Manual Chapter :
System Overview
Applies To:
Show VersionsF5OS-C
- 1.6.2, 1.6.1
System Overview
Introducing the VELOS system
VELOS
systemF5
VELOS
platforms are 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 that runs F5OS-C
software, which is a combination of software for 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 BIG-IP
system).This illustration shows a simplified
VELOS
deployment with a single CX410 chassis. The VELOS
system shown here has been
divided into four separate chassis partitions. Chassis Partition 1 has two
blades, Partitions 2 and 3 each have one blade, and Partition 4 has four
blades. Each blade fits into one slot and can be configured to have either two
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 link aggregation groups (LAGs) across blades,
you can protect against individual blade failures, assuming adequate resources
are available.You manage the chassis through two 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.
For more information about
VELOS
hardware components, see Platform Guide:
VELOS CX Series
at support.f5.com.VELOS
terminology
VELOS
terminologyThis table lists some of the terms you will
encounter when configuring VELOS systems.
Term |
Definition |
---|---|
appliance mode |
Restricts user access to root and
Bash at the system controller, chassis partition, and tenant
levels. When enabled, the root user cannot log in to the
system 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 system. The CX410 chassis has eight available blade slots,
and the CX1610 chassis has 32 available blade slots. Runs chassis
partition software, on which tenants are deployed. |
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 chassis partition is a grouping of
blades that can be isolated from other blades within the same
chassis. Each chassis partition is a separate managed system,
unlike the tenant system’s administrative partitions within a
single managed system. Chassis partitions are commonly use to
allow for further isolation than just tenancy between
different environments and can include one or more blades. You
can manage a chassis partition using a REST API, CLI, and
webUI. |
chassis terminal service |
Built into the system controller
software, the chassis terminal service provides a way to
access the console for the system controllers and all
blades. |
F5OS-C |
Platform operating system software
that runs on VELOS system controllers and chassis
partitions. |
LAG |
Link aggregation group. A way to
group interfaces on the system so they function as a single
interface. The LAG (like a trunk on 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 (a virtualized BIG-IP
instance similar to a vCMP guest) running software within a
chassis partition. You can deploy multiple tenants in one
chassis partition. BIG-IP is the F5 TMOS-based tenant, and
BIG-IP Next is the next generation, modularized version of the
BIG-IP tenant. |
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.
F5OS webUIs fully support the latest versions
of Chrome and Firefox browsers at the time of each F5OS
release. |
F5 VELOS system licensing overview
VELOS
system licensing overviewBefore 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 on the chassis 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.For information about BIG-IP Next tenant licensing, see my.f5.com.
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.For more information about licensing your
VELOS
system, see F5 VELOS system licensing overview.Licensing terminology
Term |
Description |
---|---|
entitlements |
Features and functionality of an F5
product that a customer can enable by purchasing a
license. |
base registration key |
A 27-character string that informs
the license server about which F5
products are included in the license. |
add-on key |
A 7-character string that enables
features on a device, in addition to the entitlements
associated with the device base registration key. |
dossier |
A digital fingerprint of an F5 product instance. The dossier
uniquely identifies the device. |
VELOS system administration user/role overview
You can configure and manage the
VELOS
system 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.
These administration and operator roles are available on
VELOS
systems:- 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.
- Chassis partition administrator
- Manages the chassis partition, creates users in the chassis partition, has access to all tenant consoles in that chassis partition. Able to change the chassis partition root and admin passwords.
- Chassis 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 theVELOSsystem.
VELOS administration tasks overview
There are many different tasks involved in administering
VELOS
systems. Though a configured and fully functioning system
might have several different system administrators for the system controllers, chassis
partitions, and 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, and it is just an overview of the many tasks involved:Before using this guide
- Complete hardware installation. For information about the hardware, seePlatform Guide: VELOS CX Seriesat support.f5.com.
- Complete initial configuration. This includes configuring management IP addresses, gateway address, and creation of a chassis partition. For information about initial configuration, seeVELOS Systems: Getting Startedat support.f5.com/csp/knowledge-center/software/F5OS.
