Master Node Setup¶

Manual Setup¶

Run a minimal CentOS installation on the system; this can be performed manually or via an automated install service if you have one already setup
It is recommended to update the packages on the system for any bug fixes and patches that may have been introduced to core packages:
```
yum -y update
```

Note

If using kickstart OS installation on many nodes it is worth considering a local mirror repository for the OS image and packages so that all nodes receive an equivalent software installation, and aren’t trying to connect to the internet at the same time.

Disable and stop NetworkManager:

systemctl disable NetworkManager
systemctl stop NetworkManager

Set the hostname:

echo ‘master.cluster.local’ > /etc/hostname

Configure bridge interface for primary network (/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-pri):

DEVICE=pri
ONBOOT=yes
TYPE=Bridge
stp=no
BOOTPROTO=static
IPADDR=10.10.0.11
NETMASK=255.255.0.0
ZONE=trusted
PEERDNS=no

Note

Replace DEVICE, IPADDR and NETMASK with the appropriate values for your system

Create bridge interfaces for all other networks (e.g. management [mgt] and external [ext])

Note

The external interface may require getting it’s network settings over DHCP; if so then set BOOTPROTO to dhcp instead of static and remove the IPADDR lines.

Setup config file for network interfaces (do this for all interfaces sitting on the bridges configured above):
```
TYPE=Ethernet
BOOTPROTO=none
NAME=p1p1
DEVICE=p1p1
ONBOOT=“yes”
BRIDGE=pri
```

Note

In the above example, the interface p1p1 is connected to the primary network but instead of giving that an IP it is set to use the pri bridge

Enable and start firewalld to allow masquerading client machines via the external interface and to improve general network security:
```
systemctl enable firewalld
systemctl start firewalld
```
Add ext bridge to external zone; the external zone is a zone configured as part of firewalld:
```
firewall-cmd --add-interface ext --zone external --permanent
```
Add all the other network interfaces to the trusted zone; replace pri with the other network names, excluding ext:
```
firewall-cmd --add-interface pri --zone trusted --permanent
```
Reboot the system

Install components for VM service:

yum groupinstall -y virtualization-platform virtualization-tools
yum install -y virt-viewer virt-install

Enable and start the virtualisation service:

systemctl start libvirtd
systemctl enable libvirtd

Create VM pool:

mkdir /opt/vm
virsh pool-define-as local dir - - - - "/opt/vm/"
virsh pool-build local
virsh pool-start local
virsh pool-autostart local

Automated Setup¶

If using metalware, a controller can be used to deploy it’s own master. By setting up the controller on a separate machine to the master, the master can then be defined and hunted (see Deployment Example for hunting instructions). The following will add the build config and scripts to configure a functional master (much like the above).

Note

In the following guide the group is called masters and the master node is master1

Configure certificate authority for libvirt from the controller as described in VM Deployment from the Controller

Create a deployment file for the master node (/var/lib/metalware/repo/config/master1.yaml) containing the following (the network setup configures network bridges and the external interface):

files:
  setup:
    - /opt/alces/install/scripts/10-vm_master.sh
  core:
    - /opt/alces/ca_setup/master1-key.pem
    - /opt/alces/ca_setup/master1-cert.pem
networks:
  pri:
    interface: pri
    type: Bridge
    slave_interfaces: em1
  mgt:
    interface: mgt
    type: Bridge
    slave_interfaces: em2
  ext:
    defined: true
    domain: ext
    ip: 10.101.100.99
    network: 10.101.0.0
    netmask: 255.255.0.0
    gateway: 10.101.0.1
    short_hostname: <%= node.name %>.<%= config.networks.ext.domain %>
    interface: ext
    firewallpolicy: external
    slave_interfaces: p1p4

Note

If additional scripts are defined in the domain level setup and core lists then be sure to include them in the master1 file

Additionally, download the VM master script to /opt/alces/install/scripts/10-vm_master.sh:

mkdir -p /opt/alces/install/scripts/
cd /opt/alces/install/scripts/
wget -O 10-vm_master.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/alces-software/knowledgebase/master/epel/7/libvirt/vm_master.sh