Deploy Arista CloudEOS with Equinix Bare Metal

Goal

In this deployment guide, we will show you how to deploy Arista CloudEOS Router in Equinix Bare Metal, with the following high-level tasks:

• Deploy an Equinix Bare Metal Server
• Deploy an Arista CloudEOS Router on ESXi and bring online

For more information about the Arista CloudEOS Router, see here and Arista CloudVision, see here. For more information about Equinix Bare Metal, see here.

Deployment Diagram

In the following diagram, we will focus on creating one of the Equinix Servers. We will deploy US-West and choose Dallas for its location.

Figure 1: CloudEOS with Equinix Bare Metal spanning the globe, allowing optimal performance and a quick deployment. The diagram shows an 'Equinix Fabric' connecting to 'Internet'. Four 'Equinix Metal' locations are depicted: EMEA, APAC, US West, and US East. Each location has two network interfaces, labeled 'eth1' and 'eth2', connected to the Equinix Fabric.

Deployment Steps

1. In Equinix's Metal Console, select "Bare metal servers" and then "Deploy on demand".

   Screenshot of the Equinix Metal Console showing the 'Deploy on demand' section. It displays project details for 'Arista Networks Inc' and options like 'Bare metal servers', 'On Demand', 'Reserved Hardware', 'Manage Servers', 'Networking', 'Interconnections', and 'Project Settings'. The main area shows a 'LET'S GET STARTED' message with options to 'Deploy on demand' and 'Request reserved hardware'.

2. Select the Metro Region from the drop down list of available areas. For example, choose Dallas.

3. Select the desired server size, from available server options within the metro area.

   Table listing server types and supported operating systems. Server types include c3.small.x86, m3.small.x86, c3.medium.x86, c3.large.arm64, m2.xlarge.x86, s3.xlarge.x86, m3.large.x86, n2.xlarge.x86, and g2.large.x86. Supported operating systems are represented by icons, including various Linux distributions, FreeBSD, and VMware (VM).

4. Select VMware ESXi.

5. Enter the Equinix Bare Metal Server name. For example, "Server 1" with Hostname "Equinix-BM-Dallas".

6. Select "Deploy Now" at the bottom.

7. Once the server shows as deployed, select the name to open Details.

   Screenshot of the 'Manage Servers' page in Equinix Metal. It lists deployed servers with hostnames like 'Equinix-BM-Chicago' and 'Equinix-BM-LosAngele...'. Checkboxes are available for selection.

8. IMPORTANT! The password will only remain for 24 hours after creating the server. Make certain to copy down the Password and save it somewhere secure. This is the Root password to connect to ESXI at the Public IP listed.

9. If deploying multiple servers, add a VLAN to communicate across the Equinix Fabric or dedicated ports with.

10. You can add the SSH Keys as an alternative way to connect to the Bare Metal Host Server by going into Project Settings and Add SSH Key. For more on SSH keys in Equinix metal see here.

    Screenshot of the 'Project SSH Keys' section within Arista Equinix Metal project settings. It indicates 'You don't have any SSH keys' and provides an 'Add an SSH Key' button.

11. Open a Web Browser and go to the IP provided in the Server details. This will open the ESXI window. Login with "root" and the password previously saved offline.

12. Next, we will install CloudEOS on ESXI. To do this, go to Virtual Machines and Create / Register VM.

    Screenshot of the VMware ESXi Host Client interface, showing the 'Navigator' pane with 'Host', 'Manage', 'Monitor', 'Virtual Machines', 'Storage', and 'Networking'. The main area displays 'Equinix-BM-LosAngeles - Virtual Machines' with options to 'Create / Register VM' and 'Console'.

13. Select "Deploy a virtual machine from an OVF or OVA file" and then select "Next".

    Screenshot of the 'New virtual machine' wizard, 'Select creation type' screen with options to 'Create a new virtual machine' or 'Deploy a virtual machine from an OVF or OVA file'.

14. Provide a name used to ESXI for this Router and then browse to the location you have downloaded the CloudEOS file to. Note: CloudEOS images are found at here.

    Screenshot of the 'New virtual machine' wizard, 'Select OVF and VMDK files' screen where a name for the virtual machine ('LA-Equinix-BM-Transit') is entered, and a CloudEOS OVA file is selected.

15. Select "Next", as only one storage device will be available.

    Screenshot of the 'Select storage' screen in the 'New virtual machine' wizard. It shows available datastores, with 'datastore1' listed, including its capacity and type.

