Quick Start Guide

Get the Nokia BNG Lab up and running in your environment with this step-by-step deployment guide.

Time to Deploy: Approximately 5-10 minutes depending on your system and whether Docker images need to be pulled.

Prerequisites

Before deploying the lab, ensure you have the following requirements:

Required Software

Containerlab v0.50+

Install Containerlab following the official documentation.

# Quick install on Linux
bash -c "$(curl -sL https://get.containerlab.dev)"

# Verify installation
containerlab version

Docker v24+

Docker Engine is required as the container runtime.

# Verify Docker installation
docker --version

# Ensure Docker daemon is running
sudo systemctl status docker

Nokia SR-SIM License

Critical: You must obtain a valid Nokia SR-SIM license file. This lab will NOT work without proper licensing.

Contact Nokia to obtain SR_SIM_license.txt
The license must support Nokia SR OS 25.10.R2
Supports both SR-7 and IXR-ec platforms

Nokia SR OS Image

The lab requires the Nokia SR OS Simulator container image:

# Image required: localhost/nokia/srsim:25.10.R2
# Load or build this image per Nokia's instructions

If you don’t have this image, contact Nokia for access to SR OS container images.

Custom ONT Image

The lab uses a custom ONT (Optical Network Terminal) image:

# This image will be automatically pulled from GitHub Container Registry
docker pull ghcr.io/abelperezr/ont-ds:0.2

System Requirements

Resource	Minimum	Recommended
CPU Cores	4	8+
RAM	8 GB	16 GB
Disk Space	20 GB	40 GB
OS	Linux (Ubuntu 20.04+, RHEL 8+, Debian 11+)	Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

The lab deploys 12 containers including 4 Nokia SR OS simulators, which are resource-intensive. Ensure adequate system resources.

Download the Lab

Choose one of the following methods to download the lab:

git clone https://github.com/abelperezr/nokia-bng-lab.git
cd nokia-bng-lab

Deployment Steps

Prepare License Directory

Create the license directory and add your Nokia SR-SIM license file:

# Create license directory
mkdir -p configs/license

# Copy your Nokia license file
cp /path/to/your/SR_SIM_license.txt configs/license/

# Verify the license file exists
ls -lh configs/license/SR_SIM_license.txt

The license file MUST be named exactly SR_SIM_license.txt and placed in configs/license/ directory.

Verify Lab Configuration

Review the lab topology before deployment:

# Inspect the lab topology
cat lab.yml

# Check configuration files are present
ls -lh configs/sros/
ls -lh configs/radius/
ls -lh configs/gnmic/

Deploy the Laboratory

Deploy all containers using Containerlab:

# Deploy the lab (requires sudo)
sudo containerlab deploy -t lab.yml

Deployment Output Example

INFO[0000] Containerlab v0.50.0 started
INFO[0000] Parsing & checking topology file: lab.yml
INFO[0000] Creating lab directory: /home/user/clab-lab
INFO[0000] Creating container: "bng1"
INFO[0000] Creating container: "bng2"
INFO[0000] Creating container: "switch"
INFO[0000] Creating container: "olt"
INFO[0000] Creating container: "ont1"
INFO[0000] Creating container: "ont2"
INFO[0000] Creating container: "tx"
INFO[0000] Creating container: "radius"
INFO[0000] Creating container: "gnmic"
INFO[0000] Creating container: "prometheus"
INFO[0000] Creating container: "grafana"
INFO[0000] Creating container: "iperf"
INFO[0000] Creating container: "pc1"
INFO[0001] Creating virtual wiring:
INFO[0001] bng1:1/1/c1/1 <--> tx:ethernet-1/1
INFO[0001] bng2:1/1/c1/1 <--> tx:ethernet-1/2
...
INFO[0120] Adding containerlab host entries to /etc/hosts
+---+------------------+--------------+---------------+-------+---------+
| # |       Name       | Container ID |     Image     | Kind  |  State  |
+---+------------------+--------------+---------------+-------+---------+

Deployment Time: Initial deployment takes 5-10 minutes. Nokia SR OS containers need time to boot and load configurations.

Verify Deployment

Check that all containers are running:

# Inspect the deployed lab
sudo containerlab inspect -t lab.yml

# Alternative: Check with Docker
docker ps --format "table {{.Names}}\t{{.Status}}\t{{.Ports}}"

You should see all 13 containers in “Up” state:

bng1, bng2 (BNG routers)
switch, olt (Access network)
tx (Transport)
ont1, ont2 (Subscribers)
radius (Authentication)
gnmic, prometheus, grafana (Telemetry)
iperf, pc1 (Testing)

Wait for Nokia Devices to Boot

Nokia SR OS simulators require additional time to fully boot:

# Check BNG1 status (wait for prompt)
ssh -p 56661 admin@localhost
# Password: lab123

# Exit and check BNG2
ssh -p 56664 admin@localhost

Wait 2-3 minutes after container creation before attempting SSH access. SR OS needs time to load the startup configuration.

