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Target Discovery guide#

SDC offers robust and flexible mechanisms for discovering devices within a network. This capability is crucial for automating the configuration and management of network devices.

Device discovery in SDC consists of two key parts:

  1. Identifying the IP address or hostname of the device.
  2. Determining the device’s provider (vendor/nos) and version.

A central aspect of this discovery process is the DiscoveryRule CustomResource, which not only configures discovery mechanisms but also generates a specific CustomResource called Target for each discovered device.

Identifying the IP Address or Hostname#

SDC supports various discovery mechanisms for determining the IP address or hostname of network devices. These methods allow for flexibility depending on the network environment:

  • IP Prefix Based Discovery: Ideal for handling IP ranges and scenarios where the specific target IP address is unknown. This method allows sdc to intelligently explore and identify devices within specified IP prefixes.
  • IP Address Based Discovery: Perfect for situations where the exact IP address of the target device is known. sdc enables precise discovery based on provided addresses (IP or DNS), ensuring accuracy in device identification.
  • POD Based Discovery: Ideal when devices are instantiated as pods in a cluster. sdc enables device discovery based on the address of Kubernetes Pods. This advancement aligns with modern containerized environments, providing enhanced visibility into your network infrastructure.
  • SVC Based Discovery: Ideal when devices are accessible through services in a pod. sdc discovers devices by utilizing the address of Kubernetes Services. This approach ensures comprehensive network mapping within dynamic Kubernetes services.

Identifying the Device Provider and Version#

Once a device’s address is known, the next step is determining its provider (vendor) and NOS version. This can be achieved in two ways:

  1. No discovery: Enabled by supplying a defaultSchema (provider and version) in the DiscoveryRule CR definition.
  2. Dynamic Discovery: The provider and version are automatically determined using DiscoveryVendorProfile(s).

IP Prefix Based Discovery requires Dynamic Discovery to be enabled

The DiscoveryVendorProfile CustomResource#

The Discovery Vendor Profile defines the provider specific information that uniquely identify the provider, version together with additional metadata (such as platformType, hostname, serial-number and mac Address)

The DiscoveryRule CustomResource#

The DiscoveryRule CustomResource is the cornerstone of the SDC discovery process. It not only initiates and manages the discovery of devices but also links these devices to their corresponding configurations and credentials. The key aspects of this CustomResource include:

Key Features#

Device and Profiles association#

Once a device is discovered, the DiscoveryRule links it with several essential components:

  • Schema: Associates the device with its corresponding schema, enabling SDC to understand and manage the device's configuration correctly and validate changes made by users.
  • Connection Profile: Connects the device to one or more pre-defined connection profile, which specifies how SDC should communicate with the device to modify and retrieve configuration.
  • Sync Profile: Assigns a sync profile to the device, dictating how the device's configuration and state should be synchronized and managed.
  • Credentials: Integrates with Kubernetes secrets to securely manage the credentials needed for accessing and configuring the device.
  • Hostname: Either statically configured or retrieved from the device.

Creation of Target CR#

For every device discovered, DiscoveryRule creates a Target CustomResource. This CR encapsulates details about the device, including its network address, associated schema, connection information, and synchronization settings.

Examples#

Example of a DiscoveryRule

apiVersion: inv.sdcio.dev/v1alpha1
kind: DiscoveryRule
metadata:
  name: dr-static
  namespace: default
spec:
  period: 1m
  concurrentScans: 2
  defaultSchema:
    provider: srl.nokia.sdcio.dev  
    version: 24.10.1
  addresses:
  - address: 172.18.0.4
    hostName: dev1
  - address: 172.18.0.3
    hostName: dev2
  targetConnectionProfiles:
  - credentials: srl.nokia.sdcio.dev 
    connectionProfile: gnmi-skipverify
    syncProfile: gnmi-get
  targetTemplate:
    labels:
      sdcio.dev/region: us-east

This documentation page highlights the versatility and sophistication of SDC's device discovery capabilities. By leveraging DiscoveryRule, users can efficiently integrate a wide range of devices into their network management workflows, paving the way for a more automated and streamlined network configuration process.