Network Profiles Overview
Network profiles allow you to configure settings and apply them to a specific site or group of sites. You can create network profiles for various elements in Cisco DNA Center:
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.
Network profiles allow you to configure settings and apply them to a specific site or group of sites. You can create network profiles for various elements in Cisco DNA Center:
Notes:
In Assurance, synchronization to the network device health score is available only for global issue settings, not custom issue settings. For information, see the Cisco DNA Assurance User Guide.
Some global issues are not customizable. These issues are not displayed in the list of custom issues for you to modify.
To display modified issues at the top of the list, sort by Last Modified.
To delete custom settings, you must first unassign all the sites.
Step 1 |
Click the menu icon ( |
||
Step 2 |
Click +Add Profile and choose Assurance. |
||
Step 3 |
In the Profile Name field, enter a valid profile name and click Next. Cisco DNA Center adds the profile and the Edit Profile window appears. |
||
Step 4 |
Set the DEVICE TYPE and CATEGORY filters to view the type of issues you want to configure. |
||
Step 5 |
Click an issue in the Issue Name column to open a slide-in pane with the settings.
|
||
Step 6 |
To enable or disable whether Cisco DNA Center monitors the issue, click the Enabled toggle button. |
||
Step 7 |
To set the issue priority, click the Priority drop-down list and select the priority. The options are:
|
||
Step 8 |
(For certain issues) In the Trigger Condition area, you can change the threshold value for when the issue is reported. Examples of a trigger condition:
|
||
Step 9 |
(Optional) If there are any changes to the settings, you can hover your cursor over View Default Settings to display the default settings. Click Use Default to restore all the issue settings to the default values. |
||
Step 10 |
Click Apply. |
||
Step 11 |
(For certain issues) Click Manage Subscription to subscribe to external notifications for supported issues when they are triggered. |
||
Step 12 |
To assign the profile to sites, click Assign Sites. Check the check box next to the sites that you want to associate with this profile and click Save. The Edit Profile window appears.
|
||
Step 13 |
Click Done. The newly added profile appears on the Network Profiles window. |
This workflow shows how to:
Create custom configurations.
Create Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) configurations.
View the profile summary.
Step 1 |
Click the menu icon ( |
Step 2 |
Click +Add Profile and choose Firewall. The Firewall Type page appears. |
Step 3 |
To create custom configurations for regular firewalls like Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) firewalls, do the following: |
Step 4 |
To create FTD configurations to configure the FTD devices, do the following: |
This workflow shows how to:
Configure the router WAN.
Configure the router LAN.
Configure the integrated switch configuration.
Create custom configurations.
View the profile summary.
Step 1 |
Click the menu icon ( |
||
Step 2 |
Click +Add Profile and choose Routing. |
||
Step 3 |
The Router WAN Configuration window appears.
|
||
Step 4 |
The Router LAN Configuration page appears.
You can click Skip to skip the configuration.
|
||
Step 5 |
The Integrated Switch Configuration page appears. The integrated switch configuration allows you to add new VLANs or retain the previous configuration selected in the router LAN configuration.
|
||
Step 6 |
The Custom Configuration page appears. The custom configurations are optional. You can skip this step and apply the configurations at any time in the Network Profiles page. If you choose to add custom configurations:
|
||
Step 7 |
On the Summary page, click Save. This page summarizes the router configurations. Based on the devices and services selected, the hardware recommendation is provided. |
||
Step 8 |
The Network Profiles page appears. Click Assign Sites to assign a site to the network profile. For more information, see Create, Edit and Delete a Site. |
You can apply two types of configuration templates to a switching profile:
Onboarding template
Day N template
Define the Onboarding Configuration template that you want to apply to the devices. Such templates contain basic network configuration commands to onboard a device so that it can be managed on the network. See Create Templates to Automate Device Configuration Changes.
Step 1 |
Click the menu icon ( |
Step 2 |
Click +Add Profile and choose Switching. |
Step 3 |
In the Switching profile window, enter the profile name in the Profile Name text box. Depending on the type of template that you want to create, click OnBoarding Template(s) or Day-N Template(s).
|
Step 4 |
Click Save. The profile that is configured on the switch is applied when the switch is provisioned. Note that you must add the network profile to a site for it to be effective. |
Define the template that you want to apply to the telemetry appliances. See Create Templates to Automate Device Configuration Changes.
Step 1 |
Click the menu icon ( |
Step 2 |
Click +Add Profile and choose Telemetry Appliance. |
Step 3 |
In the Telemetry Appliance Type window, complete the following:
|
Step 4 |
In the Custom Configuration window, choose the template. The chosen template will be applied to the device once it is managed in Cisco DNA Center inventory. |
Step 5 |
Click Next. |
Step 6 |
In the Summary window, click Save. |
Ensure that you have created wireless SSIDs, RF profiles, and AP profiles under the
tab.If necessary, ensure that you have created templates in the
window.If necessary, ensure that you have created model configuration designs in the
window.
Step 1 |
Click the menu icon ( |
Step 2 |
Click Add Profile and choose Wireless. |
Step 3 |
Enter a valid profile name in the Profile Name field. |
Step 4 |
To add sites to the profile, click Assign and do the following: |
Step 5 |
Configure the required settings in the following tabs:
|
Step 6 |
Click Save to add the network profile. Cisco DNA Center displays the new network profile on the window. |
Ensure that you have created wireless SSIDs under the
tab.
