Cisco Nexus 9000 Switches provide the foundation for Application Centric Infrastructure, delivering scalability, performance, and exceptional energy efficiency. Operating in Cisco NX-OS Software mode or in Application Centric Infrastructure(ACI) mode, these switches are ideal for traditional or fully automated data center deployments.

For Nexus switches in ACI mode, check out the Cisco ACI App for Splunk Enterprise at https://apps.splunk.com/app/1896/.
Both apps can be deployed to provide centralized visibility across a mixed ACI and NX-OS environment

REQUIREMENTS

• Splunk version supported 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 and 8.0
• This main App requires "Cisco Nexus 9k Add-on for Splunk Enterprise" version 2.0.

Recommended System configuration

• Splunk search head system should have 8 GB of RAM and a quad-core CPU to run this app smoothly.

Topology and Setting up Splunk Environment

• This app has been distributed in two parts.

1) Add-on app, which runs collector scripts and gathers data from nexus 9k switches and also syslogs on udp port, does indexing on it and provides data to Main app.
2) Main app, which receives indexed data from Add-on app, runs searches on it and builds dashboard using indexed data.

• This App can be set up in two ways:

1) Standalone Mode: Install main app and Add-on app on a single machine.

 * Here both the app resides on a single machine.
 * Main app uses the data collected by Add-on app and builds dashboard on it

2) Distributed Environment: Install main app and Add-on app on search head and only Add-on app on forwarder system.

  * Here also both the apps resides on search head machine, but no need to enable input scripts on search head.
  * Only Add-on app required to be installed on forwarder system.
  * Execute the following command to forward the collected data to the search head.
   $SPLUNK_HOME/bin/splunk add forward-server <search_head_ip_address>:9997
  * On Search head machine, enable event listening on port 9997 (recommended by Splunk).
  * Main app on search head uses the received data and builds dashboards on it.

Installation of App

• This app can be installed either through UI through "Manage Apps" or by extracting zip file into /opt/splunk/etc/apps folder.
• The app data defaults to 'main' index.
• If you have created custom index for your Nexus 9k data follow below steps:
  1) If local folder does not exists, then create local folder inside $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/cisco-app-Nexus-9k folder.
  2) Copy macros.conf file inside local folder from default folder.
  3) Replace definition = () with definition = index = <your_index> under nexus_index stanza.

• Restart Splunk

• Note: If the previous version of App is already installed, remove the cisco-app-Nexus-9k folder from Splunk app folder before installation of newer version or the user can upgrade the app from Splunk UI.

Upgradation of App/Add-on

Please disable all the scripted inputs before upgrading Add-on(TA_cisco-Nexus-9k). * Download the App package * From the UI navigate to Apps->Manage Apps * In the top right corner select "Install app from file" * Select "Choose File" and select the App package

• Check Upgrade App
• Select "Upload" and follow the prompts.
  #### OR
• If newer version is available on splunkbase, then App/Add-on can be updated from UI also.
• From the UI navigate to Apps->Manage Apps OR click on gear icon
• Search for Cisco Nexus 9k App/Add-on
• Click on 'Update to <version>' under Version Column.

Post upgradation steps

After successfully upgrading the Add-on(TA_cisco-Nexus-9k) follow the below steps. * credentials.csv file will not be used for custom commands, User needs to follow below steps to configure the credentials.
* Go to Manage Apps -> Search for Cisco Nexus 9k App for Splunk Enterprise
* Click on setup under Action section
* Configure IP/Hostname and password
* User can configure multiple from the same setup page it will store the multiple values

Uninstallation of App

This section provides the steps to uninstall App from a standalone Splunk platform installation.

• (Optional) If you want to remove data from Splunk database, you can use the below Splunk CLI clean command to remove indexed data from an app before deleting the app.

• $SPLUNK_HOME/bin/splunk clean eventdata -index <index_name>

• Delete the app and its directory. The app and its directory are typically located in the folder$SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/<appname> or run the following command in the CLI:

• $SPLUNK_HOME/bin/splunk remove app [appname] -auth <splunk username>:<splunk password>

• You may need to remove user-specific directories created for your app by deleting any files found here: $SPLUNK_HOME/bin/etc/users/*/<appname>

• Restart the Splunk platform.You can navigate to Settings -> Server controls and click the restart button in splunk web UI or use the following splunk CLI command to restart splunk:

• $SPLUNK_HOME/bin/splunk restart

Configuration of App

• When app is installed or there is no local/passwords.conf file found, then user will be redirected to setup page containing ip address, username, password.He/She won't be able to view dashboards until credentials are not provided.
• If user wants to enter more credentials then he/she can go to Apps->Manage Apps->Set up cisco-app-Nexus-9k.It will open a set up screen which will ask for credentials.
• Splunk REST API will encrypt the password and store it in app itself(local/passwords.conf) in encrypted form, nxapicollector custom command will fetch these credentials through REST API to connect to the Nexus 9k.
• The app data defaults to 'https' scheme for all its calls between the Nexus 9k switch and Splunk.

• If your switch is http configured, perform below steps:
  1) If local folder does not exists, then create local folder inside $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/cisco-app-Nexus-9k folder.
  2) Copy default/cisco_nexus_setup.conf file in your local folder.
  3) Change the value of HTTP_SCHEME to http in your local/cisco_nexus_setup.conf file.
  4) Restart Splunk.

• Note: Whenever user wants to change the credentials, he/she needs to remove the current entry from directory cisco-app-Nexus-9k/local/passwords.conf first, restart the splunk then provide the credentials through UI. (This time credentials will be asked when app is opened for first time.)

