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A Red Hat training course is available for Red Hat CloudForms

Chapter 1. Installing Red Hat CloudForms

Red Hat CloudForms can be installed and ready to configure in a few quick steps. After downloading Red Hat CloudForms as a virtual machine image template from the Red Hat Customer Portal, the following process takes you through the steps of uploading the Red Hat CloudForms appliance to Microsoft Azure.

Important

After uploading the Red Hat CloudForms appliance, you must configure the database for Red Hat CloudForms; see Configuring a Database for Red Hat CloudForms.

1.1. Obtaining the Red Hat CloudForms Virtual Appliance

  1. Go to access.redhat.com and log in to the Red Hat Customer Portal using your customer account details.
  2. Click Downloads in the menu bar.
  3. Click A-Z to sort the product downloads alphabetically.
  4. Click Red Hat CloudForms → Download Latest to access the product download page.
  5. From the list of installers and images, select the Red Hat CloudForms appliance specified for Microsoft Azure download link.

1.2. Uploading and Provisioning the Red Hat CloudForms Virtual Appliance in Microsoft Azure

You can upload and provision the appliance in an Azure environment using the following two methods:

  • Using the Azure PowerShell script
  • Using the Azure Command-Line Interface (Azure CLI)

To upload the Red Hat CloudForms appliance file in Microsoft Azure, ensure the following requirements are met:

  • Approximately 2 GB of space for each VHD image; 44+ GB of space, 12 GB RAM, and 4 VCPUs for the Red Hat CloudForms appliance.
  • Microsoft Azure Account.
  • Administrator access to the Azure portal.
  • Depending on your infrastructure, allow time for the upload.
Important

Azure requires that the uploaded Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) files are in a fixed format. The Azure PowerShell script and Azure CLI do not automatically convert a dynamic .vhd file to fixed during upload. For CloudForms 4.5.2 and newer, the virtual appliance image files (cfme-azure-5.8.2.3-1.x86_64.vhd and newer) are available for download in a fixed format and therefore can be uploaded and provisioned in an Azure environment without requiring any additional manipulations with the image.

1.2.1. Using the Azure PowerShell Script

Note

Make sure Azure Resource Manager cmdlets are available; see Azure Resource Manager Cmdlets for the latest installation information.

  1. Log in to Azure Resource Manager using the cmdlet: 

    ## Customize for Your Environment
$SubscriptionName = "my subscription"

Login-AzureRmAccount
Select-AzureRmSubscription -SubscriptionName $SubscriptionName

    When prompted, enter your user name and password for the Azure Portal.

  2. Upload the .vhd file to a storage account. As shown in the example script below, you will first create a Resource Group through the Portal UI or PowerShell. Additionally, create the storage container defined in "BlobDestinationContainer" in advance. 

    Example Script:

## Customize for Your Environment
$SubscriptionName = "my subscription"

$ResourceGroupName = "test"
$StorageAccountName = "test"

$BlobNameSource = "cfme-test.vhd"
$BlobSourceContainer = "templates"
$LocalImagePath = "C:\tmp\$BlobNameSource"

##

# Upload VHD to a "templates" directory. You can pass a few arguments, such as `NumberOfUploaderThreads 8`. The default number of uploader threads is `8`. See https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt603554.aspx

Add-AzureRmVhd -ResourceGroupName $ResourceGroupName -Destination https://$StorageAccountName.blob.core.windows.net/$BlobSourceContainer/$BlobNameSource -LocalFilePath $LocalImagePath -NumberOfUploaderThreads 8

  3. Create a virtual machine. Then, define your VM and VHD name, your system/deployment name and size. Next, you will set the appropriate Storage, Network and Configuration options for your environment. 

    Example Script:

## Customize for Your Environment

$BlobNameDest = "cfme-test.vhd"
$BlobDestinationContainer = "vhds"
$VMName = "cfme-test"
$DeploySize= "Standard_A3"
$vmUserName = "user1"

$InterfaceName = "test-nic"
$VNetName = "test-vnet"
$PublicIPName = "test-public-ip"

$SSHKey = <your ssh public key>

##

$StorageAccount = Get-AzureRmStorageAccount -ResourceGroup $ResourceGroupName -Name $StorageAccountName

$SourceImageUri = "https://$StorageAccountName.blob.core.windows.net/templates/$BlobNameSource"
$Location = $StorageAccount.Location
$OSDiskName = $VMName

