Installation

Step-by-step installation guide for Nokia BNG Lab

This guide walks you through deploying the complete Nokia BNG Lab environment.

Overview

The installation process involves:

1. Obtaining the lab repository
2. Setting up Nokia licenses
3. Preparing Docker images
4. Deploying the lab with Containerlab
5. Verifying the deployment

Expected deployment time: 10-15 minutes (depending on your internet connection and system performance)

Step 1: Clone the Repository

1. Clone from GitHub

   Download the lab repository:

   git clone https://github.com/abelperezr/nokia-bng-lab.git
   cd nokia-bng-lab
   
2. Verify Repository Contents

   Check that all essential files are present:

   ls -la
   

   You should see:

   • lab.yml - Main topology file
   • configs/ - Configuration directory
   • README.md - Documentation

Alternative: Download as ZIP

If you don’t have Git installed:

# Using curl
curl -L https://github.com/abelperezr/nokia-bng-lab/archive/refs/heads/main.zip -o nokia-bng-lab.zip
unzip nokia-bng-lab.zip
cd nokia-bng-lab-main

# Using wget
wget https://github.com/abelperezr/nokia-bng-lab/archive/refs/heads/main.zip
unzip main.zip
cd nokia-bng-lab-main

Step 2: License Setup

The Nokia SR-SIM license is mandatory. The lab will not start without it.

1. Create License Directory

   mkdir -p configs/license
   
2. Copy License File

   Place your Nokia SR-SIM license file in the correct location:

   cp /path/to/your/SR_SIM_license.txt configs/license/
   

   The license file must be named exactly SR_SIM_license.txt

3. Verify License File

   ls -lh configs/license/SR_SIM_license.txt
   

   The file should exist and have a non-zero size.

License File Requirements

The SR-SIM license must support:

• Platforms: SR-7, IXR-ec
• Features: BNG functionality, ISA cards
• Nodes: At least 4 nodes (2x BNG, 1x Switch, 1x OLT)

Contact Nokia support if your license doesn’t include these features.

Step 3: Prepare Docker Images

Nokia SR OS Image

1. Import Nokia SR OS Image

   Import the Nokia SR OS 25.10.R2 image:

   # Import from TAR file
   docker import /path/to/sros-25.10.R2.tar localhost/nokia/srsim:25.10.R2
   
2. Verify SR OS Image

   docker images | grep nokia/srsim
   

   Expected output:

   localhost/nokia/srsim    25.10.R2    <image_id>    <time>    <size>
   

Nokia SR Linux Image

1. Pull SR Linux Image

   docker pull ghcr.io/nokia/srlinux:25.10
   

Public Container Images

These images will be pulled automatically during deployment, but you can pre-pull them to speed up the process.

# Optional: Pre-pull all required images
docker pull ghcr.io/abelperezr/ont-ds:0.2
docker pull ghcr.io/srl-labs/network-multitool
docker pull ghcr.io/openconfig/gnmic:latest
docker pull prom/prometheus
docker pull grafana/grafana:10.3.5

Step 4: Deploy the Lab

Containerlab requires root privileges or sudo access.

1. Start Deployment

   Deploy the complete lab topology:

   sudo containerlab deploy -t lab.yml
   

   This command will:

   • Create the management network (10.77.1.0/24)
   • Pull missing Docker images
   • Start all containers in the correct order
   • Apply startup configurations
   • Configure interfaces and links
2. Monitor Deployment Progress

   You’ll see output like:

   INFO[0000] Containerlab v0.50.0 started                 
   INFO[0000] Parsing & checking topology file: lab.yml    
   INFO[0001] Creating docker network: Name='lab', IPv4Subnet='10.77.1.0/24'
   INFO[0001] Creating lab directory: /root/clab-lab       
   INFO[0002] Creating container: bng1                     
   INFO[0003] Creating container: bng2                     
   INFO[0004] Creating container: switch                   
   ...
   

