Cisco Optical Automation Solution for Protected Point-to-Point Managed Optical Fiber Network

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Cisco Optical Automation Solution for Protected Point-to-Point Managed Optical Fiber Network

Onboarding models for Cisco Optical Site Manager

Updated: October 26, 2026

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This section explains Onboarding models for Cisco Optical Site Manager. Use it to understand the purpose, behavior, and dependencies that support the related Cisco Optical Site Manager workflow.

Cisco Optical Site Manager supports two onboarding models that determine where device configuration originates.

  • Configure the complete data path, including circuits, in Cisco IOS XR, and then onboard the device to Cisco Optical Site Manager.

  • Perform day-0 configuration and prerequisites on NCS1001, and then push data path configuration from Cisco Optical Site Manager using Cisco Optical Network Planner initial installation parameters.

Import a Cisco Optical Network Planner configuration file

Use this task to import a Cisco Optical Network Planner NETCONF file (.xml) into Cisco Optical Site Manager to configure device parameters automatically.

If you have a NETCONF file (.xml) exported from Cisco Optical Network Planner (Cisco ONP), you can import it to Cisco Optical Site Manager. This file includes:

  • Node, shelf, card type, and port information, including wavelength

  • Pluggable Port Module (PPM), OTN, and FEC parameters

  • Degree, IPC, and link-related information

  • Fiber attributes and other network parameters

Note

While you will typically upload a Cisco ONP-generated file, there are cases where you must upload the 'golden XML' file provided to you.

Figure 1. Upload Configuration

Before you begin

Ensure that:

  • The NETCONF file (.xml) contains these parameters available on Cisco Optical Site Manager:

    • device name

    • uid

    • rack id

    • chassis/passive unit id

  • Ensure the Cisco Optical Site Manager site name (in the CONP XML file or any other location) does not contain the string IP. If this string appears in the site name, network discovery in Cisco Optical Network Controller does not work correctly.

  • Cisco Optical Site Manager is newly activated with no devices added to it.

  • The Cisco Optical Network Planner configuration file does not include any Optical Cross-Connects.

  • Log into Cisco Optical Site Manager.

Procedure

  1. Click Optical Setup in the left panel.

  2. Click the Node Setup tab.

  3. In the Upload Configuration section, click Select a configuration file.

    1. Navigate to the location where the NETCONF file (.xml) is present and select it.
    2. Click Yes.
    3. Click Upload.
      A confirmation message appears after the upload is complete.

  4. Verify these configuration before adding a device:

    1. Click Optical Setup.
    2. In the Optical Configuration and ANS Parameters tabs, verify the successful configuration of CONP XML data onto the device.

    • The device node types must match TXP, OLT or ILA.

    • Confirm that the physical cabling on the device matches the Cisco Optical Site Manager Node Functional View.

    • Verify that the rack positioning, degree, IPC and NFV views are aligned with the designed network of Cisco Optical Network Planner.

What to do next

  1. Verify that the file uploads without errors. If an error occurs, correct the file and upload it again.

    Note

    Partial uploads are not supported. Cisco Optical Site Manager uploads the complete configuration in a single operation. If the file contains an error, the entire configuration is rolled back.

  2. Verify that the rack positioning, degree, IPC, and Node Functional View match the network designed in Cisco Optical Network Planner.

Prerequisites for devices managed by Cisco Optical Site Manager

Ensure that the devices meet the connectivity, SSH, NETCONF, cabling, and topology requirements before you manage them using Cisco Optical Site Manager.

Verify these prerequisites are met:

  • Device reachability from the Cisco Optical Site Manager host device Cisco IOS XR Linux shell.

  • SSH server is configured. Example settings include ssh server rate-limit 600, ssh server session-limit 110, ssh server v2, ssh server vrf default, and ssh server netconf vrf default.

  • NETCONF YANG agent is configured with SSH enabled. For more details, see Enable NETCONF over SSH for secure host device communication.

  • Confirm that the physical cabling on the device matches the Cisco Optical Site Manager Node Functional View.

  • Verify that the rack positioning, degree, IPC and NFV views are aligned with the designed network of Cisco Optical Network Planner.

Enable NETCONF over SSH for secure host device communication

Enable NETCONF over SSH so that Cisco Optical Site Manager can connect to host devices for configuration and monitoring. Enable NETCONF on each Cisco Optical Site Manager host device.

Before you begin

Follow these steps to enable NETCONF:

Procedure

  1. Enter the configuration mode using the configure terminal command.

    Example:

    RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios#configure terminal

  2. Enable NETCONF-YANG agent over SSH connection using the netconf-yang agent ssh command.

    Example:

    RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ios(config)# netconf-yang agent ssh

  3. Configure the device to use SSH protocol v2 using the ssh server v2 command.

    Note

    Only SSH version 2 is supported.

