On this blog post, I will share with you the experience I had when preparing the VM to host the Nutanix Community Edition. I will then take you through the installation process.
My deployment is based on a Nested implementation using VMware vSphere 6.5.
Many of the steps I am going to use here come from the Nutanix community forum (Next). However, I see a benefit in sharing and consolidating all that I have learned in successfully deploying the Nutanix Community Edition; from that, your experience with the deployment will also be fast-tracked. If you are a Veeam user and would like to test a Veeam Nutanix Integration, this blog consolidates all that you need to successfully deploy and test the integration; and help you along, also review this blog Veeam Nutanix Integration Easy as 1-2-3
After that explanation of why we are doing this blog post, let’s start the process.
Begin
To download the Nutanix CE software, you must register to the Nutanix Next site. When you have done that, browse to this URL: https://next.nutanix.com/discussion-forum-14/download-nutanix-ce-docs-and-guides-3188
The next steps after you have downloaded the latest version, is to extract the .img file and rename it. The steps are:
- Extract the file and rename it to ce-flat.vmdk
- Next, create a file name ce.vmdk and add the text under the line below to the file:
=============================================================
# Disk DescriptorFile
version=1
encoding=”UTF-8″
CID=2e5848c5
parentCID=ffffffff
isNativeSnapshot=”no”
createType=”vmfs”
# Extent description
RW 14540800 VMFS “ce-flat.vmdk” 0
# The Disk Data Base
#DDB
ddb.adapterType = “lsilogic”
ddb.deletable = “true”
ddb.geometry.cylinders = “905”
ddb.geometry.heads = “255”
ddb.geometry.sectors = “63”
ddb.longContentID = “c851dabecd37a4b9f6e204192e5848c5”
ddb.uuid = “60 00 C2 94 94 fb f1 6a-87 64 a4 97 67 54 d9 42”
ddb.virtualHWVersion = “11”
===============================================================
- The next step is to create a new VM with the following specifications:
- Linux CentOS (64Bit)
-
- CPU
- Memory
- CPU
At least 32 GB.
-
- Network
- Network
Note: Make sure that the VMware network vSwitch/PortGroup security is configured to accept the below:
-
- Hard Disks
- Advanced Configuration
Start the newly created VM, and then turn it off immediately. This step is to ensure that the VM folder and the associated files are created; we will need them later.
- The next step is to delete the VM Hard disk:
- Upload the two files ce* to the VM directory. Next, add a new disk to the VM and point it to the ce.vmdk file (Existing Hard Disk):
Customize the VM before the Nutanix CE Installation
After the first boot, login using the root username and nutanix/4u password:
- browse to: /home/install/phx_iso/phoenix/
- and edit: vi minimum_reqs.py
- Adjust the minimum memory and CPU core for prerequisite check:
- save and exit editing
- edit: sysUtil.py
- adjust IOPS to 500:
- Adjust mem of the CVM to the desire RAM and vCPU:
- Save and exit editing
- Browse to /home/install/phx_iso/phoenix/svm_template/kvm, and then
- Edit the default.xml and add pmu state value.
- Browse to /var/cache/libvirt/qemu/capabilities/, then
- Edit the 3c76bc41d59c0c7314b1ae8e63f4f765d2cf16abaeea081b3ca1f5d8732f7bb1.xml
- At the end of the file remove the line that contains ‘pc-i440fx-rhel7.2.0’;
- and change the first line that contains ‘pc-i440fx-rhel7.3.0’. Change this to ‘pc-i440fx-rhel7.2.0’;
- You will end up with a config like this one below:
- Save and exit Editing
- Reboot the VM
- Note: It is very important to reboot at this stage after all the modifications.
Start the Deployment of the Nutanix CE
Following all the modifications of the settings and the reboot:
- On the login screen, type install:
- Select your Keyboard Layout:
- Next, provide the IP address setting for your Nutanix CE:
- Accept the license agreement
Note: you must scroll down the entire CE EULA page.
- Select Start.
The installation takes some time, so a cup of tea is a good idea at this point.
The message below means you are done:
- Press Enter.
- Enter will take you back to the login screen.
- Using the Nutanix CVM IP on your browser, access the WebGUI.
- To log in and start the initial configuration, use the username: admin and password: nutanix/4u
Note: you also need your Nutanix community (Next) username and password
Conclusion
Your completed deployment will offer you the smooth user experience that you have come to expect from Nutanix. I am not sure why the package not delivered as an OVF. For example, as an OVF, it could be quickly deployed without all the manual steps we just went through here.
As I mentioned at the top of the page, these steps are taken from the Nutanix Next community site. All I have done here is consolidate several sources of information into one location for Veeam users who wish to try the Veeam-Nutanix integration.
After all, I’m impressed with the experience and would like to know how you went with yours. Till next time.
