Cisco Data Center Networking (DCN) Licensing Ordering Guide

How to Order Cisco Nexus Dashboard

Cisco Nexus^® Dashboard is a single console for full-lifecycle data center network automation and operations where the services Cisco Nexus Dashboard Insights, Cisco Nexus Dashboard Orchestrator (ND Orchestrator), Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (NDFC), etc., operate.

This document covers the ordering of Cisco^® Data Center Networking and Day-2 Operations (Day-2 Ops) solutions. Components include:

● Cisco Nexus Dashboard Platform: Physical compute, virtual Nexus Dashboard, and cloud-hosted Nexus Dashboard

● Cisco Nexus Dashboard Insights: Automates troubleshooting, monitoring, auditing, and planning, resulting in rapid troubleshooting, proactive detection of anomalies, and early remediation. It is hosted on the Cisco Nexus Dashboard where Cisco ACI^® and NDFC sites are onboarded. Data from these sites is ingested and correlated by Cisco Nexus Dashboard Insights.

As of November 2023, selected Cisco Nexus Dashboard Insights features are available in Cisco Data Center Networking (DCN) Essentials and Cisco DCN Advantage licensing tiers.

Previously only Cisco DCN Premier customers could access Cisco Nexus Dashboard Insights features. This change allows all Cisco Nexus customers to access selected Cisco Nexus Dashboard Insights features and realize additional use cases and value for each tier.

Ordering is made easy through two simple steps

Step 1: Choose a license per device. For the full breakdown of what features are included in each tier, please reference the Cisco DCN Software Subscriptions page.

Option 1: Cisco DCN Premier license

Option 2: Cisco DCN Advantage license

Option 3: Cisco DCN Essentials license

Option 4: Cisco DCN Day-2 Operations or Day-2 Ops solution suite (for brownfield customers): This is recommended for customers who already have a Cisco DCN Advantage or Essentials license. It cannot be used as a standalone without other licensing. The add-on license provides full Cisco Nexus Dashboard Insights capabilities.

Step 2: Choose Cisco Nexus Dashboard Platform: physical, virtual, or cloud.

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Platform: The Cisco Nexus Dashboard Platform (ND-CLUSTER-L4) is a purpose-built appliance designed to run Cisco applications seamlessly. The Cisco Nexus Dashboard Platform offers high availability, lifecycle management, and network automation for the applications running on it. It is a cluster of three nodes and provides the necessary hardware performance and scale for applications. More information on Cisco Nexus Dashboard.

The Cisco Nexus Dashboard platform cluster is now bundled with 6 (six) Day-2 Operations licenses to kickstart the customer journey with Cisco Nexus Dashboard Insights. For more information, please reference the landing page or see ordering steps below.

Virtual Nexus Dashboard: Cisco Nexus Dashboard is available as a virtual appliance (ND-VIRTUAL=)

Cloud Nexus Dashboard: Available through AWS Marketplace and Microsoft Azure Marketplace. Please note that Cloud Nexus Dashboard is currently compatible with Nexus Dashboard Orchestrator. Nexus Dashboard Insights and Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller are currently not supported.

Step 1: License per device

Option 1: Cisco DCN Premier license

Cisco DCN Premier license is available under “Subscription Licenses” when you order a Cisco Nexus 9000 switch.

Cisco DCN Premier subscription license three-year, five-year, and seven-year terms as part of ordering hardware

Figure 1.

Cisco DCN Premier subscription license three-year, five-year, and seven-year terms as part of ordering hardware

Cisco DCN Premier license is also available without hardware under C1-N9K-ADD-T top level PID.

Cisco DCN Premier subscription license three-year, five-year, and seven-year terms ordered à la carte

Figure 2.

Cisco DCN Premier subscription license three-year, five-year, and seven-year terms ordered à la carte

Option 2: Cisco DCN Advantage license

A Cisco DCN Advantage license is available under “Subscription Licenses” when you order a Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switch.

Cisco DCN Advantage subscription license three-year, five-year, and seven-year terms as part of ordering hardware

Figure 3.

Cisco DCN Advantage subscription license three-year, five-year, and seven-year terms as part of ordering hardware

A Cisco DCN Advantage license is also available without hardware under a C1-N9K-ADD-T top-level PID.

Cisco DCN Advantage subscription license three-year, five-year, and seven-year terms ordered à la carte

Figure 4.

Cisco DCN Advantage subscription license three-year, five-year, and seven-year terms ordered à la carte

Option 3: Cisco DCN Essentials license

A Cisco DCN Essentials license is available under “Subscription Licenses” when you order a Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switch.

Cisco DCN Essentials subscription license three-year, five-year, and seven-year terms as part of ordering hardware

Figure 5.

Cisco DCN Essentials subscription license three-year, five-year, and seven-year terms as part of ordering hardware

A Cisco DCN Essentials license is also available without hardware under a C1-N9K-ADD-T top-level PID.

Cisco DCN Essentials subscription license three-year, five-year, and seven-year terms ordered à la carte

Figure 6.

Cisco DCN Essentials subscription license three-year, five-year, and seven-year terms ordered à la carte

Option 4: Cisco Day-2 Operations add-on license

The Cisco Day-2 Operations subscription is available under a C1-N9K-ADD-T top-level PID. Please use D2OPS-FXD- for fixed switches and D2OPS-MOD- for modular switches.

Cisco Day-2 Operations subscription license three-year, five-year, and seven-year terms ordered à la carte

Figure 7.

Cisco Day-2 Operations subscription license three-year, five-year, and seven-year terms ordered à la carte

Step 2: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Platform

Option 1: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Platform (ND-CLUSTER-L4, ND-NODE-L4=) physical compute

The Cisco Nexus Dashboard Platform is a purpose-built physical appliance that is designed to run Cisco Nexus Dashboard Insights seamlessly. Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller, Cisco Nexus Dashboard Insights and Cisco Nexus Dashboard Orchestrator will be preinstalled on the physical Nexus Dashboard before shipment. As customers’ needs increase, they have the flexibility to add additional nodes, using ND-NODE-L4=. Please check the Cisco Nexus Dashboard scale information to determine the nodes required.

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Platform

Figure 8.

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Platform

The Cisco Nexus Dashboard Platform cluster (ND-CLUSTER-L4) is now bundled with six Day-2 Operations five-year term licenses. When ordering, these licenses will be automatically included. The option to move between D2Ops for fixed platforms (D2OPS-FXD-5Y) and D2Ops for modular platforms (D2OPS-MOD-5Y) is available. The inclusion and quantity of licenses cannot be modified. To order the same hardware without the bundled subscription, please use PID ND-NODE-L4= and order quantity 3.

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Platform with subscriptions

Figure 9.

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Platform with subscriptions

Learn more about the bundle.

Option 2: Cisco Virtual Nexus Dashboard (ND-VIRTUAL=)

Cisco Nexus Dashboard is available as a virtual appliance (ND-VIRTUAL=). This PID provides the entire cluster. Reference the release notes for scale information.

A support contract specific to Virtual Nexus Dashboard is not required. It is covered by the switch support.

Virtual Nexus Dashboard

Figure 10.

Virtual Nexus Dashboard

Option 3: Cisco Cloud Nexus Dashboard (ND-CLOUD-AWS=, ND-CLOUD-AZURE=)

Please note that Cisco Cloud Nexus Dashboard is currently compatible with Nexus Dashboard Orchestrator, but not with Nexus Dashboard Insights and Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller.

Licenses can be purchased through Cisco Commerce and applied in AWS Marketplace and Microsoft Azure Marketplace.

Cloud Nexus Dashboard