Chapter 12. Optional: Installing on Nutanix

If you install OpenShift Container Platform on Nutanix, the Assisted Installer can integrate the OpenShift Container Platform cluster with the Nutanix platform, which exposes the Machine API to Nutanix and enables autoscaling and dynamically provisioning storage containers with the Nutanix Container Storage Interface (CSI).

12.1. Adding hosts on Nutanix with the UI

To add hosts on Nutanix with the user interface (UI), generate the discovery image ISO from the Assisted Installer. Use the minimal discovery image ISO. This is the default setting. The image includes only what is required to boot a host with networking. The majority of the content is downloaded upon boot. The ISO image is about 100MB in size.

After this is complete, you must create an image for the Nutanix platform and create the Nutanix virtual machines.

Prerequisites

  • You have created a cluster profile in the Assisted Installer UI.
  • You have a Nutanix cluster environment set up, and made a note of the cluster name and subnet name.

Procedure

  1. In Cluster details, select Nutanix from the Integrate with external partner platforms dropdown list. The Include custom manifest checkbox is optional.
  2. In Host discovery, click the Add hosts button.
  3. Optional: Add an SSH public key so that you can connect to the Nutanix VMs as the core user. Having a login to the cluster hosts can provide you with debugging information during the installation.

    1. If you do not have an existing SSH key pair on your local machine, follow the steps in Generating a key pair for cluster node SSH access.
    2. In the SSH public key field, click Browse to upload the id_rsa.pub file containing the SSH public key. Alternatively, drag and drop the file into the field from the file manager. To see the file in the file manager, select Show hidden files in the menu.
  4. Select the desired provisioning type.

    Note

    Minimal image file: Provision with virtual media downloads a smaller image that will fetch the data needed to boot.

  5. In Networking, select Cluster-managed networking. Nutanix does not support User-managed networking.

    1. Optional: If the cluster hosts are behind a firewall that requires the use of a proxy, select Configure cluster-wide proxy settings. Enter the username, password, IP address and port for the HTTP and HTTPS URLs of the proxy server.
    2. Optional: Configure the discovery image if you want to boot it with an ignition file. See Configuring the discovery image for additional details.
  6. Click Generate Discovery ISO.
  7. Copy the Discovery ISO URL.
  8. In the Nutanix Prism UI, follow the directions to upload the discovery image from the Assisted Installer.
  9. In the Nutanix Prism UI, create the control plane (master) VMs through Prism Central.

    1. Enter the Name. For example, control-plane or master.
    2. Enter the Number of VMs. This should be 3 for the control plane.
    3. Ensure the remaining settings meet the minimum requirements for control plane hosts.
  10. In the Nutanix Prism UI, create the worker VMs through Prism Central.

    1. Enter the Name. For example, worker.
    2. Enter the Number of VMs. You should create at least 2 worker nodes.
    3. Ensure the remaining settings meet the minimum requirements for worker hosts.
  11. Return to the Assisted Installer user interface and wait until the Assisted Installer discovers the hosts and each of them have a Ready status.
  12. Continue with the installation procedure.

12.2. Adding hosts on Nutanix with the API

To add hosts on Nutanix with the API, generate the discovery image ISO from the Assisted Installer. Use the minimal discovery image ISO. This is the default setting. The image includes only what is required to boot a host with networking. The majority of the content is downloaded upon boot. The ISO image is about 100MB in size.

Once this is complete, you must create an image for the Nutanix platform and create the Nutanix virtual machines.

Prerequisites

  • You have set up the Assisted Installer API authentication.
  • You have created an Assisted Installer cluster profile.
  • You have created an Assisted Installer infrastructure environment.
  • You have your infrastructure environment ID exported in your shell as $INFRA_ENV_ID.
  • You have completed the Assisted Installer cluster configuration.
  • You have a Nutanix cluster environment set up, and made a note of the cluster name and subnet name.

