Configuring the Nexus Data Broker

This chapter contains the following sections:

Viewing Topology

Click the Topology tab in the left frame to view the topology in the network.


Note

Starting with Cisco NDB Release 3.7, additional information such as hardware detail and software detail is displayed for each device along with the port count in the topology diagram.


Configuring Port Definition

When you click Port Definition tab in the GUI, the Port Definition screen is displayed. Select the switch from the drop-down list to configure the ports.


Note

Starting with Cisco NDB release 3.8, you can search all the switches in a network using the advanced search option.


On the Port Definition screen, the following two tabs are displayed:

  • Port Configuration

  • SPAN Destination

Click the Port Configuration tab, the following tabs are displayed:

  • Configure Multiple Ports

  • Remove port Configuration

  • Add Service Node

  • Add Monitoring Device

When you click Configure Multiple Ports tab, the Configure Multiple Ports window is displayed. The following details are displayed on the screen: Number, Status, Port Name, Type, In Use, Port ID, and Action.


Note

Beginning with Cisco Nexus Data Broker, Release 3.1, the interface description is updated from the Cisco Nexus Data Broker GUI to the switch and the interface description is also available from the switch into the Cisco Nexus Data Broker GUI. When using in Openflow mode, the NX-API auxiliary connection is required for this functionality to work.



Note

On the Port Configuration tab, the port name and the interface are displayed as hyperlinks. When you click the port name, you can view the running configuration for that interface on the tab.


If you want to remove any ports, select the port and click Remove port Configuration tab.

Click Add Service Node to add a service node.

Click Add Monitoring Device to add a monitoring device.

On the Port Configuration screen, the following port details are displayed for the selected node:

  • Serial Number

  • Status

  • Port name

  • Type

  • In Use

  • Port ID

  • Action—When you click Configure, the Configure Ports window is displayed.

On the SPAN Destination tab, the following details are displayed:

  • SPAN Destination Name

  • SPAN Destinations

  • Node Connector

  • Monitor Port Type

  • Description

Configuring Ports

Complete the following steps to configure a port.

Procedure


Step 1

Select the switch for which you want to configure the port details on the Port Configuration screen.

Step 2

Click Configure under Action.

The Configure Ports window is displayed.

Step 3

In the Configure Ports window, configure the port type from the Select a port type drop-down list by selecting one of the following options:

  • Add Monitoring Device
  • Edge Port-SPAN
  • Edge Port-TAP
  • Production Port

Monitoring Device—Creates a monitoring device for capturing traffic and configures the corresponding delivery port.

Edge Port-SPAN—Creates an edge port for incoming traffic connected to an upstream switch that is configured as a SPAN destination.

Edge Port-TAP—Creates an edge port for incoming traffic connected to a physical TAP port.

Production Port—Creates a production port for the ingress and egress traffic.

Note 

Starting with Cisco NDB Release 3.6, you can configure Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) for all the Cisco Nexus 9xxx devices in NX-API mode using NDB GUI. MTU can be configured at the system level (node level or global level) and the Interface Level (supported only on SPAN and TAP ports). The default value for MTU is 1500 and you can configure MTU between 1500 and 9216.

Jumbo MTU is the maximum MTU that can be configured for a node. When you configure Jumbo MTU at the system level, the same MTU value is applied to all the node ISLs.

Note 

Starting with Cisco NDB Release 3.4, a description can have a leading numerical for Edge-SPAN, Edge-TAP, Monitoring devices, Production ports, Filter names, Connections, and Redirections (NX-API, OpenFlow and NX-AUX mode).

Note 

To receive the traffic from the production network, the production ingress port is configured. After entering the service nodes (multiple security tools), the traffic exits the data center through the production egress port.

Note 

Starting with Cisco Nexus Data Broker, Release 3.2, when Edge-SPAN, Edge-TAP, monitoring device, or production port is defined in NX-API mode of configuration, the CLI command, spanning-tree bpdufilter enable 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. The sample configuration is displayed in the example:



switch# 
show run interface eth1/1
interface ethernet1/1
switchport mode trunk
mode tap-aggregation
spanning-tree bpdufilter enable

Note 

Production port has be enabled for Q-in-Q in Cisco Nexus Data Broker and a unique VLAN should be assigned for each production port. This VLAN should not overlap with any production VLAN numbers.

Note 

The spanning-tree bpdufilter enable CLI command should be configured by the user on all the inter-switch ports for all Cisco Nexus series switches and Cisco Nexus Data Broker does not configure this command.

Note 

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

When you select the port type, the title of the window changes to Manage Configure Ports.

Step 4

(Optional) In the Port Description field, enter the port description.

Beginning with Cisco Nexus Data Broker, Release 3.1, the interface description is updated from the Cisco Nexus Data Broker GUI to the switch and the interface description is also available from the switch into the Cisco Nexus Data Broker GUI. When using in Openflow mode, the NX-API auxiliary connection is required for this functionality to work.

Step 5

Enter VLAN ID for the port.

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.

Step 6

(Optional) If APIC is available, you can select the ACI side port and designate it as the SPAN destination port.

Step 7

In the Enable Packet Truncation field, enter the packet length.

Step 8

A check box is added for Block Tx and it is applicable for both Edge-SPAN and Edge-TAP where you can block the traffic that is being transmitted out of Edge-SPAN AND Edge-TAP interface.

Step 9

A check box is added for Drop ICMPv6 Neighbour Solicitation and by default all the ICMP traffic is blocked for all the 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.

Step 10

A check box is added for Enable Timestamp Tagging to append timestamp tag on the packets using the Timestamp Tagging feature. You can configure this feature on a single device or multiple devices.

For Nexus 9300-EX and 9200 series switches, this feature is applicable for Edge-SPAN and Edge-TAP ports and on the Monitoring devices. 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. For Nexus 3500 Series switches, the Timestamp Tagging feature is applicable only for the Monitoring devices.

Step 11

Click Submit to save the settings or click Clear to clear the details.

Once you configure a port, you can click Edit under Action on the Port Configuration screen to edit the port details. You can click Remove under Action on the Port Configuration screen to clear the port details.


Editing In Use Ports

Starting with NDB Release 3.4, you can edit the select fields under Port configuration(Edge-Span, Edge-Tap or Production) while in use. Ports can be edited in all the modes of connection. The following table lists the fields that you can edit for port in use.:

Section

Field

Editable

Port Configuration

Port Description

Yes

Block Tx

Yes

Port Type

No

VLAN Packet Truncation

No

Drop ICMPv6 Neighbour Solicitation

Yes

Enable Timestamp Taggin

Yes

Enabling or Disabling Ports

Starting with Cisco NDB Release 3.4, you can now enable or disable an interface using the NDB GUI. This feature is currently available for NX-API and NX-AUX based switches. A switch based on OpenFlow mode does not support this feature.

Procedure


Step 1

Select the switch for which you want to configure the port details on the Port Configuration screen.

Step 2

Click Enable/Disable to enable or disable the selected port.

Note 

You can enable or disable only one interface at a time.


Configuring Multiple Ports

You can configure multiple ports for a node.

Procedure


Step 1

Click Configure Multiple Ports on the Port Configuration screen. The Configure Multiple Ports window is displayed.

Step 2

Use CTRL/SHIFT to select multiple ports in the Select Ports field.

Step 3

Select port type from the drop-down list in the Select Port Type field.

Step 4

Click Submit to save the settings.


Port Channels

A port channel is an aggregation of multiple physical interfaces that creates a logical interface. You can bundle up to 8 individual active links into a port channel to provide increased bandwidth and redundancy. If a member port within a port channel fails, the traffic previously carried over the failed link switches to the remaining member ports within the port channel. Port channeling also load balances traffic across these physical interfaces. The port channel stays operational as long as at least one physical interface within the port channel is operational.

You create a port channel by bundling compatible interfaces. You can configure and run either static port channels or ports channels running the Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP).

Any configuration changes that you apply to the port channel are applied to each member interface of that port channel. For example, if you configure Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) parameters on the port channel, the Cisco NX-OS applies those parameters to each interface in the port channel.

You can use static port channels, with no associated protocol, for a simplified configuration. For more efficient use of the port channel, you can use the Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP), which is defined in IEEE 802.3ad. When you use LACP, the link passes protocol packets.

Managing Port Channels

Starting with Cisco NDB release 3.8, you can now create, edit, and delete a port channel through NDB UI. You can view the information about all the port channels along with members under the PORT CHANNEL tab.

To create a port channel, complete these steps.

Procedure


Step 1

Navigate to CONFIGURATION > Port Definitions > PORT CHANNEL tab.