TEST YOUR INSTALL

After TA App is configured to receive data from nexus 9k switches, The main app dashboard can take some time before the data is populated in all panels. A good test to see that you are receiving all of the data is to run this search after several minutes:

index=<your_index> | stats count by sourcetype

In particular, you should see this sourcetype: * cisco:nexus:json

If you don't see these sourcetype, have a look at the messages output by the scripted input: Collect.py. Here is a sample search that will show them

index=_internal component="ExecProcessor" collect.py "Nexus Error"| table _time host log_level message

Create your own index:

• The app data defaults to 'main' index.
• If you need to specify a particular index for your Nexus 9k data, for ex. 'n9000' follow below steps:
  1) If local folder does not exists, then create local folder inside $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps/TA_cisco-Nexus-9k folder.
  2) Create an indexes.conf file inside local folder.
  3) Add following stanza inside indexes.conf file (when index name is n9000):
  [n9000]
  coldPath = $SPLUNK_DB/n9000/colddb
  homePath = $SPLUNK_DB/n9000/db
  thawedPath = $SPLUNK_DB/n9000/thaweddb
  4) Restart Splunk.
• Once you specify your index, edit the inputs.conf file and add a line index = <your_index> under each script stanza.

The list of Python library used

1. Xmltodict Client Library
   Link: https://pypi.org/project/xmltodict/
   Author: Martin Blech
   Home Page: https://github.com/martinblech/xmltodict
   License :: OSI Approved :: MIT License
   Operating System :: OS Independent
   Programming Language :: Python
   Programming Language :: Python :: 2.5
   Programming Language :: Python :: 2.6
   Programming Language :: Python :: 2.7
   Programming Language :: Python :: 3

2. d3.js
   Link: https://d3js.org
   Home Page: https://github.com/d3/d3
   License :: BSD license
   Operating System :: OS Independent

ABOUT THE DATA

Field names are case sensitive in the nexus 9k. Every event starts with the timestamp, and always contains device from which that particular event came.For simplification we can add one additional field in each event named "component" and provide appropriate value to it so that we can easily segregate the data on the basis of its component name.

Below are two sample event records. First one gives system resource details in Json format and the other one gives accounting logs in key=value form as a raw data.

1)

{"device": "x.x.x.x", "timestamp": "2014-06-23 01:20:19", "Row_info": {"cpuid": "0", "kernel": "0.99", "idle": "99.00", "user": "0.00"}, "component": "nxresource"}
{"device": "x.x.x.x", "timestamp": "2014-06-23 01:20:19", "Row_info": {"cpuid": "1", "kernel": "0.00", "idle": "100.00", "user": "0.00"}, "component": "nxresource"}
{"device": "x.x.x.x", "timestamp": "2014-06-23 01:20:19", "Row_info": {"cpuid": "2", "kernel": "0.00", "idle": "100.00", "user": "0.00"}, "component": "nxresource"}
{"device": "x.x.x.x", "timestamp": "2014-06-23 01:20:19", "Row_info": {"cpuid": "3", "kernel": "0.00", "idle": "100.00", "user": "0.00"}, "component": "nxresource"}

2)

{"device": "x.x.x.x", "Row_info": {"hw": "0.1010", "sw": "6.1(2)I2(2a)", "modwwn": "1", "slottype": "LC1"}, "timestamp": "2015-01-01 09:05:08", "component": "nxinventory"}

NX-API Collector(Custom Search Command Reports)

This app provides a generic NX-API collector which empowers users to make use of NX-API provided by Nexus 9k and periodically track certain data from 9k switch. It simply takes switch CLI and convert it into NX-API call and provide data which can be saved as a dashboard.

Every time the saved dashboard is clicked, splunk makes a call to switch using NX-API and fetch current data for that dashboard. Note that this data will not be saved in splunk database.

Please follow below given steps to generate custom command reports.

1) Go to search option and enter your search in search bar.
You have different option for custom search command:

• | nxapicollect command="your cli" (Make sure credentials for this devices are already configured through setup page and your command will fetch credentials for switch from Splunk's \storage\passwords endpoint)
• | nxapicollect command="your cli" device="x.x.x.x"
• | nxapicollect command="your cli" device="x.x.x.x,y.y.y.y"
• | nxapicollect command="your cli" device="x.x.x.x" username="username" password="password"

2) Click on Save As and click on Dashboard Panel to store your result in dashboard.

3) Enter Dashboard Title. You have to give "report" keyword in giving dashboard title.

4) You can see your dashboard in Custom reports.(In menu bar)

Saved Searches

This app provide savedsearches which generate lookup files or provides interface details.

• savedsearches which generates lookup files
• hostname - generates hostname.csv file
• moduleSwHwVersion - generates inventory_modinf.csv file
• powerStatus - generates powerStatus.csv file
• temperature - generates temperatureLookup.csv file

• version - generates version.csv file

• savedsearch which provide interface details

• Interface_Details - provide details of all the physical interfaces

NX-API COLLECTOR TOOL

This app provides a generic NX-API collector which empowers users to make use of NX-API provided by Nexus 9k and periodically track certain data from 9k switch. It simply takes switch CLI and convert it into NX-API call and provide data which can be saved as a dashboard.

This app provides feature of Splunk custom search command. We have implemented Splunk custom search command called "nxapicollect".

GETTING HELP

This app is supported by Cisco Systems.
Please ask questions by creating a TAC case on https://globalcontacts.cloudapps.cisco.com/contacts/contactDetails/en_US/c1o1-c2o2-c3o8
OR contact us at 1 800 553 2447 or 1 408 526 7209