Components

This chapter has details about the components of the Cisco Nexus Dashboard Data Broker.

Beginning with Release 3.10.1, Cisco Nexus Data Broker (NDB) has been renamed to Cisco Nexus Dashboard Data Broker. However, some instances of NDB are present in this document, to correspond with the GUI, and installation folder structure. References of NDB/ Nexus Data Broker/ Nexus Dashboard Data Broker can be used interchangeably.


Note

All references of DNA/ DNAC in this chapter/guide denote Cisco DNA/ Cisco DNAC.

Filters

The Filters tab displays details of all the filters available on the Nexus Dashboard Data Broker controller. The tab provides information of the filtering criteria (used in a connection) for the incoming traffic.

The default filters include the following protocols for packet filtering:

  • Default-match-all

  • Default-match-IP

  • Default-match-ARP

  • Default-match-MPLS ( unicast and multicast)

  • Default-match-ICMP

  • Default-match-ICMP-All

A table is displayed with the following details:

Table 1. Filters

Column Name

Description

In Use

A green tick mark indicates that the filter is in use, in a connection.

Filter

The filter name.

Click Filter. A new pane is displayed on the right which has more information about the filter. The following additional actions can be performed from here:

Note

 

Default filters cannot be edited.

Bidirectional

If a filter is bidirectional, a Yes is displayed; else a No is displayed.

If a filter is marked bidirectional, incoming and outgoing traffic is filtered at the same port.

Ethertype

Layer 2 ethertype of the filter.

Protocol

Layer 3 protocol used by the filter.

Advanced Filter(s)

The advanced filters associated with the filter.

Created By

The user who created the filter.

Last Modified By

The user who last modified the filter.

The following actions can be performed from the Filters tab:

  • Add Filter—Use this to add a new filter. See Adding a Filter for details about this task.

  • Delete Filter—Select the filter(s) to be deleted by checking the check box which is available at the beginning of the row and then click Actions > Delete Filter(s). The selected filter(s) is deleted. If you choose the delete action without selecting a check box, an error is displayed. You will be prompted to select a filter.

Adding a Filter

Use this procedure to add a filter. The incoming traffic is matched based on the parameters defined in a filter.

Procedure

Step 1

Navigate to Components > Filters.

Step 2

From the Actions drop down menu, select Add Filter.

Step 3

In the Add Filter dialog box, enter the following details:

Table 2. Add Filter

Field

Description

Filter Name

Enter a name for the filter.

Bidirectional

Check this box if you want the filter to capture bidirectional traffic information, that is, from a source IP, source port, or source MAC address to a destination IP, destination port, or destination MAC address, and from a destination IP, destination port, or destination MAC to a source IP, source port, or source MAC address.

Layer 2

The options displayed for using Layer 2 filtering are:

  • Ethernet Type—Select the Ethernet Type from the drop-down list. The options are:

    • IPv4

    • IPv6

    • LLDP

    • MPLS

    • ARP

    • All Ethernet Types

    • Predefined Ethernet Types— If you choose this option, all predefined Ethernet types contained in the config.ini file are associated with the rule, and you should not configure any other parameters.

    • Enter Ethernet Type—If you choose this option, enter the ethernet type in hexadecimal format.

  • VLAN Identification Number—Enter the VLAN ID for the Layer 2 traffic. You can enter a single VLAN ID, a range of VLAN ID values, or comma-separated VLAN ID values and VLAN ID ranges.

    Maximum value is 4095.

  • VLAN Priority—Enter the VLAN priority for the traffic. VLAN Priority is matched for Layer 2 traffic only.

  • Source MAC Address—Enter the MAC address of the source device. MAC addresses are matched for Layer 2 traffic only.

  • Destination MAC Address—Enter the MAC address of the destination device. MAC addresses are matched for Layer 2 traffic only.

  • MPLS Label Value—Enter the MPLS value for Label 1, Label 2, Label 3, Label 4.

    The MPLS Label Value fields are displayed only if the Ethernet Type is set to MPLS. The MPLS label values are matched.

Layer 3

To enable options for Layer 3, choose IPv4 or IPv6 as Ethertype under the Layer 2 tab.

The options displayed for Layer 3 filtering are:

  • Source IP Address—Enter the Source IP address of the Layer 3 traffic. This can be one of the following:

    • The host IP address in the standard IPv4 or IPv6 format

    • An IPv4 or IPv6 address range

    • Combination of an address range and standard IP addresses; example: 10.1.1.1, 10.1.1.2-10.1.1.5

    • Comma-separated discontiguous IP addresses; example: 10.1.1.1, 10.1.1.2, 10.1.1.5

    Note

     

    If you configure a range of Layer 3 source IP addresses, you cannot configure ranges of Layer 4 source or destination ports.

    If you configure a range of Layer 3 source IP addresses, you cannot configure ranges of Layer 2 VLAN identifiers.

  • Destination IP Address—Enter the Destination IP address of the Layer 3 traffic. This can be one of the following:

    • The host IP address in the standard IPv4 or IPv6 format

    • An IPv4 or IPv6 address range

    • Combination of an address range and standard IP addresses; example: 10.1.1.1, 10.1.1.2-10.1.1.5

    • Comma-separated discontiguous IP addresses; example: 10.1.1.1, 10.1.1.2, 10.1.1.5

    Note

     

    If you configure a range of Layer 3 source IP addresses, you cannot configure ranges of Layer 4 source or destination ports.

    If you configure a range of Layer 3 source IP addresses, you cannot configure ranges of Layer 2 VLAN identifiers.

  • L4 Protocol—Select a Layer 4 protocol from the drop down list or enter a Protocol Number.

  • Advanced Filter—Click the button to enable advanced filtering and check the check-boxes to select the required options. For details about the options pertaining to Advanced Filters, see Advanced Filters.

  • Custom Filter—Click the button to enable custom filtering using User Defined Fields (UDF). Click Select UDFs and select a filter in the Select Custom Filters window. The UDFs created using Adding a UDF are displayed here.

    The selected UDF(s) are displayed in a table. Enter the following details for the selected UDF:

    • Value—is the value to be matched in decimal notation (0-65535). E.g. if you want to match 0x0806 enter 2054 which is 0x0806 in decimal notation.

    • Mask—is the mask to be applied to the value for matching purposes. E.g. to exactly match 2054 (0x0806) enter 65535 (0xffff), to match 2048-2063 (0x0800-0x080f) use 65520 (0xfff0).

    Note

     

    When the monitoring tool port is on an ISL device, it is mandatory to select Add Default UDF for inner vlan checkbox. Ensure the input port has Q-in-Q configured.

Layer 4

To enable options for Layer 4, choose IPv4 or IPv6 as Ethertype under the Layer 2 tab and choose TCP or UDP as L4 Protocol under the Layer 3 tab.

The options displayed for Layer 4 filtering are:

  • Source Port—Select the source port from the drop down list. The options are:

    • FTP (Data)

    • FTP (Control)

    • SSH

    • Telnet

    • HTTP

    • HTTPS

    • Enter Source Port—Enter the source port. You can enter comma separated single port numbers or a range of source port numbers.

      Note

       

      If you enter a range of Layer 4 source ports, you cannot configure ranges of Layer 3 IP addresses or Layer 2 VLAN identifiers.

  • Destination Port—Select the destination port from the drop down list. The options are:

    • FTP (Data)

    • FTP (Control)

    • SSH

    • Telnet

    • HTTP

    • HTTPS

    • Enter Destination Port—Enter the source port. You can enter comma separated single port numbers or a range of source port numbers.

      Note

       

      If you enter a range of Layer 4 destination ports, you cannot configure ranges of Layer 2 VLAN identifiers or Layer 3 IP addresses.

Layer 7

Not supported.

Note

 

For Custom Filtering: You can add upto four UDFs for a filter. UDF option is enabled for IPv4 and IPv6 ethertypes.

Step 4

Click Add Filter to add the filter.

Editing or Cloning a Filter

Use this procedure to edit or clone a filter.

Editing a filter means changing the parameters of an existing filter.

Cloning a filter means creating a new filter with the same parameters of an existing filter and making the required changes to the filter parameters. Ensure to change the name of the filter before saving it.


Note

Default filters cannot be edited.

Before you begin

Add one or more filters.

Procedure

Step 1

Navigate to Components > Filters.

Step 2

In the displayed table, click a Filter.

A new pane is displayed on the right.

Step 3

Click Actions and select Clone Filter.

Step 4

In the Clone Filter or Edit Filter dialog box, the current filter information is displayed. Modify these fields, as required:

Table 3. Edit/ Clone Filter

Field

Description

Filter Name

Name of the filter.

Bidirectional

Check this box if you want the filter to capture bidirectional traffic information, that is, from a source IP, source port, or source MAC address to a destination IP, destination port, or destination MAC address, and from a destination IP, destination port, or destination MAC to a source IP, source port, or source MAC address.

Layer 2

The options displayed while using Layer 2 are:

  • Ethernet Type—Select the Ethernet Type from the drop-down list. The options are:

    • IPv4

    • IPv6

    • LLDP

    • MPLS

    • ARP

    • All Ethernet Types

    • Predefined Ethernet Types— If you choose this option, all predefined Ethernet types contained in the config.ini file are associated with the rule, and you should not configure any other parameters.

    • Enter Ethernet Type—If you choose this option, enter the ethernet type in hexadecimal format.

  • VLAN Identification Number—Enter the VLAN ID for the Layer 2 traffic. You can enter a single VLAN ID, a range of VLAN ID values, or comma-separated VLAN ID values and VLAN ID ranges.

    Maximum value is 4095.

  • VLAN Priority—Enter the VLAN priority for the traffic.

    VLAN Priority is matched for Layer 2 traffic only.

  • Source MAC Address—Enter the MAC address of the source device.

    MAC addresses are matched for Layer 2 traffic only.

  • Destination MAC Address—Enter the MAC address of the destination device.

    MAC addresses are matched for Layer 2 traffic only.

  • MPLS Label Value—Enter the MPLS value for Label 1, Label 2, Label 3, Label 4.

    The MPLS Label Value fields are displayed only if the Ethernet Type is set to MPLS. The MPLS label values are matched.

Layer 3

To enable options for Layer 3, choose IPv4 or IPv6 as Ethertype under the Layer 2 tab.

The options displayed while using Layer 3 are:

  • Source IP Address—Enter the Source IP address of the Layer 3 traffic. This can be one of the following:

    • The host IP address in the standard IPv4 or IPv6 format

    • An IPv4 or IPv6 address range

    • Combination of an address range and standard IP addresses; example: 10.1.1.1, 10.1.1.2-10.1.1.5

    • Comma-separated discontiguous IP addresses; example: 10.1.1.1, 10.1.1.2, 10.1.1.5

    Note

     

    If you configure a range of Layer 3 source IP addresses, you cannot configure ranges of Layer 4 source or destination ports.

    If you configure a range of Layer 3 source IP addresses, you cannot configure ranges of Layer 2 VLAN identifiers.

  • Destination IP Address—Enter the Destination IP address of the Layer 3 traffic. This can be one of the following:

    • The host IP address in the standard IPv4 or IPv6 format

    • An IPv4 or IPv6 address range

    • Combination of an address range and standard IP addresses; example: 10.1.1.1, 10.1.1.2-10.1.1.5

    • Comma-separated discontiguous IP addresses; example: 10.1.1.1, 10.1.1.2, 10.1.1.5

    Note

     

    If you configure a range of Layer 3 source IP addresses, you cannot configure ranges of Layer 4 source or destination ports.

    If you configure a range of Layer 3 source IP addresses, you cannot configure ranges of Layer 2 VLAN identifiers.

  • L4 Protocol—Select a Layer 4 protocol from the drop down list.

  • Advanced Filter—Click the button to enable advanced filtering and check the check-boxes to select the required options. For more details about Advanced Filters, see Advanced Filters.

  • Custom Filter—Click the button to enable custom filtering using User Defined Fields (UDF). Click Select UDFs and select a filter in the Select Custom Filters window.

Layer 4

To enable options for Layer 4, choose IPv4 or IPv6 as Ethertype under the Layer 2 tab and choose TCP or UDP as L4 Protocol under the Layer 3 tab.

The options displayed while using Layer 4 are:

  • Source Port—Select the source port from the drop down list. The options are:

    • FTP (Data)

    • FTP (Control)

    • SSH

    • Telnet

    • HTTP

    • HTTPS

    • Enter Source Port—Enter the source port. You can enter comma separated single port numbers or a range of source port numbers.

      Note

       

      If you enter a range of Layer 4 source ports, you cannot configure ranges of Layer 3 IP addresses or Layer 2 VLAN identifiers.

  • Destination Port—Select the destination port from the drop down list. The options are:

    • FTP (Data)

    • FTP (Control)

    • SSH

    • Telnet

    • HTTP

    • HTTPS

    • Enter Destination Port—Enter the source port. You can enter comma separated single port numbers or a range of source port numbers.

      Note

       

      If you enter a range of Layer 4 destination ports, you cannot configure ranges of Layer 2 VLAN identifiers or Layer 3 IP addresses.

Layer 7

Not supported.

Step 5

Click Save.

Advanced Filters

Advanced filtering provides multiple options to filter (permit or deny) the traffic based on Ethernet type and attributes such as Acknowledgment, FIN, Fragments , PSH, RST, SYN, DSCP, Precedence, TTL, packet-length, and NVE. Advanced filtering is available for the following Ethernet types and options:

Table 4. Advanced Filtering Support

Data Type

Supported Options

IPv4

DSCP, Fragment, Precendence, and TTL

IPv4 with TCP

Acknowledgment, DSCP, Fragment, FIN, Precedence,PSH, RST, SYN, and TTL

IPv4 with UDP

DSCP, Fragment, Precendence, and TTL

IPv6

DSCP and Fragment

IPv6 with TCP

Acknowledgment, DSCP, Fragment, FIN, PSH, RST,and SYN

IPv6 with UDP

DSCP and Fragment

Note

Advanced Filtering is available only for NX-API on Cisco Nexus 9000 platform.

The Time to Live (TTL) attributes range from 0 to 255. For Nexus 9200 devices, the maximum value of TTL that can be set is 3. For rest of the Nexus 9000 series devices, the maximum TTL value can be 3 for NX-OS version 7.0(3)I6(1) and above. For NXOS versions 7.0(3)I4(1) and below, you can configure any value within the range.

Limitations for using Advanced Filtering

While configuring Advanced Filters, you cannot:

  • Configure DSCP and precedence together.

  • Configure fragments and ACK or SYN or FIN or PSH or RST together.

  • Configure fragments and port numbers with UDP and IPv4 or IPv6 combination.

  • Configure precedence and HTTP methods with IPv4 and TCP combination.

Global Configuration

The Global Configuration tab displays the devices connected to the Nexus Dashboard Data Broker controller. New devices added to the Nexus Dashboard Data Broker controller are displayed here by default.


Note

Only Connected devices (connection status indicated in green) are displayed here. If a device is added to the Nexus Dashboard Data Broker controller, but is not connected (connection status indicated in red), then, that device is not displayed here. To check the status of a device, see NDB Devices.

A table with the following details is displayed:

Table 5. Global Configuration

Column Name

Description

Device

The device name.

This is a hyperlink, click the Device name to get the global configuration details of the device.

Loadbalancing

Displays the type of load balancing. The options are:

  • Symmetric

  • Non-symmetric

PTP

Displays if PTP is enabled or not. The options are:

  • Enabled

  • Disabled

Jumbo MTU

The Jumbo MTU size for the device.

Jumbo MTU is the maximum MTU that can be configured for a device.

MPLS Strip

Displays if MPLS stripping is enabled or not on the device. The options are:

  • Enabled

  • Disabled

MPLS Filter

Displays if MPLS filtering on the device, is enabled or not. The options are:

  • Enabled

  • Disabled

Netflow

Displays if Netflow on the device, is enabled or not. The options are:

  • Enabled

  • Disabled

The following actions can be performed from the Global Configuration tab:

Editing Global Configuration for a Device

Use this procedure to edit global configuration for a device. You can make global changes to the parameters of a device. For example, the Jumbo MTU value set here, defines the MTU value for an input port of the device.

When a device is created, some basic configurations are created and some default values are set. Use this procedure to change or add one or more parameters for a device.

Before you begin

Create one or more devices. Check the status of the device.

Procedure

Step 1

Navigate to Components > Global Configuration.

Step 2

Select a device by checking the check box at the beginning of the row.

Step 3

From the Actions drop down menu, select Edit Global Configuration.

Step 4

In the Edit Global Configuration dialog box, enter the following details:

Table 6. Edit Global Configuration

Field

Description

General

Device

The device name is displayed based on your earlier selection.

Load Balancing Type Configuration

Select Symmetric or Non-symmetric from the drop-down list.

For details about load balancing, see Symmetric and Non-Symmetric Load Balancing.

Hashing Configuration

Select a hashing configuration from the drop-down list. The displayed drop-down list is dynamic and depends on the selected load balancing type.

Hashing Type

Select a hashing type from the drop-down list.

MPLS Configuration

MPLS Strip Type Configuration

Click the gray button to enable MPLS strip type configuration. The button turns blue and moves to the right.

All the MPLS packets from the input ports are stripped of the MPLS header.

Note

 

On Cisco Nexus 9300-GX Series switches, MPLS strip feature works only after switch reload.

