Book Image

Learning OpenStack Networking (Neutron)

By : James Denton
Book Image

Learning OpenStack Networking (Neutron)

By: James Denton

Overview of this book

OpenStack Neutron is an OpenStack component that provides networking as a service for other OpenStack services to architect networks and create virtual machines through its API. This API lets you define network connectivity in order to leverage network capabilities to cloud deployments. Through this practical book, you will build a strong foundational knowledge of Neutron, and will architect and build an OpenStack cloud using advanced networking features. We start with an introduction to OpenStack Neutron and its various components, including virtual switching, routing, FWaaS, VPNaaS, and LBaaS. You’ll also get hands-on by installing OpenStack and Neutron and its components, and use agents and plugins to orchestrate network connectivity and build a virtual switching infrastructure. Moving on, you’ll get to grips with the HA routing capabilities utilizing VRRP and distributed virtual routers in Neutron. You’ll also discover load balancing fundamentals, including the difference between nodes, pools, pool members, and virtual IPs. You’ll discover the purpose of security groups and learn how to apply the security concept to your cloud/tenant/instance. Finally, you' ll configure virtual private networks that will allow you to avoid the use of SNAT and floating IPs when connecting to remote networks.
Table of Contents (21 chapters)
Learning OpenStack Networking (Neutron) Second Edition
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Distributing routers across the cloud


Much like nova-network does with its multi-host functionality, Neutron can distribute a virtual router across compute nodes in an effort to isolate the failure domain to a particular compute node rather than a traditional network node. By eliminating a centralized layer 3 agent, the routing that was performed on a single node is now handled by the compute nodes themselves.

Legacy routing using a centralized network node resembles the following diagram:

Figure 9.1

In the legacy model, traffic from the blue virtual machine to the red virtual machine on a different network would traverse a centralized network node hosting the router. If the node hosting the router were to fail, traffic between the instances and external networks, or the instances themselves, would be dropped.

In this chapter, I will discuss the following:

  • Installing and configuring additional L3 agents

  • Demonstrating the creation and management of a distributed virtual router

  • Routing between networks...