Setting up the environment for an OpenShift installation

Installing RHEL on the provisioner node

With the networking configuration complete, the next step is to install Fedora 8.x on the provisioner node. The installer uses the provisioner node as the orchestrator while installing the OKD cluster. For the purposes of this document, installing RHEL on the provisioner node is out of scope. However, options include but are not limited to using a RHEL Satellite server, PXE, or installation media.

Preparing the provisioner node for OKD installation

Perform the following steps to prepare the environment.

Procedure

1. Log in to the provisioner node via ssh.

2. Create a non-root user (kni) and provide that user with sudo privileges:

   # useradd kni
   # passwd kni
   # echo "kni ALL=(root) NOPASSWD:ALL" | tee -a /etc/sudoers.d/kni
   # chmod 0440 /etc/sudoers.d/kni

3. Create an ssh key for the new user:

   # su - kni -c "ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f /home/kni/.ssh/id_rsa -N ''"

4. Log in as the new user on the provisioner node:

   # su - kni
   $

5. Use Red Hat Subscription Manager to register the provisioner node:

   $ sudo subscription-manager register --username=<user> --password=<pass> --auto-attach
   $ sudo subscription-manager repos --enable=rhel-8-for-x86_64-appstream-rpms --enable=rhel-8-for-x86_64-baseos-rpms

   For more information about Red Hat Subscription Manager, see Using and Configuring Red Hat Subscription Manager.

6. Install the following packages:

   $ sudo dnf install -y libvirt qemu-kvm mkisofs python3-devel jq ipmitool

7. Modify the user to add the libvirt group to the newly created user:

   $ sudo usermod --append --groups libvirt <user>

8. Restart firewalld and enable the http service:

   $ sudo systemctl start firewalld
   $ sudo firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-service=http --permanent
   $ sudo firewall-cmd --reload

9. Start and enable the libvirtd service:

   $ sudo systemctl enable libvirtd --now

10. Create the default storage pool and start it:

    $ sudo virsh pool-define-as --name default --type dir --target /var/lib/libvirt/images
    $ sudo virsh pool-start default
    $ sudo virsh pool-autostart default

11. Configure networking.

    You can also configure networking from the web console.

    Export the baremetal network NIC name:

    $ export PUB_CONN=<baremetal_nic_name>

    Configure the baremetal network:

    $ sudo nohup bash -c "
       nmcli con down \"$PUB_CONN\"
       nmcli con delete \"$PUB_CONN\"
       # RHEL 8.1 appends the word \"System\" in front of the connection, delete in case it exists
       nmcli con down \"System $PUB_CONN\"
       nmcli con delete \"System $PUB_CONN\"
       nmcli connection add ifname baremetal type bridge con-name baremetal
       nmcli con add type bridge-slave ifname \"$PUB_CONN\" master baremetal
       pkill dhclient;dhclient baremetal
    "

    If you are deploying with a provisioning network, export the provisioning network NIC name:

    $ export PROV_CONN=<prov_nic_name>

    If you are deploying with a provisioning network, configure the provisioning network:

    $ sudo nohup bash -c "
       nmcli con down \"$PROV_CONN\"
       nmcli con delete \"$PROV_CONN\"
       nmcli connection add ifname provisioning type bridge con-name provisioning
       nmcli con add type bridge-slave ifname \"$PROV_CONN\" master provisioning
       nmcli connection modify provisioning ipv6.addresses fd00:1101::1/64 ipv6.method manual
       nmcli con down provisioning
       nmcli con up provisioning
    "

    The ssh connection might disconnect after executing these steps. The IPv6 address can be any address as long as it is not routable via the baremetal network. Ensure that UEFI is enabled and UEFI PXE settings are set to the IPv6 protocol when using IPv6 addressing.

12. ssh back into the provisioner node (if required).

    # ssh kni@provisioner.<cluster-name>.<domain>

13. Verify the connection bridges have been properly created.

    $ sudo nmcli con show

    NAME               UUID                                  TYPE      DEVICE
    baremetal          4d5133a5-8351-4bb9-bfd4-3af264801530  bridge    baremetal
    provisioning       43942805-017f-4d7d-a2c2-7cb3324482ed  bridge    provisioning
    virbr0             d9bca40f-eee1-410b-8879-a2d4bb0465e7  bridge    virbr0
    bridge-slave-eno1  76a8ed50-c7e5-4999-b4f6-6d9014dd0812  ethernet  eno1
    bridge-slave-eno2  f31c3353-54b7-48de-893a-02d2b34c4736  ethernet  eno2

14. Create a pull-secret.txt file.

    $ vim pull-secret.txt

    In a web browser, navigate to Install on Bare Metal with user-provisioned infrastructure, and scroll down to the Downloads section. Click Copy pull secret. Paste the contents into the pull-secret.txt file and save the contents in the kni user’s home directory.

Retrieving the OKD installer

Use the latest-4.x version of the installer to deploy the latest generally available version of OKD:

$ export VERSION=latest-4.8
export RELEASE_IMAGE=$(curl -s https://mirror.openshift.com/pub/openshift-v4/clients/ocp/$VERSION/release.txt | grep 'Pull From: quay.io' | awk -F ' ' '{print $3}')

Extracting the OKD installer

After retrieving the installer, the next step is to extract it.

