Cisco Devices
ThousandEyes provides customers with a 360-degree view of their digital ecosystem. Customers can install and configure ThousandEyes Enterprise Agent vantage points on Cisco switches and routers to access this real-time map of how their customers and employees experience critical services.
This article provides an overview of terminology, the supported Cisco devices with links to the available installation methods, and next steps for using ThousandEyes.
The Cisco DNA Center is the command and control center for Cisco DNA-based networks. For more information, see Cisco DNA Center.
In this article, we will refer at times to "embedded" instances. The terms are defined below for clarity:
- Embedded refers to the ThousandEyes capacity entitlement that comes with the purchase of a Cisco DNA Advantage license. This entitlement does not require the purchasing of ThousandEyes licenses, but is limited to the use of Enterprise Agent vantage points.
- Non-embedded refers to ThousandEyes licenses purchased directly from the Cisco Global Price List (GPL). These licenses can be purchased in addition to the embedded entitlements in order to gain access to the use of Cloud Agent and Endpoint Agent vantage points, Internet Insights, and to expand your use of ThousandEyes.
Embedded entitlements are only available for Cisco Catalyst 9300 and 9400 devices.
While this article primarily focuses on embedded entitlements, the support matrix, setup/installation instructions, and next steps are all applicable to non-embedded licenses as well.
ThousandEyes is a consumption-based SaaS product. Any test run from or to a Cloud or Enterprise Agent vantage point incurs a cost in "units", which are the currency used when data is gathered. When a test is run, the test's cost is deducted from the monthly units your organization has purchased. For more information on how unit consumption is calculated, see How Unit Consumption Works.
Cisco DNA Advantage embedded license holders are entitled to 22 units per DNA license w/embedded entitlements, which is the equivalent of one test run at a five minute interval with default timeouts set. This can be enhanced with non-embedded licenses.
Existing legacy metered customers will receive 22,000 units, which is the equivalent of 22 usage-based units.
Organization entitlements are limited to 5,000 licenses.
ThousandEyes Enterprise Agents running on Cisco Catalyst 9000 series switches, Catalyst 8000 series routers, and ISR 4000 series routers make use of the same containerized application framework supported by the Cisco IOS XE kernel and Cisco Application Framework. This framework leverages control groups (cgroups) and user namespaces to provide flexible control and total isolation from the main operating system.
The application container is configured to use a user namespace that provides additional isolation and security. User namespaces separate the user IDs between the host operating system and containers, as shown in the image below. A privileged user (known as a root user) in a container cannot be mapped to a privileged user on the host operating system.
In addition, the ThousandEyes Enterprise Agent container is a Cisco signed application, which ensures the authenticity of the applications running on bootflash for Cisco switches and routers.
To ensure reliable performance, the Cisco Application Framework will only allow applications to be activated and installed if there are sufficient resources to do so. If there are not, the installation will fail. In addition, the figure below shows how cgroups limit access to physical resources such as CPU and memory.
The image below shows the results of our performance testing on Cisco 9300 and 9400 devices. No material CPU or memory impacts on the core switching and routing functions were observed during these tests:
We also measured for test result accuracy by fully saturating the browser queue of the Enterprise Agent running on a Catalyst 9000 series switch and comparing that to a benchmark Cloud Agent that we expect to give us reliable results. The results can be viewed in the share links below:
For customers with existing Cisco DNA Advantage licenses (purchased before April 6th, 2021), see the Requisition Guide to access your embedded Cisco ThousandEyes entitlements included in your subscription.
When DNA Advantage licenses are purchased, or additional ThousandEyes licenses are purchased through the Cisco GPL, all Cisco Smart Account administrators associated with the organization will receive a welcome email, similar to the one shown below:
If no Smart Account administrator receives a welcome email, the units went to an existing ThousandEyes organization, rather than the one connected to the new licenses. In this case, or if you are having other issues, contact your ThousandEyes or Cisco Account Manager.
