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The Ribbon Virtual Network Function Manager (VNFM) is an ETSI standards-aligned virtualized application you can use to orchestrate and manage the lifecycle of SBC SWe deployments in an OpenStack cloud environment. VNFM provides an alternative to the use of Heat templates to deploy integrated SBC (I-SBC), media SBC (M-SBC), and signaling SBC (S-SBC) VM different types of vitual machine (VM) nodes and clusters.

VNFM processes a VNF Descriptor (VNFD) file to define the main properties and resources required to deploy a VNF. You "onboard" an SBC a VNFD file into VNFM for your deployment type as part of a Cloud Service Archive (CSAR) package file. 

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 provides a script and VNFD template file you use to generate a CSAR package file for the type of SBC cluster nodes you want to deploy. The VNFD file within the CSAR file cannot be edited; during orchestration, VNFM will prompt for allowed customizations such as the system name and associated EMS system details.

(SR-IOV only) - additional prerequisites and configuration steps required for SR-IOV deployment are preceded with this notation. If you are implementing SR-IOV interfaces, be sure to complete these steps.

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Orchestration using VNFM does not support implementing a second management port for the SBC or the packet port redundancy feature.

Prerequisites

Prior to using VNFM to instantiate SBC VNFs, : make sure you haveto:

• Downloaded Download the required CSAR script file, VNFD template file and .qcow2 image file. Refer to the latest release notes.
• Completed Complete the procedure to generate a CSAR package file for the type of SBC instances you want to deploy. Refer to Creating a CSAR Package File.
• Prepared Prepare the OpenStack cloud environment in which the VNF will be deployed. Refer to Pre-Instantiation Requirements of OpenStack.
• (SR-IOV only) Make sure that the networks you created for the packet ports support SR-IOV and that you know the IP address VLAN ID for each SR-IOV interface.
• Installed Install VNFM and prepared prepare it for operation. This includes adding clouds, tenants, and users to VNFM. Refer to VNFM Documentation for more information.
• Instantiated Instantiate the EMS system you plan to use to configure and manage your SBC clusters. Refer to EMS Documentation for more information.
• Created the clusters you will use to manage and configure your SBC clusters Create the cluster configuration in the EMS. Refer to Creating an SBC SWe Cluster in EMS documentation.

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To support Due to a current issue with RHEL 7.5, the following procedure must be run once on any compute hosts where SWe instances which require multi-queue virtio interfaces on OpenStack, the Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux) service must either be disabled or running in permissive mode. Otherwise, instances may fail to spawn.  will be deployed. These steps enable such instances to spawn. The procedure confirms that the failure to spawn is due to the underlying RHEL 7.5 issue and then provides steps to work around this issue. Spawn an SBC SWe instance which requires multi-queue virtio interface support. The instance will fail to come up. Log into the compute host as the root user. Change to the directory: /var/log/audit Open the audit.log file and confirm that the following denial is reported by SELinux: avc:  denied  { attach_queue } Use the following commands to update the local policy of SELinux to allow spawning of instances with multi-queue enabled: audit2allow -a -M attach_queue semodule -i attach_queue.pp Retry spawning a multi-queue virtio interface instance. The instance should now come up Log into the Compute host and run the Linux sestatus command to check the current mode of SELinux. If current mode is not set to permissive or disabled, change modes by modifying the SELINUX attribute in the  /etc/selinux/config file.  Reboot the Compute host after modifying the file.

Onboarding the SBC CSAR Package File

The CSAR file you created for your deployment must be onboarded on VNFM before you can orchestrate a new SBC cluster. Make sure the CSAR file is in a location accessible from VNFM.  

1. Log into VNFM with credentials provided by the VNFM administrator.

2. Click Settings > VNF Onboarding. The VNF Onboarding window opens.

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   0 Figure 1 VNF Onboarding Window
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3. In the Upload the CSAR files area, click Browse to open a file window where you can locate and select the CSAR file.
4. Click Upload. The package is added to the VNFs Available to Onboard list.
5. Click Onboard adjacent to the package.
6. Confirm the onboard procedure when prompted. The VNF package is now listed in the Your Onboarded VNFs list.

Refer to Performing Onboarding Through the UI for instructions.

