Today I had some fun with A.I. trying to generate network diagrams.
I asked an untrained A.I. model to generate “a simple MPLS topology” for my study notes. While the image looked like a computer network it still had many incoherent additions.
For the second image I used the prompt “a diagram explaining the difference between MPLS P, PE and CE notes”.
It will be interesting to see if we can learn the model to generate better topologies and streamline documentation.
Uploading files to a Cisco TAC case.
Have you ever needed to upload large (log)files from an appliance to a Cisco TAC?
Troubleshooting DNA-Center for example usually involves creating Root Cause Analysis (RCA) files which can be well over 1GB. After generating the files we have to copy them from the controller and either mail them to the case, or upload them via the webinterface with the Case File Uploader. Both of these options require additional steps of copying and transferring.
Customer eXperience Drive.
There is an easier way to upload the files directly from the controller using the Customer eXperience Drive (CXD).
The Customer eXperience Drive (CXD) is a multi-protocol file upload service with no limitation on the uploaded file size. It allows Cisco customers with active Service Requests (SRs) to upload data directly to a case using a unique set of credentials created per SR. The protocols supported by CXD are natively supported by Cisco products which allows for uploading directly from Cisco devices to SRs.
You will need the following things;
To generate the CXD Token complete these steps:
Step 1 Log in to SCM.
Step 2 Open the case you would like to get the upload token for.
Step 3 Click the Attachments tab.
Step 4 Click Generate Token. Once the token is generated it will be displayed next to the Generate Token button.
Uploading files using CURL
Once we have the SR number (SR60000000) and the token (aaaabbbbccccdddd) we can use that to upload directly from a controller. We can transfer the file with our SR credentials to https://cxd.cisco.com/home/ and the file will be automatically added to the case.
CURL without a proxy:
CURL with a proxy:
Sample Python Code to use the PUT API
Note that the following code assumes the file is stored in the same path you are running it from.
import requests
from requests.auth import HTTPBasicAuth
url = 'https://cxd.cisco.com/home/'
username = 'SR Number'
password = 'Upload Token'
auth = HTTPBasicAuth(username, password)
filename = 'showtech.txt'
f = open(filename, 'rb')
r = requests.put(url + filename, f, auth=auth, verify=False)
r.close()
f.close()
if r.status_code == 201:
print("File Uploaded Successfully")
Enjoy your no limit uploads!
Adding the tunnel interface and NHRP mappings on the WAN Hub Router (R1):
And we have some routing on the Hubs:
| Tenant | VDC |
| Context | VRF |
| Bridge domain | Subnet / SVI |
| EPG | Broadcast domain / VLAN |
| Contract | ACL |
| L2 External EPG | 802.1Q trunk |
| L3 External EPG | L3 Routed link |
Connecting the Fabric Interconnects to the LAN and SAN:
FCoE is short for Fibre Channel over Ethernet.
Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) solves the problem of organizations having to run parallel network infrastructures for their local area networks (LANs) and their storage area networks (SANs). As a result, they have to operate separate switches, host bus adapters (HBAs), network interface cards (NICs) and cables for each of these networks. Even utilizing a virtualization solution like VMware can actually increase the number of network adapters required to carry traffic out of the servers.
| FC Port | Name | Descrption |
|---|---|---|
| N_Port | Node Port | End Device |
| F_Port | Fabric Port | Switch Port |
| L_Port | Loop Port | Loop Topo, End Device |
| NL_Port | Node Loop Port | N Port voor arbitrated loop ToPo |
| FL_Port | Fabric Loop Port | Allows loops to connect to Fabric |
| E_Port | Expansion Port | Switch to Switch connectivity ( ISL ) |
| G_Port | Generic Port | Allows auto config on the switch |
| B_Port | Bridge Port | FC WAN Gateway Port |
| U_Port | Universal Port | AUTO E, F, or FL Port |
FCoE Terminology