The account can be activated by following the "Activate your account" link in the email. Once the account is active, you can install an Enterprise Agent vantage point on each licensed device. See the Support Matrix below for a list of supported devices.
Once you have activated your account, review the supported devices listed below to identify the devices you wish to install Enterprise Agent vantage points on, the system requirements (hardware/software etc), and the available installation methods. For additional reference, see the Cisco SD-WAN Systems and Interfaces Configuration Guide.
Installation Methods | |
Supported Test Types | All tests |
Hardware Requirements | SSD required to run browser tests |
OS Requirements |
|
Management Requirements | DNA Center 2.2.2.3 or above |
Entitlements | 22 units per DNA license |
Cisco Catalyst 9300 series switches require the SSD to be installed in the back port/slot. For more information, see the Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches Hardware Installation Guide.
Installation Methods | |
Supported Test Types | All tests |
Hardware Requirements | SSD required to run browser tests |
OS Requirements |
|
Management Requirements | DNA Center 2.2.2.3 or above |
Entitlements | 22 units per DNA license |
Cisco Catalyst 9410 switches require additional setup steps to enable the
AppGigabitEthernet port. For more information on the required steps, see Cisco's Programmability Configuration Guide.ThousandEyes supports both SD-WAN and IOS-XE modes for Docker-based deployments.
Installation Methods | |
Supported Test Types | All non-browser tests |
Hardware Requirements | Requires 8GB RAM and 8GB Flash |
OS Requirements | IOS-XE 17.6.1 and later |
Management Requirements | vManage 20.6 for ThousandEyes Agent feature template |
Entitlements | Non-embedded only. No DNA license entitlement. |
ThousandEyes supports both SD-WAN and IOS-XE modes for Docker-based deployments.
Installation Methods | |
Supported Test Types | All non-browser tests |
Hardware Requirements | Requires 8GB RAM and 8GB Flash |
OS Requirements | IOS-XE 17.6.1 and later |
Management Requirements | vManage 20.6 for ThousandEyes Agent feature template |
Entitlements | Non-embedded only. No DNA license entitlement. |
ThousandEyes supports both SD-WAN and IOS-XE modes for Docker-based deployments.
Installation Methods | |
Supported Test Types | All non-browser tests |
Hardware Requirements | Requires 8GB RAM and 8GB Flash |
OS Requirements | IOS-XE 17.6.1 and later |
Management Requirements | vManage 20.6 for ThousandEyes Agent feature template |
Entitlements | Non-embedded only. No DNA license entitlement. |
ThousandEyes supports both SD-WAN and IOS-XE modes for Docker-based deployments.
Installation Methods | |
Supported Test Types | All non-browser tests |
Hardware Requirements | Requires 8GB RAM and 8GB Flash |
OS Requirements | IOS-XE 17.6.1 and later |
Management Requirements | vManage 20.6 for ThousandEyes Agent feature template |
Entitlements | Non-embedded only. No DNA license entitlement. |
ThousandEyes supports both SD-WAN and IOS-XE modes for Docker-based deployments.
Installation Methods | |
Supported Test Types | All non-browser tests |
Hardware Requirements | Requires 8GB RAM and 8GB Flash |
OS Requirements | IOS-XE 17.6.1 and later |
Management Requirements | vManage 20.6 for ThousandEyes Agent feature template |
Entitlements | Non-embedded only. No DNA license entitlement. |
ThousandEyes supports both SD-WAN and IOS-XE modes for Docker-based deployments.
Installation Methods | |
Supported Test Types | All non-browser tests |
Hardware Requirements | Requires 8GB RAM and 8GB Flash |
OS Requirements | IOS-XE 17.6.1 and later |
Management Requirements | vManage 20.6 for ThousandEyes Agent feature template |
Entitlements | Non-embedded only. No DNA license entitlement. |
ThousandEyes supports both SD-WAN and IOS-XE modes for Docker-based deployments.
