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Microsoft Connected Cache for Internet Service Providers (early preview)

  • Article
  • Applies to:
    ✅ Windows 11, ✅ Windows 10, ✅ Microsoft Connected Cache for ISPs (early preview)

Important

This document is for Microsoft Connected Cache (early preview). Microsoft Connected Cache for ISPs is now in Public Preview - for our early preview customers, we highly encourage you to migrate your cache nodes to our public preview. See instructions on how to migrate below.

Overview

Microsoft Connected Cache (MCC) preview is a software-only caching solution that delivers Microsoft content within operator networks. MCC can be deployed to as many physical servers or VMs as needed and is managed from a cloud portal. Microsoft cloud services handle routing of consumer devices to the cache server for content downloads.

Microsoft Connected Cache is a hybrid application, in that it's a mix of on-premises and cloud resources. It's composed of a Docker-compatible Linux container deployed to your server and a cloud management portal. Microsoft chose Azure IoT Edge as a secure and reliable control plane. For more information on IoT Edge, see the Appendix. Even though your scenario isn't related to IoT, Azure IoT Edge is our secure Linux container deployment and management infrastructure.

How MCC works

Data flow diagram of how Microsoft Connected Cache works.

The following steps describe how MCC is provisioned and used:

  1. The Azure Management Portal is used to create and manage MCC nodes.

  2. A shell script is used to provision the server and deploy the MCC application.

  3. A combination of the Azure Management Portal and shell script is used to configure Microsoft Delivery Optimization Services to route traffic to the MCC server.

    • The publicly accessible IPv4 address of the server is configured on the portal.

    • Manual Routing: Providing the CIDR blocks that represent the client IP address space, which should be routed to the MCC node.

    • BGP Routing: A shell script is used to initiate a peering session with a router in the operator network, and the operator initiates a session with the MCC node.

      Note

      Only IPv4 addresses are supported at this time. Entering IPv6 addresses will result in an error.

  4. Microsoft end-user devices (clients) periodically connect with Microsoft Delivery Optimization Services, and the services match the IP address of the client with the IP address of the corresponding MCC node.

  5. Microsoft clients make the range requests for content from the MCC node.

  6. An MCC node gets content from the CDN, seeds its local cache stored on disk, and delivers the content to the client.

  7. Subsequent requests from end-user devices for content will be served from cache.

  8. If the MCC node is unavailable, the client gets content from the CDN to ensure uninterrupted service for your subscribers.

ISP requirements for MCC

Microsoft Connected Cache for Internet Service Providers is now in Public Preview! To get started, visit Azure portal to sign up for Microsoft Connected Cache for Internet Service Providers. Please see Operator sign up and service onboarding for Microsoft Connected Cache for more information on the requirements for sign up and onboarding.

Verify properly functioning MCC server

Verify client side

Sign in to the Connected Cache server or use SSH. Run the following command from a terminal to see the running modules (containers):

sudo iotedge list

Screenshot of the terminal output of iotedge list command, showing the running containers.

If it lists the edgeAgent and edgeHub containers, but doesn't include MCC, view the status of the IoT Edge security manager using the command:

sudo journalctl -u iotedge -f

For example, this command provides the current status of the starting and stopping of a container, or the container pull and start:

Terminal output of journalctl command for iotedge.

Verify server side

It can take a few minutes for the container to deploy.

To validate a properly functioning MCC, run the following command in the terminal of the cache server or any device in the network. Replace <CacheServerIP> with the IP address of the cache server.

wget http://<CacheServerIP>/mscomtest/wuidt.gif?cacheHostOrigin=au.download.windowsupdate.com

The following screenshot shows a successful test result:

Screenshot of the terminal output of successful test result with wget command to validate a Microsoft Connected Cache.

Similarly, enter the following URL into a web browser on any device on the network:

http://<CacheServerIP>/mscomtest/wuidt.gif?cacheHostOrigin=au.download.windowsupdate.com

If the test fails, for more information, see the common issues section.

Common Issues

Note

This section only lists common issues. For more information on additional issues you may encounter when configuring IoT Edge, see the IoT Edge troubleshooting guide.

