Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Part I Introduction to Cisco DNA

Chapter 1 Why Transform Your Business Digitally?

Opportunities and Threats

Digitally Transforming Industries

Digital Advertising

Digital Media and Entertainment

Digital Finance

Digital Communications

Digital Transportation Services

Digitally Transforming Businesses

Transforming the Customer Experience

Burberry

Starbucks

UPS

Transforming the Employee Experience

Air France

RehabCare

Cisco

Transforming Business Operations

Boeing

Codelco

BC Hydro

Driving Digital Transformation with the Internet of Things

Are You Ready?

Summary

Further Reading

Chapter 2 The Business Value of Cisco DNA

Business Requirements of the Network Architecture

Cost Reduction

Risk Mitigation

Actionable Insights

Business Agility

Intent-Based Networking

Business Value of Cisco Digital Network Architecture

Reducing Costs Through Automation, Virtualization, and Programmable Hardware

Mitigating Risks with Integrated Security and Compliance

Revealing Actionable Insights Through Analytics

Accelerating Business Agility Through Open APIs

Adding It All Up

Summary

Further Reading

Chapter 3 Designing for Humans

Technology Versus User-Experience

Design Thinking Philosophy and Principles

Cisco Design Thinking Framework

Discover Phase

Opportunity Statement

Define Phase

Problem to Be Solved Statement

Explore Phase

The Cisco Design Thinking Journey for Cisco DNA

Cisco DNA Discovery Phase

The Front-Line Engineer

The Firefighter

The Expert

The Planner

Cisco DNA Definition Phase

Cisco DNA Exploration Phase

Summary

Further Reading

Chapter 4 Introducing the Cisco Digital Network Architecture

Requirements for Cisco DNA

Requirements to Reduce Complexity and Costs

Requirement to Increase Operational Flexibility

Flexibility

Intelligent Feedback Mechanism

Application, User, and Device Awareness

Security and Compliance Requirements

Cloud-Enablement Requirement

Architectural Principles

Openness

Extensibility

Programmability

Policy-based Networking

Security

Software Driven

Cloud Integrated

Conflicting Principles?

Overview of the Cisco DNA Components

Infrastructure

Cisco DNA Infrastructure Domains

Extending the Concept of Network Fabrics in Cisco DNA

Virtualization

Policy

Automation

Controllers

Orchestrators

Analytics Platform

Data Collection

Data Reporting

Cisco DNA Analysis

Feedback and Control

The Role of the Cloud in Cisco DNA

Cloud for Applications

Cloud for Automation and Management

Cloud for Analytics

Connecting the Building Blocks: APIs

Outcomes

Summary

Further Reading

Chapter 5 The Cisco Digital Network Architecture Blueprint

Cisco DNA Services

Cisco DNA Services—Transport

Cisco DNA Services—Policy

Relationship Between Cisco DNA Policies and Business Intent

Cisco DNA Infrastructure

Transport Functions

Supporting Network Functions

Fabrics

Automating Cisco DNA—Controllers

Automating Transport and Network Functions Infrastructure

Maintaining a View of the Infrastructure Functions and Connected Endpoints

Instantiating and Maintaining Cisco DNA Services

Relationships in Cisco DNA: Revisiting Domains, Scopes, and Fabrics

Cisco DNA Interfaces

Service Definition and Orchestration

Relationship Between the Controllers and the Service Definition and Orchestration Component

Analytics Platform

Data Collection

Data Extraction

Data Ingestion

Data Export

On-Premises and Off-Premises Agnosticism—Revisiting the Cloud

Application Hosting in the Cloud and the Evolution of the DMZ

Leveraging the Cloud for Cisco DNA Controllers and Analytics

Summary

Part II Cisco DNA Programmable Infrastructure

Chapter 6 Introduction to Cisco DNA Infrastructure

Picturing the Modern Network

Exploring Cisco DNA Infrastructure

The Evolving Network, and Why It Matters

Requirements: The Need for Change

Requirements: The Need for Speed (of Change)

Requirements: The Need for Simplicity

Requirements: The Need for Continuity

Cisco DNA Infrastructure Solutions

Flexible Hardware

Flexible Software

New and Evolving Protocols

The Emergence of Virtualization

Bringing It All Together

Summary

Chapter 7 Hardware Innovations

The Importance of Hardware in a Software-Defined World

The Making of a Chip

Delving Deeper: How Chips Are Designed and Built

Drivers of Chip Design and Density

When Good Chips Go Bad: What Can Go Wrong in Chip Design

When Good Chips Need to Get Better: Designing the Next Generation

Now We Speak the Same Language!