What Happens During Deployment

Network Creation

Containerlab creates a Docker bridge network:

• Network name: lab
• Subnet: 10.77.1.0/24
• Management IPs: Pre-assigned to each node (10.77.1.2 - 10.77.1.17)

Container Startup

All containers start in this order:

1. Network nodes (BNG1, BNG2, Switch, OLT, TX)
2. Client devices (ONT1, ONT2, PC1, iPerf)
3. Infrastructure services (RADIUS, gNMIc, Prometheus, Grafana)

Each node:

• Loads its startup configuration
• Configures network interfaces
• Establishes management connectivity

Configuration Application

Startup configurations are automatically applied from:

• configs/sros/config-bng.txt → BNG1
• configs/sros/config-bng-2.txt → BNG2
• configs/switch/switch.txt → Switch
• configs/olt/olt.txt → OLT
• configs/switch/srl.txt → TX (SRLinux)

Telemetry Stack Initialization

The telemetry stack components start automatically:

1. gNMIc connects to all Nokia nodes and subscribes to metrics
2. Prometheus begins scraping metrics from gNMIc
3. Grafana loads pre-configured dashboards and connects to Prometheus

Step 5: Verify Deployment Success

1. Check Lab Status

   sudo containerlab inspect -t lab.yml
   

   This shows all nodes with their management IPs and connection status.

2. Verify All Containers Running

   docker ps --format "table {{.Names}}\t{{.Status}}\t{{.Ports}}"
   

   All containers should show status Up.

3. Check Network Connectivity

   # Ping BNG1 management IP
   docker exec -it clab-lab-bng1 sr_cli "ping 10.77.1.1 count 3"
   

Deployment Time Breakdown

Phase	Duration	Notes
Image pull	3-5 min	Only first time or when images are missing
Network creation	10 sec	Creates Docker bridge
Container startup	2-3 min	Nokia nodes take longest to boot
Configuration load	2-3 min	BNG nodes apply full config
Service initialization	1-2 min	RADIUS, telemetry services start
Total	10-15 min	Varies by system performance

Subsequent deployments are faster since images are already cached locally.

Post-Deployment Configuration

ONT Devices Setup

The ONT devices require manual IPv6 DHCPv6 PD setup:

1. Configure ONT1 (IPoE)

   docker exec -it clab-lab-ont1 /home/user/start-dhcp6-pd.sh eth1.150 eth2 &
   
2. Configure ONT2 (PPPoE)

   docker exec -it clab-lab-ont2 /home/user/start-dhcp6-pd.sh eth1.150 eth2 &
   

Access Services

Once deployed, you can access:

Network Devices

# BNG1
ssh admin@localhost -p 56661
# Password: lab123

# BNG2
ssh admin@localhost -p 56664
# Password: lab123

# Switch
ssh admin@localhost -p 56667
# Password: lab123

# OLT
ssh admin@localhost -p 56678
# Password: lab123

Monitoring Services

• Grafana: http://localhost:3030
  • Username: admin
  • Password: admin
• Prometheus: http://localhost:9090
  • No authentication required

Client Devices

# ONT1
ssh user@localhost -p 56673
# Password: test

# ONT2
ssh user@localhost -p 56674
# Password: test

# PC1
ssh root@localhost -p 56677

Troubleshooting Installation

License Error

Error: failed to load license file

Solution:

# Verify license file location and name
ls -lh configs/license/SR_SIM_license.txt

# Check file permissions
chmod 644 configs/license/SR_SIM_license.txt

# Verify license content (should not be empty)
wc -l configs/license/SR_SIM_license.txt

Image Not Found

Error: failed to pull image localhost/nokia/srsim:25.10.R2

Solution:

# Check if image exists
docker images | grep nokia/srsim

# Re-import if missing
docker import /path/to/sros-25.10.R2.tar localhost/nokia/srsim:25.10.R2

Port Already in Use

Error: bind: address already in use

Solution:

# Find process using the port
sudo netstat -tulpn | grep <port_number>

# Option 1: Stop the conflicting service
sudo systemctl stop <service_name>

# Option 2: Edit lab.yml and change port mappings
# Example: Change 3030:3000 to 3031:3000

Container Fails to Start

Error: Container exits immediately or fails health check

Solution:

# Check container logs
docker logs clab-lab-<node_name>

# Check system resources
free -h
df -h

# Restart specific container
sudo containerlab deploy -t lab.yml --reconfigure

Network Not Created

Error: network lab not found

Solution:

# Manually create network
docker network create \
  --subnet=10.77.1.0/24 \
  --gateway=10.77.1.1 \
  lab

# Verify network
docker network inspect lab

# Retry deployment
sudo containerlab deploy -t lab.yml

Stopping the Lab

To stop and remove all lab components:

sudo containerlab destroy -t lab.yml

This will:

• Stop all containers
• Remove all containers
• Remove the management network
• Preserve configuration files and logs in clab-lab/ directory

Complete Cleanup

To remove all lab data including saved states:

# Destroy lab
sudo containerlab destroy -t lab.yml --cleanup

# Remove lab directory
sudo rm -rf clab-lab/

Next Steps

Proceed to Verification to test your deployment and ensure everything is working correctly.