The documentation set for this product strives to use bias-free language. For the purposes of this documentation set, bias-free is defined as language that does not imply discrimination based on age, disability, gender, racial identity, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality. Exceptions may be present in the documentation due to language that is hardcoded in the user interfaces of the product software, language used based on RFP documentation, or language that is used by a referenced third-party product. Learn more about how Cisco is using Inclusive Language.
This section contains context sensitive online help content under the Web Client > Media Controller tab.
Note | This feature is available only if you have enabled the Media Controller feature explicitly, after the Cisco DCNM OVA/ISO installation is complete. For more information, see the Cisco DCNM Installation Guide. |
Logon to the DCNM OVA/ISO through SSH and use the appmgr set-mode media-controller command to enable the Media Controller feature. Ensure that you stop the DCNM application using the appmgr stop dcnm command before you execute the appmgr set-mode media-controller command.
This feature is available only if you have enabled Media Controller during the installation process. To enable Media Controller, you have to choose the IP-Fabric Media Controller installation option during the OVA/ISO installation for DCNM. The appmgr set-mode media-controller command, used in earlier releases, is not available in DCNM 10.4(2).
To bring up the devices from the basic configuration using POAP, you must define the templates and publish the POAP definition through Cisco DCNM Web Client > Configure > Deploy > POAP Definitions. For more information, see POAP Launchpad.
Note | Specific POAP templates for Leaf and Spine for the Media Controller deployment are packaged with the Cisco DCNM Software. |
If you have configured the Cisco DCNM server in Media Controller mode and performed the procedure mentioned in the "POAP Launchpad" section, you will be able to see the Media Controller templates. Cisco DCNM Web Client allows you to choose the required templates, edit them as required, and publish the POAP definition.
For information about the Media Controller APIs, see the Cisco DCNM Media Controller API reference on Cisco DevNet.
You can view the Media Controller topology on the Web Client > Media Controller > Topology page. This topology is specific to the Media Controller.
Note | This feature is available only if you have enabled Media Controller during the installation process. To enable Media Controller, you have to choose the IP-Fabric Media Controller installation option during the OVA/ISO installation for DCNM. The appmgr set-mode media-controller command, used in earlier releases, is not available in DCNM 10.4(2). |
From release 10.3(2) onwards, vPC support for Media Controller is added in DCNM. If the vPC pair of switches is Cisco Nexus 9000 Series switches, the representation can be seen in the topology.
Enter the search string to highlight relevant devices.
The following fields are available to search on: switch or hostname, swich or host IP address, switch MAC, and switch serial number.
Right-click (or press Return Key) in the field. A list of Multicast Addresses will be displayed. You can choose the multicast IP address for which you need to view the topology.
The devices under this multicast IP address, and links to spine and leaf are highlighted. The dotted moving lines depict the flow of traffic in the Media Controller topology.
You can search or filter based on flow alias name in the Topology. When you search for Multicast Group, you can search using the IP address or flow alias name.
Check the Bandwidth checkbox, the bandwidth consumed by the spine and leaf are displayed as color indicators.
The display format is Transmitted-Received.
In a typical Media Controller Fabric, the ISL links are configured between the leaves and the spines, and ISL links help Cisco DCNM to calculate the bandwidth required to stitch flows. If there is a faulty configuration, the Cisco DCNM bandwidth manager may determine the wrong link.
The Cisco DCNM bandwidth computation algorithm attempts to find a common node between the sender and the receiver.
The senders and receivers can connect to Leaf switches of the PMN Fabric. The sender initiates a multicast flow and the receiver subscribes to a multicast flow. Since multicast is used, there can be multiple receivers subscribing to a flow. The senders are devices such as cameras, microphones, playback devices etc. The receivers are devices such as video monitors, speakers, multi-viewers etc.
Note | The host port bandwidth tracking can be enabled or disabled via the pmn.host.port.policing.enabled field in the Web Client > Administration > DCNM Server > Server Properties page. By default, the host port bandwidth tracking is disabled. |
You can track the bandwidth on the host facing link. Using this functionality, DCNM do not allows the receiver to request for more flows or sender to send more flows than the available bandwidth on the host facing link.
Cisco DCNM allows you to create hosts for Media Controller. The active transmitting and receiving devices are termed as hosts. The hosts can be configured on Cisco Web Client > Media Controller > Hosts.
Note | The PMN Hosts table is auto-populated once the traffic begins. |
The following table describes the fields that appear on this page.
