README v1.6.15 2025-06-09
Table of contents
1. General
1.1 Extract the NED package
1.2 Install the NED package
1.2.1 Local install
1.2.2 System install
1.3 Configure the NED in NSO
2. Optional debug and trace setup
3. Dependencies
4. Sample device configuration
5. Built in live-status actions
6. Built in live-status show
7. Limitations
8. How to report NED issues1. General
This document describes the cisco-fmc NED.
Additional README files bundled with this NED package
+---------------------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Name | Info |
+---------------------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| README-ned-settings.md | Information about all run time settings supported by this NED. |
+---------------------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+Common NED Features
+---------------------------+-----------+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Feature | Supported | Info |
+---------------------------+-----------+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| netsim | yes | |
| | | |
| check-sync | no | |
| | | |
| partial-sync-from | no | |
| | | |
| live-status actions | yes | The standard action get-any is supported |
| | | |
| live-status show | no | |
| | | |
| load-native-config | no | |
+---------------------------+-----------+------------------------------------------------------------------+Verified target systems
+---------------------------+-----------------+--------+---------------------------------------------------+
| Model | Version | OS | Info |
+---------------------------+-----------------+--------+---------------------------------------------------+
| Cisco Firepower | 6.5.0 | Cisco | |
| Management Center for | | Fire | |
| VMWare | | Linux | |
| | | OS | |
| | | 6.5.0 | |
| | | (build | |
| | | 6) | |
+---------------------------+-----------------+--------+---------------------------------------------------+1.1 Extract the NED package
It is assumed the NED package ncs-<NSO version>-cisco-fmc-<NED version>.signed.bin has already
been downloaded from software.cisco.com.
In this instruction the following example settings will be used:
NSO version: 6.0
NED version: 1.0.1
NED package downloaded to: /tmp/ned-package-store
Extract the NED package and verify its signature:
> cd /tmp/ned-package-store > chmod u+x ncs-6.0-cisco-fmc-1.0.1.signed.bin > ./ncs-6.0-cisco-fmc-1.0.1.signed.binIn case the signature can not be verified (for instance if no internet connection), do as below instead:
> ./ncs-6.0-cisco-fmc-1.0.1.signed.bin --skip-verificationThe result of the extraction shall be a tar.gz file with the same name as the .bin file:
> ls *.tar.gz ncs-6.0-cisco-fmc-1.0.1.tar.gz
1.2 Install the NED package
There are two alternative ways to install this NED package. Which one to use depends on how NSO itself is setup.
In the instructions below the following example settings will be used:
NSO version: 6.0
NED version: 1.0.1
NED download directory: /tmp/ned-package-store
NSO run time directory: ~/nso-lab-rundir
A prerequisite is to set the environment variable NSO_RUNDIR to point at the NSO run time directory:
> export NSO_RUNDIR=~/nso-lab-rundir1.2.1 Local install
This section describes how to install a NED package on a locally installed NSO (see "NSO Local Install" in the NSO Installation guide).
It is assumed the NED package has been been unpacked to a tar.gz file as described in 1.1.
Untar the tar.gz file. This creates a new sub-directory named:
cisco-fmc-<NED major digit>.<NED minor digit>:> tar xfz ncs-6.0-cisco-fmc-1.0.1.tar.gz > ls -d */ cisco-fmc-gen-1.0Install the NED into NSO, using the ncs-setup tool:
> ncs-setup --package cisco-fmc-gen-1.0 --dest $NSO_RUNDIROpen a NSO CLI session and load the new NED package like below:
> ncs_cli -C -u admin admin@ncs# packages reload reload-result { package cisco-fmc-gen-1.0 result true }
Alternatively the tar.gz file can be installed directly into NSO. Then skip steps 1 and 2 and do like below instead:
> ncs-setup --package ncs-6.0-cisco-fmc-1.0.1.tar.gz --dest $NSO_RUNDIR
> ncs_cli -C -u admin
admin@ncs# packages reload
reload-result {
package cisco-fmc-gen-1.0
result true
}1.2.2 System install
This section describes how to install a NED package on a system installed NSO (see "NSO System Install" in the NSO Installation Guide).
