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Getting Started
Quick Start

Quick Start Guide

Get Inishi running in under 10 minutes. This guide walks you through the essential setup to start managing your network devices.

Understanding the Architecture

Inishi uses a Site-First architecture where everything is organized around physical or logical locations:

                    YOUR ORGANIZATION
                           │
           ┌───────────────┼───────────────┐
           ▼               ▼               ▼
        ┌──────┐       ┌──────┐       ┌──────┐
        │ SITE │       │ SITE │       │ SITE │
        │ NYC  │       │ LA   │       │ EU   │
        └──┬───┘       └──┬───┘       └──┬───┘
           │              │              │
        ┌──▼───┐       ┌──▼───┐       ┌──▼───┐
        │AGENT │       │AGENT │       │AGENT │
        └──┬───┘       └──┬───┘       └──┬───┘
           │              │              │
    ┌──────┼──────┐       │         ┌────┼────┐
    ▼      ▼      ▼       ▼         ▼         ▼
 Router  Switch  FW    Router    Switch   Switch

Key Concepts

ConceptDescription
SiteA physical location, customer network, or logical grouping (e.g., "Main Office", "Customer ABC")
AgentA lightweight service running on-premises that communicates with your devices. Each site needs at least one agent.
DeviceA network device (router, switch, firewall) that the agent can manage

Quick Start (3 Steps)

Step 1: Create a Site

Sites are the foundation of Inishi. Create one for each location or customer you manage.

  1. Go to Sites in the sidebar
  2. Click Add Site
  3. Enter a name (e.g., "Main Office", "Customer ABC")
  4. Select an Agent to assign (or register one first — see Step 2)
  5. Click Add Site

Step 2: Register an Agent

Agents run on your network and communicate with devices on your behalf.

  1. Go to Agents in the sidebar
  2. Click How to Install for installation instructions
  3. Run the install command on a machine in your network:
docker run -d --network host ghcr.io/inishi-prod/agent:latest
  1. Copy the registration token shown in the agent logs
  2. Click Register Agent and paste the token
  3. Assign the agent to your site (if not done in Step 1)

The agent makes outbound-only connections to Inishi's cloud. No inbound firewall ports required.

Step 3: Add Devices

Now you're ready to add network devices to manage.

  1. Go to Devices in the sidebar
  2. Click Add Device
  3. Enter the device details:
    • IP Address: The device's management IP
    • Driver: The platform type (Cisco IOS, Juniper, etc.)
    • Site: Which site this device belongs to
  4. Add credentials (optional but recommended for testing)
  5. Click Add Device

Use the Discover button to automatically scan for devices on your network!

You're Ready!

Go to the Command Terminal and ask questions about your network in plain English:

  • "Show me the interfaces on all routers"
  • "What devices are in the NYC site?"
  • "Run show ip route on router-01"

Next Steps

IntroductionAgent Installation