DCImanager 6 Hosting Quickstart

This article provides instructions for installing the stable version of the DCImanager 6 Hosting platform on servers with Ubuntu 24.04 OS.

The article describes the installation of two software components: the platform and a location. A location is a server that:

• acts as a DHCP server and storage for operating system templates for all servers in the data center;
• provides the platform with access to the data center hardware.

You can install a location and the platform on the same server, but using separate servers for the platform and the location is recommended for better load distribution.

The DCImanager 6 Hosting quick start consists of the following steps:

1. Setting up SSH connection to the servers.
2. Installing the platform.
3. Preparing the Location.
4. Basic platform configuration.

Installation Requirements

You will need:

• a valid DCImanager 6 Hosting license;

• a server for the platform installation:

  Parameter	Specifications
  Server Type	Physical or virtual based on KVM technology
  CPU	Frequency — at least 2 GHz Number of cores — at least 2 Architecture — x86_64 (Intel or AMD) with SSE4.2 instruction set
  RAM	At least 8 GB
  Disk	Type for physical server — SSD Capacity — at least 110 GB

• a server for the location:

  Parameter	Specifications
  Server Type	Physical
  CPU	Frequency — at least 2 GHz Number of cores — at least 2 Architecture — x86_64 (Intel or AMD) with SSE4.2 instruction set
  RAM	At least 8 GB
  Disk	Type — SSD Capacity — at least 100 GB

• a workstation for remote connection to the servers — a PC or mobile device with an installed SSH client and an up-to-date version of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari browser.

Setting up SSH Connection to the Servers

Configure the SSH connection to the servers:

1. On the AWS, open a terminal or command line window.

2. Generate an SSH key:

   ssh-keygen

3. Specify the name and path for the SSH key files. By default, in Windows OS, the SSH key is saved in the C:\Users<username>.ssh\ directory; in Unix-based OS families, it is saved in /home/<username>/.ssh/. By default, the private key is saved to the id_rsa file, and the public key to id_rsa.pub.

4. Add the contents of the public key to the /root/.ssh/authorized_keys file on each server. In Unix systems, you can use the following command for this:

   ssh-copy-id -i <path_to_key> root@host

   Comments to the command

   <path_to_key> — path to the file containing the public SSH key

   host — IP address or domain name of the remote server

Installing the platform

Configuring Network Equipment

Check the settings of the network equipment that provides the server with Internet access:

1. If the equipment restricts incoming connections on ports 22/TCP (SSH), 80/TCP (HTTP), 443/TCP (HTTPS), disable these restrictions.
2. If the equipment restricts access to resources required for the platform operation, disable these restrictions. List of required resources:
   • docker.io — Docker;
   • docker-registry.ispsystem.com — ISPsystem Docker registry;
   • download.ispsystem.com — ISPsystem repository;
   • license6.ispsystem.com — ISPsystem license server;
   • metricreport.ispsystem.net — ISPsystem metrics server.

Preparing the platform Server

1. Install Ubuntu 24.04 OS. Installation requirements:
   • use an unmodified operating system: without third-party repositories and additional installed services;
   • specify the maximum disk size for the root partition;
   • do not allocate a separate partition for swap.

2. Ensure that the /etc/hosts file contains an entry for the server in the format:

   <platform server IP address> <platform server hostname>

3. Ensure that the /etc/resolv.conf file contains entries like:

   nameserver <DNS server IP address>

   If the DNS server is set to the local systemd-resolved service IP — 127.0.0.53, then check that the /etc/systemd/resolved.conf file specifies the DNS server addresses:

   DNS=<server_list>

4. Install chrony software for synchronizing system time with an NTP server:

   apt install chrony -y

5. Install the curl utility:

   apt install curl -y

Installing the platform on the Server

1. Connect to the server via SSH with superuser privileges.

2. Download the installer:

   curl -O https://download.ispsystem.com/6/dci/stable/dci/dcibox/dci

3. Make the installer file executable:

   chmod +x dci

4. Start the installation:

   ./dci install --stage=stable

5. Wait for the installation to complete. If the installation is successful, a link to access DCImanager 6 will be displayed in the terminal:

   Terminal example after successful installation

   Link to administrator registration page: https://1.2.3.4/auth/setup?token=C50A0BFA55DEDE3343AABE713022A15F

   When opening the link, the browser will display a security warning. This happens if the server uses a self-signed SSL certificate. You can connect a valid SSL certificate to the platform later.
6. Go to the DCImanager 6 interface using the received link and create the first user:
   1. Enter the user's E-Mail.
   2. Create and enter a Password. Save the password value.
   3. Click the Finish button.

The platform is installed. In the future, to open the platform web interface, enter the platform server's IP address in the browser.

