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.
For more information about ThousandEyes, see the ThousandEyes Platform.
Overview
What is Cisco DNA?
The Cisco Catalyst Center (formerly Cisco DNA Center) is the command and control center for Cisco DNA-based networks. For more information, see Cisco Catalyst Center.
Embedded vs. Non-Embedded Solutions
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.
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.
Entitlements
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 Calculating Units.
The maximum number of authorized embedded entitlements included as part of the Catalyst 9300 or 9400 Cisco DNA Advantage subscription is calculated as set forth in the Cisco Catalyst 9000 Entitlements Summary.
Security, Reliability, and Performance
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.
Security
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.
Reliability & Performance
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:
Getting Started
Access Your Entitlements
Existing Cisco DNA Advantage License Holders
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.
New Cisco DNA Advantage License Holders
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:
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.
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.
For a full list of supported devices and system requirements, refer to the following support matrices:
For Cisco Catalyst switches, see Catalyst Switching.
For Cisco Catalyst routers, see Catalyst Routing.
For Cisco Nexus switches, see Nexus Switching.
For Aggregated Services Routers (ASR) and Integrated Services Routers (ISR), see Service Routing.
For Meraki appliances, see Meraki MX Appliances.
Next Steps
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.
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