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”.
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:
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
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.
The command first returns general information about the cluster (name, ID, UUID, Version, IPs, etc.):
####################################################
# TIMESTAMP : Fri Jul 26 09:07:43 2024 (UTC +0000) #
####################################################
Cluster Name: MiddleEarth
Cluster Id: 585086141872525258
Cluster UUID: 00061c09-6abd-7835-081e-a4bf0150cfca
Cluster Version: 6.5.2
NCC Version: 4.6.6.3-5e8b6399
CVM ID(Svmid) : 2
CVM external IP : 192.168.2.200
Hypervisor IP : 192.168.2.199
Hypervisor version : Nutanix 20220304.342
IPMI IP : 192.168.2.139
Node serial : BQWL80251503
Model : CommunityEdition
Node Position : A
Block S/N : e854cc31
Then the command will start to return general information about the cluster, namely the hypervisor, the manufacturer, all the node information (position, host name, manufacturer, model, serial number, etc.), the BIOS and management interface information as well:
Running /hardware_info/show_hardware_info [ INFO ]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Detailed information for show_hardware_info:
Node 192.168.2.200:
INFO:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Updated: Thu, 25 Jul 2024 12:54:59 UTC
Host UUID: 22dd9131-373f-482a-818f-c60b06988a7d
CVM IP: 192.168.2.200
Hypervisor Version:el7.nutanix.20220304.342
NOS Version:el7.3-release-fraser-6.5.2-stable-f2ce4db7d67f495ebfd6208bef9ab0afec9c74af
NCC Version:4.6.6.3-5e8b6399
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nutanix Product Info
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Manufacturer | Intel Corporation |
| Product name | CommunityEdition |
| Product part number | CommunityEdition |
| Configured Serial Number | e854cc31 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Chassis
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Bootup state | Safe |
| Manufacturer | ............................... |
| Serial number | .................. |
| Thermal state | Safe |
| Version | .................. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Node Module
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Node Position | A |
| Bootup state | Safe |
| Host name | NTNX-e854cc31-A |
| Hypervisor type | KVM |
| Manufacturer | Intel Corporation |
| Product name | S2600WTTR |
| Product part number | G92187-372 |
| Serial number | BQWL80251503 |
| Thermal state | Safe |
| Version | G92187-372 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
BIOS Information
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Release date | 09/02/2020 |
| Revision | 0.0 |
| Rom size | 16384 KB |
| Vendor | Intel Corporation |
| Version | SE5C610.86B.01.01.1029.090220201031 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
BMC
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Device id | 33 |
| Device available | True |
| Device revision | 1 |
| Firmware revision | 1.61.1 |
| Ipmi version | 2.0 |
| Manufacturer | Intel Corporation |
| Manufacturer id | 343 |
| Product id | 111 (0x006f) |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
The storage controller is then listed:
Storage Controller
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Location | ioc0 |
| Driver name | virtio-pci |
| Manufacturer | Red Hat, Inc. |
| Status | running |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Location | ioc0 |
| Driver name | virtio-pci |
| Manufacturer | Red Hat, Inc. |
| Status | running |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Then it’s the turn of all the general information on the installed memory:
Physical Memory Array
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Bank | NODE 1 |
| Configured slots | 5 |
| Max size | 384 GB |
| Num slots | 12 |
| Total installed size | 160 GB |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Bank | NODE 2 |
| Configured slots | 6 |
| Max size | 384 GB |
| Num slots | 12 |
| Total installed size | 192 GB |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Then the information concerning the power supplies is displayed:
System Power Supply
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Location | Pwr Supply 1 FRU (ID 2) |
| Manufacturer | None |
