Set up a network node

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Network nodes are systems (either virtual machines with direct attach I/O or physical hosts) where virtual routers run. They route traffic to and from the external network (WAN). Because each network node can have several virtual routers, this system must be fast enough to handle routing traffic for multiple networks.

You need to ensure that the system you use as a network node is set up properly, then add it to PowerVC.

Ensure that the system meets the requirements listed in Network node requirements.
Other configuration that might be required:
- If you are having connectivity issues, the firewall is likely causing the problem. Only apply firewall rules to external facing devices, like br-ex. Do not apply them against the internal devices such as br-tun, br-int, tap devices or others. To determine whether the firewall is the problem, disable the firewall for a short time and if connectivity is restored, that indicates that the rules are incorrect.
- If your external network uses a VLAN, verify that the VLAN is assigned to the physical switch ports that the network nodes are connected to.
- If you have different networks for management and data, run this command to ensure that tunneling is set up correctly: powervc-config network tunneling-ip --set <ip_address> --node <node_name> --restart. This sets local_ip in openvswitch_agent.ini for the corresponding compute node or network node and restarts the neutron service.
- For Ubuntu 16.04, you might need to modify the /etc/network/interfaces file to ensure that ports are not removed from br-ex after restarting. Following is an example that ensures that the br-ex network starts properly after your system is restarted:
```
     source /etc/network/interfaces.d/*

     # The loopback network interface
     auto lo
     iface lo inet loopback

     auto br-ex
     allow-ovs br-ex
     iface br-ex inet static
         ovs_type OVSBridge
         ovs_ports ens3
         # The primary network interface
         address 192.0.2.64
         netmask 255.255.255.0
         network 192.0.2.0
         broadcast 192.0.2.255
         gateway 192.0.2.254
         # dns-* options are implemented by the resolvconf package, if installed
         dns-nameservers 198.51.100.50
         dns-search  dns.mycompany.com

     auto ens3
     allow-br-ex l2port
     iface ens3 inet manual
         ovs_bridge br-ex
         ovs_type OVSPort

     # The following is sometimes required so ports are not removed from br-ex after rebooting:
     post-up ovs-vsctl add-port br-ex ens3
```
- For Ubuntu 18.04, you might need to modify or create a .yaml file in /etc/netplan to ensure that network changes are persistent, then restart the system. An example file follows:
```
# This file is generated from information provided by
# the data source.  Changes to it will not persist across an instance.
# To disable cloud-init's network configuration capabilities, write a file
# /etc/cloud/cloud.cfg.d/99-disable-network-config.cfg with the following:
# network: {config: disabled}
network:
    ethernets:
        ens3:
            addresses: [ip_addresses]
            gateway4: gateway_address
            dhcp4: no
            nameservers:
              addresses: [name_server_addresses]
    version: 2
```
- For RHEL 7.6 or later versions, refer to configure host networking section (steps 4, 5, and 6) in Configuring KVM on Power hosts that are running RHEL.
In PowerVC, be sure to register a supported network. In the Network panel, select the Network Nodes tab. Next, Add Network Node on the Network nodes dashboard to register network nodes to your system. Associate the appropriate host name or IP address, Display name, User ID, and Password or SSH key authentication to complete the network node registration.
If you need to unregister the network node from PowerVC, select Unregister network node.
When the network node is registered with PowerVC, it automatically creates virtual routers on the network node for Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN) networks.