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Installing on Microsoft Azure

Installing ManageIQ

Installing ManageIQ consists of the following steps:

  1. Downloading the appliance for your environment as a virtual machine image template.

  2. Setting up a virtual machine based on the appliance.

  3. Configuring the ManageIQ appliance.

After you have completed all the procedures in this guide, you will have a working environment on which additional customizations and configurations can be performed.

Obtaining the ManageIQ Virtual Appliance

Uploading and Provisioning the ManageIQ 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 ManageIQ 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 ManageIQ appliance.

  • Microsoft Azure Account.

  • Administrator access to the Azure portal.

  • Depending on your infrastructure, allow time for the upload.

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 = "example.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 = "example.vhd"
    $BlobDestinationContainer = "vhds"
    $VMName = "example"
    $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.

Using the Azure Command-Line Interface

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

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"
        }
      }
    ]
    
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
      }
    }
    
Uploading and Provisioning the ManageIQ 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 <storage-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 example.vhd --name example.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 example.vhd
    
    "https://azrhelclistact.blob.core.windows.net/azrhelclistcont/example.vhd"
    
  3. Create a reusable image from a blob and then use a managed disk.

    Example:
    
    $ az image create -n <image-name> -g <appliance-group-name> --os-type <linux> --source <https://storage-account-name.blob.core.windows.net/storage-container-name/example.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 my-appliance-1 --storage-account azrhelclistact --os-type linux --admin-username clouduser --generate-ssh-keys --image https://azrhelclistact.blob.core.windows.net/azrhelclistcont/example.vhd
    
    {
      "fqdns": "",
      "id": "/subscriptions//resourceGroups/azrhelclirsgrp/providers/Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/my-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 ManageIQ 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...=="
    

Enabling ManageIQ User Interface Access

To access the ManageIQ virtual appliance user interface, you need to enable access over ports 80 and 443 to the virtual machine. You can do this using the CLI or from within the Azure portal.

  • To enable a port using the CLI, enter `az vm open-port –port --resource-group --name `.
  • To enable a port using the Microsoft Azure portal, open the properties for the resource group where the appliance is located, click on Network Security Group, and add HTTP and HTTPS access.

Configuring ManageIQ

After installing ManageIQ and running it for the first time, you must perform some basic configuration. You must complete these steps:

  1. Add a disk to the infrastructure that is hosting your appliance.

  2. Configure the database.

  3. Configure messaging

Configure the appliance by using the internal appliance console.

Accessing the Appliance Console

  1. Start the appliance and open a terminal console.

  2. Enter the appliance_console command. The ManageIQ appliance summary screen displays.

  3. Press Enter to manually configure settings.

  4. Press the number for the item you want to change, and press Enter. The options for your selection are displayed.

  5. Follow the prompts to make the changes.

  6. Press Enter to accept a setting where applicable.

Note:

The ManageIQ appliance console automatically logs out after five minutes of inactivity.

Configuring a Database

ManageIQ uses a database to store information about the environment. Before using ManageIQ, configure the database options for it; ManageIQ provides the following two options for database configuration:

Configuring an Internal Database

Before installing an internal database, add a disk to the infrastructure hosting your appliance. See the documentation specific to your infrastructure for instructions for adding a disk. As a storage disk usually cannot be added while a virtual machine is running, Red Hat recommends adding the disk before starting the appliance. ManageIQ only supports installing of an internal VMDB on blank disks; installation will fail if the disks are not blank.

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  1. Start the appliance and open a terminal console.

  2. Enter the appliance_console command. The ManageIQ appliance summary screen displays.

  3. Press Enter to manually configure settings.

  4. Select Configure Application from the menu.

  5. You are prompted to create or fetch an encryption key.

    • If this is the first ManageIQ appliance, choose Create key.

    • If this is not the first ManageIQ appliance, choose Fetch key from remote machine to fetch the key from the first appliance. For worker and multi-region setups, use this option to copy key from another appliance.

      Note:

      All ManageIQ appliances in a multi-region deployment must use the same key.

  6. Choose Create Internal Database for the database location.

    In the Configure Messaging menu, select Make No messaging changes. If you see Configuration failed: Internal database require a volume mounted at /var/lib/pgsql. Please add an unpartitioned disk and try again. message, then ensure to add a second disk for the database per instructions as defined above.

  7. Choose a disk for the database. This can be either a disk you attached previously, or a partition on the current disk.

    Red Hat recommends using a separate disk for the database.

    If there is an unpartitioned disk attached to the virtual machine, the dialog will show options similar to the following:

    1) /dev/vdb: 20480
    2) Don't partition the disk
    
    • Enter 1 to choose /dev/vdb for the database location. This option creates a logical volume using this device and mounts the volume to the appliance in a location appropriate for storing the database. The default location is /var/lib/pgsql, which can be found in the environment variable $APPLIANCE_PG_MOUNT_POINT.

