Team Leader - Nutanix Technology Champion - Nutanix NTC Storyteller

Julien DUMUR
Infrastructure in a Nutshell

Nutanix EN

Nutanix: Simplified flow matrix

Published: 21 September 2024
Written by Julien D.
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Categories: Nutanix AHV EN, Nutanix EN

For those who have already had to implement it, the flow matrix presented on the Nutanix website is not always easy to read.

Many customers ask us during the pre-deployment preparation phase to assist them in opening the flows necessary for the proper functioning of their future Nutanix cluster.

Based on this observation, I took the initiative to create a simplified flow matrix to allow rapid implementation on network filtering equipment.

You can find the full version on my Github: https://github.com/Exe64/NUTANIX/blob/main/nutanix-hci-matrice-flux.xlsx

The document will evolve over time, particularly with the addition of various Nutanix software components.

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Nutanix AHV : post-install operations – Part 3

Published: 20 September 2024
Written by Julien D.
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Categories: Nutanix AHV EN, Nutanix EN
Nutanix Blog Header

After installing a cluster, changing passwords and performing basic configurations, there are still a few operations to be carried out…

Rename the default container

Connect to a CVM in your cluster and list all the existing containers on the cluster:

nutanix@CVM: ncli container list

All the containers and their associated details will then be displayed. Search the list for the container you want to rename and type the following command (WARNING: do not modify “NutanixManagementShare” or “SelfServiceContainer”):

nutanix@CVM: ncli container edit name=CURRENT_NAME new-name=NEW_NAME

Replace “CURRENT_NAME” with the name automatically generated by the system when creating the container, and NEW_NAME with the name you want to assign to this container, without putting any spaces or special characters other than the – and the _

Then check that your container has been correctly renamed with the command:

nutanix@CVM: ncli container list

Activate the data optimization mechanisms

Go to “Storage”, find the container you just renamed, select it and click on “Update”.

In the window that appears, click on “Advanced settings” and check the “Compression” box.

Click “Save” to validate your changes.

It is not recommended to enable ALL data optimization mechanisms on a single container.

The best practice is to create different containers with data optimization mechanisms adapted to the disks of the VMs that you will position on them.

Compression can be enabled in almost all use cases, except on:

  • containers containing encrypted data
  • containers containing compressed data

Erasure Coding is recommended in the following use cases:

  • Nutanix Object
  • Backups
  • Archives
  • File servers
  • Log servers
  • Mail servers (depending on usage)

Finally, deduplication should be reserved for the VDI part (virtual desktops).

Official documentation: https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/solutions/details?targetId=TN-2032-Data-Efficiency:data-reduction.html

Enable “Rebuild Capacity Reservation”

Enabling this feature allows you to reserve enough storage so that your cluster can continue to operate normally even if a node fails. This automatically excludes clusters of 1 or 2 nodes.

To enable this option, go to “Settings > Rebuild Capacity Reservation” and check the box:

Official documentation : https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/details?targetId=Web-Console-Guide-Prism-v6_8:wc-storage-rebuild-capacity-reserve-wc-c.html

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Nutanix AHV : post-install operations – Part 2

Published: 19 September 2024
Written by Julien D.
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Categories: Nutanix AHV EN, Nutanix EN
Nutanix Blog Header

After a successful installation of a Nutanix cluster, we saw in the previous article that it was imperative to modify the default passwords of your cluster. But that’s not the only thing to do…

Configuring Name Servers

Among the things to do after installing a Nutanix cluster, there is configuring DNS servers.

Go to “Settings > Names Servers” to display the field to add DNS servers:

For my part I would recommend configuring at least 2 to ensure redundancy in case of failure of one of the 2 servers, the limit imposed by Nutanix being 3. I chose Google DNS for my lab for convenience.

Add your DNS servers one by one by entering their address and clicking on “Add”.

Reference document: https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/details?targetId=Web-Console-Guide-Prism-v6_8:wc-system-name-servers-wc-t.html

Configuring NTP Servers and Time Zone

Among the things to do after installing a Nutanix cluster, there is also configuring NTP servers and time zone.

Go back to “Settings > NTP Settings” to see the field to add NTP servers.

