Deviations

After you deploy a fabric intent, various circumstances may alter the node configurations from those expressed in your fabric intent's configuration files. The system continues to monitor all nodes in the fabric after deployment, and flags any configuration change from your last-deployed fabric design as a "deviation".

Deviations are highlighted in several places in the UI:

  • A node whose configuration includes at least one deviation is highlighted in orange on the fabric diagram.
  • A group that contains one or more nodes with deviations displays a status summary pie chart on the group icon; this chart is shaded orange in proportion to the number of nodes in the group that are subject to alerts, including deviations.
  • The status summary at the bottom of the Fabric Design view shows the number of deviations detected throughout the fabric.

  • Clicking the deviations display in the status summary opens the Alerts log, which lists individual deviations. Like any alert, you can double-click it to view additional details.

If you attempt to deploy a new version of a fabric intent when there are deviations in the currently-deployed version of that fabric, the system displays an error and prevents your deployment. The error message redirects you to the Alerts panel for fabric intent, where a list of deviations is displayed and you can accept or reject each deviation listed there.

Deviations that you accept are incorporated into the node configuration maintained by the Fabric Services System, and are automatically deployed to the node as a new version of the associated fabric intent.

Every deviation that you accept is also stored as a system-generated global configuration override. This ensures that the deviation-based configuration information is stored and managed in a manner consistent with other configuration exceptions that are created by the Fabric Services System user.

Viewing deviations

The Deviations () panel displays a list of all variations between the fabric's last deployed configuration and its current configuration.
Figure 1. Deviations panel

For each item in the Deviations panel, you can view more information. You can also use the panel to either accept or reject deviations.

To view deviations using the Deviations panel:

  1. Click on the right side of the fabric intents page.
  2. Optional: In the Filter drop-down list, select a filter type:
    • No Filter
    • Delete
    • Update
  3. Optional: In the Sort drop-down list, select one of the following sort methods:
    • No Sort
    • Ascending
    • Descending
  4. Optional: Click the More actions icon () to the right of any deviation and click Details to view more information about that particular deviation.

Accepting or rejecting deviations

After the system notifies you of deviations that have been configured on the nodes within a fabric, you have the option to either accept or reject the deviations.
  • If you accept the deviations, the system creates a new candidate version of the fabric intent that includes the affected node. The new candidate version includes an updated configuration that incorporates the deviation. The system automatically deploys the updated fabric intent.
  • If you reject the deviations, the system creates a new candidate version of the previous fabric intent and automatically deploys it, overwriting the deviation and restoring each node to its pre-deviation configuration.

You can only accept or reject deviations while a fabric intent has been fully deployed (indicated by the Deployment Done state).

You can only accept or reject a set of deviations one time for a candidate version of a fabric intent. If additional deviations arise before you have deployed the current version, and you attempt to accept or reject any or all of them, the system displays an error message indicating that you cannot do so because the current candidate version of the fabric intent is not in a Deployment Done state.

After you accept or reject the deviations for a fabric intent, the system automatically deploys the resulting new configuration of the fabric intent.

Note: The system does not handle any new deviations while deployment is in progress for previous deviations.

To accept or reject deviations to a deployed fabric intent:

  1. Open a fabric intent.
  2. Click the Deviations icon () to open the Deviations panel.
  3. Click the More actions icon () to the upper right of the Deviations panel, and select Accept/Reject from the displayed menu. The Accept/Reject Watches overlay displays.
  4. In the displayed list of deviations, select one or more deviations by checking the box to the left of each row. Select the deviations that you want to either accept or reject as a whole.
    Alternatively, you can click Accept All or Reject All to accept or reject the entire list of deviations.
  5. To accept the selected deviations:
    1. Click the Accept button at the bottom of the overlay. The system displays a confirmation form indicating that the selected items are accepted, and all other items in the list are rejected by implication.
    2. Click OK to confirm the action. The confirmation form closes.
    3. Click the at the upper right of the overlay to return to the Design view. Note that the system creates a new candidate version of the fabric intent design.
  6. To reject the selected deviations:
    1. Click the Reject button at the bottom of the overlay. The system displays a confirmation form indicating that the selected items are rejected, and all other items in the list are accepted by implication.
    2. Click OK to confirm the action. The confirmation form closes.
    3. Click the at the upper right of the overlay to return to the Design view. Note that the system creates a new candidate version of the fabric intent.
After you accept or reject the deviations for a fabric intent, the system automatically deploys the resulting new configuration of the fabric intent.