Run Easy Install

Do the following:

1. Under Included Nodes, review the details of the discovered nodes and verify that all nodes are discovered:

   

   1	Each CBox and DBox is listed, with the final six digits of the CBox's or DBox's serial number. Expand each CBox and DBox to see the CNodes and DNodes housed in each one.
   2	Node type: CNode DNode
   3	IP address. Usually an IPv6 address.
   4	Host name
   5	OS version
   6	Vendor. Possible values: CNode: Broadwell, single dual-port NIC CascadeLake, two dual-port NICs CascadeLake, single dual-port NIC DNode: Sanmina, single dual-port NIC. This is a Mavericks DNode with a single dual port NIC. Sanmina, two single-port NICs. This is a Mavericks DNode with two single port NICs. Supermicro, single dual-port NIC. This is a Mavericks DNode with a single dual port NIC. BlueField, SoC PCIe Bridge. This is a CERES DBox DNode.

2. In the Errors Panel, review any errors that may have been detected during validation.

   The error text refers to the affected node, enabling you to match each error to a node listed above. In order to identify the position of the affected node, you can hover over a node to see where it is located in its CBox or DBox:

   

3. Resolve any issues before continuing with the installation. In the event that faulty hardware was received in the shipment, consult VAST Support on how to proceed.

   The following options are available:

   • You can remove and either fix and reinsert, or replace a faulty component with a new one. After replacing, click Refresh Hardware to repeat host discovery and validation. Check again the discovered hosts and errors.

   • Exclude nodes. In case of validation errors that cannot be resolved on site before continuing and are critical, you can identify the affected node and exclude it from the installation. In this case, please report the errors to Support and arrange return and replacement of hardware. Replacement nodes can be added to the cluster once it is already active.

     To exclude a node:

     1. Select the node you want to exclude and click Exclude.

     2. Verify that the node(s) you need to exclude is/are now listed in the list of Excluded Hosts.

4. When no errors remain, or when any remaining errors are determined not to be critical to the installation, click Continue to General Settings.

1. Complete the Required settings:

   Important

   You may find that Easy Install fills the field values from a previous installation. You can use the Clear All Settings button to clear all filled values and make sure you don't set the wrong values for the current installation.

   Note

   Each Restore to Defaults button sets all required values in the section where it appears to their defaults.

   Cluster name	A name for the cluster.
   PSNT	The cluster's PSNT. PSNT is an asset identifier that links the components of a cluster.
   Management VIP	A single virtual IP configured on the management interfaces on all CNodes. VAST Management System (VMS) listens on this IP. This IP should be on the management subnet.
   Management subnet CIDR	The subnet for the management network in CIDR notation.
   External gateway	The default gateway of the management network.
   CNode network topology	This field sets the modes of each CNode interface to the required transport protocol depending on the network infrastructure topology. The options available vary with the CNode model. All models: Ethernet. Sets all interfaces to Ethernet mode. For Ethernet infrastructure on both the internal network and the data network. Infiniband. Sets all interfaces to Infiniband mode. For Infiniband infrastructure on both the internal and external networks. Available only for CascadeLake CNodes with two dual-port NICs: Internal ethernet external infiniband. Sets the interfaces connected to the internal network to Ethernet mode and the interfaces connected to the data network to Infiniband mode. Internal infiniband external ethernet. Sets the interfaces connected to the internal network to Infiniband mode and the interfaces connected to the data network to Ethernet mode.
   DNode network topology	This field sets the modes of the DNode interfaces to work with the network infrastructure topology. Select one of the following: Ethernet. Sets the DNode interfaces to Ethernet mode. Supports Ethernet infrastructure for the internal network. Infiniband. Sets the DNode interfaces to Infiniband mode. Supports Infiniband infrastructure for the internal network.
   Management network	This field specifies the the management network topology: Inband. Management is on the data network. Outband. Management is isolated from the management network.
   DNS IPs	The IP(s) of any DNS servers that will forward DNS queries to the cluster. Enter one IP address or a comma separated list of IP addresses. For example: 172.30.100.20,172.30.100.20
   Cnode management external IP pool	The IP pool from which to assign IPs for the management network to all CNodes (see VAST Cluster Deployment Overview). The pool should contain enough IPs for all CNodes in the cluster. To add IPs: Click inside the field. A Management CNode External IP Pool dialog appears in the IP pool area. At the top of the dialog, a message appears telling you how many IPs to add. Click Add new IP. Add one IP or a series of IPs separated by commas. Click Add. Repeat the previous two steps as needed until all IPs in the pool are entered. Click Save Changes. The IPs are added, and appear in the field as a comma separated list of IPs. For example, for an installation with one CBox, there are four CNodes, so you need to supply four IPs that were designated for the management external IP pool in the installation plan. The recommendation "You should add exactly 4 IPs" is displayed. Example: 173.30.200.100,173.30.200.101,173.30.200.102,173.30.200.103
   Dnode management external IP pool	The IP pool from which to assign IPs for the management network to all DNodes. The pool should contain enough IPs for all DNodes in the cluster. To add IPs: Click inside the field. A Management External IP Pool dialog appears in the IP pool area. At the top of the dialog, a message appears telling you how many IPs to add. Click Add new IP. Add one IP or a series of IPs separated by commas. Click Add. Repeat the previous two steps as needed until all IPs in the pool are entered. Click Save Changes. The IPs are added, and appear in the field as a comma separated list of IPs. For example, for an installation with one Mavericks DBox, there are two DNodes, so you need to supply two IPs that were designated for the management external IP pool in the installation plan. The recommendation "You should add exactly 2 IPs" is displayed. Example: 173.30.200.104,173.30.200.105

