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Configuring the Multilayer Feature

This section describes transport controller configuration tasks in the web UI.

Note:

Transport layer elements can be viewed in both the web UI and NorthStar Planner.

NorthStar Controller can attempt connection to multiple IP addresses (configured as multiple devices) for the same transport controller profile in a round-robin fashion, until a connection is established. Once a connection is established, the transport topology elements are added and can be displayed on the topology map. This configuration is done by way of a profile group.

Navigate to Administration > Transport Controller to open the Transport Controller window shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Transport Controller WindowTransport Controller Window

The Transport Controller window consists of the following panes (numbers correspond to the numbers in Figure 1):

  1. Transport Controllers (upper left pane)—Lists configured transport controllers, and used to save, add, modify, and delete transport controllers.

  2. Configuration (upper right pane)—Displays the properties of the transport controller selected in the Transport Controllers pane, and used to enter and modify transport controller properties.

  3. Profile Groups (lower left pane)—Lists configured profile groups, and used to reload, add, modify, and delete profile groups.

  4. Device List (lower right pane)—Lists the devices that are part of the profile group selected in the Profile Groups pane, and used to add, modify, delete, and copy devices.

The general configuration workflow is:

  1. Create a profile group in the Profile Groups pane.

  2. Select the group in the Profile Groups pane. In the Device List pane, create at least one device for the group. A group can have multiple devices.

  3. Select (or create and select) the transport controller in the Transport Controllers pane.

  4. In the Configuration pane for the selected transport controller, enter the requested information, including selecting the Group Name from the drop-down menu. The devices in the group are then associated with the transport controller.

  5. Save the transport controller.

Adding or Deleting a Profile Group

The buttons across the top of the Profile Groups pane perform the functions described in Table 1.

Table 1: Profile Groups Pane Button Functions

Button

Function

Reloads the selected profile group. Used to update the device list in the UI when devices have been added using the REST API.

Adds a new profile group.

Deletes the selected profile group.

To create a profile group, perform the following steps:

  1. In the Profile Groups pane (lower left pane), click the Add (+) button to display the Create New Group window. Figure 2 shows the Create New Group window that is displayed.

    Figure 2: Create New Group Window Create New Group Window
  2. Enter a name for the new group and click OK.

To delete a selected group, click the Delete button, and respond to the request for confirmation.

Adding Devices

The buttons across the top of the Device List pane perform the functions described in Table 2.

Table 2: Device List Button Functions

Button

Function

Adds a new device.

Modifies the selected device.

Deletes the selected device.

To create the devices that are part of the new profile group, perform the following steps:

  1. In the Device List pane (lower right pane), click the Add (+) button to display the Add New Device window as shown in Figure 3.

    Figure 3: Add New Device Window Add New Device Window
  2. Enter the requested information. Some fields are populated with default values, but you can change them. Table 3 describes the fields in the Add New Device window.

    Table 3: Add New Device Window Field Descriptions

    Field

    Description

    Device Name

    Name of the device for display and reporting purposes.

    Device IP (required)

    The IP address used to connect to the HTTP server on the device. This address is typically provided by the vendor.

    Login (required unless the authentication method is NOAUTH)

    Username for authentication. The username must match the username configured on the server running the device being configured.

    Password (required unless the authentication method is NOAUTH)

    Password for authentication. The password must match the password configured on the server running the device being configured.

    Access Method

    Use the drop-down menu to select either HTTP or HTTPS. The default is HTTP.

    HTTP Port

    The HTTP port on the device. The default is 5000.

    Connection Timeout

    Number of seconds before a connection request to the device times out. The default is 300. Use the up and down arrows to increment or decrement this value or type a different value in the field.

    Heartbeat Failure Limit

    Number of connection retries before the device is considered down. The default is 3.

    Authentication Method

    Use the drop-down menu to select BASIC, NOAUTH, or BEARER. The default is BASIC.

    Authorization URL

    Used when the Authentication Method is BEARER. The server URL used to generate the bearer token based on the user name and password.

    Token Expiration Time

    Used when the Authentication Method is BEARER. Number of seconds the bearer token is valid.

    The default is 3600.

    Table 4 shows the fields that require specific values for particular transport controller vendors. Fields not listed are not typically vendor-specific. Confirm all values with the vendor before using them.

    Table 4: Vendor-Specific Device Field Values

    Field

    ProNX Optical Director

    ADVA

    Coriant

    Ciena

    Virtuora

    Access Method

    HTTP

    HTTPS

    HTTP

    HTTPS

    HTTPS

    HTTP Port

    8082

    8080

    8081

    443

    8443

    Authentication Method

    BEARER

    BASIC

    BASIC

    BEARER

    BASIC

    Authorization URL

    http://ip-addr:8084/ auth/authenticate

    NA

    NA

    https://ip-addr/tron/ api/v1/tokens

    NA

    Token Expiration Time

    3600s (the default)

    NA

    NA

    3600s (the default)

    NA

  3. Click Submit.

  4. Repeat the procedure to add all the devices for the profile group.

You can drag and drop device rows to change the order in the Device list. Changing the order in the list changes the order in which connection to the devices is attempted.

Configuring the Transport Controller Profile

The buttons across the top of the Transport Controllers pane perform the functions described in Table 5.

Table 5: Transport Controllers Pane Button Functions

Button

Function

Saves the transport controller profile.

Adds a new transport controller profile.

Deletes the selected transport controller profile.