    • Enter 2 to continue without partitioning the disk. A second prompt will confirm this choice. Selecting this option results in using the root filesystem for the data directory (not advised in most cases).

  8. Enter Y or N for Should this appliance run as a standalone database server?

    • Select Y to configure the appliance as a database-only appliance. As a result, the appliance is configured as a basic PostgreSQL server, without a user interface.

    • Select N to configure the appliance with the full administrative user interface.

  9. When prompted, enter a unique number to create a new region.

    Creating a new region destroys any existing data on the chosen database.
  10. Create and confirm a password for the database.

ManageIQ then configures the internal database. This takes a few minutes. After the database is created and initialized, you can log in to ManageIQ.

Configuring an External Database

Based on your setup, you will choose to configure the appliance to use an external PostgreSQL database. For example, we can only have one database in a single region. However, a region can be segmented into multiple zones, such as database zone, user interface zone, and reporting zone, where each zone provides a specific function. The appliances in these zones must be configured to use an external database.

The postgresql.conf file requires specific settings for correct operation. For example, it must correctly reclaim table space, control session timeouts, and format the PostgreSQL server log for improved system support. It is recommended that external databases use a postgresql.conf file based on the standard file used by the ManageIQ appliance.

Ensure you configure the settings in the postgresql.conf to suit your system. For example, customize the shared_buffers setting according to the amount of real storage available in the external system hosting the PostgreSQL instance. In addition, depending on the aggregate number of appliances expected to connect to the PostgreSQL instance, it may be necessary to alter the max_connections setting.

Note:

  • ManageIQ requires PostgreSQL version 13.

  • postgresql.conf controls the operation of all databases managed by the PostgreSQL instance, therefore it is not recommended to run other databases on this PostgreSQL instance.

  1. Start the appliance and open a terminal console.

  2. Enter the appliance_console command. The appliance console summary screen will be displayed.

  3. Press Enter to manually configure settings.

  4. Select Configure Application from the menu.

  5. Choose Create Region in External Database for the database location.

  6. Enter the database hostname or IP address when prompted.

  7. Enter the database name or leave blank for the default (vmdb_production).

  8. Enter the database username or leave blank for the default (root).

  9. Enter the chosen database user’s password.

  10. Confirm the configuration if prompted.

ManageIQ will then configure the external database.

Configure Messaging

Configuring messaging is required for appliance setup. It is recommended to configure the broker on the same appliance where your database is configured

Note: You can only have one kafka broker per region

  1. You can either configure the current appliance as a kafka broker, or point the appliance to an existing external kafka broker.

    Select the appropriate option either Configure this appliance as a messaging server or Connect to an external messaging system to connect to an external kafka broker. You will be asked to fill in the required Message Client Parameters like IP address and username/password.

  2. Select Proceed and appliance_console will apply the configuration that you have requested then restart evmserverd to pick up the changes.

Note: It is recommended to use your Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) as the messaging hostname rather than localhost, ensure that a resolvable and reachable non-localhost name entry is present in /etc/hosts

Configuring a Worker Appliance

You can use multiple appliances to facilitate horizontal scaling, as well as for dividing up work by roles. Accordingly, configure an appliance to handle work for one or many roles, with workers within the appliance carrying out the duties for which they are configured. You can configure a worker appliance through the terminal. The following steps demonstrate how to join a worker appliance to an appliance that already has a region configured with a database and messaging.

  1. Start the appliance and open a terminal console.

  2. Enter the appliance_console command. The ManageIQ appliance summary screen displays.

  3. Press Enter to manually configure settings.

  4. Select Configure Application from the menu.

  5. You are prompted to create or fetch a security key. Since this is not the first ManageIQ appliance, choose 2) Fetch key from remote machine. For worker and multi-region setups, use this option to copy the security key from another appliance.

    Note:

    All ManageIQ appliances in a multi-region deployment must use the same key.

  6. Choose Join Region in External Database for the database location.

  7. Enter the database hostname or IP address when prompted.

  8. Enter the port number or leave blank for the default (5432).

  9. Enter the database name or leave blank for the default (vmdb_production).

  10. Enter the database username or leave blank for the default (root).

  11. Enter the chosen database user’s password.

  12. Confirm the configuration if prompted.

  13. Choose Connect to an external messaging system to connect to the external kafka broker located on the appliance with the external database

    Note: You can only have one kafka broker per region

  14. Enter the necessary Message Client Parameters such as the hostname/IP and username/password

  15. Confirm the configuration if prompted.

Logging In After Installing ManageIQ

Once ManageIQ is installed, you can log in and perform administration tasks.

Log in to ManageIQ for the first time after installing by:

  1. Browse to the URL for the login screen. (https://xx.xx.xx.xx on the virtual machine instance)

  2. Enter the default credentials (Username: admin | Password: smartvm) for the initial login.

  3. Click Login.

Changing the Default Login Password

Change your password to ensure more private and secure access to ManageIQ.

