Catalyst 4500 Series Switch Software Configuration Guide, IOS XE 3.7.xE and IOS 15.2(3)Ex

Device Classifier

Starting with Cisco Release IOS XE 3.3.0SG and IOS 15.1(1)SG, the device classifier (DC) feature is enabled by default on the Catalyst 4500 series switch.

The DC collects information from MAC-OUI and protocols such as CDP, LLDP, and DHCP to identify devices. You must enable CDP and LLDP on the switch. To make DHCP options information available to the DC, you must enable the DHCP snooping feature on the switch. The device attributes collected from these protocols are evaluated against a set of profiles available to the DC to find the best match. The best-matched profile is used for device identification.

Devices that do not send CDP, LLDP or DHCP traffic may not be properly identified by the device classifier.

Device-classifier uses profile definitions—built-in and default profiles. The built-in profiles contain the device profiles that are known to the Auto Smartport module, comprising a limited set of Cisco devices. They are built into Cisco IOS and cannot be changed. The default profiles are stored as a text file in nonvolatile storage and allow the DC to identify a much larger set of devices. The default profiles are updated as part of the Cisco IOS archive download.

When a new device is detected, the corresponding shell trigger executes the Auto Smartport configuration macro. Auto Smartport has built-in mappings for a large set of devices. You can use the commands described in the “Configuring Mapping Between User-Defined Triggers and Built-in Macros” section to create new mappings. You can create the trigger mappings based on the profile name or device name that is provided by the DC.

Device Visibility Mode

The DC function is enabled on the switch by default. You can disable it by using the no macro auto monitor global configuration command. The DC feature provides show commands to display the devices that are connected to the switch. It also provides information about the physical port to which the device is connected, along with device MAC address and other vendor information. Only directly connected devices, such as another Layer 2 switch, are classified on nonaccess ports. On access ports that are connected to hubs, device classification is limited to 32 devices.

When you enable Auto Smartport, the DC is automatically enabled.

Enabling Auto Smartport Macros

Note By default, Auto Smartport is disabled globally. To disable Auto Smartport macros on a specific port, use the no macro auto global processing interface command before enabling Auto Smartport globally.

To enable Auto Smartport globally, use the macro auto global processing global configuration command.

To enable Auto Smartport macros, perform this task:

Use the show shell functions and the show shell triggers privileged EXEC command to display the event triggers, the built-in macros, and the built-in macro default values.

This example shows how enable Auto Smartport on the switch and how to disable the feature on a specific interface:

Auto Smartport Default Configuration

By default, Cisco IOS shell is enabled and Auto Smartport is disabled globally.

Table 20-1 shows the Auto Smartport built-in event triggers that are embedded in the switch software by default.

Table 20-2 shows the Auto Smartport built-in macros that are embedded in the switch software.

Note By default, the built-in event triggers are mapped to the built-in macros.

Auto Smartport Configuration Guidelines

Auto Smartport guidelines include the following:

• To avoid system conflicts when Auto Smartport macros are applied, remove all port configuration except for 802.1X authentication.
• If the macro conflicts with the original configuration, some macro commands might not be applied, or some antimacro commands might not be applied. (The antimacro is the portion of the applied macro that removes it at link down.)

Note Failure of one command in the macro halts the application of the entire macro.

For example, if 802.1X authentication is enabled, you cannot remove switchport-mode access configuration. You must remove the 802.1X authentication before removing the configuration.

• A port should not be a member of an EtherChannel when applying Auto Smartport macros.

If Auto Smartport is not yet enabled globally, disable Auto Smartport on all the EtherChannel ports before enabling it globally. If Auto Smartport is already enabled, shut down the port and disable it before adding the port to an EtherChannel.

Note If an Auto Smartport macro is applied on an interface, EtherChannel configuration usually fails because of conflict with the auto-QoS configuration applied by the macro.

• The built-in macro default data VLAN is VLAN 1. The default voice VLAN is VLAN 2. You should modify the built-in macro default values if your switch uses different VLANs. To view all built-in macro default values, use the show shell functions privileged EXEC command.
• To detect non-Cisco devices for 802.1X authentication or MAB, configure the RADIUS server to support the Cisco AV pair auto-smart-port=event trigger. You must configure a user-defined trigger with the value returned in the AV pair for auto-smart-port.
• For stationary devices that do not support CDP, MAB, or 802.1X authentication, such as network printers, we recommend that you disable Auto Smartport on the port.
• If authentication is enabled on a port, the switch ignores CDP unless the fallback cdp keyword is in the macro auto global processing global configuration command.
• The order of CLI commands within the macro and the corresponding antimacro can differ.
• Before converting a port into an Layer 3 interface, enter the no macro auto processing command. This prevents Auto Smartport from applying macros on the interface. If Layer 3 is already configured, enter the no macro auto processing command on the Layer 3 interface enable Auto Smartport globally.
• Auto Smartport macros and Smartport cannot coexist on an interface.
• A switch applies a macro in accordance with the LLDP advertisement from the attached device. If the device does not identify itself properly, the wrong macro is applied. Consult the specific device documentation to ensure the device's firmware is current.
• The LWAP’s WLC software version must be 6.0.188 ( => Cisco IOS 12.4(21a)JA2) or later to make it detectable as LWAP by AutoSmartport.
• As of Cisco IOS Release 12.2(54)SG, Auto Smartport does not support macros that apply EtherChannel configurations. Interfaces that belong to EtherChannel groups are treated as standard interfaces. You can apply macros on individual interfaces based on the device type but the CLIs in the macro (for example, auto-QoS) might conflict with an EtherChannel configuration. We recommend that you disable Auto Smartport on interfaces belonging to EtherChannels before you enable Auto Smartport globally. If Auto Smartport is already enabled, disable Auto Smartport on the interfaces before configuring EtherChannel.
• When a Cisco switch is detected on the Auto Smartport, you have to manually map the event trigger to either a built-in macro or user-defined macro. You need to also match the event trigger to the device PID.