Procedure

  1. Configure the discovery image if you want it to boot with an ignition file.
  2. Create a Nutanix cluster configuration file to hold the environment variables:

    $ touch ~/nutanix-cluster-env.sh
    $ chmod +x ~/nutanix-cluster-env.sh

    If you have to start a new terminal session, you can reload the environment variables easily. For example:

    $ source ~/nutanix-cluster-env.sh
  3. Assign the Nutanix cluster’s name to the NTX_CLUSTER_NAME environment variable in the configuration file:

    $ cat << EOF >> ~/nutanix-cluster-env.sh
    export NTX_CLUSTER_NAME=<cluster_name>
    EOF

    Replace <cluster_name> with the name of the Nutanix cluster.

  4. Assign the Nutanix cluster’s subnet name to the NTX_SUBNET_NAME environment variable in the configuration file:

    $ cat << EOF >> ~/nutanix-cluster-env.sh
    export NTX_SUBNET_NAME=<subnet_name>
    EOF

    Replace <subnet_name> with the name of the Nutanix cluster’s subnet.

  5. Refresh the API token:

    $ source refresh-token
  6. Get the download URL:

    $ curl -H "Authorization: Bearer ${API_TOKEN}" \
    https://api.openshift.com/api/assisted-install/v2/infra-envs/${INFRA_ENV_ID}/downloads/image-url
  7. Create the Nutanix image configuration file:

    $ cat << EOF > create-image.json
    {
      "spec": {
        "name": "ocp_ai_discovery_image.iso",
        "description": "ocp_ai_discovery_image.iso",
        "resources": {
          "architecture": "X86_64",
          "image_type": "ISO_IMAGE",
          "source_uri": "<image_url>",
          "source_options": {
            "allow_insecure_connection": true
          }
        }
      },
      "metadata": {
        "spec_version": 3,
        "kind": "image"
      }
    }
    EOF

    Replace <image_url> with the image URL downloaded from the previous step.

  8. Create the Nutanix image:

    $ curl  -k -u <user>:'<password>' -X 'POST' \
    'https://<domain-or-ip>:<port>/api/nutanix/v3/images \
      -H 'accept: application/json' \
      -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
      -d @./create-image.json | jq '.metadata.uuid'

    Replace <user> with the Nutanix user name. Replace '<password>' with the Nutanix password. Replace <domain-or-ip> with the domain name or IP address of the Nutanix plaform. Replace <port> with the port for the Nutanix server. The port defaults to 9440.

  9. Assign the returned UUID to the NTX_IMAGE_UUID environment variable in the configuration file:

    $ cat << EOF >> ~/nutanix-cluster-env.sh
    export NTX_IMAGE_UUID=<uuid>
    EOF
  10. Get the Nutanix cluster UUID:

    $ curl -k -u <user>:'<password>' -X 'POST' \
      'https://<domain-or-ip>:<port>/api/nutanix/v3/clusters/list' \
      -H 'accept: application/json' \
      -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
      -d '{
      "kind": "cluster"
    }'  | jq '.entities[] | select(.spec.name=="<nutanix_cluster_name>") | .metadata.uuid'

    Replace <user> with the Nutanix user name. Replace '<password>' with the Nutanix password. Replace <domain-or-ip> with the domain name or IP address of the Nutanix plaform. Replace <port> with the port for the Nutanix server. The port defaults to 9440. Replace <nutanix_cluster_name> with the name of the Nutanix cluster.

  11. Assign the returned Nutanix cluster UUID to the NTX_CLUSTER_UUID environment variable in the configuration file:

    $ cat << EOF >> ~/nutanix-cluster-env.sh
    export NTX_CLUSTER_UUID=<uuid>
    EOF

    Replace <uuid> with the returned UUID of the Nutanix cluster.

