Supported Platforms

TNSR is a platform for high-speed packet processing, delivered as services that run on top of an operating system. Currently, CentOS Linux release 7 or later for x86 processors has been tested by Netgate, so that means most compatibility questions can be resolved by checking whether the hardware can run CentOS Linux.

General System Requirements

  • 64-bit x86 processor

  • Minimum of 4GB RAM

  • Minimum of two network interface ports, three network interface ports recommended (two for data plane, one for management)

Compatibility

There are three tiers of compatibility descriptions for TNSR with the overall goal to serve as a guide to deploying TNSR successfully. With that in mind, the information and specifications in each tier listed below meet different requirements for different deployment types.

Tier One - Tested by Netgate

This tier contains systems and components that have been tested extensively by Netgate and are known to work well with TNSR. In addition to the support included with the TNSR license, Netgate warranty and technical support is available for purchase for Netgate-branded appliances.

Physical Appliances

Virtualization Technologies

TNSR will run in most virtual x86 environments.

  • Amazon Web Services - Instances with Enhanced Network Adapters (ENA)

  • Microsoft Azure - Instances with Accelerated Networking

  • VMware - vSphere 6.0 and later, running VMXNET3 virtual network adapters

  • KVM - Kernel Virtual Machine on Linux

  • virtio-net - Paravirtualized network adapter used by other hypervisors such as QEMU and VirtualBox.

Recommended Components

TNSR runs on Linux for x86 processors. For best results in data center environments, the following CPUs are recommended:

  • Intel Xeon Processor E3 Families (v2, v3, v4, v5, v6, and v7)

  • Intel Xeon Processor E5 Families (v2, v3, v4, v5, v6, and v7)

  • Intel Xeon Processor E7 Families (v2, v3, v4, v5, v6, and v7)

  • Intel Xeon Scalable Processors

  • Intel Xeon D Processors

  • Intel Atom C2000 & C3000 Processors

Note

TNSR can utilize accelerator technology, such as Intel QuickAssist Technology (QAT) featured in the Intel Atom C2000 and C3000 processors, and the Netgate CPIC-8955 Cryptographic Accelerator Card.

Network Interface Card (NIC) support in TNSR is provided by drivers in the underlying Linux operating system. The following NIC drivers have been tested by Netgate:

  • igb - for NICs based on the following Intel Gigabit Ethernet controllers

    • 82575/6, 82580, I350, I354, I210/211

  • ixgbe - for NICs based on the following Intel 10 Gigabit Ethernet controllers

    • 82598/9, X520, X540, X550, X553, X552/X557-A

  • i40e - for NICs based on the following Intel 10/40 Gigabit Ethernet controllers

    • X710, XL710, XXV710

  • mlx4 - for NICs based on the following Mellanox 10/40 Gigabit Ethernet controllers

    • ConnectX-3, ConnectX-3 Pro

  • mlx5 - for NICs based on the following Mellanox 10/25/40/50/100 Gigabit Ethernet controllers

    • ConnectX-4, ConnectX-4 Lx, ConnectX-5

Tier Two - DPDK and VPP Compatible

This tier contains systems and components found to have worked with the Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) and Vector Packet Processing (VPP) open source projects. Much of TNSR’s functionality is derived from these projects, but Netgate may not yet have tested all of the systems and components found on these lists.

For the latest updates on hardware supported by DPDK and VPP, check here:

Tier Three - Community Reported

This tier represents the efforts of the TNSR community. Netgate makes every effort to test and document TNSR with new hardware and our customers are also often on the cutting edge of technology, so they may encounter systems and components that work with TNSR before Netgate has an opportunity to test them.