When investigating device performance issues, logging in and running CLI commands to understand what’s happening is cumbersome, error-prone, and hindered by knowledge gaps.
The Command Access feature empowers Kentik’s AI Advisor to identify, execute, and analyze the results of read-only show commands in response to user prompts. This provides immediate, pre-analyzed diagnostic context, often without needing to know CLI syntax.
IMPORTANT: Ensure your environment meets the Prerequisites (including Universal Agent deployment and TCP/22 reachability) before attempting to configure device synchronization.
Setup: Device Diagnostics Commands
To establish the secure tunnel required for Kentik to interact with the device CLI, navigate to the SSH tab in Device Settings in the Kentik portal.
Enable SSH command access: Toggle this On to establish the main connection.
Credential: Select your pre-configured SSH key or password.
Collection Agent: Select the agent with network reachability to the device.
Device Platform: Recommended setting is Autodetect to ensure correct syntax usage.
SSH Hostname (or IP): The Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) or IP address the agent will use to connect.
Enable Read-Only Diagnostic Commands: Toggle this On to empower AI Advisor to securely run
showcommands (e.g.,show ip bgp summary) for immediate context.Note: Results are not shared between users.
TIP: If the connection fails initially, verify that the Universal Agent has accepted the device's SSH host key or that your firewall isn't blocking the initial handshake on TCP/22.
Example Prompts for AI Advisor
Routing: "Check the BGP summary on [Device Name] and tell me if any peers are currently down."
Interfaces: "Show me the interface counters for
eth0on [Device Name] and highlight any recent input errors."Troubleshooting: "Run a routing table check for [IP Address] on [Device Name] and explain the next hop."
Security: "Review the current active SSH sessions on [Device Name] and list the connected IP addresses."