Welcome to MetalSoft
The MetalSoft CloudPlex Platform is a powerful Software Defined Datacenter (SDDC) platform, with various modules that can handle many different use cases. Not all modules are used at the same time by all customers. The most common use cases for the MetalSoft platform are the following:
- Full Stack deployment (servers, switches, storage, clusters etc.) In this setup all of MetalSoft functions are used in conjunction with one another.
- Fabric Manager (network only management) In this setup only the network part is used.
- Bare-Metal-as-a-Service (physical compute and storage but with externally managed network) In this setup the clients consume the Bare-Metal-as-a-Service via CI/CD or the client user interface but network provisioning is done outside MetalSoft either coordinated externally or via MetalSoft workflows.
- GPU-as-a-Service (A variation on the Full Stack Deployment or the BMaaS) In this setup the clients consume the Bare-Metal-as-a-Service (BMaaS) and/or VM-as-a-Service (IaaS) via CI/CD but network provisioning is done outside MetalSoft either coordinated externally or via MetalSoft workflows.
- VM as a Service - IaaS (VM cluster deployment and VM management) In this setup the consumption is primarily via VMs rather than Bare Metal nodes. MetalSoft handles cluster provisioning and lifecycle, potentially across multiple hypervisors. The networking part is done via network provisioning (overlay networks are implemented at the switch layer rather than in software).
MetalSoft components
Section titled “MetalSoft components”The MetalSoft CloudPlex Platform is modular and some but not necessarily all modules are used in various use cases depending on requirements and existing automation.
Components used for various use cases
Section titled “Components used for various use cases”| Use case | Fabric Manager | Server & Storage Manager | VM Manager | Cluster Manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full Stack deployment | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Fabric Manager | yes | no | no | no |
| Bare Metal-as-a-Service | yes | no | no | no |
| GPU-as-a-Service | yes | yes | yes | no |
| VM-as-a-Service (IaaS) | yes | yes | yes | no |
Architecture
Section titled “Architecture”MetalSoft is a hardware & software orchestration solution that enables cloud-like consumption of physical resources such as switches, servers and storages. It has been designed to handle both hyper-scale cloud sites but also highly distributed “edge” deployments. There is a Global Controller which registers user’s intent and determines the changes that need to happen within the infrastructure and there are many Site Controllers that will effect that change on the physical infrastructure.
The Global Controller is usually deployed within a Kubernetes cluster. The Global Controller can be run in an Active/Standby configuration for resilience.
The Site Controllers are usually deployed as a VM that runs a number of docker containers that offer various services such as Power Control, DHCP, HTTP, NFS etc. Site Controllers can be run in an Active/Passive configuration for resilience.
The docker containers are lightweight semi-independent pieces of software that act on behalf of the Global Controller. They “phone home” to create a connection to the core on which new configurations can be pushed down. They are able to survive disconnection from the core indefinitely. They update themselves if needed and need no manual maintenance and no firewall ports open from the global controller towards them. They will attempt to recover from a failed update and will keep reconnecting indefinitely in the event of a core or network failure. During the downtime there is no impact on the running infrastructure.
The service is designed to offer users a way to self-serve themselves with resources instead of relying on somebody to deliver them. At the same time the admins need to be able to own the lifecycle of equipment, perform maintenance etc. To enable this, the MetalSoft software separates the two user types by providing separate UIs which operate with separate “logical” and “physical” concepts.
- Users The consumers of the “resources”, which own the applications and data.
- Admins The IT administrator staff that owns the equipment’s lifecycle.
Administrative interface
Section titled “Administrative interface”The admin interface is used by admins to manage the pool of resources such as servers, switches, subnet pools and storages.
End-User interface
Section titled “End-User interface”The Infrastructure designer is a self-service portal allowing users to ‘draw’ their desired infrastructures. It allows for complex networking topologies to be created as well as cluster level manipulation of hundreds of servers.
Where to go from here
Section titled “Where to go from here”To learn more about the most important modules follow: