Overview

The MetaFabric 1.0 solution lab employed Junos Space along with Network Director (a Junos Space application) in the provisioning and testing of the solution. Specifically, Junos Space Release 13.1R1 was used along with Network Director 1.5 (with Virtual View application) for implementation and management of the network. Virtual machine (VM) orchestration was also controlled by the Junos Space implementation.

Junos Space is installed on a VM on the IBM 3750 standalone server and serves the out-of-band (OOB) management role in the data center topology. Two IBM 3750 servers are configured in a single ESX cluster for redundancy and fault tolerance. In case of one ESX node failure, the Junos Space VM can be moved to the other ESXi host using vMotion.

Network Director 1.5 includes support for the QFX3000-M system to provision and monitor the entire solution. Network Director Virtual View is enabled for orchestration to enable tracking of VM movement within the data center test topology.

Security Director is also a component of the management and orchestration of the data center solution. Security Director is an application installed on Junos Space. It is used to configure and operate the perimeter security elements of the solution.

Topology

Figure 1 illustrates the topology of the out-of-band (OOB) management network tested in the MetaFabric 1.0 lab.

Figure 1: The OOB Management Topology

Configuring Junos Space with Network Director

This section covers the configuration of the solution using Junos Space with Network Director.

1. Install Junos Space Release 13.1R1 (or later) into the VM environment. (In this test lab, this VM was hosted on the IBM standalone ESXi cluster.)
2. Download and install Network Director 1.5 onto Junos Space. This should automatically install as a Space application.
3. Configure the Network Devices to be managed with the proper SNMP community, trap groups, and NETCONF.
   set snmp community public authorization read-only set snmp community public clients 10.94.63.18/32set snmp community public clients 10.94.63.19/32set snmp trap-group space version v2set snmp trap-group space targets 10.94.63.19set system services netconf ssh
4. From the logical view of Network Director (Figure 2), select Discover Devices, and enter the IP address (or range) to enable device discovery. The IP addresses used in this lab were configured as the OOB management addresses on each network node.

   Figure 2: Select IP address, IP Range, IP-Subnet, or HostName

   
5. Select the virtual-view on the ND GUI and enter the IP address of the VMware vCenter and authentication details.

   Figure 3: Configure Virtual Network target

   

   ND will pull all the data from the vCenter to the virtual view to enable viewing of all provisioned virtual machines.

Configuring VM Orchestration in the Network Director 1.5 Virtual View

This section covers the configuration of VM Orchestration using Network Director 1.5 Virtual-View

1. Enable Orchestration in ND Virtual View. This must be enabled so that that VLAN and port changes performed by vMotion will be tracked and configured by Network Director on the physical network.

   Figure 4: Enable Orchestration Mode in Network Director

   

1. The following network-level configurations must be made prior to VM Orchestration activation in Network Director:
   • Configure EX/QFX ports in trunk mode.
   • Enable LLDP on the VMware Distributed Switch as well as on the QFX3000-M QFabric PODs.
   • ND will configure the groups config on all devices with the necessary VLANs once orchestration is enabled.
   • During a vMotion event, ND automatically assigns the new port to the VLAN on the destination switch.

Note: Orchestration is not supported on LAG interfaces configured toward servers on the access switches.

Network Director Provisioning

This section covers the configuration of network elements using Network Director.

1. Select Device common settings under Build > Logical View and configure the following parameters:
   1. Username and password
   2. Services: FTP,HTTP, and so on
   3. Login banner
   4. Logs
   5. STP
   6. DCBX/LLDP
   7. DNS server settings

   Figure 5: Configure Device Common Settings

   
2. Once the wizard is completed with all the parameters, the selected devices will be in Pending Deployment mode.

   Figure 6: Change in Pending Deployment

   
3. Once you are ready to commit the changes, click Deploy.

   Figure 7: Change in Pending Deployment

   

Configuring Class of Service Using Network Director

This section covers the configuration of class of service using Network Director.

1. Select CoS from the Profile and Configuration Management drop-down menu (found in Logical View) and click Add from the list of devices families. Then select the Data Center Switching device family.

   Figure 8: Select the Data Center Switching Device Family

   
2. Select Hierarchical Port Switching (ELS) for QFabric-QFX devices if you want to configure PFC/ETS CoS. The default CoS-Profile is displayed. Modify the default traffic settings parameters, if needed.

   Figure 9: Select the Profile "Hierarchal Port Switching (ELS)"

   
3. Enable the PFC code point and queue for NO-LOSS behavior. In this example, Queue 3 is chosen as the no-loss queue.

   Figure 10: Enable PFC Code-point and Queue for NO-LOSS Behavior

   
4. This CoS profile will be referenced while creating port configuration in the next steps.

   Figure 11: COS Profile Deployed

   

Creating VLANs Using Network Director

This section covers the creation and installation of VLANs using Network Director.