# Network
$Subnet1Name = "default"
$VNetAddressPrefix = "10.1.0.0/16"
$VNetSubnetAddressPrefix = "10.1.0.0/24"
$PIp = New-AzureRmPublicIpAddress -Name $PublicIPName -ResourceGroupName $ResourceGroupName -Location $Location -AllocationMethod Dynamic -Force
$SubnetConfig = New-AzureRmVirtualNetworkSubnetConfig -Name $Subnet1Name -AddressPrefix $VNetSubnetAddressPrefix
$VNet = New-AzureRmVirtualNetwork -Name $VNetName -ResourceGroupName $ResourceGroupName -Location $Location -AddressPrefix $VNetAddressPrefix -Subnet $SubnetConfig -Force
$Interface = New-AzureRmNetworkInterface -Name $InterfaceName -ResourceGroupName $ResourceGroupName -Location $Location -SubnetId $VNet.Subnets[0].Id -PublicIpAddressId $PIp.Id -Force

# Specify the VM Name and Size
$VirtualMachine = New-AzureRmVMConfig -VMName $VMName -VMSize $DeploySize

# Add User
$cred = Get-Credential -UserName $VMUserName -Message "Setting user credential - use blank password"
$VirtualMachine = Set-AzureRmVMOperatingSystem -VM $VirtualMachine -Linux -ComputerName $VMName -Credential $cred

# Add NIC
$VirtualMachine = Add-AzureRmVMNetworkInterface -VM $VirtualMachine -Id $Interface.Id

# Add Disk
$OSDiskUri = $StorageAccount.PrimaryEndpoints.Blob.ToString() + $BlobDestinationContainer + "/" + $BlobNameDest

$VirtualMachine = Set-AzureRmVMOSDisk -VM $VirtualMachine -Name $OSDiskName -VhdUri $OSDiskUri -CreateOption fromImage -SourceImageUri $SourceImageUri -Linux

# Set SSH key
Add-AzureRmVMSshPublicKey -VM $VirtualMachine -Path “/home/$VMUserName/.ssh/authorized_keys” -KeyData $SSHKey

# Create the VM
New-AzureRmVM -ResourceGroupName $ResourceGroupName -Location $Location -VM $VirtualMachine
    Note

    These are the procedural steps as of the time of writing. For more information, see the following Azure documentation.

    The steps covered in the following article are for a Windows machine, however, most of the items are common between Windows and Linux.

1.2.2. Using the Azure Command-Line Interface

Complete the following steps to upload and provision the CloudForms virtual appliance using the Azure CLI.

1.2.2.1. Installing the Azure Command-Line Interface

Note

For a complete Azure CLI 2.0 command reference, see Azure CLI 2.0: Command reference - az.

  1. Import the Microsoft repository key. 

    $ sudo rpm --import https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc

  2. Create a local Azure CLI repository entry. 

    $ sudo sh -c 'echo -e "[azure-cli]\nname=Azure CLI\nbaseurl=https://packages.microsoft.com/yumrepos/azure-cli\nenabled=1\ngpgcheck=1\ngpgkey=https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc" > /etc/yum.repos.d/azure-cli.repo'

  3. Update the yum package index. 

    $ yum check-update

  4. Install the Azure CLI. 

    $ sudo yum install azure-cli

  5. Log in to Azure. 

    $ az login

Example:

To sign in, use a web browser to open the page https://aka.ms/devicelogin and enter the code GJP8Y33XY to authenticate.

[
  {
    "cloudName": "AzureCloud",
    "id": "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
    "isDefault": true,
    "name": "Demo Azure account",
    "state": "Enabled",
    "tenantId": "xxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
    "user": {
      "name": "clouduser",
      "type": "user"
    }
  }
]

1.2.2.2. Creating Resources for the Appliance in Microsoft Azure Using the Azure Command-Line Interface

Complete the following steps to create resources in Microsoft Azure using the Azure CLI.