  12. Get the Nutanix cluster’s subnet UUID:

    $ curl -k -u <user>:'<password>' -X 'POST' \
      'https://<domain-or-ip>:<port>/api/nutanix/v3/subnets/list' \
      -H 'accept: application/json' \
      -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
      -d '{
      "kind": "subnet",
      "filter": "name==<subnet_name>"
    }' | jq '.entities[].metadata.uuid'

    Replace <user> with the Nutanix user name. Replace '<password>' with the Nutanix password. Replace <domain-or-ip> with the domain name or IP address of the Nutanix plaform. Replace <port> with the port for the Nutanix server. The port defaults to 9440. Replace <subnet_name> with the name of the cluster’s subnet.

  13. Assign the returned Nutanix subnet UUID to the NTX_CLUSTER_UUID environment variable in the configuration file:

    $ cat << EOF >> ~/nutanix-cluster-env.sh
    export NTX_SUBNET_UUID=<uuid>
    EOF

    Replace <uuid> with the returned UUID of the cluster subnet.

  14. Ensure the Nutanix environment variables are set:

    $ source ~/nutanix-cluster-env.sh
  15. Create a VM configuration file for each Nutanix host. Create three control plane (master) VMs and at least two worker VMs. For example:

    $ touch create-master-0.json
    $ cat << EOF > create-master-0.json
    {
       "spec": {
          "name": "<host_name>",
          "resources": {
             "power_state": "ON",
             "num_vcpus_per_socket": 1,
             "num_sockets": 16,
             "memory_size_mib": 32768,
             "disk_list": [
                {
                   "disk_size_mib": 122880,
                   "device_properties": {
                      "device_type": "DISK"
                   }
                },
                {
                   "device_properties": {
                      "device_type": "CDROM"
                   },
                   "data_source_reference": {
                     "kind": "image",
                     "uuid": "$NTX_IMAGE_UUID"
                  }
                }
             ],
             "nic_list": [
                {
                   "nic_type": "NORMAL_NIC",
                   "is_connected": true,
                   "ip_endpoint_list": [
                      {
                         "ip_type": "DHCP"
                      }
                   ],
                   "subnet_reference": {
                      "kind": "subnet",
                      "name": "$NTX_SUBNET_NAME",
                      "uuid": "$NTX_SUBNET_UUID"
                   }
                }
             ],
             "guest_tools": {
                "nutanix_guest_tools": {
                   "state": "ENABLED",
                   "iso_mount_state": "MOUNTED"
                }
             }
          },
          "cluster_reference": {
             "kind": "cluster",
             "name": "$NTX_CLUSTER_NAME",
             "uuid": "$NTX_CLUSTER_UUID"
          }
       },
       "api_version": "3.1.0",
       "metadata": {
          "kind": "vm"
       }
    }
    EOF

    Replace <host_name> with the name of the host.

  16. Boot each Nutanix virtual machine:

    $ curl -k -u <user>:'<password>' -X 'POST' \
      'https://<domain-or-ip>:<port>/api/nutanix/v3/vms' \
      -H 'accept: application/json' \
      -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
      -d @./<vm_config_file_name> | jq '.metadata.uuid'

    Replace <user> with the Nutanix user name. Replace '<password>' with the Nutanix password. Replace <domain-or-ip> with the domain name or IP address of the Nutanix plaform. Replace <port> with the port for the Nutanix server. The port defaults to 9440. Replace <vm_config_file_name> with the name of the VM configuration file.

  17. Assign the returned VM UUID to a unique environment variable in the configuration file:

    $ cat << EOF >> ~/nutanix-cluster-env.sh
    export NTX_MASTER_0_UUID=<uuid>
    EOF

    Replace <uuid> with the returned UUID of the VM.

    Note

    The environment variable must have a unique name for each VM.

