Smart Net Total Care File Import Capability

Cisco Smart Net Total Care File Import Application Note
Cisco Smart Net Total Care File Import Capability
This documentation provides an overview of the file import capability in Cisco® Smart
Net Total Care. This document provides information that can help customers
understand and use file import.
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This document is Cisco Public Information.
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FILE IMPORT OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................................ 3
USING FILE IMPORT ....................................................................................................................................... 3
PREREQUISITES .................................................................................................................................................... 3
CREATING THE CSV FILE ........................................................................................................................................ 3
WHERE TO GET THE INFORMATION FOR MANDATORY FIELDS ......................................................................................... 5
IMPORTING DEVICES ............................................................................................................................................. 6
VIEWING IMPORT STATUS ...................................................................................................................................... 7
VIEWING REPORTS FOR THE IMPORTED DEVICES ......................................................................................................... 8
CREATING THE DELTA REPORT FOR IMPORTED DEVICES.............................................................................................. 10
REMOVING IMPORTED DEVICES............................................................................................................................. 10
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ................................................................................................................. 11
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ............................................................................................................................. 12
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File Import Overview
The file Import capability provides Smart Net Total Care customers with the ability to import devices through a CSV
file uploaded from the portal. Customers will see the CSV imported data along with the collected data in the portal
reports.
This feature is designed to supplement the collected inventory. It gives the customer the opportunity to add devices
which are in the customer’s network but cannot be collected for various reasons such as secure devices behind a
firewall which are not accessible by the collector or local spare devices not powered-on or not connected to the
network.
Using File Import
Prerequisites
The prerequisites for using the file import feature are:

There must be a registered Entitled Company (EC).

There must be at least one collected inventory processed successfully for the EC for which the customer
wants to import device information.

The user must select the specific inventory and EC for the import.

Only the Smart Net Total Care customer administrator can import the CSV file through the portal. However,
all users will be able to see the imported devices and imported details in the portal and offline reports.
Creating the CSV File
The first step is to create a CSV file that conforms to the required format:
To create the CSV file:
1.
Login to the portal and select Dashboard -> Inventory Processing -> Import. The import devices window
appears.
2.
Select Download Sample CSV File to download the sample CSV file.
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3.
Fill in the data for the parameters contained in the sample CSV. Data must be provided in the same order
with the headers presented in the sample CSV.
4.
Save the information as a CSV file.
The parameters contained in the sample CSV file and the maximum character limit for each parameter are listed in
Table 1.
CSV Parameter
Host Name
Max Character Limit
Mandatory/Optional
255 Char (including spaces)
Purpose
Mandatory
Used for chassis and card
association
IP Address
64 Char (including spaces)
Mandatory
Used for chassis and card
association.
Used by Delta report to identify
IP changes
Serial Number
50 Char (including spaces)
Mandatory
Used for contract validation
Product ID
255 Char (including spaces)
Mandatory
Used for contract validation
MAC Address
(for IP phones)
50 Char (including spaces)
Optional
(required for IP
phones to be
categorized as
“Phone”)
Used to obtain serial number for
IP phones
SNMP Location
255 Char (including spaces)
Optional
Used for inventory report to
populate “SNMP Location” field
OS Type
50 Char (including spaces)
Optional
(required for PSIRT
alert and software
alert report)
50 Char (including spaces)
Optional
(required for
software alert
report)
OS Version
Used for PSIRT alert and
software alert report
Used for software alert report
Table 1 – CSV file import format
The following is an example of how the file might look when populated with device information.
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Note:

The file import CSV serves as the basis for the complete list of imported devices. Devices listed in the file
must be maintained in the file for subsequent file-import transactions. Any omitted device will be removed
from the inventory.

If the parameter value contains a comma (,) insert a forward slash (/) before the comma. For example, if the
parameter value is 12.2(33), fc2 enter the parameter as 12.2(33)/, fc2

The CSV file name should be meaningful to assist the customer with tracking and versioning of the imported
information.
Where to get the information for mandatory fields
The best way to get the information is from an asset management system or configuration management data base
(CMDB) that contains the serial number and model number for the devices. For Cisco devices, the product ID (PID) is
usually the equivalent of the model number. If the company uses an asset management system or CMDB, they may
be able to export the data from that system to reduce some manual data entry activity. However, if they do not have
these systems, they can get the information from sales records that have serial number and PID. Other options
include leveraging SNMP or CLI commands to obtain the information if the device is online. Table 2 lists the OID that
can used to run a MIB walk to obtain IP, hostname, serial number, and PID for many IOS platforms. The customer
can also leverage IOS commands such as “show inventory” to obtain the serial number and PID. If the information
cannot be obtained from the above options, the customer will have to physically inspect the label. In this situation,
they should make sure to identify the right labels for serial number and PID. For cards, they will have to open the unit
to locate the labels.
CSV Parameter
Object Name
OID
Host Name
hostName
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.2.1.3
IP Address
IpAdEntAddr
1.3.6.1.2.1.4.20.1.1
Serial Number
entPhysicalSerialNum
1.3.6.1.2.1.47.1.1.1.1.11
Product ID
entPhysicalModelName
1.3.6.1.2.1.47.1.1.1.1.13
Table 2 – OID Table
If the devices are "spares" or are not powered on, follow the tips below:

Create a hostname to fill in those fields that would be useful for tracking. The customer should follow a
naming convention they are already using, and append something such as –spare1, –spare2.

