Network visualization of SONiC-enabled white Box switches using Aviz ONES
Introduction
This article introduces a method for visualizing white Box switches running SONiC using Aviz Networks' network management platform, ONES.
Using a three-switch Spine-Leaf configuration as an example, this guide explains, with specific screenshots, how to understand the status of a white Box switch equipped with SONiC, including topology display, interface monitoring, and traffic confirmation.
Visualization using open-source tools was introduced in articles 9 and 10, and visualization using a commercial tool called SolarWinds was introduced in article 12.
For information on available network operating systems, white Box switches, and specific use cases, please refer to the downloadable documentation below.
<Click here for the lecture report>
SONiC Practical Hands-on Seminar Part 1
Basic operations of open network operating systems
![[Part 5] What is Edgecore SONiC? Thumbnail image of ~Explaining the overview and features of the commercial version of SONiC~](/business/network/サムネ_【第5回】Edgecore%20SONiC%20とは？%20%282%29.png)
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What is Edgecore SONiC?
This article explains the overview and features of the commercial version of SONiC.
![[Edgecore Networks - User Case Study - Thumbnail image of Mitsui E&S Systems Engineering Co., Ltd.]](/business/network/サムネ導入事例.png)
<See case studies here>
Take advantage of SolarWinds!
Case study of implementing white Box switches
Verification Results Download Form
The verification results for this article can be downloaded from the link below.
Aviz Networks ONES Overview and GUI Screen Configuration
ONES is a network visualization (telemetry) and configuration (orchestration) tool provided by Aviz Networks, and stands for Open Networking Enterprise Suite. Although primarily targeted at white-Box switches running SONiC, visualization also supports network OSes other than SONiC.
In order for you to understand what kind of tool it is, I will first introduce the GUI screen of the ONES controller. There are menus on the left side of the ONES controller screen for visualization and configuration, so below is what you can do in each menu.
The Dashboards menu displays the status of hardware, module components, software, and interfaces.
Hardware: Active/inactive, location, role, switch device model number, switch ASIC model number
Components: Power supply unit, FAN, optical module voltage, temperature, etc. alerts
Software: Agent version, network OS type, Linux kernel version, ONEI version
Interface: Total number of ports (used, unused), number of cables in use (AOC, DAC, etc.), link down status
The Monitor menu allows you to monitor network topology, link status, switch device list, switch ASIC resource usage status, BGP status, and traffic status (transmission/reception, errors, discards, and usage rate).
Topology: Network configuration such as Spine/Leaf
Links: Status of connected links
Platforms: Overview of switch devices and status of CPU/Memory/power supply unit/FAN
ASIC: Overview of switch ASIC and IPv4 routing/IPv6 routing/ACL usage ratio
BGP: Neighbors/Prefixes/Advertised/Local ASN Status
Traffic: Transmission/reception/error/discard status for each port
The Inventory menu is a list of switch devices.
Devices: Upgrade/ZTP/Reboot/add/remove devices
The Configurations menu is the configuration screen for the switch device.
Devices: Setting of MC-LAG/Link etc. by YAML file
The Settings menu is the settings screen for the ONES controller.
Thresholds: Alert thresholds for CPU/Memory/Power supply unit/FAN/Traffic (Normal/Acceptable/Critical)
Application: Screen update cycle and idle time until logout
The Accounts menu allows you to add and delete users and set permissions for the ONES controller.
Users: Adding and deleting Super Admin/Staff, etc.
Roles: Set permissions for each role (whether to add devices, reboot, access, etc.)
Building a network visualization environment using ONES
The network visualization environment used this time was built in a Spine-Leaf configuration. Three Edgecore white Box switches were used. The Spine switch was a Wedge100BF-32X, and the Leaf switches were two AS7326-56X.
Each switch is installed with SONiC, an open network operating system.
In addition, the ONES controller is running on an Ubuntu server, and the ONES agent is installed on each switch to enable collaboration.
Operators can access the ONES controller GUI via a browser to visualize and configure the network.
Install ONES Controller
Obtain the ONES installation package and manual links from the Aviz Networks website, and then extract the package on your Ubuntu server.
Installation is quick and easy; simply run ones-installer.sh with root privileges, and it will be completed in just a few minutes.
While a paid license agreement is required for commercial use, a free trial license is also available for a limited time, making it easy to implement for testing purposes.
For an Ubuntu server, the required specifications are sufficient if you are visualizing and controlling up to approximately 64 switch devices. An x86/x64 based 2-core CPU, 16GB RAM, and 1.2TB storage are adequate.
After installation is complete, you will be able to use the ONES controller's Web GUI at the Ubuntu server's IP address.
*Based on Aviz Networks documentation as of 2024.
Install the ONES agent
For visualization and configuration purposes, the ONES agent must be installed on the target SONiC switch.
The agent can be installed in just a few minutes by running the agent installation Python script on the Ubuntu server where the ONES controller is installed.
By entering the IP address, user name, and password information of the target switches in the device_info.csv file when you run the script, you can install the agent on multiple switches at once. This makes setup more efficient as you don't have to operate each switch manually.
Visualization of switch devices using network operating systems other than SONiC is possible without an agent (using OpenConfig's gNMI protocol).
Registering a switch device
First, register the switch device from the "Devices" screen in the "Inventory" menu.
When registering, enter the switch name, IP address, user name, and password that you set on the switch device.
You can also freely set the "Layer (Spine/Leaf/ToR, etc.)" and "Region (location, installation floor, etc.)".
Once the registration details are saved, the registered switch devices will be listed in "Devices" in the "Inventory" menu, and the information about the switch devices obtained through agent communication will be displayed.
Visualization and status monitoring of switch equipment
Once the switch device registration is complete, visualization and status monitoring functions become available.
Here we introduce some of the main visualization menus available in ONES.
First, open "Topology" in the "Monitor" menu to display a connection diagram. The switches are arranged hierarchically for each layer, allowing you to visually grasp the entire configuration.
If the switches are cabled and linked, they will be automatically detected and displayed, indicating normal communication.
If there is an abnormality in the switch status, the switch in question will be displayed in red, making it easy to visually identify the problem area.
In the "Monitor" menu, under "Links", the automatically detected links and their details are displayed.
Next, go to "Platform" in the "Monitor" menu to check the status of CPU usage, memory usage, CPU temperature, power supply unit temperature, power supply unit voltage, and FAN speed.
Finally, check the traffic sent and received by the switch device under "Traffic" in the "Monitor" menu.
By displaying each port with the + button next to the switch device name, you can check the traffic status of each port.
Switch device setting and control
ONES is a tool that allows for network visualization (telemetry) of SONiC switches, as well as configuration and control (orchestration).
You can configure and control the switch by loading a YAML file from the "Devices" screen in the "Configuration" menu.
The ONES installation package includes a wealth of sample YAML files that support various network configurations, such as VXLAN, MC-LAG, SAG, SVI, BGP, and CLOS, which helps streamline the configuration process. By utilizing these files, initial configuration for a standard Spine-Leaf configuration can be completed by editing only a few necessary items, reducing the time it would have taken using the CLI from several hours to just a few minutes.
The above is an introduction to ONES, a network visualization (telemetry) and configuration (orchestration) tool provided by Aviz Networks. We hope you will utilize tools like ONES for network operation and monitoring, understanding the load status of switch configuration modules, and updating and changing the network OS of switch devices.
Documentation on the visualization and verification ofRoCE traffic usingAviz ONES can be downloaded from the link below.
At the end
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Related information
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