How to: Install and configure BIG-IP Next Central Manager on KVM¶
Prerequisites¶
Before you can install a BIG-IP Next Central Manager image in an OpenStack environment, you need to configure the following in your KVM:
Security group
Key pair
Floating IP address for each externally accessible interface
KVM QEMU 6.2 on Ubuntu 22.04 (machine type i440fx)
CLI utilities to work with KVM images:
virtinst,virt-inst,virt-viewer,virsh,cloud-localdsInstance - sizes for deployment:
| vCPUs | Memory |
|---|---|
| 8 | 16GB |
Disk resource: 350GB of disk per BIG-IP Next Central Manager virtual machine (VM)
Access to MyF5 for downloads
Inputs for your network
Review the appropriate Release Notes
If you are unfamiliar with these prerequisites, refer to the OpenStack documentation for details.
Procedures¶
Upload a BIG-IP Next Central Manager image to your OpenStack environment¶
Download a KVM Cloud Image (qcow2)¶
To install the BIG-IP Next Central Manager in OpenStack, the software image must be in the OpenStack environment.
Log in to MyF5 Downloads.
Accept the EULA and click Next.
Under Group, select BIG-IP_Next.
Under Product Line, select Central Manager.
Under Select a product container, choose the appropriate version.
Under Select a download file select the qcow2 image file.
Under Download locations, select the appropriate location.
Click Download.
Repeat these steps to also download the appropriate checksum file.
Save the qcow2 file temporarily to your workstation’s local storage.
Log in to your OpenStack environment dashboard.
Navigate to Project → Compute → Images to display the Images page, and then click Create Image.
On the Create Image dialog box, type a name and an optional description for the BIG-IP Next Central Manager image in the Image Name and Image Description fields.
Click Browse, and then navigate to the location in which you extracted the qcow2 image and select it.
To comply with your policies or business requirements, you can specify values for other fields on this page and on the next two pages, but these additional values are optional.
Click Create Image to start the image upload to the OpenStack environment. Although a progress bar should display to indicate the progress of this process, timeouts in the OpenStack user interface sometimes occur. If the process seems to be taking longer than it should, refresh to update the view.
Create a new disk volume¶
Before you can create a new disk volume for a BIG-IP Next Central Manager, you must have the F5 software image in your OpenStack environment.
You need a disk volume in your OpenStack environment that you can use to launch the new BIG-IP Next Central Manager. Depending on your business practices, permissions, or personal preference, you might choose to create the new volume as part of the launch process, instead of as a separate task. The workflow provided here is just one way to get the job done.
From the OpenStack dashboard, click Project → Volumes → Volumes to display the Volumes page, and then click Create Volume.
Type a Volume Name and Description. From Volume Source, select Image.
From Use image as a source, select the image you uploaded for install.
In Size (GiB), type the minimum disk size for the new volume you are creating. The volume size you specify must not be less than the actual size of the original image (QCOW2) file.
For BIG-IP Next Central Manager, 350 GB is the recommended size.Click Create Volume to start the process.
Although a progress bar should display to indicate the progress of this process, timeouts in the OpenStack user interface sometimes occur. If the process seems to be taking longer than it should, refresh to update.
Use the wizard to launch a new BIG-IP Next Central Manager¶
Before you launch a new BIG-IP Next Central Manager instance, you must have created the disk volume in your OpenStack environment
To use a BIG-IP Next Central Manager in your OpenStack environment, you need to launch the BIG-IP Next Central Manager virtual machine.
Note: Do not use configuration settings (CPU, RAM, and network adapters) that provide fewer resources than those recommended and described here.
From the OpenStack dashboard, click Project → Compute → Instances to display the Instances page, and then click Launch Instance.
The Launch Instance dialog box opens on the Details page.Type an Instance Name, and make sure the Count reflects how many BIG-IP Next Central Manager virtual machines you want to create, then click Next.
The Source page opens.From Select Boot Source, choose Volume.
Identify the volume you want, click ↑ to select it, and then click Next.
Note: If you have a lot of available volumes and want to find the one you want faster, you can type into the filters box so only volumes that match your filter criteria are listed. Then, you can sort the columns so that the volume you are looking for is easier to find.
