HP VAN SDN Controller Administrator's Guide
HP VAN SDN Controller 2.3 Administrator Guide
Abstract
This guide is intended for network administrators and support personnel involved in:
• configuring and managing HP VAN SDN (Virtual Area Network Software-Defined Networking) Controller installations
• registering and activating HP VAN SDN Controller licenses
The information in this guide is subject to change without notice.
HP Part Number: 5998-6076
Published: July 2014
Edition: 2
© Copyright 2013, 2014 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
Confidential computer software. Valid license from HP required for possession, use or copying. Consistent with FAR 12.211 and 12.212, Commercial
Computer Software, Computer Software Documentation, and Technical Data for Commercial Items are licensed to the U.S. Government under
vendor's standard commercial license.
The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express
warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall
not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.
The HP VAN SDN Controller license text can be found in /opt/sdn/legal/EULA.pdf. The HP VAN SDN Controller incorporates materials from
several Open Source software projects. Therefore, the use of these materials by the HP VAN SDN Controller is governed by different Open Source
licenses. Refer to /opt/sdn/legal/HP-SDN-CONTROLLER-OPENSOURCE-LIST.pdf for a complete list of the materials used.
Acknowledgments
UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group.
Java and Oracle are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
OpenFlow is a trademark of the Open Networking Foundation. Open Source is a trademark of the Open Source Initiative. Linux is a trademark of
Linus Torvalds. Ubuntu is a trademark of Canonical Group Limited.
Warranty
For the software end user license agreement and the hardware limited warranty information for HP Networking products, visit http://www.hp.com/
networking/support .
Open Source Software
For information on licenses for the open source software used by the HP VAN SDN Controller, see the HP VAN SDN Controller Open Source and
Third-Party Software License Agreements.
For information on acquiring the open source code for the HP VAN SDN Controller, send an email to HPN-Open-Source-Query@lists.hp.com.
Contents
1 Introduction...............................................................................................8
1.1 Supported switches and OpenFlow compatibility ....................................................................9
1.1.1 OpenFlow requirements.................................................................................................9
1.1.2 IPv6 traffic...................................................................................................................9
2 Understanding the embedded applications..................................................10
2.1 Link manager....................................................................................................................10
2.2 Node manager................................................................................................................10
2.3 Path daemon....................................................................................................................10
2.4 Path diagnostics................................................................................................................12
2.5 Topology manager............................................................................................................13
2.6 Topology viewer...............................................................................................................13
3 Navigating the controller user interface.......................................................14
3.1 Starting the SDN controller console UI.................................................................................14
3.2 About the user interface.....................................................................................................14
3.2.1 Banner.....................................................................................................................15
3.2.2 Changing column widths............................................................................................16
3.2.3 Changing the background and text colors....................................................................16
3.3 Navigation menu..............................................................................................................16
3.3.1 About the navigation menu.........................................................................................16
3.3.2 Navigation menu screen details..................................................................................16
3.3.3 Expanding or collapsing the navigation menu...............................................................17
3.4 SDN User window............................................................................................................17
3.4.1 User window screen details.........................................................................................18
3.4.2 Expanding the SDN user window...............................................................................18
3.4.3 Collapsing the SDN user window................................................................................19
3.4.4 Logging out of the controller.......................................................................................19
3.5 Alerts screen....................................................................................................................19
3.5.1 About alerts..............................................................................................................19
3.5.2 About alert policies...................................................................................................19
3.5.3 Alert notification counter............................................................................................20
3.5.4 Alerts screen details...................................................................................................20
3.5.5 Viewing the ten most sever recent active alerts ..............................................................21
3.5.6 Acknowledging an alert.............................................................................................21
3.5.7 Deleting an alert.......................................................................................................21
3.5.8 Configuring the alert policies......................................................................................21
3.6 Applications screen...........................................................................................................22
3.6.1 About the application manager...................................................................................22
3.6.2 Applications screen details.........................................................................................22
3.6.3 Obtaining applications from the HP SDN AppStore.......................................................23
3.6.4 Adding or upgrading an application...........................................................................23
3.6.5 Disabling (stopping) or enabling (starting) an application...............................................24
3.6.6 Uninstalling an application.........................................................................................25
3.7 Configurations screen........................................................................................................25
3.7.1 About the configurable components..............................................................................25
3.7.1.1 About component keys.........................................................................................26
3.7.2 Summary of configurable controller components............................................................26
3.7.2.1 AdminREST Component.......................................................................................26
3.7.2.2 Alert manager...................................................................................................26
3.7.2.3 Alert post manager............................................................................................27
3.7.2.4 Audit log manager.............................................................................................27
Contents 3
3.7.2.5 Authentication manager......................................................................................27
3.7.2.6 Controller manager............................................................................................27
3.7.2.7 Link manager....................................................................................................28
3.7.2.8 Log manager.....................................................................................................28
3.7.2.9 Metric manager component................................................................................28
3.7.2.10 Node manager................................................................................................29
3.7.2.11 Path diagnostic manager....................................................................................29
3.7.2.12 Path daemon....................................................................................................29
3.7.2.13 RestPerf provider...............................................................................................29
3.7.2.14 Role assert manager..........................................................................................30
3.7.2.15 Service REST component....................................................................................30
3.7.2.16 System watchdog manager................................................................................30
3.7.2.17 Trace manager.................................................................................................30
3.7.2.18 End-Host discovery via ARP protocol....................................................................31
3.7.2.19 End-Host discovery via DHCP protocol.................................................................31
3.7.2.20 End-Host discovery via IP Protocol......................................................................31
3.7.3 Configurations screen details.......................................................................................31
3.7.4 Modifying a component configuration .........................................................................31
3.8 Audit log screen...............................................................................................................32
3.8.1 About the audit Log ..................................................................................................32
3.8.1.1 About audit log policies.......................................................................................32
3.8.2 Audit Log screen details.............................................................................................32
3.8.3 Deleting a log entry...................................................................................................33
3.8.4 Configuring audit log policies.....................................................................................33
3.8.5 Exporting and archiving audit log data........................................................................33
3.9 Licenses screen.................................................................................................................33
3.9.1 About licenses...........................................................................................................33