Nutanix recommendations are as follows:

  • If possible, synchronize the time of Nutanix clusters with an internal source
  • If you do not have an internal NTP server, synchronize with recognized national servers
  • Specify at least 5 reliable and stable time sources with the lowest possible Stratum (3 offers no redundancy, 4 is the minimum to have redundancy, 5 is the publisher recommendation)
  • Do not use servers that are rate limited
  • Do not use a Windows time server

My recommendation is therefore to use an internal time server, but if you do not have one, I advise you to use the site: https://www.ntppool.org/

Then, select your geographic area then your country to display the servers closest to your cluster (in my case, France) :

All you have to do is add them one by one by adding their DNS address and clicking on “Add”.

To set the time zone, connect to one of the CVMs via SSH and type the command:

ncli cluster set-timezone timezone=cluster_timezone

You can find your timezone here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones

In my case, the command to run would be:

ncli cluster set-timezone timezone=Europe/Paris

To verify that your cluster is in the correct time zone, you can type the following command which will return the information about your cluster’s timezone:

ncli cluster info | egrep "Timezone"
    Timezone                  : Europe/Paris

Reference documents:

https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/details?targetId=Web-Console-Guide-Prism-v6_8:wc-ntp-server-time-sync-recommendations-c.html

https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/kbs/details?targetId=kA0600000008SNvCAM

Configuring Cluster Details

At the top left of the Prism Element interface, you will see the default name of your cluster “Unnamed”:

Click on it to view your cluster details:

On this window, you must fill in:

  • the name of your cluster
  • its FQDN (optional, if you have created a DNS record)
  • the Virtual IP
  • the Data Service IP
  • The Data Service IP is now required for the deployment of Prism Central

Once you have filled in all the fields, click on “Save”

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Nutanix: Remove Stuck Tasks

Published: 18 September 2024
Written by Julien D.
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Categories: Nutanix AHV EN, Nutanix EN
Nutanix Blog Header

Sometimes tasks may be stuck indefinitely on your cluster without ever completing or failing. In this case, you need to take manual action to resolve the issue.

Be careful, this operation is not without risks, which is why I strongly advise you to contact Nutanix support if you are not sure.

The first step is to check how long the task has been running. To do this, go to the tasks page and filter on the tasks currently running:

In this case, we can see that the task has been running for more than 10 months. No doubt, it is crashed and must be canceled manually.

To do this, you must connect to one of the CVMs and type the following command:

nutanix@CVM:~$ ecli task.list include_completed=false

You should have a return that looks like this:

Task UUID Parent Task UUID Component Sequence-id Type Status
37a430d3-b80b-4ae7-bfaf-9df5247e9ce7 Nutanix Guest Tools 282 MountGuestTools kQueued

Retrieve the UUID of the affected task and type the following command:

ergon_update_task –task_uuid='TASK_UUID' –task_status=aborted

In my case, that’s the command is need to execute:

ergon_update_task –task_uuid='37a430d3-b80b-4ae7-bfaf-9df5247e9ce7' –task_status=aborted

This will force the currently running task to be canceled.

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How much does my Nutanix cluster cost me?

Published: 17 September 2024
Written by Julien D.
1 Comment
Categories: Nutanix EN

As everyone knows, the cost of running a homelab is something to consider when you start setting up your infrastructure at home. Here is my feedback…

Mon homelab Nutanix

To start, it is good to take stock of the configuration of my homelab which I mainly use to carry out tests and write my articles.

It is a slightly old server based on an Intel S2600WTTR motherboard which was in service from early 2016 to mid 2020.

In terms of configuration, it is a dual-processor Intel Xeon E5-2640 @ 2.4GHz (10 cores 20 threads) with 384Gb of RAM.

For storage, I can count on:

  • 1 lambda SSD of 120GB for the system
  • 4 SAS SSDs of 800Gb of type WUSTR6480ASS204
  • 6 SAS HDDs of 1.8Tb (10k rpm) of type ST1800MM0129

Connectivity is limited to 2 onboard RJ45 ports supported by a 4-port network card.

A single connected power supply to avoid consuming too much energy (no critical applications, therefore no impact in the event of a failure).

Detailed Server Configuration: https://juliendumur.fr/nutanix-ahv-realiser-un-inventaire-materiel-exhaustif/

Motherboard product page: https://www.intel.fr/content/www/fr/fr/products/sku/88281/intel-server-board-s2600wttr/specifications.html

CPU product page : https://www.intel.fr/content/www/fr/fr/products/sku/92984/intel-xeon-processor-e52640-v4-25m-cache-2-40-ghz/specifications.html

That’s the configuration as a whole, now let’s see what it consumes…

Cluster power consumption

To be able to measure the power consumption of my cluster, I purchased a Meross smart plug (on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4d4p6q9) that I added to my HomeAssistant server.