2. In the lower section of the General Settings page, click Start with General Settings. Set any of the following that are needed for your installation:

   Note

   Each Restore to Defaults button sets all required values in the section where it appears to their defaults.

   CNodes IPMI pool	An IP pool from which to assign an IP to the IPMI interface of each CNode. Set this IP pool if and only if the planned deployment uses the standard IPMI network configuration . If you are deploying the B2B IPMI networking option, do not configure this IP pool. Configure a B2B template instead (see step 4). The CNodes will be assigned IPMI IPs in the same order as they are assigned management external IPs. The CNode that receives the first IP in the management external IP pool receives the first IP in the CNodes IPMI pool and so on. To add IPs: Click inside the field. A CNodes IPMI Pool dialog appears in the IP pool area. Click Add new IP. Add one IP or a series of IPs separated by commas. Click Add. Repeat the previous two steps as needed until all IPs in the pool are entered. Click Save Changes. The IPs are added, and appear in the field as a comma separated list of IPs. Example, : 173.30.200.110,173.30.200.111,173.30.200.112,173.30.200.113
   DNodes IPMI pool	An IP pool from which to assign an IP to each IPMI interface. For Mavericks DBoxes, provide an IP per DNode. For CERES DBoxes, provide an IP per DTray. This is half of the number of DNodes. Set this IP pool if and only if the planned deployment uses the standard IPMI network configuration . If you are deploying the B2B IPMI networking option, do not configure this IP pool. Configure a B2B template instead (see step 4). Add IPs as described for CNodes IPMI Pool. The DNodes will be assigned IPMI IPs in the same order as they are assigned management external IPs. The DNode that receives the first DNode IP in the management external IP pool receives the first IP in the DNodes IPMI pool and so on. (For CERES DNodes, the IPMI IP is duplicated on both DNodes in each DTray. Otherwise, the order is the same in principle.) Example, : 173.30.200.114,173.30.200.115
   IPMI default gateway	The IP of a default gateway for the IPMI interfaces on the CNodes and DNodes, if different from the management network default gateway. For example: 173.30.200.1
   DNS search domains	Enter the domains on your data network on which client hosts may reside. If you provide these, you will be able to specify hosts by name instead of IP when setting up export policies, callhome settings, webhook definitions and so on. VAST Cluster will use these domains to look up host IPs on the DNS server.
   Eth MTU	MTU size for CNode and DNode Ethernet interfaces. The MTU should be aligned with the switches. Default: 9216 For installations with dual NIC CNodes, see also Eth NB MTU.
   Eth NB MTU	For dual NIC CNode installations, use this field if you need to set a different MTU for NICs with that are connected directly to an external Ethernet data network. If not specified, Eth MTU is used. If Eth MTU is not specified, the default value, 9216, is used.
   IB MTU	MTU size for CNode and DNode Infiniband interfaces. Default: 2044 For installations with dual NIC CNodes, see also IB NB MTU. Take care to set a supported MTU for the NIC mode: If IB type is Connected, the maximum IB NB MTU is 65520. If IB type is Datagram, the maximum IB NB MTU is 2044.
   IB NB MTU	For dual NIC CNode installations, use this if you need to set a specific MTU for NICs with that are connected directly to an external Infiniband data network. If not specified, IB MTU is used. If IB MTU is not specified, the default value, 2044, is used. Take care to set a supported MTU for the NIC mode: If NB IB type is Connected, the maximum IB NB MTU is 65520. If NB IB type is Datagram, the maximum IB NB MTU is 2044.
   NTP server	The IP(s) of any NTP server(s) that you want to use for time keeping. Enter as a comma separated list of IPs. For example: 172.30.100.10
   Customer IP	An IP on the client data network. This IP is used to test connectivity.
