Network visualization of SONiC-enabled white Box switches using Aviz ONES
Introduction
In this article, we will introduce the visualization of white-Box switches that mainly operate SONiC, using a commercial tool called ONES from Aviz Networks.
Visualization using OSS tools is introduced in the 9th and 10th articles, and visualization using a commercial tool called SolarWinds is introduced in the 12th article.
There are other articles related to Open Networking, so please see the articles that interest you from the "List of articles" 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
Get the ONES installation package and manual link from the Aviz Networks website, and unzip the package on your Ubuntu server.
Installation takes just a few minutes and can be completed by running ones-installer.sh as root.
A paid license agreement is required for commercial use, but a free trial license is also available for a limited time, making it easy to introduce for verification purposes.
The required specifications for the Ubuntu server are x86/x64 based 2-core CPU, 16GB RAM, and 1.2TB Storage if you are visualizing and controlling up to 64 switches.
Once the installation is complete, you will be able to access the ONES controller web GUI at the IP address of your Ubuntu server.
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 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 comes with a variety of sample YAML files that support various network configurations, including VXLAN, MC-LAG, SAG, SVI, BGP, and CLOS, helping to streamline configuration work.
More than, Network visualization (telemetry) and configuration (orchestration) tools provided by Aviz NetworksIntroducing ONES. With tools like ONES, We would appreciate it if you could operate and monitor the network, grasp the load status of the switch configuration module, update the network OS of the switch device, and change the settings.
At the end
Macnica provides a service that remotely provides an environment where you can experience open networking and conduct tests and verifications.
This service allows you to verify the operability of network OSes and perform tests that combine network OSes from various manufacturers, white Box switches, and optical transceivers.
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It is a service that allows you to easily verify open networking, and the basic configuration is free of charge.
You can check the downloadable materials for available network OS and white Box switches, specific use cases, and how to apply. The materials can be downloaded from the URL listed in the information email by answering the questionnaire from the "Macnica Network OS Remote Verification Service" below.
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Furukawa Network Solution Co., Ltd.
“Recently, the number of remote service environments is increasing, but I was impressed with the ease of access to the evaluation equipment.
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Edgecore Networks
We continue to be a pioneer in open networking by developing and selling products related to OpenNetworking/white Box switches.
Aviz Networks
We are pioneers of SONiC, an open source network operating system, providing observability, configuration automation tools and support from a team of SONiC experts.
IP Infusion
As a market leader among open networking providers, we provide reliable network solutions to over 600 customers, including carriers, service providers, and data centers.