Cisco Model-Driven Telemetry and Elasticsearch Integration

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This is not the recommended configuration for real-time query at scale. For query and compression optimization, high-speed ingest, and high availability, you may want to consider Cisco MDT and InfluxDB.

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Collect, organize, and act on massive volumes of high-velocity data. Any data is more valuable when you think of it as time series data. with InfluxDB, the #1 time series platform built to scale with Telegraf.

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Input and output integration overview

The Cisco Model-Driven Telemetry (MDT) plugin facilitates the collection of telemetry data from Cisco networking platforms, utilizing gRPC and TCP transport mechanisms. This plugin is essential for users looking to implement advanced telemetry solutions for better insights and operational efficiency.

The Telegraf Elasticsearch Plugin seamlessly sends metrics to an Elasticsearch server. The plugin handles template creation and dynamic index management, and supports various Elasticsearch-specific features to ensure data is formatted correctly for storage and retrieval.

Integration details

Cisco Model-Driven Telemetry

Cisco model-driven telemetry (MDT) is designed to provide a robust means of consuming telemetry data from various Cisco platforms, including IOS XR, IOS XE, and NX-OS. This plugin focuses on the efficient transport of telemetry data using either TCP or gRPC protocols, offering flexibility based on the network environment and requirements. The gRPC transport is particularly advantageous as it supports TLS for enhanced security through encryption and authentication. The plugin is compatible with a range of software versions on Cisco devices, enabling organizations to leverage telemetry capabilities across their network operations. It is especially useful for network monitoring and analytics, as it enables real-time data collection directly from Cisco devices, enhancing visibility into network performance, resource utilization, and operational metrics.

Elasticsearch

This plugin writes metrics to Elasticsearch, a distributed, RESTful search and analytics engine capable of storing large amounts of data in near real-time. It is designed to handle Elasticsearch versions 5.x through 7.x and utilizes its dynamic template features to manage data type mapping properly. The plugin supports advanced features such as template management, dynamic index naming, and integration with OpenSearch. It also allows configurations for authentication and health monitoring of the Elasticsearch nodes.

Configuration

Cisco Model-Driven Telemetry

[[inputs.cisco_telemetry_mdt]]
 ## Telemetry transport can be "tcp" or "grpc".  TLS is only supported when
 ## using the grpc transport.
 transport = "grpc"

 ## Address and port to host telemetry listener
 service_address = ":57000"

 ## Grpc Maximum Message Size, default is 4MB, increase the size. This is
 ## stored as a uint32, and limited to 4294967295.
 max_msg_size = 4000000

 ## Enable TLS; grpc transport only.
 # tls_cert = "/etc/telegraf/cert.pem"
 # tls_key = "/etc/telegraf/key.pem"

 ## Enable TLS client authentication and define allowed CA certificates; grpc
 ##  transport only.
 # tls_allowed_cacerts = ["/etc/telegraf/clientca.pem"]

 ## Define (for certain nested telemetry measurements with embedded tags) which fields are tags
 # embedded_tags = ["Cisco-IOS-XR-qos-ma-oper:qos/interface-table/interface/input/service-policy-names/service-policy-instance/statistics/class-stats/class-name"]

