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Getting Started with Your Nutanix Cluster

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Stephanie R.
  • Updated

Find out how to get started with your Nutanix cluster.

This guide will outline the steps you need to take to get started with your Nutanix on OVHcloud cluster:

NOTE: OVHcloud provides services for which you are responsible for their configuration and management. You are therefore responsible for their proper functioning.

This tutorial is designed to help you as much as possible with common tasks. If you are having difficulty performing these actions, please contact a specialized service provider. OVHcloud can't provide you with technical support in this regard.

 

Requirements

  • a Nutanix cluster in your OVHcloud account
  • access to your OVHcloud Control Panel
  • you must be logged in to Prism Central on the cluster
NOTE: Some software, such as Microsoft products, require a license. You must therefore ensure that all installed systems and software have these licenses.

 

Instructions

Deploy a rebound VM

The rebound VM will serve as an entry point for the operations you must carry out to secure your cluster. It can also be used as a relay to reach other VMs after being put into production.

Continue reading this guide, depending on your OS: Linux - Rebound via SSH or Windows - Rebound via RDP.

 

Rebound via SSH

Creating and configuring the Linux VM

In this example, the network configuration is as follows:

  • Network: 172.16.0.0/22
  • Mask: 255.255.252.0
  • Gateway: 172.16.3.254
NOTE: Adapt this configuration to your cluster. You can find this information by using the GET /nutanix/{serviceName} API call.

Import your Linux image into the cluster. For more details, please refer to our guide on importing images into Nutanix.

In the left-hand menu of Prism Central, expand Compute & Storage and click VMs.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster01.png

 

Click the Create VM button.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster02.png

 

Customize the name and features of the VM.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster03.png

 

Click Next.

You then need to attach a disk. To do this, you can select the image already present on your cluster (Alpine Linux).

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster04.png

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster05.png

 

Click Save.

Then click Attach Subnet.

Select the "infra" network and click Save.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster06.png

 

Click Next.

Select cloud-init, copy the "cloud-init" script, then click Next and finally Create VM.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster07.png

 

NOTE: Adapt this configuration to your cluster. You can find this information by using the GET /nutanix/{serviceName} API call. Make sure to adapt your password and IP configuration.
#cloud-config
hostname: bastion-ssh
fqdn: bastion-ssh.domain.local
users:
  - name: bastion
    sudo: ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL
    groups: sudo
    shell: /bin/ash
    ssh_pwauth: true
    lock_passwd: false
    plain_text_passwd: OVHcloudR0cks!

growpart:
  mode: growpart
  devices: ["/dev/sda2"]
  ignore_growroot_disabled: true

write_files:
   - path: /etc/network/interfaces
     content: |
        auto lo
        iface lo inet loopback

        auto eth0
        iface eth0 inet static
        address 172.16.2.200
        netmask 255.255.255.252
        gateway 172.16.3.254

runcmd:
   - echo "nameserver 213.186.33.99"  /etc/resolv.conf
   - rc-service networking restart
   - apk update
   - apk upgrade
   - apk add sudo
   - sed -i s/'PasswordAuthentication no'/'PasswordAuthentication yes'/g /etc/ssh/sshd_config
   - sed -i s/'#KbdInteractiveAuthentication yes'/'KbdInteractiveAuthentication yes'/g /etc/ssh/sshd_config
   - rc-service sshd restart
   - lvextend -l +100%FREE /dev/vg0/lv_root
   - resize2fs /dev/vg0/lv_root
   - reboot

final_message: "The system is finally up, after $UPTIME seconds"

 

Open the console after restarting the VM. You can see that the VM has taken the settings from the cloud-init file.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster08.png

 

Load Balancer configuration

Log in to your OVHcloud Control Panel. Open the Nutanix Cluster configuration page.

In the Cluster network box at the bottom of the page, click on the Load Balancer.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster09.png

 

In the Server clusters tab, click Add a server cluster.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster10.png

 

Name your server farm, then select TCP and enter this information:

  • Port: 22
  • Datacenter: ALL
  • Private network: nutanix

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster11.png

 

Click Add to confirm the creation of the server cluster.

Then click Add a server.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster12.png

 

Enter these values:

  • Name (optional): SSH
  • IPv4 address: IP address of your Windows VM
  • Port: 22

Click Add to confirm the server creation.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster13.png

 

Then click on the Front-ends tab, and on Add a front-end.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster14.png

 

Name your front-end, choose the TCP protocol, and modify these values:

  • Port: 22
  • Datacenter: ALL
  • Default server cluster: rebound-ssh (TCP)

Click Add.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster15.png

 

Click Apply configuration.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster16.png

 

Select the Datacenter and click Apply configuration.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster17.png

 

You can track the progress of the changes in the Tasks tab.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster18.png

 

The Load Balancer is now configured. Use your preferred terminal to connect to your machine. You can enter your cluster’s DNS name or Load Balancer’s IP address:

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster19.png

 

You can now rebound on the different elements of the cluster:

  • CVMs
  • Hosts
  • Prism Element

For example, for a CVM, enter the following in the terminal:

ssh nutanix@ipcvm

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster20.png

 

Rebound via RDP

Creating and configuring the Windows VM

Import your Windows image into the cluster. Read our guide on importing images into Nutanix.