  1. Browse to the URL for the login screen. (https://xx.xx.xx.xx on the virtual machine instance)

  2. Click Update Password beneath the Username and Password text fields.

  3. Enter your current Username and Password in the text fields.

  4. Input a new password in the New Password field.

  5. Repeat your new password in the Verify Password field.

  6. Click Login.

Appendix

Appliance Console Command-Line Interface (CLI)

Currently, the appliance_console_cli feature is a subset of the full functionality of the appliance_console itself, and covers functions most likely to be scripted by using the command-line interface (CLI).

  1. After starting the ManageIQ appliance, log in with a user name of root and the default password of smartvm. This displays the Bash prompt for the root user.

  2. Enter the appliance_console_cli or appliance_console_cli --help command to see a list of options available with the command, or simply enter appliance_console_cli --option <argument> directly to use a specific option.

Database Configuration Options

   
Option Description
–region (-r) region number (create a new region in the database - requires database credentials passed)
–internal (-i) internal database (create a database on the current appliance)
–dbdisk database disk device path (for configuring an internal database)
–hostname (-h) database hostname
–port database port (defaults to 5432)
–username (-U) database username (defaults to root)
–password (-p) database password
–dbname (-d) database name (defaults to vmdb_production)

v2_key Options

   
Option Description
–key (-k) create a new v2_key
–fetch-key (-K) fetch the v2_key from the given host
–force-key (-f) create or fetch the key even if one exists
–sshlogin ssh username for fetching the v2_key (defaults to root)
–sshpassword ssh password for fetching the v2_key

IPA Server Options

   
Option Description
–host (-H) set the appliance hostname to the given name
–ipaserver (-e) IPA server FQDN
–ipaprincipal (-n) IPA server principal (default: admin)
–ipapassword (-w) IPA server password
–ipadomain (-o) IPA server domain (optional). Will be based on the appliance domain name if not specified.
–iparealm (-l) IPA server realm (optional). Will be based on the domain name of the ipaserver if not specified.
–uninstall-ipa (-u) uninstall IPA client

Note:

  • In order to configure authentication through an IPA server, in addition to using Configure External Authentication (httpd) in the appliance_console, external authentication can be optionally configured via the appliance_console_cli (command-line interface).

  • Specifying –host will update the hostname of the appliance. If this step was already performed via the appliance_console and the necessary updates that are made to /etc/hosts if DNS is not properly configured, the –host option can be omitted.

Certificate Options

   
Option Description
–ca (-c) CA name used for certmonger (default: ipa)
–postgres-client-cert (-g) install certs for postgres client
–postgres-server-cert install certs for postgres server
–http-cert install certs for http server (to create certs/httpd* values for a unique key)
–extauth-opts (-x) external authentication options

Note: The certificate options augment the functionality of the certmonger tool and enable creating a certificate signing request (CSR), and specifying certmonger the directories to store the keys.

Other Options

   
Option Description
–logdisk (-l) log disk path
–tmpdisk initialize the given device for temp storage (volume mounted at /var/www/miq_tmp)
–verbose (-v) print more debugging info

Example Usage.

$ ssh root@appliance.test.company.com

To create a new database locally on the server by using /dev/sdb:

# appliance_console_cli --internal --dbdisk /dev/sdb --region 0 --password smartvm

To copy the v2_key from a host some.example.com to local machine:

# appliance_console_cli --fetch-key some.example.com --sshlogin root --sshpassword smartvm

You could combine the two to join a region where db.example.com is the appliance hosting the database:

# appliance_console_cli --fetch-key db.example.com --sshlogin root --sshpassword smartvm --hostname db.example.com --password mydatabasepassword

To configure external authentication:

# appliance_console_cli --host appliance.test.company.com
                        --ipaserver ipaserver.test.company.com
                        --ipadomain test.company.com
                        --iparealm TEST.COMPANY.COM
                        --ipaprincipal admin
                        --ipapassword smartvm1

To uninstall external authentication:

# appliance_console_cli  --uninstall-ipa

Storage SKU Types

SKU Type Description
Standard_LRS Locally Redundant Storage: Synchronous copies of data are created within a single data center.
Standard_GRS Geographically Redundant Storage: Same as Standard_LRS with additional asynchronous copies stored in a secondary data center in a separate geographical location.
Standard_RAGRS Read-Access Geographically Redundant Storage: Same as Standard_GRS with additional read access to the secondary data center.
Standard_ZRS Zone Redundant Storage: For block blobs only. Stores three copies of data across multiple data centers within the region or across regions.
Premium_LRS Premium Locally Redundant Storage: Same as Standard_LRS, but uses Premium Storage disks.

Storage SKU types