Cisco ThousandEyes Activation Guide for Catalyst 9000 Switches

Cisco DNA Advantage for Catalyst 9300 and 9400 Series Switches

Cisco Catalyst 9300 and 9400 Series Switches with a Cisco DNA Advantage license have access to Cisco ThousandEyes, an innovative provider of intelligent agents for monitoring enterprise and internet connectivity.

Complete the following steps to activate Cisco ThousandEyes, using the linked resources for more detailed demonstrations and instructions:

Step 1: Activate Cisco ThousandEyes 

View and activate your Cisco ThousandEyes entitlement via your Cisco Smart Software Manager account. Once you’ve requested a Cisco ThousandEyes account, one will be provisioned for your organization, and entitlements will be deposited into your account. Keep an eye out for a subsequent email from Cisco ThousandEyes, triggered to help you set up your user credentials.
Organizations with existing Cisco ThousandEyes accounts can expect an email notifying the account administrator of the subscription update, providing additional instructions if required.
Explore detailed instructions on activation

Step 2: Update Cisco IOS XE

In order to turn your existing switches into vantage points from which to run Cisco ThousandEyes proactive testing, your switch must be running Cisco IOS XE Release 17.3.3 or later for Catalyst 9300 Series Switches, and version 17.5.1 or later for Catalyst 9400 Series Switches.
Learn more about installing Cisco ThousandEyes Enterprise Agent on supported hardware or virtual infrastructure.

Step 3: Install the Cisco ThousandEyes agent on Catalyst 9300 and 9400 Series Switches

Once your switches are running a supported version of Cisco IOS XE, upload and install the Cisco ThousandEyes agent image directly or using Cisco Catalyst Center.
View the demonstration of agent installation using Cisco Catalyst Center

Step 4: Ensure internet access for the Cisco ThousandEyes agent

If you have deployed the Cisco ThousandEyes Enterprise Agent—via a switch or another appliance—behind a firewall or a similar device, configure the device to allow for Cisco ThousandEyes management and testing traffic.
The basic requirements for Enterprise Agents are DNS resolvers for domain resolution, Network Time Protocol (NTP) for time synchronization, and TCP 443 outbound access—which also allows for proxy configuration for agent use if required for internet access.
Explore advanced instructions, including the need for IPs/hostnames for whitelisting agent access

Step 5: Set up Cisco ThousandEyes tests

Taking advantage of ThousandEyes testing support with the Cisco DNA Advantage license has many benefits including additional insights into SaaS, campus monitoring, SD-WAN, and VPN. See the possibilities by clicking on the Getting Started with ThousandEyes tutorial.
Each Catalyst 9300 or 9400 Cisco DNA Advantage subscription allows you to run the equivalent of one Cisco ThousandEyes network or web test every 5 minutes. Up to 22 units per month from a Cisco ThousandEyes Enterprise Agent, up to a maximum of 110,000 units per month of Cisco ThousandEyes test capacity per customer. Cisco ThousandEyes Cloud Agent access is not included in the Cisco DNA license.
To get started with Cisco ThousandEyes tests, use the following resource to start your 15-Day Free Trial.
 

Need more help?

For additional assistance with dashboards and reports, testing, integrations, API scripting, and alerts, or if you need more Cisco ThousandEyes testing capacity, please contact your Cisco partner or account manager. Expanded Cisco ThousandEyes capacity and advanced services are also available for purchase.