Configure GigaVUE Fabric Components using VMware ESXi

This topic provides instructions on how to deploy the fabric components for VMware ESXi.

Register GigaVUE V Series Node

NOTE:

  • When registering GigaVUE V Series Nodes in GigaVUE‑FM, make sure that the connection name under each Monitoring Domain is unique.
  • When GigaVUE‑FM version is 6.10.00 or above and the Fabric Components are on (n-1) or (n-2) versions, you must create a Username and Password instead of using tokens in the registration data. For more details, refer to the Configure Role-Based Access for Third-Party Orchestration section in the 6.9 Documentation.
  • Create tokens in the User Management page in GigaVUE-FM. For details, refer to Configure Tokens.
  1. On your web browser, log in to VMware ESXi host.
  2. On the left pane, select Virtual Machines and select Create/Register VM. The New Virtual Machine dialog box appears.
  3. On the Select Creation Type page, select Deploy a virtual machine from an OVF or OVA file.
    The OVA file is essentially a package of OVF files. For Third Party Orchestration deployment, you need to extract the specific OVF file with the desired characteristics, along with the VMDK and manifest files, from the OVA package.
  4. Unzip the OVA file.
  5. After extracting the OVA file, select the required OVF, VMDK, and the .mf files from the multiple available files. For details on the OVF files, refer to the table below.

    File Name

    		Form Factor

    Comments

    Supported Ports

    vseries-node-file1.ovf

    Small (2 vCPU, 4GB Memory, and 8GB Disk space)

    Use these files when deploying GigaVUE V Series Node via VMware vCenter.

    Mgmt Port, Tool Port, and 8 Network Ports

    vseries-node-file2.ovf

    Medium (4 vCPU, 8GB Memory, and 8GB Disk space)

    vseries-node-file3.ovf

    Large (8 vCPU, 16GB Memory, and 8GB Disk space)

    vseries-node-file4.ovf

    Small (2 vCPU, 4GB Memory, and 8GB Disk space)

    Use these when deploying GigaVUE V Series Node via VMware NSX-T Manager.

    Mgmt Port, Data Port, and Tool Port

    vseries-node-file5.ovf

    Medium (4 vCPU, 8GB Memory, and 8GB Disk space)

    vseries-node-file6.ovf

    Large (8 vCPU, 16GB Memory, and 8GB Disk space)

    vseries-node-file7.ovf

    Small (2 vCPU, 4GB Memory, and 8GB Disk space)

    Use these files when deploying GigaVUE V Series Node via VMware ESXi without vCenter.

    Mgmt Port, Tool Port, and 8 Network Ports

    vseries-node-file8.ovf

    Medium (4 vCPU, 8GB Memory, and 8GB Disk space)

    vseries-node-file9.ovf

    Large (8 vCPU, 16GB Memory, and 8GB Disk space)

    vseries-node-file12.ovf

    Small (2 vCPU, 4GB Memory, and 80GB Disk space)

    Not Applicable - Reserved.

    		 

    Medium (4 vCPU, 8GB Memory, and 80GB Disk space)

    Not Applicable - Reserved.

    		 

    Larger (8 vCPU, 16GB Memory, and 80GB Disk space)

    Use these files when deploying GigaVUE V Series Node via VMware vCenter and if you wish to configure AMX application.

    Mgmt Port , Data Port, and Tool Port

    vseries-node-file15.ovf

    Small (2 vCPU, 4GB Memory, and 80GB Disk space)

    Not Applicable - Reserved.

    		 

    Medium (4 vCPU, 8GB Memory, and 80GB Disk space)

    Not Applicable - Reserved.

    		 

    Larger (8 vCPU, 16GB Memory, and 80GB Disk space)

    Use these files when deploying GigaVUE V Series Node via VMware ESXi without vCenter and if you wish to configure AMX application

    Mgmt Port , Data Port, and Tool Port

    vseries-node-file16.ovf

     

    minipc - Virtual Small Form Factor

    Mgmt Port, Tool Port, and 2 Network Ports

  6. The Select OVF and VMDK files page appears. Provide a name for the Virtual machine. Upload OVF, VMDK, and the .mf files. Click Next.

    Note:  Ensure to edit and modify the .mf file to contain only the required OVF file type and the VDMK file.

  7. From the Select Storage page, select the storage type and data store, and then select Next.
  8. On Deployment Options, perform the following steps:.
    1. Select the network port group associated with the host, network ports and tunneling port details from the Network Mappings drop-down.
    2. Select Thick/Thin from the Disk provisioning field.
    3. Select Management Port DHCP from the Deployment type drop-down.
    4. (Optional) Enable the Power on automatically check-box to power on the Virtual Machine automatically.

