Cisco Crosswork Network Controller Data Sheet

Cisco Crosswork Network Controller empowers customers to simplify and automate intent-based network service provisioning, monitoring, and optimization in a multivendor network environment with a common GUI and API.

Product overview

Network operators are facing challenges to support the exponential growth of network traffic while addressing the pressures to efficiently run network operations. Operators are reducing the management complexity by converging and collapsing their networks, migrating to Software-Defined Networks (SDNs), and automating daily operational tasks to become more efficient and competitive. Automating service lifecycle functions is vital to their success as it helps them to accelerate time to revenue, improve end-user experience, and boost the operational agility.

Cisco Crosswork Network Controller allows customers to deploy services faster and offers intent-based service health monitoring and network optimization, improving service delivery while mitigating network congestion issues. Cisco Crosswork Network Controller has been shaped by the experience of helping multiple tier-one service provider and large enterprise customers automate everything from simple device turn-up to sophisticated full lifecycle service management. It delivers critical capabilities for automating service orchestration and fulfilment, network optimization, service path computation, service health monitoring, element management along with programmable closed-loop. The underlying goal is to preserve the service policy intent and associated SLA.

As an integrated solution, Cisco Crosswork Network Controller combines multiple innovative, industry-leading capabilities such as Advanced Traffic Engineering, Segment Routing Path Computation Element (SR-PCE), Flexible Algorithms, Intent-based Assurance — with common API and UI, providing visibility and control via a single pane of glass.

With Cisco Crosswork Network Controller, you can realize a number of outcomes:

●     Segment Routing (SR) policy provisioning with explicit intent (for example, bandwidth constraints, latency minimization, etc)

●     Services provisioning (for example, L2VPN, L3VPN services with associated segment routing policy)

●     Collect real-time performance information and optimize the network to maintain the intent of the associated segment routing policy.

●     Tactically optimize the network during times of congestion with bandwidth optimization techniques.

●     Gain the most from migration to next-generation networks and technologies (for example, migration to SRv6 or Routed Optical Networks (RON), implementing multicast with SR Tree-SID, embracing 5G network slicing, etc.).

●     Monitor and troubleshoot health of L2VPN and L3VPN services by combining empirical data plane verification with infrastructure health to realize true service impact. Service health status visualization can be augmented with infrastructure alarms.

●     Streamlining and automation of network-focused Method of Procedure (MOP) for remediation and maintenance tasks.

Cisco Crosswork Network Controller enables you to realize multiple benefits:

●     Expedite provisioning of new services, underlying transport and changes to existing services.

●     Improved service delivery and end-user experience along with optimal use of network resources.

●     Enhanced operational efficiency with automation of functions across service and device lifecycle.

●     Increased profitability and reduced costs through accelerating time to revenue and improving OpEx utilization.

SDN Transport Automation

Features and benefits

Table 1.           CNC Feature and benefits

Product specifications

Cisco Crosswork Network Controller has been shaped by helping large, tier-one service provider and enterprise customers automate everything from simple device turn-up to cross-domain automation to sophisticated full lifecycle service management. Cisco Crosswork Network Controller is built on industry standards enabling multivendor compliance. Cisco Crosswork Network Controller has three areas of touch points into the network:

1.     Provisioning: A model-based programmatic interface (NETCONF/YANG) that allows for control of everything from simple device turn-up and configuration management to sophisticated, full lifecycle service management.

2.     Data collection: A common performance data collection using gNMI (gRPC Network Management Interface), SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol), MDT (Model Driven Telemetry), CLI (Command Line Interface), etc.

3.     Network control: Real-time network topology discovery via BGP-LS and network optimization and traffic control using PCEP.

Cisco Crosswork Network Controller provides a standards-based northbound interface to enable integration with external entities (for example, OSS/BSS or higher-level orchestration systems).

Table 2.           Standard protocol support: SBI and NBI

Protocol support

Table 3.           Standard protocol support: Key protocols

Please reach out to your Cisco account representative for a detailed list of all supported RFCs and IETF drafts and any additional information.

System requirements

Cisco Crosswork Network Controller is designed for different customer network sizes. Only Cisco can offer this comprehensive and holistic automation approach delivered in a single pane of glass. Cisco Network Controller delivers a fully integrated solution targeting for your most challenging real-world problems. Contact your Cisco sales representative to learn more about the system requirements matching your network scale.

Ordering information

Cisco Crosswork Network Controller offers modular packaging to effectively meet your deployment use-cases. The packages include functions classified as Essentials, Advantage along with optional Add-on components. Contact your Cisco account representative for details on how to order Cisco Crosswork Network Controller.

Warranty information

The Cisco Crosswork Network Controller is covered by the following warranty: www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/warranties/warranty-doc-c99-740613.html.

Cisco environmental sustainability

Information about Cisco’s environmental sustainability policies and initiatives for our products, solutions, operations, and extended operations or supply chain is provided in the “Environment Sustainability” section of Cisco’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report.

Reference links to information about key environmental sustainability topics (mentioned in the “Environment Sustainability” section of the CSR Report) are provided in the following table:

Cisco makes the packaging data available for informational purposes only. It may not reflect the most current legal developments, and Cisco does not represent, warrant, or guarantee that it is complete, accurate, or up to date. This information is subject to change without notice.

Implementation and optimization services

Experience streamlined support across the products and providers in your Cisco network environment with Cisco Solution Support. If an issue arises, skip the triage and just contact us. Cisco primary point of contact engineers are available 24x7 to deliver expert, centralized support across your software and hardware from Cisco and third-party technology vendors. We’ll resolve your issue, or when needed, lead issue coordination with additional support teams inside and outside of Cisco to get the job done. The results: 44% faster complex issue resolution on average than using single product-focused support^[1]; 49% more efficient IT network infrastructure teams; 51% lower productivity losses due to unplanned downtime; >2x more staff time spent on innovation^[2].

Solution support

Maximize performance, reliability, and ROI of your Cisco Crosswork Network Controller with Cisco Solution Support. You get access to a team of Cisco solution experts who are your primary point of contact, delivering centralized support across your deployment 24x7x365. Whether you have an issue with a Cisco product or one from another vendor—or are just looking for guidance and assurance on your new solution—simply contact us. We’ll take it from there and remain accountable for your case, from first call to resolution.

Note:       If issues are identified as being due to third-party vendor devices, we expect you to engage the third-party vendor. Cisco will work with you to provide triage information to the third party.

Solution Support can help increase staff efficiency by 32 percent, reduce incident occurrence by 21 percent, save $37 million in downtime, and increase company revenue by an average of $3.5 million. We have a track record of resolving complex issues on average 43 percent more quickly than product support, making it the right kind of technical service for Cisco Crosswork Network Controller solution environments.

Cisco Capital

Flexible payment solutions to help you achieve your objectives

Cisco Capital makes it easier to get the right technology to achieve your objectives, enable business transformation, and help you stay competitive. We can help you reduce the total cost of ownership, conserve capital, and accelerate growth. In more than 100 countries, our flexible payment solutions can help you acquire hardware, software, services, and complementary third-party equipment in easy, predictable payments. Learn more.

Learn more

For more information on Cisco's network automation portfolio for service providers, please visit www.cisco.com/go/crosswork. To learn more about Cisco Crosswork Network Controller or to schedule a demonstration, contact your Cisco sales representative.

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