Lab2 - Freeform Resource Allocation

Estimated Time: 60 minutes.

Objective

During this session you will explore a powerful Freeform feature called Resource Allocation. This feature allows you to create resources dynamically based on some programmatic information. These resources can then be used in the Freeform design to allocate to objects such as Link IP addresses, Loopback IP addresses, AS numbers, and Virtual network parameters. This allows the Freeform architects and designers to not be so tied to property sets for every parameter of the network and makes it much easier to add or remove network elements to a topology without having to make large changes to property sets.

The Lab Journey

This lab will take you on a journey to explore Freeform Resource Generators and the structure of resources. Using an already created topology in your lab, it will:

  1. Give you an introduction to Freeform Resource Generators and where we see it being used

  2. Walk you through migrating an existing property_set based blueprint to a resource generation based blueprint.

  3. Finally, you will modify the underlying Jinja2 and reference the resources you have allocated.

It is recommended that users complete the previous Apstra labs to gain familiarity this solution. Be certain to complete the other Freeform exercises before beginning this Freeform Resource Allocation lab.

Log into CloudLabs

  1. Access the Apstra virtual environment with the CloudLabs portal URL that was emailed to you. For best performance, use the latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla FireFox web browsers.

  2. It can take about twenty minutes for the topology to be provisioned. In the meantime, the status shows as DEPLOYINPROGRESS and the button for accessing the Apstra UI is not functional. When the status changes to UP, take note of your login credentials and click Open in a New Tab to access the Apstra UI.

  3. A security warning will appear due to the environment using a self-signed certificate. Click through to proceed to the Apstra UI, bypassing the AUTH warning i.e. click Advanced and then Proceed to <apstra-server-ip> (unsafe).

  4. Log into the Apstra UI with login credentials provided earlier (above the Open in a New Tab button).

On successful login you will be presented with the Blueprints screen as shown below. The first Blueprint on the left will be the one you will work on during this lab. Select the Blueprint by clicking on its name i.e. Freeform_blueprint-<alpha numeric string>

BP view