Overview

FreeRTR is an open-source router implementation written in Java. SiteRM supports FreeRTR devices for topology visualization using the sense.freertr Ansible collection. FreeRTR integration is currently in early stages — only facts collection (topology visualization in MRML) is supported at this time.

Property Value
Ansible network_os sense.freertr.freertr
Ansible Collection sense-freertr-collection
VLAN Creation No
BGP Control No
BGP Multipath No
QoS (network-level) No
Ping / Traceroute No
Viz in MRML Yes

Ansible Inventory Configuration

inventory:
  freertr_s0:
    network_os: sense.freertr.freertr
    host: 192.168.1.10
    user: admin
    pass: <password>            # or use sshkey
    # sshkey: /opt/siterm/config/ssh-keys/id-rsa-sense
    become: false
    ssh_common_args: "-o StrictHostKeyChecking=no"

Facts Collection

SiteRM executes the following commands to collect topology and interface information from FreeRTR devices:

show platform
show running-config
show interfaces
show ipv4 interface
show ipv6 interface
show lldp neighbor
show vrf routing

For per-VRF routing information (one command per discovered VRF):

show ipv4 route <vrf_name>
show ipv6 route <vrf_name>

For per-interface LLDP detail (one command per interface with LLDP neighbors):

show lldp detail <interface_name>

Information extracted:

  • Platform version, hardware ID, hostname (show platform)
  • Full running configuration (show running-config)
  • Interface status, descriptions, MAC addresses, MTU, bandwidth (show interfaces)
  • IPv4 and IPv6 addresses per interface (show ipv4 interface, show ipv6 interface)
  • LLDP neighbors with remote hostname, port, chassis ID — used for topology stitching
  • VRF routing tables with IPv4 and IPv6 routes per VRF

Current Status and Roadmap

FreeRTR support in SENSE is at the visualization-only stage:

  • Supported: Facts collection and topology representation in MRML model
  • Not yet supported: VLAN provisioning, BGP control, QoS, active probes (ping/traceroute)

Full control-plane integration (VLAN creation, BGP) is planned for a future release. If your site requires FreeRTR control, contact the SENSE team.

Switch Configuration in main.yaml

freertr_s0:
  vlan_range:
    - 3600-3699
  allports: false
  ports:
    eth0:
      capacity: 100000         # Port capacity in Mbps
    eth1:
      capacity: 100000
      isAlias: urn:ogf:network:remote-site.net:2024:freertr_s0:port_xyz
      wanlink: true

Note: rsts_enabled and private_asn are not configured for FreeRTR since BGP control is not yet supported.

Known Limitations and Notes

  • Viz only: FreeRTR is only used for topology discovery (MRML visualization). No provisioning operations are performed on FreeRTR devices by SENSE.
  • LLDP required: LLDP must be enabled on FreeRTR interfaces for automatic topology stitching with adjacent devices.
  • Per-VRF commands: The facts collector dynamically discovers VRFs and issues routing commands per VRF. Large numbers of VRFs will result in more SSH commands per collection cycle.