Nokia new network operating system (SR Linux) for use in the network infrastructure of data centers and cloud environments. SR Linux is seen as a key component of Nokia's Data Center Fabric solutions and will be installed on the Nokia 7250 IXR and 7220 IXR line of routers. The SR Linux solution is already being tested in Apple's new Danish data center.
Unlike other operating systems for network equipment based on the Linux kernel, SR Linux retains the ability to access the underlying Linux environment, which is not hidden behind specialized APIs and interfaces. Users have access to the unmodified Linux kernel and basic system applications (bash, cron, Python, etc.), and specific applications are created using the NetOps Toolkit, which is not tied to specific programming languages. NetOps Toolkit-based applications, such as routing protocol implementations, access different network APIs but function as independent components.
This approach makes it possible to manage applications separately from the operating system, for example, you can update the application without making system changes or update the operating system without rebuilding applications. In addition to regular applications, such as implementations of routing protocols, it is allowed to run arbitrary programs from third-party manufacturers. The use of an unmodified Linux kernel greatly simplifies the maintenance of patches to eliminate vulnerabilities and the creation of add-ons. Declared the ability to access Linux-utilities, patches and packages, as well as support for running in isolated containers.
It supports the definition of checkpoints to roll back changes in case of problems.
Management can be done through (gRPC Network Management Interface), command line interface, Python plugins, and JSON-RPC based API.
To access the functionality of the services running in the system, it is proposed to use gRPC and the Protocol Buffers data exchange protocol. SR Linux applications can exchange state data using a "publish/subscribe" (pub/sub) architecture that also uses gRPC and Protocol Buffers, and uses IDB (Nokia Impart Database) as the guaranteed delivery mechanism.
To structure information about the state of the application and the configuration used, YANG (Yet Another Next Generation) data models are used. ).
Network protocol implementations, including Multiprotocol Border Gateway Protocol (MP-BGP), Ethernet VPN (EVPN), and Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN), are based on the proven SR OS (Nokia Service Router Operating System) protocol stack already in use on more than a million routers Nokia. A subsystem is used to abstract away the hardware components. (Extensible Data Path).
Nokia Fabric Services Platform (FSP) is offered to automate the execution of operations for creating, deploying, configuring the network infrastructure of the data center, collecting and analyzing telemetry. FSP also provides software network simulation tools to help you plan, design, test, and debug networks in data centers. Network components are simulated using Kubernetes-based container isolation, which allows individual SR Linux instances to run in their isolated environments.
In essence, FSP allows you to programmatically create a virtual copy of a real network and use the same software (SR Linux in containers) in this simulated network that is used on real routers and switches. Moreover, the same configuration is used in the real and simulated network, which allows using the software simulated network as the first link for making and testing changes. Based on the simulated environment, FSP can generate all the information needed to deploy a real network.
Source: opennet.ru