Step 2

Click Add Port Channel to create a new port channel. The Add Port Channel dialog box opens.

Step 3

Enter the following details in the Add Port Channel dialog box.

Table 1. Adding a Port Channel

Field

Description

ID

Enter port channel ID.

Note 

The port ID number can range from 1 to 4096.

Description

Enter description for the port channel.

PORT(S) SELECTION

Choose Port(s)

Select the port that you want to include under the new port channel.

Note 

You can add a maximum of 8 interfaces to a port channel.

Search

Use this field to search a particular interface on a device.

Step 4

Click Submit to create a new port channel with the selected interfaces.

Note 

The new port channel is listed under the PORT CONFIGURATION tab list.

Note 

On the PORT CHANNEL tab, a port channel that is created on the switch is marked as DISCOVERED in the Created By field and a port channel that is created using NDB shows the username in the Created By field.

Note 

The interfaces that are added to a port channel are removed from the PORT CONFIGURATION tab list. These interfaces are added to the port channel.


Editing a Port Channel

You can edit a port channel to change port channel description or add or remove an interface from a port channel. To edit a port channel, complete these steps:

Procedure

Step 1

Navigate to CONFIGURATION > Port Definitions > PORT CHANNEL tab.

Step 2

Click Edit for the port channel you want to edit. The Edit Port Channel dialog box opens.

Step 3

(Optional) In the Description dialog box, enter the new description for the port channel.

Step 4

(Optional) From the Choose Port(s) list, select an interface to add to the port channel. The selected interface is moved to Selected Port(s) list.

Step 5

(Optional) From the Selected Port(s) list, select an interface to remove from the port channel. The selected interface is moved to Choose Port(s) list.

Step 6

Click Submit to save the changes to the port channel.


Deleting a Port Channel

Compelte these steps to delete a port channel:

Procedure

Step 1

Navigate to CONFIGURATION > Port Definitions > PORT CHANNEL tab.

Step 2

Click Delete for the port channel you want to delete. The port channel is rmoved from the PORT CHANNEL and PORT CONFIGURATION tabs and the member interfaces are released back to the interface list on the PORT CONFIGURATION tab.


Viewing Port Channel Members

Compelte these steps to view port channel member interfaces:

Procedure

Step 1

Navigate to CONFIGURATION > Port Definitions > PORT CONFIGURATION tab.

Step 2

Click Members for a port channel to view member interfaces. The Port Channel dialog box lists the following member interface information:

Table 2. Port Channel Member Information

Field

Description

Status

Indicates the status of an interface.

Port Channel

Indicates the member interface ID.

Interface Type

Indicates whether the interface is L2 or L3.

Action

Allows you to enable or disable an interface. Use this option to toggle the interface status between enabled and disabled.

Step 3

Click Close to close the Portchannel Members dialog box.


Configuring Port Groups

You can create a port group and add the ports to the connection. Starting with Cisco Nexus Data Broker, Release 3.2, you can create port groups for different source ports. The port groups can be a combination of the edge-span and the edge-tap ports across different switches. You can select ports, define port groups, provide a name to the port group, select the port group in a connection screen (only one port group per connection), and use the ports defined in the port group as source ports for creating a connection. Selecting individual ports is disabled when using a port group.

Complete the following steps to configure port groups:

Procedure


Step 1

Select the switch for which you want to configure the port details on the Port Configuration screen.

Step 2

Click Port Groups tab in the left frame.

Step 3

Click + Add Group to create a port group.

Step 4

In the Create Port Group window, enter the group name in the Group Name field.

Step 5

In the Select Node field, select a node, for example, N9K-116.

Step 6

In the Select Port field, select a port, for example, Ethernet1/1 (Ethernet1/1).

You can add only edge-span and edge-tap ports and you cannot add production ports to the port groups.

Step 7

Click + Add To Group to add the port to the group.

You can add multiple ports to the group.

Step 8

Click Apply.

The port group is displayed on the Port Groups screen with the following information for the group, for example, Name, Connection Name, Ports and Action.

Starting with NDB 3.4 release, you can now configure selected fields under Port Group. This feature is supported on the switches running in NX-API, OpenFlow, or NX-AUX mode.

Starting with Cisco NDB Release 3.7, Created By and Modified By information is displayed for Port Groups in the NDB UI.

The following table lists the fields that you can configure for a Port Group:

Section

Field

Editable

Port Group

Port Description

Yes

Port

Yes

Port Name

Yes (If the port is not part of an active connection)

Port Group

Yes (If the port group is not part of an active connection)


Editing In Use Port Groups

You can edit an in-use port group using NDB GUI. To edit an in-use port group, complete the following steps:


Note

Starting with Cisco NDB release 3.8, you can now rename an in-use port group.



Note

Starting with NDB 3.4 release, you can edit the port groups that are currently in use in a connection. This feature is supported on the switches running in NX-API, OpenFlow, or NX-AUX mode.


Procedure


Step 1

Select the switch for which you want to configure the port details on the Port Group pane.

Step 2

Click Edit on the listed table row.


Editable Attributes for In Use Port Groups

The following table lists the fields that you can edit for a Port Group that is currently in use:

Section

Field

Editable

Port Group

Port Description

Yes

Port

Yes

Port Name

Yes.

Port Group

Yes (If the port group is not part of an active connection)

Creating Destination Port Groups

Starting with Cisco NDB Release 3.7, you can now create and configure destination port groups with monitoring devices and add the monitoring devices to a connection. You can add destination port groups to a normal connection or to an Auto-priority connection.

  • You can associate one port with only one destination port group.

  • You can add multiple destination port groups to a connetion.

  • You can delete a destination port group only if it is not part of any connection.

  • If a destination port group is part of a connection, you can edit only the port group description and ports.

To configure Destination Port Group, complete these steps:

Procedure


Step 1

Log into Cisco NDB GUI.

Step 2

Navigate to CONFIGURATION > Port Groups > DESTINATION PORT GROUP tab.

Step 3

Click Add Destination Port Group to open the Create Destination Port Group pane.

Step 4

In the Create Destination Port Group pane, enter details for the following fields:

Name

Description

Group Name

Destination port group name.

Description

Details about the destination port group..

Select Note

Select a Node.

Choose Port(s)

Select the ports to include to the new destination port group.

Selected Port(s)

List of ports selected for the new destination group

Step 5

Click Submit to create the new destination port group.

The new destination port group appears on the DESTINATION PORT GROUPS tab.

Note 

Edit a destination port group using the Edit option for the port group. To view details about a destination port group, click View.

Note 

To delete a port group, click Delete for the port group. You can delete a port group only if it is not part of any connection.

Note 

Only one Remote monitor tool can be added per switch in the group.


Adding a Monitoring Device

To add a new monitoring device, complete these steps:

Procedure


Step 1

Navigate to the Monitoring Device tab under Configuration.

Step 2

Click Add Monitoring Device.

Step 3

In the Monitoring Device window, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Monitoring Device Name

Add the service node name.

Note 

The valid characters for the monitoring devices are the alphanumeric characters and the special characters: period ("."), underscore ("_"), and hyphen ("-").

Select Switch Node

Select the switch node.

Select Port

Select the port.

Port Description

Description for the port.

Icons

Select a Monitoring Device Icon.

Local Monitor Device

Indicates that the monitoring device is available in the local network.

Block Rx

Block any traffic from being received from the monitoring tools. This option is selected by default. You can turn this option off by unchecking the box.

Enable Timestamp Tagging

Time stamp tagging is supported on Cisco Nexus 3500, 9200 and 93XXX-EX Series switches. Cisco Nexus 3500 Series switches require NX-OS Release 6.0(2)A8(1) or later version.

Enable Timestamp Strip

Select this option to remove timestamp tag from the source packets.

MTU

You can configure MTU at the system level (node level or global level) and the Interface Level. The default value for MTU is 1500 and you can configure MTU between 1500 and 9216. Jumbo MTU is the maximum MTU that can be configured for a node. When you configure Jumbo MTU at the system level, the same MTU value is applied to all the node ISLs.

Step 4

Click Submit to create the monitoring device.


Adding a Remote Monitoring Device

Starting with Cisco NDB Release 3.7, you can now 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. This feature enables you to direct the traffic for monitoring outside the local network


Note

You can associate a remote delivery port to only one destination port group.


To add a new remote monitoring device, complete these steps:

Procedure


Step 1

Navigate to the Monitoring Device tab under Configuration.

Step 2

Click Add Monitoring Device.

Step 3

In the Monitoring Device window, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Monitoring Device Name

Add the service node name.

Note 

The valid characters for the monitoring devices are the alphanumeric characters and the special characters: period ("."), underscore ("_"), and hyphen ("-").

