Planning for the procedure
Background knowledge
This procedure assumes that:
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you are installing into an existing VMware vSphere deployment which has pre-configured networks and VLANs; this procedure does not cover setting up a VMware vSphere deployment from scratch
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you know the IP networking information (IP address, subnet mask in CIDR notation, and default gateway) for the nodes.
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you have read the installation guidelines at Installation and upgrades and have everything you need to carry out the installation.
Reserve maintenance period
This procedure does not require a maintenance period. However, if you are integrating into a live network, we recommend that you implement measures to mitigate any unforeseen events.
Tools and access
This page references an external document: the SIMPL VM Documentation. Ensure you have a copy available before proceeding.
Installation Questions
| Question | More information |
|---|---|
Do you have the correct CSARs? |
All virtual appliances use the naming convention - |
Do you have a list of the IP addresses that you intend to give to each node of each node type? |
Each node requires an IP address for each interface. You can find a list of the VM’s interfaces on the Traffic types and traffic schemes page. |
Do you have DNS and NTP Server information? |
It is expected that the deployed nodes will integrate with the IMS Core NTP and DNS servers. |
Method of procedure
Step 1 - Extract the CSAR
This can either be done on your local Linux machine or on a SIMPL VM.
Option A - Running on a local machine
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If you plan to do all operations from your local Linux machine instead of SIMPL,
Docker must be installed to run the rvtconfig tool in a later step.
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To extract the CSAR, run the command: unzip <path to CSAR> -d <new directory to extract CSAR to>
Option B - Running on an existing SIMPL VM
For this step, the SIMPL VM does not need to be running on the VMware vSphere where the deployment takes place. It is sufficient to use a SIMPL VM on a lab system to prepare for a production deployment.
Transfer the CSAR onto the SIMPL VM and run
csar unpack <path to CSAR>, where <path to CSAR> is the full path to the transferred CSAR.
This will unpack the CSAR to ~/.local/share/csar/.
Step 2 - Write the SDF
The Solution Definition File (SDF) contains all the information required to set up your cluster. It is therefore crucial to ensure all information in the SDF is correct before beginning the deployment. One SDF should be written per deployment.
It is recommended that the SDF is written before starting the deployment.
The SDF must be named sdf-rvt.yaml.
In addition, you will need to write a secrets file and upload its contents to QSG.
For security, the SDF no longer contains plaintext values of secrets
(such as the password to access the VM host).
Instead, the SDF contains secret IDs which refer to secrets stored in QSG.
See the various pages in the Writing an SDF section for more detailed information.
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Each deployment needs a unique |
Example SDFs are included in every CSAR and can also be found at Example SDFs. We recommend that you start from a template SDF and edit it as desired instead of writing an SDF from scratch.