This allows me to activate and deactivate the plug remotely and thus measure the power consumption of the devices and equipment connected to it.

In my case, the plug is dedicated to my Nutanix cluster in order to have the most accurate and consistent measurement possible.

On the graph, we can see:

  • August 18 and 19: the socket is in place but it is “off”
  • from August 20 to September 4: socket on but cluster off, consumption corresponds to the IPMI
  • September 5 and 6: cluster on during the day for repair
  • since September 8: cluster on 24/7

Consumption of the cluster off: approximately 440Wh per day

Consumption of the cluster on: approximately 5850Wh per day

Related to one year:

Consumption of the cluster off: 440 x 365 = 160.6 kWh

Consumption of the cluster on: 5850 x 365 = 2138.9 kWh

In terms of cost, this represents the following amounts at the regulated rate in France:

Cluster off: 160.6 x 0.25 = 40.15 euros

Cluster on: 2138.9 * 0.25 = 535 euros approximately

The operation of the cluster therefore represents a significant operating cost to take into account when you start creating an infrastructure at home. I find this consumption quite high, this is due to the age of my server which does not benefit from recent electrical optimizations. For my part, I only turn it on when I have tests, demonstrations to perform or des articles à écrire afin de limiter les coûts.

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Nutanix and HCI : Glossary and abbreviations

Published: 16 September 2024
Written by Julien D.
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Categories: Nutanix EN

This is a question that comes up regularly when people discover the Nutanix environment: “but what do all these expressions and acronyms mean?”

I took a little time to compile as many of these acronyms and technical terms as possible with their associated definitions.

There are probably some missing, but this page is destined to live in time.

AC2 – Acropolis Compute Cloud

ACS – Acropolis Container Services

ADE – Acropolis Data Encryption

ADFS – Acropolis Distributed FileSystem

ADS – Acropolis Dynamic Scheduler

AHV – Acropolis HyperVisor

AOS – Acropolis Operating System

Block awareness – When certain conditions are met, Nutanix clusters are “block aware”, which means that redundant copies of any data required to serve I/O are placed on nodes that are not in the same block

CVM – Controller Virtual Machine

FT2, FT3 – Redundancy Factor – (Fault Tolerance) – by default every Nutanix cluster has FT2, which means cluster can tolerate a loss of one node at time. With FT3, cluster can tolerate 2 nodes failures at the same time

HCI – HyperConverged Infrastructure

LWS – Nutanix Light Weight Snapshots

NC2 – Nutanix Cloud Clusters

NCC – Nutanix Cluster Check

NCM – Nutanix Cloud Manager

NGT – Nutanix Guest Tools

NIST – National Institute of Standards and Technology

Nutanix BEAM – SaaS servie for multi-cloud governance platform to manage spending, security and application flow

Nutanix Buckets – Nutanix Object storage

Nutanix CE – Nutanix Community Edition – Free version of commercial Nutanix AOS

Nutanix DataBase (former Era) – PaaS offerings to streamline and automate database operations

Nutanix DVP – Nutanix Docker Volume Plugin

Nutanix Files – Nutanix file server service

Nutanix Flow – Nutanix software define networking (SDN)

Nutanix Foundation – Nutanix clusters orchestration and automation provisioning tool

Nutanix LCM – Life Cycle Management

Nutanix Leap – (former name was Nutanix Xi DR – Nutanix Enterprise Cloud)

Nutanix Metis – allows you to qualify your platform hardware for compatibility with Nutanix software

Nutanix PC – Nutanix Prism Central (multi-cluster management)

Nutanix PE – Nutanix Prism Element (single cluster management)

Nutanix Pulse – call home feature

Nutanix Self Service (former Calm) – Nutanix Cloud Application Life-cycle Management

Nutanix SSP – Nutanix Self-Service Portal

Nutanix VirtIO – Nutanix drivers for virtual machines

Nutanix Volumes – (former name was ABS – Acropolis Block Services (iSCSI block storage presented to Guest VMs))

Nutanix X-Ray – X-Ray allows users to create custom test scenarios from X-Ray’s current test scenarios to better fit your needs

Nutanix Xplorer – scans your Microsoft SQL Server instances to automatically create recommended hardware configurations and platforms, so that you can migrate your SQL Server instances to a Nutanix Cloud Platform

OVS – Open vSwitch

RBAC -Role-Based Authentication Controls

RF=2, RF=3 – Replication Factor – simply saying, with RF=2 cluster keeps 2 copies of data, with RF=3 cluster keeps 3 copies of data

SAML – Security Assertion Markup Language

SCMA – Securitu Configuration Management Automation

STIGs – Security Technical Implementation Guides

SVM – Service Virtual Machine (legacy name for CVM)

xTract – Nutanix migration tool

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Nutanix Partner Tech Summit 2024 here we come!