16. Select "Thick" provisioning and "Finish".

    Screenshot of the 'Deployment options' screen in the 'New virtual machine' wizard. It shows options for 'Network mappings' (VM Network) and 'Disk provisioning' (Thin or Thick), with 'Thick' selected.

17. After the VM is installed, we will edit the network settings with require us to Power Off the VM first.

    Screenshot of the details for a virtual machine named 'CH-Equinix-BM-Transit'. It shows the VM is powered on, its Guest OS, Compatibility, VMware Tools status, CPUs, and Memory. Actions like 'Console', 'Monitor', 'Power on/off', 'Suspend', 'Reset', and 'Edit' are visible.

18. Once powered off, go to "Actions" and "Edit Settings".

19. In the VM Hardware Settings, change the memory to the desired amount. The minimum requirements as seen in the Data Sheet is 8Gb. At this point you will also add additional Network Adaptors. By default, there will be one Network Adaptor, which is defaulted to the Mgmt Interface in EOS. We will add one interface for the Internet side as well as another in the event we add a backbone connection to another Router in the Equinix environment.

    Screenshot of the 'Edit Settings' dialog for the virtual machine. It displays hardware configurations like CPU, Memory, Hard disks, SATA Controller, Network Adapters, and Video Card. Options to add more hardware are available.

20. Select "Add network adaptor" twice, which will add two more adaptors.

    Screenshot of the 'Edit Settings' dialog showing three Network Adapters configured for the virtual machine, each set to 'VM Network' and 'Connect'.

21. Power on the VM again and you will be ready to configure CloudEOS.

    Screenshot of the ESXi Host Client showing the virtual machine 'CH-Equinix-BM-Transit' powered on. A video player-like element is present, labeled 'Click to open a browser console to this virtual machine'.

22. Login with the user "admin". When setting up the Bare Metal server, a /29 network is used. The gateway will be that network +1, the VM will be the next IP, and the remaining IPs are available for use on your CloudEOS router.

    Random Example:

    • Network: 162.210.129.8/29
    • Available Network IPs: 162.210.129.9 - 162.210.129.14
    • Broadcast Address: 162.210.129.15
    • Equinix Gateway: 162.210.129.9
    • ESXI Server: 162.210.129.10
    • CloudEOS Eth1 Address: ip address 162.210.129.11/29
    • CloudEOS Default Route: ip route 0.0.0.0/0 162.210.129.9

    The CloudEOS is now online and ready to install any licensing, upgrade, and complete user specific configuration. The complete CloudEOS Configuration Guide can be found here.

23. (Optional) If you have Arista CloudVision, you can also onboard the CloudEOS Router onto CloudVision, and you can see similar routing information and more valuable information from a historical perspective for troubleshooting and visibility. If you don't have Arista CloudVision, you can register it at https://www.arista.io/cv. More information about CloudVision can be found here.

    Table showing BGP Overview details, including Local BGP Details such as BGP AS Number (65199), Configured BGP Router ID (192.168.122.1), Routing Mode (Multi-Agent), BGP Peers (2 peers), BGP Established Peers (2 peers), BGP Unestablished Peers (0 peers), BGP Learned Paths (0 paths), IPv4 BGP Learned Routes (17 routes), and IPv6 BGP Learned Routes (N/A). It also lists BGP Peers with columns for Peer, State, Up/Down Since, Enabled, and Local Address.

Summary

You have now completed the steps of creating and connecting the Arista CloudEOS Router in Equinix Bare Metal. You can repeat this process for each Metal Server you plan on installing. As indicated, Eth 2 can then be used to connect to the backbone. A few options are available, depending on your deployment model and bandwidth requirements. These options can be found here.

Contact Information

Santa Clara - Corporate Headquarters
5453 Great America Parkway,
Santa Clara, CA 95054
Phone: +1-408-547-5500
Fax: +1-408-538-8920
Email: info@arista.com

Ireland - International Headquarters
3130 Atlantic Avenue
Westpark Business Campus
Shannon, Co. Clare
Ireland

Vancouver - R&D Office
9200 Glenlyon Pkwy, Unit 300
Burnaby, British Columbia
Canada V5J 5J8

San Francisco - R&D and Sales Office
1390 Market Street, Suite 800
San Francisco, CA 94102

India - R&D Office
Global Tech Park, Tower A, 11th Floor
Marathahalli Outer Ring Road
Devarabeesanahalli Village, Varthur Hobli
Bangalore, India 560103

Singapore - APAC Administrative Office
9 Temasek Boulevard
#29-01, Suntec Tower Two
Singapore 038989

Nashua - R&D Office
10 Tara Boulevard
Nashua, NH 03062