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FBOSS Distro Provisioning

Provisioning Requirements​

To provision FBOSS Distro, you require one of the following boot options:

  • USB Boot
  • PXE Boot
  • ONIE Boot

How FBOSS Distro Works​

FBOSS Distro is a single ISO-based image which contains services that automatically start based on hardware requirements detected during early provisioning. The following services are brought up in a specific sequence required for the NOS.

Platform Stack​

ServiceDescription
Platform Manager ServiceSets up base-level services and installs a BSP kernel module to configure all hardware on the box
Fan ServiceControls fan speed
Sensor ServiceControls sensor data and temperatures
Data Corral ServiceControls legacy sensor metadata

CLIs Distributed:

  • weutil
  • fwutil
  • sensor_service_data

FBOSS Forwarding Stack​

ServiceDescription
FSDB ServicePub/Sub system that communicates with all services required for critical components
FBOSS AgentCore service that programs the ASIC and communicates with other network configuration tools
FBOSS HW AgentControls an individual ASIC and its internal state. Multiple instances may run depending on the hardware
FBOSS SW AgentPrimary web endpoint that communicates with all HW agents for route programming
FBOSS QSFP ServicePrimarily responsible for programming optics/transceivers from FBOSS SW Agent requests
FBOSS BGPBGP routing daemon that communicates with FBOSS SW Agent (Available Q3 2026)

CLIs Distributed:

  • fboss_bcm_shell
  • bcm_shell

Provisioning Options​

General Requirements​

  • BMC IP Address: Must be SLAAC assigned in your environment on the management network
  • ETH0 IP Address: Will also use SLAAC assignment during provisioning

USB Boot​

A USB-based ISO is available on the FBOSS GitHub page for easy reproducibility. Use any USB drive imaging tool with the ISO and the system will boot automatically.

PXE Boot​

Requirements​

  • PXE requests must not have any race conditions for the ETH0 IP allocation with other DHCP servers on the network

Option 1: Configure Your Own DHCP Server​

Configure your own DHCP server in your lab to serve the ISO for a targeted set of MAC addresses.

  • Refer to your respective DHCP server documentation (e.g., Kea, DHCPD)
  • Your lab environment must contain a DHCP server where you can point the Distro ISO

Option 2: Configure a Local Provisioning DHCP Server​

Configure a local provisioning DHCP server only targeting PXE requests for a target set of MAC addresses.

  • Only use this option if you foresee challenges with DHCP server isolation in your environment
  • Refer to respective DHCP server documentation
  • Requires a dedicated server on the L2 management network

Option 3: Use Distro Provisioning Container and Distro CLI​

The FBOSS team provides the Distro Container which uses dnsmasq as a PXE environment to serve PXE requests.

  • Similar to Option 2, this requires a dedicated provisioning server
  • Use the Distro CLI to deploy the image to the environment

ONIE Boot​

ONIE-based ISOs will be available. Refer to the ONIE documentation for details.

note

ONIE boot support is currently in development.

Supporting New NPIs and Custom Binary Deployments​

For deploying custom binaries or controllers alongside FBOSS Distro, you have two options:

Option 1: Run Custom Binaries in Docker Container​

Run your custom controller or binary in a Docker container within the FBOSS OSS Distro. This is the recommended approach for most use cases as it provides isolation and easier deployment management.

Option 2: Build and Deploy Custom Binaries Directly​

  1. Use the FBOSS OSS build environment as described in Building FBOSS on Docker Containers
  2. Rebuild your custom binary using the build environment
  3. Copy the binaries to the switch running FBOSS OSS Distro
  4. Run the binary directly on the switch