Label Age

Set the time period after which the MPLS labels will age out. This field is available only for select devices.

Supported platforms are the following Cisco Nexus Series switches - 93128TX, 3172, 3164, 3232, 3132C-Z.

Enable MPLS Filter Configuration

Click the gray button to enable MPLS filter configuration. The button turns blue and moves to the right.

MPLS filter configuration enabled here, is applied to the input port of the device.

sFlow Configuration

Enable sFlow

Click the gray button to enable Sampled Flow (sFlow). The button turns blue and moves to the right.

For details about sFlow, see Sampled Flow.

Enter the following details:

  • Agent IP Address— Enter the agent ip address.

  • Select VRF—Select a VRF from the drop-down list.

  • Collector IP Address —Enter an IP address for the collector port.

  • Collector UDP Port —Enter the UDP port for the sFlow collector.

  • Counter Poll Interval—Enter a poll interval value for sFlow.

  • Max Datagram Size—Enter the maximum datagram size.

  • Max Sampled Size—Enter the maximum sampled size.

  • Sampling Rate —Enter the data sampling rate.

  • Data Sources—Click Select Ports and select the ports by checking the required check boxes and click Add.

Note

 

To verify sflow configuration on a device, use the show sflow command.

PTP Configuration

Enable PTP

Click the gray button to enable PTP and receive updates from the master. The button turns blue and moves to the right.

PTP enabled here is used for timestamping in the inputs ports and monitoring tools.

For details about PTP, see Precision Time Protocol.

The following fields are displayed:

  • Source IP Address— Enter the source IP address for receiving PTP updates.

  • Ports—Click Select Ports and check the check boxes to select the required ports to which the PTP source IP is connected.

Note

 

You need to enable PTP for all the devices in the network to ensure PTP clock time synchronization.

Jumbo MTU Configuration

MTU Value

Enter MTU value; range is 1502 to 9216. Jumbo MTU sets the maximum MTU value the device can accept.

MTU size for traffic is typically 1500. To receive traffic with MTU more than 1500, enable this. The MTU value defined here is applied on the incoming traffic on the input ports of a device.

Click Reset to Default to set the MTU value to the default value of 1500.

Note

 

MTU value must be an even number, in the specified range.

Netflow Configuration

Enable Netflow

Click the gray button to enable netflow. The button turns blue and moves to the right.

For details about Netflow, see Netflow.

To define the Netflow parameters, complete the following configurations (in the specified order):

To complete the NetFlow configuration, associate the NetFlow Monitor to an input port. See Adding an Input Port.

Step 5

Click Save.

Adding a Record for NetFlow

Use this procedure to create a NetFlow record.

A flow record defines the keys that NetFlow uses to identify packets and other fields of interest that NetFlow gathers for the flow. The flow record determines the size of the data to be collected for a flow. The key fields are specified with the match keyword.

Procedure

Step 1

Navigate to Components > Global Configuration.

Step 2

Select a device by checking the check box at the beginning of the row.

Step 3

From the Actions drop down menu, select Edit Global Configuration.

Step 4

In the Edit Global Configuration dialog box, click the gray button to Enable Netflow.

Step 5

Click Add Record and enter the following details:

Table 7. Add Record

Field

Description

Name

Name of the record.

Description

Description for the record.

Collect

Define the collection parameters.

Check the corresponding check box to enable collection based on one or more of the following parameters:

  • Counter Bytes

  • Counter Packets

  • IP Version

  • Transport TCP Flags

  • System Uptime First

  • System Uptime Last

Match

Define the match parameters.

The options available are Layer 2 and Layer 3/4. Click either of them to select the match parameters. These parameters are discussed in the subsequent rows.

Layer 2

Check the check box to enable one or more matching Layer 2 parameters.

  • Mac Source Address

  • Mac Destination Address

  • Ethertype

  • VLAN

Layer 3/4

Check the check box to enable one or more matching Layer 3 and/or Layer 4 parameters.

  • IP Protocol

  • IP TOS

  • Transport Source Port

  • Transport Destination Port

  • IPv4 Source Address

  • IPv4 Destination Address

  • IPv6 Source Address

  • IPv6 Destination Address

  • IPv6 Flow Label

  • IPv6 Options

Step 6

Click Add Record.

Adding an Exporter for NetFlow

Use this procedure to create a NetFlow exporter. The flow exporter configuration defines the export parameters for a flow and specifies reachability information for the remote NetFlow Collector.

A flow exporter contains network layer and transport layer details for the NetFlow export packet.

Procedure

Step 1

Navigate to Components > Global Configuration.

Step 2

Select a device by checking the check box at the beginning of the row.

Step 3

From the Actions drop down menu, select Edit Global Configuration.

Step 4

In the Edit Global Configuration dialog box, click the gray button to Enable Netflow.

Step 5

Click Add Exporter and enter the following details:

Table 8. Add Exporter

Field

Description

Name

Name of the exporter.

Description

Description of the exporter.

Destination

Export destination IP address.

Check the corresponding check box to enable collection based on one or more of the following parameters:

Source

Source IP address.

Interface on the device through which the flow cache reaches the destination.

UDP Port

UDP port where the NetFlow collector is listening for NetFlow packets. The range is from 1 to 65535.

DSCP

The differentiated services codepoint value. The range is from 0 to 63.

Version

The NetFlow export version. This field cannot be changed.

Note

 

Cisco NX-OS supports the Version 9 export format.

Option Exporter

Flow exporter statistics resend timer. The range is from 1 to 86400 seconds.

Template Data Timeout

Template data resend timer. The range is from 1 to 86400 seconds.

Step 6

Click Add Exporter.

Adding a Monitor for NetFlow

Use this procedure to create a NetFlow monitor.

You can create a flow monitor and associate it with a flow record and a flow exporter. All of the flows that belong to a monitor use the associated flow record to match on the different fields, and the data is exported to the specified flow exporter.

Before you begin

Complete the following configurations:

  • Adding a record

  • Adding an exporter

Procedure

Step 1

Navigate to Components > Global Configuration.

Step 2

Select a device by checking the check box at the beginning of the row.

Step 3

From the Actions drop down menu, select Edit Global Configuration.

Step 4

In the Edit Global Configuration dialog box, click the gray button to Enable Netflow.

Step 5

Click Add Monitor and enter the following details:

Table 9. Add Monitor

Field

Description

Name

Name of the monitor.

Description

Description of the monitor.

Record

Click Select Record. In the Select Record window, choose a record by clicking the corresponding radio button. The details of the selected record are displayed on the right. Click Select.

Exporter

Click Select Exporter. In the Select Exporter window, choose an exporter by selecting the corresponding check box. The details of the selected exporter are displayed on the right. Click Select.

Note

 

You can select a maximum of two flow exporters for a monitor

Step 6

Click Add Monitor.

Precision Time Protocol

Precision Time Protocol (PTP) devices include ordinary clocks, boundary clocks, and transparent clocks. Non-PTP devices include ordinary network switches, routers, and other infrastructure devices. A PTP system can consist of a combination of PTP and non-PTP devices.

PTP is a distributed protocol that specifies how real-time PTP clocks in the system synchronize with each other. These clocks are organized into a master-member synchronization hierarchy with the grandmaster clock, the clock at the top of the hierarchy, determining the reference time for the entire system. Synchronization is achieved by exchanging PTP timing messages, with the members using the timing information to adjust their clocks to the time of their master in the hierarchy. PTP operates within a logical scope called a PTP domain.

PTP is a time synchronization protocol for nodes distributed across a network. Its hardware timestamp feature provides excellent accuracy.

PTP is supported on the following platforms:

  • Cisco Nexus 9200 switches

  • Cisco Nexus 9300 switches—9300-FX, FX2, EX

  • Cisco Nexus 9500 switches—9500-FX, EX

  • Cisco Nexus 3548 switches


Note

After PTP is configured, the default PTP configuration is synchronized with all the ISL ports of the corresponding device.

See Editing Global Configuration for a Device for configuring PTP.

Netflow

NetFlow identifies packet flows for ingress IP packets and provides statistics based on these packet flows. NetFlow does not require any change to either the packets themselves or to any networking device.

In order to provide enough free space to monitor flows, the ing-netflow TCAM region is carved to 512 by default on Cisco Nexus 9300-FX platform switches. If more space is required, use the hardware access-list tcam region ing-netflow size command to modify the size of this TCAM region, using a multiple of 512.

Netflow is supported on the following platforms:

  • Cisco Nexus 9300 switches—9300-FX, FX2, EX

  • Cisco Nexus 9500 switches—9500-FX, EX

See Editing Global Configuration for a Device for configuring Netflow.

For more information about Netflow, see Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS System Management Configuration Guide.

