Add a Virtual Node

Typically you want to push your apps to a “real edge node”. However, if you do not have a device to test on, you can simulate one using the Virtual Node feature.

Adding a Virtual Node sets up a new Ubuntu VM locally and registers it as a node to a Edgeworx Cloud project via the edgectl CLI. MacOS and Windows users can create Virtual Nodes using Edgeworx Cloud Portal and edgectl. Linux users can directly use the Register Node command on their terminal.

Prerequisites #

• Edgeworx Cloud Account (Free)
• Install edgectl CLI
• Install Multipass : it is used by edgectl to manage VMs.

Virtual Nodes are not currently compatible with attached video devices. You can still build locally using attached video and deploy to edge devices with attached video.

Creating a Virtual Node #

Add a Virtual Node using Edgeworx Cloud Portal #

Log into Edgeworx Cloud and select the project to which you want to add the node.

Click the + ADD NODE button. This will bring up a modal dialog which shows the different types of nodes you can add to your project.

Choose VIRTUAL NODE to get the instructions for adding a virtual node.

Make sure you have the latest versions of edgectl and Multipass installed. Click the COPY button to copy the command to your clipboard. This command starts an Ubuntu VM which registers itself with Edgeworx Cloud as a Virtual Node.

Run the Virtual Node Registration Script #

Paste the command line that you copied in the previous step into your local terminal. The entire install process can take up to a few minutes (depending on the spec of your machine, your internet connection speed, and other dependencies).

If you would like to choose a specific name for your node, update the --name="your-choice-of-name" in the edgectl create virtual-node command as seen in the above example.

View the Node in Your Edgeworx Cloud Project #

Switch back to Edgeworx Cloud in your browser and if you have not done so yet, click the DONE button in the modal dialog. You should see your new node ONLINE in your Nodes list. If you do not see your node online, see troubleshooting (below) for more information.

You now have an edge node, let’s start using it!

Add a Virtual Node using edgectl #

If you do not have edgectl, open the hamburger menu in the top right of the portal and click the Get the CLI link. A modal will appear with a script Linux, MacOS, and Windows.

Once you log into your account via the CLI, set your default Org and Project and run the below command to view any nodes in the project.

edgectl login 
edgectl set default org xxxxxx 
edgectl set default project xxxxxx
## Replace x's with your appropriate Org and Project name

You can then create a Virtual Node using the below command.

edgectl create virtual-node 

You can use Multipass’ flags in edgectl to control the amount of memory, CPU cores, and storage the Virtual Node allocates.

Delete a Virtual Node #

We recommend using edgectl delete virtual-node command to delete the Virtual Node after use, so that all the resources used are cleaned up properly i.e. Ubuntu VM.

Deleting Virtual Nodes in the Portal will require you delete the virtual machines manually where ever they are hosted. Using edgectl delete virtual-node <nameofnode> or multipass delete <nameofvm> on the host machine will delete the virtual machine.

Troubleshooting #

edgectl create virtual-node --name=Edgeworx-node --cpus 2

-d, --disk    string   Disk space to allocate. Positive integers, in bytes, or with K, M, G suffix. Minimum: 512M, default: 15G.
-c, --cpus    string   Number of CPUs to allocate. Minimum: 1, default: 2.
-m, --mem     string   Amount of memory to allocate. Positive integers, in  bytes, or with K, M, G suffix. Minimum: 128M, default: 1G.
    --network string   Add a network interface to the instance, where <spec> is in the "key=value,key=value" format, with the following keys available:
                       name: the network to connect to (required), use the networks command for a list of possible values,
                       or use 'bridged' to use the interface configured via "multipass set local.bridged-network".
                       mode: auto|manual (default: auto) mac: hardware address (default: random).
                     You can also use a shortcut of "<name>" to mean "name=<name>"