Installing the Cisco Prime Network Services Controller

This chapter contains the following sections:

Information About the Cisco Prime NSC

The Cisco Prime Network Services Controller (Cisco Prime NSC) is a virtual appliance that provides centralized device and security policy management for Cisco virtual services. Designed to support enterprise and multiple-tenant cloud deployments, the Cisco Prime NSC provides transparent, seamless, and scalable management for securing virtualized data center and cloud environments.

Installation Requirements

Cisco Prime NSC System Requirements

Requirement

Description

Virtual Appliance

Four virtual CPUs

1.8 GHz each

Memory

Minimum 4 GB RAM, recommended 4 GB RAM

Disk space

Without InterCloud functionality, 40 GB on shared NFS or SAN, and configured on two disks as follows:

  • Disk 1: 20 GB
  • Disk 2: 20 GB

Management interface

One management network interface

Processor

x86 Intel or AMD server with 64-bit processor

   

Microsoft Hyper-V

Microsoft SCVMM 2012 SP1 or SCVMM 2012 R2

 
   

Interfaces and Protocols

HTTP/HTTPS

—

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)

—

   

Intel VT

Intel Virtualization Technology (VT)

Enabled in the BIOS

Web-Based GUI Client Requirements

Requirement

Description

Operating system

Any of the following:
  • Windows
  • Apple Mac OS

Browser

Any of the following:
  • Internet Explorer 9.0
  • Mozilla Firefox 23.0
  • Chrome 29.0
Note    If you are running Firefox or IE and do not have Flash, or you have a version of Flash that is older than 11.2, a message displays asking you to install Flash and provides a link to the Adobe website.
Note    Before using Google Chrome with Cisco Prime NSC, you must disable the Adobe Flash Players that are installed by default with Chrome. For more information, see Configuring Chrome for Use with Cisco Prime NSC.

Flash Player

Adobe Flash Player plugin (Version 11.2 or higher)


Note

Before you can use Chrome with Prime NSC 3.2, you must first disable the Adobe Flash Players that are installed by default with Chrome.

Firewall Ports Requiring Access

Requirement

Description

80

HTTP/TCP

443

HTTP

843

TCP

Cisco Nexus 1000V Series Switch Requirements

Requirement

Notes

General

The procedures in this guide assume that the Cisco Nexus 1000V Series switch is up and running, and that endpoint Virtual Machines (VMs) are installed.

—

Port Profiles

One port profile configured on the Cisco Nexus 1000V Series Switch for the service VLAN.

—

Information Required for Installation and Configuration

Information Type

Your Information

For Deploying the Cisco Prime NSC ISO

Name

ISO file location

 

Storage location

 
Management port profile name for VM management
Note   

The management port profile is the same port profile that is used for VSM. The port profile is configured in VSM and is used for the Cisco Prime NSC management interface.

IP address

 

Subnet mask

 

Gateway IP address

 

Domain name

 

DNS server

 

Admin password

 

Shared secret password for communications between the Cisco Prime NSC, Cisco VSG, and VSM.

 
For Configuring Microsoft Hyper-V in Cisco Prime NSC
HyperV name
Description
Hostname or IP address

Shared Secret Password Criteria

A shared secret password is a password that is known only to those using a secure communication. Passwords are designated strong if they cannot be easily guessed for unauthorized access. When you set a shared secret password for communications between the Cisco Prime NSC, Cisco VSG, and VSM, adhere to the following criteria for setting valid, strong passwords:

Do not include the following items in passwords:
  • Characters: & ' " ` ( ) < > | \ ; $
  • Spaces
Create strong passwords based on the characteristics in this table:
Table 1 Characteristics of Strong Passwords

Strong passwords have...

Strong passwords do not have...

