Quick Start Guide
This quick start guide provides an end-to-end setup process for installing and running Cumulus RMP, as well as a collection of example commands for getting started after installation is complete.
Prerequisites
Intermediate Linux knowledge is assumed for this guide. You should be
familiar with basic text editing, Unix file permissions, and process
monitoring. A variety of text editors are pre-installed, including vi
and nano.
You must have access to a Linux or UNIX shell. If you are running
Windows, use a Linux environment like Cygwin
as your command line tool to interact with Cumulus RMP.
If you are a networking engineer but are unfamiliar with Linux concepts, refer to [this reference guide](https://ania-stage.dao6mistqkn0c.amplifyapp.com/networking-ethernet-software/knowledge-base/Demos-and-Training/Interoperability/Cumulus-Linux-Conversion-Guide-for-NX-OS-or-IOS-Users/) for examples of the Cumulus Linux CLI and configuration options, and their equivalent Cisco Nexus 3000 NX-OS commands and settings. You can also watch a series of short videos introducing you to Linux and Cumulus Linux-specific concepts.
Setting Up a Cumulus RMP Switch
To set up a Cumulus RMP switch:
-
Rack the switch and connect it to power.
-
Cable all the ports.
-
Log in and change the default password.
-
Configure switch ports and a loopback interface, if needed.
This quick start guide walks you through the steps necessary to get your Cumulus RMP switch up and running after you remove it from the box.
Upgrading Cumulus RMP
If you are running a Cumulus RMP version earlier than 3.0.0, you must perform a complete install . If you already have Cumulus Linux 3.0.0 or later installed on your switch, read Upgrading Cumulus Linux for considerations before you start the process.
Getting Started
When bringing up Cumulus RMP for the first time, the management port makes a DHCPv4 request. To determine the IP address of the switch, you can cross reference the MAC address of the switch with your DHCP server. The MAC address is typically located on the side of the switch or on the box in which the unit is shipped.
Login Credentials
The default installation includes one system account, root, with full
system privileges, and one user account, cumulus, with sudo
privileges. The root account password is set to null by default (which
prohibits login), while the cumulus account is configured with this
default password:
CumulusLinux!
In this quick start guide, you use the cumulus account to configure Cumulus RMP.
For best security, change the default password (using the passwdcommand) before you configure Cumulus RMP on the switch.
All accounts except root are permitted remote SSH login; you can use
sudo to grant root-level access to a non-root account. Commands that
change system configuration require this elevated level of access.
For more information about sudo, read Using sudo to Delegate Privileges.
Serial Console Management
Cumulus Networks encourages you to perform management and configuration over the network, either in band or out of band. Use of the serial console is fully supported; however, many customers prefer the convenience of network-based management.
Typically, switches ship from the manufacturer with a mating DB9 serial cable. Switches with ONIE are always set to a 115200 baud rate.
Wired Ethernet Management
Switches supported in Cumulus RMP contain a number of dedicated Ethernet management ports, the first of which is named eth0. These interfaces are geared specifically for out-of-band management use. The management interface uses DHCPv4 for addressing by default. While it is generally recommended to not assign an address to eth0, you can set a static IP address with the Network Command Line Utility (NCLU).
Example IP Configuration
Set the static IP address with the interface address and interface gateway NCLU commands:
cumulus@switch:~$ net add interface eth0 ip address 192.0.2.42/24
cumulus@switch:~$ net add interface eth0 ip gateway 192.0.2.1
cumulus@switch:~$ net pending
cumulus@switch:~$ net commit
These commands produce the following snippet in the
/etc/network/interfaces file:
auto eth0
iface eth0
address 192.0.2.42/24
gateway 192.0.2.1
In-Band Ethernet Management
All traffic that goes to the RMP switch through an interface called
vlan.1 is marked for in-band management. DHCP is enabled on this
interface by default and you can confirm the IP address at the command
line. However, if you want to set a static IP address, change the
configuration for vlan.1 in the /etc/network/interfaces file.
auto vlan.1
iface vlan.1
address 10.0.1.1/24
gateway 10.0.2.1
Configuring the Hostname and Time Zone
To change the hostname, run net add hostname, which modifies both the
/etc/hostname and /etc/hosts files with the desired hostname.
cumulus@switch:~$ net add hostname <hostname>
cumulus@switch:~$ net pending
cumulus@switch:~$ net commit
The command prompt in the terminal does not reflect the new hostname until you either log out of the switch or start a new shell.
To update the time zone, update the /etc/timezone file with the
correct
timezone,
run dpkg-reconfigure --frontend noninteractive tzdata, then reboot the
switch:
cumulus@switch:~$ sudo nano /etc/timezone
cumulus@switch:~$ sudo dpkg-reconfigure --frontend noninteractive tzdata
cumulus@switch:~$ sudo reboot
Testing Cable Connectivity
By default, all data plane ports and the management interface are enabled.