Note

  1. Create a resource group in an Azure region. 

    $ az group create --name <resource-group> --location <azure-region>

Example:

[clouduser@localhost]$ az group create --name azrhelclirsgrp --location southcentralus
{
  "id": "/subscriptions//resourceGroups/azrhelclirsgrp",
  "location": "southcentralus",
  "managedBy": null,
  "name": "azrhelclirsgrp",
  "properties": {
    "provisioningState": "Succeeded"
  },
  "tags": null
}

  2. Create a storage account; see SKU type descriptions. 

    $ az storage account create -l <azure-region> -n <storage-account-name> -g <resource-group --sku <sku_type>

Example:

[clouduser@localhost]$ az storage account create -l southcentralus -n azrhelclistact -g azrhelclirsgrp --sku Standard_LRS
{
  "accessTier": null,
  "creationTime": "2017-04-05T19:10:29.855470+00:00",
  "customDomain": null,
  "encryption": null,
  "id": "/subscriptions//resourceGroups/azrhelclirsgrp/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/azrhelclistact",
  "kind": "Storage",
  "lastGeoFailoverTime": null,
  "location": "southcentralus",
  "name": "azrhelclistact",
  "primaryEndpoints": {
    "blob": "https://azrhelclistact.blob.core.windows.net/",
    "file": "https://azrhelclistact.file.core.windows.net/",
    "queue": "https://azrhelclistact.queue.core.windows.net/",
    "table": "https://azrhelclistact.table.core.windows.net/"
},
"primaryLocation": "southcentralus",
"provisioningState": "Succeeded",
"resourceGroup": "azrhelclirsgrp",
"secondaryEndpoints": null,
"secondaryLocation": null,
"sku": {
  "name": "Standard_LRS",
  "tier": "Standard"
},
"statusOfPrimary": "available",
"statusOfSecondary": null,
"tags": {},
  "type": "Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts"
}

  3. Get the storage account connection string. 

    $ az storage account show-connection-string -n <storage-account-name> -g <resource-group>

Example:

[clouduser@localhost]$ az storage account show-connection-string -n azrhelclistact -g azrhelclirsgrp
{
  "connectionString": "DefaultEndpointsProtocol=https;EndpointSuffix=core.windows.net;AccountName=azrhelclistact;AccountKey=NreGk...=="
}

  4. Export the connection string. Copy the connection string and paste it into the following command. This connects your system to the storage account. 

    $ export AZURE_STORAGE_CONNECTION_STRING="<storage-connection-string>"

Example:

[clouduser@localhost]$ export AZURE_STORAGE_CONNECTION_STRING="DefaultEndpointsProtocol=https;EndpointSuffix=core.windows.net;AccountName=azrhelclistact;AccountKey=NreGk...=="

  5. Create the storage container. 

    $ az storage container create -n <container-name>

Example:

[clouduser@localhost]$ az storage container create -n azrhelclistcont
{
  "created": true
}

  6. Create a virtual network. 

    $ az network vnet create -g <resource group> --name <vnet-name> --subnet-name <subnet-name>

Example:

[clouduser@localhost]$ az network vnet create --resource-group azrhelclirsgrp --name azrhelclivnet1 --subnet-name azrhelclisubnet1
{
  "newVNet": {
    "addressSpace": {
      "addressPrefixes": [
      "10.0.0.0/16"
      ]
  },
  "dhcpOptions": {
    "dnsServers": []
  },
  "etag": "W/\"\"",
  "id": "/subscriptions//resourceGroups/azrhelclirsgrp/providers/Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/azrhelclivnet1",
  "location": "southcentralus",
  "name": "azrhelclivnet1",
  "provisioningState": "Succeeded",
  "resourceGroup": "azrhelclirsgrp",
  "resourceGuid": "0f25efee-e2a6-4abe-a4e9-817061ee1e79",
  "subnets": [
    {
      "addressPrefix": "10.0.0.0/24",
      "etag": "W/\"\"",
      "id": "/subscriptions//resourceGroups/azrhelclirsgrp/providers/Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/azrhelclivnet1/subnets/azrhelclisubnet1",
      "ipConfigurations": null,
      "name": "azrhelclisubnet1",
      "networkSecurityGroup": null,
      "provisioningState": "Succeeded",
      "resourceGroup": "azrhelclirsgrp",
      "resourceNavigationLinks": null,
      "routeTable": null
    }
  ],
  "tags": {},
  "type": "Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks",
  "virtualNetworkPeerings": null
  }
}

1.2.2.3. Uploading and Provisioning the CloudForms Virtual Appliance Using the Azure Command-Line Interface

You can now upload and provision the appliance in an Azure environment using the Azure Command-Line Interface (Azure CLI).

