Schlagwort: Cisco Smart Install

New Tasks, New Toys (Follow-Up)

As you can read in an earlier post, I had to set up a testing environment for Cisco Smart Install, which is now up and running.

The Smart Install director (the device which manages iOS and configuration deployment to the Smart Install clients) acts as a DHCP server and configures new switches coming factory settings with an IP address, default gateway and a TFTP server address (DHCP option 150). Right now the director deploys images and configuration files only to devices with specific MAC addresses, as I only want to configure my test client at the moment. It is also possible to filter deployment based on device model and type or IP address (if already configured).

Cisco Smart Install console output on client
Cisco Smart Install console output on client

After being upgraded and/or reconfigured by Cisco Smart install the switch is ready to be used in the corporate network without the need to be configured manually. This feature is also called zero-touch deployment. The Smart Install director console output shows the successful image and config upgrade process:

Cisco Smart Install Director console output
Cisco Smart Install Director console output

New Tasks, New Toys

After having heard that every new switch is configured manually and that there is no default configuration template, I suggested to use Cisco Smart Install to install and configure switches automatically. Bad idea! Now the shit hit the fan. My new task is to set up a testing environment for Cisco Smart Install. To do this I got a Cisco Catalyst 3750G L3 switch as well as a Cisco Catalyst 2960:

my new toys
my new toys

After searching for the documentation and CLI commands I plugged in the 3750G’s power supply and was totally euphoric … and then bitterly disappointed. There is no iOS image on the switch. 🙁 So I have to transfer an image via console cable which takes about 4 hours. It is not easy to stay calm when you want to start your work and recognize that you have to wait for the XMODEM console transfer at approximately 873 bytes per second. 😛 As I am writing this post I am still waiting for the XMODEM transfer to finish, so I think I won’t start configuring Cisco Smart Install today. 🙁