How to Deploy a Nodegrid Appliance

This document outlines best practices and an example of how Service Contractors can deploy a Nodegrid appliance as part of racking and stacking service contracts.
While the Nodegrid appliances support a wide range of deployment options, including Zero Touch Provisioning, supported by ZPE Cloud, is the traditional model of deployment through on-site engineers still quite common.

This guide covers the example deployment of a NetSR in a co-lo data center through an on-site engineer with little to no Nodegrid appliance experience. The deployment is supported remotely by an experienced engineer. The deployment aims to rack-mount the appliance and provide a base configuration that allows the engineers to validate the connectivity to a Nodegrid Cluster Coordinator or ZPE Cloud. The configuration can contain basic network configuration details, like setting of static IP Address details, creation of LACP bonds or the connectivity to management VLANs.

A typical deployment through a remote engineer involves, in most cases, two personas. 

• Network Architect/Engineer: This person understands the Nodegrid solution and its workings well. They aim to gain access to the appliance remotely to complete the deployment of the device and the site/location.

• On-Site Engineer/"Smart-Hands": This person has physical access to the location and is enabled to install a new appliance, but the person has little to no experience with the Nodegrid solution.

The guides draw on experiences from many customer deployments and aim to make deployments repeatable and consistent, especially in environments without ZPE Cloud.

Benefits 

• Make Nodegrid deployments easy, repeatable and consistent

• faster deployments

• more consistent configurations

Deployment Preparation

This section outlines which preparation should be performed before the actual installation and deployment of the NetSR appliance by each persona.

Network Architect/Engineer

• Create a configuration template for the base configuration using import_settings commands.

• Decide on a target Nodegrid OS version, which should be deployed initially

• Create a deployment check and instructions for the on-site engineer to follow

• Create the specific configuration for the NetSR, based on the base template

• Review and share the Nodegrid Safety details with the On-Site Engineer. The details can be found here.

On-Site Engineer/"Smart-Hands"

• Prepare a laptop which can be used for the deployment, the laptop should have a network interface (Ethernet) for access via SSH/WebUI and a Serial Console connection (recommended)

• The console cable, the required cable and the adapter for a DB9 Serial adapter are part of the box. As an alternative, can the engineer use an existing Cisco console cable

• a USB memory stick, min size 2GB, with the correct Nodegrid firmware. Only required if network access is not possible

• Access to the Nodegrid OS firmware file (.iso)

• All other materials required to install the appliance, like power cables, network cables etc.

• Review the Nodegrid

Step by Step - Deployment

• For the physical installation of the NetSR and connection of cables, see the hardware installation section for more details.

• Power on the unit

• Connect the laptop via serial console to the Nodegrid console port. (Baud: 115200,8,N,1,N)

• The Console connection will display the boot process. The console connection will display the login prompt after a few minutes, typically 2-5 min.
   If required, press ENTER, to display the login prompt.

• Login to the Nodegrid appliance with the default credentials: admin/admin

  • During the first login must, the user change the default password to a new secure password (min 8 characters, with a number and a special character)

• Perform a Firmware update with a reformat of the portion; see for instructions

  • Wait until the firmware upgrade process is completed (5-10min)

• Login to the Nodegrid appliance with the default credentials: admin/admin

  • During the first login must, the user change the default password to a new secure password (min 8 characters, with a number and a special character)

• Validate the firmware version

• Apply base configuration template

• Validate connectivity and configuration

Instructions

Validate Firmware Version

• Starting from the admin CLI prompt (after login)

• check the firmware version with

show /system/about

Example Output

[admin@nodegrid /]# show /system/about/
system: Nodegrid Net SR
licenses: 40
software: v5.8.13 (Sep 7 2023 - 03:00:38)
cpu: Intel(R) Atom(TM) CPU C3758 @ 2.20GHz
cpu_cores: 8
bogomips_per_core: 4400.00
serial_number: 401900000
uptime: 30 days,  22 hours,  50 minutes
boot mode: Legacy
secure boot: Disabled
model: NSR
part_number: NSR-TOP1-DAC
bios_version: 80919T00
psu: 2
revision tag: INITIAL-CONFIG
bios sed compatible: no
ssd sed compatible: no
sed pba version: no

Apply Base Configuration

• Starting from the admin CLI prompt (after login)

• use the following commands to apply a provided import_settings template

import_settings

• Press CTRL+D to commit the changes.

