Deploy a NetScaler BLX appliance

Deploying a NetScaler BLX appliance on a Linux host consists of first downloading and installing the NetScaler BLX appliance. Then, the installed NetScaler BLX appliance can be deployed either with or without DPDK support. A NetScaler BLX appliance can be configured in either shared or dedicated network mode. A NetScaler BLX appliance with DPDK support can be configured only in dedicated mode.

Before you Begin

Before you start deploying a NetScaler BLX appliance on a Linux host, the following table lists the pre-requisites and consideration points:

Note:

• A NetScaler BLX appliance deployed on CentOS Linux version 8.0 host or Oracle Linux version 8.0 host might not start or function properly if the following condition is met:

  • SELinux policy is enabled on the Linux host. SELinux prevents the systemd process from running some NetScaler BLX system files.

  Workaround: Disable SELinux on the Linux host.

• A NetScaler BLX appliance supports a maximum of nine NIC ports (DPDK NIC ports, or non-DPDK NIC ports, or both).

Download a NetScaler BLX installation package on the Linux host

NetScaler BLX installation packages are hosted on the official NetScaler BLX downloads page. A NetScaler BLX installation package bundles Citrix ADC feature packages including a package with DPDK support. A NetScaler BLX installation package is a TAR file and has the following name format:

blx-<release number>-<build-number>.tgz

Example:

blx-13.0-41.20.tgz

To download a NetScaler BLX installation package:

1. Access the official NetScaler BLX downloads page.

2. Navigate to the desired Citrix ADC Release > NetScaler BLX image build page.

3. Download the NetScaler BLX installation package to the Linux host.

Install a NetScaler BLX appliance on the Linux host

To install a NetScaler BLX appliance on the Linux host:

1. Untar the NetScaler BLX installation package and then change the working directory to the extracted NetScaler BLX installation directory:

   tar -xvf blx-<release number>-<build-number>.tgz
   
   cd <path to the extracted NetScaler BLX installation directory>
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   Sample output:

   The following sample output shows that a NetScaler BLX installation package blx-13.0-41.20.tgz, which is already downloaded to the /var/blxinstall directory of a Linux host, is untared. Then, the working directory is changed to the extracted directory blx-13.0-41.20.

   > cd /var/blxinstall
   
   > tar -xvf blx-13.0-41.20.tgz
   
   > cd blx-13.0-41.20
   
   > pwd
   /var/blxinstall/blx-13.0-41.20
   
   <!--NeedCopy-->
   

2. Install a NetScaler BLX appliance on a Red Hat enterprise Linux (RHEL) host or Debian based Linux host.

   • Run the following command on a Red Hat enterprise Linux (RHEL) host:

      yum install ./blx*.rpm
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   • Run the following command on a Debian based Linux host:

      apt install ./blx*.deb
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   Note:

   By default, the NetScaler BLX appliance is in Down state.

3. Check the status of NetScaler BLX appliance by running the following command:

   systemctl status blx
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