   Management inner VIP	A virtual IP on the internal network that is used for mounting the VMS database. Default: 172.16.4.254
   B2B template	B2B is a networking configuration option that isolates the IPMI network from the management network. A B2B IP is generated per node as 192.168.3.x, where x is a node index. Optionally, you can set a different B2B template. For example, if you set the B2B template to be 10.250.100 then the B2B IPs will be 10.250.100.x. Default: 192.168.3
   Selected nic	In a cluster that has dual NIC CNodes of which only a single NIC is connected, use this option to specify which NIC to skip when automatically configuring the networking modes of the NIC interfaces. The installer must skip the unused NIC. The options are: Internal. If the NIC to the right of the CNode panel (used for internal connectivity in the default scheme) is not connected. Note Not available for Ice Lake CBoxes. External. If the NIC to the left of the CNode panel (used for external connectivity in the default scheme) is not connected. Note This is the only available and valid option for an unconnected NIC on Ice Lake CNodes. In the case of Ice Lake models, when facing the rear panel, the NIC that can be left unconnected is the left NIC on the two right CNodes, but it's the right NIC on the two left CNodes. None (default). Leave this option selected if both NICs are connected.
   Selected IB type	The mode of the Infiniband interfaces: Connected (default) Datagram Set this to match the Infiniband type of the internal VAST network, if applicable.
   Selected NB IB type	For dual NIC CNodes where each CNode has a NIC connected to an external Infiniband network, select the Infiniband type of the external work: Connected Datagram null (default)
   License	Enter the license key for the cluster. If no license key is entered, a temporary 30 days license is installed.
   Reverse nics	Note This setting is not applicable for Ice Lake models of CBox. This setting applies to dual NIC CNodes. Enable this setting if the network connectivity scheme for the NICs needs to be reversed from the default. In the default scheme, the left NIC is dedicated to the external network. The two QSFP28 ports on the left NIC are connected to the client data network switches. The right NIC is dedicated to the internal network and its ports are connected to the cluster switches. If your installation plan follows this default connectivity scheme, do not enable Reverse nics. Enable Reverse nics only if this scheme is reversed in according to your installation plan. In the reverse scheme, the left NIC QSFP28 ports on each CNode connect to the cluster switches while the right NIC ports connect to the client network switches (external to the cluster).
   Encryption	Enables encryption of data at rest on the cluster. VAST Cluster encryption of data at rest is implemented using the VAST Data FIPS Object Module for OpenSSL, which is certified compliant with the requirements of FIPS 140-2. The NIST validation for the module can be found at https://csrc.nist.gov/projects/cryptographic-module-validation-program/certificate/4107. Warning This feature cannot be enabled after installation. If the feature is needed, it must be enabled at this stage.
   Similarity	Enables similarity data reduction on the cluster. This can also be enabled or disabled after installation.
   DBox HA	Enables NVRAM high availability (HA) for DBoxes. Support for DBox NVRAM HA is limited. Before enabling this feature, it is recommended to read about it here. It is possible to enable the feature at a later time after installation, although it will cause a drive layout rewrite.
   B2B IPMI	Enables auto configuring the IPMI ports on the nodes with IP addresses according to the B2B template.

3. Select Customized Network Settings and set any of the following settings that are needed for the installation:

   Note

   Each Restore to Defaults button sets all required values in the section where it appears to their defaults.