Sampled Flow

You can manage Sampled Flow (sFlow) on Nexus Dashboard Data Broker that are based on NX-API. sFlow allows you to monitor real-time traffic in data networks that contain switches and routers. It uses the sampling mechanism in the sFlow agent software on switches and routers to monitor traffic and to forward the sample data to the central data collector.

See Editing Global Configuration for a Device for configuring sFlow.

Input Ports

The Input Ports tab displays details of the inputs ports on the NDB devices.

When an Edge-SPAN or an Edge-TAP or an Remote Source Edge-SPAN port is defined in the NX-API mode of configuration, the spanning-tree bpdufilter enable command is automatically configured in the interface mode on the ports to filter the BPDU packets. This configuration is applicable for all Cisco Nexus 3000 and 9000 Series switches.

Ensure to configure the spanning-tree bpdufilter enable command on all the inter-switch ports for Cisco Nexus series switches.

A table with the following details is displayed:

Table 10. Input Ports

Column Name

Description

Device

The device on which the input port is configured.

This field is a hyperlink. Click the Device name to view more information about the device. For details and procedures, see Devices chapter.

Port

The port of the device that is configured as an input port.

This field is a hyperlink. Click a Port to view more details of the port. Additional actions that can be performed from here are:

  • Editing an Input Port

  • Remove Configuration—the port is removed as an input port for the device.

In Use

A green tick mark indicates that the input port is in use.

Configuration

The configuration information of the input port (based on the parameters set during Adding an Input Port).

Type

Port type. The displayed options are:

  • Edge port-SPAN

  • Edge port-TAP

  • Remote Source Edge-SPAN

  • Packet Truncation

Span Destination/ Tap Name

Details of the span destination which is connected to the input port.

  • If the port is connected to a production switch, then PS, followed by the device ID and the connected interface is displayed.

  • If the port is connected to a Cisco APIC/ or Cisco DNAC controller, then for APIC, the DN value is displayed with the pod and path details. For Cisco DNAC, Cisco DNAC followed by the Catalyst device ID and interface is displayed.

  • If the port is connected to a Tap device, the tap configuration name is displayed.

Created By

The user who created the the input port.

Modified By

The user who last modified the input port.

The following actions can be performed from the Input Ports tab:

  • Add Input Port —Use this to add a new input port. See Adding an Input Port for details about this task.

  • Delete Input Port —Select the required input port by checking the check box which is available at the beginning of the row. Click Actions > Delete Input Port(s). The selected port(s) is deleted.


    Note

    In Use input ports cannot be deleted.

    If you choose the delete action without selecting a check box, an error is displayed. You will be prompted to select a device.

Adding an Input Port

Use this procedure to create an input port.

Input port of a device is the port through which traffic enters the packet broker network and is directed to the monitoring tool.

Before you begin

Add one or more devices.

Some of the input port parameters are defined at the device-level using the Global Configuration tab. To define these parameters (listed below), see Editing Global Configuration.

  • PTP

  • Netflow

  • MPLS Filtering

  • Jumbo MTU

Procedure

Step 1

Navigate to Components > Input Port Configuration.

Step 2

From the Actions drop-down list, select Add Input Port.

Step 3

In the Add Input Port dialog-box, enter the following details:

Table 11. Add Input Port

Field

Description

General

Device

To select a device on which the input port is being configured.

Click Select Device . From the Select Device window, select a radio button and choose a device. Click Select.

Port(s)

To select a port to be configured as the input port.

Click Select Port. From the Select Port window, select the required port(s). Click Select.

Port Type

Select from the drop-down list to define the input port type. The options are:

  • Edge Port - SPAN —creates an edge-port for incoming traffic from a configured session of the production switch .

  • Edge Port- TAP—creates an edge port for incoming traffic from a physical device on an ISL.

  • Remote Source Edge - SPAN —creates an edge-port for incoming traffic from a configured remote session of the production switch.

Port Description

Enter a description for the port.

VLAN ID (QinQ Supported)

The port is configured as dot1q to preserve any production VLAN information. The VLAN ID is used to identify the port that the traffic is coming from.

Note

 

After an interface is configured with Q-in-Q, do not configure VLAN filters for the Q-in-Q configured interface.

Block-Tx

Check the check-box to block the traffic that is being transmitted from the input ports.

Note

 

Only unicast and multicast traffic is blocked.

Drop ICMP v6 Neighbour Solicitation

Check the check-box to drop all ICMP traffic.

By default, all the ICMP traffic is blocked for Edge-SPAN and Edge-TAP port types for Nexus 9300-EX and 9200 Series switches. For the rest of Nexus 9000 Series switches, user has to manually enable this feature to deny or block all the ICMP traffic. This feature is currently available on NX-API based switches for NX-OS versions I5 and later.

Enable Timestamp Tagging

Check the check-box to append the timestamp tag on packets using the Timestamp Tagging feature.

For Nexus 9300-EX and 9200 series switches, this feature is applicable for Edge-SPAN and Edge-TAP ports. To configure Timestamp Tagging feature, ensure that PTP feature is enabled on the device. You need to enable Timestamp tagging on monitoring device and edge ports. If Timestamp Tagging feature is not configured on either side of the connection, Edge-SPAN/Edge-TAP and Monitor Devices, the packets are not tagged with timestamp.

Note

 

If PTP is not enabled for the device using Global Configuration, then this option is grayed out.

Enable MPLS Filtering

Check the check-box to enable MPLS filtering.

Note

 

If MPLS filtering is not enabled for the device using Global Configuration, then this option is grayed out.

Apply Jumbo MTU

Check the check-box to enable the set Jumbo MTU value on this port.

Note

 

If Jumbo MTU is not configured for the device using Global Configuration, then this option is grayed out.

Netflow Monitor

Select an option from the drop-down list. The monitor names created at the Global Configuration level are listed here.

Note

 

If NetFlow is not enabled for the device using Global Configuration, then this option is grayed out.

The fields displayed for each Port Type are discussed below.

  1. (Only for Port Type—Edge Port-SPAN) Enter the following details:

    Field

    Description

    Destination Device Type

    This is the source for the input ports (Span Destination).

    Select the required option from the drop down list. The options are:

    • Controller

    • Production Switch

    The options for each of the above are discussed in the subsequent rows.

    Controller

    Click Select Controller. Select (Cisco) ACI or (Cisco) DNAC.

    Fields for Destination Device Type: Controller > ACI

    While selecting the interfaces (discussed below), if you do not find the latest pod, node and its interfaces in the displayed options, click the Refresh Fabric button. This action will fetch the latest pod, node and it's interfaces from the ACI Fabric.

    Note

     

    You must add an APIC/ ACI device before you configure SPAN destination.

    Span Destination Name

    Enter a name for Span Destination.

    Pod

    Select a pod.

    Node

    Select a node.

    Port

    Select a port.

    MTU

    Set an MTU value for the span destination of APIC.

    Fields for Destination Device Type: Controller > (Cisco) DNAC

    Span Destination Name

    Enter a name for Span Destination.

    Span Destination Port

    Click Select Span Destination Port and select a Catalyst switch and port(s).

    Fields for Destination Device Type: Production Switch

    Note

     

    You must add a Nexus or a Catalyst device before you configure SPAN destination.

    Span Destination Device

    Click Select Device and select a device.

    Span Destination Port

    Click Select Port and select a port.

  2. (Only for Port Type—Edge Port-TAP) Enter the following details:

    Field

    Description

    Tap Configuration Name

    Select a tap configuration from the drop down list.

    Tap Configuration Type

    Select the port of the NDB device which will receive the mirrored traffic from the tap device.

    The displayed options are based on the selected Tap Configuration Name details. If you have selected to tap either/both the mirror ports during Adding a Tap Configuration, the corresponding NDB Edge Port-Tap ports are displayed.

  3. (Only for Port Type—Remote Source Edge-SPAN) Enter the following details:

    Note

     

    You can configure a maximum of four Remote Source Edge-SPAN ports, to receive traffic from a remote source.

    Field

    Description

    Remote Input Termination Session

    ERSPAN ID

    Enter an ERSPAN ID. Range is from 1 to 1023.

    The ERSPAN id entered here is matched with the source session id in the remote source.

    Use Loopback Interface

    Check the check-box to use a loopback interface.

    Loopback

    Click Select Loopback to select a loopback interface. If there are no configured loopback interfaces, click Add Loopback. See Configuring Loopback.

    Use a loopback interface to have more than one remote input port. Traffic from an L3 interface reaches the loopback interface and from there the session destination port. If the first remote source edge span input port was created with a loopback, then the following Remote Source Edge-SPAN ports must also be configured with the same loopback interface. If the first remote source edge span input port was created without a loopback, then the following Remote Source Edge-SPAN ports must also be configured without a loopback interface.

