| .. |
| SPDX-FileCopyrightText: © 2020 Open Networking Foundation <support@opennetworking.org> |
| SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0 |
| |
| Overview |
| ======== |
| |
| There are many ways to deploy Aether, depending on the requirements of the edge |
| site. The Reliability, Availability, and Serviceability (RAS) of each set of |
| equipment will differ depending on the characteristics of each edge. |
| |
| This document provides several hardware deployment options and explains the |
| differences between them. |
| |
| Deployment Options |
| ------------------ |
| |
| Development Environments |
| """""""""""""""""""""""" |
| |
| For users looking for a development or fully software-simulated environment, |
| there is ``Aether-in-a-Box (AiaB)`` - instructions for running this can be |
| found in the :doc:`Setting Up Aether-in-a-Box </developer/aiab>`. AiaB |
| is only suitable for testing and developing software, and can't connect to |
| physical hardware, but is a good choice for learning about the different |
| software components within Aether. |
| |
| Production Environments |
| """"""""""""""""""""""" |
| |
| Deploying Aether on hardware is required for both production deployments and |
| hardware testing. Before deploying Aether, a detailed plan including the |
| network topology, hardware, and all cabling needs to be created. |
| |
| For redundancy of workloads running in Kubernetes, at least 3 compute nodes |
| must be available. A single or pair of compute nodes can be used, but software |
| would need to be configured without High Availability (HA) enabled. |
| |
| The topologies below are *simplified physical topologies* to show the equipment |
| needed and the minimal connectivity between devices. Within these topologies, |
| multiple VLANs, routing, and other network-level configuration is required to |
| make a functional Aether edge. |
| |
| There are also possible RAS improvements that can be done at a topology level - |
| for example, fabric switch connections can be made with two cables, and |
| configured to tolerate the failure or replacement of one cable or NIC port, |
| which is recommended especially for inter-switch links. |
| |
| Edge Connectivity |
| ----------------- |
| |
| Aether's is a managed service, and Aether Edges require a constant connection |
| via VPN to the 4G and 5G core in Aether Central for managing subscriber |
| information. |
| |
| The edge site must provide internet access to the Aether edge, specifically the |
| Management Router. The traffic required is: |
| |
| * VPN connection (ESP protocol, Ports UDP/500 and UDP/4500) to Aether Central |
| |
| * SSH (TCP/22). used for installation, troubleshooting, and updating the site. |
| |
| * General outgoing internet access used for installation of software and other |
| components from ONF and public (Ubuntu) software repositories. |
| |
| The open ports can be restricted to specific internet addresses which are used |
| for Aether. |
| |
| The Management Router needs to have an IP address assigned to it, which can be |
| either: |
| |
| * A public static IP address |
| |
| * Behind NAT with port forwarding with the ports listed above forwarded to the |
| Management Router |
| |
| In either case, the Management Router's IP address should be assigned using |
| a reserved DHCP if possible, which eases the installation process. |
| |
| BESS-based Network Topology |
| --------------------------- |
| |
| The :doc:`Software-only BESS UPF </edge_deployment/bess_upf_deployment>`, is |
| supported for production as of the Aether 1.5 and later releases. This UPF can |
| be used for deployments that do not have P4 switching hardware. |
| |
| .. image:: images/edge_mgmt_only.svg |
| :alt: BESS network topology |
| |
| |
| `BESS <https://github.com/NetSys/bess>`_ runs on an x86 compute server, and is |
| deployed using Kubernetes. In production it requires an SR-IOV capable network |
| card, and specific K8s CNIs to be used. |
| |
| The Management Router and Switch must be configured with multiple VLANs and |
| subnets with routing required for the BESS UPF. |
| |
| P4-based Network Topology |
| ------------------------- |
| |
| The P4-based SD-Fabric UPF is an advanced feature and has graduated to |
| production use in the Aether 2.0 release. It requires one or more |
| P4-capable switches using the Tofino chipset. |
| |
| Single or multi-switch topologies can be used as described in the |
| :ref:`SD-Fabric Specifications for Topology <sdfabric:specification:topology>`. |
| The following topologies are actively being tested as a part of Aether: |
| |
| If only a single P4 switch is used, the **Single Switch** topology can be used, but provides no network |
| redundancy: |
| |
| .. image:: images/edge_single.svg |
| :alt: Single Switch Topology |
| |
| If another switch is added, the **Paired Leaves** (aka "Single Leaf Pair") |
| topology can be used, which can tolerate the loss of a leaf switch and still |
