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Logical Devices

Logical devices are abstractions of physical devices. They define device capabilities without defining any vendor-specific information. This enables you to design your network fabric based on a common set of form factors (ports, speeds and roles) before selecting underlying hardware. Some applications of logical devices include:

  • Specifying speed and roles for specific ports (For example, the 48th port is always a leaf, or the speed of the 10th port is always 1 Gbps).
  • Preparing for port speed transformations (For example, transforming one - 40 GbE port into four - 10 GbE ports).
  • Using non-standard port speeds (For example, for a 1 GbE SFP in a 10 GbE port, the underlying hardware is automatically configured correctly.)
  • Solving for automatic cable map generation that takes into account failure domains on modular systems (for example, a line card).

Logical Device Details

Logical devices include the following details:

Name The name is a unique identifier for the logical device.
Panel Logical devices include one or more panels. A panel is the port layout based on IP fabric, forwarding engine, line card (slot) or physical layout. A panel contains one or more port groups.
Port Group A port group is a collection of ports with the same speed and role(s).
Number of ports Port groups specify the number of ports in that group.
Speed Port groups specify the speed of the ports in that group.
Roles
  • Superspine - For superspines facing spines on 5-stage Clos data center fabric.
  • Spine - For spines facing leaf devices, or for spines facing superspines on 5-stage Clos data center fabric.
  • Leaf - For leaf devices facing spine or generic systems.
  • Peer (link between two leaf devices) - Used for MLAG domains to provide a trunk between two leaf switches.
  • Unused - Configuration is not rendered and ports are not allocated (use to specify a dead port, for example).
  • Generic - Certain roles are not specified in logical devices (for example, a firewall, external router, bare metal server, GPU server, or load balancer).

Labeled diagram of logical network device AOS-4x40+8x10-1 with two panels showing port configurations. Panel 1 has 4 ports in a 2x2 grid labeled as 4 x 40 Gbps Peer. Panel 2 has 8 ports in a 2x4 grid labeled as 8 x 10 Gbps with roles Spine, Access, and Generic. Red arrows and text labels explain logical device, panels, port groups, port numbers, speeds, and roles.

Logical devices are used in interface maps, rack types and templates in Day 0 operations. They are also used in Day 2 operations.

Logical Devices Using the GUI

From the left navigation menu, navigate to Design > Logical Devices to go to the logical devices table in the design (global) catalog.

Screenshot of HPE Apstra interface showing Logical Devices section under Design menu with a table listing logical devices, capabilities, panel count, port count, and applicable device profiles. Includes Show relationship button, device name for detailed view, and icons for editing, copying, or deleting devices. Red text annotations guide user interactions.

To see how design elements and device profiles are related to each other, click Show relationship This is helpful if you're new to the software.

Conceptual graphic showing relationships in a system: Logical Device purple, Interface Map blue, Device Profile green, Rack yellow, Template gray. Arrows indicate interconnections.

Many logical devices are predefined for you. To search for a logical device by its name and/or capabilities, click the Search button (magnifying glass) and enter your criteria. You can also filter by applicable device profile. Use this filtering approach to identify the logical devices most relevant to your needs based on actual device names.

Click a logical device name to go to its details.

Network configuration panel showing AOS-1x1-1 with 1 port configured as 1 x 1 Gbps labeled Leaf Access Switch and port number 1. No connection details shown.

Click an applicable device profile name to view its details. All applicable device profiles that are associated with the logical device are listed. This eliminates the guesswork about which device profiles are compatible with the selected logical device.

Table listing four device profiles and actions. Profiles: Generic_Server_1RU_1x1G, Centos, Xenial, Bionic. Actions: Edit, duplicate, delete.

You can edit, clone, and delete logical devices.