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Install Palette VerteX on VMware

You install Palette VerteX using the Palette Command Line Interface (CLI) that guides you for details to create a configuration file and a three-node enterprise cluster for high availability (HA). You can invoke the Palette CLI on any Linux x86-64 system with the Docker daemon installed and connectivity to the VMware vSphere environment where Palette VerteX will be deployed.

Prerequisites​

caution

If you are installing Palette VerteX in an airgap environment, ensure you complete all the airgap pre-install steps before proceeding with the installation. Refer to the VMware vSphere Airgap Instructions guide for more information.

  • An AMD64 Linux environment with connectivity to the VMware vSphere environment.
  • Docker or equivalent container runtime installed and available on the Linux host.
  • Palette CLI installed and available. Refer to the Palette CLI Install page for guidance.
  • An Ubuntu Pro Subscription and token. Ubuntu Pro provides access to FIPS 140-2 certified cryptographic packages.
  • Review required VMware vSphere environment permissions.

  • We recommended the following resources for Palette VerteX. Refer to the Palette VerteX size guidelines for additional sizing information.

    • 8 CPUs per VM.

    • 16 GB Memory per VM.

    • 100 GB Disk Space per VM.

  • The following network ports must be accessible for Palette VerteX to operate successfully.

    • TCP/443: Inbound to and outbound from the Palette VerteX management cluster.

    • TCP/6443: Outbound traffic from the Palette VerteX management cluster to the deployed cluster's Kubernetes API server.

  • Ensure you have an SSL certificate that matches the domain name you will assign to Palette VerteX. You will need this to enable HTTPS encryption for Palette VerteX. Reach out to your network administrator or security team to obtain the SSL certificate. You need the following files:

    • x509 SSL certificate file in base64 format.

    • x509 SSL certificate key file in base64 format.

    • x509 SSL certificate authority file in base64 format. This file is optional.

  • Zone tagging is required for dynamic storage allocation across fault domains when provisioning workloads that require persistent storage. Refer to Zone Tagging for information.
  • Assigned IP addresses for application workload services, such as Load Balancer services.
  • Shared Storage between vSphere hosts.

info

Self-hosted Palette VerteX installations provide a system Private Cloud Gateway (PCG) out-of-the-box and typically do not require a separate, user-installed PCG. However, you can create additional PCGs as needed to support provisioning into remote data centers that do not have a direct incoming connection from the Palette console. To learn how to install a PCG on VMware, check out the VMware guide.

Deployment​

The video below demonstrates the installation wizard and the prompts you will encounter. Take a moment to watch the video before you begin the installation process. Make sure to use values that are appropriate for your environment. Use the three-dot Menu in the lower right corner of the video to expand the video to full screen and to change the playback speed.

Use the following steps to install Palette VerteX.

  1. Open a terminal window and invoke the Palette CLI by using the ec command to install the enterprise cluster. The interactive CLI prompts you for configuration details and then initiates the installation. For more information about the ec subcommand, refer to Palette Commands. 


    palette ec install

  2. At the Enterprise Cluster Type prompt, choose Palette VerteX.

  1. Type y to enable Ubuntu Pro, and provide your Ubuntu Pro token when prompted.


    caution

    To ensure FIPS compliance, be sure to enter your Ubuntu Pro token.


  1. Depending on that type of install of Palette you are using, the Spectro Cloud repository URL value will be different.
    • Non-Airgap: https://saas-repo-fips.console.spectrocloud.com
    • Airgap: The URL or IP address of your HTTP file server that is hosting the manifest files.
  1. Enter the repository credentials. Our support team provides the credentials you need to access the public Spectro Cloud repository. Airgap installations, provide the credentials to your private repository. If your HTTP file server has no authentication, provide the username and password as admin and admin respectively.
  1. Choose VMware vSphere as the cloud type. This is the default.
  1. Type an enterprise cluster name. Your VM instances will use this name as a prefix.

