Configuring The Oracle® Enterprise Session Border Controller as a Virtual Machine (VM)

Operating the Oracle® Enterprise Session Border Controller as a VM introduces configuration requirements that define resource utilization by the virtual machine. The applicable configuration elements allow the user to optimize resource utilization based on the application's needs and VM resource sharing.

Oracle® Enterprise Session Border Controller configuration for VM includes settings to address:

media-manager — Set media manager configuration elements to constrain bandwidth utilization, based on traffic type. See Media Manager Configuration for Virtual Machines in the Realms and Nested Realms Chapter.

system-config, [core configuration parameters] — Set these parameters to specify CPU resources available to DoS, forwarding and transcoding processes. This configuration applies to initial deployment and tuning tasks. You may need to change the default core configuration for functionality purposes during deployment; you may decide to change core configuration for performance purposes after deployment.

Note:

Early versions of this software used the bootparameter named other, set to isolcpus=[value]. Remove this setting for this and all ensuing versions of Oracle® Enterprise Session Border Controller software.

CPU Core Configuration

You can configure CPU core settings using system-config parameters. This configuration is based on the specific needs of individual implementations. These parameters allow you to set and change the number of cores you want to assign to forwarding, DoS, and transcoding functionality. The system determines which cores perform those functions automatically.

You can determine and manage your core configuration based on the services you need. The system allocates cores to signaling upon installation. You can add forwarding cores to match your needs for handling media. You can also add DoS and/or transcoding cores if you need those functions in your deployment. Reboot the system for core configuration changes to take effect.

Note the following:

By default, core 0 is always set to signaling.
The system selects cores based on function. You cannot assign cores.
The system sets unassigned cores to signaling, with a maximum of 24.
You must reboot the system for core configuration changes to take effect.

When you make core assignments, the Oracle® Enterprise Session Border Controller (E-SBC) provides an error message if the system detects an issue. In addition, the system performs a check when you issue the verify-config command to ensure that the total number of forwarding, plus DOS, plus transcoding cores does not exceed the maximum number of physical cores. After you save and activate a configuration that includes a change to the core configuration, the system displays a prompt to remind you that a reboot is required for the changes to take place.

You can verify core configuration from the ACLI, using the show datapath-config command or after core configuration changes during the save and activation processes. When using hyperthreading, which divides cores into a single physical (primary) and a single logical (secondary) core, this display may differ. The E-SBC binds functions to primary or secondary cores using its own criteria, with secondary cores performing signaling functions only. Hypervisors that provide a view into the type of core assigned to a function allow show datapath-config to display primary cores in upper-case letters and secondary cores in lower-case letters. Other hypervisors show all cores as physical.

The E-SBC uses the following lettering (upper- and lower-case) in the ACLI to show core assignments:

S - Signaling
D - DoS
F - Forwarding
X - Transcoding

The system-config element includes the following parameters for core assignment:

dos-cores— Sets the number of cores the system must allocate for DOS functionality. A maximum of one core is allowed.
forwarding-cores—Sets the number of cores the system must allocate for the forwarding engine.
transcoding-cores—Sets the number of cores the system must allocate for transcoding. The default value is 0.

To change core assignments, access the system-config, as follows.

ORACLE# configure terminal
ORACLE(configure)# system
ORACLE(system)# system-config
ORACLE(system-config)#

Change existing core assignment settings using the system-config parameters in the preceding list. For example, to reserve a core for DoS processing:

ORACLE#(system-config) dos-cores 1

The Oracle® Enterprise Session Border Controller VNF has no system-based maximum number of cores, other than the range of the system-config parameters.

The system checks CPU core resources before every boot, as configuration can affect resource requirements. Examples of such resource requirement variations include:

There is at least 1 CPU assigned to signaling (by the system).
If DoS is required, then there are at least 1 CPU assigned to forwarding and 1 to DoS.
If DoS is not required, then there is at least 1 CPU assigned to forwarding.

The system performs resource utilization checks every time it boots for CPU, memory, and hard-disk to avoid configuration and resource conflicts.

Core configuration is supported by HA. For HA systems, resource utilization on the backup must be the same as the primary.

Note:

The hypervisor always reports the datapath CPU usage as fully utilized. This isolates a physical CPU to this work load, but may cause the hypervisor to generate a persistent alarm indicating that the VM is using an excessive amount of CPU. The alarm may trigger throttling. Oracle recommends that you configure the hypervisor monitoring appropriately, to avoid throttling.

System Shutdown

Use the system's halt command to gracefully shutdown the VNF.

ACMEPACKET# halt

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WARNING: you are about to halt this SD!
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Halt this SD [y/n]?:

See the ACLI Reference Guide for further information about this command.