| retain connections for all dual-homed devices. Single homed devices on the |
| failed leaf would lose their connections (the single-homed server is shown for |
| reference, and not required). If HA is needed for single-homed devices, one |
| option would be to deploying multiple of those devices in a way that provides |
| that redundancy - for example, multiple eNBs where some are connected to each |
| leaf and have overlapping radio coverage: |
| |
| .. image:: images/edge_paired_leaves.svg |
| :alt: Paired Leaves Topology |
| |
| All SD-Fabric P4-based topologies can support running both the BESS UPF and P4 |
| UPF on the same hardware at the same time within an edge deployment. |
| |
| Connectivity Alternatives |
| ------------------------- |
| |
| The diagrams above show logical topologies, but depending on the site strategy, |
| alternative topologies may be desirable. The below diagrams use the "Single |
| Switch" topology, but could be applied to any of the Aether equipment |
| topologies given above. |
| |
| One example would be to place the rackmount equipment in a datacenter |
| environment away from the radio hardware and use existing networking equipment |
| to route from the radios back to the Aether edge hardware. Also shown in this |
| example is using a PoE switch to power the radios. |
| |
| .. image:: images/edge_routed_radios.svg |
| :alt: Edge with routed radios |
| |
| Another example would be to use the management switch as the main network |
| connection point, and possibly use it to PoE power the radios as well: |
| |
| .. image:: images/edge_mgmtswitch_primary.svg |
| :alt: Edge with mgmtswitch as primary connection point |
| |
| Note that these topologies may require additional configuration in the |
| switching and routing equipment, including the equipment outside of the Aether |
| edge. |
| |
| Hardware Descriptions |
| --------------------- |
| |
| Fabric Switch |
| """"""""""""" |
| |
| See the :ref:`SD-Fabric Switch Hardware Selection Documentation |
| <sdfabric:deployment:switch hardware selection>`. |
| |
| Compute Server |
| """""""""""""" |
| |
| The Compute Servers run Kubernetes, Aether connectivity apps, and edge |
| applications. |
| |
| Minimum hardware specifications: |
| |
| * AMD64 (aka x86-64) architecture |
| |
| * 8 CPU Cores (minimum), 16+ recommended |
| |
| * 32GB of RAM (minimum), 128GB+ recommended |
| |
| * 250 GB of storage (SSD preferred), 1TB+ recommended |
| |
| * 2x 40GbE or 100GbE Ethernet network card to P4 switches, with DPDK support |
| |
| * 1x 1GbE management network port, with PXE boot support. 2x required for BESS |
| UPF. |
| |
| Optional but highly recommended: |
| |
| * Lights out management support, with either a shared or separate NIC and |
| support for HTML5 console access. |
| |
| Management Router |
| """"""""""""""""" |
| |
| One Management Router is required - this is a standard server which must have |
| at least two 1GbE network ports, and performs network tasks such as running a |
| VPN connection to Aether Central, performing NAT for the management network, |
| as well as running a variety of network services to bootstrap and support the |
| edge. |
| |
| Minimum hardware specifications: |
| |
| * AMD64 (aka x86-64) architecture |
| |
| * 4 CPU cores, or more |
| |
| * 8GB of RAM, or more |
| |
| * 120GB of storage (SSD preferred), or more |
| |
| * 2x 1GbE Network interfaces (one for WAN, one to the management switch) with |
| PXE boot support. |
| |
| Optional: |
| |
| * 10GbE or 40GbE network card with DPDK support to connect to fabric switch |
| |
| * Lights out management support, with either a shared or separate NIC and |
| support for HTML5 console access. |
| |
| Management Switch |
| """"""""""""""""" |
| |
| A managed L2/L3 management switch is required to provide connectivity within |
| the cluster for bootstrapping equipment. It is configured with multiple VLANs |
| to separate the management plane, fabric, and the out-of-band and lights out |
| management connections on the equipment. |
| |
| Minimum requirements: |
| |
| * 8x 1GbE Copper Ethernet ports (adjust to provide a sufficient number for |
| every copper 1GbE port in the system) |
| |
| * 2x 10GbE SFP+ or 40GbE QSFP interfaces (only required if management router |
| does not have a network card with these ports) |
| |
| * Managed via SSH or web interface |
| |
| * LLDP protocol support, for debugging cabling issues |
| |
| * Capable supporting VLANs on each port, with both tagged and untagged traffic |
| sharing a port. |
| |
| Optional: |
| |
| * PoE+ support, which can power eNB and monitoring hardware, if using |
| Management switch to host these devices. |
| |
| eNB Radio |
| """"""""" |
| |
| The LTE eNB used in most deployments is the `Sercomm P27-SCE4255W Indoor CBRS |
| Small Cell |
| <https://www.sercomm.com/contpage.aspx?langid=1&type=prod3&L1id=2&L2id=1&L3id=107&Prodid=751>`_. |
