Create Edge Application Instance on Edge Nodes

Updated April 24, 2023 05:27

1. Introduction

Edge Application is instantiated on an Edge Node by providing run-time characteristics like adapters, networks, and other details, the Edge Node downloads and runs the application. This document shows how to deploy the selected Edge Application on one or more Edge Nodes. When an Edge Application is deployed on an Edge Node, the installed application is an instance of the Edge Application and is called an Edge Application Instance.

1.1. List View

After you log in to the ZEDEDA platform:

Step 1 > Click on the 'Edge App Instances' from the left navigation.

Step 2 > Click on the expand icon to view the summary panel.

Summary Panel shows the 'Run State Distribution' and 'Edge App Instances Type Distribution' widgets in the donut and Cards. You can hover around these donuts to get the number in each distribution.

1.2. Detail View

Step 1 > Click on one of the edge application instances in the list view to show the detailed view.

Step 2 > The detailed view of the selected Edge Application Instance is shown below.

The detail view has tertiary navigation with the Status, Basic info, Adapters, Storage, Events, and Logs tabs.

2. Create (Deploy) Edge Application on Edge Node(s) using ZEDEDA GUI

After you log in to the ZEDEDA platform, the deploying of an Edge Application can be triggered from one of the four options available in the left navigation:

Option A: Dashboard View

The 'Quick Links' widget on the Dashboard has a quick access link to the 'Deploy Edge App.' Click on the quick link to trigger the new 'Add Edge App Instance' wizard.

Option B: Edge Application Instances List View

Click on 'Edge App Instances' from the left navigation to go to the already available Edge App Instances list. Click the add icon at the top right corner to trigger the new 'Add Edge App Instance' wizard.

Option C: Marketplace Card View

Hover on 'Marketplace' from the left navigation and click 'Edge Apps' to go to the list of Edge Applications available in your Enterprise. Click on the Deploy icon on the Edge App card to trigger the 'Add Edge App Instance' wizard.

Option D: Marketplace Edge Application Detail View

Once you are on the Edge Apps page under Marketplace, click the Edge Application card you want to deploy.

Click on the 'Deploy Edge App' button on the top right corner to trigger the 'Add Edge App Instance' wizard.

3. Add an Edge Application Instance on a single Edge Node

The following wizard takes you through a step-by-step process of deploying a single instance of an Edge Application.

Step 1 > Select an Edge App and the Project from the respective lists. Select the Edge Node on which you wish to create the Edge App Instance. The input field values for the 'Edge App & Edge Nodes' section are as instructed in the table.

Input Field	Value
Edge App(*)	Select the Edge App you want to deploy.
Project(*)	Select the Project from the dropdown. The Edge Nodes will be filtered to the selected Project in the table below.
Number of Deployments(*)	Select 'Single' from the dropdown.
Please select an edge node from selected Project (*)	Select the appropriate Edge Node from the table below by clicking the radio button.

Click on the 'Next' button to proceed.

Step 2 > Select the Edge App Instance name and title. Populate the input field values for the 'Edge App Instance Identity' section, as instructed in the table.

Input Field	Value
Name(*)	A unique Name across the Enterprise cannot be changed.
Title(*)	is user-defined and can be changed.
Description	A detailed explanation of the Edge App Instance, its purpose, etc.
Enable Logs Access	Check the box to enable log access.
Staggered Start Delay	You can introduce a delay between when EVE-OS is ready to process application instance configurations and when the application is started.
Tags	Enter the key and value as required.

Click on the 'Next' button to proceed.

Step 3 > Select the 'Network Instance' from the dropdown list.

Input Field	Value
Network Instance(*)	Select the Network Instance you want to use for this App Instance. On selection, the details of the selected network instance are shown below.

Click on the 'Next' button to proceed.

Step 4 > Add custom configuration, if required. The fields for custom configuration appear if the application allows any custom configuration. Click on the 'Next' button to proceed.

Note: The custom configuration step is user-driven. The input fields are displayed depending on the type of edge application specifications defined.

Step 5 > Review all the selected options and click the 'Deploy' button.

Note: You can return to the previous screen to edit or update.

Step 6 > When you click the 'Deploy' button, the Edge Application is deployed on the selected Edge Node. A notification showing the status of deployment appears in a Toast message. The triggered job appears at the top of the list on the Jobs panel.

The newly added Edge App Instance appears in the list view. The Edge App Instances are sorted by their names. The colored dot indicates the Run State to the Edge Application Instance name's left. The colored dots with the state is as represented in the table:

Legends	Description
	The Edge Application Instance is working fine.
	The Edge Application Instance is stopped.
	EVE has received the configuration details of the Edge Application Instance and the process is in progress.
	If the ZedControl does not hear from the Edge Application Instance or EVE for 3 minutes, it puts the instance in this state.
	ZedControl shows this state in the following two cases: 1) when ZedControl creates metadata of the instance. 2) when EVE reports an invalid state.
	Could be any reason other than the ones described in this table.

A single instance of an Edge Application is deployed.

An exit dialogue appears when you click on 'Cancel,' where you can confirm canceling or continuing the process. None of your changes will be saved. However, clicking on 'Continue' will retain the data.

Note: You can also add the Edge Application Instances on multiple Edge Nodes. To do that, you must select the right options in the wizard.

4. Add an Edge Application Instance on a single Edge Node using ZEDEDA CLI

To log in to ZedControl through ZEDEDA CLI, see here.

You can use the following command to deploy the Edge Application Instance.

zcli> zcli edge-app-instance create <name> --edge-app=<edge-app-name> --edge-node=<edge-node> [--title=<title>] [--network=<network>... | --network-instance=<network-instance>...] [(--adapter-name=<name> --adapter-type=<type>)...] [--custom-configuration=<cloud-config>]

Options:

--edge-app=<edge-app-name>—(mandatory)Name of the Edge App

--edge-node=<edge-node>—(mandatory)Name of the Edge Node

--title=<title>—App instance title

--network=<network>... | --network-instance=<network-instance>...—Depending on the type of app instance created, you may have to give the following details. You can attach a network instance to your app as below:
- --network=environment name:network name:IP Address
- --network-instance=environment name:network instance name:IP Address

--adapter-name=<name> --adapter-type=<type>...—Depending on the type of app instance created, you may have to give the following details.
- --adapter-name=environment name:adaptor name
- --adapter-type=This depends on the adapter name specified in the adapter-name option.

The following table shows the details:

#	Adapter name	Adapter type
1	Eth or ethernet	1
2	USB	2
3	COM	3
4	Audio	4
5	WLAN	5
6	WWAN	6
7	HDMI	7
8	Other	255

--custom-configuration=<cloud-config>—It is a .JSON file that has a key-value file.

An Instance of an Edge Application is deployed.