Setup

The image below illustrates the virtual test environment, featuring a virtual BNG powered by RBFS running in a container.

Host

The host system is running Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, a stable and widely used Linux distribution.

The interface pair r1-b1 - hostif-0/0/1 connects the BNG to the host, supporting protocols like RADIUS. The remaining interfaces are dedicated for use with the BNG Blaster.

$ ip addr show r1-b1
17: r1-b1: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 9000 qdisc noqueue state UP group default qlen 1000
    link/ether 5a:86:f8:2c:aa:44 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
    inet 192.0.2.2/24 brd 192.0.2.255 scope global r1-b1
    valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
    inet 192.0.2.3/24 brd 192.0.2.255 scope global secondary r1-b1
    valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
    inet 192.0.2.4/24 brd 192.0.2.255 scope global secondary r1-b1
    valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
    inet6 fc66:1337:7331:1::4/64 scope global
    valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
    inet6 fc66:1337:7331:1::3/64 scope global
    valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
    inet6 fc66:1337:7331:1::2/64 scope global
    valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
    inet6 fe80::5886:f8ff:fe2c:aa44/64 scope link
    valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever

RtBrick Full Stack

The virtual BNG is powered by RtBrick Full Stack (RBFS), a cutting-edge network operating system designed for disaggregated switches.

Documentation

RBFS Documentation: https://documents.rtbrick.com/techdocs/current/index.html
RBFS Training: https://documents.rtbrick.com/trainings/current/index.html

Login

To connect to the virtual BNG (r1) from the host, use the command ssh student@r1 with the password student.

student@netuk2-student-01:~$ ssh student@r1
student@r1's password: student
student@r1>netuk2-student-01: op>

Upon logging in, you will be placed directly into the CLI environment, as your user does not have shell access.

Navigating the CLI

In RBFS, the CLI prompt indicates the mode you are currently in:

op> for operational mode
cfg> for configuration mode

You can easily switch between these modes using the command switch-mode <mode>.

RBFS CLI is intuitive and supports features like tab-completion and the ? command to explore available options and commands. This makes it simple to navigate and discover functionality as you go.

Configuration Mode

In configuration mode, you have multiple ways to view and manage the system configuration:

Show the configuration in JSON format: Use show config for a structured overview.
View as SET commands: Use show config set, which lists the configuration as commands.
Path-specific views: Both commands can be followed by a specific path, such as show config interfaces, to focus on a particular configuration area.

Managing Configuration Changes

View pending changes: Use show diff to see the differences between the current and proposed configurations.
Apply changes: Use commit to make changes active.
Discard changes: Use discard to revert any pending changes.
Rollback to a previous configuration: Use rollback <revision>, e.g., rollback 1, to revert to a previous state.

RBFS offers a streamlined and robust experience for managing disaggregated networking environments, ensuring flexibility and control while maintaining an intuitive CLI interface.