Prepare the seed node¶

Before installing Mirantis Container Cloud on a bare metal environment, complete the following preparation steps:

Verify that the hardware allocated for the installation meets the minimal requirements described in Requirements for a baremetal-based cluster.
Install basic Ubuntu 20.04 server using standard installation images of the operating system on the bare metal seed node.
Log in to the seed node that is running Ubuntu 20.04.

Prepare the system and network configuration:

Create a virtual bridge to connect to your PXE network on the seed node. Use the following netplan-based configuration file as an example:

# cat /etc/netplan/config.yaml
network:
  version: 2
  renderer: networkd
  ethernets:
    ens3:
        dhcp4: false
        dhcp6: false
  bridges:
      br0:
          addresses:
          # Please, adjust for your environment
          - 10.0.0.15/24
          dhcp4: false
          dhcp6: false
          # Please, adjust for your environment
          gateway4: 10.0.0.1
          interfaces:
          # Interface name may be different in your environment
          - ens3
          nameservers:
              addresses:
              # Please, adjust for your environment
              - 8.8.8.8
          parameters:
              forward-delay: 4
              stp: false

Apply the new network configuration using netplan:
```
sudo netplan apply
```

Verify the new network configuration:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y bridge-utils
sudo brctl show

Example of system response:

bridge name     bridge id               STP enabled     interfaces
br0             8000.fa163e72f146       no              ens3

Verify that the interface connected to the PXE network belongs to the previously configured bridge.

Install the current Docker version available for Ubuntu 20.04:
```
sudo apt update
sudo apt install docker.io
```
Verify that your logged USER has access to the Docker daemon:
```
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
```
Log out and log in again to the seed node to apply the changes.
Verify that Docker is configured correctly and has access to Container Cloud CDN. For example:
```
docker run --rm alpine sh -c "apk add --no-cache curl; \
curl https://binary.mirantis.com"
```
The system output must contain a json file with no error messages. In case of errors, follow the steps provided in Troubleshooting.

Note

If you require all Internet access to go through a proxy server for security and audit purposes, configure Docker proxy settings as described in the official Docker documentation.

Verify that the seed node has direct access to the Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) of each bare metal host. All target hardware nodes must be in the power off state.

For example, using the IPMI tool:
```
apt install ipmitool
ipmitool -I lanplus -H 'IPMI IP' -U 'IPMI Login' -P 'IPMI password' \
chassis power status
```
Example of system response:
```
Chassis Power is off
```