  1. Upload the image to the storage container. It may take several minutes. Note: Enter az storage container list to get the list of storage containers. 

    $ az storage blob upload --account-name <storage-account-name> --container-name <container-name> --type page --file <path-to-vhd> --name <image-name>.vhd

Example:

$ az storage blob upload --account-name azrhelclistact --container-name azrhelclistcont --type page --file cfme-azure-5.8.2.3-1.x86_64.vhd --name cfme-azure-5.8.2.3-1.x86_64.vhd

Finished[#############################################################]  100.0000%

  2. Get the URL for the uploaded .vhd file using the following command. You will need to use this URL in the next step. 

    $ az storage blob url -c <container-name> -n <image-name>.vhd

Example:

$ az storage blob url -c azrhelclistcont -n cfme-azure-5.8.2.3-1.x86_64.vhd

"https://azrhelclistact.blob.core.windows.net/azrhelclistcont/cfme-azure-5.8.2.3-1.x86_64.vhd"

  3. Create a reusable image from a blob and then use a managed disk. 

    Example:

$ az image create -n <image-name> -g <cfme-appliance-group> --os-type <linux> --source <https://cfmestorageaccount.blob.core.windows.net/cfmestoragecontainer/cfme-azure-5.8.2.3-1.x86_64.vhd>

  4. Create the virtual machine. Note that the following command uses --generate-ssh-keys. In this example, the private/public key pair /home/clouduser/.ssh/id_rsa and /home/clouduser/.ssh/id_rsa.pub are created. 

    $ az vm create --resource-group <resource-group> --location <azure-region> --use-unmanaged-disk --name <vm-name> --storage-account <storage-account-name> --os-type linux --admin-username <administrator-name> --generate-ssh-keys --image <URL>

Example:

az vm create --resource-group azrhelclirsgrp --location southcentralus --use-unmanaged-disk --name cfme-appliance-1 --storage-account azrhelclistact --os-type linux --admin-username clouduser --generate-ssh-keys --image https://azrhelclistact.blob.core.windows.net/azrhelclistcont/cfme-azure-5.8.2.3-1.x86_64.vhd

{
  "fqdns": "",
  "id": "/subscriptions//resourceGroups/azrhelclirsgrp/providers/Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/cfme-appliance-1",
  "location": "southcentralus",
  "macAddress": "00-0X-XX-XX-XX-XX",
  "powerState": "VM running",
  "privateIpAddress": "10.0.0.4",
  "publicIpAddress": "12.84.121.147",
  "resourceGroup": "azrhelclirsgrp"
}

    Make a note of the public IP address. You will need this to log in to the virtual machine in the next step.

  5. Start an SSH session and log in to the appliance. 

    $ ssh -i <path-to-ssh-key> <admin-username@public-IP-address>

Example:

$ ssh  -i /home/clouduser/.ssh/id_rsa clouduser@12.84.121.147
The authenticity of host '12.84.121.147' can't be established.
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)? yes
Warning: Permanently added '12.84.121.147' (ECDSA) to the list of known hosts.

Welcome to the Appliance Console

For a menu, please type: appliance_console
  6. Enter sudo appliance_console at the prompt. The summary screen appears.

You have successfully provisioned a CloudForms virtual appliance in Microsoft Azure.

Note

The exported storage connection string does not persist after a system reboot. If any of the commands in the above steps fail, export the storage connection string again using the following commands:

  1. Get the storage account connection string. 

    $ az storage account show-connection-string -n <storage-account-name> -g <resource-group>

Example:

$ az storage account show-connection-string -n azrhelclistact -g azrhelclirsgrp
{
  "connectionString": "DefaultEndpointsProtocol=https;EndpointSuffix=core.windows.net;AccountName=azrhelclistact;AccountKey=NreGk...=="
}

  2. Export the connection string. Copy the connection string and paste it into the following command. This connects your system to the storage account. 

    $ export AZURE_STORAGE_CONNECTION_STRING="<storage-connection-string>"

Example:

$ export AZURE_STORAGE_CONNECTION_STRING="DefaultEndpointsProtocol=https;EndpointSuffix=core.windows.net;AccountName=azrhelclistact;AccountKey=NreGk...=="

Possible Next Steps:

Important

After uploading the Red Hat CloudForms appliance, you must configure the database for CloudForms; see Configuring a Database for Red Hat CloudForms.