3.9.2 Licenses screen details................................................................................................34
3.9.3 Installing, activating, uninstalling, or transferring licenses................................................34
3.10 Support logs screen.........................................................................................................34
3.10.1 About support logs...................................................................................................34
3.10.2 Support logs screen details........................................................................................35
3.10.3 Configuring the support log queue size ......................................................................35
3.10.4 Configure signed application zip file verification..........................................................35
3.10.5 Exporting the support logs ........................................................................................36
3.11 OpenFlow monitor screen..................................................................................................36
3.11.1 About the OpenFlow monitor......................................................................................36
3.11.2 OpenFlow monitor screen details................................................................................37
3.11.2.1 Main display.....................................................................................................37
3.11.2.2 Summary for data path view...............................................................................37
3.11.2.3 Ports for data path display..................................................................................37
3.11.2.4 Flows for data path display.................................................................................38
3.11.3 Discovering changes in the topopology........................................................................38
3.11.4 Viewing information about a specific device ................................................................38
3.12 OpenFlow topology screen...............................................................................................39
3.12.1 Displaying the network toplogy...................................................................................39
3.12.1.1 Configuring how the OpenFlow network topology is displayed.................................40
3.12.1.2 Viewing the shortest path between two nodes .......................................................42
3.12.1.3 Identifying flow details and flow options...............................................................43
3.13 OpenFlow trace display....................................................................................................44
3.13.1 About the trace log...................................................................................................44
3.13.2 OpenFlow trace display details..................................................................................45
3.13.3 Starting, stopping, or clearing OpenFlow trace ...........................................................45
3.13.4 Displaying trace event details.....................................................................................45
3.13.5 Exporting the OpenFlow trace log..............................................................................46
4 Contents
3.13.6 Filtering the OpenFlow trace log in a CSV file..............................................................47
3.13.7 Changing the OpenFlow trace interval .......................................................................48
3.14 OpenFlow classes display.................................................................................................49
3.14.1 About OpenFlow classes............................................................................................49
3.14.2 Controller enforcement levels for OpenFlow classes.......................................................50
3.14.3 OpenFlow classes display details...............................................................................50
3.14.4 Changing the enforcement levels for OpenFlow classes.................................................51
3.15 Packet listeners display.....................................................................................................51
3.15.1 Packet listeners display details....................................................................................51
4 License Registration and Activation.............................................................52
4.1 Overview.........................................................................................................................52
4.1.1 License registration and activation process.....................................................................52
4.1.2 License types, usage, and expiration.............................................................................52
4.2 Preparing for license registration.........................................................................................53
4.2.1 Verifying registration prerequisites................................................................................53
4.2.2 Identifying the install ID..............................................................................................53
4.3 Registering and activating a license....................................................................................53
4.4 Registering your license and obtaining a license key.............................................................53
4.5 Activating a license on the controller...................................................................................58
4.6 Managing licenses...........................................................................................................59
4.6.1 Transferring licenses...................................................................................................59
4.6.1.1 Uninstalling licenses to prepare for transfer.............................................................60
4.6.1.2 Transferring licenses............................................................................................60
5 SDN Controller authentication ...................................................................63
5.1 SDN Controller security guidelines ......................................................................................63
5.2 SDN Controller authentication ...........................................................................................63
5.3 Creating SDN Controller keystore and truststore....................................................................63
5.4 SDN Controller keystore and truststore locations and passwords .............................................64
5.5 Configuration encryption ...................................................................................................65
5.6 Openflow Controller TLS ...................................................................................................65
5.6.1 Creating Openflow Controller keystore and truststore .....................................................65
5.6.2 Openflow Controller keystore and truststore locations and passwords...............................66
5.7 REST authentication...........................................................................................................66
5.7.1 Openstack Keystone ..................................................................................................67
5.7.2 Service and admin tokens ..........................................................................................68
5.8 Controller code verification ...............................................................................................68
5.8.1 Adding certificates to the jar-signing truststore ..............................................................68
5.8.2 Running the SDN Controller Without Jar-Signing Validation ...........................................68
5.9 Revoking Trust .................................................................................................................69
5.9.1 Revoking trust via truststore .........................................................................................69
5.9.2 Revoking trust via CRL ...............................................................................................69
5.10 SDN administrative REST API ............................................................................................69
5.11 Virgo admin UI access .....................................................................................................70
5.12 Virgo console access .......................................................................................................70
5.13 JMX console ...................................................................................................................71
5.14 Security practices ............................................................................................................71
5.14.1 Security procedure....................................................................................................71
5.14.2 Recommended administrative rules ............................................................................72
6 Hybrid mode for controlling packet-forwarding.............................................73
6.1 Overview.........................................................................................................................73
6.2 Viewing and changing the hybrid mode configuration...........................................................73
6.3 Coordinating controller hybrid mode and OpenFlow switch settings.........................................74
6.3.1 Supporting hybrid mode on OpenFlow switches.............................................................74
Contents 5
6.3.2 Configuring controller settings to support hybrid mode...................................................75
6.4 Controller packet-forwarding when hybrid mode is disabled...................................................77
6.4.1 Controller packet forwarding when hybrid mode is enabled............................................78
6.4.2 Learning more about hybrid mode...............................................................................78
7 Team configuration ..................................................................................79
7.1 High availability................................................................................................................79
7.2 Team management ...........................................................................................................80
7.3 Requirements for controller teams........................................................................................80
7.4 Configuring a controller team ............................................................................................80
7.4.1 Team configuration prerequisites..................................................................................80
7.4.2 Configuration procedure............................................................................................81
7.5 Displaying team configuration ............................................................................................83
7.6 Disbanding a team ..........................................................................................................84
7.7 Controller fault tolerance ...................................................................................................85
7.8 Error log for team configuration .........................................................................................86
