Getting started

The Integration documentation section is organized linearly; each document representing the next step in the Cloud-Native Network Functions (CNFs) integration process. The CNFs integration process relies heavily on the Helm package manager to install each of the CNFs software components.

This document provides a brief description of each integration step, and the command line interface (CLI) tools required to perform the integration tasks. A careful review of this document ensures a positive experience.

_images/spk_info.png Note: You can click Next at the bottom of each page, or scroll through the CNFs PDF to follow the integration process.

Integration tools

Install the CLI tools listed below on your Linux based workstation:

  • Helm CLI - Manages the CNFs Pod installations.
  • OpenSSL toolkit - Creates SSL certificates to secure Pod communication.
  • Podman - Tags and pushes images to a local registry.

Integration stages

Integrating the CNFs software images involves seven required steps, and three optional steps:

  1. CNFs Software - Extract and upload the CRDs and software images to a local container registry.
  2. CNFs Cert Manager - Automatically Secure communication between the CNFs Pods, and regularly rotate secure secrets.
  3. CNFs RBAC - Optional: Secure access to the Kubernetes API when installing CNFs.
  4. Fluentd Logging - Centralize logging data sent from each of the CNF Pods.
  5. OTEL Collectors - Optional: Collect and view statistics from the CNFs Pods.
  6. dSSM Database - Optional: Store session-state data for the AFM and TMM Pods.
  7. CNFs CWC - Install the Cluster Wide Controller to enable gathering CNFs software telemetry.
  8. CNFs Licensing - License the cluster to enable flexible consumption software use.
  9. BIG-IP Controller - Process CNFs Custom Resources to configure the CNFs Pods.
  10. CNFs CRs - Configure a Custom Resource (CR) to begin processing application traffic.

Next step

Continue to the CNFs Software guide to extract and install the CNFs software images and CRDs.

Feedback

Provide feedback to improve this document by emailing cnfdocs@f5.com.