Contents
- Cisco Prime Network Services Controller Release Notes
- Prime Network Services Controller Overview
- Prime Network Services Controller New Features and Enhancements
- Requirements Overview
- System Requirements
- Hypervisor Requirements
- Web-Based GUI Client Requirements
- Firewall Ports Requiring Access
- Performance and Scalability
- Hypervisor Support
- Prime Network Services Controller Upgrade Matrix
- Important Notes
- Cloned Linux Virtual Machines
- Editing Firewall Interfaces
- Searching with Special Characters
- User Account Password Expiration
- Workflow for Automatically Deploying Network Services
- Importing Service Images
- Configuring Networks for Network Service Deployment
- Adding a Device Profile
- NTP Behavior Post PNSC Upgrade
- Configuring an Org Profile for Automatic Service Deployment
- Creating an Organization and Assigning an Org Profile
- Deploying a Network Service
- Creating a Virtual Server Profile
- Configuring Additional Policies and Profiles for Network Services
- Deleting an Automatically Deployed Compute Firewall Service
- Using the Bug Search Tool
- Open Bugs
- Resolved Bugs
- Related Documentation
- Accessibility Features in Prime Network Services Controller
- Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request
First Published: December 13, 2016
Last Updated: January 25, 2017
Cisco Prime Network Services Controller Release Notes
This document describes the features, limitations, and bugs for the Prime Network Services Controller, Release 3.4.2a.
Prime Network Services Controller Overview
The dynamic nature of cloud environments requires organizations to apply and enforce frequent changes to networks. These networks can consist of thousands of virtual services elements, such as firewalls, load balancers, routers, and switches. Cisco Prime Network Services Controller simplifies operations with centralized, automated multi-device and policy management for Cisco network virtual services. For the latest Prime Network Services Controller release updates and overview, see the corresponding Prime Network Services Controller data sheet.
Cisco Prime Network Services Controller (Prime Network Services Controller) is the primary management element for Cisco Nexus 1000V (Nexus 1000V) Switches and Services that can enable a transparent, scalable, and automation-centric network management solution for virtualized data center and hybrid cloud environments. Nexus 1000V switches and services deliver a highly secure multitenant environment by adding virtualization intelligence to the data center network. These virtual switches are built to scale for cloud networks. Support for Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN) helps enable a highly scalable LAN segmentation and broader virtual machine (VM) mobility.
Prime Network Services Controller enables the centralized management of Cisco virtual services to be performed by an administrator, through its GUI, or programmatically through its XML API. Prime Network Services Controller is built on an information-model architecture in which each managed device is represented by its subcomponents (or objects), which are parametrically defined. This model-centric approach enables a flexible and simple mechanism for provisioning and securing virtualized infrastructure using Cisco VSG security services.
Prime Network Services Controller New Features and Enhancements
Prime Network Services Controller includes the following new features and enhancements:
Requirements Overview
The following topics identify the primary requirements for installing and using Prime Network Services Controller. For a complete set of requirements, see the Cisco Prime Network Services Controller 3.4 Installation Guide.
System Requirements
Requirement Description Prime Network Services Controller Virtual Appliance
Four virtual CPUs
1.8 GHz
Memory
4 GB RAM
Disk space
Management interface
One management network interface
Processor
x86 Intel or AMD server with 64-bit processor listed in the VMware compatibility matrix
Prime Network Services Controller Device Adapter
Two virtual CPUs
1.8 GHz
Memory
2 GB RAM
Disk space
20 GB
Interfaces and Protocols
HTTP/HTTPS
—
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)
—
Intel VT
Intel Virtualization Technology (VT)
Enabled in the BIOS
Hypervisor Requirements
Prime Network Services Controller is a multi-hypervisor virtual appliance that can be deployed on VMware vSphere.
See the VMware Compatibility Guide to confirm that VMware supports your hardware platform.
Requirement Description VMware
VMware vSphere
5.1, 5.5, and 6.0 with VMware ESXi (English only)
5.0, 5.1, and 5.5 with VMware ESXi (English only)
VMware vCenter
5.1, 5.5, and 6.0 (English only)
5.0, 5.1, and 5.5 with VMware ESXi (English only)
Note
Prime Network Services Controller running as a virtual machine with version 3.4.1b and later can be hosted on VMware vSphere ESXi 6.0 hosts that are managed by VMware vCenter Server 6.0.
Performance and Scalability
Hypervisor Support
The following table identifies features that differ with regard to hypervisor support in Prime Network Services Controller 3.4.23.4. Features that are not listed are supported by all hypervisors.
Feature and Device Support VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1, 5.5, and 6.0
Feature Support
Automatic deployment of network services
Supported
Licensing for CSR 1000V edge routers and Citrix NetScaler 1000V load balancers
Supported
VM Attribute support
Device Support
For detailed information about device support, see Cisco Prime Network Services Controller Supported Devices.
VSG
Supported
Prime Network Services Controller Upgrade Matrix
Important Notes
The following topics provide important information for using Prime Network Services Controller.
