Device families

Device Families allow you to group hardware models from the same vendor.

For example, under the vendor Cisco, distinct families like Cisco IOS and Cisco Nexus allow you to separate different operating systems or product lines.

List of families showing the specific models they contain.

Creation and management

Like vendors, Device Families are strictly manual definitions. Avalon does not create them automatically during discovery.

• Name: The display name of the family (e.g., Aruba OS CX).
• Device Models: This column lists the specific hardware SKUs (models) currently assigned to this family.

This hierarchy ensures that when you onboard a device, you can easily filter by Vendor > Family > Model.

Important: Binary compatibility

When defining a Device Family, you must ensure that all models within that family share the exact same Operating System binary file.

Avalon uses the Device Family to filter which images are eligible for an upgrade. If two models require different binary files, they must be placed in separate families.

Example: Cisco Catalyst 9000 Series

Although they are marketingly part of the same "Cat9k" series, the binaries differ technically:

• Catalyst 9200 / 9200L: Require a specific binary (e.g., cat9k_lite_iosxe...).
• Catalyst 9300 / 9400 / 9500: Share a common binary (e.g., cat9k_iosxe...).

Correct Avalon Implementation:

You should create two distinct families:

1. Cisco Cat 9200 (Contains models C9200-24P, C9200L-48P...)
2. Cisco Cat 9300-9600 (Contains models C9300-48U, C9500-40X...)

This ensures that you cannot accidentally push a "Lite" image to a core switch.