Install and Configure the NetQ Agent on Cumulus Linux Switches

After installing your NetQ software, you should install the NetQ 3.3 Agents on each switch you want to monitor. NetQ Agents can be installed on switches running:

• Cumulus Linux version 3.3.2-3.7.x
• Cumulus Linux version 4.0.0 and later

Prepare for NetQ Agent Installation on a Cumulus Linux Switch

For servers running Cumulus Linux, you need to:

• Install and configure NTP, if needed
• Obtain NetQ software packages

Verify NTP is Installed and Configured

Verify that NTP is running on the switch. The switch must be in time synchronization with the NetQ Platform or NetQ Appliance to enable useful statistical analysis.

cumulus@switch:~$ sudo systemctl status ntp
[sudo] password for cumulus:
● ntp.service - LSB: Start NTP daemon
        Loaded: loaded (/etc/init.d/ntp; bad; vendor preset: enabled)
        Active: active (running) since Fri 2018-06-01 13:49:11 EDT; 2 weeks 6 days ago
          Docs: man:systemd-sysv-generator(8)
        CGroup: /system.slice/ntp.service
                └─2873 /usr/sbin/ntpd -p /var/run/ntpd.pid -g -c /var/lib/ntp/ntp.conf.dhcp -u 109:114

If NTP is not installed, install and configure it before continuing.

If NTP is not running:

• Verify the IP address or hostname of the NTP server in the /etc/ntp.conf file, and then
• Reenable and start the NTP service using the systemctl [enable|start] ntp commands

Obtain NetQ Agent Software Package

To install the NetQ Agent you need to install netq-agent on each switch or host. This is available from the NVIDIA networking repository.

To obtain the NetQ Agent package:

Edit the /etc/apt/sources.list file to add the repository for NetQ.

Note that NetQ has a separate repository from Cumulus Linux.

cumulus@switch:~$ sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list
...
deb http://apps3.cumulusnetworks.com/repos/deb CumulusLinux-3 netq-3.3
...

cumulus@switch:~$ sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list
...
deb http://apps3.cumulusnetworks.com/repos/deb CumulusLinux-4 netq-3.3
...

cumulus@switch:~$ wget -qO - https://apps3.cumulusnetworks.com/setup/cumulus-apps-deb.pubkey | sudo apt-key add -

Install the NetQ Agent on Cumulus Linux Switch

After completing the preparation steps, you can successfully install the agent onto your switch.

To install the NetQ Agent:

1. Update the local apt repository, then install the NetQ software on the switch.

   cumulus@switch:~$ sudo apt-get update
   cumulus@switch:~$ sudo apt-get install netq-agent
   

2. Verify you have the correct version of the Agent.

   cumulus@switch:~$ dpkg-query -W -f '${Package}\t${Version}\n' netq-agent
   

   You should see version 3.3.1 and update 33 in the results. For example:
   • Cumulus Linux 3.3.2-3.7.x
   • netq-agent_3.3.1-cl3u33~1614767181.886b337_armel.deb
   • netq-agent_3.3.1-cl3u33~1614767180.886b337_amd64.deb
   • Cumulus Linux 4.0.0 and later/li>
     • netq-agent_3.3.1-cl4u33~1614767182.886b337e_armel.deb
     • netq-agent_3.3.1-cl4u33~1614767182.886b337e_amd64.deb

3. Restart rsyslog so log files are sent to the correct destination.

   cumulus@switch:~$ sudo systemctl restart rsyslog.service
   

4. Continue with NetQ Agent configuration in the next section.

Configure the NetQ Agent on a Cumulus Linux Switch

After the NetQ Agents have been installed on the switches you want to monitor, the NetQ Agents must be configured to obtain useful and relevant data.

Two methods are available for configuring a NetQ Agent:

• Edit the configuration file on the switch, or
• Use the NetQ CLI

Configure NetQ Agents Using a Configuration File

You can configure the NetQ Agent in the netq.yml configuration file contained in the /etc/netq/ directory.

1. Open the netq.yml file using your text editor of choice. For example:

   cumulus@switch:~$ sudo nano /etc/netq/netq.yml
   

2. Locate the netq-agent section, or add it.

3. Set the parameters for the agent as follows:

   • port: 31980 (default configuration)
   • server: IP address of the NetQ Appliance or VM where the agent should send its collected data
   • vrf: default (or one that you specify)

   Your configuration should be similar to this:

   netq-agent:
       port: 31980
       server: 127.0.0.1
       vrf: mgmt
   

Configure NetQ Agents Using the NetQ CLI

If the CLI is configured, you can use it to configure the NetQ Agent to send telemetry data to the NetQ Appliance or VM. To configure the NetQ CLI, refer to Install and Configure the NetQ CLI on Cumulus Linux Switches.

Use the following command to configure the NetQ Agent:

netq config add agent server <text-opta-ip> [port <text-opta-port>] [vrf <text-vrf-name>]

This example uses an IP address of 192.168.1.254 and the default port and VRF for the NetQ Appliance or VM.

cumulus@switch:~$ sudo netq config add agent server 192.168.1.254
Updated agent server 192.168.1.254 vrf default. Please restart netq-agent (netq config restart agent).
cumulus@switch:~$ sudo netq config restart agent

Configure Advanced NetQ Agent Settings on a Cumulus Linux Switch

A couple of additional options are available for configuring the NetQ Agent. If you are using VRFs, you can configure the agent to communicate over a specific VRF. You can also configure the agent to use a particular port.

Configure the Agent to Use a VRF

By default, NetQ uses the default VRF for communication between the NetQ Appliance or VM and NetQ Agents. While optional, Cumulus strongly recommends that you configure NetQ Agents to communicate with the NetQ Appliance or VM only via a VRF, including a management VRF. To do so, you need to specify the VRF name when configuring the NetQ Agent. For example, if the management VRF is configured and you want the agent to communicate with the NetQ Appliance or VM over it, configure the agent like this:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo netq config add agent server 192.168.1.254 vrf mgmt
cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo netq config restart agent

Configure the Agent to Communicate over a Specific Port

By default, NetQ uses port 31980 for communication between the NetQ Appliance or VM and NetQ Agents. If you want the NetQ Agent to communicate with the NetQ Appliance or VM via a different port, you need to specify the port number when configuring the NetQ Agent, like this:

cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo netq config add agent server 192.168.1.254 port 7379
cumulus@leaf01:~$ sudo netq config restart agent