| Max power capacity | 0.0 W |
| Product part number | G84027-009 |
| Revision | None |
| Serial number | EXWD80400190 |
| Status | OK |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Location | Pwr Supply 2 FRU (ID 3) |
| Manufacturer | None |
| Max power capacity | 0.0 W |
| Product part number | G84027-009 |
| Revision | None |
| Serial number | EXWD82000830 |
| Status | OK |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Location | To Be Filled By O.E.M. |
| Manufacturer | To Be Filled By O.E.M. |
| Max power capacity | 0.0 W |
| Product part number | To Be Filled By O.E.M. |
| Revision | To Be Filled By O.E.M. |
| Serial number | To Be Filled By O.E.M. |
| Status | Unknown |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Then those concerning the processor(s):
Processor Information
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Socket designation | Socket 1 |
| Core count | 10 |
| Core enabled | 10 |
| Current speed | 2400 MHz |
| External clock | 100 MHz |
| Id | 0xbfebfbff000406f1L |
| L1 cache size | 640 KB |
| L2 cache size | 2560 KB |
| L3 cache size | 25600 KB |
| Max speed | 4000 MHz |
| Status | POPULATED |
| Thread count | 20 |
| Type | Central |
| Version | Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2640 v4 @ 2.40GHz |
| Voltage | 1.8 V |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Socket designation | Socket 2 |
| Core count | 10 |
| Core enabled | 10 |
| Current speed | 2400 MHz |
| External clock | 100 MHz |
| Id | 0xbfebfbff000406f1L |
| L1 cache size | 640 KB |
| L2 cache size | 2560 KB |
| L3 cache size | 25600 KB |
| Max speed | 4000 MHz |
| Status | POPULATED |
| Thread count | 20 |
| Type | Central |
| Version | Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2640 v4 @ 2.40GHz |
| Voltage | 1.8 V |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Next comes the detailed information for each installed RAM unit:
Memory Module
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Location | DIMM_A1 |
| Bank connection | NODE 1 |
| Capable speed | 2667.000000 MHz |
| Current speed | 2134 MHz |
| Installed size | 32768 MB |
| Manufacturer | Samsung |
| Product part number | M393A4K40CB2-CTD |
| Serial number | 401EA4F9 |
| Type | DDR4 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Location | DIMM_A2 |
| Bank connection | NODE 1 |
| Capable speed | 2667.000000 MHz |
| Current speed | 2134 MHz |
| Installed size | 32768 MB |
| Manufacturer | Samsung |
| Product part number | M393A4K40CB2-CTD |
| Serial number | 401E96DC |
| Type | DDR4 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Location | DIMM_B1 |
| Bank connection | NODE 1 |
| Capable speed | 2667.000000 MHz |
| Current speed | 2134 MHz |
| Installed size | 32768 MB |
| Manufacturer | Samsung |
| Product part number | M393A4K40CB2-CTD |
| Serial number | 401E97B9 |
| Type | DDR4 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Location | DIMM_B2 |
| Bank connection | NODE 1 |
| Capable speed | 2667.000000 MHz |
| Current speed | 2134 MHz |
| Installed size | 32768 MB |
| Manufacturer | Samsung |
| Product part number | M393A4K40CB2-CTD |
| Serial number | 401EA624 |
| Type | DDR4 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Location | DIMM_C1 |
| Bank connection | NODE 1 |
| Capable speed | 2667.000000 MHz |
| Current speed | 2134 MHz |
| Installed size | 32768 MB |
| Manufacturer | Samsung |
| Product part number | M393A4K40CB2-CTD |
| Serial number | 401EA4AB |
| Type | DDR4 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Location | DIMM_E1 |
| Bank connection | NODE 2 |
| Capable speed | 2667.000000 MHz |
| Current speed | 2134 MHz |
| Installed size | 32768 MB |
| Manufacturer | Samsung |
| Product part number | M393A4K40CB2-CTD |
| Serial number | 401EA625 |
| Type | DDR4 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Location | DIMM_E2 |
| Bank connection | NODE 2 |
| Capable speed | 2667.000000 MHz |
| Current speed | 2134 MHz |
| Installed size | 32768 MB |
| Manufacturer | Samsung |
| Product part number | M393A4K40CB2-CTD |
| Serial number | 401E97AC |
| Type | DDR4 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Location | DIMM_F1 |
| Bank connection | NODE 2 |
| Capable speed | 2667.000000 MHz |
| Current speed | 2134 MHz |
| Installed size | 32768 MB |
| Manufacturer | Samsung |
