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Router

A router is a network device which is designed to forward Internet Protocol packets given a source and a destination addresses. It implements dynamic routing protocols such as IS-IS, OSPF and BGP. This tool relies on the BGP implementation of routers to track peers and sessions.

In Peering Manager

Inside Peering Manager, you create routers and connect them to Internet exchanges, and/or assign direct peering sessions to them. You'll then be able to track on which router a BGP session is configured as well as add, change or delete said session. For each router that you create, the following properties can be configured (n.b. some are optional):

  • Local Autonomous System: autonomous system to which the router belongs.
  • Name: human-readable name attached to a router.
  • Hostname: resolvable FQDN or an IP address to reach the router.
  • Platform: network operating system which is running on the router.
  • Status: router's status such as enabled, disabled, etc.
  • Encrypt Passwords: an option to tell if protected BGP sessions use encrypted passwords and if Peering Manager should generate and record the encrypted password if it can.
  • Poll BGP Sessions State: whether Peering Manager should poll the state of BGP sessions on the router.
  • Configuration Template: a template used generate the configuration of the router.
  • Configuration Context: a snippet of JSON that contains additional context for e.g. tooling that accesses Peering Manager programmatically.
  • NetBox Device: an valid ID inside a NetBox instance where the router is also referenced.
  • NAPALM Username: a username for Peering Manager to use for connecting to the router. It overrides the NAPALM_USERNAME global setting.
  • NAPALM Password: a password for Peering Manager to use for connecting to the router. It overrides the NAPALM_PASSWORD global setting.
  • NAPALM Timeout: a timeout for Peering Manager to use for connecting to the router. It overrides the NAPALM_TIMEOUT global setting.
  • NAPALM Optional Arguments: optional arguments for Peering Manager to use for connecting to the router. It overrides the NAPALM_ARGS global setting. If you see connection issues with some routers, try setting {"fast_cli": false} as value for these args.
  • Comments: text to record some notes about the router. Can use Markdown formatting.
  • Tags: a list of tags to help identifying and searching for a router.

Router with SSH access

To configure a router with ssh access Peering Manager needs read-access to your private key file - please be aware that this might be a security issue.

Put the full pathname of the file into NAPALM Optional Arguments in the following form:

{
    "key_file": "/home/myuser/.ssh/id_rsa"
}

On Cisco IOS you also need to configure a target files system in case NAPALM does not detect it automatically. This happens if you have no flash card in your router (not recommended). Also make sure login via ssh and the scp servers are enabled.

{
  "dest_file_system": "nvram:"
}

If you get an error which might indicate a timeout occured and if you have a slower router, increasing the global timeout might be a solution: 

{
  "global_delay_factor": 5
}

Connecting to your router

Peering Manager uses NAPALM to connect to devices. The Ping button at the top checks if NAPALM can access your router. If you run into problems try connecting to your router from the command line using NAPALM.

Deploying configuration to a data source

Keeping the router configuration in a remote location, other than the router itself, can be useful in some cases. This can be achieved by using the following fields and the synchronised data feature:

  • Data source: the remote location in which to store the rendered configuration file recorded as a data source
  • Data path: the path (relative to the data source) of the file in which the rendered configuration will be stored, it will create a data file on first push

Permissions

A user must be assigned the peering | routing | Can push router's configuraion to data source permission in order to push a new file to a remote data source

Pushing a device rendered configuration can be triggered in 3 ways:

  • In the user interface, with the "Push to data source" button, in the router's configuration view
  • With the push_to_data_source CLI command
  • By sending a POST request to the /api/peering/routers/push-datasource/ API endpoint