Deploying SBC VNFs

After the CSAR file is onboarded, the SBC VNF can be deployed. Note that you must have previously created an OpenStack Glance image using the SBC application software .qcow2 file. Refer to Creating a Glance Image within the pre-instantiation requirements for OpenStack.   

1. Log into VNFM if necessary.

2. Click VNF

   Deployment. The Deploy Virtual Network Functions window opens.

   Catalog. The VNF Catalog window opens showing the list of onboarded VNFs. 

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   0 Figure 1 VNF Catalog
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3. In the Select Action menu for Click Deploy adjacent to the VNF you want to deploy, select Instantiate. The VNF Deployment Wizard window opens with the VNF Config tab in viewInstantiate VNF panel appears. The initial panel is shown in the following figure. The VNF Information section is expanded by default. Click the arrows adjacent to each heading to expand the section and configure its options, as appropriate. 

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   0 Figure 1 Instantiate VNF Panel
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   Use the following table to populate or edit the fields. Editing a value overrides the default value in the VNFD file, allowing you to specify the values appropriate for your deployment. Interface values (IF0 to IF3) can be edited, for example, if you need to specify VLAN IDs for your deployment. Take care to use the correct parameter names and maintain the syntax as shown. Refer to the Interface Definition Parameters Table for more information on the parameters that can be used to define the properties of an interface.

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   0 Table 1 VNF Deployment Wizard - VNF Config Tab Instantiate VNF Parameters
   Field Description VNF Information - Use this section to enter general information about your deployment. VNF Name Image Removed Enter a unique name to represent the VNF instance. The name chosen is used throughout the VNFM UI to identify the VNF instance for viewing or performing lifecycle actions. If you do not specify a name for the

   instance in VNF Instance Name.

   VNF instance, a name is generated. Cloud Name Select a cloud from

   the

   the Cloud Name

   drop

   drop-down list.

   The

   Tenant Name

   list appears.

   Select a tenant for the instance in

   the

   the Tenant Name

   drop

   drop-down list.

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   This tab also includes a Reuse Pre-allocated IPs check box which enables using the VNFM pre-allocated floating IP feature. Refer to Deploying a VNF with Preallocated Floating IPs for more information and procedures.

   Zone Optional. To specify a specific zone for the instance, choose a zone from the list.The list is populated with the Openstack Availability Zones accessible to the tenant. If you do not select a value, the default zone "nova" is selected. Continuity Plan Select a VNFM continuity plan from the drop-down list. See VNFM documentation for information on Preparing a Continuity Plan. Note: If you specify Default, the VNF is assigned to a VNFM. Network - Use this section to select the networks to use within the deployment. Required VNF Networks

   Click the Network tab. 

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   0 Figure 1 VNF Deployment Wizard - Network Tab
   Image Removed Using the drop-down lists

   in the three network fields

   under Available Networks, select the names of the networks that you want to use

   as the management network and the two packet networks

   for the cluster.

   The networks must have already been defined

   The lists contain the names of the existing networks in your environment. Refer to Creating Tenant Networks for more information

   . The lists contain the names of the existing networks in your environment. 

   on creating the prerequisite networks.   If you are deploying OAM nodes as part of an SBC N:1 HA deployment, by default four network fields appear: three for the SBC nodes (mgt0, pkt0, pkt1) and one for the OAM nodes (mgt0). However, additional fields can appear based on what you specified when you generated your CSAR package file. Refer to Creating a CSAR Package File for more information on these parameters. (SR-IOV only)

   If

   If you are implementing SR-IOV interfaces, make sure the signaling/media networks you select (

   Pkt0

   pkt0 and

   Pkt1

   pkt1) support SR-IOV.

4. Click the Environment tab. The fields on this tab show user data required to instantiate the SBC as it is provided in the VNFD file. Editing values on this tab override the default values in the VNFD file allowing you to specify the values appropriate for your deployment.

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   0 Figure 1 VNF Deployment Wizard - Environment Tab
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5. (Optional) To specify a specific zone for the instance, click Select a Zone and choose a zone from the list. The nova zone is selected by default.   

