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Cisco Catalyst - Running the NetBeez agent as an app (IOS-XE 16.9.X)

Instructions on how to install a NetBeez agent on top of a Cisco Catalyst 9000 series (obsolete procedure).

Panickos Neophytou avatar
Written by Panickos Neophytou
Updated this week

Cisco Integrations

If you are looking for the agent version compatible with Cisco ISR routers as a virtual service, you can find the procedure here. Otherwise, for Cisco Catalyst switches, keep reading ...

Requirements

This procedure requires the following resources:

  • A NetBeez dashboard (request a trial if you don't have one)

  • Cisco Catalyst 9000 Series switch with code 16.9.X (for 16.12.X versions, please follow this guide)

  • A USB thumb drive where to load the NetBeez software (required as flash0: is not available for hosted applications)

Resources to be configured

To activate the NetBeez virtual service, you need to create the following resources on the Cisco Catalyst switch:

  • A GigabitEthernet interface that will be assigned to the management WRF

  • A DHCP Scope to offer a dynamic IP address to the NetBeez virtual service interface eth0

Step-by-step installation configuration

1. Login via telnet or SSH to your Cisco Catalyst 9000 switch

2. Configure resources for app-hosting (change based on requirements)

a. Configure the network interface:

configure terminal
interface GigabitEthernet0/0
vrf forwarding Mgmt-vrf
ip address 192.168.1.1 255.255.255.0
speed 1000
negotiation auto

b. Create a DHCP scope to assign a DHCP address to the virtual service:

configure terminal
ip dhcp excluded-address vrf Mgmt-vrf 192.168.1.1 192.168.1.10

ip dhcp pool iox-apps2
vrf Mgmt-vrf
network 192.168.1.0 255.255.255.0
default-router 192.168.1.1
domain-name domain.com
dns-server 8.8.8.8

3. Use the recommended Cisco SSD drive for the platform you are using or a USB SSD stick. Make sure the drive is formatted FAT32. Verify that it's connected and readable by the switch with the command "dir usbflash0:". In the alternative, you can save the file on the flash storage (for IOS-XE versions < 16.12.1).

4. Enable app-hosting

configure terminal
 iox 

The iox command should create the folder below on the USB drive (or flash):

dir usbflash0:
Directory of usbflash0:/

3 drwx 16384 Jun 26 2018 14:39:16 +00:00 iox

33537654784 bytes total (32602456064 bytes free)

5. Download the NetBeez tar on the usbflash0: storage unit:

copy http://storage.googleapis.com/netbeez-public/netbeez-cisco-9k.tar usbflash0:

6. Load the NetBeez virtual service:

app-hosting install appid netbeez package usbflash0:netbeez-cisco-9k.tar

7. Finalize the configuration of the NetBeez virtual service and boot the machine:

configure terminal
app-hosting appid netbeez
vnic management guest-interface 0

app-hosting activate appid netbeez
app-hosting start appid netbeez

8. Connect via console to the NetBeez virtual service with credentials netbeez/netbeez to register the agent to the dashboard:

app-hosting connect appid netbeez con

(To exit the console, hit CTRL-C three times)

At the end of the procedure, your NetBeez agent should be running on your Catalyst switch. To verify this, type this command on the switch's console:

lab9300#show app-hosting detail
State : RUNNING
Author : NetBeez, Inc.
Application
  Type : vm
  App id : netbeez
  Name : NetBeez Agent
  Version : 1.0
Activated profile name : custom
 Description : NetBeez Agent for Cisco Catalyst 9000
Resource reservation
  Memory : 1024 MB
  Disk : 5 MB
  CPU : 5000 units
  VCPU : 2
Attached devices
  Type Name Alias
  ---------------------------------------------
  Serial/shell
  Serial/aux
  Serial/Syslog serial2
  Serial/Trace serial3
Network interfaces
---------------------------------------
eth0:
MAC address : xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
IPv4 address : yyy.yyy.yyy.yyy

9. Now that you have the NetBeez app running on your Cisco Catalyst, login into the console, and fetch the configuration script:

curl -L -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/netbeez/agent-installation/master/agent_setup.sh

10. Execute the script as a sudo user (replace <secret_key_received_via_email> in the following command with the actual secret key received upon registration of your dashboard or find it on the About page in your NetBeez settings):

sudo bash agent_setup.sh --secret=<secret_key_received_via_email>

About the NetBeez Cisco ISR OVA image

The NetBeez Cisco Catalyst 9000 tar is available at:

The OVA was built following this guide available on GitHub.

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