Select Switch Node

Select the switch node.

Select Port

Select the port.

Port Description

Description for the port.

Block Rx

Block any traffic from being received from the monitoring tools. This option is selected by default. You can turn this option off by unchecking the box.

Remote Monitor Device

Select this option to indicate that the monitoring device is available in the local network. If this option is selected, you can enable

Enable Timestamp Tagging

Enable Timestamp Tagging for remote monitoring.

Enable Timestamp Strip

Enable Timestamp Strip for remote monitoring.

MTU

Enable MTU for remote monitoring.

Icons

Select a Monitoring Device Icon.

Interface IP

IP address to be assigned to the selected interface.

Destination IP

IP Address where ER-SPAN terminates and should be reachable from the selected port.

Step 4

Click Submit to create the monitoring device.

Note 

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

Note 

You cannot share the same source interface across with multiple connections.

Note 

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


Adding a Remote Source

Starting with Cisco Nexus Data Broker release 3.8, you can now configure remote source monitoring on devices (Nexus 9300EX, 9300FX, 9300FX2, 9500EX, and 9500FX) running NX-OS version 9.3(1). Complete these steps to configure remote source monitoring:

Procedure


Step 1

Configure remote source termination. Navigate to the CONFIGURATION > Port Definitions .

Step 2

In the Port Definition page, click Configure for an interface to configure remote source monitoring. The Configure Ports dialog box opens.

Step 3

From the Select a port type drop-down list, select Remote Source.

Step 4

In the IP Address field, enter IP address of the packet source.

Step 5

In the ERSPAN ID field, enter ERSPAN Id for the Remote Source Termination session. The range of ERSPAN ID is from 1 to 1023.

Step 6

From the Loopback Interface drop-down list, select a loopback. You can also create a new loopback if not available. To create a new loopback, click Configure Loopback, the Configure Loopback Interface dialog box opens.

Step 7

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

  1. Enter loopback Id in the Loopback ID field.

  2. Enter IP address in the IP Address field.

  3. Click Submit to create a new loopback and close the Configure Loopback Interface dialog box.

Step 8

From the Session Destination drop-down list select session destination port for the monitoring session.

Step 9

From the Remote Source Edge Span drop-down list, select remote source Edge SPAN port where decapsulated packets are received.

Step 10

Click Submit to complete the process. The selected port is converted into a Layer3 port.


Editing In Use Monitoring Device

Starting with Cisco NDB, Release 3.4, you can edit a monitoring device configuration using the NDB GUI. Support to edit description of a Monitoring device is available for NX-API, OpenFlow, and NX-AUX based switches. For the OpenFlow devices, the updated descriptions are synchronized to NDB User Interface (UI) only. For NX-API and NX-AUX devices, the updates are synchronized to NDB UI and the switch interface.

The following table lists the fields that you can configure for Monitoring Devices:

Section

Field

Editable

Monitor Devices

Monitor Devices Name

Yes (If the monitoring device is not in use)

Port Description

Yes

Block Rx

Yes

Icons

Yes

Enable Timestamp Tagging

Yes

Enable Timestamp Strip

Yes

MTU

Yes

Adding a Service Node

Starting with Cisco NDB Release 3.7, Created By and Modified By information is displayed for Service Nodes in the NDB UI.

Complete the following steps to add a service node:

Procedure


Step 1

Navigate to the Service Nodes tab under Configuration and click + Service Node.

Step 2

In the Add Service Node window, enter the name of the service node.

Step 3

Select the ingress port for the service node from the Service Node Ingress Port drop-down list.

Step 4

Select the egress port for the service node from the Service Node Egress Port drop-down list.

Step 5

Enable health check on a service node by selecting the Service Node Health Check option.

Beginning with Cisco Nexus Data Broker, Release 3.2, you can configure the wait interval in the config.ini file before the health check is up. The ServiceNodeHealthCheckWaitInterval is the variable in the config.ini file to set the wait interval. If you do not specify a value or if the value is 0 for the wait interval in the config.ini file, the default value of 5 Seconds is used. The wait interval is not applicable if the port is in shutdown state.

This option works only in the OpenFlow mode. The controller or the NDB injects a packet in the service node ingress port and the packet is received at the egress port. The packets are checked at the interval of every 5 seconds. If five packets are not received in 5 seconds, the health of the service node is considered as down.

For the service node, a new field is displayed in the details: Service Node Status. This field displays the status of the service node.

Step 6

Select a service node icon from the available options.

Step 7

Click Save.


Editable Fields for an Active Service Node

Starting with Cisco NDB, Release 3.4, you can now edit and configure Service Node fields using the NDB GUI. For the OpenFlow devices, the updated descriptions are synchronized to NDB User Interface (UI) only. For NX-API and NX-AUX devices, the updates are synchronized to NDB UI and the switch interface.

The following table lists the fields that you can configure for an active Service Node:

Section

Field

Editable

Service Node

Description

Yes

Icon

Yes

Service Node Health Check

Yes

Service Node Name

Yes (If the service node is not in use)

Service Node Ingress Port

No

Service Node Egress Port

No

Ingress port Description

Yes

Egress port Description

Yes

User Defined Field

You can define a User Defined Field (UDF) and use it while creating a filter for traffic management.

Starting with Cisco NDB Release 3.7, Created By and Modified By information is displayed for User Defined Fields in the NDB UI.


Note

Starting with Cisco NDB Release 3.6, you can add multiple UDFs while defining a filter. You can add upto four UDFs for each filter.


Table 3. UDF Support Matrix

UDF Ethertype

NDB Version

NXOS Version

Platform

IPv4

3.3

7.0(3)I5(2)

9200 & 9300

IPv6

3.6

7.0(3)I6(1)

93xx EX/FX , 95xx EX/FX , 92xx


Note

Please refer the NXOS documentation for number of UDF support per platform.


To use UDF to manage traffic, you need to:

Table 4. Qualifying Region for UDF for Different Platforms

Platform

UDF Qualifying TCAM region

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

ing-ifacl

Other platforms

ifacl

Defining a UDF

Complete the following steps to define a UDF:

Procedure


Step 1

Log into NDB application.

Step 2

Navigate to Configuration tab, click UDF Definition to define a user defined filter. The UDF Definition window is displayed.

Step 3

In the UDF Definition window, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Name field

The name of the user defined field.

Keyword

If Header option is selected, the Inner (Offset base from inner/outer header) and L3/L4 (Offset base from L3/L4 header) is enabled.

Offset field

Number of characters to offset while using matching criteria.

Devices

Cisco Nexus 9000 Series switch name.

Type

Specifiy UDFv4 or UDFv6 support.

Step 4

Click Add UDF. The newly added UDF appears in the UDF Definition window.

Note 

Any change in a UDF definition requires device reboot.

Note 
By default, NDB generates a UDF named udfInnerVlan and udfInnerVlanv6, used to match the inner VLAN in the ISL ports.
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 color.


Adding Filters

Beginning with Cisco Nexus Data Broker, Release 3.3, the Default-Match-All filter includes the following protocols packet filtering:

  • IPv4

  • IPv6

  • ARP

  • MPLS Unicast

  • MPLS Multicast

  • MAC

Before you begin


Note

Starting with Cisco NDB release 3.8, you can now rename a filter while it is in use.



Note

The hardware command that is a pre-requisite for the IPv6 feature is hardware access-list tcam region ipv6-ifacl 512 double-wide .

Note

Starting with Cisco NDB Release 3.7, Created By and Modified By information is displayed for filters in the NDB UI.



Note

Beginning with NDB 3.4 release, you can now edit Filter Name using the NDB GUI. This feature is supported on the switches running in NX-API, OpenFlow, or NX-AUX mode.


Procedure


Step 1

On the Filters tab, click Add Filter to add a filter. The Add Filter window is displayed.

Step 2

In the Filter Description section of the Add Filter window, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Name field

The name of the filter.

Note 

The name cannot be changed once you have saved it.

Bidirectional check box

Check this box if you want the filter to capture traffic information 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.

Step 3

In the Layer 2 section of the Add Filter window, complete the following fields:

Ethernet Type field

Required. The Ethernet type of the Layer 2 traffic. The default value displayed is IPv4, or you can choose one of the following:

  • IPv6

  • ARP

  • LLDP

  • Predefined EtherTypes

  • All EtherTypes

  • Enter Ethernet Type—If you choose Enter Ethernet Type as the type, enter the Ethernet type in hexadecimal format. 
If you choose Predefined EtherTypes, all predefined Ethernet types contained in the config.in file are associated with the rule, and you should not configure any other parameters.

