Instantiate Standalone SBC on Azure

Install Azure CLI

Use the following command to install Azure CLI in a Ubuntu machine. Ensure that the user logged in has sudo permission to execute this command.

The Azure CLI version used for this documentation is 2.24.

curl -sL https://aka.ms/InstallAzureCLIDeb | sudo bash

To install on Windows using the MSI, refer to Microsoft Azure Documentation.

Verify the installation by logging on to your Azure subscription using the following command:

az login

Note

The Azure CLI uses the default subscription ID from your log in attempt. To use a different subscription, add the --subscription <subscription ID> option to each command.

Alternatively, change the subscription used by the CLI tools by using the following command: az account set --subscription <SUBSCRIPTION NAME>

Configure Network

Before creating and configuring the SBC, configure your network on Azure by performing the steps given below.

Create Resource Group

Create a resource group by using the following command:

Syntax

az group create --name <NAME> --location <LOCATION>

Example

az group create --name RBBN-SBC-RG --location eastus

Ensure all SBC resources in Azure are created in the same Resource Group.

Create a Virtual Network

To create the SBC, you need only one virtual network ('vnet') with all network interfaces attached to it. Ribbon recommends the address prefix size as 10.X.X.X/16. You can create the virtual network by using the following command:

Syntax

az network vnet create --name <NAME> --address-prefixes <CIDR> --resource-group <RESOURCE-GROUP-NAME> --location <LOCATION>

Example

az network vnet create --name RibbonNet --address-prefixes 10.2.0.0/16 --resource-group RBBN-SBC-RG --location eastus

Create Network Security Group

Note

Refer to Common Public Cloud Security Group Rules for recommended Security Group rules.

Security Groups define the set of rules to allow access to the Virtual Machines. Use the following command to create a Security Group:

Syntax

az network nsg create --name <NAME> --resource-group <RESOURCE-GROUP-NAME> --location <LOCATION>

Example

az network nsg create --name RbbnSbcSG --resource-group RBBN-SBC-RG --location eastus

The Network Security Group includes the following default rules described in the figure below:

Create Rules

To allow access to the SBC, you should add more rules to the Network Security Group created above by using the following command for each rule:

Syntax

az net nsg rule create --name <NAME>
                       --nsg-name <SECURITY GROUP NAME>
                       --resource-group <RESOURCE-GROUP-NAME>
                       --protocol <PROTOCOL>
                       --source-address-prefixes <IP>
                       --source-port-ranges <PORT RANGES>
                       --priority <PRIORITY NUMBER>
                       --direction <Inbound/Outbound>
                       --destination-port-ranges <DEST PORT RANGES>

Example

az network nsg rule create --name sshIn --nsg-name RbbnSbcSG --resource-group RBBN-SBC-RG --protocol tcp --source-address-prefixes 46.244.89.12 --source-port-ranges "*" --priority 127 --direction Inbound --destination-port-ranges 22

For detailed information on the parameters, refer to Microsoft Azure Documentation.

To allow access to the whole network, configure one outbound rule for each Network Security Group. See example below.

Example

az network nsg rule create --name vnetOutbound --nsg-name RbbnSbcSG --resource-group RBBN-SBC-RG --protocol "*" --source-address-prefixes "*" --source-port-ranges "*" --priority 100 --direction Outbound --destination-port-ranges "*" --destination-address-prefixes 10.2.0.0/16

Create Subnet

A Standalone SBC requires four subnets, as each interface on a VM requires its own subnet. Ribbon recommends the address prefix as 10.X.X.X/24. The subnets cover the following interfaces:

MGMT interface
HA interface
PKT0 interface
PKT1 interface

You can create a subnet by using the following command:

Syntax

az network vnet subnet create --name <NAME>
                              --address-prefixes <CIDR>
                              --resource-group <RESOURCE-GROUP-NAME>
                              --vnet-name <VNET_NAME>
                              --network-security-group <SECURITY GROUP NAME>

