Equinix-Configured to Self-Configured Migration Guide for Cisco CSR 1000V

Effective February 28, 2023, Equinix-configured (EC) Network Edge devices are no longer available for renewal or purchase. All new Network Edge devices globally are offered as Self-Configured (customer managed) device type.

Equinix will end support of Network Edge Equinix-Configured device types on June 30, 2024 and all users are advised to migrate to Self-Configured (SC) device type prior to the end-of-support.

Cisco also announced its end of sales for Cisco Cloud Services Router 1000V license on December 16, 2022. The replacement product is Cisco Catalyst 8000V. All users are urged to migrate their CSR 1000V to Self-Configured Catalyst 8000V router.

The table below provides guidance and key dates for the Equinix-Configured Device End-of-Life process.

Key Milestones	Date	Note
End of Sales Equinix-Configured Device Announcement	December 16, 2023	Equinix-Configured device type option removed for any new customers on the Network Edge Portal
Cisco CSR 1000V End-of-Sale	December 16, 2023	EOL Announcement
End-of-Sale for Equinix-Configured Device (for existing customers)	February 28, 2023	Equinix-Configured Device type removed for all customers on the Network Edge Portal
License term before end of June 30, 2024, renewal to month-to-month license	June 30, 2023, to June 30, 2024	If the remaining term of subscription for Equinix-Configured device is due for renewal, users have the option to migrate to month-to-month term. If not renewed, devices become inaccessible after the end of June 2024, then eventually shutdown (not deleted) after grace periods.
End of Life / Support for Equinix-Configured Device (Month-to-Month subscription license only)	June 30, 2024	All Equinix-Configured devices with month-to-month term are required to migrate to Self-Configured. Any devices that are not migrated will become non-accessible for users after the end of June 2024, then eventually shutdown (not deleted) after grace periods.
End of Life / Support for Equinix-Configured Device (license term ending after June 30, 2024)	After June 30, 2024 (For example, license term is ending February 2025)	Upon renewal, Equinix-Configured device must be migrated to Self-Configured device type. Any devices that are not migrated will become non-accessible for users after the end of June 2024, then eventually shutdown (not deleted) after grace periods.

Understanding Migration Options

The migration process you follow depends upon the device type of your current device. The following table summarizes the available migration options.

Cisco CSR1000V Equinix-Configured Device to Cisco Catalyst 8000V Self-Configured Migration

Device Type	Existing License Type	Post-Migration Device Type	Migration Process
Cisco CSR 1000V Equinix-Configured	BYOL	Cisco Catalyst 8000V BYOL (Self-Configured)	The Self-Guided migration workflow available in Equinix Fabric. You are required to obtain support contracts with device vendors.
	Subscription	Cisco Catalyst 8000V BYOL (Self-Configured)	Manual migration workflow documented in this topic.You are required to obtain support contracts with device vendors.
	Subscription	Cisco Catalyst 8000V Subscription (Self-Configured)	The license subscription option for Catalyst 8000V autonomous mode is available.

Obtaining Your Own Catalyst 8000V License (BYOL)

Cisco CSR 1000V Equinix-Configured Devices with subscription licenses can be migrated to Catalyst 8000V Self-Configured Bring Your Own License (BYOL) option. If BYOL the option is used, you are responsible for obtaining support contract with Cisco. Use the following information to obtain a Cisco DNA license before the migration process.

Catalyst 8000V DNA License Subscription from Equinix

Equinix offers a subscription option for Catalyst 8000V DNA license (Essential and Advantage along with HSEC – High Security License) for Network Edge customers. When this becomes available, you can select the subscription option. The license will be available for a month-to-month subscription, along with 12-, 24- and 36-months term-based license.

Understanding Migration

When migrating from Cisco CSR 1000V Equinix-Configured device to Catalyst 8000V Self-Configured device, you need to understand the following key points.

Equinix-Configured and Self-Configured device environments are different. Some of the key configurations cannot be simply migrated due to environmental change. Key configuration differences include the following:

The Self-configured device type requires users to configure Catalyst 8000V device.
Migration is available for single devices only.
WAN interface IP Address range and its subnet available in the Self-configured device will be different from the one configured in the Equinix-configured device. This means that the user needs to change the WAN interface IP address (Global) when migrating from CSR1000V to Catalyst 8000V.
With the Catalyst 8000V subscription image, you can open Cisco TAC cases through Network Edge for IOX-XE software issues or configuration questions. Then you can work directly with Cisco TAC to resolve the issue without Equinix engagement.

High-Level Migration Flow

The high-level workflow of the CSR1000V Equinix-configured device to Catalyst 8000V self-configured device migration is as follows:

Plan your migration during maintenance hours to minimize any impact to your business.
Identify your CSR1000V Equinix-configured device in the Network Edge Inventory page.
Use the Backup feature from the Device Details to save and backup your CSR1000V configuration.
Use the Configuration Migration Tool to convert your existing CSR1000V Equinix-configured device configuration to the Catalyst 8000V self-configured device configuration.

Note: Most of the CSR1000V Equinix-configured configuration is compatible with Catalyst 8000V self-configured device configuration. However, this tool should remove any unnecessary portion of the configuration used for Equinix-configured device. It’s your responsibility to validate the converted configuration before using in the production environment.
Create a new instance of Cisco Catalyst 8000V Self-configured Autonomous mode router virtual device.

