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Step 2: Install SSR Software and Initialize the Router

This step boots the router VM from the SSR ISO, installs the software, and uses the web-based initialization interface to configure the VM as a conductor-managed branch router.

Install SSR Software​

  1. Select the new router VM in the ESXi Navigator and click the Play (Power On) button.

    Power On

  2. At the Install menu, use the arrow keys to select VGA Console.

    Install Type

  3. If you require FIPS mode, select Install Option 1 and press Enter. If FIPS is not required, press Enter without selecting an option. The download and installation begins.

    note

    IDP is not compatible with systems running in FIPS 140-3 mode, including Common Criteria or JITC deployments. If you plan to enable IDP, do not enable FIPS mode. See IDP Troubleshooting for information on disabling FIPS mode if needed.

    Additionally, please note that FIPS mode disables BGP MD5 authentication.

    Install Options

  4. The installation runs to completion automatically. This may take approximately 15–20 minutes.

    Install Progress

  5. When prompted to reboot, allow the VM to shutdown.

    Install Complete

Apply VLANs to the Spoke Router​

These steps configure VLANs on the router.

  1. In the VM in the ESXi Navigator, start the Spoke1 Virtual Machine.

  2. Select Console and login using the root credentials.

  3. From the linux prompt run the command ip a | more . Make a note of the ge-0-x interfaces and MAC address associations.

    Start Spoke console

    Example:

    ge-0-0 =00:0c:29:6c:32:c1
    ge-0-1 =00:0c:29:6c:32:a3
    ge-0-2 =00:0c:29:6c:32:cb
    ge-0-3 =00:0c:29:6c:32:ad

    3a. If you do not see the ge-0-x interfaces, use the following steps to retrieve the information from the SSR CLI:

    • From the linux shell, run the command su admin to enter the SSR CLI.

    • Run show network-interface | more. This will display the DHCP IP addresses.

      show network interface

    • Locate the ge-0-x interfaces, and make a note of the IP address.

  4. From the Spoke1 VM in the ESXi Navigator, select Actions and then Edit Settings.

    Edit VM settings

    In the Hardware Configuration window, expand each network adapter to see the MAC address associated with the Network adapter.

    Mac Addresses

  5. Use the diagram below and the interface names for each MAC address, to associate the correct network VLAN with each interface. Use the following VM VLANs: VM Network, VLAN66, VLAN3 and VLAN4. The Network Adapter, MAC address and ge-0-x interface name(s) should match based on the MAC addresses previously determined. Save when complete.

    VLAN Identification

Example:

ge-0-0 =00:0c:29:6c:32:a3 = Adapter 1 (VLAN66)
ge-0-1 =00:0c:29:6c:32:ad = Adapter 2 (VLAN3)
ge-0-2 =00:0c:29:6c:32:b7 = Adapter3 (VLAN4)
ge-0-3 =00:0c:29:6c:32:c1 = Adapter4 (VLAN1)
  1. Click Save.

Initialize the Router​

  1. In the VM in the ESXi Navigator, select the Spoke1 Virtual Machine, and click Power On.

  2. Click Console and login using the root credentials.

    • Username: root
    • Password: 128tRoutes

    The system takes a few minutes to start up.

  3. Run the command su admin to enter the PCLI.

    Initial Login

  4. Enter the following command to connect the Spoke1 router to the conductor:

    initialize conductor-managed router-name Spoke1 conductor-ip <conductor-ip-address>

    Wait for the device to show Device successfully initialized. This step may take several minutes to complete.

    Device Successflly Initialized

    Let’s go to the Conductor GUI, add this router, and connect it for communication to the Conductor.

  5. Open a browser tab on your computer and navigate to your VMWare conductor; https://192.168.100.10 and initiate a web session to the conductor GUI.

    Self signed Certificate warning

  6. Accept the self-signed certificate warning, and login using the username and the password you set earlier.

  7. In the Conductor GUI, click on Authority.

    Conductor Authority

  8. At the top of the list of Routers, select ADD.

    Add Router

  9. Enter the router Spoke1 and click Save.

    New Router

Add a Location for the Router​

After adding the router name, let’s add the location of this router. For this example, we'll use Los Angeles.

  1. In the Router Basic Information screen, enter Los Angeles under Location.

    Basic Info

  2. If you have the location coordinates (for this example, enter the following exactly: +34.0536909-118.242766/), you can enter them.

  3. Under Inter-node Security Policy, select Internal.

  4. The New Node dialog is displayed - enter node0.

    New Node

  5. Click Save.

    The New Node screen appears.

Asset ID​

The Asset ID allows the router and conductor to fully connect, and allows the conductor to configure and control it.

  1. On the Node screen, verify the Node Name is Node0, set the Associated Asset ID to Spoke1, and set the Role to Combo.

    Node Asset ID

  2. Click Commit.

    If you see a Review Commit Warning, click Proceed and Commit . Your router is now bound to the conductor, sharing keys and trust. Connectivity will not be available for a roughly 8-10 minutes until full synchronization completes between the router and Conductor. When you see the Routers page displaying Synchronized, the router is ready to be configured from the conductor.

Next Step​

Proceed to Step 3 — Find VM NIC PCI Addresses.