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Managing VNFs on NFX Series Devices

Managing VNF States

By default, a VNF automatically starts when the VNF configuration is committed.

  • To disable autostart of a VNF when the VNF configuration is committed:
  • To manually start a VNF:
  • To stop a VNF:
  • To restart a VNF:
  • To access the console of an active VNF:
    Note:

    The request virtual-network-functions vnf-name console command is supported only for root login over ssh.

  • To access a VNF through SSH:
  • To access a VNF through Telnet:

Managing VNF MAC Addresses

VNF interfaces that are defined, either using the CLI or specified in an init-descriptor XML file, are assigned a globally unique and persistent MAC address. A common pool of 64 MAC addresses is used to assign MAC addresses to VNF interfaces. You can configure a MAC address other than what is available in the common pool, and this address will not be overwritten.

There are 160 MAC addresses for the network interfaces on the VNF. These MAC addresses are automatically allocated when a VNF is instantiated.

  • To configure a specific MAC address for a VNF interface:
  • To delete the MAC address configuration of a VNF interface:
Note:
  • To delete or modify the MAC address of a VNF interface, you must stop the VNF, make the necessary changes, and then restart the VNF.

  • The MAC address specified for a VNF interface can be either a system MAC address or a user-defined MAC address.

  • The MAC address specified from the system MAC address pool must be unique for the VNF interfaces.

Managing the MTU of a VNF Interface

The maximum transmission unit (MTU) is the largest data unit that can be forwarded without fragmentation. You can configure either 1500 bytes or 2048 bytes as the MTU size. The default MTU value is 1500 bytes, and the maximum MTU size for a VNF interface is 2048 bytes.

Note:

MTU configuration is supported only on VLAN interfaces.

  1. To configure the MTU on a VNF interface:
    Note:

    You must restart the VNF after configuring the MTU, if the VNF does not support hot-plugging functionality.

  2. To delete the MTU of a VNF interface:
    Note:

    After the MTU is deleted, the MTU of the VNF interface is reset to 1500 bytes.

Note:
  • The maximum number of VLAN interfaces on the OVS that are supported in the system is 25.

Accessing a VNF from the JCP

You can access a VNF from the JCP through SSH or by using the console.

To access a VNF from the JCP through SSH:

user@host> request virtual-network-functions vnf-name ssh

To access a VNF from the JCP by using the console:

user@host> request virtual-network-functions vnf-name console

Viewing the List of VNFs

To view the list of VNFs:

The Liveliness field of a VNF indicates whether the IP address of the VNF is reachable from the JCP. The default IP address of the liveliness bridge is 192.0.2.1/24.

Displaying the Details of a VNF

To display the details of a VNF:

Deleting a VNF

To delete a VNF:

Note:

The VNF image remains in the disk even after you delete a VNF.