Procedure

1. Set the environment variables:

   $ export cmd=openshift-baremetal-install
   $ export pullsecret_file=~/pull-secret.txt
   $ export extract_dir=$(pwd)

2. Get the oc binary:

   $ curl -s https://mirror.openshift.com/pub/openshift-v4/clients/ocp/$VERSION/openshift-client-linux.tar.gz | tar zxvf - oc

3. Extract the installer:

   $ sudo cp oc /usr/local/bin
   $ oc adm release extract --registry-config "${pullsecret_file}" --command=$cmd --to "${extract_dir}" ${RELEASE_IMAGE}
   $ sudo cp openshift-baremetal-install /usr/local/bin

Creating an FCOS images cache (optional)

To employ image caching, you must download two images: the Fedora CoreOS (FCOS) image used by the bootstrap VM and the FCOS image used by the installer to provision the different nodes. Image caching is optional, but especially useful when running the installer on a network with limited bandwidth.

If you are running the installer on a network with limited bandwidth and the FCOS images download takes more than 15 to 20 minutes, the installer will timeout. Caching images on a web server will help in such scenarios.

Install a container that contains the images.

Procedure

1. Install podman:

   $ sudo dnf install -y podman

2. Open firewall port 8080 to be used for FCOS image caching:

   $ sudo firewall-cmd --add-port=8080/tcp --zone=public --permanent

   $ sudo firewall-cmd --reload

3. Create a directory to store the bootstraposimage and clusterosimage:

   $ mkdir /home/kni/rhcos_image_cache

4. Set the appropriate SELinux context for the newly created directory:

   $ sudo semanage fcontext -a -t httpd_sys_content_t "/home/kni/rhcos_image_cache(/.*)?"

   $ sudo restorecon -Rv rhcos_image_cache/

5. Get the commit ID from the installer:

   $ export COMMIT_ID=$(/usr/local/bin/openshift-baremetal-install version | grep '^built from commit' | awk '{print $4}')

   The ID determines which images the installer needs to download.

6. Get the URI for the FCOS image that the installer will deploy on the nodes:

   $ export RHCOS_OPENSTACK_URI=$(curl -s -S https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openshift/installer/$COMMIT_ID/data/data/rhcos.json  | jq .images.openstack.path | sed 's/"//g')

7. Get the URI for the FCOS image that the installer will deploy on the bootstrap VM:

   $ export RHCOS_QEMU_URI=$(curl -s -S https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openshift/installer/$COMMIT_ID/data/data/rhcos.json  | jq .images.qemu.path | sed 's/"//g')

8. Get the path where the images are published:

   $ export RHCOS_PATH=$(curl -s -S https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openshift/installer/$COMMIT_ID/data/data/rhcos.json | jq .baseURI | sed 's/"//g')

9. Get the SHA hash for the FCOS image that will be deployed on the bootstrap VM:

   $ export RHCOS_QEMU_SHA_UNCOMPRESSED=$(curl -s -S https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openshift/installer/$COMMIT_ID/data/data/rhcos.json  | jq -r '.images.qemu["uncompressed-sha256"]')

10. Get the SHA hash for the FCOS image that will be deployed on the nodes:

    $ export RHCOS_OPENSTACK_SHA_COMPRESSED=$(curl -s -S https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openshift/installer/$COMMIT_ID/data/data/rhcos.json  | jq -r '.images.openstack.sha256')

11. Download the images and place them in the /home/kni/rhcos_image_cache directory:

    $ curl -L ${RHCOS_PATH}${RHCOS_QEMU_URI} -o /home/kni/rhcos_image_cache/${RHCOS_QEMU_URI}

    $ curl -L ${RHCOS_PATH}${RHCOS_OPENSTACK_URI} -o /home/kni/rhcos_image_cache/${RHCOS_OPENSTACK_URI}

12. Confirm SELinux type is of httpd_sys_content_t for the newly created files:

    $ ls -Z /home/kni/rhcos_image_cache

13. Create the pod:

    $ podman run -d --name rhcos_image_cache \
    -v /home/kni/rhcos_image_cache:/var/www/html \
    -p 8080:8080/tcp \
    registry.centos.org/centos/httpd-24-centos7:latest

    The above command creates a caching webserver with the name rhcos_image_cache, which serves the images for deployment. The first image ${RHCOS_PATH}${RHCOS_QEMU_URI}?sha256=${RHCOS_QEMU_SHA_UNCOMPRESSED} is the bootstrapOSImage and the second image ${RHCOS_PATH}${RHCOS_OPENSTACK_URI}?sha256=${RHCOS_OPENSTACK_SHA_COMPRESSED} is the clusterOSImage in the install-config.yaml file.

14. Generate the bootstrapOSImage and clusterOSImage configuration:

    $ export BAREMETAL_IP=$(ip addr show dev baremetal | awk '/inet /{print $2}' | cut -d"/" -f1)

    $ export RHCOS_OPENSTACK_SHA256=$(zcat /home/kni/rhcos_image_cache/${RHCOS_OPENSTACK_URI} | sha256sum | awk '{print $1}')

    $ export RHCOS_QEMU_SHA256=$(zcat /home/kni/rhcos_image_cache/${RHCOS_QEMU_URI} | sha256sum | awk '{print $1}')

    $ export CLUSTER_OS_IMAGE="http://${BAREMETAL_IP}:8080/${RHCOS_OPENSTACK_URI}?sha256=${RHCOS_OPENSTACK_SHA256}"

    $ export BOOTSTRAP_OS_IMAGE="http://${BAREMETAL_IP}:8080/${RHCOS_QEMU_URI}?sha256=${RHCOS_QEMU_SHA256}"