1. Select a VLAN and enter the VLAN-ID and VLAN-Name (ND-Test-VLAN in this example).

   Figure 12: Create VLAN-ID and VLAN Name

   
2. Click Next to go to Advanced Settings and configure Layer 2 filters and MAC address move limits.

   Figure 13: Configure Layer 2 Filters and MAC Move Limit

   
3. Click Done to create the VLAN Profile ND-Test1.

   Figure 14: VLAN Profile ND-Test1Created

   

Setting Up QFabric Using Network Director

This section covers the configuration of a QFabric system using Network Director.

1. In Network Director, navigate to Build Mode> Device Management. Select Setup QFabric.

   Figure 15: Select Setup QFabric

   
2. Configure aliases for the node and interconnect devices by clicking the default aliases shown in the GUI as NODE-1 and NODE-2.

   Figure 16: Configure Device Aliases

   
3. Configure node devices in a redundant server node group (RSNG), using the aliases configured in Step 2 (NODE-1 and NODE-2).

   Figure 17: Configure Node Group Type RNSG

   

Setting Up QFabric Using Network Director – Ports and VLAN

This section covers the configuration of QFabric ports and VLANs using Network Director.

1. Click Port to manage the port profile and select Data Center Switching Non ELS.

   Figure 18: Configure Center Switching Non ELS

   
2. Configure the following parameters:
   1. VLAN name.
   2. Service type (select server port if the port will be connected to a server).
   3. Family type (select “switching” and “trunk”).
   4. Add VLAN and select the profile ND-test1.

   Figure 19: Configure VLAN Service, Port, CoS, and so on

   
3. Click Done to create the port profile.

   Figure 20: Port Profile Created (NDTestport)

   
4. Assign the port profile to the physical interface. Click Assign to list the available ports.

   Figure 21: Assign Port Profile to Available Port

   
5. Select vdc-pod1-sw1 (QFabric QFX3000-M) and select RSNG2 to select the port connection.

   Figure 22: Assign Port Profile

   
6. Click Assign to assign the physical port.

   Figure 23: Click Assign

   
7. The physical port is now added to the port profiles (assignments) list.

   Figure 24: New Physical Port Added to Port Profile List

   
8. The port profile is created successfully for vdc-core-sw1.

   Figure 25: Port Profile Created Successfully

   
9. Deploy the port profile to the vdc-core-sw1. Go to Deploy Mode and check pending configuration deployments.

   Figure 26: Check to Confirm Port Profile Is Pending

   
10. Deploy the changes to the device using the Deploy Now option.

    Figure 27: Select Deploy Now

    

Setting Up a QFabric System Using Network Director – Create Link Aggregation Groups

This section covers the configuration of LAGs by using Network Director.

Note: MC-LAG is only supported for QFX standalone systems. (This feature was not supported in the MetaFabric 1.0 test bed.)

1. Select Build > Device Management > Manage Port Groups. Select Add new port group.

   Figure 28: Add New Port Group

   
2. Select a device from the left pane, then click Select Devices to select the LAG member links.

   Figure 29: Select Devices to Add as LAG Member Links

   

   Selected links are shown below, which will belong to a LAG (port group).

   Figure 30: Links Selected to Be LAG Member Links

   

Network Director – Downloading and Upgrading Software Images

This section covers software and image management using Network Director.

1. Select Deploy > Image Management > .

   Figure 31: Network Director Image Repository

   
2. Browse and select the image you would like to upload to the ND repository. Select Upload.

   Figure 32: Image Staging on Network Director

   
3. Deploy the downloaded image to the physical devices. Select one of the following three options:
   1. Staging only (Download to remote device but do not install)
   2. Upgrade only (Install previously staged image to device)
   3. Staging and Upgrade (Download and install image)

   Figure 33: Stage Image to Device for Install or for Later Installation

   
4. Click “Next” to select the devices for the upgrade and select the downloaded image per device family

   Figure 34: Select Image to Stage to Remote Device

   

Network Director – Monitoring the QFabric System

This section covers software and image management using Network Director.

1. Select Monitor > Select Devices > vdc-pod1-sw1. This opens up the dashboard to enable viewing of the QFabric System status.

   Figure 35: Device Dashboard

   
2. Select Traffic to see traffic statistics on the QFabric system.

   Figure 36: QFabric Traffic Statistics

   
3. Select Equipment to enable viewing of CPU and memory utilization.

   Figure 37: Hardware Dashboard

   
4. Click Run Fabric Analyzer (in the right pane) to get the fabric internal link status.

   Figure 38: Confirmation of Run Fabric Analyzer Operation