Power system deployment solution in virtualized environments

With the rapid development of IT technology, the virtualization technology is becoming more and more mature, and more and more enterprises are starting to deploy the virtualization platform because of its obvious advantages in the capital saving and it efficiency. The number of LPARs in a virtualized platform increases as the business grows, and rapid deployment of the operating system becomes a must. The general deployment of an AIX operating system takes about 50 minutes and requires more human involvement, and takes up a lot of time and effort from the administrator. To improve the deployment speed and flexibility of the system, this article will quickly deploy AIX systems to individual lpar or physical power through receptacle Install Manager (hereafter known as NIM) for the existing IBM Power VM virtualization environment. In order to facilitate understanding, through the past real project actual combat and experience, the operation of the implementation process of all recorded.

I. INTRODUCTION

1. Background Introduction

All along, the IBM power system has been recognized and favored by our customers in terms of performance and stability, especially in the fields of finance or telecommunications. The number of power servers is increasing on a per-account basis for the specificity of the customer's business and the expanding customer IT environment. Management is also complicated, and reloading systems is one of the things that makes it people's headaches the most. As the number of servers increases, the time cost of installing the system is increasing, and each AIX version is growing, and IT staff will be bothered to memorize each version and install location.

In view of the above issues, the project uses the IBM power series server's own bulk installation technology receptacle Install Manager. Minimize the bulk deployment and management of your IT staff to the OS. The implementation of the AIX system batch rapid deployment, the unified management of the operating system version, for the important business system can quickly backup and restore. This simplifies the operating system management costs of IT administrators and the time cost of system installation.

2. Nim Introduction

Nim is a functional module of the AIX operating system and does not need to be purchased separately. A system administrator can use NIM on one or more

System for remote installation, upgrades and maintenance. You can also manage multiple operating systems, ML,TL, and multiple versions in the same NIM environment. can cooperate with MKSYSB backup files, quickly restore damaged system or "clone" production system. Multiple NIM resources can also share the same network resource and do not affect each other.

Nim is divided into server-side and client-side, which is responsible for storing various operations and software resources and providing them to clients through requirements. These resources are accepted and utilized by the client and the final AIX operating system.

3. The terminology and working principle of NIM

To design Nim's architecture and configuration Nim must first understand the common terminology and working principles of NIM.

　　

Figure 1-1nim Working principle

Understanding the workings of NIM is critical to the success of the NIM service set-up. The NIM service provides the NIM client with a network boot kernel delivery based on the BOOTP service and TFTP service, and then provides the root file system and installation package resources for the Nim client based on the NFS service, which works as shown in Figure 1-1:

Nim client will issue a BOOTP system boot request to the specified NIM server IP address at system startup to obtain information such as the native IP address and the corresponding system boot kernel. Nim Master responds to BOOTP requests from NIM client, and returns the directory address of the network boot core (such as/tftpboot/) that NIM client relied on to obtain the directory address of the network boot kernel. Issue a TFTP request download the network boot kernel NIM master responds to TFTP requests from NIM client through the TFTP service, and NIM client loads the kernel after acquiring the appropriate network boot kernel and mounts the installation through the NFS service. The various NIM resources needed to upgrade or maintain the process.

After completing the above steps, NIM client will begin the formal installation, upgrade or maintenance process and update the corresponding progress information to

NIM Master.

Nim Host:

Is the server that establishes and maintains the NIM environment, which can be pushed and installed through master to the client. The version of Nim master must be higher or the same than all NIM client versions.

NIM Client:

The NIM client is the target of the NIM host's initial installation, such as installation, upgrade, push. The client can also send pull installation requests.

Resource server:

A server that stores a variety of software resources or system resources, and in most cases master is a resource server.

Nim Database:

Used to store various NIM-related information and to be stored uniformly in the ODM database. Detailed Nimresource information can be viewed through the Lsnim command

4. Nim's Resource type

SPOT:

Called Shared Product Object tree, it points to a directory that holds the code program that NIM client needs to use when booting. Roughly the same content as the/usr file system in Aix. Contains the device driver, the BOS installer, and other installation-related code.

Lpp_resource:

Point to a directory that is equivalent to an AIX system CD or an application's installation CD. Contains the LPP file to be installed, either in BFF format or in RPM format.

MKSYSB:

Point to a file that is a backup file of a server ROOTVG that is used to restore or clone the system.

5. How to install Nim

There are two types of general installation modes: Push mode and pull mode.

Push mode: Initializes the operation from master. If you want to push, you need the client to have AIX installed and IP information configured.

Pull mode: Initialization from the client, when the client is first installed, is also the default mode of operation. \ Pull Client TCP/IP can be configured to contact master via the client's SMS menu.

