VirtualBox
This section describes how to install and set up Cumulus VX in VirtualBox to create the two leaf and one spine topology shown below.
In the topology, leaf01 and leaf02 are the access layer switches on the network. leaf01 and leaf02 connect to spine01, which is the aggregation layer switch on the network. To facilitate additional configuration after the initial setup descibed in this guide, leaf01 and leaf02 also have two connections to each other.
Follow the steps below to:
- Create three VMs (leaf01, leaf02, and spine01) and the network connections between them
- Log into the switches
- Perform basic switch configuration
- Verify configuration
These steps were tested with Cumulus VX 4.2 and VirtualBox version 6.1.12 on macOS version 10.14.6.
Create and Configure the VMs
The following procedure creates leaf01, leaf02, and spine01 and the network connections between them. This section assumes you have VirtualBox experience.
Download and Install the Software
- Download and install VirtualBox.
- Download the OVA VirtualBox image.
Create the VMs
The Cumulus VX OVA image defines the CPU, memory, and disk requirements. Cumulus VX requires at least 768MB of RAM and 6GB of disk space.
CumulusVX versions 4.3 and later requires 2 vCPUs.
Follow these steps for each VM (leaf01, leaf02, and spine01)
- Open the VirtualBox application and select Import Appliance from the File menu.
- Browse for the OVA disk image you downloaded, click the Open button, then click Continue.
- In the Appliance settings, change the name of the VM to
leaf01, then click Import to begin the import process.
- In the VirtualBox Manager window, right click the
leaf01VM, then select Clone. - Change the name of the VM to
leaf02, then click Continue. - Make sure Full Clone is selected, then click Clone.
- Repeat steps 4 through 6 to create
spine01.
Create Network Connections
VirtualBox network adapters start with eth0, then swp1, swp2 and swp3. Settings for Adapter 1 apply to eth0, settings for Adapter 2 apply to swp1, and so on.
Configure the network adapter settings for leaf01, leaf02, and spine01 to create point-to-point connections, as shown below.
Follow these steps for each VM (leaf01, leaf02, and spine01):
In the VirtualBox Manager window, select the VM.
Click Settings, then click Network.
Configure the Adapters on each VM as shown below, then click OK to save the network connections.
- Make sure to select the Paravirtualized Network (virtio-net) network Adapter Type for all adapters
- Enable Promiscuous Mode for all adapters (except Adapter 1) to allow for LACP bonding to operate properly.
- Do not change the MAC Addresses, which get configured automatically.
leaf01 configuration
leaf02 configuration
spine01 configuration
Power on the VMs.
Log into the Switches
Log into each switch with the cumulus account and default password cumulus. When you log in for the first time, you are prompted to change the default password.
If you are using Cumulus VX 4.1.1 or earlier, the default password is CumulusLinux!. You are not prompted to change the default password.
For more information on the required password change, see the Cumulus Linux documentation.
Basic Switch Configuration
Run these commands on each switch to change the hostname and bring up the interfaces. Exit the switch, then log back in to see the new hostname at the prompt.
cumulus@cumulus:mgmt:~$ net add hostname leaf01 cumulus@cumulus:mgmt:~$ net add interface swp1,swp2,swp3 cumulus@cumulus:mgmt:~$ net commit cumulus@cumulus:mgmt:~$ exit
cumulus@cumulus:mgmt:~$ net add hostname leaf02 cumulus@cumulus:mgmt:~$ net add interface swp1,swp2,swp3 cumulus@cumulus:mgmt:~$ net commit cumulus@cumulus:mgmt:~$ exit
cumulus@cumulus:mgmt:~$ net add hostname spine01 cumulus@cumulus:mgmt:~$ net add interface swp1,swp2 cumulus@cumulus:mgmt:~$ net commit cumulus@cumulus:mgmt:~$ exit
Verify Configuration
Run the following commands on each switch to verify the configuration:
It might take a few minutes for the LLDP information to update. If your command output is different from the output shown below, wait a few minutes, then run the command again.
cumulus@leaf01:mgmt:~$ net show lldp LocalPort Speed Mode RemoteHost RemotePort ----------- ------- ------------ ------------ ------------ swp1 1G Default spine01 swp1 swp2 1G Default leaf02 swp2 swp3 1G Default leaf02 swp3
cumulus@leaf02:mgmt:~$ net show lldp LocalPort Speed Mode RemoteHost RemotePort ----------- ------- ------------ ------------ ------------ swp1 1G Default spine01 swp2 swp2 1G Default leaf01 swp2 swp3 1G Default leaf01 swp3
cumulus@spine01:mgmt:~$ net show lldp LocalPort Speed Mode RemoteHost RemotePort ----------- ------- ------------ ------------ ------------ swp1 1G Default leaf01 swp1 swp2 1G Default leaf02 swp1
Run the following commands on each switch to show system information:
cumulus@leaf01:mgmt:~$ net show system Hostname..............leaf01 Build.................Cumulus Linux 4.2.0 Uptime................0.00.23.740000 Model.................Cumulus VX Memory................768MB Disk..................6GB Vendor Name...........Cumulus Networks Part Number...........4.2.0 Base MAC Address......4:00:27:39:B1:12 Serial Number.........4:00:27:39:B1:12 Product Name..........VX
Next Steps
- Read the Cumulus Linux User Guide to learn about using Cumulus Linux and test out features on your switches.
- Visit the NVIDIA Cumulus web site, which offers many resources to help you understand Cumulus Linux.
- Try some of the advanced configuration. You can update your virtual environment to be able to use the Cumulus Linux on demand self-paced labs (a quick and easy way to learn the fundamentals). You can also run the topology converter to simulate a custom network topology with VirtualBox and Vagrant, or KVM-QEMU and Vagrant.
- Try NVIDIA AIR, which is a free, personal, virtual data center network that provides a low-effort way to see Cumulus Networks technology in action. This is a good way to try out Cumulus Linux if you have platform or disk limitations.