VLAN Identification Number field

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, for example, 1-4,6,8,9-12.

VLAN Priority field

The VLAN priority for the Layer 2 traffic.

Source MAC Address field

The source MAC address of the Layer 2 traffic.

Destination MAC Address field

The destination MAC address of the Layer 2 traffic.

Step 4

In the Layer 3 section of the Add Filter window, update the following fields:

Name

Description

Source IP Address field

The source IP address of the Layer 3 traffic. This can be one of the following:

  • The host IP address, for example, 10.10.10.10

  • Discontiguous source IP address, for example, 10.10.10.10, 10.10.10.11, 10.10.10.12

  • An IPv4 address range, for example, 10.10.10.10-10.10.10.15

  • An IPv4 subnet, for example, 10.1.1.0/24

  • The host IP address in IPv6 format, for example, 2001::0

  • Combination of range and simple IP addresses, for example, 4.4.4.1,4.4.4.2-4.4.4.4,4.4.4.5.

Note 
  • When a switch is used in NX-API mode, you can now select an IPv6 filter and setup a connection. You can enter a single IPv6 address, comma separated multiple IPv6 addresses, an IPv6 address range, and/or IPv6 subnet in the Source IP Address field.

  • 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.

Note 

When using IPv6 address in the filter, the Ethernet Type should be set to IPv6.

Destination IP Address field

The destination IP address of the Layer 3 traffic. This can be one of the following:

  • The host IP address, for example, 10.10.10.11

  • An IPv4 address range, for example, 10.10.10.11-10.10.10.18

  • An IPv4 subnet, for example, 10.1.1.0/24

  • The host IP address in IPv6 format, for example, 2001::4

  • The subnet, for example, 10.0.0.0/25

Note 
  • When a switch is used in NX-API mode, you can now select a IPv6 filter and setup a connection. You can enter a single IPv6 address only in the Destination IP Address field. The comma separated multiple IPv6 addresses, an IPv6 address range, and/or IPv6 subnets are not supported. The hardware command that is a pre-requisite is for using the IPv6 feature is hardware access-list tcam region ipv6-ifacl 512 .

  • 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.

Protocol drop-down list

Choose the Internet protocol of the Layer 3 traffic. This can be one of the following: If you choose Enter Protocol as the type, enter the protocol number in decimal format.

  • ICMP

  • TCP

  • UDP

  • Enter Protocol

UDF drop-down list

User Defined Field.

  • UDF: UDF name.

  • UDF value: 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.

  • UDF Mask: Mask value in packet to match. Mask is 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 

    Starting with Cisco NDB Release 3.6, you can add upto four UDFs to a filter.

    Note 

    If Add default udf for inner vlan option is selected, you can add only one UDF (UDF that matches outervlan offset). The udfInnerVlan is applied to the ISL links along with QinQ vlan specified on the SPAN port.

    Note 

    UDF option is enabled for IPv4 and IPv6 ethertypes.

ToS Bits field

The Type of Service (ToS) bits in the IP header of the Layer 3 traffic. Only the Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) values are used.

Advanced Filter field

Advanced filter, combination of Ethernet type and attributes to manage traffic.

Step 5

In the Layer 4 section of the Add Filter dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Source Port drop-down list

Choose the source port of the Layer 4 traffic. This can be one of the following:

  • FTP (Data)

  • FTP (Control)

  • SSH

  • TELNET

  • HTTP

  • HTTPS

  • Enter Source Port

Note 

Beginning with Cisco Nexus Data Broker Release 3.2 , you can enter comma separated single port numbers and a range of the source port numbers in the Enter Source Port field.

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

  • If you configure a range of Layer 4 source ports, you cannot configure ranges of Layer 2 VLAN identifiers

Destination Port drop-down list

Choose the destination port of the Layer 4 traffic. This can be one of the following:

  • FTP (Data)

  • FTP (Control)

  • SSH

  • TELNET

  • HTTP

  • HTTPS

  • Enter Destination Port

Note 

Beginning with Cisco Nexus Data Broker Release 3.2 , you can enter comma separated single port numbers and a range of the source port numbers in the Enter Destination Port field.

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

  • If you configure a range of Layer 4 destination ports, you cannot configure ranges of Layer 2 VLAN identifiers

Step 6

In the Layer 7 section of the Add Filter dialog box, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

HTTP Method field

You can configure matching on the HTTP methods and redirect the traffic based on that method. Select one or more methods to match within a single filter. This option is available only when the destination port is HTTP or HTTPS.

  • Connect

  • Delete

  • Get

  • Head

  • Post

  • Put

  • Trace

Note 

Layer 7 match is supported only with the NX-API mode only and it is not supported in OpenFlow.

Note 

The TCP option length is enabled when you select any one of the methods from Layer 7 traffic.

TCP Option Length field

You can extend the filter configuration to specify the TCP option length in the text box. The default value on the text box is 0. All methods within the filter have the same option length.

Enter the TCP option length in a decimal format.

Note 

The value on the text box should be in the multiples of 4 and it can range from 0-40.

Step 7

Click Add Filter.


Advanced Filter support

Starting with Cisco Nexus Data Broker, Release 3.3, advanced filtering option is available to manage the traffic. 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 5. 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


Important

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



Important

The value of Time to Live (TTL) attribute ranges 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.


While configuring advanced filtering support, you cannot:

  • Configure DSCP and Precedence together in advance filtering.

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

  • Configure fragments and port numbers with UDP and IPv4 or IPv6 Combination

  • Configure Precedence and HTTP Methods with IPv4 and TCP Combination.

Adding Connections

Complete the following steps to add a new connection.


Note

Starting with Cisco NDB release 3.8, you can now rename an in-use connection.



Note

Starting with Cisco Nexus Data Broker Release 3.7, you can lock a connection while creating it using the Lock Connection option on the Add Connection page. Locking a connection prevents unauthorized changes to a connection.


Before you begin

  • Add a filter to be assigned to the connection.

  • Configure a monitoring device (optional).

  • Configure an edge port or multiple edge ports (optional).

Procedure


Step 1

On the Connections tab, click + Connection. The Add Connections window is displayed.

Step 2

In the Add Connections window, you can add the Connection Name and the Priority of the connection in the Connection Details area:

Field

Description

Connection Name

The name of the connection.

Description

Enter the description when creating a new connection.

Priority

The priority that you want to set for the connection.

Connection by default has priority of 100. It can be changed in the range of <1-10000>.

Lock Connection

Select this option to lock the connection you are creating to prevent any unauthorized modification.

Step 3

In the Allow Matching Traffic area, modify the following fields:

Field

Description

Allow Filters drop-down list

Choose a filter to use to allow matching traffic.

Note 

You cannot choose the same filter for Allow Filters that you choose for Drop Filters.

Set VLAN field

The VLAN ID that you want to set for the connection.

Note 

This functionality is available only in Openflow mode.

Select Destination Port Group(s) field

Select Port Group option and then selet the destination port group from th drop-down list for the new connection.

Strip VLAN at delivery port check box

Check this box to strip the VLAN tag from the packet before it reaches the delivery port.

Note 
The Strip VLAN at delivery port action is only valid for connections with a single edge port and one or more delivery devices for a single, separate node. This functionality is available only in Openflow mode.

Destination Devices list

The monitoring devices that you want to associate with the filter. You can choose one or more devices by checking the boxes next to their names.

Step 4

In the Drop Matching Traffic area, complete the following fields:

Field

Description

Drop Filters

Choose the default filter Default-Match-all or use other filters to drop the matching traffic.

Note 

You cannot choose the same filter for Drop Filters that you choose for Allow Filters.

Step 5

In the Source Ports (Optional) area, complete the following fields:

Field

Description

Select Source Node drop-down list

Choose the source node that you want to assign.

Note 

If you do not choose a source node, the any-to-multipoint loop-free forwarding path option is used, and traffic from all nondelivery ports is evaluated against the filter.

Note 

When setting up a new redirection, you can see the number of flows that are part of each input port. When you click the port number, the flow details are displayed.

Select Source Port drop-down list

Choose the port on the source node that you want to assign.

Note 

Only edge ports can be used as source ports.

Note 

If you do not select a source port while adding a new connection, the following warning message is displayed: No source port is selected. Connection will be setup from all configured Edge-SPAN and Edge-TAP ports. Click OK to continue with the connection installation/creation. It ensures that you do not install any to multi point connection and disrupt any existing traffic. Click Cancel to take you to the connection setup page.

In the Source Ports (Optional) area, select Port Group instead of Source Ports.

Select a port group from Select Port Group drop-down list. If you do not have any port groups configured, click + Port Group to add a port group.

