Manual Chapter :
VELOS System Overview
Applies To:
Show Versions
F5OS-C
- 1.1.4, 1.1.3, 1.1.2, 1.1.1, 1.1.0
VELOS System Overview
Introducing the VELOS system
The VELOS platform is a modular (chassis and blade) form
factor, designed to meet the needs of large enterprise networking environments that
require the ability to scale and process a large volume of increasing application workloads.
VELOS systems include a platform layer known as F5OS, which
is a combination of the system controllers and chassis partitions. Chassis
partitions are a kind of virtual system or subset of the chassis that handles
the management and separation of disjoint sets of blades within the chassis.
You can divide a chassis into multiple chassis partitions, and a chassis
partition can have multiple tenants. A tenant is a guest system running
software (for example, a Classic BIG-IP system).
This illustration shows a simplified VELOS deployment with a
single CX410 chassis. The VELOS platform shown here has been divided into four
separate chassis partitions. Partition 1 has two blades, Partitions 2 and 3
each have one blade, and Partition 4 has 4 blades. Each blade fits into one
slot and can be configured to have either 2 interfaces (40Gb or 100Gb), or
they can be broken out into multiple (25Gb or 10Gb) interfaces. Link
Aggregation provides redundancy in case network failures occur, and by
spreading LAGs across blades, you can protect against individual blade
failures assuming adequate resources are available.
Example VELOS system
The chassis is managed through system controllers, which are
deployed in a redundant configuration providing high availability and added
performance. The system controllers connect to out-of-band management
networks, and their management interfaces can be bonded together within a
single LAG for added redundancy. Each system controller also has a dedicated
console connection for direct console access.
Refer to the
Platform Guide:
VELOS CX Series
for details on the VELOS hardware components.VELOS terminology
Here are definitions of some of the terms you
will encounter when configuring the VELOS system.
Term |
Definition |
|---|---|
appliance mode |
Restricts user access to root and
the bash shell at the system controller, chassis partition,
and the tenant levels. When enabled, the root user cannot log
in to the device by any means, including from the serial
console. Disabled by default. |
blade |
The primary hardware component that
handles traffic management including disaggregation, packet
classification, and traffic-steering for the VELOS platform.
Up to eight blades can be installed into the slots on the
chassis. |
chassis |
The main component of the unit that
houses the blades, system controllers, and other components.
The chassis can be divided into multiple chassis
partitions. |
chassis
partition |
A virtual system or subset of the chassis that handles the
management and separation of disjoint sets of blades within the chassis.
Partitions form chassis level management and traffic partitions. Each
chassis partition is a separate managed device – unlike the BIG-IP
system’s administrative partitions within a single managed device. The
partition can be managed using REST APIs, the partition CLI, and a
webUI. |
chassis
terminal service |
Built into the system controller software, the chassis
terminal service provides a means to access the console for
the system controllers and all blades. |
F5OS |
Platform operating system software that runs on the system
controllers and the chassis partitions. |
LAG |
Link aggregation group. A way to
group interfaces on the VELOS system so they function as a
single interface. The LAG (like a trunk on Classic BIG-IP
systems) distributes traffic across multiple links increasing
the bandwidth by adding the bandwidth of multiple links
together. |
port group |
A configuration object that is used to control the mode of the physical ports, whether
they are bundled or unbundled, and adjust their speed. |
tenant |
A guest system (similar to a vCMP
guest) running software within a chassis partition (for
example, a Classic BIG-IP system). Multiple tenants can be
deployed in one chassis partition. |
system
controllers |
Components of the chassis that
provide a unified point for external management and
connectivity to the platform and applications running in the
chassis. The chassis contains a redundant pair of system
controllers that provides a high bandwidth interconnect
between blades and high availability. The system controllers
also provide REST APIs, a system controller CLI,
and a webUI. |
webUI |
Browser-based user interfaces for
configuring the VELOS platform at the system controller (or
chassis) level and at the chassis partition level.
|
VELOS system licensing overview
Before you can configure and use the VELOS system, you must activate a valid
license. The license service coordinates the license installation on the system
controllers and configures the same license to the partitions and the tenants. Because
the system controller license applies to the whole system, the chassis partitions and
tenants all inherit licenses from the system controllers.