Installation Methods | |
Supported Test Types | All non-browser tests |
Hardware Requirements | Requires 8GB RAM and 8GB Flash |
OS Requirements | IOS-XE 17.6.1 and later |
Management Requirements | vManage 20.6 for ThousandEyes Agent feature template |
Entitlements | Non-embedded only. No DNA license entitlement. |
ThousandEyes supports both SD-WAN and IOS-XE modes for Docker-based deployments.
Installation Methods | |
Supported Test Types | Docker: All non-browser tests |
Hardware Requirements | Requires 8GB RAM and 8GB Flash |
OS Requirements | IOS-XE 17.6.1 and later |
Management Requirements | vManage 20.6 for ThousandEyes Agent feature template |
Entitlements | Non-embedded only. No DNA license entitlement. |
ThousandEyes supports both SD-WAN and IOS-XE modes for Docker-based deployments.
Installation Methods | |
Supported Test Types | All non-browser tests |
Hardware Requirements | Requires 8GB RAM and 16GB Flash |
OS Requirements | IOS-XE 17.7 or later |
Management Requirements | vManage 20.7.1 for ThousandEyes Agent feature template |
Entitlements | Non-embedded only. No DNA license entitlement. |
ThousandEyes supports both SD-WAN and IOS-XE modes for Docker-based deployments.
Installation Methods | |
Supported Test Types | All non-browser tests |
Hardware Requirements | Requires 8GB RAM and 8GB Flash |
OS Requirements | IOS-XE 17.6.1 and later |
Management Requirements | vManage 20.6 for ThousandEyes Agent feature template |
Entitlements | Non-embedded only. No DNA license entitlement. |
ThousandEyes supports both SD-WAN and IOS-XE modes for Docker-based deployments.
Installation Methods | |
Supported Test Types | All non-browser tests |
Hardware Requirements | No additional hardware required (16GB M.2 SSD drive is included by default) |
OS Requirements | IOS-XE 17.6.1 and later |
Management Requirements | vManage 20.6 for ThousandEyes Agent feature template |
Entitlements | Non-embedded only. No DNA license entitlement. |
ThousandEyes supports both SD-WAN and IOS-XE modes for Docker-based deployments.
Installation Methods | |
Supported Test Types | All non-browser tests |
Hardware Requirements | No additional hardware required (16GB M.2 SSD drive is included by default) |
OS Requirements | IOS-XE 17.6.1 and later |
Management Requirements | vManage 20.6 for ThousandEyes Agent feature template |
Entitlements | Non-embedded only. No DNA license entitlement. |
ThousandEyes supports both SD-WAN and IOS-XE modes for Docker-based deployments.
Installation Methods | |
Supported Test Types | All non-browser tests |
Hardware Requirements | No additional hardware required (16GB M.2 SSD drive is included by default) |
OS Requirements | IOS-XE 17.8.1 and later |
Management Requirements | vManage 20.8.1 for ThousandEyes Agent feature template |
Entitlements | Non-embedded only. No DNA license entitlement. |
ThousandEyes supports both SD-WAN and IOS-XE modes for Docker-based deployments.
Installation Methods | |
Supported Test Types | All non-browser tests |
Hardware Requirements | Requires 8GB RAM and 8GB Flash |
OS Requirements | IOS-XE 17.8.1 and later |
Management Requirements | vManage 20.8.1 for ThousandEyes Agent feature template |
Entitlements | Non-embedded only. No DNA license entitlement. |
Installation Methods | |
Supported Test Types | All non-browser tests |
Hardware Requirements | No additional hardware required |
OS Requirements | NXOS version 9.3.7 or higher, excluding version 10.1 |
Management Requirements | DCNM version 11.5.3 or higher (for switches managed via DCNM) |
Entitlements | Non-embedded only. No DNA license entitlement. |
Enterprise Agents can also be installed on Cisco Nexus switches using an Ansible playbook. However, Ansible installations are not fully supported by ThousandEyes.
An example Ansible playbook for integrating with the ThousandEyes platform is available in GitHub. You will need to build your own playbook based on your environment: Ansible Playbook.