It is assumed the NED package has been been unpacked to a tar.gz file as described in 1.1.
Do a NSO backup before installing the new NED package:
> $NCS_DIR/bin/ncs-backupStart a NSO CLI session and fetch the NED package:
> ncs_cli -C -u admin admin@ncs# software packages fetch package-from-file \ /tmp/ned-package-store/ncs-6.0-cisco-fmc-1.0.tar.gz admin@ncs# software packages list package { name ncs-6.0-cisco-fmc-1.0.tar.gz installable }Install the NED package (add the argument replace-existing if a previous version has been loaded):
admin@ncs# software packages install cisco-fmc-1.0 admin@ncs# software packages list package { name ncs-6.0-cisco-fmc-1.0.tar.gz installed }Load the NED package
admin@ncs# packages reload admin@ncs# software packages list package { name ncs-6.0-cisco-fmc-gen-1.0 loaded }
1.3 Configure the NED in NSO
This section describes the steps for configuring a device instance using the newly installed NED package.
Start a NSO CLI session:
> ncs_cli -C -u adminEnter configuration mode:
admin@ncs# configure Entering configuration mode terminal admin@ncs(config)#Configure a new authentication group (my-group) to be used for this device:
admin@ncs(config)# devices authgroup group my-group default-map remote-name <user name on device> \ remote-password <password on device>Configure a new device instance (example: dev-1):
admin@ncs(config)# devices device dev-1 address <ip address to device> admin@ncs(config)# devices device dev-1 port <port on device> admin@ncs(config)# devices device dev-1 device-type generic ned-id cisco-fmc-gen-1.0 admin@ncs(config)# devices device dev-1 state admin-state unlocked admin@ncs(config)# devices device dev-1 authgroup my-groupOptionally set the ssl to accept-any
admin@ncs(config)# devices device dev-1 ned-settings cisco-fmc-connection ssl accept-anyDefine a custom managed device registration timeout value:
The NED setting parameter async-task-timeout value is used at device registration as a timeout.
The default is set to 600 seconds, if managed devices registration takes more due to the complexity of the environment, this value could be increased here.
admin@ncs(config)# devices device dev-1 ned-settings cisco-fmc cisco-fmc-settings async-task-timeout <value>Finally commit the configuration
admin@ncs(config)# commitVerify configuration, using a sync-from.
admin@ncs(config)# devices device dev-1 sync-from result true
If the sync-from was not successful, check the NED configuration again.
2. Optional debug and trace setup
It is often desirable to see details from when and how the NED interacts with the device(Example: troubleshooting)
This can be achieved by configuring NSO to generate a trace file for the NED. A trace file contains information about all interactions with the device. Messages sent and received as well as debug printouts, depending on the log level configured.
NSO creates one separate trace file for each device instance with tracing enabled. Stored in the following location:
$NSO_RUNDIR/logs/ned-cisco-fmc-gen-1.0-<device name>.trace
Do as follows to enable tracing in one specific device instance in NSO:
Start a NSO CLI session:
> ncs_cli -C -u adminEnter configuration mode:
admin@ncs# configure Entering configuration mode terminal admin@ncs(config)#Enable trace raw:
admin@ncs(config)# devices device dev-1 trace raw admin@ncs(config)# commitAlternatively, tracing can be enabled globally affecting all configured device instances:
admin@ncs(config)# devices global-settings trace raw admin@ncs(config)# commitConfigure the log level for printouts to the trace file:
admin@ncs(config)# devices device dev-1 ned-settings cisco-fmc logger \ level [debug | verbose | info | error] admin@ncs(config)# commitAlternatively the log level can be set globally affecting all configured device instances using this NED package.
admin@ncs(config)# devices device global-settings ned-settings cisco-fmc logger \ level [debug | verbose | info | error] admin@ncs(config)# commit
The log level 'info' is used by default and the 'debug' level is the most verbose.
IMPORTANT: Tracing shall be used with caution. This feature does increase the number of IPC messages sent between the NED and NSO. In some cases this can affect the performance in NSO. Hence, tracing should normally be disabled in production systems.