The Flavor page opens. In the OpenStack environment, a Flavor is a predefined virtual hardware profile that you can launch.Identify the flavor you want to use, click ↑ to select it, and then click Next.
Select the appropriate flavor to support the required specs (8 vCPU, 16 GB RAM, 350 GB Total Disk).
Note Again, you can use the filter and column sort to find the image flavor more quickly.
The Networks page opens.Starting with the management network, identify the network interfaces that you want the BIG-IP Next Central Manager to have, and click ↑ to add them.
It is essential that you add the management network first. If the new BIG-IP Next Central Manager virtual machine requires further customization to comply with your business processes, you can use the Next and Back buttons to access the remaining pages and specify additional detail. Otherwise, this virtual machine is ready to launch.When you are satisfied with the specifications for the new BIG-IP Next Central Manager, click Launch Instance.
Although a progress bar should display to indicate the progress of this process, timeouts in the OpenStack user interface sometimes occur. If the process seems to be taking longer than it should, refresh to update.
Set up the BIG-IP Next Central Manager management network¶
How you set up the BIG-IP Next Central Manager management user interface depends on how the network interfaces are attached.
If the interfaces attach to a tenant network subnet that allocates IP addresses from a pre-defined static IP pool, an IP address is automatically assigned to the interface during deployment. In this case, you must use this address to access the BIG-IP Next Central Manager user interface or use the command line interface (CLI).
If the interfaces (whether attached to tenant or external networks) allocate their IP addresses using a DHCP server, then an IP address is automatically assigned to the BIG-IP Next Central Manager interface during deployment. You can use this address to access the BIG-IP Next Central Manager user interface or use the CLI.
If the interfaces attach to a tenant or external network without a mechanism for allocating IP addresses, you must manually assign an unused address to the network interface that complies with the required subnet criteria.
Change the BIG-IP Next Central Manager default password¶
After the system completes the initialization process, a built-in admin account is enabled that provides you with the access you need to complete initial configuration and setup.
The admin account provides initial user access.
The initial admin account password is admin.
You should change the password for the admin account before bringing a system into production.
From the OpenStack dashboard, click Project → Compute → Instances to display the Instances page.
On the right side of the screen, from the Actions list of your BIG-IP Next Central Manager virtual machine, select Console to open a console session for this virtual machine.
At the login prompt, type admin.
At the password prompt, type admin.
You are prompted to change the default password the first time you log in.Follow the prompts and set a new password.
After setting the new password, the BIG-IP Next Central Manager Console will open.When you log in as admin with the new password the system displays a “welcome” banner along with information unique to your new BIG-IP Next Central Manager, similar to the following:
-> Pre-authentication banner message from server: | ________ ___ _________ _______ _ __ __ / __/ __/ / _ )/ _/ ___/___/ _/ _ \ / |/ /____ __/ /_ / _//__ \ / _ |/ // (_ /___// // ___/ / / -_) \ / __/ /_/ /____/ /____/___/\___/ /___/_/ /_/|_/\__/_\_\__/ _____ __ __ __ ___ / ___/__ ___ / /________ _/ / / |/ /__ ____ ___ ____ ____ ____ / /__/ -_) _ \/ __/ __/ _ `/ / / /|_/ / _ `/ _ \/ _ `/ _ `/ -_) __/ \___/\__/_//_/\__/_/ \_,_/_/ /_/ /_/\_,_/_//_/\_,_/\_, /\__/_/ --- Welcome to the F5 BIG-IP Next Central Manager Console --- +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | * To set up networking and install the software bundle, use the following command:| | -> setup | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ ->Platform Details Hostname:..........central-manager Release:...........20.1.0 Platform Version:..0.8.109 App Version:.......0.178.14 BuildDate:.........2024.01.23 Flavor:............Small K8s Platform:......v1.27.7+k3s1
Install BIG-IP Next Central Manager¶
Run the setup script¶
While still on the CM console, at the
$prompt, typesetup
Welcome… and instructions display.Note: Message if BIG-IP Next Central Manager is already installed:
BIG-IP Next Central Manager has already been installed.
Running setup again will destroy all current configuration and data.
Please run ‘/opt/cm-bundle/cm uninstall -c’ prior to running ‘setup’ if you wish to continue.Type inputs
Example values are shown within parentheses. If there is a default value, it will be shown within square brackets and will automatically be used if no value is entered.
