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Configure Apstra

These topics describe the configurations to be done in Apstra Data Center Director.

Configlets

Configlets are pre-built configuration templates that deploy sFlow collection and SNMP enrichment configuration to your network devices. Two configlets must be imported: one to enable sFlow data collection, and one to enable SNMP-based interface name enrichment. Deploy both to each blueprint that will send data to DC Assurance.

The following sections walk you through deploying each configlet, with explanations of the property sets you will need to configure.

Deploy the Flow Data Configlet

The Flow Data Configlet enables sFlow collection on your devices. It configures sFlow polling intervals, sample rates, the collector IP address (where sFlow data is sent), and which interfaces to monitor. You must configure the collector IP address to point to your Apstra Flow server.

  1. In Apstra Data Center Director, navigate to Blueprints > Analytics > Staged.
  2. Click the Catalog tab and select Configlets.
  3. Click Import Configlet.
  4. From the drop-down menu, select Flow Data for Optional Flow Analytics.
  5. Select the devices you want to apply the configlet to, then click Import Configlet.


Configure the Flow Data Property Set

After importing the configlet, configure the property set to specify the IP address of your Apstra Flow server.

  1. Click Edit on the property set.
  2. Set the Collector IP Address to the IP address of your Apstra Flow Data VM.


  3. Click Update.
  4. Import the property set into each blueprint using the global catalog, the same way you imported the configlet.
  5. Commit your configuration to push the changes to your devices.
    Note:

    The collector IP address you set in the property set replaces the example IP in the configlet. Ensure that you enter the correct IP for your Flow server before committing.

The Flow Data Configlet includes the following configuration elements, which you can customize further if necessary:

  • Routing: A static route directs sFlow traffic over the management Junos RPF interface, ensuring it reaches the collector even if the default route changes.
  • Polling interval: Controls how frequently sFlow statistics are collected. Default is 10 seconds.
  • Sample rate: Sets the ratio of packets examined to packets sampled. Higher values (like 1024) reduce overhead; lower values (like 100) increase data fidelity.
  • Source IP: The IP address on the device used as the source for sFlow datagrams.
  • Collector: The IP address and UDP port (default 6343) where sFlow data is sent.
  • Interfaces: The physical interfaces from which sFlow data is collected.

The following is an example of a Flow Data Configlet:

Deploy the SNMP for Flow Data Interface Enrichment Configlet

The SNMP enrichment configlet allows Apstra Flow to retrieve interface names, such as ge-0/0/1, from your devices via SNMP, instead of displaying raw interface index numbers. This makes flow data more readable in dashboards and reports. Without this configlet, interfaces appear as index:522, or index:524, for example.

  1. In Apstra, navigate to Blueprints > Staged.
  2. Click the Catalog tab and select Configlets.
  3. Click Import Configlet.
  4. From the Global Catalog, select SNMP for Flow Data Interface Enrichment.
    Figure 1: Import Configlet

    Import Configlet
  5. Select the devices you want to apply the configlet to, then click Import Configlet.

Configure the SNMP Property Set

After importing the SNMP configlet, configure the property set with the SNMP community string. This string must match the read-only community configured on your network devices.

  1. Click Edit on the property set.
  2. Set the SNMP Community String to the community value configured on your devices. The default is public, but yours may differ.


  3. Click Update.
  4. Import the property set into each blueprint using the global catalog.
  5. Commit your configuration to push the changes to your devices.
    Note:

    The SNMP community string must match what is configured on your Junos devices. If they don't match, SNMP queries will fail and interface names won't be enriched.

Enable Predefined Probes

Three probes are required for the pre-flight checks to pass during onboarding. A set of optional probes is also available for better fabric visibility.

Required Probes:

  • Device Environmental Checks
  • Drain Traffic Anomaly
  • Interface Flapping (Fabric Interfaces)

Optional Probes:

  • Interface Flapping (Specific Interfaces)
  • Hot/Cold Interface Counters (Specific Interfaces)
  • EVPN VXLAN Type-5 Route Validation

All of these probes are predefined in Apstra. Follow these steps to instantiate them in your blueprint.

  1. From your blueprint, navigate to Analytics > Probes.


  2. Click Create Probe and select Instantiate Predefined Probe from the drop-down list.
  3. In the Instantiate Predefined Probe dialog, select the probe you want to enable from the drop-down list.
  4. Configure the probe to suit your anomaly detection requirements. The default settings work for most deployments.
  5. Click Create.
    Note:

    You must retain the default probe names during creation. Otherwise, DC Assurance won’t pick them up when it runs the pre-flight checks.

    The probe is instantiated and appears in the probes table. Repeat these steps for each required probe and any optional probes you want to enable.

Enable Streaming on the Optical Transceivers Probe

The Optical Transceivers probe doesn’t have streaming enabled by default. If this probe is not already instantiated in your blueprint, navigate to Analytics > Probes > Create Probe > Instantiate Predefined Probe and select it from the list.

Follow these steps to enable streaming on the Optical Transceivers probe:

  1. From your blueprint, navigate to Analytics > Probes. Select the checkbox next to the Optical Transceiver probe and click Edit.
  2. Click Edit Processors.
  3. Click the Advanced drop-down and select the Enable Streaming checkbox.
    Figure 2: Enable Streaming Enable Streaming
  4. Repeat this process for the following processors:
    • Processor: Summarized Interface Status: Optical Threshold

    • Processor: Sustained Optical Threshold Anomaly: Time in State

  5. Click Update Probe.
  6. The Streaming enabled icons display next to the processors.

Install the DC Probes

The DC Probe collects Bit Error Rate (BER), Forward Error Correction (FEC), and Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) metrics. You can install the DC Probes from the Hub page in DC Assurance.

Follow these stepsto install the DC Probes.

  1. In DC Assurance, navigate to Hub > Analytics Pack.
  2. Click View Details on the DC-Probes tile.
    Figure 3: Hub Hub

    Information such as Apstra version, compatibility, and what collectors the probe consumes displays.

  3. Click Install at the top right.
  4. On the Install DC-probes page, select the Edge instance to apply the probe to, and click Next.
    Figure 4: Install DC-Probes Install DC-Probes
  5. From the dropdown list, select the blueprint where you want the probe installed, then click Install.
    Figure 5: Select Blueprint Select Blueprint
  6. From your blueprint in Apstra Data Center DIrector, verify that the new custom probe is installed by navigating to Analytics > Probes.

Import the DC Assurance Custom Probe

The DC Assurance custom probe streams CPU and memory utilization data from each blueprint to the Apstra Edge. The Edge then forwards this data to DC Assurance. Import this probe once per blueprint.

  1. In Apstra, open the blueprint you want to configure.
  2. Navigate to Analytics > Probes > Create Probe > Import Probes.
  3. Create a new JSON file, paste in the content below, save it, then upload it using Choose Files.


  4. Click Import.
  5. Confirm that the new probe appears in the Probes view.


    The probe starts streaming CPU and memory data from the blueprint to Apstra Edge automatically. Repeat these steps for each additional blueprint in your environment.