Examples

az network vnet subnet create --name mgmt --address-prefixes 10.2.0.0/24 --resource-group RBBN-SBC-RG --vnet-name RibbonNet --network-security-group mgmtRbbnSbcSG
 
az network vnet subnet create --name ha --address-prefixes 10.2.1.0/24 --resource-group RBBN-SBC-RG --vnet-name RibbonNet --network-security-group haRbbnSbcSG
 
az network vnet subnet create --name pkt0 --address-prefixes 10.2.2.0/24 --resource-group RBBN-SBC-RG --vnet-name RibbonNet --network-security-group pkt0RbbnSbcSG
 
az network vnet subnet create --name pkt1 --address-prefixes 10.2.3.0/24 --resource-group RBBN-SBC-RG --vnet-name RibbonNet --network-security-group pky1RbbnSbcSG

User Assigned Managed Identities

The User Assigned Managed Identity allows authentication for requests to Azure servers, without storing any user credentials on the VM. It does this by creating a special 'Service Principal' account. The SBC requires the Identity to gather information about the resources attached to the VM.

Create User Assigned Managed Identity

Create a User Assigned Managed Identity by using the following command with "Owner" permissions:

Syntax

az identity create --name <NAME> --resource-group <RESOURCE-GROUP-NAME>

Example

az identity create --name rbbnUami --resource-group RBBN-SBC-RG

Create Role

Assign roles to the Managed Identity created above to allow it to access the resources it needs. This can be achieved by creating a definition with custom roles.

A standalone SBC requires access to the following roles:

Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/*/read
Microsoft.Network/networkInterfaces/*/read
Microsoft.Network/publicIPAddresses/*/read
Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/subnets/*/read

To assign roles, perform the following steps:

Get your subscription IDs by using the following command and extracting the "id" from the output of the show command:
```
az account show
```

Create a JSON file <filename.json> containing the service roles:

{
    "Name": "<ROLE NAME>",
    "Description" : "Service account roles for use with Ribbon SBCs",
    "Actions" : [
        "Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/*/read",
        "Microsoft.Network/networkInterfaces/*/read",
        "Microsoft.Network/publicIPAddresses/*/read",
        "Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/subnets/*/read"
    ],
    "AssignableScopes" : [
        "/subscriptions/<SUBSCRIPTION ID>"
    ]
}

Tip

Define scope at the subscription level.

To create the custom role definition, use the following command:

Syntax

az role definition create --role-definition <JSON FILE>

Example

az role definition create --role-definition role_definition.json

Retrieve User Assigned Managed Identity Information

To assign a role to an Identity, extract the "clientId" and "Role id" by performing the following steps:

To get the "clientId" for the Managed Identity, use the following command:

az identity show --name <MANAGED IDENTITY NAME> --resource-group <RESOURCE-GROUP-NAME>

Example

az identity show --name rbbnUami --resource-group RBBN-SBC-RG

To get the "Role id" , use the following command and extract the full "id" from the output of the command.

Use the "Name" for from the JSON file created to use as the "Role Name" in the command:

Syntax

az role definition list --custom-role-only --name <ROLE NAME>

Example

az role definition list --custom-role-only --name ServiceRolesDefinition

Assign Role to Identity

To assign a role to an Identity, extract the "clientId" and "Role id" by performing the following steps:

To get the "clientId" for the Managed Identity, use the following command:

az identity show --name <MANAGED IDENTITY NAME> --resource-group <RESOURCE-GROUP-NAME>

Example

az identity show --name rbbnUami --resource-group RBBN-SBC-RG

To get the "Role id" , use the following command and extract the full "id" from the output of the command.

Use the "Name" for from the JSON file created to use as the "Role Name" in the command:

Syntax

az role definition list --custom-role-only --name <ROLE NAME>

Example

az role definition list --custom-role-only --name ServiceRolesDefinition

To assign the Managed Identity, use the following command:

Syntax

az role assignment create --assignee <clientId> --role <ROLE ID>

Example

az role assignment create --assignee xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx --role /subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx/providers/Microsoft.Authorization/roleDefinitions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx

Create Storage Account

To store boot diagnostics, the SBC requires a storage account. This allows the use of the Serial Console. It is recommended to use the "storageV2" as the type for the storage account.