Verify Services

Once deployed, verify that all services are accessible:

SSH Access to Network Devices

ssh -p 56661 admin@localhost
# Password: lab123

# Verify configuration
A:admin@BNG1# show system information
A:admin@BNG1# show service service-using
A:admin@BNG1# show subscriber-mgmt subscribers

ONT Subscriber Devices

ssh -p 56673 user@localhost
# Password: test

# Check IP address assignment
ip addr show
ip route
ping -c 3 8.8.8.8

# Web interface: http://localhost:8081

Telemetry Stack

Service	URL	Credentials	Purpose
Grafana	http://localhost:3030	admin / admin	Dashboards and visualization
Prometheus	http://localhost:9090	(none)	Metrics database and queries
gNMIc	-	-	Telemetry collector (no web UI)

Access Grafana

Open your browser to http://localhost:3030

Username: admin
Password: admin

Navigate to Dashboards to view pre-configured BNG monitoring dashboards.

Verify Prometheus Targets

Open http://localhost:9090/targetsEnsure the gnmic target is UP and scraping metrics successfully.

Check gNMI Subscriptions

View gNMIc logs to confirm telemetry collection:

docker logs clab-lab-gnmic

You should see active gNMI subscriptions to all Nokia devices.

RADIUS Server

# Check RADIUS service
sudo containerlab exec -t lab.yml --label clab-node-name=radius --cmd "radiusd -X"

# View configured subscribers
sudo containerlab exec -t lab.yml --label clab-node-name=radius --cmd "cat /etc/raddb/mods-config/files/authorize"

Service Access Summary

All services are exposed on localhost using port mapping. This allows easy access from your host machine without complex networking.

Complete Port Reference

Service	Protocol	Port	Credentials	Purpose
BNG1	SSH	56661	admin / lab123	BNG1 management
BNG1	gNMI	56662	admin / lab123	BNG1 telemetry
BNG1	NETCONF	56663	admin / lab123	BNG1 automation
BNG2	SSH	56664	admin / lab123	BNG2 management
BNG2	gNMI	56665	admin / lab123	BNG2 telemetry
BNG2	NETCONF	56666	admin / lab123	BNG2 automation
Switch	SSH	56667	admin / lab123	Switch management
Switch	gNMI	56668	admin / lab123	Switch telemetry
OLT	SSH	56678	admin / lab123	OLT management
OLT	gNMI	56671	admin / lab123	OLT telemetry
ONT1	SSH	56673	user / test	Subscriber 1 access
ONT1	HTTP	8081	-	ONT1 web interface
ONT2	SSH	56674	user / test	Subscriber 2 access
ONT2	HTTP	8082	-	ONT2 web interface
iPerf	SSH	56675	-	Traffic testing
TX	SSH	56676	admin / NokiaSrl1!	Transport switch
PC1	SSH	56677	-	End-user device
Grafana	HTTP	3030	admin / admin	Monitoring dashboards
Prometheus	HTTP	9090	-	Metrics queries

Management Network

All containers are connected to the management network:

Network: lab
Subnet: 10.77.1.0/24

Device IP Addresses:
- BNG1:       10.77.1.2
- BNG2:       10.77.1.3
- Switch:     10.77.1.4
- OLT:        10.77.1.5
- ONT1:       10.77.1.6
- ONT2:       10.77.1.7
- RADIUS:     10.77.1.10
- gNMIc:      10.77.1.12
- Prometheus: 10.77.1.13
- Grafana:    10.77.1.14
- iPerf:      10.77.1.15
- TX:         10.77.1.16
- PC1:        10.77.1.17

Health Checks

Perform these checks to ensure the lab is fully operational:

Check Subscriber Sessions

# SSH to BNG1
ssh -p 56661 admin@localhost

# View active subscribers
A:admin@BNG1# show subscriber-mgmt subscribers

# Expected: You should see active IPoE and/or PPPoE sessions
# If no subscribers, check RADIUS connectivity and ONT status

Verify RADIUS Authentication

# From ONT1, trigger IPoE authentication
ssh -p 56673 user@localhost
sudo dhclient -r eth1.150  # Release
sudo dhclient eth1.150     # Renew