An alternative method for generating printouts from the NED is to enable the Java logging mechanism. This makes the NED print log messages to common NSO Java log file.
$NSO_RUNDIR/logs/ncs-java-vm.log
Do as follows to enable Java logging in the NED
Start a NSO CLI session:
> ncs_cli -C -u adminEnter configuration mode:
admin@ncs# configure Entering configuration mode terminal admin@ncs(config)#Enable Java logging with level all from the NED package:
admin@ncs(config)# java-vm java-logging logger com.tailf.packages.ned.firemc \ level level-all admin@ncs(config)# commitConfigure the NED to log to the Java logger
admin@ncs(config)# devices device dev-1 ned-settings cisco-fmc logger java true admin@ncs(config)# commitAlternatively Java logging can be enabled globally affecting all configured device instances using this NED package.
admin@ncs(config)# devices global-settings ned-settings cisco-fmc logger java true admin@ncs(config)# commit
IMPORTANT: Java logging does not use any IPC messages sent to NSO. Consequently, NSO performance is not affected. However, all log printouts from all log enabled devices are saved in one single file. This means that the usability is limited. Typically single device use cases etc.
3. Dependencies
This NED has the following host environment dependencies:
Java 1.8 (NSO version < 6.2)
Java 17 (NSO version >= 6.2)
Gnu Sed
Dependencies for NED recompile:
Apache Ant
Bash
Gnu Sort
Gnu awk
Grep
Python3 (with packages: re, sys, getopt, subprocess, argparse, os, glob)
4. Sample device configuration
4.1 Configure access policies
Access rules lists suport insert : before, after, first, last in:
/ncs:devices/device{*}/config/cisco-fmc:policy/accesspolicies{*}/categories{*}/accessrules{*}
/ncs:devices/device{*}/config/cisco-fmc:policy/accesspolicies{*}/accessrules{*}
Please see bellow example:
The following starting config is on the device:
policy accesspolicies NSO_Test_Policy01 ... categories NsoTestCategory01 accessrules TestAccessPolCategory01Rule01 category NsoTestCategory01 ... categories NsoTestCategory02 accessrules TestAccessPolCategory02Rule01 category NsoTestCategory02 ... accessrules TestAccessPolCategory02Rule02 category NsoTestCategory02 ... accessrules nsoNotCatRule01 ...Define new access rules:
admin@ncs(config-config)# pwd Current submode path: devices device cisco-fmc-0 \ config admin@ncs(config-config)# cisco-fmc:policy accesspolicies NSO_Test_Policy01 accessrules nsoNotCatRule02 action ALLOW sendEventsToFMC true logFiles false logBegin true logEnd true variableSet name Default-Set sourceZones objects TestSecZone01 exit destinationPorts objects Bittorrent protocol TCP type ProtocolPortObject exit destinationZones objects TestSecZone4 exit sourceNetworks objects IPv4-Private-172.16.0.0-12 type Network exit destinationNetworks objects IPv4-Private-192.168.0.0-16 type Network exit enabled exit categories NsoTestCategory02 accessrules TestAccessPolCategory02Rule03 category NsoTestCategory02 action ALLOW sendEventsToFMC false logFiles false logBegin false logEnd false variableSet name Default-Set sourceZones objects TestSecZone01 exit destinationPorts objects Bittorrent protocol TCP type ProtocolPortObject exit sourcePorts objects Bittorrent protocol TCP type ProtocolPortObject exit destinationZones objects TestSecZone4 exit applications applications BigUpload exit applications applications BitCoin exit sourceNetworks objects IPv4-Private-172.16.0.0-12 type Network exit destinationNetworks objects IPv4-Private-192.168.0.0-16 type Network exit enabled exit exit exitFrom top level move the newly defined rules where are needed:
admin@ncs(config)# pwd At top level admin@ncs(config)# move devices device cisco-fmc-0 config policy accesspolicies NSO_Test_Policy01 accessrules nsoNotCatRule02 before nsoNotCatRule01 admin@ncs(config)# move devices device cisco-fmc-0 config policy accesspolicies NSO_Test_Policy01 categories NsoTestCategory02 accessrules TestAccessPolCategory02Rule03 before TestAccessPolCategory02Rule01Commit the config
admin@ncs(config)# commit Commit complete.End config on device:
policy accesspolicies NSO_Test_Policy01 ... categories NsoTestCategory01 accessrules TestAccessPolCategory01Rule01 category NsoTestCategory01 ... categories NsoTestCategory02 accessrules TestAccessPolCategory02Rule03 category NsoTestCategory02 ... accessrules TestAccessPolCategory02Rule01 category NsoTestCategory02 ... accessrules TestAccessPolCategory02Rule02 category NsoTestCategory02 ... accessrules nsoNotCatRule02 ... accessrules nsoNotCatRule01 ...
