AOS-CX Switch Simulator

This lab demonstrates how to use Containerlab to simulate a pair of HPE Aruba AOS-CX switches in a VSX (Virtual Switching Extension) configuration - Aruba's multi-chassis aggregation technology. The goal is to provide a reproducible environment for discovering Containerlab with Aruba equipment, without physical hardware.

• Linux (tested on Fedora 43 and Ubuntu 24.04)
• Containerlab ≥ 0.74
• Docker
• vrnetlab AOS-CX image: vrnetlab/vr-aoscx:10.16.1020
• (Optional) VS Code extension Containerlab by srl-labs

The AOS-CX Switch Simulator image is available for free on the HPE Networking portal (account required).

Once logged in at networking.hpe.com:

1. Software → AOS-CX Switch Simulator
2. Download AOS-CX_10_16_1020.ova
3. Extract the .vmdk from the OVA: tar xf AOS-CX_10_16_1020.ova
4. Build the Docker image via vrnetlab:

git clone https://github.com/srl-labs/vrnetlab
cp AOS-CX_10_16_1020.vmdk vrnetlab/aruba/
cd vrnetlab/aruba
make
# Result: vrnetlab/vr-aoscx:10.16.1020

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                 aoscx-vsx                   │
│                                             │
│  ┌──────────┐  eth1/eth2   ┌──────────┐    │
│  │   sw1    │◄────ISL─────►│   sw2    │    │
│  │ primary  │  (LAG LACP)  │secondary │    │
│  │          │◄──keepalive─►│          │    │
│  └──────────┘    eth3      └──────────┘    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

git clone https://github.com/Luconik/netdevops.git
cd netdevops/containerlab/aoscx-vsx

sudo containerlab deploy -t topology.yml
sudo containerlab inspect --all

Switches are accessible via SSH once in healthy state (~2-3 minutes):

ssh admin@172.20.20.3   # sw1
ssh admin@172.20.20.2   # sw2
# Credentials: admin/admin

The Containerlab extension (srl-labs) for VS Code provides a GUI to manage labs directly from the editor:

• Real-time topology visualization
• Deploy / Destroy / Inspect without leaving VS Code
• Direct SSH access via right-click on a node
• topology.yml editing with autocompletion
• Compatible with VS Code Remote SSH (access from Mac/Windows to Linux)

Install: Extensions → search Containerlab → publisher srl-labs

Deployed lab - 2 healthy switches with IPs

 Direct SSH access from the VS Code plugin

configure terminal

interface lag 1
  no shutdown
  no routing
  vlan trunk allowed all
  lacp mode active

interface 1/1/1
  no shutdown
  lag 1

interface 1/1/2
  no shutdown
  lag 1

interface 1/1/3
  no shutdown
  ip address 192.168.255.0/31

vsx
  system-mac 02:01:00:00:00:01
  inter-switch-link lag 1
  role primary
  keepalive peer 192.168.255.1 source 192.168.255.0

configure terminal

interface lag 1
  no shutdown
  no routing
  vlan trunk allowed all
  lacp mode active

interface 1/1/1
  no shutdown
  lag 1

interface 1/1/2
  no shutdown
  lag 1

interface 1/1/3
  no shutdown
  ip address 192.168.255.1/31

vsx
  system-mac 02:01:00:00:00:01
  inter-switch-link lag 1
  role secondary
  keepalive peer 192.168.255.0 source 192.168.255.1

# On both sw1 and sw2
show vsx status
show lacp interfaces
show interface lag 1

Expected output on show vsx status:

ISL channel          : In-Sync
ISL mgmt channel     : operational
Config Sync Status   : In-Sync
NAE                  : peer_reachable

 SW1 - VSX established, primary role

 SW2 - VSX established, secondary role

 LACP - interfaces 1/1/1 and 1/1/2 in ALFNCD state (Active, Forwarding, Collecting, Distributing)

 LAG 1 - Aggregate up, 2000 Mb/s (2x1G LACP)

sudo containerlab destroy -t topology.yml --cleanup

• AOS-CX vrnetlab images take ~2-3 minutes to boot - wait for healthy state before SSH
• The ISL LAG interface must have no routing before being configured as inter-switch-link
• Default credentials: admin/admin
• Tested with Containerlab 0.74.3 and AOS-CX 10.16.1020

Sources

netdevops/containerlab/aoscx-vsx at main · Luconik/netdevops

 

------------------------------
Nicolas Culetto
Channel SE HPE Aruba Networking
France
------------------------------

Mise en page corrigée 😁

Hi, Nicolas

It looks like some files are missing in your repo, like the topology.yml 

Hi Arne,

It's fixed ! Thank you for the feedback.