Cisco DNA Center is a network management system with four main capabilities.
The design capability allows operators to hierarchically describe
their network architecture by geographic region.
It can manage software images, device inventory, and role‑based templates.
The policy capability helps enable Cisco's
Software‑Defined Access, or SDA, solution.
This integrates with Cisco security products we will discuss in a future course.
In summary, it enables operators to clearly define the
communication channels between systems.
DNA Center can also provision devices on the network.
I've personally used it to stand up virtual servers on a remote
branch site using predefined images and templates.
This can reduce cost and lead time associated with new site installations.
DNA Center Assurance is network monitoring on steroids.
It combines streaming telemetry and a variety of network management protocols,
which provide a complete network health picture.
It also provides suggestions to remediate faults. In the next clip, we will interact with DNA Center using its REST API.