Getting Started

CloudVision is your turnkey solution for managing, monitoring, and maintaining your network devices. Once onboarded, devices will continually stream telemetry data to CloudVision, which you can view across a large number of visualizations. You can also use CloudVision to quickly and efficiently provision your EOS devices with configuration and software.

When CloudVision is used to provision devices, it should be a single source of truth. This means that only CloudVision should be used to configure devices. If any other source is used, the configuration on CloudVision will not be in sync with device running configuration.

The basic steps for setting up and using CloudVision once it's installed are:

1. Add your secure token
   

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   The secure token is necessary for successfully completing Zero-Touch Provisioning when a device's image needs to be upgraded.

   You'll add this token in Compliance Updates.

2. Add user accounts and assign roles
   

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   Each user on CloudVision should have their own user account, and a user's actions are tracked in Audit Logs. User permissions are defined by the roles assigned to their user account.

   You can also set up SSO login for users and manage user and role assignments in your provider application.

3. Onboard devices
   

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   Devices stream data to CloudVision using their Streaming Agent (TerminAttr). In order to view the telemetry information, you need to onboard the devices to CloudVision.

   Several options are available, but we recommend setting up Zero-Touch Provisioning (ZTP) on the devices. Devices will automatically onboard to CloudVision on boot up for you.

   Note: If you are a campus user, you will need to onboard devices differently to facilitate in-band management. View the Getting Started with Campus article and follow the steps advised there.
4. Provision devices

   CloudVision can provision multiple devices at once and provides a record of current and previous configuration as well as a staging ground for proposed configuration. When used to provision devices, CloudVision should be the single source of truth for device configuration. Using sources other than CloudVision will cause the designed and running configuration to be out of sync.

   Our Studios feature enables you to configure multiple devices at once in a point-and-click UI. Proposed configuration changes are automatically built and validated to reduce errors when pushed to devices.

   Change Control provides a change management process for configuration and image changes to devices.

   Note: Ensure that all user accounts used to log in to CloudVision also exist on the EOS device or in a TACACS+ server. For example, if a CloudVision user account is set up for john.smith@company.com, john.smith is configured on the device or the same email is configured in the TACACS+ server.
5. Check that your topology is accurate
   

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   CloudVision uses LLDP to automatically generate a topology of your network. You should check it to make sure that it accurately represents your network, and edit the topology to correct any inaccuracies.

   For specific cases where the default layout does not display your topology optimally, CloudVision supplies a hierarchy builder to construct your own topology layouts.

6. Set up dashboards
   

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   Telemetry information is available throughout the Devices section of CloudVision. You can create your own dashboards to gather relevant and important metrics in one place. The Dashboards feature has a number of functionalities that enable you to create very specific displays of information, including our own in-house query language, AQL and dashboard inputs to dynamically alter the devices and interfaces used for the dashboards.

7. Set up effective event alerts
   

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   CloudVision uses the telemetry information of devices and other data to trigger events. You can create your own custom events with thresholds you define. You can also configure notification platforms, like email and messaging services, and assign them to receivers, people or teams in your organization who you'd like to be notified when events occur.

8. If you have a CV-CUE license, you can also connect your CV-CUE tenant to CloudVision
   

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   Connecting CV-CUE allows you to view APs in Inventory and Topology, collect wireless endpoints in Endpoint Overview, and view compliance information for wireless APs in CloudVision.

   CV-CUE is still used to onboard, provision, and manage wireless APs.

This is, of course, just a small subsection of features and abilities that CloudVision provides. Explore the product and open the Help Center on any page to find out more about what each feature supports and how it might be helpful for you. If you are using CloudVision to manage a WAN, we provide information on CloudVision Pathfinder and its own getting started guide that follows on from this one.

We hope you enjoy using CloudVision!