    Session Destination

    Click Select Destination Port and select a destination port (on the NDB device).

    Remote Input Session

    Remote Input Port

    Click Remote Input Port and select a remote input port (on the NDB device).

    Note

     

    Only one remote input port can be configured for the traffic reaching the Remote Source Edge-SPAN ports. If you have configured a loopback interface, then, the remote input ports can be different for each of the Remote Source Edge-SPAN ports.

    IP Address

    Enter an IP address. IP address entered here is the IP address of the remote source port to which the packets reach over L3 network.

    You need to enter this value only when configuring the first Remote Source Edge-SPAN port. For the next three ports that you configure, this field is grayed out as the same IP address is applied to all the four sessions with Remote Source Edge-SPAN ports.

    Destination Device Type

    Select the device type from the drop down list.

    For Remote Source Edge-SPAN ports, the supported destination type is ACI.

    Span Destination ACI Fabric

    Click Select ACI Fabric and select an ACI fabric.

    Span Destination Name

    Enter a name for the span destnation.

    Tenant

    Click Select Tenant to select a tenant.

    Application Profile

    Click Select Application Profile to select an application profile.

    EPG

    Click Select EPG to select an EPG.

    Source IP Address

    Enter the source IP address. This IP address is the base IP address of the IP subnet of the source packets.

    Destination IP Address

    This field is automatically populated.

    The IP address populated here is the same address that you entered as the IP address of the Remote Input Port.

    Note

     

    For APIC/ ACI devices, this is the destination port (remote input port), and hence called destination IP.

    Flow ID

    This field is automatically populated.

    Flow ID is the flow identifier of the SPAN packet. It is matched with the ERSPAN ID earlier specified for the Remote Source Edge-SPAN port.

    TTL

    Enter a TTL value. Default value is 64 hops.

    DSCP

    Select a DSCP value from the drop-down list.

    MTU

    Enter an MTU value for the span destination port. Range is from 64 to 9216.

Step 4

Click Add Input Port.

Configuring Loopback

Use this procedure to configure a loopback for the Remote source edge span input port.

Procedure

Step 1

Navigate to Inputs Ports > Actions > Add Input Ports.

Step 2

Select Port Type as Remote Source Edge Span Port and select the Use Loopback Interface check-box to select a loopback interface.

Step 3

Click Configure Loopback to create a new loopback interface.

In the Configure Loopback dialog-box, enter the following details:

Table 12. Configure Loopback

Field

Description

General

Loopback Id

Enter a loopback ID.

IP Address

Enter the loopback IP address.

Step 4

Click Configure Loopback.

Monitoring Tools

The Monitoring Tools tab displays details of the monitoring tool ports of NDB devices. Traffic from the monitoring tool port of an NDB device is directed to the monitoring tool.

A table with the following details is displayed:

Table 13. Monitoring Tools

Column Name

Description

Status

Status is defined using two columns.

First column indicates the traffic on the monitoring tool.

  • Green—indicates that the monitoring tool is currently carrying traffic.

  • Yellow—indicates that the monitoring tool is currently not carrying traffic.

Second column indicates the status of the link between the monitoring tool port and monitoring tool. If the link between the monitoring tool port and the monitoring tool is up, then it is green in colour.

  • Green—indicates that the link is up and running.

  • Red—indicates that the link is down.

  • Yellow—indicates that the link is administratively down.

Monitoring Tool

The monitoring tool name.

This field is a hyperlink. Click the Monitoring Tool name. A new pane is displayed on the right which has more details about the monitoring tool. The following additional actions can be performed from here:

Port

Monitoring tool port (with the device).

Click the Port name to get more details of the port. The following additional actions can be performed from here:

Type

The type of monitoring tool. The option are:

  • Local Monitoring Tool—port that resides on the NDB device in the local network (L2 port).

  • Remote Monitoring Tool—port that resides outside the local network and reachable over L3 network.

In Use

If the monitoring tool port is in use, a green tick mark is displayed; else it is left blank.

Packet Truncation

If packet truncation is enabled on the monitoring tool port, a green tick mark is displayed; else it is left blank.

Block Rx

If incoming traffic from the monitoring tool to the monitoring tool port (on the NDB device) is blocked, then Yes is displayed.

Created By

The user who created the monitoring tool.

Last Modified By

The user who last modified the monitoring tool.

The following actions can be performed from the Monitoring Tools tab:

  • Add Monitoring Tool—Use this to add a new monitoring device. See Adding a Monitoring Tool for details about this task.

  • Delete Monitoring Tool(s)—Select the required device by checking the check box which is available at the beginning of the row. The selected device(s) are deleted. Click Actions > Delete Monitoring Tool(s). If you choose the delete action without selecting a check box, an error is displayed. You will be prompted to select a device.


    Note

    An In use monitoring tool cannot be deleted.

Adding a Monitoring Tool

Use this procedure to add a monitoring tool port. You can create a:

  • Local Monitoring Tool—a port that resides on the NDB device in the local network (L2 port).

  • Remote Monitoring Tool—a port that resides outside the local network and reachable over L3 network.

You can create a packet truncation port (used to block the ingress traffic) to be associated with the monitoring tool which is the egress port for a packet.

Before you begin

Restrictions:

  • You cannot use more than one remote delivery port per switch per connection.

  • Remote monitoring tool involving inter switched links is restricted to only one connection per ISL.

  • If the monitoring tool is used with a packet truncation interface, then, ensure that the status of the packet truncation port is Administratively Up (green icon) and that the other end of the link is not connected to any NDB device. To change the port Layer 2 status to Up, you need to connect to another non-NDB device create a loopback using a third party loopback fiber optic.


    Note

    You can configure a maximum of four monitoring tools with packet truncation on a switch.

Procedure

Step 1

Navigate to Components > Monitoring Tools.

Step 2

From the Actions drop-down list, select Add Monitoring Tool.

Step 3

In the Add Monitoring Tool dialog box, enter the following details:

Table 14. Add Monitoring Tool

Field

Description

General

Monitoring Tool Name

Enter a name for the monitoring tool name.

Device Name

Click Select Device. From the displayed list of devices, select a device using the radio button. The device details are displayed on the right.

The monitoring tool port resides on this device.

Click Select Device.

Port

Click Select Port. In the Select Interface window that opens, select a port by using the radio button. The displayed interfaces depends on the selected device.

Click Select.

The selected port is marked as the monitoring tool port. The traffic is redirected to the monitoring tool from here.

Port Description

Enter a description for the port.

Local Monitor Tool

Select the radio button to select a local monitor device. By selecting this option, a monitoring device is from the local network.

The following options are displayed for local monitor device (discussed in detail in the rows below):

  • Block Rx

  • Block ICMPv6 Neighbour Solicitation

  • Enable Timestamp Tagging

  • Packet Truncation

  • Enable Timestamp Strip

  • Apply Jumbo MTU

Block Rx

Blocks traffic from the monitoring tool (to the monitoring tool port on the NDB device). This option is selected by default. You can turn this option off by unchecking the check box.

Note

 

Rx traffic is blocked using Unidirectional Ethernet for Cisco N9K-95xx switches with N9K-X97160YC-EX line card (NX-OS 9.3(3) or later).

Block ICMPv6 Neighbour Solicitation

Blocks ICMP traffic from the monitoring tool (to the monitoring tool port on the NDB device). This option is selected by default. You can turn this option off by unchecking the check box.

Supported on Nexus 9300-EX and 9200 switches. For the rest of Nexus 9000 Series switches, user has to manually enable this feature to deny or block all the ICMP traffic.

Enable Timestamp Tagging

Check the check box to enable timestamp tagging. A timestamp tag is appended to all the outgoing packets of the monitoring tool port.

You can configure this feature on a single device or multiple devices.

To configure timestamp tagging, ensure that PTP is enabled on the device. You need to enable timestamp tagging on the monitoring device(s) and edge ports. If timestamp tagging is not configured on either side of the connection, Edge-SPAN/Edge-TAP and the monitor tools, then packets are not tagged with timestamp.

Packet Truncation

Check the check box to enable packet truncation and enter the MTU size.

Packet truncation discards bytes from an incoming packet based on the MTU size. This is done in order to send only the the required traffic to the monitoring tool port. This is achieved by redirecting the traffic from the input port to the packet truncation port. The truncated packets from the packet tuncation port reach the monitoring tool.

To set a packet truncation port, click Select Packet Truncation Port. See Adding a Packet Truncation Port for the detailed procedure.

Enable Timestamp Strip

Check the check box to enable timestamp strip. This removes the timestamp tag from the source packets.

Apply Jumbo MTU

Check the check box to enable jumbo MTU.

Jumbo MTU sets a bigger packet size for the device. Enable Jumbo MTU in Global Configuration to apply the set Jumbo MTU size for a port of the device.