  18. Wait until the Assisted Installer has discovered each VM and they have passed validation.

    $ curl -s -X GET "https://api.openshift.com/api/assisted-install/v2/clusters/$CLUSTER_ID"
    --header "Content-Type: application/json"
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_TOKEN"
    | jq '.enabled_host_count'
  19. Modify the cluster definition to enable integration with Nutanix:

    $ curl https://api.openshift.com/api/assisted-install/v2/clusters/${CLUSTER_ID} \
    -X PATCH \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer ${API_TOKEN}" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '
    {
        "platform_type":"nutanix"
    }
    ' | jq
  20. Continue with the installation procedure.

12.3. Nutanix postinstallation configuration

Follow the steps below to complete and validate the OpenShift Container Platform integration with the Nutanix cloud provider.

Prerequisites

  • The Assisted Installer has finished installing the cluster successfully.
  • The cluster is connected to console.redhat.com.
  • You have access to the Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform command line interface.

12.3.1. Updating the Nutanix configuration settings

After installing OpenShift Container Platform on the Nutanix platform using the Assisted Installer, you must update the following Nutanix configuration settings manually:

  • <prismcentral_username>: The Nutanix Prism Central username.
  • <prismcentral_password>: The Nutanix Prism Central password.
  • <prismcentral_address>: The Nutanix Prism Central address.
  • <prismcentral_port>: The Nutanix Prism Central port.
  • <prismelement_username>: The Nutanix Prism Element username.
  • <prismelement_password>: The Nutanix Prism Element password.
  • <prismelement_address>: The Nutanix Prism Element address.
  • <prismelement_port>: The Nutanix Prism Element port.
  • <prismelement_clustername>: The Nutanix Prism Element cluster name.
  • <nutanix_storage_container>: The Nutanix Prism storage container.

Procedure

  1. In the OpenShift Container Platform command line interface, update the Nutanix cluster configuration settings:

    $ oc patch infrastructure/cluster --type=merge --patch-file=/dev/stdin <<-EOF
    {
      "spec": {
        "platformSpec": {
          "nutanix": {
            "prismCentral": {
              "address": "<prismcentral_address>",
              "port": <prismcentral_port>
            },
            "prismElements": [
              {
                "endpoint": {
                  "address": "<prismelement_address>",
                  "port": <prismelement_port>
                },
                "name": "<prismelement_clustername>"
              }
            ]
          },
          "type": "Nutanix"
        }
      }
    }
    EOF

    Sample output

    infrastructure.config.openshift.io/cluster patched

    For additional details, see Creating a machine set on Nutanix.

  2. Create the Nutanix secret:

    $ cat <<EOF | oc create -f -
    apiVersion: v1
    kind: Secret
    metadata:
       name: nutanix-credentials
       namespace: openshift-machine-api
    type: Opaque
    stringData:
      credentials: |
    [{"type":"basic_auth","data":{"prismCentral":{"username":"${<prismcentral_username>}","password":"${<prismcentral_password>}"},"prismElements":null}}]
    EOF

    Sample output

    secret/nutanix-credentials created

  3. When installing OpenShift Container Platform version 4.13 or later, update the Nutanix cloud provider configuration:

    1. Get the Nutanix cloud provider configuration YAML file:

      $ oc get cm cloud-provider-config -o yaml -n openshift-config > cloud-provider-config-backup.yaml
    2. Create a backup of the configuration file:

      $ cp cloud-provider-config_backup.yaml cloud-provider-config.yaml
    3. Open the configuration YAML file:

      $ vi cloud-provider-config.yaml
    4. Edit the configuration YAML file as follows:

      kind: ConfigMap
      apiVersion: v1
      metadata:
        name: cloud-provider-config
        namespace: openshift-config
      data:
        config: |
          {
          	"prismCentral": {
          		"address": "<prismcentral_address>",
          		"port":<prismcentral_port>,
          		"credentialRef": {
          		   "kind": "Secret",
          		   "name": "nutanix-credentials",
          		   "namespace": "openshift-cloud-controller-manager"
          		}
          	},
          	"topologyDiscovery": {
          		"type": "Prism",
          		"topologyCategories": null
          	},
          	"enableCustomLabeling": true
          }
    5. Apply the configuration updates:

      $ oc apply -f cloud-provider-config.yaml

      Sample output

      Warning: resource configmaps/cloud-provider-config is missing the kubectl.kubernetes.io/last-applied-configuration annotation which is required by oc apply. oc apply should only be used on resources created declaratively by either oc create --save-config or oc apply. The missing annotation will be patched automatically.
      
      configmap/cloud-provider-config configured

12.3.2. Creating the Nutanix CSI Operator group

Create an Operator group for the Nutanix CSI Operator.