    $ echo "${RHCOS_OPENSTACK_SHA256}  ${RHCOS_OPENSTACK_URI}" > /home/kni/rhcos_image_cache/rhcos-ootpa-latest.qcow2.md5sum

    $ echo "    bootstrapOSImage=${BOOTSTRAP_OS_IMAGE}"

    $ echo "    clusterOSImage=${CLUSTER_OS_IMAGE}"

15. Add the required configuration to the install-config.yaml file under platform.baremetal:

    platform:
     baremetal:
       bootstrapOSImage: http://<BAREMETAL_IP>:8080/<RHCOS_QEMU_URI>?sha256=<RHCOS_QEMU_SHA256>
       clusterOSImage: http://<BAREMETAL_IP>:8080/<RHCOS_OPENSTACK_URI>?sha256=<RHCOS_OPENSTACK_SHA256>

    See the “Configuration files” section for additional details.

Configuration files

Configuring the install-config.yaml file

The install-config.yaml file requires some additional details. Most of the information is teaching the installer and the resulting cluster enough about the available hardware so that it is able to fully manage it.

1. Configure install-config.yaml. Change the appropriate variables to match the environment, including pullSecret and sshKey.

   apiVersion: v1
   baseDomain: <domain>
   metadata:
     name: <cluster-name>
   networking:
     machineCIDR: <public-cidr>
     networkType: OVNKubernetes
   compute:
   - name: worker
     replicas: 2 (1)
   controlPlane:
     name: master
     replicas: 3
     platform:
       baremetal: {}
   platform:
     baremetal:
       apiVIP: <api-ip>
       ingressVIP: <wildcard-ip>
       provisioningNetworkCIDR: <CIDR>
       hosts:
         - name: openshift-master-0
           role: master
           bmc:
             address: ipmi://<out-of-band-ip> (2)
             username: <user>
             password: <password>
           bootMACAddress: <NIC1-mac-address>
           rootDeviceHints:
            deviceName: "/dev/sda"
         - name: <openshift-master-1>
           role: master
           bmc:
             address: ipmi://<out-of-band-ip> (2)
             username: <user>
             password: <password>
           bootMACAddress: <NIC1-mac-address>
           rootDeviceHints:
            deviceName: "/dev/sda"
         - name: <openshift-master-2>
           role: master
           bmc:
             address: ipmi://<out-of-band-ip> (2)
             username: <user>
             password: <password>
           bootMACAddress: <NIC1-mac-address>
           rootDeviceHints:
            deviceName: "/dev/sda"
         - name: <openshift-worker-0>
           role: worker
           bmc:
             address: ipmi://<out-of-band-ip> (2)
             username: <user>
             password: <password>
           bootMACAddress: <NIC1-mac-address>
         - name: <openshift-worker-1>
           role: worker
           bmc:
             address: ipmi://<out-of-band-ip>
             username: <user>
             password: <password>
           bootMACAddress: <NIC1-mac-address>
           rootDeviceHints:
            deviceName: "/dev/sda"
   pullSecret: '<pull_secret>'
   sshKey: '<ssh_pub_key>'

   1	Scale the worker machines based on the number of worker nodes that are part of the OKD cluster.
   2	See the BMC addressing sections for more options.

2. Create a directory to store cluster configs.

   $ mkdir ~/clusterconfigs
   $ cp install-config.yaml ~/clusterconfigs

3. Ensure all bare metal nodes are powered off prior to installing the OKD cluster.

   $ ipmitool -I lanplus -U <user> -P <password> -H <management-server-ip> power off

4. Remove old bootstrap resources if any are left over from a previous deployment attempt.

   for i in $(sudo virsh list | tail -n +3 | grep bootstrap | awk {'print $2'});
   do
     sudo virsh destroy $i;
     sudo virsh undefine $i;
     sudo virsh vol-delete $i --pool $i;
     sudo virsh vol-delete $i.ign --pool $i;
     sudo virsh pool-destroy $i;
     sudo virsh pool-undefine $i;
   done

Setting proxy settings within the install-config.yaml file (optional)

To deploy an OKD cluster using a proxy, make the following changes to the install-config.yaml file.

apiVersion: v1
baseDomain: <domain>
proxy:
  httpProxy: http://USERNAME:PASSWORD@proxy.example.com:PORT
  httpsProxy: https://USERNAME:PASSWORD@proxy.example.com:PORT
  noProxy: <WILDCARD_OF_DOMAIN>,<PROVISIONING_NETWORK/CIDR>,<BMC_ADDRESS_RANGE/CIDR>

The following is an example of noProxy with values.

noProxy: .example.com,172.22.0.0/24,10.10.0.0/24

With a proxy enabled, set the appropriate values of the proxy in the corresponding key/value pair.

Key considerations:

• If the proxy does not have an HTTPS proxy, change the value of httpsProxy from https:// to http://.

• If using a provisioning network, include it in the noProxy setting, otherwise the installer will fail.

• Set all of the proxy settings as environment variables within the provisioner node. For example, HTTP_PROXY, HTTPS_PROXY, and NO_PROXY.