Cloned Linux Virtual Machines
When Linux virtual machines are cloned, new MAC addresses are assigned. This causes a MAC address mismatch between the VM settings and the Linux Guest OS. If you encounter this situation, the following message is displayed:
The Guest OS either does not contain interface configuration for the VM NICs or the interfaces are explictly disabled.For information on how to resolve the MAC address mismatch, see the VMware Knowledge Base.
Editing Firewall Interfaces
We recommend that you do not edit the data interfaces of compute or edge firewalls. Changing the data interface via the Prime Network Services Controller GUI stops communication between the Cisco Nexus 1000V VEM link and the firewall, and thereby stops vPath traffic.
If you change the data interfaces of compute or edge firewalls via the Prime Network Services Controller GUI, make the appropriate configuration changes on the Cisco Nexus 1000V.
Searching with Special Characters
Searching for organization names does not work if the organization names include special characters, such as $.
User Account Password Expiration
When adding a user account, the administrator can choose to expire the account password and select the date on which it expires. When the expiration date is reached, the account is disabled and the user cannot log in to Prime Network Services Controller until a user with administrator privileges extends the expiration date.
Workflow for Automatically Deploying Network Services
Prime Network Services Controller enables you to automatically deploy compute firewall and load balancer network services by preparing the required networks, defining organizational profiles by configuring service automation policies, and assigning the organizational profiles to the required organization in the tenant hierarchy.
The following table identifies the tasks required to configure Prime Network Services Controller for automatic network service deployment, the related documentation, and the minimum role required for each task.
Task Related Documentation Role Required 1. Confirm that the following prerequisites are met:
admin
2. Import service images. Supported service devices are VSG compute firewalls and Citrix NetScaler load balancers.
admin
3. Configure Management, HA, and vPath networks and subnetworks at root.
admin
4. Create the policies and profiles for the network services.
admin
5. Create organizational (Org) profiles and add service automation definitions to each profile.
admin
6. In Tenant Management, create the organization where the network services will be deployed and assign an Org profile.
admin or tenant-admin
7. Add a network to the organization to deploy the network service.
tenant-admin
8. Configure additional policies and profiles as needed.
Configuring Additional Policies and Profiles for Network Services
tenant-admin
9. Removing an automatically deployed compute firewall network service.
tenant-admin
Importing Service Images
Prime Network Services Controller enables you to import service images that you can then use to instantiate a device or service VM.
After you import an image, Prime Network Services Controller automatically places the file in the correct location and populates the Images table.
Before You BeginProcedureConfirm that the service images are available for importing into Prime Network Services Controller.
Configuring Networks for Network Service Deployment
ProcedureTo automatically deploy network services, you must configure the following networks with subnetworks at the root level:
A management network—This network provides IP addresses for the automatically deployed services.
A vPath service network—This network is required for deploying compute firewall network services.
An HA network—This network is required for deploying compute firewall network services in HA mode.
The following guidelines apply when creating networks for automated network service deployment:
Adding a Device Profile
ProcedureA device profile is a set of custom security attributes and device policies. Adding a device profile enables you to specify the DNS and NTP servers that the service device is to use in addition to SNMP, syslog, and authentication policies.
For more information about device profiles, see the Cisco Prime Network Services Controller User Guide or the online help.
NTP Behavior Post PNSC Upgrade
NTP service does not come up on the terminal when PNSC is upgraded from the previous releases to Release 3.4.1d or later. To access the NTP service, you need to re-login into the same terminal or start a new terminal.
Configuring an Org Profile for Automatic Service Deployment
ProcedureA network service automation policy specifies the profiles, image, and credentials to be used when deploying a network service. Depending on the type of service, different options are available. For each Org profile, you can create a definition for each network service type: compute firewall and load balancer.
Creating an Organization and Assigning an Org Profile
After you configure the service automation policies for an Org profile, create the tenant or other organization on which you want to deploy the network service. Creating the organization includes assigning the Org profile that will be used to automatically deploy network services.
Before You BeginProcedureDetermine the level in the hierarchy where the organization that will be configured to automatically deploy network services will reside.
Step 1 Choose Tenant Management > root and navigate to the level where you want to add the organization that will deploy network services using the Org profile. For example, to assign an Org profile to a tenant, click Create Tenant at the root level. Similarly, to assign an Org profile at the Application level, navigate to the VDC and click Create Application. Step 2 In the Create dialog box, enter a name for the organization and, from the Profile drop-down list, choose the Org profile to assign to the organization. Step 3 Click OK.
Deploying a Network Service
ProcedureAfter you create the organization where network services will be deployed and assign an Org profile, you can deploy the network service. To deploy the network service, create a network on the organization.