What’s Happening in the World of Networks

How Traditional Network ASICs Process Packets

Traffic Handling with CPUs and FPGAs

Introducing Flexible Silicon

Flexible Switching Silicon: UADP

UADP Use Cases—Current, and Future

Introducing the Future: UADP 2.0 and 3.0

So What’s Common Across All of These Variants of UADP?

UADP—Summing Up

Flexible Routing Silicon: QFP

QFP—An Introduction

QFP—Diving Deeper

QFP—Use in Platforms

UADP and QFP—Summing Up

Wireless: Providing Innovation for Mobility

Flexible Radio Assignment

Intelligent Capture

Summary

Further Reading

Chapter 8 Software Innovations

The Importance and Evolution of Networking Software

Cisco IOS: Origins and Evolution

Evolution of the Cisco IOS Data Plane

Evolution of the Cisco IOS Control Plane

Evolution of the Cisco IOS Management Plane

Evolution of Cisco Networking Software

The Evolution of Cisco IOS to IOS XE

Cisco IOS XE in a Nutshell

Cisco IOS XE: Delving Deeper

IOS XE Subsystems

IOS XE Database

Container Framework and Application Hosting

Cisco IOS XE: Bringing It All Together

Cisco IOS XE: Simplification with a Single Release Train

Cisco IOS XE: Software Maintenance Upgrades

The Issue with Software Upgrades

Types of SMUs—Cold, and Hot

Installing a SMU

Benefits of SMUs

Cisco IOS XE: Platform Support

Cisco IOS XE: Summary

Protecting Platforms and Networks: Trustworthy Systems

Trustworthy Systems: An Overview

Possible Attacks: IOS Modifications

Attack Mitigation with Trustworthy Systems

Defense: Image Validation and Signing

Defense: Runtime Defenses

Defense: Secure Boot

Understanding Boot Sequence Attacks

Protecting Device Integrity from the Ground Up with Secure Boot

Ensuring Device Identity with the Secure Unique Device Identifier

Cisco Secure Boot and Trust Anchor Module: Validating the Integrity of Software, Followed by Hardware

The Move to Intuitive Networking

Summary

Further Reading

Chapter 9 Protocol Innovations

Networking Protocols: Starting at the Bottom with Ethernet

Power Protocols: Power over Ethernet, to 60 Watts and Beyond!

The Future of Power over Ethernet

Multiple-Speed Protocols over Copper: Multigigabit Ethernet, Squeezing More Life Out of Existing Cabling Infrastructures

25G Ethernet—The New Kid on the Block

Ethernet Evolving: This Is Not Your Father’s Ethernet!

Moving Up the Stack

Networking Protocols: Moving Up the Stack to Layer 2

Networking Protocols: Moving Up the Stack to Layer 3

First-Hop Reachability Protocols: HSRP and VRRP

Routing Protocols

Virtual Routing

Layer 2 over Layer 3

Networking Protocols Today: Summary

Networking Protocols for the New Era of Networking

VXLAN: A Next-Generation Encapsulation Technology

UDP Encapsulation

Virtual Network Support

Scalable Group Tag Support

Summary: Why VXLAN?

IS-IS: The Evolution of Underlay Routing

LISP: The Evolution of Overlay Host Reachability

The Need for Host Mobility

The Need for Host Scale

LISP to Address the Host Mobility and Scale Needs of the Next-Generation Network

Examination of LISP Roaming Operation

Summing Up: LISP As a Next-Generation Overlay Control Plane

Scalable Group Tags: The Evolution of Grouping and Policy

Scalable Group Tags for Group-Based Policies

SGT Transport End-to-End Across the Network

Bringing It All Together: What Next-Generation Protocols Within the Network Allow Us To Build

