Internet router using Cumulus Linux

Internet router using merchant silicon describes how an inexpensive white box switch running Linux can be used to replace a much costlier Internet router. This article will describe the steps needed to install the software on an x86 based white box switch running Cumulus Linux 3.0.

First, add the Debian Jessie repository:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian jessie main contrib" > \
/etc/apt/sources.list.d/deb.list'

Next, install Host sFlow, Java, and Bird:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install hsflowd
sudo apt-get install unzip
sudo apt-get install default-jre-headless
sudo apt-get install bird

Install sFlow-RT (the latest version is available at sFlow-RT.com):

wget http://www.inmon.com/products/sFlow-RT/sflow-rt_2.0-1116.deb
sudo dpkg -i sflow-rt_2.0-1116.deb

Increase the default virtual memory limit for sflowrt (needs to be greater than 1/3 amount of RAM on system to start Java virtual machine, see Giant Bug: Cannot run java with a virtual mem limit (ulimit -v)):

sudo sh -c 'echo "sflowrt soft as 2000000" > \
/etc/security/limits.d/99-sflowrt.conf'

Note: Maximum Java heap memory has a default of 1G and is controlled by settings in /usr/local/sflow-rt/conf.d/sflow-rt.jvm file.

Install the Active Route Manager application:

sudo sh -c "/usr/local/sflow-rt/get-app.sh sflow-rt active-routes"

Cumulus Networks, sFlow and data center automation describes how to configure the sFlow agent (hsflowd). The sFlow collector address should be set to 127.0.0.1.

Finally, configure Bird and sFlow-RT as described in Internet router using merchant silicon.

The instructions were tested on a Cumulus VX virtual machine, but should work on physical switches. Cumulus VX is free and provides a convenient way to try out Cumulus Linux and create virtual networks to test configurations.

If you are going to experiment with the solution on CumulusVX then the following command is needed to enable sFlow traffic monitoring:

sudo iptables -I FORWARD -j NFLOG --nflog-group 1 --nflog-prefix SFLOW

On physical switches the sFlow agent automatically configures packet sampling in the ASIC and is able to monitor all packets (not just the routed packets captured by the iptables command above).