　　

Figure 1-2nim Push-Pull mode

Ii. the planning of Nim

In the architectural design described in the article, NIM server and the resource server are all installed in a virtual machine (LPAR). Install the operating system for the hardware and Lpar in the system over the network. The following architecture briefly describes how the NIM approach is used to remotely install the AIX operating system into a power server or Lpar.

However, in a large deployment environment, it may be necessary to set up multiple NIM servers to provide redundant deployment services. The following schema separates the server segment from the client segment through VLAN partitioning, facilitating the deployment of various network security policies, which is the most common approach in regular deployments. All cloud hardware uses IBM power 740+ servers and V7000 storage devices. To facilitate the migration of NIM services in the future, it is recommended that NIM and the resource server be placed on the same machine, providing the physical and virtual machine services in the automated deployment cloud environment.

1, hardware list

Table 1: Server Configuration Tables

Model role Description

Power 740+ LPAR Host hosts multiple virtual machines

Table 2: Storage

Model role Description

V7000 data store to store hard disk data

Table 3: Network Partitioning

Server network segment Customer segment client Network segment

192.168.4.0/24 192.168.2.0/24 192.168.3.0/24

2. Deployment architecture Diagram

　　

Iii. installation of Nim

1, the division of the Lpar

All services are provided through LPARs. This allows you to leverage power VM virtualization's advantages and unique capabilities to demand and deliver the required performance and computing capabilities. Because the NIM server requires a large amount of storage space to hold various versions of operating system mirrors and related software resources, a single large LUN is mounted on the LPAR to store the resources exclusively. CPU and memory do not need too much setup, according to 0.8 and 8G standards. Use the HMC to create an lpar to install the Nim Server,lpar in accordance with the following table criteria refer to the IBM Red Book (www.redbooks.ibm.com).

Table 4:lpar Configuration Table

Processor memory Hard Drive card

0.8 (shared) 8G 100G Eth0

2. Install Nim Server

Because NIM server is an existing feature of AIX, a high version of the AIX operating system is installed in advance, using the AIX7

As a platform for NIM.

Note: The version of all resources on the NIM server cannot exceed the version of the platform.

With the telnet instruction, you can remotely log on to the installed AIX software, NIM server needs to install the following components, which are available and installed via the AIX CD.

Bos.sysmgt.nim.master

Bos.sysmgt.nim.spot

Bos.sysmgt.nim.client

Bos.net.nfs.server

Run command Smit install install and Update Softwareinstall softwareinput device/directory for software selection

/DEV/CD0 and select the software above to install.

　　

Figure 3-1

The installation of this package is fast, about 1 minutes or so NIM installation completed.

Iv. Configuration of Nim

1. Configure Nim Server

After the NIM server installation is complete, you need some configuration to work properly to provide remote deployment capabilities. All of the operations for NIM server are available through the powerful management tool Smit provided by AIX. Configure Nim Server with the Smit NIM command

　　

Figure 4-1 Configuring the Nim menu

Select Configure the Nim environmentadvanced configurationinitialize the Nim master to begin initializing NIM master

　　

Figure 4-2 Initializing Master

Name the NIM server network and give the corresponding network interface name, such as En0 (NIC interface can be adjusted according to the actual situation)

　　

Figure 4-3 Defining the network Name

2. Configure NIM Resources

Nim's resources are divided into three kinds of LPP resource, spot and MKSYSB, which are described in the following sequence.

LPP Resource

Create Lpp_resource resources through Smit NIM, Smit-nim select menu items perform NIM administration Tasks

　　

Figure 4-4 Performing administrative tasks

Select Manage Resourcesdefine A resource

　　

Figure 4-5 Defining resources

Select a resource for the Lpp_source resource type

　　

Figure 4-6 Resource types

Name the resource of the selected type, on which server, where the file is stored, and where the installation media is.

In the experiment, the name is lpp_resource_7100, placed on the master server, the file is stored under/export/lpp_resources,

The quality chooses/dev/cd0. Because you are copying files from the CD media to the target location, you will need to wait a while.

Figure 4-7 Resource Information

After the file copy is complete, lpp_resources is created.

Spot Resources

Below we create the spot resource and use the Smit tool to generate the spot resource with the lpp_resources resource just defined.

Smit nimperform NIM Administration tasksmanage resourcesdefine a Resource

　　

Figure 4-8 Definition Spot

Give the name of the SPOT resource spot_7100, store the name of the server master, in source of Install images, give the Lpp_source name lpp_resources7100,spot resource stored directory name/ Export/spot

　　

Figure 4-9 Resource Information

After giving the relevant information, the spot reads the desired content from the lpp_resources7100 and stores the results in the specified directory, similar to the installation software for the system, after which we continue to define the MKSYSB type of resources.