- Make sure theVELOSsystem is made accessible. Configure network settings, DHCP, DNS, NTP. Initially, the system controller and chassis partition software will be installed. For information about software installation, seeVELOS Systems: Software Installation and Upgradeat support.f5.com/csp/knowledge-center/software/F5OS.
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 chassis 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. See theSystem Settingssection.
- Adjust network settings such as management interfaces if needed. See theNetwork Settingssection.
- Create chassis partitions dividing up the blades. See theChassis Partitionssection.
- Optionally, create accounts for system controller administrators or operators. See theAuthentication & Accesssection.
Configure the system from the chassis
partitions
- Log in to the chassis partition. See theChassis Partitionssection.
- Configure or adjust port groups, interfaces, VLANs, and LAGs. See theNetwork Settings.
- Optionally, create accounts for chassis partition administrators and operators. See theAuthentication & Accesssection.
Deploy tenants in the chassis 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 chassis partition and plan what hardware resources will be configured for this partition. See theTenant Managementsection.
- Deploy one or more tenants in the chassis partition. See theTenant Managementsection.
- Log in to each tenant and configure the system as needed.
- BIG-IPis the F5 TMOS-based tenant. ForBIG-IPtenant information, see theBIG-IPsystem documentation at support.f5.com.
- BIG-IP Nextis the next generation, modularized version of the BIG-IP tenant. ForBIG-IP Nexttenant information, see the documentation on my.f5.com and clouddocs.f5.com.
High availability overview
There are three levels of high availability in the
VELOS
system: system controller, chassis partition, and
tenant.System controller high availability
The system controllers are designed to work together as a
redundant, high availability pair.
One of the system controllers is designated as active (or the
primary node) and the other as standby. The default mode for system controller high
availability (HA) is Auto, which lets the system select the system controller that
is best suited at the time to be the active system controller. This is the
recommended setting.
For more information about system controller high
availability, see System controller high availability overview.
Chassis partition high availability
Chassis partitions are designed so that all of the chassis
partition configuration data is stored on both the active and standby controllers.
It is configured automatically for high availability.
For more information about chassis partition high
availability, see Chassis partition high availability (HA) overview.
Tenant high availability
You can configure tenants for high-availability (HA) on a
VELOS
system.For more information about tenant high availability, see
Tenant high availability (HA) overview.
System management IP address overview
VELOS
platforms are
composed of a chassis that includes two system controllers and one or more
blades. The system controllers provide a high bandwidth interconnect between
blades and external management connectivity to the system. The system
controllers set and maintain the configuration for the whole system.You assign fixed management IP addresses to system controller 1
and system controller 2. You also assign a floating management IP address,
which always points to the active system controller. The floating IP address
ensures that when you connect to that address, you are connecting to the
currently-active system controller, regardless of which controller is
currently active.
You also assign a management IP address to each configured
chassis partition and tenant.
When sending traffic out of a management interface, consider
this source IP address determination process:
- Management traffic sourced from the active system controller uses the fixed management IP address for the active controller as the source IP address.
- Management traffic sourced from a chassis partition uses the chassis partition's individual management IP address.
- Management traffic sourced from a tenant uses the tenant's individual management IP address. For BIG-IP tenants, this is also the cluster IP address.
For example, when you run commands from the active system
controller, if the routing table determines that traffic should leave from the
management interface, the traffic uses the controller's fixed management IP
address by default as the source IP address of the Internet Control Message
Protocol (ICMP) packets. When the same process occurs from a chassis
partition, the traffic uses the chassis partition’s individual management IP
address.
This information might be required when you configure access
lists on a firewall or router that the
VELOS
system will traverse with its management traffic.
Any application performing source IP address filtering, such as an Active
Directory server used by the VELOS
system for remote authentication or an SNMP management system, should account
for the same considerations.For more information about configuring
management IP addresses on BIG-IP tenants, see
VIPRION Systems: Configuration
at the BIG-IP LTM Knowledge
Center.