To configure a transport controller profile, perform the following steps:

  1. In the Transport Controllers pane (upper left pane), click the Add (+) button. The default name “newController” is added to the Transport Controllers pane in red text (red, because it has not yet been saved), and is selected so you can populate the properties in the Configuration pane (upper right pane).

  2. In the Configuration pane, enter the requested information. Table 6 describes the transport controller configuration fields and identifies the ones that are required.

    Table 6: Transport Controller Configuration Fields

    Field

    Description

    Name (required)

    Name of the transport controller profile. The default name for a new profile is newController. We recommend you use the name of the vendor (ADVA, for example) as the name of the transport controller profile, so NorthStar Controller can use corresponding icons in the UI. Otherwise, it uses generic icons.

    Group Name (required)

    Use the drop-down menu to select a group name from those configured in the Profile Groups pane.

    Model

    Use the drop-down menu to select either ietf-te-topology-01, OpenROADM-2.0, or TAPI-2.1.

    Interface Type (required)

    Use the drop-down menu to select REST, RESTCONF, CIENA-REST, or VIRTUORA-REST. The default is REST.

    Note:

    CIENA-REST is specifically for Ciena Transport Controller T-API. VIRTUORA-REST is specifically for Virtuora T-API.

    Notify URL (required)

    REST or RESTCONF URL on the transport controller that publishes topology change notifications.

    Note:

    Topology change notifications are currently unsupported in T-API.

    Poll URL

    The server URL used to poll server liveness. If the interface type is RESTCONF and no value is entered, NorthStar Controller uses /.well-known/host-meta by default. If the interface type is REST, you must enter a value which you obtain from the vendor.

    Root URL

    Default root URL for RESTCONF datastores.

    SRLG Prefix

    Enables separation of shared risk link group (SRLG) spaces when multiple controllers are configured.

    • If a prefix is entered, the SRLG takes the form TSRLG_<prefix>_<SRLG>.

    • If no prefix is entered, the SRLG takes the form TSRLG_<SRLG>.

    Topology to use

    Specifies the topology to use in the event that a controller returns multiple topologies. This is your choice from the topologies provided, but there are typical topologies for each vendor. The field can be left empty, in which case all topologies are imported. If the value does not match a topology exported by the transport controller, no topology is shown.

    Note:

    Topology filtering is currently unsupported in T-API.

    Topology URL (required)

    URL on the transport controller that provides the abstract topology.

    Service URL

    Used when the Model is OpenROADM-2.0. IP layer link that fetches services information.

    Reconnect Interval

    Number of seconds between reconnection attempts to the devices included in the profile group. The default is 300.

    Table 7, Table 8, Table 9, Table 10, and Table 11 show the fields that require specific values for particular vendors. Confirm all values with the vendor before using them.

    Table 7: proNX Optical Director: Typical Transport Controller Field Values

    ProNX Optical Director

    Name

    JuniperPOD

    Model

    OpenROADM-2.0

    Interface Type

    RESTCONF

    Notify URL

    /websockets/NETCONF-JSON

    Poll URL

    (None)

    Topology to Use

    optical

    Topology URL

    /restconf/data/ietf-network:network

    Service URL

    /restconf/data/org-openroadm-service:service-list

    Table 8: ADVA: Typical Transport Controller Field Values

    ADVA

    Name

    ADVA

    Model

    ietf-te-topology-01

    Interface Type

    REST

    Notify URL

    /rest/NETCONF

    Poll URL

    /rest/data/ietf-te-topology:te-topologies-state

    Topology to Use

    ADVA_TOPOLOGY_1

    Topology URL

    /rest/data/ietf-te-topology:te-topologies-state

    Service URL

    NA

    Table 9: Coriant: Typical Transport Controller Field Values

    Coriant

    Name

    Coriant

    Model

    ietf-te-topology-01

    Interface Type

    RESTCONF

    Notify URL

    /streams/NETCONF-JSON

    Poll URL

    (None)

    Topology to Use

    Customized_Topology_for_NorthStar_1_Demands

    Topology URL

    /rest/data/ietf-te-topology:te-topologies-state

    Service URL

    NA

    Table 10: Ciena T-API: Typical Transport Controller Field Values

    T-API

    Name

    TAPI

    Model

    TAPI-2.1

    Interface Type

    CIENA-REST

    Notify URL

    (None)

    Poll URL

    /tron/api/v1/login-info

    Root URL

    (None)

    Topology to Use

    (None)

    Topology URL

    /mcpview/api/v1/tapi/core

    Service URL

    (None)

    Table 11: Fujitsu Virtuora NC: Typical Transport Controller Field Values

    T-API

    Name

    Virtuora

    Model

    TAPI-2.1

    Interface Type

    VIRTUORA-REST

    Notify URL

    (None)

    Poll URL

    (None)

    Root URL

    (None)

    Topology to Use

    (None)

    Topology URL

    /cxf/tapi/v2

    Service URL

    (None)

  3. Click the Save button in the Transport Controllers pane to save the transport controller profile. The profile name turns from red to black if saved successfully. If it does not become black when you attempt to save it, double check the data in the Configuration pane.

Updating Transport Topologies Acquired Via T-API

Currently, notifications are not supported for updating transport topologies acquired via T-API, but you can configure NorthStar to reload the transport topology at a specified interval. The polling-interval option controls this interval for interfaces without notification support.

To configure the interval, access the NorthStar CLI as described in Configuring NorthStar Settings Using the NorthStar CLI. Use the set northstar mladapter polling-interval command to configure your preferred number of seconds. Setting a value of 0 disables polling.