Preface

Self-hosted engine installation is automated using Ansible. The installation script (hosted-engine --deploy) runs on an initial deployment host, and the Red Hat Virtualization Manager (or "engine") is installed and configured on a virtual machine that is created on the deployment host. The Manager and Data Warehouse databases are installed on the Manager virtual machine, but can be migrated to a separate server post-installation if required.

Hosts that can run the Manager virtual machine are referred to as self-hosted engine nodes. At least two self-hosted engine nodes are required to support the high availability feature.

A storage domain dedicated to the Manager virtual machine is referred to as the self-hosted engine storage domain. This storage domain is created by the installation script, so the underlying storage must be prepared before beginning the installation.

See the Planning and Prerequisites Guide for information on environment options and recommended configuration. See Self-Hosted Engine Recommendations for configuration specific to a self-hosted engine environment.

Table 1. Red Hat Virtualization Key Components

Component NameDescription

Red Hat Virtualization Manager

A service that provides a graphical user interface and a REST API to manage the resources in the environment. The Manager is installed on a physical or virtual machine running Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

Hosts

Red Hat Enterprise Linux hosts (RHEL hosts) and Red Hat Virtualization Hosts (image-based hypervisors) are the two supported types of host. Hosts use Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) technology and provide resources used to run virtual machines.

Shared Storage

A storage service is used to store the data associated with virtual machines.

Data Warehouse

A service that collects configuration information and statistical data from the Manager.

Self-Hosted Engine Architecture

The Red Hat Virtualization Manager runs as a virtual machine on self-hosted engine nodes (specialized hosts) in the same environment it manages. A self-hosted engine environment requires one less physical server, but requires more administrative overhead to deploy and manage. The Manager is highly available without external HA management.

The minimum setup of a self-hosted engine environment includes:

  • One Red Hat Virtualization Manager virtual machine that is hosted on the self-hosted engine nodes. The RHV-M Appliance is used to automate the installation of a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 virtual machine, and the Manager on that virtual machine.
  • A minimum of two self-hosted engine nodes for virtual machine high availability. You can use Red Hat Enterprise Linux hosts or Red Hat Virtualization Hosts (RHVH). VDSM (the host agent) runs on all hosts to facilitate communication with the Red Hat Virtualization Manager. The HA services run on all self-hosted engine nodes to manage the high availability of the Manager virtual machine.
  • One storage service, which can be hosted locally or on a remote server, depending on the storage type used. The storage service must be accessible to all hosts.

Figure 1. Self-Hosted Engine Red Hat Virtualization Architecture

Self-Hosted Engine Red Hat Virtualization Architecture