cumulus@switch:~$ net add interface swp1
cumulus@switch:~$ net pending
cumulus@switch:~$ net commit
To administratively enable all physical ports, run the following command, where swp1-52 represents a switch with switch ports numbered from swp1 to swp52:
cumulus@switch:~$ net add interface swp1-52
cumulus@switch:~$ net pending
cumulus@switch:~$ net commit
To view link status, use the net show interface all command. The
following examples show the output of ports in admin down, down, and
up modes:
cumulus@switch:~$ net show interface all
Name Speed MTU Mode Summary
----- ------------------------ ------- ----- ------------- --------------------------------------
UP lo N/A 65536 Loopback IP: 10.0.0.11/32, 127.0.0.1/8, ::1/128
UP eth0 1G 1500 Mgmt IP: 192.168.0.11/24(DHCP)
UP swp1 (hypervisor_port_1) 1G 1500 Access/L2 Untagged: br0
UP swp2 1G 1500 NotConfigured
ADMDN swp45 0M 1500 NotConfigured
ADMDN swp46 0M 1500 NotConfigured
ADMDN swp47 0M 1500 NotConfigured
ADMDN swp48 0M 1500 NotConfigured
ADMDN swp49 0M 1500 NotConfigured
ADMDN swp50 0M 1500 NotConfigured
UP swp51 1G 1500 BondMember Master: bond0(DN)
UP blue N/A 65536 NotConfigured
DN bond0 N/A 1500 Bond Bond Members: swp51(UN)
UP br0 N/A 1500 Bridge/L3 IP: 172.16.1.1/24
Untagged Members: swp1
802.1q Tag: Untagged
STP: RootSwitch(32768)
UP red N/A 65536 NotConfigured
ADMDN rename13 0M 1500 NotConfigured
ADMDN vagrant 0M 1500 NotConfigured
Configuring Switch Ports
Layer 2 Port Configuration
Cumulus RMP does not put all ports into a bridge by default. To
configure a front panel port or create a bridge, edit the
/etc/network/interfaces file. After saving the file, use the ifup
command to activate the change.
Examples
Example One
In the following configuration example, the front panel port swp1 is
placed into a bridge called bridge. The NCLU commands are:
cumulus@switch:~$ net add bridge bridge ports swp1
cumulus@switch:~$ net pending
cumulus@switch:~$ net commit
The commands above produce the following /etc/network/interfaces
snippet:
auto bridge
iface bridge
bridge-ports swp1
bridge-vlan-aware yes
Example Two
You can add a range of ports in one command. For example, add swp1 through swp10, swp12, and swp14 through swp20 to bridge:
cumulus@switch:~$ net add bridge bridge ports swp1-10,12,14-20
cumulus@switch:~$ net pending
cumulus@switch:~$ net commit
This creates the following /etc/network/interfaces snippet:
auto bridge
iface bridge
bridge-ports swp1 swp2 swp3 swp4 swp5 swp6 swp7 swp8 swp9 swp10 swp12 swp14 swp15 swp16 swp17 swp18 swp19 swp20
bridge-vlan-aware yes
To view the changes in the kernel, use the brctl command:
cumulus@switch:~$ brctl show
bridge name bridge id STP enabled interfaces
br0 8000.089e01cedcc2 yes swp1
Layer 3 Port Configuration
To configure a front panel port or bridge interface as a layer 3 port, use NCLU.
In the following configuration example, the front panel port swp1 is configured as a layer 3 access port:
cumulus@switch:~$ net add interface swp1 ip address 10.1.1.1/30
cumulus@switch:~$ net pending
cumulus@switch:~$ net commit
This creates the following /etc/network/interfaces snippet:
auto swp1
iface swp1
address 10.1.1.1/30
To add an IP address to a bridge interface, you must put it into a VLAN interface:
cumulus@switch:~$ net add vlan ip address 10.2.2.1/24
cumulus@switch:~$ net pending
cumulus@switch:~$ net commit
This creates the following /etc/network/interfaces snippet:
auto bridge
iface bridge
bridge-vids 100
bridge-vlan-aware yes
auto vlan100
iface vlan100
address 192.168.10.1/24
vlan-id 100
vlan-raw-device bridge
To view the changes in the kernel, use the ip addr show command:
cumulus@switch:~$ ip addr show
...
4. swp1: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast master bridge state UP group default qlen 1000
link/ether 44:38:39:00:6e:fe brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
...
14: bridge: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state UP group default
link/ether 44:38:39:00:00:04 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
inet6 fe80::4638:39ff:fe00:4/64 scope link
valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
...
Configuring a Loopback Interface
Cumulus RMP has a loopback preconfigured in the
/etc/network/interfaces file. When the switch boots up, it has a
loopback interface, called lo, which is up and assigned an IP address
of 127.0.0.1.
The loopback interface lo must always be specified in
/etc/network/interfaces and must always be up.
To see the status of the loopback interface (lo), use the net show interface lo command:
cumulus@switch:~$ net show interface lo
Name MAC Speed MTU Mode
-- ------ ----------------- ------- ----- --------
UP lo 00:00:00:00:00:00 N/A 65536 Loopback
IP Details
------------------------- --------------------
IP: 127.0.0.1/8, ::1/128
IP Neighbor(ARP) Entries: 0
Note that the loopback is up and is assigned an IP address of 127.0.0.1.
To add an IP address to a loopback interface, configure the lo
interface with NCLU:
cumulus@switch:~$ net add loopback lo ip address 10.1.1.1/32
cumulus@switch:~$ net pending
cumulus@switch:~$ net commit
You can configure multiple loopback addresses by adding additional
address lines:
cumulus@switch:~$ net add loopback lo ip address 172.16.2.1/24
cumulus@switch:~$ net pending
cumulus@switch:~$ net commit
This creates the following snippet in the /etc/network/interfaces
file:
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback
address 10.1.1.1/32
address 172.16.2.1/24
Assigning Port-Based IP Addresses
You can assign an IP address and other DHCP options based on physical location or port regardless of MAC address to clients that are attached directly to the Cumulus Linux switch through a switch port. This is helpful when swapping out switches and servers; you can avoid the inconvenience of collecting the MAC address and sending it to the network administrator to modify the DHCP server configuration.
Edit the /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.conf file and add the interface name ifname
to assign an IP address through DHCP. The following provides an example:
host myhost {
ifname = "swp1" ;
fixed-address = 10.10.10.10 ;
}