Field |
Description |
---|---|
Add |
Allows you to add a new host. |
Edit |
Allows you to view or edit the selected host parameters. |
Delete |
Allows you to remove the host from the fabric. |
Import |
Allows you to import host parameters from your local directory. |
Export |
Allows you to export host parameters information to your local directory. The exported file is in .csv format. |
Field |
Description |
||
---|---|---|---|
Hostname |
Specifies the configured name for the host device. |
||
IP Address |
You should not create a host using a WAN interface IP address since any host policy that is subsequently created using the WAN interface IP address may result in unexpected behavior. |
||
MAC Address |
Specifies the MAC address of the host switch. |
||
Switch Name |
Specifies the name of the switch.
|
||
Interface Name |
Specifies the name of switch interface which the host is associated with. |
||
Peer Switch Name |
Specifies the vPC peer switch name, for a vPC setup. |
||
Remote Host |
Specifies if the host is local to the DCNM managed fabric or belongs to an external fabric. A remote host can be identified by the Remote label on the host icon in the Topology page. |
vPC support—From the 10.3(2) release, the DCNM Media Controller provides vPC support for vPC topologies. Pointers:
This section contains the following:
Note | Starting from DCNM 10.4(2), the multisite option is supported. With this option, flows can be provisioned across multiple sites. You need to enable multisite support and receiver bandwidth management by setting the pmn.multi-site.enabled and pmn.host.port.policing.enabled functions to true, using the Administration > DCNM Server > Server Properties option, and restarting DCNM. The sender side bandwidth management for multisite is enforced by the switch and is enabled by default. Multisite support is only available for Source Specific Multicast (SSM), and border leaf switches in a vPC setup are not supported. DCNM detects the PMN border leaf switch role during discovery and depicts the PMN border leaf switch separately on the topology screen. |
To add hosts, perform the steps below.
To edit or view the host parameters, perform the steps below.
To delete a host, perform the steps below.
To import hosts, perform the steps below.
To export hosts, perform the steps below.
Using the Flow Alias feature, you can specify names for multicast groups. The multicast IP addresses are difficult to remember, thus by assigning a name to the multicast IP address, you can search and add policies based on the name.
You can configure flow alias on Cisco Web Client > Media Controller > Flow Alias.
The following table describes the fields that appear on this page.
Field |
Description |
---|---|
Flow Alias |
Specifies the name of the Flow Alias. |
Multicast IP Address |
Specifies the multicast IP address for the traffic. |
Description |
Description added to the Flow Alias. |
Last Updated at |
Specifies the date on which the flow alias was last updated. . |
This section contains the following:
To add flow alias, perform the steps below.
To edit a flow alias, perform the steps below.
To delete flow alias, perform the steps below.
To export host alias, perform the steps below.
To import flow alias, perform the steps below.
Policies
You can add policies to the host devices. The hosts policies are can be configured on Cisco Web Client > Media Controller > Policies > Host Policies.
Note | A non-default host policy can only be created for a known host. |
The following table describes the fields that appear on this page.
Field |
Description |
||
---|---|---|---|
Add |
Allows you to add a new host policy. |
||
Edit |
Allows you to view or edit the selected host policy parameters. |
||
Delete |
Allows you to delete the user-defined host policy.
|
||
Import |
Allows you to import host policies from your directory. |
||
Export |
Allows you to export host policies to your local directory. |
Field |
Description |
---|---|
Policy Name |
Specifies the policy name for the host. By default, the default host policies will have the Operation set to permit. |
Host |
Specifies the host ID. |
Multicast IP |
Specifies the multicast IP address for the host. |
Flow Alias |
Specifies the name of the Flow Alias. |
Host Acting As |
Specifies the host device role. The host device role is either one of the following: |
Operation |
Specifies if the operation of the host policy. The policy has the following operations: |
Devices Applied To |
Specifies the number of devices to which this policy is applied. |
PIM Policy |
Specifies if Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM) configuration is applicable for the host policy. |
Last Updated |
Specifies the date and time at which the host policy was last updated. The format is Day MMM DD YYYY HH:MM:SS Timezone. |
This section contains the following:
To add Host policy, perform the steps below.
To add host policy, perform the steps below.
Step 1 | From the menu bar, select Media controller > Policies > Host Policies. | ||
Step 2 | Check the check box next to the host policy name, that you need to edit. | ||
Step 3 | Click Edit Host policy icon. | ||
Step 4 | In the Edit Host Policy window, edit to specify if the policy will
Allow or
Deny traffic.
| ||
Step 5 | Click Save to save the new configuration. |
To delete host policy, perform the steps below.
Note | You can delete only user-defined Host Policies. |
Step 1 | From the menu bar, select Media controller > Policies > Host Policies. | ||
Step 2 | Check the check box next to the host policy name, that you need to
delete.
You can select more than one host policy to delete. | ||
Step 3 | Click Delete Host policy icon. | ||
Step 4 | In the delete notification, click
OK to delete the host policy. Click
Cancel to return to the Host Policies page.
A Delete Host policy successful message appears at the bottom of the page. |
To import host policies, perform the steps below.