5. Built in live-status actions
This sections describes the RPCs (remote procedure cals) provided by the NED:
5.1 Get deployable devices
REST call: GET /deployment/deployabledevices?expanded=true
admin@ncs# config
admin@ncs(config)# devices device cisco-fmc-0
admin@ncs(config-device-cisco-fmc-0)# config
admin@ncs(config-config)# cisco-fmc:actions get-deployabledevices5.2 Request for a deployment of a policy on one or more devices.
REST call: POST /deployment/deploymentrequests
admin@ncs# config
admin@ncs(config)# devices device cisco-fmc-0
admin@ncs(config-device-cisco-fmc-0)# config
admin@ncs(config-config)# cisco-fmc:actions deploy-policy deviceList { name CiscoFTDdev01 } version 0 ignoreWarning true forceDeploy false5.3 Get available domains.
These are used in devices device <dev_name> ned-settings cisco-fmc cisco-fmc-settings fmc-domain-name
admin@ncs# config
Entering configuration mode terminal
admin@ncs(config)# devices device cisco-fmc-0
admin@ncs(config-device-cisco-fmc-0)# config
admin@ncs(config-config)#
admin@ncs(config-config)# cisco-fmc:actions get-domains
domains {
domainName Global/KRK-LAB
domainName Global/BRU-LAB
domainName Global
domainName Global/CALO-AUTO-PODS
}6. Built in live-status show
NONE
7. Limitations
7.1 /object/ports limitation
In ticket FMC-43 the folowing api was added:
/object/protocolportobjects
/object/icmpv4objects
/object/icmpv6objects
To keep bacward compatibility the list /object/ports that contains all types of ports(and as per device API only suports HTTP GET) is also keept. To avoid a diff at compare config the service level has to also manage this list.
When adding new ports:
cisco-fmc:object protocolportobjects NED_test_ProtocolPort01
protocol TCP
port 9999
!
cisco-fmc:object icmpv4objects NED_test_icmpV01
icmpType 9
code 0
!
cisco-fmc:object icmpv6objects NED_test_icmpV6_01
icmpType 135
code 0
!
cisco-fmc:object ports NED_test_ProtocolPort01
cisco-fmc:object ports NED_test_icmpV01
cisco-fmc:object ports NED_test_icmpV6_01When deleting ports:
no cisco-fmc:object protocolportobjects NED_test_ProtocolPort01
no cisco-fmc:object icmpv4objects NED_test_icmpV4_01
no cisco-fmc:object icmpv6objects NED_test_icmpV6_01
no cisco-fmc:object ports NED_test_ProtocolPort01
no cisco-fmc:object ports NED_test_icmpV4_01
no cisco-fmc:object ports NED_test_icmpV6_017.2 /policy/ftdnatpolicies limitation
In ticket FMC-42 the folowing api was added:
/policy/ftdnatpolicies */before-manualnatrules *
/policy/ftdnatpolicies */after-manualnatrules *
Plese note that before commiting before-manualnatrules and after-manualnatrules the /policy/ftdnatpolicies has to be created first.
