute. By default, the cluster is protected with the password "ciscoXNC". You can change this password to whatever value you want, if you make the same change on all machines in the cluster.
      Step 8   Save the file and exit the editor.
      Step 9   Repeat Step 4 through Step 8 for each instance of Cisco Nexus Data Broker in the cluster.
      Step 10   Restart Cisco Nexus Data Broker.

      Editing the Configuration Files for Cisco Nexus Switches

      Cisco Nexus Data Broker has the ability to periodically rediscover Cisco Nexus switch inventory and the topology so that the topology and inventory is in sync. Cisco Nexus data broker periodically rediscovers the switch inventory and the topology interconnection and status. This information is updated in the GUI depending on the status. You can configure the rediscovery interval and the default value is 60 seconds.

         Command or ActionPurpose
        Step 1Navigate to the xnc/configuration directory that was created when you installed the software.    
        Step 2 Use any text editor to open the config.ini file.    
        Step 3Update the following parameters:  

        Name

        Predefined Value in Seconds

        Minimum Value in Seconds

        Recommended Value in Seconds

        of.messageResponseTimer

        10

        2

        60

        of.switchLivenessTimeout

        —

        60.5

        120.5

        of.flowStatsPollInterval

        120

        10

        240

        of.portStatsPollInterval

        300

        5

        240

        of.descStatsPollInterval

        —

        60

        240

        of.barrierMessagePriorCount

        50

        100

        50

        of.discoveryInterval

        —

        30

        300

        of.discoveryTimeoutMultiple

        —

        2

        2

        NX-API related system parameters

        nx.connectionDelayTimer

        300

        —

        300

        nx.flowStatsPollInterval

        120

        —

        120

        nx.tableStatsPollInterval

        120

        —

        120

        nx.portStatsPollInterval

        120

        —

        120

        nx.descStatsPollInterval

        120

        —

        120

        nx.lldpPollingTimer

        10

        —

        10

        nx.portPollingTimer

        20

        —

        20

        Note   

        Predefined values are the values that Cisco includes in the config.ini file that is shipped with Cisco Nexus Data Broker. A em dash ("—") in this column of the table means that unless you explicitly update the value, the minimum value will be used.

         
        Step 4Save the file and exit the editor.    
        Step 5Restart Cisco Nexus Data Broker.    

        Configuring User Roles for Edge Ports

        To manage which edge ports a Cisco Nexus Data Broker 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 Nexus Data Broker, note these restrictions:

        • Cisco Nexus Data Broker App-User role users will be able to create rules only for source ports which are part of the resource group or groups assigned to that role .

        • Only Cisco Nexus Data Broker App-Admin role users will be able create rules with no source.

        To enable RBAC for the App-User role, follow these steps:

          Step 1   Open the config.ini file for editing.
          Step 2   Locate the line # Enforce restriction on edge/tap ports user can capture (default false).
          Step 3   Remove the comment character from the following line:

          monitor.strictAuthorization=true

          Step 4   Save your work and close the file.
          Step 5   If Cisco Nexus Data Broker is running, restart the application to enable the change.

          Logging in to the Cisco Nexus Data Broker GUI

          You can log into the Cisco Nexus Data Broker using HTTPS. The default HTTPS web link for the Cisco Nexus Data Broker GUI is https://Nexus_Data_Broker_IP:8443/monitor.


          Note

          You must manually specify the https:// protocol in your web browser. The controller must also be configured for HTTPS.

            Step 1   In your web browser, enter the Cisco Nexus Data Broker web link.
            Step 2   On the launch page, do the following:
            1. Enter your username and password.

              The default username and password is admin/admin.

            2. Click Log In.

            Changing the Controller Access to HTTP

            Starting with Cisco Nexus Data Broker Release 2.1, an unencrypted (HTTP) access to the GUI and the API to the controller access is disabled by default. You cannot access the controller with the URL http://<host>:8080.

            If you want to change the controller access to HTTP, complete the following steps:

               Command or ActionPurpose
              Step 1Remove the comment character from the connector for port 8080 in the tomcat-server.xml file in the configuration directory as displayed in the following example:

              Example: 
               <Service name="Catalina">
  <!--
    <Connector port="8080" protocol="HTTP/1.1"
               connectionTimeout="20000"
               redirectPort="8443" server="Cisco XNC" enableLookups="false" />
  -->
    <Connector port="8443" protocol="HTTP/1.1" SSLEnabled="true"
               scheme="https" secure="true"
               clientAuth="false" sslProtocol="TLS"
               keystoreFile="configuration/keystore"
               keystorePass="ciscoxnc" server="Cisco XNC"
               connectionTimeout="60000" enableLookups="false" />


              Example:Remove the comment character as displayed in the following example: 
              <Service name="Catalina">
    <Connector port="8080" protocol="HTTP/1.1"
               connectionTimeout="20000"
               redirectPort="8443" server="Cisco XNC" enableLookups="false" />
 
    <Connector port="8443" protocol="HTTP/1.1" SSLEnabled="true"
               scheme="https" secure="true"
               clientAuth="false" sslProtocol="TLS"
               keystoreFile="configuration/keystore"
               keystorePass="ciscoxnc" server="Cisco XNC"
               connectionTimeout="60000" enableLookups="false" />
                              		 
              Step 2Restart the controller.    

              Cisco Nexus Data Broker GUI Overview

              The Cisco Nexus Data Broker Release GUI contains the following tabs:

              • Cisco Nexus Data Broker, Release Version

              • Configuration tab at the top of the screen

              • Administration tab at the top of the screen

              • Default tab displaying the switches in use

              • Save button—Enables you to save any additions or changes you make in Cisco Nexus Data Broker.


                Note

                You should always click Save after making any configuration changes.

              • The Online help button—Provides access to the online help for the current page.

              • Bookmarks

              • Administrator Details

              The Configuration tab contains the following items:

              • Topology

              • Port Definition

              • Monitoring Devices

              • Service Nodes

              • Filters

              • Connections

              • Redirections

              • Statistics

              • SPAN Sessions

              The Administration tab contains the following items:

              • Device Management

              • Devices

              • Flows

              • Troubleshoot

              • Consistency Check

              • System Management

              • User Management

              • System

              Topology Tools

              The left side of the topology pane contains a zoom slider that allows you increase or decrease the size of the topology diagram. You can also increase or decrease the size of the topology diagram by scrolling up or down, respectively, with your mouse wheel.

              You can move the entire topology diagram, a single topology element, or a node group. To move the diagram, an element, or a node group, click it and drag it.

              To view information about a node or an edge port, hover over the node or edge port icon with your mouse. The information displayed depends on the device you choose.

              To view information about a path, hover over the path in the topology diagram.

              To view information about a filter, hover over the Name of the filter in the Filters tab.

              Saving Configuration Changes

              You should periodically save the configuration changes that you make in Cisco Nexus Data Broker. Any unsaved configuration changes in Cisco Nexus Data Broker will be lost if you stop the application.

              On the menu bar, click Save.