7.8.1 Team alias node........................................................................................................87
7.8.1.1 Configuring the alias ..........................................................................................87
7.8.1.2 Disabling the alias .............................................................................................87
8 Regional configuration .............................................................................88
8.1 Overview.........................................................................................................................88
8.1.1 Failover ....................................................................................................................88
8.1.2 Failback ..................................................................................................................88
8.2 Creating a region.............................................................................................................89
8.3 Aquiring a region UID ......................................................................................................90
8.4 Updating a region ...........................................................................................................90
8.5 Refreshing a region ..........................................................................................................91
8.6 Deleting a region.............................................................................................................91
9 Backing up and restoring .........................................................................92
9.1 Backing up a controller .....................................................................................................92
9.1.1 Backup operation .......................................................................................................92
9.1.2 Backing up a controller ..............................................................................................93
9.1.3 Downloading a backup from the controller to another location ........................................94
9.1.4 Recommended backup practices .................................................................................94
9.2 Restoring a controller from a backup ...................................................................................95
9.2.1 Restore operation ......................................................................................................95
9.2.2 System restore requirements .......................................................................................95
9.2.3 Restoring a controller from a backup............................................................................95
9.3 Distributed (team) backing up and restoring .........................................................................97
9.4 Backing up and restoring the keystone configuration and database.........................................97
10 Requirements for applications...................................................................98
10.1 Application requirements .................................................................................................98
10.2 Application descriptor file mandatory attributes...................................................................98
10.3 Application descriptor optional attributes............................................................................98
10.4 Application zip file content criteria....................................................................................99
10.5 Application state and OSGi artifacts..................................................................................99
11 Troubleshooting....................................................................................101
11.1 License troubleshooting....................................................................................................101
11.2 Host location not learned by controller..............................................................................101
11.3 Unexpected network or service problems...........................................................................101
11.4 Application management exceptions................................................................................102
11.5 Performance testing........................................................................................................103
11.6 Application management errors.......................................................................................104
6 Contents
11.7 Path diagnostic application via REST command line API .....................................................104
11.7.1 Communication problems.........................................................................................104
11.7.2 Packet generator troubleshooting..............................................................................104
11.7.2.1 Packet generator troubleshooting procedure........................................................104
11.7.2.2 Run the packet generator process......................................................................105
12 Support and other resources...................................................................109
12.1 Gather information before contacting an authorized support representative............................109
12.2 How to contact HP........................................................................................................109
12.3 Get connected to the HP SDN online user forum................................................................109
12.4 Software technical support and software updates..............................................................109
12.4.1 Care packs...........................................................................................................110
12.4.2 Obtaining software updates....................................................................................110
12.4.3 Warranty..............................................................................................................110
12.5 Related information........................................................................................................110
13 Documentation feedback.......................................................................111
A cURL commands....................................................................................112
A.1 Export audit log data as a CSV file...................................................................................112
A.2 Licensing actions............................................................................................................112
A.2.1 Obtaining an install ID.............................................................................................112
A.2.2 Activating a license on the controller.........................................................................113
A.2.3 Uninstalling licenses to prepare for transfer.................................................................113
A.3 Application manager actions...........................................................................................115
A.3.1 Listing applications..................................................................................................115
A.3.2 Listing information about an application.....................................................................116
A.3.3 Getting application health status...............................................................................116
A.3.4 Uploading an application (new or upgrade)...............................................................117
A.3.5 Installing a new application.....................................................................................118
A.3.6 Upgrading an application........................................................................................118
A.3.7 Disabling an application.........................................................................................119
A.3.8 Enabling an application..........................................................................................119
A.3.9 Removing a staged application.................................................................................120
A.3.10 Deleting an application..........................................................................................120
B Scripts...................................................................................................121
B.1 Configuring a controller team............................................................................................121
B.2 Backing up a controller team............................................................................................121
B.3 Restoring a controller team ..............................................................................................126
Index.......................................................................................................131
Contents 7
1 Introduction
This document describes the configuration and management of the HP VAN Controller in standalone
and team modes.
The HP VAN SDN Controller is a Java-based OpenFlow controller enabling SDN solutions such
as network controllers for the data center, public cloud, private cloud, and campus edge networks.
This includes providing an open platform for developing experimental and special-purpose network
control protocols using a built-in OpenFlow controller.
The HP VAN SDN Controller includes an SDK providing the tools needed to develop applications
to run on the Controller. The SDK includes sample source code, API specifications, and the HP
VAN SDN Controller Programming Guide. See the programming guide for SDK information.
The following publications are provided with the HP VAN SDN Controller:
• HP VAN SDN Controller Release Notes
• HP VAN SDN Controller Installation Guide
• HP VAN SDN Controller Administrator Guide
• HP VAN SDN Controller and Applications Support Matrix
• HP VAN SDN Controller Programming Guide
• HP VAN SDN Controller REST API Guide
• HP VAN SDN Controller Open Source and Third-Party Software License Agreements
• HP VAN SDN Controller and Applications Support Matrix
The HP VAN SDN Controller is a platform for developing SDN applications and deploying SDN
applications. The controller can be characterized as providing a Base Control Platform, a Distributed
Platform for High-Availability and Scalability, and an Extensible Platform.
The base control platform is built on the Linux operating system. The principal software stack uses
an OSGi framework (Equinox) and a container (Virgo) as the basis for modular software deployment.
The base platform provides services such as authentication, data persistence, logging, and alerts.
The base platform provides a device driver framework for out-of-band control and management
of devices. The base platform also includes network services that provide the following:
• Link Discovery service to discover the physical links between devices.
• Node Manager service to discover the existence of end hosts. OpenFlow Packet_In messages
are used to learn end-host MAC and IP addresses.
• Topology Manager service to create a network graph and compute the shortest path between
two hosts.
• Path Provisioning service to provision L2 paths by programming end-to-end flow rules between
discovered hosts.
• Path Diagnostic service to determine and verify the path taken by packets from a source host
to a destination host.
The SDN Controller is a distributed platform enabling high-availability and scalability. Controllers
can be configured in a team to enable load-balancing and control domain partitioning. Controllers
in the team synchronize state information for smooth and rapid failover.