The following guidelines apply when deploying a network service:
Step 1 Choose Resource Management > Managed Resources > root > tenant or tenant > org. Step 2 In the Networks tab, create the network for the service to be deployed, being sure to choose the correct role for the service. The network service is then automatically deployed. To monitor progress, choose Resource Management > Managed Resources > root > tenant or tenant > org and click the Network Services tab. Step 3 For load balancer network services only, create a new virtual server profile and policies before adding a VIP to the automatically instantiated load balancer. For more information, see Creating a Virtual Server Profile.
Creating a Virtual Server Profile
ProcedureYou can create a virtual server profile that you can then apply to virtual servers. For more information, see the Cisco Prime Network Services Controller User Guide or the online help.
Step 1 Choose Policy Management > Service Profiles > root > tenant > Load Balancer > Virtual Server Profiles. Step 2 Click Add Virtual Server Profile. Step 3 In the Add Virtual Server Profile dialog box, enter a name and description for the profile, and then click Add Service. Step 4 In the Add Service dialog box, enter service information in the General and Server Farm tabs. Step 5 When you are done, click OK in the open dialog boxes.
Configuring Additional Policies and Profiles for Network Services
After deploying a network service, you might need to apply new policies and profiles to the network service. To apply new policies and profiles to a specific, deployed network service, create the policies and profiles at the same organizational level as the deployed service. For example, if a compute firewall network service has been deployed for a VDC, create the new policies and profiles at the VDC level.
Deleting an Automatically Deployed Compute Firewall Service
ProcedureYou cannot delete an automatically deployed compute firewall by deleting the network of a specific client. However, you can delete an automatically deployed compute firewall service from the Managed Resources Network Services tab in Prime Network Services Controller.
Note
If you delete the vPath network from root, it will remove all compute firewalls from all tenants and subordinate organizations.
Using the Bug Search Tool
ProcedureThis topic explains how to use the Bug Search Tool to search for a specific bug or to search for all bugs in a release.
Step 1 Go to http://tools.cisco.com/bugsearch. Step 2 In the Log In screen, enter your registered Cisco.com username and password, and then click Log In. The Bug Search page opens.
Note If you do not have a Cisco.com username and password, you can register for them at http://tools.cisco.com/RPF/register/register.do. Step 3 To search for a specific bug, enter the bug ID in the Search For field and press Enter. Step 4 To search for bugs in the current release:
Open Bugs
The following table lists the open bugs in Prime Network Services Controller, Release 3.4.2a.
Bug ID Description Service automation fails without an error message for new tenants if all existing management IP addresses assigned to the Layer 2 network have been used.
Prime Network Services Controller VM manager loses host when removed from Cisco Nexus 1000V DVS and added back.
Hypervisor TAB under VM Manager does not clean Host on removal.
PNSC: VSM role shows as standalone mode even when VSM is in primary HA mode.
PNSC: Simultaneously updating the org and service path association results in failure.
Cleanup or modification of authorization methods on PNSC are not updated on VSG.
Evaluation of PNSC for CVE-2016-5195 (DIRTY CoW).
VSM going to failed to apply state on deleting service node and path using PNSC.
Resolved Bugs
The following table lists the resolved bugs in Prime Network Services Controller, Release 3.4.2a.
Bug ID Description Prime Network Services Controller 3.4 Apache multiple security vulnerabilities.
Prime Network Services Controller allows arbitrary command execution through local-mgmt commands.
vNIC is left with 0.0.0.0 effective IP.
Prime Network Services Controller documentation shows not recommended and incorrect procedure for VSG.
Prime Network Services Controller Hosts missing in VM managers under Resource Management.
Prime Network Services Controller deploys wrong vService path to VSM port profile.
Prime Network Services Controller reboot cause SYNC issue of VM details under tenant.
Prime Network Services Controller Validation check must be included during Import/Export operation.
Evaluation of Cisco Virtual Network Management Center for OpenSSL March 2016.
Prime Network Services Controller not showing correct status for vCenter after the vCenter reloads.
Duplicate VM are being shown on PNSC VM Managers or Visore.
Evaluation of Cisco Virtual Network Management Center for OpenSSL May 2016.
Evaluation of vnmc for Openssl September 2016.
Evaluation of vnmc for NTP_April_2016 .
Related Documentation
Prime Network Services Controller
The Prime Network Services Controller documentation is available on Cisco.com at the following URL:
Cisco Nexus 1000V Series Switch Documentation
The Cisco Nexus 1000V Series switch documentation is available on Cisco.com at the following URL:
Cisco Prime Data Center Network Manager Documentation
The Cisco Prime Data Center Network Manager (DCNM) documentation is available on Cisco.com at the following URL:
Cisco Virtual Security Gateway Documentation
The Cisco Virtual Security Gateway (VSG) documentation is available on Cisco.com at the following URL:
Accessibility Features in Prime Network Services Controller
All product documents are accessible except for images, graphics, and some charts. If you would like to receive the product documentation in audio format, braille, or large print, contact accessibility@cisco.com.
Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request
For information on obtaining documentation, using the Cisco Bug Search Tool (BST), submitting a service request, and gathering additional information, see What's New in Cisco Product Documentation.
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Copyright © 2016, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.