| Product part number | M393A4K40CB2-CTD |
| Serial number | 401EA591 |
| Type | DDR4 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Location | DIMM_F2 |
| Bank connection | NODE 2 |
| Capable speed | 2667.000000 MHz |
| Current speed | 2134 MHz |
| Installed size | 32768 MB |
| Manufacturer | Samsung |
| Product part number | M393A4K40CB2-CTD |
| Serial number | 401EA5D8 |
| Type | DDR4 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Location | DIMM_G1 |
| Bank connection | NODE 2 |
| Capable speed | 2667.000000 MHz |
| Current speed | 2134 MHz |
| Installed size | 32768 MB |
| Manufacturer | Samsung |
| Product part number | M393A4K40CB2-CTD |
| Serial number | 401EA1E7 |
| Type | DDR4 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Location | DIMM_H1 |
| Bank connection | NODE 2 |
| Capable speed | 2667.000000 MHz |
| Current speed | 2134 MHz |
| Installed size | 32768 MB |
| Manufacturer | Samsung |
| Product part number | M393A4K40CB2-CTD |
| Serial number | 401EA4A9 |
| Type | DDR4 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Then the information concerning the installed network cards:
NIC
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Location | eth0 |
| Device name | eth0 |
| Driver name | ixgbe |
| Firmware version | 0x800004f8 |
| Mac address | a4:bf:01:50:cf:ca |
| Manufacturer | Intel Corporation(8086) |
| Product name | Ethernet Controller 10-Gigabit X540-AT2(1528) |
| Sub device | Subsystem device 35c5(35c5) |
| Sub vendor | Intel Corporation(8086) |
| Driver Version | 5.16.5 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Location | eth1 |
| Device name | eth1 |
| Driver name | ixgbe |
| Firmware version | 0x800004f8 |
| Mac address | a4:bf:01:50:cf:cb |
| Manufacturer | Intel Corporation(8086) |
| Product name | Ethernet Controller 10-Gigabit X540-AT2(1528) |
| Sub device | Subsystem device 35c5(35c5) |
| Sub vendor | Intel Corporation(8086) |
| Driver Version | 5.16.5 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
All installed storage disks, HDD and SSD, are then displayed:
SSD
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Capacity | 120.0 GB |
| Firmware version | 2.22 |
| Hypervisor disk | True |
| Power on hours | 0 |
| Product part number | OCZ-AGILITY3 |
| Secured boot disk | False |
| Serial number | OCZ-6F95UNJ029ACBIFD |
| Smartctl status | PASSED |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Capacity | 800.0 GB |
| Firmware version | C925 |
| Hypervisor disk | True |
| Manufacturer | WDC |
| Power on hours | 0 |
| Product part number | WUSTR6480ASS204 |
| Secured boot disk | False |
| Serial number | V6V2TU8A |
| Smartctl status | OK |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Location | 5 |
| Capacity | 500.0 GB |
| Firmware version | RVT04B6Q |
| Hypervisor disk | True |
| Power on hours | 3921 |
| Product part number | Samsung SSD 860 EVO 500GB |
| Secured boot disk | False |
| Serial number | S4CNNX0N803693N |
| Smartctl status | PASSED |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Location | 6 |
| Capacity | 800.0 GB |
| Firmware version | C925 |
| Hypervisor disk | True |
| Manufacturer | WDC |
| Power on hours | 0 |
| Product part number | WUSTR6480ASS204 |
| Secured boot disk | False |
| Serial number | V6V2PDUA |
| Smartctl status | OK |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Location | 8 |
| Capacity | 800.0 GB |
| Firmware version | C925 |
| Hypervisor disk | True |
| Manufacturer | WDC |
| Power on hours | 0 |
| Product part number | WUSTR6480ASS204 |
| Secured boot disk | False |
| Serial number | V6V2U2TA |
| Smartctl status | OK |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Location | 9 |
| Capacity | 800.0 GB |
| Firmware version | C925 |
| Hypervisor disk | True |
| Manufacturer | WDC |
| Power on hours | 0 |
| Product part number | WUSTR6480ASS204 |
| Secured boot disk | False |
| Serial number | V6V2SYZA |
| Smartctl status | OK |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Location | 10 |
| Capacity | 500.0 GB |
| Firmware version | RVT04B6Q |
| Hypervisor disk | True |
| Power on hours | 3926 |
| Product part number | Samsung SSD 860 EVO 500GB |
| Secured boot disk | False |
| Serial number | S4CNNX0N803688F |
| Smartctl status | PASSED |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Location | 12 |
| Capacity | 800.0 GB |