Note 

Similar to the number of Edge-TAP or Edge-SPAN ports are displayed on top of each switch in the topology, the number of forwarding rules that a particular monitoring tool is part of are displayed when you hover the mouse over a switch. A popup table displays the rule (connection) names within which the monitoring tool is being used.

Note 

In Cisco Nexus Data Broker, Release 3.2.0, you can also select a port group in which case the individual ports cannot be selected.

Step 6

Do one of the following:

  • Click Save Connection to save the connection, but not to install it until later.
  • Click Install Connection to save the connection and install it at the same time.
  • Click Dry Run to estimate the amount of traffic that will be generated on the new connection.
  • Click Close to exit the connection without saving it.
Note 

Starting with Cisco NDB Release 3.6, you can estimate the amount of traffic generated for a new connection using the Dry Run feature. This feature samples the traffic for 30 seconds for the new connection and estimates the approximate traffic generated for the connection. You can use the Dry Run feature before adding a new connection.

You can manage the Dry Run feature using the mm.dryrun.timer parameter in the config.ini file. To enable the Dry Run feature, set the mm.dryrun.timer paramter to a value greater than zero. If the mm.dryrun.timer paramter is set to zero, the Dry Run feature is disabled.

The Dry Run feature shows the topology for the new connection with information about the estimated traffic. The feature samples the traffic for few (mm.dryrun.timer value in config.ini file) seconds for the new connection and estimates the approximate traffic generated for the connection. You can use the Dry Run feature before adding a new connection.

The following fields are displayed on the Connection Setup screen:

  • Name

  • Allow Filters

  • Drop Filters

  • Source Ports/Port Groups

  • Devices

  • Priority

  • Last Modified By

  • Description

  • Status

  • Action



Note

Beginning with Cisco Nexus Data Broker, Release 3.2, if you have added two or more interfaces (source ports) using the Connections tab, two interfaces (source ports) are displayed by default. If you have more than two interfaces (source ports) in the Connections tab, you can expand or collapse the source ports by using more... or less... options that are provided in the GUI.


Click i Search Connections tab in the Connections screen to search for the connections using the keywords, Success, Installing, Creating, Partial, and Failed.


Note

If a remote monitoring tool is selected, same sources or remote monitoring tool cannot be shared across connections. This condition applies to ISL links also.


Connection with AutoPriority

Starting with Cisco NDB Release 3.4, you can configure filters with overlapping IP address. The traffic from the interfaces with overlapping IP addresses is forwarded to all the monitors configured for the IP address. This feature is supported for the switches running NX-API, OpenFlow, and AUX mode.

You can also configure rules with common IP addresses.You can configure IP address and port overlapping in the same filter.

Beginning with Cisco Nexus Data Broker, Release 3.3, you can now add a new connection with AutoPriority. This functionality provides flexibility to map filters to mulitple destination devices in a connection.The priority of a connection with Auto-Priority is set to the value configured in config.ini file. You can configure the connection.autopriority.priorityValue attribute in the config.ini file with a priority value to be used for all the new connections with auto-priority. The connection information lists the allowed filters along with the destination devices.

Restrictions and Usage Guidelines

Follow these restrictions and usage guidelines for creating a connection with auto-priority:

  • To add a new connection with AutoPriority across devices (with multiple hops), the QinQ VLAN configuration is required.

  • You can configure only one connection with Auto-Priority mode for each source port/port group.

Adding a New Connection With Auto-Priority

To add a new connection with Auto-Priority, complete these steps:

Before you begin

Ensure that you have configured the monitoring device, destination device, and filters before adding a new connection.

Procedure


Step 1

Log into the NDB application.

Step 2

Navigate to Configuration -> Connection, and click New Connection with AutoPriority to add a new connection. The New Connection with AutoPriority window is displayed.

Step 3

In the New Connection with AutoPriority window, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Connection Name field

The name of the connection.

Description field

Short description of the connection.

Devices/Port Groups drop-down list

The name of the destination device or the destination port group.

Select Devices and then select a destination device from the Destination Device drop-down list and select corresponding filter from the Allow Filter drop-down list. You can add multiple destination devices with filters for a connection with AutoPriority mode.

Select Port Group and then select destination port group.

Allow Filters list

Filter to apply to the destination device.

Set VLAN field

VLAN ID range to override the incoming tagged VLAN traffic.

(Optional) Source Ports Section

Select Source Ports or Port Group button to create or modify a connection.

Select Source Node drop-down list

Source Node Id.

Select Source port drop-down list

Source Node port number.

Select Port Group

If Port Group Button is enabled, select a Port Group from the drop down for creating or modifying a connection.


Adding Redirections


Note

The redirection setup feature is supported on Cisco Nexus 3000 Series and Cisco Nexus 9300 switches with Release 7.x.

Cisco Nexus Data Broker lets you configure redirection policies that match specific traffic, redirecting it through multiple security tools before it enters or exits your data center using redirection.


Before you begin

  • Add a filter to be assigned to the redirection.

  • Configure a monitoring device (optional).

  • Configure an edge port or multiple edge ports (optional).

  • The production ingress port, the production egress port, and the service node should be on the same redirection switch.

Procedure


Step 1

On the Redirections tab, click + Redirection. The Add Redirection window is displayed.

Step 2

In the Add Redirection window, you can add the Redirection Name and the Priority of the redirection in the Redirection Details area:

Field

Description

Redirection Name

The name of the redirection.

Note 

The name of the redirection cannot be changed once you have saved it.

Description

Enter the description when creating a new redirection.

Set Auto Priority checkbox

Check this option to enable the auto-priority for redirection, The priority of the redirection is set based on the existing redirections that are installed on the selected ingress ports.

If auto-priority is enabled, redirection has a default priority of 10000. Next redirection with auto-priority enabled will have the priority value as the last priority minus 1.

Without the auto-priority feature, the default value is 100. It can be changed in the range of <2-10000>.

Priority value 1 is reserved for the backup bypass flows.

Note 

The priority of the redirection should not be configured as 1. Also, if the last priority is configured as 2, you cannot clone the redirection with auto-priority enabled. You have to manually clone the redirection.

Priority

The priority that you want to set for the redirection. The valid range of the values is 0–10000. The default is 100.

Automatic Fail-safe checkbox

Check this option to enable the fail-safe feature of redirection. When you enable this feature, the direct flow from the production ingress port and the egress port is created that matches all ethertype traffic of low priority.

Step 3

In the Matching Traffic area, modify the following fields:

Field

Description

Filters drop-down list

Choose a filter to use to allow matching traffic.

Note 

You cannot choose the same redirection for the filter.

Step 4

In the Redirection Switch area, modify the following fields:

Field

Description

Select Redirection Switch drop-down list

Select the redirection switch that you want to assign.

Note 

You can have only one ingress port and one egress port per one redirection switch.

Step 5

In the Service Nodes (OPTIONAL) area, complete the following fields:

Field

Description

Select Service Node drop-down list

Select the redirection service node that you want to assign and click Add Service Node.

Note 

If you want to add multiple service nodes, you should add them in an order in which you want the packets to travel.

Starting with Cisco Nexus Data Broker, Release 3.2.0, the order of the service nodes is maintained. For example, if you have added the service nodes s1, s2, and s3 to redirection in an order. The service nodes become operationally down and therefore, they get removed from the redirection. Once the nodes become operationally up, they are added to the redirection in the same order.

Step 6

Select the Reverse ServiceNode Direction option to enable reverse direction on the service node.

When you enable this option and click Submit, the ingress and egress ports of the service node are swapped and reverse redirection is enabled on the service node. The option is also displayed as enabled in the Redirections tab.

Step 7

In the Production Ports area, complete the following fields:

Field

Description

Select Production Ingress Port drop-down list

Select the production ingress port that you want to assign.

Note 

You can select only one ingress port. Multiple ingress ports are not allowed. You cannot use the same ports as the ingress and the egress ports.

Note 

When setting up a new redirection, you can see the number of flows that are part of each input port. When you click the port number, the flow details are displayed.

Select Production Egress Port drop-down list

Select the production egress port that you want to assign.

Step 8

In the Delievery Devices to copy traffic (OPTIONAL) area, complete the following fields:

Field

Description

Select Device drop-down list

Select a device, for example, a switch from the drop-down list, that you want to assign and click Add Device.

Note 

You can select multiple delivery devices for the redirection.

Select Monitor Traffic drop-down list

When creating inline redirection with copy, the monitoring port receives one flow from the production ingress port and another from the egress port of service node.

Starting with Cisco Nexus Data broker Release 3.2, a filtering mechanism is added in the GUI to filter out the traffic. Use the drop down list to select the traffic to copy device in redirection.

