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Install and Onboard the Device (Day 0 Activities)

A device can be installed and onboarded in one of the following two ways:

  • A field technician, a user assigned the Installer role, installs and onboards devices to Paragon Automation as part of the Day 0 activities.

    Note:

    A field technician onboarding a device by using the field technician UI is an experimental feature.

  • A Network Admin can onboard a device by using the adopt method after the field technician installs the device. See Adopt a Devicefor details.

Note:

You must install and onboard the devices associated with a network implementation plan one at a time.

Prerequisites

The field technician UI in Paragon Automation enables you to access the network implementation plan of a device and get guidance to perform the Day 0 tasks.

Before you start onboarding a device to Paragon Automation, ensure that you have:

  • A laptop that you can use to access the field technician UI.

  • Internet connectivity on the laptop.

  • The credentials to log in to Paragon Automation.

  • Names of the organization and the site at which the device must be installed and onboarded.

  • Unboxed the device and mounted it on the rack.

    For details about installing a device, see the corresponding device Hardware Guide or Quick Start Guide at the Documentation site. To access the Hardware Guide or the Quick Start Guide of a device, on the homepage of the Documentation site, under Products by Category, click View More > Device-Model in the Routing section.

You must also ensure that:

  • If a firewall exists between Paragon Automation and the device, the firewall is configured to allow outbound access on TCP ports 443, 2200, 6800, and 32,767.

    • Destination URL for NETCONF: web-ui-ip-address: 2200.

    • Destination URL for gNMI: web-ui-ip-address: 32,767.

    • Destination URL for Paragon Active Assurance Test Agent: test-agent-virtual-IP-address: 6800.

    • Destination URL to access Paragon Automation from a laptop or a desktop: web-ui-ip-address: 443.

    Where, web-ui-ip-address is the IP address of the Paragon Automation Web UI and test-agent-virtual-ip-address is the Paragon Active Assurance virtual IP address.

  • Static routes are configured to reach the Internet.

  • A DNS server is configured on the device to resolve domain names or the device is able to access an external DNS server (for example, 8.8.8.8).

To onboard a device to Paragon Automation:

  1. Power on the device.
  2. Log in to Paragon Automation by using the laptop.
    The Select an organization page appears.
  3. Choose the organization with which the device is to be associated.

    By default, the Onboard a Device page appears.

  4. Start the onboarding process in one of the following ways:

    • On the Onboard a Device page, enter the serial number of the device.

      If the serial number entered is correct, you can view the device name, device model, device serial number, and site (where the device is to be installed) for confirmation. Click Yes to confirm.

      If the serial number entered is incorrect or if you do not know the serial number for a device, see Onboard a Device without a Serial Number.

    • Click Device List on the left navigation menu to view the list of devices to be onboarded on the Device List page. On the Device List page, the devices are listed with the serial number. Click the device you want to onboard.

  5. Do one of the following:

    • If a network implementation plan is present for the device, the Add a Device page appears.

      The page provides information about the management interface of the device and any instructions (for example, re0:mgmt-0.0: Insert QSFP28) for inserting pluggables and connecting cables to the management interface.

      Note:

      You can view the type of pluggable and the cable to be used for management port only if the instructions are added to the network implementation plan.

    • If a network implementation plan does not exist, see Onboard a Device without a Network Implementation Plan.

  6. Insert the pluggable and connect the cable to the management interface as instructed in the network implementation plan.
  7. Connect the management cable from the device to the network port.
  8. Click Adopt Device Manually to view and copy the outbound SSH configuration to be committed on the device.

    If the device is already connected to Paragon Automation by copying the outbound SSH command, go to step 19.

  9. From the pop-up that appears, click Copy.

    The outbound SSH configuration is copied to your clipboard.

  10. Log in to the device using SSH and enter the configuration mode.
  11. Paste the contents of the clipboard and commit the configuration.

