Install Orb on Cisco IOx

Difficulty: Advanced
Contents
Warning

This documentation is in beta and intended for advanced users. If you encounter issues or have questions, please reach out to [email protected] or join our Discord community.

Introduction

This guide covers installing the Orb sensor on Cisco devices that support IOx Application Hosting. IOx enables you to run containerized applications directly on Cisco infrastructure, making it ideal for deploying network monitoring sensors at the edge.

With Orb running on your Cisco IOx devices, you can:

  • Monitor network responsiveness and reliability from switches, routers, access points, and IoT gateways.
  • Deploy sensors at the network edge without additional hardware.
  • Track connectivity issues from the perspective of your Cisco infrastructure.
  • Receive push notifications when your devices experience network problems.

Compatibility

Orb on Cisco IOx requires devices running IOS XE with IOx support. The following device families are supported:

Catalyst Access Points (ARM64)

Device Architecture Notes
C9105AXI/W aarch64 Requires Catalyst Center or ioxclient
C9115AX aarch64 Requires Catalyst Center or ioxclient
C9117AX aarch64 Requires Catalyst Center or ioxclient
C9120AX aarch64 Requires Catalyst Center or ioxclient
C9130AX aarch64 Requires Catalyst Center or ioxclient
C9124AX aarch64 Requires Catalyst Center or ioxclient
C9136I aarch64 Requires Catalyst Center or ioxclient
C9162I aarch64 Requires Catalyst Center or ioxclient
C9164I aarch64 Requires Catalyst Center or ioxclient
C9166I/D1 aarch64 Requires Catalyst Center or ioxclient

Catalyst Switches (x86_64)

Device Architecture Notes
Catalyst 9300/9300-X x86_64 IOx Local Manager supported
Catalyst 9400 x86_64 IOx Local Manager supported
Catalyst 9500H x86_64 IOx Local Manager supported
Catalyst 9600 x86_64 IOx Local Manager supported

Industrial Routers and IoT Gateways

Device Architecture Notes
IR1101 aarch64 IOx Local Manager supported
IR1821/IR1831/IR1833 aarch64 IOx Local Manager supported
IR1835 aarch64 IOx Local Manager supported
IR8140 aarch64 IOx Local Manager supported
IR8340 x86_64 IOx Local Manager supported
IE3300/IE3400 aarch64 IOx Local Manager supported
IE9300 aarch64 IOx Local Manager supported

ISR Routers (x86_64)

Device Architecture Notes
ISR 4331 x86_64 IOx Local Manager supported
ISR 4351 x86_64 IOx Local Manager supported
ISR 4451 x86_64 IOx Local Manager supported
Note

For the complete and current platform support matrix, see Cisco's IOx Platform Support Matrix.

Installation Methods

Choose the installation method that best fits your environment:

Method Best For Guide
ioxclient Catalyst 9000 APs, developers, CLI workflows Recommended for AP deployments
IOx Local Manager Switches, routers, single-device deployments Web-based GUI
Catalyst Center Large-scale AP deployments, enterprise networks Centralized management

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

  • A compatible Cisco device with IOx support enabled
  • IOS XE 17.3.1 or later (for APs) or IOS XE 16.12.1 or later (for switches/routers)
  • Network connectivity from the device to the internet
  • An Orb account with a deployment token

Environment Variables

All installation methods require setting these environment variables in your package configuration:

Variable Required Description
ORB_DEPLOYMENT_TOKEN Yes Your Orb deployment token for automatic linking
ORB_EPHEMERAL_MODE Yes Set to 1 to prevent excessive flash writes
ORB_CONFIG_DIR Yes Set to /data for persistent storage
ORB_DATA_DIR Yes Set to /data for persistent storage
ORB_FIRSTHOP_DISABLED Optional Set to 1 to disable first-hop monitoring
ORB_BANDWIDTH_DISABLED Optional Set to 1 to disable bandwidth tests on constrained devices
Warning

Always enable ephemeral mode (ORB_EPHEMERAL_MODE=1) on Cisco IOx devices to minimize flash storage writes and extend device lifespan.

Additional Resources

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