Prepare the OVF template¶

To deploy Mirantis Container Cloud on a vSphere-based environment, the OVF template for cluster machines must be prepared according to the following requirements:

1. The VMware Tools package is installed.

2. The cloud-init utility is installed and configured with the specific VMwareGuestInfo data source.

3. For RHEL deployments, the virt-who service is enabled and configured to connect to the VMware vCenter Server to properly apply the RHEL subscriptions on the nodes. The virt-who service can run on a standalone machine or can be integrated into a VM template.

The following procedures describe how to meet the requirements above either using the Container Cloud script or manually.

To prepare the OVF template using the Container Cloud script:

1. Prepare the Container Cloud bootstrap and modify templates/vsphere/vsphere-config.yaml.template and templates/vsphere/cluster.yaml.template as described in Bootstrap a management cluster, steps 1-9.

2. Download the ISO image depending on the target OS:

   • RHEL 7.8 or 7.9 DVD ISO from the RedHat Customer Portal

   • Technology Preview: CentOS 7.9 DVD ISO from the CentOS mirrors

3. Export the following variables:

   • The path to the downloaded ISO file.

   • The vSphere cluster name.

   • The OS name: rhel or centos.

   • The OS version: 7.8 or 7.9 for RHEL, 7.9 for CentOS.

   • Optional. The virt-who user name and password for RHEL deployments.

   For example, for RHEL:

   export KAAS_VSPHERE_ENABLED=true
   export VSPHERE_RO_USER=virt-who-user
   export VSPHERE_RO_PASSWORD=virt-who-user-password
   export VSPHERE_PACKER_ISO_FILE=$(pwd)/iso-file.dvd.iso
   export VSPHERE_CLUSTER_NAME=vsphere-cluster-name
   export VSPHERE_PACKER_IMAGE_OS_NAME=rhel
   export VSPHERE_PACKER_IMAGE_OS_VERSION=7.9
   

   Optional variables¶

   Variable	Description
   VSPHERE_VM_NETWORK_DEVICE	Network interface name in a virtual machine. Defaults to eth0.
   VSPHERE_VM_TIMEZONE	Time zone for virtual machines. Defaults to America/New_York.

4. Optional. If you require all Internet access to go through a proxy server, in bootstrap.env, add the following environment variables:

   • HTTP_PROXY

   • HTTPS_PROXY

   • NO_PROXY

   Example snippet:

   export HTTP_PROXY=http://proxy.example.com:3128
   export HTTPS_PROXY=http://user:pass@proxy.example.com:3128
   export NO_PROXY=172.18.10.0,registry.internal.lan
   

   The following variables formats are accepted:

   Proxy configuration data¶

   Variable	Format
   HTTP_PROXY HTTPS_PROXY	http://proxy.example.com:port - for anonymous access http://user:password@proxy.example.com:port - for restricted access
   NO_PROXY	Comma-separated list of IP addresses or domain names

   For the list of Mirantis resources and IP addresses to be accessible from the Container Cloud clusters, see Requirements for a VMware vSphere-based cluster.

5. Prepare the OVF template:

   ./bootstrap.sh vsphere_template
   

6. After the template is prepared, set the SET_VSPHERE_TEMPLATE_PATH parameter in templates/vsphere/machines.yaml.template as described in Bootstrap a management cluster.

To prepare the OVF template manually:

1. Run a virtual machine on the vSphere data center with the DVD ISO mounted to it. Specify the amount of resources that will be used in the Container Cloud setup. A minimal resources configuration must match the Requirements for a VMware vSphere-based cluster for a vSphere-based Container Cloud cluster.

2. Bootstrap the OS using vSphere Web Console. Select a minimal setup in the VM installation configuration. Create a user with root or sudo permissions to access the machine.

3. Log in to the VM when it starts.

4. Optional. If you require all Internet access to go through a proxy server, in bootstrap.env, add the following environment variables:

   • HTTP_PROXY

   • HTTPS_PROXY

   • NO_PROXY

   Example snippet:

   export HTTP_PROXY=http://proxy.example.com:3128
   export HTTPS_PROXY=http://user:pass@proxy.example.com:3128
   export NO_PROXY=172.18.10.0,registry.internal.lan
   

   The following variables formats are accepted:

   Proxy configuration data¶

   Variable	Format
   HTTP_PROXY HTTPS_PROXY	http://proxy.example.com:port - for anonymous access http://user:password@proxy.example.com:port - for restricted access
   NO_PROXY	Comma-separated list of IP addresses or domain names

   For the list of Mirantis resources and IP addresses to be accessible from the Container Cloud clusters, see Requirements for a VMware vSphere-based cluster.