    The device connects with Paragon Automation. Paragon Automation then starts pushing the device configuration and performing tests configured in the network implementation plan on the device. The Management Connectivity field turns green on the UI when Paragon Automation starts the tasks listed in the network implementation plan.

    As the first test, Paragon Automation checks the model of the device. It then authenticates the device and verifies the validity of the software installed and displays the results.

    Note:

    If the model of the device does not match the model of the device in the network implementation plan, the onboarding fails. Contact the network administrator for further action.
  12. Click Next to view the Install Ports page.

    On the Install Ports page, you can view the list of ports and the type of pluggables to be inserted in the ports.

    Note:

    You can view the pluggables only for those ports for which instructions are added to the network implementation plan.
  13. Insert pluggables as indicated on the Install Ports page.

    After you insert the pluggables, Paragon Automation checks if the pluggable inserted matches the pluggable indicated in the network implementation plan for that port. If the pluggable inserted is correct, Paragon Automation tests the interface health of the pluggable.

  14. Click Next to view the Install cables page.

    On the Install Cables page, view the cabling instructions (if any provided) for the ports in the plan.

    Note:

    You can view the instructions for connecting cables only for those ports for which instructions are added to the network implementation plan.
  15. Connect Cables as indicated on the Install Cables page.
    After you connect a cable, Paragon Automation initiates ping tests to the destinations defined in the plan.
  16. Click Next to view the Testing page.

    The Testing page shows the progress of all the tests being executed and the result of the tests. You can view the progress and the result of the tests listed in Table 1.

  17. After onboarding completes:

    • Onboarding successful is displayed if onboarding completes successfully.

    • Onboarding failed is displayed if onboarding fails.

    • Onboarding completed with errors is displayed if onboarding completes with errors.

      Resolve any issues by using the failure reason provided or contact the Network Admin, if needed.

      The onboarding status remains as failed even after you resolve the issues. The alerts, alarms, or warnings related to the issues continue to be displayed on the UI.

  18. Click Done.
    The device onboarding is complete.
  19. Click Device List to view the list of devices included in the network implementation plan.

    The Onboard section lists all the devices in the plan that are to be onboarded and the Completed section lists all the devices that have completed onboarding.

  20. Repeat step 1 through step 19 to onboard all the devices in the plan.

After device onboarding is complete, the next step is to move the device to production. See Move a Device to Production (Day 1 and Day 2 Activities).

Table 1: Device Onboarding Tests
Test Result Description
Management connectivity

You can view whether the device has established an outbound SSH connection to Paragon Automation. If the connection is not established, you must adopt the device manually. See Adopt a Device to adopt the device.
Hardware health

You can view the health of fans, line cards, power supply modules (PSMs), CPU, and memory.
Interfaces

You can view the health of the interfaces.
Optics

You can view whether you have installed the correct pluggable in the port. The test result is displayed as follows:

  • Green check mark—Correct pluggable is inserted and the optics are healthy.

  • Yellow check mark—Either health data is not received from the pluggable or pluggable health check is disabled in the plan.

  • Red check mark—A wrong pluggable is inserted in the port or pluggable is missing.
Chassis Alarm

You can view the severity of alarms present on the device. The following color code is used to display the chassis alarms present on the device:

  • Green—No alarms are present.

  • Red—At least one critical alarm is present.

  • Yellow—At least one minor alarm is present.
Trust Result

You can view whether the hardware is authentic and whether a valid software is installed on the device.

Neighbor Connectivity

You can view the result of the ping tests from the device port to neighboring devices.

Note:

You can view the results of the ping tests only for those ports for which the Active Assurance tests are enabled in the network implementation plan.
Remote Connectivity

You can view the results of the following connectivity tests from the device ports to the remote endpoints (edge devices, Internet endpoints, and cloud provider endpoints configured in the network implementation plan):

  • HTTP tests

  • DNS tests

  • Ping tests to the edge devices

  • Ping tests to the cloud provider endpoints

    Note:

    You can view the results of the connectivity tests only for those ports for which the Active Assurance tests are enabled in the network implementation plan.