Published: 12 September 2024
Written by Julien D.
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Categories: Nutanix EN
Nutanix Blog Header

On October 9 and 10, 2024, the Partner Tech Summit 2024 organized by Nutanix will take place in Paris at HPE’s premises in La Défense.

This event reserved for Nutanix partners will be an opportunity to:

  • exchange with Nutanix’s pre-sales teams
  • deepen our knowledge around Labs made available to us
  • attend around ten mini-conferences and super-sessions on Nutanix’s flagship technologies
  • prepare and pass the certifications we are missing

The provisional program for October 9:

nutanix partner tech 2024 pts

And for October 10:

The entire Mikadolabs consulting team will be on deck for this event which I hope will be as successful and interesting as last year.

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Nutanix AHV : post-install operations – Part 1

Published: 10 September 2024
Written by Julien D.
1 Comment
Categories: Community Edition EN, Nutanix AHV EN, Nutanix EN
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After a successful installation of Nutanix AHV, all passwords configured on the cluster are the default passwords “nutanix/4u” and it is imperative to change them for maximum security.

Recommendations regarding passwords complexity

You must choose strong passwords to secure your infrastructure and that they are unique!

The minimum complexity required by Nutanix is:

  • 8 characters
  • 1 lowercase letter minimum
  • 1 uppercase letter maximum
  • 1 number minimum
  • 1 special character

Some cluster passwords will also require you to respect certain constraints related to the password history.

Generally speaking, I would recommend that you use a password generator often integrated into your password management software to create your passwords and apply a length of at least 16 characters while respecting the complexity rules indicated above.

Prism Element admin password

This step is essential and you cannot bypass it. If this is your first time logging in, the login is “admin” and the password is “nutanix/4u”. You will be ask to configure a new password respecting the complexity criteria.

CVM “Nutanix” password

If you leave the default password, you will have critical alert messages on your Prism Element interface.

To fix this, connect to the IP of one of the CVMs in your cluster in SSH with the nutanix identifier and the default password nutanix/4u. Then, a simple “passwd” will allow you to configure a new password:

nutanix@NTNX-99110c89-A-CVM:~$ passwd
Changing password for user nutanix.
Current password:
New password:
Retype new password:
passwd: all authentication tokens updated successfully.
nutanix@NTNX-99110c89-A-CVM:~$

Enter the current password, then the new password twice in a row and that’s it!

Hosts passwords

Just, after an installation the passwords of the Nutanix hosts are always the default ones and this will generate critical alerts on the cluster.

To change the “root” password of the hosts, connect to one of the CVMs and type the associated command:

nutanix@NTNX-99110c89-A-CVM:192.168.2.200:~$ echo -e "CHANGING ALL AHV HOST ROOT PASSWORDS.\nPlease input new password: "; read -rs password1; echo "Confirm new password: "; read -rs password2; if [ "$password1" == "$password2" ]; then for host in $(hostips); do echo Host $host; echo $password1 | ssh root@$host "passwd --stdin root"; done; else echo "The passwords do not match"; fi

The system will then ask you to enter the new password twice:

CHANGING ALL AHV HOST ROOT PASSWORDS.
Please input new password:
Confirm new password:
Host 192.168.2.199
Nutanix AHV
Changing password for user root.

To change the “admin” password of the hosts, connect to one of the CVMs and type the associated command:

nutanix@NTNX-99110c89-A-CVM:192.168.2.200:~$ echo -e "CHANGING ALL AHV HOST ADMIN PASSWORDS.\nPlease input new password: "; read -rs password1; echo "Confirm new password: "; read -rs password2; if [ "$password1" == "$password2" ]; then for host in $(hostips); do echo Host $host; echo $password1 | ssh root@$host "passwd --stdin admin"; done; else echo "The passwords do not match"; fi

The system will then ask you to enter the new password twice:

CHANGING ALL AHV HOST ADMIN PASSWORDS.
Please input new password:
Confirm new password:
Host 192.168.2.199
Nutanix AHV
Changing password for user admin.
passwd: all authentication tokens updated successfully.

