Broadband Access Center for Cable, referred to as BAC in this guide, automates the process of configuring and provisioning cable network devices. BAC interfaces with Cisco Network Registrar, which includes a high-speed DHCP server for IP address management and a DNS server.
This chapter describes:
Operating system requirements
Network Registrar requirements
Hardware requirements
Types of installations
Methods of installation
Operating System Requirements
You must install BAC on a computer running the Solaris 8 operating system with the correct level of software patches installed.
Patches
You must have the correct type and number of patches installed on your system before you can install BAC.
JDK Patches
The JDK patches required for successful BAC installation include:
108652-62
108921-16
108940-48
112003-03
108773-15
111293-04
111310-01
109147-21
111111-03
112396-02
108987-09
108528-17
108989-02
108827-35
KDC Patches
The KDC patches required for successful BAC installation include:
112438-01
109326-06
Network Registrar Requirements
Before you install BAC, be aware of these Cisco Network Registrar requirements:
BAC requires Network Registrar 6.0 or greater.
A Network Registrar DHCP server must be installed on a Solaris 8 computer.
In a failover deployment of BAC, you must configure two redundant DHCP servers for failover.
After you install BAC, ensure that Network Registrar scopes are configured to reflect failover capability and the topology of the network on which BAC is installed.
For more information about configuring failover on Network Registrar servers, see the Network Registrar User's Guide.
Hardware Requirements
A BAC installation requires these servers:
A regional distribution unit (RDU). This is the primary server in a BAC deployment. It contains the central BAC database and manages the generation of configurations.
A key distribution center (KDC). The KDC and the DPE registration services handle the authentication of all voice technology media terminal adapters (MTAs). When a lab installation is performed, the KDC is installed on the lab computer. For performance reasons however, in a component installation, the KDC should be installed on a separate server.
Note The KDC is only required when configuring a system to support voice technology
operations.
One or more device provisioning engines (DPE). A Cisco device provisioning engine caches provisioning information and handles all configuration requests including the transfer of configuration files to devices. It is integrated with the Cisco Network RegistrarDHCP server to control the assignment of IP addresses. Multiple DPEs can communicate with a single DHCP server. DPEs include factory installed software that enables provisioning, but you must perform some initial set up.
Note The hardware installation procedures for the device provisioning engine are described in the
Cisco Content Engine 500 Series Hardware Installation Guide.
For more information, see that guide. For more information about the front and rear panel,
the ports, receptacles, and rack mounting, see the Cisco Content Engine 500 Series Site
Preparation and Safety Guide.
One or more Cisco Network Registrar servers. Network Registrar provides Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and Domain Name System (DNS) functionality. Implementing dynamic DNS (DDNS) within Network Registrar, increases the number of servers you need to deploy.
Table 1-1 describes the hardware requirements for each server.
Note At a minimum, you need one DPE in a provisioning group. A provisioning group can support
at most 500,000 devices. Be aware that the minimum number does not provide redundancy.
For redundancy, use the recommended number of DPEs, as described in
Table 1-1. Likewise, be aware
that the minimum number of Network Registrar servers listed in
Table 1-1 does not provide
failover capability. For failover, use the recommended number of servers. If you intend to
implement dynamic DNS (DDNS) within Network Registrar, you
will need additional servers.
Table 1-1 Broadband Access Center Hardware Considerations
Number of Devices
Server Type
Minimum Number of Servers
Recommended Number of Servers
Recommended Number of Servers (with DNS)
Server Class
Number of Processors
Memory
100 (Lab use)
1
1
1
Netra T1
1
1 GB
Note A single server device is required to support the RDU, DPE, and Network Registrar in a lab installation.
250,000
RDU
1
1
N/A
E220
1
1 GB
DPE
1
2
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
NR
1
2
3
Netra T1
1
512 MB
KDC
1
1
N/A
V100
1
512 MB
500,000
RDU
1
1
N/A
E280R
2
2 GB
DPE
1
2
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
NR
1
2
3
Netra T1
1
512 MB
KDC
1
1
N/A
V100
1
512 MB
1,000,000
RDU
1
1
N/A
U80
4
2 GB
DPE
2
4
4
N/A
N/A
N/A
NR
2
4
6
Netra T1
1
512 MB
KDC
1
2
N/A
V100
1
512 MB
Types of Installations
This guide discusses two types of installation:
Individual component installation—The installation program enables you to install one or more individual components of BAC. The individual components are the RDU, Cisco Network Registrar extensions, the application programming interface (API), and the KDC. Refer to "Installing Components" for specifics about installing the individual components.
Lab installation—The installation program enables you to install BAC for use in a laboratory environment for demonstration or evaluation prior to deploying BAC into a full network implementation. Refer to "Installing In a Lab Environment" for more information.
You can install BAC from the installation program's graphical user interface (GUI) or from the command line.