Step 1 | From the menu bar, select Media controller > Policies > Host Policies. |
Step 2 | Click Import host policy icon. |
Step 3 | Browse the directory and select the file which contains the Host Policy configuration information. |
Step 4 | Click
Open.
The host policy configuration is imported and displayed on Media Controller > Hosts > Host Policies on the Cisco DCNM Web Client. |
To export host policies, perform the steps below.
Step 1 | From the menu bar, select Media controller > Policies > Host Policies. |
Step 2 | Click
Export host policy icon.
A notification window appears. |
Step 3 | Select a location on your directory to store the Host Policy details file. |
Step 4 | Click
OK.
The host policy file is exported to your local directory. The file name is appended with the date on which the file is exported. The format of the exported file is .csv. |
You can configure flow policies on Cisco Web Client > Media Controller > Policies > Flow Policies.
The following table describes the fields that appear on this page.
Field |
Description |
---|---|
Add |
Allows you to add a new flow policy. |
Edit |
Allows you to view or edit the selected flow policy parameters. |
Delete |
Allows you to delete the user-defined flow policy. |
Import |
Allows you to import flow policies from your directory. |
Export |
Allows you to export flow policies to your local directory. |
Field |
Description |
---|---|
Policy Name |
Specifies the flow policy name. By default, the default host policies will have the Operation set to permit. |
Multicast IP |
Specifies the multicast IP address for the traffic. |
Flow Alias |
Specifies the name of the Flow Alias. |
Bandwidth |
Specifies the bandwidth allotted for the traffic. |
QoS/DSCP |
Specifies the Switch-defined QoS Policy. |
Last Updated |
Specifies the date and time at which the host policy was last updated. The format is Day MMM DD YYYY HH:MM:SS Timezone. |
Note | A new flow policy or a edited flow policy will be effective only under the following circumstances.
|
This section contains the following:
To add flow policy, perform the steps below.
Step 1 | From the menu bar, select Media controller > Policies > Flow Policies. |
Step 2 | Click Add Flow policy icon. |
Step 3 | In the Add Flow Policy window, specify the parameters in the following fields. |
Step 4 | From the QoS/DSCP drop-down list, choose an appropriate ENUM value. |
Step 5 | Click Save to configure the flow policy. |
To add flow policy, perform the steps below.
Step 1 | From the menu bar, select Media controller > Policies > Flow Policies. |
Step 2 | Check the check box next to the flow policy name, that you need to edit. |
Step 3 | Click Edit Flow policy icon. |
Step 4 | In the Edit Flow Policy window, edit the Multicast IP, Bandwidth, QoS/DSCP fields. |
Step 5 | Click Save to save the new configuration. |
To delete flow policy, perform the steps below.
To import flow policies, perform the steps below.
Step 1 | From the menu bar, select Media controller > Policies > Flow Policies. |
Step 2 | Click Import flow policy icon. |
Step 3 | Browse the directory and select the file which contains the Flow Policy configuration information. |
Step 4 | Click
Open.
The flow policy configuration is imported and displayed on Media Controller > Hosts > Flow Policies on the Cisco DCNM Web Client. |
To export host policies, perform the steps below.
Step 1 | From the menu bar, select Media controller > Policies > Flow Policies. |
Step 2 | Click
Export flow policy icon.
A notification window appears. |
Step 3 | Select a location on your directory to store the Flow Policy details file. |
Step 4 | Click
OK.
The flow policy file is exported to your local directory. The file name is appended with the date on which the file is exported. The format of the exported file is .csv. |
Cisco DCNM allows you to view the flow status pictorially and statistically. The flow status is available on Cisco Web Client > Media Controller > Flow Status.
Note | The flow status collection frequency and cache size can be specified via cisco.pmn-stats-interval and cisco.pmn-stats-cache-size respectively in the Web Client > Administration > DCNM Server > Server Properties page. |
The following table describes the fields that appear on the Active tab.
Field |
Description |
||
---|---|---|---|
Multicast IP |
Specifies the multicast IP address for the flow.
|
||
Flow Alias |
Specifies the name of the Flow Alias. |
||
Sender |
Specifies the IP address of the Source Specific Multicast (SSM) sender for the multicast group. |
||
Receiver |
Specifies the name of the receiver. |
||
vPC Local Receiver |
Specifies the name of the receiver host if the flow is a vPC local flow (the sender and receiver are on the same switch.) |
||
Bandwidth |
Specifies the bandwidth allotted for the traffic. |
||
QOS/DSCP |
Specifies the Switch-defined QoS Policy. |
||
Flow Link State |
Click on the READY link state to view the network diagram of the Sender and Receiver. The dotted line displays the direction of the flow of traffic. vPC flow—For multicast flows local to the vPC switch pair, the screen shows two identical flows. Click the READY link to see the actual path. For a multicast flow between a host attached to a vPC switch pair and a remote host, only one flow is displayed along with the vPC pair of switches. |
||
Policy ID |
Specifies the policy ID applied to the multicast IP. |
||
Receiver Start Time |
Displays the time from when the receiver begins to receive data. |
The following table describes the fields that appear on the Inactive tab.