• Validate that no path was rejected

• Example

[admin@nodegrid /]# import_settings
Type or paste data output from export_settings. Press <CTRL-D> to finish.
/settings/network_settings hostname=nsr01
/settings/network_settings domain_name=zpecloud.com
Path: /settings/network_settings Result: succeeded
Processed paths: 1 Rejected paths: 0

Validate connectivity and configuration

Check the firmware version and serial number

show /system/about/

The output should contain:

• software: version should match the specified version

[admin@nodegrid /]# show /system/about/
system: Nodegrid Net SR
licenses: 40
software: v5.8.13 (Sep 7 2023 - 03:00:38)
cpu: Intel(R) Atom(TM) CPU C3758 @ 2.20GHz
cpu_cores: 8
bogomips_per_core: 4400.00
serial_number: 401900000
uptime: 30 days,  22 hours,  50 minutes
boot mode: Legacy
secure boot: Disabled
model: NSR
part_number: NSR-TOP1-DAC
bios_version: 80919T00
psu: 2
revision tag: INITIAL-CONFIG
bios sed compatible: no
ssd sed compatible: no
sed pba version: no

Check the network connection information

show /settings/network_connections/

The output should contain:

• carrier state for a required interface be up

• ipv4 address should display a valid IP address

the interface name of a VLAN interface should be of the format <parent interface>.<vlan number>, i.e. eth0.254

[admin@nsr01 toolkit]# show /settings/network_connections/
  name         status      type                  interface   carrier state  ipv4 address       ipv6 address                  mac address        description
  ===========  ==========  ====================  ==========  =============  =================  ============================  =================  ===============
  BACKPLANE0   connected   ethernet              backplane0  up             172.16.0.2/24      fe80::e61a:2cff:fe00:7501/64  e4:1a:2c:00:75:01 
  BACKPLANE1   connected   ethernet              backplane1  up                                                              e4:1a:2c:00:75:02
  BRIDGE       connected   bridge                br1         up                                                              96:10:3a:f5:77:4f
  ETH0         connected   ethernet              eth0        up             192.168.1.2/24      fe80::e61a:2cff:fe00:74ff/64 e4:1a:2c:00:74:ff  OOBI-WAN
  VLAN254      connected   vlan                  eth0.254    up             192.168.254.2/24    e4:1a:2c:00:74:ff                               OOBI-WAN
  CELLULAR-A   connected   mobile broadband gsm  cdc-wdm7    up             10.177.183.245/30                                                   OOBI-WAN BACKUP
  hotspot      not active  wifi                              down
  loopback2    connected   loopback              loopback2   up             10.244.255.193/32                                c2:4e:77:c3:0e:34
  loopback1    connected   loopback              loopback1   up             10.250.0.1/24                                    46:c9:6a:94:0c:4d

Check network switch interface information

show /settings/switch_interfaces/

The output should contain:

• status: should be enabled for interfaces that should be in use

• speed: should be on Auto or a specific speed as defined in the configuration

• port vlan id: for an access port it should contain the correct VLAN id, for a trunk interface it will show the default VLAN id