Modifying the install-config.yaml file for no provisioning network (optional)

To deploy an OKD cluster without a provisioning network, make the following changes to the install-config.yaml file.

platform:
  baremetal:
    apiVIP: <apiVIP>
    ingressVIP: <ingress/wildcard VIP>
    provisioningNetwork: "Disabled" (1)

Modifying the install-config.yaml file for dual-stack network (optional)

To deploy an OKD cluster with dual-stack networking, edit the machineNetwork, clusterNetwork, and serviceNetwork configuration settings in the install-config.yaml file. Each setting must have two CIDR entries each. Ensure the first CIDR entry is the IPv4 setting and the second CIDR entry is the IPv6 setting.

machineNetwork:
- cidr: {{ extcidrnet }}
- cidr: {{ extcidrnet6 }}
clusterNetwork:
- cidr: 10.128.0.0/14
  hostPrefix: 23
- cidr: fd02::/48
  hostPrefix: 64
serviceNetwork:
- 172.30.0.0/16
- fd03::/112

Configuring managed Secure Boot in the install-config.yaml file (optional)

You can enable managed Secure Boot when deploying an installer-provisioned cluster using Redfish BMC addressing, such as redfish, redfish-virtualmedia, or idrac-virtualmedia. To enable managed Secure Boot, add the bootMode configuration setting to each node:

Example

hosts:
  - name: openshift-master-0
    role: master
    bmc:
      address: redfish://<out_of_band_ip> (1)
      username: <user>
      password: <password>
    bootMACAddress: <NIC1_mac_address>
    rootDeviceHints:
     deviceName: "/dev/sda"
    bootMode: UEFISecureBoot (2)

Additional install-config parameters

See the following tables for the required parameters, the hosts parameter, and the bmc parameter for the install-config.yaml file.

metadata:
    name:

networking:
    machineCIDR:

compute:
  - name: worker

compute:
    replicas: 2

controlPlane:
    name: master

controlPlane:
    replicas: 3

Hosts

The hosts parameter is a list of separate bare metal assets used to build the cluster.

BMC addressing

Most vendors support Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) addressing with the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI). IPMI does not encrypt communications. It is suitable for use within a data center over a secured or dedicated management network. Check with your vendor to see if they support Redfish network boot. Redfish delivers simple and secure management for converged, hybrid IT and the Software Defined Data Center (SDDC). Redfish is human readable and machine capable, and leverages common internet and web services standards to expose information directly to the modern tool chain. If your hardware does not support Redfish network boot, use IPMI.

IPMI

Hosts using IPMI use the ipmi://<out-of-band-ip>:<port> address format, which defaults to port 623 if not specified. The following example demonstrates an IPMI configuration within the install-config.yaml file.

platform:
  baremetal:
    hosts:
      - name: openshift-master-0
        role: master
        bmc:
          address: ipmi://<out-of-band-ip>
          username: <user>
          password: <password>

Redfish network boot

To enable Redfish, use redfish:// or redfish+http:// to disable TLS. The installer requires both the hostname or the IP address and the path to the system ID. The following example demonstrates a Redfish configuration within the install-config.yaml file.

platform:
  baremetal:
    hosts:
      - name: openshift-master-0
        role: master
        bmc:
          address: redfish://<out-of-band-ip>/redfish/v1/Systems/1
          username: <user>
          password: <password>

While it is recommended to have a certificate of authority for the out-of-band management addresses, you must include disableCertificateVerification: True in the bmc configuration if using self-signed certificates. The following example demonstrates a Redfish configuration using the disableCertificateVerification: True configuration parameter within the install-config.yaml file.

platform:
  baremetal:
    hosts:
      - name: openshift-master-0
        role: master
        bmc:
          address: redfish://<out-of-band-ip>/redfish/v1/Systems/1
          username: <user>
          password: <password>
          disableCertificateVerification: True

BMC addressing for Dell iDRAC

The address field for each bmc entry is a URL for connecting to the OKD cluster nodes, including the type of controller in the URL scheme and its location on the network.

platform:
  baremetal:
    hosts:
      - name: <hostname>
        role: <master | worker>
        bmc:
          address: <address> (1)
          username: <user>
          password: <password>

For Dell hardware, Red Hat supports integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) virtual media, Redfish network boot, and IPMI.

See the following sections for additional details.

Redfish virtual media for Dell iDRAC

For Redfish virtual media on Dell servers, use idrac-virtualmedia:// in the address setting. Using redfish-virtualmedia:// will not work.

The following example demonstrates using iDRAC virtual media within the install-config.yaml file.

platform:
  baremetal:
    hosts:
      - name: openshift-master-0
        role: master
        bmc:
          address: idrac-virtualmedia://<out-of-band-ip>/redfish/v1/Systems/System.Embedded.1
          username: <user>
          password: <password>

While it is recommended to have a certificate of authority for the out-of-band management addresses, you must include disableCertificateVerification: True in the bmc configuration if using self-signed certificates. The following example demonstrates a Redfish configuration using the disableCertificateVerification: True configuration parameter within the install-config.yaml file.

platform:
  baremetal:
    hosts:
      - name: openshift-master-0
        role: master
        bmc:
          address: idrac-virtualmedia://<out-of-band-ip>/redfish/v1/Systems/System.Embedded.1
          username: <user>
          password: <password>
          disableCertificateVerification: True

Redfish network boot for iDRAC

To enable Redfish, use redfish:// or redfish+http:// to disable transport layer security (TLS). The installer requires both the hostname or the IP address and the path to the system ID. The following example demonstrates a Redfish configuration within the install-config.yaml file.

