Unified Fabric Overview

The EdgeConnect SD-Branch and Microbranch products are designed for LAN convergence, primarily targeting campus environments and K-12 educational organizations. The existing solution uses only Aruba SD-Branch (SDB) and Microbranch (MB) products with SD-Branch as VPNCs, and it is fully managed by HPE Aruba Networking Central. The products operate on HPE Aruba Networking Wireless Operating System software and support clustering with headend gateways, including Microbranch devices. The current solution is centralized at Layer 2 and supports Layer 3 Network Address Translation (NAT) mode for both SD-Branch and Microbranch deployments. These products serve as LAN-side SD-WAN solutions, while the EdgeConnect SD-WAN solution focuses on enterprise-level SD-WAN networks. A key requirement emerged for integrating both solutions with HPE Aruba Networking Central to streamline management and reduce complexity. Previously, the use of two separate SD-WAN solutions without integration into HPE GreenLake or HPE Aruba Networking EdgeConnect SD-WAN Orchestrator resulted in a complex and challenging management environment, as outlined in the following diagram.

Current State: AOS with SDB and MB

The Unified Fabric solution integrates EdgeConnect gateways with HPE Aruba Networking Central SDB and MB product lines, enabling seamless connectivity between them, as outlined in the following diagram. This integration is essential for customers who use both product lines and require a unified solution. The feature is designed to extend the data path, allowing connectivity between different environments, such as LAN convergence in campuses and WAN optimization in enterprises.

HPE Aruba Networking Unified Fabric Solution

Managing the Unified Fabric

HPE Aruba Networking Central and EdgeConnect SD-WAN Orchestrator are the main components of the Unified Fabric solution. The SDB and MB gateways are managed by HPE Aruba Networking Central. The EdgeConnect gateways are managed by Orchestrator. The Unified Fabric solution leverages orchestration methods in both HPE Aruba Networking Central and Orchestrator, extending the network fabric to enterprise customers who want to integrate both solutions in greenfield or brownfield deployments. Orchestrator integrates with HPE Aruba Networking Central when you enable integration services in Orchestrator.

This section covers the required management applications and where to view specific details for each application. It does not cover how to deploy Orchestrator or add discovered appliances, as those are covered in other guides. It also assumes that you have already created the BGW and MB groups in HPE Aruba Networking Central. For more information on creating groups and configuring SD-Branch or MB gateways, refer to the documents in Reference Documents.

EdgeConnect SD-WAN Orchestrator

An Orchestrator instance is required, as it is used to manage, configure, and monitor the EdgeConnect gateways. You also assign ECs as hubs in Orchestrator, which are used as VPNCs in HPE Aruba Networking Central. The following table describes the operations Orchestrator manages in the Unified Fabric solution.

HPE Aruba Networking Central

HPE Aruba Networking Central is required to manage SD-Branch and Microbranch gateways. It features its own SD-WAN Orchestrator that automates tunnel configuration between branch and hub sites. The primary function of the SD-WAN Orchestrator within HPE Aruba Networking Central is to establish the SD-WAN overlay and enable dynamic routing. This involves a process called overlay tunnel orchestration, which builds the overlay network by identifying uplink interfaces on all nodes and establishing IPSec tunnels. Then route orchestration distributes routing information across all sites and configures route distribution and segmentation policies.

NOTE: The SD-WAN Orchestrator within HPE Aruba Networking Central is different from EdgeConnect SD-WAN Orchestrator.

The following table describes what HPE Aruba Networking Central manages in the Unified Fabric solution.

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Table of contents

• Overlay Tunnel Orchestrator (OTO)
• Overlay Route Orchestrator (ORO)
• Use Cases for Unified Fabric

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