Cisco ISE hardware and virtual appliance requirements
Cisco ISE can be installed on Cisco Secure Network Server (SNS) hardware or virtual appliances. The virtual machine should have the same system resources as the Cisco SNS hardware appliances to achieve similar performance and scalability as the Cisco ISE hardware appliance. This section lists the hardware, software, and virtual machine requirements for installing Cisco ISE.
![]() Note |
Harden your virtual environment and ensure that all security updates are current. Cisco is not liable for any security issues found in hypervisors. |
![]() Caution |
Cisco ISE does not support VM snapshots to back up data on any virtual environment. Enabling the Snapshot feature on the VM might corrupt the configuration. If this happens, you may need to reimage the VM. |
Cisco SNS hardware appliances
For Cisco SNS 3500 series appliances, see Cisco SNS-3500 Series Appliance Hardware Installation Guide.
For Cisco SNS 3600 series appliances, see Cisco SNS-3600 Series Appliance Hardware Installation Guide.
For Cisco SNS 3700 series appliances, see Cisco SNS-3700 Series Appliance Hardware Installation Guide.
![]() Note |
Cisco ISE 3.1 does not support Cisco SNS 3515 appliance. For information about the supported hardware platforms for Cisco ISE 3.1, see Supported Hardware. |
Support for Cisco SNS 3700 series appliance
The Cisco SNS 3700 series appliances are based on the Cisco Unified Computing System (Cisco UCS) C220 Rack Server and are specifically configured to support Cisco ISE. Cisco SNS 3700 series appliances are designed to deliver high performance and efficiency for a wide range of workloads.
The Cisco SNS 3700 series appliances are available in these models:
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Cisco SNS 3715 (SNS-3715-K9)
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Cisco SNS 3755 (SNS-3755-K9)
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Cisco SNS 3795 (SNS-3795-K9)
The Cisco SNS 3715 appliance is designed for small deployments. Cisco SNS 3755 and Cisco SNS 3795 appliances have several redundant components such as hard disks and power supplies and are suitable for larger deployments that require highly reliable system configurations. Cisco SNS 3795 is recommended for PAN and MnT personas.
Cisco ISE Release 3.1 Patch 6 and later versions support Cisco SNS 3700 series appliances.
![]() Note |
SNS 3700 series appliances are pre-installed with an ISE release. To re-image an SNS 3700 series appliance with Cisco ISE Release 3.1 Patch 6, you must use the following image:
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This table describes the hardware specifications of Cisco SNS 3700 series appliances.
Cisco SNS 3700 series appliance |
Hardware specifications |
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Cisco SNS-3715-K9 |
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Cisco SNS-3755-K9 |
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Cisco SNS-3795-K9 |
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For more information, see the Cisco SNS-3700 Series Appliance Hardware Installation Guide.
VMware virtual machine requirements
You can use the VMware migration feature to migrate VM instances (running any persona) between hosts. Cisco ISE supports both hot and cold migration.
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Hot migration is also called live migration or vMotion. You do not need to shut down or power off Cisco ISE during hot migration. You can migrate the Cisco ISE VM without any interruption in its availability.
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Cisco ISE must be shutdown and powered off for cold migration. Cisco ISE does not allow to stop or pause the database operations during cold migration. Hence, ensure that Cisco ISE is not running and active during the cold migration.
Note
You must use the application stop command before using the halt command or powering off the VM to prevent database corruption issues.
Cisco ISE offers these OVA templates that you can use to install and deploy Cisco ISE on VMs:
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ISE-3.1.0.518b-virtual-SNS3615-SNS3655-300.ova
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ISE-3.1.0.518b-virtual-SNS3615-SNS3655-600.ova
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ISE-3.1.0.518b-virtual-SNS3655-SNS3695-1200.ova
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ISE-3.1.0.518b-virtual-SNS3695-1800.ova
Note
If you want to import the SNS 3695 OVA template to the VMware vCenter content library, you can use the ISE-3.1.0.518b-virtual-SNS3695-1800.ova template. This OVA template is similar to the ISE-3.1.0.518b-virtual-SNS3695-2400.ova template, except for the reserved disk size, which has been reduced from 2400 GB to 1800 GB to workaround a limitation in the Vmware vCenter content library that prevents import of OVAs with disk size larger than 2 TB.
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ISE-3.1.0.518b-virtual-SNS3695-2400.ova
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ISE-3.1.0.518b-ESXi-6.5-virtual-SNS3615-SNS3655-300.ova
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ISE-3.1.0.518b-ESXi-6.5-virtual-SNS3615-SNS3655-600.ova
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ISE-3.1.0.518b-ESXi-6.5-virtual-SNS3655-SNS3695-1200.ova
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ISE-3.1.0.518b-ESXi-6.5-virtual-SNS3695-1800.ova
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ISE-3.1.0.518b-ESXi-6.5-virtual-SNS3695-2400.ova
Note
If you are using ESXi 6.5, you must use the OVA templates with ESXi-6.5 in the filenames. The other OVA templates are for ESXi 6.7 and later versions.
When you are using ESXi 6.5, you might see the following warning message:
The configured guest OS (Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 (64-bit)) for this virtual machine does not match the guest that is currently running (Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 (64-bit)). You should specify the correct guest OS to allow for guest-specific optimizations.