platform:
  baremetal:
    hosts:
      - name: openshift-master-0
        role: master
        bmc:
          address: redfish://<out-of-band-ip>/redfish/v1/Systems/System.Embedded.1
          username: <user>
          password: <password>

While it is recommended to have a certificate of authority for the out-of-band management addresses, you must include disableCertificateVerification: True in the bmc configuration if using self-signed certificates. The following example demonstrates a Redfish configuration using the disableCertificateVerification: True configuration parameter within the install-config.yaml file.

platform:
  baremetal:
    hosts:
      - name: openshift-master-0
        role: master
        bmc:
          address: redfish://<out-of-band-ip>/redfish/v1/Systems/System.Embedded.1
          username: <user>
          password: <password>
          disableCertificateVerification: True

BMC addressing for HPE iLO

The address field for each bmc entry is a URL for connecting to the OKD cluster nodes, including the type of controller in the URL scheme and its location on the network.

platform:
  baremetal:
    hosts:
      - name: <hostname>
        role: <master | worker>
        bmc:
          address: <address> (1)
          username: <user>
          password: <password>

For HPE integrated Lights Out (iLO), Red Hat supports Redfish virtual media, Redfish network boot, and IPMI.

See the following sections for additional details.

Redfish virtual media for HPE iLO

To enable Redfish virtual media for HPE servers, use redfish-virtualmedia:// in the address setting. The following example demonstrates using Redfish virtual media within the install-config.yaml file.

platform:
  baremetal:
    hosts:
      - name: openshift-master-0
        role: master
        bmc:
          address: redfish-virtualmedia://<out-of-band-ip>/redfish/v1/Systems/1
          username: <user>
          password: <password>

While it is recommended to have a certificate of authority for the out-of-band management addresses, you must include disableCertificateVerification: True in the bmc configuration if using self-signed certificates. The following example demonstrates a Redfish configuration using the disableCertificateVerification: True configuration parameter within the install-config.yaml file.

platform:
  baremetal:
    hosts:
      - name: openshift-master-0
        role: master
        bmc:
          address: redfish-virtualmedia://<out-of-band-ip>/redfish/v1/Systems/1
          username: <user>
          password: <password>
          disableCertificateVerification: True

Redfish network boot for HPE iLO

To enable Redfish, use redfish:// or redfish+http:// to disable TLS. The installer requires both the hostname or the IP address and the path to the system ID. The following example demonstrates a Redfish configuration within the install-config.yaml file.

platform:
  baremetal:
    hosts:
      - name: openshift-master-0
        role: master
        bmc:
          address: redfish://<out-of-band-ip>/redfish/v1/Systems/1
          username: <user>
          password: <password>

While it is recommended to have a certificate of authority for the out-of-band management addresses, you must include disableCertificateVerification: True in the bmc configuration if using self-signed certificates. The following example demonstrates a Redfish configuration using the disableCertificateVerification: True configuration parameter within the install-config.yaml file.

platform:
  baremetal:
    hosts:
      - name: openshift-master-0
        role: master
        bmc:
          address: redfish://<out-of-band-ip>/redfish/v1/Systems/1
          username: <user>
          password: <password>
          disableCertificateVerification: True

BMC addressing for Fujitsu iRMC

The address field for each bmc entry is a URL for connecting to the OKD cluster nodes, including the type of controller in the URL scheme and its location on the network.

platform:
  baremetal:
    hosts:
      - name: <hostname>
        role: <master | worker>
        bmc:
          address: <address> (1)
          username: <user>
          password: <password>

For Fujitsu hardware, Red Hat supports integrated Remote Management Controller (iRMC) and IPMI.

iRMC

Fujitsu nodes can use irmc://<out-of-band-ip> and defaults to port 623. The following example demonstrates an iRMC configuration within the install-config.yaml file.

platform:
  baremetal:
    hosts:
      - name: openshift-master-0
        role: master
        bmc:
          address: irmc://<out-of-band-ip>
          username: <user>
          password: <password>

Root device hints

The rootDeviceHints parameter enables the installer to provision the Fedora CoreOS (FCOS) image to a particular device. The installer examines the devices in the order it discovers them, and compares the discovered values with the hint values. The installer uses the first discovered device that matches the hint value. The configuration can combine multiple hints, but a device must match all hints for the installer to select it.

Example usage

     - name: master-0
       role: master
       bmc:
         address: ipmi://10.10.0.3:6203
         username: admin
         password: redhat
       bootMACAddress: de:ad:be:ef:00:40
       rootDeviceHints:
         deviceName: "/dev/sda"

Creating the OKD manifests

1. Create the OKD manifests.

   $ ./openshift-baremetal-install --dir ~/clusterconfigs create manifests

   INFO Consuming Install Config from target directory
   WARNING Making control-plane schedulable by setting MastersSchedulable to true for Scheduler cluster settings
   WARNING Discarding the OpenShift Manifest that was provided in the target directory because its dependencies are dirty and it needs to be regenerated

Configuring NTP for disconnected clusters (optional)

OKD installs the chrony Network Time Protocol (NTP) service on the cluster nodes. Use the following procedure to configure NTP servers on the control plane nodes and configure worker nodes as NTP clients of the control plane nodes before deployment.

OKD nodes must agree on a date and time to run properly. When worker nodes retrieve the date and time from the NTP servers on the control plane nodes, it enables the installation and operation of clusters that are not connected to a routable network and thereby do not have access to a higher stratum NTP server.