Step 1 |
In the Add a Network Profile window ( ), click the SSID tab. |
||||
Step 2 |
Click Add SSID. |
||||
Step 3 |
From the SSID drop-down list, choose the SSID that you have already created. |
||||
Step 4 |
(Optional) In the WLAN Profile Name field, enter a name for the WLAN profile. Based on the WLAN profile name, Cisco DNA Center automatically generates the policy profile name.
|
||||
Step 5 |
Specify whether the SSID is fabric or nonfabric using the Yes or No radio buttons. To create a nonfabric SSID, click No, and configure the following parameters:
|
||||
Step 6 |
(Optional) To add another SSID, click the plus icon ( |
Configure the other necessary settings for the network profile. For more information, see Create Network Profiles for Wireless.
An AP zone allows you to associate different SSIDs and RF profiles for a set of APs on the same site. You can use device tags to identify the APs for which you want to apply AP zone. From the AP Zones tab, you can create separate AP zones with a subset of SSIDs configured in the network profile for a device tag.
Cisco DNA Center applies the AP zone configurations to APs during AP provisioning.
![]() Note |
|
During AP provisioning:
Based on the device tag and site of the AP, Cisco DNA Center selects the corresponding AP zone and automatically assigns the RF profile.
If two AP zones are configured for an AP, you can choose the required AP zone.
If there are no AP zones for an AP, you can choose the required RF profile.
Ensure that you have created wireless SSIDs under the
tab.
Step 1 |
In the Add a Network Profile window ( ), click the AP Zones tab. |
Step 2 |
Click Add AP Zone. |
Step 3 |
In the AP Zone Name field, enter a name for the AP zone. |
Step 4 |
From the Device Tags drop-down list, check the check box next to the device tags that you want to choose. |
Step 5 |
From the RF Profile drop-down list, choose an RF profile. |
Step 6 |
From the SSID drop-down list, choose the SSIDs. |
Step 7 |
(Optional) To add another AP zone, click the plus icon ( |
Configure the other necessary settings for the network profile. For more information, see Create Network Profiles for Wireless.
To apply the AP zone configuration to an AP:
Reprovision the wireless controller. For more information, see Provision a Cisco AireOS Controller and Provision a Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller.
Provision the AP. For more information, see Provision a Cisco AP—Day 1 AP Provisioning.
You can attach model configuration designs to a network profile.
Step 1 |
In the Add a Network Profile window ( ), click the Model Configs tab. |
Step 2 |
Click Add Model Config. |
Step 3 |
In the Add Model Config slide-in pane, do the following:
|
Configure the other necessary settings for the network profile. For more information, see Create Network Profiles for Wireless.
You can associate a template with a network profile.
Step 1 |
In the Add a Network Profile window ( ), click the Templates tab. |
Step 2 |
Click the plus icon ( |
Step 3 |
In the Add Template slide-in pane, do the following:
|
Configure the other necessary settings for the network profile. For more information, see Create Network Profiles for Wireless.
Cisco DNA Center allows you to add AP groups, flex groups, site tags, and policy tags in a network profile. Preprovisioning AP groups and flex groups saves time during AP provisioning by eliminating the need to make repetitive configuration changes and ensures consistency across your devices. You can define custom names for AP groups, site tags, and policy tags in the Advanced Settings tab.
![]() Note |
Flex group configuration is available only when the network profile has at least one associated flex-based SSID. |
Cisco DNA Center configures and applies the newly added custom names specified in the Advanced Settings tab to the APs during Cisco Wireless Controller provisioning. If you don't configure the custom names, Cisco DNA Center uses the autogenerated AP group names and tags for the APs.
![]() Note |
|
You can use the same AP group and flex group across sites (buildings or floors) within an area. However, you can’t reuse the same AP group and flex groups across multiple areas in the network hierarchy. Child sites inherit the AP group and flex groups from their parent sites. However, if you create AP group or flex group for a child site, it overrides the settings inherited from its parent site. If an SSID is overridden for different floors in a building, you can’t reuse the AP groups or flex groups for such floors.
Ensure that you have assigned a site to the network profile.
To create flex group names, under the SSIDs tab, ensure that you have checked the Flex Connect Local Switching check box and defined the VLAN ID in the Local to VLAN field to mark the nonfabric SSID as a flex-based SSID. For more information, see Add SSIDs to a Network Profile.
If you have enabled Flex Connect Local Switching for an SSID, all the APs on the floor where the network profile is mapped, switch to FlexConnect mode.
Step 1 |
In the Add a Network Profile window, click the Advanced Settings tab. |
Step 2 |
To create an AP group in the network profile, expand AP Groups and AP Profiles and click Create Custom AP Group. In the Add AP Group window, do the following: |
Step 3 |
To create a flex group in the network profile, expand Flex Group and click Create Flex Group. In the Create Flex Group window, do the following:
|
Step 4 |
To create a site tag in the network profile, expand Site Tags and AP Profiles and click Create Custom Site Tag. In the Create Site Tag window, do the following: |
Step 5 |
To create a policy tag in the network profile, expand Policy Tag and click Create Policy Tag. In the Create Policy Tag window, do the following: |
After configuring the necessary settings for the network profile, click Save. For more information, see Create Network Profiles for Wireless.