| Firmware version | C925 |
| Hypervisor disk | True |
| Manufacturer | WDC |
| Power on hours | 0 |
| Product part number | WUSTR6480ASS204 |
| Secured boot disk | False |
| Serial number | V6V2L6LA |
| Smartctl status | OK |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
HDD
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Capacity | 1800.0 GB |
| Firmware version | C004 |
| Hypervisor disk | True |
| Manufacturer | SEAGATE |
| Power on hours | 0 |
| Product part number | ST1800MM0129 |
| Rotation rate | 10500 rpm |
| Secured boot disk | False |
| Serial number | WBN3AW060000C036516V |
| Smartctl status | OK |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Capacity | 1800.0 GB |
| Firmware version | C003 |
| Hypervisor disk | True |
| Manufacturer | SEAGATE |
| Power on hours | 0 |
| Product part number | ST1800MM0129 |
| Rotation rate | 10500 rpm |
| Secured boot disk | False |
| Serial number | WBN1FVRH0000K9277TAC |
| Smartctl status | OK |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Capacity | 1800.0 GB |
| Firmware version | C003 |
| Hypervisor disk | True |
| Manufacturer | SEAGATE |
| Power on hours | 0 |
| Product part number | ST1800MM0129 |
| Rotation rate | 10500 rpm |
| Secured boot disk | False |
| Serial number | WBN1B7QZ0000K923B2PF |
| Smartctl status | OK |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Capacity | 1800.0 GB |
| Firmware version | None |
| Hypervisor disk | False |
| Manufacturer | Seagate |
| Power on hours | 0 |
| Product part number | ST1800MM0129 |
| Rotation rate | 0 rpm |
| Secured boot disk | False |
| Serial number | None |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Capacity | 500.0 GB |
| Firmware version | None |
| Hypervisor disk | False |
| Power on hours | 0 |
| Product part number | Samsung SSD 860 |
| Rotation rate | 0 rpm |
| Secured boot disk | False |
| Serial number | None |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Capacity | 1800.0 GB |
| Firmware version | None |
| Hypervisor disk | False |
| Manufacturer | Seagate |
| Power on hours | 0 |
| Product part number | ST1800MM0129 |
| Rotation rate | 0 rpm |
| Secured boot disk | False |
| Serial number | None |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Capacity | 1800.0 GB |
| Firmware version | None |
| Hypervisor disk | False |
| Manufacturer | Seagate |
| Power on hours | 0 |
| Product part number | ST1800MM0129 |
| Rotation rate | 0 rpm |
| Secured boot disk | False |
| Serial number | None |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Capacity | 1800.0 GB |
| Firmware version | None |
| Hypervisor disk | False |
| Manufacturer | Seagate |
| Power on hours | 0 |
| Product part number | ST1800MM0129 |
| Rotation rate | 0 rpm |
| Secured boot disk | False |
| Serial number | None |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Capacity | 1800.0 GB |
| Firmware version | None |
| Hypervisor disk | False |
| Manufacturer | Seagate |
| Power on hours | 0 |
| Product part number | ST1800MM0129 |
| Rotation rate | 0 rpm |
| Secured boot disk | False |
| Serial number | None |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Capacity | 800.0 GB |
| Firmware version | None |
| Hypervisor disk | False |
| Power on hours | 0 |
| Product part number | WUSTR6480ASS204 |
| Rotation rate | 0 rpm |
| Secured boot disk | False |
| Serial number | None |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Capacity | 500.0 GB |
| Firmware version | None |
| Hypervisor disk | False |
| Power on hours | 0 |
| Product part number | Samsung SSD 860 |
| Rotation rate | 0 rpm |
| Secured boot disk | False |
| Serial number | None |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Capacity | 800.0 GB |
| Firmware version | None |
| Hypervisor disk | False |
| Power on hours | 0 |
| Product part number | WUSTR6480ASS204 |
| Rotation rate | 0 rpm |
| Secured boot disk | False |
| Serial number | None |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Capacity | 800.0 GB |
| Firmware version | None |
| Hypervisor disk | False |
| Power on hours | 0 |
| Product part number | WUSTR6480ASS204 |
| Rotation rate | 0 rpm |
| Secured boot disk | False |
| Serial number | None |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Capacity | 1800.0 GB |
| Firmware version | C003 |
| Hypervisor disk | True |
