Cisco Nexus 9X series Switches discovered as Routers

Products

• VMware Smart Assurance
• Network Observability

Issue/Introduction

Cisco Nexus 9X series switches (e.g., N9K-C93108TC-FX3) are discovered as Router class objects in VMware Smart Assurance Smarts IP instead of Switch class objects.

Environment

All Supported Smarts releases

Resolution

To force these devices to be discovered as Switches, you must modify the OID certification to override the default type classification.

Step 1: Modify the Certification File

1. Use the sm_edit utility to open the certification file:

   /smarts/bin/sm_edit ../conf/discovery/oid2type_<Vendor>.conf
   
   Example: /smarts/bin/sm_edit ../conf/discovery/oid2type_Cisco.conf

2. Search for the SysOID of the device (Example .1.3.6.1.4.1.9.12.3.1.3.2578).
3. Change the TYPE parameter:
   • From: TYPE = Router
   • To:      TYPE = Switch
4. Save and close the file.

Step 2: Reload Certifications

Apply the changes to the running Smarts domain without a restart:

/smarts/bin/sm_tpmgr -s <Domain_Name> --reloadoid

Step 3: Rediscover the Device

1. Delete the incorrectly classified device from the Smarts topology.
2. Perform a 'Add Agent' or 'Re-Discovery' for the device.
3. Verify that the device is now created with the Switch class.

Additional Information

Review the SNMP OID ipForwarding (.1.3.6.1.2.1.4.1.0) to determine if a device should be classified as a Router or a Switch:

• Value 1 (forwarding): The device is acting as a router. 
• Value 2 (notForwarding): The device is acting as a switch. 

Many Nexus 9000 devices have IP forwarding enabled by default or for management purposes, causing them to report a value of 1 and thus be categotized as Routers.