How It Works#

Virtualization Technologies#

The virtual edge node leverages virtualization technologies to create isolated environments for edge computing. It uses a combination of Docker*, QEMU, libvirt, and Vagrant to manage virtual machines and network configurations.

Key Components and Processes#

  • Configuration Management: The setup begins with a configuration file that contains essential details, such as cluster configuration, VM resources, Onboarding user credentials etc.

  • Download Edge Orchestrator Certificate: A full server certificate is downloaded and verified to ensure secure communication and authentication during the provisioning process.

  • Package Installation: Before provisioning, a install_packages.sh script installs all necessary packages, including Docker, QEMU, libvirt, and Vagrant. This ensures that the environment is fully prepared for VM creation.

  • VM Creation and Provisioning: The create_vms.sh script, followed by specifying the number of VMs, allows users to define how many VMs to create.

  • Monitoring and Logging: The provisioning process is monitored in real-time using socket_login.exp, which tracks the progress and logs any issues. This helps in diagnosing and resolving problems quickly. To see all the running logs, run virt-manager in duplicate terminal to connect with virtual machine manager.

  • Cleanup and Teardown: After provisioning, destroy_vm.sh script is used to destroy all Or specific VMs, vm_network_cleanup.sh script ensures the clean up of all Or specific networks.

By integrating these components and processes, the virtual edge node provides a robust and flexible platform for deploying edge computing solutions on virtual machines.