Add a Cisco Nexus Switch

You can add Cisco Nexus switches as a data source in VMware Aria Operations for Networks.

Note: If you have a Nexus device configured with multiple Virtual Device Contexts (VDC) then you need to individually specify VDC associated IP address as separate data sources.

Prerequisites

You must verify the following information:

• The data source and its version is supported in VMware Aria Operations for Networks. For more information, see Supported Products and Versions.
• The data source follows VMware Ports and Protocols supported in VMware Aria Operations for Networks. For more information, see VMware Ports and Protocols.

You must have the following permissions:

• Read-only user: VMware Aria Operations for Networks requires read-only third-party device credentials (passwords) to access the SSH data. This user needs to have the Network Operator role. These passwords are added when configuring the third-party data provider in VMware Aria Operations for Networks user interface.
• Read-only SNMP user: VMware Aria Operations for Networks uses SNMP to collect metrics information from third-party devices (switches, routers, firewalls, and so on). The third-party devices must have SNMP enabled and be accessible from VMware Aria Operations for Networks.

Procedure

1. From the left navigation pane, go to Settings > Accounts and Data Sources.
2. Click Add Source.
3. Under Routers & Switches, click the Cisco Nexus switch that you want to add.
4. In the Add a new Cisco N5K Account or Source page, provide the following details:

   Option	Action
   Collector VM	Select a collector VM from the drop-down menu.
   IP Address/FQDN	Enter the IP address or the FQDN details.
   Username	Enter the user name.
   Password	Enter the password.

   Note: To know about the supported products and versions, see Supported Products and Versions.
5. Click Validate.
6. To enable a richer data collection, click Use SNMP (recommended for richer data collection) check box, and do the following:
   1. From the SNMP Version drop-down menu, select an SNMP version. Depending on which version of SNMP you have selected, do the following:

      Option	Action
      2c	In the Community String text box, enter a community string.
      3	Enter Username, Context Name. From the Authentication Type drop-down, select an authentication type and enter the Authentication Password. From the Privacy Type drop-down, select a privacy type and enter the Privacy Password.

7. Define the polling interval for the configuration data collection. You can set the polling interval from 10 minutes to 7 days.
   • Preset - Select the interval time from the predefined time set.
   • Custom Interval - Set a value and select Minutes, Hours, and Days.
   • Fixed Schedule - Select the days and set the time to schedule the interval.
8. (Optional) In the Nickname text box, enter a nickname.
9. (Optional) In the Notes text box, add a note if necessary.
10. Click Submit.