Quickstart: Design a Containerized Network Function (CNF) Network Service Design with Nginx

This quickstart describes how to use the az aosm Azure CLI extension to create and publish a basic Network Service Design.

Prerequisites

• An Azure account with an active subscription is required. If you don't have an Azure subscription, follow the instructions here Start free to create an account before you begin.
• Complete the Quickstart: Publish Nginx container as Containerized Network Function (CNF).

Create input file

Create an input file for publishing the Network Service Design Version and associated resources. Execute the following command to generate the input configuration file for the Network Service Design Version (NSDV).

az aosm nsd generate-config

Execution of the preceding command generates an nsd-input.jsonc file.

Note

Edit the input.json file. Replace it with the values shown in the sample below. Save the file as input-cnf-nsd.jsonc.

If you changed the name of the publisher when publishing the NFDV, use your publisher name for both the publisher_name and publisher fields (the latter is within the resource_element_templates array).

If you have used a different resource group name, update both the publisher_resource_group_name and publisher_resource_group fields (the latter is within the resource_element_templates array).

Here's a sample input-cnf-nsd.jsonc:

{
  // Azure location to use when creating resources e.g uksouth
  "location": "uksouth",
  // Name of the Publisher resource you want your definition published to.
  // Will be created if it does not exist.
  "publisher_name": "nginx-publisher",
  // Resource group for the Publisher resource.
  // Will be created if it does not exist.
  "publisher_resource_group_name": "nginx-publisher-rg",
  // Name of the ACR Artifact Store resource.
  // Will be created if it does not exist.
  "acr_artifact_store_name": "nginx-nsd-acr",
  // Network Service Design (NSD) name. This is the collection of Network Service Design Versions. Will be created if it does not exist.
  "nsd_name": "nginx-nsdg",
  // Version of the NSD to be created. This should be in the format A.B.C
  "nsd_version": "1.0.0",
  // Optional. Description of the Network Service Design Version (NSDV).
  "nsdv_description": "Deploys a basic NGINX CNF",
  // List of Resource Element Templates (RETs).
  // There must be at least one NF RET.
  // ArmTemplate RETs are optional. Delete if not required.
  "resource_element_templates": [
    {
      // Type of Resource Element. Either NF or ArmTemplate
      "resource_element_type": "NF",
      "properties": {
        // The name of the existing publisher for the NSD.
        "publisher": "nginx-publisher",
        // The resource group that the publisher is hosted in.
        "publisher_resource_group": "nginx-publisher-rg",
        // The name of the existing Network Function Definition Group to deploy using this NSD.
        // This will be the same as the NF name if you published your NFDV using the CLI.
        "name": "nginx",
        // The version of the existing Network Function Definition to base this NSD on.
        // This NSD will be able to deploy any NFDV with deployment parameters compatible with this version.
        "version": "1.0.0",
        // The region that the NFDV is published to.
        "publisher_offering_location": "uksouth",
        // Type of Network Function. Valid values are 'cnf' or 'vnf'.
        "type": "cnf"
      }
    }
  ]
}

• publisher_name - Name of the Publisher resource you want your definition published to. Created if it doesn't already exist.
• publisher_resource_group_name - Resource group for the Publisher resource. Created if it doesn't already exist. For this quickstart, it's recommended you use the same Resource Group that you used when publishing the Network Function Definition.
• acr_artifact_store_name - Name of the ACR Artifact Store resource. Created if it doesn't already exist.
• location - The Azure location to use when creating resources.
• nsd_name - The Network Service Design Group name. The collection of Network Service Design versions. Created if it doesn't already exist.
• nsd_version - The version of the NSD being created. In the format of A.B.C.
• nsdv_description - The description of the NSDV.
• resource_element_templates:
  • publisher - The name of the publisher that this NFDV is published under.
  • publisher_resource_group - The resource group that the publisher is hosted in.
  • name - The name of the existing Network Function Definition Group to deploy using this NSD. This will be the same as the NF name if you published your NFDV using the CLI.
  • version - The version of the existing Network Function Definition to base this NSD on. This NSD is able to deploy any NFDV with deployment parameters compatible with this version.
  • publisher_offering_location - The region that the NFDV is published to.
  • type - Type of Network Function. Valid values are cnf or vnf.

Build the Network Service Design Version (NSDV)

Initiate the build process for the NSDV using the following command:

az aosm nsd build -f input-cnf-nsd.jsonc

The build process generates a folder called nsd-cli-output. After the build process completes, review the generated files to gain insights into the NSDV architecture and structure, and that of the associated resources.

These files are created:

Directory/File	Description
nsdDefinition/config-group-schema.json	Defines the schema for the deployment parameters required to create a Site Network Service (SNS) from this NSDV.
nsdDefinition/nginx-nsd-mappings.json	Maps the parameters for the NSDV to the values required for the NF ARM template.
nsdDefinition/deploy.bicep	Bicep template for creating the NSDV itself.
artifacts	Contains a bicep template for the NF ARM template, as well as a list of artifacts to be included in the artifact manifest.
artifactManifest/deploy.bicep	Bicep template for creating the artifact manifest.
base/deploy.bicep	Bicep template for creating the publisher, network service design group, and artifact store resources

Publish the Network Service Design Version (NSDV)

To publish the NSDV and its associated artifacts, issue the following command:

az aosm nsd publish --build-output-folder nsd-cli-output

When the publish process is complete, navigate to your Publisher Resource Group to observe and review the resources and artifacts that were produced.

Next steps

• Quickstart: Prerequisites for Operator and Containerized Network Function (CNF)