| .. |
| 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:`Aether SD-Core Developer Guide </developer/sdcore>`. 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 of Aether. |
| |
| Production Environments |
| """"""""""""""""""""""" |
| |
| Deploying Aether on hardware is required for both production deployments and |
| testing. |
| |
| This document currently describes the P4-based UPF implementation of Aether. |
| There is also a :doc:`Software-only BESS UPF |
| </edge_deployment/bess_upf_deployment>`, which can be used for deployments that |
| do not have P4 switching hardware. |
| |
| 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. |
| |
| Network Cable Plan |
| ------------------ |
| |
| If only a single P4 switch is used, the :doc:`Simple |
| <trellis:supported-topology>` topology can be used, but provides no network |
| redundancy: |
| |
| .. image:: images/edge_single.svg |
| :alt: Single Switch |
| |
| If another switch is added, and a "Paired Leaves" (aka :doc:`Paired Switches |
| <trellis:supported-topology>`) topology is used, which can tolerate the loss of |
| a leaf switch and retain connections for all dual-homed devices. Single homed |
| devices on the failed leaf would need another form of HA, for example, |
| deploying multiple eNBs where some are connected to each leaf, and can provide |
| radio coverage.: |
| |
| .. image:: images/edge_paired_leaves.svg |
| :alt: Paired Leaves |
| |
| For larger deployments, a 2x2 fabric can be configured (aka :doc:`Single-Stage |
| Leaf-Spine <trellis:supported-topology>`), which provide Spine redundancy, but |
| does not support dual-homing of devices. |
| |
| .. image:: images/edge_2x2.svg |
| :alt: 2x2 Fabric |
| |
| .. note:: |
| |
| Connections to the Fabric switches in these diagrams can be made up of two |
| cables, and configured to tolerate the failure or replacement of one cable or |
| NIC port. This is recommended, especially for links between switches. |
| |
| |
| Required Hardware |
| ----------------- |
| |
| Fabric Switches |
| """"""""""""""" |
| |
| Aether recommends the use of fabric switches based on the Intel (was Barefoot) |
| Tofino chipset, which are capable of running the P4 UPF. There are multiple |
| variants of this switching chipset, with different resources and capabilities. |
| |
| Currently supported P4 switches include: |
| |
| * `EdgeCore Wedge100BF-32X |
| <https://www.edge-core.com/productsInfo.php?cls=1&cls2=180&cls3=181&id=335>`_ |
| - a "Dual Pipe" chipset |
| |
| * `EdgeCore Wedge100BF-32QS |
| <https://www.edge-core.com/productsInfo.php?cls=1&cls2=180&cls3=181&id=770>`_ |
| - a "Quad Pipe" chipset |
| |
| Compute Servers |
| """"""""""""""" |
| These servers run Kubernetes, Aether connectivity apps, and edge applications. |
| |
| Minimum hardware specifications: |
| |
| * AMD64 (aka x86-64) architecture |
| * 8 CPU Cores |
| * 32GB of RAM |
| * 250 GB of storage (SSD preferred) |
| * 2x 40GbE or 100GbE Ethernet connections to P4 switches |
| * 1x 1GbE management network port |
| |
| Optional: |
| |
| * Lights out management support, with either shared or separate NIC |
| |
| Management Server |
| """"""""""""""""" |
| |
| One management server is required, which must have at least two 1GbE network |
| ports, and runs a variety of network services to bootstrap and support the |
| edge. |
| |
| In current Aether deployments, the Management Server also functions as a router |
| and VPN gateway back to Aether Central. |
| |
| Minimum hardware specifications: |
| |
| * AMD64 (aka x86-64) architecture |
| * 4 CPU cores |
| * 8GB of RAM |
| * 120GB of storage (SSD preferred) |
| * 2x 1GbE Network interfaces (one for WAN, one to the management switch) |
| |
| Optional: |
| |
| * 10GbE or 40GbE network card to connect to fabric switch |
| |
| 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: |
| |
| * 16x 1GbE Copper ports |
| |
| * 2x 10GbE SFP+ or 40GbE QSFP interfaces (only required if management server |
| does not have a network card with these ports) |
| |
| * Managed via SSH or web interface |
| |
| * 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. |
| |
| |
| 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>`_. |
| |
| This supports PoE+ power on the WAN port, which provides deployment |
| flexibility. |
| |
| Testing hardware |
| ---------------- |
| |
| The following hardware is used to test the network and determine uptime of |
| edges. It's 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 Pronto is a `Raspberry Pi 4 Model B/2GB |
| <https://www.pishop.us/product/raspberry-pi-4-model-b-2gb/>`_ |
| |
| Which is configured with: |
| |
| * HighPi Raspberry Pi case for P4 |
| * 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>`_. |