In the left-hand menu of Prism Central, expand Compute & Storage and click VMs.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster21.png

 

Click the Create VM button.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster22.png

 

Enter a name in Name, choose the options in VM Properties, and click Next.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster23.png

  1. Adding a system disk

    Click the buttonAttach Disk.

    Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster24.png

    Enter 60 in the capacity field and click Save to create a 60 GB disk.

    Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster25.png

  1. Adding the Windows Server 2022 installation ISO image

    The image must be imported before it can be used in a new virtual machine.

    For more details on importing images, please refer to our guide on importing images into Nutanix.

    Click Attach Disk.

    Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster26.png

    Change the Type parameters to CD-ROM, Operation to Clone from Image, Image to WS2022EN.ISO.

    Click Save.

    Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster27.png

  1. Adding ISO image containing AHV-specific drivers

    This image contains the disk controller driver and must also be imported. It is available on the Nutanix website if you have a Nutanix customer account.

    Click Attach Disk.

    Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster28.png

    Change the Type parameters to CD-ROM, Operation to Clone from Image, and Image to Nutanix-VirtIO-1.1.7.iso.

    Click Save.

    Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster29.png

  1. Network configuration

    Click Attach Subnet.

    Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster30.png

    Select the "infra" network and click Save.

    Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster31.png

 

Click Next.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster32.png

Select the time zone of your country in the Timezone field and click Next.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster33.png

 

Click Create VM.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster34.png

The newly created virtual machine will then appear in the dashboard.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster35.png

 

Installation of Windows Server 2022

Select the virtual machine on which you want to install Windows Server 2022, by ticking the box on the left of the VM.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster36.png

  1. Boot the VM

    Click the Actions menu, then Power ON.

    Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster37.png

  1. Launch the console

    Click the Actions menu, then Launch Console.

    Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster38.png

  1. Start the installation

    Choose your locale and click Next.

    Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster39.png

    Click Install now.

    Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster40.png

    Select Windows Server 2022 Standard (Desktop Experience) and click Next.

    Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster41.png

    Read the Microsoft software license terms and conditions, confirm their acceptance, and click Next.

    Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster42.png

    Click Custom: Install Microsoft Server Operating System only (advanced).

    Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster43.png

    Click Load driver.

    Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster44.png

    Click Browse.

    Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster45.png

    Select the correct folder e:\Windows Server 2022\amd64 and click OK.

    Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster46.png

    Select these drivers:

    • Nutanix VirtIO Balloon Driver
    • Nutanix VirtIO Ethernet Adapter
    • Nutanix VirtIO SCSI pass-through controller
    • QEMU FWCfg Device

    Click Next.

    Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster47.png

    The 60 GB disk appears, click Next.

    Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster48.png

    Enter and confirm the password in the two fields provided, and click Finish.

    Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster49.png

    Windows Server 2022 and WS2022-specific drivers for the AHV hypervisor have been successfully installed.

    Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster50.png

  1. Windows Configuration

    Log in and assign an IP address to the machine in the "infra" network. In this example, the network configuration is as follows:

    • Network: 172.16.0.0/22
    • Mask: 255.255.252.0
    • Gateway: 172.16.3.254
    NOTE: Adapt this configuration to your cluster. You can find this information by using the GET /nutanix/{serviceName} API call.

    Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster51.png

    In the system settings, enable "Remote Desktop".

    NOTE: Check the firewall configuration if necessary.

    Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster52.png

 

Load Balancer configuration

Log in to your OVHcloud Control Panel. Open the Nutanix Cluster configuration page. In the Cluster network box at the bottom of the page, click on the Load Balancer.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster53.png

 

In the Server clusters tab, click Add a server cluster.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster54.png

 

Name your server farm, then select TCP and enter this information:

  • Port: 3389
  • Datacenter: ALL
  • Private network: nutanix

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster55.png

 

Click Add to confirm the creation of the server farm.

Click Add a server.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster56.png

Enter these values:

  • Name (optional): RDP
  • IPv4 address: IP address of your Windows VM
  • Port: 3389

Click Add to confirm the cluster creation.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster57.png

 

Then click on the Front-ends tab, and on Add a front-end.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster58.png

Name your front-end, choose the protocol TCP, and modify these values:

  • Port: 3389
  • Datacenter: ALL
  • Default farm: Bastion RDP (TCP)

Click Add.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster59.png

 

Click Apply configuration.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster60.png

 

Select the Datacenter and click Apply configuration.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster61.png

 

You can track the progress of the changes in the Tasks tab.

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster62.png

 

The Load Balancer is now configured. Use your favorite RDP client to connect to your machine. You can enter your cluster’s DNS name or Load Balancer’s IP address:

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster63.png

You can now rebound on the different elements of the cluster:

  • CVMS
  • HOSTS
  • Prism Element

For example, for a CVM, open powershell and type:

ssh nutanix@ipcvm

Nutanix_GS_gettingstartedwithcluster64.png

 

Secure the cluster

To secure your cluster, we recommend changing your passwords. Use the Nutanix knowledge base to perform these operations: Secure your Nutanix cluster.

You can also secure access to Prism Central.

 

Go further

For more information and tutorials, please see our other Nutanix support guides or explore the guides for other OVHcloud products and services.

If you need training or technical assistance to implement our solutions, contact your sales representative or click on this link to get a quote and ask our Professional Services experts for a custom analysis of your project.

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