Procedure

1. Create a Butane config, 99-master-chrony-conf-override.bu, including the contents of the chrony.conf file for the control plane nodes.

   See “Creating machine configs with Butane” for information about Butane.

   Butane config example

   variant: openshift
   version: 4.8.0
   metadata:
     name: 99-master-chrony-conf-override
     labels:
       machineconfiguration.openshift.io/role: master
   storage:
     files:
       - path: /etc/chrony.conf
         mode: 0644
         overwrite: true
         contents:
           inline: |
             # Use public servers from the pool.ntp.org project.
             # Please consider joining the pool (https://www.pool.ntp.org/join.html).
             # The Machine Config Operator manages this file
             server openshift-master-0.<cluster-name>.<domain> iburst (1)
             server openshift-master-1.<cluster-name>.<domain> iburst
             server openshift-master-2.<cluster-name>.<domain> iburst
             stratumweight 0
             driftfile /var/lib/chrony/drift
             rtcsync
             makestep 10 3
             bindcmdaddress 127.0.0.1
             bindcmdaddress ::1
             keyfile /etc/chrony.keys
             commandkey 1
             generatecommandkey
             noclientlog
             logchange 0.5
             logdir /var/log/chrony
             # Configure the control plane nodes to serve as local NTP servers
             # for all worker nodes, even if they are not in sync with an
             # upstream NTP server.
             # Allow NTP client access from the local network.
             allow all
             # Serve time even if not synchronized to a time source.
             local stratum 3 orphan

   1	You must replace <cluster-name> with the name of the cluster and replace <domain> with the fully qualified domain name.

2. Use Butane to generate a MachineConfig object file, 99-master-chrony-conf-override.yaml, containing the configuration to be delivered to the control plane nodes:

   $ butane 99-master-chrony-conf-override.bu -o 99-master-chrony-conf-override.yaml

3. Create a Butane config, 99-worker-chrony-conf-override.bu, including the contents of the chrony.conf file for the worker nodes that references the NTP servers on the control plane nodes.

   Butane config example

   variant: openshift
   version: 4.8.0
   metadata:
     name: 99-worker-chrony-conf-override
     labels:
       machineconfiguration.openshift.io/role: worker
   storage:
     files:
       - path: /etc/chrony.conf
         mode: 0644
         overwrite: true
         contents:
           inline: |
             # The Machine Config Operator manages this file.
             server openshift-master-0.<cluster-name>.<domain> iburst (1)
             server openshift-master-1.<cluster-name>.<domain> iburst
             server openshift-master-2.<cluster-name>.<domain> iburst
             stratumweight 0
             driftfile /var/lib/chrony/drift
             rtcsync
             makestep 10 3
             bindcmdaddress 127.0.0.1
             bindcmdaddress ::1
             keyfile /etc/chrony.keys
             commandkey 1
             generatecommandkey
             noclientlog
             logchange 0.5
             logdir /var/log/chrony

   1	You must replace <cluster-name> with the name of the cluster and replace <domain> with the fully qualified domain name.

4. Use Butane to generate a MachineConfig object file, 99-worker-chrony-conf-override.yaml, containing the configuration to be delivered to the worker nodes:

   $ butane 99-worker-chrony-conf-override.bu -o 99-worker-chrony-conf-override.yaml

5. Copy the 99-master-chrony-conf-override.yaml file to the ~/clusterconfigs/manifests directory.

   $ cp 99-master-chrony-conf-override.yaml ~/clusterconfigs/manifests

6. Copy the 99-worker-chrony-conf-override.yaml file to the ~/clusterconfigs/manifests directory.

   $ cp 99-worker-chrony-conf-override.yaml ~/clusterconfigs/manifests

Configure network components to run on the control plane

Configure networking components to run exclusively on the control plane nodes. By default, OKD allows any node in the machine config pool to host the apiVIP and ingressVIP virtual IP addresses. However, many environments deploy worker nodes in separate subnets from the control plane nodes. Consequently, you must place the apiVIP and ingressVIP virtual IP addresses exclusively with the control plane nodes.

Procedure

1. Change to the directory storing the install-config.yaml file:

   $ cd ~/clusterconfigs

2. Switch to the manifests subdirectory:

   $ cd manifests

3. Create a file named cluster-network-avoid-workers-99-config.yaml:

   $ touch cluster-network-avoid-workers-99-config.yaml

4. Open the cluster-network-avoid-workers-99-config.yaml file in an editor and enter a custom resource (CR) that describes the Operator configuration:

   apiVersion: machineconfiguration.openshift.io/v1
   kind: MachineConfig
   metadata:
     name: 50-worker-fix-ipi-rwn
     labels:
       machineconfiguration.openshift.io/role: worker
   spec:
     config:
       ignition:
         version: 3.2.0
       systemd:
         units:
         - name: nodeip-configuration.service
           enabled: true
           contents: |
             [Unit]
             Description=Writes IP address configuration so that kubelet and crio services select a valid node IP
             Wants=network-online.target
             After=network-online.target ignition-firstboot-complete.service
             Before=kubelet.service crio.service
             [Service]
             Type=oneshot
             ExecStart=/bin/bash -c "exit 0 "
             [Install]
             WantedBy=multi-user.target
       storage:
         files:
           - path: /etc/kubernetes/manifests/keepalived.yaml
             mode: 0644
             contents:
               source: data:,
           - path: /etc/kubernetes/manifests/mdns-publisher.yaml
             mode: 0644
             contents:
               source: data:,
           - path: /etc/kubernetes/manifests/coredns.yaml
             mode: 0644
             contents:
               source: data:,

