Before You Start

Prerequisites

Before you can automate workflows, streamline decision-making, and activate rulebooks, you need to make sure you have the following software installed and/or configured:

Required OpenShift Operators

The following operators must be installed and configured:

• Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform Operator

  • Provides Automation Controller and Event-Driven Ansible

  • Enables rulebook activation and job execution

    For step-by-step installation instructions, see Install Ansible Automation Platform on OpenShift.

• Kubernetes NMState Operator

  • Manages network interface configuration

  • Required for LLDP neighbor discovery

  • For more information, see Installation Guide.

• OpenShift SR-IOV Network Operator

  • Enables high-performance networking for workloads

  • For more information, see Installation Guide

• (Optional) OpenShift Virtualization

  • Required only if deploying virtual machines

  • Enables KubeVirt functionality

Infrastructure Requirements

• OpenShift Cluster

  • Master Nodes: Minimum three bare metal hosts

  • Worker Nodes: Minimum of three bare metal hosts

    • Each worker must have at least one SR-IOV-capable NIC (Intel E810 or XXV710)

    • Each worker needs a separate NIC for management and default Kubernetes networking

See https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.11/html/installing/installing-on-bare-metal for information on how to install an OpenShift Cluster on bare metal hosts.

Network Infrastructure

• Leaf Switches: Any Juniper Apstra supported QFX switch
• Spine Switches: Any Juniper Apstra supported QFX switch

Docker Registry

• Container registry accessible from the management node
• Used for Decision Environment and Execution Environment images
• Can be OpenShift internal registry or external registry (for example, Juniper Artifactory)

Management Node Requirements

A dedicated management node is required for image preparation, cluster management, and running the AAP configuration playbook.

• Supported OS: Debian 12 (bookworm), RHEL 8/9, Ubuntu 22.04+ (Debian 12 verified)

• Architecture: x86_64 (amd64)

• Minimum free disk space: 10 GB (container images are ~500 MB each)

• Required tools:

  Note: oc create token requires oc v4.11+. On older versions of oc, use kubectl create token instead.

  Tool	Minimum Version	Install Reference
  Docker CE	20.10+	Debian: https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/debian/ / RHEL: https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/rhel/
  OpenShift CLI (oc)	4.6+	https://mirror.openshift.com/pub/openshift-v4/clients/ocp/latest/
  kubectl	1.28+	https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/tools/install-kubectl-linux/
  git	2.30+	apt install git or yum install git
  ansible	2.14+ with awx.awx and ansible.eda collections	https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/installation_guide/

• Verify installed tools:

• Network connectivity required to:

  • OpenShift cluster API endpoint

  • Container registry (accessible from the management node) for image push

  • Juniper Support portal for downloading images

  • All AAP component hostnames (Gateway, Controller, EDA, Hub) resolve via DNS or /etc/hosts

Network Access Requirements for Management Node

• Access to the Juniper public Git repository that contains the automation project files:

  • (Required) https://github.com/Juniper/eda-apstra-project

  • (Optional) https://github.com/Juniper/apstra-ansible-collection

    Customize the solution, playbooks, and learn how to use modules with Apstra Ansible.

  • (Optional) https://github.com/Juniper/k8s.eda

    Explains how to use the Kubernetes event source for Ansible. Also, you can use this repository to run events for other resources.

Management Node Requirements

• Access to the Juniper public Git repository that contains the automation project files

• (Required) https://github.com/Juniper/eda-apstra-project

• (Optional) https://github.com/Juniper/apstra-ansible-collection

  Customize the solution, playbooks, and learn how to use modules with Apstra Ansible.

• (Optional) https://github.com/Juniper/k8s.eda

  Explains how to use the Kubernetes event source for Ansible. Also, you can use this repository to run events for other resources.

Network Access Requirements

Notes

• Juniper Apstra EDA only recognizes objects that are labeled with type=eda.

• We require that you set Projects, Credentials, Apstra Blueprint name, and Rulebook Activations to run Juniper Apstra EDA as described in this guide.