6. Address / Port - Use this section to manually configure IP addresses and ports for the VNFC interfaces. Reuse Pre-allocated IPs To reuse the IPV4 pre-allocated IPs addresses that were manually tagged or created during a previous orchestration, click this check box. In the Network section, ensure that the network configuration assigned to the VNF matches the network of the reserved floating IPs. See Using the Pre-allocated IP VNFM Feature. VNFC This column lists each VNFC type and instance number (for example, ssbc1) for which you can configure an IP address and port. Interface This column contains a description of each network interface from the VNFD file (for example, pkt0). IP Index If a VM interface is defined with multiple subnets, this column lists an incremental value to associated with each subnet. The default is zero (0) to indicate a single IP address per VM port. Address or Port Using the drop-down list in the Address or Port column, select the type of value you want to configure for each VNFC / Interface: Address - to enter an IP address. If the VM is using a private network, the specified IP address identifies the NAT external network IP address. The NAT IP address is referred to as a "floating" IP address and must be already allocated to the tenant. Port - to select a port. Optional. If your VNFD file supports manual port configuration, you have the option to select specific ports for the SBC VNFs. If you choose not to specify a port, VNFM creates the port and attaches it to the VM. Selection Use the field in the Selection column to enter an address or select a port. Flavor - Use this section to specify a flavor type to use when instantiating a specific VNFC type. Required VNF Flavors Optional. For each VNFC type listed in the Required VNF column, select a specific flavor from the Available Flavors drop-down list to use when instantiating VMs of that type. The list contains flavors which meet, or exceed, the flavor constraints defined in the VNFD for that VM type. If no flavor is selected, a flavor is auto-selected. Storage Volumes - Use this section to optionally specify Cinder storage volume configuration. Storage Volume Optional. If your VNFD file specifies to include a Cinder storage volume in the deployment, use this configuration to attach an existing storage volume. Specify the UUID of a volume on your cloud server. If you do not specify a storage volume, one is automatically created and attached to the instance during instantiation as specified in the VNFD file (refer to Creating a CSAR Package File for information on how to specify a storage volume). If the VNFD file does not specify to include a Cinder storage volume in the deployment, a message appears stating that storage volume configuration is not required. Note: Spacevars 0 company recommends creating a separate volume for logs and attaching it to the instance during launch. Without a separate volume, the SBC writes logs to the root volume (/), which is lost if you rebuild or recreate the instance. VNF Specific - Use this section to verify settings and provide information that is specific to an SBC deployment. VNFC Type: oam SBC:SYSTEMNAME User-assigned name for the OAM instances. You must enter a name. This field is visible only if you are deploying OAM nodes. SOL001 Custom Parameters Used to dynamically add VNF-specific data to a VNF without requiring a VNFD change. This field is not currently used by the SBC. VNFC Type: isbc, ssbc or msbc SBC:SYSTEMNAME User-assigned name for the SBC instances

   Use the following table to edit the values in the VM Type section of the Environment tab, as necessary. Some values cannot be changed while other fields can be edited during orchestration, as noted in the table. Interface values (IF0 to IF3) can be edited, for example, if you need to specify VLAN IDs for your deployment. Take care to use the correct parameter names and maintain the syntax as shown. Refer to the Interface Definition Parameters Table for more information on the parameters that can be used to define the properties of an interface.

   FieldEditable?DescriptionSystem NameyesUser-assigned name for the instance

   . You must enter a name. SBC Personality

   no

   Specifies an integrated (isbc), signaling (ssbc)

   or

   , media (msbc), or other SBC deployment personality. This value cannot be changed. The HA model selected in the VNFD file

   no

   Specifies an active

   -

   _standby HA deployment or an N:1 HA (n_1_ha) deployment. This value cannot be changed. The number of SBC VMs to create Specifies the number of SBC VMs to create. For example, a 4:1 HA pair requires 5 VMs. The number of OAM VMs to create Specifies the number of OAM VMs to create. For example, a 1:1 HA pair requires 2 VMs. This field is visible only if you are deploying OAM nodes. Properties of IF0

   yes

   Parameters associated with IF0. By default IF0 is configured as the management interface. Properties of IF1

   yes

   Parameters associated with IF1. By default IF1 is configured as the HA interface. Properties of IF2

   yes

   Parameters associated with IF2. By default IF2 is configured as the Pkt0 interface. (SR-IOV only) Edit the “PrefixVn:” and "VLANId:" values (shown below) to the appropriate values for your interface. Take care to only add the values and do not add additional characters or whitespace.