Also because the /policy/ftdnatpolicies/manualnatrules device API does not suport a name or index, when adding /policy/ftdnatpolicies */before-manualnatrules * and /policy/ftdnatpolicies */after-manualnatrules * use incrementing indexes in NSO.
policy ftdnatpolicies NatPolFMC-42
before-manualnatrules 1
before-manualnatrules 2
before-manualnatrules 3
after-manualnatrules 4
after-manualnatrules 5
after-manualnatrules 67.3 /policy/ftds2svpns limitation
In ticket FMC-45 the folowing api was added:
/policy/ftds2svpns */endpoints *
/policy/ftds2svpns */ikeSettings IkeSetting
/policy/ftds2svpns */ipsecSettings IPSecSetting
Plese note that before commiting endpoints, ikeSettings and ipsecSettings the /policy/ftds2svpns has to be created first on device.
7.4 /object/extendedaccesslists limitation
In ticket FMC-85 the following api was added:
/object/extendedaccesslists
Please note that modification of a list entry is not supported by the NED. What is supported is just creation of a new list entry and deletion of an entry.
This limitation resulted from the way the REST API json for this endpoint is structured:
{ "items": [
{
"type": "ExtendedAccessList",
"entries": [
{ entry_1 },
{ entry_2 },
{ entry_3 },
...
]In the above example entry_1,entry_2,entry_3, do not have any UUIDs or names. Besides that all can be identical. In NED yang a list is modeled mandatory with a key. The fact that the entries can be identical makes generating keys to identify them prone to error.
At sync-from the NED will automatically generate the sequence list key on the order on which entry entry_x is present in the entries list.
When creating new extendedaccesslists use incrementing numbers for the sequence list key:
cisco-fmc:object extendedaccesslists test_extendedAccess_list_01
overridable false
entries 1
logLevel INFORMATIONAL
...
entries 2
...
entries 38. How to report NED issues and feature requests
Issues like bugs and errors shall always be reported to the Cisco NSO NED team through the Cisco Support channel:
The following information is required for the Cisco NSO NED team to be able to investigate an issue:
- A detailed recipe with steps to reproduce the issue.
- A raw trace file generated when the issue is reproduced.
- Access to a device where the issue can be reproduced by the Cisco NSO NED team.
This typically means both read and write permissions are required.
Pseudo access via tools like Webex, Zoom etc is not acceptable.
However, it is ok with device access through VPNs, jump servers etc though.Do as follows to gather the necessary information needed for your device, here named 'dev-1':
Enable full debug logging in the NED
ncs_cli -C -u admin admin@ncs# configure admin@ncs(config)# devices device dev-1 ned-settings cisco-fmc logging level debug admin@ncs(config)# commitConfigure the NSO to generate a raw trace file from the NED
admin@ncs(config)# devices device dev-1 trace raw admin@ncs(config)# commitIf the NED already had trace enabled, clear it in order to submit only relevant information
Do as follows for NSO 6.4 or newer:
admin@ncs(config)# devices device dev-1 clear-traceDo as follows for older NSO versions:
admin@ncs(config)# devices clear-traceRun a compare-config to populate the trace with initial device config
admin@ncs(config)# devices device dev-1 compare-configReproduce the found issue using ncs_cli or your NSO service. Write down each necessary step in a reproduction report.
Gather the reproduction report and a copy of the raw trace file containing data recorded when the issue happened.
Contact the Cisco support and request to open a case. Provide the gathered files together with access details for a device that can be used by the Cisco NSO NED when investigating the issue.
Requests for new features and extensions of the NED are handled by the Cisco NSO NED team when applicable. Such requests shall also go through the Cisco support channel.
The following information is required for feature requests and extensions:
A detailed use case description, with details like:
Data of interest
The kind of operations to be used on the data. Like: 'read', 'create', 'update', 'delete' and the order of the operation
Device APIs involved in the operations (For example: REST URLs and payloads)
Device documentation describing the operations involved
Run sync-from # devices device dev-1 sync-from (if relevant)
Attach the raw trace to the ticket (if relevant)
Access to a device that can be used by the Cisco NSO NED team for testing and verification of the new feature. This usually means that both read and write permissions are required. Pseudo access via tools like Webex, Zoom etc is not acceptable. However, it is ok with access through VPNs, jump servers etc.
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