Important: When you use the migration tool to create a new Cisco Catalyst 8000V Self-configured device for migration from Equinix-configured CSR1000V, you receive a device and any new Virtual Connections, including Device Link Groups, associated with the new device for 30 days at no charge. Note that the new device will have a different Universal Unique Identifier (UUID) in a different order. Once your new Catalyst 8000V Self-configured device is operational, you are responsible for deleting the Equinix-configured device. Failure to delete the Equinix-configured device will result in billing for both devices after 30 days.
Configure your new Catalyst 8000V virtual device using the configuration from Step 4, or reconfigure Catalyst 8000V configuration based on your requirement.
If any Device Link Group is configured on CSR 1000V, then configure your new Catalyst 8000V to join the existing DLG. If you have multiple DLGs, repeat this step again.
If the Device is connected to a Virtual Connection, migrate your existing virtual connections using Self-Guided Migration tool available from the Equinix Fabric Portal. You might need to repeat the Virtual Connection Migration process for each VC connection as the self-migration tool supports only one virtual connection at a time. You can also create a new virtual connection and configure it to the newly created C8000V.

Note: Once the virtual connection is migrated from an old Equinix-configured device to a new Self-configured device, this virtual connection becomes unavailable on the old device, resulting in service downtime.

Back Up the Device Configuration of the Equinix-Configured Device

Sign in to Equinix Fabric.
From the Network Edge menu. select Virtual Device Inventory.
Select your Equinix-Configured Cisco CSR 1000V device.
In the Device Details, click Tools.
In the Backup Management card, click Create a Backup.
In the Create a Live Backup prompt, enter a name for your configuration backup and click Start Live Backup.

You will be prompted that the live backup is processing. Refresh your browser after several minutes.
Click Manage and Restore from Backup to see your list of configuration backups. You can backup up to 30 configurations per Equinix-Configured device.
Click and select View Backup to review your Equinix-Configured device configuration in the browser. Download the entire configuration by clicking Download. You can also highlight portions of your configuration and copy & paste to a text file.

Restore your Equinix-Configured Device configuration by clicking Restore Device. If you click Delete Backup, this configuration backup will be deleted from the configuration inventory list.

Prepare Your Catalyst 8000V Configuration Based on Your CSR1000V Configuration

Use Network Edge portal page to automatically convert your Equinix-configured CSR1000V configuration and export as Catalyst 8000V configuration that can be used for the newly created Catalyst 8000V virtual device. You can also configure the newly created C8000V device manually without using the converted configuration.

Sign in to Equinix Fabric.
Select your Equinix-Configured Cisco CSR 1000V device.
In the Device Details, click Tools.
Click View Configuration Difference in the View Cisco Catalyst 8000V (Autonomous Mode) Configuration section.
In the Select a Cisco CSR 1000V Configuration Backup prompt, select the configuration backup created in the previous section. Make sure that the backup is selected and click Continue View Configuration Difference.
Click and select View Backup to review your configuration. After you confirm the configuration, click Continue View Configuration Difference.
The View Configuration Difference window displays with three tabs: Configuration Difference, CSR1000V, and Catalyst 8000V (Autonomous Mode). The Configuration Difference tab shows the difference in the configurations between CSR1000V and Catalyst 8000V (Autonomous Mode). Sections highlighted in red indicate parts removed from the original CSR1000V configuration. Users may append Catalyst 8000V (Autonomous Mode) configuration to the new Catalyst 8000V virtual device created for migration. Click Download to download those configurations as a text file.
To start the migration process from this screen, click Start Migration. The migration process will create a brand new Catalyst 8000V for your migration.
In the Apply Configuration Difference screen, you have the option to automatically apply your converted Catalyst 8000V configuration to the newly created Catalyst 8000V device, or configure your new device manually after a device is created. If you select to manually configure your new device, download your current configuration for your reference and acknowledge your download before proceeding. Select your option and click Start Migration.
Select your metro location to provision your new Catalyst 8000V device.
Select your Billing Account for creating the device.
Select Licensing type, Device Resources, Software Package, Software Version and Bandwidth Tier and any additional Network Edge services for the new Catalyst 8000V Self-configured device. See Create a Cisco Catalyst 8000V Device (Autonomous Mode) for more detail.
Confirm the new pricing for you device and review and accept your Order Terms.
Submit your order. Once your order is successfully submitted, your device will be listed in your Network Edge Device Inventory page.
Validate your configuration on the new Catalyst 8000V device if you selected to apply the converted configuration. Otherwise configure your new Catalyst 8000V device based on your new technical requirements.

Device Link Group Set Up

Once configuration conversion is completed, and a new modified configuration is applied to the Catalyst 8000V, re-establish existing connections to the new router. If your existing Cisco CSR 1000V has a Device Link Group setup to connect to other devices, connect your new Catalyst 8000V router by having it added to this Device Link Group.

See Create a Device Link Group for more information.

Virtual Connection Migration

You might have one or more virtual connections connected to your Cisco CSR1000V Equinix-configured virtual device. You can re-create those virtual connections with your newly created Catalyst 8000V Self-configured device leveraging free-of-charge Virtual Connections for 30 days to prepare your new setup. Once your new connections are operational along with your new device, you need to delete those old Virtual Connections with CSR1000V.

Equinix also offers self-guided Virtual Connection Migration Tool to help you migrate your existing Virtual Connection to the new device. Since the VC Migration Tool moves existing VC from old CSR1000Vs device to newly created Catalyst 8000V devices, this is not included as part of the 30 days free-of-charge Migration Program. See Migrate Virtual Connections Between Network Edge Devices for more information. If you have multiple virtual connections, you may need to repeat the process as a tool today supports only one virtual connection migration at a time.

Verify Your Device Migration

After your DLG and VC migrations are completed, log onto your new Catalyst 8000V virtual device and verify following to complete your migration.

Device Login (Web-console access from Portal)
Device name, UUID
Cisco Catalyst 8000V License registration
SSH Access to the WAN Interface
BGP Configuration and Connectivity
DLG Connectivity (If needed)
VC Connectivity (If needed)
Other router configurations and settings