To change the “nutanix” password of the hosts, connect to one of the CVMs and type the associated command:

nutanix@NTNX-99110c89-A-CVM:192.168.2.200:~$ echo -e "CHANGING ALL AHV HOST NUTANIX PASSWORDS.\nPlease input new password: "; read -rs password1; echo "Confirm new password: "; read -rs password2; if [ "$password1" == "$password2" ]; then for host in $(hostips); do echo Host $host; echo $password1 | ssh root@$host "passwd --stdin nutanix"; done; else echo "The passwords do not match"; fi

The system will then ask you to enter the new password twice:

CHANGING ALL AHV HOST NUTANIX PASSWORDS.
Please input new password:
Confirm new password:
Host 192.168.2.199
Nutanix AHV
Changing password for user nutanix.
passwd: all authentication tokens updated successfully.

Official resources

Passwords modifications : https://portal.nutanix.com/page/documents/kbs/details?targetId=kA00e000000LKXcCAO

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Nutanix CE 2.1 : Deploy Prism Central PC.2024

Published: 8 September 2024
Written by Julien D.
8 Comments
Categories: Community Edition EN, Nutanix AHV EN, Nutanix EN
Nutanix Prism Central PC.2024

After reinstalling my cluster with the latest version of Nutanix Community Edition, I ran into a problem deploying Prism Central.

Indeed, no compatible version is offered as standard for installation:

Problematic you might say! Indeed, and to solve it we will have to recover the binaries to continue the installation manually…

Downloading Prism Central binaries

To recover the Prism Central binaries, you must go to this page: https://portal.nutanix.com/page/downloads?product=prism and identify yourself with your MyNutanix account.

Then, look for the package “Prism Central 1-click deploy from Prism Element

( Version: pc.2024.1.0.2 )”:

Click “Download” and “Metadata” to retrieve the installation package and associated metadata.

Deploying Prism Central

Before starting the deployment of Prism Central, the “Data Service IP” of your cluster must be configured!

Once the download is complete, on the Prism Element home page, click “Register or create new” on the Prism Central widget:

Then click on “Deploy” on the window that appears:

Click on “Upload Installation Binary”:

Select the metadata and binary files you just downloaded and click “Upload”:

Please wait while the transfer is taking place:

Once the transfer is complete, select the package and click “Next”:

Then select the size of Prism Central you want to deploy and click “Next”:

For more information on the X-Small version, do not hesitate to consult my dedicated article: https://juliendumur.fr/nutanix-aos-6-8-ests-et-prism-central-x-small/

Enter the network configuration then click on “Next”:

The last window is new in the latest versions, I advise you to leave the default settings and click on “Deploy”:

A little patience during the deployment:

Once the deployment is complete, go to your Prism Central address and authenticate yourself with the usual default pair of identifiers:

The very first time you log in, you will be asked to set a new password:

Then log in with the new password you just configured. Then validate the conditions of use:

Keep Pulse enabled:

If, like me, you then notice that your cluster is still not registered on Prism Central, return to Prism Element and restart the procedure, this time selecting “Connect”:

Fill in the connection details for your Prism Central and validate to start the recording:

Congratulations, your Prism Central in PC.2024 version is now operational on your Nutanix cluster under AOS 6.8

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Nutanix Technology Champion Tech Summit incoming!

Published: 6 September 2024
Written by Julien D.
1 Comment
Categories: Nutanix EN
ntc tech summit 2024

As many know, I have been designated Nutanix Technology Champion for the entire year 2024.

As such, I participated in May in the .NEXT which took place in Barcelona with some privileged access concocted by Angelo Luciani, the program manager.

It is with undisguised joy that I announce my participation in the Nutanix Technology Champion Tech Summit 2024 which will take place at the end of October at the Nutanix headquarters in San José, California!

This will be an opportunity to see all my dear NTC colleagues again and to discuss the latest innovations concocted by Nutanix. I will also be making part of the outward journey with Jeroen and Maroane, my 2 “partners in crime” of the program, from Amsterdam to San José!

I will not fail to share part of this adventure with you on the blog and / or social networks.

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