   This manifest places the apiVIP and ingressVIP virtual IP addresses on the control plane nodes. Additionally, this manifest deploys the following processes on the control plane nodes only:

   • openshift-ingress-operator

   • keepalived

5. Save the cluster-network-avoid-workers-99-config.yaml file.

6. Create a manifests/cluster-ingress-default-ingresscontroller.yaml file:

   apiVersion: operator.openshift.io/v1
   kind: IngressController
   metadata:
     name: default
     namespace: openshift-ingress-operator
   spec:
     nodePlacement:
       nodeSelector:
         matchLabels:
           node-role.kubernetes.io/master: ""

7. Consider backing up the manifests directory. The installer deletes the manifests/ directory when creating the cluster.

8. Modify the cluster-scheduler-02-config.yml manifest to make the control plane nodes schedulable by setting the mastersSchedulable field to true. Control plane nodes are not schedulable by default. For example:

   $ sed -i "s;mastersSchedulable: false;mastersSchedulable: true;g" clusterconfigs/manifests/cluster-scheduler-02-config.yml

   If control plane nodes are not schedulable, deploying the cluster will fail.

9. Before deploying the cluster, ensure that the api.<cluster-name>.<domain> domain name is resolvable in the external DNS server. When you configure network components to run exclusively on the control plane, the internal DNS resolution no longer works for worker nodes, which is an expected outcome.

   Failure to create a DNS record for the api.<cluster-name>.<domain> domain name in the external DNS server precludes worker nodes from joining the cluster.

Creating a disconnected registry (optional)

In some cases, you might want to install an OKD cluster using a local copy of the installation registry. This could be for enhancing network efficiency because the cluster nodes are on a network that does not have access to the internet.

A local, or mirrored, copy of the registry requires the following:

• A certificate for the registry node. This can be a self-signed certificate.

• A web server that a container on a system will serve.

• An updated pull secret that contains the certificate and local repository information.

Preparing the registry node to host the mirrored registry (optional)

Make the following changes to the registry node.

Procedure

1. Open the firewall port on the registry node.

   $ sudo firewall-cmd --add-port=5000/tcp --zone=libvirt  --permanent
   $ sudo firewall-cmd --add-port=5000/tcp --zone=public   --permanent
   $ sudo firewall-cmd --reload

2. Install the required packages for the registry node.

   $ sudo yum -y install python3 podman httpd httpd-tools jq

3. Create the directory structure where the repository information will be held.

   $ sudo mkdir -p /opt/registry/{auth,certs,data}

Generating the self-signed certificate (optional)

Generate a self-signed certificate for the registry node and put it in the /opt/registry/certs directory.

Procedure

1. Adjust the certificate information as appropriate.

   $ host_fqdn=$( hostname --long )
   $ cert_c="<Country Name>"   # Country Name (C, 2 letter code)
   $ cert_s="<State>"          # Certificate State (S)
   $ cert_l="<Locality>"       # Certificate Locality (L)
   $ cert_o="<Organization>"   # Certificate Organization (O)
   $ cert_ou="<Org Unit>"      # Certificate Organizational Unit (OU)
   $ cert_cn="${host_fqdn}"    # Certificate Common Name (CN)
   $ openssl req \
       -newkey rsa:4096 \
       -nodes \
       -sha256 \
       -keyout /opt/registry/certs/domain.key \
       -x509 \
       -days 365 \
       -out /opt/registry/certs/domain.crt \
       -addext "subjectAltName = DNS:${host_fqdn}" \
       -subj "/C=${cert_c}/ST=${cert_s}/L=${cert_l}/O=${cert_o}/OU=${cert_ou}/CN=${cert_cn}"

   When replacing <Country Name>, ensure that it only contains two letters. For example, US.

2. Update the registry node’s ca-trust with the new certificate.

   $ sudo cp /opt/registry/certs/domain.crt /etc/pki/ca-trust/source/anchors/
   $ sudo update-ca-trust extract

Creating the registry podman container (optional)

The registry container uses the /opt/registry directory for certificates, authentication files, and to store its data files.

The registry container uses httpd and needs an htpasswd file for authentication.

Procedure

1. Create an htpasswd file in /opt/registry/auth for the container to use.

   $ htpasswd -bBc /opt/registry/auth/htpasswd <user> <passwd>

   Replace <user> with the user name and <passwd> with the password.

2. Create and start the registry container.

   $ podman create \
     --name ocpdiscon-registry \
     -p 5000:5000 \
     -e "REGISTRY_AUTH=htpasswd" \
     -e "REGISTRY_AUTH_HTPASSWD_REALM=Registry" \
     -e "REGISTRY_HTTP_SECRET=ALongRandomSecretForRegistry" \
     -e "REGISTRY_AUTH_HTPASSWD_PATH=/auth/htpasswd" \
     -e "REGISTRY_HTTP_TLS_CERTIFICATE=/certs/domain.crt" \
     -e "REGISTRY_HTTP_TLS_KEY=/certs/domain.key" \
     -e "REGISTRY_COMPATIBILITY_SCHEMA1_ENABLED=true" \
     -v /opt/registry/data:/var/lib/registry:z \
     -v /opt/registry/auth:/auth:z \
     -v /opt/registry/certs:/certs:z \
     docker.io/library/registry:2

   $ podman start ocpdiscon-registry

Copy and update the pull-secret (optional)

Copy the pull secret file from the provisioner node to the registry node and modify it to include the authentication information for the new registry node.