    Example:

    RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config)# ssh server v2

  4. Set the rate limit for incoming SSH connection requests to 600 per minute using the ssh server rate-limit rate-limit command.

    Example:

    RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config)# ssh server rate-limit 600

  5. Set the SSH session limit to 110 using the ssh server session-limit session-limit command.

    Example:

    RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config)# ssh server session-limit 110

  6. Enable SSH server access in the default VRF using the ssh server vrf vrf-name command.

    Example:

    RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config)# ssh server vrf default

  7. Enable NETCONF over SSH in the default VRF using the ssh server netconf vrf vrf-name command.

    Example:

    RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config)# ssh server netconf vrf default

  8. Enable NETCONF protocol over SSH connection using the ssh server netconf command.

    Example:

    RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config)# ssh server netconf

  9. Commit the changes using the commit command.

After you enable NETCONF, Cisco Optical Site Manager can establish a secure communication with the device using the NETCONF protocol over SSH.

This example describes the commands to enable NETCONF over SSH on the host devices:

RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios# configure terminal
                RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ios(config)# netconf-yang agent ssh
                RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config)# ssh server v2
                RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config)# ssh server rate-limit 600
                RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config)# ssh server session-limit 110
                RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config)# ssh server vrf default
                RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config)# ssh server netconf vrf default
                RP/0/RP0/CPU0:ios(config)# ssh server netconf

Synchronize devices in Cisco Optical Site Manager

Synchronization is essential for the effective management of devices by Cisco Optical Site Manager, ensuring accurate status, timely alarms, and proper operational visibility.

Complete this task after importing the Cisco Optical Network Planner XML.

Figure 2. Synchronize devices

Before you begin

  • Edit one device at a time and wait for synchronization to complete before updating the next device.

  • Devices are onboarded and reachable from the Cisco Optical Site Manager host.

Follow these steps to synchronize devices.

Procedure

  1. Click Devices in the left panel.

    The Device Configuration page appears.

  2. In the Devices area, click Authorization Group to expand it.

    The table lists all available authorization groups.

  3. Click Add Auth Group.

  4. Enter a name in Authorization Group Name and the device credentials in the Remote Name and Remote Password fields.

  5. Click Add.

    The new authorization group is added to the table.

    Note

    If the devices to be managed do not share same credentials, you must create additional authorization groups to match each unique credential set. This ensures that Cisco Optical Site Manager can authenticate and manage each device securely according to its configuration.

  6. Expand the Devices section, then click Edit.

  7. Update these fields of the device to be managed by Cisco Optical Site Manager.

    • IP Address

    • Authorization Group

    • Device (XR) Netconf Port (default 830)

    • Device (XR) SSH Port (default 22)

    Note

    • Keep the Cisco Optical Site Manager NETCONF port and the device XR NETCONF port at their default values. If either port is required to be changed, ensure that the Cisco Optical Site Manager NETCONF port and the device XR NETCONF port use different values.

    Wait for sync status to complete for all the devices

  8. Wait until the Sync Status of all the devices is sync-completed, alarm-synchronized state.

  9. Verify physical connectivity to confirm that all cabling is correct and to prevent installation errors.

Devices are synchronized and ready for operational monitoring.

TACACS+ authentication

Use the Cisco Optical Site Manager configuration guide to configure TACACS authentication.

For details about TACACS authentication, see TACACS+ authentication.

Smart Licensing

Smart Licensing is a cloud-based, software license management solution that enables you to automate time-consuming, manual licensing tasks. The solution allows you to easily track the status of your license and software usage trends.

Cisco Optical Site Manager Smart Licensing is honor based, and license utilization is based on the number of active line cards managed by Cisco Optical Site Manager.

Supported Smart Licensing modes include:

  • Smart Transport: Enables Cisco devices to send license usage information directly to Cisco Smart Software Manager (CSSM) over the internet.

  • CSLU: Enables Cisco devices to send license usage information through Cisco Smart Licensing Utility (CSLU) without direct connectivity to CSSM.

  • Offline: Enables Cisco devices to manage license usage locally without connectivity to CSSM.

For details about Smart Licensing, see Smart licensing for Cisco Optical Site Manager.

Troubleshooting

Cisco Optical Site Manager diagnostics offer robust tools for troubleshooting issues by collecting and organizing operational data from your managed devices.

You can choose the applicable log types and devices and download the collected data as a ZIP file. Key features and capabilities include:

  • Customizable Log Selection: You can choose specific log types and devices to tailor the diagnostic data to your troubleshooting needs.

  • Download Option: All selected logs can be downloaded as a ZIP archive, simplifying data sharing.

  • Collected Data Types:

    • Alarms

    • Audit logs

    • Operational conditions

    • Device inventory

    • Device diagnostics

  • Device Diagnostics: When required, collect device diagnostics, including the show tech output and any additional device details, together with the Cisco Optical Site Manager diagnostics.

For more details about Cisco Optical Site Manager diagnostics, see Diagnostics.