 ## Include the delete field in every telemetry message.
 # include_delete_field = false

 ## Specify custom name for incoming MDT source field.
 # source_field_name = "mdt_source"

 ## Define aliases to map telemetry encoding paths to simple measurement names
 [inputs.cisco_telemetry_mdt.aliases]
   ifstats = "ietf-interfaces:interfaces-state/interface/statistics"
 ## Define Property Xformation, please refer README and https://pubhub.devnetcloud.com/media/dme-docs-9-3-3/docs/appendix/ for Model details.
 [inputs.cisco_telemetry_mdt.dmes]
#    Global Property Xformation.
#    prop1 = "uint64 to int"
#    prop2 = "uint64 to string"
#    prop3 = "string to uint64"
#    prop4 = "string to int64"
#    prop5 = "string to float64"
#    auto-prop-xfrom = "auto-float-xfrom" #Xform any property which is string, and has float number to type float64
#    Per Path property xformation, Name is telemetry configuration under sensor-group, path configuration "WORD         Distinguished Name"
#    Per Path configuration is better as it avoid property collision issue of types.
#    dnpath = '{"Name": "show ip route summary","prop": [{"Key": "routes","Value": "string"}, {"Key": "best-paths","Value": "string"}]}'
#    dnpath2 = '{"Name": "show processes cpu","prop": [{"Key": "kernel_percent","Value": "float"}, {"Key": "idle_percent","Value": "float"}, {"Key": "process","Value": "string"}, {"Key": "user_percent","Value": "float"}, {"Key": "onesec","Value": "float"}]}'
#    dnpath3 = '{"Name": "show processes memory physical","prop": [{"Key": "processname","Value": "string"}]}'

 ## Additional GRPC connection settings.
 [inputs.cisco_telemetry_mdt.grpc_enforcement_policy]
  ## GRPC permit keepalives without calls, set to true if your clients are
  ## sending pings without calls in-flight. This can sometimes happen on IOS-XE
  ## devices where the GRPC connection is left open but subscriptions have been
  ## removed, and adding subsequent subscriptions does not keep a stable session.
  # permit_keepalive_without_calls = false

  ## GRPC minimum timeout between successive pings, decreasing this value may
  ## help if this plugin is closing connections with ENHANCE_YOUR_CALM (too_many_pings).
  # keepalive_minimum_time = "5m"

Elasticsearch


[[outputs.elasticsearch]]
  ## The full HTTP endpoint URL for your Elasticsearch instance
  ## Multiple urls can be specified as part of the same cluster,
  ## this means that only ONE of the urls will be written to each interval
  urls = [ "http://node1.es.example.com:9200" ] # required.
  ## Elasticsearch client timeout, defaults to "5s" if not set.
  timeout = "5s"
  ## Set to true to ask Elasticsearch a list of all cluster nodes,
  ## thus it is not necessary to list all nodes in the urls config option
  enable_sniffer = false
  ## Set to true to enable gzip compression
  enable_gzip = false
  ## Set the interval to check if the Elasticsearch nodes are available
  ## Setting to "0s" will disable the health check (not recommended in production)
  health_check_interval = "10s"
  ## Set the timeout for periodic health checks.
  # health_check_timeout = "1s"
  ## HTTP basic authentication details.
  ## HTTP basic authentication details
  # username = "telegraf"
  # password = "mypassword"
  ## HTTP bearer token authentication details
  # auth_bearer_token = "eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9"

  ## Index Config
  ## The target index for metrics (Elasticsearch will create if it not exists).
  ## You can use the date specifiers below to create indexes per time frame.
  ## The metric timestamp will be used to decide the destination index name
  # %Y - year (2016)
  # %y - last two digits of year (00..99)
  # %m - month (01..12)
  # %d - day of month (e.g., 01)
  # %H - hour (00..23)
  # %V - week of the year (ISO week) (01..53)
  ## Additionally, you can specify a tag name using the notation {{tag_name}}
  ## which will be used as part of the index name. If the tag does not exist,
  ## the default tag value will be used.
  # index_name = "telegraf-{{host}}-%Y.%m.%d"
  # default_tag_value = "none"
  index_name = "telegraf-%Y.%m.%d" # required.

  ## Optional Index Config
  ## Set to true if Telegraf should use the "create" OpType while indexing
  # use_optype_create = false

  ## Optional TLS Config
  # tls_ca = "/etc/telegraf/ca.pem"
  # tls_cert = "/etc/telegraf/cert.pem"
  # tls_key = "/etc/telegraf/key.pem"
  ## Use TLS but skip chain & host verification
  # insecure_skip_verify = false