Field |
Description |
---|---|
Multicast IP |
Specifies the multicast IP address of the flow. |
Flow Alias |
Specifies the name of the Flow Alias. |
Sender |
Specifies the IP address of the Source Specific Multicast (SSM) sender for the multicast group. |
Waiting Receivers |
Specifies the potential multicast receivers that have subscribed to this group. |
Bandwidth |
Specifies the bandwidth allotted for the traffic. |
Flow Link State |
Click on the READY link state to view the network diagram of the Sender and Receiver. The dotted line displays the direction of the flow of traffic. vPC flow—For multicast flows local to the vPC switch pair, the screen shows two identical flows. Click the READY link to see the actual path. For a multicast flow between a host attached to a vPC switch pair and a remote host, only one flow is displayed along with the vPC pair of switches. |
Policy ID |
Specifies the policy ID applied to the multicast IP. |
The following table describes the fields that appear on the Sender Only tab.
Field |
Description |
---|---|
Multicast IP |
Specifies the multicast IP address for the flow. |
Flow Alias |
Specifies the name of the Flow Alias. |
Name |
Specifies the name of the sender. |
Sender Leaf IP |
Specifies the IP address of the sender that initiates the multicast flow. |
Sender Leaf Name |
Specifies the name of the sender leaf. |
Sender Ingress Interface |
Specifies the name of the sender ingress interface. |
Policy ID |
Specifies the policy ID applied to the multicast IP. |
Bandwidth |
Specifies the bandwidth allotted for the traffic. |
State |
Specifies the state of the flow link. |
The following table describes the fields that appear on the Receiver Only tab.
Field |
Description |
---|---|
Multicast IP |
Specifies the multicast IP address for the flow. |
Flow Alias |
Specifies the name of the Flow Alias. |
Name |
Specifies the receiver ID. If the multicast receiver is remote, the Remote label can be seen next to its name. |
Receiver Leaf IP |
Specifies the IP address of the destination switch that receives the multicast flow. |
Receiver Interface |
Specifies the name of the destination switch interface. |
Receiver Leaf Name |
Specifies the name of the leaf switch to which the multicast receiver is attached. |
Source Specific Sender |
Specifies the IP address of the multicast sender. |
Policy ID |
Specifies the policy ID applied to the multicast IP. |
Bandwidth |
Specifies the bandwidth allotted for the traffic. |
Number of Receivers |
Specifies the number of receivers allotted for the traffic. |
State |
Specifies the state of the flow link. |
Click on the Show drop-down list in the statistical representation area to display the statistical data in various formats.
Click on the arrow to export the statistical data. you can export it in .csv or .pdf formats.
Note | Cisco DCNM holds the Flow statistics values in the DCNM server internal memory. Therefore, after a DCNM Restart or HA switch over, the Flow statistics will not show previously collected values. However, you can see the Flow statistics that are collected after the server Restart or HA switch over. If the new flow joins before the uplinks between the switches that are detected in DCNM, a message BW_UNAVAIL appears. This is resolved after the uplinks between the switches are detected by DCNM after discovery of the devices. |
Cisco DCNM allows you to view and purge the various events between the Host and Flow. The Events are recorded on Cisco Web Client > Media Controller > Events.
The PMN Events table is updated real-time.
The maximum stored PMN events and cleanup frequency can be specified via pmn.rows.limit and pmn.delete.interval respectively in the Web Client > Administration > DCNM Server > Server Properties page.
The following table describes the fields that appear on this page.
Field |
Description |
---|---|
Purge |
Click to remove the old/unwanted events. Click one of the radio buttons to choose the Purge options.
Click Purge to delete/retain PMN events information. |
Category |
Specifies if the event category. |
Severity |
Specifies the severity of the event. |
Description |
Specifies the description of the event. The sample description appears as: Creating flow for FlowRequest:The flowRequest is for hostId:<<IP_Address>> hostInterface:<<Host_Int_ID>> mcastIp:<<Multicast IP>> Is sender role:false originating from switch:<<Host IP Address>> |
Impacted Flows |
Specifies the impacted flows due to this event. |
Last Update Time |
Specifies the date and time at which the event was last modified. The format is Day MMM DD YYYY HH:MM:SS Timezone. |
Export |
Allows you to download the events to a local directory path. The filename is appended with the date on which the file is exported. The format of the exported file is .xls. |