The following optios are displayed in the drop-down list:

  • Production Ingress-- Flow from the production ingress port

  • Production Egress-- Flow from the egress port of the service node

  • Both-- Flow from both the ports (the ingress and the egress ports)

Step 9

Do one of the following:

  • Click Save Redirection to save the redirection, but not to install it until later.
  • Click Install Redirection to save the redirection and install it at the same time.
  • Click Close to exit the redirection without saving it.
Step 10

When you click Install Redirection to save the redirection and install it at the same time, the redirection path on the redirection switch is displayed on the production ingress ports, service nodes, and the production egress ports.

Step 11

Click Flow Statistics to view the flow statistics for the redirection switch.

The following fields provide information on the flow statistics:

  • In Port field—The Input port(s) from which the traffic is matched. An asterisk ("*") indicates any input port.

  • DL Drc field—The source MAC address to be matched for the incoming traffic. An asterisk ("*") indicates any source MAC address.

  • DL Dst field—The destination MAC address to be matched for the incoming traffic. An asterisk ("*") indicates any destination MAC address.

  • DL Type field—The Ethertype to be matched for the incoming traffic. For example, "IPv4" or "IPv6" is used for all IP traffic types.

  • DL VLAN field—The VLAN ID to be matched for the incoming traffic. An asterisk ("*") indicates any VLAN ID.

  • VLAN PCP field—The VLAN priority to be matched for the incoming traffic. An asterisk ("*") is almost always displayed in this field.

  • NW Src field—The IPv4 or IPv6 source address for the incoming traffic. An asterisk ("*") indicates any source address based on IPv4 or IPv6 Ethertypes.

  • NW Dst field—The IPv4 or IPv6 destination address for the incoming traffic. An asterisk ("*") indicates any destination address based on IPv4 or IPv6 Ethertypes.

  • NW Proto field—The network protocol to be matched for the incoming traffic. For example, "6" indicates the TCP protocol.

  • TP Src field—The source port associated with the network protocol to be matched for the incoming traffic. An asterisk ("*") indicates any port value.

  • TP Dst field—The destination port associated with the network protocol to be matched for the incoming traffic. An asterisk ("*") indicates any port value.

  • Actions field—The output action to be performed for the traffic matching the criteria specified, for example, "OUTPUT = OF|2".

  • Byte Count field—The aggregate traffic volume shown in bytes that match the specified flow connection.

  • Packet Count field—The aggregate traffic volume shown in packets that match the specified flow connection.

  • Duration Seconds field—The amount of time, in milliseconds, that the specific flow connection has been installed in the switch.

  • Idle Timeout field—The amount of time, in milliseconds, that the flow can be idle before it is removed from the flow table.

  • Priority field—The priority assigned to the flow. The flows with higher priority numbers take precedence.

Step 12

Click Close to close the flow statistics display window.


Viewing Statistics

View the flow and port statistics for the switches on the Statistics tab.


Note

When you select a switch on the statistics page, the Auto Refresh tab for the switch is ON by default. Click Auto Refresh: Off to disable auto refresh on the Statistics tab. The screen is refreshed every 30 seconds and the updated statistics for the switch are displayed on the screen.


Procedure


Step 1

Navigate to the Statistics tab under Configuration and click a node from the drop-down list to check and view the flow and port statistics of that node.

You can also navigate to the statistics of another switch by selecting the switch in the drop down box.

You can view the flow statistics, for example:

  • Flow Name

  • In Port

  • DL Source

  • DL Destination

  • DL Type

  • DL VLAN

  • VLAN PCP

  • NW Source

  • NW Destination

  • NW Proto

  • TP Source

  • TP Destination

  • AP HttpMd

  • AP TcpOptLn

  • Actions

  • Byte Count

  • Packet Count

  • Duration Seconds

  • Idle Timeout

  • Priority

Step 2

Click the Ports tab to check the ports statistics.

You can view the ports statistics as displayed in the following fields.

Note 

If you are programming the switches with OpenFlow, when you navigate to the Statistics tab, select a switch, and select Ports tab, the statistics gathered from the switches for the Rx Frame Errs and Collisions are not supported. The value of -1 is displayed rather than N/A because the variable needs to be an integer.

  • Port Name

  • Rx Packets

  • Tx Packets

  • Rx Bytes

  • Tx Bytes

  • Rx Rate (kbps)

  • Tx rate (kbps)

  • Rx Drops

  • Tx Drops

  • Rx Errors

  • Tx Errors

  • Rx Frame Errors

  • Rx Overrun Errors

  • Rx CRC Errors

  • Collisions


Viewing Connection Port Statistics

Starting with Cisco NDB Release 3.4, port statistics are shown along with the connection path information in the NDB GUI. This feature is supported for Nexus 9K and Nexus 3K Series switches based on NX-API, OpenFlow, and NX-AUX mode.

To view the port statistics for a connection, complete the following steps:

Procedure


Step 1

Navigate to CONFIGURATION -> Connections .

Step 2

On the Connection page, click a connection name for which you want to view the port statistics.

Step 3

Click Port Statistics to open the Flow Statistics page.

Step 4

Click Port tab to view the port statistics for the selected connection.


Deleting Flow and Port Statistics

Starting with Cisco NDB release 3.4, you can now clear port and flow statistics using the NDB GUI. You can either clear all the port related statistics for a switch or clear statistics for a specific port on the switch. For This feature is currently available only for NXAPI based Nexus 9K and Nexus 3K switches.

To clear flow statistics, complete the following steps:

Procedure


Step 1

Navigate to the CONFIGURATION Statistics and click the Flows tab to clear flow statistic. Click Delete ALL to clear all the flow statistics such as byte count and packet count for the switch.

Step 2

Click the Ports tab to clear port statistics.

  1. Select a port and click Delete to delete statistics for the selected port.

  2. Click Delete All to clear statistics for all the ports (interfaces) on the switch.


Purging Device Configuration

Starting with Cisco NDB release 3.6, you can now remove and purge all the configuration information (such as connection and redirection) associated with a device that has been removed from the NDB.

To remove device configuration, complete the following steps:

Procedure


Step 1

Navigate to the ADMINISTRATION > Devices > Purge Devices.

Step 2

Select the devices for which you want to remove all the configuration information and click Purge Devices. All the configurations associated with the removed device will be deleted from NDB database.


Device Return Material Authorization

Starting with Cisco NDB release 3.8, you can initiate Return Material Authorization (RMA) for a NDB device. This feature maps the configuration from the RMA device to the new device. To RMA a device, complete these steps:

Procedure


Step 1

Navigate to ADMINISTRATION > Devices > DEVICE CONNECTIONS tab.

Step 2

On the DEVICE CONNECTIONS tab, select the switch you want to RMA and click Remove Devices. The Remove Devices dialog box opens.

Step 3

In the Remove Devices dialog box, click Remove Device.

Note 

Do not use Purge & Remove Device option, this option removes the device and deletes all the configuration from the NDB.

Step 4

Click RMA tab, for the device to RMA, enter the serial number for NX-API device or DPID for OpenFlow devices. For Auxilary devices, you need to enter both OF and serial number.

Note 

To get the serial number for a NX-API device, use show module command for non-modular chassis (look for Serial-Num in the output) or use show hardware command for modular chassis switches (look for serial number under Switch hardware ID information in the output).

Note 

To get the DPID for OpenFlow device, use show openflow switch 1 command and look for DPID value under the OF features.

Step 5

Click Submit.

Step 6

Add a new device. For information about adding a new device, see Adding a Device.


Exporting and Importing NDB Configuration

Starting with Cisco Nexus Data Broker,Release 3.4, you can now export and import the device configuration in JSON file format.The configuration file includes information about connected as well as disconnected devices with configuration information such as filters, ports, connections, and redirections.

Exporting NDB Configuration

Complete the following steps to export a configuration from NDB:

Procedure


Step 1

Navigate to Administration -> System -> Backup/Restore -> Node, and click Export tab.

Step 2

Click Refresh to list the latest list of NDB devices.

Step 3

Select a device for exporting the configuration from the Configuration Pane.

Step 4

(Optional) Select Include Connections check box to include connection information such as filters and connections.

Step 5

(Optional) Select Include Redirections check box to include connection information such as filters, service nodes, and redirections.

Step 6

Click Generate new Configuration to create and save the configuration in JSON format.


Importing NDB Configuration

Complete the following steps to import a configuration into NDB:

Procedure


Step 1

Navigate to Administration -> System -> Backup/Restore-> Node, and click Import tab.