Remote Monitor Tool

Select the radio button to select a remote monitor device. By selecting this option, a monitoring device from a remote network is enabled.

The following options are displayed for remote monitor device (discussed in detail in the rows below):

  • Block Rx

  • Interface IP

  • Destination IP

  • ERSPAN ID

Interface IP

IP address to be assigned to the monitoring tool port.

Destination IP

IP Address where ERSPAN terminates and should be reachable from the selected port.

ERSPAN ID

Enter ERSPAN id; range is 1 to 1023.

You can use a device outside the network as a monitoring device using the Encapsulated Remote Switch Port Analyzer (ERSPAN) Source Session feature for Cisco Nexus 9300 FX and EX series switches.

Step 4

Click Add Monitoring Tool.

Editing a Monitoring Tool

Use this procedure to edit the parameters of a monitoring tool.

Before you begin

Add one or more monitoring tools.

Procedure

Step 1

Navigate to Components > Monitoring Tools.

Step 2

In the displayed table, click a Monitoring Tool name.

A new pane is displayed on the right.

Step 3

Click Actions and select Edit Monitoring Tool.

Step 4

In the Edit Monitoring Tool dialog box, the current information of the monitoring tool is displayed. Modify these fields, as required:

Table 15. Edit Monitoring Tool

Field

Description

General

Monitoring Tool Name

Monitoring tool name is displayed; this cannot be edited.

Device Name

The device on which the monitoring tool port resides.

Port

The monitoring tool port.

Port Description

Enter a description for the port.

Local Monitor Tool

Select the radio button to select a local monitor device. By selecting this option, a monitoring device is from the local network.

The following options are displayed for local monitor device (discussed in detail in the rows below):

  • Block Rx

  • Block ICMPv6 Neighbour Solicitation

  • Enable Timestamp Tagging

  • Packet Truncation

  • Enable Timestamp Strip

  • Apply Jumbo MTU

Block Rx

Blocks traffic from the monitoring tool (to the monitoring tool port on the NDB device). This option is selected by default. You can turn this option off by unchecking the check box.

Note

 

Rx traffic is blocked using Unidirectional Ethernet for Cisco N9K-95xx switches with N9K-X97160YC-EX line card (NX-OS 9.3(3) or later).

Block ICMPv6 Neighbour Solicitation

Blocks ICMP traffic from the monitoring tool (to the monitoring tool port on the NDB device). This option is selected by default. You can turn this option off by unchecking the check box.

Supported on Nexus 9300-EX and 9200 switches. For the rest of Nexus 9000 Series switches, user has to manually enable this feature to deny or block all the ICMP traffic.

Enable Timestamp Tagging

Check the check box to enable timestamp tagging. A timestamp tag is appended to all the outgoing packets of the monitoring tool port.

You can configure this feature on a single device or multiple devices.

To configure timestamp tagging, ensure that PTP is enabled on the device. You need to enable timestamp tagging on the monitoring device(s) and edge ports. If timestamp tagging is not configured on either side of the connection, Edge-SPAN/Edge-TAP and the monitor tools, then packets are not tagged with timestamp.

Packet Truncation

Check the check box to enable packet truncation and enter the MTU size. If a packet truncation port was not configured during the addition of the monitoring tool, the Select Packet Truncation Port is disabled.

Enable Timestamp Strip

Check the check box to enable timestamp strip. This removes the timestamp tag from the source packets.

Apply Jumbo MTU

Check the check box to enable jumbo MTU.

Jumbo MTU sets a bigger packet size for the device. Enable Jumbo MTU in Global Configuration to apply the set Jumbo MTU size for a port of the device.

Remote Monitor Tool

Select the radio button to select a remote monitor device. By selecting this option, a monitoring device from a remote network is enabled.

The following options are displayed for remote monitor device (discussed in detail in the rows below):

  • Block Rx

  • Interface IP

  • Destination IP

  • ERSPAN ID

Interface IP

IP address to be assigned to the monitoring tool port.

Destination IP

IP Address where ERSPAN terminates and should be reachable from the selected port.

ERSPAN ID

Enter ERSPAN id; range is 1 to 1023.

You can use a device outside the network as a monitoring device using the Encapsulated Remote Switch Port Analyzer (ERSPAN) Source Session feature for Cisco Nexus 9300 FX and EX series switches.

Step 5

Click Save.

Adding a Packet Truncation Port

Use this procedure to create a packet truncation port. A packet truncation port serves as an input port for the monitoring tool port. Hence, the created packet truncation port is listed as an input port, and unused packet truncation ports can be deleted from the Input Ports tab.

Before you begin

Packet truncation involves discarding bytes from a packet starting at a specified byte position. All the data after the specified byte position is discarded. Packet truncation is required when the main information of interest is in the header of a packet or in the initial part of the packet.


Note

Packet truncation is supported for unicast traffic (not supported for multicast traffic).
Table 16. Support for Packet Truncation

EX Chassis

FX Chassis

Nexus 9364C, Nexus 9332C

Nexus 9336C-FX2

EOR switches with -EX or -FX LCs

MTU size range is 320 to 1518 bytes

MTU size range is 64 to 1518 bytes

MTU size range is 64 to 1518 bytes

MTU size range is 64 to 1518 bytes

Depends on LC

Procedure

Step 1

Navigate to Components > Monitoring Tools.

Step 2

From the Actions drop-down list, select Add Monitoring Tool.

Step 3

Select a device and port and check the Packet Truncation check-box to enable packet truncation.

Step 4

Click Select Packet Truncation Port.

Step 5

In the Select Packet Truncation Port window that is displayed, click Add Packet Truncation Port.

Step 6

In the Add Packet Truncation dialog box, enter the following details:

Table 17. Add Packet Truncation

Field

Description

General

Device

The device name is displayed.

Port

Click Select Port. In the Select Port window, select a port by selecting a radio button.

Click Submit.

Port Type

Packet Truncation port is selected by default.

Port Description

Port description for the truncation port.

Drop ICMPv6 Neighbour Solicitation

Blocks ingress ICMP traffic for the packet truncation port. This option is selected by default. You can turn this option off by unchecking the check box.

Step 7

Click Add .

Port Groups

The Port Groups tab has the following subtabs:

  • Input Port Group—input ports of a device (or across devices) are grouped together to form an input port group. See Input Port Group for more details.

  • Monitoring Tool Group—monitoring tool ports of a device (or across devices) are grouped together to form a monitoring tool group. See Monitoring Tool Group for more details.

Input Port Group

Input ports of a device (or different devices) are grouped together to form a port group. Port groups can be a combination of the edge-span and the edge-tap ports across different devices. While creating a connection, instead of choosing input ports separately, you can select more than one input port simultaneously by grouping them.

A table with the following details is displayed:

Table 18. Input Port Group

Column Name

Description

Input Port Group Name

Input port group name.

This field is a hyperlink. Click the Input Port Group Name. A new pane is displayed on the right which provides more information about the input port group. Additional tasks that can be performed from here are:

Description

Description of the input port group.

Associated Connections

The connection(s) associated with the group.

Member(s)

The number of member input ports of the group.

Created By

User who created the group.

Last Modified By

User who last modified the group.

The following actions can be performed from the Input Port Group tab:

  • Add Input Port Group—Use this to add a new input port group. See Adding an Input Port Group for details about this task.

  • Delete Input Port Group(s)—Select the input port group(s) to be deleted by checking the check box which is available at the beginning of the row and then click Actions > Delete Input Port Group. The selected input port group(s) is deleted. If you choose the delete action without selecting a check box, an error is displayed. You will be prompted to select an input port group.

Adding an Input Port Group

Use this procedure to create an input port group.

While creating a connection, instead of choosing input ports separately, you can select more than one input port simultaneously by grouping them.

Before you begin

Create one or more devices.

Procedure

Step 1

Navigate to Components > Port Groups > Input Port Group.

Step 2

From the Actions drop-down list, select Add Input Port Group.

Step 3

In the Add Input Port Group dialog box, enter the following details:

Table 19. Add Input Port Group

Field

Description

General

Group Name

Enter a name for the input port group.

Description

Enter a description for the group.

Select Node

From the All Nodes box, select a device by clicking a radio button.

Choose Port(s)

Ports that are configured as inputs ports, are displayed. Click a port to select it. You can click Add All to select all the (input) ports of a device.

Selected Port(s)

The selected ports are populated here. These are the ports which will be part of the group. If you want to delete a port, click the cross-mark (x) displayed next to the port. You can click Remove All to delete all the selected ports.

Step 4

Click Add Input Port Group.

Editing an Input Port Group

Use this procedure to edit the parameters of an input port group.

Before you begin

Create one or more input port groups.

Procedure

Step 1

Navigate to Components > Port Groups > Input Port Group.

