cisco active advisor

Life Cycle ManagementThere are aspects of vendor management, network security and optimization that define a life cycle audit. It often applies mostly to aging infrastructure however not exclusively. The life cycle audit can detect security vulnerabilities and configuration errors as well. The network hardware and software development is based on a maintenance life cycle. Cisco eventually announces an End of Life (EoL) date for their equipment. In addition there are milestone dates specified as well for end of maintenance, security fixes and End of Sale (EoS). The same occurs with IOS software as Cisco announces no additional software bug fixes or development work. The customer must consider how the life cycle for infrastructure will affect network deployments, support workload and budget. The life cycle management process is on-going considering most network infrastructure is comprised of multiple hardware platforms and IOS software. Obtaining support from Cisco is a key requirement affecting network performance, resiliency and security.

Cisco Active Advisor

The complexities of life cycle management led Cisco to develop a free cloud-based service for customer audits. The network engineer would sign-on to the cloud service and scan the network inventory. The scan works similar to Cisco Network Assistant where there is a sweep of an IP address range. The devices are profiled for life cycle attributes and a report is generated. In addition the network inventory report includes serial number, model, IP address and product ID.

CAA Report Components

End of Life Hardware End of Life IOS Software PSIRT Alerts Service Contract Status Warranty Coverage Product Field Notices Configuration Best Practices Audits

Hardware Compatibility

The list of support network devices has increased from when CAA was first released. It now includes most Cisco wired and wireless platforms and services. The list is comprised of switches, routers, access points, wireless LAN controllers, firewalls, line cards, modules, selected IP phones and Cisco UCS devices.

Configuration Best Practices Audits

The most current version of CAA include configuration audits for switching, wireless and security best practices. The best practices are based on Cisco TAC cases for thousands of support hours resolving technical issues. This will enable optimizing the bulk of network devices typically deployed to any network infrastructure.

Switching Configuration Wireless Configuration Security Configuration

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Step 1: Configure Network Access

The enable password is required for any account username with lower than level 15 privilege to run Cisco Active Advisor. In addition do not include .0/.255 hosts and enable cdp.

switch# aaa new-modelswitch# aaa authentication login default localswitch# username <admin> password <password>switch# enable ip http server switch# ip http secure-server switch# ip http authentication enable

Step 2: CAA Sign-On

The Cisco Active Advisor as mentioned is a cloud-based service with sign-on available from any supported web browser. https://ciscoactiveadvisor.com/

Courtesy of Cisco Systems, Inc. Unauthorized use not permitted.

Step 3: Run Device ScanThe device scan is started from the Tools icon. Select the IP address range to scan that is currently assigned to your network infrastructure.



Step 4: Switching Configuration Audit

The switching configuration audit scans all detected Cisco switches and generates a report. The recommendations are based on the cisco enterprise campus infrastructure best practices guide.

Step 5: Wireless Configuration Audit

The wireless health configuration audit scans all detected Cisco access points and controllers. The generated report includes recommendations based on the Cisco wireless LAN controller (WLC) best practices guide.

Step 6: Security Configuration Audit

The security health audit scans all detected Cisco equipment and generates a report. The recommendations made are based on the cisco enterprise security best practices guide.

Step 7: Analyze Reports

The results of the scan generate a life cycle report for the network devices. In addition there are reports for switching, wireless and security audits. The lifecycle reports list alerts and recommendations based on Cisco profiling data. The network audit reports include configuration issues with the equipment scripts. The reports become the basis for a remediation plan.

Step 8: Configure Alerts

Cisco Active Advisor has a recommended service that send life cycle alerts to network engineers. This service will add the subscriber to an email list where the selected alerts are sent. It is the same as network monitoring software that alerts when there is a fault for instance.

Cisco Network Assistant

Cisco Network Assistant is a free software tool that works with Cisco Active Advisor. It provides network discovery and management of wired and wireless network infrastructure. The current support is for up to 80 devices. That is adequate for most branch offices and data centers. The following figure is the management GUI for Network Assistant.



There is support for Cisco switches, routers, firewalls, wireless controllers and access points. Cisco firewalls do not support CDP and as a result are added manually to the map. The following is a summary of Network Assistant 6.2 features.

Network discovery and topology map Device configuration management GUI for devices, clusters and stacks Network inventory reports Troubleshooting support Performance monitoring Event notification of network errors and alarm thresholds Drag-and-drop IOS software upgrades

Cisco Notification Service

The notification service from Cisco allows customers to create customized notification alerts that are sent via email or RSS feed. The alerts include security advisories, field notices, end of sale, end of support, software updates and known bugs.

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Cisco Design Cloud Design Routing and Fundamentals Fundamentals Switching

Cisco Documentation ToolkitThe Cisco Documentation Toolkit is designed to enable easier documentation of data center and branch office infrastructure. The software includes PuTTY, Cisco Active Advisor, Angry IP Scanner, Lucid Chart Drawing and Box. The documentation tools are launched with easy point and click. In addition there are equipment table forms and a network documentation guide.


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