The SDN Controller is an extensible platform supporting native applications (sometimes referred
to as modules) and external applications. Native applications are authored in Java or a byte-code
compatible language and are deployed on the controller as collections of OSGi bundles. Native
applications use the Java services exported and advertised by the controller platform and by other
applications. Native applications can dynamically extend the controller REST API surface, extend
the controller’s GUI, and integrate with the controller authentication and authorization framework.
8 Introduction
Native application are well suited when the application needs frequent and low latency interactions
with network devices.
External applications can be developed in any language and are deployed on a platform outside
the controller platform or on the same platform as the controller. External applications interact with
the controller using the REST API services exported and advertised by the controller platform, and
by native applications deployed on the controller. Because external applications are deployed
outside the controller platform they cannot extend the REST API or GUI surface of the controller.
External applications are suitable for applications that have relatively infrequent and high latency
control interactions with network devices, and when deploying on a different platform is required.
1.1 Supported switches and OpenFlow compatibility
For information about supported network switches, OpenFlow versions, and switch configuration
requirements, see the HP VAN SDN Controller and Applications Support Matrix.
CAUTION: OpenFlow switches in a controller domain should not be connected in a loop topology
with switches outside the domain. Allowing such connections can create broadcast loops inside
the OpenFlow network. For more on packet-forwarding decisions, see “Hybrid mode for controlling
packet-forwarding” (page 73).
NOTE: Including a switch that does not support OpenFlow in a controller domain creates two
separate clusters.
1.1.1 OpenFlow requirements
The controller must be connected to a network that includes one or more switches configured to
run OpenFlow. HP recommends that you plan and implement the switch OpenFlow configurations
before connecting the controller to the network.
NOTE: Running the OpenFlow control mode on a specified switch VLAN disrupts the traffic on
that VLAN until the controller configures the required flow rules in the switch using the OpenFlow
controller API. For information on configuring OpenFlow, see the latest manual for the version of
OpenFlow running on your switches.
OpenFlow switches in the network must be configured to allow control by the SDN Controller. In
a controller domain, including a switch that does not support OpenFlow or allow control by the
SDN Controller creates separate clusters of OpenFlow networks.
1.1.2 IPv6 traffic
IPv6 traffic running in the data plane of an OpenFlow network is supported when the controller is
operating with hybrid mode set to “true” (the default). In this state the controller is not aware of
the IPv6 traffic. However, with hybrid mode set to “false” (all packets sent to the controller), the
controller drops IPv6 packets, and they do not reach their destinations. For more information, see
the release notes.
1.1 Supported switches and OpenFlow compatibility 9
2 Understanding the embedded applications
2.1 Link manager
The Link Manager builds information about links between network elements in the controller domain.
This application maintains a table of source and destination devices and ports, and transmits
discovery packets to ports on attached datapaths.
Link Manager
• Learns and maintains all inter-switch links in the control domain.
• Provides data used by the controller topology module to construct end-to-end paths.
• Deciphering port state changes.
• Generates link events to notify interested listeners.
• Identifies multi-hop links between disconnected segments of the control domain.
• Provides information used by applications to reconfigure flows when a link goes down.
NOTE: The controller injects BDDP packets for discovery. No LLDP packets are sent.
To avoid sending discovery packets on certain ports such as an edge port, LinkManager maintains
a special list of ports identified as "Suppressed LLDP Ports". Adding ports to the suppressed LLDP
list can be done using the REST API.
Link Service sends BDDP packets with LLDP payloads containing a TLV with an associated link
controller ID in one of the optional LLDP TLVs. This enables Link Service to differentiate the BDDP
messages it has generated.
As it is possible for non-OpenFlow devices to be present between OpenFlow switches, Link Service
also sends out BDDP messages to discover "multi-hop links", which refer to a link between two
OpenFlow switches on a path through one or more non-OpenFlow devices.
2.2 Node manager
• Learns and maintains end-host locations in the network.
• Uses information received from network devices to maintain the ARP table and end host data.
• Uses the Topology Service to determine if a port receiving a packet is an edge port or not.
• Learns and maintains end nodes in the controller domain, and associates end nodes with
edge ports.
• Builds an ARP cache with MAC-IP translations of end hosts.
• Maintains ARPs on a per-VID basis.
• Provides the edge port details for end hosts.
Example ARP table data:
2.3 Path daemon
VIDMACIP Address
10000:00:5e:00:53:01192.0.2.1
11000:00:5e:00:53:20192.0.2.2
12000:00:5e:00:53:02192.0.2.3
Path daemon is a "proof of concept" network service application built on top of the SDN controller.
10 Understanding the embedded applications
The Path Daemon application is responsible for pushing end-to-end flows for all ARP and IPv4 flow
misses that arrive at the controller. By default, Path Daemon is responsible for Layer-2 forwarding
only. This component depends on other network service components like Node manager and
Topology manager.
Path Daemon does the following:
• Registers with the controller as a Director. Directors are allowed to send a packet out.
• Registers for ARP packets and IPv4 packets.
• Uses the Node Manager to get the end hosts corresponding to the source and destination
MAC addresses and the switches to which these hosts are connected. It makes use of the
Topology Manager service to get the end-to-end path between the source and destination
switches. It makes use of the controller to push flows to the switches. The flowchart in Figure 1
provides more details of its operation.
• Path Daemon uses the following match fields when pushing a flow module. These match fields
have been chosen so that the flow modules are pushed on hardware tables in both Provision
and Comware switches.
◦ Ether Type
◦ Source Macaddress
◦ Destination Macaddress
◦ Input Port
◦ Output port
• Path Daemon also registers for Port Status Down messages. When such messages are received,
Path Daemon removes all flows configured for the impacted port, thereby causing the packet-ins
to again come to the controller.
Operation notes:
• Does not handle multicast and broadcast traffic
• Does not configure the reverse path along with the forward path
• Drops packets from sources that the controller has not learned
• Floods packets when their destinations are not known
• Does not support multi-pathing or fast-failover
• Performance is topology-dependent, recommended for 100-200 node environments
2.3 Path daemon 11
Figure 1 Path daemon flowchart
2.4 Path diagnostics
The path diagnostics application determines and verifies the path taken by a specific packet from
a source host to destination host.
• Evaluates flows configured across the switches in the control domain for diagnosis.