Step 2

Click Select Configuration, the File Upload dialog box appears.

Step 3

Select a JSON file and click Open. The selected configuration appears in the Import section.

Step 4

Click Edit to enter device password (applicable only for NXAPI and NX-AUX mode).

Step 5

(Optional) Select Include Connections check box to include connection information such as filters and connections.

Step 6

(Optional) Select Include Redirections check box to include connection information such as filters, service node, and redirections.

Step 7

Click Apply to apply the configuration to NDB. The Compatibility Matrix page appears.

Step 8

Select Accept and continue to import the configuration.


Managing Sampled Flow Configuration

Starting with Cisco NDB Release 3.4, you can now manage the Sampled Flow (sFlow) on NDB switches that are based on NX-API. This feature is currently not available for OpenFlow and NX-AUX based switches. 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.

To enable sFlow on a port, complete the following steps:

Procedure


Step 1

Log into the NDB GUI.

Step 2

Navigate to CONFIGURATION -> Port Definition tab.

Step 3

Click Configure Node to open the Node Configuration pane. The Node Configuration window is displayed.

Step 4

Click Configure sFlow to open the Configure sFlow pane.

Step 5

Select Enable sFlow from the Enable/Disable sFlow drop-down list to open the Confiigure sFlow pane.

Step 6

In the Confiigure sFlow pane, enter the following details and click Submit.

Field

Description

Agent IP address

sFlow agent IP address.

Select a VRF

VRF to use to reach the SFlow collector IP address.

Collector IP address

SFlow collector address.

Collector UDP

SFlow collector UDP.

Counter Poll Interval

SFlow counter poll interval.

Max Datagram Size

Maximum sampling data size.

Sampling rate

Data sampling rate.

Select Data Source(s)

SFlow datasource interface (Edge-ports)

Note 

Use Add to Group option to add the configured port to a Group of ports.

Note 

In Sflow pane, the Select Data Source field displays only those ports that are configured either as a Edge-SPAN or as a Edge-TAP .

To verify SFLow configuration on a switch, use the show sflow command:
RU-29-2003(config)# show sflow
sflow sampling-rate : 4096
sflow max-sampled-size : 128
sflow counter-poll-interval : 20
sflow max-datagram-size : 1400
sflow collector-ip : 0.0.0.0 , vrf : default 
sflow collector-port : 6343
sflow agent-ip : 10.16.206.122
sflow data-source interface Ethernet1/1

Configuring MPLS Filtering

Starting with Cisco NDB release 3.8, you can filter MPLS traffic. To configure a MPLS filter, complete the following steps:

Procedure


Step 1

Navigate to CONFIGURATION > Port Definition.

Step 2

Click Configure Node to open Node Configuration window.

Step 3

Select Enable MPLS Filtering from the MPLS Filter Configuration drop-down list.

Step 4

Click Submit to enable MPLS ACL configuration on the selected device globally.

Step 5

Create a MPLS filter, navigate to CONFIGURATION > Filters.

Step 6

In the Filter window, click Add Filter.

Step 7

Enter filter name in the Name text-field.

Step 8

Select Enter Ethernet Types from the Ethernet Type drop-down list. In the text-field below, enter the hexadecimal values for ethernet types. Ethernet types can be unicast or multicast. For MPLS ACL, enter 0x8847 and 0x8848.

Step 9

Select a MPLS label from the MPLS Label drop-down list.

Step 10

Enter MPLS value in the MPLS Value text-field.

Step 11

Click Add to add the MPLS label to the filter. You can add up to four MPLS labels to a filter.

Step 12

Click Add Filter to create a filter with MPLS ACLs.

Step 13

Create a connection, navigate to CONFIGURATION > Connections > User Connections tab.

Step 14

Click Connections > Add a Connection.

Step 15

In the Add Connections window, you can add the Connection Name and the Priority of the connection in the Connection Details area:

Field

Description

Connection Name

The name of the connection.

Description

Enter the description when creating a new connection.

Priority

The priority that you want to set for the connection.

Connection by default has priority of 100. It can be changed in the range of <1-10000>.

Lock Connection

Select this option to lock the connection you are creating to prevent any unauthorized modification.

Step 16

In the Allow Matching Traffic area, modify the following fields:

Field

Description

Allow Filters drop-down list

Choose the MPLS filter you created to allow matching MPLS traffic

Set VLAN field

The VLAN ID that you want to set for the connection.

Note 

This functionality is available only in Openflow mode.

Destination Detail

Specifiy the destination details.

Device radio-button

Select this option and from the list of devices select the monitoring device.

Source Ports radio-button

Select this option to specify the source port.

Select Source Node drop-down list

Choose the source node that you want to assign.

Note 

If you do not choose a source node, the any-to-multipoint loop-free forwarding path option is used, and traffic from all nondelivery ports is evaluated against the filter.

Select Source Port drop-down list

Choose the port on the source node that you want to assign.

Step 17

Do one of the following:

  • Click Save Connection to save the connection, but not to install it until later.
  • Click Install Connection to save the connection and install it at the same time.
Step 18

Verify the configuration using the show command


Configuring Symmetric/Non-Symmetric Load Balancing and MPLS Tag Stripping

From the Cisco Nexus Data Broker GUI and the REST API interfaces, you can now configure symmetric load balancing and enable MPLS tag stripping on the Cisco Nexus 3000 Series and Cisco Nexus 9000 Series switches using NX-API as the configuration mode.

Before you begin

Add device to Cisco Nexus Data Broker using NX-API.

Procedure


Step 1

In the topology diagram, click the node for which you wish to configure MPLS tag stripping.

Step 2

In the Port Configuration window, click Configure Node. The Node Configuration window is displayed.

Step 3

In the Load Balancing Type Configuration drop-down list, select the type and corresponsing Hashing Option.

Step 4

In the MPLS Strip Configuration drop-down list, choose one of the following:

  • Enable MPLS Strip.
  • Disable MPLS Strip.
Step 5

When you select Enable MPLS Strip option, the Label Age field is displayed. In the field, enter a value for the MPLS strip label age. The range for MPLS strip label age configuration is 61-31622400.

Note 

MPLS strip is only supported for L3 packets under the MPLS label stack. MPLS strip for pseudowires or VPLS is not supported.

Step 6

Click Submit.


Symmetric/Non-Symmetric Load Balancing Options

The following table lists the symmetric and non-symmetric load balancing options:

Table 6. Symmetric / Non-Symmetric Load Balancing Port Channel Support

Configuration type

Hashing Configuration

Platforms

Options

Symmetric

SOURCE_DESTINATION

N9K*, N3K-C3164XXX, N3K-C32XXX

IP, IP-GRE, IP-L4PORT, IP-L4PORT-VLAN, IP-VLAN, L4PORT, MAC

Rest

IP, IP-GRE, PORT, MAC, IP-ONLY, PORT-ONLY

Non-symmetric

SOURCE

DESTINATION

N9K*, N3K-C3164XXX, N3K-C32XXX

IP, IP-GRE, IP-L4PORT, IP-L4PORT-VLAN, IP-VLAN, L4PORT, MAC

Rest

IP, IP-GRE, PORT, MAC

Configuring PTP Using NDB

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

Starting with Cisco NDB Release 3.4, you can configure PTP Timestamping feature using the NDB GUI. PTP is a time synchronization protocol for nodes distributed across a network. Its hardware timestamp feature provides greater accuracy than other time synchronization protocols such as Network Time Protocol (NTP).


Note

Starting with Cisco NDB release, 3.8, you can configure PTP on Nexus 3548 switches.



Note

For Cisco NDB 3.4 release and later, PTP Timestamp Tagging feature is supported on the Cisco Nexus 93XXX-EX and 92XX Series switches.



Note

Starting with Cisco NDB release 3.8, Timestamp Tagging is supported on Cisco Nexus 9500 Series switches.



Note

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



Note

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


To configure PTP using NDB GUI, complete these steps:

Procedure


Step 1

Log into Cisco NDB GUI.

Step 2

Navigate to CONFIGURATION -> Port Definition tab.

Step 3

Click Configure Node to open the Node Configuration pane.

Step 4

Click Configure PTP to open the Configure PTP pane.

Step 5

Select Enable PTP from the Enable/Disable PTP drop-down list.

Step 6

Enter the PTP source IP address in the Source IP Address text field.

Step 7

Select the interfaces on which you want to enable PTP from the Select Port(s) list.

Step 8

Click Submit to enable PTP on the selected interfaces.


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.


Note

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. For more information, see the "Configuring ACL TCAM Region Sizes" section in the Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS Security Configuration Guide.