5. For RHEL, attach your RHEL license for Virtual Datacenters to the VM:

   subscription-manager register
   # automatic subscription selection:
   subscription-manager attach --auto
   # or specify pool id:
   subscription-manager attach --pool=<POOL_ID>
   # verify subscription status
   subscription-manager status
   

6. Select from the following options:

   • Prepare the operating system automatically:

     1. Download the automation script:

        curl https://gerrit.mcp.mirantis.com/plugins/gitiles/kubernetes/vmware-guestinfo/+/refs/tags/v1.1.3/install.sh?format=TEXT | \
        base64 -d > install.sh
        chmod +x install.sh
        

     2. Optional. For RHEL, export the vCenter Server credentials of the read-only user. For example:

        export VC_SERVER='vcenter1.example.com'
        export VC_USER='domain\vmware_read_only_username'
        export VC_PASSWORD='password!23'
        # optional parameters:
        export VC_HYPERVISOR_ID=hostname
        export VC_FILTER_HOSTS="esx1.example.com, esx2.example.com"
        export VCENTER_CONFIG_PATH="/etc/virt-who.d/vcenter.conf"
        

     3. Run the installation script:

        ./install.sh
        

   • Prepare the operating system manually:

     1. Install the open-vm-tools package version 11.0.5 or later with dependencies and verify its version:

        yum install open-vm-tools net-tools perl -y
        vmtoolsd --version
        vmware-toolbox-cmd --version
        

     2. Install and configure cloud-init:

        1. Install the cloud-init package version 19.4 or later and verify its version:

           yum install cloud-init -y
           cloud-init --version
           

        2. Download the VMwareGuestInfo data source files:

           curl https://gerrit.mcp.mirantis.com/plugins/gitiles/kubernetes/vmware-guestinfo/+/refs/tags/v1.1.3/DataSourceVMwareGuestInfo.py?format=TEXT | \
           base64 -d > DataSourceVMwareGuestInfo.py
           curl https://gerrit.mcp.mirantis.com/plugins/gitiles/kubernetes/vmware-guestinfo/+/refs/tags/v1.1.3/99-DataSourceVMwareGuestInfo.cfg?format=TEXT | \
           base64 -d > 99-DataSourceVMwareGuestInfo.cfg
           

        3. Add 99-DataSourceVMwareGuestInfo.cfg to /etc/cloud/cloud.cfg.d/.

        4. Depending on the Python version on the VM operating system, add DataSourceVMwareGuestInfo.py to the cloud-init sources folder. Obtain the cloud-init folder on the OS:

           python -c 'import os; from cloudinit import sources; print(os.path.dirname(sources.__file__));'
           

     3. Prepare the virt-who user configuration:

        Note

        For details about the virt-who user creation, see Prepare the VMware deployment user setup and permissions.

        1. Install virt-who:

           yum install virt-who -y
           cp /etc/virt-who.d/template.conf /etc/virt-who.d/vcenter.conf
           

        2. Set up the file content using the following example:

           [vcenter]
           type=esx
           server=vcenter1.example.com
           username=domain\vmware_read_only_username
           encrypted_password=bd257f93d@482B76e6390cc54aec1a4d
           owner=1234567
           hypervisor_id=hostname
           filter_hosts=esx1.example.com, esx2.example.com
           

           virt-who configuration parameters¶

           Parameter	Description
           [vcenter]	Name of the vCenter data center.
           type=esx	Specifies the connection of the defined virt-who user to the vCenter Server.
           server	The FQDN of the vCenter Server.
           username	The virt-who user name on the vCenter Server with the read-only access.
           encrypted_password	The virt-who password encrypted by the virt-who-password utility using the virt-who-password -p <password> command.
           owner	The organization that the hypervisors belong to.
           hypervisor_id	Specifies how to identify the hypervisors. Use a host name to provide meaningful host names to the Subscription Management. Alternatively, use uuid or hwuuid to avoid duplication in case of hypervisor renaming.
           filter_hosts	List of hypervisors that never run RHEL VMs. Such hypervisors do not have to be reported by virt-who.

7. For CentOS, verify that .yum mirrors are set to use only the *.centos.org URLs. Otherwise, access to other mirrors may be blocked by squid-proxy on managed clusters. For details, see Configure squid-proxy for CentOS-based clusters.

8. For RHEL, remove the RHEL subscription from the node.

   subscription-manager remove --all
   subscription-manager unregister
   subscription-manager clean
   

9. Shut down the VM.

10. Create an OVF template from the VM.

Now, proceed to Bootstrap a management cluster.