• Creates ‘Observation posts’ on every switch in the path that the packet would take.
• Tallys packet_in messagess from the observation posts to detect where a path is broken.
• Lists neighbors for any given device.
12 Understanding the embedded applications
2.5 Topology manager
The topology manager computes the broadcast tree to avoid loops and broadcast storms. On a
given switch it also does the following:
• Provides a list of discovered ports on a given switch.
• Indicates whether a switch port is an edge port (connection point) or part of a link.
• Indicates whether a port is in a blocked or open state by determining whether ingress broadcast
traffic is allowed through the port.
• Verifies whether a path exists between two nodes.
• Enumerates the clusters of OpenFlow-capable switches.
• For a given switch, provides details of the cluster to which it belongs.
• The Topology Manager provides notification to subscribed applications regarding changes
in the broadcast tree and cluster. This enables development of intelligent and proactive
applications that can subscribe to topology change notifications.
2.6 Topology viewer
The topology viewer creates and updates a network graph for visualizing the network the controller
discovers. The Reload button will force a reload of all the nodes and links from the server. For
enhanced performance, the topology view caches nodes and links. In some situations this cache
may get out of sync with the controller. Performing a “Reload” will clear out the topology viewer
cache and regenerate the topology view.
The topology viewer uses the services of the topology manager and link manager.
2.5 Topology manager 13
3 Navigating the controller user interface
3.1 Starting the SDN controller console UI
1. Use a supported browser, such as Google Chrome, to access the controller's GUI at the
controller IP address:
GUI
https://controller_ip_addr:8443/sdn/ui
Example
https://192.0.2.1:8443/sdn/ui
2. Enter user name and password credentials, then select Login.
Example
Default user name: sdn
Default password:skyline
3. The main controller screen appears with the Alerts screen displayed. For more information
about the controller console UI, see “About the user interface” (page 14).
3.2 About the user interface
NOTE: The names for common areas, icons, and controls on the UI screen appear after the
image.
14 Navigating the controller user interface
Figure 2 Screen topography
1
Banner: Identifies the user interface. Contains
the alert notification counter and links to the
navigation menu, alert information, and the
SDN User window.
2
Alert notification counter: Displays the current
number of active alerts. Clicking this icon
displays the Alerts as of Today window box.
3
SDN User window: Enables you to log out
of the controller, link to external websites,
identify the version of controller software
currently in use.
4 7
navigation menu: The primary menu for
navigating to controller and application
resources. Contains the controller navigation
tree, labelled General, and can contain
screen (see “Expanding or collapsing the
navigation menu” (page 17)).
5
navigation tree: Used to select the controller
or application screen to display in the details
pane. General is the controller navigation tree.
Navigation trees for installed applications are
displayed below or to the right of the General
navigation tree. In this figure, there are two
navigation trees: General and Net Optimizer
- Lync.
6
Details pane: Displays the detailed interface
for the controller or application resourcechange the theme for the controller, and
selected in the navigation menu. When the
controller starts, it displays the Alerts screen.
Pagination control: Can appear on screens
that have lists of items. Use these controls to
view the listings page by page.
8
Listing control: Can appear on screens that
have lists of items. Use these controls to selectadditional navigation trees for installed
the number of items to display in a singleapplications that integrate with the controller
view. The Auto option displays all items in aUI. Can be displayed as a pane (as shown)
single screen. For listings exceeding the lengthor as a window that overlays the controller
of the screen, you can use the scroll bar on
the right side of the screen.
3.2.1 Banner
SDN Controller
DescriptionScreen component
Expands or collapses the “navigation menu” (page 16) as an overlay window.
Expands or collapses the controller “Alerts as of today” (page 21) window.
3.2 About the user interface 15
DescriptionScreen component
The number next to the icon is the “alert notification counter” (page 20), which provides a count
of the current active alerts.
Expands or collapses the “SDN User” (page 17) window.
3.2.2 Changing column widths
To change the column widths, drag the column head borders. For example:
• To narrow the Severity column width, click the border to the left of Date/Time and drag it to
the left.
• To change the width of the navigation menu pane, click and drag the divider between the
menu pane and the details pane.
3.2.3 Changing the background and text colors
The background and text colors are part of the theme of the controller UI. To change the theme:
1. Expand the SDN User window.
2. In Set Theme:, select one of the following options:
• Day
• Night
3.3 Navigation menu
3.3.1 About the navigation menu
The navigation menu is the primary menu for navigating to controller resources. The resources
included with the controller are described in this document. Applications installed on controller
might add resources to this menu.
Displays as a pane or an overlay window
You can display the navigation menu in the following ways:
• As a pane on the left side of the controller browser window.
• As a window that overlays part of the main screen of the controller browser window.
Contains one or more navigation trees
The navigation menu contains the General controller navigation tree and can contain additional
navigation trees for installed applications that integrate with the controller UI.
3.3.2 Navigation menu screen details
DescriptionScreen component
General
Displays the navigation tree for the resources that are provided with the controller. By default,
the General controller navigation tree is expanded and the Alerts screen is selected and
displayed.
To display the screen for another resource, select the resource in the navigation tree.
Expands or collapses the controller navigation menu. If the navigation menu is collapsed, this
icon is located in the left margin of the console screen.
Expands the selected navigation tree. This control is available in the navigation menu for the
General controller navigation tree and for each application that is installed and available through
the controller navigation menu.
16 Navigating the controller user interface
DescriptionScreen component
When the navigation menu is displayed as a widow pane on the console, exactly one navigation
tree can be expanded. To collapse a navigation tree for the controller or an application, click
the expand icon for a different navigation tree.
Collapses the navigation window when it is displayed as an overlay window on the console
screen.
3.3.3 Expanding or collapsing the navigation menu
The navigation menu is displayed as a navigation pane by default. You can display the navigation
menu as a pane on the controller screen or as a window that overlays the controller screen.
Expanding or collapsing the navigation menu as a window pane
To expand or collapse the navigation menu as a window pane, click the following icon:
• When the navigation menu is expanded as a window pane, the icon is located on the right
side of the menu.
