Nodes¶
Nodes represent the physical and virtual devices running the SD-WAN routing software. All nodes run the same software and can perform the same SD-WAN functions, regardless of their position in the network. This means that a given node can act as a client, a concentrator, or both at the same time.
Nodes form tunnel connections to one another via peers. Peers consist of one or more network links and facilitate the bulk of SD-WAN function. More information on peers can be found in the peer documentation.
Node configuration is handled solely via the management web UI. Nodes can be configured with any number of interfaces, addresses, or peers, and can use VRF to allow multiple routing tables to exist within a single router. Nodes can also be added to one or more node “groups”, allowing for configurations that apply to multiple nodes at once. Furthermore, access rules can be handled on a node or node group level. For more information on node groups and access rules, see the node group documentation and access rules documentation.
Nodes use a local MQTT broker to maintain a connection with the management server via the orchestration mesh. The local agent is responsible for tracking and applying any configurations it receives from the manager. More on MQTT and the node agent can be found in the architecture documentation.
Proceed through the following links to learn about installing and setting up nodes, managing node records, upgrading nodes, and using node command line tools.