Summary

Further Reading

Chapter 10 Cisco DNA Infrastructure—Virtualization

Benefits of Network Function Virtualization

CAPEX Benefits of NFV

OPEX Benefits of NFV

Architectural Benefits of NFV

Use Cases for Network Function Virtualization

Control Plane Virtualization

Branch Virtualization

Virtualization to Connect Applications in VPCs

Virtualization of Multicloud Exchanges

Overview of an NFV System Architecture

Hypervisor Scheduling and NUMA

Input/Output Technologies for Virtualization

Challenges and Deployment Considerations of Network Function Virtualization

Performance

Oversubscribing the Physical Hardware Resources

Optimizing Server Configurations

Selecting the Right I/O Technique

VNF Footprint Considerations

Multi-tenancy and Multi-function VNFs

Transport Virtualization

Network Segmentation Architecture

Network Access Control

Network Path Virtualization

Network Services Edge

Policy-based Path Segmentation

Control Plane–based Segmentation

Multihop Path Isolation Techniques

Single-Hop Path Isolation Techniques

Summary

Chapter 11 Cisco DNA Cloud

Introduction to the Cloud

Cloud Service Models

Cloud Deployment Models

It’s a Multicloud World!

Cisco DNA for the Cloud

Cisco DNA Cloud for Applications

Cisco DNA Cloud for Automation

Cisco DNA Cloud for Analytics

Summary

Further Reading

Part III Cisco DNA Automation

Chapter 12 Introduction to Cisco DNA Automation

Why Automate?

Reduce Total Cost of Ownership

Lower Risk

Move Faster

Scale Your Infrastructure, Not Your IT Department

Think “Out of the Box”

Simplify Like Never Before

Enable Applications to Directly Interact with the Network

Is Cisco DNA Automation the Same as SDN?

Centralized Versus Distributed Systems

Imperative Versus Declarative Control

The Cisco SDN Strategy

Automation Elements

Network Programmability

Network Controller

Network Orchestrator

Summary

Further Reading

Chapter 13 Device Programmability

Current State of Affairs

CLI Automation

SNMP

Model-Based Data

YANG

Protocols

Encoding

Network Protocols

NETCONF

RESTCONF

gRPC

Telemetry

gRPC Telemetry

Tools

Application Hosting

Summary

Further Reading

Chapter 14 Cisco DNA Automation

The Increasing Importance of Automation

Allow the Network to Scale

Reduce Errors in the Network

Time to Perform an Operation

Security and Compliance

Current Impediments to Automation

Classifying Network Automation Tasks

Infrastructure and Cisco DNA Service Automation

Standard and Nonstandard Automation Tasks

The Role of Controllers in Cisco DNA Automation

Leveraging Abstractions in Cisco DNA to Deliver Intent-Based Networking

Domain Controllers Versus Control Plane Protocols

Automating Your Network with Cisco DNA Center

Cisco DNA Center Basics

Device Discovery, Inventory, and Topology

Day 0 Operations—Standardizing on Network Designs

Standardizing Settings for Supporting Network Functions

Automating Device Credentials

Reserving and Managing IP Address Pools

Standardizing Service Provider QoS Profiles

Characterizing Wireless LAN Profiles

Standardizing on Network Designs

Automating the Deployment of Network Elements and Functions

Day N Operations—Automating Lifecycle Operations

Summary

Further Reading

Part IV Cisco DNA Analytics

Chapter 15 Introduction to Cisco DNA Analytics

A Definition of Analytics

Cisco DNA Analytics

Cisco DNA Analytics, Opportunities and Challenges

Brief History of Network Analytics

Why Cisco DNA Analytics?

The Role of Network Analytics in Cisco DNA

Summary

Chapter 16 Cisco DNA Analytics Components

Analytics Data Sources

Cisco DNA Instrumentation

Distributed Network Analytics

Telemetry

Why Telemetry?

The Cisco DNA Telemetry Architecture

Limitations of Today’s Telemetry Protocols

The Evolution of Cisco DNA Telemetry: Model-Driven Telemetry

Analytics Engine

The Traditional Analytics Approach

The Need for Analytics Engines

Data Scalability

Analytics Efficiency

Application Development Simplification

The Role of the Cloud for Analytics

Summary

Further Reading

Chapter 17 Cisco DNA Analytics Engines

Why a Cisco DNA Analytics Engine?