Procedure

1. Copy the pull-secret.txt file.

   $ scp kni@provisioner:/home/kni/pull-secret.txt pull-secret.txt

2. Update the host_fqdn environment variable with the fully qualified domain name of the registry node.

   $ host_fqdn=$( hostname --long )

3. Update the b64auth environment variable with the base64 encoding of the http credentials used to create the htpasswd file.

   $ b64auth=$( echo -n '<username>:<passwd>' | openssl base64 )

   Replace <username> with the user name and <passwd> with the password.

4. Set the AUTHSTRING environment variable to use the base64 authorization string. The $USER variable is an environment variable containing the name of the current user.

   $ AUTHSTRING="{\"$host_fqdn:5000\": {\"auth\": \"$b64auth\",\"email\": \"$USER@redhat.com\"}}"

5. Update the pull-secret.txt file.

   $ jq ".auths += $AUTHSTRING" < pull-secret.txt > pull-secret-update.txt

Mirroring the repository (optional)

Procedure

1. Copy the oc binary from the provisioner node to the registry node.

   $ sudo scp kni@provisioner:/usr/local/bin/oc /usr/local/bin

2. Mirror the remote install images to the local repository.

   $ /usr/local/bin/oc adm release mirror \
     -a pull-secret-update.txt
     --from=$UPSTREAM_REPO \
     --to-release-image=$LOCAL_REG/$LOCAL_REPO:${VERSION} \
     --to=$LOCAL_REG/$LOCAL_REPO

Modify the install-config.yaml file to use the disconnected registry (optional)

On the provisioner node, the install-config.yaml file should use the newly created pull-secret from the pull-secret-update.txt file. The install-config.yaml file must also contain the disconnected registry node’s certificate and registry information.

Procedure

1. Add the disconnected registry node’s certificate to the install-config.yaml file. The certificate should follow the "additionalTrustBundle: |" line and be properly indented, usually by two spaces.

   $ echo "additionalTrustBundle: |" >> install-config.yaml
   $ sed -e 's/^/  /' /opt/registry/certs/domain.crt >> install-config.yaml

2. Add the mirror information for the registry to the install-config.yaml file.

   $ echo "imageContentSources:" >> install-config.yaml
   $ echo "- mirrors:" >> install-config.yaml
   $ echo "  - registry.example.com:5000/ocp4/openshift4" >> install-config.yaml
   $ echo "  source: quay.io/openshift-release-dev/ocp-release" >> install-config.yaml
   $ echo "- mirrors:" >> install-config.yaml
   $ echo "  - registry.example.com:5000/ocp4/openshift4" >> install-config.yaml
   $ echo "  source: quay.io/openshift-release-dev/ocp-v4.0-art-dev" >> install-config.yaml

   Replace registry.example.com with the registry’s fully qualified domain name.

Deploying routers on worker nodes

During installation, the installer deploys router pods on worker nodes. By default, the installer installs two router pods. If the initial cluster has only one worker node, or if a deployed cluster requires additional routers to handle external traffic loads destined for services within the OKD cluster, you can create a yaml file to set an appropriate number of router replicas.

Procedure

1. Create a router-replicas.yaml file.

   apiVersion: operator.openshift.io/v1
   kind: IngressController
   metadata:
     name: default
     namespace: openshift-ingress-operator
   spec:
     replicas: <num-of-router-pods>
     endpointPublishingStrategy:
       type: HostNetwork
     nodePlacement:
       nodeSelector:
         matchLabels:
           node-role.kubernetes.io/worker: ""

   Replace <num-of-router-pods> with an appropriate value. If working with just one worker node, set replicas: to 1. If working with more than 3 worker nodes, you can increase replicas: from the default value 2 as appropriate.

2. Save and copy the router-replicas.yaml file to the clusterconfigs/openshift directory.

   cp ~/router-replicas.yaml clusterconfigs/openshift/99_router-replicas.yaml

Validation checklist for installation

• OKD installer has been retrieved.

• OKD installer has been extracted.

• Required parameters for the install-config.yaml have been configured.

• The hosts parameter for the install-config.yaml has been configured.

• The bmc parameter for the install-config.yaml has been configured.

• Conventions for the values configured in the bmc address field have been applied.

• Created a disconnected registry (optional).

• (optional) Validate disconnected registry settings if in use.

• (optional) Deployed routers on worker nodes.

Deploying the cluster via the OKD installer

Run the OKD installer:

$ ./openshift-baremetal-install --dir ~/clusterconfigs --log-level debug create cluster

Following the installation

During the deployment process, you can check the installation’s overall status by issuing the tail command to the .openshift_install.log log file in the install directory folder.

$ tail -f /path/to/install-dir/.openshift_install.log

Verifying static IP address configuration

If the DHCP reservation for a cluster node specifies an infinite lease, after the installer successfully provisions the node, the dispatcher script checks the node’s network configuration. If the script determines that the network configuration contains an infinite DHCP lease, it creates a new connection using the IP address of the DHCP lease as a static IP address.

Verify the network configuration is working properly.

Procedure

1. Check the network interface configuration on the node.

2. Turn off the DHCP server and reboot the OKD node and ensure that the network configuration works properly.

Additional resources

• See OKD upgrade channels and releases for an explanation of the different release channels.