Create your first programmable target

Programmable targets are a core component of IML. They allow running and executing P4 programs on a variety of hardware and software targets. In this section, we will deploy a simple programmable switch based on the Behavioral Model v2 (BMv2) software switch. This target will then be used in the following sections to run a simple firewall network function.

Deploying a BMv2 Target

To deploy a BMv2 target, you can use the following manifest

apiVersion: infra.loom.io/v1alpha1
kind: BMv2Target
metadata:
  name: example-bmv2-target
spec: 
  resources:
    limits:
      cpu: "500m"
      memory: "256Mi"
    requests:
      cpu: "250m"
      memory: "128Mi"

This manifest creates a BMv2 target with the name example-bmv2-target and specifies resource requests and limits for CPU and memory. You can adjust these values based on the expected workload and available resources in your cluster. However for this walkthrough example, this should be enough to get you started.

Verifying the BMv2 Target

Once you apply the manifest, you can verify that the BMv2 target has been created and is running by using the following command:

kubectl get bmv2targets

This should show you a list of BMv2 targets in your cluster, including the one you just created. You can also check the status of the target to ensure that it is ready and running

kubectl get bmv2target example-bmv2-target -o yaml

If you see that the target's "Ready" condition is "True", then the target is up and running and you can proceed to the next steps of configuring it with a P4 program and including it in a service chain.

For more information about BMv2Targets, please refer to the BMv2Target API documentation.