How can you go from power-on to production with zero-touch network bootstrapping using ONES?

April 29, 2026ONES & SONiC

TL;DR

ONES 4.2 automates the entire Day-0 provisioning process with zero-touch bootstrapping.

From ONIE boot to a fully operational switch, everything is handled automatically.

It reduces deployment time from hours to minutes while improving accuracy and scalability.

Introduction

Deploying network infrastructure at scale has always been a labor-intensive process. Every new switch in a data center fabric needs an operating system installed, an IP address assigned, agents deployed, and configurations applied, often manually, one device at a time. For organizations managing hundreds of switches across multiple fabrics, this translates to days of tedious, error-prone work.

ONES 4.2 changes that. With the new Zero-Touch Bootstrapping feature, ONES automates the entire Day-0 provisioning lifecycle. By simply providing a device’s MAC address and serial number, network administrators can take a bare-metal switch from ONIE boot to a fully operational, monitored network element with no CLI intervention required.

What is Zero-Touch Bootstrapping in ONES 4.2?

Zero-Touch Provisioning (ZTP) is the process of automatically configuring a network device when it powers on for the first time. ONES 4.2 takes this concept further with a fully orchestrated bootstrap pipeline that handles every step from DHCP configuration to agent installation.

The Bootstrap feature automates the entire zero-touch provisioning lifecycle in a fabric environment. It eliminates manual intervention by orchestrating everything from device power-on to a fully configured, monitored network element, including NOS image installation, management IP assignment via DHCP, telemetry and configuration agent deployment, and initial switch configuration.

Multi-Vendor Support: Bootstrap works across SONiC, Aviz Certified SONiC (CCS), Arista, and Cumulus Linux switches, making it the single provisioning solution for heterogeneous data center fabrics.

What are the key capabilities of Zero-Touch Bootstrapping?

Key Capabilities

• Batch Processing: Provision multiple devices simultaneously with batch grouping onboard an entire rack in a single operation.
• Two-Phase Workflow: Draft mode for validation, execution mode for deployment. Review everything before committing to production.
• Dynamic Agent Packaging: Custom agent tarballs built on-the-fly based on each device’s requirements, telemetry-only or full installation.
• Kea DHCP Integration: Automatic DHCP configuration with MAC-based IP reservations, multi-vendor bootfile support, and shared networks.
• Real-Time Status Tracking: 8-stage progress monitoring with detailed logs, know exactly where each device is in the provisioning pipeline.
• Idempotent Operations: File caching avoids redundant generation. Re-running a failed bootstrap doesn’t create duplicate configurations.

What are the stages in the 8-stage bootstrap pipeline?

8-Stage Bootstrap Pipeline

Every device bootstrapped through ONES 4.2 progresses through eight discrete stages. The first three (STAGE10–30) are driven by the ONES Fabric Manager on the server side, while the remaining (STAGE40–80) reflect activity on the device itself reported back via the /api/v1/ztp/status endpoint.

Fig 1. Bootstrap progress indicator showing real-time stage tracking in the ONES UI.

How does the two-phase bootstrap workflow work?

Two-Phase Bootstrap: Draft & Execute

ONES implements a two-phase approach to bootstrapping, ensuring network engineers can validate configurations before any changes hit the DHCP server or devices.

Phase 1: Draft Mode

When a bootstrap configuration is created via the UI wizard or the /fillbootstrapconfig API, the system enters Draft Mode. ONES validates user input, generates install_params.json and ZTP JSON files, and prepares bootstrap resources, but does not modify the DHCP server or trigger device provisioning. Device status is set to DRAFT (status code 4).

Phase 2: Execution Mode

Once the operator clicks Deploy (or invokes /triggerbootstrapconfig), the full bootstrap executes: updating Kea DHCP configuration, building dynamic agent tarballs, registering the device for ZTP, and reloading the DHCP server. Device status transitions to IN_PROGRESS (status code 3).

How does the end-to-end device bootstrapping process work?

How Device Bootstrapping Works End-to-End

The bootstrap process involves five key components: the Device (in ONIE mode), Kea DHCP Server, ONES Fabric Manager, Database, and an HTTP File Server (port 8093) serving NOS images and agent packages.

• Device sends DHCP Discover: When a bare-metal switch in ONIE mode boots, it broadcasts a DHCP discovery. Kea checks reservations, finds a matching MAC entry, and responds with IP, NOS image URL (DHCP option 114), and boot-file-name.
• IP Lease Reported to ONES (STAGE4): Kea reports the lease to ONES FM via /updateleases. FM updates STAGE40, confirming IP assignment. A 30-minute timeout begins if no updates arrive; the device is marked failed.
• NOS Installation (STAGE5): The device downloads the NOS image and begins installation (typically 15–20 minutes). Progress is reported via /api/v1/ztp/status.
• Agent Downloads & Installation (STAGE6–7): After NOS boots, the device downloads the agent tarball, install_params.json, and configs. The master installer unpacks and installs ONES agents.
• Bootstrap Complete (STAGE8): ZTP finalizes, status updates to COMPLETED (code 1), timeout is cancelled. The switch is fully operational and visible in ONES.

Fig 3. Sequence diagram: interaction between Device, Kea DHCP, Fabric Manager, Database, and HTTP Server.

How are agent packages dynamically generated?