Network with DHCP
Hostname (example.com):
[‘10.145.77.192’] found on the management interface.Do you want to configure a static IP address (N/y) [N]:
Primary NTP server address (0.pool.ntp.org) (optional):
Alternate NTP server address (1.pool.ntp.org (optional):
Network with a management IP address (No DHCP)
Hostname (e.g. example.com):
Management IP Address & Network Mask [192.168.1.245/24]:
Management Network Default Gateway [192.168.1.1]:
Primary DNS nameserver (e.g. 192.168.1.2):
Alternate DNS nameserver (e.g. 192.168.1.3) (optional):
Primary NTP server address (i.e 0.ubuntu.pool.ntp.org) (optional):
Alternate NTP server address (e.g. 1.ubuntu.pool.ntp.org (optional):
IPv4 network CIDR to use for service IPs [100.75.0.0/16]:
IPv4 network CIDR to use for pod IPs [100.76.0.0/14]:
Note: About the two inputs for service and pod IPs: the system uses the two internal IP addresses for communication between invidual containers. Make sure the defaults listed do not conflict with the existing IP address space on your network. If they do, choose a different IP range for the service and pod IPs to resolve the conflict.
Storage
Note: Due to limited CM storage capacity, it is recommended that you configure external storage for storing both your instance and CM backup files. This proactive measure ensures readiness for disaster recovery scenarios.
Do you want to set up an external storage mount (Y/n) [Y]:
Storage type (samba/nfs):
samba:
Address for the storage server:
Share path on the storage server:
Username for the storage server:
Password for the storage server:
nfs:
Address for the storage server:
Share path on the storage server:
Summary and Installation
Sample output
Summary ------- Hostname: central-manager.example.com Management Network Already Configured: True NTP Servers: 0.ubuntu.pool.ntp.org IPv4 network CIDR to use for service IPs: 100.75.0.0/16 IPv4 network CIDR to use for pod IPs: 100.76.0.0/14
Would you like to complete configuration with these parameters (Y/n) [N]:
Type
Yto complete.
Sample output
...
[info] k3s node 'node/central-manager-abcd1234' is ready
Would you like to start the Central Manager application installation (Y/n) [Y]:
Type
Yto install.The BIG-IP Central Manager install is complete when this displays:
``` [INFO] Setup completed succssfully. ```
Troubleshooting¶
This section describes some known issues related to the deployment of the BIG-IP Next Central Manager application and the possible remedies.
BIG-IP Next Central Manager installation times out¶
The BIG-IP Next Central Manager installation script (/opt/cm-bundle/cm install) can take up to 20 minutes to complete. If the application deployment times out instead of displaying Installation Complete, the system displays the following error:
Error: timed out waiting for the condition
In this case, a simple system reboot can sometimes address the issue. Run the following command on the BIG-IP Next Central Manager’s command-line terminal:
sudo systemctl reboot
After the system reboots, log in to the BIG-IP Next Central Manager terminal and make sure the BIG-IP Next Central Manager application Pods are all in a running state. Use the following command:
kubectl get pods
Additional Kubernetes deployment issues¶
If you run kubectl get pods and all Pods are running normally, your output should look similar to this:
13:29 $ kubectl get pods
NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE
mbiq-vault-0 2/2 Running 0 25h
mbiq-db-postgresql-0 2/2 Running 0 25h
mbiq-db-postgres-flyway-init-job-xm4ck 0/2 Completed 0 25h
mbiq-db-pgadmin4-78cb4c5bc7-vj55p 2/2 Running 1 25h
mbiq-ado-feature-8b7579847-24jfp 2/2 Running 0 25h
svclb-mbiq-ingress-nginx-controller-qgxq4 2/2 Running 0 25h