Use the following command to check the IoT Edge journal:

sudo journalctl -u iotedge -f

DNS needs to be configured

Run the following IoT Edge install state check:

sudo iotedge check --verbose

If you see issues with ports 5671, 443, and 8883, your IoT Edge device needs to update the DNS for Docker.

To configure the device to work with your DNS, use the following steps:

  1. Use ifconfig to find the appropriate NIC adapter name.

    ifconfig

  2. Run nmcli device show <network adapter name> to show the DNS name for the ethernet adapter. For example, to show DNS information for eno1:

    nmcli device show eno1

    Screenshot of a sample output of nmcli command to show network adapter information.

  3. Open or create the Docker configuration file used to configure the DNS server.

    sudo nano /etc/docker/daemon.json

  4. Paste the following string into the daemon.json file, and include the appropriate DNS server address. For example, in the previous screenshot, IP4.DNS[1] is 10.50.10.50.

    { "dns": ["x.x.x.x"]}

  5. Save the changes to daemon.json. If you need to change permissions on this file, use the following command:

    sudo chmod 555 /etc/docker/daemon.json

  6. Restart Docker to pick up the new DNS setting. Then restart IoT Edge.

    sudo systemctl restart docker
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo restart IoTEdge

Migrating your MCC to Public Preview

Note

Please note, if you reboot your server, the version that you are currently on will no longer function, after which you will be required to migrate to the new version.

We recommend migrating now to the new version to access these benefits and ensure no downtime.

To migrate, use the following steps:

  1. Navigate to the cache node that you would like to migrate and select Download Migration Package using the button at the top of the page.
  2. Follow the instructions under the Connected Cache Migrate Scripts section within Azure portal. A screenshot of Azure portal showing the migration instructions for migrating a cache node from the early preview to the public preview.
  3. Go to https://portal.azure.com and navigate to your resource to check your migrated cache nodes.

Uninstalling MCC

In the installer zip file, you'll find the file uninstallmcc.sh. This script uninstalls MCC and all the related components. Before you run this script, contact the MCC team. Only run it if you're facing issues with MCC installation.

Warning

Be cautious before running this script. It will also erase existing IoT workflows in this VM.

The uninstallmcc.sh script removes the following components:

  • IoT Edge
  • Edge Agent
  • Edge Hub
  • MCC
  • Moby CLI
  • Moby engine

To run the script, use the following commands:

sudo chmod +x uninstallmcc.sh
sudo ./uninstallmcc.sh

Appendix

Steps to obtain an Azure subscription ID

  1. Sign in to the Azure portal.
  2. Select Subscriptions. If you don't see Subscriptions, type Subscriptions in the search bar. As you begin typing, the list filters based on your input.
  3. If you already have an Azure Subscription, skip to step 5. If you don't have an Azure Subscription, select + Add on the top left.
  4. Select the Pay-As-You-Go subscription. You'll be asked to enter credit card information, but you'll not be charged for using the MCC service.
  5. On the Subscriptions page, you'll find details about your current subscription. Select the subscription name.
  6. After you select the subscription name, you'll find the subscription ID in the Overview tab. Select the Copy to clipboard icon next to your Subscription ID to copy the value.

Performance of MCC in virtual environments

In virtual environments, the cache server egress peaks at around 1.1 Gbps. If you want to maximize the egress in virtual environments, it's critical to change the following two settings:

  1. Enable SR-IOV in the following three locations:

    • The BIOS of the MCC VM
    • The MCC VM's network card properties
    • The hypervisor for the MCC VM

    Microsoft has found these settings to double egress when using a Microsoft Hyper-V deployment.

  2. Enable "high performance" in the BIOS instead of energy savings. Microsoft has found this setting nearly doubled egress in a Microsoft Hyper-V deployment.

Grant other users access to manage your MCC

More users can be given access to manage Microsoft Connected Cache, even if they don't have an Azure account. Once you've created the first cache node in the portal, you can add other users as Owners of the Microsoft Connected Cache resource group and the Microsoft Connected Cache resource.

For more information on how to add other users as an owner, see Grant a user access to Azure resources using the Azure portal. Make sure to do this action for both the MCC resource and MCC resource group.