Netflow is supported on the following platforms:

  • 9300-FX

  • 9300-EX

  • 9300-FX2

  • 9500-EX

  • 9500-FX


Note

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


Configuring NetFlow

Starting with Cisco Nexus Data Broker, release 3.8, you can configure NetFlow using NDB. Complete these steps to configure NetFlow using NDB:

Creating a Flow Record

You can create a flow record and add keys to match on and nonkey fields to collect in the flow.

Procedure

Step 1

Navigate to CONFIGURATION > Port Definitions > PORT CONFIGURATION tab.

Step 2

Click Configure Node.

Step 3

In the Node Configuration dialog box, click Configure Netflow. The Configure Netflow page appears.The Configure Netflow page contains three sections: Records, Exporter, and Monitor.

Step 4

Click Add Record to open Add Record dialog box.

Step 5

In the Name field, enter a name for the record. You can enter up to 63 alphanumeric characters for the flow record name.

Step 6

In the Description field, enter description for the record.

Step 7

From the Match parameters drop-down list, select a paramter for the flow record.

Table 7. Match Paramters

Parameter

Description

IP Protocol

Specifies that the IP protocol field is to be matched.

IP TOS

Specifies that the ToS field is to be matched.

IPv4 Source Address

Specifies that the IPv4 source address field is to be matched.

IPv4 Destination Address

Specifies that the IPv4 destination address field is to be matched.

IPv6 Source Address

Specifies that the IPv6 source address field is to be matched.

IPv6 Destination Address

Specifies that the IPv6 destination address field is to be matched.

IPv6 Flow-Label

Specifies that the IPv6 flow label field is to be matched.

IPv6 Options

Specifies that the IPv6 options field is to be matched

Transport Source Port

Specifies that the transport source port field is to be matched.

Transport Destination Port

Specifies that the transport destination port field is to be matched.

MAC Source Address

Specifies that the MAC source address field is to be matched.

MAC Destination Address

Specifies that the MAC destination address field is to be matched.

Ethertype

Specifies that the ethertype field is to be matched.

VLAN

Specifies that the VLAN field is to be matched.

Note 

Ensure that you select either Layer 2 parameters or Layer 3 parameters.

Ensure that you select at least one match parameter and one collect parameter.

Step 8

From the Collect parameters, select a paramter for the flow record.

Table 8. Collect Paramters

Parameter

Description

Counter Bytes

Collects bytes based counters.

Counter Packets

Collects packet based counters.

IP Version

Collects the IP version of the flow

Transport TCP Flags

Collects the TCP transport layer flags for the packets in the flow.

SYS Uptime First

Collects the system up time for the first packet in the flow.

SYS Uptime Last

Collects the system up time for the last packet in the flow.

Step 9

Click Submit to create a new record. The new record is listed under the Records section.


Creating a Flow Exporter

Creating a Flow Exporter

The flow exporter configuration defines the export parameters for a flow and specifies reachability information for the remote NetFlow Collector.

Procedure

Step 1

Click Add Exporter in the Configure Netflow page.

Step 2

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

Table 9. Add Exporter Fields

Field

Description

Name

Name of the flow exporter being configured.

Description

Description for the flow exporter.

Destination

IP address of the exporter.

Source

Interface on the switch through which the flow cache reaches the destination port.

Transport UDF Port

Specifies the UDP port to use to reach the NetFlow Collector. The range is from 0 to 65535.

DSCP

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

Version

NetFlow export version.

Option Exporter

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

Template Date Timeout

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

Step 3

Click Submit to create a flow exporter.


Creating a Flow 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.

Procedure

Step 1

On the Configure Netflow page, click Add Monitor. The Add Monitor dialog box appears.

Step 2

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

Table 10. Flow Monitor Details

Field

Description

Name

Name of the Flow Monitor.

Description

Description for the Flow Monitor.

Record

Record to attach to the Flow Monitor.

Exporter

Flow Exported to attach to the Flow Monitor. You can select a maximum of 2 Flow Exporters for each Flow Monitor.

Step 3

Click Submit to create the Flow Monitor. The new Flow Monitor is listed under the Monitor section on the Configure Netflow page.


Applying a Flow Monitor to an Interface

You need to apply a flow monitor to an Edge-SPAN port (interface or VLAN) to complete the Netflow configuration and select VLAN from the Port Configuration page. Complete these steps to apply a Flow Monotor to an interface:

Procedure

Step 1

Navigate to CONFIGURATION > Port Definitions > PORT CONFIGURATION.

Step 2

Click Configure for the Ethernet interface on which you plan to attach the Flow Monitor.

Step 3

In the Configure Ports dialog box, select Edge Port - SPAN from the Select a port type drop-down list.

Step 4

Enter VLAN number in the VLAN ID field. VLAN field is mandatory if the flow monitor is mapped with a L3 record.

Step 5

Select a Netflow monitor from the Netflow Monitor drop-down list.

Step 6

Click Submit to apply the selected Netflow monitor to the interface. The flow monitor name appears for the configured interface in the PORT CONFIGURATION tab.


Configuring Packet Truncation

Starting with Cisco NDB Release 3.5, you can configure packet truncation on egress ports for Cisco Nexus 9300 FX and EX series switches. 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

Starting with Cisco NDB release 3.8, you can now configure packet truncation on Cisco Nexus 9500 Series switches.



Note

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


To configure packet truncation on a device, you need to:

  1. Configure a packet truncation interface

  2. Define a monitoring device with packet truncation interface

Configuring a Packet Truncation Interface

To configure a packet truncation interface, complete these steps:

SUMMARY STEPS

  1. Log into NDB.
  2. Navigate to the CONFIGURATION > Port Definition and select the switch for which you plan to configure packet truncation.
  3. Click PORT CONFIGURATION tab.
  4. Click Configure for the interface selected for configuration.
  5. In the Configure Ports pane, click Select a port type and then click Packet Truncation Port.
  6. (Optional) Enter description for the port in the Port Description text field.
  7. Click Submit to create a packet truncation port.

DETAILED STEPS


Step 1

Log into NDB.

Step 2

Navigate to the CONFIGURATION > Port Definition and select the switch for which you plan to configure packet truncation.

Step 3

Click PORT CONFIGURATION tab.

Step 4

Click Configure for the interface selected for configuration.

Step 5

In the Configure Ports pane, click Select a port type and then click Packet Truncation Port.

Step 6

(Optional) Enter description for the port in the Port Description text field.

Step 7

Click Submit to create a packet truncation port.

By default a packet truncation port is blocked for ingress traffic.

Note 

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 the same NDB switch. To change the port Layer 2 status to Up, you need to connect to another switch or create a loopback using a third party loopback fiber optic.


What to do next

After the packet truncation port is created, you need to create a monitoring device with the packet truncation port. For more information, see Define a Monitoring Device with Packet Truncation Interface section.

Defining a Monitoring Device with Packet Truncation Interface

Complete the following steps to define a monitoring device with a packet truncation interface:

SUMMARY STEPS

  1. Navigate to the CONFIGURATION > Port Definition and select the switch for which you plan to configure packet truncation.
  2. Click PORT CONFIGURATION tab.
  3. Click Configure for the interface selected for configuration.
  4. In the Configure Ports pane, click Add Monitoring Device.
  5. In the Monitoring Device window, complete the following fields:
  6. Select Packet Truncation.
  7. Enter maximum packet size in the MTU Size text field. The MTU size can be between 320 and 1518 bytes.
  8. From the Select Packet Truncation Port drop-down list, select the packet truncation port you created on the same switch.
  9. (Optional) Select device icon for the monitoring device.
  10. Click Submit to create the monitoring device.

DETAILED STEPS


Step 1

Navigate to the CONFIGURATION > Port Definition and select the switch for which you plan to configure packet truncation.

Step 2

Click PORT CONFIGURATION tab.

Step 3

Click Configure for the interface selected for configuration.

Step 4

In the Configure Ports pane, click Add Monitoring Device.

Step 5

In the Monitoring Device window, complete the following fields:

Name

Description

Monitoring Device Name

Name of the monitoring device.

Select Switch Name

Name of the switch to add the monitoring device to.

Select Port

Packet truncation port you configured.

Port Description

Description of the port.

Step 6

Select Packet Truncation.

Step 7

Enter maximum packet size in the MTU Size text field. The MTU size can be between 320 and 1518 bytes.

Step 8

From the Select Packet Truncation Port drop-down list, select the packet truncation port you created on the same switch.

Step 9

(Optional) Select device icon for the monitoring device.

Step 10

Click Submit to create the monitoring device.


What to do next

Create a new connection using the monitoring device to implement the packet truncation feature. For more information, see Adding Connections.