  ## Template Config
  ## Set to true if you want telegraf to manage its index template.
  ## If enabled it will create a recommended index template for telegraf indexes
  manage_template = true
  ## The template name used for telegraf indexes
  template_name = "telegraf"
  ## Set to true if you want telegraf to overwrite an existing template
  overwrite_template = false
  ## If set to true a unique ID hash will be sent as sha256(concat(timestamp,measurement,series-hash)) string
  ## it will enable data resend and update metric points avoiding duplicated metrics with different id's
  force_document_id = false

  ## Specifies the handling of NaN and Inf values.
  ## This option can have the following values:
  ##    none    -- do not modify field-values (default); will produce an error if NaNs or infs are encountered
  ##    drop    -- drop fields containing NaNs or infs
  ##    replace -- replace with the value in "float_replacement_value" (default: 0.0)
  ##               NaNs and inf will be replaced with the given number, -inf with the negative of that number
  # float_handling = "none"
  # float_replacement_value = 0.0

  ## Pipeline Config
  ## To use a ingest pipeline, set this to the name of the pipeline you want to use.
  # use_pipeline = "my_pipeline"
  ## Additionally, you can specify a tag name using the notation {{tag_name}}
  ## which will be used as part of the pipeline name. If the tag does not exist,
  ## the default pipeline will be used as the pipeline. If no default pipeline is set,
  ## no pipeline is used for the metric.
  # use_pipeline = "{{es_pipeline}}"
  # default_pipeline = "my_pipeline"
  #
  # Custom HTTP headers
  # To pass custom HTTP headers please define it in a given below section
  # [outputs.elasticsearch.headers]
  #    "X-Custom-Header" = "custom-value"

  ## Template Index Settings
  ## Overrides the template settings.index section with any provided options.
  ## Defaults provided here in the config
  # template_index_settings = {
  #   refresh_interval = "10s",
  #   mapping.total_fields.limit = 5000,
  #   auto_expand_replicas = "0-1",
  #   codec = "best_compression"
  # }

Input and output integration examples

Cisco Model-Driven Telemetry

  1. Real-Time Network Monitoring: Utilize the Cisco MDT plugin to collect network performance metrics from Cisco routers and switches. By feeding telemetry data into a visualization tool, network operators can observe traffic trends, bandwidth usage, and error rates in real-time. This proactive monitoring allows teams to swiftly address issues before they affect network performance, resulting in a more reliable service.

  2. Automated Anomaly Detection: Integrate Cisco MDT with machine learning algorithms to create an automated anomaly detection system. By continuously analyzing telemetry data, the system can identify deviations from typical operational patterns, providing alerts for unusual conditions that may signify network problems or security threats, which can aid in maintaining operational integrity.

  3. Dynamic Configuration Management: Leveraging the telemetry data collected from Cisco devices, organizations can implement dynamic configuration management solutions that automatically adjust network settings based on current performance indicators. For instance, if the telemetry indicates high utilization on certain links, the system could dynamically route traffic to underutilized paths, optimizing resource usage.

  4. Enhanced Reporting and Analytics: Use the Cisco MDT plugin to feed detailed telemetry data into analytics platforms, enabling comprehensive reporting on network health and performance. Historical and real-time analysis can guide decision-making and strategic planning, helping organizations to allocate resources more effectively and understand their network’s operational landscape better.

Elasticsearch

  1. Time-based Indexing: Use this plugin to store metrics in Elasticsearch to index each metric based on the time collected. For example, CPU metrics can be stored in a daily index namedtelegraf-2023.01.01, allowing easy time-based queries and retention policies.

  2. Dynamic Templates Management: Utilize the template management feature to automatically create a custom template tailored to your metrics. This allows you to define how different fields are indexed and analyzed without manually configuring Elasticsearch, ensuring an optimal data structure for querying.

  3. OpenSearch Compatibility: If you are using AWS OpenSearch, you can configure this plugin to work seamlessly by activating compatibility mode, ensuring your existing Elasticsearch clients remain functional and compatible with newer cluster setups.

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Powerful Performance, Limitless Scale

Collect, organize, and act on massive volumes of high-velocity data. Any data is more valuable when you think of it as time series data. with InfluxDB, the #1 time series platform built to scale with Telegraf.

See Ways to Get Started

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