Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is IOx?

IOx is Cisco’s implementation of “Fog Computing”. IOx enables hosting of applications and services developed by Cisco, it’s partners and third party developers in the network edge devices in a seamless fashion across diverse and disparate hardware platforms.

What are its components?

Refer to the High Level Architecture.

What devices run IOx?

Find up to date information at Platform Support Matrix

How do I build IOx applications?

Good - the question we have been waiting for! Jump into our quickstart page to get started.

Most importantly familiarize yourself with application development concepts

How do I get access to an IOx enabled environment?

Consult the Platform Support Matrix. You can also use the IOx Devnet Sandbox.

What kind of applications can I build with IOx?

IOx supports different application types aimed to solve variety of use cases. Head over to the Application Types page to learn more about different types of applications supported and when to use them.

How do I manage my applications?

IOx supports different management tools.

  • ioxclient - Command line tool to assist developers for quick and iterative development.
  • Local Manager - Embedded Web UI hosted by CAF geared towards single node management.
  • Fog Director - Manage IOx nodes at scale.

What are iox and ioxclient utilities? When do I use what?

  • iox: iox is a CLI tool that provides commands to make use of IOx SDK functionality. Whenever you want to use IOx SDK to build applications, you will be using iox util and its commands.

  • ioxclient: ioxclient is a CLI based management tool that helps developers to interact with Cisco's IOx platforms to rapidly and iteratively develop applications. It interacts with the software (CAF) running in IOx platforms via well defined REST APIs. It aims to increase developer productivity by providing easy to use, scriptable CLIs, without having to use GUI based management tools such as Local Manager or Fog Director.

IOx seems to have many management tools. Which one should I use?

IOx provides the flexibility of choosing the right tool for the right task.

  • Local Manager: A web based GUI hosted by CAF. It provides easy to use UI for managing a single node.
  • Fog Director: If you are looking to manage hunderds of IOx nodes in your network, Fog Director is the right tool to use.
  • ioxclient: CLI based tool targeted towards application developers to help quickly and iteratively develop applications without having to use a UI. Also, ioxclient provides raw responses so that it can be used in scripts for easy automation.

How many applications can I run on my IOx device?

This is purely a function of the available resources on the device vis-a-vis your application resource requirements. IOx framework as such doesn't impose a limit on the number of applications that can run on a device.

How much storage is available for my applications?

This depends on the available storage on the device. Even if storage is available, please note that they are subjected to flash wear. Learn how to safeguard against flash wear and manage persistent storage.

How will my app get network connectivity?

Review Application Networking

What configurations are needed to enable IOx on a device?

The configurations required are specific to each device. Refer to the configuration guides section.

Err.. Something doesn't seem to be quite right..

Head over to the Troubleshooting section.

How do I get access to IOx images and tools?

Refer to the Downloads.

How do I get in touch with Support team?

Contact Devnet support and we will do our best to help.

Does IOX client support Docker Engine Version 25.x.x

As of now only Docker Engine 24.x.x is supported with IOX client.