High-Level Concept of Integration

The integration of Netris with Apache CloudStack provides a robust and scalable networking solution, addressing the limitations of traditional switch fabrics and enhancing the network capabilities of CloudStack.

How It Works

  • Hypervisors as VTEPs: Hypervisors terminate VXLAN tunnels, acting as Virtual Tunnel Endpoints (VTEPs).

  • BGP EVPN Signaling: Netris uses BGP EVPN to exchange MAC and IP address information, creating a dynamic and scalable control plane for VXLAN.

  • Integration Points:

    • The CloudStack Controller communicates with the Netris Controller API to exchange network configuration and metadata.

    • VXLAN fabrics are extended between CloudStack and physical switch networks using BGP/EVPN.

Challenges Addressed

  • Overcomes the VLAN limitation of 4096 IDs by leveraging VXLAN, supporting millions of isolated VPCs.

  • Eliminates the “island” effect of CloudStack’s multicast-based VXLAN by integrating with the physical switch fabric.

  • Replaces CloudStack’s virtual router with Netris SoftGate, offering scalable NAT, load balancing, and traffic control.

Benefits

  • Scalability: Support for millions of VPCs with overlapping IPs.

  • AWS-Like Services: Enables Direct Connect functionality and scalable load balancing.

  • Automation: Simplifies network operations with centralized control via the Netris Controller.

  • Cost-Efficiency: Uses multi-vendor hardware and commodity servers, reducing infrastructure costs.

Use Cases

  • Large-scale Apache CloudStack Providers needing a scalable alternative to VLANs.

  • Enterprises transforming their traditional data centers into private cloud environments.

  • Hosting providers seeking AWS-like network functionality for their customers.

../_images/acs-infra-diagram.png

Compute and Network Architecture

The current infrastructure for Netris-CloudStack integration is designed to support scalable and dynamic networking for cloud workloads. This section outlines the key infrastructure components and their roles.

Diagram Overview

The diagram represents the interconnected infrastructure, consisting of:

  1. Leaf and Spine Switches:

    • These switches form the core networking fabric, ensuring high-speed, redundant, and fault-tolerant connectivity.

    • Spine switches (Spine 1 and Spine 2) aggregate traffic and connect to leaf switches.

    • Leaf switches (Leaf 1 and Leaf 2) connect directly to compute nodes and softgates, handling VXLAN encapsulation.

  2. Softgates:

  • Softgates play a critical role in integrating physical and virtual network environments. They are responsible for:

    • NAT Functionality: Facilitates secure communication between private and external networks.

    • Elastic Load Balancer: Distributes inbound traffic to multiple backend instances.

    • Network Access Control: Enforces security policies at the edge.

  • Additionally, Softgates bridge VXLAN and traditional networking and support BGP/EVPN for dynamic routing.

  1. Servers:

    • Server 1:

      • Designated as the CloudStack Management Node, responsible for orchestrating the environment.

    • Server 2, Server 3, and Server 4:

      • These KVM hypervisors are managed by CloudStack and function as VXLAN Tunnel Endpoints (VTEPs).

  2. OOB (Out-of-Band) Switch (If Present):

    • If available, an OOB switch provides an independent management network for accessing servers.

    • Allows administrators to:

      • Perform software installations and updates.

      • Troubleshoot and manage servers independently of the main network.

Network Flow

  1. Hypervisor traffic traverses VXLAN tunnels, dynamically configured via BGP/EVPN.

  2. Softgates handle routing between overlay and underlay networks, ensuring seamless workload communication.

  3. CloudStack Controller communicates with Netris Controller API to synchronize network configurations.

  4. Leaf and Spine switches ensure a highly available and scalable fabric for compute workloads.

  5. If an OOB switch is available, it provides direct administrative access to all servers.

  6. Softgates establish BGP sessions for external connectivity, ensuring public and private traffic reachability.