Note

For a description of operator groups and related concepts, see Common Operator Framework Terms in Additional Resources.

Procedure

  1. Open the Nutanix CSI Operator Group YAML file:

    $ vi openshift-cluster-csi-drivers-operator-group.yaml
  2. Edit the YAML file as follows:

    apiVersion: operators.coreos.com/v1
    kind: OperatorGroup
    metadata:
      generateName: openshift-cluster-csi-drivers
      namespace: openshift-cluster-csi-drivers
    spec:
      targetNamespaces:
      - openshift-cluster-csi-drivers
      upgradeStrategy: Default
  3. Create the Operator Group:

    $ oc create -f openshift-cluster-csi-drivers-operator-group.yaml

    Sample output

    operatorgroup.operators.coreos.com/openshift-cluster-csi-driversjw9cd created

12.3.3. Installing the Nutanix CSI Operator

The Nutanix Container Storage Interface (CSI) Operator for Kubernetes deploys and manages the Nutanix CSI Driver.

Note

For instructions on performing this step through the OpenShift Container Platform web console, see the Installing the Operator section of the Nutanix CSI Operator document in Additional Resources.

Procedure

  1. Get the parameter values for the Nutanix CSI Operator YAML file:

    1. Check that the Nutanix CSI Operator exists:

      $ oc get packagemanifests | grep nutanix

      Sample output

      nutanixcsioperator   Certified Operators   129m

    2. Assign the default channel for the Operator to a BASH variable:

      $ DEFAULT_CHANNEL=$(oc get packagemanifests nutanixcsioperator -o jsonpath={.status.defaultChannel})
    3. Assign the starting cluster service version (CSV) for the Operator to a BASH variable:

      $ STARTING_CSV=$(oc get packagemanifests nutanixcsioperator -o jsonpath=\{.status.channels[*].currentCSV\})
    4. Assign the catalog source for the subscription to a BASH variable:

      $ CATALOG_SOURCE=$(oc get packagemanifests nutanixcsioperator -o jsonpath=\{.status.catalogSource\})
    5. Assign the Nutanix CSI Operator source namespace to a BASH variable:

      $ SOURCE_NAMESPACE=$(oc get packagemanifests nutanixcsioperator -o jsonpath=\{.status.catalogSourceNamespace\})
  2. Create the Nutanix CSI Operator YAML file using the BASH variables:

    $ cat << EOF > nutanixcsioperator.yaml
    apiVersion: operators.coreos.com/v1alpha1
    kind: Subscription
    metadata:
      name: nutanixcsioperator
      namespace: openshift-cluster-csi-drivers
    spec:
      channel: $DEFAULT_CHANNEL
      installPlanApproval: Automatic
      name: nutanixcsioperator
      source: $CATALOG_SOURCE
      sourceNamespace: $SOURCE_NAMESPACE
      startingCSV: $STARTING_CSV
    EOF
  3. Create the CSI Nutanix Operator:

    $ oc apply -f nutanixcsioperator.yaml

    Sample output

    subscription.operators.coreos.com/nutanixcsioperator created

  4. Run the following command until the Operator subscription state changes to AtLatestKnown. This indicates that the Operator subscription has been created, and may take some time.

