Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Onboarding Guide, Releases 26.x and Later

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On-Site bootstrap process for Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN devices

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Facilitates the initial network connectivity of a device by loading a bootstrap configuration file from a USB drive or internal boot flash. This process enables automated provisioning for devices supporting Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN.


The on-site bootstrap process is a provisioning method that uses a configuration file to bring a Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN devices onto the network during the boot sequence that

  • supports loading from a bootable USB drive,

  • supports loading from internal boot flash, and

  • prioritizes boot flash configuration if files exist in both locations.

On-Site bootstrap workflow

The on-site bootstrap process consists of this general workflow:

  1. Use Cisco SD-WAN Manager to generate a configuration file.

  2. Copy the configuration file to a bootable USB drive and plug the drive into a device, or copy the configuration to the bootflash of a device.

  3. Boot the device.


Restrictions for on-site bootstrap process

No support configuring cellular interfaces or other NIM module

Onboarding using a bootstrap file does not support configuring cellular interfaces or other NIM module-specific configurations.

Does not work for features that require side encryption

Avoid including features that require Cisco SD-WAN Manager side encryption in the bootstrap file, as this can cause bootstrap and PNP failure.

  • Cisco SD-WAN Manager and the device cannot share the same secret keys.

  • Do not use Cisco SD-WAN Manager encrypted configuration in bootstrap directly on the device.


Perform the on-site bootstrap process for Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN devices

The purpose of this task is to enable Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN devices to be bootstrapped on-site by loading a configuration file from a USB drive or internal bootflash. This allows the device to join the network with the required settings.

  • Generate a bootstrap configuration file using SD-WAN Manager.

  • Load the configuration file onto the device using USB drive or bootflash.

This task is relevant when deploying Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN devices in environments where network connectivity is not available for remote onboarding, or when a device must be configured locally using a bootstrap file.

The on-site bootstrap process consists of generating a configuration file, transferring it to the device, and booting the device so it loads the configuration and joins the network.

  • If the configuration file is present on both an inserted USB drive and on the bootflash, the device gives priority to the configuration file on the bootflash.

Before you begin

A device that you configure by using the on-site bootstrap process must meet these requirements:

  • A supported SD-WAN Manager image is installed on the device.

  • The device is in its factory state with no added configuration.

  • From the SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Administration > Settings and ensure there is an appropriate Organization Name and the Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Validator IP address.

Follow these steps to perform the on-site bootstrap process for Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN devices:

Procedure

1.

Upload the Chassis ID and the serial number of the device to Cisco SD-WAN Manager.

For instructions, see Upload the vEdge Serial Number File.

2.

If you are using your own enterprise root certificate authority (CA) for device certification in your network, take these actions in SD-WAN Manager:

  1. From the SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Administration > Settings.

  2. Click WAN Edge Cloud Certificate Authorization.

    (If you are using Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager Release 20.12.x or earlier, click Edit.)

  3. Click Manual.

  4. Click Save.

3.

From the SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Configuration > Templates.

4.

Click Feature > Templates and create a template for the device. Perform the following steps:

  1. From the SD-WAN Manager menu, choose Configuration > Devices.

  2. For the desired device, click ... and choose Generate Bootstrap Configuration.

  3. In the dialog box, choose Cloud-init and click OK.

    The system generates a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) file and displays its contents in a pop-up window. This file contains system properties for the device, the root CA if you are using an enterprise root CA, and configuration settings from the template that you created.

Note

In Cisco vManage Release 20.7.x and earlier releases, Feature Templates is called Feature.

5.

In the MIME file pop-up window, click Download.

The system downloads the file to your local system and saves it in your directory for downloads. The file name is chassis.cfg, where chassis is the device chassis ID that you uploaded in Step 1.

Note

As an alternative to this step, you can copy the contents of the MIME file from the pop-up window to a text file, save the text file with the name ciscosdwan.cfg (case sensitive), and then skip to Step 7.

Note

For hardware devices, use the bootstrap file name as ciscosdwan.cfg. This file is generated by SD-WAN Manager and includes UUID, but does not include OTP. For software devices (CSR and ISRv), and OTP-authenticated devices such as ASR1002-X, use the bootstrap file name as ciscosdwan_cloud_init.cfg. This file contains the OTP but not the UUID validation for ciscosdwan_cloud_init.cfg.

6.

If you downloaded the MIME file, rename it to ciscosdwan.cfg (case sensitive).

Note

This is the configuration file for the on-site bootstrap process.

7.

Copy the ciscosdwan.cfg file to a bootable USB drive or to the bootflash of the device. If you are using a USB drive, plug the USB drive into the device.

Note
The file name must be exactly the same as shown above or the device will not read it.
8.

Boot the device.

The device reads the configuration file from the USB drive or the bootflash and uses the configuration information to come up on the network. The device gives priority to a configuration file that is on its bootflash.

After completing these steps, the device will load the configuration file from the USB drive or bootflash and come up on the network with the required settings. The device will be ready for further configuration or operation as needed.

What to do next

  • If you need to configure cellular interfaces or NIM module-specific configurations, push a full configuration after onboarding.