• When the navigation menu is collapsed, the icon is located in the left margin of the controller
screen.
Expanding or collapsing the navigation menu as an overlay window
To display the navigation menu as an overlay window, from the top banner of the controller screen,
click SDN Controller.
To collapse the navigation window, do one of the following:
• In the window, click
• From the top banner, click SDN Controller.
3.4 SDN User window
The SDN User window displays as an overlay on the controller screen.
3.4 SDN User window 17
3.4.1 User window screen details
Figure 3 SDN user window
DescriptionScreen component
Logs the user out of the controller.Logout
Links:
Set Theme:
Links to websites outside of the controller:
DescriptionName
SDN Information Library
SDN Community
Changes the theme for the controller UI:
Links to the information library on the HP Software-Defined
Networking website. The HP SDN information library provides
links to the technical documentation for the HP VAN SDN
Controller and the HP SDN applications. The HP
Software-Defined Networking website provides fact sheets, case
studies, white papers, product summaries, technical and business
documentation, and other information to help you identify SDN
solutions for your business needs.
Links to the HP SDN community discussion forum website within
the HP Enterprise Business Community. This site offers resources
such as:
• SDN discussion boards
• SDN development information
• An SDN knowledge base
DescriptionName
When selected, plain text is black and the background is white.Day
Displays the version of the controller software that is running on this system.SDN Controller
Version:
Collapses the window.
3.4.2 Expanding the SDN user window
To expand the SDN User window, from the top banner, click .
18 Navigating the controller user interface
When selected, plain text is white and the background is black.Night
3.4.3 Collapsing the SDN user window
To collapse the SDN User window, do one of the following:
• In the SDN User window, click .
• From the top banner, click .
3.4.4 Logging out of the controller
To log out of the controller UI:
• From the SDN User window, select Logout.
3.5 Alerts screen
3.5.1 About alerts
Alerts give notification of events that affect controller operation, and in some cases indicate that
some action is needed to correct a condition.
Alerts and controller teams
When controllers are operating in a team, alerts generated by any team member are visible in
the Alerts screen for all active team members.
Active, unacknowledged alerts
By default, alerts are in an unacknowledged, active state. An alert must be in an active state to
appear in the following places:
• The alert notification counter
• The Alerts as of today window
3.5.2 About alert policies
The values for the AlertManager component keys determine the alert age-out policy. The following
table describes the keys for the AlertManager component
(com.hp.sdn.adm.alert.impl.AlertManager).
trim.alert.age
trim.enabled
trim.frequency
DescriptionKey
Specifies the number of days an alert remains in persistent storage and remains displayed
on the Alerts screen.
Data type A number from 1 through 31
Default value 14
When true, specifies that the controller deletes alerts that have exceeded the
trim.alert.age limit.
Default value true
Specifies how often, in hours, the controller is to delete alerts that have exceeded the
trim.alert.age limit.
Data type A number from 8 through 168
Default value 24
Example Enter 8 to specify that the controller delete aged-out alerts every
eight hours.
3.5 Alerts screen 19
3.5.3 Alert notification counter
The alert notification counter is displayed in top banner and appears on all controller screens. This
counter indicates the number of active alerts:
• The controller increments this counter when each new alert occurs.
• The controller decrements this controller when you acknowledge an alert or when the controller
deletes an alert according to the “alert age-out policy” (page 21) .
Figure 4 Alert notification counter
3.5.4 Alerts screen details
Refresh
Acknowledge
Severity
DescriptionScreen component
Updates the alerts displayed on the screen. The controller does not update the display
as new alerts are generated. Use this action to refresh the display.
Changes the selected alert to an acknowledged state. The controller displays the alert
in gray text. Use this action to indicate that you have read the alert.
Changes the selected alert to an active, unacknowledged state.UnAcknowledge
Indicates the state of the alert:Alert text color
• The controller displays active, unacknowledged alerts the alert in the text color
corresponding to the controller theme. For example, when the controller theme is
daylight, the active alerts appear in black text.
• The controller displays the selected alert in blue text. Click an alert to select it.
• The controller displays acknowledged alerts in gray text.
Indicates the severity of the alert.
DescriptionIcon
Informational
Warning
20 Navigating the controller user interface
Critical
Indicates the date and time the alert was generated.Date/Time
Describes the alert in human readable text.Description
DescriptionScreen component
Indicates which component or application generated the alert.Origin
Topic
Controller ID
Indicates of the category for this alert. Multiple origins can contribute alerts to the same
topic.
Identifies the controller that generated the alert. The controller is represented as a
hexadecimal number. When you use controller teaming, this ID enables you to identify
which controller in the team generated the alert.
3.5.5 Viewing the ten most sever recent active alerts
To display a summary of up to 10 alerts ranked by severity (highest to lowest) and then by date
and time (newest to oldest):
• In the top banner, click .
The Alerts as of today window is displayed.
To close the window, do one of the following:
• To close the window and display the Alerts screen, click All.
• At the bottom of the window, click the collapse icon ( ).
• In the top banner, click either the alert counter number or .
3.5.6 Acknowledging an alert
To acknowledge an alert from the Alerts as of today window:
1. Click the alert to select it.
2. Click Acknowledge.
The controller removes the alert from the Alerts as of today window, displays the alert in gray
text on the Alerts screen, and decrements the alert notification counter by one.
To acknowledge an alert from the Alerts screen:
1. Click the alert to select it.
2. Click Acknowledge.
The controller displays the alert in gray text on the Alerts screen, and decrements the alert
notification counter by one.
3.5.7 Deleting an alert
You can acknowledge an individual alert, but you can not clear or delete the alert.
The controller deletes alerts according to the configured alert age-out policy. To configure the
age-out policy, see “Configuring the alert policies” (page 21)
3.5.8 Configuring the alert policies
1. From the Configurations screen, under Component, select the
com.hp.sdn.adm.alert.impl.AlertManager component.
2. Click Modify.
The Modify Configuration dialog box appears.
3. Change the values for the keys. For more information about the keys and values that affect
the alert policy, see “About alert policies” (page 19).