| Manufacturer | SEAGATE |
| Power on hours | 0 |
| Product part number | ST1800MM0129 |
| Rotation rate | 10500 rpm |
| Secured boot disk | False |
| Serial number | WBN1EH950000K93000FK |
| Smartctl status | OK |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Capacity | 800.0 GB |
| Firmware version | None |
| Hypervisor disk | False |
| Power on hours | 0 |
| Product part number | WUSTR6480ASS204 |
| Rotation rate | 0 rpm |
| Secured boot disk | False |
| Serial number | None |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Capacity | 1800.0 GB |
| Firmware version | None |
| Hypervisor disk | False |
| Manufacturer | Seagate |
| Power on hours | 0 |
| Product part number | ST1800MM0129 |
| Rotation rate | 0 rpm |
| Secured boot disk | False |
| Serial number | None |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Capacity | 1800.0 GB |
| Firmware version | C001 |
| Hypervisor disk | True |
| Manufacturer | SEAGATE |
| Power on hours | 0 |
| Product part number | ST1800MM0129 |
| Rotation rate | 10500 rpm |
| Secured boot disk | False |
| Serial number | WBN00K6G0000E802B5B0 |
| Smartctl status | OK |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Capacity | 1800.0 GB |
| Firmware version | C003 |
| Hypervisor disk | True |
| Manufacturer | SEAGATE |
| Power on hours | 0 |
| Product part number | ST1800MM0129 |
| Rotation rate | 10500 rpm |
| Secured boot disk | False |
| Serial number | WBN0DZLT0000E837B2FX |
| Smartctl status | OK |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
And finally, information regarding the GPU(s) possibly installed with residual details regarding the logs displayed:
GPU
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Class | Display controller:VGA compatible controller:VGA controller |
| Device | MGA G200e [Pilot] ServerEngines (SEP1) |
| Revision | 5 |
| Slot | 0000:08:00.0 |
| Sub device | Subsystem device 0103 |
| Sub vendor | Intel Corporation |
| Vendor | Matrox Electronics Systems Ltd. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
INFO: Hardware Info log file can be found at : /home/nutanix/data/hardware_logs
INFO: NuCollector output written to: /home/nutanix/data/hardware_logs/192.168.2.200_output
INFO: The command to verify the output is: cd /home/nutanix/data/hardware_logs && sha224sum -c output.checksum
Refer to KB 7084 (http://portal.nutanix.com/kb/7084) for details on show_hardware_info or Recheck with: ncc hardware_info show_hardware_info
+-----------------------+
| State | Count |
+-----------------------+
| Info | 1 |
| Total Plugins | 1 |
+-----------------------+
Plugin output written to /home/nutanix/data/logs/ncc-output-latest.log
This command is really useful for quickly exporting an exhaustive list of the entire hardware configuration of your cluster, especially if it is necessary to check compatibility or to transmit the information to support if this proves necessary.
Among the first prerequisites, the Data Service IP must be configured on your Nutanix cluster:
To be able to add a Nutanix AHV cluster as a source on your HYCU controller, you will need an account capable of connecting to your cluster and to your Prism Central if you have one.
I recommend using a dedicated account and not using the admin account of your cluster whose password will change regularly.
Last point, obvious but always good to remember, the HYCU VM and your cluster / Prism Central must be able to communicate.
Once all the prerequisites have been met, you can proceed to adding the cluster to your controller.
Adding the Nutanix cluster to HYCU
On your HYCU interface, in the toothed wheel at the top right, click on source:
Add your Nutanix cluster (IP_ADDRESS:9440) with the service account that you have dedicated to HYCU then click on “Next”:
Repeat the operation if you have a Prism Central:
Your cluster is added to your controller:
You can find it in the “HYPERVISOR” tab of the “Sources” window:
It’s been a while since I wrote the first tutorial for deploying HYCU on a Nutanix AHV cluster and since that day, the overall procedure has changed slightly. The opportunity for me to write an updated version and share it with you.
Download HYCU 4.9.0
To retrieve the HYCU QCOW2 image in version 4.9.0, you must go to the site https://support.hycu.com/ and authenticate or create an account if you do not have one.
