Provider Connectivity Assurance Solution Release 24.09

Platform

The Provider Connectivity Assurance solution runs three categories of services centrally on what we refer to as the platform.

• Analytics
• Sensor Management
• Streaming

The 24.09 release introduces the following core platform features and enhancements:

• Renaming to Provider Connectivity Assurance from Accedian Skylight
• Platform installation improvements to reduce environmental pre-requisites
• Migration to Cisco Trusted Root Store for alignment on security best practices

Analytics

We've added the following analytics specific features:

• Crosstab support for multiple directions in a single dashboard widget!
• Cisco Telemetry Ingestion implementation has been refined to provide an easier onboarding experience
• Sensor Collector Support File can be generated via API to help with troubleshooting Roadrunner (now renamed to Sensor Collector) health
• New dashboard report email format with option to unsubscribe
• Metric forecasting to get a sense of what might happen up to 14 days in the future (Limited Availability)

Sensor Management

We've added the following sensor management specific features:

• Collector Configuration has been migrated to the sensor management page
• Sensor Control and SFP session management over RESTConf for integration into orchestration workflows
• Provisioning of session metadata over RESTConf
• Session notifications for Threshold Cross Alerts over RESTConf
• New Network Service Orchestrator NED for TWAMP and SAT session management across Sensor agents, and Sensor control/SFPs
• Expanding Crosswork Network Controller integration with new RESTConf capabilities and improving user experience

Streaming

There have been no new improvements to data streaming this release.

See the full release notes.

Legacy orchestrator (formerly Skylight orchestrator)

The Legacy orchestrator introduces the following features and enhancements in its 24.09 release:

• 125K performance session introduction enables customers to manage all of their embedded sensor test sessions from a single location
• Process to merge performance sessions from an orchestrator source to an orchestrator destination to take advantage of the new larger profile
• Updated the UI to align with Cisco branding
• Upgrade to Ubuntu 22.04 and Red Hat 9 as base operating system
• Support for latest embedded sensor releases including Assurance Sensor GT, LT, and LX release 24.07, Assurance Sensor F100 and F25 release 24.08, and Assurance Sensor Control release 24.09.
• Support for Cisco branded SFPs
• Support for Assurance Sensor F100 and F25's updated alarm management system
• Managed object inventory enhancements for Assurance Sensor Control
• Assurance Sensor Control IPv6 SAT support
• Persistence of user column settings in inventory view preventing them from reverting to the default state and requiring modification on every login.
• UDP source port auto assignment on session creation
• Optimized port selection when creating SAT configurations by filtering out Sensor Control local and NFV ports

Full release notes will be available at GA time.

Sensor agents

Sensor agents 24.09 focused on the following:

• Updated security including a new version of Alpine
• Agent actuate now supports separate reflector settings per namespace
• Support for different certificate policies to align with Cisco security standards

See the full release notes.

Sensor capture

Skylight sensor: capture 24.05 introduces the following features and enhancements:

• Added support for HTTPs proxy for more deployment flexibility
• New deployment profile for use cases involving as little as 100k flow analysis per minute

See the full release notes.

Skylight Interceptor

Cisco has released an End of Life statement for Skylight Interceptor. There have been no new additions to the portfolio this release.