# Check RADIUS logs
docker logs clab-lab-radius | tail -20

Test Connectivity

# From ONT1 (IPoE subscriber)
ssh -p 56673 user@localhost

# Test IPv4 connectivity
ping -c 3 8.8.8.8

# Test IPv6 connectivity  
ping6 -c 3 2001:4860:4860::8888

# Traceroute to verify path through BNG
traceroute 8.8.8.8

Validate Telemetry Pipeline

# Check gNMIc is collecting metrics
docker logs clab-lab-gnmic | grep -i "subscription"

# Query Prometheus for metrics
curl -s 'http://localhost:9090/api/v1/query?query=up' | jq .

# Should show gnmic target with value 1 (UP)

Common Operations

Stop the Lab

# Gracefully destroy all containers
sudo containerlab destroy -t lab.yml

# Confirm all containers are removed
docker ps -a | grep clab-lab

Data Loss: Destroying the lab removes all runtime state. Configuration files are preserved, but any runtime data (logs, sessions, metrics) will be lost.

Restart the Lab

# Destroy existing deployment
sudo containerlab destroy -t lab.yml

# Re-deploy from scratch
sudo containerlab deploy -t lab.yml

Save Runtime Configuration

# SSH to a Nokia device and save config
ssh -p 56661 admin@localhost
A:admin@BNG1# admin save

# Backup configuration to external file
A:admin@BNG1# admin save cf3:\backup-config.cfg

View Container Logs

# View logs for specific container
docker logs clab-lab-bng1
docker logs clab-lab-radius
docker logs clab-lab-gnmic

# Follow logs in real-time
docker logs -f clab-lab-grafana

Execute Commands in Containers

# Execute command using Containerlab
sudo containerlab exec -t lab.yml --label clab-node-name=bng1 --cmd "show system information"

# Execute command using Docker
docker exec -it clab-lab-ont1 ip addr show

Troubleshooting

Containers fail to start

Symptoms: Some containers show “Exited” statusSolutions:

Check Docker resources: docker system df
Verify license file exists: ls -lh configs/license/SR_SIM_license.txt
Review container logs: docker logs clab-lab-<container-name>
Ensure all images are pulled: docker images | grep nokia

Cannot SSH to Nokia devices

Symptoms: Connection refused or timeout when SSHing to BNG/Switch/OLTSolutions:

Wait 2-3 minutes for SR OS to fully boot
Check container is running: docker ps | grep bng1
Verify port mapping: docker port clab-lab-bng1
Test connection: nc -zv localhost 56661

No subscriber sessions appear

Symptoms: show subscriber-mgmt subscribers returns emptySolutions:

Verify RADIUS server is running: docker ps | grep radius
Check ONT connection type environment variables
Trigger DHCP on ONT: ssh -p 56673 user@localhost "sudo dhclient eth1.150"
Review RADIUS logs: docker logs clab-lab-radius
Check BNG RADIUS policy: show subscriber-mgmt authentication-policy

Grafana shows no data

Symptoms: Dashboards are empty or show “No Data”Solutions:

Verify Prometheus is scraping: http://localhost:9090/targets
Check gNMIc logs: docker logs clab-lab-gnmic
Ensure gNMI is enabled on devices: show system grpc
Verify network connectivity: docker exec clab-lab-gnmic ping 10.77.1.2

License errors in logs

Symptoms: Container logs show license validation errorsSolutions:

Verify license file format (must be text, not PDF)
Check license expiration date
Ensure license supports SR OS 25.10.R2
Confirm license path in lab.yml matches actual file location
Contact Nokia for valid license

Next Steps

Now that your lab is deployed and operational:

Explore Configuration

Deep dive into BNG configuration and subscriber policies

Monitor Telemetry

Learn how to use Grafana dashboards and create custom metrics

Architecture Overview

Understand the network topology and design

Operations Guide

Access services and troubleshoot issues

For detailed configuration examples, subscriber management workflows, and advanced scenarios, continue to the Configuration Guide.

​Quick Start Guide

​Prerequisites

​Required Software

​System Requirements

​Download the Lab

​Deployment Steps

​Verify Services

​SSH Access to Network Devices

​ONT Subscriber Devices

​Telemetry Stack

​RADIUS Server

​Service Access Summary

​Complete Port Reference

​Management Network

​Health Checks

​Common Operations

​Stop the Lab

​Restart the Lab

​Save Runtime Configuration

​View Container Logs

​Execute Commands in Containers

​Troubleshooting

​Next Steps

Explore Configuration

Monitor Telemetry

Architecture Overview

Operations Guide

Quick Start Guide

Prerequisites

Required Software

System Requirements

Download the Lab

Deployment Steps

Verify Services

SSH Access to Network Devices

ONT Subscriber Devices

Telemetry Stack

RADIUS Server

Service Access Summary

Complete Port Reference

Management Network

Health Checks

Common Operations

Stop the Lab

Restart the Lab

Save Runtime Configuration

View Container Logs

Execute Commands in Containers

Troubleshooting

Next Steps