Introduction

This setup guide walks you through the process of “adopting” the Apstra Edge to enable Data Center Assurance (DCA), and enabling Flow Data. It then guides you through the process of spinning up the Apstra Edge Docker container.

Note:

This Edge setup guide is for Apstra version 5.0 and earlier. If you are using Apstra 5.1, you can install the Edge from within Apstra. For more information, see Apstra Edge Workflow.

The Apstra Edge is a hardware-agnostic virtual device that runs within a container in the data center. The Apstra Edge is a required component for enabling DCA and it's supported features, like Marvis Virtual Network Assistant for Data Center, Service Awareness, and Impact Analysis. For more information about the features of Juniper DCA, see the Release Notes: Data Center Assurance, and the Apstra User Guide.

The Edge functions like a proxy device in an Apstra-managed fabric. It receives DC network event and anomaly data from Apstra and Apstra Flow Server, and forwards that data to Data Center Assurance. Data Center Assurance analyzes and visualizes the data, enabling root-cause analysis and a proactive response. The Edge is typically installed onto a Apstra server. However, you can also install it onto a different Linux host that has reachability to both the Apstra Server and Juniper DCA.

Apstra Flow Data, installed on an Apstra Flow VM, collects and analyzes DC network flow traffic. Apstra Flow Data integrates seamlessly into your organization, providing visibility and highly granular insight into your network traffic.