[admin@nsr01 toolkit]# show /settings/switch_interfaces/
  interface  status    description  speed  port vlan id  jumbo frame  acl ingress  acl egress  dhcp snooping  mstp status  802.1x status
  =========  ========  ===========  =====  ============  ===========  ===========  ==========  =============  ===========  =============
  sfp0       Enabled                Auto   1             Disabled     None         None        Untrusted      Disabled     Disabled
  sfp1       Enabled                Auto   2             Disabled     None         None        Untrusted      Disabled     Disabled
  netS3-1    Enabled      LAN01     Auto   1             Disabled     None         None        Untrusted      Disabled     Disabled
  netS3-2    Disabled               Auto   1             Disabled     None         None        Untrusted      Disabled     Disabled
  netS3-3    Disabled               Auto   1             Disabled     None         None        Untrusted      Disabled     Disabled
  netS3-4    Disabled               Auto   1             Disabled     None         None        Untrusted      Disabled     Disabled
  netS3-5    Disabled               Auto   1             Disabled     None         None        Untrusted      Disabled     Disabled
  netS3-6    Disabled               Auto   1             Disabled     None         None        Untrusted      Disabled     Disabled
  netS3-7    Disabled               Auto   1             Disabled     None         None        Untrusted      Disabled     Disabled
  netS3-8    Disabled               Auto   1             Disabled     None         None        Untrusted      Disabled     Disabled
  netS3-9    Disabled               Auto   1             Disabled     None         None        Untrusted      Disabled     Disabled
  netS3-10   Disabled               Auto   1             Disabled     None         None        Untrusted      Disabled     Disabled
  netS3-11   Disabled               Auto   1             Disabled     None         None        Untrusted      Disabled     Disabled
  netS3-12   Disabled               Auto   1             Disabled     None         None        Untrusted      Disabled     Disabled
  netS3-13   Disabled               Auto   1             Disabled     None         None        Untrusted      Disabled     Disabled
  netS3-14   Disabled               Auto   1             Disabled     None         None        Untrusted      Disabled     Disabled
  netS3-15   Disabled               Auto   250           Disabled     None         None        Untrusted      Disabled     Disabled
  netS3-16   Disabled               Auto   1             Disabled     None         None        Untrusted      Disabled     Disabled

Check network switch VLAN information

show /settings/switch_vlan/

The output should contain:

• vlan: should contain vlan 1,2 and any added VLAN ID

  
  

• untagged/tagged ports: should contain the desired interfaces

[admin@nsr01 toolkit]# show /settings/switch_vlan/
  vlan  untagged ports                                               tagged ports
  ====  ===========================================================  ============
  1     backplane0, netS3-[1..14], netS3-16, sfp0, slot2-0, slot2-1
  2     backplane1, sfp1
  250   netS3-15                                                     netS3-16
  251                                                                netS3-16

Check network switch LAG information

show /settings/switch_lag/

The output should contain:

• type: should match LACP

• ports: should contain the assigned ports

[admin@nsr01 /]# show /settings/switch_lag/
  name  id  type  ports
  ====  ==  ====  ==========
  lag   1   LACP  sfp0, sfp1

Check SFP details

show /system/switch_statistics/sfp0
show /system/switch_statistics/sfp1

The output should contain:

• status: Enabled

  
  

• state: Up

• speed: 1G or 10G, depending on the configuration

[admin@nsr01 toolkit]# show /system/switch_statistics/sfp0
interface: sfp0
status: Enabled
state: Down
speed: 10G
rx packets: 0
rx bytes: 0
tx packets: 0
tx bytes: 0
--- SFP Information ---
identifier: 0x03 (SFP)
extended identifier: 0x04 (GBIC/SFP defined by 2-wire interface ID)
connector: 0x07 (LC)
transceiver codes: 0x10 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x40 0x00 0x0c 0x00 0x00
transceiver type: 10G Ethernet: 10G Base-SR
transceiver type 2: FC: short distance (S)
transceiver type 3: FC: Multimode, 62.5um (M6)
transceiver type 4: FC: Multimode, 50um (M5)
encoding: 0x06 (64B/66B)
br, nominal: 10300MBd
rate identifier: 0x00 (unspecified)
length smf,km: 0km
length smf: 0m
length 50um: 300m
length 62.5um: 150m
length copper: 0m
length om3: 0m
laser wavelength: 850nm
vendor name: ZPE