A base registration key, generated by F5, identifies a set of entitlements,
and is used to obtain the license for an F5 product. The base registration key with
associated add-on keys are pre-installed on a new VELOS system. If you do not have a
base registration key, contact F5 Technical Support (support.f5.com). You can obtain add-on keys to enable additional features
and functionality.
Term |
Description |
entitlements |
Features and
functionality of an F5 product that a customer can enable by
purchasing a license. |
base
registration key |
The base registration key is a
27-character string that informs the license server about which F5
products are included in the license. |
add-on
key |
Add-on keys enable features on a device,
in addition to the entitlements associated with the device base
registration key.The format is two sets of 7 characters. |
dossier |
A digital fingerprint of an F5 product
instance. The dossier uniquely identifies the device. |
VELOS system administration overview
The VELOS system is configured and managed at three different levels: the
system controller or chassis level, the chassis partitions, and the individual tenants.
Each has their own webUI, CLI, and REST API access.
The users at the system controller, chassis partition, and tenant levels are
independent from each other, and the roles and what users can do are different depending
on where the account was created. Even if one person is performing more than one role,
separate accounts are needed at each level.
Role |
Description |
|---|---|
System controller administrator |
Manages the whole chassis configuration with
read-write access to all blades, terminal consoles, system controllers, system
settings, and creates chassis partitions and users at the chassis level. Able to
change the chassis root and admin passwords. |
Chassis operator |
Has read access to the chassis configuration and
the ability to change operator password. |
Partition administrator |
Manages the chassis partition, creates users in
the partition, has access to all tenant consoles in that partition. Able to
change the partition root and admin passwords. |
Partition operator |
Has read access to the chassis partition
configuration and the ability to change operator password. |
Tenant administrator |
Has access to the tenant only. Performs user
management on the deployed tenant(s). No management of the VELOS
system. |
VELOS administration tasks overview
There are many different tasks involved in administering VELOS systems.
Though a configured and fully functioning system may have several different system administrators
for the system controller, chassis partition, and the tenants, it is useful to have a general
idea of all of the tasks involved and the order in which you might perform them. This is
generally the order in which things happen. However, it is just an overview of the many tasks
involved.
Before using this guide
- Make sure VELOS hardware is installed and the initial configuration of management IP addresses and gateway address is completed. Refer to thePlatform Guide: VELOS CX Seriesfor complete details and descriptions of the hardware.
- Make sure the VELOS system is made accessible. Configure network settings, DHCP, DNS, NTP. Initially, the system controller and chassis partition software will be installed. One default partition is set up for the entire chassis with all slots assigned to it. For information about software installation, refer toVELOS Systems: Software Installation and Upgrade.
Plan the configuration
- Depending on the number of blades installed and your business needs, determine how many chassis partitions to create.
- What is the network configuration at the system controller level including management interfaces?
- What is the network configuration for the chassis partitions including port groups, interfaces, and VLANs. Will you use link aggregation or spanning tree protocol?
- How many administrators and operators will need accounts on the system at the system controller level? On the partition level?
- How will system users be authenticated? RADIUS or LDAP?
- Within each partition, how many tenants do you plan to deploy?
- What will the tenants be used for? For example, which application delivery modules will you be configuring? Multiple modules?
- The configuration can be modified later if needs change.
Configure the system from the system controller
- Log in to the system controller.
- License the system, if it wasn't done already. SeeSystem Settings.
- Adjust network settings such as management interfaces if needed. SeeNetwork Settings.
- Create chassis partitions dividing up the blades. SeeChassis Partitions.
- Optionally create accounts for system controller administrators or operators. SeeUser Management.
Configure the system from the chassis partitions
- Log in to the chassis partition. SeeChassis Partitions.
- Configure or adjust port groups, interfaces, VLANs, LAGs. SeeNetwork Settings.
- Optionally create accounts for chassis partition administrators and operators. SeeUser Management.
Deploy tenants in the partitions
- Log in to the chassis partition. SeeChassis Partitions.
- Consider tenant resources needed with regard to the different tenant images of different sizes that are available. Understand the size of the partition and plan what hardware resources will be configured for this partition. SeeTenant Management.
- Deploy one or more tenants in the partition. SeeTenant Management.
- Log in to each tenant and configure the system as needed. For Classic BIG-IP tenants, seeBIG-IP System documentation.
