KVM Virtual Machine Installation and Connectivity

Turn-up of a KVM virtual machine requires deployment of Skylight orchestrator as a virtual machine on an existing KVM host (Ubuntu, CentOS or Red Hat). After the Skylight orchestrator virtual machine is installed and started, you will be able to access the console of the virtual machine in order to perform the remaining configuration tasks.

This article explains how to install Skylight orchestrator as a virtual machine on a KVM host and access its console.

For KVM host server requirements and other considerations when you are planning to deploy a virtual machine, see Deployment Profile Configuration.

Virtual Machine Installation

This procedure explains how to install Skylight orchestrator as a virtual machine on a KVM host using the virtual shell (virsh) command line tool. Other ways of deploying virtual appliances are possible but are not covered in this document.

If you want to use an alternate deployment method, consult KVM documentation.

Procedure Requirements

Before starting the procedure for installing Skylight orchestrator on the KVM host (Ubuntu, CentOS or Red Hat), you must ensure that all the following requirements are met:

A. You have a computer with an SSH client and a network connection to the KVM host.

B. The KVM host must meet the following requirements:

• KVM 3.10+ kernel / QEMU 1.5 / libvirt 1.2.8
• At least one network adapter
• Sufficient disk, CPU and RAM to assign to the virtual machine. For virtual machine sizing guidelines, refer to Deployment Profile Configuration.

C. The KVM host should be connected to the network and powered on.

D. You have access to a user account (on the KVM host) with permissions for virsh and libvirt.

E. You have obtained the following files from Accedian Technical Support and stored them on your computer:

• SO_v23.12.1_15_vm_core.qcow2
• KVM deployment xml file (ensure that you name the file as follows):
  SO_v23.12.1_15_vm_core.xml

F. Before starting the installation, you should transfer the files (listed above) to the following directory on the KVM host: /data/kvm_guests

If you want to use a different directory, you must adapt the procedure accordingly. The installation directory must have 150 GB of free disk space, see System Specifications/Features Matrix.

Planning Network Interfaces

In preparation for installing Skylight orchestrator as a KVM virtual machine, you should decide how many network interfaces you will require based on these guidelines:

• The Skylight orchestrator virtual machine can support up to four (4) network interfaces (eth0 to eth3).
• At least one interface is required to establish connectivity to the network. One interface is sufficient for most deployments because full functionality can be achieved with a single network interface.
• Some topologies may require additional interfaces to be able to reach different subnets in your network. Additional interfaces should be planned with your network administrator.
• If the KVM host is a Skylight machine, the eth0 interface of the KVM host is reserved as the management port. The other three physical interfaces of the host (eth1 to eth3) are available for mapping.

Performance Tuning for KVM Host Running Ubuntu 20.04

In preparation for installing Skylight orchestrator as a KVM virtual machine on a KVM host with OS as Ubuntu 20.04, you should follow these guidelines to change configuration for performance tuning on your KVM host:

• Ensure values of hard nofile and soft nofile in the file /etc/security/limits.conf are as below:
• hard nofile 999999
• soft nofile 999999
• Ensure fs.suid_dumpable in the file /etc/sysctl.conf is uncomment and with value as below:
• fs.suid_dumpable = 0

Procedure Steps

To install the Skylight orchestrator as a virtual machine on the KVM host

1. Using an SSH client, log in to your KVM host as a user with permissions for virsh and libvirt.

2. Enter: cd /data/kvm_guests

3. Enter: mkdir Orchestrator_Core

4. Enter: mv SO_v23.12.1_15_vm_core.xml Orchestrator_Core

5. Enter: mv SO_v23.12.1_15_vm_core.qcow2 Orchestrator_Core

6. Enter: cd Orchestrator_Core

7. Enter: virsh
   This command gives you access to the KVM virtual shell.

8. Enter: define SO_v23.12.1_15_vm_core.xml
   This command creates a new virtual machine (KVM domain) named Orchestrator_Core on the KVM host.

9. Enter: list --all

10. Check that Orchestrator_Core appears in the list of domains.

11. If your KVM host is running on Ubuntu 20.04, enter: edit Orchestrator_Core

    This command helps to access the editor in order to edit the XML configuration file for the virtual machine. In this editor, make the following change to apply some performance tuning to the virtual machine:

    • Update < emulator> tag as:

<emulator>/usr/bin/kvm-spice</emulator>

12. Enter: start Orchestrator_Core
    This command starts the virtual machine.

13. Enter: autostart Orchestrator_Core
    This command configures the KVM host to automatically start this virtual machine on reboot.

14. Enter: console Orchestrator_Core
    This command provides access to the virtual machine console. The machine takes a few minutes to complete its boot sequence. When the boot sequence finishes, a login prompt will be displayed.

15. When prompted for a username and password, log in as the Skylight orchestrator (visionems) user:
    Username: visionems
    Password: visionems

The virtual machine has been installed. It is ready to be configured.

• If you installed this machine as part of a Hot Standby Redundancy deployment, see Configuring and Starting Redundancy.
• Otherwise, you can now perform the procedure as shown in the Initial Machine Configuration.

Accessing the KVM Virtual Machine

After the KVM virtual machine has been installed, you may need to access it at a later time.

To access the KVM virtual machine

1. Using an SSH client, log in to your KVM host as a user with permissions for virsh and libvirt.

2. Access the shell for virtual appliances by entering: virsh

3. View the list of domains that are currently installed on the host by entering: list --all

4. Note the name of the current domain (default name is Orchestrator_Core) and check if it is running.

5. If the domain is not running, start it by entering: start Orchestrator_Core

6. Access the console of the domain by entering: console Orchestrator_Core
   The virtual machine takes a few minutes to complete its boot sequence. When the boot sequence finishes, a login prompt will be displayed.

7. When prompted for a username and password, log in as the visionems user:
   Username: visionems
   Password: visionems