Dynamic Agent Tarball Generation

ONES dynamically builds agent packages based on device requirements. Two modes are available: Telemetry Only (basic monitoring agent) and Full Installation (telemetry + configuration agent + FMCLI).

How does the three-step bootstrap wizard simplify deployment?

The Three-Step Bootstrap Wizard

ONES 4.2 introduces a guided wizard accessed from Manage → Bootstrap in the ONES sidebar.

Step 1: Network & Device Basics

Users define batch-level network details (batch title, subnet, netmask, gateway IP) and per-device entries (MAC address, serial number, IP, hostname, role, region, fabric). The system auto-generates sequential IPs and hostnames, validates MAC formats, and warns about IP conflicts.

Step 2: Software Configuration

Each device is assigned its NOS image, startup config files (JSON/CFG), telemetry agent, configuration agent, and Group/Brick/Rack IDs.

Step 3: Review & Deploy

A read-only summary is displayed. Users review everything before clicking Deploy, or go back to correct settings.

Fig 4. The Batch Management Dashboard shows all bootstrap batches with their status.

How can you monitor bootstrap progress in real time?

Real-Time Progress Monitoring

Once deployed, ONES provides real-time monitoring. Clicking a batch opens the Batch Details View, listing all devices. Clicking a device opens a Device Status Side Panel showing stage-by-stage progress with timestamps, durations, and status messages.

Each stage shows Completed, In Progress, or Failed with exact timestamps and log messages. If bootstrap fails at STAGE50, the operator knows immediately that the issue is NOS installation, not DHCP or agent packaging.

Fig 5. Device Status Panel with stage-by-stage progress tracking.

Fig 6. Completed bootstrap: all stages green with timing data.

How does ONES integrate with Kea DHCP for bootstrapping?

Kea DHCP Integration

ONES 4.2 uses the Kea DHCP server (replacing the older ISC DHCP) for all bootstrap DHCP operations. It supports subnet management, MAC-based IP reservations, DHCP option 114 (NOS image URLs), boot-file-name for multi-vendor compatibility, shared networks, and custom option 239 for Cumulus. When a batch is triggered, ONES updates the Kea config and reloads the server automatically.

How does zero-touch bootstrapping reduce deployment time?

From Hours to Minutes

Zero-Touch Bootstrapping in ONES 4.2 fundamentally changes how network teams approach Day-0 provisioning. What used to require hours of manual SSH sessions, config editing, and DHCP management is now a guided three-step process with complete visibility into every stage.

Whether deploying a two-switch pilot or a 100-device fabric rollout, Bootstrap scales to meet the need, handling multi-vendor environments, dynamic agent packaging, and real-time monitoring out of the box. Combined with idempotent operations and the two-phase draft-then-execute workflow, it provides the safety rails that production deployments demand.

Bootstrap is available now in ONES 4.2. Navigate to Manage → Bootstrap in the ONES UI to create your first batch.

Conclusion

Zero-Touch Bootstrapping in ONES 4.2 simplifies and accelerates network deployment at scale. Automating provisioning, supporting multi-vendor environments, and providing real-time visibility, it eliminates manual effort and reduces errors. Network teams can deploy faster, scale efficiently, and maintain full control over the entire lifecycle.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What does Zero-Touch Bootstrapping in ONES 4.2 actually do?
   You plug in a switch, give ONES its MAC address and serial number, and walk away. ONES handles everything from that point, OS install, IP assignment, agent setup, and config, until the switch shows up as ready in the dashboard. No SSH, no manual steps.

2. How much faster is switch setup with ONES 4.2 compared to doing it by hand?
   Before ONES 4.2, setting up switches meant hours of logging in one by one, editing configs, and managing DHCP entries yourself. Now a three-step wizard handles the whole thing in minutes, even for large racks with many devices running at the same time.

3. What switch brands and network operating systems work with ONES bootstrapping?
   ONES bootstrapping covers SONiC, Aviz Certified SONiC, Arista, and Cumulus Linux. So if your data center runs a mix of vendors, one tool handles all of them instead of your team juggling different setup processes for each brand.

4. What are the two stages in the ONES bootstrap process?
   First comes Draft Mode. ONES builds and checks all the config files but nothing gets pushed to any device yet. Once the team reviews and hits Deploy, Execution Mode kicks off and the actual provisioning starts across every device in the batch.

5. How do teams track what is happening to each switch during setup?
   ONES breaks the process into eight stages and shows live progress for each device. Every stage has a timestamp and a status so teams know if a switch is still downloading its OS, installing agents, or fully done.

6. Can teams set up a whole rack of switches at once or just one at a time?
   Batch processing lets teams provision an entire rack in one go. Every switch in the batch runs through its own pipeline at the same time and gets tracked separately. No need to wait for one device to finish before starting the next.

7. What happens when a bootstrap job fails in the middle of the process?
   ONES caches all the files it already built, so running it again does not create duplicate configs or cause any conflicts. The stage tracker shows exactly which step failed and why. Fix the issue and restart from there, no need to redo everything from the beginning.

8. How does each switch get the right IP address without anyone setting it manually?
   ONES uses Kea DHCP tied to each device's MAC address. When a switch boots up, it gets the IP reserved for it automatically. ONES also generates hostnames, checks for conflicts, and updates the DHCP server on its own without anyone touching a config file.

Start using Zero-Touch Bootstrapping in ONES 4.2 today by navigating to Manage → Bootstrap in the ONES UI and creating your first deployment batch.