Create an IP address that is not currently in use. The IP address does not need to be routable. The
customer can also keep the IP address the same as the hostname just to complete the field.

While creating the hostname and IP address, it is important to ensure:

A Chassis and its associated cards have the same IP/hostname so they can be correlated in the reports

Each chassis has a unique IP address so that it can be tracked in the Delta report.
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
Serial Number and PID can be obtained from:

An asset management system that contains serial number and model number/PID.

Sales records that have serial number and model number/PID.

The Serial Number Information Finder (SNIF) tool to obtain the PID if the serial number is already
known and you have access to the Cisco Service Contract Center (CSCC).

Physical labels on the device.
Importing Devices
Once the CSV file has been created, the customer needs to import it through the Smart Net Total Care portal.
To import the CSV file:

Login to Smart Net Total Care portal, and select Dashboard -> Inventory Processing -> Import

The import device window appears, select the Entitled Company and Inventory
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
Click Browse and select the CSV file created previously

Click Submit
Note:

Concurrent CSV imports for the same EC and inventory are not allowed. Customers cannot perform multiple
imports from different browsers at the same time for the same entitled company and Inventory. Only the first
import will be accepted and for the other import attempts, the portal will display an error message.
Concurrent file imports will work for the same entitled company but a different inventory.

If a device imported through file import is already part of collection for the same entitled company and
inventory, reports will show the collected device information only. Imported device information will not be
displayed.
Viewing Import Status
Import status can be viewed by clicking Dashboard -> Inventory Processing -> Status. After the status shows
“Success”, the customer can start reviewing the reports for imported devices.
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Note:
The file imports go into the same queue as collector uploads thus the timing for completion can vary.
Viewing Reports for the Imported Devices
Imported devices will have an Appliance ID value of “Imported” in the reports. Customers can filter the imported
devices based on appliance ID filter for different reports including offline reports. To filter the imported devices, select
Reports -> Inventory -> IP Address View -> Filter. Enter ‘Import’ in the Appliance ID field. The appliance ID filter
supports wildcard search and is not case sensitive. For example, you can also enter “imp” or “ImPor*” to find all the
imported devices. Customers can save their filter results by exporting the information as a PDF or XLS file. The
exported report will show up in My Reports and will be available for download for up to 72 hours.
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Note:

The Protocol access, and Exception reports will not be provided for the imported devices.

In the Device Inventory Details page, Hardware/software details, Configuration details, and Exception details
will not be displayed for imported devices.
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Creating the Delta Report for Imported Devices
Delta reports for imported devices will work the same way as for collected devices. Any added or deleted devices will
show up in the Delta report based on two imported snap shots.
To generate a Delta report between two imported snap shots, go to Delta Report -> Inventory Delta Report ->
Manual -> Appliance (Imported), select dates and click Submit
Removing Imported Devices
If a customer imports another file for the same EC and inventory, the new import will overwrite the previous imported
devices. The latest import data will show up on all the reports. Since a blank CSV file cannot be imported, the
customer should include one entry in the CSV that is also in the normal collection to completely remove the imported
devices. This unique device will end up in the Insight reports. Customers should consider carefully before importing
devices, because it may be complicated to remove the information later..
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Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why does the CSV file get rejected during the import process?
A: The import file will be rejected at the time of import if any of the following criteria is not met. Check the error
message displayed in the portal to resolve file format issues.
•
The number, name, or order of the headers is not the same as presented in the sample file
•
File name extension is not .CSV
•
The mandatory parameters are missing for one or more lines
•
The maximum character limit for any parameter is exceeded for one or more lines
•
The maximum limit of imported rows, which is 50,000, is exceeded
•
A completely blank file (no data; only headers) has been entered
Q: Can the import file contain some rows with mandatory fields only and some other rows with mandatory
and optional fields within the same CSV file?
A: Yes.
Q: What will happen during the file import if not all the fields are populated?
A: There are four mandatory fields: Hostname, IP Address, Serial Number, and Product ID. If mandatory fields are
missing for one or more lines, the file will be rejected with an error message indicating which line or lines had an
error. Only first 100 error lines will be shown in the error message.
Q: Can I import non-Cisco devices?
A: No. Third-party devices should not be imported
Q: Can I import files into separate inventories?
A: Yes. You can import files into separate inventories as long as at least one collection has taken place and the
inventories exist.
Q: What is the tolerance for typos in the import file? What if the OS-type is entered incorrectly?
A: The four mandatory fields and the field length for all entries are checked. If the OS-type was not entered
correctly, the alerts matching will be impacted. For all other fields, the reports will display whatever text was
entered.
Q: When the customer creates and uploads the file, will the imported information be validated?
A: Yes. The serial number and PID for the imported device will be checked by the validation service, just like the
collected devices. Hostname and IP address are not validated.
Q: What happens if the PID is entered incorrectly?
A: The serial number and PID will be checked by the validation service just like the collected devices. If the serial
number and PID cannot be validated, the item will be displayed in the Insight reports.
Q: Can the file import capability be used instead of collection and upload?
A: No. The file import capability is designed to supplement the standard Smart Net Total Care collection process. It
is not designed to replace the collector upload.
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Additional Resources
Refer to these resources for additional details about the Smart Net Total Care file import capability and Insight
reports:
Customer eLearning
User Guide
Printed in USA
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