    $ oc get subscription nutanixcsioperator -n openshift-cluster-csi-drivers -o 'jsonpath={..status.state}'

12.3.4. Deploying the Nutanix CSI storage driver

The Nutanix Container Storage Interface (CSI) Driver for Kubernetes provides scalable and persistent storage for stateful applications.

Note

For instructions on performing this step through the OpenShift Container Platform web console, see the Installing the CSI Driver using the Operator section of the Nutanix CSI Operator document in Additional Resources.

Procedure

  1. Create a NutanixCsiStorage resource to deploy the driver:

    $ cat <<EOF | oc create -f -
    apiVersion: crd.nutanix.com/v1alpha1
    kind: NutanixCsiStorage
    metadata:
      name: nutanixcsistorage
      namespace: openshift-cluster-csi-drivers
    spec: {}
    EOF

    Sample output

    snutanixcsistorage.crd.nutanix.com/nutanixcsistorage created

  2. Create a Nutanix secret YAML file for the CSI storage driver:

    $ cat <<EOF | oc create -f -
    apiVersion: v1
    kind: Secret
    metadata:
      name: ntnx-secret
      namespace: openshift-cluster-csi-drivers
    stringData:
      # prism-element-ip:prism-port:admin:password
      key: <prismelement_address:prismelement_port:prismcentral_username:prismcentral_password> 1
    EOF
    Note
    1
    Replace these parameters with actual values while keeping the same format.

    Sample output

    secret/nutanix-secret created

12.3.5. Validating the postinstallation configurations

Run the following steps to validate the configuration.

Procedure

  1. Verify that you can create a storage class:

    $ cat <<EOF | oc create -f -
    kind: StorageClass
    apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
    metadata:
      name: nutanix-volume
      annotations:
        storageclass.kubernetes.io/is-default-class: 'true'
    provisioner: csi.nutanix.com
    parameters:
      csi.storage.k8s.io/fstype: ext4
      csi.storage.k8s.io/provisioner-secret-namespace: openshift-cluster-csi-drivers
      csi.storage.k8s.io/provisioner-secret-name: ntnx-secret
      storageContainer: <nutanix_storage_container> 1
      csi.storage.k8s.io/controller-expand-secret-name: ntnx-secret
      csi.storage.k8s.io/node-publish-secret-namespace: openshift-cluster-csi-drivers
      storageType: NutanixVolumes
      csi.storage.k8s.io/node-publish-secret-name: ntnx-secret
      csi.storage.k8s.io/controller-expand-secret-namespace: openshift-cluster-csi-drivers
    reclaimPolicy: Delete
    allowVolumeExpansion: true
    volumeBindingMode: Immediate
    EOF
    Note
    1
    Take <nutanix_storage_container> from the Nutanix configuration; for example, SelfServiceContainer.

    Sample output

    storageclass.storage.k8s.io/nutanix-volume created

  2. Verify that you can create the Nutanix persistent volume claim (PVC):

    1. Create the persistent volume claim (PVC):

      $ cat <<EOF | oc create -f -
      kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
      apiVersion: v1
      metadata:
        name: nutanix-volume-pvc
        namespace: openshift-cluster-csi-drivers
        annotations:
          volume.beta.kubernetes.io/storage-provisioner: csi.nutanix.com
          volume.kubernetes.io/storage-provisioner: csi.nutanix.com
        finalizers:
          - kubernetes.io/pvc-protection
      spec:
        accessModes:
          - ReadWriteOnce
        resources:
          requests:
            storage: 1Gi
        storageClassName: nutanix-volume
        volumeMode: Filesystem
      EOF

      Sample output

      persistentvolumeclaim/nutanix-volume-pvc created

    2. Validate that the persistent volume claim (PVC) status is Bound:

      $ oc get pvc -n openshift-cluster-csi-drivers

      Sample output

      NAME                 STATUS    VOLUME   CAPACITY   ACCESS MODES   STORAGECLASS     AGE
      nutanix-volume-pvc   Bound                                        nutanix-volume   52s