   Image Removed

   Image Added Properties of IF3

   yes

   Parameters associated with IF3. By default IF3 is configured as the Pkt1 interface. (SR-IOV only) Edit the “PrefixVn:” and "VLANId:" parameters (shown above) to the appropriate values for your interface. Take care to only add the values and do not add additional characters or whitespace. EMS Username

   yes

   Enter the username credentials to use when registering with the EMS, if applicable. EMS Password

   yes

   Enter the password to use when registering with the EMS, if applicable. EMS IP[0]

   yes

   Enter the IP address of the EMS-0 (primary) instance, if applicable. EMS IP[1]

   yes

   Enter the IP address of the EMS-1 instance, if applicable. EmsDownloadConfig

   yesSpecifies whether the cluster downloads configuration from the EMS. By default this value is set to True.EmsPrivateNodeParametersyesOptionally specifies an EMS cluster ID.

   Beginning with release 8.0 this option is no longer needed and the value is ignored. EmsPrivateNodeParameters. cluster_id Enter the value you want to use as the EMS cluster ID for the VNF, if applicable. Cloud Config Init Data Replace

   In the Cloud Config Init Data section, replace

   the default public key with the public key of your own self-generated ssh key pair to be used for logging into SBC

   . The following figure shows an SSH key for the "admin" user account

   . To generate the key, you can use the ssh-keygen command and use the contents of the id_rsa.pub file that it generates in your /home/<user>/.ssh directory to replace the default. Refer to man ssh-keygen for more information. You also have the option to enter passwords for the user accounts defined in this section. Take care to maintain the formatting of this section when you replace the default content. The data must be provided in a proper YAML format

   . 

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   0 Figure 1 VNF Deployment Wizard - Cloud Config Init Data
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   (SR-IOV and Provider Networks only) For each interface, enter the required IPv4 or IPv6 address

   .

   Or, if this configuration has been done for a previous orchestration, you will have the option to select the name of a previous instance whose IP address configuration you want to reuse from the Select from the previous Orchestrations list.

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   0 Figure 1 Manual IP tab for SR-IOV interfaces
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7. Click Deploy VNF when you have completed your customizations. 

9. Click Instantiate. VNFM begins the process of orchestrating the SBC VNFs.

VNFM opens the VNF Status window where you can watch the status progression as the VNFs are deployed.

1. When the process is complete the VNF status changes to Ready.   

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If If you are deploying an N:1 M-SBC, the newly orchestrated VNF remains in a “degraded” state until you configure a Load Balancing Service (LBS). An alarm saying that the VNF cannot connect to VNFM may be triggered. However, once LBS is configured the active and standby roles for the VMs are determined and the VNF registers successfully with VNFM. Configuring LBS is a part of the initial configuration of an M-SBC. Refer to Configuring M-SBC Cluster Configuration using SBC Configuration Manager.

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If VNFM shows the SBC status as "Ready," but the EMS shows the SBC status as "Not Registered Online," check the EMS logs for further information.

After Orchestration

During By default during orchestration VNFM creates basic security rules and a security group. These basic rules do not restrict access to and from the SBC nodes. If you have not already created the specific security rules required for your deployment, refer to the following page for the list of rules you should create: Creating Security Group Rules. Alternatively you can enable an option when you create your CSAR package file that creates the recommended security rules automatically. Refer to the "–security_restrict" option described on Creating a CSAR Package File.

After orchestration the SBC nodes are created but have no associated configuration. Refer to Configuring Basic SBC SWe on OpenStack Configuration using SBC Configuration Manager for procedures to configure the SBC. 

SR-IOV Interface IP Address Example

If you completed the steps required for implementing SR-IOV interfaces and you used the example input data shown in the previous procedure, the following figure shows the IP address assignments that would be made for the packet interfaces during orchestration. This output appears for the VMs within an VNF when you click on a VNF name within the VNF Status page.  Caption

0	Figure
1	SR-IOV IP Address Example

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