Otherwise, connect to Prism Element, then go to the settings and open the “Image Configuration” section:
Click on “Upload image”, fill out the form and select the previously uploaded image:
For simplicity in managing your images, I recommend naming your image according to the HYCU-VERSION-BUILD model.
Click “Save” to start the transfer and wait until your image is processed by the cluster and ACTIVE.
Preparing the virtual machine
Create a new virtual machine on your cluster:
For the name, you must name the machine hycu-version-build. Concerning the technical characteristics, you can refer to the table present in the official documentation to allocate the correct quantity of vCPU / Cores / Memory / Additional Data Disk:
Then assign the network of your choice to the machine and the configuration will be complete.
Finalizing the installation
To finalize the configuration of your HYCU machine, start it.
On the console, you will have the choice of machine type: select “HYCU Backup Controller”.
Complete the configuration form:
Wait while the settings are applied to your machine, then go to: https://IP-HYCU-CONTROLLER:8443
When deploying a new cluster, the default storage container name is automatically generated and is not particularly aesthetically pleasing.
To rename it, there is only one solution: go through the Command Line Interface.
To carry out this operation, 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. Find the container you want to rename in the list and type the following command:
Replace “CURRENT_NAME” with the name automatically generated by the system when creating the container, and NEW_NAME with the name you wish to assign to this container, leaving no spaces or special characters other than – and _
Then check that your container has been correctly renamed with the command:
nutanix@CVM: ncli container list
Sur Prism Element, vous verrez également apparaitre le nouveau nom que vous avez attribué à votre container de stockage :
Nutanix has just announced the availability of version 6.8 eSTS of AOS and with this new version comes a lot of new features including…. Prism Central version pc2024.1!
I am not going to detail all the features added or updated in this new version of AOS and let you consult the Release Notes which detail their content.
I decided to focus on a feature that arrives with the new version of Prism Central awaited by many customers who have a modest infrastructure: Prism Central X-Small.
Prism Central X-Small
Among all the new features made available by the new pc2024.1 version of Prism Central, one feature addition caught my attention: Prism Central X-Small.
Until now, the deployment of Prism Central was only possible according to 3 templates:
Template
VM configuration
Limitations
Small
6 vCPU / 28Gb RAM / 500Gb Storage
2500 VMs / 10 Clusters / 200 Nodes
Large
10 vCPU / 46Gb RAM / 2500Gb Storage
12500 VMs / 25 Clusters / 500 Nodes
X-Large
14 vCPU / 62Gb RAM / 2500Gb Storage
12500 VMs / 25 Clusters / 500 Nodes
Like the X-Large deployment which offers an imposing configuration of Prism Central, until now a minimum size deployment was missing. Prism Central X-Small fills this void:
VM configuration
Limitations
4 vCPU 18Gb RAM 100Gb Storage
500 VMs 5 Clusters 50 Nodes
As you can see, this Prism Central template has a lightweight hardware configuration, this is not the only point of differentiation with other deployment templates.
Indeed, due to its configuration, this deployment of Prism Central does not allow you to exploit all the functionalities usually offered. Here are the points of differentiation:
Supported
Unsupported
Multi-cluster management (Up to 5)
Scale-out
VM management
Flow Virtual Networking
Host management
Flow Network Security
Infrastructure management, monitoring and health
Self-Service
Enterprise authentication and RBAC
Intelligent Operations
REST APIs
Nutanix Kubernetes Engine
Comprehensive search
Objects
Life Cycle Manager (LCM)
Files
Pulse Insights
Foundation Central
Prism Central Backup and Restore
Foundation
Categories
Quotas
Projects
Multi-site DR
Microservices infrastructe
Marketplace
Identity and access management
Reporting and Dashboards
Security dashboard
Nearsync / Synchronous replication
If you want to benefit from a feature not supported by Prism Central X-Small, you will need to consider deploying a Small / Large / X-Large template.
Use cases
The main use case that immediately comes to mind is the following:
a simple infrastructure
1 to 3 modest-sized clusters
a hundred virtual machines
no need for additional services (Flow, Self-Service, NKE, etc.)