Setting up a VM on Windows Server

You can use hardware that will natively run Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, or you can run an Ubuntu VM. The following steps describe how to set up a VM on Hyper-V.

  1. Download the ISO. You can use either Ubuntu Desktop or Ubuntu Server.

  2. Start the New Virtual Machine Wizard in Hyper-V.

    Screenshot of the Before You Begin page of the Hyper-V New Virtual Machine Wizard.

  3. Specify a name and choose a location.

    Screenshot of the Specify Name and Location page in the Hyper-V New Virtual Machine Wizard.

  4. Select Generation 2. You can't change this setting later.

    Screenshot of the Specify Generation page in the Hyper-V New Virtual Machine Wizard.

  5. Specify the startup memory.

    Screenshot of the Assign Memory page of the Hyper-V New Virtual Machine Wizard.

  6. Choose the network adapter connection.

    Screenshot of the Configure Networking page of the Hyper-V New Virtual Machine Wizard.

  7. Set the virtual hard disk parameters. You should specify enough space for the OS and the content that will be cached. For example, 1024 GB is 1 terabyte.

    Screenshot of the Connect Virtual Hard Disk page of the Hyper-V New Virtual Machine Wizard.

  8. Select Install an OS from a bootable image file and browse to the ISO for Ubuntu 20.04 LTS that you previously downloaded.

    Screenshot of the Installation Options page of the Hyper-V New Virtual Machine Wizard.

  9. Review the settings and select Finish to create the Ubuntu VM.

    Screenshot of completing the New Virtual Machine Wizard on Hyper-V.

  10. Before you start the Ubuntu VM, disable Secure Boot and allocate multiple cores to the VM.

    1. In Hyper-V Manager, open the Settings for the VM.

      Screenshot of the settings for a VM in Hyper-V Manager.

    2. Select Security. Disable the option to Enable Secure Boot.

      Screenshot of the security page from VM settings in Hyper-V Manager.

    3. Select Processor. Increase the number of virtual processors. This example shows 12, but your configuration may vary.

      Screenshot of the processor page from VM settings in Hyper-V Manager.

  11. Start the VM and select Install Ubuntu.

    Screenshot of the GNU GRUB screen, with Install Ubuntu selected.

  12. Choose your default language.

    Screenshot of the Ubuntu install's language selection page.

  13. Choose the options for installing updates and third party hardware. For example, download updates and install third party software drivers.

  14. Select Erase disk and install Ubuntu. If you had a previous version of Ubuntu installed, we recommend erasing and installing Ubuntu 16.04.

    Screenshot of the Ubuntu install Installation type page with the Erase disk and install Ubuntu option selected.

    Review the warning about writing changes to disk, and select Continue.

    Screenshot of the Ubuntu install's 'Write the changes to disks' warning.

  15. Choose the time zone.

    Screenshot of the Ubuntu install's 'Where are you page' to specify time zone.

  16. Choose the keyboard layout.

    Screenshot of the Ubuntu install's Keyboard layout page.

  17. Specify your name, a name for the computer, a username, and a strong password. Select the option to Require my password to log in.

    Tip

    Everything is case sensitive in Linux.

    Screenshot of the Ubuntu install's, 'Who are you' screen.

  18. To complete the installation, select Restart now.

    Screenshot of the Ubuntu install's installation complete, restart now screen.

  19. After the computer restarts, sign in with the username and password.

    Important

    If it shows that an upgrade is available, select Don't upgrade.

    Screenshot of the Ubuntu install's Upgrade Available prompt with Don't Upgrade selected.

Your Ubuntu VM is now ready to install MCC.

IoT Edge runtime

The Azure IoT Edge runtime enables custom and cloud logic on IoT Edge devices. The runtime sits on the IoT Edge device, and does management and communication operations. The runtime does the following functions:

  • Installs and updates workloads (Docker containers) on the device.
  • Maintains Azure IoT Edge security standards on the device.
  • Makes sure that IoT Edge modules (Docker containers) are always running.
  • Reports module (Docker containers) health to the cloud for remote monitoring.
  • Manages communication between an IoT Edge device and the cloud.

For more information on Azure IoT Edge, see the Azure IoT Edge documentation.

Microsoft Connected Cache overview

Introducing Microsoft Connected Cache