Configuring Auto Smartport Built-in Macro Parameters

The switch automatically maps from built-in event triggers to built-in macros. You can replace the built-in macro default values with values that are specific to your switch.

To configure Auto Smartport built-in macros parameters, perform this task:

The no macro auto execute event trigger {[ builtin built-in macro name [parameter=value]] | [[parameter=value] {function contents}]} command deletes the mapping.

This example shows how to use two built-in Auto Smartport macros for connecting Cisco switches and Cisco IP phones to the switch. This example modifies the default voice VLAN, access VLAN, and native VLAN for the trunk interface:

Note You can also use the macro auto device command to simplify changing the parameters for a built-in functions for a device type.

Configuring Mapping Between Event Triggers and Built-in Macros

Note You need to perform this task when a Cisco switch is connected to the Auto Smartport.

To map event trigger to a built-in macros, perform this task:

This example shows how to map a event trigger called CISCO_SWITCH_EVENT to the built-in macro CISCO_SWITCH_AUTO_SMARTPORT.

Configuring User-Defined Event Triggers

You can configure two types of event triggers: user-defined and MAC address-based.

The following sections describe these triggers:

• 802.1X-Based Event Trigger
• MAC Address-Based Event Trigger

802.1X-Based Event Trigger

When using MAB or 802.1X authentication to trigger Auto Smartport macros, you need to create an event trigger that corresponds to the Cisco AV pair (auto-smart-port=event trigger) sent by the RADIUS server.

To configure an event trigger, perform this task:

Use the no shell trigger identifier global configuration command to delete the event trigger.

The following example shows how to define a user-defined trigger:

MAC Address-Based Event Trigger

To configure a MAC address group as an event trigger, perform this task:

Use the no macro auto mac-address-group grp_name to delete the event trigger.

Configuring Mapping Between User-Defined Triggers and Built-in Macros

You need to map the user-defined trigger to either a built-in macro or user-defined macro.

To map a user-defined trigger to a built-in macros, perform this task:

This example shows how to map a user-defined event trigger called RADIUS_MAB_EVENT to the built-in macro CISCO_PHONE_AUTO_SMARTPORT with access VLAN set to 10, and how to verify the entries.

This procedure shows how to map a user-defined trigger to a built-in macro:

Step 1 Connect the device to a MAB-enabled switch port.

Step 2 On the RADIUS server, set the attribute-value pair to auto-smart-port =RADIUS_MAB_EVENT.

Step 3 On the switch, create the event trigger RADIUS_MAB_EVENT.

The switch recognizes the attribute-value pair=RADIUS_MAB_EVENT response from the RADIUS server and applies the macro CISCO_PHONE_AUTO_SMARTPORT, as in the following example:

Configuring Auto Smartport User-Defined Macros

The Cisco IOS shell provides basic scripting capabilities for configuring the user-defined Auto Smartport macros. These macros can contain multiple lines and can include any CLI command. You can also define variable substitution, conditionals, functions, and triggers within the macro.

Inside a user-defined macro, besides parameters specified through macro auto execute trigger parameter-name=value.., you also can use the following variables published by EEM ( Table 20-3 ):

To map an event trigger to a user-defined macro, perform this task:

This example shows how to map a user-defined event trigger called Cisco Digital Media Player (DMP) to a user-defined macro.

Step 1 Connect the DMP to an 802.1X- or MAB-enabled switch port.

Step 2 On the RADIUS server, set the attribute-value pair to auto-smart-port =MY_MEDIAPLAYER_EVENT.

Step 3 On the switch, create the event trigger CISCO_DMP_EVENT, and map it to the user-defined macro commands shown below.

The switch recognizes the attribute-value pair=CISCO_DMP_EVENT response from the RADIUS server and applies the macro associated with this event trigger.

The following example shows the macro portion of the automacro:

The following represents the anti-macro portion of the automacro:

Table 20-4 lists the supported shell keywords your can apply in your macros and antimacro statements.

Table 20-5 lists the shell keywords that are not supported in macros and antimacros.