Cisco Catalyst 8000v Cluster - Specifications
Cisco Catalyst 8000v Cluster
This VNF is a Cisco SDWAN Gateway based on the Catalyst 8000v image (c8000v-17-12-3-8G-VGA). The blueprint deploys the VNF in cluster mode using two virtual machines. The specification lists the deployment mode as cluster but does not describe internal cluster mechanics such as failover or synchronization.
Flavors
Choose the appropriate flavor for each virtual device in the cluster. Available sizes are shown below.
| Standard | DPDK | |
|---|---|---|
| Small | 2 vCPU 4 GB Mem 64 GB Disk | 2 vCPU 4 GB Mem 64 GB Disk |
| Medium | 4 vCPU 8 GB Mem 64 GB Disk | 4 vCPU 8 GB Mem 64 GB Disk |
| Large | 8 vCPU 16 GB Mem 64 GB Disk | 8 vCPU 16 GB Mem 64 GB Disk |
In cluster deployment the console lets you select a flavor for each virtual device when applicable.
Interfaces
The diagram above shows the two virtual machines and their interfaces. Each VM has two Internet-facing interfaces with platform-allocated public IP outputs. VM1 hosts the MPLS-VPN interface with VLAN sub-interfaces 101..108 and a transport MPLS interface.
#1 - Internet Interface - access
This is the Internet-facing access interface for each virtual machine. The platform may display a platform-allocated Public IP address for this interface after provisioning. Typically there is no required customer parameter to provide a public IP during create; public IPv4 addresses shown in the console are platform outputs.
#2 - MPLS-VPN interface
Used to connect the VNF to MPLS VPN via VLAN sub-interfaces. The portal exposes a list of VLAN sub-interfaces (for example VLAN 101..108). For each VLAN sub-interface you can:
- Select the VPN Name to bind the VLAN to a VPN (one..99 items accepted). The VPN identifier must follow the portal pattern when applicable.
- Choose the VPN role from the options: any-to-any, client, or server.
- Optionally enable BGP for the VLAN sub-interface and provide AS prepend when requested.
Group these settings per VLAN in the console rather than repeating identical entries for every VLAN.
#3 - MPLS-VPN Interface - transport
Transport interface that can accept VPN selection and optional static route entries. Static routes are presented as an array when used (min 1, max 99 entries). Provide static route prefixes in the portal only if your design requires them.
#4 - Internet Interface - core
This is the Internet-facing core interface for each virtual machine. As with the access interface, public IPv4 addresses shown here are platform-allocated outputs and are informational in the console.
Routing and BGP parameters
Routing-related parameters are available at the interface level where indicated above. Important, customer-facing points:
- Enable BGP is available as an optional boolean per VLAN sub-interface. When BGP is disabled, no BGP-specific configuration is applied through this setting.
- AS prepend is an optional integer parameter (valid range 1..6) available per VLAN sub-interface. The specification notes this parameter in the context of backup VM scenarios but does not document overall BGP session behavior; configure only the fields requested by the portal.
Virtual device parameters
VM-level identity and routing identifiers are requested during provisioning. The main VM-level parameters are common to both virtual machines:
- VM AS number — Autonomous System number accepted as 2- or 4-byte values. Provide a numeric AS in the allowed range when the portal requests it.
- System IP (per VM) — IPv4 address used to identify the VM in the SD‑WAN control-plane; this is provided during provisioning for each VM.
- Loopback1 IP address (optional) — optional IPv4 loopback address you can provide if required by your SD‑WAN design.
Provide VM-specific required values (System IP, UUID, OTP) during the create flow as prompted by the console.
Service specific parameters
Service specific parameters are values required at provisioning scope (they are not VM guest parameters or interface IPs). They must be provided when creating the VNF instance.
-
Organization name
- What is it? The customer organization name to associate with this VNF instance.
- Why the platform needs it: used for provisioning and inventory association of the VNF.
- Customer action: enter a free-form organization name. This value is mandatory and not updatable after creation.
-
Vbond IP address or FQDN
- What is it? An IPv4 address or DNS name identifying the vbond controller used for SD‑WAN control-plane reachability.
- Why the platform needs it: the blueprint requires this address or FQDN to populate control-plane configuration during provisioning.
- Constraints and format: the portal validates the value against the pattern ^([a-zA-Z0-9._-])63$. This value is mandatory and not updatable after creation.
-
Site id
- What is it? Numeric identifier of the site within your SD‑WAN deployment.
- Why the platform needs it: used to assign the VNF instance to your site inventory.
- Constraints: integer between 1 and 4294967295. Mandatory and not updatable after creation.
-
Password (admin password)
- What is it? Administrative password used by the provisioning workflow to set initial credentials on the VNF.
- Why the platform needs it: required to configure initial admin access during provisioning.
- Customer action: enter the password in the portal. The value is treated as secret and hidden in the UI. Mandatory and not updatable.
-
VM identity values required per VM (System IP, UUID, One time Password, VM AS number)
- What are they? These are provisioning identifiers and secrets requested for each virtual machine to establish its identity in the SD‑WAN configuration.
- Why the platform needs them: required by the provisioning workflow to configure each VM correctly.
- Customer action: provide these values when prompted in the console. Many of these fields are mandatory and not updatable after creation.
Platform-generated outputs
The platform allocates and displays IPv4 addresses for the Internet-facing interfaces as informational outputs after provisioning. These Public IP address values are platform-generated and are not customer-supplied interface parameters during a standard create flow.
- Public IP address (VM1 access)
- Public IP address (VM1 core)
- Public IP address (VM2 access)
- Public IP address (VM2 core)
Software device versions
The VNF is based on the Catalyst 8000v image family. The image referenced by the blueprint is listed below.
- 17.12.3