  • At least eight characters.
  • Lowercase letters, uppercase letters, digits, and special characters.
  • Consecutive characters, such as abcd.
  • Characters repeated three or more times, such as aaabbb.
  • A variation of the word Cisco, such as cisco, ocsic, or one that changes the capitalization of letters in the word Cisco.
  • The username or the username in reverse.
  • A permutation of characters present in the username or Cisco.
Examples of strong passwords are:
  • If2CoM18
  • 2004AsdfLkj30
  • Cb1955S21

Microsoft Hyper-V Server Requirement

You must set the clock to the correct time on all the Microsoft Hyper-V servers that will run Cisco Prime NSC, Cisco VSG, or VSM. If you do not set the correct time on the server, the Cisco Prime NSC CA certificate that is created when the Cisco Prime NSC VM is deployed might have an invalid time stamp.

After you set the clock to the correct time on all the Hyper-V servers that run the Cisco Prime NSC, you can, as an option, set the clock on the Cisco Prime NSC as follows:
  • If you set the clock manually, be sure to enter the correct time zone as a Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) offset.
  • If you set the clock by synchronizing with the Network Time Protocol (NTP), you can select the UTC time zone.

Installing Cisco Prime NSC

Before You Begin
  • Verify that the Hyper-V host on which to deploy the Cisco Prime NSC VM is available in SCVMM.
  • Copy the Cisco Prime NSC ISO image to the SCVMM library location on the file system. To make this image available in SCVMM, choose Library > Library Servers, right-click the library location, and then refresh.
  • Set your keyboard to United State English before installing the Cisco Prime NSC and using the VM console.
  • There is no dependency on the VM hardware version, so the VM hardware version can be upgraded if required.
    Step 1   Launch the SCVMM.
    Step 2   Choose the Hyper-V host on which to deploy the Cisco Prime NSC VM.
    Step 3   Right-click the Hyper-V host and choose Create Virtual Machine.
    Step 4   In the Create Virtual Machine wizard, from the Select Source screen, choose the Create the new virtual machine with a blank virtual hard disk radio button, then click Next.
    Step 5   In the Specify Virtual Machine Identity screen, provide the required information, then click Next.
    Step 6   In the Configure Hardware screen, do the following:
    1. From General, do the following:
      • Choose Processor and choose the number of processors.
      • Choose Memory and choose the required memory value. You will need a minimum 4 GB of memory for Prime NSC.
    2. From Bus Configuration > IDE Devices, do the following:
      • Choose Hard Disk, enter the required size of the hard disk. You will need a minimum of 20 GB of hard disk.
      • Choose Virtual DVD Drive, check the Existing ISO image file radio button, and browse to choose theCisco Prime NSC 3.2 ISO image file.
    3. Choose Network Adapters > Network Adapter 1, check the Connect to a VM Network radio button, and browse to choose a VM Network.
    4. Click Next.
    Step 7   In the Select Destination screen, do the following:
    1. Check the Place the virtual machine on a host radio button.
    2. Choose All hosts from the Destination drop-down list.
    3. Click Next.
    Step 8   In the Select Host screen, choose the destination, then click Next.
    Step 9   In the Configure Settings screen, review the virtual machine settings, then click Next.
    Step 10   In the Add properties screen, choose the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 (64 bit) operating system, then click Next.
    Step 11   In the Summary screen, do the following:
    1. Verify the settings.
    2. Check the Start the virtual machine after deploying it check box.
    3. Click Create.

      The job Create virtual machine starts. You can see the status of this job in The Recent Jobs window. Ensure that the job completes without any errors.

    Step 12   After the virtual machine is successfully created, right-click the new Virtual Machine (vnmc21-perf in this case) and choose Connect or View > Connect Via Console.
    Step 13   Launch the console and install Cisco Prime NSC.
    Note   

    Before the final Cisco Prime NSC installation step, before you reboot, launch Microsoft SCVMM again, right-click the Virtual machine (vnmc21-hyperv in this case), and choose Properties > Hardware Configuration > Bus Configuration > Virtual DVD Drive > no media so that Cisco Prime NSC does not use the ISO image at boot time.

    Step 14   After Cisco Prime NSC is successfully deployed, click Close and power on the Cisco Prime NSC VM.