To create a storage account, use the following command:

Syntax

az storage account create --name <NAME> --resource-group <RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME> --kind storageV2

Example

az storage account create --name rbbnsbcstorage --resource-group RBBN-SBC-RG --kind storageV2

Note

The Azure Storage Account name allows 3-24 characters. Use only lower-case letters and numbers. Special characters are not allowed.

Create SBC

To create the SBC on Azure, first create all resources separately by performing the steps below.

Note

In order to create the SBC, you will need the SBC image in Azure. Refer to Access and Share SBC Image in Azure.

Create Public IPs

The MGMT, PKT0 and PKT1 interfaces all require Public IPs.

Create the Public IPs by using the following commands:

Syntax

az network public-ip create --name <PUBLIC IP NAME> --resource-group <RESOURCE-GROUP-NAME> --allocation-method Static

Examples

az network public-ip create --name sbc-mgmt-ip --resource-group RBBN-SBC-RG --allocation-method Static

az network public-ip create --name sbc-pkt0-ip --resource-group RBBN-SBC-RG --allocation-method Static

az network public-ip create --name sbc-pkt1-ip --resource-group RBBN-SBC-RG --allocation-method Static

Note

By default, Azure kills an inactive TCP connection after four minutes through a Public IP. To increase this time limit, add the flag --idle-timeout <MINUTES> (range: 4-30 minutes).

Configure NICs

The SBC requires 4 NICs, each attached to a individual subnet for MGMT, HA, PKT0 and PKT1.

To create a standard NIC, use the following syntax:

Syntax

az network nic create --name <NIC NAME>
                      --resource-group <RESOURCE GROUP NAME>
                      --vnet-name <VIRTUAL NETWORK NAME>
                      --subnet <SUBNET NAME>
                      --network-security-group <SECURITY GROUP NAME>
                      --public-ip-address <PUBLIC IP ADDRESS>
                      --accelerated-networking true

Example

az network nic create --name <NIC NAME> --resource-group <RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME> --vnet-name <VNET_NAME> --subnet <SUBNET_NAME> --network-security-group <NET_SEC_GROUP> --public-ip-address <PUBLIC_IP_ADDRESS> --accelerated-networking true

Note

The HA does not require a public IP interface when configuring the NIC.

az network nic create --name sbc1-nic-mgmt --resource-group RBBN-SBC-RG --vnet-name RibbonNet --subnet SubnetMgmt --network-security-group RbbnSbcSG --public-ip-address sbc-mgmt-ip
az network nic create --name sbc1-nic-ha --resource-group RBBN-SBC-RG --vnet-name RibbonNet --subnet SubnetHA --network-security-group RbbnSbcSG
az network nic create --name sbc1-nic-pkt0 --resource-group RBBN-SBC-RG --vnet-name RibbonNet --subnet SubnetPkt0 --network-security-group RbbnSbcSG --public-ip-address sbc-pkt0-ip
az network nic create --name sbc1-nic-pkt1 --resource-group RBBN-SBC-RG --vnet-name RibbonNet --subnet SubnetPkt1 --network-security-group RbbnSbcSG --public-ip-address sbc-pkt1-ip

SBC Userdata

The Standalone SBC requires the following Userdata, which will be stored in a JSON file and called when creating the VM.