  1. When prompted, enter the information listed in each of the following tables.


    Environment Configuration​

    ParameterDescription
    HTTPS ProxyLeave this blank unless you are using an HTTPS Proxy. This setting will be propagated to all EC nodes and all of its target cluster nodes. Example: https://USERNAME:PASSWORD@PROXYIP:PROXYPORT.
    HTTP ProxyLeave this blank unless you are using an HTTP Proxy. This setting will be propagated to all EC nodes and all of its target cluster nodes. Example: http://USERNAME:PASSWORD@PROXYIP:PROXYPORT.
    No ProxyThe default is blank. You can add a comma-separated list of local network CIDR addresses, hostnames, and domain names that should be excluded from being a proxy. This setting will be propagated to all the nodes to bypass the proxy server. Example if you have a self-hosted environment: maas.company.com,10.10.0.0/16.
    Proxy CA Certificate FilepathThe default is blank. You can provide the filepath of a CA certificate on the installer host. If provided, this CA certificate will be copied to each host in the PCG cluster during deployment. The provided path will be used on the PCG cluster hosts. Example: /usr/local/share/ca-certificates/ca.crt.
    Pod CIDREnter the CIDR pool IP that will be used to assign IP addresses to pods in the EC cluster. The pod IP addresses should be unique and not overlap with any machine IPs in the environment.
    Service IP RangeEnter the IP address range that will be used to assign IP addresses to services in the EC cluster. The service IP addresses should be unique and not overlap with any machine IPs in the environment.

  1. Select the tab below that matches your installation type for further guidance.

Select y to use the Spectro Cloud FIPS repository and proceed to the next step.

  1. The next set of prompts is for the VMware vSphere account information. Enter the information listed in the following table.


    VMware vSphere Account Information​

    ParameterDescription
    vSphere EndpointVMware vSphere endpoint. Must be a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) or IP address without a scheme - that is, without an IP protocol, such as https://. Example: vcenter.mycompany.com.
    vSphere UsernameVMware vSphere account username.
    vSphere PasswordVMware vSphere account password.
    Allow Insecure ConnectionBypasses x509 verification. Type Y if using a VMware vSphere instance with self-signed Transport Layer Security (TLS) certificates. Otherwise, type n.

    VMware vSphere Cluster Configuration​

    This information determines where Palette will be deployed in your VMware vSphere environment. The Palette CLI will use the provided VMware credentials to retrieve information from your VMware vSphere environment and present options for you to select from.


    ParameterDescription
    DatacenterThe installer retrieves the Datacenter automatically.
    FolderSelect the folder that contains the VM instance.
    ClusterSelect the cluster where you want to deploy Palette.
    NetworkSelect the network where you want to deploy Palette.
    Resource PoolSelect the resource pool where you want to deploy Palette.
    DatastoreSelect the datastore where you want to deploy Palette.
    Fault DomainsConfigure one or more fault domains by selecting values for these properties: Cluster, Network (with network connectivity), Resource Pool, and Storage Type (Datastore or VM Storage Policy). Note that when configuring the Network, if you are using a distributed switch, choose the network that contains the switch.
    NTP ServersYou can provide a list of Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers.
    SSH Public KeysProvide any public SSH keys to access your Palette VMs. This option opens up your system's default text editor. Vi is the default text editor for most Linux distributions. To review basic vi commands, check out the vi Commands reference.

  1. Specify the IP pool configuration. The placement type can be Static or Dynamic Domain Name Server (DDNS). Choosing static placement creates an IP pool from which VMs are assigned IP addresses. Choosing DDNS assigns IP addresses using DNS.


    Static Placement Configuration​

    ParameterDescription
    IP Start rangeEnter the first address in the EC IP pool range.
    IP End rangeEnter the last address in the EC IP pool range.
    Network PrefixEnter the network prefix for the IP pool range. Valid values are in [0, 32]. Example: 18.
    Gateway IP AddressEnter the IP address of the static IP gateway.
    Name serversComma-separated list of DNS name server IP addresses.
    Name server search suffixesAn optional comma-separated list of DNS search domains.

  1. The last set of prompts are for the vSphere machine and database configuration. Use the following table for guidance.


    vSphere Machine Configuration​

    ParameterDescription
    SmallDeploy VM nodes with 8 CPU, 16 GB memory, 60 GB storage. The database specs are 20 GB database with 2 CPU limit and 4 GB memory limit.
    MediumDeploy VM nodes with 16 CPU, 32 GB memory, 100 GB storage. The database specs are 60 GB database with 4 CPU limit and 8 GB memory limit.
    LargeDeploy VM nodes with 32 CPU, 64 GB memory, 120 GB storage. The database specs are 80 GB database with 8 CPU limit and 16 GB memory limit.
    CustomDeploy VM nodes with custom CPU, memory, storage, database size, CPU limit, and memory limit. If you specify custom, you will be prompted for the CPU, memory, and storage.