4. Click Apply .
3.5 Alerts screen 21
3.6 Applications screen
3.6.1 About the application manager
The Application Manager supports default and add-on network services, and enables installing,
upgrading, enabling (starting), disabling (stopping), and uninstalling SDN applications.
Application manager and controller teams
When controllers are operating in a team, actions performed on one controller are propagated
to the other controllers in the team. Actions you select in the Applications window for one controller,
such as Install, Enable, and Disable, are propagated to the other controllers.
Embedded applications
The following applications are embedded in the controller and are installed when you install the
controller:
• Link Manager
• Node Manager
• Path Daemon
• Path Diagnostics
• Topology Manager
• Topology Viewer
For more information about the embedded applications, see “Understanding the embedded
applications” (page 10).
Prerequisites for installing an application
Any application to be installed on the controller must meet the following requirements:
• It must be in a zip format.
• The zip file must be on the same system as the controller.
• It must contain an application descriptor file containing key value pairs of the attributes
associated with the application, including all mandatory attributes.
Applications you purchase from HP or the HP SDN App Store meet these requirements.
For information about developing applications that meet these requirements, see the HP VAN SDN
Controller Programming Guide.
3.6.2 Applications screen details
DescriptionScreen component
Reloads the view.Refresh
Installs an application on the controller.New
Installs an upgrade to an application that has already been installed on the controller.Upgrade
22 Navigating the controller user interface
Removes an application from the controller.Uninstall
Starts or allows an application to continue operations on the controller.Enable
Stops or prevents an application from operating on the controller.Disable
The name of the applicationName
DescriptionScreen component
The version number of the applicationVersion
State
The most common states are listed in the following table.
DescriptionState
The application has been started and is servicing requests.ACTIVE
STAGED
DISABLED
A new application has been downloaded to the controller and is
ready to be installed.
The application has been stopped. Applications in this state are
not restarted when the controller restarts.
3.6.3 Obtaining applications from the HP SDN AppStore
When the AppStore becomes available you will be able to purchase and download applications
for your controller. Until the AppStore becomes available, the following buttons do not access
AppStore features:
• Log in to view applications…
• Launch AppStore
3.6.4 Adding or upgrading an application
Any application in the proper format can be added to the controller (see “About the application
manager” (page 22)).
After you complete this procedure:
• The application is started and in an ACTIVE state.
• If the controller is in a controller team, the controller propagates the application to all the
controllers in the team automatically.
Use this procedure to install either a new application or a new version of an existing application
on the controller using the UI.
1. Do one of the following:
• To install a new application, click New.
• To upgrade to a new version of an existing application, select the application from the
Name list and click Upgrade.
2. Click Browse to navigate to the location of the application zip file and select the file.
3. Click Upload to upload the file.
Wait for Completed to appear. For example:
3.6 Applications screen 23
4. Click Deploy.
The new application then appears by name on the Applications screen as ACTIVE.
3.6.5 Disabling (stopping) or enabling (starting) an application
This procedure temporarily stops an active application from servicing requests, but retains the
application on the system. The application remains present on the system and can be restarted
when needed. (The application does not automatically restart when the controller restarts.)
Procedure 1 Disabling an application using the UI
1. In the Applications screen, select the application you want to stop.
2. Click Disable to display the Disable Application dialog box.
3. In the Disable Application dialog box, click Disable.
The Disable Application dialog box closes and the application state is changed to DISABLED.
Procedure 2 Enabling an application using the UI
1. In the Applications screen, select the application you want to enable.
2. Click Enable to display the Enable Application dialog box.
24 Navigating the controller user interface
3. Click Enable button to activate the application. The application starts or resumes operation
and the application state is changed to ACTIVE.
3.6.6 Uninstalling an application
This procedure completely removes an application from the controller. To later restore the removed
application, see Adding or upgrading an application.
Use the following procedure to uninstall an application using the UI.
1. In the Applications screen, select the application you want to uninstall.
2. Click Uninstall.
3. Click the Uninstall button to remove (delete) the application.
3.7 Configurations screen
The Configurations screen enables access to the configurable components in the controller.
3.7.1 About the configurable components
The configuration components are used to manage the controller and application features. The
base set of controller components support the applications that are embedded in the controller.
Adding or removing an SDN application might add or remove additional configuration component.
However, direct addition or removal of configuration components is not supported.
Each configuration component contains one or more component keys, each of which identify a
configurable property of the component.
CAUTION: Inappropriate changes to key values can result in severely degraded system
performance. For this reason, HP strongly recommends that managing the default key values be
done only by experienced network administrators and programmers who have a strong
understanding of SDN controller systems.
3.7 Configurations screen 25
Configurations and controller teams
When controllers are operating in a team, configuration changes on one active controller propagate
to the other active controllers in the team.
3.7.1.1 About component keys
Each configuration component contains one or more component keys, each of which identify a
configurable property of the component.
CAUTION: Inappropriate changes to key values can result in severely degraded system
performance. For this reason, HP strongly recommends that managing the default key values be
done only by experienced network administrators and programmers who have a strong
understanding of SDN controller systems.
Information about each component key includes the current value, the default value, and a brief
description. Where applicable, the range of suggested values is also included. Component key
information
Information about the component keys are available from:
• The Configuration screen of the controller UI.
• The controller Configs REST API.
3.7.2 Summary of configurable controller components
3.7.2.1 AdminREST Component
Component name
com.hp.sdn.misc.AdminRESTComponent
Description
The AdminRestComponent provides parameters for internal communication between SDN
components and the Admin REST API of the controller.
Component keys
Information about the configurable component keys, including descriptions, current values, suggested
ranges, and default values are available from:
• The Configuration screen of the controller UI.
• The controller Configs REST API.
3.7.2.2 Alert manager
Component name
com.hp.sdn.adm.alert.impl.AlertManager
Description
The AlertManager controls the quantity of alert data present on the system by periodically checking
for alert data to be deleted based on the configured age-out policy.
Component keys
Information about the configurable component keys, including descriptions, current values, suggested
ranges, and default values are available from:
• The Configuration screen of the controller UI.
• The controller Configs REST API.