Onboard a Device without a Serial Number

A network implementation plan can include one or more devices without a serial number. This is because, it is possible that while planning for device onboarding, the device is not yet procured and therefore the serial number is unavailable.

If the serial number entered on the Onboard a Device is incorrect, the UI provides a pop-up with Adopt and Select options. You (field technician) can:

  • Click Adopt to commit the outbound SSH configuration for the device. To adopt the device:

    1. Click Adopt to view the outbound SSH commands that you can commit on the device to connect with Paragon Automation.

      The Select Site pop-up window appears.

    2. Select the site (location) to install the device.

    3. Click Adopt.

      A pop-up window displays the SSH commands that you must copy and commit on the device.

    4. Click Copy.

      The commands are copied to clipboard and the pop-up window closes.

    5. Access the device in the configuration mode and commit the commands.

      The device connects with Paragon Automation. The device is listed on the Inventory page (Router tab) of the Paragon Automation UI with status as Connected.

      The device can now be managed by using the element management functions in Paragon Automation. See Device Management Workflow.

  • Click Select to associate a serial number to the device.

    A message appears for you to confirm whether you want to assign a serial number to the device. Do one of the following:

    • Use the Onboard a Device page to proceed:

      1. On the Onboard a Device page, enter the serial number of the device in the Serial Number field.

      2. Click OK.

        The Device List page appears. The Device List page displays the list of devices without a serial number under the Onboard section.

      3. Click a device without a serial number in the Device List to associate the device with a serial number that you entered. The device that you select must match the model of the device you want to onboard.

        The Add a Device page appears.

      4. Go to step 5 of the onboarding procedure to proceed from the Add a Device page.

    • Use the Device List page to proceed:

      1. Click the Device List menu to open the Device List page.

        The Device List page lists all devices to be onboarded along with their serial number. The page also displays a few devices without a serial number.

      2. Click on a device that does not have a serial number and that matches with the model of the device you want to onboard.

        You get a message asking to confirm whether you want to associate a serial number.

      3. Click OK.

        The Onboard a Device page appears.

      4. Enter the device's serial number in the Serial Number field.

        The Add a Device page appears.

      5. Go to step 5 of the onboarding procedure to proceed from the Add a Device page.

Onboard a Device without a Network Implementation Plan

When a network implementation plan does not exist, you can:

  • Adopt the device by committing the outbound SSH configuration.

    1. Click Adopt to view the outbound SSH commands that you must commit on the device to connect with Paragon Automation.

      The Select Site pop-up window appears.

    2. Select the site (location) to install the device.

    3. Click Adopt.

      A pop-up window displays the SSH commands that you must copy and commit on the device.

    4. Click Copy.

      The commands are copied to clipboard and the pop-up window closes.

    5. Access the device in the configuration mode and commit the commands.

      The device connects with Paragon Automation. The device is listed on the Inventory page (Router tab) of the Paragon Automation UI with status as Connected.

      The device can now be managed by using the element management functions in Paragon Automation. See Device Management Workflow.

  • Associate the serial number of the device with a device in a network implementation plan that does not have a serial number and use that plan for onboarding the device.

    1. Click the Device List menu to open the Device List page.

      The Device List page lists all the devices to be onboarded along with the serial number.

    2. Click a device that does not have a serial number. The device you select must match the model of the device you want to onboard.

      You get a message asking to confirm whether you want to associate a serial number.

    3. Click OK.

      The Onboard a Device page appears.

    4. Enter the device's serial number in the Serial Number field.

    5. Go to step 5 of the onboarding procedure to proceed from the Add a Device page.

What's Next

If the device is onboarded device by using the network implementation plan, a Super User or Network Admin can move the device to production and manage the device by using the network implementation plan. See Move a Device to Production (Day 1 and Day 2 Activities).

If the device does not use the network implementation plan to onboard a Super User or Network Admin can manage the device by using the element management functions in Paragon Automation. See Device Management Workflow.

Related Documentation