    Additional vSphere Machine Configuration​

    ParameterDescription
    Node AffinitySelect the node affinity. Enter y to schedule all Palette pods on control plane nodes.

The installation process stands up a kind cluster locally that will orchestrate the remainder of the installation. The installation takes some time.

Upon completion, the enterprise cluster configuration file named ec.yaml contains the information you provided, and its location is displayed in the terminal. Credentials and tokens are encrypted in the YAML file. 

==== Enterprise Cluster config saved ====
Location: :/home/spectro/.palette/ec/ec-20230706150945/ec.yaml

tip

If an error occurs during installation, remove the kind cluster that was created and restart the installation. To remove the kind cluster, issue the following command. Replace spectro-mgmt-cluster with the name of your cluster if you used a different name.

kind delete cluster spectro-mgmt-cluster

Restart the install process by referencing the ec.yaml file that was created during the first installation attempt. For example:

palette ec install --config /home/spectro/.palette/ec/ec-20230706150945/ec.yaml

When the installation is complete, Enterprise Cluster Details that include a URL and default credentials are displayed in the terminal. You will use these to access the Palette VerteX System Console.


===========================================
==== Enterprise Cluster System Console ====
===========================================
Console URL: https://10.10.100.0/system
Username:    ************
Password:    ************

The first of three Enterprise Cluster nodes is online and will now provision nodes two and three.

It will take another ~30-45 minutes for the installation to complete.

You can monitor its progress via kubectl/k9s or by viewing the system console.

export KUBECONFIG=/ubuntu/.palette/ec/ec-20231012215923/spectro_mgmt.conf

  1. Copy the URL to the browser to access the system console. You will be prompted to reset the password.


    info

    The first time you visit the Palette VerteX system console, a warning message about an untrusted SSL certificate may appear. This is expected, as you have not yet uploaded your SSL certificate to Palette VerteX. You can ignore this warning message and proceed.


    Screenshot of the Palette VerteX system console showing Username and Password fields.


  1. Log in to the System Console using the credentials provided in the Enterprise Cluster Details output. After login, you will be prompted to create a new password. Enter a new password and save your changes. You will be redirected to the Palette VerteX system console.
  1. After login, a Summary page is displayed. Palette VerteX is installed with a self-signed SSL certificate. To assign a different SSL certificate you must upload the SSL certificate, SSL certificate key, and SSL certificate authority files to Palette VerteX. You can upload the files using the Palette VerteX system console. Refer to the Configure HTTPS Encryption page for instructions on how to upload the SSL certificate files to Palette VerteX.

  1. The last step is to start setting up a tenant. To learn how to create a tenant, check out the Tenant Management guide.


    Screenshot of the Summary page showing where to click Go to Tenant Management button.

Validate​

You can verify the installation is successful if you can access the system console using the IP address provided in Enterprise Cluster Details and if the Summary page displays the Go to Tenant Management button.

You can also validate that a three-node Kubernetes cluster is launched and Palette VerteX is deployed on it.


  1. Log in to the vCenter Server by using vSphere Client.
  1. Navigate to your vSphere Datacenter and locate your Palette VM instances. The VMs are prefixed with the name you provided during the installation. For example, if you provided spectro-mgmt-cluster as the name, the VMs are named spectro-mgmt-cluster-, followed by a unique set of alphanumeric values. Verify three nodes are available.
  1. Open a web browser session, and use the IP address provided in Enterprise Cluster Details at the completion of the installation to connect to the Palette system console. Copy the IP address to the address bar and append /system.
  1. Log in using your credentials.
  1. A Summary page will be displayed that contains a tile with a Go to Tenant Management button. After initial installation, the Summary page shows there are zero tenants.

Next Steps​

You have successfully installed Palette VerteX in vSphere. Your next steps are to configure Palette VerteX for your organization. Start by creating the first tenant to host your users. Refer to Create a Tenant for instructions.

After you create the tenant, you are ready to configure authentication types in tenant settings and create users and teams.

Resources​