Note:  Ensure to disable this option, if you are deploying GigaVUE V Series Nodes to export enriched metadata for Mobile Networks using the AMX application. Before powering on the Virtual Machine, ensure that the VM specifications are modified. Refer to the section below for more details on how to modify the VM specifications.

  1. Under the additional settings page, provide the user data as shown below:
    Hostname: <Host Name>
    Administration Password: <Your Password>
    GroupName: <Monitoring domain name>
    SubGroupName: < Connection name>
    token: <Token>
    remoteIP: <IP address of the GigaVUE-FM>
    remotePort: 443
    Custom node properties: app_mode=linux_apps; (Update this option only if you wish to export enriched metadata using the AMX application)
  2. On the Ready to Complete page, review the setting selection, and select Finish.

The GigaVUE V Series Node is configured successfully.

Post Configuration Steps for Exporting Metadata for Mobile Networks using AMX

If you are deploying the GigaVUE V Series Node to configure AMX application to export enriched metadata for mobile networks, perform the following steps:

  1. Select Edit on the VM page in the VMware ESXi.
    The Edit Settings page appears.
  2. In the Virtual Hardware tab, edit the following fields:
    • CPU: 40
    • Memory: 128GB
    • Hard disk 1: 200GB
    • (optional) If you wish to get higher throughput, change the Adapter type for the Network Adapter to SR-IOV passthrough.

    When exporting GigaVUE enriched Metadata for Mobile Networks using AMX application, you can also configure the GigaVUE V Series Node used to deploy AMX application in GFM-HW2-FM001-HW. For instruction, refer to GigaVUE-FM Hardware Appliances Guide.

    For information about how to configure the AMX application, refer to Application Metadata Exporter.

Edit the ring buffer settings

For a high transactional ingress environment, perform the following steps to edit the ring buffer settings:

Note:  Perform these steps consistently every time after rebooting the GigaVUE V Series Nodes.

  1. Log in to the GigaVUE V Series Node.
  2. Use the following command to view the maximum pre-set hardware settings value and your current hardware settings. 
    sudo ethtool -g <interface name>
  3. Verify that the ingress interface ring buffers are set to the maximum supported values.

The GigaVUE V Series Node deployed in VMware ESXi host appears in Third-party Orchestration Monitoring Domain page of GigaVUE‑FM.

Procedure to deploy V Series Node in VMware ESXi with SR-IOV Adapter

Perform the following steps when you deploy V Series Node in VMware ESXi host with SR-IOV Adapter:

  1. On the VM page in the VMware ESXi host environment, select Edit.
    The Edit Settings page appears.
  2. In the Virtual Hardware tab, edit the following fields:
    • CPU: 8
    • Memory: 16GB
    • Hard disk 1: 80GB
    • Network adapter 1: VM Network (Connected)
    • Network adapter 2: Port Group (Connected)
    • Network adapter 3: Port Group (Connected)
    • Video card: 4MB

    Note:  Make sure to select Reserve all guest memory for VM Memory.

    Deploy V Series Node with OVF15 template (Large Form Factor) with Management, Tool, and Data Ports. The Port-Group mappings and Netplan configs are as follows:

    Port-Group Mapping:

    • ens160: Mapped with VMNetwork

    • ens192 and ens224: Correctly mapped with the Port Groups that the user creates

    Sample Netplan Configs:

    • ens192 with 192.168.10.X
    • ens224 with 192.168.20.X
  3. Power off VM and remove Network Adapter 2 and Network Adapter 3. Now, without saving, add two new Network Adapters and change the Adapter Type to SR-IOV passthrough.
    Once added, the user-created Port-Group mappings for ens192 and ens224 get swapped.
  4. In Edit Settings, swap the adapters to correct the configuration mismatch with Netplan configs.
  5. Save the configuration and deploy the VM.
    Now, ens192 and ens224 are mapped with the correct Port Group Mappings.
  6. Use the following command to manually configure /etc/gigamon-cloud.conf with registration configurations to register V Series Node with GigaVUE‑FM. 
    gigamon@vsn-5gc-new:~$ cat /etc/gigamon-cloud.conf
  7. Under the additional settings page, provide the user data as shown below:
    • GroupName: <Monitoring domain name>
    • SubGroupName: < Connection name>
    • User: <Username>
    • Password: <Password>
    • remoteIP: <IP address of the GigaVUE-FM>
    • remotePort: 443