Cisco Cisco Prime Infrastructure 3.0 White Paper
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PRODUCT BRIEF
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Figure 2. Topology “n-Hop” Drill Down from Device 360 View
• A related enhancement is the ability to view network connectivity up to three hops from any individual
network node within the PI2.2 Device 360 View (see Figure 2). This helps network operators and engineers to
quickly recognize network paths and dependencies for planning, monitoring, and troubleshooting workflows.
• Converged Wired/Wireless Access Management
– While traditional LAN access networks are certainly
still common, wireless access networks are fast becoming ubiquitous. PI2.2 includes newly integrated LAN/
WLAN management capabilities, eliminating the gaps that arise by having to use disparate tools to configure
and manage wired LAN vs. WLAN access infrastructure. The release includes brand new configuration
templates, based on Cisco Validated Designs, that address most common converged deployment scenarios.
• Unified Computing System (UCS) Support –
The PI2.2 release expands management scope to the full
data center by adding direct monitoring of Cisco UCS, including schematic and Device 360 views into all
of the elements present, from racks and blades to VMware vCenter instances, hosts, virtual machines, and
physical/virtual server relationships. Also included are views for recognizing fabric interconnect and switch
features, so it is possible to recognize how each server is connected to resources both within the UCS and
across the broader environment. In order to support these new features, PI2.2 adds a newly defined operator
role/persona for systems administrators. By adding UCS monitoring support, PI2.2 enables unified data
center monitoring for better understanding and situational awareness of cross-domain dependencies and
issues when planning or troubleshooting.
• Operations Center
– Perhaps the most significant architectural enhancement is the new capability to
coordinate monitoring and management tasks across multiple instances of Prime Infrastructure via the
new Operations Center features. Operations Center provides centralized visibility for large managed
environments via common inventory, alarms, and reporting features, as well as single sign-on and
consolidated search across multiple subtended instances of PI. Fully multi-tenant by design, Operations
Center uses the published REST API for communicating with PI servers. This new distributed architecture
greatly enhances the scalability of the Prime Infrastructure solution, allowing organizations to support tens
of thousands of managed devices in a consistent, coordinated manner.
• Improved Manageability –
As of the PI2.2 release, a new approach is now available for keeping the PI
platform current with new features and capabilities. The new Technology Packs are modular feature bundles
that can be downloaded and installed as needed without requiring a full system upgrade. Cisco Prime
Infrastructure will even alert the administrator directly when new Technology Packs become available.