Installation Methods | |
Supported Test Types | All non-browser tests |
Hardware Requirements | No additional hardware required |
OS Requirements | NXOS version 9.3.7 or higher, excluding version 10.1 |
Management Requirements | DCNM version 11.5.3 or higher (for switches managed via DCNM) |
Entitlements | Non-embedded only. No DNA license entitlement. |
Enterprise Agents can also be installed on Cisco Nexus switches using an Ansible playbook. However, Ansible installations are not supported by ThousandEyes.
An example Ansible playbook for integrating with the ThousandEyes platform is available on GitHub. You will need to build your own playbook based on your environment: Ansible Playbook.
Cisco does not support KVM installation of ThousandEyes on its devices. ThousandEyes will provide best effort support in these instances.
Installation Methods | |
Supported Test Types | All tests |
Hardware Requirements | Requires an SSD |
OS Requirements | IOS-XE 16.1 and later |
Management Requirements | None |
Entitlements | Non-embedded only. No DNA license entitlement. |
ThousandEyes supports both SD-WAN and IOS-XE modes for Docker-based deployments.
Installation Methods | |
Supported Test Types | All non-browser tests |
Hardware Requirements | Requires 8GB RAM and 8GB Flash |
OS Requirements | IOS-XE 17.8.1 and later |
Management Requirements | vManage 20.8.1 for ThousandEyes Agent feature template |
Entitlements | Non-embedded only. No DNA license entitlement. |
ThousandEyes supports both SD-WAN and IOS-XE modes for Docker-based deployments.
Installation Methods | |
Supported Test Types | All non-browser tests |
Hardware Requirements | Requires 8GB RAM. Note: All 1001-HX devices come by default with 32GB of bootflash built-in. Additional bootflash is not required. |
OS Requirements | IOS-XE 17.8.1 and later |
Management Requirements | vManage 20.8.1 for ThousandEyes Agent feature template |
Entitlements | Non-embedded only. No DNA license entitlement. |
ThousandEyes supports both SD-WAN and IOS-XE modes for Docker-based deployments.
Installation Methods | |
Supported Test Types | All non-browser tests |
Hardware Requirements | Requires 8GB RAM and 8GB Flash |
OS Requirements | IOS-XE 17.8.1 and later |
Management Requirements | vManage 20.8.1 for ThousandEyes Agent feature template |
Entitlements | Non-embedded only. No DNA license entitlement. |
ThousandEyes supports both SD-WAN and IOS-XE modes for Docker-based deployments.
Installation Methods | |
Supported Test Types | All non-browser tests |
Hardware Requirements | Requires 16GB RAM. Note: All 1002-HX devices come by default with 32GB of bootflash built-in. Additional bootflash is not required. |
OS Requirements | IOS-XE 17.8.1 and later |
Management Requirements | vManage 20.8.1 for ThousandEyes Agent feature template |
Entitlements | Non-embedded only. No DNA license entitlement. |
ThousandEyes supports both SD-WAN and IOS-XE modes for Docker-based deployments.
Installation Methods | |
Supported Test Types | All non-browser tests |
Hardware Requirements | Requires 8GB RAM, 8GB Flash, and 80GB HDD |
OS Requirements | IOS-XE 17.8.1 and later |
Management Requirements | vManage 20.8.1 for ThousandEyes Agent feature template |
Entitlements | Non-embedded only. No DNA license entitlement. |
ThousandEyes supports both SD-WAN and IOS-XE modes for Docker-based deployments.
Installation Methods | |
Supported Test Types | All non-browser tests |
Hardware Requirements | Requires 8GB RAM and 8GB Flash (includes 100GB SSD by default) |
OS Requirements | IOS-XE 17.8.1 and later |
Management Requirements | vManage 20.8.1 for ThousandEyes Agent feature template |
Entitlements | Non-embedded only. No DNA license entitlement. |
Once your Enterprise Agent vantage points have been installed, you can start to build out the tests, alerts, dashboards, and reports, that will allow you to monitor your entire environment. The articles below provide information on where to get started, and your next steps.