Add a bare metal host using web UI

This section describes how to add bare metal hosts using the Container Cloud web UI during a MOSK cluster creation.

Before you proceed with adding a bare metal host:

  • Verify that the physical network on the server has been configured correctly. For details, see Physical networks layout and Container Cloud Reference Architecture: Network fabric.

  • Prepare the host as described in Container Cloud Deployment Guide: Configure BIOS on a bare metal host.

  • Create a project for a managed cluster using the Container Cloud web UI:

    1. Log in to the Container Cloud web UI as m:kaas@global-admin or m:kaas@writer.

    2. In the Projects tab, click Create.

    3. Type the new project name.

    4. Click Create.

    Note

    The default project (Kubernetes namespace) in Container Cloud is dedicated for management clusters only. Managed clusters require a separate project. You can create as many projects as required by your company infrastructure.

To add a bare metal host to a MOSK cluster:

  1. Optional. Create a custom bare metal host profile depending on your needs as described in Create a custom bare metal host profile.

    Note

    You can view the created profiles in the BM Host Profiles tab of the Container Cloud web UI.

  2. Log in to the Container Cloud web UI with the m:kaas@operator or m:kaas:namespace@bm-pool-operator permissions.

  3. Switch to the required non-default project using the Switch Project action icon located on top of the main left-side navigation panel.

  4. Optional. Available since Container Cloud 2.24.0 (Cluster releases 15.0.1 and 14.0.1). In the Credentials tab, click Add Credential and add the IPMI user name and password of the bare metal host to access the Baseboard Management Controller (BMC).

  5. Select one of the following options:

    1. In the Baremetal tab, click Create Host.

    2. Fill out the Create baremetal host form as required:

      • Name

        Specify the name of the new bare metal host.

      • Boot Mode

        Specify the BIOS boot mode. Available options: Legacy, UEFI, or UEFISecureBoot.

      • MAC Address

        Specify the MAC address of the PXE network interface.

      • Baseboard Management Controller (BMC)

        Specify the following BMC details:

        • IP Address

          Specify the IP address to access the BMC.

        • Credential Name

          Specify the name of the previously added bare metal host credentials to associate with the current host.

        • Cert Validation

          Enable validation of the BMC API certificate. Applies only to the redfish+http BMC protocol. Disabled by default.

        • Power off host after creation

          Experimental. Select to power off the bare metal host after creation.

          Caution

          This option is experimental and intended only for testing and evaluation purposes. Do not use it for production deployments.

    1. In the Baremetal tab, click Add BM host.

    2. Fill out the Add new BM host form as required:

      • Baremetal host name

        Specify the name of the new bare metal host.

      • Provider Credential

        Optional. Available since Container Cloud 2.24.0 (Cluster releases 15.0.1 and 14.0.1). Specify the name of the previously added bare metal host credentials to associate with the current host.

      • Add New Credential

        Optional. Available since Container Cloud 2.24.0 (Cluster releases 15.0.1 and 14.0.1). Applies if you did not add bare metal host credentials using the Credentials tab. Add the bare metal host credentials:

        • Username

          Specify the name of the IPMI user to access the BMC.

        • Password

          Specify the IPMI password of the user to access the BMC.

      • Boot MAC address

        Specify the MAC address of the PXE network interface.

      • IP Address

        Specify the IP address to access the BMC.

      • Label

        Assign the machine label to the new host that defines which type of machine may be deployed on this bare metal host. Only one label can be assigned to a host. The supported labels include:

        • Manager

          This label is selected and set by default. Assign this label t the bare metal hosts that can be used to deploy machines with the manager type. These hosts must match the CPU and RAM requirements described in MOSK cluster hardware requirements.

        • Worker

          The host with this label may be used to deploy the worker machine type. Assign this label to the bare metal hosts that have sufficient CPU and RAM resources, as described in MOSK cluster hardware requirements.

        • Storage

          Assign this label to the bare metal hosts that have sufficient storage devices to match MOSK cluster hardware requirements. Hosts with this label will be used to deploy machines with the storage type that run Ceph OSDs.

  6. Click Create.

    While adding the bare metal host, Container Cloud discovers and inspects the hardware of the bare metal host and adds it to BareMetalHost.status for future references.

    During provisioning, baremetal-operator inspects the bare metal host and moves it to the Preparing state. The host becomes ready to be linked to a bare metal machine.

  7. Verify the results of the hardware inspection to avoid unexpected errors during the host usage:

    1. Select one of the following options:

      In the left sidebar, click Baremetal. The Hosts page opens.

      In the left sidebar, click BM Hosts.

    2. Verify that the bare metal host is registered and switched to one of the following statuses:

      • Preparing for a newly added host

      • Ready for a previously used host or for a host that is already linked to a machine

    3. Select one of the following options:

      On the Hosts page, click the host kebab menu and select Host info.

      On the BM Hosts page, click the name of the newly added bare metal host.

    4. In the window with the host details, scroll down to the Hardware section.

    5. Review the section and make sure that the number and models of disks, network interface cards, and CPUs match the hardware specification of the server.

      • If the hardware details are consistent with the physical server specifications for all your hosts, proceed to Create a MOSK cluster.

      • If you find any discrepancies in the hardware inspection results, it might indicate that the server has hardware issues or is not compatible with Container Cloud.