MKSYSB Resources

MKSYSB types of resources are also the most commonly used types in a production environment, and are flexible in both creation and recovery. AIX System Pass

MKSYSB backup ROOTVG, when the original system problems, you can quickly restore services.

First we need to back up the ROOTVG to the specified location through the mksysb-i/mksysb/mksysb7100 command. Then through the Smit Nim

Perform NIM administration Tasksmanage resourcesdefine A resource to define MKSYSB resources.

　　

Figure 4-10 Resource types

Name the resource of the selected type, on which server, and in which directory the file is stored. In the experiment, the name is AIX7100, placed on the master server, the file is stored under/EXPORT/MKSYSB.

　　

Figure 4-11 Resource Information

When the file copy is complete, the MKSYSB resource is created.

After the establishment is completed, also should establish the related spot resources for just MKSYSB. According to the image below, give the name of the spot and the name of the server that holds it. In the source of Install images, give the absolute path to the previous MKSYSB resource, in location of Resource

Fill in the spot location.

　　

Figure 4-12 Resource Information

The basic NIM resource has been established. Nim itself has a number of highly available configurations, which can be referred to IBM's Redbook Web site (http://www.redbooks.ibm.com). We can add more versions of resources to the actual needs, and of course the highest version must not exceed the NIM server's system version.

V. NIM Client Bulk Deployment

1. Define Client

By defining a client can limit which servers can deploy the system in bulk through the NIM server. In virtualized environments, the bulk deployment of operating systems is a regular and rigorous step. Therefore, it is very important to set up a good client in the early stage, otherwise it will cause problems in the deployment machine planning, which is not conducive to overall management.

AIX provides SMIT commands to facilitate the definition of required clients. The client's host name and IP address are mapped in the local Hosts file in Nim server before the definition, otherwise the client cannot be successfully defined. Future deployments also use this to locate the client and transmit relevant information to install it.

Open the Hosts file through the VI tool, type vi/etc/hosts, and enter the following information:

192.168.2.24 Client01

192.168.2.25 Client02

The above information can be added and modified according to the actual environment. And then still through the Smit Nimperform NIM administration

Tasksmanage machinesdefine a machine Select ENT as the primary network installation type

　　

Figure 5-1 Client Information

This method defines client02 into the NIM library.

After the NIM server is initialized, the NIM resource is defined, and the client is defined, NIM server basically works to provide the source of deployment. The installation of the client is done by pulling through the following chapters. (the default is pull mode when you install the NIM client for the first time.)

2. Definition group

In order to implement the bulk deployment of the operating system, we need to define a group on the NIM server side to accommodate preinstalled clients.

In this experiment, put two lpars into this group. Performing the Smit Nimperform Nim administration in Nim server

Tasksmanage Groupsdefine a groupdefine a Standalone Machine group, fill in the Group name (test group) and select two LPARs

Figure 5-2 Client Information

3, install the client

Deploying the operating system to the client takes approximately two steps, and the first step is to initiate the installation request on the NIM server side, which will

Pre-installed system information and related files are placed in TFTP. The second step is to start the client's configuration file through the HMC by setting the

Install the initial IP on the network. The administrator is required to provide the relevant client IP, NIM server address. The Pull method requires manual intervention to complete, and it is also the most commonly used way in virtualized environments. The following is an example of the Smit installation of test group.

Type the Smit Nimperform Nim Software installation and maintenance on the NIM server

Tasksinstall and Update Softwareinstall the Base keyboard-based System on Standalone clients select test

Group groups and choose the type of installation, usually using the type of MKSYSB, because it is deployed faster than the RTE.

Figure 5-3 Installation Type

In the wizard that follows, select the correct MKSYSB source and spot resource in turn, and select the protocol that is presented in the wizard to

Yes, otherwise the deployment will not be completed successfully.

　　

Figure 5-4 Protocol Selection

To be prompted OK, login to the HMC to find the relevant client (CLIENT01 and client02), select Active to activate client01 and client02 profile startup client01 and 02 access to the SMS interface, select Configure network card information

　　

Figure 5-5 Setting up network card information

When Setup is complete, boot from the network and the client automatically installs the relevant startup information from the NIM server.

About 10 minutes, system installation complete.

Vi. Summary

This article describes the methodology and rationale for deploying NIM server in a virtualized environment to provide automatic, rapid installation of client operating systems. With the rapid operating system, it can save the time and work cost of IT administrators, and solve the problem of rapid deployment of operating system in cloud computing.