Information About Configuration Groups
The Configuration Group feature enables you to do the following:
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Create a configuration group using one of the guided workflows—Create Configuration Group, Rapid Site Configuration Group, or Custom Configuration Group
Note
The Rapid Site Configuration Group and the Custom Configuration Group workflows are available only in Cisco vManage Release 20.8.x.
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Deploy devices with a configuration group using the Deploy Configuration Group workflow
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In Cisco vManage Release 20.8.x, the Deploy Configuration Group workflow is called the Provision WAN Sites and Devices workflow.
Overview of Configuration Groups
The Configuration Group feature provides a simple, reusable, and structured approach for the configurations in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN.
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Configuration Group: A configuration group is a logical grouping of features or configurations that can be applied to one or more devices in the network managed by Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN. You can define and customize this grouping based on your business needs.
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Feature Profile: A feature profile is a flexible building block of configurations that can be reused across different configuration groups. You can create profiles based on features that are required, recommended, or uniquely used, and then put together the profiles to complete a device configuration.
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Feature: A feature profile consists of features. Features are the individual capabilities you want to share across different configuration groups.
Overview of Configuration Group Workflows
From Cisco vManage Release 20.9.1, the simplified Create Configuration Group workflow guides you in creating a configuration group for a single-router site. The workflow provides you with an improved configuration and troubleshooting experience. The workflow has the following features:
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You can specify a name and description for a configuration group and configure the basic settings to keep your network running.
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In addition to the basic settings, you can also configure advanced options at the time of creating a configuration group. For example, you can set up WAN and LAN routing; you can configure a BGP route, multiple static IPv4 routes, or both, for the WAN transport VPN. Similarly, you can configure a BGP route, an OSPF route, multiple static IPv4 routes, or all these routes, for a LAN service VPN. Thus, you can configure all the necessary options at the time of creating the configuration group itself, and do not have to modify the features separately after the group is created. As a result, any configuration created from the workflow is immediately deployable.
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You can review the various configuration settings on a single page within the workflow.
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When you specify an incorrect setting, it is highlighted in red. As a result, you can easily identify errors, if any, and fix them. In addition, an asterisk adjacent to the field names helps you identify the mandatory settings within the workflow.
You can access the workflow from the Workflow Library in Cisco SD-WAN Manager.
Note |
In Cisco vManage Release 20.8.x, the Rapid Site Configuration Group and the Custom Configuration Group workflows enabled you to create a configuration group. However, these workflows are deprecated from Cisco vManage Release 20.9.1. |
Overview of the Deploy Configuration Group Workflow
The Deploy Configuration Group workflow enables you to associate devices to a configuration group and to deploy the configuration to the selected devices.
Note |
In Cisco vManage Release 20.8.x, the Deploy Configuration Group workflow is called the Provision WAN Sites and Devices workflow. |
You can access the workflow from the Workflow Library in Cisco SD-WAN Manager.
Overview of Dual Device Site Configuration
Minimum Supported Releases: Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN Release 17.12.1a and Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager Release 20.12.1
In Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN Release 17.11.1a and earlier releases, you could configure dual devices in the same site using a single router type configuration group workflow. Here all the configuration group features are applicable to both the routers. Starting from Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN Release 17.12.1a, you can deploy dual device site configuration by selecting dual router type configuration group workflow, and distribute the transport side WAN and service side LAN interface configurations between the two routers based on your requirements.
This feature automates the deployment of two routers in the same site considering the redundancy in the router. One router acts as a primary device and the other as the secondary device. If there is a failure scenario in the primary router, the secondary router takes over ensuring that there’s no connectivity issues.
Depending on your requirement, you can configure the transport side WAN and service side LAN interfaces, enable TLOC or a full mesh topology, and select specific configuration groups features for both the routers.
Benefits of Configuration Groups
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Simplicity: The workflow-based configuration guides you with step-by-step instructions. You can clearly identify what is necessary, what is optional, and what is the recommended Cisco networking best practice.
In addition, the basic and advanced settings of a configuration group are auto-populated, which in turn, simplifies the process of a configuration.
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Day-zero Deployment: The day-zero setup of configuration groups helps you easily create a branch and deploy devices quickly.
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Reusability: You can reuse configuration components across an entire device family instead of one device model. This helps in easier management of configuration components.
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Structure: You can group devices based on a shared configuration in Cisco SD-WAN Manager.
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Visibility: A site-level topology is generated for Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN devices that are attached to a configuration group. For complete information about viewing the topology of a site, see View Network Site Topology.
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Findability: The tagging feature helps you easily identify a subset of devices from hundreds of devices in a configuration group. For complete information about adding tags to devices, see Device Tagging.