| |
| While this unit ships with a separate power brick, it also supports PoE+ power |
| on the WAN port, which provides deployment location flexibility. Either a PoE+ |
| capable switch or PoE+ power injector should be purchased. |
| |
| If connecting directly to the fabric switch through a QSFP to 4x SFP+ split |
| cable, a 10GbE SFP+ to 1GbE Copper media converter should be purchased. The `FS |
| UMC-1S1T <https://www.fs.com/products/101476.html>`_ has been used for this |
| purpose successfully. |
| |
| Alternatively, the Fabric's 10GbE SFP+ could be connected to another switch |
| (possibly the Management Switch) which would adapt the speed difference, and |
| provide PoE+ power, and power control for remote manageability. |
| |
| Testing Hardware |
| ---------------- |
| |
| The following hardware is used to test the network and determine uptime of |
| edges. It is currently required, to properly validate that an edge site is |
| functioning properly. |
| |
| Monitoring Raspberry Pi and CBRS dongle |
| """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" |
| |
| One pair of Raspberry Pi and CBRS band supported LTE dongle is required to |
| monitor the connectivity service at the edge. |
| |
| The Raspberry Pi model used in Aether is a `Raspberry Pi 4 Model B/2GB |
| <https://www.pishop.us/product/raspberry-pi-4-model-b-2gb/>`_ |
| |
| Which is configured with: |
| |
| * Raspberry Pi case (HiPi is recommended for PoE Hat) |
| |
| * A power source, either one of: |
| |
| * PoE Hat used with a PoE switch (recommended, allows remote power control) |
| |
| * USB-C Power Supply |
| |
| * MicroSD Card with Raspbian - 16GB |
| |
| One LTE dongle model supported in Aether is the `Sercomm Adventure Wingle |
| <https://www.sercomm.com/contpage.aspx?langid=1&type=prod3&L1id=2&L2id=2&L3id=110&Prodid=767>`_. |
| |
| |
| Example BoMs |
| ------------ |
| |
| To help provision a site, a few example Bill of Materials (BoM) are given |
| below, which reference the hardware descriptions given above. |
| |
| Some quantities are dependent on other quantities - for example, the number of |
| DAC cables frequently depends on the number of servers in use. |
| |
| These BoMs do not include UE devices. It's recommended that the testing |
| hardware given above be added to every BoM for monitoring purposes. |
| |
| |
| BESS UPF Testing BoM |
| """""""""""""""""""" |
| |
| The following is the minimum BoM required to run Aether with the BESS UPF. |
| |
| ============ ===================== =============================================== |
| Quantity Type Purpose |
| ============ ===================== =============================================== |
| 1 Management Switch Must be Layer 2/3 capable for BESS VLANs |
| 1 Management Router |
| 1-3 Compute Servers Recommended at least 3 for Kubernetes HA |
| 1 (or more) eNB |
| 1x #eNB PoE+ Injector Required unless using a PoE+ Switch |
| Sufficient Cat6 Network Cabling Between all equipment |
| ============ ===================== =============================================== |
| |
| P4 UPF Testing BoM |
| """""""""""""""""" |
| |
| ============ ===================== =============================================== |
| Quantity Type Description/Use |
| ============ ===================== =============================================== |
| 1 P4 Fabric Switch |
| 1 Management Switch Must be Layer 2/3 capable |
| 1 Management Router At least 1x 40GbE QSFP ports recommended |
| 1-3 Compute Servers Recommended at least 3 for Kubernetes HA |
| 2x #Server 40GbE QSFP DAC cable Between Compute, Management, and Fabric Switch |
| 1 QSFP to 4x SFP+ DAC Split cable between Fabric and eNB |
| 1 (or more) eNB |
| 1x #eNB 10GbE to 1GbE Media Required unless using switch to convert from |
| converter fabric to eNB |
| 1x #eNB PoE+ Injector Required unless using a PoE+ Switch |
| Sufficient Cat6 Network Cabling Between all equipment |
| ============ ===================== =============================================== |
| |
| P4 UPF Paired Leaves BoM |
| """""""""""""""""""""""" |
| |
| ============ ===================== =============================================== |
| Quantity Type Description/Use |
| ============ ===================== =============================================== |
| 2 P4 Fabric Switch |
| 1 Management Switch Must be Layer 2/3 capable |
| 1 Management Router 2x 40GbE QSFP ports recommended |
| 3 Compute Servers |
| 2 100GbE QSFP DAC cable Between Fabric switches |
| 2x #Server 40GbE QSFP DAC cable Between Compute, Management, and Fabric Switch |
| 1 (or more) QSFP to 4x SFP+ DAC Split cable between Fabric and eNB |
| 1 (or more) eNB |
| 1x #eNB 10GbE to 1GbE Media Required unless using switch to convert from |
| converter fabric to eNB |
| 1x #eNB PoE+ Injector Required unless using a PoE+ Switch |
| Sufficient Cat6 Network Cabling Between all equipment |
| ============ ===================== =============================================== |