Ping default gateway

shell ping 192.168.1.1 -c 3

The output should contain:

• 3 packets transmitted, 3 received, 0% packet loss

[admin@nsr01 toolkit]# shell ping 192.168.1.1 -c 3
PING 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.258 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.229 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=0.221 ms

--- 192.168.1.1 ping statistics ---
3 packets transmitted, 3 received, 0% packet loss, time 2055ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 0.221/0.236/0.258/0.015 ms

Validate DNS

shell ping zpecloud.com -c 3

The output should contain:

• 3 packets transmitted, 3 received, 0% packet loss

[admin@nsr01 toolkit]# shell ping zpecloud.com -c 3
PING zpecloud.com (34.83.37.8) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 8.37.83.34.bc.googleusercontent.com (34.83.37.8): icmp_seq=1 ttl=104 time=181 ms
64 bytes from 8.37.83.34.bc.googleusercontent.com (34.83.37.8): icmp_seq=2 ttl=104 time=165 ms
64 bytes from 8.37.83.34.bc.googleusercontent.com (34.83.37.8): icmp_seq=3 ttl=104 time=149 ms

--- zpecloud.com ping statistics ---
3 packets transmitted, 3 received, 0% packet loss, time 2003ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 149.455/165.323/181.106/12.921 ms

Test mobile connection (4G/5G)

shell ping 1.1.1.1 -I wwan7 -c 3

The output should contain:

• 3 packets transmitted, 3 received, 0% packet loss

[admin@nsr01 toolkit]# shell ping 1.1.1.1 -I wwan7 -c 3
PING 1.1.1.1 (1.1.1.1) from 10.177.183.245 wwan7: 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 1.1.1.1: icmp_seq=1 ttl=56 time=154 ms
64 bytes from 1.1.1.1: icmp_seq=2 ttl=56 time=100 ms
64 bytes from 1.1.1.1: icmp_seq=3 ttl=56 time=65.7 ms

--- 1.1.1.1 ping statistics ---
3 packets transmitted, 3 received, 0% packet loss, time 2002ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 65.746/106.673/154.013/36.318 ms

Check the ZPE Cloud connection

show /system/zpe_cloud/

The output should contain:

• associated company: should be the company name

• status: Connected - Licensed

• URL: https://zpecloud.com for US instance or https://zpecloud.eu for EU instance

[zpeadmin@iensr01 toolkit]# show /system/zpe_cloud/
device id: ZSnIZLaUVCGq5Sp1000000
associated company: ZPE Systems
associated site: US
status: Connected - Licensed
last public ip connected: 109.78.0.60
total of exchanged messages: 1280290
total of exchanged bytes: 322293554
url: https://zpecloud.com
version: 2.30.0
device registration: 25/02/2020 10:23:31 UTC
first connection: 05/12/2022 14:56:40 UTC
last reconnection: 28/11/2023 08:07:20 UTC
last disconnection: 28/11/2023 07:55:25 UTC

Firmware Update via USB stick

• Connect the USB stick to any of the USB ports on the device

• Starting from the admin CLI prompt (after login) use the following commands to copy the file to the Nodegrid appliance

• navigate to the root shell

shell sudo su -

• Navigate to the USB location

cd /run/media/sdb1

• Copy the firmware file to /var/sw/ and validate the file

cp ./Nodegrid_Platform_v5.10.8_20231107.iso /var/sw/
ls -lh /var/sw/

• disconnect the USB stick

• Return to the admin CLI prompt

exit

• Perform the firmware update and reset the unit to factory defaults in one step

software_upgrade
set filename=Nodegrid_Platform_v5.10.8_20231107.iso
set format_partitions_before_upgrade=yes
upgrade