This is the type of installation that we encounter in many SMEs or local authorities for example, the arrival of Prism Central X-Small is therefore timely.
It’s in Nutanix’s roadmap! Password authentication is in the sights of the publisher who intends to put an end to it and warn its users via an informational alert:
The objective is to gradually switch clients to SSH key authentication in order to impose it in a future version of its hypervisor.
Creating SSH keys
Supported SSH encryption algorithms are:
AES128-CTR
AES192-CTR
AES256-CTR
If you already have such a key pair, you can proceed directly to cluster integration.
To create an SSH key pair, we will need a tool like PuttyGen.
Click “Generate” and move the mouse cursor over the window. Then indicate a passphrase then save the public key and the private key.
WARNING: be sure to use a strong, non-predictable passphrase.
We must now integrate the public key into the cluster.
Integration of the public key on the cluster
To integrate your public key into your cluster, connect to the Prism interface and go to “Settings > Cluster Lockdown”
Click on “New Public Key”, give it a name, paste the public key content and validate.
At this stage, classic password authentication and SSH key authentication are both active and functional, it is time to test.
Testing and activation of the cluster lockdown feature
First, we will test authentication via SSH key. Don’t panic, whatever happens, even if the SSH connection via the keys does not work after activating the cluster lockdown, you can always backtrack via the Prism interface.
Configure your favorite SSH connection tools, integrate your private key then launch a connection to your Nutanix cluster. First, enter the login you want to use, here I chose “nutanix”:
Then enter the passphrase that you configured when creating your SSH key. Validate, you are now connected to your cluster via your SSH key without having to use the password for the “nutanix” account.
Now let’s deactivate password authentication by returning to the “Settings > Cluster Lockdown” menu. Uncheck the “Enable Remote Login with Password” box:
Try logging in again using the “nutanix” account and the usual password and notice that you can no longer log in with this method:
Try with your private key and the associated passphrase :
Your cluster is now SSH accessible only via the SSH key system. If there are several administrators working on the server, don’t forget to repeat the operation for each of them.
Important point: remember to keep your private keys in a safe place and use a strong passphrase.
Updating a hyperconverged cluster can sometimes be time-consuming and present certain risks of production interruption if the process is poorly managed.
Nutanix has optimized the process of updating its clusters so that it is as simple and automated as possible, the famous “1-click upgrade”.
Life Cycle Manager on Prism Element
LCM has slight differences between Prism Element and Prism Central. This is what the interface looks like on Prism Element:
LCM on Prism Element allows you to manage updates to some of the bricks in your cluster:
AHV
AOS
Cluster Maintenance Utilities
File Flow
Foundation
Licensing
NCC
These are the bricks that you can update through Prism Element.
Life Cycle Manager on Prism Central
LCM on Prism Central allows you to manage the updating of the remaining bricks which are mainly the software bricks:
Life Cycle Manager: inventory
The LCM Inventory, whether on Prism Element or Prism Central, allows you to list all the software and hardware versions installed on your cluster, as well as any updates or firmware available:
The inventory process lasts around ten minutes:
It then allows access to all installed and available versions:
LCM: the recommended update order
With the multitude of software bricks and the hardware part, it is not always easy to know in what order to update the different modules.
The first step of updating your cluster takes place on Prism Central:
The actions to be carried out in order:
LCM inventory
NCC Check and Upgrade
Prism Central Upgrade
You must then switch to Prism Element for the second step:
The actions to be carried out in order:
LCM inventory
NCC Check and Upgrade
Foundation Upgrade
AOS Upgrade
Firmware Upgrade
AHV Upgrade
It is recommended to do another LCM inventory once the AHV update is complete to verify that there are no hardware updates remaining to be applied.
Finally comes the last step, again on Prism Central:
The actions to be carried out in order:
LCM inventory
All software updates (Nutanix Files, Self-Services (Calm), NKE (Karbon), NDB, Flow…)
To carry out the desired updates, simply check them then click on “View upgrade plan”:
Once the update plan has been developed by LCM, you must click one last time to start the process:
Each step of the process requires time because the cluster multiplies checks at each step to verify the conformity of the installed updates:
It is important to specify that the cluster update process, with the exception of certain software bricks, does not cause a service shutdown if good practices are respected regarding fault tolerance.
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