Cisco DNA Analytics Engines

Cisco Network Data Platform

Telemetry Quotient

NDP Architecture

NDP Architecture Principles

NDP Architecture Layers

NDP Architecture Components

NDP Deployments Modes

On-Premises Deployments

Cloud Deployments

NDP Security and High Availability

Cisco Tetration Analytics

It’s All About Quality of Data

Data Center Visibility with Cisco Tetration Analytics

Cisco Tetration Analytics Architecture

Data Collection Layer

Analytics Layer

Enforcement Layer

Visualization Layer

The Benefits of Cisco Tetration Analytics

Summary

Further Reading

Part V Cisco DNA Solutions

Chapter 18 Cisco DNA Virtualization Solutions: Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization and Secure Agile Exchange

The Cisco Strategy for Virtualization in the Enterprise

Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization

Details on Virtualization Hardware

NFVIS: An Operating System Optimized for Enterprise Virtualization

Virtualized Network Functions

Cisco Integrated Services Virtual Router

Cisco Adaptive Security Virtual Appliance

Cisco Firepower NGFW Virtual

Cisco Virtual Wide Area Application Services

Cisco Prime Virtual Network Analysis Module

Cisco Virtual Wireless LAN Controller

Third-party VNF Support

Service Chaining and Sample Packet Flows

Transparent Versus Routed Service Chains

Orchestration and Management

NFVIS GUI (Per System)

Cisco DNA Center (Network Level)

Configuring and Monitoring of an NFVIS Host Using Traditional Mechanisms

Virtualizing Connectivity to Untrusted Domains: Secure Agile Exchange

Motivation for the Cisco SAE Solution

Cisco SAE Building Blocks

Running Virtualized Applications and VNFs Inside IOS XE

Summary

Further Reading

Chapter 19 Cisco DNA Software-Defined Access

The Challenges of Enterprise Networks Today

Software-Defined Access: A High-Level Overview

SD-Access: A Fabric for the Enterprise

What Is a Fabric?

Why Use a Fabric?

Capabilities Offered by SD-Access

Virtual Networks

Scalable Groups

Stretched Subnets

SD-Access High-Level Architecture and Attributes

SD-Access Building Blocks

Cisco DNA Center in SD-Access

SD-Access Fabric Capabilities

IP Host Pools

Virtual Networks

Scalable Groups

SD-Access Device Roles

SD-Access Control Plane Nodes, a Closer Look

SD-Access Fabric Border Nodes, a Closer Look

SD-Access Fabric Edge Nodes

SD-Access Extended Nodes

SD-Access Wireless Integration

SD-Access Case Study

SD-Access Case Study, Summing Up

Summary

Further Reading

Chapter 20 Cisco DNA Application Policy

Managing Applications in Cisco DNA Center

Application Registry

Application Sets

Application Policy

Required Steps

Optional Steps

Queuing Profile

Marking Profile

Service Provider Profile

What Happens “Under the Hood”?

Translating Business Intent into Application Policy

Cisco DNA Infrastructure Software Requirements for Application Policy

NBAR2

NBAR2 Operation

QoS Attributes

“Holy Grail” Classification and Marking Policy

SD-AVC

Cisco DNA Infrastructure Platform-Specific Requirements for Application Policy

Routing Platform Requirements

Application Classification and Marking Policies

Queuing and Dropping Policies

Sub-Line Rate Hierarchical QoS Policies

Enterprise-to-Service Provider Mapping

Hardware Queuing

Internal System QoS

Switching Platform Requirements

Application Classification and Marking Policies

Hardware Queuing Policies

Internal System QoS

Wireless Platform Requirements

Application Classification and Marking Policies

DSCP-to-UP Mapping

Hardware QoS

Internal System QoS (Wireless Access Points)

Summary

Further Reading

Chapter 21 Cisco DNA Analytics and Assurance

Introduction to Cisco DNA Assurance

Context

Learning

The Architectural Requirements of a Self-Healing Network

Instrumentation

Distributed On-Device Analytics

Telemetry

Scalable Storage

Analytics Engine

Machine Learning

Guided Troubleshooting and Remediation

Automated Troubleshooting and Remediation

Cisco DNA Center Analytics and Assurance

Network Data Platform

NDP Contextual Correlation and Time Machine

NDP Complex Event Processing

NDP Time Series Analysis

NDP Architecture

NDP Operation

NDP Extensibility

Cisco DNA Assurance

Network Health

Client Health

Application Health

Path Trace

Sensor-Driven Tests

Intelligent Capture

Machine Learning

Summary

Further Reading

Chapter 22 Cisco DNA Encrypted Traffic Analytics

Encrypted Malware Detection: Defining the Problem

Encrypted Malware Detection: Defining the Solution

ETA: Use of IDP for Encrypted Malware Detection

ETA: Use of SPLT for Encrypted Malware Detection

Encrypted Malware Detection: The Solution in Action

Encrypted Malware Detection: Putting It All Together

Summary

Part VI Cisco DNA Evolution

Chapter 23 Cisco DNA Evolution

Index