mbiq-nats-0 2/2 Running 0 25h
mbiq-kube-state-metrics-695f868d9-wm42v 1/1 Running 0 25h
mbiq-system-feature-5d9f6774df-fcvft 2/2 Running 0 25h
mbiq-ingress-nginx-controller-b4486c9d7-cklsj 1/1 Running 0 25h
alertmanager-mbiq-kube-prometheus-alertmanager-0 2/2 Running 0 25h
as3-workflow-feature-flyway-init-job-7znsl 0/2 Completed 0 25h
mbiq-node-exporter-59wc4 1/1 Running 0 25h
mbiq-ui-667849dd97-ptk59 1/1 Running 0 25h
as3-feature-flyway-init-job-ld5gk 0/2 Error 0 25h
mbiq-app-deploy-utils-service-5569d44688-z2cwn 2/2 Running 0 25h
mbiq-license-feature-58fdb86c49-8k527 2/2 Running 0 25h
mbiq-ado-query-feature-68bfb68d69-5rbvq 2/2 Running 0 25h
mbiq-device-feature-6f994bfd5f-9xc42 2/2 Running 0 25h
mbiq-proxy-service-56557c5986-ckkb7 2/2 Running 1 25h
mbiq-kube-prometheus-operator-6c85cd89f9-cjf56 1/1 Running 0 25h
device-feature-flyway-init-job-zjgvt 0/2 Completed 0 25h
mbiq-apm-feature-85476b6654-h4x8m 2/2 Running 0 25h
mbiq-as3-feature-84dc5fb498-gtgks 2/2 Running 0 25h
mbiq-alert-feature-66c896bd4f-pcm6k 2/2 Running 1 25h
apm-feature-flyway-init-job-jqt2k 0/2 Completed 0 25h
sslo-feature-flyway-init-job-pw55p 0/2 Completed 0 25h
alert-feature-flyway-init-job-ck4tf 0/2 Completed 0 25h
mbiq-fast-feature-6b78b98689-hb7gx 2/2 Running 0 25h
prometheus-mbiq-kube-prometheus-prometheus-0 2/2 Running 1 25h
mbiq-as3-workflow-feature-99674f76d-wcbcw 2/2 Running 1 25h
license-feature-flyway-init-job-zdgq5 0/2 Completed 0 25h
ado-query-feature-flyway-init-job-9pht9 0/2 Completed 0 25h
mbiq-certificate-feature-588ff78dd-97tw6 2/2 Running 0 25h
system-feature-flyway-init-job-47qn5 0/2 Completed 0 25h
mbiq-sslo-feature-bf9c466bc-khgpc 2/2 Running 1 25h
certificate-feature-flyway-init-job-xqzzd 0/2 Completed 0 25h
fast-feature-flyway-init-job-lswrk 0/2 Completed 0 25h
as3-feature-flyway-init-job-hvm8z 0/2 Completed 0 25h
mbiq-waf-feature-666698bf57-6x4cd 2/2 Running 1 25h
waf-feature-flyway-init-job-xd6sf 0/2 Completed 0 25h
mbiq-fluentd-0 2/2 Running 0 25h
mbiq-gateway-feature-f9fd9b4d9-jmw99 2/2 Running 0 24h
mbiq-loki-0 2/2 Running 0 20h
mbiq-fast-service-85d97bcd6d-tzgm5 2/2 Running 10 25h
If there is an issue with a specific Pod/container, you can check the logs for additional information on that container.
Note: When a Pod fails to start successfully, Kubernetes automatically attempts to start that Pod again. For troubleshooting purposes, you only need to be concerned with Pods that aren’t either Running or Completed after repeated attempts.
To check the log for a specific container, use the following command:
kubectl logs <pod name> -c <container name>
The following example provides a list of log entries for the container named mbiq-system-feature in the Pod named mbiq-system-feature-76ccf87577-nsdlc.
kubectl logs mbiq-system-feature-76ccf87577-nsdlc -c mbiq-system-feature
You can use a similar command syntax to investigate issues with other Pods.
You can also get information about the Kubernetes node that runs the BIG-IP Next Central Manager. Use the following command to get resource allocation details for the Kubernetes node:
kubectl describe node central-manager
The following is an excerpt from a typical response you can expect from this command:
Allocated resources:
(Total limits may be over 100 percent, i.e., overcommitted.)
Resource Requests Limits
-------- -------- ------
cpu 3840m (48%) 8800m (110%)
memory 3856Mi (12%) 7508Mi (23%)
ephemeral-storage 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
hugepages-1Gi 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
hugepages-2Mi 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
For a list of current, known issues, please refer to the release notes: (BIG-IP Next Fixes and Known Issues).