Running Tag Compliance Audits with the Audit and Compliance tool

Learn how to quickly run tags compliance audits across all of your Cisco Meraki networks.

Written by Boundless

Updated 3 years ago

Overview

Tags are a parameter which is easily subject to configuration drift.

You can begin with everything tagged correctly as you'd like it. However, over time changes can creep in which leave critical elements of your infrastructure either incorrectly tagged, or not tagged at all. In large organizations, this can lead to errors which are difficult to track down.

Boundless Tag Manager helps you maintain conformity throughout the organization and over time.

By using a Meraki API-based automation workflow, this tool allows you to easily audit, compare and adjust your tags. As a result, you can ensure that your tags never suffer from configuration drift.

Follow this article to learn more about how to use the Boundless Tag Manager tool.

Prerequisites

Initial setup
Before using the Boundless Audit and Compliance tools, you must have previously setup your Boundless account and synchronized the Boundless Platform with your Meraki organization.

Using Boundless Audit and Compliance Tag

To open the Tag Panel, go on the Network Management Dashboard and click on the Audit and Compliance section.

Then, select the Tag tool from the top bar. This will open the Tag panel.

If you want to access the Resources panel, click on the Resources tool.

1 | Tag Panel

On the Tag panel you can access the summary of all of the tags that exist within your organization.

The summary includes Network tags, Device tags, and Switch Port tags.

From this section you can add, edit and remove tags from your organization.

Note that if you have not yet created any tags, the summary will look empty.

Step 1 | Search a Tag

Use the search box to search for a specific tag. Alternatively, you can facilitate the search by filtering the search by resource.

This can be done through the Network, Device and Switch Port checkboxes.

Step 2 | Edit a Tag

If you want to edit and correct your tags, you can do this in two different ways.

Using the alert box
The Audit and Compliance Tag tool integrates a module that automatically recognizes and flags an alert when two or more tags have very similar names.

This module allows you to easily recognize when a tag has been improperly named.

When this happens, you can choose to make a change to the Tag using the Green Check. This will correct it globally throughout the entire system.

If, on the contrary, the tags are correct, you can just click on the Dismiss button to make the alert disappear.

As in Meraki, Boundless Tags are case sensitive. This means that the system will consider as different two tags with the same name but different cases.

As a result, the application will fire an alert on the Tag panel, which you can decide to correct or dismiss.

Correcting and replacing your tags
If you want to edit a specific tag across resources, simply tap on each tag and click on the rename button.

This will open an edit box where you can Add a new tag or Select an existing one.

Once this is done, click on Replace. This will automatically update the tag across your infrastructure.

Editing tags in bulks
If you want to edit multiple tags all at once, you just need to select the tags you want to edit and click on the Replace tags button placed on the top of the screen.

Step 3 | Remove a Tag

When a tag is no longer necessary, you can easily remove it using the Tag panel. There are 2 ways to do so:

Completely removing a tag
If you want to remove the tag from all resources on your network infrastructure, simply tap on the Trash icon that appears next to the tag, under the Action column.

After confirming the action, Boundless will automatically erase the tag throughout your infrastructure.
Selectively removing a tag
You can also remove your tag from a few resources only, without necessarily erasing it from the system.

To do so, click on the tag and use the cross button to selectively remove your tag from each of your networks.

Removing tags in bulks
If you want to delete multiple tags all at once, you just need to select the tags you want to remove and use the trash icon placed on the top of the screen.
Export your Tags
If you want to export your tag list, you can do so by clicking on the CSV button.

2 | Resources Panel

The Resources panel provides a summary of all the taggable resources throughout your organization.

From the panel, you can add, edit and remove tags from each of your Networks, Devices and Switch ports.

Note that if you have not yet created any tags, the summary will look empty.

Search a Resource
Use the search box to search for a specific resource.

Alternatively, you can facilitate the research by filtering the research per resource. This can be done through the Network, Device and Switch Port checkboxes.
Add or remove a tag
You can use the bulk tools on the top of the screen to add or remove tags to a large number of resources, all at once.

You can also go to each resource and manually remove specific tags, using the cross icon.

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