Lab Guide 1 - Juniper

Day 2 Operations: Adding New Servers

1. Scenario: Deploying Analytics Platform Servers

Now that we have our physical capacity expanded and our virtual networks created, we need to deploy the actual servers that will run our Big Data Analytics platform. Specifically, we need to add servers to the new rack we created earlier.

In Apstra, servers are represented as Generic Systems and can be easily connected to your fabric.

2. Task: Add a New Analytics Server to the Fabric

Reflection Point: In traditional networking, adding a new server would involve:

  • Determining the correct switch ports to use

  • Configuring VLANs on those ports

  • Setting up port profiles and security settings

  • Documenting the connections for future reference

Each step is manual and error-prone, especially across a large data centre.

Let’s see how Apstra makes this simple!

2.1. Step 1: Navigate to the Topology View

  1. From the SE Demo blueprint, navigate to Staged  Physical  Topology

  2. Locate the new rack you added earlier in the topology view

  3. Click on one of the leaf switches in the new rack to select it

    Create VN

2.2. Step 2: Add a Generic System

  1. With the leaf switch selected, click the box to the left of the device’s name

  2. From the menu that appears, select Add internal/external generic system

    Create VN

  3. In the dialog that appears, configure the system:

    Parameter Value

    Generic Type

    Internal

    Name

    analytics-server-1

    Hostname

    analytics-server-1

    Logical Device

    AOS-2x10-1 (a dual-interface server)

  4. Click Next to proceed to the link configuration

    Create VN

2.3. Step 3: Configure the Connections

Since we selected a dual-interface logical device, we’ll need to create redundant connections to both leaf switches in our rack:

Step Action Details

1

For the first leaf switch

* Select an available port (e.g., port 4) * Set speed to 10Gbps

2

Add to link list

Click Add Link to add this connection to your link list

3

For the second leaf switch

* Select an available port (e.g., port 4) * Set speed to 10Gbps

4

Add to link list

Click Add Link to add this connection to your link list

Create VN

  1. Set Deploy mode to Deploy

  2. Select LACP mode active

  3. Review both links to ensure they’re configured correctly

  4. Click Create to add the generic system and its connections to your fabric

    Create VN

2.4. Step 4: Verify the Generic System

After adding the server, you should see it appear in the topology view connected to both leaf switches in your new rack:

  1. The links should appear as connections in the topology

  2. You can click on the server to see its details

  3. Navigate to Staged  Staged  Physical  Nodes to see a list of all generic systems, including your new server

    Create VN

2.5. Step 5: Understanding the Benefits

By modelling servers in Apstra as generic systems, you gain several advantages:

  1. Documentation: The physical connectivity is documented in your single source of truth

  2. Visibility: You can see exactly where each server is connected in your fabric

  3. Automation: Port configurations can be automated based on your intent

  4. Consistency: All server connections follow the same design patterns

2.6. Step 6: Review and Commit Your Changes

Before you commit on your blueprint, let’s examine how Apstra has automated the complete configuration of your devices:

  1. Navigate to Staged > Physical > Devices

  2. Select one of your leaf switches by clicking on it

    Incrimental Configuration Tab

  3. Click on the Incrimental Configuration tab

    Incrimental Configuration Tab Incrimental Configuration Tab

    This will show you all of the incremental configuration that has been generated. As all we have done is added the server, and not attached it to any of our VXLAN overlays only the speed and description has been set.

  4. Click the Uncommitted tab to see your staged changes

  5. Review the changes Apstra will make to implement your server addition

  6. Enter a commit message like "Added analytics server to new rack" and click Commit

3. What You’ve Accomplished

You’ve just:

  1. Added a new server to your fabric with redundant connections

  2. Documented this server in your network’s single source of truth

  3. Prepared the physical connectivity for your Analytics platform

In the next task, we’ll use Connectivity Templates to connect this server to our virtual networks, so it can serve as part of our Analytics platform.