Step 2

In the displayed table, click an Input Port Group name.

A new pane is displayed on the right.

Step 3

Click Actions and select Edit Input Port Group.

Step 4

In the Edit Input Port Group dialog box, the current information of the group is displayed. Modify these fields, as required:

Table 20. Edit Input Port Group

Field

Description

General

Group Name

Input port group name.

Description

Description of the group.

Select Node

From the All Nodes box, select a device by clicking a radio button.

Choose Port(s)

Ports configured as input ports, are displayed. Click a port to select it. You can click Add All to select all the ports of a device.

Selected Port(s)

The selected ports are populated here. These are the ports which will be part of the group. If you want to delete a port, click the cross-mark (x) displayed next to the port. You can click Remove All to delete all the selected ports.

Step 5

Click Save.

Monitoring Tool Group

Monitoring tool ports grouped together across devices form a monitoring tool group.

A table with the following details is displayed:

Table 21. Monitoring Tool Group

Column Name

Description

Monitoring Tool Group Name

Monitoring tool group name.

This field is a hyperlink. Click the Monitoring Tool Group Name. A new pane is displayed on the right which provides more information about the monitoring tool group. Additional tasks that can be performed from here are:

Description

Description of the monitoring tool group.

Associated Connections

Connections using the monitoring tool group.

Member(s)

The number of member monitoring tool ports of the group.

Created By

User who created the group.

Last Modified By

User who last modified the group.

The following actions can be performed from the Monitoring Tool Group tab:

  • Add Monitoring Tool Group—Use this to add a new monitoring tool group. See Adding a Monitoring Tool Group for details about this task.

  • Delete Monitoring Tool Group(s)—Select the tool group(s) to be deleted by checking the check box which is available at the beginning of the row and then click Actions > Delete Monitoring Tool Group(s). The selected tool group(s) is deleted. If you choose the delete action without selecting a check box, an error is displayed. You will be prompted to select a tool group.

Adding a Monitoring Tool Group

Use this procedure to create a monitoring tool group.

Before you begin

Create one or more monitoring tools.

Procedure

Step 1

Navigate to Components > Port Groups > Monitoring Tool Group.

Step 2

From the Actions drop-down list, select Add Monitoring Tool Group.

Step 3

In the Add Monitoring Tool Group dialog box, enter the following details:

Table 22. Add Monitoring Tool Group

Field

Description

General

Group Name

Enter a name for the monitoring tool group.

Description

Enter a description for the group.

Select Node

From the All Nodes box, select a device by clicking a radio button.

Choose Port(s)

Ports that are configured as monitoring tool ports, are displayed. Click a port to select it. You can click Add All to select all the (monitoring) ports of a device.

Selected Port(s)

The selected ports are populated here. These are the ports which will be part of the group. If you want to delete a port, click the cross-mark (x) displayed next to the port. You can click Remove All to delete all the selected ports.

Step 4

Click Add Monitoring Tool Group.

Editing a Monitoring Tool Group

Use this procedure to edit the parameters of a monitoring tool group.

Before you begin

Create one or more monitoring tool groups.

Procedure

Step 1

Navigate to Components > Port Groups > Monitoring Tool Group.

Step 2

In the displayed table, click a Monitoring Tool Group name.

A new pane is displayed on the right.

Step 3

Click Actions and select Edit Monitoring Tool Group.

Step 4

In the Edit Monitoring Tool Group dialog box, the current information of the group is displayed. Modify these fields, as required:

Table 23. Edit Monitoring Tool Group

Field

Description

General

Group Name

Name of the monitoring tool group.

Description

Description for the group.

Select Node

From the All Nodes box, select a device by clicking a radio button.

Choose Port(s)

Ports that are configured as monitoring tool ports, are displayed. Click a port to select it. You can click Add All to select all the (monitoring) ports of a device.

Selected Port(s)

The selected ports are populated here. These are the ports which will be part of the group. If you want to delete a port, click the cross-mark (x) displayed next to the port. You can click Remove All to delete all the selected ports.

Step 5

Click Save.

Span Destination

The Span Destination tab displays details of the span ports connected to the input ports of NDB devices. Span destination is the traffic source (from ACI or NX-OS device) for the input ports. An L2 span destination (local) is created on an edge span port and an L3 span destination (remote) is created on a remote edge span port.

A table with the following details is displayed:

Table 24. Span Destination

Column Name

Description

Name

 Name of the span destination port.

Destinations

Indicates if the span destination is on a Cisco ACI/ APIC or Cisco DNAC or Nexus or Catalyst device.

Input Port

Input port of the NDB device which is connected to the span destination.

Input Port Type

Input port type. The options are:

  • Edge-SPAN port

  • Remote Source Edge-SPAN port

Span Device

Span device (traffic source). The options are:

  • Cisco APIC/ ACI or Cisco DNAC controller

  • Catalyst or Nexus switch (production switch)

Created By

The user who created the span destination.

Last Modified By

The user who last modified the span destination.

The following actions can be performed from the Span Destinations tab:

  • Delete Span Destination(s)—Select the span destination to be deleted by checking the check box which is available at the beginning of the row and then click Actions > Delete Span Destination(s). The selected span destination is deleted. If you choose the delete action without selecting a check box, an error is displayed. You will be prompted to select a span destination.


    Note

    For adding a Span Destination, see Adding an Input Port procedure. A span destination (on an ACI/ NX-OS device) is connected to the input port of an NDB device. You can add a SPAN destination only after either an ACI/ NX-OS device has been successfully added to the network.

For APIC SPAN destination, when you configure an input port as an Edge-SPAN port and the port is connected to the ACI side, you can select the pod, the node, and the port from the ACI side and set the port as SPAN destination. For NX-OS (production switch) SPAN destination, when you configure an input port as an Edge-SPAN port and the port is connected to an NX-OS device, select a node and port on the NX-OS device, and set the port as SPAN destination.

Tap Configurations

The Tap Configurations tab displays details of the tap configurations on the Nexus Dashboard Data Broker controller. The tab provides information about the mapping of the network ports and mirror ports of a tap device, and also the NDB device ports connected to the Tap devices.

A table is displayed with the following details:

Table 25. Tap Configurations

Column Name

Description

Tap Name

Tap configuration name.

Click the Tap Name; a new pane is displayed on the right. You can perform the following additional procedures:

Device

Tap device on which the tap configuration was created.

Port-1

Port of the tap device that receives traffic from the production network.

Port-2

Port of the tap device that receives traffic from the production network.

Port-1 Mirror

Port of the tap device that receives mirrored traffic from Port-1 of the tap device and forwards it to the NDB Port-1 Edge Port-TAP.

Port-2 Mirror

Port of the tap device that receives mirrored traffic from Port-2 of the tap device and forwards it to the NDB Port-2 Edge Port-TAP.

Port-1 Edge Port-TAP

Port of the NDB device that receives traffic from Port-1 Mirror port of the tap device.

Port-2 Edge Port-TAP

Port of the NDB device that receives traffic from Port-2 Mirror port of the tap device.

Created By

The user who created the tap configuration.

Modified By

The user who modified the tap configuration.

The following actions can be performed from the Tap Configurations tab:

  • Add Tap Configuration—Use this to add a tap configuration. See Adding a Tap Configuration for details.

  • Edit Tap Configuration—Use this to edit an exsiting tap configuration. See Editing a Tap Configuration for details.

  • Delete Tap Configuration—Select the tap configuration(s) to be deleted by checking the check box which is available at the beginning of the row and then click Actions > Delete Tap Configuration .

  • Sync Tap Configuration—Use this option to synchronize the tap configuration on the tap device with the tap configuration on the Nexus Dashboard Data Broker controller.

Adding a Tap Configuration

Use this procedure to add a tap configuration.

Before you begin

Add one or more Tap Devices.

Procedure

Step 1

Navigate to Components > Tap Configurations.

Step 2

From the Actions drop-down list, select Add Tap Configuration.

Step 3

In the Add Tap Configuration dialog-box, enter the following details:

Table 26. Add Tap Configuration

Field

Description

Tap Name

Enter a name for the tap configuration.

Tap Device

To select a tap device on which the tap configuration is being configured.

Click Select Device and select a tap device from the Select Tap Device window that is displayed. You can also choose to add a tap device by clicking Add Tap Device.

Port(s) to Tap Incoming Traffic

Select from these options- Port-1, Port-2, Both.

You can select to tap traffic from either of the ports, or both the ports.

Network Ports

Click Select Port to select Port-1 and Port-2.

These are the ports on the tap device, which receive traffic from the production network. Bidirectional traffic is established between both the network ports.

Mirror Port(s)

Click Select Port to select the port(s) you want to mirror the traffic to. Traffic from Network Port-1 is sent to Mirror Port-1 and traffic from Network Port-2 is sent to Mirror Port-2.

