Architecture

AmpCon-DC is built on Ubuntu Linux and incorporates a web GUI and a MySQL database with Python codes built on top of an Ansible engine. Switches and AmpCon-DC communicate with the SSH protocol. AmpCon-DC gets switch stats through gNMI.

Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP) Workflow

White-Box Switches

Figure 1. ZTP Workflow of White-Box Switches

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1. After a switch is powered on, the switch sends DHCP Discover to get an IP address, and the DHCP server provides the switch with an IP address.

2. The switch sends a request to the DHCP server, and the DHCP server sends a response including the HTTP server address.

3. The switch sends an HTTP request to the HTTP server to get the shell script, and the HTTP server sends an HTTP response with the shell script.

4. The switch executes the shell script to complete the ZTP deployment, including downloading a PicOS image, installing PicOS and its license, registering with the AmpCon-DC server, updating switch configurations, and rebooting the switch.

Integrated Hardware and Software Switches

Figure 2. ZTP Workflow of Integrated Hardware and Software Switches

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1. After a switch is powered on, the switch sends DHCP Discover to get an IP address, and the DHCP server provides the switch with an IP address.

2. The switch sends a DHCP request to the DHCP server, and the DHCP server sends a DHCP response including the TFTP server address.

3. The switch sends a TFTP request to the TFTP server to get the shell script, and the TFTP server sends a TFTP response with the shell script.

4. The switch executes the shell script to complete the ZTP deployment, including registering with the AmpCon-DC server, installing a PicOS license on the switch, updating switch configurations, and rebooting the switch.

Switch Configuration Workflow

1. The AmpCon-DC server includes a component called Configuration Manager, which is used to create a standard configuration to configure switches. All configurations are tied to specific switches by the switch serial number (or Service Tag) and are stored in the AmpCon-DC database.

2. After you use the AmpCon-DC UI to push configurations to switches, each switch then downloads its appropriate configurations. At the same time, the switch accesses another AmpCon-DC server component, License Manager, which accesses the customer’s account on the License Portal to generate a license key and install the license on the switch.

3. The switch runs a shell script to automatically apply and validate the new configurations, update its status in the AmpCon-DC database, and join the network. From your perspective, all these switch configurations happen with the touch of a button in the AmpCon-DC UI. You can use the AmpCon-DC UI to deploy dozens or hundreds of switches to far-flung sites while your network team stays at home and monitors the process centrally.