Preparing the location

Preparing the location's Network Equipment

On the equipment that provides the location server with access to the network containing the platform server, allow incoming connections on port 22/TCP for the SSH service.

Preparing the location Server

1. Install Ubuntu 24.04 OS. Installation requirements:
   • use an unmodified operating system: without third-party repositories and additional installed services;
   • specify the maximum disk size for the root partition.

2. Ensure that the /etc/hosts file contains an entry for the server in the format:

   <Server IP address> <Server hostname>

3. Ensure that the /etc/resolv.conf file contains entries like:

   nameserver <DNS server IP address>

   If the DNS server is set to the local systemd-resolved service IP — 127.0.0.53, then check that the /etc/systemd/resolved.conf file specifies the DNS server addresses:

   DNS=<server_list>

4. Disable DNS settings management via the NetworkManager service:
   1. Add the following line to the main section of the /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf file:

      dns=none

   2. Restart the service:

      systemctl restart NetworkManager

5. Install chrony software for synchronizing system time with an NTP server:

   apt install chrony -y

Basic platform Configuration

Connecting the location

Upon first login to DCImanager 6, the initial setup form opens. It is intended for creating the first location and racks within it.

To create a location and racks:

1. Specify an arbitrary location Name.
2. Specify the location server's IP address and its SSH port. If you are not using a separate server for the location, specify the data of the server with the platform.
3. Specify the Root password for accessing the location server.
4. Specify the Name or number of the first rack. DCImanager 6 will automatically assign numbers to all added racks. For example, if you enter the name myrack_1 and specify a Number of 3, then DCImanager 6 will create three racks named myrack_1, myrack_2, and myrack_3.
5. Specify the Number of racks in the location and their Size in units.
6. Click Add.

Activating the License

To activate the license:

1. Click the Settings button in the License not activated window.
2. Select the Online activation option.
3. Enter the License Key:
   • if you purchased DCImanager 6 from ISPsystem, you can find this information in your personal account at my.ispsystem.com in the "Licenses" section. Enter the value from the Token field;
   • if you purchased DCImanager 6 from a reseller company, enter the license activation code from the license certificate.
4. Click the Activate button.

Configuring the location

To configure the location:

1. Click the Configure location button.
2. Select the operating system templates that need to be stored on the location.

3. Select the DHCP Interfaces. The DHCP server will be started on these interfaces.

   The presence of multiple DHCP servers can lead to errors during operations.
4. Specify the Nginx IP addresses. When starting operations, servers will access these IP addresses to get the boot configuration file and send operation statuses. Specify IP addresses in the same physical networks as the DHCP interfaces.
5. To enable event logging (Eventlog), activate the Allow log transfer to Grafana for servers with BMC option. For more details, see the article Eventlog.
6. Click the Apply button.

After the status location is active appears in the block of the created location:

1. Create physical networks and pools.
2. Add hardware to the location.

Adding Hardware

To start working with hardware, you need to connect it to the location server. You can add servers, switches, power distribution units, UPSs. See instructions for adding hardware in the articles:

• Adding a server — for adding a server manually;
• Server auto-add module — for adding servers automatically via BMC;
• Adding a switch;
• Adding a PDU;
• Adding a UPS.

As an example, adding a server manually is described below.

Connecting a Server

1. Go to Servers → Add Server → New.
2. Specify an arbitrary server Name. There should not be two servers with the same name in the location.
3. Select the server's platform or add a new one.
4. To add a rack server, select the Rack and the Unit number in the rack where the server is located.
5. Specify the MAC address of the network card that will be used for network booting the server.
6. Select the server's Owner. The server owner is the platform user to whom the server belongs.
7. You can specify BMC Connection Parameters (Intel AMT):
   • for BMC specify:
     1. Type — IPMI v1.5/v2, IPMI v2 (lanplus), or Redfish.
     2. IPv4 Address.
     3. Web Interface URL.
        
     4. User name.
     5. Password.
   • for Intel AMT specify:
     1. Type — Intel AMT.
     2. IP Address in IPv4 format.
     3. Connection Protocol — HTTP or HTTPS.
     4. Username.
     5. Password.
8. Specify an arbitrary Note. For example, you can describe the server's specific features in this field.
9. Select the method for assigning the IP address:

   • Automatically IPv4:

     1. Select IP Address or Subnet. Specify a Prefix for subnet.
     2. Select or create an address pool from which DCImanager 6 will assign the IP. For more information on pools, see the article Pools management.

   • Set manually — specify a separate IP Address or Subnet.

     The address must belong to one of the existing networks.
10. Specify the Host name (domain). DCImanager 6 will assign it to the server during OS installation. You can use the server's IP address as the domain name.
11. Click Add.

After these steps, the server is ready for OS installation. Install the OS according to the instructions in the article Operating system installation.