Discover applications

This topic describes how to discover business applications and import them and their flows into AppViz.

Discover applications

This procedure describes how to discover applications automatically, either via AlgoSec Application Discovery or the Cisco Secure Workload server or alternatively how to import applications from file.

Note:
(1) In order to discover applications automatically, you must configure an Application Discovery server or a Cisco Secure Workload server in the AppViz Administration area.
(2) Cisco Secure Workload was formerly called Cisco Tetration.

For more details, see Discovery settings and Welcome to Application Discovery.

Do the following:

  1. In AppViz, click DISCOVERY from the navigation menu on the left, and then click:

    Application Discovery Discover applications and flows using a configured AlgoSec Application Discovery server.
    Cisco Secure Workload (Tetration) Discover applications and flows using a configured Cisco Secure Workload (Tetration) server.
    Import Flows from File

    Import flows from a prepared CSV file. This is especially helpful when exporting flows from AFA, where you can use the policy as stored in AFA to create the CSV file.

    Do the following:

    Click Select File to browse and select the file to import.

    AppViz displays a summary of the applications and flows found. If AppViz failed to import many lines, you may have a small at the end of the line. Click the small to expand the list fully.

    To continue with your import, click Next.

  2. AppViz starts pulling discovered applications from the selected source. When complete, results are displayed in a table with the following columns:

    Discovered applications The name of the business application discovered via Application Discovery or Secure Workload (Tetration).
    # of connections

    The number of connections found for the discovered application.
    AppViz applications

    The AppViz application mapped to the discovered application. The default AppViz application name is the name of the discovered application.

    • If an AppViz application already exists with the same name, any newly discovered flows are added to the existing AppViz application.
    • If no AppViz application is found with the same name, a new AppViz application is created.

    To edit the name assigned to the AppViz application by default, do the following:

    1. Click next to the AppViz application name.

    2. Either select another existing application from the dropdown list, or click to clear the current value and enter a new name.

      If you enter a new name, click Create new .... under the text box to confirm the name.

      For example:

    3. Click the to save your changes.

  3. Click Next to continue.

    AppViz displays a summary of the applications and flows that AppViz will import or create.

    A list of flows is collapsed under each relevant AppViz application. Click the arrows ( and ) to expand or collapse the flows.

    Note: If your system is configured to optimize traffic flows, the flows are displayed after optimization. This means you'll have a lower count of flows than what AppViz originally detected. For more details, see Configure advanced settings.

    Tip: By default, all AppViz applications and flows are selected for import. Clear the checkbox next to each application or flow that you do not want AppViz to create at this time.

  4. Click Import. AppViz starts importing the selected applications and flows.

    When complete, AppViz displays the results of any applications imported successfully, partially, or if any applications failed. For example:

  5. Click Finish to return to the main Discovery page.

The new applications are listed in the APPLICATIONS area in AppViz, and will be synchronized with AFA as configured.

Export flows directly from AFA

This procedure describes how AFA users can export business application flows directly from the AFA Policy tab into AppViz.

For more details, see Devices, groups, and matrices.

Export Policy Rules from AFA: Watch to learn about exporting flows from AFA.

Do the following:

  1. In AFA, view the device, group, or matrix you want to export flows from.

  2. Click the Policy tab to display the associated rules, and select the rules you want to export into AppViz flows.

    • Use the filter to modify the rules displayed.
    • Selecting the checkbox in the header row selects all the rules on the page you are viewing only, and not all of the flows on all pages.

  3. At the top right, above the table, click Export to: AppViz.

    The Export to AppViz dialog is displayed.

  4. In the Export to AppViz dialog, do the following:

    Define your application

    Select whether to export the selected rules to an existing application, or to a new application.

    • If you select Existing Application, select the application from the dropdown list.
    • If you select New Application, enter the application name in the text box that appears.
    Export or download the flows

    Do one of the following:

    • Click Export to export the selected rules directly to AppViz as business flows.

      The flows are transferred to the specified application in AppViz, and a success message appears.

      To view the updated application, click Open application, and then click OK.

      For more details, see Rules that are not imported automatically.

    • Alternately, click Download CSV to download a file with the flow definitions. 

      When you're ready, import these into AppViz. For details, see Discover applications

The following types of rules are not imported automatically:

  • Disabled rules
  • Deny rules
  • Rules with drop actions
  • Rules that already exist in AppViz

If some of your selected rules cannot be imported, AFA provides a CSV to download containing the rule details.

Edit the CSV file if needed, and then use it to import the rules into AppViz manually. For details, see Update data via CSV files.