   Data Vlan	For Ethernet configurations, the internal network is isolated from the data network using this VLAN. In case of a conflicting use of the default VLAN, enter a different VLAN that is already not used on the client network. Default: 69 Example: 108
   Subnet	Sets a custom subnet for the internal network. Default: 172.16 The Data VLAN isolates the internal network from the external network. If you anticipate IP address collisions with the default subnet, such as in an IB configuration, you can set a custom subnet. Each CNode and DNode is allocated three IP addresses for three networks within the subnet. These are generated within the subnet from a combination of: An index called the subsystem for the CNodes (0 by default) and for the DNodes (0 by default), which is a starting value for the third octet for the first internal network. A subnet mask called the data netmask, which determines the size of the subnet for each of the internal networks for the CNodes and for the DNodes. The default and recommended data netmask is 255.255.192.0. An index per CNode and DNode. These indexes can be configured. By default, they start with 1 for CNodes and 100 for DNodes. (See Start index cnode and Start index dnode). The IPs for these interfaces are generated on the nodes as subnet.subsystem.x, where x is an index per node For example, if the subnet is 10.200, with the default subsystem, data netmask 255.255.192.0 and start indexes, the following IPs are generated for the internal network interfaces on the first DNode: 10.200.0.100, 10.200.64.100, 10.200.128.100. The following IPs are generated for the internal network interfaces on the first CNode: 10.200.0.1, 10.200.64.1, 10.200.128.1. IPs for the equivalent interfaces for subsequent CNodes and DNodes are incremented from these. The subnet mask for the internal network is 255.255.192.0. Each DNode and CNode is configured with three interfaces on the network.
   Docker IP	Specifies a docker bridge IP (used internally) in case it needs to be changed from the default due to IP conflicts. Default: 172.17.0.1
   Docker Subnet	Specifies a docker bridge IP subnet in case it needs to be changed from the default due to IP conflicts. Default: 16
   Hostname Prefix	Specifies a non-default prefix for all hostnames, if preferred.
   Technician interface Cnode	Changes the IP configured on the technician interface on the CNodes. Default: 192.168.2.2
   Start index cnode	Sets the start value for the indexes appended to internal IPs for the CNodes (see also Subnet). Default: 1
   Technician interface Dnode	Changes the IP configured on the technician interface on the DNodes.
   Start index dnode	Sets the start value for the indexes appended to internal IPs for the DNodes (see also Subnet). Default: 100

4. Select Call Home and complete these settings to enable VAST Link, the remote call home service that enables VAST’s Support team to monitor and troubleshoot clusters.

   VAST Link sends non sensitive data securely from your VAST Cluster to our central support server to enable us to provide proactive analysis and fast response on critical issues. The data we collect is sent by HTTPS to a VAST Data AWS S3 bucket that we maintain for this purpose.  

   Note

   Each Restore to Defaults button sets all required values in the section where it appears to their defaults.

   General Setup
   Customer	Your customer name. Example: BigCorp
   Site	The name of the site where the cluster is installed. Example: Miami
   Location	A further specification of the location where the cluster is installed. Example: Lab1
   Max upload concurrency	The maximum number of parts of a file to upload simultaneously to the AWS S3 bucket. Valid: Positive integer, 1 or more Default: 5 Example: 10
   Intervals Setup
   Log Frequency (minutes)	The frequency with which system state data is sent to the support server. Disabling the setting stops system state data being sent.
   Bundle Frequency	The frequency with which debug data is sent to the support server. Disabling the setting stops debug data being sent. The frequency with which debug data is sent to the support server. Disabling the setting stops debug data being sent.
   Enabled	Enable this setting to enable the VAST Link service.
   Proxy Setup Enter proxy server details if you would like the data to be sent through your own proxy server.
   Misc
   Verify SSL	Enables SSL verification. Disable if, for example, you are sending the call home data through a proxy server that does not have an SSL certificate recognized by VAST Cluster. VAST Cluster recognizes SSL certificates from a large range of widely recognized certificate authorities (CAs). VAST Cluster may not recognize an SSL certificate signed by your own in-house CA.
   Prod mode	Enable this setting. This setting sets the production support server as the destination for VAST Link bundles. It's essential to enable this setting for the service to work as expected.
   Support channel	Enables VAST Data Support to run remote bundle collection commands on the cluster.
   Obfuscated	Obfuscates data in call home bundles, metrics and heartbeats. The following types of information are replaced with a non-reversible hash: file and directory names, IP addresses, host names, user names, passwords, MAC addresses.
   Compress Method	Sets the compression method used to compress call home bundles: zstd (default) gzip

5. If needed, select Advanced settings from the same dropdown and set additional parameters.

   Caution

   Do not change Advanced settings unless guided to do so by VAST Support.

6. Click Review Installation Before Executing.

   The Summary page appears.

7. Review the summary of all the configurations you set. Check that your settings match the installation plan.

8. If any settings are incorrect, use the To Step links from the configuration summaries to return to earlier steps, make the necessary changes, and proceed back to the Summary page.

9. When you're ready to proceed, click Install.

10. Select Activities from the left navigation menu to navigate to the Activities page and monitor the task progress.

    The task name is cluster_deploy.

    When installation is done, the cluster_deploy task state changes to COMPLETED and the cluster status displayed at the top left of the page changes to Online:

    

    You can now disconnect from the technician port. The cluster's VAST Web UI is now accessible by browsing to the configured VMS VIP from network locations that have network access to the VMS VIP.

    To begin managing the cluster, browse to the VMS VIP and log in using the default user name admin and password 123456.