Introducing the Cisco DNA Traffic Telemetry Appliance

Add-ons extend the latest technology to legacy systems, like how my old TV turned smart overnight with an additional streaming player. It is even better when the supplements work in cohesion with the primary products to deliver a seamless experience. Imagine if you could utilize the same remote to operate your TV and streaming player.

The Cisco Catalyst 9000 series wired and wireless devices enable enterprises to unlock newer network infrastructure possibilities. For instance, these platforms conduct deep packet inspection (DPI) and provide data streams for services such as the Cisco AI Endpoint Analytics and Application Assurance on the Cisco DNA Center. With Endpoint Analytics, customers are gaining unprecedented endpoint visibility, which is a crucial first step in implementing zero-trust security within the workplace and confidently deploying network segmentation without the risk of shutting down critical network services.

However, several organizations still have a portion of their network infrastructure that has not been migrated to the Cisco Catalyst 9000 series platforms. Those legacy infrastructures cannot perform the deep packet inspection required for advanced analytics. We are introducing the Cisco DNA Traffic Telemetry Appliance to bridge the gap between the new and existing deployments.

The IOS® XE-based telemetry sensor platform generates telemetry from mirrored IP network traffic from Switched Port Analyzer (SPAN) sessions of switches and wireless controllers. The appliance inspects thousands of protocols using the Network-Based Application Recognition (NBAR) technology to produce a telemetry stream for the Cisco DNA Center to perform analytics. The Cisco DNA Traffic Telemetry Appliance can handle 20-Gbps of sustained throughput traffic and inspect 40,000 endpoint sessions for device profiling.

Cisco DNA Traffic Telemetry Appliance serves two use cases: endpoint visibility and application assurance. The Cisco AI Endpoint Analytics service on the DNA Center analyzes the data received from the Telemetry Appliance to provide you with granular endpoint profiling details such as endpoint type, manufacturer, model, operating system, and others. The Cisco DNA Center also receives qualitative application performance metrics from the Telemetry Appliance and calculates application health data for business-critical applications. It analyses essential metrics such as delay, jitter, and packet loss to isolate and troubleshoot application performance issues efficiently.

Next time someone connects a TV to your network powered with the Cisco DNA Traffic Telemetry Appliance and the Cisco DNA Center, you will not only know the make, model, operating system, and other details about the endpoint. But you will also know if the user behind the device is accessing Netflix, YouTube, and other applications.  Remember, as you do this, you will also be operating both the legacy infrastructure and the new add-on appliance from a single controller, the Cisco DNA Center.