Extending Cisco Technologies Thru Solar Winds Network Management

A big “Howdy” from SolarWinds®

based in Austin, Texas» Josh Stephens, Josh Stephens, Head Geek, Monster

Blogger, and Constant Tweeter

Today’s Topic: Extending Cisco Technologies w/SolarWinds

Who is SolarWinds?» What we do…» Who are our customers?» The SolarWinds community…

Introduction

Agenda

Introductions Free stuff is cool… NetFlow IP SLA Break Cisco EnergyWise Nexus 1000v SolarWinds Demonstration Summary and Q&A

Let’s get to know each other…

Who are these folks? Who am I? Who are you? How do you do this today?

Who doesn’t like free stuff?

The features we’ll discuss…» Are included within Cisco IOS» Are already deployed on your network» Trusted by thousands of engineers worldwide» Easy to leverage using SolarWinds applications

What types of problems are we solving?

User Problems» The internet is down!!!» Why is the network so slow?» I can’t get an e-mail from Joe…» I’m trying to download this file and it keeps failing…

Your Problems…» Spanning tree keeps shutting down ports» VPN tunnels won’t stay up» SNMP authentication is failing» You’ve screwed up an ACL or password and now

you’re locked out

NetFlow

Answers these questions» Who is using my bandwidth?» What are they doing with it?

Types of Flows» NetFlow – Cisco» J-Flow - Juniper» sFlow – HP, Brocade, Extreme» IPFIX – next generation

Basics of Traffic Flow Technologies

Keeps track of the traffic flowing from place to place Traditionally leveraged to monitor layer 3 (routed) traffic

flows Recent addition of layer 2 (switched) traffic detail

Commonalities of Traffic Flow Types

Transport Protocol is UDP» Some newer versions optionally support TCP and SCTP» UDP Port numbers are generally configurable

Technology included within router/switch software» Check your IOS feature set if using Cisco gear» Some implementations in software, some on ASIC

Easy to configure/enable on network gear» Usually only a few CLI commands» Some devices configurable via SNMP and/or web services

interface

IP SLA

Cisco IP Service Level Agreements (IP SLA)» Sometimes called SAA or RTT (old names)» Especially beneficial because of the perspective

Cisco IOS IP SLAs (IP Service Level Agreements) is a feature included in Cisco IOS Software that can allow administrators the ability to Analyze IP Service Levels for IP applications and services. IP SLA's uses active traffic-monitoring technology to monitor continuous traffic on the network. This is a reliable method in measuring site-to-site network performance. Cisco Routers can also act as IP SLA Responders to provide more accuracy in measurements across a network.

Source – Wikipedia.org

Traditional Network Monitoring

Implies a “hub and spoke” methodology» NMS typically sits in the middle and polls outward» Doesn’t represent site-to-site performance» Implies two-way but tests one-way

Today’s networks» MPLS vs. Frame relay» Fully-meshed networks are common-place» Local sites with direct internet access

Why IP SLA?

Network troubleshooting and monitoring» Perspective is ultra-important» Multiple test points» Several different types of operations

Existing Infrastructure» No need to deploy probes or agents» Built into already deployed Cisco devices» Easy to configure/leverage

Technical Alternatives

Probes» Expensive» Increase your carbon footprint» Hard to maintain» Slow deployment

Agents» Nobody likes a footprint» Even harder to maintain/manage» Not usually free

Requirements for using IP SLA

IP SLA Devices» Most Cisco routers and switches» Especially helpful for in edge devices» Need CLI or SNMP access to enable» IOS (see next slide)

IP SLA Statistics use» View from command-line» Real-time monitoring tools» Long term monitoring for historical trending and

alerting

Break time…

“These pretzels are making me thirsty…”Cosmo Kramer

EnergyWise

EnergyWise is a framework for network-based power management and reporting (today…)

Measure power of all connected network devices (phones, APs, PCs, building systems, physical security, PDUs, etc.)

Control and optimize power delivery with policies and embedded intelligence

Realise significant cost savings The end goal is to normalize data, normalize traffic

Cisco EnergyWise

Converges IT and Facility Networks

Network Isthe Platform

Tenant Services and TechnologiesIP-Based

Audio and Video Conferencing

Visitor Management

Interactive Media

Digital Signage

High-Speed Internet

Wireless

VPN

IP Telephony

Building Services and TechnologiesNon-IP

Lighting

Elevators

24/7 Monitoring

HVAC-Sensors

Fire

Video Surveillance

Access

Energy

An EnergyWise Network: Overview

SolarWinds for the Cisco EnergyWise

J0sher2014

Orion NPM (Network Performance Monitor)» Monitors Cisco EnergyWise capable gear» Reports energy savings in real-time and over time» Energy saved is money saved…

Orion NCM (Network Configuration Manager)» Inventories and enables Cisco EnergyWise» Automates configuration and deployment tasks

SolarWinds Orion & Cisco EnergyWise The combination of SolarWinds Orion (NPM & NCM) with Cisco

EnergyWise allows customer to:» Reduce energy consumption by managing EnergyWise policies on network

devices using an intuitive configuration management interface» Report on energy consumption and savings over specific time periods» Graphically compare maximum power consumption vs. current power

consumption across all of your EnergyWise enabled devices» Preview EnergyWise policies using an intuitive energy management calendar

Using Orion to Enable EnergyWise

Step 1: Use Orion Network Performance Monitor’s EnergyWise readiness report to find all EnergyWise-supported devices on your network

Step 2: Use Orion Network Configuration Manager to complete a batch update of the IOS for each device to a level that supports EnergyWise

Step 3: Select which energy policy settings you want to use to start managing your network’s energy consumption

Step 4: Report on your network’s energy consumption and savings from Orion’s intuitive web console, which automatically recognizes EnergyWise-enabled devices

4 easy steps for using Orion to get the most out of your EnergyWise deployment

Question #1

J0sher2014

The 1000v is:A. The latest hybrid automobile from Honda

B. The best sunscreen money can buy

C. The cool new virtual switch from Cisco Systems

Correct Answer – C. The cool new virtual switch from Cisco Systems

Cisco Nexus 1000v

J0sher2014

Just like the physical Cisco switches that we all know and love… Supports advanced features like NetFlow Similar skillsets for configuration

Solves several problems associated with deploying virtualization technology Visibility into the virtual server infrastructure

(ESX from VMWare) Manageability for virtual switching technology

SolarWinds for the Cisco Nexus 1000v

J0sher2014

Native support in Orion NPM Discovers and monitors the Nexus 1000v Monitor network traffic by VM, host, etc… Automated notifications for virtual switch issues

Additional visibility with the Orion NetFlow Traffic Analyzer NetFlow – who and what of traffic analysis Especially helpful for virtualized application servers

- Slide 25 -

SolarWinds Orion Demonstration

Thank you for attending!

To learn more or to download free 30-day trials of

SolarWinds products visit: www.SolarWinds.com

Contact informationJosh Stephens, Head Geek

[email protected]

twitter: sw_headgeek

Blog: http://thwack.com/blogs/geekspeak/

Summary and Q&A