What’s new and changed

Cisco IOS XE Release

Feature Name and Description

Supported Platforms

Cisco IOS XE 17.16.1a

Console Line Access Management

From Cisco IOS XE 17.16.1a, Console Line Access feature allows centralized management of site outages through Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager.

Cisco 1100 Terminal Services Gateway

  • C1100TGX-1N24P32A

  • C1100TG-1N24P32A

Overview of Console Line Access

Console Line Access enables network administrators to manage devices using Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager. It uses out-of-band management to troubleshoot and maintain during primary network outages. This method uses asynchronous lines to create a separate path for management traffic, allowing device management during network disruptions. Unlike in-band management, which shares the data plane with regular traffic, out-of-band management separates management and data traffic. This separation improves security and stability.

From Cisco IOS XE 17.16.1a, Cisco SD-WAN Manager can be used to manage site outages. This eliminates the need to log into devices individually using IP addresses and SSH. Administrators can now resolve issues centrally from the management plane instead of accessing each device directly on the data plane.

Console Access Line

Prerequisites for Console Line Access

  • Ensure you have onboarded the device to Cisco SD-WAN Manager using SD-Routing mode.

  • The tgadmin user must be pre-configured on the device. If the tgadmin user is not configured, you will encounter an error.

  • SSH must be configured under both VTY and asynchronous lines. For example,
    username tgadmin password 7 131110130F010D24
line 0/1/0 0/1/31
    no exec
    transport input ssh
line vty 0 4
    transport input ssh
      netconf-yang
      netconf-yang feature candidate-datastore
sd-routing
    organization-name "vIPtela Inc Regression"
    site-id 600
    system-ip 172.16.255.16
    vbond name vbond
    wan-interface GigabitEthernet0/0/0

View and Manage Console Line Access on Cisco SD-WAN Manager

Use the Console Line Access screen to view and manage disruptions or loss of connectivity at specific locations within a network. Navigate to Tools > Console Line Access to open the Console Line Access window, which displays a list of connected end devices. Each line represents a connected end device. A green icon indicates that the line is free, while a grey icon indicates that the line is occupied.

Establish Console Connection

Steps to establish a Console Connection:

Step 1

Open the console line terminal by selecting a line from the available line list.

Step 2

Enter the password for the tgadmin user twice.

Step 3

Once authenticated, the console connection will be established.

Basic Operations to Manage Console Line Access

Basic Operations to Manage Console Line Access

Function

Description

Keyword Search

To find your preferred lines, use the search tab. You can search by various keywords like, line number, description, device name, or device system IP. Note, the line description must be added under the corresponding async interface.

Clear Line Operation

To clear a line, click on the ellipsis next to the specific line and select Clear Line. This action terminates the current SSH session, making the line available for other users.

Refresh the Line

To update the line status and view the latest connection details, click the refresh button.

Troubleshooting Console Line Access Issues

Troubleshooting Console Line Access Issues

Error

Cause

Solution

Permission denied, please try again

User tgadmin is not pre-configured on the device.

Pre-configure the user tgadmin on the device.

Connection closed

SSH is not configured under Virtual Teletype (VTY) and asynchronous line.

Ensure SSH is configured under VTY and asynchronous lines.