This page describes the different Rhino VoLTE TAS VM type(s) documented in this manual.
It also describes the ancillary nodes used to deploy and manage those VMs.
Refer to the Minimum number of nodes required section below for the minimum number of VMs of each type in a Rhino VoLTE TAS deployment. If you have not done so already, consult with your Metaswitch Customer Care Representative to determine the actual number of VMs required, based on your deployment’s subscriber and traffic capacity requirements.
Node types
TSN
A TAS Storage Node (TSN) is a VM that runs two Cassandra databases and provides these databases' services to the other node types in a Rhino VoLTE TAS deployment. TSNs run in a cluster with between 3 and 30 nodes per cluster depending on deployment size; load-balancing is performed automatically.
MAG
A Management and Authentication Gateway (MAG) node is a node that runs the XCAP server and Sentinel AGW, Metaswitch’s implementation of the 3GPP Generic Authentication Architecture (GAA) framework, consisting of the NAF Authentication Filter and BSF components. These components all run in Rhino. It also runs the Rhino Element Manager management and monitoring software.
ShCM
An Sh Cache Microservice node provides HTTP access to the HSS via Diameter Sh, as well as caching some of that data to reduce round trips to the HSS.
MMT GSM
An MMTel (MMT) node is a VM that runs the Sentinel VoLTE application on Rhino. It provides both SCC and MMTel functionality. It is available in both a GSM and CDMA version.
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This book documents the GSM version of the MMT node. If you are installing a CDMA deployment, please refer to the RVT VM Install Guide (CDMA). |
VM sizes
Refer to the Flavors section for information on the VMs' sizing: number of vCPUs, RAM, and virtual disk.
Ancillary node types
The SIMPL VM
The SIMPL Virtual Appliance provides orchestration software to create, verify, configure, destroy and upgrade RVT instances. Following the initial deployment, you will only need the SIMPL VM to perform configuration changes, patching or upgrades - it is not required for normal operation of the RVT deployment.
Installation
SIMPL supports VM orchestration for numerous Metaswitch products, including MDM (see below). SIMPL is normally deployed as a single VM instance, though deployments involving a large number of products may require two or three SIMPL instances to hold all the VM images.
Virtual hardware requirements for the SIMPL VM can be found in the "VM specification" section for your platform in the SIMPL VM Documentation.
Metaswitch Deployment Manager (MDM)
Rhino VoLTE TAS deployments use Metaswitch Deployment Manager (MDM) to co-ordinate installation, upgrades, scale and healing (replacement of failed instances). MDM is a virtual appliance that provides state monitoring, DNS and NTP services to the deployment. It is deployed as a pool of at least three virtual machines, and can also manage other Metaswitch products that might be present in your deployment such as Service Assurance Server (SAS) and Clearwater. A single pool of VMs can manage all instances of compatible Metaswitch products you are using.
Upgrade
If you are upgrading from a deployment which already has MDM, ensure all MDM instances are upgraded before starting the upgrade of the RVT nodes. Your Customer Care Representative can provide guidance on upgrading MDM.
If you are upgrading from a deployment which does not have MDM, you must deploy MDM before upgrading any RVT nodes.
Minimum number of nodes required
For a production deployment, all the node types required are listed in the following table, along with the minimum number of nodes of each type. The exact number of nodes of each type required will depend on your projected traffic capacity and profile.
For a lab deployment, we recommend that you install all node types. However, it is possible to omit MMT, ShCM, SMO, or MAG nodes if those node types are not a concern for your lab testing.
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The TSNs must be included for all lab deployments, as they are required for successful configuration of other node types. |
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A single site can have a maximum of 7 SMO nodes. |
| Node type | Minimum nodes for production deployment | Recommended minimum nodes for lab deployment |
|---|---|---|
TSN |
3 per site |
3 for the whole deployment |
MAG |
3 per site |
1 per site |
ShCM |
2 per site |
1 for the whole deployment |
MMT GSM |
3 per site |
1 per site |
SMO |
3 per site |
1 per site |
SIMPL |
1 for the whole deployment |
1 for the whole deployment |
MDM |
3 per site |
1 per site |