However, this does not have any functional impact. For more information, see CSCwb45787.
The 300 GB OVA templates are sufficient for Cisco ISE nodes that serve as dedicated Policy Service or pxGrid nodes.
The 600 GB and 1.2 TB OVA templates are recommended to meet the minimum requirements for nodes that run the Administration or Monitoring persona.
If you need to customize the disk size, CPU, or memory allocation, you can manually deploy Cisco ISE using the standard .iso image. However, it is important that you ensure the minimum requirements and resource reservations specified in this document are met. The OVA templates simplify ISE virtual appliance deployment by automatically applying the minimum resources required for each platform.
OVA template type |
Number of CPUs |
CPU reservation (in GHz) |
Memory (in GB) |
Memory reservation (in GB) |
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Evaluation |
4 |
No reservation. |
16 |
No reservation. |
Small |
16 |
16 |
32 |
32 |
Medium |
24 |
24 |
96 |
96 |
Large |
24 |
24 |
256 |
256 |
Reserve CPU and memory resources to match the required allocation. Not reserving enough resources can significantly affect ISE performance and stability.
This table lists the VMware virtual machine requirements.
Requirement type |
Specifications |
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CPU |
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Memory |
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Hard disks |
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Storage and file system |
The storage system for the Cisco ISE virtual appliance requires a minimum write performance of 50 MB per second and a read performance of 300 MB per second. Deploy a storage system that meets these performance criteria and is supported by VMware server. You can use the show tech-support command to view the read and write performance metrics. We recommend the VMFS file system because it is most extensively tested, but other file systems, transports, and media can also be deployed provided they meet the above requirements. |
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Disk controller |
Paravirtual or LSI Logic Parallel For best performance and redundancy, a caching RAID controller is recommended. Additionally, battery-backed controller cache can significantly improve write operations.
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NIC |
1 NIC interface required (two or more NICs are recommended; six NICs are supported). Cisco ISE supports E1000 and VMXNET3 adapters.
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VMware virtual hardware version/Hypervisor |
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Linux KVM requirements
Requirement type |
Minimum requirements |
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CPU |
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Memory |
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Hard disks |
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KVM Disk Device |
Disk bus - virtio, cache mode - none, I/O mode - native Use preallocated RAW storage format. |
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NIC |
1 NIC interface required (two or more NIC interfaces are recommended; six NIC interfaces are supported). Cisco ISE supports VirtIO drivers. We recommend VirtIO drivers for better performance. |
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Hypervisor |
KVM on QEMU 2.12.0-99 or above |
Microsoft Hyper-V requirements
Requirement type |
Minimum requirements |
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CPU |
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Memory |
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Hard disks |
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NIC |
1 NIC interface required (two or more NICs are recommended, and six NICs are supported). |
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Hypervisor |
Hyper-V (Microsoft) |
![]() Note |
Cisco ISE supports Azure Stack HCI 23H2 and later versions. The virtual machine requirements and the installation procedure for the Cisco ISE VMs in the Azure Stack HCI are the same as that of Microsoft Hyper-V. |
Nutanix AHV requirements
Cisco ISE must be deployed on Nutanix AHV using the standard Cisco ISE .iso image. You cannot deploy Cisco ISE using OVA templates on Nutanix AHV.
This table specifies the recommended resource reservations for different types of deployment on Nutanix AHV:
Type | Number of CPUs | CPU reservation (in GHz) | Memory (in GB) | Memory reservation (in GB) | Hard disks |
Evaluation |
4 |
No reservation |
16 |
No reservation |
300 GB |
Small | 16 | 16 | 32 | 32 | 600 GB |
Medium | 24 | 24 | 96 | 96 | 1.2 TB |
Large | 24 | 24 | 256 | 256 | 2.4 TB (4*600 GB) |
You must do these configuration on Nutanix AHV before you install Cisco ISE:
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Create a VM on Nutanix AHV and keep the VM powered off.
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If you are using AOS 6.8 or earlier versions, access the Nutanix CVM using ssh login and run these commands:
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$acli
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<acropolis> vm.serial_port_create <Cisco ISE VM Name> type=kServer index=0
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<acropolis> vm.update <Cisco ISE VM Name> disable_branding=true
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<acropolis> vm.update <Cisco ISE VM Name> disable_hyperv=true
If you are using AOS 7.0, access the Nutanix CVM using ssh login and run these commands:
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<acropolis> vm.serial_port_create <Cisco ISE VM Name> type=kServer index=0
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<acropolis> vm.update <Cisco ISE VM Name> disable_branding=true
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Exit Acropolis CLI, power on the VM, and install Cisco ISE using the standard .iso image.
Requirement type |
Minimum requirements |
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CPU |
Cisco ISE supports hyperthreading. We recommend that you enable hyperthreading, if it is available.
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Memory |
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Hard disks |
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KVM disk device |
Disk bus - SCSI |
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NIC |
1 GB NIC interface required (two or more NICs are recommended; six NICs are supported). Cisco ISE supports VirtIO drivers. We recommend VirtIO drivers for better performance. |
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Hypervisor |
AOS - 5.20.1.1 LTS, Nutanix AHV - 20201105.2096 AOS - 6.8, Nutanix AHV - 20230302.100169 AOS - 6.8 and 7.0, Nutanix AHV - 10.0 |