Traffic from the network ports is sent (mirrored) to the mirror ports, and then to the NDB device.

Note

 

Both Port-1 and Port-2 will be available, only if you have selected the option as Both , to tap incoming traffic.

NDB Edge Port-TAP

Click Select Port to select the Edge Port-TAP port(s) on the NDB device. Traffic from the mirror port(s) is received here.

Note

 

If you choose not to select NDB Edge Port-TAP port(s) here, you can associate the ports using Adding an Input Port procedure.

Step 4

Click Add Tap Configuration.

Editing a Tap Configuration

Use this procedure to edit the parameters of a tap configuration.

Before you begin

Add one or more tap configurations.

Procedure

Step 1

Navigate to Components > Tap Configurations.

Step 2

In the displayed table, click a Tap Name.

A new pane is displayed on the right.

Step 3

Click Actions and select Edit Tap Configuration.

Step 4

In the Edit Tap Configuration dialog box, the current information of the tap configuration is displayed. Modify these fields, as required:

Table 27. Edit Tap Configuration

Field

Description

Tap Name

Tap configuration name.

Tap Device

Tap device on which the tap configuration was created.

Port(s) to Tap Incoming Traffic

The earlier selected options are displayed. If you want to change:

Select from these options- Port-1, Port-2, Both.

You can select to tap traffic from either of the ports, or both the ports.

Network Ports

The earlier selected options are displayed. If you want to change:

Click Select Port to select Port-1 and Port-2.

Mirror Port(s)

The earlier selected options are displayed. If you want to change:

Click Select Port to select the port(s) you want to mirror the traffic to. Traffic from Network Port-1 is sent to Mirror Port-1 and traffic from Network Port-2 is sent to Mirror Port-2.

Note

 

Both Port-1 and Port-2 will be available, only if you have selected the option as Both , to tap incoming traffic.

NDB Edge Port-TAP

The earlier selected options are displayed. If you want to change:

Click Select Port to select the Edge Port-TAP port(s) on the NDB device. Traffic from the mirror port(s) is received here.

Note

 

If you choose not to select NDB Edge Port-TAP port(s) here, you can associate the ports using Adding an Input Port procedure.

Step 5

Click Save.

About Tap Configurations

A tap device makes a copy (mirror) of the network traffic from one or more production switch/ networks. It is recommended to use Cisco Nexus 3550-F L1 series switch as a tap device.

With reference to the topology, below, ports A1 and A2 of the tap device receive traffic from a production switch/ network(s). These are called as network ports. A birectional traffic flow is established between the network ports. Traffic on the network ports is mirrored to ports B1 and B2, called as mirror ports. Traffic from the mirror ports reaches the Edge Port-TAP port(s) of the NDB device. The mirror ports of the tap device and Edge Port-TAP ports of the NDB device are physically connected.

Benefits of using Cisco Nexus 3550-F L1 switch as a Tap Device with Cisco Nexus Dashboard Data Broker

  • Ease of use. You can configure and manage Cisco Nexus 3550-F L1 using the Cisco Nexus Dashboard Data Broker GUI.

  • Cost effective. Cisco Nexus 3550-F Fusion L1 replaces 16 optical taps (48 ports) in a single 1-RU device.

User Defined Field

The User Defined Field (UDF) tab displays details of UDFs on NDB devices.

A UDF enables you to filter packets based on an offset value. An offset value in a packet can be matched within 128 bytes.

By default, Nexus Dashboard Data Broker controller generates two UDFs named udfInnerVlan and udfInnerVlanv6, used to match the inner VLAN in the ISL ports.

Table 28. UDF Support Matrix

UDF Ethertype

Platform

IPv4

Cisco Nexus 9200 and 9300 series switches

IPv6

Cisco Nexus

93xx EX/FX , 95xx EX/FX , 92xx series switches
Table 29. Qualifying Regions for UDF

Platform

UDF Qualifying TCAM Region

Cisco Nexus 9200, 9300-EX/9300-FX and 9500-EX/9500-FX series switches

ing-ifacl

Other platforms

ifacl

A table with the following details is displayed:

Table 30. User Defined Field

Column Name

Description

UDF

The UDF name.

This field is a hyperlink. Click the UDF name and a new pane is displayed on the right with more details of the UDF. Additional tasks that can be performed from here are:

Type

Displays IPv4 or IPv6.

Keyword

Displays Packet-Start or Header.

In Use

A green tick-mark indicates that the UDF is currently in use.

Offset

The set offset value.

Length

Length (number of bytes) in a packet that are matched.

Devices

Number of devices a UDF is applied on.

Created By

User who created the UDF.

Last Modified By

User who last modified the UDF.

The following actions can be performed from the User Defined Field tab:

  • Add UDF—Use this to add a new UDF. See Adding a UDF for details about this task.

  • Delete UDF(s)—Select a UDF by checking the check box which is available at the beginning of the row. Click Actions > Delete UDF(s).

    If you choose the delete action without selecting a check box, an error is displayed. You will be prompted to select a UDF.


Note

Any change in a UDF definition requires device reboot.

Adding a User Defined Field

Use this procedure to add a user defined field.

Some protocols are not supported by default in some NX-OS devices. To support filtering of packets on these devices, use UDFs.


Note

UDF can match a maximum of two offset bytes. To filter three consecutive bytes in a packet, we need to stack the UDFs. Create two UDFs, one after the other using the NDB GUI. The second UDF is called the stacking UDF.

Procedure

Step 1

Navigate to Components > User Defined Field.

Step 2

From the Actions drop down list, select Add UDF.

Step 3

In the Add UDF dialog box, enter the following details:

Table 31. Add UDF

Field

Description

UDF Name

Name of the UDF.

Type

Select from the drop down list. The options are:

  • IPv4

  • IPv6

Keyword

Select from the drop down list. The options are:

  • Header

  • Packet-Start

If the Header option is selected, the Inner (Offset base from inner/outer header) and L3/L4 (Offset base from L3/L4 header) is enabled. If Packet-Start is selected, the offset base starts from the packet.

Header

Select from the drop down list. The options are:

  • Inner

  • Outer

This field is enabled only when the selected keyword is Header. Enables you to select the base offset value from the inner or outer Header.

Layer

Select from the drop down list. The options are:

  • Layer 3

  • Layer 4

This field is enabled only when the selected keyword is Header . Enables you to specify if the offset start value is from Layer 3 or Layer 4.

Offset

Set the byte Offset value; range is from 0 to 127.

Filtering of packets is done based on the set offset value in UDF, packets are matched from the set offset value.

Length

Length (number of bytes) of a packet that are matched; range is from 1 to 2.

The length depends on the offset value, if it is set to 1; then one byte starting with the set offset byte is matched.

Devices

Device on which the UDF is being created.

Click Select Devices.

In the Select Device(s) window, select a device and click Select Device(s).

Step 4

Click Add UDF.

The created UDF is used as a custom filter while creating filters for a connection. See Adding a Filter for details.

Note

 
The icon for UDF is yellow in color immediately after it is created. After you reboot the device, if the UDF is successfully installed, the UDF icon color changes to green, else it changes to red.

Editing or Cloning a User Defined Field

Use this procedure to edit or clone a user defined field.

Editing a UDF means changing the parameters of an existing UDF.

Cloning a UDF means a new UDF is created with the same parameters as an existing UDF. You can change the parameters as required.

Before you begin

Create one or more user defined fields.

Procedure

Step 1

Navigate to Components > User Defined Field.

Step 2

In the displayed table, click a UDF.

A new pane is displayed on the right.

Step 3

Click Actions and select Clone UDF or Edit UDF .

Step 4

In the Clone UDF or Edit UDF dialog box, the current UDF information is displayed. Modify these fields, as required:

Table 32. Edit UDF

Field

Description

UDF Name

Name of the UDF.

This field cannot be changed.

Type

The type selected during UDF creation.

This field cannot be changed.

Keyword

Select from the drop down list. The options are:

  • Header

  • Packet-Start

Header

 The Header selected during UDF creation.

This field cannot be changed.

Layer

The Layer selected during UDF creation.

This field cannot be changed.

Offset

Set the byte Offset value; range is from 0 to 127.

Filtering of packets is done based on the set offset value in UDF, packets are matched from the set offset value.

Length

Length (number of bytes) of a packet that are matched; range is from 1 to 2.

The length depends on the offset value, if it is set to 1; then one byte starting with the set offset byte is matched.

Devices

Device on which the UDF is currently applied on. You can delete the UDF from the current device or apply the UDF on more devices.

Click Select Devices.

In the Select Device(s) window, select a device and click Select Device(s).

Note

 

You can not delete an In-use UDF from a device.

Step 5

Click Save.