26 Navigating the controller user interface
3.7.2.3 Alert post manager
Component name
com.hp.sdn.api.impl.AlertPostManager
Description
The AlertPostManager uses the HTTP(s) protocol to send alert data as a a JSON string to registered
alert topic listeners.
Component keys
Information about the configurable component keys, including descriptions, current values, suggested
ranges, and default values are available from:
• The Configuration screen of the controller UI.
• The controller Configs REST API.
3.7.2.4 Audit log manager
Component name
com.hp.sdn.adm.auditlog.impl.AuditLogManager
Description
The AuditLogManager controls the quantity of audit log data present on the system by periodically
checking for audit log data to be deleted based on the configured age-out policy. For more
information about audit log policies, see “Configuring audit log policies” (page 33).
Component keys
Information about the configurable component keys, including descriptions, current values, suggested
ranges, and default values are available from:
• The Configuration screen of the controller UI.
• The controller Configs REST API.
3.7.2.5 Authentication manager
Component name
com.hp.sdn.adm.auth.impl.AuthenticationManager
Description
The AuthenticationManager provides for the authentication of external users to the SDN Controller.
Component keys
Information about the configurable component keys, including descriptions, current values, suggested
ranges, and default values are available from:
• The Configuration screen of the controller UI.
• The controller Configs REST API.
3.7.2.6 Controller manager
Component name
com.hp.sdn.ctl.of.impl.ControllerManager
Description
The ControllerManager provides parameters used in the implementation of the OpenFlow protocol.
3.7 Configurations screen 27
Component keys
Information about the configurable component keys, including descriptions, current values, suggested
ranges, and default values are available from:
• The Configuration screen of the controller UI.
• The controller Configs REST API.
3.7.2.7 Link manager
Component name
com.hp.sdn.ctl.linkdisco.impl.LinkManager
Description
The LinkManager provides parameters used for discovering links between network elements.
Component keys
Information about the configurable component keys, including descriptions, current values, suggested
ranges, and default values are available from:
• The Configuration screen of the controller UI.
• The controller Configs REST API.
3.7.2.8 Log manager
Component name
com.hp.sdn.adm.log.impl.LogManager
Description
The LogManager controls the number of log message rows displayed in the Support Logs display.
Component keys
Information about the configurable component keys, including descriptions, current values, suggested
ranges, and default values are available from:
• The Configuration screen of the controller UI.
• The controller Configs REST API.
3.7.2.9 Metric manager component
Component name
com.hp.sdn.adm.metric.impl.MetricManagerComponent
Description
The MetricManagerComponent determines how measurement data is maintained by the controller.
The controller includes a metering framework that internal components and installed applications
can use to collect various types of data. (Data can be persisted on the controller from sources
external to the controller.) Any metric created with the framework may optionally be persisted over
time or directed to the controller JMX facility for viewing. Data persisted over time can be viewed
using the controller REST API, while data sent to JMX can be viewed using JConsole or another
JMX client. The MetricManagerComponent permits configuring default values for certain aspects
of the metering framework operation, such as how long the controller should retain persisted data,
at what time of day persisted data that is too old should be trimmed, and how often persisted
metric values should be saved to disk. (This value can be overridden for any metric when the metric
is created).
28 Navigating the controller user interface
Component keys
Information about the configurable component keys, including descriptions, current values, suggested
ranges, and default values are available from:
• The Configuration screen of the controller UI.
• The controller Configs REST API.
3.7.2.10 Node manager
Component name
com.hp.sdn.ctl.nodemgr.impl.NodeManager
Description
The NodeManager provides parameters for discovering and maintaining end host locations in the
network.
Component keys
Information about the configurable component keys, including descriptions, current values, suggested
ranges, and default values are available from:
• The Configuration screen of the controller UI.
• The controller Configs REST API.
3.7.2.11 Path diagnostic manager
Component name
com.hp.sdn.ctl.diag.impl.PathDiagnosticManager
Description
The PathDiagnosticManager defines the lifetime of the diagnostics flows used for tracing a path.
Component keys
Information about the configurable component keys, including descriptions, current values, suggested
ranges, and default values are available from:
• The Configuration screen of the controller UI.
• The controller Configs REST API.
3.7.2.12 Path daemon
Component name
com.hp.sdn.ctl.path.impl.PathDaemon
Description
The PathDaemon provides parameters used by the path daemon to perform Layer-2 forwarding.
See also “Understanding the embedded applications” (page 10).
Component keys
Information about the configurable component keys, including descriptions, current values, suggested
ranges, and default values are available from:
• The Configuration screen of the controller UI.
• The controller Configs REST API.
3.7.2.13 RestPerf provider
Component name
com.hp.sdn.rs.RestPerfProvider
3.7 Configurations screen 29
Description
The RestPerfProvider reports performance data for the REST API.
Component keys
Information about the configurable component keys, including descriptions, current values, suggested
ranges, and default values are available from:
• The Configuration screen of the controller UI.
• The controller Configs REST API.
3.7.2.14 Role assert manager
Component name
com.hp.sdn.adm.role.impl.RoleAssertManager
Description
The RoleAssertManager provides parameters the controller uses for determining role message
transmit retries and response periods.
Component keys
Information about the configurable component keys, including descriptions, current values, suggested
ranges, and default values are available from:
• The Configuration screen of the controller UI.
• The controller Configs REST API.
3.7.2.15 Service REST component
Component name
com.hp.sdn.misc.ServiceRestComponent
Description
The ServiceRestComponent provides parameters for internal communication between SDN
components and the SDN controller Northbound REST API.
Component keys
Information about the configurable component keys, including descriptions, current values, suggested
ranges, and default values are available from:
• The Configuration screen of the controller UI.
• The controller Configs REST API.
3.7.2.16 System watchdog manager
Component name
com.hp.sdn.adm.system.impl.SystemWatchdogManager
Description
The SystemWatchdogManager provides heartbeat status checking between SDN controllers that
are running as part of a team.
3.7.2.17 Trace manager
Component name
com.hp.sdn.ctl.of.impl.TraceManager
Description
The TraceManager specifies how long a trace is to run after it starts.
30 Navigating the controller user interface
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