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Quickstart: Publish Ubuntu Virtual Machine (VM) as Virtual Network Function (VNF)

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This quickstart describes how to use the az aosm Azure CLI extension to create and publish a basic Network Function Definition. Its purpose it to demonstrate the workflow of the Publisher Azure Operator Service Manager (AOSM) resources. The basic concepts presented here are meant to prepare users to build more exciting services.

Prerequisites

Create input file

Execute the following command to generate the input configuration file for the Network Function Definition (NFD).

az aosm nfd generate-config --definition-type vnf

Once you execute this command, an input.json file generates.

Note

Edit the input.json file, replacing it with the values shown in the sample. Save the file as input-vnf-nfd.json.

Here's sample input-vnf-nfd.json file:

{ 
    "publisher_name": "ubuntu-publisher", 
    "publisher_resource_group_name": "ubuntu-publisher-rg", 
    "nf_name": "ubuntu-vm", 
    "version": "1.0.0", 
    "acr_artifact_store_name": "ubuntu-acr", 
    "location": "uksouth", 
    "blob_artifact_store_name": "ubuntu-blob-store", 
    "image_name_parameter": "imageName", 
    "arm_template": { 
        "file_path": "ubuntu-template.json", 
        "version": "1.0.0" 
    }, 
    "vhd": { 
        "file_path": "livecd.ubuntu-cpc.azure.vhd", 
        "version": "1-0-0",
        "image_disk_size_GB": 30,
        "image_hyper_v_generation": "V1",
        "image_api_version": "2023-03-01"
    } 
}
Variable Description
publisher_name Name of the Publisher resource you want your definition published to. Created if it doesn't exist.
publisher_resource_group_name Resource group for the Publisher resource. Created if it doesn't exist.
acr_artifact_store_name Name of the ACR Artifact Store resource. Created if it doesn't exist.
location Azure location to use when creating resources.
nf_name Name of NF definition.
version Version of the NF definition in A.B.C format.
blob_artifact_store_name Name of the storage account Artifact Store resource. Created if it doesn't exist.
image_name_parameter The parameter name in the VM ARM template that specifies the name of the image to use for the VM.
arm_template artifact_name: Name of the artifact.
file_path: Optional. File path of the artifact you wish to upload from your local disk. Delete if not required. Relative paths are relative to the configuration file. On Windows escape any backslash with another backslash.
version: Version of the artifact. For ARM templates version must be in format A.B.C.
vhd artifact_name: Name of the artifact.
file_path: Optional. File path of the artifact you wish to upload from your local disk. Delete if not required. Relative paths are relative to the configuration file. On Windows escape any backslash with another backslash.
blob_sas_url: Optional. SAS URL of the blob artifact you wish to copy to your Artifact Store. Delete if not required.
version: Version of the artifact. Version of the artifact. For VHDs version must be in format A-B-C.
"image_disk_size_GB: Optional. Specifies the size of empty data disks in gigabytes. This value cannot be larger than 1023 GB. Delete if not required.
image_hyper_v_generation: Optional. Specifies the HyperVGenerationType of the VirtualMachine created from the image. Valid values are V1 and V2. V1 is the default if not specified. Delete if not required.
image_api_version: Optional. The ARM API version used to create the Microsoft.Compute/images resource. Delete if not required.

Note

When utilizing the file_path option, it's essential to have a reliable internet connection with sufficient bandwidth, as the upload duration may vary depending on the file size.

Important

Each variable described in the previous table must be unique. For instance, the resource group name cannot already exist, and publisher and artifact store names must be unique in the region.

Build the Network Function Definition (NFD)

To construct the Network Function Definition (NFD), initiate the build process.

az aosm nfd build -f input-vnf-nfd.json --definition-type vnf

Once the build is complete, examine the generated files to better understand the Network Function Definition (NFD) structure.

These files are created in a subdirectory called nfd-bicep-ubuntu-template:

File Description
configMappings Directory containing files that map the deployment parameters for the Network Function Definition Version (NFDV) to the parameters required for the Virtual Machine (VM) ARM template.
schemas Directory containing files that define the deployment parameters required to create a Network Function (NF) from this Network Function Definition Version (NFDV).
vnfartifactmanifests.bicep Bicep template for creating the artifact manifests.
Vnfdefinition.bicep Bicep template for creating the Network Function Definition Version (NFDV) itself.

Note

If errors were made, the only option to correct is to re-run the command with the proper selections.

Publish the Network Function Definition and upload artifacts

Execute the following command to publish the Network Function Definition (NFD) and upload the associated artifacts:

az aosm nfd publish -f input-vnf-nfd.json --definition-type vnf

When the command completes, inspect the resources within your Publisher Resource Group to observe the created components and artifacts.

These resources are created:

Resource Name Resource Type
ubuntu-vm-nfdg Network Function Definition.
1.0.0 Network Function Definition Version.
ubuntu-publisher Publisher.
ubuntu-vm-acr-manifest-1-0-0 Publisher Artifact Manifest.
ubuntu-vm-sa-manifest-1-0-0 Publisher Artifact Manifest.
ubuntu-acr Publisher Artifact Store.
ubuntu-blob-store Publisher Artifact Store.

Note

The creation of the artifact stores takes about 10 minutes. If the resource already exists, the process is considerably faster.

Next steps