Standalone SBC - User Data

Key	Allow Values	Description
CEName	N/A	Specifies the actual CE name of the SBC instance. CEName Requirements: Must start with an alphabetic character. Contain only alphabetic characters and/or numbers; no special characters are allowed. Cannot exceed 64 characters in length.
ReverseNatPkt0	True/False	Requires True for standalone SBC
ReverseNatPkt1	True/False	Requires True for standalone SBC
SystemName	N/A	Specifies the System Name of the SBC instances. SystemName Requirements: Must start with an alphabetic character. Contain only alphabetic characters and/or numbers; no special characters are allowed. Cannot exceed 26 characters in length. Must be the same on both peers CEs.
SbcPersonalityType	isbc	The name of the SBC personality type for this instance. Currently, Ribbon supports only Integrated SBC (I-SBC). Specifies the System Name of the SBC instances. SystemName Requirements: Must start with an alphabetic character. Contain only alphabetic characters and/or numbers; no special characters are allowed. Cannot exceed 26 characters in length. Must be the same on both peers CEs.
AdminSshKey	ssh-rsa ...	Public SSH Key to access the admin user; must be in the form `ssh-rsa ...`
ThirdPartyCpuAlloc	0-4	(Optional) Number of CPUs segregated for use with non-Ribbon applications. Restrictions: 0-4 CPUs Both `ThirdPartCpuAlloc` and `ThirdPartyMemAlloc` must be configured. The configuration must match between peer instances. If ThirdPartyCpu is required, refer to Implementing C-group Support for Third-Party Software Installations
ThirdPartyMemAlloc	0-4096	(Optional) Amount of memory (in MB) that segregated out for use with non Ribbon applications. Restrictions: 0-4096 CPUs Both `ThirdPartCpuAlloc` and `ThirdPartyMemAlloc` must be configured. The configuration must match between peer instances

Create a JSON file (userdata.json) using the following Standalone SBC structure:

{    "CEName" : "<SBC CE NAME>",
    "ReverseNatPkt0" : "True",
    "ReverseNatPkt1" : "True",
    "SystemName" : "<SYSTEM NAME>",
    "SbcPersonalityType": "isbc",
    "AdminSshKey" : "<ssh-rsa ...>",
    "ThirdPartyCpuAlloc" : "<0-4>",
    "ThirdPartyMemAlloc" : "<0-4096>"
}

Caution

The SBC requires user data in a valid JSON format. If the user-data is not a valid JSON, the instance shuts down immediately.
You cannot update user data on VMs in the Azure framework.

Create the Virtual Machine

You cannot create the Virtual Machine (VM) using the Azure Portal, as the portal does not allow attaching user data to unofficial images.

To create the VM, use the following command:

az vm create --name <INSTANCE NAME>
             --resource-group <RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME>
             --admin-username linuxadmin
             --custom-data <USER DATA JSON FILE>
             --image "<IMAGE NAME>"
             --location "<LOCATION>"
             --os-disk-size-gb <DISK SIZE IN GB>
             --size <INSTANCE SIZE>
             --ssh-dest-key-path /home/linuxadmin/.ssh/authorized_keys
             --ssh-key-values <PUBLIC SSH KEY FILENAME>
             --nics <MGMT NIC NAME> <HA NIC NAME> <PKT0 NIC NAME> <PKT1 NIC NAME>
             --boot-diagnostics-storage <STORAGE ACCOUNT NAME>
             --assign-identity <USER ASSIGNED MANAGED IDENTITY ID>

The following table describes the flags:

VM Creation - Flags

Flag	Accepted Values	Example	Description
`name`		`rbbnSbc`	Name of the instance; must be unique in the Resource Group.
`resource-group`		`RBBN-SBC-RG`	Name of the Resource Group.
`admin-username`	linuxadmin	`linuxadmin`	The default user. For the SBC, set as `linuxadmin`.
`custom-data`	User Data JSON File	`userData.json`	Location of the JSON file containing the user data.
`image`		"/subscriptions/xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxx/resourceGroups/RBBN-SBC-RG/providers/Microsoft.Compute/images/rbbn-sbc-v10.01.00.img"	Image recourse ID created from Access and Share SBC Image in Azure. The image and storage account is in the same region.
`location`		`"East US"`	The location of the host of the VM. For more information, refer to Microsoft Azure Documentation.
`os-disk-size-gb`	65+	`65`	The size of the disk. The SBC requires a minimum of 65GB.
`size`		Standard_D8s_v3	This is the instance size. In AWS, it is known as 'Instance Type', and Openstack calls it 'flavor'. For more information on instance sizes, refer to Microsoft Azure Documentation. The SBC requires a minimum of 3vCpus, 10GB RAM, and 4 NICs.
`ssh-dest-key-path`	/home/linuxadmin/.ssh/authorized_keys	`/home/linuxadmin/.ssh/authorized_keys`	The path for the SSH key added in the flag `--ssh-key-values`. This must be the `linuxadmin` admin path, as the SSH key is for `linuxadmin`.
`ssh-key-values`	File Name.	`azureSshKey.pub`	A file that contains the public SSH key for accessing the `linuxadmin` user. This can be retrieved by using the following command: `ssh-keygen -y -f azureSshKey.pem > azureSshKey.pub` Note: The Public Key must be in openSSH form: `ssh-rsa XXX`
`nics`	Space separated list	sbc1-nic-mgmt sbc1-nic-ha sbc1-nic-pkt0 sbc1-nic-pkt1	The names of the NICs created in previous steps.
`boot-diagnostics-storage`	Storage Account Name.	rbbnsbcstorage	The storage account created in the previous steps for storing boot diagnostics. This allows the use of the serial console.
`assign-identity`	User Assigned Managed Identity ID	`/subscriptions/<SUBSCRIPTION ID>/resourceGroups/RBBN-SBC-RG/providers/Microsoft.ManagedIdentity/userAssignedIdentities/rbbnUami`	This is ID for the User Assigned Managed Identity created in the previous steps. You can retrieve it by using the following command: `az identity show --name < IDENTITY NAME> --resource-group <RESOURCE-GROUP-NAME>` `See Retrieve User Assigned Managed Identity Information.`

Configure SBC

To configure the Standalone SBC, perform the following SBC CLI configuration steps.

Configure PKT Ports

Configure the PKT ports using the SBC CLI.

Example

admin@sbc-10.2.2.12> conf
Entering configuration mode private
[ok][2019-10-04 09:04:15]

[edit]
admin@sbc-10.2.2.12% set addressContext default ipInterfaceGroup LIG1 ipInterface LIF1 portName pkt0 ipVarV4 IF2.IPV4 prefixVarV4 IF2.PrefixV4 mode inService state enabled
[ok][2019-10-04 09:04:46]

[edit]
admin@sbc-10.2.2.12% commit
Commit complete.
[ok][2019-10-04 09:04:50]

[edit]
admin@sbc-10.2.2.12% set addressContext default ipInterfaceGroup LIG2 ipInterface LIF2 portName pkt1 ipVarV4 IF3.IPV4 prefixVarV4 IF3.PrefixV4 mode inService state enabled
[ok][2019-10-04 09:04:58]

[edit]
admin@sbc-10.2.2.12% com
Commit complete.
[ok][2019-10-04 09:05:00]

[edit]
admin@sbc-10.2.2.12% set addressContext default staticRoute 0.0.0.0 0 <PKT0 SUBNET GATEWAY> LIG1 LIF1 preference 100
[ok][2019-10-04 09:05:11]

[edit]
admin@sbc-10.2.2.12% com
Commit complete.
[ok][2019-10-04 09:05:15]

[edit]
admin@sbc-10.2.2.12% set addressContext default staticRoute 0.0.0.0 0 <PKT1 SUBNET GATEWAY> LIG2 LIF2 preference 100
[ok][2019-10-04 09:05:22]

[edit]
admin@sbc-10.2.2.12% com
Commit complete.
[ok][2019-10-04 09:05:24]

[edit]
admin@sbc-10.2.2.12%

Note

The gateway IP address is the second IP in the CIDR

Example:

For Subnet = 10.0.0.0/24 the Gateway = 10.0.0.1

For Subnet = 10.0.0.128/27 the Gateway = 10.0.0.129

The correct SBC CLI configuration will look similar to the following:

admin@sbc-10.2.2.12> show table addressContext default staticRoute
                               IP
                               INTERFACE IP
DESTINATION                    GROUP      INTERFACE              CE
IP ADDRESS   PREFIX NEXT HOP NAME       NAME       PREFERENCE NAME
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
0.0.0.0      0       10.2.3.1 LIG1       LIF1       100         -
0.0.0.0      0       10.2.4.1 LIG2       LIF2       100         -
[ok][2019-10-04 09:16:47]
admin@sbc-10.2.2.12>
admin@sbc-10.2.2.12> show table addressContext default ipInterfaceGroup

                                                                                                                                                               IP      IP           IP
                      CE    PORT IP               ALT IP   ALT                        DRYUP             BW           VLAN             IP VAR    PREFIX VAR    PUBLIC VAR PREFIX PUBLIC
NAME IPSEC     NAME NAME NAME ADDRESS PREFIX ADDRESS PREFIX MODE       ACTION TIMEOUT STATE    CONTINGENCY TAG   BANDWIDTH V4        V4            VAR V4 V6   VAR V6 VAR V6
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LIG1 disabled LIF1 -     pkt0 -        -       -        -       inService dryUp   60       enabled 0            -     0          IF2.IPV4 IF2.PrefixV4 -       -    -       -
LIG2 disabled LIF2 -     pkt1 -        -       -        -       inService dryUp   60       enabled 0            -     0          IF3.IPV4 IF3.PrefixV4 -       -    -       -
[ok][2019-10-04 09:18:35]

Sample Meta Variable Table

Example Meta Variable table for a Standalone SBC is given below:

admin@sbc-10.2.2.12> show table system metaVariable
CE NAME        NAME          VALUE
--------------------------------------------
sbc-10.2.2.12 IF0.GWV4      10.2.0.1
sbc-10.2.2.12 IF0.IPV4      10.2.0.9
sbc-10.2.2.12 IF0.Port      Mgt0
sbc-10.2.2.12 IF0.RNat      True
sbc-10.2.2.12 IF1.GWV4      10.2.2.1
sbc-10.2.2.12 IF1.IPV4      10.2.2.12
sbc-10.2.2.12 IF1.Port      Ha0
sbc-10.2.2.12 IF1.RNat      True
sbc-10.2.2.12 IF2.GWV4      10.2.3.1
sbc-10.2.2.12 IF2.IPV4      10.2.3.10
sbc-10.2.2.12 IF2.Port      Pkt0
sbc-10.2.2.12 IF2.RNat      True
sbc-10.2.2.12 IF3.GWV4      10.2.4.1
sbc-10.2.2.12 IF3.IPV4      10.2.4.10
sbc-10.2.2.12 IF3.Port      Pkt1
sbc-10.2.2.12 IF3.RNat      True
sbc-10.2.2.12 IF0.FIPV4     13.82.233.180
sbc-10.2.2.12 IF2.FIPV4     13.82.190.231
sbc-10.2.2.12 IF3.FIPV4     13.82.191.251
sbc-10.2.2.12 IF0.PrefixV4 24
sbc-10.2.2.12 IF1.PrefixV4 24
sbc-10.2.2.12 IF2.PrefixV4 24
sbc-10.2.2.12 IF3.PrefixV4 24
[ok][2019-10-04 09:05:55]
admin@sbc-10.2.2.12>

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Instantiate Standalone SBC on Azure

Install Azure CLI

Configure Network

Create Resource Group

Syntax

Example

Create a Virtual Network

Syntax

Example

Create Network Security Group

Syntax

Example

Create Rules

Syntax

Example

Example

Create Subnet

Syntax

Examples

User Assigned Managed Identities

Create User Assigned Managed Identity

Syntax

Example

Create Role

Syntax

Example

Retrieve User Assigned Managed Identity Information

Example

Assign Role to Identity

Example

Create Storage Account

Syntax

Example

Create SBC

Create Public IPs

Syntax

Examples

Configure NICs

Syntax

Example

SBC Userdata

Create the Virtual Machine

Configure SBC

Configure PKT Ports

Example

Sample Meta Variable Table